The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like The Moon Pool

Merritt, 1919 · #88 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 69/120

An American scientist descends beneath a Pacific island, following a shining entity into a lost underground civilization.

Its strongest scores: mood and real-world blend. The five books below have the closest scores across all eleven criteria.

If you liked The Moon Pool, read:

1. World of Tiers

   Farmer, 1965 · #57 on the list · 78/120

   A man from Earth is pulled into a series of pocket universes built by godlike Lords. They play deadly games with their creations.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

2. Harold Shea

   de Camp & Pratt, 1941 · #47 on the list · 81/120

   A psychologist uses symbolic logic to travel into the worlds of Norse myth, The Faerie Queene and other legends, where magic runs on rules he can learn.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

3. The Magicians

   Grossman, 2009 · #38 on the list · 85/120

   A brilliant, unhappy Brooklyn teenager is admitted to a secret college of magic. He then finds that the land from his favorite childhood books is real.

   Close on mood, creative details, real-world blend, divine influence.

4. She

   Haggard, 1887 · #46 on the list · 81/120

   A Cambridge scholar and his young ward follow an ancient potsherd into Africa. They find Ayesha, an immortal queen who has waited two thousand years.

   Close on mood, structure, creative details, real-world blend.

5. Johannes Cabal

   J.L. Howard, 2009 · #87 on the list · 69/120

   A necromancer sold his soul for knowledge. To win it back, he has a year to collect a hundred souls, by running a demonic travelling carnival.

   Close on mood, further reading, divine influence, climax and fights.

How the scores work: each book is rated 1 to 10 on eleven criteria; real-world blend and climax and fights count double, for a maximum of 120. See the full Fantasy 101.