Support Us
Five Books
 
Search
MENUMENU
  • Nonfiction
        • Art
          • Architecture
          • Art History
          • Design & Illustration
          • Fashion & Style
          • Modern and Contemporary Art
          • Photography
        • Business
          • How to Invest
          • Leadership
          • Marketing
        • Economics
          • Behavioural Economics
          • Development Economics
          • Economic History
          • Finance
          • Financial Crisis
          • Globalization Books
          • World Economies
        • Environmental Books
          • Climate Change Books
          • Environmental Ethics
        • Food & Cooking
          • The Best Cookbooks
          • Food & History of Food
          • Wine & Drinks
        • Health & Lifestyle
          • Death & Dying
          • Education
          • Family & Relationships
          • Happiness
          • Sex & Sexuality
        • History Books
          • American History
          • Ancient History (up to 500)
          • Modern History (1800-1945)
          • History of Science
          • Historical Figures
          • Military History
        • Language
          • Grammar & Punctuation
          • Books for Learning Languages
          • Linguistics
        • Law
        • Literary Nonfiction
          • Biography
          • Essays
          • Memoir
          • Artists' Biographies
          • Travel
          • True Crime
        • Music & Drama
          • Classical Music & Opera
          • Film & Cinema
          • Music
          • Theatre
        • Nature
          • The Prehistoric World
          • The Earth
          • Plants, Trees & Flowers
        • Philosophy Books
          • Ancient Philosophy
          • Ethics & Moral Philosophy
          • Great Philosophers
          • Social & Political Philosophy
        • Politics & Society
          • War
          • Feminism
          • Foreign Policy & International Relations
          • Human Rights
          • Terrorism
        • Psychology
          • Mental Health
          • Neuroscience
          • Psychoanalysis
          • Psychology Research
          • Self Help
        • Religion
          • Best Atheist Books
          • Buddhism
          • Christian
          • Islamic
          • Jewish
          • Religious History Books
        • Science
          • Astronomy
          • Biology
          • Chemistry
          • Geoscience
          • Maths & Statistics
          • Popular Science
          • Physics
        • Sports, Games & Hobbies
          • Football (Soccer)
          • Gardening
          • Hobbies
          • Sport & Sporting Culture
        • Technology
          • Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
          • Computing
          • Digital Age
          • History of Technology
          • Internet
  • Fiction & Literature
        • Classic English Literature
        • American Literature
        • World Literature
        • Literary Criticism
        • Literary Figures
        • Classical Studies
        • Contemporary Fiction
          • NEW Fiction
        • Poetry
        • Memoir
        • Comics & Graphic Novels
        • Fairy Tales & Mythology
        • Historical Fiction
        • Horror
        • Humour
        • Crime Novels
        • Science Fiction
        • Short Stories
        • Romance
        • Thrillers (Books)
        • Mystery
        • Fantasy
  • World
        • Africa
          • Egypt
          • Ghana
          • Nigeria
          • Rwanda
          • South Africa
          • Zimbabwe
        • Americas
          • Latin America
            • Argentina
            • Brazil
            • Caribbean
            • Chile
            • Cuba
            • Mexico
          • United States
          • Canada
        • Arctic & Antarctica
        • Asia
          • Afghanistan
          • Bangladesh
          • Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
          • China
          • India
          • Japan
          • Kazakhstan
          • Korea
          • Pakistan
          • Sri Lanka
          • Singapore
          • Vietnam
        • Australia
        • Europe
          • Belgium
          • Britain
          • France
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Netherlands
          • Norway
          • Spain
          • Ukraine
        • Middle East
          • Iran
          • Iraq
          • Israel
          • Syria
          • Turkey
          • Yemen
        • Russia & FSU
          • Azerbaijan
          • Georgia
          • Russia
  • Kids
        • Kids Recommend Books for Kids
        • High School Teachers Recommendations
        • Novels & Novelists
        • Ages Baby-2
        • Ages 3-5
        • Ages 6-8
        • Ages 9-12
        • Books for Teens and Young Adults
        • Best Kids Books of 2022
        • Best Books for Teens of 2022
        • Best Audiobooks for Kids
        • Prizewinning Kids' Books
        • Popular Series Books for Kids
        • History
        • Economics
        • Environment
        • Family
        • Science
        • Mental Health
  • Best Books 2022
        • Audiobooks
        • Best Books for Teens of 2022
        • Best Kids' Books of 2022
        • Best Fiction of 2022
          • Historical Fiction
          • Romance
          • Science Fiction
          • Fantasy
          • Mystery
        • Best Nonfiction of 2022
          • History
          • Politics
          • Memoir
  • New Books
        • New Science Books
        • New Climate Books
        • New Psychology Books
        • New Philosophy Books
        • New Math Books
        • New Economics Books
        • New History Books
        • New Physics Books
        • New Memoirs
        • New Biography
        • New Fiction
        • New World Literature
        • New Historical Fiction
  • Audiobooks
    • Actors Read Great Books
    • Best Audiobooks for Kids
    • Books Narrated by Their Authors
    • Best Audiobook Thrillers
    • Best History Audiobooks
  • Book Awards
    • Nobel Literature Prize
    • Booker Prize
    • Baillie Gifford Prize
    • Royal Society (science)
    • Wolfson Prize (history)
    • Walter Scott Prize
    • Arthur C Clarke Prize
    • Pushkin House Prize
    • Audie Awards
  • Experts

