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Although tricky to pull off, fantasy is one of the most enjoyable genres when done right. It can transport readers to sprawling kingdoms, haunted cities, magical universities, and forgotten worlds filled with wonder and danger, keeping you flicking through hundreds of pages, desperate to find out what happens next.
With that in mind, this list looks at the fantasy books that keep readers invested from the very first page to the last. These triumphs of literature offer colorful characters, immersive settings, smooth prose, and compelling plots. In the process, they achieve what so few books do: ensuring that our attention basically never wavers.
‘The Way of Kings’ (2010)
“Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.” The Way of Kings is the first installment in Brandon Sanderson‘s gargantuan Stormlight Archive series (with 5 books published already, all door-stoppers). Set on the storm-ravaged world of Roshar, the book follows several interconnected protagonists, including slave-turned-soldier Kaladin, noble scholar Shallan Davar, and war leader Dalinar Kholin.
It’s classic fantasy stuff, confidently executed: political intrigue, ancient mysteries, devastating wars, and the gradual return of powers long thought lost. The plot moves quickly and serves up a lot of action, including people doing battle with obscenely powerful magic swords. Admittedly, some characters are a little underwritten, more like archetypes than real people, but the novel compensates with rich worldbuilding, juicy mysteries, and a likable protagonist in Kaladin. His efforts to protect his comrades on the battlefield provide much of the story’s emotional weight.
‘Empire of the Vampire’ (2021)
“Too much hate will burn a man to cinders.” This one is a fun riff on dark fantasy and vampire tropes. In Empire of the Vampire, the sun has not risen properly in decades, vampires have conquered much of the world, and humanity survives only in isolated strongholds. In this bleak world, our protagonist Gabriel de León, the last of the legendary Silver Saints, recounts the events that led to civilization’s collapse. The plot shifts Gabriel between timelines, gradually revealing more about the character and his enemies.
Author Jay Kristoff clearly put a lot of effort into the vampire mythology here, creating several different bloodlines with different leaders, all vying for power. He draws on many classic ideas from vampire stories but manages to make them feel fresh with cool twists or by pushing them to the extreme. There’s also killer action and witty one-liners aplenty.
‘Beyond the Deepwoods’ (1998)
“Never stray from the path.” This is the first book in the marvelous Edge Chronicles series, written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Chris Riddell. It’s more straightforward and breezy than some of the more ambitious later installments, but that’s also part of its charm. In it, a young boy named Twig leaves home and ventures into the dangerous Deepwoods, a vast wilderness filled with bizarre creatures, strange landscapes, and countless dangers, including banderbears, sky pirates, and ferocious critters known as wig-wigs.
The world feels unpredictable in the best possible way, and Beyond the Deepwoods succeeds through exploration. Readers become invested because they genuinely want to know what lies beyond the next hill, river, or forest. Riddell’s illustrations further enhance the experience. The detailed black-and-white artwork brings the strange inhabitants of the Edge to life and gives readers visual rewards throughout the story.
‘The Mystery Knight’ (2010)
“Every hedge knight has a bit of dragon in him.” This novella is the third entry in The Tales of Dunk and Egg. Set roughly a century before the events of A Game of Thrones, The Mystery Knight follows hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg as they travel through Westeros. What begins as a seemingly simple visit to a wedding tournament gradually evolves into a dangerous political conspiracy involving rebellious factions and hidden identities.
The recent GoT spinoff show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is great, and viewers hungry for more can check out the source material, which is just as charming. The smaller scale and lighter tone make them more straightforwardly enjoyable than some of the weightier tomes in the Westeros universe. That said, there’s still political complexity at play, particularly the lingering consequences of the Blackfyre Rebellions.
‘La Belle Sauvage’ (2017)
“We are all subject to the fates.” The first entry in the Book of Dust saga, La Belle Sauvage returns readers to the world of Philip Pullman‘s landmark His Dark Materials series. Set before the events of Northern Lights, it focuses on Malcolm Polstead, a resourceful boy who becomes entangled in a dangerous plot involving the baby Lyra Belacqua. When catastrophic floods engulf much of England, Malcolm embarks on a perilous journey aboard his canoe in an effort to protect Lyra from powerful forces seeking to control her future.
