I wonder how many people disliked the Witcher books because they are quite different from the story or even structure of the games, and it just wasn't what they were expecting, what starts out as a story about Geralt monster hunting and problem-solving transitions into fantasy satire and political intrigue allusions to eastern European politics, where the worldbuilding is more of just a sandbox for the characters to interact with each other on, there are a lot of pov switches and unreliable narrator moments ( Geralt actually shows up surprisingly little in the last two books for a character that most casual fans would consider the 100% main character of the witcher) personly I love this series its almost like like a dark Slavic version of the Discworld books at times with its fantasy subversions and hilarious dialog at times, I can also see how someone could absolutely not vibe with the style
it took me 5 tries to finish the first book and once I had I couldnt name a single thing that stood out to me. Sorry, but some of these fantasy darlings are mega overrated, IMHO.
Memory, Sorrow & Thorn is definitely in my top 5 fantasy series. Read it twice. Also The Fall of Babel is FAR from horrible. I felt it was a great series. And how The Sword of Truth isn’t on here is unbelievable!!!
It can be for any age i think. It could be seen as grimdark for younger audiences but reading it again as an adult you see so many things almost if not explicitly stated you glossed over when younger.
I'm right there with you. Yes its got a young female protagonist, which typically falls under YA, but the things that happen and the themes through the book are just incedibly dark, I would say bordering in horror at points. Would definitely scare children if read to them I'd think.
Great video Matt! I definitely recommend His Dark Materials. It’s not really for kids. The writing and plotting is quite complex. I was shocked that Broken Earth is so high up there, even though I know not everyone likes it. The second person makes sense by the end of book three. It’s not my top favorite series, but I quite enjoyed it.
I really wanted to like Riyria but I just couldn’t click with it, I managed to get through the first half of theft of swords and then DNF’d it. Really didn’t like the writing, just me of course.
@@andybarker8787 In my opinion the Riyria Revelations "trilogy" gets better after Theft of Swords with each book, but I can see how it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
@@GideonsRecruit I might try again, still have my copy. Also I was coming off the back of reading wayof kings and words of radiance back to back which may have negatively influenced how I felt about it. It’s why when I def a book I keep it usually for a year or so so I can give it another go.
In my opinion the His dark Materials trilogy only gets better after each book and you should give it a shot.The last book in particular is very grim and deals with deep and adult themes
@@hannahbrennan2131 I think the first book was very good, The Subtle Knife was amazing and The Amber Spyglass was very weak. Overall a good series with a poor ending.
I read the Way of Shadows as one of the first fantasy series I ever read (probably THE first one I read as an adult), and I LOVED it. But it’s been like 12 years and I haven’t thought about it since then. I should revisit it and see if I’d still love it or not.
I love The Dark Tower, but expected it to be here. It’s a very divisive series where you either love it or hate it. Also, not everyone hates the ending. I actually think the ending is fantastic, but again, I can see why people would hate it. You nailed it with King’s writing style. He doesn’t do any advance plotting for his books, instead he comes up with a situation and just starts writing, then sees where the story develops from there. I agree that style isn’t great for the fantasy genre, and probably is better match for horror, which is where his bread and butter is.
Just one man's opinion, but I've seen Cradle receive a lot of praise from people who are fans of sci-fi/fantasy with little to no exposure to shonen jump style anime and less praise from people with equal or more exposure to those series. I think the progression fantasy mechanism that people praise for being 'addictive' is more than heavily inspired by some of the most well known shonen style manga. If you've not experienced a story like that before, then the structure of Cradle is more novel and the story more gripping. If you're familiar with stories like that, then it doesn't do anything new. Add in the fact that Cradle isn't known for its prose or its overarching themes, and you end up with a pretty basic story that takes its best ideas from Japanese comics and puts them into written word.
Matts lists like these are fascinating and such a good idea because (if youve heard his profession) you can tell it actually informs how he does his videos in a way. These "percentage" lists and tracking general opinion is such a cool example of crossing over the work he does in real life bleeding into his hobby.
At the same time these are all wildly popular books that many people might enjoy. I've read truly bad books, non of these series are actually bad. They may be devisive but there sure are people that enjoy them for good reasons out there.
You should definitly give Memory Sorrow and Thorn another try. I also dnfed it when I first tried. Then I went back a year later and absolutly loved it.
I’m surprised to see so many people dislike The Witcher. I love the books, they are the reason I got back into reading for the first time since middle school. They do have their flaws (boring as hell political segments I’m looking at you) but I thought they were a lot of fun overall. In my opinion they are way better than the show.
I do hope that you are able to return to Tadd Williams. He does indeed provide incredible payoffs. But yes it is very slow but I really enjoy his writing style a lot. The newer series set in the same world I heard is much better
I really liked the Broken Earth (not loved, just liked), but I also don’t get why it won that award for all three years. I did love finding out the real reason it was written in “2nd person” though (it doesn’t really get revealed until the end of book 3)!
This makes me a little nervous for Broken Empire trilogy, but we'll see! I know we agree about Jemisin, but it appears we agree about Witcher as well. Those novels are pretty lousy to be honest.
your viewpoint towards reading Young Adult books sounds familiar. i'm 51 years old now, but back maybe from my mid-20's till about 5 years ago, i espoused the same view towards YA fiction: i was basically above it, and didn't want or benefit from indulging in it. now that i'm a bit older, i've changed. YA is actually super fun to read. you can literally burn through the novels and they are generally positive stories and you don't have to work too hard. some of the coolest books are YA: Ender's Game for example.
The Kingkiller Chronicles should have been this list.A meandering sensless series.Ask anyone why do you like this book and their pretentious answer would be "we like the prose".It supposed to be a epic fantasy not a poem
I actually really liked Gideon the Ninth in all it's weirdness and off-putting personalities...because it reminded me so much of Gormenghast's weird gothicness. Book 2 in the series, however, totally put me off because by then it became even more weird and metaphysical and if I cannot picture the setting of a book I cannot enjoy it.
Wow, you hit the nail on the head with so many of these. The sad thing of all is going thru an entire series and being so disappointed with the last one or two books. Well at least you have saved me several times, with your videos, LOL. Thank you.
He said in a previous comment that he was expecting to have included it but he only looked at the top rated 50 or 60 fantasy series in order to create this list of the least popular of the most popular. Apparently sword of truth wasn't popular enough anymore to be in the top 60 so doesn't get a mention on this list.
I made it halfway through Blood Mirror before tapping out of Lightbringer. I've heard some people say they think The Black Prism (Book 1) is some of the best fantasy they've ever read which makes the series' quality decline all the worse, but the series always sort of clunked along for me. It's so pulpy and over the top but somehow not that fun? The characters are not likable and I don't think I could distinguish one POV from another based on the narrative voice alone. Everything blends together and there's surprisingly little adventure for all of its goofy writing. The politics are contrived and the way the world is shown just felt so inorganic for me. Almost none of it worked for me and I kept chugging along with the books out of some compulsion to finish something I didn't enjoy lol. I will say the magic system is super cool and I had fun learning about it with Kip, but at the same time I think this series taught me that I'm not going to have good times if a story is primarily being used as a vehicle to showcase a hard magic system.
City of Miracles is one of my favorite books of all time. You can tell City of Stairs was the author’s debut novel. Not bad, but nothing special. Reminds me of the Shadow of What Was Lost. Both are multiple steps up in quality by the last book.
