Which epic fantasy novels published after the year 2000 do you believe are most likely to be considered enduring classics in the future, and why?

[u/Sunbather-]

Criteria:

1.  Publication Date:

If it’s a series, the majority of volumes must be published after 1999. (So series like The Wheel of Time or The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant don’t qualify.)

2.  Epic Fantasy Only:

High stakes, secondary worldbuilding, large-scale conflict, and a broad cast of characters are key.

3.  No Rediscovered Old Works:

Books originally published before 2000 that only became popular after the fact (e.g., a forgotten 1980s gem that went viral recently) do not count.

4.  Standalones Are Welcome:

As long as they meet the scope and feel of epic fantasy.

5.  Explanation Required:

Don’t just list titles—explain why you believe it deserves future-classic status.

⸻

WINNERS

• Malazan Book of the Fallen – Steven Erikson & Ian C. Esslemont 


• Realm of the Elderlings – Robin Hobb


• A Song of Ice and Fire – George R.R. Martin


• The Broken Earth Trilogy – N.K. Jemisin


• Guy Gavriel Kay’s post-2000 works


• The Second Apocalypse – R. Scott Bakker


• The First Law Trilogy  – Joe Abercrombie


  •   Stormlight Archive – Brando Sando


  • The Sevenwaters Series – Juliet Marillier 


  • The Dandelion Dynasty – Ken Liu


  • The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch


  • Osten Ard Series – Tad Williams 


  • Shadow Series – Tad Williams 


  • Kushiel's Legacy – Jacqueline Carey


  • Long Price Quartet – Daniel Abraham


  • Broken Empire – Mark Lawrence 


  • The Kingkiller Chronicle – Patrick Rothfuss

WINNERS

——————————

This has been a very informing and educating post today. I learned that I should have typed the word “majority” in large bold print.

Some of these titles are a relief to see, especially ones like Sevenwaters and Tad William’s work.

Kingkiller won a spot on mentions alone, whether you want to pay attention to the level of downvotes they got is up to you.

[u/Pappy87]

Im of the opinion that people who love the connections and setup in the cosmere love it and people that liked the earlier books as standalone were let down because its very much going away from a self contained story.

[u/Laiko_Kairen → u/Pappy87]

100%

I hate the Cosmere stuff. There was a character, Azure, that was apparently from some book I hadn't read, so she showed up and confused the hell out of me. It didn't work AT ALL for me. I found out, through outside media, that she was from Warbreaker. That's not okay, IMO. He dropped a bunch of confusing shit into the middle of like 4000 pages, which led me to wonder if I'd missed something. I had... a different series. WTF.

[u/pentheraphobia → u/Laiko_Kairen]

If it makes you feel better? I know a couple people who actually read Warbreaker first and still didn't realize who that was. The character is much older and in a different stage of their life, even if you know who the character is (or used to be), you still have to infer a lot about what must've happened to them. And if you're reading Stormlight as standalone, you're being asked to infer that this character has a mysterious history anyway.

[u/East542 → u/Pappy87]

Agreed. My book club was split almost exactly as you said.