I was recently asked for recommendations for “entry books to fantasy.”
Well, different people like different things of course, and there are many subgenres of fantasy so for this list to be of manageable size I will limit myself to the more classic second-world sword and magic type fantasy (and we will just assume Lord of the Rings is somewhere in there).
The list is also, naturally, limited by the books I’ve actually read (which may not be the books others have read).
I will start with a few modern fantasy series, then dig into the more classic series that I think are broadly popular and would form a pretty solid foundation in fantasy for a reader.
My recommendation would be to alternate between reading one of the modern fantasy series recommendations, then a classic series, then another modern series, etc.
RECENT FANTASY:
I will get into the most trouble here for omissions probably, but that is just because nobody can have read all the books that everyone else has read, and I can’t even remember all the books *I* have read and LIKED, there are just too many. And again, tastes vary, and I am not covering things like Urban Fantasy here. But off the top of my head:
- The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin. An example of the best of what modern second-world fantasy can be.
- Farseer: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. A great series for well-developed characters and emotional rollercoaster plots.
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. An Avatar Last Airbender/ Korra homage done right, that swaps in West African culture for the Asian culture and is deeply impactful in the world it depicts and the story it tells. I think this is a good example of how to make readers feel impacted by an issue you care about without it being preachy or an essay.
- City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. A nice break from McEuropean worldbuilding. Starts slow then you can’t stop turning the pages.