I really liked the Fifth Season and the rest of the trilogy and have recommended it to people who are more "advanced" fantasy readers. Its not the easiest read, for sure. I recommend listening to the audio book if the stylized writing is off putting. I did both and I think it's deserving of it's accolades! The Wheel of Time is too intimidating for me to get started on and I just gave up on Stanlen Ascends. Read that whole Prince of Thorns series and it was...hm... definitely a dark and chaotic main character that does not like being told what to do, or controlled in any way and acts out horrifically. I can see why it's on the list.
I’d be really curious to know what a major publishing company sees in a story or series that is widely ill received by the public. With some of these ratings assumed to be due to a series diminishing in later installments, I wonder if publishers have to continue publishing them due to contracts?
Some of these are acquired taste. These series might sell a lot of books still and get rave reviews by people into this sort of stories. I for example consider the broken empire the best fantasy series written in the last 10 years. (together with the Licanius trilogy and The first law books). Think of it this way: Millions of people buy Taylor Swift records while is we would compare reviews she would probably nor reach a 50 % mark.
Honestly shocked that ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) didn’t top this list… that series is SHOCKINGLY bad. Like actually beyond terrible and the author can’t write to save her life. That said, I do agree about Gideon the Ninth, definitely very overrated.
The Baptism of Fire was my favourite Witcher book, milva is such a good character, she’s great - but yeah overall the books don’t blow my mind. I’m just glad they exist to complement the games though. Poppy wars protagonist was bleh lol I’ve probably commented that a few times on this channel 😂 love the honesty here, it isn’t toxic or rooted in some biases, always enjoy listening to you talk about books
Poor Brent Weeks with 2 series on the list. I DNF'd Memory Sorrow and Thorn in the middle of To Green Angel Tower about 15 years ago and haven't gone back yet. I didn't like the series that much but I liked the names. I'll go back and finish it at some point.
Unrelated to this video: would be interest to see a Sun Eater interview from you. I have not heard the author directly address the Fantasy elements and that would be a good conversation.
Commented on this before, but I liked the concept of books of babel, the first book I enjoyed, was Luke warm on the next 2, DNF the last, because I was Luke warm when people seemed to enjoy the last couple and then most didn’t like the last, I knew it wouldn’t be for me.
I managed to finish Memory sorrow and thorn book two Stone of Farewell recently. This book could be titled ‘Three perspectives on one journey where absolutely nothing happens’ it makes the Dragonbone Chair look like an action packed thrill ride, it’s that slow!
With R.F Kuang and N.K Jemisin both being on here it goes to show fantasy readers don't like didactic writing. We don't need heavy handed morals preached to us in our escapist books. Go write some blogs or non-fiction for that. Or even just be more subtle about it.
It's me, I'm the one who actually has The Witcher as one of her favourite fantasy series (I LOVED it), but maybe it's because the italian translation is way better than the english one. I actually had no idea it was that disliked, I know people irl who hated it, but overall I tought it was doing pretty well by other booktubers' reviews
Not a surprise to see Dark Tower here. Over half of the series doesn't make sense if you haven't read every Stephen King novel published prior to 2000. Interesting to me is that a good portion of this was books that are challenging to read for one reason or another, and given the realization that the "average" reader might take over a month to read a single novel, a little shocked that Malazan (which I love, but a lot of people just can't deal with) didn't wind up on it.
Probably half of the books on this list are here because they’re just victims of their own success. A lot of books don’t need to go beyond their niche audience… But enthusiasm by that audience spreads to people who won’t like it. That’s how I imagine the Dresden files gets on this list. I may have suggested that people read it out of love for the series, when I don’t even know their tastes. If Will Wright is your introduction to progression fantasy or Jim Butcher is your introduction to urban fantasy… well there you go. A lot of people are going to find out they don’t like that particular subgenre with those big ones.
This list is a blast lol. Love His Dark Materials, I wouldn’t call it YA just because it’s children though. The ending of The Dark Tower will haunt me forever, just amazing. Poppy Wars was one of my best reads along with Fifth Season. I am taking a break from WOT but already at book 12, I just need a breather is all after The Sludge almost killed me. Different strokes for sure. 😂😂😂😂
MS&T never picks up, even in the second and third books, despite what some people will say. I loved it, and it definitely had payoffs, but I don't think you're going to end up enjoying it if you don't like the slow pace.
I could give you an answer for NK Jemisin but I will refrain. I heard so much hype around these and I was so excited to try and I really hated and couldn’t even finish the first book and I never fail to finish books I started…
The fourth Babel book was in no way horrible. I can understand people not liking story directions, but there's a big difference between a bad book and a book that someone doesn't enjoy. Same goes for Nevernight really. Piera Forde doesn't RUclips much anymore but she really liked the portrayal of female characters, so i think it comes down to taste more than good vs bad.
Night Angel was good. The issue with WoT is how long it is and the slog is real. Memory, Sorrow, Thorn being disliked it weird to me. Williams is so good. I loved Cradle. I haven't read the last book yet, but I am looking forward to it. Books of Bablel was really good. All of the hate for The Fall of Babel is ridiculous. These are the series on the list that I have read. I have not read Broken Earth (the other Jemison I read was just ok) but there's no way that all three books were the best book of the year in their respective years. That just reeks of agenda.
Lightbringer lost it for me with the penultimate book. The big revelation at the end of that book almost made me abandon the series. Also had the feeling that Kip’s character growth was way too fast, and kind of unearned. The last book was a slight step up from that but still disjointed from the first three. His Dark Materials was marketed as YA because it’s main characters are kids. But it’s not written like YA. You might like it. The first two books are excellent. The third is a bit weird. Overall, it’s still quite good. Kind of hard for me to think of a fantasy reworking of Paradise Lost from an atheist’s perspective as being something that’s just for kids.
I thought Gideon the Ninth was ok. I didn't hate it, but it was weird enough for me to be curious about the next one. So I just read Harrow the 9th a couple weeks ago. I HATED that book. It was so much worse than the 1st one. I didn't understand what was happening at all. I can understand why most of these series are on here. I'm never reading anything by RF Kuang again. But I really like several of these: Dresden, Dark Tower, Riyria, Cradle, book of the Ancestor.
The cradle series was an absolute slog for me to get through… I bought the first three thinking I’d love them, and I had to stop halfway through the second one… I’m not sure exactly what turned me off so hard. I guess I just never connected with any of the characters well enough?
I read His Dark Materials years ago. I thought the Golden Compass was pretty good, bordering on great. The Subtle Knife was a perfect 5. The very definition of mid. And The Amber Spyglass was absolutely atrocious. I hated it so much
That's what I've heard as well. Bad last books seem to be a theme on this list. Granted I only read The Golden Compass and thought it was great with some pretty creative worldbuilding (especially considering when it came out.)
I don't really agree that the religious themes of Lightbringer come from nowhere. From the very beginning the leader of the church considered himself a fraud struggling with his position, and constantly questioned the existence of god. At the end of the day his questions were answered.
Books of Babel are a must read, a huge change from swords and sorcery fantasy, and the author has created a unique world that will stick with you. Amazing concept, brilliantly pulled off. Am I a fan on the final book? Not really, but I think people overreacted to it, as most readers had certain expectations in the storyline that were not met. But it shouldn't be a reason for anyone to miss out on this brilliant world building and story telling. Another one in this list that I enjoyed was Broken Empire. Jorg is despicable at first, but has a great story to tell. While in most other books, not liking the main character automatically puts me off, books 2 and 3 in particular kept me very interested in Jorg's story. In this case, the exact opposite of Books of Babel, it is the earlier pages that turn people off the series.
I've been debating trying the Books of Babel. I am not really into sword and socery but really enjoyed Perdido Street Station by China Miéville so have been looking for more fantasy with a unique setting.
