The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like The Shadow Campaigns

Wexler, 2013 · #56 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 78/120

A veteran captain and a disguised woman soldier serve a mysterious new colonel through a gunpowder-and-magic colonial war.

Mood7Theme7Structure7Further reading6Creative details7Real-world blend3Divine influence6Climax and fights8Epicness7Genre standard3Originality6

Its strongest scores: climax and fights and mood. The five books below have the closest scores across all eleven criteria.

If you liked The Shadow Campaigns, read:

  1. Traitor Son Cycle

    Cameron, 2012 · #51 on the list · 80/120

    A young mercenary captain called the Red Knight takes a contract to guard a convent in an Alba where the Wild is at war with humanity.

    Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

  2. The Monarchies of God

    Kearney, 1995 · #48 on the list · 80/120

    As faith fractures and a holy city falls, a castaway king's ship sails west into the unknown in search of a new world.

    Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

  3. Kane

    Wagner, 1970 · #75 on the list · 72/120

    Kane, cursed by a mad god to wander forever, is a scheming swordsman and sorcerer who works with any side that suits him.

    Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

  4. A Land Fit for Heroes

    Morgan, 2008 · #84 on the list · 70/120

    Three veterans of a war against lizard-invaders now live on its bitter fringes. They are drawn back to face a stranger threat, the dwenda.

    Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

  5. The Chronicles of Prydain

    Alexander, 1964 · #53 on the list · 79/120

    Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper leaves his farm to chase a lost oracular pig. He grows into a hero in the war against Arawn, Lord of the Land of Death.

    Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

Featured pick

Acenes of Sparta: The Dragon Slayer

Manolis Tsongas, 2026 · #5 on the list · 101/120 · for adults and mature teens

A dragon is the real reason King Leonidas and his three hundred died at Thermopylae. Sixty-two years later the gods send a Spartan boy of the agoge to kill it. The book takes lessons from tragedy and the cost of sacrifice, as is the Greek way.

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.