Brandon Sanderson Community discussion

I'm looking for some new fantasy reads that are clean and as well written as Sanderson. I'm looking for books that don't have any graphic sex scenes or too foul of language.

I can't say that it is as well written as Brandon's but try "Promise of Blood" by Brian McClellan. I have read a lot of fantasy novels and I believe it is the cleanest I have read (excluding Brandon's). The only instances of sexual references I have noticed were mild like "he was bedding her last night" (I might be wrong, I read it almost a year ago). hands down one of my favorites, check it out!

Peter V. Brett's Demon Cycle is excellent and nothing too graphic.

Most people aren't too open to comic books but if you are, the plot line for Fullmetal Alchemist is so Sanderson. If you're a Sanderson fan, you will definitely love Fullmetal Alchemist, even if you don't usually read comics.

The Wheel of Time if you haven't read it already. It is very clean. Absolutely no foul language and no sex scenes besides the mentioning of characters having relations.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. This is about an alternate reality where the Napoleonic Wars were fought with dragons. I found this to be a lot of fun and different. Again, it is VERY clean.

I would second the Promise of Blood. There is a bit of foul language, but no f-words. And there is a bit more sexual references throughout. One character has multiple girlfriends and another is revealed to have servants that walk around naked. But it is never graphic. Just things like that.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is good. There is very little foul language and very little sexual references that I remember.

Going Postal and Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett. Epic-humorous fantasy.

I know Brandon Sanderson recommends Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. I haven't read it yet but plan to soon.

There's also the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. It is more classical fantasy with elves, dwarves, etc. It is very clean. I am not sure about the content of Feist's later series.

A few books that are clean content-wise but aren't epic fantasy.
I am not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells. Dan Wells and Brandon Sanderson are close friends. These are creepy supernatural books, so they contain elements of fantasy. Enjoyed them a lot.

Also, the Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. A ya fantasy in the mold of Harry Potter. It is a stand alone and lots of fun to read.

I hope this helps. I'll try to think of more.

Michael J Sullivan's Riyria series is excellent and has no bad language. They are great, loved reading all of Michael's work. You can start with the The Crown Tower and move your way down the prequel to the Riyria Revelations, one of the best trilogies I've ever read.

Love almost anything written by Anne McCaffrey and there is little to no language in her books. Sadly there will be no more. :(

My favourite Australian author, Jennifer Fallon's books have little bad langauge (except her Riftrunners series, it has some bad language.) The Demon Child series is excellent.

Michelle Sagara's books are good and have only a sprinkling of bad words. But her sentence structure sometimes annoys me. Some YA stuff if you like that.

Read Percy Jackson or Skulduggery Pleasant- they may not seem that much like Sanderson (they're kind of like Harry Potter but better IMO) but they are awesome and have no swearing or sexual references whatsoever.

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (with the last three books written by Brandon Sanderson). It's clean and very well written. Sanderson himself said that he has learned a lot and improved his own writing considerably while finishing up this series. I have to warn you though, it's a huge series in all aspects.

The Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. There are no graphic sex scenes that I can think of, though sex is present in the story. But the writing style is clean. I have only read the first two books though.

The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan. Clean narration with a pretty good story.

The name of the wind By Pat. Rothufuss and the Farseer Triology by Robin Hobb

Peter V Brett and Rothufuss are great. But Brent weeks' night angel series is one of my favorites. He also has the lightbringer series. Sorry, just saw your second sentence, maybe brent weeks is not the best pick for a clean read.

The Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore is great. There's a reason Drizzt Do'Urden is such a popular character.

Popularity does not always equate greatness haha. Personally the series got really dry and repetitive for me after the first few books (tho they were still relatively well-written)
I second the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks, it starts slow but the story really starts moving after the first book. It's not explicit (from what I can remember) and has an interesting magic system to boot, something in common it shares with Mr. Sanderson's books:)

The Deathgate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman was a fun series. And as far as content goes all I can remember is a sprinkling of profanity, but there weren't any f-words. And as far as sexual content goes there wasn't any beyond the mentioning of some characters having a more risque lifestyles.

