Epic series recommendations

My To-Be-Read stack is already too large, but I've been feeling the need to get into another multi-volume epic fantasy series.

I've read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books and George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (both of which I really enjoyed), David Edding's Belgariad (and Mallorean and Elenium and Tamuli series - I thought these started off okay and just got progressively worse), and of course Harry Potter and Tolkien. I know there are a ton of other series out there, but I'm looking for your opinions on where I should go next!

I'm looking for something with detailed universe-building, interesting characters, and tolerably good writing... Something I can get lost in for a while. What should I be looking for at the used book store?

but I've been feeling the need to get into another multi-volume epic fantasy series.

For pure fantasy, not sf or sf/fantasy mix, try
Roger Zelazny's Amber series & Nine Princes in Amber is book 1. Or for Celtic epic world-building: Katharine Kerr 's Deverry series. Book 1 is Daggerspell. If you liked Zelazny, then you'll like Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series as he writes in laconic first person style as per the Amber series. Technically his first book is Jhereg but he plays with time and chronology throughout the series to keep the reader on their toes.
They're all many-volume as opposed to trilogy and are favourites of mine.

If you haven't read Raymond Feist's series, I would head there, starting with Magician: Apprentice. I'm not nearly as impressed with his recent books, but I really love the first 6 or so, plus the ones with Wurts.

Another epic series to consider is Julian May's Pliocene/Milieu sagas. There are 4 Pliocene books, and then 5 Milieu books (one set of two and one set of three) -- they are technically science fiction rather than fantasy, but the Pliocene books read more like epic fantasy than anything else, and most lovers of epic fantasy I know seem to really enjoy the Milieu books, too. Because of some of the looping involved in the books, you can end up needing to read them more than once -- because you don't get the full flavor of the Pliocene books until you've read the Milieu books, and vice versa. You can start with the first books of any of the three series, but I'd probably suggest starting with The Golden Torc.

If you enjoyed the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, a similar series I've also started to read was by David Drake. His Lord of the Isles series has all the feel and descriptions of Robert Jordan.

It is hugely epic and very definitely fantasy.

I heavily recommend Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever. There are two trilogies that have been out for decades, and the first book of the latest cycle came out recently: The Runes of the Earth. Basically a (very flawed) modern man finds himself sucked into this high fantasy world, but can't bring himself to decide if it's real or if he's simply gone crazy.

I've been reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages series. Books so far are Rhapsody: Child of Blood, Destiny: Child of the Sky, Prophecy: Child of earth, Requiem for the sun, and Elegy for a lost star. The Assassin King comes out in December I believe.

For world-building, I really like Teresa Edgerton. Though she doesn't write very hefty tomes at all. I also have Tad Williams on the TBR, but I've never read any of his books. Another popular series is by Jacqueline Carey, starting with Kushiel's Dart, though I don't know if that qualifies as "epic." Guy Gavriel Kay writes epic/historical type fantasy, but his more recent are standalones. He did write an Arthurian based trilogy, however.

I like Michelle West quite a bit. She has two series that are really a sortof single long series as they take place in the same world with many ofthe same characters. They are Hunter's Oath and Hunter's Death followed by a series called The Sun Sword that includes six books. If you like these there is yet another series coming called House War.

I'd go for the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, if you are looking for 'Epic' fantasy. It currently has 10 books, and also a prequel titled Debt of Bones.

Since you've already read all of RJ's books, you'll notice a lot of *odd* similar traits in the Goodkind ones, but hopefully not enough to throw you off track.

His characters tend to be a little long winded and preachy, but I've always enjoyed the books.

I used to really enjoy the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, but I started to get tired of the really interesting characters never seeming to have any valuable insights or accomplishments in comparison to the main character. Let me know if he ever kills off the main character. I'd be quite interested in continuing to read about the secondary ones. :)

Honestly, I think the best epic fantasy series out there is A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. But the original poster already mentioned this.

