Hot damn--Being on the same list as the likes of Hobb, Wurts, Gwynne, etc, is such an honor. I'm heartened and humbled and incredibly grateful. Such a lovely moment to end the year. Thanks a million! Thanks, too, for putting so many great books and authors on my radar. You've definitely broadened my horizons, in so many ways. Happy new year, my friend. Here's to continuing the journey, finding and appreciating the joy and poignancy, one page, paragraph, sentence at a time.
2025 will be the year I find out how The Sundered Nation Trilogy ends, and I cannot tell you how excited I am for it! Here's to many great reads and much fulfillment from our writing in 2025, Vaughn!
Yes! The audiobook for The Severing Son (book 1) is in production now. Hoping for an early spring release. We’re super excited about our narrator. More details soon. Thanks for asking!
Best trilogy by Mark Lawrence, that's high praise indeed. I'll wait for the last book to come before I dive into that one. Can't wait! Happy New Year with many good reads, Philip!
Thank you, my friend! As I'm reading Janny Wurts' Traitor's Knot, I'm confident I'll have a great end of the year. Lots of exciting stuff on the way for 2025, which will be a big year for Talking Story!
What a stacked year! I am so delighted to see you went on so many unexpected literary adventures that brought you so much joy. Especially your One Piece journey has been delightful to watch, even as someone who hasn't started that adventure myself yet. Here's to more spectacularly failing at meeting our goals and having all the most fun along the way. Cheers! 🥰
Great to hear you speak about the books that moved you this year! I'm very happy that you had so many wonderful reading moments, especially as it means that I got a great number of nice videos to watch.😊 Wishing you a joyful and fulfilling reading year in 2025, Philip!
So excited to give Sundered Nation a try, and I think you've stumbled across a premise for a future book... I'd love to see goths thrust into Eormenlond 😂 Great list as a whole!
Nothing like The Slog of Slogs!! Wonderful hearing all your choices for 2024! I'm so happy you mentioned a non-fiction book on your list. I've found many non-fiction books have complimentary ideas to the fiction I read. I will look up The Dawn of Everything and One Piece. Wonderful year, my friend! Wishing you the best reading experiences in 2025!
Thank you, my friend! I'm so glad you were a big part of some of the stories I've explored this year, and I can't wait to see what we discover in 2025!
I so look forward to all your videos Philip, but I must say this is the one perhaps I look forward too the most! You are such a fantastic reviewer, and with only a few words, you beautifully convey the greatness of these novels! And I love seeing you look back at the year at what you read, why some books were your favs, and how they impacted you! So happy to see some of my fav authors on your year-end list of great reads! Of course, for me Wurts, Lawrence, Gwynne, Roycroft & Bakker in particular stand out! Again, I also can't wait to get to Octavia Butler's work this year, and your rec only makes me more eager! Happy 2025 reading, may it even surpass your amazing 2024!
Thank you so much, P.L.! I’ll be keen to see what you make of Octavia Butler’s writing. She definitely earned the respect! I wish you an amazing year of reading and writing in 2025 as well!
What a great list, Philip! I love that we were reading Fitz & the Fool around the same time - I was eagerly following along with your thoughts 😂 You've made me really interested in The Dawn of Everything! Heres to an amazing reading year come 2025!
@@ZOMGfantasy Thank you, Zammar! It’s good to know that someone else was shedding tears over Assassin’s Fate at the same time that I was. Best wishes for your reading and writing in 2025!
It sounds like 2024 was a great year for you! Two things I'm looking forward to on your channel in 2025: hitting 50K subscribers, and all your GGK content! :) Happy New Year!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I love to hear that. Let me know when you plan to read A Song for Arbonne and I'll reread it with you - that book is special to me.
Hope you had a great Christmas, Philip! This is a great compilation of the best reading experiences of the year. You might have convinced me to try to squeeze in the Bhagavad Gita to my already full 2025 TBR; as an avid fan of mythology and religion, I feel I have a severe gap in knowledge in the eastern department, but the Bhagavad Gita seems like the perfect place to start!
The Bhagavad Gita is a pivotal moment in the greater epic The Mahabharata, but it also serves as a philosophical text on its own, and so it would be a great place to start. I hope you'll encounter many wonderful stories in 2025! All the best!
Very nice line-up of favorites. I wanted to try Roycroft's trilogy since you mentioned the first book on your channel, and maybe 2025 would be the year for it. Also, I have The Dawn of Everything and I can't wait to start reading it. As a historian myself, I like books that bring new ideas and interpretations to the table, and this one would be right up my alley.
I have loved having many of my assumptions challenged by The Dawn of Everything. It's rare for a book to do something like that. I hope you'll get a lot from it, Sy! I also hope you'll enjoy The Sundered Nation Trilogy -- definitely a historical approach to fantasy.
Hello! I found your channel today and enjoyed your discussions of RoP as I am a fan. I have subscribed to both channels. I would recommend Octavia E Butler's "Kindred." I'm hoping to read the John Gwynn series in 2025. Thanks for the video. Looking forward to more.
Oooh, I just started The dawn of everything and was already thinking how it would change how I approach fantasy and worldbuilding. Truly amazing! Also Hobb is one of my absolute favorites, one of the series that impacted me the most. Great recs, jotting other things down!
You had a wonderful world of reading it sounds like. I love your attitude and the positivity you share. I will have to check out The Bhagavada Gita one day, to step out of my normal set of reads.
I really liked how you presented this video as books that inspired and impacted you this year. This, to me, is more meaningful than a "my top ten list of year" that seems to be the norm right now. Well done! And cannot wait to see what you have to say about 'The Book That Held Her Heart' by Mark Lawrence. Been a huge fan of his for years!
Thank you so much! From the early reviews I’ve read, I’m expecting The Book That Held Her Heart to be a very emotional read. I would expect nothing less of Mark Lawrence. All the best to you!
What a great reading year! Always appreciate you being a champion of the self published space. I to failed spectacularly in trying to read everything I wanted to in 2024 and cant wait to do it again in 2025
Thank you for all of the great recommendations! As someone who hasn't spared the time to read proper novels in a while it's motivating me to get back to them! Hope you have a great new year full of great new reads!
I’m taking the non-ranking approach next time since I find it so hard to effectively rank my reads-any of em can slot to the top on any given day 😂 I really do have to get to the Dawn of Everything this year. Sounds like something I’d really enjoy and you have me so excited for when my WoLaS read comes
Can't wait for you to keep up with One Piece, the stuffs happening currently are mind-blowing. After you keep up with the latest chapters, are you gonna review the chapters weekly? Would love to hear your thoughts about the theories too
If you reach for the stars, you'll at least have a nice view. I read the first Farseer trilogy at the end of last year, I have Liveship Traders in the lineup for this year. I love Hobb, fantastic author. The Book That Wouldn't Burn is on my short list, but it might be a 2026 series. We'll see how things go this year. Octavia Butler is an author on my list to get into. R. Scott Baker - I have The Prince of Nothing series in my TBR as well! We'll see how well it works for me. I just picked up The Severing Son from a year end sale! Can't wait to get into his work. New goths would be a VERY different story lol. We did pick up Tanna the Tendersword for my son this Christmas, can't wait to see what he thinks. Starting Curse of the Mistwraith immenintly! Can't wait to be part of that read along. Probably getting to The Bound and the Broken in 2026, we'll see. John Gwynne is on the TBR before Ryan though. I'm not sure if I really caught on to it before I left high school, but at least since then I'm become more aware of how much history that we were taught simple was not factual. It doesn't help that those textbooks are not updated with all of the latest and greatest findings, but you also have the removal of so much that should have been passed down by the "victors". And what's worse is that the removal of some info was relatively recent (such as during Woodrow Wilson's term) I'll definitely check out The Dawn of Everything, sounds intriguing.
