If you have ever found yourself standing in the fantasy section of a bookshop feeling slightly overwhelmed, you are not alone. Fantasy is a huge genre with dozens of sub-genres, and epic fantasy is just one of them. But it is a big one, and once you find the right series, it has a habit of changing the way you read.
So what actually makes fantasy epic?
Epic fantasy is defined by scale. We are talking about stories that span entire worlds, involve the fate of civilisations, and follow characters whose choices have consequences that ripple out far beyond their own lives. The conflict is usually enormous, often existential, and the world-building tends to be deep and detailed.
Think sweeping landscapes, ancient history, political intrigue, magic systems with their own internal rules, and casts of characters you come to know as well as old friends. Epic fantasy asks a lot of its readers, but it gives back in equal measure.
What separates epic fantasy from other types of fantasy?
High fantasy is the closest relative, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. But epic fantasy tends to emphasise the journey and the conflict more than the setting alone. Dark fantasy sits alongside it, bringing in grimmer tones and moral complexity. Heroic fantasy focuses more tightly on individual heroes. Epic fantasy tends to hold all of these elements at once.
If a story makes you feel like you are reading history that actually happened, like the world existed long before the first page and will continue long after the last, you are probably reading epic fantasy.
Where should a new reader start?
The best starting point is a series that does not assume you already know the rules. A good epic fantasy will teach you its world as you go, through the eyes of a character who is discovering it alongside you. That is something I was very deliberate about when writing The Pangean Chronicles. The world of Pangea is complex, but you are never dropped in at the deep end.
If you are ready to try something new, The Pangean Chronicles is available now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Start with book one, Awakenings, and see where Pangea takes you.
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