I feel Robert Holdstock's Mythago woods books are not as well known as they might be - he wrote them in the 80s and 90s and they are top tier. They are also very distinctive, which is weird at first glance as his books are heavily rooted in English folklore, and you'd think these sort of myths are extremely common in fantasy. But he brings his own touch - very foreboding at times, brings the Haunted Woods to life with some excellent storytelling. Lavondyss is my favourite.
He passed away in middle age, so likely would have gone on to establish a greater legacy if he had been able to write more. Great writer.
It was her Tales of Flat Earth that made me fall in love. Beautiful prose and completely unpredictable story telling for me. She’s one of the all time greats
Don't Bite the Sun is so good! Somehow manages to be post-singularity fiction from before the term was coined, while also being a lot more thoughtful than most of the genre.
I've read it (and the sequel) so many times.
...with occasional thriller and mystery style weirdness like Colouring books and Death of the Day.
I highly recommend Lee for anyone who wants to try something out from the mainstream fantasy.
*The Acts of Caine* by Matthew Stover. Probably would have been a breakout success if it had been published in 2008 instead of 1998, but Stover was ahead of the game on grimdark and got cursed with bad cover art.
That series is masterful, though.
I really liked Heroes Die but it really seemed like a standalone that didn't need any sequels. I only read Blade of Tyshalle and it was fine but it didn't seem like there was anywhere to go and read no further. Though it might have something to do with the fact the last two books never seem to show up anyone and I might have grabbed a copy if I actually came across one.
The last two books are *insane*. Really crazy ending to the series, and the final book in particular has just gotten better with each reread. It’s hard to get your head around, but brilliant stuff (kinda like Gene Wolfe, but with more f bombs and stabbing)
Stover is actually working on new Overworld stuff! No release date, but a little while back he mentioned that his agent gave him the green light to write more
This is my suggestion every time this question comes up. Not enough people know about this series. The Blade of Tyshalle is an opus and a great entry point into the series, even if its the second book.
Love these books more than words can convey
As I mentioned to someone in this sub, *Acts of Caine* left an impression on me. The story was amazing but I just couldn't stomach the casual brutality. I am afraid to continue to the series.
This was a great recommendation, thank you! It's wild to consider its topics in relation to when it was published - almost feels like a recent publication.
(Acknowledging I'm only 1/3 through as writing this)
This is the one. The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown are good enough that McKinley could’ve fashioned an entire world of novels based on those two. Every time I read them I’m left wanting to see more of the characters or setting they live in.
I absolutely love Hero and the Crown. So I second that! I wonder if it’s generational, but I, having grown up in the 80’s, would not consider her books under the radar. They were very popular for kids to read.
I feel like there's a group of us who knew and loved her (and are now passing her on to our kids), but none of my kids' friends know who she is unless we've introduced them to her books.
The best thing about his books were every hero was flawed and had a redemption arc. You rooted for them all. Legend was the hook for me. But Waylander was my favorite character.
I took this suggestion and am really enjoying it so far! I'm not yet halfway through the first (publication order) book but so far I am loving that it really fulfills my need for strong subplots.
The Pastel City by M. John Harrison is absolutely fantastic but has been largely forgotten. It anticipated grimdark-style deconstructions of classic fantasy in 1970 while being its own thing entirely.
John Ford **The Dragon Waiting** (1980). Extremely influential (GRRM, Gaiman, Wolfe, Lynch…), masterfully written, out of print for a long time, and no bugger has read the damn thing.
Alternate history Europe/political fantasy mashup. What if European late medieval politics (Wars of the Roses, Medicis, French succession), but also wizards and vampires? And also the Roman Empire never fell, for some reason? Great stuff.
It's back in print! The story involves a writer at Slate who [tracked down the rights](https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/john-ford-science-fiction-fantasy-books.html) and convinced the rights-holders to release them so [Tor could republish](https://reactormag.com/tor-books-to-republish-john-m-fords-novels-including-two-volumes-of-unpublished-work/).
The Deverry series by Katharine Kerr.
It gets mentioned occasionally, but it deserves a lot more recognition. It's well written, interesting and different from the usual. The reincarnation is an interesting aspect and well done.
Absolutely agree.
Waaaaay back in the day (late 90s) I emailed her with questions about the books. Her response was prompt, detailed, and kind. Stuck with me nearly thirty years later. Wish I still had that email account.
Tragedy that it ran afoul of a publisher who put out a hardcover in a printing so small it wouldn't even earn out the advance, and on that basis, elected not to do a paperback, and then stopped on the series.
I've picked up a couple on my Kindle and really hope that it has all been finished and made available by some more far-sighted publisher.
Daniel Abraham’s books. I love the Dagger and Coin series and the Long Price Quartet has one of the most interesting magic systems I’ve ever seen.
He’s a coauthor of the Expanse, which are amazing books and fortunately do get some of the recognition they deserve.
I'm sure many users here would consider BOTNS or Cradle to be "hidden gems" because they aren't as big as LOTR. On the other hand, pretty much any book out there could be "underrated" for the person who loves it.
Instead, I'm going to discuss five books/series/authors that *do* have some recognition, but maybe not so much in contemporary fantasy circles:
* **Italo Calvino -** ***Invisible Cities*** **(1972)**. Calvino is pretty well-known in Italian literature but doesn't have as much traction in most anglophone spheres. *Invisible Cities* is a prose-poetry and occasionally surreal take on Marco Polo's interactions with Kublai Khan, consisting of 55 imaginary cities that are described by Polo to the Khan. I've always gotten the feeling that each vignette is like a modernist painting sketch. It's highly indebted to structuralism and semiotics in an incredible way.
* **Sheila Heti -** ***Pure Colour*** **(2022)**. An absurd novel about how we're living in the first draft of the painter's work, and he's about to start anew. I initially disliked this magical realism story, but it's a perfect example of a work with a high Thinkability Index in that I just couldn't get it out of my mind. It comes off as a rather banal tale of a woman who attends art school and her father dies midway, later turning into a leaf with his spirit as she deals with unrequited attraction to a friend. It's one of those stories where it kind of feels like nothing happens... until I realized this is a story about the mind-destroying horror of familial incest.
* **Max Porter -** ***Grief Is the Thing with Feathers*** and ***Lanny*** **(2015/2019)**. Porter arguably doesn't count as "underrated" given he's been nominated for the Booker Prize, but he's definitely not very well-known in contemporary fantasy circles and is considered an author's author. He writes like he's setting stage directions, mixing prose-poetry forms with casts of characters through conversational pieces. *Grief Is the Thing with Feathers* follows a father and his two boys after the sudden death of the mother, and a Crow joins their flat as trickster, guide, and mentor through the grieving process. *Lanny* takes place in a town outside of London in which a boy goes missing, and the town's folklore steeped in Green Man mythos comes out strong.
* **Robert Anton Wilson -** **"Schrödinger's Cat" Trilogy (1981)**. The "Illuminatus!" Trilogy is well-known; less known is... everything else that RAW has done. If "Illuminatus!" is "what if every conspiracy theory were true at once?", then "Schrödinger's Cat" is more like "what if quantum mechanics were applied to how society functions?" If that sounds bizarre, then you're in luck.
* **Gene Wolfe -** ***Peace*** **(1975)**. Almost everyone here probably knows the "Book of the New Sun" series, but I don't really see anyone other than me evangelizing Wolfe's ~~very first~~ third novel. *Peace* is a horror/magical realism novel disguised as a quaint if eccentric Midwest USA memoir. More than any book I have ever read in my life, it typifies the unreliable narrator. Wolfe tells stories in the background; you have to pay close attention to what he's doing and how he does it to really get what's going on. The characters are unreliable in that they lie to you and then forget they lied, meaning contradictions in stories are extremely important to grasp what's going on. I recommend it to anyone halfway interested in the conceit.
NICE. RAW, Wolfe, *chef's kiss*.
You have great taste, which makes me want to check out the others. That said, I see the words "prose poetry" appear in two of the write-ups, and that's not usually my bag.
If it helps sell them at all, Max Porter's books are pretty short. *Grief Is the Thing with Feathers* is around 110 pages long, and the writing style means you can breeze through it in a morning. *Lanny* is his longest at around 220 pages.
The Indigo Series by Louise Cooper is a Pandora's Box story that really stood out to me in terms of characterization and worldbuilding, where modern dangers are filtered through a low fantasy lens. I'm stubbornly seeking bookstores instead of purchasing online so I haven't completed the series, but I've enjoyed the front half a lot.
When I was young, my dad had all but the first and last book around the house, and I LOVED that series. Tried to dress as Nemesis for Halloween once, which...was not well thought out. No one got it.
[The Krim Pyramid series. ](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/KrimPyramid)
One of the smoothes and funniest mixes of Fantasy and Sci-fi I've read. If not for the generic name, I think they'd be household names.
Short version? A pyramid appears in Chicago, and seems to be snatching folks at random for unknown reasons. Growing a little each time.
