I nearly voted Other and talked about the truly epic series of 15 novels by Jin Yong, which basically established the modern Chinese fantasy genre (Wuxia) like Tolkien did for Western fantasy. The scope of his work is truly epic, and covers a fantasy history of China that covers about 1,000 years, told through dozens of memorable protagonists, hundreds of villains big and small and a supporting cast of literally thousands of characters. His influence is so huge that I don't think there is ever a year when there is not a remake of one of his 15 novels in live action TV, movies, animation, etc...
The only reason that I didn't vote for him is that my Chinese reading ability is embarrassingly bad (for a Chinese guy, lol) and so I have mostly read wikis and watched TV series, rather than read the source material directly.
I voted for Tolkien pretty much for the same reason others have mentioned. His work is a monumental classic, and the inspiration for almost all the Western fantasy stories and games we know and love.
Have to agree with @SmilingSword no series of books caused the swing of emotions in me that this series has. From crying over the sacrifice of Beak to save his friends with Hood himself meeting him at the gate. To being filled with rage and digust almost stopping reading over how Erikson treated Hetan and her death.
I am pretty sure that 90% of the characters I've made are named after characters from these books.
My favourite series would be Dragonlance, ever since I started reading it around 10 years ago. Oddly enough it begun when I was sick and there was little for me to do, so my sister brought me a book to read. It was Test of the Twins and as soon as I begun reading I was sucked into that world. Even though it's a part of the Legends trilogy (the third one even), it didn't bother me.
Soon after I begun collecting the remaining books and continue to do so to this day. Test of the Twins is still my favourite fantasy book. I just love that world, it has that post-apocalypse feel to it, especially the Abyss. Raistlin together with Caramon and several others are great characters. The series is definately not perfect, but as the characters it has it's own flavour and flaws.
My second favourite series would be Lord of the Rings and here I love the world as well. I don't particularly like the hobbits, but it doesn't bother me as much. At first I didn't like it, but that was because I read a terrible translation, where even some names where changed. Later on I read a much better translation and could finally enjoy the series (and even more the original).
I started reading Song of Ice and Fire, but after first two books I probably won't continue. It has some awesome characters and world, but I don't enjoy the details of someone being murdered/tortured/raped etc.
I used to be a Drizzt fan but as the series kept going along, he became too much of a super hero type person and not a believable character any more. [...]
You get an agree from me there. One thing really annoyed me of Salvatore's last few books is, apart from all the things you stated. It probably doesn't stand out to English speakers that obviously because it relates to how different words mean different things in different languages. My other native language is Italian and I remember having a laugh when reading one of his latest novels. There are characters whose names are Pericolo and Donnola Topolino. Now, I could agree that in English the names might sound exotic and fit for the characters, but you see, those names in Italian would mean Peril Little Mouse and Least Weasel Little Mouse. I felt they were utterly ridiculous. And it's funny because Mr Salvatore has a pretty obvious Italian background, so I'm quite sure he must've heard those words in his family. Also, they just stand out from other regular Halfling names we are used to (Regis, Mazzy come to mind). I don't know, I just didn't like it. It felt like he really didn't have time to think about a proper name and he just placed those there, with no care. This is just one of the many things that make Tolkien (and Martin) stand above other authors. Names and places are consistent to each other. In Tolkien, you will never find a dwarf named Mario or an elf called Romano. How ridiculous would that be? "I am Mario, son of Roberto!". Sorry to bother you guys.
I think, to be fair to Mr Salvatore, he probably only continues to write the books about Drizzts because people demand it of him. I think the early stuff is quite good, though I am not sure I would have it in company with The Lord of the Rings or The Song of Ice and Fire.
@Tuth - I agree that Dragonlance was a very good series, at least the stuff written by Weis and Hickman. Some of the other stuff is less well written. I started off with book 1 and read it faithfully till the end. It isn't perfect, but it is absolutely a D&D story. Probably because the idea came from a tabletop game.
