Here are 90 books that The Eyes of God fans have personally recommended if you like
The Eyes of God.
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When we speak in real life, much of what we say out loud doesn't have any real meaning. But when authors write, each word a character says must convey meaning to drive the scene forward. The words must exhibit some form of information—emotion, advancement of an idea, or even be the action itself—otherwise, they're just wasted words on the page. The true challenge of writing dialogue is to convey as much as possible with as few words as possible. I love a book in which I'm yearning for specific characters to return just so I can hear the carefully crafted, intelligent, and tight words they employ when speaking, especially when two characters are verbally dueling.
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."
HBO's hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martin's internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A GAME OF THRONES is the first volume in the series.
'Completely immersive' Guardian
'When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground'
Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.
From the fertile south, where heat breeds conspiracy, to the vast and savage eastern lands, all the…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
I’ve always been drawn to portal stories where a character is magically transported to another world. As a child, I loved Where the Wild Things Are. Now, as a parent, I can see how cleverly Maurice Sendak builds a fantasy around a core emotional truth. This fascination stayed with me through books like The Phantom Tollbooth and Alice in Wonderland. I believe there’s something very powerful about using fantasy worlds to explore the inner lives of characters.
This is utterly unique in the way Norton Juster is able to build a fantasy world out of words, logic, and math.
As a young adult, I loved the idea of receiving a magic tollbooth and driving into a magic world. But, immediately, I found the book challenging because Milo ends up in the doldrums (a word I had never heard before). This is not just a fantasy adventure, but a cautionary tale, a character study, and a world full of puns and puzzles.
Returning to the book as an adult, I was amazed at how seamlessly Juster puts it all together.
With almost 5 million copies sold 60 years after its original publication, generations of readers have now journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic. Enriched by Jules Feiffer’s splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster’s offbeat fantasy are as beguiling as ever.
“Comes up bright and new every time I read it . . . it will continue to charm and delight for a very long time yet. And teach us some wisdom, too.” --Phillip Pullman
For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only…
One of the questions that I’m constantly asked by other authors is how do you make characters memorable in a genre that has done it all? My criteria are twofold–the characters need to be flawed and relatable; no one can truly relate to Superman. Secondly, I believe there is strength in a group. When I write with a diverse group of characters with their own personalities, the characters tell the story for me. I find that if I can emphasize and start having fun like I’m part of the group, I become enthralled with the novel. I am passionate about characters and letting them breathe and feel real.
I think some of the strongest and most compelling stories can be told in video game RPGs, and I consistently refer to this one as having some of the best characters. I read this novel after playing the game, and I loved being able to learn more about Loghain.
In this book, he is lorded as a powerful figure, and he affects major parts of the story. I loved exploring his backstory and seeing his character evolve and grow into how he is in the game. I also enjoyed connecting the pieces of his personality to the plot of the novel. The author captured the formula of creating “real,” flawed characters from the game and translated it excellently into prose.
This is the thrilling prequel to "Dragon Age: Origins", the hit role-playing video game from award-winning developer BioWare! After his mother, the beloved Rebel Queen, is betrayed and murdered by her own faithless lords, young Maric becomes the leader of a rebel army attempting to free his nation from the control of a foreign tyrant. His countrymen live in fear; his commanders consider him untested; and his only allies are Loghain, a brash young outlaw who saved his life, and Rowan, the beautiful warrior maiden promised to him since birth. Surrounded by spies and traitors, Maric must find a way…
Separating the true stories from the myths, The Duty of Memory provides a deeper understanding of the diverse motivations that drove ordinary people to join an underground network of French Resistants despite terrible odds and horrifying consequences.
This book takes the reader inside the true story of men and women…
Have you ever felt this deep, internal calling, one you can’t escape from, that even as time goes by, it remains there, whispering in your inner mind, telling you, driving you, to create things that aren’t real? To make them into words that then form adventures? For as long as I can remember I have felt this, and feel it is what I was meant to do. I love, and try to incorporate in my own stories, elements that involve magic, uncommon or new creatures, extensive worlds, flawed characters, a pinch of love, and everything else (including, possibly, a kitchen sink) that can be found in a made-up universe.
This book brought adventure, magic, and a touch of romance, and I cannot wait for the second book to come out!
When the main character returned home after her first job as a messenger in the land of Ilbeor, she found her whole family had caught a deadly disease with no cure, and all she had left of them was a scarf that doesn’t burn in fire. The story of her adventure to find the truth kept me on my toes until the last page.
I cannot recommend this book enough if you are looking for a female lead that doesn’t back down when the harshest of obstacles have been thrown her way, some even from an evil sorcerer plotting from the shadows.
Messengers connect six races of the verdant and beautiful land of Ilbeor, and newly trained messenger Alanda feels the promise of her adult life as she steps into the world to find her fortune. Faithful dog Alis at her side, Alanda traverses the mountainous wilderness only to be punished by storm and sun before becoming the first elf-friend in generations. When she meets charming messenger Tostig and feels the spark of a connection unlike any she’s ever known, she believes her life has truly begun.
