How’s fulfillment going for the Neon Ghosts Kickstarter? There hasn’t been an update in a few weeks and it looks like anyone can just buy a copy now. I still haven’t received any info shipping info for my order? Kind regards!
Just got the hardcover version of your beautiful book, here where the world ends, in Madeira Island, but maybe because of that, no 'Neon Ghosts: A Witch's Sin' Deluxe Foil Bookmark'.
I finished my first book after a yearslong dry spell yesterday and told myself "I should go back to reading fantasy but picking a new series is going to be difficult". Your timing couldn't be better 🙏
I just got out of a yearslong dry spell as well! I forgot how much I loved reading fantasy in high school and got back into it. Been collecting recommendations like crazy. Congrats on getting back into reading again! 😊
I returned to reading after a decade+ out and smashed the wheel of time 14.5 book epic) in 3 months 😂 If you liked the sound of the humour books then I read small gods from discworld and it was really good and works as a standalone Also recommend Piranesi and American Gods as standalones or Joe Abercrombie / Ken Liu for their series
@@Andrew-ss7jd I also did this, but it was an even longer break of 8 years rather than two. Ended up dropping it cause I was not ready. Have now just recently (a year later) gotten back into reading, starting with the lies of locke lamora and then mistborn. It really does matter where you start - I'm sure I will love Malazan if I go to read it now (which i plan to at some point) however it really just wasn't the right choice to jump back into fantasy for me.
@@themythosarchives7520 got my friend absolutely hooked on Sando by giving her that quote from Daniel. She has just finished the whole of the Mistborn series in under three weeks. I think she just might do it
Holy shit! You finally mentioned the Belgariad!! This was my re-introduction into fantasy, back in highschool when I decided to start reading again. I had listened to my father’s copies of the Zanth series by Piers Anthony back in middle school and knew I liked fantasy so when a friend put the Belgariad into my hands it was a perfect match. Super great recommendation for a newbie reader into fantasy. 10/10
Same, my HS girlfriend got me reading that, and still one of my favorite old-school fantasy reads (I'd only read the Shannara series before that)...Honestly, Belgariad is probably THE best series to start reading Fantasy with!
The Belgariad (and the follow up Mallorean) will always have a special place in my heart as it is the first fantasy series that I was able to read in its original language (English) instead of waiting FOREVER for the French (and more expensive) translation. I learned SO MUCH English during the last 35 years in good parts by reading Fantasy. Thanks Garion, Belgarath, Polgara & friends.🙂
Gotta work on step 3; problem is, I just get so distracted (hell, I can lose days on fanfiction sites alone!), and then I grab new books before finishing the old...my kindle is so full to bursting, I don't when I'm gonna make time to get through what I've stuffed it with!
Saw a tweet about the way of kings a few weeks ago and it resparked my reading kick, havent read fantasy since the inheritance cycle in middle school and now im halfway through the cosmere
That was my gateway drug into the Cosmere as well. In a vacuum, I'd agree with Daniel about Mistborn being the safer point of entry to recommend, though.
@@akshayhere not exactly halfway but ive read sa, mistborn era 1, yumi, tress, warbreaker, elantris. Starting mistborn era 2 soon! When i read i get pretty sucked into the stories and fly through pages, also helped that im a uni student on break.
Sir Pratchett as a whole is a great intro to fantasy with Discworld (worked for teenage me lol). He combines genuine love, talent and earnestness in delivering inventive, rich, whimsical fantasy characters and elements but with that absurdist edge that is more palatable to fresh readers unaccustomed to a lot of fantasy's loftier, sometimes daunting scope, lore-dumps and verbage
I wonder how Discworld stories land nowadays with younger readers who grew up in social/digital age (i.e. post-2000s), and esp. in a non-western country. Discworld relies heavily on an inherent understanding of a pre-internet, pre-smartphone (and, frankly, a mostly 70s/80s british) way of life that is humorously, mercilessly mocked, parodied and sometimes fondly reminisced on. And the discworld stories are great... but the point of view they require, especially the more city-focused works, is getting more and more distant as the years go by.
@@ElijsDima that's a fair and interesting point. Stuff like HEX at the Unseen University is certainly dated for Gen Alpha. I still think his work is expansive enough that there's something for everyone
@@stephennootens916 discworld is amazing. I have not read good omens but this world is highly regarded as one of the best fantasy works ever and certainly the best absurdist fantasy ever. Opinions obviously vary.
I swear that Daniel’s book premise readings (also referencing Fantasy News self pub promos here) are specifically calculated to test his viewers to see who likes his content enough to stick around. It’s a test, a trial, and some may not survive.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. The Belgariad was the series that hooked me on fantasy in the early 80s. I had already read Tolkien and liked it well enough but it was Eddings who drove me to the bookstore and library looking for more. Ironically one of those I found was Raymond E Fiest. Both authors are part of the core authors I read through the 80s, 90s and beyond in Fiest’s case. Both are excellent recommendations.
A really big comedy author for me growing up was Diana Wynne Jones. Would highly recommend and Howl's Moving Castle might still be my favorite book of all time.
I'm so glad to see the Belgariad on this list! My parents are also huge fantasy fans, and when I was a kid they read stuff to me every night before bed. They DID start with the Hobbit, and followed it with Narnia and the Chronicles of Prydain (I think I had watched the Black Cauldron movie and my Dad was like "THE BOOK IS MUCH BETTER!" lol) BUT "The Belgariad" was another very early one that DEFINED my love of fantasy in so many ways. It's also one of my Dad's favorites, and as a kid I related a lot to Garion but my absolute FAVORITE will always be Silk. I'm a huge fan of charming and witty rogues, but he was the one who made me start writing my own little stories about heists and capers.
As a German (that probably taught herself to read at age 5 mainly to read fantasy): My first two books (that my mom gifted me when she noticed I could read) were "Die kleine Hexe" and "Das kleine Gespenst", both classic children's books by Ottfried Preußler. (They're still really cute to read as an adult though, a bit like The Little Prince.) What really got me sold on fantasy (and dragons) for good though was Cornelia Funke's Drachenreiter, I loved that book to pieces, and can recommend it to anyone who likes stories with a dragon companion.
UA-cam started playing the video before I opened it, and without actually looking at it I thought that was a wall of funko pops behind you and was worried that was some subliminal message for help
The Earthsea series was the first series I read as a teen that showed me that Fantasy was more than Orcs and Goblins. Also first Hard magic system I read
I never really read very much until a few years ago. My first delve into fantasy was The Wheel of Time… dove right into the deep end. 15 books and a year and a half later, Thanks a lot Daniel! Lol
Love seeing powder mage on here! Made my buddy getting into fantasy read it. Now we just will yell at each other NIKSLAUS from across the bar. Fantastic series!
