"Epic Fantasy "books

aragorn

The Living Force
FOTCM Member
The past months, I've been reading books from the fantasy genre. It started half by accident, as my daughter wanted me to get her the book Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (1st book in her Empyrean series) from the library. So, I looked it up, and saw that the series was hugely popular with good reviews. Intriqued, I started reading it also. The wiriting style a bit too juvenile for my taste, but the story was very capturing, and soon I found myself just waiting for the evening to come so that I could plunge into that fantasy world – it felt like a nice escape from the dark times we live in now. Long story short, I then read all three available books in the series (the fourth will be published soon). In sum, the series is quite juvenile, almost cartoonish, in its writing style with some sudden out of place 'raunchy' sex scenes (I guess those were inserted to expand the potential readership). However, the story is quite good with good vs. evil, kings and queens, dragons and evil magicians. I learned that Yarro's books are an example of the genre known as Romantic Fantasy.

I've not before read that much of this type of fantasy literature (I've read a lot of scifi), so this was a pretty new genre for me. It may sound silly, but I found it refreshing to 'jump into' a fantasy world that is so very different from our techno-pathologically spoiled world today. However, the a bit too juvenile style of Yarros made me search for other authors of this genre. So, next I read Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. This was quite different style of writing compared to Yarros, more adult like, and I liked it alot. The story is quite clever and has twists and surprises. A short synopsis:

In a world where certain people can use metals to gain magical abilities, a young thief named Vin learns she’s one of the rare few called Mistborn. She joins a group of rebels planning to overthrow the tyrant who has ruled their land for a thousand years. As Vin trains to master her powers, she learns to navigate court politics and hidden dangers. The story follows her journey from a cautious survivor to someone who dares to believe in change.

Although I liked Mistborn, I didn't continue with the subsequent books in the series. I found myself wanting an even more archaic medieval fantasy world with swords and magic! Don't laugh, I don't know where that idea came from! 😄

That lead me to the series The Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne. I don't know if anyone here has read it but boy what a story! The first book Malice starts the build up quite slowly but as the story proceeds, a lot of things start to happen faster and faster. The series is an epic good vs. evil story (of course!) but to my taste it's very cleverly and meticulously constructed. Reminds me a bit of Lord of The Rings (not as good, though, what could be as good!?). Gwynne is, IMO, very talented in depicting the surroundings, the atmosphere and especially good at giving depth and nuance to the main characters. Now, the only downside of Gwynne's series is that it contains quite a lot of violence – epic battles with swords, knives, wolves, giants etc. A bit too much 'gore' to my taste. However, since it depicts a medieval and rough world, the violence is to some extent justified. In any case, I'm completely swept away by this series and now reading the third volume (Ruin). Here's a short synopsis:

Set in the Banished Lands, the series follows warriors, outcasts, and kings caught in an ancient prophecy tied to the return of good and evil gods. The world is populated by humans, giants, wyrms (dragon-like beasts), and other mythical creatures, all preparing for the coming God War between Elyon, the creator god, and Asroth, his fallen adversary. As old prophecies awaken, heroes and villains alike must choose sides in the battle between the Faithful (followers of Elyon) and the Fallen (servants of Asroth). Through intertwining stories of friendship, betrayal, and fate, the series explores how ordinary people rise to meet a world-shaping conflict.

The way the evil 'fallen angel' Asroth lures and corrupts some of the main characters, and how this evil is hidden beneath an illusion of benevolence and righteousness (the evil ones actuall claim being representing the good God, Elyon) makes me think of today's Zionists and their supporters/minions; for many they appear (or try to appear) as bringers of good, God's chosen people, when actually they are 4DSTS walk-ins, the most evil individuals on this planet.

Okay, just felt like sharing my latest 'book experience', maybe some of you want to check those out. If you ask me, at least Gwynn's series is better entertainment than any film or tv series you can find these days.
 
Then you might enjoy Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series - only downside, there are 14 books! Maybe that’s an upside …
😂
That is an amazing series. Well for me the downside was not the fact that it has 14 books but rather the fact that Robert Jordan did not write all the 14 books since he died before finishing his series. I know, a true fan of him finished the books with the notes of Jordan but nevertheless, we can see the difference in the style and the story would have been different with him for the last 3 books.

But, even with that, it is an amazing series.
 
So, next I read Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. This was quite different style of writing compared to Yarros, more adult like, and I liked it alot.
If you like his work, there's also the Stormlight Archive, starting with The Way of Kings. I enjoyed that series a lot! More so than Mistborn. But I'll check out some of your recommendations if I eventually finish reading the Wheel of Time series. Only 4 more books left to go...
 
Then you might enjoy Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series - only downside, there are 14 books! Maybe that’s an upside …
😂
Thanks for the suggestion, it sounds promising! I’m going to check that out once I’m finished with Gwynne. 😀 I wonder if, as with the best romance novel authors, there’s some degree of channeling going on with these fantasy authors. As I’m convinced by the idea that the universe has always existed, maybe these worlds and characters have actually existed somewhere at some point in ’time’?
 
Hi @aragorn , first part of Fourth Wing was great, although i couldn't get past beggining of the second part, and also erotic & romance was too much for me. Rebeca Yarros were writing "regular" romance books before she started this Fantasy Romance thins.

If you enjoyed this, maybe you will enjoy The Mime Order series from Samantha Shannon. The story is happening in future, where people are divided between those having supernatural powers and normies; supernaturals are eradicated from the society to the "special place" no one in mainstream doesn't know about, but only because there are other wordly creatures secretly governing the world and needing supernaturals for their means.
There is enemies to lovers motifs, lot's of magic and interesting plot in general, happening all over the Europe. I really enjoyed reading/listening, mostly because the writer is putting a lot of historical themes and places in the novel and also the story is just interesting.
 
That is an amazing series. Well for me the downside was not the fact that it has 14 books but rather the fact that Robert Jordan did not write all the 14 books since he died before finishing his series. I know, a true fan of him finished the books with the notes of Jordan but nevertheless, we can see the difference in the style and the story would have been different with him for the last 3 books.

But, even with that, it is an amazing series.
It was Brandon Sanderson the author of the Mistborn series, who finished Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series. FWIW.
 
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