Fans pick 80 books like The Otherworld

There are more accurate translations and better selections, but I love this collection for two reasons. First, Stephens was a Dublin-born, Irish-speaking novelist, poet, and eyewitness to the Easter Rising of 1916. His stories of ancient heroes and Otherworldly folk salute a proudly Celtic past. Stephens was part of the nationalist literary revival that harnessed Irish myths to an independent future. A friend to politicians and intellectuals, he claimed (untruthfully) to have the same birthday as his friend James Joyce. Stephens cleaned up the old stories for tender ears, but his early 20th-century language casts an antiquarian sheen on his fairytales. 

So do the enchanting illustrations by Arthur Rackham, one of the most skillful depicters of fairies (second only to Harry Clarke)—my second reason for loving this book. 

This tale of tales is like a 12th-century Irish Arabian Nights. It brings Saint Patrick, a 5th-century missionary, and his priests together with magically long-lived warriors from the fían bands of the giant hero Finn Mac Cumhaill (McCool). Finn’s beloved companions, Cailte and Oisín, recount their many adventures in times gone by with the Otherworldly Túatha Dé (Tribes of the Goddess). Patrick, fearing that their history will be lost when the men finally die, orders his monks to put their tales in writing. 

Patrick must have adored stories of battling kings and alluring princesses, treasure hidden under uncanny mounds, shapeshifters, murderous ravens, and lovers who cross worlds to be together, all presented as an interview between Patrick and pagan elders. One question runs through tales: Is the sí and the ancient indigenous past of Ireland compatible with the orderly future of psalm-singing Christians? So long as the Church is in… show more.

William Butler Yeats is one of my favorite poets as well as a playwright, co-founder of the Abbey Theatre, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Early in his career, though, Yeats rewrote many venerable Irish stories in verse and drama.

For a while, he lived in a run-down 15th-century tower in Co. Galway near his friend Lady Gregory, a fellow folklorist. Yeats collected tales of fairies, púcai, and ghosts from friends and locals, added his own visionary musings on the ancient landscape of caves and mounds, and created Celtic Twilight. Yeats’s fairies lured innocents to midnight feasts, abducted new brides, switched babies with fairy “changelings,” and caused all sorts of mayhem for mortals.

Yeats was an occultist and theosophist, ready to believe in fairies. He had a knack for inspiring wonder. “There are doubters even in the western villages,” he admitted, but “when all is said and done,… show more.

I love that Walter Evans Wentz, a native of New Jersey, starts this book among the towering stones of Carnac, a neolithic site in Brittany. While young Wentz was studying at Stanford, he met both Yeats and William James, the famed psychologist and lecturer on the supernatural.

They inspired him to pursue a doctoral degree in Celtic mythology and folklore at Oxford, and this book is his dissertation. Around 1910, he wandered the highlands, islands, and villages of Ireland, Scotland, Man, and Brittany, gathering an archive of fascinating fairy folklore to support his dissertation on the origins of fairies.

Wentz joined a centuries-long debate. Scholars had already proposed that fairies were disembodied spirits, products of peasant imagination, fallen angels, or—my favorite—a prehistoric and almost extinct race of pygmies who dwelt in the ancient burial mounds of Ireland. Wentz decided they were a pagan religion. Later, at Oxford, Wentz met T.… show more.

I have so much admiration for witch Paige Winterbourne, who has had a teenage ward named Savannah thrust upon her, when Paige herself is barely out of teenagerhood. Paige's coven disowns her, even as evil forces are trying to woo Savannah, and get Paige out of the way by framing her for murder. I have zero patience for their lack of support. It's no wonder Paige is forced to accept the help of the terribly persistent young lawyer who ought to be her archenemy. He's a sorcerer, and sorcerers never have the best interests of witches in mind. Especially the heir of one of the most powerful cabals. I would help Paige communicate with a teenager. Moreover, I would take Savannah out for lunch so Paige can... communicate with her lawyer.

I'm a reader who loves books where characters determine the story arc. Plot-driven books generally leave me cold. This novel has a cast of players I found easy to empathize with; even the villains. They are drawn in fascinating detail with all their flaws and all their glories to make them real people who are easy to engage with throughout the story. In spite of some tough scenes, it's a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

The author introduces some thought-provoking and timely themes here. The story examines injustice, wealth inequality, gender discrimination, political intrigue, the fallibility of leaders, ethics, and morality, and the ever-present problems of prejudice driven by ignorance. All themes guaranteed to engage me.

Once again, the ordinary and the extraordinary are nearly one and the same. In this book, as in all of Charles’s books, the Otherworld—in this case the faery world—is with us now. Charles is a pioneer of urban fantasy and always writes entertaining and amazing books. I love his characters. They are alive and fascinating. He plays with names and gender: for example, Jack is a woman. He invites us to pay attention to the Otherworld. He also shows us that giving the faery realm its due is not running away from reality. In this novel, stories help us to heal and live in the here and now with joy and vigor.

I would personally recommend Isekai Kids because the characters are an adventurous and entertaining bunch whose antics really speak to children, especially gamers.

Ollie, Jimmy, and Grant activate a magical video game cartridge—and are transported to the land of Otherworld. The characters are realistic in their curiosity and desire to have a fun adventure in a place that is a mix of video game and amusement park with a strong dose of magic. Each of the characters has their own unique personality and approach to solving problems in Otherworld. Ollie is Courageous, Jimmy is Clever, and Grant is Smart as they work their way through the trick, traps, and battles of the Game World. 

Overall, it is a tale of teamwork, and an entertaining story of adventure and exploration.

A fantasy novel packed with lyrical, elegant prose, this book impressed me because of the way Myer imagined music as the key to a lost system of magic through the story of a young woman who is challenging the patriarchal status quo by gaining admission to the previously all-male college of bards.

At the same time, Myer explores other perspectives on feminine power in a male-dominated world through several of her supporting characters, whose tales weave together and apart like beautiful melodies contributing to an epic medley.

This story of singing truth to power is a work of beauty from start to finish.

I love this story because it is everything that a magical school and otherworld story should be. I’ve read the entire book series about five times and will immediately start reading a new book in this series when it comes out, even if I’m in the middle of reading something else.

It’s a world that functions perfectly in every aspect; everything established in one book is a part of every other. There are no magic cure-alls that are ignored because they could resolve the plot in an afternoon, and every person is using the exact same magic system. No handwaving, no, “the author didn’t feel like explaining,” just a wonderful world where you get to explore and figure things out alongside the main character. It’s easily my favorite story of all time.