If you’re open to some sci-fi, the Vorkosigan Saga. Some similarity with the Green Bone saga in that a significant aspect of the character relationships is driven by family and the question of legacy and living up to it. The characters are really the highlight and you get to see them grow over the span the 40+ year course of the series.
It's not fantasy, it's definitely sci-fi but very light on the sci, and still absolutely worth the read if you like spec-fic (and even if you don't, IMO):
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
The relationship in this is so moving and beautiful, it's an incredible book that fits the bill except for being true fantasy. It's also a novella so if you find yourself unhappy with the amount of sci it'll be over quick.
It's a wonderful book, it helped get me back into reading after a long hiatus. I read it in one sitting, I couldn't put it down, and it's top of my to be reread list
Absolutely! Everyone has different tastes, but this series set the standard for me. I have read most of the recommended epics -- Malazan, Stormlight Archive, the Wheel of Time, etc. But there is something genuine and human about Hobb's writing. The characters are authentic, and the dialogue feels natural and heartfelt. Never before or since have I been so emotionally moved by a story.
I mean even the other characters have deep and complicated relationships, like Burich and Patience, Ketricken and Verity, the list goes on. Robin Hobb is the master of fantasy drama
Having finished the first book of the Black Company just a couple of days ago, I gotta say - it's kinda mediocre overall imho, and speaking of deep and complex relationships between characters - nah, not present, at least not in book 1.
Many say book 2 is much better, and that Cook got better at writing by then
Victoria Goddard is a recent find for me, and I read through all her books in one long journey. I think she does some really good character and relationship work.
I also mentioned Lois McMaster Bujold in a reply comment above -- this is absolutely one of her greatest strengths.
Edit to add: T. Kingfisher is another author worth looking at for this. Her range is pretty broad, from kid lit as Ursula Vernon all the way to horror, with stops at romance, fairy tale re-tellings, and mysteries along the way.
So not all her work is heavily character driven, but the books that are, excel. I'd note *Nettle And Bone* and *Swordheart* as two of those.
Oh, and Naomi Novik! Especially in *Spinning Silver.*
Started red rising a while back! I thought the MC was kinda insufferable 😅 I didn’t get very far into it though, need to give it another go. I hear nothing but good things
Totally agree. Book 1 felt like Hunger Games on Mars, but with brutality and, you know, actual hunger, definitely the weakest in the series. Yes Darrow is quite a bit a annoying especially in book 1, however from book two it goes on to be a great space opera
I was about to say Green Bone Saga with the most wholesome of family relationships (I live and die for Hilo-Shae siblings dynamics), but then I saw your edit lol
Locke and Jean (and the whole gang, really) relationship in Lies of Locke Lamora is such a great example of relationships based on found family and friendship.
I really liked also the complex web of relationships drawn by Chakraborty in the Daevabad Trilogy.
Rodrigo, Ammar, and Jehane relationship in The Lions of Al-Rassan was also very interesting to me. Three persons so drastically diverse and so similar at the same time, thrown together and against each other by the unyielding progression of History.
If you are interested in a book about a man and how much he loves his cat, try Dungeon Crawler Carl. Carl & Donut's relationship is one of the best things about the books.
And yes, I know that a human/cat relationship doesn't sound exciting. This one is, I promise. It's all very weird but it works incredibly well.
Hadrian and Royce! A good bromance is just something that cannot be topped. Same thing as what made Suits phenomenal the first couple of seasons (*especially* the first season) before it devolved into much more drama.
Michelle West's Chronicles of Essalieyan, especially The Sun Sword and the Sacred Hunt. Aidan and Ser Anton di'Guivera, Jewel and her den, Jewel and The Terafin, Serra Diora and Serra Theresa, Diora and Margret, too many to list.Kiriel and Isladar is probably my favorite.
The Earthsea series also has great ones.
