The 19 Best Fantasy Novels of the 2010s

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