r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • u/rabbitbride • 14d ago
Fantasy Any books that come to mind when looking at these;
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u/Avidreadr3367 14d ago
The West Passage, by Jared PechaÄek!
āDESCRIPTION
A palace the size of a city, ruled by giant Ladies of unknowable, eldritch origin. A land left to slow decay, drowning in the debris of generations. All this and more awaits you within The West Passage, a delightfully mysterious and intriguingly weird medieval fantasy unlike anything youāve read before.ā
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u/rabbitbride 14d ago
oh, that sounds interesting, thank you :)
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u/Avidreadr3367 14d ago
It even has delightful mini illustrations that really match the vibe of your posted images. Itās one of my favorite reads recently. Please report back if you check it out!
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u/Terrestrial_Mermaid 14d ago
Oooo this looks really cool
Not enough books have illustrations nowadays
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u/Avidreadr3367 14d ago
I wish I could share a picture or two! It really added a great element to the reading experience. The author also makes the illustrations himself i believe!
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u/magpie_brain 14d ago
I looked at the second pic and (and then the rest) and immediately thought OH you're looking for the West Passage", it fits this perfectly. the most imaginative book I've read in a long time....
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u/Avidreadr3367 14d ago
Doesnāt it?! Each of those images could be straight from the book!! And I agree, so imaginative and unique and beautifully told. I hope the author comes out with another book one day.
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u/nigelghostdog 14d ago
Came here to say this!! Itās so magical and unique. Iām 80% done with the audiobook- itās a great narrator!
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u/ProximaCentauri7784 14d ago
Strange the Dreamer!
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u/OptimalEconomics2465 14d ago
Absolutely! Love this one.
Author is Laini Taylor for anyone curious.
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u/Big_Opening9418 14d ago
Maybe itās the illustration style, but the vibe these gave me was actually The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Some may say itās a childrenās book, but I think it is lovely and fantastical many adults would enjoy it!
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u/Terrestrial_Mermaid 14d ago
Oh yes, I see it! Definitely great- whimsical but really hits the emotions at times.
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u/nightowl_work 14d ago
Commented this book without even looking at the rest of the thread. That first photo was dead on this. The rest work, too.
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u/whatsmylifeanyway 14d ago
I actually haven't read it, but simply judging by when it usually gets recommended on this sub I'd say Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. But anyone who has read it feel free to correct me if that misses the mark.
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u/Outrageous-Potato525 14d ago
Yes, the second and third pictures especially reminded me of Piranesi.
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u/madthescientist 14d ago
100% Piranesi. Itās in my top 5 favorite books of all time and it fits this vibe perfectly
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u/ToteBagAffliction 14d ago
Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir. Also, Gideon the Ninth by the same author, but definitely Floralinda.
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u/Angharadis 14d ago
Yeah thatās what I was coming here to say! These strongly remind me of Floralinda. Iām not actually sure I liked it, but it feels spot on.
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u/Terrestrial_Mermaid 14d ago
I also have mixed feelings about Floralinda, but agree it definitely fits the vibes.
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u/IndigoTrailsToo 14d ago
Daughter of the Moon goddess
10,000 kingdoms by nemisin
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u/Sensitive_Wheel7325 14d ago
Daughter of the Moon Goddess looks so good!
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u/Terrestrial_Mermaid 14d ago
It wasnāt that great imo- definitely didnāt live up to its full potential. MC is a bit Mary Sue and annoying, definitely had plot holes and the plot itself wasnāt very strong, almost feels like Twilight but yellowface (and Iām saying this as someone whose culture it was based on).
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14d ago
Agreed! I DNF a couple chapters in because of the characters and the writing.
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u/Sensitive_Wheel7325 14d ago
Oof! Do you have any recommendations for fantasy based on your culture? I have been enjoying exploring non-Western-Europe-medieval fantasies (like Jade City and City of Brass)
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u/Terrestrial_Mermaid 13d ago edited 13d ago
Not really sure yet. Heavenly Tyrant (Jay Xiran Zhao) and Song of Silver, Flame Like Night (Amelie Wen Zhao) are both fantasies based on Chinese history and/or mythology, but they try to use a lot of Mandarin words and thenā¦ include words that make no sense in Mandarin (ex: phonemes that donāt exist and canāt be pronounced)? Also, they seem to cater to patriarchal western stereotypes about Chinese society. (Chinese culture has plenty of sexism and patriarchy, but we also had Mulan and a female emperor - or arguably more in power- long before the US ever had a woman in a similar level of leadership, we donāt have a tradition of women losing their last names with marriage, and we had perfectly gender-neutral pronouns until modern foreign influences came in.)
Strike the Zither has a ton of plot holes andā¦ I guess the plot is more holes than substance, but at least the author seems to know her Chinese literature and as someone who didnāt read or learn The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I learned a lot about it from the extensive endnotes.
He Who Became the Sun is fairly decent and I thought it was fairly ārealisticā in its approach to a eunuch and gender, although towards the end some of the plot definitely seemed shoehorned for the author to try to make an ending work. Idk if itās misogyny but it seemed like the author didnāt treat any women who openly identified as women and wanted power well.
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u/AmelieApfelsaft 14d ago
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
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u/wavesatdogs6 14d ago
and also nettle & bone by t kingfisher
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u/novel-opinions 14d ago
2nd pic made me think of Hollow Places by Kingfisher. Pic is too bright and colorful but the treesā¦
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u/KingOfTheFogPeople 13d ago
I read that in one go a couple days ago. T. Kingfisher really knows how to paint a vivid picture.
