Hunter X Hunter does take a bit of time before you get to know what it’s actually about. Though I get if you’re not a fan of what it’s doing. Same with My Hero Academia, I get if your not a fan (even though it’s my favorite manga with OP as a close second). Personally I’d recommend Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba as a follow up manga recommendation. My biggest issue with this list is I feel more entries should have been “universe” entries like how they had Middle Earth universe instead of Lord of the Rings. Malazan probably should have been this as well as Percy Jackson. I’m less sure about the Steven King multiverse or The Cosmere.
I think one of the major reasons why certain books/series are rated lower than you’d expect is because they’re not seen as fantasy books. They’re being rated lower for being less fantasy, not necessarily for being less popular.
This makes sense. 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 are excellent books, but excellent SFF books? Not really. They are much more in the dystopian genre and don't really contain that many SFF elements. This is also true for very popular books like Hunger Games. I'm not sure why dystopian books are often collapsed into the sci-fi genre despite being their own thing, but it is oddly common to do so.
These lists are always incredibly hard to put together as there will always be worthy franchises/series that miss out on a place! It’s why lists like these are helpful for new readers but people should not put too much stock in them
Yeah, I'm a newish reader and it's a very helpful resource for finding books to read. Especially the less popular, older stuff, because that's what I can find in my library. (surprisingly, my library has very little Sanderson, for example)
So happy to see First Law in the top 3 had no clue it was so respected and loved within the larger fantasy community. Feels so right to see Joe’s name right next to George r.r. Martin’s. Always grateful to Daniel for recommending it as Last Argument of Kings and The Heroes are some of my favorite books I’ve read in my life up to this point.
I highly recommend Ascendance of a Bookworm, because 1) VERY good world building, loads of depth spent on the various aspects, it looks like a world actually lived in. Loads of time spent on the MC's early life, giving a lot of depth (Most isekai would jump from birth to school in a couple of chapters, here the MC goes to school in like the 4th book, so three books of worldbuilding where we are *shown* rather than told how people live, and every bit is interesting.) 2) Deals with the consequences of gods being real, magic being real, and the class system that ensues by having,( or not having), access to that magic; plus magic has an interesting cost that keeps it on the side of soft magic but still has limits. When nobles literally have a divine right to rule....what does it mean to be a commoner? 3) an actual clash between our world and their world's "common sense". For example, to give vague spoilers, our MC's efforts to save orphans leads to a town being nuked(I will not explain further, RAFO ;p) and it's all her fault, and you are given a compelling reason why it makes sense, from that world's perspective. I recommend everyone who likes western fantasy to try Bookworm, it doesn't have the typical japanese isekai path (y'know, escapist portal fantasy) and reads very much like something a western author might write.
I've started it this month after following and loving the anime. It's absolutely great. It rises head and shoulders above the isekai genre. I would even consider it an insult lumping it with others in that same genre.
Ascendance of a bookworm absolutely slaps, my two fav things the the last 5 years ate tied between it and the greenbone saga, I'd be stoked to see some yters give it a try
@@thomasedwards6641 Myne is a pretty fun protagonist. She's a great and benevolent person, but has also tangible flaws that negatively affects her story. Early on, things are a bit tough because she's floundering and finding a purpose. But once she sets her self on track, things get going.
Next time you do this, you should definitely include a "How it's Compiled" segment at the start. Voters just listed their top 10 fantasy series. This means that a lot of classics that are really liked but are mostly read by die hard fantasy readers have to compete against all of the big names. So many times your reaction was OMG how is this so low but with the way voting was done, the books were lucky to make the list at all. A book that is always ranked 11th wouldn't make the list at all.
Agree. A lot of the lower ranked books are books that might be in most people's top 50 or 100, say, but not in their top 10. Like 1974, Elantris, etc. If it isn't in a lot of people's top 10, it doesn't show up high on the list. It's less a list of best overall and more a list of the most common people's absolute favorite books.
I just wish she'd put things out faster. . . I found them in middle school . . .I own. . .everything? I think? I even have the Companions Guide to Tortal and goodness sakes, please finish Numaires story already.
Hey Daniel, just wanted to say thank you for introducing me to the wonderful world of fantasy and scifi. Been reading through Sanderson and others ever since I stumbled upon your channel. Bless you
Classics like "The Once and Future King" receiving low number of votes is not surprising, since everyone is voting their top 10 books. For a book to remain in a top 10 spots, 60 years after it's publication and across multiple generations of readers, requires it to be extraordinarily great.
Re: Artemis Fowl I personally love it, but to really enjoy it, just keep in mind that it was written in the early 2000s, which gives you insight into where human tech was at the time
I was actually pleased to see Eddings' Belgariad so high on the list. I read my dad's Belgariad and Malloreon collection in high school, and I want to read them all again in the near future.
Agreed. They are very much "easy reading" fantasy, not particularly deep, but a true guilty pleasure for me, and I go back and read them through every 3-4 years or so.
Definitely happy to see it! My dad introduced me to the series as well, think that made it my first actual fantasy series and I absolutely love returning to that universe every now and then. They've got a big ol' place in my heart, for sure.
Song of the Lioness was one of my first introduction into fantasy books as a kid, so i'm happy to see others appreciate her works too. :D The Circle Universe is my favourite world setting of hers.
@@Zivilin I was introduced to it actually late in the series with "Lady Knight" and then found oout it was a series and went back to read "frist Test" "page" etc etc etc. But i was in like Middle School, still love them so much today
I have read a lot of r/rational stories and I have to say they're quite drawn-out. I don't mind it that much because I'm especially attracted to the niche r/rational story requirements, but I wouldn't recommend them to a general audience/Daniel Greene, since they probably care less about those attributes and more about things like good pacing and characters.
@@Xob_Driesestig I don't think being a 'rational' story is what leads things to being drawn out, serials by their nature are just less concise. No editing passes with a complete story where you can cut the fat.
Honestly my favorite wildbow story is Twig, but I’m not up to date on Pale and haven’t read Pact so my opinion my change by the time Pale finishes. Other than wildbow stories I really like The Gods are Bastards, but I’m not as well read as some other people.
Mother of Learning is actually so good. I've been amazed by the lack of discussion on youtube about it. I think it's because it was published as a free webnovel that a lot of people write it off as not a 'real novel' but it 100% deserves more representation
Prydain is one of my favorite fantasy series and highly underrated (as is anything by Lloyd Alexander). It's very classic so it's not going to subvert anything, rather you need to go into it with the mindset that this is one of those pioneering series that helped build the genre in the 1960s and appreciate it on that level. It's a perfect gateway into the fantasy genre series much like Earthsea. A lot of people praise big tomes, but Alexander is a master of how much he can get across in the span of 200-300 pages. The stakes also grow as the series goes on. It's the character work that is the series strongest asset though imho. "The Companions" as they are called by Prydain fans are up there with The Fellowship in terms of how they will make their way into your heat and be unforgettable. The series also has a bard who rides a kitty cat the size of a horse, an undead army of zombies, a cursed sword, a mouthy princess, and a pig that can tell the future. Also don't miss the Tales of the Foundling and Other Tales which is a prequel collection of short stories that further expands the mythology of the world. Thematically, Alexander matches GRRM when it comes to masterful bittersweet storytelling. Can't wait for you to get to this series. and even if it doesn't become a favorite, I hope you enjoy it enough to appreciate the place it deserves in the development of the fantasy genre.
