Featured: 10 Ways to Expand Your Bookshelf: Fantasy

Sometimes, you just want to get away and fantasy books can be great catalysts for that feeling. Through the words on the page, we can be transported to magical new worlds and realms, where anything can happen and your imagination is limitless! Check out these 10 amazing fantasy books just waiting to take you away on a new adventure.

1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien

The realm of Middle Earth is one adored by hundreds upon millions right across the globe! As the first volume of a book that has spurned a gargantuan fandom and a series of successful movie adaptations, The Fellowship of the Ring is a must-read for any fantasy fan. Follow hobbit Frodo Baggins as he takes the first steps in his epic journey to destroy the One Ring -- a ring which wields an incredible power -- before it can fall into the hands of those who will only use it for evil.

2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Another fantasy series that has been adapted for the screen -- this one a renowned television series -- A Game of Thrones is the first in a series of books that introduce the continents of Westeros and Essos. Three plots interweave throughout this book: the tale of the fight for the throne of Westeros, the story of those manning The Wall -- a massive construction that separates the wild North from the rest of the continent -- and the happenings in the east, where Essos is located. All three storylines introduce different characters, and are gripping right up until the very last word!

3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K Rowling

Everyone wants to be a wizard, right? You get a wand, magical powers and the ability to cast all kinds of spells. For Harry Potter, his introduction into the wizarding world is one that sees his parents killed and as a tiny baby, he is forced to live with his aunt and uncle in misery. When his letter comes through from Hogwarts, a wizarding school, his entire life is changed forever. As Harry negotiates the trials and tribulations that come along with his first year of wizard school, darker forces are at play -- forces that Harry himself has been faced with in the past. Now a wildly popular series adapted for the big screen, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the first of a series of books that have gripped the entire world.

4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

For those who believe in them, gods and other mythological creatures are absolutely, undeniably real. However what would you say if you were told that they were real, but they needed to be believed in to stay as tangible forces? American Gods toys with this idea of thoughtform through the tale of Shadow. After being released from prison, he takes on a job as a protective bodyguard for Mr. Wednesday -- or Odin, as he is better known as. With the power and belief in the Gods of old waning, Mr. Wednesday and Shadow must convince them to band together in a battle against the new Gods of the modern world before they are cast into the shadows and remembered no longer.

5. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

For twelve-year old Percy Jackson, life is completely average. However, on a school trip and after his ‘teacher’ turns into a furious beast, Percy finds a series of events leading him to the discovery of his own secret identity -- he is a demigod. As he settles in at Camp Half-Blood with the other demigods, he is tasked with a vitally important mission: to locate Zeus’s missing lightning bolt before a godly war breaks out.

6. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Whilst roaming around near the farm that he stays on with his uncle, fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a strange blue egg. A few months later, the egg cracks open to reveal a baby dragon. Eragon names this dragon Saphira, and everything seems to be well. Well, that is until a Shade and his cronies appear and try to get Saphira back. Eragon is thrust straight into a dangerous adventure that sees him become a Dragon Rider.

7. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

When a unicorn hidden safe in a forest is warned by a group of hunters that she may be the last of her kind, the mythical animal goes on a quest to try and discover what has happened. As she embarks on her journey, she discovers that the unicorns have been herded up by a mysterious creature known only as the Red Bull. As she continues on her quest of finding and saving her kind, she encounters untold dangers and strife.

8. The Magician’s Nephew by C.S Lewis

Although written after C.S Lewis’s classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Magician’s Nephew actually acts as a prequel to the well-loved book.
After surprising his Uncle Andrew in his study, Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer are tricked into touching magical rings which take them to a place they dub the Wood Between the Worlds -- a place where several pools lead into different worlds. After choosing to explore one of these other worlds, Digory and Polly set off a chain reaction of events that start the advent of the kingdom of Narnia -- villains and all.

9. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Mysterious and intriguing, Le Cirque des Rêves is a circus that appears and disappears with no set schedule and enthrals circus-goers with magical acts of whimsy and wonder. However, beneath the surface, the circus plays host to a dangerous and potentially fatal competition between two young magical protégés. These two young magicians are forced to compete against each other until one can no longer participate. As the competition rages around them, strange things start to happen in the circus, things which are unexplainable.

10. Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Life wasn’t good from the very beginning for Fitz. Cast out and ostracised because of his power of Wit -- the ability to talk to animals -- he is left to fend for himself. That is, until he is picked up by nobility. Born out of wedlock to a royal, he is accepted back into the family and is forced to learn new skills; skills that will ultimately leave him as a royal assassin.

Special thanks to losing control. and silent hearts. for editing!