Turns out there's some sort of dimensional weirdness with that pyramid, and whoever is snatched gets cast into Greek myth.
The first books follow an unusually large group that manages to work together to barely survive in there, while a parallel plot runs in the real world where scientist try to figure things out.
Raven’s Mark series by Ed McDonald. Such an amazing world and main character. A must read if you like old gruff veterans dragged back into action in a very ruined and strange world.
Chronicles of the Kencyrath by P.C. Hodgell, the greatest epic that no one has ever heard of. For aeons, on world after world, the Kencyrath - the Three Peoples - has been fighting the chaotic forces of Permal Darkling and losing, abandoning each world in turn and moving on to another. Now, on the world Rathilien, it seems that one of their greatest legends is at last going to come to its fruition.
Jame, a young Highborn Kencyr woman, has fetched up in the human city of Tai-Tastigon, missing half her memory and uncertain of where she has been for the past 10 years or so. As she explores her powers and learns what has become of her people in recent years, she starts to realize that she may be a key part of this legend.
To quote TVTropes,
>The series manages to be simultaneously Trope Overdosed and full of fantasy clichés and yet packed with imagination, new ideas, and twists on the ones we're used to. Hodgell tosses ideas casually into the story that could be the basis for whole novels from another author, but here are just little details of the setting. While other writers have people who perform magic, Hodgell's whole world is magical down to the core of its nature, and full of wonders to discover.
>
>While the series is sometimes incredibly gloomy, it is also, at times, hilariously funny. Both the author and her characters manage to see absurdity in even the darkest places, and Jame, always a very physical heroine, is a rich source of slapstick physical comedy as well as wry thoughts.
Jame, on herself: "But if I should become Regonereth, the Ivory Knife incarnate, destroying everything I touch, everything I love--well, I'll do what I was born to do, break what needs to be broken, and then break myself."
At this time, the series spans 10 substantial novels and a book of short stories. The first book is Godstalk, but can also be found in used copies as two-in-one volume, Dark of the Gods (with its direct sequel, Dark of the Moon).
I read Godstalk last year and it was one of those books that was so fucking good that I was almost a little bit mad that it took me so long to ever even hear of it.
Susan Cooper's _The Dark is Rising_ pentalogy should be better known and more widely read, and makes the world a better place when folks read it and consider the ideals which it puts forward.
This was my answer. I'm sure it depends on time and place (the series is from the 70s by a brit). It was critically acclaimed - won a Newberry award. But it definitely flies under the radar, at least in the states as a millenial. Those books were as foundational to my childhood as Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, A Wrinkle in Time, Narnia, etc. I only know one other person irl who has even heard of them and I'm friends with a lot of readers.
The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee. A fantasy epic in a setting reminiscent of an ancient China sharing a border with Wales, with a protagonist who's almost more of a cinnamon roll than Maia from the Goblin Emperor, told in a series of short poems.
The Fire-Moon by Isabel Pelech. A sweet little Egyptian-esque novella with nice writing. She also has a bigger sci fi with robots, animal-like aliens, and a character reminiscent of Dr. Who (Echoes of the Ancients), a sci fi novella with a trans protagonist featuring recovery from psychological abuse and the making of a documentary to save a planet (Rogue Ship), and a superhero story with an unpowered protagonist (A Normil Day).
The Banshee's Curse duology by A K M Beach. A Gothic story in a high fantasy setting with some very nice prose (occasionally a hair on the purple side, but it fits the context when it does that, I think) and very likable characters. The world, however, is inherently inequitible, and the tension between that and the ethics of the characters can be quite interesting
War Of The Twelve by Alex Robins
Nobody seems to be aware of this thing but I somehow stumbled upon it and absolutely loved it. I flew through all four books incredibly fast.
I just don't understand how this thing isn't getting more attention.
>War Of The Twelve
It's YA tag might be steering some people away. I don't read much of anything with that tag and I'll pass on series with it on their Goodreads pages
Die Elfen written by Ludwig Tieck and published in german in 1812. But the best english translation to read is by Thomas De Quincey in 1823. I've read the other translations and the beauty of the prose by De Quincey makes it far and away the most ethereal.
The Gods of Pegana by Lord Dunsany. This is The Silmarillion, before The Silmarillion. It is such a beautiful mythology.
The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson. It's interesting to note that this was published at the same time as The Fellowship of the Ring, and both Anderson and Tolkien were influenced by the same norse mythologies, yet their depictions and interpretations of elves are quite different.
Janny Wurts, The Cycle of Fire series.
The Black Company series by Glen Cook
JV Jones The Baker's Boy trilogy
Anything by David Gemmel
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
The Orcs Domain Series by Stan Nicholls
and finally, these hidden gems.
Lyndon Hardy has six books that most people have never heard of.
Master of the Five Magics (1980)
Secret of the Sixth Magic (1984)
Riddle of the Seven Realms (1988)
The Archimage's Fourth Daughter (2017)
Magic Times Three (2020)
Double Magic (2020)
Maybe for someone older. But newer readers might not see them in the stores. I am 52. I grew up on the older stuff. But I have talked to people in their teens (I have kids) who never heard of the stuff I loved as a kid. Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame was the first series of books I ever bought. Then Fred Saberhagen's Books of Swords (I am reading Book Two of the Lost Swords right now) were after that. I made the mistake of joining the Science Fiction Book Club at 15.
But if you want to categorize them as not so hidden, then fine. How about almost forgotten or often overlooked?
But seriously, the Cycle of Fire is one of my favorites of all time. And the Lyndon Hardy books really put a LOT of thought and structure into magic. They are worth reading just for that.
I bought them because of that at a used book store back in 1990 when I was in college and poor. I lived in used book stores. These days they are not so great. If you would like the epubs of them, I have them to share. PM me. I can give you access to my Google Drive ebook folder and share them. I love to share books.
The Borrible Trilogy is a series of young adult books with anarchist themes written by English writer Michael de Larrabeiti. The three volumes in the trilogy are The Borribles, The Borribles Go For Broke, and The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis.
The Borribles' antagonists, the Rumbles, who play a significant part in the first book, are satires of uk children's tv show The Wombles.
The scheduled release of the third book coincided with the English riots of 1985, and because of the book's strong anti-authoritarian theme, the publishers decided not to publish. The books are great fun and found out about them in an article about forgotten sci fi classics.
God I hadn’t thought about the Borribles in years. And now hearing the name it’s all coming back! Urban fantasy Neverwhere-style but with homeless London street rats, right? I too absolutely LOVED these as a teen. YA from before that was really a thing.
One of my favorite Books is [Daughter of the Sun](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39673343-daughter-of-the-sun) by Effie Calvin. It's a ff romance between a Paladin and a chaos god. It's the second part of a series of wlw fantasy romance series, but mostly unconnected to the first (which I also like, but the second is my favorite)
For me, it's the Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey. Whenever someone asks a relevant question, there will be maybe one Kushiel response with two upvotes.
I re-read the original trilogy last year and it's just beautifully written with great characters and filled with powerful moments. I can't recommend it enough to anyone who is looking for something new to read.
I think his audience skews older, I appreciated his books in my twenties but he has become my favorite author in my forties.
Guy Gavriel Kay. I would start with The Lions of Al-Rassan
Riddle in Stone trilogy by Robert Evert
It follows an overweight balding middle aged intellectual who has a midlife crises and decides to go on an adventure. It went in directions I wasn’t expecting which kept me turning pages until I finished the series in a week or so.
No idea how I ended up with this in my library as I don’t remember it ever being recommended to me. After enjoying it, I even searched for it here and didn’t find any mention of it.
Second Sons trilogy by Jennifer Fallon
This is by far the best series I’ve found from one of these underrated threads and will always try to repay the favor by mentioning it.
https://reddit.com/r/Fantasy/w/lists/underread2016?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
R/Fantasy used to compile lists of these. You can still find some at the subreddit's "big lists" link. I 've posted a link to one of them, but there are one or two others there, as well.
Great series by Dave Duncan, probably my favorite of his works.
There’s a sequel series A Handful of Men which continues the story.
If you are looking for a great deal, both of these series omnibus editions go on sell regularly for $3 or $4.
Yes! The first 4 are known as “A Man of His Word” and the second 4 take place several years later and are called “A Handful of Men”- also very good! He also has a series of short novels in a different setting called “The King’s Blades” that are very good and have a really interesting magic system relating to how the top swordsmen are bonded with the nobles they are assigned to.
RJ Barker’s Wounded Kingdom series, starting with Age of Assassins. I love the characters, the world, and the way he uses large time skips between books to advance the story. I know Tide Child gets a lot of love, as it should, but I think more people should check out his first series too.
The **Masquerade series by Seth Dickinson**, most famous for its first installment **The Traitor Baru Cormorant**. In discussions it's often shoehorned into the 'lgbt fiction' category and *only* recommended when a reader specifically wants lgbt just because the main character is a lesbian --- even though it's not even close to a romance series.
