I am 63 yrs old! I recently dipped my toe into the fantasy genre. I absolutely loved Fourth Wing. I am into The Farseer Trilogy now. I just picked up Brandon Sanderson "The Way of the Kings." Got it at B&N. I was sitting in the Cafe waiting for my matcha frappe, and started reading the first few pages....oh boy, I am going to love this series. I am finding the fantasy genre awesome at my old age!!
I recently returned to fantasy and am also an older reader (59). As much as I've enjoyed it, this generation of readers tends to fall into camps and over rate books of their faves. Similar to how Tolkien can do no wrong for many, and if you dare to say his prose is not that great, his books are exposition heavy, and there is little action you get looked at funny. The melding of social media and the ability to influence others has skewed both readership and author success. I enjoyed The Way Of Kings (and read the first four) I won't be going any further because they're simply too long and the writing doesn't warrant the investment for me. It's great there is such a diverse collection of styles, approaches and perspectives. The best writers aren't the most popular and young readers aren't as respectful of the works of those who built up the genre (ala Terry Brooks, Lloyd Alexander, Stephen Donaldson). That said, there is still so much quality available, I can't help but be enthusiastic about series I've yet to read and writers I've yet to become fans of.
@@joshuatabor8755 Sarah J Maas. I think she won the fantasy awards on Goodreads at least 3 years in a row. and a bunch more in the YA section too... she has a huge following 🤷🏻♀️
My first sanderson was actually the way of kings i didn't know it was actually that long..... I read it as ebook and before i know it, I was already really invested. I didn't mind that the build up was slow since I really absolutely loved the characters and the pay off was so worth it I enjoyed the slow build up and i thought they were done very well so i wasn't bored the least. Finished book 1 in a week 😅 Now I'm in a mission to read as much Brandon Sanderson book as I could
I think a piece of Fourth Wings popularity that a lot of people are over looking is the fact that the first printing was mass produced with sprayed edges. A majority of the videos I see are people gushing about the sprayed edges and freaking out if they got it or not. I honestly feel if it wasn’t released with that spec it wouldn’t be as hyped. Yes I am seeing a good share of videos talking about the content of the book itself but a vast majority come off to me as if they only care because it has sprayed edges. I feel it’s an effect caused by the recent overwhelming popularity of special editions that are running rampant in the publishing industry. I’ve even seen the next few books from the same publisher already gaining that hype momentum because they will be produced in the same manner. And for me personally I think that’s very telling in how the community is starting to determine a books worth. I’ve noticed a trend in special specs really pivoting a book’s popularity, and then after the initial shockwave dies down you start to see that those books are pretty average in terms of content.
To be honest, the stenciled edges got me to buy Fourth Wing even though I really don't read fanro. If it hadn't been dragons, I probably wouldn't. I plan to read it before book 2 comes out to see if I want to continue. I hope Barnes and Noble starts making more special editions like this. Of course there are book boxes with beautiful special editions but regular UK bookstores like Waterstones and Goldsboro have also been putting out special editions. Now that B&N is run by a UK person that turned Waterstones around financially, hopefully he will have B&N come out with more special editions.
I remember in an episode Writing Excuses that Sanderson mentioned that he would never recommend Stormlight Archives/Way of Kings as the first book of his to read. He said, and I quote "This is the book you read when you trust me."
I actually skipped the first book in the gild series 😂 Amazon suggested the second book to me and I didn't realize I had skipped a book until about half way though. Honestly, I thought it made the whole series much better! The flashbacks felt really meaningful and I got to put together the pieces of the puzzle without being told everything!
The Name of the Wind is just purely a magical experience, in my experience. The writing (which is often lauded as its best trait, rightly so) just transported me into the world and that made my experience... well, an experience. It felt like I wasn't only reading the story. I was living it. It was one of thise books where, if I was interrupted in any way, I would blink and not remember immediately where I am or that I was reading. Reading it was like Harry dipping his head into the basin thing (can't remember) in Dumbledore's office. (I'm mansplaining the hell out of this but I want to impart my opinion as someone who loved the book.)
The reason I think Fourth Wing is so hyped right now is that it checks the boxes of a lot of popular Romance YA Fantasy tropes. #1 being the enemies to lovers trope. I enjoyed this book, but even I understand that it's not the best book in the world. It's a not terribly written book (not amazing though) and easily falls under the guilty pleasure category.
I think Full Metal Alchemist is written like this on purpose as it sucks you in to a false security and then sucker punches you with just some tragedy that neither you or the Elric bro’s were prepared for. It’s a lot of the same feeling me and my friends got reading Invincible & Walking dead. We’d always say we feared the quiet parts of the story because we knew the longer they went on, the next crazy thing that would happen would be so much worse . Also, Didn’t know you had a second channel.
Fourth Wing got the hype that it did because it was well marketed on TikTok. It is also an easy read that non-fantasy readers and fantasy readers can enjoy. It is also romance which is the best selling genre. And it is pretty. I loved it and gave it 5 stars. I also love Way of Kings.
Another book that comes to mind for me is Babel, not only because I didn't love it as much as others did (though I still think it was a good book) but because the themes and the way the story was told didn't really seem to be so appealing to so many. I get that she was already an accomplished author but before this I don't feel like her other books were as popular. It will forever be a mystery to me xD
Love this video. Fourth Wing is approaching Frozen status where I don't even want to read it. I feel like part of the hype has been because of the sprayed edges and people wanting it for their shelf displays. I continued Gild because my friend said it got better. It's just been fine. Also agree with Name of the Wind! I couldn't finish book 2. Just was not connecting with it.
I think the hype of Fourt Wing is due to many factors. First, fantasy romance is a sub genre that is really trendy and novel nowadays and the protagonist as dragon riders is something new, they are not the typical fae protagonist. Second, I think many people who don't read are trying Fourt Wing because they don't want to be left behind so when they read it, they say it's the best thing ever because they haven't read anything better since they read so little or not at all. Third, many people question the book's popularity because they say it's not complex enough or it doesn't has much depth or plot or world building. But I believe that's precisely the reason it's so popular, because it's very easy to read, it's fun and not difficult or dense like other High Fantasy books, which is great for people who don't read a lot.
I am a big fan of the Plated Prisoner series and thought the first book was a super easy read. I think many people pushed throughout once they realized the abusive relationship wasn’t going to be the romance within this “dark romance” story
What’s crazy to me is that I know people who hated are ACOTR but ranting and raving about how amazing this is!! No hate to either one, but I just don’t understand people who are acting like this is the next Lord of the Rings.
@@crimebruleeI was told it was ACOTR meets ASOIAF and since I like the former and the later is my favorite of all time, I picked it up, but OMG I’m struggling!!!! But then people I know who hated ACOTR are loving it!
Are you talking about Fourth WIng? I really thought ACOTAR fans would have loved it :)) I also hate ACOTAR with a burning passion, but really enjoyed Fourth Wing - mostly because Violet is not as dramatic as SJM's POV characters. Still cringed at some dialogue, still super predictable... but it was a fun book. My biggest problem with it was that I wanted to know more about the other characters too, not just the love interest dude >_< But ASOIAF, no way :)) I through is was more ACOTAR meets Hunger Games.
With The Stormlight Archives, I think it's a combo of people trust him to actually finish the series and a lot of more casual fantasy readers have read LotR, which is rather slow, because they were told they should.
Empire of the Vampire is so highly rated and has so many different editions that are presumably selling. And I love an interview narrative framing so I was hyped to the gills to read it. Worst book I ever read (probably earns that title in part because of my excitement) but it was so bad.
Yona of the dawn is for me how full metal alchemist is for you. I am IN LOVE with everything about that series but the first arc is basically just gathering up the team. lol. I’m surprised how many people are willing to push through that since it can feel really slow especially compared to the rest of the series.
I enjoyed Fourth Wing, four star read for me. I enjoyed the actual story and want to know what the elders are hiding and the last chapter left me with tons of questions. It wasnt the best book I have ever read but it was quick and kept my attention-for the most part.
This gave me motivation to keep going with The Way of Kings because I'm currently 200 pages in and nothing has happened😅 I'm holding out hope because I know Sanderson is a master at Chekhov's gun and the prose is way more readable than the prose in Mistborn.
To be fair about FMA, it is kind of an old series by now, so it have had its hype/popularity build up over the years. Both from the manga and the anime series (first original anime and Brotherhood which followed the manga more closely). So you would have to be really new to manga/anime or very young to have missed that. That's my take on it anyway as someone that got into manga in the early 2000s when it was very new and weren't a lot released yet, so we just tried everything. 😂
My take on Fourth Wing’s popularity: the author already had a romance reading following and some of those readers already read fantasy in one realm or another.. either fantasy romance or more high stakes fantasy or even ya fantasy and so they were going to give a go anyway. But the part that I think really made it blow up was when non fantasy readers came to see what it was about and with the way she wrote it, it wasn’t difficult and intimidating in the way non fantasy readers assumed it would be. And say what you want, if you like it or you don’t.. but we can point to Harry Potter and Twilight and recognize the huge impact they had on books and reading and readers and the community.. Fourth Wing, in my opinion, is now in that conversation too. Rebecca Yarros just single handedly birthed a whole new generation of fantasy readers. Because there’s more than a few that Fourth Wing was their first foray into fantasy and now they’re ravenous for more. And I can respect that all day long.
