Here are 100 books that The Complete Chronicles of the Jerusalem Man fans have personally recommended if you like
The Complete Chronicles of the Jerusalem Man.
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Whereas many seek out stories of human triumph and heroic deeds, I have always been captivated by stories that show humanity for what it is–a bastion of innovation and wonder but also a complex and ethically questionable force of nature. I began writing my book when I was twelve years old, and I immediately knew that my characters would not be one-sided, cast in light or shadow. Instead, they would love at times and hate others, try their hardest to do what is right, but sometimes end up doing more harm than good. Remember that a ‘hero’ is a product of perspective when reading these books.
Like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Frank Herbert’s book tells the story of a man who could be the villain or the hero, depending on who you ask. I love watching how an intelligent yet malleable person can be swept up in feelings of duty, responsibility, and leadership only to make highly questionable decisions.
Paul Atreides’ moral ambiguity is undeniably engineered by the shifting and slimy political landscape of the Dune universe, driving home the idea in my mind that good worldbuilding can set the stage for truly complicated characters.
Before The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender's Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune: winner of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, and widely considered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.
Melange, or 'spice', is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe; a drug that does everything from increasing a person's lifespan to making interstellar travel possible. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world of Arrakis.
Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.
I’ve always firmly believed that, being an all-encompassing genre, speculative fiction represents nearly everything I love about writing and storytelling. I’m therefore very proud to have established myself in that world over the past several years and hope to positively impact others in the way I’ve been positively impacted by the sorts of works I’ve mentioned here.
For me, the Dark Tower series is an easy first pick as it so thoroughly encompasses everything I love about speculative fiction: big ideas, compelling, at times mysterious but ultimately fully realized characters, and a healthy, rich, and potent dose of world-building.
Over the years, I’ve reluctantly come to accept that this book and series are not necessarily for everyone, but they are absolutely for me, and I always find myself feeling a sort of kinship with other readers who love them as much as I do.
The Dark Tower is now a major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba.
'The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.' The iconic opening line of Stephen King's groundbreaking series, The Dark Tower, introduces one of his most enigmatic and powerful heroes: Roland of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger.
Roland is a haunting figure, a loner, on a spellbinding journey toward the mysterious Dark Tower, in a desolate world which frighteningly echoes our own.
On his quest, Roland begins a friendship with a kid from New York named Jake, encounters an alluring woman and faces…
While Dune, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica (1980s), and other SF staples laid the foundation for my love of SFF, I was also reading about the universe from a young age. Along came Star Trek: The Next Generation in the ‘90s and the stage was set. Completing Bachelor’s Degrees in Ancient History & Archaeology; Religions & Theology; and a PhD in Near and Middle Eastern Studies copper-fastened my passion for the ancient world and the history of religion, and along with reading historical fiction and fantasy, everything merged into the almost allegorical universe you’ll find in Kiranis. Lovers of all the above will find something here.
I discovered the Pearl Saga (a trilogy) via Van Lustbader taking up the reins on Robert Ludlum’s Bourne novels. While I was reading these books, I was waiting to hear from Voyager (Harper Collins) regarding an epic fantasy novel I wrote, which featured in its climactic scenes a girl using crystals to trap a dragon in a cage-like device inside a mountain. There was a delay in the publication of the third book of the Pearl Saga, and when it came out, it featured a girl holding a ‘crystal’ before a dragon, and it was called The Cage of Nine Banestones. My heart sank, but it turned out that the delay was related to the death of Van Lustbader’s father.
The trilogy begun in ‘Ring’ is for some brooding and self-indulgent, but for me it was a triumph of worldbuilding and alien realia, with technology and sorcery vying…
The opening volume in a huge epic fantasy in the tradition of Frank Herbert's DUNE series.
Struggling to survive an existence of enforced slavery on their home planet, the people of Kundala are slowly dying. Their oppressors, the V'ornn, a technologically advanced, alien race, have reigned over the Kundalans with unyielding power for more than one hundred years.
Only through the power of the lost, god-given Pearl can the Kundalans be saved from extinction, for within it lies a secret so potent it could tear the entire planet apart.
However, only one man is destined to find and wield the…
While Dune, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica (1980s), and other SF staples laid the foundation for my love of SFF, I was also reading about the universe from a young age. Along came Star Trek: The Next Generation in the ‘90s and the stage was set. Completing Bachelor’s Degrees in Ancient History & Archaeology; Religions & Theology; and a PhD in Near and Middle Eastern Studies copper-fastened my passion for the ancient world and the history of religion, and along with reading historical fiction and fantasy, everything merged into the almost allegorical universe you’ll find in Kiranis. Lovers of all the above will find something here.
