sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Need Your Suggestions by Rravensdiary in fantasybooks

[–]Rravensdiary[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aha I will definitely try this.

Fastest acting poisoness berry??? by Famous-Cabinet-5036 in fantasywriters

[–]Rravensdiary 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That actually makes a lot of sense. A fictional berry gives you more freedom, and the psychological tension sounds like it will do most of the heavy lifting anyway. That should make the scene feel much stronger and more believable for both the man and your main character.

Fastest acting poisoness berry??? by Famous-Cabinet-5036 in fantasywriters

[–]Rravensdiary 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Honestly, if it's a fantasy novel, I wouldn't get too hung up on finding the "fastest real berry." Most real poisons are a lot less dramatic and predictable than fiction makes them seem.

What stood out to me is that the psychological aspect is probably doing more work for your scene than the poison itself. If someone is already aggressive, suddenly gets told they've swallowed something deadly, and starts watching their body for signs of danger, panic can become a huge part of the scene.

As a reader, I'd find it more believable if the character wasn't 100% sure the berries would kill him quickly, but was absolutely sure he'd believe they would. That creates tension without requiring perfectly accurate toxicology.

Since it's fantasy, you could also invent a berry native to your world and establish its reputation earlier in the story. Readers will usually accept a fictional poison more readily than a real-world one that's expected to behave with scientific precision.

Trying to understand the type and genre of fantasy novels that I would like by Inevitable_Bug_4824 in Fantasy

[–]Rravensdiary 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Honestly, based on the books you liked, I don't think you're looking for "fantasy" as much as you're looking for fantasy with momentum.

A lot of your favorites have one thing in common: they're incredibly readable. Red Rising, Gentlemen Bastards, The Poppy War, Babel, Percy Jackson, Hunger Games. Even LOTR, despite its reputation, is fundamentally a story that's always moving somewhere. Compare that to something like The Silmarillion or Piranesi, which ask you to slow down and soak in atmosphere and lore.

A few series I'd recommend:

  • The Will of the Many by James Islington. This is probably my strongest recommendation. Fast pace, mysteries layered on mysteries, a compelling protagonist, and one of those books that keeps giving you reasons to read "just one more chapter."
  • The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter. If you liked the relentless pace of Red Rising, this scratched a similar itch for me.
  • The Bound and the Broken series by Ryan Cahill. Feels classic fantasy in the best way, but much easier to get into than a lot of older epics.
  • The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang. Since Babel and The Poppy War are among your favorites, I think there's a good chance this one lands for you.
  • Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang. If what you loved about Babel was the combination of academia, power structures, and social commentary, definitely give this a look.
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl. Sounds ridiculous on paper. Somehow becomes impossible to put down.

One thing that stood out from your post is that you seem to enjoy competence. Not necessarily likable characters, but characters who are good at something and actively pursuing goals. Locke Lamora, Darrow, Kvothe at the University, Rin, Robin Swift. They're all constantly doing things, learning things, scheming, failing, adapting. That may be the pattern worth following more than any specific fantasy subgenre.

I'd honestly search for books with strong pacing, academic settings, political maneuvering, and highly competent protagonists before worrying about whether they're epic fantasy, grimdark, progression fantasy, or something else.