I saw your reply to the other commenter! Just in case it’s not clear, I’m not saying people should feel bad if they enjoy FW, or that I don’t respect the author, or even that the book doesn’t deserve hype. I think there’s a difference between being surprised by hype, and thinking something isn’t deserving of it, and these are books I’m surprised are so hyped :)
@@ebnovels No ma’am. My take is just my take. It isn’t directed at you or anything you said. I’m sorry if you thought I meant anything other than just giving POV. You always keep it respectful. I get that I’m commenting on your video so it would seem I’m commenting directly to/at you but truly, just my ramblings on the internet. Zero animosity at you or anyone here.
Haha, well thanks for the clarification! And I agree that Fourth Wing has definitely hit a point where people who maybe would’ve been unsure about fantasy now feel a lot less daunted by it :)
The general audience has two sides of hype: -Something light enough weight to be digestible by the wider audiences -Something complex already established on a specialist community The key point is the novelty of the media, the fist being easy enough people can pick in on their own, and the second being established enough to justify pushing through
I think we all have our preferences and... I don't know. It seems silly to me when some people say Way of Kings should have been less pages, for example. Maybe preferred if it was less pages, but not that it SHOULD have. It's my favorite book and I genuinely enjoyed every page, even Shallan's who I don't really like as a character - I was still curious to see what happens to her. I liked the long winded story and how it completely immersed me into the world. For me, it could have been longer :)) My point is, I think we find something we're looking for in a book or other media and naturally hype it up :> It might not make sense to some, but it will for others. And that's ok, right? We won't all enjoy the same stuff... It might be a combination of factors that lead to the hype (marketing, author renown, sheer luck of the moment, general internet hysteria), but if you don't like it, just leave a review or ignore it and move on - no need to rain on other people's parade. Right? If anyone is reading this, I am by no means hitting at Elliot or this type of videos in general - my gripe is with the very vocal people that usually tell you you are wrong for liking something :)))
I can see why Kvothe might not be someone's favorite character, but I don't know if that justifies calling The Name of The Wind overhyped. It's just a matter of taste, rather than a major hype train that left reason back at the station. I think that all the reasons people like the books are deserved, even if there are also some legitimate criticisms that can be leveled at it.
will never get over how ed's immediate reaction after finally figuring out that he may have a crush on Winry is to recount the periodic table from memory (also: i think an aspect that makes ppl keep going with fma is the worldbuilding and the mystery which is established pretty early on)
My main issue with The Name of the Wind is the incredible smugness of Quoth (sp?) when talking about how "brilliant" he was as a kid and how his family were "such great entertainers that you people just can't understand how brilliant we are." He reminded me of the very first introduction of Hanse / Shadowspawn in the very first Thieves' World anthology--except that in the case of Shadowspawn it got undercut (he was shown to be thinking himself so cool and mysterious when everyone else kind of saw through the bluster). Quoth has the same arrogance but without the "reality check." There's a reason why Watson always told us how brilliant Sherlock Holmes was--in The Name of the Wind, it's like Sherlock Holmes telling the stories himself and boasting about how clever / smart / gifted / talented he is. Not for me. There ARE ways to do a "powerful" or "super-gifted" protagonist--Moorcock's Elric comes to mind--but that story isn't told through the first person. The more current writers I have enjoyed are Sanderson (only read the Way of Kings novels, but read them all up to current) and just finished Lies of Locke Lamora (don't recall author's name off-hand) which was pretty good--will probably continue with that series.
I liked Gild, it was like a 4 star read for me. While everyone's criticism of it is valid, I just find myself really empathizing with Auren, enjoying this story that seems to be about someone being abused, realizing they're in an untenable situation, and slowly finding themselves. Book 1 is like all abuse, so I 100% get why people don't like that, especially cause it's marketed as a romance so it implies we're rooting for the Midas/Auren relationship which made me feel very "no". Honestly the twist in the back third sold me on direction of the series. I don't think it's overhyped but it's a super random book to get singled out for online bookish spaces from an author who's generallly mid when you consider other series of hers,
I guess i'm learning that i'm a plot reader? Because a lot of the times i don't actually "like" the characters...like Kvothe for example, but i still love the books. I can't say i liked most of the main characters in The Wheel of Time, yet i still loved the books.
The only thing I'd say about my interpretation of Kvothe vs. how you interpret him, is that he is & was a highly insecure individual and I experience his retelling through the lens of an insecure boy. I do agree that he is telling his story, embellishing on it in real time while also giving the context behind his legendary moments, but I don't think he thinks of himself as "the cool guy" who only has "cool guy" moments like walking away from an explosion without turning to look. Is he arrogant? Undoubtedly. And his arrogance and hotheaded nature frequently gets him in trouble. I think somebody can fundamentally believe "I'm smarter than you" while still holding a relatively low opinion of themselves, which is how I view Kvothe (and coincidentally many people who are professional academics & students, just like Kvothe). I also think his insecurities are fundamental to his relationship with Denna. His entire dynamic with Denna is that he is totally in love with her but questions if the feeling is mutual despite the context clues. He never puts himself out there completely, because he's insecure and doubts himself, and ends up in a constant state of waiting for her to make the first move. Not that any of this invalidates your interpretation of the character or the book, but it's one reason that I do find Kvothe an intriguing character despite the flaws Rothfuss intentionally gave him.
I breathed a sigh of relief when you said you liked Stormlight! 😂 I just posted a video on it today fiercely fanboying over it, and this could have been awkward. 😅
I get why a book has to be 1k pages. Like non shade to people who enjoy reading them, but I don't understand why authors write that long. It doesn't feel efficient, and probably 90% description lol.
@@vvitch-mist20I understand the inertia to pick up huge books. But there’s a reason why stormlight is over a 1000 pages. It’s not a lack of efficiency, it’s just a massive story with an incredible and complex world and magic system. For the books being so long, I haven’t ever found them to be draggy or unnecessarily descriptive. In fact Brandon’s writing is pretty simplistic and easy to dive into.
@@rvaishalee Why 1000 pages though, like it can be a massive series, but that just seems like a lot to put in one place. That is what I'm calling inefficient. Idk his work so I can't speak for it, but the format could be better.
I'm currently reading Rebecca Yarros's "In the Likely Event" and honestly didn't connect that she's also the author of Fourth Wing (which I haven't read) until like yesterday. I'm really enjoying what I'm reading, but I feel like while I'm ok with her prose in a contemporary romance, I'm not sure how I'd personally feel about her style in a fantasy.
It wasn't a fantasy romance though, it was a romance book with fantastical elements, almost like an introduction to it. A gateway to fantasy if you will... My sister is liking it, and she is the type to never read fantasy.
I’ve seen some people say they DON’T think Fourth Wing is fantasy romance, because there aren’t enough sex scenes in it, and thus it’s just romance. I don’t know if it’s ever going to be something we all agree on, whether something is fantasy, fantasy romance, fantasy with some romance, or romance with some fantasy, and with how popular both fantasy and fantasy romance have become, yes, I do think it’s going to become a bit tedious to try and get everyone to agree on what’s what 😂
@@aaaaanditsgone A "fantasy romance" is literally just a romance, much like any other romance, it's just set specifically within a (totally imaginary) fantasy world instead of taking place in some fictional version of the real-world(planet-Earth). Any romance either may or may not also include other plots/storylines in addition to that romance, but the primary/central focus of the story is the romantic relationship and the majority of the book/story should be dedicated to telling the story of that romance/relationship between those two or more characters who are involved in that romance / romantic relationship. That's all.😅🤭🤭
An author can get lucky, if they somehow genuinely improve in later books specifically in whatever way caused readers to dislike their first book, because then the completionists will lure other readers back and/or newer readers in. This kind of happened with the Trylle trilogy by Amanda Hocking too. So maybe it was something like that for Gild too? 🤔
Seriously I think people are being paid to review and give 5 stars to fourth wing . it’s just a copycat of all previous YA fantasy books out there , like there’s nothing unique about that book
giiiirl, I am with you on the Name of the Wind. I felt like there was a lot of things wrong that people overlooked because Pat Rothfuss writes so pretty, but Kvothe is so unlikeable that I never cared if he actually put out another book lol
It's interesting to me that people say the writing is beautiful, but when I read it I didn't find it beautiful, just cringey 😅 It might've been because I read a translation, and I have had people pushing me to read it in English but... I just didn't like other aspects of the book either.