You want epic—you got epic! Belgarath becomes the disciple of the god, Aldur, and struggles to learn not only magic, but humility. Belgarath the Sorcerer is a late book in Eddings’ epic series, and if I recall correctly, it should be read after The Belgariad and The Mallorean (both of which are 5-book sequences). I’m pretty sure that reading about these hugely powerful gods and their disciples seeped into the developing inspiration for Kiranis, with its gods and prophets and grand schemes. There’s something deeply welcoming about this book, which is in 1st person as Belgarath tells his tale, especially following everything that happened in the preceding 10-book cycle. This is my favourite Eddings character, and he is more alive than those you might think were the central ones. From this book, I learned that true character development is an evolutionary process, and you just have to be patient…
The life story of Belgararth the Sorcerer: his own account of the great struggle that went before the Belgariad and the Malloreon, when gods stills walked the land.
Here is the full epic story of Belgarath, the great sorcerer learned in the Will and the Word on whom the fate of the world depends. Only Belgarath can tell of those near-forgotten times when Gods still walked the land: he is the Ancient One, the Old Wolf, his God Aldur's first and most-favoured disciple. Using powers learned over the centuries Belgarath himself records the story of conflict between two mortally opposed…
It seems that all of the fictional main characters I create have anti-hero tendencies. There is always some voice in their head telling them to do right when they are expected to do wrong, or to do wrong when it is supposed they will do right. I find this flaw very compelling, and universal for those of us of flesh and blood. Do sneering, evil characters exist? Well, maybe, but they aren’t very interesting, and I think a weak trope.
This lighter fare is a collaboration of well-known writers (John Brunner, Poul Anderson, Andrew Offutt, Marian Zimmer Bradley, et al) creating a world where each of their characters also live in the other authors’ minds.
In the fantasy city of Sanctuary, their stories and their lives intertwine where a cast of anti-heroes rule the day, or are ruled by the day, depending on the authors’ whims. The cast of morally questionable characters at times are both protagonists and antagonists, depending on the point of view, and each story’s main character and writer.
And though each is, in turn, loved and loathed by Sanctuary and its denizens, the city has no mercy for them.
Contains all of the stories of the first two Thieves' World anthologies (Thieves' World and Tales of the Vulgar Unicorn), with additional material.
Return to the Olden Days of Sanctuary!
Sanctuary, a seedy, backwater town governed by evil forces, powerful magic, and political intrigue
See how Thieves' World all began!
Classic stories by:
Robert Lynn Asprin Lynn Abbey Poul Anderson Marion Zimmer Bradley John Brunner David Drake Philip Jose Farmer Joe Haldeman Janet Morris Andrew J. Offutt A. E.van Vogt
During my childhood summers, my dad bought thrift-store paperbacks by the bagful, and fantastical stories filled my shady hammock days. Now as an author, writing and reading go hand in hand. There’s no better way to improve my prose and hone my personal style than to read books I love. My trusty highlighter immortalizes the lyrical passages that I swoon over, those luscious words that slip from the tongue, make music in my ears, and paint scenes behind my eyes. I’m swept away by gorgeous language despite the genre, though fantasy books usher in summer memories and a lovely time of idleness when there was nothing to do but read.
The Crown of Stone series is an undiscovered gem in grim-dark fantasy, and Magic-Price is the book that kicked it off. Grim-dark fantasy isn’t often associated with lyrical writing, which made this book a rare find. It’s violent, contains profanity and a few scenes of erotica, and has a great anti-hero, but it’s also beautifully written with rich imagery, vivid descriptions, and a wrenching emotional fullness that stuck with me for days after closing the last page. I loved the flow and how all this luscious writing contrasted with the brutality of the characters and story. All that and a fabulous ending to the series too.
Born of a fallen race, forced into combat at an early age, Ian Troy knew little but the brutality of war. A hope for more was born when, on the brink of defeat, an instrument of victory fell into his hands. Unaware of its true nature, Ian wielded the Crown of Stones, an ancient relic of untold power. He cast, wanting only an end to the conflict tearing the lands apart. Fate had other plans.
A decade later, Ian is still haunted by that tragic day. Running from the blood in his veins and on his hands, he struggles to…
Because sometimes I think they go further than the formulas set by traditional publishing. I love fantasy and similar genres because there are no limits for the imagination. The books I’ve chosen fulfill what I think is important – world-building, imagination, thought-provoking, intelligent, and wonderful characters on a mission of some kind.
