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Fantasy absolutely is escapism. And it teaches lessons that can be used in the real world. These concepts are not mutually exclusive. I've been a voracious reader since I was 8 years old, and I will tell you straight up that escapeism is about 80% of why I read.

All i will remember from this book is that the Mugen soldiers were playing Fruit Ninja with a bunch of babies.

Grimdark is life. Noblebright is ick.

Karl Edward Wagner's kane series started 8 years earlier with "dark crusade". As grimdark as it gets :)) so while Glen Cook is considered and rightfully so as one of the major influences on grimdark genre it most definitly was not Cook who started the genre imho... you might disagree and I'm fine with that though.

only in grimdark setting where mostly all characters are on the various dark grey spectrums and where all characters are flawed in a way, can you trully have a character who has sunk lowest of the low. Such character needs to stand out in the mass of not shining white dudes and dudettes as in noblelight fantasy but needs to be darker, messier and much more flawed than the rest. When you have such character it is awesome to witness how through Cook's amazing and somewhat underrated ability to develop such characters he builds them up brick by brick untill they somehow redeem themselves.

It's funny hearing you talk about The Sword of Truth since it sounds basically the same way I got into it. My first real 'adult' fantasy novel after reading tons of YA fantasy and whatnot in high school. I imagine it probably doesn't hold up as well anymore if I were to go back and read it. It does seem like people go especially hard on it cause of the extra-textual stuff with Goodkind. I doubt if I read it for the first time now I'd be as thrilled with it as I was back in high school, but at the time they were real page turners and I read the entire series from Wizards First Rule through to Confessor. Though I never read any of the other books like the Nicci Chronicles, etc. If you do somehow get suckered back into the series, please let us know! Stone of Tears and Faith of the Fallen were my two favorites. Pillars of Creation is book 7 and don't imagine you'd make it that far back into the series, but if you do you can completely skip that book IMO. Richard and Kahlan aren't in the book at all and the plot has no impact on the rest of the series. Long comment and apologies for that, I just found it fascinating for you to talk about having read Sword of Truth before booktube and enjoying it cause that was my same experience and now I watch all these people are constantly dunking on it and it's a bit disappointing cause the books were so formative for me growing up. Thanks for your work!

The leprosy makes Thomas hate himself, but it wasn’t his fault. The SA makes him hate himself for something that was his fault. I think both of these were necessary for the plot of a broken man who struggles to heal himself and to heal the world he comes to love.

I love love love this series, and Thomas Covenant and Saltheart Foamfollower are my two favorite fictional characters ever….oh, and Bannor!

I loved this series. It's kind of Lord of The Rings meets The Princess of Mars.

Some kid did a TH-cam video called "convince me to read your favorite book" and an old hippy dude walked up to him and laid out an epic case for why everyone who likes Fantasy should read this book. So I had to search up reviews and here I am. Probably going to buy it rn

I'm totally getting round to this one this year at some point. Book of the New Sun had a profound impact on me in 2023, and I plan to read much more of Wolfe's catalogue in 2025. I've started with The Devil in a Forest, which is the work preceding BotNS, where he was clearly just dipping his toes into fantasy. It's a good, short palette cleanser (which I get the feeling isn't a term that I'll use often in regards to the big bad Wolfe) with a fun plot. While it doesn't have the same complexity as New Sun, which I don't think is fair to expect throughout all of his work, and although his prose isn't quite there yet (not bad by any means, it's still Gene Wolfe), I can tell that there's definitely some hidden stuff that I've missed. I doubt this man ever wrote a normal story.

Hello again, Nick!!! Watching your videos I'm starting to realize how little I actually know about fantasy literature, as I barely know a third of the works and authors you recommend, but I still love watching them when I can and learning a little more every day!!! Without a doubt, the Wolfe series that I think you should read is Soldier of the Mist, or better the omnibus that includes the first two novels, "Latro in the Mist". I would absolutely recommend anything by Wolfe, of course, but I think the ideal step is to continue with Latro, instead of the Solar Cycle. I think Latro's series has more in common with BOTNS than the Long Sun or Short Sun books, although they take place in the same universe of BOTNS. The protagonist of "Soldier" is as interesting as Severian and is in fact something like the antithetical reflection of Severian... Severian, for example, remembers everything. On the other hand, Latro forgets absolutely everything every time a new day ends (in a similar way to Christopher Nolan's film, Memento). In both series there is also a subtle backstory with unexpected details and events, related to a race of mysterious beings (in Latro's case, the gods of antiquity) who try to manipulate the protagonists or direct their fates; besides, both Severian and Latro possess a sword that they never part with and have incredible adventures!!! Wolfe describes ancient Greece in such an original and enigmatic way that this period of history can end up being as strange and unknown as Urth itself. One of the reasons I like Wolfe so much is that I'm absolutely certain that he never used artificial intelligence to write. And unfortunately I have a sneaking suspicion that Brandon Sanderson does use it, because there is no writer alive or dead who has published as many books as he has in such a short time. For that reason I don't think I'll ever read a Sanderson novel (and ten novels in a series is too many for me). I prefer to read authors from pre-AI periods like Tolkien, Wolfe, Aldiss, Leguin, Homer, etc... 😸 Best regards Nick. I can't wait to hear your opinion of Soldier of the Mist if you do decide to start with this series!