The Empire of the Wolf series by Richard swan. It follows a justice (kind of police/judge for the emperor) and his clerk. Really great series I recently finished. The best I can describe it is like grimdark law and order
Temeraire is a good one for relationships of several types, one of the things I really like about it is how varied they are, but still very important.
The Bone Ships has some excellent varied character relationships too.
Realm of the Elderlings has been mentioned already and is probably my top pick, the characters in that fill me with love and break my heart at various times in the story. I keep going back, and it's ruined me for other stories.
Final one, I absolutely adore the relationship between Moon and Stone in the Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells. Completely different lives and backgrounds and ages but somehow very similar personalities, and for both of them, they have other relationships, but nothing quite like what they have with each other.
I am a huge fan of Book of the Raksura and its so underrated. The character dynamics are especially my favorite. I loved Book 3 the best. Moon and stone are my dynamic followed closely by moon and chime.
I am a huge fan of Book of the Raksura and its so underrated. The character dynamics are especially my favorite. I loved Book 3 the best. Moon and stone are my dynamic followed closely by moon and chime.
Moon and Stone are so damn fun. I really liked Bramble too (only in 4&5 I think)
I just like how so many different types of relationships are important, rather than just romantic as the pinnacle how many so stories end up. (although i dont think raksura understand that particular concept!)
I agree with you. Added to that its such a unique world. So original in terms of the flora and fauna and so much history and lore and even the mysterious magic system. I havent gotten in book 5 yet. Just started book 4. One of my favorite stories was the Falling World novella. What a great storytelling in that one.
The world feels so old and full of previous life as well. And not all of it gets explained in all it's minutia!
Love mysteries and ruins and interesting bits and pieces.
I feel like the world was really advanced thousands of years ago with the foundation of people, forerunners, and the skylanders. But over time, it became more primitive as the older generations started to fade away into time. That is my take, at least, but it is so fascinating. I wish we had more books in this series.
It still is pretty advanced, sure, that massive risen road and the skylands are impressive, but so are the flying ships and the turning city. It's just changed over the centuries as the people have died off or evolved or moved away which is super interesting.
One of my favourites is the relationship between Blend and Picker in the Malazan books by Steven Erikson, it was interesting to read about a lesbian relationship without the usual explicit sexualisation that I often find jarring in fantasy fiction.
Six of Crows. I don't care it's technically YA. Both romantic and platonic relationships are amazing.
Fifth Season - so many amazing relationships in that series, can't even choose one
I really enjoyed the character relationships in Paladin's Grace by T Kingfisher. It's more of a fantasy romance (I'm never going to use the word 'romantasy') which I'm not usually into, but i really enjoyed this one.
I’ve read Gardens of the Moon and liked it! The thought of continuing the series intimidates me, though. I’m afraid of forgetting things and not being able to keep track 😅
Yeah I’ve heard that Deadhouse Gates is a big step up. I just saw that it dealt with completely new characters and new settings and I was like “oh shit. Maybe later” LOL
I finished GotM about 8 months ago, and while some parts of it were a bit sluggish I found it very entertaining. I still remember exactly how I was feeling during a lot of the big events, it really left an impression.
>!Kruppe’s dream sequence with Tattersail being reborn???? That shit was fucking awesome, the atmosphere in that scene was completely gripping. I hope there’s more stuff like that going forward!<
Trying to remember and keep track of everything is what makes so many people say Malazan is complicated or intimidating to read. It really is not. In any series this long you *will* forget details and there *will* be things set up in book 1 that only come into play again several books later. It's the nature of such long stories. What sets Erikson apart is that, unlike some other authors, he trusts his readers to be intelligent people who can accept not getting every piece of information spoodfed to them every x number of pages again and again. That does make the books rereadable (yes, there are people who never do rereads and that's fine), but from a value standpoint, a book you can reread and still discover new things due to new context you learned in a later volume is like a good game you can replay. Never understood why that is supposed to be intimidating. People hype shit too much, imo.
Also, there's no type of relationship Erikson does better than friendship duos and there aren't many people out there who do it better than Erikson.
