The Fantasy Review’s list of 36 Classic Fantasy Books That Will Take You on an Adventure This Tolkien Day!
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
From the blurb:
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1) by Tamora Pierce
From the blurb:
In a time when girls are forbidden to be warriors, Alanna of Trebond wants nothing more than to be a knight of the realm of Tortall. So she finds a way to switch places with her twin brother, Thom. Disguised as a boy, Alanna begins her training as a page at the palace of King Roald. But the road to knighthood, as she discovers, is not an easy one. Alanna must master weapons, combat, and magic, as well as polite behavior, her temper, and even her own heart.…
The Mists of Avalon (Avalon, #1) by Marion Zimmer Bradley
From the blurb:
In Marion Zimmer Bradley’s masterpiece, we see the tumult and adventures of Camelot’s court through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king’s rise and schemed for his fall. From their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies, we follow these women and the diverse cast of characters that surrounds them as the great Arthurian epic unfolds stunningly before us.…
Magic’s Pawn (The Last Herald-Mage, #1) by Mercedes Lackey
From the blurb:
Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilities to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wanted no part in such things. Nor does he seek a warrior’s path, wishing instead to become a Bard.
Yet such talent as his, if left untrained, may prove a menace not only to Vanyel but to others as well. So he is sent to be fostered with his aunt, Savil, one of the fame Herald-Mages of Valdemar.…
The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) by Tad Williams
From the blurb:
A war fueled by the powers of dark sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, lies dying. And with his death, the Storm King, the undead ruler of the elf-like Sithi, seizes the chance to regain his lost realm through a pact with the newly ascended king. Knowing the consequences of this bargain, the king’s younger brother joins with a small, scattered group of scholars, the League of the Scroll, to confront the true danger threatening Osten Ard.…
Sheepfarmer’s Daughter (The Deed of Paksenarrion, #1) by Elizabeth Moon
From the blurb:
Pak senses her special destiny, disobeys her father’s plans for her marriage, and sets off for the army, where her heroic restoration of a lost ruler to his throne will make her a legend…
Magician (The Riftwar Saga, #1-2) by Raymond E. Feist
From the blurb:
Orphaned boy Pug is apprenticed to a powerful court magician named Kulgan in the world of Midkemia. Though ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry, Pug soon earns his place as a squire after saving the life of one of the royals at court. But his courage will be tested still further when dark beings from another world open a rift in the fabric of spacetime to rekindle the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.…
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1) by Glen Cook
From the blurb:
Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead.
Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her…
Redwall (Redwall, #1) by Brian Jacques
From the blurb:
Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well…until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming—Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde—Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice—a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back…and become a legend himself.…
The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1) by Terry Pratchett
From the blurb:
In this, the maiden voyage through Terry Pratchett’s divinely and recognizably twisted alternate dimension, the well-meaning but remarkably inept wizard Rincewind encounters something hitherto unknown in the Discworld: a tourist! Twoflower has arrived, Luggage by his side, to take in the sights and, unfortunately, has cast his lot with a most inappropriate tour guide—a decision that could result in Twoflower’s becoming not only Discworld’s first visitor from elsewhere . . . but quite possibly, portentously, its very last. And, of course, he’s brought Luggage along, which has a mind of its own. And teeth.
The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1) by Guy Gavriel Kay
From the blurb:
It begins with a chance meeting that introduces the five to a man who will change their lives: a mage who brings them to the first of all worlds, Fionavar.
In this land of gods and myth, each of them is forced to discover what they are and what they are willing to do, as Fionavar stands on the brink of a terrifying war against a dark, vengeful god…
Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad, #1) by David Eddings
From the blurb:
Long ago, so the Storyteller claimed, the evil God Torak sought dominion and drove men and Gods to war. But Belgarath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected men of the West. So long as it lay at Riva, the prophecy went, men would be safe.
But that was only a story, and Garion did not believe in magic dooms, even though the dark man without a shadow had haunted him for years….
Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1) by Mercedes Lackey
From the blurb:
Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen’s own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.
But as Talia struggles to master her unique abilities, time is running out. For conspiracy is brewing in Valdemar, a deadly treason that could destroy Queen and kingdom.…
Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy, #1) by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts
From the blurb:
Magic and murder engulf the realm of Kelewan. Fierce warlords ignite a bitter blood feud to enslave the empire of Tsuranuanni. While in the opulent Imperial courts, assassins and spy-master plot cunning and devious intrigues against the rightful heir. Now Mara, a young, untested Ruling lady, is called upon to lead her people in a heroic struggle for survival. But first she must rally an army of rebel warriors, form a pact with the alien cho-ja, and marry the son of a hated enemy. Only then can Mara face her most dangerous foe of all—in his own impregnable stronghold.
Legend (The Drenai Saga, #1) by David Gemmell
From the blurb:
Druss, Captain of the Ax, is the stuff of legends. Tales of his battles are told throughout the land, and the stories expand with each telling. But Druss himself grows older, until finally, the warrior turns his back on glory and retreats to his mountain lair. There he awaits his old enemy: death.