Expectations were sky-high for this book, but, if anything, Pullman exceeded them. La Belle Sauvage is intelligent, immersive, thought-provoking, and entertaining to boot, adding new layers to an already richly realized world. The narrative momentum is impressive: mysteries deepen, dangers escalate, and the emotional stakes rise alongside the floodwaters.
‘The Wee Free Men’ (2003)
“Crivens!” Written by the late, great Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men is the Discworld novel that introduces the protagonist Tiffany Aching, a sharp and practical girl living on a sheep farm who discovers that she possesses unusual magical abilities. When her little brother is kidnapped by the Queen of Fairyland, Tiffany sets out on a rescue mission with the help of the Nac Mac Feegle, tiny blue warriors who are equal parts brave, chaotic, and ridiculous.
Pretty much every Discworld book is a banger, loaded with jokes and colorful details, and the Aching saga boasts some of the author’s very best work. The fantasy elements feel fresh and inventive, blending folklore, fairy tales, and Discworld’s trademark absurdity. Familiar fantasy concepts are often turned upside down in unexpected ways. That said, there’s also a lot of heart to the story. It has a lot to say about courage, responsibility, and growing up.
‘Perdido Street Station’ (2000)
“The city was a machine too complex to understand.” Perdido Street Station is another endlessly creative book, gleefully serving up a seemingly endless stream of weird ideas. It unfolds in the sprawling city of New Crobuzon, where scientist Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin is approached by a bird-like Garuda who has lost the ability to fly. Isaac’s attempts to solve the problem accidentally unleash a horrifying threat capable of devastating the city.
The book hooks readers through sheer imagination. The plot is fantasy meets sci-fi meets social commentary meets creature feature meets horror meets dark comedy, and New Crobuzon itself feels unlike any fantasy setting ever created. It’s crowded, dirty, industrial, politically unstable, and populated by an astonishing variety of species and cultures, including the insectoid Khepri, the destructive slake-moths, literal demons, and a god-like being known as the Weaver.
‘The Lies of Locke Lamora’ (2006)
“Someday, Locke Lamora, someday, you’re going to f—k up so magnificently…” This one is basically a fantasy spin on a crime caper, with a rich setting inspired by Renaissance Italy. The title character is the leader of a crew of thieves known as the Gentleman Bastards, who orchestrate elaborate scams targeting the city’s elite. Locke is a fantastic protagonist: intelligent, reckless, sarcastic, and perpetually convinced he can outwit everyone around him. Watching him improvise solutions to increasingly disastrous situations provides much of the book’s entertainment.
In addition to the criminal hijinks, the book also charms with its twisty plot and awesome magic systems, all while hinting at deeper mysteries. The relationships among the Gentleman Bastards provide another powerful hook. There’s real camaraderie between Locke, Jean, and the rest of the gang. Their friendships feel genuine, leading to more than a few tear-jerking moments.
‘The Name of the Wind’ (2007)
“I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings.” Patrick Rothfuss‘s Kingkiller Chronicle is arguably one of the greatest fantasy series of all time, though frustratingly, the third and final volume is not yet finished. It’s a character study about Kvothe, a legendary figure whose exploits have become the stuff of myth. Now living in obscurity, he begins recounting the true story of his life, from his childhood among traveling performers to his years at a prestigious university devoted to magic.
Kvothe is one of the most intriguing characters in 21st-century fantasy, approaching every challenge with a mixture of confidence and vulnerability that makes him endlessly engaging. We know from the get-go that his life will be defined by greatness, but also great tragedy. Along the way, he discovers intricate magic systems, colorful companions, and the looming shadow of the Chandrian, mythical beings associated with death and destruction.
‘King Sorrow’ (2025)
“The crown remembers every wound.” King Sorrow is the latest novel by Joe Hill (son of horror master Stephen King), and it’s one of his best. It’s about a group of young friends who, in a dire situation, make a deal with an evil dragon. It grants them protection and scorches their enemies, but demands that they feed it a fresh victim every year. It’s a great setup, one that Hill builds on perfectly, bringing in betrayals, shadowy government agencies, and humans who are almost as bad as the dragon itself.
The book is loaded with frights and action and monsters of all kinds, and its plot spans multiple decades, yet it always keeps the main characters front and center. They’re three-dimensional, providing some much-needed emotional realism to a very fantastical story. All in all, King Sorrow is a great combination of dark academia, horror, fantasy, and coming-of-age fiction.
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Luc Haasbroek
Almontather Rassoul
