digitaldreamdoor logo, name


200 Greatest Fantasy Books

Fantasy, with it's sub-genres & series & it's broad perspective of definition.

Criteria: It is with respect to all the myriad forms & interpretations of Fantasy that these books were chosen for their lasting impact, influence in the genre, originality & compositional skill. As with all lists, this is a subjective list & makes no claim of an official nature.

*** With a significant percent of fantasy novels presented as a multiple book series, to include would be to exclude, so for the purpose of this list the series title has been chosen to be represented here ***

Last Updated: 2024-04-04
Newly added names are in  Red 
Greatest Fantasy Books
  1. The Lord of The Rings - by J.R.R. Tolkien
  2. Harry Potter - by J.K. Rowling
  3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - by Lewis Carroll
  4. Something Wicked This Way Comes - by Ray Bradbury
  5. The Chronicles of Narnia - by C.S. Lewis
  6. A Song of Ice and Fire - by George R.R. Martin
  7. A Wizard of Earthsea - by Ursula K LeGuin
  8. The Wheel of Time - by Robert Jordan
  9. The Well at The World's End - by William Morris
10. The Hobbit - by J.R.R. Tolkien
11. The Dying Earth - by Jack Vance
12. The Dark Tower - by Stephen King
13. The Sword of Shannara - by Terry Brooks
14. The Fionavar Tapestry - by Guy Gavriel Kay
15. Animal Farm - by George Orwell
16. The Wood Beyond The World - by William Morris
17. A Christmas Carol - by Charles Dickens
18. Gulliver's Travels - by Jonathan Swift
19. The Elric Saga - by Michael Moorcock
20. The Master and The Margarita - by Mikhail Bulgakov
21. The Metamorphosis - by Franz Kafka
22. Incarnations of Immortality - by Piers Anthony
23. The Worm Ourorobos - by E.R. Eddison
24. The Screwtape Letters - by C.S. Lewis
25. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - by Stephen Donaldson
26. The Dragon Riders of Pern - by Anne McCafferty
27. Discworld - by Terry Pratchett
28. The Last Unicorn - by Peter S Beagle
29. Little, Big - by John Crowley
30. Tigana - by Guy Gavriel Kay
31. Weaveworld - by Clive Barker
32. Titus Groan - by Mervyn Peake
33. Imajica - by Clive Barker
34. Time and Again - by Jack Finney
35. The Once and Future King - by  T.H. White
36. The Vampire Lestat - by Anne Rice
37. Watership Down - by Richard Adams
38. The Sword of Truth - by Terry Goodkind
39. The Neverending Story - by Michael Ende
40. Northern Lights - by Philip Pullman
41. The Belgariad - by David Eddings
42. The Name of The Wind - by Patrick Rothfuss
43. The Riftwar Cycle - by Raymond E Feist
44. Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - by Mark Twain
45. Artemis Fowl - by Eoin Colfer
46. The Mists of Avalon - by Marion Zimmer Bradley
47. Song of Kali - by Dan Simmons
48. The Dresden Files - by Jim Butcher
49. The Chronicles of Amber - by Roger Zelzany
50. The Stand - by Stephen King
51. The Alchemist - by Paulo Coehlo
52. Gloriana - by Michael Moorcock
53. The Compleat Enchanter - by L. Sprague DeCamp and Fletcher Pratt
54. The King of Elfland's Daughter - by Lord Dunsany
55. Lud-in-the-Mist - by Hope Mirrlees
56. Darker Than You Think - by Jack Williamson
57. Chthon - by Piers Anthony
58. The Anubis Gates - by Tim Powers
59. Interview With The Vampire - by Anne Rice
60. Good Omens - by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
61. It - by Stephen King
62. The Inheritance Cycle - by Christopher Paolini
63. Bridge of Birds - by Barry Hughart
64. The Silmarillion - by J.R.R. Tolkien
65. Acts of King Arthur's Noble Knights - by John Steinbeck
66. Outlander - by Diana Gabaldon
67. The Darkness That Comes Before - by R Scott Bakker
68. Bid Time Return - by Richard Matheson
69. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - by Douglas Adams
70. The Talisman - by Stephen King & Peter Straub
71. The Riddle-Master of Hed - by Patricia McKillip
72. The Armagedden Rag - by George R.R. Martin
73. The Great and Secret Show - by Clive Barker
74. The Halloween Tree - by Ray Bradbury
75. The Long Dark Tea Time of The Soul - by Douglas Adams
76. A Voyage To Arcturas - by David Lindsay
77. The History of The Runestaff - by Michael Moorcock
78. Replay - by Ken Grimwood
79. The Other Wind - by Ursula K LeGuin
80. The Malazan Book of The Fallen - by Steven Erikson
81. The Damnation Game - by Clive Barker
82. Sailing To Sarantium - by Guy Gavriel Kay
83. Voice of Our Shadow - by Jonathan Carroll
84. The Carpet People - by Terry Pratchett
85. Was - by Geoff Ryman
86. Lyonesse - by Jack Vance
87. Fevre Dream - by George R.R. Martin
88. The Well of the Unicorn - by Fletcher Pratt
89. Time and The Gods - by Lord Dunsany
90. Glory Road - by Robert A Heinlein
91. Koko - by Peter Straub
92. Sister Light, Sister Dark - by Jane Yolen
93. Dr Rat - by William Kotzwinkle
94. Lies of Loche Lamora - by Scott Lynch
