To recap: Fantasy Magazine wants to promote fantasy, for obvious reasons. So we’re wondering — what are the gateway books, the fantasy works that compel even the most-resistant reader into enjoyment? You’ve helped generate the list we’ll be choosing from, and now we need help narrowing it down. To vote, list your three top picks (order doesn’t matter) in a comment. The top twenty books will be involved in a fierce battle to the death…er, will move on to the next round of voting. Remember, though, that you’re not voting for your favorite book, but the one you think most likely to hook someone who doesn’t usually read fantasy.
So here’s your list of choices:
Joe Abercrombie
The First Law Series
Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Richard Adams
Maia
Watership Down
Lloyd Alexander
The Prydain Chronicles
Piers Anthony
On A Pale Horse
Clive Barker
Abarat
J.M. Barrie
Peter Pan
Peter S. Beagle
The Last Unicorn
Ann Bishop
Daughter Of The Blood
Black Jewels Trilogy
Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Mists Of Avalon
Peter V. Brett
The Painted Man
Patricia Briggs
Moon Calls
Emma Bull
War For The Oaks
Jim Butcher
The Dresden books
Octavia Butler
Kindred
Wild Seed
Alan Campbell
Scar Night
Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game
Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel’s Dart
Santa Olivia
Isabelle Carmody
The Farseekers
Sarwat Chadda
The Devil’s Kiss
Susannah Clarke
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Marion Cockrell
Shadow Castle
John Crowley
Little, Big
A.J. Dalton
Necromancer’s Gambit
Mark Z. Danielewski
House of Leaves
Stephen R. Donaldson
The Thomas Covenant Chronicles: Lord Foul’s Bane
Diane Duane
So You Want To Be A Wizard
David Duncan
Magic Casement
Glen Duncan
I, Lucifer
Lord Dunsany
The Charwoman’s Shadow
The King of Elfland’s Daughter
David Anthony Durham
Acacia
David Eddings
The Belgariad
Michael Ende
The Neverending Story
Beth Fantaskey
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
Raymond E. Feist
Magician: Apprentice
Magician: Master
Mark Ferrari
The Book of Joby
Neil Gaiman
American Gods
Neverwhere
Stardust
Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Good Omens
William Goldman
The Princess Bride
Terry Goodkind
Wizard’s First Rule
Elizabeth Hand
Saffron and Brimston
M. John Harrison
Viriconium
A.J. Hartley
Act of Will
Mark Helprin
A Winter’s Tale
Frank Herbert
Dune
Jim C. Hines
Gobllin Quest
Robin Hobb
Ship Of Magic
David Holland
Murcheston: A Wolf’s Tale
Robert E. Howard
The Best of Robert E. Howard Volume 1: Crimson Shadows
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
Conan The Conquerer
Tanya Huff
The Blood Books
Diana Wynne Jones
Charmed Life
Fire And Hemlock
Howl’s Moving Castle
Rosemary Jones
City of the Dead
Robert Jordan
The Dragon Reborn
The Eye Of The World
Katherine Kerr
Daggerspell
Darkspell
Dawnspell
Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Red Tree
Stephen King
The Dark Tower
Stephen King and Peter Straub
The Talisman
Mercedes Lackey
Magic’s Pawn
Magic’s Price
Magic’s Promise
Louis L’Amour
The Haunted Mesa
Madeleine L’Engle
A Wrinkle in Time
Ursula K. LeGuin
The Earthsea Cycle
Fritz Leiber
The Swords of Lankhmar
C.S. Lewis
The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe
Till We Have Faces
Gregory Maguire
Wicked
George R.R. Martin
A Game Of Thrones
Inside Straight (editor)
Anne McCaffrey
Dragonflight
Dragonsong
Patricia McKillip
In the Forests of Serre
Robin McKinley
The Blue Sword
The Hero and the Crown
China Mieville
Perdido Street Station
Walter Miller
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Walter Moers
The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear
Rumo And the Secrets In The Dark
Christopher Moore
A Dirty Job
Practical Demonkeeping
John Moore
The Unhandsome Prince
Robert Newman
Merlin’s Mistake
Larissa Niec
Shorn
Garth Nix
Sabriel
Wild Magic
James A. Owen
Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica: Here There Be Dragons
Christopher Paolini
Eragon
Mervyn Peake
Titus Groan
Tamora Pierce
Alanna
Elizabeth Marie Pope
The Perilous Gard
Terry Pratchett
The Color Of Magic
Mort
Reaper Man
Small Gods
Philip Pullman
The Golden Compass
Melanie Rawn
The Dragon Prince
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name Of The Wind
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter And The Halfblood Prince
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone
Matt Ruff
Fool On The Hill
R.A Salvatore
Halfling’s Gem
Homeland
Brandon Sanderson
Final Empire
Mistborn
Sharon Shinn
Mystic And Rider
Maria V. Snyder
Poison Study
Bram Stoker
Dracula
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings
Mark Twain
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Catherynne M. Valente
The Orphan’s Tales
Jeff VanderMeer
City of Saints and Madmen
Shriek: An Afterword
Carrie Vaughn
Kitty & the Midnight Hour
Evangeline Walton
The Mabinogion Tetrology
Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
The Death Gate Cycle
Dragons Of Autumn Twilight
T.H. White
The Once And Future King
Tad Williams
The Otherland series
Gene Wolfe
The Book of the New Sun
Patricia Wrede
Dealing With Dragons
Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Sorcery And Cecelia
Patrick Rothfuss – Name of the Wind
Neil Gaiman – American Gods
Douglas Adams – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (If they enjoy humor)
Jim Butcher
The Dresden books
Neil Gaiman
American Gods
Anne McCaffrey
Dragonflight
thaaaaat was tough.