I have read the Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore, and I remember enjoying it a lot. It is very action focused and the pacing is quick. So I would say it is a fun. My brother had read the Icewind Dale Trilogy and really enjoyed it. I believe that is the next in line in the series. The plots are simpler and not as deep as some fantasy books, but they are fun reads. And those two trilogies are clean as far as content goes.

There's Sabriel by Garth Nix. It is a YA fantasy but was really enjoyable. It has a very interesting take on necromancy.

Terry Brooks is always a safe choice as far as content goes. I have enjoyed his books in the past. My favorite series by him is The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara. I know there is a chronological order to the trilogies, but each trilogy is self contained so if you decide to read a trilogy out of order I don't think that is a problem. Besides I think the later groups are better in story and writing anyways.

I recently read Blood Song by Anthony Ryan, and while it has some swearing, I wouldn't say it's too foul. The narrative is much like Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, which I see a lot of people have already recommended! Really amazing book, that's all I can say!

Also, I saw someone already said to read Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, but I'm just gonna go ahead and suggest it again anyways! It's very clean from what I can remember, and the story is absolutely fantastic.

L_wolfius wrote: "I can't say that it is as well written as Brandon's but try "Promise of Blood" by Brian McClellan. I have read a lot of fantasy novels and I believe it is the cleanest I have read (excluding Brando..."

I'm a big Sanderson fan and I've been enjoying McClellan's books, too. I like the two different, conflicting magic systems at play in the stories, too.

James wrote: "L_wolfius wrote: "I can't say that it is as well written as Brandon's but try "Promise of Blood" by Brian McClellan. I have read a lot of fantasy novels and I believe it is the cleanest I have read..."

Brian McClellan was actually a student of Brandon Sanderson at one time.

Felicia if u enjoyed the Fraseer trilogy Robin has released a new story called Fools Assaisin from that series. Great book worth reading if u read tawney man series

if you are fine with a YA series then Eragon is pretty good. It has good world building and a cool magic system with swords that are sort of like Shards however nothing can compare to Sanderson.

A Song of Ice Fire.
Clean as a whistle..

I also recommend Garth Nix's Old Kingdom Novels. The first one Is Sabriel. I have to say that his books have quickly become some of my absolute favorites. The audiobooks are fantastic as well.

I highly recommend everything by Robin Hobb. She, along with Sanderson and Abercrombie are (in my opinion) the trinity of epic when it comes to fantasy. I obviously recommend Abercrombie as well, but not so much if it's clean you are looking for. He's more in the GRRM style (grimdark they call it) than the others, but such a talented author. But read Hobb. Start with the Farseer trilogy.

I would recommend of course the Wheel of Time, but also Malzan Book of the Fallen by Stephen Erickson. If you like the Wax and Wayne banter then also go with the Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust. If you want something really deep I would say go with the Prince of Nothing series by Scott Bakker.

I would recommend the "Kings Dark Tiding series" by Kel Kade, it's a great story and different from most.

He is a self published author who is on kindle and audible. On audible he's pushing almost 5 stars and it may be my favorite audio book series of all time. https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-...

If you want a fun, character driven story then read the Riyria Revelations by Michael Sullivan. The first book of the trilogy is Theft of Swords. It's MUCH easier to read than Malazan. Even my mother is enjoying it, unprompted by me!

Huh... The plot, the style and the main theme is different, but I liked those 2 trilogies: Alexandra Bracken - Darkest Minds and Kelley Armstrong - The Darkest Powers.

For a Sanderson and fantasy fan, it would almost be a crime to not read the Bartimaeus Trilogy. It has one of the best characters I have ever read.

I love the Bartimaeus Trilogy! Such a good series.

I would recommend the series "Cradle" by Will Wight.

I'd say if you've read The Stormlight archive's and Mistborn series you have to read The Name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss its a great Epic... and who knows, book 3 may come out this decade which is motivation enough.

If you're into a new read, I suggest Kel Kade's - Reign of Madness and Free the Darkness. This series is in my Top 5 and I bought the audio book as well as Kindle. It's not available in print as he is self published ... yes SELF-Published ... WOW!! The story of Rezkin is just awesome! The characters are rich with detail ... and at the same time it's not hard to follow. I can't say enough to good things about this series. Once the print is available I'll be there to buy the hard cover and wait for the book tour ... When you decide you love it ... or not please join our Group
the group is Kings Dark Tidings .. the name of the series

Christian wrote: "I'd say if you've read The Stormlight archive's and Mistborn series you have to read The Name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss its a great Epic... and who knows, book 3 may come out this decade whic..."

