Love Dragon Age? Readers share 100 books like Dragon Age...

This is a fantasy novel about noble families competing for control of the Iron Throne in a world filled with political intrigue, betrayal, and war. As alliances shift and conflicts arise, a supernatural threat from the north begins to emerge, adding to the chaos. 

If you love Epic Fantasy, this is a must-read. The story offers complex characters and unexpected twists. Fun fact: I'm an ENFJ personality type, the same as Daenerys Targaryen.

The imagination of a child should be nourished and fed–growing up, this book did just that for me. I could relate to the protagonist in the sense that I loved to learn–and to this day, I am a sponge for knowledge–but I was easily bored with the mundane, often creating worlds that led to my becoming an author.

This was probably one of the earliest works to cultivate that. The characters are rooted in real-life comparisons and still live in the back of my mind. It continues to resonate with me today because despite some tropes being beaten into the ground, this novel took simple concepts, like talking dogs and numbers and letters at war, and made them have a fantasy life of their own.

This is the first book in a series that I don’t think is talked about enough. There are several characters from different points of view, but the ones that stand out most are Lukien and Baron Glass. I love a redeemed villain in any media, and Baron Glass fits that mold.

Originally depicted as the villain in a warring kingdoms opening story, I loved the way that the “villain” becomes portrayed as a kindly mentor that despite age and injury can still fight. Lukien and Glass serve as perfect foils for each other, and the author uses plenty of symbolism to support that. Put together with the whole cast; you have a perfect rag-tag cast of main and supporting characters that breathe on their own with flaws and relatable goals.

The cast of this book are all vastly different. I enjoyed going from a human, relatively normal perspective between Jaymes and Caithlin to the antagonistic orc Ghurak. Jaymes is not a superhero but a regular human on a warship, and with that comes relatability in his character.

The humor sown throughout this book between Jaymes and Karnon about understanding nautical terms also helped me to properly understand some of the words I had never heard of before while not beating me over the head with dry prose. I enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean, but taking that general concept and adding salamanders, orcs (not to mention a sober protagonist), and more into the mix made it that much more fun!

Fragmentation is a natural tendency among humans. Collectives, groups, and organizations face centrifugal tendencies that push for division and fragmentation. Ideological movements, in particular, face this risk, as there will always be members of the group who are dissatisfied with how the collective is progressing toward achieving its goals.

Rebel movements are an excellent example, as such actors constantly fragment, divide, and evolve through years of rebellion. But what factors contribute to or prevent divisions among rebel groups from disintegrating? And not less importantly, what are the implications of fragmentation on civil wars in which the rebel movements participate?

Based on rigorous fieldwork in the Horn of Africa, with particular attention to Eritrea and Ethiopia and an additional outlook into Somalia, Woldemariam offers a convincing theory that addresses these questions by examining such factors as battlefield developments and the nature of control over territory. He does so clearly and eloquently,… show more.

Packer examines why the United States invaded Iraq without a just cause and without a plan for what to do once it succeeded in toppling Saddam Hussein. He explains the critical first few months of the war that set the course for everything that followed in a searing examination of America’s extraordinary hubris in the “War on Terror.” What sets Packer’s work apart is his ability to explain events in the White House and Pentagon and tie them to their bitter denouement on the streets of Baghdad. He tells the story of a big war of choice gone badly wrong before the first shots were fired. 

Marwan Kraidy’s book is a deep dive into the cultural politics of the Arab Uprisings during 2011. Wonderfully written and cleverly organized this academic book looks at the ‘digital’ nature of these resistance movements and the use of art and media tools in the protests. The focus is on young Arabs who used the street to challenge authority and cutting-edge social media platforms to argue for social change. In the book political activism and a period of digital euphoria meet when places like Tahrir Square became the centre of the world. This is one of the most essential accounts of 2011 that offers a refreshing take on Facebook and Twitter as revolutionary agents that helped to bring down the military regime. 

The Viper stalks at night. Esha the rebel’s highly trained assassin tasked with the murder of General Hotha and the undermining of King Vardaan’s rule. Kunal is an equally impressive soldier, the nephew of Hotha, and on the hunt for the Viper. When their paths cross, sparks fly, and loyalties are tested. 

Y.A. is ahead of general fantasy for representation, both of BIPOC and LGBTQA*. The Tiger at Midnight is heavily inspired by Hindu mythology and Indian cultures, bringing an incredible setting to an excellent Y.A. story. And the cover is absolutely stunning.

In a post-apocalyptic world run by an oppressive American empire, we find Little Bird hiding in a hole. Though her mother was a great leader of the rebellion, Little Bird has found herself very lost, in a very cruel world - and she just might be the last chance that the freethinking people of the Western world have. 

I love that this story takes familiar forces and fears of our modern life and cranks them up to eleven. With that in mind, the star of the show must be Ian Bertram’s artwork. All the huge ideas and themes created by Darcy are elevated to a startling degree by the way Ian is able to build this world visually. The iconography, the violence, the characterizations, it slaps you in the face page after page.

This is a great book written by an accomplished scholar later in his career and confident in his research and writing. Telling the tale of the uprising, and crushing, of Tomochic village, Vanderwood zooms into the smaller details of village life and pans out to nation-level decisions with remarkable panache. In a highly enjoyable way, he brings the reader into the action without omitting the broader historical relevance. The reader may enter this for the critique of the dictator’s late nineteenth-century armies, but they will keep reading to find the fate of the unfortunate “town son of a bitch.”