The Lord Of The Rings

Before J.R.R. Tolkein, there really was no "fantasy" genre of literature at all. All dragons, dwarves, and wizards belonged to folklore and fairy tales of former centuries. We can't really have a top 25 "of all time" without giving him a nod. Beyond that, Tolkein creates a world with thousands of years of history to it, making it easy to lose yourself in it. While many fantasy stories tend to hang their hopes on one who is the incredibly skilled and powerful, the real heart of the story and hope of the world rests on the simplest of the most humble race. The evil is palpable as every volume dives deeper into the land of the enemy while our heroes fight against impossible odds to overcome the darkness of Sauron and free Middle Earth by destroying the One Ring. Epic battles, political maneuvering, it's all in there. The Lord of the Rings really set the pattern for the genre, and once you've read it, you see how all heroic fantasy seems to carry on certain characteristics invented here: the hero is a nobody plucked out of nowhere and placed on a journey where the world will end if they don't figure out this hero bit and do their part; it's set in the Middle Ages with limited technology, meaning swordplay on every battle front; there is a guidance counselor (thank you Gandalf) who disappears periodically; and incredible evil to vanquish.  There is no list without this trilogy.