Best Science Fantasy Books to Start With

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the spice melange—a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined.

Darrow is a Red, a miner in the lowest caste of a colour-coded society on Mars. When he discovers his people have been enslaved for centuries to build a paradise for the ruling Golds, he infiltrates their ranks to destroy them from within — in a brutal competition where only one survives.

Gideon Nav has only ever wanted to escape the miserable, decaying Ninth House and its morbid rituals. But when the Emperor calls all Houses to a deadly trial for immortality, Gideon finds herself conscripted as the sword-arm to her lifelong rival, the necromancer Harrowhark Nonagesimus. Trapped in a crumbling, haunted palace filled with powerful necromancers and ancient traps, they must navigate a labyrinth of political intrigue and lethal puzzles, all while a monstrous conspiracy threatens to unravel the entire empire. As the competition turns deadly, Gideon must decide whether to betray the one person she despises most, or die protecting the only home she's ever known.

A boy with strange powers becomes a student at a school for wizards, where his pride and impatience lead him to meddle with long-held secrets—unleashing a terrible shadow upon the world. A wizard must pursue the shadow he has created across the archipelago of Earthsea before it can find and devour him.

Roland, the world's last gunslinger, tracks an enigmatic Man in Black toward a forbidding dark tower, fighting forces both mortal and other-worldly on his quest.

Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has. In his notebooks, he makes careful observations: the House is beautiful, its rooms full of marvels. He is not afraid—though sometimes he wonders if he should be.

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the Teixcalaanli Empire to find her predecessor dead—and no one willing to admit it. She is sent to discover what really happened, while navigating a glittering, treacherous court where even language is a weapon and assimilation is pressure. A space opera about power, identity, and belonging.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is in fact engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth's desperate leaders need. The war with the alien Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long.

Le Guin's Hainish series begins with the assumption that centuries ago humanoids from the planet Hain ventured through the solar system establishing colonies on various planets including Earth. For mysterious reasons these colonies lose all contact and knowledge of each other until the 21st century when an attempt is made to establish a galactic league. Individual stories in this loosely organized series explore the inherent communication difficulties in the mingling and clash of cultures that, over the centuries of separation, have developed widely disparate social and political structures as well as a range of biological differences.

Frequently reissued with the same ISBN, but with slightly differing bibliographical details.

Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat.

Fleet Captain Three Seagrass sends her former partner Mahit Dzmare a message from the front lines of a war against an alien species. Together they must determine what the aliens actually are—and whether first contact might be possible—before the empire decides to simply destroy them.

From the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time—#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson adds to his Cosmere universe shared by Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive with a new standalone novel that combines fantasy and science fiction. Illustrated by Ernanda Souza, Nabeste Zitro, and kudriaken. Running. Putting distance between himself and the relentless Night Brigade has been Nomad’s strategy for years. Staying one or two steps ahead of his pursuers by skipping through the Cosmere from one world to the next. But now, his powers too depleted to escape, Nomad finds himself trapped on Canticle, a planet that will kill anyone who doesn’t keep moving. Fleeing the fires of a sunrise that melts the very stones, he is instantly caught up in the struggle between a heartless tyrant and the brave rebels who defy him. Failure means a quick death, incinerated by the sun…or a lifetime as a mindless slave. Tormented by the consequences of his past, Nomad must fight not only for his survival—but also for his very soul. Note from Brandon: I sincerely believe that books don’t live until they’re read. While I would write even if no one were reading—it’s who I am—I thrive because I know the stories are being brought to life by all of you. In this, stories are a special kind of art, particularly when written down. Each of you will imagine this book, and its characters, a little differently—you will each put your own stamp on it, making it yours. I don’t believe a story is quite finished until that has happened—until the dream in my head has become a reality (even if briefly) in yours. And so this book is yours, as they all are once you read them. Thank you so much for bringing life to my work, and to the Cosmere.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride. The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death? Note from Brandon: I started writing this in secret, as a novel just for my wife. She urged me to share it with the world—and alongside three other secret novels, with the support of readers worldwide it grew into the biggest Kickstarter campaign of all time. I’m excited to present this first book to you at last: a different type of Brandon Sanderson story, one I wrote when there were no time constraints, no expectations, and no limits on my imagination. Come be part of the magic.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson—creator of The Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn Saga, and countless bestselling works of science fiction and fantasy—comes this gripping story set in the Cosmere universe told by Hoid, where two people from incredibly different cultures must work together to save their worlds from certain disaster. Yumi has spent her entire life in strict obedience, granting her the power to summon the spirits that bestow vital aid upon her society—but she longs for even a single day as a normal person. Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero—a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. In their own ways, both of them face the world alone. Suddenly flung together, Yumi and Painter must strive to right the wrongs in both their lives, reconciling their past and present while maintaining the precarious balance of each of their worlds. If they cannot unravel the mystery of what brought them together before it’s too late, they risk forever losing not only the bond growing between them, but the very worlds they’ve always struggled to protect. Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson The Cosmere The Stormlight Archive The Way of Kings Words of Radiance Edgedancer (novella) Oathbringer Dawnshard (novella) Rhythm of War The Mistborn Saga The Original Trilogy Mistborn The Well of Ascension The Hero of Ages Wax and Wayne The Alloy of Law Shadows of Self The Bands of Mourning The Lost Metal Other Cosmere novels Elantris Warbreaker Tress of the Emerald Sea Yumi and the Nightmare Painter The Sunlit Man Collection Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians The Scrivener's Bones The Knights of Crystallia The Shattered Lens The Dark Talent Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians (with Janci Patterson) Other novels The Rithmatist Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook fo

For the first time in one volume, the unforgettable epic fantasy The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham, award-winning coauthor of The Expanse series. In a world of ancient empires and immortal magics, one man stands at the crossroads of history. The aggressively expansionist Galt empire has already conquered lands across a huge continent. But the cities of the Khaiem resist Galt's power with the andat creatures of magic with godlike powers. But magic and treacherous politics have brought a bitter harvest of violence and sorrow. Otah Machi, caught between ancient wonders and a modern empire, has survived more than most men endure in two lifetimes. He is the culmination of a complex inheritance, and his own existence is the fulcrum around which the wheels of epic history rotate through achingly poignant cycles of life and death, love and betrayal. Now, when the world seems utterly lost, all depends on Otah, and the lost loves and found family he has desperately hoped to protect from the tragedy that beckons. If they can summon the courage and power to forgive and resist darkness, all their hopes could be salvaged—along with their world. "There is much to love in The Long Price Quartet. It is epic in scope but character centered, with a setting both unique and utterly believable. The storytelling is smooth, careful, and—best of all—unpredictable."—New York Times Bestselling Author Patrick Rothfuss The Long Price Quartet includes: 1. A Shadow in Summer 2. A Betrayal in Winter 3. An Autumn War 4. The Price of Spring