11 YA Fantasy Fandoms Before Fandoms Were Fandoms

Before there were Potterheads, Whovians, and Twihards, (and before there was DeviantArt and Tumblr) there were still geeks, and we LOVED to read and watch fantasy.

The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix

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With the long-awaited prequel pubbing this month, we can’t wait to revisit this (newly) classic series. We’d go so far as to say Sabriel paved the way for strong female heroines like Katniss and Tris.

The Tortall universe by Tamora Pierce

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No one can build a fantasy realm quite like Tamora Pierce.

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

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Not enough kids these days have experienced the glory of the Slayer. (Netflix has you covered, get on it.)

The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander

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Originally published in the 1960s, this series is The Granddaddy of children’s high fantasy.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

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A badass princess leaves home to go work for dragons. DRAGONS. Dragons. Dragons! Did we mention DRAGONS?

Chrestomanci Series by Diana Wynne Jones

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Much like Beetlejuice, if you call out “Chrestomanci” three times, you can summon him to any world. Now, can we summon him to our bookshelves?

Ghostbusters

Somehow the idea of an all-female Ghostbusters gang got EVEN BETTER when Bill Murray revealed his top picks to fill the roles: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Linda Cardellini, and Emma Stone!

The Earthsea Series by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Earthsea is made of a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly uncharted ocean. It’s like a fantasy tropical vacation… sorta?

Xena: Warrior Princess

Let Xena’s warrior cry ring out in our hearts forever.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

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This is a classic case of never judge a book by its movie. Faithful readers should band together to bring this masterpiece back into the fold.

A Wrinkle In Time Series by Madeleine L'Engle

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This book won ALL OF THE AWARDS (Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award) back in the day.