5 Amazing Fantasy Worlds You Need To Check Out

One of the best parts of the best parts of fantasy is, undoubtedly, the unique and creative worlds that populate the genre. From gritty mirrors of reality to mind-bending and dreamy realms, fantasy is stuffed to the brim with incredible worlds to explore as a reader.

Worldbuilding is one of the greatest skills that any fantasy writer should have in their toolbelt, and I’d like to shine a light on a few of the coolest fantasy worlds I think you should check out.

1: Nalthis (Warbreaker; by Brandon Sanderson)

Of course I couldn’t make a list about fantasy worlds without including an entry from the massive (and massively popular) Cosmere, but I wanted to pick one that I feel needs more recognition: Nalthis, the setting of Warbreaker.

In spite of only being in one book, Nalthis is one of my favourite worlds in the Cosmere. The world has a tropical feel, and is ruled over by the Returned, people who died noble deaths and came back as gods. The magic system and culture are also heavily based around colour, with colour and art acting as a large part of their religion and language.

As far as the book itself goes, Warbreaker is an excellent entry-point into the Cosmere if you’re looking for something that doesn’t have as much of a commitment as Mistborn or The Stormlight Archive, since it’s one of the standalone novels. It provides a taste of Sanderson’s worldbuilding and writing without the intimidation of a full series or the shorter word-count of a novella, and I highly recommend it.

2. The Quartern (The Stormlord/Watergivers Trilogy; by Glenda Larke)

This is one of my favourites, and it’s also one of the most underrated worlds I can think of.

The premise of The Stormlord Trilogy (or The Watergivers in the UK and Australia) is as simple as it is compelling: water mages in a desert.

The world of the Quartern is an enormous desert where water is currency and people who magically control water are rulers. Those who have the strongest magic have the most power, and the one who is strongest (and is the only one who is strong enough to bring rain) is on his deathbed.

The Quartern has four distinctive sections, each one with its own distinctive culture and people, full of mystery and history.

I can’t recommend this trilogy enough, and if you like desert settings it is well worth the read.

3. The Empire of the Wolf (The Empire of the Wolf; by Richard Swan)

This world is from a newer fantasy trilogy that just had its finale, The Trials of Empire, release in early 2024. It’s also a world that is on the darker side, with heavy grimdark, dark fantasy, and horror elements.

One of the coolest features of the Empire of the Wolf is actually those horror elements: this is a world where magic is legitimately scary. The magic system pulls its power from an eldritch realm that has its own rich history and politics, which makes it particularly dangerous for mere mortals to toy around with. Naturally, throughout the course of the trilogy human characters reach too far into the realm of horrors, accompanied by incredible and visceral horror and dark fantasy scenes. Of course, it isn’t all horror and the supernatural in The Empire of the Wolf, the world grounded by political intrigue and philosophy.

The trilogy itself is quite heavy on building up the laws of the empire and the cost of keeping them, with the plot following an Imperial Justice and his assistant as they get caught up in a growing conflict within the empire.

4. Elan (Several series by Michael J. Sullivan)

Michael J. Sullivan’s world of Elan has featured in several series: Riyria Revelations/Riyria Chronicles, Legends of the First Empire, and, most recently, The Rise and the Fall.

Over the course of the series, we see an entire history unfold over the course of a couple thousand years, particularly following the rise and fall of an empire as well as the resulting society that grew in its place.

Elan contains a lot of traditional fantasy elements, such as having humans, elves, and dwarves as the primary races. However, it has its own unique twist with all of them, giving each race its own distinctive culture and feel. Each series has a place in the world’s history, allowing the reader to go on a journey to see the world develop with each part of the saga.

5. Andarra (The Licanius Trilogy; by James Islington)

Though James Islington’s popularity recently skyrocketed with his latest novel, The Will of the Many (rightfully so, I’d like to add), I’m going to talk about the incredible worldbuilding that went into his debut trilogy.

The world itself doesn’t have a name (that I could find), but the bulk of the trilogy takes place in Andarra and its surrounding nations. One of the coolest elements of the world is how its dual magic system functions, the two systems beautifully complementing one another, their dichotomy having massive influence on the world’s history and culture.

Speaking of the world’s history, that is a big part of what Islington does particularly well. The history and lore of Licanius has a wonderful mix of depth and mystery. There are many scenes that explore the world’s history, showing long-dead kingdoms and hinting at complex cultures that have fallen and been rebuilt over the ages. The way he uses fallen civilizations gives Licanius a true sense of weight and age, and is truly an excellent example of how to write histories that feel both full and mysterious.

The trilogy itself has a classic fantasy feel, following a group of characters as they try to stop an ancient evil, but has some excellent, modern twists and incredibly intricate plot work that truly sets it apart.