I would suggest Memory Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams, as well as The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, and the Elric Books by Michael Moorcock.
If you want to pick up something a bit lighter the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser books by Fritz Leiber.
Based on what you've listed any of these should be right up your alley.
I'd vote Memory, Sorrow, Thorn, which is one of my favorite series, and has the benefit of being complete, (Although a sequel series is being produced now).
Kingkiller Chronicles is not too bad...I enjoyed the books so far, although yeah it's not complete.
I still need to read the Malazan series. I own the first book but had difficulty getting into it. would like to try again though, and I think it compares well to the above
If you like ASOIF, you will probably like the above series.
I read the Belgariad a long time ago...It was fine enough in High School but it's pretty cliched and simplistic and I don't think I would recommend it.
The Sword of Truth starts out...okay, but becomes absolute garbage pretty quickly. I wouldn't bother with it at all.
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Some of the stuff I've already read includes the Song of Ice and Fire, the Wheel of Time, some books of the Robin Hobbs' Assassin series and classics like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings. Oh yeah, I should probably mention Harry Potter as well, even though it's debatable whether it's a fantasy epic.
Series I'm currently having in mind are the Kingkiller Chronicle (although I'm fearful of the third book being delayed so much), Mistborn and the Stormlight Archive (which I'm inclined to postpone, so I can read it when it's done), the Belgariad and the Sword of Truth. I'm also interested in the Malazan Book of the Fallen, which I decided to read after the series I'll read next.
Perhaps a bit more of my personal preferences, I like series that have some depth and/or are somewhat atypical (I adored aSoIaF in particular).
So what are everyones opinions on these series and how they compare? And are there good, underrated series I've missed?
Absolutely avoid SWORD OF TRUTH. Easily one of the very worst (if intermittently, unintentionally hilarious) epic fantasies ever written.
MALAZAN is good, but very unconventional and highly confusing at the start. You have to roll with it through the first book (GARDENS OF THE MOON) but the second book (DEADHOUSE GATES) is a lot better and more comprehensible. Because it's set on a different continent with a mostly different cast, you can even start with DEADHOUSE. There's now 21 books set in the world from Erikson and his co-author Ian Esslemont, so there's certainly a lot of material to get through.
BELGARIAD is a solid, light, YA fantasy. I'd hesitate to recommend it now, post-ASoIaF, post-WHEEL OF TIME, even post-HARRY POTTER. It's very light, frothy and lacks substance. Absolutely avoid the sequel series, which is horrendous. If you want a light, introductory, throwback epic fantasy I'd be more inclined to recommend the original DRAGONLANCE trilogy, or Brandon Sanderson's YA stuff.
If you want something that's easily approachable, old-skool but also a lot more interesting than its contemporaries, there's also MAGICIAN by Raymond E. Feist, which is energetic, fun and has some very unusual character and structural ideas which I've not seen anyone else use too much (like there being no main bad guy, as such, with everyone being the victim of circumstance).
Speaking of Sanderson, MISTBORN is very solid and enjoyable, both the original trilogy and the four-book follow-up series. Be aware that all of Sanderson's epic fantasies take place in the same universe, so reading the stand-alones ELANTRIS and (especially, since it ties into the STORMLIGHT series) WARBREAKER is also a good move. I'd hold fire on STORMLIGHT until at least Book 5 is out, since the series is divided into two arcs and the first will not be completed until the first half of the series is over. At current production rates, Book 5 won't be out until probably 2024, so no rush on that one.
KINGKILLER I also can't recommend in good faith until Book 3 is out. Book 1 was very good, Book 2 was not. The trilogy will hang on the quality of Book 3.
MEMORY, SORROW AND THORN is a very good, complete trilogy by Tad Williams, with a stand-alone sequel recently released. There's also a sequel trilogy currently being written with Book 1 out next month, but that's picked up some more mixed pre-release press. MST itself and the stand-alone (THE HEART OF WHAT WAS LOST) is certainly excellent and worth reading (and doesn't have a cliffhanger or anything like that). Williams's OTHERLAND series - which rationalises tropes through a cyberpunk setting - is also highly recommended if you want something a bit different. Steer clear of SHADOWMARCH, which is too derivative of his earlier work.
THE BLACK COMPANY is a very fine series, especially now that Cook has committed to writing the last two books.
I also recommend Kate Elliot's seven-volume CROWN OF STARS series, which is similar to ASoIaF but is set at the start of the medieval period rather than the end, so much smaller armies and a greater focus on religion (which in Elliot's world is dominated by women). Some excellent worldbuilding and wonderful characters. It's maybe a book too long, but that's par for the course with epic fantasy.
