Books like The Blue Sword
30 fantasy books to read after The Blue Sword, by Mckinley, Robin, the closest match first.
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Damar book 2
1. The Hero And The Crown
by Mckinley, Robin
- Same series
- Same author
- On the same lists
A classic book that features many recognizable Fantasy tropes: royalty, romance, enchantment, dragons, war.
Aerin is shy, clumsy, ugly, and mistrusted by the people she is supposed to rule. She is ridiculed for being the daughter of a witch with none of her witchy...
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2. A Knot In The Grain And Other Stories
by Mckinley, Robin
- Same series
- Same author
A mute healer who meets the one man who can hear her thoughts, an abandoned princess who discovers the truth behind the mysterious stagman, a modern girl who finds the...
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3. Imaginary Lands
by Mckinley, Robin
- Same series
- Same author
A fascinating illustrated tour of the fabled places in literature and folklore that have awed, troubled, and eluded us through the ages. From the epic poets of antiquity to contemporary...
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4. The Stone Fey
by Mckinley, Robin
- Same series
- Same author
Maddy, a young woman who runs sheep on her family farm, develops an unusual relationship with an elusive mountain creature called a fey.
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5. Beauty
by Mckinley, Robin
- Same author
- On the same lists
This rendition of the classic fairytale inspired the Disney cartoon of the 90's, and the live action film in 2017. The fairytale I grew up with featured the typical ugly,...
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6. The Golden Compass
by Pullman, Philip
- On the same lists
His Dark Materials plunges you into an intriguing alternate universe that is both familiar, and strange. Imagine a world where we each have our own daemons (spirit animals) that are...
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7. Deerskin
by Mckinley, Robin
- Same author
An author who writes mesmerizing fantasy stories with an almost lyrical, dreamlike style. Her prose is always outstanding, top notch and beautiful to read. Deerskin is perhaps her best, most...
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The Queen Of The Tearling book 1 Start here
8. The Queen Of The Tearling
by Johansen, Erika
- On the same lists
In a post-apocalyptic rendition of Earth, civilization has returned to medieval technology, and the rightful queen who was hidden away as a child seeks to regain her throne. Johansen attempts...
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9. Tiger And Del Series
by Robertson, Jennifer
- On the same lists
This series starts off with so much promise. Del, brave warrior-woman in the North has been training for five years to rescue her brother from slavers in the South and...
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Time Quintet book 1 Start here
10. A Wrinkle In Time
by L'engle, Madeleine
- On the same lists
An award winning, YA series of books that present, at least in part, a Christian world-view.
With a foot in both Science Fiction and Fantasy, A Wrinkle in Time is a bridge between reality and fantasy, a meeting place for adult and child readers alike. Meg...
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11. The Wee Free Men
by Pratchett, Terry
- On the same lists
"Yes! I'm *me*! I am careful and logical and I look up things I don't understand! When I hear people use the wrong words, I get edgy! I am good...
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12. Codex Alera
by Butcher, Jim
- On the same lists
While some of the books on this list offer a fresh take on the classics, Jim Butcher creates something entirely new. It began on a writer's workshop board during an...
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Bloodsounder's Arc book 1 Start here
13. Scourge Of The Betrayer
by Salyards, Jeff
- On the same lists
This novel is dark fantasy down to the core, bringing a refreshing tone and plenty of room for development. It's told not from the eyes of the protagonist but the...
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Shattered Sea book 2
14. Half The World
by Abercrombie, Joe
- On the same lists
Abercrombie kicked off his Shattered Sea series with the award-winning Half a King, but his second novel approaches true mastery. Half the World picks up many years after the first,...
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15. Nation
by Pratchett, Terry
- On the same lists
Pratchett's immensely successful Discworld gets the most attention of his works, but amongst those works lie unrelated novels that deserve even more praise. Nation is one of those, and may...
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Nightrunner book 2
16. Stalking Darkness
by Flewelling, Lynn
- On the same lists
Flewelling's series takes place in the medieval country of Skala and presents a near-perfect sword and sorcery experience. It details the growth of Alec, saved from prison by Seregil, a...
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17. Seventh Son
by Card, Orson Scott
- On the same lists
This series is part Fantasy and part Alternate History and takes place after the American Revolutionary War. Supernatural powers are simply a part of life. The main character has tremendous powers.
Orson Scott Card is best known for his immensely popular Ender's Game series, but he hasn't just tried his hand at the sci-fi genre. Card markets Alvin Maker as a...
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18. The Cycle Of Fire
by Wurts, Janny
- On the same lists
The Cycle of Fire is another one of those classic series. The world is in danger, and three children are its only chance of survival. It's a popular plot line,...
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19. Magician
by Feist, Raymond E.
- On the same lists
It's really hard to go wrong with a good magician's apprentice story, but Raymond Feist manages to push beyond that with an epic scale and several new elements. Magician is...
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20. Song Of The Lioness
by Pierce, Tamora
- On the same lists
Tamora Pierce's Lioness series manages to touch on difficult issues without ever preaching them. Through Alanna, she explores both feminist and gender identity issues while weaving an epic story of...
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21. The Troupe
by Bennett, Robert Jackson
- On the same lists
Vaudeville: mad, mercenary, dreamy, and absurd, a world of clashing cultures and ferocious showmanship and wickedly delightful deceptions. But sixteen-year-old pianist George Carole has joined vaudeville for one reason only:...
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22. Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind
by Miyazaki, Hayao
- On the same lists
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is listed by Stephen Betts as one of the 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die in his book of the same...
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23. By The Sword
by Lackey, Mercedes
- On the same lists
By the Sword is full of kickass women. Kerowyn is the granddaughter of the sorceress Kethry, daughter of a noble house, runs the family keep, loves hunting and training horses....
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24. Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary
- On the same lists
Speaking of Classics, we cannot have a list featuring strong female heroines and leave out Wonder Woman. With the 2017 movie featuring Gal Gadot there's been renewed interest in her...
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25. Song Of The Lioness Quartet
by Pierce, Tamora
- On the same lists
Many fantasy-loving women got hooked on fantasy with Alanna as teens. She has her heart set on being a knight, even though it's not "what girls do," and that passion...
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The Immortals book 1 Start here
26. The Immortals
by Pierce, Tamora
- On the same lists
Couldn't leave this one out. Yes, it's another Tamora Pierce YA treasure set in the Kingdom of Tortall,; you can even cross paths with the Lioness herself. Yet Immortals takes...
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27. The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld
by Mckillip, Patricia A.
- On the same lists
Sybel is only sixteen when she is brought an orphaned baby to raise. She has little love for humans, having been raised alone on Eld Mountain with only the magical...
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Ms. Marvel book 1 Start here
28. Ms. Marvel
by Wilson, G. Willow
- On the same lists
This reboot is everything. Diversity FTW! I love that this incarnation of Ms. Marvel is a teenage Pakistani-American from Jersey, who's just as thrilled about her superpowers as she is...
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Fire And Thorns book 1 Start here
29. The Girl Of Fire And Thorns
by Carson, Rae
- On the same lists
FINALLY. A high fantasy novel featuring someone whose beauty isn't one of her major selling points. I love that Elisa is a clever, resourceful, humanly flawed heroine who relies on...
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A Court Of Thorns And Roses book 1 Start here
30. A Court Of Thorns And Roses Series
by Maas, Sarah J.
- On the same lists
For romantic fantasy fans, A Court of Thorns and Roses has it all: mysterious men, tension, romance, magic, and steamy sex scenes. By the end of book one Feyre is...
Matches come from series and authors, from the lists the books share, and from the books readers open together. They are rebuilt every night. Back to The Blue Sword.
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