The Greatest High Fantasy Books of All Time

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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
8593 The Wise Man's Fear Patrick Rothfuss 2011 American English
8645 Spindle’s End Robin McKinley 2000 American English
8694 Throne Of Glass Sarah J. Maas 2012 American English
8887 Theft Of Swords Michael J. Sullivan 2011 American English
8913 Paladin of Souls Lois McMaster Bujold 2003 American English
8939 The Rage Of Dragons Evan Winter 2019 Canadian English
8957 Stardust Neil Gaiman 1999 British English
8995 Inkheart Cornelia Funke 2003 German German
9095 He Who Fights With Monsters Shirtaloon 2021 Unknown English
9239 The Sword Of Shannara Terry Brooks 1977 American English
9256 The Grace Of Kings Ken Liu 2015 American English
9530 A Torch Against The Night Sabaa Tahir 2016 American English
9569 The Land Aleron Kong 2015 Unknown English
9690 A Spell For Chameleon Piers Anthony 1977 American English
9824 City Of Glass Cassandra Clare 2009 American English
9906 Aru Shah And The End Of Time Roshani Chokshi 2018 American English
9917 The Eyes Of The Dragon Stephen King 1987 American English
9973 Daughter Of Smoke & Bone Laini Taylor 2011 American English
9981 Shadow & Claw Gene Wolfe 1994 American English
10085 Assassin's Apprentice Robin Hobb 1995 American English
10103 The Fifth Elephant Terry Pratchett 1999 British English
10128 Dealing With Dragons Patricia C. Wrede 1990 American English
10163 The Devils Joe Abercrombie 2025 British English
10200 Monsieur, Or The Prince Of Darkness Lawrence Durrell 1974 British English
10415 The Bright Sword Lev Grossman 2024 American English
10561 Thief Of Time Terry Pratchett 2001 British English
10577 The Goblin Emperor Katherine Addison 2014 American English
10764 A Darker Shade Of Magic V. E. Schwab 2015 American English
10955 The Magicians Lev Grossman 2009 American English
10968 The Wall Of Storms Ken Liu 2016 American English
11191 Love And Sleep John Crowley 1994 American English
11265 Empire Of Sand Tasha Suri 2018 British English
11265 Song Of Blood & Stone L. Penelope 2018 American English
11426 Children Of Virtue And Vengeance Tomi Adeyemi 2019 American English
11426 We Hunt The Flame Hafsah Faizal 2019 American English
11604 Deltora Quest Series Emily Rodda 2000 Australian English
12022 The Amulet of Samarkand Jonathan Stroud 2003 British English
12225 A Conjuring Of Light V. E. Schwab 2017 American English
12317 The Hero And The Crown Robin McKinley 1984 American English
12473 The Witcher Andrzej Sapkowski 1993 Polish Polish
12489 The Raven Scholar Antonia Hodgson 2025 Unknown English
12718 The Door On The Sea Caskey Russell 2025 American English
12726 A Little Hatred Joe Abercrombie 2019 British English
12726 Jade War Fonda Lee 2019 Canadian English
13054 Engines Of War R.S. Ford 2025 Unknown English
13063 The Blackfire Blade James Logan 2025 Unknown English
13216 The Belgariad David Eddings 1982 American English
13227 Gardens Of The Moon Steven Erikson 1999 Canadian English
13303 Kushiel's Dart Jacqueline Carey 2001 American English
13319 Jade Legacy Fonda Lee 2021 American English
13360 The People Of The Black Circle Robert E. Howard 1934 American English
13360 The Chronicles Of Prydain Lloyd Alexander 1964 American English
13758 The Chronicles Of Amber Roger Zelazny 1970 American English
13806 The Chronicles Of The Deryni Katherine Kurtz 1970 American English
14025 The Kingdom Of Copper S. A. Chakraborty 2019 American English
14180 Dragons Of Autumn Twilight Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman 1984 American English
14206 Dragonquest Anne McCaffrey 1971 American English
14212 Dragons Of Winter Night Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman 1985 American English
14212 Dragons Of Spring Dawning Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman 1985 American English
