[Fell Beast]

1). Steven Erikson - a tale of the malazan a book of the fallen series

2). Lord of the rings

3). Tom Lloyd - Twilight Reign series (awesome)

4). David Farland -the runelords series (awesome)

4) Glen Cook - chronicles of the black company

5) C,L,Werner (black library) the males darkblade omnibus (insane with dark humour' unspeakable cruelty that only a dark elf can inflict, and sheer amount of skirmishes and large scale battles)

6). Robert Jordan - the wheel of time series (love it or hate it, the battle scenes/encounters of rand and foresaken when they do happen are mind blowing, on that count alone sheer genius)

7). J.r.r.Tolkien - the silmarillion (massive LotR fan, I can't get enough of his version of elves, and I would love to see this be made into a motion picture, but make it dark unlike the slightly disappointing hobbit motion picture aimed at families)

8). Terry good kind - sword of truth series

9). G.r.r.martin - the game of thrones

10) these two are closely matched but I think Raymond Feist just tops it and then David Gemmell...with terry brooks coming in just behind ( between these three authors they have written some of the best trilogy series I've ever read)

Some other amazing authors I've read

Trudi canavan
Stephen donaldson
Roger Zelanzy - lord of light, he possibly deserves to be in top ten (if u like Buddhism u will like this book)
James Clemens - the banned and the banished series
Joe abercombie...sry he dererved be in top ten favourites
R. a Salvatore the drizzt do urden trilogy the prequel to the Icewind dale series where he's living amongst the drow
And something different for those of you who find the jade emperor and his pantheon of gods interesting then there's an author called Kylie Chan.

This post has been edited by Fell Beast: 18 February 2015 - 07:36 PM

[Fell Beast]

I've read so many authors ver the years its sometimes easy to overlook an amazing author/book you have read, please keep in mind I just wrote that list out in litteraly 10 minutes.

So I do apologise if I've left out an author who someone believes they deserved to be in that top ten, chances are I may of overlooked said book and may agree with you. To the rest of u epic fantasy fans though if there's a book in that list you haven't read I strongly recommend reading it asap

[polishgenius]

Only one of those is in my top 10 (although I tend to leave Tolkien out of rankings because he's such a monolith it's difficult to judge him properly, so if I did it might be two).


Also; wrong forum dude.

[Andorion]

I can see number 8 creating a riot.... especially with Donaldson and Abercrombie as honourable mentions only...

[HoosierDaddy]

There will be no rioting else we might see the rise of the evil chicken.

[melonhead]

Did somebody say....... riot?

[amphibian]

What's the general criteria you're using to put together this list?

[amphibian]

Bc I have one top five list ready to go for "Best Descriptions of Food in SF".

SPOILER - Brian Jacques is at the top of the list.

[Gorefest]

 amphibian, on 19 February 2015 - 06:21 AM, said:

Bc I have one top five list ready to go for "Best Descriptions of Food in SF".

SPOILER - Brian Jacques is at the top of the list.

Seriously? Not the Ameglian Major Cow?

A large dairy animal approached Zaphod Beeblebrox's table, a large fat meaty quadruped of the bovine type with large watery eyes, small horns and what might almost have been an ingratiating smile on its lips.

'Good evening', it lowed and sat back heavily on its haunches, 'I am the main Dish of the Day. May I interest you in the parts of my body?'

