Books are a special kind of magic, even more so if they’re fantasy novels. They create worlds where anything is possible, and people are transported to far-off lands or other planets with just the turn of a page. They’re a way for readers to escape reality, if only for a little while. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t some parallels between the worlds described in these books and our own world today. Plenty of fantasy book series out there explore themes like corruption, faith, identity, death, mourning, and coming-of-age storylines, told in ways everyone can easily relate to. Fantasy books are also a great way to get younger generations into reading: They’re always full of adventure, excitement, and that little pinch of risk moved by genuine curiosity to discover — all things kids love!
There’s nothing like curling up with a good fantasy book after a long tiring day. If you’re a newbie to the genre, here are some of the best fantasy books that are sure to keep you entertained and excited!
#1 The Colour Of Magic By Terry Pratchett
The Colour of Magic is a collection of four stories set on Discworld, a flat planet carried by four giant elephants. Here, magic is hard work: It’s not just for show and has to be studied for years and practiced diligently. The story focuses on the unlucky failed wizard Rincewind, often described as “the magical equivalent to the number zero.” Clever and utterly hilarious, The Colour of Magic is the first of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels.
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#2 The Lord Of The Rings By J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings took Tolkien 12 years to write and 5 years to get published. The result is an epic masterpiece that has been inspiring writers for years. It follows Frodo Baggins, a hobbit who inherits the One Ring, a legendary object that sparks his mythical journey. It’s unquestionably Tolkien’s most remarkable work, and if you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? It’s a must-read for every fantasy fan!
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#3 American Gods By Neil Gaiman
The plot follows Shadow, an ex-convict who lost his wife in a car accident, together with his best friend, with whom she had been having an affair. He becomes the bodyguard and traveling partner of Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic con man and trickster. As their journey progresses, Shadow learns more about his employer’s true nature and struggles with his own feelings over his wife’s death.
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#4 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell By Susanna Clarke
If you’re into historical fantasy, you just found your book! It’s difficult to put a finger on exactly what makes this book so good. The writing is beautiful, but it’s not just that. The thing that really stands out about this book is the magic system: it’s original and yet still feels real and familiar at the same time. The novel is set in England, where a group of people still study magical texts and history after the decline of magic several hundred years earlier. The group is stunned to learn about the existence of a “practical magician,” Gilbert Norrell.
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#5 The Name Of The Wind By Patrick Rothfuss
In The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss tells us a tale that is so engrossing, it’s like listening to an old friend sharing a story that sounds too incredible to be true. Narrated by the main character himself, The Name of the Wind tells the journey of Kvothe, from his childhood among traveling players to how he became one of the most famous magicians the world has ever seen.
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#6 A Game Of Thrones By George R. R. Martin
George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is one of the most popular fantasy books ever written, and the Game of Thrones television show has brought it to a new level of recognition. A Game Of Thrones is the first in a series of immersive novels set in a fictional world and chronicles the political power struggle between its noble houses. The story is told through the eyes of its eight key characters.
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#7 The Lies Of Locke Lamora By Scott Lynch
The first novel in the Gentleman Bastard trilogy book series, The Lies of Locke Lamora is a wonderfully written story of camaraderie, set in a medieval Venice-like city. Here, author Scott Lynch intertwines two different storylines: the first one, with the Gentleman Bastards fighting a mysterious man ascending toward the top of the criminal underworld, and the second one that narrates the history of the group itself.
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#8 The Earthsea Quartet By Ursula Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin takes us on a journey through the world of Earthsea, a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by uncharted waters. With its beautiful writing, the Earthsea saga is perfect for both children and adults. Its thought-provoking ideas and themes will encourage readers to drop every judgmental behavior in favor of going deeper and forming their own opinions.
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#9 Assassin’s Apprentice By Robin Hobb
Take some magic, then a good amount of epic mastery. What you’ll get is one of the best fantasy series ever written! The novel covers the early life of a royal bastard, FitzChivalry (who also serves as the narrator), as he begins his training as an assassin and almost loses his life while protecting the throne from his overambitious uncle, Regal.
