The 72 Most Popular Fantasy Novels of the Past Three Years

Some of these titles I can't wait to read but, uh.. I can't stand some of them actually. And so far there is not that much of the fantasy aspect in She who became the sun, which I'm currently reading. It's much more of a historical fiction piece imo. But I guess the fantasy genre is a very big umbrella category.

I have read two of these!!! From Blood and Ash & The House in the Cerulean Sea

I have two books of this list on my TBR, a bunch I sampled but lost interest in and others I DNF'd. Seems like fantasy and sci-fi from the last three years does not work for me

The Patricia Briggs series is great, and Mark Lawrence's Red Sister, Gray Sister, and Holy Sister trilogy is amazing.

I have read 12 of these. Some def faves in there. Additionally, I physically own 15 that I have yet to read.

A Little Hatred and The Shadow of the Gods were both amazing reads

Hi, everyone! I'm a lapsed Fantasy reader. I used to read it in my teens, but went a different path in my 20s. Recently there seems to have been a resurgence of interest in Fantasy, with new authors popping up all over the place. I'm very interested in anything and everything that has a more literary bent to it. Great prose, stellar character development, and a meaningful discussion, all set within an Epic/High Fantasy setting (I'll consider other sub-genres as well, but I'm not particularly interested in YA). Other than that, my only other caveat is that it be either a stand-alone novel or else part of an already completed series. I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thank you very much!

SlowRain wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm a lapsed Fantasy reader. I used to read it in my teens, but went a different path in my 20s. Recently there seems to have been a resurgence of interest in Fantasy, with new author..."

The Addie LaRue book is beautifully written, but not epic/high fantasy. Be aware some of the books are from series and not all are good starting points - thankfully goodreads is our friend!

I have actually read 7 of these books and have another 5 on my tbr list at the moment. May add a few more.
I actually thing The Night Circus by Erin Morganstein and the Hazlewood by Melissa Albert should be on this list too

13 read, with a bunch more in more TBR

The number of book on this list which are on my physical TBR is astonishing.. There are many authors I've read though which is always a good sign !

I have 'Daughter of the Moon Goddess' in my TBR pile, but because I'm in the UK, a lot of these aren't available, and in any case I'm reluctant to splash cash on unknown authors I may not like, so I get most of my fantasy books via the library. Some major omissions - Katherine Addison's wonderful series beginning with The Goblin Emperor (I'm going to buy The Grief of Stones, just out, because I know I'll love it), the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, and Katherine Arden's series based on Russian folklore.

@Pam Thomas Katherine Arden's series is on the list with its third book "The Winter of the Witch".

Read 16 with 3 on my TBR

Lawrence, Weeks, Abercrombie, Sanderson, Butcher, Jemison... Some of my absolute favs on this list!!!

kristi turner wrote: "I have actually read 7 of these books and have another 5 on my tbr list at the moment. May add a few more.
I actually thing The Night Circus by Erin Morganstein and the Hazlewood by Melissa Albert ..." This list is only for books published in the last 3 years--both of those titles are aged out of this group. Hazelwood was published 2018, The Night Circus in 2011

Joe Abercrombie is amazing! Please read the First Law trilogy... mind blowing.

A few strong choices on this list, but most range from mediocre to lousy. I notice that about many of goodread's "Best of" lists. Seems they are going for a particular audience rather than really posting the best.

Regarding this specific list, while most of NK Jemisin's works are fantastic, her most recent was not. Joe Abecrombie is almost always superb. Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series is a lot of fun, if, at times, rambling and confusing. SA Chakraborty's Kingdom novels are also worthwhile. Mark Lawrence's Book of the Ancestor trilogy is solid, but not as good as his prior efforts. I'm curious about Helene Wecker's follow-up to The Golem and the Jinni. Other than those, there isn't much of value here.

That said, the Sword of Kaigen sounds great. Even though it's self published, given the stellar reviews and low price for the Kindle version, I'm going to give it a try.

