100 Fantasy Books: Help Me List the 100 Best Of All Time

This hub is going to be a pleasure to write, edit and update.

When I was a child of 5 I used to stomp on the ground and demand to be taken to the library. My mother cleverly kept me secluded from bookstores and I thought the only places in the world where books were to be found was in people's homes, and those were all very boring, and at the library. She wasn't even taking me to the MAIN library! Just a small hub, but for me, books that had pictures of dinosaurs were the launching of a thousand tales. I knew the Norse Gods better than any adult alive (or at least any that I was acquainted with!) But, no matter how much my mom pointed out the negative characteristics of Loki whenever anyone would ask I would gleefully shout, "Loki! Loki! Loki!" Not Thor. Not Odin. Hmmmm, portent of things to come?

#1 - A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (series: A Song of Ice and Fire)

Immediately regarded by many to be the best fantasy series of all time this series eclipsed Tolkien by abandoning characters who either fought for good or fought for evil and replaced them with people. This world, this wondrous world, is inhabited by people who are have greed, sadism, and sometimes some nobility.

Published in Aug of 2000, went on to win the 01 Locust Award, the 02 Geffen Award and was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Award. This particular novel lost to one in the Harry Potter series but make no mistake, this is the best fantasy novel ever published. It's dark and uncomforting nature was the cause of its defeat but also the nature of it's brilliance. Quite simply, this novel has plot twists that surprise at every turn, some are sickeningly final, but all of them are executed with the dexterity of a great writer and the flourish of a truly brilliant mind.

However, don't start the series here. This book holds it's true power only after you've read the first two.

#2 - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (series: A Song of Ice and Fire)

The first book in any series holds the weight of the series. If the first book isn't good then no one will bother to read any of the others. And, well, if the first isn't good the others are not likely to be either! It was a good thing then that A Game of Thrones was absolutely perfect from the first page. Rarely do I read a book that I don't mentally rewrite as I'm reading. I discover weaknesses and wonder what the author could have done to shore them up.

It was an amazing read cover to cover and that's 835 pages! A truly Epic Novel in all respects. Martin uses the vices and occasionally the virtues of mankind to give his world a feel that's both startlingly real and gritty while also nurturing a budding but subdued element of magic. I've never seen magic handled so deftly. It never infringes on the world of men and women (the women in this novel are both real and complex!) and their battles over greed, fear and honor. You can be sure that when the word honor is thrown around in this novel someone is about to get stabbed in the back!

I'll give a synopsis link below which will serve for all 4 novels of the series although only 3 will likely appear on this list. Synopsis here.

#3 - House of Chains by Steven Erikson (series: A tale of The Malazan Book of the Fallen)

This book and this series is a joy to follow!

With that being said, well...they are also difficult to follow. If these books weren't so good I would berate them for being so complex. Normally I am adamant about simple being best. If you're making something complex you are doing so for no purpose. It holds out in mathematics, elite writing programs and even acting.

BUT...

I just can't imagine this book or any of the others being as good if they were any less complex!

In a world where Gods walk amongst mortals, men ascend to become weak versions of gods, legends become truthful nightmares and history crackles with evil lifeblood comes a sordid group of men, hardened soldiers, defiant dissidents: The Bridgeburners - the elite munitions experts of the Malazan Empire! The members of this unit become the through line in a complex war that rages across this world, encumbered with the sons of Gods, bitterly destructive magic, warrior tribes, assassins, Emperors and Gods and near God like Ascendants!

You might have to go back and reread a section from time to time! But, wow, is all I can say. This book being the best of the first 5! I love the T'lan Imass... what a side story! Good enough for its own series, easily!

#4 - A Clash Of Kings by George R.R. Martin (series: A Song of Ice and Fire)

Reading something as good as the first novel in this series (A Game of Thrones) leads me to wonder two things... is there a sequel and is it as good. There are quite a number of books whose sequels were less than equal to the original. I loved the first book, despite the strange cover art, but couldn't imagine a series this good that I hadn't heard of. A single book could slip by all the people I knew who read fantasy on a regular basis but an entire series? No way.

It turns out there was a second written at that time (there are now 4 as of this writing) but the second A Clash of Kings was monumental! I didn't believe there was this quality of writing in fantasy! Quite simply, Martin had a series that ranked high on my All Time Reading List! It was amazing. I consider Dumas' 3 books: The 3 Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Count of Monte Cristo as a trilogy in theme. (my own vanity, I know!) Call of the Wild and White Fang? Maybe.

