Today on store shelves you can find a huge variety of books. However, most of the authors are simply unknown to us. Therefore, the question often arises: "What to read?" Fantasy in this regard is one of the most popular genres. And in this article we tried to collect the best books in this section of the literature to help the reader decide on the answer. In general, let's get started.
Best fantasy books
So what to read? Fantasy, as many probably know, has many subsections. This is romantic fantasy, and urban, and childish, and dark, and Slavic, and epic, etc. It is simply impossible to provide an overview of all the possible sections in one article, so we will list the ten best books ever written in the fantasy genre .
"Lord of the Rings"
What to read (fantasy)? Probably everyone heard about this book by J. Tolkien, even if he didn’t read or watch the famous movie trilogy. For the first time, this famous fantasy epic was published back in 1954. And she became the most famous work of this genre, having generated many imitations and sequels.
The Lord of the Rings was created as a single book, but its volume was too large, so the publisher suggested dividing it into three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, Two Fortresses, and The Return of the King. To this day, the novel is published in three parts.
The story unfolds in the same fictional world that was created for The Hobbit. The main character is the hobbit Frodo, who has to destroy the Ring of Omnipotence, which has tremendous dark power.
"Song of Ice and Fire"
If you are looking for something to read from fantasy, so as not to come off, then this cycle is just for you. The series of epic novels by J. Martin became popular in Russia after the release of the 2012 series “Game of Thrones” based on books. The first book of the series was released back in 1991. And then only three parts were conceived. However, the cycle later expanded. To date, five volumes have been published, and two more are in progress.
The first three parts of the novel were awarded the Locus Prize for the best fantasy novel. Later, the author published several short stories for the main series, which were also awarded a number of prizes.
Today it is one of the most popular fantasy series, which has been translated into 45 languages.
The Chronicles of Amber
What to read (fantasy) yet? A great option is a series of books by the American science fiction writer Roger Zhelyazny. The cycle consists of 10 books, which are divided into two parts of five books each. The first book , The Nine Princes of Amber, was published in 1970, and the last, The Prince of Chaos, in 1991.
The first part of the series, entitled “The Pentateuch of Corwin,” tells of the life of Prince Corvin. The protagonist of the second part, “The Pentateuch of Merlin,” is his son Merlin.
The universe of books is a multitude of parallel worlds that are “reflections” of the world of the order of Amber and the Courts of Chaos. These secondary worlds are capable of moving, and the closer they are to one of the poles, the more they look like it. In the universe there is a category of people who are able to travel between these parallel worlds. This gift is enjoyed by all the children of King Amber Oberon.
"Harry Potter"
What to read interesting from fantasy? A series of books about a wizard boy is able to win the heart of not only a child, but also an adult. The cycle consists of seven novels, which began to be published since 1997. The last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published in 2007.
The cycle is inherently a mixture of several genres. This is an ordinary fantasy, and a teenage novel, besides with elements of a detective story, adventure, thriller, romance novel. In addition, the text of the work contains many cultural references. Despite the fact that the novel is intended for children, Rowling in one of the interviews stated that the main character of her books is death. It is also important that the cycle touches upon such topical issues as corruption and prejudice.
"Sword of Truth"
Another great fantasy cycle. To read the best in this case means to overcome not only the books of the main cycle - there are 11 of them, but also 5 novels-sequels and 2 novels of spin-offs. The author of the series is Terry Goodkind, the famous American science fiction writer. The first novel was released in 1994 and was called the "First rule of the wizard."
The protagonist of the novels is Richard Cypher, who serves as a simple forest guide. However, his life soon changed dramatically. It turns out that he is the heir to the royal house of Ral. This makes him the Seeker of Truth and the true ruler of the D'Hara empire.
Now, together with his grandfather Zedd, a wizard of the first rank, he has to overcome many challenges, make new friends and allies. But his main goal is to liberate the Middle Earth from the conqueror and tyrant and finally become a great sorcerer.
"Dark tower"
"Dark Tower" - the famous cycle of horror master Stephen King. The books were written at the intersection of several genres: fantasy, horror, science fiction, western, etc. In total, the series includes eight novels published from 1982 to 2012.
