Mike, you should do another one of these, but being the opposite: best series that don’t get great til after book 1 and are worth pushing through. Red rising comes to mind, I’m sure there are others
Stephen King's Dark Tower series was this for me. I hated The Gunslinger, and for years it discouraged me from reading further, but when I eventually read the rest of the series, I ended up loving it.
@@Steve_Stowers I'm in the same boat with The Dark Tower series. I just finished Gunslinger a couple months ago and even though I hear it GETS BETTER I'm pushing off on getting to it.
Ever since I saw you talk about Abercrombie during a chat with an author (can't recall the guys name but you did the dune movie review chat with him, seems like a great guy) those books have been really high on my list I can't wait to read them
Pillars of the Earth is a GREAT book. My paperback copy was loaned to so many friends that it eventually fell apart. Every single person loved that book. It has shocking surprises and an evil character that you can't wait to see die. Highly recommended.
Thanks for this. I've about 20 books, like a squirrel's hibernation nuts, beside the bed ready for winter reading. I've just added Hyperion and Ender's Game (not read it since it came out) to this.
The Series of Unfortunate Events is one that I wish I'd read when I was younger. I picked them up at 14 and by the time I got to the 6th book, the constant dictionary definitions for words and phrases I knew broke me. I couldn't keep reading them. They are great for younger readers though!
I think the series shows some of the smartest writing I've experienced when considering the target audience. Then the end of season 2 of Netflix show I still think is fantastic (Lemony Snicket defines a cliffhanger, ending the season on a cliffhanger with Violet and Klaus literally hanging on the edge of a cliff).
If this was my top 20 favourite number 1 books I'd add "Blood Song" by Anthony Ryan. But, as with your example of "The Warded Man", the subsequent books were forgettable.
definitely an amazing book. I think it was even my book of the year when I read it, and then Tower Lord was like WTF?! I remember even though I gave it four stars, it just was such a letdown still in some ways
No one ever mentions the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, but it’s one of my favorites. The first book, A Discovery of Witches, would be on my list of best first books in a series.
Here is my top 2 of all time: 1. Kings of the Wyld: where the second book never grabbed me kings of the wyld clicked immediately and every time I’ve read it (3 so far) I finish it in like a day. 2. The fifth season: the impact of that novel and the adjustment it forced of the readers to understand the perspective into seeing how the story came together was really amazing. One of the best written books of the last twenty years, the sequels never really met that bar.
Holy shit you said EXACTLY WHAT I THINK of HP! I thought I might be wrong about my opinion on the cultural and historical significance of the HP books.
I'm a bit of a newb to First Law but Sand dan Glokta is my spirit animal. Does it make me terrible that he's so relatable? On another note, Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorite books of all time. Who knew a story about building a church would be so fulfilling.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is 100% the reason I got into fantasy! I grew up with my dad reading my sister and I the Narnia books every night and that one was by far my favorite. I was blown away by the world, the characters, the battles, the creatures, and so much more. It will always have a special place in my heart!
From the top of my head, my favourite book 1's (not necessarily favourite in the series but still up there from what ive read) are: Gardens of the Moon A Game of Thrones Outlander Kings of the Wyld
I LOVED The Gunslinger a lot! It was amazing and a 5 star read for me. The Eye of The World is definitely one of my all-time first books of series too. Actually, the first paragraph of the Eye of the World is my absolute favorite opening in all books.
My top five in order of reading them would be: The Philosopher's Stone The Fellowship of the Ring Guards! Guards! (City Watch Series) I know I'm cheating here! 😂 Dune The Gunslinger
You got me to read First Law. Can't pick a favourite, maybe Last Argument of Kings. Though I view the trilogy as one story, a bit like Lord of the Rings. Favourite #1s for me include Traitor's Blade (Greatcoats), Gardens of the Moon (Malazan, till I read Bonehunters, and there's still a few to go), Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer), Titus Groan (Gormenghast). Btw, I'm one of those who haven't read any Stormlight Archive yet. Planning to start this Jan.
Can’t wait till you do The Lord of the Rings!!! I’m currently reading ‘The Hobbit’ for the first time & this will also be my first ever fantasy read-I must say, I’m LOVING it 🤍 I was just scrolling through all of your playlists, I think, literally on Monday… I was trying to find The Lord of the Rings reviews & was wondering why you had none! 😩 so excited to see that series Mike! Make it longgg! Do all sorts. I got the box set, so I’m reading all of them, period. 🙏🏼🧙🏼♂️🧝🏼♂️
Homeland by R. A. Salvatore absolutely makes my list. Aside from introducing Drizzt, what I really love is showing us a whole new society and way of life in the Underdark.
Say one thing about Mike Say he's good at book recommendations (and reviews) Thanks for getting me into First Law last year Mike, just a quarter into The Wisdom of Crowds now!
I could probably do a shorter "Final Books in a Series that Stuck the Landing" type of thing eventually. I want to finish a few long series I'm currently working though first.
Yeah a lot of younger Booktubers are dunking on ender's game because *Gasp!* Orson Scott Card is a Mormon?? And he vaguely makes references to that in his books?? The horror. The absolute horror. It's certainly a perfectly rational reason to be outraged. 😑
@@mikesbookreviews absolutely, Mike. I'm always saying "separate the art from the artist". I really don't like Rothfuss as a person but you better believe I've read his books several times over haha!
