5 Best Fantasy Books To Read While Waiting for The Doors of Stone, the 3rd Kingkiller Chronicle Novel

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I’m completely captivated by Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle. It’s become one of the most important fantasy series of our time, and for good reason. The story centers around Kvothe, an incredibly talented musician and magic-user, who’s telling his life story to a scribe. What really sets it apart isn’t just the richly imagined world, but how the story is told. Kvothe is telling it from a really interesting perspective – he’s a broken man looking back on his past. Knowing that something terrible happened to him hangs over every amazing thing he recounts, and it’s heartbreaking because he doesn’t even seem to believe his own legend anymore. It adds such a unique and compelling layer to the whole story.

Patrick Rothfuss’s first novel, The Name of the Wind, came out in 2007 and quickly became a bestseller, winning the Quill Award. The sequel, The Wise Man’s Fear, released in 2011, also topped the New York Times bestseller list and earned the David Gemmell Legend Award. However, fans have been waiting a long time for the third and final book, The Doors of Stone, as its release date remains unknown. A television adaptation has also stalled; although Lionsgate acquired the rights in 2015 with Lin-Manuel Miranda involved, the project is currently on hold after Showtime decided not to move forward with it in 2022. Luckily, readers who have enjoyed the first two books can find other fantasy novels to read while they wait.

5) Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

Published in 1990, Tigana is a powerfully moving and unforgettable fantasy novel. The story takes place in a land inspired by Renaissance Italy and centers on a revolt in a region whose name has been magically erased from history by a conquering sorcerer. The sorcerer’s actions aren’t simply about power, however; they stem from the death of his son at the hands of someone from that forgotten province. Guy Gavriel Kay’s writing style is more akin to literary fiction than typical fantasy, and like Patrick Rothfuss’s The Kingkiller Chronicle, it emphasizes the power of language. Kay also crafts a villain whose grief is understandable, even as his actions are horrifying, creating the same complex moral questions that Rothfuss evokes when Kvothe’s talent leads him down ambiguous paths – a place where the reader struggles to fully condemn or excuse his choices.

4) Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke’s first novel, published in 2004, reimagines English history with a fascinating twist: magic once existed as an academic subject, but hasn’t been actively practiced for hundreds of years. The story follows two magicians who independently bring magic back to life. Like Patrick Rothfuss’s The Kingkiller Chronicle, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell portrays magic as something that can be learned, discussed, and logically understood. Clarke’s extensive footnotes, which reference a long, fictional history of English magic, work similarly to the way Kvothe tells his story – they show us that the events presented are just one interpretation, and the most important parts of the story lie in what’s left unsaid.

3) The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War tells the story of Rin, an orphaned girl from the countryside who earns a place at a prestigious military academy through a difficult imperial exam. The first part of the book focuses on Rin’s experiences as an outsider learning to navigate the academy, while the second part plunges her into a brutal war inspired by the Second Sino-Japanese conflict. As Rin develops powerful and destructive abilities, the novel explores the ethical consequences of her actions. The book is the first in a completed trilogy, with The Dragon Republic and The Burning God also available, offering readers a satisfying conclusion without waiting for future installments.

2) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I was completely captivated by Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi. It tells the story of a man living in this incredible, endless house filled with halls and statues, and he meticulously documents everything in his journals. What’s so intriguing is he doesn’t know how he got there, or even why another man visits him regularly and avoids answering simple questions. We, as readers, quickly realize something’s off with his memory – something he doesn’t grasp himself – and that the visitor knows far more than he lets on. It reminded me a bit of the way The Kingkiller Chronicle unfolds, where the narrator tells his story, but we piece together a different truth. The best part? It’s a relatively short book – I finished it in an afternoon – making it perfect when you’re looking for something absorbing but don’t have a lot of time. It actually won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2021, and it absolutely deserved the recognition.

1) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Okay, so if you’re into epic fantasy like The Kingkiller Chronicle, let me tell you about a book you absolutely need to check out: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Patrick Rothfuss himself put it in his top five novels, which is a huge endorsement! It follows Locke, this incredibly clever orphan who’s basically been raised to be a master con artist. He leads a group called the Gentleman Bastards – think a thieves’ guild operating in this amazing city that feels a lot like Venice. They pull off these really intricate scams on the rich and powerful, all while trying to stay one step ahead of the local crime boss. What really hooked me was the way the story jumps between Locke’s past – how he learned the ropes from this mentor figure called Father Chains – and a present-day crisis. Like Kvothe, Locke is a master storyteller, able to think on his feet and spin a believable tale under pressure. And the best part? There are already three books in the series, so it’s not just a one-off!

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2026-05-23 00:14