F A N TA S Y FICTION
FANTASY FICTION
Fantasy fiction Fantasy is a wide-ranging genre that can include dystopian adventures or stories that could be classed as science fiction, making it hard to know what to include in a booklist. To add to the complexity, there are also subdivisions such as 'high-fantasy' with its sophisticated imaginary worlds, 'lowfantasy' where magic intrudes into the real world; 'sword and sorcery' which concentrates on swordplay and battles; 'gothic fantasy' that has an element of horror; plus various other categories, depending on who is doing the defining. This list is a selection of books in the School Library that you might like to try if you enjoy this genre. The books mostly feature imaginary worlds, or are stories where there is a magical element to everyday life. Ghost stories, horror, dystopian adventure and science fiction have been left out. Books are arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name. If you would like to discover more fantasy fiction, check the Library's online catalogue and enter 'fantasy' in the search box. The twenty titles in the latter part of the booklet are more suited to Year 10 and above and many have adult content: they are shelved in the 'older readers' section in the Tim Pigott-Smith Library. Books in the first section, marked with a red triangle, have content that may be unsuitable for younger readers and may therefore need parental guidance. Mrs Watts (Librarian) September 2019
Cover picture: https://www.123rf.com/stock-photo/excalibur.html?sti=o6i8adlks9eqwg33sf|&mediapopup=64141939 (Accessed: 24 August 2019) 2
FANTASY FICTION
ABERCROMBIE, Joe
COOPER, Susan
Half a King (Shattered Sea series)
Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark is Rising series)
Yarvi has become King of Gettland but is considered a weakling because he has missing fingers. Can his quick wits defeat his many enemies?
A search for Arthurian treasure and a battle between good and evil feature in this classic fantasy.
ADEYEMI, Tomi
CROGGON, Alison
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha series)
The Gift (Books of Pellinor series)
West African inspired fantasy full of dark magic.
Maerad is a slave who has inherited a gift that she must use to save her world from evil.
ALEXANDER, Lloyd
D’LACEY, Chris
The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain series)
The Fire Within (The Last Dragon Chronicles)
A tale about the quest of Taran, the Assistant Pig Keeper, to become a hero.
A student moves in with a mother and her daughter to find a colony of clay dragons that have come to life. DE CASTELL, Sebastien
BUNZL, Peter
Spellslinger (Spellslinger series)
Cogheart (Cogheart series) Lily & Robert are searching for Lily’s missing father in this steampunk adventure.
Kellen must complete four magic trials to become a mage, only he isn’t very good at magic.
COLFER, Eoin
DELANEY, Joseph
Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl series)
The Spook’s Apprentice (The Wardstone Chronicles)
Artemis is a 12 year-old criminal mastermind who is holding a leprechaun to ransom.
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Being the seventh son of a seventh son means that Thomas must learn to get rid of ghosts and witches.
FANTASY FICTION
EVANS, Maz
GAIMAN, Neil
Who Let the Gods Out? (Who Let the Gods Out series)
The Graveyard Book Bod is being brought up in a graveyard and being hunted by a man who killed his family.
Can Elliot persuade the Greek gods, who have now retired, to rid the world of a powerful daemon? FARMER, Nancy
GARNER, Alan
The Sea of Trolls (The Sea of Trolls series)
The Owl Service Alison, Roger and Gwyn are trapped in a Welsh legend. A remarkable and challenging read.
Jack has been kidnapped by Vikings and has to find a magical well in order to save his sister’s life. FLANAGAN, John
GOLDING, Julia
The Ruins of Gorlan (The Ranger’s Apprentice series)
Secret of the Sirens (The Companions Quartet)
Will is unwilling to join the secretive Ranger corps. Will he change his mind when he hears of plans to invade the kingdom?
Mythical creatures and a secret ancient society make for an eventful holiday for Connie.
