I started reading the Riftwar Saga when I was 15 and love it still 25 years later. Raymond E Feist is underated. The world was created by Feist and his college friends in the 70's as a backdrop for a pen and paper RPG. Edit: After looking up your number 1 pick Malazan I see that this world was created for the same purpose as an RPG backdrop. I'm definitely going to check these books out now. Thanks 👍
Just gotta come in to defend Earthsea. I wouldn't call it YA at all. The themes are too deep and the prose too beautiful to be YA. You owe it to yourself to read them sometime, Matt. Highly underrated.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews They are readable for YA audiences but not targeted for, I would say. Very universal reads with a lot of deep themes that YA audiences certainly couldn't pick out. Particularly the books after the first. Tehanu, the fourth book, is about a mother and an aging man, for example.
YA can have good themes and beautiful prose. YA isn’t a genre, it’s a target audience, and since many people were first introduced to Earthsea early in life it’s going to be considered YA.
@John ten Cate I yet to meet someone who likes the game that's read the books after that hated on them. I think the books are superior but the Witcher 3 is also my all time favorite game. After the first two episodic books the actual series starts with blood of elves.
@@wadejohnston4305 I just think some people play the games, expect the same style when reading, and think the books are bad because they do not deliver in this way.
I guess that Rothfuss didn´t defraud you then, I put in money for my daughters sake(I never cared much for his work, not bad by any means but not for me) and he delivered- nothing, not even an "I´m sorry but I can do whatever I want and still be praised". A bit miffed tbh, the chutzpah is of the scale.
Nope … the first book was good- not amazing, but good. People get excited about it because it had such potential, the second book was considerably lower quality and some of the authors issues start to play out. Recommending this book is just setting people up for frustration and disappointment - I’m embarrassed that I’ve done it in the past. The author has dined out on keeping his fans hanging, he’s written TWO books in his first trilogy then spent years teasing fans and dancing in the spot light at conventions pretending to be some amazing author. He’s defrauded fans, he deserves contempt not praise.
Joe Abercrombie is one of the _very_ few writers that I much prefer reading the books to listening to the books. His prose is so good and expertly crafted that I miss the specialness of it if I listen to the audiobook.
I don't think lord of the rings is as dated in comparison as Mario is to games to day. While the story seems tropey at times (as it created the tropes) the depth of the world building and the prose is timeless (yes , the poems and songs aren't for everyone, but compared to poems in modern books they are just really well done). Some characters fall in comparison to modern ones and seem one dimensional (e.g. aragorn, legolas) but others like Gollum and Sam are often imititated but never quite reached. For me the world building (not just in the lord of the rings, but the hobbit, silmarillion etc.) alone puts it in my top 5.
I agree with both of you! I love the story, the world, the movies, etc. but didn’t really enjoy my reading experience of the books (though I did enjoy The Hobbit). My opinion: I think it’s a bit dated, but it’s a classic for a reason. I think they’re great books, just not my cup of tea, and I probably won’t re-read them.
Please, if youre struggling to love LOTR and love graphic audios, I commend you to listen to the Phil Dragash audiobooks, which are free. They changed my opinion on Tolkiens style
LOVE THIS VIDEO! The Dark Tower was the first larger series I read, when I rediscovered I enjoyed reading! I loved the ride. Completing it gave me the courage to try other long series.
Matt. At least once with tons of booktubers I have taken recommendations for things to read and totally didn't vibe with the recommendation after reading it. You have been the closest I have yet found to hitting my proverbial nail each every time for me. That was a weird way to put it. Going to be starting Malazon very shortly after a couple others I need to wrap up.
Regarding Harry Potter, I am 100 pages from completing the final book with my 9 year old. We went through them at nights at that age and it was great. My 6 year old doesn't quite have the attention. I think the books are great and totally worth the time, especially with a kid. It was so fun to watch her enjoy it.
I'm from Poland and for me Witcher is probably the most important saga. Some may not know that the first story about Geralt was written in 1986. The whole series was publicated in 90s. The most series of this ranking wasn't even planned then. In 90s fantasy wasn't as popular as now. If You want to read It You may choose between clasics as Tolkien, Le Guin or Eddings. Even Wheel of Time was still being written. Witcher was a fresh air in genre with full of action, brutal scenes, specific protagonist and humour. I read each book four times. There are mamy references to fairy tales (golden fish or beauty and beast), legends (King Arthur and Camelot), modern technic (e.g. jacuzzi in fantasy World) and many cultures (mainly Polish, Sapkowski make jokes on many polish proverbs and if translator do not know Polish culture foreign reader may lose much of It).
Dune is more Sci Fi to me, this why I didn't include it in my vote. If I had it would have been my number 2. Maybe this is why it is lower ranked in this poll.
Hi Matt, Thanks for helping me rediscover my love for reading by leading me to tons of great stuff I hadn't known was out there. Just finished Wrath last night and excited to move on to the next entry in my now enormous back log!
I've started Valour yesterday and the series has skyrocketed so fast I can't believe it. I'm really having a blast with this and it's hard to believe what people say that it only goes up from here
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I like to alternate between two series at a time, so for example 1 faithful and the fallen then 1 green bone and then back and forth until both series completed. Following that routine I am supposed to read Heretics of Dune next but I'm finding myself a little less enthusiastic about it right now. I think really it's going to be a toss up of either Ship of Magic or Gardens of the moon next.
Love kingkiller. You said it was top 3 in prose. Curious what your other top prose novels were? I’m searching for another well written series. Have read Malazan and love.
Love this video. I've been wanting to read more fantasy, but don't have the $$ to try everything & anything. I seem to have similar taste to you & your community, though, so a guide like this is really helpful!!
