My Top 10 Fantasy Series of All Time | As Of 2024
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- Mike takes a look at 10 series in the fantasy genre that he would call his favorites, as of 2024.
ℙ𝕦𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠:
The First Law amzn.to/2VUaQfC
Lord of the Rings amzn.to/3RyGQTp
Mistborn amzn.to/2Q1Buzw
Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn amzn.to/3AHiqg0
Realm of the Elderlings amzn.to/39IUeNj
Stormlight Archive amzn.to/2QOIJL5
Malazan Book of the Fallen amzn.to/2zDNWQR
Harry Potter amzn.to/3k79gRG
Bound & the Broken amzn.to/44hV530
Chronicles of Narnia amzn.to/3FlXuyI
Wheel of Time amzn.to/2WNdbcn
Faithful & the Fallen amzn.to/2xPt6x1
A Song of Ice & Fire amzn.to/3zR3H0p
The Dark Tower amzn.to/3j1q2Rk
The Dresden Files amzn.to/3aDgV45
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕕𝕖:
𝕎𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘? 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕠 𝕤𝕠 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤:
Mike K.
15201 Mason Rd
Suite 169
Cypress, TX 77433
Support Mike on Patreon: / mikesbookreviews
Join Mike's server on Discord / discord
Visit Mike's Amazon Wishlist: amzn.to/2zpHooW
Follow Mike on Goodreads: / mikesbookreviews
Follow Mike on Twitter: / zepp1978
Like Mike's Book Reviews on Facebook / mikesbookreviews
Follow Mike on Instagram / zepp1978
Follow Mike on TikTok / zepp1978
Microphone used in these videos: amzn.to/3IpFSAX
Camera used in these videos: amzn.to/3IqqdBv
0:00 Introduction
0:26 Background and Prerequisites
1:28 Honorable Mentions
2:51 My Top 10 Fantasy Series
22:36 Final Thoughts
------------------------------------------------------
Theme music provided by Infraction
/ @infraction
Music used: Epic (No Copyright Music)
infractionroyaltyfreemusic.ba...
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0(CC BY 3.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
------------------------------------------------------
#MikesBookReviews #top10 #ranking - บันเทิง
Totaly agree with your opinion on Harry Potter. I read it last year, as a 19 year old, and absolutely loved it. My grandma of 72 is reading it right now and is loving it!
I used to love it until JKR turned out to be a terrible person
@@TheDopekittyyou mean a normal person with common sense who stands up to the trans cult?
@@GeorgeZimmermenjk believes that women exist. Crazy right! 😂
@@TheDopekitty I don't think that her having an opinion that contrary to a lot other people makes her a terrible person. And even if it did, that would not change the fact that the series she wrote is one of the best of all time. It is my favourite fantasy series since I was a child and I never loved the author per se, but I loved and continue to love the series and what it stands for. Even if she changed and became a worse person than she was, that does not change the series at all.
In other words, never loved her before, don't love her now, will always love Harry Potter.
I'm a simple man. I see a top ten by Mike, I click on it at the speed of light.
Same 😂
lol😂
I totally agree. People are starting to lose interest in Asoiaf because it has been a long time since the last release, the books aren't getting finished and the show finale sucked, but these five books are still incredibly good!
Are they?? I was such a big fan of the show (still not over the finale), but I have never been sure if I should try the books, mainly because I feel that I know all the spoilers. Should I try them anyway?
@@Usernameforsf yes ,you should,I was in same positiok as you,the first two book are kinda similar to the first seasons,but after that the books are really different and much more complex
@@UsernameforsfI mean this respectfully, but you dont know anything.
There are entire plots, dozens of characters, areas explored in the books that did not even exist in the show, and what was there, was portrayed from kinda meh to disastrously bad.
The series is probably never going to be completed, or even get another book, but they're still worth it
@@Usernameforsf I've done similarly with other adaptation/books and except for a few very special cases, books are always worth reading if you love the adaptation. It just gives you so much more depth that cannot be done on the TV screen. In case of Asoiaf, Book 3 is just peak fantasy, Martin pretty much outdid himself with that one. Many people dislike Book 4 due to the fact that Book 4 and 5 are in the same timeline but POVs are separated, and the more popular POVs were in Book 5. This meant that people had to wait 11 years to read about Jon/Tyrion/Danny again. Jokes on them, now 13 years have passed since book 5. Anyways book 4 is also great.
