HONESTLY, I can sleep with 1 star reviews of books I loved, but IMMEDIATELY i see a 5-star review of a book I absolutely hated, I genuinely feel like tearing my guts out. Speaking of, i think that'd be a good video idea: Reacting to 5star reviews of books I hated
I think some people like things just because they are popular, too. I'm not a Brandon Sanderson fan and I think a lot of people give him high ratings as soon as he puts his name on something.
When I find out that most people rate the "GONE" series by Michael Grant and the "Lorien Legacies" series by Pittacus Lore as anything lower than 4 stars, I feel that pain in my chest. Like how could you not love it as much as I did? Admittedly, i was in middle/high school when I read these books, so perhaps upon a revisit I may view them in a different light. But as of now, they are integral to my interest in fantasy and writing in general. I'll never forget them.
1-star reviews vs 5-star are not a problem or issue. As you said people have different tastes and as long as civil discourse can happen, it’s all good. I typically discount all 5 and 1 star reviews, especially when they do not justify why they rated it as they did, when I am researching whether I will enjoy a story or not
Recently subscribed to your channel. When you said that 'reading is subjective,' that was a lesson that I had to learn and one that I have to keep reminding myself of. Thanks for reminding me of that and to not put myself down when someone doesn't enjoy what I like. Take care!!
Honestly I think most people who don’t normally read high fantasy or SF can’t get through “info dumps” because it requires them to ingest a lot of details. It’s amazing to me how many readers skip over paragraphs while reading because why??
I love these kinds of videos 😂 The things that people say on the internet never ceases to amaze me!! That second Words of Radiance review is unhinged hahaha
You may have suffered through this video, but on the bright side: I found this video and you gained a new subscriber! I understand how you feel. I recommended The Poppy War and Jade City to a friend, and they didn't like/read either one. It hurt a little!
omg the way i also uploaded the same video today too i just recently JUST finished WOR a few days ago and it was phenomal!! my favs are shallan, pattern, lift & wyndle, and kaladin. dalinar.....stilll growing on me lol. im reading oathbringer now actually. no waayyy SWORD OF KAIGEN IS THE GOAT so fuckingg good
Imagine all those trees is a crazy insult☠️☠️☠️😂 . And the person who read 1200 + pages and Dnf is insane if I read all those pages I’m finishing the book whether I like it or not
thanks for suffering through that to bring us some entertainment hahaha I LOVE PHM and thought the 1 star reviews were hilarious. But the SoK reviews did sting for sure.
@@Smitty1423 I really liked the first two but it wasn’t the right time cuz I was rereading an entire catalogue for a new release in Jan and I’ve been distracted since so it’s time. I read Emperor of Souls and loved it so I’m sure I’ll like this one too
For me the Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu is a 6 star series, maybe my favorite one next to Mistborn but it has a lot of 1 star reviews that hurt my soul - most notably for the first book, The Grace of Kings. Just recently discovered you and have been really enjoying your videos!
Sometimes wonder if they actually read the book. Oh man sword of Katie was wonderful imho. Good there are all kinds of people and books. Glad you did this!
I'm reading Hero of Ages Right now, about 100 pages into it...but overall I really like this series. Book 2 was not my cup of tea, but I'm hoping that book 3 really brings it home. As far as disappointing reads, I've never given a book 1 star and I've never DNF'd a book, BUT....book 2 of The First Law series was NOT for me and the series as a whole probably gets about 2.5 stars, the ONLY thing I liked about that entire series was Glokta and the last 30% of book 3 was pretty good. I'm willing to giver Abercrombie another chance so I have Best Served Cold, hopefully I'll have a better experience with that, because I really like the sound of his new book in 2025 The Devils.
I can understand why some people hate Vis and call him arrogant or something. But he's a TEENAGER, who went through a lot of stuff. I think he was depicted very accurately. But that's my opinion :D As for "The Sword of Kaigen", I cannot accept any criticism :))) I loved it and being a mother myself, I could imagine what Misaki went through. M.L. Wang broke me :)))
I love Mistborn era 1 but I can understand peoples dislikes for the characters. It took me AWHILE to get interested but by hero of ages I was there for it! Vin and Spook are easily the best character arcs I’ve read so far in my young reading venture
I just started Hero of Ages a few days ago and I'm liking it but it's taking a little for me to really get into it because he's taking characters in directions I haven't expected. The end of book 2 was shocking and now Hero is grappling with those sudden shifts in character arcs.
All these reviews got me like: 👀👀👀 Couldn't be me for any of these. Love all these (except The Hero of Ages, I liked it, but the others are in my 5+ stars). I usually look at what people with 1 star ratings on my favs read and make sure not to read em tbh because we got hella different tastes lol
I think DNF doesn’t automatically mean 1 star. You might DNF a book because you don’t connect with the characters, the prose, pacing, etc. I like your definition of 1 star being something that shouldn’t have been written. I may have DNF’d a book but usually I can see why a lot of people liked it but it didn’t work for me.
Why do you even bother? For me its soulcrashing reading one star reviews of my favourite books. I mostly read 5 star reviews, because i like to see the entusiasam from other people.... Same case with you... Your recomentadions and you all time best lists are so full of wonder and joy. It puts a smile on my face just seeing you dooping your best books of all time with "pure gas" :)
Haha I appreciate that so much! I do it to remind myself that it’s okay to have differing opinions on books even my favorites, no matter how bad it hurts lmao
I love the idea for the series but only looking at 1 star reviews is disingenuous. If you want to see valid criticism look at 2.5 to 3 star reviews. The people giving out 1 star reviews don't have valid opinions, because like in this video they haven't even read 50% of the book.
I thought the concept of Articifial Wisdom was really interesting but I dnf it. I just didn’t jive with the writing style for some reason. I also never read sci-fi so that could be part of it.
I sometimes read goodreads two and three star ratings of books I might want to read because I want to know how the book disappointed the reader. Most of the reviewers don't feel like they wasted their time but just didn't like the book -- or wanted to like it more but couldn't for very specific reasons.
The Sword of Kiagen slander was too much. Ive never had a book send me on an emotional roller coaster like that before. Thats saying something since ive read the green bone saga and currently reading words or radiance haha
I would never give it 1 star, but I don't understand the lavish praise and devotion to Will of the Many. I gave it 3 stars, and that's rounding up from 2.5. I found it contrived. I think the academic setting of a gifted student completely over cooked. Viss as a main character was like watching someone playing FIFA on amateur settings with offsides off. The writing was...adequate. But I just don't understand it.
@@Smitty1423 I gave it a fair go. -- I completely agree with you on Project Hail Mary. I have only read Tress of the Emerald Sea to my son and am really looking forward to more Sanderson, so still trust your reviews completely.
How did you get 11 thousand subscribers in your first 7 videos??? Granted, I'm one of them, your videos are amazing, and I very much enjoyed many of your favorite fantasy / sci-fi books so I assume my taste are similar to yours and I can trust your opinion, but that's still crazy
Haha tbh I’m not too sure. I do have a good following on TikTok but what UA-cam is telling me is most of it is purely from UA-cam users. Thanks for the compliment btw trying to improve every single video!
You keep on saying reading is subjective, it’s not. Likes are subjective. Reading requires logic, knowledge and perception. Lack of understanding, prejudices for stories and other factors can explain some dislikes. We need to be careful saying that because we are validating people who didn’t make any effort to understand a book. And you can say a book is bad, but you need to explain why, with logic.
Hey do you read other stuff other than sci fi/fantasy? you seem pretty intelligent and like you would appreciate other stuff classics, cormac McCarthy, Faulkner etc. Theres a great youtuber named better than food who reviews all kinds of books and i think youd like his style and could learn some alternative titles
HONESTLY, I can sleep with 1 star reviews of books I loved, but IMMEDIATELY i see a 5-star review of a book I absolutely hated, I genuinely feel like tearing my guts out. Speaking of, i think that'd be a good video idea: Reacting to 5star reviews of books I hated
@@Teijinh haha maybe one day I’ll do that you never know
Or when they win a Goodreads choice awards. How The Last thing he told me won anything, is beyond me.
This is so true :)) I feel the same way
I absolutely agree. There is just something so personal about someone loving a book I hated.
Me reading any Fourth Wing review
Feels like some people hate things just because they’re popular
Yeah I see that happening
I think some people like things just because they are popular, too. I'm not a Brandon Sanderson fan and I think a lot of people give him high ratings as soon as he puts his name on something.
No stakes for the sword of Kaigen is an objectively insane take
So wild lmao
The first comment on Project Hail Mary was honestly hilarious, genuinely made me laugh out loud.
😭😭😭 me too
When I find out that most people rate the "GONE" series by Michael Grant and the "Lorien Legacies" series by Pittacus Lore as anything lower than 4 stars, I feel that pain in my chest. Like how could you not love it as much as I did? Admittedly, i was in middle/high school when I read these books, so perhaps upon a revisit I may view them in a different light. But as of now, they are integral to my interest in fantasy and writing in general. I'll never forget them.
Yeah it’s painful but at least for you you know how good they are. (It’s what I tell myself)
1-star reviews vs 5-star are not a problem or issue. As you said people have different tastes and as long as civil discourse can happen, it’s all good.
I typically discount all 5 and 1 star reviews, especially when they do not justify why they rated it as they did, when I am researching whether I will enjoy a story or not
Fair enough!
Recently subscribed to your channel. When you said that 'reading is subjective,' that was a lesson that I had to learn and one that I have to keep reminding myself of. Thanks for reminding me of that and to not put myself down when someone doesn't enjoy what I like.
Take care!!
Thank you and yes I always have to remind myself especially as someone who does the recommending
I stay away from the 1 star reviews of books I love to avoid the pain and anger 😩😭
I knowww idk why I put myself through that lol
Love this video idea. Good commentary!
Thank you!
Honestly I think most people who don’t normally read high fantasy or SF can’t get through “info dumps” because it requires them to ingest a lot of details. It’s amazing to me how many readers skip over paragraphs while reading because why??
Yeah I don’t understand it haha
I love these kinds of videos 😂 The things that people say on the internet never ceases to amaze me!! That second Words of Radiance review is unhinged hahaha
I know right haha
Jeez, those Sword of Kaigen reviews hurt me.
Brutal lol
Really like this kind of videos
Thank you!!
You may have suffered through this video, but on the bright side: I found this video and you gained a new subscriber!
I understand how you feel. I recommended The Poppy War and Jade City to a friend, and they didn't like/read either one. It hurt a little!
Ahh so amazing but also yes recommending something to a friend and they don’t like it is so soul crushing lmao
Omgggggg that Hero of Ages review….calling the characters stupid and whiney… dagger to the soul 💀
Big dagger lmao
I applaud you.. you woke up wanting to hurt your own feelings 😂😂😂
I know right 😭
omg the way i also uploaded the same video today too
i just recently JUST finished WOR a few days ago and it was phenomal!! my favs are shallan, pattern, lift & wyndle, and kaladin. dalinar.....stilll growing on me lol.
im reading oathbringer now actually.
no waayyy SWORD OF KAIGEN IS THE GOAT so fuckingg good
@@ellias haha that’s wild! And yeah Sword of Kaigen is really goated
We have the same taste in a lot of books so this cut deep😅 Saying Misaki is overrated hurt like a bullet to the heart😂
This hurt me so badddddd lolol
Imagine all those trees is a crazy insult☠️☠️☠️😂 . And the person who read 1200 + pages and Dnf is insane if I read all those pages I’m finishing the book whether I like it or not
@@tatienna7972 so wild
thanks for suffering through that to bring us some entertainment hahaha I LOVE PHM and thought the 1 star reviews were hilarious. But the SoK reviews did sting for sure.
Haha got you and it stung so bad
These make me want to read them more 😂 I still have to read The Hero of Ages, it’s been since January lol
@@chaleneacox6905 yeah I almost want to reread it now to make sure I wasn’t tripping
@@Smitty1423 I really liked the first two but it wasn’t the right time cuz I was rereading an entire catalogue for a new release in Jan and I’ve been distracted since so it’s time. I read Emperor of Souls and loved it so I’m sure I’ll like this one too
@@chaleneacox6905 makes sense!
Sword of Kaigen slander almost made me exit this video, like whoa hold AWN 😭
Lmao how do you think I felt making it 😭
this would just make me defend my 5 star reads even more vehemently haha
@@sazerye haha fair!
For me the Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu is a 6 star series, maybe my favorite one next to Mistborn but it has a lot of 1 star reviews that hurt my soul - most notably for the first book, The Grace of Kings.
Just recently discovered you and have been really enjoying your videos!
Thank you! And yeah those 1 star reviews really hurt lol
Love the content smitty ❤️
Appreciate you!
Bro, come on. Name one time Vis lost in Will of the Many. You can't. It's basically Harry Potter.
How can anyone hate Vin!!
I know!!!
I think the majority of ppl that give 1 star reviews either only give 1 star or 5. They have no inbetween, which tends to discredit lots of reviews.
😭😭 fair
Also how can someone dislike Vin?
@@ryanhickman2346 I know!!
I googled FPR and I couldn’t find anything that seemed very relevant lol
Lmao I did too! Couldn’t find anything
Sometimes wonder if they actually read the book. Oh man sword of Katie was wonderful imho. Good there are all kinds of people and books. Glad you did this!
I know it was painful reading it but it’s a great reminder that not everyone likes everything haha
Complaining about info dumps in fantasy is WILD 😂 even more so in high fantasy. It’s expected
@@xMsNoobx absolutely insane lol
I'm reading Hero of Ages Right now, about 100 pages into it...but overall I really like this series. Book 2 was not my cup of tea, but I'm hoping that book 3 really brings it home.
As far as disappointing reads, I've never given a book 1 star and I've never DNF'd a book, BUT....book 2 of The First Law series was NOT for me and the series as a whole probably gets about 2.5 stars, the ONLY thing I liked about that entire series was Glokta and the last 30% of book 3 was pretty good. I'm willing to giver Abercrombie another chance so I have Best Served Cold, hopefully I'll have a better experience with that, because I really like the sound of his new book in 2025 The Devils.
Oh wow! I’m currently on the blade itself right now so will def check back in lol
I can understand why some people hate Vis and call him arrogant or something. But he's a TEENAGER, who went through a lot of stuff. I think he was depicted very accurately. But that's my opinion :D
As for "The Sword of Kaigen", I cannot accept any criticism :))) I loved it and being a mother myself, I could imagine what Misaki went through. M.L. Wang broke me :)))
I know!! And yeah reading the Sword of Kaigen ones were rough
I love Mistborn era 1 but I can understand peoples dislikes for the characters. It took me AWHILE to get interested but by hero of ages I was there for it! Vin and Spook are easily the best character arcs I’ve read so far in my young reading venture
@@di3s3l44 I feel this!
I just started Hero of Ages a few days ago and I'm liking it but it's taking a little for me to really get into it because he's taking characters in directions I haven't expected. The end of book 2 was shocking and now Hero is grappling with those sudden shifts in character arcs.
@@kimberlyalbertson1751 let me know when you finish!
You should check out the Of Blood and Bones Series by John Gwynne. Book one is A Time of Dread.
Will look into it! A fan of Gwynne for sure
We witnessed a lot of emotional damage in this vid. 😂
😭😭
Hahaha nice shirt, From Kobe
Kobe is the goat
Currently reading suneater series im on book 4 its pretty sad so far
Good luck
All these reviews got me like: 👀👀👀 Couldn't be me for any of these. Love all these (except The Hero of Ages, I liked it, but the others are in my 5+ stars). I usually look at what people with 1 star ratings on my favs read and make sure not to read em tbh because we got hella different tastes lol
Haha I know! It’s so interesting but all good
My favorite part was watching you get visibly more frustrated as the video went on lol
Lmao the stress
Love the vids bro
Appreciate you so much!
I think DNF doesn’t automatically mean 1 star. You might DNF a book because you don’t connect with the characters, the prose, pacing, etc. I like your definition of 1 star being something that shouldn’t have been written. I may have DNF’d a book but usually I can see why a lot of people liked it but it didn’t work for me.
Yepp! Glad you agree I had plenty of books like that too!
Why do you even bother? For me its soulcrashing reading one star reviews of my favourite books. I mostly read 5 star reviews, because i like to see the entusiasam from other people.... Same case with you... Your recomentadions and you all time best lists are so full of wonder and joy. It puts a smile on my face just seeing you dooping your best books of all time with "pure gas" :)
Haha I appreciate that so much! I do it to remind myself that it’s okay to have differing opinions on books even my favorites, no matter how bad it hurts lmao
I enjoy your videos!
Thank you!
I love the idea for the series but only looking at 1 star reviews is disingenuous. If you want to see valid criticism look at 2.5 to 3 star reviews. The people giving out 1 star reviews don't have valid opinions, because like in this video they haven't even read 50% of the book.
Fair
Haha I would definitely be a 1 star review for Sword of Kaigen. Words of radiance however, 6 stars no question.
😭😭
This will be a good one lol
😭😭😭 painful lmao
I could see how bad this hurt you! Was an interesting video though, so hopefully worth it.
Haha still debating if it was worth it
Man some of these reviews are crazy and must have been hard to read lol
Extremely hard to read lol
These people shouldn't be anywhere near the fantasy genre... Think they're lost lol
@@TinieMassive 😭😭😭
I thought the concept of Articifial Wisdom was really interesting but I dnf it. I just didn’t jive with the writing style for some reason. I also never read sci-fi so that could be part of it.
Is it subjective or are these reviewers all just wrong? 🤔🤔
😭😭😭😭
Hey man do you only read physical books or do you also use an e-reader like a Kindle?
Only physical honestly
i wish you'd found bad reviews that focused on the writing, story, plot and not just "waste of trees" or whatever, which offer no insight whatsoever
Most of those had spoilers which I stayed away from
I sometimes read goodreads two and three star ratings of books I might want to read because I want to know how the book disappointed the reader. Most of the reviewers don't feel like they wasted their time but just didn't like the book -- or wanted to like it more but couldn't for very specific reasons.
Oh that’s interesting
They’re usually less emotional and more informative than 1 star reviews too
Hey bro! Have u read the ASOIAF books and if u have what’s ur opinion on them? Love the content btw!
I’ve only read Game of Thrones I need to get through the rest of the series!
The Sword of Kiagen slander was too much. Ive never had a book send me on an emotional roller coaster like that before. Thats saying something since ive read the green bone saga and currently reading words or radiance haha
I know! That slander caught me off guard haha
@Smitty1423 like you said it's all subjective I guess but I am going to have opinions about their opinions lol
I would never give it 1 star, but I don't understand the lavish praise and devotion to Will of the Many. I gave it 3 stars, and that's rounding up from 2.5. I found it contrived. I think the academic setting of a gifted student completely over cooked. Viss as a main character was like watching someone playing FIFA on amateur settings with offsides off. The writing was...adequate. But I just don't understand it.
And that’s okay!
@@Smitty1423 I gave it a fair go. -- I completely agree with you on Project Hail Mary. I have only read Tress of the Emerald Sea to my son and am really looking forward to more Sanderson, so still trust your reviews completely.
@@OwenL2020🙏🏾🙏🏾
You read so much, would you ever consider writing a book? If so what genre?
It’s not top of list but definitely fantasy lol
I'm stressed watching this
Now imagine how stressful I was to make lol
You should have fun of this. Several one stars are hilarious on goodreads.
But that’s also a good goal to remember not everyone agrees.
@@nazimelmardi yeppp great reminder!
hey hey......❤😊❤
I'm kind of relieved you didn't do Demon In White on this video 😅
😭😭😭😭😭
@@Smitty1423 I couldn't have handled it lol
I've read all these good taste my bro. Check out jame Islington other stuff if you haven't
I will!
I'm sorry bud. I just read Project Hail Mary and it was below mid. I don't understand the hype.
@@dannyletcher5873 all good lol it’s subjective and I accept it
How did you get 11 thousand subscribers in your first 7 videos??? Granted, I'm one of them, your videos are amazing, and I very much enjoyed many of your favorite fantasy / sci-fi books so I assume my taste are similar to yours and I can trust your opinion, but that's still crazy
Haha tbh I’m not too sure. I do have a good following on TikTok but what UA-cam is telling me is most of it is purely from UA-cam users. Thanks for the compliment btw trying to improve every single video!
You keep on saying reading is subjective, it’s not. Likes are subjective. Reading requires logic, knowledge and perception. Lack of understanding, prejudices for stories and other factors can explain some dislikes.
We need to be careful saying that because we are validating people who didn’t make any effort to understand a book. And you can say a book is bad, but you need to explain why, with logic.
Very fair
Hey do you read other stuff other than sci fi/fantasy? you seem pretty intelligent and like you would appreciate other stuff classics, cormac McCarthy, Faulkner etc.
Theres a great youtuber named better than food who reviews all kinds of books and i think youd like his style and could learn some alternative titles
I’ll look into it and not opposed to reading other genres!