Epic fantasy books
Epic fantasy books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. TolkienEstablished the archetypal secondary-world quest and set foundational conventions for modern fantasy worldbuilding.
Lord Foul's Bane
Stephen R. DonaldsonIntroduced an uncompromising, morally troubled antihero to the high fantasy genre in the post-Tolkien boom.
Magician
Raymond E. FeistBlended traditional fantasy tropes with rift-traveling multidimensional conflict to launch the Riftwar cycle.
The Eye of the World
Robert JordanInaugurated The Wheel of Time, defining the scope, length, and detailed magic systems of 1990s epic fantasy.
Gardens of the Moon
Steven EriksonLaunched the Malazan series, known for dropping readers into an ancient, vast world without exposition.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
Reading lists
More epic fantasy books
- The Final Empire
The Final EmpireBrandon Sanderson - The Name of the Wind
The Name of the WindPatrick Rothfuss - The Way of Kings
The Way of KingsBrandon Sanderson - The Priory of the Orange Tree
The Priory of the Orange TreeSamantha Shannon - The Sword of Kaigen
The Sword of KaigenM. L. Wang - Black Sun
Black SunRebecca Roanhorse - The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the RingsJ.R.R. Tolkien1954 - The Two Towers
The Two TowersJ.R.R. Tolkien1954 - The Hobbit
The HobbitJ.R.R. Tolkien1937 - Eragon
EragonChristopher Paolini2000 - Throne of Glass
Throne of GlassSarah J. Maas2012 - Red Queen
Red QueenVictoria Aveyard2015 - The Cruel Prince
The Cruel PrinceHolly Black2018 - Fire & Blood
Fire & BloodGeorge R. R. Martin2014 - A Dance With Dragons
A Dance With DragonsGeorge R. R. Martin2008 - A Feast for Crows
A Feast for CrowsGeorge R. R. Martin2005 - The Wise Man’s Fear
The Wise Man’s FearPatrick Rothfuss2011 - The Eyes of the Dragon
The Eyes of the DragonStephen King1959 - Words of Radiance
Words of RadianceBrandon Sanderson2012 - The Crystal Shard
The Crystal ShardR. A. Salvatore1988 - The Passage
The PassageJustin Cronin2010 - Wizard's First Rule
Wizard's First RuleTerry Goodkind1994 - The Icewind Dale Trilogy
The Icewind Dale TrilogyR. A. Salvatore1999 - Leviathan Falls
Leviathan FallsJames S. A. Corey2021 - A Memory of Light
A Memory of LightRobert Jordan2013 - Toll the Hounds (Malazan Book 8)
Toll the Hounds (Malazan Book 8)Steven Erikson2008 - Lord Foul's bane
Lord Foul's baneStephen R. Donaldson1977 - Mistress of the Empire
Mistress of the EmpireRaymond E. Feist1992 - The Riftwar Saga
The Riftwar SagaRaymond E. Feist1988 - Fire logic
Fire logicLaurie J. Marks2002 - Forging the Darksword
Forging the DarkswordMargaret Weis1987 - Heir of Novron
Heir of NovronMichael J. Sullivan2012 - Vagrant
VagrantPeter Newman2015 - Sufficiently Advanced Magic
Sufficiently Advanced MagicAndrew Rowe2017 - Doom of the Darksword
Doom of the DarkswordMargaret Weis1988
Epic fantasy book lists
- Books like The Eye of the World
- Books like Dune
- Books like Fourth Wing
- Books like Divergent
- Books like Shatter Me
- Books like The Final Empire
- Books like The Name of the Wind
- Books like The Way of Kings
- Books like The Lord of the Rings
- Books like The Two Towers
- Books like The Hobbit
- Books like Eragon
- Books like Throne of Glass
- Books like Red Queen
- Books like The Cruel Prince
- Books like Fire & Blood
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