Top Ten Fantasy Novels and Series

These are in alphabetical order. Also, note that I've sometime treated whole series as single books. Sometimes you just can't chose...

---

• The Black Company series – I prefer the first three books, but Glen Cook is an excellent writer and the others should be worth a look. All of the stories are less about Heroes and more about army grunts struggling to keep themselves and their comrades from being destroyed by the magical beings that are their guardians and enemies.

• The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever – This covers Stephen Donaldson's series up to White Gold Wielder, as the series has yet to be completed. However, up to this point it has been excellent. It is the story of Thomas Covenant, a leper forced into being the savior of a magical Land. Not the easiest series to get through, as Covenant starts off as an unlikeable, almost monstrous person. As this is, among other things, the story of his redemption, this is to be expected.
  

• The Dark Tower – There are better fantasy novels on this list, and elsewhere for that matter, but this massive tale is among my favorites. Roland has to be one of Stephen King's least likable protagonists, but I found myself pulling for him nonetheless. This entry cover not the entire series, however, but the last book. King has an unfortunate habit of dud endings, but this one, this one is something special.

• Discworld series – I'd have an easier time listing the few Terry Pratchett comic novels I didn't like. His character Rincewind, incidentally, is another inspiration for me. Also, Pratchett's ability to mix whimsy with the serious...

• Harry Potter series – J. K. Rowling's tale of a young Wizard's school life isn't just one of my favorite series; it's also my family's favorite. Well, most of my family. Brother Todd hasn't read it yet. Little heathen.
• Hart's Hope – Orson Scott Card's tale of monstrous magics is one of the best in the field, and really should be required reading.

• Jhereg – Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos stories are all worthy, but this one's my favorite. Vlad, an assassin, finds himself with a target whose death may well start a massive war. More pressing, unless he's very careful, he's going to be killed if he does the job or not...
  

• The Last Unicorn – The movie can not prepare you for Peter S. Beagle's masterpiece, even though its one of the best film-to-book adaptations out there. It's a balance between whimsy and seriousness that has rarely been matched. If you haven't experienced the last unicorn's search for her kin, it's about time you did.

• The Lord of the Rings – I've said my piece on this one here. No matter what faults I might have with it, I love J. R. R. Tolkien's mammoth novel and odds are good I'll be wading through it again before too long.

• MythAdventures series – Robert Aspin's comical series about the adventurers a young Wizard/con artist/Dimensional Traveler is one of the main inspiration for my own writing. It's a lot of fun.