@@LeoSkyro wow! They sound great! I really should give them a try then :)
My top 5 because I just got back into fantasy 2 years ago
1. Malazan
2. A song of ice and fire
3. First Law
4. Mistborn
5. Ranger’s Apprentice (went unbelievably hard when I was 11)
Brooo i forgot about Rangers Apprentice i used to be obsessed
Ranger's Apprentice is so good
Halt was a boss in Ranger’s Apprentice.
The justification for pick number five had me rolling😂
Ranger's Apprentice is amazing great shout
Dude it feels pretty great to have found your channel years ago when you first started your wheel of time read and to see it in your top ten. I've read it six times and there's still so much to unpack in that series that I pick up on rereads. I just wish you continued Berserk without taking a break for so long, it's easy to forget everything that happens if you put it down partway through but I'm happy that you at least got through a good chunk of it.
I'm about one third of the way through book 3 of the First Law trilogy and I like the series a lot but for some reason it didn't feel like it grabbed me as much as I thought it would from what I've heard about it. Book two honestly was kind of "meh" for the most part, sure there were some very cool moments but it wasn't as great as I was hoping. I will say though that the characters are amazing, I don't think I've ever related to a character more than I have with Glokta and not in the good ways haha. I'm 40 now and I've had a lot of major physical issues and surgeries throughout my life that left me with many physical scars and missing body parts. At 19 I had cancer which required a major jaw surgery including removing an entire 14 inch section of leg bone from my left tibia, which had me limping with a cane for nine months and I still have to be careful with how much weight I put on my leg. The right side of my jaw from the center to my right ear was removed, teeth and all (I had a large malignant tumor in my jaw so the tibia I mentioned was grafted as a replacement jaw and is held with a titanium chain, the x-rays of it look crazy). Five years later i was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and that caused many many issues including erosion of tooth enamel, so I had to have nine teeth pulled and now i have dentures up top. This is along with missing teeth on the entire lower right side of my mouth from the cancer surgery, so I truly understand Glokta when he's talking about missing teeth🤣 Throw in a ruptured intestine last year that almost killed me so there's another major surgery with months of recovery and the list goes on. I should stop rambling now about my problems but the point stands that I truly sympathize with my man Glokta, I just don't share his proclivity for "enhanced interrogation" techniques😅
Anyway sorry for the T.M.I., just wanted to throw in a comment to not only show my appreciation for what you've done with this channel but to explain a bit on why the character of Glokta really resonates with me. Thanks for all you do here Mike I'm a big fan, much love🙏
0. Lord of the Rings
1. Malazan (All Erikson and Esslemont books)
2. A song of Ice and Fire
3. First Law
4. Earthsea books
5. Black Company series
6. Wheel of time
7. Book of the New Sun
8. Witcher
9. Kingkiller Chronicle
Found you through your Dresden reviews and I've been here since. Glad it made the list.
Was glad to hear about you continuing Malazan, I'm looking to start it this year and wondered your thoughts since you haven't talked about it in a while. Absolutely agree with Song of Ice and Fire, I reread the whole series last year and it's just so good! I think your praising Storm of Swords is actually what got me into your channel since that book is just amazing. I recommend Jemisen's Broken Earth trilogy if you haven't read it yet, we read it for my book club and I enjoyed the world building.
Always interesting to see how people's lists change over time. And always a delight to watch your videos and heard your insights!
Thank you for talking about Harry Potter... A lot of youtubers gloss over it or there's zero mention of it in top fantasy lists for whatever reason but I tell people like you were saying that there will never be another time when masses of people camp out at book stores until mid-night. Kids don't even like to read these days.
As a kid in high school who didn't like reading I stayed up until 4 in the morning opening night reading and that feeling of wonder and magic is something I've never found again. The casual reader was captured into this world. The emotions of this book if you were waiting for the next one to come out and were reading them before the movies came out just hit different.
People are avoiding Harry Potter because JKR is a massively transphobic person trying to remove support for transgender people
What I love the most about ASOIAF is use of the magic. It would’ve been so easy to flood Westeros with a tonne of magic and fantastical things everywhere. Instead, George uses magic sparingly but so powerfully. Almost makes me feel like Westeros could’ve actually been real place! Such a shame that the story will probably never be finished.
