Best Fantasy Books of 2011 as per Amazon, NY Times and Barnes and Noble
It’s time to look at the Best Fantasy Books of 2011!
I spent 4 days going through tons of “best of” and “best selling” 2011 book lists to create this consolidated list for you. And just to make sure you know this is a good list, here are the sources I used:
- NY Times “Ten Best Books of 2011”
- NY Times “100 Notable Books of 2011”
- Amazon’s Best Books of 2011: “The Top 20”
- Amazon’s Best Books of 2011: “The Top 100“
- 2011 National Book Award Winners
- Amazon’s Best Books of 2011: Science Fiction and Fantasy
- Barnes and Noble’s The Top 100 Bestsellers of 2011
- Barnes and Noble: “Books We Recommend”
- Amazon’s Best-Selling Books of 2011: “Customer Favorites”
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I put the books into 5 different categories:
- Fantasy Books
- Paranormal Romance
- Epic Fantasy
- Teen and Young Adult Fantasy
- Science Fiction/Time Travel
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So, let’s get started looking at the BEST Fantasy Books of 2011!
Best 2011 Fantasy Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
![image_thumb[35]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb35.png "image_thumb[35]")
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness |
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![image_thumb[34]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb34.png "image_thumb[34]")
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher |
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![image_thumb[28]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb28.png "image_thumb[28]")
Among Others by Jo Walton |
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![image_thumb[4]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb4.png "image_thumb[4]")
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor |
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The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht |
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![image_thumb[1]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb1.png "image_thumb[1]")
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern |
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![image_thumb[82]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb82.png "image_thumb[82]")
Zone One by Colson Whitehead |
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![image_thumb[84]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb84.png "image_thumb[84]")
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan |
Best 2011 Paranormal Fantasy Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
![image_thumb[62]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb62.png "image_thumb[62]") Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood Book 9) by J.R. Ward |
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![image_thumb[75]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb75.png "image_thumb[75]") Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison |
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![image_thumb[79]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb79.png "image_thumb[79]") Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole |
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![image_thumb[15]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb15.png "image_thumb[15]") Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris |
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![image_thumb[36]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb36.png "image_thumb[36]") City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare |
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![image_thumb[73]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb73.png "image_thumb[73]") Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh |
Best 2011 Epic Fantasy Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
![image_thumb[26]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb26.png "image_thumb[26]") A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin |
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![image_thumb[23]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb23.png "image_thumb[23]") The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss |
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![image_thumb[25]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb25.png "image_thumb[25]") The Magician King by Lev Grossman |
Best 2011 Teen and Young Adult Fantasy Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
![image_thumb[13]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb13.png "image_thumb[13]") Inheritance by Christopher Paolini |
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![image_thumb[112]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb112.png "image_thumb[112]") Delirium: The Special Edition by Lauren Oliver |
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![image_thumb[86]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb86.png "image_thumb[86]") Crossed by Aly Condie |
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![image_thumb[45]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb45.png "image_thumb[45]") The Power of 6 (I Am Number Four, Book 2) by Pittacus Lore |
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![image_thumb[19]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb19.png "image_thumb[19]") The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan |
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![image_thumb[114]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb114.png "image_thumb[114]") Passion by Lauren Tate |
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![image_thumb[87]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb87.png "image_thumb[87]") Divergent by Veronica Roth |
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![image_thumb[53]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb53.png "image_thumb[53]") The Warlock: The Secrets of the Infamous Nicholas Flammel by Michael Scott |
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![image_thumb[18]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb18.png "image_thumb[18]") The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan |
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![image_thumb[106]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb106.png "image_thumb[106]") The Dead (Enemy Series) by Charlie Higson |
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![image_thumb[57]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb57.png "image_thumb[57]") Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson |
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![image_thumb[43]]($image_thumb418.png "image_thumb[43]") Destined: House of Night Book 9 by P.C. Cast and Kristan Cast |
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![image_thumb[29]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb29.png "image_thumb[29]") Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor |
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![image_thumb[17]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb17.png "image_thumb[17]") Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs |
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![image_thumb[47]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb47.png "image_thumb[47]") The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan |
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![image_thumb[49]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb49.png "image_thumb[49]") Awakened by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast |
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![image_thumb[99]]($image_thumb992.png "image_thumb[99]") The Death Cure by James Dashner |
Best 2011 Science Fiction/Time Travel Books
| Book Title and Author | Read the Book Summary at Amazon |
![image_thumb[83]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb83.png "image_thumb[83]") Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson |
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![image_thumb[31]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb31.png "image_thumb[31]") Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson |
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![image_thumb[24]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb24.png "image_thumb[24]") Ready Player One by Ernest Cline |
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![image_thumb[27]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb27.png "image_thumb[27]") Embassytown by China Mieville |
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![image_thumb[30]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb30.png "image_thumb[30]") Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey |
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![image_thumb[14]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb14.png "image_thumb[14]") 11/22/63 by Stephen King |
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![image_thumb[2]](http://bestfantasystories.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/image_thumb2.png "image_thumb[2]") 1Q 84 by Haruki Murakami |
Enjoy!
Did you read any of them?
I’ve actually read several of them:
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (Jim Butcher is such a great writer)
Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward
Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (started this one but couldn’t finish it)
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (I started reading this on my Kindle but couldn’t quite get past reading an epic like this on such a thin device. I ended up purchasing the book and then quite happily finished the book! The awesomeness of George R. R. Martin never ceases to amaze me.)
Destined: House of Night Book 9 by P.C. Cast and Kristan Cast
Based on the list, I plan to read several other books on the list.
Have you read any of them? If so, what did you think?
Night Circus & Among Others are on my ever increasing list for the new year
I’m pretty surprised to see Daughter of Smoke & Bone up there..I wasn’t too keen. Ready Player One is my fav book of the year by miles 
FantasyNibbles:
Thanks so much for sharing. I’ll have to check out Ready Player One!
Only George Martin’s books. There are so many free fantasy titles on Amazon at the moment that I don’t need to buy a new book for about a year!
Awesome list! Thanks for pulling this together and posting it. I found several new books to check out from this.
Liz:
You’re welcome – thanks for taking the time to comment!
They forgot The Unremembered by Peter Orullian.It is a great epic adventure,and if you really like Robert Jordan’s Wheel of time Books,You are gonna absolutely love The Unremembered!I would really put it high on my top fantasy books of the last 4 to 5 years for sure!