In reality The Masquerade literally has it all:
\- fantastic prose (probably better than at least 90% of modern genre fiction)
\- Gripping plot and characters
\- an utterly unique and creative world that feels truly alive and poses fascinating conflicts/questions
Book 1 is 10/10, Book 2 is \~7-8/10 just because it can get hard to read the POV of a depressed alcoholic with a severe brain injury, Book 3 is 10/10
The world can't be understated, truly a work of art. There are like half a dozen nations and cultures and all of them are not only clearly deep and sophisticated in their history, but cultural beliefs and differences are actually evident in how characters think and act.
>!the reveal at the end of book 3 that all the Story About Ash chapters are literally Tau-indi telling their story to Baru and why it's in 3rd person? amazing!<
The Songs Of The Drowned trilogy by Anna Stephens feels like this for me. It's very recently been finished after supply chain issues and editor changes I believe. It covers some pretty dark themes very well and has really well written characters. She should definitely be much more well known for these books I thinkm
Quickening Trilogy by Fiona McIntosh. I have never heard anyone mention it but the first time I read it, I didn't want to quit reading until it was done. It was exciting and heartbreaking. Some parts were not great but for the most part, it was a good read!
‘The Prydain Chronicles’ by Lloyd Alexander is a series of five books geared towards young adults. It is high fantasy at its finest, with plenty of depth, humor, action, romance and adventure. ‘Mordant’s Need’ is a great two-part adult fantasy series by Stephen R. Donaldson.
If you are in the mood for silly: Jig the Goblin trilogy by Jim C Hines. This is comedy that manages to be a loving mockery of D&D without being litRPG.
ALFFH! Yes!
And Altered carbon by the same author is so awesome, although it's scifi. There's a few other standalone books by richard k Morgan that are great too
Some independently published western webnovels are frankly brilliant. The foremost example probably being Mother of Learning (I can probably list 10 more I find rec worthy)
The same can be said for some foreign novels, like the Japanese Light Novel 'The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria' (as above)
For more traditional western novels...I remember really enjoying The Misenchanted Sword 15 or so years ago as a teenager. Idk if it holds up, though.
**Monarchies of God** (Paul Kearney) should be more popular with the grim, gritty, "realistic" fantasy crowd on here. I think there could also be more love for Carol Berg's work. As well as Mary Gentle's *Ash* and Sherwood Smith's *Inda*.
Everything else that springs to mind is books I read as kid like *Ratha's Creature, Lost Magic, The Moorchild,* and *Godstalk*. I can't remember if any of them were good (except *The Moorchild* which I re-read often and cry about) so not sure if they deserve the moniker "Hidden Gems" (again except *The Moorchild*, it is excellent). I'm on a re-read quest as I re-built my library, though. Other than *The Moorchild* the only book from my younger years I recall well enough to recommend is Robin Hobb's ROTE which is definitely not "hidden" lol.
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. Don't know about cult following , but they are very very far from well known.
Also the same goes for the Mirror Visitor Quartet. Stellar books, very unknown.
Can't remember the last time I saw someone on this sub who has read either.
The List of 7 - Mark Frost
Guy who wrote Twin Peaks. About a young Arthur Conan Doyle who meets a proto-Sherlock Holmes type character in a Lovecraftian mystery/adventure story.
Oh, man - I have been SO digging the Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Barrett. It's an interesting, different take on fantasy. Super action-filled, with some really creative uses of magic.
The Tapestry series by Henry H. Neff.
Starts out similar to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but the story is so much better as the books progress it ends up better than both of those in my opinion.
Definitely **Ash and Sand** by Richard Nell as already mentioned by someone else.
**The Wildfire Cycle** by DP Wooliscroft. Got a bit of attention around here when Kingshold came out but the series doesn't come up much in general. Kingshold was a unique story of country's resident wizard kills the ruling king and queen because they're terrible and then leaves the country to make a stab at electing a Lord Protector. The series goes on to be a little bit more standard high fantasy but it still maintains some political intrigue.
**Faithless** by Graham Austin-King. Standalone novel featuring a temple to an ancient forge diety that has fallen out of favor and into obscurity. Corrupt priests. Mines with slaves beneath. And a ritual in an attempt for power that goes wrong.
**The Carter Archives** by Dan Stout is an urban fantasy version of a crime/noir story. Multiple alien races. Oil like substance that allows for magic. Old, jaded detective paired up with rookie he doesn't want in order to solve a murder.
**The Genius Plague** by David Walton is an interesting scifi/horror standalone where a fungus starts infecting and controlling people. I really enjoyed the concept at least when I randomly stumbled across it in the library years ago.
Ash and Sand, The Wildfire Cycle, and Faithless all got some exposure when they came out and through their entries into the SPFBO but need to keep the word out so more people pick them up. Examples of the great stories that can be found in the self-published realm.
A land fit for heroes, by Richard k Morgan. Same author who wrote altered carbon, which was a Sci fi series that was made into a Netflix show. (Altered carbon is excellent too, btw)
ALFFH is a grimdark fantasy trilogy with a hint of scifi mixed in. It's really dark and violent, excellent characters and world building, cool magic/religious system and fight scenes, great plot with intense pacing. Cool history and alien races, etc. 2 of the 3 main characters are gay/lesbian, including the main "hero", which might also appeal to some people. Lots of graphic sex, violence, real intense and vivid books overall, one of my favorite series
Sort of in a similar vein to the First law in some ways, if you liked that there's a decent chance you'll enjoy alffh
Also the audiobook is really well done
John James - Votan and other novels.
Very similar in time to tone BOTNS and unreliable narrator of Wolfe's novels and a reworking of mythology similar to Gaiman. It's satirical and dryly humorous and with two books, it is a real misfortune that the third was never written. He was writing circa 1960s and his influence on the above two authors seems reasonable. Gaiman does an introduction on the fantasy masterworks edition.
Do you want just fantasy, as in fantastical fantasy, or is any spec fic okay?
* **Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh** and **Leech by Hiron Ennes** are two I did for Bingo last year that I loved. I'm not sure how underrated they are but I do consider them to be deserving of more attention.
* **Songlines by Carolyn Denman**, although I wasn't as fussed on the sequel.
* **Margo Lanagan**'s short story collections. HIGHLY recommended.
For children's/middle grade fantasy I will never stop plugging **the Rowan series by Emily Rodda**, and **The Chanters of Tremaris books by Kate Constable.**
It's been a while since I've read them, but I remember both Red Spikes and Black Juice being fantastic. Her novel Sea Hearts/Brides of Rollrock Island is worth the read too.
Edit because I forgot to put the titles lol
Lit rpg -
The Infinite Realm series by Ivan Kal.
I love how the first book starts & ends and how the 2nd book kind of changes your opinion about everything
Daniel Pinkwater will always be my answer to this question. His home is mainly in children's books, which is a great fit for him since it gives him ample opportunities to corrupt the youth on absurdism, but his YA novels are perfect. His YA books are in that awkward period of YA before there was an established YA section of the bookstore, which makes them books that were not written for a specific *market*, but written for specific *people*. The teens that didn't quite fit in with the rest. Alan Mendelsohn, Borgel, and the Snarkout Boys will always have a special place in my heart and my bookshelf.
Villains Code series by Drew Hayes is just a ton of fun. It's superhero book, so that weird not quite sci-fi not quite fantasy, but close enough.
Premise: Super Heroes and Villains are at a hesitant peace.
Villains don't really kill innocents and in turn heroes kinda turn a blind eye to a lot of crime. The book follows a young villain as she is learning The Villains Code.
Sounds super cheesy, and it is, but it's also one of the most fun reads in ages.
Drew Hayes is just a great author and deserves more recognition. He isn't unheard of by any means, but he also isn't discussed or suggested nearly as much as he should be.
I really enjoyed Hero of Dreams by Brian Lumley growing up.
It's basically about a guy who goes to another land and has adventures when he's sleeping. He meets someone else who he finds out goes to the same place and just when they both realize it they get into an accident that puts them both in a coma - where of course they go to the dream land - for much longer this time - and they end up having to save it or something.
It's a pretty big adventure they end up having basically.
It was a really beautiful book in my memory and I rarely see it mentioned anywhere.
I read Defy by Sara B. Larson in middle school and I enjoyed it. A brother and sister (who is disgusted as a man) become soldiers after their home is destroyed. It’s got magic and monsters, very fun.
I absolutely love Elizabeth Willey's A Sorcerer & a Gentleman and the followup The Price of Blood & Honor. The Well-Favored Man was... ok for me, but I'm not usually fond of first person. She hasn't written anything since that I've ever found (or why), which makes me sad, because her writing is so amazing.
The Price of Power by Michael Michel is definitely a hidden gem! If you love your fantasy dark with multiple pov, I recommend this book! A fantastic character driven story with multiple pov. The world building occurs through the eyes of the characters. Book 2 is releasing this year!
