The 6 Best Fantasy Books Released Since 2000, Ranked
Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.
A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.
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Over the course of the past 26 years, the world has been treated to several books that have already gone down in history as some of the greatest works of fantasy literature ever written. But while these exceptional books are aplenty, there are a handful that continue to stand tall above their peers many years after their publication. Fantasy has long been one of the most beloved and profitable book genres out there, and as a result, it should come as no surprise that the best fantasy books that have found bookstore shelves since 2000 are all absolute cornerstones of modern pop culture.
Whether it's a hyper-acclaimed commercial juggernaut like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, or an ever-so-slightly more niche piece of adult-oriented fantasy literature like The Name of the Wind, the best fantasy books of the last 26 years all share plenty of elements in common: They're all wonderfully imaginative, they have some of the strongest world-building that fantasy literature has seen in years, and they're so deliriously entertaining that they're remarkably difficult to put down.
6 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' (2000)
No conversation about the most important and pop-culturally significant fantasy books that have been published since 2000 can ever be complete without talking about J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga, which is the best-selling book series in history by a jaw-dropping margin. And while the last 26 years saw the publication of four of the books in the series, all of them absolutely legendary and beyond iconic, there's only one that can genuinely be labeled as one of the most fun fantasy books of all time: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, usually the most acclaimed title in the series.
A universally endearing novel that pretty much anyone who tends to enjoy mega-creative low fantasy should find irresistible, regardless of their age.
It's where the Harry Potter series really took a turn toward darker, more mature directions, semi-officially bringing the saga into YA territory. The result is a universally endearing novel that pretty much anyone who tends to enjoy mega-creative low fantasy should find irresistible, regardless of their age. By deviating from the usual formula of the Hogwarts school year and instead following the Triwizard Tournament, Rowling made it so that Goblet of Fire inevitably sticks out when compared to its predecessors and successors—for all the right, most entertaining reasons.
5 'The Fifth Season' (2015)
There are remarkably few fantasy books that are truly perfect masterpieces, and N. K. Jemisin's groundbreaking science fantasy epic The Fifth Season is undoubtedly among those precious few. It was the start of the Broken Earth Trilogy, which made history by becoming the first book series in history where each installment won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in consecutive years. But as phenomenal as its sequels are, The Fifth Season stands out as perhaps the greatest science fantasy novel of the 21st century, a true masterpiece that only keeps getting better with age.
Reasons why The Fifth Season is worthy of praise are almost too abundant to count. There's its boldly experimental prose and structure, with some chapters being written in second person. There's its delectably creative world-building, grounded in sociopolitical complexity and an admirable sense of realism. There's its fascinating thematic study of topics like systemic oppression and environmental catastrophe. The most praise-worthy part of the book, however, is just how seamlessly and cohesively these elements blend together.
4 'Night Watch' (2002)
Every fantasy fan loves to read a great work of epic high fantasy that knows precisely how seriously the genre deserves to be taken. Every now and then, though, the genre's truest fans crave a well-written fantasy comedy—and as far as those go, one needn't look any further than the work of the comedic genius Terry Pratchett. As one of the author's darkest, most emotional, and most politically serious works, Night Watch may not be one of his most hilarious satires, but it sure is the best books he wrote at any point during the 21st century.
Night Watch is the 29th book in the Discworld Series and the sixth about the City Watch, but thankfully for anyone looking to dive into Pratchett's work, it can definitely be read and thoroughly enjoyed as a standalone novel. It's one of those fantasy books that are page-turners from start to finish, with a perfect mixture of razor-sharp humor and a profoundly human exploration of themes of justice and revolution. Lean, mean, perfectly paced, and perfectly subversive, it's a must-read for anyone who tends to enjoy the funnier side of the fantasy genre.
3 'The Name of the Wind' (2007)
With Patrick Rothfuss promise of the third installment in his Kingkiller Chronicles turning 15 this year, will the world ever actually see the story of Kvothe come to an end? That remains to be seen. But regardless of what ends up happening, there's one thing that simply cannot be changed, and that's the fact that the first book in the would-be-trilogy, The Name of the Wind, is one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time. Praised by creatives of the stature of George R. R. Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, it somehow manages to live up to the hype even almost 20 years after its publication.