@@RominaJones Perdido Street Station was a mind-blowing experience. Senlin Ascends is different, much lighter initally, though the series in general can get dark at times. I would very strongly recommend at least the first book for anyone. And do pay attention, Josiah Bancroft is a very clever writer. I also disagree with Matt, as book 3 (The Hod King) is actually favourite in the series. It's mainly the last book that feels like a let down to so many readers.
So, a couple of responses about series where you said that you didn't understand the dislike: Wheel of Time: 14 volumes with 2000 named characters, 99.8% of whom are unpleasant, wandering through a maze of twisty-turny subplots that all look the same. One tiny step at a time. The primary virtue of the Sanderson volumes is that he took a machete to the jungle and actually finished the series. And yes, I read the entire series for some reason. Cradle: First book decent and nearly every book after that weaker. This is one of the most prominent examples of a "Lensman Arms Race" since Children of the Lens. Not in my top 20 litRPG series. I know that people say they like them, and I'm sure that at least some of those have read other books to compare with them*, but I don't understand. De gustibus.... * Yes, it's a joke. I'm sure that there are series that I love that you dislike too. Say, Dresden Files. 8-)
About why I didn't really enjoy Cradle. I gave the story a fair bit of my time and read till Book 9 till dropping the series and I think my biggest problem was probably that I've read a lot of progression fantasy before Cradle and didn't really find it that new or special. Although everybody says that it has great progression speed, I find it the powerscaling a bit exaggerated with Lindon going from practically nobody to being that can wipe out entire planets in the span of a few years. The magic system itself also felt pretty rigid with the different unchangeable paths and set moves in said paths and I somehow couldn't come to care for any characters and their dynamic felt mostly forced. It's probably a good read for new readers to progression stories but I've already read most of what Cradle offered in different series' and it just didn't strike me as anything new, interesting or special but as solid but forgettable.
I'd say for Lightbringer it was both book 4 and 5 that tanked the series for me. It just took a weird turn and the magic was less important along with goofy twists.
I really dont understand why everyone hates books 4 and 5 of lightbringer...i loved book 4...id say it was my fav book out of the series...book 5 was also really good...i really dont understand why people hate on them.
Agree with the Dislikes: Riyria Chronicles, Lightbringer, Witcher and Fifth Season. I really liked The Dark Tower and Dresden series. Other series I Dislike and can't understand why people like them: Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu (DNF'd after chapter 2's irrelevant 10-page lore dump), First Law by Abercrombie (DNF'd after a boring 25% in and no plot yet), Powder Mage by Brian McClellan (Finished 1st book and hated it, same repeated resolution for 5/6 plotlines), and Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab (finished the trilogy, but wish I had stopped after the first book, which I actually liked - did not read newest book).
I actually want to read Gideon the Ninth. I have a feeling I'm not going to like it, but it sounds so different from what is normally published and I like books that feel fresh. And maybe I'll love it. There are other series on this list that's on my TBR, but I think I'm going to DNF Lightbringer series. I enjoyed The Black Prism, but I read that when I was first getting back into reading. I've never heard one reviewer say the series the final books are good. I really wish readers liked the finale to Books of Babel more. I read Josiah Bancroft's recent release The Hexologists and I think he's a good writer. But the series sounds like it takes an odd narrative choice by changing protagonists and most reviewers have not been kind to the fourth book. I still might try the series someday, but I will check out more from the author.
Gideon the Ninth is a very particular taste, I think. I was worried going in that it would have too many graphic descriptions of anatomy, given it's about necromancers and I had heard some content warnings about that. It didn't end up being bad in that way for me at all, thankfully! Gideon is a very strong main character, but she very much doesn't want to be there and is not interested in the main plot, which I can understand would be frustrating to many who ARE interested! I just found it funny. Plus she's a very horny teen/early adult lesbian, which was relatable for me, but won't be for many others. And some of the jokes are memes or puns, which aren't very prominent, but will stick out to people who hate those. Overall, I loved it!
memory, sorrow and thorn es una trilogía que pasó sin pena ni gloria, el desenlace no tiene emoción y no se llega a percibir el real peligro de los reinos. Leí los 4 libros pensando en que el pago final de haberlos leído todos iba a ser una buena recompensa, pero me equivoqué. Le sobran como mil páginas
I'm surprised Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever isn't on this list, probably because it is older and largely forgotten. Must-read fantasy of the 80s I read only the first book and did not like it. It too has a rape scene which soured me on it. Also the main character just mopes around bemoaning his leprosy ailment while other characters drag him through their world. Just meh... And I'll take this opportunity for another dig at Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. I hated it but most others love it.
I was thinking the same thing, although I actually liked the first book, Lord Foul's Bane. The second book was so bad for me I had to DNF it, I thought it was terrible all across the board.
The reasons you gave for disliking Stephen King are the reasons I enjoy his books... but I agree, he sometimes has problems wrapping things up. Also, Dresden is amazing!
If you dont like Stephen King, I strongly recommend giving 11/22/63 a try. I've read almost 30 of his books and it's my favorite one, it's incredible. P.S. STRONGLY disagree with that opinion on the ending of Dark Tower. It's absolutely devastating and mindblowing in an awesome way, imo.
Agree I struggled through the first book and dnfd the second one, I keep thinking I should try them again but I cant quite summon up the enthusiasm. Worst thing is I actually own all of them bar the last two as I was recommended the series by a friend who has very simmilar taste to me in books and found the whole series in a 2nd hand charity bookshop for almost nothing lol. Thankfully I only paid a very small amount for all the books but now they are just sitting on my bookshelves looking at me and reminding me that I couldn't get in to them. 😂
I hate the Poppy Wars with a consuming passion lol. I finished the first book because I just kept thinking “there will be something great about something in here somewhere and Im just gonna be blown away.” It never came 🤷🏻♀️ It was just terrible for me from beginning to end. I hate the main character sooo much. Im just glad I borrowed this book and didnt buy it.
As far as His Dark Materials goes, while I don't think it quite qualifies as YA due to some of the themes, I thought the series as a whole was a case of diminishing returns. I enjoyed the first book quite a bit, the second book a lot less, and hated the third book, which was just a slog. I'm kind of surprised to see it on this list, given all of the accolades it regularly gets.
oh nooo I thought it was just you who didn't like the Broken Earth Trilogy Matt 😭 I bought all three books at a used bookstore now I'm afraid I'll hate it 🙃
How is Sword of Truth not on here? You want to talk about an unlikable protagonist, stolen (and badly implemented) plot points, and extremely uncomfortable scenes? That book gave me so much ick.
1. It seems like books need a certain level of success or buzz to make this list; makes sense, but kudos to the authors for making this list! 2. Am I he only one who absolutely loved the end of the lightbringer series? I felt the religious tones were there the whole time, which isn't for me, but in fantasy books I really don't care. 3. Please keep reading Dark Tower, I want to listen to your zero star review of book 7, the worst final book in a bad series ever. If you want another bad Stephen King book, read his book "On Writing" - worst book about writing ever. Spoiler, how you described his writing is exactly what he does. 4. I read the first 8 books of cradle and kind of just got bored with it. Maybe I'll go back to it one day. I really like Divine Apostatacy, which to me is a much better version of Cradle. Might just be me though. 5. Loved the James Islington series. Satisfying ending. I felt by the end the time travel was weaved very well, but I tend to zone out my critical thinking at times when I'm really caught up in a story, so maybe I'm just dumb. Happens. 6. Love your videos! (Should have been my #1 comment, as no one is reading at this point)
I didn't really like Cradle. The plot and characters felt super barebones, and you can just tell that it's a setup for the power progression hook, rather than a good story. And granted, if someone is new to power progression, Cradle will probably feels super addicting and exciting as the main cast powers up. But I have read and watched power progression manga/anime for some 20 years at this point, and coming into cradle with that much experience to compare it to, it just doesn't do anything new or exciting.