I'm about to embark on my journey with Robin Hobb and after hearing so much praise of the series I'm even more excited to get started 🥺 it really sounds like something I'll love
Matt, I love your reviews! I respect your opinion so highly I bought two titles almost solely on your recommendation. Malice (Faithful and the Fallen) and The Wandering Inn. Both audiobooks. Malice, I heard all over TH-cam and good reads. Not so much The Wandering Inn. I listened to the first chapter of Malice and thought uh oh, this is going to be a deep book. Possibly with a lot of POV switch ups that will take time to get used to. So I thought I'll try the other series first it's probably easier... I'm now on the fifth book of The Wandering Inn. I'm DROWNING in POV switch ups and loving it. But I haven't got a chance to get back to John Gwynne! (I'll get there though darn it! haha!) But I love your content, Please keep it up!
Awesome video! I'm glad you got such a big response from your survey. When I filled mine out I was only thinking multi-book series, so I filled in 9 and was trying to sift through my other favorites for a 10th when I reread the prompt and saw the standalone/single-book part, and it made me think of Warbeaker. So it literally squeaked onto the list as a whole, haha. I'm curious which series that didn't get 20 votes would if you do this in a year (not that you should, but it's interesting to think about which books are gaining in popularity from the fringe), and which books would have been on the list a few years ago that are waning in popularity back into the fringe.
I've really felt a growing connection the last few years between books and games, and more so than books and movies. Reading Malazan and knowing it all was born out of gaming sessions, and seeing games like baldurs gate 3 that let you live your own fantasy story, or witcher 3 that does a similar thing with a pre-existing character, and NOW the revolution of AI and the possibilities for it's future in video games.. all of this really makes me think of the future of story telling and writing, and how long it is before someone can play a videogame and get complex, unique, and interesting enough stories that they can write a book about them. For the last few years I've experimented with using games to tell stories, making graphic novels with photomode and mods, or taking notes on my Mount & Blade campaign story and giving them to chatGPT to write them in a historical fiction style. It's all interesting
What a group of series. Awesome to see The Bloodsworn AND The Faithful and the Fallen on there 🤩. Powder Mage is brilliant. As is The First Law, ASOIAF, LotR and so many others!
I have a feeling your daughter would like the Septimus Heap book series. It’s a great read aloud and one of the two main characters is a princess. It came out around the same time as Harry Potter and didn’t get much hype.
Great video, Matt! I forgot to vote for this one, but The Magicians by Lev Grossman is a great series that isn’t mentioned too often. Also, for anyone who enjoyed The Ember Blade, Chris Wooding’s Tales of the Ketty Jay series is one of my favorites.
I am new into fantasy. I have been reading since half a year and already read mistborn, stormlight archive upto WOR, green bone saga and the first law and loved them all. I stumbled on your channel and liked your enthusiasm on fantasy, found Malazan as your top 1 and started reading Malazan: Gardens of the moon yesterday and already 200 pages in and god damn a lot is happening. But i love connecting dots in story so i am keeping notes on each chapter about the dates, places, events and people i am encountering hoping some of them will have their own story in later books. I am really excited and hope it pays out well. And finally, thanks for the recommendations. Keep up the good work! 😍😍
Great video Matt!! Thanks for adjusting my TBR and for always being honest with your reviews. It makes it easy to trust your recommendations. You are the man!!
LOTR was not my first fantasy series but it is my favorite. I dont see it as dated at all. I find it as timeless as a series can be. WOT is more dated imo already, and I love that series too. I just figured I would let you know that there are people who love it. People who love it, not because it was their first series.
I’m only 150 pages into Deadhouse gates (book 2 of Malazan) and I’m addicted. I’ve never read a book where every page was so engaging. Questions are constantly being raised that. I want to keep reading and get answers to. While I don’t feel as intimate with the characters (yet) as I might have with something like the Stormlight Archive, the characters are super cool and with memorable personalities. I’m not well read enough to say it’s the best but so far gah damn it’s good.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I respect it, as reading is subjective, and so personal. I do think if it came out today, it would do extrememly well, and be extremely popular and respected
Interesting to see you make this kind of video, too, Matt. Even more so because I'm not on Reddit so I didn't ask there when I made my video. Nice to see more data!
Yeah I love these kinds of videos - in large part because of how different the data is for each channel! I'll have to watch yours again, but I suspect our data came up with incredibly different results.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews nahh Top 10 is more or less similar. I think with bigger sample the result will approximately still be the same. 😅 The rest is pretty different though.
so many of these are all tied for number one for me. RED RISING was nuts and amazing. Gwynne is an untouchable legend. Send love to that guy, he's going through some personal things right now and it will be postponing his 3rd book in the Shadow of The Gods. Abercrombie is untouchable legend. This video reminded me of all the great authors out there and that we are lucky to exist right now to enjoy them. You got me hyped up!
Rather than LOTR being nostalgia, it was more like heroin for me. I had that first hit and been chasing the dragon ever since, and I'll never get that same high again.
I missed the survey, alas, but I love these list videos!! Song of Ice and Fire is probably my favorite series currently, but Malazan is threatening to knock it off the podium. :-)
No way, LOL, I’m not THAT fast. Still very early in the series - doesn’t help that I’m reading three other books, two of which are massive - but I am loving it!!
I'm reading the sixth book of Malazan and it's amazing. All the characters, all the world is really awesome and deep. SO DEEP! but i love it. I love how Erikson write the atmosphere! I don't know it's just amazing!
I’m reading The Blade Itself, and this is the first fantasy book for me. I’m normally a sci fi or action adventure reader. I’m really enjoying the story so far. 300+ pages in. Only thing is it’s taking me a while to finish because I can only read on my commute. Do they have fantasy books that doesn’t have such a high page count?
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews James Rollins Sigma Force Series, Matthew Reily Jack West Jr series, Easy Rawlins series by Walter Mosley. I’ve read Recursion and Dark Matter which were great. Tried getting into Leviathan Wakes , got more than half way through and put it down. I’ve read Red Rising and Golden son, which I love.
Thanks Matt, that was a fun rundown. I have now added even more to my TBR list including Brian Lee Durfee, Fonda Lee (are they related) more Abercrombie and Brent Weeks, need I go on? sheesh. I won't live that long.
