TOP 10 books in the fantasy genre: tips for choosing, reader reviews

Fantasy books are fairy tales that use mythology and folklore.

Usually, the works describe parallel worlds, magical universes. Even if this is a world known to us, then it necessarily lives by other laws, which the author will not explain scientifically. The pages of such books are often inhabited by fabulous creatures: unicorns and dragons, mermaids and sirens, vampires and werewolves.

The fantasy genre is perfect for everyone who wants to immerse themselves in a fairy tale. However, she will not always be kind and with a good ending.

TOP 10 fantasy books

Here is a list of the most famous, favorite and read books in this genre. On their basis, computer and board games are created, I shoot full-length films, TV series and anime, they dress up as heroes at festivals and competitions.

The Lord of the Rings by John Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings is the most famous work in the fantasy genre. This is an epic novel, a fabulous adventure for children and adults. A work created by one book, later divided into three for ease of reading and publication.

This is a story about a world in which gnomes and elves, light and dark magicians, orcs and goblins live, but there are also ordinary people. This is a story about the eternal struggle between good and evil.
The story is told on behalf of different characters, but the main character of this story is a hobbit named Frodo. He inherited the strongest artifact - the Ring of Omnipotence. With the help of this item, the dark lord Sauron will be able to regain his strength and take over the world.

The author writes easily and clearly. A philosophical tale allows you to completely escape from this world and immerse yourself in the land of fabulous creatures, start traveling among them. I would like to erase my memory and return to this world again. Would recommend to all fantasy lovers!

The Chronicles of Narnia by Clive Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia is a collection of several stories about a magical land ruled by the wise lion Aslan.
The first book in order of publication is called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In this story, two brothers and two sisters find a passage leading from our world to a fairyland in an ordinary closet. Children, together with talking animals and fabulous creatures inhabiting the magical world, are trying to overthrow the evil sorceress who made a long winter.
This is truly a childish didactic story that will make adults smile too. The book contains many references to Greek and Roman mythology, British and Irish tales.
In the rest of the parts, we continue our journey with the heroes. Some characters leave Narnia forever, choosing our world. But others always come in their place. The adventure continues.

Unfortunately, I found out about the books after watching the film adaptation, but this did not stop me from enjoying this beautiful universe, its world, locations and colorful characters, animals and magic! I fell in love with this story again, getting to know it again, and to this day it remains one of my favorite fantasy stories.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George Martin

The first book in a series of novels gave the title to the popular HBO series Game of Thrones.
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of novels that have been published for almost 30 years. The main events of the books take place in Westeros, and this is one of the continents of the world fictional by George Martin.
There are many characters and different storylines in front of the reader. The narrative jumps from one character to another.
There is no place for sympathy in books, heroes who seem very important to the story can die tragically and suddenly. Therefore, the reader should in no case be attached to anyone. And this is difficult, because Martin's characters live, excite, cause love and hate, just like real people.
A Song of Ice and Fire is a dark, violent and gripping story full of intrigue and murder.

Almost every chapter of the book ends at such an interesting point that you look forward to the continuation of this storyline. But at this time the chapter of another hero begins, and his life story is no less interesting than the previous ones. And so in a circle, from chapter to chapter, interest grows with each proposal, it is very, very difficult to come off. I envy those who are just discovering the magical world of Westeros!

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

A bit of a dark tale, like all the works of Neil Gaiman.
The story of a young man named Tristan, who decided to get a falling star for his beloved Victoria. To do this, he leaves his house and father and sets off on a journey through a fairy-tale country. Fortunately, this one is very close, just outside the wall of his hometown.
Tristan and the star, who turned out to be a beautiful girl, will have to hide from witches, travel with pirates, uncover the secrets of the past and experience many adventures together.
This is a kind and wonderful story for adults, written in the style of classic fantasy.

Neil Gaiman is the acclaimed storyteller of our day. Tales from under his pen are deep, frightening and intriguing. The heroes of this story do not look like stereotyped characters in fairy tales. They have their flaws and weaknesses. And this nuance makes them lively and interesting. And the story itself is far from the fabulous "canons", its ending is devoid of cloying. However, a pleasant aftertaste remains after reading.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

A series of books about the boy who survived wins the hearts of readers from the first pages. This is a story about goodness and magic, love and friendship, about faith in miracles and one's own strength.
It all starts with the most ordinary and seemingly useless orphan boy named Harry. He learns that he is actually a wizard, and his parents did not die in a car accident at all.
A whole new world opens up before the boy and the readers, in which there are laws and customs. Now the young hero has to study at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and magic is a rather complicated matter. Moreover, the boy will immediately have not only loyal friends, but also the most real enemies.

This story teaches us true love, friendship, mutual understanding. J.K. Rowling's books have raised an entire generation waiting for a letter from Hogwarts and believing in miracles. The story is very good and instructive.

Discworld by Terry Pratchett

A grandiose cycle of books. It will delight those readers who fear that the story will end too soon. The series contains over 40 volumes, as well as numerous additional materials. Naturally, not all of them are connected by the same storyline.
In the first book, which is called "The Color of Magic", the reader only gets to know the Discworld together with the first tourist Twoflower. He is accompanied by the cowardly half-educated magician Rincewind, who will become the main character of this series.
The world itself rests on four elephants, and they stand on a turtle, there are 8 colors in the rainbow, and all myths and fairy tales become reality. After all, the books were conceived as a parody of bad fantasy. Therefore, the first parts will be easier and more fun. In books, every cliché is brought to the point of absurdity. But the latest episodes are getting much more serious.
The Discworld series does not have to be read from the first book. Here the first does not mean the best, because from one novel to another, the author grew and changed. But, if you love Terry Pratchett, you will surely read everything you can find and even a little more.