Yes, my friend recommended it to me as well. Havn't yet found the time to read it yet but it seems quite good

Sanderson's assistant recommended City of Stairs. I really liked it, it is a kind of mystery fantasy book. I still have to read the sequels though.

I will also recommend The Red Knight. It s more a kind of military book in a medieval world with magic.

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

And also agree very much with
The Wheel of Time
The voyage of the Jerle Shannara
The Riftwar saga

The Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. His Harry Dresden series is more explicit but he keeps The Codex Alera pretty clean.

Im reading my first Sanderson's Book (The Final Empire) and its pretty good this far so i am really interested on the autor books right now

It’s a little more for younger groups but I really enjoyed Brandon Mull’s Five Kingdoms series.

Caleb wrote: "It’s a little more for younger groups but I really enjoyed Brandon Mull’s Five Kingdoms series."

Loved those!

I know lots of Books similar to his Reckoners and Skyward series. They do have more un-clean content but nowadays it’s almost unavoidable no matter how hard you try. Nil is a great series. The first book is amazing, the second and third less so but still worth reading. The FableHaven series is more directed toward tweens but it’s almost completely clean, and it’s an enjoyable read. The Arlo Finch series is also clean and similar to Fabehaven, though it is slower and sometimes a little dull.

I would highly recommend the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington to anybody that like Brandon's books. He wrote that trilogy after being inspired by Mistborn, so it was a great inspiration but it is very different in story, making it's own thing and doing it really really well. The first book is a bit introductory but there's big plot twists at the end of each one, Sanderson style. it is a highly underrated series!

I concur with Riyria Revelations and Brian McClellan; LOVED Bartimaeus, though that is aimed at younger readers.

Licanius, for sure.

If you are looking for something really grand in scope like the Cosmere, I would recommend The Malazan Book of the Fallen (I believe it is currently the largest fantasy universe by word count if you include all the side books), or The Wheel of Time. Both are huge worlds with a ton of characters. But like the Cosmere, they require a lot of mental focus to keep everything straight between all the story lines.
If you want something more straight forward that is easy reading, I always recommend The Night Angel trilogy, or the Greenbone Saga. Night Angel is more typical fantasy setting, and pretty action packed. Greenbone is a more modern setting, and while it does have some action, it is more story driven. Both are excellent.

All of John Gwynne books. He is a great author. The violence is intense sometimes, but the books have about the same level of content as Sanderson books.

Riyria Revelations series by Michael J. Sullivan and King's Dark Tidings by Kel Kade. Both are excellent series with great world-building and fun characters!

The Theif and it’s series by Megan Whalen Turner. This is more fantasy than most of Sanderson’s books and has great storytelling and world building.

I like Kiss of Deception. Might be a bit more YA than Sanderson fans are into but it's pretty good.

Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne! They don't have the sprawling epicness of Sanderson's series. But they will still appeal to Kelsier fans. The protagonist is incredibly agentic, deeply likeable, and the story celebrates light, hope and joy while the protganist kicks ass like you wouldn't believe!

Putting the books aside, there is the author himself. If I like the author as a person, I enjoy the book that much more because I can sense their intention filtering through in all the choices they make in their writing. If you are like that as well, and you love Sanderson, chances are you will like Kevin Hearne, and will enjoy IDC even though its a lighter genre and style.

I read one of those and it was just okay for me.

Prince wrote: "I would recommend the series "Cradle" by Will Wight."
Second this recommendation. I have only made my way through the beginning of the series, but so far it has that same feeling as the Cosmere, with different worlds and bigger threats.

The Goblin Emperor is a fun fantasy novel, it's more heavily focused on political intrigue than most of Brandon Sanderson's books, but it has interesting worldbuilding and deep themes just like his books do.

I also second the recommendation of "Guards! Guards!" Terry Pratchet is great. The Wee Free Men is another very good one.

Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series and The Ruin of Kings series by Jenn Lyons.
And Susanna Clarke’s Mr. Norrel and Jonathan Strange.