Reacting to Best Fantasy Series of 2023 - Nearly 10,000 votes!
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Let's react to the best fantasy series and books according to Reddit!
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Piranesi at the 23rd position! I feel validated now, lol. Yay! Also, amazed that The Poppy War is so far! Ohh Sanderson being up top brings me joy! Great video!
The Green Bone Saga is one of my faves as well. I love how each character is written and how we get to watch them develop over many years.
It is amazing 🤩
My copy of Jade city is arriving today, can’t wait!
I remember, after a lifetime of never really being a reader, and stepping into a bookshop for the first time in forever, I remember picking up Elantris, planning to read it over a vacation I had coming up nex week. I proceeded to read not only Elantris, but also the entire mistborn era 1, before actually leaving for the seaside, Sanderson is an writer without peer.
The Witcher at least for me only gets really going with The Blood of Elves, witch I believe is the actual First full novel
Yes. The Last Wish is more a collection of short stories.
Love hearing your thoughts on these series! There are so many that I haven’t gotten to yet, which makes me really excited to keep reading!
I’m currently in school and graduate in August. I am a HUGE Stephen King guy, and The Dark Tower series is the first thing on my list to read after I graduate!
Wow hope you do do soon!
I hope you will enjoy it!
I would change it to something good but hope you enjoy it.
Dark tower should be way higher!!!!!! The drawing of the three and wizard and glass are some of the best fantasy books i ever read
@@Gamin-yyd You must only read awful fantasy.
I have a similar Malazan experience. I read Gardens of the Moon and stopped Deadhouse Gates after about 100 pages. I didn’t hate the books, but I got frustrated because I felt like I only sort of knew what was going on. It made it hard for me to connect to the series, but I may have given up too soon.
Very interesting! I don't use Reddit, so I'm not familiar with the demographics, but it seems likely from the votes that, like most online communities, it skews toward younger folks. It's great to see so many great reads -- old and new -- on the list. Thanks for the video!
Reddit definitely skews towards a younger audience hence why I was pleasantly surprised to see series such as Earthsea that high! Thank you for watching!
Books 1 to 3 of the Harry Dresden Files are good. Yes over the year the writing has improved but that's to be expected. People grow in their craft.
That's a good point!
I agree. I read the first book in one sitting and had such a good time with it
Have to agree. I am currently on book 14 and it’s amazing. The first book wasn’t bad it was good enough that I wanted to know more it just gets better and better.
yeah, it's definitely less that 1-3 are bad and 4 is good, it's more that 1-3are good and 4 is when the series turns great
Crazy how big names like Witcher, Star wars, but even names that made it to the big screen like sandman or martian etc only so far behind the top ten. Personally I love to find hidden gems from indie authors, and that's why I watch youtubers like you. One recent find is actually a dark fantasy Viking book, and so far I'm loving it. It has a map, and tons of artwork, almost feels like a gamebook. You might like it, too. It's called Vikings - origins by viktor koszo
Thanks for the post. I love ancient Nordic culture and this book sounds like it’s right up my alley.
Awesome seeing your reactions! I need to read Greenbone Saga! And Malazan. And Discworld... and half of this list 👀. Awesome to see The Faithful and the Fallen, and also The Bloodsworn Saga, on there.
My criteria for my favourite series, is “which one would I HAVE to have on a desert island” and my answer is always Realm of the Elderlings!!
My top three are Realm of the Elderlings; First Law; the Faithful and the Fallen. In fact ALL the books by Robin Hobb, Joe Abercrombie and John Gwynne.
Those are all amazing choices!
I saw the Expanse at the 25th spot. I'm currently obsessed with that series, the books and the show. Both are awesome. I recommend The Expanse to everyone these days.
The Expanse is on my list! I don't know when I will get to it but hopefully someday 😅
It's sooo good 👌👌
Probably my favorite sci-fi series
@Dan Rou Mine too. For sure!
I recommend the Dresden Files through audiobook. One of the few series I feel the narration actually elevates it.
Yes, the 1st 3 books aren't bad. They're just localized PI stories. It's book 4 where it really expands the scale. But Masters is such an amazing narrarator he makes the 1st 3 books fly by.