But far below, the barbarian Nadir hordes are on the march. All that stands between them and the Drenai people is a mighty six-walled fortress, Dros Delnoch—a great citadel that seems destined to fall. If it does, the Nadir will sweep inexorably across the land, killing all who oppose them….
Daggerspell (Deverry, #1) by Katharine Kerr
From the blurb:
A broken promise, a curse and a magic beyond imagining
The powerful sorcerer Nevyn broke a promise long ago and a curse has trapped him ever since. He waits for the one who might break him free of his prison. A wait that may soon finally come to an end.
Jill is the daughter of a Silver Dagger, a band of wandering swordsmen who fight for money, not honour. After her mother died when she was young, father and girl took to the road, living from town to town, never settling.…
The Blue Sword (Damar, #1) by Robin McKinley
From the blurb:
Harry Crewe is an orphan girl who comes to live in Damar, the desert country shared by the Homelanders and the secretive, magical Free Hillfolk. When Corlath, the Hillfolk King, sees her for the first time, he is shaken—for he can tell that she is something more than she appears to be. He will soon realize what Harry has never guessed: She is to become Harimad-sol, King’s Rider, and carry the Blue Sword, Gonturan, which no woman has wielded since the legendary Lady Aerin, generations past.
The Copper Crown (The Tales of Aeron, #1) by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison
From the blurb:
WHEN EARTH MEETS KELTIA WILL STAR EMPIRES FALL? When lore became legend on ancient Earth and the powers of magic waned, the Kelts and their allies fled the planet for the freedom of distant star realms. But the stars were home to dangerous foes, and millennia later, the worlds of Keltia still maintained uneasy truce with two enemy empires -the Imperium and the Phalanx.…
Lord Foul’s Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #1) by Stephen R. Donaldson
From the blurb:
He called himself Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in the strange alternative world on which he suddenly found himself – the Land.
But the Land tempted him. As a leper, in his own world he had been an outcast, unclean, a pariah. Now he was regarded as a saviour, the reincarnation of the Land’s greatest hero – Berek Halfhand. Only the mystic powers of the white gold he carried could protect the Lords of the Land from the ancient evil of the Despiser, Lord Foul….
Homeland (Legend of Drizzt, #1) by R.A. Salvatore
From the blurb:
As the third son of Mother Malice and weaponmaster Zaknafein, Drizzt Do’Urden must be sacrificed to Lolth, the evil Spider Queen, per the tradition of their matriarchal drow society. But the unexpected death of his older brother spares young Drizzt—though he is still at the mercy of his abusive sisters.
As Drizzt grows older and proves himself to be a formidable warrior at Melee-Magthere Academy, he realizes that his idea of good and evil does not match that of his fellow drow, who show only cruelty to the other creatures of the Underdark. Can Drizzt stay true to himself in a such an unforgiving, unprincipled world?…
The Sword of Shannara (The Original Shannara Trilogy, #1) by Terry Brooks
From the blurb:
Long ago, the wars of the ancient Evil ruined the world. In peaceful Shady Vale, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford knows little of such troubles. But the supposedly dead Warlock Lord is plotting to destroy everything in his wake.The sole weapon against this Power of Darkness is the Sword of Shannara, which can be used only by a trueheir of Shannara. On Shea, last of the bloodline,rests the hope of all the races.
Thus begins the enthralling Shannara epic,a spellbinding tale of adventure, magic, and myth . .
Stormwarden (The Cycle of Fire, #1) by Janny Wurts
From the blurb:
SUMMON ME, SORCERER, AND KNOW SORROW… Written in the records at Vaere is the tale of the binding of the Mharg-demons by Anskiere, wizard of wind and wave. Anskiere was aided in this task by Ivain, master of fire and earth, for the skills of a single sorcerer were not enough against so formidable a foe. It is further recorded that at the moment of greatest peril, Ivain betrayed his companion out of jealousy.…
The Mirror of Her Dreams (Mordant’s Need, #1) by Stephen R. Donaldson
From the blurb:
The daughter of rich but neglectful parents, Terisa Morgan lives alone in a New York City apartment, a young woman who has grown to doubt her own existence. Surrounded by the flat reassurance of mirrors, she leads an unfulfilled life—until the night a strange man named Geraden comes crashing through one of her mirrors, on a quest to find a champion to save his kingdom of Mordant from a pervasive evil that threatens the land. Terisa is no champion. She wields neither magic nor power. And yet, much to her own surprise, when Geraden begs her to come back with him, she agrees.…
A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, #1) by Piers Anthony
From the blurb:
Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled—where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks.
For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some—and got some fast!—he would be exiled. Forever. But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted that Bink had magic. Magic as powerful as any possessed by the King or by Good Magician Humfrey—or even by the Evil Magician Trent….
