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Man really sad that the best Urban Fantasy Series of All Time in The Dresden Files didn’t make your list. Far too much of a focus on Epic Fantasy not near enough on Urban Fantasy…
Hello ..i wanna Ask A Book About Sisterhood Relationship.. I mean Love and Hate relation like Jinx And Vi in Arcane IM Okay If ITS Going to be Bad ending , IM also okay If Good ending but pls don't make them United and loving each other in just One Book Like SUPERNATURAL ACADEMY Heck They like wanna Kill Each other in beginning But they Became united in just 40 Pages? the animation is still good Because it still took 6 episode before they united but still bad though and the animation really show how the Little sister really have hard time adapating in her new life while in the Book she was like Mastering everything in her new world in just 50 page in Book 1 😂 And Please I Don't want The Female Character Like a Slut , All Plot Changes whenever Male Character Appear..ITS like She is forgett what is her purpose and Focus to get his cock...
Hey there, big fantasy fan here too! Have you read anything from Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory? I recommend The Obsidian Trilogy and The Pheonix Unchained Trilogy.
I'm 57 years old and Name of the Wind is still one of the most mesmerizing, captivating books I have ever read in my life. I stumbled across it in an airport bookstore, was not (and am not) an active fantasy reader, yet for some reason I was compelled to pick it up. (I have read a few of books or series from the list, as well as more of the books mentioned below.) When I read Name of the Wind, the first two books were already published, so I quickly picked up the second book. I had to know what happens to Kvothe! Alas, upon completing the second book, I then discovered the third book wasn't (and still isn't) available. I'm still heartbroken after the gradual realization that Rothfuss will never finish the series, and I will never know what happens to Kvothe.
@@Daniel-vi8ox he'll finish it, he just has alot of pressure to make sure it's perfect. He's talking about it a bit in stream, so I wouldn't give up quite yet
The first novel was amazing. The second novel was really good... but hoping there's not a downward trend in quality. I'd much rather see Rothfuss take his time and do it right. I waited years for successive ASOIAF and WoT books, I can do the same with the KingKiller Chronicle.
So glad Wheel of time made it to spot 3. I just finished it and as soon as I was done, despite it's many issues,I found myself wanting to immediately reread it. I've waited a few months and I'm back doing a reread. Lovely series
That's why I take these lists with a grain of salt. While better than his first video, the recency bias is understandably still there. Dragonlance when we were kids is what Stormlight is today.
I remember. Typical D&D book. Read all. It just shouts that “I’m a game” so it’s not high end quality, it was good to read back then but not top of all time for sure.
To be clear, I don't think this series deserves top 20 realistically, but it always will be in my heart. The inheritance cycle is what got me into reading fantasy and was one of the first books that kept me up late reading, one of my favorites and I highly reccomend.
I started with those books too, Here in germany it's Just called Eragon. Up until recently, i thought they were original german language books because christopher paolini sounds like such a german name😂
I found the list interesting, in that Tolkein, LeGuin, and Cook were the oldest of the series - which doesn't list many I consider essential classics. I also noticed that these are all series, with no stand alone or duo books. Also note, the Pern series is NOT fantasy, but actually HARD Science Fiction -as the Dragons are bioengineered by the colonist specifically to deal with the problem they encountered. May I suggest you check out: The Eternal Champion series by Michael Moorcock, The Amber-Chaos Series, Dilvish duo, and Madwand duo by Roger Zelazny, Duel of Sorcery by Jo Clayton, Dragaeran series by Steven Brust, Riftkind series by Lynn Abbey, Lord Darcy by Randall Garett, Initiate Brother duo by Sean Russell, the Merlin/Arthur tetralogy by Mary Stewart, Mabinogeon tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, The Lost Swords series by Fred Saberhagen, Incarnations of series & the Xanth series by Piers Anthony, Arafel duo by CJ Cherryh , Tros of Samothrace by Talbot Mundy and probably one of the greatest of all, The Witch World series by Andre Norton. Another SF-F cross is the Morgaine series by CJ Cherryh. Some solo novels: Darker Than You Think -Jack Williamson, Dwellers in the Mirage -A.Merrit, Jack of Shadows - Roger Zelazny, Glory Road-Robert A. Heinlein, Jirel of Joiry-CL Moore, Sacred Ground - Mercedes Lackey, Moonheart-Charles deLint. Whatever happened to Conan, Kull, Grey Mouser, Saint-Germain, Maelin the Moonsinger, (and Rod Galloglass although that could be considered SF) in your list?
The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons is the greatest Sci-Fantasy series I have ever read. By a lot too. After I was finished with book four, I was heartbroken it was done, and I remember actually feeling like I wished I could forget about it so I could read it again all the sooner lmao. It might not qualify as Fantasy alone, but if you're a person who also has interest in future technology, AI, human nature, unlikely heroes and the most horrific creature of ANY written universe you would LOVE these books!
Hyperion was the series that got me back into reading during covid. I got a kindle for Christmas of 2020 and I devoured the entire series in January and February of 2021
I am a bit sad David Eddings' Belgariad seems to have fallen off people's radar. When I think of 100% vanilla fantasy that fully and joyously embraces all the conventional, it's the Belgariad: Orphan boy on a farm- check. Mysterious grandfather figure- check. Stuck up, plucky princess- check. Evil god bent on taking over and bending the world to his whims- check. I recently reread the seris (and the follow up seris The Malorian) and they were still very fun adventures.
Belgariad might be shamelessly cliche, but it handles its tropes and characters better than most others of its kind in my opinion. It has some of the most genuinely hilarious comedy, sassy romance and witty dialogue I’ve ever seen in fantasy.
I voraciously devoured the Belgariad,Mallorean, Tamuli, and The Elenuim. Eddings style won me over, and I found myself delving deeper by reading Belgarath the sorcerer, Polgara the sorceress, and the Rivan Codex.😂
I have never been an avid reader and have only read required reading and a little over half of the harry potter series in my adult life. I started reading the mistborn trilogy this year because of the book-tube fantasy series video you made. I'm about 200 pages from the end of Well of Ascension and Hero of Ages came in the mail today lol I would love suggestions from anyone.
Try these: The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia McKillip, the Earthsea series by Ursula LeGuin, The Chronicles of the Deryni by Katherine Kurtz, The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Steven Donaldson, THe Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazney, The Shannara books by Terry Brooks, The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock, The Conan series by Robert E Howard, The Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart, The Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake, The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, The Redwall books by Brian Jacques, Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey, The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, The Witch World series by Andre Norton, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber, The Narnia series by CS Lewis, The Song of Ice and Fire books by George RR Martin, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss, The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling, The Way of Shadows books by Brent Weeks, The Jirel of Joiry books by C.L. Moore, The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski and The Dagger and the Coin series by Daniel Abraham.
Elfstones of Shannara, the second book in the original series, is probably "my" absolute best book ever, in general, not only restricted to fantasy. Everybody should read it. The second series, The Heritage of Shannara, is hands down the indisputable best fantasy series of all times, as a whole, and a single book in that quartet (The Druid of Shannara, the second entry) is by itself in the top 10 of best fantasy books ever. You absolutely can't go wrong with those, and by Terry Brooks I also suggest The Word and Void series and Landover series
Just finished all 36 of The Legend of Drizzt series. I absolutely loved it, especially the lady few. I enjoyed the friendship, fighting, and character arcs. Any suggestion on where to go next? Sanderson is s cool guy, but I am missing Salvatore, Drizzt, Jarlaxle, and even Kimmuriel. I find them more enjoyable than Mistborn.
Just finished Dance of Dragons of A Song Of Ice And Fire today. I think all in all, the whole series is about 5500 pages, but it's definitely worth it! I used to be a lazy reader (and it took me 6 months to read the whole series), but it was such a phenomenal read. Would recommend to anyone who is maybe a bit hesitant on fantasy. The political plotting, the character development and the female representation(!) is impeccable. It combines so many good plot lines and the world building is incredible. And the new book may be coming out this decade already!
One of the difficulties of this list is that some The Malazan books suffer from their complexity of writing and plot (also one of their strength). Much harder to get into the majority of the books in the series. I would argue that if they were more widely read and completed they would surpass the wheel of time series.
Can anyone ever beat him? You know George RR Martin said in an interview that "After Tolkien there are only two types of fantasy writers... Writers who were influenced by him and writers who desperately tried not to be influenced by him. "
I'm always surprised that no one ever mentions the works of Stephen Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (3 series totaling 10 books) and the 2-book series Mordant's Need. I've heard some criticisms of those series (Thomas Covenant especially), and I do agree with some of them, but they were bestsellers in their day.
@@johnny6128 I agree that Thomas Covenant can be a very irritating character -- but the story makes it very clear WHY he is that way. He's a very broken man who has had everything good in his life ripped away from him. Yes, he's a jerk sometimes, but he does actually have a character arc and slowly grows throughout the series.
