Top Fantasy Authors Recommend Books for You

"Obviously, most fantasy novels tend to opt out of the idea that fiction should play by the same rules as the real world. And that’s all well and good. But the thing about reality is that it has a lot of integrity to it. It has hard rules, and it tends to keep to them. For me, great fantasy has to have its own, separate integrity, its own rules and logic and grammar, and it has to stick to them just as much as realism sticks to reality. Because when we read fantasy, we should recognize those new rules, that new logic, and not from external reality but from somewhere inside us. After all, when people dream, they don’t dream in realism; they dream in fantasy. And when we write fantasy, we’re using that same dream logic. We're trying to speak back to that deep place where dreams come from, in its own native tongue. And when we succeed, it listens."

"Like unhappy families, every good book is good in its own way. A book is good for its daring structure or its adherence to classic beats, for its spare elegance or its extravagance. I have loved books for a single perfect metaphor and hated them for even less. When I think of all my favorite fantasy books, the only thing they really have in common is an emotion: a lifting in my chest, a wind at my back, as if I'm standing on the shore looking out at a wide green sea." 

"A great fantasy novel is not only a transporting experience but a transformative one. When you’ve finished a great fantasy novel, you realize that you’ve been offered two new worlds: the one found in its pages and the one that you are now looking at with new eyes."

"Use your imagination. This well-worn edict strikes at the heart of what a fantasy novel is. To me, the best fantasy uses reality as a springboard to create alternate pasts, presents, and futures that make us question not only who we are but why we are. That at any time, we can imagine ourselves into something infinitely better or horrifically worse. Ultimately, the best fantasy novels are mirrors reflecting our ability to effect change."

"Three spoons of adventure. No, two, and one of magic
Add a dash of mythic resonance
And characters, human or not
That is, of human interest
Because readers are human
Though characters can be
Anything, from sentient statue to
Anthropomorphic dog
Any story is better with dogs
And cats, particularly if they talk
Likewise owls, and naturally
Monsters add spice to the mix
You can swap any of the above
For other ingredients
If the book feels real
In every aspect
Setting, character, plot
If the author believes
So will the reader"