@@Rendref Yes, World Without End was great, A Column of Fire was really good but not quite as compelling. The prequel is next on my reading list after Rhythm of War.
It's crazy cause when I went into reading red rising, I was expecting the first book to be complete trash, alot of people ripped it but i loved it. Hahah so idk maybe it's jus me... thanks for the content Mike, keep it up.
Loved this video idea! I read A Wrinkle in Time originally in elementary school and had such fond memories but read it as an adult and unfortunately didn’t feel the same. Five of my favorite firsts are: The Book of Koli- M.R. Carey(loved the whole trilogy) Outlander( currently on the fourth book and have loved every one) Sleeping Giants- Sylvain Neuvel( still need to read rest of trilogy) The Lies of Locke Lamora- Scott Lynch ( although I thought book 2 was even better) Inkheart- Cornelia Funke( my son and I read this together when he was in middle school and we both loved the trilogy)Additional Note: Don’t watch the movie- IT WAS HORRIBLE
Tried Dune 3x. Could not get passed 50 pages. Just tried Gunslinger again this morning. Ugh. Gave up. I obviously have completely different tastes. And thats cool.
I'm not that much into horror but I'd assume "gothic horror" is to horror what urban fantasy is to fantasy? Not separate but a subcategory? Anyway, I myself might put Interview in fantasy rather than horror
Some favorite #1's of mineL Fantasy: While I consider myself new to the genre, I did read The Lord of the Rings trilogy around 20 years ago. When the movies came out. The Fellowship of the Ring was my favorite of that series. I'm in the process of reading the 1st Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. The Final Empire is a very good #1 for me. I'm reading Sanderson at a slower pace, so, I haven't finished that series,. Let alone starting on The Stormlight Archive. In fact, at my age, I'll most probably not live long enough to see the end of that series. So, while I've read/heard much good things about it, I'm hesitant to start a series that I'll never be around to finish. Science Fiction: I agree with Leviathan Wakes and Dune as best of their respective series. In the case of Dune, I can't remember reading any SF novel, or any genre, for that matter, that had such an effect on my life. I had read a lot of SF books as a youth in the 50s and Dune just blew my mind. Leviathan Wakes had a near similar effect on me. I hadn't read much SF recently until I read LW. Now, I've finished that series and looking to re-read it. Crime: the Black Echo by Michael Connelly is the 1st Harry Bosch book. I started reading that series around 25-30 years ago. I've read all of the Bosch books to date. Well, not the most recent one, but, every one up to that one. Recently, I re-read The Black Echo and really enjoyed so much more than I had with any of the more recent Bosch books. Rules of Prey is the 1st book in the Prey series by John Sandford. Another series that I've been reading since the 90s. While I do want to re-read it, I do remembe that book very vividly. Another best #1 in my opinion. Historical Fiction: I understand, not a favorite genre of yours. But, for me it is. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell is the 1st of the Saxon Stories. I haven't finished the series, but, it's the best of the series that I have read to date.
I realize this may be a contrarian opinion, but I would argue that for a majority of the book series that I’ve read, the first volume is always the best. It seems to me that whichever author I pick, whether it’s sci-fi or fantasy, the best ideas are always in the opener, and then the other books in the series just don’t live up to the standard that it set. In “Running Down a Dream,” the Peter Bogdanovich documentary about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jimmy Iovine explains that for a lot of the bands that he produced, they’d spent the last 10 years writing all of the songs for their first album, and then had to rush to write the second album in 10 months, and it always showed. He said that he’d typically get hired to do the third one, and went on to explain what he did to work with various artists to get it to be as good as it could be. But with sci-fi and fantasy, it’s rare for me to find a series in which the follow-up works are as good as the original. I will, of course, keep reading, but this fact is always lingering in the back of my mind whenever I start anything new.
Favourite books ones: "Magician" by Raymond Feist "Daughter of the Empire" by Janny Wurts and Raymond Feist "Hunting the Corrigan's Blood" by Holly Lisle "Valor's Choice" by Tanya Huff.
Would love to see the best opening lines! Very cool idea! As a Follet reader, "The Fall of Giants" in the Century Trilogy is AMAZING! Think you would really dig it.
Jurassic Park. Actual science fiction, unlike Star Wars. ;) Mars by Ben Bova is also actual sci-fi. I see he’s written a sequel, so Mars can now be on a book 1 list.
Totally agree with you on the blade itself.great book . Another great book 1 was Canticle from the cleric quintet . By none other then RA Salvatore . Give it a go.
Me I haven't read The way of Kings and tbh I'm not over fussed on Brandon Sanderson having read The first Mistborn trilogy, Emporers Soul and the 3 novellas in The many lives of Stephen Leeds..
I just don't get why people like the blade itself. There is literally nothing happening the whole book. I guess it's a me thing, but I just don't get it
I’d love to hear your top series where book two or three won you over. For example I believe you said book two of the wheel of time series was better than book one.