My top two are Raven’s Shadow and Winnowing Flames. Not surprised Raven’s Shadow isn’t on there, it seems mixed after Blood Song. Was kind of surprised Winnowing Flames didn’t make the list at all.
Wow what an awesome video you put together! I fear that the First Binding is going to color my experience of Kingkiller, so I’m gonna wait until the stink of that experience mostly wears off before diving in (I hope that happens at some point!). It’s fun to see where your audience diverges from the Reddit list, especially with Durfee and Gwynne. I need to get on those Durfee books!
Thanks! Yeah give it a little time but I suspect you will love Kingkiller, it's extremely well done! And I agree it's fun to see what my audience thinks. It's also fun to know that every booktube channel will be different as they have slowly brought in different fans based on the books they review.
For good reason, honestly sanderson is my all time favorite author, but not all his books are the best I've ever read. He's going to go down as the greatest of all time in the future, assuming that he finishes the cosmere and it's done well
@@Wally_stad disagree. Mistborn Era 1 is 15+ years old. It's been 3 years since the last stormlight archive book, whereas first law has been released more recently
Hey! Úrsula K le Guin is one of those books people say “is YA” and then read eat and say “it wasn’t YA” 😅 I read the first one and I was like “who said this was YA?!” 😂
Just commenting to rep the two Terrys. Mancour and Goodkind. I know Goodkind especially gets a lot of flak but his series, while mature and a times downright disturbing is worthy of a mention. Spellmonger is a huge undertaking and imo very fun, especially to audiobooks. Is it written with the incredible world building and magic systems of Stormlight or the attention to detail of Kingkiller? No. But it’s an enjoyable read and I never miss a new book when one comes out.
The wandering inn is great book. I'm still in the 3rd book and it get better and better. Maybe it't low because it is long and many not start reading it😢
Yeah I kind of thought it would be a few places higher, but I think this series is gaining momentum in the fantasy community, not losing it. I'll be interested to see where it lands next year!
@@RoseyMarie Oh yeah I still love Harry Potter probably read that series more times than any other series because I constantly reread it as a kid and in my teens. For me nowadays though I would probably put it in A tier instead of S tier of fantasy books. Honestly it's kind of funny that MattsFantasyBookReviews hasn't read Harry Potter when he's read so many obscure and lesser known fantasy books it's like finding a Science Fiction Movie nerd that hasn't watched Star Wars or a superhero comic book nerd that has never watched an Avengers Movie
Your comments about people’s feeling towards Lord of the Rings is similar to my feelings with Harry Potter. I still consider it my favorite fantasy series of all time but I suspect that’s at least partially because of the time it came in to my life and the memories associated with it. I know it’s not objectively the most well written series but I have this deep, unexplainable love for the characters and the world. Cradle comes in as a close second for me which is kind of shocking for me because I wasn’t not interested in the summary at all. It’s only because of the teaser chapters on Will’s Kickstarter (and his parody video of Brandon Sanderson’s kickstarter announcement) that I even gave it a shot.
CRAP!!!! I missed the vote! Lol. Damnit! I hadn't even realized you used the Community tab. So many TH-camrs don't bother with it that I never checked. Crap! Lol. Here is my top 5 anyway: 1. Wheel of Time 2. Stormlight Archive 3. Drenai Saga 4. Malazan 5. First Law
I agree with the Lord of the Rings take. I didn't read until recently but have been a long time fan of the movies and i went in expecting to really like it. Well i though they were just fine, personally wouldn't be in my top 5 series but I understand the love
After Sword of Truth, the Wheel of Time is the most flawed series I ever read. It always blows my mind when its rated so high. But then again, I read it as an adult having read plenty more series prior to it. Same goes for LotR. Read as an adult and it doesnt hold up at all to me.
I stopped reading it in the middle of book seven, it got so boring. The first three books were fairly enjoyable but it was downhill from there until I just couldn't do it anymore.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews read the empire trilogy first, the rift war trilogy is on the se timeline but on a different planet, a few similar character and different points of view of big story lines, you won't be disappointed. In fact if you don't like it I'll send you £50 in the post
I didn't catch the call for votes, and since I've been reading fantasy for more than 50 years, I suspect my votes would have been largely on the long tail. But a few comments anyway: I would not characterize Riftwar as YA. It is fairly straightforward epic fantasy with excellent plotting and characterization. It begins as a bildungsroman, but that's largely over by the end of "Magician". "Dune" is the best book in its series, and it's not really close. The major inflection point is "God Emperor of Dune", which is actively tedious. (I'm not sure how that works, btw.) Since you mentioned fantasy mafia stories, you might want to check out Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series (beginning with "Jhereg"). They're heist fantasy with a protagonist that is a member of House Jhereg, which runs organized crime in a fantasy world. The next book is supposed to come out later this year and I can't wait. Brust also wrote a prequel series with a very affected writing style (intentionally reminiscent of Dumas), which works much better than it should. The writing ends up being a brilliant addition to the feel of the story. That series starts with "The Phoenix Guards", and I'm going through it again right now.
I agree with red rising and Dresden files - it’s so hyped too so I always feel lost ahah. Also agree with Stephen king. I’ve tried so hard but I can’t get into his books. And mistborn I agree - amazing but there’s some better ones out there!
Saying people wouldnt like lotr if it came out today is kind of a moot point because without lotr all of the fantasy you love does not exist. That said I understand where you are coming from even if I do not agree.
LOTR hate is crazy, writing style is kinda dated but it’s still damn near flawless, also reading the hobbit and the silmarillion makes the main series way better
With Dark Tower you will probably not like book 1 at all. It is extremely short and is more of a prologue. Don't let that deter you from book 2. If after book 3 you aren't digging it, drop it.
There are a lot of older series (pre-2000) that are being tagged as YA these days, but they are definitely not what I'd call YA - thinking about modern YA that refuse to read and hate when I accidentally do. You should give Riftwar a try (then move on to Empire). I haven't read beyond Wizard of Earthsea, so can't comment on that but I would recommend you don't group that with YA either.