I am so glad you finished your Realm of the Elderlings journey. It was such a pivotal series for me at the time in my life when I needed something exactly like it. I'm going to try that Mark Lawrence trilogy when it's complete. The themes you mentioned are of great interest to me. I think I will check out the non-fiction book you highlighted. Smack Gobble!
Very much looking forward to starting war of light and shadow! I've started The Gallant and Janny Wurts has such a unique language. It really has shown me what an incredible medium of writing is so variable and individualistic that Janny Wurts can come around and show me something I haven't seen before.
@@RhysWritings Janny Wurts’ prose is not only distinctive but unique. It’s incredibly rich and allows her to give readers a sense of immersion in her world. Best of luck, Rhys!
So wonderful to overlap with you this year on Assassin’s Fate and finishing up the Realm of the Elderlings journey - it was truly unforgettable. Can’t wait to try all these other series!
I would like to hear more about the non-fiction and other literature you read! I just finished a MA program in Byzantine theology, so I'm always interested in ancient & global perspectives. Meanwhile, since I have finally finished that program, I hope to start my own channel, "A Contemplative Reader" in 2025. Happy New Year & peace be with you!
Unrelated note - is there a book you can recommend on the Schism for the differences between Catholic and Orthodox theology? It is a gap I would like to fill after reading quite a bit on the Reformation. And do you subscribe to the Bible and Archaeology channel?
@@GentleGiantJason I’ve read a couple early reviews of The Book That Held Her Heart that have me even more excited for it. Apparently, it would be a good idea to stock up on tissues in advance of reading it!
Thank you for a year of fun and enlightening content! I look forward to another year of deciding I NEED another book or 40 and get further behind on my stack of ‘next reads’!’ Not the worst semi-problem to have, though! Again, thank you!
Finally watching this. I'm so glad you're still loving One Piece. I didn't expect you to ever read it, but I'm glad I got proven wrong. I definitely wanna check out Wars of Light and Shadow. R.Scott Bakker not so much lol.
Awesome video Philip! I’ll be starting Wars of Light & Shadow next year. I’m excited to start John Gwynne finally as well. I ran a poll, and it looks like most people think I should start with the Banished Lands.
hi Phillip!! Loved the video!! If you haven't already I'd highly reccommend reading The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia A. Mckillip its such an interestingly different fantasy series. Like I have never read anything quite like this yet. Feels like a mix of Earthsea and your own Edan series!
Excellent list Philip! The Library Trilogy makes an appearance on my 2024 favorites too. 2025 will also be the year I read from the amazing Janny Wurts.
I’m not finished with your video but I have to say that I’ve been reading The Prince of Nothing trilogy. I’m currently two thirds of the way through The Warrior Prophet. Given some of the darker fantasy books that I haven’t enjoyed in the past this series shouldn’t be working for me, but it is! It may have to do with how much I like his writing.
@@geauxreadbooks There’s no doubt about Bakker’s talent. I think it’s also good to engage with books we disagree with philosophically or that challenge us in other ways. All the best, Matt!
I have never been a person who reads in my free time but watching your videos have made me want to try it. What would you recommend to someone hasn’t done a lot of reading in their life?
If you're looking for fantasy, there's a wide array of possible choices. Here are some series that I think could be good introductions to fantasy. They are not super complicated, but they are written for adults: The Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne, The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (this one is grimdark), Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence, and The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. There are many great lists on the internet, and you could also check out people's Top Ten lists or favorite lists here on UA-cam by searching for something like "Top Ten Fantasy stories" or something like that. Best wishes!
Great list! I have just gotten back into fiction and fantasy/sci-fi this year. I had been reading a lot of non-fiction and theology. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a really good book if you haven't read it and like theology. I read the Bloodsworn trilogy this year and really enjoyed it. Also, I read the Farseer trilogy and fell in love with Hobb's writing. She is one of my favorite authors now.
It's an extremely good sign if you already love Farseer -- for me, peak Hobb began in the third trilogy (Tawny Man), but there is so much to love throughout the greater series. I wish you the very best on your continuing Realm of the Elderlings journey!
Wonderful video sir. I’m afraid I’m way behind on your content this year and still need to read books 2 and 3 in Edan … 2025 needs to be a lot more productive for me in all areas then 2024 and 2023 were. So happy to see Assassin’s Fate, a top 5 all-time book for me on your list. I’m sure you know this already, but RotE is an amazing series to reread (though I need to reread Fitz and the Fool at some point still.) Happy New Year my friend!
@@BaldBookTuber Many thanks, Scot! One of the best things about books is that they always wait for you to find the right time for them. My very best to you for 2025!
Sounds like you had a productive year Philip. I had a bit of a slow year reading wise, but I can't say it was a bad one. 48 going to be 49 books for this year. I don't like that number, but eh, what are you gonna do? Glad to see Butler getting some love, she will be on my favorites of the year also...and go read Kindred, it's a fantastic book. I hope 2025 is as productive!
Somehow, I missed this video when you released it. I'm a couple of days late. 😬 You had a great reading year. Mine was pretty good, as well. My top books include The Age of Madness trilogy, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Pillars of the Earth, the Suneater series, A Song for Arbonne, the Blackwater Saga, Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff, and I'll throw Wind and Truth on the list. I read the Sunset Sovereign book after watching your SPFBOX video. I really liked the concept of the book, but the execution was a little lacking. The author could really use an editor. Or three. The spelling and grammar were too distracting for me to enjoy the book. Anyway, happy new year, Philip! I'm looking forward to more book talk in 2025!🎉
Thanks! The nonfiction books I read are important for me for many reasons, not least because they inform my writing, so perhaps I should mention them more often. All the best!
We read some of the same books in 2024. I agree, that Robin Hobb series has some strong emotions. Similar thoughts with that chunky Cahill and the fury of Gwynne as well. My thought-cage was rattled, and I loved it!
I knew the way Brian Bell of BellTube raved about The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword, more commonly know as TTTOTTT, was a special read, as account of Brian's joy, humor, and goofiness. I'm glad that a wholesome Middle Grade work made it through in the contest, through the recommendation of a Quilluminatti member that knows his humor and goofiness.
@@markusbisma5015 I’m determined to read Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth in 2025, having enjoyed the first two books and having found parts of the third book engaging. Cheers!
Philip I am tackling Malazan in 2025 as you put it ahead of LOTR and I am stoked…but I think once you read Tad Williams The Last King of Osten Ard you may have to squeeze it in your top 5 somehow! If Tolkien passed his torch it was to him!!
Having read Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn a long while back, I can agree that the Tolkien influence is strong in Tad Williams' beautiful writing. That said, I think that Williams includes things in Osten Ard, such as a fairly obvious analogue for the Roman Catholic Church, that I suspect would have irked Tolkien, though of course I don't speak for him, and you never know. But I do very much want to reread Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and then continue! Cheers, Heidi!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy You are the second person to tell me about this church connection… I never noticed it, religion seems to be a supporting character in Osten Ard. It will be interesting if it becomes a bigger player. I guess Tolkien would have disliked GGK even more as his analogue to the Christians, Jews & Muslims are exactly the same except for the names.
I cannot wait for you to catch up to one piece. Although I can't see it happening before 2026 at the pace the first half went. We will probably be about 60-70% of the way through the current arc by the time you get caught up. The story gets a lot meatier going forward.
I recommend to continue with Parable of the Talents. It’s an incredible story together. Olamina as a character there becomes as she would be and that’s why we understand the reason people founded a religion on these books. It’s very unfortunate that we can’t see what she intended as final chapter but even then we see it as a finished one this way. Realm of the Elderlings. Well, that’s quite a journey. And now Robin Hobb is about to add new books to it. So don’t worry we are not done. She announced 2 more novels in progress.
