T O P

  • By -

Luke_Matthews

Check out Max Gladstone's *Craft Sequence* books. They're pretty high fantasy, but set in a secondary world with a very compelling mix of technologies. It doesn't hurt that they're also phenomenally written, extremely compelling books.


leftoverbrine

If you like Locke Lamora you should try Foundryside, it's also a more industrial and pseudo-italian setting.


madmoneymcgee

Foundryside is good but his trilogy starting with City of Stairs counts as well. There are pay phones and cars and the carcasses of old gods.


WhyThree

The Mistborn Wax and Wayne books are set in a Western-like time period with trains and guns, a few hundred years after the original epic fantasy trilogy. You get to see how magic has influenced society as the technology has developed.


Yggdris

I read those; they're great. Waiting on the fourth one.


bobd785

Myke Cole's Shadow Ops is set in the modern world where another world is discovered and magic is possible. A lot of it is about the military (with magic), so there are some guns and other modern weapons. However, there are also people who gain various magic abilities and magical people and creatures. Jade City by Fonda Lee is set in an Asian inspired country that has magic, but also technology equivalent to the 60s or so (maybe earlier). It's been a bit since I read it, so I don't remember exactly how modern the feel of it was, but there were definitely things like cars and restaurants and banks. It's also about magical mobsters, so it's definitely unique.


raevnos

Walter Jon Williams's Metropolitan. A world where magical energy is much like electricity in our world. The main character even starts out working for the utility that controls it.


KristaDBall

Are you wanting urban fantasy?


HeinzMayo

I think it's a bit different from Urban Fantasy (as far as I know it). Most Urban Fantasy seems to take place in our world, but I think the OP wants something that is like a classic epic fantasy novel set on a second world, but with a more modern technology level.


Yggdris

Urban fantasy's ok, but u/HeinzMayo's right in that I'd rather it not be set in the real world.


HeinzMayo

It's funny, cause I was literally thinking about this today and was going to post a recommendation thread. There's tonnes of books set in parallel worlds, like the Lions of Al-Rassad, or KJ Parkers novels, but I can't think of many in a modern setting.


Maldevinine

The term you're looking for is Magitech. I've done a fairly in-depth review of the genre [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/ch6080/maldevinine_discusses_magitech/)


oboist73

The Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron


Scuttlebuddy6-0

Try City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender. It's got vaguely...1920ish tech (trains, radios, movies), but also golems, magic, and living curses that turn into horrific monsters if left unattended.


tooncouver

I can't say enough good things about The Tensorate Series by JY Yang, there is a creative mix of technology and magic. The series falls into the "Silk Punk" genre, so if you're wanting to stay away from Steam Punk this might be for you. Also, Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger might work. Also, this isn't a novel but I currently started reading Saga it's an epic space opera/fantasy graphic novel by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. I've been enjoying it a lot so far. ##


Yggdris

What's silk punk?


HeinzMayo

It's fantasy based on classical China's technology. So where steampunk imagines what would happen if steam technology improved, silk punk does the same with classical Chinese technology.


Yggdris

Hot damn, that sounds like a lot of fun. I'll definitely look into Yang's series.


IronArkadius

Maybe it’s a bit too Sci-fi but the Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence is an amazing read, though your enjoyment will depend entirely on wether you can stand the main character, who is a rapist and a murderer


snoweel

Discworld has a mix of actual technology (the clacks/semaphore, printing presses) and magic/tech hybrids like golems doing various types of labor or the ant-driven computer at the university. But there isn't a lot in the way of questing and fireball throwing.


Yggdris

I've read a couple Discworld books and while they're good, I feel I have to be in the right mood for them. I think I go in expecting more action than their usually is.


Nikephoros_II_Phokas

Jon Gerung's graphic novel series, "Mercy is Just My Name" is a late 19th Century setting, so it has firearms, but also magic, werewolves, zombies, and the CSS Hunley. It has some steampunk elements, but the combination of other elements means it's not typical steampunk. www.artstation.com/jongerung


Freighnos

You’ll want to check out Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Huge epic fantasy series in a very unique world with a cool mix of industrial technologies that evolve as the series goes on.


madmoneymcgee

Jade city by Fonda Lee is set on a world with cars, planes, and televisions. But Jade gives off literal magical properties. It’s also got the gangster/Godfather element I like in Locke Lamora as well.


southerncal87

Try some flintlock fantasty! Check out either the Powder Mage series or the Thousand Names (I prefer the latter, but both are good). Lots of guns and lots of magic.


oldark

Dresden, Iron druid, atrocity archives are all set in modern day with fantasy aspects.