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
2822 The Name Of The Wind Patrick Rothfuss 2007 American English
2834 Mistborn Brandon Sanderson 2006 American English
2835 Five Children And It Edith Nesbit 1902 British English
2836 Ozma Of Oz L. Frank Baum 1907 American English
2849 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
2853 The Wandering Unicorn Manuel Mujica Lainez 1965 Argentinian Spanish
2885 The Old English Baron Clara Reeve 1777 British English
2899 The Orlando Furioso Lodovico Ariosto 1516 Italian Italian
2908 Legend David Gemmell 1984 British English
2913 Cinderella Unknown 23 Multiple French
2928 Glory Road Robert A. Heinlein 1963 American English
2935 Comet In Moominland Tove Jansson 1946 Finnish Swedish
2936 Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine 1997 American English
2937 Finn Family Moomintroll Tove Jansson 1948 Finnish Swedish
2944 Akata Witch Nnedi Okorafor 2011 American English
2947 Redwall Brian Jacques 1986 British English
2968 The Faerie Queene Edmund Spenser 1590 British English
2985 The Moomins And The Great Flood Tove Jansson 1945 Finnish Swedish
2988 The Silmarillion J. R. R. Tolkien 1977 British English
2994 Prince Caspian C. S. Lewis 1951 British English
3008 Children Of Blood And Bone Tomi Adeyemi 2018 Nigerian English
3015 Lost Worlds Clark Ashton Smith 1944 American English
3028 The Silver Chair C. S. Lewis 1953 British English
3045 The Horse and His Boy C. S. Lewis 1954 British English
3077 Black Easter James Blish 1968 American English
3087 The Magician's Nephew C. S. Lewis 1955 British English
3088 The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Selma Lagerlöf 1906 Swedish Swedish
3117 The Eyes Of The Overworld Jack Vance 1966 American English
3121 Day Of The Minotaur Thomas Burnett Swann 1966 American English
3129 Dark Lover J. R. Ward 2005 American English
3199 Eragon Christopher Paolini 2002 American English
3225 King Arthur And His Knights Of The Round Table Roger Lancelyn Green 1953 British English
3225 Nine Unlikely Tales E. Nesbit 1901 British English
3249 Twilight Stephenie Meyer 2005 American English
3323 Red Moon and Black Mountain Joy Chant 1970 British English
3329 The Day After Judgement James Blish 1971 American English
3354 The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson 1999 British English
3361 The Phoenix And The Mirror Avram Davidson 1969 American English
3367 The Eye Of The World Robert Jordan 1990 American English
3369 The Compleat Werewolf And Other Stories Of Fantasy And Science Fiction Anthony Boucher 1969 American English
3369 A Feast Unknown Philip José Farmer 1969 American English
3409 The Magic Faraway Tree Enid Blyton 1943 British English
3439 Slave To Sensation Nalini Singh 2006 New Zealand English
3454 An Ember In The Ashes Sabaa Tahir 2015 American English
3468 Alanna Tamora Pierce 1983 American English
3514 Jack Of Shadows Roger Zelazny 1971 American English
3526 Circe Madeline Miller 2018 American English
3534 The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld Patricia A. McKillip 1974 American English
3559 The Worm Ouroboros E. R. Eddison 1922 British English
3600 Ariosto Chelsa quinn yarbro 1972 American Unknown
3846 The Poppy War R. F. Kuang 2018 Chinese English
3851 Charles And Elegast Unknown 1250 Dutch Middle dutch
3855 The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern 2011 American English
3898 Six Of Crows Leigh Bardugo 2015 American English
3904 The Book Of Three Lloyd Alexander 1964 American English
3909 The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman 1997 British English
3923 The Lives Of Christopher Chant Diana Wynne Jones 1988 British English
3924 Nine Princes In Amber Roger Zelazny 1970 American English
3930 The Summer Tree Guy Gavriel Kay 1984 Canadian English
3987 A Storm Of Swords George R. R. Martin 2000 American English