How about the Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier? First book is called Daughter of the Forest. Possibly not quite as epic as you're looking for, but I love them. They're more historical fantasy, and use a lot of celtic myth. That first one is actually an adaptation of an old folk tale, about a girl whose brothers are all turned to swans by a sorceress. It's beautifully written.

fyrefly98, I'm curious. What did you decide to start?

Heh, after soliciting all of these recommendations for series, the next book on my pile is actually a stand-alone, Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - picked up that one for the book-club-ish group read in the Green Dragon group.

A lot of the books recommended here look really good, though, so I've got a good shopping list for the next time I hit up my used book store.

*chuckle*
I'm in that book-club-ish group as well. See you there :o)

Tigana is most people's favorite Kay novel. It's my least favorite, but I'm DEFINITELY in the minority there! If you decide you like Tigana, I would highly recommend his EXCELLENT Lions of Al-Rassan and A Song for Arbonne.

Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion. It is quite likely impossible to get any more epic than that.

David Gemmell's Drenai saga.

Robin Hobb's Farseer series.

You certainly can't go wrong with Robert E. Howard's Conan.

I too would recommend Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series and Roger Zelazny's Amber.

Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Convenant

Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series.

I can't recommend Robin Hobb's Farseer, Liveships and The Tawny Man series highly enought. The first three and the last three have the same protagonists, and the central three take place in another part of the same land, and there are some connections with one of the main characters from tne ouside six books,(I hope you understand). I was completely lost for days while reading them and after I read them. The characters are complex and while they can do things I can't, they are so real, I wanted to meet them somehow . . .

I can't see that anyone's mentioned Cecilia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde series. It's only a trilogy, but has an epic feel to it. The Ill-Made Mute is the first book and the writing is rich and lovely.

This story is about a mute youth with a face hideously deformed by the sap of a poisonous plant. Found by servants of the Isse Tower the young orphan with no memory or name begins a life of pain and drudgery to the noble Stormrider Lords and their winged horses. But this is only the beginning for the mute youth who finds friendship in a kind stranger who gives the orphan language--handspeak--and a name--"Imrhein." Given these wonderful gifts, Imrhein sets off on a long unexpected journey, battling evil "unseelies" at night and making friends with one of the elite Dainnan Brotherhood by day. Set in a world long abandoned by the Fair Folk where wights friendly and evil roam at will, this is a story you won't soon forget.

If you like humor in your reading I would suggest the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. It starts with A Spell for Chameleon and just keeps going and going.

If you don't mind graphic novels, I highly recommend Elfquest by Wendy and Richard Pini and Bone by Jeff Smith. Both series' are nice and long, (I think Elfquest has about twenty volumes, while Bone has nine), and they're very good.

Two other epic fantasy series to consider are the Dread Empire and the Black Company, both by Glen Cook.

The Dread Empire series just came back into publication from Night Shade - :).

Robin Hobb

But I see that series has already been recommended. Sorry, I'll read the post first, in future! Can't wait to try out one or two of the series suggested.

Mostly to reinforce what others have said, but I"ll add a few bits of my own...

I do love George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, no matter how frustratingly long it takes him to write the next book! I read Fiest's series when I was younger and loved them then, though I agree that his later books just simply aren't as good. I too got frustrated with Sword of Truth, but others I know have liked it.

Tad Williams gets my votes for Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn which beings with The Dragonbone Chair, though it has been quite a while since I read that.

'Epic' is always a bit troublesome - how large a physical series would you like? I haven't read Stephen Donaldson's longer series, but I very much like his two-book Mordant's Need, beginning with The Mirror of Her Dreams. The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix is considered YA lit, but still higly recommended. I also have to put in a word for Patricia A. McKillip's Riddle Master which has some of the most wonderful characters I've ever encountered.