Brandon Sanderson
Mistborn
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name of The Wind
Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game
On a Pale Horse – Piers Anthony
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
The Golden Compass – Phillip Pullman
I have to go with
Piers Anthony: On a Pale Horse
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind
Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
David and Leigh Eddings
The Belgariad
Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game
Tamora Pierce
Alanna
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name Of The Wind
Neil Gaiman
American Gods
Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Good Omens
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name of the Wind
Philip Pullman
The Golden Compass
J.K Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (lawl Canada)
FOR SURE
Robert V.S. Redick
The Red Wolf Conspiracy
DEFINITELY
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name Of The Wind
AND ONE CANNOT GO PAST
Stephen R Donaldson
The Tales Of Thomas Covenant
Patricia Wrede- Dealing With Dragons is what got me into it, decades ago.
Jacqueline Carey- Kushiel’s Dart
Pratchett- Small Gods (I guess, but I would’ve gone with Going Postal)
(no Lois McMaster Bujold?)
Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Neil Gaiman
American Gods
Stephen King
The Dark Tower series
But so many to choose from =(
Stephen Donaldson–Lord Foul’s Bane (and The Mirror of her dreams)
Patrick Rothfuss — Name of the Wind
David Eddings — The Belgariad
(the mirror of her dreams is what drug me back into the fold in high school, but Madeline L’Engle’s a Wrinkle in Time brought me to fantasy in grade school)
Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Terry Pratchett
The Color Of Magic
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name Of The Wind
This was a hard choice, especially as I felt some of these fall under Science Fiction. And I am sad Terry Brooks didn’t have any books on here!
I’d have to say my choices would be
William Goldman
The Princess Bride
Madeleine L’Engle
A Wrinkle in Time
C.S. Lewis
The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe
I think they would be the ones had I read first would have made me want to keep reading more fantasy. I’d say that Douglas Adams would be there instead of the Princess Bride, except that I kinda consider him to be more scifi than fantasy so I’m not sure I could include him for strictly fantasy…
gaiman and pratchett – good omens
douglas adams – the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy
peter beagle – the last unicorn
I left out Rowling and Tolkien b/c (I think) non-fantasy readers are more likely to read these on their own.
-catty-
Gath Nix, Sabriel and Patrick Rothfuss The Name of the Wind. both AWESOME books!
Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere
Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Jim Butcher
The Dresden Files
Peter Beagle – The Last Unicorn
David Eddings – Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad)
C.S. Lewis – The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe
and you said Fantasy. Orson Scott Card and Douglas Adams and some others are science fiction.
Definitely Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game”. That’s what hooked me at least.
Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game
J.M. Barrie
Peter Pan
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name Of The Wind
When looking to convert adults:
Jim Butcher Dresden Files
Christopher Moore A Dirty Job
And a book that is not on the list Scott Lynch Lies of Locke Lamora
If I am suggesting to new readers in general:
Lloyd Alexander Prydian Chronicles
Orson Scott Card Ender’s Game
Patrick Rothfuss Name of the Wind
That really depends on if it’s for kids or adults. I think you need to clarify which. For kids I pick:
J. R. R. Tolkien – The Hobbit
David Eddings — The Belgariad
Lloyd Alexander – The Prydain Chronicles
Terry Pratchett – Almost any
Patrick Rothfuss – The Name of The Wind
Neil Gaiman – Neverwhere
To be honest I want to say any of these could be an entry into reading as a pleasure.