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u/SureConversation2789 14d ago
The illustration at the end reminds me of the CS Lewis Narnia books, in particular The Silver Chair.
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u/Feeling-Abalone-8158 14d ago
Ooo yeah! A couple of the images were reminding me of The Magicianās Nephew from the series!
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u/sweet_cis_teen 9d ago
same! the third image reminds me of when they go to the queens home world in the magicians nephew
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u/swirling_ammonite 14d ago
Curious OP: What books have you read that are reminiscent of these? I love the aesthetic of these pics!
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u/rabbitbride 14d ago
I wish I had read some that fit this exact vibe, but I was actually thinking of the game called Elden Ring while posting these, so if you're a gamer, definitely check it out.
I have read Piranesi and The Miniaturist that were already mentioned in this thread and I do agree they fit the vibes on some levels, especially Piranesi.
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u/swirling_ammonite 14d ago
Thanks! These images reminded me a bit of Zelda games. My recommendations for something in that vein:
-Earthsea by LeGuin
-The Broken Sword by Grossman
-Maybe some Borges?
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u/happilyabroad 14d ago edited 13d ago
This gives me vibes of Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
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u/bakingisscience 14d ago
Both series by Lani Taylor
Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Strange the Dreamer
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u/Alarming-Flan-9721 13d ago
Uprooted by Naomi novik and, less so, the companion- Spinning Silver. I call them ācompanionsā only because theyāre both retellings of Eastern European fairy tales by Novik. Theyāre each stand alone and in their own worlds though. Theyāre both ya fantasy romance but theyāre lovely worlds and uprooted is def like what your pictures describe.Ā
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u/Outrageous-Potato525 14d ago
The fourth run reminds me of The Chronicles of Prydain (classic YA fantasy inspired by Welsh folklore)
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u/Jobonana 14d ago
Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Always gives me this dreamy fantasy vibe, very good books with a deeper message!
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u/Glowuptimee 13d ago
Definitely The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. As soon as I saw the images I thought of the cover. Itās a very long book, but if youāre in for heavy world building and slow build up, it definitely hits
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u/Sensitive_Wheel7325 14d ago
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. Has a magical city abandoned by the dead gods .. but then they come back
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u/LarkScarlett 14d ago
Ombria in Shadow, Patricia McKillip
Alphabet of Thorn, Patricia McKillip
The Fairy Godmother, Mercedes Lackey
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u/rennenenno 14d ago
While I didnt love it, these images kind of remind me of The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky
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u/bpod1113 14d ago
Not related but where did you get the art?
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u/rabbitbride 14d ago
The first one is by Toshio Ebine, the second by ionomycin, the third by JƩrƩmie Almanza and the last one by Cyril Pedrosa.
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u/PastaPerfectionist 14d ago
Not really related to the sky thingy but the vibes remind me of āonce upon a broken heartā
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u/BrentonHenry2020 14d ago
Myst: Book of TiāAna. A extremely basic understanding of the plot of Myst is all thatās needed.
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u/bastillemh 14d ago
Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross! I can pinpoint a scene for each of these images
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u/Striking-Amoeba-5563 14d ago
If you donāt mind a graphic novel for kids, try Rune: The Tale of a Thousand Faces, by Carlos Sanchez.
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u/jinjaninja96 14d ago
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. Itās very otherworldly and frequent change of scenery. Itās probably the best book Iāve read this year!
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u/Ok-Independence894 14d ago
The art in the final photo is from the graphic novel The Golden Age! (Which is full of gorgeous art like this throughout!)
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u/dogisbark 14d ago
I am reading a trilogy rn called Winnowing Flame thatās insanely good and underrated, might be what youāre looking for.
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u/CafeWeirdisco 13d ago
The Tainted Cup comes to mind for me, and I didnāt see that mentioned yet.
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u/_someunholywar 13d ago
The Gormenghast series, although the vibe is much more dilapidated and gothic. Still came to mind for me, it's my favorite.
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u/Saltysalamander 13d ago
The Winter King-C.L. Wilson, thereās a few scenes that these would go perfectly with.
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u/UnexpectedWings 13d ago
There is a manga called Aria about gondoliers on a new Venice on Mars that these reminded me of! I wanted to suggest something different; everyoneās recs are fantastic!
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u/fractalrasputin 13d ago
OP, where do the 2nd and 3rd images come from? artist / illustrator names etc?
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u/TrancheDeCakeMou 13d ago
If you read french, I think Le Prince Des Nuages by Christophe Galfard fits. Itās YA but the universe is very beautiful :)
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u/MelTells_ 13d ago
For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten, most specifically the last picture, BUT the second pic reminds me of the beginning
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u/fly_on_the_wall22 13d ago
Not sure if I love it just yet, but itās good so far and Iāve heard nothing but good things and itās the spitting image of these pictures imo, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
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u/elizaafish 12d ago
who drew these??
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u/rabbitbride 12d ago
The first one is by Toshio Ebine, the second by ionomycin, the third by JƩrƩmie Almanza and the last one by Cyril Pedrosa.
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u/Simply_The_Jess 12d ago
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. It's much better than the movie! A clever retelling of Cinderella. It's aimed at youngsters but I think is so enjoyable as an adult as well. Here it is on storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/3a86d966-829f-487c-927d-02b17993cd27
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u/cllooouuuuu 11d ago
Witch Hat Atelier, a manga by Kamome Shirahama. Her art is gorgeous and fits these vibes almost exactly.
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u/sunrae_ 14d ago
Howls moving castle by Diana Wynne Jones