A list of epic proportions
Here are my five favorite epic fantasy authors; who are yours?
I have been reading epic fantasy longer than I care to admit. My first forays began as a teenager in the mid-1970s when a friend turned me on to an old fellow named J.R.R. Tolkien. I became an instant fan and have read the entire LOTR trilogy at least 25 times since then.
Like most fans of the genre, I have read more than one hundred epic fantasy novels by many authors. Here are my five favorites, ranked in order:
1)   George R.R. Martin: I prefer more magic and less grit, but Martin’s Game of Thrones is through-the-roof brilliant. It will be nice to see Martin finish what he started, but there’s no taking away what he has already accomplished in the genre.
2)   J.R.R. Tolkien: He isn’t for everybody—especially some younger readers—but where would today’s epic fantasy be without Tolkien? Some of the most memorable characters in the history of literature can be found in Lord of the Rings.
3)   Steven Erikson: Erikson’s 10-book Malazan Book of the Fallen series ranks among the greatest of all time. In terms of sheer imagination, Erikson might have no equal.
4)   Stephen Donaldson: Donaldson’s 10-book Thomas Covenant series is too dense for some readers. But his poetic prose is the finest of the past 40-plus years among all writers.
5)   Stephen King: Okay, so the Dark Tower series and his more recent Fairy Tale aren’t a classic fit. But King is the king. Enough said.
I’d love to hear from other writers and/or readers of epic fantasy.
Who are your top five?
If I get enough responses, I’ll do a follow-up post that wraps things up. (Hear that, George?)
I guess because I prefer slightly less epic fantasy (what's the word for that?), I found Stephen King's "Fairy Tale" to be the best thing I'd read in a long time!
Love GRRM as top choice and the addition of King. I’d close my eyes and gladly choose from a pile of books from all these guys.