Pfft, as if there was such a thing. Between starting up my own business, frolicking through social media land, playing with dogs, and managing a house, my time is usually pretty eaten up. (Actually, who am I kidding? Frolicking? Playing with dogs? You people with kids feel free to make fun of me now).

Anyways, let’s start again. Let’s just pretend that you have loads of time that you want to *poof* evaporate away. My option, however, is way better than the DMV line because in it, you will be cavorting in the most epic of stories and immersing yourselves into the most exciting of lands. It’s a double BookPairing longer even than the one on The Stand.

Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (finished by Brandon Sanderson) 

Whew. In a focused reading session, I just finished the last of the 14 (!!) books in this series.  This is your quintessential fantasy series where heroes of the world are pitted against dark forces that seek to take it over. It’s Tolkien-esque but goes farther than that, drawing out multiple societies, systems of government, and species into one long epic ho-down. It’s so damn big that they even have a Wiki for it (if you’re planning on reading these, you can thank me later).

I loved these books and ate them up as quickly as you can eat up escapism fantasy. Right? There were so many many characters and some of them were absolutely thrilling to watch grow into their roles in the world. Characters that spurred “OMG what just happened??” texts to my fellow WOT nerd, Luke.

But, with a series this long, there are some cons. Jordan can sometimes spend 25 pages describing a chair. Books six to eight are a bit draggy and meh. There are so many many characters and some of them are straight jerks and you hate being stuck in the book with them. Before this dissuades you, remember that most of the time you’re with the most awesome of characters.

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

I’ve only read the first of this trilogy so far, but am in manic love with it. A young boy, raised by a kind of gypsy folk, struggles until he is admitted into the world’s university for aspiring sorcerers (though that’s not quite the right word for them….). He is amazingly skilled in just about everything he touches, but is constantly battling against rich boys in the university while he tries to make tuition each semester.

The story is told in the future, the man now an innkeeper at an out of the way pub, a history of heroism behind him. He agrees to tell his story to a chronicler who comes his way  and each novel is a day in the telling of that story. Some of my favorite parts of the book are when he discusses storytelling and I get to nerd myself up in it.

I absolutely can’t wait to read the second of the series (third is not yet out) and so, having only read the first, can’t speak to any faults I have found yet.

What are your favorite, waste your life away fantasy series?