Lies of locke lamorra was the book that got me back into reading after years and years of active addiction to heroin. A kid handed it to me, and i devoured it. The he gave me the final empire, and i was like, oh....apparently i still love reading. Im sure ive told you this story before, but i kinda owe scott lynch and brandon sanderson my life. They got me into reading again, which has been instrumental to my sobriety these past three years after my worst bout with addiction, 13 overdoses, literal 300k+ dollars blown on drugs, and other stupid shit. Books are my addiction now, and im so glad they are Ive never gone back to Lies of locke lamorra for fear of it not having that..THING it did all that time ago, but ive recently started listening to the audiobook, and its just as amazing, if not moreso than i remember. Ive read so many books since then, i forgot how amazing lynchs prose is, and how well the flashbacks match up with the current timeline.
I can relate to this completely. I don’t like thinking about the money wasted but like you these incredible stories are an amazing outlet and positive distraction from intrusive thoughts. Along with my faith I am so grateful to have found this hunger and enjoyment for reading that I never had.
Yeah! This is why I always say, books and stories have the capabilities to save lives. It did save me from a really rough situation, too, even if it's not as bad as yours! Keep reading, Sean. MANY amazing worlds await us! :)
This is what I love to hear,our stories are very similar, I am also an ex-heroin addict 6 yrs sober,and now am addicted to reading 📚, and buying books, it's so much more of the healthier addiction lol, glad to hear your story keep up the great work
Interesting to see these results! While there is plenty of overlap, there are differences across various fantasy communities, and my best guess is that the differences stem from the demographics of the communities. Thank you for compiling the results here and comparing these two communities, Petrik!
Thank you, Philip! Yeah, I think you're right. Demographics definitely play a huge part on these results! Hope you're doing well, my friend. Can't wait to see the next cover reveal of your book! :D
The compilation of the 50+ booktubers' favourite as votes is super interesting. It's easy to just watch videos and get an impression of what's popular, but seeing Malazan at #1 was a surprise for me. It was also a surprise to see that Mistborn was absent from the Booktuber list because I feel like I see it in almost every top list on Booktube. Great video, Petrik!
I'm always amazed by the absence on these lists of some really great and fun writers like Mark Lawrance. Anthony Ryan, Brent Weeks and Sebastien De Castell etc. Mark Lawrance especially should be up with Joe Abercrombie.
I love all of these lists videos. I didn’t start reading till a couple years ago and they have been extremely helpful in finding which series to read. I am not sure when I’ll be able to try new series as they release because the back log for me is enormous and always growing
Bermuda Triangle 😂 I personally have more favourite entries in common with the r/fantasy list including Kingkiller, Harry Potter, ASOIAF and of course LOTR.
The diverse taste among different fantasy communities is astounding. I’m often discovering new hit series, and I’ll often ask about books that I think everyone’s read or at least heard of, only to be met with profound ignorance. ‘Tis better that way, for variety is the spice of life
I am fairly certain that the largest and more broad the sample size is (broad as in not from one place but any and all), then the higher series like LOTR, harry potter, and wheel of time will place on the top X. In other words, the more people that vote, the more the results will appear to be similar to sales figures for that series ;] Thanks for the video, it is always interesting to hear what people's favorite things are!
Really cool to see the comparison between platforms! For some reason I'm surprised to see First Law so high up on the Reddit list. I haven't read it yet but would have thought the "all vibes no plot" of the first book would be more controversial. But I'm even more excited to get to it now.
I absolutely loved The Blade Itself! Hahaha, all vibes no plot do kinda fit the bill, though. I mean, there are plots but they're so minimal. Most of the book is character-building! :)
As always Petrik I really enjoy your videos. So clearly and intelligently done, with an open and embracing manner. No hype!!! I used to watch 3 or 4 fantasy you tube channels, now its just yours. Perhaps its a cultural preferance but the others are generally so full of forceful chatter that I've given them up. Thank you for putting this all together. My two favourite series are The Lord of the Rings, and the Realm of the Elderings. I'm currently reading The Stormlight Archive and finding it fabulous, though it wont bump either of my top two.
Thank you so much, Annie! That's very kind of you. I appreciate it. And hey, it is hard to top The Lord of the Rings and The Realm of the Elderlings. I hope you'll love The Stormlight Archive! :D
The purpose of Petrik's video: to see if data from a small sample is equivalent to data of a large sample size. Haha sorry that's all I heard in your intro Petrik, I took too many math and stat classes in college and work as an analyst on wall street 😂. Too any numbers over the years!!! 😂
Love this video! You're on fire with the unique videos this month. I'm a data person so love seeing the comparisons. I was aware of both lists and it's very interesting to see how they match up. I also love how you are always careful to say it's about taste and one is not necessarily better than another. Great vid!