1- I'm suprised you consider yourself and Merphy *compleately* different readers because she loves the Gentaleman Bastard Series, and One Peice (One peice is what got her into trying out Terry pratchet and A Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy series as she enjoyed the Absurbism within One Peice), along with enjoying the Malazan Series as she's trying to read them all. It's nothing wrong with that, I'm just suprised with so many similarties of books you guys loved and she's what brought me over to you in the first place. (I came over around the time you started reading I think the second delux volume of Breserk?) 2- Fun fact: Lord Dunsany apparently was the one whom inspired Tolkin and Lovecraft in their writing and the "The King of Elfland's Daughter" Novel is actually what inspired more of the fantsy stuff of the Fae, magic, and elves. Though granted the King of Elfland's Daughter is actually based on his woes of the old Fuduelism system dying out from what I'm told (I do see it), I'm still suprised not more people read Lord Dunsany because he's actually referenced in the oriognal Gary Ganax's Appendix N for DnD 1st Edition and actually a lot of Sword and Sorcery aurthors do reccomend one to read him if you want to see the beginnings of a lot of Fantasy Elements and tropes. Granted more people prefer Dunsany's Short Story format than his long form, (Though I feel like he's writing the same way pretty much in both, no actual difference), but it is a good reference to at least see earlier beginnings which is closer to Bewolf in Tempo.
If you listen to what they say about one piece, it could not be more different. They both like it, but for seemingly completely different reasons. For example, merphy spent ages talking about how much she loved pudding as a character while Daniel though she was forgettable
@@awsomeman350 That is fair. I only started to vaugly listen to Merphy's One Peice videos and I came to Daniel after he caught up mostly with One Piece. So some context may have been missing. As mentioned I came in while he was doing the deep dive of the second Breserk Deluxe book which I know Merphy is unable to read because that first chapter in the first book, but she mostly said that off handily, but she's still reading Malazan after reading that one part I think is within the House of Chains? so I donno if that'll change at any point for her on that front. I just been noticing the love of some books that not everyone enjoys (Lies of Locke Lamora is one that I've noticed a lot of people aren't as impressed with but it seems like both Daniel and Merphy enjoys as one major example)
Monk & Robot currently has two novels in the series. The first book is called " A Psalm for the Wild-Built" and it can be best described as 'Cozypunk" Very delightful sci-fi read. Strongly reccommend!
From this list I want to recommend those that Daniel glossed over: Book of The New Sun - Gene Wolfe's masterpiece. It's a complicated and tough reading, but if you like The Kingkiller Chronicle because you glimpsed more information with multiple rereads, this book is for you. It's the same genre also (picaresque novel). Terra Ignota - Ada Palmer's highly regarded scifi. It's highly inventive with the best of sci-fi as its main goal. It is dense, but it's worth the investment. The Warlord Chronicle - The actual best adaptation of Arthurian Legends (sorry Daniel). It's as good as Joe Abercrombie character-wise and with just as intense and powerful battle and duel scenes. Temeraire - Dragon Riders and the Napoleonic Wars. Need I say more? If you liked Hiccup and Toothless, but more posh, this is for you. Ascendance of a Bookworm - It's a series of light novels (adapted to anime already) of the isekai genre. However, unlike being just a wish-fulfillment power-fantasy as most in the genre, this novels follows the main character trying to become a librarian in a world without books (think the world before the printing press). It's an amazing character driven story with a fun main character. The Culture Series - Iain M. Banks take on an utopian society like The Federation in Star Trek, however with more complex ideas and deeper themes.
@@Silas_MN It's been pretty decent. A little lighter in tone than I was expecting. And the side characters aren't anything to write home about, but it's been enjoyable so far.
39 felt weird for Book of the New Sun, but I guess it's just the audience. I've seen it ranking top 3 in other lists, but those where from huge scifi nerds. It's certainly my favorite.
@@Dio_land I'm not the kind stranger, but I'll back up reading Culture. Sadly Banks died, so there won't be more. Another point is that if you read purely for character -- they have great characters, but those characters don't really continue hardly ever book to book. It's individual books about the civilization as a whole. So not to everybody's taste.
FMA, yes please, give it another chance! I'm kinda sad that many good books will never be on the list because they were not translated into English... of course I have a series in mind 😅
Ascendance of a Bookworm, nice! Really well thought out isekai light novel that probes deeper into the implications of the genre than almost anything else I've seen
I'm about to finish book 2 of Dragonlance Chronicles, and I'm absolutely loving it. It's been the perfect gateway for me to get back into reading after a long hiatus. I think the book covers you remembered were probably the classic Larry Elmore covers.
I loved reading those when I was younger. The direct influence from Tolkien is evident in the books. I also liked the humor and battle scenes where good. The classic covers from Elmore are the best versions. Raistlin is such a great character.
@@bz6046 Yes Raistlin and Tasslehoff both were great. Really though, I think the most fun I had over the whole trilogy was with Bupa and the gully dwarves.
Daniel! You have to read The Golem and the Jinni! It is beautiful and so so so we’ll written. It’s heartbreaking, and lovely, the world building is flawless, but the characters are exquisite. Also, Thursday Next series and The Checquy Files are awesome.
Really happy with all the love Ascendance of a Bookworm is getting in these comments. If you're looking for a fantasy series in the manga/anime sphere you can really do a deep dive on it's this series. The English language publisher actually let's subscribers read along with the books they license as they're being translated each week and let's them discuss on their forum and of the 213k posts on the pre-pub discussions the bookworm series makes up about 88k or about 25% of the posts
@@metal123498 Thanks. Not many people think I'm cool. Maybe it's because I enjoy trolling people online while pretending to be thirteen, or maybe there's some other reason. Who can say?
Gotta say I'm just really happy to see a few mangas cracking the list and placing considerably well. "Ascendance of a Bookworm" was a real surprise but an extremely pleasant one! It's a great read! Highly recommend! And "Fullmetal Alchemist" was also unexpected for some reason but seriously deserved. It just makes me really happy to see the barrier between book readers and manga readers slowly dissolving. ^_^
Sooo happy to see Sun Eater here, definitely my favorite currently being written sci fi series. Only 21 votes is not terribly surprising, but it’s absolutely one of my favorite book series of all time
I'm happy Coldfire was on there. And Goblin Emperor!!! One of my FAVORITE books from last year, I was having a super bad time and that book was such a comfort, I loved it so much.
