Surprise--there are actually 16 works mentioned :) You can find all the books (and other short books) here on bookshop, or in the links below: bookshop.org/lists/short-books Song of the Lioness Amazon US: amzn.to/4bzpzQy Amazon UK: amzn.to/4bd7VlQ A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking Amazon US: amzn.to/4bARkIL Amazon UK: amzn.to/4bsK0P2 Nettle and Bone Amazon US: amzn.to/44CS9hO Amazon UK: amzn.to/4b9qXJW Baptism of Fire (the first collection of short stories will be linked) Amazon US: amzn.to/3UzGnjz Amazon UK: amzn.to/3JWQrOF The Kingdom of Back Amazon US: amzn.to/4aizUj1 Amazon UK: amzn.to/3QKcsUL A Darker Shade of Magic Amazon US: amzn.to/44EkzYX Amazon UK: amzn.to/4dDrnd6 Vicious Amazon US: amzn.to/4dzmTV2 Amazon UK: amzn.to/44ENAU9 Half a Soul Amazon US: amzn.to/3Wvbdwu Amazon UK: amzn.to/3UWsc8H Kiki's Delivery Service Amazon US: amzn.to/4dDobhG Amazon UK: amzn.to/3JXCRe4 Godkiller Amazon US: amzn.to/4dOrTFB Amazon UK: amzn.to/3UV1LkK The Magician's Daughter Amazon US: amzn.to/44Gr1i6 Amazon UK: amzn.to/3R3nhld Arrows of the Queen Amazon US: amzn.to/3QFmQgp Amazon UK: amzn.to/3WxbvD2 City of Nightmares Amazon US: amzn.to/3wv2QX7 Amazon UK: amzn.to/3QEmlDo The Crane Husband Amazon US: amzn.to/3QHiWns Amazon UK: amzn.to/4aizER5 The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches Amazon US: amzn.to/3wv2Vdn Amazon UK: amzn.to/4dzmSQY Warrior of the Wild Amazon US: amzn.to/3QHiZzE Amazon UK: amzn.to/4adlnoB *purchase links are affiliate links
I had some medical issues that really effected my attention span and concentration and I have found myself turning away from fantasy because of the length. I really appreciate people who tell a concise story.
Usually after a long day or week, I just don't have the emotional or mental capacity to dedicate a lot of time to longer books and series. Not that they're not exciting, just can't power through them like I used to. Shorter works or rereads are the way to go these days.
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking always makes me smile. There's just something so charming, fun, and unique about this book. And Nettle and Bone? T.Kingfisher does such amazing work.
Half a Soul is not part of a series but part of a network of novels with linked characters/shared world. I enjoyed Ten thousand stitches the most, directly followed by Half a soul. Very fairy tale but good characterization.
A few shorter books I would recommend: Jhereg, Steven Brust - One of the best heist fantasies I've ever read. (I rate it higher than Mistborn.) Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny - Adventure, politics, surrealism, family intrigue. Witch World, Andre Norton - One of the real progenitors of the genre, it lives on the border of SF & fantasy. First published in 1963, and it does show. But Norton could craft an adventure. Three Hearts & Three Lions, Poul Anderson - An isekai fantasy (a term that I'm pretty sure didn't exist when this was written) set in Norse mythology. Most of these should be available cheap from your local used book store, btw, since they were all popular when published and none was published recently.
Roger Zelazny is a name I almost never hear anymore even though he was pretty well known when I was younger. And Steven Brust's Vlad series was one of my favorites growing up (still is I guess as he's still working on finishing it). They each have one-offs that are worth checking out if you're reluctant to jump into a huge series; I'd recommend _Lord_ _of_ _Light_ from Zelazny and _To_ _Reign_ _in_ _Hell_ from Steven Brust.
When they say a picture equals a thousand words the author of Kiki's Delivery Service really took that to heart. I never read that story and will have to add it to my TBR along with The Song of the Lioness. In the same middle grade vein I would recommend Dealing With Dragons, a delightful series that made me a reader.
@@ebnovels My favourite is the 1991-2001 main story arc - including books like By the Sword, The Mage Winds, Black Gryphon, Owl trilogy, etc. Although some of the standalones are good too - Brightly Burning or Take a Theif. Some of the books are in the main story arc and have important info, but some are branch stories with side characters, details and aren't necessary, but can be fun.
