10 Greatest High Fantasy Books of All Time
Collider has published a ranking of the ten greatest high fantasy books of all time, spanning several decades and encompassing a wide range of styles within the genre. High fantasy, defined as stories set in fully realised worlds detached from everyday reality, is presented as having evolved over time from straightforward tales of good versus evil into works with greater moral complexity, political intrigue and character depth. The list highlights titles the author considers most influential or accomplished within the genre.
Entries include Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's "Midnight Over Sanctaphrax" (2004) from the Edge Chronicles series, praised for its imaginative setting and illustrations; Steven Erikson's "The Crippled God" (2011), the finale to the ten-volume, 11,000-page Malazan Book of the Fallen series; and C.S. Lewis's classic "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (1950), which introduces readers to the world of Narnia. The full text provided covers only the lower-ranked entries (numbers 8 to 10) of the ten-book countdown.
- Collider ranks the ten greatest high fantasy books ever written
- List includes The Edge Chronicles, Malazan Book of the Fallen and Narnia
- Covers works ranging from 1950 to 2011, praising imaginative world-building
New here? Start with this
High fantasy is a branch of fantasy fiction set entirely in invented worlds, rather than stories that bring magic into our own everyday reality. Well-known examples usually involve sweeping quests, complex political struggles and richly built settings with their own histories, languages and rules. The genre has been around for decades and has changed a good deal over time, moving from simple battles between good and evil towards more morally complicated stories.
The ranking in question comes from the entertainment website Collider, which has put together a list of what it considers the ten best examples of high fantasy writing. It draws on books from different eras and styles, featuring both well-established classics and more recent, sprawling series, reflecting how varied the genre has become.
Among the works mentioned are C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", first published in 1950 and one of the earliest and most widely read entries in the genre, and Steven Erikson's "The Crippled God", the concluding book in his lengthy Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Also featured is "Midnight Over Sanctaphrax" by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, part of the illustrated Edge Chronicles aimed at younger readers, showing the breadth of audiences and formats the list takes in.