The best epic fantasy fiction 3384 books goodreads. Feists magician is one of the best known and well read fantasy books. The departure from the standard european medieval fare was fascinating. If you want to keep your kid occupied for a long time, get them hooked on the redwall series. Its an obvious choice, but i cant see how any list like this would be complete without j. This colorful beloved fantasy about the mysterious wizard howl, and sophie, a young girl who finds herself under a curse that transforms her into an old lady, is nothing less than enchanting. From lord of the rings to a song of ice and fire, we delve into the history of epic fantasy to. The best fantasy books were recommended by readers from reddit. The 12 best epic fantasy books like game of thrones reedsy.
The nethergrim series is one of my favorite new fantasy series. Its technically categorized as a young adult series, but it doesnt read like a typical ya, imo. Classic fantasy fantasy written before 1980 best fantasy of the 50s. It has everything, from prophecy, wise cracking allies, a lofty princess, a dash of politics, the old wizard, great battles, and an awakening ancient evil. Although fantasy has evolved in many ways since tolkien first set pen to paper, his story endures and his work still stands to this day as the most recognizable example of epic fantasy.
The best epic fantasy fiction epic fantasy is generally serious in tone and often epic in scope, dealing with themes of grand struggle against supernatural, evil forces. Eric rucker eddison 18821945 was a distinguished british civil servant who worked at the board of trade and received multiple honors for his thirtytwo years of work. There are many other complex, beautiful, and pulsepounding series of fantasy books in the worldand some of them even stray. To start off with, the earthsea cycle is a must read for any fantasy fan. If you re looking for classic, conan the barbarianstyle swords and sorcery. The depth of their world building, and the pantheon of gods just sucked me in. But beyond that, this book and the two that follow it are some of the most compelling, bestwritten fantasies ive ever read. What are your favorite books set in an epic, fantasy world. Her books blends scifi and epic fantasy concepts with gritty and. While fantasy is still a less popular genre overall, some of these books have broken through into popular culture. This year has seen many incredible books released with reader favourites releasing new books, along with some authors making their debut. Epic fantasy enthusiasts of reddit, what mustread series do. Esslemont have also written a number of additional stories set in the malazan empire. Naturally there have been many fantasy and scifi books.
When a young soldier groomed to take over the oppressive, military government decides to. As an adult i get a bit bored with some of the cliches and tropes of the genre. Twenty mustread finished fantasy epics the ranting dragon. Some typical characteristics of epic fantasy include fantastical elements such as elves, fairies, dwarves, magic or sorcery, wizards or magicians, invented languages, quests. Jan 02, 2020 2019 was a really good year for genre fiction.
Ill be giving you guys a brief look at the story for. Ultimate list 2020 by peter mcpherson updated may 9, 2020 04. The character development is excellent and the reading experience effortless. These books have some of the best worldbuilding ive ever seen. The best fantasy novels of all time alices adventures in wonderland and through the lookingglass. The most challenging book on this list is the seven pillars of wisdom because its epic in length and contains great detail about the arab rebellion against the turks. Oct 26, 2014 the belgariad by david eddings is one of the best classic coming of age and epic quest fantasy books ever written. But a song of ice and fire is not the only fantasy epic out there. Classic fantasy books you need to read penguin random house.
But based on the strength of the first book and the premise of the series, the stormlight archive is looking to be one of the best classic epic fantasy series out. I made a few rules in creating this list of best epic fantasy series. That epic fantasy favors eurocentric influences is an understatement the size of the tolkein family estate. Martin update on january 2, 2020 rahab njoroge the present century sparked an amazing outrage for the fantasy book genre with the visual adaption of highlypopular book series such as harry potter and lord of the rings and recently an unbelievably popular hbo tv show game of. Set on the archipelago of earthsea, the books follow the sorcerer ged and the other islanders as they contend with magic schools, seafaring, necromancy, and dragons. A trope that really annoys me is the continue reading 21 epic fantasy books that i recommend. I tried reading dragonlance and it is a turgid mess of a series. Not to be confused with dark fantasy, although there is some overlap, grimdark books are for those of us who want morally grey characters and the inevitably morally grey plot lines that ensue.
Fly high with dragons, roam lands on epic quests, and learn the hearts of true heroes in the fantasy masterpieces. He was written articles for ten years for black gate magazine and won the writers of the future contest in 2011. This best fantasy book for 2020 combines classic comingofage narrative ideas with elements of magic, dark fantasy and epic worldbuilding. Epic fantasy enthusiasts of reddit, what mustread series. From dragons to unicorns to dog fairies thats right, dog fairies, these fantasy books for kids will cast a spell over the young reader in your life. This book is a great addition to the epic fantasy genre with this story being the first in a series of four books. Some typical characteristics of epic fantasy include fantastical elements such as elves, fairies, dwarves, magic or sorcery, wizards or magicians, invented languages, quests, comingofage themes, and multivolume narratives.
Set in a world resembling ancient rome, an ember in the ashes is an epic fantasy novel of love and revenge. It has a throwback feel any fan of the hobbit will love. Oct 27, 2018 or really anytime well here are 7 epic fantasy books that i recommend binge reading. This epic adventure is full of magic, danger, and mysterious creatures. It follows the adventures of sophie and josh newman as they track down the greatest legend of all time, the elixir of life. The chain of dogs, itkovian the redeemer, anomander rake, tehol and bugg, kruppe, and so many other memorable characters, and events. Between new epics from leigh bardugo, erin morgenstern, chuck wendig, sarah gailey, paul krueger, annalee newitz, and other favo. These are classic, epic fantasy books that feel an awful lot like the lord of the rings series at times, which isnt necessarily a bad thing. If there are any fantasy books you think should be on the list, share them in the comments below. The magic system is utterly unique and deeply awesome, the world is fascinating, and the story is excellent. In the lord of the rings, set in middleearth we have frodos journey to mordor, in the farseer trilogy, set in the six duchies. Epic fantasy is generally serious in tone and often epic in scope, dealing with themes of grand struggle against supernatural, evil forces.