It's interesting to see how divisive Gideon the Ninth seems to be. I really enjoyed it, even though I agree that Gideon is an extremely annoying and unsympathetic character, but the setting as well as the other characters and their personal backgrounds as well as the story's mystery really carried it for me. Same for the second book, which focuses on Harrow and is therefore much more interesting, yet the third is clearly a bit weaker. The author also employ a certain tone in her writing that either hits or totally misses it's mark (and probably alinates readers then).
I found the criticism of Gideon as unsympathetic to be funny. I liked Gideon a lot! But she just doesn't want to be there and she's uninterested in the plot, which will be frustrating to people who ARE interested in the plot, probably. She just wants to fight with her two-handed sword and kiss other lesbians. I found that relatable, but many won't. I'm currently reading Harrow and it is SUCH a style whiplash early on and very confusing! It's got some things that I really hated content-wise, but I'm curious how it will continue and end.
Omg have to disagree on Licanius. Plot was great in Licanius trilogy, one of my favorite series. Also, respect to James for not writing a characters story that's not crucial to the plot. The subquest could have been fun and interesting but it would have dragged the story ou, which some very popular authors lole to do. To me the time travel worked perfectly, especially when you read the last book, everything falls into place just so perfectly. It was just such a satisfying read. Even if i could find faults, it was so much fun that I don't care. I couldn't let this one slide 😂 some of the others on this list I enjoyed but do agree on why they might not be liked. Licanius I just don't get the dislike 😂
A lot of Licanius is mediocre. Many of the non-essential characters are a little flat, the map is barren with several key places located on unmapped continents, and one of the main plots is a bit dull. And you know what? I don't care. What the series does well it knocks out of the park, and that elevates it so much that I can easily overlook the other elements. Islington establishes promises in book 1 that pay off beautifully by the end of the series. So while it may be far from perfect, it's still a series that I can see myself revisiting every so often.
The Golden Compass is great. I suspect it gets hate from people who have heard bad things about it (supposedly it's very anti-religious, but not really). Clever and fun, mysterious and sad. The movie was okay but skipped or mashed up so many important details that it didn't work for me. City of Stairs was so hard to read, I can't even say if the story is good. The Gunslinger is amazing, although Jake is super annoying. The rest of the series is utter garbage (more and more Jake! ugh). Side note: Stephen King has said he often uses the "crucible" technique when writing where he gets to know the characters super well, throws them together in an interesting situation, and then has them react naturally according to their personalities. I haven't heard of a lot of these series and I guess now I know why.
I haven’t seen anyone on Booktube review Raymond E. Feist’s Firemane Saga and for good reason. It’s awful! The author promises you things and then drops subplots like mad. He introduces a big bad kingdom as an antagonist and then has it destroyed offscreen. Then he introduces another big bad kingdom, only to have it be destroyed at the end of the third book in one chapter. He also introduces characters from his other series (I’m assuming) in a way that pretty much takes the main protagonist out of the action of the story for two books. A huge waste of money and time. It was like he was trying to pull a Brandon Sanderson with his Cosmere only to massively fail.
His Dark Materials is hated by a LARGE percentage of parents and readers because of its anti-theist overtones. Most people who've rated it haven't read it. You're not going to pick up on the anti-theism thematic subjects unless you're a grown up or a child genius.
Really because I read and loved those books at about 12/13 and it was not difficult to pick up on the strong anti religious themes it is pretty blatant and obvious throughout the whole series. The church are literally the main antagonists of the overall series and in the final book they are fighting against angels and literally kill God.
@@simonorourke4465 You claim to have read them, but I don’t think you remember it well if you’re telling the truth. There’s no church. The angels are on their side and they don’t ever kill god, because as you find out in the third book there is no god. It’s just an Angel claiming to be a god which is the allegory for humans creating god/religion. They do away with the institution that represents the church figuratively and create a new world where god is no longer needed…
They are hunted by agents of the Church who are trying to literally kill them for most of the 2nd and third books. They may refer to it as the magisterium rather than the Catholic Church but they are to all intensive purposes one and the same. In universe the magisterium took over the running of the Church after the death of the last pope they are the church. I realise that the authority is not an actual god, but to all intensive purposes he took on that role and became the figurehead of multiple religions across the multiverse and while not a god it is the being upon which god is based and so killing it is essentially killing god. The only angels on there side are the rebel angels there are also a host of angels serving the authority who are very much working against them, including the actual Metatron who is the current head angel, supposed voice of god and true ruler of the Church who is actively trying to have Lyra killed due to believing her a second Eve. You yourself admit that they did away with religion afterwards as man didn't need it anymore, how is that not an anti-theist sentiment.
I wonder how many people disliked the Witcher books because they are quite different from the story or even structure of the games,
and it just wasn't what they were expecting, what starts out as a story about Geralt monster hunting and problem-solving transitions into fantasy satire and political intrigue allusions to eastern European politics, where the worldbuilding is more of just a sandbox for the characters to interact with each other on, there are a lot of pov switches and unreliable narrator moments
( Geralt actually shows up surprisingly little in the last two books for a character that most casual fans would consider the 100% main character of the witcher)
personly I love this series its almost like like a dark Slavic version of the Discworld books at times with its fantasy subversions and hilarious dialog at times, I can also see how someone could absolutely not vibe with the style
People who played only witcher 3, seems to reads thinking it will be an action packed epic fantasy
i hate how booktube ALL read the same handful of series and authors and it's all they ever talk about. it's so obnoxious.
Tad Williams MST was superb. I re-read Dresden every three years or so because they are so much fun.
The Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy is my favorite ever 😊 I reread it every few years, SO amazing! The third book is perfection (to me anyway, lol).
Tad Williams does take his time....I understand why the pacing may be a turn off but I love his prose so it works for me.
MS&T is so good
it took me 5 tries to finish the first book and once I had I couldnt name a single thing that stood out to me. Sorry, but some of these fantasy darlings are mega overrated, IMHO.
Memory, Sorrow & Thorn is definitely in my top 5 fantasy series. Read it twice. Also The Fall of Babel is FAR from horrible. I felt it was a great series. And how The Sword of Truth isn’t on here is unbelievable!!!
Sword of Truth should have taken all 20 spots.
@@ChromaTick360 😂😂😂
His Dark Materials is definitely not a kids book. It was just marketed as YA to drive up sales but it has some very grim scenes.
That seemed like a popular thing for some older books. I've heard that about a lot of series now!
It can be for any age i think. It could be seen as grimdark for younger audiences but reading it again as an adult you see so many things almost if not explicitly stated you glossed over when younger.
It’s a wonderful series.
I read it at 11 and it hooked me on fantasy forever
I'm right there with you. Yes its got a young female protagonist, which typically falls under YA, but the things that happen and the themes through the book are just incedibly dark, I would say bordering in horror at points. Would definitely scare children if read to them I'd think.
Great video Matt! I definitely recommend His Dark Materials. It’s not really for kids. The writing and plotting is quite complex. I was shocked that Broken Earth is so high up there, even though I know not everyone likes it. The second person makes sense by the end of book three. It’s not my top favorite series, but I quite enjoyed it.
+ for his dark materials.
I read it as a kid, but the themes there are certainly fitting for a darker style fantasy book
Can’t believe Riyria is on here. It’s so good!