Loved the list.. you definitely have my vote for a video about best opening lines. I can think of a certain Dresden novel right now. And of course several other novels
haha you got me Mike. And everyone agrees (well a lot of people) that TWOK is a fantastic entry into The Stormlight A. and TFE for me isn't as good as the second and third Mistborn books
I love hearing more about your love for these books. I expected pretty much everything that was in this video, but there is one book I was shocked not to see on your list. Malice!
I loved Pillars of the Earth, and found that despite the book length, it reads pretty quickly. The only criticism I would put on Ken Follet's style is that it's very Manichean : the good guys, the bad guys. If you liked the PotE, you should read the other books of the series. A series based on the Pillars also came out and it's not bad.
Go read the Wrinkle in Time quintet! Redwall Abbey also took many seasons (years are not a unit of measure in this world) to be completed, and then later had some repairs and additions. The whole 22 book series revolves around the abbey. Let's do a video on series that didn't really get good until the last book, or series that the last book was the best, and the series ends and you're starving for more. I am so glad I never read LotR until it was released as a single book. In my mind there are The Hobbit and LotR, two books.
Another historical fiction novel about building a thing that I'd recommend is Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell. You'll never guess what they're building!
Mike, what’s your favorite genre? New to the fiction world. I’ve read a little king and I’m starting dark matter. I heard you talk about how it was fast paced. I have a lot going on in life and don’t get a lot of time to myself, so I can appreciate something that paces well. Any recommendations that fall in that category?
@@bridleybateson5622 It's been many, many years since I read this trilogy. IIRC, there are no humans at all in these books. It's like a medieval fantasy approaching the Renaissance... with dinosaurs.
Stephen King or Joe Abercrombie when it comes to character work? I haven’t read any of Joes stuff yet but it’s on my 2022 list. I haven’t found anyone close to King when it comes to Character work.
You got me into Dune. I am now almost done with children of dune. I started the series a few months ago. I'm curious about the last 3 books in the series because people say that it gets weird. I love the series so far
I very much agree with what you said about Pillars of the Earth and the effort of building things. If I ever write a fantasy novel, it will be about people building a tower for a wizard. Like that Rainbow song, Stargazer.
This is a great list. Gunslinger is a great book, I got a very western vibe from it when I read it. But it also has all of those other elements like horror and detective in it too. Jurassic Park blew my mind when I read it over the summer. It really does make you think. I just read Dune a few months ago and it has stuck with me. I was so afraid I wasn't going to like it at all but I ended up loving it. So many things again that make you think. Hard agree on the younger audiences books. I read Sorcerer's Stone for the first time after the first movie came out, I was in my 20s then. It's a great introduction to that world. Not my favorite book in the series either, that's Prisoner of Azkaban for me. Again, great list. So many great books on here.
I read the Pillars of the Earth trilogy. The follow up books are pretty good, but after a while fairly cut and paste copies of Pillars. There's also a prequel Follet wrote that has been sitting on my bookshelf for some time.
Great list, but sad to not see Jordan w/ Eye of the World or Erikson w/ Gardens of the Moon on here. Defining fantasy, and the genre would not be the same if it weren't for these two novels.
Some of my best memories are standing outside the co-op on the island I lived on waiting for the store to open at midnight to buy Harry Potter. Seeing all the "cool kids" how I didn't know read there as well 🥰
I have many, but I'll drop 3: Priest of Bones (Peter McLean), The Emperor's Blades (Brian Staveley), and Blood Song (Anthony Ryan). Actually, a fourth . . . Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
I love that you include Harry Potter in so many of your lists. I agree with all you said about it! Thanks for including a series that brought so many people to reading.
Regardless of revisionist history due to new opinions about the author, it'll always be a series that is special to me and I'll always be an advocate for it.
Hooray, I also voted for this option! 🌟 YES for ASOIAF. I'm going to reread the series soon because it really was sooo good and I somehow forgot that over the years since I read it. One of the best firsts in a series ever in my opinion. Stormlight Archive is on my 2022 TBR. You're making me even more excited!
I'm going to look up your Brent Weeks video. Loved the first book, really liked the next couple, but the fourth was aggravating. I have the fifth, but still haven't read it because I thought everything could have been wrapped up in the fourth book, probably even the third. It felt like he was milking the success, so he extended a trilogy to an unneeded quintology. I'll go see what your thoughts are. I thought The Rook (first book in The Checquy File) by O'Malley was phenomenal. Second book was good too, but it was told from the point of view of another character, and I wanted to hear more from the original character. Also, Robots of Gotham a great first book. True, there is no second book out yet so technically not a "first" book at the moment.
Weeks is like Metallica; you get so disappointed because you know he has the talent but he just feels like he has to do something different than everyone else instead of sticking with what works.
Pillars of the Earth was FANTASTIC and I was thrilled to see it added to the list. The entire series was great and you owe it to yourself to read on to the next book World Without End. Honorable mentions: 1 - Robert McCammon's Speak the Nightbird- first entry to his Matthew Corbett series. Historical thriller and horror fantasy, it's hard to categorize but it's my #1 favorite series. He's soon to release book 8 out of 9. 2 - Michael McDowell's Blackwater saga starting with The Flood. This was a charming series, by the guy who wrote the screenplay for Beetlejuice!! You can see it in the characters and setting, sort of a Tim Burton-ish style. 3 - I love historical fiction, and the Civil War -- North and South by John Jakes. Book 1 of 3 massive tomes.
