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Best Fantasy Series, Trilogies, and Duologies

Top 10 Best Fantasy Series, Trilogies, and Duologies : The Chronicles of Narnia, The Eye of the World, His Dark Materials, The Way of Kings, Eragon, Eldest & Brisingr, City of Bones, Wizard's First Rule, The Belgariad, Vol. 1: Pawn of Prophecy / Queen of Sorcery / Magician's Gambit, The Way of Shadows, A Wizard of Earthsea

The Chronicles of Narnia
AuthorC.S. Lewis
ISBN0066238501
Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Staples Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and...
The Eye of the World
AuthorRobert Jordan
ISBN0812511816
The first series that showed it was possible to do an uninspired rewrite of Tolkien and make a mint was Shannara. After that the doors were flung wide, and the next to profit off the scheme was was Robert Jordan. Of course, I'm not suggesting it's bad to take inspiration from older authors--all authors...
His Dark Materials
AuthorPhilip Pullman
ISBN0440238609
The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass are available together in one volume perfect for any fan or newcomer to this modern fantasy classic series.

These thrilling adventures tell the story of Lyra and Will—two ordinary children on a perilous journey through shimmering...
The Way of Kings
AuthorBrandon Sanderson
ISBN0765326353
I long for the days before the Last Desolation.

The age before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. A time when there was still magic in the world and honor in the hearts of men.

The world became ours, and yet we lost it. Victory proved to be the greatest test...
Eragon, Eldest & Brisingr
AuthorChristopher Paolini
ISBN0375846158
This was probably the only series I ever read that could compete (and possibly beat) the Harry Potter series! I read the whole series in less than a week and there are a lot of pages all together. My favorite one is Brisingr but you have to read the whole series, start to finish, to understand what's going...
City of Bones
AuthorCassandra Clare
ISBN1416914285
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the...
Wizard's First Rule
AuthorTerry Goodkind
ISBN0765346524
In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help . . . and more.

His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence. In a dark age it takes courage to...
The Belgariad, Vol. 1: Pawn of Prophecy / Queen of Sorcery / Magician's Gambit
AuthorDavid Eddings
ISBN0345456327
Millions of readers have discovered the magic of David Eddings' New York Times bestselling series The Belgariad. Now the first three books in this monumental epic appear in a single volume. Here, long-time fans can rediscover the wonder--and the uninitiated can embark upon a thrilling new journey...
The Way of Shadows
AuthorBrent Weeks
ISBN0316033677
From New York Times Bestselling author Brent Weeks...
For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people...
A Wizard of Earthsea
AuthorUrsula K. Le Guin
ISBN0553383043
”The hunger of a dragon is slow to wake, but hard to sate.”


The Folio Society edition is superbly illustrated by David Lupton.

The boy is born on the island of Gont in the archipelago of Earthsea. This is a world infused with magic. Not everyone can control this magic, but those...
Dragonflight
AuthorAnne McCaffrey
ISBN0345484266
HOW CAN ONE GIRL SAVE AN ENTIRE WORLD?

To the nobles who live in Benden Weyr, Lessa is nothing but a ragged kitchen girl. For most of her life she has survived by serving those who betrayed her father and took over his lands. Now the time has come for Lessa to shed her disguise—and take back her stolen...
The Amulet of Samarkand
AuthorJonathan Stroud
Nathaniel is a boy magician-in-training, sold to the government by his birth parents at the age of five and sent to live as an apprentice to a master. Powerful magicians rule Britain, and its empire, and Nathaniel is told his is the "ultimate sacrifice" for a "noble destiny."