While they were not ranked highly I think Robert E Howard’s Conan or any of Michael Moorcock’s Elric Saga stories are foundational works of fantasy that you hear fantasy authors like George R.R. Martin and such mention as inspirational works but you don’t hear much about them nowadays
Everyone please re-read the Phantom Tollbooth. Is an amazing, mostly forgotten book. Also seeing Daniel genuinely freaking out over his books getting a vote made my day. As a fellow author, I felt it so hard.
the entries I was hyped to see but wasn't expecting were Temeraire and Bartimaeus. both wonderful stories. Bartimaeus has probably my favorite narrative voice
Honestly, I’m not only surprised to see the Second Apocalypse series in this list, but for it to be so high. Sure, I know the books have elements that can be divisive-and unfortunately, Bakker doesn’t seem all that active anymore as a blogger or a writer (I hope he is okay, though, and I hope we get the No-god series soon)-but it’s really nice to see it getting such recognition.
Definitely check out Artemis Fowl. I don’t think you’re too old for it. It’s something I reread often as an adult as a palate cleanser between epic fantasies, and it continues to be clever and delightful.
I was really turned off to reading after having been forced to do it so much through all of my schooling but from the premise of Hyperion is decided to give the first book a go and it made reading a huge hobby of mine and even led me to your channel. It makes my heart very happy to see it get the respect it deserves
The fact that A Night in the Lonesome October was mentioned has made my day! It's the best book to read during halloween season...I know...I've listened to the author narrated audiobook every October since 2012, lol
I am intrigued by Locked Tomb but afraid I can’t be more opposite to target audience… however I liked Priory and the Teixcalaan duology both having major sapphic themes… would you say that Locked Tomb is very niche and focuses mainly on character relationships and their banter/idiosyncrasies or there is some focus on cool science fiction concepts and world building? Because concept seems cool but memes I saw look very particular.
@Morfeus I just started Priory yesterday and the Teixcalaan duology is on my tbr! I'd say the Locked Tomb Series is very character-driven and we probably won't understand the world until the final book. When I started reading Gideon the Ninth I was so confused because I was so used to the worldbuilding from other fantasy sci-fi books. The bits and pieces we get about the world are really in the subtext and this is what I love! Nothing gets overexplained and we figure stuff out alongside the characters. But once you get it you'll see how brilliantly the story is being told. Tamsyn really trusts her readers (though sometimes I feel like I don't have enough braincells). Honestly you won't miss out if you don't get the memes but if you get them while reading it's just fun. The way Tamsyn incorporates contemporary humour is so good and I'd wish there were more books like that. If you decide to pick up Gideon the Ninth don't expect worldbuilding. But I'd say the characters are totally worth it. The concept of this world and how it plays out is really unique so it won't appeal to everyone but once you understand the world a little bit it pays off! Lesbian necromancers playing a haunted game of Clue in space, who wouldn't wanna read this?
@@tattoowithlea thank you for such a detailed response! It certainly seems like a interesting concept, maybe I will try it out! I hope you will enjoy Priory and the Dr. Linden’s duology! And yes btw I agree that The Green Bone Saga was absolutely amazing!
@Morfeus If audiobooks are your thing then I'd also recommend checking out the audiobook versions, they are amazing and maybe more accessible if you're not yet sold on the way the story is structured 😊 So far I'm enjoying Priory, it feels like classic old fantasy in the best way possible. The Green Bone Saga almost got a TV adaption but I think it was cancelled :(
Same. I read some of the books that were rated higher, and yeah, they don't come close to H x H imo. I think these were mostly book readers voting. Not people who read books/manga.
Its probably because anime fans do no join the r/fantasy reddit. Honestly I expect several big names such as Naruto One piece and bleach to be in top ten
Wow, I had no idea so many people liked The Old Kingdom series! It was my favorite fantasy as a child, and it's been hugely influential on how I view fantasy. It's amazing to see it still ranked so highly almost 30 years after the first book was published.
Just want to say that I just found your channel and appreciate your content so much. Your pure love for the fantasy genre and sincere reviews are a pleasure to watch. Thank you for reigniting my passion for reading! So excited to try as many of these books as possible!
Yessss, this is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone anywhere mention The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Read it almost 10 years ago and was absolutely blown away.
The list makes more sense when you realise that to get counted you had to have the book in your top 10. So for example Redwall had 10 votes. This means that 10 people had Redwall somewhere in their top 10.
I think there might be a misunderstanding here. If I understand correctly, people put their favorite books in a list. They don't go and vote from a list. Most people wouldn't put 1984 in their favorite SFF book list because they don't consider 1984 as a SFF book in the first place. If someone says ready player one is one of their favorite SFF books, it doesn't mean they're saying it is better than 1984 as a book.
The way you read The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August made it seem like you'd never seen the title before. Highly recommend, it's beautifully written and gripping from start to finish.
Man I needed this. I'm such a shut in when it comes to the fantasy world scrolling through my audio books top recommended not finding anything that looks interesting and then re listening to the WoT or the entire cosmere for the 4th or 5th time. Now I have a nice 10 book list from some of the top 10 to some of the ones Daniel said he really enjoyed from farther down. Already downloaded Chronicles of Prydain to give that one a shot. Thanks for going through this list Daniel.. I should.. I should probably follow this reddit.. I'm going to go do that now.
Well if the vote is "pick your favourite" it's not surprising that some great works are simply not picked. How many people would say "my favourite fantasy? 1984 obviously"
This is vote was about the favorite books of the subreddit. Not the best, most acclaimed or most influential. I don't think it's a big surprise more people enjoyed reading Ready Player One than 1984. Also, the number of people voting is relatively small so the relative placement of books with few votes doesn't tell us very much when only one or two votes change so much.
Circle of Magic...and really anything by Tamora Pierce, I highly recommend. My husband and I are hoping to eventually purchase custom leather editions of all her works because we love them so much and have since childhood.
Yeah I certainly consider it classic fantasy for a reason and Lewis is certainly a contemporary of Tolkien in many ways. I can understand why some people may not be fond of it given it's parallel's to Christianity though even without that I feel it stands on it's own merits. Admittedly I will also concede my parents reading them to me as a child makes me remember this series fondly.
@Kyl Schwartz If that is the reason, it's a pretty silly one. Of course, I'm sure there's more to it than that, doubt Daniel dislikes it for such a shallow reason lol
I want to add if you like Fahrenheit 451, please give Something Wicked This Way Comes. It's just as good as Fahrenheit 451 and Bradbury's style is just as amazing.
It's sad (but not surprising) to see Barbara Hambly completely overlooked again, but it's nice to see C.S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy get a few votes.
A big part of the reason you are seeing things you would expect higher being so low with so few votes is that this list was compiled from users submitting personal top 10 lists. So there’s tons of things that a lot of people might have ranked at 15-20 but since only 5 people ranked it in their top 10 list it barely scrapes in. Any joint list like this that relies on community submission suffers more and more the less data you collect from each individual. Since this specific list only allowed each person to submit a top 10 list, and as you can see from the voting most people felt obliged to put stuff like stormlight and middle earth on their list it ate into their ability to put other stuff on their list. If they had allowed people to submit top 20 lists it would look much different.