My favourites would be: A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay Tawny Man 1: Fool's Errand Wars of Light & Shadow 3: Warhost of Vastmark Earthsea 4: Tehanu The Merchant & The Alchemist's Gate / Ted Chiang Mystic River / Dennis Lehane Lonesome Dove / Larry McMurtry The Disaster Artist / Greg Sestero Memory Sorrow & Thorn 3: Green Angel Tower Hobb would dominate this if I didn't limit this to 1 per author 😅 Like she'd have 6 books at least 2024 was easily my best reading year in a very long time, but also, the best year for me irl in a very long time. I'm amazed I read as much as I did, considering I put more time and effort into weight loss than reading.
My heartfelt congratulations on the wonderful year you had, both in books and outside books! Hobb deserves the love, but everything else on your list is fantastic too. I'll be reading Mystic River for the Quilluminati in March -- looking forward to it!
Stop that you unicorns! ... No, we're not ordering a box set of One Piece! ... I said no! ... We're not starting a manga channel, no! ... Just because Dr Fantasy says it's his happy place doesn't mean we're reading it! ... Leave that credit card alone, do you hear me! ... NooooOoooo!!!!
If you want to read more One Piece at some point, there are a couple of novels about Ace called Ace's story😃 Oda did not write them himself, but he did have a meeting with the writers.
@@TheLibraryofAllenxandria 😂 That’s because you’re too busy being a glamorous audiobook narrator! I do think you’d find The Dawn of Everything to be an interesting read.
failing to read all the books you wanted in a year is a great sign that you have read too many good books, hopefully you fail again in 2025 haha. Also, just curious, any idea when the one piece fishmen island video will be up?
I am so looking forward to failing in 2025! 😁I'll finish reading Fishman Island in probably three or four days, and then I'll take another couple days, most likely, to put together the video. So, maybe in a week. All the best!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy cheers! Well i hope you had a great Christmas and wishing you a happy new year in advance! Can't wait to see you advance in your one piece journey in 2025.
Not a bad list of books at all! And surprisingly enough, I have read several of them. Jenny Wurts is an author I really would like to read, but unfortunately there isn't a single one of her books in the Greater Helsinki library system. The same goes, of course, for the self-published books. Interesting is that we have a "disagreement" between us as regard the Fury of the Gods, which I found to be fairly good, i.e. three stars from me, but still disappointing. In my opinion, it had some totally extraneous not very interesting things, and way too much fighting that was very well writtten but extremely repetitive, and why on earth does Johan Gwynne have the need to kill off his most interesting and conflicted characters? Do you, by the way, think that he is planning a second trilogy in the same world? He at least has set up the field for that with all the extraneous things. Anyway, in 2024 I read 134 books, which honestly was a bit too much, and I have narroved those down to the best 15. These are in reading order, no rereads, just one book per author, and the title is in the original language in which I read the book: Kaikessa lihassa on tahto by Jenny Kangasvuo The Spear Cuts through Water by Simon Jimenez Arrival by Ted Chiang Lahtarit by Anneli Kanto L’étranger by Albert Camus Die Enkelin by Bernhard Schlink Tiranan sydän by Pajtim Statovci De fattiga i Łódź by Steve Sem-Sandberg The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Sydänmeri by Anni Kuu Nuppunen Röda rummet by August Strindberg Vadelmavenepakolainen by Miika Nousiainen The City & The City by China Miéville Jade City by Fonda Lee I hope you have a great reading year in 2025!
That’s a fantastic year of reading! Congratulations! In regard to Gwynne writing more in the world of the Bloodsworn Saga, I agree that he left the opening. That said, when I chatted with him on the channel, he didn’t seem like he was sure if he’d return, but he seemed open to it. All the best!
Love these videos very much, extremely good work. if I may suggest these two manga Dororo (どろろ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka's childhood memory of his friends pronouncing dorobō (どろぼう, "thief") as dororo inspired the title of the series. (This was made in the late 60 but it is a fabulous read). SPY×FAMILY by Endou Tatsuya
I'm surprised I haven't read the Bhagavad Gita yet, seems right in my wheelhouse, plus my spouse bought me a nice copy of it a few years back, no reason now I shouldn't. Definitely the year I start into Mark Lawrence's work. Some great reads here all around, Philip. I hope 2025 brings you so many more. 🍻
Thank you, Christopher! I’m sure you’ll get a lot from The Bhagavad Gita. Also, I bet you’ll appreciate Lawrence’s writing craft. He’s a very economical writer. All the best!
Oh yes flawed characters are way more interesting and thus also their opportunity to grow is much higher. so tired of the empty copy pasta shells in romantasy books and well some fantasy books lack character depth too. On the other hand finding unqiue, complex, flawed characters is a joy. Glokta will haunt me forever i assume.
Happy Holidays to you and the family Philip! ❤ What a great list! So awesome to see Bhagvad Gita on this (or any 2024) list haha 😀 Can’t wait to get to the library trilogy. Oh and Wurts. Ah and Bakker! You’ll have to forgive me if I’m just lifting my Tbr Entirely from you these days
HELL YEAH ONE PIECE!!! Please remember sir if you are going to read other mangas...like books some my not be good in your eyes or diffrent form your taste but nonetheless please read them some might be a suprise to you.
I'm so happy you got into one piece!!! it proves a point to a lot of "it's silly and meant for young adult" kind of people. here is fact: IT'S NOT. And here you are a living and breathing argument against that statement.
@@lodiac It’s a shame if anyone dismisses something like One Piece without really knowing anything about it. Instead of dismissing it, they should at least wonder why so many people love it. All the best!
Ha ha! Not at all! Actually, I've been enjoying it. I don't think it will be my favorite saga so far, but I am loving the explicit exploration of themes related to oppression and cycles of violence. And you never know -- the ending might blow me away!
Professional archaeologist here, Graeber and Wengrow wrote an important book, but it's instructive to keep their ideology in mind when assessing their evaluation of the evidence. Their 'debunking' of Pinker for instance is (to me) not convincing and involves a lot of cherries and picking (not that Pinker is beyond criticism, to be clear). But hey, it's an important book to keep this conversation going and to upend some erroneous beliefs.
It's always good to hear a professional's perspective. Not being an expert, I am hesitant to disagree with Graeber and Wengrow with much conviction about the specifics, but there have been some places in the book where I raised my eyebrows. That said, the real value in the book to me is the pattern of questioning and the encouragement to take a fresh look at narratives that have gone unquestioned for too long based on a new assessment of the evidence. The perspective shift I've experienced as a result of engaging with The Dawn of Everything has been invigorating. All the best!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy In retrospect I shouldn't have mentioned I'm a professional. It shouldn't be about postition but about argument (in anything, but especially scholarship and science). Anyway, I didn't mean to be too down on the book, it's good in many ways, but a little too much political ideology for my taste (which shouldn't be a surprise, considering Graebers history). It's an interesting exercise to read this book together with Pinkers 'Enlightenment Now' or 'Better Angels of our Nature'. Not that you haven't got enough to read. On that note, I want to say I really enjoy your content. It seems we have similar taste in books which makes your assessments interesting to me. Thanks and 'de beste wensen voor 2025!'
@ No worries at all - I think we ought to listen to people who have spent years studying a particular field when discussing ideas about said field. And thank you for the recommendation! I actually read The Better Angels of our Nature more than a decade ago, and though I can’t remember a lot of the specifics, I recall very much wanting to believe that Pinker was right that we are becoming less violent as a species but not feeling entirely convinced. I’ll add his more recent book to my TBR!
