Books like Soul, Light, and Wings — picked by fans

Forget the show, read the books.

This fantasy series reads like a medieval history lesson come to life. They live in a world where power is dispensed with decrees, armies, and combat. But the real battles are fought among the kingdoms with verbal confrontations.

Tyrion is the jewel of the series as the despised dwarf of one of the great noble houses who must use his wit and words as both weapons and armor to overcome his lack of stature. He doesn't compete where he is weak, but rather redefines the game where his opponent's strength is irrelevant.

"I have to be careful. Everything I say is a lie."

This was my first introduction to Sanderson’s work, and I knew within a few pages that we were going to be a good fit. I’d just gotten off of reading through Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, and the “multiple POVs” angle of the book was a big pull for me.

The frankly bizarre world of the book (and the series of which this is book 1, The Stormlight Archive) was so full of strange creatures and patterns–so studded with interesting, resourceful characters–that I couldn’t put it down over the course of days to finish it.

Kristen Britain’s Green Rider is an adventure that takes place in a carefully crafted medieval world.

What’s notable is the way Britain integrates medieval culture and tradition into the story. From the honor code of the Green Riders to the standard of loyalty and virtue, the novel is steeped in values commonly held in the medieval era. This adds authenticity to the story.

The series also introduces ‘fantasy flair’ in the Eletians, a group of people I could closely associate with the Elves in my own book.

While this book is shorter than the others on this list, it packs a lot of worldbuilding and fascinating characters and lore in fewer pages. Inspired by South American geography with towering mesas over dense forest, Two Dark Moons features a detailed astrological system based around the two moons orbiting this world, which determines everything from one’s future vocation to their gender. Sohmeng’s journey brought this world vividly to life and was a delight to get lost in.

This fascinating memoir, written in journal style of all the highly unusual, paranormal incidents that have happened to the author from the time he was a youngster. It is a chronicle of the many supernatural events experienced by one ordinary man, a former deputy sheriff. Time after time, a divine power intervenes to heal and save him, leaving him a stunned witness to his own salvation. This unusual story reaffirms my faith in the unseen and the 6th sense not everyone has.

Speaking of movies, as I’m afraid I often am, it’s not just the novels of Daphne du Maurier (like Rebecca) that have made great films; her short stories have inspired them, too. And they’re weirder and darker than her full-length works.

Don’t Look Now and Other Stories is a recent collection curated by Patrick McGrath, another excellent horror-adjacent author. It features the title story, source of Nicolas Roeg’s famously frightening 1973 film, and “The Birds,” on which Hitchcock based his notoriously gory (for 1963) film.

While the movies are swell, these brief, insidious, and ambiguous tales can make them seem a little lumbering and obvious by comparison.

When I realized I had psychic/medium abilities (thanks to my Aunt Belle Brown), I started delving into these gifts deeply, as well as doing paranormal investigations.

After years of training under others, developing myself, and writing about the paranormal, I became confident enough to teach others. By then I had founded a crew (Supernatural Researchers of Texas) and they asked me to teach them.

You are Psychic! was our first "textbook." Sanders is an MIT-trained scientist with a wonderful program for expanding psychic abilities. I found this book invaluable for one of my first books for myself, and the SRT crew agreed it taught them a lot. 

This book didn’t necessarily have a grinding spooky element so much as mysterious unknown indicators, but it’s haunting just the same. And romantic. I believe in second sight or psychic ability, that there are those out there with the true gift. Frankly, I’ve had a few “premonition” dreams myself that led me to an avid interest in the subject. The topic was well-written, relatable, and gave me many story ideas. The setting is an old ancestral home in the Louisiana Bayou, so it hit all the history and boo feels, plus it has a suspense angle. Sharon is an amazing soul with an open mind, who I met at a couple events, and I loved chatting with her.

Part researcher, part mad scientist, and complete magickal genius, Ivo consistently provides information and techniques that push boundaries in terms of innovation within witchcraft, occultism, and psychic development.  Ivo is another one of those witches with a highly unique approach to energy work. The Keys to Perception will deeply enrich your psychic skills and magickal skills. Blending elements from many different esoteric techniques such as Wicca, Ceremonial Magick, and Eastern Traditions along with his own insight and wisdom from years of practice and experience, Ivo presents time-tested, practical methods for the psychic witch. Ivo's work is groundbreaking and pioneering in many ways, and this is a must-have on every psychic witch's bookshelf. Every time I read Ivo's books, I'm incredibly inspired and influenced by them. This book, in particular, is probably his most influential upon my work.

I loved this atmospheric debut, often described as a collection of interlinked short stories. Set on an isolated group of islands off the coast of Virginia, the stories span more than two centuries of the same family’s history: from the 19th century and far ahead into a post-apocalyptic, post-pandemic future. There are intimations that a supernatural ‘second sight’ runs in the family and the book’s Southern Gothic vibe is nothing short of intriguing. But for all the hints of magic realism, the focus on female characters contending with obstacles of class and gender at different points in history is rooted in an understandable reality. Beautifully written descriptions of the natural environment, poignant characters, and local color all demonstrate Taylor’s imagination to be visionary and impressive.