This kind of data collection is a balancing act between trying to get more data from each person while also trying not to push people away with how long it would take them to fill out. And, honestly, how long it would take to parse the data. The people doing this are doing it for free. So if they were to get hundreds of people all submitting full top 100 lists it would be ridiculous for them to go through in their free time. That all being said if someone ever wanted to get a list that looks better than this as a community project there are other options. There’s the already alluded to option of just get more data from each person such as a top 20 or more. There’s doing a nomination and voting system where the community can all nominate books to be on the list then the survey is a ranked choice type vote where you can order as many as you want. Etc
I read Bloodsworn Saga last year and it instantly became one of my favorite series. Can't wait for book 3 and to see it go up the ranks afterwards. Hunger of the Gods blew me away.
I love your reaction to The Once and Future King, because on the one hand you dont understand how so few people picked it as their favorites, and then told us to read it with the caveat that it may not be our favorite. Do you see where I am going with this? To me it just seems like many of these books and series that are really low and are classics may be considered top level books to many but also not those people's favorite books or series. For example I loved Animal Farm when I read it. But Animal Farm is not even in the top 50 of my favorite books of all time.
The Iconoclast series by Mike Shell is quite interesting from a world building standpoint. The elevator pitch is" what if Geralt of Riva was Indiana Jones in a high fantasy pirate/ conquistador setting exploring myan tombs" an interesting journey for sure. First book is called "The Aching God"
I am actually surprised that ascendence of a bookworm was on the list, it's amazing but really surprised something like mushoku tensei didn't crack the list while bookworm did.
dungeon crawler does have pretty fun names for its books. its also the book you got in one of your po box streams and you really liked the tag line "The Apocalypse WILL be televised.". really hope we get a review one day. i think you'd love it.
Very excited to hear Daniel's finally getting around to Black Company in the near future. Also gotta give a shout-out to The Acts of Caine, since I know Heroes Die is sitting there, staring at him...
I may have misunderstood you, but this doesn’t seem accurate to me. He spends a significant amount of time amazed that the older books aren’t getting more love.
I'm interested in hearing why you've got such a big problem with Ready Player One? I just finished both books 2 weeks ago, and I was hooked from the start. It was so interesting to experience Middle Earth, Faerun and so many other incredible worlds in a new and different way. I absolutely loved the books :)
Oh I’m so glad to see Inda on there!!! No one ever talks about it. And nettle and bone is unrelated to shadow and bone. I really enjoyed it! Oh wow and the Tortall Universe!! Easily one of my all time favs
Want to be apart of twitch recording in the future? Follow at twitch.tv/fantasynews
But, being here makes me apart :P
If you read blame, I think you should also check out Biomega which I think is a prequel.
Don’t worry, Daniel! I put you reading Hunter X Hunter in my google calendar
Hunter X Hunter does take a bit of time before you get to know what it’s actually about. Though I get if you’re not a fan of what it’s doing. Same with My Hero Academia, I get if your not a fan (even though it’s my favorite manga with OP as a close second). Personally I’d recommend Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba as a follow up manga recommendation.
My biggest issue with this list is I feel more entries should have been “universe” entries like how they had Middle Earth universe instead of Lord of the Rings. Malazan probably should have been this as well as Percy Jackson. I’m less sure about the Steven King multiverse or The Cosmere.
Nothing makes me more curious or disturbs me more than hearing you describe sex being used as a magic system
I think one of the major reasons why certain books/series are rated lower than you’d expect is because they’re not seen as fantasy books. They’re being rated lower for being less fantasy, not necessarily for being less popular.
Same with the manga. Still fantasy, but less "books" for many.
This makes sense. 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 are excellent books, but excellent SFF books? Not really. They are much more in the dystopian genre and don't really contain that many SFF elements. This is also true for very popular books like Hunger Games. I'm not sure why dystopian books are often collapsed into the sci-fi genre despite being their own thing, but it is oddly common to do so.
@@curlyhead360 Hunger Games is definately sci-fi, there's many future tech elements to it.
I agree. For example, I’d have never thought to list It by Stephen King as a fantasy book.
Reddit makes everything right.
These lists are always incredibly hard to put together as there will always be worthy franchises/series that miss out on a place! It’s why lists like these are helpful for new readers but people should not put too much stock in them
Yah for me, anything anyone remembers to put on a list in the first place get my attention to take a look at it. Even if its ranked low.
Yeah, I'm a newish reader and it's a very helpful resource for finding books to read. Especially the less popular, older stuff, because that's what I can find in my library. (surprisingly, my library has very little Sanderson, for example)
You could be 100% of people's 2nd favorite series and not show up.
Daniel's giddiness at being voted for just put the biggest smile on my face. That was so sweet.
I’m with you that really made me smile ❤
Same here.
Same! I went into the comments to say that. Glad you already did! :D
So happy to see First Law in the top 3 had no clue it was so respected and loved within the larger fantasy community. Feels so right to see Joe’s name right next to George r.r. Martin’s. Always grateful to Daniel for recommending it as Last Argument of Kings and The Heroes are some of my favorite books I’ve read in my life up to this point.
He's super popular in r/fantasy, whenever a post asks for recommendations or similar series, first law is always super high
Abercrombie is not my personal favorite, but I would say he is the most constant in terms of high quality and speed of any currently alive author.
Abercrombie is probably the most popular author there.
My favorite! 💙💛 yehhh!! Hope for HBO limited series one day.
@@TheLordofMetroids yeah he's clearly a great writer, I just find his books depressing taken as a whole.
Im blown away that Ascendance of a Bookworm made it into the list!!! WOW thats a light novel and not a lot of people have read it
Yes💯
Do you think it would be way higher if it was more known?
Maybe
Especially when Mushoku Tensei and Re:Zero aren’t on here. Very surprising.
@@VincentBones44 and Claymore, the fucking Nasuverse, Sousou no Frieren, etc, etc, etc...
Praise be to the gods! Absolutely deserved.
I highly recommend Ascendance of a Bookworm, because
1) VERY good world building, loads of depth spent on the various aspects, it looks like a world actually lived in. Loads of time spent on the MC's early life, giving a lot of depth (Most isekai would jump from birth to school in a couple of chapters, here the MC goes to school in like the 4th book, so three books of worldbuilding where we are *shown* rather than told how people live, and every bit is interesting.)
2) Deals with the consequences of gods being real, magic being real, and the class system that ensues by having,( or not having), access to that magic; plus magic has an interesting cost that keeps it on the side of soft magic but still has limits. When nobles literally have a divine right to rule....what does it mean to be a commoner?
3) an actual clash between our world and their world's "common sense". For example, to give vague spoilers, our MC's efforts to save orphans leads to a town being nuked(I will not explain further, RAFO ;p) and it's all her fault, and you are given a compelling reason why it makes sense, from that world's perspective.