I'm also curious about why She Who Became the Sun is fantasy; perhaps the author plans to introduce more fantastical elements to later books and the publisher is calling it fantasy now? Book one was def more alt-history historical fiction. So technically speculative fiction...?

Makes me think about how there's someone on the SF thread cheering "keeping SF and fantasy separate" but honestly it's so arbitrary. Mark Lawrence's books and the genre unto itself that is Star Wars both blend SF and fantasy elements, yet the former is here and the latter is with the SF. Feels very random.
You can also see how many subgenres, like magical realism, are fantastical but don't really ~feel~ as much like Fantasy as others, having a origin and tone that's seems so individual.

I honestly don't mind how goodreads has organized it but I don't get crying for separation when the boundaries are a blur.

Cecilie wrote: "Fantasy is such a big genre. I have read 7 of these books, have a few more on my tbr and have read some of the books in the series for 3 other on the list. The fun thing is, that they're so differe..."

You're kidding, right? The Way of Kings is the strongest book in the Stormlight Archive series by far. The others range from good to very good. That one was great.

Only his Blood of Empire really qualifies for the last three years, but Brian McClellan's Powder Mage series is a favorite of mine.

Neither of Nicholas Eames books qualifies for the last three years, but Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose remain two of the best Fantasy books I have read in my 40+ years of reading Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Stephen Lawhead's Eirlandia series is very recent and definitely worth checking out. It's set against a historical backdrop, but it has Faery Folk and Druids, each with magic. Not to mention the well written descriptions of setting and disability representation.

I’ve read 28 of these and own another 19 of them

wow i've read like 34 of these and have 3-4 on my tbr

SlowRain wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm a lapsed Fantasy reader. I used to read it in my teens, but went a different path in my 20s. Recently there seems to have been a resurgence of interest in Fantasy, with new author..."
I highly recommend Radio Life by Derek B. Miller. He does not usually write Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but I love his writing style, and this is a great book with lots of implications for our present situation in the world. I ordered it from the UK before it was available in the US. I don't know if he plans to write any sequels. If you are a Kindle reader, you can get it for 2.99. As Val McDermid says, it is "clever, gripping, and frightening". I don't usually read this genre anymore, but I loved this book.

Mike wrote: "Only his Blood of Empire really qualifies for the last three years, but Brian McClellan's Powder Mage series is a favorite of mine.

Neither of Nicholas Eames books qualifies for the last three ye..."

All excellent.

Most of the series was not in the last 3 years, but Michael J. Sullivan's series "Legends of the First Empire" concluded with Age of Empyre in 2020. That is a fantastic series, and not only stands on its own, but sets up his current trilogy of books and the amazing Riyria series of books. https://www.goodreads.com/series/1356...

I’ve read a few of these but by far my favorite one was The Starless Sea. I’m only 15 and I think it’s more of a 17+ book but I still thought it was amazing.

What criteria were used to select the books on this (or any Goodreads Best of Genre) list? Are they listed in a particular order?

I've read 17 of these, and enjoyed most of them! 14 are yet in my TBR, and I'm so thrilled that a.self published title made it onto the list!

SlowRain wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm a lapsed Fantasy reader. I used to read it in my teens, but went a different path in my 20s. Recently there seems to have been a resurgence of interest in Fantasy, with new author..."

My own book, which is not on this list, is The Land of Efacia (I know its an odd name) and it has a very fun vibe and also is very serious. You can find it on Amazon or go to laurabentz.net for more info. I guess because it was a few years ago, it's not on this list.

12 Read and are definitely high on my enjoyment list. Only one DNF (priory orange tree-too detailed/long) and another 5 on can’t wait to read list. I’ll have to add these others.

He's not on the list, but I would highly recommend Michael J. Sullivan. He is simply amazing, and should be read by anyone interested in fantasy.

