The Best Fantasy Books…? [Poll]

SF and fantasy section, American Book Center

What’s on your list of the best fantasy books?

A while back I put together my Top 25 Science-Fiction Books list. Making the list was a blast. I took a walk down memory road and reminisced about reading some of my favorite novels, talking about why I had enjoyed them, and evaluated how they had affected the genre since.

Along the way someone asked if I was going to do the same for fantasy books. Why not? I read fantasy. Heck, it was The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that got me into reading in the first place. What’s more “fantasy” than J.R.R.Tolkein?

Apparently, fantasy has come a long way since a hobbit, dwarves and a wizard wound their way up the Lonely Mountain. As I read more, I realized how out of date my fantasy reading has become.

My interest over the last few years shifted from fantasy (magic, swords, and what not) to science-fiction (spaceships, aliens, lasers and laser swords, if you will), and it’s left me with a deficit in the fantasy arena.  Fantasy is a much larger genre and, as I’m starting to realize, has a much larger fan base. It’s divided into epic, urban, dark, and steam punk, as well as more sub-genres, most which I’ve not read enough of to feel like I can own or speak authoritatively about. I still gobble up anything Brandon Sanderson writes, and I’ll read one or two books by Terry Pratchett and David Farland each year, but as I began to peruse what’s big in fantasy, I realized how far I had fallen behind in the genre.

For example: George R.R. Martin has put out at least two (or three?) novels since the last time I picked up something in the A Song of Ice and Fire and despite the huge popularity the series has acquired since HBO turned it into a major production, I’ve not felt a need to rush back to it. And don’t ask me about Jim Butcher or Mike Resnick.

Then there are other new comers to the genre that have earned accolades, but I’ve yet to get to. Patrick Rothfuss, Steven Erickson, and Joe Abercombie deserve a look, as does the inestimable China Mieville (whose really a genre all his own). But: reasons.

So, faced with the overwhelming list (and the list kept getting longer, the more time I spent on ye olde Google), I decided to abandon all hope and toss it to you: what’s on your list of favorite fantasy books?

Give me your input in the poll below, and I’ll share the results here next week. I’m interested in finding out who reads what, and then adding it to my own list. If you can help me categorize what’s out there, it might help me better prioritize my reading.

I’d also love to get your input in the comments below. Why do you read what you read? What keeps your attention, and why?

 Don’t forget to scroll down the survey for more questions!

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