This is amazingly useful to me as a stupidly ott overthinker who had already spreadsheeted top fantasy on reddit and booktubers plus those booktuber vidoes summing up tier lists from magazines and readers and then-... yeah, I have a problem.. never mind 😅
No. Believe me. You're not the only one. That's why i made this video. Not even sure why, but glad to hear I'm not the only one with this curiosity. 😂😂😂
I'm thrilled to see Fonda Lee's work with the Green Bone Saga recognized, and that of Robin Hobb with The Realm of the Elderings as well, but always super gutted to see how many of these lists are male-dominated (and the extent to which they are male-dominated) when there are so many brilliant women writing epic fantasy out there. Case in point: Janny Wurts and The Wars of Light and Shadow. It's an 11-book epic to end all epics, with stakes on a scale equal to what you'll find in Stormlight, world building and lore as intricate and detailed as Tolkien, emotional punches as gut wrenching and devastating as any you'll find in A Song of Ice and Fire or Malazan, and prose so beautiful it makes me weep. Yet Wurts rarely makes it onto any of these tier lists fantasy series and is often absent from the discussion altogether. Despite being a standout author in her own right as well as a brilliant artist who paints all of her covers and does all her own interior artwork, most people only know Janny Wurts as Raymond E. Feist's coauthor on the Empire trilogy. Which, don't get me wrong, I love the Empire trilogy to bits; it's a brilliant work and ranks as my all-time favorite fantasy series. But I am very sad that so few have read Janny Wurts or know about her wonderful work. When she announced that she handed in the final manuscript for Song of the Mysteries (book 11, the final volume of The Wars of Light and Shadow) earlier this year, it was to minimal fanfare. Saddest of all is the fact that when asked about publishing advice that she would give to her younger self, she said (via a tweet on 5 April 2023): "Writing epic fantasy: I'd have chosen either a gender neutral byline or a male pseudonym. Hands Down." This is crushing to hear. It's a dilemma I wrestled with when I was picking a pen name-and the fact that Janny Wurts had decided to publish under a recognizably female name was a huge factor that swayed me to do the same. I often wonder how much more recognition she might have received for her work had she done so. I know The Wars of Light and Shadow is on your high priority TBR but please, please, please consider bumping it up even higher because it is such an amazing work. She has a very dense style of prose so there is an adjustment period if you're not used to it or if your last few reads have been from authors who are on the opposite end of the spectrum for prose. You cannot skim read these books like you often can with others because every single word and sentence is crafted with deliberate intention. But I promise you, the payoffs are worth it. I recently did a reread of Initiate's Trial (book 9) and Destiny's Conflict (book 10) myself and it was simply glorious. I can't wait until Song of the Mysteries comes out.
I personally think that right now, the vast differences in gender, are not totally intentional. Majority of adult fantasy readers are male and for a favorite series written by women, it used to be The Realm of the Elderlings only all the time in these lists. Now we have The Green Bone Saga, and if we're talking about books instead of series, The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang or Dragon Mage by M.L. Spencer pops up, too. I think it's a sign that people are more acceptance toward a great book/series regardless of gender. However, the issue is... and this is something you can see from some of the comments here, how resilient some readers can be toward something new popping up to take over their favorites. It's like we're not allowed to have anything other than Tolkien and Martin. God forbids Tolkien not in the number 1 spot or someone not liking his books. What a cardinal sin! Regarding Janny Wurts, it's truly a sad situation. I have talked with her in details about her journey, so I knew everything you mentioned. She has certainly been dealt almost all the bad card of the publishing journey, it's insane. And yes, Wars of Light and Shadow high on my priority TBR. I actually will start the first book next month or in July. You will find out why soon! :D
@@PetrikLeo Genre is a function of marketing and marketers love to put prospective purchasers into neat little categories because the more specifically you can market, the better the conversion to sales. Regardless of trad or self-publishing, there's a strong drive to publish things that are selling (because nobody other than those with the deepest of pockets can afford to do anything else) so we end up with this situation of genres breaking down into ever more specific subgenres and niches. Personally, I think the majority of adult fantasy readers is perceived to be male because it is marketed towards men because so many of the well-known and best-selling works are written by men that rarely treat non-male characters with the same care and prominence given to the male ones and an assumption is made (fair or unfair) that it will only appeal to a male audience. Once you add in the demands on reader time and endless TBRs and the way like-for-like recommendation algorithms work...I feel like that more than anything is what contributes to the resistance you mentioned. Readers are more risk adverse and less willing to try new stuff because they are more time and attention poor. I see so many "rec me a book" threads/posts that pop up that are incredibly specific and sometimes exclusionary (e.g. "no female MCs because I identify as male and so I have a hard time/can't relate to a female MC"). It makes me really sad, because one of the joys of reading (and writing) for me is the discovery and exploring how someone utterly different to me (whether in their identity or situation or world) experiences things. Authors who write stories that don't neatly fit an existing mould-often women, often when writing stories that aren't male-centric and/or are written without a male gaze-get pushed by publishers to publish under different genres which are then specifically marketed to women. (See the many examples of female authors whose works were originally intended as adult fantasy that end up getting published as young adult.) So round and round things go in a self-perpetuating cycle, when the basic assumption doesn't hold true like M.L. Wang's Sword of Kaigen as an example...but then again, that's a gender neutral pseudonym. Every now and then, I still see readers who are shocked to discover that Robin Hobb is a woman for example (because they assumed "Robin" must be a man). Anyway, I'm so glad to hear that you'll be starting on Curse of the Mistwraith and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it!
100% with you on Janny Wurts and female writers in general. The scope of Janny vision is breathtaking and I am humble to be alive in this time where I can read such novels.
I'm surprised that the series isn't mentioned at the top on both lists. I feel like there's a diehard cult on it, but probably not too many yet in comparison.
I bet TLotR didn't get more votes because most people understand that it's not a series. Just a single book that you can buy split in three parts, which most people choose, due to the book's overall size. P.S. It was written as a single novel, passed on to the publisher as a single novel, was only sold broken-up in the beginning due to production cost (and uncertainty of how many copies it would sell), and once it made huge numbers the full version of the book was released as initially intended. It's been sold as a standalone novel (as it was written) for well over half a century, now.
