The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like Harold Shea

de Camp & Pratt, 1941 · #47 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 81/120

A psychologist uses symbolic logic to travel into the worlds of Norse myth, The Faerie Queene and other legends, where magic runs on rules he can learn.

Its strongest scores: real-world blend and originality. The five books below have the closest scores across all eleven criteria.

If you liked Harold Shea, read:

1. Moonheart

   de Lint, 1984 · #30 on the list · 87/120

   Two friends in a sprawling Ottawa house find a doorway to an otherworld of Celtic and Indigenous spirits, and an ancient enemy behind it.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

2. Three Hearts and Three Lions

   Anderson, 1961 · #29 on the list · 87/120

   A Danish resistance fighter in 1943 is thrown into a world of Carolingian legend, where he is a hero he has forgotten.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

3. She

   Haggard, 1887 · #46 on the list · 81/120

   A Cambridge scholar and his young ward follow an ancient potsherd into Africa. They find Ayesha, an immortal queen who has waited two thousand years.

   Close on structure, further reading, creative details, real-world blend.

4. The Magicians

   Grossman, 2009 · #38 on the list · 85/120

   A brilliant, unhappy Brooklyn teenager is admitted to a secret college of magic. He then finds that the land from his favorite childhood books is real.

   Close on mood, structure, further reading, creative details.

5. The Moon Pool

   Merritt, 1919 · #88 on the list · 69/120

   An American scientist descends beneath a Pacific island, following a shining entity into a lost underground civilization.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

How the scores work: each book is rated 1 to 10 on eleven criteria; real-world blend and climax and fights count double, for a maximum of 120. See the full Fantasy 101.