Books like Master of Furies — picked by fans

I love love love Kaladin. He is probably my all time favorite character.

I love this book because it demands my full attention and rewards me for giving it.

I first read it as a teenager, long before the films became the version most people knew, and I was struck by how much deeper the world felt on the page. I consider Tolkien’s writing masterful, especially in the way he gives every place, history, and character a sense of age and importance.

I loved discovering characters like Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, and I loved the feeling that Tolkien’s world was not merely invented, but ancient, layered, and connected to our own. I know the long passages and dense exposition can test modern readers, but that is exactly what I value. I want fantasy to pull me completely into another world, not linger in the background like a television left on while I do chores.

I was always on the lookout for new fantasy books when I was younger, and found this in the library one day. So glad I did!

I know it’s a familiar theme to have a young person coming of age and being super powerful, but it’s a good theme, and done brilliantly in Magician.

I appreciate it when authors don’t waffle too much, keep things to the point, and let their characters breathe in an interesting world. Krondor is certainly an interesting world, and I ended up loving quite a few of the books in this series. 

What moved me is how much it means to belong to the Acoma estate.

Nacoya with her sharp wisdom, Keyoke with his unyielding honor, Arakasi with his chosen allegiance, even the grey warriors—they all belong to something bigger than themselves. When danger hits, the fear ripples through everyone. When triumph comes, it lifts all of them.

A big draw of the book was seeing people pull together not because they’re supposed to, but because they genuinely care. The Acoma isn’t just a political house; it feels like a place where being needed gives everyone a kind of quiet dignity. 

I’ve always had a fascination with prophecies and the ubiquitous role they play in works of fantasy—it’s a tried-and-true literary device, and I don’t think there is another series that embodies the principle of fate better than Eddings’ Belgariad series.

The title of this first book sets that up most perfectly. From the first few pages, I was instantly drawn into this world, which takes the concept of uniquely varied traveling companions to a whole other level.

Not only are the characters all well fleshed out with personalities and motivations that kept me invested the whole way, but the book (and series) was also replete with another thing I love so much about fantasy novels—going on a grand, action-filled journey through numerous, fascinating locations.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this story and was completely blown away.

The narration is superb, with the reader performing songs and really making the story come alive, but the prose was just wonderful. Seriously, I would hear lines and think, “Oh my God, I wish I could write like that!”

I haven’t read much fantasy that was written in the past 20 years, but I can see why this is regarded as a modern classic. I loved it and wish he would finally complete the trilogy! 

I’m cheating a little here by recommending a trilogy but this was one of the best historical fiction I’ve read.

The series is about Prince Aeneas and the legendary story of the war between the Trojans and the Greeks. David Gemmell sets the scene prior to war from the POV of Aeneas, who was regarded as pirate but as the story progresses you learn more about his actions and why he keeps roaming the sea.

It is full of action and stays true to the unfolding drama of the Trojan War. For me, the historical backdrop and the research the author included was one of the main reasons this series wins.

I read this trilogy in 1998 when I had just finished high school.

Even then, I understood the book presented Frodo as the main hero, but I was always aware that without Sam, Frodo couldn't go far. He was just a gardener in the beginning, but when the books were over, he proved himself and even became the mayor of the Shire.

Seeing a regular guy carrying the main hero on his shoulders is something else. The decisions he made and his forcing himself to do more transformed him into a natural hero and a leader.

This book was one of the first assassin books ever written, and it’s a masterpiece of classic fantasy. The character is exactly as brooding and dour as I’d expected, but the moment he saves a young woman and her two orphaned companions, I understood there was so much more to him. And over the course of the book—and all his books—I saw those layers stripped away piece by piece and the grief-stricken man beneath.

The story was action-packed in exactly the way I wanted it to be, but it also profoundly explored nobility, morality, belief, and faith. The final scenes of the trilogy had me in tears, something not easily accomplished.  

Ten glorious books about deceitful spiders, brave dragonflies, and steadfast beetles. In a world where people possess the traits of different insects, the wasps are expanding their empire. One lone beetle decides to challenge them. Shadows of the Apt turns traditional fantasy on its head by bringing together a whole new set of protagonists - Mantis who are skilled swordsmen beyond compare, Spiders who can craft deceitful webs of intrigue, Ants who can operate within a hive mind, and the like. The storytelling is unique for never before have there been characters like this, on a scale as massive as the insect kingdom.