Fantasy and Sci-Fi Stand-alone Recommendations [CC]

Links to books I talked about in this video
(These are affiliate links. If you buy through these links, I get a small percentage of the sale):
The Ocean At The End of The Lane: amzn.to/2TYei6Q
Timeline: amzn.to/3exbkQe
An Unkindness of Magicians: amzn.to/361w9PO
Frankenstein: amzn.to/2Ib8a8n
Warbreaker: amzn.to/2HXiOQH
Peter Pan: amzn.to/38dtTrn
This Is How You Lose The Time War: amzn.to/3oPUNvj

[@guilhermefigueiredo3936]

It's great to read a complete story without need to read a lot of books!!!

[@matthewhaynes509]

Jurassic Park is part of a genre I call “Should have been standalone but wasn’t 😢” I’m so glad you’re reading Crichton though Merphy, I grew up on that guy

[@merphynapier42]

You've got me thinking about this for a video now...

[@tejasdeepsingh456]

@@merphynapier42 We would love a video on that lol

[@chadskelly8955]

You could also do the opposite. Series that should have just been a standalone.

[@tejasdeepsingh456]

@@chadskelly8955 Umm wouldn't the opposite be 'Standalones that should have been series'

[@chadskelly8955]

@@tejasdeepsingh456 lol yeah that's exactly what I meant. I was thinking about the original post and ended up typing basically the same thing. So I really meant standalones you just can't get enough of and want more from that world.

[@skizzit]

Neil Gaiman is easily one of my favorite authors. Neverwhere was the first book of his I read and had to hunt down everything else.

[@SpookyyV]

He’s literally a gift on this planet

[@marianaamoedo5942]

Like Murakami, I feel they're far too intelligent for me to understand them, so I struggle with their books (and come up with almost nothing)

[@macayla3183]

@@marianaamoedo5942 you should try Gaiman’s books for younger audiences like Coraline and The Graveyard book! Coraline is my favorite book that I’ve ever read. They’re both still beautiful stories, but may be a bit easier to grasp if you want to build up to his adult novels! :)

[@britneynicole8903]

Which is one of your favorite books of his?

[@Calebgoblin]

I saw the word standalone and I clicked I'm a simple guy who is intimidated by this authortube world

[@lottevanderpaelt1684]

To people who want another great standalone fantasy rec: 'Good Omens (The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch)' by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's a comedy based on the 1976 horror film 'The Omen' and it is honestly amazing. They also made it into a television series with Michael Sheen and David Tennant last year that I would recommend watching too.

[@stillthinkingkay]

One of my favourite books, I love it so much.

[@marianaamoedo5942]

That's the one book of Gaiman I did enjoy (well, most of it, it was hard to understand sometimes)

[@stillthinkingkay]

@@marianaamoedo5942 if you haven't tried reading neverwhere, I'd recommend that cos it's fairly easy to read ( in my opinion of course) and has some truly amazing characters.

[@arienrhod1]

Also, a lot of people are intimidated by Terry Pratchett's Diskworld series, but in reality, you can just pick up one of those books and start reading and it will work as a standalone. True, there are a lot of subseries and mini-trilogies within the Diskworld universe, and while there are overarching themes, the stories itself are pretty self-contained. It's great that way - I think it doesn't really matter where you start and where you stop. True, there are better and worse places, and you'll get to know and understand the characters and the world better if you read certain books in a certain order, but ultimately you can't go wrong with Pratchett. And within the Discworld series, there is a story you won't even know is a part of that universe if you don't check Goodreads or something, the middle-grade "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents", about a talking cat and his band of rodent underlings who run a scam together (btw. it's awesome).

[@Labracadabrador101]

I'm expecting my copy of the book soon and it'll be my first book by him! Do you think I should watch the 1976 movie to get the whole experience? Or should I start with another book of his?

[@ivysheppard692]

Fantasy and Sci-fi are my favorite genres and I'm always looking for recommendations, so I really appreciate this video.

[@downtowords9806]

Yesssss! I have asked so many bookstores for help to find standalones for fantasy!! You deliver! I appreciate! I worship!

