When an author successfully blends standard science fiction with fantasy elements, the results are spectacular. They take the best of each genre, creating sweeping stories that are grand in scope yet grounded in realism.
One of the series that paved the way for this style of writing is Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, a sweeping ten-book saga that takes a character from our mundane world and introduces them into several alternate realities.
It has nail-biting intrigue, apocalyptic stakes, incredible technology, fantastic magic, spectacular worlds, relentless heroes, chilling villains, and lots of swords. Essentially, everything we love in epic science fantasy stories.
We’ve gathered ten books like Chronicles of Amber—some of which meld sci-fi and fantasy tropes, some of which feature regular humans transported to a fantastic realm, and all of which highlight heroes on a high-stakes adventure—that you’re guaranteed to love.
The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Volume One
Fafhrd is a barbarian in the frozen, northern wastes who longs for adventure and excitement. Mouse is apprentice to a lowly hedge wizard, but he turns into The Grey Mouser when he exacts revenge for his master’s death.
In this delightful collection of Fritz Leiber's short stories, we learn about both men before they meet and become partners. Over the course of multiple volumes, the two unlikely heroes face fortune and ruin as they make their way across their world.
Leiber was one of the earliest writers in the sword and sorcery subgenre, which might appeal to readers who love the heroism and swashbuckling of Chronicles of Amber.
Three Hearts and Three Lions
Holger Carlson is a Danish engineer who gets shot down in World War II by the Nazis. But when he lands, he finds himself not in Europe, but an alternate reality where magic is real. He is transformed into the legendary Holger Danske, knight of the Three Hearts and Three Lions.
As armies of fairies, trolls, and demons plan on using the Wild Hunt to overthrow the realm of man, Holger is the only one standing between the army of Chaos and the world he helped build.
A Place Among the Fallen
Humankind is on the brink of disaster, but they continue to fight for their survival against the alien species determined to eradicate them.
When the Csendook find humanity's last sanctuary, it seems like the end is near. As the advancing army closes in, renegade hero Ussemitus struggles to convince humans and the warriors of Innasmorn to fight together.
But none of that matters when a corrupt master tries to harness dark power called Mother of Storms to save the day. All these forces converge, threatening to unravel the fabric of the universe—unless one hero can stop it.
A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle Series Book 1)
Before Ged was the greatest of the great wizards, dragonlord, and Archmage, he was known as Sparrowhawk. That’s when he accidentally unleashed a shadow on the world. To right his wrongs he must learn to control his powers, face a monster, and cross over between the land of the living and the dead.
The Earthsea Cycle is a vividly-rendered fantasy series filled with a ton of adventure, and layered with powerful themes.
The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
Stephen King's Dark Tower saga spans eight-plus books. But it all begins in this first volume, in which a gunslinger and a young boy transported from New York chase a man in black across a ruined world.
Like Chronicles of Amber, King's saga takes place in both Earth as we know it as well as multiple other dimensions, and marries sci-fi and fantasy to remix tropes from Arthurian legend.
The Inheritance Cycle
Eragon doesn’t think the blue stone he finds is anything other than a lucky discovery. It’s pretty enough that perhaps it will help buy food over the winter. But then the stone hatches and a dragon comes out.
Overnight, Eragon’s life changes. He’s thrust into a dangerous new world with nothing but an ancient sword, a storyteller, and a fledgling dragon. Eragon must learn to become a legendary Dragon Rider or the fate of the Empire will fall.
With each book in the quartet, Eragon and the dragon Saphira grow stronger as they overcome numerous challenges on the road to facing their ultimate enemy.
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The Sword of Shannara Trilogy
A half-human, half-elven man is the only one standing in the way of total destruction of the world at the hands of a dead Warlock Lord.
An ancient tree holding all Elven magic is dying, and if two brave warriors can’t renew the magic, demons will descend on Earth. Two siblings with inherited magic must work together to stop a dark form of magic from rising.
Three separate but connected stories span generations as evil repeatedly rises and threatens to destroy the world.
The Great Library Series
The Great Library controls knowledge in every major city. Through powerful alchemy, any book can be delivered to an individual instantly. But no one is allowed to actually own a physical book.
Jess Brightwell believes in the value the Library offers mankind, but his family also thrives selling books on the black market. He’s sent to enter the Library’s service as a spy, but when his friend invents a device that amounts to heresy, Jess’ loyalties are tested.
The Great Library believes knowledge is worth more than anyone’s life. And they are planning to burn heretics and books to maintain their power.
The Dragonlance Chronicles
After a trio of friends go their separate ways, they come back with secrets that could change the world. But when the dragons return to Krynn, led by the powerful Queen of Darkness, the group embarks on a quest none of them ever expected.
Follow these unlikely heroes as they struggle to overcome the mounting darkness that threatens to destroy everything they ever loved.
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Daggerspell
Four generations ago, one man was responsible for a couple’s death. Vowing to put right the wrong, he lays the path for a future girl who impacts everyone she loves.
As their souls are bound through various lives, we watch as they struggle against darkness, trying to overcome the missteps of the past and fulfill the destinies carved for each of them centuries before.
The first in the beloved Deverry series, Daggerspell cements the history of the characters and the world through various timelines while opening the door for many adventures to come.
Deryni Rising
The Haldanes have ruled Gwynedd for ages with a long-held secret: their blood holds the power of the Deryni. And in a land where the Church reigns supreme, there is no place for magic.
When the king mysteriously dies, a young prince is not only set to inherit the throne but to learn of the magic in his blood. But he faces another challenge.
A young woman who isn’t afraid to wield her Deryni powers demands the prince face her in magical combat—and he only has days to learn how to fight. If he loses, he dies. But if he wins, the entire world will know he has magic.
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Dragonflight
Dragonflight is the first novel in Anne McCaffrey's beloved science-fantasy series the Dragonriders of Pern.
It centers around the relationship between dragons and colonizing humans on the planet of Pern, who must work together to survive in the face of an invading, destructive organism called the Thread.