Mike!!!! Your channel is a treasure chest. So much insight. Thank you. Currently reading Lonesome Dove (loving it so far), and I’ll be reading Blackwater next. From Miami with massive props.
Big up, champion. 💪🏼🍻
I also read Lonesome Dove per his recommendation. It's not a book I'd normally pick up, but his reading tastes and mine are pretty similar, so I gave it a shot, and yes, it's great! Enjoy!
Love your take on Harry Potter. I’ll never get tired of re reading those books
same!!!
When people say "I have never seen or read any HP." I just feel sorry for them, missing the ride as the Thestrals start off with my carriage, again.
JKR is a transphobe
I can’t argue with the top 2, tough to put them in an order as they are so different.
It will be interesting to see where you put Malazan. I’ve read the first 2 books and it’s so different to anything else I’ve read, it’s hard to make a comparison..
Great list, Mike! I’m a bit of a newbie when it comes to my fantasy journey but I’ve absolutely loved the Dark Tower, First Law, and FaTF… planning on reading the Bloodsworn Trilogy next in anticipation of the final book later this year! Keep up the great content 👍
Mike - I'm not a fantasy reader (or a reader in general) but I stumbled upon your 3 years ago and you brought to the First Law and I can't thank you enough. Keep up the good work.
I’ve mostly read thrillers and mysteries and am just getting into Sci Fi Fantasy and haven’t read most of these. You’ve basically set me up for a few years of reading! Thank you! Love your channel.
I would include Robert E. Howard's fantasy universe, including Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, & Bran Mak Morn. One of the greatest writers who ever lived.
Conan and the other REH characters are timeless I highly suggest younger readers check them out. 👍
I love your shirt! I'm so jealous of your Red Rising paraphernalia. Where are you getting all of it? Great video. Never get tired of these lists.
can you do a top 10 tv shows of all time?
Great idea
He did top 15 sci-fi shows of all time. It’s on the ‘Off The Books’ playlist, as well as Mike’s Media Reviews. But it is just sci-fi.
I never get sick of these videos
Great call on HP. I grew up with them and then reread last year again in my 30s with kids and I was wrecked by some parts. Hit different as an adult
Nice list Mike- I’d say my Top 5 are 1. Five Warrior Angels 2. Bloodsworn 3. DiscWorld 4. Malazan 5. Immortal Technique- I can’t decide on the last 5 for a top 10
I love this list! My top 10 in no order is Stormlight archive, WoT, Divine Cities, the winternight trilogy, roots of chaos, first law, broken earth, kingkiller, the bound and the broken, and the Nevermoor series. I can’t wait to read malazan and more of Dresden!
Have read most of this list, and might have a bit of a different order, but I cannot disagree too much. Top ten lists and discussing differences are always fun. I have three glaring holes in my fantasy read reptoire, and am planning to fill them in late 24 or early 25 after I complete my Sanderson run and devour Stormlight 5 :) Great Video as always!
ASOIAF will always be my favorite. It was my first love. I thought that it would lessen my enjoyment of other books since it was my first time reading fantasy but no. And it still stands the test of time with me now that I’m 200+ deep in to SF&F.
Best dialogue, best characters.
Love these check ins on your top top series. I’ve read most of them. But some new bookmarked ones. Thanks, sir!
Great vid Mike, I just completed a reread of the HP books, just adore the series!
finishing Wheel of Time is graduating from fantasy school - very nicely put, sir... right now I am on book 4 re-reading spree, enjoying it as I did the first time around...
Pretty solid list. Haven't read all of them, as I've just recently gotten back into reading. But I have so many goals! Thanks for sharing!
I’m currently up to book 5 in The Dark Tower so I’m looking forward to seeing where it ends up on my list!
Excited to follow your channel after seeing this list, we seem to have similar tastes! Its good to see The Dark Tower ackbowledged as a fantasy series as well. I may need to give Dresden another shot as it really didnt take on my first try.
I'd like to see more people who missed out on the Harry Potter craze read the books. If you like fantasy, they are worth a look.
What a great list of favorites. Realm of the Elderlings, Stormlight Archives, The Dark Tower, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire are all on my list as well.
