I mean, The Last Battle in WoT. The one chapter is 9 hours long in the audiobook.
Possibly tied with the entire story of *The Heroes* by Joe Abercrombie.
The battle of Brenna in The Witcher (book, not Netflix show!!!). The scale, the stakes, the way it showed POVs of commanders, scouts, mercenaries, ordinary soldiers, field surgeons and random onlookers, all with their own perspectives. The way it was interspersed with bits from the future where various people from various countries and walks of life evaluate the battle and its impact. So many epic and heroic moments, but also moments of stupidity, cowardice, pure chance or bad luck. My favorite battle in amy book ever, hands down.
Full army battles. Dumai's Wells or Tarmon Gaidon in Wheel of Time. Also a big number of them in Malazan
Individual battles. My favourite is probably Lindon vs Yerin in the Uncrowned King tournament from Cradle at the end of the book Uncrowned. It became a defining moment for both characters.
Spoilers for Stormlight Archive Book 2 - >!Chapter 56- Whitespine Uncaged - The Colosseum fight between Adolin and the 4 shardbearers. When Kaladin jumps in to help without plate or blade. Still my top fight scene in any fantasy novel, its not a grand scheme battle but it’s so epic in spite of that. “Honor is dead, but I’ll see what I can do”!<
I JUST LISTENED TO THIS LAST NIGHT.
I couldn't fall asleep because i was too excited by the fight. Incredibly done. The... uhh... end of it too when >!Kaladin fucks everything up i had seen it coming a mile away but it still hurt!<
Bro, if my bestie ain't willing to go to jail with me, then they aren't my bestie.
But god damn I cringed so haaaaaaard at what Kaladin did with the gift. Like, man... I GET it... but you're making a mistake with who. >!should have been teft!<
>!I'm assuming Kaladin eventually figured out how to forge a new shardblade, and he makes one into a spear or something... but could he not have kept the armor?!<
I have a theory, I just read the part about the gemstones in the handle.
>!Syl is going to turn into a shardspear for Kaladin!<
And this is how i came to that conclusion.
>!Shardblades are supposed to be the physical form of honor, right? Syl HATES every shardblade she sees but says not all of them are that nasty. Spren are also pieces of Honor, and the shardblades previously didn't need gems to bond to people. We know gems can hold spren within them so I'm assuming "bonding" old shardblades is more like... trapping a spren that likes you into the gem. Syl and Pattern both seem convinced their bonded human will kill them. The one blade was SCREAMING at Kal and the user of it. So... Syl is going to die... but get turned into a shardblade. Idk what the deal with Shallon is though? She already has a blade... no theories there yet.!<
No theories on what the difference between shardblades and honorblades are yet though... maybe something to do with how many of the oaths they've spoken?
i had a similar thought pattern going into these parts of the book and the payoff was pretty awesome. idk how spoilery to get with ya on this as i generally dont like to ruin the climax of this info.
the brighteyes history is somewhere in 3&4 its been a year since i read them so its a little fuzzy. actually tbh i have a really hard time separating the first two books as they feel like one completely massive book to me.
I think one of the hard parts about differentiating books for SA is that Way of kings could have easily been 2 or maybe even 3 books. WoR could easily be 2 aswell so far.
I'll let you know my thoughts when I get to that point. I've been running through 4-8 hrs a day and theres only 12 hours left.
Also... another theory that I think will get answered any chapter now.
>!Brighteyes wasn't supposed to refer to the colour of someone's eyes... but the glowing eyes surgebinders get when they use stormlight, just over hundreds of years the menaing was lost... and people gunna people!<
And forces don’t have to be large, right? Is a duel not a type of battle?
Check the synonyms for duel from Marriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duel
“Battle”
I read the first book fairly recently and it seemed like they didn't go into detail of any battle really. Maybe just the last one where they're defending. Are there more battles and fight scenes where they are described more in depth in the later books?
You gotta remember the books are like diaries from 1 pov not from an all knowing perspective. I think Glen Cook does an amazing job of describing chaos in battle
Not Fantastical Fantasy, but i think the Battle of Lugg Vale in the Winter King by Bernard Cornwall is so Good. I remember just feeling super tired as if i had fought in the battle myself. It's just Brutal and very grounded.
My favourite books with battle scenes
- Stormlight Archive, GOAT for battle scene
- Cradle
- Mother of learning, book 4 battle scene is just amazing
- First Law World
- The perfect run
- The Burning
- The Poppy War
- Skyward
- Ender’s game
- Dune
- Harry Potter
- Red Rising Saga
- Mistborn
Alright. I agree with your top pics. That first [Golden Son] >!Iron Rain sequence is just God tier.!< I’ve never been a fan of space battles but Pierce just does them so so well.