I love the age of madness trilogy more my favorite book in that trilogy is the trouble with peace 🌟 Words of radiance is my favorite in the stormlight archives
Well, my TBR list has increased. My favorite ones are : Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, A Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle and Men who Hate Women by Stieg Larsson.
So many to add to my reading lists lol....sir king....would you consider Gwendy button box a good first book? Richard chizmar wrote book 2 and king's coming out with book 3 in February.... pre-order is on Amazon.
@@mikesbookreviews I'm reading the dark Tower series with a few in-between books that can be considered an expanded tower list persay. I loved the talisman lol...(probably alone in my decision lol). I'm almost done with wizard and glass. But I do see where his collab books are not for everyone. I always heard talisman was just awful but yet I finally read it and was pleasantly surprised.
Great list, Mike! As an aside, I blinked and you’re suddenly on the verge of 60k. Mike’s Book Reviews is about to smash through another milestone!
It's slow going but always fun to reach a new milestone.
Mike, you should do another one of these, but being the opposite: best series that don’t get great til after book 1 and are worth pushing through. Red rising comes to mind, I’m sure there are others
Stephen King's Dark Tower series was this for me. I hated The Gunslinger, and for years it discouraged me from reading further, but when I eventually read the rest of the series, I ended up loving it.
Dresden Files comes to mind. I'm glad I kept going with the series, but I almost dnf'ed it. Great idea.
@@surpriseitsus9622 I got lucky with Dresden , someone gave me book 5.
Gardens of the moon comes to mind
@@Steve_Stowers I'm in the same boat with The Dark Tower series. I just finished Gunslinger a couple months ago and even though I hear it GETS BETTER I'm pushing off on getting to it.
Way of Kings is probably one of my top 5 personally! Just so good!
Yeah, it's superb
@@mikesbookreviews I think the Poppy War may be up there as well as Queen of Blood.. its hard to pick faves 😂
Ever since I saw you talk about Abercrombie during a chat with an author (can't recall the guys name but you did the dune movie review chat with him, seems like a great guy) those books have been really high on my list I can't wait to read them
Pillars of the Earth is a GREAT book. My paperback copy was loaned to so many friends that it eventually fell apart. Every single person loved that book. It has shocking surprises and an evil character that you can't wait to see die. Highly recommended.
Thanks for this. I've about 20 books, like a squirrel's hibernation nuts, beside the bed ready for winter reading. I've just added Hyperion and Ender's Game (not read it since it came out) to this.
It's always key to be prepared.
The Series of Unfortunate Events is one that I wish I'd read when I was younger. I picked them up at 14 and by the time I got to the 6th book, the constant dictionary definitions for words and phrases I knew broke me. I couldn't keep reading them. They are great for younger readers though!
Oh for sure, but I did enjoy reading the first 4-5 though.
I think the series shows some of the smartest writing I've experienced when considering the target audience. Then the end of season 2 of Netflix show I still think is fantastic (Lemony Snicket defines a cliffhanger, ending the season on a cliffhanger with Violet and Klaus literally hanging on the edge of a cliff).
@@NAFUSO1 I think they are absolutely great for the target audience!
If this was my top 20 favourite number 1 books I'd add "Blood Song" by Anthony Ryan. But, as with your example of "The Warded Man", the subsequent books were forgettable.
So I've heard. That's why I keep kicking Ryan down the TBR.
definitely an amazing book. I think it was even my book of the year when I read it, and then Tower Lord was like WTF?! I remember even though I gave it four stars, it just was such a letdown still in some ways
I have the coffee cup: "The man in black fled across the desert..."
Great vid, sir.
I want one.
As always Mike you knocked it out the park. Such a great list of books!!! I see you coming up on another milestone. Onward to 60k
This is the only channel where I've seen two books of my fave series - Interview with a Vampire and Pillar's of the Earth
Impopular opinion but I'd put The Gunslinger, book 1 in the Dark Tower. I absolutely love that book.
I would put Harry Potter #1 in there as well.
I think Gunslinger is brilliant. Will never understand the criticisms of it.
I'm still wondering if those who claim that The Gunslinger is a weak book or a tough one to go through have read the same book I did
@@alexbigday1587 well that's actually possible, since there're two versions of the book, lol
Love The Gunslinger as well.
No one ever mentions the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, but it’s one of my favorites. The first book, A Discovery of Witches, would be on my list of best first books in a series.
I've heard of it a couple times but have yet to check it out.
Yes!!
How about the Pendergast series by Preston and Child?
Here is my top 2 of all time:
1. Kings of the Wyld: where the second book never grabbed me kings of the wyld clicked immediately and every time I’ve read it (3 so far) I finish it in like a day.
2. The fifth season: the impact of that novel and the adjustment it forced of the readers to understand the perspective into seeing how the story came together was really amazing. One of the best written books of the last twenty years, the sequels never really met that bar.
