How long are fantasy novels?
10 famous fantasy books, compared by word count and reading time.
172,505
Median length
181,353
Average length
38,421
Shortest
387,000
Longest
Publishing standards put fantasy novels at 70,000–150,000 words, with a sweet spot around 90,000–120,000 words. The 10 published titles below have a median of 172,505 words — a real-world cross-check on that range.
Range source: SFWA Nebula Award prose category definitions; Reedsy 2024 publishing guide
Every fantasy book, longest first
| Title | Author | Word count | Reading time |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Way of Kings | Brandon Sanderson | 387,000 | 27 hr 6 min |
| A Game of Thrones | George R.R. Martin | 298,000 | 20 hr 52 min |
| The Name of the Wind | Patrick Rothfuss | 259,221 | 18 hr 9 min |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | J.K. Rowling | 257,045 | 18 hr |
| The Fellowship of the Ring | J.R.R. Tolkien | 187,790 | 13 hr 9 min |
| Eragon | Christopher Paolini | 157,220 | 11 hr 1 min |
| The Hobbit | J.R.R. Tolkien | 95,356 | 6 hr 41 min |
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | J.K. Rowling | 76,944 | 5 hr 23 min |
| A Wizard of Earthsea | Ursula K. Le Guin | 56,533 | 3 hr 58 min |
| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis | 38,421 | 2 hr 41 min |