No other fantasy series even touched this one. Not Tolkien and not any of his followers. This became my series the day I read it and has been ever since. A much weaker 4th installment is merely the result of too many newly introduced characters while simultaneously leaving out many of the favored characters in a dividing of the work that would be the 4th and 5th (forthcoming) installments. His writing quality did not lesson, far from it, but some of the love was lost (or merely misplaced for a time!)

#5 - The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (series: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One)

This one was unexpected. I wasn't looking for it, I didn't have it recommended (strangely enough!) and it doesn't really have great cover art which I don't rely on for choosing books but hey, nice cover art catches my eye (see above!) I was looking for something by Brandon Sanderson because I just found out he was going to be finishing the Wheel of Time series and wanted to read something by him. I grabbed Mistborn by Sanderson. Then the book next to this one caught my eye. I grabbed it. (don't remember what is was) and Next to it was this book. It was the title that caught my eye... it wasn't a title put in place just to sell the book which made me wonder... it was also 600 pages... alot for a book with a funny title and weird artwork. What a strange cover with the robed figure and the tree in the background done in blue and black. I admit, it made me curious. I don't like to read the back of the book... it's never a good tell. I just open it and read ten pages.

It was ten really good pages.

I was hooked. And a little irritated to find out he didn't have any other books in this series (at the time.) I was already waiting for Martin and Jordan to pick up the pace.

The base form of this book is a nobody kid becoming the world's savior but Rothfuss handles it very, very well. If you like my other four then you'll love this one! Try it out!

The first of a 3 book series that introduced the most awesome character I've ever experienced. If you're tired of reading fantasy without realism then pick up this book! While this series does come together at the end a little too neatly this first book is pretty much flawless. It's gritty, but in a very stylized way. I love the farm boy turned earth shattering wizard/warrior as much as all of you... but you won't find that here. In fact, you won't find anything close.

This series has the single best character ever but what helps to make it great is the second character, Glotka, who is nearly as enjoyable as Logain himself. It doesn't quite have the gritty realism as A Game of Thrones but it's close enough to really make this series enjoyable.

I was mesmerized by many chapters, as Abercrombie is a master at character building and has a sparse, swift prose that compliments his story telling style perfectly. Just meeting The Bloody Nine makes this book worth reading and the genius method of introducing Logan adds to the realism... he refrains from giving away information about Logan with exposition and instead lets you get to know him through the course of the book, through his actions and the curses of those who know him.

This book isn't Harry Potter or Eregon but trust me...it rocks.

Yes, another of the Book of the Fallen near the top of the list. While the first book begins in a very... er, uh... confusing way I don't want you to to be turned off of this series.

No reason to try to hash out the plot... so many things are going on in this series that it's damn near impossible to lay it out.

The orphan boy in all of us. Fitz is the star of this little saga and Hobb (pseudonym) cuts just enough grit to lure me in. In this first of 9 books (3 trilogies) Fitz learns he is the son of a Prince and that, as a bastard, he can never be claimed. He's then put into the position of death or service to the king through the darker arts... assassination. Of course he chooses assassination, who wouldn't? lol.

I couldn't put this one down. The magic is very interesting, although not as involved or cool as I'd like. One, called the Wit and another called the Skill. I'll leave you to discover what they are all about, but suffice to say they are very unique. What I like about this book is the terrible life Fitz has to survive... he just gets it in the worst way. I like my books to take me on an emotional journey as well as through a cool story. This book does both.

A stellar beginning to a series.

Does anyone create better characters? There are single characters I like more in other books (see The Bloody 9) but on average his heroes consistently stand near the top of the pile. The Legend is second to none in that respect. I chose this book, Waylander, but it could have been any of his books, they are all that good. He writes about war, conflict, battle and above all the elements of a hero better than all others. What others touch upon in their best moments David does each and every time he puts pen to paper (as it were.)

What is this one about?

Time travel, hero's going against the odds and winning, men who exemplify the hero persona, and of course villains who are heroes in their own right but to a different people. We often enjoy them as much especially if you know that a villain in one book may turn out to be an ally in another book. lol.

G's writing is as near to perfect as it gets. His story telling is superb but not as plot driven as I might like. What I like best about A Game of Thrones, the epic story telling, is what I find missing in Gemmell books. I still love them but would like to get lost in his worlds as I do with Jordan and his ilk.

Very, very good.