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#10 The Fifth Season By N. K. Jemisin
The Fifth Season is the first book in the Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, a highly-acclaimed series that made Jemisin the first author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel for three years in a row. The story follows three characters who are each trying to survive in a constantly changing world around them. The author’s fiction includes a wide range of themes, from cultural conflict to oppression.
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#11 Northern Lights By Philip Pullman
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#12 Gardens Of The Moon By Steven Erikson
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#13 Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone By J. K. Rowling
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#14 The Way Of Kings By Brandon Sanderson
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#15 The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe By C. S. Lewis
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#16 The Eye Of The World By Robert Jordan
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#17 Perdido Street Station By China Mieville
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#18 The Blade Itself By Joe Abercrombie
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#19 Good Omens By Terry Pratchett
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#20 Lord Foul’s Bane By Stephen Donaldson
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#21 The Gunslinger By Stephen King
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#22 The Hobbit By J. R. R. Tolkien
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#23 Dune By Frank Herbert
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#24 The Wee Free Men By Terry Pratchett
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#25 Watership Down By Richard Adams
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#26 The Princess Bride By William Goldman
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#27 Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland By Lewis Carroll
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#28 The Final Empire By Brandon Sanderson
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#29 The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman
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#30 The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader By C. S. Lewis
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#31 The Fellowship Of The Ring By J. R. R. Tolkien
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#32 The Phantom Tollbooth By Norton Juster
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#33 A Wrinkle In Time By Madeleine L’engle
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#34 Jade City By Fonda Lee
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#35 Dragonflight By Anne McCaffrey
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#36 The Stand By Stephen King
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#37 Wizard’s First Rule By Terry Goodkind
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#38 James And The Giant Peach By Roald Dahl
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#39 The Ocean At The End Of The Lane By Neil Gaiman
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#40 Legend By David Gemmell
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#41 Neverwhere By Neil Gaiman
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#42 Interview With The Vampire By Anne Rice
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#43 A Darker Shade Of Magic By V. E. Schwab
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#44 Through The Looking-Glass By Lewis Carroll
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#45 A Wizard Of Earthsea By Ursula K. Le Guin
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#46 Redwall By Brian Jacques
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#47 The Once And Future King By T. H. White
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#48 Magician By Raymond E. Feist
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#49 The Last Unicorn By Peter S. Beagle
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#50 The Silmarillion By J R. R. Tolkien
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#51 The Sword Of Shannara By Terry Brooks
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#52 Circe By Madeline Miller
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#53 Rivers Of London By Ben Aaronovitch
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#54 The Tombs Of Atuan By Ursula K. Le Guin
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#55 The Subtle Knife By Philip Pullman
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#56 Storm Front By Jim Butcher
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#57 The Dark Is Rising Sequence By Susan Cooper
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#58 Five Children And It By E. Nesbit
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#59 Ozma Of Oz By L. Frank Baum
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#60 Mary Poppins By P. L. Travers
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#61 The B F G By Roald Dahl
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#62 Outlander By Diana Gabaldon
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#63 The Night Circus By Erin Morgenstern
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#64 The Poppy War By R. F. Kuang
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#65 Duncton Wood By William Horwood
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#66 The Rage Of Dragons By Evan Winter
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#67 The Return Of The King By J. R. R. Tolkien
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#68 Howl’s Moving Castle By Diana Wynne Jones
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#69 A Storm Of Swords By George R. R. Martin
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#70 The Dragonbone Chair By Tad Williams
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#71 The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld By Patricia A. McKillip
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#72 11.22.63 By Stephen King
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#73 Weaveworld By Clive Barker
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#74 The Crystal Cave By Mary Stewart
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#75 Tuck Everlasting By Natalie Babbitt
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#76 The Bloody Chamber By Angela Carter
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#77 Children Of Blood And Bone By Tomi Adeyemi
