The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like Three Hearts and Three Lions

Anderson, 1961 · #29 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 87/120

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

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

If you liked Three Hearts and Three Lions, 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. 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.

3. Bartimaeus

   Stroud, 2003 · #41 on the list · 84/120

   In an alternative London run by magicians, a boy summons a sardonic five-thousand-year-old djinni to settle a grudge. He sets a revolution in motion.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

4. Harold Shea

   de Camp & Pratt, 1941 · #47 on the list · 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.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

5. Something Wicked This Way Comes

   Bradbury, 1962 · #26 on the list · 88/120

   A carnival arrives in an Illinois town in October with a carousel that can make you younger or older. Two boys and one father stand against Mr. Dark.

   Close on structure, creative details, real-world blend, divine influence.

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.