The Greatest Fantasy Books Since 1952

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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.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
17 The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1959 English English
224 Watership Down Richard Adams 1972 British English
236 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling 1997 British English
278 A Wizard Of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
286 The Once and Future King T. H. White 1958 British English
293 A Wrinkle In Time Madeleine L'Engle 1962 American English
320 Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak 1963 American English
399 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman 1995 British English
522 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster 1961 American English
676 The Princess Bride William Goldman 1973 American English
842 Outlander Diana Gabaldon 1991 American English
1005 The Dark Is Rising Susan Cooper 1973 British English
1017 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban J. K. Rowling 1999 British English
1079 The Book of the New Sun Gene Wolfe 1980 American English
1117 The Fifth Season N. K. Jemisin 2015 American English
1134 The Neverending Story Michael Ende 1979 German German
1289 A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin 1996 American English
1348 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 British English
1373 Winter's Tale Mark Helprin 1983 American English
1377 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl 1964 British English
1395 The Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley 1983 American English
1397 The BFG Roald Dahl 1982 British English
1444 James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl 1961 British English
1537 The Owl Service Alan Garner 1967 British English
1548 Tom's Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce 1958 British English
1585 Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke 2004 British English
1598 Ronia, The Robber's Daughter Astrid Lindgren 1981 Swedish Swedish
1626 The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett 1983 British English
1680 Harold and the Purple Crayon Crockett Johnson 1955 American English
1730 The Mouse And His Child Russell Hoban 1967 American English
1744 Haroun and the Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie 1990 British English
1755 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling 2005 British English
1793 The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle 1968 American English
1805 A Hero Born Jin Yong 1957 Chinese Chinese
1806 Moominland Midwinter Tove Jansson 1957 Finnish Swedish
1813 Swan Song Robert R. McCammon 1987 American English
1831 The Swords Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
1833 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader C. S. Lewis 1952 British English
1836 Grendel John Gardner 1971 American English
1842 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling 2000 British English
1879 Tuck Everlasting Natalie Babbitt 1975 American English
1910 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling 2003 British English
1931 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
2046 The Brothers Lionheart Astrid Lindgren 1973 Swedish Swedish
2050 Momo Michael Ende 1973 German German
2086 Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones 1986 British English
2106 Mio, My Son Astrid Lindgren 1954 Swedish Swedish
2122 The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart 1970 British English
2141 Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock 1984 British English
2144 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets J. K. Rowling 1998 British English
2192 American Gods Neil Gaiman 2001 British English
2211 Swordspoint Ellen Kushner 1987 American English
2223 Good Omens Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman 1990 British English
2228 The Anubis Gates Tim Powers 1983 American English
2232 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling 2007 British English
2243 The Tombs Of Atuan Ursula K. Le Guin 1971 American English
2389 The Wheel of Time Series Robert Jordan 1990 American English
2470 The Grey King Susan Cooper 1975 British English
2475 The Last Battle C. S. Lewis 1956 British English
2486 The Golden Compass Philip Pullman 1995 British English
2528 The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen Alan Garner 1960 British English
2651 Circe Madeline Miller 2018 American English
2682 Twilight Stephenie Meyer 2005 American English
2700 Witch World Andre Norton 1963 American English
2786 By Night Under The Stone Bridge Leo Perutz 1953 Austrian German
2795 The Silver Chair C. S. Lewis 1953 British English
2802 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
2821 The Horse and His Boy C. S. Lewis 1954 British English
2827 A Swiftly Tilting Planet Madeleine L'Engle 1978 American English
2840 The Magician's Nephew C. S. Lewis 1955 British English
2880 Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One Rick Riordan 2005 American English
2888 Olvidado Rey Gudú Ana María Matute 1996 Spanish Spanish
2914 The Broken Sword Poul Anderson 1954 American English
2916 Legend David Gemmell 1984 British English
2931 The Compleat Werewolf And Other Stories Of Fantasy And Science Fiction Anthony Boucher 1969 American English
2948 Redwall Brian Jacques 1986 British English
2968 The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman 2000 British English
2983 The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice 1985 American English
2987 Eragon Christopher Paolini 2002 American English
3014 The House With A Clock In Its Walls John Bellairs 1973 American English
3045 Three Hearts And Three Lions Poul Anderson 1953 American English
3084 Dragonflight Anne McCaffrey 1968 American English
3158 Nine Princes In Amber Roger Zelazny 1970 American English
3165 Red Moon and Black Mountain Joy Chant 1970 British English
3189 The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern 2011 American English
3212 Neverwhere Neil Gaiman 1996 British English
3214 The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld Patricia A. McKillip 1974 American English
3254 The Book Of Three Lloyd Alexander 1964 American English
3305 The Silmarillion J. R. R. Tolkien 1977 British English
3378 Black Easter James Blish 1968 American English
3398 The Name Of The Wind Patrick Rothfuss 2007 American English
3436 The Broken Earth Trilogy N. K. Jemisin 2015 American English
3442 The Summer Tree Guy Gavriel Kay 1984 Canadian English
3450 Mistborn Brandon Sanderson 2006 American English
3456 Glory Road Robert A. Heinlein 1963 American English
3489 Akata Witch Nnedi Okorafor 2011 American English
3492 The Claw Of The Conciliator Gene Wolfe 1981 American English
3543 The Dragon And The George Gordon R. Dickson 1976 American English
3550 Gloriana Michael Moorcock 1978 British English
3558 Magician Raymond E. Feist 1982 American English
3572 The Day After Judgement James Blish 1971 American English
3583 Two Sought Adventure Fritz Leiber 1957 American English
3593 The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson 1999 British English
3615 The Eyes Of The Overworld Jack Vance 1966 American English
3617 The Farthest Shore Ursula K. Le Guin 1972 American English
3620 Day Of The Minotaur Thomas Burnett Swann 1966 American English
3815 Dark Lover J. R. Ward 2005 American English
3820 Weaveworld Clive Barker 1987 British English
3826 The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman 1997 British English
3831 Lord Foul's Bane Stephen R. Donaldson 1977 American English
3879 The Hollow Hills Mary Stewart 1973 British English
3892 Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine 1997 American English
3904 The Blue Sword Robin McKinley 1982 American English
3928 The Poppy War R. F. Kuang 2018 Chinese English
3950 The Phoenix And The Mirror Avram Davidson 1969 American English
4065 A Feast Unknown Philip José Farmer 1969 American English
4078 Children Of Blood And Bone Tomi Adeyemi 2018 Nigerian English
4103 Selected Poems Of Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith 1971 American English
4189 An Ember In The Ashes Sabaa Tahir 2015 American English
4221 The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe 1980 American English