[@aaryasharma9781]

Merphy hello i seriously wanted stand-alone recs rn, thanks sooo much✨♥️

[@luminaryprism75]

I read Frankenstein in about three days for my AP 12 class a few years back and for that mad rush of annotations, theme ,and character analysis and yet I loved it. Mary Shelley makes me extremely jealous with how incredible she wrote and how wholly she understood aspects of humanity at such a young age. Too good!

[@loren0531]

Same!! It was my summer book homework, and I was so surprised about how much I loved it. I actually finished it fast because I couldn’t get enough. And it was one of the few times I spoke in class discussions eager to analyze the boon. All in all, that class had some of my favorite classics: Brave New World, Wuthering Heights, Hamlet, A Farewell to Arms, etc.!

[@AmeliaOak]

I appreciated Frankenstein but the writing had me bored to tears like 80 percent of the time. I HATED how the weather was the same as Dr. Frankenstein’s mood all the time. But the parts where you learn about his monster are absolutely fascinating.

[@laurakuhlmann1626]

Crichton put biochemistry on the map for me, and I ended up doing a career in research (yey Jurassic Park!). He really manages to suspend my disbelief. Also, man the ER was a great show: not only great characters, but really well documented (at least according to my Dr. uncle). And Crichton was really involved with the show

[@aplatypusguy27]

Susanna Clarke has written some amazing fantasy standalones! Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is sooooo good and her new book, Piranesi, is fantastic as well.

[@itsjustbree9267]

Long time fan of JSAMN. Just read Piranesi and I adore it and will read it again soon because I was so eager to get to the bottom of the mystery the first read through, I know I didn't catch all the nuances. 😅

[@kimberlee1208]

I was wondering if those were the same author. I'll have to check out Piranesi

[@mouseketeery]

I think JSaMN is my favourite book. For those that like audiobooks, the reading by Simon Prebble is superb (despite his mispronunciation of "sidhe". Luckily it's infrequent!). Somewhat embarrassingly, I've ended up with the book in hardback, on Kindle, as well as audio. I've bought Piranesi and will be reading that soon.

[@violetadaguiar9776]

I've recently been loving Naomi Novik: her stand-alone fantasy novels are so magical and exiting! I loved Uprooted and am currently reading Spinning Silver and couldn't recommend her more :) Her prose is so elegant and the stories are exiting and magical :)

[@kimberlee1208]

I can't wait to read her new book

[@kindacalled777]

I liked Uprooted but it should've been more than one book. Everything is so rushed after the MC goes to the capital.

[@violetadaguiar9776]

@@kindacalled777 I agree, I wish it could have been longer

[@psychicsocial]

How is it that you always make videos I am looking for? I needed standalone recs and you are amazing for this Merphy! ♥

[@thatsci-firogue]

One of my picks would be The Princess Bride. Love both the book and the film.

[@aliciasorenson3807]

Phenomenal standalone fantasy books I've read in the last year : The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Kingdom of Back. I read Frankenstein over a year ago and LOVED it!

[@read.with.rupkatha]

Thanks! I was really looking forward to standalones. Love your channel♥️

[@brendagomez8656]

I am a simple girl, I see Merphy upload a video I like and watch.

[@AndreGarzia]

This Is How You Lose the Time War is one of my favourite books, so happy that you're recommending it here :D

[@jaishanmohamed7251]

The fact that ive read 5 of the books on this list, all from your recommendations AND ive loved it all, is astoundingly amazing, will definitely read Timeline and Frankenstein soon!! Also The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu is one of the standalone fantasies ive recently read that blew me away with the oh so compelling morally gray characters AND ANd, one thing I particularly found only in this book was the fact that as the characters aged from childhood to adults, you can pick up on the way the tone and voice of the characters evolved and matured as they aged and thats such a great feeling. Definitely should give it a read.

[@cm8139]

Excited to hear your opinions on Sphere, it's one of my all-time favorites

[@tejasdeepsingh456]

New Video Yaaay!!!!🎉🎉🎊🎊 PS it's exactly on time I was looking to start reading Sci Fi Thank You 🙇🏻‍♂️

[@wcalli63]

Your channel is so much fun! Great videos!