Kings of the Wyld just barely missed the cut here. I loved it.
Yes absolutely Netflix did an INCREDIBLY faithful adaptation of series of unfortunate events, even down to the small details.
Harris as Olaf was fantastic.
@@mikesbookreviews yeah that was incredibly smart casting!
A Song of Ice and Fire is the best fantasy content ever released!
Holy shit you said EXACTLY WHAT I THINK of HP! I thought I might be wrong about my opinion on the cultural and historical significance of the HP books.
You ever gonna do some Sword of Truth content? For such a popular series I feel it's really underrepresented on RUclips.
I'm a bit of a newb to First Law but Sand dan Glokta is my spirit animal. Does it make me terrible that he's so relatable?
On another note, Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorite books of all time. Who knew a story about building a church would be so fulfilling.
Glokta is a role model.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is 100% the reason I got into fantasy! I grew up with my dad reading my sister and I the Narnia books every night and that one was by far my favorite. I was blown away by the world, the characters, the battles, the creatures, and so much more. It will always have a special place in my heart!
From the top of my head, my favourite book 1's (not necessarily favourite in the series but still up there from what ive read) are:
Gardens of the Moon
A Game of Thrones
Outlander
Kings of the Wyld
I LOVED The Gunslinger a lot! It was amazing and a 5 star read for me. The Eye of The World is definitely one of my all-time first books of series too. Actually, the first paragraph of the Eye of the World is my absolute favorite opening in all books.
Just finished the first law trilogy and loved it!😍 Today I started the dune series. So excited for it!☺
My mom loved Pillars of the Earth, so it's been on my list for some time. Maybe a read along?
My top five in order of reading them would be:
The Philosopher's Stone
The Fellowship of the Ring
Guards! Guards! (City Watch Series) I know I'm cheating here! 😂
Dune
The Gunslinger
Some solid picks. Have yet to dive into Discworld.
I really addicted to your recommendation of book series. LOL
I do love helping others spend their money.
You got me to read First Law. Can't pick a favourite, maybe Last Argument of Kings. Though I view the trilogy as one story, a bit like Lord of the Rings. Favourite #1s for me include Traitor's Blade (Greatcoats), Gardens of the Moon (Malazan, till I read Bonehunters, and there's still a few to go), Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer), Titus Groan (Gormenghast). Btw, I'm one of those who haven't read any Stormlight Archive yet. Planning to start this Jan.
Assassin's Apprentice was one of my tough cuts. Excellent coming of age story.
Can’t wait till you do The Lord of the Rings!!! I’m currently reading ‘The Hobbit’ for the first time & this will also be my first ever fantasy read-I must say, I’m LOVING it 🤍 I was just scrolling through all of your playlists, I think, literally on Monday… I was trying to find The Lord of the Rings reviews & was wondering why you had none! 😩 so excited to see that series Mike! Make it longgg! Do all sorts. I got the box set, so I’m reading all of them, period. 🙏🏼🧙🏼♂️🧝🏼♂️
Homeland by R. A. Salvatore absolutely makes my list. Aside from introducing Drizzt, what I really love is showing us a whole new society and way of life in the Underdark.
@@MrsPhilosopher is that not Homeland? I think the Icewind Dale trilogy was maybe published first but chronologically it has to be Homeland right?
Say one thing about Mike
Say he's good at book recommendations (and reviews)
Thanks for getting me into First Law last year Mike, just a quarter into The Wisdom of Crowds now!
My pleasure! So happy you've enjoyed the ride.
Will you make your favorite middle and final books in a series videos? 😁
Always great content in your channel. Thank you!
I could probably do a shorter "Final Books in a Series that Stuck the Landing" type of thing eventually. I want to finish a few long series I'm currently working though first.
@@mikesbookreviews that's perfectly fine. Sorry for the delay. 🙂
Yeah a lot of younger Booktubers are dunking on ender's game because *Gasp!* Orson Scott Card is a Mormon?? And he vaguely makes references to that in his books?? The horror. The absolute horror. It's certainly a perfectly rational reason to be outraged. 😑
I never let what authors do in real life effect how I feel about a book, so I cannot say. I just know Ender's Game is an incredible read.
@@mikesbookreviews absolutely, Mike. I'm always saying "separate the art from the artist". I really don't like Rothfuss as a person but you better believe I've read his books several times over haha!
Justin Cronin's The Passage or the first book of Chung quo by david wingrove two thick book steaks
Agree with almost everything on the list. Pillars of the Earth were absolutely amazing
Yeah pillars of the earth was really great it was the first book from ken follett that I read
One of my all time favorites, the sequels are also good.
@@AK-rq1cz the first sequel yes. Th third one was alright. Still have to read that new prequel
@@Rendref Yes, World Without End was great, A Column of Fire was really good but not quite as compelling. The prequel is next on my reading list after Rhythm of War.
It's crazy cause when I went into reading red rising, I was expecting the first book to be complete trash, alot of people ripped it but i loved it. Hahah so idk maybe it's jus me... thanks for the content Mike, keep it up.
Lowered expectations always helps.
Loved this video idea! I read A Wrinkle in Time originally in elementary school and had such fond memories but read it as an adult and unfortunately didn’t feel the same.
