The Best Epic Fantasy Novels and Series of All Time

[paulgoatallen]

---

chironcentaur wrote:

Rhapsody was AMAZING!!! Elizabeth Haydon is a master story teller

---

Agreed.

[LEF]

This is my first contribution, and I enjoy reading what members post.  I noticed folks mention Tad Williams Otherland series often, but my absolute favorite of his is Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn, which began with The Dragonbone Chair (1988).  I was actually miffed at George RR Martin when he delayed A Dance with Dragons (yet again) to work on the HBO series.  I've been reading A Game of Thrones since the late 90's and am in the process of re-reading the first 4 books to catch up before I can even get to the new one.  It's a great story.  I'm also a big Robert Jordan fan, and was quite happy with Brandon Sanderson's treatment of the notes that were left behind.  (We'll miss you Mr. Jordan).

Of course the grand masters like JRRTolkien, Frank Herbert, & Isaac Asimov haven't been topped yet. 

Lydia

[Kurt149]

Favorite fantasy:

Diskworld Series by Terry Prattchet

Favorite si fi:

The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

[Christycard]

And here I go, with my two cents:

I think we can all pretty much say Lord of the Rings. (incl The Hobbit.)

George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.  (He needs to write faster!!!)

CJ Cherryh's Foreigner series.  (Almost more politics than sci-fi...)

Frank Herbert's Dune series.  *LOVE*

Terry Pratchett Discworld.

Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novels.

And what the heck, The Walking Dead graphic novel series. 

Edit:  Cannot believe I forgot Roger Zelazny!  Chronicles of Amber.

[JMBaileyWicked…]

Oh my God...this is so easy...Xanth series...Piers Anthony...nuf said. Here's to Wickedness...

[Normskin1970]

Here are a few more that I don't think have been mentioned:

Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes

The Prince of Nothing Series by R. Scott Bakker

The Coldfire Series by C.S. Friedman

The Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

[Sorka-Spellbou…]

Thank you so much to everyone who posted in this topic! I've been looking for some new series to get into and it looks like I've found a gold mine! I'm bookmarking this thread!

[SkyMacMom]

I'm new to this; however, I felt compelled to interject .... 

A newcomer, but an author that should be read - Peter Brett.  His Warded Man series is phenomenal.  The problem is having to wait for the next book!

[melanhead10]

MUST READ INHERITANCE CYCLE BY CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI

[BrandieC]

I don't know that I have read enough epic fantasy novels to state that these are among the "best of all time," but I really loved Victoria Strauss's duology, The Arm of the Stone and The Garden of the Stone.  I was fortunate enough to get the first one for free on my NOOK as part of Phoenix Press's monthly free eBook program, and I enjoyed it so much that I promptly bought the sequel.

[Mercury_Glitch]

Honestly if the question was phrased mentioning the Twilight Saga as it's key focus I wouldn't suggest most of the books above. 

That's not to say they aren't good, on the contrary they're so much more in depth and better written than the Twilight Saga that the average person asking after them wouldn't be able to handle these series. 

So using Meyers as a base point I'd suggest the following series so that whoever is asking actually has time to become a stronger fantasy reader rather than throwing them into the deep end of the pool after they've just stuck their foot in the kiddy pool.

Eragorn (and the rest of the series)

Narnia

Redwall

The Pretties (Scott Westerfield)

The Hobbit (but not the rest of LotR just yet)

Discworld

Percy Jackson (It's pretty much on the same level as Meyers writing and is a much stronger -fantasy- series than Twilight as Twilight is more a romance fantasy while Percy Jackson is fantasy in a modern setting)

Earthsea (though I personally didn't enjoy LeGuin's writting style)

No particular order to those suggestions, though I'd probably suggest working with the shorter works and building up to the longer series.

After reading some of those I'd start suggesting some of the series mentioned here.  Remember if someone is coming to you and is just starting to build a taste for fantasy it's not really a good idea to throw them the heavy hitters right off the bat.  Nurture their new found tastes and let them develop a stronger appreciation for fantasy.  They'll get more out of the heavy hitters that way and will thank you for it.

[DCLOVELL]

Many of my faves have been listed-

Narnia, LOTR, the Midkemia series by Feist.  Many others listed here are on my shelf and to read list!

One that was not mentioned that I enjoyed was the Circle series by Ted Dekker- Black, White, Red and Green.  A story of a man caught between two worlds.  The fate of both held in his hands.  When he slept he would enter the other world and sometimes bring people with him.....

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-ted-dekker/1006067043?ean=9781595547309

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-ted-dekker/1101708970?ean=9781595547316

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/white-ted-dekker/1100332280?ean=9781595547323

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/green-ted-dekker/1101187788?ean=9781595546821

[dare46]

i have to say the meantion of the twilight series raises my hackles.  It was poorly written the heroine was a 2 D character and a bad example for young women everywhere. If you want a similar series try the house of night series.  the first 3 or 4 books were really good and then it went downhill.  but at least the heroine is more real.

[MacMcK1957]

It occurs to me that those who have read the Twilight books, and even Anne Rice, may not be familiar with (IMO) a much, much better vampire series, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's series about the reputed immortal alchemist, but according to her a vampire, le Comte de Saint Germain.

   

   

   

[Sheri_B1975]

Old topic but I'm new to the boards and figured I'd throw my opinions into the mix!

1.

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings  

Classic!

2.

A Game of Thrones 4-Book Boxed Set (A Song of Ice and Fire Series)  

I recently discovered this series myself and I love it!

3.

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time Series #1)  

But my first love is, was and will forever be WoT series. I've worn through 3 copies of the first 10 books alone (No exaggerations! LOL)

[dulcinea3]

---

Sheri_B1975 wrote:

2.

A Game of Thrones 4-Book Boxed Set (A Song of Ice and Fire Series)  

I recently discovered this series myself and I love it!

---

I have that set and recently read the first book.  I would also add it to the list!  The HBO series is great, too (just got the first season), and I was really excited to find that Diana Rigg will be in season 3!

[MacMcK1957]

---

dulcinea3 wrote:

I have that set and recently read the first book.  I would also add it to the list!  The HBO series is great, too (just got the first season), and I was really excited to find that Diana Rigg will be in season 3!

---

I was far less excited when I saw a recent picture of her.  My long-ago schoolboy crush has been... crushed.

[dulcinea3]

---

MacMcK1957 wrote:

---

dulcinea3 wrote:

I have that set and recently read the first book.  I would also add it to the list!  The HBO series is great, too (just got the first season), and I was really excited to find that Diana Rigg will be in season 3!

---

I was far less excited when I saw a recent picture of her.  My long-ago schoolboy crush has been... crushed.

---

LOL!  Well, never having been a schoolboy myself, I can still find reasons to get excited.  She's still a very classy lady, and a great actress.  And I've seen her periodically since the catsuit days, like when she was hosting Mystery! on PBS some years back, so it's not a shock to see her age.

[MacMcK1957]

She still looked pretty good in the Mystery days but even that was a few decades ago. I guess I didn't expect her to look 73 now that she's 73.

[jigsawkid7]

his

His Dark Materials Boxed Set  

Personally, my favorite fantasy series, as well as my favorite books of all time.