The Greatest Fantasy Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
18 The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1959 English English
22 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 1865 British English
67 One Thousand and One Nights Unknown 800 Multiple Arabic
182 A Wrinkle In Time Madeleine L'Engle 1962 American English
183 The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien 1937 British English
185 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling 1997 British English
191 Fairy Tales and Stories Hans Christian Andersen 1835 Danish Danish
199 A Wizard Of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
205 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
229 The Once and Future King T. H. White 1958 British English
236 Watership Down Richard Adams 1972 British English
255 The Chronicles of Narnia C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
277 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
292 Household Tales Brothers Grimm 1812 German German
315 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum 1900 American English
339 Le Morte d'Arthur Thomas Malory 1485 British Middle english
371 Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carroll 1871 British English
385 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster 1961 American English
399 Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak 1963 American English
415 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman 1995 British English
462 Journey to the West Wu Cheng'en 1592 Chinese Chinese
475 Tarzan of the Apes Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American English
541 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl 1964 British English
575 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
602 Journey to the Center of the Earth Jules Verne 1864 French French
621 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban J. K. Rowling 1999 British English
631 A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin 1996 American English
643 The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett 1983 British English
658 The Princess Bride William Goldman 1973 American English
671 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling 2000 British English
746 The Faerie Queene Edmund Spenser 1590 British English
776 The BFG Roald Dahl 1982 British English
801 King Solomon's Mines H. Rider Haggard 1885 British English
808 The Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling 1894 British English
825 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets J. K. Rowling 1998 British English
846 The Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley 1983 American English
855 The House at Pooh Corner A. A. Milne 1928 British English
899 Peter And Wendy J. M. Barrie 1911 Scottish English
908 James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl 1961 British English
917 Lud-in-the-Mist Hope Mirrlees 1926 British English
940 A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court Mark Twain 1889 American English
963 Tuck Everlasting Natalie Babbitt 1975 American English
972 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling 2005 British English
1002 The Golden Compass Philip Pullman 1995 British English
1007 Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke 2004 British English
1018 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling 2003 British English
1032 The Last Battle C. S. Lewis 1956 British English
1045 Mary Poppins P. L. Travers 1934 British English
1054 The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault Charles Perrault 1697 French French
1057 Dragonflight Anne McCaffrey 1968 American English
1060 Vathek William Beckford 1786 British French
1098 Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones 1986 British English
1099 The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle 1968 American English
1104 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 British English
1107 Good Omens Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman 1990 British English
1116 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
1129 The Dark Is Rising Susan Cooper 1973 British English
1143 Outlander Diana Gabaldon 1991 American English
1209 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling 2007 British English
1225 The Neverending Story Michael Ende 1979 German German
1239 The Fifth Season N. K. Jemisin 2015 American English
1240 The Silmarillion J. R. R. Tolkien 1977 British English
1255 American Gods Neil Gaiman 2001 British English
1276 She H. Rider Haggard 1887 British English
1353 A Voyage To Arcturus David Lindsay 1920 Scottish English
1384 Tom's Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce 1958 British English
1433 A Swiftly Tilting Planet Madeleine L'Engle 1978 American English
1481 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader C. S. Lewis 1952 British English
1489 The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter Unknown 900 Japanese Japanese
1508 Haroun and the Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie 1990 British English
1539 Parzival Wolfram Eschenbach 1200 German Middle high german
1609 Winter's Tale Mark Helprin 1983 American English
1621 Jurgen James Branch Cabell 1919 American English
1662 The Talisman Sir Walter Scott 1825 Scottish English
1679 The Magician's Nephew C. S. Lewis 1955 British English
1681 The Horse and His Boy C. S. Lewis 1954 British English
1683 Prince Caspian C. S. Lewis 1951 British English
1682 The Silver Chair C. S. Lewis 1953 British English
1701 The Sword Of Shannara Terry Brooks 1977 American English
1725 The Book of the New Sun Gene Wolfe 1980 American English
1760 Magician Raymond E. Feist 1982 American English
1797 The Dying Earth Jack Vance 1950 American English
1837 The Velveteen Rabbit Margery Williams 1922 British English
1840 Five Children And It Edith Nesbit 1902 British English
1866 The Wheel of Time Series Robert Jordan 1990 American English
1880 Neverwhere Neil Gaiman 1996 British English
1887 The Name Of The Wind Patrick Rothfuss 2007 American English
1927 The Eye Of The World Robert Jordan 1990 American English
1959 The Adventures Of Cipollino Gianni Rodari 1951 Italian Italian
1962 The Orlando Furioso Lodovico Ariosto 1516 Italian Italian
1995 The Gunslinger Stephen King 1982 American English
2041 The Owl Service Alan Garner 1967 British English
2075 Momo Michael Ende 1973 German German
2087 The Brothers Lionheart Astrid Lindgren 1973 Swedish Swedish
2125 The Magic Pudding Norman Lindsay 1918 Australian English
2127 The Warlord of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs 1914 American English
2148 The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Selma Lagerlöf 1906 Swedish Swedish
2155 Harold and the Purple Crayon Crockett Johnson 1955 American English
2170 Artemis Fowl Eoin Colfer 2001 Irish English
2174 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One Rick Riordan 2005 American English
2182 The Magic Faraway Tree Enid Blyton 1943 British English
2183 Legend David Gemmell 1984 British English
2189 A Princess Of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American English
2193 The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart 1970 British English
2196 Tirant Lo Blanc Joanot Martorell 1490 Spanish Catalan
2196 Amadis of Gaul Garci R. de Montalvo 1508 Spanish Spanish
2196 Heinrich of Ofterdingen Novalis 1802 German German
2196 The Lion of Flanders Hendrik Conscience 1838 Belgian Dutch
2196 The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby Charles Kingsley 1863 British English
2196 The 13 Clocks James Thurber 1950 American English
2292 Green Mansions W. H. Hudson 1904 British English
2385 The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman 2000 British English
2415 Swan Song Robert R. McCammon 1987 American English
2422 The Mouse And His Child Russell Hoban 1967 American English
2426 A Hero Born Jin Yong 1957 Chinese Chinese
2442 The Tombs Of Atuan Ursula K. Le Guin 1971 American English
2444 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
2446 Twilight Stephenie Meyer 2005 American English
2464 Mistborn Brandon Sanderson 2006 American English
2495 The Wind on the Moon Eric Linklater 1944 British English