Authors to fill the Pratchett void? Genre agnostic, would love suggestions.

Question

Oleg K · Answer

Christopher Moore: To be clear, no one can fill a Pratchett-sized hole, but maybe Christopher Moore can bite his way around it?

Jess · Answer

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Hannah · Answer

Temeraire novels by Naomi Novik: I read these all in the span of about a week when I had unconfirmed mystery illness that I still think was Covid//she is so funny and they are so addictive

Jess · Answer

Nettle and Bone (T. Kingfisher): A princess must leave the nunnery where she has taken refuge, so that she can save her sister from an abusive marriage. Kingfisher plays with fairy tale tropes (fairy godmothers play a surprisingly large role), but what makes the book feel fresh is how she combines them with things that feel older and darker. Bonedog - made from the bones of dogs killed and eaten by their owners during a famine - is just one example.

The situations that Kingfisher puts her characters in can be dark, but the book maintains a beautiful moral clarity. The writing is delightful too, charming without becoming twee. Overall, a strong recommend!

Elena · Answer

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: Ohhh to laugh this hard from the first page feels so good!! I describe this book as The Hunger Games meets The Westing Game but with lesbian necromancers in space. Gideon is one of the most lovable characters I’ve ever met, and Harrow is obsession-worthy. My partner and I dressed as them for Halloween a couple years back (the photo is V as Gideon). Gideon and Harrow’s dynamic, all the way to the last page, rocked me to my core. I truly love every book in this series, but will always have a special place in my heart for Gideon the Ninth.

Also important to note that audiobook is fantastic!! I would absolutely recommend reading (rather than listening to) the second in the series Harrow the Ninth or you may become extremely confused, but listening to Gideon was even more enjoyable than reading it because the voices are so good.

Elena · Answer

A Face Like Glass & all Frances Hardinge books: A subterranean city built by passionate cartographers who lose their minds designing the twisting tunnels which are filled with mysterious and dangerous artisans who make crafts like hallucinogenic cheeses and bewitching (literally) perfumes, where everyone is born with a blank face and must learn all expressions from an elite class of Facesmiths…yet one wild girl is found in one cheesemaker’s tunnels and her face is like glass, revealing every emotion inside. Where did she come from? And where is she going, because you’ve never met a self possessed person quite like Neverfell.

One of my absolute favorite YA books that holds up as an adult. So many of Hardinges reads turn out this way for me.