Five of my favorite firsts are:
The Book of Koli- M.R. Carey(loved the whole trilogy)
Outlander( currently on the fourth book and have loved every one)
Sleeping Giants- Sylvain Neuvel( still need to read rest of trilogy)
The Lies of Locke Lamora- Scott Lynch
( although I thought book 2 was even better)
Inkheart- Cornelia Funke( my son and I read this together when he was in middle school and we both loved the trilogy)Additional Note: Don’t watch the movie- IT WAS HORRIBLE
Tried Dune 3x. Could not get passed 50 pages. Just tried Gunslinger again this morning. Ugh. Gave up. I obviously have completely different tastes. And thats cool.
Hey Mike. Two book 1s that I highly recommend in your “YA” category are ‘Gregor the Overlander’ by Suzanne Collins and ‘Fablehaven’ by Brandon Mull.
I'm not that much into horror but I'd assume "gothic horror" is to horror what urban fantasy is to fantasy? Not separate but a subcategory? Anyway, I myself might put Interview in fantasy rather than horror
I don't know. Some folks have subgenres to their subgenres.
Surprised that I didn't see Malice on the list.
I liked Malice, but it's my least favorite of those 4 books.
@@mikesbookreviews Ah, that's fair. I'd say same goes for me too, but I think it is a solid opener regardless.
Some favorite #1's of mineL
Fantasy: While I consider myself new to the genre, I did read The Lord of the Rings trilogy around 20 years ago. When the movies came out. The Fellowship of the Ring was my favorite of that series. I'm in the process of reading the 1st Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. The Final Empire is a very good #1 for me. I'm reading Sanderson at a slower pace, so, I haven't finished that series,. Let alone starting on The Stormlight Archive. In fact, at my age, I'll most probably not live long enough to see the end of that series. So, while I've read/heard much good things about it, I'm hesitant to start a series that I'll never be around to finish.
Science Fiction: I agree with Leviathan Wakes and Dune as best of their respective series. In the case of Dune, I can't remember reading any SF novel, or any genre, for that matter, that had such an effect on my life. I had read a lot of SF books as a youth in the 50s and Dune just blew my mind. Leviathan Wakes had a near similar effect on me. I hadn't read much SF recently until I read LW. Now, I've finished that series and looking to re-read it.
Crime: the Black Echo by Michael Connelly is the 1st Harry Bosch book. I started reading that series around 25-30 years ago. I've read all of the Bosch books to date. Well, not the most recent one, but, every one up to that one. Recently, I re-read The Black Echo and really enjoyed so much more than I had with any of the more recent Bosch books. Rules of Prey is the 1st book in the Prey series by John Sandford. Another series that I've been reading since the 90s. While I do want to re-read it, I do remembe that book very vividly. Another best #1 in my opinion.
Historical Fiction: I understand, not a favorite genre of yours. But, for me it is. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell is the 1st of the Saxon Stories. I haven't finished the series, but, it's the best of the series that I have read to date.
Hang on! Where is 'Magician' by Raymond E. Feist!? Has Mike never read it! The whole Valheru thread is just fantastic!
I realize this may be a contrarian opinion, but I would argue that for a majority of the book series that I’ve read, the first volume is always the best. It seems to me that whichever author I pick, whether it’s sci-fi or fantasy, the best ideas are always in the opener, and then the other books in the series just don’t live up to the standard that it set. In “Running Down a Dream,” the Peter Bogdanovich documentary about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jimmy Iovine explains that for a lot of the bands that he produced, they’d spent the last 10 years writing all of the songs for their first album, and then had to rush to write the second album in 10 months, and it always showed. He said that he’d typically get hired to do the third one, and went on to explain what he did to work with various artists to get it to be as good as it could be. But with sci-fi and fantasy, it’s rare for me to find a series in which the follow-up works are as good as the original. I will, of course, keep reading, but this fact is always lingering in the back of my mind whenever I start anything new.
Favourite books ones:
"Magician" by Raymond Feist
"Daughter of the Empire" by Janny Wurts and Raymond Feist
"Hunting the Corrigan's Blood" by Holly Lisle
"Valor's Choice" by Tanya Huff.
Would love to see the best opening lines! Very cool idea! As a Follet reader, "The Fall of Giants" in the Century Trilogy is AMAZING! Think you would really dig it.
"It was a dark & stormy night."
The Dresden Files were not on here, did you like those?
Of course. I’ve reviewed every single book on the channel. But book 1 was just okay for me.
Jurassic Park. Actual science fiction, unlike Star Wars. ;)
Mars by Ben Bova is also actual sci-fi. I see he’s written a sequel, so Mars can now be on a book 1 list.
Totally agree with you on the blade itself.great book . Another great book 1 was Canticle from the cleric quintet . By none other then RA Salvatore . Give it a go.
Just signed up for your channrl. Great list. Only caveat as i am sure others have commented, The Lord of the Rings is 1 book.
Lion, Witch and Wardrobe was my 1st Fantasy book I read. I considered it #1 in the series. Magicians Nephew was kinda Meh
Me I haven't read The way of Kings and tbh I'm not over fussed on Brandon Sanderson having read The first Mistborn trilogy, Emporers Soul and the 3 novellas in The many lives of Stephen Leeds..
