There is no better escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life than a good fantasy novel. Within these magical tomes you will find a portal to worlds of pure imagination – brimming with roaring dragons, fearless warriors and plucky heroes with hairy feet and sorcerous rings.
But not every fantasy novel is forged in the image of JRR Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. There are as many varieties of fantasy as shades of blue in a churning ocean.
Here is a selection of the 14 best – though please don’t get too “precioussss” about it if your favourite isn’t there.
14. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Familiar to many from its Studio Ghibli animated adaptation, Wynne Jones’s original 1986 novel is worth celebrating in its own right. It’s a sharp, wry take on classic fairytales about a young girl turned into an old woman by a wicked witch and who seeks refuge in a wandering fortress belonging to a vain wizard. Howl’s Moving Castle is a very funny novel about the trials of growing up and how people are not what they might seem to be. For instance, Howl is rumoured to be a wicked sorcerer who consumes the hearts of women and girls, but is revealed to be much more human than reputation suggests.
