Last night Mr. Donovan and I saw an old friend of ours with her two now-grown-up sons. As we were talking about movies and books, we realized we all loved Lord of the Rings, and we made plans to have an epic marathon watch party soon. I’m so excited about it!
I first read Lord of the Rings when I was 11 years old, and when I read it, I felt like I was on fire. I loved the intricate world, the exciting action, and most of all, the brotherly love between some of the characters.
[AdSense-B]
I soon went on to read Howard Pyle’s King Arthur stories, in which knights were always professing their love and loyalty to one another. Since that time, bromance or male bonding has been one of my favorite things in fiction. (TV shows, too…it’s no accident that Supernatural is my favorite TV show of all time.)
I enjoy reading M/M romance, and most of my favorite M/F romances have strong subplots with platonic or brotherly love between male characters.
I believe that contemporary American society pressures men to not share their feelings…especially with other men. It’s perfectly normal for women to ask for help or reach out to their friends for emotional support, but men often don’t feel comfortable doing the same. That can make them more isolated and lonely. I think—and hope—this is changing, and that it’s becoming more socially acceptable for men to share their feelings and make deeper friendships.
Here are some of my favorite books with elements of bromance. I don’t know if they’re the best bromance novels, because there are so many books I haven’t read!
The White Hart, The Silver Sun, and The Sable Moon, Nancy Springer.
These are the three books in the Isle trilogy. I was probably fifteen when I first read these fantasy novels (which are really YA fantasy.) When I was first dating Mr. Donovan and I found out he loved them, too, I knew he was the one for me!
Bromance is just as much a part of this author’s Sea King trilogy, which is interesting because it takes place in a more primitive world, so you might want to check those books out, too.
Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool, and Fool’s Fate, Robin Hobb.
Robin Hobb is an amazing talent. There are actually nine books in total about Fitz and the Fool, and these are in the middle. The Farseer trilogy (Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin’s Quest) follows the two characters from boyhood to manhood. The Fitz and the Fool trilogy (Fool’s Assassin, Fool’s Quest, and Assassin’s Fate) comes after this one. I love all of the books, but this middle trilogy (the Tawny Man trilogy) is my favorite, and you can enjoy it without having read the first trilogy.
Both Fitz and the Fool are flawed, multidimensional, and fascinating characters, and it’s really something to see how their friendship grows and changes over the course of decades.
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt.
I loved Tartt’s The Secret History, so I wasn’t surprised to love this book, too. Some people groused when it won the Pulitzer Prize, and I wonder if they just thought it was too entertaining to be great literature. The bond between Theo and Boris is touching, hilarious, and memorable.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay, Michael Chabon.
This is another super-entertaining Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Joe and Sammy get thrown together as boys, and they’re a wonderful duo.
The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky.
There is some really messed-up stuff in this book. Like, messed up in a way you maybe wouldn’t expect from a nineteenth-century novel. But it’s a great book. The scene in chapter four, where Aloysha tells Dmitri he never believed him to be guilty, really gets me. It’s so sweet and emotional. I’ve probably read that scene a dozen times.
The Devil You Know, Liz Carlyle.
This is one of the first romance novels I really fell in love with when I was getting to know the genre (I started out as a fantasy fan, as you probably figured out by now.) The story between the hero and his brother is almost more important than the hero’s romance with the heroine. It’s angsty and will tear your heart out. I loved it.
Beartown, Fredrik Backman.
I just read this recently. My gosh, it’s really good. Small hockey-obsessed Scandinavian towns aren’t my usual fare, either (I suppose they aren’t anyone’s usual fare.) The friendships between the boys are fascinating. Actually, the friendship between two of the girls is probably even better.
The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas.
I absolutely love Dumas’s novels, and this is the quintessential classic about male friendship. It’s no wonder that “all for one, and one for all” became a rallying cry that echoed through the ages. The Man in the Iron Mask has great elements of bromance, too. If you have Amazon Prime, you can watch the original movie version for free.
[AdSense-B]
The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton.
I don’t need to say much here, do I?
Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens.
This book didn’t do well when it was released. In particular, it bombed in the U.S., mostly because Dickens wrote in it about how evil slavery was. It might be my favorite Dickens novel, and not just because of that. Mark Tapley is one of my all-time favorite literary characters: a man who yearns to prove that he can be cheerful in the most miserable of circumstances. It’s on this list because I absolutely love the friendship between John Westlock and Tom Pinch. It’s realistic and touching.
The Bishop’s Heir, The King’s Justice, and The Quest for Saint Camber, Katherine Kurtz.
