I’d like to thank YOU: As a viewer-for having both a soothing demeanor and infectious spirit for all things literary. You’ve been a steadying presence in a tumultuous year. As a reader: I’ve lost track of how many things I’ve read because of you. Including your wonderful trilogy, now one of my all-time favorites! You broaden our world and show us the value of time spent between the covers of fantasy books. As a writer: No one has been more supportive, encouraging, and inspiring to me-and so many other writers-than you, my friend. Can’t thank you enough for highlighting my series once again. Wishing you the loveliest of holiday seasons, and a new year full of wonderful books and bright blessings.
My thanks for all your support here on the channel, Vaughn! It was also to be able to work with you on the SPFBO team, and I look forward to the future!
I actually just didnt know what Dear Dr. Fantasy was for quite a while now. I just happened to click on the most recent one and realized how enjoyable of discussions they are! With all of us newer one piece fans that found your channel, be sure to keep shouting it out!
Thank you so much for everything you do. I stumbled on this channel a few months ago through your One Piece videos. I stayed for everything else. It's an absolute delight to find a community that's as passionate about story as I am. I love Dear Dr. Fantasy, and it's a quiet dream of mine to some day be a guest. I love hearing your lectures about the genre, hearing about your writing journey, and keeping up with your TBR. The Quilluminati is such a fun group and every collab you do across BookTube is another insightful pleasure to watch. As an artist and writer myself, it gives me hope that there is such a fervent audience for character driven fantasy like the series I've been at war with my imposter syndrome and general 'not good enough' demons over for two years. Thank you for supporting self published authors. Thank you for giving us your time and your carefully crafted art. Thank you for your love of story. I hope you get to every book you want to read in 2025, and I am waiting patiently for your thoughts on all of them.
What a beautiful comment! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and in turn I wish you much fulfillment from your writing, and I hope you will kick that imposter syndrome where it counts!
Wow, that Broken Binding cover for The Way of Edan is something else! Kudos for continuing with Dresden Files: it has become one of my favorite series. I'm also looking forward to Wars of Light and Shadow in Janny-uary!
Once again, my Saturday morning is happily welllllcooommed to your channel! Just so many fantastic reads upcoming in 2025, Philip! I absolutely love how you are on your own schedule regarding The Stormlight Archives. We share many books on our 2025 TBR! I love when you make me smarter by osmosis! Happy Saturday! Long Live The Quilluminati!
Thank you for a great 2024 philip. looking forward to an even better 2025, i sure hope Frieren Beyond Journey is in your manga shortlist, i believe you would adore it. It is a story about life, the ways of living life and how you need to enjoy the moment before it becomes a memory. and a bit of magic, but a simple magic system. See you in 2025!
Oh my goodness what a stacked set of reading plans!!! Can’t wait to track your Sun Eater journey, and of course I’m excited for your continuing Dresden one. I loved the first Earthsea book and need to catch up with you on those. And I am soooo pumped for you to get into Warlord!!!!
Thank you so much, Ben! As you're my Dresden guru, I will be turning to you for a chat eventually, I'm sure. My very best to you for your plans in 2025!
Great video Philip! I can't wait to catch up with you early in the coming year, to hear more about progress with your own marvellous work, and chat about all things bookish in general! Thank you so much for including THE LAST OF THE ATALANTEANS & THE DROWNED KINGDOM SAGA in the books/series you plan to continue in 2025! I am honoured! I hope you enjoy it, & all your upcoming reads. I think you are absolutely going to LOVE WARLORD CHRONICLES! It's my fav thing written by Cornwell, one of my fav authors and inspirations! It is a truly special series! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it! Among the self-pub series, I too very much will be continuing with Vaughn Roycroft's series. The first book was incredible - can't wait to get to BOLD ASCENSION! Wishing you and your family all the best over the holidays, and a safe & prosperous 2025! Looking forward to seeing all your amazing 2025 RUclips content!
I can't recommend Gormenghast and the dandilion dynasty enough! I read them both this year, and both have become some of my favorite series. I hope you enjoy them. TBH I was genuinely surprised when you said you hadn't read Gormenghast.