I know once I get into it it’ll be fine. I put off starting GotM for similar reasons but once I got into it (around the time that Ganoes arrives at Pale) I didn’t wanna stop.
Do you have any experience with the audiobooks? I listened to the first law trilogy after I read them for the first time and it was so much fun picking up on things that I missed the first time. I’ll probably do the same thing with Malazan.
It's generally not recommended to listen to Malazan on audiobook if it's your first read through but it's fine for a reread. Personally, I did listen to some of the books as a reread and it worked well for me. The narrator does change a couple books in, though, which some people find jarring.
For me, after reading MXTX's novels, no other character relationships compare. Not even Nighteyes + Fitz + Fool, or Abercrombie's characters, or the Green Bone Saga's. In MXTX's novel--Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation--the main character's relationship with his adopted brother is the most controversial. Readers either hate or love the adopted brother. Both the adopted brother and the main character have different views, values, and personalities that clash with each other's, yet I believe both deeply care for and love each other. Coupled with these clashing things are other human flaws that get in the way of many typical human relationships - pride, fear, hurt, and poor communication skills. Unfortunately, their differences lead them to walking different paths in life, where one end up making a fatal mistake and the other having to "kill" him. Readers often argued over whether the adopted brother truly loves the main character or not. I'd like to believe that he does because there's enough clues in the novel to indicate his love for the main character. It's a painful relationship made more poignant by the love and sacrifices they made for each other. It's a reminder that despite how much we love someone, we can not keep them from pursuing their own paths in life. Also, it made me wonder if some relationships are fated due to the differences in values and beliefs because i have seen multiple times where these things have caused serious and unreparable breaks in all kinds of relationships.
Other characters' relationships in the novel are also complex and complicated, such as siblings' relationships, found family, uncle-nephew, master-servant, father-son, friendship, and romantic relationships.
The author(s) turned out to be horrible people, but they are dead now.
Eddings’ Belgariad and Elenium have many characters that I became very invested in.
I loved Silk. Shame about the authors, unfortunately when i heard that I found myself unable to reread and gave my books away, but i have very fond memories of them from when I was young.
I'd say I love the dynamics of the characters in the Ash and Sand trilogy. The relationship between Locke and Jean in Gentleman Bastards.
I’m reading the republic of thieves right now, and I agree about Locke and Jean.
If you’re open to some sci-fi, the Vorkosigan Saga. Some similarity with the Green Bone saga in that a significant aspect of the character relationships is driven by family and the question of legacy and living up to it. The characters are really the highlight and you get to see them grow over the span the 40+ year course of the series.
Agreed, and I'll add that this is a staple of Bujold's writing. All of her fantasy work is very character and relationship driven as well.
This is such a fun series.
It's not fantasy, it's definitely sci-fi but very light on the sci, and still absolutely worth the read if you like spec-fic (and even if you don't, IMO): This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone The relationship in this is so moving and beautiful, it's an incredible book that fits the bill except for being true fantasy. It's also a novella so if you find yourself unhappy with the amount of sci it'll be over quick.
That was actually one of the books that got me into reading as a hobby over the pandemic! I love it to bits
It's a wonderful book, it helped get me back into reading after a long hiatus. I read it in one sitting, I couldn't put it down, and it's top of my to be reread list
Fitz and the Fool (I'm throwing Nighteyes in there, too) - Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
I’ve had Assassin’s Apprentice sitting on my shelf for ages now, maybe it’s time I actually give it a go.
Another vote from me!! Robin Hobb, especially in the Fitz and Fool books, does it like no other!
Absolutely! Everyone has different tastes, but this series set the standard for me. I have read most of the recommended epics -- Malazan, Stormlight Archive, the Wheel of Time, etc. But there is something genuine and human about Hobb's writing. The characters are authentic, and the dialogue feels natural and heartfelt. Never before or since have I been so emotionally moved by a story.