I see no one has mentioned Greg Keyes's The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series. So far there's The Briar King, The Charnel Prince and The Blood Knight. In many (good) ways these books remind me of Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. Lots of interweaving plots in a world that has some magic, but is still 'believable.' I mean, no one is throwing around fireballs and such. The Blood Knight just came out this past summer so we have to wait for book 4, but thus far they just keep getting better (IMO obviously).

(My first post here...hope I did the formatting stuff right.)

demonlover: While I agree that the early Xanth books are excellent and would recommend them highly, his more recent Xanth novels bog down and the puns have stopped being new. He seems to be recycling older puns or trying to reword them slightly. (Similar plots seem to be appearing as well.) SO yeah for Xanth, the early years.

Have you tried Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series? Some would argue that it's romance, but well written. Anyway, there is lots on time travel and magic, and the characters are enjoyable and well rounded.

If you like high fantasy, I would recommand The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It has elves, mages, alternate worlds, and an ex-god. The First book is called Dragon Wing. And if you've ever read Dragonlance, you'll find a lot of inside jokes. ;-)

Nobody seems to have mentioned ((Stephen King))'s (Dark Tower) series. It's been a while since I read them, but quite a satisfactory ending, at last.

how about Steven Donaldson's Mirror of her Dreams/A Man Rides Through? these are lighter than his Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever series.

Reading the Dark Tower Series now and really getting into them. I also LOVE...The Death Gate Cycle and yes found the inside jokes very amusing! I am glad someone finally mention these two series.

For extremely dense fantasy, both in page count and complexity, I would nominate the Malazan series by Steven Erikson. He hasn't finished the series yet, but if you are reading Jordan and Martin then that shouldn't be a problem. Intercontinental wars, elder gods, millenia old characters, four major races, and a new magic system.

I am currently reading The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold, which is the first in a series of three books. I am really liking it, so I'd recommend it :-)

I'll second Aarti's recommendation and add that the rest of the series is good too.

Although they're not Fantasy the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold are one series that both I (a largely fantasy reader) and my husband (a sf reader) love to devour.

Yes, I finished Curse of Chalion yesterday, Deirdre, and am considering having Bujold be my first foray into Sci Fi (after Douglas Adams, that is). Some day ... :)

Has anyone read any of the fantasy historicals featuring Elizabeth I written by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis? I really enjoyed them. I think the first is called This Scepter'd Isle, and another is Ill Met by Moonlight. As one review (on Amazon.com) said: This magical Tudor court makes for a fun read, without doing violence to anything known about any historical character involved. I liked that a lot!

I'd recommend Elizabeth Moon's The Deeds of Paksennarion or any of the Terry Pratchett Although Pratchett isn't exactly "epic", they are hilarious and well written.

Not perhaps an epic in the sense of trilogy or whatever, but China Mieville's New Crobuzon novels are incredible well written, definitely detailed universe-building,and with interesting characters-he's also a biologist and has an amazingly vivid imagination. Try Perdido Street Station, or The Scar, or Iron Council.

There is obviously decades worth of reading there but how many of these Epic series are as good now as they started?

Eddings incredably recycled towards the end. Piers Anthony also. Brooks' shanarra decays fast, I couldn't be bothered with Feist beyone book 3 and there's how many more out there? Weis's deathgate was really weak towards the end and DragonLance is also very poor after the inital trilogy. Donaldson just about hangs in at two trilogies but although I quite liked the first offering in the third it wasn't as good. McCaffery's Pern series (can't believe this hasn't been mentioned already) holds fairly well but again the later books don't have the same tension of the early work. King's dark tower is about the same at book seven as the start - I didn't much like it but that's not the issue - but it was written over twenty years so maybe that's the key?

Does anyone know an author who can write more than a trilogy at the same quality? Cherryh does to my mind, but I'll see what Fortress of Ice is like before I commit to this decision.

Does anyone know an author who can write more than a trilogy at the same quality?