For the classics, certainly take a look at Fritz Leiber. I strongly recommend Jack Vance. THE DYING EARTH is his most famous work (and massively influenced D&D and, through that, PATHFINDER), but the LYONESSE TRILOGY is much more cohesive and also more traditional fantasy. Vance is very funny with a beautiful command of language and dialogue, but can also do tragedy very well. LYONESSE, for my money, is the single finest fantasy trilogy since LORD OF THE RINGS.
For something different and more challenging, there's Matt Stover's ACTS OF CAINE series which has people in our future opening a portal to an epic fantasy world and sending people through to take part in a reality show. It sounds funny, but it's actually very dark and pretty horrific in places, opening up some very interesting (but also dense) philosophical questions. It's quite unlike anything else in the genre, but can occasionally be hard work.
Elizabeth Bear's ETERNAL SKY trilogy is also a good, recent series which has a rather different approach. It's particularly good for those unhappy with how simplistically Martin treats the Dothraki in his books.
You can't go wrong with Terry Pratchett, Kameron Hurley, China Mieville, Nora (NK) Jemisin, Scott Lynch or Joe Abercrombie. Mark Williams is worth a look (although he's also very dark).
I'll also blow my own trumpet and say if you want a thorough overview of the genre, there's a very long history of the genre here with tons of recommendations.
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If you want a light, introductory, throwback epic fantasy I'd be more inclined to recommend the original DRAGONLANCE trilogy...
Seconded.
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If you're okay with modern fantasy, the Dresden Files are absolutely worth the read.
Werthead makes most excellent suggestions. Though I recall not liking Memory, Sorry, and Thorn; I felt like it moved too slowly, and got me right back to where I started by only going out the front door to the mailbox and back. I prefer my epics to take me just a wee bit further.
I will also add Michelle West's THE SUN SWORD hextet. It is followed by the ongoing HOUSE WARS series, and ties into the Hunter's Duology. Many characters reappear throughout, and chronologically I'd read Hunter's Duology, the Sun Sword, then House Wars. There are mysteries still being explained, the supporting cast I love (including a former assassin turned bard and a sorceress who is somewhat unhinged from time), and I think we're building up to a divine war.
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I'll echo he recs for Scott Lynch and Elizabeth Bear
Django Wexler's The Shadow Campaigns is coming up on its 5th (and, as far as I've understood it, final) book. Great read if you want to try a secondary world that's hit the start of the industrial age with some of the best battle scenes I've read, and some very relatable main characters.
Juliet McKenna's written four stand-alone but connected series in her Einarrin setting: Tales of Einarrin, The Aldebrashin Compass, Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, and The Hadrumal Crisis. The first two can be difficult to find physical copies of, but you don't have to have read them to enjoy the third and fourth series.
Katherine Kerr's Celtic fantasy series Deverry is 15 books long, and in my opinion the best written during the 80s & 90s.
For a more throwback fantasy, I'll disagree with Werthead and instead suggest either Elaine Cunningham's Forgotten Realms novels, starting with either Elfshadow or Daughter of the Drow, or maybe Liane Merciel's Pathfinder or Dragon Age stuff. Merciel's also got a series of her own, but it sadly seems to have been prematurely ended after the second book.
I'm a bit surprised there's not been more mentions of Joe Abercrombie. The setting for his First Law trilogy so far includes the aforementioned trilogy (beginning with The Blade Itself), three stand-alone novels (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country), and one short-story anthology (Sharp Ends). Check him out if you feel like darkly funny stories subverting (as well as making good use of) standard fantasy tropes, while also adding different genre on top of the fantasy - Red Country is a western, The Heroes a war novel, and Better Served Cold a revenge story.
Finally, some ideas that doesn't quite fit the "big fantasy series" definition: If you haven't read them, I'm pretty sure any fantasy fan will enjoy Alexandre Dumas père's The Three Musketeers (best fight scenes in all of literature), and The Count of Monte Cristo. For some fun fantasy in space, Kevin Hearne's Star Wars novel Heir to the Jedi and John Jackson Miller's A New Dawn are both fun romps. Claudia Gray's Lost Stars is probably the best Star Wars novel written yet, and should've gotten way more attention. Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel and Naamah books are fantasy with courtly intrigue, some truly epic magic and travelogue adventures, and lots of (both kinky and regular) sex.