It's my favorite fantasy series. Thomas Covenant is a very unpleasant protagonist, but I think the other characters, and the world building make up for it. I think the biggest issue for younger, newer readers is getting past the rape in book one.
Surprised to see Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion Series not mentioned. Its so iconic, Chaosium did a roleplaying game based on it, and even Rock bands of the 70's based songs on his works, from such bands as Blue Oyster Cult, and Hawkwind.
@satricv I'm not. Most 20 somethings doing "all time greatest fantasy lists" don't know jack shit about the fantasy genre. They think classic fantasy starts in the 90's as well as slotting the Narnia books in with the grown up stuff because they saw some movies when they were kids and are too lazy to do even a modicum of research into the history of the genre. Any "all time greatest" list fails without ERB, Lord Dunsany, Howard and Moorcock. The first three made the fantasy genre possible and the fourth re-defined it for a new age. These lists are more accurately called "I like the same shit all the other 20 something fantasy readers on UA-cam" do.
The Prince of Nothing Series by Scott Bakker would be in my top 10. A fantasy series for mature readers. In the top 20 I would include the Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence. I liked the Wheel of time but after the first book the series became too centered around feminist issues. I also like many of David Gemmel's novels.
I am almost finished book 1 of RA Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy, after a bit of a long hiatus from reading. I started out reading with Asterix comics, Roald Dahl, Game books, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. As an adult I happily tackled all kinds of Novels and classics alike. But this Homeland book has been a real page turner. Which I have not experienced since maybe Ender's Game. For me this is the way I like Fantasy. I don't want it to be chore in the way a much loved Oscar Wilde novel would be. Does anyone have a good page turning recommendation to follow up the Dark Elf Trilogy? I have never really tackled any adult themed Fantasy but would be keen to give it a go. Cheers.
It seems like a spoller, but it really isn't: why the finish is sad? Because you reached the end of a journey that took you so much time and focus? Because the main character dies? Because the main character lives but dies another character who you loved even more? Because ultimate victory came at the cost of a stagging sacrifice you didn't see come? You'll know only at the end of the last book. For now, all you know is that it's been written by Brandon Sanderson (following the notes of Jordan), so it'll be truly an emotional and heart-wrenching experience.
I never see the Belgariad and/or Malorean by David Eddings included in these lists. It's one of the few fantasy series that I re-read every five years or so. The Cold Fire trilogy by C. S. Friedman is another that's on my list.
Althalus and Polgara are my favorite books ever. But Eddings just isn’t very good writer. He has similar flaw to Sanderson where you really have to just stick reading 1 series of them because they recycle their material hardcore.
I just read a book called "Four Wings of the Dragon Goddess" By Theodora Quinn. It had Dragons and time travel which for me is my two favorite things. I highly recommend it.
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm also very trans. It's really hard for me to enjoy it now... after the author made it clear that trans people can't attend Hogwarts.
@@transjoyous I get you. What an awful thing of her to say and think. For myself - I separate the work from the creator. The books are full of such positive messages about inclusion and to not discriminate, so to me they are still relevant and still hold a place in my heart even if JKR doesn't anymore.
I mean it does seem that the books teach to discriminate against races that are predisposed to slavery cause they’re better as slaves…or the goblins who are too evil to be given rights apparently…or the fact that you can’t be a wizard in poverty because you have to purchase everything. Harry Potter does not reach acceptance or tolerance. I have fond memories of reading it as a child but there are some truly backwards messages in the books.
@@braedenneale845 Then we had two very different experiences reading the books. I saw an imperfect world being called out. Werewolves should not be marginalized just for their affliction. House elves should not be enslaved... And more.
Pratchett's Discworld with its amazing story arcs Night Watch, Rincewind, The Witches of Lancre (Love Granny Weatherwax!), all the DEATH books, and the last real arc Moist von Lipwig...and those don't even touch the stand alone books. Then he sent out possibly the best YA fantasy arc, the Tiffany Aching novels...which terminated with his last book before his heartbreaking death in 2016. He makes you laugh, think and ponder. He's worth reading just because of his invention of L-Space. A triumph of world building and characterization.
2:25 - You are so right! Gen Z doesn’t appreciate this series. This WAS fantasy for me! This was everything I wanted in a fantasy novel. Just goes to show you how much things change each decade. I would love to see a Booktuber cover the top 10 books of each decade for the last 100 years.
Absolutely loved the Black Company series. Just finished up the three Gentleman Bastard books and they were fantastic. The conclusion of The Hero of Ages was everything I ever wanted in a story.
i wonder how much being incomplete hurt the Dresden Files, because i'd imagine some websites top 'of all time' lists might require the series to be finished to be considered. i know other series up there were also unfinished, but Dresden Files gets knocked for it a lot more than most other series i see. I'm also glad to see dragonriders of pern on the list which is one of my favorite series.
Well you unintentionally tricked me into watching by putting a red X on the Dresden Files. I’m kind of attached to Dresden Files because it really stuck with me at a difficult time (especially the quote about pain) Your list was really good by the way.
I am so excited to see Dragonriders of Pern make the list! While it is not the first fantasy I read, it is the series that made me a lifelong fantasy and sci-fi reader. You find out later in the series it qualifies as sci-fi too. When I was 12 my Mom let me join the Fantasy and Science Fiction Book Club, a type of mail service that used to be popular. You’d choose 4 or 5 books for a dollar then had to buy a certain amount in a year. I made sure to choose 3-in-1’s or more to make my dollar go as far as possible. One was the first 3 books of Pern, Dragonflight, Dragonquest & The White Dragon. I was enchanted. I daydreamed about being a dragonrider. I even met Anne McCaffrey many years later. I’ve seen a few BookTubers review it and there are a few issues that bother modern/younger readers though honestly it went over my naive 12 year old head. And if you know Anne’s life story you can see where her real life was creeping in. I feel that later in the series she moves past and makes up for these areas. One note about Shannara. Much like The Eye of the World the first book is pretty much a Lord of the Rings clone. While I haven’t read all of them, I did read the first 3-4 a long time ago and Brooks does move on to make it his own.
As an almost 44 year old who reads Harry Potter every couple of years I can definitively state that it definitely holds up. It’s stop as magical as it was the first time I read it almost 20 years ago.
Dude Harry Potter never held up at the time of each books release. JK Rowling did nothing new and wrote a dog shit predictable, pedestrian, by the numbers story. Stop fooling yourself, and get over it take the nostalgia goggles off, and read something better.
I feel the same about Percy Jackson. I started reading them when I was in elementary school and re read them a number of times since. Plan on owning them and sharing them with my kids.
i agree, it seems a lot of the great series and books from the 80's are now forgotten, i also think unfinished series should not be on a list like this.
I think your point system should be slightly less linear - give more points to the top rankings like 15 to #1, 12 to #2, then 10 to #3, 8 to #4, etc. It would reward series like Malazan that not a lot of people have read but nearly everyone puts as their #1 after they've read it.
Interesting - I like the fact that you created a meta list of lists you came across and didn't just do something arbitrary, kudos for that! Only one of these I haven't read is Ken Liu, which I plan to fix this year.
Okay. I put down Lies of Locke Lamora because of how elementary and high school level the prose was. So warn your viewers of your own level of reading is. It informs us the context of your opinion.
I've tried reading the wheel of time 3 times and stopped half way through book 6 every time, yes I've read the first 5 three times! haha. There are so many issues with the Aes sedai. also hair tugging and dress smoothing is endless. Just done with it.
Nynaeve would tug her braid upon hearing this!! I find the interaction between the women and men to be annoying. Love the world building though, so I struggled through. But, damn, every time the men thought they shouldn't share stuff with the women, and vice versa, I had to put the book down for a bit.
I personally prefer contemporary fantasy, and more recent books a lot of the time. Not to say there aren't good classics, but most of them are nostalgic for me as I used to listen to them when I was very young. In fact I grew up listening to Lord of the Rings, Narina (all the books), Percy Jackson, His Dark Materials and Harry Potter. At some point I also got into ASoInF, and Brandon's Cosmere books (I have read all now). Think that's all the series from this list that I have listen to. Think I also listened to Shannara in my youth, but didn't remember the name. All the other series have movie or television series...
A point can be made that the old classics laid the ground rules, and then the new authors proceeded to break them and build on the ruins... Those who did, I mean.