I will definitely have a read of Dawn of Everything. I always find these anthropological histories fascinating, but I agree that one needs to be very mindful of the authors’ political ideologies. When there is a lot of ground to cover and at the same time very limited evidence, it’s all too easy to create a distorted narrative. Sapiens by Harari, for example, is often quite guilty of this, while still having thought provoking moments.
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I think Enlightenment Now is a better and more convincing read although the subject is more broad. But as always, data doesn't speak, we need theories. And that is where debate comes in.
«Bold Ascension» & «Fury of the Gods»!😎🙌 As I have still a couple of books left on my dock, a temporary leaderboard would be: 1)Split: «Imperium» by Robert Harris (Historical Fiction, book #1 in Cicero Trilogy about the Eponymous Roman Statesman: Harris is such an amazingly witty and knowledgeable Historical Fiction Writer, his Cicero from the eponymous Trilogy is easily my Favorite Character of 2024!) & «A Brightness Long Ago» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by the Mercenary Wars of Renaissance Italy: What can I say that is not already said about GGK, the Prose, the Characters, the Interactions, the Descriptions, all top notch!) 2)«Når landet mørknar» (Approximately «When The Land Darkens») by Tore Kvæven (Historical Fiction set during the 13th Century end of the Norse Settlement of Greenland, think of it as a Norse John Steinbeck novel, winner of the Brage Prize for Best Norwegian Novel in 2018: With endearing doomed characters and an ecological interplay between nature and man worthy of a Fantasy World Build, I think it is a shame that there most likely would be difficult to translate the understated nuances from his laconic style from Nynorsk to English! ) 3)Split: «To Green Angel Tower» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy: What an amazing width, going from the cozy to the horrific, the mundane to the epic, that is simply astonishing and deserves to be more celebrated! ) & «The Warrior Prophet» (The Prince of Nothing #2) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune: A genuinely challenging author in his themes & descriptions and an intricate world-builder, who puts his characters literally through Hell and back!) 4)«Howling Dark» (Sun Eater #2) by Christopher Ruocchio (Space opera: I love how effortlessly he weaves in both Genre & Classic Literature and Art into a natural world building and is not afraid to go weird, philosophical and esoteric! ) 5) Split: «Sword in the Storm» & «Midnight Falcon» (Rigante #1 & #2) by David Gemmell (Heroic Fantasy/S&S inspired by Celtic Britain and the Roman Invasions of Julius Ceasar, can be read a two part novel or stand-alones: Easily the best character ensemble writer of this year, you get humbled by the empathy Gemmell gave to even his minor characters or antagonists, with incredible emotional callbacks!) Cheers Professor!
Hot damn--Being on the same list as the likes of Hobb, Wurts, Gwynne, etc, is such an honor. I'm heartened and humbled and incredibly grateful. Such a lovely moment to end the year. Thanks a million! Thanks, too, for putting so many great books and authors on my radar. You've definitely broadened my horizons, in so many ways. Happy new year, my friend. Here's to continuing the journey, finding and appreciating the joy and poignancy, one page, paragraph, sentence at a time.
2025 will be the year I find out how The Sundered Nation Trilogy ends, and I cannot tell you how excited I am for it! Here's to many great reads and much fulfillment from our writing in 2025, Vaughn!
Do you have audiobook plans?
Yes! The audiobook for The Severing Son (book 1) is in production now. Hoping for an early spring release. We’re super excited about our narrator. More details soon. Thanks for asking!
@vaughnroycroft999 if you remember, tag me when you do 🤓
Will do!
Best trilogy by Mark Lawrence, that's high praise indeed. I'll wait for the last book to come before I dive into that one. Can't wait! Happy New Year with many good reads, Philip!
@@amitwagner5075 I can’t wait for The Book That Held Her Heart! My best to you too, Amit!
It will always amaze me that Oda achieved the peak that is the summit war saga without 90% of his main supporting cast.
@@jeremyj5498 I’m looking forward to what’s to come in One Piece!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasyI'm dying Phil. I need more One Piece
Peak is egghead and wano actually@@brandoncantoran6190
What an amazing year my friend! Hope it finishes up as strong in these last few days. All the best!
Thank you, my friend! As I'm reading Janny Wurts' Traitor's Knot, I'm confident I'll have a great end of the year. Lots of exciting stuff on the way for 2025, which will be a big year for Talking Story!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy 25 is gonna be another great 1 here on booktube!
Merry Christmas Phillip, loved discovering your channel this year :)
Thank you! It's been a great year of interacting with wonderful people through the channel.
I've been looking forward to your favorites, you articulate your thoughts so well! Hope 2025 brings you awesome books too! 🎉
@@ThrivingWithKat Many thanks, Kat, and I hope the same for you!
Looks like you had a great reading year, Philip! Here's to a great 2025.
Thank you so much! I wish the same to you!
What a stacked year! I am so delighted to see you went on so many unexpected literary adventures that brought you so much joy. Especially your One Piece journey has been delightful to watch, even as someone who hasn't started that adventure myself yet. Here's to more spectacularly failing at meeting our goals and having all the most fun along the way. Cheers! 🥰
@@esmayrosalyne Thank you, Esmay! I wish you the very best for all your reads and adventures in 2025!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Thanks a lot, and right back at you :)
Great to hear you speak about the books that moved you this year! I'm very happy that you had so many wonderful reading moments, especially as it means that I got a great number of nice videos to watch.😊 Wishing you a joyful and fulfilling reading year in 2025, Philip!
Thank you so much, Angela! I wish you exactly the same for 2025!
So excited to give Sundered Nation a try, and I think you've stumbled across a premise for a future book... I'd love to see goths thrust into Eormenlond 😂
Great list as a whole!
@@NerdLevelRising Ha ha! A zombie goth invasion might be just the thing! Cheers, Jake!
Nothing like The Slog of Slogs!! Wonderful hearing all your choices for 2024! I'm so happy you mentioned a non-fiction book on your list. I've found many non-fiction books have complimentary ideas to the fiction I read. I will look up The Dawn of Everything and One Piece. Wonderful year, my friend! Wishing you the best reading experiences in 2025!
Thank you, my friend! I'm so glad you were a big part of some of the stories I've explored this year, and I can't wait to see what we discover in 2025!
Awesome list Philip! I really want to get more into Octavia Butler and will want to read Parable soon!
@valliyarnl Thank you, Wera! I look forward to chatting with you soon!
Adding Bold Ascension to the tbr. You’ve got some great books here that I’m looking forward to! 🔥
@@Alicia-606 Best wishes for Bold Ascension! Cheers!
I so look forward to all your videos Philip, but I must say this is the one perhaps I look forward too the most! You are such a fantastic reviewer, and with only a few words, you beautifully convey the greatness of these novels! And I love seeing you look back at the year at what you read, why some books were your favs, and how they impacted you! So happy to see some of my fav authors on your year-end list of great reads! Of course, for me Wurts, Lawrence, Gwynne, Roycroft & Bakker in particular stand out! Again, I also can't wait to get to Octavia Butler's work this year, and your rec only makes me more eager! Happy 2025 reading, may it even surpass your amazing 2024!
Thank you so much, P.L.! I’ll be keen to see what you make of Octavia Butler’s writing. She definitely earned the respect! I wish you an amazing year of reading and writing in 2025 as well!
What a great list, Philip! I love that we were reading Fitz & the Fool around the same time - I was eagerly following along with your thoughts 😂
You've made me really interested in The Dawn of Everything!
Heres to an amazing reading year come 2025!
@@ZOMGfantasy Thank you, Zammar! It’s good to know that someone else was shedding tears over Assassin’s Fate at the same time that I was. Best wishes for your reading and writing in 2025!
