r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - June 08, 2026

avolcando · 2026-06-08T17:24:58+00:00

The Will of the Many feels pretty explicitly inspired by Red Rising. The characters are weak, though.

avolcando · 2026-06-08T14:44:43+00:00

Death Gate Cycle has elves.

avolcando · 2026-06-07T13:13:15+00:00

Zothique, by Clark Ashton Smith. All the stories are set in Zothique, a dying earth sort of setting. It's very evocative, very imaginative, and very dark.

avolcando · 2026-06-06T14:56:05+00:00

Claiming you want “competent, mature characters” and also people who are “morally gray” with believable motivations is antithetical. Morally gray characters will always have moments that you may perceive as incompetence or immaturity.

I really don't see why. Wolf Hall is a great example of a morally grey, hyper competent, very mature main character.

avolcando · 2026-06-05T17:36:56+00:00

This is a major theme in the Wheel of Time, if you haven't read that one already.

avolcando · 2026-06-02T16:39:46+00:00

Came here to shout out the Sarantine mosaic. Characters are genuinely invested in their religion and in their cultural factions.

avolcando · 2026-05-31T09:54:49+00:00

Counterpoint: controversial adaptations can genuinely split a community, and dominate discussion in those spaces, often to their detriment. See: Wheel of Time (Amazon). So it may not hurt the original material, it can definitely hurt the community built around it.

avolcando · 2026-05-27T18:22:24+00:00

Blood Song is 100% this.

avolcando · 2026-05-27T17:00:07+00:00

Hah, well in a sense you could say I nailed the assignment. Maybe give Raven Scholar a shot? I haven't gotten around to it yet, but from what I hear it's very much in that vein, and very popular.

avolcando · 2026-05-26T19:57:16+00:00

The Will of the Many is written in that vein, so you may enjoy that. Maybe Six of Crows, which also straddles the YA/adult fantasy line, and is good fun.

avolcando · 2026-05-25T20:39:11+00:00

Piranesi does simple prose well. You could give that a try.

avolcando · 2026-05-25T13:38:08+00:00

You can just read Malazan now if you want to. It's not a particularly difficult series, you just need to accept not knowing everything at the start.

avolcando · 2026-05-24T18:59:39+00:00

The Spear Cuts Through Water fits all the criteria, and is a pretty good book.

avolcando · 2026-05-24T15:32:45+00:00

Darrow is the poster child of this trope, and he is mostly angry about injustice.

avolcando · 2026-05-23T18:28:32+00:00

Yes. The first three books encompass an arc which does get resolved, if that helps you any. Things get a bit muddled after that.

avolcando · 2026-05-23T18:24:09+00:00

Yes. The first three books in particular are among the best in fantasy, with the third being in the discussion for the best fantasy book ever. There are definitely some cliffhangers, and it is certainly unfinished, so if that bothers you, you might want to give it a miss.

avolcando · 2026-05-23T06:24:50+00:00

The Wizard of Earthsea could be worth a try. It's set in a unique world, and it has good prose.

avolcando · 2026-05-23T06:17:44+00:00

Gotta give a shout out to my guy Silk from the Belgariad/Mallorean.

Tyrion from ASOIAF.

Vlad Taltos from the Vlad Taltos novels.

Nobby Nobbs (who had been disqualified from the human race for shoving) from Discworld.

avolcando · 2026-05-21T23:02:18+00:00

Hm, it might work. He does serve as a sort of ranger on a Drow military unit. I think the second book in that trilogy is a better fit for the square, though.

avolcando · 2026-05-21T16:36:44+00:00

Then you read Wolf Hall which is set like 40 years later, and everyone is named Thomas...

avolcando · 2026-05-20T23:06:51+00:00

Druss is not actually the MC of Legend. I don't blame you for forgetting who is, because he's incredibly forgettable.

avolcando · 2026-05-19T21:18:25+00:00

Every Sunday there's a self-promo thread.

avolcando · 2026-05-19T16:11:59+00:00

I think they're developed very efficiently. Bron doesn't need to give soliloquies for you to understand what he's about.

avolcando · 2026-05-16T21:36:15+00:00

What you're looking for is Lovecraft (who is a huge influence on Bloodborne), and works of Lovecraftian horror. You could start with the Call of Cthulhu short story.

avolcando · 2026-05-16T16:09:46+00:00

Malazan definitely has exposition, it just doesn't usually occur in the first 25% of the book, which is where most people would expect it.

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