The Dragon’s Gold: 20 of the Best Award-Winning Fantasy Books

Winner of the Locus Award 1980

McKillip was the first female writer to win a Locus Award, which she did with Harpist in the Wind! It’s the third and final installment in the Riddle-Master series. The story follows prince Morgon of Hed and his companion Raederle of An as they set out to finally discover the identities of the shape changers who follow them — which leads them in one last thrilling adventure across the realm.

Winner of the Hugo Award, Locus Award, Nebula Award, and Bram Stoker Award 2002–2003

Neil Gaiman has several award-winning fantasy books under his belt, but American Gods in particular has won a lot of awards! The story follows a man named Shadow, who just got out of jail when his wife is killed in a car accident. Grieving, Shadow takes a job as the bodyguard of the mysterious Mr. Wednesday. This man is actually an incarnation of one of the Old Gods, and their mission across the U.S. is to recruit more deities in a battle against the New Gods.

Winner of the Hugo Award, Locus Award for Best First Novel, and World Fantasy Award 2005

This is an alternate history type of fantasy that introduces a magical England in the early 19th century. The book follows the mysterious Mr. Norrell, the last magician left in the country. Or so he thinks. For it turns out that another man, Jonathan Strange, can also wield magic. Despite being complete opposites, Jonathan becomes Mr. Norrell’s apprentice. This kickstarts a history of feuds and antics between the two that will change the course of history forever.

Winner of the Locus Award 2009

Lavinia is an incredible character study that reimagines a classic character from Greek myth. Specifically, Ursula K. Le Guin uses this novel to explore a woman who is underrated in The Aeneid — the titular Lavinia! This woman was the daughter of King Latinus, destined to marry none other than the hero Aeneas and found an empire. In this book she already knows this — and much more about her future. Lavinia will take matters into her own hands and finally tell her own story.

Winner of the Hugo Award, British Fantasy Award, and Nebula Award 2011-2012 

Among Others is the only epistolary book on this list — written as the diary of the main character. The author describes it as the story of “a science fiction reader who has fantasy problems.” It all begins with twins Morwenna and Morgana, who grew up in the hills of Wales with magic and the occasional fae. But their lives are turned upside down when their mother, a power-hungry witch, attempts to take over the world. The conflict with their mother goes sideways, and Mori runs away in an attempt to start over.

Winner of the British Fantasy Award, Crawford Award, and World Fantasy Award 2014

A Stranger in Olondria follows Jevick, the son of a merchant who takes yearly selling trips to Olondria. This is a magical place in which books are everywhere — and Jevick loves hearing stories about it. So when his father dies, Jevick very willingly takes his place. The problem is, he is now haunted by the ghost of an illiterate girl. Jevick seeks the help of two Olondrian priests, who instead make him a pawn in their conflict. And to set himself free of them, he must set free his own ghost as well.

Winner of the Nebula Award and the Locus Award and the British Fantasy Award 2015–2016

Uprooted is a more classic kind of epic fantasy complete with dragons and wizards! The story follows Agnieszka, who lives in a village near the evil woods. Their only shield against this dark place is a wizard known as Dragon, and he comes at a terrible price. Every ten years, a young woman must join the wizard and serve him for the following decade. Agnieszka fears he will choose her beloved friend Kasia this time — only it’s not Kasia’s turn to join his ranks.

Winner of the Hugo Award 2016 

I chose to add The Fifth Season to this list, but the entire Broken Earth trilogy actually won the Hugo Award! Jemisin took the trophy home for three consecutive years. The story is set in a broken world that is about to see the worst Fifth Season in its history. It is in this context that we follow three women named Essun, Damaya, and Syenite. Essun is a villager whose husband just murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Damaya is a powerful orogene, and her family has sent her to the Fulcrum — a place where they’ll teach her to control her powers and then use her as a weapon. Lastly there’s Syenite, who is already a trainee at the Fulcrum camp. The three of them have their own journeys, and each one is as spectacular as rest.

Winner of the Nebula Award and the Locus Award 2017

This book is a brilliant mix of sci-fi and fantasy that actually pits magic against science! All the Birds in the Sky follows two childhood friends named Patricia and Laurence. Patricia is a witch, and Laurence a mad scientist. They parted ways after a mysterious conflict in middle school and hadn’t seen each other since. Now, as adults, they meet once again in San Francisco and their actions could help save the world — or end it.

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Author 2018 and the Lodestar Award 2019

Moving on to an incredible YA fantasy inspired by African mythology! Children of Blood and Bone follows a girl named Zélie, whose mother was killed when all of Orïsha’s magic users were persecuted by the monarchy. Now, years later, Zélie comes face to face with Princess Amari. The princess has in her possession a magical scroll that can awaken any maji’s powers. Determined to bring back magic to Orïsha and with newfound powers, Zélie teams up with Amari on the quest of their lives.