Whether it's a series or not, people will still include LotR on these kind of lists. And it's proven here, too! The number of votes on r/fantasy proved it. 😁
True, I was just thinking the people who don't consider it one wouldn't. Also, I think The Green Bone Saga would be higher on the list if more people had read it. The number of ratings it has on Goodreads are much lower than the others on this list. I'm sure higher numbers would've effected the vote count in a positive way.
@@MovedbyTruth i completely agree on both accounts! I think it's only a matter of time before Green Bone Saga gets higher and higher among people's list! 😁
Technically, if we're calling Realm of the Elderlings a single series to vote for, we should count all the Middle-Earth Books (ie "the Legendarium") as the series - likely not as many people will have read the Silmarillion, but Lord of the Rings was begun as a sequel to the Hobbit, so at least in that regard it is a series, if the Hobbit has defacto inclusion. (though ironically, it was still one single red book in universe. LOL) And while we play semantics, lots of series encompass one quest narrative, and are planed as a "trilogy" because that's what Tolkien's publisher made happen.
Interesting fact: disc world books were the most shoplifted books for a number of years. They are funny, insightful, diverse and easy to read. The series developed as Terry wrote them. The range of different characters across the series is great with Rincewind and granny Weatherwax being amongst my favourites. Cohen, Captain Carrot and Death are intriguing characters worthy of consideration.
depending on my mood and events of the day one of Stormlight and Malazan is the best fantasy series for me personally lol, I'm a bit indecisive on which is the best. But I'm so happy that Malazan won being quite underrated even though Stormlight is really good and deserves all the praise and attention, I hope Malazan also becomes mainstream edit: on the reddit poll Esslemont and Erickson were separated for Malazan so if you consider them as one Malazan losta few votes because off that. Also love booktubers like you for pushing underated and self pub books
I know, right? I seriously can't choose which one is my absolute number 1 favorite series of all time. I feel like depending on my reading mood, they can always change. xD
This is interesting, but I can't give any credibility to a vote for a series that's a) incomplete or b) has been completed less than a decade. The best series of all time needs to stand the test of time. There's also a serious problem with recency bias.
That's why personally, I make two list of favorite series: completed and ongoing. That said, I'll say some series here like Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Realm of the Elderlings have quite stood the test of time. But it will be so boring if best series list contain only of them. I think it's interesting to have some new series appear as a challenger, and I guess we'll find out years after now whether they will stand the test of time. 😄
@@PetrikLeo That is an interesting discussion, there is always a "cult of new" phenomenon on arts and entertainment, but at the same time you can't dismiss people's feelings about a particular piece. Perhaps we should be making seperate lists with classics (30-40 years old or older) and modern, that would be very interesting since you don't have to carry baggage around in your lists. Everyone knows the lord of the rings harry potter etc, so in top X lists they are stealing valuable spots from a series less people would know and whose inclusion would be informational to more people! EDIT: And also that frees up slots for more classics which might be criminally underrated and not many people know about.
@@mormengil Good idea. There are so many older sagas people have never even heard of that are original and excellent, like Sheri Tepper's, or Pat McKillip's, Michael Moorcock's non-Elric series, or even classics like Gormenghast.
@@Verlopil there are many people that are not aware of even better known stuff, like Fritz Leiber's for e.g. There is always more to talk about in fantasy and sword and sorcery!
1. Lord of the Rings 2. First Law 3. Green Bone Saga 4. A Song of Ice and Fire 5. Harry Potter 6. Realm of the Elderlings (I haven't read the others that particular top 10)
For me, 1st Law is #1, Malazan close #2, GoT #3, LoTR #4… I haven’t read The Green Bone trilogy… but I think I need to dive in although I just got started on Tad Williams. I’ve read all of Stormlight/Mistborn & think they’re overrated… just very popular like YA novels
Something to keep in mind is that the r/fantasy poll gave 10 votes /per user/. So in reality it's more like "The favourite books of 1000 redditors". That's still useful, and I use it for great recommendations, but it's a very biased sample
Just asking how you got the book rankings from book tube? I think it would be more accurate if you assigned them 1-10 points from ranking so somethign like wheel of time which isn’t many peoples favourites would be much higher since it’s one of peoples favourites
It's in the description. Check out Matt's video! That's where I got the data. Booktubers voted for their top favorite series, and I put the most frequently voted as the number 1 spot.
