Other completed series that I've enjoyed are Wheel of Time, Black company. This is the peak of space opera, as far as I’m concerned. It tracks the journey of Ged, who grows from a young, immature boy to the greatest magician of his generation, and who must use his powers to save his home of Earthsea from imminent decline. When grad student Merit is transformed into a vampire, she has to seriously retool her five-year plan into, well, an immortality plan. Which is why a list of essential fantasy series makes perfect sense as my first official reading list. If not, however, she’ll wind up six feet under. But, if you want a fantasy story that has well-developed themes, an engaging plot, and rounded characters, then look for a series that has at least four volumes. Ma’elKoth, the god-emperor of Ankhana on Overworld, is ruthless yet tender. Its exhaustive narrative spanning multiple continents and thousands of years is too complex to effectively describe here, but all eventually comes back to the Malazan Empire and who gains (as well as who deserves) power within it. Series Complete. The size isn’t always a criterion for quality writing. The giving of endowments like grace (the ability to relax muscles), brawn (the ability to flex them), and stamina leaves such Dedicates in extremely fragile states. If you loved Inkheart as a kid, you’ll love Magic Ex Libris as an adult. Think Chronicles of Narnia, but older, and in Canada. The Wheel of Time. My favorite part of Wolfe’s work is his writing, though. As the series goes on, it becomes clear that the fates of Overworld and Earth are more intertwined than people believed, and Hari Michaelson, a.k.a. It’s The Addams Family meets a Jane Austen novel! This debut trilogy from Staveley involves three royal children, separated at birth, who grow up to become a monk, a soldier, and a politician respectively. Included are TV series shot live, animated, anime, or CGI, that I have more or less seen or given good feedback on from others. — dragons. I dig fantasy book series, but I have so many "open" series right now (Game of Thrones, Stormlight archives, expanse, etc) that I can't take starting another. Namely, he is an assassin in the land of the the Six Duchies, adjacent to a war being waged by his royal uncle. She’ll be pitted against other assassins in a competition to serve the king, and if she wins, her crimes will be pardoned. It tells a story from several different perspectives, showing how point-of-view impacts what people might think of as “the real story.”. This trilogy follows the quest of Morgon of Hed and Raederle of An, two other land-leaders, as they attempt to discover the High One’s identity and how his purpose intertwines with theirs. The Red Knight is the hero of this medieval-era series, and a worthy one at that: not only is he genetically gifted and expertly trained, he’s also notoriously lucky and shrewd when it comes to picking his battles. Malazan Book of the Fallen is another deeply iconic fantasy series, often cited as one of the best high fantasies in recent years. It depicts the struggling province of Southmarch: the true king is imprisoned, his son has just been killed, and his twin children have no idea how to handle their new duties. Martin have ever done. Cinderella’s a cyborg, Rapunzel’s a hacker, Snow White has “Lunar Sickness,” and they all hang out in space. Modesitt's books. The Fae is also extremely dangerous, however; it destroyed the first waves of colonists on Erna and still poses a constant threat. It can get pretty tough to read at points. Wizard Harry Dresden works with the Chicago P.D. Get ready to dive in! Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), there’s always a bit of deadly drama to be found in the realm of the supernatural… and it usually finds Georgina first. Here’s a list of books, all the first book in the series. Tropes are twisted on their heads, humor abounds, and settings move from standard European fare to vibrant Middle Eastern analogues and beyond. But he does have an “antihero’s journey” of sorts — over the three impressive trilogies in this series, he becomes much more altruistic and admirable. Infernal Devices follows Tessa Gray, an orphan girl who discovers she can shape-shift and goes to live at the Shadowhunter Institute in nineteenth-century London, where she must learn to control her abilities. This means that I simply haven’t read some of the best new authors yet—and others, whom I have, don’t have their series finished. Her worldbuilding is excellent (despite post-publishing missteps), the characters are undeniably vibrant, and the plotting is, for the most part, tight. Charlaine Harris weaves an intricate saga of bloodlust and actual lust in the American South, centering around telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who gets caught up in the many complexities of the supernatural world. In the structure of a good fantasy book, the fantastical element of the story can be anywhere: the story may occur entirely in a fantasy world (like J.R.R. This series centers on the Supernatural Protection & Investigation agency, which handles New York’s most sensitive cases — supernaturally sensitive, that is. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. The 21 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Series Ever. Speaker for the Dead remains the single best science fiction book I’ve ever read, and while Xenocide and Children of the Mind do not maintain that lofty standard, they at least give a decent conclusion to the series. Sign up to get the best in SFF sent straight to your inbox! (Plus, for a dose of writerly inspiration, the whole thing started out as a NaNoWriMo project!). The titular “gentleman bastards” of this series start off pretty much true to their name: Locke Lamora is their gang leader, and thieving and trickery is all he’s ever known. Despite that, it’s an incredible story, well-written, with some of the most complex and layered characters in science fiction. Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales series imagines modern heroines in mythical situations. WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE BINGING. Instead, he dug deeper, exploring the ethical, moral, and even economic implications behind such a system. This dark fantasy series from the indisputable king of horror follows Roland Deschain, the last member of an Arthur-descending knightly order called the gunslingers. The only completed series in Sanderson’s Cosmere deserves a place in this list. His prose is excellent, riddled with fight scenes and one-liners to make any reader laugh, but the most impressive part is how he molds a wide cast of characters. About to go on vacation, need a decent book to read. Most fantasy books ask for a serious commitment but Good Omens is a fully formed, read-in-an-afternoon treat. to solve their most unsolvable, supernatural cases. Reading (or listening to!) 1 Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. And after a betrayal from one of her associates sets her down a road of vengeance, others would be wise to stay out of her way. List of the latest fantasy TV series in 2021 on tv and the best fantasy TV series of 2020 & the 2010's. The thirty books (yes, you heard that right) of the cycle detail the escapades of people and creatures in many different lands, with all the rollicking excitement and suspense of a live-action game. Gene Wolfe is probably the most decorated, celebrated, and accomplished SFF writer that most people have never heard of. The level of worldbuilding is incredible, down to histories, cultures and customs, genealogies and magic. Fantasy! Zelazny’s incredible worldbuilding plus his fascinating characters — including superhuman royalty — make this series truly worthy of its “epic” label. Game of Thrones. Alanna may be a young lady, but she knows it’s her destiny to become a knight — so when her twin brother gets sent to knight school against his will, they hatch a plan to secretly switch places. Both darkly themed and written with a light touch, this series is perfect for YA readers who love getting lost in Black’s enchanting world of faeries. I’m glad I did. Hell yeah.). From here, the series just gets more intense, more tightly woven, and develops ever-increasing stakes. In Blade, Stover plays with mythology and legend while taking the old authors’ maxim “think of the worst thing you can do to your protagonist, and then do it” to 11. Drew McCaffrey lives in Fort Collins, CO, where he is spoiled by all the amazing craft beer. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series) or fantastic elements like magic can exist alongside an apparently real world setting (as in the seven Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling). In order to escape, they must run, and the unwitting journey they embark upon is both mythic in scale and very intimate in human emotion. The Acts of Caine is, at heart, an adventure story—but one with all the trappings of high literature already in place. The Kane Chronicles offer another spellbinding tale from the celebrated author of the Percy Jackson series. The Long Price Quartet begins in the wealthy, seemingly utopian city-state of Saraykeht, where a sorcerer called Heshai stokes the fire beneath the surface. Port of Shadows, a sort of “interquel” between books one and two, was recently released. If you will, the Of Blood and Bone trilogy is a companion piece to The Faithful and the Fallen with the two mixing … Bonus List of Completed Series. Its exhaustive narrative spanning multiple continents and thousands of years is too complex to effectively describe here, but all eventually comes back to the Malazan Empire and who gains (as well as who deserves) power within it. Taking place nearly one-hundred-and-fifty years after the Day of Wrath and the end The Faithful and the Fallen series (my all-time favourite fantasy series) the Of Blood and Bone trilogy is a stand-alone, self-contained and it firmly stands on its own as an outstanding trilogy. (Content of the stories aside, Donaldson’s titles are just fantastic. He never expects to find something worse than corpses: something that will unleash a much greater struggle for him and his people. Malazan Book of the Fallen. When an endowment is given to a Runelord, it’s transferred. It begins with Sorcha, daughter of Lord Colum, who must save her father and brothers from the spell of an evil enchantress — even after being kidnapped herself. 