Sanderson isn't going to be for everyone. I think his zealots fail to realize that.
@@mikesbookreviews I was dubious posting what I did Mike however it's not like I've not tried.
I just don't get why people like the blade itself. There is literally nothing happening the whole book. I guess it's a me thing, but I just don't get it
Best first line - great video idea, you should definitely make this😊
I think it'll certainly happen.
I enjoyed The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
I’d love to hear your top series where book two or three won you over. For example I believe you said book two of the wheel of time series was better than book one.
Red Rising would top that list.
Yes to a Best/favorite first lines in books video!
Loved the list.. you definitely have my vote for a video about best opening lines. I can think of a certain Dresden novel right now. And of course several other novels
For me gunslinger and the final Empire would be my top 2 favorite book ones of all time
+1 for introducing to Joe Abercrombie, started 2021 reading his books and going to end it reading wisdom of crowds.
Wait... they REORDERED The Narnia series?!!??!
Yep. Now it comes in collections in timeline order. The Magicians Nephew is now considered book 1.
@@mikesbookreviews smh
1. Mistborn I 2. The Way of Kings 3. The Gunslinger 4. Hyperion 5. The Eye of the World.
Narnia, Middle Earth, and Roshar are my favorite worlds to spend time in. Thanks for giving them the hype they deserve.
haha you got me Mike. And everyone agrees (well a lot of people) that TWOK is a fantastic entry into The Stormlight A. and TFE for me isn't as good as the second and third Mistborn books
Ah Dune. Amazing book, pants film.
Pillars Of the Earth has been sitting on my ottoman for months….I need to start it again.
Best 1st line from a book my fave is from Mister B Gone by Clive barker.
I love hearing more about your love for these books. I expected pretty much everything that was in this video, but there is one book I was shocked not to see on your list. Malice!
If you liked enders game the sequel is even better!
That Judas Priest T-shirt though! Great band.
You are the best on Booktube!! Love your videos !
I loved Pillars of the Earth, and found that despite the book length, it reads pretty quickly. The only criticism I would put on Ken Follet's style is that it's very Manichean : the good guys, the bad guys. If you liked the PotE, you should read the other books of the series.
A series based on the Pillars also came out and it's not bad.
I enjoyed the miniseries. Lots a great actors.
Go read the Wrinkle in Time quintet!
Redwall Abbey also took many seasons (years are not a unit of measure in this world) to be completed, and then later had some repairs and additions. The whole 22 book series revolves around the abbey.
Let's do a video on series that didn't really get good until the last book, or series that the last book was the best, and the series ends and you're starving for more.
I am so glad I never read LotR until it was released as a single book. In my mind there are The Hobbit and LotR, two books.
I'd certainly be interested in revisiting it.
Another historical fiction novel about building a thing that I'd recommend is Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell. You'll never guess what they're building!
Definitely want to read some Cornwell.
Mike, what’s your favorite genre?
New to the fiction world. I’ve read a little king and I’m starting dark matter. I heard you talk about how it was fast paced. I have a lot going on in life and don’t get a lot of time to myself, so I can appreciate something that paces well.
Any recommendations that fall in that category?
Not far into it but even through 15 pages I like the way crouch writes
Don't care if this sounds childish; I wish there were more fiction books about dinosaurs.
SAME.
West of Eden - Harry Harrison.
Robert Sawyer's Quintaglio Ascension trilogy. First book is called Farseer. In this case, the dinosaurs are intelligent.
@@Rogue_VI I'll check those out, thanks!
@@bridleybateson5622 It's been many, many years since I read this trilogy. IIRC, there are no humans at all in these books. It's like a medieval fantasy approaching the Renaissance... with dinosaurs.
Stephen King or Joe Abercrombie when it comes to character work? I haven’t read any of Joes stuff yet but it’s on my 2022 list. I haven’t found anyone close to King when it comes to Character work.
King is definitely the master when it comes to that.
Good idea: Best first paragraph or line in a book.
So why the triangles that make a pentagram
You got me into Dune. I am now almost done with children of dune. I started the series a few months ago. I'm curious about the last 3 books in the series because people say that it gets weird. I love the series so far
I’m about a third done with the first one, loving it so far!
I very much agree with what you said about Pillars of the Earth and the effort of building things. If I ever write a fantasy novel, it will be about people building a tower for a wizard. Like that Rainbow song, Stargazer.
Any Dio reference gets an auto thumbs up from me.
This is a great list. Gunslinger is a great book, I got a very western vibe from it when I read it. But it also has all of those other elements like horror and detective in it too. Jurassic Park blew my mind when I read it over the summer. It really does make you think. I just read Dune a few months ago and it has stuck with me. I was so afraid I wasn't going to like it at all but I ended up loving it. So many things again that make you think.
Hard agree on the younger audiences books. I read Sorcerer's Stone for the first time after the first movie came out, I was in my 20s then. It's a great introduction to that world. Not my favorite book in the series either, that's Prisoner of Azkaban for me. Again, great list. So many great books on here.