I know this is debateable, but in my mind Robert Jordan doesn't start going downhill until book 7. Books 4 and 5 are actually the strongest in the series, in my opinion.

Epic has to be longer than a trilogy, I reckon, as those are a dime a dozen.

McCaffrey is not likely to be mentioned as much, I thnk because the Pern books are about a group of colonising space travellers, who land on a planet with problems and have to biologically engineer the local life forms to give themselves a defense against a certain type of meteor shower. Obviously clearly designed to have crossover appeal, of course. Generally speaking, she is a writer of science fiction.

I don't believe anyone has mentioned Katherine Kurtz and her multiple multi-volume "sets" of Deryni stories. Began with the Deryini Chronicles (3 books, feturing Kelson), then 3 on Camber of Culdi, then more (3 or more) on Kelson; and some on the heirs of Camber. Set in an alternate late medieval/early renaissance, alternate british/gaelic geography, complete with moors (not quite Islam) as an alternative to the non-papal pre-reformation sacramentalist christianity. The Deryini are folks with a genetic ability to do "magic" - bringing them into conflict at times with the ersatz christian establishment. It's much better than this might make it sound.

I know some will classify as sc-fi, but Phili Jose Farmer's Riverworld series are really interesting: put Mark Twain, Alice Liddell (model for Alice in Wonderland), Herman Goering (the Nazi) and Richard Burton (the explorer) together and its fantasy, no matter the so-called technical settings.

I think both of these have dated me .

I second the recommendation of Sevenwaters. I think they're as good, if not better than the Mists of Avalon series.

Melanie Rawn's Sunrunner books are some of the best fantasy novels you'll ever read. Her characterization is excellent, I feel as if I really know these people. And they series stays strong and well-written right up to the end.

Also I agree with cad_lib, both the Deryni and Riverworld series are well worth the time invested to read them.

Kate Elliott's "Crown of Stars" series is good and epic. The first one is called The King's Dragon. It runs to six or seven volumes by now (I'm still reading book four) and best of all, the series is now finished. So there's no waiting about for the next volume (George R. R. Martin, I'm looking at you)....

The Kate Elliot Series started really well I faded at about four I think felt like it had overflowed its banks though it might be that the time between publication was obscuring the story arc. Maybe I will try again.

Mr. Martin posted this in his second-to-last blog entry, on December 5th.

Bad news. Work. None of the projects I wrapped up was A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. Work has been going well, yes, but not especially on DANCE. I am not going to be able to finish it by the end of the year as I had hoped. I know this will disappoint all of you. Many of you will write me sympathetic and supportive emails (and I do appreciate those, even if I don't have the time to reply). A few of you will write me nasty, intemperate emails about how I'm doing this all just to screw my readers. Sigh. My editors, agents, and publishers will be even more disappointed than my readers, but no one will be as disappointed as me. Believe that or not. All I can say is that I HAVE gotten several other obligations off my plate, that my contractor swears in blood that the home renovations will be finished soon so I can have my office back again, that I'm working on DANCE and I will continue to work on it. What I will no longer due, however, is announce any more dates by which I hope to finish and deliver the book. All that those estimates ever seem to do is ratchet up my stress levels and get me more grief. I hope it won't be taking much longer... I have almost two months at home before my next scheduled trip, to Boston and NYC in February, and one thing that has become very clear to me is that the more I travel, the less I get written. (And speaking of Boston and NYC, do I perchance have any fans out there in New Haven, Connecticut?) I have even thought about cancelling my annual trip to Boston and New York, though I am reluctant to take that step, since that is usually the only time of the year that I get to see my family in New Jersey.
http://grrm.livejournal.com/8702.html

I'll third message 10 & 43's vote for the sevenwater's trilogy by Juliet Marillier. All of her books are very very good. She does extensive research for her storylines (well, as much as you can do on cultures that have little written records such as the picts).

I also recommend Sara Douglass's The Wayfarer Redemption series, which totals six books. Very entertaining!

