The Nightrunners

Considering that fantasy gives authors the opportunity to create entirely new cultures, it's surprising that so few erase the negative aspects of our own society – sexism, racism, and homophobia – in favor of something better. The Nightrunner Series is one of the few epic fantasies that feature a m-m couple as protagonists. Two things: If you are uncomfortable with that idea, don't be put off. The romance is a subplot and is very subtly referenced. Also, it's not the only reason you should pick up this series. Why it made this list It's not just that the characters in this series are so well fleshed out, it's that the cultures they're a part of are cleverly distinct from each other. Flewelling's characters' motivations are always clear and always part of a gradual path of development. There's no part in this series where you wonder why anyone is doing something that seems out of character. Patriarchy isn't present in these books either – women are capable of the same things as men. Even though the plot centers around two men, the female characters are interesting, and are given as much depth as the men. The greatest thing about this series? It's all about the plot. What this means is that the action is unrelenting and moves at a good pace. Whenever there is emotion, it's used exclusively to move the story along. It sounds like an obvious thing to say, but in a genre where internal processing and world building are often given too much plot time; it's refreshing to read something purely to see what happens next.