Best Adult Fantasy Series

Greetings Fantasy Nerds!

So this post is about my picks for the best Adult Fantasy series. You can probably guess a few I’ll be writing about, but hopefully you will get some insight and ideas for new books to check out!

The Lord of the Rings

First and most important is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. This is the big one I figured many people would guess to be on this list. I want to tell you a little bit about these but also what they mean to me as a person. 
The Lord of the Rings is full of not only incredible storytelling, imagery, fantastic details and an entire intricate fantasy universe, but it has so many important life lessons. “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future” words said by Giladriel to Frodo, reading these words inspired me and gave me hope that even I can make a difference in our world. Samwise being that rock and carrying Frodo through thick and thin (literally), how the fellowship came together against an impending darkness but held strong. While outside of the books, Tolkien also spoke about how luck and fate also played a huge role on how their quest to save Middle Earth is fulfilled. I attribute these books to shaping me as the person I am today.

Lets also talk about how Tolkien loved linguistics, and created fourteen, let me repeat that, FOURTEEN different languages for the Middle Earth universe. This man created THE most well known and vast works of fantasy ever to grace our world. The Hobbit and The Silmarillion are also extremely necessary reads along with The Lord of the Rings, I would suggest reading those before you read The Lord of the Rings because they supply imperative back story and lore.

I could honestly write a thousand page essay on why The Lord of the Rings is the best Fantasy Series ever, how Tolkien shaped the world of Fantasy as we know it, but for all you readers sake I will not do that with this post.

The Name of the Wind

This book was recommended to me by my best friend, and I just picked it up last week. It hooks you from the get go, an epic fantasy unfolds before you with vivid details, excellent descriptions, and even better storytelling. I honestly felt like it was the beginning of a dungeons and dragons campaign when I began reading it; Patrick Rothfuss truly sets you up for an epic adventure.

 You easily connect with the characters, especially the “main” character Kvothe, and feel their emotions. It’s not a typical fantasy either, it’s filled with tragedy and grit your teeth moments. Name of the Wind is the first book in The Kingkiller Chronicles, the second book is The Wise Man’s Fear, and the third book has yet to be released. If you enjoy fantasy this is a MUST read.

Warcraft Books

Now this series isn’t necessarily a “series” so to speak, but it’s a wide variety of books written by various authors, notably Christie Golden and Richard Knack. Whether you have played Warcraft or World of Warcraft, it isn’t necessary in order to read these books. They’re all well written, and go into depth of the lore of the World of Warcraft. 

My personal favorite of the many Warcraft books is titled Arthas written by Christie Golden. She is an incredibly talented writer that’s delves into Arthas’s struggles from growing, becoming king, falling in love, struggling to save his people and ultimately succumbing to the greatest evil, all the while she seamlessly shifts the point of view to Sylvanas Windrunner, an Elven ranger who would give anything to save her people. Her story is heart-wrenching as well as heroic, she is a main character in Warcraft as well as World of Warcraft, and my personal favorite character in any book series or game (seeing as I have a tattoo of her on my thigh). We will certainly revisit Warcraft in our post about best video games for Fantasy Nerds!

A Song of Ice and Fire

I had Clever help me out with this one, since I popped in on her last list post to talk about a series. Here are her opinion’s on this series, which I couldn’t agree with more.

With a normal book, the tension that keeps you reading is wanting to know “how will the main character get out of this?” With the Game of Thrones series, that tension is wondering “will the Moran character survive this?” The is no assumption in these books that your favorite characters will make it out alive, or win in the end. George R.R. Martin is NOT afraid to kill PD beloved characters, and he does so quite often. This raises the stakes for the story and makes the plot far from predictable. 

Despite the fact that there are dragons and magic, this fantasy series is once off the most realistic to me. Not realistic in the fantastical world or events that take place, but real to human nature and the facts of life. The villains are some of the most horrific people, and they make you so angry, but a lot of the time they win because they are willing to do what the noble characters aren’t. There are very few black-and-white characters. Some of the characters that started out as villains become something else along the way, and the same could also be said for some of our heroes. People change and grow, and in a way that is the most realistic yet unpredictable part of the story. We love these characters even when they make mistakes, and we root for them to come to the right decisions in the end. 

What Do You Think?

What do you think of our list of top adult fantasy series? If any look interesting, click here to view the our list on bookshop.org and support local bookstores! As an affiliate, we do earn if you make any purchases.  Is there a series you love that want on the list? Comment below to let us know! You can also read our list of the best YA fantasy series. You may also like the Best Mobile Apps for Fantasy Nerds!

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Thanks so much for reading!

Clever and WTF