12 Immersive Fantasies With Fascinating Lore

Immersive Fantasy Books: Our 12 Picks

Fun Activities For Fantasy Fans

• Host a magical movie night
• Enter a Magic: The Gathering tournament
• Play a fantasy video game with friends
• Use a Ouija board to contact the spirits
• Create a cosplay of your favorite character
• Have a board game night
• Podcast about your favorite show, movie, or book
• Host a Dungeons and Dragons campaign

8 Great Fantasy Movies

1. Coraline (2009)
2. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
3. Underworld (2003)
4. The Lord of the Rings (2001)
5. Age of the Dragons (2011)
6. Excalibur (1981)
7. The Dark Crystal (1982)
8. The Princess Bride (1987)

Common Fantasy Tropes

The possibilities in this genre are endless, and no two authors create exactly the same world. Still, there are several common tropes that writers love to come back to again and again, sometimes adding their own unique twists. Here are a few beloved fantasy staples:

• Magic
• Hero
• Dark Lord
• The Epic Quest
• Medieval Setting & Folklore
• Dragons
• Fairies
• Giants
• The Chosen One
• Prophecies

Classic Fantasy vs Modern Fantasy

In Depth

Fantasy has the ability to draw readers into an entirely new world. A talented author can create a fictional universe that feels as complicated and fully realized as the one we live in, and an essential part of that is coming up with rich and interesting lore to flesh out the background of the story. Here, in no particular order, are twelve novels that take place in complex, detailed settings.

At #1 is Ruth Emmie Lang's "Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance." Weylyn Grey's life has not been a normal one: he was raised by wolves, and his companion is a horned pig named Merlin. Even stranger, he has mysterious abilities that enable him to stop storms and speak to animals. He wanders through Oklahoma, leaving a trail of stories behind him. His one regret is abandoning his true love Mary, afraid that his powers might harm her. As he moves in and out of other people's lives, leaving them forever changed, his path leads him inexorably back to her.

At the #2 spot is "This World Bites" by Loni Townsend. Cera is searching the universe for a way to cure her father's coma. She has just landed on a strange new world when her guardian Michael is bitten by a zombie. Cera is determined to find a way to prevent him from succumbing to the disease and joining the army of the undead. As she searches the planet for a cure, she encounters vampires, witches, ghosts, and more.

Cera is searching the universe for a way to cure her father's coma.

At #3 is "Gods of Manhattan" by Scott Mebus. When a magician plays a trick on him, thirteen-year-old Rory Hennessey is given the ability to see a strange and magical world that lies hidden below the surface of New York. The realm called Mannahatta is full of cockroach warriors and papier-mache children. Its rulers are the immortal Gods of Manhattan themselves, figures such as Alexander Hamilton and Babe Ruth. But the ability to see Mannahatta is a dangerous gift, and shadowy forces begin to seek out Rory so they can use his power for their own ends.

In the #4 position is "Hunter of Legends" by Clayton Taylor Wood. Hunter has the ability to bend those around him to his will. The despotic King Tykus is searching for him, intent on either killing him or turning him into a living weapon. On the run, Hunter encounters Vi, a warrior woman with the same power as himself who agrees to teach him the art of swordplay. Hunter must endure her merciless tutelage if he is to have any hope of defeating Tykus and escaping with his life.

At #5 is "The Complete Stonewylde," which collects all five novels in the titular series by Kit Berry. Hidden in the heart of Dorset, Stonewylde seems to be nothing less than an idyllic paradise, where people live in harmony with the land and follow the ancient pagan traditions of their ancestors. Sylvie and her mother flee to the community to escape the pollution of the modern world and are warmly welcomed by the leader, Magus. But as Sylvie finds friendship with a rebellious local boy, she discovers that her new home may be hiding dangerous magical secrets.

Sylvie and her mother flee to the community to escape the pollution of the modern world and are warmly welcomed by the leader, Magus.

At #6 is "I Call Myself Earth Girl" by Jan Krause Greene. Gloria Geist is a forty-six-year-old woman who suddenly discovers that she is inexplicably pregnant. Her husband, absent for months, cannot be the baby's father. Simultaneously, Gloria begins to have dreams about a mysterious young woman named Earth Girl, who tells her about her experience of being kidnapped and raped. Gradually, Gloria comes to believe that she is somehow carrying Earth Girl's baby, and that her dreams may hold the key to saving the human race from self-destruction.

At #7 is "The Way Into Chaos" by Harry Connolly. Peradain is the capital city of a mighty empire. When it is attacked by occult creatures, however, it falls in a day and the empire disintegrates. As the former territories struggle for power, the magical invasion spreads. The last prince of Peradain, sole survivor of his family, must cross the ruins of his kingdom to find a spell that might be capable of defeating the attackers and saving the world.

In the #8 spot is "A Thread in the Tangle" by Sabrina Flynn. Isiilde is a nymph, born with a mysterious affinity for fire. As a faerie, she is condemned to be sold as a possession when she comes of age. To save her from this fate, her guardian Oenghus Saevaldr takes her to the Isle of Wise Ones. There, he petitions the leader of an order of seers for help. But Isiilde cannot be sheltered from the world forever, especially when three kingdoms are fighting to determine who will possess her and her power.

To save her from this fate, her guardian Oenghus Saevaldr takes her to the Isle of Wise Ones.

At #9 we have "Mud" by E.J. Wenstrom, the first entry in the "Chronicles of the Third Realm War." Adem is a golem, created to protect a strange box hidden in an abandoned temple. When the shrine is discovered by a young boy and his sister, Adem takes the box and leaves, determined to protect his new friends. The three encounter an angel, who offers to transform the golem into a human being and thereby release him from his charge. In exchange, however, Adem must venture into the Underworld to rescue the angel's human lover. His quest may threaten the barrier between realms, which is all that stands between reality and a catastrophic occult war.

At #10 is "The Book of M" by Peng Shepherd. In the near future, a bizarre phenomenon begins in India and quickly spreads across the world. Seemingly random people discover that their shadows have disappeared. Those who lose their shadows gain miraculous new abilities, but also begin to lose all their memories. Ory and Max, a married couple, attempt to escape the epidemic by living in the woods, but Max's shadow soon disappears as well. Desperate for a cure, Max runs away. Ory follows her across a war-torn landscape of bandits and cults, determined to salvage his marriage in the face of a disintegrating world.

At #11 is "Everflame" by Dylan Lee Peters. In ages past, beings known as The Ancients created mankind to protect the earth. The Great Tyrant, however, drove them away from their creation. In the present time, two bears living at the foot of a mountain find an abandoned child and name him Evercloud. When he is grown, he sets out on a mission to find The Ancients and return them to the world. At the same time, a strange white-clad man who calls himself The Messenger embarks on his own quest to keep The Ancients from ever returning to the realm.

In ages past, beings known as The Ancients created mankind to protect the earth.

At #12 is "Division of the Marked" by March McCarron. On the day of Da Un Marcu, fifty children are marked with an enigmatic brand. Those who are selected join the Chisanta, a group of scholars and fighters gifted with supernatural powers. After Yarrow is marked, he becomes friends with Bray, an energetic young girl. Their lives are soon disrupted by a series of murders and disappearances, and they grow apart. Ten years later, they are brought back together to investigate the killing of a marked girl.