I still think that Raistlin is among the best written 'Wizards'. Gandalf is awesome, but he doesn't do much 'Wizarding'. Elminster is cool but I don't get the feeling he is constrained by the rules of wizardry per say... Rincewind is my second favorite.
@the_spyder The best thing about Raistlin is that, well he's neither good nor evil, he loves magic and pays a very high price for it. Mages in Dragonlance are really well done, their power can be immense, but at the same time it can be very difficult to control and there are not that many of them.
The D&D aspect of the books kept me interested in them, the original series (Chronicles and Legends) is by far the best. This has inspired many of my pen & paper RPG sessions. Too bad that the world of Krynn was not that much explored by cRPGs apart from several old games and was forgotten about, similar to Planescape.
@Tuth - i am not sure how old you are, or what your tolerance is for those "Old games", but I would HIGHLY recommend the Gold Box Krynn games. Once you get past the graphics (and assuming that you can get them to run), there's a LOT to like about them.
And absolutely yes, I loved the fact that Raistlin in particular got very powerful, but he had to sacrifice to get there. THAT is what being a wizard is all about in my mind. Magic isn't/shouldn't be a tool that you dabble with, it should be a devotion as strong as any religion. A true practitioner should sacrifice for his craft (wizardry) if he want to truly be successful. Anything less is a waste of talent.
My favorites would probably be the Earthsea series (LeGuin), the Riddle-Master trilogy (McKillip), the Sevenwaters Trilogy (Marillier), the Fionavar Tapestry (Kay), and the Chronicles of Prydain (Alexander).
The Prydain books are YA, but I'd argue their scope and depth is enough to classify them as epic fantasy.
I'm in Long time Wheel of Time fan, and I love the Mistborn series. My current favorite however is the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (currently two books, The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance). Fans of the books in this thread should definitely have a look.
I am actually surprised I am the only one who voted for The Kingkiller Chronicles, they are actually really good fantasy novels, I mean the other novels are good too, but I also like how the Kingkiller chronicle gets into the day to day life of Kvothe. it is something different from everything else I read.
@Airman1991 , sincerely I am actually surprised you voted for the Kingkiller Chronicles and it doesn't surprise me at all that it's the only vote (so far). Mind you, I respect your opinion. After all, de gustibus non disputandum est, it is said. I just happen to disagree. The first novel was indeed good stuff, it was fun to read and I really appreciated it. But the second one was abysmal. I think The Wise Man's Fear is one of the worst books I've ever read.
I had the feeling over and over again that the book was unnecessarily long. with some sections that you could have completely cut out of the final version (most of the second half), or cut to 10-15% of the original length and you wouldn't have lost a bit of the interesting stuff. But he couldn't do it because no one would spend 35 bucks for a 50 pages long book. I felt like I was reading Eco's "Il cimitero di Praga" all over again, where the writer goes on for 4-5 pages, describing in minute details what the main character had for lunch. Those sections (in Rothfuss' book) do not add anything interesting, either to the plot or to the characters involved. They're just frustrating.
I really hope his third book will be better, but I've had my share and am quite confident I won't stick around to see how it ends. That's too bad, because the first book was pretty good.
@Moradin I actually liked the fact that it was really long, I usually finish books in an hour or two, so having it long was fun and different. But that is just my opinion.
So many votes for LotR. I tried the book and it fails hard. No doubt it was an important work for all of us role playing fanatics, fantasy novells lovers etc., but the book is so dull.
Didnt make it farther then Tom Bombadil
The exact opposite was (not really an important piece of literature but far more enjoyable), aSoIaF I just started with the wheel of time series, so far I'm enjoying it.
I enjoyed the drizzt books but not so much that I would read them twice ( sold them, something I never do normally )
It took me like 7 tries to read the LotR trilogy. I always got lost around the council at Rivendell. I finally read them when I was 22 on my honeymoon. (We went to Hawaii and on the second day I got a horrible sunburn and had to stay inside during the hottest part of the day, so we read through the trilogy.)