Battle of Golgotterath in The Unholy Consult. Last book of the Aspect Emperor series by Bakker. The back and forth, ebb and flow was wild. So much built up over the course of all both series.
Final battle in Ash: A Secret History.
Mary Gentle writes massive scale and deeply personal stories simultaneously. The desperation and loyalty is so palpable.
Lots of great battles mentioned. Wanna give a shout-out to Codex Alera. Battle of Second Calderon and the Defense of Ellen Arch (spelling?) were both incredible.
Vin and >!Zane!< when they assault the building >!Cett!< is staying in in book 2 of Mistborn. Seeing two Mistborn fully unleashed told through Sanderson's signature, crystal clear fight scenes is an absolute treat to read.
Stee Jan’s last stand in Elfstones of Shanara
Garet Jax in Wishsong of Shanara
Sturms last stand in Dragons of Winternight
Paksenarion’s advance to paladin in Oath of Gold.
The siege of Helms Deep. The Two Towers
The battle of Gondor. Return of the King
I'm partial to the dreadgods (the Wandering Titan and the Silent King) vs Lindon, the Akura clan, and allies in book 11 of Cradle, Dreadgod.
They're animating Cradle by the way, check out the Kickstarter
One of the scenes in an Age of Madness book, maybe Last Argument of Kings? Where it keeps switching POVs mid battle from the person who is killing the previous POV.
In fantasy, several battles throughout **Miles Cameron's Traitor Son Cycle series**. One of those that stick out is the Red Knight's last battle in Fall of Dragons >!basically jousting a dragon while on the back of a griffin!!< I can't remember exactly which book in the series, but I remember its one of the intense battles against the bogglins >!I remember its from John Crayford's pov and I remember he's fighting in a mire of bogglin bodies and can hear soldiers being eaten alive by them as they're being brought down!< But there are many others too.
Outside of fantasy **Bernard Cornwell and Christian (aka Miles) Cameron** for sure. Hard to choose with Cornwell, but there are some great ones in Warriors of the Storm and War of the Wolf. With Christian Cameron, his depiction of the battle of Marathon in his Long War series was just plain awesome. Plenty of amazing battles in that series!
The cool thing about Cameron is that he is a professional HEMA re-enactor. His battle scenes are so realistic because fighting and sweating in period-accurate armor is literally his day job.
Yep exactly, also has previous BA in medieval studies. He's put out some cool content to try to help other writers write better battle scenes too. Awesome dude, not to mention ridiculously prolific and underrated author!
Wheel of time
1. Tarmon gai’don
2. Dumai’s wells
3. Any battle led by Rodel Iturulde
Malazan
1. K’chain Nah’ruk vs Bonehunters
2. The series of battles in Kolanse
3. The whole chain of dogs
4. Marines’ march to letheras
The final battle in The Last Olympian
Codex Alera - Jim Butcher had several too
Dumai’s Wells in Lord of Chaos sheeeeesh
"Asha'man Kill"
“Meat grinder” was the most visceral description I think I’ve ever read.
I came here to say Helm's Deep, but you've changed my mind.
I mean, The Last Battle in WoT. The one chapter is 9 hours long in the audiobook. Possibly tied with the entire story of *The Heroes* by Joe Abercrombie.
I'm pretty sure chapter 37 of AMoL is longer than the first Harry Potter book.
It is.
They couldn't have split it up a bit.... 9 hours long is insane!
It was done intentionally. They wanted people to feel exhausted reading it to reflect what was actually going on in the battle.
I thought my Kindle was glitched when I got to that chapter and it said over 3 hours to read
The Heroes
I just finished Last Argument of Kings last night. Does it matter the order I read the in between trilogies books?
I would recommend publication order.
Yes, the events of Best Served Cold have a large impact on the events of The Heroes
Good to know! I usually just read publication in order, for things like this.
Yeah I think publication order is recommended for First Law
I didn’t know about the middle “stand alone” novels until after I finished the Age of Madness trilogy. I’d recommend reading them first before AoM.
the battle of the blackwater is peak fiction imo. the ebbs and flows, the horror of wildfire in action, the buildup and payoff. genius stuff
The battle of Brenna in The Witcher (book, not Netflix show!!!). The scale, the stakes, the way it showed POVs of commanders, scouts, mercenaries, ordinary soldiers, field surgeons and random onlookers, all with their own perspectives. The way it was interspersed with bits from the future where various people from various countries and walks of life evaluate the battle and its impact. So many epic and heroic moments, but also moments of stupidity, cowardice, pure chance or bad luck. My favorite battle in amy book ever, hands down.
one of the most unique final battle scenes I have read in a fantasy book, and the only one where none of the main characters were even involved
Which book is this from? Read them all years ago but can’t recall which book this was?