Fiction » Fantasy » Best Fantasy Books of 2021

Browse book recommendations:

Fantasy

  • Best Fantasy Books 2022
  • Best Fantasy Books of 2021
  • Game of Thrones Books in Order

Fiction

  • Best Books by Nobel Prize in Literature Winners
  • Best Fiction of 2021
  • Best Fiction of 2022
  • Best Fiction of 2023
  • Classic English Literature
  • Comics & Graphic Novels
  • Contemporary Fiction
  • Crime Novels
  • Fairy Tales & Mythology
  • Fantasy
  • Historical Fiction
  • Horror
  • Humour
  • Literary Criticism
  • Literary Figures
  • Mystery
  • Poetry
  • Popular Fiction Books
  • Romance
  • Science Fiction
  • Short Stories
  • The Best Novels
  • Thrillers (Books)
  • World Literature

What sets fantasy apart from other genres of fiction? Its untethering from reality. In a year like 2021, that will be a welcome feature for many readers out there. If you're looking for the best fantasy books, 2021 is shaping up to be a vintage year in the genre. Here in this section we'll be keeping an eye on new fantasy publications in 2021, as well as shortlisted books and winners of the most prestigious prizes in fantasy like the British Fantasy Awards — with winners already announced in February, 2021—and the World Fantasy Awards, whose winning books will be announced in November. However you like your fantasy—epic or short, high or low, dark or comic, contemporary or historical—it's a great time to be an avid reader in the realms of the imagination.

Part of our best books of 2021 series.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Buy now Listen now

A Master of Djinn

by P. Djèlí Clark

What could be better than 1912 Cairo for the setting of a steampunk fantasy where djinn and mechanical angels coexist with humans? Fatma, the youngest woman to work for The Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities is on the occult murder trail of a deathly sect. Her partners provide more comic relief than clues to this whodunnit, where colonialism, mythology, religion and social standing all create an unexpected warp and weft to a spellbinding tapestry of a crime thriller.

Read expert recommendations

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Buy now Listen now

Black Water Sister

by Zen Cho

A coming-of-age chronicle which retraces the immigrant footsteps of dissolute drifter Jessamyn Teoh from Harvard back to Malaysia, where she is engaged by the ghost of her estranged grandmother Ah Ma to settle spiritualist scores with local gansters. It’s a tale that traces how we navigate family histories, and how these often intertwine to create mythologies of their own, replete with ghosts and gods, many of our own creation. How to balance our many obligations, across generations and across cultures? Foreboding but fun, this urban fantasy in contemporary Malaysia is vividly told.

