The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like Thomas Covenant

Donaldson, 1977 · #7 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 100/120

A leper from our world is pulled into the Land, where his illness is cured and the people hail him as a saviour. He refuses to believe any of it is real.

Its strongest scores: theme and epicness. The five books below have the closest scores across all eleven criteria.

If you liked Thomas Covenant, read:

1. The Dark Tower

   King, 1982 · #16 on the list · 94/120

   Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger of a dying world, crosses deserts, cities and our own reality in pursuit of the Tower at the center of everything.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

2. His Dark Materials

   Pullman, 1995 · #4 on the list · 101/120

   Lyra Belacqua follows stolen children north into a mystery about Dust. It ends in a war against the Authority itself.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

3. The Chronicles of Narnia

   Lewis, 1950 · #10 on the list · 97/120

   Children step through a wardrobe and other doors into Narnia. There the lion Aslan calls them into its battles from creation to last days.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

4. Watership Down

   Adams, 1972 · #6 on the list · 100/120

   A handful of rabbits flee a doomed warren on a seer's warning and cross the Berkshire downs to found a new home. They must outwit the tyrant General Woundwort to survive.

   Close on mood, theme, further reading, creative details.

5. The Broken Sword

   Anderson, 1954 · #8 on the list · 99/120

   A human child stolen by elves and the changeling left in his place grow up to wage a Norse-saga war, armed with a cursed sword.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

How the scores work: each book is rated 1 to 10 on eleven criteria; real-world blend and climax and fights count double, for a maximum of 120. See the full Fantasy 101.