Osten Ard Sagas/ Memory Sorrow & Thorn deserves to be much higher. Especially after seeing what Reddit voted into the top 20…
I love the Green Bone Saga! I really enjoyed The Godfather, and this is basically the same thing with a fantasy aspect.
One you did not mention was His Dark Materials, although it's been around for some time it might have spiked in popularity due to the recent HBO series
Malazan was my first time reading fantasy in 2019. It is still the best fantasy series I have read, although my current favourite author is Guy Gavriel Kay.
Regarding your question about Malazan. The first five books could easily be read as standalones. I think that was why I enjoyed them so much. They each have beginning and ends, many new characters and new themes. House of Chains even has a different writing style. In my opinion you could just continue with Deadhouse.
I find that most fantasy series typically just follow the same core characters from one book to the next, making them feel like marathons reads which is probably why I finish very few series. Every book in the Malazan series is fresh and based on different themes instead of a core set of characters, which might be why some people may get thrown off. It was my first fantasy series so I had no idea what to expect, only that it grabbed my interest and kept it throughout to the end. I never got bored with it.
I am impressed that you started with Malazan! I appreciate the comment. I might just pick up where I left with Deadhouse Gates then! Thank you!
@@libraryofaviking I didn't know any better :) I was looking for new historical fiction book on Amazon when Gardens popped up and for some inexplicable reason I started reading the chapter 1 excerpt. I had no idea fantasy could be written like this, so I took a chance and bought Gardens. I was hooked.
For Malazan, if you are starting over, its better to start from Gardens of the moon. Even if you retain 1% of what yoy read earlier, this read will be slightly better. And then you will be able to appreciate DG much more.
I don't have a big problem with this list because it's going to be driven by how many people have read the series. I don't think Legends and Lattes will have any staying power. It's a cute story, but it's very simple. It has a lot of crossover appeal but I can't imagine dedicated epic fantasy readers will continue to vote for it over the years. I'd love to see The Dandelion Dynasty move way up on the list. More fantasy readers need to read that series. It's as brilliant as Stormlight Archive and I don't say that lightly.
I totally agree with you about Legends and Lattes!
I recently read The Grace of Kings and it definitely deserves more love. I look forward to continuing the series!
I've really liked the first two books of Dresden, I lool forward to the next one, so pick up Dresden!
Also, Red Rising series is awesome, I'm currently rereading them with Mike's bookreviews
Reread Gardens of the Moon, so much of the series is built up there and you'll get more with a second read
Lies of Locke Lamora was fantastic, and fun, and gripping as hell, and yet, I barely finished red seas under red skies, and dropped Republic of thieves in the prologue (I would have dropped red skies too most likely, if LoLL wasn't soo good)
kindred just got a series, so that may have boosted it up some
Crazy to see Stormlight Archive passing up Middle Earth here. Book one Way of Kings really is phenomenal though.
How can Tolkien be second on the list of fantasy novels? ME is the foundation of the whole genre.
Just because something was very influential, doesn't mean it'll always be the most popular (in only a reddit user demographic) - just be glad it's as high as 2nd after all these years, Conan (who is also a huge foundation) is down at 201 and the Odyssey isn't on here at all.
Epic of Gilgamesh started fantasy as we know it and it's not on this list. Tolkien is influential, and a lot of works draw inspiration from it, but that doesn't mean it's the best or that it deserves the first place. It doesn't necessarily resonate with readers now, as it didn't with me.
Should be 1. Red Rising. 2. First Law. 3. King Killer. 4. Mistborn
Nothing beats Stormlight Archive 🙏
@@linjicakonikon7666 It's almost like that's their opinion?
Sanderson beats any other writer currently alive in his sleep
@@yomanyo327at being trash.
@@yomanyo327No he doesn't he is good but that's massive disrespect
@@Lilo_D._Boom How is that statement disrespectful, Sanderson is the most prolific author currently and his quality is excellent.
Happy to see Stormlight right where I think it deserves to be! Trying so hard to read Rhythm of War slowly because I don't want to leave Roshar
I started Malazan last month and am on book 3. Book 1 took a while to get my bearings, for sure. Liked book 2 to a lot. In book 3 I am blown away so far.