Hi, Mike! I highly recommend you the Manifest Delusions series. It feels to me very similar in tone with The First Law, but with a unique world. I think of it as worthy of breaking your TBR and it would definitely have a place on this list. (Just read it 😁 )
Your comments on Wheel of Time was perfect! 😘 Thank you so much!!!! WOT needs booktube love at the moment! So many haters out there who put it down and they have not even read it!!
Hey Mike, would you say that Folio Society edition of ASOIAF is worth having? Also, did you order the Grim Oak Press of Malice yesterday? Super excited for that one! I can’t remember whether you’ve done a video of your special editions, but would like to see one if not!
I'm really interested in what you will think when you finish your Dark Tower reread. I just finished a reread at the end of last year and I was surprised that I did not dislike book 6 as much as I expected. And the series has grown for me to the point that it is my favorite ending.
I used to judge people that had Harry Potter in their favorites...reread it this year and finally finished the last book... the series is definitely in my top 5 lol
Game of thrones......not being finished to me is like saying I live in a perfect house, except the builder just never put on the roof. Amazing house, just forget that their aint no freaking roof. Yes to me unforgivable and will always be on my most disappointing books list... Thanks for the vids, I love booktube...
I've read nearly all of these and wholeheartedly agree. I think The Bound and the Broken will stand the test of time for sure. Dresden Files are fun, funny fantasy stories with a flair and I love them. I always said I couldn't do grim dark, but when you recommended The First Law trilogy it was a game changer. Powered through every book like a maniac! The Faithful and the Fallen was another fantastic series. Thanks for all the great recommendations, keep them coming!
Nothing beats a good top 10 list! Hope to see Bound and the Broken break into the official list someday, it deserves the love! And can't blame you for putting ASOIAF on number one, I read that for the first time last year and it is just as good as I had been led to believe. Great picks!
I can't make a top 10 list in order. But my favorite series include: The Expanse, Outlander, Dresden Files, RotE, Stormlight, Malazan, Dark Tower, the Empire trilogy by Janny Wurtz and Raymond Feist, WoT, and...I guess I can throw in First Law. I used to love ASoIaF. I'm just burned out from that world. I couldn't even finish HotD.
You should totally finish HotD, the show is so amazing, it really makes up for season 8 of GoT. Episode 8 of HotD in particular is so emotional and beautifully devastating.
@Jrdn357 ugh! I know. Lol. I actually watched the first 7 episodes and then I got stuck. I just decided to back off for awhile and try again in a year or so.
There is something about HP. I was an adult already when they were coming out and as addicted. AND I actually went to Waterstones on Piccadilly and queued overnight for the last book. It was magical. So many people, of all ages, from all around the world, all there for the same thing. The atmosphere was unreal, and I got my book at 2 am. Still remember fondly 😊
Yeahhhhh! We now share a number 1!! Awesome list Mike.
I’m curious if you have any opinions on or heard of The Wandering Inn? That was the series that really made me a reader. I just got caught up after a year of reading, and now I am looking for more fantasy series to read. The dark tower or the storm light archive look really interesting!
I read Harry Potter when I was in my 30s and loved it. I was reading it at the same time as my god daughter, and we talked about it as we read each book. It will always have a place in my heart, for that reason.
I was gonna say that was a Shyamalan esque twist at the end there, but it actually made sense.
Hey Mike, just got to drop you a word, you were the first to plant the seed of fantasy novels for me, and on June 16, 2024 i finally got started. So much to look forward to, thanks so much for being a reliable resource for wading through this densely populated genre, without guides i would be wasting too much time on stuff that would be perhaps not worth spending time in, thanks so much!!!
I vow to make it onto your list one day soon. I just completed my manuscript and I'm preparing for the next steps now.
Since your last top 10. I have read everything Joe Abercrombie has written. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the suggestion. Still trying to decide what series to start next.
Having been a fantasy reader for decades, and a role player, I can't say enough about Harry Potter. Books or films, love them all. Keep up the good work.
hey man thanks! I'm a 29 year old Dark Tower fan, massive Stephen King universe fan, trying to branch out and finally read other *real* fantasy series. So far it's been tough for me to adjust my mindset since The Dark Tower series sort of spoiled me with all its variety. So far, the coolest world since Dark Tower that's sucked me right in has been Discworld
I haven't done a top 10 fantasy-specific list, but ours are so similar! I think 7 of these were on my top 10 series, albeit in a different order. But 3 of our top 5 are the same: LOTR, First Law and Dark Tower.
