We all have our niche when it comes to fandoms. Be it angels and demons, hobbits and wizards, vampires and werewolves, etc, there is always a genre that every book lover connects with the most. No matter what type of literary work you relate too, it seems there is a fandom out there for everyone. While the vampire and werewolf phase hit HARD and was gone, and the new fae and human phase is starting to set its stride, there will always be fandoms that are able to truly stand the test of time. I am not talking passing college boyfriend book series, I mean the affirmations of love in the rain, going the distance, “until the very end” (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) ships with a literary work that connected with your very soul. And no one goes harder than diehard fandom fans. So let’s look at 5 of the top fantasy fandoms that have shown they can really make it in the long run.
Top 5 Fantasy Fandoms
Mortal Instruments
Cassandra Claire is the boss babe of all things Shadowhunter, but her original Shadowhunter series, Mortal Instruments, still reigns as a top fave fandom among booklovers. While her spinoffs of The Bane Chronicles, The Infernal Devices, and the Last Hours book series are all phenomenal in their own rite, there is just something about the original 6-book series that true fans love. Who wouldn’t fall for half angel warriors protecting the world from all kinds of mythical creatures, mixed with the tension and suspense constantly surrounding our favorite ship of the series, Clay Fray and Jace Herondale. One movie and a TV show that only ran for 3 seasons just isn’t enough to keep diehard fans at bay, so we all say thanks to the fantasy genre Gods that Cassandra Claire is still writing tales of our favorite half human half angel heroes.
Percy Jackson
Men and women, boys and girls alike love Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan really delivered with his Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, resulting in a fandom for everyone. Readers want to be best friends with the lightning thief, or simply drool over the son of Poseidon as he saves our modern world from mythological mischief. When I was younger, I would have given all of my drachmas to meet the boy with the trident.
Percy is a very strong character that wants to carve his own path, not as a demigod, but as a person, which is what made fans of the series really fall in love with him. Although only two movies of the 5 book series ever made it to the big screen, these books contain adventures and that every parent who is already a fan of them wants to pass along to their children. Thank the Gods for Rick Riordan and his Greek fantasy realm that started a fandom Zeus himself would be proud of.
Twilight
You either read the Twilight series and loved it, or you’re just lying to yourself. Whether you are team Edward or Team Jacob, it is still collectively our all-time favorite Vampire themed love triangle (My apologies to Elena and the Salvator brothers). From the moment the lion fell in love with the, we all fell in love with their story. Plus, who could forget Stephanie Meyers reaching into the very soul of everyone who has ever had a heartbreak with the blank pages of October through January in New Moon, the second book of the series. To this day, it was one of the most impactful pieces of literary imagery I have ever experienced.
Twilight mania was all anyone could talk about in 2008 and the movies set a new precedent in Hollywood for book-based movie series. Now, a new generation of Twi-hards are experiencing the books for the first time and the series is now connecting book lovers of every age. If you venture out to tour Forks, Washington, or throw your own Edward and Bella themed wedding, all Twilight fans will make it the long run knowing that “no measure of time with you will be long enough, but let’s start with forever” – Stephanie Meyers.
Lord of the Rings
I could never adequately express my love for Tolkien, and the kinship I feel with fellow lovers of his works. This series being number two was definitely a gut-wrenching decision, but I would be doing readers a disservice if I let my blinding love for Middle Earth get in the way. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is by far the oldest running fandom on this list, but its fellowship only grows stronger with time. Most people don’t even know that their favorite spiritual quote “not all who wander are lost” is from Tolkien, the godfather of fantasy himself.
No literary character, in my opinion, will ever be as wise, loveable, and brave as Gandolf, no matter how hard they try. Change my mind. To help save his friends, he battles the balrog with the straight up badassery that only the grey wizard himself could pull off. To look demon of shadow and flame in the face and say “The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass” (J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring), and then sacrifice himself with the iconic words “fly you fools” (J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring), is just a level of literary and cinematic gangster few characters will ever achieve.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a phenomenal piece of literature that prompted the making of three movies resulting in 30 Academy Awards. The final film was released in 2003, but to this day you can still take Hobbiton movie set tours in Matamata, New Zealand, or celebrate International Hobbit Day on September 22 from your very own home. However, nothing really compares to the books themselves. Tolkien’s writing style is unparallel. You don’t peek into his world, he grabs you by the shoulders and throws you into. And so many of us fans across the globe go so willingly. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us” (J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring), and we chose to spend it in the Tolkien fan club.
Harry Potter
If you haven’t heard of Harry Potter, I am assuming you have never left your house, turned on your TV, listened to the radio, or been to a store. The world of Harry Potter is one of the largest book fandoms the world has ever seen, and the proof is in the numbers. Worldwide, Harry Potter is the highest-selling book series ever, with at least 500 million copies sold and counting. If you haven’t read the books, or even watched the movies, you have still heard of the planets most popular Wizarding World. The popularity of the series has propelled the fandom into its own atmosphere, amassing theme parks, studio tours, brick and mortar stores in places like NYC, yearly conventions, and the list goes on.
But let’s talk about the books themselves. Most of us grew up with Harry Potter and still remember the magic we felt when we first read the series. We didn’t just grow up reading it during grade school, we grew as a person as we read from The Sorcerer’s Stone all the way through the Deathly Hallows. Every laugh, every last stand, and every death became a part of us all as book lovers. So whether you say leviOsa or leviosA, prefer Hogwarts or the burrow, and no matter what house you are sorted into, Harry Potter fans reign supreme as the most die-hard.
That is it. The last magical page has been turned for our list. However, fantasy fandoms seem to be emerging in troves lately, so you never know which ones will join the ranks of the most coveted. Currently the Fae genre seems to be emerging as the dominant trend, so it will be interesting to see what series ends up reigning supreme.