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What's an obscure book/series that you've read that you would like to recommend?
Do you have any obscure books that you really enjoyed that you haven't had a place to recommend or feel like more people should read/know about?
Feel free to share them here, hopefully with a brief description of the book and why you enjoyed it.
I'm not putting a limit on number of reviews or that these have to be "hidden gems", but ideally lesser known works that have stuck with you, or you felt were great and feel like others might enjoy them as well.
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, by Spider Robinson. It's a collection of short stories centered around a bar where odd things happen. Think Cheers, if there were aliens, psychics, time travelers, talking dogs, all sorts of weirdness. They're interesting stories, but the thing that really spoke to me was the friendships between the regulars and the kindness they showed the strangers who showed up. It helped me understand what friendship might be. The weird and unknown doesn't have to be rejected. A scared, hurting kid can be given a drink and a friendly ear and maybe find a better way. It meant the world to me as a young man.
That was a fun one I read years ago. It was recommended to me by a librarian who'd clocked how many sci-fi novels I was checking out and thought I'd enjoy it.
It's been a LONG time since I read it, but The Free Lunch by Spider Robinson was the first sci fi adjacent book that I read. I still have my battered thrift store copy and plan to read it again. I'll add this to my list too!
C.S. Lewis wrote a space trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Peralandra, and That Hideous Strength. I read them a long time ago, and no one I’ve recommended them to has ever heard of them. I can barely remember what they were about, but I do remember really liking them.
Around the time I read those, I also read the Cluster series by Piers Anthony. Another series I’m always surprised that sci-fi readers I meet haven’t read. I don’t know how it will it hold up. I was a teenager when I read it and felt all adult reading some alien human sex.
A couple of books that were well known but aren’t so much anymore, were written by Roger Zelazny: Creatures of Light and Darkness and Lord of Light. The prose in Creatures is marvelous. Zelazny can pack so much meaning and feeling into a few sentences that I often will have to reread in order to get the full impact of the beauty of the sentences. Creatures of Light and Darkness is one of my favorite books of all time. Wikipedia has this to say about it, “Creatures of Light and Darkness was originally conceived and written as merely a writing exercise in perspective.[1] He wrote it in present tense; constructed an entire chapter in poetry; and made the concluding chapter into the script of a play. He never intended it for publication…“
I've read the space trilogy by Lewis.
The book by Lewis that I still read and recommend most frequently is Til we Have Faces, his reimagining of the myth of Psyche.
I never see people talking about Til We Have Faces. I loved that book when I was in college, I always thought it was Lewis' best writing.
It's definitely one of my favorites of his. Out of all his works of fiction that I've read, it's the one that feels the most "mature". And by that, I mean that it seems like in many of his books, he's trying to be accessible to as wide an audience as possible - keeping the language and the metaphors fairly simple, etc. Whereas in Til We Have Faces, it feels more like he put everything he had as an author into it and wasn't holding anything back trying to make it accessible. I love the richer, deeper "texture" of it for that. It's like dark chocolate compared to his normal milk chocolate.
(It's also not surprising that it's deeper in that - while he wrote the first draft in a matter of weeks - he'd been mulling over the idea for decades by the time he finally wrote it.)
(And I've long thought that if the mental dictionary in my head had an illustration for "oneiric", Part 2 of Till We Have Faces would be it.)
It's the only fiction of his i can think of that isn't specifically Christian.
I remember there being some pretty weighty theological metaphor in the book, but it's a lot more subtle and less direct than everything else he wrote. It's been years since I read it, though, so I don't remember a lot of specifics.
It still has a lot of content about religion, fate etc but the context in the book is explicitly Greek mythology. He was well read in classics and in his other writings he discusses theories contrasting elements of Christianity that are 'revealed' versus elements of religion that are 'universal to humanity'. I'm not saying he was right about the universal aspects but he built Til We Have Faces based on his ideas of universal religious impulses. He also knew how to tell a thoughtful compelling story.