I also always recommend NE Davenport (The Blood Trials), Mercedes Lackey (One Good Knight is a good starting place standalone but she has a TON more if you enjoy her), Naomi Novik (Uprooted is a great standalone and Temeraire is there if you want to commit), CE Murphy's The Negotiator Trilogy, Tasha Suri's Burning Kingdoms Trilogy, Sue Lynn Tan's Daughter of the Moon Goddess duology, Gabi Burton's Sing Me to Sleep, anything Tamora Pierce has ever written, Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, and Moniquill Blackgoose's To Shape a Dragon's Breath. Just more rep for women and BIPOC fantasy authors in general
I had to recommend a fantasy book for the bookclub I attend at my local bookshop for this month's meeting and no one in the group has really read fantasy at all except for a couple of people who read sci-fi. This video will be really helpful for me to personalise recommendations for individuals after we've talked about what I picked (Tress of the Emerald Sea by the way since it had just come out in PB). I'm also very happy that you included the Belgariad because I've been telling people to read it for years! Those were the books that made me fall in love with fantasy ❤
Just as a thank you, I hope you know had you not pushed Green Bone Saga so hard I probably never would have had what is still my favorite reading experience of the last 5 years. I still think about it from time to time and am caught off guard by how strongly I still feel about those characters and that massive story. And not far behind it is Book of the Ancestor, wow what an ending beautiful character work.
I didn't read any books for about 10 years after graduating high school and the book that got me back into reading fantasy again was Jade City by Fonda Lee. Now I can't stop adding books to my tbr.
Beautiful list, my TBR just expanded 😁. I think Night Angel trilogy would be a good suggestion. It introduced me to grimdark fantasy and I've read some comments that it introduced others into fantasy altogether.
I loved seeing The Belgariad on a recommendation list. It's a bit of an older series that I feel gets overlooked way too often Other good starting point series I've recommended are the Xanth series by Piers Anthony or the Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Keep up the great videos!
I'm bummed that the Belgariad never resonated with me. I enjoyed Tolkien as a kid and despite its weaknesses, WoT has a special place in my heart, but the Belgariad was almost cringeworthy to me in how cliche it felt (I know, it played a part in creating those in the first place, but so did those other series). I wish I had discovered it at a younger age. That might have made a difference. Anyway, I hope I'm the only one with that problem. Enjoy the series, everyone!
@@methany8788 Did you ever try Shannara, by Terry Brooks? Pretty well-written, but is sooo derivative of Tolkien that it infamously got called a "war-crime of a book" by a famous fantasy editor, lol! But honestly, if the archaic language of LOTR throws one off, Shannara is basically the same story, just in much more accessible modern prose, and a good place to start reading fantasy!
@HandofOmega I've been meaning to, but kept putting it off. Reading time is hard to come by these days. I'm not too worried about language. I just want some obfuscation of the fact that the book is following the same old formula. It's been a while since I read the Belgariad, but that's what I remember. It just felt too in-your-face.
@@methany8788 I agree that The Belgariad as a series is pretty staid. However, if someone has never read a fantasy book and is intimidated by Tolkien, I'd argue that the series is more accessible. It's about as generic in plot as you can really get, and I think that's one of it's strengths as a book recommendation.
For those who aren't interested in heavy world building, I want to give a mention to the short fiction of the early 20th century. Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, etc. All of these authors had incredibly beautiful writing styles, which took you to other worlds with the atmosphere of their words alone. Honestly, I wish there was still room for this in the modern era of fantasy.
@HandofOmega Oh yeah, I've been meaning to get around to them for a while. I have Birthgrave on my shelf rn, but I just haven't got around to it yet. To throw a rec back at you, Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe is an absolute masterpiece of prose and atmosphere.
I love Lies of Locke Lamora and the all the Gentlemen Bastards books, but the actual writing and layout of the books can be daunting and confusing for a newer fantasy reader. I personally bounced off of it 3 times before becoming my favorite series lol. I have seen similar sentiments online with the constant flip flop between the present and the past.
Also it's far from finished so it's in much the same category as Game of Throne and Name of the Wind. Although I prefer Name of the Wind and Gentleman Bastards personally.
It's more of a good starting point for people who are new to fantasy but aren't new to reading novels. If you can handle a crime thriller, political drama, or historical romance, you can handle the Gentleman Bastards.
I'm glad someone pointed this out. I started it and barely made it past the prologue, I intend to go back to it but I would not consider it a entry-level fantasy book and I consider myself a somewhat experienced fantasy reader
I totally agree. It was actually the first adult fantasy book I read and the first 100 or so pages were tough for me. BUT it is now one of my favorite books.
...Am I the only one who started reading all the flashbacks first through, instead of alternating between the time zones, like you're clearly supposed to do? I dunno, somehow that just felt more natural to me.
Happy to hear that the First Law trilogy picks up a bit after book one. I just finished "The Blade Itself" and I love the characters but I am definitely looking forward to the plot picking up the pace.
A quick note for fantasy newbies: you may have noticed that modern fantasy books tend to run long. In terms of page count, and in terms of the number of volumes. If you find this threatens your ability to enjoy the genre, then you should know that there are many fantasy books that are both short and excellent. Some recommendations: The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance The Elric Saga (also the Corum and Hawkmoon books) by Michael Moorcock The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny Tales of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirrlees Chronicles of the Deryni by Katherine Kurtz The Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen Not only are they all pretty good, but you're goimg to see the roots of a lot of modern fantasy series in these. And they're all pretty short, so you can use them to take a breather after some epic tome from Erikson or Sanderson or the like.
I think as a Diskworld recommendation, it can be great as a starting point, but I would recommend seeing it as separate sub series, and just picking one (I like City Watch) to start with, and if you like it, you can go wide, or just pick another sub series. Also, as an intro to Gaiman, it kind of straddles the line between fantasy and magical realism, but “The Ocean At The End of the Lane” is great. Anansi Boys is also a good starting point with him. If you don’t mind possibly never getting the end, Kingkiller is one I’ve recommended to people who loved Harry Potter but haven’t read much fantasy as adults. I sort of see it as “Harry Potter, but Kvothe’s response and school experience seems more believable than Harry’s slacking off”
The Tiffany Aching series was my absolute favorite series when I was a kid (and Discworld overall today :)). I also love Gaiman. The ocean at the end of the lane is definitely a good starting point and was mine (besides Coraline which I read as I kid but didn’t know it was from Gaiman at the time). I think Stardust could also be a good starting point.
I’ve been desperately trying to read again after highschool English and a year of college caused me to stop completely. You have my gratitude disheveled goblin!!!!!
The Gentlemen Bastards series is one of my favorite series I’ve ever read, and it has so much to do with the brilliant and often HILARIOUS dialogue and banter between the characters.
One category I think worth recommending to someone wanting to start reading fantasy is 'fairy-tale-adjacent'! I feel like most people will know the basic story of fairy tales, so there are plenty of books with either modern fairy tales or straight-up retellings that make for a great stepping stone. Heck, two steps in one author: Robin McKinley wrote a VERY approachable (might even be shelved in middle-grade) Beauty and the Beast retelling called simply Beauty...and then later in her career she wrote Rose Daughter, a much more deep, thoughtful, slow and winding and poetic retelling of the very same story. Short story collections are also a fun place to start in any genre! Not as much of a commitment as a full novel, and you can pick an anthology on a theme that looks fun to you and get exposed to multiple fantasy authors to pique your interest
I can't recommend The Long Earth series enough. Pratchett sci-fantasy and humor with some harder science-fiction from Stephan Baxter, The Long Earth is a fantastic series.
That was a really neat series. I'm also a fan of "hard sci-fi written by people with STEM PhDs", and Pratchett's involvement really did an amazing job at toning down Baxter's usual "you will need to do independent research to understand what I've written" vibe.
Since it's been a minute since you commented and nobody has mobbed you yet, here you go. Give Mistborn a shot (or The Way of Kings if you prefer your sprawling epics).
