Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels (Book), 102 Books

This collection of 100 brief (2-3 page) essays by British sf magazine editor Pringle offers an informed and admittedly subjective guided tour of a genre that encompasses such widely divergent titles as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (1954-55), Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman (1967), and Stephen King's Salem's Lot (1975). Following the format of his earlier collection, Science The 100 Best Novels (LJ 7/86), Pringle presents his selections in chronological order and includes a synopsis of the story, a discussion of the author's overall contribution to fantasy literature, critical commentary on the title's significance, and a brief publishing history. An introductory essay tackles the difficulty of defining fantasy, while a "Brief Bibliography" directs readers to other discussions of the genre. By no means a definitive subject guide, this entertaining volume should serve as a solid introduction to the elusive field of imaginative literature.

This list was originally published in 1988 and was added to this site over 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
6315 The Day Of Creation J. G. Ballard 1987 British English
4094 Aegypt John Crowley 1987 American English
3437 The Summer Tree Guy Gavriel Kay 1984 Canadian English
5938 The Wandering Fire Guy Gavriel Kay 1986 Canadian English
6068 The Darkest Road Guy Gavriel Kay 1986 Canadian English
6192 The Bridge Iain Banks 1986 Scottish English
5002 The Hungry Moon Ramsey Campbell 1986 British English
4169 Replay Ken Grimwood 1986 American English
6203 The Unconquered Country Geoff Ryman 1986 Canadian English
1549 Hawksmoor Peter Ackroyd 1985 British English
6065 The Dream Years Lisa Goldstein 1985 American English
3154 Who Made Stevie Crye? Michael Bishop 1984 American English
5761 The Digging Leviathan James P. Blaylock 1984 American English
627 Nights At The Circus Angela Carter 1984 British English
5758 The Businessman Thomas M. Disch 1984 American English
2130 Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock 1984 British English
4740 The Glamour Christopher Priest 1984 British English
2180 The Witches Of Eastwick John Updike 1984 American English
1372 Winter's Tale Mark Helprin 1983 American English
5647 Soul Eater K. W. Jeter 1983 American English
5647 Tea With The Black Dragon R. A. MacAvoy 1983 American English
4605 Cold Heaven Brian Moore 1983 British English
2217 The Anubis Gates Tim Powers 1983 American English
4466 Nifft The Lean Michael Shea 1982 American English
3390 Cities of the Red Night William S. Burroughs 1981 American English
1172 Little, Big John Crowley 1981 American English
1165 Lanark Alasdair Gray 1981 Scottish English
5242 The War Hound And The World's Pain Michael Moorcock 1981 British English
2023 The Land Of Laughs Jonathan Carroll 1980 American English
5306 The Vampire Tapestry Suzy McKee Charnas 1980 American English
5317 A Storm Of Wings M. John Harrison 1980 British English
5317 White Light Rudy Rucker 1980 American English
4395 Ariosto Chelsa quinn yarbro 1972 American Unknown
3843 The Unlimited Dream Company J. G. Ballard 1979 British English
5230 Sorcerer's Son Phyllis Eisenstein 1979 American English
3545 Gloriana Michael Moorcock 1978 British English
2054 The Passion Of New Eve Angela Carter 1977 British English
7927 The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever Stephen R. Donaldson 1977 American English
398 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
4938 Fata Morgana William Kotzwinkle 1977 American English
2626 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
4810 The Malacia Tapestry Brian Aldiss 1976 British English
3539 The Dragon And The George Gordon R. Dickson 1976 American English
4810 Hotel De Dream Emma Tennant 1976 British English
1293 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
3484 The Great Victorian Collection Brian Moore 1975 Canadian English
4701 Grimus Salman Rushdie 1975 British English
1970 Peace Gene Wolfe 1975 American English
3209 The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld Patricia A. McKillip 1974 American English
3235 Sweet Dreams Michael Frayn 1973 British English
229 Watership Down Richard Adams 1972 British English
2061 The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman Angela Carter 1972 British English
3567 The Day After Judgement James Blish 1971 American English
1835 Grendel John Gardner 1971 American English
3203 Briefing For A Descent Into Hell Doris May Lessing 1971 British English
4251 Jack Of Shadows Roger Zelazny 1971 American English
3160 Red Moon and Black Mountain Joy Chant 1970 British English
1675 Time and Again Jack Finney 1970 American English
2146 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
3944 The Phoenix And The Mirror Avram Davidson 1969 American English
4059 A Feast Unknown Philip José Farmer 1969 American English
3844 Fourth Mansions R. A. Lafferty 1969 American English
1792 The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle 1968 American English
3372 Black Easter James Blish 1968 American English
277 A Wizard Of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
1830 The Swords Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
1535 The Owl Service Alan Garner 1967 British English
902 Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin 1967 American English
494 The Third Policeman Flann O'Brien 1967 Irish English
3834 Gog Andrew Sinclair 1967 British English
440 The Crying of Lot 49 Thomas Pynchon 1966 American English
3614 Day Of The Minotaur Thomas Burnett Swann 1966 American English
3609 The Eyes Of The Overworld Jack Vance 1966 American English
2798 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
3452 Glory Road Robert A. Heinlein 1963 American English
2697 Witch World Andre Norton 1963 American English
3264 The Girl, The Gold Watch And Everything John D. MacDonald 1962 American English
3040 Three Hearts And Three Lions Poul Anderson 1953 American English
3253 A Fine And Private Place Peter S. Beagle 1960 American English
2829 The Unpleasant Profession Of Jonathan Hoag Robert A. Heinlein 1942 American English
215 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
1950 Titus Alone Mervyn Peake 1959 British English
287 The Once and Future King T. H. White 1958 British English
757 Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury 1957 American English
2006 Pincher Martin William Golding 1956 British English
3137 The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson 1956 American English
17 The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1959 English English
2910 The Broken Sword Poul Anderson 1954 American English
1194 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
3048 The Sinful Ones Fritz Leiber 1953 American English
1533 The Sound Of His Horn Sarban 1952 British English
2919 The Castle Of Iron L. Sprague de Camp 1950 American English
2126 Conan The Conqueror Robert E. Howard 1935 American English
379 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
525 Gormenghast Mervyn Peake 1950 British English
1917 The Dying Earth Jack Vance 1950 American English
2887 Seven Days In New Crete Robert Graves 1949 British English
2887 Silverlock John Myers Myers 1949 American English
2339 The Well Of The Unicorn Fletcher Pratt 1948 American English
1847 Darker Than You Think Jack Williamson 1948 American English
2838 The Book Of Ptath A. E. van Vogt 1943 American English
628 Titus Groan Mervyn Peake 1946 British English