The Fantasy Review’s list of 10 Epic Fantasy Books to Get Lost In.
The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1) by R.F. Kuang
Check out our review of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang.
From the blurb:
When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.
But surprises aren’t always good…
Dragon Prince (Dragon Prince, #1) by Melanie Rawn
From the blurb:
When Rohan became the new prince of the Desert, ruler of the kingdom granted to his family for as long as the Long Sands spewed fire, he took the crown with two goals in mind. First and foremost, he sought to bring permanent peace to his world of divided princedoms. And, in a land where dragon-slaying was a proof of manhood, Rohan was the sole champion of the dragons, fighting desperately to preserve the last remaining lords of the sky and with them a secret which might be the salvation of his people…
Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1) by Mercedes Lackey
From the blurb:
Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen’s own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense…
Air Awakens (Air Awakens, #1) by Elise Kova
From the blurb:
A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond…The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books…
A Shadow on the Glass (The View from the Mirror, #1) by Ian Irvine
From the blurb:
Karan, a sensitive whose family is cursed by madness, is compelled by honour to steal an ancient magical device and take it to the Magister. But it’s the treacherous Mirror of Aachan, and hidden within it is a deadly secret.
Llian, a brilliant but naïve Tale-spinner, uncovers a 3,000-year-old mystery too dangerous to be revealed and is expelled from his college…
The Riddle-Master of Hed (Riddle-Master, #1) by Patricia A. McKillip
From the blurb:
Long ago, the wizards had vanished from the world, and all knowledge was left hidden in riddles. Morgon, prince of the simple farmers of Hed, proved himself a master of such riddles when he staked his life to win a crown from the dead Lord of Aum.But now ancient, evil forces were threatening him. Shape changers began replacing friends until no man could be trusted. So Morgon was forced to flee to hostile kingdoms, seeking the High One who ruled from mysterious Erlenstar Mountain…
The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1) by Guy Gavriel Kay
From the blurb:
It begins with a chance meeting that introduces the five to a man who will change their lives: a mage who brings them to the first of all worlds, Fionavar.
In this land of gods and myth, each of them is forced to discover what they are and what they are willing to do, as Fionavar stands on the brink of a terrifying war against a dark, vengeful god…
The Red Wolf Conspiracy (The Chathrand Voyage, #1) by Robert V.S. Redick
From the blurb:
The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is the last of her kind. Six hundred years old, the secrets of her construction long forgotten, the massive vessel dwarfs every other sailing craft in the world. It is a palace with sails, a floating outpost of the Empire of Arqual. And it is on its most vital mission yet: to deliver a young woman whose marriage will seal the peace between Arqual and its mortal enemy, the secretive Mzithrin Empire…
Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1) by Kristin Cashore
From the blurb:
Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable-yet-strong Katsa, who is smart and beautiful and lives in the Seven Kingdoms where selected people are born with a Grace, a special talent that can be anything at all. Katsa’s Grace is killing.
As the king’s niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his brutal enforcer. Until the day she meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, and Katsa’s life begins to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend…
Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1) by Jay Kristoff
From the blurb:
In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined…
