I don't believe Epic Fantasy is dying quite the opposite really with the wake of all the booktubers and even adaptations are getting ppl interested in Epic Fantasy
It's so hard to find a list of epic fantasy recommendations that haven't already been talked to death. So kudos to you for managing to introduce me to some titles I wasn't aware of.
Oh my, listening to you while holding the Wheel of time , during the nineties I was raising my family, and developing my career, now I have a little more time to read my heart’s desire !thank you for your balanced presentations!
The “Wheel of Time “ series also spawned a new term. To be “Jordanized” is to use two thousand words to describe something that most authors would do in 20 words. I never finished WoT because of that. Martin fell into that on occasion in ASOI&F, but not nearly as often.
I recently discovered Mercedes Lackey and I'm surprised how little people know about their series. I'm going to read it soon ^^ Thank you for all the recommendations!
Lackey's work is quality, and she's been very prolific over the decades. So has C. J. Cherryh and Lois McMaster Bujold who for reasons unknown don't get a lot of attention on any of these book tube channels I've seen. Bujold is an amazing writer, has won both the Hugo and Nebula, writes both sci fi and fantasy, and yet I never hear her works talked about.
Have you heard of The Wandering Inn? It straddles the line between fantasy and litrpg. It starts off slow and builds on characters and the world to an epic story. It is currently unfinished and the longest series ever. 14 million words in, and I am still hooked.
Storm light is really good, but the books are definitely a commitment, I read the 1st 3 books one after the other, now I’m taking a break before tackling book 4 before then new one comes out in December
As far as keeping epic fantasy "alive", Ryan Cahill is out here doing the Lord's work! The Bound and the Broken is a classic dragon rider story mixed with all sorts of other semi- tropy goodness. There are three books and three novelas so far. The Age of Uprising is good, but I think the author gets a bit heavy handed with the allegory. Everything about the Dragonate Ministry screams "a bitter lapsed catholic wrote this" lol. I have read the original 10 Malazan books, and I have yet to come across another series that is even close to it. I have never been more confused by a series, while thoroughly enjoying it.
@TolgaBudak-jc4jy if story is good, then I’m all for it. For example I reread Songs of Chaos by Michael R Miller and it’s one of the best Dragon rider stories I’ve experienced in a while. Namely because everything is intentional and Miller put a lot of thought into his choices like character, world and plot.
My intro into epic fantasy was Dragonlance by Weis and Hickman and I love this entire world and growing with the characters and I found Michael J Sullivan and his Riryia chronicles and first empire books are just so damn amazing and recommend.
I don't think George R.R. Martin is ever going to finish ASOIAF.. I think he got scared after the backslash from the last season. And after that season 8 dumpster fire I honestly cannot exactly blame him 🥴
I really enjoy Lackey's Valdemar, particularly the arcs starting with the Collegium Chronicles and with Arrows of the Queen. I'll mention the Tarma and Kethry books as well, which were mostly published as shorter pieces and then later assembled into novels. Raymond Feist's Midkemia books are definitely epic and have apocalyptic stakes. They have a more classic feel, but they're well-written and the series is many volumes. David Weber's War God series never gets mentioned, but it's very good, with quite strong characters, a deep world, and a compelling plot. Roger Zelazny's Amber series, especially the Corwin arc, is excellent and not much like any other series I've read. It has several of the more memorable characters in epic fantasy and the plot is fascinating. It's also quite short by the standards of modern epic fantasy. And I think Steven Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series is worth at least a mention, even though it still infuriates me more than 40 years after I read it. The main character is unforgettably written, even though (or perhaps "because") I still want to punch him in the face. The world is remarkably well drawn and all the other characters are very sympathetic.
I wish people talked about the Winnowing Flame trilogy more. I first picked it up because you talked about it (I think a couple more booktube people did, too, but it was definitely YOUR rec that stuck out to me) and... there's not much quite like it. I sound crazy when I try to tell people what the series is about but it's just SO GOOD. I wish more people would read it.
I wish more people knew about The Books of Raksura Series by Martha Wells. It's very unique in It's worldbuilding and well written. First fantasy I had read that didn't have any humans in it. They just never existed in that world and I felt in love with the concept.
