10 Fantasy Books With Real-World Settings That Actually Make Sense

The fantasy book genre is an enormous part of publishing, and some of the most popular novels and series take place in the real world because that makes the most sense for the story. Famous novels like The Lord of the Rings series and Dune are set in imagined realms or faraway planets, as their events wouldn’t make sense if they took place on Earth at any point in history. However, for some narratives, not only is the setting of a real place necessary, it adds to the way the plot unfolds and is essential to the reader’s enjoyment.

Some of these books go so far as to take place in contemporary times or at pivotal points in history, changing how audiences view that period. This is an effective way for authors to express deeper messages and meanings. Many recent fantasy books are getting movie and TV adaptations, and this is even easier to manage if they’re set in the real world. It also elevates the sense of mystery and excitement as fantasy books that take place on Earth let the audience imagine there could be a hidden world of magic and romance right beneath their feet.

10 Percy Jackson And The Olympians (2005–2009)

Written by Rick Riordan

One of the most popular young adult fantasy series of all time, Percy Jackson and the Olympians recently got a TV series adaptation on Disney+. Percy Jackson season 2 will have certain book changes as season 1 did. However, alterations in the story on screen won’t stop Percy Jackson from remaining in the hearts and minds of audiences, especially since it’s so tied to the geography of the modern world. Mount Olympus is located on top of the Empire State Building in New York City, and every book allows the characters to take a cross-country odyssey.

Modern retellings of Greek myths were made relevant by the Percy Jackson books and through this reimagining, landmarks, buildings, and the natural world are given new life when looked at through the books’ lens. It’s not only New York that’s heavily featured in the story, but also famous locations like the Hoover Dam, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and even casinos in Las Vegas. Part of Percy’s journey is that he’s a regular kid with strong ties to the mortal world, and this connection to his humanity is shown through the real places throughout the books.

9 The Hazel Wood (2018–Present)

Written by Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood is the first in Melissa Albert’s series about Alice, a young woman who finds her ordinary world upended by the existence of fairytale creatures and monsters. Using the fun conceit of having Alice’s grandmother be an author who wrote about the hidden world of the Hinterland, Alice soon discovers that it’s all too real and part of her seemingly mundane world. In The Hazel Wood reality and fantasy are blended with the fantastical realm sitting just outside the real world and the characters finding their way there via a bridge.

The setting is predominantly confined to New York City and upstate New York, and The Hazel Wood has the softness and sensitivity for the real world that Alice carries with her. For the existence of the Hinterland to matter and to be both terrifying and thrilling, the story needs the mundane natural world with all of its own beauty and danger. Much of the plot comes down to Alice’s desire to live out her life in the real world as she intends, not to be part of anyone else’s story.

8 The Moral Instruments (2007–2014)

Written by Cassandra Clare

Neither the film nor the TV iterations of the Mortal Instruments series did the long-running series justice, but after reading six of Cassandra Clare’s books, it’s easy for the reader to understand why it’s set in the real world. The best quotes from The Mortal Instruments books are from a variety of characters, but they all show the same thing. Despite its fantastical elements, the story is full of uniquely human characters with feelings anyone can empathize with. Like so many young adult fantasy books, The Mortal Instruments uses New York City as a setting to create excitement.

The first novel in the series, City of Bones, introduces Clary, the protagonist, to the world of Shadowhunters and pulls her out of her regular life. With YA novels that feature a chosen-one narrative, having the main character live in the real world and have to discover their secret potential alongside the reader is a common tactic. It makes their transition from bystander to hero more poignant and creates an immediate connection with the audience. Additionally, Clary runs into issues of loyalty and split priorities because of her connection to normal life.

7 Gods Of Jade And Shadow (2019)

Written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican folklore is explored and brought to life vividly in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s epic tale of Mayan gods and self-discovery. Casiopea Tun lives in her grandfather’s house in Yucatán during the Jazz Age, but when she awakens the Mayan god of the dead, Hun-Kamé. Together, they leave home and traverse across the country through Mexico City up to California. Moreno-Garcia brings her characters into the hidden corners of Mexico during this period and intersperses the rich landscape with the history of Mayan culture and folklore.

Fantasy novels have historically overrepresented European myths and legends, and Gods of Jade and Shadow is one in a long list of contemporary fantasy exploring new territory. The history of the Mayans excites and thrills the reader while Casiopea simultaneously discovers her place in the world as the 20th century erupts with music, technology, and innovations. As two incredible pieces of history collide, Gods of Jade and Shadow ensures that the audience feels fully immersed in all aspects of the story.

6 Outlander (1991–Present)

Written by Diana Gabaldon

The Outlander TV show changes the book series, but the essential aspects of the novels that have made them such a phenomenon remain. Beginning in the early 1990s, Diana Gabaldon created the enormously complex, lush, and romantic world of Outlander that closely follows the life of Claire, a woman living in the 1940s, who is transported back in time to Scotland in the early 1700s, when the country was torn apart by war. The true-to-life conflicts and wars from all parts of history in England and Scotland are heavily featured across the novels.

