by 37 people |
What is Fantasy?
If you came here looking for good fantasy books to read, you probably know all about the genre already. For those who don't, here's the definition. Fantasy is a genre that uses magic as it's primary setting. The technology in most fantasy works is at the level of European middle ages. What they have instead are the things we all love: dragons, magic spells, brave warriors, witty bards, graceful elves, and long evenings telling epic tales at the warm tavern.
You might want to choose some excellent works to read from our list of best fantasy books; or, vote for your favorite fantasy series. If there's one you think absolutely has to be on the list, you can even add it yourself!
Top Fantasy Books
A list of best fantasy book series.
Note: you have to be a Squidoo member to vote or add a new fantasy novel.
1
Lord of the Rings
An epic high fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien.19 points
4
A Song of Ice and Fire
7 novels (not all yet released) by George R. R. Ma more...10 points
5
The Discworld Series
36 novels up to date by Terry Pratchett.8 points
6
Abhorsen
Trilogy by Garth Nix (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen).8 points
7
The Chronicles of Narnia
Seven fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis.8 points
9
KnorraSky The Deception By R.A. Knowlton
KnorraSky the Deception, is an exciting story of c more...7 points
10
The Chronicles of Amber
Fantasy series by Roger Zelazny6 points
12
The Wheel of Time
Fantasy book series by Robert Jordan.5 points
14
The Sword of Truth
Epic fantasy series by Terry Goodkind.5 points
15
Caenus and The Quiver of Artemis by Christopher S. Ledbetter
Set in ancient greece, Prince Caenus competes in a more...5 points
17
The Black Company
Series of dark fantasy novels by Glen Cook.3 points
18
Howl's Moving Castle
Fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones.3 points
19
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy
Three books by Tad Williams, (The Dragonbone Chair more...3 points
21
Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey
The series consists of 18 novels/novellas, includi more...3 points
22
The Witcher Series
Short stories and 5 novels by Andrzej Sapkowski.2 points
25
MythAdventures series
Humorous fantasy series by Robert Lynn Asprin.2 points
26
The Death Gate Cycle Series
A series of seven books by Margaret Weis and Tracy more...2 points
27
Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen
Fantasy series by Steven Erikson (Gardens of the M more...2 points
28
The Little Goddess Series
by Amy Lane2 points
29
The Astonishing life of Octavion Nothing, Traitor to the Nation
I love this book! It is about a black slave boy wh more...2 points
32
Riftwar Saga
Series of fantasy novels by Raymond E. Feist.1 point
35
Conan series
Dark fantasy series by Robert E. Howard.1 point
36
Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novels
This fantasy series is written by Laurell K. Hamil more...1 point
39
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
This book has everything...it's humorous and terri more...1 point
40
The Septimus Heap Series
Written by Angie Sage, is about a boy who is the s more...1 point
41
The Janna Mysteries by Felicity Pulman
I really enjoyed this book. It envolved the myster more...1 point
43
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Movie was great... but the book is better!1 point
44
Fire Dancer series by Ann Maxwell
Rheba is the sole survivor of a blaze that destroy more...0 points
45
Mistborn Trilogy
by Brandon Sanderson0 points
46
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
0 points
47
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
0 points
Personal Recommendation: The Dresden Files
Awesome mix of fantasy and mystery set in modern day world.
Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1)
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 11/08/2009)
Being the only professional wizard and investigator of things paranormal in modern-day Chicago is hard. The pay sucks and most people think you're a fraud.
That's why when police asks for his help on a murder case where black magic was seemingly involved, Harry Dresden takes up the job. The only problem is, there's usually a black mage behind the black magic. And now he knows Harry's name...
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Subgenres of Fantasy
The fantasy fiction is divided into many branches.
Fantasy is very popular nowadays, so it's no wonder it has many subgenres. They are hard to define clearly, so most are just a matter of agreement. You can find most prominent ones and their descriptions below.Contemporary fantasy
Fantasy of this subgenre is set in the real world in current times, but with added fantasy elements. Probably the most famous example would be the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy refers to the stories which represent the medieval brutality, or has horror elements. A good example would be the Black Company series by Glen Cook.
High fantasy
High fantasy usually tells the story of epic struggle between clearly distinguished sides of good and evil. A classic example would be the Lord of Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Low fantasy
Low fantasy is the opposite of High fantasy. It usually contains realism and a cynical world view; also, it tends to have characters which can be called neither good nor evil. A good example would be Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard. Such fantasy often overlaps with other genres, like Dark fantasy.
Steampunk
Such fantasy is often set in Victorian or Edwardian eras. Like the name suggests, the steam power is widely used in steampunk worlds, but other fantasy or science fiction elements are present as well. It's really a cross-breed between sci-fi and fantasy; an example would be Last Exile anime.
Historical fantasy
Historical fantasy might tell the history of an alternate fantasy world, similar to ours, or our own world, with added fantasy elements. A great example would be A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.
[More on fantasy subgenres on Wikipedia...]
Fantasy Book Opinions
Do you enjoy reading fantasy books?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byFantasy books are awesome!
kitty222 says:
I like fantasy but am very picky about what I actually have on my bookshelf. Personal faves include (in no particular order) Mercedes Lackey, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and David Eddings. The only one that I actually disliked was "The Chronicles of Amber," and that is not a rap on the author's writing skill. I just never got into the story.