I wish you a wonderful and successful 2025. I feel like I ought to apologize, I almost exclusively watch this channel for One Piece content. I have ADHD and reading things without pictures has always been a painful experience for me, which is why I've grown attached to the few visual media that can provide comparatively depthful themes and characters as I seek out new ways to analyze them. The gap in view counts between One Piece videos and everything else tells me that quite a few people are coming here for more or less the same reasons. But I want to make it clear that I'm not just here for manga talk. I actually stuck with this channel because I'm trying to learn how to become a writer myself and the series on how to analyze stories has been incredibly helpful from the point of view of someone still learning how and where to focus their story to make it easily digestible while maintaining the intended mood. While I doubt you had any intention of pivoting to a manga-exclusive channel I feel it needs to be said there is more going on than just what the view counts show. There is a lot of pressure online to adhere to algorithms but if it's possible in your personal life to keep doing what you do despite that, you fill a niche that is both increasingly important and increasingly rare. A little note on Akira, it had a very interesting development period that I recommend looking into. I forget the details but it started as a manga, then the movie and manga were written side by side, the movie came out first, and a lot of the changes that made it to the movie helped continue to shape the manga as well. As a result, many consider both pieces to be parts of the larger whole narrative rather than one being an adaptation of the other, but they are more complementary than supplementary so don't worry too much if you want to analyze it exclusively by the standards of its own medium. Lastly, I know you said you're overloaded with collaborations, but to suggest one more: The Drawk Show started a One Piece analysis series about a year ago and they just started their Berserk analysis series this past month. They've mentioned in livestreams in the past that they would be interested in collabing with you and personally I think your personalities and expertise would compliment each other quite well in an entertaining analytical discussion.
@@piclemaniscool Thank you so much! No apology needed - I’m grateful to anyone who engages with any of my videos, and it’s natural that some would appeal to a bigger audience than others. And I’m very glad that some of the videos have been helpful for you. Thank you for the tips as well - I will check out both the film and the manga version of Akira. All the best!
Philip I love your comment “Catch up with the kids these days” lol. I can relate. Livestreams get a bit hectic for sure. I’m excited to see where you go with Dresden. I have a feeling we’ll get a new book next year. I love how ambitious you are for next year. All the best, my friend.
@@BookishChas Thank you, Chas! I have undoubtedly bitten off more than I can chew, but I’ll make a valiant effort at reading all those books, and I aim to enjoy myself doing it! All the best!
I might have to jump on Akira with you, because I've watched the anime back in the 90s and loved it but found out it only tells the first part of the story and I have always wondered how it was supposed to end. Jumping on Berserk after!?!? I think reading Bakker has been grooming you towards the darkness😮 I have that edition of Earthsea because Charles Vess' illustrations looked great but have yet to go through that edition. I should make it a priority read for 2025. Also might have to do a Book of the New Sun reread when you all get to it. Have a great reading year Philip!
@@andrewhanson405 Thank you, Andrew! I do like to occasionally read the grimmer side of fantasy, though I admit my preference is for a balance of suffering and beauty. I’m curious to see what I make of Akira, and you are most welcome to read along!
I'm so excited for your 2025 plans! Some things I've read and some that I have not, but regardless I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of these things. I'm very happy to be part of the Book of the New Sun crew and am so grateful to have you guys to help me be less utterly lost and confused than I would otherwise be during it 😂
Awesome reads coming in 2025! I'm looking forward to it all and I'm glad to see more manga coming. Akira and Berserk are going to be quite the ride. I know you've got it all planned out but I can't help but to recommend something from Osamu Tezuka, the "god of manga". He is well known for Astro Boy but he has authored many other interesting works (My favorite is Black Jack). I would like to encourage looking into his work as he is considered a foundation to all of manga as a whole. I'm sorry for recommending more when your plate is already so full, Philip, and thanks for all the excellent insight and hard work you put into the community!
I love your enjoy-or-die commitment to The Warlord Chronicles! We can’t have you shutting down your channel, so you will have to read and love it! 😂 While the first book is exposition-heavy, I am extremely confident you will be singing its praises! Starting The Dandelion Dynasty and continuing the Wars of Light and Shadow will be so wonderful! I don’t mind taking those series at whatever pace works for you. I’m just thrilled to be a fellow reading companion! 😊
I’m fairly exposition-tolerant compared to most readers, I think, and I totally get the need to do a lot of exposition in the first book of a series. I fully expect to love Warlord Chronicles. I’m excited for our discussions in 2025!
