Epic Fantasy Reading List Gets Expert Curation
Five Books recommended epic fantasy novels by Christopher Paolini, noting their "large philosophical scope and time elapsed in stories." The recommendation comes alongside a promotional post featuring a new Kindle and audio book with summaries and reviews of 100 iconic novels. Users also recommended biographies including Budiansky's work on Gödel and Plato by Robin Waterfield.
Christopher Paolini's own journey into epic fantasy began at the age of 15, when he started writing *Eragon*, the first book in what would become the internationally bestselling Inheritance Cycle. The series, which includes four main books and additional companion stories, has sold nearly 40 million copies worldwide. The five books Paolini selected as the best in the genre include classics that have heavily influenced modern fantasy: *The Lord of the Rings* by J.R.R. Tolkien, *The Earthsea Cycle* by Ursula K. Le Guin, and *Dune* by Frank Herbert. His list also features lesser-known but critically acclaimed works like *The Worm Ouroboros* by E.R. Eddison and *The Gormenghast Trilogy* by Mervyn Peake. Epic fantasy, also known as high fantasy, is characterized by its setting in a fictional "secondary" world with its own distinct rules and magical elements. These stories often feature a grand scale, a conflict between good and evil, and a hero who starts as a naive figure and grows into a pivotal role in world-altering events. Paolini himself was influenced by many of the authors he recommends, including Tolkien, Le Guin, and Herbert. A live-action television series adaptation of his novel *Eragon* is currently in early development for Disney+, with Paolini serving as a co-writer. The seemingly unrelated biography recommendations share a common thread with epic fantasy: the exploration of profound ideas and influential figures. Stephen Budiansky's "Journey to the Edge of Reason" delves into the life of Kurt Gödel, a logician whose work posed profound questions for mathematics and philosophy. Albert Einstein once called Gödel "the greatest logician since Aristotle." Robin Waterfield's "Plato of Athens" is the first full-length biography of the foundational figure of Western philosophy. The book navigates the scarce and often unreliable historical sources to create a portrait of the man who founded the Academy, the ancient world's first institution of higher learning and research.
