Want to Read Adult Fantasy? Here's Where to Start
- Allison Alexander
- Feb 20
- 10 min read
Interested in reading fantasy novels but not sure where to begin? From classics to modern gems, here are some recommendations listed in order of publication date.
CLASSICS
Date Published: 1954
Series: The Lord of the Rings #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: The Lord of the Rings has had such a profound influence on the fantasy genre that it seems like a logical place to start. It's the story of the littlest person making a big difference in a world of elves, dwarves, orcs, and magic. Tolkien's prose and characters are beautiful, but if you find the trilogy too difficult to read (he does spend many paragraphs describing setting, made-up languages, and poetry), The Hobbit is also a great introduction and a bit more accessible to modern readers.
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Date Published: 1968
Series: Earthsea Cycle #1
Number of Books in Series: 6
Summary: This is a about a wizard learning self-acceptance and facing the darkness within himself. It might be defined as "literary" today, as Le Guin focuses a lot on ideas, themes, and symbolism. This series is one of the foundations of current fantasy literature.
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Date Published: 1968
Series: Dragonriders of Pern #1
Number of Books in Series: 3 (though there are 24 books that take place in the world of Pern)
Summary: This is also science fiction, because the story takes place on another planet, but I'm putting it on my fantasy list because dragons. In this series, Earth has colonized the planet Pern, though the people have lost much of their technology and history due to periodic onslaughts of Thread, a spore that consumes organic life. The humans bond with dragons to destroy Thread. And thus we have the beloved dragon and dragonrider trope in one of its first major iterations.
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Date Published: 1970
Series: The Chronicles of Amber #1
Number of Books in Series: 10 (though they are really two series of five books each)
Summary: This is lesser known than some of these other classic titles, but it's one of my favourites, and the worldbuilding is fascinating. The story starts with a mystery (what is now a cliché: a character waking up without his memory) and is about magical siblings battling for the throne of the one "true" world (there are many other worlds, but they are all merely reflections of Amber). It's weird, creative, and fun.
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Date Published: 1970
Series: The Chronicles of the Deryni #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: Kurtz was one of the first writers of historical fantasy. This book is mostly centered on politics and a royal succession that takes place in an alternate medieval Europe, where a magical race of people (the Deryni) has been persecuted for years by the Church, so most hide their lineage.
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Date Published: 1970
Series: Arthurian Saga #1
Number of Books in Series: 5
Summary: This story blends history with Arthurian mythology. It's narrated by Merlin, who recounts his childhood and adolescence, ending at the conception of Arthur.
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Date Published: 1973
Summary: A humorous fairy tale with witty dialogue, quirky characters, revenge, snakes, spiders, chases, duels, and love (twoo wuv)—what more could you want?
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Date Published: 1983
Series: Discworld #1
Number of Books in Series: 41 (though I believe they all function as standalones and don't need to be read in order)
Summary: Discworld is beloved for its humour, satire, creative worldbuilding, and fun characters. If you want to start at the beginning, The Color of Magic is the first book, though many fans will tell you to start with one of the later novels; the titles often ranked among the best are Guards! Guards!, Small Gods, Mort, and Equal Rites.
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Date Published: 1986
Series: Magic Kingdom of Landover #1
Number of Books in Series: 6
Summary: Though Terry Brooks is more widely known for his Shannara series, which is heavily inspired by The Lord of the Rings, the Landover series is lighter fare, about a lawyer from the mundane world who purchases a magic kingdom for a million dollars and is surprised to learn that, not only does the kingdom actually exist, it is falling into ruin, no one respects him as "king," and there's a demon out for the throne. It is very fun and filled with colourful characters.
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Date Published: 1986
Series: Howl's Moving Castle #1
Number of Books in Series: 3 (though they can all be read as standalones)
Summary: This is one of my favourite books of all time. It's cute, quirky, and cozy, about a young woman who is cursed with old age, decides she will work as a cleaning lady for a vain wizard who spends most of his time wooing beautiful women, makes a deal with a fire demon, and gets into all sorts of trouble.
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INFLUENTIAL TITLES
Date Published: 1987
Series: Heralds of Valdemar #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: This is a coming-of-age story about an orphan who bonds telepathically with a horse and trains as one of the elite force who protect the Queen and the realm.
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Date Published: 1988
Series: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: Epic fantasy doorstoppers really started to take off in the 90s, and Tad Williams led the charge. This book has many classic fantasy elements (an orphaned hero, a quest, dark magic, politics, runaway princesses, etc.) while taking a few surprising turns. It's a slow burn, but the rich worldbuilding and lore will draw you in.
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Date Published: 1990
Summary: Kay uses his beautiful prose to tell a a story about a lost culture. In a land modeled after Renaissance Italy, a group of rebels try to restore their homeland, a task that proves difficult when Tigana's name and history has been magically wiped from the minds of everyone born after the invasion.
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Date Published: 1990
Series: The Wheel of Time #1
Number of Books in Series: 14
Summary: Another doorstopper series that embraces beloved tropes like the chosen one, magical artifacts, cursed items, forgotten magic, and prophecy, The Wheel of Time has an intriguing magic system and some truly wonderful characters. Just be warned: there are a lot of character names to remember and a lot of fantasy lingo to learn.
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15. Sabriel by Garth Nix
Date Published: 1995
Series: Abhorsen #1
Number of Books in Series: 6
Summary: This is one of my favourite books. I love the magic system, in which necromancers use bells to summon the dead or walk into death itself, which is a vast river with a strong current that pulls souls deeper in. It's about a strong, smart young woman, a talking cat, and a young (but also 200-year-old) man battling deadly creatures in order to find Sabriel's father, who may be dead, alive, or somewhere in between.
