The 18 Best Fantasy Novels of the 1980s

Genre-defining epics, comic classics, and cult gems from a golden decade of imagination, some that shaped whole shelves and others that quietly earned devoted followings. Which one wins?

1. 1
   The Mists of Avalon

   Marion Zimmer Bradley's 1983 retelling of the Arthurian legend from the women's perspective.
   1000pts
2. 2
   The Black Company

   Glen Cook's 1984 gritty military fantasy narrated by a mercenary company's annalist.
   784pts
3. 3
   Weaveworld

   Clive Barker's 1987 dark fantasy about a world woven into a magical carpet.
   719pts
4. 4
   Guards! Guards!

   Terry Pratchett's 1989 Discworld comedy introducing the Ankh-Morpork City Watch.
   719pts
5. 5
   Dragons of Autumn Twilight

   Weis and Hickman's 1984 novel that kicked off the Dragonlance Chronicles.
   582pts
6. 6
   Redwall

   Brian Jacques' 1986 adventure set in an abbey of anthropomorphic animals under siege.
   582pts
7. 7
   The Wounded Land

   Stephen R. Donaldson's 1980 opener to the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
   513pts
8. 8
   The Dragonbone Chair

   Tad Williams' 1988 doorstopper that opens the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy.
   513pts
9. 9
   Mythago Wood

   Robert Holdstock's 1984 World Fantasy Award winner set in a wood where myths take living form.
   434pts
10. 10
    The Hero and the Crown

    Robin McKinley's 1984 Newbery Medal winner about the dragon-slaying heroine Aerin.
    434pts
11. 11
    Pawn of Prophecy

    David Eddings' 1982 opener to The Belgariad, following farm boy Garion toward his destiny.
    342pts
12. 12
    The Colour of Magic

    Terry Pratchett's 1983 first Discworld novel, a comic fantasy on a disc borne by a giant turtle.
    342pts
13. 13
    On a Pale Horse

    Piers Anthony's 1983 fantasy in which a man takes over the office of Death itself.
    342pts
14. 14
    The Anubis Gates

    Tim Powers' 1983 time-travel fantasy through a sorcery-riddled 19th-century London.
    342pts
15. 15
    Magician

    Raymond E. Feist's 1982 epic that launched the sprawling Riftwar Saga.
    233pts
16. 16
    Howl's Moving Castle

    Diana Wynne Jones' 1986 tale of a hatter cursed into old age and a wandering wizard's castle.
    233pts
17. 17
    Legend

    David Gemmell's 1984 heroic-fantasy debut about the aging warrior Druss defending a fortress.
    233pts
18. 18
    The Eyes of the Dragon

    Stephen King's 1987 fairy-tale fantasy of a framed prince and an evil magician.
    233pts