The best science fantasy novels about non-human worlds that act very human

Why am I passionate about this?

I was talking to some scientifically minded people online when I came across quantum physics. When I read that there’s something scientists call the Quantum Realm, I knew I had to write a book. I took the information a German scientist who specialized in quantum theory gave me and created a science fantasy world. I have a masters in English and a bachelor's in communication. Two of the most important questions a fiction author can ask are What if? and Why not? Instead of having a regular guy fall into a magic world, I had the magician’s apprentice fall into a world of science just to see what he’d do. 


I wrote...

Queen of the Quantum Realm

By Rhonda Denise Johnson,

Book cover of Queen of the Quantum Realm

What is my book about?

In this YA fantasy novel, Jawan, apprentice of the powerful earth mage, finds himself trapped in a world one-billionth his normal size where subatomic beings hail him as the hero who comes to save them. Jawan knows he doesn’t belong in this world and longs to go home, but he must stop Antipan whose machinations threaten both worlds.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Elfland

Rhonda Denise Johnson Why did I love this book?

The elves in this small English town have to blend in with their human neighbors. And a good job of it they do, too. I like the tenacity of Rosie Foxx. Her brother insists that she marry a human, and going along to get along seems the best course of action. But her elven heritage will not be denied. In a way, she is like the positrons in queen of the Quantum Realm—outcasts as they are, they think it better to be transformed into something they are not. this is very human.   

By Freda Warrington,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Elfland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2009 Romantic Times Award for BEST FANTASY NOVEL

“Even the most jaded fantasy reader will quickly fall under the spell of her characters and the warm, intimate voice Warrington uses to tell their stories. Highly recommended.” —Charles de Lint, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Rosie Fox is a daughter of Aetherials, an ancient race from the Spiral—the innermost realm of the Otherworld—who live secretly among us. Yet she and her kind are bereft of their origins, because on Earth, in a beautiful village named Cloudcroft, the Great Gates between worlds stand sealed.

Her parents, Auberon…


Book cover of Artemis Fowl

Rhonda Denise Johnson Why did I love this book?

Eoin Colfer is a master of science fantasy mixing fairy magic and high technology in a seamless drama. Like Jawan in my book, Holly Short gets in trouble by disobeying a direct order—to stand by and wait for the boss to figure out what to do while disaster spreads unmolested. I just jumped right into that very human situation where the rank and file are out in the field agonizing over whether or not to obey the orders of armchair superiors micromanaging a situation without being there.   

By Eoin Colfer,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Artemis Fowl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

Now an original movie on Disney+!

Twelve-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous--and extremely high-tech--fairies. He kidnaps one of them, Holly Short, and holds her for ransom in an effort to restore his family's fortune. But he may have underestimated the fairies' powers. Is he about to trigger a cross-species war?

Disney's “Artemis Fowl” is directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Tamara Smart, Nonzo Anozie, with Josh Gad, and Judi Dench.


Book cover of Magic Kingdom for Sale

Rhonda Denise Johnson Why did I love this book?

I like the way Brooks orchestrates his characters to produce both conflict and entertainment—from the deadpan sarcasm of Abernathy to Ben Holiday himself whose training as a lawyer makes it hard for him to accept the realities of Landover, the magic kingdom. Part of Ben’s problem is political. While in my book, Jawan is the reluctant hero of Nanosia’s nonhuman populace, in Magic Kingdom, Ben is determined to be the king of Landover’s fairy world outcasts who reject him because they don’t see the benefit of changing the status quo. 

By Terry Brooks,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Magic Kingdom for Sale as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Here in his first non-Shannara novel, Terry Brooks has written a gripping story of mystery, magic, and adventure—sure to delight fantasy readers everywhere.

Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement has promised. But after he purchased it, Ben Holiday learned that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention.

The kingdom was in ruin. The Barons refused to recognize a king, and the peasants were without hope. A dragon was laying waste the countryside, while an evil witch plotted to destroy everything.

Ben's only followers were the incompetent Court…


Book cover of A Spell for Chameleon

Rhonda Denise Johnson Why did I love this book?

A tree is just a tree. But the trees in Santh have a humanesque will to survive. They’ve evolved magic properties that keep predators from cutting them down—a peace spell that causes would-be lumberjacks to fall asleep and never wake up or a ignore spell that causes predators to ignore them. The magical plants of Santh understand what drives their enemies and use that knowledge against them.

By Piers Anthony,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked A Spell for Chameleon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

BEST NOVEL OF THE YEAR, BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY • Discover the magical beginning of Piers Anthony’s enthralling Xanth series

Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled—where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks.

For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some—and got some fast!—he would be exiled. Forever. But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted…


Book cover of Abarat

Rhonda Denise Johnson Why did I love this book?

I like the way Barker takes really bizarre characters like John Mischief and makes the reader relate to them in an unexpected way. What could be more human than an experience of unrequited love. In Abarat, the lord of midnight falls in love with the princess of day. He’s a really evil guy, but his falling in love is still believable because he’s thinking about the joining of night and day. I’m glad Barker didn’t try to get me to feel sorry for him by showing how his mother locked him in a closet when he was a little boy. That is so boilerplate.

By Clive Barker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Abarat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

A dazzling fantasy adventure for all ages, the first of a quartet.

Abarat: an archipelago of amazement and wonder. A land made up of twenty-five islands, each one representing one hour of the day, each one a unique place of adventure and danger (and one mysterious place out of time), all ruled over by the evil Christopher Carrion, Lord of Midnight, and his monstrous grandmother, Mater Motley.

Candy Quackenbush, a 16-year old from Chickentown, Minnesota, crosses by accident from our world into Abarat, and discovers she has been there many, many times before. She has friends there and she has…


You might also like...

Split Decision

By David Perlmutter,

Book cover of Split Decision

David Perlmutter Author Of The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a freelance writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, specializing in media history and speculative fiction. I have been enchanted by animation since childhood and followed many series avidly through adulthood. My viewing inspired my MA thesis on the history of animation, out of which grew two books on the history and theory of animation on television, America 'Toons In: A History of Television Animation (available from McFarland and Co.) and The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows (available from Rowman and Littlefield). Hopefully, others will follow.

David's book list on understanding the history of animation

What is my book about?

Jefferson Ball, the mightiest female dog in a universe of the same, is, despite her anti-heroic behavior, intent on keeping her legacy as an athlete and adventurer intact. So, when female teenage robot Jody Ryder inadvertently angers her by smashing her high school records, Jefferson is intent on proving her superiority by outmuscling the robot in a not-so-fair fight. Not wanting to seem like a coward, and eager to end her enemy's trash talking, Jody agrees.

However, they have been lured to fight each other by circumstances beyond their control. Which are intent on destroying them if they don't destroy each other in combat first...

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in magic-supernatural, elves, and fairies?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about magic-supernatural, elves, and fairies.

Magic-Supernatural Explore 585 books about magic-supernatural
Elves Explore 63 books about elves
Fairies Explore 127 books about fairies