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Fantasy Books That Will Keep You Hooked From Start to Finish

Sarah Parker June 20, 2026

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Although tricky to pull off, fantasy is one of the most enjoyable genres when done right. It can transport readers to sprawling kingdoms, haunted cities, magical universities, and forgotten worlds filled with wonder and danger, keeping you flicking through hundreds of pages, desperate to find out what happens next.

With that in mind, this list looks at the fantasy books that keep readers invested from the very first page to the last. These triumphs of literature offer colorful characters, immersive settings, smooth prose, and compelling plots. In the process, they achieve what so few books do: ensuring that our attention basically never wavers.

‘The Way of Kings’ (2010)

The cover of the book 'The Way of Kings' by Brandon Sanderson. — The cover of the book ‘The Way of Kings’ by Brandon Sanderson.

“Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.” <em>The Way of Kings</em> is the first installment in Brandon Sanderson‘s gargantuan Stormlight Archive series (with 5 books published already, all door-stoppers). Set on the storm-ravaged world of Roshar, the book follows several interconnected protagonists, including slave-turned-soldier Kaladin, noble scholar Shallan Davar, and war leader Dalinar Kholin.

It’s classic fantasy stuff, confidently executed: political intrigue, ancient mysteries, devastating wars, and the gradual return of powers long thought lost. The plot moves quickly and serves up a lot of action, including people doing battle with obscenely powerful magic swords. Admittedly, some characters are a little underwritten, more like archetypes than real people, but the novel compensates with rich worldbuilding, juicy mysteries, and a likable protagonist in Kaladin. His efforts to protect his comrades on the battlefield provide much of the story’s emotional weight.

‘Empire of the Vampire’ (2021)

“Too much hate will burn a man to cinders.” This one is a fun riff on dark fantasy and vampire tropes. In Empire of the Vampire, the sun has not risen properly in decades, vampires have conquered much of the world, and humanity survives only in isolated strongholds. In this bleak world, our protagonist Gabriel de León, the last of the legendary Silver Saints, recounts the events that led to civilization’s collapse. The plot shifts Gabriel between timelines, gradually revealing more about the character and his enemies.

Author Jay Kristoff clearly put a lot of effort into the vampire mythology here, creating several different bloodlines with different leaders, all vying for power. He draws on many classic ideas from vampire stories but manages to make them feel fresh with cool twists or by pushing them to the extreme. There’s also killer action and witty one-liners aplenty.

‘Beyond the Deepwoods’ (1998)

“Never stray from the path.” This is the first book in the marvelous Edge Chronicles series, written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Chris Riddell. It’s more straightforward and breezy than some of the more ambitious later installments, but that’s also part of its charm. In it, a young boy named Twig leaves home and ventures into the dangerous Deepwoods, a vast wilderness filled with bizarre creatures, strange landscapes, and countless dangers, including banderbears, sky pirates, and ferocious critters known as wig-wigs.

The world feels unpredictable in the best possible way, and Beyond the Deepwoods succeeds through exploration. Readers become invested because they genuinely want to know what lies beyond the next hill, river, or forest. Riddell’s illustrations further enhance the experience. The detailed black-and-white artwork brings the strange inhabitants of the Edge to life and gives readers visual rewards throughout the story.