Epic Classics

The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion tells the earlier history of Middle-earth, recounting the events of the First and Second Ages, and introducing some of the key characters, such as Galadriel, Elrond, Elendil and the Dark Lord, Sauron. The tales of The Silmarillion are set...

Have you ever wondered why the pursuit of great ideals is so often entangled in the complexities of everyday relationships? Widely considered one of the greatest novels in the English language, George Eliot's Middlemarch is a sweeping panorama of life on the brink of profound historical change. It masterfully intertwines the destinies of diverse characters to create an unparalleled study of provincial life.

Embark on a journey beyond worlds. For years, the master sorceress Niri has lived in exile, hiding from a single terrible choice that shattered her world. But now the wind brings a warning she cannot ignore. The moment Niri dreaded has finally come: the Mistress Witch, an ancient evil long thought vanquished, is rising once more, threatening to plunge the Shadow World into unending darkness. Bound by a blood oath she cannot break, Niri must embark on a desperate journey into the heart of the growing darkness. But with dark mages and demonic creatures at her heels, her only hope is to turn ...

The greatest revenge story ever written — now in a brilliant new translation. Edmond Dantès has everything: youth, love, a promising career. In a single day, jealousy and conspiracy destroy it all. Falsely accused of treason, he is cast into the dungeon of the Château d'If, where he will spend fourteen years in darkness and despair. But a chance encounter with a dying prisoner reveals an impossible secret — the location of a vast treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. When Dantès finally escapes, he emerges as a new man: wealthy beyond measure, coldly brilliant, and consumed ...

Dante’s Inferno — Fully Illustrated Edition Descend into the timeless epic of sin, punishment, and redemption. Dante’s Inferno is not just a masterpiece of literature—it’s a journey into the human soul. This modern English edition brings Dante Alighieri’s vivid imagination to life with clear, accessible prose and over 70 stunning illustrations by Gustave Doré. Carefully crafted to preserve the poetry and power of the original, this version invites both new readers and longtime admirers to experience Inferno as never before—immersive, immediate, unforgettable. A New ...

Paradise Lost — Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light. British poet and polemicist John Milton (December 9, 1608–November 8, 1674) is best known for his epic poem, Paradise Lost. Almost 11,000 lines long, Paradise Lost was published in 10 books in 1667 and then in 12 books in 1674. In the poem, Milton chronicles the downfall of Adam and Eve, the confrontation between the Son of God and Satan, and the redemption of mankind through the Son's supreme act of sacrifice.

THE WINE-DARK SEA AWAITS In July 2026, Christopher Nolan brings Homer's Odyssey to IMAX screens worldwide, with Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, and Charlize Theron. Before you see the film, read the epic that started it all. A man trying to get home. A journey of ten years. Gods who help, gods who hinder, and monsters who devour. Homer's Odyssey is the Greek epic that invented the story — the template for every quest narrative, every homecoming, every hero who must lose everything before finding what matters. Nearly three thousand years on, Odysseus still ...

Discover the oldest story ever told—now in a powerful new translation that brings ancient Mesopotamia to vivid life. The Epic of Gilgamesh is humanity's first great work of literature, composed more than 4,000 years ago—centuries before Homer, before the Bible, before any written story you know. This is the tale that established the hero's journey, the quest for immortality, and the profound reckoning with what it means to be human and mortal. Gilgamesh is the mighty King of Uruk: two-thirds god, one-third man, blessed with superhuman strength and cursed with a restless heart. He is a ...

It begins with a golden apple and ends with the founding of Rome. In between lies the greatest story the Western world ever told—and, for three thousand years, almost no one has been able to read it whole. Until now. Everyone knows the Iliad and the Odyssey. Far fewer know that Homer's two poems were only ever parts of something larger: an eight-poem epic cycle that told the entire arc of the Trojan War, from the wedding that caused it to the death of the last hero to survive it. Six of those poems were lost. Their stories endured only in fragments, ancient summaries, and the work of ...

