By Andrés Muñoz
Alohomora! Lumos maxima! Expecto Patronum!
If you recognise these words, you’ve been brought up in the Harry Potter universe. You knew early on what house you belonged to and caught up on all the names, spells, and general lore of the works of J. K. Rowling. You must have also felt a certain feeling of “what now?” when Harry and Ginny see the kids off at platform 9 and ¾ at the epilogue. Where to go after seven years of Hogwarts? What other books (apart from the legendary The Lord of the Rings) compete with the seven-part saga many grew up with?
We cannot replace the book that motivated generations of kids to read. That being said, many other titles can rise to the literary challenge. These might be books that present a greater level of complexity for readers, an engaging storyline, or a combination of both. Who knows, you might end up seeing one of these books in the movie theatres sometime soon! Join us on this journey as we explore the next five titles to read after Harry Potter. As always, I’ll keep the spoilers to a minimum.
Mistborn
The Mistborn trilogy, published between 2006 and 2008, was written by Brandon Sanderson and is the first of a series of trilogies taking place in the same universe. The fascinating element is how magic is used here. Unlike Harry Potter, where you must incantate the magical words for the desired result, magic in the Mistborn series has a much more alchemical process. Individuals known as Allomancers can create special connections with a type of element, granting them special abilities.
Sanderson thought of the first Mistborn book (The Final Empire) after reading Harry Potter! He wanted a dystopian universe where the Dark Lord had been triumphant at the start of the story. There are small elements of the Ocean’s Eleven series peppered throughout, making it a very interesting magical/political/underworld-ish read.
The Artemis Fowl Series By Eoin Colfer
Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is the head of the Fowl criminal empire. A prodigy and mastermind, he knows faeries exist in the real world and is hell-bent on kidnapping one to restore his family fortune, lost in uncertain circumstances.
Described by his author, Eoin Colfer, as “Die Hard with faeries”, the 12-part Artemis Fowl series is all about antiheroes. It explores the conflicts greed creates and is a refreshingly original take on the combination of the fantasy, technology, and sci-fi worlds.
The Red Queen’s War Trilogy
Prince Jalan Kendeth – gambler, seducer of women, and joker- is not a particularly likeable character from the start. In fact, we have a hard time siding with him at all as he explores the Broken Empire. His grandmother, the fearsome Red Queen, moves her pieces in an intricate chess game that involves magic, secrecy, and more.
This is one of the most interesting trilogies I’ve had the chance to read. You end up caring for the trickster protagonist, and the use of magic is very well crafted. The trilogy begins with Prince of Fools, followed by The Liar’s Key, culminating in The Wheel of Osheim. A definite departure from the J.K. Rowling style of writing, this series of books is a little bit more demanding but definitely worth the read.
A Song Of Ice And Fire
There was no way this one would miss this list, as it’s a critical element of fantasy literature. We’ve seen the universe George R. R. Martin has created in the HBO series Game of Thrones, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the books. An inkling of the grand body of work that Martin has written over twenty-six years (and counting!).
Want a literary challenge? Say no more! A Song of Ice And Fire is a vast geopolitical high-fantasy saga that still has more books in the pipeline, with Martin currently working on the sixth and seventh parts of the series.
The Kingkiller Chronicle
An absolute favourite. With The Name of the Wind (2007), The Wise Man’s Fear (2011), and the upcoming The Doors of Stone, Patrick Rothfuss has cemented his position as a gripping storyteller.
The less you know about this one, the better, but I’ll share a few general teasers. It’s a tale about stories, magic, the science behind the magic, and music. What is truly fascinating is how the concept of folklore is embedded in the narrative. Most reviewers either adore it or were never thrilled by it, but the best thing you can do is to find out for yourself by getting started on them.
While not the typical Young Adult genre pieces, this collection is meant for you to grow as a reader by tackling books that might be harder to read and to help expand your knowledge of fantasy literature. What other titles do you suggest? Let us know in the comments section below!
THE LIFESTYLE COLLECTIVE 