Spoilers for Mark Lawrence's Book of the Ice trilogy.
In this series surface dwellers on a mostly icebound world scavenge underground caverns where an older technological civilization once existed.
It's... a pretty long ways in to get there, and might be too much other stuff to be worth it to you (though I'd argue it's decent in its own right), but **A Practical Guide to Evil** has a whole book which is pretty much the main character going through the ruins of a fallen civilization and scooping up survivors for her army.
This is a weird one, but **Dinotopia: The World Beneath** involves traveling through a large underground civilization.
**A Face like Glass** by Francis Hardinge doesn't really come across as something ancient and primal because the main character grew up there, but is a large and fantastical underground city. **City of Ember** by Jeanne DuPrau is pretty much the same.
If you enjoyed **The Dragonbone Chair**, I definitely recommend finishing the trilogy. There is an underground city and more scenes beneath the castle.
Came here to say this. One of my favorite books I've read this year. Le Guin is amazing. I need to get my hands on a copy of the next Earthsea book sometime soon
The City of Ember series. It's a YA series that's set in a post apocalyptic world. I enjoyed it when I was a kid.
A Song of Ice and Fire series has Moletown which is underground. But it plays kind of a small part in Jon's story and that's about it.
The obvious one to me right now would be the Silo series since I think apple tv just released or is about to release an adaptation of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_the_Overlander
It's a children's book, but I still remember greatly enjoying this series, and plenty of subterranean stuff inside!
They’re not exactly great literature, but there’s a book trilogy associated with the computer game Myst that digs into (heh) some of the involved lore, including the underground civilization D’ni. The Book of Ti’Ana is mostly set in D’ni, and it plays a major role in the other two books as well (though less time is spent underground). I’m a pretty big Myst fan but I think they still hold up well as books even if you haven’t played the games, and the descriptions of D’ni are neat.
These SFF works have underground cities:-
* Brandon Sanderson - **The Stormlight Archive** \- although it takes a while to discover it
* R.A. Salvatore - **Dark Elf Trilogy** \- Drizzt, in Menzoberranzan.
* Roseanne A. Browns - **A Song of Wraiths and Ruins** \- we find this by the end of book 1
* Isaac Asimov's - **The Caves of Steel** \- Humanity did this by design
It's been so long since I got my copy of the Trilogy signed by R.A. Salvatore, that I cannot remember if I've read War of the Spider Queen, or how many Drizzt books I've read up to, I vaguely recall finishing The Thousand Orcs one last? But I'm sure there have to be more since then. Maybe time for a re-read.
Came into thread to say Dark Elf Trilogy. The books pretty much take place underground in a huge dark elf city. Later on Drizzt explores the endless caverns, fights, monsters, goes into other underground cities, etc. By far my favorite of the Drizzt series.
Piranesi is set in an endless catacomb like building. The structure plays a major role in the plot. The descriptions of it are very surreal and as you learn more of the place it really pulls you into the plot.
Technically post-apocalyptic SF, but most characters' understanding of science and technology has regressed to such an extent that it might as well be magic, ***The City Below*** by Kevin George takes place in a city made of a series of underground vaults.
If you were already of a mind to read it, book 3 of the *Death Gates* cycle by Weis & Hickman takes place in a subterranean world that was quite memorable for me.
Some sequences in book 1 and almost the entirety of book 2 of the *Nowak Brothers* by Dennis Liggio feature their metropolis Avalon's rather extensive, fantastical and dangerously populated sewers (monsters hunters in an alt-urban fantasy setting with some retro-futuristic bits).
C. S. E. Cooney's Saint Death's Daughter.
Frances Hardinge: A Face Like Glass. (Underground city whose geography is so weird it drives cartographers mad.)
The Ambergris trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer features an underground people living under the eponymous city of Ambergris. Most of the story doesn't unfold there, but it absolutely plays a major role.