Oh I’m glad I’m not the only one not caught up with Stormlight Archive stuff. I have Wind and Truth with me now but I haven’t cracked it open yet. For some reason I’ve just been rewatching One Piece episodes instead of starting the book aagh. I used to be a huge SA/Sanderson nerd since reading Mistborn in 2011-2012 and the Way of Kings is my favorite book ever. Now I’ve just been watching more anime instead. One reason: anime has something that books or manga don’t have - music. I discovered my favorite composer through watching Anime, that being Hiroyuki Sawano who did Attack on Titan. And this is weird to say but I think I love Attack on Titan more than Stormlight Archive and Stormlight Archive has been my thing for over a decade now. I still love you, Kaladin!! I saw someone else comment that they were disappointed you didn’t like Oathbringer as much. While that is the favorite on the subreddits, it’s my least favorite book of the SA…I’m really hoping Wind and Truth is more like The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance as you mentioned.
That's a great point about the music that you get with the anime -- the one thing I actually do regret about reading the manga versus watching the anime is that I don't experience that music. Best wishes!
Thanx so much for the kind words, Philip, and your ongoing support of me and my writing. And you should check out the 80s anime movie version of "Akira." It was filmed before the manga series was finished coming out. It is easily in the top five of the best animated movies of the 1980s -- intellectual, visually wonderful, and contains some of my still-favorite, Post MCU craze, superhero (actually supervillain) action put on screen. It's an incredible cinematic achievement, and remains a testimony to the enduring creative possibilities of traditional, hand drawn animation.
Great TBR, Philip. I also have "The Spear Cuts Through Water" on my TBR, so I look forward to your thoughts on it. I've read both of Butler's Parable novels, but Kindred still sticks with me. The Left Hand of Darkness is amazing and both it and The Dispossessed should be right up your alley on themes. On Stormlight, I know you mentioned reticence about the science aspects of magic, particularly with fabrials. I will say that I did a re-read and you can see Sanderson working a lot of examination of major themes in those sections as well; so you can always read it on that level. I enjoyed ROW much more on re-read because I was able to focus more on theme instead of plot. I'm looking forward to your videos in 2025. Thanks for your content, Philip.
What a great year it's been for your channel and a pleasure for me to follow all your content; I'm sure next year is going to be even better! I will, of course, continue watching your manga journey (these are some fine reading choices, by the way). I will also try to read along with some new series at your pace so I can engage on the same level of discussion and not as someone who has already finished the series for once. I'm looking at the Dandelion Dynasty, Sun Eater, Saxon Stories, or even Dune (I read the first one a while back, but I didn't like it very much, but I heard each book is quite different, so who knows).
I read Titus Groan for the first time in November and it became one of my favorite reads of the year! Can’t wait to continue. Peak’s prose is some of the best I’ve ever read.
So excited for all of your plans for next year!!! I just discovered your How to Analyze Stories series with AP, and I'm absolutely loving those! Still making my way slowly through Prophet of Edan, just been so busy with work and school, but I'm loving it! And I have a new favorite character in Galdor lol, he's the best!
Thank you for this video, Philip. I am unsure why I haven't subscribed to you sooner. I really thought I had months ago! Well, I remedied that. :) This video serves as an inspiration. I'm a VERY new booktuber - a fledgeling if you will - and so I know I need to start planning what my 2025 looks like! Heck, at my age, I need to plan what my next week looks like! ;) I look forward to starting out the new year following your journey and being a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, it seems I need to add "The Way of Edan" to my ever growing TBR! :) Have a blessed Christmas to you and yours!
Yes! Akira is a classic for a reason and you can see how stunning it would be to experience it in the 80s. If you're looking at the foundational pillars of the medium, be sure you check out something by Tezuka. You might like his Buddha biography considering your background. He's considered something like the Father of Manga, like a Will Eisner if you need an American comics comparison.
I really wanted to get to more Bakker before year end, but I definitely plan on continuing as a priority in 2025! I'm so incredibly excited for you to continue WoLaS, those discussions have been fantastic! I really need to continue Discworld as well (I also do them as palate cleansers), excited to see what you think of Wyrd Sisters when you get to it! Dandelion Dynasty wasn't for me, but I think you will really enjoy it! Empire of Silence (and Dune) have also been on my list for a long time. GGK will be a priority for me in 2025 as well, I want to finish everything from him (I highly recommend Lions of Al Rassan, it was my first and one of my all time favorite novels!). Also so happy you'll be getting back to Tad Williams, I loved LKoOA! I also really want to read BotNS!
