Here are 36 books that Boneland fans have personally recommended if you like Boneland. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Knight and the Butcherbird

J.S. Watts Author Of Song of Steelyard Sue

From J.S.'s 3 favorite reads in 2026.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

J.S.'s 3 favorite reads in 2026

J.S. Watts Why J.S. loves this book

It was an intriguing and original story mixing fantasy and alternative history, or perhaps science fiction, while creating human and complex, as well as fantastical, characters. The world building was both imaginative and all too credible.

By Alix E. Harrow ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Knight and the Butcherbird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this dystopian fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, a small town’s storyteller struggles to protect a local demon from the knight hired to kill it.Hundreds of years after the end of the world, the Appalachian community of Iron Hollow finds itself beset by demons. Such horrors are common these days in the outlands, where most folks die young—if they don’t turn into monsters first.When a legendary knight is summoned to hunt down the latest unearthly beast to haunt their woods, the town’s new oral historian, Shrike, has more reason than most to be…


If you love Boneland...

Book cover of Tangle of Time

Tangle of Time by Maureen Thorpe,

A spellbinding journey through time and cultures.

When Annie Thornton, midwife and apprentice witch, falls through time to a 15th-century Yorkshire village with her telepathic cat, Rosamund, she befriends Will and Jack, two soldiers returning from the French Wars. Mistress Meg, Annie’s ancestral aunt living in the 15th century, is…

Book cover of Martian Time-Slip: Philip K. Dick's Psychological Science Fiction Classic of Time Travel and Paranoid Visions on Mars

J.S. Watts Author Of Song of Steelyard Sue

From J.S.'s 3 favorite reads in 2026.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

J.S.'s 3 favorite reads in 2026

J.S. Watts Why J.S. loves this book

This is science fiction that has much to say about current society, even if aspects of the novel are of their time.

By Philip K. Dick ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Martian Time-Slip as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Combining political intrigue, time travel, family drama, and all the perils that come with being the first at anything, Hugo Award–winning author Philip K. Dick’s Martian Time-Slip follows a group of exiled colonists on Mars and the ten-year-old psychic among them—a boy whose altered perception of reality is so powerful he not only looks into the future, but can send people there."The writing is humorous, painful, awesome in its effect on both mind and heart . . . There are few modern novels to match it."—Rolling StoneOn a dystopian Mars, local bigwigs compete with Earth-bound interlopers to buy up land…


Book cover of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

Geoff Turner Author Of Archie's Mirror

From my list on magic, heroes, and rock ‘n’ roll.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer of children’s books, I’ve always been fascinated – not merely by the narrative, characters, and plot that form a story – but how ideas themselves spring to life and cross-pollinate to form some kind of creative endeavor, whether that’s a song, a poem, a book or anything else that provokes an emotional response. Rather than shying away from the question: "Where do you get your ideas?" I like to embrace it and search for answers myself. These books all set contexts through which the nature of imagination and ideas are explored alongside the tales they tell, and they remain an influence on the ideas I have, and the words I write.

Geoff's book list on magic, heroes, and rock ‘n’ roll

Geoff Turner Why Geoff loves this book

A formative book from my childhood, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen kick-started my love of all things magic, heroic, and fantastical. Not only that, but the setting was close to where I grew up – these were locations I knew but viewed through a mythic lens. Loosely based on the legend of the Wizard of Alderley Edge, Alan Garner creates a fantasy world that feels so real as two children are pulled into an adventure where the very future of the world of men is on the line. It remains so influential on my own writing that I still return to the old dwarf caves of Fundinvale as an adult and enjoy the tale every bit as much as I did when I was a ten-year-old reading by torchlight under the duvet.

By Alan Garner ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Weirdstone of Brisingamen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time.

"Alan Garner's fiction is something special." - Neil Gaiman

When Colin and Susan are pursued by eerie creatures across Alderley Edge, they are saved by the Wizard. He takes them into the caves of Fundindelve, where he watches over the enchanted sleep of one hundred and forty knights.

But the heart of the magic that binds them - Firefrost, also known as the Weirdstone of Brisingamen - has been lost. The Wizard has been searching for the stone for more than 100 years,…


If you love Alan Garner...

Book cover of Tangle of Time

Tangle of Time by Maureen Thorpe,

A spellbinding journey through time and cultures.

When Annie Thornton, midwife and apprentice witch, falls through time to a 15th-century Yorkshire village with her telepathic cat, Rosamund, she befriends Will and Jack, two soldiers returning from the French Wars. Mistress Meg, Annie’s ancestral aunt living in the 15th century, is…

Book cover of The Owl Service

Sam Davey Author Of The Chosen Queen

From my list on supernature magic, alchemy and enchantment.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write because I want to tell stories–and I also want to share great stories with others. An avid reader and writer of fantasy and speculative fiction, I have a love of the fantastic, the remarkable and the supernatural, which I have managed to sustain and develop alongside a successful working life in government and social administration. If you want to know about power–and what you need to wield it and control it, just give me a call. Great fantasy should tell universal truths, and sometimes, more difficult messages can be told more effectively using a supernatural metaphor. Telling those stories is what I do. 

