I’ve been a huge fan of the movies since they first came out but didn’t read the books until the beginning of this year. I just wasn’t a reader until recently. I’ve been yearning for some more fantasy but haven’t been able to find anything similar. I tried The Silmarillion but it reads too much like a textbook to me.
What are some other great fantasy books that I might like?
Already been mentioned but the The Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin is the only other fantasy that feels “similar” to the Lord of the Rings to me (admittedly I haven’t read a ton of fantasy, but I’ve read a decent amount). I’m reading through the series for the first time, on book three right now, and it’s just great. Feel like it does a nice job of defying my expectations of a “fantasy story” and Le Guin’s writing is beautiful.
Also these books straddle the line between fantasy and sci-fi, but the Broken Earth Series by N. K. Jemisin are amazing and among my favorite books. Actually gave the series a reread after my most recent reread of LotR earlier this year, so I can vouch they are an excellent follow up! These ones have less of an obvious fantasy parallel to LotR but they’re too good for me to not mention!
The first 3 books of A Song of Ice & Fire.
By the time he gets to book 4/5 it’s all starting to get a little out of hand for poor George.
The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss. It is not so much LotR becauseitt focuses on one main character. But it has a pretty clever and thoroughly thought out magic system and I for my part enjoyed the story. Link to openlibrary
Have you tried wheel of time?
That series has been on my radar, but I’ve been weary because I’ve heard that there’s a big lull in the middle 5 books or so.
Fair point, but I would say the first 4 books are an equivalent load to LOTR and worth the time.
Most people can agree that LOTR is about “good vs evil” with high attention to details, which can be found in many other fantasy books.
One thing that make me obsessed with LOTR that’s way less common is Tolkien’s approach with how to do good.
In LOTR, it’s not enough to claim “the end justifies the means”, where Gandalf could use the ring to destroy Sauron and be a “good” leader. It’s in the little things that goodness wins. There’s a nice quote from Sam in one of the last chapters about it.
In my opinion, Tolkien’s witness of WWI made him aware that the “good” side would commit as much atrocities as the “bad” side in a war. That was something he learned from it, and tries to push in his stories.
In that sense, i liked Wheel of Time. It starts in a Game of Thrones style, where the good guys work against each other because “the end justifies the means” (encouraged by infiltrated bad guys). To win, the good guys have to learn Tolkien’s lesson, and make sure they don’t cause harm when trying to achieve their goals. Also, it’s very detailed and deep.