I will say that I bet you would gain a lot by restarting GotM. But I'm not sure. Book 3 was so much more clear, after having a bit of a shakey foundation with books 1 and 2. I had to slow down with the books but I am definitely loving book 3 and loved the last half of Deadhouse Gates.
I feel the need to give this series another try! Glad you are enjoying it!
Here to leave my monthly “the green bone saga is the best trilogy I’ve ever read” comment. Happiness.
On the Dresden Files;
It's not that the first couple of books are bad in any way, they're fine...
It's more that from book 4-5 the world starts opening up and it goes from fine to great!
Agreed, it's an interesting soft magic system that keeps most of the mystery around magic while also giving some creative alternative version of monsters, magic, and things people are already familiar with from more traditional fantasy. They're generally quick reads but also have a super highly lauded audio books narrated by James Marsden.
This list shows a lot of recency bias, possibly because many older series are not readily available to today's readers. I didn't hear the following mentioned:
The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia McKillip, The Chronicles of the Deryni by Katherine Kurtz, The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Steven Donaldson, The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazney, The Shannara books by Terry Brooks, The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock, The Conan series by Robert E Howard, The Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart, The Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake, The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, The Redwall books by Brian Jacques, the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey, The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, The Witch World series by Andre Norton, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber, The Way of Shadows books by Brent Weeks, The Jirel of Joiry books by C.L. Moore, The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski and The Dagger and the Coin series by Daniel Abraham.
Why do I feel like this list is thesame as of last year and I think stormlight archive is really overhyped
Take a shot everytime he says “this series didn’t work for me AT ALL” 😂😂
The First Law Trilogy is Number 3. Yey!
Cradle is fantastic,
Never worry about being a hater. Your honest opinion of likes and dislikes helps us get an idea on your tastes, which in turn helps us choose the right book for us.
If someone likes every book they read, the review probably becomes meaningless.
Wow, that’s insane that SA surpassed LOTR. I’ve never been able to get into LOTR, can’t stand the writing style and weird songs and stuff, and SA is by far my favorite series all time, but this is surprising.
Greenbone is probably one of my top 5 series.
Don't you think we should judge books on their own merit (independent of the author's life and personal drama), and not worry about the author's personal problems when making such judgments? For example, Patrick Rothfuss. You have read some unfinished series before (like Ken Liu's series, which you read as it was being released, i.e. when it was unfinished, as you loved).
Some great series on there. I'm surprised The Books of Earthsea did so well. I can see why it's iconic (considering when it was written) but it's not great compared to all the books we have now
I thought the first book was awful! No depth to it at all. Cannot, for the life of me, understand the way people wax lyrical about it!!
U need to read Oathbringer and Rhythm of War...Dalinar Kholin...enough said.
TBH, I couldn’t be less interested in Dresden. Also, for those books that did work for you…just say it…I HATED THESE! Lol SAY IT lol
Man faithful and fallen needs to be higher
I loved Green Bone Saga.
Red Rising is well on par with Dune.
I don't really understand this love for Brandon Sanderson. What's so special about his writing?
How Donaldson's 'Thomas Covenant' series is not in the top 10 is blasphemy. Such an underrated series.
I forced myself through a bunch of those books because my parents liked them. He did not work for me as an antihero, didn’t like the portal fantasy, the world and magic system was kind of janky and seemed like a parody of the fantasy genre. It also felt like there was not a lot of pay off in each book and they just kept dangling big questions in front of the reader like “maybe I’ll explain this important facet of the universe in book 14 or 15!” . Maybe a bit harsh, but I didn’t like it.
@@bencressman6110 He's definitely someone who has a more leisurely pace compared to some authors. Wouldn't recommend reading past the first chronicles if you don't vibe with it.
Green Bones Saga really is that good. Legacy might be the best book I’ve ever read. I don’t care what you read after this series, it’s going to suck in comparison.