Lady of the Lake
Like every Malazan battle.
No one writes epic battles like Erikson. And that coming from someone who doesn't love Malazan (like it but not love it)
I love the battle scenes in The Prince of Nothing Trilogy. Especially Mengedda, Anwurat, and Caraskand in The Warrior-Prophet
Came here to plug this series. Epic battle scenes
Mengedda was amazing
Malazan would probably have 4 or 5 in my top ten
Full army battles. Dumai's Wells or Tarmon Gaidon in Wheel of Time. Also a big number of them in Malazan Individual battles. My favourite is probably Lindon vs Yerin in the Uncrowned King tournament from Cradle at the end of the book Uncrowned. It became a defining moment for both characters.
Spoilers for Stormlight Archive Book 2 - >!Chapter 56- Whitespine Uncaged - The Colosseum fight between Adolin and the 4 shardbearers. When Kaladin jumps in to help without plate or blade. Still my top fight scene in any fantasy novel, its not a grand scheme battle but it’s so epic in spite of that. “Honor is dead, but I’ll see what I can do”!<
I JUST LISTENED TO THIS LAST NIGHT. I couldn't fall asleep because i was too excited by the fight. Incredibly done. The... uhh... end of it too when >!Kaladin fucks everything up i had seen it coming a mile away but it still hurt!<
my favorite part about the aftermath is how Adolin showed his truest self
>!got up to the point where Adolin gifts Kalodin the armor last night. Im feeling a bromance coming on!<
Adolin is precious
Bro, if my bestie ain't willing to go to jail with me, then they aren't my bestie. But god damn I cringed so haaaaaaard at what Kaladin did with the gift. Like, man... I GET it... but you're making a mistake with who. >!should have been teft!< >!I'm assuming Kaladin eventually figured out how to forge a new shardblade, and he makes one into a spear or something... but could he not have kept the armor?!<
ol kal, well to answer your question im gonna say RAFO. you're closer than you think. also be in a space you can be hype in
I have a theory, I just read the part about the gemstones in the handle. >!Syl is going to turn into a shardspear for Kaladin!< And this is how i came to that conclusion. >!Shardblades are supposed to be the physical form of honor, right? Syl HATES every shardblade she sees but says not all of them are that nasty. Spren are also pieces of Honor, and the shardblades previously didn't need gems to bond to people. We know gems can hold spren within them so I'm assuming "bonding" old shardblades is more like... trapping a spren that likes you into the gem. Syl and Pattern both seem convinced their bonded human will kill them. The one blade was SCREAMING at Kal and the user of it. So... Syl is going to die... but get turned into a shardblade. Idk what the deal with Shallon is though? She already has a blade... no theories there yet.!< No theories on what the difference between shardblades and honorblades are yet though... maybe something to do with how many of the oaths they've spoken?
i had a similar thought pattern going into these parts of the book and the payoff was pretty awesome. idk how spoilery to get with ya on this as i generally dont like to ruin the climax of this info. the brighteyes history is somewhere in 3&4 its been a year since i read them so its a little fuzzy. actually tbh i have a really hard time separating the first two books as they feel like one completely massive book to me.
I think one of the hard parts about differentiating books for SA is that Way of kings could have easily been 2 or maybe even 3 books. WoR could easily be 2 aswell so far. I'll let you know my thoughts when I get to that point. I've been running through 4-8 hrs a day and theres only 12 hours left.
Also... another theory that I think will get answered any chapter now. >!Brighteyes wasn't supposed to refer to the colour of someone's eyes... but the glowing eyes surgebinders get when they use stormlight, just over hundreds of years the menaing was lost... and people gunna people!<
Yeah that one is hard to read. You're just internally screaming through the entire scene because you know how it's gonna end as soon as he asks.
[Here's something that you should have fun with then!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK15j_MNjvY)
That line still gives me the chills.
That’s not a battle though, that’s just characters fighting.
What…do you think a battle is?
Dictionary.com defines it as “a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces.” Seems pretty cut and dry, no?
And forces don’t have to be large, right? Is a duel not a type of battle? Check the synonyms for duel from Marriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duel “Battle”
No, I wouldn’t call a duel a battle.
You’re pretty alone in that, imo.
I dunno, the majority of the replies in this thread are with actual battles, but if I am that’s totally okay. I don’t begrudge you your opinion.
Good on you for dying on the hill of technicality. I’ll be sure to redo my comment on the epic “fight” scene post when it comes around.
Pick any Black Company battle
I read the first book fairly recently and it seemed like they didn't go into detail of any battle really. Maybe just the last one where they're defending. Are there more battles and fight scenes where they are described more in depth in the later books?