Just saying I love Long Sun and would gladly watch any content about it

Grimbright sounds so boring tho. Just imagine a world where all is working more or less and your actions are just useless and meaningless... wait... is this western society? Is this our daily routine? Am i bored of my life?

Love the diverse list, Nick! Motivates me to read more. Trying to get through the entire Solar Cycle. Wish me luck 😅

I just finished it, and thought it was pretty good but not gushing over it like everybody else. It definitely felt like a collage of sci-fi homages. Still had enough to keep intrigued to read more, but I’m not geeking out.

Fantasy and other art forms can be escapism. However, if you have ever read Second Apocalpse, Earwa is not a place to escape to. Recommend some AP and Dr. Fantasy vids on Donaldson's idea of reintegration of epic fantasy by the reader back in the real world.

Hi Nick, your channel and iSamwise are two of the best booktube channels going and there are great ones out there, this video is no exception. Hang on in there and I am sure your channel will get bigger, it has to with such good content and presentation. Best wishes from the UK, David.

Wow Nick. Another fantastic review. I was planning on reading this soon but it just got bumped even higher up the list! Thanks for sharing that about Miller. I knew he took his own life but I didn’t know the rest of that bio. Do you think you’ll end up reading his sequel or just stick to this one?

That is an eclectic list. I read First Rule some time ago, and while reading, it seemed really familiar. It was the TV show The Seeker. Then I got to the S&M parts, that were definitely not in the show, and the book went downhill from there and had no desire to continue. Ah God Emperor. The thumbnail is the printing I have from my Dad. I quit about half way through for about 20 years before starting the series over so I could push through to the end. It does get strange later, but as the scope of the story grows, Herbert seems to lose control over it. His reach was larger than his grasp. But I really wanted to see what happens. Shadows Linger is by far the best in the first trilogy. I will reread some more at some point when I need a break. Which might be soon as zi am in book 3 of Donaldson's Gap cycle. Your feelings about Lies might be similar to mine about Dragonbone Chair. I literally threw Green Angel Tower 2 at the wall so my recollection of the first three books might be skewed. But after reading his Otherlands as well, Williams is just not for me. I liked the next two Lynch books, but they seemed to go downhill. The charm of the first book was dimished in the next two as the heist became the main focus.

Hey Nick thanks for the shoutout brother!! I’m super excited to see what you think of Taliesin. That and Merlin are both very mythic/druidic in the style of fantasy and I can’t wait to see what you think. Also my man taking a hit for all of us and subjecting himself to 4th wing. 😂😂 Thoughts and prayers! I think Book of the Long Sun will be my next Wolfe series I try out. I taste tested the Latro books on audio but the style is pretty different and I think will work much better in print.

Nice video Nick! I've been buying cheap paperback Goodkind books from my local bookstore. I had a great Christmas! I got a 25 dollar gift card to Barnes & Noble and got to see family. Did you have a good Christmas?

Ok....Gene Wolfe. Peace is by far the most mysterious. It's a real experience. I love The Soldier in the Mist series, but it feels incomplete in the end. So. knowing your love of Wizard Knight and the noble character of Sir Able of the High Heart, I think you would enjoy Book of the Long Sun. The main character Patera Silk is a very noble character. Just know that Long Sun is very, very different from New Sun. It still has a lot going on and has many things happening that you might not catch on your first read (rereading Wolfe always reveals more). I just think you will enjoy the characters and the main story which is an exodus story that starts as a city adventure.

I'm curious to see how your reread of The Sword of Truth goes. The similarities to The Wheel of Time are too many for me to ignore. Good for you for giving it another go though! On the positive, I plan to start the Gentleman Bastards Series this year. - Cheers

One of my favorite sci fi books. The characters are well fleshed out. You also get to see really big ideas worked out. So much of modern sci fi is just space cannons and exploring things. Id also suggests Alas Babylon. Great review with no spoilers.keep up the good work.

Can you move them to mp3? Thank you.

Personally I loved this book. I used to read a lot when I was little, but then i stopped for a lot of my life and recently started getting back into it. This was the first book i picked up in quite a few years. I will admit i did notice flaws in the book, but only after I saw this video. I probably didn't relise the flaws because I just got back into reading, so I haven't read as many books to compare it to.

_A Canticle for Leibowitz_ is one of my favorite novels of any genre and I re-read it or at least large sections of it every year. I read _Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman_ once and I regret even that run through. J.R.R. Tolkien began a sequel to _The Lord of the Rings_ titled _A New Shadow_ but soon abandoned it after realizing that a small scope story didn't deserve to be the follow-up to a sweeping epic. I wish Miller came to the same conclusion before torturing himself for years trying to finish it.