From the intricate magic systems to the complex sociopolitics, the world-building is some of the best the genre has seen in decades.
That's all because The Name of the Wind really is one of those fantasy book masterpieces that are perfectly written, with prose so beautiful and poetic that it's almost musical. From the intricate magic systems to the complex sociopolitics, the world-building is some of the best the genre has seen in decades; and with its engrossing framing device, the story features some of the most compelling plotting and character development that any fan of fantasy literature could ever possibly ask for. This is no traditional Hero's Journey tale, but rather a fascinating deconstruction of how myths come to be formed and shapes around characters like Kvothe. It's smart, it's meta, it's creative, and it's essential reading for anyone who loves fantasy.
2 'A Storm of Swords' (2000)
There aren't many high fantasy books that are perfectly written, since this is a genre so challenging to truly nail that it's rare to find an author who understands it as flawlessly as George R. R. Martin does. His A Game of Thrones completely revolutionized the high fantasy genre in the 1990s, moving it away from its Tolkien-inspired days and proving that it could be far different from what it used to offer before. However, both the Song of Ice and Fire Series and Martin's oeuvre as a whole peaked in 2000 with the third installment in the saga, A Storm of Swords.
This is another instance of a fantasy book series whose newest installment has been 15 years in the making, but regardless of whether The Winds of Winter ever does see the light of day, A Storm of Swords will forever remain one of the most stunning achievements in the modern history of speculative fiction. It's surprising just how much of a page-turner it is considering that it's nearly a thousand pages long, but that's simply the strength of Martin's writing. It's flawlessly paced, with a perfect balance between radical twists, more tightly-plotted moments, and slower-burning sections of politics and world-building. In other words, it's as close as modern fantasy literature comes to perfection.
1 'Words of Radiance' (2014)
Brandon Sanderson is one of the most popular and most immensely prolific speculative fiction authors currently working, one who has written a few of the greatest fantasy book series of the 21st century as a whole. Case in point: the Stormlight Archive Series, whose second installment, Words of Radiance, is not only Sanderson's strongest work to date, but perhaps even the greatest high fantasy book of the past 26 years. Though it's nearly 1,100 pages long, it's such an addictive read that it becomes torture to ever have to put it down.
Words of Radiance is so daring, so impeccably written, and so remarkably entertaining that it wouldn't be crazy to say it's one of the best American books of the last 100 years. For one, it's the pinnacle of a "Sanderlanche," a term coined by fans to describe the kinds of sprawling, fast-paced, action-packed climaxes that tend to characterize the author's work. What makes Words of Radiance so special, however, is that the Sanderlanche that makes up its final section is but one of the many fast-paced, delightfully twisty, and constantly surprising parts that make the novel such an incredible page-turner. The character writing is absolutely flawless, the world-building and magic system are nothing short of literary genius, and the amount of narrative and emotional payoffs that Sanderson constantly throws at the reader is remarkable. For anyone who loves the fantasy literature output of the last 26 years, Words of Radiance is a must-read.
Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell
Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie.
🐺Stark
🦁Lannister
🐉Targaryen
🦌Baratheon
🌹Tyrell
01
Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house.
02
What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours?
03
Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything.
04
How do you deal with your enemies? A house's method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could.
05
What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly.
06
You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory.
07
Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours.
08
The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character.
The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…
Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don't. That's very much up to you.
🐺 House Stark
Winter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view.
- You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having.
- Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn't bend when things get difficult.
- The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold.
- You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are.
🦁 House Lannister
You understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology.
- You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage.
- A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order.
- You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway.
- The lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you.
🐉 House Targaryen
You carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it.
- You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality.
- Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs.
- The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible.
- At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them.
🦌 House Baratheon
You are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them.
- Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what's behind it.
- You value strength and straight dealing. You'd rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers.
- The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after.
- The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too.
🌹 House Tyrell
You understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes.
- Growing strong is your house's motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts.
- You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter.
- The Tyrells fed King's Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it.
- You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is.
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