When you mention epic fantasy, its simply impossible not to mention robert jordan in the same breath either as a template for what not to do or as an example of classic fantasy that does many things. The story of kellhus, the dunyain, achamian the mage, esmenet the whore and cnaiur the barbarian has all the trappings of your typical epic fantasy. The vorkosigan saga 1986ongoing by lois mcmaster bujold. Jan 20, 2020 this best fantasy book for 2020 combines classic comingofage narrative ideas with elements of magic, dark fantasy and epic worldbuilding. The alchemyst is the first book in the muchloved fantasy series the secrets of the immortal nicholas flamel by michael scott. Top 14 epic high fantasy series of all time lga mcintyre. The black company is by far my favorite fantasy series, especially when the books of the south kick off. Tolkiens magnum opus spans three books, opening up a fantastically detailed and wholly invented universe in middle earth that was hinted at in. Originally planned as a 6book series, the wheel of time now spans 14 volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and a companion book. The perfect new fantasy book for our indulgent 21stcentury binge culture, a queen in hiding is the first in the nine realms quartet, which will be released backtoback from january to april 2020. In other words, the glossy romantic veneer of many traditional fantasy stories is stripped away, leaving behind violence, cynicism, and bleakness.
Top 10 epic fantasies throne of glass, shadow and bone. Stephen king may be a master of horror, but he considers his opus this crossgenre epic. The ilenian enigma, book 1 by pedro urvi is a fantasy genre story aimed at a younger audience, grades 812. To celebrate the heritage of the genre, weve assembled a list of some of our favorite fantasy series of all time. Oct 21, 2011 no fantasy list would be complete without the lord of the rings. Dec 22, 2017 but a song of ice and fire is not the only fantasy epic out there. Shards of honor, the warriors apprentice, ethan of athos spanning 30 years and sixteen novels, this scifi epic is full of. Aug 19, 2019 the fantasy book genre covers a vast array of categories, from young adult fantasy to magical realism to epic high fantasy series. Today, fantasy remains my favorite genre, and id love to share some of my favorites. In an eightbook series with piles of tiein material, king weaves a. Oct 20, 2017 today, fantasy remains my favorite genre, and id love to share some of my favorites. The 60 best scifi books all science fiction fans must read.
In short, fantasy is a genre of epic strength and incandescent beauty. The heroes of sword of truth are on a continuous quest. To start off we have the malazan book of the fallen by steven erikson. Ryan harvey is an awardwinning fantasy, sciencefiction, and nonfiction writer. Mistborn deploys a lot of classic fantasy tropes in new ways, including the. This work of epic fantasy paved the way for many others and really needs no introduction. The best fantasy novels of all time penguin random house. Apr 11, 2018 that epic fantasy favors eurocentric influences is an understatement the size of the tolkein family estate. Sep 21, 2016 while you wait for the next season of game of thrones, you should read some epic ya fantasy. Its got a legion of fanatical fans as well as a legion of critics. Ultimate list 2020 1 the lies of locke lamora by scott lynch. As a teenager i adored epic fantasy, it was pretty much all i was reading and it is the genre that turned me on to genre fiction in general. Fantasy doesnt come much bigger or more epic than this tenvolume series, which starts with gardens of the moon and deadhouse gates.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon kindle store best sellers. When it comes to classic fantasy books, it is sort of understandable. Tolkiens magnum opus spans three books, opening up a fantastically detailed and wholly invented universe in middle earth that was hinted at in the hobbit. The 50 best fantasy books of the 21st century so far paste. The worm ouroboros, an early epic fantasy classic perilous. First, since its a series list, at least 2 books needed to be published in the series for it to be included. Eddisons 1922 epic fantasy remains a curiosity spoken about by small circles of readers and fantasy historians. On this list youll find series that will take you years if not decades to complete discworld is so worth it, classics that couldnt possibly be left out. Wolves, necromancers, dragons, dark magic, assassins, mexican folklore, and more have been written about in 2019s fantasy and science fiction books. Ill be giving you guys a brief look at the story for each to see if its something youd be interested in. Feb 11, 2017 8 scifi fantasy books sexier than fifty shades. The fantasy book genre covers a vast array of categories, from young adult fantasy to magical realism to epic high fantasy series. A modernday classic, this epic trilogy features adventure on a grand scale. The eye of the world is the first novel in the wheel of time series.
No epic fantasy series evokes as much passion as does the wheel of time. The best epic fantasy fiction, best strong female fantasy novels, best fantasy books under the radar, best heroine in a fantasy book, f. Jul 03, 2018 classic grimdark books the black company by glen cook while the black company is often heralded as a dark fantasy, it also falls in this subgenre due to the straightforward portrayal of the mercenary unit that form its cast of characters. Jan 02, 2020 top 20 epic fantasy books not written by j. The best epic fantasy book series through the ages. The 12 best epic fantasy books like game of thrones.
He lives in costa mesa, ca in the company of a black cat and too many edgar rice burroughs books and godzilla blurays. These twentyone epic fantasy novels are absolutely perfect for readers looking to really dive into the classic fantasy experience. Well, high fantasy is set in an alternative, fictional, secondary world and the word epic is defined as an exceptionally long and arduous task or activity. Young adult readers found twilight, a court of thorns and roses, and caraval to name a few. While you wait for the next season of game of thrones, you should read some epic ya fantasy. It is the epic story of a young prince journeying through a strange land where wizards no.
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