Claire is in the unique position of living in multiple timestreams, so she’s aware of what the future holds when she’s sent back in time. The romance draws most audiences to the Outlander series, and it’s no wonder considering the love that Claire and her 16th-century lover, Jamie, share. However, for history buffs reading the series, there are some anachronisms in store, but there are also many historically accurate events. True political intrigue and machinations are pivotal to the fictional story at the heart of the novels.

5 The City Of Brass (2017)

Written by S. A. Chakraborty

City of Brass is the first book in The Daevabad Trilogy, a series that flings the reader into the past to 18th century Cairo. Nahri, the protagonist, is a con artist on the streets of Cairo, and S.A. Chakraborty imbues her story with the folklore and religious tales that populate the region. In many ways, it’s much more difficult to create a fictional story that takes place in the past rather than the present because there are many facts and specific timelines to juggle for the narrative to ring true.

However, The City of Brass carefully balances historical facts with unbelievable fiction as Nahri leaves behind her life in Cairo and follows a Djinn, Dara, to the mythical city of Daevabad. It’s there that she meets Ali, a resident of Daevabad who’s just as interested in learning about Cairo and the real world as Nahri is in discovering the secrets of the city of Djinn. Many of their conversations and experiences color in the many hidden facets of City of Brass, and demonstrate that one world cannot exist without the other.

4 Vicious (2013–Present)

Written by V.E. Schwab

Vicious is the first of the Villains series by V.E. Schwab, and is an interesting addition to the superhero genre as it calls into question the nature of who should get to have powers, and who will abuse them. The main character, Victor, is betrayed by a man he once called a friend after they realize that there’s a way to spontaneously create these superhuman powers within themselves. This ends with Victor in prison and his former friend, Eli, on the run trying to take out anyone else who develops these abilities.

Set in the modern world, Vicious is concerned with the legacy of superhero abilities that are increasingly expanded upon in movies and TV. Technology is a surprisingly large part of Vicious, with computers, phones, and scientific experiments taking up a large part of Victor and Eli’s time in their quest for power. However, this makes sense considering the message of Vicious and the follow-up novel, Vengeful. It’s a contemporary take on superpowers where there’s no black-and-white fight between good and evil, like most modern conflicts.

3 American Gods (2001)

Written by Neil Gaiman

American Gods is one of Neil Gaiman’s best books and one of the longest novels that the prolific author has written. Every god humans have ever prayed to is made real in American Gods and they exist just at the periphery of society, influencing much more than people realize. However, their power is fading, and it’s up to Shadow, an ex-con suddenly recruited by the mysterious Mr. Wednesday to ensure the old gods band together and stop themselves from disappearing completely.

Gaiman deftly weaves together mythology and legends from all parts of the world and extrapolates what happens when the gods become corrupted. Throughout the story, Shadow travels across the U.S. at the best of Mr. Wednesday learning about the trappings of the gods, but, more importantly, how people pray to them and use them in daily life. The magic and gods in American Gods only exist because of the real people who believe in them, and it’s their beliefs that hold the true power.

2 Book Of Night (2022–Present)

Written by Holly Black

Book of Night subverts the traditional fantasy format by having its protagonist not gain entry into a world of unbelievable power and mystery, but by having her try to escape it. Charlie Hall was deeply entrenched in magic until she left that world and became a regular bartender, but she can’t outrun the past for long. It’s set in the Berkshires of Massachusettes, a rural part of the U.S. that is easily believed to be a place harboring enough secrets to fill a novel.

There, Charlie has one foot in a life of typical petty crime and one of shadows. Shadows are the source of magic in Book of Night, as they can be manipulated to create false memories, experiences, and appearances that are impossible to believe. Holly Black has penned many other fantasy series, but Book of Night was her first outing into the purely adult genre. However, Black easily transitions into the work and brings Charlie to life so well that audiences feel as if they’ve met her.

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1 Legendborn (2020–Present)

Written by Tracy Deonn

In Tracy Deonn’s thrilling take on the legend of King Arthur, Legendborn follows the story of Bree Matthews, a young woman who is torn between her past life and her loyalty to her mother, and her newfound connection to the Legendborn society. Bree begins her journey at UNC-Chapel Hill, the real university, and much of Bree’s motivation is rooted in the recent passing of her mother, who also attended the school. Arthurian legends are a great choice for fantasy books with ties to reality as there are aspects of the tales that are rooted in the history of nobility.

The upcoming Legendborn TV adaptation can finally get King Arthur right by looking at the well-tread stories from the perspective of a young Black woman uncovering the depth of her power. Book two, Bloodmarked continues the story and only adds to the incredible tale and has increased interest in the trilogy’s conclusion. As it takes place in the American South, Legendborn is in constant conversation with the history of the area and its future the same way Bree grapples with the history of King Arthur and her own perception of right and wrong.