Space trilogy, Narnia, screwtape letters, the great divorce are all Christian either specifically or lightly covered by story elements.
I’m glad you mentioned that book, as I vaguely remember it and think I’ll read it again. Been looking for something.
I've read Lord of Light! It's my favorite Zelazny that I've read (Amber, Damnation Alley, The Dream Master, This Immortal).
The way that book is fantasy but it's also scifi just kills me, so unique. And the "Biblical" prose defies easy categorization but works so well for the story.
Part of me hopes that at the end of A Song of Ice and Fire, GRRM reveals that his Westeros/Essos world is another planet in the same system as the one where Lord of Light takes place, that the humans in the story are descendants of ancient marooned spacefarers, and all the magic elements in the story are explained by hyper-advanced technology. Martin did acknowledge borrowing his Lord of Light's name from his friend Zelazny, so it's possible!
I need to read that one, since I've heard good things about it and liked the Zelazny that I've read. I found "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth" in an anthology in my middle school library. And in college, I picked up Amber and enjoyed it greatly. (Walking through shadow is such a cool concept!)
I never read Creatures of Light and Darkness. Most of the rest of his writing, yes. My favorite from Zelazny is a light-hearted novel called Doorways in the Sand, which is mostly forgotten now, I believe.
I've always appreciated lighter adventure stories in science fiction, and that's where my own writing took me. One writer I never see mentioned these days is Andre Norton, who wrote for a slightly younger audience. Her novels, The Zero Stone and its sequel, Uncharted Stars were favorites when I was in junior high. I haven't read them in many years, so I wonder how well they would stand up for me.
A fine fantasy story I'd recommend is Joy Chant's Red Moon and Black Mountain. On first examination, many see influences from Tolkien, but the author herself said she hadn't read his works before writing this novel. It has a bit of the grandeur and sweep of LOTR, and the battle of the eagles is epic. My only complaint is that it is too short.
None of your recommendations were available at my library! I will look for them the next time I’m at a used bookstore. Thank you :)
I read Red Moon and Black Mountain when I was 10. Im pretty sure I found it in the children's section of the library. It's a powerful story with adventure and sacrifice.
I read those C.S. Lewis books when I was younger and thought they were pretty good for their time but perhaps didn't age as well since I don't remember the plots either.
Another christian science fiction author I did enjoy was Stephen R. Lawhead's two-novel Empyrion series. It's about a history author trying to piece together what happened to a colony while trying to survive in what remains of its people and crazy society. I don't know anyone else who's read it even though it did win some awards when it came out in the 80s.
Those books seem so familiar. Unfortunately it’s another series my library doesn’t hold!
Over time I have gotten rid of most of my book collection with the belief that I could always borrow or buy them again. It seems as if that belief is false.
I've seen a few people confuse the title with Dan Simmon's Hyperion which is also excellent but came out a bit later. Lawhead's book did get a re-release a few years ago so it shouldn't be too hard to find again.
I’ve read Simmon’s series and found it a good journey.
I've read it when I was younger, as well as every other book written by Stephen Lawhead up until the Hood trilogy!
Nice! How did you like it? It's probably not quite in my top10 sci-fi list but I thought it was still well worth the read.
I remember enjoying it quite a bit back then, it's very imaginative. Also, back then I wasn't reading books in english yet, and the quality of the translations was still pretty good (publishing here has since gone downhill). I've attempted to read Stephen Lawhead in english since and I didn't think so much of the prose unfortunately.
I've heard of C. S. Lewis' space trilogy, but haven't gotten around to reading it. Definitely on the list.
I have a friend who I was chatting with recently who said I should give Zelazny more attention. I read the Amber books when I was a kid and have been meaning to revisit them. I had no idea about any of his other books, so thanks for recommending them.
Creatures of Light and Darkness has a lot of critics and as much as I like the book, some of that criticism is fair. Lord of Light on the other hand won a Hugo and was nominated for a Nebula. That info may help you decide where to start.