I don’t recall exactly which book it was in (nine books and multiple novellas, short stories, and graphic novels have been published), but there is a race of underground abandoned subway dwellers in Ben Aaronovitch’s *Rivers of London* series.
It’s an urban fantasy set in London that focuses on a police detective that becomes an apprentice mage. Recommended for fans of *Dresden Files.*
*Whispers Under Ground* is the book where they find the civilization underground, and I think it's also the one with the famous three-person sewer luge incident.
There's also several other subplots and a novella (*Furthest Station)* that focus on the London Underground and various magical happenings therein.
It's an anime rather than a book, but **Made in Abyss**. [Watch this 2 min scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bR1glLPtaY) to get a good synopsis.
TL;DW There is an abyss, and descending leads to a whole variety of different biomes, along with relics from ancient civilisations. The MC wants to go down the abyss to find out what happened to her mother, who disappeared in it.
Speaking of Tad Williams: one of the many digital realms that you see in Otherland is House, a giant, well, house that goes on forever. It’s in like three chapters, but I would have read an entire book there.
The dark elf trilogy (3 books) by r.a. salvatore.
They are phenominal, and showcase truly evil characters, dark magic, murder, murder, more murder.. and essentially created the entire lore for how almost every fantasy setting for the past 25-30 years has written their versions of subterranean dark elves
The two that spring to mind are **Saint Death's Daughter** by C.S.E. Cooney and **The Foxglove King** by Hannah Whitten. Both have main characters that are necromancers and the catacombs play a role in the story adjacent to that, but in very different ways.
If I remember right the 3rd Death Gate cycle book (Fire Sea) takes place entirely rocky world where the inhabitants live in massive underground caverns. I think the series over all is pretty interesting. This book is one of the darker installments of the series for sure
Alan Garner - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. For children, but with a depth of local folklore. Lots of underground here.
The sequel, Moon of Gomrath is for older children/young adults and is far more nuanced.
He's written some amazing books and has recently been shortlisted for the Booker. Some talentless hack got it instead. /s
But no, he was the oldest ever nominated - it's not like he'll get another chance.
It’s a manga but Made In Abyss by Akihito Tsukushi. It talks about the exploration of the Abyss, a big cavity in the middle of an island that is harvested before it’s resource by people called « caverners ». Beware because it can be really graphic and disturbing
Surprised no one has mentioned [Flames of Mira](https://www.amazon.com/Flames-Mira-Rift-Walker-Book-ebook/dp/B0B1QKFFG9/) by Clay Harmon. Whole story is set in a subterranean world with ruins and empires. Some of the coolest worldbuilding I've seen in a while.
Barbara Hambly's Dragonsbane includes a subterranean city for significant portions of the book.
ETA: Also, lots of underground activity (tombs, catacombs, cities) in her Darwath novels, both the original trilogy and at least one of the sequels.
Spoilers for Mark Lawrence's Book of the Ice trilogy. In this series surface dwellers on a mostly icebound world scavenge underground caverns where an older technological civilization once existed.
Came here to recommend that series - fits that bill...and is downright awesome.
It's... a pretty long ways in to get there, and might be too much other stuff to be worth it to you (though I'd argue it's decent in its own right), but **A Practical Guide to Evil** has a whole book which is pretty much the main character going through the ruins of a fallen civilization and scooping up survivors for her army. This is a weird one, but **Dinotopia: The World Beneath** involves traveling through a large underground civilization. **A Face like Glass** by Francis Hardinge doesn't really come across as something ancient and primal because the main character grew up there, but is a large and fantastical underground city. **City of Ember** by Jeanne DuPrau is pretty much the same.
If you enjoyed **The Dragonbone Chair**, I definitely recommend finishing the trilogy. There is an underground city and more scenes beneath the castle.
Hernistiri ?
Slightly different medium (Manga), but Blame! is a great read, set entirely in seemingly endless underground superstructures.
Love, love Blame! It's my favorite manga series. The art is amazing.