I just read the Silmarillion for the first time in my 40s. Definitely worth the wait as I thoroughly enjoyed it. I almost want to re-read it with a family tree next to me as there ate so many names mentioned and they are mostly linked through blood relationships.
Very interesting list.
I can do a top 7 series maybe and then it gets all murky.
The GOATs
1. LoTR by JRR Tolkien
2. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
The contemporary greats (because as you said legacy takes time)
3. Harry Potter by J K Rowling
4. Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (Eyeroll amirite 🤣 but hey we love what we love)
The really good
5. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams
6. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin
7. Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin
Some good series which are very well-written and/or have good ideas but something makes it not quite a favourite (not ranked):
- The Winnowing Flame trilogy by Jen Williams
- The Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft (this would have been in my top 5 but the finale...)
- The Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu
- The Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance
- The Magicians by Lev Grossman
- The Five Warrior Angels by Brian Lee Durfee
What would I recommend hmm...if you want a bit more literary aligned fantasy, then Lyonesse, Jack Vance is GRRM's favourite writer besides Tolkien.
If ASOIAF is your #1, I think The Last King of Osten Ard by Tad Williams is worth a try as is Shadowmarch. He is an excellent writer imo.
Happy reading!
Mike’s list is great. I would like to add a few that I haven’t seen mentioned
One of my favorites: The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind - falls somewhere between PG-13 and R
The Shannara series by Terry Brooks
The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson
Phew! Glad I found a fell covenant fan! 👍👍
Love it man. Song of Ice and Fire was my first big fantasy series. I have been reading others for years (and enjoying mostly all) but still searching for the feeling I got reading about Jon, Dany, Arya, Ned, and the rest of the crew. I do think we will see Winds Of Winter, but Dream Of Spring may be out of the cards.
Have you read the Lord of the Rings?
@@ozzyshreds2017 oh yes. Multiple times. Love it
Brilliant video! I have a question, I'm very new to reading books, I've read LOTR and the hobbit and Harry Potter! I've just started wheel of time this year and I'm 3 books in and loving it......however I want to read some other books can I take a break or should I finish WoT?
I think personally that I would tell you not to read the wheel of time in one sitting or attempted. It’s a great series, but it is very easy to experience burn out with something this long so my advice is get some stuff on the side. Take some breaks if the series becomes grading after a while, take a break, read something else and then come back.
You can mix it up with something very different, last month I reread Dune, then I read Messiah , Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune one after the other. I left Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune for a future occasion.
So during this month I read a lot of horror and sci-fi short stories, some novels and so on.
awesome list and great rationale for the placements!
Similar to how Brandon Sanderson finished the Wheel of Time for Robert Jordan. Do you think that Joe Abercrombie would be a great choice to finish A Song of Ice and Fire?
Just picked up some hard covers of ASOIAF yesterday! I love the show, but I’ve been putting off reading the books for years now. I think it’s about time I change that.
Enjoy!
Love the video man! Always entertaining, nice work. Can't agree with the order of 1 and 2... LOTR is not only finished and complete, but is a deeper, richer story and rewards re-readings to a greater degree (again in my opinion). But in the end it's all subjective, love your list.
I’m with you regarding Stormlight. Book 4 was rough and I do feel like the trajectory of the series is going in that direction sadly
Amazing video Mike! Can't argue with your picks at all! Sadly, I have a lot of fantasy series I have not finished, only read one book or two in the series, or the series is not quite complete. But I KNOW once I do, they will easily supplant other series on my top 10 list, but it would be unfair to place them there (series like the Prince of Nothing, Dune, Bloodsworn Saga to name a few). Also, like you, I feel COMPELLED to cheat on ASOIF - it's not finished, but it has to have a place on my list, it is so iconic to me. If it was finished, it would be at least number two. My current top 10 fantasy series (completed except for ASOIF, & I have read all the books in each of these series) are:
1.Wars of Light and Shadow
2.The Traitor Son Cycle
3.A Song of Ice And Fire
4.The Warlord Chronicles
5.The Faithful and the Fallen
6.Of Blood and Bone
7.The First Law
8.Lord of the Rings
9.The Dandelion Dynasty
10.The Green Bone Saga
Thanks for making this incredible list...these videos for me, as for many, are always some of my favs! Happy reading!