Winner of the World Fantasy Award 2018

Jade City is what you get when you put The Godfather in an urban fantasy setting — which is to say, a kick-ass story full of martial arts, magic, and plenty of action! The story follows the Kaul family, one of the main crime syndicates that rule the island of Kekon. They are also a Green Bone clan, which means they have the ability to use jade to gain these incredible powers. The problem is, tensions are brewing between the Kauls and another clan — and both families are powerful enough to determine the fate of the whole island.

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards and Book of the Month Book of the Year Award 2018

Madeline Miller’s Circe is easily one of the best-known Greek mythology retellings you can read! This book gives a new voice to the character of Circe, who was often considered a villain in the original Greek stories. She was the daughter of the Titan Helios and lived in his realm until she committed an unspeakable act with her magic. From that point on, Circe had to carve her own way through the world, often enjoying the company of mortals despite her banishment. But despite living alone on her island, danger lurks in the shadows and Circe will have to fight to protect what she loves.

Winner of the Lodestar Award and Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel 2018

The first book to earn the Lodestar Award for YA fantasy was Okorafor’s sequel to Akata Witch! The story continues the adventures of Sunny Nwazue, who joined the secret Leopard Society and helped save the world. Now, she continues to study her Nsibidi book in order to unlock its secrets. Everything seems calmer now. But Sunny can’t escape her destiny forever — and her road leads to another epic battle that could change the fate of the world once more.

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2019

Ninth House was very popular when it came out in 2019, so it’s no wonder readers chose it as the best fantasy book of the year in the Goodreads Choice Awards! This book kicks off the adventures of Alex Stern, a member of Yale’s Ninth House. They’re in charge of keeping the other secret societies and their occult activities in line — and Alex was specifically chosen for this role thanks to her ability to see ghosts. But her mentor Darlington just disappeared, and it’s up to Alex to find him and unearth the dark secrets of her new university.

Winner of the World Fantasy Award 2020

Queen of the Conquered is a Caribbean-inspired fantasy that explores the devastating effects of colonial oppression. The story follows a young woman named Sigourney Rose. She has the power to control minds, and a plan to enact her revenge on the people who killed her family. This plan involves infiltrating the ranks of her island’s ruling colonizers. But someone is killing them off one by one to clear themselves a path for the throne — which means that Sigourney is on their path of rampage.

Winner of the World Fantasy Award 2021

Trouble the Saints is a dark yet magical historical fantasy set 1940s New York, right at the beginning of WWII. The story follows a woman named Phyllis. She’s hired as a hitwoman by one of Manhattan’s cruelest boss mobs — all thanks to her powers. Phyllis has “saints’ hands”, which allows her to swiftly kill her boss’s enemies. But she doesn’t like being a cold-blooded killer, and a visit from her past may be the key to changing her whole life.

Winner of the Lodestar Award and Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book 2021

The next YA book on this list has a super unique and fun combination of baking + magic. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking follows the story of 14-year-old Mona. She uses her magical powers to create the most delicious concoctions for her family’s bakery. But one day she finds a corpse on the bakery floor. It’s quickly apparent that someone is targeting magical people in the city — and Mona could be the next victim. To make things worse, the city is under attack and Mona is charged with defending it. What could possibly go wrong?

Winner of the Nebula Award 2022

Moving on to this incredibly fun fantasy that is set in an alternate 1912 Cairo and has the most immaculate steampunk vibes! A Master of Djinn continues the adventures of Agent Fatma, which began with the short story “A Dead Djinn in Cairo“. Fatma works for the Ministry of Alchemy, and this time she’s tasked with investigating the murder of the mysterious Brotherhood of al-Jahiz, a.k.a. the man who brought magic into the world. The problem is, the murderer claims to be al-Jahiz himself. Is it really him or is it an imposter? Fatma will have to discover the truth before the city descends into absolute chaos.

Winner of the British Fantasy Award 2022

This is an incredible literary fantasy that reimagines the rise of emperor Zhu Yuanzhuan, who founded the Ming dynasty in 14th century China! She Who Became the Sun follows an unnamed girl of the Zhu family, who is given the fate of nothingness while her brother is destined for greatness. But when their father dies, her brother dies of grief. Zhu is now left alone, and in order to survive she decides to take her brother’s name and his fate.

Winner of the World Fantasy Award 2022

Last but not least, this is an incredible fantasy inspired by the history and epics of India! The Jasmine Throne is full of political intrigue as it follows a princess and a maidservant who must work together to decide the fate of an empire. The princess is named Malini, and she was imprisoned by her dictator brother. Priya is one of her maidservants, and she hides a dangerous secret — she can wield forbidden magic. When Malini discovers Priya’s secret, the two strike a deal so that Malini can depose her treacherous brother and Priya can finally find her family.