FLETCHER, Charlie
GOLDMAN, William
Stoneheart (Stoneheart series)
The Princess Bride Funny, swashbuckling, fairytale adventure that was made into a film (see the DVD section if you would like to borrow it).
Statues in London come to life and lay waste to the city.
HARDINGE, Frances
FUNKE, Cornelia
Verdigris Deep
Inkheart (Inkheart series) A villain escapes from a book to the horror of Meggie and her father. 4
Strange things happen after Ryan and his friends steal some coins from a well. There are other books in the same genre by this author.
FANTASY FICTION
HILL, Stuart
LU, Marie
The Cry of the Icemark (The Icemark Chronicles)
The Young Elites (The Young Elites series)
The Icemark is a tiny kingdom with dangerous neighbours which 14 year old Queen Thirrin now has to rule.
The Young Elites are a group of young people with mysterious magical abilities.
HUNT, Leo
MATHARU, Taran
Thirteen Days of Midnight (13 Days of Midnight series)
The Novice (Summoner series) A blacksmith’s apprentice discovers he can summon demons from another world.
Luke inherits his father’s collection of vindictive ghosts who are bent on revenge. JONES, Diana Wynne
NESS, Patrick
The Ogre Downstairs
A Monster Calls ‘The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do.’ This is a remarkable book about grief rather than a conventional fantasy. For a more actionbased dystopian fantasy try the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness.
A squabbling family is given magical chemistry sets that cause huge problems in everyday life. LANDY, Derek Skulduggery Pleasant (Skulduggery Pleasant series)
NICHOLSON, William
Evil forces are pursuing a dead detective and his twelve-year-old sidekick.
The Wind Singer (Wind on Fire series) Kestrel and her twin brother Bowman escape a cruel society based on constant exams and ratings.
LE GUIN, Ursula A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea series)
NIELSEN, Jennifer The False Prince (The Ascendence trilogy)
A true great of the fantasy genre, this follows Ged, a young magician who must learn to control his powers.
This series has lots of swordplay and secrets and snappy dialogue. 5
FANTASY FICTION
NIX, Garth
PULLMAN, Philip
Sabriel (Old Kingdom series)
Northern Lights (His Dark Materials series)
Sabriel has inherited magical powers that she must use to save her father in the Old Kingdom.
The first in a magnificent series where exciting plots explore big ideas.
REEVE, Philip
O’GUILIN, Peadar
Mortal Engines (Mortal Engines series)
The Call The gruesome story of teenagers called without warning into the land of the Sidhe where they have three minutes to avoid being hunted to their deaths.
In this steampunk adventure cities on legs roam a blasted landscape.
PAOLINI, Christopher
REVELL, Mike
Eragon (The Inheritance series)
Stonebird A serious story about family troubles but with the magical ingredient of a gargoyle that comes to life.
If you enjoyed Lord of the Rings you might like this series about a boy and his dragon battling some dark enemies.
RIORDAN, Rick
PAVER, Michelle Wolf Brother (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness)
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series)
Torak and his wolf companion must defeat an evil spirit in the body of a bear in this exciting series set in prehistoric times.
Trouble enters the life of Percy Jackson when he finds out he is the son of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. ROHAN, Jason
POLLOCK, Tom
The Sword of Kuromori (Kuromori series)
The City’s Son (Skyscraper Throne series) An ancient evil has taken up residence in the strange city that exists under London.
An adventure with ancient monsters in present-day Japan. 6
FANTASY FICTION
ROWLING, J.K.
STEWART, Martin
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter series)
The Riverkeep Wulliam undertakes an epic river journey to save his father from an evil spirit.
Harry’s life changes from being a badlytreated orphan to being a wizard at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
STEWART, Paul & Chris Riddell
RUDDEN, Dave
Beyond the Deepwoods (The Edge Chronicles)
Knights of the Borrowed Dark (Knights of the Borrowed Dark series) Fans of J.K. Rowling and Derek Landy should enjoy this story of magic and mayhem.
