Fans of Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy seriesThe Stormlight Archiveare currently struggling with two major heartbreaks – the climactic ending of the latestStormlightnovelWind and Truth, and the unfortunate reality that Sanderson won’t release the next book in the series for at least six years. In his December 2024 State of the Sanderson blog post, the author laid out his road map for his Cosmere multiverse, including the unfortunate necessity that the next arc ofStormlightbooks will have to wait for him to get throughthe nextMistbornera, now titledMistborn: Ghostbloods.
Thankfully, a six-year break is just long enough to indulge in some of the otherincredible fantasy novelsout there. From long-running mainstays of the genre like Terry Brooks’Shannaranovels to powerful but concise trilogies like Phillip Pullman’s theological masterpieceHis Dark Materials, there are enough excellent fantasy series out there to keep someone busy readingfor the next six years and far beyond.
10The Dinosaur Lords
By Victor Milán (2015 – 2017)
TheDinosaur Lordsbooks are best described, as George R. R. Martin himself put it, as “a cross betweenJurassic ParkandGame of Thrones.” Set on the verdant world of Paradise, the books tell of the sweeping battles between armies of knights on dinosaur-back, as empires clash for dominance. While in parts the books struggle from Milán’s overuse of certain low-fantasy genre tropes – the comparison toGame of Thronesis apt in more than one way, including some portrayals of sexual violence –Stormlight Archivefans will be right at home with the battles and imperial ambition.
The main character of the series, the mercenary Dinosaur Lord Karyl Bogomirsky, finds himself amid intrigue that goes beyond the political and military violence that is the status quo on Paradise, andhe starts finding answers to questions that may have been better left unanswered. Unfortunately, Victor Milán passed away from cancer in 2018, leaving the series only half-finished.
9The Bifrost Guardians
By Mickey Zucker Reichert (1987 – 1991)
Mickey Zucker Reichert has made a career off of her work using Norse mythology as the basis for her fantasy novels, the most well-known of which are the long-runningRenshai Chronicles, which span nine books. Yet her earlier and equally Norse series,The Bifrost Guardians, is an underrated gem – and also,in what will surely appeal to modern genre preferences,technically anisekai.
When young American soldier Al Larson cries out to the Norse gods as he dies amid the chaos of a firefight with the Vietcong, his soul is plucked away and reincarnated as an elf in a strange, wintry land. Stranger still is the man claiming to be the Norse god Freyr, who charges Al witha quest to prevent Ragnarok, the End of All Things.
8The Shannara Chronicles
By Terry Brooks (1977 – Present)
Terry Brooks’Shannaranovels are one of the longest-running fantasy series to date; however, most have been released as trilogies, following various sets of characters over several thousand years of the world’s history. The setting ofShannaraisa post-post-apocalyptic version of the Pacific Northwest, now called the Four Lands, where magic and monsters are now the norm.
Books of theShannaraseries (in release order)
1977
1982
1985
1990
1991
1992
1993
(Stand-alone book)
1996
Running with the Demon
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Galaphile
2025
The originalShannaratrilogy follows several generations of the Ohmsford family as Allanon, the last of the Druids, calls on them to aid invarious quests to protect the Four Lands from various evils. The second book of this trilogy,The Elfstones of Shannara, was the source forthe short-livedShannara ChroniclesTV show.
Austin Butler’s Forgotten 2010s Fantasy TV Show Explained (& Why It Was Canceled)
Before achieving stardom in Hollywood, Austin Butler starred in a short-lived, MTV fantasy adventure series. Here’s what happened to it.
Later trilogies explore the eventual fate and even the origin of the enigmatic Druids, and the more recentGenesis of Shannaratrilogy details the strange magical cataclysm that changed the face of the world. Although Brooks said on the release of 2020’sThe Last Druidthat he was done with the series, that’s turned out to be false –Galaphile, the initial book ofThe First Druids of Shannara, isset to be released on July 21, 2025.
7Codex Alera
By Jim Butcher (2004 – 2009)
While Jim Butcher is significantly better known for his urban-fantasyDresden Filesbooks, hisCodex Aleraisan interesting approach to fantasy worldbuilding, to say the least. After being challenged to write as good a novel as possible based on as bad an idea as possible, and doubling down on the challenge, Butcher somehow managed to succeed with aplomb by combining the painfully disparate elements ofPokémonand the historical mystery of the fate of the 9th Hispanian Roman Legion, which vanished from the historical record around AD 120.
5 Great Urban Fantasy Book Series That Prove Wizards Have Street Smarts
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger – and these wizards in particular aren’t going to let you off easy.
The world of Carna, where the books are set, is home to the Aleran Empire, a clear successor to Rome right down to the Latin-adjacent names. Yet it’s also home to elemental spirits, called furies, which bond with people and help with everyday tasks. The main character, a young boy named Tavi, is a shepherd who gets drawn into events so great they threaten the very Empire’s stability;watching his rise from peasantry to power across the six-book seriesis a wild ride.
6His Dark Materials
By Philip Pullman (1995 – 2000)
Books with heavy theological messages can often struggle to make a cohesive point, especially when they take up the torch of legendary works like John Milton’sParadise Lost. Yet Philip Pullman’sHis Dark Materialstrilogy succeeded in that regardin a way few authors could dream of, starting off feeling like a fantastical young adult adventure and eventually reaching a climax that swings for the theological fences.
His Dark Materials Mythology: Daemons & Dust Explained
His Dark Materials is a world filled with new peoples, dæmons, magic, and more - and we’ve broken it down for new viewers.
For those who enjoy film adaptations of their epic fantasy,HBO’sHis Dark Materialsseries was extremely well-received; the 2007 film adaptation of the first book,The Golden Compass, was a critical failure, currently sitting at only 42% onRotten Tomatoes. The initial trilogy also has a sequel series,The Book of Dust, of which two books have been released; Pullman said on the site formerly known as Twitter that the third book is complete andhopefully will release later this year(viaX).
