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Epic Fantasy Authors - The Big list

Fantasy Authors

Fantasy authors have been astonishing readers with their creations since the beginning of the written word. Here are some of the more influential writers dating back as far as the late nineteenth century.

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The Major Fantasy Authors

- From The past

  • William Morris If you are a fan of epic fantasy and you have never heard of William Morris then you are in for a real treat. Tolkien is considered to be the father of modern day epic fantasy but he isn't. It all started with the publication in 1892 of the William Morris novel The Well at the World's End. This is an outstanding piece of Epic Fantasy and it is considered to be the first epic fantasy work of the modern era. The same applies for another Morris novel titled "The Wood Beyond the World"
  • Edith Nesbitt A prolific author at the end of the nineteenth century she created a genre of childrens fantasy literature. It often had normal contemporary children who engaged in magical adventures and discovered magical objects. She set the genre for many contemporary writers including JK Rowling. Some of her notable books are Five Children and It and The Story of the Amulet.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien A master of the craft that created the complete world of Middle Earth which included maps, languages and much more. Most notable works is the Lord of the Rings Series.
  • Edgar Rice Burroughs Early twentieth century writer that created memorable characters and explored different worlds. His most memorable character is Tarzan. And his most popular series of books include the Barsoom series which takes place on Mars. The venus series and the Pellucidar series which takes place within the hollow earth.
  • Robert E. Howard Mid twentieth century writer that was a heavy contributor to the pulp fiction magazines. He is generally credited with creating the swords & sorcery genre. His most notable character is Conan.
  • T.H. White Mid twentieth century writer who penned several books in the king arthur tradition. The most notable of which is The Sword in the Stone which ushered in the modern Arthurian novel. Of note was a posthumous publication of his novel The Book of Merlyn
  • E.R.R. Eddison Considered to be the father of High Fantasy he wrote several books that influenced authors to come such as Lewis and Tolkien. Of his highly imaginitive worlds The Worm Ouroboros is one of the most famous.
  • C.S. Lewis He was a scholor of medievel literature and mythology he wrote many works in a variety of genres including fiction, religious fiction and science fiction. His most notable works are the epic fantasy Chronicles of Narnia.


-The Present Major Authors

  • Terry Brooks In the late 70's Brooks published the novel The Sword of Shannara. It climbed to the top of best seller lists and stood there for years. Heavily drawing on Tolkien this book reintroduced the epic fantasy to the general public. Brooks continued the Shannara series with several more books. He has gone on to pen even more series.
  • Terry Goodkind writer of the Sword of Truth series which began with Wizards First Rule This is a solid series that takes a more serious approach to epic fantasy. The books explore philosophical questions. The series is currently ten works and an eleventh is scheduled for release in the summer of 2006 (Phantom)
  • Robert Jordan Is the writer of the enormously successful Wheel of Time series which is currently eleven volumes. He has also written many works based on the Robert E. Howard Conan character.
  • Stephen Donaldson Creator of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series of books which now number seven volumes and is most notable for its use of the anti-hero in which the main character maintains a reluctance to actually take on the mantle of the hero. He has written several other series in the genre.
  • Marion Zimmer Bradley Editor of the famous sword and sorcery series Bradley is also a prolific writer. Most notable among her writings is the Arthurian Avalon series which begun with The Mists of Avalon.
  • David Eddings Writer of sword & sorcery and epic fantasy series he is most famous for the Belgariad and the Mallorean series.
  • Raymond Feist Many of his works are set in the connected worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan. This is called the Riftwar series and the novels range over various geographic locations and span centuries. He began his writing with the first novel in the Riftwar series called Magician: Apprentice. Another series of note is the Krondor series.
  • Robin Hobb the author of several popular trilogies including The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Tawny Man Trilogy
  • Stephen King Although considered to be the master of horror King has published an enormous body of work in the fantasy genre. He crosses genre at will and breaks all the rules but notable is his Dark Tower Trilogy and The Eyes of the Dragon which is classic fantasy.
  • L.E. Modesitt Author of several series most notable are The Corean Chronicles
    Set on the world of Corus (or Acorus), where strange and dangerous beasts roam and people with magical Talent can commit astonishing feats. Also is the Spellsong Cyle and The Timegod's World which draws heavily on Norse legend.
  • George R.R. Martin Most notable for his Song of Ice and Fire series which was begun with A Game of Thrones in 1996.
  • Tad Williams Writer of several fantasy series the most notable of which Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn which was begun with The Dragonbone Chair
  • J.K. Rowling creator of the enormously popular Harry Potter series which began with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. These books have also been transformed into successful movies.
  • David Farlane - The Author of the Acclaimed Runelords series. The Fifth book has just been published and the first book is being made into a major motion picture.
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Here is the master list of authors and their major series . If you are looking for a series to read we have them all right here. You can find out what books are in the series or what books are projected to be next in the series. This is the most comprehensive list of epic fantasy series that you can find. (listed alphabetical by author)