I've read through Wolves of the Calla and digestible works well with the Dark Tower :)
Solid picks, solid thoughts. Interesting to see I'm not the only one putting Robin Hobb at 10 on these kinds of lists. Awesome list!
Great list! I just bookmarked two series you mentioned that I have not read. Have you read George RR Martin's Fevre Dream? It's also a fantastic read.
My list has changed a bit in the last couple years as well. I've added a few new entries and some of my old ones have shuffled around; mainly because of the new entries of course but two have fallen because of other reasons. Here is my current list:
Honorable mentions: Deed of Paksenarrion, ASOIAF, Mistborn Era 1, Faithful & the Fallen, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant & LotR. All of these have at one time or the other been in my top 10 if only briefly (F&F). Some of them might come back into the top 10 if I ever get around to a reread (Thomas Covenant). But like you I'm getting older and have so many things I want to read, lol.
10. Broken Empire/Red Queen's War by Mark Lawrence (new entry this year; I group them together because they tell 2 sides of 1 story)
9. Belgariad/Malloreon by David Eddings (been on my list for over 2 decades but is in danger of falling out as time goes on)
8. Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss (this has fallen because it isn't finished; it will probably fall out of top 10 like ASOIAF eventually because of that)
7. The Band by Nicolaus Eames (added last year)
6. Mistborn Era 2 (added this year; I seperate the Era's because they are so different in style and tone)
5. Malazan Book of the Fallen (added in 2022)
4. Drenai Saga by David Gemmell (been a top 10 for over 2 decades and I don't see if falling out anytime soon)
3. First Law (Abercrombie became my favorite living author last year; even ahead of my #2 author if that makes any sense, lol)
2. Stormlight Archive (it's #2 because I like epic fantasy more than grimdark overall but really it's basically a tie)
1. Wheel of Time (has been my #1 series for 27 years and counting and I don't see it changing)
Just browsing the comments and there are some great lists. One thing that i observe is a large recency bias. No mention of Elric of Melnibone, Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser, Robert E. Howard, Guy Gavriel Kay, Raymond E Feist, etc. For the younger or new to fantasy i would say these are all so worth reading. Even just to appreciate the journey the genre has taken.
I am going through WOT a third time but I utilize audio books since my daily drive for work is 3 hours each day.
I think my Top 10 is probably:
1. Harry Potter
2. The Faithful and the Fallen
3. The Wheel of Time
4. The Lord of the Rings
5. Riyria Revelations
6. The Chronicles of Conan
7. The Dresden Files
8. Mistborn Era 1
9. The Legends of Drizzt
10. The Chronicles of Narnia
I think it’ll change a lot over time, but that’s it for now.
I have not read enough fantasy series to make a top ten list 😁However, I very much enjoy these videos so I can receive recommendations. I will say the Under Heaven duololgy is absolutely fantastic. I also read Long Price Quartet last year and was so glad I did. What an underrated series. My absolute favorite series still is the Witcher which may be an unpopular opinion I don’t know. I have never connected to another series like the world of the Witcher. It’s not perfect and I would never expect lots of people to love it but Blood of Elves remains my favorite fantasy book of all time.
Happy Reading!
There’s a lot from the last 20 years that I haven’t read due to life getting in the way, but my top 5 FAVORITE (not necessarily best):
1 - Wheel Of Time - Robert Jordan
2 - Otherland - Tad Williams (many may call it SF but it think it straddles both worlds)
3 - SOIAF - George RR Martin
4 - LOTR - Tolkien
5 - Chronicles Of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander
Good number 1 pick ive read alot of books and asoif is another level , its really easy to picture and read and its exciting.
I agree with your view on the romance in Faithful and the Fallen. It can’t be anything but what I am thinking of.
I notice that the Obsidian Mountain Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory is not mentioned. Is that because they're no longer in print? (Although you can find them used easily.) Books in series are "The Outstretched Shadow", "To Light A Candle", and "When Darkness Falls".
Logan Ninefingers in the First Law is the most interesting thing about the story, and it left me craving to know more and more about him and his powers to my disappointment. Dark tower should be on top of First Law. Don't get me wrong though, the trilogy was great.
I just started reading a lot this year. I read like a few books when I was in school for AR points but I started Harry Potter in January & finished the series a week ago. So thankful for this list to find some good fantasy books because I'm so sad that I've finished the Harry Potter books.
