97 books like Dreamer's Throne

By Seth Ring,

Here are 97 books that Dreamer's Throne fans have personally recommended if you like Dreamer's Throne. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Pawn of Prophecy

Joshua Kern Author Of Portals of Albion

From my list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I loved fantasy; it was my escape from real life. Portal Fantasy is one of the oldest sub-genres in that regard, with works such as Wizard of OzThrough the Looking Glass, and Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few. LitRPG is a newer genre, though its roots extend back to the 80s. Fantasy is full of magical worlds that embrace the reader’s mind, allowing them to live beyond their own life. I have experienced what it is like to fall in love countless times, to fly a ship through the sky using magic and swordfight, and to die and be reborn. Through these stories, I have lived.

Joshua's book list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre

Joshua Kern Why did Joshua love this book?

First off, this is about the story, not the author, and yes, I know this isn’t really Portal Fantasy or LitRPG. However, it is one of the stories that made me fall in love with what you could with writing. In some stories, the MC would learn to sword fight or use magic almost overnight, but not in this series.

No, he is being taught right up until the end.

Then there is the ending itself, and while it has been years since I last read it, I do remember how utterly captivated I was by the idea of them sidestepping the final battle like that. It showed me that not every story has to be the same, and I will always love the series for that.

By David Eddings,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Pawn of Prophecy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first part of a saga set against a history of 7000 years of struggles of gods and kings and men. Long ago, the evil god Torak sought dominion and drove men and gods to war. Belgarath the Sorcerer led a quest to reclaim the Orb of Aldur - but so long as it lay at Riva, men would be safe.


Book cover of Portal to Nova Roma

Joshua Kern Author Of Portals of Albion

From my list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I loved fantasy; it was my escape from real life. Portal Fantasy is one of the oldest sub-genres in that regard, with works such as Wizard of OzThrough the Looking Glass, and Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few. LitRPG is a newer genre, though its roots extend back to the 80s. Fantasy is full of magical worlds that embrace the reader’s mind, allowing them to live beyond their own life. I have experienced what it is like to fall in love countless times, to fly a ship through the sky using magic and swordfight, and to die and be reborn. Through these stories, I have lived.

Joshua's book list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre

Joshua Kern Why did Joshua love this book?

I know many people seem to like his other series more, but this is one that actually grabbed me. An AI intelligence being sent back to the past, only its one that has magic. I mean come on, how fun does that premise sound? It uses a fairly traditional LitRPG setup, but there is nothing wrong with that in the slightest.

I do have a few nitpicks with the story, but they can be explained away with magic more than anything else.

By J.R. Mathews,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Portal to Nova Roma as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

To find peace, Alexander must first embrace war.

After tragically losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief.

Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. He doesn't know why, or how, such a world exists, but he doesn't care. All he cares about is finding a place where he can escape the misery of Earth and start over.…


Book cover of The Hidden Tower

Joshua Kern Author Of Portals of Albion

From my list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I loved fantasy; it was my escape from real life. Portal Fantasy is one of the oldest sub-genres in that regard, with works such as Wizard of OzThrough the Looking Glass, and Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few. LitRPG is a newer genre, though its roots extend back to the 80s. Fantasy is full of magical worlds that embrace the reader’s mind, allowing them to live beyond their own life. I have experienced what it is like to fall in love countless times, to fly a ship through the sky using magic and swordfight, and to die and be reborn. Through these stories, I have lived.

Joshua's book list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre

Joshua Kern Why did Joshua love this book?

Portals, portals everywhere in this story. You get a portal, I get portal, even he gets one. Okay, not really, the MC does start using them a fair bit later on, but wow, this story gripped me.

That said, it might not be for everyone. The world is imaginative and vibrant, but the MC is slightly sociopathic. If you can ignore that, though, then you are definitely in for a ride. I know I was.

By James E. Wisher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hidden Tower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Otto Shenk is the youngest son of a minor baron and a wizard.

Abused by his family and considered less than human by his kingdom, Otto does his best to survive.

But everything changes when Otto stumbles across a tower hidden deep in a dark part of the forest near his home.

A tower that was once the home of an Arcane Lord, the immortal wizards that long ago ruled the world.

Otto's life will be changed forever.

And so will the world.


Book cover of Mage Throne Prophecy

Joshua Kern Author Of Portals of Albion

From my list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I loved fantasy; it was my escape from real life. Portal Fantasy is one of the oldest sub-genres in that regard, with works such as Wizard of OzThrough the Looking Glass, and Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few. LitRPG is a newer genre, though its roots extend back to the 80s. Fantasy is full of magical worlds that embrace the reader’s mind, allowing them to live beyond their own life. I have experienced what it is like to fall in love countless times, to fly a ship through the sky using magic and swordfight, and to die and be reborn. Through these stories, I have lived.

Joshua's book list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre

Joshua Kern Why did Joshua love this book?

James Haddock is another author whose writing style I have enjoyed for a while now. His books are entertaining, though his grammar tends to be all over the place. This was either the first story of his I read or one of the first. I can’t remember which.