Patrick Rothfuss – Name of the Wind
Jim Butcher – Dresden Series
Robert Jordan – The Eye of the World
Actually, I always try to hook up my friends to Fantasy and these three have proven quite successful so far.
I wish I could include The Firestaf Series by James Galloway, but I guess not many people know about these wonderful, non-commercial books
Ray Bradbury – Something Wicked This Way Comes
Terry Pratchett – Reaper man
Richard Adams – Watership Down
Patrick Rothfuss – The Name of the wind
Raymond E. Feist – Magician (both books)
Robert Jordan – The Eye of the World
Neil Gaiman – American Gods
Patrick Rothfuss – The Name Of The Wind
Terry Pratchett – Reaper Man
Impossible to name 3. Tolkien was my own entry all those years ago, but its not really an entry book as #15 says, and so much great fantasy has been written since. I dont understand why people are saying Harry Potter for the younger, I enjoyed it immensely
I wish it would have been the Farseer trilogy mentioned by Robin Hobb instead of Ship of magic (though it is brilliant as well). Argh, pick 3 !!! Hmmmmmm
J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone
Michael Ende – The Neverending Story (am I the only one remebering this one ? )
David Eddings – The Belgariad
Pat and Brandon HAS to be mentioned as well here. As good as the above was 30 years ago, as good are your stuff now, but they have simply been around longer !
Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
The Death Gate Cycle
Raymond E. Feist
Magician: Apprentice
George R.R. Martin
A Game Of Thrones
Tolkien- Lord of the Rings
Anthony- On a Pale Horse
Herbert- Dune
WHY dont they have Steven erikson on this list. . .
the greatest fantasy author of all time in my oppinion
Melanie Rawn’s Dragon Prince got me reading fantasy…
I’ll add in Mercedes Lackey’s Magic’s Pawn for getting my now 16 year old reading fantasy
and
Diane Duane
So You Want To Be A Wizard
because I think that one is also an excellent gateway fantasy book. There are some on here that I’d call wonderful gateway sci-fi, but not fantasy.
Terry Goodkind
Wizard’s First Rule
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name Of The Wind
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind
Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone
The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
Warbreaker – Brandon Sanderson
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – JK Rowling
Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Sorcery And Cecelia
Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Good Omens
Emma Bull
War For The Oaks
Oooh…so tough…some people aren’t being good rule-abiders, though, by choosing books not listed above. If we have to stick with these, then my picks would be:
C.S. Lewis: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
R.A. Salvatore: Homeland
(what is it with the initials??)
Stephen Donaldson — Lord Foul’s Bane
TH White — Once and Future King
Anne McCaffrey — Dragonflight
David Eddings – The Belgariad
Martin – A Game of Thrones
Donaldson – Lord Foul’s Bane
Patrick Rothfuss – Name of the Wind
Brandon Sanderson – Mistborn
Sarah Monette – Melusine
The Once and Future King, TH White
Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
Classics of the fantasy genre as well as classic literature in their own right (or write, perhaps).
These are my top three favs and the ones I first shared with my kids and my friends as Must Reads when they were looking for something good.
JRR Tolkien
CS Lewis
Pat Rothfuss
Terry Goodkind – Wizard’s First Rule
Patrick Rothfuss – The Name Of The Wind
James Clemens – Wit’ch Fire
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind
Stephen King: The Dark Tower Series
George R.R. Martin: A Game of Thrones
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind
Lloyd Alexander: The Prydain Chronicles
O. C. Card: Ender’s Game
Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman
The Death Gate Cycle
Patrick Rothfuss
The Name Of The Wind
Mark Ferrari
The Book of Joby
My recommendations to get kids who already read to read fantasy are always:
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
However, I think you have to grab kids earlier than that and why not start with fantasy:
James & the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
I’m going with books I’d recommend an adult who hasn’t read fantasy, not a child, because the list would be different for a child.
Mort
Neverwhere
The Princess Bride
Humor is a big help in getting people to read new things, I think. A lot of the books above are really good, but I think they require a knowledge of the genre (or a complete lack of knowledge/preconceived notions) to jump into.
Mervyn Peake: Titus Groan
Fritz Leiber: The Swords of Lankhmar
T.H. White: The Once and Future King