@@Ranked_Journey The impact of "The Lord of the Rings" is so profound that not just one but two of the most cherished fantasy series, "Shannara" and "The Wheel of Time," both evidently started as fan imitations. It's also rare to encounter a fantasy author who doesn't acknowledge Tolkien as a significant source of inspiration. Tolkien's influence is so far-reaching that his works are even included in the curriculum of English and Medieval literature courses. And, yes "hard worldbuilding" at Tolkien's level is a deadly trap that engulfed so many aspiring authors. Strangely, what could very well be the second most influential series, Michael Moorcock's "Elric," is now seldom mentioned, if at all. Anyway, I like authors who, knowing well the classics, use them to forge new paths rather than adhering to their established formulas. Do you have any recommendations for contemporary fantasy works that are not covered in this video?
@@federicogiana On second thought I think I have actually read Shannara in my youth. So, I remember it with nostalgia. And yeah, quite similar to Tolkien, at least the first few books. Tolkien also defined a number of fantasy tropes, not to mention races. Elric seems interesting. I have many recommendations as I listen to a lot of audiobooks, with fantasy being one of my main genres (sci-fi being the other). Gonna try to categorize my recommendations a bit. Some favorites: The Godking's Legacy and the Blue Mage Raised by Dragons series by Virlyce Note:Genre might be considered some form of gameLit in addition to fantasy, although, its more gamesLight. Everybody Loves Large Chests Series: Morningwood by Neven Iliev Note: Actual gameLit, and I would say r rated. I also have to point out that the title is somewhat misleading, but can't say more. Awaken Online Series: Catharsis by Travis Bagwell Note: Focused on a fantasy VR game. General Fantasy: Unconvertional Hero Series: Two Necromancers, a bureaucrat, and an elf by L. G. Estrella The Pillars of Reality Series: Dragons of Dorcastle Jack Campbell Note: Also Steampunk, I think. Spells, Swords, & Stealth series: NPCs by Drew Hayes The Greatcoats Series: Traitor's Blade by Sebastien De Castell Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne Series: The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley Ascendant Series by Craig Alanson The one series I know is High Fantasy: Codex Alera Series: Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher Dungeon Core/GameLit: Elemental Dungeon Series: Bone Dungeon by Jonathan Smidt Harem/Spicy: The Valens Legacy Series: Black Friday by Jan Stryvant Note: Urban Fantasy. Sovereign-Verse Series by William D. Arand Note: GamesLit, different sub-series features multiple genres. Author uses a diffrent pen name for exploit series/books.
The original Shannara trilogy is definitely worth reading: Sword, Elfstones and Wishsong. I have read a couple others and they are good but not as great as the first three.
The trouble with shannara is that it’s considered as a poor mans LOTR. It’s definitely more accessible though and personally I enjoyed it but I see the similarities.
@@ChapHammersmith The echoes of LOTR are definitely there in the beginning of the first book, The Sword of Shannara, but about two thirds of the way through, Brooks finds his own unique voice and he never really looks back after that. As someone else in these comments said, the second and third books (Elfstones and Wishsong) are two of the best fantasy novels I've read outside of Tolkien. And many of the later books are equally good. I also want to put in a word for David Gemmell, nice to see him mentioned even if he didn't make the list, because he has some fantastic output starting with the first of the Drenai novels, Legend. A couple of other authors not mentioned who take up a serious portion of my shelf space are Jack L. Chalker and Mercedes Lackey. And of course my earliest introduction to SF/Fantasy even before Alice, Narnia and Rings was Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars. To this day, John Carter is still one of my all-time favourite characters.
This was a much better and well-rounded list than the Booktube list. When I saw Poppy War in the top 10 and especially the Faithful and the Fallen in top 3 it immediately just negated the entire list for me. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad books but a lot of other books with more character could've easily replaced them on the list. Booktube just gets too caught up in hype a lot of the time to better cater to the algorithm I feel like.
I'm still waiting for the fourth book of Gentleman Bastards. I raced through the first book and got the other two...but been waiting for the 4th novel The Thorn of Emberlain for six years. He started it in 2016, was supposed to come out in 2019...and now they say 2024. Agony...will have to reread the first three all over again and hope the 4th book will show up...sometime.
Finally a top fantasy list thqt tesonqted with me. I am far from an expert, but it seems your wider net has caught the real list. Book tubers are definitely biased to recent.
George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister known for his pioneering works in the fantasy genre. His novels, fairy tales, and theological writings have significantly influenced literature and notable authors, including C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. Some of his most famous works include: "Phantastes" (1858) - A fantasy novel often considered one of the first of its kind, it deeply influenced C.S. Lewis. "The Princess and the Goblin" (1872) - A children's fantasy novel featuring a young princess, a miner boy, and their adventures against goblins. "At the Back of the North Wind" (1871) - A novel that blends fantasy and realism, exploring themes of life, death, and the afterlife. "Lilith" (1895) - Another fantasy novel, known for its dark and complex themes.MacDonald's work is characterized by its imaginative storytelling, deep spiritual insights, and exploration of the human condition. He is also known for his sermons and theological writings, which reflect his universalist beliefs and his emphasis on the love of God.
I wonder if any of these people cared to read authors like Bakker or Wolfe. I seriously doubt it. At least there are some youtubers who finally cover such exquisite authors.
Just a little constructive criticism the music in this video is louder than your voice so really struggled with this video but other than that, you were great
Fascinating, while there are things that can simply not be disputed such as LotR, many other series I would personally not even have considered feasible for a best-of list. In my eyes, nothing that was started after 2000 would or should be even considered a "Best of" and surely not in any "Best of All Time". There simply is so much from the 20th century that outclasses anything of the 21st so far by a margin that any comparison is ridiculous. Personally, I think that many of the classics need to be reprinted and should have a permanent place on the shelf in bookstores.
I became aware of The Dragonriders of Pern in the summer of 1973 and from the start hated that I always had to wait for the next book to come out I wanted the whole story. This series of books would take up many many hours of my time due to the fact that they were something that seemed to connect with me. Looking for something to fill the gap between books I ran across Terry Brooks and the Shanara books. There are others Like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, S. Kings Gunslinger series, Saberhagen's Book of Swords series and never forget the incredible Xanth series by Piers Anthony. These books have taken me to places in my lifetime that I really do wish I could have seen in other places than my mind. Peter Jackson did a good job with Tolkien's series bringing it to life. I just wish some of the others could get the same treatment. As a last note to this long comment the SHIP books also by the author that I started this with Anne McCaffrey are amazingly written. At 72yrs old I do a lot of reading now and just last year stepped once more into the world of Tolkien, MacCaffery and Anthony and they were as much a pleasure to read as they were the first time around.
I am somewhat saddened that Robert E. Howard's iconic "Conan the Barbarian" and David Eddings "the Belgariad" or "The Mallorian" series didn't even get mentioned. I started reading these series before I even started reading Tolkien. Sad
The Eternal Champion Champion series by Michael Moorcock deserves to be on this list. However, as its a series of different series, it was perhaps too disparate & amorphous.
I wonder if because it is from UA-cam the list reflects the tastes of younger readers who might not be familiar with older works. Mising from the list are The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolf, the Nine Princes in Amber series by Rodger Zelazny and perhaps some others.
Thank you for this video! If I may give a suggestion for your next video-lists, each time you introduce an entry in your video ("for spot # 5 we have..."), please consider editing/placing on the video text that includes: - The name of the series you are showing - The author of the series - And maybe the first book (or first few books) in the series That would make it way easier for us to look up the series that look interesting to us! Additionally, you could also add in the video description a link to a post on your website, where said post has Amazon affiliate links to all the books in the video-list.
I had to step back and realize this list is all about influence, not my personal tastes. From that standpoint it feels spot on, I’d rank a personal enjoyment list very different but that's alright.
my favorite series is the Cronicles of the Kencyrath by PC Hodgell. ive read everything by tolkein, barely got thru his books, he needed an actual editor who would delete 3/4 of each book. he could use 10,000 works in the place of 100.
My mission for the rest of the year is to get the wheel of time read fully. I have read the first 6 books a number of time and they are immense. But if often started to struggle through the 7th book. But i AM going to get them done this year and finally get to the ending of Sandersons books at the end. I am reading them again mainly due to my dispair of who amazon have ruined the story by changing it too much.
Disappointed that the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant didn't make the list - some of the best writing I've ever read, great world building, and a great story to go with it.
I agree. i was delighted when he added another 4 books from 2004 to 2013 to the original 6 (or should I say 3 and then 3). However they were so late I had to read the first 6 again before reading the last 4 which was a real labor of love. In the end I was able to get most of them as audio books so no problem.
@@birdieputtnh74 To be honest they are very disappointing. They are extremely long winded with numerous monologues and explanations repeated ad nauseam. There is no real plot advancement or character development. The central character seems to be Linden Avery rather than Thomas.The first six books concluded the story and left us feeling complete and satisfied but after enjoying the first Six books so much the last Four books left me feeling betrayed and stabbed in the back by my best friend. Thank you for your work.At my advanced age i do not have time to waste on rubbish. With all the numerous authors writing fantasy books these days you help me sort out the wheat from the chaff.