I recommend everyone who likes western fantasy to try Bookworm, it doesn't have the typical japanese isekai path (y'know, escapist portal fantasy) and reads very much like something a western author might write.
I've started it this month after following and loving the anime. It's absolutely great. It rises head and shoulders above the isekai genre. I would even consider it an insult lumping it with others in that same genre.
Ascendance of a bookworm absolutely slaps, my two fav things the the last 5 years ate tied between it and the greenbone saga, I'd be stoked to see some yters give it a try
I watched the anime but dropped it but dropped it after 1 or 2 eps because I didn't like the MC
@@thomasedwards6641 Myne is a pretty fun protagonist. She's a great and benevolent person, but has also tangible flaws that negatively affects her story.
Early on, things are a bit tough because she's floundering and finding a purpose. But once she sets her self on track, things get going.
Next time you do this, you should definitely include a "How it's Compiled" segment at the start. Voters just listed their top 10 fantasy series. This means that a lot of classics that are really liked but are mostly read by die hard fantasy readers have to compete against all of the big names. So many times your reaction was OMG how is this so low but with the way voting was done, the books were lucky to make the list at all. A book that is always ranked 11th wouldn't make the list at all.
Agree. A lot of the lower ranked books are books that might be in most people's top 50 or 100, say, but not in their top 10. Like 1974, Elantris, etc. If it isn't in a lot of people's top 10, it doesn't show up high on the list. It's less a list of best overall and more a list of the most common people's absolute favorite books.
So so pleased that Tamora Pierce showed up twice on the list! Her books were so influential on me
I just wish she'd put things out faster. . . I found them in middle school . . .I own. . .everything? I think? I even have the Companions Guide to Tortal and goodness sakes, please finish Numaires story already.
I'm happy that you're going to read The Prydain Chronicles this year. I think it's such a good saga for young readers to get into more fantasy
any readers really
Fahrenheit 451 was one of the few books they made us read in high school that I actually enjoyed!
I love the movie and will watch it whenever I stumble across it. It’s just so weird looking. I haven’t read the book since high school.
For me it was The Outsiders and Farenheit 451...
Oh and Holes too, obviously
Hey Daniel, just wanted to say thank you for introducing me to the wonderful world of fantasy and scifi. Been reading through Sanderson and others ever since I stumbled upon your channel. Bless you
Classics like "The Once and Future King" receiving low number of votes is not surprising, since everyone is voting their top 10 books. For a book to remain in a top 10 spots, 60 years after it's publication and across multiple generations of readers, requires it to be extraordinarily great.
I love seeing Daniel going through this list like a sports fan watching a draft.
Each time I finally stop procrastinating and starting to work I get distracted with either a video of yours or a twitch stream. Every. Damn. Time.
Loved seeing Daniel’s appreciation for the Belgariad being on the list. One of my favourite series growing up
Re: Artemis Fowl
I personally love it, but to really enjoy it, just keep in mind that it was written in the early 2000s, which gives you insight into where human tech was at the time
I was getting worried the longer Red Rising wasn’t on the list. Super happy to see it rated so high - easily my favorite series
I was actually pleased to see Eddings' Belgariad so high on the list. I read my dad's Belgariad and Malloreon collection in high school, and I want to read them all again in the near future.
Agreed. They are very much "easy reading" fantasy, not particularly deep, but a true guilty pleasure for me, and I go back and read them through every 3-4 years or so.
Definitely happy to see it! My dad introduced me to the series as well, think that made it my first actual fantasy series and I absolutely love returning to that universe every now and then. They've got a big ol' place in my heart, for sure.
I love seeing Tamora Pierce And Naomi Novik hitting this list multiple times. Tamora pierce really influenced me as a young self fantasy reader
I love her World so much. Unexpectedly the Beka Cooper series is my current fave among her works. Though I am anticipating the second Numair novel 👏
Song of the Lioness was one of my first introduction into fantasy books as a kid, so i'm happy to see others appreciate her works too. :D The Circle Universe is my favourite world setting of hers.
@@Zivilin I was introduced to it actually late in the series with "Lady Knight" and then found oout it was a series and went back to read "frist Test" "page" etc etc etc. But i was in like Middle School, still love them so much today
So happy to see Bartimaeus on the list, I never hear anyone talk about it and it’s one of my favorite ya fantasy trilogies.
Hopefully he ends up reading A Practical Guide To Evil and decides to delve more into web serials.
Worm and Mother of Learning are must-reads.
Getting a series on Parahumans would be great, but it's so long and starts so rough that it's hard to recommend.
I have read a lot of r/rational stories and I have to say they're quite drawn-out. I don't mind it that much because I'm especially attracted to the niche r/rational story requirements, but I wouldn't recommend them to a general audience/Daniel Greene, since they probably care less about those attributes and more about things like good pacing and characters.
@@Xob_Driesestig I don't think being a 'rational' story is what leads things to being drawn out, serials by their nature are just less concise. No editing passes with a complete story where you can cut the fat.
surprised He Who Fights w/Monsters wasn't on there. I think Daniel would like that
Honestly my favorite wildbow story is Twig, but I’m not up to date on Pale and haven’t read Pact so my opinion my change by the time Pale finishes.
Other than wildbow stories I really like The Gods are Bastards, but I’m not as well read as some other people.
Mother of Learning is actually so good. I've been amazed by the lack of discussion on youtube about it. I think it's because it was published as a free webnovel that a lot of people write it off as not a 'real novel' but it 100% deserves more representation
Prydain is one of my favorite fantasy series and highly underrated (as is anything by Lloyd Alexander). It's very classic so it's not going to subvert anything, rather you need to go into it with the mindset that this is one of those pioneering series that helped build the genre in the 1960s and appreciate it on that level. It's a perfect gateway into the fantasy genre series much like Earthsea. A lot of people praise big tomes, but Alexander is a master of how much he can get across in the span of 200-300 pages. The stakes also grow as the series goes on. It's the character work that is the series strongest asset though imho. "The Companions" as they are called by Prydain fans are up there with The Fellowship in terms of how they will make their way into your heat and be unforgettable. The series also has a bard who rides a kitty cat the size of a horse, an undead army of zombies, a cursed sword, a mouthy princess, and a pig that can tell the future. Also don't miss the Tales of the Foundling and Other Tales which is a prequel collection of short stories that further expands the mythology of the world. Thematically, Alexander matches GRRM when it comes to masterful bittersweet storytelling. Can't wait for you to get to this series. and even if it doesn't become a favorite, I hope you enjoy it enough to appreciate the place it deserves in the development of the fantasy genre.
YES!