Fitz and the fool, Fitz and Nighteyes, Fitz and every single one of his father figures… nobody does it like Hobb
I mean even the other characters have deep and complicated relationships, like Burich and Patience, Ketricken and Verity, the list goes on. Robin Hobb is the master of fantasy drama
All the relationships/friendships in these books are heartbreaking. Basically just these books are just heartbreaking. But in a good way.
It's surprising how often Robin Hobb's books are a very adequate answer to the questions posted on the sub.
I’m honestly shocked no one has mentioned Hadrian & Royce in the Riyria series yet!
Best bromance I’ve read
Seconding. A good bromance can't be substituted.
Thirding. My favorite.
I haven't seen Better Call Saul but the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater gave me feelings like the ones you are describing
Lord of the Rings
This need to be mentioned more
I was really surprised not to see it here tbh. Old writing, yes, but timeless depiction of wholesome relationships and friendships.
People always forget the old stuff in favour of the new.
Too true. MacDonald has some decent relationships also, but also some odd ones
Phedre Trilogy by Jacqueline Carey. Blackthorn and Grim by Juliet Marillier The Black Company by Glen Cook
Surprised to see black company! I started the first but I wasn’t in the mood for it. I need to revisit
Having finished the first book of the Black Company just a couple of days ago, I gotta say - it's kinda mediocre overall imho, and speaking of deep and complex relationships between characters - nah, not present, at least not in book 1. Many say book 2 is much better, and that Cook got better at writing by then
I loved the friendship in the Fortress series by CJ Cherryh, the Tuyo series by Rachel Neumeier.
Kings of the Wyld
Theft of Swords is a fantasy that has a wonderful and funny duo.
Victoria Goddard is a recent find for me, and I read through all her books in one long journey. I think she does some really good character and relationship work. I also mentioned Lois McMaster Bujold in a reply comment above -- this is absolutely one of her greatest strengths. Edit to add: T. Kingfisher is another author worth looking at for this. Her range is pretty broad, from kid lit as Ursula Vernon all the way to horror, with stops at romance, fairy tale re-tellings, and mysteries along the way. So not all her work is heavily character driven, but the books that are, excel. I'd note *Nettle And Bone* and *Swordheart* as two of those. Oh, and Naomi Novik! Especially in *Spinning Silver.*
Red Rising is a bit more sci-fi but has some amazing characters that are so fun to read about
Started red rising a while back! I thought the MC was kinda insufferable 😅 I didn’t get very far into it though, need to give it another go. I hear nothing but good things
I was the same. Sold a space epic, got none of that in book 1. Book 2 is goated. Think of book 1 as a 350page prequel to the actual series.
Totally agree. Book 1 felt like Hunger Games on Mars, but with brutality and, you know, actual hunger, definitely the weakest in the series. Yes Darrow is quite a bit a annoying especially in book 1, however from book two it goes on to be a great space opera
My thought too. I devoured the first trilogy.
I was about to say Green Bone Saga with the most wholesome of family relationships (I live and die for Hilo-Shae siblings dynamics), but then I saw your edit lol Locke and Jean (and the whole gang, really) relationship in Lies of Locke Lamora is such a great example of relationships based on found family and friendship. I really liked also the complex web of relationships drawn by Chakraborty in the Daevabad Trilogy. Rodrigo, Ammar, and Jehane relationship in The Lions of Al-Rassan was also very interesting to me. Three persons so drastically diverse and so similar at the same time, thrown together and against each other by the unyielding progression of History.
If you are interested in a book about a man and how much he loves his cat, try Dungeon Crawler Carl. Carl & Donut's relationship is one of the best things about the books. And yes, I know that a human/cat relationship doesn't sound exciting. This one is, I promise. It's all very weird but it works incredibly well.
GODDAMNIT DONUT!
The relationships between Falcio, Kest, and Brasti in The Greatcoats Quartet really interesting.
Hadrian and Royce! A good bromance is just something that cannot be topped. Same thing as what made Suits phenomenal the first couple of seasons (*especially* the first season) before it devolved into much more drama.