I pretty much have decided everything he reviews negatively , I will immediately read because everything he doesn’t like I always love lmfao 😂
I really wanted to like Riyria but I just couldn’t click with it, I managed to get through the first half of theft of swords and then DNF’d it. Really didn’t like the writing, just me of course.
@@andybarker8787 In my opinion the Riyria Revelations "trilogy" gets better after Theft of Swords with each book, but I can see how it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
@@GideonsRecruit I might try again, still have my copy. Also I was coming off the back of reading wayof kings and words of radiance back to back which may have negatively influenced how I felt about it. It’s why when I def a book I keep it usually for a year or so so I can give it another go.
Scrolled down to the comments to say this exact thing.
In my opinion the His dark Materials trilogy only gets better after each book and you should give it a shot.The last book in particular is very grim and deals with deep and adult themes
I'm listening to the audio books of His Dark Materials right now. I just started Book 3 and I'm loving it!
@@hannahbrennan2131 I think the first book was very good, The Subtle Knife was amazing and The Amber Spyglass was very weak. Overall a good series with a poor ending.
I read the Way of Shadows as one of the first fantasy series I ever read (probably THE first one I read as an adult), and I LOVED it. But it’s been like 12 years and I haven’t thought about it since then. I should revisit it and see if I’d still love it or not.
I love The Dark Tower, but expected it to be here. It’s a very divisive series where you either love it or hate it. Also, not everyone hates the ending. I actually think the ending is fantastic, but again, I can see why people would hate it.
You nailed it with King’s writing style. He doesn’t do any advance plotting for his books, instead he comes up with a situation and just starts writing, then sees where the story develops from there. I agree that style isn’t great for the fantasy genre, and probably is better match for horror, which is where his bread and butter is.
Just one man's opinion, but I've seen Cradle receive a lot of praise from people who are fans of sci-fi/fantasy with little to no exposure to shonen jump style anime and less praise from people with equal or more exposure to those series. I think the progression fantasy mechanism that people praise for being 'addictive' is more than heavily inspired by some of the most well known shonen style manga. If you've not experienced a story like that before, then the structure of Cradle is more novel and the story more gripping. If you're familiar with stories like that, then it doesn't do anything new. Add in the fact that Cradle isn't known for its prose or its overarching themes, and you end up with a pretty basic story that takes its best ideas from Japanese comics and puts them into written word.
I really enjoyed the Book of the Ancestor series by Mark Lawrence. I think the author does a great job at writing women.
Matts lists like these are fascinating and such a good idea because (if youve heard his profession) you can tell it actually informs how he does his videos in a way.
These "percentage" lists and tracking general opinion is such a cool example of crossing over the work he does in real life bleeding into his hobby.
It's also called letting other people make up your mind for you. Never go by a popular list.
At the same time these are all wildly popular books that many people might enjoy. I've read truly bad books, non of these series are actually bad. They may be devisive but there sure are people that enjoy them for good reasons out there.
You should definitly give Memory Sorrow and Thorn another try. I also dnfed it when I first tried. Then I went back a year later and absolutly loved it.
*Definitely* try Tad Williams again. He does take fooorrreeevvvveeeeer to get going (maybe even into the 2nd book!), but it DOES payoff!
I’m surprised to see so many people dislike The Witcher. I love the books, they are the reason I got back into reading for the first time since middle school. They do have their flaws (boring as hell political segments I’m looking at you) but I thought they were a lot of fun overall. In my opinion they are way better than the show.
Its because he is dumb, dude skipped the second book wich introduce one of the main characters (Ciri)
I do hope that you are able to return to Tadd Williams. He does indeed provide incredible payoffs. But yes it is very slow but I really enjoy his writing style a lot. The newer series set in the same world I heard is much better
I really liked the Broken Earth (not loved, just liked), but I also don’t get why it won that award for all three years. I did love finding out the real reason it was written in “2nd person” though (it doesn’t really get revealed until the end of book 3)!
This makes me a little nervous for Broken Empire trilogy, but we'll see! I know we agree about Jemisin, but it appears we agree about Witcher as well. Those novels are pretty lousy to be honest.
Most people love Broken Empire, so here is hoping for the best for you!
your viewpoint towards reading Young Adult books sounds familiar. i'm 51 years old now, but back maybe from my mid-20's till about 5 years ago, i espoused the same view towards YA fiction: i was basically above it, and didn't want or benefit from indulging in it. now that i'm a bit older, i've changed. YA is actually super fun to read. you can literally burn through the novels and they are generally positive stories and you don't have to work too hard. some of the coolest books are YA: Ender's Game for example.
I wonder if you asked people about _The Sword of Truth_ . And if you didn't, I wonder where it would have ranked if you did put it on the list.
Haha I don’t know if I’m just a weird one but out of this list I’ve either read and LOVED them or they are high up on my tbr list.
The Kingkiller Chronicles should have been this list.A meandering sensless series.Ask anyone why do you like this book and their pretentious answer would be "we like the prose".It supposed to be a epic fantasy not a poem
Another fantastic video! Thank you!
I actually really liked Gideon the Ninth in all it's weirdness and off-putting personalities...because it reminded me so much of Gormenghast's weird gothicness. Book 2 in the series, however, totally put me off because by then it became even more weird and metaphysical and if I cannot picture the setting of a book I cannot enjoy it.
Wow, you hit the nail on the head with so many of these. The sad thing of all is going thru an entire series and being so disappointed with the last one or two books. Well at least you have saved me several times, with your videos, LOL.
Thank you.
I got your back! :)
Anyone else surprised Sword of Truth wasn't on this list. Me being someone who actually likes the series I was pleasantly surprised
He said in a previous comment that he was expecting to have included it but he only looked at the top rated 50 or 60 fantasy series in order to create this list of the least popular of the most popular. Apparently sword of truth wasn't popular enough anymore to be in the top 60 so doesn't get a mention on this list.
I made it halfway through Blood Mirror before tapping out of Lightbringer. I've heard some people say they think The Black Prism (Book 1) is some of the best fantasy they've ever read which makes the series' quality decline all the worse, but the series always sort of clunked along for me. It's so pulpy and over the top but somehow not that fun? The characters are not likable and I don't think I could distinguish one POV from another based on the narrative voice alone. Everything blends together and there's surprisingly little adventure for all of its goofy writing. The politics are contrived and the way the world is shown just felt so inorganic for me. Almost none of it worked for me and I kept chugging along with the books out of some compulsion to finish something I didn't enjoy lol. I will say the magic system is super cool and I had fun learning about it with Kip, but at the same time I think this series taught me that I'm not going to have good times if a story is primarily being used as a vehicle to showcase a hard magic system.
City of Miracles is one of my favorite books of all time. You can tell City of Stairs was the author’s debut novel. Not bad, but nothing special. Reminds me of the Shadow of What Was Lost. Both are multiple steps up in quality by the last book.
I really liked the Fifth Season and the rest of the trilogy and have recommended it to people who are more "advanced" fantasy readers. Its not the easiest read, for sure. I recommend listening to the audio book if the stylized writing is off putting. I did both and I think it's deserving of it's accolades!
The Wheel of Time is too intimidating for me to get started on and I just gave up on Stanlen Ascends. Read that whole Prince of Thorns series and it was...hm... definitely a dark and chaotic main character that does not like being told what to do, or controlled in any way and acts out horrifically. I can see why it's on the list.
I’d be really curious to know what a major publishing company sees in a story or series that is widely ill received by the public. With some of these ratings assumed to be due to a series diminishing in later installments, I wonder if publishers have to continue publishing them due to contracts?
