Thanks to bdc team for arranging another prompt that hits close. I am an avid fantasy fan and in my time as a reader, I've tasted most high-fantasy novel series out there that are worth mentioning. Here I feel compelled to explain what high fantasy is.
High fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy where the creator/author imagines an entirely new world from the scratch and then fills it up with fictional races, species, and histories, for example, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. It is generally opposed by the Low-fantasy genre, where the fantasy part takes place on Earth and in real locations, such as Harry Potter.
While I enjoy low-fantasy if it's written well, I would prefer high-fantasy as my go-to type. And from so many fantasy series I've chewed through, one stands atop--the greatest fantasy books ever written in my humble opinion.
Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
10 books, 11000 pages strong, Malazan book of the fallen has no single theme as it is quite diverse. There is an empire named Malaz and its conquering the world. But the stories are not about the Malaz empire only as many different cultures, races, and species from hundreds of thousands of years apart come into play.
Take the fifth book as an example, it has no character from the first four books (and they had about 300-400 altogether).
Being an anthropologist and an archeologist, Erikson's education comes into play a lot. He allegorized historical plotlines and used them as he liked. One example could be - the red Indians vs the American settlers. There's reference to French revolution too.
Erikson often philosophizes through his characters with long monologues you usually see in victorian classics. The prose is often flowery too.
And as for the fantasy elements, well...it's hard to describe in a sentence. There are gods who regularly intervene. Different realms. The wicked don't always get what they want. Sexuality isn't used as a plot device.
And Malazan isn't a character-driven tale. Erikson stays aloof and the readers do not get attached to the characters.
This is one of the reasons why many hate this series. And also why I love it so.
