The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman. A wonderful historical novel set at the end of the Wars of the Roses and recounting the life of Richard III (who comes off rather different in Penman’s account than he does in Shakespeare’s famous play). It’s a long novel, but a real page-turner.
Maia by Richard Adams.
A Song for Arbonne (or Tigana) by Guy Gavriel Kay.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
A lot of my favorites were already mentioned like Mists of Avalon, Shogun and Pillars of the Earth.
Oh, I forgot good old John Jakes: North and South; Love and War and the Kent Family Chronicles.
Clan of the Cave Bear as well, the rest of the series quickly degenerated but man, I loved the first one.
The Doomesday Book by Connie Willis. Everything she writes is good, but this was un-put-downable. One of my favorite books ever.
I also second the recommendation for Outlander by Gabaldon, especially if you’re in the mood for some love story with your epic.
Mr. Blue Sky, I enjoyed Owen Meany from cover to cover, but I have to admit when I was done I wasn’t sure what I’d just read. I’ve mentally wrestled with it a lot since then; it is a very thought-provoking book. Glad I read it.
A wonderful book I am reading right now is titled, A Boy Called H: A Childhood in Wartime Japan by Kappa Senoh. Its a memoir of Senoh’s childhood in war time Japan written in 50 short chapters that are like in a day of a 10 year old boy. A book that I thought was superior to A Fine Balance was The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri. Excellent writing, could be a companion book to A Fine Balance. Both give detail that fills the senses and are worth reading. I really love Leon Uris, anything by him is captivating. I second any book by Sharon Kay Penman, you can’t go wrong with her. Good Luck and thanks for letting me contribute to your book list!
Marla A Boy Called H A Fine Balance The Death of Vishnu
Dune by Frank Herbert. You can stop after the first book because Herbert’s declining sanity is noticeable in the rest of the series. I’d also like to add I enjoyed it a lot more than reading Lord of the Rings.
If you’re into sci-fi, then look no further than the Night’s Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, consisting of The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God. The first two novels are split into two books each and the last is a massive 1000 page single volume (about 3000 pages overall). Don’t let the size fool you though; each one is a page-turner that will have you going to work in the morning bleary-eyed. It’s the only space opera I feel that outdoes Dune in it’s scope, story, and fleshed out interstellar societies. I’d put it on par with Lord of the Rings but it falls short of the emotional highs. It is very high energy though, and the imaginative uses of high technology are well done.
Watership Down by Richard Adams. One of my all-time favorites, and the origin of my username. There’s also a sequel, “Tales From Watership Down”, which gives a little bit of information on what happened to the rabbits after the events of the first book, but mostly it’s a collection of the stories and myths the rabbits tell.
Epics, eh? A bunch come to mind:
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Pillars of the Earth by Follet - second that recommendation. Never aspires to literature, per se, but well researched, a page turner and epic by most definitions. A fun read.
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Shogun by Clavell - second that rec, too. Haven’t read it in years, but very much puts you with Blackthorne the sailor in old Japan.
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Dune - by Herbert - last second I will offer, but have to agree that it is epic and amazing. A personal fave.
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War and Peace by Tolstoy. Pretty much the standard against which all epics are measured. Arguably one of the greatest novels ever written. Once you get past the tough Russian names, amazingly readable (okay, I only skimmed the parts about war strategy - go figure)
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Masters of Rome by McCullough - first book of the currently 6-book series = First Man in Rome. Set in Roman right before the fall of the Republic and the rise of Caesar’s Empire, you get very well-researched history with compelling story-telling. Also a fave
The Source by Michener - he’s been recommended in this thread, but I find this one to be his best.
Plenty of others, but this is a good start.
Since you started off with Lonesome Dove that pretty much killed my contribution.
But I have to share my favorite joke, which no one ever gets. Our cat, Jacques, has a habit of biting unexpectedly; it’s an act of betrayal, really, since it happens so often and without warning. We’ve tried & tried and cannot break him of this. So I find myself saying “Oh he’s a biter”. Which no one appreciates. Damnit, that’s funny![/hijack]
Anyway, if you want a tacky, lusty epic, The Thorn Birds is kinda fun. And sleazy. I’m nervous about recommending Gone With the Wind because the racism is so appalling, but if you learn to skip paragraphs it’s my absolute favorite novel. It helps to follow it up with Roots, another great epic. And while it’s not really an epic, Bonfire of the Vanities is really engrossing, as is Wolfe’s The Right Stuff.
