The 20 Best Epic Fantasy Novels of All Time

From genre-founding sagas that wrote the rulebook to gritty modern subversions that tore it up, these worlds swing between noble quests and morally grey battlefields. Cast your vote!

1

A Game of Thrones

George R.R. Martin's 1996 series opener depicting noble houses warring for the Iron Throne of Westeros.

1000pts

2

The Eye of the World

Robert Jordan's 1990 series opener to The Wheel of Time, following young villagers swept into a battle against the Dark One.

714pts

3

The Fellowship of the Ring

The 1954 opening volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following a hobbit's quest to destroy a powerful ring.

584pts

4

Prince of Thorns

Mark Lawrence's 2011 novel following a ruthless young prince clawing his way toward a throne in a broken world.

584pts

5

The Sword of Shannara

Terry Brooks's 1977 novel that helped launch the modern epic fantasy genre, following a quest to stop a dark lord.

454pts

6

The Return of the King

The 1955 concluding volume of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, culminating in the fall of Sauron.

454pts

7

The Dragonbone Chair

Tad Williams's 1988 series opener to Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, a scullion boy's rise amid a kingdom's collapse.

454pts

8

Legend

David Gemmell's 1984 novel of an aging warrior making his last stand defending a besieged fortress.

454pts

9

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Brandon Sanderson's 2006 novel about a street thief who joins a rebellion against an immortal tyrant.

372pts

10

The Poppy War

R.F. Kuang's 2018 novel blending military history and dark magic in a war-torn fantasy inspired by 20th-century China.

372pts

11

The Two Towers

The 1954 middle volume of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, splitting the fellowship across war-torn Middle-earth.

372pts

12

The Way of Kings

Brandon Sanderson's 2010 series opener to The Stormlight Archive, set on a storm-ravaged world of warring kingdoms.

372pts

13

The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss's 2007 novel narrated by legendary wizard Kvothe recounting his rise from orphan to legend.

372pts

14

The Blade Itself

Joe Abercrombie's 2006 series opener to The First Law, a gritty subversion of classic fantasy tropes.

273pts

15

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

C.S. Lewis's 1950 novel in which children discover the magical, snow-bound land of Narnia through a wardrobe.

273pts

16

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Susanna Clarke's 2004 novel reviving English magic in an alternate Napoleonic-era Britain.

273pts

17

A Clash of Kings

The 1998 second volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, escalating the war for the Iron Throne across Westeros.

272pts

18

Gardens of the Moon

Steven Erikson's 1999 series opener to the Malazan Book of the Fallen, a sprawling military fantasy epic.

272pts

19

The Black Company

Glen Cook's 1984 novel telling epic fantasy war from the ground level of a mercenary company.

272pts

20

Assassin's Apprentice

Robin Hobb's 1995 novel following FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard trained as a secret assassin.

151pts