#also thanks for the book recs I have started the Temeraire series! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ninja-muse · 2 years

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I read The Goblin Emperor and Witness for the Dead awhile back, and I really liked them (especially The Goblin Emperor, I loved Maia as a protagonist). Do you have any book recommendations with protagonists who are kind? I miss that. Doesn't have to be the same genre. Thank you!

Oh gosh. Um. Thanks for the ask and I'm glad you liked the books! I'm still waiting for my library to put Grief of Stones into circulation. For me, and probably for you by the sounds of it, one of the things that makes the books so great is that you don't see pure kindness in a protagonist very often. I'll give it my best shot though!

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett - A novice monk who's quite happy tending a garden and getting in nobody's way suddenly finds himself the only person who can speak to his god (who is currently a tortoise). Everyone else is too busy playing politics, converting people, and heating up the pokers to believe anymore.

The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones - A sorcerer and his family are elected to represent Evil in the annual "let's play fantasyland for the people from Earth or else" show. His secret mission is to end the show forever—but he's really bad at being bad.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley - A government clerk is saved from a terrorist attack only because he got a watch in the mail. His mission to find out who sent it and why leads to all manner of life changes.

honestly, the main character dynamic in any Pulley novel is "kind, gentle, sort of lost man meets aggravating and mysterious stranger, they heal each other", and I'm a sucker every time.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - A man determined to explore the infinite House he lives in (and maybe help the new albatross family) discovers there's an awful lot about himself and House that he's forgotten.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree - An orc, newly retired from adventuring, moves to a river town to start a coffee shop. She's not always the nicest person, but she tries and it's an incredibly kind and gentle story.

A Man and His Cat by Umi Sakurai - An aging teacher and a cat who's grown up in a cage find their forever home together.

A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic Durbin - A boy is evacuated to live with his grandmother and discovers a mysterious garden with a riddle and a faun.

I have Heard Good Things about the Murderbot books by Martha Wells and Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers as well, but haven't read them so can't rec them for sure. I also have a hunch you might enjoy the Temeraire books by Naomi Novik. They don't fit the kind protagonist request even if Lawrence is a fundamentally decent person and tries his best to do right, but they're a very hopeful series about striving for human dragon rights and reconsidering perspectives.

#book recommendations #rec lists #read-alikes #the goblin emperor #katherine addison #answered asks

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themonkeycabal · 3 years

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re: Fantasy Recs

riseoftherose said: If you don’t mind a slightly younger aimed author, I still enjoy a series I first read as a kid, always thought it deserved more rep. The Land of

Sorry friend, it looks like your rec got cut off a bit there.

msprufrock said: Also aimed slightly younger, but I really enjoyed Akata Witch (and the sequel Akata Warrior) by Nnedi Okorafor. It’s a YA fantasy series set in Nigeria

Oh nice. Sounds like fun. Scarlet Odyssey is also set in a very Africa-like world, really loved that.

gerundsandcoffee said: I liked Uprooted by Naomi Novik. It’s a stand alone original but heavily rooted in Eastern European folklore.

I think I might have read that one. It sounds familiar. I’ll have to look again. Thanks!

solysgoldensun said: The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman is pretty fun, involving dragons, fae, and librarians (oh my!) in a multiverse semi-portal fantasy deal with steam punk elements.

Oh nice. I’ve got a little bit of a weakness for steampunkish-ness. (oh, bonus, the first book was only $2.99. I picked it up. thanks!)

anomaly-nerd said: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is my current favorite. It’s a little plot heavy but the worldbuilding is fantastic and the protagonist is impossible not to love

I don’t mind plot-heavy if I feel like it’s going somewhere. Love good worldbuilding, though. So great.

Anonymous said: I highly recommend Temeraire. That series was amazing. It's 9 books, complete storyline that begins in Napoleonic Wars era Europe and then expands into almost every continent. It was just mwah *chef's kiss*. The lead characters (one human, one dragon) are both absolutely adorkable and I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter. There are serious matters and some dark chapters, but it's a very optimistic series overall, not grimdark in the least.

Oh, thank you for reminding me of that one! I have the first one, I think I read it when it came out, but I never followed up on the rest of the series.

emilise284 said: any/all of Diana Wynne Jones’s works: Howl’s Moving Castle, Dogsbody, and Fire and Hemlock are among my favorites.

Robin McKinley is also gr9, I especially love Pegasus and Chalice

if you’re looking for recent fantasy Gideon the Ninth (and sequel, Harrow the Ninth) by Tamsyn Muir are GREAT fun and very gay (but also maybe edging a lil further towards grimdark than you’re in the mood for rn)

Cool. Thank you!

backwardsandinhighheels said: For urban fantasy, I’ve really enjoyed the Guild Codex series by Annette Marie - funny with found family vibes and slooow burn romances, and the heroine of Spellbound is a normal human girl in a magic guild which gives me serious Darcy vibes

That sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks. (score, the first one is $3.99 and has Margarita in the title. Can’t go wrong there. I grabbed it.)

lady-of-luthien said: The first fantasy author I really got into was Tamora Pierce. She writes a lot of YA stuff. Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, and Protector of the Small series. All awesome.

Oh yes, I read some of those. Definitely fun.

furyleika said: Absolutely second Robin McKinley, particularly The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Also Tamora Pierce. If you don’t mind younger aimed, my absolute favorites of all time are Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels straddle the fantasy/sci-fi line depending where in the timeline you’re reading. The Harper Hall series is a great starting point.

