The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like His Dark Materials

Pullman, 1995 · #4 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 101/120 · adapted for screen

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

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

If you liked His Dark Materials, read:

1. Thomas Covenant

   Donaldson, 1977 · #7 on the list · 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.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, creative details.

2. 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, creative details, real-world blend.

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, structure, further reading.

5. The Magicians

   Grossman, 2009 · #38 on the list · 85/120

   A brilliant, unhappy Brooklyn teenager is admitted to a secret college of magic. He then finds that the land from his favorite childhood books is real.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, real-world blend.

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.