Which epic fantasy writer writes the best prose, in your opinion?

Answering the OP's question, I think Tolkein writes the best prose I have read in an Epic Fantasy novel. Though I don't read much epic fantasy, I'm a scifi fan. Pretty much the only fantasy series I have read all of the books in are LOTR and Redwall.
 
Guy Gavriel Kay wins the prose award in fantasy if I'm awarding it. No one tops him.

Martin's prose is very strong, but lacks Kay's natural beauty.

Patrick Rothfuss writes well and occasionally hits wonderfully lyrical notes, and Scott Lynch can write nicely, though sometimes his affect is a little forced.
 
Does Susanna Clark count as "epic" fantasy? Likely not but Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell reads like Charles Dickens.

Another I would suggest, again assuming it qualifies as epic fantasy or fantasy at all is Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin. I would put this novel up against any contemporary "literature" of the latter part of the 20th century. I honestly believe Helprin's unpopular political views are the main reason this novel didn't receive the acclaim that it deserves. It's one of a handful of book that I re-read on a regular basis. The prose is, to put it mildly, absolutely divine, pure poetry in an overarching allegory the likes of which haven't been seen or even attempted since the Victorians.
 
I'll mention Neal Stephenson. Even though his books are often huge, I never seem to notice because the narrative flows along smoothly.
I also really enjoy K.J. Parker's mostly first person POV books. She/he has a way to make you comfortable in someone else's head.
 
No-one comes close to Jack Vance. Fritz Leiber's Swords series have a fantastic dry humour too.
 
I'd say Fritz Leiber as well...but the man can get so long winded on such trivial details at times, while ignoring much more interesting things that it's annoying.

I'll go with Tolkien myself. He's always been the author I most look up to when it comes to description and giving vivid life to a world. Sure he drags on and on at times, but if you're into that sort of thing...it's in now way a bad thing.
 
As an aspiring writer I read books I can learn from. When it comes to improving my prose my top picks are Jack Vance, Guy Gavriel Kay, and GRRM.

Of course, I'd probably mention others if I'd read them!

I would add that it's often a case of writers not being better or worse, just different. For example:

Whatever you say about A Dance with Dragons, I think GRRM upped his game in terms of writing quality. His prose brings detail and expansiveness and often (good use of short sentences) impact. I see his prose as somehow firm, rational, hammered out to near perfection, with hardly a comma out of place.

Gay Gavriel Kay's books have a more flowing, less studied prose. There certainly are commas out of place, but with that kind of rhythm and flow, who cares?

Coragem.
 
Coragem said:
Gay Gavriel Kay's books have a more flowing, less studied prose. There certainly are commas out of place, but with that kind of rhythm and flow, who cares?

Coragem.
Click to expand...


I think GGK goes out of his way to break every rule of good writing there is. The results are beautiful.
 
Hi, for me it start's with Tolkein and continues through Steven Donaldson, both epic world building fantasies, and both wonderful at setting out the visual imagery of their worlds for you to imagine. In fact Donaldson may actually be better. I'd also give a very honourable mention to Lovecraft, even though many of his stories creep me out.

Cheers, Greg.
 
For different reasons I love both Peake and Dunsany although I doubt they're 'epic' (what is epic fantasy anyway?).

I do feel however, that Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever had the privelige of reading. It's tiny and yet, I feel like I've been immersed for years when I turn that final page and after countless re-reads it still never fails to grip me.
 
Yeah i wouldnt count Lord Dunsany as epic fantasy author. Him and Vance have written stories mentioned as High Fantasy though, there is a difference.

Lord Dunsany, Jack Vance have different styles but they are unbeatable to me in fantasy in general of what i have read. I have few prose stylist left to read in SFF.
 
One fun thing I discovered a couple of weeks back is that Shelfari lets everyone enter book quotes and kindle readers (I'm not one of those) to highlight prose they like. So if you look up a book on Shelfari and it has lots of quoted/highlighted prose then you can at least say that in the opinion of the readership it has good (or at least quote-worthy) prose.
 
my vote also goes to le guin.

have yet to read GRRM, tho, but somehow i don't think i'll prefer his prose to le guin's - however, i mite like his overall story and books better. what's the lastest update on "game of thrones" series, anyways? is he finished writing all of them? i want to wait until they're all out, so i could read all the books at once, one after the other.
 
If it’s to select the best prose writer in modern epic fantasy, it’s George Martin, no question. If we can go back further, it’s of course Tolkien.

There are quite a few writers suggested in the thread who wrote wonderful prose (e.g. Peake) but who didn’t write write epic fantasy, so they are out, and I’d also contend that anyone who has suggested Robert Jordan didn’t understand the question. :)
 
William Morris
George MacDonald
James Branch Cabell
Robert Holdstock



One honorable mention , Clark Ashton Smith, produced no epic fantasy novels , mostly short stories . His prose is quite remarkable.
 
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