It’s great to see WOT on your list. I feel like the slog criticism is valid but overstated and it seems worse for a lot of new readers because of confirmation bias. I read the series not knowing there’s a slog in the middle so it wasn’t that big of a deal for me. Overall, it’s an amazing series.
I might be a little confused how you organized it Mike. I'm not totally sure, but why is Faithful and the Fallen separated from A Blood and Bone but Mistborn Era 1 not separated from Era 2? Why did you group all of Mistborn as 1 single series? Is it just because of the title? I feel like Mistborn 2 series are more different than Faithful an d the Fallen 2 series.
Great list Mike! I am with you on most of them.
I'm currently reading the 4th Harry Potter book to my 9 year old, and she's enthralled, and it's so awesome having an excuse to read them again! So happy you keep talking about Harry Potter!
1. Malazan
2. Book of the New Sun (honestly felt like a total clash between fantasy and sci/fi, so it's hard to distinguish)
3. Discworld
4. A Song of Ice and Fire
5. First Law
@Mike's Book Reviews, What are your thoughts on David Gemmell, have you read any of his stuff?
Apart from the brandon sanderson stuff, are there any good novels with such creative magic systems? Kinda wanna read some of those.
The Dresden Files have an interesting approach to magic. It's a fantastic series with some great characters and interesting choices that kind if get you a little annoyed at characters, but makes sense in the long run. Great read!
1: Manifest Delusions
2: The Second Apocalypse
3: Berserk
4: The Dark Tower
5: The Eternal Champion
6: Conan
7: Song of Ice and Fire
8: First Law
9: Black Company
10: (The Belgariad & Harry Potter, I have a soft spot for these two lol)
Have u tried Kull by K. e. Wagner? Its a bit kike conan. Very overlooked by some. If u haven't its worth a read if u can find a paperback
Very good Top 3 !!! but somehow somewhere Gemmel or Feist are missing ... what do you think ?
When it comes to the Dark Tower I block out book 5,6 & 7. In my mind it ends at Wizard & Glass!!
The problem with the last book isn't even the ending, but everything else.
I think I'd wait the rest of my life for the next A Song of Ice and Fire book.
I've been obsessed since I read it. I've since read everything Martin has written save one, which I may start next. I just absolutely love how the man writes. If you've never read his second novel, Fevre Dream, you should if you like Vampires, abolition and steamboats.
I'm definitely a Dresden Files girl. Got into it about 2 years ago. Read the first 8 books back to back, then finished the rest after a short break. It inspired me to create merch in my Redbubble shop [ HavenDesign ]. My other favorite urban fantasy series is The Anita Blake series: Laurell K. Hamilton.
The way you said you woudn't want to live in the First Law world gave me a chuckle. Defintely not a good place to be.
btw I'm on book three of Of Blood and Bone and I'm enjoying it much more than I expected!
GRRM's prose can be really addictive. Especially in Clash of Kings.
Do people forget how crazy the hype for Harry Potter was? I wasn't even a reader as a kid, and I read all the books and stood in long lines at midnight to buy the last few books. We probably won't see that for another book in our lifetimes.
Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw is one I love! Great start to an epic fantasy series! Can't wait for book 2!
I've got no arguments with your list... considering (at least to me) that a "series" has to be longer than a trilogy, about the only series I'd have ranked higher on my list are Discworld, Sword of Truth, and Shannara, but that's probably because I haven't read some of the series on your list ;) Honorable mention to Dragonlance (won't count it since it was a shared world, but I love it... especially the Weiss and Hickman novels).
1 and 2 are correct :) and love the love for HP!
Nice Mike. My favourite will always be The Wheel of Time. The Lord of the Rings probably second. But I will put The Chronicles of Amber up there. The first series that I read that hooked me on fantasy.
Got to love everybody on social media eh! How dare you not add the series you've never read, and has been a favorite of mine for decades😂😂😂!
I'm just finishing the Harry Potter series now. I'm almost 40, it's pretty good. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more when it first came out. but It's still worth the read.
She said some facts and people cried, oh well 😂 I read them after the "controversy" and loved them.
I've always been a big fan of Raymond E. Feist's fantasy series--beginning with Magician: Apprentice. I haven't read any of the books in his universe since I was a kid, but if you're looking for something off the beaten path, he's worth a read!