So a couple of thing: 1. I did not know you had a second channel for manga, video games, and the like. I love manga! My fave of all time is Rurouni Kenshin, though I did read Fullmetal Alchemist twice and loved both the '02 series and Brotherhood. 2. I still don't get the Fourth Wing hype, and I'm afraid to read it because if I hate it and post about it, the swarm will come lol 3. I can understand the hype around "A Game of Fate". I am a person where if the premise is hinting at a "good time" to be had by all, I tend to go in expecting more spice than plot. But then they get one good Titanic-level "I'll never let go, Jack" quote in the book that really gets you in your feels, ya know? I probably didn't make any sense there, but that's how I see those books.
I think, from the little I've seen online at least, Fourth Wing fans are pretty chill. Like we get that the book has a ton of flaws, but it was a really fun and quick read. And for me personally, I didn't hate the POV character which is already a 5 star for any YA book :)))
@@RainCraver To be fair, there's always the "chill" group and the "antagonistic" group in almost any fandom, but the aggro ones tend to the loudest lol. From what I've seen, they can get pretty feral. I just saw the Fairyloot subscription service get a ton of comments complaining about the book selling out so fast for their SE copy. A lot of them were justified complaints but others....I thought to myself "it's just a book guys". I haven't read the book, so idk. The hype is just....a lot lol
@@TechRyn true, the angry ones tend to be the most vocal :( Also yeah, I think it's ok to complain or just share your opinion... it's just annoying when suddenly you're not allowed to have said opinion or you're wrong for having a different experience with a book/other media :)) Regarding the hype, I don't know. I think it was just a quick and easy read for a lot of people... but yeah, I can see how that would not exactly justify the super high rankings @_@ It's by no means a perfect book, filled with cringe and super predictable... I still somehow loved it, so... maybe there's a spell on us or something :))
Really surprised you didn’t mention Empire of the Vampire and its 10+ special editions, most of which were announced before the book had even been released.
Hey Elle, I really love lots of the video content you’ve been doing comparing data / Goodreads stats / ratings recently. It has really given me more insight into the trends behind lots of my favorite books. I’m a data analyst at a management consulting firm and would absolutely love to assist with some of your videos if you plan to continue making more data driven content ! In any case, thanks for making wonderful content
So I just finished SP3 and I kept thinking how the book fees like all the stuff Elliot likes together. I don’t know how it works but I’ll be really cool if you were in the panel discussion for this book.
I really enjoyed fourth wing but I don’t understand what is happening with the hype 😂 it’s fantastic for the author and I’m happy for her, but it has really surprised me how much hype there is.
I'm just wildly guessing here, but I think it's because it's Dragon-involved smut _and_ it's Fantasy Romance, as opposed to ye old Paranormal Romances that never really reached mainstream consciousness about dragon shifters or such. And because it's coming out right when people are starting to want something different other than SJM/faeries(pick your preferred fey/fay/fae/etc spelling). Lol Like.. it was just about that time, for dragons to come back into trend, with a newer/more-mainstream wave. I guess? . 🤷🤷♀️ 🤣🤣
Funny thing with FMA. I started with the original anime and my friend who shared it had it on 2 disks. And she brought me second disk by mistake. So I watched it from episode 25 lol. And then watched the first episodes. So I kinda went around the beginning lol
I was just mentioning the whole special editions hype to my husband the other day, whereby most special editions nowadays are being released as a debut. which I don't understand because special editions cost more and I wouldn't feel comfortable paying that much for a debut book of an author that I'm not familiar with. regardless of how pretty the special edition. but the hype is usually because of the special edition; sprayed edges, gilded, etc. but what about the story? is it really worth the hype? hard to say.
I feel that I’ll enjoy fourth wing but with all the endless hype and praise I end up searching for any faults in a book. Idk why I’m self sabotaging myself like that 😂
I understand "The Fourth Wing" popularity but it does make me a little annoyed because I think it gets unwarranted praise. I'm good with the readers who are "I wanted to be entertained and it did that." Totally understandable. I'm loving the "Kaiju No. 8" manga series for the exact reason. But the gushing 5-stars with glaring flaws is a bit much, IMHO. As for FMA, I remember it blowing up when access to it was still via fansub. My guess is that the early readers of FMA were fine with the slow-ish start because by the time it was legally available state-side, many already knew what was coming so it was easy to be patient. Those who pick up the manga now generally have idea since it is a known property.
The hype hadn't reached me before I picked up Fourth Wing. I was enjoying it, but no more or less than the average book from this genre. When it reached the point where our protagonist and her lust/hate-interest began a strange non-platonic but also non-romantic relationship, it went overboard. It was so repetitive and redundant. I enjoy good romance/relationships in books, but this was so banal and repetitive that it ruined all the positive experience I had with the book up to this point. I kept at it for a bit longer, but eventually DNF'd despite being 80-90% done with the book. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE HYPE AT ALL.
I don't think it's really surprising that so many people have pushed through FMA like that-for a lot of people, that was what they started with, so they had no prior expectations(like sometimes they just weren't super big readers in general either so reading manga was also their starting point in that regard too); or they were already pretty familiar with anime/manga and or other Japan originating things even before FMA, so they knew exactly what to expect as far as that simultaneously both over-the-top silliness AND digging deeper into the more serious moments and shtuff goes too-so FMA is actually the thing that set a lot of people's expectations for other series in the medium later on. If you're talking character and storytelling and all of that, it is absolutely comparable to fiction of any other medium, I completely agree; but there is so much of it that is drawn or shown and not really written at all, so in that respect it really is totally unfair to compare it to other types of books/novels at all-it is a completely different medium and a completely different experience to consume it, so it makes sense that it's going to appeal to relatively different circles of fans, even if there is also some audience overlaps sometimes, or lots of people who would probably enjoy it too if only it had been presented through a different medium instead.
Does anyone think Full Metal Alchemist would work novelized, or is it too entrenched with visuals to tell its story? I've often wondered if we consume manga because it can be read so fast with each page taking only a minute or two in most cases. Are we spending our money on this time convenience? I have this feeling 6 standard Manga volumes would only be a 300-400 page novel.
I heard that a bunch of early reviews for Fourth Wing were botted/fake reviews..... like, thousands of them. Which is why there were soooo many early reviews....
If you are looking for Hades/Persephone retelling that's spicy, romantic. It's full of queers and rich people being shitty to each other please read Neon gods. The series goes on with other Greek retelling if you like that sort of thing.
Speaking of completionism, I hate most of the books of The Sword of Truth but I will finish it eventually, especially now the author is dead I will finish it one day.
I needed to listen to Name of the Wind a second time before I found myself liking it. At some point I realized the story was in the style of a classic greek tragedy and that Kvothes arrogance would cause his downfall....which meant I could sit back, enjoy the pretty prose, and watch the slow motion trainwreck that is Kvothe destroying his life.
Loved this dialog. It’s interesting how we all do and do not connect with books. There is so much hype around J Abercrombie’s The First Law and I’ve tried my best but don’t get it (no offense to those who love it). I liked Glotka, but the rest did nothing for me. On the flip side I loved The Faithful and Fallen which doesn’t get much love. I didn’t love the writing style of that series… but the characters and story I really enjoyed.
As much as I love FMA and other manga, I wouldn't include them in my personal books read list. I wouldn't include western graphic novels either. I'm challenging myself to read at least 1 book a month this year (having not read books for a long long time despite my ever growing bookshelf) and if I included manga that would skew my list. It would easily be +100 books if I decided to reread one piece, for example. I've only discovered booktube late last year, but I've noticed that SFF booktubers not only read the same books, they also read the same manga. not that that's a bad thing ofc. probably a difference in the media we've been exposed to growing up
I absolutely loved Name of the Wind and Wise Man’s Fear. I completely understand people not liking those books though. I found once i got about half way through I was hooked. Counter to that, I recently read Dune. I loved the story but hated the book. The writing was so dry and lifeless to me that I really struggled with it and I can see how people would feel a similar thing for Name of the Wind.
I think maybe they really did just bet on the Holly Black name being a guaranteed seller! (And forgot to account for authors not always selling as well after genre shifts or shifts to other audience target demographics or such.) 😅🙃😶 👀
The more I hear/see about fourth wing the less I want to read it. Rather I'm currently devouring the "Five Warrior Angels" trilogy by Brian Lee Durfee. Such an underrated epic fantasy series that needs more attention.
Way of Kings was the first book I read by Sanderson, I didn't know who he was, just randomly picked a chunky tome in a bookshop. I was overwhelmed, but in a good way. Same goes for my husband and my friends whom I made read it after. I believe the hype is due. But then, I really click with Brandon's writing.
I elaborated for a bit. I love Stormlight, and I’m happy it’s hyped, but generally a series where each book is over a thousand pages and the world is massive isn’t the kind of story that gets to a point where it has hundreds of thousands of ratings and reviews.
I agree about Manga, I mean I love it and my 10 year old is reading it now too and honestly LOVE it! There are SO many different ones, like you said, and FMA has been SO good! The girl child and I have been reading My Hero Academia together and Demon Slayer lol To me, it gets the girl child to READ so not gonna turn my nose up at that
FMA is easily one of my fav fictionial stories of all time, I read it as a teen and its stuck with me all these years haha but yeah that start is super rocky. Edward is such a pain but also so loveable. Totally agree with Kvothe, I think Name of The Wind is well written but Kvothe is so unlikeable that I just couldn't finish the second book, he was just the absolute worst haha.