1- I'm suprised you consider yourself and Merphy *compleately* different readers because she loves the Gentaleman Bastard Series, and One Peice (One peice is what got her into trying out Terry pratchet and A Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy series as she enjoyed the Absurbism within One Peice), along with enjoying the Malazan Series as she's trying to read them all. It's nothing wrong with that, I'm just suprised with so many similarties of books you guys loved and she's what brought me over to you in the first place. (I came over around the time you started reading I think the second delux volume of Breserk?)
2- Fun fact: Lord Dunsany apparently was the one whom inspired Tolkin and Lovecraft in their writing and the "The King of Elfland's Daughter" Novel is actually what inspired more of the fantsy stuff of the Fae, magic, and elves. Though granted the King of Elfland's Daughter is actually based on his woes of the old Fuduelism system dying out from what I'm told (I do see it), I'm still suprised not more people read Lord Dunsany because he's actually referenced in the oriognal Gary Ganax's Appendix N for DnD 1st Edition and actually a lot of Sword and Sorcery aurthors do reccomend one to read him if you want to see the beginnings of a lot of Fantasy Elements and tropes. Granted more people prefer Dunsany's Short Story format than his long form, (Though I feel like he's writing the same way pretty much in both, no actual difference), but it is a good reference to at least see earlier beginnings which is closer to Bewolf in Tempo.
If you listen to what they say about one piece, it could not be more different. They both like it, but for seemingly completely different reasons. For example, merphy spent ages talking about how much she loved pudding as a character while Daniel though she was forgettable
@@awsomeman350 That is fair. I only started to vaugly listen to Merphy's One Peice videos and I came to Daniel after he caught up mostly with One Piece. So some context may have been missing. As mentioned I came in while he was doing the deep dive of the second Breserk Deluxe book which I know Merphy is unable to read because that first chapter in the first book, but she mostly said that off handily, but she's still reading Malazan after reading that one part I think is within the House of Chains? so I donno if that'll change at any point for her on that front. I just been noticing the love of some books that not everyone enjoys (Lies of Locke Lamora is one that I've noticed a lot of people aren't as impressed with but it seems like both Daniel and Merphy enjoys as one major example)
Ppl aren’t impressed w Lies of Locke Lamora?😯
Monk & Robot currently has two novels in the series. The first book is called " A Psalm for the Wild-Built" and it can be best described as 'Cozypunk" Very delightful sci-fi read. Strongly reccommend!
Narnia disrespect is crazy💀
Certainly raised an eyebrow at that myself. At the very least felt unnecessary.
From this list I want to recommend those that Daniel glossed over:
Book of The New Sun - Gene Wolfe's masterpiece. It's a complicated and tough reading, but if you like The Kingkiller Chronicle because you glimpsed more information with multiple rereads, this book is for you. It's the same genre also (picaresque novel).
Terra Ignota - Ada Palmer's highly regarded scifi. It's highly inventive with the best of sci-fi as its main goal. It is dense, but it's worth the investment.
The Warlord Chronicle - The actual best adaptation of Arthurian Legends (sorry Daniel). It's as good as Joe Abercrombie character-wise and with just as intense and powerful battle and duel scenes.
Temeraire - Dragon Riders and the Napoleonic Wars. Need I say more? If you liked Hiccup and Toothless, but more posh, this is for you.
Ascendance of a Bookworm - It's a series of light novels (adapted to anime already) of the isekai genre. However, unlike being just a wish-fulfillment power-fantasy as most in the genre, this novels follows the main character trying to become a librarian in a world without books (think the world before the printing press). It's an amazing character driven story with a fun main character.
The Culture Series - Iain M. Banks take on an utopian society like The Federation in Star Trek, however with more complex ideas and deeper themes.
gotta echo the Temeraire shoutout. great stuff
Tell me more kind stranger, of this fascinating Culture series you speak of.
@@Silas_MN It's been pretty decent. A little lighter in tone than I was expecting. And the side characters aren't anything to write home about, but it's been enjoyable so far.
39 felt weird for Book of the New Sun, but I guess it's just the audience. I've seen it ranking top 3 in other lists, but those where from huge scifi nerds. It's certainly my favorite.
@@Dio_land I'm not the kind stranger, but I'll back up reading Culture. Sadly Banks died, so there won't be more.
Another point is that if you read purely for character -- they have great characters, but those characters don't really continue hardly ever book to book. It's individual books about the civilization as a whole. So not to everybody's taste.
i just started to reread the artemis fowl series as an adult, i remember having such a good time reading them as a kid.
The joy at the end for making the list… ❤ well deserved and I’d put it in my top 100 as well. Somewhere around 80-90 for my personal list.
FMA, yes please, give it another chance! I'm kinda sad that many good books will never be on the list because they were not translated into English... of course I have a series in mind 😅
Also happy to see Hyperion high up on the list. It's one of my favourite books of all time. It's incredible.
Full Metal Alchemist is one of my all-time favorite manga series. Well worth a second chance!
Ascendance of a Bookworm, nice! Really well thought out isekai light novel that probes deeper into the implications of the genre than almost anything else I've seen
So glad to see the locked tomb series this far up, absolutely devoured them
I'm about to finish book 2 of Dragonlance Chronicles, and I'm absolutely loving it. It's been the perfect gateway for me to get back into reading after a long hiatus. I think the book covers you remembered were probably the classic Larry Elmore covers.
I loved reading those when I was younger. The direct influence from Tolkien is evident in the books. I also liked the humor and battle scenes where good. The classic covers from Elmore are the best versions. Raistlin is such a great character.
@@bz6046 Yes Raistlin and Tasslehoff both were great. Really though, I think the most fun I had over the whole trilogy was with Bupa and the gully dwarves.
Daniel! You have to read The Golem and the Jinni! It is beautiful and so so so we’ll written. It’s heartbreaking, and lovely, the world building is flawless, but the characters are exquisite. Also, Thursday Next series and The Checquy Files are awesome.
It was a cool book. But in my opinion lot of setup for slightly disappointing ending. The sequel is imo much better!
Your happiness over getting that 1 vote was gold. Congrats! Your popularity is moving up! :)
Really happy with all the love Ascendance of a Bookworm is getting in these comments. If you're looking for a fantasy series in the manga/anime sphere you can really do a deep dive on it's this series. The English language publisher actually let's subscribers read along with the books they license as they're being translated each week and let's them discuss on their forum and of the 213k posts on the pre-pub discussions the bookworm series makes up about 88k or about 25% of the posts
Silly little series for itty bitty kids. I am thirteen years old and even I'm too old for that little series and I read plenty young adult. Capiche?
@@NotoriousLightning sure buddy you're the coolest kid I've ever seen
@@metal123498 Thanks. Not many people think I'm cool. Maybe it's because I enjoy trolling people online while pretending to be thirteen, or maybe there's some other reason. Who can say?
