Eight Best Epic Fantasy Books You Can Read For Free [March 2023]

The best epic fantasy books from Next Chapter [March 2023]

Epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that typically involves sprawling worlds, intricate plots, and a vast array of characters. These books often center around a protagonist or group of protagonists who embark on a perilous quest to save the world from some great evil. The worldbuilding in epic fantasy is often incredibly detailed, with rich histories, cultures, and mythologies that add depth and complexity to the story.

One of the defining characteristics of epic fantasy is the presence of magic. In these stories, magic is often a powerful force that can be used for good or evil, and it can have a significant impact on the plot and characters. The use of magic allows for the inclusion of fantastical creatures, such as dragons, elves, and dwarves, which are staples of the genre.

Epic fantasy is beloved by readers of all ages and has produced some of the most iconic works of literature, such as J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. These books transport readers to fantastical realms, where they can immerse themselves in epic battles, incredible magic, and complex characters. Whether you're a longtime fan or new to the genre, epic fantasy is sure to captivate your imagination and transport you to new worlds.

Below, you’ll find some of the best epic fantasy books from Next Chapter authors, as of March 2023 - all completely free to download from Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Rakuten Kobo and Google Books!

If you enjoy one of the stories below, please take a moment to leave the author a review! Don’t agree with our choices? Please leave a comment and let us know your favorite :)

Books featured on this page

• Wizard's Rise (The Severed Empire Book 1) by Phillip Tomasso

• Bronze Magic (The Sorcerer's Oath Book 1) by Jennifer Ealey

• Evil Arises (Roland Of The High Crags Book 1) by B.R. Stateham

• The Kalis Experiments (Tides Book 1) by R.A. Fisher

• Dolor and Shadow (The Seidr Cycle Book 1) by Angela B. Chrysler

• Cradle Of The Gods (The Soulstone Prophecy Book 1) by Thomas Quinn Miller

• Dream of Empty Crowns (Chosen King Book 1) by M.J. Sewall

• The Pale-Eyed Mage (The Dark Amulet Book 1) by Jennifer Ealey

Wizard's Rise (The Severed Empire Book 1) by Phillip Tomasso

Book excerpt

Mykal opened his eyes. He was on the beach, his face down in the sand. Water lapped at his feet. He jumped to his knees and, on all fours, scurried as far from the sea as he possibly could before dropping back down to the ground on his chest. He coughed water from his lungs. He gagged and choked on its saltiness salt, and spat it from of his mouth. Breathing heavily, he lifted himself onto his forearms.

He was alive. That much he knew.

He wasn’t sure if he was in one piece. One of the creatures had been at his heels.

A young girl stood there, staring at him. He recognized the blond hair, the opal broach.

He closed his eyes. He must be hallucinating.

He tried to sit up, and winced.

His chest and thigh hurt. The dorsal fins had sliced him deeply. He didn’t want an infection.

The young woman he had hoped was a hallucination, did not vanish. She still stood a hundred yards away, staring at him.

She didn’t walk toward him, or run away.

Mykal got to his feet, staggering before catching his balance. Turning around and looking at the sea. Washed up on the sand was a serpent. It easily could have been one that attacked him. It had not been there before he’d been pulled into the sea.

Bronze Magic (The Sorcerer's Oath Book 1) by Jennifer Ealey

Book excerpt

As soon as he had re-oriented himself in the quiet of the tailor’s shop, Tarkyn crossed to the door and turned the handle. The handle turned, but the door did not give when he pulled or pushed it.

“Blast. It’s locked, of course. And no doubt the tailor has the key on his person.” Tarkyn threw his hands up, “Now what?”

After a few moments of frustration, it occurred to him that there might be another exit. Sure enough, a sturdy wooden door, bolted on the inside, led into a back alley. Tarkyn cautiously drew back the bolt, opened the door and peered out into the darkness. This established little more than the fact that no one was standing beside the door waiting to pounce on him. Taking his chances he slipped out into the alleyway, pulled the door behind him and waited for his eyes to adjust. The alley was in deep shadow; the buildings too high to admit the moonlight and no streetlamp nearby to cast away the darkness. He stood with his back to the door, listening. Off to his left, he could faintly hear the noise of the crowd gathered at the remains of the Great Hall. With his hand trailing against the alley wall for guidance, he headed to his right.

He crept along until the alley intersected a small road. Here he took a left and then a right hand turn into another alley that led him all the time further from the sounds of the crowds and away from the centre of the city. This was, in fact, the sum total of his plan at this stage; to reach the edge of the city and from there, to get well away from houses and people. Without having thought it through, Tarkyn had a vague idea that the further from Tormadell he went, the less likely people would be to recognise him or to have heard what had happened tonight.