My comment got way too long so I decided I should split it lol. I've been very curious about Spear Cuts Through Water. Gormenghast I've also meant to get to a long time. Gosh and the Warlord Chronicles lol, way too many things here I also need to get to that you're reminding me of 😂 I'm hoping to get caught up on P L Stuart's series this year too!
Since you've been reading a lot of Bakker, I'll draw comparisons between Second Apocalypse and Berserk to contrast them. Both are stories filled with the worst of what humanity (and non-humanity) has to offer, both can fall into the depths of depravity and despair and both even question the very existence of free will. Where they differ though is that Bakker is pursuing answers to intellectual questions while Miura's pursuits are more sentimental, even romantic in nature. Because of this difference, Berserk is not only filled with deep depravity but also great beauty. Miura's pursuit of excellence in his craft as an artist continued throughout his life, outgrowing his obvious influences and eventually relearning drawing entirely when he moved from pen and ink to digital drawing and firing on all cylinders to depict that beauty Berserk is capable of. Bakker had his stuff pretty much figured out when he started writing his big books, but Miura was a much, much younger man when he started Berserk and dedicated his whole (sadly cut short) life to it, maturing with the series and climbing further away from the darkness and towards the beauty as he did so. Think I've said this before but I printed out a spread from Berserk and put it on my wall so it's the first thing I see when I wake up. "Mankind's desire... fantasia." Miura's sincerity always shined through in his work. RIP
This is very helpful, Kalle -- thank you! I will try to keep Miura's overall journey in mind when I encounter the bleak stuff early on, and I will be on the lookout for the beauty. All the best!
I’m looking forward to the new year, and some of your planned reads-I’m especially looking forward to those lectures you mentioned! I have a deep love of fantasy and I’ve long wanted to learn more about the genre from a genre history & literary analysis point of view.
Thank you so much! I enjoy engaging with essays on the topic of fantasy by authors like Tolkien, Le Guin, Donaldson, and many others, so I hope to put out some videos on some new ones in 2025.
Love the deep dives into LeGuin and the Butler journey! Two of my favorite authors of the 20th century for sure. Kindred is one of my favorites. You should also think abouth The Lathe of Heaven by LeGuin, a great stand alone (and pretty short)!
I have loved watching your videos, this is my favorite account on the app! A lot of one piece fans also like the manga series hunterxhunter! I really recommend it for you :)
That’s a mighty tbr Philip!! Very excited to hear you’re rereading The Book of the New Sun! I’ve actually started reading The Shadow of the Torturer. I’ll definitely been taking my time with it. I’m also very excited to get my hands on The Book That Held Her Heart! Lawrence said it’s a heartbreaker. Wishing you all the best this coming year! Lastly, yeah Gormenghast! It’s a new favorite series of mine and I had such a fine time talking about all the books with Evie! Looking forward to your thoughts once you get to it ☺️
I too am worried about the possibility of heartbreak while reading The Book That Held Her Heart! Thank you, Marianne. By the way, I left you contact information last time we exchanged comments so we could get in touch about DDF. I haven’t heard from you, and there’s no pressure whatsoever, but I thought I’d mention it in case you did reach out but I didn’t get the message. All the best!
@@marianneguevara8279 Cool! I don't think we're on the same social media platforms, so email is probably the way to go. I have a gmail account that begins with "philipchase90" -- the rest is the "@" plus "gmail" plus "." plus "com" (if I write it all out, the message is likely to disappear).
I'm very excited for you to focus (hopefully) on Guy Gavriel Kay. I have zero doubts that you'll find a personal connection with his works as I have. I've read 9 of his 15 and plan on finishing the rest next year. I'll be starting Dragonbone Chair on January 1! I'm leading a read along on my channel and on the discord, so jump in if it works for you!
I'd love to join the read along you're having for Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, but I'm afraid I won't be able to due to my SPFBO reads and buddy reads I need to finish before starting a new one. Let's see, though -- perhaps I won't be able to resist! Regardless, thank you, Josh!
Congrats on a great year! As a new fan of your channel, you reeled me in with your entertaining analysis and honest appreciation of One Piece. I’m not a huge novel reader, but you convinced me to check out the bloodsworn trilogy which I’ve actually been really enjoying! Berserk is indeed a breathtaking read with some amazing eye candy to boot, so that’s a solid choice. In that same vein of bleak fantasy epic storytelling, I’d also recommend checking out a manga called CLAYMORE. I actually like that one even more than Berserk.