Some of these are acquired taste. These series might sell a lot of books still and get rave reviews by people into this sort of stories. I for example consider the broken empire the best fantasy series written in the last 10 years. (together with the Licanius trilogy and The first law books). Think of it this way: Millions of people buy Taylor Swift records while is we would compare reviews she would probably nor reach a 50 % mark.
Detective novel in a fantasy seting - Glen Cook´s Garrit Files. NO ONE ever seems to know of these books and they are great!
Honestly shocked that ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) didn’t top this list… that series is SHOCKINGLY bad. Like actually beyond terrible and the author can’t write to save her life.
That said, I do agree about Gideon the Ninth, definitely very overrated.
I loooove Josiah Bancroft. The 4th book and ending are weird, but I'm shocked the approval rating is that low. It was a very fun journey throughout.
Can't believe Malazan is not on the list. Hated it.
Yeah I couldn't finish the 2nd book, i keep thinking I should give it another try but I cant summon up the enthusiasm.
Sad to see Broken Earth so high. I've had the book on my shelf and tbr for years now and was thinking I might finally make time for it... Maybe not?
The Baptism of Fire was my favourite Witcher book, milva is such a good character, she’s great - but yeah overall the books don’t blow my mind. I’m just glad they exist to complement the games though. Poppy wars protagonist was bleh lol I’ve probably commented that a few times on this channel 😂 love the honesty here, it isn’t toxic or rooted in some biases, always enjoy listening to you talk about books
Thanks so much!
Poor Brent Weeks with 2 series on the list. I DNF'd Memory Sorrow and Thorn in the middle of To Green Angel Tower about 15 years ago and haven't gone back yet. I didn't like the series that much but I liked the names. I'll go back and finish it at some point.
The first book of Licanius is so much smaller in scope than the last 2. Please read them
Unrelated to this video: would be interest to see a Sun Eater interview from you. I have not heard the author directly address the Fantasy elements and that would be a good conversation.
Yeah the author has agreed to an interview - I just want to catch up on the series first.
Commented on this before, but I liked the concept of books of babel, the first book I enjoyed, was Luke warm on the next 2, DNF the last, because I was Luke warm when people seemed to enjoy the last couple and then most didn’t like the last, I knew it wouldn’t be for me.
I managed to finish Memory sorrow and thorn book two Stone of Farewell recently. This book could be titled ‘Three perspectives on one journey where absolutely nothing happens’ it makes the Dragonbone Chair look like an action packed thrill ride, it’s that slow!
With R.F Kuang and N.K Jemisin both being on here it goes to show fantasy readers don't like didactic writing. We don't need heavy handed morals preached to us in our escapist books. Go write some blogs or non-fiction for that. Or even just be more subtle about it.
It's me, I'm the one who actually has The Witcher as one of her favourite fantasy series (I LOVED it), but maybe it's because the italian translation is way better than the english one. I actually had no idea it was that disliked, I know people irl who hated it, but overall I tought it was doing pretty well by other booktubers' reviews
LOL, this response is awesome.
Not a surprise to see Dark Tower here. Over half of the series doesn't make sense if you haven't read every Stephen King novel published prior to 2000.
Interesting to me is that a good portion of this was books that are challenging to read for one reason or another, and given the realization that the "average" reader might take over a month to read a single novel, a little shocked that Malazan (which I love, but a lot of people just can't deal with) didn't wind up on it.
How the fuck is the sword of truth not number 1? I have never met a person that actually liked it and not just hate read it.
It wasn't popular enough to be an option. I only included the top 60-70 book series, and that is definitely not one of those anymore.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews that makes me happy. Glad this isn't as popular as it was in the early 2000s.
Probably half of the books on this list are here because they’re just victims of their own success. A lot of books don’t need to go beyond their niche audience… But enthusiasm by that audience spreads to people who won’t like it. That’s how I imagine the Dresden files gets on this list. I may have suggested that people read it out of love for the series, when I don’t even know their tastes. If Will Wright is your introduction to progression fantasy or Jim Butcher is your introduction to urban fantasy… well there you go. A lot of people are going to find out they don’t like that particular subgenre with those big ones.
Where the heck is the fifth sorceress, Sword of Truth and Robert Stanek?
I was expecting Malazan on this list. That is a series that people either love or abandon. (or at least that was my impression)
I really enjoyed Licanius. But I feel like its a touch divisive. Story is fun and the ending was wild.
Love the list videos. Nice job!
This list is a blast lol. Love His Dark Materials, I wouldn’t call it YA just because it’s children though. The ending of The Dark Tower will haunt me forever, just amazing. Poppy Wars was one of my best reads along with Fifth Season. I am taking a break from WOT but already at book 12, I just need a breather is all after The Sludge almost killed me. Different strokes for sure. 😂😂😂😂
MS&T never picks up, even in the second and third books, despite what some people will say. I loved it, and it definitely had payoffs, but I don't think you're going to end up enjoying it if you don't like the slow pace.
I could give you an answer for NK Jemisin but I will refrain. I heard so much hype around these and I was so excited to try and I really hated and couldn’t even finish the first book and I never fail to finish books I started…
The fourth Babel book was in no way horrible. I can understand people not liking story directions, but there's a big difference between a bad book and a book that someone doesn't enjoy.
Same goes for Nevernight really. Piera Forde doesn't RUclips much anymore but she really liked the portrayal of female characters, so i think it comes down to taste more than good vs bad.
Oh the golden compass, what a wild ride it was.
Night Angel was good. The issue with WoT is how long it is and the slog is real. Memory, Sorrow, Thorn being disliked it weird to me. Williams is so good. I loved Cradle. I haven't read the last book yet, but I am looking forward to it. Books of Bablel was really good. All of the hate for The Fall of Babel is ridiculous. These are the series on the list that I have read. I have not read Broken Earth (the other Jemison I read was just ok) but there's no way that all three books were the best book of the year in their respective years. That just reeks of agenda.
I understand The position of The Last series, too Strange this YA, but Tad Williams, C’mon sir, beautiful works, i hope you will change opinion
Lightbringer lost it for me with the penultimate book. The big revelation at the end of that book almost made me abandon the series. Also had the feeling that Kip’s character growth was way too fast, and kind of unearned. The last book was a slight step up from that but still disjointed from the first three.
His Dark Materials was marketed as YA because it’s main characters are kids. But it’s not written like YA. You might like it. The first two books are excellent. The third is a bit weird. Overall, it’s still quite good. Kind of hard for me to think of a fantasy reworking of Paradise Lost from an atheist’s perspective as being something that’s just for kids.
Yeah I felt the exact same as you when I read Lightbringer. The "twist" was the worst twist I've ever read.
I thought Gideon the Ninth was ok. I didn't hate it, but it was weird enough for me to be curious about the next one. So I just read Harrow the 9th a couple weeks ago. I HATED that book. It was so much worse than the 1st one. I didn't understand what was happening at all. I can understand why most of these series are on here. I'm never reading anything by RF Kuang again. But I really like several of these: Dresden, Dark Tower, Riyria, Cradle, book of the Ancestor.
The cradle series was an absolute slog for me to get through… I bought the first three thinking I’d love them, and I had to stop halfway through the second one… I’m not sure exactly what turned me off so hard. I guess I just never connected with any of the characters well enough?
I read His Dark Materials years ago. I thought the Golden Compass was pretty good, bordering on great. The Subtle Knife was a perfect 5. The very definition of mid. And The Amber Spyglass was absolutely atrocious. I hated it so much
That's what I've heard as well. Bad last books seem to be a theme on this list. Granted I only read The Golden Compass and thought it was great with some pretty creative worldbuilding (especially considering when it came out.)
