The 19 Best Fantasy Novels of the 2010s

By YPB TeamJun 10

Doorstopper epics rub shoulders with lyrical standalones and boundary-pushing debuts from a decade that reinvented the genre. Cast your vote!

1
Gideon the Ninth
Tamsyn Muir's genre-bending 2019 novel of necromancers and swordplay in a decaying empire.
1000pts
2
Words of Radiance
Sanderson's 2014 second Stormlight Archive volume, expanding the world of Roshar.
844pts
3
The City of Brass
S.A. Chakraborty's 2017 debut weaving djinn lore through an eighteenth-century Middle Eastern setting.
844pts
4
The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson's sprawling 2010 epic that launched the ambitious ten-book Stormlight Archive.
818pts
5
Circe
Madeline Miller's 2018 retelling of the Greek sorceress's life, crowned by readers as a decade favorite.
682pts
6
Prince of Thorns
Mark Lawrence's dark 2011 debut following a ruthless young prince in a ruined world.
682pts
7
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
Seth Dickinson's 2015 novel of economics, empire, and rebellion told through a brilliant accountant.
454pts
8
The Fifth Season
N.K. Jemisin's 2015 apocalyptic epic that won the Hugo and opened her Broken Earth trilogy.
454pts
9
The Goblin Emperor
Katherine Addison's 2014 court-intrigue novel about an outcast half-goblin thrust onto a throne.
273pts
10
The Wise Man's Fear
Patrick Rothfuss's 2011 sequel in the Kingkiller Chronicle, continuing the tale of Kvothe.
273pts
11
Spinning Silver
Naomi Novik's 2018 fairy-tale-inspired novel of debt, sacrifice, and winter magic.
273pts
12
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo's 2015 heist fantasy following a crew of misfits in the Grishaverse.
273pts
13
The Priory of the Orange Tree
Samantha Shannon's 2019 standalone epic of dragons, religion, and four interlocking viewpoints.
1pts
14
The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern's atmospheric 2011 debut about a magical competition staged in a mysterious circus.
1pts
15
The Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden's 2017 debut steeped in Russian folklore and a fearless heroine.
1pts
16
Uprooted
Naomi Novik's 2015 standalone fantasy of a corrupted wood and a reluctant village girl.
1pts
17
A Darker Shade of Magic
V.E. Schwab's 2015 adventure of parallel Londons connected by rare magic-wielding travelers.
1pts
18
The Poppy War
R.F. Kuang's brutal 2018 military fantasy inspired by twentieth-century Chinese history.
1pts
19
Jade City
Fonda Lee's 2017 gangster fantasy of warring clans wielding magical jade in a modern-feeling city.
1pts