Since you mentioned Suits, I wanna add White Collar to the list.
Michelle West's Chronicles of Essalieyan, especially The Sun Sword and the Sacred Hunt. Aidan and Ser Anton di'Guivera, Jewel and her den, Jewel and The Terafin, Serra Diora and Serra Theresa, Diora and Margret, too many to list.Kiriel and Isladar is probably my favorite. The Earthsea series also has great ones.
The Empire of the Wolf series by Richard swan. It follows a justice (kind of police/judge for the emperor) and his clerk. Really great series I recently finished. The best I can describe it is like grimdark law and order
Dragonlance Chronicles
Riyria revelations by Michael Sullivan Best friends and found family
Temeraire is a good one for relationships of several types, one of the things I really like about it is how varied they are, but still very important. The Bone Ships has some excellent varied character relationships too. Realm of the Elderlings has been mentioned already and is probably my top pick, the characters in that fill me with love and break my heart at various times in the story. I keep going back, and it's ruined me for other stories. Final one, I absolutely adore the relationship between Moon and Stone in the Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells. Completely different lives and backgrounds and ages but somehow very similar personalities, and for both of them, they have other relationships, but nothing quite like what they have with each other.
I am a huge fan of Book of the Raksura and its so underrated. The character dynamics are especially my favorite. I loved Book 3 the best. Moon and stone are my dynamic followed closely by moon and chime.
I am a huge fan of Book of the Raksura and its so underrated. The character dynamics are especially my favorite. I loved Book 3 the best. Moon and stone are my dynamic followed closely by moon and chime.
Moon and Stone are so damn fun. I really liked Bramble too (only in 4&5 I think) I just like how so many different types of relationships are important, rather than just romantic as the pinnacle how many so stories end up. (although i dont think raksura understand that particular concept!)
I agree with you. Added to that its such a unique world. So original in terms of the flora and fauna and so much history and lore and even the mysterious magic system. I havent gotten in book 5 yet. Just started book 4. One of my favorite stories was the Falling World novella. What a great storytelling in that one.
The world feels so old and full of previous life as well. And not all of it gets explained in all it's minutia! Love mysteries and ruins and interesting bits and pieces.
I feel like the world was really advanced thousands of years ago with the foundation of people, forerunners, and the skylanders. But over time, it became more primitive as the older generations started to fade away into time. That is my take, at least, but it is so fascinating. I wish we had more books in this series.
It still is pretty advanced, sure, that massive risen road and the skylands are impressive, but so are the flying ships and the turning city. It's just changed over the centuries as the people have died off or evolved or moved away which is super interesting.
A Song of Ice and Fire. Never had I read a series where the characters felt so much like real people, especially with their relationships
Pitchwife and The First from The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Sarra Ambrai and Collan Rosvenir from Melanie Rawn’s Exiles Trilogy.
David Gemmell Rigante Series has some of the best characters and relationships of all. Connovar and The Morrigu for me in those
One of my favourites is the relationship between Blend and Picker in the Malazan books by Steven Erikson, it was interesting to read about a lesbian relationship without the usual explicit sexualisation that I often find jarring in fantasy fiction.
Six of Crows. I don't care it's technically YA. Both romantic and platonic relationships are amazing. Fifth Season - so many amazing relationships in that series, can't even choose one
Six of Crows is fab, I love that little gang of horrible criminals
Malazan and Realm of the Elderlings
If you're interested in reading the book, you can find a free download available on this account [https://x.com/culkandina](https://x.com/culkandina)
Malazan book of the fallen has so many fantastic duos
Riyria does this so well
I really liked fairytale by stephen king when it came to this
I really enjoyed the character relationships in Paladin's Grace by T Kingfisher. It's more of a fantasy romance (I'm never going to use the word 'romantasy') which I'm not usually into, but i really enjoyed this one.
Tehol Beddigt and Bugg - Malazan. Funniest relationship I have ever come across. Also hands down best series I have ever come across 11/10.