He was Tiger, born of the desert winds, raised as a slave and winning his freedom by weaving a special kind of magic with a warrior's skill. Now he was an almost legendary sword-dancer, ready to take on any challenge - if the price was right…or if the woman pretty enough. She was Del, born of ice and storm, trained by the greatest of Northern sword masters. Now, her ritual training completed and steeped in the special magic of her own rune sword, she had come South in search of the young brother stolen five years before.

Ryker only has one goal in his life right now: Turn a certain adventuring guild into a flaming wreck while dancing merrily through the smoldering ruins. All for the chance to get back at a handful of people. It isn’t as if they didn’t deserve it either. They had driven him from his home. Chased him physically from the very guild house itself. Simply because he wasn’t as strong as they expected him to be. As strong as he’d expected himself to be. He’d returned the next day and left with something he’d hidden away and told no one about when he found it in one of his few Dungeon Dives.

The great epic of Western literature, translated by the acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Christopher Nolan Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts...

The fall of Troy. A hero carrying his father out of the flames. A queen on a burning pyre. The founding of the greatest empire the world has known. Virgil's Aeneid is the poem that gave Rome its myth and gave Europe one of its founding epics — the story of Aeneas, the Trojan prince who escapes his city's ruin and sails west, through storm and war and the underworld itself, to found the race that will become Rome. This Erato Press edition presents the Aeneid complete in the classic verse translation of John Dryden, with an original critical essay and a life of the poet. THE POEM From the ...

The classical civilizations of Greece and Rome once dominated the world, and they continue to fascinate and inspire us. Classical art and architecture, drama and epic, philosophy and politics - these are the foundations of Western civilization. In The Classical World, eminent classicist Robin Lane Fox brilliantly chronicles this vast sweep of history from Homer to the reign of Augustus.

From the creators of National Geographic Kids’ wildly successful Greeking Out podcast, this New York Times bestselling tie-in book delivers a clever tongue-in-cheek retelling of 20 classic Greek myths. This kid-friendly collection of tales from Greek mythology showcases familiar favorites from...

Want to discover Journey to the West without reading a thousand-page classic? Journey to the West is one of the greatest legends in world literature — but the original can feel long, dense, and difficult for modern readers. This modern retelling gives you the best of the story in a faster, clearer, more accessible form. Meet Sun Wukong, the Monkey King: rebellious, hilarious, powerful, and impossible to control. After defying Heaven itself, he is forced to protect a holy monk on a dangerous journey west, facing demons, gods, monsters, temptation, and his own impossible pride. At its heart...

A 2026 Audie Award Finalist for Best Fiction Narrator An epic of the frontier, Lonesome Dove is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness. “My favorite book: there are so many that I would be afraid to say. Probably if I had to pick anything I’d say Lonesome Dove by...

A clear, reader-friendly edition of The Odyssey for modern readers. Odysseus has won the war at Troy, but the long journey home to Ithaca will test him with storms, monsters, enchantments, shipwrecks, and the anger of the gods. While he struggles across the sea, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus hold their home against suitors who believe he will never return. This Lumos Books edition keeps the force and dignity of the classic story while gently clarifying difficult wording, preserving key names, scenes, and famous moments. It includes inline explanatory footnotes and a glossary to help ...

San Kuo: Or Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong, set during the turbulent final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period (circa 184–280 AD). Widely regarded as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it combines history, legend, and myth to depict the power struggles and heroic exploits of the era.

"In The Falling World", Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud Court, has traveled with Chime and Balm to another Raksuran court. When she fails to return, her consort, Moon, along with Stone and a party of warriors and hunters, must track them down. Finding them turns out to be the easy part; freeing them from an ancient trap hidden in the depths of the Reaches is much more difficult. "The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" explores the history of the Indigo Cloud Court, long before Moon was born.