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TIME's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

Beginning in 2019, TIME recruited a panel of leading fantasy authors to join staff in nominating the top fantasy books: Tomi Adeyemi, Cassandra Clare, Diana Gabaldon, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, N.K. Jemisin, George R.R. Martin, and Sabaa Tahir (They didn't nominate their own work!). Starting with 250 nominees, TIME editors narrowed it down to 100 based on key factors like originality, ambition, artistry, critical and popular reception, and influence on the fantasy genre and literature itself. Some titles may be available through Interlibrary Loan.

100 items

The Arabian Nights
Tales From a Thousand and One Nights
eBook, 2004New York : Modern Library, 2004, c2001.
Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory
View on gutenberg.org
Free ebook through Project Gutenberg.
Web resource
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898
Book, 2004New York : Sterling Pub., c2004.
Through the Looking Glass
Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898
eBook, 2015[S.I.] : Project Gutenberg, 2015.
Five Children and It
Nesbit, E. (Edith), 1858-1924
Book, 2010New York : Random House, 2010.
Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
View on gutenberg.org
Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by Project Gutenberg.
Web resource
Mary Poppins
Travers, P. L. (Pamela Lyndon), 1899-1996
Book, 1997San Diego : Harcourt Brace & Co., 1997, c1981.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963
Book, 2005New York : HarperEntertainment, c2005.
The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola
View on wikipedia.org
Web resource
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963
Book, 2010New York : HarperFestival, c2010.
The Fellowship of the Ring
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973
Book, 2004Boston : Houghton Mifflin, c2004.
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola
View on wikipedia.org
Web resource
The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973
Book, 2005Boston : Houghton Mifflin, [2005]
The Return of the King
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Book, 1978[Place of publication not identified] : [Houghton Mifflin], [1978]
A Hero Born
a Novel
Jin, Yong, 1924-2018,
Book, 2019New York : St. Martin's Press New York, 2019.
James and the Giant Peach
a Children's Story
Dahl, Roald
Book, 1996New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, c1996.
The Phantom Tollbooth
Juster, Norton, 1929-2021
Book, 1989New York : Random House, c1989.
A Wrinkle in Time
L'Engle, Madeleine
Book, 2005New York : Yearling, c2005.
The Wandering Unicorn by Manuel Mujica Lainez
View on wikipedia.org
Web resource

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TIME's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

The Arabian Nights

Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Through the Looking Glass

Five Children and It

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Mary Poppins

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Fellowship of the Ring

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola

The Lord of the Rings

The Return of the King

A Hero Born

The Once and Future King

James and the Giant Peach

The Phantom Tollbooth

A Wrinkle in Time

The Wandering Unicorn by Manuel Mujica Lainez