What's your favorite scifi or fantasy with a strong sense of place?

I'm interested in new genre books where the setting is almost like a character. I'm especially interested in books that also have a strong plot. For me, the prime example is "Finch" by Jeff vandermeer. Maybe "City of Miracles" by Robert Jackson Bennett. What are books like this for you?

Books103

Answers537

Readers210

Details	Rating	Readers Count
The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien	4.54	1,379 reads
Dune Frank Herbert	4.29	3,645 reads
The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson	4.62	2,133 reads
Piranesi Susanna Clarke	4.24	1,510 reads
Mistborn: The Final Empire Brandon Sanderson	4.45	2,876 reads
The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin	4.34	1,274 reads
Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer	3.72	1,151 reads
The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien	4.56	1,306 reads
The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch	4.29	1,082 reads
The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern	3.92	1,217 reads
The Books of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin	4.4	32 reads
The Golden Compass Philip Pullman	4.03	1,745 reads
Uprooted Naomi Novik	3.95	670 reads
A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin	4.37	3,085 reads
A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine	4.15	569 reads
The Martian Andy Weir	4.42	2,922 reads
A Deadly Education Naomi Novik	3.98	644 reads
Roadside Picnic Arkady Strugatsky Boris Strugatsky Olena Bormashenko (Translator)	3.96	333 reads
Foundation Isaac Asimov	3.99	1,450 reads
Jade City Fonda Lee	4.09	637 reads
The City of Brass S. A. Chakraborty	4.04	412 reads
The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien	4.29	4,269 reads
Lirael Garth Nix	4.24	258 reads
The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe	3.68	220 reads
Hyperion Dan Simmons	4.27	1,021 reads
American Gods Neil Gaiman	4.03	2,011 reads
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke	3.99	668 reads
The Tombs of Atuan Ursula K. Le Guin	4.04	400 reads
Perdido Street Station China Miéville	3.98	308 reads
The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman	4.02	866 reads
Neverwhere Neil Gaiman	4.13	1,099 reads
Wool Hugh Howey	4.11	1,018 reads
The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman	4.11	970 reads
Gardens of the Moon Steven Erikson	3.98	572 reads
Ready Player One Ernest Cline	3.96	2,772 reads
An Ember in the Ashes Sabaa Tahir	4.12	402 reads
Throne of Glass Sarah J. Maas	3.87	1,335 reads
Soulless Gail Carriger	3.81	253 reads
Nine Princes in Amber Roger Zelazny	3.62	215 reads
Tongue Eater John Bierce	3.89	44 reads
The City We Became N.K. Jemisin	3.79	379 reads
We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson	3.92	573 reads
City of Miracles Robert Jackson Bennett	4.42	94 reads
Into the Labyrinth John Bierce	3.73	72 reads
The Eye of the World Robert Jordan	4.01	1,434 reads
Red Rising Pierce Brown	4.14	1,732 reads
Finch Jeff VanderMeer	3.93	24 reads
The Priory of the Orange Tree Samantha Shannon	4.09	614 reads
Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners Ellen Kushner	3.14	53 reads
Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie	3.99	680 reads
The Briar Book of the Dead A.G. Slatter	4.05	12 reads
Fly by Night Frances Hardinge	3.78	24 reads
The Darkness Outside Us Eliot Schrefer	4.15	93 reads
Dark Matter Blake Crouch	4.04	1,615 reads
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone J. K. Rowling	4.28	6,430 reads
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card	4.26	2,423 reads
The Saga of the Witcher Andrzej Sapkowski	5	2 reads
The Heritage Of Hastur Marion Zimmer Bradley	3.78	13 reads
Shadow and Bone Leigh Bardugo	3.69	1,233 reads
Spiritwalk Charles de Lint	4	10 reads
Burn for me Ilona Andrews	4.16	92 reads
The Dreaming Place Charles de Lint	4.5	3 reads
Gideon the Ninth Tamsyn Muir	4.07	941 reads
A Face Like Glass Frances Hardinge	4.09	26 reads
Perelandra C. S. Lewis	3.91	111 reads
Neuromancer William Gibson	3.8	1,206 reads
The City & The City China Miéville	3.99	347 reads
Helliconia Summer Brian W. Aldiss	3.14	10 reads
The Mask of Mirrors M.A. Carrick	4.29	64 reads
Fairy Tale Stephen King	3.92	540 reads
Crown of Midnight Sarah J. Maas	4.22	1,027 reads
Child of the River Paul J. McAuley	4	7 reads
Girls' Last Tour, Vol. 6 Tsukumizu Amanda Haley (Translator)	4	7 reads
Revelation Space Alastair Reynolds	3.87	303 reads
In the Belly of the Whale Michael Flynn	4	1 read
The Host Stephenie Meyer	3.59	563 reads
Out of the Silent Planet C. S. Lewis	3.81	197 reads
The Magic of Recluce L.E. Modesitt Jr.	3.69	89 reads
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: The Complete Series David Lewis (Translator) Toren Smith (Translator)	4.84	22 reads
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Christopher Paolini	3.63	288 reads
Truthwitch Susan Dennard	3.5	119 reads
Eragon Christopher Paolini	3.63	1,565 reads
Heroes Die Matthew Woodring Stover	4.09	47 reads
A Study in Drowning Ava Reid	3.56	162 reads
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening Caroline Peckham Susanne Valenti	3.34	192 reads
A Magic Steeped in Poison Judy I. Lin	3.75	114 reads
The Lost Symbol Dan Brown	3.38	776 reads
The Curse of Chalion Lois McMaster Bujold	4.2	175 reads
Seveneves Neal Stephenson	3.93	594 reads
Malice John Gwynne	3.98	236 reads
Adventure in Forgotten Valley Glyn Frewer	4	1 read
The Ginger Star Leigh Brackett	4	2 reads
Winter's Tale Mark Helprin	3.81	31 reads
The Days of the Deer Liliana Bodoc	4.33	6 reads
We Hunt the Flame Hafsah Faizal	3.69	130 reads
The Many Coloured Land & The Golden Torc Julian May	4.5	2 reads
Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky	4.26	958 reads
A Psalm for the Wild-Built Becky Chambers	4.26	941 reads
House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski	4.1	525 reads
Siege and Storm Leigh Bardugo	3.65	851 reads