Evil Arises (Roland Of The High Crags Book 1) by B.R. Stateham

Book excerpt

The death of a city is a grim and terrible spectacle to behold. Terrible knowing all your efforts to save it were for naught. The thundering crash of masonry. The searing heat of ravaging fires hungrily consuming the city. The billowing smoke filled with terrible smells.

But worst of all, the cries of the dying. Innocent victims caught up mercilessly in a quest for conquest that could only mean, for them, either death or the cold iron shackles of slavery. And through the smoke, the ghastly beauty of a phalanx of marching dragons.

Bristling death.

Gigantic porcupines of spear-carrying infantry. The Clan Hartooth were the masters of a battlefield. In one hand, they carried vicious steel-tipped pikes twelve feet long, lowered and flashing like thousands of diamonds through the smoke. In their other hand were their distinctive clan dragon shields. Each clan had their own unique shields. Clan colors, with their clan motifs, all could be plainly seen on their lozenge-shaped shields. They are made of wood and leather. The leather came from the carcasses of their fire-breathing Winged Beasties, making them extremely difficult to cut through. The shafts of wood which composed the dragon pike were made of Hack wood. A musky, aromatic wood almost impossible to break and incapable of burning. One could smell a phalanx of pike approaching long before it was seen if the wind was right.

Yes.

There was a precision and unity in the way dragon pike arranged themselves in their traditional checkerboard formations. They seemed to flow like the waters of an unstoppable flood across a broken and confused field. Watching them approach through the flames and smoke of the dying city was a surreal fascination. Especially so when eighteen thousand pike were marching straight toward you.

The Kalis Experiments (Tides Book 1) by R.A. Fisher

Book excerpt

It wasn’t Lees’s name that Ormo gave her then. It was more than a year before his name came up. In the meantime, things returned to business as usual for Syrina, with the addition of Triglav. Watch him, steal that, kill her. Working with the owl became as natural for her as it had being alone. He seemed to know her thoughts, and he always did what she wanted.

When Lees’s name came up, it came up like all the others had.

* * *

She met Ormo in his Hall. It was decorated like his private chambers, and for that matter, like most of Eheene. Walls built from obsidian and white marble blocks made a rectangular checkered pattern, otherwise unadorned. Naphtha braziers hissed bluish-white flames in the corners and left only the top of the dais in the center of the vast room in shadows. The onyx floor whispered and hummed when Syrina’s bare feet padded over it, but she’d long ago stopped being disconcerted by the sound. Triglav circled somewhere outside. He’d find her within a few minutes of coming out and either land on her shoulder or follow above, depending on his mood.

“There’s a delicate situation I’d like you to look into,” Ormo said.

He began a lot of the jobs he gave her that way.

“Of course there is,” she said. “As usual, I’d like nothing better.”

“I know.”

Once again, she could feel his smile through the paint and shadows, as sure as she could feel Triglav’s presence somewhere outside.

“As I said, it’s a delicate matter. Subtlety is of the essence.”

“Isn’t it always?”

Dolor and Shadow (The Seidr Cycle Book 1) by Angela B. Chrysler

Book excerpt

The high morning sun bathed the castle gardens of Gunir with a touch of gold. King Tryggve breathed deep the warm spring air. The willow trees wept with streams of fresh buds. Their whip-like branches draped over the garden’s lake. He watched with a contented grin as a lone swan plunged its head into the water and up again, its silver eyes glistening in the sun. Beads of water rolled down its white back.

The swan caught sight of Tryggve and he watched her swim to the edge of the lake where the water was most shallow. Her feathers ruffled, her head bowed, and he watched, entranced, as the swan shifted its form into that of a woman with generous curves and perfect skin as white as the bird. Her hair, as pale as spring sunlight, fell down her shoulders, breasts, and back. She raised her head and smiled at him.

Her teeth, like pearls, he thought and felt his breath leave his body.

He watched enraptured as she walked from the lake to a small stone bench beneath the willow where she had abandoned her robe an hour ago.

With graceful ease, he watched his wife wrap her body in the robe. His eyes followed the slender curve of her face, her eyes, and the locks she pulled free from the fabric.

“Your eyes still take my heart as completely as the day we met,” he said as she made her way toward him. “Caoilinn.” He took up her hands and placed his mouth upon her palm.

“Such words,” she said, smiling.

“True words,” he corrected and pulled her into him. “You take my breath from me.” He buried his face into her neck and she laid her head onto his. “The children are gone,” he whispered.

Cradle Of The Gods (The Soulstone Prophecy Book 1) by Thomas Quinn Miller

Book excerpt

Ghile lay silently staring into the darkness overhead. The young ones had been taken to one of the quieter roundhouses to sleep. The music and dancing had lasted long into the night. Little by little, yawns preceded goodbyes and the families eventually left and with them, the heat.

