I am a huge fan of fantasy especially high fantasy because it allows me to escape my sometimes horrid reality. High fantasy features huge, original worlds that anyone can get lost in if they invest their time and effort. Great fantasy series like the ones listed below are the best for long term satisfaction because these series are LONG and incite all sorts of emotions. Sadly, I haven't finished all of these fantasy series so I relied on goodreads.com and amazon to list these series. I hope you try to pick up some of the series I’ve mentioned as there is so much to gain.
Wheel of Time
Wheel of Time is a goliath of a series; it consists of 14 novels that on average would take 19–20 days to finish. I believe that’s a plus because this series is one of those that feel like it’s never gonna end. Many fiction novel influencers and even the top people from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios agree that it is one hell of a good story.
The wheel of time is about a young farmer man who learns that he is the reincarnation of his world’s savior from a different era. Like the many messiahs before him, he is destined to save his world from the Dark One but he may destroy his world in the process. There is a twist though, the era that the current messiah is reincarnated in despises male magic users as their pool of magic has been infected by the Dark One which makes them mad. This adds more suspense to the story as farmer boy here is a male magic user.
The Witcher
I love the Witcher series more than any other epic fantasy series. It has a riveting story and detailed background lore, great descriptions of action that occurs due to insatiable beasts, and greatly developed characters both main and secondary. Its best to read the books first then play the video games because the tales in the books are referenced in the games at times and you just need to know everything to feel immersed.
The Witcher series focuses on two characters-Geralt and Ciri. They are both witchers which are supernatural beast hunters who go through trials to develop insane skills and abilities to keep the darkness at bay. The story is mainly about Ciri, a princess of a conquered nation, who ends up becoming a witcher in training. She is the driving force of the Witcher saga as she is wanted by powerful figures and her interactions with them allows the story to progress. Geralt of Rivia on the other hand is just a witcher who is part of the story because he is a father figure for Ciri and chases after her to ensure her safety.
Lord of the Rings
Lords of the Rings is the Godfather of all high fantasy novels. Its lore is as deep as fantasy can get; there are races and explanations for how they’ve come to be created, a multitude of languages, divine beings that remain pure or are turned corrupted, and demonic monsters like Balrog.
The story is about a young hobbit named Frodo who comes across an evil ring owned by his elderly cousin Bilbo. Gandalf, the greatest wizard in all of middle earth, finds out that it is the One Ring that belongs to the Dark Lord Sauron and so leads a journey to destroy it. Frodo, Gandalf, and a unique group consisting of warriors and hobbits then set forth to Mount Doom to end the ring and thus annihilate any chances of the Dark Lord’s true return. I wish I could forget about this epic journey so that I could experience it once more.
Mistborn
Mistborn is the first series ever created by one of the most groundbreaking fantasy authors whose named Brandon Sanderson. Even though its not considered as Sanderson’s most refined series, it’s the best introduction to the world of Cosmere. By reading the Mistborn Trilogy first, you can have more background info when reading Stormlight Archive series and Warbreaker.
It’s set in a world where the bad guy wins and has been ruling for a thousand years. Because the dude’s evil, the world is in terrible condition and a lot of people are suffering. One of the people that’s got it the hardest is the main character named Vin who has lived in the streets and gone through much abuse. She, together with her mentor and a group of men, ends the tyrannical reign of Rashek(bad guy) and the fun is seeing how they come to do that.
Berserk
Berserk is a japanese manga series set in a medieval Europe-inspired dark fantasy world. It’s a mix of dark fantasy and high fantasy. The story centers around Guts, a mercenary, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary group called the “Band of the Hawk”. The manga depicts Gut’s journey alongside the gang of mercenaries he has been forced to work with. I really like the illustrations of the main character using firearms and giant swords in high octane action scenes.
The First Law
The First Law is a series of gritty modern fantasy novels by British author Joe Abercrombie. It often appears in many best fantasy series lists from popular booktubers like Daniel Greene and Merphy Napier. The worldbuilding is considered by many as one of its defining features. The series is dark, the characters are cynical, and it has some awesome fight scenes.
“The series is set in an epic fantasy world called the Circle of the World, that is reminiscent of medieval Europe. Magic was once a force in this world, but now seems to be fading, to the point that most people don’t believe in it. And of course, conflict between plays a central part in creating a good background and developing plot.
The story follows the fortunes and misfortunes of bad people who do the right thing, good people who do the wrong thing, stupid people who do the stupid thing and, well, pretty much any combination of the above. Survival is no mean feat, and at the end of the day, dumb luck might be more of an asset than any amount of planning, skill, or noble intention.”
-firstlaw.fandom
Gentleman Bastard
It has everything epic fantasy fans are looking for: pirates, thieves, and scummy con-artists. This series offers grand schemes, an entertaining bunch of criminals, and plenty of action. Additionally, if you are into plot twists and turns, you bet your gonna have a good time.
“The Gentleman Bastards are masters of deception, disguise and fine cuisine. Father Chains, their “garrista” (leader), is a priest of the Crooked Warden, the god of thieves. He buys troublesome youth Locke(main protagonist) for his gang.”
-Wiki
Game of Thrones
Everyone’s heard of Game of Thrones. It was the most popular HBO series and everyone loved it until they went off the books and finally ended up with the big disaster(season 8). I’m sure the books are gonna fix that though; I really hope George R.R Martin’s new novel installments in the series are much better. Aside from that, the books are good and the plot is pretty entertaining. You must add it to your fantasy collection if you haven’t already.
The Poppy War
“The Poppy War is the story of Rin, a small-town orphan whose only chance to escape poverty and an oppressive arranged marriage is to score top marks on the government’s exams and earn a place at Sinegard Academy, where the Nikara Empire’s best and brightest are trained for leadership”-Mr. Riordan. Naturally, Rin gets to join the school but it isn’t like YA novels where the experiences are generally positive. R.F kuang subverts expectations and portrays the school as having a disturbing environment. Aside from that, war rages on and you get to see innocent suffer. Unlike other fantasy novels, where war is presented as something somewhat exciting, this series shows how horribly it can affect people like refugees.
Monstress
Monstress is an ongoing graphic novel series that features really beautiful illustration and the story keeps on getting better. “It is a brutal story about surviving a war. Liu and Takeda whisk us to the magical steampunk city of Zamora, a world that is as heinous as it is dazzling. Everything is silk, peacock feathers, royal purples, and golds. But underneath the opulence, there’s a gruesome slave trade afoot.”-Vox
Link to IGN’s Concise Summary-https://youtu.be/XP20NqD-BgI