It harrumphed and gurgled a bit, wriggled its hind quarters in to a more comfortable position and gazed peacefully at them. Its gaze was met by looks of startled bewilderment from Arthur and Trillian, a resigned shrug from Ford Prefect and naked hunger from Zaphod Beeblebrox. 'Something off the shoulder perhaps?' suggested the animal, 'Braised in a white wine sauce?'
'Er, your shoulder?' said Arthur in a horrified whisper.
'But naturally my shoulder, sir,' mooed the animal contentedly, 'nobody else's is mine to offer.'
Zaphod leapt to his feet and started prodding and feeling the animal's shoulder appreciatively. 'Or the rump is very good,' murmured the animal. 'I've been exercising it and eating plenty of grain, so there's a lot of good meat there.' It gave a mellow grunt, gurgled again and started to chew the cud. It swallowed the cud again. 'Or a casselore of me perhaps?' it added.
'You mean this animal actually wants us to eat it?' whispered Trillian to Ford.
'Me?' said Ford, with a glazed look in his eyes, 'I don't mean anything.'
'That's absolutely horrible,' exclaimed Arthur, 'the most revolting thing I've ever heard.'
'What's the problem Earthman?' said Zaphod, now transferring his attention to the animal's enormous rump.
'I just don't want to eat an animal that's standing there inviting me to,' said Arthur, 'It's heartless.'
'Better than eating an animal that doesn't want to be eaten,' said Zaphod.
'That's not the point,' Arthur protested. Then he thought about it for a moment. 'Alright,' he said, 'maybe it is the point. I don't care, I'm not going to think about it now. I'll just ... er ... I think I'll just have a green salad,' he muttered.
'May I urge you to consider my liver?' asked the animal, 'it must be very rich and tender by now, I've been force-feeding myself for months.'
'A green salad,' said Arthur emphatically.
'A green salad?' said the animal, rolling his eyes disapprovingly at Arthur.
'Are you going to tell me,' said Arthur, 'that I shouldn't have green salad?'
'Well,' said the animal, 'I know many vegetables that are very clear on that point. Which is why it was eventually decided to cut through the whole tangled problem and breed an animal that actually wanted to be eaten and was capable of saying so clearly and distinctly. And here I am.' It managed a very slight bow.
'Glass of water please,' said Arthur.
'Look,' said Zaphod, 'we want to eat, we don't want to make a meal of the issues. Four rare stakes please, and hurry. We haven't eaten in five hundred and seventy-six thousand million years.'
The animal staggered to its feet. It gave a mellow gurgle. 'A very wise choice, sir, if I may say so. Very good,' it said, 'I'll just nip off and shoot myself.'
He turned and gave a friendly wink to Arthur. 'Don't worry, sir,' he said, 'I'll be very humane.' It waddled unhurriedly off to the kitchen.

[Cause]

 HoosierDaddy, on 19 February 2015 - 02:59 AM, said:

There will be no rioting else we might see the rise of the evil chicken.

A common mistake. It looks like a chicken, clucks like a chicken and of course tastes like a chicken but it is in fact an 'evil chicken that is not a chicken'.

[Obdigore]

 Cause, on 19 February 2015 - 11:40 AM, said:

 HoosierDaddy, on 19 February 2015 - 02:59 AM, said:

There will be no rioting else we might see the rise of the evil chicken.

A common mistake. It looks like a chicken, clucks like a chicken and of course tastes like a chicken but it is in fact an 'evil chicken that is not a chicken'.

I'm pretty sure it was just a Voyuer Chicken that wanted to watch Richard 'Raptor Gaze' Rahl have his way with Kahnlan 'I almost get raped in every book so dicky will save me' ... what was her last name?

[Gnaw]

 Fell Beast, on 18 February 2015 - 07:23 PM, said:

1). Steven Erikson - a tale of the malazan a book of the fallen series


Roger Zelanzy - lord of light, he possibly deserves to be in top ten (if u like Buddhism u will like this book)

Roger Zelazny's Amber books. I'd be surprised if he wasn't on Erikson's favorite author list.

[heavymetaltroll]

Glen Cook's Black Company? Really? While they are incredibly good, his Instrumentalities of the Night series is soooooo much better.

[End of Disc One]

 heavymetaltroll, on 20 February 2015 - 10:32 AM, said:

Glen Cook's Black Company? Really? While they are incredibly good, his Instrumentalities of the Night series is soooooo much better.

This is the first time I've heard this (haven't read IotN)

[heavymetaltroll]

 End of Disc One, on 20 February 2015 - 01:05 PM, said:

 heavymetaltroll, on 20 February 2015 - 10:32 AM, said:

Glen Cook's Black Company? Really? While they are incredibly good, his Instrumentalities of the Night series is soooooo much better.

This is the first time I've heard this (haven't read IotN)

You should, I've only read the 1st 2 so far but loved them. Have more of an Eriksonesque feel about them as well.

[Cause]

Lets throw out the highly contentious Goodkind for the mildly contentious Bakker

[Werthead]

My list today would be:

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
The Acts of Caine by Matt Woodring Stover
The Monarchies of God by Paul Kearney ("Absolutely everything by Paul Kearney" would also be accurate)
The Sword of Shadows by J.V. Jones
Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
The Second Apocalypse by R. Scott Bakker
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson), despite some serious caveats
The Eternal Sky Trilogy by Elizabeth Bear
The Fencer Trilogy by K.J. Parker (actually, "Absolutely fecking anything by K.J. Parker" would be more accurate)


This is solely for post-Tolkien secondary world epic fantasy.

