The best fantasy novels, according to hackers
41 fantasy novels were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 6 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended fantasy novels with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
66 recommend, 11 criticize, 86% approval
Ranked 1 of 41 by recommenders
Rewards repeated reading
People recommend it for its prose, its rich sense of place, and the way it keeps rewarding rereading. The most common caveat is slow passages, especially the songs and Tom Bombadil chapters.
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Charming illustrations, especially Jansson's
People recommend it as an accessible classic that introduces Middle-earth well and suits children and adults alike. Critics say some illustrated editions, especially the Tove Jansson art, don't match readers' imagery of the story.
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Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
48 recommend, 6 criticize, 89% approval
Ranked 3 of 41 by recommenders
Fun, funny, entertaining read
Recommended as fun, funny, light reading, with the audiobook narration especially praised. Critics call it pop fiction and say it is not science fiction with interesting ideas.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
All 41 fantasy novels, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| 2 | The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| 4 | Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| 5 | Piranesiby Susanna Clarke | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 6 | Going Postalby Terry Pratchett | 11 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 7 | Harry Potterby J.K. Rowling | 10 | 3 | 77% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Tied 8 | Mistbornby Brandon Sanderson | 7 | 1 | 88% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 8 | Unsongby Scott Alexander | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 8 | Earthseaby Ursula K. Le Guin | 7 | 2 | 78% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | The Colour of Magicby Terry Pratchett | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | The Name of the Windby Patrick Rothfuss | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 11 | A Wizard of Earthseaby Ursula K. Le Guin | 6 | 1 | 86% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | Guards! Guards!by Terry Pratchett | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stoneby J.K. Rowling | 5 | 2 | 71% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | The Silmarillionby J.R.R. Tolkien | 5 | 1 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | The Gunslingerby Stephen King | 5 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | The Tainted Cupby Robert Jackson Bennett | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | Hogfatherby Terry Pratchett | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | His Dark Materialsby Philip Pullman | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | The Years of Apocalypseby Druss | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | The Belgariadby David Eddings | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | Small Godsby Terry Pratchett | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | Lord of Lightby Roger Zelazny | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | The Way of Kingsby Brandon Sanderson | 4 | 1 | 80% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 19 | The Black Companyby Glen Cook | 4 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Feet of Clayby Terry Pratchett | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Cradle seriesby Will Wight | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Farseer Trilogyby Robin Hobb | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Tiganaby Guy Gavriel Kay | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Making Moneyby Terry Pratchett | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Mother of Learningby nobody103 | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Momoby Michael Ende | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | The Last Ringbearerby Kirill Yeskov | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | The Wizard of Ozby L. Frank Baum | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | Wizardryby Rick Cook | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | The Wandering Innby pirateaba | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 27 | The Blacktongue Thiefby Christopher Buehlman | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 39 | Chrestomanciby Diana Wynne Jones | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 39 | The Light Fantasticby Terry Pratchett | 2 | 1 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 39 | Mortby Terry Pratchett | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same fantasy novel in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to fantasy novels that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.