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When I was a kid, my mom read me J.R.R. Tolkien's fantastical tales of adventure in Middle Earth every night before I fell asleep. For years, hobbits, wizards and elves populated my dreams as the stories I heard enriched and expanded my own imagination. As an adult, I still treasure that first foray into other realms, but my appetite for fantasy has diversified. Now, the best fantasy books aren't all dusty tomes that have been passed down for generations.

As the oldest genre of literature on record, what constitutes fantasy often depends on who you ask. Originating from the oral tradition of folklore and stories told around ancient campfires, some consider mythology and epics, like The Odyssey, to be the purest form of fantasy, while others point to the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien. C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll as the pinnacle of the form.

In general, we're considering stories that include an element of the unexplainable. If it features the extraterrestrial, we'd call that science fiction, or ghost stories, which we consider horror. Fantasy, for our purposes, is everything else that tickles our less-skeptical side. We've rounded up some of the best fantasy ever written, including both classics that a true fan shouldn't miss, newcomers that make a necessary addition to the canon and lots of diversity in the realms of origin stories and the authors who dreamed them into being. We hope every fan finds a new favorite on this list.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Father is missing, and might even be dead. Carolyn and her 11 siblings have spent years cloistered under Father's strict tutelage, studying the ancient texts in the library that has special powers. Now that he's gone, a battle is brewing, and no one's ready for what that entails, least of all the reader. You won't be able to look up from this wholly unique fantasy that reads like a thriller.

A Hero Born by Jin Yong

What LOTR is to the United States, the Condor Trilogy is to China, so fantasy fans owe it to themselves to check out the translation. In this first book, we meet Guo Jing, born and raised in Mongolia after his father is murdered. He learns kung fu as an apprentice of Genghis Khan, and we're off to the epic, exciting races.

What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine

Born with the power to kill and revive living things with a single touch, Maisie Cothay has been sequestered away in her family's manor at the edge of a mysterious forest that she's been warned never to enter. But then her father goes missing, and she must break the rules to find him in this mesmerizing, sometimes funny novel.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

The first installment in the Daevabad trilogy starts in 18th-century Cairo, where a thief and exorcist named Nahri accidentally summons a djinn warrior. Together, they travel to the magical metropolis known as the “city of brass." Start with this one, then order the other two before you're done, so you don't miss anything.

Tigana: Anniversary Edition by Guy Gavriel Kay

From the renowned author of The Fionavar Tapestry and Children of Earth and Sky comes this epic that takes place on a planet with two moons, dark sorcery and a sumptuous and barbaric culture inspired by medieval Italy. Historical fiction fans who think they don't like fantasy, try this one.

RELATED: 25 Best Historical Fiction Books to Take You Back in Time

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

If the phrase "winter is coming" doesn't mean anything to you, welcome out from under that rock you've been living under. The novel that sparked a sensation is worth a read (or even a reread if it's been awhile), no matter how you felt about the HBO series' finale.

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

The colonizers have killed off Sigourney Rose's family, and she's hungry for revenge. When the king announces he'll be choosing a successor from the noble families, they start mysteriously dying and suspicion swivels toward Sigourney. She's got to figure out who's on which side, not to mention stay alive.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Addie LaRue has lived for 300 years, but it's a lonely existence. Thanks to a desperate bargain made in the 1700s, Addie is doomed to live forever and be remembered by no one, until a man she meets in a bookstore calls her by name.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

If you're used to Gaiman's epic journeys through other worlds, this bite-sized novel may come as a relief. Weaving a tale of romance between a half-human, half-faerie man and a fallen star in a shape of a woman, it's a delightful historical-feeling romp.

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

After he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, you'd be right to have high expectations of Ishiguro and this foray into fantasy doesn't disappoint. It's set in the Dark Ages when a mysterious mist prevents citizens from forming long-term memories. So when an elderly couple thinks they've lost their son, they journey across the country to find him. Warning: Here be dragons, and lots of other medieval adventure.

