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
8 The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1959 English English
27 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 1865 British English
51 One Thousand and One Nights Unknown 800 Multiple Arabic
162 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling 1997 British English
170 The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien 1937 British English
185 Fairy Tales and Stories Hans Christian Andersen 1835 Danish Danish
186 A Wrinkle In Time Madeleine L'Engle 1962 American English
193 Watership Down Richard Adams 1972 British English
202 The Once and Future King T. H. White 1958 British English
217 A Wizard Of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
221 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
229 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
263 The Chronicles of Narnia C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
315 Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak 1963 American English
349 Journey to the West Wu Cheng'en 1592 Chinese Chinese
356 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman 1995 British English
358 Tarzan of the Apes Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American English
370 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster 1961 American English
377 Peter And Wendy J. M. Barrie 1911 Scottish English
442 The Princess Bride William Goldman 1973 American English
445 Household Tales Brothers Grimm 1812 German German
478 Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carroll 1871 British English
524 Le Morte d'Arthur Thomas Malory 1485 British Middle english
553 Lud-in-the-Mist Hope Mirrlees 1926 British English
566 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum 1900 American English
637 A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin 1996 American English
662 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl 1964 British English
701 King Solomon's Mines H. Rider Haggard 1885 British English
716 Vathek William Beckford 1786 British French
724 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban J. K. Rowling 1999 British English
742 Outlander Diana Gabaldon 1991 American English
792 Journey to the Center of the Earth Jules Verne 1864 French French
819 The Fifth Season N. K. Jemisin 2015 American English
838 The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett 1983 British English
955 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling 2000 British English
978 A Hero Born Jin Yong 1957 Chinese Chinese
997 The House at Pooh Corner A. A. Milne 1928 British English
1026 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 British English
1056 The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle 1968 American English
1062 Winter's Tale Mark Helprin 1983 American English
1065 The Dark Is Rising Susan Cooper 1973 British English
1095 A Voyage To Arcturus David Lindsay 1920 Scottish English
1098 The Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley 1983 American English
1102 She H. Rider Haggard 1887 British English
1118 The BFG Roald Dahl 1982 British English
1141 The Golden Compass Philip Pullman 1995 British English
1159 Amadis of Gaul Garci R. de Montalvo 1508 Spanish Spanish
1187 Jurgen James Branch Cabell 1919 American English
1227 The Book of the New Sun Gene Wolfe 1980 American English
1230 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling 2005 British English
1264 Mary Poppins P. L. Travers 1934 British English
1301 The 13 Clocks James Thurber 1950 American English
1304 Dragonflight Anne McCaffrey 1968 American English
1312 American Gods Neil Gaiman 2001 British English
1319 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling 2003 British English
1351 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader C. S. Lewis 1952 British English
1352 Harold and the Purple Crayon Crockett Johnson 1955 American English
1355 Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke 2004 British English
1386 The Owl Service Alan Garner 1967 British English
1391 Tuck Everlasting Natalie Babbitt 1975 American English
1424 A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court Mark Twain 1889 American English
1427 Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones 1986 British English
1475 A Swiftly Tilting Planet Madeleine L'Engle 1978 American English
1488 The Velveteen Rabbit Margery Williams 1922 British English
1498 The Last Battle C. S. Lewis 1956 British English
1518 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets J. K. Rowling 1998 British English
1521 Heinrich of Ofterdingen Novalis 1802 German German
1525 The Neverending Story Michael Ende 1979 German German
1550 The Swords Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
1554 Haroun and the Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie 1990 British English
1566 Out Of Space And Time Clark Ashton Smith 1942 American English
1595 Green Mansions W. H. Hudson 1904 British English
1628 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling 2007 British English
1637 James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl 1961 British English
1652 Grendel John Gardner 1971 American English
1666 Good Omens Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman 1990 British English
1689 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
1694 The Lion of Flanders Hendrik Conscience 1838 Belgian Dutch
1755 Conan The Conqueror Robert E. Howard 1935 American English
1772 The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart 1970 British English
1776 The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter Unknown 900 Japanese Japanese
1810 The Wind on the Moon Eric Linklater 1944 British English
1812 The Dying Earth Jack Vance 1950 American English
1821 Tirant Lo Blanc Joanot Martorell 1490 Spanish Catalan
1821 The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby Charles Kingsley 1863 British English
1916 Tom's Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce 1958 British English
1932 A Princess Of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American English
1987 Witch World Andre Norton 1963 American English
1998 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
2015 The Book Of Ptath A. E. van Vogt 1943 American English
2042 Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock 1984 British English
2043 The Wheel of Time Series Robert Jordan 1990 American English
2083 The Sword in the Stone T. H. White 1938 British English
2084 Mio, My Son Astrid Lindgren 1954 Swedish Swedish
2101 The Tombs Of Atuan Ursula K. Le Guin 1971 American English
2119 Forest of A Thousand Daemons Daniel O. Fagunwa 1938 Nigerian Yoruba
2146 Ronia, The Robber's Daughter Astrid Lindgren 1981 Swedish Swedish
2161 The Well Of The Unicorn Fletcher Pratt 1948 American English
2163 The Mouse And His Child Russell Hoban 1967 American English
2180 The Anubis Gates Tim Powers 1983 American English
2183 Silverlock John Myers Myers 1949 American English
2210 Momo Michael Ende 1973 German German
2224 The Castle Of Iron L. Sprague de Camp 1950 American English
2227 The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault Charles Perrault 1697 French French
2250 Parzival Wolfram Eschenbach 1200 German Middle high german
2368 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One Rick Riordan 2005 American English
2390 The Broken Sword Poul Anderson 1954 American English
2396 Swan Song Robert R. McCammon 1987 American English
2442 Three Hearts And Three Lions Poul Anderson 1953 American English
2451 The Demon Mikhail Lermontov 1829 Russian Russian
2460 Swordspoint Ellen Kushner 1987 American English
2544 Tigana Guy Gavriel Kay 1990 Canadian English
2557 The Brothers Lionheart Astrid Lindgren 1973 Swedish Swedish
2585 The Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling 1894 British English
2668 The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman 2000 British English
2680 Reynard the Fox Unknown 1479 Multiple Middle dutch
2700 Olvidado Rey Gudú Ana María Matute 1996 Spanish Spanish
2741 The Adventures Of Cipollino Gianni Rodari 1951 Italian Italian
2757 Moominland Midwinter Tove Jansson 1957 Finnish Swedish
2782 The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen Alan Garner 1960 British English