It sounds like 2024 was a great year for you! Two things I'm looking forward to on your channel in 2025: hitting 50K subscribers, and all your GGK content! :) Happy New Year!
@@RedFuryBooks Thank you, Josh! I’m eager to get to GGK’s books, which will be a feature on my channel for the next couple of years, I hope!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I love to hear that. Let me know when you plan to read A Song for Arbonne and I'll reread it with you - that book is special to me.
@ Sounds like a plan! I look forward to it, Josh!
Hope you had a great Christmas, Philip! This is a great compilation of the best reading experiences of the year. You might have convinced me to try to squeeze in the Bhagavad Gita to my already full 2025 TBR; as an avid fan of mythology and religion, I feel I have a severe gap in knowledge in the eastern department, but the Bhagavad Gita seems like the perfect place to start!
The Bhagavad Gita is a pivotal moment in the greater epic The Mahabharata, but it also serves as a philosophical text on its own, and so it would be a great place to start. I hope you'll encounter many wonderful stories in 2025! All the best!
What a wonderful eclectic selection of reading you have had this year. Here’s to another year filled with wonderful reads and happiness.
@@krzysamm7095 Thank you so much! I wish the same to you!
Those are some pretty good picks! I picked up The Dawn of Everything after seeing it on your channel, I'm looking forward to starting it next year!
The Dawn of Everything is one of those rare books that really changes the narrative. I'm so glad I read it. All the best!
Very nice line-up of favorites. I wanted to try Roycroft's trilogy since you mentioned the first book on your channel, and maybe 2025 would be the year for it. Also, I have The Dawn of Everything and I can't wait to start reading it. As a historian myself, I like books that bring new ideas and interpretations to the table, and this one would be right up my alley.
I have loved having many of my assumptions challenged by The Dawn of Everything. It's rare for a book to do something like that. I hope you'll get a lot from it, Sy! I also hope you'll enjoy The Sundered Nation Trilogy -- definitely a historical approach to fantasy.
Sounds like an awesome list of books! Hope the next year is just as good, if not better!
Thank you so much, N.A.! The same right back at you for 2025!
@ thank you! I do have a lot I’m looking forward to!
Hello! I found your channel today and enjoyed your discussions of RoP as I am a fan. I have subscribed to both channels. I would recommend Octavia E Butler's "Kindred." I'm hoping to read the John Gwynn series in 2025. Thanks for the video. Looking forward to more.
@@heatherm561 Thank you, Heather! I have a feeling Kindred is going to be an extremely impactful read. All the best!
Oooh, I just started The dawn of everything and was already thinking how it would change how I approach fantasy and worldbuilding. Truly amazing! Also Hobb is one of my absolute favorites, one of the series that impacted me the most. Great recs, jotting other things down!
@@isa-wt2lb My very best to you for the rest of The Dawn of Everything, and also for all your reads in 2025!
You had a wonderful world of reading it sounds like. I love your attitude and the positivity you share. I will have to check out The Bhagavada Gita one day, to step out of my normal set of reads.
@@laurah448 Thank you, Laura! I hope you’ll enjoy The Bhagavad Gita, and I wish you the very best for all your reads!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you and yours!
@@dadefectivedunyain Thank you, and the same to you! 😊
I really liked how you presented this video as books that inspired and impacted you this year. This, to me, is more meaningful than a "my top ten list of year" that seems to be the norm right now. Well done! And cannot wait to see what you have to say about 'The Book That Held Her Heart' by Mark Lawrence. Been a huge fan of his for years!
Thank you so much! From the early reviews I’ve read, I’m expecting The Book That Held Her Heart to be a very emotional read. I would expect nothing less of Mark Lawrence. All the best to you!
What a great reading year! Always appreciate you being a champion of the self published space. I to failed spectacularly in trying to read everything I wanted to in 2024 and cant wait to do it again in 2025
@@TomOrange Thank you, Tom! Here’s to failing beautifully in 2025!
Happy New Year, Philip! May 2025 be filled with wonderful pages for you & I.
Thank you, Curt! I wish for the very same!
Thank you for all of the great recommendations! As someone who hasn't spared the time to read proper novels in a while it's motivating me to get back to them! Hope you have a great new year full of great new reads!
@@tedwards1025 My very best to you for some wonderful reading experiences!
I’m taking the non-ranking approach next time since I find it so hard to effectively rank my reads-any of em can slot to the top on any given day 😂
I really do have to get to the Dawn of Everything this year. Sounds like something I’d really enjoy and you have me so excited for when my WoLaS read comes
We will be the non-ranking rebels of BookTube, Chance! Here's to many great reads and some good writing in 2025!
@ absolutely! Looking forward to the Bonehunters spoiler chats of yours I’m gonna hunt down and watch 😂
Philip great one! 💯
@@vinodvagadurgi414 Many thanks! 😊
Hope you had a great holiday! i really enjoyed the video can't wait to see what the new year has in store for fantasy!
@@BigOops420 Thanks so much! My very best wishes to you for the new year!
Can't wait for you to keep up with One Piece, the stuffs happening currently are mind-blowing.
After you keep up with the latest chapters, are you gonna review the chapters weekly? Would love to hear your thoughts about the theories too
@@godofthemodernlands Thank you! Once I’m caught up, I intend to review chapters weekly and weigh in on the theories. I’m looking forward to it!
If you reach for the stars, you'll at least have a nice view.
I read the first Farseer trilogy at the end of last year, I have Liveship Traders in the lineup for this year. I love Hobb, fantastic author.
The Book That Wouldn't Burn is on my short list, but it might be a 2026 series. We'll see how things go this year.
Octavia Butler is an author on my list to get into.
R. Scott Baker - I have The Prince of Nothing series in my TBR as well! We'll see how well it works for me.
I just picked up The Severing Son from a year end sale! Can't wait to get into his work. New goths would be a VERY different story lol.
We did pick up Tanna the Tendersword for my son this Christmas, can't wait to see what he thinks.
Starting Curse of the Mistwraith immenintly! Can't wait to be part of that read along.
Probably getting to The Bound and the Broken in 2026, we'll see. John Gwynne is on the TBR before Ryan though.
I'm not sure if I really caught on to it before I left high school, but at least since then I'm become more aware of how much history that we were taught simple was not factual. It doesn't help that those textbooks are not updated with all of the latest and greatest findings, but you also have the removal of so much that should have been passed down by the "victors". And what's worse is that the removal of some info was relatively recent (such as during Woodrow Wilson's term) I'll definitely check out The Dawn of Everything, sounds intriguing.
@@christhewritingjester3164 Thank you, Chris! You have some amazing reads ahead of you, and I wish you the best for all of them!
I love the best of the year time ❤❤
It's a lot of fun to see everybody's favorites!
I am so glad you finished your Realm of the Elderlings journey. It was such a pivotal series for me at the time in my life when I needed something exactly like it. I'm going to try that Mark Lawrence trilogy when it's complete. The themes you mentioned are of great interest to me. I think I will check out the non-fiction book you highlighted. Smack Gobble!
@@BrianBell7 I predict you’ll love Lawrence’s Library Trilogy, Brian. The Dawn of Everything has been a mind blowing experience for me. Smack Gobble!
Excellent list my friend! I know I have a couple of those as well on mine. Looking forward to next year!
@@thefantasythinker Thank you, Jarrod! I look forward to our discussion of The Book That Held Her Heart in 2025!
Very much looking forward to starting war of light and shadow! I've started The Gallant and Janny Wurts has such a unique language. It really has shown me what an incredible medium of writing is so variable and individualistic that Janny Wurts can come around and show me something I haven't seen before.
@@RhysWritings Janny Wurts’ prose is not only distinctive but unique. It’s incredibly rich and allows her to give readers a sense of immersion in her world. Best of luck, Rhys!
