The 10 Best Selling Fantasy Books of All Time   

Fantasy books are some of the most popular books out there. The world-building and magical elements make them hard to put down! We decided to look at the 10 best selling fantasy books of all time to see which ones fans have loved the most over the years! 

Many of the books on this list will be familiar names to most readers. Who hasn’t heard of The Lord of the Rings or The Song of Ice and Fire series? But some names on this list might surprise you. Maybe you didn’t realize that some of these books were a lot more popular than you first thought.

I love discovering new fantasy books to read and this list was able to surprise me. I didn’t think there would a ton of books that I hadn’t read. I will be adding them to my reading list for this year. You can see the best selling fantasy books of all time list below!

 The 10 Best Selling Fantasy Books of All Time   

• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954): Copies sold: +150 million 
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996): Copies sold: +90 million 
• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (1990): Copies sold: +90 million 
• Discworld by Terry Pratchett (1983): Copies sold: +80 million 
• Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice: (1976): Copies sold: +80 million 
• The Dark Tower by Stephen King (1982): Copies sold: +30 million 
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991): Copies sold: +26 million 
• Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind (1994): Copies sold: +25 million 
• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (2006): Copies sold: +10 million 
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (2007): Copies sold: +10m 

The Fellowship of the Rings

These are the ten best-selling fantasy books of all time. The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien takes the top spot with over 150 million copies sold since it was published in 1954. Many fantasy novels have used Tolkien’s format to write fantasy books but nothing beats the original.

I love this novel and series and love rereading it whenever I can. The fantasy genre has changed a lot since it was first published. But there are so many things it does well and few books have been fully able to recapture the magic that is The Lord of the Rings.

A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin comes in second place with over 90 million copies sold. The drop-off from between the two books shows just how beloved Tolkien’s novel is. Even before the HBO TV show, Martin’s novels were selling like hotcakes. But it definitely helped having one of the biggest TV shows of all time.

The novel and series is a lot different than Tolkien’s classic series and that might be why it became so popular. Martin’s novels are violent and you can’t get attached to a character because there is a good chance that they might not survive. If the series was completed, I would rank this series pretty high but who knows when that will be.

The Eye of the World

Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World comes in at third with also over 90 million copies sold. The Eye of the World book series has seen a rise in popularity since it made its debut in 1990. Fantasy writer Brandon Sanderon helped finish the series after Jordan passed away.

I read the first three books in the series and I have to say, this series is not for me. It is well written but it drags out too long for my liking. The novels use the Tolkien format but also commentate on the whole destiny thing which I did like. The pacing is just too slow but I can see why it has a mass appeal.

Discworld

In Fourth place is Discworld by Terry Pratchett, a beloved series that has sold over 80 million copies. And while it may not be as well known as the first three fantasy series, Discworld has cemented itself as a favorite with fans of fantasy. With 41 books in the series so far, it is easily the longest series to make the list.

Interview with the Vampire

And coming in at fifth place is Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Some lists consider this a fantasy novel and I decided to include it too. I enjoyed reading Rice’s take on vampires and can see why it the series has sold over 80 million copies since published.

Seeing vampires make the list of the best selling fantasy books is an impressive feat. I loved every second of it and can see why it is so popular. It is one of the reasons I visited New Orleans and I am glad that I did.

Conclusion 

You may have noticed that the top eight books on the list were all published before 2000. Very few authors have seen the same amount of success but a few new names have also established themselves as amazing fantasy writers. Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss round up the top ten with novels published after 2000.

What did you think of the 10 best selling fantasy books of all time list? How many of these books have you read? Let us know in the comments below! 

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