Lord Of the Rings Trilogy (1954). The story takes place in an imaginary time and place, the Third Age of Middle-earth. The landscape is that of our Earth, however. The lands are populated by Men and other humanoid races: Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs. Other creatures are Ents, Trolls, Eagles, Wraiths, and spiders. The story centres on the Ring of Power made by the Dark Lord Sauron. Starting from quiet beginnings in the Shire, the story ranges across Middle-earth and follows the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, most notably Frodo Baggins.
What more can be said: The greatest adventure story of our time!
J.R.R. Tolkien
2.
The Hobbit (1937). Most likely the best book written by Tolkien. It has adventure that exceeds that of Lord of the Rings, and is the story of how Bilbo comes across the ring and uses its magic in his adventures.
Another great Tolkien!
J. R. R. Tolkien
3.
Harry Potter Series (1997).
The seven-part Harry Potter series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling, about an adolescent boy wizard named Harry Potter and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The story is centered at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a school for young wizards and witches, and focuses on Harry Potter's fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents as part of his plan to take over the wizarding world.
Tthe first novel was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), released in 1997.
J. K. Rowling
4.
Wheel of Time Series (1990). This is a bestselling fantasy book series. It is known for the extreme density of its plot, the intricate detail of its imaginary world and constructed languages, and complexity of relationships and interactions among characters. There are 11 books in the series so far. Books 8-11 have each reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Robert Jordan
5.
A Song of Ice & Fire (1996). Four magnificient books! Inhuman but humanoid "Others" from the north are moving towards the ice Wall that protects the kingdom of Westeros, but the kingdom has fragmented as different claimants to the throne compete. The world of A Song of Ice and Fire is high medieval, with mounted knights wearing plate armour, tourneys, feudal relations, and so forth. The stories, the battles, and the plots are fascinating, and the heroes highly interesting. Great reads, simply.
George R. R. Martin
6.
The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1950). The most well known book in the series called "The Chronicles of Narnia". It was written as a childrens book.
Four children are evacuated from London during World War II, and settled with Digory Kirke, an elderly Professor living in a large country-house.
The children decide to explore the house and come upon an empty room with only a wardrobe in it. The others go on to explore other rooms, but Lucy, the youngest of the children, climbs into the wardrobe and finds it leads to a thick forest in a snow-covered land. Wonderful!
C. S. Lewis
7.
The Belgariad Series (1982). The Belgariad is Eddings' first and best fantasy series. This series has everything you can ever want to read - humour, fear, action and satisfaction that good does indeed have a say in what goes on in the world. The characters come alive, the storyline is addictive so it's best to either buy all the books in the series from the start or make plans to get it as soon as you can.
David Eddings
8.
Wizard's First Rule (1994). The first book in the epic series "The Sword of Truth". The main character is Richard Cypher, who is a humble peasant destined for greatness. His companion is Kahlan Amnell, a strange and beautiful woman from across the Boundary. And of course, there's the evil villain Darken Rahl, who is about as bad as they come. A great series, very well written, with lots of action.
Terry Goodkind
9.
Magician (1982).One of the very best fantasy books around. The plot starts modestly and charts the rise to power of several characters over many years. There is something for every fantasy lover. Magic, heroism, love and loss, intrigue, elves, dwarves and more. The characters are well described and the settings are vivid and believable. This book is a must for any fantasy reader.
Raymond E. Feist
10.
The Sword of Shannara (1977).
Long ago the world of Shea Ohmsford was ruined by the wars of ancient Evil. Now mankind must compete for the Earth with many other races - gnomes, trolls, dwarfs and elves. But Shea, the half-human, half-elven adopted son of an innkeeper, knows little of this. Shady Vale, where he grew to manhood, seems a haven for peace.
But then into Shady Vale comes the giant, forbidding figure of Allanon, possessed of strange knowledge and even stranger Druidic powers. Great. Simply.
Terry Brooks
11.
The Stand 1978. This is how the world ends: a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain of death. And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides-or are chosen. This book, which now includes material deleted in the original version as well as new material, is considered Kings best.
Stephen King
12.
Northern Lights (1995). First book of the His Dark Materials series. Lyra and her daemon are eavesdropping when they uncover a plot to murder Lord Asriel. He has returned from the far North where he tells of strange sights-a beautiful city hovering in the sky above the pole, a shimmering Dust that settles on and delineates all but human children. Lyra is scarcely able to save his life before Lord Asriel is off again, on a quest to answer the riddle of the world.