Nice to see the mention of the Belgariad here! It's ideas seemed very derivative, but it's the easiest fantasy series to consume that I've ever read, with great characters. I've only read the Belgrariad though, not the following series.
The follow up, The Malloreon is great as well. It's refreshing to see Eddings being recommended, considering the controversy around his personal life. His work should be read for enjoyment. Keep the other stuff out of it.
@@dalicieux Yall gonna have to elaborate on that because Marion Zimmer Bradley abused her children and help her husband to hide his sa of children and percure new victims for him to groom and people still spam recommendations for Mists of Avalon.
I didn’t start heavy fantasy reading till high school (small indigenous community) - I got my own library card and the first books I picked up for Weis and Hickman Death Gate Cycle. Looooved it. I still own a second hand copy of the series. After that I read Belgariad, and I thought it was so cool. A few years later in university I found d Lord of the Rings (again my background meant I didn’t realise it was probably the most famous fantasy story).
Im new to readings books as a hobby. Fantasy is my favorite genre so my first book/series was Mistborn because everybody was talking about Sanderson. Im reading Elric saga right now.
Yay David and Leigh Eddings and the Belgariad!! I love that series and authors, grew up on the Belgariad and enjoyed the writing and world building enough to read all their other books. The Belgariad is definitely the best series of theirs IMHO, and there's a bunch more books in that world if you get hooked.
I’ve been wanting to get back into fantasy after mostly reading crime fiction and classics for years. I picked up Warbreaker and Assassin’s Apprentice from the library today and I can’t wait to dive in!
Paolini would be another good one. The Inheritance Cycle was my first fantasy series outside of LoTR and Harry Potter, and helped make me a lifelong fan of the genre.
So happy to see the Belgariad getting some love. While I had read The Hobbit and Chronicles of Narnia as a child Pawn of Prophecy was the first book I bought for myself, and really made me love reading. It's a fantastic starting point in the genre.
One series I don't hear much about is the Godserfs Trilogy. Very interesting world, each character has their own unique voice, and deals with a lot of stuff not dealt with in fiction (pregnancy, feeding an army, maimed main characters). Highly recommended for people looking for something different.
The book that got me hooked on Fantasy, and reading in general: The Eye of the World! It was 9th grade and my sister pushed it on me. I couldn’t stop until book 7. Took a break to read other things and picked it up again after Sanderson finished the series. For me, it was a perfect place to start.
I AM SO GLAD PERDIDO STREET STATION IS GETTING THE PROPS IT DESERVES YYYYAYAYAAAAAASSSSS Also, would highly recommend Mieville’s Un Lun Dun as an amazing and imaginative fantasy book for younger readers
Funny timing, after 2 years of watching your content, 2024 was the year I decided to actually start reading more (before 2024 I read MAYBE 1 or 2 books a year. I do read comics though so that was something I guess). And after allll the great stuff I've heard you recommend, I've developed a sort of reading list of my own to start reading more, and more specifically, reading some scifi/fantasy. I've previously read the first 2 Dune books before the first movie (2021) came out, but I started the year by rereading those so I can continue the series soon and refresh my memory, while also being a way to ease my way back into the habit of reading. After that it's all new territory! I started with The Hobbit, and I'm currently making my way through LOTR. My next sci fi reads will either be the next 2 Dune books or the Foundation trilogy, though I haven't decided which yet. As for Fantasy, after LOTR, I have settled on your favorite for my next read through, WoT (I've been dying to read it because how you endlessly praise it!) And if you think I'm intimidated by 14 books, I'll have you know I caught up with One Piece around the time you did (also based on your high recommendation!), so length doesn't detract me from picking something up! Anyways, just wanted to give a quick thanks to you for getting me back into books and giving me a LOT of books to read through, hopefully people will find this video useful and get into reading Fantasy, or reading in general!
My true introduction to a fantasy series, was the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. I picked up the first book from my middle school library in 1986, and never stopped reading sci-fi/fantasy.
Awesome to still see Lies of Locke Lamora receiving love. It was my re-introduction to reading, and it was reccomended by this guy obsessed with Wheel Of Time and Goblins. Now I also love both!
This is great timing!… I just finished Wheel of Time like 2 weeks ago (my first fantasy that is NOT a manga or anime as an adult) and I have NO CLUE what to read next… everything else seems so small in comparison 🤣 probably shouldn’t have started with the LONGEST series 😅
Here to recommend the Half Orcs series by David Dalglish. It is quite dark fantasy but don't let the start discourage you. It's fast paced and easy to read. He just finished the last book in the series but there are more connected in the same world. Enjoy!
I have read nothing but Sanderson for 4 years lmao. He was kind of my introduction to the fantasy/sci fi genre. So many new books to check out, so little time.
I liked your choices, good varieties mentioned, Belgariad under appreciated (although not sure if it would hold up or if it is nostalgia on my part). A couple of missing things though: Urban Fantasy - obviously Jim Butcher "Dresden Files" is the most common here, and could work fine as a starting point, although Storm Front is maybe not the best first book, but there are lots of other urban fantasy / paranormal authors too for instance pick any one of: Kim Harrison's "Hollows", Seanan McGuire's "October Dye", Patricia Briggs's "Mercy Thompson", Ilona Andrews "Kate Daniels", Jennifer Estep "Elemental Assassin", Tanya Huff "Blood series", Kevin Hearne "The Iron Druid", Richelle Mead "Georgia Kincaid", Laurell K Hamilton "Anita Blake", and Charlaine Harris "Southern Vampire Mysteries" (that True Blood was adapted from). These are often approachable as they are often quicker shorter reads so less intimidating for newer readers to the genre. Overlapping with many, but not all, of the above is the Romantasy books as well. Obviously Rebecca Yarros "Fourth Wing" is the breakout hit of the recent year, and Sarah J Mass and ACOTAR has been one of the main players for the last decade, but you could fit in at least half the urban paranormal books above as well depending on how much you want to balance the romance and fantasy things like Grishaverse's Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, or Cruel Prince by Holly Black, or even Twilight to go back to a previous breakout from this category (before it was a category label). I also liked Poison Study by Maria Snyder or going back again the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey which is underappreciated. I'm sure someone that reads more from this category than I could likely pick the best/right ones. I don't know if there are as many as in straight sci-fi, but short stories/novellas might also be an entry ramp for fantasy and might be worth recommending, but again I'm not the best person for that as I tend not to read as many and the ones that I like tend to be sci-fi. In the authors to mention, watch, it is good that Wizard of Earthsea got Le Guin mentioned, but I'd try to find a way to get Guy Gavriel Kay (maybe a subgenre on fantasy historic fiction which could bring in many of his but also bring in things like poppy war and Naomi Navok's Temeraire would also fit?), Robin Hobb, and Lois McMaster Bujold just as authors very well worth reading.
My first Joe book was the heroes, followed by best served cold. Hooked me and I read the rest after. I agree totally that there are connections I missed out on, I'm looking at you shivers, but I don't know if I would have been so enthusiastic about the first law without that initial kick. Keep up the good work.
