ByDanielD
The word “fantasy” often brings to mind a handful of tropes: dragons and princesses, a chosen one and a powerful sword, knights and castles and wizards with staves. But the truth is, there’s a wealth of wonderful worlds in contemporary fantasy. From wise-cracking skeleton detectives to epic reimaginings of the hero’s journey, the past few decades are full of original, inventive series to enjoy. And a series can be particularly nice to dig into, because if you like the first book, your experience doesn’t have to end just yet!
We’ve collected ten modern fantasy series in this article, with an effort made to offer a wide variety of styles, and with a focus on series that either have a unique setting, a unique approach, or both. If you’re looking for serious fantasy literature, or if you want something light and silly, there’s something on this list for you (light and silly starts at Dresden Files). All of the series are summarized in detail below, but for now, in no particular order, here are 10 of the best, most unique modern fantasy series:
Don’t be too overwhelmed by the size of the series — the main Malazan Book of the Fallen series is “only” 10 books. However, Erikson’s series is supplemented by his own side novels, plus the works of Esslemont, who is Erikson’s partner in creating the world of Malazan. Said world is a fascinating blend of typical fantasy tropes and fresh concepts: while there are dragons and knights, there are also magical warrens from which sorcerers both draw their power and travel through, Ascended gods who meddle in the affairs of men, and more unique races than you can shake a stick at. Forget orcs and elves, we’ve got Tiste Edur and Tiste Andii, T’lan Imass and Jaghut — and they aren’t just reskinned orcs and elves, but their own unique concepts with fully fleshed out histories and cultures. It can be overwhelming at first, but readers prepared and willing to engage with the complex world of Malazan will be richly rewarded.
The Stormlight Archive is similar to the Malazan Book of the Fallen in that its 10 (planned) books, but there are over a dozen related stories you can read to get deeper into the world. Even if you don’t dive into the Cosmere at large, however, Stormlight Archive has plenty to offer on its own. The planet of Roshar is very unique, featuring a landscape shaped by an immensely powerful magic storm that tears across the planet on a regular basis. Plants hide in cracks, or else build shells to weather the storm, and most of the animals resemble some form of crab — basically, everything on Roshar has a shell.
The magic system is equally original, though without getting into spoiler territory all we can really say is features very unique strengths, limitations, and power sources. The first book follows a soldier turned slave, a vicious general changing his ways, and a young woman torn between scholarship and thievery, but the series as a whole eventually expands to follow a wider set of characters (to varying degrees).
Another massive series, The First Law ends up a bit more approachable than our previous recommendations in that the first three books make up a distinct trilogy. Said trilogy takes place in the Circle of the World, a land where magic has nearly been forgotten as the world modernizes. A war between three major powers is unfolding, however the focus, of the books is on the wide cast of characters and how they navigate the war and its many fronts. Abercrombie’s writing is a clear effort to modernize the fantasy genre, while also blending western elements into the mix. Characters are notably gritty and morally grey, with the line between villains and heroes often fuzzy.
This series is notably different from many of the others on this list in that its scope is significantly smaller. The eponymous Gentlemen Bastards, as thieves, are only really concerned with themselves, which narrows the focus of the books significantly. Which in turn means we get to simply sit back and enjoy as Locke Lamora and his little band of thieves rob from the rich in an entertaining and often humorous fashion. The setting is inventive, with the first book taking place in a magical version of Venice — a city not built by the humans that inhabit it, but left behind by an ancient and powerful race that are now gone. The real originality lies, however, in how Lynch blends a sort of Oceans 11, Robin Hood style set of stories with a fairly fresh fantasy setting.
More than one book makes something a series, right? There was no way this wasn’t going on the list in any case. Gene Wolfe is an incredible writer, and his take on high fantasy is just as dense, confusing, and rewarding as his other series are. The first person narrative of Able of the High Heart, an American boy who suddenly finds himself an adult in an unfamiliar world of magic, is sometimes confused, fragmentary, and hard to follow — but this only serves to make the story feel more like an actual story told by a real person. The world of Wizard Knight has a lot of the familiar tropes, but presented in such a skillful, literary (and sometimes confusing) way that it feels new.