Gotta say I'm just really happy to see a few mangas cracking the list and placing considerably well. "Ascendance of a Bookworm" was a real surprise but an extremely pleasant one! It's a great read! Highly recommend! And "Fullmetal Alchemist" was also unexpected for some reason but seriously deserved. It just makes me really happy to see the barrier between book readers and manga readers slowly dissolving. ^_^
Sooo happy to see Sun Eater here, definitely my favorite currently being written sci fi series. Only 21 votes is not terribly surprising, but it’s absolutely one of my favorite book series of all time
I'm happy Coldfire was on there. And Goblin Emperor!!! One of my FAVORITE books from last year, I was having a super bad time and that book was such a comfort, I loved it so much.
So happy to see Dungeon Crawler Carl made the list. If there was one book on the list I'd love to see your opinion on that'd be it.
Video Ideas I'd definitely watch:
- your own top 100 fantasy
- a beginner's guide to fantasy reading
- fantasy books published before 2000
While they were not ranked highly I think Robert E Howard’s Conan or any of Michael Moorcock’s Elric Saga stories are foundational works of fantasy that you hear fantasy authors like George R.R. Martin and such mention as inspirational works but you don’t hear much about them nowadays
Currently reading Mistborn book 1 and I'm loving it!
Saaame! It's so good!
Ascendance of a Bookworm!!! I shouted when I saw it on the list! I just freaking love to see it getting more recognition.
Everyone please re-read the Phantom Tollbooth. Is an amazing, mostly forgotten book.
Also seeing Daniel genuinely freaking out over his books getting a vote made my day. As a fellow author, I felt it so hard.
❤❤this is the book that starting me down the rabbit hole of reading in 3rd grade!!! I will always be grateful i found this book.
the entries I was hyped to see but wasn't expecting were Temeraire and Bartimaeus. both wonderful stories. Bartimaeus has probably my favorite narrative voice
Bartimeaus is fantastic. So glad it was as high as it was.
Honestly, I’m not only surprised to see the Second Apocalypse series in this list, but for it to be so high.
Sure, I know the books have elements that can be divisive-and unfortunately, Bakker doesn’t seem all that active anymore as a blogger or a writer (I hope he is okay, though, and I hope we get the No-god series soon)-but it’s really nice to see it getting such recognition.
Definitely check out Artemis Fowl. I don’t think you’re too old for it. It’s something I reread often as an adult as a palate cleanser between epic fantasies, and it continues to be clever and delightful.
I was really turned off to reading after having been forced to do it so much through all of my schooling but from the premise of Hyperion is decided to give the first book a go and it made reading a huge hobby of mine and even led me to your channel. It makes my heart very happy to see it get the respect it deserves
You are NEVER too old for Artemis Fowl. They’re all really quick reads, the first three you can knock out in one day.
The fact that A Night in the Lonesome October was mentioned has made my day!
It's the best book to read during halloween season...I know...I've listened to the author narrated audiobook every October since 2012, lol
Lonely. I'm Mister Lonely. I have nobody for my own! Whæææææææææææææææææææææ! I'm so lonely!
I'm so happy to see The Locked Tomb and The Green Bone Saga this high, two of my favourite fantasy books!
I am intrigued by Locked Tomb but afraid I can’t be more opposite to target audience… however I liked Priory and the Teixcalaan duology both having major sapphic themes… would you say that Locked Tomb is very niche and focuses mainly on character relationships and their banter/idiosyncrasies or there is some focus on cool science fiction concepts and world building? Because concept seems cool but memes I saw look very particular.
@Morfeus I just started Priory yesterday and the Teixcalaan duology is on my tbr!
I'd say the Locked Tomb Series is very character-driven and we probably won't understand the world until the final book. When I started reading Gideon the Ninth I was so confused because I was so used to the worldbuilding from other fantasy sci-fi books. The bits and pieces we get about the world are really in the subtext and this is what I love! Nothing gets overexplained and we figure stuff out alongside the characters. But once you get it you'll see how brilliantly the story is being told. Tamsyn really trusts her readers (though sometimes I feel like I don't have enough braincells).
Honestly you won't miss out if you don't get the memes but if you get them while reading it's just fun. The way Tamsyn incorporates contemporary humour is so good and I'd wish there were more books like that.
If you decide to pick up Gideon the Ninth don't expect worldbuilding. But I'd say the characters are totally worth it. The concept of this world and how it plays out is really unique so it won't appeal to everyone but once you understand the world a little bit it pays off! Lesbian necromancers playing a haunted game of Clue in space, who wouldn't wanna read this?
@@tattoowithlea thank you for such a detailed response! It certainly seems like a interesting concept, maybe I will try it out! I hope you will enjoy Priory and the Dr. Linden’s duology!
And yes btw I agree that The Green Bone Saga was absolutely amazing!
@Morfeus If audiobooks are your thing then I'd also recommend checking out the audiobook versions, they are amazing and maybe more accessible if you're not yet sold on the way the story is structured 😊
So far I'm enjoying Priory, it feels like classic old fantasy in the best way possible.
The Green Bone Saga almost got a TV adaption but I think it was cancelled :(
Love seeing Cradle get so much love and the Belgariad Universe as well!
I really can't believe that HxH wasn't higher. Top tier stuff
Same. I read some of the books that were rated higher, and yeah, they don't come close to H x H imo. I think these were mostly book readers voting. Not people who read books/manga.
Its probably because anime fans do no join the r/fantasy reddit. Honestly I expect several big names such as Naruto One piece and bleach to be in top ten
@@v.lighting3530there are hundreds of "fantasy" manga better than naruto and Bleach
@@pup838 yea but its a POPULARITY vote
Wow, I had no idea so many people liked The Old Kingdom series! It was my favorite fantasy as a child, and it's been hugely influential on how I view fantasy. It's amazing to see it still ranked so highly almost 30 years after the first book was published.
Just want to say that I just found your channel and appreciate your content so much. Your pure love for the fantasy genre and sincere reviews are a pleasure to watch. Thank you for reigniting my passion for reading! So excited to try as many of these books as possible!
Yessss, this is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone anywhere mention The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Read it almost 10 years ago and was absolutely blown away.
MY Top 5 would be
1 - Hyperion Cantos
2 - Malazan Book of the Fallen
3 - A Song of Ice and Fire
4 - Dune
5 - Foundation
The list makes more sense when you realise that to get counted you had to have the book in your top 10.
So for example Redwall had 10 votes. This means that 10 people had Redwall somewhere in their top 10.
If only I had been aware of this voting, could have upped that number to 11 lol
@@phantomic109 Me too... It's would probably make my top 10...
FMA absolutely deserves the hype.
The Last Unicorn is one of my favorite books, glad to see it crack the top 100!
My favorite part of this video is that Daniel Greene is going to read "The Chronicles of Prydain", which is one of my top 5 favorite series.
you should definetely give Artemis Fowl a chance - it's great :)
Artemis Fowl is a must read.
Excited for you to read The Black Company, was the first fantasy series I read when I was a kid!
I think there might be a misunderstanding here. If I understand correctly, people put their favorite books in a list. They don't go and vote from a list. Most people wouldn't put 1984 in their favorite SFF book list because they don't consider 1984 as a SFF book in the first place. If someone says ready player one is one of their favorite SFF books, it doesn't mean they're saying it is better than 1984 as a book.