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea is a mythical adventure set in the west of Ireland. It starts in actual locations in Ireland with was cool for me as a kid. The characters and writing style is wild and fresh.
I'd like to recommend pretty much everything ever written by John Barnes, with the caveat that he reminds me a lot of Robert A. Heinlein, and I mean that as both a compliment and a caution. There are things that he is downright prescient about, sometimes, but much like Heinlein there are times you'll wonder at his characterization and choices for who to follow in his narration. Go look up the Good Reads reviews for Mother of Storms, Candle (which is interesting and ends abruptly in my opinion), and for fun his Jak Jinnaka series which I think is a bit more light-hearted and YA than the others. I also enjoyed his Timeline Wars series and I think about it a lot.
Max Barry's novel Jennifer Government is another good one that I think about a lot. Mostly the society he sets up in it where people basically have to work for a corporation (or be the child of someone who does) and take on their name as your own surname. The plot revolves around the eponymous Jennifer Government, who is a Government agent investigating a series of murders that were initiated by John Nike, the VP of Guerilla Marketing at Nike. She ends up getting angel funding for her investigation by an investor who felt responsible because he gave some money to one of the kids who ended up getting killed in the marketing stunt.
Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. This story chronicles the untold story of Joshua of Nazareth and his life from age 12 as the son of a carpenter and stone-cutter to age 31 or so when he begins his ministry, and is told from the point of view of his best friend in the world, Levi, who is called Biff. The book deals with Joshua seeking out the three wise men that came to visit him on the eve of his birth, to seek out their wisdom, and invent a few things along the way. It's very much a comedy.
Max Barry's books are all good, but Lexicon is one of my favorites (of all, not just his work). I recommend you read it adjacent to Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash as both deal with neurolinguistic hacking.
I'll see if I can get a copy of it, thanks for the rec!
Drake Maijstral series from Walter Jon Williams. It's an SF comedy of manners series about the aristocratic burglar Drake Maijstral. I did read this series few times long time ago, and really-really enjoyed it. It's easy reading, world building has interesting elements (don't want to spoil) and I definitely can recommend it.
I don’t know if it’s considered obscure but Malazan Books of the Fallen is as epic as it is long.
I actually wrote a sentence that I felt was too tongue in cheek mentioning how Malazan is recommended on every thread that I removed before posting.
Fantastic novels I just finished the main 10!
Malazan fans can't help outing themselves as Malazan fans every time!
We're the first in, last out of these threads.
...obscurity is relative, but i've met few people familiar with greg bear's quantum logic cycle: quantico / mariposa / queen of angels / slant / heads / moving mars...
I've only read The Forge of God by Greg Bear, sounds like I should check out some of his other works.
...heads is just a short novella and was only my second greg bear after tangents, but it blew my mind at the time and left me hooked on chasing down his other work...
Hi there :) I think you replied to my post a few weeks ago about Greg Egan and Diaspora. How does this Greg compare in terms of hard sci-fi? This series sounds really interesting and I might look into it after I finish Egan's books
...greg bear was originally grouped with hard-science fiction but i'd probably place the corpus of his work more genre-straddling, with an substantial element of thriller plotting (in fact his later books were marketed as pop-fiction crossovers despite his science-fiction roots)...that said, greg bear's science-fiction chops are on-par with the other killer-Bs (gregory benford, david brin) and especially his early work is brimming with ideas...
...i find greg egan's work substantially more cerebral; although greg bear's a breezier read, that's not necessarily a bad thing...one interesting aspect of greg bear's quantum logic cycle is that he wrote the books in a loosely-reverse chronology, which means that his more-accessible later books (set earlier in the series) also serve to ease a reader from the present world into a more technically-fantastic future (ending with the hard-SF books written earlier in his career)...
...if you can find a copy of tangents, short-story anthologies are a great way to sample an author's work, but his most notable science fiction works are probably the way series, the forge of god series, and of course the novelisation of his original blood music short story; darwin's radio / children also had a substantial buzz early this millenium but medical fiction isn't really my jam...
