SHOULD YOU READ THESE FANTASY & SCI-FI CLASSICS IN 2026?
A lot of classic books can seem intimidating, and I don’t just mean Frankenstein or Wuthering Heights. I’m also talking about classic titles in fantasy and in Sci-fi. But today we’re going to deep dive into them and see if they are still worth your time and whether you should pick them up in 2026 – or not!
Bilbo & Lord of the Rings
J.R.R Tolkien
If you enjoy fantasy books and haven’t read Bilbo or the Lord of the Rings yet, I think definitely you should give it a go.
I know some people think they seem complicated, but I assure you they are not. I would recommend that you start with Bilbo, which honestly is more of a children’s book, and it’s such a cozy read.
I think that if you consider yourself a fantasy reader, then the next step after Bilbo is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The books aren’t that long, honestly, and they are quite easy read.
The language is a bit special since they’re written so long ago, but once you get into it, you get used to it. There’s so much world building, so much lore, and it’s just this amazing adventure that I would really recommend that you read sometime in your life. Another thing that makes this book kind of special is that it’s also a lot of songs in these books, but that also helps setting the tone.
I’ve read them multiple times (the first time when I was 10 years old, but I thought that Gimli was called Glimi half of the first book), but if you are curious and don’t wanna read them, I can highly recommend you to listen to them on audio book. They are amazing there as well, and it’s really nice to go on in your every day life wrapped up in this magical world.
So if you’re thinking about picking up Bilbo or a Lord of the Rings, as a fantasy reader, I would absolutely say yes.
Game of Thrones
George R.R Martin
Another book series I want to mention is Game of Thrones, because if you have just watched TV series, you are actually missing out on something big.
Like most other people. I actually got my eyes on these books when the first TV series came out, but I read them as soon as I could. I would say they are a really fun and interesting read, and they differ quite a lot from the TV series, especially the latter seasons.
Everybody knows that we might not get the final books in this series, but I still think it’s worth your time, especially the first books in the series, because they are just amazing. They differ some from the TV series as well. Maybe not the politics and the characters. But the thing I missed in the TV series was the focus on the magic, which is a lot more deep in the books. I think he was going somewhere really interesting with things happening beyond the wall with the dire wolf bonding and the magic in the world, and that’s one of the main things I am so disappointed not to get to know more about if he never finishes this series.
I have to say that the fourth and the fifth book are a little bit longer than they had to be. And I also didn’t really enjoy what he did with the characters because they are following the same timeline, but he split the characters into the two different books. So all my favorite characters were in the fifth book, so I thought the fourth book was kind of slow at times.
But if you are thinking about reading them, I highly recommend them because I think they are worth your time. Especially if you like fantasy and want to deep dive in to a fun and interesting world with a lot of politics, morally grey characters and dragons.
Dune
Frank Herbert
One book that I know many people think is quite daunting to pick up is the sci-fi classic Dune, and I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, honestly.
If you enjoy sci-fi and a bit more complex reading and if you have read Will of the Many or books like that, then I absolutely think you should read this. But if you’re completely new to sci-fi, then I probably wouldn’t recommend it as a first in this genre.
I usually read books first, but I saw the first movie before I read it and was mindblown. I immediately knew I had to read it and I was not disappointed.
Like many examples with movies and books, we get so much more of everything in the written version. More of the world(s), more of the history behind current events and the status in the universe, and more backstory of the relationships. But I must say it was a bit hard for me to get through at some points. So I had to really focus to keep reading – not force myself to read, but I had to make a commitment to continue. But if you’re curious and if you want more from the Dune world than the movies, then I think you really should read it.
Otherwise, I might be upsetting some people here. I would say that this is one of the rare cases where you could actually watch the movies and not read the book.
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The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman
When we’re talking classics, I personally would say that the Golden Compass is a book series in that category. At least for me because it had such high impact on my reading. This is more of a children’s book but I just love this series.
It’s a finished trilogy by Philip Pullman and it has also been made into a movie and a TV series, but the books are amazing.
We get to follow Lyra who lives in the world quite similar to ours, but with more magic in it. She is searching for her friend Robert, who has gone missing and is also trying to figure out what her mysterious, powerful and quite abscent father is doing with his research of the Northern Lights.
In this book we have really interesting magic system, animal companions and great characters. I even named my cat Lyra because I enjoyed this series so much. So if you are thinking about picking up something easy, but still really, really cozy, I absolutely recommend it today as well.
The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
Another book series I want mention is The King Killer Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. The Name of the Wind is the first in this series, and then we also have the second book, A Wise Man’s fear.
But the main issue here is that this isn’t a finished series either, but I absolutely loved it when I read it. So I think it’s worth your time, but I’m still not sure if I would recommend it.
We get to follow our main protagonist Kvothe, in this big adventure, where he is trying to understand what happens to his parents and revenge their murders. He is also attending this school to learn magic and is working on his fighting skills. I liked the world a lot and you get really invested while you read. So I really enjoyed reading this, and know so many other people do, but I’m not sure if I would recommend it because we haven’t heard anything from Patrick Rothfuss about this series in almost a decade.
So if you’re thinking about this, I would probably say maybe – because you really want to know how it ends.
Narnia
C.S.S Lewis
And I can’t make an article like this without talking about Narnia, which is just this exciting fairytale, which I basically was raised with. So this is also more of a children’s book, but if you haven’t read it, I it’s really worth your time.
The first book is about four children who lives at their uncle’s estate, and they accidentally stumbled through a closet and comes to the secret world of Narnia. Magic and mysterious things are happening, both good and bad.
This book series was published 1958 for the first time, and you can tell while you’re reading it. It is quite conservative and the gender roles are quite old for example. But I still think it’s a fun read if you take it for what it’s and just enjoy the story.
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