January SFFKIT: Epic Fantasy

January SFFKIT: Epic Fantasy


Image Credit: Anato Finnstark

Welcome to the January SFFKIT! This month's theme is epic fantasy or sword and sorcery. According to Wikipedia, epic fantasy is "a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. High fantasy is set in an alternative, fictional ('secondary') world, rather than the 'real' or 'primary' world. This secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world."

Similarly, sword and sorcery is "a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present."

To me, the basic elements to look for are an imagined world, some form of magic or the supernatural, and a quest or task that the main character(s) must complete.

There are countless options within this genre, from the classic Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia to more modern examples like Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series and Game of Thrones. I can't even begin to create a comprehensive list, so I'm not going to try -- but here's a Goodreads list of the best epic fantasy (voted on by members). And if you're at a loss, searching LT tags like "high fantasy," "epic fantasy," or "sword and sorcery" should be helpful!

Please share what you're reading or planning to read below, and don't forget to update the wiki!

Maybe this will be the chance for The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

I am looking forward to beginning a new trilogy by Joe Abercrombie with A Little Hatred.

I was considering giving Malazan a go. If it turns out not fit my reading mood I'll likely do a re-read of The Dragonbone Chair as I'd like to read the whole Osten Ard sequence in 2024. I read the original trilogy in the 90s so a refresh wouldn't go astray

I will probably go with a reread of Dragonflight, which I can borrow for free on archive.org.
Or for a newer book, maybe Ascendant, which is available on KU.
High fantasy for me always means dragons!

I'm planning to read The Incompleat Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. It collects the first two stories in their series about a psychologist who travels into various mythological/fantasy worlds and finds that his reason and logic are of limited use in magical settings. They've been described as "screwball fantasy."

>6 KeithChaffee: Taking a BB for this one already - screwball fantasy sounds like just my thing! And it is available to borrow on archive.org.

>6 KeithChaffee: >7 JayneCM: "Screwball fantasy" intrigues me as well! I'm still figuring out what I plan to read...

Will legends and lattes work?

Having a hard time not adding this KIT to my 2024 challenge...

Oh, who am I kidding? It's gonna happen.

>10 beccac220: Do it, do it!! :)

I have have Throne of glass by Sarah Mass sitting around for years. Looks like it might fit this challenge.

>4 Damiella: oh, yes!

I have The Witchwood Crown waiting for me for a FIRST read.

I've read The Dragonbone Chair trilogy at least twice, since the 1990s, and it was just as good if not better when I revisited it. I am usually succinct in my reviews, but this one book took me 173 words to review, a record for sure!

>12 amberwitch: Loved this series! I liked the author's other series a little better, but this is a good one to start, too. Hope you end up reading it. I'd love to know what you think.

>9 majkia: I'm not sure Legends and Lattes really has the "epic" scope, but it definitely seems to have the imagined world and magical creatures, so I think it's fine.

I have three books lined up for January that fit this challenge, but not sure if I will really get to them:

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

>14 beccac220: yeah, I definitely need to make space in my book buying budget to purchase The Witchwood Crown and the others I'm missing. And likely need to make space on my shelves as well.

I calculated that my next '3 pay month' (i.e I get paid fortnightly) is March so I've got a little bit of time.

>11 JayneCM: It was inevitable...*facepalm* Considering this is one of my favorite genres, I don't know why I didn't consider it initially. (duh)

I'm currently reading through the Narnia series with my kiddos. I'll most likely continue with that into January as it meets this challenge and my "family read-aloud challenge." Although, they're not enjoying it as much as I thought they would. 🤔 I dunno. Maybe I need to brush up on my reading-aloud skills.

>16 MissBrangwen: oh, I loved Assassin's Apprentice! I gave it 4 stars.

>14 beccac220: I hope I will love it too, and I probably will - there is a reason I got it after all.
Will report back in january:)

>21 amberwitch: I loved that whole series, although I have to admit there were times I wanted to strange Robin Hobb. She gives her characters no quarter!

I came so close to reading a book for every month of this challenge last year, I'm going to prioritize it in 2024! And I'm going to start out with a big one--Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames. I loved the first book in the series, Kings of the Wyld, so here's hoping it starts me off with a five-star read!

>23 whitewavedarling: I really enjoyed the first book in that series. I have the second. Perhaps you'll prompt me to move it up in the cue.

I finished Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb yesterday (my new reading year starts on Christmas Eve) and I loved everything about it. It is my favourite book in years!!!
Since it has been my wish to read more fantasy, I take this as a good omen!

...and today I reread The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

>25 MissBrangwen: I'm hearing lots of good things about this one in this group. Looks like I'm already adding a book to my TBR pile in 2024.