What, no Chronicles of Amber? A must read for lovers of fantasy. Also big thumbs up for Black Company and everything by Joe Abercrombie. Rothfuss and Martin should both hire Sanderson to finish their work.
Thank you! I was scanning the comments to see if anyone mentioned the Amber novels. They're my all-time favorites, but maybe showing my age. There are a few sluggish parts when Corwin or Merlin are moving through Shadow, but otherwise they're S tier for me. I've read recent Fantasy, and a lot of the hyped series (some on this video) are a bit generic. Don't get me wrong, it's not all vanilla. I have been impressed with some recent fantasy series, like the KingKiller Chronicle and the Green Bone Saga.
It is great to see the breadth of fantasy series available now. I grew up in the time of Katherine Kerr's Dagger Spell series, Raymond E Feist's Magician (Riftwar Saga) and David Eddings Belgariad series. Its odd not seeing any of these listed here, but if you are looking for some timeless classics that are unique in there own way after devouring this creator's list give these a try. I am grateful to for this list, because it gives me a chance to dip back into the genre to catch up on all that I have missed in the last decade.
The Belgariad is a magical experience. I read it last year and it helped lift me out of a depression. The characters are whimsical and hilarious. It has some of the best comedy, witty dialogue and heartfelt tender moments I’ve ever seen in fantasy. Really need to get around to Riftwar. I’ll check out Daggerspell as well.
To not see David Eddings or Ra Salvatore on this list is mildly surprising. But they are older series, and most on the list are not. Except for the very top ofc, but we all knew what the top 3 would be :)
Older reader here, I agree that Lightbringer is great in the beginning but completely falls apart in the last two books. Shannara was enjoyable when I was younger, but slogging through the first few books to get to the ones that are actually good will bore a lot of people. Abercrombie is WAY too low on this list. Dark Tower is as well. Discworld should be #1 or 2. And the fact that Robert Jackson Bennett is constantly overlooked on these type of lists is disappointing, he has put out some really solid books that are well worth your time.
I’m surprised none of D&D’s Forgotten Realms R.A.Salvatore’s Drizzt Do’Urden didn’t make the list or any of the books of Weiss & Hickman’s Dragon Lance make the cut though I prefer Forgotten Realms over Dragon Lance
Percy Jackson isn't just Middle Grade! It's one of the best series I've read and I've probably read the series 5-10 times. I highly recommend reading them!!!!
The pattern..."I haven't read any of it, or...I've only read one book, or...it didn't work for me." haha How many of these has actually been read by the Viking?
I will give you "points" for at least mentioning books that were written before 2000, unlike most of the fantasy "BookTuber" channels on UA-cam (which all seem to be enthralled by hopelessly derivative tween series masquerading as "modern fantasy".) Still, for a Top list of "All Time" books, there's a serious lack of Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolf, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, Lord Dunsany, Andre Norton, Clive Barker, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, et. al. (you know, the people who actually created and pushed the genre forward, along with Tolkien and Lewis.) Also, the fact that Harry Potter and Percy Jackson are on this list, instead of these aforementioned luminaries, just breaks my heart.
What, no David Eddings (Belgariad or Malloreon series?)? Seriously? Or Roger Zelazny (Amber series)? Or Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series). I've lost fait in this list...
I get a lot of new reading ideas from the bookshelves of content creators. Many have the series on their shelves that only print "I" "II" "III" and "IV". You can see it here just on the middle shelf. Can someone tell me what this series is? Thank you
I think the Shannara series is worth reading - even though I haven't read all of it. Also, I truly love The Pern books. They are compulsively readable. Just know they are definitely written awhile ago. Plus, there is so much more nuance to His Dark Materials that a reread as an adult is well worth it.
hey there! you know i have been here from the very beggining and I love the channel, so what i'm saying next is with the best of intentions. ik videos like "best books of the year" or "top 20 series" attrack more views but i think you should slow down a little. 8 of your last 12 videos fall into this type of video. again i know it is great for views and always the channel to grow. i just think it gets a bit repetitive. hope you don't see this as the bad comment of the day and get upset or sad, it's not the intention. as i said, i love your videos and want you to be successful. that's the reason why i'm giving you my opinion. videos such as the one you did about Narnia, self pub and reviews of well known books (cosmere and malazan) are awesome. i understand they are not great in terms of views for the channel, but you can continue with the tops to pump the numbers up. i'm not saying to stop these videos, just to slow down. sorry for the extremely long text haha keep up the good work
I appreciate the feedback and your support from the start! I primarily make these videos because I enjoy making them 😄 Don't worry, next two videos will be a book review video and a 'assumptions about me' video. Best wishes!
Thank you to today's sponsor CommonPlace for sponsoring today's video! You can access the app here: apps.apple.com/us/app/commonplace-share-quotes/id1606636545
Man really sad that the best Urban Fantasy Series of All Time in The Dresden Files didn’t make your list. Far too much of a focus on Epic Fantasy not near enough on Urban Fantasy…
Hello ..i wanna Ask A Book About Sisterhood Relationship..
I mean Love and Hate relation like Jinx And Vi in Arcane
IM Okay If ITS Going to be Bad ending , IM also okay If Good ending but pls don't make them United and loving each other in just One Book Like SUPERNATURAL ACADEMY
Heck They like wanna Kill Each other in beginning But they Became united in just 40 Pages? the animation is still good Because it still took 6 episode before they united but still bad though and the animation really show how the Little sister really have hard time adapating in her new life while in the Book she was like Mastering everything in her new world in just 50 page in Book 1 😂
And Please I Don't want The Female Character Like a Slut , All Plot Changes whenever Male Character Appear..ITS like She is forgett what is her purpose and Focus to get his cock...
Hey there, big fantasy fan here too! Have you read anything from Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory? I recommend The Obsidian Trilogy and The Pheonix Unchained Trilogy.
Can you please give the book list here in this reply I cannot pay for the list in patreon. Love your content
I'm 57 years old and Name of the Wind is still one of the most mesmerizing, captivating books I have ever read in my life. I stumbled across it in an airport bookstore, was not (and am not) an active fantasy reader, yet for some reason I was compelled to pick it up. (I have read a few of books or series from the list, as well as more of the books mentioned below.)
When I read Name of the Wind, the first two books were already published, so I quickly picked up the second book. I had to know what happens to Kvothe! Alas, upon completing the second book, I then discovered the third book wasn't (and still isn't) available.
I'm still heartbroken after the gradual realization that Rothfuss will never finish the series, and I will never know what happens to Kvothe.
How do you know he won’t finish it? I had no idea and Ive been hoping for the last book for a long time
@@Daniel-vi8ox he'll finish it, he just has alot of pressure to make sure it's perfect. He's talking about it a bit in stream, so I wouldn't give up quite yet
@@Daniel-vi8ox That's just the prevailing opinion. He claims he has it completely written and just needs to edit it, but few believe it.
The first novel was amazing. The second novel was really good... but hoping there's not a downward trend in quality. I'd much rather see Rothfuss take his time and do it right. I waited years for successive ASOIAF and WoT books, I can do the same with the KingKiller Chronicle.
I just read it yesterday and this morning and it is truly amazing! Easily in my top 10 books (: Could I ask what some of your other favorites are?
So glad Wheel of time made it to spot 3. I just finished it and as soon as I was done, despite it's many issues,I found myself wanting to immediately reread it. I've waited a few months and I'm back doing a reread. Lovely series
Wheel of time is so weird. It has many flaws but somehow works really well
I remember the Dragonlance saga fondly... But it seems forgotten by everyone else.
My first intro to fantasy. Loved it. Raistlin was the OG.
Raistlin Majere is one of the best characters...ever.
Dragonlance should have at least been in the top 5.
That's why I take these lists with a grain of salt. While better than his first video, the recency bias is understandably still there. Dragonlance when we were kids is what Stormlight is today.
I remember. Typical D&D book. Read all. It just shouts that “I’m a game” so it’s not high end quality, it was good to read back then but not top of all time for sure.
Malazan book of the fallen is my favorites series of books ever, its amazing.
To be clear, I don't think this series deserves top 20 realistically, but it always will be in my heart. The inheritance cycle is what got me into reading fantasy and was one of the first books that kept me up late reading, one of my favorites and I highly reccomend.