There is something about the way he describes magic and uses it in his books that I simply enjoy. The MC in this one is dying and finds himself brought over into a new land with magic, wherein his adventure promptly begins with a knife struggle.

The magic, though…it’s different from how others usually describe their magic systems. It would be so easy to abuse, and while he does grow powerful, Haddock never has him abusing it like another author would.


By James Haddock,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mage Throne Prophecy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A routine physical shows Captain Ross Mitchell has a flesh-eating virus that specifically targets the brain. Prognosis says he'll be a vegetable by week's end. Having survived numerous incursions in combat around the world, Ross decides he's not going out like that. He drives a rented corvette into a cliff face at over 200 MPH. The fiery impact catapults him toward the afterlife. Instead of finding the afterlife, he finds himself in a different body with an old man stabbing him in his chest. He fights free, killing the old man before passing out. He wakes to find he's now…


Book cover of Dread Island: A Classics Mutilated Tale

James L.P. Thompson Author Of Voidoxity: The Eternal King

From my list on realms of magic, mystery, and monsters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Canadian author and artist that loves to write and draw the darker side of fantasy. Ever since I was a child, I have adored mythology, horror, and the creatures and worlds that are present within the fantasy genre. The world of fantasy has unlimited imagination, and its lore and structure grow constantly, which gives endless ideas to us writers to create endless brilliant realms and the creatures that dwell within them.

James' book list on realms of magic, mystery, and monsters

James L.P. Thompson Why did James love this book?

Dread Island was an enjoyable read for me due to its mix of Lovecraftian horror intertwined with the old tales of Huckleberry Fin. The way Joe R. Lansdale depicted his version of the story was incredible and gave me the insight that anything can be made into a horror story. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror, especially Lovecraftian-style horror.

By Joe R. Lansdale, Menton Mathews III (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dread Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Limited to remaining stock on hand! This "Monster Lit" mash-up novella from modern horror master Joe R. Lansdale, a highlight from the recent Classics Mutilated anthology, combines Lovecraft and Mark Twain in a way that can only be described as brilliant. Or, as Lansdale.


Book cover of Foucault's Pendulum

Gordon Bonnet Author Of In the Midst of Lions

From my list on making you question how you see the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

How do we decide what is true and untrue, what is real and what isn’t? It’s something I’ve tried to understand since I was a child. In each book I chose, a character has to face a universe completely unlike what they’d believed—in some cases, what they’d spent their entire lives devoted to. How someone would react in such a situation is deeply fascinating to me, and each of these books has not only stayed with me for years but has profoundly influenced my own writing and worldview.

Gordon's book list on making you question how you see the world

Gordon Bonnet Why did Gordon love this book?

I’m fascinated with why people believe what they do and how those beliefs can sometimes be incredibly hard to change. In this book, three wry and jaded book publishers decide to out-conspire the conspiracy theorists—and succeed all too well.

The result is a brilliant labyrinth of a book that has always reminded me of one of those complicated contraptions with gears and levers, where all you can do is stare, fascinated, at the intricacy of the clockwork unfolding in front of you.

I love how history is wound through the entire plot, using real events and characters to tie the whole thing together. It’s a masterpiece.

By Umberto Eco,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Foucault's Pendulum as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Three book editors, jaded by reading far too many crackpot manuscripts on the mystic and the occult, are inspired by an extraordinary conspiracy story told to them by a strange colonel to have some fun. They start feeding random bits of information into a powerful computer capable of inventing connections between the entries, thinking they are creating nothing more than an amusing game, but then their game starts to take over, the deaths start mounting, and they are forced into a frantic search for the truth


Book cover of Night Winds

Dana Fredsti Author Of Plague Town

From my list on series that I’ve re-read at least a half dozen times.

Why am I passionate about this?

There are books and series I’ve loved that I’ve only read once, with no need to re-open those particular pages. There are other books that I can re-read every year or so without exactly remembering the details of the plot and enjoy them just as much the second (sometimes tenth) time around. They all inspired me to write, plus they all provided me with awesome entertainment.  So, in no particular order…. Five books/series that I’ve re-read at least a half dozen times!

Dana's book list on series that I’ve re-read at least a half dozen times

Dana Fredsti Why did Dana love this book?

Ooooh, my goodness. Kane is possibly the best anti-hero ever created, and the combination of cosmic horror, swords, sorcery, action, and awesome storytelling make these books/story collections stand out for me. Kane is an immortal, cursed by a mad god to wander the Earth “until he is destroyed by the violence that he himself has created,” and is a take on the biblical Cain, but a lot more fun. Kane inspired one of the characters in my book series and he may just edge out Conan as my favorite lead in the sword & sorcery genre.

By Karl Edward Wagner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Night Winds as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Where once the mighty Kane has passed, no one who lives forgets. Now, down the trail of past battles, Kane travels again. To the ruins of a devastated city peopled only with half-men and the waif they call their queen. To the half-burnt tavern where a woman Kane wronged long ago holds his child in keeping for the Devil. To the cave kingdom of the giants where glory and its aftermath await discovery. To the house of death itself where Kane retrieves a woman in love.