Highly recommend the first trilogy of Riftwar Saga because it is epic and FUN! Read it so you can read the spinoff Empire Trilogy (Ramond E Feist & Janny Wurts) which is set in world of the “enemy” nation from the first trilogy. It is an immersive Asian-inspired culture and is character-driven, political and emotional.
Update- Matt was right!- Brian Lee Durfee's 5 Warrior Angels now appears on the Reddit 2023 list at rank 147 (for anyone who watches BLD's You tube you will see the significance that he joint ranks at 147 with Redwall 😆)
Is it just me that considers knowing a 'major twist' is coming at the end to categorically be a spoiler? Usually if you know it's coming it's much much easier to predict, so takes a lot of the sting out.
I think most fantasy books/series try to have some kind of twist in their stories, it's something integral to the genre. Some of it works more than others, but almost all of it tries it. I think going into fantasy books you have to assume that they will exist in virtually every book.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews yeah there will always be 'twists' but I think if its pointed out something 'major' will happen at the end, that's slightly different as it signals something more specific that's a bit easier to predict imo. For example I don't think stormlight had a 'major' twist, but Reaper did, for example. Also LotR is pretty vanilla in terms of twists
I don't really remember the Feist books being YA, from what I remember I really liked those books and I don't care for YA much at all. That said, I read this series when I was first diving into reading a lot of fantasy. Feel like you may like it.
I started reading the Riftwar Saga when I was 15 and love it still 25 years later. Raymond E Feist is underated. The world was created by Feist and his college friends in the 70's as a backdrop for a pen and paper RPG.
Edit:
After looking up your number 1 pick Malazan I see that this world was created for the same purpose as an RPG backdrop. I'm definitely going to check these books out now. Thanks 👍
Malzan isn’t as great as it’s built up to be
Agreed, and who on earth calls this YA!
Just gotta come in to defend Earthsea. I wouldn't call it YA at all. The themes are too deep and the prose too beautiful to be YA. You owe it to yourself to read them sometime, Matt. Highly underrated.
I will give them a shot at some point. But when I googled it seemingly everyone called it YA.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews They are readable for YA audiences but not targeted for, I would say. Very universal reads with a lot of deep themes that YA audiences certainly couldn't pick out. Particularly the books after the first. Tehanu, the fourth book, is about a mother and an aging man, for example.
Fully agree. I first came across Earthsea when I was 28 and I doubt I would appreciate it as much, when I was 18.
YA can have good themes and beautiful prose. YA isn’t a genre, it’s a target audience, and since many people were first introduced to Earthsea early in life it’s going to be considered YA.
Agreed. YA is a marketing tactic, not emblematic of the style or quality of the books pushed into the category
Worth noting that the first couple of Witcher Books are a bit "episodic" - I loved it, but you might find that a bit odd
Yeah I don't mind that at all actually! Thanks for the heads up though.
Just don't expect the games. the Books are very different, though equally good to me. Unfairly hated on in my opinion.
@@johntencate4781 seconded. I really love the books. They’re great in their own right.
@John ten Cate I yet to meet someone who likes the game that's read the books after that hated on them. I think the books are superior but the Witcher 3 is also my all time favorite game. After the first two episodic books the actual series starts with blood of elves.
@@wadejohnston4305 I just think some people play the games, expect the same style when reading, and think the books are bad because they do not deliver in this way.
I absolutely agree that Kingkiller Chronicles is worth reading regardless of if book 3 ever comes out.
It's so wonderfully done!
I guess that Rothfuss didn´t defraud you then, I put in money for my daughters sake(I never cared much for his work, not bad by any means but not for me) and he delivered- nothing, not even an "I´m sorry but I can do whatever I want and still be praised".
A bit miffed tbh, the chutzpah is of the scale.
Nope … the first book was good- not amazing, but good. People get excited about it because it had such potential, the second book was considerably lower quality and some of the authors issues start to play out. Recommending this book is just setting people up for frustration and disappointment - I’m embarrassed that I’ve done it in the past. The author has dined out on keeping his fans hanging, he’s written TWO books in his first trilogy then spent years teasing fans and dancing in the spot light at conventions pretending to be some amazing author. He’s defrauded fans, he deserves contempt not praise.
The dune breakoff is when his son started writing them after his father died. But the first 5 or 6 are truly great
Nice, great to know!
I have heard pretty bad things about 5 and 6 though, general consensus seems to say to stop at 4
...... Yet another Dune gatekeeper.
@@zaboomba6635Dune books by his son are fine. But the argument that they are horrible....... These people haven't read horrible books.
Joe Abercrombie is one of the _very_ few writers that I much prefer reading the books to listening to the books. His prose is so good and expertly crafted that I miss the specialness of it if I listen to the audiobook.
I don't think lord of the rings is as dated in comparison as Mario is to games to day. While the story seems tropey at times (as it created the tropes) the depth of the world building and the prose is timeless (yes , the poems and songs aren't for everyone, but compared to poems in modern books they are just really well done). Some characters fall in comparison to modern ones and seem one dimensional (e.g. aragorn, legolas) but others like Gollum and Sam are often imititated but never quite reached. For me the world building (not just in the lord of the rings, but the hobbit, silmarillion etc.) alone puts it in my top 5.
Yeah it's definitely a controversial opinion I have!
I agree with both of you! I love the story, the world, the movies, etc. but didn’t really enjoy my reading experience of the books (though I did enjoy The Hobbit). My opinion: I think it’s a bit dated, but it’s a classic for a reason. I think they’re great books, just not my cup of tea, and I probably won’t re-read them.
Please, if youre struggling to love LOTR and love graphic audios, I commend you to listen to the Phil Dragash audiobooks, which are free. They changed my opinion on Tolkiens style
@@johntencate4781 Great to know, thank you!
@@johntencate4781 Yeah they are lovely, like a movie except read to you by a master of voices :=)
LOVE THIS VIDEO! The Dark Tower was the first larger series I read, when I rediscovered I enjoyed reading! I loved the ride. Completing it gave me the courage to try other long series.
