Six Heirs (french)

Pierre Grimbert is on the rise with the fabulous The Secret of Ji, a fantasy that imagines a sprawling world of telepathic animals, magicians, mortals, and capricious gods. It’s a chaotic landscape steeped in magic, ruled by mortals, watched over by gods and controlled by shadowy thieve guilds. Some of the books our our Best Non-English Fantasy Books list may be on the esoteric side, or ancient fiction, or some grand literary work, or even from a western perspective, somewhat odd. Six Heirs: The Secret of Ji, however, is eminently readable, digestible, and enjoyable by an English audience. Many of the fantasy trappings are fully present in the novel as are the expected fantasy story elements that we all expect from modern fantasy in 2016.With the author citing himself as a big fan of Jack Vance, Fritz Leiber, and Michael Moorcock, it's no surprise that you find elements of each of these authors in his Secret of Ji books.Yet, being a French fantasy, there are refreshing differences that absolutely make this a gem to read, especially if you are used to standard epic fantasy.Indeed, Grimbert takes on the western fantasy genre with both guns loaded, borrowing familiar western fantasy tropes yet injecting the story, characters, and world with his own unique cultural spin. So if you want to read some French-translated fantasy that rings the same familiar tones you are used to with Western fantasy, yet contains a spark of something ineffably different, give The Secret of Ji a read. The book is a great example of how well foreign fantasy can integrate into the English fantasy market, yet still retain that essential cultural difference when you look hard between the pages.Thoroughly, and utterly enjoyable by any modern fantasy fan. I absolutely recommend Six Heirs: The Secret of Ji for fans who love Sanderson, Gemmell, or Brent Weeks. It's ones of the easiest foreign fantasy books to read...and love.