Survival has a price: 5 fantasy books better than Fourth Wing, including The Atlas Six

A brutal path to power

In The Poppy War, Fang “Rin” Runin is a war orphan raised in a rural village in Nikan. To escape an arranged marriage, she studies for the Keju exams and earns a place at Sinegard, the Nikara Empire’s elite military academy.

Rin must contend with privileged classmates while learning to control her powers. R. F. Kuang draws on Chinese history, including imperial examinations, military hierarchy and opium. Rin’s determination is matched by impulsive choices, and her hunger for power can make her her own worst enemy.

A contest among scholars

The Atlas Six centers on the Alexandrian Society, a secretive group of magical scholars that protects knowledge from ancient civilizations. Six candidates with supernatural abilities are invited to a secluded London estate for a year of study, but only five can join the Society.

The candidates’ competition becomes a contest of manipulation, secrets and sabotage. The story leaves readers questioning whether the Society wants its pupils to thrive or treats them as pieces in an elitist game.

Danger inside the school

In A Deadly Education, Galadriel “El” Higgins attends the Scholomance, a magical school where students face murderous monsters and have no teachers or holidays. An outcast with destructive magical abilities, El must manage her powers and decide whom she can trust.

The school’s dangers can emerge in places ranging from classrooms to ventilation systems. Like Fourth Wing, the novel places students in a perilous institution, but the Scholomance makes survival a constant struggle.

Other books in the list

The article’s introduction also points to a reluctant son of Poseidon and an orphan discovering shamanic abilities as examples of fantasy-school adventures. However, the supplied text does not identify those books or provide details about their plots.