New to fantasy? Jim's got you covered. These are the gateway books that'll turn anyone into a fantasy-obsessed bookworm. From cozy hobbits to ambitious wizards, these stories prove that the best adventures happen between the pages.
Published March 4, 2026
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Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep to whisk him away on an unexpected journey to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent.
Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen — from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic.
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides — who would become known as Muad'Dib — and of a great family's ambition to bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
