Where Angels Fear To Tread . . . Or, My Top Five Fantasy Novel List

Not quite a novel, but I love it anyway

Lists are inherently exclusive.  The five books below represent what I think of as emblematic of the fantasy genre.  They're also the first books of series (since I can't in good conscience recommend some of the series as a whole.  But the first book is often outstanding.)  This list also happens to include my top five favorite fantasy books.  The rubric I used to determine this list is simple: Did I enjoy the book, and did I read it again?  A book that is fun the first time, and continues to be satisfying on a second reading is an outstanding read.  In genre fiction that is especially important since by definition fantasy fiction is also escapist.  So, if it draws you back in, it has the emotional and intellectual rigor to hold up under multiple readings.

You'll notice some books that are obviously missing, and I'm sure you'll disagree with me over why they haven't been included.  Your opinion is valid; this list is at best a value judgement on my own part, and not meant to reflect poorly on your opinions.

However, I still think Game of Thrones is just boring.

So here's the list!

5. The Dragonbone Chair -- Tad Williams.

The Dragonbone Chair might be the first major fantasy work that I ever read.  It was during the brief span when I was introduced the the genre, along with the Farseer Trilogy and the Wheel of Time.  Tad Williams is still a major voice in the genre and represents an older perspective on the fantastic.  His world is reminiscent of Tolkien -- he admits that he wrote the book as a specific response to Lord of the Rings.  But the world is uniquely his own and he thoroughly expands on themes which would eventually become tropes.

4. The Name of the Wind -- Patrick Rothfuss.

This is one of the newer authors in the fantasy tradition and though Rothfuss responds to what have become tired tropes, nevertheless remains true to the fantasy tradition in ways that other authors have not.  The protagonist is an orphan, seems destined by fate to be a hero, and is also tragically flawed.  The prose is delicious -- literary in a way that the rest simply are not.  Though the world feels vast and well imagined, that depth is also an illusion and Rothfuss's writerly chops are strained in the sequel.  Nonetheless, this first book in the series is a delight to read.

3. Golden Compass -- Philip Pullman.

It's difficult to talk about this book without discussing the series as a whole, and for that reason I almost included His Dark Materials as a whole.  But the third book veers in a much more serious direction that is far more intellectual than Compass or the second book The Subtle Knife.  Both are delightful and far more intelligent than you might expect from young adult literature -- but that might be a misunderstanding of young adult literature in general.  Certainly, we should know from Rowling and the Harry Potter series that young adults literature can expand itself the vast realms of more adult fare.  Regardless, The Golden Compass is a warm adventure filled with fantastical elements which belie its young adult protagonist.

2. Eye of the World -- Robert Jordan.

This one was tough.  It vied for top billing and it almost got it, since I happen to be rereading it right now.  As far as journey epics go, this is perhaps the foremost in the field.  Fantasy novels tend to follow the formula that Tolkien laid out: Heroes who go for walks.  But that shouldn't surprise us too much since the first fantasy novel -- The Odyssey -- has journey in its title.  Eye of the World is really about a long walk, but it's done so masterfully that it never becomes onerous the way other walking-epics do (I'm looking at you, George).  And Robert Jordan does something else that none of the other epics can boast: a fully developed cosmology.

While The Mary Sue and other feminist blogs are busy caterwauling about the lack of female perspectives in fantasy, it seems like most authors are responding by checking off a list: feisty female protagonist?  Check.  Does she have a tattoo or wear skimpy clothes so we know she's feisty?  Check.  Jordan integrates strong female characters as part of the world itself.  There's a reason for it that feels natural and integral to the plot.  And while many have (rightfully) pointed out that he writes his female characters perspectives poorly, they cannot discount their flawless integration into the world.

Finally, the sense of history in his books is unparalleled by any other author.  Save your breath fans of Steven Erikson.  He ain't got nothing on Jordan.

1. Assassin's Apprentice -- Robin Hobb.

Ultimately, Assassin's Apprentice got top billing because of its unfailing ability to make me care about every single character.  What's more, the entire series is absolutely, hands-down worth reading.  And so is the sequel series The Tawny Man trilogy.  If it came down to it, a top ten list of my favorite fantasy books would be sixty percent Robin Hobb.  The Farseer trilogy is Shakespearean in scope, and her characters are by far the richest and most real of any series.  Fans of fantasy series like to compare magic systems (think any book by Brandon Sanderson), or worldbuilding (Jordan, Erikson, George R. R. Martin) but when it comes down to it, people respond viscerally to the emotional connections they make with the characters.  Nobody makes those connections better than Hobb.  Beautiful, heart-rending, tragic and heroic.  Go read this book.



So that's my list.  What do you think?  What would you have included, or excluded?  More importantly, what are your favorite books in the fantasy genre and why?  Let me know in the comments below.