hardcover
Hardcover

The 31 Best Fantasy Books Everyone Should Read

WIRED's team has summoned some of the strangest creatures in the most fantastic worlds in this list of the best fantasy books everyone should read.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

#1 of 5 in A Court of Thorns and Roses

2014 • 3,226 Readers • 440 pages 3.7

A Game of Thrones

#1 of 6 in A Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones
ByGeorge R.R. Martin

1996 • 4,196 Readers • 819 pages 4.4

American Gods

#1 of 2 in American Gods

American Gods
ByNeil Gaiman

2001 • 3,244 Readers • 635 pages 4

Assassin's Apprentice

#1 of 3 in The Farseer Trilogy

1995 • 1,382 Readers • 400 pages 4.1

A Wizard of Earthsea

#1 of 6 in Earthsea Cycle

A Wizard of Earthsea
ByUrsula K. Le Guin

1968 • 1,930 Readers • 240 pages 3.9

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

#1 of 2 in The Dark Star Trilogy

2019 • 679 Readers • 620 pages 3.1

Circe

Circe
ByMadeline Miller

2018 • 3,492 Readers • 409 pages 4.2

Dune

#1 of 9 in Dune

Dune
ByFrank Herbert

1965 • 6,014 Readers • 704 pages 4.3

Earthlings

Earthlings
BySayaka Murata,Ginny Tapley Takemori(Translator)

2018 • 726 Readers • 247 pages 3.6

Gardens of the Moon

#1 of 10 in Malazan Book of the Fallen

Gardens of the Moon
BySteven Erikson

1999 • 1,473 Readers • 559 pages 4

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

1990 • 2,716 Readers • 432 pages 4.2

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

#1 in Strange & Norrell

2004 • 1,570 Readers • 865 pages 4

Kindred

Kindred
ByOctavia E. Butler

1979 • 1,214 Readers • 287 pages 4.4

La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One

#1 of 2 in The Book of Dust

2017 • 562 Readers • 570 pages 4

Midnight Riot

#1 of 9 in Rivers of London

Midnight Riot
ByBen Aaronovitch

2011 • 245 Readers • 298 pages 3.8

Mort

#4 of 42 in Discworld

Mort
ByTerry Pratchett

1987 • 1,213 Readers • 272 pages 4.1

Perdido Street Station

#1 of 4 in New Crobuzon

Perdido Street Station
ByChina Miéville

2000 • 798 Readers • 24h 9m 4

Riot Baby

Riot Baby
ByTochi Onyebuchi(Author, Narrator)

2020 • 224 Readers • 176 pages 3.6

Stone of Farewell

#2 of 3 in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

Stone of Farewell
ByTad Williams

1989 • 270 Readers • 610 pages 3.9

Storm Front

#1 of 17 in The Dresden Files

Storm Front
ByJim Butcher

1997 • 1,651 Readers • 372 pages 3.7

The Eye of the World

#1 of 14 in The Wheel of Time

The Eye of the World
ByRobert Jordan

1990 • 2,484 Readers • 708 pages 4

The Fifth Season

#1 of 3 in The Broken Earth

The Fifth Season
ByN. K. Jemisin

2015 • 2,831 Readers • 421 pages 4.3

The Golden Compass

#1 of 3 in His Dark Materials

The Golden Compass
ByPhilip Pullman

1995 • 2,498 Readers • 399 pages 4

The Golem and the Djinni

#1 of 2 in The Golem and the Jinni

2013 • 763 Readers • 656 pages 4.2

The Gunslinger

#1 of 7 in The Dark Tower

The Gunslinger
ByStephen King

1982 • 2,059 Readers • 238 pages 3.6

The Iron King

#1 in The Accursed Kings,

The Iron King
ByMaurice Druon

1955 • 144 Readers • 281 pages 4.1

The Lies of Locke Lamora

#1 of 3 in Gentleman Bastard

2006 • 2,356 Readers • 745 pages 4.3

The Power

The Power
ByNaomi Alderman

1998 • 875 Readers • 341 pages 3.7

Titus Groan

#1 of 4 in Gormenghast

Titus Groan
ByMervyn Peake

1946 • 344 Readers • 460 pages 3.5

Who Fears Death

#1 of 1 in Who Fears Death

Who Fears Death
ByNnedi Okorafor

2010 • 295 Readers • 386 pages 3.8