11 - 20 - the Top 100 fantasy books of all time

The Liveship Traders series continues with the second book, The Mad Ship. Althea Vestrit continues her quest to reclaim her rightful inheritance, the liveship Vivacia. The Vivacia has been seized by pirates led by the enigmatic Kennit, a man who believes that destiny leads him to become King of the Pirate Isles. The Vestrit family are nearing financial ruin which leads them closer to the mysterious Rain Wild Traders who own the ship. Amidst these events the mad ship, Paragon is once again launched despite the history of death and despair that surrounds him.

Torak is now alone and scared. His father is dead, slain by a demon in the form of a great bear. Torak must keep going; his only friend is another orphan, a small wolf cub. Evil stalks the forest and Torak must face a foe that stalks him silently and cannot be shaken.

In the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs extraordinary destinies are being played out. Karsa Orlong, a tribal warrior from Northern Genabackis descends into the southern lands as part of a raiding party. Adjunct Tavore faces the legions of the seer Sha’ik with an army of raw recruits. Waiting in the heart of the Holy Desert the Sha’ik’s warlords are at each other’s throats and she herself is haunted by the knowledge the her nemesis is her own flesh and blood. So begins the pivotal chapter of Steven Erikson’s spectacular fantasy series.

Duncton Wood was a wonderful book and so is its sequel. William Horwood does not take the easy path in keeping with the characters that readers would know and love from the first book but presents a whole new cast charged with enthralling the characters as their predecessors did. The animal kingdom is savage and brutal and this is forever the case in Duncton Quest, a far darker and brooding book than the far from light-hearted prequel. Death, disease and the loss of hope and faith are the themes that stand out, any small success or happiness comes at a cost. In Tryfan and Spindle we are given lead characters that are as memorable as Bracken and Boswell, Henbane every bit as menacing as the evil Mandrake.

The great modern classic and prelude to The Lord of the Rings. Also known as There and back again, this tale was written for Tolkien's own children and has become one of the most loved children's fantasy's books of all time.

Memories of Ice is the third book of the series entitled A Tale of the Malazan Book of The Fallen. It follows directly after the events of the first book, Gardens of the Moon, and runs concurrently to the events in the second book, Deadhouse Gates.

This is another wonderful book from Ursula Le Guin. Exploring themes such as fear of death and belief in reincarnation. This is not a fantasy book full of large battles and insurmountable odds but a book about people and how they live life, deal with grief and try to make the right choices when they are presented.

This is the second book in the First Law Trilogy and after an electric start in 'The Blade Itself' it does not disappoint.

Voldemort is and growing stronger as is his following and dangerous times are ahead for our hero and his friends. Dumbledore enlists Harry’s help, to convince his old friend and retired professor Horace Slughorn to return to his old teaching post at Hogwarts.

The Black Company by Glen Cook is the first book of the nine that make up The Black Company series. First published in 1984 this book was responsible for taking the fantasy genre and turning it on its head with his introduction of realistic characters and its complete disregard for fantasy stereotypes and the age-old battle of good versus evil.