So wonderful to overlap with you this year on Assassin’s Fate and finishing up the Realm of the Elderlings journey - it was truly unforgettable.
Can’t wait to try all these other series!
@@BooksWithBenghisKahn Thank you, Ben, and best wishes for 2025!
Great list! As an eclectic reader, I appreciate you sharing books outside of the fantasy and sci-fi genres. I’m intrigued by The Dawn of Everything.
@@SarahAsYouWish I hope you’ll get a lot from The Dawn of Everything if you decide to give it a try!
I would like to hear more about the non-fiction and other literature you read! I just finished a MA program in Byzantine theology, so I'm always interested in ancient & global perspectives. Meanwhile, since I have finally finished that program, I hope to start my own channel, "A Contemplative Reader" in 2025. Happy New Year & peace be with you!
Thank you, Jay! Congratulations on finishing your MA! Please let me know when you start your channel, and best wishes for 2025!
Unrelated note - is there a book you can recommend on the Schism for the differences between Catholic and Orthodox theology? It is a gap I would like to fill after reading quite a bit on the Reformation.
And do you subscribe to the Bible and Archaeology channel?
@@EricMcLuen "Rome and the Eastern Churches" by Aidan Nichols is a comprehensive review. I'm not familiar with that channel, I'll check it out.
@IowaJay It's run by a Dr Cargill out of UI. I originally saw him on some of the non-ancient aliens shows on the history channel.
I totally agree with you about The Library series by Mark Lawrence. Great series and I highly anticipate book three.
@@GentleGiantJason I’ve read a couple early reviews of The Book That Held Her Heart that have me even more excited for it. Apparently, it would be a good idea to stock up on tissues in advance of reading it!
Thank you for a year of fun and enlightening content! I look forward to another year of deciding I NEED another book or 40 and get further behind on my stack of ‘next reads’!’ Not the worst semi-problem to have, though! Again, thank you!
It is, in fact, the best problem ever. Many thanks, Brad, and all the best!
Sounds like a truly wonderful year! Are there actually people out there who succeed in reading what they intended to?!
@SamNot-so-wise There might be a few TBR completionists lurking among us. Monsters! 😁 Cheers, Sam, and my very best to you for 2025!
Finally watching this. I'm so glad you're still loving One Piece. I didn't expect you to ever read it, but I'm glad I got proven wrong. I definitely wanna check out Wars of Light and Shadow. R.Scott Bakker not so much lol.
@@MetalGildarts One Piece is a joy with depths that I did not expect but am delighted to discover. Cheers, Marco!
Awesome video Philip! I’ll be starting Wars of Light & Shadow next year. I’m excited to start John Gwynne finally as well. I ran a poll, and it looks like most people think I should start with the Banished Lands.
@@BookishChas I think The Faithful and The Fallen is an excellent starting point, and I hope you’ll love WOLAS, Chas! All the best for 2025!
@ thank you Philip! Wishing the same for you, my friend.
hi Phillip!! Loved the video!! If you haven't already I'd highly reccommend reading The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia A. Mckillip its such an interestingly different fantasy series. Like I have never read anything quite like this yet. Feels like a mix of Earthsea and your own Edan series!
I am writing down The Riddle-Master Trilogy on my list. Thank you so much!
Excellent list Philip! The Library Trilogy makes an appearance on my 2024 favorites too. 2025 will also be the year I read from the amazing Janny Wurts.
@@marianneguevara8279 Hooray for The Library Trilogy, and I hope you’ll get a ton from Janny Wurts’ books, Marianne! All the best!
Great video! Happy new year prof 🎉
@@zack-apsalar-rake Thank you, and happy new year to you as well!
I’m not finished with your video but I have to say that I’ve been reading The Prince of Nothing trilogy. I’m currently two thirds of the way through The Warrior Prophet. Given some of the darker fantasy books that I haven’t enjoyed in the past this series shouldn’t be working for me, but it is! It may have to do with how much I like his writing.
@@geauxreadbooks There’s no doubt about Bakker’s talent. I think it’s also good to engage with books we disagree with philosophically or that challenge us in other ways. All the best, Matt!
I have never been a person who reads in my free time but watching your videos have made me want to try it. What would you recommend to someone hasn’t done a lot of reading in their life?
If you're looking for fantasy, there's a wide array of possible choices. Here are some series that I think could be good introductions to fantasy. They are not super complicated, but they are written for adults: The Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne, The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (this one is grimdark), Book of the Ancestor by Mark Lawrence, and The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. There are many great lists on the internet, and you could also check out people's Top Ten lists or favorite lists here on UA-cam by searching for something like "Top Ten Fantasy stories" or something like that. Best wishes!
Great list! I have just gotten back into fiction and fantasy/sci-fi this year. I had been reading a lot of non-fiction and theology. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a really good book if you haven't read it and like theology. I read the Bloodsworn trilogy this year and really enjoyed it. Also, I read the Farseer trilogy and fell in love with Hobb's writing. She is one of my favorite authors now.
It's an extremely good sign if you already love Farseer -- for me, peak Hobb began in the third trilogy (Tawny Man), but there is so much to love throughout the greater series. I wish you the very best on your continuing Realm of the Elderlings journey!
Wonderful video sir. I’m afraid I’m way behind on your content this year and still need to read books 2 and 3 in Edan … 2025 needs to be a lot more productive for me in all areas then 2024 and 2023 were.
So happy to see Assassin’s Fate, a top 5 all-time book for me on your list. I’m sure you know this already, but RotE is an amazing series to reread (though I need to reread Fitz and the Fool at some point still.) Happy New Year my friend!
@@BaldBookTuber Many thanks, Scot! One of the best things about books is that they always wait for you to find the right time for them. My very best to you for 2025!
Parable of the Sower made my favorites of 2021, and I definitely recommend reading Parable of the Talents.
@@HeyYallListenUp Thank you! I’ll definitely follow up someday with Parable of the Talents. All the best!
Sounds like you had a productive year Philip. I had a bit of a slow year reading wise, but I can't say it was a bad one. 48 going to be 49 books for this year. I don't like that number, but eh, what are you gonna do?
Glad to see Butler getting some love, she will be on my favorites of the year also...and go read Kindred, it's a fantastic book.
I hope 2025 is as productive!
@@someokiedude9549 Many thanks, Britton! I’m sure Kindred will be a phenomenal read!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Update: Became 50 with my reading of a Jorge Luis Borges story.
@@someokiedude9549 Sweet!
Water 7 is my top saga till this day, but you have some amazing journey ahead of you for sure, Oda is making us laugh and hurt a lot even now
That is good to hear! Thank you, and all the best!
Somehow, I missed this video when you released it. I'm a couple of days late. 😬 You had a great reading year. Mine was pretty good, as well. My top books include The Age of Madness trilogy, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Pillars of the Earth, the Suneater series, A Song for Arbonne, the Blackwater Saga, Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff, and I'll throw Wind and Truth on the list. I read the Sunset Sovereign book after watching your SPFBOX video. I really liked the concept of the book, but the execution was a little lacking. The author could really use an editor. Or three. The spelling and grammar were too distracting for me to enjoy the book. Anyway, happy new year, Philip! I'm looking forward to more book talk in 2025!🎉
@@akellerhouse83 Thank you, Amanda! You had an excellent year of reading, and I hope 2025 will be much the same, if not even better!
I want to hear more about the non fantasy books you also read!
Thanks! The nonfiction books I read are important for me for many reasons, not least because they inform my writing, so perhaps I should mention them more often. All the best!
We read some of the same books in 2024. I agree, that Robin Hobb series has some strong emotions. Similar thoughts with that chunky Cahill and the fury of Gwynne as well. My thought-cage was rattled, and I loved it!