You are 100% right about the fahrenheit 451 hate coming from forced reading in English class
The most exciting part of this whole video was hearing that The Black Company was on your TBR! Now I need to make sure I haven't already missed it :p
Fahrenheit 451 is not only a great novel, but the very best that I read for required reading in school.
The way you read The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August made it seem like you'd never seen the title before. Highly recommend, it's beautifully written and gripping from start to finish.
Man I needed this. I'm such a shut in when it comes to the fantasy world scrolling through my audio books top recommended not finding anything that looks interesting and then re listening to the WoT or the entire cosmere for the 4th or 5th time. Now I have a nice 10 book list from some of the top 10 to some of the ones Daniel said he really enjoyed from farther down. Already downloaded Chronicles of Prydain to give that one a shot.
Thanks for going through this list Daniel.. I should.. I should probably follow this reddit.. I'm going to go do that now.
I can't believe The Dagger and the Coin is so low! Such an underrated masterpiece
Well if the vote is "pick your favourite" it's not surprising that some great works are simply not picked. How many people would say "my favourite fantasy? 1984 obviously"
This is vote was about the favorite books of the subreddit. Not the best, most acclaimed or most influential. I don't think it's a big surprise more people enjoyed reading Ready Player One than 1984. Also, the number of people voting is relatively small so the relative placement of books with few votes doesn't tell us very much when only one or two votes change so much.
Soooo happy to see Realm of the Elderlings in the top 10! Hobb's prose, political intrigue and especially her character building are incredible!
Circle of Magic...and really anything by Tamora Pierce, I highly recommend. My husband and I are hoping to eventually purchase custom leather editions of all her works because we love them so much and have since childhood.
I freaking love Cradle. It's a shonen anime as a book series. It's just fun and awesome. Honestly it's probably top 10 for 'fun read'
It's great to see The Wandering Inn on the list! While it has it issues, i have really enjoyed it for last few months.
Love Dragonlance. That series was my introduction to fantasy as a genre.
They really were such fun books to read when I was a kid. Still like them as an adult.
When Daniel reads "Chronicles of Narnia" and just says "That should be FAR lower" and moves on . . . I love Narnia and didn't know Daniel didn't.
Yeah I certainly consider it classic fantasy for a reason and Lewis is certainly a contemporary of Tolkien in many ways. I can understand why some people may not be fond of it given it's parallel's to Christianity though even without that I feel it stands on it's own merits. Admittedly I will also concede my parents reading them to me as a child makes me remember this series fondly.
Haha I thought the same! It’s one of my personal favourites, I find that its sense of wonder and just overall creativity is completely unmatched.
@Kyl Schwartz If that is the reason, it's a pretty silly one. Of course, I'm sure there's more to it than that, doubt Daniel dislikes it for such a shallow reason lol
Yeah I was surprised he was so dismissive of such a highly regarded series in a popularity list
Fahrenheit 451 is probably my favorite book. I've gone back and reread it multiple times now. Every time I read it I end up loving it more.
I want to add if you like Fahrenheit 451, please give Something Wicked This Way Comes. It's just as good as Fahrenheit 451 and Bradbury's style is just as amazing.
So many books added to tbr
It's time for paradox of choice to thrive)))
It's sad (but not surprising) to see Barbara Hambly completely overlooked again, but it's nice to see C.S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy get a few votes.
I agree that The Once and Future King is a must read to understand the Arthurian legend. Glad you recommended it.
A big part of the reason you are seeing things you would expect higher being so low with so few votes is that this list was compiled from users submitting personal top 10 lists. So there’s tons of things that a lot of people might have ranked at 15-20 but since only 5 people ranked it in their top 10 list it barely scrapes in.
Any joint list like this that relies on community submission suffers more and more the less data you collect from each individual. Since this specific list only allowed each person to submit a top 10 list, and as you can see from the voting most people felt obliged to put stuff like stormlight and middle earth on their list it ate into their ability to put other stuff on their list. If they had allowed people to submit top 20 lists it would look much different.
This kind of data collection is a balancing act between trying to get more data from each person while also trying not to push people away with how long it would take them to fill out. And, honestly, how long it would take to parse the data. The people doing this are doing it for free. So if they were to get hundreds of people all submitting full top 100 lists it would be ridiculous for them to go through in their free time.
That all being said if someone ever wanted to get a list that looks better than this as a community project there are other options. There’s the already alluded to option of just get more data from each person such as a top 20 or more. There’s doing a nomination and voting system where the community can all nominate books to be on the list then the survey is a ranked choice type vote where you can order as many as you want. Etc
I read Bloodsworn Saga last year and it instantly became one of my favorite series. Can't wait for book 3 and to see it go up the ranks afterwards. Hunger of the Gods blew me away.
I love your reaction to The Once and Future King, because on the one hand you dont understand how so few people picked it as their favorites, and then told us to read it with the caveat that it may not be our favorite. Do you see where I am going with this?
To me it just seems like many of these books and series that are really low and are classics may be considered top level books to many but also not those people's favorite books or series. For example I loved Animal Farm when I read it. But Animal Farm is not even in the top 50 of my favorite books of all time.
The Iconoclast series by Mike Shell is quite interesting from a world building standpoint. The elevator pitch is" what if Geralt of Riva was Indiana Jones in a high fantasy pirate/ conquistador setting exploring myan tombs" an interesting journey for sure. First book is called "The Aching God"
I am actually surprised that ascendence of a bookworm was on the list, it's amazing but really surprised something like mushoku tensei didn't crack the list while bookworm did.
dungeon crawler does have pretty fun names for its books. its also the book you got in one of your po box streams and you really liked the tag line "The Apocalypse WILL be televised.". really hope we get a review one day. i think you'd love it.
Very excited to hear Daniel's finally getting around to Black Company in the near future. Also gotta give a shout-out to The Acts of Caine, since I know Heroes Die is sitting there, staring at him...
Outside of Wheel of Time, Daniel’s knowledge of all these authors/books is within past 5 years 😂
I may have misunderstood you, but this doesn’t seem accurate to me. He spends a significant amount of time amazed that the older books aren’t getting more love.
What have you been following him recently he's talked about the classics before/
I'm interested in hearing why you've got such a big problem with Ready Player One?
I just finished both books 2 weeks ago, and I was hooked from the start. It was so interesting to experience Middle Earth, Faerun and so many other incredible worlds in a new and different way. I absolutely loved the books :)
Agree it's like 1984 in 1948! I think it's ahead of its time!
Oh I’m so glad to see Inda on there!!! No one ever talks about it. And nettle and bone is unrelated to shadow and bone. I really enjoyed it!
Oh wow and the Tortall Universe!! Easily one of my all time favs
Green one saga being in the top ten has actually made my day
Vorkosigan is the single best space opera sci fi series I've read. Highly recommended