@@TheCosmerenaut1 that's exactly the point. The purpose of this video is to compare a small sample size against much bigger sample size and see whether the result will be the same or not. I mean, I can't possibilty gather thousands of booktuber's votes, too. 😅
Another great video all these books deserve to be where they are except for A Song of Ice and Fire it's my strong opinion that it doesn't deserve to be on any list maybe five years ago but not now because basically it's never going to be finished so it's going to be in complete I just don't believe it'll ever be finished I can't recommend these books to anyone ever that's just me though I have strong feelings about this when it comes to this series I don't even consider it in my top 10 thats me tho I just finished The Lonesome Crown amazing ending to a brutal Dark Fantasy series loved every minute of it so I'm taking a break from fantasy for about a week or two reading some horror The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson and The Institute by Stephen King,also I was going to ask you have you ever heard of a writer called Charles E Gannon he usually writes sci-fi but he's wrote a couple of fantasy series either way there's a book by him I want to recommend called This Broken World (Vortex of Worlds)series not a super popular author I really think you would enjoy it though I know you're tbr's 100 Mi long like mine just give it a check another awesome video by the best booktuber on UA-cam keep up the great work
@@PoorPersonsBookReviewer Good point. From what I remember, Shadow and Claw both felt like they were more fantasy than scifi, but Sword and Citadel both had elements that made me think “Yea, this is scifi for sure” hahaha. Gene Wolfe is a genius. Will definitely reread that shit for sure. I’d say that Urth makes the scifi distinction undeniable lol
Intresting video. Glad storm got love, and harry potter. I think harry potter chould be on everyones top 5 list. Its a clasic and cultural and historical phenomenom. I think is adlist the best childrens book of all time. So wimsicle and easy.☺️
Damn... sorry but this goes to show the book tubers aren't literate if their ranking LOTR so low in the list. The reason why Tolkein is a historical icon is because his work transcends everything else by many leagues. Agree with me or not, none of the more contemporary authors come close, and evidence of that will remain in Tolkein's relevance in 50 years, and the invisibility of all the others above him on this list!
No one is disputing Tolkien's place in relevancy and legendary status. And I don't need to wait 50 years to know though that at least Sanderson and Martin name will be in the similar relevance to him eventually.
More and more people are starting to realize that just because a book was influential to the genre 50 years ago, doesn't mean that it needs to be your favourite.
First, comparing 50 BookTubers to 10K Reddit voters is far from ideal. I think Stormlight and Mistborn should have been collectively voted on as the Cosmere. Middle Earth is revered, but it is not the most popular, in part, because it is old and there are no new works. People always want moremoremore and the latest, newest shiny thing.
It is not ideal. But the idea of the video, as I said, is merely to compare a very small sample size of book reviewers against a very large sample size of readers. Hence why 50 booktubers to 10k Reddit votes picks. And then find out which one still gets picked the most often as the best one. I disagree with Middle-earth/LotR as not the most popular, though. I don't think there's any fantasy series of novels (except maybe Harry Potter/A Song of Ice and Fire as a contender) more popular than Lord of the Rings.
Lies of locke lamorra was the book that got me back into reading after years and years of active addiction to heroin. A kid handed it to me, and i devoured it. The he gave me the final empire, and i was like, oh....apparently i still love reading. Im sure ive told you this story before, but i kinda owe scott lynch and brandon sanderson my life. They got me into reading again, which has been instrumental to my sobriety these past three years after my worst bout with addiction, 13 overdoses, literal 300k+ dollars blown on drugs, and other stupid shit. Books are my addiction now, and im so glad they are
Ive never gone back to Lies of locke lamorra for fear of it not having that..THING it did all that time ago, but ive recently started listening to the audiobook, and its just as amazing, if not moreso than i remember. Ive read so many books since then, i forgot how amazing lynchs prose is, and how well the flashbacks match up with the current timeline.
That's awesome. Well done dude
I can relate to this completely. I don’t like thinking about the money wasted but like you these incredible stories are an amazing outlet and positive distraction from intrusive thoughts. Along with my faith I am so grateful to have found this hunger and enjoyment for reading that I never had.
Yeah! This is why I always say, books and stories have the capabilities to save lives. It did save me from a really rough situation, too, even if it's not as bad as yours! Keep reading, Sean. MANY amazing worlds await us! :)
This is what I love to hear,our stories are very similar, I am also an ex-heroin addict 6 yrs sober,and now am addicted to reading 📚, and buying books, it's so much more of the healthier addiction lol, glad to hear your story keep up the great work
Thank you for the kind words, everyone
Is petriks voice the greatest booktuber voice ever? Ya dang right.
Aww I'm blushing. Thank you so much! 😄
Interesting to see these results! While there is plenty of overlap, there are differences across various fantasy communities, and my best guess is that the differences stem from the demographics of the communities. Thank you for compiling the results here and comparing these two communities, Petrik!
Thank you, Philip! Yeah, I think you're right. Demographics definitely play a huge part on these results! Hope you're doing well, my friend. Can't wait to see the next cover reveal of your book! :D
The compilation of the 50+ booktubers' favourite as votes is super interesting. It's easy to just watch videos and get an impression of what's popular, but seeing Malazan at #1 was a surprise for me. It was also a surprise to see that Mistborn was absent from the Booktuber list because I feel like I see it in almost every top list on Booktube. Great video, Petrik!
Thank you so much! I know right?? I was so surprised Mistborn did not appear in the choices by Booktubers!
Thank you, Petrik! That's interesting how fast your channel became one of my favorites. Among ~300-400 that I subscribed to
Ah, thank you so much! That means a lot to me! 😄
I'm always amazed by the absence on these lists of some really great and fun writers like Mark Lawrance. Anthony Ryan, Brent Weeks and Sebastien De Castell etc. Mark Lawrance especially should be up with Joe Abercrombie.
They do appear on these kind of lists, but yeah, most of the time they're not at the top 10 spot. :)
Great list. Thank you so much Petrik!
Thank you so much for watching! :D
I love all of these lists videos. I didn’t start reading till a couple years ago and they have been extremely helpful in finding which series to read. I am not sure when I’ll be able to try new series as they release because the back log for me is enormous and always growing
Yeah I understand that. My backlog of books to read is insane now. No idea how or when I'll ever get through them all. 😂
I love this type of analysis videos - thank you for doing this and sharing 🙏🏽
You're welcome, Paromita! Glad you enjoyed it! 😄
Bermuda Triangle 😂
I personally have more favourite entries in common with the r/fantasy list including Kingkiller, Harry Potter, ASOIAF and of course LOTR.
