10 Creative Fantasy Books That Defied Every Trope

It is almost impossible for one fantasy book to not include any tropes or rely on formulas, but some authors strive to defy expectations and subvert the genre. While there’s a reason why tropes like the hero’s journey and sword and sorcery formulas are popular, these aspects of these narratives are so synonymous that the time has come for authors to break with tradition. Of course, writers must understand the rules of fantasy to challenge them, so that leads to a deep love for the genre that can be found in so many of these creative works.

Many of these fantasy books have shocking twists that readers don’t see coming. While a successful twist isn’t the only mark of a good book, it shows that the writers understand how to work within and outside of the fantasy format. Settings, characters, and plot developments must work in harmony within the narrative, creating something unique when combined. Many of these works are the beginning of iconic series that redefined the genre. and bring fantasy into the mainstream.

10

Senlin Rises (2013)

Written by Josiah Bancroft

The first in Babel Books series, Senlin Ascends​​​​​​, was Josiah Bancroft’s self-published debut, but the series has since found a wide audience. Following the story of Thomas Senlin, an educated academic who loses his wife at the Tower of Babel and embarks on an unforgettable adventure to find her. While a wife’s sacrifice and a hero’s quest for a female character are outdated fantasy elements, Senlin Ascends does not capitulate to them, subverting them through Senlin’s characterization.

Each level of the tower that Senlin explores is beautifully realized and unexpected, allowing the reader to delve deeper into the illusion of luxury alongside Senlin. Furthermore, it is slowly revealed that many of the people Senlin encounters have lost loved ones, but it is the seekers who are often left behind and unable to save themselves. Senlin is nothing like the typical chosen protagonist readers encounter in fiction, but that makes him irresistibly relatable and intriguing.

9

Uprooted (2015)

Written by Naomi Novik

One of the best fantasy books of the last ten years, Naomi Novik’s Uprooted is not simply a takeoff of Beauty and the beast as the initial premise might suggest. Instead, the heroine, Agnieszka, fights tooth and nail against her destiny and refuses to sacrifice the people she loves for the sake of an unjust kingdom. The discovery that she has magic doesn’t take her to a fantastical realm and elevate her from her circumstances. If anything, Agnieszka becomes even more rooted in her land and history as the story progresses.

Uprooted It contains several stories in one, but manages to do justice to them all, maintaining the pace and action of the narrative. Although there is a romance within the narrative, Agnieszka’s relationship with her best friend, Kasia, is equally important to her development and pushes Agnieszka even further on her path to greatness. However, Agnieszka’s desire to stay close to her family and home contrasts sharply with the typical protagonist who is desperate to escape her circumstances.

8

Babel, Or The Necessity Of Violence (2022)

Written by RF Kuang

RF Kuang quickly rose to prominence as one of the most popular and innovative writers of the 21st century. Although most of his work falls within the fantasy genre, his debut series The Poppy Warhas garnered a large following, Kuang has also recently explored realistic fiction with the critically acclaimed Yellow Face. However, before that, Kuang wrote Babelwho was instantly highlighted for his critique and analysis of the history of colonialism through a speculative fiction lens.

The magic system in Babel it is not used for good in the narrative and causes the protagonist, Robin, to question whether his love of language and its power can ever be removed from the clutches of British imperialism. Questions of assimilation versus the need for revolt are the biggest questions asked in Babelwhich takes a concrete political stance, something that many fantasy books fear. However, this makes it irrevocably relevant and a project that crosses boundaries within the modern cultural context.

7

The Fifth Season (2015)

Written by NK Jemisin

NK Jemisin The Broken Earth trilogy is a landmark fantasy series, not just because of its record-breaking run of awards, but because the story is so captivating. The Fifth Season is the first in the series and is a great introduction to the world of Stillness and the deeply rooted tropes about climate change. Inside The Fifth Seasonland and weather are part of the magical system, as all protagonists have the power to control these elements, leading to persecution and disaster.

The twist at the end The Fifth Season is subtly hinted at throughout the chapters. However, that doesn’t make it any less satisfying when the audience reaches the inevitable conclusion. While the physicality of the world in The Fifth Season is a big part of what attracts readers, the characters and their harrowing journeys are equally compelling. After The Fifth Seasonthe sequels expand Jemisin’s richly imagined world and never waver in the quality of the content.

6

Death (1987)

Written by Terry Pratchett

THE Disco world The novels are some of the most important works in the history of fantasy. Highly influential and innovative, the Disco world all the novels take place within the same universe, but follow different characters and subseries. Dead It was the first book to follow Death as the protagonist of a story and paved the way for one of the most popular subseries. Although he may be the Grim Reaper, Death is a relatable character and his plots appeal to the reader’s pathos more than any other point of view.

