Goodreads Readers Ranked 10 Greatest Fantasy Books of All Time, From Oz to Space and Time

Familiar Tales Reimagined

William Goldman’s The Princess Bride mixes romance and adventure around Buttercup and Westley. Its fictional framing device gives the tale a self-aware tone, and the book inspired the 1987 film adaptation.

Magic, Rivalries and Gods

In Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, a mysterious attraction opens after dark, and its wonders conceal a contest between illusionists Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair. The novel’s shifting viewpoints and nonlinear structure shape a dreamlike story in which the rivalry puts the circus’s residents at risk.

Patrick Rothfuss’s The Kingkiller Chronicle begins with Kvothe recounting his life while living under the name Kote. His story moves from a childhood among traveling performers to poverty, university and encounters with the Chandrian, alongside a complex system of magic.

Neil Gaiman’s American Gods follows Shadow Moon after prison, when he takes work with Mr. Wednesday. He learns that ancient gods are gathering for a conflict with newer forms of belief, as the novel brings mythology and folklore into an American setting.

A Journey Across Worlds

Their journey crosses space and time, bringing them face to face with a force that endangers worlds. The story combines science fiction and fantasy elements, according to the description of the novel.