If you really want obscure Greg Bear and your tastes run to fantasy (mine generally don't), The Infinity Concerto and The Serpent Mage are both excellent.
The Red Laugh by Leonid Andreyev From Google Books: A gripping collection of short stories and poems that delve into the depths of human emotion and experience. From tales of love and loss to darker explorations of revenge and redemption, this volume showcases the raw power of Andreief's writing and his unique ability to capture the essence of the human spirit.
Project Gutenberg
I felt it for the first time as we were marching along the road—marching incessantly for ten hours without stopping, never diminishing our step, never waiting to pick up those that had fallen, but leaving them to the enemy, that was moving behind us in a compact mass only three or four hours later effacing the marks of our feet by their own.
It was very sultry. I do not know how many degrees there were—120°, 140°, or more—I only know that the heat was incessant, hopelessly even and profound. The sun was so enormous, so fiery and terrible, that it seemed as if the earth had drawn nearer to it and would soon be burnt up altogether in its merciless rays. Our eyes had ceased to look.[2] The small shrunk pupil, as small as a poppyseed, sought in vain for darkness under the closed eyelid; the sun pierced the thin covering and penetrated into the tortured brain in a blood-red glow. But, nevertheless, it was better so: with closed eyelids, and for a long time, perhaps for several hours, I walked along with my eyes shut, hearing the multitude moving around me: the heavy, uneven tread of many feet, men's and horses, the grinding of iron wheels, crushing the small stones, somebody's deep strained breathing and the dry smacking of parched lips. But I heard no word. All were silent, as if an army of dumb people was moving, and when anyone fell down, he fell in silence; others stumbled against his body, fell down and rose mutely, and, without turning their heads, marched on, as though these dumb men were also blind and deaf. I stumbled and fell several times and then involuntarily opened my eyes, and all that I saw seemed a wild fiction, the terrible raving of a mad world. The air vibrated at a white-hot temperature, the stones seemed to be trembling silently, ready to flow, and in the distance, at a curve of the road, the files of men, guns and horses seemed detached from the earth, and trembled like a mass of jelly in their[3] onward progress, and it seemed to me that they were not living people that I saw before me, but an army of incorporate shadows.
It's been ages since I read them, so I have no idea if they hold up, but the Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy (consisting of the novels Far-Seer, Fossil Hunter, and Foreigner), by Robert J. Sawyer was one of my favorite reads when I was a teenager. I think maybe it was a bit more known in Canada since it was written by a Canadian author.
It takes place on an alien planet that was seeded with Earth dinosaurs, where they evolved to become a sentient species, and are about as technologically advanced as humans were during the Renaissance and discovering science (helio-centrism, evolution, and so on). If I'm remembering right, the first book has a bit of an "oh my god" twist moment that the Wikipedia article about the trilogy spoils in the first sentence, so I'd recommend going in blind if this sounds interesting enough to you to give them a shot.
There is a fantasy series called The Runelords I very much enjoyed years ago.
My dad passed me this series, but I haven't had time to read it yet. I'm working through books on my shelf when I have time and the premise of this series seems really interesting
Nice! I liked it. A kind of unique premise.
I read The Hands of the Emperor and At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard last year and immediately had to read them a second time - they are so good. It’s fantasy with excellent characterization and an interesting setting. The main character is an aging secretary to the world’s last emperor and most powerful mage. The relationship between them sends them on all sorts of wonderful adventures through politics, magic, and the world. What drew me in was the description of the the life of a bureaucrat and secretary - as a mid level paper pusher myself, I felt very heard and the beautiful prose describing the role spoke to me.
I will say there’s a bit of a tumblr leftist glaze to the writing, such as the main character spending several pages convincing the council to implement Universal Basic Income in the first book, but even this is seamlessly woven into and explained in the setting (it’s not called ubi in book either), AND becomes relevant to the plot in the second book, so it doesn’t take you out of the immersion. I’ve heard people ask for more fantasy books with older characters and a focus on politics, if that’s you try this one out.
