46 books like The Year of Our War

J.R.R. Tolkien's masterful storytelling is unmatched, and The Lord of the Rings weaves together moral dilemmas and profound philosophical ideas seamlessly, encouraging me to contemplate the nature of power, the importance of preserving the natural world, and the significance of individual choices.

The book's themes of heroism, friendship, sacrifice, and the struggle between good and evil resonate deeply. In addition, each of his characters feels like an aspect of oneself; the introspection it inspires is brilliant!

The Lord of the Rings instills a sense of wonder, ignites the imagination, and imparts timeless wisdom, which heavily transformed my perspective on life, my values, and my understanding of the human condition.

I came to this book by accident. I had overindulged in fantasy and was tired of recycled plots and worn tropes. I picked it up on holiday as a last resort and found a very different sort of fantasy, which rekindled my enthusiasm for the genre.

Inquisitor Glokta is a character I wanted to hate. He is a torturer, and a cripple, having been tortured himself. He’s ruthless and focused and possibly the meanest of anti-heroes. But I think I came to imagine what it was like to be the dashing hero, loved by everyone, feted by royalty, and then ruined by malice and torture, and yes, as this tale unfolded, I began to like him and the rest of the misfits that populate Joe Abercombie’s world very much indeed.

The Gentleman Bastards are a fun, exciting group with a connection that feels genuine throughout the story and has, by far, some of the best and most hilarious dialogue I've ever read in a book. I've also learned quite a bit about fantasy storytelling from this story, in that you can craft a compelling fantasy story without huge, world-changing stacks by making the characters emotionally motivated in their goal.

The mystery was also a pleasant surprise, as it incorporated clever clues and plot points that came together nicely for a satisfying conclusion. Actions and choices actually weighed in on the events.

Ruckley manages to strike a rare balance between high fantasy prose and Grimdark’s dirt-under-the-nails realism, and combines it all with thoughtful character development and an oftentimes sombre tone. On the one hand it’s about a boy’s coming of age journey and the tragedy of loss, and on the other a bitter and ultimately futile conflict of a people riven by the dogma of an emergent religion. There are visceral and superbly paced clashes between these opposing sides, which are both blinded by the all-encompassing madness of a magic user who is rapidly losing control of his own power. The fact that all of the suffering and slaughter in this story could easily be avoided is what makes it hit deepest. If everyone had just been nice to the poor boy, maybe he wouldn’t have turned into a narcissistic half-corpse hell-bent on psychic slavery and death. But hey, then there would… show more.

The first and my favorite of this series that sets up a world beyond our own with interesting and multiple interesting and tortured characters all trapped in their own personal hell and I was here for it. This book focuses on one particular members of this poor group and how one person can come in change absolutely everything with love and faith. There is a setup for the multiple books in the series that do not take away from the main story or characters and will have you wanting to know more. Heavy on not just the romance but the action and violence had me flying through the pages to feed my need for more. Entertaining, fun, tense, and never giving a dull moment, I recommend this for a fun night or nights of reading. 

My friend recommended this book to me since I wanted to learn more about the Indian culture. I enjoyed discovering the different spices tied to each chapter.

In the beginning, there was a beautiful mythological backstory to becoming a Spice Mistress, which I found both inventive and fascinating. I also related to the emotional heart of Tilo, who flaunted the rules of her magic by helping those around her (including an exciting love interest).

A little of me was dying every day from the stress of a job I excelled at. So I loved this book’s premise that immortality brings its own peculiar kind of stress.

I, too, have wanted to negotiate with God to save someone or something I believed in. I sometimes feel a bad bargain is better than none at all. Naturally, I found it so much more enjoyable to read about two people who actually make that deal with God to save a loved one, only to be fated to life everlasting, constantly veering toward and away from each other in an existence that’s always changing but never-ending.

With this book, I gained another perspective on being careful what you wish for.

I specifically recall the scene in which a mind-uploaded character is being subjected to interesting psychological experiments, such as having his neural processing slowed, sped up, and even completely halted without feeling any awareness of those changes.

This book is a fascinating philosophical deep dive into the relationship between functionalism and consciousness. The other thing I was personally drawn to was the story’s use of cellular automata and artificial life since these areas of computer science have been passions of mine even longer than mind uploading.

Did I mention how much I love vampires? I grew up reading The Vampire Diaries, so I am all about a good (fictional) love triangle. Add vampires to that love triangle? Yes please! Cue Alys Arden’s The Casquette Girls series. Like my first two recs, this is also set in New Orleans, except unlike the others, this book is set in more modern times, specifically right after Hurricane Katrina. Since the author is from the area, the setting feels all the more authentic, and she doesn’t shy away from describing the devastation and rebuilding efforts; these are woven into the narrative. The writing itself is beautiful, but the characters are the star here. This series has quickly climbed to my favorites list. 

This is a great riff on Hammer Horror, Dracula, psychedelia, the sixties, and Jane Eyre. Yes, I said Jane Eyre!

Take Mina, Bertha Mason, throw them into the middle of the 1960s Sunset Strip, and you have yourself a rocket of a novel. It starts with the voice of Dracula coming from his urns, his ashes speaking to Mina, and her just so sick of his nonsense, and only gets better from there.