Your Favorite Books Along the Lines of Skyrim

[Kohlar the Unkilled]

I read a LOT. This thread is dedicated to books that are either similar to Skyrim, or remind you of the game for some reason. I'm making the thread because I read mostly sci-fi. I've read almost no fantasy, simply because I'm afraid I'll find it ridiculous and am afraid to invest the time.

By far, my favorite series of books, are Bernard Cromwell's "Saxon Tales." In these books, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a saxon raised as a dane, conquers and kills, drinks mead and ale, and is essentially the nord that Kohlar the Unkilled is based upon. This series of books is so awesome that I recommend them to all of my Skyrim companions here on this forum. I should add that these books are ground in historical truth, so although the character of Uhtred is fictitious, his tale runs parallel to that of the making of England itself, with historical facts and real characters such as Alfred the Great, Ivar the Boneless, and many others. These are NOT fantasy. Please read these and put your feed back on this thread. I'll look forward to the discussions.

Please post any other recommended reading here as well.

 

[imaginepageant]

George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Skyrim was actually somewhat inspired by it. They're some of the best books I've ever read, but a warning: the wait between books is torturous.

 

[sticky runes]

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is immense (he died before completing the series so another author helped finish it). There are no elves or dwarves or trolls, it's a very human driven story. There is magic, but the author came up with his own terms for supernatural powers and the people who wield them, and the monsters are all original ideas, so it all feels fresh. The violence is very intense and brutal. You really get inside the heads of these characters and experience the world through their eyes, the author goes into intricate details with the costumes and fighting techniques and how the different powers work. Read the first book "Eye of the World" and see how you feel about it.

For historical fiction, I like reading the Boudicca novels by Manda Scott. It's based on the real life story of the British tribal queen Boudicca who lead a rebellion against the Roman Empire, but the author has added her own twists and characters to flesh the story out a bit more. There are elements of fantasy and mythology, with druid-like arts communicating with the dead and animal spirits. People who like playing the war story between Imperials and the rebellion in Skyrim should appreciate this, as it follows characters on both sides of the war.

UPDATE: I'm currently reading The Magician by Raymond E. Feist. It starts off as a very cliched fantasy, set in a world very much like Middle-Earth with elves in forest, dwarves in mines and there's even a dragon living in a cave full of treasure. But then it takes you to another world where everything is all new and alien, with original creatures and magical technology. so it's like a mix of traditional fantasy and a fresh fantasy idea. There's even a Thieves Guild somewhere in this world, and a Dark Brotherhood (which is basically a name for the Dark Elves.)