Discover our list of authors like Naomi Novik, who masterfully blends fantasy, folklore, and history to craft captivating, unique narratives.

Speculative fiction encompasses a wide range of narrative styles and genres that challenge the boundaries of reality, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Characterized by its focus on “what if” scenarios and imaginative explorations, it delves into alternate histories, futuristic societies, mystical realms, or the far reaches of horror. These narratives often use fantastical elements to examine profound philosophical and social issues, thus pushing the boundaries of human thought and experience.

A former computer programmer, Author Naomi Novik forged a successful writing career by creating imaginary worlds filled with supernatural characters. Even when she worked with computers, her imagination took hold, and she helped design and build fantasy-based computer games. Her body of work includes 85 titles, which she still adds to. This list of the best fantasy authors like Naomi Novik will help to satisfy her readers’ appetite for the genre.

Best Authors Like Naomi Novik Ranked

1. Mark J. Rose

Mark J. Rose is a successful screenwriter and author who is the Director of R&D at a large biotech firm. Rose’s fascination with the intersection of technology and humanity has overflowed his imagination, so he finds joy in writing science fiction that transcends current humanity’s societal restrictions.

One can’t help but wonder if the protagonist in Matt Miller in the Colonies: Book One: Journeyman is a close reflection of the author, Mark J. Rose, considering the parallels. Matt Miller is an American scientist who is extricated from his current existence and dropped back in time to the New World with nothing but a backpack and its contents. All the technology from his world has little use in Colonial America, and Miller is challenged to succeed with few relevant skills.

“In the lab, three of the four physicists stared intensely at the humming metal bug.”

Mark J. Rose, Matt Miller in the Colonies: Book One: Journeyman

2. Michael Chatfield

Army veteran Michael Chatfield is an avid world traveler and international bestselling author. He enjoys bringing fantastical worlds to life with incredible realism. His multi-dimensional characters exist in worlds that combine science fiction with fantasy and LitRPG. Most of his books are character-driven and reflect Chatfield’s own experiences as a veteran.

In Connection Unknown, Luke Tavares, a recent high school graduate, dreams of joining the powerful gaming guilds of the hypernet. Instead, he faces a one-month ultimatum from his parents: get a job and cover his living costs aboard their freighter, Dahlia. Refusing a career as a trader-ship engineer, Luke plunges into Sphere World, an immersive online universe where he can mine asteroids, build bots, and manufacture weapons. As he stakes his credits against the guilds he aspires to join, Luke must outsmart his formidable opponents to claim his future.

“The room dulled and a blueprint of Sphere World appeared in front of him.”

Michael Chatfield, Connection Unknown

3. D.N. Erikson

D.N. Erikson is a USA Today, bestselling author who writes speculative fiction in the form of urban fantasy and paranormal fiction. Erikson’s characters are supernatural, sometimes resurrected reapers and sometimes half-demons. For fans of this genre, Erikson rarely fails to disappoint. D.N. Erikson is a wildly popular author who has proven their mastery over this realm.

Tess Skye is a recurring character in D.N. Erikson’s novels, and Drop Dead is the first in a series. In this novel, Tess Skye first wakes up, not knowing who she is or how she got to where she is. What she does know is not good. First, there’s a bullet in her shoulder of unknown origin. Second, there’s a vampire warlock outside the door, and the outlook isn’t great.

“The gravelly whisper fades from my ears without a response. I blink hard and a grungy motel room blurs into focus. First thing I notice is the blood.”

D. N. Erikson, Drop Dead

4. David A. Wells

Army veteran David A. Wells was an avid fantasy and science fiction reader while growing up in La Grande, Oregon. This is until one day, and he realized he could write it himself. After riding a series of dead-end jobs, he got serious about writing and started by creating a world called Seven Isles, where ancient magic and ancient evil collide.

Thinblade is the first in the seven-volume series called Seven Isles that David A. Wells created. The ancient evil stirs as Alexander, mourning his assassinated brother, discovers his heritage as the heir to Ruatha—one of the Seven Isles. He is thrust into an unfinished war, hunted by darkness, and forced to seek refuge in the mountain city of Glen Morillian. Before ascending the throne, he must reclaim the Thinblade—a nearly invisible ancient sword. Thinblade tells the story of Alexander’s epic quest to find the sword, secure his birthright, and lead an army against looming darkness. 

“Oftentimes you can force the outcome you desire by framing the question to allow for only two choices, the one you wish and another that is unacceptable.”

David A. Wells, Thinblade

5. A.K. Caggiano

A.K. Caggiano likes to have fun with her writing and doesn’t take herself too seriously. She is a feminist, lover of cats and cheese, and, of course, writing. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and maintains a blog on her website. Caggaiano grew her fanbase organically and now enjoys high rankings on Goodreads and Amazon.

