Fantasy is one of the most versatile genres in fiction, from urban fantasy that reimagines familiar parts of the world we know, to sprawling high fantasy that introduces entirely new universes. While the fantasy books everyone should read once are often introductions to enormous novels and complex set-ups, this is not always the case, and many of the best fantasy book masterpieces are surprisingly short.
Tolkien’s expansive Middle Earth was an unparalleled masterpiece that may have become the blueprint for epic fantasy, but not all fantasy novels need extensive histories and family trees to refer to in order to create a magical world that stays with the reader. The best fantasy worlds make you want to forget the book so you can read it all over again for the first time.
Howl’s Moving Castle
Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle is a beautiful, cozy fantasy that largely takes place within one magical building, while also expanding the vast world beyond it. The concept has been seen before in novels like Gormenghast, but Howl’s Moving Castle takes an extremely different approach that sets it apart. Set in the world of Ingary, the book takes traditional fairytale tropes and turns them on their heads.
The cursed Sophie is trapped in the body of an old woman and seeks refuge within the titular castle. The animated movie might be one of Studio Ghibli’s best movies, but it makes some major changes from the book. Rather than focusing on an external war, the book is more insular, developing the relationship between Sophie and Howl, and allowing the reader to explore the castle environment more fully, which makes it feel truly lived-in.
Discworld
Fantasy is often misconstrued as a lighthearted genre, but there is barely a social issue that Terry Pratchett did not satirize in his expansive Discworld series, from institutional poverty and prejudice to organized religion. Even the best characters in Discworld are morally complex and flawed, just as most people are, which makes them stand out from the more stereotypical heroes and villains found in simpler fantasy stories.
There are 41 full-length novels in the Discworld series, with 11 short stories, and additional maps and guides.
The worldbuilding within the Discworld series is flawless, but looking at the bigger picture can be hilarious, as even the universe is as strange and whimsical as the books. Discworld is literally a disc-shaped world, balanced on the backs of four elephants, who are, in turn, balanced on the back of an enormous sea turtle flying through the universe.
The Kingkiller Chronicle
Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle is planned as a trilogy, but fans have been waiting for the final book for 15 years. This might be frustrating, but it has allowed multiple fan theories to develop as readers analyze the two existing books for clues as to the many mysteries at the center of the main character’s story. Kvothe is a musician who has seemingly done something terrible, and is now in hiding under an assumed identity as a barkeeper.
The world reinterprets magic as science and explores mundane concepts like student loans in a way that becomes both fascinating and satirical, with Kvothe entering an agreement with an extremely dangerous woman. The second novel opened the world drastically by introducing him to an alternate dimension and several new cultures, including one in which sex is not taboo, but music is. Rothfuss’ writing of cultures sets The Kingkiller Chronicle up to be the perfect Game of Thrones replacement, and the books are worth reading, even without a final chapter.
The Liveship Traders Trilogy
The Liveship Traders is a many-layered fantasy epic involving pirates and traders, but what sets it apart from many other fantasy masterpieces is the characters who are explored. Rather than treating sea monsters as an equivalent to sharks in today’s horror movies, Robin Hobb gives them a voice and culture of their own, with a central mystery that is key to the major twist in the series.
The story centers on an unusual kind of sailing ship with a living figurehead, known as a Liveship, which is treated as part of the crew. When the Liveship Vivacia is taken by pirates, her family begin a quest to reclaim her, but Vivacia might not want to return. The visuals and character designs make The Liveship Traders trilogy a high fantasy series that desperately needs a TV adaptation equal to Game of Thrones.
Warrior Cats
Animal societies are often considered a fantasy genre trope, but these stories are rarer than might be expected, and finding an excellent series in this subgenre that is not aimed at very young children is rarer still. The harrowing Watership Down lives rent-free in many minds, while Redwall is one of the best-known. However, the upcoming TV show is set to be a streaming phenomenon, with Warrior Cats landing the Marvel showrunner and Star Wars director.
