Aside from
Tad Williams’ shelf-bending Shadowmarch series (which recently concluded with
the release of Shadowheart), there were no real blockbuster fantasy saga
endings in 2010 – the Wheel of Time is still rolling on as is George R.R.
Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen,
and Stephen R. Donaldson’s Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant – but there were
a handful of exciting new fantasy series begun, namely Brandon Sanderson’s
Stormlight Archives, N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance trilogy, and the Lightbringer
saga from Brent Weeks.
2010 had its fair share of noteworthy debuts – Spellwright by Blake Charlton, N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Adrian Tchaikovsky's Empire in Black and Gold, The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas, Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey, Passion Play by Beth Bernobich, etc. – but, for me at least, this year was a solid but relatively quiet one for mainstream fantasy.
My personal
fantasy highlights of 2010 were Tor’s reissue of Michael Moorcock’s classic
History of the Runestaff novels (The Jewel in the Skull, The Mad God's Amulet,
The Sword of the Dawn and The Runestaff), which were originally published in
the late ‘60’s; R.A. Salvatore’s hugely anticipated Gauntlgrym (in which dark
elf Drizzt Do’Urden begins a new phase of his existence after the era of the
Companions of the Hall ends); and the release of Antiphon, the third
installment of Ken Scholes’ five-volume Psalms of Isaak saga, a series that I
described as “the best thing to hit fantasy – and science fiction – in decades.”
It’s no secret: I absolutely love the Psalms of Isaak and I believe it’s indicative
of where epic fantasy – and genre fiction in general – is headed. I wrote in a
recent blog: “This will not only be one of the very best – and most
innovative – sagas you’ll ever read, it’ll completely change the way you look at
epic fantasy and science fiction…”
So, with that in mind, here is my list of the very best fantasy releases of 2010…
1. Antiphon by Ken Scholes
2. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
3. Gauntlgrym by R.A. Salvatore
4. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
5. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
6. Cold Magic by Kate Elliott
7. Spellwright by Blake Charlton
8. The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
9. Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
10. Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
11. Towers of Midnight by Brandon Sanderson
12. Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon
13. Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov
Although 2010 wasn't a landmark year for fantasy, 2011 is bringing some major blockbusters – the concluding volume of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, entitled The Crippled God; Terry Goodkind's The Omen Machine; Requiem by Ken Scholes; and the insanely anticipated sequel to The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss...
Paul Goat Allen has been a full-time book reviewer specializing in genre fiction for almost the last two decades and has written more than 6,000 reviews for companies like Publishers Weekly, The Chicago Tribune, and BarnesandNoble.com. In his free time, he reads.
Ooohhhh Paul!
You are just tearing me up here! I have several of these books, but just can't seem to get to reading them all.
These are the top dogs of the year though, at least from the premises I'm reading, or have got to read. 
I saw that Shadows Prowler's second book will be out in spring. I think April or something. So I am wanting to get through this book here before then. Or at least that's a goal for me.
Amazing list! You are really hitting me hard with these lists here lately. Thanks!!
Melissa
I've read eight of the thirteen in your best fantasy release list. Each is a good to great read. Some like Gauntlgrym and Towers of Midnight require reading an entire series, so it will take awhile before I get around to them. I'm already reading Salvatore's Drizzt books, but I'm only on the fourth.
As regards your list, I believe that the The Passage should have been included. IMO, it was the best epic fantasy, (and best thriller/suspense book as well as best Sci-Fi book and best fiction novel), released in 2010. I know you listed The Passage as the Best Vampire Release of 2010, but, IMO, it went far beyond the 'Best Vampire Release'.
That's not to say that I didn't love Antiphon. It's a wonderful and immersive fantasy/sci-fi release that fits the parameters of fantasy in a more traditional way than The Passage. <Shrugs> I guess I just feel that The Passage is the most monumental epic released in 2010.
I also wanted to mention that I read a fantasy released in late November entitled The Bone Palace by Amanda Downum. It is one of the best fantasies I read in 2010. The Bone Palace is riveting, with sumptuous writing, a standalone plot, an intricately developed world and really well-drawn characters. It presents a very different fantasy construct where women are active participants in society rather than victims, protected treasures and/or royalty/aristocracy; and that, IMO, is long overdue.
Let's put it this way: of all of the genre fiction I read in 2010 – SF, fantasy, paranormal fantasy, crime fiction, mystery, thriller, etc. – The Passage was easily my favorite. I L-O-V-E-D it – and when the sequel is eventually released, I am going to seek out and read it as fast as humanly possible.
Like I wrote earlier, it's one of those rare novels that transcends classification. Yes, it will appeal to fans of vampire fiction for obvious reasons but it's also palatable to post-apocalyptic science fiction fans, horror fans, literary fiction fans, etc. It was a towering literary work regardless of categorization – and will undoubtedly go down as one of my all-time fav reads!