If leaving his parents...
The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
AuthorTerry Brooks
ISBN0345453751
THE SWORD OF SHANNARA: Long ago, the world of Shea Ohmsford was torn apart by war. But the half-human, half-elfin, Shea now lives in peace - until the forbidding figure of Allanon appears, to reveal that the long dead Warlock Lord lives again

THE ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA: Ancient evil threatens...
The Riftwar Saga
AuthorRaymond E. Feist
ISBN0553333240
Here is a fantasy series filled with tropes... but it worked, nicely. It falls somewhere in-between what I'd consider 'High Fantasy' and 'contemporary fantasy'. If you're looking for some zany type fantasy world that you hadn't imagined, I wouldn't suggest this series. But if you like your dwarves...
The Dark Elf Trilogy Collector's Edition
AuthorR.A. Salvatore
ISBN0786915889
At first I berated myself for lumping the whole trilogy together before I would give my review; however, after finishing Sojourn, I am glad that I held my review until I got the perspective of all three books.

In a word: fantastic.

At first, I was unimpressed with Homeland, not liking...
Kushiel's Dart
AuthorJacqueline Carey
ISBN0330493744
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet...
Dragonlance Chronicles
AuthorMargaret Weis
ISBN0880386525
CONCEPT: A group of adventurers are chosen to help drive back the Evil from another world led by the Dark Queen.

MARKETING APPEAL: The DRAGONLANCE chronicles had the whole AD&D industry behind them; TSR used this tale as a marketing ploy, using their fans and game designers (to set up the...
The Lost Hero
AuthorRick Riordan
Jason has a problem.
He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper, and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper...
The Great Book of Amber
AuthorRoger Zelazny
ISBN0380809060
I adore this series. I have read and re-read this book since high school. What can I say? It captured my imagination and has kept ahold of it for years. This was the work that Zelazny worked on through his career. I think it is what he wrote for fun. It isn't complicated but it is epic.

Imagine that...
The Dragonbone Chair
AuthorTad Williams
ISBN0756402697
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 Dark Is Rising Sequence
AuthorSusan Cooper
ISBN0020425651
This series is fantastic, and has been horridly overlooked, particularly so seeming that our current culture seems so fascinated with all things Potter. Not that The Dark Is Rising is anything like Harry Potter - not at all. It's thickly steeped in Celtic and Arthurian legend, is relentless in its exploration...
Howl's Moving Castle
AuthorDiana Wynne Jones
An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a...
Daughter of the Forest
AuthorJuliet Marillier
Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives, they are determined that she know only contentment.

But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father...
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
AuthorStephen R. Donaldson
ISBN0006473296
Since its publication in 1977, Stephen Donaldson's award-winning trilogy has become an indisputable fantasy class, hailed by the critics and loved by millions of readers around the world. Now all three books are available in one paperback volume for the first time.

Thomas Covenant, an embittered...
The Song of the Lioness Quartet
AuthorTamora Pierce
ISBN0375825649
The Barnes & Noble Review
Fans of Tamora Pierce's stellar saga about Alanna of Trebond can now get all four books one boxed set!

Packaged together for the first time, the Song of the Lioness quartet is the adventurous story of one girl's journey to overcome the obstacles facing her,...
The Chronicles of Prydain Boxed Set
AuthorLloyd Alexander
ISBN0805082743
Millions of young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his lively companions as they journey through the magical land of Prydain. First published more than thirty years ago and translated into twenty different languages, Lloyd Alexander's beloved...
The Time Quartet Box Set
AuthorMadeleine L'Engle
ISBN0440360374
These books make me sad to know what kids are reading today. Very few "children's books" quote Euripides, Goethe, and include sayings in Portuguese or Welsh. These stories (A Swiftly Tilting Planet, which is my favorite, in particular) are largely responsible for the shaping of my imagination as far...
The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness
AuthorAnne Bishop
ISBN0451529014
Seven hundred years ago, a Black Widow witch saw an ancient prophecy come to life in her web of dreams and visions.

Now the Dark Kingdom readies itself for the arrival of its Queen, a Witch who will wield more power than even the High Lord of Hell himself. But she is still young, still open to influence--and...
The Angel Experiment
AuthorJames Patterson
ISBN0446617792
Now this is a terrible book.

Written with all the wit and grace of a one-legged puppy, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment reveals its intentions within the first chapter alone. This is not a book of striking prose or even serviceable but entertaining MOR lit. It is merely a cash cow, another mindless...
The Thief
AuthorMegan Whalen Turner
ISBN0060824972
The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the thief's abilities.

