The Best Epic Fantasy Novels and Series of All Time

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

I'm sure these have been mentioned already, but I'll post them anyway:

The Sharing Knife - Lois McMaster Bujold

The Icewind Dale Trilogy - R. A. Salvatore

The Shannara Series - Terry Brooks

The Wayfarer Redemption - Sara Douglass

The Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind

The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson

The Obsidian Trilogy - Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson

The Lord of the Rings

The Farseer books - Robin Hobb

The Runelords - David Farland

Symphony of Ages Trilogy - Elizabeth Haydon

The Recluce books - L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

[ScribbledNotes]

Hmmm...epic fantasy novels and series?

The two series that I would list are:

1. Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen: A couple of posts have mentioned this series and I echo them. This series is layered, creative, and has such powerful characters and writing. Everyone should read these.
2. I really did like the Harry Potter series. It was fun and surprisingly well-written for all its classification as a children's series.

All of those other series sound great, too. Man, I wish I had more time to read!

[RemyD]

Lloyd Alexander - The High King Chronicles.

I know this series is an old one; but, it was my introduction to the world of fantasy, after which I jumped feet first into Tolkien and so many others.  And, I still pick it up and re-read it from time to time, to revisit those who have become friends and family to me, in a way.

[paulgoatallen]

RemyD wrote:

Lloyd Alexander - The High King Chronicles.

I know this series is an old one; but, it was my introduction to the world of fantasy, after which I jumped feet first into Tolkien and so many others.  And, I still pick it up and re-read it from time to time, to revisit those who have become friends and family to me, in a way.

Excellent call, Remy – I read those as well years (decades!) ago.

Paul

The Chronicles of Prydain

    * 1.The Book of Three (1964)

An assistant pig-keeper, Taran, and his companions race to defeat the war lord of Arawn.

    * 2.The Black Cauldron (1965) — a 1966 Newbery Honor book

Taran and the companions struggle to destroy an evil enchanted cauldron.

    * 3.The Castle of Llyr (1966)

Eilonwy is kidnapped and Taran leads a band to rescue her.

    * 4.Taran Wanderer (1967)

Taran, with his companion Gurgi, begins a bittersweet search for his parentage.

    * 5.The High King (1968) - Winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal[6]

Taran and the companions wage a final battle against Arawn.

[TiggerBear]

paulgoatallen wrote:

RemyD wrote:

Lloyd Alexander - The High King Chronicles.

I know this series is an old one; but, it was my introduction to the world of fantasy, after which I jumped feet first into Tolkien and so many others.  And, I still pick it up and re-read it from time to time, to revisit those who have become friends and family to me, in a way.

Excellent call, Remy – I read those as well years (decades!) ago.

Paul

The Chronicles of Prydain

    * 1.The Book of Three (1964)

An assistant pig-keeper, Taran, and his companions race to defeat the war lord of Arawn.

    * 2.The Black Cauldron (1965) — a 1966 Newbery Honor book

Taran and the companions struggle to destroy an evil enchanted cauldron.

    * 3.The Castle of Llyr (1966)

Eilonwy is kidnapped and Taran leads a band to rescue her.

    * 4.Taran Wanderer (1967)

Taran, with his companion Gurgi, begins a bittersweet search for his parentage.

    * 5.The High King (1968) - Winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal[6]

Taran and the companions wage a final battle against Arawn.

You know I always hated those. Bastardization of celtic myth. But a discussion a few years ago gave me a different perspective. The number of people lead by these books to read the origional tales has led to greater scholarly study and more than a few reprints. The disney take on book 2 didn't hurt either.

[paulgoatallen]

TiggerBear wrote:

paulgoatallen wrote:

RemyD wrote:

Lloyd Alexander - The High King Chronicles.

I know this series is an old one; but, it was my introduction to the world of fantasy, after which I jumped feet first into Tolkien and so many others.  And, I still pick it up and re-read it from time to time, to revisit those who have become friends and family to me, in a way.

Excellent call, Remy – I read those as well years (decades!) ago.

Paul

The Chronicles of Prydain

    * 1.The Book of Three (1964)

An assistant pig-keeper, Taran, and his companions race to defeat the war lord of Arawn.

    * 2.The Black Cauldron (1965) — a 1966 Newbery Honor book

Taran and the companions struggle to destroy an evil enchanted cauldron.

    * 3.The Castle of Llyr (1966)

Eilonwy is kidnapped and Taran leads a band to rescue her.

    * 4.Taran Wanderer (1967)

Taran, with his companion Gurgi, begins a bittersweet search for his parentage.

    * 5.The High King (1968) - Winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal[6]

Taran and the companions wage a final battle against Arawn.

You know I always hated those. Bastardization of celtic myth. But a discussion a few years ago gave me a different perspective. The number of people lead by these books to read the origional tales has led to greater scholarly study and more than a few reprints. The disney take on book 2 didn't hurt either.

You stated it perfectly, Tig – I believe that these novels were "gateway" reads for thousands of young fantasy fans.

Paul

[dalnewt]

Per Paul's list of the best epic fantasies, I just purchased the three science fiction books in Meaney's Nulapeiron Sequence.

Resolution (Nulapeiron Sequence Series #3) 

Context (Nulapeiron Sequence Series #2) 

Paradox  I obtained them on-line from authorized used book sellers at really low prices. I've been meaning to get these books for a long time because I love Meaney's dark fantasy series in Bone Song and Black Blood. 

[paulgoatallen]

dalnewt wrote:

Per Paul's list of the best epic fantasies, I just purchased the three science fiction books in Meaney's Nulapeiron Sequence.

