Basic Guide to Fantasy
swords and wizards, where to begin?
Fantasy has been my favorite genre since I was a little kid. I fell in love with distant worlds, full of everything that I wished existed in my boring daily life, and reading fantasy is what first inspired me to become a writer myself. This genre is full of possibilities, and there’s something here for everyone. I want more people to read and love fantasy as much as I do, so I have compiled a few books that I think are a good place to start if you are interested in fantasy but don’t know where to begin, or if you have tried out some fantasy books and they didn’t work for you, but you still want to give this genre a chance.
Without further ado, these are my recommendations.
THE CLASSICS
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Everyone has to read Tolkien at some point. If you are like me and feel a bit intimidated by The Lord of the Rings, but you still want to become familiar with the foundations of the genre before continuing your fantasy journey, The Hobbit is a good place to start. It’s short, and it has many of the elements that have become a staple of the high fantasy genre.
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
A contemporary and close friend of Tolkien, Lewis is another big name, even if these two couldn’t be more different from each other. Lewis’s work is aimed at a younger audience, but that doesn’t mean this series can’t be enjoyed by older readers. Narnia is the quintessential Portal fantasy, and one of the most beloved fantasy worlds out there.
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin
Coming out just 14 years after The Lord of the Rings, Le Guin’s first Earthsea book solidified some of the things that we have come to expect from the genre, like the classic wizard archetype, the magic school setting, and the power of “true names”. With Earthsea, Le Guin not only helped build the fantasy genre, but also responded to common trends and subverted expectations, creating a series that feels as unique and new today as it did in the 70s, and that has inspired many authors throughout the years. I highly recommend reading the entire series, but the first book can stand on its own as an incredibly powerful coming-of-age story.
SOMETHING DARKER
A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin
Yes, the final season of Game of Thrones was terrible, and the next book is nowhere to be seen, but if you can put those worries aside you will see that this series still deserves all the hype. While I personally disagree with the claim that A Song of Ice and Fire is grimdark, it’s certainly bleak and sometimes depressing. This series is for people who love political intrigue and mystery and have a strong stomach for gruesome violence, but also for people looking for an extremely detailed fantasy world.
The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
Martin loves to make his characters suffer, but no-one loves to torture their protagonist more than Robin Hobb. The Farseer trilogy is only the start of Hobb’s 16-book-long high fantasy series “The Realm of the Elderlings”, but Farseer is able to hold up on its own. Robin Hobb is a master when it comes to character writing, and she has created one of the most human and nuanced characters in the genre with her doomed hero, FitzChivalry Farseer. I recommend her work to people who want a more introspective, less plot-focused narrative, and people who enjoy unreliable narrators.
The Witcher Series, by Andrzej Sapkowski
If you are into dark interpretations of fairy tales, look no further than Sapkowski. He takes inspiration for a wide arrange of folk traditions, but especially Slavic mythology, and adds a darker or ironic twist to the stories. The world is a grim take in the archetypical Medieval setting that so many fantasy series take place in, and the characters are anything but your usual heroic figures. Despite that, there’s plenty of love, joy and kindness to be found in the middle of the terrible circumstances that the characters have to deal with. This series is for the tragedy fans.
MODERN HITS
The Broken Earth Trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin
Each entry in this trilogy won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, making Jemisin the first author to win the award in three consecutive years, and she absolutely deserves it. Jemisin’s work is a perfect example of how fantasy can explore real life problems like racism and imperialism, and Broken Earth in particular deals with those themes in a very nuanced and interesting way. The trilogy follows an older woman in the midst of an apocalypse that promises to destroy the existing system of oppression that has shaped her entire life, and her reckoning with her past and the past of her people is incredibly moving and thought-provoking.
Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson is arguably the biggest fantasy author right now, and his massive bibliography can be daunting to tackle. His Cosmere universe is the flagship of hard magic systems, and if you are interested in seeing a fantasy world ruled by laws and logic that still has plenty of space for wonder, there’s no better place to get into the Cosmere than Sanderson’s debut novel, Elantris. It doesn’t require any prior reading, so you can enjoy this wild ride of magic zombies and warrior priests on its own right. Elantris contains many of the elements that made Sanderson popular, meaning that if Elantris isn’t for you, it’s likely that the rest of his books also won’t be, but if you like this novel then it will only get better from there.
The Locked Tomb, by Tamsyn Muir
A newer series with high ambitions, the Locked Tomb is all about challenging what we consider “traditional” fantasy. The unserious narration and the memes are not for everyone, but the series is more than just juvenile humor. The Locked Tomb mixes sci-fi and fantasy to create a unique setting, filled with charismatic characters and great action. The magic system here revolves around necromancy, which means there’s also a fair share of horror. This series is unapologetically weird and unlike any other on this list, so if regular fantasy doesn’t work for you, maybe this will. It also has lots of Queer and non-White characters for those who want more representation.
FUN ADVENTURES
Discworld by Sir Terry Pratchett
This is a satirical fantasy series that makes fun of the genre while still having a lot of love for fantasy and for humanity that makes each book both insanely funny and weirdly moving. While the books are all connected, they can be read on their own without much issue, so you can start wherever you want. I recommend starting with Guards! Guards!, the first book that prominently features the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, which are some of the most popular characters in the series.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Another comedic take on fantasy tropes from a British author. This book deals with themes of destiny, self-confidence and love, with a lighthearted tone and relentless humor. It subverts many fairy tale conventions, and has whimsy to spare. If you are a fan of the Ghibli movie, or a Ghibli fan in general, I highly recommend reading the book. It’s a completely different experience, but just as wonderful.
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
Do you like Delicious in Dungeon and RPGs? Are you a rock fan? Do you like it when an author makes their entire world and story revolve around a silly gimmick that ends up being really well-thought-out? Well, this is for you. This series is set in a world where adventure parties are essentially rock bands, and everything here is a music reference. It’s crazy, hilarious, and just the right amount of heartwarming.
Further Reading:
The 8 Eras of Fantasy Literature: A Short History of Magical Subversion and Rebellious Storytelling by
—An in-depth analysis of the history of the genre, which includes the most important authors and works of each era.
Thanks for reading! Everyone’s journey is different, and these are only some pointers. This list is clearly biased and limited to what I have read, but I hope that it can help others find a book or series they love and to understand how diverse fantasy is.