The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like The Warlord Chronicles

Cornwell, 1995 · #2 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 106/120 · adapted for screen

Arthur fights to hold post-Roman Britain together against Saxons, rival kings and Merlin's dying gods. The tale is told by Derfel, a warrior turned monk.

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

If you liked The Warlord Chronicles, read:

1. The Broken Sword

   Anderson, 1954 · #8 on the list · 99/120

   A human child stolen by elves and the changeling left in his place grow up to wage a Norse-saga war, armed with a cursed sword.

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

2. Thomas Covenant

   Donaldson, 1977 · #7 on the list · 100/120

   A leper from our world is pulled into the Land, where his illness is cured and the people hail him as a saviour. He refuses to believe any of it is real.

   Close on mood, theme, creative details, divine influence.

3. His Dark Materials

   Pullman, 1995 · #4 on the list · 101/120

   Lyra Belacqua follows stolen children north into a mystery about Dust. It ends in a war against the Authority itself.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

4. The Pendragon Cycle

   Lawhead, 1987 · #22 on the list · 91/120

   The Arthurian saga is retold from the fall of Atlantis through Merlin's Celtic and Christian Britain.

   Close on theme, further reading, creative details, real-world blend.

5. Three Hearts and Three Lions

   Anderson, 1961 · #29 on the list · 87/120

   A Danish resistance fighter in 1943 is thrown into a world of Carolingian legend, where he is a hero he has forgotten.

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

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.