I felt like it’s my fault that I didn’t like the name of the wind and that I dropped it at 30%.. hell I even got the audiobook because I hated it so much but thought listening to it would help.. it didn’t. 😂
for the gild series, i think people only continued because they wanted to get to the spice 🤣 i haven't read fma yet (god i really need to), but i think the popularity is partly due to when it was initially released, being serialized in a magazine!
I ate up the Plated Prisoner series. I loved book 1 and binged the whole series in a couple days. I didn't enjoy fourth wing but I at least finished it. I dnfed Book of Night all together.
I agree about Book of Night! I don't understand why so many sub boxes chose to do it. I know they read them beforehand, because their the ones who choose what sort of modifications will be made and by which artists. With that said, I'm quite certain that they chose to take the hit to their reputation for some fast money, which I think is just disgusting. It's because of books like Book of Night that I always try to read the book before choosing to get it. In fact, Witch and the Vampire is another book that I just don't understand the hype for. I got it as an ARC (thank goodness) and felt the pacing and plot were far too atrocious for me.
So many of the hyped books puzzle me- not just in the fantasy genre either. All of SJM'S catalog, Fourth Wing, Priory of Orange Dragons (can't remember the inexplicably long title 😏), Babel, Name of the Wind,anything in the CoHo and Taylor Jenkins Reid catalogues, Ali Hazelwood, Emily Henry, Diana Gibraldon and so many others who are the Book Club, You Tube and Tik Tok darlings. 🤨😏 Most of these can best be described as mediocre. Several far below that, and a couple authors owe people some apologies (SJM and CoHo-looking at you with All the side eye 😏🤬). Especially, when there are truly exceptional authors out there like Robin Hobb, George RR Martin, Neil Gaiman, Ilona Andrews, Anne Bishop and others that with few exceptions have no where near the popularity?! What?! Why?! 🤯
Kingkiller has _many_ weaknesses, but it's biggest strength imo is the character interactions. The best parts are at the University, where Kvothe is dicking around with his friends and going to classes with basically nothing else happening. Other than the prose, I honestly find everything else about the story really boring. And I'm a grimdark fan but Kvothe is easily the most unlikeable protagonist I've ever read. He only gets worse when you watch some Rothfuss interviews and realise they're the same person.
I completely agree. Read book two last month and was disappointed when Kvothe left the University for Severen, was bored reading the whole Maer plot, and was thoroughly disturbed by the entire Felurian section.
I'm currently reading it, and I'm definitely not the intended target audience. I am struggling with the world logic in general (lets give the children of executed insurrectionists access to our most powerful weapons - dragons) and character motivations in particular (I'm gonna kill you, daughter of famous mom, and celebrity sis, and not expect to face repercussions either in direct vengeance, or be shunned by people who care for mom or sister - a sister who expressed care about the survival of Violet in public).
I think every reader feels like their favourite book/manga/game deserves more hype and everyone should read and maybe love them as much as you do. (hence I see you gushing about sanderson and full metal alchemist) But at the same time, I know it's quite hard to keep your own judgement on the side and see why other people love something else, but I don't see it's fair to say you don't agree with the hype or why they got the hype they got or its not well deserved. I think this is limiting book community to love equally everything. it's cool that people get hyped about their faves and everyone can enjoy whatever they enjoy. I'm just happy books are finally getting hyped up. I just wish they stop getting so pricey and get more economical. That's all I have to complain about!
I agree that the concept of Book of Night was cool- I just could not get past the specific modern-day references being dropped (like Instagram, TikTok, etc.) It turns me off and makes the book age poorly in my opinion
I got through The Name of the Wind and actually enjoyed it though it was way too bloated. What broke me was the second one, which reads like more and more and more of the same. I quit after some pages and never looked back 😂
No way in hell I'm touching a book that says "fly. . . or die" on the cover. I'm cringing just thinking about it. Let's go back to the days when authors only needed to put the title on the cover and that's it
Name of the Wind is a hard one for me because I enjoy the story but the main character is so bla. I actually come across Way of Kings on kindle unlimited without any idea who Brandon Sanderson was or that it was a popular series and I absolutely loved it without the hype. While I loved fma so much at first, there were elements that I found too disturbing to continue. Might hold on to the beginning stuff though just for the amazing characters.
Books like these are exactly why I don't trust anything popular. As a writer I get more discouraged because the bar set so low, but it's still extremely hard to get published. And it makes total sense that rich and popular authors get their books hyped. Authors who aren't well connected or are just low income don't get enough attention, even if their work is far better.
I don’t entirely disagree, but I’ve also seen authors who have broken through. It’s more difficult when you don’t have connections, and I think publishing can sometimes “decide” who their next big author is (giving them a way bigger advance, putting more into the marketing, etc) but I guess I’m just saying I don’t want you to be discouraged!-even though that’s a totally legitimate feeling to have
@@ebnovels Thanks. I appreciate that lol. I've been determined to be an author since I was a kid, so I'm gonna get there eventually, but it's like climbing a rockwall. I did get excellent feedback, and the genre seems to be something people have growing interest in so I'm trucking on, but man the writing industry can be difficult sometimes.
Here's the thing with Fourth Wing. It just is what it is. It's not literary fiction or high fantasy, it's just fun. Is it cringe? Sure. I think if people go into it expecting something other than an easy, face paced, angsty, plot driven new adult all is lost. Fourth Wing is like the AI compilation of all the most popular recent new adult fantasy/sci-fi/romance books. It's as if the author took all of them, pulled out all the bits and pieces, mixed them up, and put them back on the page and voila! An highly readable plot with all the fun factors that have made the popular reads popular over the recent years. Fourth Wing is probably the new Twilight. Twilight was terrible, and we all know it, but everyone read it. Although, FW is way better.🤔😉 LOL.
Haha, I don’t entirely disagree, I just have found there to be a lot of other books that are kind of the same thing you described, but they get destroyed by reviewers. I’m surprised at how this one has gone the complete opposite direction 😆
Anyone who likes FMA and needs something to fill the void, try Violet Evergarden. Then, wait another ten years for something remotely close to come alonh. 😢 so hard to be into niche genres. RIP 2000s space cowboy
I know I'm in the minority but I haven't found a single Sanderson book or series that keeps my attention. His work is universally loved but I just can't , it ain't for me
I am 63 yrs old! I recently dipped my toe into the fantasy genre. I absolutely loved Fourth Wing. I am into The Farseer Trilogy now. I just picked up Brandon Sanderson "The Way of the Kings." Got it at B&N. I was sitting in the Cafe waiting for my matcha frappe, and started reading the first few pages....oh boy, I am going to love this series. I am finding the fantasy genre awesome at my old age!!
Ohhh, that is so lovely!!! Thank you for sharing-your comment is just the best thing to come out of this silly video :D
I recently returned to fantasy and am also an older reader (59). As much as I've enjoyed it, this generation of readers tends to fall into camps and over rate books of their faves. Similar to how Tolkien can do no wrong for many, and if you dare to say his prose is not that great, his books are exposition heavy, and there is little action you get looked at funny. The melding of social media and the ability to influence others has skewed both readership and author success. I enjoyed The Way Of Kings (and read the first four) I won't be going any further because they're simply too long and the writing doesn't warrant the investment for me. It's great there is such a diverse collection of styles, approaches and perspectives. The best writers aren't the most popular and young readers aren't as respectful of the works of those who built up the genre (ala Terry Brooks, Lloyd Alexander, Stephen Donaldson).
That said, there is still so much quality available, I can't help but be enthusiastic about series I've yet to read and writers I've yet to become fans of.
Am just happy that thanks to Fourth Wing, at least the GoodReads Best Fantasy award won't go to a SJM book this year.
OMG yes, I hope this is the case :)))
Is she releasing something this year? or released already??
@@ivingzuniga841 I was sure Crescent City book 3 was coming out this year, but it now says the release date is in January...
SJM?
@@joshuatabor8755 Sarah J Maas. I think she won the fantasy awards on Goodreads at least 3 years in a row. and a bunch more in the YA section too...
she has a huge following 🤷🏻♀️
My first sanderson was actually the way of kings i didn't know it was actually that long.....
I read it as ebook and before i know it, I was already really invested. I didn't mind that the build up was slow since I really absolutely loved the characters and the pay off was so worth it
I enjoyed the slow build up and i thought they were done very well so i wasn't bored the least. Finished book 1 in a week 😅
Now I'm in a mission to read as much Brandon Sanderson book as I could
There was a ridiculous amount of hype for the YA novel, Lightlark, too.
