Books like The Last Continent

This was the first book to truly wreck me in the best way.

The stakes felt so personal—the slow unraveling of safety, the sacrifices, the loss of innocence. It taught me how finales can be harrowing, heavy, and yet still hopeful. It’s a study in how to end a journey with weight and wonder.

I am cheating here on two counts. Firstly, I’m not recommending a single book but actually TWENTY NINE books and counting! Secondly, it’s not strictly fantasy; however, when a lowly street orphan ends up featuring in every major battle from 1799 through to 1821 whilst also playing a pivotal role in each one, I reckon even Gandalf, after coming back from the dead and riding saddle-less for days on end would look at Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Sharpe and think “Hmm, bit far-fetched.”

But this is the reason why I love Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe books. Richard Sharpe is an outcast in his own army, a victim of bullying and constantly underestimated, only to battle through dirt and smoke to prove all the posh snobs wrong every time. Here’s to the thirtieth!

Oh dear, I’m cheating again. Sort of. This isn’t really fantasy, either. It’s an adventure for young adults featuring teenage spy Alex Rider. But I love it too much to care, and besides, cheating is cool, kids! But there’s a specific reason why I’m finishing this list with Stormbreaker. Despite its exciting action, the book is written as a relatable and grounded affair. Alex Rider is an ordinary kid with ordinary problems. He’s ginger, often lonely, underestimated, and regularly cast aside. He’s relatable and that’s why I loved the books.

The film adaptation is a ridiculous charade of impossible stunts starring an incredibly handsome blonde-haired model and it feels like someone threw up confetti over a story that actually meant something to me. Fifteen-year-old me was justified in throwing his popcorn at the screen.

From a book series that everyone has heard of to a book series even I forgot existed! Seriously, it was difficult to find these books again, but as a teenager, I devoured Mike Carey’s urban fantasy series about freelance exorcist Felix Castor. 

They’re so irreverent, so bolshy, and absolutely not what I expected when I was looking for a new fantasy. These books are actually cool! The biggest problem Felix has is paying his rent until, of course, whatever case he’s given upends his life and drags him into worlds of cultish magic, thuggish villains, and difficult decisions.

As a bonus, after digging these up, I have discovered another book has been added to the series, so I’ve cleared my schedule and apologized yet again to my TBR pile.

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld hooked me from the very first pages—cliché as that may sound, it’s true. Virtually the entire book (as well as others from the Discworld) I read with a smile on my face.

Pratchett’s unique humor, his satirical take on human nature, the imaginative world of Discworld, and his reflections on reality come together in a brilliant mix that made me read… and read… and read.

I said I would limit myself to two Discworld books, so here we have my other favourite. This is quite an early one, before the world is fully formed, but the portrayal of the wizards and their University is beginning to emerge, full of chaos and joy and demented energy. But again, this madcap, surreal mania is corralled masterfully, the characters feeling like real people with real agency, moving through a world that—while full of vivid colours and impossible, surreal things—is also somehow solid and real. It is a testament to Pratchett’s incredible storytelling powers that Ankh Morpork is more real to me than several cities I have actually, physically visited. It is unreal and yet hyper-real at the same time. You should go visit. It is wonderful. 

How should I describe the voice of Patricia McKillip? Her words are meticulously chosen to show an opulent and fantastical world. I have sometimes tried to imitate her, but I just can't keep it up for long.  

In this stand-alone novel, the witch Sybel lives alone on Eld Mountain. She has inherited or captured and tamed a handful of incredible, magical beasts. These are all the company she needs, until she is asked to care for a king's lost heir. Soon she is no longer able to remain aloof from the world. 

In subsequent readings, I've been struck by Sybel's frustration that people won't leave her out of their drama. They think she owes them her time and attention. Can't we all relate to that?

As a proud Ravenclaw, I would be remiss if I didn’t include Harry Potter in this list. But why The Goblet of Fire? Honestly, because that was my favorite book in the series. Well, Order of the Phoenix could have had that title, but someone had to go and kill Sirius Black. 

When I first encountered Harry Dresden, a professional wizard solving a double homicide in Chicago, I was instantly hooked by its noir, fantasy, and traditional mystery with dollops of humor. This novel—the first in The Dresden File series—kept me engaged the entire time with a fast-moving plot and interesting characters.

I could see in my mind’s eye Chicago’s skyscrapers and their reflection in Lake Michigan as Harry dug deeper into the crimes and the supernatural world. This was my first urban fantasy read, and Butcher’s ability to blend a private investigator story with the supernatural ensured it was not my last.

This was the first fantasy recommendation I ever got from my dad. He saw me taking an interest in stories with castles, knights, wizards, and kings and knew just the book from his favorite author to put in my hands.

I hadn’t had any experience with Stephen King before this, and I found that his prose was friendly and familiar to me; the story itself is good, a solid entry into the genre, and I found the intrigues of the villain to be the most interesting part of the story. It turns out that the King (ha) of horror can write a fine fantasy story, too.