Tigana is such a well written book. I wonder how many miss it merely because he writes at such a high level. If you bore easily, you might not like this book. It's "high brow" fantasy whose specialty is intrigue rather than sword or sorcery.

It throws emotions against each other with people as the back drop and for a while is a very fun and exciting book. I would NOT want all my fantasy to be written this way but the break from the usual is perfect here.  This book could not be written any other way but this is the only book in the series where I would not say just because you liked the rest of my list you will like this one.  But give it a try!  

Tigana is a place banished from the world by will and by magic, and this book is the story of those who would return its memory to glory.

Do I need to say anything else? That's just cool.

The first time I read that little phrase that opens each of these books I felt a little chill... It was as if the author knew he had something! It wasn't an announcement of greatness, it was almost as though he were avoiding credit for this world he had created. As if it really existed and he was doing nothing but passing on the tale, as if we were travelers that happened to share the same fire on some cold and dark road...

I can only dream that somewhere Robert Jordan had a manuscript about this world but written with detached brutality... I am ecstatic with what I have here, a disney version of a very hard tale. There is cold blooded killing but it's always book ended with this silly, naive view of the world from our heroes.

This book is the 11th in the series and you should by no means start here... but this is the book that holds the love story between The Prince of the Ravens and the Daughter of the Nine Moons! If you've read the whole list you know there is nothing I appreciate more than smash-you-in-the-face-brutal-cold-reality but I'm also a sucker for a good romance. In fact, you'll find such in most of my top listed tales... (In GRRM's books I'm already envisioning the love story between the hidden Dragon Prince and Princess!)

I grow tired of the women of this series...they get FAR too much page time (though Sanderson has reinvented one of them satisfactorily!) along with the Wolf fellow but I'm happy just having had a series of this caliber so I shouldn't complain (though I do!) Start with The Eye of the World (get through a couple slow books late in the series) and then rejoice when you get to this one (10 is also very good but this one is GREAT!)

I thought a long time about whether this should be above Tiganna... and I'm not sure I've chosen correctly because, despite the short comings, this book and this series is fantastic! Sanderson has changed the way the book is written and has forgotten The Prince of the Ravens (book 13 is not out as of this time) but I hope that may soon be reversed.  Sanderson didn't create this world but he did create a damn fine book that takes place in Jordan's world (using Jordan's apparently detailed notes) but I can see his writing style shining through because I've read his other books.  One of them is coming but not this high.  He hasn't yet flushed out one of this worlds enough to please me but he has some really, really cool magic systems!

Looking forward to more WOT!!!

Sometimes, very rarely, but sometimes I open a book and read the first page and get a little chill. From that point on I'm sold. When the first page is great, so to will be the book. A boy who can be sold for a bit of coin because his master is greedy, but sold to only one man, a man that will make the boy disappear...otherwise the master will slit his throat and drop him in the harbor for the thing he has done...

Yeah.

So good you wish you thought of it.

I was pushing people out of the way like the building was burning down to get at the rest of this book. Locke Lamorra is one of the best heroes of fantasy I've ever read. He's Matt and Rand combined. He's the dirty-from-the-gutter version of the Prince of House Atreides.

I mean, just read the title again! How can you not read it? And if you have you know what I'm talking about!

 While this series might be child like at times, it still holds moments of startling grimness, characters I love, and a magic system that is about as awesome as it gets.  I've never met a fantasy reader who started this series and didn't finish the whole run.  I'm sure they are out there but there won't be many.  And this series sells and sells...because it is an epic story that is both simple and powerful.  I prefer a little more of the worst of a fantasy world but Jordan refuses me that request and still manages to keep me interested. 

I go crazy when I have to read certain characters especially when they seemed to take over later books.  If I could have the whole series be about nothing but Matt, I would, but I can't.  But this world is so good that I'll take what I can get.  His world building is just plain fascinating.

I know, some of you think Lord of the Rings should be above.  Well it's not.  I know LotR changed fantasy (thanks Tolien!) but I just don't think they quite measure up.  They are a classic, the movies were fantastic, they've been around forever and they will be on the list very soon...just not yet.

This book might be the darkest of the series with no hint of how fascinating Matt will become, but at this point he had not strayed toward his habit of staying with side characters for WAY too long.  Matt, Perrin and Rand are all still fantastic characters at this point, interesting and hurling their way toward their destiny.  Later they still move toward their destiny, they just don't hurl.  More like a casual stroll.