Philip Pullman
13.
A Wizard of Earthsea(1968) . The tale of the eponymous wizard continues in The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, and The Other Wind. Le Guin has also written a number of other novels and short stories set in the world of Earthsea.
"Long before Harry Potter came along, Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea imagined what a school for wizards would be like. Ged, its hero, will become the Archmage of a world in which magic is as common as electricity, but this is a tale from before that time." -- The Guardian
Ursula K. Le Guin
14.
The Dark Tower Series (1982). This is a series of seven books by Stephen King that tells the tale of lead character Roland Deschain's quest for the "Dark Tower."
Roland is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers. The world he lives in is politically organized along the lines of a feudal society,but it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West, as well as bearing magical powers and the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society.
Stephen King
15.
Animal Farm (1945) . In this political fable based on the Russian Revolution, farm animals, led by the pigs Snowball and Napoleon, eject their human exploiters and try to turn their farm into a Utopia. The enterprise fails because of corruption and weakness from within and their society becomes a totalitarian police state. Written in stark, simple prose, it is perhaps the most read of Orwell's novels.
George Orwell
16.
The Colour of Magic (1983). The first book about the strange land of Discworld. This "comic fantasy" series has grown to more than 20 books. This is the first book, featuring the tourist Twoflower and his hapless wizard guide, Rincewind ("All wizards get like that ... it's the quicksilver fumes. Rots their brains. Mushrooms, too."). A crazy adventure -- entertaining.
Terry Pratchett:
17.
Eragon (2002). This is the first book of the planned Inheritance Trilogy. The sequel is Eldest (released mid-2005). The title of the third book has not been confirmed yet. Eragon is set in the land of Alagaësia and is a story about a farm boy named Eragon and his dragon, Saphira. The book has been adapted into a film of the same title.
Christopher Paolini
18.
A Wrinkle In Time (1962). This highly acclaimed novel was actually rejected 26 times before it was published, because it was too different! The main character is Meg Murry, a teenage girl, regarded as a bad-tempered underachiever. Her family recognizes her problem as a lack of emotional maturity but also regards her as being capable of great things.
Madeleine L'Engle
19.
Dark Elf Trilogy (1990). The tale of Drizzt, born to the tenth noble House of Menzoberranzan. The books are Homeland,Exile, and Soujourn (Forgotten Realms). A touching story of a young dark elf growing up in the hate filled world of the evil Drow. You will love every page of it and be gripped from start to finish. An excellent buy.
R. A. Salvatore
20.
American Gods (2001)(won the Hugo and Nebula awards for 2002). Shadow gets out of prison early when his wife is killed in a car crash. At a loss, he takes up with a mysterious character called Wednesday, who is much more than he appears. In fact, Wednesday is an old god, once known as Odin the All-father ...
Neil Gaiman
21.
Watership Down (1972). A civilization's future is at stake in an epic battle between good and evil ... starring rabbits. The heroes and villains are all rabbits. They possess the appeal and many of the attributes of rabbits, but they're not the flopsy-mopsy bunnies they would have been if this were a mere children's tale. They're facing deadly serious issues of life and death here, and not all of them will survive.
Richard Adams
22.
The Farseer Trilogy (1995). Epic sword & sorcery, this time with a distinctly Arthurian heritage. The first book, Assassin's Apprentice, has a stablehand with royal blood ending up in training to be an assassin. The hero discovers he has a few dark magic tricks up his sleeve and is perceived by some to be a threat to the throne. Great!
Robin Hobb
23.
The Mists Of Avalon (1983). It's the saga of King Arthur and his companions at Camelot, their battles, love, and devotion, told this time from the perspective of the women involved. Viviane is "The Lady of the Lake," the magical priestess of the Isle of Avalon, a special mist-shrouded place.
Marion Zimmer Bradley
24.
Redwall (1986). The first in a long and great series of books. Only the lost sword of Martin the Warrior can save Redwall Abbey from the evil rat Cluny and his greedy horde. The young mouse Matthias (formerly Redwall's most awkward novice) vows to recover the legendary weapon. In the course of his quest, Matthias forges strong ties with various local animals.
Brian Jacques
25.
Good Omens (1990). This is an hysterically funny book. A satire and a parody, it lampoons everything in sight. From Elvis sightings to televangelists to the destruction of all intelligent life ("nothing left but dust and fundamentalists."), little escapes the scathing wit of Gaiman and Pratchett.
And, of course the demon, Crowley, drives a 1926 Bentley.
