Picked by Virtuous Sons fans

Here are 4 books that Virtuous Sons fans have personally recommended once you finish the Virtuous Sons series. Shepherd is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of The Wandering Inn

E G

From E's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why E loves this book

The beginning was tough but once it gets going it doesn’t stop

By pirateaba ,

Why should I read it?

31 authors picked The Wandering Inn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

(This novel is the e-book version of the free web serial. You may read the entire ongoing story at wanderinginn.com free of charge.)

“No killing Goblins.”

So reads the sign outside of The Wandering Inn, a small building run by a young woman named Erin Solstice. She serves pasta with sausage, blue fruit juice, and dead acid flies on request. And she comes from another world. Ours.

It’s a bad day when Erin finds herself transported to a fantastical world and nearly gets eaten by a Dragon. She doesn’t belong in a place where monster attacks are a fact of…


Book cover of The Lions of Al-Rassan

Carol Berg Author Of The Spirit Lens

From Carol's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Carol's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Carol Berg Why Carol loves this book

Lions is simply a grand romance - romance in the largest sense - set in Kay's masterful recreation of medieval Spain. The journey of a physician, a woman of a despised race, entwines with those of two warrior heroes - one serving the occupying power and the other fighting for the liberation of the occupied land. The author's strong, clear prose binds these elements into an unforgettable tale.

By Guy Gavriel Kay ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Lions of Al-Rassan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, a deeply compelling story of love, adventure, divided loyalties, and what happens when beliefs begin to remake - or destroy - a world.

The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage…


Book cover of The Hands of the Emperor

Jennifer Garvey Berger Author Of Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity

From my list on helping you love understand human beings.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love humans. My clients and colleagues tell me that my profound love for humans is my superpower—that I make people feel safe and seen. I also understand that loving humans isn’t effortless. I wasn’t always in the loving-humans camp. While I was doing a doctorate at Harvard, I studied with the marvelous Robert Kegan, whose theory and methodology helped me see the fullness of the diverse people I got to interview. Ever since, I have been totally enthralled by what makes us unique—and also connected. If you are a human or have to deal with humans, your life will be much improved if you love them more!

Jennifer's book list on helping you love understand human beings

Jennifer Garvey Berger Why Jennifer loves this book

This is my favorite book by my favorite author. Beware, this is seriously more addictive fiction than I’ve ever read before—I don’t know anyone who reads this one who hasn’t plowed through the rest of Goddard’s list and then reread them all.

I loved the characters in this book and loved the premise—that the world (like ours, but different) has gone through a cataclysmic event, and now the work is to make it better than it ever was before. Fundamentally, it is a book about friendship and goodness. This and the rest of Goddard’s books will have you believe that we can create a better world together. (The first pages are slow, but stay with them, and you will have dozens of hours of delight as you move through the whole set of her books.)

By Victoria Goddard ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Hands of the Emperor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An impulsive word can start a war.

A timely word can stop one.

A simple act of friendship can change the course of history.


Cliopher Mdang is the personal secretary of the Last Emperor of Astandalas, the Lord of Rising Stars, the Lord Magus of Zunidh, the Sun-on-Earth, the god.

He has spent more time with the Emperor of Astandalas than any other person.

He has never once touched his lord.

He has never called him by name.

He has never initiated a conversation.


One day Cliopher invites the Sun-on-Earth home to the proverbially remote Vangavaye-ve for a holiday.


The…


Book cover of 12 Miles Below: The Frozen Realm

Andrew Kossek

From Andrew's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Andrew loves this book

That the story has side beats about immortals engaging in social engineering and robotic Cartesian philosophy! The World building is actually and truly robust in a way that doesn't always happen when a story is as fight focused as this one.

By Mark Arrows ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked 12 Miles Below as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Icy death above. Monster-filled dungeons below. He must fight or freeze.Extreme sub-zero temperatures suffocate the surface. Frozen structures of bygone eras span across massive ice-wastes. And the survivors closely guard any technology rediscovered within them.. The only escape from the deadly climate is beneath the surface, but that doesn't mean it's safe.... Monstrous machines lurk in the depths. Unhinged demigods war against them, dying over and over, treating it all like a game. The depths themselves shift over time, more contraption than rock.. When an expedition into the far uncharted north goes terribly wrong, Keith Winterscar and his father get…