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
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.
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.
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.
Oh I read Michael J Sullivan legends of the first empire and it was epic! And that coming from someone who reads historical romance, romance etc. those book were great. I am NOT an epic fantasy reader but I loved Michael J Sullivan’s book. I have read Mistborn didn’t like it, listened to ways of Kings had to stop it’s soo boring. Loved Sarah j Maas🤪. I know some hate her books but I need books that make happy and I read out of pure enjoyment. But I want to read to get into epic fantasy. I read fool‘s errand by Robin hobb and it was ok. Murderbot is Sci-fi but it’s soooo good😂
Dragonlance is my favorite as well... I happened to start with the Legend of Huma, and it's still one of my favorite reads and I go back to every few years. The two main trilogies are excellent as well... I think I've read close to 30 from the series as a whole!
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 🥴
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!
I know I'm nearly a year late watching this, but....if you or anyone else here would like a recommendation for a really long series that keeps going...Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series is really fun and has a lot of historical and fantasy qualities, plus comedy and spice. I'll never stop recommending this series.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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?
I felt the same way. It was boring. But I pulled through 😅. Yes somebody tell us where we can find fun and exciting epic fantasy books. A book should not just be long but also make me feel things 😂.
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.
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!
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.
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.
@@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.
She started the video by saying Epic Fantasy will not exist anymore as a genre - why? What is the context behind this statement? What’s happening 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.
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
What’s crazy about mistborn is that Sanderson has confirmed that we’re getting an era 5 as well 😂
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.
Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind!! It's one of my favorites and is quite long. ♡
This was a very helpful video, thank you :)
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.
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.
Oh I read Michael J Sullivan legends of the first empire and it was epic! And that coming from someone who reads historical romance, romance etc. those book were great. I am NOT an epic fantasy reader but I loved Michael J Sullivan’s book. I have read Mistborn didn’t like it, listened to ways of Kings had to stop it’s soo boring. Loved Sarah j Maas🤪. I know some hate her books but I need books that make happy and I read out of pure enjoyment. But I want to read to get into epic fantasy. I read fool‘s errand by Robin hobb and it was ok. Murderbot is Sci-fi but it’s soooo good😂
Dragonlance is my favorite as well... I happened to start with the Legend of Huma, and it's still one of my favorite reads and I go back to every few years. The two main trilogies are excellent as well... I think I've read close to 30 from the series as a whole!
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 🥴
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!
I know I'm nearly a year late watching this, but....if you or anyone else here would like a recommendation for a really long series that keeps going...Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series is really fun and has a lot of historical and fantasy qualities, plus comedy and spice. I'll never stop recommending this series.
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.
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
I will never not click on your videos the VERY SECOND I'm scrolling and see your face. ❤ Your style!!
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.
Recency bias. Best lists of fantasy novels is LotR, published in the 1950's and a bunch of books after 2000. As if those 50 years didn't exist.
@databloom70 Bujold!! Thank you! I will read anything she cares to write, though the Vorkosigan series will always be my fave.
Thank you so much for this overview! I realized how much great books I still want to catch up on 🤩
Yay for Green Rider! I read book 1 in May and am on book 3 now, it's so fun! Also, yay for Valdemar! I have a few more books to catch up.
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.
Just picked up the bound and the broken and I’m very excited for it
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.
Reading mistborn the final empire right now. Finishing it today. Phenomenal book 👌🏼
I think a good word to use is evolving it's only going though gradual changes
The bound and the Broken, Ryan Cahill!
Waiting impatiently on the new book. It’s an amazing series.
I love the wynnowing flame series ! I keep comparing it with everything I read now
Elliot!! I read Sabriel on your recommendation from a video a while back and it was SO good!!! it brought me out of a 3 month reading slump!
I've just finished the first law initial trilogy by Abercrombie. It felt epic 😁
Thanks for the great list! I love the format you used, giving similar-ish recommendations. :)
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.
A lot of people feel like Terry Goodkind was kind of a crappy person and chose not to promote his books because of it.
@@Nothingineternityoh I see. I didn't know that.
@@NothingineternityThank you for pointing this out. I went and looked it up, and I will also not be promoting his books going forward.
Sword of truth was amazing until i read wheel of time and realised it was a poor rip off.
I would classify it as mid-low. Terry Brooks though I really enjoyed reading as a kid.
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.
0:00 Elliot always closing her eyes every intro XD
She keeps doing it every few seconds too. The entire video for a fraction of a second, she closes her eyes. What is she hiding?!?
If you are a a malazan fan I recommend the Prince of Nothing, the only books that got close (and surpassed it in some ways) in my opinion
I looove Valdamar so much !! My fave comfort series ❤
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.
Finished that one last month. It was good.
Winnowing flame is so underrated! I particularly loved the audiobook
Me too! The audiobook was fantastic!!
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.
The Green Rider is on my list to check out.
Hi. What do you think of David Eddings The Belgariad? I noticed that Book 1 Pawn of Prophecy was just released on Audible.
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.
Eddings was to me what Robert Jordan was to many growing up. The Belgarid and The Malloreon are just excellent
Very simplistic and unimaginative YA Fantasy. Also, keep in mind Eddings was a convicted child abuser so I would suggest to read someone else.
@@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.
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
okkkk I have finally bought the Winnowing Flame trilogy and am very curious about The Age of Uprising 😅
This was a very well thought out video thank you
R. Scott Bakker's series The Prince of Nothing and The Aspect Emperor does satisfy Malazan fans.
Ah, you beat me to it ;)
great list thanks!
Ooh I read Green Rider in high school. The SA in one particular scene was a bit much for me at the time, but you have me wanting to reread it.
You need to read Martin's books, as they are different from the HBO show.
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?
Great Video!
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.
I couldn't read Malazan, it was a difficult read from me, too many characters. Stopped ready at after chapter 1. Even dune was easier.
Second apocalypse along with war of light and shadow are 2 recommendations I always give for malazan fans
Awesome recommendations, thanks!
ah I was hoping for a video like this!
The Warrior Prophet Trilogy is epic
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!
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?
I felt the same way. It was boring. But I pulled through 😅. Yes somebody tell us where we can find fun and exciting epic fantasy books. A book should not just be long but also make me feel things 😂.
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.
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!
After reading the assassin’s apprentices series I couldn’t read anymore what he did to him killed me
Is epic fantasy dying? Just the way she explained it in beginning I’m curious
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.
In my opinion I think Stormlight is more YA, then adult fantasy.
Omg it’s maLAzan I been pronouncing it MALazan
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.
@@databloom70 maybe he doesn’t care? Or maybe people pronounce it differently even in the world they way they do in ours
I still have to start stormlight 😩
The sword of truth
Hello Mrs. Brooks. How can I get you to review my books?
Which book?
@@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.
LOVE the Echoes Saga!!
Everytime I hear Malazan I think about the word molasses
Why do you compare everything to dark souls?
She started the video by saying Epic Fantasy will not exist anymore as a genre - why? What is the context behind this statement? What’s happening to it?
Can you do more for female MC epic?
Would've preferred if you gave a synopsis of each of the series
Wheel of time adult? I read the first book and quit, felt like I was reading a children's novel.
I don't follow this drama stuff. What is this about worries that epic fantasy won't be with us?
Ok why do you pronounce Malazan the way you do?
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.
OYYYY, TRUST ME PLEASE. WOT is so worth it, its quality and quantity combined.
If a writer can't tell a story in a thousand pages or less then I'm not interested. Epic fantasy? Bloat fantasy.
Ugh, I love Malazan. I was going to say Soulsborne video games too. 🤣🥰
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.
Great video!