One of the reasons I came to steemit was to interact with fellow book lovers and the best way to do that is to continue talking about some of the books that I really enjoy. I read a lot of fantasy books, specifically epic fantasy, but sometimes it is nice to just read 1 short book instead of digging in for a massive 3, 7, or 15 book series. I try to read at least a few of these standalone books in between the larger series and wanted to take the time to list a few of my favorites here.
Tigana- Guy Gavriel Kay
There are a lot of good Guy Gavriel Kay books out there but my favorite has to be Tigana. The book came out in 1990 and was the first standalone book Kay had done after his debut trilogy, the Fiovanar Tapestry. While I did enjoy that first trilogy it was definitely the authors take on trying to tell a very Tolkien-esque story. Tigana goes in a much different direction, a historical fantasy that is loosely based off of medieval Italy. A quick, non-spoilery synopsis from the books amazon page describes it as-
The internationally celebrated epic of a beleaguered country struggling to be free. It is the tale of a people so cursed by the dark sorceries of the tyrant king Brandin that even the very name of their once beautiful home cannot be spoken or remembered. But, years after their homeland's devastation, a handful of men and women set in motion a dangerous crusade--to overthrow their conquerors and bring back to the world the lost brightness of an obliterated name: Tigana.
The book is beautifully written, though there is a little poetic prose sprinkled throughout which isn't exactly my cup of tea when it comes to fantasy. It starts off a little slow but still had me hooked relatively early on. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to Kay's writing. If you enjoy this one he has plenty of other books that are worth a read as well.
American Gods- Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is one of the most well known fantasy authors out there today. I had a tough time choosing between this book or Neverwhere as my favorite Gaiman story but by the slightest margins American Gods wins out for me. I really liked the premise of the book- There are gods all around us, the more people believe in and worship them the more power they have. As people migrated to the US they brought the gods from the old country with them and now they are contending with the manifestations of what people unknowingly worship today(TV, the internet, etc..). It sets up a lot of interesting confrontations as the old gods struggle to stay alive.
The book is actually being adapted into a TV show on STARZ this year and I can't wait for it. One of my first posts on Steemit was about the upcoming TV show, so if you want a little more info on that feel free to check it out here- American Gods coming to a TV near you
Warbreaker- Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Sanderson is probably my favorite fantasy author right now and Warbreaker is, in my opinion, his best standalone work. As with most of his works, Sandersons strength lies in his creation of a unique magic system for each book he writes. In this world magic is based off of "breath", each person is born with one breath though you can give that breath to another person if you choose. The more breath a person has, the more power they have and the more things they are able to do with it. A person can put their breath into inanimate objects and "awaken" them to perform commands.
There are enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and guessing what will happen next throughout the book. I felt like there was a good mix of humor, world building, and character development which are all the things I look for in a good standalone fantasy novel. Technically this book does take place in Brandon Sandersons larger universe called the Cosmere, but you don't need to read any other books to enjoy this one. If you really do enjoy this book you may see a few characters from here pop up briefly in other Sanderson books.
So what did I miss?
I am writing this article to hopefully generate a little discussion. I would love to get recommendations from other people out there on their favorite books that are worth a read. I generally try to stay away from the young adult genre but I suppose if you can make a strong enough case for it then I would check it out. These were just a few of the ones I really like, feel free to disagree with me and let me know why I am wrong if you want to. Anything that generates some discussion is fine by me, so here's to hopefully someone having an opinion other than mine.