The Best Fantasy Books

(according to 400+ really successful people)

These are the best books about Fantasy.

Sources include interviews, biographies, podcast transcripts, public online lists, and more.

The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
8 recommenders
"I know it's cliche, but [this] is my favorite book ever." - Elon Musk
View 7 More
Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling
7 recommenders
"Never a bad time to start them all over...... again." - Ariana Grande
View 6 More
His Dark Materials Trilogy
Philip Pullman
3 recommenders
Emma Watson recommended this book on Twitter.
View 2 More
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
2 recommenders
"The classic coming of age tale of a troubled hero, out for revenge." - Aubrey Marcus
View 1 More
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C. S. Lewis
2 recommenders
"As a child, they exploded my imagination." - Chris Anderson
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The Once and Future King
T. H. White
1 recommender
"The best fantasy book of all time." - Ben Shapiro
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Susanna Clarke
1 recommender
"Like Jane Austen's huge lost fantasy novel about the return of magic to England." - Neil Gaiman
The Blade Itself
Joe Abercrombie
1 recommender
"Magical in how he creates a world out of nothing and characters so well drawn that you’ll think Joe takes trips to this magical place and interviews these people." - Joel McHale
The Colour of Magic
Terry Pratchett
1 recommender
Neil Gaiman mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
A Storm of Swords
George R. R. Martin
1 recommender
"Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin." - Elon Musk
A Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin
1 recommender
"Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin." - Elon Musk
A Feast for Crows
George R. R. Martin
1 recommender
"Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin." - Elon Musk
A Dance with Dragons
George R. R. Martin
1 recommender
"Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin." - Elon Musk
A Clash of Kings
George R. R. Martin
1 recommender
"Best books in recent years imo are Iain Banks & George Martin." - Elon Musk

The Best Fantasy Books

(according to 400+ really successful people)

The Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien

Harry Potter

J.K. Rowling

His Dark Materials Trilogy

Philip Pullman

The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

C. S. Lewis

The Once and Future King

T. H. White

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Susanna Clarke

The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie

The Colour of Magic

Terry Pratchett

A Storm of Swords

George R. R. Martin

A Game of Thrones

George R. R. Martin

A Feast for Crows

George R. R. Martin

A Dance with Dragons

George R. R. Martin

A Clash of Kings

George R. R. Martin

See which books made our other lists