50 Essential Fantasy Books

If you haven't read any fantasy since The Hobbit in school, you might still think it's a genre for kids. Think again. While you'll still find plenty of elves, knights, and magi, fantasy is now also home to gunslingers, poets and literary detectives. This selection of recommended fantasy books runs the gamut - maybe it's time to discover fantasy all over again?

The Dragonriders of Pern

by Anne McCaffrey

On a beautiful world called Pern, an ancient way of life is about to come under attack. Lessa is an outcast survivor - her parents murdered, her birthright stolen - a strong young woman who has never stopped dreaming of revenge.

The Fellowship of the Ring

by J.R.R. Tolkien

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others.

The Dark is Rising

by Susan Cooper

On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift--he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from dominations by the forces of evil, the Dark.

Titus Groan

by Mervyn Peake

Titus Groan is born the heir to Gormenghast castle, and finds himself in a world predetermined by complex rituals that have been made obscure by the passage of time.

A Torch Against the Night

by Sabaa Tahir

Helene's mission is horrifying, unwanted, and clear: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape and kill them both..

The Eye of the World

by Robert Jordan

Life in Emond's Field has been pretty boring for Rand Al'Thor and his friends until a strange young woman arrives in their village. Moraine is an Aes Sedai, a magician with the ability to wield the One Power, and she brings warnings of a terrible evil awakening in the world.

A Wizard of Earthsea

by Ursula K. Le Guin

This is a tale of wizards, dragons and terrifying shadows. The young wizard Sparrowhawk, tempted by pride to try spells beyond his powers, lets loose an evil shadow-beast in the land.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

by CS Lewis

Through the wardrobe, the children enter the mystical land of Narnia, where only the Great Lion, Aslan, can conquer the dark magic of the White witch and restore beauty and peace to the land.

Year of the Unicorn

by Andre Norton

In peaceful Norsdale, we meet Gillan, who longs to leave her dull life in a secluded country abbey. But when her wish comes true, she finds more than a little adventure.

Magician

by Raymond E. Feist

At Crydee, a frontier outpost in the tranquil Kingdom of the Isles, an orphan boy, Pug, is apprenticed to a master magician -- and the destinies of two worlds are changed forever.

The Belgariad

by David Eddings

It all begins with the theft of the Orb that for so long protected the West from an evil god. As long as the Orb was at Riva, the prophecy went, its people would be safe from this corrupting power.

Daybreak on a Different Mountain

by Colin Greenland

Lupio, a cynical and decadent young aristocrat, unwillingly tangled up with the prophecy, joins up with Dubilier, a failed poet, and together they travel unknown lands in search of the lost god.

Northern Lights

by Philip Pullman

Lyra's friend Roger disappears. She and her daemon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. Their quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North where a team of scientists are conducting unspeakably horrible experiments.

The Worm Ouroboros

by E.R. Eddison

A story of the protracted war between King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland in an imaginary world reminiscent of Norse sagas.

Ship of Magic

by Robin Hobb

Wizardwood - a sentient wood. The most precious commodity in the world. Like many other legendary wares, it comes only from the Rain River Wilds. But how can one trade with the Rain River Traders when only a liveship, fashioned from wizardwood, can negotiate the perilous waters of the Rain River?

War for the Oaks

by Emma Bull

Eddi McCandry sings rock and roll. But her boyfriend just dumped her, her band just broke up, and life could hardly be worse. Then, walking home through downtown Minneapolis on a dark night, she finds herself drafted into an invisible war between the faerie folk.

Taltos

by Steven Brust

When a Dragaeran employee absconds with more than two thousand imperials, Lord Vlad Taltos, must follow him to Dzur Mountain and face Sethra Lavode, a dangerous vampire.

The Summer Tree

by Guy Gavriel Kay

Five men and women find themselves flung into the magical land of Fionavar, First of all Worlds. They have been called there by the mage Loren Silvercloak, and quickly find themselves drawn into the complex tapestry of events.

The Hobbit

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey.

The Hills Have Spies

by Mercedes Lackey

In this new series, set in the bestselling world of Valdemar, Heralds Mags and Amily must continue to protect the realm of Valdemar while raising their children and preparing them to follow in their footsteps.

Lord Foul's Bane

by Stephen Donaldson

He called himself Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternative world in which he suddenly found himself. Treated as an outcast, he was now believed to be the reincarnation of Berek Halfhand, armed with the mystic power of white gold.