The setting is a real blend of magic and ancient religions; Norse mythology meets Arthurian myth with plenty of other stuff mixed in. The result is somehow both immediately recognizable and completely alien. Combined with the unique first person voice Wolfe employs, Wizard Knight serves as both a love letter and a deconstruction of the typical fantasy story, as well as the hero’s journey.
While books that feature epic battles are well represented on this list, the Long Price series offers a different kind of struggle, on a smaller scale. Abraham’s focus in this series is on characters and the decisions they make, and the (often messy) consequences of those decisions. That’s not to say that there aren’t big-picture things happening — many of the characters are important and powerful figures — but the focus here is more granular than many fantasy series.
This doesn’t mean Abraham doesn’t offer a wide perspective, however. In fact, the title of the series reflects the “long price” of decisions, and each book is set 15 years after the previous book, allowing the author to showcase the consequences of choices both minor and major. Despite this long view, the Long Price is notably pithier than most fantasy series, with each book in the quartet clocking in at less than 400 pages. We haven’t even mentioned the magic yet, but it’s pretty one-of-a-kind, with poet-sorcerers able to capture and wield human thought.
Broken Earth is, like Wizard Knight, almost more “lit” literature than strictly fantasy. This is in large part due to the book being narrated in the second person, and in Jemisin’s unwillingness to give the reader the full picture very often. Folks willing to meet the books on their terms, however, will be rewarded with an incredibly well-realized world. The people of the planet, who live on a single continent called the Stillness, must (ironically) contend with regular earthquakes, and less frequent but more devastating climactic upheavals every few centuries, called the Fifth Season.
On the Stillness alongside regular humans are the orogenes, people born with the ability to sense these upheavals, and even control them to some degree. While usually, life goes on after a Fifth Season, the one during the time of the novels seems to be more terrible than any that comes before — how the three orogenes the books follow contend with this Fifth Season, and how it plays out, is the thrust of the novels.
Perhaps the premier modern Urban Fantasy series, the Dresden Files follow private detective and wizard Harry Dresden as he investigates strange and supernatural happenings in modern-day Chicago. His assistant is a talking skull that sits on a shelf and demands romance novels in exchange for its deep knowledge of wizarding lore. The world remains mostly unaware of the wizards, vampires, and werewolves amongst them, as both the good guys and the baddies both keep up the charade.
A mix of fantasy and hard-boiled detective novels, the Dresden Files don’t take themselves quite as seriously as some of the other series on this list. The jokes can be a bit corny, and Butcher has been accused of not always being a stellar writer (especially the first few novels), but if you’re looking for a fun romp through a magical modern era, Dresden Files will do ya.
This series — and the LitRPG genre as a whole — are the perfect fantasy books for fans of role playing games. Dungeon Crawler Carl was formerly Coast Guard Marine Technician Carl, but then aliens show up to Earth and atomize the whole planet, using the pieces to create a planetary-scale dungeon. This is all in the name of a galaxy-wide reality TV show Dungeon Crawler World, and this season it’s Dungeon Crawler World: Earth. Carl can reclaim Earth and its resources, but only if he makes it to the end of the Dungeon.
You can probably tell from the premise that these are silly books, and yes, there is a lot of humor in them. But just because the character quickly ends up wearing his boxer shorts and bare feet to min-max his build, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a well thought out world with its own internal politics and logic here as well.
While in some ways an urban fantasy like Dresden Files, Skulduggery Pleasant sets itself apart from other urban fantasies both with its unique take on magic powers, and with its particular blend of humor, dark themes, and heartfelt moments. Like the Harry Potter books, the stories start out fairly simple and silly, but get more serious as the series go on and the characters evolve — while never losing the humor. The relationship between the new-to-magic Valkyrie and her skeleton wizard mentor Skulduggery is often noted as one of the highlights of the series.
The magic system in Skulduggery Pleasant draws from many classic sources of inspiration, including LeGuin’s Earthsea series, while also offering plenty of fresh ideas in the specifics of how magic works in the world — though the author has been criticized for failing to stick to his original explanation of how said magic works. That’s OK though, because we’re mostly here for Irish-style sarcasm.
Read any of these, or got a favorite contemporary fantasy series we didn’t include? Let us know in the comments!
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