Guide to the Best 100 SciFi and Fantasy Books

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The Last Unicorn is a fantasy novel written by Peter S. Beagle. It centers on a unicorn who, believing she is the last of her kind in the world, sets off on a journey to discover what has happened to the others. She encounters a host of diverse characters as her journey progresses, each of them bringing her closer to her goal. Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Watership Down has been described as an allegory, mirroring the timeless struggles between tyranny and freedom, reason and blind emotion, and the individual and the corporate state. Dragonflight is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey. Dragonflight chronicles the story of Lessa, the sole survivor of a noble ruling family. When the rest of her family is killed she and her dragon fight to save her planet. The Crystal Cave is a fantasy novel covering the time from Merlin's sixth year until he becomes a young man. It explores the adventures he had before his association with King Arthur. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, follows the trajectory of Morgaine, a priestess fighting to save her matriarchal Celtic culture in a country where patriarchal Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The Once and Future King chronicles the raising and educating of King Arthur, his rule as a king, and the romance between his best knight Sir Lancelot and his Queen Guinevere. It ends immediately before Arthur's final battle against his illegitimate son Mordred. The Gunslinger is a novel by American author Stephen King, and is the first volume in the Dark Tower series, which King considers to be his magnum opus. It tells the story of the gunslinger, Roland of Gilead, and his quest to catch the man in black, the first of many steps towards his ultimate destination - the Dark Tower. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R. Tolkien's other works, forms an extensive, though incomplete, narrative that describes the universe of Middle-earth within which The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a novel published by Gregory Maguire. It is a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil and takes place in The Land of Oz, in the years leading to Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who grows up to become the notorious Wicked Witch of the West. The Kushiel's Legacy series features a fictional version of medieval Europe and is considered historical fantasy or alternate history. The heroine of the first three installments of the series is anguissette Phèdre nó Delaunay, whose unique talents lead her to save her nation from several terrible fates. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is based on the premise that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centring on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane, and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes/stereotypes. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternative history, and a historical novel. Something Wicked This Way Comes is about two 13-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, who have a harrowing experience with a nightmarish traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern town one October. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark" who bears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. Mr. Dark's malevolent presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, who harbors his own secret desire to regain his youth. American Gods is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow. The central premise of the novel is that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. Immigrants to the United States brought with them dwarves, elves, leprechauns, and other spirits and gods. However, the power of these mythological beings has diminished as people's beliefs wane. New gods have arisen, reflecting America's obsessions with media, celebrity, technology, and drugs, among others. Stardust is about the adventures of a young man from the village of Wall, which borders the magical land of Faerie. The book's main character Tristran is a half-Faerie creature raised by his father and stepmother. Tristran foolishly promises to retrieve a fallen star for his sweetheart, Victoria, and so unexpectedly finds the beautiful Yvaine. The Princess Bride takes place in a Renaissance-era world and combines elements of comedy, adventure, fantasy, romance and fairy tale. Going Postal refers to both the contents of the novel, as well as to the term 'going postal'. The protagonist of the story is Moist von Lipwig, a skilled con artist who was to be hanged for his crimes, but saved at the very last moment by the cunning and manipulative Patrician Havelock Vetinari, who has Moist's death on the scaffold faked. Small Gods tells the origin of the god "Om", and his relations with his prophet, the reformer Brutha. In the process, it satirises religious institutions, people, and practices, and the role of religion in political life. A Spell for Chameleon - In this adventure, Bink is exiled to Mundania because he has (inadvertently) broken Xanth law by not having a magical talent. He returns to Xanth with Chameleon, a woman whose intelligence and beauty vary inversely depending on the time of the month, and the evil magician Trent who was exiled 20 years earlier for attempting to usurp the throne of Xanth. The Legend of Drizzt follows the story of Drizzt from around the time and circumstances of his birth and his upbringing amongst the drow (dark elves). The book takes the reader into Menzoberranzan, the drow home city. From here, the reader follows Drizzt on his quest to follow his principles in a land where such feelings are threatened by all his family including his mother Matron Malice. In an essence, the book introduces Drizzt Do'Urden, one of Salvatore's more famous characters from the Icewind Dale Trilogy. A Game of Thrones follows three principal storylines simultaneously. The novel begins with Lord Eddard Stark executing a deserter of the Night's Watch, with his sons among the witnesses. Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero. The various stories of Conan the Barbarian occur in the fictional "Hyborian Age", set after the destruction of Atlantis and before the rise of the known ancient civilizations. Although Conan is muscular, his agility and way of moving to that of a panther. The world of The Way of Kings is one constantly assaulted by hurricanes. In response to an attack by malevolent entities (known as Voidbringers), the "Almighty" fashions magical weapons and suits of armor, called Shardblades and Shardplates. The "Almighty" equips knights, known as Radiants, with these, and, eventually, the Radiants defeat the evil Voidbringers. Then, for unknown reasons, the Radiants turn against mankind, ignoring their cause and vanishing. They leave their Shardplates and Shardblades for all who want them, thus creating wars and strife. The book begins at a phase where warlords have, for many years, been gathering armies around Shardblade-wielding fighters. These armies fight over possession of the remaining Shardblades in an attempt to acquire a decisive advantage. The Elric saga is about an albino hero name Elric of Melniboné. He was the last emperor of the stagnating island civilization of Melniboné. Physically weak and frail, the albino Elric must take drugs in order to maintain his health. In addition to herb lore, his character becomes an accomplished sorcerer and summoner, able to summon powerful, supernatural allies. Elric's finding of the sword Stormbringer serves as both his greatest asset and greatest disadvantage. The