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Date Published: 1995
Series: The Farseer Trilogy #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: If you like a story that goes into the deep end with character development and relationships, Robin Hobb's fantasy books might be for you. Assassin's Apprentice is a slow burn where you spend your time with narrator Fitz from childhood to young adulthood, who is despised by everyone around him due to being a royal bastard.
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Date Published: 2000
Series: The Dresden Files #1
Number of Books in Series: 17 (so far)
Summary: The Dresden Files mixes urban fantasy with the good ol' fashioned detective novel. Harry Dresden is a wise-cracking wizard for hire in modern Chicago. He gets into all sorts of trouble with the magical world (which most humans are blissfully unaware of), making enemies of vampires, fey, demons, and the like.
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Date Published: 2006
Series: Gentleman Bastard #1
Number of Books in Series: 4 (so far)
Summary: About a con artist who leads a band of thieves in a Venice-like city. It's full of banter, camaraderie, heists, profanity, dark humour, and arrogant nobles just begging to have their purses snatched.
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Date Published: 2006
Series: Temeraire #1
Number of Books in Series: 9
Summary: This is a historical fantasy that takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. A Naval captain discovers a ship with a dragon egg on it, and when it hatches, it bonds with him, so he has to leave the Navy and train with the Aerial Corps. Come for the dragons, stay for the aerial battles, the friendship, and the social satire.
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Date Published: 2006
Series: The Mistborn Saga #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: If you like unique magic systems and complex plots with surprise reveals, Brandon Sanderson might be the author for you. Mistborn is about Vin, an orphaned thief who, due to her ability to burn metals to create magical effects, gets brought on to join a crew that intends to pull off a heist with world-shattering stakes. For a lighter, standalone story, Sanderson's Tress of the Emerald Sea is also fantastic.
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MODERN GEMS
Date Published: 2015
Series: The Broken Earth #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: Jemisin is beloved for her mastery of language and dedication to diverse, deep, challenging stories. Everyone in the world of this story is just trying to survive, because the planet is unstable and earthquakes happen often. It's a dark tale about a woman looking for her daughter and two girls training in the ability to control earthquakes in a society that oppresses magic-users.
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Date Published: 2017
Series: The Green Bone Saga #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: Though it takes place in a secondary world, the metropolis setting feels somewhat modern, which is fun for an epic fantasy. This book has fight scenes, mafia-like families vying for control over a magical substance, rivalries, street violence, and clan wars. On Goodreads, Fonda Lee writes that "it came from watching kung fu movies and thinking, 'You know, I'm a long-time student of martial arts, so why can't I punch through concrete or fly thirty feet into the air yet?'"
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Date Published: 2019
Series: The Roots of Chaos #1
Number of Books in Series: 2
Summary: As someone who has devoured many epic fantasy series, most of which were written by men, I was delighted to discover this epic fantasy standalone written by a woman, featuring strong women, sapphic relationships, and diverse characters. This is one of my favourite books of all time—about an ancient evil awakening and a queen, a secret mage, and a dragonrider trying to stop it. It's got political intrigue, conflicting religions, intricate worldbuilding, and did I mention dragons?
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Date Published: 2020
Series: Cerulean Chronicles #1
Number of Books in Series: 2
Summary: Cozy fantasy has really grown on me, and TJ Klune is a master of it. This book is about a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, who is assigned to visit an orphanage where six dangerous children reside—a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, a blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist—and determine whether they are likely to bring about the apocalypse. It's charming, whimsical, and has a M/M romance that will melt your heart.
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Date Published: 2022
Summary: This novella is an original fairy tale about a woman on a quest to kill the prince abusing her sister. She's joined by a witch, a fairy godmother who's better at curses than blessings, a former knight, and a demon-possessed chicken. It is somehow dark and cozy at the same time, another absolute favourite of mine.
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Date Published: 2022
Summary: In this historical fantasy set in 1925 along Washington, DC's "Black Broadway," a woman who can communicate with spirits must pull off a heist in order to stop a malevolent entity targeting people in her community. It's quite clever, and the way the magic works—people can make deals with spirits, but they gain a curse as well as a gift—is intriguing.
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Date Published: 2023
Series: Emily Wilde #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: While studying faeries and lore in a small, northern town, Cambridge professor Emily Wilde unearths some secrets about the Hidden Ones—the most elusive of the faeries—and finds herself maddeningly entangled with her insufferable academic rival, Wendell Bambleby, who has a few secrets of his own. Cozy and heartwarming and adorable.
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Date Published: 2023
Summary: After their father mysteriously dies, estranged sisters Joanna and Esther uncover secrets about their family's library of magical books in this dark tale of magical realism. There's puzzle solving and facing family trauma and deeply wounded, lonely characters who explore the power of books.
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Date Published: 2023
Series: Fallen Gods #1
Number of Books in Series: 3
Summary: This feels like an epic but is under 300 pages, which is refreshing. Kissen, who makes her living killing gods, somehow finds herself protecting a girl and a little god of white lies, accompanied by a disgraced knight (who claims he's just a baker) on a dangerous quest. The worldbuilding, with gods that can pop up anywhere based on people's belief and building shrines, is super interesting. It's also a queer-normative world with disability rep!
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Date Published: 2024
Summary: This is a delightful genre blend—a murder mystery aboard a magical cruise ship. I particularly loved the sarcasm and heart of the main character, Ganymedes, and his determination to find the killer as the body count rises. The queer romance was heartwarming and I did not correctly guess the twist at the end! A unique, delightful read.
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