@@AndySmithMN I just tried The Blade Itself which started out promising but fell into a whirlpool of boredom. I quickly found out that none of the characters were likeable, and I couldn't care less about what was going to happen to them. Moved on to the Dresden Files Storm Front, which I enjoyed.
You’re really underrated. I think you’re a great content creator-it looked like you put a lot of effort into making the video. A bit sad that Sanderson isn’t represented but definitely agree with realm of the elderlings and inheritance cycle.
As a writer who’s trying to explore fantasy literature, I love watching people’s top series videos. Haven’t heard this much love for Malayan so far. Gonna have to read Gardens of the Moon eventually.
Such a great video. I started the Realm of the Elderlings 2020 and totally fell for it (instead of the expected 3 I read 7 of Robin Hobb's books and had to hold myself back from reading more than one book per month). She became my new favourite fantasy author and I personally love Assassin's Quest maybe even a tiny bit more than Ship of Destiny. When I'm done with the RotE (probably in September) my plan is to actually start Malazan (especially because it's my best friend's favourite book series) and I'm excited for it.
I am so glad to see the inheritance cycle on your list. Those books, side by side with the chronicles of prydain, were the books I read as a child that turned me into the fantasy loving adult I am now. Those two series were such a gateway for me and I'll always have a place in my heart for them.
How your channel isn’t bigger is beyond me, but I have no doubts it will grow immensely this year. You will be the ”the guy that gets you into Malazan/RotE” in the way that Daniel Greene gets people into WoT or Mike’s Book Reviews gets people into First Law. I discovered your channel by chance after finishing Ship of Magic (best book i’ve read in 2 years) and immediately sought out coverage of it here on YT, and for some reason it seems like it’s flown under the radar compared to other series of similar success (The Liveship Trilogy in particular, but also Robin Hobb as a whole)
@@AndySmithMN Just finished reading Ship of Destiny. I adored Mad Ship, and up until the half-way point of SoD I was certain this trilogy would end in perfection. Right before the confrontation of Paragon and Vivacia, thats were things just took such a left turn. I had began rooting for Kennit and was looking forward for him to finally redeem himseff (via reunion with paragon and having to face his past). The scene with Aletha just ruined me. It felt like betrayal to me as a reader, not only for Kennit but for Aletha. The fact that Vivacia sided with Kennit, that Wintrow kept silent, and that Kennit never really got his comeuppance, left me with really mixed feelings. I wish I could erase the rape scene and aftermath and pretend she wouldn't have gone that route, because I loved everything else so much. Malta's growth as a character is the best Ive ever seen in fantasy, I came to love her most of all by the end. But the character assassinations of Kennit, Wintrow and Vivacia, and some other missed opportunities (Keffria & Malta should have had to confront the fact that Kyle was a monster and enslaved Wintrow, that was one of the things I had been waiting for since book 1) made the final book too mixed for me to properly evaluate. I still consider it a great book and a superb conclusion, but it also killed something for me. Overall, I think the series is a 9.5/10 as a whole. the first 2 books were flawless for me, and the ending left me satisfied.
Robin Hobb is on your fantasy list as Marie Currie is on Nobel prize. (Go Girl!!). Pretty nice list , i just read Gardens of the monn and i love it. Happy new year!!
Nice list and love the style of your videos. Glad to see some love for ASOIAF on there which is my personal favorite series. Looking forward to check out more videos from you 🙂
I am recently coming out of a trashy reading wormhole so this has got me excited to get back into reading more fantasy! I am currently halfway through my Farseer journey and I am loving it, not since Harry Potter have I become so wholeheartedly invested in the characters and relationships. Loved your Liveship discussion with Phillip, Riddhima, and Chris. I'm just so excited to have discovered Robin Hobb. Also rereading HP as I received a beautiful edition of the series for my bday. Ah so much happiness. Great list, and happy 2021 reading to you! 🎊😀
Good list Andy. Many of these would be on my list as well. Have you read more of Brandon Sanderson’s stuff other than his three Wot books? That’s the only glaring omission from my list. Either mistborn or the unfinished stormlight archive
Great list, Andy! I loved Dune though I haven't read any of the other books in the series. I was strongly discouraged to do so, which was almost painful for me when I finished. I plan to reread it later this year. Wishing you a wonderful 2021!