This is my favourite series by Michael Robertson; its world-building is so real that it’s scary because this dystopian world could really exist. The world has its defined structure and the characters within it are believable, even if not all likable. It’s a complex series and yet is simple in its reading; compelling at the very least.
In Edin, when you turn eighteen, you have to do national service.
Six-months outside the city's walls, fighting the diseased hordes.
Only half the recruits survive.
Spike refuses to be just another statistic.
Beyond These Walls is a post-apocalyptic epic. Join Spike, Matilda, and their friends as they leave their city for the first time to face the brutal reality of national service. Some of them won’t return, and for those who do, their lives will never be the same again.
I have longed to move to the Shire ever since I first saw the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring. I wasn’t aware at first of Tolkien’s deep Catholic faith, but once it was pointed out to me, I was amazed at how he managed to weave Christian virtue into everything he wrote. As a long-time writer myself, I realized that I wanted to tell stories about the big stuff—love and hope, good and evil, doubt and courage—in a way that was genuine and unflinching. I think that all of the authors on this list have pulled off just that.
I just can’t help myself from recommending the entire Blades of Acktar series at every opportunity. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest Christian fantasy stories ever written. The worldbuilding is incredibly unique. This is not your typical allegorical Christian fantasy in the vein of Tolkien or Lewis. This is an alternate world, but one where Jesus and the Bible exist. At first, it’s strange, but as you fall in love with the characters, it becomes the most natural thing in the world. The world of Acktar lives and breathes, and the author absolutely excels at handling some of the most difficult parts of the Christian faith with incredible insight through the eyes of her characters—including a reformed assassin that I may or may not be in love with.
Third Blade Leith Torren never questions his orders or his loyalty to King Respen until an arrow wound and a prairie blizzard drive him to the doorstep of the girls whose family he once destroyed.
Their forbidden faith and ties to the Resistance could devastate their family a second time. Survival depends on obedience, but freedom beckons. How far does he dare go to resist the king and his Blades?
No matter what Leith chooses, one thing is certain. Someone will die.
Experience the adventure of the best selling Christian kingdom adventure series today!
I’ve been pulled to rich, deep, complex fiction all my life. And I started building my own world when I was nine, adding to The Kota Series over two decades. Even while getting an English Literature degree, I was bored by simple worlds, characters, and stories and always found myself more interested in unique books and fresh reads. Really, the weirder the world, the better! That’s what I’ve continued to look for as a reader, and I’ve been lucky to encounter new authors that a lot of people might not have heard about yet. I’ve found some real world-building gems, like these I’ve discussed. I hope to find many more!
This is one of the very few books that made me yelp out loud in surprise when the twist happened, and I will forever recommend it because of how unique it was. The feel is reflective of The Road with the main part of the story showing a pained journey through a dangerous landscape. It also feels post-apocalyptic as these survivors struggle to cross the abandoned world that’s been overtaken by nature. The author wrote in a unique language that makes Idyll feel otherworldly but familiar too. All this blends together for really great world-building. I don’t want to give anything away, but there is a definite twist where the whole story flips into something different. You go from feeling like this is a Western to suddenly — Oh, yep, there’s the sci-fi!
Hold on tight for a New-Adult Sci-Fi Adventure that’s caught in the crossfire between Westworld and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road!
Idyll is a rugged planet—a new, simpler start for some 10,000 settlers who have fled Mother Earth. But a strange ‘plague’ of contagious sleep has devastated their Settlement, sparked by a mysterious mantra called the Lullaby.
After a three-year quarantine, Walt and Samuel Starboard set out from their ranch on a mission to cure their comatose mother and find their missing father. For days they ride through a blighted landscape: deserted cabins and gravestones and the ruins of towns destroyed…
I’m a writer of all genres that’s found a lot of love, particularly in fantasy and thrillers. My love for epic fantasies first began when I was young, and like all young readers, was introduced to Harry Potter and the Magic Tree House series. The idea of being whisked away to a magical world captivated me, and so, I started to create my own stories to keep that magic alive.
This story was interesting in the way that the author had two main characters who were twins with widely different roles. With one taking the role of the chosen one and the other being in a place to save her, this was an intense rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. Not to mention the worldbuilding, traveling through lightning, was a very unique idea that amped up the suspense.
Laney and Leela are identical twins, except for a birthmark and two very different personalities. Home for the summer after college graduation, they go on a camping trip with their two younger siblings. When they return home, they find the town empty. Everyone is missing, including their parents and Laney’s boyfriend, Hollister.
Besides some strange marks on the ground caused by a lightning storm, there aren’t any clues, and without any leads on the disappearances, the police leave the town isolated and closed off. Laney falls into despair, and Leela is not sure how much longer they can remain in…
