One of the niftier services offered by the Seattle Public Library is Your Next 5, where a librarian creates a custom reading list for you based on what you’ve been reading and what you like. Having just recently discovered Kage Baker’s funny, light-hearted, yet touching fantasy novels, I was eager to see what they’d recommend, so I asked for “fantasy novels with rich world-building and a sarcastic/humorous narrative voice.” The results were pretty spot-on! I enjoyed the His Majesty’s Dragon series, and I love Robin Hobb (which I probably should have mentioned in my request). I’ve tried the Amber novels and couldn’t get into them, but the fact that I’m already familiar with several of these titles gives me hope that the new-to-me books will be future favorites. Here’s the list they made for me, or you can check out the individual links below. What would your ideal customized reading list be? Tell us in the comments!
Jhegaala (Vlad)
— An offbeat and witty fantasy that moves at a brisk pace like Baker’s work. “Fresh from the collapse of his marriage, and with the criminal Jhereg organization out to eliminate him, Vlad Taltos decides to hide out among his relatives in faraway Fenario. All he knows about them is that their family name is Merss and that they livein a papermaking industrial town called Burz.”
His Majesty’s Dragon
— Fantastic alternate history fantasy with great characters and witty dialogue. “When the HMS Reliant captures a French ship and its priceless cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, Captain Will Laurence is swept into an unexpected kinship with an extraordinary creature and joins the elite Aerial Corps as a master of the dragon Temaraire, in which role he must match wits with the powerful dragon-borne forces of Napoleon Bonaparte.”
Beguilement
— A character-driven fantasy that is funny and has a hint of love with great world-building. “Troubled young Fawn Bluefield seeks a life beyond her family’s farm. But en route to the city, she encounters a patrol of Lakewalkers, nomadic soldier-sorcerers from the northern woodlands. Feared necromancers armed with mysterious knives made of human bone, they wage a secret, ongoing war against the scourge of the ‘malices,’ immortal entities that draw the life out of their victims, enslaving human and animal alike.” 
Dragon Keeper
— A dramatic and atmospheric fantasy that has memorable characters like Rothfuss’ series. “Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, a tangle of serpents fights its way up the Rain Wild River to the cocooning grounds. But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old; some cannot fly, others are stunted or deformed. To save the dragons, a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them if they are to find their true home–the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra.”
Nine Princes of Amber
— Dramatic and fast-paced series with lots of political intrigue and witty storytelling. “Awakening in an Earth hospital unable to remember who he is or where he came from, Corwin is amazed to learn that he is one of the sons of Oberon, King of Amber, and is the rightful successor to the crown in a parallel world.”
Stephanie P. is a writer, editor, and blogger. Her secret shame is dystopian YA fiction. You can find her wherever the books and food are.
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