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Epic fantasy is a specific thing. Not all fantasy is epic. A cozy mystery with a magical bookshop is fantasy. A single novel about a wizard solving a murder in a city is fantasy. Epic fantasy is something different — it’s fantasy that operates at scale. Multiple nations. Ancient prophecies. The fate of the world hanging in the balance. Thousands of years of history pressing down on the present.
It’s also, when it’s done well, some of the most transporting fiction in any genre. Here’s a guide to the best of it.
What Makes a Great Epic Fantasy?
Three things, in my view: world-building that feels genuinely inhabited, characters worth following through a thousand pages, and stakes that actually feel like stakes. The third one is harder than it sounds. A lot of epic fantasy announces that the world is ending without ever making you feel it. The best of the genre makes the threat feel real and personal simultaneously.
The Foundations
The Lord of the Rings — J.R.R. Tolkien
Still the benchmark. Everything else in this list is either building on Tolkien or reacting against him. Middle-earth has a depth — mythological, linguistic, historical — that no other fantasy world has matched. The prose is formal and deliberate, and some modern readers bounce off it. If that’s you, try The Hobbit first.
The Wheel of Time — Robert Jordan (completed by Brandon Sanderson)
Fourteen books. Twenty-odd years of publishing. The most ambitious fantasy series of the late 20th century, and — crucially — it finishes. The early volumes are tightly plotted and propulsive; the middle stretch famously loses momentum; the final three books, completed by Sanderson after Jordan’s death, deliver a genuinely satisfying conclusion. A commitment, but a rewarding one.
The Dragonbone Chair / Memory, Sorrow and Thorn — Tad Williams
The series that directly influenced George R.R. Martin and effectively invented the more grounded, character-focused approach to epic fantasy that became dominant in the 1990s. Still extraordinary and criminally underread today.
The Modern Classics
A Song of Ice and Fire — George R.R. Martin
Three of the five published volumes are among the finest epic fantasy ever written. The moral complexity, the political depth, the sense that nobody is safe — Martin changed what the genre thought it could do. The unfinished state of the series is a genuine tragedy for readers.
The First Law Trilogy — Joe Abercrombie
Abercrombie arrived in 2006 and made it feel like epic fantasy had been doing everything wrong. His debut trilogy is dark, funny, morally rigorous, and technically excellent. If you want to understand what grimdark fantasy actually is at its best, start here. Read our review of The Blade Itself.
The Farseer Trilogy — Robin Hobb
The most emotionally devastating entry on this list. Hobb writes character at a level that most literary fiction doesn’t reach, and she does it in a world of assassins, sea serpents, and ancient magic. Our full Robin Hobb guide covers where to start and how to navigate her connected series.
The Current Generation
The Stormlight Archive — Brandon Sanderson
Four books in and already an essential series. Sanderson operates at a scale that should be unmanageable — multiple continents, dozens of POV characters, an intricate magic system — and makes it read with momentum. The Way of Kings is the place to start.
The Faithful and the Fallen — John Gwynne
The most overlooked great epic fantasy series of the last decade. Gwynne writes heroic fantasy in the Gemmell tradition — moral heroes, extraordinary battles, a world that feels genuinely at stake — at a scale and polish that Gemmell never quite achieved. Our full John Gwynne guide covers his full bibliography.
The Blacktongue Thief — Christopher Buehlman
Something slightly different: an epic fantasy told in a tight, fast, voice-driven first person. Kinch Na Shannack is one of the most entertaining narrators in recent fantasy, and Buehlman’s world — grim, original, full of dark magic and convincing detail — is unlike anyone else’s. Full review here.
Where to Start if You’re New to Epic Fantasy
If you want something accessible: Start with Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. It’s self-contained, propulsive, and the magic system is extraordinary. Three books, all published, all satisfying.
If you want the best the genre has to offer: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Slow by some definitions, but the prose and the character work are genuinely unmatched. Full reading guide here.
If you’ve read everything: Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio. A science fiction epic with the soul of fantasy, and one of the most underrated series in either genre. Full review here.
You Might Also Like
- The Best Fantasy Book Series of All Time
- The Edge of Darkness: 9 Grimdark Fantasy Books
- Patrick Rothfuss Books in Order
- 31 Best Fantasy Books You Need To Read Today
Check out Sunset In the East — a mind-bending short story collection from Ben Luxon.
