Summary

• Standalone fantasy novels allow authors to focus on characters and magic systems without the constraints of a long series.
• Notable standalone fantasy novels include The Song of Achilles, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and The Princess Bride.
• Authors like Madeline Miller, Neil Gaiman, and V. E. Schwab have crafted impactful standalone fantasy works.

Even die-hard fans of epic fantasy series, awaiting the most anticipated fantasy book series of 2024, sometimes want to enjoy an amazing standalone fantasy novel. Some of today's most popular fantasy authors have built their careers solely through standalone works, or endeavored to write one or more as a departure from their usual long-running stories. Without the burden of building a conflict big enough to take up several books, standalones can direct more focus to characters while still depicting fascinating magic systems.

These magic systems found in standalone novels may be just as complex and stratified as those in popular fantasy series, or they may be vaguer as the writer does not think sacrificing time to explain everything is worthwhile. Standalone novels tend to have much more focused stories and everything that makes it into the final book must be in service of the main premise. However, standalones are still an amazing way to discover new fantasy worlds.

25 The Song Of Achilles (2011)

By Madeline Miller

The runaway smash hit novel The Song of Achilles was one of the earliest books endorsed by BookTok. Madeline Miller recounts the events of the Trojan War like never before, emphasizing the longevity of the war and the role of average soldiers, exploring the conflicting emotions of the mythological Greek hero Achilles, and making Achilles’ relationship with his “friend” Patroclus explicitly romantic. Miller wrote an instant modern classic that anyone who considers themselves interested in fantasy or revisionist mythology needs to read. Readers might then find themselves on the path to reading Miller’s Circe and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad.

24 The Once And Future Witches (2020)

By Alix E. Harrow

In The Once and Future Witches, witchcore aesthetics and mythology meet the history of women’s suffrage. A trio of sisters with strained relationships find themselves in a small New England town and lead a secret circle of women to use magic against those who oppress them. The Once and Future Witches shows how women are divided by perceived slights and misunderstandings, usually constructed by a patriarchal enemy. Yet when these women come together, they are unstoppable. This book also illustrates power found through kinship that is accessible to anyone, no matter their race, sexuality, or gender.

23 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004)

By Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke and Donna Tartt are perhaps collectively responsible for the modern conception of dark academia, with stories centering around secret societies that study and practice magic, often hidden within a prestigious academic institution. Readers eager to know what happens in Leigh Bardugo’s third Alex Stern novel can the time with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. In Clarke’s debut novel, 10 years in the making, two magicians in 19th-century England are drawn to each other out of mutual curiosity and ion, but their tentative partnership soon spirals into an intense rivalry.

22 One Last Stop (2021)

By Casey McQuiston

One Last Stop is more of an urban rom-com with some elements of fantasy. The second novel by Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White & Royal Blue, One Last Stop follows cynical August Landry when she moves to New York City and falls in love with Jane, who is displaced in time from the 1970s and eternally stuck on the subway. One Last Stop is the only novel by McQuiston (so far) that can loosely be considered fantasy, but it is as heartwarming of a story and romance and community as their other works, with LGBTQ+ history expertly woven in.

21 To Kill A Kingdom (2018)

By Alexandra Christo

Alexandra Christo blends the idea of mermaids presented by Hans Christian Andersen and Disney and the mythology of Sirens into a violent retelling of The Little Mermaid. In To Kill a Kingdom, the Siren princess Lira is cursed by her mother to be a human until she kills the human prince. Meanwhile, Prince Elian has little interest in inheriting the throne and leads a found family of a crew of seafaring Siren hunters. Lira and Elian’s conflicting missions conflict with their inevitable romance, but along the way, they make conscious decisions about the kind of leaders they want to be.

20 American Gods (2001)

By Neil Gaiman

Make no mistake — Neil Gaiman is one of the masters of fantasy of the modern age.

Make no mistake — Neil Gaiman is one of the masters of fantasy of the modern age. American Gods contemplates what people “worship” in the modern day, with deities from all cultures losing their power to mass media and consumerism. At the center of this is the protagonist, ex-convict Shadow Moon, who is introduced to the labyrinth of modern gods by the mysterious Mr. Wednesday. Gaiman writes a world that is bizarre and sometimes disturbing, but vibrant and alluring at every unexpected turn. American Gods is perfect for readers who loved Percy Jackson and the Olympians as children.

19 Heartless (2016)

By Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer made a name for herself with The Lunar Chronicles, a sci-fi fantasy series comprising intertwined retellings of the Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White stories. Readers who love alternative fairy tales but don’t want to commit to a whole series can check out Meyer’s standalone Heartless, a reimagining of the life and times of the Queen of Hearts. Meyer recounts the story of Catherine, a beautiful young woman and aspiring baker who has no interest in marrying the King of Hearts — yet — in an engaging prequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

18 Circe (2018)

By Madeline Miller

Following up the groundbreaking Song of Achilles, Miller published a feminist retelling of the myth of the witch Circe (and is working on a retelling of The Tempest). Miller paints a riveting picture of Circe, the future lover of Odysseus, as she grows up ostracized in her father’s household, finds a strange new home when she is banished to her remote island, and eventually makes peace with the events of her life. Of all the storylines that Percy Jackson season 2 must cover, Miller has given Disney a lot to live up to concerning the show’s depiction of Circe.

17 The Spear Cuts Through Water (2022)

By Simon Jimenez

The Spear Cuts Through Water might be considered an experimental fantasy, following two warriors who aid a freed goddess in traversing their country to save them all from a tyrannical dynastic regime. The Spear Cuts Through Water is a must-read for those interested in inventive modes of storytelling because of how it weaves together first, second, and third POV, as well as multiple framing devices. It is theatrical and dreamlike, and Simon Jimenez’s many literary devices are effectively used to convey to the reader the effect of storytelling on the life of an unnamed second-person character.

16 The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1890)

By Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a dark and twisting classic that everyone should read. In perhaps Oscar Wilde’s most famous novel, a young aristocrat devoted to a hedonistic lifestyle expresses a wish that a portrait of himself withers and ages while he remains young. The Faustian bargain plot is much older than Wilde, but the great author gave it new life with this philosophical novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a macabre character study, illustrated by Dorian’s inner turmoil and the devastating consequences for the people who are unlucky enough to cross paths with him.