Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
I’m going a bit above and beyond this week, covering not only the top ten classic fantasy books I’ve read, but also the top ten I’d like to read. I just want to emphasize that I consider anything a “classic” that was published before I became a bookseller eleven years ago. Actually, some of them were written before I was even born. They are all a part of what I call the “essential fantasy list.” I realized that even though I consider these to be classics, I’m sure fantasy lovers from an older generation would have a very different looking list. What can I say? I picked titles that heavily influenced my reading journey and will always be nostalgic and “classics” in my eyes.
Top Ten Classic Fantasy Series I’ve Read:
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- Magician Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist
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- Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind
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- Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
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- Homeland by R.A. Salvatore
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- Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
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- Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
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- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
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- The Runelords by David Farland
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- Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon
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- Sword Dancer by Jennifer Roberson
Top Ten Classic Fantasy Series I Want to Read:
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- The Demon Awakens by R. A. Salvatore
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- The Riddle-Master of He’d by Patricia A. McKillip
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- Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell
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- The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
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- Rose of the Prophet by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
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- Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts
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- Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg
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- Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
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- Guardians of the West by David Eddings
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- The Elvenbane by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey
I know, Lord of the Rings isn’t on my list. I will probably lose a lot of street-cred, but I read it and, although I appreciate the heck out of it for what it did for the genre, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Same goes for Wheel of Time… On the flip side, I also didn’t include more recent works such as Way of Kings and Name of the Wind because they haven’t been around long enough to be considered “classics” even though they’ll be near the top of my list ten years from now (in my opinion, they are perfect examples of modern fantasy and are revolutionizing how the genre is done).
Anyway, this list represents my favorites and the ones I am most looking forward to reading. Would any of these fantasy books make your list?
The Obsessive Bookseller 
Wow, awesome list! I hope you enjoy Tad Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, it’s such a fantastic and underrated trilogy <3 I also hope to get around to Patricia McKillip's The Riddle-master trilogy this year or so, I've been enjoying her books :)
My TTT
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Oh yay! I’ve had them for years and was hoping they would be worth the wait!
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I haven’t read any of these yet. Do you have a favorite among them that you suggest I start with?
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Most definitely! Of those listed, my favorite is Magician Apprentice by Feist with Homeland by Salvatore second and Assassin Apprentice third. Such great series that I’ve read many times! I hope you enjoy! :)
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I love the Wizard’s Rule book but I only read part of the sequel. The t.v. series was enjoyable though, and the Dragon of Autumn Twilight series was fun though I only read the first five books lol. :D
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Hmm, I think the second was my favorite. I do love the show though- it’s a shame it got canceled. Lol, I read them all, but the first six were the best ones so you’re not missing a whole lot… Although the saga ending was pretty epic! ;)
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I’m ashamed to say I’ve never read Assassin’s Apprentice or any Robin Hobb book. I really need to fix that!
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Oh man – you’re in for some extreme awesomeness. I should warn you that they are really slow pace so it takes a while to really see the momentum of the story. I absolutely loved them though. :)
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I REALLY want to read some of these, particularly Robin Hobb. Great list!
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Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination
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