The best forgotten fantasy books

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I was part of a large family, I frequently felt alone growing up. While my siblings were busy playing sports or running around with their friends, I sat by myself in the basement, reading fantasy stories. Eventually, I began creating my own worlds and published the Riddle in Stone series and Sword of Betrayal. I suppose I’m still trying to find a place where I fit in.


I wrote...

Sword of Betrayal

By Robert Evert,

Book cover of Sword of Betrayal

What is my book about?

Edris wants to be a poet. His father wants him to kill the king's son.

The latest Kings’ Quest has been announced. The adventurer who finds the fabled Sword of Betrayal will win one thousand gold pieces, money Edris could use to start his own life with the woman he loves. Edris’s father, however, has another idea—he wants Edris to undertake the quest so he can kill the king’s son.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Guardians of the Flame: The Heroes

Robert Evert Why did I love this book?

Guardians of the Flame is a fantasy series where seven college students get together for a night of role-playing games and suddenly find themselves in an alternative world of swords, magic, and deadly fire-breathing dragons. To get home they must find the mysterious “Gate Between World.” It is a witty adventure story any fan of fantasy can appreciate. It explores the question—what would happen if readers of fantasy were transported into their favorite fantasy world?

By Joel Rosenberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Guardians of the Flame as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It had begun as an evening of fantasy gaming - college students passing the time. Then the impossible happened:

the players found themselves transported into the bodies and personae of their game characters - trapped in an alternate world where magic worked all too well, dragons were a fire-breathing menace, and only those quick enough with a sword, or their wits, survived.

The only way back to Earth was a legendary portal called the Gate Between Worlds, but there was no guarantee they'd pass through safely even if they managed to find it. And their new selves had precious little…


Book cover of The Door Into Fire

Robert Evert Why did I love this book?

The Door into Fire is the first book in the Tale of Five series by Diane Duane. Set in the Middle Kingdoms universe, it follows the adventures of a sorcerous swordsmith who is desperately trying to master the power of the blue Flame while protecting the person he loves from annihilation. The Door into Fire is saga of power, magic, and friendship readers of epic fantasies will love.

By Diane Duane,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Door Into Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A sorcerous swordsmith desperate to achieve true power. His stubbornly nonmagical sword. His princely runaway lover. His hungry new fire elemental. Put them all together, and what can possibly go wrong?Herewiss is the only man in centuries to possess the Power of the blue Flame, but he can’t use or control it — not even to help his friend and lover Freelorn, prince of Arlen, exiled from his native land and pursued across the Middle Kingdoms by the usurpers' allies. Invoking perilous sorceries and the even more dangerous assistance of the fire elemental Sunspark, Herewiss manages to rout the armies…


Book cover of The Sword of Winter

Robert Evert Why did I love this book?

For forty years, Lord Gambin has ruled his lands with an iron fist, crushing all that get in his way. Now he is dying and chaos rages through his realm. What will happen when he is no more? The Sword of Winter is a before-its-time epic that addresses issues caused by societal changes and technological advancements. Many of the topics it discusses are still relevant today.

By Marta Randall,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sword of Winter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

RANDALL, Marta: The Sword of Winter. New York, Timescape, 1983. BOOK CLUB EDITION. Hardcover with dust jacket, 241 pp. Subject: Novel / Fantasy. Book and jacket condition: Very Good. A bit of foxing to the top-side of the book. Very faint traces of wear to jacket's extremities. All interior pages clean and unmarked. Stirring heroic fantasy by a modern master of the genre.


Book cover of The Book of Wonder

Robert Evert Why did I love this book?

Reputed to be one reason why J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, and H.P. Lovecraft began writing fantasy, The Book of Wonder is a collection of short stories by Irish fantasy writer, Lord Dunsany. With gnoles, mail-clad warriors, and dragons, it is in many ways the foundation of what we consider classical fantasy stories. Unfortunately, it doesn’t often get the credit it deserves.

By Lord Dunsany,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Book of Wonder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.


Book cover of Dwellers in the Mirage

Robert Evert Why did I love this book?

Leif Langdon is a modern-day explorer who discovers a hidden valley in Alaska and is thrown into a fantastical land where two strange races of people worship an evil Kraken. Leif’s arrival casts the alternative world into chaos—including awakening a powerful incarnation of Leif himself. Originally published in 1932, Dwellers in the Mirage is a classic fantasy story few contemporary readers have had the privilege to enjoy.

By A. Merritt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dwellers in the Mirage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

MERRITT'S MASTERWORK – OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD!

Two men in one body! That's how Lief Langdon had always felt. One part of him was a modern day adventurer, the other was a strange half-memory of another life where he was a High Priest sacrificing living people to Khalk'ru, a demon god from another time and space. Then Langdon stumbled through the mirage into a hidden Arctic valley, where he fell under the spell of Evalie, as beautiful outwardly as she was inwardly, and her friends the Little People, elfin warriors constantly warring with Lur, the Witch-Woman, and her demon…


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Evil Alice and the Borzoi

By DK Coutant,

Book cover of Evil Alice and the Borzoi

DK Coutant Author Of Evil Alice and the Borzoi

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Professor Cross Cultural Psychologist Dog Lover Traveler Reader

DK's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Cleo Cooper, a cross-cultural psychology professor, is living the dream on the Big Island of Hawaii. With ocean-dipping weekends, she enjoys her dog, her job, and her boyfriend Ben - until the day she’s on a research vessel and a dead body is caught in the dragline.

The police determine it is murder and set their sights on a gentle former student, Kai. It doesn’t take much urging from Kai’s auntie for Cleo to investigate. But Ben grows distant, and Cleo’s dog grows ill. A couple of accidental deaths later, and someone makes an attempt on her life.

What happened to Cleo’s life in paradise? Can she discover the true killer? Can she stop the killer before the killer stops her?

Evil Alice and the Borzoi

By DK Coutant,

What is this book about?

Paradise is shaken when the body of a young woman is dragged onto a university research vessel during a class outing in Hilo Bay. Cleo Cooper is shaken when she finds her favorite student is on the hook for the murder. Danger lurks on land and sea as Cleo and her friends are enticed to search for the true killer. In between paddling, swimming, and arguing with her boyfriend, Cleo discovers all is not what it seems on the Big Island of Hawaii. But will she figure out the truth before she becomes the next victim?


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