Here are 54 books that Elfland fans have personally recommended if you like
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Science fantasy uniquely combines elements of science fiction (advanced technology, futuristic settings) with those of fantasy (magic, mythological creatures, and supernatural elements). This fusion creates rich and versatile storytelling that often comes with a deep sense of mystery beyond what science fiction or fantasy achieves on their own.
This blend also requires greater “buy-in” from the reader to believe in the world we’re being presented. As readers, we often accept dwarves in fantasy with little to no explanation. We do the same with spaceships in science fiction. But dwarves in spaceships require truly creative storytelling to achieve a much higher buy-in threshold. The author who can pull this off has my attention.
The only Young Adult book on this list but firmly deserving of its place, this book is the perfect example of how to successfully blend science fiction and fantasy.
Colfer takes a traditional fantasy fairy society and gives them advanced weaponry, surveillance gadgets, and time-stopping devices. It works incredibly well, and through convincing world-building I was immediately bought into the idea of fantasy creatures with sci-fi technology.
A standout feature of the novel is the characters, whose backstories, motivations, and behaviours all help to build this science fantasy world. We get an elf “LEPRecon” officer with access to bionic wings, a centaur who heads the technology department of the “Lower Elements Police,” and a dwarven thief who sells stolen human property on the black market. They were all enormously fun to read.
Twelve-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous--and extremely high-tech--fairies. He kidnaps one of them, Holly Short, and holds her for ransom in an effort to restore his family's fortune. But he may have underestimated the fairies' powers. Is he about to trigger a cross-species war?
Disney's “Artemis Fowl” is directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Tamara Smart, Nonzo Anozie, with Josh Gad, and Judi Dench.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
When I was very small, bedtime was the high point of the day; for that was when my parents read to me. My father favored adventure tales with knights and heroes, while my mother shared her own beloved Oz books with me. To this day, there is nothing so satisfying as finding a new story in which to be immersed. Although I enjoy reading many types of books, my first love remains fantasy; especially those stories with appealing characters and a defined world built from the author’s imagination. I hope these recommendations provide you with a gateway to discover new and enchanting reading experiences of your own.
As a fan of fantasy books about quests, I was familiar with Terry Brooks’ Shannara series.
Since I enjoyed his writing and his characters, I picked up this one on the assumption that it would be similar. Instead, I encountered a story about Ben Holiday, who purchased a magic kingdom from a fancy gift catalog and traveled to a new world where he became the ruler.
The characters appealed; especially Abernathy, the court scribe turned into a soft-coated, wheaten terrier by the wizard, Questor Thews.
Although a mature man, Ben’s trials upon obtaining the throne and adjusting to the magic of his new home support the theme of a hero’s coming-of-age story. With a few wrinkles and twists of magic, and a humorous overtone, I recommend this book as a nice change of pace from more serious fantasy tales.
Here in his first non-Shannara novel, Terry Brooks has written a gripping story of mystery, magic, and adventure—sure to delight fantasy readers everywhere.
Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement has promised. But after he purchased it, Ben Holiday learned that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention.
The kingdom was in ruin. The Barons refused to recognize a king, and the peasants were without hope. A dragon was laying waste the countryside, while an evil witch plotted to destroy everything.
On the back of my ragged edition of The Fellowship of the Ring is a picture of JRR Tolkien smoking a pipe. Even at a young age, I thought, “That’s what I want!” No, not the pipe. Though it would be cool to have it sans tobacco. I wanted to have my picture on the back of a book that was filled with fantasy characters, adventure, good, evil, magic, and elves. Since that time I have been writing books and chasing after my own characters and epic tales. So I’m thankful for that first inspiration.
When I was around ten years old, I read everything I could get my hands on. This book fell into my mental lap and, though it was intended for an older audience, the puns and wit taught me how funny a fantastical world could be. I mean it has everything: a chameleon (who is actually three people), ghosts, zombies, witch battles, and more puns than you can shake a wand at. The protagonist, Bink, is born without an obvious magical talent, which is illegal in Xanth so he is exiled to Mundania where he is captured by an outcast wizard who wants to use him to invade Xanth. Written in the late 1970s, the book is a little dated but still immensely entertaining and the first of many Xanth books. It’s truly a cornucopia of wordplay.
BEST NOVEL OF THE YEAR, BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY • Discover the magical beginning of Piers Anthony’s enthralling Xanth series
Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled—where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks.