I'll repaint that red wall in the background a better color if you let me get that poster of your awesome book cover, Dr. Phil. Satire! In all seriousness, Merry Christmas and I look forward to a great 2025.
I really like your approach with Dear Doctor Fantasy Philip!! Please don't change to LIVE, there are others doing Live, I'd prefer if you'd keep your more thoughtful and more naturally paced one to one conversations!! If you want do some Live, do it especially with returning guests, but your one to one interviews are very good! And a reminder... Please listen or watch the video from Jared Henderson: Why we can't focus He released it just a few days ago. So, with your one to one conversations you are at the very least forcing your guests to not multitask and practice focus and attention!! And the "very few" who consume your Dear Doctor Fantasy (as it has been) are experiencing a natural conversation one to one.
Very cool and very inspiring to see you looking forward to all these series. I'm sure you'll love Berserk. You should be aware that in terms of narrative Dune sort of operates in duologies; Dune Messiah is a real sequel to the first book while Children of Dune is almost entirely setup for God Emperor of Dune.
Great video,definitely not long enough 😅.I'm glad to be hier and support the most friendly person on this platform.Thank you for your kindness and consistency regarding quality content this past year. A lot of my absolute favourites on your list Sir,can't recommend Sun Eater enough and I think you should read The Lions of Al-Rassan after Tigana,absolutely loved it same with The Warlord Chronicles. Happy readings.
Wishing you all the best with your reading and channel plans, Philip! But you might have to use that time expanding spell quite a lot to read everything.😁 There is definitely a lot that interests me as well and where I'm very keen to hear your thoughts. Like those blasts from my past like Akira and Gormenghast. And of course Le Guin! I promise you that you will read everything that's in that collection. Love that you will continue to explore Octavia E. Butler. And like you I can't wait for Mark Lawrence's next book. Have a wonderful weekend!
I dont know if you plan on reading Akira physically or digitally, but you should know the standard english physical copies of Akira have fully mirrored art and speech bubbles. As one of the first manga translated for the west, publishers didn't think people would understand the right to left reading. So if you want a non-mirrored experience you'll want to find a digital source that has the un-mirrored art.
Wow! That’s a very ambitious 2025, love it! I will follow your example and try to push myself a little more next year :). Regarding dear doctor fantasy, for me, it really helps when those kind of videos have time stamps in them, so that I can pick the topics I’m interested (although I have no idea if that’s too difficult or too much work)
Thanks so much! Time stamps for DDF would be a very imprecise art since we tend to wander a lot in the conversations, but I'll give it some thought. All the best!
If you truly want to start with Origin of Manga , I highly recommend Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix aka Hi no Tori , he left it incomplete (because of death related reasons). Each volume of the Manga is a stand-alone story. And Osamu's Manga became the foundation for the manga and anime industry that flourished in Japan. It has old trope because of its age, but by reading it you can clearly draw the lineage of modern Manga as a medium. It is a reason he is called godfather of Manga. He have tons of other works in almost all genre, but that is considered his most philosophical. Also on Berserk don't judge it by first three volume, because Berserk story starts after the character arc of Guts have been completed , it is only in Golden age arc you will get to know how we reach here. So stick until you reach there, because First Three volume are essentially a prologue that only makes sense once Golden Age arc is complete
Awesome plans for next year! I am very much looking forward to While Darkness Gathers. With some foundational manga series you should add Dragonball to the list. It was the stepping stone for a lot of shonen manga that came afterwards like One Piece. Also as someone who enjoys DDF I look forward to see what you do with them lives could be interesting but I also enjoy the one on one conversation you have with your guests.
@@TomOrange Thank you, Tom! I appreciate the advice in regard to Dragonball, and also the interest in While Darkness Gathers. Speaking of DDF, I’d love for you to be a guest in 2025!