Number of Series: 44
Number of Authors:26
Number of Books: 213

Alexander, Lloyd
-- Chronicles of Prydain:

Bishop, Anne
-- The Black Jewels Trilogy

Bradley, Marion Zimmer
-- The Mysts of Avalon

Brooks, Terry
-- The Sword of Shannara, (Learn more about this series)

Prequel to the series:

The Sword of Shannara trilogy (The First Trilogy)

The Heritage of Shannara (The Second Tetrology)

The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Morgawr/Antrax/Ilse Witch (The Third Trilogy)

High Druid of Shannara (The Fourth Trilogy)

Carey, Jacqueline
-- Cushiel's Legacy

Donaldson, Stephen R.
-- The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (learn more about this series)

The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

The Final Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

Donaldson, Stephen R.
-- Mordant's Need:

Drake, David
-- Lord of the Isles,

Eddings, David
-- The Belgariad:

Eddings, David
-- The Malloreon:

Eddings, David
-- The Elenium:

Eddings, David
-- The Tamuli:

Elliott, Kate
-- Crown of Stars

Farland, David
-- The Runelords:(Learn more about this series)

Feist, Raymond R.
-- The RiftWar Saga

Feist, Raymond R.
-- The Riftwar Legacy

Feist, Raymond R.
-- The Serpentwar Saga

Goodkind, Terry
-- The Sword of Truth:

Hobb, Robin
-- The Farseer Trilogy

Hobb, Robin
-- Tawny Man Trilogy

Hobb, Robin
-- The Liveship Traders

Jones, J.V.
-- Book of Words:

Jones, J.V.
-- Sword of Shadows

Jordan, Robert
-- Wheel of Time:

Kay, Guy Gavriel
-- The Fionavar Tapestry:

King, Stephen
-- The Dark Tower Series (Learn more about this series)

Kurtz, Katherine
-- Legends of Camber of Culdi

Kurtz, Katherine
-- Heirs of Saint Camber

Kurtz, Katherine
-- The Chronicles of the Deryni

LeGuin, Ursula K.
-- The Earthsea Cycle (Learn more about this series)

Lewis, C.S.
--Narnia series (Learn more about this series)

Martin, George R.R.
-- A Song of Ice and Fire

McKiernan, Dennis
-- Mithgar Series (Learn more about this series)

McKiernan, Dennis
-- Iron Tower Trilogy:

McKiernan, Dennis
-- Silver Call Duology:

McKiernan, Dennis
-- Hel's Crucible:

McKillip, Patricia
-- The Quest of the Riddle-Master:

  • The Riddle-Master of Hed (Out of Print)
  • Heir of Sea and Fire (Out of Print)
  • Harpist in the Wind (Out of Print)
  • Riddle-Master

Modesitt, L.E. Jr.
-- The Corean Chronicles (Learn more about this series)

Modesitt, L.E. Jr.
-- The Saga of Recluce (Learn more about this series)

Tolkien, J.R.R.
-- The Lord of the Rings (Learn more about this series)

Williams, Tad
-- Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn: (Learn more about this series)

 

 

 

 

here some great fantasy websites:

Storm The Castle.com - Fantasy and creativity with an edge

Epic-Fantasy.com - website devoted to the genre of epic fantasy

The Fantasy Guide - The complete guide to fantasy on the web

The Heroic Dreams Fantasy blog - daily updates and info on the genre in movies books and more

 

Knight-Medieval.com Everything about Knights from weapons to armor, chivalry and more.

 

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