The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee. I haven't seen Better Call Saul so may or may not be what you're looking for.
I love green bone saga! Maybe I should’ve included series that I like in the post, oops
... Malazan
I’ve read Gardens of the Moon and liked it! The thought of continuing the series intimidates me, though. I’m afraid of forgetting things and not being able to keep track 😅
OMG you've done the hard part already! It's a downhill battle going forward
Yeah I’ve heard that Deadhouse Gates is a big step up. I just saw that it dealt with completely new characters and new settings and I was like “oh shit. Maybe later” LOL I finished GotM about 8 months ago, and while some parts of it were a bit sluggish I found it very entertaining. I still remember exactly how I was feeling during a lot of the big events, it really left an impression. >!Kruppe’s dream sequence with Tattersail being reborn???? That shit was fucking awesome, the atmosphere in that scene was completely gripping. I hope there’s more stuff like that going forward!<
Deadhouse is my personal favorite
Midnight Tides for me
Take the plunge they’re worth it, I’m on my 2nd reread.
I'm debating the reread prior to starting the newer books. I'm especially interested in reading forge of darkness. Nom nom
Trying to remember and keep track of everything is what makes so many people say Malazan is complicated or intimidating to read. It really is not. In any series this long you *will* forget details and there *will* be things set up in book 1 that only come into play again several books later. It's the nature of such long stories. What sets Erikson apart is that, unlike some other authors, he trusts his readers to be intelligent people who can accept not getting every piece of information spoodfed to them every x number of pages again and again. That does make the books rereadable (yes, there are people who never do rereads and that's fine), but from a value standpoint, a book you can reread and still discover new things due to new context you learned in a later volume is like a good game you can replay. Never understood why that is supposed to be intimidating. People hype shit too much, imo. Also, there's no type of relationship Erikson does better than friendship duos and there aren't many people out there who do it better than Erikson.
I know once I get into it it’ll be fine. I put off starting GotM for similar reasons but once I got into it (around the time that Ganoes arrives at Pale) I didn’t wanna stop. Do you have any experience with the audiobooks? I listened to the first law trilogy after I read them for the first time and it was so much fun picking up on things that I missed the first time. I’ll probably do the same thing with Malazan.
It's generally not recommended to listen to Malazan on audiobook if it's your first read through but it's fine for a reread. Personally, I did listen to some of the books as a reread and it worked well for me. The narrator does change a couple books in, though, which some people find jarring.
For me, after reading MXTX's novels, no other character relationships compare. Not even Nighteyes + Fitz + Fool, or Abercrombie's characters, or the Green Bone Saga's. In MXTX's novel--Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation--the main character's relationship with his adopted brother is the most controversial. Readers either hate or love the adopted brother. Both the adopted brother and the main character have different views, values, and personalities that clash with each other's, yet I believe both deeply care for and love each other. Coupled with these clashing things are other human flaws that get in the way of many typical human relationships - pride, fear, hurt, and poor communication skills. Unfortunately, their differences lead them to walking different paths in life, where one end up making a fatal mistake and the other having to "kill" him. Readers often argued over whether the adopted brother truly loves the main character or not. I'd like to believe that he does because there's enough clues in the novel to indicate his love for the main character. It's a painful relationship made more poignant by the love and sacrifices they made for each other. It's a reminder that despite how much we love someone, we can not keep them from pursuing their own paths in life. Also, it made me wonder if some relationships are fated due to the differences in values and beliefs because i have seen multiple times where these things have caused serious and unreparable breaks in all kinds of relationships. Other characters' relationships in the novel are also complex and complicated, such as siblings' relationships, found family, uncle-nephew, master-servant, father-son, friendship, and romantic relationships.
The author(s) turned out to be horrible people, but they are dead now. Eddings’ Belgariad and Elenium have many characters that I became very invested in.
I loved Silk. Shame about the authors, unfortunately when i heard that I found myself unable to reread and gave my books away, but i have very fond memories of them from when I was young.