The best books with immersive world-building—worlds of possibility

In this first installment of the Wheel of Time series, even from the prologue, I was drawn into this world by the masterful descriptions, which I thought was a perfect introduction to the wider world I was soon to discover. I enjoyed the establishment of the threat, which would hover a menacing shadow over the events of the rest of the book. 

Getting deeper into the story, I found the characters believable and relatable, and the struggles they endure well realized and expertly formed. From the descriptions of the geography of the world to the magic system and from the multiple cultures and peoples, I thought the vibrancy of the world was written and described in an almost poetic manner.

I really loved the feeling of grounded reality within the context of a fantasy story. Another thoroughly enjoyable aspect of the storytelling was the fact that there are multiple points of view from different characters all of which coalesce into an amazing story in a truly realised world.  

While the authors did not create the world in which their story took place, it would be true to say they were the ones who brought it to life. As the first fantasy book I read as a child, it will always have a very special place in my heart for introducing me to the world of Krynn and the epic battles between the forces of Paladine the Platinum Dragon and Takisis the Dragon Queen.

With the dragon armies ravaging the land, I was enthralled with the small group of adventurers with amazing characters, such as their leader, Tanis Half-Elven, and the mysterious and frail wizard Raistlin, who relied on his warrior twin brother Caramon. As I read, I felt like I was part of the group suffering from defeat and celebrating their victories. I also had a special affinity for the group, as my friends and I had assumed these characters were in the Dungeons & Dragons gaming modules. 

This book filled me with excitement and anticipation as I finished the final page, as I knew Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning were to follow. 

Being such a fan of the work of David Gemmell, I was delighted when I found this book and felt like Anthony Ryan had combined an emulation of Gemmell’s style with his own sensibility and pragmatism to create a wonderfully realized world. The characters are brilliantly developed and have a well-defined psychological realism. The magic system feels so distinctive from other fantasy stories I have read, and I loved the way the focus throughout the story splits into three and coalesces smoothly and coherently. I found the theme of religious conflict particularly pertinent.

I was reminded of the movie masterpiece Full Metal Jacket as Vaelin Al Sorna, a new recruit to the Sixth Order, undergoes brutal training and the loss of fellow recruits to find his place in the order in the earlier parts of the story and later in the book we see him put the training into action outside of the Orders protective walls in deadly combat. 

I loved the detail and realism which brought me along on Vaelin’s struggles and adventures. It is an amazing thing when the reader can smell the forest around the character, feel the anticipation of an impending fight or hear ‘the distant high-pitched yelps of dogs growing into sharp threatening barks as they drew closer.’ 

I do not think any list relating to fantasy books would be complete without an entry from David Gemmell, a true gold standard of the genre. Legend is another book I first fell in love with as a teenager. I loved the simple enough premise: countless enemies at the gates of a fortress, and if the fortress falls, the Drenai Empire falls.

The story also introduces what I believe to be one of the most iconic heroes in heroic fantasy, the Deathwalker—Druss The Legend. While there were battles like nothing I had ever read before it was the interaction between the characters and the fellowship of the embattled defenders which brought me into this world fully as I read. The expert craft of the story made me really care about each of the characters and their fate. 

There is an expertly realised villain in Ulric, the leader of the enemy, Nadir, who is not portrayed as a force of evil but simply the leader of his people, which I really liked. With the action focused on a very small part of the wider world, the book nevertheless presents that world brilliantly.  

This is the opening book of the Elenium series and is an excellent example of the heroic quest-type tale. The cynical but lovable Pandion Knight, Sparhawk and his fellow companions must venture to find a cure for a mysterious illness that is besetting their queen.

The mixture of personalities of the companions in the questing group and how they play off one another is what I felt made this book such an excellent read. The world-building is strongly written and realistic for the characters to traverse, and the pacing of the story never lets the reader forget about the ticking clock counting down the seconds of life remaining to the queen, making the stakes of the character's actions all the higher.