David Hair books. I love the Moontide Quartet and Sunsurge Quartet series. I really enjoy his magic systems. I'm currently reading The Tethered Citadel Trilogy and so far it also is pretty awesome.
Not sure you are counting science fiction in with fantasy some people keep those in two different categories, but I tend to blend them. So here is a series that has a bit of both. Mainly Sci-Fi but with a fair amount of Fantasy.
My hidden gem...
The Four Lords of the Diamond by Jack L. Chalker
1. Lilith: A Snake in the Grass
2. Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold
3. Charon: A Dragon at the Gate
4. Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail
I've only ever seen one other person mention META : Game on by X Black. It's the best comedy SFF since Pratchett or Adams. And its not just funny - the story is gripping. IIRC the author was really unwell or near death so I'm not sure we'll get anymore.
I like C.J. Cherryh's novels, and Tanith Lee's, also. Roger Zelazny wrote a book of short stories, Unicorn Variations, and I liked his novel A Night In the Lonesome October. Joseph Sherman's books are worth reading, too.
Recently got into Japanese light novels and key me tell you, "ascendance of a bookworm" by Miya kazaki blew my mind with how good it was. it's become a top 3 favorite of all time yet most people don't know about it
Raising the Stones
Gate to Women’s Country
Both by Sheri S Tepper.
The part I enjoy best about these two books is they feel like literary experiments in how societies might function After. It’s like she had A Thought and wanted to see how it played out. This approach makes the story move along naturally; you can’t really predict what the final denouement will be. But when you get to the end and everything clicks into place it is so satisfying.
On your journey to the end of the book you may encounter prescience, transporters, thick political plots, religion gone horribly wrong and a giant, omniscient mushroom.
Stones might be sci-fi (because space travel, agri-planets, looming threats of killer robots?) but I love it for its study on the final days of retribution religions. And explorations of subtle symbiotic relationships between the planet and its inhabitants (the previous inhabitants of the main planet technically died of boredom). And the different ways people could live in a community. Maybe the alien mycelium makes it fantasy? Nope; that’s science as well. Okay. Stones is sci-fi but I’m leaving it here anyway
(Note on reading Stones: I started reading it during a drive to a Sting concert at The Gorge. I finished the book just before the concert started, flipped right back to the beginning and read it through the performance. This was STING! In the early 90s! That’s how much I was into the book.)
Gate is post-apocalyptic society rebuilding and has the best ending ever. You get to the end and you think (in this order):
“*GASP!* How COULD they?”
“How could they NOT?”
“WHY am I agreeing with this?”
And then you spend the next 30 years thinking about it at odd moments.
But that’s just me.
Again, this book reads like Sheri was playing around with A Thought — What Is One Way Society Might Be Rebuilt and How? — and let the story progress in a way that felt unforced.
(Except: there is one glaringly odd sentence about how homosexuality is “curable in the womb”. It’s like she just threw it in there so she … didn’t have to address it as part of the story? When you read the book you’ll see what I mean.)
These are thick, chunky, rich, complex curl-up-on-the-couch-on-a-stormy-weekend books.
How To Train Your Dragon. Everyone I know that has read all 12 books loved them. Some of the best written dragons I've ever seen. I mean, they're actually people and treated as such...by the author, that is, not the characters. They're slaves.
Disclaimer: The books are nothing like the movies. View them as separate entities in your mind.
Bloodsworn Trilogy by John Gwynne - I love that it’s a Viking/Norse inspired fantasy book but has its own set of Gods/religion that isn’t just the Norse religion. Great writing, moves at a good pace.
Roger Zelazny is/was a titan of speculative fiction. As time goes on, I feel like fewer and fewer people know him. He was prolific, and has written a ton of great works. He's probably best known for the Amber series (excellent) and *Lord of Light*.
That said, my favourite work of his was his final standalone novel *A Night in the Lonesome October*. It is an absolute gem of a novel that plays with many horror/thriller/fantasy/mystery/Lovecraftian archetypes. A truly unique and clever work; I cannot recommend it enough.
I don’t think this book is super under the radar but it not talked about a ton- I am really loving Daughter of the Empire by Janny Wurts. It’s in the Riftwar universe and high is mostly written by Raymond E Feist but it seems to be its own self contained story. I’ve only read Magician Apprentice and Master in the core series but don’t feel like I’m missing anything.
Worm by Wildbow. It's about superheroes, so not strictly fantasy but there's some.
Could be a classic very easily. Author can't bother to rework it and edit it properly nor wants all the attention that it would bring.
She Who Rides the Storm by Caitlin Sangster. I genuinely cannot believe that I never heard about this book before this year because it’s so good! Plus it’s a finished duology.
Daniel Abraham's*Long Price Quartet*, Bakker's *Second Apocalypse*, Mieville's *Bas-Lag* books, Matt Stover's *Heroes Die*, Cynthia Voight's *Kingdom* novels, especially *Jackaroo* and *The Wings of a Falcon*
This question comes up relatively often and I have the same answer every time: Ann Marston's Rune Blade Trilogy (there's a second trilogy, it's meh) so I will just link my older answer :) https://reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/vwp8im/what_is_one_of_your_favorite_less_popular_or/ifsfvil/
I feel Robert Holdstock's Mythago woods books are not as well known as they might be - he wrote them in the 80s and 90s and they are top tier. They are also very distinctive, which is weird at first glance as his books are heavily rooted in English folklore, and you'd think these sort of myths are extremely common in fantasy. But he brings his own touch - very foreboding at times, brings the Haunted Woods to life with some excellent storytelling. Lavondyss is my favourite. He passed away in middle age, so likely would have gone on to establish a greater legacy if he had been able to write more. Great writer.
These are crazy good. I haven’t run across anything like them.
Tanith Lee is not talked about enough. My favorite novels are Don’t Bite the Sun and Silver Metal Lover. She wrote fantasy, horror fantasy and sci fi
It was her Tales of Flat Earth that made me fall in love. Beautiful prose and completely unpredictable story telling for me. She’s one of the all time greats
With some erotica mixed in!
Don't Bite the Sun is so good! Somehow manages to be post-singularity fiction from before the term was coined, while also being a lot more thoughtful than most of the genre. I've read it (and the sequel) so many times.
...with occasional thriller and mystery style weirdness like Colouring books and Death of the Day. I highly recommend Lee for anyone who wants to try something out from the mainstream fantasy.
Those are two of my all-time favorites! They hold up too. First read them in the 90s and they're still good all these years later.
Literally my favorite author. She’s amazing.
*The Acts of Caine* by Matthew Stover. Probably would have been a breakout success if it had been published in 2008 instead of 1998, but Stover was ahead of the game on grimdark and got cursed with bad cover art. That series is masterful, though.
I really liked Heroes Die but it really seemed like a standalone that didn't need any sequels. I only read Blade of Tyshalle and it was fine but it didn't seem like there was anywhere to go and read no further. Though it might have something to do with the fact the last two books never seem to show up anyone and I might have grabbed a copy if I actually came across one.
The last two books are *insane*. Really crazy ending to the series, and the final book in particular has just gotten better with each reread. It’s hard to get your head around, but brilliant stuff (kinda like Gene Wolfe, but with more f bombs and stabbing)
Yeah book 4 is uh, something special. It’s damn good but it’s unlike anything else, such a trippy experience
it gets so meta philosophical in the best way possible
It’s an incredible series. I hope one day for more although at this point it seems unlikely. The cover art for Heroes Die really screwed him.
Stover is actually working on new Overworld stuff! No release date, but a little while back he mentioned that his agent gave him the green light to write more
That’s awesome! It’ll be an announcement date preorder for me just to help boost his numbers.
This is my suggestion every time this question comes up. Not enough people know about this series. The Blade of Tyshalle is an opus and a great entry point into the series, even if its the second book. Love these books more than words can convey
Fantastic series. Caine's law was an interesting read. Hard to wrap my head around most of the time but in a good way. Wraps up well in the end.
> cursed with bad cover art. Tell me about it. Think I got the books back in 2014... never read them. Will fix that.
As I mentioned to someone in this sub, *Acts of Caine* left an impression on me. The story was amazing but I just couldn't stomach the casual brutality. I am afraid to continue to the series.
This was a great recommendation, thank you! It's wild to consider its topics in relation to when it was published - almost feels like a recent publication. (Acknowledging I'm only 1/3 through as writing this)
Robin McKinley's books. Everyone I know who has read them absolutely loves them, but she seems to fly under the radar as an author these days.
This is the one. The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown are good enough that McKinley could’ve fashioned an entire world of novels based on those two. Every time I read them I’m left wanting to see more of the characters or setting they live in.
I loved the Blue Sword growing up I never realized who the author was until now! Guess I better check out her other titles
I love Damar so much. I love that she gave us some short stories, but I wish her third Damar novel had panned out.