Strongly discouraged? You can't understand the actual point of Dune unless you read up to and including God Emperor of Dune. Without that Dune is just a cool hero's journey. Which in fact is far from it.
@@alexwallachian7720 Haha! Yeah, I read it a long while back. My boyfriend at the time strongly discouraged the other books. I know Mike from Mike's Book Reviews said you can appreciate it as a standalone and that it was actually intended to be a standalone. He doesn't discourage the other books though. Anyway, thanks for sharing your opinion!
Glad you loved Dune It’s arguable that the arc of Paul only ends with the Children of Dune Hope you read all 3 and enjoy them as much as many other fans of Dune like myself have done
Great video! I look forward to seeing the Dresden Files being top 5 after you catch up to the rest of the series hahaha. Also so glad to see love for Eragon for all of those reasons you gave
1. Malazan both Erickson and ICE 2. WoT 3. Dresden Files(shout out to Alera Codex) 4. Elenium and Tamuli by David Eddings 5.Dark Tower by Stephen King 6. First Law by Abercrombie 7. ASOIAF 8. Light Bringer by Brent Weeks(didn't stick the landing but I love the magic system) 9. Thieves World 10. The Gentleman Bastards. special shout out to Vampire Earth by EE Knight, some light fantasy elements to it but more sci-fi/dystopian
Very happy to see Eddings on your list! I almost never see anyone talking about those books on TH-cam. I've actually just started rereading the Theives World books after originally reading them more years ago than I like to admit. I don't enjoy many short stories, but I enjoy most from Theives World.
Oh man, I see you’re not too big on all the First Law books (8 novels now). I’d love to hear your honest review of the Abercrombie books. Don’t worry, us First Law fan are reasonable and won’t take it poorly. Abercrombie as a writer just gets better and better though a lot of people have a soft spot for the original trilogy because of some of the larger-than-life characters. I like all the standalones about as much if not more than the trilogy , and depending on how this last trilogy ends (if it escalates as much as his stories tend to), it might end up being my favorite. His books are just a lot of fun.
Mine are - Realm of the Elderlings - Malazan - ASOIAF - LOTR - Dune Maybe a bit of recency bias, but I also am really happy I discovered both Robin Hobb and Erikson over the past year. I tried a few series after waiting so long for more ASOIAF books.
going to join jade's WOTalong this year and i am really excited! I agree with Farseer! It's incredible. i cannot wait to get to liveship this year! i started reading harry potter this year and am in love with the world as well. ASOIAF! definitely in my top 5 as well! happy new year =)
This video desperately needs un update. I need an update from you ser. You are the only booktuber who's opinion and recommendations I can trust. All the others seem to think that Sanderson can write.
wow! thank goodness someone talks about his dark materials! it's so good! and yes realm of elderlings! yes and farseer was great too! gentlemen bastards another fav. I tried eragon this year and I really liked it! people say it's derivative and I say all the stories are derivative at this point as all possible stories have been written,i t's just how the author has written it. secondly people say it's badly written and again, I disagree. I would even go as far s saying they are muccchhhhhh better written than sanderson works! never tried Malazan or LOTR or wheel of time. also you shocked me by putting liveship way higher than other chunky series(even though it's pretty chunky too, but doesn't feel like it). Who's your favorite character in the elderlings world yet? i wonna know. good videos! keep it up!
Great choices! Absolutely adore Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter! I'd say my favorite would be Stormlight though. I have yet to read any of Robin Hobbs books and I'm still crawling through the Wheel of Time, lol. I think my new goal this year though is to conquer the beast that is Malazan! I would also recommend John Gwynne and Michael J Sullivan, if you haven't read any!
Nice - Dresden is a top 5 series for me, and Summer Knight was what flipped the switch for me. Hobb is my girl, and I’m reading the entire RotE this year.
I really should write down my list for myself, just to see how it changes every time. 😅 Though a couple will always be there, and nostalgia weighs in heavily. 1. Malazan - Erikson 2. Discworld - Pratchett 3. First Law - Abercrombie 4. Elderlings - Hobb 5. Kushiel's Legacy - Carey 6. Engineer - KJ Parker 7. Empire - Feist and Wurts 8. Symphony of Ages - Haydon 9. Dresden Files - Butcher 10. Gentleman Bastards - Lynch
Great list!! I don't think I'm well read enough to put together a top ten list for myself, but His Dark Materials would rank high, as well as era 1 Mistborn. And I have a feeling when I read Malazan and start Hobb, I'll have a couple more favorites...