I don't know if it counts as obscure, as I saw it recommended on my Kobo front page recently, but I really enjoyed Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. It's a horror novel, that uses a very Christian-mythology basis. The premise is God has gone missing, and Satan Et Al have taken this opportunity to go to war. The world is fucked, there's actual monsters and a plague and all sorts of bad news. The story follows a disgraced knight and a pre-teen girl companion he grudgingly picks up. It's not too long, but the horror and monster elements are really well done imo, and it does a great job of giving that sense of mystery and dread.
This has been on my list for a while now, so many books to read! You reminding me of it has made me want to read, and since I just finished a long series a standalone book like this may be just what I need.
Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray.
It was released as part of a campaign around the release of The Force Awakens in 2015. You might be thinking to yourself "Ugh, a Star Wars book?". And it's considered to be in the "Young Adult" genre! But I believe that is because it's a book that's great for all ages. Reading it reminded me of watching Andor: amazing execution, heartfelt, deep characters, and a winding beautiful story of fate and destiny. The book features two characters that grow up in the Empire at its beginning. They grow up as normal citizens before being indoctrinated as children and later joining the Imperial Military themselves. This is a perspective not often seen in the franchise. And other subjects are examined like the circle of violence and the question of whether one's loyalty can ever be too strong. And a thrilling romance I will never forget.
The only downside is there has been almost nothing with these characters for over ten years! My guess is when The Last Jedi didn't do as well as Disney hoped they decided to tone down the auxiliary materials like books. Though the author has said she would write a sequel if asked. Oh yea and it was adapted into a MANGA a few years ago, and the art is AMAZING. But if you're thinking about reading the book try not to look up the manga because there are some light spoilers on the covers.
Obviously I love this book. I have spent so much time thinking about it, reading about it, and trying to spread awareness! It has been the first piece of fiction that has stuck with me like this for a long time. And truth be told I'm not a big reader. I have a few favorite series I partake in but this is the first time in an even longer time that I've enjoyed a book this much. And I'm not the only one! If you look up "What canon Star Wars book should I read" Lost Stars will often be at the top of the list.
Even if you're just a little bit of a Star Wars fan - and especially if you watched Andor and enjoyed it - then I highly recommend Lost Stars.
I’m going to give it a go (and my library has it). Your excitement is contagious!
I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know your thoughts.
I will!
These are probably only obscure due to age, but the Mushroom Planet series by Eleanor Cameron is especially dear to me. My dad introduced these books to me as he read them as a kid and passed them on to me. I credit them with being my introduction to STEM and driving so much of my curiosity throughout my childhood and adolescence.
I've yet to meet anybody (besides my dad) who has even heard of them. I remember trying to track down some physical copies a few years ago as I was uncertain where our originals were and the number of libraries carrying them was few and far between.
They were fantastic stories of whimsy and wonder with a bit of an environmental twist - I vaguely recall the mushroom planet aliens being afflicted with something caused by their proximity to earth. I also remember that in comparison to the formulaic drivel of Tom Swift books, these were much more inventive, though maybe a bit less sciencey.
I read those through my local library. I haven't thought about them in a very long time.
If you care to share, are you on the West Coast? I wonder if that is why I had a hard time finding them after we moved from the PNW to the East Coast
I am, but i am sure that they are now too old to be in library collections.
My school library had the first one as a kid in the Denver area, just as another data point for you.
Great question! I love a hidden gem topic. I look forward to adding a ton of stuff to my reading list. 😁
I set 1,000 Goodreads ratings as a soft threshold for myself and tried to find books I loved around and under that amount.
Fiction
A strange, philosophical sci-fi horror book. I honestly don't remember too much about the plot, but I do remember enjoying the book for being unlike anything else I've read. It has a vibe all its own.