I personally thoroughly disliked Juliet Marillier. I really only read her Daughter of the Forest, but I found it dull and unimaginative and almost straight romance, really- I thought the characters were very flat. Though I don't know if I'd refer to her books as "epic"- which is a discussion in and of itself! For me, I have a vague notion of "epic fantasy" involving war or quests or something of the sort :-) I would say Marillier is romantic historical fantasy or something of the like.

I have just finished reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson. The book, for me, was difficult to understand, and I struggled through the first half. But I really enjoyed the second half and I was intrigued enough to move straight to Deadhouse Gates, the second book in the series. I'll start that one tonight.

None of my touchstones is working- sorry!

Gene Wolfe! Gene Wolfe! He's my new fave as I've just recently discovered him. I've just finished Litany of the Long Sun which are the first two books in his Book of the Long Sun tetrology.

I definitely second (or is it third at this point?) Feist's early work starting with Magician: Apprentice.

And what about Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books? They're nice because they're epic (there's TONS of them) but they are grouped in nice little sets of threes or standalones, but they are all in the same universe.

Storeetllr wrote: #36
Has anyone read any of the fantasy historicals featuring Elizabeth I written by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis? I really enjoyed them. I think the first is called This Scepter'd Isle, and another is Ill Met by Moonlight. As one review (on Amazon.com) said: This magical Tudor court makes for a fun read, without doing violence to anything known about any historical character involved. I liked that a lot!

I have both books but haven't started them yet. I was drawn to the idea of fantasy and history.

I would also suggest R. Scott Bakker and his Prince of Nothing series. It is about a lost age and the memories of the evil that killed it. There are different kingdoms and territorial and religious wars, a secret ancient evil trying to return to the world, and the characters who are puppets for different factions. The first book is The Darkness that Comes Before the second is The Warrior Prophet and the third is The Thousandfold Thought. The books are very dense and meaty, and people either tend to love them or hate them.

Steven Erikson is IMO the best writer of the last couple of decades, massive in scope yet always focused unlike Robert Jordan. The Malazan series is simply awesome.

I second the recommendation for Scott Bakker, his trilogy is also extremely good and in many ways part of the same modern movement as Erikson, though not quite on the same level (this is no insult).

For something older, and even better, I also second the recommendation for The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson, which is to my mind the greatest piece of fantasy ever written.

I've read most of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books but had to take a break for awhile. I keep the single ones or the ones by her that are outside of the Valdemar works separate and read them between reading other books.

@ #3 Miki:

Thanks for reminding me of Julian May! I read the Pliocene series in the 80's and still remember them quite vividly as one of the most original and exciting scifi/fantasy series there is, but I never would have thought to reread them if I hadn't seen your message.

Now where to find them?! Without buying them from 4 different used dealers on Amazon, it looks like I'm going to have a hard time of it.

I'm very fond of Tanith Lee's Flat Earth Series: Night's Master, Death's Master, Delusion's Master, Night's Sorceries andDelirium's Mistress. The stories are loosely connected but there are some recurring characters-- notably the Lords of Darkness, Azhrarn--the King of Demonkind, Chuz, Delusion's Master and Uhlume or Death.

There's also the ATLAN series by Jane Gaskell and in this set, the protagonists are the Dragon General-Zerd (part lizard) and a Cija--a hostage who eventually becomes his queen in 5 books: The Serpent, The Dragon, Atlan, Some Summer Lands, anf The City.

Don't know if this qualifies as an epic series to others among you-but I'm counting it as one! Speaking , of course,of Terry Pratchett('s) Discworld Series. I've only just begun-having finished The Color of Magic. Reading Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman was what lead me to want read more of the antic homorr of that cult classic! I have also read Gaiman('s) American Gods but have a strong feeling that Pratchett('s) was the strong hand guiding the trajectory of Omens. I also feel that Pratchett would have fit right in w/the crazies of Monty Python. Any way I'm hooked!
Vanye

The Malazan books again by Steven Erikson, and anything by Steven Brust too.