Happy New Year! I enjoyed your list. I really need to get into Hobb. Here’s my list: 1. Mistborn (Era 1)-Brandon Sanderson 2. Dark Tower-Stephen King 3. 1Q84-Haruki Murakami 4. Perdido Street Station-China Mieville 5. Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien 6. Harry Potter-J.K. Rowling 7. His Dark Materials-Philip Pullman 8. A Song of Ice and Fire-George R.R. Martin 9. Stormlight Archive-Brandon Sanderson 10. Gentlemen Bastard-Scott Lynch Honorable Mention to Kingkiller Chronicle, The Starless Sea, and The Night Circus.
I love The Gentleman Bastards, it's just SO great! His Dark Materials was good until the last third of book 3...but I like that you included it on this list, doesn't really get a lot of representation here on BookTube. And I'm so excited to start Wheel of Time this year! My favourites: 1. Gentleman Bastards 2. Stormlight Archive (Cosmere in general) 3. Lord of the Rings 4. A Song of Ice and Fire 5. Dresden Files
Nice to see the Inheritance Cycle on the list, I love it. I'm reading Dune right now, it's stunning, I love his writing especially how he weaves in the worldbuilding. You mentioned the first two, what do you think of the third book? Have you read Pullmans Book of Dust series? I think it's a prequel. My favourite series of all time is ASoIaF ☺️
The series that The Inheritance Cycle most blatantly rips off is actually the Belgariad. The scene where Brom steals coins from the bridge guard is ripped almost completely from that series. The Belgariad itself was a LotR clone in some ways so people tend to get the chain of influences wrong. Personally I can’t stand both series but to each their own.
man i wish there were more works like ASOIAF, since I can only read a few chapters before I get depressed. I'm the last person who anyone should ask for a literary critique, just stating my own experience. I guess I just am misreading it, or I have a teeny bit more faith in humanity or something, because if his grit and grime and filth and sadness were balanced out with even a touch more optimism and hope and happiness, I would love it. But it's this big fantastic world that at times gives me that I-want-to-live-there feeling that I got with harry potter as a kid. But then he poops all in my cereal and on my toast and in my coffee and says eat your breakfast, chump. It's exhausting. The real world is not that bad, real people are not that bad, I could be (and probably am lol) way off the mark here, but it almost comes off as someone who "needs" the world and everyone in it to be so terrible, and self-serving, and cruel, to justify not having to engage with it. Does that make sense? It's like he's saying "this is what I think of the real world, expressed as a story, and since everyone and every thing are so bloody awful, I am under no obligation to give them a chance. my interaction with life isn't terrible BECAUSE of me and my own actions, it's terrible because everyone else is just the worst so it's not my fault, why bother, harumph." Lol again I'm probably wrong and missing quite a lot, but I would pay handsomely for someone to rewrite a song of cynicism and ba-humbug with even just....12% more light and faith and joy. It doesn't need to be like dragonlance, and I think he has many valid criticisms, but fantasy has been in my opinion one of the most recent nerd things to be invaded by this cynical, humans are terrible, religion is even worse, depressing, vaguely left-leaning, dare i say postmodern group of authors, so they frequently tend to have this kind of tone it seems. Or rather, if not invaded then at least those authors seem to be the ones that are elevated. Every time I search for a list of good new books, the only things I see are ones where the author goes "this book is amazing because the main character is a nonbinary half black half mexican half persian gay woman of color" or "this book is amazing because it does away with the awful, tired setting of medieval europe" and it's like dang. You won't find a catholic on lists like that, besides maybe begrudgingly tolkein (unless it's one of those "tolkein's orcs were the way he saw black folks!" imbeciles). Not to mention medieval europe is the best setting for a fantasy work, imo. Rant over, sorry : p
I agree with your thoughts on George R. R. Martin taking his time. I believe that the series was originally meant to be a trilogy. And I think that you can see evidence of that by the end of book three. It’s such a great series. I’d love to see it finished. But if he can’t finish it, we’ll then, the magic is in those first three books for me anyway. Not that books four and five are bad, they’re certainly not. But man, those first three books!
