The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like The Owl Service

Garner, 1967 · #42 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 83/120 · adapted for screen

Three teenagers in a Welsh valley find a pattern of owls on a dinner service. They are forced to replay a tragedy from the Mabinogion.

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

If you liked The Owl Service, read:

1. Puck of Pook's Hill

   Kipling, 1906 · #25 on the list · 89/120

   Two Sussex children summon Puck, the last of England's fairies. He brings them Roman soldiers, Norman knights and other figures from the island's past.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

2. The Land of Laughs

   J. Carroll, 1980 · #71 on the list · 73/120

   A teacher goes to the small Missouri town of his favorite children's author to write the man's biography. He finds the town's people may be his characters.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

3. Mythago Wood

   Holdstock, 1984 · #15 on the list · 94/120

   In an English wood after the Second World War, a man finds the forest bringing myths to life from his family's unconscious, including the woman his brother loves.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

4. The Golden Ass

   Apuleius, c. 170 · #23 on the list · 90/120

   Lucius dabbles in witchcraft in Thessaly and is accidentally turned into a donkey. Robbers, priests and millers pass him from hand to hand until the goddess Isis restores him.

   Close on theme, further reading, real-world blend, climax and fights.

5. 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, theme, further reading, creative details.

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.