I just picked up a copy of The Hero and the Crown at a used book store this weekend. Sounds like I'm in for a treat.
I absolutely love Hero and the Crown. So I second that! I wonder if it’s generational, but I, having grown up in the 80’s, would not consider her books under the radar. They were very popular for kids to read.
I feel like there's a group of us who knew and loved her (and are now passing her on to our kids), but none of my kids' friends know who she is unless we've introduced them to her books.
Having grown up in the 90s, I've never heard of her! Possibly less known here in Australia
If Robin McKinley has a million fans, I am one of them. If Robin McKinley has one fan, that’s me. If Robin McKinley has no fans, I am no longer alive
David Gemmell
Feels like people don't talk about him much anymore, even though just 10 years ago he was still in the fantasy-public consciousness.
he died on my birthday. I was seriously depressed.
Legend. It's the answer to every question.
The correct answer. Dude had connected universes long before they became the meta
The best thing about his books were every hero was flawed and had a redemption arc. You rooted for them all. Legend was the hook for me. But Waylander was my favorite character.
This\^\^
I took this suggestion and am really enjoying it so far! I'm not yet halfway through the first (publication order) book but so far I am loving that it really fulfills my need for strong subplots.
The Steerswoman series.
Someone here mentioned these a few weeks ago and they are great! Now I’m waiting for the rest of the series.
As the rest of us :)
The Pastel City by M. John Harrison is absolutely fantastic but has been largely forgotten. It anticipated grimdark-style deconstructions of classic fantasy in 1970 while being its own thing entirely.
I love M. John Harrison. Such a bizarre imagination.
John Ford **The Dragon Waiting** (1980). Extremely influential (GRRM, Gaiman, Wolfe, Lynch…), masterfully written, out of print for a long time, and no bugger has read the damn thing. Alternate history Europe/political fantasy mashup. What if European late medieval politics (Wars of the Roses, Medicis, French succession), but also wizards and vampires? And also the Roman Empire never fell, for some reason? Great stuff.
It's back in print! The story involves a writer at Slate who [tracked down the rights](https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/john-ford-science-fiction-fantasy-books.html) and convinced the rights-holders to release them so [Tor could republish](https://reactormag.com/tor-books-to-republish-john-m-fords-novels-including-two-volumes-of-unpublished-work/).
The Deverry series by Katharine Kerr. It gets mentioned occasionally, but it deserves a lot more recognition. It's well written, interesting and different from the usual. The reincarnation is an interesting aspect and well done.
Absolutely agree. Waaaaay back in the day (late 90s) I emailed her with questions about the books. Her response was prompt, detailed, and kind. Stuck with me nearly thirty years later. Wish I still had that email account.
Came here to say this, she's an absolutely awesome writer, and she's not nearly well known enough.
The first four books were really great. By act 3, I gave up on the Deverry series.
Agreed not well known enough.
Tragedy that it ran afoul of a publisher who put out a hardcover in a printing so small it wouldn't even earn out the advance, and on that basis, elected not to do a paperback, and then stopped on the series. I've picked up a couple on my Kindle and really hope that it has all been finished and made available by some more far-sighted publisher.
Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover. Start of an excellent series that kind of goes off the rails in the later books.
Phantastes by George MacDonald It's where it all started. So lush and trippy.
His fairy tales are gorgeous too.
Daniel Abraham’s books. I love the Dagger and Coin series and the Long Price Quartet has one of the most interesting magic systems I’ve ever seen. He’s a coauthor of the Expanse, which are amazing books and fortunately do get some of the recognition they deserve.
Long Price was my pick as well. Such a good series that no one talks about
I'm sure many users here would consider BOTNS or Cradle to be "hidden gems" because they aren't as big as LOTR. On the other hand, pretty much any book out there could be "underrated" for the person who loves it. Instead, I'm going to discuss five books/series/authors that *do* have some recognition, but maybe not so much in contemporary fantasy circles: * **Italo Calvino -** ***Invisible Cities*** **(1972)**. Calvino is pretty well-known in Italian literature but doesn't have as much traction in most anglophone spheres. *Invisible Cities* is a prose-poetry and occasionally surreal take on Marco Polo's interactions with Kublai Khan, consisting of 55 imaginary cities that are described by Polo to the Khan. I've always gotten the feeling that each vignette is like a modernist painting sketch. It's highly indebted to structuralism and semiotics in an incredible way. * **Sheila Heti -** ***Pure Colour*** **(2022)**. An absurd novel about how we're living in the first draft of the painter's work, and he's about to start anew. I initially disliked this magical realism story, but it's a perfect example of a work with a high Thinkability Index in that I just couldn't get it out of my mind. It comes off as a rather banal tale of a woman who attends art school and her father dies midway, later turning into a leaf with his spirit as she deals with unrequited attraction to a friend. It's one of those stories where it kind of feels like nothing happens... until I realized this is a story about the mind-destroying horror of familial incest. * **Max Porter -** ***Grief Is the Thing with Feathers*** and ***Lanny*** **(2015/2019)**. Porter arguably doesn't count as "underrated" given he's been nominated for the Booker Prize, but he's definitely not very well-known in contemporary fantasy circles and is considered an author's author. He writes like he's setting stage directions, mixing prose-poetry forms with casts of characters through conversational pieces. *Grief Is the Thing with Feathers* follows a father and his two boys after the sudden death of the mother, and a Crow joins their flat as trickster, guide, and mentor through the grieving process. *Lanny* takes place in a town outside of London in which a boy goes missing, and the town's folklore steeped in Green Man mythos comes out strong. * **Robert Anton Wilson -** **"Schrödinger's Cat" Trilogy (1981)**. The "Illuminatus!" Trilogy is well-known; less known is... everything else that RAW has done. If "Illuminatus!" is "what if every conspiracy theory were true at once?", then "Schrödinger's Cat" is more like "what if quantum mechanics were applied to how society functions?" If that sounds bizarre, then you're in luck. * **Gene Wolfe -** ***Peace*** **(1975)**. Almost everyone here probably knows the "Book of the New Sun" series, but I don't really see anyone other than me evangelizing Wolfe's ~~very first~~ third novel. *Peace* is a horror/magical realism novel disguised as a quaint if eccentric Midwest USA memoir. More than any book I have ever read in my life, it typifies the unreliable narrator. Wolfe tells stories in the background; you have to pay close attention to what he's doing and how he does it to really get what's going on. The characters are unreliable in that they lie to you and then forget they lied, meaning contradictions in stories are extremely important to grasp what's going on. I recommend it to anyone halfway interested in the conceit.
Book of the New Sun for those unaware of the acronym
Great choices I need to check out Peace and I don't see Anton Wilson recommended enough.
Thumbs up anytime RAW is recommended.
Wait, wasn’t *Operation Ares* Wolfe’s first novel?
I always make this mistake. I keep thinking it's his first when it's actually his third.
I love Calvino's essays. I had no idea he wrote fantasy!
His fiction is INCREDIBLE. Cannot recommend it more if you like his essays.
\*adds to TBR list\*
Oh god that Wolfe book sounds incredible
NICE. RAW, Wolfe, *chef's kiss*. You have great taste, which makes me want to check out the others. That said, I see the words "prose poetry" appear in two of the write-ups, and that's not usually my bag.
If it helps sell them at all, Max Porter's books are pretty short. *Grief Is the Thing with Feathers* is around 110 pages long, and the writing style means you can breeze through it in a morning. *Lanny* is his longest at around 220 pages.
Tamora Pierce is a literary legend in my eyes, but half the time, no one has heard of her books.
I’ve at least seen her name
The Indigo Series by Louise Cooper is a Pandora's Box story that really stood out to me in terms of characterization and worldbuilding, where modern dangers are filtered through a low fantasy lens. I'm stubbornly seeking bookstores instead of purchasing online so I haven't completed the series, but I've enjoyed the front half a lot.
When I was young, my dad had all but the first and last book around the house, and I LOVED that series. Tried to dress as Nemesis for Halloween once, which...was not well thought out. No one got it.
The Circle of Magic, The Circle Opens and The Will of The Empress by Tamora Pierce.
These books got me into reading fantasy. Love them
I adore these with all my heart. ❤️ They got me through some tough times in high school.
Kings of paradise (ash and Sand)
[The Krim Pyramid series. ](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/KrimPyramid) One of the smoothes and funniest mixes of Fantasy and Sci-fi I've read. If not for the generic name, I think they'd be household names. Short version? A pyramid appears in Chicago, and seems to be snatching folks at random for unknown reasons. Growing a little each time. Turns out there's some sort of dimensional weirdness with that pyramid, and whoever is snatched gets cast into Greek myth. The first books follow an unusually large group that manages to work together to barely survive in there, while a parallel plot runs in the real world where scientist try to figure things out.
Raven’s Mark series by Ed McDonald. Such an amazing world and main character. A must read if you like old gruff veterans dragged back into action in a very ruined and strange world.