Your energy and content are so interesting; however I couldn't continue, the music 🎶🎶🎶 is so annoying plus the moving background. It would be great to keep it simple. The added value is your content.
Whatever one's thoughts on anything, their work should not be characterised by their views expressed years later. Alan Moore and Grant Morrison wrote/write great comics but are both bats**t crazy. Does that then make their runs on say Swamp Thing, Promethea, Batman, Superman irrelevant? Just like everyone in the LGBTQ community often railing on religious frameworks/individuals or the other way around we need to be bigger than this and just move on. We can control ourselves. Not others Andy. I can't stand Harry Potter btw lol. I found the books childish as I am much older than you.
I can't stand the crap GRRM gets. If you're a creative, you'll know that creativity can't be forced. He doesn't owe anyone a damn thing. He's far more likely to finish it if he's not copping constant flack. That's only going to sour his feelings about sitting down and writing it. Can't force these things.
I’ve really tried to enjoy the Wheel of Time But men and women constantly insult and condescend each other I’m up to a Shadow Rising and I might pick it up again later but for now I need a break with less bitchy characters
Dear Algorithm
I like this guy. I like his videos. I am now engaging with his content in the form of a comment.
Thank you
I always count Live Ships and Farseer as one Realm of the Elderlings to cheat and add more series to my top 10
My favourites:
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen
- A Song of Ice and Fire
- The Gentleman Bastards
- The First Law
@@AndySmithMN I just tried The Blade Itself which started out promising but fell into a whirlpool of boredom. I quickly found out that none of the characters were likeable, and I couldn't care less about what was going to happen to them. Moved on to the Dresden Files Storm Front, which I enjoyed.
Great list! Two Hobb series! Niiiiice!
Agree, Liveship Traders is pretty perfect. I will soon start the Tawny Man, can’t wait!
You’re really underrated. I think you’re a great content creator-it looked like you put a lot of effort into making the video. A bit sad that Sanderson isn’t represented but definitely agree with realm of the elderlings and inheritance cycle.
As a writer who’s trying to explore fantasy literature, I love watching people’s top series videos. Haven’t heard this much love for Malayan so far. Gonna have to read Gardens of the Moon eventually.
Such a great video. I started the Realm of the Elderlings 2020 and totally fell for it (instead of the expected 3 I read 7 of Robin Hobb's books and had to hold myself back from reading more than one book per month). She became my new favourite fantasy author and I personally love Assassin's Quest maybe even a tiny bit more than Ship of Destiny. When I'm done with the RotE (probably in September) my plan is to actually start Malazan (especially because it's my best friend's favourite book series) and I'm excited for it.
So many great series here! I'm super excited to continue my journey with all Robin Hobb, especially Liveship Traders!
Just started Ship of magic today.
You made me so curious about The Liveship Traders!
@@AndySmithMN Do I need to read anything else before? I noticed she has other series. Are they connected?
Great Channel. Between you and Daniel Green's interview with Steven Erickson, i am 100% going to read Malazan!
I am so glad to see the inheritance cycle on your list. Those books, side by side with the chronicles of prydain, were the books I read as a child that turned me into the fantasy loving adult I am now. Those two series were such a gateway for me and I'll always have a place in my heart for them.
His dark materials gets so much hate I love it and I think the last book is the best. I’m so pleased it’s on here.
Hey this is a pretty neat channel. I'm going to start the Farseer trilogy in a few days.
How your channel isn’t bigger is beyond me, but I have no doubts it will grow immensely this year. You will be the ”the guy that gets you into Malazan/RotE” in the way that Daniel Greene gets people into WoT or Mike’s Book Reviews gets people into First Law.