Wonderful, I hope I like it as well!
I am reading Deadhouse Gate now and I think I am leaning toward agreeing with you more and more each page I turn. It is EXCELLENT.
Get ready for an INCREDIBLE ending. One of the memorable of all-time.
Matt. At least once with tons of booktubers I have taken recommendations for things to read and totally didn't vibe with the recommendation after reading it. You have been the closest I have yet found to hitting my proverbial nail each every time for me.
That was a weird way to put it. Going to be starting Malazon very shortly after a couple others I need to wrap up.
That's awesome - glad I am able to help! I hope you love Malazan!
Regarding Harry Potter, I am 100 pages from completing the final book with my 9 year old. We went through them at nights at that age and it was great. My 6 year old doesn't quite have the attention. I think the books are great and totally worth the time, especially with a kid. It was so fun to watch her enjoy it.
I'm from Poland and for me Witcher is probably the most important saga. Some may not know that the first story about Geralt was written in 1986. The whole series was publicated in 90s. The most series of this ranking wasn't even planned then. In 90s fantasy wasn't as popular as now. If You want to read It You may choose between clasics as Tolkien, Le Guin or Eddings. Even Wheel of Time was still being written. Witcher was a fresh air in genre with full of action, brutal scenes, specific protagonist and humour. I read each book four times. There are mamy references to fairy tales (golden fish or beauty and beast), legends (King Arthur and Camelot), modern technic (e.g. jacuzzi in fantasy World) and many cultures (mainly Polish, Sapkowski make jokes on many polish proverbs and if translator do not know Polish culture foreign reader may lose much of It).
I look forward to it!
John Gwynne is masterful! Sanderson is great at world building, of course. Loved Jade City series!
Hear, hear!
I find the best way to start Pratchett is the beginning. Colour of magic.
Malazan is also my ultimate fantasy. Life changing series.
Yeah, hard agree!
I wouldn’t say Riftwar was YA at all, though I read it when I was around 18 or 19. Would definitely recommend.
Good to know because I plan to read it!
Riftwar is definitely not YA. I would strongly recommend it to be read
Dune is more Sci Fi to me, this why I didn't include it in my vote. If I had it would have been my number 2. Maybe this is why it is lower ranked in this poll.
Yeah next year I will tell people explicitly that sci-fi is allowed.
Yeah IIRC I didn't include it in my vote either but it would be way up there with ASOIAF for me
This was a great compilation you put together. Kudos! I'll always rank the Covenant series in my top 5 and I totally agree with you on Malazan!
Thanks! I haven't read the Covenant series yet, but I will keep it on my radar!
Love your reviews, no pulling punches! Im suprised the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever are not on here
Great video Matt!! I like your top videos and your comments about the books
Thank you so much!
The first place for me is Stormlight, ofc. But next to it I'll put Dragonriders of Pern by Ann McCaffrey. Old, but beloved
Hi Matt,
Thanks for helping me rediscover my love for reading by leading me to tons of great stuff I hadn't known was out there. Just finished Wrath last night and excited to move on to the next entry in my now enormous back log!
So happy to help! What's your next book going to be?
I've started Valour yesterday and the series has skyrocketed so fast I can't believe it. I'm really having a blast with this and it's hard to believe what people say that it only goes up from here
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews
I like to alternate between two series at a time, so for example 1 faithful and the fallen then 1 green bone and then back and forth until both series completed. Following that routine I am supposed to read Heretics of Dune next but I'm finding myself a little less enthusiastic about it right now. I think really it's going to be a toss up of either Ship of Magic or Gardens of the moon next.
@@coffeedude Yeah Valour everything gets ramped up to "11" and it never lets up! Enjoy the ride!
Currently reading the forgetting crown and I'm absolutely loving it.
Awesome, that series is amazing!
Love kingkiller. You said it was top 3 in prose. Curious what your other top prose novels were? I’m searching for another well written series. Have read Malazan and love.
I would put Malazan up there. I would also put pretty much all the Guy Gavriel Kay books.
Love this video. I've been wanting to read more fantasy, but don't have the $$ to try everything & anything. I seem to have similar taste to you & your community, though, so a guide like this is really helpful!!
Glad I could help! And I hear you on the money thing, I switched over almost exclusively to library content for that exact reason.
I'm about to embark on my journey with Robin Hobb and after hearing so much praise of the series I'm even more excited to get started 🥺 it really sounds like something I'll love
Awesome, I hope you enjoy!
I'm midway through Book 2.
Matt, I love your reviews! I respect your opinion so highly I bought two titles almost solely on your recommendation. Malice (Faithful and the Fallen) and The Wandering Inn. Both audiobooks. Malice, I heard all over TH-cam and good reads. Not so much The Wandering Inn.
I listened to the first chapter of Malice and thought uh oh, this is going to be a deep book. Possibly with a lot of POV switch ups that will take time to get used to. So I thought I'll try the other series first it's probably easier...
I'm now on the fifth book of The Wandering Inn. I'm DROWNING in POV switch ups and loving it. But I haven't got a chance to get back to John Gwynne! (I'll get there though darn it! haha!) But I love your content, Please keep it up!
So glad to hear it! Malice isn't too bad, you'll get used to it quick.
Awesome video! I'm glad you got such a big response from your survey. When I filled mine out I was only thinking multi-book series, so I filled in 9 and was trying to sift through my other favorites for a 10th when I reread the prompt and saw the standalone/single-book part, and it made me think of Warbeaker. So it literally squeaked onto the list as a whole, haha.
I'm curious which series that didn't get 20 votes would if you do this in a year (not that you should, but it's interesting to think about which books are gaining in popularity from the fringe), and which books would have been on the list a few years ago that are waning in popularity back into the fringe.
Yeah I really am excited to do this again next year and be able to compare/contrast the series against each other!
