Books are a subjective matter, Tomeopathy will therefore try to refrain from any use of a definite article such as ‘The Greatest Fantasy Series’ or ‘The Best Fantasy Book Ever’. Tomeopathy shall also shun such frivolities as ’50 Fantasy Books You Need to Read Before you Die/Grow Up/Join a Gym’ (confession time, I merely denounce these particular terms so that this page shows up in search engines, some people actually want to know what they should read before they die, I fail to see how you can answer this question thoroughly without first qualifying, how long have you got?). Instead the aim of this section should be fairly clear from the title, it contains books that Tomeopathy would recommend for others to read based only on opinion rather than fact. If your favourite book is absent from a list you feel it really ought to belong in, Tomeopathy hates it, or hasn’t read it, or both!
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Top Tomes – Highly Recommended Series
After hours of reading, much thought and deliberation, here are Tomeopathy’s favourite reads, anyone with a passing interest in Fantasy should enjoy these. Spoiler alert, Fifty Shades of Grey is a controversial number 1, just kidding, they’re not ranked in any particular order, oh and, Fifty Shades of Grey doesn’t feature, it’s not those kind of fantasy books.
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Complete Satisfaction
Are you, like me, an impatient sort? Then here’s the section for you, a list of great reads that have a beginning, a middle, and best of all, an end.
Are you the kind of tortured soul that enjoys suffering? Do you crave punishment? Well here’s a list of recommended series you can read and enjoy, from start all the way through to a tantalising cliff-hanger, the kind which will leave you pulling your hair out with freshly nail bitten fingers. Best of all you can do it all over again when the next, and still not final, instalment arrives in 2031.
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Off the Beaten Track
Read everything on the shelves at Waterstones? Struggling to decide which little known or self-published fantasy novel to take a risk on? Here’s a few suggestions to get you started.
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Fantasy Beginners
I thought about calling this ‘What to Read After You’ve Finished Harry Potter’ but I’m hoping that there will also be converts from other sources. Perhaps though, you have read Harry Potter and you’re looking for something else with a Fantasy flavour, you’ve probably heard of Game of Thrones too, it’s also got dragons in it, why not give it a go eh? Maaaybe just maybe, you should look elsewhere first, if Harry Potter is a slightly tetchy teenager with a chip on his shoulder, Game of Thrones is a mouthy psychopath, goosed up on steroids and brandishing a broken bottle in your face. Check out this list for some stepping stones to help you avoid possible PTSD.
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Dirty Little Secrets
Come on, we’ve all got a few guilty pleasures. Here are mine, no laughing now, I’m sure yours are just as bad. No? What about that battered copy of Sword of Truth you’ve still got squirrelled away?
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Diminishing Returns
You know the deal here, it’s a bit like the difficult second album for a band, some authors keep on giving it their best shot but never quite live up to that early masterpiece. Others, frankly, just get lazy and try to get by on reputation alone. Sometimes, bad follow ups can damage the original greatness, yes, I am talking to you Matrix sequels, you know what you did, and you too Star Wars prequels.
Books for little people, kids, young ones. Not Spot the Dog age, a little bit older than that. This is the age group that get to read some of the best books around, and best of all they still believe that it could really happen, great days. Don’t worry though, you can always read it first to check the suitability. Anything in this list comes with the approval of Tomeopathy Jr. except for the Earthsea books but Tomeopathy Jr. is just wrong there.
Tweenagers, they’re a cool bunch aren’t they? Not half as cool as they’d like you to think though, they’ve not all given up on reading in favour of YouTube makeover videos. Tomeopathy Jr. assures me that these books are “Where it’s at”, whatever that means.
That’s what they’d like you to think… one day though, they actually will, best to stay on their good side until they’ve signed a contract with a decent nursing home, think of your future, choose good books to keep them happy.
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Role Reversal
Fed up of reading formulaic stories with damsels in distress waiting for Johnny Big Sword to kill the dragon, swoop them off their feet, and swipe them on the rump, all while making doe eyes and cooing. Look no further, these are books where the girls don’t take any kind of lip.
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Box Office Material
No, not the books they turned into films but the books that they should be adapting into films, with casting directions. Attention Hollywood, I’m available for consultancy at a very reasonable rate.
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Blockbusters
Actual films and TV series this time, the best books to get the silver screen treatment.
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Science Fantasy
I don’t even know what this really means, it sounded good though so I wrote it down.
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Dazzling Debuts
The first time novels which were so good that they altered the very fabric of the Universe they were created in. (N.B After writing the previous statement I’ve given the matter some thought, I’m not sure that it is possible for a book to alter the fabric of the Universe, equally I’m not sure that creating a book can not alter the Universe, regardless of quality).
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Sizzling Swan Songs
Every now and then an author just absolutely kills it and closes down a series in the most spectacularly amazing way, like in The Office when Tim and Dawn get together at the end of the Christmas special, perfect.
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Casual Acquaintances
When you don’t want a serious relationship and just fancy a quick read.