On the Hobbit/The Little Price recommendation, Wee Free Men might be a fun alternative and On the comedy book section id say Guards, Guards! Is also a great (gotta show Pratchett some more love lol)
Well, I now have a bunch of new series added to my amazon wishlist to buy. I completely agree with the Belagarid series. I had to stay at a physical rehab facility to rehab my knees, and my mother decided to buy me the 5 in 1 book set for the series. Eddings has a lot of excellent series to read. I think I've at least heard of 2/3 of the books that you recommended. Another good, and easy to read series that I would recommend is the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. There are 7 main novels in the series so far and 1 novella "interlude" so far. I'm not sure if the series is finished or not yet. I've only made it through the first 4 books so far.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold is a great place to start reading fantasy! Bujold is a master of characters and settings and the story feels straightforward enough without holding your hand. It is a trilogy, technically, but the first book is fine as a standalone as well.
I recently put "The Once and Future King" on my tbr. It’s not a huge commitment (even though I don’t have much trouble with those in and of itself) but it’s a important piece of fantasy history, and I always wanted to know the details of that particular legend.
Fantasy books are awesome when done right (Twilight Harry Potter take notes). One fantasy series I keep going back to, over and over again because its just so good, is Redwall by Brian Jacques (pronounced Jakes), the descriptions the adventures the food 🤤🤤so good. I keep going back to this series and his other books because of just how fun they are, most fantasy books don't let you see yourself in that world (besides Narnia) and some are just so dark and hard to follow *cough*Harry Twilight *cough hack* but Redwall, both me my friends and other readers I know just whiz through the books its so easy to follow and is so fun to picture yourself there with the characters in the midst of battle in the middle of the festivals in the group of friends exploring the world or young ones going off on adventure. I overly recommend it to people but you can't blame me once you start the Redwall series or the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy.
If you want to get into GRRM but don’t want to commit to a large incomplete series but still want to get the same vibe I would recommend A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
I jumped into The Fifth Season blind and without a lot of fantasy under my adult belt. While I was completely lost for the first half I loooovveeddd it and ran through the whole series quickly. NK Jeminsin set the bar for me while I continue to read more and more fantasy.
I just want to say that Tress of the Emerald Sea can be another place to start with Sanderson. Now it is the only one of his books I have read, but that being said, I can confirm I didn't feel like I was missing anything and I am way more excited about finally jumping into The Cosmere. Again, without having read anything else from him, but highly hoping this is true, I believe it is an excellent taste of his writing style and frankly one of my favorite books of the year and I honestly think a new all time favorite. So now it feels beyond silly I haven't read more from him and want to get into Mistborn asap and stop it gathering dust on my shelf!
A pretty good list and I'm pleased to say I've read a few of your recommendations. My intro was the Earthsea trilogy and maybe it's gender, but I've read more female fantasy writers than male. Diana Duane and her Tales of the Five. Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master trilogy. Susan Coon's Sentient Planets quartet. Some of my reading is rather light like Juanita Coulson's books, but Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern is a wonderful fantasy series. Hope you do more videos discussing this genre.
my family didn't believe me when i said that sanderson writes faster than i can read, but then the secret projects happened and then they believed me lol
I had a weird crash into fantasy reading growing up. I started with Discworld then straight into Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) then into Wheel of Time (which consumed my teenage years) :P
Hopefully this might be useful to me. I been trying to find fantasy I would like off and on for years and so far the major series I have liked have been The Dark Tower, Harry Potter and His Dark Martial. The only one I didn't finish yet because half way through the second to last book life did what it does and I just never got around to finishing it yet.
If you like the inventiveness of Sanderson's worlds and magic systems, but also want something darker (and less PG), I would recommend The Coldfire Trilogy by Celia Friedman. It's a fantastic series that's close to impossible to put down, and Gerald Tarrant is hands down one of the best characters in the genre (yes, I will die on this hill). If you want something that feels more like classic fantasy (the kind with dragons, magic, and swords), but doesn't have a whiny teenage boy as it's main character; Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly might be up your alley. BrandoSando himself has mentioned it as the book that got him into fantasy as a teenager. It's basically about a 38 year old witch who's drawn between her ambition for power, and her dragonslayer husband and their sons. There's also a really well written dragon, and an evil witch.
recommending all my favorites and then topping it off with Good muthaflubbin' Omens? Hell yeah! Great list, great recommendations, great video my dude!
When you were discussing the fantasy books for younger readers, have you ever read the The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander? I feel like that's a must read series for younger audiences that still hits home as I've grown older. The Phantom Tollbooth is another excellent fantasy book for young readers, though it's definitely different than the other fantasy books imo.
I really enjoyed the first Mistborn trilogy until the end when I had to look up Brandon's religious affiliation because I felt so smacked in the face by it. I'd love to take your love for it as a reason to continue, but I've heard you say you didn't notice the over-the-top religious aspect, so I don't know if I can trust you on this.
Thank you for the heads up about The First Law series - I read the first book and it was ok but not amazing and I've been on the fence about starting book 2 or planning world domination.
Seeing the current state of affairs, i'd be happy if you picked world domination. Can't be any worse than it is today. You'll be missing out on a hell of a series though!!! Abercrombie only gets better!
Or if you’re interested you could checkout Neon Ghosts at shop.wraithmarked.com/products/neon-ghosts-a-witchs-sin-hardcover
How’s fulfillment going for the Neon Ghosts Kickstarter? There hasn’t been an update in a few weeks and it looks like anyone can just buy a copy now. I still haven’t received any info shipping info for my order? Kind regards!
Wait Lynch plans to end the Gentleman Bastards with novellas or the Thorn of Emberlain?
Just got the hardcover version of your beautiful book, here where the world ends, in Madeira Island, but maybe because of that, no 'Neon Ghosts: A Witch's Sin' Deluxe Foil Bookmark'.
I finished my first book after a yearslong dry spell yesterday and told myself "I should go back to reading fantasy but picking a new series is going to be difficult". Your timing couldn't be better 🙏
I just came back to reading after a dry spell of not reading for about 2 years and decided to read Malazan 💀
Which series have you chosen?
I just got out of a yearslong dry spell as well! I forgot how much I loved reading fantasy in high school and got back into it. Been collecting recommendations like crazy. Congrats on getting back into reading again! 😊
I returned to reading after a decade+ out and smashed the wheel of time 14.5 book epic) in 3 months 😂
If you liked the sound of the humour books then I read small gods from discworld and it was really good and works as a standalone
Also recommend Piranesi and American Gods as standalones or Joe Abercrombie / Ken Liu for their series
@@Andrew-ss7jd I also did this, but it was an even longer break of 8 years rather than two. Ended up dropping it cause I was not ready. Have now just recently (a year later) gotten back into reading, starting with the lies of locke lamora and then mistborn. It really does matter where you start - I'm sure I will love Malazan if I go to read it now (which i plan to at some point) however it really just wasn't the right choice to jump back into fantasy for me.
"Have you heard about Brandon Sanderson?"
- me just meeting someone for the first time
"He can publish faster then you can read" gave me a good laugh.
It’s true unless you have super speed for reading.
No, it’s impossible to be as productive as that man, they kill people over that stuff, and don’t ask me who t h e y is.
That's just facts. Like gravity or the three layers of existence
@@themythosarchives7520 got my friend absolutely hooked on Sando by giving her that quote from Daniel. She has just finished the whole of the Mistborn series in under three weeks. I think she just might do it
@@LEONDONZO🤔 do you mean maverty?
(sorry, I know this joke is only tangentially related to the topic of this video but I had to.)
*Goblin Drug Dealer voice* You wanna read some books?
i love this so much xD
Holy shit! You finally mentioned the Belgariad!! This was my re-introduction into fantasy, back in highschool when I decided to start reading again.
