Best Feel Good Fantasy Books

Good Omens

by Gaiman, Neil

A sushi-loving angel, a gearhead demon and Death as a gamer nerd. Do we even need to be a plot?Why it's on this listSometimes fantasy (and its audience) takes itself too seriously. After you've been bogged down in yet an...

The Kingkiller Chronicles (The Kingkiller Chronicle)

by Rothfuss, Patrick

A world that is vast, fantastical, and strongly rooted in logical world-building—it is a trilogy and biography of a famous musician and adventurer.

If you haven't heard of The Kingkiller Chronicles by now, you'll want to pick it up as soon as possible. Rothfuss' award-winning series took the genre by storm in 2007 with its expertly crafted take on a traditional...

The Golem And The Jinni

by Wecker, Helene

In Wecker's debut novel, two very unusual immigrants arrive, separately, in 19th century immigrant New York. These two characters are (unsurprisingly) a golem named Chava, created by a Jewish rabbi in Poland, and Ahmad,...

The Graveyard Book

by Gaiman, Neil

Raised by ghosts in a graveyard, a boy must face the living world, in Gaiman's warm and eerie fairy tale.

Gaiman is one of the biggest names in modern fantasy, and for good reason. His ability to craft fairytale-like, lyrical stories is almost unparalleled. With The Graveyard Book, he goes a little outside of that norm, p...

The Riyria Revelations (Riyria Revelations)

by Sullivan, Michael J.

Sullivan was a self-published author who was, after years of persistence, able to land a contract with a publishing company. The series have garnered a lot praise over the past few years. The books are fairly light read...

Legend

by Gemmell, David

Drawing heavily on the culture of the ancient Norsemen, Gemmell takes familiar archetypes and crafts them into a well-told tale of sacrifice and dying well. Druss and his once-possessed axe Snaga come out of retirement t...

Blood Song (Raven's Shadow) Start here

by Ryan, Anthony

One of the best fantasy novels in recent times, Blood Song also happens to have many school-like elements. Left as a child at the gates of the Sixth Order, Vaelin Al Sorna joins a secular group of holy warriors and fo...

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (Chronicles Of Narnia) Start here

by Lewis, C. S.

At this point, there's very little to be said about Narnia that hasn't been put better already. But I have to justify this list somehow, so I may as well try. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe has inspired genera...

The Hobbit (The Lord Of The Rings) Start here

by Tolkien, J.r.r.

Smaug is the classic dragon figure lying under the mountain—a scary creature who keeps the dwarves from their home and who must be defeated.

The Hobbit is one of the most well-loved fantasy novels of all time. Written by J.R.R Tolkien as a bedtime story for his children, The Hobbit is a light-hearted tale, focussing on the exploits of an increasingly adven...

Chronicles Of Amber (Amber Chronicles)

by Zelazny, Roger

A 10 book chronicle--these stories combine other worlds, magical elements, mystery, shadow, and science.

The Amber Chronicles is a complex blend of genres and plot. It starts like a murder mystery, drawing the reader in, then it moves on to a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy. However, while Zelanzy's tension-building goes a...

Howl's Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle) Start here

by Jones, Diana Wynne

A journey of discovery and wonder. This story is part fairy tale, but flips some of the typical conventions—like the main character is an old lady.

Before famous director, Hayao Miyazaki turned Howl's Moving Castle into an animated film, it was an enchanting novel written by Diana Wynn Jones. This novel follows the life a young girl who is destined, as the eldest...

Night Watch

by Lukyanenko, Sergei

The origin story of one of fantasy's move loved characters, Sam Vimes and arguably the best Pratchett book out of the entire Discworld canon.  There is always an underlying rage to Pratchett's writing, a boiling anger...

The Mists Of Avalon (The Mists Of Avalon) Start here

by Bradley, Marion Zimmer

A story of King Arthur's court, through the eyes of Arthur's half-sister Morgaine Le Fay.

I can't do a list of the top 50 fantasy novels with strong female leads without including The Mists of Avalon. Considered one of the great classics of modern fantasy literature, it won the Locus Award for Best Fantas...

A Wrinkle In Time (Time Quintet) Start here

by L'engle, Madeleine

An award winning, YA series of books that present, at least in part, a Christian world-view.

With a foot in both Science Fiction and Fantasy, A Wrinkle in Time is a bridge between reality and fantasy, a meeting place for adult and child readers alike.  Meg leads the adventure with her younger, gifted brother a...

War For The Oaks

by Bull, Emma

What happens when a rock star is pulled into a supernatural conflict between good and evil? Well, let's head on over to Minneapolis of all places and find out

It was in the 80s that the subgenres of fantasy we know today started. One of these – urban fantasy – owes much of its development from War for the Oaks, which was one of the titles that pioneered it. If this is the only...

The Princess Bride

by Goldman, William

A cult classic both on the page and in film, this story is full of romance, sword fights, comedy, true love, miracles, pirates, princesses, wild beasts, and a good dash of wit. An entertaining read worth every moment.

If you've never said, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die”, you're about as rare as a swear word at Hogwarts. Part of the reason the movie is so quotable is because the author of the book – Wi...

The Curse Of Chalion

by Bujold, Lois Mcmaster

Lois McMaster Bujold is famous for her very atypical characters. She demonstrated this with her Miles Vorkosigan character, and she does the same thing with the Curse of Chalion. The main character, Cazaril, is an comple...

Bridge Of Birds (The Chronicles Of Master Li And Number Ten Ox) Start here

by Hughart, Barry

Master Li and Ox â the main characters in this work â are easily some of the most loveable characters in fantasy. Aside from these charming protagonists, the book is a lot of fun to read.Why it made the listHughart's wri...

Harry Potter

by Rowling, J. K.

This incredibly popular series is a story of an alternate world, a secret world of wizardy that exists within our own, but seems ever so vast.

Yes, everyone has probably read this. In fact, these these may have been the books that got you started reading fantasy in the first place. These books do make for a good read and as the series progresses, the plot...

The Chronicles Of Prydain (The Chronicles Of Prydain)

by Alexander, Lloyd

Alexander's Wales-inspired epic fantasy offers little in the way of originality when compared to the novels of today. It's a simple tale of Taran, a pig farmer who has always wanted more, and gets more than he's barg...

Among Others (2012)

by Walton, Jo

An award-winning and break-out novel, that is about good versus evil magic, about books, about self-discovery, about imagination. It is an example of an unfolding and nonlinear plot.

Morwenna Phelps grew up in the Welsh valleys talking to fairies among the ruins of old factories. After a disaster involving her mother, a witch, she is left with a limp, has lost her twin sister, and is sent to live wit...