I've really felt a growing connection the last few years between books and games, and more so than books and movies. Reading Malazan and knowing it all was born out of gaming sessions, and seeing games like baldurs gate 3 that let you live your own fantasy story, or witcher 3 that does a similar thing with a pre-existing character, and NOW the revolution of AI and the possibilities for it's future in video games.. all of this really makes me think of the future of story telling and writing, and how long it is before someone can play a videogame and get complex, unique, and interesting enough stories that they can write a book about them.
For the last few years I've experimented with using games to tell stories, making graphic novels with photomode and mods, or taking notes on my Mount & Blade campaign story and giving them to chatGPT to write them in a historical fiction style. It's all interesting
It's going to be really interesting when the Reddit ranking is updated how it changes. Thanks for putting this all together - this was fun to watch!
Yeah, I'm excited to see how that shakes out!
Love Licanius! Opinions are opinions but I love that Islington does with Free will and what that means.
Yeah that was a highlight for me as well.
Awesome video, Matt! Props to you for compiling all of these! So great to see John Gwynne getting the recognition he deserves!
Thanks, and yeah I totally agree!
What a group of series. Awesome to see The Bloodsworn AND The Faithful and the Fallen on there 🤩. Powder Mage is brilliant. As is The First Law, ASOIAF, LotR and so many others!
Yeah they picked some great books!
I have a feeling your daughter would like the Septimus Heap book series. It’s a great read aloud and one of the two main characters is a princess. It came out around the same time as Harry Potter and didn’t get much hype.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Amazing insanely underrated series. It's a bit more whimsical and rambling 😉. It really has everything though.
Great video, Matt! I forgot to vote for this one, but The Magicians by Lev Grossman is a great series that isn’t mentioned too often. Also, for anyone who enjoyed The Ember Blade, Chris Wooding’s Tales of the Ketty Jay series is one of my favorites.
Magicians actually only got 1 vote !
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews 😱 I’m not surprised honestly. I can’t even remember where I heard of it or why I wanted to read it, but I’m glad I did.
I am new into fantasy. I have been reading since half a year and already read mistborn, stormlight archive upto WOR, green bone saga and the first law and loved them all.
I stumbled on your channel and liked your enthusiasm on fantasy, found Malazan as your top 1 and started reading Malazan: Gardens of the moon yesterday and already 200 pages in and god damn a lot is happening. But i love connecting dots in story so i am keeping notes on each chapter about the dates, places, events and people i am encountering hoping some of them will have their own story in later books.
I am really excited and hope it pays out well.
And finally, thanks for the recommendations. Keep up the good work! 😍😍
Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad Malazan is starting off well for you!
Really enjoyed this video, Matt! I actually picked up The Forgetting Moon because of your reviews, so I can’t wait to read it!
Yay, I hope you enjoy!
Great video Matt!! Thanks for adjusting my TBR and for always being honest with your reviews. It makes it easy to trust your recommendations. You are the man!!
Thanks for the kind words Dave! Hope your TBR brings you tons of enjoyment!
LOTR was not my first fantasy series but it is my favorite. I dont see it as dated at all. I find it as timeless as a series can be. WOT is more dated imo already, and I love that series too.
I just figured I would let you know that there are people who love it. People who love it, not because it was their first series.
I’m only 150 pages into Deadhouse gates (book 2 of Malazan) and I’m addicted. I’ve never read a book where every page was so engaging. Questions are constantly being raised that. I want to keep reading and get answers to. While I don’t feel as intimate with the characters (yet) as I might have with something like the Stormlight Archive, the characters are super cool and with memorable personalities. I’m not well read enough to say it’s the best but so far gah damn it’s good.
I disagree that lotr hasn't aged well, that story has zero rust on it imo
Yeah it's a controversial opinion to be sure.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I respect it, as reading is subjective, and so personal.
I do think if it came out today, it would do extrememly well, and be extremely popular and respected
Interesting to see you make this kind of video, too, Matt. Even more so because I'm not on Reddit so I didn't ask there when I made my video. Nice to see more data!
Yeah I love these kinds of videos - in large part because of how different the data is for each channel! I'll have to watch yours again, but I suspect our data came up with incredibly different results.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews nahh
Top 10 is more or less similar. I think with bigger sample the result will approximately still be the same. 😅 The rest is pretty different though.
I like the idea of progression fantasy. Are there other series/books along the same vein as the Cradle Foundation that you would recommend?
Another fantastic video; thank you!!!
Thanks so much Dino!
so many of these are all tied for number one for me. RED RISING was nuts and amazing.
Gwynne is an untouchable legend.
Send love to that guy, he's going through some personal things right now and it will be postponing his 3rd book in the Shadow of The Gods.
Abercrombie is untouchable legend.
This video reminded me of all the great authors out there and that we are lucky to exist right now to enjoy them.
You got me hyped up!
I'm loving 5 warrior angels. I'm just about done with book 1.
Awesome, and it only goes up from there!
The First Law universe is my #1, close 2nd is Malazan, 3rd is Game of Thrones
The Moontide Quartet by David Hair is a very underrated series, it's fantastic. The follow up Sunsurge Quartet is also really good
Make sure you click the link to officially submit.
Rather than LOTR being nostalgia, it was more like heroin for me. I had that first hit and been chasing the dragon ever since, and I'll never get that same high again.
Great video and list Matt! But no Black Company and Second Apocalypse!? Come on guys...
Black Company was rank #36, Second Apocalypse only got 1 vote!
Excellent list! Thank you for taking the time to compile it. Some of my favorites are on here, and a few I'd like to read at some point.
📖🥰📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
Glad I was able to help!
From which series do you recommend to start reading Brandon Sanderson?
Mistborn or Stormlight Archive?
If you are looking for something a bit more YA, go Mistborn. If you want something a bit more adult, go Stormlight.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews thank you!)
I missed the survey, alas, but I love these list videos!! Song of Ice and Fire is probably my favorite series currently, but Malazan is threatening to knock it off the podium. :-)
Have you read all of Malazan yet?
No way, LOL, I’m not THAT fast. Still very early in the series - doesn’t help that I’m reading three other books, two of which are massive - but I am loving it!!