I had listened to my father’s copies of the Zanth series by Piers Anthony back in middle school and knew I liked fantasy so when a friend put the Belgariad into my hands it was a perfect match.
Super great recommendation for a newbie reader into fantasy. 10/10
Same, my HS girlfriend got me reading that, and still one of my favorite old-school fantasy reads (I'd only read the Shannara series before that)...Honestly, Belgariad is probably THE best series to start reading Fantasy with!
The Belgariad (and the follow up Mallorean) will always have a special place in my heart as it is the first fantasy series that I was able to read in its original language (English) instead of waiting FOREVER for the French (and more expensive) translation. I learned SO MUCH English during the last 35 years in good parts by reading Fantasy. Thanks Garion, Belgarath, Polgara & friends.🙂
Step 1, pick up book
Step 2, read book
Step 3, don't stop reading
Step 4, finish book
Step 5, move onto next book, and continue till death.
Gotta work on step 3; problem is, I just get so distracted (hell, I can lose days on fanfiction sites alone!), and then I grab new books before finishing the old...my kindle is so full to bursting, I don't when I'm gonna make time to get through what I've stuffed it with!
Sanderson should always enter rooms with a walk-on song like a WWE wrestler.
Saw a tweet about the way of kings a few weeks ago and it resparked my reading kick, havent read fantasy since the inheritance cycle in middle school and now im halfway through the cosmere
That was my gateway drug into the Cosmere as well. In a vacuum, I'd agree with Daniel about Mistborn being the safer point of entry to recommend, though.
Halfway through the cosmere in a few weeks? That's impressive.
@@akshayhere not exactly halfway but ive read sa, mistborn era 1, yumi, tress, warbreaker, elantris. Starting mistborn era 2 soon! When i read i get pretty sucked into the stories and fly through pages, also helped that im a uni student on break.
So glad to see Belgariad mentioned. By sheer happenstance this was my childhood and intro to fantasy. Much appreciation for this vid ❤
Decided to start reading fantasy this year and bought my first few books because of your channel. Thanks!
Sir Pratchett as a whole is a great intro to fantasy with Discworld (worked for teenage me lol). He combines genuine love, talent and earnestness in delivering inventive, rich, whimsical fantasy characters and elements but with that absurdist edge that is more palatable to fresh readers unaccustomed to a lot of fantasy's loftier, sometimes daunting scope, lore-dumps and verbage
I wonder how Discworld stories land nowadays with younger readers who grew up in social/digital age (i.e. post-2000s), and esp. in a non-western country. Discworld relies heavily on an inherent understanding of a pre-internet, pre-smartphone (and, frankly, a mostly 70s/80s british) way of life that is humorously, mercilessly mocked, parodied and sometimes fondly reminisced on. And the discworld stories are great... but the point of view they require, especially the more city-focused works, is getting more and more distant as the years go by.
@@ElijsDima that's a fair and interesting point. Stuff like HEX at the Unseen University is certainly dated for Gen Alpha. I still think his work is expansive enough that there's something for everyone
I don't know, reading Pratchett early on could be a problem: depending on the book, it'll set the bar pretty high for subsequent reads.
Is the series as good as good omens because I remember really liking that book when my brother told me to read it years ago.
@@stephennootens916 discworld is amazing. I have not read good omens but this world is highly regarded as one of the best fantasy works ever and certainly the best absurdist fantasy ever. Opinions obviously vary.
I'm really glad you included The Belgariad, it's one of my favourites and it definitely does not get enough love!
I swear that Daniel’s book premise readings (also referencing Fantasy News self pub promos here) are specifically calculated to test his viewers to see who likes his content enough to stick around. It’s a test, a trial, and some may not survive.
Learning the alphabet is helpful
As a dyslexic I’m still working on that one! /s
@@DanielGreeneReviews that shirt is the bomb
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. The Belgariad was the series that hooked me on fantasy in the early 80s. I had already read Tolkien and liked it well enough but it was Eddings who drove me to the bookstore and library looking for more. Ironically one of those I found was Raymond E Fiest. Both authors are part of the core authors I read through the 80s, 90s and beyond in Fiest’s case. Both are excellent recommendations.
I can’t say how happy I was hearing you recommending The Magicians so much. It’s legit one of my fav piece of media ever.
A really big comedy author for me growing up was Diana Wynne Jones. Would highly recommend and Howl's Moving Castle might still be my favorite book of all time.
I'm so glad to see the Belgariad on this list! My parents are also huge fantasy fans, and when I was a kid they read stuff to me every night before bed. They DID start with the Hobbit, and followed it with Narnia and the Chronicles of Prydain (I think I had watched the Black Cauldron movie and my Dad was like "THE BOOK IS MUCH BETTER!" lol) BUT "The Belgariad" was another very early one that DEFINED my love of fantasy in so many ways. It's also one of my Dad's favorites, and as a kid I related a lot to Garion but my absolute FAVORITE will always be Silk. I'm a huge fan of charming and witty rogues, but he was the one who made me start writing my own little stories about heists and capers.
As a German (that probably taught herself to read at age 5 mainly to read fantasy):
My first two books (that my mom gifted me when she noticed I could read) were "Die kleine Hexe" and "Das kleine Gespenst", both classic children's books by Ottfried Preußler. (They're still really cute to read as an adult though, a bit like The Little Prince.)
What really got me sold on fantasy (and dragons) for good though was Cornelia Funke's Drachenreiter, I loved that book to pieces, and can recommend it to anyone who likes stories with a dragon companion.
So glad that someone is mentioning Preußler. Krabat was my intro to fantasy.
UA-cam started playing the video before I opened it, and without actually looking at it I thought that was a wall of funko pops behind you and was worried that was some subliminal message for help
It is kinda crazy how Daniel chose to put a funkopop on his novel's cover.
I can't wait until Daniel sells out and we get Neon Ghosts funko pops
The Earthsea series was the first series I read as a teen that showed me that Fantasy was more than Orcs and Goblins. Also first Hard magic system I read
I never really read very much until a few years ago. My first delve into fantasy was The Wheel of Time… dove right into the deep end. 15 books and a year and a half later, Thanks a lot Daniel! Lol
Got into the Dresden Files from an older rec video of yours so looking forward to expanding the TBR even more
After not reading for a few years The Green Bone Saga was a really good entry point for me
Love seeing powder mage on here! Made my buddy getting into fantasy read it. Now we just will yell at each other NIKSLAUS from across the bar. Fantastic series!
Love this kind of content Daniel! Excellent suggestions, and many I’m going to add to my reading list!
I also always recommend NE Davenport (The Blood Trials), Mercedes Lackey (One Good Knight is a good starting place standalone but she has a TON more if you enjoy her), Naomi Novik (Uprooted is a great standalone and Temeraire is there if you want to commit), CE Murphy's The Negotiator Trilogy, Tasha Suri's Burning Kingdoms Trilogy, Sue Lynn Tan's Daughter of the Moon Goddess duology, Gabi Burton's Sing Me to Sleep, anything Tamora Pierce has ever written, Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, and Moniquill Blackgoose's To Shape a Dragon's Breath. Just more rep for women and BIPOC fantasy authors in general
Screenshoted this, will check them out. Thank you!
@@superfaniol90 I hope you enjoy them, they're some of my favorite authors!
I am reading powder mage series and it’s so good , happy to see here!!!!