Dragon Prince (Dragon Prince, #1) by Melanie Rawn
From the blurb:
When Rohan became the new prince of the Desert, ruler of the kingdom granted to his family for as long as the Long Sands spewed fire, he took the crown with two goals in mind. First and foremost, he sought to bring permanent peace to his world of divided princedoms. And, in a land where dragon-slaying was a proof of manhood, Rohan was the sole champion of the dragons, fighting desperately to preserve the last remaining lords of the sky and with them a secret which might be the salvation of his people….
The Crystal Cave (Arthurian Saga, #1) by Mary Stewart
From the blurb:
Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myridden Emrys — or as he would later be known, Merlin — leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man’s-son, taking him from prophesying before the High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon . . . and the conception of Arthur — king for once and always.
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) by Stephen King
From the blurb:
A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake.
Dragonsbane (Winterlands, #1) by Barbara Hambly
From the blurb:
It was said to be impossible to slay a dragon. But Lord John Aversin had earned himself the name of Dragonsbane once in his life and had become the subject of ballad and legend. Fired by the romance of his tale, young Gareth travelled far and wide across the Winterlands from the King’s court to persuade the hero to rid the Deep of Ylferdun of the great Black Dragon, Morkeleb. With them on their quest went Jenny Waynest, half-taught mage and mother of Aversin’s sons.…
Master of the Five Magics (Magics, #1) by Lyndon Hardy
From the blurb:
Alodar was a mere apprentice thaumaturge, learning the least of the five arts of magic. As such, he had no right to aspire to the hand of the fair lady, Queen Vendora, not even when he saved her during the demon-inspired siege of her frontier castle. But aspire he did.
His quest forced him from one exacting branch of magic to another, with the rewards he earned always going to others. Finally, only the branch of wizardry remained — the great, almost lost art of controlling demons….
The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun, #1) by Gene Wolfe
From the blurb:
The Shadow of the Torturer is the first volume in this four-volume epic, the tale of young Severian, an apprentice to the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession- showing mercy toward his victim.
God Stalk (Kencyrath, #1) by P.C. Hodgell
From the blurb:
Jame is a Kencyrath, the chosen people of the Three-Faced God, who fight the demonic being called Perimal Darkling. At the same time, she fights an internal battle for their honor because 3,000 years ago the leader of the Kencyrath betrayed his people to the Darkness for his own immortality.
She also must find her ten-year older brother Tori and return to him the sword and the ring of their father. If that is not enough she has to stand before the rathorns, wear the cloak of living snakes, kill one god, and resurrect another. All in a day’s work for Jame.
The Gate of Ivory (Ivory #1) by Doris Egan
From the blurb:
THE SCIENCE OF MAGIC —
is what lures people from all over the galaxy to the world of Ivory. Ivory, exotic and dangerous, where everything is for sale, and law exists only to protect the most powerful families. And to anthropology student Theodora of Pyrene, Ivory — the one place in the known universe where magic works and where those who command it can control society — is an irresistible world to explore on her all-too-brief vacation….
Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane
From the blurb:
Coming to the aid of a wounded whale, Kit and Nita are plunged into deep wizardry. The whale is a wizard, and she enlists Kit and Nita in battle against the sinister Lone Power. Becoming whales themselves, Nita and Kit join in an ancient ritual performed by whales, dolphins, and a single fearsome shark. But which poses more of a danger: the Lone Power, or ed’Rashtekaresket, the enormous shark as old as the sea?
Shapechangers (Chronicles of the Cheysuli, #1) by Jennifer Roberson
From the blurb:
They were the Cheysuli, a race of magical warriors gifted with the ability to assume animal shape at will. For centuries they had been allies to the King of Homana, treasured champions of the realm. Until a king’s daughter ran away with a Cheysuli liege man and caused a war of annihilation against the Chaysuli race. Twenty-five years later the Chesyuli were hunted exiles in their own land, feared for their sorcery, their shapeshifting.…
Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles, #1) by Isobelle Carmody
From the blurb:
In a world struggling back from the brink of apocalypse, life is harsh. But for Elspeth Gordie, born with enhanced mental abilities, it is also dangerous. Survival is only by secrecy and so she determines never to use her forbidden powers. But it is as if they have their own imperative and she is brought to the attention of the totalitarian Council that rules the Land.
Banished to the remote mountain institution of Obernewtyn, she must throw off her cloak of concealment and pit herself against those that would resurrect the terrible forces of the apocalypse. Only then will she learn most truly who and what she is . . .
The Will of the Wanderer (Rose of the Prophet, #1) by Margaret Weis
From the blurb:
Since time began, twenty Gods have ruled the universe. Though each god possessed different abilities, each was all-powerful within his realm. Now one of the Gods has upset the balance of power, leaving the others scrambling for control in the new order…
Here is the epic tale of the Great War of the Gods – and the proud people upon whom the fate of the world depends. When the God of the desert, Akhran the Wanderer, declares that two clans must band together despite their centuries-old rivalry, their first response is outrage. But they are a devout people and so reluctantly bow to his bidding.…
