Books like House of Eclipses — picked by fans

This was one of the first books I picked up after my reading slump in 2012, and I absolutely couldn’t put it down. The story concept was fascinating; I love it when story worlds have supernatural elements and societies hidden within the “regular world.” The characters are written very well, and you feel as though you are watching a movie while reading with the authors great attention to detail in the scenes she sets.

The world building is great and offers a unique take on the classic fantasy creatures, werewolves, vampires, and fey. You really feel that “found family” book trope in this series, and the ups and downs of book one will have you hooked. 

This book was like a fisherman with bait on the hook. I was the fish; the fantasy setting and the author’s magnificent ability with words were the bait.

Mary Stewart was, of course, the sportswoman out to snag something in my soul. I was prepared to be entertained, but the story carried a surprising amount of weight, asking questions like What do we live for? Can humanity ever be enough? Merlin came into an understanding of his place in the world — not through romance or fantasy adventures as we so typically read —  but through internal revelation.

With his journey, I was invited into soulful reflection and some uncomfortable truths of my own. In the end, I decided Mary Stewart knew very well what she was doing. The stinker.

Marie Lu knows how to craft an adventure and the premise of The Young Elites is fascinating: what if the hero of the story might be a villain?

The struggles of this novel’s characters draw the reader in and never flag in their authenticity. The world is brutal and beautiful with Lu keeping readers on their toes every step of the way. 

I loved Netflix’s The Vampire Diaries series and dove into the books full force. And while some may categorize the books as a vampire series, Bonnie, a psychic who later learns she is a witch, is the second main female character in the books. She plays a big role in the plots to save their town from the evil that surrounds it. I love that Bonnie is true to her friends and grows into her powers and confidence as the story progresses.

When I first pitched my book to my agent, he recommended I read this novel, as it was his favorite novel written about ancient Egypt.

I took his advice and was immediately drawn into Ake Akhenaten's story. I’ve long been fascinated by this particular Pharaoh for many reasons, but mostly because he dared to challenge the priestly class.

This is a novel that sweeps you right into the hot sands of his city and makes you long to have been there, in the court, as he struggled to bring his god, Aten, to his people.

Alisher Navoiy is regarded as the father of the Uzbek language: he was the first person to use Chagatai (the forerunner of modern Uzbek) as a literary language, and he’s Uzbekistan’s national poet. English romantic poet Andrew Staniland, who has translated many of Navoiy’s poems, wrote A New Diwan after his first visit to Uzbekistan. It’s a collection of 84 short poems written in long couplets, inspired by Navoi’s original writing and by the wonders of the Silk Road cities.

Again, a writer I love, more serious than the likes of Bill Bryson but no less readable.

This book records a journey from China along the historic Silk Road and across the world to the mountains of Central Asia, encompassing time in places such as Afghanistan, which was a difficult place then and one where circumstances deteriorated subsequently.

It is writing that makes you dwell on the history and want to follow every step—and every page.

This is the best account of whole sweep of world history – the invasions, the migrations, the trade routes, the religious wars, and the making and unmaking of empires.

There’s no better book on how mankind traversed the globe and the lessons learnt along the way. 

I loved the book because it made me think about the long view of history and understand the economic and social forces beyond a cheap headline or short-sighted analysis that we see in current affairs today.

Like it or not, since the dawn of time, mankind has been migrating, discovering, and trading, despite the ‘we were here first’ sentiment we hear today.

And despite a lot of the history being tragic, with wars and famine and the like, it did give me optimism that human beings always find a way, whether it be climate change, conflict, or a financial crisis.

The best book of… show more.

I loved this book because Brohier’s descriptions of the foods and festivals of her people—the Dutch Burghers (descendants of the Dutch who ruled Sri Lanka for about 150 years from 1656 to 1796) brought back memories of my own childhood in Sri Lanka.

She describes in detail how the various flavours and recipes were brought to Sri lanka by the many traders, travellers, and colonial trespassers who made their way here—resulting in a delicious melting pot of foods.

I remembered the dishes made by our Burgher neighbours and friends, and I was pleased to find recipes for many of the tasty dishes we used to enjoy in the “good old days" of my childhood.

The Gates of Heaven is book three of Seven Brothers, a four-book series, in which the presence and role of the gods become more and more apparent as the overarching story unfolds. Llesho’s story starts off as what you might expect of a young prince in exile, sold into slavery as a pearl-diver, who escapes and sets out to find his scattered brothers. It doesn’t end up where you think, and this book is the point in the series where the story of gods and goddesses and dragons involved in human affairs really takes over as the main plotline, though the threads of it have been there from start. Mountains, grasslands, ancient cities, and their trade routes—this is an excellent silk road fantasy as well.