I read all of Katherine Kurtz’s books as a kid. This series actually begins with Deryni Rising, and I honestly do think the writing in the first book is a bit rough, but I love the world and the characters, and the prose gets better and better as the series goes on. The Bishop’s Heir is the first book in the Histories of King Kelson trilogy, in which we get TWO bromances: first between the young king Kelson and his also young friend Lord Dhugal MacArdry, and second between the duke Alaric Morgan and his cousin, the priest Duncan McLain. Oh! And there’s good father-son relationships, if you like those, too (and I do.)
Master and Commander, Patrick O’Brian.
There are twenty books in this seafaring historical series, and the pacing varies quite a bit from book to book. I read all of them. I was hooked by the relationship between bluff Captain Jack Aubrey and the brilliant, prickly Dr. Stephen Maturin.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
These stories have inspired so many movies and TV shows, but if you’ve never read the original, you should treat yourself.
I might add more to this post later! I’m guessing that in the next day or two, I’ll think of more I should’ve put on the list.
Men’s friendships and brotherly love are a huge theme in my planned Manus Sancti series, beginning with the first book, The Phoenix Codex.
Is male bonding something you love in stories, or not so much? Do you have some recommendations for other books with bromance? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading, and I hope you’re having a great week!
I think Three Musketeers is the quintessential bromance story. 😆 Also, Jem Carstairs and Will Herondale from Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices trilogy. Total bromance.
In my ongoing story, I have at least two bromances going on. One is between Isellta and Jay. Isellta is a young fey who has been captured by the lead villain, Mark Caten. He isn’t locked up, but he is unable to escape. He becomes friends with one of Caten’s guards, Jay, who comes to care deeply about Isellta without actually falling in love with him. Jay sees the fey as just a poor, innocent kid that he really wants to protect. Isellta sees him as the one and only person he can fully trust in the whole household.
The second one is between two of my vampire hunters, Hildreth Mayhew and Jeff Farsigh. Despite the differences in their ages, they have a brotherly type relationship. They’ve seen each other through some hard times and they will always have each other’s back. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And, if left unattended, Hildreth can talk Jeff into doing the most unlikely things.
I actually haven’t read Cassandra Clare, and I’m sure I would like it! I love hearing about the relationships in your story. It sounds great.
Thank you!
For the next WIP Wednesday, I should share a Jay and Isellta scene. Just to give you a teaser of their close but non-romantic relationship. 😉
I absolutely agree with you about a good bromance. I think part of the reason it is impactful is that men have to get past a lot of societal conditioning to actually express love and/or friendship to another man. Which means that person means a lot to him and it makes it quite powerful and inspiring. It’s one of my favorite things about Supernatural too.
Thanks for the recommendations, it definitely made me add a few to my list. Also, I’ll point out (which you probably already know) that Sherlock was quite clearly coded as gay using the social coded language of that time. Graham Robb talks about it in his fantastic book Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century. (I highly recommend it. It’s packed full of direct source material like medical records, legal records, journals, etc) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew Oscar Wilde and was completely blown away by his wit and intelligence. It’s very likely Sherlock was heavily inspired by him. So. Just saying. JohnLock shippers have a pretty good basis for a subtextual romance in addition to the bromance. While it doesn’t necessarily follow that John Watson was also attracted to men, it does possibly add a dimension to it.
Rebekah…I had NO idea this was the case with Sherlock and Watson. That is so interesting! I didn’t know Doyle was friends with Wilde, either. Geez, those must’ve been great dinner parties. 🙂 That book by Robb sounds fascinating!
The fact that I came here after reading almost all the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels lol
I love mystery, crime, detectives and an iconic duo. I will read Kavalier & Clay because it seems to have that vibe. Hope I’m correct. Thank you for this list!!
YES, Frodo & Sam forever. <3
Sherlock Holmes and Watson, for sure!!
I do enjoy a good bromance. Love LoTR (sadly, never read the books, but LOVE the movies). Loved The Three Musketeers, too…I read that for fun when I was in high school. Stories like these offer men healthy examples of how to interact and form relationships with each other, and if those relationships improve, their relationships with women should also – theoretically – improve. The story I’m working on has a bromance between two males who should be mortal enemies: Aeoulys, the Imperator General…and Syrach, the empire’s most infamous criminal/ Aeoulys’s uncle-in-law.
Oh, and forgot to mention the Hornblower series…another great exploration of male friendships/bromances.
Ooh, good to know. Since I like the Aubrey-Maturin books, I’m sure I’d like these!
A bromance between two guys who should be mortal enemies? I looove it. Seriously. I bet you’d enjoy LOTR!