I started with those books too, Here in germany it's Just called Eragon. Up until recently, i thought they were original german language books because christopher paolini sounds like such a german name😂
I found the list interesting, in that Tolkein, LeGuin, and Cook were the oldest of the series - which doesn't list many I consider essential classics. I also noticed that these are all series, with no stand alone or duo books. Also note, the Pern series is NOT fantasy, but actually HARD Science Fiction -as the Dragons are bioengineered by the colonist specifically to deal with the problem they encountered. May I suggest you check out: The Eternal Champion series by Michael Moorcock, The Amber-Chaos Series, Dilvish duo, and Madwand duo by Roger Zelazny, Duel of Sorcery by Jo Clayton, Dragaeran series by Steven Brust, Riftkind series by Lynn Abbey, Lord Darcy by Randall Garett, Initiate Brother duo by Sean Russell, the Merlin/Arthur tetralogy by Mary Stewart, Mabinogeon tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, The Lost Swords series by Fred Saberhagen, Incarnations of series & the Xanth series by Piers Anthony, Arafel duo by CJ Cherryh , Tros of Samothrace by Talbot Mundy and probably one of the greatest of all, The Witch World series by Andre Norton. Another SF-F cross is the Morgaine series by CJ Cherryh. Some solo novels: Darker Than You Think -Jack Williamson, Dwellers in the Mirage -A.Merrit, Jack of Shadows - Roger Zelazny, Glory Road-Robert A. Heinlein, Jirel of Joiry-CL Moore, Sacred Ground - Mercedes Lackey, Moonheart-Charles deLint. Whatever happened to Conan, Kull, Grey Mouser, Saint-Germain, Maelin the Moonsinger, (and Rod Galloglass although that could be considered SF) in your list?
Zelazny was my favorite all time author.
Michael Moorcock is my all time favorite
i love most of these more than those on the list. this is an awesome list.
The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons is the greatest Sci-Fantasy series I have ever read. By a lot too. After I was finished with book four, I was heartbroken it was done, and I remember actually feeling like I wished I could forget about it so I could read it again all the sooner lmao.
It might not qualify as Fantasy alone, but if you're a person who also has interest in future technology, AI, human nature, unlikely heroes and the most horrific creature of ANY written universe you would LOVE these books!
I second this opinion! I loved this series, and still think about it often.
Hyperion was the series that got me back into reading during covid. I got a kindle for Christmas of 2020 and I devoured the entire series in January and February of 2021
Hyperion was the only book that ever made me weep openly as a father of a young daughter.
I agree. My next two favorites would be Night's Dawn by Peter F. Hamilton, and for fantasy, the Malazan series.
The first two books indeed are incredible. Endymion is great too as a fun adventure story. The Rise of Endymion kind of sucked though imo.
I am a bit sad David Eddings' Belgariad seems to have fallen off people's radar. When I think of 100% vanilla fantasy that fully and joyously embraces all the conventional, it's the Belgariad: Orphan boy on a farm- check. Mysterious grandfather figure- check. Stuck up, plucky princess- check. Evil god bent on taking over and bending the world to his whims- check.
I recently reread the seris (and the follow up seris The Malorian) and they were still very fun adventures.
Belgariad might be shamelessly cliche, but it handles its tropes and characters better than most others of its kind in my opinion. It has some of the most genuinely hilarious comedy, sassy romance and witty dialogue I’ve ever seen in fantasy.
its the series that got me into fantasy, more years ago than id care to mention. still love it.
I voraciously devoured the Belgariad,Mallorean, Tamuli, and The Elenuim. Eddings style won me over, and I found myself delving deeper by reading Belgarath the sorcerer, Polgara the sorceress, and the Rivan Codex.😂
I have never been an avid reader and have only read required reading and a little over half of the harry potter series in my adult life. I started reading the mistborn trilogy this year because of the book-tube fantasy series video you made. I'm about 200 pages from the end of Well of Ascension and Hero of Ages came in the mail today lol I would love suggestions from anyone.
Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive) is great as well (it was #4 I think).
I also started reading mistborn this year to get into reading again. Glad to know I’m not the only one lol.
Gemmell all the way! Waylander, Legend, White Wolf, Jon Shannow series, Troy series, take your pick they're all great
jump straight in to "the Way of Kings" (Stormlight Archive)
same author but this is his magnum opus
Try these: The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia McKillip, the Earthsea series by Ursula LeGuin, The Chronicles of the Deryni by Katherine Kurtz, The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Steven Donaldson, THe Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazney, The Shannara books by Terry Brooks, The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock, The Conan series by Robert E Howard, The Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart, The Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake, The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, The Redwall books by Brian Jacques, Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey, The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, The Witch World series by Andre Norton, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber, The Narnia series by CS Lewis, The Song of Ice and Fire books by George RR Martin, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss, The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling, The Way of Shadows books by Brent Weeks, The Jirel of Joiry books by C.L. Moore, The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski and The Dagger and the Coin series by Daniel Abraham.
Elfstones of Shannara, the second book in the original series, is probably "my" absolute best book ever, in general, not only restricted to fantasy. Everybody should read it. The second series, The Heritage of Shannara, is hands down the indisputable best fantasy series of all times, as a whole, and a single book in that quartet (The Druid of Shannara, the second entry) is by itself in the top 10 of best fantasy books ever.
You absolutely can't go wrong with those, and by Terry Brooks I also suggest The Word and Void series and Landover series
Just finished all 36 of The Legend of Drizzt series. I absolutely loved it, especially the lady few. I enjoyed the friendship, fighting, and character arcs. Any suggestion on where to go next? Sanderson is s cool guy, but I am missing Salvatore, Drizzt, Jarlaxle, and even Kimmuriel. I find them more enjoyable than Mistborn.
I recommend Andre Norton's Witch World, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar, Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser
You could try Shannara
Joe Abercrombie First Law Trilogy, then the rest...
Just finished Dance of Dragons of A Song Of Ice And Fire today. I think all in all, the whole series is about 5500 pages, but it's definitely worth it!
I used to be a lazy reader (and it took me 6 months to read the whole series), but it was such a phenomenal read. Would recommend to anyone who is maybe a bit hesitant on fantasy. The political plotting, the character development and the female representation(!) is impeccable. It combines so many good plot lines and the world building is incredible.
And the new book may be coming out this decade already!
agree
This decade 💀 keep dreaming
One of the difficulties of this list is that some The Malazan books suffer from their complexity of writing and plot (also one of their strength). Much harder to get into the majority of the books in the series. I would argue that if they were more widely read and completed they would surpass the wheel of time series.
So glad to see Tolkien at number one. Thank you for compiling this list.
Can anyone ever beat him? You know George RR Martin said in an interview that "After Tolkien there are only two types of fantasy writers... Writers who were influenced by him and writers who desperately tried not to be influenced by him. "
In my opinion, Tolkien is number 1 in Fantasy World building, but GRRM is number 1 in story plot, twist, and turn. It's just what I think.
@@prakashsahoo4415eiichiro oda has the potential if he sticks the landing
@@fetchyryuCompletely different medium. Oda should be compared to other mangaka, not fantasy authors. It’s apples and oranges.
I'm always surprised that no one ever mentions the works of Stephen Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (3 series totaling 10 books) and the 2-book series Mordant's Need. I've heard some criticisms of those series (Thomas Covenant especially), and I do agree with some of them, but they were bestsellers in their day.
When your protagonist sucks it’s hard to cheer them on
@@johnny6128 I agree that Thomas Covenant can be a very irritating character -- but the story makes it very clear WHY he is that way. He's a very broken man who has had everything good in his life ripped away from him. Yes, he's a jerk sometimes, but he does actually have a character arc and slowly grows throughout the series.
Fascinating character with a fascinating story, but probably a bit too dark and existential for a lot of modern fantasy readers.
It's my favorite fantasy series. Thomas Covenant is a very unpleasant protagonist, but I think the other characters, and the world building make up for it. I think the biggest issue for younger, newer readers is getting past the rape in book one.
Surprised to see Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion Series not mentioned. Its so iconic, Chaosium did a roleplaying game based on it, and even Rock bands of the 70's based songs on his works, from such bands as Blue Oyster Cult, and Hawkwind.
Moorcock never gets the appreciation he should. His new book is also great. Elric most famous but my favorite is The War Hound and the World's Pain
Big in the UK I think but doesn't get enough love overseas.
@satricv I'm not. Most 20 somethings doing "all time greatest fantasy lists" don't know jack shit about the fantasy genre. They think classic fantasy starts in the 90's as well as slotting the Narnia books in with the grown up stuff because they saw some movies when they were kids and are too lazy to do even a modicum of research into the history of the genre. Any "all time greatest" list fails without ERB, Lord Dunsany, Howard and Moorcock. The first three made the fantasy genre possible and the fourth re-defined it for a new age. These lists are more accurately called "I like the same shit all the other 20 something fantasy readers on UA-cam" do.
@@LegCramps1no moorcock - no Witcher
The Prince of Nothing Series by Scott Bakker would be in my top 10. A fantasy series for mature readers. In the top 20 I would include the Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence. I liked the Wheel of time but after the first book the series became too centered around feminist issues. I also like many of David Gemmel's novels.
