It's almost impossible for a fantasy book to not include any tropes or rely on formula, but some authors push themselves to defy expectations and subvert the genre. While there's a reason that tropes are popular, such as the hero's journey and the sword and sorcery formulas, those aspects of these narratives are so synonymous that the time has come for authors to break with tradition. Of course, writers must understand the rules of fantasy to challenge them, so this leads to a deep love of the genre that can be found in so many of these creative works.

Many of these fantasy books have shocking plot twists that readers don't see coming. While a successful twist isn't the only mark of a good book, it does show that the writers understand how to work both within and without the fantasy format. Settings, characters, and plot developments must all work in harmony within the narrative, creating something unique when blended together. Plenty of these works are the beginning of iconic series that went on to redefine the genre and bring fantasy into the mainstream.

10 Senlin Ascends (2013)

Written by Josiah Bancroft

The first in the Books of Babel series, Senlin Ascends​​​​​​, was the self-published debut by Josiah Bancroft, but the series has found a wide audience since then. Following the story of Thomas Senlin, a mild-mannered academic who loses his wife in the tower of Babel and embarks on an unforgettable adventure to find her. While the sacrifice of a wife and a hero's search for a female character are outdated elements of fantasy, Senlin Ascends doesn't capitulate to them, subverting them through Senlin's characterization.

Senlin is nothing like the typical chosen-one protagonist that readers encounter in fiction, but this makes him irresistibly relatable and intriguing.

Each level of the tower that Senlin explores is beautifully realized and unexpected, allowing the reader to fall deeper into the illusion of luxury alongside Senlin. Additionally, it's slowly revealed that many of the people Senlin encounters have lost loved ones, but it's the searchers who are often left behind and unable to save themselves. Senlin is nothing like the typical chosen-one protagonist that readers encounter in fiction, but this makes him irresistibly relatable and intriguing.

9 Uprooted (2015)

Written by Naomi Novik

One of the best fantasy books of the last ten years, Naomi Novik's Uprooted isn't simply a takeoff of Beauty and the Beast as the initial premise might suggest. Instead, the heroine, Agnieszka, fights tooth and nail against her destiny and refuses to sacrifice the people she loves for the sake of an unjust kingdom. The discovery that she has magic doesn't take her into a fantastical realm and elevate her from her circumstances. If anything, Agnieszka becomes even more rooted in her land and history as the story progresses.

Uprooted contains multiple stories in one but manages to do them all justice while maintaining the pace and action of the narrative. While there is a romance within the narrative, Agnieszka's relationship with her best friend, Kasia, is just as important to her development and pushes Agnieszka even further down her path to greatness. However, Agnieszka's desire to stay close to her family and home starkly contrasts with the typical protagonist who's desperate to escape their circumstances.

8 Babel, Or The Necessity Of Violence (2022)

Written by R.F. Kuang

R.F. Kuang has quickly risen to prominence as one of the most popular and innovative writers of the 21st century. Though most of her work falls within the fantasy genre, as her debut series, The Poppy War, garnered a strong following, Kuang has also recently explored realistic fiction with the critically acclaimed Yellowface. However, prior to this, Kuang penned Babel, which instantly was singled out for its critique and analysis of the history of colonialism through a speculative fiction lens.

The magic system in Babel is not used for good within the narrative and causes the protagonist, Robin, to question whether his love of language and its power can ever be removed from the grasp of British imperialism.

The magic system in Babel is not used for good within the narrative and causes the protagonist, Robin, to question whether his love of language and its power can ever be removed from the grasp of British imperialism. Issues of assimilation versus the need for revolt are the biggest questions posed in Babel, which takes a concrete political stance, something many fantasy books are fearful of. However, this makes it irrevocably relevant and a boundary-pushing project within the modern cultural context.

7 The Fifth Season (2015)

Written by N.K. Jemisin

N.K. Jemisin's The Broken Earth trilogy is a landmark fantasy series, not only because of its record-breaking streak of awards but because the story is so arresting. The Fifth Season is the first in the series and is a great introduction to the world of the Stillness and the deeply rooted allegories about climate change. Within The Fifth Season, the land and weather are part of the magic system, as the protagonists all have the power to control these elements, leading to persecution and disaster.

The twist at the end of The Fifth Season is subtly hinted at throughout the chapters. However, that doesn't make it any less satisfying when the audience reaches the inevitable conclusion. While the physicality of the world in The Fifth Season is a large part of what draws readers in, the characters and their harrowing journeys are just as compelling. After The Fifth Season, the sequels expand Jemisin's richly imagined world and never waver in the quality of the content.

6 Mort (1987)

Written by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld novels are some of the most important works in fantasy history. Highly influential and genre-bending, the Discworld novels all take place within the same universe but follow different characters and subseries. Mort was the first book to follow Death as the protagonist of a story and paved the way for one of the most popular subseries. While he might be the Grim Reaper, Death is a relatable character, and his plots appeal to the reader's pathos more than any other point of view.

