 | The Sword of Shannara (The Shannara series) by Terry Brooks
Buy used from: £0.01 Shannara Book 1. This one borrows too much from LotR, but the series as a whole is great.
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 | Seventh Son (The tales of Alvin Maker) by Orson Scott Card
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.11 Tales of Alvin Maker Book 1. Not my cup of tea, but good if you like a mixture of fantasy and alternative history.
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 | Pawn of Prophecy (Belgariad) by David Eddings
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01 Belgariad Book 1. A slightly slow start to one of my favourite series', a more mythical style of fantasy..
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 | Magician (Riftwar saga) by Raymond E. Feist
Buy new: £6.70 / Used from: £0.01 Riftwar Book 1. Fantasy doesn't get better than this. Just starting in the genre? Read this. Already a fantasy buff? You should've read this already!
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 | Legend by David Gemmell
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01 Drenai Book 1. A heroic story in the style of the fire-side tales of old. Not the cleverest, but it definitely strikes an emotional chord.
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 | Sword in the Storm (The Rigante series) by David Gemmell
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01 Rigante Book 1. A psuedo-historical fantasy, the story of the troubled Connavar is one of the most compelling I've ever read. Book 2, 'Midnight Falcon', is just as good too.
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 | Wizard's First Rule: Book 1: The Sword Of Truth Series: Wizard's First Rule Bk.1 by Terry Goodkind
Buy used from: £0.74 Sword of Truth Book 1. He nicks ideas from Robert Jordan and he has a tendency to fall into pro-American rhetoric, but Goodkind still tells a brilliant story. I'm hooked.
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 | Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy - Book 1) by Robin Hobb
Buy new: £6.46 / Used from: £0.75 Realm of the Elderlings Book 1. The start of one of the best written and most emotionally involving series' that I've ever read.
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 | The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan
Buy new: £7.17 / Used from: £0.01 Wheel of Time Book 1. A fairly weak start to the series, the quality of the following books ranges from enthralling to appalling. But I for one am addicted and will see it through to the end.
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 | The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Bk. 1 by Stephen King
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.50 Dark Tower Book 1. A stunning work of surrealist fantasy, this series is clearly a work of genius. Albeit insane genius.
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 | Trollslayer (Gotrek & Felix) by William King
Buy used from: £0.89 Gotrek and Felix Book 1. Trashy and awful, this book is an inhumanly dire start to a series that becomes excellent from books 3 to 5.
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 | A Wizard of Earthsea (Puffin Books) by Ursula Le Guin
Buy new: £4.46 / Used from: £0.01 Earthsea Book 1. A pillar of modern fantasy and essential reading, this is nevertheless not among my favourites.
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 | The Magician's Nephew ("The Chronicles of Narnia") by C. S. Lewis
Buy used from: £0.01 Narnia Book 1. Although technically a prequel, Lewis always intended for this to be read first. It's not great but does have some brilliant concepts, such as the Wood Between Worlds.
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 | A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) by George R.R. Martin
Buy new: £5.29 / Used from: £2.16 A Song of Ice and Fire Book 1. Possibly the best fantasy series written since LotR. Martin is a true master who never comes near to being dull or predictable.
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 | Dragonflight (Corgi Science-Fiction) by Anne McCaffrey
Buy new: £5.96 / Used from: £0.01 Pern Book 1. Although popular and prolific, McCaffrey just isn't to my taste at all, I'm afraid.
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 | The Colour of Magic (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
Buy new: £4.96 / Used from: £0.54 Discworld Book 1. Although the prose is occasionally ponderous, this series never stints on brilliant comic concepts.
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 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Book 1): Adult Edition by J.K. Rowling
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £0.79 Harry Potter Book 1. I used to be a long-standing Potterphobe but got the books to see what all the fuss was about. By Chapter 2 I was hooked and now wait impatiently for the next book.
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 | The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Buy new: £4.37 / Used from: £0.01 Middle-Earth Book 1. Do I really need to say anything? This book is my favourite read of all time (and my first, for that matter) and leads into the most important fantasy trilogy ever written.
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 | The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow & Thorn) by Tad Williams
Buy new: £6.96 / Used from: £0.01 Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Book 1. A little cliched at times, ponderous at others, but stil a very involving epic fantasy.
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 | The Curse of the Mistwraith (The Wars of Light & Shadow) by Janny Wurts
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01 Wars of Light and Shadow Book 1. Wurts is a true fantasy visionary and although her work can be hard going at times, you won't ever be disappointed.
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 | Daggerspell (Deverry) by Katharine Kerr
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £2.28 Deverry Book 1. A wonderfully realised Celtic world is made all the more fascinating by the tragic bond that draws a group of souls together in various incarnations.
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