Here are 75 books that Swords in the Mist fans have personally recommended if you like
Swords in the Mist.
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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.
This book was my first journey into the Underdark, and I swear I could feel the oppressive dark pressing in while reading it.
Drizzt Do’Urden’s struggle hit me harder than any surface-dweller’s tale—here’s someone born into cruelty, yet refusing to accept it as his destiny. The action is fast and cinematic, but what I loved most is the quiet defiance running through every page.
Drizzt isn’t just fighting with blades; he’s fighting for the right to choose who he is. For me, that made the book unforgettable.
Strange and exotic Menzoberranzan is the vast city of the Drow. This is a world of dark elves, where families battle families and fantastic monsters rise up from the lightless depths. From the author of the "Icewind Dale Trilogy".
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…
Children have vivid imaginations, and while mine was initially drawn to science fiction, I discovered my true passion for fantasy upon reading The Hobbit as a teenager. Since that day, escaping into fantasy worlds—whether it be through books, movies, TV, roleplaying, and video games—became my passion and hobby, leading me down many roads, including writing game reviews, a short story, a novel, and an extensive collection of fantasy-related replicas and statues. Ultimately, that endless feeling of wonder and exploration, adventure and danger is what convinced me to become an author; these five books sitting at the top of a long list that inspired me to reach that goal.
When I learned that this novel and the epic series that followed were, in fact, a chronicle of the tabletop role-playing adventures by the authors and their friends, it became my introduction to the massive world of Dungeons & Dragons.
That such creativity and imagination could be sparked by playing a game was a life-altering event that propelled me not only to play it but would eventually inspire me to write my own book series.
A classic tale of heroism and adventure, the original Dragonlance Chronicles perfectly blends all the best qualities of high fantasy, including some well-timed moments of humor that had me genuinely laughing out loud.
This Dungeons & Dragons-inspired fantasy adventure is the first installment in the beloved Dragonlance Chronicles, set in the magical world of Krynn
Once merely creatures of legend, the dragons have returned to Krynn. But with their arrival comes the departure of the old gods—and all healing magic. As war threatens to engulf the land, lifelong friends reunite for an adventure that will change their lives and shape their world forever . . .
When Tanis, Sturm, Caramon, Raistlin, Flint, and Tasslehoff see a woman use a blue crystal staff to heal a villager, they wonder if it's a sign the…
My dad introduced me to the world of Dungeons and Dragons as a child, and ran my first D&D campaign for me when I was about 10 or 11. My dad was also a fantasy writer and likely took the campaign and used it as the basis for a series, I believe this because he used the map that he used for D&D in one of his novels. These story recommendations combine my love of the genre and my love for my father.
I love this book as the beginning of the Myth Series because it was one of the first fantasy books that I felt was accessible. It had great character development and a good mix of drama and comedy. Instead of being a typical long-drawn-out fantasy, there is action and adventure.
When the next book in the series came out, I would reread the previous books so I had everything clearly in mind for the new installment. This series made me a voracious reader.
After mistakenly being appointed court magician by a regent who should have known better, apprentice mage Skeeve must defend a kingdom from the mightiest invading army in the world.
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…
My dad introduced me to the world of Dungeons and Dragons as a child, and ran my first D&D campaign for me when I was about 10 or 11. My dad was also a fantasy writer and likely took the campaign and used it as the basis for a series, I believe this because he used the map that he used for D&D in one of his novels. These story recommendations combine my love of the genre and my love for my father.
My dad had a comic collection of Conan for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I discovered that the comics were loosely adapted from a series of novels by a pulp fiction author. I thought this was interesting because pulp fiction was known for being short and action-packed, whereas we are all familiar with the contemporary, more decompressed storytelling of fantasy novels.
I’d also heard about the connection between Robert E. Howard and HP Lovecraft, and when I picked up Conan of Cimera, I could see it immediately. Horrific fantasy abounds throughout the book!
Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created–a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers.
“Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities . . . there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. . . . Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand . . . to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.”
