The Fantasy Review’s list of 5 fantasy book series better than Harry Potter.
#1 – Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
Top of the list of fantasy books better than Harry Potter is of course the Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. These books have better charcaters, more exciting worldbuilding, and the scope is massive, setting up some great spin-off series that are also worth reading.
The new Disney+ adaptation is also fantastic, so skip the old movie adaptations and watch the TV show if you want something good to watch.
#2 – The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney
These were the books I was obsessed with as a kid and I have reread all thirteen books in the main series recently (there is a spin-off or two, I believe, which I have not read) and still adore them as an adult.
Joseph Delaney based these books in a fictional version of his home county of Lancashire, in the North-West of England. Lancashire is a beautiful county and Delaney drew on some of the best parts of this place to build a fantastical world for our Spook’s apprentice as he fights boggarts, witches, and other creatures of the night.
#3 – The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini has had a lot of flak for “lack of originality” but these books are actually some of the best epic fantasy books of all time. Sure, they are obviously influenced by Tolkien’s work and others, but that doesn’t take anything away from how incredible this world is, and how much you will fall in love with these characters.
Eragon is the perfect farmboy-turned-hero archetype, and a cliché is only rubbish when it’s not done well: Paolini gets this one just right. Potter has nothing on Eragon!
#4 – Inkworld by Cornelia Funke
Another series of books so many of us binged as kids, looking for something new to read after Eragon, or Harry Potter. Well, Inkworld doesn’t just scratch that Potter-like itch, it improves upon it, with a sweeping epic tale adult will enjoy too.
#5 – The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
These books blew up because we had all heard of Nicholas Flamel from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, as he was the creator of the immortality stone, so naturally so many of us were drawn to the name of this series, with book one being called The Alchemyst.
Why did so many fantasy books back then put a “y” in every word they could?! Welcome to the 2000’s!!
In these books we follow some twins who get taken on a dangerous adventure with the Flamels as they fight John Dee and many other dark characters. It’s a fun urban fantasy series that draws on a lot of history and local mythology which I loved as a kid.
