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World Building Books

World building books invest heavily in constructing detailed, internally consistent fictional settings with their own geography, cultures, histories, and rules. These stories reward readers who want to inhabit a fully realized universe and appreciate the craft of inventing a world from scratch.

85 books

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik book cover

A Deadly Education

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik book cover

A Deadly Education

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge book cover

A Fire Upon the Deep

Anathem by Neal Stephenson book cover

Anathem

Neal Stephenson

Babel by Samuel R. Delany book cover

Babel

Samuel R. Delany

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie book cover

Best Served Cold

Joe Abercrombie

Beware of Chicken by CasualFarmer book cover

Beware of Chicken

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan book cover

Blood Song

Dark Intelligence by Neal L. Asher book cover

Dark Intelligence

Defiance of the Fall by TheFirstDefier book cover

Defiance of the Fall

Diaspora by Greg Egan book cover

Diaspora

Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward book cover

Dragon's Egg

Robert L. Forward

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey book cover

Science Fiction

Dragonflight

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman book cover

Science Fiction

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio book cover

Empire of Silence

Christopher Ruocchio

Eon by Greg Bear book cover

Eon

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson book cover

Gardens of the Moon

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas book cover

House of Earth and Blood

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas book cover

House of Flame and Shadow

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones book cover

Howl's Moving Castle

Diana Wynne Jones

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke book cover

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree book cover

Legends & Lattes

Lightlark by Alex Aster book cover

Lightlark

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams book cover

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson book cover

Mistborn

Brandon Sanderson

Neuromancer by William Gibson book cover

Science Fiction

Neuromancer

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend book cover

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Jessica Townsend

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman book cover

Neverwhere

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke book cover

Piranesi

Powerless by Lauren Roberts book cover

Powerless

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence book cover

Prince of Thorns

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan book cover

Promise of Blood

Brian McClellan

Radiance book cover

Radiance

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline book cover

Science Fiction

Ready Player One

Reamde by Neal Stephenson book cover

Reamde

Neal Stephenson

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson book cover

Red Mars

Kim Stanley Robinson

Ringworld by Larry Niven book cover

Ringworld

Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd book cover

Sarum

Edward Rutherfurd

Scythe by Neal Shusterman book cover

Scythe

Neal Shusterman

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman book cover

Seraphina

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo book cover

Shadow and Bone

Shogun by James Clavell book cover

Historical Fiction

Shogun

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo book cover

Six of Crows

Spin by Amanda O'Neill book cover

Literary Fiction

Spin

Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe book cover

Sufficiently Advanced Magic

Tai-Pan by James Clavell book cover

Historical Fiction

Tai-Pan

Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams book cover

Tailchaser's Song

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud book cover

The Amulet of Samarkand

Jonathan Stroud

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden book cover

The Bear and the Nightingale

Katherine Arden

The Black Company by Glen Cook book cover

The Black Company

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks book cover

The Black Prism

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe book cover

Science Fiction

The Book of the New Sun

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov book cover

The Caves of Steel

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty book cover

The City of Brass

S.A. Chakraborty

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin book cover

Science Fiction

The Dispossessed

Ursula K. Le Guin

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin book cover

The Fifth Season

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi book cover

The Gilded Wolves

Roshani Chokshi

The Goblin Emperor by Sarah Monette book cover

The Goblin Emperor

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu book cover

The Grace of Kings

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien book cover

The Hobbit

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin book cover

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

The Land: Founding by Aleron Kong book cover

The Land: Founding

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin book cover

Science Fiction

The Left Hand of Darkness

Ursula K. Le Guin

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch book cover

The Lies of Locke Lamora

The Light Fantastic book cover

The Light Fantastic

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers book cover

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien book cover

The Lord of the Rings

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick book cover

The Man in the High Castle

The Mayor of Noobtown

The Mayor of Noobtown

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven book cover

The Mote in God's Eye

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss book cover

The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende book cover

The Neverending Story

The Once and Future King book cover

The Once and Future King

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu book cover

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett book cover

Historical Fiction

The Pillars of the Earth

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang book cover

The Poppy War

The Primal Hunter by Zogarth book cover

The Primal Hunter

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon book cover

The Priory of the Orange Tree

Samantha Shannon

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington book cover

The Shadow of What Was Lost

James Islington

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks book cover

The Sword of Shannara

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson book cover

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson book cover

The Way of Kings

Brandon Sanderson

The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan book cover

The Wheel of Time

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville book cover

Un Lun Dun

China Miéville

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker book cover

When the Moon Hatched

Sarah A. Parker