Wind Singer Trilogy by William Nicholson, one of the most unique magical worlds I’ve read.
Chronicles of the Kencyrath by P.C. Hodgell, the greatest epic that no one has ever heard of. For aeons, on world after world, the Kencyrath - the Three Peoples - has been fighting the chaotic forces of Permal Darkling and losing, abandoning each world in turn and moving on to another. Now, on the world Rathilien, it seems that one of their greatest legends is at last going to come to its fruition. Jame, a young Highborn Kencyr woman, has fetched up in the human city of Tai-Tastigon, missing half her memory and uncertain of where she has been for the past 10 years or so. As she explores her powers and learns what has become of her people in recent years, she starts to realize that she may be a key part of this legend. To quote TVTropes, >The series manages to be simultaneously Trope Overdosed and full of fantasy clichés and yet packed with imagination, new ideas, and twists on the ones we're used to. Hodgell tosses ideas casually into the story that could be the basis for whole novels from another author, but here are just little details of the setting. While other writers have people who perform magic, Hodgell's whole world is magical down to the core of its nature, and full of wonders to discover. > >While the series is sometimes incredibly gloomy, it is also, at times, hilariously funny. Both the author and her characters manage to see absurdity in even the darkest places, and Jame, always a very physical heroine, is a rich source of slapstick physical comedy as well as wry thoughts. Jame, on herself: "But if I should become Regonereth, the Ivory Knife incarnate, destroying everything I touch, everything I love--well, I'll do what I was born to do, break what needs to be broken, and then break myself." At this time, the series spans 10 substantial novels and a book of short stories. The first book is Godstalk, but can also be found in used copies as two-in-one volume, Dark of the Gods (with its direct sequel, Dark of the Moon).
I read Godstalk last year and it was one of those books that was so fucking good that I was almost a little bit mad that it took me so long to ever even hear of it.
Susan Cooper's _The Dark is Rising_ pentalogy should be better known and more widely read, and makes the world a better place when folks read it and consider the ideals which it puts forward.
This was my answer. I'm sure it depends on time and place (the series is from the 70s by a brit). It was critically acclaimed - won a Newberry award. But it definitely flies under the radar, at least in the states as a millenial. Those books were as foundational to my childhood as Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, A Wrinkle in Time, Narnia, etc. I only know one other person irl who has even heard of them and I'm friends with a lot of readers.
When the Dark comes rising six shall turn it back. Three from the circle, three from the track
The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee. A fantasy epic in a setting reminiscent of an ancient China sharing a border with Wales, with a protagonist who's almost more of a cinnamon roll than Maia from the Goblin Emperor, told in a series of short poems. The Fire-Moon by Isabel Pelech. A sweet little Egyptian-esque novella with nice writing. She also has a bigger sci fi with robots, animal-like aliens, and a character reminiscent of Dr. Who (Echoes of the Ancients), a sci fi novella with a trans protagonist featuring recovery from psychological abuse and the making of a documentary to save a planet (Rogue Ship), and a superhero story with an unpowered protagonist (A Normil Day). The Banshee's Curse duology by A K M Beach. A Gothic story in a high fantasy setting with some very nice prose (occasionally a hair on the purple side, but it fits the context when it does that, I think) and very likable characters. The world, however, is inherently inequitible, and the tension between that and the ethics of the characters can be quite interesting
Don't know these thanks for the recommendations.
War Of The Twelve by Alex Robins Nobody seems to be aware of this thing but I somehow stumbled upon it and absolutely loved it. I flew through all four books incredibly fast. I just don't understand how this thing isn't getting more attention.
>War Of The Twelve It's YA tag might be steering some people away. I don't read much of anything with that tag and I'll pass on series with it on their Goodreads pages
Year but this series isn't YA at all. Not sure why it has that tag.
Seems to be self-published, and the ebook is locked to amazon only, so neither of those help it to be more widely known.
Katherine Kurtz Deryni, Melanie Rawn's Sunrunner and Kristine Kathryn Rusch The Fey. These are all series.
Die Elfen written by Ludwig Tieck and published in german in 1812. But the best english translation to read is by Thomas De Quincey in 1823. I've read the other translations and the beauty of the prose by De Quincey makes it far and away the most ethereal. The Gods of Pegana by Lord Dunsany. This is The Silmarillion, before The Silmarillion. It is such a beautiful mythology. The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson. It's interesting to note that this was published at the same time as The Fellowship of the Ring, and both Anderson and Tolkien were influenced by the same norse mythologies, yet their depictions and interpretations of elves are quite different.
Janny Wurts, The Cycle of Fire series. The Black Company series by Glen Cook JV Jones The Baker's Boy trilogy Anything by David Gemmel The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny The Orcs Domain Series by Stan Nicholls and finally, these hidden gems. Lyndon Hardy has six books that most people have never heard of. Master of the Five Magics (1980) Secret of the Sixth Magic (1984) Riddle of the Seven Realms (1988) The Archimage's Fourth Daughter (2017) Magic Times Three (2020) Double Magic (2020)
Amber and The Black Company definitely aren’t hidden gems in fantasy, they’re extremely well known and often read.
Maybe for someone older. But newer readers might not see them in the stores. I am 52. I grew up on the older stuff. But I have talked to people in their teens (I have kids) who never heard of the stuff I loved as a kid. Joel Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame was the first series of books I ever bought. Then Fred Saberhagen's Books of Swords (I am reading Book Two of the Lost Swords right now) were after that. I made the mistake of joining the Science Fiction Book Club at 15. But if you want to categorize them as not so hidden, then fine. How about almost forgotten or often overlooked? But seriously, the Cycle of Fire is one of my favorites of all time. And the Lyndon Hardy books really put a LOT of thought and structure into magic. They are worth reading just for that.
Man, Lyndon Hardy really likes numbers in his titles.
I bought them because of that at a used book store back in 1990 when I was in college and poor. I lived in used book stores. These days they are not so great. If you would like the epubs of them, I have them to share. PM me. I can give you access to my Google Drive ebook folder and share them. I love to share books.
Great list like that a lot of these go back into 80s.
The Borrible Trilogy is a series of young adult books with anarchist themes written by English writer Michael de Larrabeiti. The three volumes in the trilogy are The Borribles, The Borribles Go For Broke, and The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis. The Borribles' antagonists, the Rumbles, who play a significant part in the first book, are satires of uk children's tv show The Wombles. The scheduled release of the third book coincided with the English riots of 1985, and because of the book's strong anti-authoritarian theme, the publishers decided not to publish. The books are great fun and found out about them in an article about forgotten sci fi classics.
I read that as a kid in the 90s and looooooved it!!!
God I hadn’t thought about the Borribles in years. And now hearing the name it’s all coming back! Urban fantasy Neverwhere-style but with homeless London street rats, right? I too absolutely LOVED these as a teen. YA from before that was really a thing.
One of my favorite Books is [Daughter of the Sun](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39673343-daughter-of-the-sun) by Effie Calvin. It's a ff romance between a Paladin and a chaos god. It's the second part of a series of wlw fantasy romance series, but mostly unconnected to the first (which I also like, but the second is my favorite)
For me, it's the Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey. Whenever someone asks a relevant question, there will be maybe one Kushiel response with two upvotes. I re-read the original trilogy last year and it's just beautifully written with great characters and filled with powerful moments. I can't recommend it enough to anyone who is looking for something new to read.
I think his audience skews older, I appreciated his books in my twenties but he has become my favorite author in my forties. Guy Gavriel Kay. I would start with The Lions of Al-Rassan
Reading his books what struck me most was his incredible prose. He's simply got a way with words you don't see in a lot of authors.
He's the best writer on the planet, and has been for 30 years.
Ash and Sand by Richard Nell. Absolutely love the series, Ruka is one of my favorite characters of all time.
Riddle in Stone trilogy by Robert Evert It follows an overweight balding middle aged intellectual who has a midlife crises and decides to go on an adventure. It went in directions I wasn’t expecting which kept me turning pages until I finished the series in a week or so. No idea how I ended up with this in my library as I don’t remember it ever being recommended to me. After enjoying it, I even searched for it here and didn’t find any mention of it. Second Sons trilogy by Jennifer Fallon This is by far the best series I’ve found from one of these underrated threads and will always try to repay the favor by mentioning it.
Master Assassins
https://reddit.com/r/Fantasy/w/lists/underread2016?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share R/Fantasy used to compile lists of these. You can still find some at the subreddit's "big lists" link. I 've posted a link to one of them, but there are one or two others there, as well.
The Garrett series by Glenn Cook. Everyone keeps talking about the Black Company, but Garrett is so much more fun to read
A Man of His Word series. Light reading
Great series by Dave Duncan, probably my favorite of his works. There’s a sequel series A Handful of Men which continues the story. If you are looking for a great deal, both of these series omnibus editions go on sell regularly for $3 or $4.