There are books and series I’ve loved that I’ve only read once, with no need to re-open those particular pages. There are other books that I can re-read every year or so without exactly remembering the details of the plot and enjoy them just as much the second (sometimes tenth) time around. They all inspired me to write, plus they all provided me with awesome entertainment. So, in no particular order…. Five books/series that I’ve re-read at least a half dozen times!
Ooooh, my goodness. Kane is possibly the best anti-hero ever created, and the combination of cosmic horror, swords, sorcery, action, and awesome storytelling make these books/story collections stand out for me. Kane is an immortal, cursed by a mad god to wander the Earth “until he is destroyed by the violence that he himself has created,” and is a take on the biblical Cain, but a lot more fun. Kane inspired one of the characters in my book series and he may just edge out Conan as my favorite lead in the sword & sorcery genre.
Where once the mighty Kane has passed, no one who lives forgets. Now, down the trail of past battles, Kane travels again. To the ruins of a devastated city peopled only with half-men and the waif they call their queen. To the half-burnt tavern where a woman Kane wronged long ago holds his child in keeping for the Devil. To the cave kingdom of the giants where glory and its aftermath await discovery. To the house of death itself where Kane retrieves a woman in love.
The past, the future, the present - all these are one for Kane as…
I’ve always loved both horror and comedy. So imagine my delight discovering the two could be blended together into a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. Movies such as Ghostbusters, Army of Darkness, and Big Trouble in Little China are perfect examples. In each, you have a potentially terrifying situation, coupled with characters who are too full of themselves to play the victim – yet not quite competent enough to be the hero either. It’s inspired me to spend countless hours behind my computer crafting my own horrific worlds, coupled with characters who simply refuse to take it seriously. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
There should be no doubt for anyone who follows me that I love any tale that involves an underdog loser forced to either save the world or die trying. Even better if it involves rampaging tentacle beasts and other Lovecraftian horrors. Throw in a talking cockroach with a serious attitude problem, and you have a perfect recipe for that succulent dish known as horror/comedy. Definitely, a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good laugh in between their screams.
One loser, one talking cockroach, and one karate-chopping bombshell are all that stand between YOU and hell on earth.
Lloyd Wallace is the most clueless crossing guard the intersection of hell and earth has ever seen. So clueless, that he doesn't even realize the beer cave in the corner store where he works is the gateway to hell. The gate needs a hero, but Lloyd's a zero, a loser with a capital L. He's ten thousand dollars in debt and lives with his parents. He's been fired from every job he's ever had. He was the first thing his ex-girlfriend…
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…
I believe that H.P. Lovecraft, only now appreciated at his full stature, has spawned a whole generation of equally brilliant writers who make modern weird horror the most vibrant, confrontational, and relevant of all current genres. He looms over today’s literature and pop culture like Cthulhu looms over the sea, and his heirs include some of the best writers of their generation. As a much-travelled Scottish writer, I’ve needed tools to tackle the chaotic, disorienting contemporary experience, as well as the darkest, most imaginative strains of my own Celtic legacy. Lovecraftian horror—through HPL’s explicit mythos or simply his implicit sensibility—served up the palette I needed to do that.
Laird Barron may be the Robert E. Howard of modern horror and weird fiction—or its Dashiell Hammett. So hard-boiled you could break rocks with it, his prose is ferociously energetic, brutally unsettling, and consummately capable of crafting its own phantasmagoric world. If Melville was resurrected and took to writing plots for Quentin Tarantino, the result might be Laird Barron. The Imago Sequence is among his best collections, but almost any of them is equally strong.
To the long tradition of eldritch horror pioneered and refined by writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Thomas Ligotti comes Laird Barron, an author whose literary voice invokes the grotesque, the devilish, and the perverse with rare intensity and astonishing craftsmanship.