I have a pretty wild story around this book. I read it years ago and desperately wanted a copy of the illuminated manuscript of the Transistorized Control System for Unit 6B. I looked online and only found one good version, but it was only available as a crunchy JPEG on some old livejournal page, with no contact information. Disappointed, I just printed out the JPEG and figured that would be the best I would get. Years later, I moved across the country to get a new job. I put up a copy of that JPEG in my cubicle as decoration, and somebody there actually recognized it. Turns out, the original version was made by the wife of one of my new coworkers. And they actually had copies still available, despite having only made a single run back in 1979. I now have copy 575 of 600. Probably one of the most incredible things that's ever happened to me.

I read this book a year ago and wasn't particularly impressed. The writing was good but the emotional hits did not land for me. Like, I character dies (keeping it vague here) and I just didn't care. At all. And that was when I realized this book had a PROBLEM. In any case, I'm gonna try and continue this series now because every other booktuber seems to love it. Maybe it gets better?

Hi Nick, thanks for the recommendation! I just started reading the book, and it seems really promising so far. I really appreciate how you recommend books, sharing specific reasons beyond just saying you enjoyed them!

This is a great review!

Shadow Of The Torturer reads like a children's book written around 1910. If you want to know how to write a book like this, I have made a convenient video for you: th-cam.com/video/jw6U8wkhxsg/w-d-xo.html

Is escapism always bad? Well according to Buddhism it is, but im still guilty of enjoying it.

Anyone that is actually literate will enjoy Wolfe.

An issue with quoting him like this is that, nearly a hundred years has passed and modern fantasy is really a different animal to when he was writing. That aside, It is still fair to say that many aspects of fantasy (this includes stuff like marvel, many sifi, probaly some thrillers and so on) is escapism as great parts of it have nothing to do with the real world, shed no light on it and are purely their for wish fulfilment and being absorbed in imagination. It is often not a direct critique on modern policitcal social issues or even an oblique one (allegory). It is not fantasy but the power of story telling that enables the writer and reader to separate, explore and focus on specific issues that relate to our world and human experience. Fantasy might allow to add more shade to that, but I don't think it does it any better than any other form of fiction. For him as well it could be argue LOTR allowed him to discuss and express his experience of war without ever needing to truly confront the real events, which is escapism, though one with virtue :)

An interesting thing about this book, is that even though it is the first of a trilogy, it can be read as a stand alone book and still be enjoyable. But obviously reading Illearth War, and Power that Preserves compete the story, and character arc of Covenant.

Entertainment is escapism fantasy is entertainment Ridiculous non point

"Many cite Thomas Covenant as the creation of grimdark." Literally nobody does this.

My biggest flaw with this whole video isn’t that stories are one or the other even the writer has a false dilemma fallacy. Tell me what Star Wars is about. Space wizards with laser swords. Tell me the themes, redemption, pain of loss, how tyranny comes to power. Two take a franchise that has six movies (not insulting the sequels or spin offs but the Anakin saga specifically) you have to have depth and depth will have humanity in it. A movie that innovates special effects will last only so long in the consciousness without humanity. Also Orcs can be an Allegory for racial stereotypes like Bright or they can be a threat to overcome. It’s much more complicated as either or. A lot of these stories the spectacle is what people are looking for and the added themes make more than frosting.

You didn’t just hit the nail on the head, you hammared it through the board. It's only escapism it never effects you. Anything you consume that doesnt help you grow or change is escapism. I know plenty of people who read non fiction but never use the knowledge or wisdom in the book. Also, I feel like reading a story SHOWS you what something is or how thing can/should be. It life we are always told how things are or should be. That's why stories are so powerful. It’s about finding the "truth in the lie" so to speak.

I’ve never heard of Borrowed Man. I thought I read all of Wolfe. Whoa! My favorite Wolfe is Peace. It’s so creepy once you realize what is happening. There’s so many questions I have about WizardKnight that I just don’t understand even after reading it twice. I disagree about the LOTR movies. I think Two Towers is the worst with them adding nonsense like Aragorn falling off a cliff and everyone thinking he’s dead. Why? That didn’t happen. The battle has cheesy parts in it also. The first movie is the most accurate with the books and the last movie is the best.

#9 feels similar to The White Dragon from the Pern series.

I’m so glad you stuck with Sun Eater and enjoyed Howling Dark!! I’ll definitely be sticking around for your upcoming review and hopefully your reviews of the rest of the series!

I finally finished Howling Dark, and yes, it is a huge improvement. I watched the rest of Ruocchio's summary videos on his channel (spoilers dont bother me at all) and I'm gonna hold off on reading any more from the series because a lot of things I heard in there were similar to things I'm writing and I don't want to be accused of ripping him off. I'm sure he'll understand the sentiment, lol. Blindsight is very fascinating. If you've read Gene Wolfe's Alien Stones, there are many similarities between the two.