I went with Martin. Just as another option, Sanderon's Stormlight Archive series (two books out so far) is his best work. I'd place it over Mistborn, for sure.
I had heard great things about The Wheel of time. My boss raved about it and I kept on reading reviews after reviews saying it was all that... Then I picked up book one.
I read through books 1-6 and it became increasingly harder and harder to get through. I get the whole "Farm boy who is actually this Uber-powerful guy and is set to save/destroy the world". I just couldn't stomach quite a lot of the story threads or the obvious tropes that got stolen from somewhere else. I am not saying that it was a bad series, it just wasn't my thing.
Which is funny because I LOVE Terry Pratchett and he steals EVERYTHING from somewhere else. But I love his sense of humor and his take on things.
The more I think of it though, I do think that Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos stories should be part of the list. Also, The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice's Adventures (wonderland and the looking glass).
I've read all of these except for the Malazan books, but they are in my queue - waiting on my Nook to be read soon.
@SmilingSword - You forgot the gloriously stupendous Black Company. Shame on you good sirrah!
@the_spyder The Discworld series is criminally underrated outside of the UK, and also by literary critical types. The can't get past the fact the books are sublimely hilarious and see the incredible world building skills, wonderful characterisations and multi-layered plot lines. This is satire at it's very best - following in a long history of using humour to make acidly sharp social commentary and very powerful moral statements.
I will always be at heart a Tolkien addict. I've been a fan of fantasy since I started reading at age 4 or 5 - I grew up on Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Narnia etc ... But when I first read Lord of the Rings it was a totally different experience. The depth and layers of time and history that resonate through the books added a sense of reality I had never struck before.
The Mistborn series pretty much blew me away. Sanderson is an excellent writer, and I really enjoy all his work. Mistborn is a good title as so much of shat he writes has a kind of misty, drea like quality.
Salvatore has always been a bit of a paradox to me. He can create characters that grab you, and tell tales that draw you in but as an actual wordsmith he strikes me as not that good. Often his sentances are clunky, his descriptions of battles often make me wince and quite frankly he frequently uses the wrong word. The gods know what his editors are playing at when they repeatedly let him use the word poignant instead of potent! He is also pretty crap at naming things. Twinkle sounds less like a magic weapon with a serious historym and more like an accassory for My Little Pony. T sum up - I really enjoy reading his books but they often make me cringe.
Can I suggest another set of books ... all of Robin Hobb's books set in the Elderling Universe. She has a gift of creating a world that also has depth and layers of history with unique types of magic. Her characterisation is excellent - nobody is all good or all bad, he heroes can be deeply flawed and their actions and motivations ring true. Her writing varies from beautifully tender, to achingly sad, to brutally harsh to exquisitely magical. The Fool has to be my al ltime favourite literary character, and Nighteyes is another who stays with me long after I have finished reading.
For all of those who love epic fantasy, but don't think it should be restricted to psuedo Western European medieval settings - here's a great article with some excellent suggestions for good books and authors Writing in Ink to Samarkand by Paul Weimer
Really close between the Wheel of Time and the Twins.... Gonna have to go with the Twins though, I've been reading dragonlance for 17 years because of it and WoT got a bit big for its britches in the end.
@kiwidoc - I am 100% with you on Tolkien. I remember reading The Lord of The Rings when I was 7-8ish (not sure exactly, might have been 9-10??). I remember totally devouring the series and really impressing my parents that I could read/comprehend/enjoy such work. He was without a doubt a master. I have re-read all 4 books more times than I can count.
As for Salvatore, again we are 100% in sync. I liked his works and have read most of them. I think he is a good writer, but would not put him up with 'The Masters' by any stretch (in my opinion). I wouldn't go out of my way to get/read a Salvatore book the way I would a Terry Pratchett book.
Pratchett is a true master. I still love Douglas Adams better, but I think that Pratchett is absolutely in my top 5 writers of all time. And yes, his wit, satire and style are just amazing.
@SethDavis - I have a particular warm spot in my heart for the Weis & Hickman 'Dragonlance' novels. I can see why you chose them.