For fantasy overall (a much broader church) Martin and Erikson would stay in, but I'd replace the others with:

The Lyonesse Trilogy by Jack Vance
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman
The Bas-Lag Series by China Mieville
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett
The Middle-earth Series by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake
The Mythago Woode Series by Robert Holdstock

Both lists would probably be different if you asked me tomorrow.

Honourable mentions:

Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle, The Sundering Duology by Jacqueline Carey, The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, The Decent Riftwar Books Before They Turned Crap by Raymond E. Feist, The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, The Troy Trilogy by David Gemmell, The Dying Earth by Jack Vance, The Jonathan Swift Series by Kate Griffin, A Land Fit For Heroes by Richard Morgan, The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (and its sequels) and everything by Guy Gavriel Kay.

This post has been edited by Werthead: 24 February 2015 - 02:12 PM

[End of Disc One]

 Werthead, on 24 February 2015 - 01:58 PM, said:

My list today would be:

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
The Acts of Caine by Matt Woodring Stover
The Monarchies of God by Paul Kearney ("Absolutely everything by Paul Kearney" would also be accurate)
The Sword of Shadows by J.V. Jones
Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
The Second Apocalypse by R. Scott Bakker
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson), despite some serious caveats
The Eternal Sky Trilogy by Elizabeth Bear
The Fencer Trilogy by K.J. Parker (actually, "Absolutely fecking anything by K.J. Parker" would be more accurate)


This is solely for post-Tolkien secondary world epic fantasy.

For fantasy overall (a much broader church) Martin and Erikson would stay in, but I'd replace the others with:

The Lyonesse Trilogy by Jack Vance
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman
The Bas-Lag Series by China Mieville
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett
The Middle-earth Series by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake
The Mythago Woode Series by Robert Holdstock

Both lists would probably be different if you asked me tomorrow.

Honourable mentions:

Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle, The Sundering Duology by Jacqueline Carey, The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, The Decent Riftwar Books Before They Turned Crap by Raymond E. Feist, The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, The Troy Trilogy by David Gemmell, The Dying Earth by Jack Vance, The Jonathan Swift Series by Kate Griffin, A Land Fit For Heroes by Richard Morgan, The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (and its sequels) and everything by Guy Gavriel Kay.

I think I'm going to save this list. Everything I've read in this post, I love. And most of the others are on my radar.

[Baco Xtath]

I can't possibly do ten so here are all the favorites I can come up with right now.

Epic Fantasy Series:
Malazan
aSoIaF
Acts of Caine
A Land Fit for Heroes
First Law
Discworld
Broken Empire
Second Apocalypse
Raven's Shadow
Unhewn Throne
Traitor Son
Powder Mage
Lord of the Rings
Wheel of Time
Gentlemen Bastards
Black Company
Greatcoats
Kingkiller
Dagger and Coin
all K.J. Parker
all Kay

Non-traditional Fantasy:
Bas-Lag
Ambergris
Long Price Quartet
Thunderer/Gears duology
Ketty Jay
Six-Gun Tarot
the Troupe
Gone-Away World
Fairyland
Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
Dark Tower
Book of the New Sun
the Inheritance Cycle
Craft Sequence
the Etched City

Modern/Urban fantasy:
Grant
Swift
Dresden
Castor
Bobby Dollar
American Elsewhere

Haven't read but would probably be ranked if I had:
Farseer
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Gormenghast
Mythago Wood
Monarchies of God
Eternal Sky

Edit:
Adding:
Chronicles of Amber
Lord of Light
American Gods
Anansi's Boys
Good Omens
Alif, the Unseen
Terminal World
Garrett P.I.
Vlad Taltos
Ash: A Secret History
City of Stairs
Mr. Shivers
Initiate Brother
Neverwhere
The Golem and the Jinni
Stormlight Archives



Edit: Alright, my top ten fantasy:
Malazan
Acts of Caine
First Law
A Land Fit for Heroes
aSoIaF
Discworld
Bas-Lag
Thunderer/Gears Duology
Long Price Quartet
Vlad Taltos/Garrett P.I. tie

This post has been edited by Baco Xtath: 01 March 2015 - 03:15 PM

[Abyss]

Ten fantasy hey? ...ok, I'll play...
1. The Malazan Book of the Fallen/Tales of the Malazan Empire, Erikson and Esslemont
2 Acts of Caine, Stover
3 Land Fit for Heroes, Morgan
4 Alera, Butcher
5 SIF, GRRM
6 WoT, Jordan and Sanderson
7 Coldfire Trilogy, Freidman
8 Kay's loosely connected books
9. Broken Empire, Lawrence
10. The First Law and sequels, Abercrombie.