During a moment of boredom, I decided to come up with a list of my five favorite fantasy books. I’ve adopted a very broad definition of ‘fantasy:’ basically, it’s anything that has some sort of supernatural events in the plot.
(1) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke. This is, without
a doubt, one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. Clarke does a great job of blending high fantasy with 18th century England. The world she created is one of the richest fictional worlds I’ve ever encountered. The historian in me also loves her ability to use real people and events to build her story.
(2) The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. Okay, this isn’t one book, but I’m lumping the three of them together because they’re all great reads. Like Susannah Clarke, Stroud is quite good at world building and his alternate reality England where magicians rule is quite interesting. He also takes a risk by telling the story from multiple perspectives and, for the most part, it pays off. The chapters from Bartimaeus’s perspective are especially fun to read, as the djinn has a fabulously snarky sense of humor.
(3) The Scroll of Saqqara by Pauline Gedge. This novel is a retelling of part of the famous Setna cycle of Demotic stories (a reasonably good translation of the original Egyptian text may be found here.) It is the story of Prince Khaemwaset, who seeks and finds the legendary Book of Thoth, only to suffer 
the most dire consequences for himself and his family. Gedge does a great job of staying true to the original source material, while still putting her own mark on the subject. The twist ending is one of my all-time favorites.
(4) Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance. This is more of a short story collection than a novel, but all the stories are interrelated. Vance is one of the most technically proficient writers I’ve ever read. He manages to use advanced and unusual vocabulary without coming across as an over-writing hack like Lovecraft. Of all the stories in the collection, “Liane the Wayfarer” is probably my favorite.
(5) War in Heaven by Charles Williams. This is probably the oddest book on the list. Ostensibly, the plot revolves around the Holy Grail, but this is worlds away from Indiana Jones. Much of the novel is devoted to exploring themes of Christian Neoplatonism and, if you can get past the dense, philosophical passages, you’ll find an enjoyable story. This novel has the most memorable opening line I’ve ever seen: “The telephone bell was ringing wildly, but without result, since there was no one in the room but the corpse.”
What about you: what are your top five fantasy books?
Codex Lochianus 