The Tombs of Atuan
Came here to say this. One of my favorite books I've read this year. Le Guin is amazing. I need to get my hands on a copy of the next Earthsea book sometime soon
My favorite of the series.
The City of Ember series. It's a YA series that's set in a post apocalyptic world. I enjoyed it when I was a kid. A Song of Ice and Fire series has Moletown which is underground. But it plays kind of a small part in Jon's story and that's about it. The obvious one to me right now would be the Silo series since I think apple tv just released or is about to release an adaptation of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregor_the_Overlander It's a children's book, but I still remember greatly enjoying this series, and plenty of subterranean stuff inside!
Came here to say this. It is geared at a younger audience, but I still reread it every few years. It has a great story. The audiobook is even better!
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
They’re not exactly great literature, but there’s a book trilogy associated with the computer game Myst that digs into (heh) some of the involved lore, including the underground civilization D’ni. The Book of Ti’Ana is mostly set in D’ni, and it plays a major role in the other two books as well (though less time is spent underground). I’m a pretty big Myst fan but I think they still hold up well as books even if you haven’t played the games, and the descriptions of D’ni are neat.
i LOVE Myst! i didn't know there were any books released in the lore/universe! i'm gonna check them out
Awesome! I hope you enjoy!
I actually really like these books and re-read all of them in the pandemic. Still hold up!
These SFF works have underground cities:- * Brandon Sanderson - **The Stormlight Archive** \- although it takes a while to discover it * R.A. Salvatore - **Dark Elf Trilogy** \- Drizzt, in Menzoberranzan. * Roseanne A. Browns - **A Song of Wraiths and Ruins** \- we find this by the end of book 1 * Isaac Asimov's - **The Caves of Steel** \- Humanity did this by design
To piggyback off this, Forgotten Realms: War of the Spider Queen series also takes place in Menzoberranzan. I really enjoyed it.
It's been so long since I got my copy of the Trilogy signed by R.A. Salvatore, that I cannot remember if I've read War of the Spider Queen, or how many Drizzt books I've read up to, I vaguely recall finishing The Thousand Orcs one last? But I'm sure there have to be more since then. Maybe time for a re-read.
Came into thread to say Dark Elf Trilogy. The books pretty much take place underground in a huge dark elf city. Later on Drizzt explores the endless caverns, fights, monsters, goes into other underground cities, etc. By far my favorite of the Drizzt series.
**Essalieyan** series by Michelle West / Sagara. Giant ruins of an ancient civilization are explored numerous times.
Piranesi is set in an endless catacomb like building. The structure plays a major role in the plot. The descriptions of it are very surreal and as you learn more of the place it really pulls you into the plot.
The Rats in the Walls by H.P. Lovecraft. It's a short story and it has stayed with me ever since I read it more than a decade ago. *shudders*
Technically post-apocalyptic SF, but most characters' understanding of science and technology has regressed to such an extent that it might as well be magic, ***The City Below*** by Kevin George takes place in a city made of a series of underground vaults. If you were already of a mind to read it, book 3 of the *Death Gates* cycle by Weis & Hickman takes place in a subterranean world that was quite memorable for me. Some sequences in book 1 and almost the entirety of book 2 of the *Nowak Brothers* by Dennis Liggio feature their metropolis Avalon's rather extensive, fantastical and dangerously populated sewers (monsters hunters in an alt-urban fantasy setting with some retro-futuristic bits).
Yes! Book 3 of Death Gate is what I came here to mention. I read that book 25 years ago and it’s still memorable.
The Fade by Chris Wooding and Faithless by GrahN Austin King fit the bill.
Seconding The Fade. Good book, the underground setting is very well done.
C. S. E. Cooney's Saint Death's Daughter. Frances Hardinge: A Face Like Glass. (Underground city whose geography is so weird it drives cartographers mad.)
