5 Near-Perfect Fantasy Books, Recommended by Brandon Sanderson

Published Nov 13, 2026, 4:08 PM EST Michael Hein has been covering entertainment, fandom news, and trending topics since 2016 on outlets including Rogues Portal, PopCulture.com, and ComicBook.com. He has provided live coverage of red carpet premieres, conventions, and up-fronts, and has interviewed major stars including Charles Dance, Patrick Stewart, and Chloe Sevigny. An avid fiction reader and writer, Michael has been diving deep into all the biggest book-to-screen adaptations of the last decade, from Game of Thrones to Foundation. Brandon Sanderson is one of the most popular authors in the fantasy genre right now, yet he never misses a chance to pay his success forward. Sanderson has made headlines for steering the publishing industry itself and advocating for other writers along the way. His story of single-minded focus on becoming a professional author is inspiring to many readers, and he often encourages aspiring young writers to read as much as possible. However, Sanderson qualifies all of his book recommendations with the caveat that not every book will resonate with every reader. He encourages fans to read widely and seek out what interests them most. That said, fans are often interested in what their favorite authors are inspired by, and Sanderson has not been stingy about sharing. The Stormlight Archive scribe has a post on his website's FAQ page specifically dedicated to book recommendations, with a particular eye towards students interested in writing. He even noted a portion of this list as "clean" fantasy, since Sanderson himself avoids explicit language and sexual content in his books. That's a perfect example of the personal preferences Sanderson mentioned at the top of his post. Read on for five of the best novels and series Sanderson recommends to his fans. 5 'Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn' by Tad Williams Image by Michael Whelan via DAW Books In his post, Sanderson recommends the works of Tad Williams in general, but Williams is best known for his series Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn. That's also his longest series — nine novels counting the prequels, the interlude, and the sequel series The Last King of Osten Ard. This series was a massive influence on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, and likely many others. Williams has written three other fantasy series as well as stand-alone novels, short stories, screenplays, and comic books. Sanderson warns that Williams' writing can be "very long-winded," adding that he personally likes this style, but it might put others off in the early chapters. He also listed Williams among the "clean" authors on his list, though there are some extremely dark themes in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. The series follows a young man named Simon thrust into an apocalyptic struggle against ancient magical forces. He and his allies are on the back foot throughout the entire story, and they take plenty of losses before the climactic battle. 4 'Dragonsbane' by Barbara Hambly Image via Del Rey Books Sanderson has mentioned Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly many times in posts, interviews, and lectures, saying it's one of the main reasons he became interested in fantasy. He also used it as an example of following your own interests as a reader, pointing out that no one would have predicted a teenage boy would be interested the esoteric adventures of a middle-aged woman. Years after its publication, Hambly began writing sequels to Dragonsbane, with new installments still coming out today. The story is about a witch named Jenny Waynest who lives a harsh, relatively isolated life in the Northlands along with the lord John Aversin. They are asked to come south to help fend of an ancient, powerful dragon that is encroaching on the more populous city. They do so in exchange for aid for their Northlands, but they find the situation in the south more complicated than they expected. Not only is the dragon Morkeleb more powerful than they expected, but the king is under the influence of another witch who did not want Jenny to make the journey. The book was lauded by fiction readers when it was published in 1985, and Sanderson's recommendation has brought it back into the conversation in recent years. 3 'The Dagger and the Coin' Series by Daniel Abraham Image via Orbit Books Again, Sanderson recommends "Anything by Daniel Abraham under any of his various pen names," but The Dagger and the Coin series is a great place to start. It's one of the most popular series Abraham has published under his own name, though he is best known to many fans for co-writing The Expanse series under the pen name James S.A. Corey. The name refers to both Abraham and Ty Franck, who are currently using the Corey moniker once again for a sci-fi series called The Captive's War. The Dagger and the Coin consists of five books published from 2011 to 2016. It's an epic fantasy series with a broad scope and many point of view characters, often earning it comparisons to A Song of Ice and Fire. Abraham is a friend and frequent collaborator of Martin, so this should come as no surprise. The series is named for two very different forces that can both lead to calamity for humanity — the dagger representing violence and war, and the coin representing economic instability. 2 'The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms' by N.K. Jemisin Image via Orbit Books/N.K. Jemisin The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is the first book in N.K. Jemisin's The Inheritance Trilogy, followed by The Broken Kingdoms and The Kingdom of the Gods. The series is set in a unique fantasy world drawing inspiration from many cultures and regions — not just medieval Europe. Jemisin employs hard magic systems in her writing much like Sanderson, though the comparison is more often made with Jemisin's next series, The Broken Earth Trilogy. In those books, magic-users called Orogenes have the ability to control seismic energy, and through that affect the climate indirectly. Both of Jemisin's trilogies are beautifully written and incredibly compelling, as are her stand-alone novels. They are definitely worth checking out for Sanderson fans — or any fantasy fans for that matter. 1 'The Realm of the Elderlings' Series by Robin Hobb Image via Random House Worlds Finally, Sanderson recommends "Anything by Robin Hobb, but particularly the Fitz books," referring to Hobb's 16-book series The Realm of the Elderlings. This series is broken up into five parts, three of which follow the character Fitzchivalry Farseer and are written in the first person. It's a spectacular case of grounded, character-driven stories somehow building to an epic, fantastical saga. The series has a unique focus on magical ecology, leading to some truly unique takes on fantasy tropes like dragons and prophecies. Sanderson's recommendations are all excellent, especially when taken alongside his encouragement to explore the genre for yourself. It's a great time to be a fantasy fan right now, and it's great to see authors like Sanderson encouraging their readers to branch out. All of the books mentioned here are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats. Network Apple TV Franchise(s) Mistborn