What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward...
His Majesty's Dragon
AuthorNaomi Novik
ISBN0345481283
Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life...
The Fionavar Tapestry
AuthorGuy Gavriel Kay
ISBN0006479502
In the three novels that make up the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy collected in this omnibus edition (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road), five University of Toronto students find themselves transported to a magical land to do battle with the forces of evil. At a Celtic conference,...
The Once and Future King
AuthorT.H. White
ISBN0441627404
This book terrified me, on many levels. It's 667 pages long, to begin with. It's been a while since I read a serious chunkster like that (besides Harry Potter, which somehow in my mind doesn't really count...).

Besides that, I am just not a fan of "Authur" stories, despite my deep love of the Disney...
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
AuthorPatricia C. Wrede
ISBN0152050523
This series is absolutely one of the fantasy genre's treasures! It's wonderfully light-hearted and humorous; the author revels in puncturing any number of fairy-tale conventions. Princess Cimorene, for instance, isn't kidnapped and enslaved by a dragon --she voluntarily becomes housekeeper...
The Crystal Cave
AuthorMary Stewart
ISBN0060548258
Fifth century Britain is a country of chaos and division after the Roman withdrawal. This is the world of young Merlin, the illegitimate child of a South Wales princess who will not reveal to her son his father's true identity. Yet Merlin is an extraordinary child, aware at the earliest age that he possesses...
Preludes & Nocturnes
AuthorNeil Gaiman
ISBN1563892278
New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman's transcendent series SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo title and one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created an unforgettable tale of the forces that exist beyond life and death by weaving ancient mythology,...
A Spell for Chameleon
AuthorPiers Anthony
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...
The City of Ember
AuthorJeanne DuPrau
ISBN0375822747
An alternate cover edition can be found here.

Many hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked…but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and...
The Icewind Dale Trilogy Collector's Edition
AuthorR.A. Salvatore
Icewind Dale. Windswept passes and forbidding glaciers stand at the top of the world. Below them, in the cold valleys, an evil force broods: the magic of Crenshinibon, the crystal shard.
Now dwarf, barbarian, and drow elf join to battle this evil. Tempered in the furnace of struggle, they form an...
Chronicles of the Black Company
AuthorGlen Cook
ISBN0765319233
Darkness wars with darkness as the hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must. They bury their doubts with their dead.

Then comes the prophecy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more…

This omnibus edition comprises The Black...
Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold
AuthorTerry Brooks
ISBN1857232569
Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, complete with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement had promised. But after he purchased it for a million dollars, Ben Holiday discovered that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention. Such as the fact that the kingdom was falling into ruin....
Fablehaven
AuthorBrandon Mull
ISBN1590385810
For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.

Kendra...
On a Pale Horse
AuthorPiers Anthony
ISBN0345338588


4.0 stars. Piers Anthony is a MIND-NUMBING ENIGMA to me. He is capable of writing extremely thought-provoking, imaginative stories that are both original and speak to fundamental aspects of the human condition. The mystery is that he does so infrequently, despite being one of the most...
Theft of Swords
AuthorMichael J. Sullivan
ISBN0316187747
THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PINNED IT ON TWO MEN. THEY CHOSE POORLY.

There's no ancient evil to defeat or orphan destined for greatness, just unlikely heroes and classic adventure. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, are two enterprising rogues...
The Goose Girl
AuthorShannon Hale
ISBN1582349908
Anidora-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree spent the first years of her life listening to her aunt's incredible stories, and learning the language of the birds. Little knowing how valuable her aunt's strange knowledge would prove to be when she grew older. From the Grimm's fairy...
Elric of Melniboné
AuthorMichael Moorcock
ISBN0441203981
It is the colour of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair that flows below his shoulders is milk-white. From the tapering, beautiful head stare two slanting eyes, crimson and moody....He is Elric, Emperor of Melnibone, cursed with a keen and cynical intelligence, schooled in the art of sorcery...
Luck in the Shadows
AuthorLynn Flewelling
ISBN0553575422
When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn’t commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things–none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice,...
The Diamond Throne
AuthorDavid Eddings
ISBN0345367693
'You'd better get ready to ride, Sparhawk.'