Bermuda triangle is an apt name, right!? 😂😂
@@PetrikLeo It's fantastic 👌
I died at the name haha
The diverse taste among different fantasy communities is astounding. I’m often discovering new hit series, and I’ll often ask about books that I think everyone’s read or at least heard of, only to be met with profound ignorance. ‘Tis better that way, for variety is the spice of life
Without varieties and new things, the genre will hit a stagnant situation. It's not good. :)
Brilliant comparison Petrik! Love your unique videos like this .... keep on churning man!
Thank you so much! Means a lot to hear that! :)
Great list, the only thing I would add is the Wandering inn, started reading a few months ago and WOW.
Thank you so much! I need to read that series as soon as I can! 😄
I am fairly certain that the largest and more broad the sample size is (broad as in not from one place but any and all), then the higher series like LOTR, harry potter, and wheel of time will place on the top X. In other words, the more people that vote, the more the results will appear to be similar to sales figures for that series ;]
Thanks for the video, it is always interesting to hear what people's favorite things are!
Yeah that's true! But a smaller sample size still gives very similar results with few changes in ranking. I find that intriguing! 😁
Agreed - a lot of these smaller lists are made because of their relative echo chambers.
Like ur booklist.. happy reading to you!! 🎥📚
Thank you so much!!
Always a pleasure Petrik. Thank you.
Thank YOU, Gianni! :)
Really cool to see the comparison between platforms! For some reason I'm surprised to see First Law so high up on the Reddit list. I haven't read it yet but would have thought the "all vibes no plot" of the first book would be more controversial. But I'm even more excited to get to it now.
I absolutely loved The Blade Itself! Hahaha, all vibes no plot do kinda fit the bill, though. I mean, there are plots but they're so minimal. Most of the book is character-building! :)
I always enjoy watching ur content. Thanks man 🙏
Thank you so much! Fellow Zoro fans unite. 😄
@@PetrikLeo Yes 🙏
This video is so insightful!! Love it Petrik! I’m so glad the green bone saga made it on both lists 🙏🏼 sad TFATF didn’t make it on R/fantasy
Thank you so much, Estela! Green Bone Saga will stand the test of time! :)
I have been moved out my reading slump and it is cool to know that my now massive TBR stack is well represented in both lists
Good job overcoming the reading slump!! 😁😁
As always Petrik I really enjoy your videos. So clearly and intelligently done, with an open and embracing manner. No hype!!! I used to watch 3 or 4 fantasy you tube channels, now its just yours. Perhaps its a cultural preferance but the others are generally so full of forceful chatter that I've given them up. Thank you for putting this all together. My two favourite series are The Lord of the Rings, and the Realm of the Elderings. I'm currently reading The Stormlight Archive and finding it fabulous, though it wont bump either of my top two.
Thank you so much, Annie! That's very kind of you. I appreciate it. And hey, it is hard to top The Lord of the Rings and The Realm of the Elderlings. I hope you'll love The Stormlight Archive! :D
This was really interesting. ASOIAF is definitely my favorite series of all time.
Thank you! I found the data comparisons interesting, too. And I love A Song of Ice and Fire as well! :D
The purpose of Petrik's video: to see if data from a small sample is equivalent to data of a large sample size.
Haha sorry that's all I heard in your intro Petrik, I took too many math and stat classes in college and work as an analyst on wall street
😂. Too any numbers over the years!!! 😂
That's indeed the main purpose of the video. 😂 I should've probably used that wording rather than mine! 😂
@@PetrikLeo haha no it was perfect! Love the video!!!
Love this video! You're on fire with the unique videos this month. I'm a data person so love seeing the comparisons. I was aware of both lists and it's very interesting to see how they match up. I also love how you are always careful to say it's about taste and one is not necessarily better than another. Great vid!
Thank you so much! I like data, too. Glad you found this video enjoyable to watch! 😄
Great video! I think I agree more w the Reddit list/order. I’d only swap dresden with malice
Thank you so much, Iving! That's fair! :D
This is amazingly useful to me as a stupidly ott overthinker who had already spreadsheeted top fantasy on reddit and booktubers plus those booktuber vidoes summing up tier lists from magazines and readers and then-... yeah, I have a problem.. never mind 😅
No. Believe me. You're not the only one. That's why i made this video. Not even sure why, but glad to hear I'm not the only one with this curiosity. 😂😂😂
Very interesting! I enjoy this kind of content. It satisfies a curiosity I never knew I had as well.
Thank you! It's a curiousity I found to be interesting. Whether it serves any purpose or not! 😂😂
I'm thrilled to see Fonda Lee's work with the Green Bone Saga recognized, and that of Robin Hobb with The Realm of the Elderings as well, but always super gutted to see how many of these lists are male-dominated (and the extent to which they are male-dominated) when there are so many brilliant women writing epic fantasy out there.
Case in point: Janny Wurts and The Wars of Light and Shadow. It's an 11-book epic to end all epics, with stakes on a scale equal to what you'll find in Stormlight, world building and lore as intricate and detailed as Tolkien, emotional punches as gut wrenching and devastating as any you'll find in A Song of Ice and Fire or Malazan, and prose so beautiful it makes me weep. Yet Wurts rarely makes it onto any of these tier lists fantasy series and is often absent from the discussion altogether.
