So I've been reading The Wandering Inn, which is amazing btw, but it's started getting a little intense and I want to take a break for a bit. I wanted to read something similar, and I like how serious the author takes the topic. Does anyone have any recommendations? I've already blasted through Hedge Wizard and Arcane Ascension for additional references.
Edit: here's a compiled list of the recommendations so far, and where I'm putting them.
Currently Reading:
Cradle
To-Read:
Practical Guide to Evil,
Bastion,
Mother of Learning
To Check Out:
Beware of Chicken,
Only Villains Do,
Way of Choices,
This feels like a pretty solid list, but I'll update as I go.
I don't know if you've ever considered reading some chinese fantasy, but if you're interested you should try reading a webnovel called Way of Choices. The translation is not great, but it's at least comprehensible, and it's a story i often go back too because it really surprised me with its character work for the mc and the whole supporting cast, and because it tackles some themes which are rarely seen in these types of stories. I think you can find the first 100 chapters on webnovel, and if you want to keep going without having to pay the site's absurd prices you should find it with relative ease on more sketchy sites.
As much as I hate to say it, adequate prose is really important to me. I find it hard to read around lines, and thus have missed out on a lot of great stories. If they have an official translation though, I'd love to check it out!
I actually may have been too harsh on the translation, i reread the first few chapters after writing my comment and it's a lot better than I remembered. It still doesn't have the best prose in the world, on account of the fact that the author writes in a very poetic and hard to translate in english way, but if you ever feel like it you could try reading the prologue to get a sense of whether you'll like it or not. Unfortunately I doubt we'll see a translation more official than this one, the distribution rights are owned by Webnovel.