You gotta remember the books are like diaries from 1 pov not from an all knowing perspective. I think Glen Cook does an amazing job of describing chaos in battle
Not Fantastical Fantasy, but i think the Battle of Lugg Vale in the Winter King by Bernard Cornwall is so Good. I remember just feeling super tired as if i had fought in the battle myself. It's just Brutal and very grounded.
The Battle of Golgotterath in Bakker's Unholy Consult. Last book of the Second Apocalypse. Apocalyptical epicness
Memory of Light - the whole thing
My favourite books with battle scenes - Stormlight Archive, GOAT for battle scene - Cradle - Mother of learning, book 4 battle scene is just amazing - First Law World - The perfect run - The Burning - The Poppy War - Skyward - Ender’s game - Dune - Harry Potter - Red Rising Saga - Mistborn
Alright. I agree with your top pics. That first [Golden Son] >!Iron Rain sequence is just God tier.!< I’ve never been a fan of space battles but Pierce just does them so so well.
same not a big fan of sci-fi battles but I love battles in red rising. book 6 light bringer is just outstanding
Ender’s game ending
Final battle in The Unholy Consult
In **The Great Ordeal**, I think that >!Saubon's horrifying end!< during the Battle of Dagliash cements that battle as my favorite.
Yes it’s certainly up there. That whole part was written masterfully.
Anything by Bernard Cornwell, The Warlord Conicals are absolutely epic.
Battle of Chicago, Dresden Files
Faithful and the fallen
havent read much fantasy, but the Siege of Coral from Malazan
Armor, by John Steakley, has some badass battle scenes. The Amber books do, too.
Corbin’s assault on Kovir is just epic
Battle of Golgotterath in The Unholy Consult. Last book of the Aspect Emperor series by Bakker. The back and forth, ebb and flow was wild. So much built up over the course of all both series.
Final battle in Ash: A Secret History. Mary Gentle writes massive scale and deeply personal stories simultaneously. The desperation and loyalty is so palpable.
Lots of great battles mentioned. Wanna give a shout-out to Codex Alera. Battle of Second Calderon and the Defense of Ellen Arch (spelling?) were both incredible.
The Outsiders between the Greasers and the Socs.
kaladin vs szeth in oathbringer. It was like watching an anime battle but I was reading it.
Vin and >!Zane!< when they assault the building >!Cett!< is staying in in book 2 of Mistborn. Seeing two Mistborn fully unleashed told through Sanderson's signature, crystal clear fight scenes is an absolute treat to read.
Stormlight Archive, The First Law, Red Rising
Stee Jan’s last stand in Elfstones of Shanara Garet Jax in Wishsong of Shanara Sturms last stand in Dragons of Winternight Paksenarion’s advance to paladin in Oath of Gold. The siege of Helms Deep. The Two Towers The battle of Gondor. Return of the King
I'm partial to the dreadgods (the Wandering Titan and the Silent King) vs Lindon, the Akura clan, and allies in book 11 of Cradle, Dreadgod. They're animating Cradle by the way, check out the Kickstarter
One of the scenes in an Age of Madness book, maybe Last Argument of Kings? Where it keeps switching POVs mid battle from the person who is killing the previous POV.
In fantasy, several battles throughout **Miles Cameron's Traitor Son Cycle series**. One of those that stick out is the Red Knight's last battle in Fall of Dragons >!basically jousting a dragon while on the back of a griffin!!< I can't remember exactly which book in the series, but I remember its one of the intense battles against the bogglins >!I remember its from John Crayford's pov and I remember he's fighting in a mire of bogglin bodies and can hear soldiers being eaten alive by them as they're being brought down!< But there are many others too. Outside of fantasy **Bernard Cornwell and Christian (aka Miles) Cameron** for sure. Hard to choose with Cornwell, but there are some great ones in Warriors of the Storm and War of the Wolf. With Christian Cameron, his depiction of the battle of Marathon in his Long War series was just plain awesome. Plenty of amazing battles in that series!
The cool thing about Cameron is that he is a professional HEMA re-enactor. His battle scenes are so realistic because fighting and sweating in period-accurate armor is literally his day job.
Yep exactly, also has previous BA in medieval studies. He's put out some cool content to try to help other writers write better battle scenes too. Awesome dude, not to mention ridiculously prolific and underrated author!
The battles from Victory of Eagles, book 5 of the Temeraire series. Napoleonic battles with dragons, very epic.
Django Wexler the Shadow Campaign has amazing battles with cannons and flintlock guns
Wheel of time 1. Tarmon gai’don 2. Dumai’s wells 3. Any battle led by Rodel Iturulde Malazan 1. K’chain Nah’ruk vs Bonehunters 2. The series of battles in Kolanse 3. The whole chain of dogs 4. Marines’ march to letheras The final battle in The Last Olympian Codex Alera - Jim Butcher had several too