The Best Fantasy Books

There are over 370 books in the Warhammer 40k series. As veteran Warhammer author Graham McNeill explains, the books offer a chance to introduce complexity and depth, while respecting the Lore the fans know and love. There are no greater fans of the 40k world, says McNeill, than the writers themselves. He introduces his top five choices, and gives us a glimpse of the writers’ world - of group workshops, complicated timelines, constant correspondence, and friends for life.

This year’s award-winning fantasy books offer something for every taste, from melancholic fairy tales to gripping horror. Our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop introduces the winning titles.

Gothic fantasy helps us explore what is hidden, disturbing and liminal in our own lives, explains author C.J. Cooke. She introduces her top five gloriously Gothic novels, featuring haunted houses, attic prisons, carrion crows, and ghost children – and an underlying exploration of personal and collective traumas.

Every year, members of the World Science Fiction Society nominate writers for the Hugo Award, then vote for the winner. All speculative fiction is eligible – fantasy as well as sci-fi – and the shortlist is one of the most prestigious for both genres. Here, Sylvia Bishop introduces us to the nominees for the title of the best speculative novel of 2024 – and the page-turning champion. See all our best science fiction books, fantasy fiction, and best novels of 2024 recommendations.

Mythological retellings bring us stories with timeless resonance, viewed through the lens of modern concerns, explains Francesca Simon. The bestselling author tells us about her five favourite retellings, and introduces her first adult novel and the rich world of folklore and legend that inspires it.

Dark fantasy undermines certainty and reality – but that’s exactly what we need, argues author and academic Alex Pheby. He talks us through his five favourites, and how they allegorize loss of innocence, question the real, and re-awaken our awareness of the human condition.

A medieval flavour is common in fantasy books, but this can range from chivalric adventures and mythical beasts to grimdark realities. Here Robin Hobb, multi-award winning novelist of the Realm of the Elderlings series, introduces her five favourites, spanning the breadth of the genre.

What makes fantasy worlds so ripe for comedy? Hugo nominee Travis Baldree points toward our shared humanity, our love of anti-heros, and the power of back-to-front archetypes. He recommends the five best fantastical adventures to get us laughing – mostly at ourselves.

We tell ourselves fantastical stories to account for all that cannot be explained, says Seanan McGuire, the multi-award winning author of the October Daye, InCryptid, and Indexing series. Here, she selects five of the best urban fantasy books—fabulous novels that help us find the magical in the mundane.

Low-stakes 'cozy' fantasy is very popular right now, says the bestselling author TJ Klune—and as a result it's a very exciting time to be working in the genre. Here he recommends five cozy fantasy novels, all with magical worlds to get lost inside: from moving castles to coffee shops at the end of the world.