5The Dark Tower
By Stephen King (1982 – 2004)
When Stephen King first publishedThe Gunslingerin 1982, it was a standalone novel that knit together five short stories originally published inThe Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fictionbetween 1978 and 1981. As King continued writingThe Dark Towerseries, he realized the version ofThe Gunslingerthat existed didn’t fit tonally with the other books, sohe revised it to better fit the details of the world he’d since created. Therevised edition ofThe Gunslingerwas released in 2003, shortly before the rapid-fire publication of the final three books in the trilogy.
How To Read Stephen King’s Dark Tower Books & Stories In Order (Chronologically & By Publication Date)
The universe of The Dark Tower is sprawling and vast and it can help to know how to read the books & in which order to read them before jumping in.
In many ways,The Dark Toweris King’s magnum opus. While the books rarely feel like overt horror like the rest of his work, the grotesque set-dressing King is so famous for is on full display throughout the series, from the small details of disgusting creatures like slow mutants and lobstrosities to the presence ofKing’s ubiquitous villain Randall Flagg. There’sa beautifully cyclical and metatextual naturetoThe Dark Towerthat makes it feel like high fantasy, even with all the guns and murder-happy talking trains.
4Vampire Hunter D
By Hideyuki Kikuchi (1983 – Present)
Hideyuki Kikuchi’s series about an apocalyptic far future ruled by despotic vampire overlords has been ongoing for over 40 years; the most recent book, 2024’sWicked Resurrection, is the 55th novel in the main series, although only the first 25 have been translated into English so far. The series follows the titular D,an enigmatic half-vampire bounty hunter in the distant 13th millenniumwho fights to protect humans against the vampire Nobles who rule the world.
Vampire Hunter D, as a series, has a grim beauty to it, heavily reinforced by the aesthetic of the novels' covers, which have been consistently illustrated bylegendary Japanese artist Yoshikata Amano, best known for his work on the earlyFinal Fantasyvideo games. The series' anime adaptationsVampire Hunter D(1985) andVampire Hunter D: Bloodlust(2000), which are based on the first and third books, respectively, have been out of circulation for some time, but will beremastered for streaming and theaters in 2025.
3The Earthsea Cycle
By Ursula K. Le Guin (1968 – 2001)
Decades before a certain British boy went to school so he could become a wizard cop,Ursula Le Guin was defining the very bones and tropes of wizard schoolsin theEarthseanovels. The first book,A Wizard of Earthsea, was meant as a standalone novel initially, but Le Guin was so swept up in tying up what she saw as loose ends that she quickly followed it with the stellarThe Tombs of AtuanandThe Farthest Shore.
Ursula K. Le Guin’s 10 Best Books, Ranked
As one of the best science fiction writers of all time, Ursula K Le Guin has created some of the most influential & boundary-pushing novels ever.
Le Guin’sEarthseawas written as her direct argument against what she saw as the common flaw of fantasy novels at the time –the assumed default that all fantasy books took place in worlds that were deeply European in nature, steeped in the trappings of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic mythology. Her Earthsea is a vast archipelago of a world, full of vibrant cultures and mysteries and even the occasional dragon.
2The Iron Widow Saga
By Xiran Jay Zhao (2021 – Present)
Chinese-Canadian author Xiran Jay Zhao exploded onto the publishing scene in 2021 with the release of their debut novel,Iron Widow. The first in a planned series intended as a reinterpretation of the story of the historical Empress Wu, the only legitimate female sovereign of China,the book infused medieval Chinese history with the tropes and trappings of modern Chinese political dramas, with a healthy dollop of the fantastical thanks to giant mecha called Chrysalises.
Iron Widowhit #1 on theNew York TimesBest Seller List within a week of its release, helped in part by Zhao’s heavy presence on TikTok, and remained on the list for over eight months. Although billed as a young adult novel,there’s plenty of action and romance for adult readers, particularly those inclined to such a pastiche as the combination ofRomance of the Three KingdomsandNeon Genesis Evangelion. The series' second book,Heaven’s Tyrant, was one ofthe most-anticipated books of December 2024, hitting #1 on the Best Seller List in January 2025.
1The Memoirs of Lady Trent
By Marie Brennan (2013 – 2017)
While epic fantasy, conceptually, tends to involve wizards and the vast intricacies of empires and dynasties, Marie Brennan’sMemoirs of Lady Trentfindsa different path towards epicness: that of the fantasy naturalist. The titular Lady Trent is a young woman in a society that is deeply analogous to Victorian England, right down to the systemic misogyny that prevents her from acting on her life’s desire to study the many kinds of dragons that live all over her world.
The first book,A Natural History of Dragons, tells of how Lady Trent’s stubbornness and determination led to her achieving her dream despite an entire society positioned to oppose her. By the end of the series,she has become one of the most famous scientists in the world, responsible for discoveries that genuinely changed the course of human history.
Although the books use a very Victorian English cultural lens, they often avoid many of the biases that might come from basing a world on such an infamously cruel and far-reaching empire. In part, this is thanks to a very subtle but interesting piece of worldbuilding; the dominant Western religion in this series is something far more akin to Judaism than Christianity, and so what happens is a fascinating geopolitical hypothetical where events like the Crusades simply didn’t happen.
The Memoirs of Lady Trentarea breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre, looking at the wonders of dragons through a naturalist’s eye. The books are full of phenomenal illustrations of Lady Trent’s observations, detailing draconic anatomy, environments, and even the occasional foray into fantastical archaeology as her work on understanding dragons leads her to unravel the secrets of the lost civilization of the Draconeans.
