15 Books About Magical Treasure Hunters
There’s something irresistible about the thrill of the hunt—maps leading to hidden riches, lost relics imbued with magic, ancient ruins filled with secrets, and daring adventurers who risk it all for the ultimate prize. Magical treasure hunters aren’t just looking for gold—they’re chasing power, destiny, and sometimes, even the fate of the world.
If you love hidden tombs, enchanted artifacts, and the rush of a high-stakes adventure, these 15 books about magical treasure hunters will transport you to lands filled with danger, mystery, and treasures beyond imagination.
1. The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
🔮 Secret Societies, Forbidden Magic, and Dark Mysteries
At Yale University, the world’s most powerful secret societies traffic in magic and the supernatural. Alex Stern, an outsider with a troubled past, is recruited to monitor their dark rituals—but when a student is murdered, she finds herself hunting for an artifact that could unravel reality itself.
📖 Read if you love: Dark academia, ghostly mysteries, and elite magical organizations.
2. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
🔮 A Conwoman Stumbles into a Hunt for Djinn Treasure
Nahri, a street-savvy thief, survives Cairo by tricking people with fake magic—until she accidentally summons a real djinn warrior and discovers she’s the last heir to a lost kingdom. Now, she’s thrust into a world of treacherous politics, ancient relics, and dangerous magical creatures as she seeks the truth about her heritage.
📖 Read if you love: Middle Eastern folklore, palace intrigue, and reluctant heroines caught in destiny’s web.
3. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
🔮 A Crew of Outcasts Hunting for a Mythical Artifact
Set in an alternate Belle Époque Paris, treasure hunter Séverin and his crew of misfits seek a legendary artifact that could change history. But secrets, betrayal, and ancient riddles stand in their way as they race against time to uncover the truth.
📖 Read if you love: Found families, heist stories, and lush historical fantasy.
4. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
🔮 A Young Priestess Guarding a Forgotten Treasure
Tenar has spent her life guarding the underground labyrinth of Atuan, where a legendary artifact is hidden. But when a sorcerer named Ged arrives, claiming the treasure holds untold power, she is forced to question everything she’s been taught.
📖 Read if you love: Atmospheric settings, coming-of-age journeys, and philosophical fantasy.
5. Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne
🔮 Magical Inks, Secret Maps, and a Dangerous Quest
Al MacBharrais, a sigil-wielding scribe, uncovers a conspiracy involving stolen artifacts and dangerous fae creatures. With magical ink and an attitude to match, he sets off to hunt down the thieves before they unleash chaos.
📖 Read if you love: Urban fantasy, dry humor, and fast-paced magical detective work.
6. The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle
🔮 A Treasure Hunt That Could Rewrite Human History
An ancient secret buried in the ice, a conspiracy spanning centuries, and a race to uncover the lost civilization of Atlantis—this thriller blends science, history, and the supernatural into a pulse-pounding adventure.
📖 Read if you love: Dan Brown-style thrillers, hidden civilizations, and high-stakes discoveries.
7. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
🔮 A Clairvoyant Who Can Steal Secrets from the Dead
Paige Mahoney is part of a criminal underworld that hunts and trades in magical artifacts—until she’s captured by a race of otherworldly beings who want to use her abilities for their own purposes.
📖 Read if you love: Dystopian fantasy, psychic powers, and underground resistance movements.
8. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
🔮 A Hidden Library Filled with Lost Stories and Magical Doors
When Zachary Ezra Rawlins discovers a book that tells his own life story, he follows its clues to a secret underground world—one filled with enchanted doors, lost keys, and a treasure hunt that spans time itself.
📖 Read if you love: Dreamlike storytelling, mysterious libraries, and lyrical prose.
9. Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb
🔮 A Legendary Assassin on a Quest for a Forgotten Treasure
FitzChivalry Farseer thought he had left his past behind—until whispers of a forgotten artifact of immense power drag him back into the world of intrigue and danger.
📖 Read if you love: Deeply emotional fantasy, character-driven epics, and political conspiracies.
10. The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
🔮 A Ghost Whisperer Hunting for a Lost Magical Tome
In an alternate dystopian Edinburgh, Ropa makes her living delivering messages from the dead. But when she hears whispers of a book that holds dangerous, forbidden magic, she embarks on a thrilling treasure hunt through the supernatural underworld.
📖 Read if you love: Ghost stories, magical libraries, and punk-rock fantasy vibes.
11. The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma
🔮 Time-Traveling Treasure Hunters Searching for Lost Relics
In Victorian London, a secret society of time travelers and historians seek hidden artifacts that hold the power to alter reality.
📖 Read if you love: Steampunk fantasy, time-travel puzzles, and mind-bending plots.
12. Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
🔮 A Mythical Forest Hiding an Ancient Treasure
Tobias Finch, a quiet man with a deep connection to the forest, meets a scholar searching for a legendary treasure hidden in the woods—one that is tied to ancient magic and long-forgotten curses.
📖 Read if you love: Folklore-inspired fantasy, slow-burn romance, and hauntingly beautiful settings.
13. The Uncharted Realms: The Edge of the Abyss by Emily Skrutskie
🔮 Sky Pirates Searching for a Lost Treasure in the Clouds
A crew of daring airship pirates is hunting for a mythical artifact that can control the skies—but they aren’t the only ones searching for it.
📖 Read if you love: Skyships, pirate adventures, and high-stakes treasure hunts.
14. Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
🔮 A Thief Stealing a Magical Key That Could Change the World
In a city where magic is coded into objects, Sancia, a gifted thief, steals an artifact that can rewrite reality itself—and finds herself hunted by powerful forces who will stop at nothing to take it back.
📖 Read if you love: High-tech magic systems, heist stories, and morally grey heroes.
15. The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards
🔮 A Rune-Scavenger in a Post-Apocalyptic Atlantis
Rune, the last surviving heir of a fallen house, makes his living tracking down magical relics in a world where Atlantis has risen again. But his latest job puts him in the crosshairs of something far deadlier than he ever imagined.
📖 Read if you love: Urban fantasy, LGBTQ+ protagonists, and witty, fast-paced adventure.
Treasure Awaits… If You Dare to Seek It
From ancient relics to time-traveling mysteries, these books prove that the greatest treasure isn’t always gold—it’s the magic, adventure, and danger along the way.
Which one will you hunt down first? Or do you have a favorite magical treasure-hunting book to recommend? Let’s share the adventure! ✨🏴☠️📖