OMG...I honestly thought it was going to be this amazing book and it was just awful lol
I think a piece of Fourth Wings popularity that a lot of people are over looking is the fact that the first printing was mass produced with sprayed edges. A majority of the videos I see are people gushing about the sprayed edges and freaking out if they got it or not. I honestly feel if it wasn’t released with that spec it wouldn’t be as hyped. Yes I am seeing a good share of videos talking about the content of the book itself but a vast majority come off to me as if they only care because it has sprayed edges.
I feel it’s an effect caused by the recent overwhelming popularity of special editions that are running rampant in the publishing industry. I’ve even seen the next few books from the same publisher already gaining that hype momentum because they will be produced in the same manner. And for me personally I think that’s very telling in how the community is starting to determine a books worth. I’ve noticed a trend in special specs really pivoting a book’s popularity, and then after the initial shockwave dies down you start to see that those books are pretty average in terms of content.
To be honest, the stenciled edges got me to buy Fourth Wing even though I really don't read fanro. If it hadn't been dragons, I probably wouldn't. I plan to read it before book 2 comes out to see if I want to continue.
I hope Barnes and Noble starts making more special editions like this. Of course there are book boxes with beautiful special editions but regular UK bookstores like Waterstones and Goldsboro have also been putting out special editions. Now that B&N is run by a UK person that turned Waterstones around financially, hopefully he will have B&N come out with more special editions.
I remember in an episode Writing Excuses that Sanderson mentioned that he would never recommend Stormlight Archives/Way of Kings as the first book of his to read. He said, and I quote "This is the book you read when you trust me."
I actually skipped the first book in the gild series 😂 Amazon suggested the second book to me and I didn't realize I had skipped a book until about half way though. Honestly, I thought it made the whole series much better! The flashbacks felt really meaningful and I got to put together the pieces of the puzzle without being told everything!
The Name of the Wind is just purely a magical experience, in my experience. The writing (which is often lauded as its best trait, rightly so) just transported me into the world and that made my experience... well, an experience. It felt like I wasn't only reading the story. I was living it. It was one of thise books where, if I was interrupted in any way, I would blink and not remember immediately where I am or that I was reading. Reading it was like Harry dipping his head into the basin thing (can't remember) in Dumbledore's office. (I'm mansplaining the hell out of this but I want to impart my opinion as someone who loved the book.)
Okay well now I have to read it, this sounds wonderful
The reason I think Fourth Wing is so hyped right now is that it checks the boxes of a lot of popular Romance YA Fantasy tropes. #1 being the enemies to lovers trope. I enjoyed this book, but even I understand that it's not the best book in the world. It's a not terribly written book (not amazing though) and easily falls under the guilty pleasure category.
I think Full Metal Alchemist is written like this on purpose as it sucks you in to a false security and then sucker punches you with just some tragedy that neither you or the Elric bro’s were prepared for.
It’s a lot of the same feeling me and my friends got reading Invincible & Walking dead. We’d always say we feared the quiet parts of the story because we knew the longer they went on, the next crazy thing that would happen would be so much worse .
Also, Didn’t know you had a second channel.
Fourth Wing got the hype that it did because it was well marketed on TikTok. It is also an easy read that non-fantasy readers and fantasy readers can enjoy. It is also romance which is the best selling genre. And it is pretty. I loved it and gave it 5 stars. I also love Way of Kings.
Totally agree!
I totally agree with you! I also really loved Fourth Wing! Definitely a 5 star read for me. It was so much fun
Totally agree with this! I haven’t read a ton of fantasy and absolutely loved this one!
Another book that comes to mind for me is Babel, not only because I didn't love it as much as others did (though I still think it was a good book) but because the themes and the way the story was told didn't really seem to be so appealing to so many. I get that she was already an accomplished author but before this I don't feel like her other books were as popular. It will forever be a mystery to me xD
I had the same reaction to babel. It mystified me after I finished it. Maybe my expectations were too high?
Love this video. Fourth Wing is approaching Frozen status where I don't even want to read it. I feel like part of the hype has been because of the sprayed edges and people wanting it for their shelf displays. I continued Gild because my friend said it got better. It's just been fine. Also agree with Name of the Wind! I couldn't finish book 2. Just was not connecting with it.
I think the hype of Fourt Wing is due to many factors. First, fantasy romance is a sub genre that is really trendy and novel nowadays and the protagonist as dragon riders is something new, they are not the typical fae protagonist. Second, I think many people who don't read are trying Fourt Wing because they don't want to be left behind so when they read it, they say it's the best thing ever because they haven't read anything better since they read so little or not at all. Third, many people question the book's popularity because they say it's not complex enough or it doesn't has much depth or plot or world building. But I believe that's precisely the reason it's so popular, because it's very easy to read, it's fun and not difficult or dense like other High Fantasy books, which is great for people who don't read a lot.
YES-kinda similar to like Sanderson being really popular specifically for his deliberately "clear glass window" style writing too. ^-^
I am a big fan of the Plated Prisoner series and thought the first book was a super easy read. I think many people pushed throughout once they realized the abusive relationship wasn’t going to be the romance within this “dark romance” story
And the fae made ann appearance 😂
What’s crazy to me is that I know people who hated are ACOTR but ranting and raving about how amazing this is!! No hate to either one, but I just don’t understand people who are acting like this is the next Lord of the Rings.
Super confusing because I see it being related most to the ACOTAR series in how it reads!
@@crimebruleeI was told it was ACOTR meets ASOIAF and since I like the former and the later is my favorite of all time, I picked it up, but OMG I’m struggling!!!! But then people I know who hated ACOTR are loving it!
Are you talking about Fourth WIng? I really thought ACOTAR fans would have loved it :))
I also hate ACOTAR with a burning passion, but really enjoyed Fourth Wing - mostly because Violet is not as dramatic as SJM's POV characters. Still cringed at some dialogue, still super predictable... but it was a fun book. My biggest problem with it was that I wanted to know more about the other characters too, not just the love interest dude >_<
But ASOIAF, no way :)) I through is was more ACOTAR meets Hunger Games.
Sometimes, all it takes to change your tune is for that book to be centered around a more or less personally preferred fantasy creature.🤭🤭🤣
With The Stormlight Archives, I think it's a combo of people trust him to actually finish the series and a lot of more casual fantasy readers have read LotR, which is rather slow, because they were told they should.
Empire of the Vampire is so highly rated and has so many different editions that are presumably selling. And I love an interview narrative framing so I was hyped to the gills to read it. Worst book I ever read (probably earns that title in part because of my excitement) but it was so bad.
Yona of the dawn is for me how full metal alchemist is for you. I am IN LOVE with everything about that series but the first arc is basically just gathering up the team. lol. I’m surprised how many people are willing to push through that since it can feel really slow especially compared to the rest of the series.
My top two manga right there. God I just hope Yona sticks the landing when it finishes.
I enjoyed Fourth Wing, four star read for me. I enjoyed the actual story and want to know what the elders are hiding and the last chapter left me with tons of questions. It wasnt the best book I have ever read but it was quick and kept my attention-for the most part.
This gave me motivation to keep going with The Way of Kings because I'm currently 200 pages in and nothing has happened😅 I'm holding out hope because I know Sanderson is a master at Chekhov's gun and the prose is way more readable than the prose in Mistborn.
To be fair about FMA, it is kind of an old series by now, so it have had its hype/popularity build up over the years. Both from the manga and the anime series (first original anime and Brotherhood which followed the manga more closely). So you would have to be really new to manga/anime or very young to have missed that.
That's my take on it anyway as someone that got into manga in the early 2000s when it was very new and weren't a lot released yet, so we just tried everything. 😂
My take on Fourth Wing’s popularity: the author already had a romance reading following and some of those readers already read fantasy in one realm or another.. either fantasy romance or more high stakes fantasy or even ya fantasy and so they were going to give a go anyway. But the part that I think really made it blow up was when non fantasy readers came to see what it was about and with the way she wrote it, it wasn’t difficult and intimidating in the way non fantasy readers assumed it would be. And say what you want, if you like it or you don’t.. but we can point to Harry Potter and Twilight and recognize the huge impact they had on books and reading and readers and the community.. Fourth Wing, in my opinion, is now in that conversation too. Rebecca Yarros just single handedly birthed a whole new generation of fantasy readers. Because there’s more than a few that Fourth Wing was their first foray into fantasy and now they’re ravenous for more. And I can respect that all day long.
I saw your reply to the other commenter! Just in case it’s not clear, I’m not saying people should feel bad if they enjoy FW, or that I don’t respect the author, or even that the book doesn’t deserve hype. I think there’s a difference between being surprised by hype, and thinking something isn’t deserving of it, and these are books I’m surprised are so hyped :)
@@ebnovels No ma’am. My take is just my take. It isn’t directed at you or anything you said. I’m sorry if you thought I meant anything other than just giving POV. You always keep it respectful. I get that I’m commenting on your video so it would seem I’m commenting directly to/at you but truly, just my ramblings on the internet. Zero animosity at you or anyone here.