I don't normally comment twice on a video, but I commented early, and just now reached the end of your video where you are talking about live streams. I like live streams because you can engage with the content creators, and don't normally go on the ones where the creator doesn't pay attention to chat, because I like to attempt to make them break/laugh, and set the mood of the stream to be fun and light. That being said, some of my Shenanigans are not appreciated by the audience, some creators, and (more than anything) the creators by pressure from their audience. Not everyone can juggle chat and pay attention to both the guests and the stream in a way that makes a great Live, and I respect the decision you have made to not interview your guests while on a live stream due to your attention span. That being said, you are still the go-to guest for BookTube live streams, as you can take a joke, are pleasant, and also have great wisdom to add. Please continue to post your involvement on other creator's streams so I can continue to attend the best Lives.
Wowsers. Ambitious indeed. But more importantly, very exciting! What’s more fun for people like us than having so many great books to look forward to? Dandelion Dynasty is my priority read for next year. Should you need another voice in the conversation you need but ask. Otherwise I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Ambitious? Moi? I'll talk to Johanna about collaborators for Dandelion Dynasty. I think I might have promised a couple they could join already, but I'll be damned if I can remember who . . . It would be awesome to have you on board, Sam!
An ambitious list! My own "priority series of 2025" video is coming out next week, and we have some overlap, with the Library trilogy and the original Dune trilogy, among others. Some other notable overlaps in terms of standalones are _The Spear Cuts Through Water_ and _The Left Hand of Darkness._ Actually, Johanna and I are planning a buddy read of _The Left Hand of Darkness_ for February, so maybe you want to get in on that? It looks to be an exciting (reading) year!
@@arockinsamsara Thank you, Lekden! It might be more delusional than ambitious, but I’ll make a noble effort at it. I’d love to join you and Johanna for The Left Hand of Darkness!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Ambition, delusion, you know how it goes, six of one, half dozen of the other... It will be great to have you join us with _Left Hand of Darkness._ Johanna and I are aiming to read it in the early part of February and then have a conversation about it sometime in the back half of the month. I will email her to let her know that you are interested in joining us, and we can coordinate from there!
I’m actually reading Grace of Kings right now and loving it! It’s also helped me realize that I’m finally recovering from the dissertation experience, because it’s the first book in a long while that makes me eager to finish work sonó can read more. Like you, I’ve only read Tigana of GGK’s oeuvre, back in 2012. I’m actually gonna be reading Lions of Al-Rassan next. In 2025, I’m gonna reread New Sun, then read Urth and Book of the Long Sun. Sun Eater is also coming up quickly. And I’m finally gonna bloody read Gormenghast in 2025! (It’s been on my shelf since 2017 and I’ve been saying it was a priority ever since…) Library of America Le Guin! Brian Attebery (the editor for the series) is an excellent man and scholar. If you make it to ICFA I can introduce you to him :) I’d definitely recommend his scholarship, especially Strategies of Fantasy and Stories About Stories.
Thank you, Paul! Sounds like we'll be reading some of the same book next year. It would be very cool to see you at ICFA -- I'm still hoping to make it this time. All the best for your continued post-dissertation recovery!
You do a ton of collaborations! I often wonder how you have time for so much reading and making videos, and being a professor. I work in a laboratory from 7 to 3:30, and I feel like i barely have time for reading unless I ignore my family and stop going to the gym. Lol. I'm trying to read Wind and Truth, but I'm only 300 pages in. If i said that to a non fantasy reader, they probably would think I was doing well. But we all know better. 😂
Warlord Chronicles is probably going to take my top spot for best series i read in 2024 and may even make my top 10 series of all time. Saxon tales is on my tbr for 2025
I also have The Sun Eater Series on my 2025 looking forward to starting it and starting Wars Of Light of Shadow i'm ready to get my hair blown back! I loved Gormenghast it has such a unique and interesting characters and such a fleshed out world so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the trilogy :) Good luck with all those plans that is a lot of books!
Of course, I'll be reading the new Lawrence book right along with you! Also, I may jump on th e Suneater read along with you when you get to that. I would highly recommend Lone Wolf and Cub for manga, especially if you want to go truly classic. Cheers!
Sounds like a great year ahead! I think you’ll like Mort. It was the first really good Discworld. Curious to see what you think of The Left Hand of Darkness - it didn’t jibe with me.
@@NevsBookChannel Thank you, Nev! I have high hopes for Mort as he did appear in at least one of the Discworld books I’ve read, and he seemed a decent fellow.
