Consumer Advice: if you like Red Rising, try these books!
Red Rising is my favorite series of all time, and since I first read it, I have always being searching for something similar. However, due to the contained scale of its cult fandom, it’s really hard to find anything useful. After 2.5 years of digging, I have now gathered a bunch of books which - for one thing or another - my be of your tastes, my fellow Howlers!
The First Law World by Joe Abercrombie
Read this if you like: Dark Age; Sevro & the Howlers; nasty, morally grey characters; people with hygiene problems; slow burn plot; hyper focus on characters and their personal journey.
The First Law is a grim dark fantasy series set in a 18th century inspired world with Norsemen, Flesh Eaters, demons and thousand years old magicians. Abercrombie is a master in writing complex, three dimensional characters, be them hideous, pompous or actually good people (but, in reality, you will not find many of those). If you don’t like people with... questionable hygiene, steer clear.
The series is composed of a trilogy (the OG books), 3 stand-alone novels and a sequel trilogy (the last book is hitting shelves in September 2021). The recommended starting point is ‘The Blade Itself’.
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Read this if you like: Golden Son; Darrow-type characters; brooding; crazy world building; mish-mash of cultures/settings; knights with cool armors and cooler swords; character development; plot twists.
High fantasy set in a continent ravaged by storms, it follows the story of multiple characters as they try to survive and win a war between that has been going on for more than 10 years. Filled with astounding descriptions, fantastic characters - from both factions - and an extremely sophisticated magic system, if you like originality and brooding characters this is what you want to read. If you don’t like long books, this might not be your cup of tea; each is well over a thousand pages!
The series is currently on going, with a total of ten books planned.
Dune series by Frank Herbert
Read this if you like: Iron Gold; The Raa’s plot line; The Rim; Virginia; Diomedes; Playing with human psyche; desert/arid setting; cool character design.
Dune a very big name in the sci-fi genre, and Pierce himself has admitted this series was a huge inspiration for his works. Paul Atreides is the heir to the mighty House Atreides, prophesied since his childhood to be destined to great deeds. When he is sent on a remote planet to gather the melange - a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities - he confronts with the burden of power and fear. If you don’t like old school books, beware: the cast is super white and super straight.
The original ‘series’ is composed of the books above. Herbert‘s son has been publishing, in recent years, other works set in the same world his father created.
The Expanse by James S. A. Corey
Read this if you like: aliens; action packed plot; multiple plot lines; deep space exploration; giant starships; long book series; lgbtq+ being a norm.
Of this massive book series - nine by the current count - The Expanse is a very influent and well loved series; there’s even a very good series based on the books on Amazon prime! Men has expanded through the stars, but everything changed when a sentient alien virus attacks humanity and threatens its very survival. If you love deep space and high tension, go for this one! If you don’t like long book series with a several long time skips, maybe don’t!
Night’s Dawn by Peter F. Hamilton
Read this if you like: Morning Star; hallucinating drugs; extremely big interplanetary empires; Carved animals; that very sense of decadence permeating from Golds; mind twisting plot twists; Tactus&Roque I guess?
Another oldish sci-fi, this time coming from 1997. Night’s Dawn is truly a tale of how humanity can cause its own downfall. Does that ring any bell to you? Men has spread through the galaxy, but an ancient enemy believed extinct makes a pact with a human to destroy the rest the Society. Once again, if you don’t like long books, Night’s Dawn is not your ideal choices, as each book is over one thousand pages.
The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone
Read this if you like: terrorist warlords; chaotic neutral alignment chart; Ephraim; Lyra; Volga; corrupted society; detective story; cool lesbian ladies; murder mysteries.
A fantasy detective story (at least the first book) in a world with living gods and powerful sects of priests. If like chaotic, funny characters with dark humor undertones, Craft Sequence has finally manifested for your delight. If you are a fanatic of chronological order, you are going to get mad at this series, as the inner-chronology is completely different from the publication order!
Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee
Read this if you like: Roque; Darrow; Orion; Fleet battles; action; segmented society; unlikely allies; cool space ships; diverse cast; mathematics (not joking).
A fallen-out-of-grace Captain has to regain her honor by winning over one the most impenetrable fortresses in the whole galaxy. Space battles, strategy and calculations are the key to winning. But can she really, when she implants in her nervous system the conscience of a long dead murderous General? Tension is what you get. If you don’t like heavy handed strategy planning, you might find Lee’s series a bit too much.
This is the end of my list! If you have any more additions, please share them!
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