Haha, well thanks for the clarification! And I agree that Fourth Wing has definitely hit a point where people who maybe would’ve been unsure about fantasy now feel a lot less daunted by it :)
I really appreciate your perspective regarding The Name of the Wind. ❤
Shipping any random strangers together is a hilarious take on instalove. 😂
The general audience has two sides of hype:
-Something light enough weight to be digestible by the wider audiences
-Something complex already established on a specialist community
The key point is the novelty of the media, the fist being easy enough people can pick in on their own, and the second being established enough to justify pushing through
I think we all have our preferences and... I don't know. It seems silly to me when some people say Way of Kings should have been less pages, for example. Maybe preferred if it was less pages, but not that it SHOULD have. It's my favorite book and I genuinely enjoyed every page, even Shallan's who I don't really like as a character - I was still curious to see what happens to her. I liked the long winded story and how it completely immersed me into the world. For me, it could have been longer :))
My point is, I think we find something we're looking for in a book or other media and naturally hype it up :> It might not make sense to some, but it will for others. And that's ok, right? We won't all enjoy the same stuff...
It might be a combination of factors that lead to the hype (marketing, author renown, sheer luck of the moment, general internet hysteria), but if you don't like it, just leave a review or ignore it and move on - no need to rain on other people's parade. Right?
If anyone is reading this, I am by no means hitting at Elliot or this type of videos in general - my gripe is with the very vocal people that usually tell you you are wrong for liking something :)))
I can see why Kvothe might not be someone's favorite character, but I don't know if that justifies calling The Name of The Wind overhyped. It's just a matter of taste, rather than a major hype train that left reason back at the station. I think that all the reasons people like the books are deserved, even if there are also some legitimate criticisms that can be leveled at it.
will never get over how ed's immediate reaction after finally figuring out that he may have a crush on Winry is to recount the periodic table from memory
(also: i think an aspect that makes ppl keep going with fma is the worldbuilding and the mystery which is established pretty early on)
My main issue with The Name of the Wind is the incredible smugness of Quoth (sp?) when talking about how "brilliant" he was as a kid and how his family were "such great entertainers that you people just can't understand how brilliant we are." He reminded me of the very first introduction of Hanse / Shadowspawn in the very first Thieves' World anthology--except that in the case of Shadowspawn it got undercut (he was shown to be thinking himself so cool and mysterious when everyone else kind of saw through the bluster). Quoth has the same arrogance but without the "reality check." There's a reason why Watson always told us how brilliant Sherlock Holmes was--in The Name of the Wind, it's like Sherlock Holmes telling the stories himself and boasting about how clever / smart / gifted / talented he is. Not for me. There ARE ways to do a "powerful" or "super-gifted" protagonist--Moorcock's Elric comes to mind--but that story isn't told through the first person. The more current writers I have enjoyed are Sanderson (only read the Way of Kings novels, but read them all up to current) and just finished Lies of Locke Lamora (don't recall author's name off-hand) which was pretty good--will probably continue with that series.
I liked Gild, it was like a 4 star read for me. While everyone's criticism of it is valid, I just find myself really empathizing with Auren, enjoying this story that seems to be about someone being abused, realizing they're in an untenable situation, and slowly finding themselves. Book 1 is like all abuse, so I 100% get why people don't like that, especially cause it's marketed as a romance so it implies we're rooting for the Midas/Auren relationship which made me feel very "no". Honestly the twist in the back third sold me on direction of the series. I don't think it's overhyped but it's a super random book to get singled out for online bookish spaces from an author who's generallly mid when you consider other series of hers,
I guess i'm learning that i'm a plot reader? Because a lot of the times i don't actually "like" the characters...like Kvothe for example, but i still love the books. I can't say i liked most of the main characters in The Wheel of Time, yet i still loved the books.
The only thing I'd say about my interpretation of Kvothe vs. how you interpret him, is that he is & was a highly insecure individual and I experience his retelling through the lens of an insecure boy. I do agree that he is telling his story, embellishing on it in real time while also giving the context behind his legendary moments, but I don't think he thinks of himself as "the cool guy" who only has "cool guy" moments like walking away from an explosion without turning to look. Is he arrogant? Undoubtedly. And his arrogance and hotheaded nature frequently gets him in trouble. I think somebody can fundamentally believe "I'm smarter than you" while still holding a relatively low opinion of themselves, which is how I view Kvothe (and coincidentally many people who are professional academics & students, just like Kvothe).
I also think his insecurities are fundamental to his relationship with Denna. His entire dynamic with Denna is that he is totally in love with her but questions if the feeling is mutual despite the context clues. He never puts himself out there completely, because he's insecure and doubts himself, and ends up in a constant state of waiting for her to make the first move.
Not that any of this invalidates your interpretation of the character or the book, but it's one reason that I do find Kvothe an intriguing character despite the flaws Rothfuss intentionally gave him.
I breathed a sigh of relief when you said you liked Stormlight! 😂 I just posted a video on it today fiercely fanboying over it, and this could have been awkward. 😅
I really like the storm light archive books but also I couldn't bring myself to start the most recent one. I think the book length was getting to me
I get why a book has to be 1k pages. Like non shade to people who enjoy reading them, but I don't understand why authors write that long. It doesn't feel efficient, and probably 90% description lol.
I understand what you mean! Sometimes you really have to prepare yourself to pick up something that massive
@@vvitch-mist20I understand the inertia to pick up huge books. But there’s a reason why stormlight is over a 1000 pages. It’s not a lack of efficiency, it’s just a massive story with an incredible and complex world and magic system. For the books being so long, I haven’t ever found them to be draggy or unnecessarily descriptive. In fact Brandon’s writing is pretty simplistic and easy to dive into.
@@rvaishalee
Why 1000 pages though, like it can be a massive series, but that just seems like a lot to put in one place. That is what I'm calling inefficient. Idk his work so I can't speak for it, but the format could be better.
I'm currently reading Rebecca Yarros's "In the Likely Event" and honestly didn't connect that she's also the author of Fourth Wing (which I haven't read) until like yesterday. I'm really enjoying what I'm reading, but I feel like while I'm ok with her prose in a contemporary romance, I'm not sure how I'd personally feel about her style in a fantasy.
I think you have a really interesting perspective on the topic! I’m curious what I’d think of her romance books 🤔
Bonus points for the Balthier reference! One of my favorite FFs
My biggest issue with manga is that it’s very expensive and not as easily accessible as regular books
Define "not as easily accessible" though? 🤔
Fourth Wing is beyond perplexing for me. And I'm definitely the target audience, since I mostly read fantasy romance. And this book was just okay. 😭
It wasn't a fantasy romance though, it was a romance book with fantastical elements, almost like an introduction to it. A gateway to fantasy if you will... My sister is liking it, and she is the type to never read fantasy.
I think fantasy and fantasy romance are reaching a point where it’s becoming harder to label specifically what each one is.
I’ve seen some people say they DON’T think Fourth Wing is fantasy romance, because there aren’t enough sex scenes in it, and thus it’s just romance. I don’t know if it’s ever going to be something we all agree on, whether something is fantasy, fantasy romance, fantasy with some romance, or romance with some fantasy, and with how popular both fantasy and fantasy romance have become, yes, I do think it’s going to become a bit tedious to try and get everyone to agree on what’s what 😂
@@ebnovels You’re absolutely right!❤️
@@aaaaanditsgone A "fantasy romance" is literally just a romance, much like any other romance, it's just set specifically within a (totally imaginary) fantasy world instead of taking place in some fictional version of the real-world(planet-Earth). Any romance either may or may not also include other plots/storylines in addition to that romance, but the primary/central focus of the story is the romantic relationship and the majority of the book/story should be dedicated to telling the story of that romance/relationship between those two or more characters who are involved in that romance / romantic relationship. That's all.😅🤭🤭
An author can get lucky, if they somehow genuinely improve in later books specifically in whatever way caused readers to dislike their first book, because then the completionists will lure other readers back and/or newer readers in. This kind of happened with the Trylle trilogy by Amanda Hocking too. So maybe it was something like that for Gild too? 🤔
Seriously I think people are being paid to review and give 5 stars to fourth wing . it’s just a copycat of all previous YA fantasy books out there , like there’s nothing unique about that book
I’ve talked to a lot of people who genuinely loved it 😅
@@ebnovelssorry i went too far with that 🙈🙈 but I agree with you that there are so many other great fantasy books that deserves thesame hype
Haha, it’s okay, it’s a thought a lot of people have when they see those numbers
giiiirl, I am with you on the Name of the Wind. I felt like there was a lot of things wrong that people overlooked because Pat Rothfuss writes so pretty, but Kvothe is so unlikeable that I never cared if he actually put out another book lol
It's interesting to me that people say the writing is beautiful, but when I read it I didn't find it beautiful, just cringey 😅 It might've been because I read a translation, and I have had people pushing me to read it in English but... I just didn't like other aspects of the book either.
Thanks so much for posting ❤ I am ASTONISHED by the hype of Fourth Wing… I cannot understand
So a couple of thing:
1. I did not know you had a second channel for manga, video games, and the like. I love manga! My fave of all time is Rurouni Kenshin, though I did read Fullmetal Alchemist twice and loved both the '02 series and Brotherhood.