@@jeremyfee Rattled thought-cages are always a plus in fantasy! All the best to you for 2025!
I knew the way Brian Bell of BellTube raved about The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword, more commonly know as TTTOTTT, was a special read, as account of Brian's joy, humor, and goofiness. I'm glad that a wholesome Middle Grade work made it through in the contest, through the recommendation of a Quilluminatti member that knows his humor and goofiness.
It was a whimsical and fun read that made me laugh, which is something we could all use, I think. All the best, John!
Great recommendations. I would like to see your take on Stormlight Archive with Sanderson just released the latest book recently.
@@markusbisma5015 I’m determined to read Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth in 2025, having enjoyed the first two books and having found parts of the third book engaging. Cheers!
Philip I am tackling Malazan in 2025 as you put it ahead of LOTR and I am stoked…but I think once you read Tad Williams The Last King of Osten Ard you may have to squeeze it in your top 5 somehow! If Tolkien passed his torch it was to him!!
@@heidi6281 I had read only First 2 Mbotf books and im in awe.Can't wait continue my Malazan journey after Wind and Truth!☺️
@@noname3609
I have all the Malazan books on audio and ready to go…I trust Dr. Fantasy and so happy you love it too!
Having read Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn a long while back, I can agree that the Tolkien influence is strong in Tad Williams' beautiful writing. That said, I think that Williams includes things in Osten Ard, such as a fairly obvious analogue for the Roman Catholic Church, that I suspect would have irked Tolkien, though of course I don't speak for him, and you never know. But I do very much want to reread Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and then continue! Cheers, Heidi!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy
You are the second person to tell me about this church connection… I never noticed it, religion seems to be a supporting character in Osten Ard. It will be interesting if it becomes a bigger player.
I guess Tolkien would have disliked GGK even more as his analogue to the Christians, Jews & Muslims are exactly the same except for the names.
Does what it says on the tin… the best of fantasy. Great video 👌
@@bigaldoesbooktube1097 Ha ha! As advertised! Cheers, Al!
I cannot wait for you to catch up to one piece. Although I can't see it happening before 2026 at the pace the first half went. We will probably be about 60-70% of the way through the current arc by the time you get caught up. The story gets a lot meatier going forward.
@@Ultimate_Ace It’s good to hear that’s the direction Oda is taking it! Cheers!
I recommend to continue with Parable of the Talents. It’s an incredible story together. Olamina as a character there becomes as she would be and that’s why we understand the reason people founded a religion on these books. It’s very unfortunate that we can’t see what she intended as final chapter but even then we see it as a finished one this way.
Realm of the Elderlings. Well, that’s quite a journey. And now Robin Hobb is about to add new books to it. So don’t worry we are not done. She announced 2 more novels in progress.
It’s amazing that Hobb has announced two more Realm of the Elderlings novels! I wonder when they’ll be set. Definitely a day one read for me!
Of course his favorite One Piece character is the history bookworm 😂
That checks out! 😁
My favourites would be:
A Brightness Long Ago / Guy Gavriel Kay
Tawny Man 1: Fool's Errand
Wars of Light & Shadow 3: Warhost of Vastmark
Earthsea 4: Tehanu
The Merchant & The Alchemist's Gate / Ted Chiang
Mystic River / Dennis Lehane
Lonesome Dove / Larry McMurtry
The Disaster Artist / Greg Sestero
Memory Sorrow & Thorn 3: Green Angel Tower
Hobb would dominate this if I didn't limit this to 1 per author 😅 Like she'd have 6 books at least
2024 was easily my best reading year in a very long time, but also, the best year for me irl in a very long time. I'm amazed I read as much as I did, considering I put more time and effort into weight loss than reading.
My heartfelt congratulations on the wonderful year you had, both in books and outside books! Hobb deserves the love, but everything else on your list is fantastic too. I'll be reading Mystic River for the Quilluminati in March -- looking forward to it!
I read the Bhagavad Gita along side Plato's Republic and The Tao te Ching for a class and it was enlightening.
Those are some foundational reads for humanity.
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy not read enough these days 🥺
Stop that you unicorns! ... No, we're not ordering a box set of One Piece! ... I said no! ... We're not starting a manga channel, no! ... Just because Dr Fantasy says it's his happy place doesn't mean we're reading it! ... Leave that credit card alone, do you hear me! ... NooooOoooo!!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Never give a unicorn your credit card!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy 🦄😇
Grab air 😂😂😂 I'd buy a ticket to see thar 🤭
😁I would do my best to make it entertaining!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy 🤣
My favorite books this year have been Dune (finished furiously in 5 days 😅) and Planet of the Apes.
Dune is fantastic! I only saw the old Planet of the Apes movie. My best to you for 2025!
I thought Hills of Heather and Bone would be here for sure.
@@NotRealH2S04 I actually did mention it along with three other SPFBO9 reads, but I focused more on SPFBOX for this video. Cheers!
This year I read Dawn by Octavia E. Butler and I think you would enjoy it if you’re interested in a first contact story that focuses on social themes!
@@WordsinTime Writing it down! Thank you, Jonathan, and Happy New Year!
If you want to read more One Piece at some point, there are a couple of novels about Ace called Ace's story😃 Oda did not write them himself, but he did have a meeting with the writers.
One Piece and Bloodsworn Saga.❤
Two favorites for excellent reasons!
Wow...I haven't read ONE of these 😲
@@TheLibraryofAllenxandria 😂 That’s because you’re too busy being a glamorous audiobook narrator! I do think you’d find The Dawn of Everything to be an interesting read.
I'd say the most compelling thing about one piece is still the mystery of who is the sniper king?
@@DumDum078 That may ultimately go down as one of the greatest mysteries of history.
So you are saying Great Ordeal was hard to chew?
Will be picking up Lawrence when that is complete. His Book of Ice trilogy is hiding on my shelf.
@@EricMcLuen Keeping in mind I’m a vegetarian, The Great Ordeal was a . . . meaty read.
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I do not recommend reading UC around meal times.
failing to read all the books you wanted in a year is a great sign that you have read too many good books, hopefully you fail again in 2025 haha. Also, just curious, any idea when the one piece fishmen island video will be up?
I am so looking forward to failing in 2025! 😁I'll finish reading Fishman Island in probably three or four days, and then I'll take another couple days, most likely, to put together the video. So, maybe in a week. All the best!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy cheers! Well i hope you had a great Christmas and wishing you a happy new year in advance! Can't wait to see you advance in your one piece journey in 2025.
Not a bad list of books at all! And surprisingly enough, I have read several of them. Jenny Wurts is an author I really would like to read, but unfortunately there isn't a single one of her books in the Greater Helsinki library system. The same goes, of course, for the self-published books. Interesting is that we have a "disagreement" between us as regard the Fury of the Gods, which I found to be fairly good, i.e. three stars from me, but still disappointing. In my opinion, it had some totally extraneous not very interesting things, and way too much fighting that was very well writtten but extremely repetitive, and why on earth does Johan Gwynne have the need to kill off his most interesting and conflicted characters? Do you, by the way, think that he is planning a second trilogy in the same world? He at least has set up the field for that with all the extraneous things.
Anyway, in 2024 I read 134 books, which honestly was a bit too much, and I have narroved those down to the best 15. These are in reading order, no rereads, just one book per author, and the title is in the original language in which I read the book:
Kaikessa lihassa on tahto by Jenny Kangasvuo
The Spear Cuts through Water by Simon Jimenez
Arrival by Ted Chiang
Lahtarit by Anneli Kanto
L’étranger by Albert Camus
Die Enkelin by Bernhard Schlink
Tiranan sydän by Pajtim Statovci
De fattiga i Łódź by Steve Sem-Sandberg
The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Sydänmeri by Anni Kuu Nuppunen
Röda rummet by August Strindberg
Vadelmavenepakolainen by Miika Nousiainen
The City & The City by China Miéville
Jade City by Fonda Lee
I hope you have a great reading year in 2025!