In the Garden of Iden

by Kage Baker

In the 24th century, the Company preserves works of art and extinct forms of life (for profit of course). It recruits orphans from the past, renders them all but immortal, and trains them to serve the Company, Dr. Zeus

The Sword of Shannara

by Terry Brooks

Long ago, the world of Shea Ohmsford was torn apart by the wars of ancient Evil. But in the Vale, the half-human, half- elfin Shea now lives in peace - until the mysterious, forbidding figure of Alanon appears.

The Mists of Avalon

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Here is the magical legend of King Arthur, vividly retold through the eyes and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne.

Dawnthief

by James Barclay

The Raven: six men and an elf, sword for hire in the wars that have torn apart Balaia. For years their loyalty has been only to themselves and their code. But, that time is over.

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian

by Robert E. Howard

Conan is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever created - a swordsman who cuts a swath across the lands of the Hyborian Age, facing powerful sorcerers, deadly creatures, and ruthless armies of thieves and reavers.

A Walk Out of the World

by Ruth Nichols

A brother and sister walk through a wood into another world whose inhabitants are convinced that the girl is a descendant of a revered but nearly extinct line of kings.

The Serpent Mage

by Greg Bear

Grateful to return from the land of the Sidhe to his Los Angeles home, Michael Perrin is shocked to learn magical beings have followed him there

Phantastes

by George McDonald

The book is about the narrator's (Anodos) dream-like adventures in fairyland, where he confronts tree-spirits and the shadow, sojourns to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth.

Swords and Deviltry

by Fritz Leiber

First in the influential fan-favorite series, Swords and Deviltry collects four fantastical adventure stories from Fritz Leiber, the author who coined the phrase "sword and sorcery" and helped birth an entire genre.

Dun Lady's Jess

by Doranna Durgin

When hikers Dayna and Eric find a young woman naked, terrified, and speechless, they're sure she's the victim of foul play. But the truth is much more shocking: she isn't human at all.

The Well of the Unicorn

by Fletcher Pratt

Robbed of lands and heritage by the rapacious Vulkings, young Airar Alvarson had only his limited gift for sorcery to aid him against a world of savage intrigues. Then he met a mysterious sorcerer.

The Well at the Worlds End

by William Morris

Using language with elements of the medieval tales which were his models, Morris tells the story of Peter, King of Upmeads, and his four sons, Blaise, Hugh, Gregory, and Ralph.

Game of Thrones

by George R.R. Martin

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plot, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; all the way to the frozen north, where a 700-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond.

The Name of the Wind

by Patrick Rothfuss

In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.

Graceling

by Kristin Cashore

In a world where some people are born with a Grace - a unique, sometimes uncanny, skill - Katsa is cursed with a Grace for killing. This makes her a perfect tool for her uncle, King Randa.

Good Omens

by Terry Pratchett

There is a hint of Armageddon in the air. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded, thankfully, in 1655, before she blew up her entire village and all its inhabitants, who had gathered to watch her burn), the world will end on a Saturday.

The Once and Future King

by T.H. White

T. H. White's masterful retelling of the saga of King Arthur is a fantasy classic as legendary as Excalibur and Camelot, and a poignant story of adventure, romance and magic that has enchanted readers for generations.

Eragon

by Christopher Paolini

Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy - until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power.

Inkheart

by Cornelia Funke

Meggie loves books. So does her father, Mo, a bookbinder, although he has never read aloud to her since her mother mysteriously disappeared. They live quietly until the night a stranger knocks at their door. He has come with a warning that forces Mo to reveal an extraordinary secret - a storytelling secret that will change their lives for ever.

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L'Engle

The adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe. They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

Howl's Moving Castle

by Diana Wynne Jones

In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.

Rise of the Dragons

by Morgan Rice

Kyra, 15, dreams of becoming a famed warrior, like her father, even though she is the only girl in a fort of boys. As she struggles to understand her special skills, her mysterious inner power, she realizes she is different than the others.

The Magicians

by Lev Grossman

The Magicians is one of the most daring and inventive works of literary fantasy in years. No one who has escaped into the worlds of Narnia and Harry Potter should miss this breathtaking return to the landscape of the imagination.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards.

The Fifth Season

by N.K. Jemisin

This is the way the world ends...for the last time. A season of endings has begun. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

by Susanna Clarke

Fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very opposite of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms the one between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

A Discovery of Witches

by Deborah Harkness

An epic, richly inventive, historically sweeping, magical romance. When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life.

The White Tower

by Michael Wisehart

The first installment in the Aldoran Chronicles, a new epicfantasy saga filled with magic and monsters, sword and sorcery, heroes, villains, and those in between.

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

Just released from prison, Shadow encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world.