Hi Phillip. I hope that you are having a great closure of 2024. I'm glad that you are diving into more manga and I was wondering if you would consider reading Shoujo and Josei in the future. Manga has 4 main demographies: Shounen, stories where the target audience are boys and male teenagers (like One Piece), Seinen, where the target audience are male adults (like Vinland Saga), Shoujo, where the target audience are girls and female teenagers, and Josei, where the target audience are women. In youtube Shoujo and Josei are usually underrepresented, but they have amazing stories. Taking into account your English literature background, you might be interested in Requiem of the Rose King, a reimagining of the tragedy of Richard III. That's all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. (Sorry for my English, is not my native language).
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy good luck to you as well :) I am currently in Howling Dark, btw, maybe 200 pages left. When it comes to Gavriel Kay I strongly recommend The Lions of Al Rassan. I haven't read Tigana yet. I have it on my list. I am sure it is good though...
You may actually have a stack more daunting than mine! Makes me feel bad for adding to it 🤣. Think you will really enjoy Songs of Chaos just got to interview him at Dragonsteel. Warlord will be an absolute fav!!
Ha ha! No worries, my friend. I'm very much looking forward to reading your ARC soon. Maybe even sooner than I thought if I can get all these papers graded!
It sounds like you are finally able to catch up with your origonal backlog you wanted to work on in 2023 and 2024. Which is nice because that means you're able to join in on more conversations that you've been wanting to be part of (Berserk and Akira are major classics. I will say though Berserk is under the "Sword and Sorcery" genre of Fantasy, so you'll probably notice it's not going to follow the typical tropes you're used to in Fantasy. It's going to be weird, horror leaning and it's not really about "saving the world" but more interpersonal conflicts. It does also have "Grim Dark" elements like Ambercrombe, but I would argue it's still not to the same in what people see as grim dark.) My goals start this month: Finishing "A Soul to Keep" as it's the buddy read I had been working on and want to finish it before the end of December (lost track of it due to everything happening around me). I want to finish that so my buddy read people and I can start a new buddy read come 2025; I stared "The Crane Husband" and I want to finish that before December; And start "Mortal Follies" so when it comes the new year, I can have that at least started. As for my goals for 2025: Get no more stuff your Kindle day free books and read the books I already have; Continue series I started (Dresden Files, The Mage Wars (Mercades Lackey), The Memoires of Lady Trent, The Broken Earth Trilogy, Earthsea, The next book of Song of the Scourgelands series, And The Gentleman Bastards), And finish "A House with Good Bones". Also read more libaray books. Pretty much this is me doing my less consummerism era. Also not to worry so much of book count but at least keep consistant in my reading enough where I'm finishing them decently.
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Yeah, this became a conversation with one of my buddy read friends who was the one showing me the stuff your kindle day stuff and we both realized we just need to read more of our books instead of just getting more. I've noticed more monster romances are actually be put in the libaray so I don't feel guilty in slowing down in all. A lot of the Stuff your Kindle Day books are on my TBR at least so I can safely say I'm working on said TBR. (435 books in total including the ones I don't own). I'm also hoping that this shift will also help me be better at buddy reads where I'm not always the last one still reading it. (I do want to continue the Duskwalker Brides series as a buddy read, but we're taking a break to start a trilogy instead upon my request so I can be in a better headspace to continue it. Right now it's between The Last Herald Mage trilogy (it would be a reread for me) or the Mage Wars Trilogy (reread of the first book).)
Sounds like a great year of reading! I very much look forward to your reread of Book of the New Sun! Did you get a chance to read Urth of the New Sun on your first read? I definitely would encourage reading that along with the main four as that book contains the many of the payoffs to Severians journey that’s set up earlier. It answers a lot of questions and Severian becomes more of a good person! So that’s good! Haha I’ve heard of Anna Smith Spark but haven’t read her so I look forward to seeing what you think of her books!
Thank you, Sam! I can see we're going to have to have a conversation about Book of the New Sun someday. My plan is reread BOTNS first, and then read Urth. At that point, I feel like I better like Severian . . . Ha ha! All the best!
@ Not that you need to add anything else to the ever growing TBR but Wolfe does have a duology called The Wizard Knight that apparently pulls a lot from Old English and Norse myth which sounds up your alley. I haven’t read it yet but the description sounded like a Dr. Chase thing. Haha
I’m crossing my fingers and hoping beyond hope that you love The Spear Cuts Through Water. Whenever you do read it, the offer is still open to discuss it!