Hey guys thanks for all the great replies, will most definitely check out some of the series you guys posted.
On another note, a note that will most probably get flayed alive on this forum, but I wanna ask you guys a question about Tolkien. I'm seeing a lot of Tolkien love in this poll which is good and right and just, but I want to know if people love the Tolkien for his writing or respect him for what he did for fantasy as a whole. Obviously these two options are not mutually exclusive, but I would like to know if you veer to one side or the other? I look at Tolkien the same way I look at Stan Lee, what they did for their respective industries was amazing, and I respect them both immensely, but I don't think their work really holds up to their modern counterparts.
I think you raise a valid point. Tolkien's writing is definitely "of its time." Entertainment writing has changed quite a bit since then, and I think many modern readers would perhaps struggle with the differences. And, given that the genre has had a lot of time to expand upon and modify the fantasy parameters he created, I can certainly see how more modern novels might seem richer in some ways.
When I read the novels as a child it took effort to get into the books, but once I did I loved the characters and the story. I still love them. Although I do respect Tolkien's status, I'd have to say the primary reason I love the novels is indeed the writing itself.
Speaking purely for myself, the writing is definitely a significant factor in my Tolkeinophilia.
My first interests in fantasy were sparked by a friend introducing me to Warhammer table-top gaming, and I'd read a number of fantasy books of more or less worth, but Lord of the Rings was the first really "significant" book I'd ever read.
This was sometime in the mid-90s, and I would have been around 10 or 11 and I remember actually struggling through the first volume, grappling with the songs and the bizarre languages and so forth... but at some point, everything clicked into place and it is still probably the most rewarding book I've ever read. The sense of achievement that I felt on completing it the first time was tremendous.
The other pay-off for me has come in re-readings as the years have gone by (I probably read it about every two years), without the desperate need to know what happens next, I found it much easier to immerse in the unique moments of the story, and the complexity of the world that JRR had created. The meandering style that had frustrated me at first, was now incredibly comfortable, allowing me to slip along with the story and watch the world drift by.
Looking at it more analytically, I would say that the greatest strength of Tolkein as a writer is his capacity to create a real sense of place, in a way which generates some profound memories. I know friends and relatives who have never touched the books since they first read them 10, 20 or more years previously, but they still had vivid recollections of certain locations and moments, whether that be the Old Forest, the mines of Moria, or the Dead Marshes.
Wise Man's Fear has some issues (Sixty pages in the garden? Really?), but to me Rothfuss's narrative voice sells the story well enough that I don't mind at all. Name of the Wind is a book I can (and have) read over and over again.
Comments
The only reason that I didn't vote for him is that my Chinese reading ability is embarrassingly bad (for a Chinese guy, lol) and so I have mostly read wikis and watched TV series, rather than read the source material directly.
I voted for Tolkien pretty much for the same reason others have mentioned. His work is a monumental classic, and the inspiration for almost all the Western fantasy stories and games we know and love.
From crying over the sacrifice of Beak to save his friends with Hood himself meeting him at the gate. To being filled with rage and digust almost stopping reading over how Erikson treated Hetan and her death.
I am pretty sure that 90% of the characters I've made are named after characters from these books.
I like Tolkien's LotR, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth and the "history" books.
Soon after I begun collecting the remaining books and continue to do so to this day. Test of the Twins is still my favourite fantasy book. I just love that world, it has that post-apocalypse feel to it, especially the Abyss. Raistlin together with Caramon and several others are great characters. The series is definately not perfect, but as the characters it has it's own flavour and flaws.
My second favourite series would be Lord of the Rings and here I love the world as well. I don't particularly like the hobbits, but it doesn't bother me as much. At first I didn't like it, but that was because I read a terrible translation, where even some names where changed. Later on I read a much better translation and could finally enjoy the series (and even more the original).
I started reading Song of Ice and Fire, but after first two books I probably won't continue. It has some awesome characters and world, but I don't enjoy the details of someone being murdered/tortured/raped etc.
