Books like 'How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It'
Readers who enjoyed How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K.J. Parker also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy comedy high fantasy action / adventure alternate history violent-conflict historical-fiction humor epic
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Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsWhen the children of his village were struck with a mysterious illness, Number Ten Ox sought a wiseman to save them. He found master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in his character. Together, they set out to find the Great Root of Power, the only possible cure...Categorized as:
epic historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history ancient-china -
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsHis father and uncles are enchanters, his mother a powerful sorceress, yet nothing seems magical about Christopher Chant except his dreams. Night after night, he climbs through the formless Place Between and visits marvelous lands he calls the Almost Anywheres. Then Christopher discovers that he can bring real, solid things back from his dreams...Categorized as:
humor 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook boarding-school book -
The Other Merlin by Robyn Schneider
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWelcome to the great kingdom of Camelot. Prince Arthur’s a depressed botanist who would rather marry a library than a princess, Lancelot’s been demoted to castle guard after a terrible misunderstanding, and nothing is going according to plan... -
Horseman by Kyle Robert Shultz
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsIn the year 1790, monster hunter Ichabod Crane searched for a mysterious creature called the Headless Horseman. His quest ended in an embarrassing failure that marked his family with disgrace for generations. Now, in 1891, his descendant (and part-time centaur) Todd Crane is determined to clear his family’s name. There's just one problem--Todd deals in illegal magic potions... -
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Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsOnce again World Fantasy Award-winner Barry Hughart blends folklore and fantasy to create a work of enchantment set in an ancient China that never was…but should have been. Master Li and Number Ten Ox—heroes of Bridge of Birds and The Story of the Stone—return to solve the mystery of how and why respected mandarins are being mysteriously murdered...Categorized as:
epic historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history ancient-china -
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThis is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all... -
Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMatt Mantrell translates runes on a scrap of parchment, and himself to a world where verses are spells. Imprisoned by evil sorcerer Malingo, Matt tries for a light, gets dragon Stegoman, drunk on fire, in need of dentist. They rescue Princess Alisande, rightful ruler, and fight to restore her kingdom with helpful Sir Guy, lust witch Sayeesa and werewolf priest Brunel... -
Wyrde and Wayward by Charlotte E. English
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratings‘If you had not already realised it, this is a very strange house you are come to.’ The Scions of the House of Werth are all born normal. It is what happens afterwards that sets them apart. It is not easy being the most supernatural family in England...Categorized as:
historical-fiction humor action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book comedy -
The Science of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen a wizardly experiment goes adrift, the wizards of Unseen University find themselves with a pocket universe on their hands: Roundworld, where neither magic nor common sense seems to stand a chance against logic. The Universe, of course, is our own. And Roundworld is Earth... -
The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsTonino is the only person in the famous Montana household who wasn't born with an instinct for creating spells, but he has other gifts. His ability to communicate with cats just might help defend the city of Caprona against a mysterious enchanter -- but only if Tonino can learn to cooperate with a girl from the hated Petrocchi family of spell-makers... -
The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsJim Eckert was a dragon. He hadn't planned it that way, but that's what happened when he set out to rescue his betrothed. Following her through an erratic astral-projection machine, Jim suddenly found himself in a cockeyed world - locked in the body of a talking dragon named Gorbash.That wouldn't have been so bad if his beloved Angie were also a dragon...Categorized as:
epic historical-fiction humor 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook -
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
Rated: 3.87 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA tale of love, money, and family conflict--among dragons. A family deals with the death of their father. A son goes to court for his inheritance. Another son agonises over his father's deathbed confession. One daughter becomes involved in the abolition movement, while another sacrifices herself for her husband. And everyone in the tale is a dragon, red in tooth and claw... -
Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFlora knows better than to take shortcuts in her family home, Crackpot Hall--the house has eleven thousand rooms, and ever since her mother banished the magickal butler, those rooms move around at random. But Flora is late for school, so she takes the unpredictable elevator anyway. Huge mistake... -
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 69 ratings'Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come round again. That's why they're called revolutions. People die, and nothing changes.'For a policeman, there can be few things worse than a serial killer at loose in your city. Except, perhaps, a serial killer who targets coppers, and a city on the brink of bloody revolution... -
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The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThere is an alternate cover here.In this multiple parallel universes of the Twelve Related Worlds, only an enchanter with nine lives is powerful enough to control the rampant misuse of magic--and to hold the title Chrestomanci... The Chants are a family strong in magic, but neither Christopher Chant nor Cat Chant can work even the simplest of spells...Categorized as:
epic humor action-adventure alternate-history alternate-universe animals book box-set -
Hav by Jan Morris
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHav is like no place on earth. Rumored to be the site of Troy, captured during the crusades and recaptured by Saladin, visited by Tolstoy, Hitler, Grace Kelly, and Princess Diana, this Mediterranean city-state is home to several architectural marvels and an annual rooftop race that is a feat of athleticism and insanity...Categorized as:
historical-fiction humor 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure alternate-history book box-set
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