Thanks for this video! I sometimes find large fantasy books/series intimidating but short fantasy books help get me into a world. I love that a bunch of the books you mentioned are cozy reads/recent favorites of mine as I've been getting into cozy fantasy. I'm currently listening to The Magician's Daughter which I discovered from your cozy fantasy guide, so thanks again! Some of my favorites (under 400 pages) that weren't in your list are: A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo, A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli, The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury, Basil & Oregano (graphic novel), Blade of Secrets and The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller. Lastly, from one of my favorite trilogies: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. ❤
Alanna!!! *_* Loved these books so much, even though I read them when I was in my mid-twenties. Might have to re-read them. ^_^ Defensive Baking was a lovely surprise. So creative, so well done, and surprisingly deep. Thank you for those promising recs! ^_^
Shorter books that I enjoyed were the Queens of Renthia series by Sarah Beth Durst. If you're into urban fantasy, definitely check out the Faust series and Harmony Black series by Craig Schaefer. I believe the majority of those books are under 400 pages and they have all been quick reads.
Why does God Killer reminds me a bit of Small Gods? 🤔 Now, I really have to check it out. Awesome content btw! A scifi girl here, trying to read more fantasy 😊
I read the first book about Alanna in the train going to see the friend who told me about the series. I loved it! And watching you talk about it makes me want to read more from this universe.
I'd also give a shout to the old short fiction writers like Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. Whenever I read these guys I can't help but wonder why short stories are just no longer a thing in the genre. They go together like cheese and pizza. Even Tolkien wrote a couple short stories and they were great.
Half a soul love this book one of my favorites and so good and amazing and I can relate to the main character 📙📚📚📖📖📖📙❣️💙💙📚🌹🌹🧡🩷🩷🌻🌺💖🌈💖❤️💘💝🩷🧡💜💙💙📙📚📖📖📖📚🩷🌻🩵🩵🌻💘
I read and enjoyed: A Wizard's Guide..., Nettle & Bone, Vicious, The Crane Husband, ...Irregular Witches, and Godkiller. Except for Crane Husband, I read all these because of your reviews. Thanks! A few of the others on your list are on my TBR (again, because of your reviews/recommendations).
If you are a table-top D&D gamer, you might consider visiting the Greyhawk campaign setting's adventure /Castle Greyhawk/. In "Level 3: Too Many Cooks," you meet Poppin' Farsh, the dough golem. I have wondered if it is the inspiration for TK Fisher's /A Wizard's Guide../. It's adorable. (He gets...baked. He doesn't die, but his stats do change.)
To be fair, I need both, long and short books. I really enjoy a 800+ pages long story but after that I'm kind of tired so I like to read a small book before reading again a book big as a brick. I will not be satisfied with only short books but my brain will explode with only big books so I alternate between the two 😊 that's why I take all the recommendations you can give 😂
I'm pretty sure Thom (Alanna's brother) didn't have to disguise himself as a girl. If I recall correctly, the school for proper young noblewomen happened to be near a magic academy so they just forged a letter saying he was going to study there and I guess wrote the convent to say Alanna was staying home or something. Also I really dig your copy of *Song of the Lioness* was that some foreign edition or a custom thing? I don't recognize it.
I really enjoyed Nettle & Bone, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and Warrior of the Wild. I honestly tend to prefer the shorter Fantasy stories over the 600+ more epic fantasy stories.
Not a book per se but a short story! The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow. A servant girl becomes a warrior for a prince. She wins many battles for this particular kingdom but the war never ends and it continues at her expense. Best 29 pages I could ever recommend!
Love the Tamora Pierce recommendation, I've loved her series since I read them as a child and regularly reread them. I don't often see them talked about! My favourite series of hers is the immortals, but Alanna is great too.
@@surpriseitsus9622 you're right, I stopped watching the news because of how stressful everything is now. There's a place to talk about those problems and it's not here. Let's just talk about fantasy books in this safe place, thank you...
@@surpriseitsus9622 because I know she reads nonfiction as well. Is reading even one book about Palestine too stressful…imagine what the people in Gaza are feeling then
@@shloka3915 it’s great that you can turn off the news and enjoy your life but this is not a luxury the people of Palestine can afford. I thought booktube was a place for readers and now you’re telling me this is not the place to talk about books… I know she mainly reads fantasy but she also reads other genres.