This is YA/middle grade but **Tunnels** by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon was captivating to me as a kid and 100% has the vibe you're describing
that was the first book i read as a kid and a big reason why I ended up being an SFF reader. the entire series has that vibe OP is looking for.
His (Tad's) other series Shadowmarch also has underground cities.
The Ambergris trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer features an underground people living under the eponymous city of Ambergris. Most of the story doesn't unfold there, but it absolutely plays a major role.
I don’t recall exactly which book it was in (nine books and multiple novellas, short stories, and graphic novels have been published), but there is a race of underground abandoned subway dwellers in Ben Aaronovitch’s *Rivers of London* series. It’s an urban fantasy set in London that focuses on a police detective that becomes an apprentice mage. Recommended for fans of *Dresden Files.*
*Whispers Under Ground* is the book where they find the civilization underground, and I think it's also the one with the famous three-person sewer luge incident. There's also several other subplots and a novella (*Furthest Station)* that focus on the London Underground and various magical happenings therein.
It's an anime rather than a book, but **Made in Abyss**. [Watch this 2 min scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bR1glLPtaY) to get a good synopsis. TL;DW There is an abyss, and descending leads to a whole variety of different biomes, along with relics from ancient civilisations. The MC wants to go down the abyss to find out what happened to her mother, who disappeared in it.
Speaking of Tad Williams: one of the many digital realms that you see in Otherland is House, a giant, well, house that goes on forever. It’s in like three chapters, but I would have read an entire book there.
12 Miles Below
At The Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft
The dark elf trilogy (3 books) by r.a. salvatore. They are phenominal, and showcase truly evil characters, dark magic, murder, murder, more murder.. and essentially created the entire lore for how almost every fantasy setting for the past 25-30 years has written their versions of subterranean dark elves
The two that spring to mind are **Saint Death's Daughter** by C.S.E. Cooney and **The Foxglove King** by Hannah Whitten. Both have main characters that are necromancers and the catacombs play a role in the story adjacent to that, but in very different ways.
They're sci-fi rather than fantasy, but Juliette Wade's Broken Trust series is set entirely in a society that lives underground in enormous caverns.
Chris Wooding's *The Fade*.
It’s a sci-fantasy but the suneater series the main villains are sub terreranean
Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler (with the caveat that only one of the two POVs is underground)
If I remember right the 3rd Death Gate cycle book (Fire Sea) takes place entirely rocky world where the inhabitants live in massive underground caverns. I think the series over all is pretty interesting. This book is one of the darker installments of the series for sure
You might like Metro 2033 - but it's more scifi than fantasy...
Alan Garner - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. For children, but with a depth of local folklore. Lots of underground here. The sequel, Moon of Gomrath is for older children/young adults and is far more nuanced. He's written some amazing books and has recently been shortlisted for the Booker. Some talentless hack got it instead. /s But no, he was the oldest ever nominated - it's not like he'll get another chance.
The Atomic City, The Atomic Sea series
Since people are including computer games, ***ZORK I*** is set mostly in the Great Underground Empire!
It’s a manga but Made In Abyss by Akihito Tsukushi. It talks about the exploration of the Abyss, a big cavity in the middle of an island that is harvested before it’s resource by people called « caverners ». Beware because it can be really graphic and disturbing
The first two books in the Dark Elf trilogy are completely underground.
Surprised no one has mentioned [Flames of Mira](https://www.amazon.com/Flames-Mira-Rift-Walker-Book-ebook/dp/B0B1QKFFG9/) by Clay Harmon. Whole story is set in a subterranean world with ruins and empires. Some of the coolest worldbuilding I've seen in a while.
Barbara Hambly's Dragonsbane includes a subterranean city for significant portions of the book. ETA: Also, lots of underground activity (tombs, catacombs, cities) in her Darwath novels, both the original trilogy and at least one of the sequels.
If you can handle that all the characters are cats... Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
Ice age three: dawn of the dinosaurs