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The Fantasy genre is huge and is continuously growing. It’s the obvious choice if you want to escape from reality. Yes, some of those worlds may be more dangerous than ours, but at least it seems less boring. Below are my top pics on what to read depending on your age. Here is my guide of Fantasy books for beginners.
Ages 7 – 15 Fantasy Books for Beginners
These are the books that you should read if you are not an adult. They do not include any content that may concern parents. They are also great gateways into the fantasy genre. Young and old should enjoy these titles. So don’t feel limited if you are over 15.
Harry Potter Series
Well this is the obvious choice J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. It brought a generation back into reading. Children and adults a like would queue up to buy the latest release to see how Harry and friends are getting on in the wizard world.
For me, it was a gateway to enjoying reading. The books we read during our Literature classes were boring old titles, such as Shakespeare (He really isn’t that great) and Dickens which was meh to be honest. My best friend at the time would compete with me to read all the books. Unfortunately for us, not all of them had been released yet.
Harry Potter is a wizard living a non-magic life. His parents were killed when he was still a baby. And was sent to live with his Auntie and Uncle. For the next 10 years they treat Harry like a slave. While spoiling their son of the same age.
Leading up to his birthday he starts receiving letters. What follows is a series of events that introduce Harry and the reader to the wizarding world. It isn’t long until he gets to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It’s a great book that not only has the fantasy theme, but also explores the coming of age of a young boy to a almost an adult.
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The Hobbit
The Hobbit is written by the late J R R Tolkien. It centres around a young Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit. Hobbits are shorter than humans but look very similar. Hobbits are notorious for keeping out of other races business and having a relaxing life.
That all changes when the Wizard Gandalf appears. Then shortly follows is a band of dwarves who recruit Bilbo into their little adventure to reclaim their homeland from the dreaded dragon Smaug.
This is the prequel to the Lord of The Rings Trilogy and introduces the reader to characters that play a pivotal role in the trilogy. Such as Gandalf, and the necromancer.
This book is far easier to read than the trilogy since it is aimed at 11 years old. I would certainly recommend this over the trilogy regardless of age.
I originally read this book back in school and I unfortunately ruined the ending by seeing the last few pages by accident. I let enough time past before reading it again.
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Adult (May have mature themes) Fantasy Books for Beginners
So these book are for more mature audiences. They won’t necessarily be filled to the brim with adult themes. But its best to wait until your an adult so you can understand the mindset of the characters
The Farseer Trilogy
I’ve already mentioned Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy in a previous post, But for a quick summary. FitzChivalry is the protagonist. An illegitimate son of a future king.
What follows is magic, plots and intrigue that gets more wild and crazy as the books go on. It is a great series and one of the only one’s that I’ve read more than once. I’m halfway through the final book and I cannot wait to get started with the next trilogy.
The Broken Empire
Mark Lawrence, author of Red Sister, debut series The Broken Empire is a great read. And follows the adventures of Jorg Ancrath a prince and next in line for throne.
Only he isn’t, on a routine journey with his family minus his King. The carriages are attacked by bandits. His brother and mother are both killed. While Jorg finds himself trapped in a thorny bush. He survives hence being called the Prince of Thorns.
Jorg joins a group of bandits who he later calls his brothers. They spend their days pillaging and drinking to pass away the time. The morals of once a prince slowly disappear and are replaced with a fierce murderer.
He eventually makes his way back to his father’s castle to find that his mother has been replaced and so has he. Though he is allowed to live in the castle.
This is just the start of the first book, and Jorg goes to war with a lot of different enemies. He doesn’t believe in fighting fairly if the easiest way to win is to play dirty.
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