When I read Gardens of the Moon I immediately thought of Dark Souls too! I just felt like the tone and the way information is revealed to the reader was very similar
I would highly recommend the Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett. An epic fantasy series with five books. (cycle 1 completed). This year, we will be 2 books into cycle 2. Loved it. The world building is exquisite and the character work is also very well done.
One epic fantasy that I don't see people talk about often is the sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind. My fiance got me the first one as he grew up on it and thought I would like it and it was really good. It even had the villian pov. Now i've only read the first book so far, and there are like 15 books, but the first one was really good.
Good classic fantasy with all the tropes. I think for a lot of us budding readers who grew up on 80s fantasy, Eddings was the guy you turned to after having read LOTR. It was either him or Terry Brooks's Sword of Shannara series. Neither had near the imagination, breadth or scope of LOTR, but that said, Eddings adequetly provided a well-written coming of age/heroes journey story with very likable characters.
@@allthekingsbooks Sometimes that's all I'm looking for at the end of a hard day. It's possible for one to benifit from both simple YA material and from more challenging works. For me it's more about my mental and emotional state at the moment and what makes me feel happy and content; the main reason why I read. As far as the conviction goes, well yes, it's unfortunate and problematic for many fans of his works. When I first read his books as a teenager back in the 80s I didn't know anything about his crimes. Now that I do, I don't purchase anything new to support his estate, but at the same time I won't cull my current standing collection of his either.
@databloom70 I agree, don't get me wrong, I also read what some/most would describe "simple" popcorn Fantasy and often enjoy it. But OP asked for opinions about Belgariad and the most fitting description I can find is unimaginitive. I would venture that your positive feelings towards the series are from a sense of nostalgia, which, again, I fully understand as I feel the same with Terry Brooks btw. That sense of nostalgia makes me reread the first few books every few years even though they're not that good.
It throws me off that you pronounce Malazan properly 😂 Like, I know that’s how it is supposed to be said but it always trips me up. Anyway, great video!
Do you have any idea when the third book in the Age Of Uprising series is coming out? Every now and then I'll have a gander on the interwebs for news but to no avail so far, maybe you're more clued in?
Yes Malazan was so Great to me that it kinda broke Fantasy for me. Now I really have to look long and hard to get a new Fantasy series that grabs my attention.
Really wanna get on the Robin Hobb hype train, but I didn't like Assassin's Apprentice (found it to be slow and boring), what should I try next or just give up?
Hello friends! Are there any historical and/or fantasy novels with a hero or heroine who is an archer? I'm desperately looking but can't find any! Thanks a lot!
Has anyone hear read “Saga of the Forgotten Warrior” by Larry Correia? It’s a subcontinent Indian inspired epic fantasy where the main character is fantasy Judge Dread. I loved it.
In interviews with Erikson, he really downplays the importance of proper pronunciation; especially with character names. He'll simply state, "It doesn't really matter." I sometimes think he chose ambiguous names in that regard to just further add complexity, and dare I say, confusion for the reader.
I think El mentioned it because people keep bringing it up all over book tube because of ya or fantasy romance being popular. So she's informing people of series that maybe not everyone is aware of which I found helpful. It's just a topic I noticed other book tubers discussing with varying opinions. Mikes book reviews and Library of a Viking brought it up along with quite a few other channels but those are the only two I can think of at the top of my head at the moment.
@@somi6683 My 1st book is a fantasy adventure; "The Ring of Darkness". My 2nd book is stand-alone, historical fantasy; "Honour". It is set in medieval England and does have some sexually explicit parts. Romantic tone to it.
You are so special and incredible person Elliot and book angel and i appreciate all ur hard work and make best content ever 🌺🌺🌞🌞🌺🌞🌞🌺🌺🌞🌞🌺🌺🌞🌞🌺🌺🌞🌞🌞🌺🌺🌺🌞🌞🌞🌺🌺🌞🌞🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🩵🩵🌊🌊🩵🩵🌊📚📙📙📚📚📙📙📚📚📚📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📚📙📙📚📚📚📙📚📚📚📚
What is with these series that go on and on for 10 or 20 books? I have zero interest. Give me quality over quantity. I want a story with a beginning, middle, and an end that I can read within my (busy) lifetime. I will never read (e.g.) WOT or Malazan for this reason.
I find that such a shallow comparison tbh since there is soo much more to malazan than whatever surface level things it shares with souls series. Second apocalypse along war of light and shadow are the other malazan like fantasy series out there though in different ways.