I had to recommend a fantasy book for the bookclub I attend at my local bookshop for this month's meeting and no one in the group has really read fantasy at all except for a couple of people who read sci-fi. This video will be really helpful for me to personalise recommendations for individuals after we've talked about what I picked (Tress of the Emerald Sea by the way since it had just come out in PB). I'm also very happy that you included the Belgariad because I've been telling people to read it for years! Those were the books that made me fall in love with fantasy ❤
Just as a thank you, I hope you know had you not pushed Green Bone Saga so hard I probably never would have had what is still my favorite reading experience of the last 5 years. I still think about it from time to time and am caught off guard by how strongly I still feel about those characters and that massive story. And not far behind it is Book of the Ancestor, wow what an ending beautiful character work.
So many great recommendations in here (I have read a decent amount of them, but not all). Thank you for the great vid.
I didn't read any books for about 10 years after graduating high school and the book that got me back into reading fantasy again was Jade City by Fonda Lee. Now I can't stop adding books to my tbr.
Beautiful list, my TBR just expanded 😁. I think Night Angel trilogy would be a good suggestion. It introduced me to grimdark fantasy and I've read some comments that it introduced others into fantasy altogether.
I really enjoyed the Belgariad when I read it a few years ago for what it is: classic fantasy. Still hope you do a full video on it some day.
I loved seeing The Belgariad on a recommendation list. It's a bit of an older series that I feel gets overlooked way too often
Other good starting point series I've recommended are the Xanth series by Piers Anthony or the Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.
Keep up the great videos!
I'm bummed that the Belgariad never resonated with me.
I enjoyed Tolkien as a kid and despite its weaknesses, WoT has a special place in my heart, but the Belgariad was almost cringeworthy to me in how cliche it felt (I know, it played a part in creating those in the first place, but so did those other series).
I wish I had discovered it at a younger age. That might have made a difference.
Anyway, I hope I'm the only one with that problem. Enjoy the series, everyone!
@@methany8788 Did you ever try Shannara, by Terry Brooks? Pretty well-written, but is sooo derivative of Tolkien that it infamously got called a "war-crime of a book" by a famous fantasy editor, lol! But honestly, if the archaic language of LOTR throws one off, Shannara is basically the same story, just in much more accessible modern prose, and a good place to start reading fantasy!
@HandofOmega I've been meaning to, but kept putting it off. Reading time is hard to come by these days.
I'm not too worried about language. I just want some obfuscation of the fact that the book is following the same old formula. It's been a while since I read the Belgariad, but that's what I remember. It just felt too in-your-face.
@@methany8788 I agree that The Belgariad as a series is pretty staid. However, if someone has never read a fantasy book and is intimidated by Tolkien, I'd argue that the series is more accessible. It's about as generic in plot as you can really get, and I think that's one of it's strengths as a book recommendation.
For those who aren't interested in heavy world building, I want to give a mention to the short fiction of the early 20th century. Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, etc. All of these authors had incredibly beautiful writing styles, which took you to other worlds with the atmosphere of their words alone. Honestly, I wish there was still room for this in the modern era of fantasy.
I'm not sure if they'd still be considered "modern", but if that's your taste, I'd recommend Michael Moorcock and Tanith Lee!
@HandofOmega Oh yeah, I've been meaning to get around to them for a while. I have Birthgrave on my shelf rn, but I just haven't got around to it yet. To throw a rec back at you, Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe is an absolute masterpiece of prose and atmosphere.
I love Lies of Locke Lamora and the all the Gentlemen Bastards books, but the actual writing and layout of the books can be daunting and confusing for a newer fantasy reader. I personally bounced off of it 3 times before becoming my favorite series lol. I have seen similar sentiments online with the constant flip flop between the present and the past.
Also it's far from finished so it's in much the same category as Game of Throne and Name of the Wind. Although I prefer Name of the Wind and Gentleman Bastards personally.
It's more of a good starting point for people who are new to fantasy but aren't new to reading novels. If you can handle a crime thriller, political drama, or historical romance, you can handle the Gentleman Bastards.
I'm glad someone pointed this out. I started it and barely made it past the prologue, I intend to go back to it but I would not consider it a entry-level fantasy book and I consider myself a somewhat experienced fantasy reader
I totally agree. It was actually the first adult fantasy book I read and the first 100 or so pages were tough for me. BUT it is now one of my favorite books.
...Am I the only one who started reading all the flashbacks first through, instead of alternating between the time zones, like you're clearly supposed to do? I dunno, somehow that just felt more natural to me.
Happy to hear that the First Law trilogy picks up a bit after book one. I just finished "The Blade Itself" and I love the characters but I am definitely looking forward to the plot picking up the pace.
A quick note for fantasy newbies: you may have noticed that modern fantasy books tend to run long. In terms of page count, and in terms of the number of volumes.
If you find this threatens your ability to enjoy the genre, then you should know that there are many fantasy books that are both short and excellent. Some recommendations:
The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance
The Elric Saga (also the Corum and Hawkmoon books) by Michael Moorcock
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
Tales of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
Chronicles of the Deryni by Katherine Kurtz
The Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen
Not only are they all pretty good, but you're goimg to see the roots of a lot of modern fantasy series in these. And they're all pretty short, so you can use them to take a breather after some epic tome from Erikson or Sanderson or the like.
The deadpan delivery of that “law” really got me 🤣
I have read Tigana thanks to your recommendation and looooooved it! Thank you!❤
I think as a Diskworld recommendation, it can be great as a starting point, but I would recommend seeing it as separate sub series, and just picking one (I like City Watch) to start with, and if you like it, you can go wide, or just pick another sub series.
Also, as an intro to Gaiman, it kind of straddles the line between fantasy and magical realism, but “The Ocean At The End of the Lane” is great. Anansi Boys is also a good starting point with him.
If you don’t mind possibly never getting the end, Kingkiller is one I’ve recommended to people who loved Harry Potter but haven’t read much fantasy as adults. I sort of see it as “Harry Potter, but Kvothe’s response and school experience seems more believable than Harry’s slacking off”
The Tiffany Aching series was my absolute favorite series when I was a kid (and Discworld overall today :)). I also love Gaiman. The ocean at the end of the lane is definitely a good starting point and was mine (besides Coraline which I read as I kid but didn’t know it was from Gaiman at the time). I think Stardust could also be a good starting point.
I’ve been desperately trying to read again after highschool English and a year of college caused me to stop completely. You have my gratitude disheveled goblin!!!!!
the little prince is pure poesy it's a life changin read that will warm and heal your inner child on so many levels. it's a master piece.
Shadow of the Gods is always a good recommendation as a first fantasy book for people who like the mass of Viking popular culture out in recent years.
The Gentlemen Bastards series is one of my favorite series I’ve ever read, and it has so much to do with the brilliant and often HILARIOUS dialogue and banter between the characters.
One category I think worth recommending to someone wanting to start reading fantasy is 'fairy-tale-adjacent'! I feel like most people will know the basic story of fairy tales, so there are plenty of books with either modern fairy tales or straight-up retellings that make for a great stepping stone. Heck, two steps in one author: Robin McKinley wrote a VERY approachable (might even be shelved in middle-grade) Beauty and the Beast retelling called simply Beauty...and then later in her career she wrote Rose Daughter, a much more deep, thoughtful, slow and winding and poetic retelling of the very same story.