I'll throw in a mention for Paul Kearney as well, who's a very varied and interesting writer. He's written epic fantasies with excellent twists: THE MONARCHIES OF GOD being set in a Renaissance-level society (with bombards and flintlocks) with werewolves as the main bad guys. It's great fun, and easy to find in two omnibus volumes. His MACHT TRILOGY, which is based on the Anabasis (the march of a Greek mercenary army into the heart of the Persian Empire only to be betrayed and have to fight their way out), is fantastic.
He's also written stand-alone fantasies more like something that Neil Gaiman has written: THE WOLF IN THE ATTIC (which is set in 1930s Oxford with Tolkien and CS Lewis as guest characters) is his most recent but A DIFFERENT KINGDOM may be his best.
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all these suggestions make me wish someone could just pay me to read fantasy books all day...
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all these suggestions make me wish someone could just pay me to read fantasy books all day...
Yeah, I'm also available in case someone's interested in doing that.
...Does making audiobooks of them count?
...Does making audiobooks of them count?
No, you have to stand up to get the best voice quality.
Among the most rapidly consumable fantasy books written are those by Paul Kidd. He wrote Mus of Kerbridge, set in the setting of the old RPG Lace and Steel. Next was, I believe, Council of Blades, set in an otherwise unused area of the Forgotten Realms. Finally, three books in a series titled White Plume Mountain, Descent into the Depths of the Earth, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits. All are light fare and starring charming characters. They are not heavy fantasy, I should say, but if we're discussing the Belgariad and Dragonlance Chronicles...
I want to recommend a couple of offbeat fantasy works by Mark Twain:
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
- The Mysterious Stranger.
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey is the first book of three trilogies. A low magic, barely historical fiction. She also has a fun subversive re-telling of LotR from the PoV of not-quite "Sauron."
The Steel Remains by Richard K Morgan is the first of a trilogy. Very grimdark, but fun.
Jhereg by Steven Brust is the first of 14 or so (gonna be 19 eventually). Swashbuckling sorcery and witchcraft with wisecracking familiars and crimeboss chefs.
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey is a fun modern fantasy series. Kind of a darker, more vulgar Dresden Files.
The Kingdoms of Bone and Thorn by Gregory Keyes is SoIaF-lite, in a good way. Also, it has an ending. His Age of Unreason is a fun steampunk featuring Benjamin Franklin apprenticing to master alchemist Isaac Newton.
The Powdermage Trilogy by Brian McClelland is a pastiche of 18th century flintlocks mastered by the equivalent of gunpowder-powered maguses.
I would suggest Memory Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams,
I recommend these as well. Though Tad Williams can be very wordy and dense in his writing. Something that can be said in two sentences to a paragraph ends up being 2-3 paragraphs.
as well as The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, and the Elric Books by Michael Moorcock.
Recommended as well though very grim and dark fantasy imo. The world the novels are set in is not a very nice place to be and once you join the Black Company there is only one way to leave...feet first. I also recommend the D20 sourcebook from Green Ronin. Get it in PDF though because the prices for used online are insane imo.
Kingkiller Chronicles is not too bad...I enjoyed the books so far, although yeah it's not complete.
The first was excellent. The second was good though suffers from being wordy for the sake of it. I enjoyed the story felt that the authors was spending too much time on what should have been a minor plot point with minor characters imo.
Sword of Truth as others have said starts out real well then the writing gets progressively worse. With the ending making me go "what..what the hell just happened. What did I read". As the series progresses the main character and general tone of the story become too preachy and moralistic at least for my tastes. Good conquers all. Love will always win out in the end etc. He also makes tow mistakes imo. One is being the king of recap. Not every books needs a recap imo. Goodkind does it in spades. More importantly he gives the main character ultimate power than takes it away.
Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards if you're interested in something more like a caper movie than the typical save-the-world-from-evil epic.
I recommend this as well. Good some dark elements to it. As well set in a fantasy version of Venice.
_ MALAZAN I enjoyed it as well. Though it's too be taken in small doses imo. As it's ten very large (between 900-1000 pages) books. Unless one is the type to read a entire series in one sitting it's a bit much.
-David Eddings I recommend the BELGARIAD and to a lesser extent the Malloreon. I never read the others except for the first and second book of the Dreamers series. Stay the hell away from it. It was a poor attempt by David Eddings to rehash the Belgariad complete with the same characters hoping his fanbase would not notice. Having read the first two series it was a huge slap in the face.