The past, the future, the present - all these are one for Kane as…


Book cover of Cthulhu Armageddon

Frank Martin Author Of Oscawana

From my list on monster stories about humanity.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a kid that grew up during the Blockbuster era. I spent a lot of time in the horror and sci-fi section, going aisle by aisle renting everything they had. Monsters were like vital nutrients to me, but it wasn’t just the monsters themselves that I found appealing. It was what they taught us about ourselves. So many good stories use monsters as a tool to tell interesting and poignant stories about humanity. Doesn’t matter if it’s a walking undead creature or an otherwordly cosmic destroyer, monsters reflect people, and I try to embody that sentiment in my own work.

Frank's book list on monster stories about humanity

Frank Martin Why did Frank love this book?

HP Lovecraft created a great cast of cosmic characters, but it’s debatable that other writers have done a better job utilizing them. Cthulhu Armageddon takes Lovecraftian horror and puts an adventure spin on it. The real highlight is the book’s main character, who has to navigate this post-apocalyptic world and the various creatures within it while coming to terms with his own insecurities.

By C.T. Phipps,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cthulhu Armageddon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Under an alien sky where gods of eldritch matter rule, the only truth is revenge.”

CTHULHU ARMAGEDDON is the story of a world 100 years past the rise of the Old Ones which has been reduced to a giant monster-filled desert and pockets of human survivors (along with Deep Ones, ghouls, and other “talking” monsters).

John Henry Booth is a ranger of one of the largest remaining city-states when he’s exiled for his group’s massacre and suspicion he’s “tainted.” Escaping with a doctor who killed her husband, John travels across the Earth’s blasted alien ruins to seek the life of…


Book cover of Abomination

Ricardo Victoria Author Of The Withered King

From my list on throwing genre into the blender.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up watching 80s Saturday morning cartoons, playing RPGs such as Final Fantasy. Those cartoons and games didn’t care about genre, they cared about telling a story, about making you care about the characters. Hence you could have wizards driving space cars, or knights battling giant robots and so on. They were proof of how wonderfully crazy our imagination can go when we threw labels away and just create stories. The books in this list allow themselves to do that and go bigger, go bolder, showing us the readers what’s possible if we let loose. I hope this list takes others on such wonderful rides, like they did with me.

Ricardo's book list on throwing genre into the blender

Ricardo Victoria Why did Ricardo love this book?

Cosmic horror and fantasy have shared a close relationship since the times of Robert E. Howard. But historical fantasy and cosmic horror? Now that’s different.

If you are a fan of series such as The Last Kingdom, or enjoy a bit of cosmic horror in the vein of the Cthulhu Mythos, this is for you. Written by Gary Whitta, who also wrote the script for Rogue One. Set during Alfred the Great’s rule, this is a story about a knight that saves his kingdom at great personal cost thanks to the dabbling in dark magic from a deranged monk.

The tension and trepidation grow with every page. And that’s just half the story. Don’t let the body horror distract you, this is at its core a story about family love.

By Gary Whitta,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Abomination as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


"Whitta is a master of suspense. Abomination grabs you and doesn't let go." ―Hugh Howey, New York Times-Bestselling Author of Wool

He is England's greatest knight, the man who saved the life of Alfred the Great and an entire kingdom from a Viking invasion. But when he is called back into service to combat a plague of monstrous beasts known as abominations, he meets a fate worse than death and is condemned to a life of anguish, solitude, and remorse.

She is a fierce young warrior, raised among an elite order of knights. Driven by a dark secret from her…


Book cover of The Tomb and Other Tales

Eve Lestrange Author Of Widdershins

From my list on occult, witchcraft, and a little mystery.

Why am I passionate about this?

From the time I was very young, Witchcraft and the supernatural have always fascinated me. I can remember staying up late to watch horror movies or reading an Edgar Allen Poe book under the sheets with a flashlight when I was supposed to be asleep. I knew this was never a phase or something I would “outgrow”; the spell had been cast and I was forever in its power. I’ve tried to read everything I could on Witchcraft, its history and practice and anything regarding the occult. It was all of this reading and research that really helped me to write Widdershins and everything that came after. Enjoy the list!

Eve's book list on occult, witchcraft, and a little mystery

Eve Lestrange Why did Eve love this book?

This was the first book I ever read by HP Lovecraft and after reading it, I read everything else that I could find by such a talented writer. Lovecraft’s stories are dark, doom-ridden tales that are filled with cosmic horror, nightmarish landscapes, and indescribable monsters. But it’s not only the tales themselves that captivated me, it’s the style in which they were written. Lovecraft has such a beautiful literary style of writing that really made me feel what the characters felt and see what horrors they witnessed. His work definitely inspired me to pick up pen and paper and write stories of my own.

By H. P. Lovecraft,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Tomb and Other Tales as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This extraordinary collection features 13 spine-tingling tales of delicious terror by the unquestioned master of the horror genre, as well as portions of stories he never fully completed. Discover how the mind of H.P. Lovecraft worked, and how much his early and late stories tell about this intriguing writer.


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