I'm reading the sixth book of Malazan and it's amazing. All the characters, all the world is really awesome and deep. SO DEEP! but i love it. I love how Erikson write the atmosphere! I don't know it's just amazing!
So glad you are loving it! It only gets better from there as well!
Great to see Dune there- I didn't vote for it as I classified it as sci-fi- but I can see that it has fantasy elements.
Yeah for me it feels like a mix of both.
I consider The First Law to be a 10 books series. If you haven't read Sharp Ends, I highly recommend it 😃.
I’m reading The Blade Itself, and this is the first fantasy book for me. I’m normally a sci fi or action adventure reader. I’m really enjoying the story so far. 300+ pages in. Only thing is it’s taking me a while to finish because I can only read on my commute. Do they have fantasy books that doesn’t have such a high page count?
What sort of books did you read before this? I'm happy to give you some recommendations for shorter books!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews James Rollins Sigma Force Series, Matthew Reily Jack West Jr series, Easy Rawlins series by Walter Mosley. I’ve read Recursion and Dark Matter which were great. Tried getting into Leviathan Wakes , got more than half way through and put it down. I’ve read Red Rising and Golden son, which I love.
God I love data! I genuinely find it interesting to compare different rankings lmao.
Yeah I really did this for my benefit because I was super curious too. Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing video, great idea to get our input! Loved it! Keep up the great content. And thanks again!
Thanks David - much appreciated!
Thanks Matt, that was a fun rundown. I have now added even more to my TBR list including Brian Lee Durfee, Fonda Lee (are they related) more Abercrombie and Brent Weeks, need I go on? sheesh. I won't live that long.
Enjoy the next couple years! lol
My top two are Raven’s Shadow and Winnowing Flames. Not surprised Raven’s Shadow isn’t on there, it seems mixed after Blood Song. Was kind of surprised Winnowing Flames didn’t make the list at all.
Raven's Shadow got 2 votes, and Winnowing Flames only got 1.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews shocked somebody else voted Raven’s Shadow with me! Somebody with good taste
WOOOO Thank you matt you just blessed my birthday. Keep crushing
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAD!
Happy Birthday! :)
Mistborn is the only fantasy series I've started so far in my reading journey but I'd call it a YA. Dropped for now.
Yeah it rides the line for me, but it does have a lot of YA vibes.
Wow what an awesome video you put together! I fear that the First Binding is going to color my experience of Kingkiller, so I’m gonna wait until the stink of that experience mostly wears off before diving in (I hope that happens at some point!).
It’s fun to see where your audience diverges from the Reddit list, especially with Durfee and Gwynne. I need to get on those Durfee books!
I’m right with you on coming to Lord of the Rings too late, and not being in love with them at all
Thanks! Yeah give it a little time but I suspect you will love Kingkiller, it's extremely well done!
And I agree it's fun to see what my audience thinks. It's also fun to know that every booktube channel will be different as they have slowly brought in different fans based on the books they review.
I called it, mistborn/Stormlight archive was my guess for number one.
It's SO popular right now!
For good reason, honestly sanderson is my all time favorite author, but not all his books are the best I've ever read.
He's going to go down as the greatest of all time in the future, assuming that he finishes the cosmere and it's done well
Recency bias
@@Wally_stad disagree. Mistborn Era 1 is 15+ years old. It's been 3 years since the last stormlight archive book, whereas first law has been released more recently
Hey! Úrsula K le Guin is one of those books people say “is YA” and then read eat and say “it wasn’t YA” 😅 I read the first one and I was like “who said this was YA?!” 😂
Definitely checking out The Wandering Inn!!
Just commenting to rep the two Terrys. Mancour and Goodkind. I know Goodkind especially gets a lot of flak but his series, while mature and a times downright disturbing is worthy of a mention. Spellmonger is a huge undertaking and imo very fun, especially to audiobooks. Is it written with the incredible world building and magic systems of Stormlight or the attention to detail of Kingkiller? No. But it’s an enjoyable read and I never miss a new book when one comes out.
What a great video! Thanks.
You are most welcome!
The wandering inn is great book. I'm still in the 3rd book and it get better and better. Maybe it't low because it is long and many not start reading it😢
The Dark Tower is horror fantasy and I've read the whole series and it's awesome.
Great to know!
I loved it but i hated the ending
So sad to see green bone fall so low! Love these longer lists to help build my wishlist on audible.
Yeah I kind of thought it would be a few places higher, but I think this series is gaining momentum in the fantasy community, not losing it. I'll be interested to see where it lands next year!
First law outline? I can’t wait
It should be a fun one!
Cradle deserves to be so much higher. It’s number 2 on my all time favorites list.
Yeah it really does. I think it's gaining in popularity now that the series is coming to a close.
I am curious what is your #1? Is it Stormlight Archives thats my #1, Cradle is #2 for me as well
@@randomguy9084 no it’s still Harry Potter. That world and story has had a hold of me since elementary school. I haven’t read Stormlight yet.
@@RoseyMarie Oh yeah I still love Harry Potter probably read that series more times than any other series because I constantly reread it as a kid and in my teens. For me nowadays though I would probably put it in A tier instead of S tier of fantasy books.
Honestly it's kind of funny that MattsFantasyBookReviews hasn't read Harry Potter when he's read so many obscure and lesser known fantasy books it's like finding a Science Fiction Movie nerd that hasn't watched Star Wars or a superhero comic book nerd that has never watched an Avengers Movie
Amazing vid 👏
Thank you much! :)
Your comments about people’s feeling towards Lord of the Rings is similar to my feelings with Harry Potter. I still consider it my favorite fantasy series of all time but I suspect that’s at least partially because of the time it came in to my life and the memories associated with it. I know it’s not objectively the most well written series but I have this deep, unexplainable love for the characters and the world. Cradle comes in as a close second for me which is kind of shocking for me because I wasn’t not interested in the summary at all. It’s only because of the teaser chapters on Will’s Kickstarter (and his parody video of Brandon Sanderson’s kickstarter announcement) that I even gave it a shot.
Glad to see The Black Company in the number one spot across the board!
