The Fantasy Review’s list of 10 Must-Read Classic Fantasy Books.
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 Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien
From the blurb:
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit…
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…
The Will of the Wanderer (Rose of the Prophet, #1) by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
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…
The Secret Country (The Secret Country Trilogy, #1) by Pamela Dean
From the blurb:
Each vacation for the past nine years, cousins Patrick, Ruth, Ellen, Ted, and Laura have played a game they call the “Secret”—an invented, scripted world full of witches, unicorns, a magic ring, court intrigue, and the Dragon King. In the Secret, they can imagine anything into reality, and shape destiny. Then the unbelievable happens: by trick or by chance, they actually find themselves in the Secret Country, their made-up identities now real…
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.
Lord Foul’s Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #1) by Stephen R. Donaldson
From the blurb:
Lying unconscious after an accident, writer Thomas Covenant awakes in the Land a strange, beautiful world locked in constant conflict between good and evil.But Covenant, too, has been weak, angry, and alone in our world, he now holds powers beyond imagining and is greeted as a saviour. Can this man truly become the hero the Land requires…
The Wizards and the Warriors (Chronicles of an Age of Darkness #1) by Hugh Cook
From the blurb:
The Confederation of Wizards is forced to put aside its long-standing historical dispute with the inhabitants of Rovac. Instead, both must join together in a common cause, to prevent the utter destruction of their world. They face two perils: the Swarms, and a power that turns living things to stone and brings rocks to life…
The Misplaced Legion (The Videssos Cycle, #1) by Harry Turtledove
From the blurb:
As they faced one another in a duel of survival, the Roman tribune Marcus Scaurus held the spell-scribed sword of a Druid priest, and the Celtic chieftain Viridovix held a similar sword, bespelled by a rival Druid sorcerer. At the moment they touched, the two found themselves under a strange night sky where no stars were familiar and where Gaul and Rome were unknown…
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…
