Top 5 High Fantasy Series

Despite the fact that, at time of writing, most of my reviews are for some form of thriller, thriller actually is not my favorite literary genre. Fantasy, more specifically high-fantasy, is my favorite genre to read. Given that I needed a bit of a break from reviews for a little bit, I’ve decided to write about my five favorite high fantasy series.

By definition, high fantasy is defined as fantasy fiction set primarily in an alternative, entirely fictional world, rather than the real world. The fictional world is usually internally consistent but its rules differ in some way from those of the real world. Low fantasy, by contrast, takes place in the real world but has the inclusion of magical elements. The Mortal Instruments series is low fantasy; The Hobbit is high fantasy.

5) Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

The novels, beginning with A Wizard of Earthsea, take place in a world that is mostly ocean with humanity living on small islands. The world is inhabited by humans and dragons, with some humans being wizards or sorcerers. Unlike the other series on this list, humans and dragons are the only notable species that live in this world.

The first novel begins with a young boy, known as Duny but later named Ged, learning he has innate magical power. His aunt teaches him the little magic she knows, and one exhibition of his power gains the attention of a powerful mage. Unfortunately, Ged inadvertently releases a shadow creature. The rest of the novel follows Ged as he attempts to get ride of the creature plaguing him.

Earthsea is unique from two standpoints. One is the shifting of perspectives. There isn’t one protagonist across the series, unlike most book series. Characters from later books interact and meet characters from earlier novels, but the story isn’t focused on Ged and Ged alone. The second aspect that I feel makes Earthsea unique is its central theme about balance. Wizards in this world are meant to keep balance between the magical forces. Bad things don’t necessarily happen because someone evil causes it, they happen because they go against the balance that needs to be maintained. When I read this series, I found the concept of good and evil being more about choice than innate nature intriguing.

4) The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

I wasn’t aware of this series existence until the first two books, Eragon and Eldest had already been released. I read those two very quickly and eagerly awaiting the third novel Brisingr and later the fourth and final book Inheritance.

Taking place in the fictional world of Alagaesia, it chronicles the tale of a farmboy Eragon, who finds a dragon egg while hunting and becomes the first Dragon Rider since the evil king Galbatorix killed all the others one hundred years earlier. Eragon is then swept up a journey to end the evil king’s reign and restore the order of Dragon Riders.

The Inheritance Cycle has a lot of similarities with, and clearly the author was inspired by, older works, most notably J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. Alagaesia and many of its inhabitants are similar to Middle Earth and the different races of beings that live there. While the worlds may be the same, the plots differ quite bit. Eragon’s journey isn’t about defeating an ultimate evil, its about overthrowing a corrupt leader. The conflicts between the protagonists and antagonists in Eragon and the other novels in the series, begin on a more personal level than most fantasy novels.

3) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Some of you may believe this entry is cheating, since each book in the series starts with the main characters in the real world. However, given that the entirety of each book’s action and plot take place in the fictional land of Narnia, I’ve decided to include it.

The Chronicles of Narnia was actually the first high-fantasy series I read. A great deal of my love for it is no doubt a result of nostalgia from my childhood. These books will always hold a special place in my heart for being my introduction to fantasy as a genre. The allegories between events in Narnia and Christian theology are a lot more obvious as an adult, and Lewis has been criticized for some harmful stereotypes others have noticed in the novels, but this piece is neither the time nor the place to discuss that.

The world is expansive. There are different creatures throughout the world. There are humans, talking animals, minotaurs, sprites, and dozens of others. Magic exists in Narnia and the rules within the world are easy to understand and they stay consistent throughout There is the essential battle between Good and Evil, in various forms, throughout the series.

2) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

I think we all knew this one was going to be on here. No discussion about fantasy is complete anymore without mentioning A Song of Ice and Fire due to the popularity of Game of Thrones. (Just as an aside, I will only be discussing Martin’s novels here, and not any events from the television series). I’m not sure what I can say about Westeros that hasn’t already been said, but here we go.

Martin gives the reader a rich, expansive world with hundreds of unique characters. Of all of the fantasy worlds mentioned in this piece, Martin’s uses magic the least often. Magic does exist, but it only seems to come up in certain situations and can only be performed by certain characters. A Song of Ice and Fire first gained popularity due to how shockingly events played out. No characters are safe, anyone can be killed, which went against the common trope in fantasy that the protagonist wouldn’t and couldn’t get killed, regardless of how dangerous of a situation they found themselves in. The series popularity stems from the world, but mostly in Martin’s ability to shock readers and avoid tropes of the fantasy genre.

Another thing worth noting is that, outside of the threat of the Others/White Walkers, there isn’t a main villain or some greater evil that needs to be defeated. There are plenty of “bad guys” but outside of the Others, they’re all ordinary people. While a lot of the world is clearly inspired by Tolkien’s work, including some character archetypes, the themes of the novels center around human conflict as opposed to the battle between good and evil.

1)The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I really don’t think there was ever another option for my favorite fantasy series. While I have read all of these series more than once, The Lord of the Rings is the one I read the most often. Tolkien is the father of modern fantasy. Many of the tropes, themes and aspects of other fantasy worlds are based on, or at least inspired by, Tolkien’s works. Any discussion about lore and world-building would be incomplete without mentioning how much time, effort and thought went into creating the world of The Lord of the Rings. He created multiple constructed languages, and created multiple dialects each language. Middle Earth doesn’t just have a very long history going back thousands of years, it has its own creation myth.

But enough about how in-depth the lore goes, or how much effort and detail Tolkien put into his works. Let’s talk about the works themselves. The Lord of the Rings isn’t just my favorite fantasy story, its my favorite story period. The central conflict is a battle between good and evil, the quintessential need to defeat evil. Sauron is a pure evil force that can’t be reasoned with, can’t be talked down and the Fellowship needs to succeed because if they fail, the world falls into darkness. There isn’t a Chosen One, just a group of people banding together because they must and because defeating Sauron is what’s right. Even as the world gets darker, and evil gains a little more of a foothold, there’s never a point where there’s no hope. Even after members of the Fellowship get separated, they remain part of the same story, and impact the journey the others are having. They are one part of an ongoing story.

Tolkien changed the way fantasy was written, and unfortunately, that meant a number of the themes in his writing were ignored or swept under the rug in other works. When a work is compared to Tolkien, it usually refers to the worldbuilding, but not the core themes. The Lord of the Rings is about more than just elves, dwarves, talking trees and defeating evil. It’s about having hope, despite seemingly insurmountable odds. It’s about power, and how absolute power corrupts absolutely, and a little power corrupts a little. Mostly, its about how the smallest person can change the course of the future.

Those are my favorite high fantasy series. What are yours?