12 books like Lord of the Rings
Nothing reads quite like The Lord of the Rings, but plenty of books share one or two of its particular pleasures: the long quest, the wizard who knows more than he says, the sense of a world with centuries behind it. Here are the ones worth trying next, sorted by what they actually have in common with Tolkien.
Updated September 2026
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A long quest against a gathering dark power, with a company of travellers
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan 1990
Opens with villagers driven from a quiet corner of the map by an ancient evil, in the clearest homage to Tolkien's structure anyone has written; the series soon swells into court politics and a vast cast that Tolkien never attempted.
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams 1988
Has the same deep sense of a land layered with old wars, lost kings and a fading elder race, but the pacing is slower and more domestic at the start, with a kitchen boy rather than a hobbit.
Magician by Raymond E. Feist 1982
European-feeling medieval kingdoms, elves and dwarves and a mentor magician, all in service of a war for the world; the invasion comes through a rift between planets, which pulls it towards science fiction.
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings 1982
A farm boy, an ancient grey-haired sorcerer and a road trip through sharply distinct nations with a prophecy overhead; the tone is wry and the chapters brisk, where Tolkien is grave and unhurried.
Wizards, mentors and the cost of using magic
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin 1968
Shares Tolkien's conviction that true names and language are the bones of magic, and that pride is the real danger; Ged is young and badly behaved, nothing like Gandalf, and the book is slim enough to read in a sitting.
The Once and Future King:The Sword in the Stone The Witch in the Wood:The Queen of Air and Darkness:The Ill-made Knight by T. H. White 1958
Draws on the same well of northern and Arthurian legend, with Merlyn as the tutor who can see what's coming; White keeps breaking in with jokes and modern asides, which Tolkien would never have done.
The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip 1976
Written under Tolkien's influence, with land-law, harpists and riddles standing in for lore; McKillip's magic stays stranger and less explained, and her prose is dreamlike rather than stately.
British landscape and old folklore breaking into the present
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner 1960
Dwarves, a hunted talisman and a flight through tunnels that feels as airless as Moria; it's set in modern Cheshire, on real hills you can walk, and it's a fraction of the length.
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper 1973
An ancient conflict between Light and Dark rooted in Celtic and Arthurian tradition, with Merriman as the guiding elder; the battleground is a snowbound English village and the hero is a boy of eleven.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander 1964
Welsh mythology behind a quest, an enchanter, and an assistant pig-keeper who grows into something more; it's written for younger readers and moves at a clip.
The older fairy-tale prose that shaped Tolkien
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany 1924
One of Tolkien's own touchstones, with the same ache for a beautiful realm just beyond the fields we know; there's no war to win here, only a border that moves and a bargain that cannot be undone.
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees 1926
Also sets sensible, pipe-smoking provincials against the pull of Faerie, and loves a well-run small town as much as Tolkien loved the Shire; the plot works itself out as a civic mystery rather than a quest.
If you also liked…
- Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Questions
- Which of these is closest to reading Lord of the Rings again?
- The Eye of the World and The Dragonbone Chair come nearest in shape and scale, both starting small and rural before opening into a war for the world. The Dragonbone Chair is the better written of the two; The Eye of the World is the more page-by-page Tolkienian.
- I don't want to start another ten-book series. What's a one-volume option?
- A Wizard of Earthsea, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Lud-in-the-Mist and The King of Elfland's Daughter all stand alone. Each takes a few evenings rather than a few months.
- Are any of these as dark or violent as Lord of the Rings?
- The Dragonbone Chair and Magician are bloodier, with battlefield detail Tolkien keeps offstage. The Book of Three and The Dark Is Rising are written for children and stay gentler, though the sense of menace in Susan Cooper is real.