I don't really agree that the religious themes of Lightbringer come from nowhere. From the very beginning the leader of the church considered himself a fraud struggling with his position, and constantly questioned the existence of god. At the end of the day his questions were answered.
Books of Babel are a must read, a huge change from swords and sorcery fantasy, and the author has created a unique world that will stick with you. Amazing concept, brilliantly pulled off. Am I a fan on the final book? Not really, but I think people overreacted to it, as most readers had certain expectations in the storyline that were not met. But it shouldn't be a reason for anyone to miss out on this brilliant world building and story telling.
Another one in this list that I enjoyed was Broken Empire. Jorg is despicable at first, but has a great story to tell. While in most other books, not liking the main character automatically puts me off, books 2 and 3 in particular kept me very interested in Jorg's story. In this case, the exact opposite of Books of Babel, it is the earlier pages that turn people off the series.
I've been debating trying the Books of Babel. I am not really into sword and socery but really enjoyed Perdido Street Station by China Miéville so have been looking for more fantasy with a unique setting.
@@RominaJones Perdido Street Station was a mind-blowing experience. Senlin Ascends is different, much lighter initally, though the series in general can get dark at times. I would very strongly recommend at least the first book for anyone. And do pay attention, Josiah Bancroft is a very clever writer. I also disagree with Matt, as book 3 (The Hod King) is actually favourite in the series. It's mainly the last book that feels like a let down to so many readers.
Night Angel spot on! I didn't enjoy it. Weirdly too dark and too childish at the same time haha
But what Ryira! So good haha.
So, a couple of responses about series where you said that you didn't understand the dislike:
Wheel of Time: 14 volumes with 2000 named characters, 99.8% of whom are unpleasant, wandering through a maze of twisty-turny subplots that all look the same. One tiny step at a time. The primary virtue of the Sanderson volumes is that he took a machete to the jungle and actually finished the series. And yes, I read the entire series for some reason.
Cradle: First book decent and nearly every book after that weaker. This is one of the most prominent examples of a "Lensman Arms Race" since Children of the Lens. Not in my top 20 litRPG series.
I know that people say they like them, and I'm sure that at least some of those have read other books to compare with them*, but I don't understand. De gustibus....
* Yes, it's a joke. I'm sure that there are series that I love that you dislike too. Say, Dresden Files. 8-)
Not sure if you already did this but be kind of cool to see like a top 10 favorite characters and ones that you disliked the most
About why I didn't really enjoy Cradle. I gave the story a fair bit of my time and read till Book 9 till dropping the series and I think my biggest problem was probably that I've read a lot of progression fantasy before Cradle and didn't really find it that new or special. Although everybody says that it has great progression speed, I find it the powerscaling a bit exaggerated with Lindon going from practically nobody to being that can wipe out entire planets in the span of a few years. The magic system itself also felt pretty rigid with the different unchangeable paths and set moves in said paths and I somehow couldn't come to care for any characters and their dynamic felt mostly forced. It's probably a good read for new readers to progression stories but I've already read most of what Cradle offered in different series' and it just didn't strike me as anything new, interesting or special but as solid but forgettable.
I'd say for Lightbringer it was both book 4 and 5 that tanked the series for me. It just took a weird turn and the magic was less important along with goofy twists.
I really dont understand why everyone hates books 4 and 5 of lightbringer...i loved book 4...id say it was my fav book out of the series...book 5 was also really good...i really dont understand why people hate on them.
Book 4's big twist was hated by a lot of people.
Agree with the Dislikes: Riyria Chronicles, Lightbringer, Witcher and Fifth Season.
I really liked The Dark Tower and Dresden series.
Other series I Dislike and can't understand why people like them: Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu (DNF'd after chapter 2's irrelevant 10-page lore dump), First Law by Abercrombie (DNF'd after a boring 25% in and no plot yet), Powder Mage by Brian McClellan (Finished 1st book and hated it, same repeated resolution for 5/6 plotlines), and Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab (finished the trilogy, but wish I had stopped after the first book, which I actually liked - did not read newest book).
I actually want to read Gideon the Ninth. I have a feeling I'm not going to like it, but it sounds so different from what is normally published and I like books that feel fresh. And maybe I'll love it. There are other series on this list that's on my TBR, but I think I'm going to DNF Lightbringer series. I enjoyed The Black Prism, but I read that when I was first getting back into reading. I've never heard one reviewer say the series the final books are good.
I really wish readers liked the finale to Books of Babel more. I read Josiah Bancroft's recent release The Hexologists and I think he's a good writer. But the series sounds like it takes an odd narrative choice by changing protagonists and most reviewers have not been kind to the fourth book. I still might try the series someday, but I will check out more from the author.
Gideon the Ninth is a very particular taste, I think. I was worried going in that it would have too many graphic descriptions of anatomy, given it's about necromancers and I had heard some content warnings about that. It didn't end up being bad in that way for me at all, thankfully! Gideon is a very strong main character, but she very much doesn't want to be there and is not interested in the main plot, which I can understand would be frustrating to many who ARE interested! I just found it funny. Plus she's a very horny teen/early adult lesbian, which was relatable for me, but won't be for many others. And some of the jokes are memes or puns, which aren't very prominent, but will stick out to people who hate those. Overall, I loved it!
memory, sorrow and thorn es una trilogía que pasó sin pena ni gloria, el desenlace no tiene emoción y no se llega a percibir el real peligro de los reinos. Leí los 4 libros pensando en que el pago final de haberlos leído todos iba a ser una buena recompensa, pero me equivoqué. Le sobran como mil páginas
I'm surprised Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever isn't on this list, probably because it is older and largely forgotten. Must-read fantasy of the 80s I read only the first book and did not like it. It too has a rape scene which soured me on it. Also the main character just mopes around bemoaning his leprosy ailment while other characters drag him through their world. Just meh...
And I'll take this opportunity for another dig at Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. I hated it but most others love it.
I was thinking the same thing, although I actually liked the first book, Lord Foul's Bane. The second book was so bad for me I had to DNF it, I thought it was terrible all across the board.
The reasons you gave for disliking Stephen King are the reasons I enjoy his books... but I agree, he sometimes has problems wrapping things up. Also, Dresden is amazing!
about The Dark Tower series, I didn't like the first one, but boy oh boy the rest of the series is pretty good. I even liked the ending
If you dont like Stephen King, I strongly recommend giving 11/22/63 a try. I've read almost 30 of his books and it's my favorite one, it's incredible.
P.S. STRONGLY disagree with that opinion on the ending of Dark Tower. It's absolutely devastating and mindblowing in an awesome way, imo.
He has read 11/22/63 before
@@RadiantMan08in that case I'm baffled because that book is like an 11/10 imo lol
@@yremogtnomnad Matt gave it a 3/5 i believe
Love a rant. Malazan should be in here 😂
Agree I struggled through the first book and dnfd the second one, I keep thinking I should try them again but I cant quite summon up the enthusiasm.
Worst thing is I actually own all of them bar the last two as I was recommended the series by a friend who has very simmilar taste to me in books and found the whole series in a 2nd hand charity bookshop for almost nothing lol.
Thankfully I only paid a very small amount for all the books but now they are just sitting on my bookshelves looking at me and reminding me that I couldn't get in to them. 😂
Poppy War....yes, agreed. Add Sun Eater to this list, too.
Of the handful here I have at least broached, I sure can understand why they're on the list. Maybe I just pick weird...
