Other Book Genres for Fantasy Nerds to Enjoy
This week we will be discussing some other genres we enjoy reading! While Fantasy is our main focus, other great genres exist. Below is a list of our favorites, but let us know what yours are!
Science Fiction
Science Fiction is one of WTF’s favorite genres besides Fantasy. While it is fiction and may have fictional science as well, a lot of times there is real science interwoven into the stories! I love this aspect; it really makes you think. Due to its nature, these stories typically take place in a fictional realm and have a futuristic feel, which is another aspect I quite enjoy.
When I was younger I adored the Halo video games, and of course, had to get my hands on the Halo universe books. This was my first taste of the Science Fiction genre, and I was hooked! Books like The Fall of Reach, The Flood, Ghost of Onyx, and the trilogy of Silentium, Primordium, and Cryptum solidified my love for the genre. If you loved Halo, I would definitely recommend getting your hands on some of these books!
The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest, and Death’s End is an incredible Science Fiction trilogy by author Liu Cixin. I recently finished The Dark Forest, and let me tell you the first two books have already blown my mind! The story is incredibly complex and well-built, and aspects of science are laid out in a way that I think anyone can grasp the concepts, but these books truly had me thinking. They also have an element of mystery as well as twists and turns that keep you absolutely glued to the books! As mentioned in a prior post Netflix has adapted these novels to a now recently released show that I am skeptical but excited to watch. It’s worth noting that in February of last year, China released its own show adaptation, and based on my research it’s more closely aligned with the books, although some aspects are censored because of the censorship laws in China. That being said, I love these books so much I will be watching both versions!
Dune is very popular right now seeing as the second film was just released in theatres, and while I have not read the books my partner has and absolutely loves them! From his words the world-building is astounding, and the character development is just as good. Dune showcases interplanetary politics in a very interesting way while giving readers an entirely new universe of creatures, culture, and science! I certainly plan to read these novels.
Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction is Clever’s favorite genre after Fantasy, and you can find a lot of historical-based fantasy books out there. I love that this genre makes learning about the past fun and entertaining! You can also experience what it would be like to live in a different time and make choices you would never be faced with, just like Fantasy books set in a fictional world. As you start reading this genre, it’s easy to see why Fantasy Nerds would love it. A lot of Fantasy books have a medieval setting, and they are full of action and adventure, just like historical fiction. Also, I think that being familiar with history and mythology can enhance the Fantasy reading experience; when you recognize elements of a book that are based on history, it gives a feeling of familiarity and leads to a better understanding of what’s occurring in the story.
A Song of Ice and Fire is a hugely popular Fantasy series, and George R.R. Martin has admitted that many of the events and characters in the story are based on real-life history. The general concept of A Game of Thrones and the larger plot points seem to be inspired by the War of Roses, a thirty-year series of vicious battles over the British throne. One of the most infamous moments, the Red Wedding, is also similar to the Black Dinner in Scottish history. This is a great series for Fantasy Nerds who want to ease into the Historical Fiction genre, and vice versa.
On the flip side, one of my favorite authors, Philippa Gregory, writes Historical Fiction books based around the War of the Roses and other English history. There are still the elements of war, betrayal, and political intrigue, just without the Fantasy components. What I love about Philippa Gregory’s books, in particular, is that they are usually told from the POV of a female character who was central to the events, but often overlooked by history. I also love how she digs into history and can take the unknowns and mysteries and examine them from a new angle to figure out what may have actually happened.
Another one of my favorite Fantasy and Historical Fiction crossover series, this one more heavy on the history, is the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. This series is what’s known as an alternate history, a genre that examines how history could be different if a certain event had turned out differently. But what makes this series Fantasy is that the alternate event is the existence of dragons during the Napoleonic Wars! The characters in this series are some of my favorites; the relationship between Captain Laurence, his dragon Temeraire, and their crew was deeper and more real than many Fantasy romances. Not to mention their battles and adventures rivaled any I’ve read before. I would highly recommend the series to fans of either genre.
If you are looking for a stand-alone novel to dip your toes into Historical Fiction, I would recommend The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It has been years since I read this book, but I can still remember the fear I felt at reading one particular scene and struggling to fall asleep that night. The reason I recommend this book for Fantasy fans is not just the immersiveness of the story, but because it is based off of the history of Vlad the Impaler, known in the Fantasy realm as Count Dracula.
Mystery
Mystery is a genre that we can both agree is one of our favorites. The feeling of suspense and trying to figure out the truth makes a good mystery hard to put down. There is often a lot you can learn about human nature from this genre. And any Fantasy fan loves a noble hero (or maybe an anti-hero) and a terrifying villain, which are the hallmarks of the mystery genre. Not to mention, this genre usually features tension and plenty of twists and turns.
We both agree that the best author in this genre is Agatha Christie. She has a way of writing an ending you don’t expect and a deep understanding of humans and their motivations. She is so intelligent, and often the solution to the mystery is a tiny detail that the reader has overlooked. Her one story that still has us shaken to this day is Endless Night. If you asked either of us what our favorite non-fantasy book was, this would be our immediate answer, hands down. The ending is incredible, unpredictable, and stays with you long after you finish.
Another aspect of the genre that I love is the unreliable narrator. This is when you don’t know if you can trust the narrator – maybe they have a mental illness, fragmented memory, or struggle with addiction – or my favorite, when you don’t know that you can’t trust the narrator but it turns out later that they were deceitful or maybe even the villain. Agatha Christie does this occasionally in her books, but some other examples are The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window.
Horror
Horror is definitely a specific taste; I believe you either love it or you hate it! I greatly enjoy reading horror, and I’ve dabbled in writing this genre for some of my short stories on our blog, for example, Dark Thoughts. Horror gives you those feelings of being scared, of being on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen, and of being terrified to keep reading onto the next page preparing yourself for the worst. The kind of books that keep you up at night and have a night light lit for a false sense of safety. If you hate those feelings, Horror is not for you, but I think there is a part of all of us that likes to be scared sometimes.
Swan Song by Robert McCammon is a horror novel that lives in my mind. It’s a terrifying book of survival in the aftermath of Nuclear fallout, how the nature of humans is completely altered, and a main villain that chills you to the core. It’s graphic, so graphic that at some points I had a little trouble reading, but it’s incredibly well written. The characters stick with you, how they change over the course of the book and how they’re all connected is so intriguing. This book truly scared and unnerved me, but I couldn’t put it down!
H.P. Lovecraft is well known, and his works are bone-chillingly eerie. The kind of horror that is almost far off, like echoes of fear, but makes your skin go cold while you’re reading it. The monsters and worlds he creates are classic horror readings for all book lovers.
We couldn’t talk about horror without mentioning the King of Horror himself, Steven King. One thing that makes his writing stand out is that he doesn’t shy away from the dark and dirty aspects of humanity. His settings are gritty and even his main characters are often far from perfect. To me, there is somehow a simple realness to his fantastical and monstrous tales that makes them so relatable. You can be transported to another world, yet somehow the story feels grounded in the root of who we are as both individuals and a society.
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What did you think of our choices for other genres? What other genres do you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below!
Thank you so much for reading!
-Clever&WTF