sword confers upon Elric strength, health and fighting prowess but must be fed the souls of those struck with the black blade. Thomas Covenant, an embittered and cynical writer, afflicted with leprosy and shunned by society, is fated to become the heroic savior of The Land, an alternate world. He struggles against the satanic Lord Foul, "The Despiser", who intends to escape the bondage of the physical universe and wreak revenge upon his arch-enemy, "The Creator". Codex Alera is a fantasy book series by Jim Butcher. The series chronicles the coming-of-age of a young man named Tavi in the realm of Alera, an empire similar to Rome, on the world of Carna. Every Aleran has some degree of command over elemental forces or spirits called furies, save for Tavi, who is considered a freak. As the aging First Lord struggles to maintain his hold on a realm on the brink of civil war, Tavi must use all of his intelligence to save Alera. The series tells the story of the recovery of the Orb of Aldur and coming of age of Garion, an orphaned farmboy. Garion is accompanied by his aunt Polgara and grandfather Belgarath as they try to fulfill an ancient prophecy that will decide the fate of the universe. Along the way, various "instruments", or helpers, of the prophecy join their quest to recover the orb, and Garion discovers his true identity and destiny. The series primarily takes place in a region called the Final Empire on a world called Scadrial. One thousand years before the story begins the king of the Final Empire, the Lord Ruler, gained access to a divine power at what is called 'The Well of Ascension.' With this power he remade the world and everything in it into its state at the beginning of the first book. In the Final Empire a Dominance is a territory within the Lord Ruler's empire. In the Chronicles of Amber Corwin wakes up from a coma in a hospital in New York with amnesia. He soon discovers that he's part of a superhuman royal family that can wander among infinite parallel worlds (called "shadows"), and who rule over the one true world, Amber. The novel interweaves two major plots into a fictional world called the Four Lands. One follows the protagonist Shea Ohmsford on his quest to obtain the Sword of Shannara and confront the Warlock Lord, the antagonist, with it, while the other shadows Prince Balinor Buckhannah's attempt to oust his insane brother Palance from the throne of Callahorn while the country and its capital, Tyrsis, come under attack from overwhelming armies of the Warlock Lord. Throughout the novel, underlying themes of mundane heroism and nuclear holocaust appear. The Farseer Trilogy follows the life of FitzChivalry Farseer (Fitz), a trained assassin, in a kingdom called The Six Duchies while his uncle, Prince Verity, attempts to wage war on the Red-Ship Raiders from The OutIslands who are attacking the shores of the kingdom by turning the people of the Six Duchies into Forged ones; a form of zombification which makes them emotionless. Meanwhile Prince Regal's jealousy and the indulgence of his own selfish whims threatens to destroy Six Duchies. In the Magician the orphan called Pug came to study with the Master Magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at Court and the heart of a lovely Princess, he was ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry. Yet Pug's strange sort of magic would one day change forever the fates of two worlds. For the dark beings from another world had opened a rift in the fabric of space-time to begin again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos. The Sword of Truth is a series that follows the protagonists Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander on their quest to defeat oppressors who seek to control the world and those who wish to unleash evil upon the world of the living. The Wheel of Time series follows the hero known as 'The Dragon Reborn' as he and his friends discover new found powers and battle the Dark One before he can destroy mankind. The series is not told in a linear fashion. Instead, several storylines progress simultaneously. The first plotline takes place on the continent of Genabackis where armies of the Malazan Empire are battling the native city-states for dominance. An elite Malazan military unit, the Bridgeburners, is the focus for this storyline, although as it proceeds their erstwhile enemies, the Tiste Andii led by Anomander Rake and the mercenaries commanded by Warlord Caladan Brood, also become prominent. The Illustrated Man is a book of eighteen science fiction short stories by Ray Bradbury that explores the nature of mankind. While none of the stories has a plot or character connection with the next, a recurring theme is the conflict of the cold mechanics of technology and the psychology of people. I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov. Nineteen Eighty-Four (first published in 1949) by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party and Big Brother. Life in the Oceanian is a world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and incessant public mind control, and the public is subordinated to the totalitarian cult of personality of Big Brother. The protagonist, Winston Smith secretly hates the Party, and dreams of rebellion against Big Brother. Animal Farm is an allegorical novella and reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II. The novel addresses not only the corruption of the communist revolutions by its leaders but also how wickedness, indifference, ignorance, greed and myopia corrupt the revolutions. The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction. Set in the near future, in a totalitarian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, The Handmaid's Tale explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency. A Fire Upon the Deep is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge, a space opera involving superhuman intelligences, aliens, variable physics, space battles, love, betrayal, genocide, and a conversation medium resembling Usenet. The Vorkosigan Saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories set in a common fictional universe. The point of view characters include women (Cordelia in Shards of Honor, Barrayar; Ekaterin in Komarr and A Civil Campaign), a gay man (Ethan of Athos), and a pair of brothers, one of whom is crippled and the other a clone (Miles and Mark Vorkosigan). Childhood's End is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasion[1] of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war, helps form a world government, and turns the planet into a near-utopia. Many questions are asked about the origins and mission of the aliens, but they avoid answering, preferring to remain in their space ships, governing through indirect rule. Decades later, the Overlords eventually show themselves, and their impact on human culture leads to a Golden Age. However, the last generation of children on Earth begins to display powerful psychic abilities, heralding their evolution into a group mind, a transcendent form of life. Contact is a science fiction novel written by Carl Sagan and published in 1985. It deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced, extraterrestrial life form. The Mote in God's Eye is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between humanity and an alien species. Ringworld is a science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. The novel opens in 2850. Louis Gridley Wu is celebrating his 200th birthday. Despite his age, Louis is in perfect physical condition but is bored. He has experienced life thoroughly, and is thinking of taking a trip to and beyond the reaches of Known Space, all alone in a spaceship for a year or more.