@@safaalkulity8699 yeah, talk to me about that. My best friend from 20 years is a woman who has ALL her father's familly leaving near Gaza, and I'm here for her everything single day, trying to help her dealing with her fear for her loved ones, so don't you dare patronizing me. I turned off the news because I freaking don't need journalistes explaining to me in repeat what I already know from her. So yeah, I want to just SOMETIMES stop thinking about all the shit human beings can do to each other and just read a simple fantasy book. Stop talking to people like you know their life.
Surprise--there are actually 16 works mentioned :) You can find all the books (and other short books) here on bookshop, or in the links below: bookshop.org/lists/short-books
Song of the Lioness
Amazon US: amzn.to/4bzpzQy
Amazon UK: amzn.to/4bd7VlQ
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking
Amazon US: amzn.to/4bARkIL
Amazon UK: amzn.to/4bsK0P2
Nettle and Bone
Amazon US: amzn.to/44CS9hO
Amazon UK: amzn.to/4b9qXJW
Baptism of Fire (the first collection of short stories will be linked)
Amazon US: amzn.to/3UzGnjz
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3JWQrOF
The Kingdom of Back
Amazon US: amzn.to/4aizUj1
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3QKcsUL
A Darker Shade of Magic
Amazon US: amzn.to/44EkzYX
Amazon UK: amzn.to/4dDrnd6
Vicious
Amazon US: amzn.to/4dzmTV2
Amazon UK: amzn.to/44ENAU9
Half a Soul
Amazon US: amzn.to/3Wvbdwu
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3UWsc8H
Kiki's Delivery Service
Amazon US: amzn.to/4dDobhG
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3JXCRe4
Godkiller
Amazon US: amzn.to/4dOrTFB
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3UV1LkK
The Magician's Daughter
Amazon US: amzn.to/44Gr1i6
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3R3nhld
Arrows of the Queen
Amazon US: amzn.to/3QFmQgp
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3WxbvD2
City of Nightmares
Amazon US: amzn.to/3wv2QX7
Amazon UK: amzn.to/3QEmlDo
The Crane Husband
Amazon US: amzn.to/3QHiWns
Amazon UK: amzn.to/4aizER5
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Amazon US: amzn.to/3wv2Vdn
Amazon UK: amzn.to/4dzmSQY
Warrior of the Wild
Amazon US: amzn.to/3QHiZzE
Amazon UK: amzn.to/4adlnoB
*purchase links are affiliate links
As a writer who struggles getting past 100 pages, it's nice to know people really do enjoy shorter works.
I had some medical issues that really effected my attention span and concentration and I have found myself turning away from fantasy because of the length. I really appreciate people who tell a concise story.
Same!
Usually after a long day or week, I just don't have the emotional or mental capacity to dedicate a lot of time to longer books and series. Not that they're not exciting, just can't power through them like I used to. Shorter works or rereads are the way to go these days.
I have small children. I don't usually have the time to tackle a 700+ page book, or it might be the only thing I read in a year. I love a short book.
As a new fiction/fantasy writer, I find this channel helpful. I learn alot about audience trends of today, which I need to know.
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking always makes me smile. There's just something so charming, fun, and unique about this book. And Nettle and Bone? T.Kingfisher does such amazing work.
I LOVED AWGTDB. The narration is amazing and so, so funny. I found it very relaxing and has now become a comfort read of mine.
I get that fantasy books are loooong, but 300 pages is not a short book you read in a day😅
Under 400 pages is at least, not too long. For me, I don't read 3 or 400 pages a day. 😊
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking is around 300 pages. Its audiobook is 8 hours and I can listen to that in a day 🤷♀️
Kiki’s delivery service sounds so cute and adorable 📚🌻🩵📖📖🌻💘💘💘🌻📖📖🩷🩷📙📙💝💝❤️💗💖💖💓💚💛💛💜💜🌻📖📖🌹🪻🪻🖤❣️🌸💚🫶🏻❤️🌈📙🩷🩷💙💜💘📚📚📚📚📚🌻🩵📖📖🩵📚💜💜💜🖤🪻🪻🍄🍄🌸❣️💓💖❤️🌈💗💗
It is such a great book.
I absolutely love Alanna as well as the other 2 Tortall quartets
Half a Soul is not part of a series but part of a network of novels with linked characters/shared world. I enjoyed Ten thousand stitches the most, directly followed by Half a soul. Very fairy tale but good characterization.
A few shorter books I would recommend:
Jhereg, Steven Brust - One of the best heist fantasies I've ever read. (I rate it higher than Mistborn.)
Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny - Adventure, politics, surrealism, family intrigue.
