Books like Foundryside — picked by fans

This is a highly propulsive and emotionally engaging novel with a sympathetic protagonist at its core.

It could be considered a portal fantasy, but I'd categorize it, along with the other books on this list, as “speculative,” because it doesn’t fit neatly into either the fantasy or science fiction genres and is anchored in contemporary or near-future realism.

Piranesi’s beautifully executed theme, about how a dramatic change in perspective can lead to a deeper appreciation for the beauty and nobility abiding beneath the ugliness of humanity and our one and only world, is one for the ages.

This highly original and beautiful book is destined to endure as one of the classics of early twenty-first century literature.

If we’re talking dragons and just dragons–technically, they’re wyverns, and technically, they didn’t show up until the third book, but I was absolutely captivated by the whole series. It drew me out of a years-long reading slump and left a hole in my chest since finishing. I felt each book becoming part of my being. 

This book shares a similar theme to How to Stop Time in that the main character lives through time without aging, from 18th-century France to present-day Manhattan. Addie has made a pact with the devil–immortality, but the price is she’ll be forgotten by everyone she meets. That concept really struck me–what does it mean to be remembered? What does it mean to be forgotten?

I always wanted to be a writer, and part of the reason was that I’d be remembered at some level. There’s a lot of sadness in the book but also hope. In the end, Addie comes across a book with a name she recognizes. Inside is the following inscription: “I remember you.” My heart melted.

Karou is caught in a war between angels and demons (the ultimate simplified description). And Karou is a main character I love to cheer for. She's just so witty and full of angst on a totally relatable level. She's having the mother of all identity crises and feeling the ultimate tug of war between the human world and a dimension inhabited by the strange creatures that raised her.

Pair that awesome premise with Laini Taylor's incredibly lush writing, and the story is just fantastic. I kept turning page after page not only to immerse myself in Taylor's beautiful prose but also because this story is just compelling. I've reread this entire series, and I loved it even more the second time through.

Cat, or Catalia Fisa, is a badass character from page one. She’s a fighter, and with good reason. Coming from a traumatic family life, Cat draws her strength from the fears she felt throughout her youth. Not only that, but she’s painfully aware of her many physical and emotional flaws. I think it says a lot about a character who knows they have faults that need to be dealt with, faults that prevent them from developing healthy relationships or putting their safety first at times. Throughout The Kingmaker Chronicles, Cat sacrifices herself repeatedly for the people she loves, a trait that every lead should have (to some extent anyway).

For one thing, this Greek mythology fantasy begins with our main character, Lore, beating up someone during an underground boxing match. How much more badass can you get? Throughout the standalone YA novel, Lore tries to navigate a deadly game of the Gods and the constant deceit of those closest to her. But she keeps going, no matter the sacrifices she must make. This is a great story about strength and putting others before yourself for the greater good.

This is a story that challenges our understanding of identity–Zhu is a girl, and she is a male novice in a monastery. Zhu wears her dead brother’s name like armor and schemes to make his fate hers as well. Zhu is as unapologetically callous as the world that discarded her. Zhu lives as a man and never wishes to live as a woman, but her pronouns never change.

Her story forces the reader to confront the heavy hand of circumstance in our lives and our definition of self. Zhu performs gender without regret or longing, it is a tool of her survival; instead, she defines herself in her ambition. And even though the person that Zhu ultimately chooses to become isn’t one we might admire, her relationship to gender speaks to those of us who sit between the boundaries of gender, who move between, or who fill more than one… show more.

I loved the atmosphere of this book; it’s so quiet and understated, and I really felt like I was growing up with the main character. I loved how her perception of the magic changed over time. She’s at first wonderstruck by the beauty of flight, then hungry to earn her wings, and then we see her crushed by the weight of responsibility as she becomes a mentor to the next generation.

There’s such a thoughtful balance between excitement at the magic and critique of how that magic is ‘gifted.’ Plus, it’s a standalone, so there's no waiting around for that next brick in the series (I’m looking at you, Winds of Winter). 

Originally, I was looking for a book series to get my 12-year-old (non-reader) nephew interested in reading. The cover art is great, and the description, “a smart-ass skeleton detective and a secret magic world, in the shadows of the real world,” piqued my interest. Yes, an actual walking, talking skeleton.

I first purchased a copy for myself so I would know if it was appropriate for him. I enjoyed reading it so much that I went out the next day and bought him the first four books in the series. They became the first books he voluntarily read. I love the depictions of magic (and magical creatures) in the real world and the constant battle to keep regular humans ignorant of the events that take place virtually right in front of them. 

This quiet and strange fairy tale is one of my favorite escape reads. I first read it while I was in high school, and it so accurately captured my own youthful confusion, my own reluctance to separate dreams from reality, that I felt a deep relief.

Another masterclass in storytelling, with lush worldbuilding and wonderfully awkward characters, the prose here is lyrical and sensory. Sand and tangled hair and the cold slap of waves. When I encountered them again, after moving to coastal Virginia, they felt familiar because I had already encountered them in this book.