Crimson Empire series
First Law, Malazan, The Gentlemen Bastards, ASoIF are the best series I’ve ever read and it’s nice to see them getting some love
Brando Sando is a surprise! Tolkien is better.
Berserk at 53 makes me question certain things
Yeah, like why doesn't r/fantasy read more manga?
At 5:56 you call Science Fiction "Sci-Fi" - This is derogatory. "If you're going to abbreviate it, say SF. ...because, within the field of science fiction, it is a very, very derogatory term, so to a writer or a fan of science fiction, it is offensive the same way that racial slurs are offensive." This is because the "term "Sci-fi" was used in a derogatory manner by people in the publishing industry, and then it was adopted by the people it was used against as a term for schlocky crap, like stories that are really formula westerns (or suspense stories, or military sagas) with spaceships and aliens thrown in. "
"SF is preferred because it can stand for ‘speculative fiction’, which can include stories that don’t really have anything to do with science but should be in the same genre. Alternate histories are SF, but often aren’t science fiction. Stories like ‘The Handmaids Tale’ which are set in the near future after major social changes which had nothing to do with scientific advances are also speculative fiction. A story about what would really happen if God made his presence known again would be a good example of SF."
boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-vs-sf-vs-science-fiction-whats-the-big-deal/60605
You know whats also really troubling?? GRRM leaving his audience hanging! I totally hate him for that lol.
Dark mode?
Murderbot was pretty average to me, almost no spot.
Lists like this are interesting to see, but they have very little effect on my enjoyment. Equally interesting is the fact that your tastes and mine are polar opposites. For instance, for me The Dark Tower is vastly overrated, badly-written pulp, while I think Murderbot is brilliant.
It kind of sounds like the list as a whole "doesn't work" for you. :)
What comes after rhythm of war???
Sanderson is currently writing book 5
Knights of Wind and Truth is the working title for the 5th book.
@@Colaman112 thanks
@@hawk66100 thanks
No one talks about the Crimson Empire by Alex Marshall…do yourself a favour!
Green Bone is overrated. As well as the Poppy War though it was good.
Dark tower should be top 5 . Mistborn is overrated . Game of thrones should be number 1 . Jade city is overrated so much recency bias. Read war for the rose thrones peter mcclean way better than jade city similar concept. The last wish and sword of destiny were awesome books and the dresden files are great. Cradle is very good too its very creative and innovative .
It is interesting to see what is resonating with the community at large. But much less interesting to see your messy bed- come on mate!
I absolutely agree with you 🤣🤣🤣
ugh.... blanderson wins... *eyeroll*
I think you are being a bit hard on Patrick Rothfuss here. To me "scamming", implies malicious intent, which I really don't think is there. From what I understand, he hasn't fulfilled commitments he made in relation to funds raised for charity, it's not a good look, but I wouldn't assume that he is either pocketing the money himself or deliberately making promises that he can't fulfil. I also don't believe that he doesn't care about finishing the series. He's said openly that he cares too much to release it in a condition that he is not satisfied with and also talked about mental health challenges he has suffered with. I know it's been a really long time, but I wish people would show a bit more compassion. I'm just reading the books for the first time at the moment and I'm so glad that I went ahead, even if it never gets finished (I still think it will).
GOT would be scam too then yet i Think he read it.
The name of the wind will be reread a 5th time soon. Its fantastic and the final book will be published soon hopefully (he said its basically finished)
Pfff
Well said sir! I remember impatiently waiting for each successive WoT and GoT novel as a youngin. I can wait for anything at this point. Quality > Quantity
Yes and he also shared about his fathers failing health
The Fifth Season was the worst book of my year.
I also hated it.
didnt like it as well, so fkn overhyped
NK Jemisin cannot write.
ThEy DiD NoT WoRk FoR mE
"this didn't work for me"
"this didn't work for me"
"this didn't work for me"
"i haven't read this"
"this didn't work for me"
What's your point? It's HIS reaction video. You like those series? Make your own reaction 👍
@@silverx_1848 just thought it was funny!
idk how Sanderson is so popular,his writing style is for kids...
oh ...wait...
Joe Abercrombie is the king of grim dark in my eye.
Speaking way to fast and at points difficult to understand you