Witch World, Andre Norton - One of the real progenitors of the genre, it lives on the border of SF & fantasy. First published in 1963, and it does show. But Norton could craft an adventure.
Three Hearts & Three Lions, Poul Anderson - An isekai fantasy (a term that I'm pretty sure didn't exist when this was written) set in Norse mythology.
Most of these should be available cheap from your local used book store, btw, since they were all popular when published and none was published recently.
Roger Zelazny is a name I almost never hear anymore even though he was pretty well known when I was younger. And Steven Brust's Vlad series was one of my favorites growing up (still is I guess as he's still working on finishing it).
They each have one-offs that are worth checking out if you're reluctant to jump into a huge series; I'd recommend _Lord_ _of_ _Light_ from Zelazny and _To_ _Reign_ _in_ _Hell_ from Steven Brust.
The enchanted forest chronicles by Patricia C wrede fits in here too! I loved those ones and the Lioness books when I was young
Love Irregular Society of Witches!! Hope there are more stories set in this world!
I enjoyed The Kingdom of Back! I loved the sibling friendship and learning about Mozart’s sister!
When they say a picture equals a thousand words the author of Kiki's Delivery Service really took that to heart. I never read that story and will have to add it to my TBR along with The Song of the Lioness. In the same middle grade vein I would recommend Dealing With Dragons, a delightful series that made me a reader.
Love these suggestions! Haven’t thought of song of the lioness in ages but that was a huge staple in my younger years!
Somehow I never read it as a kid, but did try at one point later on. But I couldn’t get into it and I can’t point out why.
Thank you for the recommendations! Also loving the Valdemar mentions as someone who read Valdemar as a teen in the 90s.
I’m hoping to dive back into it this summer! ☺️
@@ebnovels My favourite is the 1991-2001 main story arc - including books like By the Sword, The Mage Winds, Black Gryphon, Owl trilogy, etc. Although some of the standalones are good too - Brightly Burning or Take a Theif. Some of the books are in the main story arc and have important info, but some are branch stories with side characters, details and aren't necessary, but can be fun.
If you haven't read Tamora Pierce's quartet about the second lady knight or the duology about Alanna's daughter, I'd strongly recommend them
Thanks for this video! I sometimes find large fantasy books/series intimidating but short fantasy books help get me into a world. I love that a bunch of the books you mentioned are cozy reads/recent favorites of mine as I've been getting into cozy fantasy. I'm currently listening to The Magician's Daughter which I discovered from your cozy fantasy guide, so thanks again!
Some of my favorites (under 400 pages) that weren't in your list are: A Constellation of Roses by Miranda Asebedo, A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli, The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury, Basil & Oregano (graphic novel), Blade of Secrets and The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller. Lastly, from one of my favorite trilogies: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. ❤
Short books are generally good palette cleansers 💞
Alanna!!! *_* Loved these books so much, even though I read them when I was in my mid-twenties. Might have to re-read them. ^_^
Defensive Baking was a lovely surprise. So creative, so well done, and surprisingly deep.
Thank you for those promising recs! ^_^
Sub-400 page fantasy books exist? You live and learn 😂Nice list!
Shorter books that I enjoyed were the Queens of Renthia series by Sarah Beth Durst. If you're into urban fantasy, definitely check out the Faust series and Harmony Black series by Craig Schaefer. I believe the majority of those books are under 400 pages and they have all been quick reads.
Why does God Killer reminds me a bit of Small Gods? 🤔 Now, I really have to check it out. Awesome content btw! A scifi girl here, trying to read more fantasy 😊
Want to read half a soul so bad!
Tooth and Claw by Joe Walton is a Pride and Prejudice retelling with the characters as dragons.
I like how people reading fantasy got to the point that everything below 400 pages could be considered short
I read the first book about Alanna in the train going to see the friend who told me about the series. I loved it! And watching you talk about it makes me want to read more from this universe.
I'd also give a shout to the old short fiction writers like Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. Whenever I read these guys I can't help but wonder why short stories are just no longer a thing in the genre. They go together like cheese and pizza. Even Tolkien wrote a couple short stories and they were great.
I recently read Wildwood Knot by Olivia Atwater and really loved it.
You should read Voyagers Of hell. It's best in fantasy gener.
A Monster Calls and Circe. Both of those books have stuck with me and will always be favorites!
Love Song of the Lioness! And what a beautiful edition.
If you like dark dry humor try Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. First book is Jhereg.
It’s a series about an assassin.
Love Mercedes Lackey. She does a wonderful job of writing believable characters.
