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Quick answer: If you loved The Princess Bride, try Stardust, Howl's Moving Castle, Good Omens, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Ella Enchanted and The Last Unicorn. Each one is a funny, adventurous fairy tale with true love, swordfights and a wink at the reader.
William Goldman's novel presents itself as the “good parts” abridgement of an old adventure by S. Morgenstern, with Goldman's comic commentary throughout. It follows Buttercup and Westley, separated by pirates and a scheming prince, along with Inigo Montoya, the swordsman seeking his father's killer, and the gentle giant Fezzik. Readers love its humor, romance and adventure. These books share the same playful, witty spirit.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Genre | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stardust | Neil Gaiman | Fairy-tale fantasy | readers who like romance and adventure |
| Howl's Moving Castle | Diana Wynne Jones | Fantasy | readers who like witty magic |
| Good Omens | Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman | Comic fantasy | readers who love humor |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | Comic SF | readers who like absurd humor |
| Ella Enchanted | Gail Carson Levine | Fairy-tale fantasy | younger readers |
| The Last Unicorn | Peter S. Beagle | Fantasy | readers who like lyrical fairy tales |
| Kings of the Wyld | Nicholas Eames | Fantasy | readers who like comic adventure |
| Guards! Guards! | Terry Pratchett | Comic fantasy | readers who want a Discworld start |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | Alexandre Dumas | Classic adventure | readers who like revenge |
| The Three Musketeers | Alexandre Dumas | Classic adventure | readers who love swordfights |
| The Neverending Story | Michael Ende | Fantasy | readers who like stories within stories |
| Dealing with Dragons | Patricia C. Wrede | Fantasy | younger readers |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | Baroness Orczy | Classic adventure | readers who like daring heroes |
| Uprooted | Naomi Novik | Fantasy | readers who like fairy tales with romance |
| Legends & Lattes | Travis Baldree | Cozy fantasy | readers who want gentle humor |
1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
A young man crosses into Faerie to catch a fallen star for his love.
Best for: readers who like romance and adventure.
2. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
A young woman cursed into old age seeks help from a vain wizard.
Best for: readers who like witty magic.
3. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
An angel and a demon try to prevent the apocalypse.
Best for: readers who love humor.
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Arthur Dent escapes Earth and travels the galaxy.
Best for: readers who like absurd humor.
5. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
A girl cursed with obedience sets out to break it.
Best for: younger readers.
6. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
A unicorn searches for others of her kind.
Best for: readers who like lyrical fairy tales.
7. Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
A legendary band of mercenaries reunites for one last job.
Best for: readers who like comic adventure.
8. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
The city watch faces a dragon summoned by a secret society.
Best for: readers who want a Discworld start.
9. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
A wrongly imprisoned man escapes and takes revenge.
Best for: readers who like revenge.
10. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
D'Artagnan joins three musketeers in seventeenth-century France.
Best for: readers who love swordfights.
11. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
A boy reading a book is drawn into the world of Fantastica.
Best for: readers who like stories within stories.
12. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
A princess volunteers to be a dragon's captive.
Best for: younger readers.
13. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
A secret hero rescues aristocrats from the guillotine.
Best for: readers who like daring heroes.
14. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
A village girl serves a wizard against a corrupted wood.
Best for: readers who like fairy tales with romance.
15. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
An orc warrior retires to open a coffee shop.
Best for: readers who want gentle humor.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with The Princess Bride: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
For fairy-tale romance and humor, start with Stardust or Howl's Moving Castle. If you love swordfights, choose The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo or The Scarlet Pimpernel. For comic fantasy, try Good Omens, Guards! Guards! or Kings of the Wyld. Younger readers can begin with Ella Enchanted or Dealing with Dragons. If you love the frame story of a grandfather reading to a sick boy, The Neverending Story plays with the same idea of a story within a story. Many of these are also wonderful read-alouds for families with older kids.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Princess Bride a book or a movie first?
The book came first, in 1973. William Goldman also wrote the 1987 film's screenplay.
Who is S. Morgenstern?
He is a fictional author Goldman invented as part of the book's joke.
Is The Princess Bride for kids?
It is suitable for older kids and teens, with some violence and mild language.
Is the book different from the movie?
Yes. The book has more of Goldman's comic asides and some extra scenes.
Is there a sequel?
Goldman teased a sequel called Buttercup's Baby, but only a sample chapter was published.
Is The Princess Bride a romance?
It is a romance, an adventure and a comedy all at once.