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey is the first book of three trilogies. A low magic, barely historical fiction. She also has a fun subversive re-telling of LotR from the PoV of not-quite "Sauron."
I recommend this series as well with the caveat that it should be read by someone who is 16+ years old. I say this because their are some very explicit sex scenes. It's not erotica it's not something kids should be reading. The main character if I'm not mistaken is trained both as a spy to learn secrets and the art of sex. Why does two things. One tends to tell more secrets to someone who they sleep with. At least in that universe.
-Jack Whyte Dream of Eagles series.
It's strange that they shelve this series usually under fantasy. It comes across more as historical fiction than anything else imo. I began reading this after seeing it recommended by a poster here. Three books into the series. Nothing that says it should be in the fantasy section imo. The author imo has a style that both makes the story move along at a fast pace as well as giving a birds eye view of the setting. The first book is set at the twilight of the Roman Empire. Where two of main characters notice a trend of the Roman slowly dying off. Think if someone approached you and said " in 50-100 years Canada/USA will fall and disappear from the map leaving only crumbling ruins, forgotten knowledge and a new dark age". I'm sure the first response from myself and others here would be "yeah right your nuts etc".
The story is two main characters and other characters slowly witnessing the decline and slow fall of the Roman Empire and what they do. A good example in the story is that Roam armies when they come to a stop usually would build forticications to enhance the defence of the overall camp. Eventually they stop. The common refuses to do it. Those in charge are both too weak and scared to do anything about it with good chances of getting stabbed by their own soldiers. The Roman empire is written as slowly withdrawing their forces closer to home leaving everyone else defenceless and the roads and infrastructure unmaintained.
-The Accursed Kings translasted from French as Les Rois Maudits is what George RR Martin used as inspiration for his Game of Thrones series. Another historical fiction series I'm surprised no one has done a English TV series out of it.
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I highly, highly recommend the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. It's basically Avatar: The Last Airbender meets ancient Rome, but with way more involved and interesting elemental mechanics.
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I'll echo others in saying that Mistborn is a good series to try if you haven't read it yet. Brandon Sanderson writes in an extraordinarily approachable style and has a dedication to consistency in the mechanical imaginings of his worlds. He's gotten pretty famous for well defined and very practical magic systems, enough that "Sandersonian magic" is a term that you can throw around and people familiar with him will immediately know what to expect. The Mistborn series is a prime example and a fun and exciting adventure story to boot.
I'm currently most of the way through the second Malazan book, and I can cautiously recommend that series as well. Malazan's a real odd beast because it eschews a lot of traditional fantasy plot writing conventions to instead deliver epic-length chains of very cool scenes that ultimately culminate in the main characters being involved in (but not necessarily critical to) some kind of Very Important Event. The characters start powerful and capable from page 1, are thrust into circumstances that try their considerable skills, and pull through only to realize that the big Underlying Events are out of their control. No "Hero's Journey" type storytelling here!
Malazan feels a lot like a mid-level sandbox D&D campaign translated into book form, with the various parties of protagonists fighting strange creatures, exploring the remains of ancient civilizations, traveling between planes, dealing with the machinations of gods, and more. Much like a D&D campaign, its a story about the adventures of the protagonists, but its not a story about their development as characters (as more traditional storytelling would dictate). Instead, its a story about the world and the huge and dangerous forces shaping it. If nothing else, Malazan is a good resource for GMs to expand their bank of adventure ideas.
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Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastards if you're interested in something more like a caper movie than the typical save-the-world-from-evil epic.
I recommend this as well. Good some dark elements to it. As well set in a fantasy version of Venice.
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo is another fantasy heist series. I'm 5/6 done with Crooked Kingdom. It takes place in a fantasy Belgium and all they do is talk about waffles! And avenging the crime bosses that betrayed them. But mostly waffles. ;-)
Thanks for the recommendation Smilodan. I also second and recommendation of the Codex Alera series as well. Another one for fans of historical fiction. Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
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I'm a bit surprised there's not been more mentions of Joe Abercrombie. The setting for his First Law trilogy so far includes the aforementioned trilogy (beginning with The Blade Itself), three stand-alone novels (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country), and one short-story anthology (Sharp Ends). Check him out if you feel like darkly funny stories subverting (as well as making good use of) standard fantasy tropes, while also adding different genre on top of the fantasy - Red Country is a western, The Heroes a war novel, and Better Served Cold a revenge story
Very much this. While only the First Law Trilogy itself and one of the stories from Sharp Ends directly feature my favorite of his characters, I think The Heroes may actually be the best of them.