Man, reading Jurassic Park that first time was a revelation to me.
"the world has moved on" What a great freekin series
I read the Pillars of the Earth trilogy. The follow up books are pretty good, but after a while fairly cut and paste copies of Pillars. There's also a prequel Follet wrote that has been sitting on my bookshelf for some time.
Oh, that's a bummer.
Ken Follet also has a series called “The Century Trilogy.” The first book in that series, “The Fall of Giants” is excellent.
Noted! Certainly want to try more of his works.
Pillars of the Earth. Phenomenal!
Excellent List. Love Love Love Love 5:33! Still looking for my copy of Abercrombie!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great list, but sad to not see Jordan w/ Eye of the World or Erikson w/ Gardens of the Moon on here. Defining fantasy, and the genre would not be the same if it weren't for these two novels.
I think in both of those series I like book 2 so much more.
Personally, I prefer you ranking them. Love seeing your opinion! Love the video regardless though!
Perchance I'll go back to it eventually.
Some of my best memories are standing outside the co-op on the island I lived on waiting for the store to open at midnight to buy Harry Potter. Seeing all the "cool kids" how I didn't know read there as well 🥰
That was a great time. We will never see the world stop again for a book in our lifetimes, I don't believe.
I have many, but I'll drop 3: Priest of Bones (Peter McLean), The Emperor's Blades (Brian Staveley), and Blood Song (Anthony Ryan). Actually, a fourth . . . Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
I'm interested in all 3 of these!
@@mikesbookreviews I'm glad you threw some love to The Gunslinger, which I miserably failed to acknowledge. I have forgotten the face of my father.
Great List Mike, Which was your favourite Harry Potter book?
Prisoner of Azkaban
I love that you include Harry Potter in so many of your lists. I agree with all you said about it! Thanks for including a series that brought so many people to reading.
Regardless of revisionist history due to new opinions about the author, it'll always be a series that is special to me and I'll always be an advocate for it.
Hooray, I also voted for this option! 🌟 YES for ASOIAF. I'm going to reread the series soon because it really was sooo good and I somehow forgot that over the years since I read it. One of the best firsts in a series ever in my opinion.
Stormlight Archive is on my 2022 TBR. You're making me even more excited!
Stormlight is so good! ♥️♥️♥️
When I read AGoT I became obsessed. Couldn't think or talk about anything else. God, what a time.
There must be something wrong with me because Hyperion just did not sit well with me... Which probably means Canterberry Tales won't either lol.
No one thing is for everyone.
@@mikesbookreviews I will say, the Bikura section was phenomenal. I could’ve read a whole novel on that one pilgrim lol
The ken Follet book is great!
I'm going to look up your Brent Weeks video. Loved the first book, really liked the next couple, but the fourth was aggravating. I have the fifth, but still haven't read it because I thought everything could have been wrapped up in the fourth book, probably even the third. It felt like he was milking the success, so he extended a trilogy to an unneeded quintology. I'll go see what your thoughts are.
I thought The Rook (first book in The Checquy File) by O'Malley was phenomenal. Second book was good too, but it was told from the point of view of another character, and I wanted to hear more from the original character. Also, Robots of Gotham a great first book. True, there is no second book out yet so technically not a "first" book at the moment.
I see my thoughts are quite similar to yours re: Weeks.
Weeks is like Metallica; you get so disappointed because you know he has the talent but he just feels like he has to do something different than everyone else instead of sticking with what works.
Pillars of the Earth was FANTASTIC and I was thrilled to see it added to the list. The entire series was great and you owe it to yourself to read on to the next book World Without End.
Honorable mentions:
1 - Robert McCammon's Speak the Nightbird- first entry to his Matthew Corbett series. Historical thriller and horror fantasy, it's hard to categorize but it's my #1 favorite series. He's soon to release book 8 out of 9.
2 - Michael McDowell's Blackwater saga starting with The Flood. This was a charming series, by the guy who wrote the screenplay for Beetlejuice!! You can see it in the characters and setting, sort of a Tim Burton-ish style.
3 - I love historical fiction, and the Civil War -- North and South by John Jakes. Book 1 of 3 massive tomes.
North & South has my interest, for sure.
I love the age of madness trilogy more my favorite book in that trilogy is the trouble with peace 🌟
Words of radiance is my favorite in the stormlight archives
WoR is my favorite in Stormlight, too.
Well, my TBR list has increased.
My favorite ones are : Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, The Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, A Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle and Men who Hate Women by Stieg Larsson.
A Study In Scarlet precedes The Sign of Four.
@@RayBlake You're right. I confused the order. Thank you!
So many to add to my reading lists lol....sir king....would you consider Gwendy button box a good first book? Richard chizmar wrote book 2 and king's coming out with book 3 in February.... pre-order is on Amazon.
Still have yet to read those. Talisman & Sleeping Beauties chased me off from his collaborations.
@@mikesbookreviews I'm reading the dark Tower series with a few in-between books that can be considered an expanded tower list persay. I loved the talisman lol...(probably alone in my decision lol). I'm almost done with wizard and glass. But I do see where his collab books are not for everyone. I always heard talisman was just awful but yet I finally read it and was pleasantly surprised.