Collected here for the first time are nine terrifying tales of cosmic horror, including the World Fantasy Award-nominated novella "The Imago Sequence," the International Horror Guild Award-nominated "Proboscis," and the never-before-published "Procession of the Black Sloth." Together, these stories, each a masterstroke of craft and imaginative irony, form a shocking cycle of distorted evolution, encroaching chaos, and…
I’m a Canadian author and artist that loves to write and draw the darker side of fantasy. Ever since I was a child, I have adored mythology, horror, and the creatures and worlds that are present within the fantasy genre. The world of fantasy has unlimited imagination, and its lore and structure grow constantly, which gives endless ideas to us writers to create endless brilliant realms and the creatures that dwell within them.
Dread Island was an enjoyable read for me due to its mix of Lovecraftian horror intertwined with the old tales of Huckleberry Fin. The way Joe R. Lansdale depicted his version of the story was incredible and gave me the insight that anything can be made into a horror story. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror, especially Lovecraftian-style horror.
Limited to remaining stock on hand! This "Monster Lit" mash-up novella from modern horror master Joe R. Lansdale, a highlight from the recent Classics Mutilated anthology, combines Lovecraft and Mark Twain in a way that can only be described as brilliant. Or, as Lansdale.
I am passionate about this topic because it dates back to my childhood. I have been interested in this subject for as long as I can remember and, as far as I can tell, gravitated towards it naturally, probably due to those unknown vectors within us all that gear us towards our loves, interests, and passions. I have written many novels in this field, and countless short stories, some published, others lying around my house. For me, this genre defines the best aspects of the imagination and is full of color, fantasy, and the entire broad spectrum of human emotions, including the most potent: fear.
Perhaps my favorite author of all time is Edgar Allan Poe, but HP Lovecraft is certainly within the running of my top five, perhaps three. His fiction is predicated upon the idea that we understand very little about the nature of reality and are ourselves rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
This notion in and of itself is rather humbling and petrifying. Not to mention the fact that Lovecraft’s work is downright cool, rife with slime, tentacles, and other unknown and indescribable horrors from beyond the cosmic veil of outer space…and beneath the ocean, which is without a doubt the scariest place on earth.
Another fantastic edition in the Knickerbocker Classic series is The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, comprised of the author's fictional stories featuring the world's most bizzarre creatures and supernatural thrills. Written by H.P. Lovecraft between the years 1917 and 1935, the stories in this collection feature many horrific and cautionary science fiction themes that influence today's artists like Stephen King, Alan Moore, Paul Wilson, Guillermo Del Toro, and Neil Gaiman. For Lovecraft fans worldwide, this stunning gift edition has a full cloth binding, foil blocking on the spine, ribbon marker, and is packaged neatly in an elegant slipcase. The Complete…
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…
I wouldn't call myself a cosmic horror expert, but I've read quite a few of the expected authors--Dunsany, Machen, Lovecraft, Blackwood, Howard, etc--and I've written novels and short fiction in the genre and have been asked to panel and talk about it for years at professional events. How can a fictional narrative contain villains so powerful that human beings have no way to understand, let alone resist them? I like exploring that impossibility in my own writing, and I feel compelled to subvert its historical legacy of colonialism and racism where I can. It is not a genre that needs reclaiming but rewriting, and it is rife with possibilities.
This book of poems is a truly unexpected combination of current pop culture, social commentary, and cosmic horror--and a hugely enjoyable read. It deals with the themes of sacrifice, thoughtless loyalty, collusion, survival, colonialism, and the very idea of the monstrous. How do we know when the forces around us are asking too much of us? How can we trust what we will get in return? How do our personal histories inform how we will respond to the void when it comes knocking? A lively, thoughtful read.
#1 New Release in Caribbean & Latin American Poetry Cthulhu meets hip-hop in this book of horror poems that flips the eldritch genre upside down. Lovecraftian-inspired nightmares are reversed as O'Brien asks readers to see Blackness as radically significant. Can You Sign My Tentacle? explores the monsters we know and the ones that hide behind racism, sexism, and violence, resulting in poems that are both comic and cosmic.