[@chadskelly8955]

I wholeheartedly agree with Peter Pan. I never would have thought to read that until one of your videos where you were raving about it. I think it was a video about classics. Oh my gosh it is such a good book so thanks for the rec. I did the audiobook for that and it was great. Same narrator that did the Harry Potter books.

[@skijumpnose]

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane 👍 I recommend Redshirts by John Scalzi! A great stand alone sci fi comedy!

[@joshuastevens2001]

Fantasy standalones are a rare breed 😅. I'm always impressed by someone who can put a whole new complex world into one book!

[@selantrian]

I love so many of these books 😅😅 EDIT: also korey, editing is on point, as always

[@LyyraBat]

I need to continue reading Warbreaker soon! I was reading through it when my friends unexpectedly agreed to do an Elantris buddy read with me (which is awesome!), so I put it on pause so I wouldn't get them mixed up. The beginning was so interesting!

[@ernestmbiri5703]

Merphy Thank You for being you. Isolation and lockdown has been easier with your recommendations.

[@RosLanta]

It's a long time since I read Sphere but I remember loving it.

[@lizzy-np2dr]

Yeeees! I have not seen nearly enough people talking about "This is How You Lose the Time War." Such an incredible book. The audiobook is amazing, too. The actresses they got to read for red and blue were just *chef's kiss* perfect. Cannot recommend highly enough.

[@KD-ho5xk]

Thank a lot. Been waiting a long time for this video.

[@EleanorNicBhatair]

Love everything on this list!! Such good recommendations 😊

[@avsambart]

This is a godsend. I seem to need like 3 standalones between every series/serialised(?) book I read.

[@stephaniegould2076]

OMG I'VE LITERALLY BEEN LOOKING FOR THESE TYPES OF BOOKS!!

[@andrearoberts2663]

On my lunch break right now watching this and thinking how I wish I had a book to read and you recommend the unkindness of magician and and I check my library app and they have it!!!!!!! So excited !!!!

[@kb-ih7ni]

I prefer series because of the immersion, but sometimes it gets heavy so these standalone recs are much appreciated!

[@carlosperalta535]

I bought Peter Pan for your recommendations and I plan to read it soon , I think I will enjoy it a lot. Thanks for your recommendations and I will add Ubik as a great sci-fi stand-alone book.

[@kimbarbeaureads]

Reading Frankenstein made me question every adaptation ever. The monster is YELLOW! Crazy stuff.

[@markcushen8199]

Agree about Gaiman. My favourite of his is Stardust. Thanks for the recs, I'm gonna look into some of these!

[@jeremyfee]

Thank you for this video. I've read so many books that are the first in a series and there's just not enough time to get to the whole series.

[@ayesha9752]

Loved the video!! Also do a video for mystery/thriller standalones please!

[@ElijahStormblessed]

I just started reading Frankenstein in my English class and I'm so excited to get into it!

[@heather9130]

Michael Crichton is my favorite sci fi author!! Timeline, Sphere, and Congo are my favorite stand-alones, but I re-read JP and Lost world at least every year. Even tho he didn't want to write Lost World at first, I think he found a story he wanted to tell. The science feels so real. No spoilers, but Airframe I DNF'd halfway through cause the pacing is very slow, and the jargon is clunky like an engineering textbook. I felt like that book was just Crichton nerding out about airplanes, which is cool if that's your thing. I love your videos!!

[@Gon_Din]

I read An Unkindness of Magicians because of you and it was really really good! I also knew the author from a short story and I gotta say it was a setup. According to Goodreads Unkindness is to have a sequel

[@sanjana3728]

Hi Merphy!I am a new subscriber and I am loving your videos ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@fantasyfan8788]

For a Fantasy standalone I can't recommend 'To Ride Hell's Chasm ' enough. Seriously my all time favourite. It starts off as a court intrigue mystery and gains momentum into full action. The author loves horses and it shows. She draws a world within one book with a vividness few acheive in a full series. It's a imaginative refreshing read, free of cliches and tropes. The writing is gorgeous as well. Fellow fantasy fans check it out.

