Books like King Kelson's Bride — picked by fans

I devoured this book with gusto. I guess we all seek a bit of magic sometimes.

When I read this book some thirty years ago, I had hit a rough patch. I wanted to escape the harsh reality surrounding me. The pages of this Celtic story transported me to a better place. You know the feeling, when fear drives you through heavy fog into the unknown? Once through, the landscape opens to excitement and promise.

Steven Lawhead used wonderful imagery to transport me to a time when warriors and kings held the future; when myths were the reality, and ordinary people became heroes. I want to live in a place where bravery and magic link hands. This is where ‘Song Of Albion’ led me. It’s my past and my future.

This was my introduction to fantasy, and wow, what a story!

Of course, I eventually realised what everyone else had already known, that Sword of Shannara is basically a simplified retelling of The Lord of the Rings, but, as a first fantasy novel for a teenager to read, well, it made a huge impression on me. The second in the series, The Elfstones of Shannara, built on the strong foundation and moved away from LOTR as the author let their own imagination run free.

I liked the characters, particularly the giant druid, Allanon (yes, I have a thing for giant druids as readers of my own novels will know!), and the titular magical weapon, the Elfstones. Exciting stuff that really made my young mind full of possibilities, and having listened to it again more recently as an audiobook, I found it was still a really fun book.

A rousing tale of a scarred count sent to revitalize a dilapidated province in an alternate-world version of medieval France, this gem by Brittain and Bouchard features the interaction of religion and magic, engaging characters, a budding romance, and a whodunit worthy of a mystery novel. I especially liked the friendship between the Count and a magically-talented monk and how the authors handled the relationship between the Church and wizardry (a trait of Brittain’s other works from the Yurt series). Since it’s the first in a series, there is a follow-on and hopefully, more to come.

A young college student with confidence issues and a knack for verse is transported to a fantasy world where he finds a beautiful queen under siege by a multitude of malevolent actors, a set of unusual companions, and an environment wherein poetry is literally magical. Stasheff’s treatment of faith and magic is thoughtful, his characters interesting and the plot engrossing. I particularly like rooting for the protagonist as he grows, learns, and overcomes. The magic system based on poetry is pure gold and the series has stood the test of time: it’s still as fun of a read now as it was when it first came out.

This book is filled with a blend of magic, mages, and medieval mysticism! A complete fan of all things medieval, I found this book at the beginning of my jump into world-building. Kurtz’s character development is stellar and taught me to try even harder to develop characters a reader could love or hate. Throughout the entire “Dernyni” series you find many characters that you grow to care deeply about and some you cheer when they meet their demise!

It was this book that disabused me of the notion that fantasy had to be written in a specific way, often in highfalutin or profound language. It encouraged me to put my own stories into writing.

Though very much a historical fantasy novel, this book was easy to understand despite the unfamiliar terms and background details of a fantastical universe. I think it’s due to Katheryn Kurtz’s initial use of simple, down-to-earth language and a fairly straightforward story, which, looking back now, was probably aimed at teenagers or young adults. I was sometimes reminded of the first volume of JRR Tolkien’s epic novel, especially because the succeeding books got progressively darker and more complex.

In this introductory book, the world of the Deryni, a race of mortals with magical powers, is fleshed out so well that the kingdom of Gwynedd, its people, and its neighboring realms feel so real that… show more.

I loved this book because it’s such a great concept.

It’s a delightfully intoxicating cocktail of Cervantes, Ian Fleming, with a twist of Beckett—shaken, not stirred. Fantastically fun and propelled by an extraordinary character who is obviously totally crazy, or maybe that’s just his cover story. An absolutely ingenious concept for a character and a book that is surprising, funny, ludicrously action-packed, yet strangely plausible, weirdly believable, and ultimately, completely enjoyable!

The characters, the locations, the menus, the yachts, the clothes, the witty repartee—I felt a little classier and more sophisticated just from having read it.

Edward Marston is a really prolific writer – he’s written seven or eight series of historical novels.

My personal favourite is the Domesday series, which follows the adventures of a group of men ordered to put right any mistakes in the Domesday Book, which William the Conqueror used to tax his English subjects. En route, Ralph Delchard and his colleagues also find time to solve a brand new crime – proto-private detectives, I suppose. The book roisters along with some strong female characters to lighten the masculine darkness.

The main reason I chose this is because when I read it I contacted the author to say how impressed I was. And then – Reader, I married him!

Much of the fiction set in the Middle Ages follows landmark historical moments and infamous individuals. But just as today, nothing is more complex than the inner life of a teenage girl, so it was in 1290. Written as a personal diary, this book follows Catherine, nicknamed ‘Birdy,’ as she trudges through her lessons on becoming a lady (sewing, spinning, soap making), her fears of an arranged marriage to a gnarly old nobleman, the importance of friendship and the heartbreak of unrequited love. Universal truths, all comically relatable and sprinkled with amusing details of picking off fleas and using the privy. As a preteen and teen, I read, re-read, and re-re-read Catherine's diary, escaping into her daily life as I easily imagined myself in it. This book was a friend I knew I could always return to for comfort and understanding.

I like historical novels with strong female characters, even unsympathetic ones (maybe especially unsympathetic ones), but if I am not going to throw the book against the wall, their lives and values need to be true to those of their time.

The Maria of the title is one of the best examples I know of a slightly difficult and strong-minded woman who is fully a product of her world, in this case, the world of Norman adventurers of the eleventh century who carved out domains for themselves in southern Italy against opposition from Muslims and the pope in Rome.

Her life is constrained by the expectations of her class and gender and a marriage she does not want, but she is a survivor, and she finds her own way to exert power.