Helene Wecker's debut novel is an eerie tale of two magical creatures set loose in 19th century New York. A golem — a mythical creature of Jewish lore — awakens during a sea voyage, and is taught to pass as human among the diverse groups of people living in the city. At the same time, a tinsmith in New York accidentally frees a genie from a flask after centuries of imprisonment, but he's trapped in human form seeking a way to return to his full power.
The pair meet and become friends, and must team up to counter an evil sorcerer who wants to enslave them both. Welcome to a desert planet where water is more precious than gold, everyone wears moisture-preserving jumpsuits and giant worm creatures can come out of the earth's floor that can kill you at any moment. This is Dune, a stark wasteland where warring houses scheme against each other in bloody battles that can alter the course of human history. Although it's science-fiction on the surface, Frank Herbert's epic tome features the fantasy tropes of betrayal, redemption and freedom in spades, and is rightly considered one of the most important of the genre.
Herbert's masterpiece not only helped to inspire Star Wars — it still resonates today, tackling environmental concerns, the rise of superpowers and rebellion of people exploited on their own land. The first of seven books follows gunslinger Roland as he pursues a mysterious, malevolent presence across a strange world that's linked to our own. From there, it sprawls into a rambling epic that highlight's King's imagination as well as his touch for horror.
Fans of the television series have been distancing themselves from Game of Thrones in droves since that disastrous final season, but George R. Martin's books remain relatively untainted. A Game of Thrones , the first in the A Song of Ice and Fire Series, sets the tone — with violence and adult themes rarely seen in a lot of mainstream fantasy up to that point. Each chapter follows an individual character's point of view, and although the series does becomes slightly bogged down in later entries, it is gripping — and the ending is still to come.
Both Pratchett and Gaiman feature in their own right on this list and Good Omens , composed in part over answerphone messages three decades ago, delivers on the promise of a fantasy literature titan team up. It's the extremely silly story of an angel, Aziraphale, and a demon, Crowley, played with glee by Michael Sheen and David Tennant in this year's Amazon Prime Video series, trying to stop Armageddon.
Most fantasy books ask for a serious commitment but Good Omens is a fully formed, read-in-an-afternoon treat. Set in a lovingly described version of present-day London, the Rivers of London series charts the adventures of Detective Constable Peter Grant, one of two wizards in the Metropolitan Police. It grounds its fantastical elements in the scientific method, and the mixture of flying spells and police jargon gives the ongoing series a unique and enjoyable tone.
The first book, Rivers of London describes an encounter with a malevolent spirit that draws Grant into the capital's magical underworld. An epic fourteen novel saga, as well as a prequel novel and two companion books , the author James Oliver Rigney Jr. Too vast to summarise, the fantasy world — actually a distant version of Earth — is epic and magical, with a gigantic cast of characters. The series has spawned a video game, a roleplaying game, a soundtrack album and a forthcoming TV series, and the books have sold more than 80 million copies, making it one of the bestselling fantasy series since Lord of the Rings.
It follows the residents of Castle Gormenghast — a giant, gothic castle. In the first book, we meet title character Titus Groan, who stands to inherit the castle and its kingdom. Unlike much of the fantasy genre gets high praise in literary circles too: Harold Bloom called the series best fantasy novels of the twentieth century. We follow Lyra Belacqua and Pantalaimon, her daemon — her inner self given animal form — as she investigates rumours of children being separated from their own spiritual companions.
Over the three-book series, this transitions into a battle between humanity and heaven. It functions in part as a retelling and inversion of John Milton's epic Paradise Lost. The Dreaming Tree presents a gorgeous, tragic view of the Faery realm and the relationships between men, elves, and the Sidhe.
Tolkien is commonly credited with the birth of modern fantasy literature, but he never would have gotten there without Lord Dunsany. A Game of Thrones is the novel that brought fantasy to the bookshelves — and television screens — of an audience that may have never considered themselves fans of the genre. Three male sociologist stumble upon a utopian hidden society composed entirely of women, and what they find there changes their perception of femininity and gender constructs forever. The nine-part series is a wonderful sweeping alternate fantasy, both well-researched and gorgeously written.
The Hobbit. The Shire. The Wizard. The Ring. The Dragon. And Gollum. While Lord of the Rings is one of the most important books of the fantasy genre, it all began with The Hobbit , a book that proved to children that magic really does exist and sometimes the most unassuming of characters can carry it in their pocket.
This enchanting tale will continue enchanting for centuries to come. Robert E. Howard wrote many short stories featuring this wandering warrior, but only one novel: The Hour of the Dragon.
This tale finds Conan, now middle-aged and the king of a great empire, threatened with a conspiracy to depose him — one that involves an ancient demonic presence. The grande dame of vampire fiction. Anne Rice has been inventing and reinventing vampires for decades now, but Interview With the Vampire remains unparalleled in its imagination, its danger, and its thrills. If you like mafia stories, and love good guys who are more than a little bad, then Jhereg belongs on your shelf.
You need to read it. Beagle has written a classic, perfect for all ages. This was, hands down, my favorite novel of The story tracks Carolyn, once human, now a student of the being known as Father, who oversees the library of creation. When Father disappears, his students turn on each other, and the consequences are earth-shaking.
Widely considered as one of the finest fantasies alongside The Name of the Wind and A Game of Thrones , Lynch has created one of the most complex characters in Locke Lamora. It is more than that, though. The author uses poetic language and has created a brilliantly-wrought world beside Locke.
A must read. All conflict must have a believable cause. In every fantasy world, there must be an established power structure. This usually refers to a system of government within the world.
It might begin with a single ruler, such as a king or queen in a monarchical government; it might be a high council of magical people; it might be a religious entity. This is a key part of world-building, as it gives structure to your fictional society.
It can also be used to raise the stakes for your characters and create plenty of all-important conflict. You can use these aspects of reality as a basis for your own system, or incorporate different elements here and there to create a unique hybrid system. For further inspiration, take a look at this summary list of different societal structures and consider which might work best within your world and story. For more specific guidance, consult this list of world-building questions related to social organisation.
Asking yourself a few key questions about how your world works will help you get to the heart of your society and the power structure within it. So there you have it! Claire is a freelance editor and proofreader based in Newcastle, Australia. She holds a B. Claire's biggest passion is working on editorial projects, particularly when it involves perfecting book manuscripts for publication.
What do they value? I admit, I just threw a bunch of questions at you, but the rabbit hole goes even deeper. Suspension of disbelief can suspend only so far. Check out Worldbuilding Stack Exchange to get answers to your scientific, geographic, and cultural questions when worldbuilding.
Use your map to build a vision for where the characters are going throughout the story. This is helpful in epic adventures where the landscape may change. Another type of map, a relationship map, can help you see clear relationships between characters. Alternatively, you can develop a map that shows the characters or objects and their magical abilities. But, here come three big questions: How do you create a world for your fantasy story?
Download your free Fantasy World Building Worksheet now. Leave this field blank. First Name. Send me the bonus! Hold tight Thank you! Start world building first because the world is one of the most important elements of any fantasy. Tweet this. Location What is the setting of your world? Population Who lives in your world? Society How does your collective population relate to each other? Create a timeline of key events to document how historical events led to current circumstances.
Laws and Government What are the relevant laws in your universe that the characters must obey? Very important: how does magic affect these laws? Magic Every fantasy contains some element of magic. So, with that in mind: What type of magic will you include in your story?
Who has it? Is magic only available to a select few? If so, how do they get it? Is magic banned? Is it revered? Daily Life What do people do to pass the time? What do they eat? Do they exercise? What type of clothing do they wear?
Does clothing reflect their values or their social class?
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