A good novella is a brief, refreshing dip into a transfixing story. A good fantasy novella adds a whole new world to the mix. Sometimes a slender glimpse into another realm is the perfect little escape from the daily grind.
The Emperor’s Soul
Brandon Sanderson
This novella does everything right. A compelling character, an impossible expectation, a world of magic and intrigue and a bigger picture that slowly comes into focus. I would say I only wish this was longer except it’s perfect as it is.
Tessili Academy
Robin Stephen
This is the first in a series, but it stands alone. A character with a muddled memory pieces together her current situation and the peril she’s in, all with the help of a tiny mini-dragon called a tessila.
Penric’s Demon
Lois McMastaer Bujold
Bujold’s World of the Five Gods is one of my favorite fantasy realms. There is magic. There is adventure. But mostly there is entertaining writing, a rich culture and history driving the action, and characters with their own inscrutable motivations.
Binti
Nnedi Okorafor
This books takes many familiar sci-fi tropes and turns them on their head. With rich characters and a setting that leaves you second-guessing all your assumptions, this little story packs a serious punch.
The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince
Robin Hobb
This story plays an important role in the Farseer books, but appears here in all its messy, disturbing glory. Like everything Hobb writes, it is full of characters that feel so real you want to argue with them about their choices, all set in a world that fires the imagination.
All the richness, none of the commitment
Sometimes picking up a new fantasy novel feels like too big a commitment. That’s the perfect moment to grab a novella.