6 Fantasy Books That Are 10/10 Masterpieces
Collider selects six fantasy novels it considers “10/10 masterpieces”, arguing that books allow authors to create worlds, histories and magic systems without the practical constraints of film or television. The supplied extract specifically discusses J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring and N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season; the remaining selections are not included in the text provided.
– The Fellowship of the Ring follows Frodo Baggins after he inherits the One Ring and joins allies including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to prevent Sauron’s return. The article praises Tolkien’s detailed, lived-in Middle-earth and says the book established a benchmark for later epic fantasy.
– The Fifth Season is set on the disaster-prone Stillness, where people able to control seismic activity are feared and oppressed. It centres on Essun, Damaya and Syenite, using converging storylines and unusual second-person narration to recast familiar fantasy themes around trauma, power and survival.
- Tolkien’s novel is praised as a foundational epic fantasy.
- Jemisin’s book revitalises fantasy through its structure and themes.
- The supplied extract omits four of the six choices.
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Fantasy fiction uses imagined settings, often with magic, invented peoples and long histories. It ranges from adventure stories to books that explore power, prejudice, war and survival through made-up worlds.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, published in 1954, begins The Lord of the Rings. It follows Frodo Baggins as he carries a dangerous ring away from the dark ruler Sauron, with help from companions drawn from across Middle-earth.
N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season, published in 2015, takes place in a society repeatedly threatened by devastating earthquakes. Its central characters can control the earth’s movements, a power that makes them both valuable and heavily controlled by others.