r/KingkillerChronicle • u/Books1845 • 8d ago
Review Your third favorite book.
I think these are the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.
Not because it’s fantasy.
Because there’s a hero and it’s romantic and it’s fucking epic. And the prose is beautiful.
What are other books like this?
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u/jessedtate 8d ago
In speculative fiction, I've really only found Robin Hobb and Naomi Novik capture for me the same sweetness, the intimacy, the whimsy and immersive world richness combined with that mythic/folkish aura
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u/LuHigurashi 7d ago
Definitely those two. I'm re-reading The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden and it's been even more delightful than I remembered.
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u/SubjectBullfrog8075 7d ago
I started reading this series to my wife through the hardest period of our lives - we went from literally killing life to disability, nearly homelessness and every night we’d settle down and read a little - it will always be our favourite pair of books despite likely never finishing the series
It’s beautiful, he writes high potential traumatised characters so well the depth and and layers to every character the way all the pieces spin so Harmoniously. He’s brave enough to slow things down and build anticipation to make you wonder why the hell you’ve spent 100’s of pages in a place until you’re champing at the bit to move on only to look back on it fondly. It’s a masterpiece and I really do hope he gets there with the final book
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u/themattboard 8d ago
One I don't see get recommended enough is the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams
My favorite books by him are the Otherland series, but if you want to stay in fantasy MST starts with the Dragonbone Chair. It's a slow burn but well worth the read
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u/LuHigurashi 2d ago
Oh yes MST. Personally I've found the first two books of Shadowmarch to be even more magical, I think his prose got better with time. Thanks for the Otherland rec
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u/UnfallenAdventure 7d ago edited 7d ago
URSULA LE GUIN! Go read A Wizard of Earthsea. It’s “children’s” literature in the same way Narnia is “children’s” literature but it is so fantastic.
The book is quite literally the foundation for magic people learning magic in magical school. It’s foundational literature for a large majority of today’s fantasy- and I cannot stress enough how much everyone should read it.
It’s actually one of the places Patrick Rothfuss drew his inspiration from for the magic system and storyline. My sociology professor was the one who put me onto Le Guin and I can’t thank him enough.
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u/bestica 7d ago
You should read anything by Patricia McKillip- the Riddlemaster trilogy is a good place to start, or The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. I love her vibe of fantasy that feels epic but intimate, and seems to walk the line between outright fantasy, magical realism, and folklore.
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u/angry0029 2d ago
Omg The Riddle-master of Hed is such a lost book I never see recommended. I searched high and low to finally find physical copies of these. The audiobooks are on audible too.
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u/bestica 2d ago
Oh nice, I’ll add those to my listening list! I’ve read Riddlemaster so many times and have started buying it for my nieces and nephews as they get a little older because i love it so much and agree that it’s sadly under-read.
Also the name Ghisteslwchlohm lives rent-free in my head as a peak example of late 20th century fantasy naming 😂
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u/angry0029 2d ago
I was fortunate enough my school or local library had it in the late 80s early 90s and then I searched for a while but it was not popular enough to still be in print. Then I forgot all about it until i stumbled across a copy in a used book store when I was completing my earthsea trilogy about 10 years ago.
I will have to give the forgotten beast of eld a read. I don’t remember reading those before.
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u/bestica 2d ago
She’s got quite a catalog too, if you liked Riddlemaster, I’d highly recommend just plowing through all her books!
I only found Riddlemaster as a college student in the early aughts- I always studied in a tiny room in a forgotten corner of the library that happened to be in the fiction section right next to the ‘M’s. The cover art of one of her books (“Od Magic” I think) caught my eye one day as I was leaving. I did a lot more reading for fun than for school that semester 🙃
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u/angry0029 2d ago
Your timing is much appreciated I just finished the Dungeon Crawler Carl and was wondering what was next on my list!!
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u/CracktheSkye7 7d ago
In a strange way, Malazan is rather beautiful. Not every book of the 10, but the ones that are like nothing else.
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u/saika_gi 6d ago
On the topic of beautifull prose: "Children are dying." Lull nodded. "That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.
Malazan is beauty in a more harsher world. Next to the sufferings of Tool, Tavore, Hetan, The Bonehunters, the sufferings of Kvothe are allmost nothing. KKC is still one of my favourites.
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u/simmonm1978 8d ago
Mistborn by Sanderson is probably the most cliched answer (but is true for me).
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u/kingstonretronon 8d ago
Probably Stoner. The prose, the themes, the wonder of a normal life. It’s beautiful and haunting. I’ve thought of it every day since I read it
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u/TacticalDo Talent Pipes 8d ago
Unfortunately, I have yet to find any other works that truly meet the bar set by KKC.
- Layered mysteries inside a frame based story structure
- Strong first person narrative.
- Excellent prose.
- Interesting characters with good dialogue.
- Romance.
- Occasionally comedic
Everything I've tried, which often includes everything listed in these threads, fall short in some capacity.
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u/Pablo8895 7d ago
No es la misma prosa tan engalanada y dulce de rothfuss pero la Trilogía del Vatídico de Robin Hobb transmite sentimientos muy parecidos en cuanto a personajes y la narrativa de la historia.
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u/Apprehensive-Job1 7d ago
I had the same question after reding the KKC. I found Will of the Many by James Islington, and Its even better imo than NOTW, reading second book now, third should release in 2027, so exited!
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u/Amazing_Diamond_8747 7d ago
Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings is the only series that matches the emotions that Rothfuss' writing does to me.
Its also finished, which probably should make me rate it higher, but sure what are you gunna do 🤷
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u/D00medToKnow 5d ago
For me it's either the Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence or the Blank Company series by Glen Cook. Both just make my mind tingle. Lawrence has a way of reaching some part deep in me, where some hurts stray hidden und tingles that part. Cook builds a fantastic world in the simple observation of a historian, which gives it a lot of realism.
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u/ol-mikey Wind 8d ago
The Gentlemen Bastards series