2. I still don't get the Fourth Wing hype, and I'm afraid to read it because if I hate it and post about it, the swarm will come lol
3. I can understand the hype around "A Game of Fate". I am a person where if the premise is hinting at a "good time" to be had by all, I tend to go in expecting more spice than plot. But then they get one good Titanic-level "I'll never let go, Jack" quote in the book that really gets you in your feels, ya know? I probably didn't make any sense there, but that's how I see those books.
I think, from the little I've seen online at least, Fourth Wing fans are pretty chill. Like we get that the book has a ton of flaws, but it was a really fun and quick read. And for me personally, I didn't hate the POV character which is already a 5 star for any YA book :)))
@@RainCraver To be fair, there's always the "chill" group and the "antagonistic" group in almost any fandom, but the aggro ones tend to the loudest lol. From what I've seen, they can get pretty feral. I just saw the Fairyloot subscription service get a ton of comments complaining about the book selling out so fast for their SE copy. A lot of them were justified complaints but others....I thought to myself "it's just a book guys". I haven't read the book, so idk. The hype is just....a lot lol
@@TechRyn true, the angry ones tend to be the most vocal :( Also yeah, I think it's ok to complain or just share your opinion... it's just annoying when suddenly you're not allowed to have said opinion or you're wrong for having a different experience with a book/other media :))
Regarding the hype, I don't know. I think it was just a quick and easy read for a lot of people... but yeah, I can see how that would not exactly justify the super high rankings @_@ It's by no means a perfect book, filled with cringe and super predictable... I still somehow loved it, so... maybe there's a spell on us or something :))
I've not read the manga, but that line in the anime "It's a terrible day for rain..." still gets me every time... oh here I go again 😢
Every time
Ugh yes, and the whole thing with Nina. It breaks me everytime 😭
Really surprised you didn’t mention Empire of the Vampire and its 10+ special editions, most of which were announced before the book had even been released.
This is a first, Elliot uploading two videos in one day XD
great tho
Hey Elle, I really love lots of the video content you’ve been doing comparing data / Goodreads stats / ratings recently. It has really given me more insight into the trends behind lots of my favorite books.
I’m a data analyst at a management consulting firm and would absolutely love to assist with some of your videos if you plan to continue making more data driven content !
In any case, thanks for making wonderful content
So I just finished SP3 and I kept thinking how the book fees like all the stuff Elliot likes together. I don’t know how it works but I’ll be really cool if you were in the panel discussion for this book.
I really enjoyed fourth wing but I don’t understand what is happening with the hype 😂 it’s fantastic for the author and I’m happy for her, but it has really surprised me how much hype there is.
I'm just wildly guessing here, but I think it's because it's Dragon-involved smut _and_ it's Fantasy Romance, as opposed to ye old Paranormal Romances that never really reached mainstream consciousness about dragon shifters or such. And because it's coming out right when people are starting to want something different other than SJM/faeries(pick your preferred fey/fay/fae/etc spelling). Lol
Like.. it was just about that time, for dragons to come back into trend, with a newer/more-mainstream wave. I guess? . 🤷🤷♀️ 🤣🤣
Funny thing with FMA. I started with the original anime and my friend who shared it had it on 2 disks. And she brought me second disk by mistake. So I watched it from episode 25 lol. And then watched the first episodes. So I kinda went around the beginning lol
I was just mentioning the whole special editions hype to my husband the other day, whereby most special editions nowadays are being released as a debut. which I don't understand because special editions cost more and I wouldn't feel comfortable paying that much for a debut book of an author that I'm not familiar with. regardless of how pretty the special edition. but the hype is usually because of the special edition; sprayed edges, gilded, etc. but what about the story? is it really worth the hype? hard to say.
I feel that I’ll enjoy fourth wing but with all the endless hype and praise I end up searching for any faults in a book. Idk why I’m self sabotaging myself like that 😂
I understand "The Fourth Wing" popularity but it does make me a little annoyed because I think it gets unwarranted praise. I'm good with the readers who are "I wanted to be entertained and it did that." Totally understandable. I'm loving the "Kaiju No. 8" manga series for the exact reason. But the gushing 5-stars with glaring flaws is a bit much, IMHO.
As for FMA, I remember it blowing up when access to it was still via fansub. My guess is that the early readers of FMA were fine with the slow-ish start because by the time it was legally available state-side, many already knew what was coming so it was easy to be patient. Those who pick up the manga now generally have idea since it is a known property.
😅 completely agree with you on The Name of the Wind ahah
Kingkiller in general, especially considering how bad tempered Patrick is or the fact he'll never finish the trilogy.
The hype hadn't reached me before I picked up Fourth Wing. I was enjoying it, but no more or less than the average book from this genre. When it reached the point where our protagonist and her lust/hate-interest began a strange non-platonic but also non-romantic relationship, it went overboard. It was so repetitive and redundant. I enjoy good romance/relationships in books, but this was so banal and repetitive that it ruined all the positive experience I had with the book up to this point. I kept at it for a bit longer, but eventually DNF'd despite being 80-90% done with the book. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE HYPE AT ALL.
SO EXCITED!!🩵🏝️🏝️🏝️🩵💛💛🩵🏝️🏝️💛🌞🌞🩵🏝️🏝️🏝️💛💛🩵🏝️📙📙📚📚📖📙📙📚📚📖📖🩵🏝️🏝️🏝️🩵🌞🌞💛🏝️🏝️🌞💛🩵🏝️🏝️🏝️🩵💛💛🩵🏝️🏝️📚📚📙📙📙📖📖📖📚📚📙📙🩵🏝️💛
I don't think it's really surprising that so many people have pushed through FMA like that-for a lot of people, that was what they started with, so they had no prior expectations(like sometimes they just weren't super big readers in general either so reading manga was also their starting point in that regard too); or they were already pretty familiar with anime/manga and or other Japan originating things even before FMA, so they knew exactly what to expect as far as that simultaneously both over-the-top silliness AND digging deeper into the more serious moments and shtuff goes too-so FMA is actually the thing that set a lot of people's expectations for other series in the medium later on. If you're talking character and storytelling and all of that, it is absolutely comparable to fiction of any other medium, I completely agree; but there is so much of it that is drawn or shown and not really written at all, so in that respect it really is totally unfair to compare it to other types of books/novels at all-it is a completely different medium and a completely different experience to consume it, so it makes sense that it's going to appeal to relatively different circles of fans, even if there is also some audience overlaps sometimes, or lots of people who would probably enjoy it too if only it had been presented through a different medium instead.
Name of the wind is more of an RPG novel that we see nowadays. It just lacks the in world rpg mechanic that rpg novels have.
Does anyone think Full Metal Alchemist would work novelized, or is it too entrenched with visuals to tell its story? I've often wondered if we consume manga because it can be read so fast with each page taking only a minute or two in most cases. Are we spending our money on this time convenience? I have this feeling 6 standard Manga volumes would only be a 300-400 page novel.
I heard that a bunch of early reviews for Fourth Wing were botted/fake reviews..... like, thousands of them. Which is why there were soooo many early reviews....
If you are looking for Hades/Persephone retelling that's spicy, romantic. It's full of queers and rich people being shitty to each other please read Neon gods. The series goes on with other Greek retelling if you like that sort of thing.
Speaking of completionism, I hate most of the books of The Sword of Truth but I will finish it eventually, especially now the author is dead I will finish it one day.
I needed to listen to Name of the Wind a second time before I found myself liking it. At some point I realized the story was in the style of a classic greek tragedy and that Kvothes arrogance would cause his downfall....which meant I could sit back, enjoy the pretty prose, and watch the slow motion trainwreck that is Kvothe destroying his life.
Loved this dialog. It’s interesting how we all do and do not connect with books. There is so much hype around J Abercrombie’s The First Law and I’ve tried my best but don’t get it (no offense to those who love it). I liked Glotka, but the rest did nothing for me. On the flip side I loved The Faithful and Fallen which doesn’t get much love. I didn’t love the writing style of that series… but the characters and story I really enjoyed.
As much as I love FMA and other manga, I wouldn't include them in my personal books read list. I wouldn't include western graphic novels either.
I'm challenging myself to read at least 1 book a month this year (having not read books for a long long time despite my ever growing bookshelf) and if I included manga that would skew my list. It would easily be +100 books if I decided to reread one piece, for example.
I've only discovered booktube late last year, but I've noticed that SFF booktubers not only read the same books, they also read the same manga. not that that's a bad thing ofc. probably a difference in the media we've been exposed to growing up
I absolutely loved Name of the Wind and Wise Man’s Fear. I completely understand people not liking those books though. I found once i got about half way through I was hooked. Counter to that, I recently read Dune. I loved the story but hated the book. The writing was so dry and lifeless to me that I really struggled with it and I can see how people would feel a similar thing for Name of the Wind.
The Name of the Wind, then. Thank you.