I discovered your channel by chance after finishing Ship of Magic (best book i’ve read in 2 years) and immediately sought out coverage of it here on YT, and for some reason it seems like it’s flown under the radar compared to other series of similar success (The Liveship Trilogy in particular, but also Robin Hobb as a whole)
@@AndySmithMN Just finished reading Ship of Destiny. I adored Mad Ship, and up until the half-way point of SoD I was certain this trilogy would end in perfection. Right before the confrontation of Paragon and Vivacia, thats were things just took such a left turn. I had began rooting for Kennit and was looking forward for him to finally redeem himseff (via reunion with paragon and having to face his past). The scene with Aletha just ruined me. It felt like betrayal to me as a reader, not only for Kennit but for Aletha. The fact that Vivacia sided with Kennit, that Wintrow kept silent, and that Kennit never really got his comeuppance, left me with really mixed feelings. I wish I could erase the rape scene and aftermath and pretend she wouldn't have gone that route, because I loved everything else so much. Malta's growth as a character is the best Ive ever seen in fantasy, I came to love her most of all by the end. But the character assassinations of Kennit, Wintrow and Vivacia, and some other missed opportunities (Keffria & Malta should have had to confront the fact that Kyle was a monster and enslaved Wintrow, that was one of the things I had been waiting for since book 1) made the final book too mixed for me to properly evaluate. I still consider it a great book and a superb conclusion, but it also killed something for me. Overall, I think the series is a 9.5/10 as a whole. the first 2 books were flawless for me, and the ending left me satisfied.
Robin Hobb is on your fantasy list as Marie Currie is on Nobel prize. (Go Girl!!). Pretty nice list , i just read Gardens of the monn and i love it. Happy new year!!
i love top ten fantasy lists! also love your nails
Great Picks and I subbed!! Andy I would love your thoughts on our silly fantasy weberies Spellfury, we started it back in 2008
Nice list and love the style of your videos. Glad to see some love for ASOIAF on there which is my personal favorite series. Looking forward to check out more videos from you 🙂
I am recently coming out of a trashy reading wormhole so this has got me excited to get back into reading more fantasy! I am currently halfway through my Farseer journey and I am loving it, not since Harry Potter have I become so wholeheartedly invested in the characters and relationships. Loved your Liveship discussion with Phillip, Riddhima, and Chris. I'm just so excited to have discovered Robin Hobb. Also rereading HP as I received a beautiful edition of the series for my bday. Ah so much happiness. Great list, and happy 2021 reading to you! 🎊😀
Happy new year to u and ur family!! 🥳🎊❄️
Very nice top 10!
sending you a happy new year!
much love,
amy
Good list Andy. Many of these would be on my list as well. Have you read more of Brandon Sanderson’s stuff other than his three Wot books? That’s the only glaring omission from my list. Either mistborn or the unfinished stormlight archive
Great list, Andy! I loved Dune though I haven't read any of the other books in the series. I was strongly discouraged to do so, which was almost painful for me when I finished. I plan to reread it later this year. Wishing you a wonderful 2021!
Strongly discouraged? You can't understand the actual point of Dune unless you read up to and including God Emperor of Dune. Without that Dune is just a cool hero's journey. Which in fact is far from it.
@@alexwallachian7720 Haha! Yeah, I read it a long while back. My boyfriend at the time strongly discouraged the other books. I know Mike from Mike's Book Reviews said you can appreciate it as a standalone and that it was actually intended to be a standalone. He doesn't discourage the other books though. Anyway, thanks for sharing your opinion!
Glad you loved Dune
It’s arguable that the arc of Paul only ends with the Children of Dune
Hope you read all 3 and enjoy them as much as many other fans of Dune like myself have done
James Luke Thanks for your input!
Great video! I look forward to seeing the Dresden Files being top 5 after you catch up to the rest of the series hahaha. Also so glad to see love for Eragon for all of those reasons you gave
1. Malazan both Erickson and ICE 2. WoT 3. Dresden Files(shout out to Alera Codex) 4. Elenium and Tamuli by David Eddings 5.Dark Tower by Stephen King 6. First Law by Abercrombie 7. ASOIAF 8. Light Bringer by Brent Weeks(didn't stick the landing but I love the magic system) 9. Thieves World 10. The Gentleman Bastards. special shout out to Vampire Earth by EE Knight, some light fantasy elements to it but more sci-fi/dystopian
Very happy to see Eddings on your list! I almost never see anyone talking about those books on TH-cam.
I've actually just started rereading the Theives World books after originally reading them more years ago than I like to admit. I don't enjoy many short stories, but I enjoy most from Theives World.
Oh man, I see you’re not too big on all the First Law books (8 novels now). I’d love to hear your honest review of the Abercrombie books. Don’t worry, us First Law fan are reasonable and won’t take it poorly.