For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some—and got some fast!—he would be exiled. Forever. But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I was talking to some scientifically minded people online when I came across quantum physics. When I read that there’s something scientists call the Quantum Realm, I knew I had to write a book. I took the information a German scientist who specialized in quantum theory gave me and created a science fantasy world. I have a masters in English and a bachelor's in communication. Two of the most important questions a fiction author can ask are What if? and Why not? Instead of having a regular guy fall into a magic world, I had the magician’s apprentice fall into a world of science just to see what he’d do.
I like the way Barker takes really bizarre characters like John Mischief and makes the reader relate to them in an unexpected way. What could be more human than an experience of unrequited love. In Abarat, the lord of midnight falls in love with the princess of day. He’s a really evil guy, but his falling in love is still believable because he’s thinking about the joining of night and day. I’m glad Barker didn’t try to get me to feel sorry for him by showing how his mother locked him in a closet when he was a little boy. That is so boilerplate.
A dazzling fantasy adventure for all ages, the first of a quartet.
Abarat: an archipelago of amazement and wonder. A land made up of twenty-five islands, each one representing one hour of the day, each one a unique place of adventure and danger (and one mysterious place out of time), all ruled over by the evil Christopher Carrion, Lord of Midnight, and his monstrous grandmother, Mater Motley.
Candy Quackenbush, a 16-year old from Chickentown, Minnesota, crosses by accident from our world into Abarat, and discovers she has been there many, many times before. She has friends there and she has…
I’ve been writing fantasy for two decades now and still, I can’t resist a foul-mouthed rogue with a grubby soul. They’re usually the most entertaining characters to write and in the long days of plugging away at a book, they’re often the ones that remind you what’s so fun about the job. When I started Stranger of Tempest it was (pretty much solely) with that in mind – I wanted a disparate band of crazed, badass idiots to go on an adventure with and see where it took me. Of course, as I got to know them I found there was more to their tales than that, but it was fun right to the end!
The Raven is your classic band of mercs, a found-family of warriors caught up in world-ending levels of chaos. This is much more 90s style fantasy and unashamedly so – serious, sword-swinging, spell-casting stuff. As a result, you have to buy into that a bit given how the genre has changed, but at the same time, the series is all about the consequences of actions rather than any pretence about happily ever after so there’s real meat to it.
ELITE, UNSTOPPABLE ... AND HIRED TO DO THE UNTHINKABLE
The Raven are an elite. Formed of six men and an elf, they're swords for hire in the wars that have torn their land apart. For years their only loyalty has been to themselves, and to their code.
But that time is coming to an end. The Wytch Lords have escaped and The Raven find themselves fighting for the Dark College of magic, on a mission which soon becomes a race for the secret location of Dawnthief. It's a spell - one created to end the…
While I love a good romance, I was disappointed to discover how few novels are written about friendship. In so many books, friends take a backseat to the love interest, or to the plot; it’s hard, outside of fiction aimed at children, to find stories that treat friendship as pivotal to a character’s life as friendship usually is in normal life. I love stories that show us what that kind of friendship looks like, and how it can matter… which is why I write them.
Harrier, son of a harbormaster, and Tiercel, nobleman’s son, make for exactly the kind of friendship you often see in real life, where one of the pair’s a dreamer and the other a pragmatist, and they need one another for balance. Their friendship remains central to all three books of this series, keeping them sane as they take on an impossible world-saving task.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory teamed up to write The Obsidian Trilogy, set in a wondrous world filled with magical beings, competing magic systems, and a titanic struggle between good and evil.
That world proved so popular with the creators and readers alike that Lackey and Mallory have returned to it with The Phoenix Unchained, Book One of The Enduring Flame, the opening volume of a new epic fantasy trilogy. After a thousand years of peace, much Magick has faded from the world. The Elves live far from humankind. There are no…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
Children have vivid imaginations, and while mine was initially drawn to science fiction, I discovered my true passion for fantasy upon reading The Hobbit as a teenager. Since that day, escaping into fantasy worlds—whether it be through books, movies, TV, roleplaying, and video games—became my passion and hobby, leading me down many roads, including writing game reviews, a short story, a novel, and an extensive collection of fantasy-related replicas and statues. Ultimately, that endless feeling of wonder and exploration, adventure and danger is what convinced me to become an author; these five books sitting at the top of a long list that inspired me to reach that goal.
When a book in a beloved and lengthy series like the Shannara novels starts off with a tantalizing promise of finally exploring beyond the borders of the familiar map of the Four Lands, I simply couldn’t resist the lure of delving deeper and farther into Brooks’ world than ever before.
