# Great fantasy epic writers: why all British? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037 "2004-06-07T02:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/61 "2004-06-10T21:36:11Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > vast fantasy epic series are … J.K. Rowling). Wha-HUH? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/62 "2004-06-10T21:39:32Z")
Perhaps I should clarify that. I’m not saying what she’s doing isn’t great, or isn’t epic (although I have my opinions on those as well,) I’m just saying it isnt a great epic. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/63 "2004-06-10T22:04:37Z")
> [@](#): > > And for another Brit scoring in both the epic and classic categories, we’ve got \*\* Moorcock\*\*. [hijack] My new favoritiest last name. Moorcock. If I ever have a sex change, my name will be _Roger Moorcock._ [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/64 "2004-06-10T23:04:35Z")
You made a reference to language in your OP but given the direction the thread has taken and the preponderance of English-speaking Dopers, I assume you were strictly looking at British vs. American literature? ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/65 "2004-06-11T02:52:33Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > Oh, and before you start willy-waving again, Chronos is right - we both deserve a thwapping because we forgot Larry Niven. I can be forgiven this, though, because I’m an amateur. I think you’re conflating posters. I presume that was directed at Exapno. Per following posts, consider it dropped. I’m also kind of emabarrassed that I used the phrase, “greater bulk” (and it’s become the contested phrase). I, for one, won’t be an epic author of any sort for quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/66 "2004-06-11T03:23:51Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Perhaps I should clarify that. I’m not saying what she’s doing isn’t great, or isn’t epic (although I have my opinions on those as well,) I’m just saying it isnt a great epic. Why not? (I’m more interested in why you don’t consider it epic than why you don’t consider it great.) ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/67 "2004-06-11T03:29:20Z")
> [@litost](#): > > You made a reference to language in your OP but given the direction the thread has taken and the preponderance of English-speaking Dopers, I assume you were strictly looking at British vs. American literature? Not at all, although that’s obviously what I’m most familiar with. I’ve read some small bits of Russian sci-fi, and lots of Latin American magical realism, but can’t think of anything else in the genre I’ve read, even in translation. But it’s been a while - I haven’t read much sci-fi or fantasy since college, which is (gasp!) 15 years ago now, so I may be misremembering which authors wrote originally in what languages. In short, if you’ve got an author in mind who writes in another language, please do share. I may not be able to discuss them knowledgeably, but then that apparently goes for a helluva lot of English-language authors as well. (And not just British and American ones. Any Irish, or Jamaican, or Indian, or Belizean fantasy authors out there?’ If English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, why are we not seeing much beyond British and American writers?) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/68 "2004-06-11T09:49:36Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > I think you’re conflating posters. No, I wasn’t; it was all response to Exapno. Now if we can just stop picking it up, I’ll put it down again… ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/69 "2004-06-12T16:09:07Z")
> [@celestina](#): > > Hey **Eva Luna** , one American writer I’ve not seen mentioned is Kate Elliott. For fantasy, she’s got the very successful _Crown of Stars_ series: > > _King’s Dragon > Prince of Dogs > The Burning Stone > Child of Flame > Crown of Stars_ > > I’ve not had a chance to read this yet. It’s on that huge list of to do reading, but from what little I’ve seen, there’s all kinds of classic references and stuff in it. I’d say it has a whole bunch of references to Christianity and the Roman Catholic church, though not in a scary proselytizing way. The series, though, is one book longer (at least) than you’ve listed. After _Child of Flame_ comes _The Gathering Storm_. She’s said that the last book will be called _Crown of Stars_, but she was planning on five books total in the beginning. The series has, unfortunately, gone on too long. The first books are intensely compelling, but by the end of the fifth, I really didn’t care very much and considered the Perils of Alain (one of the characters) to have passed way beyond absurdity and entered the realm of… wait, what comes beyond absurdity? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/70 "2004-06-12T18:26:15Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > The first books are intensely compelling, but by the end of the fifth, I really didn’t care very much and considered the Perils of Alain (one of the characters) to have passed way beyond absurdity and entered the realm of… wait, what comes beyond absurdity? “Bush in 2004”? 😃 Seriously, though, I’d go with idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037/71 "2004-06-12T22:14:32Z")
America’s idea of a grand epic is _The Great Gatsby_ by Fitzgerald. Which runs about 128 pages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-fantasy-epic-writers-why-all-british/249037.md?page=3)