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#78 The Magicians By Lev Grossman
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#79 The Bone Clocks By David Mitchell
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#80 The Black Company By Glen Cook
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#81 Prince Of Thorns By Mark Lawrence
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#82 Swan Song By Robert McCammon
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#83 The 10,000 Doors Of January By Alix E. Harrow
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#84 Gideon The Ninth By Tamsyn Muir
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#85 The Book Thief By Markus Zusak
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#86 The Arabian Nights By Andrew Lang
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#87 Who Fears Death By Nnedi Okorafor
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#88 Children Of Virtue And Vengeance By Tomi Adeyemi
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#89 Under Heaven By Guy Gavriel Kay
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#90 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms By N. K. Jemisin
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#91 The Shadow Of The Torturer By Gene Wolf
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#92 Tigana By Guy Gavriel Kay
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#93 Kushiel’s Dart By Jacqueline Carey
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#94 Sailing To Sarantium By Guy Gavriel Kay
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#95 City Of Stairs By Robert Jackson Bennett
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#96 The Golem And The Djinni By Helene Wecker
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#97 Titus Groan By Mervyn Peake
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#98 The Way Of Shadows By Brent Weeks
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#99 All The Birds In The Sky By Charlie Jane Anders
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#100 It By Stephen King
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#101 The Ninth Rain By Jen Williams
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#102 A Brightness Long Ago By Guy Gavriel Kay
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#103 The Priory Of The Orange Tree By Samantha Shannon
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#104 The Raven Tower By Ann Leckie
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#105 Ninth House By Leigh Bardugo
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#106 Some Kind Of Fairy Tale By Graham Joyce
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#107 The City And The City By China Mieville
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#108 Tender Morsels By Margo Lanagan
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#109 Palimpsest By Catherynne M. Valente
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#110 The Shadow Year By Jeffrey Ford
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#111 Boy’s Life By Robert R. McCammon
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#112 The Yiddish Policemen’s Union By Michael Chabon
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#113 The Moon And The Sun By Vonda N. McIntyre
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#114 Anno Dracula By Kim Newman
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#115 The Silent Land By Graham Joyce
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#116 The Killing Moon By N. K. Jemisin
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#117 Alif The Unseen By G. Willow Wilson
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#118 Nights At The Circus By Angela Carter
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#119 Zoo City By Lauren Beukes
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#120 The Goblin Emperor By Katherine Addison
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#121 The Sudden Appearance Of Hope By Claire North
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#122 Blackwing By E. D. McDonald
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#123 Foundryside By Robert Jackson Bennett
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#124 The Chimes By Anna Smaill
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#125 Middlegame By Seanan McGuire
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#126 My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts By Amos Tutuola
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#127 A Hero Born By Jin Yong
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#128 Swordspoint By Ellen Kushner
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#129 The Lives Of Christopher Chant By Diana Wynne Jones
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#130 Haroun And The Sea Of Stories By Salman Rushdie
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#131 Spindle’s End By Robin McKinley
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#132 Where The Mountain Meets The Moon By Grace Lin
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#133 Akata Witch By Nnedi Okorafor
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#134 The Song Of Achilles By Madeline Miller
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#135 Angelfall By Susan Ee
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#136 A Stranger In Olondria By Sofia Samatar
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#137 The Buried Giant By Kazuo Ishiguro
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#138 Get In Trouble By Kelly Link
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#139 The Grace Of Kings By Ken Liu
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#140 The Wrath & The Dawn By Renée Ahdieh
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#141 A Torch Against The Night By Sabaa Tahir
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#142 The Wall Of Storms By Ken Liu
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#143 Beasts Made Of Night By Tochi Onyebuchi
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#144 The Black Tides Of Heaven By Neon Yang
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#145 The Changeling By Victor Lavalle
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#146 Aru Shah And The End Of Time By Roshani Chokshi
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#147 Empire Of Sand By Tasha Suri
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#148 Pet By Akwaeke Emezi
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#149 Gods Of Jade And Shadow By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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