Here are 86 books that Snake-Eater fans have personally recommended if you like Snake-Eater. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Memorial Days

francine corry

From francine's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why francine loves this book

I love the books of both Geraldine Brooks and Tony Horwitz. I was saddened by his death and I felt for Geraldine in our journey of grief.

By Geraldine Brooks ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Memorial Days as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A heartrending and beautiful memoir of sudden loss and a journey to peace, from the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse.

Many cultural and religious traditions expect those who are grieving to step away from the world. In contemporary life, we are more often met with red tape and to-do lists. This is exactly what happened to Geraldine Brooks when her partner of more than three decades, Tony Horwitz - just sixty years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy - collapsed and died on a Washington, D. C. sidewalk.

After spending their early years together in conflict zones…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of What We Can Know

Barrie Trinkle

From Barrie's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Barrie loves this book

There's something very interesting about a book set 100-ish years in the future that posits big changes for our world. I know I won't be around to check whether any of it came true, but--I still want to consider the possibilities, because it's not so far removed that there might not be people who still remember my name (e.g., grandchildren), and I'd like to think about what kind of legacy I might leave. This book doesn't disappoint. There have been some disasters, and huge changes; the population is smaller, and the power centers are different, and so on, but there are still students, and academics, and people who love literature. And that gives me hope, in some weird way, even though I know this future exists only in McEwen's mind. It's so beautifully written and deeply felt, and it seems so real.

By Ian McEwan ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked What We Can Know as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker prize–winning, bestselling author of Atonement and Saturday, a genre-bending new novel full of secrets and surprises; an immersive exploration, across time and history, of what can ever be truly known.

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

"It gave me so much pleasure I sometimes felt like laughing. . . . It's a sophisticated entertainment of a high order." —The New York Times

"Brilliantly, and surprisingly, plotted."—The Washington Post • "A novelist of consummate skill."—The Wall Street Journal • "Elegantly structured and provocative."—Los…


Book cover of What Moves the Dead

Todd Brown Author Of When Shadows Burn

From my list on books that will fry your brain.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by how people behave and how in-group bias can change who they are. That interest led me into computational sociology (I study human behavior for a living), with my work appearing in The New York Times, USA Today, WIRED, and more. But my deepest fascination has always been with people’s propensity for the horrific. I LOVE the liminal space where fear, secrecy, and belonging collide. Being neurodivergent, living in a small Virginia town with my wife and our neurodivergent, queer son, I see how communities can both shelter and suffocate. That tension is why I’m drawn to stories saturated in dread, beauty, and what lives in the shadows.

Todd's book list on books that will fry your brain

Todd Brown Why Todd loves this book

I love this book because it made me laugh when I least expected it.

The wit is so sharp it almost feels like a weapon against the darkness creeping in at the edges. I remember grinning at one line and then, two pages later, feeling the walls closing in.

That balance of humor and horror made me feel like the story was written for someone like me, someone who finds the grotesque easier to face when it comes with a crooked smile.

By T. Kingfisher ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked What Moves the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An instant USA Today & Indie bestseller

From the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of The Twisted Ones, comes What Moves the Dead, a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

Elizabeth Hopkinson Author Of Cage of Nightingales

From Elizabeth's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Elizabeth's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Elizabeth Hopkinson Why Elizabeth loves this book

I had not read cosy fantasy before I decided to give this title a go, and I'm really glad I did. It was thoroughly enjoyable, and such an antidote to the sometimes dark nature of the real world. This book is both funny and original. I love the idea of a baking wizard, whose main skill is making gingerbread men dance, and who has a temperamental sour dough starter called Bob. The plot becomes something of a murder mystery, unravelling secrets about the city where Mona - the main character - lives. In the end, it's up to Mona to defend the city with the skills she has, as inoffensive as those skills may seem. She's going to need a bigger gingerbread man - and a lot more of Bob! I liked it so much that I have gone out and bought more cosy fantasy books. I think it's my…

By T. Kingfisher ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fourteen-year-old Mona isn't like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can't control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt's bakery making gingerbread men dance.

But Mona's life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona's city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of…


Book cover of Paladin's Grace

Hannah Hassall

From Hannah's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Hannah loves this book

It was something new for me and I really liked that

By T. Kingfisher ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Paladin's Grace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stephen’s god died on the longest day of the year…

Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind…

From the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far…


Book cover of The Luminous Dead

Ness Brown Author Of The Scourge Between Stars

From my list on sci-fi about space missions gone terribly wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an astrophysicist with a passion for narratives that stare unflinchingly at the inherent hostility of outer space. Professionally, I study graduate astrophysics and research the ways high-energy celestial objects impact cosmic evolution. Creatively, I use my training to write science fiction horror exploring the spookiest things the universe has to offer. I particularly love stories that throw wrenches in the best-laid plans of star-faring protagonists, and will never get tired of a good old space mission gone terribly and tragically awry.

Ness' book list on sci-fi about space missions gone terribly wrong

Ness Brown Why Ness loves this book

Deep space can be scary, but I consider deep caves to be much more terrifying.

The Luminous Dead has an eerie mission to the depths of a cave on a distant exoplanet—the worst of both worlds! This book follows a non-regulation diver on a dangerous job shrouded in secrets and the enigmatic, untrustworthy voice in her helmet guiding her through the darkness.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take long for the characters to descend into antagonism and uncertainty about whether the other things lurking in the cave are figments of paranoia or dangerously real. If you like feeling queasy, secondhand claustrophobia, The Luminous Dead is for you.