Despite being a standout author in her own right as well as a brilliant artist who paints all of her covers and does all her own interior artwork, most people only know Janny Wurts as Raymond E. Feist's coauthor on the Empire trilogy. Which, don't get me wrong, I love the Empire trilogy to bits; it's a brilliant work and ranks as my all-time favorite fantasy series.
But I am very sad that so few have read Janny Wurts or know about her wonderful work. When she announced that she handed in the final manuscript for Song of the Mysteries (book 11, the final volume of The Wars of Light and Shadow) earlier this year, it was to minimal fanfare.
Saddest of all is the fact that when asked about publishing advice that she would give to her younger self, she said (via a tweet on 5 April 2023): "Writing epic fantasy: I'd have chosen either a gender neutral byline or a male pseudonym. Hands Down."
This is crushing to hear. It's a dilemma I wrestled with when I was picking a pen name-and the fact that Janny Wurts had decided to publish under a recognizably female name was a huge factor that swayed me to do the same. I often wonder how much more recognition she might have received for her work had she done so.
I know The Wars of Light and Shadow is on your high priority TBR but please, please, please consider bumping it up even higher because it is such an amazing work. She has a very dense style of prose so there is an adjustment period if you're not used to it or if your last few reads have been from authors who are on the opposite end of the spectrum for prose. You cannot skim read these books like you often can with others because every single word and sentence is crafted with deliberate intention.
But I promise you, the payoffs are worth it. I recently did a reread of Initiate's Trial (book 9) and Destiny's Conflict (book 10) myself and it was simply glorious. I can't wait until Song of the Mysteries comes out.
I personally think that right now, the vast differences in gender, are not totally intentional. Majority of adult fantasy readers are male and for a favorite series written by women, it used to be The Realm of the Elderlings only all the time in these lists. Now we have The Green Bone Saga, and if we're talking about books instead of series, The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang or Dragon Mage by M.L. Spencer pops up, too. I think it's a sign that people are more acceptance toward a great book/series regardless of gender. However, the issue is... and this is something you can see from some of the comments here, how resilient some readers can be toward something new popping up to take over their favorites. It's like we're not allowed to have anything other than Tolkien and Martin. God forbids Tolkien not in the number 1 spot or someone not liking his books. What a cardinal sin!
Regarding Janny Wurts, it's truly a sad situation. I have talked with her in details about her journey, so I knew everything you mentioned. She has certainly been dealt almost all the bad card of the publishing journey, it's insane. And yes, Wars of Light and Shadow high on my priority TBR. I actually will start the first book next month or in July. You will find out why soon! :D
@@PetrikLeo Genre is a function of marketing and marketers love to put prospective purchasers into neat little categories because the more specifically you can market, the better the conversion to sales. Regardless of trad or self-publishing, there's a strong drive to publish things that are selling (because nobody other than those with the deepest of pockets can afford to do anything else) so we end up with this situation of genres breaking down into ever more specific subgenres and niches.
Personally, I think the majority of adult fantasy readers is perceived to be male because it is marketed towards men because so many of the well-known and best-selling works are written by men that rarely treat non-male characters with the same care and prominence given to the male ones and an assumption is made (fair or unfair) that it will only appeal to a male audience. Once you add in the demands on reader time and endless TBRs and the way like-for-like recommendation algorithms work...I feel like that more than anything is what contributes to the resistance you mentioned. Readers are more risk adverse and less willing to try new stuff because they are more time and attention poor. I see so many "rec me a book" threads/posts that pop up that are incredibly specific and sometimes exclusionary (e.g. "no female MCs because I identify as male and so I have a hard time/can't relate to a female MC").
It makes me really sad, because one of the joys of reading (and writing) for me is the discovery and exploring how someone utterly different to me (whether in their identity or situation or world) experiences things.
Authors who write stories that don't neatly fit an existing mould-often women, often when writing stories that aren't male-centric and/or are written without a male gaze-get pushed by publishers to publish under different genres which are then specifically marketed to women. (See the many examples of female authors whose works were originally intended as adult fantasy that end up getting published as young adult.) So round and round things go in a self-perpetuating cycle, when the basic assumption doesn't hold true like M.L. Wang's Sword of Kaigen as an example...but then again, that's a gender neutral pseudonym. Every now and then, I still see readers who are shocked to discover that Robin Hobb is a woman for example (because they assumed "Robin" must be a man).
Anyway, I'm so glad to hear that you'll be starting on Curse of the Mistwraith and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it!
100% with you on Janny Wurts and female writers in general. The scope of Janny vision is breathtaking and I am humble to be alive in this time where I can read such novels.
Thank you for the great work Petrik! you are the bomb
Thank you so much! Very kind of you! 😄
Great video😊. There are so many great fantasy books to read😊
Thank you so much! That's true! 😁
The Prince of Nothing trilogy by R. Scott Bakker is worthy of being on such a list.
I'm surprised that the series isn't mentioned at the top on both lists. I feel like there's a diehard cult on it, but probably not too many yet in comparison.
I bet TLotR didn't get more votes because most people understand that it's not a series. Just a single book that you can buy split in three parts, which most people choose, due to the book's overall size.
P.S. It was written as a single novel, passed on to the publisher as a single novel, was only sold broken-up in the beginning due to production cost (and uncertainty of how many copies it would sell), and once it made huge numbers the full version of the book was released as initially intended. It's been sold as a standalone novel (as it was written) for well over half a century, now.