I absolutely love fantasy maps, finding them to be a critical component of any novel in that genre, and as fun as it is to methodically visit each location on them, I’m always wondering about what lies beyond the edges.
The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy, which begins with Ilse Witch, accomplishes that in a way that left me begging for more, and not a little sad when it was over, and the heroes finally returned to the Four Lands.
Set a generation after THE TALISMANS OF SHANNARA, ILSE WITCH begins a new, five-book SHANNARA series. When the mutilated body of an elf is found floating in the sea, an old mystery resurfaces. Thirty years ago, an elven prince led an expedition in search of a legendary magic said to be more ancient, more powerful, than any in the world. None of the expedition's members ever returned... But the rescued elf carries a map which only one man has the skill to decipher: Walker Boh, last of the Druids. And one other understands the map's significance - the Ilse Witch,…
I am a 68-year-old Emergency Room Physician who deals with life and death and tremendous stress every hour at work. When I read, I want to relax and be entertained I personally like YA fantasy books. I do not want to read adult fictionized stories about the life I live every day. I want to be taken off to a new world. Emersed in it. And made to believe the unbelievable.
The Royal Institute of Magic was a story that was character driven. Victor Kloss did such a great job distinguishing each character from the other that I felt I knew them personally. At the end of each book, I found myself ordering up the next installment because I wanted to find out what happened to each character and how they grew into adults and as friends. It was pure entertainment.
Like most normal people, Ben hadn't the faintest idea there was an Institute of Magic...
Two years after his parents’ sudden disappearance, Ben Greenwood stumbles upon a cryptic letter that could shed some light on their whereabouts. But before he can track them down, he’ll need to find the mysterious organization that sent the letter:
The Royal Institute of Magic.
To succeed, Ben will have to navigate a land filled with fantastic creatures and Spellshooters, where magic can be bought and sold, to unravel an ancient family secret that could hold the key to defeating an evil the Institute has…
I spent the better part of a decade honing my writing skills and pushing the bounds of imagination after my debut fantasy novel Mercury Dagger - A Tale From Kraydenia. When I am not off exploring the wilds of Australia, I am dreaming up new adventures and monsters to cause chaos in a fantastical world filled with twists, loyalty, honour, and great and terrible battles.Originally from South Africa, I have travelled the African continent, visiting numerous countries, seeing first-hand the differences in many cultures who roam the lands and found it fascinating. It is this fascination that inspires my love for creating new characters and finding out what makes them tick.
Stunning character visualization and world-building make for a good read. Throw in some good humor, some daring fights and beasts to slay, and a plot filled with twists and you have yourself a great read. Andrzej Sapkowski has done a fantastic job of carving great characters for your enjoyment.
This collection of articles concerning the economic development of Africa was written by a group of scholars who are experienced in African societies and are knowledgeable about African needs. This experience and knowledge allows the authors to improve the focus on subjects like productivity, rural development, and transportation along with social and political issues involved in African developmental problems. The work consists of three parts: a general introduction, a section focusing on theoretical perspectives, and a section on practical problems. Since much of the work is derived from original research, it is unique in its treatment of the subject. The…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I love books that entertain and uplift when characters learn and overcome. As a teenager, things happened that threw me into a painful tailspin, ending in a wilderness program for troubled kids. It taught me that I can do hard things and face challenges in life. I’ve lost loved ones, have a special needs child, divorced, been broke, earned my black belt, returned to school as a single mom for a degree, and co-founded a nonprofit to support literacy for kids. None of that was easy, but it increased my compassion and hope. Stories can be powerful reminders of human resilience, and that battle scars make someone more beautiful than before.
This paranormal fantasy follows a story about what is possible when family and friends unite against evil. I stayed up late to finish reading–it really grabbed me!
I had to know how Lucy would overcome a very dark and scary generational curse. Don’t we all want to know how to do that on some level? I love the idea of breaking chains and having hope in an unseen future. I think it’s easy to feel doomed to whatever fate has been programmed in us–but there is always hope where there is love. It was a fun read.
For fans of Beautiful Creatures and Wicked Lovely comes this New York Times Bestselling modern fairy tale from National Book Award Finalist Nancy Werlin.
Inspired by the classic folk ballad “Scarborough Fair,” this wonderfully riveting novel is rife with suspense, romance, and fantasy. Seventeen-year-old Lucy discovers that she is the latest recipient of a generations-old Elvin curse that requires women in her family to complete three impossible tasks or risk falling into madness and passing the curse on to the next generation. Unlike her ancestors, Lucy has the support of her fiercely protective adoptive parents, and her best friend Zach,…
