It’s standard fantasy fare, but Hobb elevates it with true-to-life characters that transcend their somewhat stock origins. As the bastard son of a high prince, “Fitz” quickly rises from stable-boy to an apprentice assassin, buffeted by his nascent magic skills, all the while stalked by those who resent his royal origins.

Since 1995, the pseudonymous Hobb has cranked out three trilogies all focusing on the same character, FitzChivalry Farseer. Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb Here are a few fantasy novels that should be on the list:ġ. Considering the opportunity that we now have to follow the cultural phenomenon of Game of Thrones with entertainment that could expand our imaginations, we should turn to more challenging works – many of which happen to be written by non-white, non-male authors – and not settle for the Middle-earth road again. But while the genre owes a lot to these titans, a barrage of newer writers have demolished and reconstructed our conception of what “fantasy” is. To that end, streaming giants are lining up to adapt some big-ticket books, with Amazon set to bring both Robert Jordan’s 14-volume Wheel of Time series and yet another take on Tolkien’s Middle-earth to screens.

And though huge numbers will turn away from the genre forever following the finale – perhaps returning for the obligatory prequels that will follow in its wake – there are still those who hunger for further skulduggery and sorcery. (Or, more likely, the throne itself has been symbolically melted down by a dragon’s sneeze and the new ruler settled for a nice futon.) However you feel about the endless plotting and backstabbing of George RR Martin’s blackhearted opus A Song of Ice and Fire – or Weiss and Benioff’s arguably mangled interpretation of his themes in Game of Thrones – there’s no denying that the series’ phenomenal popularity has widened the audience for fantasy in a way not seen since Peter Jackson’s films of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.īut as the final TV curtain falls on Jon Snow’s moppy head, it’s worth dwelling on the fact that for many devotees of the show – apart from what Michael Moorcock termed the “merry Englishness” of Harry Potter – Game of Thrones was their first real brush with fantasy literature. B y now, the dust has settled and the final occupant of the Iron Throne has ascended to their royal station.

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