Since you started off with Lonesome Dove that pretty much killed my contribution.
But I have to share my favorite joke, which no one ever gets. Our cat, Jacques, has a habit of biting unexpectedly; it’s an act of betrayal, really, since it happens so often and without warning. We’ve tried & tried and cannot break him of this. So I find myself saying “Oh he’s a biter”. Which no one appreciates. Damnit, that’s funny![/hijack]
Anyway, if you want a tacky, lusty epic, The Thorn Birds is kinda fun. And sleazy. I’m nervous about recommending Gone With the Wind because the racism is so appalling, but if you learn to skip paragraphs it’s my absolute favorite novel. It helps to follow it up with Roots, another great epic. And while it’s not really an epic, Bonfire of the Vanities is really engrossing, as is Wolfe’s The Right Stuff.
how about The Descent by Jeff Long? it took me about 3 days to read it, and its about 600 pages. enjoyable.
or the illuminatus trilogy .although it really takes some getting in to.
Twenty books rather than one, but it’s all one epic story, beginning with Master and Commander: The Aubrey and Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian.
I’d second War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy), Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe) and Middlemarch (George Elliott).
You might also like:
Anna Karenina - also by Tolstoy but less war stuff to wade through…
A Man in Full - also Tom Wolfe - very good
Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak - brilliant story of love, war and revolution and the human spirit/ desire. He manages to tell a story of the Russian Revolution without castigating anyone but instead, delving into the human reasons and motivation behind their actions - showing characters’ flaws as well as their strengths.
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - VERY long but very readable and funny/ sad in parts - makes you want to go to India
Not quite so long but I found it a real page turner and very enjoyable:
The True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey - the story of Ned Kelly the infamous Australian outlaw. Read it quick before the film comes out with Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom (swoon…)
Time and Again, by Jack Finney. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684801051/qid=1064328038/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-9433974-4851910
This book takes you back to turn-of-the-century New York. It is simply mesmerising. If you don’t love this book, I’ll buy it from you.
Another vote for A Suitable Boy - one of my favourite books ever. Something like 1600 pages long.
Very strange. I posted to this last night, and received an e-mail this morning that the thread had responses, etc., so I come back and my post isn’t here. Weird. Maybe I posted in the wrong thread.
Oh well.
I’m surprised then that there are new posts and no one has mentioned Aztec by Gary Jennings. That one usually pops up when someone puts epic and page-turner in the same sentence.
If you like westerns (and it seems you do), then Heart of the Country by Greg Matthews would suit you. Great story and an anti-hero like no other.
Another fat epic western but with maybe too much romance was Wanderers Eastward, Wanderers West by Kathleen Winsor. It might be hard to find though.
ROFL! Too funny! Although I have to say it was a real page turner for me. You go through pages fast skipping 20 or 30 at a time. With that one, you don’t have to worry about missing anything.
Anyway, here’s a few… YMMV.
Red Storm Rising & Hunt For Red October by Tom Clancy
Another vote here for A Game of Thrones and its sequels by George R. R. Martin.
Another great page turner is the Harry Potter series. Yes, they are very enjoyable even for adults.
I’ll third ** War and Peace **, second ** Anna Karenina **, plus add ** The Brothers Karamotzov ** for the perfect Russian epic trifecta. (BTW, get the Peavar/Volokhonsky translations of Anna and Bros. K, they well worth the extra few bucks.)
For literature closer to home, I always tell people to read any Mark Helprin novel they can get their hands on. His best by far are ** Winter’s Tale ** and ** A Soldier of the Great War **.
If you’re not in the mood for fiction but want a really good long history to fill up lonely winter nights try ** From Dawn to Decadence ** by Jaques Barzun. 800 pages of Western history fun!
Did you read the prequels and sequel to Lonesome Dove. I don’t believe they’re as good, but they’re interesting and quite long! It would probably be helpful if I could remember what they’re called…
Dead Man’s Walk
Comanche Moon
and the sequel is Streets of Laredo