My Reading Motto:

If you’re like me and you love reading then you know how intimidating it can be to get into a new genre or even “master” one you’ve been reading for years. There are so many sources for what I should read that sometimes I end up just giving up before facing the daunting task of choosing my next book. If you’ve ever had six tabs open in your browser spanning goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble as well as three different fan guides trying to compare reviews, top tens and favorite authors and finally going on tangent after tangent every time you see “suggested books for you!” then you know where I’m coming from.

The other pain I always endure is the purists who believe there are books you must read first in order to understand the evolution of the genre. (If you haven’t read Tolkien you can’t possibly appreciate Game of Thrones!) Some of them even scoff at your opinion if you haven’t read “the basics.” Thus, my advice is to forget all of that. The best route I’ve found is to stop stressing about finding the perfect book and simply try and try again. Books are like pizza; even the bad ones are still pretty good and if you are doing even basic research you aren’t going to find a bad one. Once you discover a book or author you love the whole process becomes a lot easier. If you know you love Brandon Sanderson then read a ton of his books! If you google “books like Name of The Wind” you’ll find tons of great suggestions without having to sift through millions that may or may not fit your taste. Another good source is to look up your favorite authors on goodreads.com. Many review other authors’ books which can be a goldmine for research.

It may seem hypocritical to follow that introduction with a list of books I want you to read and… well… it probably is. However, when I was trying to get back into consistently reading and especially catching up on modern fantasy books I would have killed for a list of suggestions from someone who shared my interests. Thus, here is what I value when reading a book and I hope it connects with you.

The number one thing that captivates me in any book is the characters. If I don’t care about the characters then, no matter how great the world, it’s hard to truly feel that it lives and breathes. I don’t care what happens in the world if I’m not fearful, sad, and thrilled at times for those who inhabit it. I gravitate towards adult fantasy. I don’t mean I need tons of sex and gore to keep me interested, but I like believable characters whose personalities have shades of grey. My favorite books make it hard to pinpoint who is good and bad and rarely is anyone all of one or the other. Realistic characters, like real people, are complicated creatures that aren’t angels or devils. People struggle and some overcome it better than others. I also love authors that don’t spoon feed you the story. They expect you to remember things and they don’t make every event an obvious sign of either things to come or obvious attempts at tricking you into guessing wrong. The best movies/books/stories have parts that aren’t foreshadowing a future event and aren’t absolutely necessary to understand the current plot line. They just add depth to the characters and world and sometimes this is more valuable than a surprising plot turn. (Think: “You really are a funny guy!” scene from Goodfellas.) These authors tend to have such a tightly written style that they will casually touch on things that happened at the beginning of the opening book hundreds of pages or even several books later. They must have thought out the detailed plot structure for the whole series before writing a single word. Finally, I’m not afraid of magic in my fantasy books, but I prefer it to be two things: well explained and also seemingly realistic, at least inside the world it resides.

This list is in no particular order and I’ve only included the books I consider the absolute cream of the crop. This is also a list of somewhat modern fantasy so you won’t find great reads like The Lord of the Rings. I’ll include a brief list of those that just missed the cut at the end. I can’t imagine anyone disliking these books as I’ve fallen in love with them to such a degree that I’ve read many of them twice (something I never used to do). Even now I find myself thinking about them. I love the characters to a sometimes creepy degree. These books will have you up until 2 a.m. nightly ignoring work and responsibilities. Without further ado; here are my must-read fantasy books.

Disclaimer: I don’t consider this a complete list by any stretch of the imagination. These are books I’ve read and I’m sure I’m missing a ton of great ones. I’m going to periodically add to this list so whether you’re reading on medium.com or 8bitbourbon.com (my podcast’s website) please hit me up on Twitter @AndyPolidore with suggestions. I love to hear from people with the same passions as me.

Disclaimer 2: Why is it that so many fantasy books have god awful cover art that seem to suggest the book is a bad romance novel? The authors must have zero input. Pro-tip from your buddy Andy: Don’t use photoshopped pictures of soap opera actors.

I went ahead and made all of the headers into links to the book or first book in the series (kindle edition). I will keep this as absolutely spoiler free as possible.