91 Books Like Prince Ombra

I would have thought to list another book here, and for sure, there are truly many books to be read that could easily be listed here, and despite that, this is listing Tolkien’s works for a third time; the truth simply stands in my library that his works are simply that great. 

So far be it that the renowned book of The Lord of the Rings be not included. I had been introduced to Tolkien and fantasy’s more serious nature by my dad and grandfather with readings of The Hobbit, and by it, I was already enamored with the world of Middle-earth, as Bilbo was my hero.

I loved the classic animated cartoon adaptations back then by Rankin and Bass, and Bakshi, which at the time was my main exposure to The Lord of the Rings, along with commentaries from my dad, until I finally read it at the time… show more.

A wonderful book in two senses – it’s wonderfully written, and it evokes wonder. This is an idiosyncratic urban fantasy set in an imaginary metropolis called New York City (cut off from the world by an impenetrable cloud wall that lifts only occasionally, to let the trains through). In this city, amazing characters (amazingly good and amazingly evil) clash as they strive for the things that matter to them most. And the prose is as bright and vivid as a Van Gogh painting. Winter’s Tale contains one of my favorite lines in all literature, where one character is described as “breathtakingly short.”

At times, C.S. Lewis eschewed writing what would be expected of him. For example, every volume of his Chronicles of Narnia takes the reader in a new direction, a new aspect of that fantasy world, instead of merely rehashing the popular story of the first novel, as many series do.

Science Fiction was not his field, yet Dr. Lewis dived into the genre for three novels and proved he was a master. The third book in Dr. Lewis’s space trilogy continues the epic interplanetary story of the first two but brings the tale to a dystopian Earth.

At first, the story seems unrelated to the earlier space-traveling books of the trilogy, as an engrossing study of professors playing politics and strange dreams. As the novel progresses, however, this proves to be a much larger story involving aliens, demons, the very fabric of human existence, and the return of Merlin. 

This is a one-off, and as far as I know, Wangerin never wrote anything else on the same level. It starts out like an animal fable—the main characters are animals—but gradually takes on a cosmic dimension. By the time I finished, I was gasping for breath and wondering, what was that?!

The three forms of darkness threatening the animals are each more tremendous than the last. They’re genuinely threatening, and the world seems inescapably doomed. Wangerin, like all the best fantasy writers, takes his world very, very seriously—he never belittles his creation as a mere game. In another lifetime, I used to be a university professor (when living through 25 years of writer’s block!), and I’m proud to remember how many students I turned on to this and other fantasy novels.

I love coming-of-age stories in the 50s and 60s, so I was thrilled to find this one. I know from my own passage into the teen years what these two sisters were experiencing. Their mother was like many others, taking care of her home, husband, and family. Women were on the cusp of new freedoms, and she fell under the spell of a divorced artsy feminist who moved next door to them. Then the secrets started.

I recall the whispers and dropped conversations as a young teen around my mother. Often we didn’t know the adult decisions that were being made. I wanted to hate the girls’ mother, and I couldn’t wait to find out how the story would end.

I am fascinated by the contradictions of Tolkien’s women and by the tension between Christian and pagan in his writing.

This book is particularly valuable for its explication of Tolkien’s integration of Marian and Valkyrie imagery, resulting in female characters of transcendental beauty and heroism. And the writing is absorbing and informative.

Brief, poetic, and filled with gorgeous art, I first encountered this unforgettable book as a child. I now see it as a philosophical meditation on approaching life's difficulties. It urges a creative shift in perspective to seek a more transcendent approach to life's problems, something the world needs more of right now!     

At first, I thought this was a historical mystery similar to the Sherlock Holmes stories. Nineteenth-century city, maybe in Russia? But what about the weird Bone Forest and the house on stilts? The detective, Konrad Savast, carries out his investigations in distinctly unorthodox ways. Then there are his spirit-serpent helpers, Eetapi and Ootapi. Sherlock never had anything like them! And in addition to the four mysteries to be solved in this book, there's the question of Konrad's relationship with apothecary Irinanda Falenia. Will it ever develop into something more than friendship?

The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre showcases some of the weirder stories of the horror genre. “The Rats in the Walls” and “The Thing on the Doorstep” put the “f” in fear! H.P.’s evil space creature, Cthulhu, also makes an appearance in this anthology.

This book was an amazing, mysterious read that sucked me back, not for suspense, but to know why—information withheld until the very end of the story, and even though the end of the book is not the end of the story, and even though I still have questions, the ending is immensely satisfying.

I’ve always been fascinated by time travel and time loops, which I find inherently broken. They would never work. But this author managed to intricately create something that actually made sense, something in which I could find no holes. One of my favorite parts was how Felix rebuilt the Internet using wood blocks and strings.

There’s also a profundity to it as well. The story seems to ponder the ideas of fate, destiny, and predestination and ultimately concludes—what does it matter? Just do what you should do. Utterly brilliant story.