I'm definitely starring this challenge because I love epic fantasy, and I'm needing to move beyond what's on my shelves. Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

>25 MissBrangwen: I really liked that one, and was well into the second book when my life got very difficult. I put it down, but need to pick it up again and finish.

I read Witch King by Martha Wells, which I'd started when it came out last year but bounced off of because some part of me was expecting Murderbot, but fantasy, which it isn't at all. This time I was better prepared to judge it on its own terms and ended up loving it, though not as much as Murderbot.

I finished A Clash of Kings by GRR Martin. It's a re-read, and buddy read. Enjoyed it all over again.

I've completed A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie which has totally immersed me in his fantasy world and now I am looking forward to the next book.

I'm enjoying The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchiakovsky. I'd not thought of it as Epic Fantasy, but at the halfway point of a 600 page book I'm thinking it should qualify.

I finished The Incomplete Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. Very much not my thing, but I think they'd probably entertain those whose thing they are.

Finally going to do it! I have joined so many Hobb readalongs in the last few years and never got far. I think this one will be more successful as two months per book is allowed. It was always a lot when the readalongs had one book per month - impossible to keep up!
I already had Assassin's Apprentice as my pick to read for this, so now I am motivated to continue and not let it be one of those series that languishes and then you forget what happened!

>35 JayneCM: I hope you enjoy it - looks like a doable plan.

>35 JayneCM: Wow. I have enough trouble keeping to my monthly reading plans. I cannot imagine committing to a 3 year reading plan.

>35 JayneCM: Oh man. That looks so tempting.... I'd really love a reread of them....

>35 JayneCM: nice idea!

I've read Assassin's Apprentice and was part of the way through book two when I had personal issues and had to lay it down. I do intend to pick it up again at some point.

I also snagged a copy of Dragon Keeper and it's on my shelves waiting in the queue.

I finished reading The Tiger and the Wolf last night, am definitely listing it here as EPIC. And it's only book one? Argh.

ETA:


The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Solid fantasy with intriguing characters that I came to love, and bemoan. The author does an excellent job of world-building, and of limiting the introspection of the protagonist to keep the plot moving forward. For 600 pages I was never bored, distracted.

I'm counting Swordheart by T. Kingfisher for this KIT. It's not terribly epic in scope -- though it does involve warring religions and an immortal warrior trapped inside a sword -- but it does have a fantasy world, magic, and a quest. So I feel like it fits the vibe...plus, I totally loved the book!

Finished Daggerspell (Deverry) by Katharine Kerr

A bit dated but interesting seeing this old a sword and sorcery book written by a woman.

>41 majkia: This series turns more and more interesting as the books progress. It's a very attractive try on reincarnation. And the sense of history is palpable.

>42 h-mb: Good to hear. I'd planned on continuing the series. I confess I did find the reincaration stuff a bit confusing, especially for the first third or so of the book.

I ended up reading Of Blood and Fire for this in January. Enjoyable but pretty standard fantasy fare (but it's on KU so it's easy)

I read Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn, which kinda felt like reading a D&D campaign, but in a good way--a bit more episodic and "tell" rather than "show" for my usual tastes, but ultimately it held my interest and I liked the characters.

I am reading Assassin's Apprentice which has been on my Kindle forever! Another ROOT and that makes me happy. I am enjoying it so far.

>46 witchyrichy: loved that one. I need to get back into the series...

I ended up reading Daughter of the moon goddess for this challenge. Unfortunately it was a little too juvenile and cliched for my taste.

I just finished Martha Wells's The Wizard Hunters, which is an epic sci-fi/fantasy combo (there's magic, but also airships). I found it a bit slow but liked it overall!

I read Mirror Sight by Kristen Britain, in the Green Rider series. Maybe not my favorite in the series, but pretty good.

>47 fuzzi: I was up early this morning to finish it and will definitely be reading the rest of the series. Grateful, as always, for the challenges to get me digging into my Kindle shelves.

>51 witchyrichy: that's high praise, indeed!

I saw Murtagh on display at my bookstore and feel tempted. So to avoid temptation (for a while) I decided to revisit the Eragon books. Have just started Eldest, but I don't know yet if I can finish it in time.

>53 MissWatson: Well, I did finish it sooner than I thought I would. Of course, staying indoors in bad weather helped. And I'm happy to say that it has held up well since my first read.

Well, I didn't get around to this month's challenge. But I look forward to future month's challenges this year!

I read the standalone Babel, which may be my top book ever

>56 kkelley13: Oh. Good to hear. I keep putting high in the TBR mountain but for some reason don't get to it. Maybe this will spark me to finally read it.

I had good intentions of reading Toll the Hounds, the 8th book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, in January but it'll probably take me a couple more months to finish it. This series is so good but very complex and the books are massive.