After being greeted by tragedy and a brother changed by primal magics she does not…
Have you ever felt this deep, internal calling, one you can’t escape from, that even as time goes by, it remains there, whispering in your inner mind, telling you, driving you, to create things that aren’t real? To make them into words that then form adventures? For as long as I can remember I have felt this, and feel it is what I was meant to do. I love, and try to incorporate in my own stories, elements that involve magic, uncommon or new creatures, extensive worlds, flawed characters, a pinch of love, and everything else (including, possibly, a kitchen sink) that can be found in a made-up universe.
I read this book when I was younger, as the main character is fourteen, but I have recently reread it with a different view, being older. And it still had me excited to keep reading to the end, not having lost the mystique of magical components and a cute love story that it did all those years ago.
With a conquering empire invading their borders, Princess Thirrin must seek help from those she has only heard terrible tales about and gains an unlikely relationship with a witch’s son in the process. This is one of my favorite books that has me picking it up a couple times to revisit the journey Thirrin must venture, and it never lets me down.
A magnificent tale of adventure, emotion and a girl who defies an empire set in the backdrop of sublime landscape!
'A dazzling, confident debut about power and personal discovery' THE TIMES
'A wonderful, swashbuckling read and an exceptional debut.' BOOKS FOR KEEPS
When her father dies nobly in battle, fourteen-year-old Thirrin becomes Queen of the Icemark, a tiny kingdom forever caught between dangerous neighbours.
Thirrin must raise an army to protect her people from seemingly invincible Imperial invaders. Her search for allies takes her beyond her northern borders, to former enemies in The-Land-of-the-Ghosts and onwards to the frozen Hub-of-the-World.
Have you ever felt this deep, internal calling, one you can’t escape from, that even as time goes by, it remains there, whispering in your inner mind, telling you, driving you, to create things that aren’t real? To make them into words that then form adventures? For as long as I can remember I have felt this, and feel it is what I was meant to do. I love, and try to incorporate in my own stories, elements that involve magic, uncommon or new creatures, extensive worlds, flawed characters, a pinch of love, and everything else (including, possibly, a kitchen sink) that can be found in a made-up universe.
Nothing beats a good ol’ hero saving the princess story at the end of the day. It might be cliche and old, but I still love it when two characters fall in love, destined to be together, and the male character rises to hero status, having to do everything he can to rescue the princess.
That was just one of the things that I really loved about this book, another being the evil and sadistic prince the princess, Haleine, must marry and later try and escape from. There’s always that secret pleasure of the dark, evil antagonist that, when written right, just makes the story perfect. And that’s what I found in Effigy.
The survival of a once-mighty kingdom rests in the hands of its young queen, Haleine Coileáin, as it slowly succumbs to an ancient evil fueled by her husband’s cruelty. A sadistic man with a talent for torture and a taste for murder, he is determined to burn the land and all souls within. Haleine is determined to save her kingdom and, after a chance encounter, joins forces with the leader of the people’s rebellion. She gives him her support, soon followed by her heart. Loving him is inadvertent but becomes as natural and necessary as breathing. She lies and steals…
What were America's first prisons like? How did penal reformers, prison administrators, and politicians deal with the challenges of confining human beings in long-term captivity as punishment--what they saw as a humane intervention?
The Deviant Prison centers on one early prison: Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in Philadelphia, one of the…
Have you ever felt this deep, internal calling, one you can’t escape from, that even as time goes by, it remains there, whispering in your inner mind, telling you, driving you, to create things that aren’t real? To make them into words that then form adventures? For as long as I can remember I have felt this, and feel it is what I was meant to do. I love, and try to incorporate in my own stories, elements that involve magic, uncommon or new creatures, extensive worlds, flawed characters, a pinch of love, and everything else (including, possibly, a kitchen sink) that can be found in a made-up universe.
I enjoyed this book so much, I have read it three times. I first came across The Singer’s Crown when I was much younger than I am now, but I have since then read it multiple times because the love of the main character, Prince Kattanan, was so innocent, and I just couldn’t help but fall in love with him as he held secret feelings for Princess Melisande.
The story blends betrayal, a cast-out prince, magic, and secret feelings like a perfect blend of creamy chocolate and magical peanut butter. It is one of my favorites, and it keeps pulling me back to reread the story over and over; I highly recommend it.
Prince Kattanan duRhys was in direct line to the throne—until his royal family was cruelly slaughtered by a usurping uncle who spared the life of his "favorite nephew" but left the boy mutilated and incapable of claiming his birthright.Nearly a decade on, Kattanan is a harmless wanderer—a coveted prize—serving many different masters. But now the singer's simple life is threatened by chaos and dark wizardry, by his impossible secret love for the betrothed Princess Melisande . . . and by an obligation of the blood that forces Kattanan to pursue vengeance and a crown he's not certain he wants.