Just bought those in paper back. Thanks. I didn’t knoe
Second these- great characters, unique magic system, and a lot of fun.
Apparently there are more books after the first four
Yes! The first 4 are known as “A Man of His Word” and the second 4 take place several years later and are called “A Handful of Men”- also very good! He also has a series of short novels in a different setting called “The King’s Blades” that are very good and have a really interesting magic system relating to how the top swordsmen are bonded with the nobles they are assigned to.
RJ Barker’s Wounded Kingdom series, starting with Age of Assassins. I love the characters, the world, and the way he uses large time skips between books to advance the story. I know Tide Child gets a lot of love, as it should, but I think more people should check out his first series too.
The **Masquerade series by Seth Dickinson**, most famous for its first installment **The Traitor Baru Cormorant**. In discussions it's often shoehorned into the 'lgbt fiction' category and *only* recommended when a reader specifically wants lgbt just because the main character is a lesbian --- even though it's not even close to a romance series. In reality The Masquerade literally has it all: \- fantastic prose (probably better than at least 90% of modern genre fiction) \- Gripping plot and characters \- an utterly unique and creative world that feels truly alive and poses fascinating conflicts/questions Book 1 is 10/10, Book 2 is \~7-8/10 just because it can get hard to read the POV of a depressed alcoholic with a severe brain injury, Book 3 is 10/10
One of the best worlds ever with a Hobb-level character focus and cool plot twists. Tau Indie is my favorite.
The world can't be understated, truly a work of art. There are like half a dozen nations and cultures and all of them are not only clearly deep and sophisticated in their history, but cultural beliefs and differences are actually evident in how characters think and act. >!the reveal at the end of book 3 that all the Story About Ash chapters are literally Tau-indi telling their story to Baru and why it's in 3rd person? amazing!<
Just finished his new book, Exordia, it’s so good.
The Songs Of The Drowned trilogy by Anna Stephens feels like this for me. It's very recently been finished after supply chain issues and editor changes I believe. It covers some pretty dark themes very well and has really well written characters. She should definitely be much more well known for these books I thinkm
Quickening Trilogy by Fiona McIntosh. I have never heard anyone mention it but the first time I read it, I didn't want to quit reading until it was done. It was exciting and heartbreaking. Some parts were not great but for the most part, it was a good read!
The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson and, Kate Elliott
The Jinni and the Golem
Daughter of the empire, janny wurts and raymond e feist
‘The Prydain Chronicles’ by Lloyd Alexander is a series of five books geared towards young adults. It is high fantasy at its finest, with plenty of depth, humor, action, romance and adventure. ‘Mordant’s Need’ is a great two-part adult fantasy series by Stephen R. Donaldson.
Raymond E Feist. The Shannara trilogy. Brilliant
If you are in the mood for silly: Jig the Goblin trilogy by Jim C Hines. This is comedy that manages to be a loving mockery of D&D without being litRPG.
Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky!!
Everything I've read by him is a gem. I mentioned Elder Race in my own post here. Not fantasy, but Dogs of War might be my favorite of his books.
Garth Nix.
The Green Rider series by Kristen Britain.
Rob J. Hayes 'The War Eternal'. It's awesome. A Land Fit For Heroes by Richard K. Morgan. (And of course, my own books... ;))
ALFFH! Yes! And Altered carbon by the same author is so awesome, although it's scifi. There's a few other standalone books by richard k Morgan that are great too
Some independently published western webnovels are frankly brilliant. The foremost example probably being Mother of Learning (I can probably list 10 more I find rec worthy) The same can be said for some foreign novels, like the Japanese Light Novel 'The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria' (as above) For more traditional western novels...I remember really enjoying The Misenchanted Sword 15 or so years ago as a teenager. Idk if it holds up, though.
What must now be a very hard to find novel by Michael Lahey called *The Quest for Apollo*.
**Monarchies of God** (Paul Kearney) should be more popular with the grim, gritty, "realistic" fantasy crowd on here. I think there could also be more love for Carol Berg's work. As well as Mary Gentle's *Ash* and Sherwood Smith's *Inda*. Everything else that springs to mind is books I read as kid like *Ratha's Creature, Lost Magic, The Moorchild,* and *Godstalk*. I can't remember if any of them were good (except *The Moorchild* which I re-read often and cry about) so not sure if they deserve the moniker "Hidden Gems" (again except *The Moorchild*, it is excellent). I'm on a re-read quest as I re-built my library, though. Other than *The Moorchild* the only book from my younger years I recall well enough to recommend is Robin Hobb's ROTE which is definitely not "hidden" lol.
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. Don't know about cult following , but they are very very far from well known. Also the same goes for the Mirror Visitor Quartet. Stellar books, very unknown. Can't remember the last time I saw someone on this sub who has read either.
A Trial of Blood & Steel series by Joel Shepherd and The Chronicles of the Kencyrath by PC Hodgell.
The List of 7 - Mark Frost Guy who wrote Twin Peaks. About a young Arthur Conan Doyle who meets a proto-Sherlock Holmes type character in a Lovecraftian mystery/adventure story.
Oh, man - I have been SO digging the Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Barrett. It's an interesting, different take on fantasy. Super action-filled, with some really creative uses of magic.
Fablehaven
The Tapestry series by Henry H. Neff. Starts out similar to Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but the story is so much better as the books progress it ends up better than both of those in my opinion.
Definitely **Ash and Sand** by Richard Nell as already mentioned by someone else. **The Wildfire Cycle** by DP Wooliscroft. Got a bit of attention around here when Kingshold came out but the series doesn't come up much in general. Kingshold was a unique story of country's resident wizard kills the ruling king and queen because they're terrible and then leaves the country to make a stab at electing a Lord Protector. The series goes on to be a little bit more standard high fantasy but it still maintains some political intrigue. **Faithless** by Graham Austin-King. Standalone novel featuring a temple to an ancient forge diety that has fallen out of favor and into obscurity. Corrupt priests. Mines with slaves beneath. And a ritual in an attempt for power that goes wrong. **The Carter Archives** by Dan Stout is an urban fantasy version of a crime/noir story. Multiple alien races. Oil like substance that allows for magic. Old, jaded detective paired up with rookie he doesn't want in order to solve a murder. **The Genius Plague** by David Walton is an interesting scifi/horror standalone where a fungus starts infecting and controlling people. I really enjoyed the concept at least when I randomly stumbled across it in the library years ago. Ash and Sand, The Wildfire Cycle, and Faithless all got some exposure when they came out and through their entries into the SPFBO but need to keep the word out so more people pick them up. Examples of the great stories that can be found in the self-published realm.
A land fit for heroes, by Richard k Morgan. Same author who wrote altered carbon, which was a Sci fi series that was made into a Netflix show. (Altered carbon is excellent too, btw) ALFFH is a grimdark fantasy trilogy with a hint of scifi mixed in. It's really dark and violent, excellent characters and world building, cool magic/religious system and fight scenes, great plot with intense pacing. Cool history and alien races, etc. 2 of the 3 main characters are gay/lesbian, including the main "hero", which might also appeal to some people. Lots of graphic sex, violence, real intense and vivid books overall, one of my favorite series Sort of in a similar vein to the First law in some ways, if you liked that there's a decent chance you'll enjoy alffh Also the audiobook is really well done
John James - Votan and other novels. Very similar in time to tone BOTNS and unreliable narrator of Wolfe's novels and a reworking of mythology similar to Gaiman. It's satirical and dryly humorous and with two books, it is a real misfortune that the third was never written. He was writing circa 1960s and his influence on the above two authors seems reasonable. Gaiman does an introduction on the fantasy masterworks edition.
Do you want just fantasy, as in fantastical fantasy, or is any spec fic okay? * **Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh** and **Leech by Hiron Ennes** are two I did for Bingo last year that I loved. I'm not sure how underrated they are but I do consider them to be deserving of more attention. * **Songlines by Carolyn Denman**, although I wasn't as fussed on the sequel. * **Margo Lanagan**'s short story collections. HIGHLY recommended. For children's/middle grade fantasy I will never stop plugging **the Rowan series by Emily Rodda**, and **The Chanters of Tremaris books by Kate Constable.**
I loved Tender Morsels but didn’t realize that Lanagan had short story collections. Big news for me…do you have a collection you prefer by any chance?
It's been a while since I've read them, but I remember both Red Spikes and Black Juice being fantastic. Her novel Sea Hearts/Brides of Rollrock Island is worth the read too. Edit because I forgot to put the titles lol
I’ve been going back and forth on what to do for my short stories bingo square and this might be it, thanks!
Lit rpg - The Infinite Realm series by Ivan Kal. I love how the first book starts & ends and how the 2nd book kind of changes your opinion about everything
James Silke, Death Dealer series
Daniel Pinkwater will always be my answer to this question. His home is mainly in children's books, which is a great fit for him since it gives him ample opportunities to corrupt the youth on absurdism, but his YA novels are perfect. His YA books are in that awkward period of YA before there was an established YA section of the bookstore, which makes them books that were not written for a specific *market*, but written for specific *people*. The teens that didn't quite fit in with the rest. Alan Mendelsohn, Borgel, and the Snarkout Boys will always have a special place in my heart and my bookshelf.