By Caitlin Starling ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Luminous Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bram Stoker Award nominee for Best First Novel!

"This claustrophobic, horror-leaning tour de force is highly recommended for fans of Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation and Andy Weir's The Martian." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she'd be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of The Name of the Wind

D J McNulty Author Of Divine Tales of Doomed Outcasts

From my list on dark fantasy novels that feature characters who are as epic as their stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I received the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Red Box as a kid, and I have been hooked on all things fantasy fiction since. It has become a part of my life so much that each character takes on a special importance for me. Some characters exist in worlds full of swords and magic, while others live in realms that are dirty, bleak, and on the brink of utter ruin. As a writer, I enjoy seeing the different perspectives these characters bring to fantasy settings. It makes them unique, each in their own way. Some want to right the wrongs of the worlds they reside in, while others don’t care if it all burns down around them.

D J's book list on dark fantasy novels that feature characters who are as epic as their stories

D J McNulty Why D J loves this book

I’ve read The Name of the Wind twice, and each time it feels like sitting down to hear a bard weave his life into song.

Kvothe isn’t perfect—he’s brilliant, arrogant, reckless—but that’s why I believe him. Rothfuss’s prose has a rhythm that lingers in my head like music. What struck me most wasn’t the magic or mystery, but the small human moments: playing the lute for coins, hungering for knowledge, fumbling through mistakes.

For me, it was less about answers and more about the act of telling one’s story, flaws and all.

By Patrick Rothfuss ,

Why should I read it?

30 authors picked The Name of the Wind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The lyrical fantasy masterpiece about stories, legends and how they change the world. The Name of the Wind is an absolute must-read for any fan of fantasy fiction.

'This is a magnificent book' Anne McCaffrey

'I was reminded of Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and J. R. R. Tolkein, but never felt that Rothfuss was imitating anyone' THE TIMES

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University…


Book cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

L.N. Hunter Author Of The Feather and the Lamp

From my list on humorous fantasy and science fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up at a time when both Monty Python and ‘alternative comedians’ like Ben Elton were on the telly, I couldn’t help but absorb British humor, and coupling that with a love of science fiction and fantasy (Asimov, Heinlein, Moorcock, etc.), I was ripe for an introduction to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett… And the rest is history. The world is too serious a place, and I find comedy of all kinds, but especially SFF, a welcome escape. My own writing has been inspired by all the books on this list, and while I work in a range of genres, almost everything includes at least some snarky humor.

L.N.'s book list on humorous fantasy and science fiction

L.N. Hunter Why L.N. loves this book

I first encountered Douglas Adams when I caught The Hitchhiker’s Guide on late-night radio, and I was hooked. The novel is slightly different, with Adams giving a bit more consideration to plot and logic, but it has the same wonderful, rapid-fire dialogue style, which has seldom been replicated.

I absolutely love Arthur Dent’s ludicrous accidental odyssey, meeting characters like Zaphod Beeblebrox and the wonderfully named Slartibartfast. The Guide sits in the background, popping up to provide superbly funny explanations of the history of the universe, humanity’s obsession with money, and a lot more.

For me, the thing that sets this apart from a lot of SFF humor is its ‘Britishness’—there’s a distinct feel of the surreal comic legacy of, for example, Monty Python and The Goon Show.

By Douglas Adams ,

Why should I read it?

44 authors picked The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This box set contains all five parts of the' trilogy of five' so you can listen to the complete tales of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Bebblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android! Travel through space, time and parallel universes with the only guide you'll ever need, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Read by Stephen Fry, actor, director, author and popular audiobook reader, and Martin Freeman, who played Arthur Dent in film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He is well known as Tim in The Office.

The set also includes a bonus DVD Life, the Universe and…


Book cover of Howl's Moving Castle

Joe Mahoney Author Of Adventures in the Radio Trade: A Memoir

From Joe's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Broadcaster Family man Dog person Aspiring martial artist

Joe's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Joe Mahoney Why Joe loves this book

I was curious about this book after having seen the movie. I quite like the movie, but I love the book. It's terrific, and quite a bit different than the book. It's written with humour, panache and originality. Terrific characters and concepts. Howl pops right off the pages. If you love inventive fantasy, you'll love Howl's Moving Castle.

By Diana Wynne Jones ,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked Howl's Moving Castle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

Now an animated movie from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, the oscar-winning director of Spirited Away

In this beloved modern classic, young Sophie Hatter from the land of Ingary catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell...

Deciding she has nothing more to lose, Sophie makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above her town, Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl, whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls...

There Sophie meets Michael, Howl's apprentice, and Calcifer…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Going Postal

D. H. Willison Author Of Heart of the Sky

From D. H.'s 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

D. H.'s 3 favorite reads in 2024

D. H. Willison Why D. H. loves this book

This was a fun, enjoyable read, with some subtle social critique, outlandish characters getting into even more outlandish situations. It was the perfect blend of fun escapism and some intellectually satisfying social critique. A humorous story with the right amount of depth.

By Terry Pratchett ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Going Postal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A beautiful new hardback edition of the classic Discworld novel.

Moist von Lipwig is a con artist and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet.

It was a tough decision.

But he's got to see that the mail gets though, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer.

Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too.


Book cover of Memorial Days
Book cover of What We Can Know
Book cover of What Moves the Dead

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