The best SFF books about brotherhood and male friendships

Red Rising and its sequels have a special place in my heart. They’re about war, violence, terrorism, tragedies, and betrayal, but there’s a stronger thread woven throughout the pages: love. Love of your family, of your brothers, and your kin. It’s this love that drives the characters to rise up against godlike enemies. To fight for a better tomorrow.

The bromance that’s on display between Darrow and Sevro is so moving, especially when either of them fall on hard times (which is often). Whenever I feel lost or depressed, reading about these broken, beautiful, loyal characters helps me to find my own path again.

These books were, and are, the single biggest influence on my writing.

The Gentlemen Bastards are not necessarily good people, but I still love them. Why? Because they care for each other.

This might not immediately be evident. They’re always ready with a cutting quip or a beautifully timed comeback, and they’re not above pulling some nasty tricks on each other just for a laugh. But when all hell breaks loose, you better believe that Locke and Jean have each other’s backs, with an axe or a blade in hand—or both. 

True, they lie, steal, swindle, and rob the rich, and the poor don’t see a cent of it. But the loyalty that these men have to each other speaks to an unbreakable bond of brotherhood, and I am all here for it.

Did someone say a brotherhood of half-orcs? Sign me the hell up.

I’ve always loved non-human characters, whether monsters, aliens, ghouls, or whatever. I’ve always strongly identified with the “other.” When monsters do show up, they’re often depicted as just that: monsters. This is especially true of orcs.

But in The Grey Bastards, we get to see these mutts as so much more than drooling, mindless beasts. Their loyalty and brotherhood is what keeps them alive. When they’re riding out into battle, it’s not their tactics or strategy that gives them the edge, it’s knowing that whether they live or they die, their brothers will be fighting fiercely by their side. And that’s the sort of thing that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

There’s something about an ensemble book that I love. Seeing personalities clash as insults fly and banter is exchanged really gets me going. I usually don’t like overtly funny books or jokes at the expense of drama, but Nicholas Eames has somehow hit the sweet spot for me with Kings of the Wyld.

These characters are more than just there to crack one-liners, of course. They’ve got their fair share of baggage to unpack, and sometimes it takes a friend or a brother to lend a listening ear for the healing to start happening.

For various reasons, I had very few people that I could consider to be true friends when I read this book, and seeing these burly, fearsome warriors start to grow on each other was a balm on my soul.

I know what you’re thinking: why is manga series about an anthropomorphic wolf in a school of animals on this list? But bear with me. (No pun intended).

Beastars is a manga series about animals that has a lot to say about humans. Themes include othering, prejudice, nature vs. nurture, et cetera. But there’s also a lot of brotherhood. One of the main characters is a wolf with anxiety, and the other is a red deer with a domineering, arrogant attitude. And yet, they become unlikely allies and brothers as they navigate their own animalistic instincts in a world full of lies, half-truths, and social pressures. 

I found them to be very flawed, very human (animal?) characters. Their unflinching resolve and determination to bring out the best in each other until the very end make this slice-of-life animal drama so compelling.