The cycle tells of the wanderings of a shooter named Roland Disney, who is looking for the legendary Dark Tower. King himself calls this cycle his main work in life. The Dark Tower series covers many characters, themes, ideas, storylines from the author’s other books that are completely unrelated to The Dark Tower.
The prototype of the protagonist of the cycle was the nameless hero from the Clint Eastwood series of films “The Dollar Trilogy”. Roland is the last knight from the ancient order of shooters. Its task is to establish order in the world. If you go to the center of all worlds, the Dark Tower, and climb to its top, you can see who controls the universe.
"Flat world"
If you are trying to answer the question of what to read from fantasy, so as not to come off, then Terry Pratchett's books will be an excellent answer. A series of novels about the Flat World, or World-Disc, was written in the genre of humorous fantasy, which provided it with incredible popularity among readers. In addition, Pratchett's books are distinguished by their topicality and small philosophical reflections all in the same humorous vein.
The action of the novels takes place on some fantastic planet, which has the form of a disk. This world has its own physical laws: in a rainbow of 8 colors, magic exists, light moves very slowly. In this universe, all myths become reality. And Mir-Disk itself rests on the backs of 4 elephants, which, in turn, stand on a huge turtle named Great A'Tuin.
The Saga of the Seers
The American writer Robin Hobb is practically unknown in Russia, but in Europe her works are very popular and loved.
The cycle “Saga of Seers” consists of three novels: “Apprentice of the Assassin”, “The Royal Assassin”, “The Assassin's Wanderings”. All of them are written in the genre of psycho-adventure fantasy. It was this series that brought Robin Hobb worldwide fame. The books were named the best fantasy cycle of the 90s.
The protagonist of the novels is Fitz, the royal bastard who grew up among the servants. By order of the king, the boy’s grandfather, he was trained as secret killers from childhood. The life of the young bastard was surrounded by slander, betrayal, betrayal and contempt. It is Fitz who will help the country survive the difficult times in which its sick and weak ruler plunged, the enmity of the heirs to the throne and bloodthirsty pirates.
Earthsea
What is the most famous fantasy? Perhaps one of the main contenders for this title is the Ursula Le Guin cycle “The Seaside”. The series includes six books, of which 5 are novels and one collection of short stories “Tales of the Seaside”. In addition, the cycle includes two stories - “The Rule of Names” and “The Word of Liberation”.
The Earth Sea world is an archipelago that consists of a huge number of islands inhabited by various magical creatures and ordinary people. There is also the magic of True Speech, which consists in the fact that any object has a true name. Knowing this true name, the magician can control an object or living creature.
The hero of most of the novels in the cycle is Ged, who will master magical art and become a great wizard.
"The Chronicles of Narnia"
The cycle, written by Clive S. Lewis, includes seven fairy-tale books. These novels describe the adventures of children who lived during World War II. Heroes fall into a magical land called Narnia. Here live animals that speak the human language, live powerful sorcerers, and around there is an ongoing struggle between good and evil.
The Chronicles of Narnia contains many references to Christian subjects. In addition, characters from Roman and Greek mythology are found in books.
The first book is called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and was published in 1950. The final part - “The Last Battle” - was published in 1956. Despite the fact that the cycle was written half a century ago, it is very popular among children to this day.
Romantic fantasy: what to read?
Romantic fantasy is becoming increasingly popular, especially among the fair sex. This is not surprising, because such books combine a touching love story and a fantasy story.
So, if you like female fantasy, what to read?
You can start with the book "Black Yangar" by Karina Demina. This is the story of Black Yangar, the best fighter of the North, who decided to marry Pirkko, but instead got her illegitimate sister Inna as his wife. The story of the book is stylized as an epic.
"Silver Flame" by Tatyana Zaichenko can also be attributed to the female fantasy genre. What to read if you want to plunge into a romantic fairy tale? Wondering about this? Then you should stop your attention on this book. The novel talks about how heartache and betrayal can become the basis for starting a new relationship.
The Winterfield novel by Natalia Ipatova talks about the love of a middle-aged Guardian of Borders and the young maid of honor of the Queen. Their romance will begin with the fact that the stern warrior will be instructed to teach the young girl fencing, but in the end she will teach him to really feel.