Read expert recommendations

Bubble by Jordan Morris, Natalie Riess (colours), Sarah Morgan & Tony Cliff (Illustrator)
Buy now

Bubble

by Jordan Morris, Natalie Riess (colours), Sarah Morgan & Tony Cliff (Illustrator)

Any fantasy pick list worth its salt will feature a graphic novel or two. Bubble is the bright offering of podcaster Jordan Morris, who has imagined a parallel quotidian existence – not so different to the daily grind of many readers – only with a science-fantasy twist. Morgan was born in the Brush, an ex-urban jungle (hic sunt leones) and who earns her keep as a freelance monster hunter (the leones of terra incognita being badass Imps). Brilliant, brightly coloured parody of the gig economy in all its absurdity.

Read expert recommendations

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Buy now Listen now

The Gilded Ones

by Namina Forna

Let’s get this out of the way first: this book is not for squeamish readers. It is violent. Now then, The Gilded Ones is a fabulous epic fantasy set in a West African-inspired world. When Deka turns sixteen, she has to prove her purity in a ritual. All she wants is to obey the Infinite wisdoms and start to wear a beautiful mask like other women in Otera. To her horror, when she is cut her blood runs not red but gold: she is a demon. Deka’s superpowers – strength, speed and a body that heals itself after injury – are not considered gifts in Otera’s extremely patriarchal society; her own father disowns her as a monster when she fails the purity test. Deka has the body of a warrior, but in her own mind can she overcome the emotional violence inflicted upon her and fight back? The Gilded Ones is the first book in a projected trilogy.

Read expert recommendations

Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Buy now Listen now

Sistersong

by Lucy Holland

Sistersong is a story based on the ‘Twa Sisters’ folk ballad is set in a late Antique Britain after the Romans have left. King Cador’s three children inherit a land torn by warring tribes and fearful of a life confined within the hold, protected from Saxon invaders. The arrival of Myrdhin, meddlesome magician, upends the calm and brings pagan and Christian magic and myths into the frame.

There’s no date yet for it’s US release but we’ll keep you posted.

Read expert recommendations

Alexandria: A Novel by Paul Kingsnorth
Buy now

Alexandria: A Novel

by Paul Kingsnorth

Top of the pile of fantasy books to be read is Paul Kingsnorth’s Alexandria, only just published in the UK. A small religious community is living in what were once the fens of eastern England. They are perhaps the world’s last human survivors. Now, they find themselves stalked by a force that draws ever closer, a force intent on destroying everything they stand for. Set on the far side of the ecological apocalypse, Paul Kingsnorth’s new novel is a mythical, polyphonic drama driven by elemental themes: of community versus the self, the mind versus the body, machine versus man – of whether to put your faith in the present or the future.

Alexandria completes the Buckmaster Trilogy, which began with Kingsnorth’s prize-winning The Wake. That was set in distant Saxon England, and I was reminded of it by Sistersong.

Read expert recommendations

Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Buy now

Son of the Storm

by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Son of the Storm is an epic tale that takes us to pre-colonial West Africa, following a young scholar Danso, whose encounter with Lilong of a powerful, skin-changing warrior woman upends his world and sends them both to the Nameless Islands where Lilong hails from, with their history of a subjugated culture and forbidden magic. Enticing echoes here of Black Leopard, Red Wolf, a favourite from 2019 with its labyrinthine retelling of African history and mythology as a fantastical road trip mystery.

Read expert recommendations

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Buy now Listen now

The Chosen and the Beautiful

by Nghi Vo

In The Chosen and the Beautiful Nghi Vo’s reimagining of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the protagonist is a queer, elite-level golfer in a man’s world. She’s also an adopted Asian-American, which imposes glass ceilings and barriers of another kind. Her secret is a form of paper magic that can enchant or destroy.

Read expert recommendations

The Bone Ships by R J Barker
Buy now Listen now

The Bone Ships

by R J Barker

***Winner Best Fantasy Novel at the 2021 British Fantasy Awards***

The Bone Ships by RJ Barker is the first book in The Tide Child trilogy (the second book in the trilogy, Call of the Bone Ships, is also already out, as book prize awards tend to lag publication by a year or so).

Read expert recommendations

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

Newsletter Contact us Privacy Policy Terms of Service Mastodon Social

© Five Books 2023