[Suzerain of Sheol]

Okay, breaking the trend of literary classics here.

8. The Malazan Book of the Fallen -- Steven Erikson

Quite simply the most ambitious fantasy series ever written. In a narrative that spans upwards of 22 books now (10 for the main cycle), chronicling a history that sprawls across 300,000 years and myriad worlds, it is a novel that in every possible way deserves the title of "Epic". (except for the part about epics being sung in dactylic hexameter...)

The story follows (among many, many other things) the fate of the Malazan Empire, and it is the tale of soldiers, generals, empresses, peasants, mages and gods. Like the Homeric tales Erikson draws from, the gods (and demigoddal "Ascendants") play a large and active role in the narrative.

This is military fantasy at it's best, featuring an eclectic cast of grizzled, crusty veterans of the Malazan military machine, and the horrible trials they go through in the various wars they're forced to fight. Make no mistake: these are brutal and bleak books that fully illustrate the horror of warfare and the difficulties of a soldiering life, but there's also a thread of heroism, self-sacrifice, and compassion that gives meaning to it all.

It's a world a high magic, with continent-wrecking clashes of sorcery and ritual magic that can enact genocide on entire races. And speaking of races, Erikson blows away his competitors with the intricacy and imagination of his invented cultures (he's an archaeologist by trade). Nowhere to be found are one-note orcs and stereotyped elves, but instead fully fleshed-out unhuman societies treated with a surprising humanity in their portrayal. The T'lan Imass, in particular -- Erikson's brand of undead, stand out as a true achievement within the genre for what he manages to do with them.

Now it must be said, these books are massive. We're talking 10,000 pages and 3.5 million words, featuring a cast of literally thousands of characters. It is a tale not to be undertaken without commitment, but the rewards are like nothing else I have ever read. Erikson has made me weep both in joy and sorrow, rage at injustice, induced crippling depression at the unfair deaths of truly noble characters, made me howl with laughter (and how often does epic fantasy manage that?), surge with excitement in breathtaking battle scenes, and somehow somehow after spending SO much time in this world, left me ravenous for more at the end of The Crippled God. I could read nothing but this series for the rest of my life, and be content. (And thankfully Erikson is even now releasing a prequel trilogy with plans for a sequel trilogy after, as well as spin-off novellas and companion books. His world is truly so vast and intricate, that there is no limit to the stories that can be told within it, and he never fails to deliver.

If you're looking for the evolution of fantasy, finally casting off the fetters of Tolkien and growing into something very much approaching true literature (not that Tolkien wasn't literary, rather the genre has declined from that for some time and is only now beginning to reach those heights once more) -- this is it. Right here. This is not escapist adolescent power fantasy by any mark. This is the human condition writ large across a larger-than-life canvas soaring to the most majestic of heights and plummeting to the uttermost depths.

For anyone who is a fan of the genre (and especially of "door-stopper fantasy"), and even for those who think fantasy is childish and irrelevant to the literary canon, I can give it only my most sincere recommendation. These books changed my life.