The Ultimate Top 10 Fantasy Book Must Reads

The top 10 must read fantasy series of all time! Am I wrong? How many have you reads?

Captured in Words: @CapturedInWords

Books Mentioned:
0:00 - Intro
1:11 - Stormlight Archive
3:09 - Realm of the Elderlings
4:17 - The Wheel of Time
6:14 - Kingkiller Chronicles
8:11 - The First Law
9:25 - A Song of Ice and Fire
10:27 - Malazan Book of the Fallen
12:06 - Discworld
13:06 - The Faithful and the Fallen
13:59 - Lord of the Rings
15:09 - Outro

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[yorobman]

My favorite fantasy author is Raymond E Feist. His Magician saga, Riftwar saga and other works are so well crafted!

[namedropper]

Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn has always been my favorite fantasy series.

[danh]

Belgariad series by David Eddings - classic farmboy vs dark lord, but deals with love (family / romantic / self).
MYTH series by Robert Asprin - excellent and original comedy fantasy.
Magic Kingdom for sale by Terry Brooks - reluctant hero from modern world thrust into fantasy setting.
Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey - top draw high fantasy.
Redwall by Brian Jacques - classic fantasy stories where the characters are anthropomorphised animals, aimed at kids but great for adults.

[benjiwork]

Glen Cook’s The Tales of the Black Company never gets the recognition it deserves.

[kciygwm]

Micheal Moorcock cannot be left off of this list, Elric, Corum etc classic fantasy at its best

[jeffswarm]

I am old, I know very few of these. I suggest The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R Donaldson.

[KeytarArgonian]

Not just The Lord of the Rings, but the entire Legendarium. The Silmarillion, Fall of Gondolin, Unfinished Tales, Beren and Luthien and Fall of Numenor are all fantastic too.

[markwilkes]

I don't understand why R.A.Salvatore never gets any credit. Drizzt Do'Urden is one of the best characters ever written. His description of sword fighting is the best I've ever read and I've read a lot. I know it's DnD based but he brings the world to life and his character development is world class.

[gunslingersymphony]

When people talk about epic fantasy, Sir Terry Pratchett tends to be overlooked. Some of my best memories are of rainy days, reading about the witches of the Ramtops. Thank you for mentioning Discworld.

[nicholasreceveur]

Absolutely. I’d put Ursula le Guin in there; the original A Wizard of Earthsea trilogy might be short by epic standards, but read it again and you will realize that the prose might seem simple, but it’s deep (Jenny Wurts is the reverse IMO). Also, I’d say the original Thomas Covenant Unbeliever trilogy hits like an emotional steam train.

[radiantav]

Raymond Feist’s books were what drove me into epic fantasy. Super approachable, easy to follow, great for teenager me. Later read Jenny Wurts which is complete opposite of approachable due to archaic terms and language she uses but still an interesting world.

[sherribugd]

I have always loved the Dragonlance Chronicles. There are a ton of books by other authors in the works, as well as additions by the original authors, but if you stick with the original 3 it’s excellent.

[jeremyspencer]

The Drenai Series by the late David Gemmell is my favourite ever. If you like Joe Abercrombie you will like Gemmell - great fight description, less grim dark, but more heart.

[lordthundyr]

If you want something a bit more "old skool": Feist's Riftwar Saga (the first 3 books), anything by Janny Wurtz (especially the Servant of the Empire series she co-wrote with Feist), and Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy. For "fantasy, but not high fantasy", Neil Gaiman's got your back.

[ashpete]

Conan the Barbarian, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia make all the historical lists. I enjoyed The Hedge Knight books very much as well

[zok]

40 years ago I enjoyed the some of The Shannara series by Terry Brooks, and Dragon Riders of Pern series by The McCaffreys.

[exhortationsofanartist]

The shanara series by Terry Brooks and anything written by Patricia Mckillip.

[jimmitchell]

OK, great list. However, my all-time favorite fantasy series is the Dragonriders of Pern ny Anne McCaffery.

[marccaron]

The Black Company's first trilogy by Glen Cook is in my top ten fantasy list.

[Iso]

I highly recommend the Belgariad series.
Fantasy books are really good, I love them, and the Belgariad got me started on that.

Guess what.
Farm boy who gets thrust into the unknown under the threat of a dark enemy.
Despite the common trope, it’s such a good book.

Book 1: Pawn of Prophesy
Book 2: Queen of Sorcery
Book 3: Magician’s Gambit
Book 4: Castle of Wizardry
Book 5: Enchanter’s Endgame