Ghile pulled the woolen blanket up to his neck and wriggled deeper into his straw-stuffed mat. He sniffed. He would need to re-stuff the mat in the morning.

“By Daomur's beard, this straw is itchy! I will never get to sleep,” Riff whispered near him, breaking the silence.

“Neither of us will, if you keep complaining,” Ghile said.

Ghile listened to Riff shifting around trying to get comfortable. He heard a low, throaty growl.

“And what is with these hounds? Get off me you smelly beasts!” Riff pushed against Ast and Cuz who seemed to have taken a liking to their newest guest. “I sleep in an inn when we travel to Lakeside. An inn!” Riff said, having given up on trying to move the enormous Valehounds.

Ghile thought back to his many trips down out of the valley to Lakeside. The thought of all those buildings huddled together made him uncomfortable. His father felt the people of Lakeside had given up too many of the old ways to adopt to the ways of the dwarves. The people of Last Hamlet always camped outside the town wall when they visited for the festivals.

“I don't even know why Master Almoriz feels the need to come all the way to the top of the Cradle. Why do you live this high up? Do you even realize how much colder it is up here?” Riff said.

Ghile smiled in spite of himself. “My father says something about the grass up here being lusher for the herds. I don't know. Our family have always lived here. Last Hamlet is our home.”

“Properly named, that's for certain,” Riff said.

Ghile turned his head towards the central hearth where the old sorcerer lay covered in blankets. “Get any louder and you can ask him yourself,” Ghile said.

Dream of Empty Crowns (Chosen King Book 1) by M.J. Sewall

Book excerpt

Loren and Gordon were up at first light. Nearly the whole village was on the road to the choosing with them. Gordon knew how lucky they were to be so close. Some villagers had to make journeys of days and weeks to make it to the choosing on time.

Since everyone was going the same direction, it was strange to see one man leaning against a wall, not moving at all. He was just standing there. Gordon thought the man was staring at Asa’s family up ahead, but he couldn’t be sure, since there were so many people. He wondered if it was the same hooded man he had seen before, “Loren, do you see that man? Why do you think he’s just standing there?”

Loren glanced at the man with little interest, “Attendance isn’t required by law. Not everyone is excited about the choosing ceremony. The law requires all thirteen years old put their name in, but the whole world will know who the king is by tomorrow, whether they attend the choosing or not.”

Gordon still thought there was something strange about the man, but he soon forgot. Gordon waved to other friends as he saw their families along the road. Asa’s family was way ahead of them now, and Sky’s was behind. There were too many people in between to walk together. Besides, Gordon was still eager to discuss the history book he’d finished with his uncle. They discussed many kings and queens on the trip. It didn’t seem that long before they were at the courtyard awaiting the ceremony to begin.

The Pale-Eyed Mage (The Dark Amulet Book 1) by Jennifer Ealey

Book excerpt

During his lessons the next afternoon, as Jayhan dragged his way through a tedious page of arithmetic - his tutor was not a gifted educator - he thought about crows’ eyes and the village children’s taunts turning to fear. He pondered their reactions, surprised that just looking at them had turned the tables. He was just wondering whether they would have reacted in the same way if his father had not been there, when he was taken to task for having added every pair of numbers when he should have been subtracting.

He was brought abruptly back to the present by Eloquin demanding, “So, are you clear now on what you have to do?”

Guessing and hoping it was what she had said at start of the harangue, Jayhan nodded. “Yes Ma’am,” and began the page of arithmetic all over again, this time subtracting. He was up to the fifth question when suddenly the image of a well-dressed middle aged woman swam into his mind; a woman with eyes like his. Where had that come from?

As he struggled his way down the column of subtraction problems, the woman’s face stayed in his mind. Perhaps he seen her portrait somewhere? Maybe. But where?

“Jayhan, if you want time to play before dinner, you must finish these questions and get every one of them correct.” Eloquin was an attractive, dark-haired young woman who had been forced into the post of tutor as a consequence of her dissolute father gambling away the family fortune. She just wanted her young charge to complete his work in time for her to walk into the village to meet her sister, who was now working as a seamstress, and a rather interesting young man, who apparently worked somewhere in the city. She sighed in exasperation. “Jayhan, are you listening to me?”

The boy gave his head a little shake and let the image of the pale-eyed woman drift away as he applied himself to earning some play time.

There you go: eight of the best free epic fantasy books from Next Chapter in 03/2023. We hope you enjoy the stories - and if you do, please leave a comment below, or a review in Goodreads or your favorite store. It would mean a lot to us :)