“Cinderella from a tavern in the square” by Kauri Lessa is a wonderful tale about how a young mistress of a tavern, having lost her husband, falls in love with a stranger who accidentally ends up in her establishment. However, not everything is so simple, and soon the heroine will become clear that not only circumstances and his position in society, but also a terrible curse that will be worse than any human prejudice can share her with her lover.
Twilight Stephanie Meyer is one of the most famous love loops today. The story tells about the relationship of an ordinary girl with a centennial vampire and a young werewolf. This work is another great example of romantic fantasy.
What to read? Love, adventure, danger - these are the components of a good female fantasy. And an example of such a book can serve as the work "Talking Dolls" by Elena Kocheshkova. It, among other things, combines two storylines. The first tells about a girl from the real world, and the second tells about a different world where the main characters will be dancers from the temple of the Great Goddess.
The novel "How to Fall in Love with a Warrior" by Diana Olkhovitskaya consists of two parts, which tells about the talented witch and the formidable warrior. Their difficult relationship develops against the backdrop of ongoing adventures and adventures.
Now you know what to read from a love fantasy. And the next time you find yourself in a bookstore, it will be much easier for you to make a choice.
Fantasy dragon
If you are interested in answering the question of what to read from fantasy with a love line, then you should pay attention not only to romantic fantasy, since almost every novel has a love motive in one way or another.
For example, Christopher Paolini’s Heritage series of four books. This is the story of a young man named Eragon and his faithful girlfriend Dragon Sapphira. In addition, the book also has a love line telling about the relationship between the young dragon rider and the elf Arya. The first tetralogy novel was Eragon, published in 2003. This book was filmed in 2011. In Russia, only the first three novels are currently translated.
Another novel where the dragon is one of the main characters is a book by J. Tolkien “The Hobbit, or There and Back.” Smog - the dragon, the main villain of this work, he is the embodiment of greed and evil. It is to fight against him that the gnomes go, from whom he took the house, the hobbit, accustomed to comfort and settled life, and Gandalf, the great wizard who has the habit of hiding a lot from his companions.
In the cycle “The Witcher” by Andrzej Sapkowski dragons are also found more than once. Unlike the monsters that the witchers kill, dragons are intelligent creatures that can even turn into humans. That is why killing dragons is prohibited. In addition, the Witcher series has a number of other advantages - an amazing study of the world and characters, complex political games and constant intrigues, an ongoing struggle for power and strength, in which the main character Geralt is a pawn. This cycle is worth reading to every fan of fantasy and fiction.
What to read (fantasy)? Hitanders
Books about heroes that fall into the surreal from the real world have always been very popular. In fact, this is one of the main plot tricks of the fantasy genre.
Often Andrei Belyanin moved his heroes to other worlds . This refers to the author’s most famous cycles - “The Secret Investigation of King Peas” and “The Sword Without a Name”.
In the first case, the main character Nikita Ivashov, a police lieutenant, falls into the magical world of Russian fairy tales. It turns out to be locked in a basement in the suburbs, but Baba Yaga is already releasing it from prison. To date, the cycle includes 9 novels and is considered incomplete.
In the series “A Sword Without a Name”, which tells about the adventures of Lord Skiminok, the main character also finds himself in a fairy-tale world from the real. This happens to him during the festival of folk art. The cycle includes three novels: “The Sword Without a Name”, “The Ferocious Landgrave”, “The Age of St. Skiminok”. This work brought fame to Belyanin.
The hero of Pavel Kornev’s cycle “Borderland” also falls from reality into a world where the boundary between reality and the world of magic lies. The peculiarity of this series is that, in addition to the main character, the space of reality itself also falls into the unreal world. In addition, almost all the characters of the novels are fellow.
Another cycle about travelers between worlds is “Worlds Beyond” by K. Muravyov. The protagonist is a student, an unusual world enters, where literally at every step adventures and unusual discoveries await him. This new world was created according to magical laws, and the hero will have to recognize them and try not to say goodbye to life.
We hope that this article helped you answer the question of which fantasy book to read, and turned out to be quite useful.