This is just one of the many things that make Tolkien (and Martin) stand above other authors. Names and places are consistent to each other. In Tolkien, you will never find a dwarf named Mario or an elf called Romano. How ridiculous would that be? "I am Mario, son of Roberto!".
Sorry to bother you guys.
@Tuth - I agree that Dragonlance was a very good series, at least the stuff written by Weis and Hickman. Some of the other stuff is less well written. I started off with book 1 and read it faithfully till the end. It isn't perfect, but it is absolutely a D&D story. Probably because the idea came from a tabletop game.
I still think that Raistlin is among the best written 'Wizards'. Gandalf is awesome, but he doesn't do much 'Wizarding'. Elminster is cool but I don't get the feeling he is constrained by the rules of wizardry per say... Rincewind is my second favorite.
The D&D aspect of the books kept me interested in them, the original series (Chronicles and Legends) is by far the best. This has inspired many of my pen & paper RPG sessions. Too bad that the world of Krynn was not that much explored by cRPGs apart from several old games and was forgotten about, similar to Planescape.
And absolutely yes, I loved the fact that Raistlin in particular got very powerful, but he had to sacrifice to get there. THAT is what being a wizard is all about in my mind. Magic isn't/shouldn't be a tool that you dabble with, it should be a devotion as strong as any religion. A true practitioner should sacrifice for his craft (wizardry) if he want to truly be successful. Anything less is a waste of talent.
The Prydain books are YA, but I'd argue their scope and depth is enough to classify them as epic fantasy.
The first novel was indeed good stuff, it was fun to read and I really appreciated it. But the second one was abysmal. I think The Wise Man's Fear is one of the worst books I've ever read.
I had the feeling over and over again that the book was unnecessarily long. with some sections that you could have completely cut out of the final version (most of the second half), or cut to 10-15% of the original length and you wouldn't have lost a bit of the interesting stuff. But he couldn't do it because no one would spend 35 bucks for a 50 pages long book. I felt like I was reading Eco's "Il cimitero di Praga" all over again, where the writer goes on for 4-5 pages, describing in minute details what the main character had for lunch. Those sections (in Rothfuss' book) do not add anything interesting, either to the plot or to the characters involved. They're just frustrating.
I really hope his third book will be better, but I've had my share and am quite confident I won't stick around to see how it ends. That's too bad, because the first book was pretty good.
...and the Eragon saga
... It's a guilty pleasure. DON'T JUDGE ME!!!
Don't get me wrong, it's enjoyable enough... but I found it to be extremely derivative and predictable.
Didnt make it farther then Tom Bombadil
The exact opposite was (not really an important piece of literature but far more enjoyable), aSoIaF
I just started with the wheel of time series, so far I'm enjoying it.
I enjoyed the drizzt books but not so much that I would read them twice ( sold them, something I never do normally
I read through books 1-6 and it became increasingly harder and harder to get through. I get the whole "Farm boy who is actually this Uber-powerful guy and is set to save/destroy the world". I just couldn't stomach quite a lot of the story threads or the obvious tropes that got stolen from somewhere else. I am not saying that it was a bad series, it just wasn't my thing.
Which is funny because I LOVE Terry Pratchett and he steals EVERYTHING from somewhere else. But I love his sense of humor and his take on things.
The more I think of it though, I do think that Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos stories should be part of the list. Also, The Chronicles of Narnia and Alice's Adventures (wonderland and the looking glass).
@SmilingSword - You forgot the gloriously stupendous Black Company. Shame on you good sirrah!
@the_spyder The Discworld series is criminally underrated outside of the UK, and also by literary critical types. The can't get past the fact the books are sublimely hilarious and see the incredible world building skills, wonderful characterisations and multi-layered plot lines. This is satire at it's very best - following in a long history of using humour to make acidly sharp social commentary and very powerful moral statements.