Madness! This book fell in love with myself almost from the very beginning. How much fantasy, philosophy, humor, magic ...

The author allows you to plunge into another dimension. Reading a book, I distract myself from the hustle and bustle, just rest, fantasize and relax. It's like a separate kind of creativity.

Fast and easy to read. I tell all my close people about the book. I recommend everyone to read it!

The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski

A cycle of novels about the Witcher Geralt of Rivia. All events take place in a fictional world that is similar to Medieval Europe.

After the Conjugation of the spheres, the magic and the ordinary were mixed in this world. There are magicians and elves, dragons and trolls, vampires and sirens. There are creatures that are quite harmless, and some are very dangerous for people.

Geralt wanders around the world and fights monsters for money. This is the profession of a witcher, for which he was trained for many years.

The first books tell about various events in the life of Geralt, about the troubles in which he falls, his friends and enemies. The next novels of the cycle are already connected by one storyline.

In this story, there are many references to myths, legends, fairy tales, both Slavic and Celtic. There is a lot of violence in the books, they are pretty dark.

Reading is not for children, but there is no desire to put down the book with a shudder. The realism of what is happening pleases. In the world of the witcher there is a place for a fairy tale, but that one does not always have a happy ending. The main character evokes sympathy.

I definitely recommend it to beginners, but fans of the genre have probably read the cycle up and down.

"Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula Le Guin

And again a whole series of novels, united by one magical world, the fabulous Earthsea.

There are many islands in the world of Earthsea where people and magical creatures live. Of course, there is also magic here. Each item has its own true name. Whoever knows him gets the power.

But magic is not a magician's toy here, it can be used only in extreme need. The more complex and stronger the spell, the more it affects the world. Therefore, wise sorcerers cook their own food, get wet in the rain, travel by boat and on foot. Only dragons are fully fluent in true speech.

This story will be a simple fairy tale for children and something more serious for adults. The book is one of those that need to be re-read and rethought if you first discovered it in childhood. It has a lot of calm philosophy, reflections on life.

The cycle about the wizard of Earthsea is very good to read in summer, in nature, because the atmosphere of the books is very favorable for this. Ursula Le Guin managed to create and revive on the pages of her cycle an amazing world, with its unique geography and history, fill it with wizards and their mighty magic

Earthsea can be read with pleasure both at a young age and by persons much older.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Suzanne Clarke

Magic left England. Wizards now only read books about witchcraft, but they themselves do not know how to work miracles at all. And now among them there are sorcerers who can revive magic. This is the collector of magic books Mr. Gilbert Norrell and his ardent student Jonathan Strange. The fact that they will return real magic is a fact, because there is even a prophecy about them. But at the same time they live in our world and even help the government in the Napoleonic wars.

The book is written in the best English traditions. It will be perfect for all lovers of smooth and unhurried storytelling, descriptions of 19th century salons in the style of Jane Austen, and truly beautiful literature.

The only drawback of this thick book is that its volume is not enough! It just doesn't work out, no matter how you try, I want to read more and more, because I haven't met such an incredibly exciting and interesting story for a very long time. Delight, irrepressible, sheer delight and a ton of gratitude to Suzanne Clark!

"Dark beginnings" by Philip Pullman

Dark beginnings is a trilogy, one of the main characters of which is the girl Lyra Belaklava. In the world where she lives, science and magic are closely intertwined with each other, fabulous creatures roam the earth, and each person has a daemon. This is an animal that is part of the soul and shows the very essence of man. In children, they constantly change their appearance, and in adults they remain unchanged.

The reader, together with the young heroine, embarks on a dangerous journey that will help the girl find out the truth about her family and help the kidnapped children.

In the second part of the story, another hero appears, who becomes Lyra's friend. This is a boy from our world named Will. He is looking for a father who disappeared many years ago.

Together, the heroes will have to go through many adventures that are not at all for children, meet dangerous opponents and true friends.

This is an amazing book. Delays from the very beginning. Written soundly and efficiently. I would say this is a book for "grown-up children", since it is not quite suitable for a younger age.

Reading it, you completely immerse yourself in Lyra's world, worry about her and her daemon, about other children, you don't know who to believe. All this is exciting and impressive! I loved this book from the very first lines!

Tips for choosing a book

When buying books, we often focus on the recommendations of friends and reviews on the Internet. Here are some tips to help you make your choice:

1. Estimate the age of the reader. Children should not buy books by Martin and Sapkowski, they are too cruel, so the age limit is fully justified.
2. Decide what you want to get out of the book. Fantasy literature can be found for every taste.There are kind and beautiful fairy tales, dark and intriguing stories, humorous and philosophical works.
3. Look at the awards. The awards are given to authors for a reason. Almost always, if a book has earned many awards, then it will really impress a fan of the genre.
4. Read the literary basis of your favorite adaptations. The book is almost always better written than the script of the film based on it.