I feel like the hype and sales behind Fourth Wing is so suspicious...but that's just me.
I think maybe they really did just bet on the Holly Black name being a guaranteed seller! (And forgot to account for authors not always selling as well after genre shifts or shifts to other audience target demographics or such.) 😅🙃😶 👀
The more I hear/see about fourth wing the less I want to read it. Rather I'm currently devouring the "Five Warrior Angels" trilogy by Brian Lee Durfee. Such an underrated epic fantasy series that needs more attention.
Way of Kings was the first book I read by Sanderson, I didn't know who he was, just randomly picked a chunky tome in a bookshop. I was overwhelmed, but in a good way. Same goes for my husband and my friends whom I made read it after. I believe the hype is due. But then, I really click with Brandon's writing.
I agree! I'm confused by her including Stormlight in this video and the reasons (or rather, lack thereof) she did.
I elaborated for a bit. I love Stormlight, and I’m happy it’s hyped, but generally a series where each book is over a thousand pages and the world is massive isn’t the kind of story that gets to a point where it has hundreds of thousands of ratings and reviews.
I agree about Manga, I mean I love it and my 10 year old is reading it now too and honestly LOVE it! There are SO many different ones, like you said, and FMA has been SO good! The girl child and I have been reading My Hero Academia together and Demon Slayer lol To me, it gets the girl child to READ so not gonna turn my nose up at that
I can't find that other manga channel...
youtube.com/@fullmetaanalysis
I often share the videos from that channel on my Community Tab too, if that helps :)
@@ebnovels Thanks
FMA is easily one of my fav fictionial stories of all time, I read it as a teen and its stuck with me all these years haha but yeah that start is super rocky. Edward is such a pain but also so loveable.
Totally agree with Kvothe, I think Name of The Wind is well written but Kvothe is so unlikeable that I just couldn't finish the second book, he was just the absolute worst haha.
I felt like it’s my fault that I didn’t like the name of the wind and that I dropped it at 30%.. hell I even got the audiobook because I hated it so much but thought listening to it would help.. it didn’t. 😂
for the gild series, i think people only continued because they wanted to get to the spice 🤣
i haven't read fma yet (god i really need to), but i think the popularity is partly due to when it was initially released, being serialized in a magazine!
Haha, you’re probably right about Gild! 😂
Kvothe is one of my favorite fictional characters lol
I ate up the Plated Prisoner series. I loved book 1 and binged the whole series in a couple days. I didn't enjoy fourth wing but I at least finished it. I dnfed Book of Night all together.
i attribute hype to a really good marketing team. that's the only way anyone can get a ridiculous amount of hype.
I agree about Book of Night! I don't understand why so many sub boxes chose to do it. I know they read them beforehand, because their the ones who choose what sort of modifications will be made and by which artists. With that said, I'm quite certain that they chose to take the hit to their reputation for some fast money, which I think is just disgusting. It's because of books like Book of Night that I always try to read the book before choosing to get it. In fact, Witch and the Vampire is another book that I just don't understand the hype for. I got it as an ARC (thank goodness) and felt the pacing and plot were far too atrocious for me.
Mervano is a fun, surreal type fantasy comedy and nice and short...also quite funny! Good Channel!
I listened to the name of the wind audiobook and it was a struggle to get through but i did finish it. Definitely do not get the hype with that one.
Honestly I take Holly Black with a grain of salt ever since Coldest Girl in Coldtown
So many of the hyped books puzzle me- not just in the fantasy genre either. All of SJM'S catalog, Fourth Wing, Priory of Orange Dragons (can't remember the inexplicably long title 😏), Babel, Name of the Wind,anything in the CoHo and Taylor Jenkins Reid catalogues, Ali Hazelwood, Emily Henry, Diana Gibraldon and so many others who are the Book Club, You Tube and Tik Tok darlings. 🤨😏 Most of these can best be described as mediocre. Several far below that, and a couple authors owe people some apologies (SJM and CoHo-looking at you with All the side eye 😏🤬). Especially, when there are truly exceptional authors out there like Robin Hobb, George RR Martin, Neil Gaiman, Ilona Andrews, Anne Bishop and others that with few exceptions have no where near the popularity?! What?! Why?! 🤯
Kvothe is the very definition of humble bragging
Kingkiller has _many_ weaknesses, but it's biggest strength imo is the character interactions. The best parts are at the University, where Kvothe is dicking around with his friends and going to classes with basically nothing else happening. Other than the prose, I honestly find everything else about the story really boring. And I'm a grimdark fan but Kvothe is easily the most unlikeable protagonist I've ever read. He only gets worse when you watch some Rothfuss interviews and realise they're the same person.
I completely agree. Read book two last month and was disappointed when Kvothe left the University for Severen, was bored reading the whole Maer plot, and was thoroughly disturbed by the entire Felurian section.
I'm currently reading it, and I'm definitely not the intended target audience. I am struggling with the world logic in general (lets give the children of executed insurrectionists access to our most powerful weapons - dragons) and character motivations in particular (I'm gonna kill you, daughter of famous mom, and celebrity sis, and not expect to face repercussions either in direct vengeance, or be shunned by people who care for mom or sister - a sister who expressed care about the survival of Violet in public).
I think every reader feels like their favourite book/manga/game deserves more hype and everyone should read and maybe love them as much as you do. (hence I see you gushing about sanderson and full metal alchemist) But at the same time, I know it's quite hard to keep your own judgement on the side and see why other people love something else, but I don't see it's fair to say you don't agree with the hype or why they got the hype they got or its not well deserved. I think this is limiting book community to love equally everything. it's cool that people get hyped about their faves and everyone can enjoy whatever they enjoy. I'm just happy books are finally getting hyped up. I just wish they stop getting so pricey and get more economical. That's all I have to complain about!
I agree that the concept of Book of Night was cool- I just could not get past the specific modern-day references being dropped (like Instagram, TikTok, etc.) It turns me off and makes the book age poorly in my opinion
I got through The Name of the Wind and actually enjoyed it though it was way too bloated. What broke me was the second one, which reads like more and more and more of the same. I quit after some pages and never looked back 😂
No way in hell I'm touching a book that says "fly. . . or die" on the cover. I'm cringing just thinking about it. Let's go back to the days when authors only needed to put the title on the cover and that's it
Name of the Wind is a hard one for me because I enjoy the story but the main character is so bla. I actually come across Way of Kings on kindle unlimited without any idea who Brandon Sanderson was or that it was a popular series and I absolutely loved it without the hype. While I loved fma so much at first, there were elements that I found too disturbing to continue. Might hold on to the beginning stuff though just for the amazing characters.
I love Kingkiller Chronicle to bits, but Kvothe isn't my favourite character in it. I especially dislike him when Denna shows up.
The name of the wind is amazingggggg noooo I want everyone to love it! Lol
Books like these are exactly why I don't trust anything popular. As a writer I get more discouraged because the bar set so low, but it's still extremely hard to get published.
And it makes total sense that rich and popular authors get their books hyped. Authors who aren't well connected or are just low income don't get enough attention, even if their work is far better.
I don’t entirely disagree, but I’ve also seen authors who have broken through. It’s more difficult when you don’t have connections, and I think publishing can sometimes “decide” who their next big author is (giving them a way bigger advance, putting more into the marketing, etc) but I guess I’m just saying I don’t want you to be discouraged!-even though that’s a totally legitimate feeling to have
@@ebnovels Thanks. I appreciate that lol. I've been determined to be an author since I was a kid, so I'm gonna get there eventually, but it's like climbing a rockwall.
I did get excellent feedback, and the genre seems to be something people have growing interest in so I'm trucking on, but man the writing industry can be difficult sometimes.
It definitely can be. I think it’s amazing you have that dream, and that you’re working toward it!
Here's the thing with Fourth Wing. It just is what it is. It's not literary fiction or high fantasy, it's just fun. Is it cringe? Sure. I think if people go into it expecting something other than an easy, face paced, angsty, plot driven new adult all is lost. Fourth Wing is like the AI compilation of all the most popular recent new adult fantasy/sci-fi/romance books. It's as if the author took all of them, pulled out all the bits and pieces, mixed them up, and put them back on the page and voila! An highly readable plot with all the fun factors that have made the popular reads popular over the recent years. Fourth Wing is probably the new Twilight. Twilight was terrible, and we all know it, but everyone read it. Although, FW is way better.🤔😉 LOL.
So, like, Eragon for adults?
Haha, I don’t entirely disagree, I just have found there to be a lot of other books that are kind of the same thing you described, but they get destroyed by reviewers. I’m surprised at how this one has gone the complete opposite direction 😆
@@ebnovels I think it was the snarky telepathic dragon. 🤓
Anyone who likes FMA and needs something to fill the void, try Violet Evergarden. Then, wait another ten years for something remotely close to come alonh. 😢 so hard to be into niche genres. RIP 2000s space cowboy
I know I'm in the minority but I haven't found a single Sanderson book or series that keeps my attention. His work is universally loved but I just can't , it ain't for me