[@bhavyab1044]

Hi Merphy! Thanks for the recs. Also I thought I should mention that Warbreaker is there to read for free on Brandon Sanderson’s website...

[@zoyarau4142]

Great video Merphy! My recs besides the one you mentioned: Fantasy - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - Coraline by Neil Gaiman - Pan‘s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro Sci Fi - The Test by Sylvain Neuvel - The Humans by Matt Haig

[@Braymiller1]

A few of my favorite stand alone fantasy novels: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay The Lions of Al-Rasan by Guy Gavriel Kay The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson What the Wind Brings by Matthew Hughes

[@tunnelofbooks]

Ngl Merph I'm in love with classics. I used to find them "boring". You made me read Peter Pan and now I'm LOVING Frankenstein(I'm currently reading it). It's absolutely fantastic!

[@tiantuatara]

Recommendation for early Michael Crichton - Andromeda Strain. I'm glad you recommended Frankenstein. There are so many movies with different takes, it is really worth it to go back to the actual book. Sounds like I'm adding An Unkindness of Magicians to my TBR.

[@BonesNeverLie]

I'm reading Elantris as my first Sanderson novel and I love it. I know his writing only gets better from here.

[@l_p2980]

Michael Chrichton is one of my fav authors! I read sphere for the first time last week and was hooked. Currently reading airframe, his premises are always so creative.

[@joa3386]

i was actually looking for some book recs and then you posted this and i screamed lol

[@ShoeLessJoseph]

I’ve really been looking for some stand alone recs! Thanks so much! And if I could recommend H.G. Wells he has lots of great sci fi books, The Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, The Time Machine. I know Merphy doesn’t care much for H.G Wells but I love his work so I gotta recommend him.

[@becklebooks]

Oooh I've just chucked An Unkindness of Magicians onto my goodreads 'want to read' list, so THANK YOU! I always love me an urban fantasy. :'D

[@sandrakicklighter2735]

A Sleight of Shadows ( Unkindness of Magicians book 2) but glad you mentioned this because I somehow missed it. And now I know that, and that there is a second

[@AnniesBookNook]

Frankenstein is always going to be one of my favorites

[@blkynBridge95]

I love your sweater!

[@emilys.430]

Sphere is so much fun! You're in for a treat.

[@TheBookishMom]

I do really enjoy an Unkindness of Magicians! Warbreaker is also another fantastic standalone fantasy book. My current favorite though is Sword of Kaigen! It is a fantastic self published adult fantasy book

[@TheCronedoggy]

New fan here. Just want to say I'm jealous of that library behind you.

[@sailinglin584]

I read An unkindness of magicians because of your recommendation and loved it. Kat Howard said she is writing a sequel. And I'm very curious where she is taking Sydney. Especially after that ending.

[@visionary202]

Wonderful! I'm about to start Gaiman's American Gods. Fingers crossed it'll be good. I'm totally going to take your suggestions. When done wit American Gods, I think I may try for the purple read. I sometiems enjoy that, plus it being a novella may help me read through it faster to jump to yet another book. Thank you!

[@anitaalende1181]

I LOVE AN UNKINDNESS OF MAGICIANS SO MUCH LITERALLY A FAV OF MINE. The plot, the charaacters, EVERYTHING about this book.

[@DanielBeer1]

You have no idea how timely this video is for me. I was just seeking out some standalone titles last night after realizing I was starting to have a bit of series fatigue.

[@janeb3483]

I was so excited when I saw the title, great video Merphy! Not to discourage anyone from reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere - because it is amazing and I also highly recommend it - but it is not going to be a standalone for long (I can't wait, London Below is so interesting).

[@kulsum6031]

yayy book recs are backk

[@vwkflynn]

I love Micheal Crichton. Andromeda Strain was one of the first sci-fi books I read when I was in middle school. It's still one of my favorites.

[@TheMkoose]

Ugh How You Lose the Time War. First audiobook I listened to where I stopped everything else I was doing and just lay down and listened until it finished. Magical.