Abercrombie as a writer just gets better and better though a lot of people have a soft spot for the original trilogy because of some of the larger-than-life characters. I like all the standalones about as much if not more than the trilogy , and depending on how this last trilogy ends (if it escalates as much as his stories tend to), it might end up being my favorite. His books are just a lot of fun.
Mine are
- Realm of the Elderlings
- Malazan
- ASOIAF
- LOTR
- Dune
Maybe a bit of recency bias, but I also am really happy I discovered both Robin Hobb and Erikson over the past year. I tried a few series after waiting so long for more ASOIAF books.
going to join jade's WOTalong this year and i am really excited!
I agree with Farseer! It's incredible. i cannot wait to get to liveship this year!
i started reading harry potter this year and am in love with the world as well.
ASOIAF! definitely in my top 5 as well!
happy new year =)
This video desperately needs un update. I need an update from you ser. You are the only booktuber who's opinion and recommendations I can trust. All the others seem to think that Sanderson can write.
wow! thank goodness someone talks about his dark materials! it's so good! and yes realm of elderlings! yes and farseer was great too! gentlemen bastards another fav. I tried eragon this year and I really liked it! people say it's derivative and I say all the stories are derivative at this point as all possible stories have been written,i t's just how the author has written it. secondly people say it's badly written and again, I disagree. I would even go as far s saying they are muccchhhhhh better written than sanderson works! never tried Malazan or LOTR or wheel of time. also you shocked me by putting liveship way higher than other chunky series(even though it's pretty chunky too, but doesn't feel like it). Who's your favorite character in the elderlings world yet? i wonna know. good videos! keep it up!
Great choices! Absolutely adore Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter! I'd say my favorite would be Stormlight though. I have yet to read any of Robin Hobbs books and I'm still crawling through the Wheel of Time, lol. I think my new goal this year though is to conquer the beast that is Malazan! I would also recommend John Gwynne and Michael J Sullivan, if you haven't read any!
Have you ever read the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown?
Nice - Dresden is a top 5 series for me, and Summer Knight was what flipped the switch for me. Hobb is my girl, and I’m reading the entire RotE this year.
As long as Malazan and LOTR are top 2 then you have gained a new subscriber
I really should write down my list for myself, just to see how it changes every time. 😅
Though a couple will always be there, and nostalgia weighs in heavily.
1. Malazan - Erikson
2. Discworld - Pratchett
3. First Law - Abercrombie
4. Elderlings - Hobb
5. Kushiel's Legacy - Carey
6. Engineer - KJ Parker
7. Empire - Feist and Wurts
8. Symphony of Ages - Haydon
9. Dresden Files - Butcher
10. Gentleman Bastards - Lynch
Great list!! I don't think I'm well read enough to put together a top ten list for myself, but His Dark Materials would rank high, as well as era 1 Mistborn. And I have a feeling when I read Malazan and start Hobb, I'll have a couple more favorites...
Happy New Year! I enjoyed your list. I really need to get into Hobb. Here’s my list:
1. Mistborn (Era 1)-Brandon Sanderson
2. Dark Tower-Stephen King
3. 1Q84-Haruki Murakami
4. Perdido Street Station-China Mieville
5. Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien
6. Harry Potter-J.K. Rowling
7. His Dark Materials-Philip Pullman
8. A Song of Ice and Fire-George R.R. Martin
9. Stormlight Archive-Brandon Sanderson
10. Gentlemen Bastard-Scott Lynch
Honorable Mention to Kingkiller Chronicle, The Starless Sea, and The Night Circus.
You ever read: kings of the wyld?
Malazan! Malazan! Malazan!
I love The Gentleman Bastards, it's just SO great! His Dark Materials was good until the last third of book 3...but I like that you included it on this list, doesn't really get a lot of representation here on BookTube. And I'm so excited to start Wheel of Time this year!
My favourites:
1. Gentleman Bastards
2. Stormlight Archive (Cosmere in general)
3. Lord of the Rings
4. A Song of Ice and Fire
5. Dresden Files
Nice to see the Inheritance Cycle on the list, I love it.
I'm reading Dune right now, it's stunning, I love his writing especially how he weaves in the worldbuilding. You mentioned the first two, what do you think of the third book?
Have you read Pullmans Book of Dust series? I think it's a prequel.
