The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like The Saga of Recluce

Modesitt, 1991 · #100 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 58/120

In a world balanced between Order and Chaos magic, young people sent out from the island of Recluce must find their place.

Mood5Theme6Structure5Further reading3Creative details6Real-world blend1Divine influence4Climax and fights5Epicness8Genre standard4Originality5

Its strongest scores: epicness and theme. The five books below have the closest scores across all eleven criteria.

If you liked The Saga of Recluce, read:

  1. Majipoor

    Silverberg, 1980 · #96 on the list · 61/120

    A wandering juggler with no memory on a vast planet of many species learns he is the rightful Coronal. His body has been stolen.

    Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

  2. The Kingkiller Chronicle

    Rothfuss, 2007 · #95 on the list · 63/120

    Kvothe, now an innkeeper, tells the true story of how a gifted orphan became the most notorious magician and musician alive.

    Close on theme, structure, further reading, real-world blend.

  3. The Wounded Kingdom

    Barker, 2017 · #101 on the list · 54/120

    A young assassin in a plague-ridden kingdom learns the cost of her craft. She follows a killer whose secrets are bound to the kingdom's fate.

    Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

  4. Vlad Taltos

    Brust, 1983 · #74 on the list · 72/120

    A human assassin climbs the underworld of an elf-like Dragaeran empire, with a witty familiar on his shoulder.

    Close on theme, further reading, real-world blend, climax and fights.

  5. The Riyria Revelations

    Sullivan, 2008 · #93 on the list · 64/120

    A cynical ex-assassin and an idealistic swordsman, thieves for hire, are framed for a king's murder and pulled into a scheme to restore an ancient empire.

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

Featured pick

Acenes of Sparta: The Dragon Slayer

Manolis Tsongas, 2026 · #5 on the list · 101/120 · for adults and mature teens

A dragon is the real reason King Leonidas and his three hundred died at Thermopylae. Sixty-two years later the gods send a Spartan boy of the agoge to kill it. The book takes lessons from tragedy and the cost of sacrifice, as is the Greek way.

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.