Sam's book list on supernature magic, alchemy and enchantment

Sam Davey Why Sam loves this book

I love all Alan Garner’s novels but have chosen this one because I have long been captivated by the deft and frequently quite terrifying way that Garner weaves a dark heart of fantasy and elemental magic into an everyday story of modern relationships—divorce, re-marriage, class prejudice, and economic inequality.

The book has haunted my imagination for over thirty years now, which, to me, is a sign of the work of a truly great author. I also love the way the book retells stories from ancient legend, reworking some of the central themes of the Welsh Mabinogion—some of the very earliest tales of magic and fantasy.

By Alan Garner ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Owl Service as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

A 50th Anniversary Edition featuring a new introduction by Philip Pullman, THE OWL SERVICE is an all-time classic, combining mystery, adventure, history and a complex set of human relationships.

It all begins with the scratching in the ceiling. From the moment Alison discovers the dinner service in the attic, with its curious pattern of floral owls, a chain of events is set in progress that is to effect everybody's lives.

Relentlessly, Alison, her step-brother Roger and Welsh boy Gwyn are drawn into the replay of a tragic Welsh legend - a modern drama played out against a background…


Book cover of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Susan Blackmore Author Of Jinny Jana's Giant Journeys

From my list on exceptional children with amazing experiences.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always felt myself to be different, odd, and a bit of a loner. As a child, people said I was "too clever by half," and I both hated and loved being able to understand things that other kids did not. Being good at maths and science in a girls’ boarding school does not make you friends! Escaping all that, I became a psychologist and, after a dramatic out-of-body experience, began studying lucid dreams, sleep paralysis, psychic claims, and all sorts of weird and wonderful experiences. This is why I love all these books about exceptional children.

Susan's book list on exceptional children with amazing experiences

Susan Blackmore Why Susan loves this book

I had to include this first Harry Potter book because Harry is the epitome of a gifted child and I loved these books from the first.

When my own book, The Meme Machine, came out in 1999, someone rang me excitedly to tell me that my book was number 5 on Amazon!!! (There were not so many books listed on Amazon in those days!!).

I was so thrilled that, of course, I had to find out what the top four were. And guess what – they were the hardback and paperback versions of the first two Harry Potter books, which I’d never even heard of. I bought them immediately and never looked back, receiving each one in the post on its publication day.

What terrific books they were and are.

By J.K. Rowling ,

Why should I read it?

44 authors picked Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Galloping gargoyles ... 2022 is the silver anniversary of J.K. Rowling's magical classic Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone!

The boy wizard Harry Potter has been casting a spell over young readers and their families ever since 1997. Now the first book in this unmissable series celebrates 25 years in print! The paperback edition of the tale that introduced us to Harry, Ron and Hermione has been updated and dressed in silver to mark the occasion. It's time to take the magical journey of a lifetime ...

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters…


Book cover of Witchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy

J.S. Watts Author Of Witchlight

From my list on if you are seeking witchery.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved fantasy. My mother told me fairy stories and I read every book of myth and legend in my local library. I’ve continued to read and love books of fantasy and magic. I guess it’s not surprising that all four of my novels and most of my short stories have a speculative aspect to them. Having grown up with the traditional view of the aged, ugly crone luring children away to their doom, I especially love stories of witches that come at the topic of witchcraft from a different angle. I live in the East of England, where the infamous witch-hunts of the seventeenth century took place.

J.S.'s book list on if you are seeking witchery

J.S. Watts Why J.S. loves this book

If you mention witches, most people think fantasy novels, but this is a factual history about the real life witch-hunts that took place across the East of England in the 17th Century. It unpicks the brutal and most likely self-serving crusade of the original Witchfinder General, Mathew Hopkins and the religious hysteria of the time. It is a worthy counterbalance to classic horror films such as Witchfinder General and to all the varied and imaginative fiction that has been written about witches and witchery over the centuries, my own included.

By Malcolm Gaskill ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Witchfinders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

By spring 1645, two years of civil war had exacted a dreadful toll upon England. People lived in terror as disease and poverty spread, and the nation grew ever more politically divided. In a remote corner of Essex, two obscure gentlemen, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, exploited the anxiety and lawlessness of the time and initiated a brutal campaign to drive out the presumed evil in their midst. Touring Suffolk and East Anglia on horseback, they detected demons and idolators everywhere. Through torture, they extracted from terrified prisoners confessions of consorting with Satan and demonic spirits.

Acclaimed historian Malcolm Gaskill…


Book cover of The Once and Future King

Sam Davey Author Of The Chosen Queen

From my list on supernature magic, alchemy and enchantment.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write because I want to tell stories–and I also want to share great stories with others. An avid reader and writer of fantasy and speculative fiction, I have a love of the fantastic, the remarkable and the supernatural, which I have managed to sustain and develop alongside a successful working life in government and social administration. If you want to know about power–and what you need to wield it and control it, just give me a call. Great fantasy should tell universal truths, and sometimes, more difficult messages can be told more effectively using a supernatural metaphor. Telling those stories is what I do. 

