This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Read the full disclaimer here.
Lists like this are inherently a fight. Someone is always going to be furious that their favourite isn’t higher, or isn’t here at all. With that disclaimer out of the way — here are the fantasy series that I think genuinely deserve the label “best of all time,” with a personal take on each.
This isn’t a Wikipedia roundup. These are series I’d press into someone’s hands on a train and say read this.
1. The Lord of the Rings — J.R.R. Tolkien
Yes, it’s first. It has to be. Tolkien didn’t just write a great fantasy series — he essentially invented the template every other entry on this list is working from or reacting against. The world-building remains unmatched. The languages, the mythologies, the sense of deep history — Middle-earth feels like a place that existed before the story began and will continue after it ends. If you somehow haven’t read it, start with The Hobbit and go from there.
Rated 4.9 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
2. The First Law Trilogy — Joe Abercrombie
The series that dragged fantasy kicking and screaming into moral ambiguity. Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy takes everything you expect from the genre — the quest, the warrior, the tortured inquisitor — and uses them to ask uncomfortable questions about heroism, power, and whether people actually change. Glokta alone is worth the price of admission, but the whole trilogy is exceptional. Read our review of The Blade Itself if you need convincing.
Rated 4.5 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
3. The Stormlight Archive — Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson is the most ambitious fantasy writer working today and The Stormlight Archive is his masterpiece in progress. Four books in, with six planned, it’s already one of the great fantasy epics — enormous in scope, meticulously constructed, and emotionally devastating in a way Sanderson’s detractors rarely acknowledge. Kaladin’s arc across the first two books is some of the best character writing in modern fantasy.
Rated 4.8 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
4. The Farseer Trilogy — Robin Hobb
If you want to know what it feels like to have your heart broken by a fantasy series, read Robin Hobb. The Farseer Trilogy follows FitzChivalry Farseer — bastard son, assassin’s apprentice, man perpetually done dirty by everyone who claims to care about him — across one of the most emotionally intelligent fantasy series ever written. Devastating. Perfect.
Rated 4.7 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
5. The Kingkiller Chronicle — Patrick Rothfuss
Two books and a decade of waiting, and it’s still on this list. The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear are among the most beautifully written fantasy novels in the genre. Kvothe is an extraordinary creation and Rothfuss’ prose is genuinely unlike anyone else’s. The wait for Book 3 is agony, but what exists is worth reading twice while you wait. See our full reading guide here.
Rated 4.5 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
6. A Song of Ice and Fire — George R.R. Martin
Books one through three of ASOIAF are as good as fantasy gets — complex, brutal, politically intelligent, and genuinely surprising. The later volumes have tested the patience of even the most devoted fans, and the series remains unfinished. But A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords constitute one of the most thrilling runs in the genre’s history.
Rated 4.7 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
7. The Faithful and the Fallen — John Gwynne
Gwynne’s four-book series is the best modern successor to Gemmell’s heroic fantasy tradition. The Banished Lands feel real, the battles are extraordinary, and the characters — Corban, Maquin, the incomparable Fidele — earn their place in the story. If you love David Gemmell and want something with more contemporary scale, start with Malice.
Rated 4.4 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
8. Mistborn — Brandon Sanderson
The original trilogy is the perfect entry point to Sanderson’s Cosmere. A heist story set in an ash-covered world where the dark lord won — the magic system alone (Allomancy, in which swallowed metals are burned to grant powers) is one of the most inventive in the genre. Tight, satisfying, and with one of the best final volumes in a fantasy trilogy.
Rated 4.7 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
9. The Drenai Saga — David Gemmell
Gemmell invented heroic fantasy as we understand it, and the Drenai Saga is his finest work. Legend alone — the story of an aging, dying warrior who chooses to go down fighting rather than rot on a mountaintop — is one of the most emotionally powerful fantasy novels ever written. If you haven’t read Gemmell, our full guide to the Drenai series is the place to start.
Rated 4.5 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
10. The Broken Empire — Mark Lawrence
The most divisive entry on this list. Prince of Thorns opens with a scene that will make a significant portion of readers put the book down immediately. Those who don’t will find one of the most interesting anti-hero arcs in the genre, set in a post-apocalyptic world disguised as medieval fantasy. Jorg Ancrath is monstrous and compelling in roughly equal measure. Not for everyone. Absolutely worth knowing about.
Rated 4.4 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
Honourable Mentions
A list of ten can’t hold everything. Worth knowing about: The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan), The Gentleman Bastard Sequence (Scott Lynch), The Realm of the Elderlings (Robin Hobb), The Bloodsworn Saga (John Gwynne), and The Sun Eater (Christopher Ruocchio).
You Might Also Like
- Epic Fantasy: The Best of the Genre
- Joe Abercrombie Books in Order
- 11 of the Best Books by Brandon Sanderson
- 31 Best Fantasy Books You Need To Read Today
Check out Sunset In the East — a mind-bending short story collection from Ben Luxon.
