The Greatest Fantasy Books Since 1952

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.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
14984 The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore William Joyce 2011 American English
14984 The Paper Bag Princess Robert Munsch 1980 Canadian English
14984 The Fairy Tale Detectives Michael Buckley 2005 American English
14984 Strega Nona Tomie dePaola 1975 American English
14984 The Road To Roswell Connie Willis 2023 American English
15564 A Private Cathedral James Lee Burke 2020 American English
15584 The Alien Realm Bo Yang 1996 Chinese Unknown
15683 Temnaya Zvezda Hroniki Artsii Vera Kamsha 2009 Russian Russian
15712 Kingdom Of The Wicked Kerri Maniscalco 2020 American English
15712 A Song Of Wraiths And Ruin Roseanne A. Brown 2020 Unknown English
15714 King Of Battle And Blood Scarlett St. Clair 2021 Unknown English
15718 Immortal Longings Chloe Gong 2023 Unknown English
15718 What The River Knows Isabel Ibañez 2023 Unknown English
15720 The Two Towers J. R. R. Tolkien 1954 British English
15721 The Return Of The King J. R. R. Tolkien 1955 British English
15766 J.R.R. Tolkien 4 Book Boxed Set J. R. R. Tolkien 1954 British English
15820 Half Magic Edward Eager 1954 American English
15841 The Fellowship Of The Ring J. R. R. Tolkien 1981 British English
15840 The Time Quartet Box Set Madeleine L'Engle 1962 American English
15868 Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1954 British English
16495 The Iron Giant Ted Hughes 1968 British English
15908 Year Of The Unicorn Andre Norton 1965 American English
15898 Български народни приказки Angel Karaliichev 1961 Bulgarian Bulgarian
15893 God Emperor Of Dune Frank Herbert 1981 American English
15908 Pierre Maurice Sendak 1962 American English
15908 How The Whale Became Ted Hughes 1963 British English
15908 The Letter For The King Tonke Dragt 1962 Dutch Dutch
16543 A Walk Out Of The World Ruth Nichols 1969 Canadian English
16588 The Halloween Tree Ray Bradbury 1972 American English
16621 Badjelly The Witch Spike Milligan 1973 New Zealander English
16753 The Earthsea Trilogy Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
16738 Travel Light Naomi Mitchison 1952 British English
16626 The Black Castle Les Daniels 1978 American English
17150 Wolf Brother Michelle Paver 2004 British English
17150 Outside Over There Maurice Sendak 1981 American English
17150 Always Coming Home Ursula K. Le Guin 1985 American English
17150 The Citadel of the Autarch Gene Wolfe 1983 American English
17150 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar Roald Dahl 1977 British English
17150 The Worst Witch Jill Murphy 1974 British English
17150 The Song of Rhiannon Evangeline Walton 1972 British English
17150 Unfinished Tales Christopher John Reuel Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien 1980 British English
17150 The Firelings Carol Kendall 1981 American English
17150 When Voiha Wakes Joy Chant 1983 British English
17150 Cards of Grief Jane Yolen 1984 American English
17150 The Folk of the Air Peter S. Beagle 1986 American English
17150 Unicorn Mountain Michael Bishop 1988 American English
17150 A Woman of the Iron People Eleanor Arnason 1991 American English
17150 Briar Rose Jane Yolen 1992 American English
17150 The Porcelain Dove Delia Sherman 1993 American English
17150 Something Rich and Strange Patricia A. McKillip 1984 American English
17150 The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye A. S. Byatt 1994 British English
17150 Tamsin Peter S. Beagle 1999 American English
17150 The Innamorati Midori Snyder 1998 American English
17150 The Curse of Chalion Lois McMaster Bujold 2001 Japanese English
17150 Solstice Wood Patricia A. McKillip 2006 American English
17150 In the Night Garden Catherynne M. Valente 2006 American English
