The TIME 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

Aloha Bibliofriends,

Several months ago (back last year!) I was scrolling through my news feed and the Time 100 Greatest Fantasy Novels of all time popped up! I couldn’t resist clicking on it and I knew back then in October that I wanted to do a post on it. If you love your fantasy fiction and you haven’t seen the list yet, you should definitely check it out here! Each cover takes you to a link giving more information about each novel that made the cut – very helpful for the ones you may not have heard of!

I wanted to see how many of them I had read altogether so split the 100 up into 3 different parts:
Books I’ve already read = πŸ“–
Books currently purchased and on my physical TBR = πŸ“š
Books I’m wishing to buy and read in the future = ✨


The run down – in chronological order:

The Arabian Nights βœ¨

Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll πŸ“–

Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll πŸ“–

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit ✨

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers πŸ“š

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis πŸ“š

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis πŸ“–

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien πŸ“–

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien πŸ“–

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien πŸ“–

A Hero Born by Jin Yong

The Once and Future King by T.H. White βœ¨

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl πŸ“–

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

The Wandering Unicorn by Manuel Mujica Lainez βœ¨

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin πŸ“–

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart βœ¨

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin πŸ“š

Watership Down by Richard Adams πŸ“š

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

The Princess Bride by William Goldman πŸ“š

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter πŸ“–

The BFG by Roald Dahl πŸ“–

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce βœ¨

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Redwall by Brain Jacques

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Whynn Jones

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman πŸ“–

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie πŸ“š

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Tigana by Guy Gabriel Kay ✨

The Golden Compass (Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman πŸ“–

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman πŸ“–

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman πŸ“š

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling πŸ“–

Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley βœ¨

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin πŸ“–

American Gods by Neil Gaiman πŸ“–

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling πŸ“–

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson βœ¨

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss βœ¨

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare πŸ“–

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin βœ¨

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin βœ¨

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor ✨

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern βœ¨

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller βœ¨

Angelfall by Susan Ee

A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell πŸ“š

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro πŸ“š

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir πŸ“š

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin βœ¨

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

Shadowshaper by Daniel JosΓ© Older

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo πŸ“–

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh ✨

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders πŸ“–

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir πŸ“š

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

The Changeling by Victor Lavalle

Jade City by Fonda Lee ✨

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi πŸ“š

Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore βœ¨

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi πŸ“š

Circe by Madeline Miller πŸ“–

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang πŸ“š

Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James βœ¨

Children on Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi βœ¨

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang πŸ“š

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia βœ¨

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal πŸ“š

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez πŸ“–


Books I’ve already read: 22/100
Books purchased and on my TBR: 16/100
Books I want to buy/read in the future: 22/100

Total: 60/100


Normally I’m quite bad with lists so I don’t feel that this isn’t too bad for me although it could be way better – hopefully 2021 will have me ticking lots more of these off my list as part of my reading goals! Obviously one of my all time favourites Tolkien was on the list (yay!) – not gonna lie, I’m happy my favourite Harry Potter book Half-Blood Prince was on there too! I was amazed to see one of my favourite reads of 2020, Woven in Moonlight, made it onto this list as well – I’m so excited for the sequel to come out later this month! I also can’t wait to start reading The Poppy War Series which is one of the ones I definitely will be reading in 2021 – I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about it.

How did you score? How many of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of all time have you read? Were there any surprises on the list for you or novels which you feel have been tragically missed off? Which ones are on your TBR? As always, drop me a comment to chat! ☺️

T xx