Both hilarious, stone-dead serious and threatening, this trilogy is one of my favourite high-fantasy stories out there.īZRK by Michael Grant– what I consider to be Gone author Michael Grant’s magnum opus, this trilogy of highly original thrillers are killers. The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman – a departure from the other dystopian/post-apocalypic novels listed here, The Left Hand of God is a vivid (and bloody) fantasy drawing elements from the real world. Howey’s characterisation is as good as his prose and Sand delivers a wrenching tale of a family caught in the balance between survival and devestation. In the blink of an eye you’ll find yourself in the sandy streets of Springston where sanddivers prepare for the day ahead searching for old relics buried beneath waves of dust and sand. Sand by Hugh Howey – what I love about this soon to sequalised book is Howey’s prose which I described as “elemental” in my review. It really can’t be called anything other than epic (which is why Peter Jackson, allegedly, bought the film rights.) And with an opening sentence as evocative as “It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea”, you can’t really go wrong. His old world creations are delightful without being heavy handed, and the story spans several generations. Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve– one of my all-time favourite series, Reeve’s steampunk tales of roaving cities has been around for over a decade now – though it hasn’t lost its shine. Wells really pushes the science to the forefront here, and it fulfils its sci-fi elements beautifully without losing out on characterisation or setting. Partials by Dan Wells – another post-apocalyptic tale, Dan Well’s Partials is political and medical as an engineered humanoid species introduces a deadly virus that prevents babies from surviving past the first few hours of birth. Fuse, the second book, is my personal favourite but all three are excellent, if you can get past the rather slow start to Pure.
An enclosed dome) and transforming it into a powerfully characterised and beautifully visualised post-apocalyptic world. Pure by Julianna Baggott – this now-complete trilogy is phenomenal, taking what at first seems quite a derivative sci-fi concept (ie.
(We’ve got a giveaway of Red Rising currently active) It’s really, really bloody (in my review I called it “bloodier than The Hunger Games” – which is definitely true) but also surprisingly thoughtful as Brown introduces political and philosophical ideas into the mix. Red Rising by Pierce Brown – this recent sci-fi has heavy dystopic overtones and is best summed up as a amalgamation of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game and Lord of the Flies. If you’ve just come out of the cinema gasping after having seen The Maze Runner well, here are some more books for you to consider that are similar to the Maze Runner trilogy either because they’re bloody, thrilling or just plain epic. Posted October 9th, 2014 by Rhys & filed under Recommendations.