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Harry Potter fans worldwide have discovered the joy of fantasy and how it can sweep you away into wondrous worlds where often amazing adventures await. The following fantasies include those rich in the humour and playful language found in Rowling’s books, while others are classics like Alice in Wonderland or heroic fantasy where serious battles are waged between good and evil. Enjoy!
At once romantic and tender, scary and thrilling, this fantasy by New Zealand's favourite author ends with a powerful battle of magic. Her amazing novel The Changeover: a Supernatural Romance has teen characters with equally wondrous special abilities.
A rich and romantic retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the Beast's perspective. Napoli has also worked her magic to bring old stories new life in Spinners, Sirena, and Zel.
First an orphan, then a hero, Harry Crewe is a young woman of great courage and resourcefulness. In the kingdom of Damar, she rides into legend, blue sword at her side. In the prequel, The Hero and the Crown, Princess Aeria wields the same sword to slay a dragon and save her kingdom.
On the planet Pern, humans can telepathically bond with dragons. In this series, young musicians train under a Masterharper who helps them sharpen their musical gifts and use them to communicate with dragons. Sequels: Dagonsinger and Dragondrums.
First in a fantasy series set on the planet Austar IV, where dragons are trained to fight in gaming pits. A young slave named Jakkin aspires to train his own winning dragon and to buy his freedom. Sequels: Heart's Blood and A Sending of Dragons.
Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North. Series:The Subtle Knife (1997) The Amber Spyglass (2000)
In this long, lavish and funny story you will follow the misadventures of young Pidge and his sister Brigit as they are harried from place to place by hounds and the two wicked assistants of the evil Queen Morrigan.
Howl is a young wizard of great talent. He can keep his fire demon Calcifer in check, move his home about the countryside at will and perform terrifying feats of wizardry, but he meets his match in a young shopkeeper named Sophie.
Howl is a young wizard of great talent. He can keep his fire demon Calcifer in check, move his home about the countryside at will and perform terrifying feats of wizardry, but he meets his match in a young shopkeeper named Sophie.
Gwenhyvar and Findabhair travel to Ireland to seek the truths of the Faerie myths. When they knowingly spend the night in a sacred mound, Gwen awakens alone; Findabhair has been captured by the King of Faerie. Sequels in the Chronicles of Faerie series are: The Summer King, The Light-bearer's Daughter, and The Book of Dreams.
A wise and wondrous tale of the last unicorn's search for others of her kind. A spoof on fantasy while being one of the best ever written. Giant Bones would also be a treat.
If Hermione is your favourite Potter character, you'll like the strong young heroines in this series, The Circle Opens. The young sorcerers of the Circle of Magic are finding apprentices to train in their magical arts. Pierce's Lioness series about Alanna and The Immortals series about Daine will also appeal.
An award-winning ingenious fantasy set in a bizarre "town-eat-town" world where the floating, moveable City of London battles it out with the Anti-traction League. Each chapter is a cliff-hanger.
In a post-apocalypse world where mutants are burned, Elspeth's awakened mental powers are a danger and a precious gift. Arriving at the mysterious mountain keep of Obernewtyn, she finds answers and purpose. Other titles in this exciting Australian series are The Farseekers, Ashling, and The Keeping Place.
A rich, sophisticated tale of an innkeeper's daughter who meets and falls in love with a young runaway earl. As she travels with him, they overcome many hardships, eventually finding freedom and happiness. The Wings of a Falcon, Jackaroo, and Elske also take place in this land, The Kingdom.
Kour'el wakes up in a prison tower, in pain and with no memory. Gradually, with the help of her dragon companion Api'Naga, she remembers her mission and escapes the ruthless Queen Mariah. Canadian author Cora Taylor skilfully weaves two other stories with Kour'el's, and brings them all to a satisfying conclusion.
This is the complex and compelling sequel to The Thief. Set in a fantasy world similar to Ancient Crete, the incomparable thief Eugenides finds himself loved by two young and warring queens. Can his daring wiliness save his kingdom and his life?
Presently numbering twelve titles, these animal fantasies set in medieval times tell tales on an epic scale.
When the magic that protects their Valley starts to fail, Tilja and her companions journey into the evil Empire to find the ancient magician Faheel, who originally cast those spells.
A sweeping time travel fantasy which brings the beauty and pageantry of Renaissance Italy, the mystery of alchemy, and the intrigue of court politics into the life of Lurien, a seventeen-year-old English boy who is struggling to overcome a brain tumor. Life in the past is rich and exciting, but dangerous. Should Lurien trade his safe but possibly short modern life for it? Sequel: Stravaganza: City of Stars.
Orphan Corinna disguises herself as a boy to pose as a Folk Keeper, one who keeps the Evil Folk at bay, and discovers her heritage as a seal maiden when she is taken to live with a wealthy family in their manor by the sea.
This award-winning fantasy is a complex interweaving of Arthurian legend and another world called Nwm. Morgan Lefevre, 15, is mistaken for one of her own ancestors and time-travels to Nwm where she and her boy companion Arddu struggle for the ancient sword of the Third Magic.
Here myth and fantasy blend to create a wondrous tale of a young woman's escape from a shape-shifting sorcerer and her search for her identity. Surrounded by wild animal friends, with hair abloom with flowers and vines, Hannah traverse the countryside bringing bounty and contentment in her wake.
Two of the world's best fantasists each tell three exquisite stories of the mer-people. Be swept away!
In the kingdom of High Domain a rigid class system based on exams governs family status. Kestrel, her twin Bowman, and their parents dare to rebel and end up on a dangerous and wildly imaginative quest in search of the Wind Singer's voice, and freedom. The award-winning first volume in the Wind on Fire series. Sequels: Slaves of the Mastery and Firesong.
A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master Wizard. Sequels: The Tombs of Atuan (1971) The Farthest Shore (1972) Tehanu (1990) The Other Wind (2001).