[@stainedlavender]

A sci-fi book I just finished recently was Lockstep by Karl Schroeder. It was a quick, fun space adventure about terraforming, humans going into long bouts of hibernation and the family who started it all descending into madness. The book itself really isn't too deep, but if you want something fast and fun to read over a long weekend I highly recommend.

[@karlarenae9617]

Andy Weir. His books The Martian and Artemis were both stand alone sci-fi. Excellent books. Like Crichton he really develops the science. His new book Hail Mary is coming out in May and it looks to be a stand alone as well.

[@elledowning7512]

I am so glad to Micheal Critchen made the list. I feel like he so under appreciated. He is an amazing writer and I love the way he weaves the themes throughout his stories.

[@itsjustbree9267]

The first time I heard his name was actually him being a writer on the show E.R. I haven't read his books yet but the writing on that show is amazing and convinced me to try his books next time I have the time.

[@elledowning7512]

@@itsjustbree9267I loved ER! ❤ I watch it when it when it came out. I remember reading Jurrasic Park the summer before the movie came out. As a kid I remember mostly the action scenes and the story line. Then when I reread it as an adult and I really appreciate how he weaved the themes in a way that wasn't preachy or in your face. Even A Lost World has a great nature vs nurture theme in it. If you like him also read Congo. The movie didn't give it justice at all.

[@itsjustbree9267]

@@elledowning7512 Darn I'm remembering how E.R. emotionally messed me up at least once a season. Probably why I haven't rewatched it yet... still recovering from the first watch. 😅 I felt like those characters were real people that I knew.

[@codyc0313]

I cannot recommend Dark Matter by Blake Crouch enough. It’s a stand alone sci-fi book with a unique take on quantum mechanics and parallel universes. Again, I cannot recommend this book enough

[@lauramcc07]

Yes this is one of my favourite books!!

[@astraestus8828]

Add Recursion to that too. Same author.

[@codyc0313]

@@astraestus8828 I loved reading Recursion!

[@annascorner84]

I have this book but just haven't gotten to it yet. You mention parallel universes and now I want to read it asap. I think I will pull it out and read before this month is over.

[@AmeliaOak]

I loved it but the ending...well I won’t say anything 😂 Also Recursion was pretty good but...it wasn’t my favorite. I would read something else by that author though.

[@36moshpit7]

Off the top of my head, for YA, I liked 'Unwind' by Neal Shusterman. It has sequels, but they seem solid, and it works as a stand-alone. A lot of Neal Shusterman's work is pretty interesting. I also liked 'The Thin Executioner' by Darren Shan.

[@tylorstreett7824]

"Prey" is my favorite Michael Crichton sci-fi

[@sumitraspov]

ABSOLUTELY LOVED AN UNKINDNESS OF MAGICIANS. I read it because of the number of times you've recommended it on the channel. Thank you!! Kinda disagree with you about the ending. I thought it was abrupt enough for us to believe that its consequences are going to stay with the character for a while if that makes sense? And I liked that. :D I have read other works of Kat Howard but none of them came close.

[@0bscenity]

One of my favorite fantasy standalones that I rarely, if ever, see mentioned is Battle Mage by Perer Flannery. It has demons, dragons, zombies, and of course battle mages. I found it hard to put down.

[@Rhamsody]

Battle Mage was outstanding. Falco was my favorite character! 👍🏾

[@LittleMissTotoro]

Naomi Novik is a fantasy writer who has done a few stand-alones. Uprooted and Spinning Silver 😊

[@LiveItUpDaily]

For standalone fantasy: Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang. Arguably my favourite book of the year!

[@caseypeterson5827]

I'll check out An Unkindness of Magicians. Great list, those genre need more standalone.

[@BookedandBusy]

I honestly can’t believe I’ve never read Gaiman. I own 3 or 4 of his books. I don’t usually enjoy books set in London but you’ve sold me on an unkindness of magicians

[@wrestlingwithdisney]

Michael Crichton is really so brilliant with his writing! While I read it the only time I step out of the story is to think about how smart he is 😂 Timeline and Sphere are both great starts after Jurassic Park! Timeline is probably my overall favorite after Jurassic Park!