4001 The Blazing World Margaret Cavendish 1666 British English
4007 Lilith George MacDonald 1895 Scottish English
4019 Grimus Salman Rushdie 1975 British English
4020 The Broken Earth Trilogy N. K. Jemisin 2015 American English
4044 Lord Foul's Bane Stephen R. Donaldson 1977 American English
4048 Neverwhere Neil Gaiman 1996 British English
4049 The Dragon And The George Gordon R. Dickson 1976 American English
4086 Gloriana Michael Moorcock 1978 British English
4095 A Knight In Shining Armor Jude Deveraux 1989 American English
4145 The Malacia Tapestry Brian Aldiss 1976 British English
4209 Legend Of The Swordsmen Of The Mountains Of Shu Huanzhulouzhu 1932 Chinese Chinese
4237 Hotel Transylvania Chelsa quinn yarbro 1978 American English
4321 A Hunger Like No Other Kresley Cole 2006 American English
4410 Magician Raymond E. Feist 1982 American English
4428 Undine Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1811 German German
4466 The Blue Sword Robin McKinley 1982 American English
4505 Sorcerer's Son Phyllis Eisenstein 1979 American English
4540 The Enchanted Wood Enid Blyton 1939 British English
4540 Restoree Anne McCaffrey 1967 American English
4634 The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice 1985 American English
4651 Not Before Sundown Johanna Sinisalo 2000 Finnish Finnish
4663 Coraline Neil Gaiman 2002 British English
4695 A Storm Of Wings M. John Harrison 1980 British English
4700 The Revolt Of The Angels Anatole France 1914 French French
4700 The Sword Of Welleran Lord Dunsany 1908 Irish English
4703 The Vintner's Luck Elizabeth Knox 1998 New Zealand English
4705 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman 2008 British English
4724 The War Hound And The World's Pain Michael Moorcock 1981 British English
4783 Eric In The Land Of The Insects Godfried Bomans 1941 Dutch Dutch
4803 A Court Of Thorns And Roses Sarah J. Maas 2015 American English
4807 Nifft The Lean Michael Shea 1982 American English
4839 The Unfortunate Fursey Mervyn Wall 1946 Irish English
4839 Return Of Fursey Mervyn Wall 1948 Irish English
4851 The Bride With White Hair Liang Yusheng 1957 Chinese Chinese
4877 Dealing With Dragons Patricia C. Wrede 1990 American English
4889 Storm Front Jim Butcher 2000 American English
4897 The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville John Mandeville 1357 Unknown French
4902 The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson 2010 American English
4948 The Gods Of Pegana Lord Dunsany 1905 Irish English
4955 Phantastes George McDonald 1858 British English
4959 The Crock Of Gold James Stephens 1912 Irish English
4997 Who Fears Death Nnedi Okorafor 2010 Nigerian English
5001 The Incomplete Enchanter L. Sprague de Camp 1940 American English
5001 Works Of Fancy And Imagination George MacDonald 1867 British English
5001 The White Deer James Thurber 1945 American English
5001 The Ship Of Ishtar A. Merritt 1924 American English
5016 Spindle’s End Robin McKinley 2000 American English
5043 Dwellers In The Mirage A. Merritt 1932 American English
5043 Black Magic Marjorie Bowen 1909 British English
5043 All Hallows' Eve Charles Williams 1945 British English
5043 The Water Of The Wondrous Isles William Morris 1897 British English
5043 The Silver Stallion James Branch Cabell 1926 American English
5043 The Brass Bottle F. Anstey 1900 British English
5063 The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever Stephen R. Donaldson 1977 American English
5069 The Little White Horse Elizabeth Goudge 1946 British English
5099 The Year's Best Fantasy And Horror Ellen Datlow 1988 American English
5101 Darkness Weaves Karl Edward Wagner 1970 American English
5122 The Man Who Was Born Again Paull Busson 1921 Austrian German
5122 The Secret Mountain And Other Tales Kenneth Morris 1926 British English
5122 Black God's Shadow C. L. Moore 1934 American English