How Many Words are in a Fantasy Novel?

How long should my book be? Long enough to tell your story, but it’s nice to see what other books have done for comparison. This article contains approximate word counts for fantasy books.

J.K. Rowling

The Harry Potter series was targetted at children. I like to think the books matured and got longer as we aged with Harry.

• There are 76,944 words in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• There are 85,141 words in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• There are 107,253 words in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• There are 190,637 words in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• There are 257,045 words in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• There are 168,923 words in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• There are 197,651 words in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Barbara Hambly

The Silent Tower and The Silicon Mage were, and still are, Leslie’s favorite fantasy books. I just read these last year, and I was impressed.

Even while counting the words on a few pages, I got distracted by the how interesting the writing was and started to read on accident.

• There are 122,000 words in The Silent Tower (Windrose Chronicles, #1)
• There are 118,000 words in The Silicon Mage (Windrose Chronicles, #2)

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

The following classic Dungeons & Dragons influenced stories were written between 1984-1985. Leslie grew up on these books, but I didn’t start reading them until this year.

The Dragonlance series has had many authors, and many books. The following are what you would expect from a mid 80s fantasy.

• There are 150,000 words in Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Dragonlance: Chronicles, #1)
• There are 145,000 words in Dragons of Winter Night (Dragonlance: Chronicles, #2)
• There are 134,000 words in Dragons of Spring Dawning (Dragonlance: Chronicles, #3)

Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld fuses comedy and fantasy. These books are shorter than most fantasy novels, which gives them a pleasant, light feel.

• There are 73,000 words in The Colour of Magic (Discworld, #1)
• There are 71,000 words in The Light Fantastic (Discworld, #2)
• There are 90,000 words in Small Gods (Discworld, #13)

Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

• There are 114,000 words in Good Omens

David Eddings

• There are 104,000 words in Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad, #1)
• There are 128,000 words in Queen of Sorcery (The Belgariad, #2)
• There are 122,000 words in Magician’s Gambit (The Belgariad, #3)
• There are 149,000 words in Castle of Wizardry (The Belgariad, #4)
• There are 148,000 words in Enchanters’ End Game (The Belgariad, #5)

L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

• There are 163,000 words in The Magic of Recluce

George R.R. Martin

• There are 284,000 words in A Game of Thrones
• There are 326,000 words in A Clash of Kings
• There are 404,000 words in A Storm of Swords
• There are 300,000 words in A Feast for Crows
• There are 422,000 words in A Dance with Dragons

J.R.R. Tolkien

Everyone knows these books, so I won’t say much here... except have you ever played the pinball game?

• There are 95,000 words in The Hobbit
• There are 187,000 words in The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)
• There are 156,000 words in The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)
• There are 137,000 words in The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)