What is your favorite epic fantasy series?
Mine was once the bloated Wheel of Time series. Now it is the more visceral Joe Abercrombie books (I completely forget what that series is called and I'm feeling too lazy to Google it).
I haven't read too many so I guess I have to say Dark Tower series.
Not a huge fantasy reader.
But I'll second Dark Tower. And I'll nominate McCaffrey's Pern series and Herbert's Dune series.
All three of those have strong fantasy elements/influences in my opinion, even if they aren't 'classic' fantasy.
As a lad of 12, my favorite was the Xanth series from Piers Anthony.
As I got older, akin to the rest of you, I was all about The Dark Tower Series.
Now, however, my favorite has become A Song of Ice and Fire. It is quite epic and awesome. All of the characters are incredibly well written, and the overall story is as fantastic as it is far reaching.
Apropros of nothing, maybe. Not big on fantasy either. But I always kind of liked Peter David's stuff.
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. For fantasy lovers, this will be a welcome change from the usual drek...wicked smart and innovative. If you're not a fantasy fan and you read this, probably don't need to bother reading much more after that...it'll be a disappointment. @utah1977 - Sanderson is the guy that finished the last 3 books of Wheel of Time after Jordan died.
The redwall series by Brian Jacques. It might be a children's book, i don't know really, but the man knows fantasy and is a damn good writer. Even though the stories have gotten a little repetitive after like fifty books all set in the same world it's still fun to go back and read the early books. Also for dark tower fans I don't think it really fits fantasy. It may be categorized as that but I dont really see anything about it that's really in the world of fantasy. Dystopian, apocalyptic, science fiction, western and horror maybe but I personally don't call it fantasy.
Redwall is awesome.
Fantasy is really blurred genre though. I mean, surely it includes any story that has its roots in the surreal or the fantastic?
Dark Tower is certainly both of those things.
Probably I'm being too pedantic. I suppose we all know what kind of stuff people are usually referring to when they say fantasy. They mean Tolkien, Martin, Jordan, etc.
Nah, I definitely lump Dark Tower into the fantasy category. And now that you've all reminded me, I'd have to say that it trumps my picks. Probably the best I've read.
Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (not Steve Erickson).
10 books, about 3 1/2 million words - it was pretty epic.
I'm not saying dark tower isn't technically fantasy I'm just saying to me it isnt. I count fantasy as something magical and whimsical. The dark tower is more like fantasy through the eyes of J.G Ballard. It's one of my favorite series, definately my favorite by king, but it just lacks the qualities that I count as fantasy.
I'll third Redwall and Dark Tower.
I'll also throw in A Song of Ice and Fire, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Black Company.
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Forever and always.
I read a fair bit of Moorcock's eternal champion series - Elric, Cormac, Hawkmoon and probably some others I've forgotten over the years. The stories meander a fair bit, but then Moorcock hits on an image and fleshes it out fully. Then more slog to the next payoff.
I'm surprised more people haven't read Steven Erikson - if you like George RR Martin or Stanley Jordan then apparently it's in the same tradition.
The Caine books by Matthew Woodring Strover.
Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea series