I hate the Poppy Wars with a consuming passion lol. I finished the first book because I just kept thinking “there will be something great about something in here somewhere and Im just gonna be blown away.” It never came 🤷🏻♀️ It was just terrible for me from beginning to end. I hate the main character sooo much. Im just glad I borrowed this book and didnt buy it.
Some on this list are pretty surprising to me.
As far as His Dark Materials goes, while I don't think it quite qualifies as YA due to some of the themes, I thought the series as a whole was a case of diminishing returns. I enjoyed the first book quite a bit, the second book a lot less, and hated the third book, which was just a slog. I'm kind of surprised to see it on this list, given all of the accolades it regularly gets.
I **LOVE** The Witcher Series, and I've tried & tried to read the books ... and I just can't. 🤷♀️
I agree with 19/20 of these. Except that my favorite book of all time is on this list.
suprised to see TWoT here
Yeah me too!
oh nooo I thought it was just you who didn't like the Broken Earth Trilogy Matt 😭 I bought all three books at a used bookstore now I'm afraid I'll hate it 🙃
TIL there are people who dislike Riyria and Robert Jackson Bennett. So weird as they are both awesome!
How is Sword of Truth not on here? You want to talk about an unlikable protagonist, stolen (and badly implemented) plot points, and extremely uncomfortable scenes? That book gave me so much ick.
1. It seems like books need a certain level of success or buzz to make this list; makes sense, but kudos to the authors for making this list!
2. Am I he only one who absolutely loved the end of the lightbringer series? I felt the religious tones were there the whole time, which isn't for me, but in fantasy books I really don't care.
3. Please keep reading Dark Tower, I want to listen to your zero star review of book 7, the worst final book in a bad series ever. If you want another bad Stephen King book, read his book "On Writing" - worst book about writing ever. Spoiler, how you described his writing is exactly what he does.
4. I read the first 8 books of cradle and kind of just got bored with it. Maybe I'll go back to it one day. I really like Divine Apostatacy, which to me is a much better version of Cradle. Might just be me though.
5. Loved the James Islington series. Satisfying ending. I felt by the end the time travel was weaved very well, but I tend to zone out my critical thinking at times when I'm really caught up in a story, so maybe I'm just dumb. Happens.
6. Love your videos! (Should have been my #1 comment, as no one is reading at this point)
I didn't really like Cradle. The plot and characters felt super barebones, and you can just tell that it's a setup for the power progression hook, rather than a good story.
And granted, if someone is new to power progression, Cradle will probably feels super addicting and exciting as the main cast powers up. But I have read and watched power progression manga/anime for some 20 years at this point, and coming into cradle with that much experience to compare it to, it just doesn't do anything new or exciting.
It's interesting to see how divisive Gideon the Ninth seems to be. I really enjoyed it, even though I agree that Gideon is an extremely annoying and unsympathetic character, but the setting as well as the other characters and their personal backgrounds as well as the story's mystery really carried it for me. Same for the second book, which focuses on Harrow and is therefore much more interesting, yet the third is clearly a bit weaker. The author also employ a certain tone in her writing that either hits or totally misses it's mark (and probably alinates readers then).
I didn't get very far into Gideon the Ninth. I just couldn't get into the plot or the characters.
I found the criticism of Gideon as unsympathetic to be funny. I liked Gideon a lot! But she just doesn't want to be there and she's uninterested in the plot, which will be frustrating to people who ARE interested in the plot, probably. She just wants to fight with her two-handed sword and kiss other lesbians. I found that relatable, but many won't.
I'm currently reading Harrow and it is SUCH a style whiplash early on and very confusing! It's got some things that I really hated content-wise, but I'm curious how it will continue and end.
Witcher books are great, but should be read in Polish, because as you said, it lost too much in translation.
Omg have to disagree on Licanius. Plot was great in Licanius trilogy, one of my favorite series. Also, respect to James for not writing a characters story that's not crucial to the plot. The subquest could have been fun and interesting but it would have dragged the story ou, which some very popular authors lole to do. To me the time travel worked perfectly, especially when you read the last book, everything falls into place just so perfectly. It was just such a satisfying read. Even if i could find faults, it was so much fun that I don't care. I couldn't let this one slide 😂 some of the others on this list I enjoyed but do agree on why they might not be liked. Licanius I just don't get the dislike 😂
A lot of Licanius is mediocre. Many of the non-essential characters are a little flat, the map is barren with several key places located on unmapped continents, and one of the main plots is a bit dull. And you know what? I don't care. What the series does well it knocks out of the park, and that elevates it so much that I can easily overlook the other elements. Islington establishes promises in book 1 that pay off beautifully by the end of the series. So while it may be far from perfect, it's still a series that I can see myself revisiting every so often.
@@TirelessSlacker you said it better 👍😉 100% agree
The Golden Compass is great. I suspect it gets hate from people who have heard bad things about it (supposedly it's very anti-religious, but not really). Clever and fun, mysterious and sad. The movie was okay but skipped or mashed up so many important details that it didn't work for me.
City of Stairs was so hard to read, I can't even say if the story is good.
The Gunslinger is amazing, although Jake is super annoying. The rest of the series is utter garbage (more and more Jake! ugh). Side note: Stephen King has said he often uses the "crucible" technique when writing where he gets to know the characters super well, throws them together in an interesting situation, and then has them react naturally according to their personalities.
I haven't heard of a lot of these series and I guess now I know why.
I haven’t seen anyone on Booktube review Raymond E. Feist’s Firemane Saga and for good reason. It’s awful! The author promises you things and then drops subplots like mad. He introduces a big bad kingdom as an antagonist and then has it destroyed offscreen. Then he introduces another big bad kingdom, only to have it be destroyed at the end of the third book in one chapter. He also introduces characters from his other series (I’m assuming) in a way that pretty much takes the main protagonist out of the action of the story for two books. A huge waste of money and time. It was like he was trying to pull a Brandon Sanderson with his Cosmere only to massively fail.
I enjoyed nevernight for the most part. But the sequel was the only book iv read that made me genuinely angry 😂 i quit halfway through.
His Dark Materials is hated by a LARGE percentage of parents and readers because of its anti-theist overtones. Most people who've rated it haven't read it. You're not going to pick up on the anti-theism thematic subjects unless you're a grown up or a child genius.
Really because I read and loved those books at about 12/13 and it was not difficult to pick up on the strong anti religious themes it is pretty blatant and obvious throughout the whole series. The church are literally the main antagonists of the overall series and in the final book they are fighting against angels and literally kill God.
@@simonorourke4465 You claim to have read them, but I don’t think you remember it well if you’re telling the truth. There’s no church. The angels are on their side and they don’t ever kill god, because as you find out in the third book there is no god. It’s just an Angel claiming to be a god which is the allegory for humans creating god/religion. They do away with the institution that represents the church figuratively and create a new world where god is no longer needed…
They are hunted by agents of the Church who are trying to literally kill them for most of the 2nd and third books. They may refer to it as the magisterium rather than the Catholic Church but they are to all intensive purposes one and the same. In universe the magisterium took over the running of the Church after the death of the last pope they are the church.
I realise that the authority is not an actual god, but to all intensive purposes he took on that role and became the figurehead of multiple religions across the multiverse and while not a god it is the being upon which god is based and so killing it is essentially killing god.
The only angels on there side are the rebel angels there are also a host of angels serving the authority who are very much working against them, including the actual Metatron who is the current head angel, supposed voice of god and true ruler of the Church who is actively trying to have Lyra killed due to believing her a second Eve.
You yourself admit that they did away with religion afterwards as man didn't need it anymore, how is that not an anti-theist sentiment.