Resolution (Nulapeiron Sequence Series #3) 

Context (Nulapeiron Sequence Series #2) 

Paradox  I obtained them on-line from authorized used book sellers at really low prices. I've been meaning to get these books for a long time because I love Meaney's dark fantasy series in Bone Song and Black Blood. 

I L-O-V-E this series, dalnewt – seriously, one of the most under-rated SF epics of the last few decades. The world building in these novels is simply unparalleled.

Paul

[Xavean]

New to this book club and to B&N for that matter.  I am have read tons and tons of fantasy novels most of which were not in a series, but I was happy to see someone mention Piers Anthony and the xanth series one of my all time favorites.   I was not familiar with most of the series and authors mentioned by name but was surprised I didn't see David Eddings in among those lists.  The Mallorean and The Belgariad.  I will definitely have to check out some of the series mentioned But David Eddings is one of my favorite authors.

[Nallia Distinguished Bibliophile]

Xavean wrote:

New to this book club and to B&N for that matter.  I am have read tons and tons of fantasy novels most of which were not in a series, but I was happy to see someone mention Piers Anthony and the xanth series one of my all time favorites.   I was not familiar with most of the series and authors mentioned by name but was surprised I didn't see David Eddings in among those lists.  The Mallorean and The Belgariad.  I will definitely have to check out some of the series mentioned But David Eddings is one of my favorite authors.

The Belgariad and the Mallorean were good, but I prefer the Elenium and the Tamuli. 

[archery_angel09]

Okay This is probably my favorite genre of reading so I actually have a few fantasy/science fiction authors, not just titles. Okay some of my favorite authors are Bryan Davis, J.R.R. Tolkien (of course), Robert Jordan, and Stephen R. Lawhead. I think a lot of people would prefer Robert Jordan over the others. He writes an amazing series called The Wheel of Time. It reminds me of a mix between Star Wars, with the idea of the jedi and the force, and Lord of the Rings.The other authors I mentioned are Christian authors, still great all the same! Well there was my 2 cents on the topic.

[JdiennoPSU]

archery_angel09 wrote:

Okay This is probably my favorite genre of reading so I actually have a few fantasy/science fiction authors, not just titles. Okay some of my favorite authors are Bryan Davis, J.R.R. Tolkien (of course), Robert Jordan, and Stephen R. Lawhead. I think a lot of people would prefer Robert Jordan over the others. He writes an amazing series called The Wheel of Time. It reminds me of a mix between Star Wars, with the idea of the jedi and the force, and Lord of the Rings.The other authors I mentioned are Christian authors, still great all the same! Well there was my 2 cents on the topic.

I love lawhead!  Then again I am an Arthur dork (even took a class on it when I was in  College).  I also really like Jordan and think Sanderson did a good job with the last book.  Can't wait for the next WoT book (only 2 left)!

[Sean_Barrick]

1. The Black Company by Glen Cook

2. The Magician Series by Raymond E. Fiest

3. The Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb

4. The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

5. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

6. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephan R. Donaldson

For younger readers the best series ever is the:

• Dragon Slayers Academy by Kate McMullan

[grub34]

I have not personally read the Twilight Saga, perhaps that is because of the general books I read, but I do read often and have found the following series very well written and hard to put down.

1. Terry Goodkind -- Sword of Truth (A fantastic series that is impossible to put down)

2. Gail Z. Martin -- Chronicles of a Necromancer

3. Robin Hobb -- Farseer Trilogy

4. Jim Butcher -- Dresden Files

5. Brent Weeks -- Night Angel Trilogy

Those are just a few of my personal favorites if anyone is looking for some good series those are all very well written and the characters are hard to forget.

[bookloverKG]

I definitely the Mallorean by David Eddings should be up here along with The Belgariad by the same author and my absolute favorite, the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and the last three books are written by Robert Jordan and Brian Sanderson. 

[bookloverKG]

I absolutely LOVE the Wheel of Time and The Belgariad/Mallorean. And Rand is just awesome. I think book 7,8, and parts of 9 were a little hard to get through but Wheel of Time is still my all time favorite!! I cant wait for the next book, Towers of Midnight in late October. The last book is going to be bittersweet.

[pagemaven]

I've started to avoid series. They have started to feel like children to me. They are always on your mind, always under foot, always nagging for your attention, and every time you let your guard down, there's a new one, screaming for nourishment and support!!!  Single novels are like wonderful visitors that entertain you, stimulate your imagination, bring new points of view and information, and just when you have had about enough, they move on. Perfect!

[TiggerBear]

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pagemaven wrote:

I've started to avoid series. They have started to feel like children to me. They are always on your mind, always under foot, always nagging for your attention, and every time you let your guard down, there's a new one, screaming for nourishment and support!!!  Single novels are like wonderful visitors that entertain you, stimulate your imagination, bring new points of view and information, and just when you have had about enough, they move on. Perfect!

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You know when I have that feeling too much, I switch genres. Nothing wrong with a stand alone either though.

[pagemaven]

Ah, Tiggerbear, ever the voice of calm and reason. Are you out of bed yet? I sincerely hope you are okay. The (B&N) world would be a lesser place without you.

[TiggerBear]

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pagemaven wrote:

Ah, Tiggerbear, ever the voice of calm and reason. Are you out of bed yet? I sincerely hope you are okay. The (B&N) world would be a lesser place without you.

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Oh yes, much better thank you. Running about 80% normal. If my stamina was back I'd say 95%.

That's very nice of you to say.