Erin Hunter is the alias for the team of writers behind Warrior Cats, and each of the nine published series documents the lives of clans of feral cats. The cats, who mostly live in a forest, have distinct cultures within their different Clans, along with vocabulary, history, and even a religion. The books might be aimed at a young adult audience, but they have a passionate fanbase among readers of many ages today, with the TV series being one of Disney’s most highly-anticipated.
The Chronicles Of Narnia
C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia is one of the best examples of fantasy reinventing a story and making it into something entirely different. The seven Chronicles of Narnia books are heavily based on the Bible, with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe reinterpreting the story of the crucifixion. Narnia itself is a flawlessly created world in which different whimsical creatures like talking animals and dryads live in harmony when they are not being threatened by evil forces that human visitors to the world must combat.
The way C.S. Lewis wrote Narnia‘s double timeline is both fascinating and tragic at times, with barely any time passing in our world while centuries can pass in Narnia. This means that each book presents a new version of the magical land, where whimsy, quests, and beautiful visuals are the backdrop for adult themes that would not normally be found in a book series solely aimed at children.
The Night Watch
Not to be confused with The Brotherhood of the Night’s Watch in Game of Thrones, Sergei Lukyanenko’s Night Watch series is an urban fantasy masterpiece and a book series that often outshines Game of Thrones. The books are set in a secret faction within our world, in which vampires, shapeshifters, sorceresses, and more fantasy archetypes live in an uneasy truce comprised of two main organizations: The Night Watch and The Day Watch.
The books treat magic as relatively mundane, where the less skilled work in office jobs far removed from the complex politics of the highly talented. That said, the series follows the typical fantasy storyline in which many of these “ordinary” people find themselves at the center of great events. The books include elements of spy stories as well as both fantasy and horror, with characters entering a dangerous alternative realm known as “The Twilight,” which has its own ecosystem, multiple levels, and preys on magical ability.
A Song Of Ice And Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire has some of the best and most expansive worldbuilding in a novel series since The Lord of the Rings. The sprawling novel series will consist of seven books, though only five have been published to date. The many cultures in the series feel realistic, with inspiration taken from historical events and told from several points of view. This historical theme would work even without magic, but A Song of Ice and Fire‘s fantasy elements take it to another level.
It may be the end of an era for A Song of Ice and Fire, with fans waiting for the next book for longer than it took the first books to be published, but the series has a legacy that is virtually unparalleled. When A Game of Thrones, the first book in George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series, was adapted for TV in a high-budget production unlike any seen before, it was groundbreaking, opening the door for more high fantasy adaptations that continue to this day.
Someplace To Be Flying
Charles de Lint’s urban fantasy book series tend to be set within the same world, which is the imaginary North American city of Newford, which is populated by artists, criminals, and drifters, who occasionally find themselves part of an entirely different, more magical, society. The central mythology highlights Native American legends and animal people who also live in the city, and most of the books work as standalone stories, including Someplace to Be Flying.
The story begins with a cab driver and a photographer, who witness a murder that is the catalyst for a magical conflict between ancient beings. Even characters that witnessed the beginning of the universe feel human and relatable at the same time, avoiding common fantasy tropes in which all powerful beings get no character development. Someplace to Be Flying is not the first book to include mythological characters, with even Harry Potter including characters like Merlin, but Charles de Lint’s books are better than Harry Potter for their nuanced take on the way magic interacts with the world we know.
The Lord Of The Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is so flawless that the books have become the standard to which most modern fantasy is compared. Peter Jackson’s movies made some necessary changes to the source material, but perfectly captured the spirit of the books, allowing The Lord of the Rings to essentially become two perfect fantasy masterpieces.
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The three Lord of the Rings movies |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Title |
Year |
Rotten Tomatoes critics’ rating |
Rotten Tomatoes audience rating |
|
The Fellowship of the Ring |
2001 |
91% |
95% |
|
The Two Towers |
2002 |
95% |
95% |
|
The Return of the King |
2003 |
94% |
86% |
Tolkien wrote a perfect fantasy epic that worked as a metaphor for the way in which war changes even the most resilient of people, and set it in a world more explored and documented than any written before. Middle Earth not only has the characters we know, but includes histories and languages that make logical sense given Tolkien’s background as a language professor.