14232 The White Dragon Anne McCaffrey 1978 American English
14232 She Who Became The Sun Shelley Parker-Chan 2021 Australian English
14358 The Crystal Shard R. A. Salvatore 1988 American English
14477 The Sword Of Truth Terry Goodkind 1994 American English
14712 Faebound Saara El-Arifi 2024 Unknown English
14858 Furies Of Calderon Jim Butcher 2004 American English
14984 Ombria in Shadow Patricia A. McKillip 2002 American English
14984 Sabriel Garth Nix 1995 Australian English
14984 A Clash Of Kings George R. R. Martin 1998 American English
14984 A Feast For Crows George R. R. Martin 2005 American English
14984 A Dance With Dragons George R. R. Martin 2011 American English
14984 In The Hand Of The Goddess Tamora Pierce 1984 American English
14984 The Woman Who Rides Like A Man Tamora Pierce 1986 American English
14984 Lioness Rampant Tamora Pierce 1988 American English
14984 The Final Empire Brandon Sanderson 2006 American English
14984 Sailing To Sarantium Guy Gavriel Kay 1998 Canadian English
14984 The Dragonbone Chair Tad Williams 1988 American English
14984 The Ninth Rain Jen Williams 2017 British English
14984 A Brightness Long Ago Guy Gavriel Kay 2019 Canadian English
14984 The Raven Tower Ann Leckie 2019 American English
14984 Ship Of Magic Robin Hobb 1998 American English
14984 I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett 2010 British English
14984 The Spear Cuts Through Water Simon Jimenez 2022 American English
14984 The Alchemyst Michael Scott 2007 Irish English
14984 Blood Of Elves Andrzej Sapkowski 1994 Polish Polish
14984 The Shadow Rising Robert Jordan 1992 American English
14984 The Hero Of Ages Brandon Sanderson 2008 American English
14984 Blood Over Bright Haven M. L. Wang 2024 Unknown Unknown
14984 Emily Wilde's Map Of The Otherlands Heather Fawcett 2024 Unknown English
14984 Impossible Creatures Katherine Rundell 2023 British English
14984 The Hurricane Wars Thea Guanzon 2023 Unknown English
14984 The Fragile Threads Of Power V. E. Schwab 2023 American English
15719 The Two Towers J. R. R. Tolkien 1954 British English
15720 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
15819 The Hobbit & The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1937 British English
15839 The Fellowship Of The Ring J. R. R. Tolkien 1981 British English
15867 Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1954 British English
16728 The Earthsea Trilogy Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
17126 The Citadel of the Autarch Gene Wolfe 1983 American English
17126 The Song of Rhiannon Evangeline Walton 1972 British English
17126 Unfinished Tales Christopher John Reuel Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien 1980 British English
17126 The Curse of Chalion Lois McMaster Bujold 2001 Japanese English
17126 Dark Lord of Derkholm Diana Wynne Jones, Magali Mangin 1998 British English
17126 The Ropemaker Peter Dickinson 2001 British English
17126 Worm Loves Worm J.J Austrian 2016 American English
17126 The Day You Begin Jacqueline Woodson 2018 American English
17126 Drum Dream Girl Margarita Engle 2015 Cuban English
17126 Such Christine Brooke-Rose 1966 British English
17126 The Deadman’s Pedal Alan Warner 2012 Scottish English
17126 Words Of Radiance Brandon Sanderson, Kate Reading, Michael Kramer 2014 American English
17126 Wizard And Glass Stephen King 1997 American English
17126 Madouc Jack Vance 1989 American English
17126 The Other Wind Ursula K. Le Guin 2001 American English
17126 Saint Death's Daughter C. S. E. Cooney 2022 American English
17126 Lord Brocktree Brian Jacques 2000 British English
17126 The Darkness That Comes Before R. Scott Bakker 2003 Canadian English
17126 Moreta Anne McCaffrey 1983 American English
17126 The Chronicles Of Pern Anne McCaffrey 1993 Irish English
17126 Searching For Dragons Patricia C. Wrede 1991 American English
17126 Calling On Dragons Patricia C. Wrede 1993 American English