The 7 Best Fantasy Books for Beginners To Read

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Wizards. Dragons. Fairies. Kings. Queens. Epic battles. Amulets. Magic wands. Quests. With its ability to allow us to suspend belief and enter otherworldly realms where anything can happen and anything is possible, fantasy is one of the most popular and beloved literary genres. However, the exact same reasons it’s so loved can also make it a difficult genre to break into; for example, readers can get lost (and not in a good way) in a long book that involves multiple families, kingdoms, and events that can be hard to keep track of, or feel like the detail-rich worlds of fairies or goblins is not properly explained in books that presume its readers have prior knowledge of such creatures. If you’re looking for how to get into the fantasy that highlights the best of the genre but is still accessible, these books are the best places to start.

Contents

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

With high stakes and high drama, many fantasy series are very serious affairs. Not Good Omens. Written with Pratchett’s delightful knack for creating absurd off-the-wall characters and Gaiman’s characteristic flair for world-building and utilizing elements of history and religion, Good Omens is one of the best fantasy books to start with, as its humor and grounded-in-reality setting helps genre newbies find their footing before being launched into the strange and fantastical world of Pratchett and Gaiman’s minds. Based heavily on Biblical events and characters, the story follows Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, as they attempt to sabotage the coming End Times and the rise of Satan’s Son on Earth so they can continue living their comfortable, Earth-bound lives instead of returning to Heaven and Hell. Misadventure and misunderstandings, of course, ensue. Deliciously funny, it’s a fast and fun read for lovers of humor, witty comedy, and wacky characters.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings reigns as one of the best fantasy series of all time. But if you’re not ready to tackle the entire trilogy (which clocks in at over a thousand pages), its prequel, The Hobbit, is a much easier place to be introduced to the world of Middle Earth. The book (which was published as a children’s fantasy novel) follows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he helps a band of dwarves (guided and aided by Gandalf the wizard) to reclaim their kingdom, the Lonely Mountain, from Smaug the Dragon, as well as receive a share of the massive horde of treasure the dragon guards. Along the way, the group gets waylaid by encounters with elves, goblins, giant spiders, and other beings; this book is also when Bilbo first finds the Ring. It was based on this book’s success that Tolkien made changes to the following Lord of the Rings trilogy, such as having Bilbo keep the Ring when he returns to Hobbiton, thus setting up the start of the Fellowship of the Ring. Full of adventure, fantastic creatures, battles, and magic, it’s a thrilling read that’s sure to pull readers in and make them want to continue on to the trilogy proper.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Author Neil Gaiman is one of the great fantasy writers of our time, crafting ingenious stories that blend history, mythology, horror, and contemporary society and culture. Some of his books definitely tend toward heavier fare, but a great starting point is Neverwhere. Set in London, the novel centers around a man, Richard Mayhew, who finds a bleeding girl on the sidewalk one day and rescues her. This girl, Door, comes from a magical realm called London Below — literally, a shadowy, fantasy version of London where the landmarks are all the same but mystical creatures dwell and danger lurks (down there, it’s literally “mind the gap” between the train and the platform because a monster could grab you). After Richard’s life is thrown into turmoil by his encounter with Door, he heads into London Below after her and joins her quest to find out who murdered her family and why. Rich with all the things that fantasy readers love (like underground labyrinths, assassins, and speaking rats, to start), it’s a captivating read that, while it may not be as famous as some of his other works, is still one of Gaiman’s best and is a classic among his fans.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

As the continent that has given the fantasy world some of its most exalted authors, like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Neil Gaiman, and Terry Pratchett, the proof is in the pudding that the British just do fantasy better, and the His Dark Materials trilogy by English writer Philip Pullman is another excellent addition to the legendary canon of British fantasy. The three volumes — The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass — tell the story of two children living in a universe very similar to our own but with magical elements, such as the presence of dæmons — shape-shifting creatures that are magically attached to their people at all times and take on a singular form when their human counterpart reaches adulthood.

In the first book, The Golden Compass, readers are introduced to Lyra Belacqua, who discovers that children are going missing and being used in a plot to gain access to a different universe. In the following books, with the other protagonist Will Parry, the two explore these different universes, always on the run from evil forces that aim to capture them and control the multiverse. Along with the elements of fantasy (such as witches that take on evil scientists, armored bears, those shape-shifting dæmons, and magical instruments that tell the truth), there are also elements of science fiction (including Dust, a conscious particle), physics, and theology that come together to create a rich tapestry of magical intrigue and adventure. Although the trilogy has found success among young adults, Pullman actually wrote the books without a specific audience in mind, so they’re very accessible for fantasy beginners.

Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin

Set in a fictional archipelago inhabited by humans, dragons, and wizards, The Wizard of Earthsea is the first installation of the popular Earthsea Cycle, which continues for five books. In The Wizard, a young man named Ged is found to possess tremendous magical abilities and is enrolled in a wizardry school. While there, he inadvertently unleashes a shadow creature when a spell goes wrong. For the rest of the book, the creature pursues Ged throughout the archipelago, wishing to possess him. To find out what happens, you’ll just have to read the book! Considered one of Le Guin’s masterpieces, it’s a beloved staple of the fantasy genre for its imaginative world, coming-of-age story, and resemblance to traditional “hero’s journey” epics.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The first book of the epic and ongoing Kingkiller Chronicle, The Name of the Wind introduces the series’ protagonist Kvothe, a swordsman, musician, and magician who is said to have killed a king and thus started a war that now rages throughout parts of the Temerant continent (where the story is based). The novel begins when Kvothe, trying to keep a low profile by working as a bar manager in a rural town, saves a scribe known as the Chronicler, who recognizes him and asks to hear his tale. Kvothe then tells of his childhood and subsequent adventures leading up to then, a story that’s rife with murders, magic, and mystery. Fans of Game of Thrones (or the Song of Fire and Ice series) will love the attention to detail and elaborate world-building of The Name of the Wind, which took author Patrick Rothfuss nine years to imagine and write.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

No list about how to get into the world of fantasy books would be complete without including the Harry Potter series. The worldwide phenomenon launched a generational passion for the genre, acting as a catalyst for many young readers to branch out from the world of Hogwarts to other fantasy and sci-fi series and books. Part of this is because the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, published in 1997, was written in such an approachable way, guiding its readers from the suburbs of England where protagonist Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin following his parents’ death, to the magical world of wizardry from which, on his eleventh birthday, he receives notice that he’s a wizard and has been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Readers have fallen in love with now-classic characters like Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid, are pulled along on their misadventures (as well as the larger, series narrative about Voldemort and Harry), and immerse themselves in the detail-rich world of witchcraft that Rowling created.