Meet Sparhawk: Pandion Knight and Queen’s Champion. If this were D&D his character class would likely be Paladin; he can cast spells, but mostly prefers to just chop off heads with his considerable broadsword.

Sparhawk is a bit of...
Queen's Own
AuthorMercedes Lackey
ISBN0739435248
Recently, life has thrown me some curveballs, so I decided to re-read a character story that was similar to what I was going through. I found Arrows of the Queen early in life (either junior high or early high school) and loved the story then for almost the same reasons I wanted to read it again now. Also,...
Riddle-Master
AuthorPatricia A. McKillip
ISBN0441005969
For over twenty years, Patricia A. McKillip has captured the hearts and imaginations of thousands of readers. And although her renowned Riddle-Master trilogy--The Riddle-Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire, and Harpist in the Wind--has been long out of print, it is considered her most enduring and...
Legend
AuthorDavid Gemmell
He is DRUSS the Legend. His skill in battle has earned him a fearsome reputation throughout the world and the stories of his life are told everywhere. But the grizzled veteran has spurned a life of fame and fortune and has retreated to the solitude of his mountain lair to await his old enemy, Death.

Meanwhile,...
The Curse of Chalion
AuthorLois McMaster Bujold
ISBN0007133618
A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril, has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, as the secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule.

It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it will...
Magic Bites
AuthorIlona Andrews
ISBN0441014895
Atlanta would be a nice place to live, if it weren’t for the magic…

When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of...
Dragon Prince
AuthorMelanie Rawn
ISBN0756403014
Gather round children, and cast your minds back to the ye old days of the late 80's/early 90's, when fantasy was still very much an underground thing, most stories were tedious Tolkien retreads or Dungeons and Dragons sessions put down on paper, and writers of the feminine persuasion were notably light...
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Vol. 1
AuthorDiana Wynne Jones
There is an alternate cover here.

In this multiple parallel universes of the Twelve Related Worlds, only an enchanter with nine lives is powerful enough to control the rampant misuse of magic--and to hold the title Chrestomanci... The Chants are a family strong in magic, but neither Christopher...
The Scions of Shannara
AuthorTerry Brooks
ISBN1857230752
I need a way to rate the book and then a way to separately rate the edition I got. I have the audio I got from OverDrive and the gain is so low that with the recording turned up all the way, my speakers turned up all the way and going into my computers audio controls and jacking them up all the way I could barely hear...
Black Sun Rising
AuthorC.S. Friedman
ISBN0756403146
Black Sun Rising; Or, How Ciani Got Her Groove Back.

two major things to note in this sometimes absorbing, sometimes ridiculous science fantasy novel: a fascinatingly developed magic system and a head-smackingly stupid quest.

regarding the stupidity, let's first clear the air...
Green Rider
AuthorKristen Britain
ISBN0886778581
On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider...
The Last Herald-Mage
AuthorMercedes Lackey
ISBN0739422952
I was extremely impressed with this series. While it is the typical fantasy storyline of young boy-discovers powers-becomes great hero, the emotional and psychological complexity of the individual characters makes this series truly unique. This series is also the best of Lackey's work that I have...
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
AuthorRobert E. Howard
ISBN0345483855
Poem and first 13 tales, in order written, plus Miscellanea drafts, notes, maps by author.
Cimmeria poem
1 The Phoenix on the Sword 1932
2 The Frost-Giant's Daughter 1976
3 The God in the Bowl 1952
4 The Tower of the Elephant 1933
5 The Scarlet Citadel 1933
6 Queen of the Black...
Daggerspell
AuthorKatharine Kerr
ISBN0553565214
Even as a young girl, Jill was a favorite of the magical, mysterious Wildfolk, who appeared to her from their invisible realm. Little did she know her extraordinary friends represented but a glimpse of a forgotten past and a fateful future. Four hundred years-and many lifetimes-ago, one selfish young...
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