I would have to add Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Their relationship, their different personalities and motivations, are central to the plot. Also, just a really good book.
Stephanie, I just bought this book and you’re bumping it up to the top of my To Be Read pile! I was already attracted to the magic, of course. Thanks for the recommendation!
Loved the bromance between Tom Raines and Vikram Ashwan in the Insignia series. Their relationship is the best part of the books, and eclipses all the romantic relationships the author builds as well. They’re an irrepressible, manic pair and the repartee, pranks and insults are gut-achingly funny. Their interaction is also central to their character development. Not just there for comedic motif. So all in all, really well done.
Hi, Tina! Oh wow, this sounds really good. Thanks for the rec!
An interesting post with a great roundup of books, Bryn.
I love the Robin Hobb books! (Though I have to say I sometimes feel like Fitz is too clueless. Deliberately so? But she wound up the series perfectly. Perfectly!) And I already had Master and Commander on reserve at the library because so many people recommend it, so I’m even more excited for it to come in now!
This has been my favorite thing to read (and write) since I was a kid, but it seems almost impossible to find in books.
Here’s a few recommendations I don’t see a lot of places:
1. Cal Leandros Books by Rob Thurman
This revolves around monster-hunting brothers. I adore this most because of their snark and because their bond IS the story.
2. Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Reese Brennan
This is technically YA, but I don’t really notice. It’s about brothers too. They live in a world of monsters, but look out for each other. There’s snark, bonding, and major twists.
3. The Secret War by C.F.W Curran
This is one where you wouldn’t know it was bromance unless you’d read it. This is about two close friends/brothers in arms during an angel/demon war. Alas, the author never finished the trilogy.
4. The Last Sun by K.D Edwards
I just finished this one over Christmas and it’s my new favorite in the genre! It’s in a Greek Gods universe, but centers on one man and his blood-bonded bodyguard. No romance here, just intense friendship.
5. First and Only
One of the best books about psychics I’ve ever read! This one revolves around what would happen if a person was actually proven to be the world’s first psychic and the person made responsible for keeping him alive.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely, by Brigid Kemmerer, was only supposed to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling. But I was pleasantly surprised with a strong bromance (and tension-filled chemistry) between the Crown Prince Rhen (aka the Beast) and his loyal bodyguard that almost trumps the slow romance between Rhen and Harper (the “Beauty” of the story).
Howard Pyle’s “Men of Iron” is definitely a very interesting book which would fit the bill here – a compelling tale of swashbuckling adventure, chivalry and derring-do; which has, at its core, a very intense emotional bond between the main protagonist, Myles Falworth, and his best friend and boon companion Francis Gascoyne.
Interestingly, not only does the book describe the close relationship between the two in narration, it also has them both explicitly – and repeatedly- declaring their love for each other, and their desire to be constantly in each other’s company. Of course, one interpretation would be that this is a brotherly/platonic love; but the intense undercurrents definitely qualify this is as a strong bromance at the very least, with possible homoerotic undertones.
It is interesting also, that while Myles is shown to be courting the Lady Alice and desires to be her champion “as a knight would serve his true lady”, his bond with her seems more a chivalrous one- and genteel, courtly love, compared to the more intense, almost elemental bond he shares with Francis. A very interesting portrayal indeed.
Hi Rishabh! It’s so funny that you bring up Howard Pyle. I have always loved his versions of the King Arthur tales, and I’ve been re-reading them again for a writing project. But I didn’t know about Men of Iron. I’m going to order it! It sounds like just my kind of thing. 🙂 Thank you!
Thanks for the reply :-). Yeah, if you enjoyed Pyle’s King Arthur stories, you would certainly like Men of Iron. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it years ago as a teen, and a couple of times again recently. Even though it’s not very complicated in terms character development or twists and turns in the plot, it is a very satisfying coming of age book. The portrayal of the protagonist’s development from an impulsive and daring boy to a courageous knight with unwavering good character and determination was quite well done, albeit in a slightly simplistic manner. But I guess that straightforwardness is part of the charm of a pleasant bildungsroman, so not going to complain about that!
Of course, having already read other books by Pyle you would know that he uses ‘old english’ throughout his books. How historically accurate the words and sentences used are I wouldn’t venture into, because I don’t know for certain – but it must be said that as the reader continues reading this style of language, it certainly starts to blend in. I actually found myself briefly ‘thinking’ in those pattern of sentences while reading the book! And as discussed above, one of the most memorable part of the book was its unselfconscious portrayal of the male bonding between the main protagonist and his best friend.