Kate Elliott's Crown of Stars series is now complete at 7 books. Sometime I need to sit down and read the lot start to finish. For my money it dips around the midpoint somewhere but finishes off successfully.

Stephen Donaldson's chronicles of Thomas Covenant is presented as two triologies and a stand alone or two. They're very clearly linked books though and of a pretty good standard throughout. There's a new series along, of which The Runes of the Earth is the first in the series and also good.

I'm enjoying the Dhampir series by Barb Hendee and partner - they're fantasy to my mind, with half-elves and elves and dark gods and things, but they've got a horror edge - the main characters kill vampires by vocation. This is 3 books long so far over here, but there's enough stuff appearing for at least 2 more books in the series.

although I would not reccomend everything by Steven Brust ( I could not get get into his Dumas imitations this is itself a reccomendation He does not write the same book over. Maybe now I will finish the Kate Elliot series It started strong but faded.

Simon

I just noticed that Dhampir book the other day in a shop - so fantasy vampire hunters? Interesting. 3 books? Have to have a look.

I had also read a European comic in a manga sized digest, also called Dhampir - with a person pretends to be one and hunt vampires and ends up actually being one.

Barb Hendee and JC Hendee actually have about 5 books in the series, and one self/vanity published book.

Blood Memories is the first book.

The Noble Dead series:

Dhampir
Thief of Lives
Sister of the Dead
Traitor to the Blood Just went into PB
Rebel Fay was just published in HC

There are also a couple of books called Dhampire
One by Nancy Collins, and the other by Scott Baker. In those I think the concept is that a Dhampire is half human and half vampire.

Which brings up another series about a human who somehow gets stuck half-way through the change. It is more humorous than dark. The author is Wm. Mark Simmons

One Foot in the Grave
Dead on my Feet
and Habeas Corpses now out in HC, and coming out in PB in March 2007

Sorry Complete-ist at work. I'll stop now. :)

Thanks, I am interested in the ones that are vampire hunter types etc., but humour always good to. :)

I had to suggest Kate Forsyth. The 1st book starts with The Witches of Eileanan and progresses. While I thought that it started to get old by the end of 6th/7th (however many there are) she has started a new series that is more refreshing and set in the same world.

I agree the Sevenwaters Trilogy was a brillaint read the only thing that spoilt it a little for me was the fact that I had to guess how to pronounce the names - not having any Irish blood in me I had to make them up! This was only a minor draw back though I still loved them

Janny Wurts Wars of Light and Shadow series starting with Curse of the Mistwraith is about the best EPIC series I've read...ever
judging from post #1 you like the same kinds of fantasy I do. Tolkein, Brooks, Eddings etc. I reread this series about once a year and get lost in the world and characters every time. very deep, detailed, awesome storytelling.

Does anyone know an author who can write more than a trilogy at the same quality?

I have the same frustrations. I really enjoyed Eddings in the beginning, but by the end, things were pretty far gone. The stand alone book he wrote a few years back was quite possibly the worst fantasy book I have ever read.

Brooks was always so-so, Feist and Goodkind both ended up with the "My hero can juggle ninjas, shoot laser beams out of his ears and could conceivably destroy the entire universe using only an old sweat sock, a paper clip and can of Sterno" problem. I stopped reading Feist pretty early on because of the Servant/Daughter/Mistress series he did with Janny Wurts... that was painful. I stuck with Goodkind all the way through just to see in what ridiculous way he would manage to "nerf" his over powered protagonist... but honestly, the not-so-subtle political propaganda he started sliding into his books is making me question my own sanity in giving him my money.

Never liked Piers Anthony.

King's Dark Tower was decent, but easily not everyones forte. I never finished it, apparently I wasn't that taken with it.