3. Votes: 129,783 It’s likely that a few of these will still be on my list in a decade, but SFF of the past few years has taken a much-needed turn toward more diverse viewpoints and voices. When Mercy realizes that some of her supernatural fellows are in danger, she jumps into action, using both her human and superhuman skills to save their lives as well as her own. In The Poppy War by R.F. The task Kobato needs to complete encompasses the themes of fantasy and romance, so this anime was a natural choice for this list. Priest Damien Vryce wants peace between humans and the Fae more than anything — but how can one man control such a potent force? It is in this book that we see the darkest depths of characters; it is also here where we see hope shine the brightest. The Last Airbender to life comes this Netflix original animated fantasy series. Not everyone is happy for her, however; many of those close to the throne want her dead. Tarzan (24 books), John Carter of Mars (11 books), Carson of Venus (5 books), and Pellucidar (7 books) are all complete series within themselves, or you could read them as a shared universe series. Check out these 25 series, including 'Game of Thrones,' 'Outlander,' and plenty of others. The Fionavar Tapestry series involves five University of Toronto postgraduates who get sucked into the “first world of the tapestry,” Fionavar. Before the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, there was A Song of Ice and Fire. Tarzan (24 books), John Carter of Mars (11 books), Carson of Venus (5 books), and Pellucidar (7 books) are all complete series within themselves, or you could read them as a shared universe series. The Best Completed Fantasy Series, ... Apple Books. They're a short read that's definitely worth the time if you love Jim Butcher, Benedict Jacka, and Mike Carey. Who else would turn such an everyday writing opportunity into lyrical, evocative imagery? Join Cassie on seven nail-biting adventures to elude and defeat her foes, prudently trading her wits and skills for help from the most unlikely of sources. Storyteller (The Hurricane Chronicles Book 1), Sirens Unbound: Book 1 of the Fifth Mage War, Reading a fantasy novel can transport you to a world of wonder and danger, as different from mundane reality as a dragon from a mouse. For fantasy fans, nothing is better than finding a good, all-consuming, magical binge. But that only makes his fight to protect his family from danger all the more a thrilling and courageous risk. Such as sixteen-year-old Kaye, who accidentally becomes entwined in an age-old conflict between two rival faerie kingdoms. This ongoing cycle details the exhilarating journey of Kan Savasci, the “Bane of Verold” (his native land) who steps into his fate as the most powerful, feared warrior of his time — only to disappear when the world needs him most. 1) Gilmore Girls A song of Ice and Fire. Similarly, it ignores standalone books, so no Uprooted or The Windup Girl or Roadside Picnic. Another ongoing series, Lightbringer centers around “the Prism,” the most powerful man in the world of the Seven Satrapies, where magic is channeled through light and color. with unusual perceptive abilities, even for a P.I. It features Will Stanton, who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is an “Old One” and destined to battle forces of evil for the preservation of the “Light.” You might think of it as the 1970s precursor to Harry Potter — kids taking matters into their own hands, getting into trouble, and pretty much always magicking their way out just in time. “Old fool! So if you ever get tired of Chosen Ones and medieval-ish settings, just remember there’s always Discworld. The Demon Cycle has raged on for centuries: every night, supernatural demons called corelings arrive to attack and destroy humans, who shrink from them in fear. I should note that while, technically speaking, the extended series as a whole will run nine books, it’s really split into two: the first four books comprise the “Earth King” series, and the next four (and forthcoming fifth) comprise the “Scions of the Earth” series. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone. Thomas Covenant is the emblematic antihero of the fantasy genre, reluctant to do anything that doesn’t directly benefit him. Stars: Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Dylan O'Brien, Linden Ashby. A song of Ice and Fire is the fantasy novel which is written by the American novelist called George R.R Martin. But what happens when someone else tries to con the con man? 1. Perhaps the best-known urban fantasy series of the twenty-first century, Mortal Instruments follows the path of NYC teenager Clary Fray, who discovers she’s a Shadowhunter — one with the power to hunt demons. Though normally only upper class-citizens have the capacity for magic, Sonea soon discovers she possesses magical gifts — leading to her capture by the Magician’s Guild of Kyralia and, once she escapes, the necessity of teaching herself how to control her abilities. “Black” mages can channel order, “white” mages can channel chaos, and “gray” mages can do both, though they are extremely rare. 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