What’s on my bookshelf ? 6
Are you looking for Epic Fantasy novels that are suitable for Young Adult readers? Here are a few that I enjoyed reading…
So, on my bookshelf, you can find:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit”... and the most famous YA Epic Fantasy book came to life in 1937.
The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams China
Han is a reformed thief in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Raisa is the princess heir of the Fells. In the Seven Realms, clans and wizards are about to start a war. That’s when the lives of Han and Raisa collide…
The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper
An immortal boy, six medallions created and hidden centuries ago, a Rider intent on gathering them and raising the Dark… an awesome read!
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book.” Philip Pullman, in his Carnegie Medal Acceptance Speech (1996). Such a complex, beautiful book, for all ages.
That’s it for today… I have many other YA Epic Fantasy stories sitting on my bookshelf but they’ll have to be included in another post…
Any other books you’d recommend? Feel free to comment!
EM Castellan 
Oh some I already love – but I haven’t read the seven realms series yet – thanks for the heads up. I’m chasing that one up for the cover art alone…
It’s a really good YA series with a lot of action, magic and romance. It was supposed to be a trilogy but a 4th book came out recently. I only read the first 3 books though.
His Dark Materials is one of my favorite series ever!
Me too! I actually got to meet Philip Pullman last year at a writers conference, it was amazing to hear him talking about writing for YA. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I’ve read (and love) The Hobbit, and I have (but haven’t read) The Dark Is Rising. And the rest? Must be living under a rock – never heard of them. lol – each sounds interesting though, so I’ll have to check them out 🙂
The Dark Is Rising is worth a read, although I have to admit I read it when I was a teenager and I don’t know if I would like it as much now that I’m a grown up 😉
I read and loved the Hobbit when I was 9. I tried to start on Fellowship of the Ring when I was 11 and I gave up for a year or so shortly after Gandalf fell to the balrog. The Dark is Rising series was O.K., but by the last book it just bored me. The Chronicles of Prydain were great stuff, and they are probably the single biggest influence on my writing of any series.
I still remember the day I discovered the fantasy genre. I was in third grade, and was annoyed at the school teachers and librarians, who insisted that we stay within our grade level for reading material, so i walked over to a small, creaky wire rack full of paperbacks, and saw two words that changed my life: ‘THE HOBBIT.’
I first read The Hobbit when I was 11. Have been a huge Tolkien fan ever since. Then soaked up The Lord Of The Rings (which I never, for one second, ever imagined might be filmed here in New Zealand…years later, one of the main outdoor sets, for Minas Tirith and Helm’s Deep, was built less than 10 km from my house).
I also never realised until recently Tolkien had actually written a classic Hero Journey with The Hobbit. But he did.
The Dark Materials defined my YAhood. Philip Pullman is a truly fantastic writer. I also liked his other trilogy, following Sally Lockhart in Victorian London. Equally as vivid and heartbreaking in a real setting. Just flicked through your bookshelf posts and there are some standout ones that I want to read now!