Whether it's a series or not, people will still include LotR on these kind of lists. And it's proven here, too! The number of votes on r/fantasy proved it. 😁
True, I was just thinking the people who don't consider it one wouldn't.
Also, I think The Green Bone Saga would be higher on the list if more people had read it. The number of ratings it has on Goodreads are much lower than the others on this list. I'm sure higher numbers would've effected the vote count in a positive way.
@@MovedbyTruth i completely agree on both accounts! I think it's only a matter of time before Green Bone Saga gets higher and higher among people's list! 😁
Technically, if we're calling Realm of the Elderlings a single series to vote for, we should count all the Middle-Earth Books (ie "the Legendarium") as the series - likely not as many people will have read the Silmarillion, but Lord of the Rings was begun as a sequel to the Hobbit, so at least in that regard it is a series, if the Hobbit has defacto inclusion. (though ironically, it was still one single red book in universe. LOL)
And while we play semantics, lots of series encompass one quest narrative, and are planed as a "trilogy" because that's what Tolkien's publisher made happen.
Thanks, really enjoyed watching this video. I still have many amazing series to tead😊
Thank you so much! 😄 You and me both!
Children of Huron , yes yes yes an amazing book absolutely love it. Thank you for this video so good
I absolutely love that book! 😊
I'm dying rn haha the Bermuda triangle of never finished books haha 😂I'm using this from now on!!! 😂
Hahaha feel free to use it. I've been using it since 2016. 🤣
@@PetrikLeo can't believe I haven't noticed in the past! I'm already using it and fully adopting it in my vocab haha!
Interesting fact: disc world books were the most shoplifted books for a number of years. They are funny, insightful, diverse and easy to read. The series developed as Terry wrote them. The range of different characters across the series is great with Rincewind and granny Weatherwax being amongst my favourites. Cohen, Captain Carrot and Death are intriguing characters worthy of consideration.
I actually didn't know that. Such an interesting fact! 🤣
I bet this video took a lot of work! It's really interesting how similar the two lists were.
It did! Worth it, though. Even if it's only to satisfy my curiosity! 🤣
depending on my mood and events of the day one of Stormlight and Malazan is the best fantasy series for me personally lol, I'm a bit indecisive on which is the best. But I'm so happy that Malazan won being quite underrated even though Stormlight is really good and deserves all the praise and attention, I hope Malazan also becomes mainstream
edit: on the reddit poll Esslemont and Erickson were separated for Malazan so if you consider them as one Malazan losta few votes because off that. Also love booktubers like you for pushing underated and self pub books
I know, right? I seriously can't choose which one is my absolute number 1 favorite series of all time. I feel like depending on my reading mood, they can always change. xD
Braving Reddit? Amazing courage.
Hahahaha! 😂😂 I can't even open reddit. It's blocked by my internet provider. I got the data from other videos.
This is interesting, but I can't give any credibility to a vote for a series that's a) incomplete or b) has been completed less than a decade. The best series of all time needs to stand the test of time. There's also a serious problem with recency bias.
That's why personally, I make two list of favorite series: completed and ongoing. That said, I'll say some series here like Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Realm of the Elderlings have quite stood the test of time. But it will be so boring if best series list contain only of them. I think it's interesting to have some new series appear as a challenger, and I guess we'll find out years after now whether they will stand the test of time. 😄
@@PetrikLeo That is an interesting discussion, there is always a "cult of new" phenomenon on arts and entertainment, but at the same time you can't dismiss people's feelings about a particular piece. Perhaps we should be making seperate lists with classics (30-40 years old or older) and modern, that would be very interesting since you don't have to carry baggage around in your lists. Everyone knows the lord of the rings harry potter etc, so in top X lists they are stealing valuable spots from a series less people would know and whose inclusion would be informational to more people! EDIT: And also that frees up slots for more classics which might be criminally underrated and not many people know about.
@@mormengil that's a great idea! I'll put that in my list of videos to make! 😄
@@mormengil Good idea. There are so many older sagas people have never even heard of that are original and excellent, like Sheri Tepper's, or Pat McKillip's, Michael Moorcock's non-Elric series, or even classics like Gormenghast.
@@Verlopil there are many people that are not aware of even better known stuff, like Fritz Leiber's for e.g. There is always more to talk about in fantasy and sword and sorcery!
1. Lord of the Rings
2. First Law
3. Green Bone Saga
4. A Song of Ice and Fire
5. Harry Potter
6. Realm of the Elderlings
(I haven't read the others that particular top 10)
Niceee! It just means you still have many great series to look forward to! :D
For me, 1st Law is #1, Malazan close #2, GoT #3, LoTR #4… I haven’t read The Green Bone trilogy… but I think I need to dive in although I just got started on Tad Williams. I’ve read all of Stormlight/Mistborn & think they’re overrated… just very popular like YA novels
Although I disagree with your opinion on Stormlight, at least we can agree that First Law, Malazan, and A Song of Ice and Fire are awesome! :D
Great video
Thank you! 😊
I have not red disk world ither. If i ever do, i would love to read gurds gurds. That book also has a preatty purpol special edition.
Nice! I think I will start with Guards Guards or Small Gods. We'll see! :D
Appreciate your research effort.
Thanks, Thomas!