Terry Pratchett Disco world The premise gives each book a satirical flavor and ironic elements, but novels from Death’s perspective are considered the most human. Pratchett’s success with Disco world emerged from the ability of stories to be funny and emotionally captivating. Dead is cited as the Disco world book that first established what the series would become and struck a tone that connected with readers. Although he is such a powerful character, The death is nothing like what the audience would expect.

5

Piranesi (2020)

Written by Susanna Clarke

It is an equally great challenge for the reader to discover what happened to the titular Piranesi just as it is up to the protagonist himself to uncover the secrets of his identity. At once a tragic story about the loss of self and a celebration of what can become beautiful and understood through time and care, Piranesi It’s not a typical fantasy book. Susanna Clarke is also the author behind Jonathan Strange and Mr.an equally compelling and bizarre look at the human psyche and provokes a deeply emotional response.

Winner of the Women’s Fiction Prize, Piranesi is talking to the famous surrealist artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who created some of the most fascinating works of art of the 18th century. Alluding to this work of art as well as referencing many classic works of fantasy, Piranesi it doesn’t take the protagonist on the traditional hero’s journey, and it’s never Piranesi’s goal to leave his constructed world. Instead, he seeks knowledge and understanding in whatever form that may take.

4

Bunny (2019)

Written by Mona Awad

Mona Awad Bunny is a book that many writers will identify with, but its universal messages of friendship and self-acceptance will connect with all readers. Samantha, the self-proclaimed nonconformist of her writers’ workshop in her prestigious MFA program, desperately wants the approval of her vapid classmates. Throughout the dark and twisting story, it is soon discovered that Samantha can tap into a power fueled by her imagination and loneliness that other women are desperate for.

For fans of dark academic and fantasy books that border on horror, Bunny It’s the perfect book. Awad takes Samantha and the reader down a terrifying rabbit hole that Sam must climb out of or risk losing your individuality forever. The audience roots for Samantha and hopes that she will break free from the manipulative bunnies, the other women on her show. However, this doesn’t mean that Sam is always the most likable protagonist. Awad critically analyzes the act of writing itself, encouraging the reader to do the same.

3

House of Leaves (2000)

Written by Mark Z. Danielewski

House of Leaves is a genre-bending fantasy story that can be read multiple times to make the overlapping stories understood. What is the truth and what has been fabricated by unreliable narrators is questioned throughout the story. However House of Leaves It’s a romance, multiple mediums are explored through metatextual references to documentaries, academic texts, diary entries, and much more. In the center of House of Leaves it’s the titular terrifying house that draws the characters in and won’t let them go.

Even as the reader struggles to make sense of the conflicting accounts of the house’s history, House of Leaves manages to deeply affect the audience and tell human stories. The deterioration of social rules and obligations that the characters adhere to as they delve deeper into the investigation of the house is an interesting commentary on the collapse of society and how art is a tool for understanding it. House of Leaves was cited as a satire of academia and is not afraid to interrogate many hierarchical cultural structures.

2

This Is How You Lose The Time War (2019)

Written by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar

Although short in length, This is how you lose the time war It has a great emotional impact. The story is written from the dual perspectives of two soldiers on opposite sides of an endless war. As a result, the plot sees them grow to care for each other and risk the wrath of their respective empires. Told through letters, the structure of This is how you lose the time war It’s just one part of the novel’s innovative style and perspective.

Not just a richly romantic fantasy novel, This is how you lose the time war it also interrogates the futile nature of war and the unnecessary violence it incites. More than star-crossed lovers, Red and Blue are rediscovering their humanity and purpose in existing through each other. This is how you lose the time war It has also been acclaimed for its LGBTQ+ representation and how Red and Blue are not confined to gender norms or strict hierarchies of sexuality, which is reflected in the way they relate to each other through their letters.

1

Circe (2018)

Written by Madeline Miller

One of the best historical fantasy books, Circefalls into the genre of retelling of Greek myths, but Madeline Miller has always been one of the best writers in tackling these subjects. His previous work, The Song of Achillesis similar but gives a more romantic take on the famous tragic story. Circe takes up the story of the famous sorceress and tells it in her terms. Although this is a popular fictional concept, Circe it doesn’t rest on its laurels or let this be the only memorable aspect of the story.

As a character, Circe is rich and complexand Miller never alters his story in any obvious way. Miller does not make Circe’s narrative an epic tale of revenge or retribution, instead focusing on her as a uniquely human character, allowing the reader to connect with her. Almost all of the work fantasy takes place on Circe’s island, Aeaea, giving the reader and Circe an objective outsider’s view of Greek mythology’s greatest moments.