Fallen out of love with Romantasy

[CoubousAndTourmaIet]

Does anyone else feel they've reached saturation point with romantasy?

Having been an avid fantasy reader when I was young, I moved away from the genre for many years. I came back to it during the pandemic, when I seemed to need escapism. I started with Throne of Glass and the Grishaverse then ACOTAR and it went from there. I've read hundreds and some of them I did enjoy (notably Samantha Shannon).

Now, I'm suddenly having a lot of DNF's and they're all starting to feel a bit samey; pretty dresses, enemies to lovers, marrying princes and lots of kissing. Stephanie Garber was the final straw.

So, I'm looking for recommendations for recent fantasy series with relatable females please. I've done all the old ones - Tolkien, Ursula Le Guin, the three Terry's (Brooks, Goodkind & Pratchett), Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kerr, Robin Hobb etc. But there must be plenty of modern writers that have slipped under my radar and this is what I'm looking for.

I know there are more recent male authors - Brandon Sanderson, Jay Kristoff, John Gwynne to name but three, but I don't know what sort of female characters they create... Don't want glamour or sexism cause I'm an old thing of 61.

Grateful for any recommendations. Thank you.

Nk jemusin is so creative with her series. Broken kingdoms, the fifth season

Eliza Chan - fathom folk duology
shelley parker chan - he who drowned the world duology is excellent

generally the Hugo awards are good for new fantasy writers i think both Shelley and NK have won

brandon Sanderson is a nice easy read and the mistborn series has a female lead. Sanderson is a very effective writer and not too much meandering like GoT or WoT.

i agree about romanatasy it’s gotten so lazy and carbon copies of Sarah J Maas. It’s honestly disrespectful the slop these publishers are churning out.

I forgot Trudy Canavan snd Peter v Brett the warded man/ demon cycle series

as someone above said robin j hobb so sad I’ve finished all her books

I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom trilogy - Sabriel/Lirael/Abhorsen

I love Naomi Novik, both Uprooted and Spinning Silver but also the Scholomance trilogy and the Temeraire books (only read the first few) which are quite different.

I’d second many of those mentioned especially the Strange the Dreamer duology and the Kingdom of Copper trilogy, Vespertine and Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson are good fun,

Trudy Canavan is another like Brandon Sanderson, Mark Lawrence and Joe Abercrombie, that I keep looking at and wondering about, but not actually committing to. Maybe I should prioritise them in the coming months rather than investing in yet another new ACOTAR inspired trilogy 🙄

Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers Of London series. Male lead but strong female characters.

Oldie YA - Diana Wynne Jones.

I really enjoyed The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie.

If you want gritty then the Poppy Wars trilogy by RF Kuang, truly amazing but they get increasingly grim (in a good way!) Chinese folklore/history influences which is refreshingly different.

Oh I’ve just remembered Godkiller/Sunbringer/Faithbreaker, by Hannah Kaner great reads and interesting female protagonist.

I stopped buying Stephen Donaldson books when I noticed there's a theme in all the ones I read (not Thomas Covenant but Mordant's Need and something more SF) of men hurting women, or at least thinking about it, for fun. I decided at that point to not give him any more of my money.

I think you are referring to The Gap series for the more SF series I didn't enjoy that at all.

I hadn't really thought about it, but you are correct and it's right there in Thomas Covenant as well. Possibly why nobody recommends it but I just got tied up in the minor characters and the land. I haven't finished Thomas Covenant I have the final two to read but have struggled with them - I need to have a thesaurus with me - I think Donaldson got very much above himself. Although one benefit is that my vocabulary increased

The Gap, yes, I couldn't remember the name. Thank you! They were very hard work and I didn't finish them in the end.

He is very hard work. I don't think I will ever finish the ones I have left

I bought the Thomas Covenant series in the 80's on the recommendation of my cousin, but I really struggled with them. I found them quite depressing. I do keep many books to read again, but I suspect I got rid of those, because I can't find them on the bookshelves.

I do still have the David Eddings, Katherine Kurtz and a few others mentioned here. Also of more recent authors, I have read and loved all the Laini Taylor and Margaret Rogerson ones as well as Katherine Arden & Naomi Novik.

How did I forget…Julian may saga of the exiles!!! More (very light) sci fi than fantasy tbh but absolutely brilliant!

Cinderella is Dead - Kalynn Bayron a reworking of the story
Angel of the Crows - Katherine Addison - reworking of Sherlock Holmes with women in the roles of Holmes (angel) and Watson, quite funny at times
The Bright Sword - Lev Grossman The knights of the Round Table after Arthur's demise, no female lead but a different take on the legend, I enjoyed this

I'd not set out to read reworkings, they just seemed to happen but have enjoyed them

I can't remember if anyone has mentioned these authors although I think someone has mentioned Jen Williams, I have just finished Talonsister and Titanchild. Unfortunately Libby doesn't have any more of her titles

Brandon Sanderson absolutely doesn’t write sexist female characters. They’re emotionally nuanced, fully fleshed out, and fascinating. They’re some of my favourite characters full stop and the polar opposite of what you tend to see a lot of in Romantasy. Mistborn and the standalones (Warbreaker, Tress, Yumi etc) are easy reads but Stormlight is much heavier, with a lot more lore to it. Incredible books and well worth the read, but as he says himself, Stormlight is what you read when you already trust him!

Jim Butcher, on the other hand…probably not for you.

Yes to Garth Nix old Kingdom trilogy for an easier YA read, and Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb!

Jasper Fforde's books? Starting with 'The Eyre Affair'? Utterly bananas but I loved the characters and I loved seeing favourite characters from books behaving like actual humans. Plus funny, I increasingly tire of the humorless and po-faced heroes and heroines in literature.

Somehow I think my next book purchase might be a set of Mistborn.

Weirdly, a mooch along the bookshelves in our spare room has unearthed the Jen Williams Copper Cat trilogy. I don't remember ever reading it, although my partner says he has. Fortunately I hadn't got around to ordering anything new this week.

Also if you a find them Louise Cooper Initiate/Outcast/Master series…nicely written heroine and (anti?) hero…

Oh yes, Trudi Canavan is great. I really enjoyed her books that atart with The Magician's Apprentice (or a very similar title). This was actually the very first fantasy novel I read and I haven't looked back. I'm not sure what I'd think of it, coming to it for the first time now, but I've re-read it a few times and enjoy it. MC is female.

Someone mentioned the First Law books by Joe Abercrombie and I'd also second this. I love the trilogy that starts with The Blade Itself - though it's not a female MC.

Jo Walton's very good, and all her books are quite different.

For all the Joe Abercrombie fans I’ve just finished reading his new one The Devils and rather enjoyed it, fun plot and great characters. Obvs it’s the start of a new trilogy so will be interested to see where it goes.

Agree with others about Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy and ‘Nettle and Bone’ by T Kingfisher. I also really enjoyed NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy but it is a little bleak.

Two books I loved this year and finished really quickly were Leigh Bardugo’s series of books for adults - ‘Ninth House’ and ‘Hell Bent’.

Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller series (The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear’) are fantastic, but I fear he’ll never finish the trilogy.

Also agree with @Pashazade about Hannah Kaner’s trilogy!

Might have to start a new thread.
I should have said in my original post that I don't like dystopian/post apocalyptic/guns/science.

Bought a load of books. Just got half way through the first Mark Lawrence one and it suddenly starts talking about stockpiling weapons and mass destruction. Wasn't expecting that because the first bit of it felt more Last Kingdom/Viking era.

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So, back to square one I guess. Or back to Mills & Boon with pointy ears.