I also really like Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series. They may be closer to grim than not, but things turn out okay! Way less depressing than GRRM. I liked Holmberg’s Paper Magician series if you haven’t read that from her.

Swordheart from T. Kingfisher is awesome and funny and romantic. It says it’s in the same series as something else of hers, but I didn’t read those and enjoyed it anyways. Okay, I’ll stop. (Oh wait! Have you read Neil Gaiman’s stuff? I like almost all of it.)

Oh, I’ve totally read Anne McCaffrey, very into Pern back in ye olden tymes.

I have the Paper Magician, but I haven’t read it yet. I just finished Spellbreaker/Spellmaker and I wanted to try somebody else first.

T. Kingfisher sounds familiar, but I don’t recognize any of the titles (maybe I read Clockwork Boys, that sounds really familiar. Or I started to read it and got distracted and forgot -- this happens). I will check out Swordheart.

Garth Nix sounds familiar, too (I am bad with names, so this happens a lot, too). I’ll check out the first one. Thanks!

And, yes, I’ve read all the Neil Gaiman things lol.

owl-librarian said: Echoing Diana Wynne Jones, Tamora Pierce, and Garth Nix rec’s. I also recently reread a bunch of Patricia C Wrede books, which are delightful. If J/YA isn’t your jam, try Mercedes Lackey; HIGHLY prolific fantasy writer. Some of her stuff is a little dated now, but gosh a lot of it is still awesome. I particularly like her Arrows of the Queen trilogy.

Oh, yes, definitely I’ve ready Mercedes Lackey. Back in ye olden days with Anne McCaffrey and Terry Brooks (I was very into the Shannara books in high school).

gothfirefaerie said: If you like amazing world building and word porn I can not recommend Patricia a McKillip enough! My favorites are alphabet of thorn, fantastic beasts of eld and ombria in shadow. Also great for world building is Michelle Sagara and her chronicles of elantra but while I wouldn’t call them grimdark they are heavy.

Those sound fun. Thank you. Love worldbuilding.

owl-librarian said: Have you done any Terry Pratchett? He’s the right kind of fantasy for me, definitely not too heavy “high fantasy” - and full of real characters and great humor! If you are intimidated by his Oeuvre start with “Guards! Guards!” or “The Wee Free Men”

Oh yes, absolutely. Great fun.

owl-librarian said: I also highly suggest the Bordertown books edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling; it was a shared world created back in the 80s for authors to play in - there are several short story collections and a couple of novels set in this town that is the border between our world and faerie. It was revived in the 2010s with Ellen and Holly Black in another short story collection.

That sounds familiar, but I don’t think I ever read any of it. Thank you, I’ll check it out.

cathsith said: @sarahreesbrennan In Other Lands is *amazing* and lots of fun and the furthest thing from grim!dark that I can think of

Awesome. Thank you.

lover-of-the-starkindler said: *nods along for most of the recs and takes notes of the others* Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn is good; Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope is a Tam Lin retelling set in Elizabethan England and is amazing; Woodwalker by Emily B. Martin if you like sneaking through forests and political plots…

Sweet, thank you.

Thanks everybody I will check out all of your lovely recs.

#book recs #book rec list #so many things to read #wonderful!

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kindervenom · 6 years

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Book replies!

I’m posting everyone’s picks here because a) my fibro brain doesn’t always retain much so I need a straightforward list, and b) to share with anyone who also needs something new to pick up!

I’ve had Ninefox Gambit on reserve at the library for a little while, so I’m glad people were reccing it to me so I know I made a good choice (now, all I need is patience to wait for the 30 other people who got to it first... Ugh.) I have the first two novels for Mary Robinette Kowel as I am a nerdy Regency fan (I think everyone who ever had a @fantasiawandering movie night that I was a part of knows we tend to make EVERYTHING into a Regency AU. I think our personal crowning glory was finding the Regency AU for Pacific Rim BECAUSE OF COURSE) but haven’t read either of them yet. I’ve made sure they’re at the front of my kindle now. I just got the first book of the Paradox trilogy per suggestions, and I think I’ve owned (and not yet read >.>) the first in the Temeraire series since I had my second kindle (all told, I’m on number 4 right now.) Everything else, I’m writing down (with actual pen and paper) so I can have a running list for when I get done with the ones I’ve started now. YOU ARE THE LITERAL BEST, FRANS, THANKS SO MUCH!!!

@dawntreaderflynne said: “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

@fantasiawandering said: Tanya Huff’s Valor Series. anything by Julie Czerneda.

@theherocomplex said: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Panther in the Hive, the Paradox trilogy, A Fire in the Deep by Vernor Vinge, A Darker Shade of Magic (series) by V.E. Schwab!

@servantofclio said: Redshirts, Mary Robinette Kowal

@theherocomplex said: THE EXPANSE

@doomandnachos said: Old Man’s War rec, Scalzi’s Redshirts. Mary Robinette Kowal

@goddamnrey said: So it’s a very silly read, but I am currently reading My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris. It is a choose-your-own-adventure romance novel and it is GLORIOUS

@servantofclio said: Seconding Ninefox Gambit, also Martha Wells, All Systems Red, and Seanan McGuire’s Incryptid series might be up your alley. Hi Wren! :D

@dawntreaderflynne said: The Paradox trilogy by Rachel Bach

@littleboxoflaughter said: Temeraire series by Naomi Novik

@thisonelikesaliens said: THE EXPANSE. everything by N.K. JEMISIN. Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha. Old Man’s War series

#book list #recs from friends #my friends are the best friends #I can't wait to dig in ahhhhh

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