Nettle and bone love it so much love this story and this author so much 💚💜🩵🩵🩵🌸🌼🌈🌈❣️❣️💝❤️❤️🧡🌺🪻💖💘💗💗🌈💛🩵💜💜🌸💜💜💜🩵🌸📚📙📙📚📚📙📚📚📙📙📙📚📚📚📚📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖
I’m so happy to see Irregular Witches here it was one of my favorites when it came out! Great video as usual
Half a soul love this book one of my favorites and so good and amazing and I can relate to the main character 📙📚📚📖📖📖📙❣️💙💙📚🌹🌹🧡🩷🩷🌻🌺💖🌈💖❤️💘💝🩷🧡💜💙💙📙📚📖📖📖📚🩷🌻🩵🩵🌻💘
I read and enjoyed: A Wizard's Guide..., Nettle & Bone, Vicious, The Crane Husband, ...Irregular Witches, and Godkiller. Except for Crane Husband, I read all these because of your reviews. Thanks! A few of the others on your list are on my TBR (again, because of your reviews/recommendations).
If you are a table-top D&D gamer, you might consider visiting the Greyhawk campaign setting's adventure /Castle Greyhawk/. In "Level 3: Too Many Cooks," you meet Poppin' Farsh, the dough golem. I have wondered if it is the inspiration for TK Fisher's /A Wizard's Guide../. It's adorable. (He gets...baked. He doesn't die, but his stats do change.)
To be fair, I need both, long and short books. I really enjoy a 800+ pages long story but after that I'm kind of tired so I like to read a small book before reading again a book big as a brick. I will not be satisfied with only short books but my brain will explode with only big books so I alternate between the two 😊 that's why I take all the recommendations you can give 😂
I'm pretty sure Thom (Alanna's brother) didn't have to disguise himself as a girl. If I recall correctly, the school for proper young noblewomen happened to be near a magic academy so they just forged a letter saying he was going to study there and I guess wrote the convent to say Alanna was staying home or something. Also I really dig your copy of *Song of the Lioness* was that some foreign edition or a custom thing? I don't recognize it.
I really enjoyed Nettle & Bone, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and Warrior of the Wild. I honestly tend to prefer the shorter Fantasy stories over the 600+ more epic fantasy stories.
Not a book per se but a short story! The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow. A servant girl becomes a warrior for a prince. She wins many battles for this particular kingdom but the war never ends and it continues at her expense. Best 29 pages I could ever recommend!
The transition from Kiki's Delivery Service to God Killer was like whiplash 😂
Love the Tamora Pierce recommendation, I've loved her series since I read them as a child and regularly reread them. I don't often see them talked about! My favourite series of hers is the immortals, but Alanna is great too.
Would love to see a recommendation video from you for the r/fantasy bingo prompts!
Great Video!
Great list Elliot!
Nettle and bone, A wizard's guide were fantastic!
This video is gonna come in handy for me next month 😅 thank you!
Wait a sec.... That edition of Godkiller 👀 Wow!
Warrior of the Wild is so slept on and so adorable. Just a cute quick read.
“In this book you follow a young girl who…”
Read 13!🎉🎉
I love fantasy but would love to see you read and recommend books about Palestine especially with the genocide happening right now 🇵🇸
Really? This is about fantasy books. 😔 A lot of us have stressful jobs and need this escape. Why not bring up russias invasion of Ukraine too?
@@surpriseitsus9622 you're right, I stopped watching the news because of how stressful everything is now. There's a place to talk about those problems and it's not here. Let's just talk about fantasy books in this safe place, thank you...
@@surpriseitsus9622 because I know she reads nonfiction as well. Is reading even one book about Palestine too stressful…imagine what the people in Gaza are feeling then
@@shloka3915 it’s great that you can turn off the news and enjoy your life but this is not a luxury the people of Palestine can afford. I thought booktube was a place for readers and now you’re telling me this is not the place to talk about books… I know she mainly reads fantasy but she also reads other genres.
@@safaalkulity8699 yeah, talk to me about that. My best friend from 20 years is a woman who has ALL her father's familly leaving near Gaza, and I'm here for her everything single day, trying to help her dealing with her fear for her loved ones, so don't you dare patronizing me. I turned off the news because I freaking don't need journalistes explaining to me in repeat what I already know from her. So yeah, I want to just SOMETIMES stop thinking about all the shit human beings can do to each other and just read a simple fantasy book. Stop talking to people like you know their life.