Nonfiction
I put these together because I see them as sibling books. Both are attempts by Christian authors to address the damage done to the LGBT community in the name of God. Both lead with an ethic of care and accountability. Baldock's book is warm and empathetic, while Johnson's is illuminating: he was a prominent figure in the ex-gay movement before finally admitting that it wasn't working and even he was lying to himself.
It feels weird to say that a dry, nonfiction book about a US Supreme Court case is "wild," but this book genuinely is. Lawrence v. Texas was the landmark ruling that overturned sodomy laws nationwide, and the details behind it are not quite what I think anyone would expect.
An earnest, heartfelt portrait of several trans teenagers. As someone who works with kids on the regular, I get to see their vibrance and humanity on the daily, but I recommend this for anyone who doesn't. The author brings them to life for you.
As someone who knew little about thalidomide beyond its mention in a famous Billy Joel song, this was eye opening. A dark read, especially knowing what we know now.
Memoir
A memoir of a homeless man and his dog. Compellingly written and illuminatingly honest. A beautiful story of companionship. His chapter on Dumpster diving gets taught in colleges a lot (or, at least, it used to).
Comics
This is aimed at teens (though I think adults can appreciate it too) and is a genuinely fantastic rundown of mental health. The author is a former art teacher, so she's great at communicating ideas visually. If I had a kid I would want them to read this.
I know it's hard to believe now because we're spoiled for it, but it genuinely used to be hard to find media depictions of gay men. Each of these series has a special place for me in that they were pivotal in helping me see people like me in media after I came out. Leonard and Larry was ahead of its time, being published in the 90s! Kyle's Bed and Breakfast and Shirtlifter were both published in the 2000s and have continued into the 2020s.
I don't think these are necessarily great by any means, and I wonder if they'd hold up if I read them again today, but I mention them because I think they're valuable products of their time that other queer men my age might appreciate.
Also, back in the late 00s and early 10s, I used to use KB&B as an example to help straight guys understand what women mean and how they feel when they talk about the "male gaze" as appllied to female characters (particularly in comics). KB&B is that same phenomenon, only it's the "gay male gaze" and it's applied to men. I mean, just look at that baseball uniform. Several guys told me this was genuinely helpful for them to be able to visualize why women might not feel adequately represented with things like T&A poses, form-fitting clothes, exaggerated anatomy, etc.
You might know Ursula Vernon by her more well-known penname, T. Kingfisher. Before she was writing best-selling fantasy horror books, she put out a philosophical webcomic about a wombat. It's got great black-and-white art, and you will fall in love with the characters over the course of Digger's journey.
I was studying religion in the 90s and read some books re including gay people fully into church life including marriage and ordination. Off the top of my head, the only author I remember is Bishop Spong of the Episcopal Church.
A hidden gem in my Goodreads list is the memoir Dear Mad'm by Patterson An old woman gets tired of city life and relocates to the far north of California in the mountains.
Lucky's Marines, from a relatively small/independent author, Joshua James.
It's a space opera/sci-fi series about a plannet spanning human species with various factions in an intergalactic conflict. It's mostly action driven, the books feel "always switched on".
I appreciate the recommendation! I enjoy reading indie authors occasionally, but I usually prefer to get someone's recommendation before giving a series a go. I have so many books I want to read, and indie authors quality can vary significantly.
I can definitely see myself giving this a go between some other "heavier" books.
The books are fairly "short", as well, so easy to digest. I should caveat, I do audiobooks rather than sitting down and reading a physical/e-book. But in that realm, most of my regular audiobooks can vary 14-18 hours in length. Each of the Lucky's books was about 5-6 hours.
All that to say, it's not a huge commitment to try it out and decide if you like it or not.
I don't know if you can truly call it obscure since it's so seminal in the cyberpunk genre, but the Sprawl Trilogy (Necromancer/Count Zero/Mona Lisa Overdrive) and the Bridge Trilogy (Virtual Light/Idoru/All Tomorrow's Parties) by William Gibson.
A defining characteristic of his work, for me, is that it's really interesting and good to read, but it's really hard to explain what it's about.