I am almost finished book 1 of RA Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy, after a bit of a long hiatus from reading. I started out reading with Asterix comics, Roald Dahl, Game books, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. As an adult I happily tackled all kinds of Novels and classics alike. But this Homeland book has been a real page turner. Which I have not experienced since maybe Ender's Game. For me this is the way I like Fantasy. I don't want it to be chore in the way a much loved Oscar Wilde novel would be. Does anyone have a good page turning recommendation to follow up the Dark Elf Trilogy? I have never really tackled any adult themed Fantasy but would be keen to give it a go. Cheers.
I could have done without the “sad finish” spoiler to the Wheel of Time series, being halfway through the 14th and final book as I am at the moment.
It seems like a spoller, but it really isn't: why the finish is sad? Because you reached the end of a journey that took you so much time and focus? Because the main character dies? Because the main character lives but dies another character who you loved even more? Because ultimate victory came at the cost of a stagging sacrifice you didn't see come?
You'll know only at the end of the last book.
For now, all you know is that it's been written by Brandon Sanderson (following the notes of Jordan), so it'll be truly an emotional and heart-wrenching experience.
I never see the Belgariad and/or Malorean by David Eddings included in these lists. It's one of the few fantasy series that I re-read every five years or so. The Cold Fire trilogy by C. S. Friedman is another that's on my list.
Yep. Belgariad and Mallorean are my comfort reads. I go through them maybe every coupla years. 😂 Also like Eddings’ Sparhawk series.
Althalus and Polgara are my favorite books ever. But Eddings just isn’t very good writer. He has similar flaw to Sanderson where you really have to just stick reading 1 series of them because they recycle their material hardcore.
Finally, bro got the wits to include A Song of Ice and Fire
I just read a book called "Four Wings of the Dragon Goddess" By Theodora Quinn. It had Dragons and time travel which for me is my two favorite things. I highly recommend it.
Nice list. I also like Terry Goodkind's series.
Every time I see one of your videos I find myself adding another series to my TBR :)
And yes, Harry Potter definitely passes the test of time.
I feel honoured! Thank you for watching and for the support!
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm also very trans. It's really hard for me to enjoy it now... after the author made it clear that trans people can't attend Hogwarts.
@@transjoyous I get you. What an awful thing of her to say and think.
For myself - I separate the work from the creator. The books are full of such positive messages about inclusion and to not discriminate, so to me they are still relevant and still hold a place in my heart even if JKR doesn't anymore.
I mean it does seem that the books teach to discriminate against races that are predisposed to slavery cause they’re better as slaves…or the goblins who are too evil to be given rights apparently…or the fact that you can’t be a wizard in poverty because you have to purchase everything. Harry Potter does not reach acceptance or tolerance. I have fond memories of reading it as a child but there are some truly backwards messages in the books.
@@braedenneale845 Then we had two very different experiences reading the books. I saw an imperfect world being called out. Werewolves should not be marginalized just for their affliction. House elves should not be enslaved... And more.
Pratchett's Discworld with its amazing story arcs Night Watch, Rincewind, The Witches of Lancre (Love Granny Weatherwax!), all the DEATH books, and the last real arc Moist von Lipwig...and those don't even touch the stand alone books. Then he sent out possibly the best YA fantasy arc, the Tiffany Aching novels...which terminated with his last book before his heartbreaking death in 2016. He makes you laugh, think and ponder. He's worth reading just because of his invention of L-Space. A triumph of world building and characterization.
2:25 - You are so right! Gen Z doesn’t appreciate this series. This WAS fantasy for me! This was everything I wanted in a fantasy novel.
Just goes to show you how much things change each decade.
I would love to see a Booktuber cover the top 10 books of each decade for the last 100 years.
Absolutely loved the Black Company series. Just finished up the three Gentleman Bastard books and they were fantastic. The conclusion of The Hero of Ages was everything I ever wanted in a story.
I should maybe add it to my tbr! I look forward to continuin The Gentleman Bastard series! Happy reading!
First time seeing you, credibility earned when you placed Tolkien-verse at the top spot!
You really went above and beyond with this list! Love it!!
Thank you Isa!
Yeah. Recommending a bunch of books you've never read before from random, top-book lists is tough work! 😅
Where does
Tad Williams
Memory, sorrow and thorn series rank.
That was a very good epic fantasy series.
These lists are always so fantastic! Great job Daniel!
i wonder how much being incomplete hurt the Dresden Files, because i'd imagine some websites top 'of all time' lists might require the series to be finished to be considered. i know other series up there were also unfinished, but Dresden Files gets knocked for it a lot more than most other series i see. I'm also glad to see dragonriders of pern on the list which is one of my favorite series.
Well you unintentionally tricked me into watching by putting a red X on the Dresden Files. I’m kind of attached to Dresden Files because it really stuck with me at a difficult time (especially the quote about pain) Your list was really good by the way.
1:10 That's truly absolutely wild, as The Riftwar Saga is an outstanding series.
Riftwar is fantastic.👍🌟🌟🌟🌟🏆
Yes, it's by far the best series out there!
I am so excited to see Dragonriders of Pern make the list! While it is not the first fantasy I read, it is the series that made me a lifelong fantasy and sci-fi reader. You find out later in the series it qualifies as sci-fi too. When I was 12 my Mom let me join the Fantasy and Science Fiction Book Club, a type of mail service that used to be popular. You’d choose 4 or 5 books for a dollar then had to buy a certain amount in a year. I made sure to choose 3-in-1’s or more to make my dollar go as far as possible. One was the first 3 books of Pern, Dragonflight, Dragonquest & The White Dragon. I was enchanted. I daydreamed about being a dragonrider. I even met Anne McCaffrey many years later. I’ve seen a few BookTubers review it and there are a few issues that bother modern/younger readers though honestly it went over my naive 12 year old head. And if you know Anne’s life story you can see where her real life was creeping in. I feel that later in the series she moves past and makes up for these areas. One note about Shannara. Much like The Eye of the World the first book is pretty much a Lord of the Rings clone. While I haven’t read all of them, I did read the first 3-4 a long time ago and Brooks does move on to make it his own.
How does #20 out rank the legends of drizzt, maybe I'm biased but I haven't even heard of half of these books
As an almost 44 year old who reads Harry Potter every couple of years I can definitively state that it definitely holds up. It’s stop as magical as it was the first time I read it almost 20 years ago.
That sounds wonderful!
Dude Harry Potter never held up at the time of each books release. JK Rowling did nothing new and wrote a dog shit predictable, pedestrian, by the numbers story. Stop fooling yourself, and get over it take the nostalgia goggles off, and read something better.
I feel the same about Percy Jackson. I started reading them when I was in elementary school and re read them a number of times since. Plan on owning them and sharing them with my kids.
You do you, I guess...
@@GreenTeaViewer oh I will 😁
I would love to try the app Common Place Share Quotes but I don't see link below? Can you please share it?
Link is in the description!
Still haven't found a modern series that can match the world that Feist created. It is a shame that it is passed over so much.
I would add to that...The Belgariad series by David Eddings, The rift war saga by Raymond Feist, and The Magic of Recluse by L.E. Modesitte Jr..
i agree, it seems a lot of the great series and books from the 80's are now forgotten, i also think unfinished series should not be on a list like this.
Agreed! I adore the spin off mara of the acoma , some of my fav books of all time!
I think your point system should be slightly less linear - give more points to the top rankings like 15 to #1, 12 to #2, then 10 to #3, 8 to #4, etc. It would reward series like Malazan that not a lot of people have read but nearly everyone puts as their #1 after they've read it.
Interesting - I like the fact that you created a meta list of lists you came across and didn't just do something arbitrary, kudos for that! Only one of these I haven't read is Ken Liu, which I plan to fix this year.
Okay. I put down Lies of Locke Lamora because of how elementary and high school level the prose was.
So warn your viewers of your own level of reading is. It informs us the context of your opinion.
I've tried reading the wheel of time 3 times and stopped half way through book 6 every time, yes I've read the first 5 three times! haha. There are so many issues with the Aes sedai. also hair tugging and dress smoothing is endless. Just done with it.
Nynaeve would tug her braid upon hearing this!! I find the interaction between the women and men to be annoying. Love the world building though, so I struggled through. But, damn, every time the men thought they shouldn't share stuff with the women, and vice versa, I had to put the book down for a bit.
@@funvidman haha
Completely over-rated series. I too have never got book 5, and in fact never finished book 5.
I personally prefer contemporary fantasy, and more recent books a lot of the time. Not to say there aren't good classics, but most of them are nostalgic for me as I used to listen to them when I was very young. In fact I grew up listening to Lord of the Rings, Narina (all the books), Percy Jackson, His Dark Materials and Harry Potter. At some point I also got into ASoInF, and Brandon's Cosmere books (I have read all now). Think that's all the series from this list that I have listen to.
Think I also listened to Shannara in my youth, but didn't remember the name. All the other series have movie or television series...