Sanderson is to YA for me to get into. I feel it's just better written
Dragonlance novels.
CRAP!!!! I missed the vote! Lol. Damnit! I hadn't even realized you used the Community tab. So many TH-camrs don't bother with it that I never checked. Crap! Lol.
Here is my top 5 anyway:
1. Wheel of Time
2. Stormlight Archive
3. Drenai Saga
4. Malazan
5. First Law
No worries! And luckily this wouldn't have changed any of the results!
What is your best book of all time. Which is 2nd to Lonsom dove?
The final book in Malazan Book of the Fallen.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews thank you
I agree with the Lord of the Rings take. I didn't read until recently but have been a long time fan of the movies and i went in expecting to really like it. Well i though they were just fine, personally wouldn't be in my top 5 series but I understand the love
After Sword of Truth, the Wheel of Time is the most flawed series I ever read. It always blows my mind when its rated so high. But then again, I read it as an adult having read plenty more series prior to it.
Same goes for LotR. Read as an adult and it doesnt hold up at all to me.
Yeah I did enjoy Wheel of Time, but I hadn't read a ton of fantasy when I read them. As time goes on it keeps moving down my list.
I stopped reading it in the middle of book seven, it got so boring. The first three books were fairly enjoyable but it was downhill from there until I just couldn't do it anymore.
Aw man! I was really hoping to see The Locked Tomb on the list
Locked Tomb was ranked #70
Rift war isn't YA, I think you'll dig it, especially the first 3
Great to know, thanks!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews read the empire trilogy first, the rift war trilogy is on the se timeline but on a different planet, a few similar character and different points of view of big story lines, you won't be disappointed. In fact if you don't like it I'll send you £50 in the post
I didn't catch the call for votes, and since I've been reading fantasy for more than 50 years, I suspect my votes would have been largely on the long tail. But a few comments anyway:
I would not characterize Riftwar as YA. It is fairly straightforward epic fantasy with excellent plotting and characterization. It begins as a bildungsroman, but that's largely over by the end of "Magician".
"Dune" is the best book in its series, and it's not really close. The major inflection point is "God Emperor of Dune", which is actively tedious. (I'm not sure how that works, btw.)
Since you mentioned fantasy mafia stories, you might want to check out Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series (beginning with "Jhereg"). They're heist fantasy with a protagonist that is a member of House Jhereg, which runs organized crime in a fantasy world. The next book is supposed to come out later this year and I can't wait. Brust also wrote a prequel series with a very affected writing style (intentionally reminiscent of Dumas), which works much better than it should. The writing ends up being a brilliant addition to the feel of the story. That series starts with "The Phoenix Guards", and I'm going through it again right now.
Thanks for the wonderful insights, and I will definitely have to check out Vlad Taltos!
I agree with red rising and Dresden files - it’s so hyped too so I always feel lost ahah. Also agree with Stephen king. I’ve tried so hard but I can’t get into his books. And mistborn I agree - amazing but there’s some better ones out there!
Great minds think alike!
that top 10 is sick!!
Saying people wouldnt like lotr if it came out today is kind of a moot point because without lotr all of the fantasy you love does not exist. That said I understand where you are coming from even if I do not agree.
LOTR hate is crazy, writing style is kinda dated but it’s still damn near flawless, also reading the hobbit and the silmarillion makes the main series way better
With Dark Tower you will probably not like book 1 at all. It is extremely short and is more of a prologue. Don't let that deter you from book 2. If after book 3 you aren't digging it, drop it.
Great advice, thank you!
I hope u read the 6 books of Dune series 😍 my favorites were 1,2,3 & 6 🎉
I didn't include dune on my response but that series is my number 1 😅
Malazan is so difficult to read lol. I've tried several times to read gardens but it's very difficult
There are a lot of older series (pre-2000) that are being tagged as YA these days, but they are definitely not what I'd call YA - thinking about modern YA that refuse to read and hate when I accidentally do. You should give Riftwar a try (then move on to Empire). I haven't read beyond Wizard of Earthsea, so can't comment on that but I would recommend you don't group that with YA either.
Thanks for the feedback!
Yes, Riftwar is not YA.
Highly recommend the first trilogy of Riftwar Saga because it is epic and FUN! Read it so you can read the spinoff Empire Trilogy (Ramond E Feist & Janny Wurts) which is set in world of the “enemy” nation from the first trilogy. It is an immersive Asian-inspired culture and is character-driven, political and emotional.
I know you don't like The Poppy War Series, but thought the first book would be good enough to get the series up there.
Poppy War got 16 votes, so it got pretty close!
Update- Matt was right!- Brian Lee Durfee's 5 Warrior Angels now appears on the Reddit 2023 list at rank 147 (for anyone who watches BLD's You tube you will see the significance that he joint ranks at 147 with Redwall 😆)
🙈 haven’t seen or read game of thrones. But I am watching this! Some day I will read them 🙈
They really are wonderful books!
You havn´t seen or read it?
DRACARYS
^)^
Maybe I'm wrong but I've seemed to notice you're not very big on fantasy before the mid ninetys and past but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong
I haven't really read a ton of it. Although I will be starting the Drenai saga next month!
Is it just me that considers knowing a 'major twist' is coming at the end to categorically be a spoiler? Usually if you know it's coming it's much much easier to predict, so takes a lot of the sting out.
I think most fantasy books/series try to have some kind of twist in their stories, it's something integral to the genre. Some of it works more than others, but almost all of it tries it. I think going into fantasy books you have to assume that they will exist in virtually every book.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews yeah there will always be 'twists' but I think if its pointed out something 'major' will happen at the end, that's slightly different as it signals something more specific that's a bit easier to predict imo. For example I don't think stormlight had a 'major' twist, but Reaper did, for example.
Also LotR is pretty vanilla in terms of twists
I don't really remember the Feist books being YA, from what I remember I really liked those books and I don't care for YA much at all. That said, I read this series when I was first diving into reading a lot of fantasy. Feel like you may like it.