Welcome to a land of magic, mystery, and fantasy, adventurer! In these halls of books, we will help you find the next book to inspire your next great gaming work!

This round, we will be specifically focusing in the fantasy genre. Whether it be high or low, fantasy novels have loads of possibility in helping develop your future games. Let’s dive right in to some of the best

The Ratcatchers Series – Matthew Colville

I have no idea why the Ratcatchers series isn’t being produced by a major publishing house. This should be starting a war, seeing who can get their hands on the rights first.

The Ratcatchers is a high fantasy/hard boiled detective-esque series of novels written by Matthew Colville. These novels are self-published by Colville and are equal in quality to that of The Kingkiller Chronicles or the Stormlight Archive.

The story is about an old priest named Heden, an arrogate, who is forced to investigate a group of secretive Green paladins in the north. After he uncovers a dark secret there, he must use all of his power and allies to make the world right.

When you pick up the books, expect some typos and some grammar mistakes throughout. However, for all of the mild spelling errors, the story remains one of the finest I have ever read. Make sure to check it out!

Ring Shout – P. Djeli Clark

Ring Shout is a beautiful story about what it means to suffer pain and not resort to hate. It is a story about not losing yourself in violence and anger, but instead embracing the beauty even when you are in pain.

It is also all about killing secret demons known as Ku Kluxes.

The story follows a young African-American woman, Maryse Boudreaux, and her two companions as they hunt Ku Klux demons. With the demon population growing in numbers, Maryse has to learn how to stop the demons from overwhelming the world while also saving herself from her own rage.

Monsters? Check. Badass protagonists? Check. Awesome lore and magic? Check.

The Malazan Empire Series – Steven Erikson

If you want war, political intrigue, and secret allegiances, then there is no better place to go than Malazan. Steven Erikson’s ten book series tells the various stories of significant figures in Malazan’s history, from the dawn of a new Emperor to the battlefields of Genabakis.

The first book in the series, Gardens of the Moon, is a masterwork in political intrigue thriller. The protagonists have to keep thinking three steps ahead of their opponents. The lines between friend and foe is thin, so watch out – you never know who might be ready to stab you in the back.

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