Short story collections are also a fun place to start in any genre! Not as much of a commitment as a full novel, and you can pick an anthology on a theme that looks fun to you and get exposed to multiple fantasy authors to pique your interest
I can't recommend The Long Earth series enough. Pratchett sci-fantasy and humor with some harder science-fiction from Stephan Baxter, The Long Earth is a fantastic series.
That was a really neat series. I'm also a fan of "hard sci-fi written by people with STEM PhDs", and Pratchett's involvement really did an amazing job at toning down Baxter's usual "you will need to do independent research to understand what I've written" vibe.
Really happy to see Eddings get some love.
Reignited my fantasy reading. Worried that he got lost next to Feist and Jordan
The Little Prince was one of my favorites as a young teen, I was amazed by how well it was written
Very nice sweater, it suits you!
Great list! I still have never read a Sanderson novel. Maybe one day soon.
Since it's been a minute since you commented and nobody has mobbed you yet, here you go. Give Mistborn a shot (or The Way of Kings if you prefer your sprawling epics).
Nice to see the mention of the Belgariad here!
It's ideas seemed very derivative, but it's the easiest fantasy series to consume that I've ever read, with great characters.
I've only read the Belgrariad though, not the following series.
If you've never read fantasy before, you won't notice the derivative things. Definitely a great next step for people graduating from YA.
The follow up, The Malloreon is great as well.
It's refreshing to see Eddings being recommended, considering the controversy around his personal life. His work should be read for enjoyment. Keep the other stuff out of it.
The reason why Belgariad isn't talked about a lot is because of the author, not because of the books which are pretty good classic fantasy.
@@dalicieux Yall gonna have to elaborate on that because Marion Zimmer Bradley abused her children and help her husband to hide his sa of children and percure new victims for him to groom and people still spam recommendations for Mists of Avalon.
@@Avid_Reader And now I'm curious, but also don't wanna ask...
I didn’t start heavy fantasy reading till high school (small indigenous community) - I got my own library card and the first books I picked up for Weis and Hickman Death Gate Cycle. Looooved it. I still own a second hand copy of the series. After that I read Belgariad, and I thought it was so cool. A few years later in university I found d Lord of the Rings (again my background meant I didn’t realise it was probably the most famous fantasy story).
Man, what a list! Thank you for taking out some time to guide us within the Fantasy genre.
Im new to readings books as a hobby. Fantasy is my favorite genre so my first book/series was Mistborn because everybody was talking about Sanderson. Im reading Elric saga right now.
LOL that golden compass summary was incredible 10/10 no notes.
Yay David and Leigh Eddings and the Belgariad!! I love that series and authors, grew up on the Belgariad and enjoyed the writing and world building enough to read all their other books. The Belgariad is definitely the best series of theirs IMHO, and there's a bunch more books in that world if you get hooked.
I understand you saying you love the series, but saying you love the people who wrote it is a bit....yikes.
I’ve been wanting to get back into fantasy after mostly reading crime fiction and classics for years. I picked up Warbreaker and Assassin’s Apprentice from the library today and I can’t wait to dive in!
Paolini would be another good one. The Inheritance Cycle was my first fantasy series outside of LoTR and Harry Potter, and helped make me a lifelong fan of the genre.
Aww, The Little Prince, my favourite book of all time
So happy to see the Belgariad getting some love. While I had read The Hobbit and Chronicles of Narnia as a child Pawn of Prophecy was the first book I bought for myself, and really made me love reading. It's a fantastic starting point in the genre.
One series I don't hear much about is the Godserfs Trilogy. Very interesting world, each character has their own unique voice, and deals with a lot of stuff not dealt with in fiction (pregnancy, feeding an army, maimed main characters). Highly recommended for people looking for something different.
The book that got me hooked on Fantasy, and reading in general: The Eye of the World! It was 9th grade and my sister pushed it on me. I couldn’t stop until book 7. Took a break to read other things and picked it up again after Sanderson finished the series. For me, it was a perfect place to start.
I really enjoyed is list and took some recommendations, and im glad I have read a lot of these, to unapologetically call myself a fantasy reader 😂
I AM SO GLAD PERDIDO STREET STATION IS GETTING THE PROPS IT DESERVES YYYYAYAYAAAAAASSSSS
Also, would highly recommend Mieville’s Un Lun Dun as an amazing and imaginative fantasy book for younger readers
Funny timing, after 2 years of watching your content, 2024 was the year I decided to actually start reading more (before 2024 I read MAYBE 1 or 2 books a year. I do read comics though so that was something I guess).
And after allll the great stuff I've heard you recommend, I've developed a sort of reading list of my own to start reading more, and more specifically, reading some scifi/fantasy.
I've previously read the first 2 Dune books before the first movie (2021) came out, but I started the year by rereading those so I can continue the series soon and refresh my memory, while also being a way to ease my way back into the habit of reading. After that it's all new territory! I started with The Hobbit, and I'm currently making my way through LOTR.
My next sci fi reads will either be the next 2 Dune books or the Foundation trilogy, though I haven't decided which yet.
As for Fantasy, after LOTR, I have settled on your favorite for my next read through, WoT (I've been dying to read it because how you endlessly praise it!) And if you think I'm intimidated by 14 books, I'll have you know I caught up with One Piece around the time you did (also based on your high recommendation!), so length doesn't detract me from picking something up!
Anyways, just wanted to give a quick thanks to you for getting me back into books and giving me a LOT of books to read through, hopefully people will find this video useful and get into reading Fantasy, or reading in general!
My true introduction to a fantasy series, was the Xanth series by Piers Anthony.
I picked up the first book from my middle school library in 1986, and never stopped reading sci-fi/fantasy.
You really need to do more voiceovers, I thought this in the first chapter video too you’re so good
Awesome to still see Lies of Locke Lamora receiving love. It was my re-introduction to reading, and it was reccomended by this guy obsessed with Wheel Of Time and Goblins. Now I also love both!
This is great timing!… I just finished Wheel of Time like 2 weeks ago (my first fantasy that is NOT a manga or anime as an adult) and I have NO CLUE what to read next… everything else seems so small in comparison 🤣 probably shouldn’t have started with the LONGEST series 😅
Here to recommend the Half Orcs series by David Dalglish. It is quite dark fantasy but don't let the start discourage you. It's fast paced and easy to read. He just finished the last book in the series but there are more connected in the same world.
Enjoy!
Unrelated, but I absolutely love your shirt!
I have read nothing but Sanderson for 4 years lmao. He was kind of my introduction to the fantasy/sci fi genre. So many new books to check out, so little time.
I liked your choices, good varieties mentioned, Belgariad under appreciated (although not sure if it would hold up or if it is nostalgia on my part). A couple of missing things though:
Urban Fantasy - obviously Jim Butcher "Dresden Files" is the most common here, and could work fine as a starting point, although Storm Front is maybe not the best first book, but there are lots of other urban fantasy / paranormal authors too for instance pick any one of: Kim Harrison's "Hollows", Seanan McGuire's "October Dye", Patricia Briggs's "Mercy Thompson", Ilona Andrews "Kate Daniels", Jennifer Estep "Elemental Assassin", Tanya Huff "Blood series", Kevin Hearne "The Iron Druid", Richelle Mead "Georgia Kincaid", Laurell K Hamilton "Anita Blake", and Charlaine Harris "Southern Vampire Mysteries" (that True Blood was adapted from). These are often approachable as they are often quicker shorter reads so less intimidating for newer readers to the genre.