Also of note is his "Half a ____" series, set in a different world. A bit fantasy, a bit post-apocalypse, it's a satisfying read, even if you have, like me, read a lot of Abercombie and start rolling your eyes at some of his repeated motifs.
Will also second the mention of Fritz Leiber- his Lanhkmar stuff is some of my favorite epic fantasy where our heroes are, well... not bad guys, but not exactly Aragorn either.
Michael Moorcock's Elric stories are also a good read.
If we're mentioning Dragonlance material, I have to give a shout-out to the only Dragonlance novel I still keep in its battered paperback glory, Richard A. Knaak's The Legend of Huma. While only one book (the sequel, Kaz the Minotaur was... not as good as the original. Like. At all.), it's epic in its scope of action.
On a grimier, less-epic level historical fantasy, I also recommend select works of Jesse Bullington, with the caveat that they're not for everyone- The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart, in particular, can demand a strong stomach- but The Enterprise of Death is really good. Under a nom de plume, he has also begun a series I quite enjoy so far- The Crimson Empire, so far consisting of A Crown of Cold Silver and A Blade of Black Steel, both written as "Alex Marshall." The third volume, A War in Crimson Embers, is expected to release this August.
Azure Bonds by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb (of the original Manual of the Planes fame) is my all time favorite "light" fantasy novel.
It takes place in the Forgotten Realms, but it's still very fun. It's not a "save the world" epic, but a "how do I solve this problem" and "well, that escalated quickly" kind of story. It's the first of a trilogy, and even has a 4th standalone novel (that I think is better than books 2 and 3 (well, definitely better than 3)), but Azure Bonds is very standalone, too. It's also a very good introduction to the Forgotten Realms, even as it subverts some of its clichéd tendencies.
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Some titles I haven't seen mentioned...
Melanie Rawn: The Dragon Prince trilogy. (Dragon Prince, The Star Scroll, Sun-Runner's Fire)
Marion Zimmer Bradley: Mists of Avalon; the Darkover series
Anne Rice: Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. (Don't bother with the further sequels...diminishing returns)
Barbara Hambly: The Darwath Trilogy (The Time of the Dark, The Walls of Air, The Armies of Daylight)
Raymond Feist: The Riftwar Saga (Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Adept, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon)
C.J. Cherryh: The Chronicles of Morgaine (Gate of Irvel, Well of Shiuan, Fires of Azeroth, Exile's Gate)
Malazan feels a lot like a mid-level sandbox D&D campaign translated into book formThat's pretty much exactly what it actually is.
I read the 10 main series Malazan books a couple of years ago in one straight shot. It was work, but it was rewarding work.
I had the same feeling as well. It's a lot to read imo. Yet unlike Robert Jordan thse series goes somewhere and does not get bogged down in countless minor character and uneccesary description. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the Wheel of time and books 1-5 were great imo. Books 6-9 just went nowhere imo. The author begins spending too much time on secondary and even tertiary characters. I'm not sure if it was because the publisher told him to do it. Or Jordan was having trouble coming up with what to write. Yet books 10 and onewards it picked up the pace.
This is a great thread. So many recommendations I have not read. Very informative.
No one has mentioned Janny Wurts Wars of Light & Shadow, so I have. Truly an Epic both in character depth and prose. It starts with Curse of the Mistwraith, with two Princes who are half-brothers and gifted with power over Light and Shadow who must save a world. In the effort, they are cursed with enmity for one another and so begins the Wars. Very good books.
The best I've read lately is the Red Queen's War series. "Prince of Fools" and "The Liar's Key."
They are sort of grim-dark and edgy, but awesome. They are really immersive. 5/5
"The Wheel of Osheim" is the third book in this trilogy. It's by Mark Lawrence, and his "Prince of Thorns," "King of Thorns," and "Emperor of Thorns" trilogy is the prequel series. Mostly unrelated characters, but it provides a great foundation of the world both trilogies take place in.
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The Deed of Paksennarrion by Elizabeth Moon. Also her linked series Paladin's Legacy. Between the two of them, that's 8 books to keep you busy for a while :)
I'd like to second this. the Paksennarrion books are probably the best depiction of what a Paladin should be in print currently.
Not quite fantasy, but it is.
The World of Tiers and the Riverworld Series by Philip Jose Farmer.
The Adept series by Piers Anthony
Robert Asprin's Myth Series
Terry Brooks Shannara series
CONAN
Debra Dunbar's Imp series (set in modern day, but still a fun read)