A point can be made that the old classics laid the ground rules, and then the new authors proceeded to break them and build on the ruins... Those who did, I mean.
@@federicogiana The influence of certain series, like Lord of the Rings is simply put insane. Also showed us the trap of endless world building.
@@Ranked_Journey The impact of "The Lord of the Rings" is so profound that not just one but two of the most cherished fantasy series, "Shannara" and "The Wheel of Time," both evidently started as fan imitations.
It's also rare to encounter a fantasy author who doesn't acknowledge Tolkien as a significant source of inspiration. Tolkien's influence is so far-reaching that his works are even included in the curriculum of English and Medieval literature courses. And, yes "hard worldbuilding" at Tolkien's level is a deadly trap that engulfed so many aspiring authors.
Strangely, what could very well be the second most influential series, Michael Moorcock's "Elric," is now seldom mentioned, if at all.
Anyway, I like authors who, knowing well the classics, use them to forge new paths rather than adhering to their established formulas. Do you have any recommendations for contemporary fantasy works that are not covered in this video?
@@federicogiana On second thought I think I have actually read Shannara in my youth. So, I remember it with nostalgia. And yeah, quite similar to Tolkien, at least the first few books. Tolkien also defined a number of fantasy tropes, not to mention races.
Elric seems interesting.
I have many recommendations as I listen to a lot of audiobooks, with fantasy being one of my main genres (sci-fi being the other). Gonna try to categorize my recommendations a bit.
Some favorites:
The Godking's Legacy and the Blue Mage Raised by Dragons series by Virlyce
Note:Genre might be considered some form of gameLit in addition to fantasy, although, its more gamesLight.
Everybody Loves Large Chests Series: Morningwood by Neven Iliev
Note: Actual gameLit, and I would say r rated. I also have to point out that the title is somewhat misleading, but can't say more.
Awaken Online Series: Catharsis by Travis Bagwell
Note: Focused on a fantasy VR game.
General Fantasy:
Unconvertional Hero Series: Two Necromancers, a bureaucrat, and an elf by L. G. Estrella
The Pillars of Reality Series: Dragons of Dorcastle Jack Campbell
Note: Also Steampunk, I think.
Spells, Swords, & Stealth series: NPCs by Drew Hayes
The Greatcoats Series: Traitor's Blade by Sebastien De Castell
Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne Series: The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley
Ascendant Series by Craig Alanson
The one series I know is High Fantasy:
Codex Alera Series: Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Dungeon Core/GameLit:
Elemental Dungeon Series: Bone Dungeon by Jonathan Smidt
Harem/Spicy:
The Valens Legacy Series: Black Friday by Jan Stryvant
Note: Urban Fantasy.
Sovereign-Verse Series by William D. Arand
Note: GamesLit, different sub-series features multiple genres. Author uses a diffrent pen name for exploit series/books.
The original Shannara trilogy is definitely worth reading: Sword, Elfstones and Wishsong. I have read a couple others and they are good but not as great as the first three.
The trouble with shannara is that it’s considered as a poor mans LOTR. It’s definitely more accessible though and personally I enjoyed it but I see the similarities.
@@ChapHammersmith The echoes of LOTR are definitely there in the beginning of the first book, The Sword of Shannara, but about two thirds of the way through, Brooks finds his own unique voice and he never really looks back after that. As someone else in these comments said, the second and third books (Elfstones and Wishsong) are two of the best fantasy novels I've read outside of Tolkien. And many of the later books are equally good.
I also want to put in a word for David Gemmell, nice to see him mentioned even if he didn't make the list, because he has some fantastic output starting with the first of the Drenai novels, Legend. A couple of other authors not mentioned who take up a serious portion of my shelf space are Jack L. Chalker and Mercedes Lackey. And of course my earliest introduction to SF/Fantasy even before Alice, Narnia and Rings was Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars. To this day, John Carter is still one of my all-time favourite characters.
This was a much better and well-rounded list than the Booktube list. When I saw Poppy War in the top 10 and especially the Faithful and the Fallen in top 3 it immediately just negated the entire list for me. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad books but a lot of other books with more character could've easily replaced them on the list. Booktube just gets too caught up in hype a lot of the time to better cater to the algorithm I feel like.
I'm still waiting for the fourth book of Gentleman Bastards. I raced through the first book and got the other two...but been waiting for the 4th novel The Thorn of Emberlain for six years. He started it in 2016, was supposed to come out in 2019...and now they say 2024. Agony...will have to reread the first three all over again and hope the 4th book will show up...sometime.
This just makes me feel so old, last time I read fantasy there was no Sanderson hype.
Finally a top fantasy list thqt tesonqted with me. I am far from an expert, but it seems your wider net has caught the real list. Book tubers are definitely biased to recent.
The Death Gate Cycle by Weis & Hickman should be on the list and be in the top 10. It’s a 7-book series, published 1990-1994.
Can anyone suggest me a good book. I am starting to read. Pls
George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister known for his pioneering works in the fantasy genre. His novels, fairy tales, and theological writings have significantly influenced literature and notable authors, including C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. Some of his most famous works include:
"Phantastes" (1858)
- A fantasy novel often considered one of the first of its kind, it deeply influenced C.S. Lewis.
"The Princess and the Goblin" (1872)
- A children's fantasy novel featuring a young princess, a miner boy, and their adventures against goblins.
"At the Back of the North Wind" (1871)
- A novel that blends fantasy and realism, exploring themes of life, death, and the afterlife.
"Lilith" (1895)
- Another fantasy novel, known for its dark and complex themes.MacDonald's work is characterized by its imaginative storytelling, deep spiritual insights, and exploration of the human condition.
He is also known for his sermons and theological writings, which reflect his universalist beliefs and his emphasis on the love of God.
I wonder if any of these people cared to read authors like Bakker or Wolfe. I seriously doubt it. At least there are some youtubers who finally cover such exquisite authors.
Just a little constructive criticism the music in this video is louder than your voice so really struggled with this video but other than that, you were great
Fascinating, while there are things that can simply not be disputed such as LotR, many other series I would personally not even have considered feasible for a best-of list.
In my eyes, nothing that was started after 2000 would or should be even considered a "Best of" and surely not in any "Best of All Time". There simply is so much from the 20th century that outclasses anything of the 21st so far by a margin that any comparison is ridiculous.
Personally, I think that many of the classics need to be reprinted and should have a permanent place on the shelf in bookstores.
I became aware of The Dragonriders of Pern in the summer of 1973 and from the start hated that I always had to wait for the next book to come out I wanted the whole story. This series of books would take up many many hours of my time due to the fact that they were something that seemed to connect with me. Looking for something to fill the gap between books I ran across Terry Brooks and the Shanara books. There are others Like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, S. Kings Gunslinger series, Saberhagen's Book of Swords series and never forget the incredible Xanth series by Piers Anthony. These books have taken me to places in my lifetime that I really do wish I could have seen in other places than my mind. Peter Jackson did a good job with Tolkien's series bringing it to life. I just wish some of the others could get the same treatment. As a last note to this long comment the SHIP books also by the author that I started this with Anne McCaffrey are amazingly written. At 72yrs old I do a lot of reading now and just last year stepped once more into the world of Tolkien, MacCaffery and Anthony and they were as much a pleasure to read as they were the first time around.
I am somewhat saddened that Robert E. Howard's iconic "Conan the Barbarian" and David Eddings "the Belgariad" or "The Mallorian" series didn't even get mentioned.
I started reading these series before I even started reading Tolkien. Sad
Or Andre Norton's 27 book Witch World series
Love both of those. Conan is dark and metal as hell, Belgariad is wonderfully uplifting, wholesome and funny.
The Eternal Champion Champion series by Michael Moorcock deserves to be on this list. However, as its a series of different series, it was perhaps too disparate & amorphous.
I wonder if because it is from UA-cam the list reflects the tastes of younger readers who might not be familiar with older works. Mising from the list are The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolf, the Nine Princes in Amber series by Rodger Zelazny and perhaps some others.
Im currently reading the Riftwar Saga and cant wait to start some Series you mentioned here on this List.
I recommend continuing on with the Daughter of Empire trilogy by Feist/Wurst. It's very intense.
Thank you for this video!
If I may give a suggestion for your next video-lists, each time you introduce an entry in your video ("for spot # 5 we have..."), please consider editing/placing on the video text that includes:
- The name of the series you are showing
- The author of the series
- And maybe the first book (or first few books) in the series
That would make it way easier for us to look up the series that look interesting to us!
Additionally, you could also add in the video description a link to a post on your website, where said post has Amazon affiliate links to all the books in the video-list.
You are from the Faroe islands? Thats cool. I visited a couple of years ago. A beautiful place.
