Recommend me a page-turner of an epic book

I want something big and sweeping that I won’t be able to put down. Something that will keep me up too late at night because I just can’t wait to find out what happens next.

For me, the ultimate of these is Lonesome Dove. Sigh. I really loved that book. I also got into Shogun.

Both of these transport you to another place and time, and are fascinating.

But there are many books that win critica praise that I find boring. I got through Cold Mountain but found myself skipping whole paragraphs of wordy overblown description.

I want something that may not be art, but is a real page-turner!

Have you ever read Forever Amber?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1556524048/qid=1064264044/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/103-8097483-0403831?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Nope, sever heard of it. I read a little on the link you gave me, tell me more!

Make that, “never heard of it.” Yeesh!

The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It’s a retelling of the Arthurian legend, with a slightly different slant on who the “good guys” are.

I’d put Trinity by Leon Uris in Lonesome Dove’s category.

“Atlas Shrugged” is the best fiction book I’ve ever read!

“The Passionate Marriage” is the best non-fiction book I’ve ever let into my life.

Good Luck!

What was the other one?

Oh, and to contribute something to the thread–

Middlemarch is a big book that I really loved, and I highly recommend it.

I’ve never read Shogun, but a friend of mine says C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner books remind her of it, and she puts them in similar categories in her mind. Me, I love Foreigner but I’m not certain it’s quite what you’re looking for.

Shogun is great (and the only book mentioned on this thread I’ve read). Musashi is a great book. It’s based on a more or less true story about a swordsman in 16th century Japan and is very “epic”.

A Game of Thrones and its sequels by George R. R. Martin.

Oh my GOD you can’t put them down and you can join the rest of us who beat our heads against the wall daily waiting for book 4 (due out next summer.)

Epic… good lord yes.

snerk
Oh that was good. And pretty much sums up my opinion as well ;D

It’s not one book but a series.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

So good.

From the Beating A Dead Horse Department:

While it’s not an epic, per se, I will, once again, recommend A Prayer For Owen Meany. It is definitely a page turner.

I’d recommend A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It’s not exactly epic in the truest sense of the word, but it’s pretty long and it’s a great story. The description at Amazon says it covers the period of 1975-76, but there’s a lot of backstory involved, and an epilogue.
Fascinating story about India.

Or maybe Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. That one was great.

You might want to try the real thing:

Homer:
The Iliad
The Odyssey

Virgil:
The Aeneid

That book affected me profoundly. It is the best novel I’ve ever read.

I will be honest that it took 150-200 pages before it began to work its magic. But not it will forever haunt me.

How about The Lord of the Rings.

Most anything by James Michener. especialy “Centennial”

Keep 'em coming guys! I’ve looked them all up on Amazon and already have 5 or 6 on my ‘wish list.’

I might just go ahead and put them all in my shopping cart and get the whole thing delivered.

If my kids end up neglected because I’m spending all my time reading, I’ll have YOU to blame!