SlowRain wrote “Hi, everyone! I'm a lapsed Fantasy reader. I used to read it in my teens, but went a different path in my 20s. Recently there seems to have been a resurgence of interest in Fantasy, with new author…”
For YA, I definitely recommend The Scolomance series (Deadly education #1), the Spellbreaker series (The Paper Magician #1), or Addie Larue as one person mentioned. All great.

Awesome to see my favourite self-published fantasy on here! THE SWORD OF KAIGEN is an absolute masterpiece!

I've read 12 and DNF'd another. Absolutely hated Addie LaRue and Cerulean Sea.

Karl wrote: "He's not on the list, but I would highly recommend Michael J. Sullivan. He is simply amazing, and should be read by anyone interested in fantasy."

YES, ABSOLUTELY

I love the idea of this article, but I would rather see a couple sentences about each book. I'm an old school "don't judge a book by its cover" sort of person, I guess.

Suzannah wrote: "Awesome to see my favourite self-published fantasy on here! THE SWORD OF KAIGEN is an absolute masterpiece!"

Intriguing. What about those two books displeased you?

I love The Scholomance series! The Last Graduate is even better than A Deadly Education. The third book is coming out this September, I'm pretty sure

I tried to read Rebbecca Roah Horse's Black Sun It bored me.

I don't know how to feel about this list, as I don't think these all are the most popular books in the fantasy gerne of the past 3 years, as only 16 ot of 70+ books listet are actually famous (and, sorry, but where SJM, where's Victorya Aveyard).. I mean, who made this list ?

More and more i feel like Fantasy has been used as a category for all of those books that nobody knows how to define, by people who don't really read any fantasy, it's the only explanation!
Like.. i read, AND LOVED, She Who Became the Sun (was one of my few 5 stars actually), but this is an historical fiction book, it only for like 2/3 pages mention a potential fantasy aspect, but 90% of the book is historic. So I feel like it shouldn't belong in this category.
Another half of this post are mythologic books, I get they have a lot more fantasy aspect.. but they are retellings of classical books.

Than the majority is stuff I never ever heard or seen before (which might be a grat thing, so i now have raccomendations, maybe).
But still, in the last three years, which saw "the rise" of booktok.. these are the books you classify as popular in the fantasy genre?

The list is pretty decent at least in terms of including fantasy novels that have won or been nominated for awards in the last three years.
I have read a staggering 26 novels on that list and I tend to focus on books from recommended lists which explain why most of my reads are on this list.
I don't read YA fantasy so I can't comment on why popular books in that genre might be over or under represented...
if I could point out one serie that would be missing it would be The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

I've already read about six of these books with three more on my to-read list. This is definitely my genre right now.

I will read anything by Leigh Bardugo and that's a fact

Alex Verus series is complete, urban fantasy set in London. Light mages and dark mages, though the author has made the point that that is not necessarily good vs evil. That said pretty much all the dark mages you meet are very bad. The light mages though are all about power. Some of the lower level ones are ok, but those in the higher ranks are all about power and will do anything to hold power. Alex has to operate in the gray area to survive.

Pam wrote: "I have 'Daughter of the Moon Goddess' in my TBR pile, but because I'm in the UK, a lot of these aren't available, and in any case I'm reluctant to splash cash on unknown authors I may not like, so ..."

Scholomance is included on the list, and Katherine Arden's book series is there as well.

The two Mark Lawrence series are on my TBR (and in my Kindle too!!), maybe I will add the Sanderson series but I fear that I can be disappointed. I never read a Sanderson books--else if I have the 3 last books of The Wheel of the Time series in the pile of books to read near my bed.

Shadow of the gods was great and I got hooked on the fallen and faithful series too. Rebecca Roanhorse- love her- Black Sun and the 6th (5th?) World Series- and happy to see the city of brass series mentioned!

As English is my second language, Im always sad some books won't ever make it to your shelves unless translated. And guys, there ARE masterpieces, which would dominate the lists for DECADES just waiting to be translated.

So make a mental note - if you ever see Petra Stehlikova's "Naslouchac" (original Czech, Host publishing, 2016) translated into English, go get it - you will get a priceless gem.