Mort is cited as the Discworld book that first established what the series would become and struck a tone that connected with readers.

premise gives every book a satirical flavor and tongue-in-cheek elements, but the novels from Death's perspective are regarded as the most human. Pratchett's success with Discworld sprung from the ability of the stories to be funny and emotionally arresting. Mort is cited as the Discworld book that first established what the series would become and struck a tone that connected with readers. Though he's such a powerful character, Death isn't at all what audiences would expect.

5 Piranesi (2020)

Written by Susanna Clarke

It's just as much of a challenge for the reader to piece together what happened to the titular Piranesi as it is for the protagonist himself to unlock the secrets of his identity. Both a tragic tale of the loss of self and a celebration of what can become beautiful and understood through time and care, Piranesi isn't a typical fantasy book. Susanna Clarke is also the author behind Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell, an equally compelling and bizarre look into the human psyche and provokes a deeply emotional response.

Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction, Piranesi is in conversation with the famous surrealist artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi, who created some of the most spellbinding works of art of the 18th century. Alluding to this artwork as well as referencing many classic works of fantasy, Piranesi doesn't take the protagonist on the traditional hero's journey, and it's never Piranesi's goal to leave his constructed world. Rather, he seeks knowledge and understanding in whatever form that may take.

4 Bunny (2019)

Written by Mona Awad

Mona Awad's Bunny is a book that many writers will relate to, but its universal messages of friendship and self-acceptance will connect with every reader. Samantha, the self-proclaimed nonconformist of her writers' workshop in her prestigious MFA program, desperately wants the approval of her vapid peers. Throughout the dark and twisting tale, it soon turns out that Samantha can tap into a power fueled by her imagination and loneliness that the other women are desperate for.

Awad looks critically at the act of writing itself, encouraging the reader to do the same.

For fans of dark academia and fantasy books that border on being horror, Bunny is the perfect book. Awad leads Samantha and the reader down a terrifying rabbit hole that Sam must pull herself out of or risk losing her individuality forever. The audience roots for Samantha and hopes she'll break free of the manipulative bunnies, the other women in her program. However, this doesn't mean that Sam is always the most likable protagonist. Awad looks critically at the act of writing itself, encouraging the reader to do the same.

3 House Of Leaves (2000)

Written by Mark Z. Danielewski

House of Leaves is a genre-bending fantasy story that could be read several times for the overlapping storylines to be understood. What's the truth and what's been fabricated by the unreliable narrators is called into question throughout the story. Though House of Leaves is a novel, multiple mediums are explored through the metatextual references to documentaries, academic texts, journal entries, and much more. At the center of House of Leaves is the titular terrifying house that draws the characters in and won't let them go.

Even as the reader struggles to make sense of the conflicting s of the house's history, House of Leaves manages to deeply affect the audience and tell human stories. The deterioration of the social rules and obligations that the characters abide by as they delve deeper into their investigation of the house is an interesting comment on the breakdown of society and how art is a tool for understanding this. House of Leaves has been cited as a satire of academia and is unafraid to interrogate many hierarchal cultural structures.

2 This Is How You Lose The Time War (2019)

Written by Max Gladstone & Amal El-Mohtar

Though short in length, This is How You Lose the Time War packs a punch in emotional impact. The story is written from the dual perspectives of two soldiers on opposite sides of a never-ending war. Through this, the plot sees them grow to care for each other and risk the wrath of their respective empires. Told through letters, the structure of This is How You Lose the Time War is only one part of the novel's innovative style and perspective.

More than star-crossed lovers, Red and Blue are rediscovering their humanity and purpose for existing through each other.

Not only a richly romantic fantasy novel, The is How You Lose the Time War also interrogates the futile nature of war and the needless violence it incites. More than star-crossed lovers, Red and Blue are rediscovering their humanity and purpose for existing through each other. This is How You Lose the Time War has also been heralded for its LGBTQ+ representation and how Red and Blue aren't confined by gender norms or strict hierarchies of sexuality, which is reflected in the way they relate to each other through their letters.

1 Circe (2018)

Written by Madeline Miller

One of the best historical fantasy books, Circe, falls into the genre of retelling Greek myths, but Madeline Miller has always been one of the best writers at tackling these subjects. Her earlier work, The Song of Achilles, is similar but takes a more romantic look at the famously tragic tale. Circe takes back the story of the famous sorceress and tells it on her . While this is a popular fictional conceit, Circe doesn't rest on its laurels or let this be the only memorable aspect of the story.

As a character, Circe is rich and complex, and Miller never alters her story in an obvious way. Miller doesn't make Circe's narrative an epic tale of vengeance or retribution, instead focusing on her as a uniquely human character, allowing the reader to connect with her. Almost the entire work of fantasy takes place on Circe's island, Aeaea, giving the reader and Circe an outsider's objective view of the biggest moments of Greek mythology.