Overlapping with many, but not all, of the above is the Romantasy books as well. Obviously Rebecca Yarros "Fourth Wing" is the breakout hit of the recent year, and Sarah J Mass and ACOTAR has been one of the main players for the last decade, but you could fit in at least half the urban paranormal books above as well depending on how much you want to balance the romance and fantasy things like Grishaverse's Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, or Cruel Prince by Holly Black, or even Twilight to go back to a previous breakout from this category (before it was a category label). I also liked Poison Study by Maria Snyder or going back again the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey which is underappreciated. I'm sure someone that reads more from this category than I could likely pick the best/right ones.
I don't know if there are as many as in straight sci-fi, but short stories/novellas might also be an entry ramp for fantasy and might be worth recommending, but again I'm not the best person for that as I tend not to read as many and the ones that I like tend to be sci-fi.
In the authors to mention, watch, it is good that Wizard of Earthsea got Le Guin mentioned, but I'd try to find a way to get Guy Gavriel Kay (maybe a subgenre on fantasy historic fiction which could bring in many of his but also bring in things like poppy war and Naomi Navok's Temeraire would also fit?), Robin Hobb, and Lois McMaster Bujold just as authors very well worth reading.
A very good video. Heard of the guy and his games but never tried them before. This game sounds like an interesting way to start.
My first Joe book was the heroes, followed by best served cold. Hooked me and I read the rest after. I agree totally that there are connections I missed out on, I'm looking at you shivers, but I don't know if I would have been so enthusiastic about the first law without that initial kick. Keep up the good work.
Great Daniel!! I wrote down all your recommendations. My son started reading fantasy and I was running out of books to lend him.
start them young, get them hooked on special edition hardcovers and they'll never have the time or money to do drugs 😂
On the Hobbit/The Little Price recommendation, Wee Free Men might be a fun alternative and On the comedy book section id say Guards, Guards! Is also a great (gotta show Pratchett some more love lol)
Well, I now have a bunch of new series added to my amazon wishlist to buy. I completely agree with the Belagarid series. I had to stay at a physical rehab facility to rehab my knees, and my mother decided to buy me the 5 in 1 book set for the series. Eddings has a lot of excellent series to read.
I think I've at least heard of 2/3 of the books that you recommended. Another good, and easy to read series that I would recommend is the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. There are 7 main novels in the series so far and 1 novella "interlude" so far. I'm not sure if the series is finished or not yet. I've only made it through the first 4 books so far.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold is a great place to start reading fantasy! Bujold is a master of characters and settings and the story feels straightforward enough without holding your hand. It is a trilogy, technically, but the first book is fine as a standalone as well.
I read Broms Lost Gods on a whim. Woe. That man can write! Picture Broms paintings. Now convert that to words. Boom. It’s superb. I really like it.
Robin Hobb also has great fantasy series, usually 3 books but worth the read ❤
Never heard of the bulgarian series till now thanks for the video and recc
I recently put "The Once and Future King" on my tbr. It’s not a huge commitment (even though I don’t have much trouble with those in and of itself) but it’s a important piece of fantasy history, and I always wanted to know the details of that particular legend.
Fantasy books are awesome when done right (Twilight Harry Potter take notes). One fantasy series I keep going back to, over and over again because its just so good, is Redwall by Brian Jacques (pronounced Jakes), the descriptions the adventures the food 🤤🤤so good. I keep going back to this series and his other books because of just how fun they are, most fantasy books don't let you see yourself in that world (besides Narnia) and some are just so dark and hard to follow *cough*Harry Twilight *cough hack* but Redwall, both me my friends and other readers I know just whiz through the books its so easy to follow and is so fun to picture yourself there with the characters in the midst of battle in the middle of the festivals in the group of friends exploring the world or young ones going off on adventure. I overly recommend it to people but you can't blame me once you start the Redwall series or the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy.
If you want to get into GRRM but don’t want to commit to a large incomplete series but still want to get the same vibe I would recommend A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
My nephsfuse just turned 3 last week so I’m excited to get The Little Prince for him! Lol
I jumped into The Fifth Season blind and without a lot of fantasy under my adult belt. While I was completely lost for the first half I loooovveeddd it and ran through the whole series quickly. NK Jeminsin set the bar for me while I continue to read more and more fantasy.
I just want to say that Tress of the Emerald Sea can be another place to start with Sanderson. Now it is the only one of his books I have read, but that being said, I can confirm I didn't feel like I was missing anything and I am way more excited about finally jumping into The Cosmere. Again, without having read anything else from him, but highly hoping this is true, I believe it is an excellent taste of his writing style and frankly one of my favorite books of the year and I honestly think a new all time favorite. So now it feels beyond silly I haven't read more from him and want to get into Mistborn asap and stop it gathering dust on my shelf!
A pretty good list and I'm pleased to say I've read a few of your recommendations. My intro was the Earthsea trilogy and maybe it's gender, but I've read more female fantasy writers than male. Diana Duane and her Tales of the Five. Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master trilogy. Susan Coon's Sentient Planets quartet. Some of my reading is rather light like Juanita Coulson's books, but Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern is a wonderful fantasy series. Hope you do more videos discussing this genre.
my family didn't believe me when i said that sanderson writes faster than i can read, but then the secret projects happened and then they believed me lol
I had a weird crash into fantasy reading growing up. I started with Discworld then straight into Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) then into Wheel of Time (which consumed my teenage years) :P
Hopefully this might be useful to me. I been trying to find fantasy I would like off and on for years and so far the major series I have liked have been The Dark Tower, Harry Potter and His Dark Martial. The only one I didn't finish yet because half way through the second to last book life did what it does and I just never got around to finishing it yet.
If you like the inventiveness of Sanderson's worlds and magic systems, but also want something darker (and less PG), I would recommend The Coldfire Trilogy by Celia Friedman. It's a fantastic series that's close to impossible to put down, and Gerald Tarrant is hands down one of the best characters in the genre (yes, I will die on this hill).
If you want something that feels more like classic fantasy (the kind with dragons, magic, and swords), but doesn't have a whiny teenage boy as it's main character; Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly might be up your alley. BrandoSando himself has mentioned it as the book that got him into fantasy as a teenager. It's basically about a 38 year old witch who's drawn between her ambition for power, and her dragonslayer husband and their sons. There's also a really well written dragon, and an evil witch.
recommending all my favorites and then topping it off with Good muthaflubbin' Omens? Hell yeah! Great list, great recommendations, great video my dude!
When you were discussing the fantasy books for younger readers, have you ever read the The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander? I feel like that's a must read series for younger audiences that still hits home as I've grown older. The Phantom Tollbooth is another excellent fantasy book for young readers, though it's definitely different than the other fantasy books imo.
I really enjoyed the first Mistborn trilogy until the end when I had to look up Brandon's religious affiliation because I felt so smacked in the face by it.
I'd love to take your love for it as a reason to continue, but I've heard you say you didn't notice the over-the-top religious aspect, so I don't know if I can trust you on this.
Thank you for the heads up about The First Law series - I read the first book and it was ok but not amazing and I've been on the fence about starting book 2 or planning world domination.
Seeing the current state of affairs, i'd be happy if you picked world domination. Can't be any worse than it is today.
You'll be missing out on a hell of a series though!!! Abercrombie only gets better!