17150 In the Cities of Coin and Spice Catherynne M. Valente 2007 American English
17150 Flesh and Spirit Carol Berg 2007 American English
17150 Lifelode Jo Walton 2009 British English
17150 The Uncertain Places Lisa Goldstein 2011 American English
17150 Tales from Rugosa Coven Sarah Avery 2013 American English
17150 Kingfisher Patricia A. McKillip 2016 American English
17150 Snow White Learns Witchcraft Theodora Goss 2019 American English
17150 Or What You Will Jo Walton 2020 British English
17150 Knight's Wyrd Debra Doyle 1992 American English
17150 The Kingdom of Kevin Malone Suzy McKee Charnas 1977 American English
17150 Owl in Love Patrice Kindl 1993 American English
17150 The Crown of Dalemark Diana Wynne Jones 1993 British English
17150 Passager Jane Yolen 1996 American English
17150 Hobby Jane Yolen 1996 American Unknown
17150 Merlin Jane Yolen 2004 American English
17150 Dark Lord of Derkholm Diana Wynne Jones, Magali Mangin 1998 British English
17150 The Folk Keeper Franny Billingsley 1999 American English
17150 Aria of the Sea Dia Calhoun 2000 American English
17150 The Ropemaker Peter Dickinson 2001 British English
17150 Summerland Michael Chabon 2002 American English
17150 The Hollow Kingdom Clare B. Dunkle 2003 American English
17150 The Golem's Eye Jonathan Stroud 2004 British English
17150 Ptolemy's Gate Jonathan Stroud 2005 British English
17150 Corbenic Catherine Fisher 2002 British English
17150 The Queen of Attolia Megan Whalen Turner 2000 American English
17150 The King of Attolia Megan Whalen Turner 2006 American English
17150 A Conspiracy of Kings Megan Whalen Turner 2010 American English
17150 Vessel Sarah Beth Durst 2012 American English
17150 Doll Bones Holly Black 2013 American English
17150 A Snicker of Magic Natalie Lloyd 2014 American English
17150 Castle Hangnail Ursula Vernon 2015 American English
17150 The Inquisitor's Tale Adam Gidwitz 2016 American English
17150 Bob Rebecca Stead, Wendy Mass 2018 American English
17150 Dragon Pearl Yoon Ha Lee 2019 American English
17150 Pahua and the Soul Stealer Lori Lee 2021 American English
17150 Root Magic Eden Royce 2021 American English
17150 Monstress Vol. 1 Marjorie Liu 2015 American English
17150 A Bride's Story Kaoru Mori 2009 Japanese Japanese
17150 Alice Christina Henry 2015 American English
17150 The Lamb Will Slaughter The Lion Margaret Killjoy 2017 American English
17150 Dactyl Hill Squad Daniel José Older 2018 American English
17150 Worm Loves Worm J.J Austrian 2016 American English
17150 The Day You Begin Jacqueline Woodson 2018 American English
17150 Drum Dream Girl Margarita Engle 2015 Cuban English
16944 The White Mountains John Christopher 1967 British English
17150 When Dreams Travel Githa Hariharan 1999 Indian English
17150 Such Christine Brooke-Rose 1966 British English
17150 The Deadman’s Pedal Alan Warner 2012 Scottish English
17150 Words Of Radiance Brandon Sanderson, Kate Reading, Michael Kramer 2014 American English
17150 Fledgling Octavia E. Butler 2005 American English
17150 Wizard And Glass Stephen King 1997 American English
17150 The Looking Glass Wars Frank Beddor 2004 American English
17150 Doctor Rat William Kotzwinkle 1976 American English
17150 Watchtower Elizabeth A. Lynn 1979 American English
17150 The Dragon Waiting John M. Ford 1983 American English
17150 Madouc Jack Vance 1989 American English
17150 Only Begotten Daughter James K. Morrow 1990 American English
17150 Last Call Tim Powers 1992 American English
17150 Glimpses Lewis Shiner 1993 American English
17150 Towing Jehovah James K. Morrow 1994 American English
17150 Godmother Night Rachel Pollack 1996 American English
17150 The Physiognomy Jeffrey Ford 1997 American English
17150 Thraxas Martin Scott 1999 British English
17150 Galveston Sean Stewart 1997 American English