swap_horiz George R.R. Martin Alternatives

1

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien was an English author and scholar best known for his expansive fantasy works. His novels, including *The...

Fantasy Epic World Building 20TH Century

9.2 Excellent

2

Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy is a prominent American novelist known for his stark depictions of human existence often set in the Amer...

American 20TH Century Dark Literary

9.1 Excellent

3

Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin was a prominent American novelist renowned for her innovative contributions to science fiction and fan...

Fantasy Sci Fi American 20TH Century

9.0 Excellent

4

Roberto Bolaño

Roberto Bolaño was a Chilean novelist celebrated for his complex and often unsettling narratives. His work, particularly...

Contemporary Dark Literary Latin American

9.0 Excellent

5

Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert was an American novelist best known for *Dune*, a seminal work of science fiction published in 1965. The n...

Sci Fi Epic World Building American

8.8 Great

6

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a British novelist renowned for his blending of fantasy, mythology, and contemporary storytelling. His wo...

Fantasy Contemporary Mythological Dark

8.6 Great

7

N.K. Jemisin

N. K. Jemisin is an American writer whose work spans science fiction, fantasy, short fiction, and criticism. Her Broken...

Fantasy Sci Fi American Contemporary

8.6 Great

8

Philip Roth

Philip Roth was a prominent American novelist known for his insightful portrayals of Jewish-American life and experience...

American Contemporary 20TH Century Literary

8.5 Great

9

Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O’Connor was an American novelist primarily known for her darkly humorous and unsettling short stories. Her wor...

American 20TH Century Dark Southern Gothic

8.5 Great

10

David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer known for his complex, postm...

Classic American Contemporary Literary

8.5 Great

11

Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead is a contemporary American novelist celebrated for his meticulously researched and emotionally resonant...

African American American Contemporary Literary

8.2 Great

12

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer whose extensive body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, essays, poet...

American Contemporary Literary Bestseller

8.2 Great

13

Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt is a prominent American novelist known for her complex and atmospheric stories. Her work, particularly *The...

American Contemporary Dark Literary

8.1 Great

14

Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy and science-fiction writer known for detailed magic systems, large-scale plots,...

Fantasy Epic World Building American

7.9 Good

15

Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb is the principal fantasy pen name of American author Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden. Under this name she has...

Fantasy Epic American Contemporary

7.8 Good

16

Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss is an American fantasy writer known for The Kingkiller Chronicle, a series framed as the autobiographic...

Fantasy Epic World Building American

7.5 Good

17

Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is an American novelist best known for creating the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. His books for you...

Fantasy American Contemporary Bestseller

6.9 Fair

18

Erin Morgenstern

Erin Morgenstern is an American author best known for her debut novel The Night Circus, published in 2011, which became...

Fantasy American Contemporary Romance

6.7 Fair

19

Lev Grossman

Lev Grossman is an American novelist and former book critic for Time magazine. He is best known for The Magicians trilog...

Fantasy American Contemporary Urban Fantasy

6.6 Fair

20

Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer is an American novelist best known for the Twilight Saga, a series of supernatural romance novels about...

Fantasy American Contemporary Bestseller

3.9 Poor