Throne in the Dark is half fantasy fiction and half romance. Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne has a demon for a father. Not just a mean father but an actual demon. He’s all set to take over his father’s evil legacy until he meets a blonde, “bubbilicious” woman named Amma, who upends Damien’s plans to live a simple demon life. Amma brings out feelings in Damien that he didn’t know even existed, and now he must either succumb to love or cut her loose forever.

“My life’s work,” said Damien, lips curling at the corners and thin, black brows narrowing. “It is finally complete.” He was twenty-seven.”

A.K. Caggiano, Throne in the Dark

6. Travis Starnes

Travis Starnes is an avid reader and a writer of speculative fiction. He resides in Texas, where he has written scores of standalone novels and series that his fans adore. Starnes is also a Marvel comic world aficionado who runs the Complete Marvel Reading Order. He’s passionate about creating realistic otherworlds and characters that resonate with real-world readers but reside in impossible realms.

In The Sword of Jupiter, Travis Starnes tells the story of Lt. Commander Ky, the sole survivor of a prototype spacecraft accident. Ky is stranded in the struggling province of Britannia, an alternate past where Carthage, not Rome, reigns supreme. Guided only by a tactical AI, he grapples with a world vastly divergent from his knowledge. His survival intertwines with Rome’s dire need for a savior against the Carthaginian onslaught. The question lingers: can a man armed with future wisdom steer the course of this ancient, alien past?

“Ky had been selected almost a year ago to pilot the second prototype faster-than-light ship.”

Travis Starnes, The Sword of Jupiter

7. Sarah Penner

Hailing from Kansas, Sarah Penner grew up in a small log cabin in the woods until she was a young adult. It wasn’t until 2015 that Penner began seriously writing, immediately after attending a book reading by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and the better known, Eat, Pray, Love. Penner was inspired to take an online creative writing course, and that’s when her future as an author began. She finally said goodbye to her corporate job in 2021 and now writes full-time.

The Lost Apothecary is an Amazon Editor’s Pick and a good starting point for Sarah Penner’s work. In the book, a secret apothecary is hidden in eighteenth-century London that caters to a select clientele. There, a mysterious potion is sold that dispels overbearing men who make the women in their lives miserable. In the future, a historian stumbles on a clue that leads to the mystery of the lost apothecary that may jeopardize her life.

“Twelve minutes. A fraction of a lifetime, yet enough to alter the course of it.”

Sarah Penner, The Lost Apothecary

8. Charlie N. Holmberg

Multi-award-winning author Charlie N. Holmberg is a bestselling author whose work has appeared on the top of the Wall Street Journal and the Amazon Charts bestseller lists. Her work has been translated into over 20 languages, and she was once a finalist for the prestigious RITA Award. Holmberg was born in Salt Lake City and still resides in Utah.

In Keeper of Enchanted Rooms, writer Merritt Fernsby unexpectedly inherits a sentient, enchantment-laden house on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, which refuses to let him leave. Merritt enlists Hulda Larkin from the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms to tame the erratic Whimbrel House. As Hulda uses her skills to unravel the house’s deep secrets and win its favor, they grow unexpectedly close. But an external threat looms, coveting Whimbrel House’s powerful enchantments, adding a dangerous layer to their predicament.

“His father stepped into the stall and closed the door, leaning heavily on it for the stiffness the magic had left in his legs.”

Charlie N. Holmberg, Keeper of Enchanted Rooms

9. Jenny Schwartz

Author Jenny Schwartz takes privacy to a new level, even using an avatar for her profile picture. Very little is known about this author’s real life, except that she aims to publish a new release every quarter. But for fans of Schwartz’s work, nothing matters except for the new release dates. Schwartz regularly gives her fans a consistent feed of new speculative fiction, and so far, she has a whopping 71 titles for sale on Amazon.

The House That Walked Between Worlds is the first of Schwartz’s Uncertain Sanctuary series. It’s the story of a witch named Kira, who roams the realms of multiple worlds, helping strangers. Kira used to be Dr. Kira Aist until an act of compassion cost her and her family their Earthly lives. Now, she must find her new purpose as a sorcerer and the keeper of a house where others seek refuge.

“A lesser witch would have used a dowsing rod to a locate the essential component of the world walking spell.”

Jenny Schwartz, The House That Walked Between Worlds

10. Bill Hiatt

It was inevitable that Bill Hiatt’s love for reading would someday lead to a writing career. After discovering that he owned over 8,000 books, it was time to try writing some of his own. A retired English teacher, Hiatt finally found the time to take pen to paper, and he now has 28 titles published on Amazon in the speculative fiction genre.

Different Lee is the first book in a series called Different Dragons. As an abandoned orphan, DL has done everything he can to escape his past. But when he begins to have disturbing dreams, he realizes that the past is not easily forgotten. As he awakens to the true reality of who—and what—he is, he learns that his life may be in danger. Finding out who he was born to be is suddenly the most important thing in his life.

“He ran through a landscape he didn’t recognize. He had no idea why he was running or where he was going.”

Bill Hiatt, Different Lee

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