Sam's book list on supernature magic, alchemy and enchantment

Sam Davey Why Sam loves this book

I’m going to stick my neck out and say that, in my opinion, this book is the greatest ever retelling of the Arthurian story. Why do I love it? Primarily I think because his characters are so well-defined and crafted—they have feelings and families, emotions and frustrations—and are frequently not at all heroic. 

I love the elements of the book that play out within the animal kingdom—the rigid, controlled society of the Ants, the free and liberal existence of the Wild Geese—all brought to life by an author who was a renowned natural historian and who is using the power of his fantastical imagination to provide insight into the broad spectrum of political models and options for ruling. 

I first read this book when I was studying Politics and Philosophy as an undergraduate, and I was blown away by White’s insight, humanity, and the choices he…

By T. H. White ,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked The Once and Future King as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Voyager Classics - timeless masterworks of science fiction and fantasy.

A beautiful clothbound edition of The Once and Future King, White's masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend.

T.H. White's masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend is an abiding classic. Here all five volumes that make up the story are published together in a single volume, as White himself always wished.

Here is King Arthur and his shining Camelot, beasts who talk and men who fly; knights, wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad; the masterpiece of fantasy by which…


Book cover of Dracula

Michaela Daphne Author Of Purlieu

From Michaela's 3 favorite reads in 2026.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Michaela's 3 favorite reads in 2026

Michaela Daphne Why Michaela loves this book

A bit of a slog but worth the effort. It was a breath of fresh air to have some many morally upright characters fighting for love of one another. It challenged my own willingness to sacrifice for others.

By Bram Stoker ,

Why should I read it?

34 authors picked Dracula as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 17.

What is this book about?

'The very best story of diablerie which I have read for many years' Arthur Conan Doyle

A masterpiece of the horror genre, Dracula also probes identity, sanity and the dark corners of Victorian sexuality and desire. It begins when Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, and makes horrifying discoveries in his client's castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England - an unmanned ship is wrecked; strange puncture marks appear on a young woman's neck; a lunatic asylum inmate raves about the imminent arrival of his 'Master' - and a determined group of adversaries…


Book cover of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Mary-Jean Harris Author Of Mask of the Raven

From my list on fantasy books that blend mysticism and history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved fantasy and history since I was a child, and a blend of the two creates a new sort of magic! In addition to reading historical fantasy, I’ve been passionate about writing in the genre and bringing new “what if?” questions to life with historical settings and mysticism and magic in my writing, some of which are inspired by ancient traditions around the world. Fantasy can be more than imaginative creation, but a delve into the mysterious side of history as well, and I find that books that delve into this aspect of fantasy really capture my interest when they’re done well.

Mary-Jean's book list on fantasy books that blend mysticism and history

Mary-Jean Harris Why Mary-Jean loves this book

This is one of my favourite books!

At 782 pages, including numerous footnotes, it might seem a daunting task for a reader, but I would have easily enjoyed a novel twice its length. The style of writing is beautifully detailed and has a wry British humour that is a pleasure to read.

The magic is seamlessly woven into the land and culture of England. We learn about the history of the Napoleonic Wars with a bit of a fantastical spin, showing how magic was used in the war and the consequences of its presence in history.

An alternative history that truly captures one’s imagination and sense of “what if?” Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is one that I’ll definitely read again and again.

By Susanna Clarke ,

Why should I read it?

26 authors picked Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of…


Book cover of Rebecca

Svetlana Rodina Author Of Red Riding Hood

From my list on the family stories we inherit—and what happens when they turn out to be wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am drawn to books in which family history is never as simple as it first appears. I have always loved fiction about memory, silence, and the choices people make when they discover that something they believed about their past was not entirely true. As a novelist, I keep returning to these themes because I am fascinated by the way family stories shape who we become. I am especially interested in women who have to rebuild their sense of themselves when old explanations stop making sense. The books on this list stay with me because they do more than reveal secrets; they show what happens after the truth is known.

Svetlana's book list on the family stories we inherit—and what happens when they turn out to be wrong

Svetlana Rodina Why Svetlana loves this book

I first loved Rebecca for its atmosphere, but what stayed with me was something more unsettling: how completely another person’s version of the past can shape the present.

I remember finishing it and thinking about how easily we accept a story when everyone around us seems to believe it. As a writer, I keep returning to that idea.

Du Maurier showed me that an absence can dominate a novel as powerfully as a living character, and that what people refuse to say can matter as much as what they reveal. That has stayed with me in my own writing about memory, silence, and family secrets.

By Daphne du Maurier ,

Why should I read it?

59 authors picked Rebecca as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* 'The greatest psychological thriller of all time' ERIN KELLY
* 'One of the most influential novels of the twentieth century' SARAH WATERS
* 'It's the book every writer wishes they'd written' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .'

Working as a lady's companion, our heroine's outlook is bleak until, on a trip to the south of France, she meets a handsome widower whose proposal takes her by surprise. She accepts but, whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory…


Book cover of The Knight and the Butcherbird
Book cover of Martian Time-Slip: Philip K. Dick's Psychological Science Fiction Classic of Time Travel and Paranoid Visions on Mars
Book cover of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

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