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 • 3,001 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 • 3,848 Readers • 819 pages 4.4

American Gods

#1 of 2 in American Gods

American Gods
ByNeil Gaiman

2001 • 3,023 Readers • 635 pages 4

Assassin's Apprentice

#1 of 3 in The Farseer Trilogy

1995 • 1,259 Readers • 400 pages 4.1

A Wizard of Earthsea

#1 of 6 in Earthsea Cycle

A Wizard of Earthsea
ByUrsula K. Le Guin

1968 • 1,741 Readers • 210 pages 3.9

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

#1 of 2 in The Dark Star Trilogy

2019 • 640 Readers • 620 pages 3.1

Circe

Circe
ByMadeline Miller

2018 • 3,253 Readers • 409 pages 4.2

Dune

#1 of 8 in Dune

Dune
ByFrank Herbert

1965 • 5,512 Readers • 704 pages 4.3

Earthlings

Earthlings
BySayaka Murata,Ginny Tapley Takemori(Translator)

2018 • 663 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 • 1,357 Readers • 559 pages 4

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

1990 • 2,398 Readers • 432 pages 4.2

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

#1 in Strange & Norrell

2004 • 1,475 Readers • 865 pages 4

Kindred

Kindred
ByOctavia E. Butler

1979 • 1,134 Readers • 287 pages 4.4

La Belle Savage

#1 of 2 in The Book of Dust

La Belle Savage
ByPhilip Pullman

2017 • 520 Readers • 466 pages 4

Midnight Riot

#1 of 9 in Rivers of London

Midnight Riot
ByBen Aaronovitch

2011 • 239 Readers • 320 pages 3.8

Mort

#4 of 41 in Discworld

Mort
ByTerry Pratchett

1987 • 1,128 Readers • 272 pages 4.1

Perdido Street Station

#1 of 8 in New Crobuzon

Perdido Street Station
ByChina Miéville

2000 • 729 Readers • 24h 9m 4

Riot Baby

Riot Baby
ByTochi Onyebuchi(Author, Narrator)

2020 • 211 Readers 3.7

Stone of Farewell

#2 of 3 in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

Stone of Farewell
ByTad Williams

1989 • 253 Readers • 610 pages 3.9

Storm Front

#1 of 17 in The Dresden Files

Storm Front
ByJim Butcher

1997 • 1,509 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 • 2,261 Readers • 708 pages 4

The Fifth Season

#1 of 3 in The Broken Earth

The Fifth Season
ByN.K. Jemisin

2015 • 2,627 Readers • 421 pages 4.3

The Golden Compass

#1 of 3 in His Dark Materials

The Golden Compass
ByPhilip Pullman

1995 • 2,310 Readers • 399 pages 4

The Golem and the Jinni

#1 of 2 in The Golem and the Jinni

2013 • 599 Readers 4.2

The Gunslinger

#1 of 7 in The Dark Tower

The Gunslinger
ByStephen King

1982 • 1,904 Readers • 238 pages 3.6

The Iron King

#1 of 7 in The Accursed Kings

The Iron King
ByMaurice Druon

1955 • 122 Readers • 340 pages 4

The Lies of Locke Lamora

#1 of 3 in Gentleman Bastard

2006 • 2,182 Readers • 745 pages 4.3

The Power

The Power
ByNaomi Alderman

1998 • 817 Readers • 341 pages 3.7

Titus Groan

#1 of 4 in Gormenghast

Titus Groan
ByMervyn Peake

1946 • 315 Readers • 460 pages 3.5

Who Fears Death

#1 of 1 in Who Fears Death

Who Fears Death
ByNnedi Okorafor

2010 • 278 Readers • 386 pages 3.8