thelittlebookowl

Hi guys, I hope you are all well. You guys should all know by now that I love fantasy and one of my favourite sub-genres is military fantasy, so I thought I’d share some recommendations. This sub-genre has a heavy emphasis on military life in a fantasy world and the main characters are generally part of the military. Tactics, strategies and epic battles also play a big part of this sub-genre. Let’s get started

 

Codex Alera series / 6 books / Jim Butcher / ★★★★

Furies of Calderon, Academ’s Fury, Cursor’s Fury, Captain’s Fury, Princep’s Fury and First Lord’s Fury

This is a coming of age, military fantasy series that chronicles the life of a young man called Tavi in the realm of Alera. The world is Carna but the series is mainly set in the realm of Alera, which shares similarities with the empire of Rome, except with elemantal spirits called Furies that can be used by the Alerans (or humans). The first book has very little military elements but from the second book onwards it plays a large part within the series. I love these books and would highly recommend checking it out. I have a full review of this series which you can check out here.

 

Powder Mage trilogy / 3 books / Brian McClellan / ★★★★

Promise of Blood, The Crimson Campaign and The Autumn Republic

This is a flintlock, military fantasy trilogy with multiple perspectives and a unique magic system. Quite a few characters are part of the military and tactics play a big part throughout. There is also a sequel trilogy, Gods of Blood and Powder, that is well worth reading after you’ve read the Powder Mage trilogy. I love both of these trilogies and again would highly recommend checking these out.

 

Legend / book 1 of the Drenai saga / David Gemmell / ★★★

This is a first book in a military fantasy series. The premise of this book is basically a legendary warrior coming out of retirement to help defend the fortress of Dros Delnoch against the conquering Nadir. The military elements of this book are so well done and the world building is good. While I enjoyed this book, the one thing that frustrated me was the representation of women. This was first published in the 80’s so it is dated in terms of women representation. Overall though this was a great read and I would recommend checking it out.

 

 

That’s it for today. Despite this being one of my favourite sub-genres I actually haven’t read a lot of books within it. I definitely hope to read a lot more in the future, so if you have any recommendations for me please leave them in the comments. What’s your favourite fantasy sub-genre? I’d love to know. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

Pippa