[@beautifulminutiae]

Literally just read Frankenstein last week for the first time. I was surprised by how different it was from Hollywood tropes & how much I loved it! I’m a big fan of classics, so I shouldn’t have been surprised, but lots of people said it was too wordy. I didn’t feel that way at all.

[@thispaulrules]

Timeline and Jurassic Park are my favorite Crichton books, but Prey is now up there after multiple re-reads. Try it after Sphere.

[@imaginarycosmetics]

My recommendations are: Sci-fi: To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers, All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, We Are The Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson, The Midnight Library and The Humans by Matt Haig Fantasy: The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.

[@jonathansears7590]

I’ve read four of these: TBTIF, Humans, Mt. Char, and Addie LaRue. All are excellent which makes me very interested to try the books on this list I haven’t read.

[@atharvadeshpande4749]

I kinda need this recs video, I am experiencing what you guys might call, series fatigue.

[@orion24601]

I happened to read Frankenstein at the same time as Paradise Lost. It was a coincidence, but now I recommend anyone who wants to read Frankenstein reads the two first books of Paradise Lost first (Books being basically chapters). Gives some great insight into the monster's thought process!

[@nikelodeon6852]

Imagica- Clive Barker House of suns- Alastair Reynolds Perdido Street Station- China Mieville Eyes of the dragon- Stephen King The Talisman- Stephen King Weaveworld- Clive Barker Solaris- Stanislaw Lem Altered Carbon- Richard Morgan Lathe of heaven- Ursula le Guin Alas, Babylon- Pat Frank Under the dome- Stephen King Some good standalone sci fi and fantasy:)

[@mayarabarbieri2827]

I love all Neil Gaiman's books! I love his writing, simple yet whimsical. Hate hate hate flowery writing, so "this is how you lose the time war" is definitely not for me. Thanks for letting me know! Also, I was kinda expecting to see some Asimov... he doesn't write standalones? Great video Merphy! xx

[@tealeuphorie]

Hi Merphy! I JUST discovered your channel thanks to the YT algorithm and I’m loving your videos! Have you read the unofficial James Potter books? If so, what did you think of them?

[@nickwilmes]

Treason by Orson Scott Card is also a really good standalone. Just finished it a little while ago and was absorbed in it the whole way through.

[@benjammin2929]

I'd recommend Asimov's Standalone "Nemesis." The story is very compelling and it isn't a part of his broader Universe story (although I think it might be casually mentioned in one of those books.)

[@SpookyyV]

I didn’t see unkindness of magicians in the thumbnail and I questioned my life for a minute. I read that like.. last year? Off of your suggestion. LOVED IT. I tried Roses and Rot by her and it just couldn’t hook me.

[@jayferguson9968]

The Master of Whitestorm, by Janny Wurts. She's done great things, but this was a standalone that rilly hits some depth.

[@mulan_velaris5469]

I found Neil Gaiman because I didn’t read Harry Potter until I was 27 👀 and after I was so hungover that I googled books like HP and Neverwhere came up so I ordered it without knowing anything about it. I LOVED IT! And bought about 5 more Gaiman books and he’s now one of my fave authors but I definitely don’t know why google suggests it’s like HP lol but I’m glad they did.

[@HugoReads]

I love Sanderson's Mistborn series, and I really want to get into the Stormlight Archive, but it's just so damn long... Sooo warbreaker seems like a good start to continue with his work then

[@marshwiggle8364]

Love the critchton..... Sphere is on my shelf..... I'm in to read it 👍

[@lianebertinetti3904]

Congrats for this amazing channel, Merphy! Do you like Cassandra Clare’s books? I ask these because I like so much the shadow hunters series and I never see you talk about.

[@Lynn-CA]

She has read a few, and come to the conclusion that the author is not for her

[@thepagesofsamantha]

have you seen the newest collection of Gaiman? I got it on audible. it basically has a ton of his short stories and snippets from his novels and it's just so nice to have everything in one place - also This Is How You Lose the Time War was so freaking amazing 😍 I LOVE the flowery magical writing. give it ALL to me