That’s a fantastic year of reading! Congratulations! In regard to Gwynne writing more in the world of the Bloodsworn Saga, I agree that he left the opening. That said, when I chatted with him on the channel, he didn’t seem like he was sure if he’d return, but he seemed open to it. All the best!
Love these videos very much, extremely good work. if I may suggest these two manga
Dororo (どろろ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka's childhood memory of his friends pronouncing dorobō (どろぼう, "thief") as dororo inspired the title of the series. (This was made in the late 60 but it is a fabulous read).
SPY×FAMILY by Endou Tatsuya
Thank you so much! Also, I appreciate the recommendations!
Dr Fantasy! xxx
Many thanks for your kindness! 😊
I'm surprised I haven't read the Bhagavad Gita yet, seems right in my wheelhouse, plus my spouse bought me a nice copy of it a few years back, no reason now I shouldn't. Definitely the year I start into Mark Lawrence's work. Some great reads here all around, Philip. I hope 2025 brings you so many more. 🍻
Thank you, Christopher! I’m sure you’ll get a lot from The Bhagavad Gita. Also, I bet you’ll appreciate Lawrence’s writing craft. He’s a very economical writer. All the best!
I see one piece I click
Oh yes flawed characters are way more interesting and thus also their opportunity to grow is much higher. so tired of the empty copy pasta shells in romantasy books and well some fantasy books lack character depth too. On the other hand finding unqiue, complex, flawed characters is a joy. Glokta will haunt me forever i assume.
@@vinventure-hl1dt Glokta is definitely exhibit A of a flawed and compelling character!
Happy Holidays to you and the family Philip! ❤ What a great list! So awesome to see Bhagvad Gita on this (or any 2024) list haha 😀 Can’t wait to get to the library trilogy. Oh and Wurts. Ah and Bakker! You’ll have to forgive me if I’m just lifting my Tbr Entirely from you these days
@@Shelf-Esteem Ha ha! Lifting books from each other’s TBR is what we all do best! Cheers, Nikhil, and my very best to you, my friend!
The One Piece is real!
@@Thrilla023 😊
HELL YEAH ONE PIECE!!! Please remember sir if you are going to read other mangas...like books some my not be good in your eyes or diffrent form your taste but nonetheless please read them some might be a suprise to you.
I'm always up for exploring new stories! All the best!
I'm so happy you got into one piece!!! it proves a point to a lot of "it's silly and meant for young adult" kind of people. here is fact: IT'S NOT. And here you are a living and breathing argument against that statement.
@@lodiac It’s a shame if anyone dismisses something like One Piece without really knowing anything about it. Instead of dismissing it, they should at least wonder why so many people love it. All the best!
He HATES Fishman Island 😭
Ha ha! Not at all! Actually, I've been enjoying it. I don't think it will be my favorite saga so far, but I am loving the explicit exploration of themes related to oppression and cycles of violence. And you never know -- the ending might blow me away!
Professional archaeologist here, Graeber and Wengrow wrote an important book, but it's instructive to keep their ideology in mind when assessing their evaluation of the evidence. Their 'debunking' of Pinker for instance is (to me) not convincing and involves a lot of cherries and picking (not that Pinker is beyond criticism, to be clear). But hey, it's an important book to keep this conversation going and to upend some erroneous beliefs.
It's always good to hear a professional's perspective. Not being an expert, I am hesitant to disagree with Graeber and Wengrow with much conviction about the specifics, but there have been some places in the book where I raised my eyebrows. That said, the real value in the book to me is the pattern of questioning and the encouragement to take a fresh look at narratives that have gone unquestioned for too long based on a new assessment of the evidence. The perspective shift I've experienced as a result of engaging with The Dawn of Everything has been invigorating. All the best!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy In retrospect I shouldn't have mentioned I'm a professional. It shouldn't be about postition but about argument (in anything, but especially scholarship and science). Anyway, I didn't mean to be too down on the book, it's good in many ways, but a little too much political ideology for my taste (which shouldn't be a surprise, considering Graebers history). It's an interesting exercise to read this book together with Pinkers 'Enlightenment Now' or 'Better Angels of our Nature'. Not that you haven't got enough to read. On that note, I want to say I really enjoy your content. It seems we have similar taste in books which makes your assessments interesting to me. Thanks and 'de beste wensen voor 2025!'
@ No worries at all - I think we ought to listen to people who have spent years studying a particular field when discussing ideas about said field. And thank you for the recommendation! I actually read The Better Angels of our Nature more than a decade ago, and though I can’t remember a lot of the specifics, I recall very much wanting to believe that Pinker was right that we are becoming less violent as a species but not feeling entirely convinced. I’ll add his more recent book to my TBR!
I will definitely have a read of Dawn of Everything. I always find these anthropological histories fascinating, but I agree that one needs to be very mindful of the authors’ political ideologies. When there is a lot of ground to cover and at the same time very limited evidence, it’s all too easy to create a distorted narrative. Sapiens by Harari, for example, is often quite guilty of this, while still having thought provoking moments.
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I think Enlightenment Now is a better and more convincing read although the subject is more broad. But as always, data doesn't speak, we need theories. And that is where debate comes in.
«Bold Ascension» & «Fury of the Gods»!😎🙌
As I have still a couple of books left on my dock, a temporary leaderboard would be:
1)Split: «Imperium» by Robert Harris (Historical Fiction, book #1 in Cicero Trilogy about the Eponymous Roman Statesman: Harris is such an amazingly witty and knowledgeable Historical Fiction Writer, his Cicero from the eponymous Trilogy is easily my Favorite Character of 2024!) & «A Brightness Long Ago» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by the Mercenary Wars of Renaissance Italy: What can I say that is not already said about GGK, the Prose, the Characters, the Interactions, the Descriptions, all top notch!)
2)«Når landet mørknar» (Approximately «When The Land Darkens») by Tore Kvæven (Historical Fiction set during the 13th Century end of the Norse Settlement of Greenland, think of it as a Norse John Steinbeck novel, winner of the Brage Prize for Best Norwegian Novel in 2018: With endearing doomed characters and an ecological interplay between nature and man worthy of a Fantasy World Build, I think it is a shame that there most likely would be difficult to translate the understated nuances from his laconic style from Nynorsk to English! )
3)Split: «To Green Angel Tower» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy: What an amazing width, going from the cozy to the horrific, the mundane to the epic, that is simply astonishing and deserves to be more celebrated! ) & «The Warrior Prophet» (The Prince of Nothing #2) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune: A genuinely challenging author in his themes & descriptions and an intricate world-builder, who puts his characters literally through Hell and back!)
4)«Howling Dark» (Sun Eater #2) by Christopher Ruocchio (Space opera: I love how effortlessly he weaves in both Genre & Classic Literature and Art into a natural world building and is not afraid to go weird, philosophical and esoteric! )
5) Split: «Sword in the Storm» & «Midnight Falcon» (Rigante #1 & #2) by David Gemmell (Heroic Fantasy/S&S inspired by Celtic Britain and the Roman Invasions of Julius Ceasar, can be read a two part novel or stand-alones: Easily the best character ensemble writer of this year, you get humbled by the empathy Gemmell gave to even his minor characters or antagonists, with incredible emotional callbacks!)
Cheers Professor!
@@MacScarfield Fantastic list, MacScarfield! I’ve got lots of GGK coming in the future - I’m sure you’ll approve!!