# The best fantasy books of all time

From Tolkien and Michael Ende to Sanderson and Rothfuss: the fantasy novels that appear on every best-of list.

- 18 votes · 18 items
- Mar 3, 2023 · Sabine Müller
- https://even.best/en/l/3371/the-best-fantasy-books-of-all-time

## Top 18

1. **The Lord of the Rings** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — J. R. R. Tolkien, 1954–1955. Frodo, the Ring and Mount Doom.
2. **The Neverending Story** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Michael Ende, 1979. Bastian, Atreyu and Fantastica.
3. **A Game of Thrones** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — George R. R. Martin, 1996. The start of A Song of Ice and Fire.
4. **A Wizard of Earthsea** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Ursula K. Le Guin, 1968. Ged and his shadow.
5. **Mistborn: The Final Empire** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Brandon Sanderson, 2006. A heist against a god-emperor.
6. **The Hobbit** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937. Bilbo's journey to the dragon Smaug.
7. **The Name of the Wind** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Patrick Rothfuss, 2007. Kvothe tells his life story.
8. **The Way of Kings** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Brandon Sanderson, 2010. The Stormlight Archive begins.
9. **Krabat** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Otfried Preußler, 1971. The apprentice in the black mill.
10. **The Eye of the World** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Robert Jordan, 1990. The beginning of The Wheel of Time.
11. **The Lies of Locke Lamora** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Scott Lynch, 2006. Thieves in a Venice-like city.
12. **Inkheart** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Cornelia Funke, 2003. Characters read out of books.
13. **Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — J. K. Rowling, 1997. The boy who lived.
14. **The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — C. S. Lewis, 1950. Through the wardrobe into Narnia.
15. **The Colour of Magic** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Terry Pratchett, 1983. The first Discworld novel.
16. **Gardens of the Moon** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Steven Erikson, 1999. The Malazan Book of the Fallen begins.
17. **The Mists of Avalon** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Marion Zimmer Bradley, 1983. The Arthurian legend from the women's side.
18. **The Dwarves** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Markus Heitz, 2003. German fantasy about the dwarf Tungdil.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.