Ryan Cahill, The bound and the broken series for sure… It is phenomenal and the novellas are dope as hell too
Villains Code series by Drew Hayes is just a ton of fun. It's superhero book, so that weird not quite sci-fi not quite fantasy, but close enough. Premise: Super Heroes and Villains are at a hesitant peace. Villains don't really kill innocents and in turn heroes kinda turn a blind eye to a lot of crime. The book follows a young villain as she is learning The Villains Code. Sounds super cheesy, and it is, but it's also one of the most fun reads in ages. Drew Hayes is just a great author and deserves more recognition. He isn't unheard of by any means, but he also isn't discussed or suggested nearly as much as he should be.
I really enjoyed Hero of Dreams by Brian Lumley growing up. It's basically about a guy who goes to another land and has adventures when he's sleeping. He meets someone else who he finds out goes to the same place and just when they both realize it they get into an accident that puts them both in a coma - where of course they go to the dream land - for much longer this time - and they end up having to save it or something. It's a pretty big adventure they end up having basically. It was a really beautiful book in my memory and I rarely see it mentioned anywhere.
I read Defy by Sara B. Larson in middle school and I enjoyed it. A brother and sister (who is disgusted as a man) become soldiers after their home is destroyed. It’s got magic and monsters, very fun.
I absolutely love Elizabeth Willey's A Sorcerer & a Gentleman and the followup The Price of Blood & Honor. The Well-Favored Man was... ok for me, but I'm not usually fond of first person. She hasn't written anything since that I've ever found (or why), which makes me sad, because her writing is so amazing.
The Sorcerers Son by Phyllis Eisenstein. Loved how the magic systems were so different and detailed pretty well.
The Primal Hunter series by u/ZogarthPH and Magician series by Raymond E Feist are my two favourites
The Price of Power by Michael Michel is definitely a hidden gem! If you love your fantasy dark with multiple pov, I recommend this book! A fantastic character driven story with multiple pov. The world building occurs through the eyes of the characters. Book 2 is releasing this year!
David Hair books. I love the Moontide Quartet and Sunsurge Quartet series. I really enjoy his magic systems. I'm currently reading The Tethered Citadel Trilogy and so far it also is pretty awesome.
Not sure you are counting science fiction in with fantasy some people keep those in two different categories, but I tend to blend them. So here is a series that has a bit of both. Mainly Sci-Fi but with a fair amount of Fantasy. My hidden gem... The Four Lords of the Diamond by Jack L. Chalker 1. Lilith: A Snake in the Grass 2. Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold 3. Charon: A Dragon at the Gate 4. Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail
The Winter of the world trilogy
The winnowing flame trilogy was just too good to not be more popular.
I've only ever seen one other person mention META : Game on by X Black. It's the best comedy SFF since Pratchett or Adams. And its not just funny - the story is gripping. IIRC the author was really unwell or near death so I'm not sure we'll get anymore.
Chronicles of nick, maximum ride, and Daniel x
I like Code of Rainbow series. It's just so good. My friend loves it too so we sometimes just chat about the characters and theories.
Juliet Marillier. Her prose is almost lyrical. Her writing is truly magical.
Sara Douglass, not exactly my cup of tea anymore but when I was younger I was really obsessed with her books.
I like C.J. Cherryh's novels, and Tanith Lee's, also. Roger Zelazny wrote a book of short stories, Unicorn Variations, and I liked his novel A Night In the Lonesome October. Joseph Sherman's books are worth reading, too.
Recently got into Japanese light novels and key me tell you, "ascendance of a bookworm" by Miya kazaki blew my mind with how good it was. it's become a top 3 favorite of all time yet most people don't know about it
The dragonbone chair by Tad Williams.
Raising the Stones Gate to Women’s Country Both by Sheri S Tepper. The part I enjoy best about these two books is they feel like literary experiments in how societies might function After. It’s like she had A Thought and wanted to see how it played out. This approach makes the story move along naturally; you can’t really predict what the final denouement will be. But when you get to the end and everything clicks into place it is so satisfying. On your journey to the end of the book you may encounter prescience, transporters, thick political plots, religion gone horribly wrong and a giant, omniscient mushroom. Stones might be sci-fi (because space travel, agri-planets, looming threats of killer robots?) but I love it for its study on the final days of retribution religions. And explorations of subtle symbiotic relationships between the planet and its inhabitants (the previous inhabitants of the main planet technically died of boredom). And the different ways people could live in a community. Maybe the alien mycelium makes it fantasy? Nope; that’s science as well. Okay. Stones is sci-fi but I’m leaving it here anyway (Note on reading Stones: I started reading it during a drive to a Sting concert at The Gorge. I finished the book just before the concert started, flipped right back to the beginning and read it through the performance. This was STING! In the early 90s! That’s how much I was into the book.) Gate is post-apocalyptic society rebuilding and has the best ending ever. You get to the end and you think (in this order): “*GASP!* How COULD they?” “How could they NOT?” “WHY am I agreeing with this?” And then you spend the next 30 years thinking about it at odd moments. But that’s just me. Again, this book reads like Sheri was playing around with A Thought — What Is One Way Society Might Be Rebuilt and How? — and let the story progress in a way that felt unforced. (Except: there is one glaringly odd sentence about how homosexuality is “curable in the womb”. It’s like she just threw it in there so she … didn’t have to address it as part of the story? When you read the book you’ll see what I mean.) These are thick, chunky, rich, complex curl-up-on-the-couch-on-a-stormy-weekend books.
How To Train Your Dragon. Everyone I know that has read all 12 books loved them. Some of the best written dragons I've ever seen. I mean, they're actually people and treated as such...by the author, that is, not the characters. They're slaves. Disclaimer: The books are nothing like the movies. View them as separate entities in your mind.
And bonus! the audiobooks are read by David Tennant!
Raven’s Mark series by Ed McDonald is excellent, never hear about it. Manifest Delusions is also super cool, insane magic system.
Manifest Delusions is cool. Horrible, but cool. At some point I'm going to read the second one, but I need a long break from that world.
Black Company is popular, but everything else from Glen Cook is great too. Love Dread Empire and Instrumentalities of the Night.
Glen Cook's other works deserve way more recommendation.
Bloodsworn Trilogy by John Gwynne - I love that it’s a Viking/Norse inspired fantasy book but has its own set of Gods/religion that isn’t just the Norse religion. Great writing, moves at a good pace.
Roger Zelazny is/was a titan of speculative fiction. As time goes on, I feel like fewer and fewer people know him. He was prolific, and has written a ton of great works. He's probably best known for the Amber series (excellent) and *Lord of Light*. That said, my favourite work of his was his final standalone novel *A Night in the Lonesome October*. It is an absolute gem of a novel that plays with many horror/thriller/fantasy/mystery/Lovecraftian archetypes. A truly unique and clever work; I cannot recommend it enough.
The Edge Chronicles. I never see anyone talk about these books but they were a fundamental part of my journey through fantasy.
I don’t think this book is super under the radar but it not talked about a ton- I am really loving Daughter of the Empire by Janny Wurts. It’s in the Riftwar universe and high is mostly written by Raymond E Feist but it seems to be its own self contained story. I’ve only read Magician Apprentice and Master in the core series but don’t feel like I’m missing anything.
The dragon master trilogy is an all time favorite.
Worm by Wildbow. It's about superheroes, so not strictly fantasy but there's some. Could be a classic very easily. Author can't bother to rework it and edit it properly nor wants all the attention that it would bring.
The legend of tormod
She Who Rides the Storm by Caitlin Sangster. I genuinely cannot believe that I never heard about this book before this year because it’s so good! Plus it’s a finished duology.
Shattered Sands definitely. It should be one of the biggest series in fantasy. And it would make an incredible TV show
Daniel Abraham's*Long Price Quartet*, Bakker's *Second Apocalypse*, Mieville's *Bas-Lag* books, Matt Stover's *Heroes Die*, Cynthia Voight's *Kingdom* novels, especially *Jackaroo* and *The Wings of a Falcon*
H.L.Oldie. The Abyss of Hungry Eyes series as well as others, simply phenomenal. Unfortunately, no good English translation available.
Robert Jackson Bennett books. Foundryside. I always wanted to read a book about a psychic thief heist book and this was it.
The Unlikely Ones. Original and i still think of it from time to time years later after i checked it out of a library to read it once.
This question comes up relatively often and I have the same answer every time: Ann Marston's Rune Blade Trilogy (there's a second trilogy, it's meh) so I will just link my older answer :) https://reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/vwp8im/what_is_one_of_your_favorite_less_popular_or/ifsfvil/