His Dark Materials Boxed Set: The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass

With armored polar bears, daemons, airships and two normal children who have to navigate it all, it's no wonder this series has captivated imaginations for decades. Read them all, then get ready to debate which one's the best of the trio.

Tales of Falling and Flying by Ben Loory

Ben Loory is sort of the fantasy answer to Lydia Davis, with extremely short stories that are strange, absurd, thought-provoking and sometimes just totally bizarre. They're worth reading just to see what comes next, which is never what you expect.

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

The twin children of brutal empress The Protector, Mokoya and Akeha are sold to the Grand Monastery as babies, and they come into magical powers as they grow. But a conflict is brewing to overthrow their mother's cruel empire, and each has to decide which side they're on — and how to stay true to themselves without destroying their bond.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Immersive and imaginative, this one draws from African mythology and history to create the story of Tracker, a hunter who joins a ragtag group of characters (including a shapeshifter called Leopard) to search for a missing boy. But there seem to be people invested in making sure he stays lost, which begins to call the question: Who's telling the truth, and who's hiding it?

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

Fantasy doesn't have to be long to pack a punch. These luminous, left-of-center short stories are a great introduction to fantasy for those who find epic otherworldly tomes a bit intimidating.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

The first installment in the Legacy of Orisha series made a huge splash when it came out in 2018, and if you missed it then, grab your copy now. Inspired by pre-colonial Nigeria, it takes place in a society rife with colorism, classism and sexism where magic has been quashed by a despotic king.

The Changeling by Victor Lavalle

Straddling the thin line between fantasy and horror, this disturbing novel follows a rare book dealer named Apollo Kagwa, whose wife disappears after doing the unthinkable, setting Apollo on a journey through a New York that you'll almost recognize. Almost.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

One of the most beloved series in fantasy, Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy is a force set in a unique apocalyptic world that feels more prescient now than ever. Come for the remarkable story, stay for the gasp-inducing twist.

The Way of Kings: Book One of the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

An ambitious, weighty foray into a 10-book series, this book introduces us to the storm-swept Roshar after the fall of the mythical Knights Radiant. It's a rich world that you can lose yourself in, and there's a lot more where this one came from if it absorbs your attention — which it will.

Ring Shout by P. P. Djèlí Clark

As if you couldn't tell from the cover, this dark fantasy centers around the KKK, in a world in which a film called The Birth of a Nation infected white America with a tidal wave of hate. But even the demonic Klan didn't plan on Maryse Boudreaux and her resistance fighters, who have the arsenal and the fury to take down the white hoods.

The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set by C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia are a fanciful journey through a world where a witch can enact endless winter, talking animals abound and centaurs fight battles with fauns. It's as much fun to read as an adult as it was when you were a kid, or to introduce your own young readers to a classic.

The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories: 75th-Anniversary Edition (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

From a writer cited as inspiration by the likes of Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood Audrey Niffenegger and Kelly Link comes this collection that takes a more feminist twist on familiar fairy tales like “Little Red Riding Hood,” "Puss in Boots” and “Beauty and the Beast." It'll stick with you long after the last page.

Kindred by Octavia Butler

This list would be incomplete without Butler, who many count among the great minds of fantasy even though her work is largely situated firmly within the science fiction realm. This one follows a Black woman living in 1976 California who gets thrust back in time to a pre-Civil War Maryland plantation where she meets her ancestors and endures all the horrors of that time and must play her own brutal role.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Usula K. Le Guin

The Earthsea cycle is beloved for a reason: it brings us a richly immersive world with enough action and adventure to entice readers to stay. You'll fall in love with the young wizard named Ged, formerly Sparrowhawk, who released a terrible shadow creature on his world and now must deal with the aftermath.

Lord of the Rings Boxed Set by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings series needs no introduction, especially not for fantasy fans. If you've only seen the movies, set aside a weekend to read the books that started many a fantasy fan on their literary journey.

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