I had to step back and realize this list is all about influence, not my personal tastes. From that standpoint it feels spot on, I’d rank a personal enjoyment list very different but that's alright.
For Lightbringer, I'm a little surprised that people thought books 4 and 5 were not good. They were great to me
It kind of surprises me that Piers Anthony doesn't come up more. He's seriously underrated imo
my favorite series is the Cronicles of the Kencyrath by PC Hodgell.
ive read everything by tolkein, barely got thru his books, he needed an actual editor who would delete 3/4 of each book. he could use 10,000 works in the place of 100.
Thanks!
Thank you so much Jeremy! I greatly appreciate the donation. It means a lot!
For me my top 5 in no particular order.
The Dark Tower, the first law, lord of the rings, a song of ice and fire and Harry Potter
Malazan being ranked so low is criminal 🥲
My favourite series
The Light Bringer series is absolutely solid, an amazing series.
I have heard great things!
My mission for the rest of the year is to get the wheel of time read fully. I have read the first 6 books a number of time and they are immense. But if often started to struggle through the 7th book. But i AM going to get them done this year and finally get to the ending of Sandersons books at the end. I am reading them again mainly due to my dispair of who amazon have ruined the story by changing it too much.
My favorite is Katherine Kurtz and her deryni series.
Disappointed that the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant didn't make the list - some of the best writing I've ever read, great world building, and a great story to go with it.
I agree. i was delighted when he added another 4 books from 2004 to 2013 to the original 6 (or should I say 3 and then 3). However they were so late I had to read the first 6 again before reading the last 4 which was a real labor of love. In the end I was able to get most of them as audio books so no problem.
@@unclekevin5094 I haven't read the last set yet. I'm going through the Second Chronicles now and will probably read them after
@@birdieputtnh74 To be honest they are very disappointing. They are extremely long winded with numerous monologues and explanations repeated ad nauseam. There is no real plot advancement or character development. The central character seems to be Linden Avery rather than Thomas.The first six books concluded the story and left us feeling complete and satisfied but after enjoying the first Six books so much the last Four books left me feeling betrayed and stabbed in the back by my best friend. Thank you for your work.At my advanced age i do not have time to waste on rubbish. With all the numerous authors writing fantasy books these days you help me sort out the wheat from the chaff.
@@unclekevin5094 Thanks for the input. I might just avoid them then!
Thomas Covenant was a wretched, unlikeable character. Made for a very tough read.
Have to put in a word for the Inheritance Cycle. My favorite.
Name of the wind is #1
Fantastic resource; thank you!
I completely agree with the Song of Ice And Fıre, Tolkien, Harry Poter, and Peter Jackson.
What, no Chronicles of Amber? A must read for lovers of fantasy. Also big thumbs up for Black Company and everything by Joe Abercrombie. Rothfuss and Martin should both hire Sanderson to finish their work.
Thank you! I was scanning the comments to see if anyone mentioned the Amber novels. They're my all-time favorites, but maybe showing my age. There are a few sluggish parts when Corwin or Merlin are moving through Shadow, but otherwise they're S tier for me. I've read recent Fantasy, and a lot of the hyped series (some on this video) are a bit generic. Don't get me wrong, it's not all vanilla. I have been impressed with some recent fantasy series, like the KingKiller Chronicle and the Green Bone Saga.
I suspect Zelazny's works are all largely unknown to people ages under 30-40.
That series is so crazy and creative. I really enjoyed it.
I am sorry but sanderson sucks, better both Martin and rothfuss never finish their books than sanderson writing them.
Loved Zelazny
Definitely read Pern.
It is great to see the breadth of fantasy series available now. I grew up in the time of Katherine Kerr's Dagger Spell series, Raymond E Feist's Magician (Riftwar Saga) and David Eddings Belgariad series. Its odd not seeing any of these listed here, but if you are looking for some timeless classics that are unique in there own way after devouring this creator's list give these a try. I am grateful to for this list, because it gives me a chance to dip back into the genre to catch up on all that I have missed in the last decade.
I agree regarding David Eddings... how he's not included is criminal!
The Belgariad is a magical experience. I read it last year and it helped lift me out of a depression. The characters are whimsical and hilarious. It has some of the best comedy, witty dialogue and heartfelt tender moments I’ve ever seen in fantasy.
Really need to get around to Riftwar. I’ll check out Daggerspell as well.
To not see David Eddings or Ra Salvatore on this list is mildly surprising. But they are older series, and most on the list are not. Except for the very top ofc, but we all knew what the top 3 would be :)
Belgariad and Drizzt are wonderful. They deserve more love.
Older reader here, I agree that Lightbringer is great in the beginning but completely falls apart in the last two books. Shannara was enjoyable when I was younger, but slogging through the first few books to get to the ones that are actually good will bore a lot of people. Abercrombie is WAY too low on this list. Dark Tower is as well. Discworld should be #1 or 2. And the fact that Robert Jackson Bennett is constantly overlooked on these type of lists is disappointing, he has put out some really solid books that are well worth your time.
Chronicles of Amber should definitely have been on this list.
I’m surprised none of D&D’s Forgotten Realms R.A.Salvatore’s Drizzt Do’Urden didn’t make the list or any of the books of Weiss & Hickman’s Dragon Lance make the cut though I prefer Forgotten Realms over Dragon Lance
Anyone up there does not completely enjoy the first law series by abercrombie?? I’m at #4 and still… doesn’t do it for me. Sadly
Percy Jackson isn't just Middle Grade! It's one of the best series I've read and I've probably read the series 5-10 times. I highly recommend reading them!!!!
Same
The pattern..."I haven't read any of it, or...I've only read one book, or...it didn't work for me." haha How many of these has actually been read by the Viking?
I will give you "points" for at least mentioning books that were written before 2000, unlike most of the fantasy "BookTuber" channels on UA-cam (which all seem to be enthralled by hopelessly derivative tween series masquerading as "modern fantasy".) Still, for a Top list of "All Time" books, there's a serious lack of Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolf, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, Lord Dunsany, Andre Norton, Clive Barker, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, et. al. (you know, the people who actually created and pushed the genre forward, along with Tolkien and Lewis.) Also, the fact that Harry Potter and Percy Jackson are on this list, instead of these aforementioned luminaries, just breaks my heart.
Totally agree man. I’m 27 and love fantasy books from the 80’s, 70’s and 60’s.
What, no David Eddings (Belgariad or Malloreon series?)? Seriously? Or Roger Zelazny (Amber series)? Or Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series). I've lost fait in this list...
Katherine Kurtz deryni are my favorite.
List to this man, he knows his fantasy! All three are great, but especially the Chronicles of Amber.
The Shannara Chronicles is definitely worth reading. Start with his early books and move forward. I prefer order written over chronological order.
Thanks for your time and effort 💝
My pleasure 😊 thank you for watching!
It's such a shame that The Amber Chronicles from great Roger Zelazny is not on this list.
I get a lot of new reading ideas from the bookshelves of content creators. Many have the series on their shelves that only print "I" "II" "III" and "IV". You can see it here just on the middle shelf. Can someone tell me what this series is? Thank you
Hiya! It is The Stormlight Archive with dustjackets from Kraken Book!
I think the Shannara series is worth reading - even though I haven't read all of it. Also, I truly love The Pern books. They are compulsively readable. Just know they are definitely written awhile ago.
Plus, there is so much more nuance to His Dark Materials that a reread as an adult is well worth it.
A song of Ice and fire is only there because the TV show was so awesome. Nobody had it in their top 10 before it came out.
14:34 "Taking the fantasy community by storm" Pun intended?
If anyone is looking for a new series to get into I highly recommend the Cradle: Unsouled series
I started Broken Earth. 200 pages in and called it quits. It's not just you.
As much as I love the Lies of Locke Lamora... the follow up books aren't very good and the last one very poor.
I'm amazed the series is on the list.
hey there! you know i have been here from the very beggining and I love the channel, so what i'm saying next is with the best of intentions. ik videos like "best books of the year" or "top 20 series" attrack more views but i think you should slow down a little. 8 of your last 12 videos fall into this type of video. again i know it is great for views and always the channel to grow. i just think it gets a bit repetitive. hope you don't see this as the bad comment of the day and get upset or sad, it's not the intention. as i said, i love your videos and want you to be successful. that's the reason why i'm giving you my opinion. videos such as the one you did about Narnia, self pub and reviews of well known books (cosmere and malazan) are awesome. i understand they are not great in terms of views for the channel, but you can continue with the tops to pump the numbers up. i'm not saying to stop these videos, just to slow down. sorry for the extremely long text haha keep up the good work
I appreciate the feedback and your support from the start! I primarily make these videos because I enjoy making them 😄
Don't worry, next two videos will be a book review video and a 'assumptions about me' video. Best wishes!
He made a vid named The best book of all time and put a question mark at the end! Lol 👋👋