I will always be at heart a Tolkien addict. I've been a fan of fantasy since I started reading at age 4 or 5 - I grew up on Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Narnia etc ... But when I first read Lord of the Rings it was a totally different experience. The depth and layers of time and history that resonate through the books added a sense of reality I had never struck before.
The Mistborn series pretty much blew me away. Sanderson is an excellent writer, and I really enjoy all his work. Mistborn is a good title as so much of shat he writes has a kind of misty, drea like quality.
Salvatore has always been a bit of a paradox to me. He can create characters that grab you, and tell tales that draw you in but as an actual wordsmith he strikes me as not that good. Often his sentances are clunky, his descriptions of battles often make me wince and quite frankly he frequently uses the wrong word. The gods know what his editors are playing at when they repeatedly let him use the word poignant instead of potent! He is also pretty crap at naming things. Twinkle sounds less like a magic weapon with a serious historym and more like an accassory for My Little Pony. T sum up - I really enjoy reading his books but they often make me cringe.
Can I suggest another set of books ... all of Robin Hobb's books set in the Elderling Universe. She has a gift of creating a world that also has depth and layers of history with unique types of magic. Her characterisation is excellent - nobody is all good or all bad, he heroes can be deeply flawed and their actions and motivations ring true. Her writing varies from beautifully tender, to achingly sad, to brutally harsh to exquisitely magical. The Fool has to be my al ltime favourite literary character, and Nighteyes is another who stays with me long after I have finished reading.
For all of those who love epic fantasy, but don't think it should be restricted to psuedo Western European medieval settings - here's a great article with some excellent suggestions for good books and authors
Writing in Ink to Samarkand by Paul Weimer
As for Salvatore, again we are 100% in sync. I liked his works and have read most of them. I think he is a good writer, but would not put him up with 'The Masters' by any stretch (in my opinion). I wouldn't go out of my way to get/read a Salvatore book the way I would a Terry Pratchett book.
Pratchett is a true master. I still love Douglas Adams better, but I think that Pratchett is absolutely in my top 5 writers of all time. And yes, his wit, satire and style are just amazing.
@SethDavis - I have a particular warm spot in my heart for the Weis & Hickman 'Dragonlance' novels. I can see why you chose them.
On another note, a note that will most probably get flayed alive on this forum, but I wanna ask you guys a question about Tolkien.
I'm seeing a lot of Tolkien love in this poll which is good and right and just, but I want to know if people love the Tolkien for his writing or respect him for what he did for fantasy as a whole.
Obviously these two options are not mutually exclusive, but I would like to know if you veer to one side or the other?
I look at Tolkien the same way I look at Stan Lee, what they did for their respective industries was amazing, and I respect them both immensely, but I don't think their work really holds up to their modern counterparts.
When I read the novels as a child it took effort to get into the books, but once I did I loved the characters and the story. I still love them. Although I do respect Tolkien's status, I'd have to say the primary reason I love the novels is indeed the writing itself.
My first interests in fantasy were sparked by a friend introducing me to Warhammer table-top gaming, and I'd read a number of fantasy books of more or less worth, but Lord of the Rings was the first really "significant" book I'd ever read.
This was sometime in the mid-90s, and I would have been around 10 or 11 and I remember actually struggling through the first volume, grappling with the songs and the bizarre languages and so forth... but at some point, everything clicked into place and it is still probably the most rewarding book I've ever read. The sense of achievement that I felt on completing it the first time was tremendous.
The other pay-off for me has come in re-readings as the years have gone by (I probably read it about every two years), without the desperate need to know what happens next, I found it much easier to immerse in the unique moments of the story, and the complexity of the world that JRR had created. The meandering style that had frustrated me at first, was now incredibly comfortable, allowing me to slip along with the story and watch the world drift by.
Looking at it more analytically, I would say that the greatest strength of Tolkein as a writer is his capacity to create a real sense of place, in a way which generates some profound memories. I know friends and relatives who have never touched the books since they first read them 10, 20 or more years previously, but they still had vivid recollections of certain locations and moments, whether that be the Old Forest, the mines of Moria, or the Dead Marshes.