My favourite series of all time is ASoIaF ☺️
My current favourite fantasy series is The First Law.
Wheel of time deserves to be in top five
No 1 malazan damn good series
Agree with your number 1 btw.
The series that The Inheritance Cycle most blatantly rips off is actually the Belgariad. The scene where Brom steals coins from the bridge guard is ripped almost completely from that series. The Belgariad itself was a LotR clone in some ways so people tend to get the chain of influences wrong. Personally I can’t stand both series but to each their own.
Shocked
...but in a good way.
man i wish there were more works like ASOIAF, since I can only read a few chapters before I get depressed. I'm the last person who anyone should ask for a literary critique, just stating my own experience. I guess I just am misreading it, or I have a teeny bit more faith in humanity or something, because if his grit and grime and filth and sadness were balanced out with even a touch more optimism and hope and happiness, I would love it. But it's this big fantastic world that at times gives me that I-want-to-live-there feeling that I got with harry potter as a kid. But then he poops all in my cereal and on my toast and in my coffee and says eat your breakfast, chump. It's exhausting.
The real world is not that bad, real people are not that bad, I could be (and probably am lol) way off the mark here, but it almost comes off as someone who "needs" the world and everyone in it to be so terrible, and self-serving, and cruel, to justify not having to engage with it. Does that make sense? It's like he's saying "this is what I think of the real world, expressed as a story, and since everyone and every thing are so bloody awful, I am under no obligation to give them a chance. my interaction with life isn't terrible BECAUSE of me and my own actions, it's terrible because everyone else is just the worst so it's not my fault, why bother, harumph."
Lol again I'm probably wrong and missing quite a lot, but I would pay handsomely for someone to rewrite a song of cynicism and ba-humbug with even just....12% more light and faith and joy. It doesn't need to be like dragonlance, and I think he has many valid criticisms, but fantasy has been in my opinion one of the most recent nerd things to be invaded by this cynical, humans are terrible, religion is even worse, depressing, vaguely left-leaning, dare i say postmodern group of authors, so they frequently tend to have this kind of tone it seems. Or rather, if not invaded then at least those authors seem to be the ones that are elevated. Every time I search for a list of good new books, the only things I see are ones where the author goes "this book is amazing because the main character is a nonbinary half black half mexican half persian gay woman of color" or "this book is amazing because it does away with the awful, tired setting of medieval europe" and it's like dang. You won't find a catholic on lists like that, besides maybe begrudgingly tolkein (unless it's one of those "tolkein's orcs were the way he saw black folks!" imbeciles). Not to mention medieval europe is the best setting for a fantasy work, imo. Rant over, sorry : p
I agree with your thoughts on George R. R. Martin taking his time. I believe that the series was originally meant to be a trilogy. And I think that you can see evidence of that by the end of book three.
It’s such a great series. I’d love to see it finished. But if he can’t finish it, we’ll then, the magic is in those first three books for me anyway. Not that books four and five are bad, they’re certainly not. But man, those first three books!
Your energy and content are so interesting; however I couldn't continue, the music 🎶🎶🎶 is so annoying plus the moving background. It would be great to keep it simple. The added value is your content.
Haha noted!
My favorites are harry potter the dark tower series Outlander series a song of ice and fire and the rage of dragons series and jade city series 💖💝❤🥰🤩
Whatever one's thoughts on anything, their work should not be characterised by their views expressed years later. Alan Moore and Grant Morrison wrote/write great comics but are both bats**t crazy. Does that then make their runs on say Swamp Thing, Promethea, Batman, Superman irrelevant? Just like everyone in the LGBTQ community often railing on religious frameworks/individuals or the other way around we need to be bigger than this and just move on. We can control ourselves. Not others Andy. I can't stand Harry Potter btw lol. I found the books childish as I am much older than you.
I can't stand the crap GRRM gets. If you're a creative, you'll know that creativity can't be forced. He doesn't owe anyone a damn thing. He's far more likely to finish it if he's not copping constant flack. That's only going to sour his feelings about sitting down and writing it. Can't force these things.
A Song of Fire & Ice isn't finished. So I do not see how this can make a list.
I’ve really tried to enjoy the Wheel of Time
But men and women constantly insult and condescend each other
I’m up to a Shadow Rising and I might pick it up again later but for now I need a break with less bitchy characters