One of the questions that I’m constantly asked by other authors is how do you make characters memorable in a genre that has done it all? My criteria are twofold–the characters need to be flawed and relatable; no one can truly relate to Superman. Secondly, I believe there is strength in a group. When I write with a diverse group of characters with their own personalities, the characters tell the story for me. I find that if I can emphasize and start having fun like I’m part of the group, I become enthralled with the novel. I am passionate about characters and letting them breathe and feel real.
The cast of this book are all vastly different. I enjoyed going from a human, relatively normal perspective between Jaymes and Caithlin to the antagonistic orc Ghurak. Jaymes is not a superhero but a regular human on a warship, and with that comes relatability in his character.
The humor sown throughout this book between Jaymes and Karnon about understanding nautical terms also helped me to properly understand some of the words I had never heard of before while not beating me over the head with dry prose. I enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean, but taking that general concept and adding salamanders, orcs (not to mention a sober protagonist), and more into the mix made it that much more fun!
A story based on the new game from Mantic featuring sea battles in a fantasy setting
“Lieutenant Jaymes Ellias is ready to leave the Basilean Navy. A career spent in coastal defence and administrative positions has left him dejected and resentful, and he has a plan for life outside the military. But when he is suddenly sent to the ship’s company of the HW Pious, an elohi-class frigate, he is propelled into action under the command of the harsh, sardonic Captain Charn Ferrus. Ferrus and his squadron are employed in pirate hunting duties in the sun-drenched Infant Sea, combating the…
I’d like to say I have no expertise in this topic. And yet…don’t we all? We’ve all lived through it. I was born in 1937—in Honolulu, the daughter of a US Army officer. WW II was a pervasive part of my childhood, as my father spent time in the Pacific and then after the war ended, we lived in Occupied Japan for some years. But war had always been a part of my family’s history, as is true for so many people. My great grandfather left a written account of his capture and imprisonment during the Civil War. And much more recently, my own son, an Air Force pilot, died in the cockpit of a F-15. Ironically, he had married a German wife, and he is buried in her village cemetery near her grandfather, who served on the Russian front years earlier. His child, my granddaughter, puts flowers on both of those graves. All of these pieces of my own history combine, I think, to create this passion I have for the telling and retelling of stories that can make us more aware of the futility of war.
Sadako Sasaki was a real child, one who survived the bombing of Hiroshima but who died from its aftereffects a number of years later. Hospitalized and terminally ill, she folded origami cranes, hoping magically, and fruitlessly, that they would bring her luck and save her life. A statue of Sadako stands outside of the Peace Museum in Hiroshima; I visited there a few years ago and was reminded again of the tragedy of war.
“An extraordinary book, one no reader will fail to find compelling and unforgettable.” —Booklist, starred review
The star of her school’s running team, Sadako is lively and athletic…until the dizzy spells start. Then she must face the hardest race of her life—the race against time. Based on a true story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes celebrates the courage that makes one young woman a heroine in Japan.
"[The] story speaks directly to young readers of the tragedy of Sadako's death and, in its simplicity, makes a universal statement for 'peace in the world.” —The Horn Book "The story is…
Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South
by
William D. Auman,
Award-winning novelist William Auman, author of If Trees Could Testify..., takes the reader on a time-traveling odyssey featuring 345 bodies of water in six states within the historical context through which they unfold.
Journey into remaining Colonial-era wilderness with stories of pirate treasure, epic frontiersmen, Indigenous Peoples, and Revolutionary…
When I worked as a middle school teacher, I surveyed more than 200 students how they felt about books that included sadness and grief. The overwhelming answer from the students was that while adults too often minimize their feelings and dismiss the validity of their heartache, books do not. Many young readers want books that are honest and raw enough not to shield them from the world, but to pay enough attention to its pain to light a path, knowing that they can keep moving forward in the dark when they feel less alone and less afraid.
Another novel in verse, I loved Rajani LaRocca’s Red, White, and Whole for its emotional complexity.
Though a work of fiction, LaRocca has said that many of the aspects of the book are based on her own experience growing up as an Indian American in the 1980s. In the story, thirteen-year-old Reha straddles two worlds: expected to honor Indian traditions and expectations at home, while fitting into the life of an American teenager at school.
But when Reha’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, Reha must confront more than just her fear of blood. I love this book for the mirrors and windows it provides readers of all ages.
Newbery Honor Book! A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia.
* Walter Award Winner * New England Book Award Winner * An NCTE Notable Verse Novel * Golden Kite Award Winner * Goodreads Choice Nominee * A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year * An SLJ Best Book of the Year * A BookPage Best Book of the Year * An NYPL Best Book of the Year * A Mighty Girl's Best Book of the Year * An ILA Notable Book…