I am reading through Jordan now... I think I am on Path of Daggers... when it's good, it is really very good, when it's bad it's almost criminal.

So far, the best series I think I have ever read has got to be the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. I certainly know that it is not a series for everyone, but the craftsmanship is evident. If you need Fireballs to enjoy fantasy, this is probably not your cup of tea. Martin has developed some of the most deepest, most realistic characters I have ever seen in literature and the plots and intrigue are pretty damn amazing.

There is very little that can compare with Martin. Trust me, I have been looking. It's driving me nuts.

Has anyone mentioned the Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz? I enjoyed reading those ages ago, and have re-read them a couple of times.
Also, IF you can find them, the books by Tom Deitz are rather good, too...and set in the Georgia mountains. Windmaster's Bane is the first of them.
Orson Scott Card also has a good series...definitely different from some standard concepts....Tales of Alvin Maker series.
Anyway, just my two cents worth!

#64 - sarjah

Ive got the Wars of Light and Shadow series, and ive started reading Curse of the Mistwraith a few times, but i never get very far before i get bored, put it down and move onto something else. If you think its that good i guess ill have to have another go at it.

Someone beat me to Sara Douglass' Wayfarer Redemption series, but I would also recommend her Troy Game series, a quartet that starts with Hades' Daughter, and totals 2430 pages (all 4 are over 500 pages each).

And I second Bujold's Chalion series (though it does not quite reach epic status as yet), and Moon's Deed of Paksenarrion, as well as the two prequels (Surrender None and Liar's Oath).

I've read and enjoyed most of the series mentioned above And thought I might suggest a series not yet mentioned. It's at least 30 years old and each book is smaller than many present day tomes at around 200 pages but there are around 40 books to make up the set and I found the size handy for the pocket when undertaking train journeys. I refer to the Dray Prescott series by Alan Burt Akers. I should probably edit my grammar but I'm off to research David Drake.

Although not so epic...Philip Jose Farmer's The Dungeon Series, I'd read all but the last book then make up your own ending. If you have a copy of book six, I would recommend putting it next to your toilet, your imagination can take it from there. Tad Williams is good too, he's a little long-winded sometimes but it's well worth it. If you can make it through book one of his Otherland series, the next three are quite the reward.

This is a useful list of books if I ever get time to read anything not for school.

To add my humble opinion to a few of these:

the Xanth novels got old very quick

I love the Death Gate cycle which I have read several times, but totally missed out on any "inside jokes" :(

#51 -- the Bakker Prince of Nothing series started off really interesting and I loved the first book, but the second was okay, and the third was utterly miserable. I simply read the end to find out what happened.

#67 -- I just finished the new book in the Wars of Light and Shadow series, this last one is amazing, so I recommend 100% reading all of them.

The Dragon Bone Chair and subsequent books were very good, as is The Songs of Fire and Ice though like everyone else I am waiting impatiently for the next one.

And finally, I just have to point out how much I LOVE the Taltos series by Brust. They are rather funny (like someone mentioned above, in a Roger Zelazny sort of way).

Unfortunately I don't have anything new to add unless The Name of the Wind turns into an epic series in the future.

I'm really enjoying the codex alera series by jim butcher

>66 Ui_Niall: I have Katherine's books on my shelves, though haven't read them recently, A good series is by a similar named author Katherine Kerr. At present I'm re-reading Jordan's Wheel of Time....again! though I've added the prequel to it.

>67 samwilliams376: It gets more brilliant with each book, the first couple were a bit slow but then they get unputdownable.

If you want to try something a little different, try Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

>39 reading_fox: There are all too many series where the first book was outstanding and then a gradual slide--not just in fantasy.

Hi, these are my recommendations for great Worlds, Characters developed over time!

The Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Feist (30 books)
Shadows of the Apt Series by Adrian Tchaikovsky (10 books)
Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind (15 Books)
Sanctuary Series by Robert J Crane (10 books) the first 3 are free on kindle