Huh, I had no idea that Neuromancer was part of a series. It’s been a long time since I read it, but I remember liking it. I’m going to put that on my list.
I've been meaning to check out the Sprawl Trilogy for awhile, but now I have another trilogy to add to my list. Thanks for your contribution to Mt Readmore!
I haven't met anyone else that's read it, so I guess it's obscure. Naomi Novik's Scholomance trilogy. I hate that it's in the "magical teens in school" genre but it's actually good. The characters actually change and grow, the twists aren't telegraphed or hokey, the magical system makes sense and is consistent. Its not exactly a light read, but (to me) the horror isn't as hard to deal with as something like Red Rising.
I've read it and really liked it. Hi.
I love these books!
Sir Callie is a really good series about a knight who realizes that the kingdom isn't built for people like them, and that there's a lot of things that need to be changed. Unfortunately, the alternative to the kingdom, is ruled by someone who only cares about furthering her agenda by pretending to be progressive while doing things exactly the same as the kingdom. So Callie decides to rebel against both sides.
Secrets of Stone focuses on a bunch of talking wolves, who were given magic after the humans annoyed the titans a bit too much. The protagonist, Silversong, agrees with the villain, but is horrified by what the villain does to achieve his goal. I can't wait to read the next book, which is already out, but not available at my local library. (Personally, I'm hoping that Silversong and Frostpaw start dating.)
Wilderlore is kind of like Pokémon, except it explores how people feel about living in a world with dangerous monsters everywhere. It actually explains why there's a limit to how many monsters you can have. It's because you can use your partner's magic yourself, but if you bond with too many powerful Lorebeasts at once, you explode. It also explains why bonding with a legendary Lorebeast is a bad idea, re; explosion.
On the topic of older book, Father Brown is a series about a catholic priest whos solves mysteries. The TV show based on it has more of a focus on murder, but the books are often about him and his friend finding something odd, and trying to figure out why things are the way they are.
Shike by Robert Shea has long been among my favorite reads and I've never met anyone who knows it.
The two books, Time of the Dragons and Last of the Zinja, have around 1500 reviews on Goodreads among the various editions. They predate James Clavell's Shogun by five years but given the premise you will find some similar notes. Shike stands on its own merit though, as an engrossing and thoroughly entertaining story.
After Shea's death, his son released the books under Creative Commons license, so you can even read them for free online here.
A Small And Remarkable Life by Nick DiChario
It's a historical sci-fi book told in dual-time style covering the life of a second generation immigrant whose parents were killed shortly after arriving in America. That the main character is a literal alien definitely plays a role but is largely secondary. It's a unique and enjoyable book, that gets mildly (and enjoyably) unhinged at times.
I would recommend Jeff Noon's seminal cyberpunk trilogy Nymphomation, Vurt, and Pollen. You could also include Automated Alice but I feel it's a lesser work compared to the other 3. Vurt is my favorite of the 3 and I wish someone like the Wachowskis would do a film adaptation.
Foreigner series by CJ Cherryh is fairly obscure even though I've seen it recommended on Tildes before, but it's one I come back to because of how well the author makes the aliens seem... well, alien. Thanks for the question, I think I'm going to go re-read it from the beginning again...
The Obsidian Chronicles by Lawerence Watt-Evans are a great series that I don't think I've seen people recommend or discuss online (besides as reviews on book tracking sites like GoodReads). I enjoy the take on Dragons and felt like it was an interesting premise behind how Dragons are created and what their role in the setting is.
I read it a few times as a kid, and plan to reread them eventually as an adult.
I really enjoyed River God, by Wilbur Smith, and the other books in the series. I’m not sure how obscure they are. He’s a great writer of action-y historical fiction. The narrator of River God is a real arrogant ass but it works well for the book.
Thursbitch by Alan Garner
I’d never heard of this book or this author before randomly stumbling across this description of it. Needless to say, I was immediately hooked.
Idk why but Blood Music by Greg Bear came to my mind, I'm not sure if it's well known.