And in response of some comments I've read, I suggest reading J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis if you think fantasy=magic=Satan. They were both Christians, and included magic as a central part of their most famous works. "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," anybody?
Posted August 27, 2009
Bharce says:
Fantasy books are there to enrich the imagination of the reader. It's not as generally appealing as books of the other genres are, but its still worth to try reading once in a while.
Posted August 18, 2009
lostinfiction says:
Fantasy fiction can be good so long as it's not completely wildly absurd to the point of being annoying. Just posted on my lens about a new historical fantasy author who is quickly becoming one of my faves! Please have a look :) http://www.squidoo.com/author_influences
Posted August 10, 2009
ycntiwn says:
I love to read, just about anything will do, but I have been reading fantasy all my life........it's the best. Terry Pratchett is an absolute genius. You have a good list but I can't believe you don't have Piers Anthony's Xanth series on it.LOL
Posted June 22, 2009
Fantasy books are stupid.
ArmorOfFaith says:
The Bible teaches us that any kind of supernatural "powers" or "magic" only comes from the Satan. These fantasy books promote witchcraft and sorcery both to children and impressible adults. Do not let your mind be tempted by the devil.
http://crossroad.to/
Posted August 08, 2009
Treasures-By-Brenda says:
I did not read fantasy books so I have had to stretch to learn to read them with my sons. I still cannot read many of them.
Brenda
Posted April 14, 2009
Jack says:
My father used to read a lot of those. I tried a few, but never could get into them. Magic, dragons, fairies...?? Please, is that what grown people should be reading? I just don't understand the weird fascination some people feel about this all fantasy.I wouldn't calll anyone reading them stupid, by no means,but those books have no appeal to me. Read a psychology or a self help book those will do you much more good!!
Posted August 21, 2008
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Comments
kitty222 wrote...
Awesome! Especially liked the breakdown of the different subgenres of Fantasy. Lensrolled to my Elfwood lens.
Posted August 27, 2009
oztoo wrote...
Love Fantasy books. Looking at your list I see I have quite a bit of reading to do. Several of my favorites are there.
Nice lens 5*
Posted August 21, 2009
science_fiction_novels_cyberpunk wrote...
I like your lens, that is interesting and complete. I believe that a fantasy book becomes lofty when reflecting on man's existence and future... This is really the top of creation. I rated and favorited your lens.
Posted August 10, 2009
Eddster wrote...
I read Stellar Wind 2012 and just wanted to say: thanks for the recommendation.
Posted July 11, 2009
eternal-rapture wrote...
Your list at the beginning was awesome, I took some time to vote my favourites up lol this is a great lens about my favourite genre! 5*
http://www.squidoo.com/books--haiku
Posted April 16, 2009
Treasures-By-Brenda wrote...
That list at the beginning of your lens is very interesting. You've taken a representative sampling of fantasy enjoyed by those who have passed by! Nicely done and blessed by an Angel.
Brenda
Posted April 14, 2009
vanidiana wrote...
Sometimes, I teach my little girl virtues of life through fantasy story... nice lens!
Posted March 10, 2009
Jacob wrote
I didn't like His Dark Material, and is the Wheel of time series any good. I want to read them but my library doesnt have them :(. Flight of the Nighthawks is a really good book. Also didn't care For Chronicles of Narnia.
Posted March 03, 2009
Daniel King wrote
if you wanted to come to my here is the URL a really good place to get books for cheap (sorry i did not put the URL in the first blurb).
Posted December 07, 2008
Wait! Before You Go...
Amazon has picked three fantasy book titles which are the hottest right now:
Legends II: New Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: (as of 11/08/2009)
Rosemary and Rue: An October Daye Novel
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 11/08/2009)
Orphan's Quest Book One of The Chronicles of Firma
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 11/08/2009)
Bloggers' Opinion on the Best Fantasy Novels
Just off the press: newest blog posts about fantasy books.
- Fantasy Book Critic: "Nine Pound Hammer" Book One in the Clockwork ...
- Contact. Email Fantasy Book Critic · Fantasy Book Critic on Facebook · Twitter. In Memoriam. Fantasy Book Critic Remembers. Fantasy Book Critic Indexes. Index of Capsule Reviews and Un-reviews (23/8) · Index of FBC Contributors Essays ...
- Graeme's Fantasy Book Review: Giveaway! 'Gardens of the Moon ...
- Graeme's Fantasy Book Review. Sunday, 8 November 2009. Giveaway! 'Gardens of the Moon' - Steven Erikson (10th Anniversary Edition). Has it really been ten years since 'Gardens of the Moon' was released? Apparently so, I feel old now. ...
- Graeme's Fantasy Book Review: Giveaway! 'The Gathering Storm ...
- Graeme's Fantasy Book Review. Saturday, 7 November 2009. Giveaway! 'The Gathering Storm' (Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson). Here's a book that a lot of people have been eagerly waiting for. If you haven't got yourself a copy already ...
- Competition: Win a copy of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Steven ...
- John very kindly spoke to Fantasy Book Review in September 2009 about approaching literary agents, what captivates him about books and much, much more. Read the full interview with John Jarrold ...
by Chadrew
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