95. Strangers - by Dean Koontz
96. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - by Susanna Clarke
97. Ysabel - by Guy Gavriel Kay
98. Shadowland - by Peter Straub
99. The First Law - by Joe Abercrombie
100. Kafka On The Shore - by Haruki Murakama
101. Everville - by Clive Barker
102. Salem's Lot - by Stephen King
103. Neverwhere - by Neil Gaiman
104. The Innkeeper's Song - by Peter S Beagle
105. A Midsummer Tempest - by Poul Anderson
106. Love and Sleep - by John Crowley
107. The War Hound & The World's Pain - by M. Moorcock
108. The Prestige - by Christopher Priest
109. Seventh Son - by Orson Scott Card
110. Lord Of The Two Lands - by Judith Tarr
111. The Dragon Waiting - by John M Ford
112. Outside The Dog Museum - by Jonathan Carroll
113. The Last Coin - by James P Blaylock
114. Mary Reilly - by Valerie Martin
115. The Silent Strength of Stones - by Nini Kinriki Hoffman
116. Tender Morsels - by Margo Lanagan
117. The Book of Knights - by Yves Meynard
118. The Solitudes - by John Crowley
119. Sleeping In Flame - by Jonathan Carroll
120. The Mistborn Trilogy - by Brandon Sanderson
121. The Gift - by Patrick O'Leary
122. Our Lady of Darkness - by Fritz Leiber
123. Briar Rose - by Jane Yolen
124. Soldier of The Mist - by Gene Wolfe
125. Perdido Street Station - by China Mieville
126. The Graveyard Book - by Neil Gaiman
127. The Shadow Year - by Jeffrey Ford
128. Ariosto - by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
129. The Antelope Wife - by Louise Erdrich
130. The Nestling - by Charles L Grant
131. Ombria In Shadow - by Patricia A McKillip
132. Declare - by Tim Powers
133. Swan Song - by Robert R McCammon
134. Tamsin - by Peter S Beagle
135. Tea With The Black Dragon - by R.A. McAvoy
136. The Drive-In - by Joe R Lansdale
137. Boy's Life - by Robert K McCammon
138. The Wizard Knight - by Gene Wolfe
139. The Runes of The Earth - by Stephen R Donaldson
140. The 37th Mandala - by Marc Laidlaw
141. The Mist - by Stephen King
142. Nifft The Lean - by Michael Shea
143. Archer's Goon - by Diana Wynne Jones
144. The Forgotten Beasts of ELD - by Patricia McKillip
145. Illywhacker - by Peter Carey
146. The Physiognomy - by Jeffrey Ford
147. The Pet - by Charles L Grant
148. Fade - by Robert Cormier
149. On Stranger Tides - by Tim Powers
150. The Witcher - by Andrzsj Sapkowski
151. The Rainy Season - by James P Blaylock
152. The Servants - by Michael Marshall Smith
153. The Last Call of Mourning - by Charles L Grant
154. Only Begotten Daughter - by James Morrow
155. Soldier of Sidon - by Gene Wolfe
156. The Nameless - by Ramsey Campbell
157. The Dark Bright Water - by Patricia Wrightson
158. American Gods - by Neil Gaiman
159. The Orphan's Tales - by Catherynne M Valente
160. The Palace - by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
161. Last Call - by Tim Powers
162. Watchtower - by Elizabeth A Lynn
163. Soldier of Arete - by Gene Wolfe
164. The Sound of Midnight - by Charles L Grant
165. Thraxas - by Martin Scott
166. Territory - by Emma Bull
167. The Stress of Her Regard - by Tim Powers
168. The Facts of Life - by Graham Joyce
169. Pandemonium - by Daryl Gregory
170. A Child Across The Sky - by Jonathan Carroll
171. Towing Jehovah - by James Morrow
172. The Hour of The Oxrun Dead - by Charles L Grant
173. Shadow of Ashland - by Terence M Green
174. Carrion Comfort - by Dan Simmons
175. Firelord - by Parke Godwin
176. Glimpses - by Lewis Shiner
177. The Gospel of The Knife - by Will Shetterly
178. A Red Heart of Memories - by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
179. The Black Castle - by Les Daniels
180. The Dancers of Arun - by Elizabeth A Lynn
181. Merlin's Ring - by H Warner Munn
182. The Dream Years - by Lnisa Goldstein
183. The Etched City - by K.J. Bishop
184. Night's Master - by Tanith Lee
185. Lamb - by Christopher Moore
186. The Circus of The Earth & The Air - by Brooke Stevens
187. Thomas The Rhymer - by Ellen Kushner
188. The Paper Grail - by James P Blaylock
189. The Dragon and The George - by Gordon R Dickson
190. Phantom - by Thomas Tessler
191. Requiem - by Graham Joyce
192. The Throat - by Peter Straub
193. Gardens of The Moon - by Steven Erikson
194. The Little Country - by Charles de Lint
195. Red Earth and Pouring Rain - by Vikram Chandra
196. Godmother Night - by Rachel Patrick
197. Winterking - by Paul Hazel
198. The House of The Stag - by Kage Baker
199. Bloodsucking Fiends - by Christopher Moore
200. Piranesi - by Susanna Clarke

J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien

Lord of the Rings







J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone







Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland







Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury

Something Wicked This Way Comes







C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe