My go-to for these kinds of recommendations is always going to be the Queen's Thief series (by Megan Whalen Turner). I know it's been gradually gaining recognition on BookTube in recent years, but not nearly enough imo. The incredibly intentional writing, the subtle and beautiful character work, the emotional resonance, the brazen disregard of conventional storytelling tropes lol... it's just exceptional. Even if you weren't hooked by Book 1 (which is really more of a prologue), if you continue the series I don't think you'll regret it. (Also, I recommended this series to my mom, and now I'm genuinely afraid that she's never going to enjoy another book again haha).
I am reading the series right now and just finished book 5. The biggest downside to the series so far for me is descriptions and feel of story/world. The author gives extremely limited descriptions making it hard to connect with the world. At times this means that they read like history books instead of a story to get lost in. While the characters are full of life, and the plots are generally very good, I rarely feel immersed in the world. I also think that first person perspective isn't always the best fit for the stories the author wanted to tell.
I cried three times near the end of Annihilation. I found the book to be very inspiring. I won't go into detail, but the conclusions that the biologist comes to about herself really hit home for me. Absolutely a masterpiece.
Thank you for sharing these books with us, Merphy! I've been hearing some buzz about Sistah Samurai, perhaps more on Twitter than on UA-cam. With the action and emotion you describe, it sounds like a read I'd enjoy.
I really liked Sistah Samurai and have been recommending it to people since I read it. How you put a character arc like this in these few pages is beyond me.
I found a bind-up of the Area X trilogy at my used book store. It looked interesting so I bought it and it's been sitting on my shelf staring at me ever since. Now I want to read it again.
since youre really into pirates, have you ever seen the tv show black sails? its my favorite pirate media, although i havent read/watched that many lol
Annihiation has been on my list for a while. I've held off on seeing the film, which I've heard great this about, as well. Those pirate non-ficiton books, sound great! - Billy
This is why I follow you. I loved hearing about a book I've never heard mentioned anywhere online before and although I get nervous about retellings of stories that are insanely precious to me, I will be giving And Putting Away Childish Things. It sounds like how I'd imagined an adult retelling of it could be, with an emphasis (from what I hear you saying) to responsiblities and figuring out what to do next in life. Which idk I wanted in a story. So I'm excited and hope it delievers. I do like stories you seem to really enjoy however, so I'm hopeful. Thanks again for mentioning these! I'm glad that you made this video.
The Mirror Visitor series by Christelle Dabos is really cool. One of my favorite reads of the last year, and not many have heard of it apparently. Also Memory of Water by Emmi Itaranta, too
I love the Mirror Visitor! I've been re-reading it almost yearly since I picked it up when the 3rd book got its translation! I really like the characters, the magic, and just how fun yet chaotic and creepy the world is
I read The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas due to your review on it, so thank you, I liked it a lot. It seems that no one else on booktube is talking about it and it truly is a hidden gem.
Area X is such a great series! A really great set of books with extremely strong thematic material. My recommendation for underrated books is John Crowley’s books. His Aegypt series is a really strange, mysterious, vague series about a secret country in history. Little, Big is another one of his books, a literary, dreamy, cozy epic. There’s nothing else like it!
OMG I love Borne! ❤️ It’s one of my all-time favorites (def in the top 3) and since reading it, I’ve been looking for crumbs here on YT for any mention of this book. I haven’t read the sequels though-would you recommend?
I haven't read Annihilation but, your description of it sounds like a book I did read and enjoy, called The Roadside Picnic. It's fairly short and maybe you'll enjoy it as well! My hidden gem series is Lockwood and Co. I think it's so wonderful and I haven't heard anyone talk about it.
Recently listened to Annihilation and Roadside is a great comp. It focuses more on ecological change but there's a mystery element to both that gets creepy.
Worth noting Annihilation was adapted into a 2018 movie starring Natalie Portman. The adaption is described as a loose adaption (I saw the film, haven't read the book).
Hey there Merphy. Enjoyed the list. Have a few of Jeff Vandemeer's books on my TBR pile but haven't managed to get there yet. Also intrigued by the pirate queen book, as there are so many Far Eastern legends, and historical figures that we in the west rarely hear of. And since you are a fan of the pirate stuff, then you might want to look up Grace O'Malley, also known as Granuaile, the pirate queen of Ireland. Her story is now even included in the school curriculum here in Ireland.
So excitet to get to "Annihilation". The more I hear you speaking about it the more I think you should read "Tainaron. Mail From Another City" by Leena Krohn.
I picked up Annihilation last week after your long video about the series. It had been on my radar since Shades of Orange recommended it. I loved it! 5 stars. I can't wait to read the other two books in the series. I'm trying to get Johanna to read it soon. 😁 And I've added And Put Away Childish Things on my TBR. I read Firewalkers last week and want to read more novellas by Tchiavoksky. Not sure what my hidden gem would be, perhaps Semiosis by Sue Burke.
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono is an isakai with a female MC, very different from other isakai. The world is inspired by Chinese mythology, but the writer is from Japan.
I enjoyed the Twelve Kingdoms anime that is based on book 1 and 4, I think, of the series. I really liked the psychological aspects of the anime and the book.
If I could make a recommendation? Nathan A Thompson's Challenger's Call series is one of the series that I wait for forever to read the next book because I read it within a day of getting it in my hands. It starts out with intimidating levels of threat in the first books, and you gradually just accept that the main character is going to pull a victory out of nowhere as the series continues. But you stop reading it for the action, and read it for the characters. It's sort of like an isekai, where the main character is taken from our world to a magical one, where they get to do all sorts of Chosen One stuff. The audiobook actually makes it better. The two narrators do such amazing jobs - Jessica Threet and Christopher Boucher. Will warn you that the bad guys are proper bad guys that actually do bad things to people, so be careful about listening to the book in public.
i read Annihilation. An wow i couldn't believe what i read. This was a great start for a trilogy. I'm reading the next two book. These pirates books sound great.
Your previous mentions of Annihilation convinced me to finally read the book and I *loved* it. I will be diving into the sequels once I've finished being devoured by the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. (Which is also your fault. Thank you.)
Read Annihilation after hearing your praise of it and I agree that it leaves you with more questions at the end then you have answers. Currently plowing through the second book. I have found that I really enjoy books that that don't spoon feed all the answers and leave me thinking about them for days and sometimes weeks later. I still can't fully tell you what happened in The Doloriad or The Employees but I still think about them over a year later.
So I don't know if someone already mentioned it but I really hope you could read Lord of Mysteries by Cuttlefish, it's a horror mystery in a steampunk world. I really love the book even though it is really long and there isn't a physical copy so you have to read it online. I would really love your take on the book.
As a big Narnia fan I Love the sound of "Put Childish Things Away", thanks! If you like that sense of humans being over their head in existential weirdness in Annihilation, then I think you should try some Lovecraft, especially since it often involves the ocean (Dagon is a good short one to start with). I hear China Mievelle's good for that feeling too.
Another doorway fantasy hidden gem is 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. A concise trilogy of books that are packed with fun characters and amazing world building.
I read annihilation right before you did (impeccable timing) and loved it, but I’m so so hesitant to carry on in case it ruins the magic. But if there’s one person who could convince me, it’s probably you haha
I had already bought annihilation before I saw your video And seeing how much you loved it and the description I decided to go ahead and buy the whole trilogy in the omnibus hardcover I'm going to try to read it in the order That 1 of your of your commenters suggested it
I still don't understand what happened in Night of the Mannequins, but I sure loved the experience of it! I can't wait for you to read more books by Stephen Graham Jones. Emmarae from Emmaerae Empowered has been influencing me to read Annihilation for years at this point, so I really need to finally read it.
I think I might've mentioned them in your comment section before but the podcast "Unresolved Textual Tension" have two episodes on the "Southern Reach Trilogy" and they're fantastic! They're massive fans and delve deep in exploring the series. I think you'd really enjoy those episodes! They're here on youtube too if you prefer video format. 😊
The movie isnt bad but it should have been a miniseries at least. The nonlinear narrative stylistically matches Area X itself and Vandermeer does a great job of juggling the mystery of Area X and Southern Reach with the psychology of the teams and individuals who've been stripped down.
what are some young adult fantasy books that are really popular in the US but not in Europe? There are a lot of books that scratch the same itch as Harry Potter that are really popular in Europe, but they only made the jump to the US market after their popularity peaked so they didn't catch on. From my experience: Books like Skulduggery Pleasant and The Bartimaeus Sequence
Loved the bartimaeus sequence! totally agree that there's often a disconnect in popularity, particularly when a book is published at a different time in one place than in another
My 2 'hidden gems' recommendations today would be "The Deed of Paksenarrion" trilogy by Elizabeth Moon. A classic Tolkien type fantasy with a female protagonist with a great cast of characters and a unique journey and destination. Then there is "The Secret World Chronicles" - which is a strange beast indeed. It is 1) a podcast that ran 9 'seasons' and is still available for free on most apps; and 2) has been collected into 5 full length novels and one short story collection. 'Written" by a group of SFF writers headed up by the legendary Mercedes Lackey it was based on their "City of Heroes" online-rpg team. Just a great romp with a great conclusion and it is out there for free, so why not give it a try?
I keep meaning to read Annihilation! Ironically what stopped me for a while is that the movie is very close to my heart, and I know the book is very different so I was worried I wouldn’t like it. I’ve now heard multiple people say they love both, you just need to treat the books and the movie as their own thing, so now I really have no excuse.
I might have to get to Annihilation at some point. The one series I have not heard anyone talk about is Ethshar by Lawrence Watt-Evans starting with The Misenchanted Sword. there is some mild violence that takes place but most of the issues involve some sort of magical problem solving in what is much of the time fun and whimsical though the consequences can be severe.
The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer is soooooooooooooo good! I am all kinds of here with you on that! Thank you for the comment at the end cause I also wanted ot have the author along with me to share more, so I am going to try out Campfire for that, lol. Also, so excited you have a video out for the series! I'm so glad you mentioned it here as last I knew (alerts on youtube are weird) you were debating on reading the series, and now there's a video! I'm exited! I love this series it actually overtook the Lord of the Rings in terms of series, for me
Hi Merphy, I just started reading The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd and I think it's a story you'd love. It details the life of Captain William Kidd's wife, Sarah, and how she worked behind the scenes as his partner in crime.
I didn’t expect Annihilation!!! Ok, I did. 👀😁When you get a bit obsessed… but you are right, it’s not really mentioned that much. Yet it has a movie adaptation with famous actors. Interesting. Is the marketing this weak? Don’t think so. The translated version is totally out of the shelves here, we can’t buy it now for 1 year.
I see kitty, I like! :D Definitely gonna read Door to Door Bookstore, also because it's by a German author, so support for my fellow countrymen. Similarly, I recommend "Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop", which is more well-known, but my first 5-star-read this year :D
Oh please please, get into The Demon Cycle and including it in one of these 😀 Hardly anybody seems to talk about that series, but it's wordbuilding is so cool, the magic system is very unique and its protagonist is a tragic yet fascinating figure. I don't understand at all why that series is not considered one of the greats of the genre.
It's wild to me that no book tubers read Dennis L McKiernan's Mithgar series. There's like one guy and his videos have about a thousand views. Weird blind spot for such a long series. McKiernan wrote The Silver Call in the late 70s as a sequel to The Lord of The Rings. Doubleday wanted to publish it, but they couldn't get the rights from the Tolkien estate. So, Doubleday asked him to rewrite it in his own world and write a prequel series to support it. Because of that, the Iron Tower feels pretty derivative of LoTR. There are around 15 books that cover thousands of years of the setting's history. It's way more than just some knock off of LoTR. Anyone that likes fantasy should read Dragondoom. It works fine as a stand alone, you don't need to read any of his other books to enjoy it.
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell! Probably his best work yet. In general many of David Mitchell's books are really great. Cloud Atlas is his most famous novel, though I think that's not the best place to start for first time readers of his work. There's a lot I really liked about it, but it's a bit uneven with its different styles. Ghostwritten or The Bone Clocks are better books to start with!
Every video is about Annihilation now because Merphy has been changed by Area X. This is good. This is as the Brightness intended. Everyone should go to Area X!
Okay so is this "Campfire" related to the other Campfire app that otherrrrr booktubers talk about when it comes to world building like WorldAnvil ??? Are they related I was confused I didnt know it had a author based program where they get paid as well 😮
Thank you for the list Merphy. Might check some exist in my local library. Also I started Farseen trilogy 3 and, Merphy, everything you said about Fitz, about being annoyed by how stupid he is and all that, by page 50 it gets all discussed. Fitz gets confronted with it. With how stupid he acted in so many ways, not thinking about anyone or anything. I think you could change your decision of not reading more fits just by trying some 50-100 pages of this book. What if your missing on a story you will actually love but you didnt gave it time to become as good as it can be?
I DNF Annihilation about half way through because it got boring. I watched the 2018 movie many years back and thought it was kooky, and thought the book might better allow me to imagine the distorted environments. That was kind of right, but the main character and story is quite boring. Is it worth continuing? How's the 2nd, 3rd book compared with the first?
I read all three books and want you to know that the sequels only continue what was in the first book. If you did not finish the first due to boredom you will not be interested in the last two. I did like the first book but even though I finished the trilogy it was only because I thought that there would be some sort of pay off. There was no there in the end. I felt that the remaining books where just there to make it a trilogy.. You don't get anymore insight by reading them and the characters do not grow at all.
NOOOO! NO NO NO. Merph! Not Annihilation. I trudged through the trilogy and could not NOT recommend a series any more than this one. Rare that I completely disagree with you but I must with this one.
Having just read Annihilation in two days, I am terribly disappointed. It is nihilistic and just made me feel a total lack of hope. Not like in a horror story way, just that people are all selfish and irredeemable in this story. At first I held out hope for the MC, but as the story progressed and on the last few pages the last vestiges of warmth toward her faded to nothing.
Gotta disagree on Night of the Mannequins. I picked it up on your suggestion initially, but it was not at all the book it presented itself as. Even the way you talk about it here is misleading. I get not giving away the twist, but it hardly even felt like a twist because it is readily apparent. It's just misleading marketing copy. The voice wasn't enough to overcome my disappointment with the story experience.
There are books like these that are supposed to be whodunnits but after the first meeting with the friend in his house I had it solved. The inner voice is supposed to give you more incite than just watching a characters actions. Not here. I could not stop reading fast enough.
“If you like books like A Man Called Ove” say no more, sold.
lmao i got so hyped at the pirate book seeing you so hyped about the story and then 'that was kind of a boring book' 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭😂😂
My go-to for these kinds of recommendations is always going to be the Queen's Thief series (by Megan Whalen Turner). I know it's been gradually gaining recognition on BookTube in recent years, but not nearly enough imo. The incredibly intentional writing, the subtle and beautiful character work, the emotional resonance, the brazen disregard of conventional storytelling tropes lol... it's just exceptional. Even if you weren't hooked by Book 1 (which is really more of a prologue), if you continue the series I don't think you'll regret it.
(Also, I recommended this series to my mom, and now I'm genuinely afraid that she's never going to enjoy another book again haha).
I'll give it a try sounds interesting!
I have loved the Thief series for YEARS and my son is FINALLY getting old enough to recommend it to him.
I am reading the series right now and just finished book 5. The biggest downside to the series so far for me is descriptions and feel of story/world. The author gives extremely limited descriptions making it hard to connect with the world. At times this means that they read like history books instead of a story to get lost in. While the characters are full of life, and the plots are generally very good, I rarely feel immersed in the world. I also think that first person perspective isn't always the best fit for the stories the author wanted to tell.
I cried three times near the end of Annihilation. I found the book to be very inspiring. I won't go into detail, but the conclusions that the biologist comes to about herself really hit home for me. Absolutely a masterpiece.
Thank you for sharing these books with us, Merphy! I've been hearing some buzz about Sistah Samurai, perhaps more on Twitter than on UA-cam. With the action and emotion you describe, it sounds like a read I'd enjoy.
I really liked Sistah Samurai and have been recommending it to people since I read it. How you put a character arc like this in these few pages is beyond me.
Have you watched black sails? One of my favorite shows ever, it's a prequel to treasure island and has a mix of fiction and historical pirates
I found a bind-up of the Area X trilogy at my used book store. It looked interesting so I bought it and it's been sitting on my shelf staring at me ever since. Now I want to read it again.
since youre really into pirates, have you ever seen the tv show black sails? its my favorite pirate media, although i havent read/watched that many lol
I read Door To Door Bookstore based on one of your previous videos. Such a great read. Loved the prose, and loved the feels. Thanks!
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, another hidden gem i highly recommend
I try it as well!
I'm getting ready to read the end of Ceda's story. It's been a good ride.
@@tacorrific did you read the prequel? Of sand and malice made
@@keravnos2231 Yeah, years ago. I remember enjoying it. I like Brama's character.
I read the first one a few years ago. I really need to get back to the series
Annihiation has been on my list for a while. I've held off on seeing the film, which I've heard great this about, as well. Those pirate non-ficiton books, sound great! - Billy
This is why I follow you. I loved hearing about a book I've never heard mentioned anywhere online before and although I get nervous about retellings of stories that are insanely precious to me, I will be giving And Putting Away Childish Things. It sounds like how I'd imagined an adult retelling of it could be, with an emphasis (from what I hear you saying) to responsiblities and figuring out what to do next in life. Which idk I wanted in a story. So I'm excited and hope it delievers. I do like stories you seem to really enjoy however, so I'm hopeful. Thanks again for mentioning these! I'm glad that you made this video.
The Mirror Visitor series by Christelle Dabos is really cool. One of my favorite reads of the last year, and not many have heard of it apparently. Also Memory of Water by Emmi Itaranta, too
I love the Mirror Visitor! I've been re-reading it almost yearly since I picked it up when the 3rd book got its translation! I really like the characters, the magic, and just how fun yet chaotic and creepy the world is
I absolutely agree about The Door to Door Bookstore. Definitely gave A Man Called Ove vibes and I devoured it.
Best wishes with your reading choices. Happy reading.
I love "The Door to Door bookstore" so, so much...❤ I'm so happy to see it talked about.
I read The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas due to your review on it, so thank you, I liked it a lot. It seems that no one else on booktube is talking about it and it truly is a hidden gem.
Area X is such a great series! A really great set of books with extremely strong thematic material.
My recommendation for underrated books is John Crowley’s books. His Aegypt series is a really strange, mysterious, vague series about a secret country in history. Little, Big is another one of his books, a literary, dreamy, cozy epic. There’s nothing else like it!
These sound so good! Thank you for shouting them out!
Since reading Annihilation, have you tried Borne? I loved that one of his! Same weird vibe lol
OMG I love Borne! ❤️ It’s one of my all-time favorites (def in the top 3) and since reading it, I’ve been looking for crumbs here on YT for any mention of this book. I haven’t read the sequels though-would you recommend?
@readingwarlock I have not! I tried and ended up not finishing (not the books fault lol) and now thinking about picking them up again
I haven't read Annihilation but, your description of it sounds like a book I did read and enjoy, called The Roadside Picnic. It's fairly short and maybe you'll enjoy it as well! My hidden gem series is Lockwood and Co. I think it's so wonderful and I haven't heard anyone talk about it.
Recently listened to Annihilation and Roadside is a great comp. It focuses more on ecological change but there's a mystery element to both that gets creepy.
I think Hello Future Me talked about Annihilation a while ago. Think I'll need to pick it up.
Worth noting Annihilation was adapted into a 2018 movie starring Natalie Portman. The adaption is described as a loose adaption (I saw the film, haven't read the book).
Hey there Merphy. Enjoyed the list. Have a few of Jeff Vandemeer's books on my TBR pile but haven't managed to get there yet. Also intrigued by the pirate queen book, as there are so many Far Eastern legends, and historical figures that we in the west rarely hear of.
And since you are a fan of the pirate stuff, then you might want to look up Grace O'Malley, also known as Granuaile, the pirate queen of Ireland. Her story is now even included in the school curriculum here in Ireland.
had a great time with Annihilation, Authority didn't jive as well for me, so we'll see what the next one brings...I need answers!
So excitet to get to "Annihilation". The more I hear you speaking about it the more I think you should read "Tainaron. Mail From Another City" by Leena Krohn.
I picked up Annihilation last week after your long video about the series. It had been on my radar since Shades of Orange recommended it. I loved it! 5 stars. I can't wait to read the other two books in the series. I'm trying to get Johanna to read it soon. 😁 And I've added And Put Away Childish Things on my TBR. I read Firewalkers last week and want to read more novellas by Tchiavoksky. Not sure what my hidden gem would be, perhaps Semiosis by Sue Burke.
catching up on watching videos
Have you considered reading Vandermeer’s other work, Borne? omg I’m excited about the idea of you picking it up (no pressure though) 😄
I think I read Under the Black Flag as a kid!! I'd forgotten its existence completely until I saw that cover...
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono is an isakai with a female MC, very different from other isakai. The world is inspired by Chinese mythology, but the writer is from Japan.
I enjoyed the Twelve Kingdoms anime that is based on book 1 and 4, I think, of the series. I really liked the psychological aspects of the anime and the book.
Awesome as always thanks can't wait to give these a try! 😀
If I could make a recommendation?
Nathan A Thompson's Challenger's Call series is one of the series that I wait for forever to read the next book because I read it within a day of getting it in my hands. It starts out with intimidating levels of threat in the first books, and you gradually just accept that the main character is going to pull a victory out of nowhere as the series continues. But you stop reading it for the action, and read it for the characters.
It's sort of like an isekai, where the main character is taken from our world to a magical one, where they get to do all sorts of Chosen One stuff. The audiobook actually makes it better. The two narrators do such amazing jobs - Jessica Threet and Christopher Boucher.
Will warn you that the bad guys are proper bad guys that actually do bad things to people, so be careful about listening to the book in public.
I want to try these books!
Sounds great!
The Door-To-Door Bookstore sounds like Christmas.
i read Annihilation. An wow i couldn't believe what i read. This was a great start for a trilogy. I'm reading the next two book. These pirates books sound great.
Your previous mentions of Annihilation convinced me to finally read the book and I *loved* it. I will be diving into the sequels once I've finished being devoured by the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. (Which is also your fault. Thank you.)
Thanks book-mommy!
Read Annihilation after hearing your praise of it and I agree that it leaves you with more questions at the end then you have answers. Currently plowing through the second book.
I have found that I really enjoy books that that don't spoon feed all the answers and leave me thinking about them for days and sometimes weeks later. I still can't fully tell you what happened in The Doloriad or The Employees but I still think about them over a year later.
So I don't know if someone already mentioned it but I really hope you could read Lord of Mysteries by Cuttlefish, it's a horror mystery in a steampunk world. I really love the book even though it is really long and there isn't a physical copy so you have to read it online. I would really love your take on the book.
Thank you
As a big Narnia fan I Love the sound of "Put Childish Things Away", thanks!
If you like that sense of humans being over their head in existential weirdness in Annihilation, then I think you should try some Lovecraft, especially since it often involves the ocean (Dagon is a good short one to start with). I hear China Mievelle's good for that feeling too.
Another doorway fantasy hidden gem is 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. A concise trilogy of books that are packed with fun characters and amazing world building.
I read annihilation right before you did (impeccable timing) and loved it, but I’m so so hesitant to carry on in case it ruins the magic. But if there’s one person who could convince me, it’s probably you haha
I had already bought annihilation before I saw your video And seeing how much you loved it and the description I decided to go ahead and buy the whole trilogy in the omnibus hardcover I'm going to try to read it in the order That 1 of your of your commenters suggested it
I still don't understand what happened in Night of the Mannequins, but I sure loved the experience of it! I can't wait for you to read more books by Stephen Graham Jones.
Emmarae from Emmaerae Empowered has been influencing me to read Annihilation for years at this point, so I really need to finally read it.
I think I might've mentioned them in your comment section before but the podcast "Unresolved Textual Tension" have two episodes on the "Southern Reach Trilogy" and they're fantastic! They're massive fans and delve deep in exploring the series. I think you'd really enjoy those episodes! They're here on youtube too if you prefer video format. 😊
I’ve been reading Annihilation because of you’re recommendation and I’m loving it. I’m so glad I didn’t watch movie first
The movie isnt bad but it should have been a miniseries at least. The nonlinear narrative stylistically matches Area X itself and Vandermeer does a great job of juggling the mystery of Area X and Southern Reach with the psychology of the teams and individuals who've been stripped down.
what are some young adult fantasy books that are really popular in the US but not in Europe?
There are a lot of books that scratch the same itch as Harry Potter that are really popular in Europe, but they only made the jump to the US market after their popularity peaked so they didn't catch on.
From my experience: Books like Skulduggery Pleasant and The Bartimaeus Sequence
Loved the bartimaeus sequence! totally agree that there's often a disconnect in popularity, particularly when a book is published at a different time in one place than in another
My 2 'hidden gems' recommendations today would be "The Deed of Paksenarrion" trilogy by Elizabeth Moon. A classic Tolkien type fantasy with a female protagonist with a great cast of characters and a unique journey and destination. Then there is "The Secret World Chronicles" - which is a strange beast indeed. It is 1) a podcast that ran 9 'seasons' and is still available for free on most apps; and 2) has been collected into 5 full length novels and one short story collection. 'Written" by a group of SFF writers headed up by the legendary Mercedes Lackey it was based on their "City of Heroes" online-rpg team. Just a great romp with a great conclusion and it is out there for free, so why not give it a try?
Well. I added some more books to my growing and never ending tbr. Lol
I keep meaning to read Annihilation! Ironically what stopped me for a while is that the movie is very close to my heart, and I know the book is very different so I was worried I wouldn’t like it. I’ve now heard multiple people say they love both, you just need to treat the books and the movie as their own thing, so now I really have no excuse.
I might have to get to Annihilation at some point.
The one series I have not heard anyone talk about is Ethshar by Lawrence Watt-Evans starting with The Misenchanted Sword. there is some mild violence that takes place but most of the issues involve some sort of magical problem solving in what is much of the time fun and whimsical though the consequences can be severe.
Need to pickup Door to Door & Sistah Samurai soon
Just finished Annihilation & starting sequel right away
I’ve heard such good things about annihilation!
The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer is soooooooooooooo good! I am all kinds of here with you on that! Thank you for the comment at the end cause I also wanted ot have the author along with me to share more, so I am going to try out Campfire for that, lol. Also, so excited you have a video out for the series! I'm so glad you mentioned it here as last I knew (alerts on youtube are weird) you were debating on reading the series, and now there's a video! I'm exited! I love this series it actually overtook the Lord of the Rings in terms of series, for me
Hi Merphy, I just started reading The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd and I think it's a story you'd love. It details the life of Captain William Kidd's wife, Sarah, and how she worked behind the scenes as his partner in crime.
You’ve convinced me to read Annihilation, especially when you mentioned the origin….
I didn’t expect Annihilation!!! Ok, I did. 👀😁When you get a bit obsessed… but you are right, it’s not really mentioned that much. Yet it has a movie adaptation with famous actors. Interesting. Is the marketing this weak? Don’t think so. The translated version is totally out of the shelves here, we can’t buy it now for 1 year.
I see kitty, I like! :D
Definitely gonna read Door to Door Bookstore, also because it's by a German author, so support for my fellow countrymen. Similarly, I recommend "Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop", which is more well-known, but my first 5-star-read this year :D
Daniel O'Malley's The Rook and Stiletto need some love.
Goodreads says there's a 4th book too! Absolution
I am interested with "The Door-to Door Bookstore. " Thank you. ^^
Oh please please, get into The Demon Cycle and including it in one of these 😀 Hardly anybody seems to talk about that series, but it's wordbuilding is so cool, the magic system is very unique and its protagonist is a tragic yet fascinating figure. I don't understand at all why that series is not considered one of the greats of the genre.
If I could buttonhole people and make them read one overlooked gem, it would be the "Initiate Brother" duology by Sean Russell.
It's wild to me that no book tubers read Dennis L McKiernan's Mithgar series. There's like one guy and his videos have about a thousand views. Weird blind spot for such a long series.
McKiernan wrote The Silver Call in the late 70s as a sequel to The Lord of The Rings. Doubleday wanted to publish it, but they couldn't get the rights from the Tolkien estate. So, Doubleday asked him to rewrite it in his own world and write a prequel series to support it. Because of that, the Iron Tower feels pretty derivative of LoTR.
There are around 15 books that cover thousands of years of the setting's history. It's way more than just some knock off of LoTR. Anyone that likes fantasy should read Dragondoom. It works fine as a stand alone, you don't need to read any of his other books to enjoy it.
I really liked Night of the Mannequins! I would definitely call it horror, just maybe not the type of horror you might expect
Deep as the Sky Red as the Sea was a great time. Can't trust anyone who says otherwise.
You sold me. I bought 3 of them.
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell! Probably his best work yet. In general many of David Mitchell's books are really great. Cloud Atlas is his most famous novel, though I think that's not the best place to start for first time readers of his work. There's a lot I really liked about it, but it's a bit uneven with its different styles. Ghostwritten or The Bone Clocks are better books to start with!
As she's taking about Annihilation I'm like I have seen this movie and I have in fact seen this movie.
Every video is about Annihilation now because Merphy has been changed by Area X. This is good. This is as the Brightness intended. Everyone should go to Area X!
Did you get a new camera or new lighting? I don't know what it is, but the video quality is excellenttttt
If you like female pirate stories, how did you like the Revenger series by Alastair Reynolds? I liked the series a lot.
My hidden gems:
The Youngest Templar trilogy
Halfway to the Sky
The Swords of the Six trilogy
The Superhuman trilogy (by Michael Carroll)
Okay so is this "Campfire" related to the other Campfire app that otherrrrr booktubers talk about when it comes to world building like WorldAnvil ??? Are they related I was confused I didnt know it had a author based program where they get paid as well 😮
Thank you for the list Merphy. Might check some exist in my local library. Also I started Farseen trilogy 3 and, Merphy, everything you said about Fitz, about being annoyed by how stupid he is and all that, by page 50 it gets all discussed. Fitz gets confronted with it. With how stupid he acted in so many ways, not thinking about anyone or anything. I think you could change your decision of not reading more fits just by trying some 50-100 pages of this book. What if your missing on a story you will actually love but you didnt gave it time to become as good as it can be?
Alright I’ll pick up Annihilation!
Would you say Annihilation is Lovecaftian?
There's definitely cosmic horror vibes!
Put away childish things seems like I'll like it, thanks! Already had added Annihilation from your other video
I DNF Annihilation about half way through because it got boring. I watched the 2018 movie many years back and thought it was kooky, and thought the book might better allow me to imagine the distorted environments. That was kind of right, but the main character and story is quite boring. Is it worth continuing? How's the 2nd, 3rd book compared with the first?
I read all three books and want you to know that the sequels only continue what was in the first book. If you did not finish the first due to boredom you will not be interested in the last two. I did like the first book but even though I finished the trilogy it was only because I thought that there would be some sort of pay off. There was no there in the end. I felt that the remaining books where just there to make it a trilogy.. You don't get anymore insight by reading them and the characters do not grow at all.
@@johnspecht72 Thanks for sharing your experience. Maybe someday I'll get back to finish the first book. I doubt I'll continue the trilogy.
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NOOOO! NO NO NO. Merph! Not Annihilation. I trudged through the trilogy and could not NOT recommend a series any more than this one. Rare that I completely disagree with you but I must with this one.
Having just read Annihilation in two days, I am terribly disappointed. It is nihilistic and just made me feel a total lack of hope. Not like in a horror story way, just that people are all selfish and irredeemable in this story. At first I held out hope for the MC, but as the story progressed and on the last few pages the last vestiges of warmth toward her faded to nothing.
Be honest Merphy. This whole video is just an excuse to talk about Annihilation again isn't it?
Gotta disagree on Night of the Mannequins. I picked it up on your suggestion initially, but it was not at all the book it presented itself as. Even the way you talk about it here is misleading. I get not giving away the twist, but it hardly even felt like a twist because it is readily apparent. It's just misleading marketing copy. The voice wasn't enough to overcome my disappointment with the story experience.
There are books like these that are supposed to be whodunnits but after the first meeting with the friend in his house I had it solved. The inner voice is supposed to give you more incite than just watching a characters actions. Not here. I could not stop reading fast enough.