Something to keep in mind is that the r/fantasy poll gave 10 votes /per user/. So in reality it's more like "The favourite books of 1000 redditors". That's still useful, and I use it for great recommendations, but it's a very biased sample
Oh no! I didn't know that. 😅 As I said, I'm not active on reddit at all. I'll mention this in the description!
If Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is missing in a list, it's not a good list! 😎
I'm reading Dragonbone Chair right now and IT IS SO GOOD!
@@PetrikLeo Right?!
And he's got the most teenager-like teenager MC I've ever "met" 😂
Was interesting.
📖😌📚
Thank you! :)
Malazan!
First in last out!
well said.
Just asking how you got the book rankings from book tube? I think it would be more accurate if you assigned them 1-10 points from ranking so somethign like wheel of time which isn’t many peoples favourites would be much higher since it’s one of peoples favourites
It's in the description. Check out Matt's video! That's where I got the data. Booktubers voted for their top favorite series, and I put the most frequently voted as the number 1 spot.
@@PetrikLeo ok 👌 I understand. It’s not a very accurate ranking though due to the small sample size
@@TheCosmerenaut1 that's exactly the point. The purpose of this video is to compare a small sample size against much bigger sample size and see whether the result will be the same or not. I mean, I can't possibilty gather thousands of booktuber's votes, too. 😅
@@PetrikLeo ok I got you thanks for explaining. Good luck with your channel you seem like a really great guy!
@@TheCosmerenaut1 cheers! And thank you for the kind words. I try my best. 😆
Another great video all these books deserve to be where they are except for A Song of Ice and Fire it's my strong opinion that it doesn't deserve to be on any list maybe five years ago but not now because basically it's never going to be finished so it's going to be in complete I just don't believe it'll ever be finished I can't recommend these books to anyone ever that's just me though I have strong feelings about this when it comes to this series I don't even consider it in my top 10 thats me tho I just finished The Lonesome Crown amazing ending to a brutal Dark Fantasy series loved every minute of it so I'm taking a break from fantasy for about a week or two reading some horror The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson and The Institute by Stephen King,also I was going to ask you have you ever heard of a writer called Charles E Gannon he usually writes sci-fi but he's wrote a couple of fantasy series either way there's a book by him I want to recommend called This Broken World (Vortex of Worlds)series not a super popular author I really think you would enjoy it though I know you're tbr's 100 Mi long like mine just give it a check another awesome video by the best booktuber on UA-cam keep up the great work
Thank you so much! Glad you loved The Lonesome Crown! I haven't heard of This Broken World yet. I'll look into it! 😁
I would put The Book of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe as my #1
I really have to read that series! 😄
More scifi, but I agree. Definitely s great series.
@@Yungshamgod very true but it takes a while to figure that out lol
@@PoorPersonsBookReviewer Good point. From what I remember, Shadow and Claw both felt like they were more fantasy than scifi, but Sword and Citadel both had elements that made me think “Yea, this is scifi for sure” hahaha. Gene Wolfe is a genius. Will definitely reread that shit for sure.
I’d say that Urth makes the scifi distinction undeniable lol
Intresting video. Glad storm got love, and harry potter. I think harry potter chould be on everyones top 5 list. Its a clasic and cultural and historical phenomenom. I think is adlist the best childrens book of all time. So wimsicle and easy.☺️
Thank you so much! :)
Let me guess, Sanderson is definitely in the top 3..?
Edit: I knew it!
Stormlight and LotR at this moment will ALWAYS appear on the favorite fantasy list. 😂
Damn... sorry but this goes to show the book tubers aren't literate if their ranking LOTR so low in the list. The reason why Tolkein is a historical icon is because his work transcends everything else by many leagues. Agree with me or not, none of the more contemporary authors come close, and evidence of that will remain in Tolkein's relevance in 50 years, and the invisibility of all the others above him on this list!
No one is disputing Tolkien's place in relevancy and legendary status. And I don't need to wait 50 years to know though that at least Sanderson and Martin name will be in the similar relevance to him eventually.
More and more people are starting to realize that just because a book was influential to the genre 50 years ago, doesn't mean that it needs to be your favourite.
Lol, booktubers hate Kingkiller for some reason
I love Kingkiller Chronicle. It used to be many booktuber's favorite. Seems like their love for the series has dwindled, though.
@@PetrikLeo Yeah. Name of the Wind is my favourite book ever but the third book is taking way too long to come out.
The Stormlight Archives even being in the top 10 causes me to lose my faith in humanity.
Well, you will lose your faith further. It will be in many top 10 list for many years to come. 😅
@PetrikLeo Sadly, yes. But to each their own. Take care Petrick! 🙂
First, comparing 50 BookTubers to 10K Reddit voters is far from ideal. I think Stormlight and Mistborn should have been collectively voted on as the Cosmere. Middle Earth is revered, but it is not the most popular, in part, because it is old and there are no new works. People always want moremoremore and the latest, newest shiny thing.
It is not ideal. But the idea of the video, as I said, is merely to compare a very small sample size of book reviewers against a very large sample size of readers. Hence why 50 booktubers to 10k Reddit votes picks. And then find out which one still gets picked the most often as the best one.
I disagree with Middle-earth/LotR as not the most popular, though. I don't think there's any fantasy series of novels (except maybe Harry Potter/A Song of Ice and Fire as a contender) more popular than Lord of the Rings.
Stormlight is like the McDonald’s of fantasy novels
Not sure what's wrong with that, McDonald in my country is very delicious.
Greenbone Saga not top of either list so list invalid
It's definitely one of my tops. xD