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Fantasy Sub-Genres You Didn't Know Existed
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Stephanie Yap profile picture
Stephanie Yap
You think you know fantasy? Think again. These subgenres are so oddly specific they deserve their own fandom.
Sections
4
 
Silkpunk
 
Flintlock
 
Epistolary
 
Eldtrich

Silkpunk

A mix of Asian hisotry, legends and culture with soft, nature-based technology

 
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It's like Game of Thrones, but Asian setting
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu, Paperback
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You'll feel so much rage while reading this, but it's the best damn series out there.
The Poppy War (Poppy War Series #1) by R. F. Kuang, Paperback
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Poly relationship with gundam-style machines? Hell yeah
Iron Widow (Book 1)|Paperback - Xiran Jay Zhao
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It's like The Godfather meets Bruce Lee martial art kinda story.
Jade City (Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee, Paperback
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Mulan-inspired historical fiction. You'll love and hate the characters.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, Paperback
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Flintlock

Stories set in world that look like the 1700s, when muskets, pistols, and cannons were common. 

 
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Stephanie Yap
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler, Paperback
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Stephanie Yap
Promise of Blood (Powder Mage Trilogy #1) by Brian McClellan, Paperback
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Stephanie Yap
Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Paperback
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The sexiest time travel story you'll ever read.
Outlander Books Series
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If you love Mistborn era 1, you'll love this.
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn Series #4) by Brandon Sanderson, Paperback
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Epistolary

A fantasy story told through documents like letters, diaries, journal entries…

 
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Now I, too, want a typewriter so I can write a love letter
Divine Rivals: A Novel by Rebecca Ross, Hardcover
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Go into this book blind. Please. I beg you. It'll change your life.
Piranesi (Women's Prize for Fiction Winner)
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If you want a cozy fantasy where faeries are kinda mean and might kidnap people, then this is it.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries (B&N Exclusive Edition ...
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Sapphic time travel love story done best. There really isn't anything like this book
This Is How You Lose the Time War
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I just love how relatable the characters are in this book.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen, Paperback
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Eldtrich

Fantasy touched by cosmic horror, so think strange, unsettling world filled with beings or power that we can't comprehend

 
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Stephanie Yap
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher, Paperback
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Stephanie Yap
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, Paperback
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The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher, Paperback
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Ring Shout|Hardcover - P. Djèlí Clark
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Chasing Moonflowers by Pauline Chow, Paperback
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