Best High Fantasy

Released in 2002, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' is the second installment of Peter Jackson's high fantasy trilogy adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's work. The film divides its narrative between the quest to destroy the One Ring and the defense of Helm's Deep against the forces of Saruman. It is...

'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' is a 2001 epic high fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson, adapting the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel. The film establishes the lore of the One Ring and follows the formation of the Fellowship tasked with destroying it in Mordor. Filmed e...

The Silmarillion is a collection of mythopoeic works by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977. The book covers the creation of Eä and the history of Middle-earth through the First Age, including the rebellion of Fëanor, the crafting of the Silmarils...

*Memories of Ice* is a high fantasy novel by Canadian author Steven Erikson, published in 2001 as the third volume in the *Malazan Book of the Fallen* series. The narrative shifts back to the continent of Genabackis, where the Malazan Empire must forge alliances with former enemies to confront the t...

Deadhouse Gates is a high fantasy novel by Canadian author Steven Erikson, published in 2000 as the second volume in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Set primarily on the fictional subcontinent of Seven Cities, the narrative follows a massive rebellion known as the Whirlwind. The central plotl...

The Shadow Rising is the fourth book in the epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time, written by Robert Jordan and published in 1992. As the series progresses, the narrative shifts to focus heavily on the desert region known as the Aiel Waste, exploring the history of the Aiel people. The novel is note...

The Lions of Al-Rassan is a standalone historical fantasy novel by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay, published in 1995. The narrative is closely modeled on the medieval history of the Iberian Peninsula, particularly the decline of Moorish Spain and the Reconquista. The plot follows the intersecting l...

Jade Legacy is the third and final novel in Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga, published in 2021 by Orbit Books. It concludes the multigenerational story of the Kaul family, who wield jade-enhanced powers as members of a clan on the fictional island of Kekon. Spanning several decades, the novel follows th...

Last Argument of Kings is the third and final novel in Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy, published by Gollancz in March 2008. The book concludes the intertwined story arcs of characters including the crippled inquisitor Glokta, the barbarian Logan Ninefingers, and the noblemanturned-captain J...

"The Heroes" is a standalone fantasy novel by British author Joe Abercrombie, published in 2011. It is set in the First Law fictional universe and focuses on a single, pivotal three-day battle fought in the frozen North. The narrative explores the grim realities of war through multiple point-of-view...

Published in 2013, A Memory of Light is the fourteenth and final volume in Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time. Following Jordan's death, author Brandon Sanderson completed the manuscript using extensive notes and drafts left behind. The novel centers on the prophesied Last Battle...

Published in 2017, Assassin's Fate is a high fantasy novel by Robin Hobb that concludes both the Fitz and the Fool trilogy and the broader Realm of the Elderlings saga. The narrative follows FitzChivalry Farseer and the Fool as they travel across the sea to the distant city of Clerres. Their journey...

Published in 2024, Wind and Truth is the fifth novel in Brandon Sanderson's epic fantasy series, The Stormlight Archive. The book serves as the climax for the series' initial five-book story arc, drawing together the intertwined journeys of Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, and Szeth. The narrative takes p...

Lord of Chaos is a high fantasy novel published in 1994 by Robert Jordan, serving as the sixth installment in The Wheel of Time series. The narrative follows the extensive political maneuvering of various factions attempting to influence or capture the Dragon Reborn, Rand al'Thor. The plot culminate...

"Tigana" is a standalone high fantasy novel by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay, published in 1990. Set in a world inspired by Renaissance Italy, the plot centers on a peninsula subjugated by two rival sorcerers, one of whom has cast a spell erasing the name and memory of the defeated province of Tig...

"Jade War" is a 2019 high fantasy novel by Canadian author Fonda Lee, serving as the second book in the "Green Bone Saga" following "Jade City." The narrative broadens the setting beyond the island of Kekon, following the Kaul and Ayt families as their internal clan rivalries intersect with internat...

"The Crippled God" is a high fantasy novel by Canadian author Steven Erikson, published in 2011. It is the tenth and final volume in the "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series. The book brings together the sprawling cast of characters and unresolved narrative threads from the preceding novels, detailin...

Midnight Tides is a high-fantasy novel by Canadian author Steven Erikson, published in 2004 as the fifth volume in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. The narrative shifts entirely to the uncharted continent of Lether, introducing a new cast of characters and focusing on the cultural and military...

Published in 2020, The Trouble with Peace is the second novel in Joe Abercrombie's Age of Madness trilogy, set in the First Law world. The grimdark high fantasy book continues the story of the Union, a nation plagued by industrial unrest, rebellion, and the looming threat of civil war. It follows mu...

The Gathering Storm is the twelfth novel in Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time, published in 2009. It is the first of three books in the series completed by author Brandon Sanderson, who utilized extensive notes and drafts left by Jordan before his death in 2007. The narrative hea...

Published in 2007, The Children of Húrin is an epic fantasy novel edited by Christopher Tolkien from manuscripts written by his father, J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in the First Age of Middle-earth during a time of war against the Dark Lord Morgoth, the narrative follows the tragic life of Túrin Turambar. Dr...

Best Served Cold is a standalone dark fantasy novel by British author Joe Abercrombie, published in 2009. Set in the same fictional world as his First Law trilogy, the narrative takes place primarily in Styria, a region heavily inspired by Renaissance Italy. The plot centers on Monzcarro Murcatto, a...

The Bonehunters is the sixth novel in Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen epic fantasy series, first published in 2006. It follows the Malazan Fourteenth Army as it traverses the Seven Cities continent in the aftermath of the Whirlwind rebellion, while separate plotlines track political tens...

The Fires of Heaven is the fifth novel in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time epic fantasy series, published in 1993 by Tor Books. It follows Rand al'Thor's efforts to unite the Aiel clans and his confrontation with the Forsaken Rahvin in Caemlyn. Parallel storylines include Nynaeve and Elayne's pursu...

"Tehanu" is a high fantasy novel by Ursula K. Le Guin published in 1990, serving as the fourth book in the Earthsea series. The story revisits the character Tenar, now a widow, as she adopts a physically scarred and burned young girl with mysterious origins. Subverting earlier epic fantasy tropes in...

The Last Wish is the first short story collection in Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher series, originally published in Polish by SuperNOWA in 1993. It introduces Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, through interconnected stories framed by Geralt's recovery from injuries sustained in combat. Several...

Toll the Hounds is the eighth novel in Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, published in 2008. Set primarily in the city of Darujhistan, it returns to characters and settings established in earlier volumes including Gardens of the Moon and Memories of Ice. The book culminates in the death of...

Jade City is the first novel in Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga, published by Orbit Books in 2017. Set on the fictional island of Kekon, it depicts rival clans whose warriors, called Green Bones, channel the magical properties of jade to enhance strength and perception. The narrative draws inspiration f...

Before They Are Hanged is the second novel in Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy, published by Gollancz in 2007. It continues three principal storylines: Inquisitor Glotka's investigation in the besieged city of Dagoska, the Union military campaign against the self-proclaimed King Bethod in the...