Twig sets out from the Deepwoods on a dangerous journey to discover his true identity.
SAGE, Angie
STROUD, Jonathan
Magyk (Septimus Heap series)
The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus series)
Plenty of magical ingredients combined with humour in the adventures of an apprentice wizard.
Nathaniel has to steal a powerful amulet from a master magician with help from the sarcastic djinni Bartimaeus.
SANDERSON, Brandon
TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
The Rithmatist
The Hobbit
Joel wants to be a Rithmatist, those with magical abilities who defend humanity from Wild Chalklings, but he has no superpowers.
From a comfortable beginning in a hobbit hole, 'not a nasty, dirty, wet hole', a thrilling and magical tale unfolds.
SCOTT, Michael
WESTERFELD, Scott
The Alchemyst (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) Josh and Sophie must thwart plans to stop the forces of evil from stealing the secret of eternal life.
Leviathan (Leviathan series) Leviathan is set in an alternative 1914 where society is divided into Darwinists and Clankers. 7
FANTASY FICTION - OLDER READERS
AARONOVITCH, Ben
EDDINGS, David
Rivers of London (Peter Grant series)
Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad)
Peter Grant is a police officer and a trainee wizard investigating supernatural crimes in London.
A farm boy goes on a dangerous quest to recover a magic orb.
FEIST, Raymond E.
ABERCROMBIE, Joe
Magician (The Riftwar Saga)
The Blade Itself (First Law series)
An epic fantasy that many readers have compared to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Four morally ambiguous characters engage in murderous conspiracies.
FFORDE, Jasper
CANAVAN, Trudi
The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next series)
The Magician’s Guild (Black Magician trilogy)
Thursday Next is a literary detective investigating the kidnapping of various characters from works of fiction.
The unthinkable has happened – an untrained magician is on the loose and threatening the Guild: she must be stopped. CLARKE, Susanna
GAIMAN, Neil and Terry Pratchett
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Good Omens An inventive and funny book about an angel and a demon try to stop the Apocalypse from happening.
Two men, the reclusive Mr Norrell and the wild Jonathan Strange, want to restore magic to nineteenth-century Britain. DE CASTELL, Sebastien
GAIMAN, Neil
Traitor’s Blade (Greatcoats series)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
A disgraced swordsman gets caught up in a royal conspiracy.
Magical and disturbing story of evil forces and the fears of childhood. 8
FANTASY FICTION - OLDER READERS
GROSSMAN, Lev
PRATCHETT, Terry
The Magicians (The Magicians series)
The Colour of Magic (Discworld series)
Quentin Coldwater attends a college of magic that is certainly no Hogwarts. Expect dislikeable characters performing brilliant magic.
Humour and fantasy combine in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.
HOBB, Robin
ROTHFUSS, Patrick
Assassin’s Apprentice (Farseer series)
The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles)
Fitz was an outcast but is now part of a royal household where he is training to be an assassin.
An epic fantasy series beginning with Kvothe telling his life story between the ages of eight and fifteen.
JORDAN, Robert
SANDERSON, Brandon
The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time series)
The Final Empire (Mistborn series)
There are fourteen volumes in this series which has been compared to The Lord of the Rings.
Kel recruits a band of criminals to bring down the Lord Ruler of the Final Empire.
MARTIN, George R.R.
TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
A Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire series)
The Lord of the Rings
Plots and counterplots, magic, violence, romance, epic battles – Game of Thrones has it all.
A young hobbit is given a magic ring of invisibility and power and set the task of destroying it whilst being hunted by the forces of evil.
MOHAMED, Stephan
WHITE, T.H.
Bitter Sixteen (Bitter Sixteen series) Stanly has a talking dog and has just gained the powers of flight and telekinesis, so perhaps he needs to move to London where superheroes might be more welcome.
The Once and Future King
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The legend of King Arthur, ranging from magical descriptions of young Arthur and Merlin to the love story of Lancelot and Queen Guinevere.