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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 8
   Legend

   David Gemmell's 1984 novel of an aging warrior making his last stand defending a besieged fortress.
   454pts
9. 9
   Mistborn: The Final Empire

   Brandon Sanderson's 2006 novel about a street thief who joins a rebellion against an immortal tyrant.
   372pts
10. 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. 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. 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. 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. 14
    The Blade Itself

    Joe Abercrombie's 2006 series opener to The First Law, a gritty subversion of classic fantasy tropes.
    273pts
15. 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. 16
    Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

    Susanna Clarke's 2004 novel reviving English magic in an alternate Napoleonic-era Britain.
    273pts
17. 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. 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. 19
    The Black Company

    Glen Cook's 1984 novel telling epic fantasy war from the ground level of a mercenary company.
    272pts
20. 20
    Assassin's Apprentice

    Robin Hobb's 1995 novel following FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard trained as a secret assassin.
    0pts

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