I always love your videos. Because they are so sincere and authentic with your presentation. I do hope you find the time and enjoy the manga that I have already sometimes recommend here: Kingdom. The historical retelling of the unification of china. It is quite long. But the best manga out there for great battles. With some of the most interesting strategies for battle.
I would still love to hear your thoughts on China Mieville Perdido Street Station. I am not sure if you read that already but I really think you would like it.
Akira is great, you should watch the anime after you read it, it was groundbreaking for it's time. If you want a book with a "magic system" that's kind of hard and soft, you could try The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modessit Jr. (chaos magic vs order magic), the series is up to 24 books at this point, but books one and five could be read as a pair. Now you gotta get yourself some Moorcock, some Bradbury and you might be on your way! 😆 Hope you are able to enjoy some time off and we'll see you in the new year, where maybe, just maybe, we'll get that Crippled God video with that AP chap. 😁
@ Same. I had enjoyed Dalinar Kholin's arc so much. Rhythm of War is where I had me down on the series. Too much explaining the systems in that one. Wind and Truth is definitely much better so far.
I would encourage you to make Sun Eater the number 1 priority. To me, Christopher Ruocchio is the best author working right now by far. I think you will fall in love with the world he has created, his beautiful writing, the complex character study of Hadrian Marlowe and a story that doesn't pull any punches. When we talk about the all time greats, I think there are very few writers, who truly don't have any weaknesses and I believe Christopher Ruocchio is one of those writers. Somebody who loves the art and craft of writing and storytelling and deeply understands what makes certain stories stick with us for the rest of our lives. Like Daniel Greene said, Christopher is standing on the shoulders of giants to reach new heights. And remember at any point, if you think you know what the story is, if you think you know what is going to happen, I promise you, you don't. I hope that made you bump up Empire of Silence to the top of your TBR and made you excited not just for the first book, but for the whole Sun Eater saga. And lastly, the final book - Shadows Upon Time, comes out next year, so there is no better time to hop on the Sun Eater train than 2025, much love.
«The Sundered Nation», «Dandelion Dynasty», GGK, «Sun Eater», «Warlord Trilogy», «Berserk» & «Memory, Sorrow & Thorn»! 🤩🙌 My own SFF/Historical Fiction 2025 TBR list: «Doom of Destiny» (Sundered Nation #3) by Vaughn Roycroft (Epic/Historical Fantasy inspirert by the Historical Ancient Goths and the Rohirrim of Tolkien, with a dash of «Dune») «After Rome» by Morgan Llywelyn (Historical Fiction set after the Roman Withdrawal from Britain) «Cort Adeler» by Ole Henrik Gjeruldsen (Historical Biography about the 17th Century Norwegian Mercenary and Highly Decorated Admiral for the Venetian Navy) «Anitra» by Hilde Susan Jægtnes (Alt-History Fiction, about an imagined granddaughter of the Composer Edvard Grieg living in Pre-WW2 Fascist Rome, torn between her creative dreams of creating a Mythological Grand Opera with the support of the totalitarian regime and her lesbian lover, a Jewish musician…) «Leviathan Falls» by James SA Corey («The Expanse» #9, Space Opera) «The Children of Gods and Fighting Men» by Shauna Lawless (Historical Fantasy set in Viking Age Ireland) «Alamut» by Vladimir Bartol (Philosophical Historical Fiction, set among the Order of Assassins Sect during the Crusades, with parallels to the growth of Fascism in Bartol’s own 1930s) «Mannen som bar solen» («The Man Who Carried The Sun») by Kristian Bang Foss (Historical Fiction set in the Nordic Bronze Age) «Hengist» by Sean Poage (Historical Fiction Novella, set during the Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain) «All the Horses on Iceland» by Sarah Tolmie (Historical Fiction/Fantasy Novella about an Medieval Icelander’s Fantastical Journey to Central Asia) «Bloodstone» & «Dark Crusade» by Karl Edward Wagner (Both in the «Kane» series, S&S/Proto-Grimdark) «Lancelot» by Giles Kristian (Arthurian Fantasy/Historical Fiction) «Sun Eater» 3-6: «Demon in White», «Kingdoms of Death», «Ashes of Men» & «Disquiet Gods» by Christopher Ruocchio (Space Opera) «Navola» by Paolo Bacigalupi (Political Fantasy inspired by Renaissance Italy & «The Godfather») «Carthage Ascendant» by Mary Gentle (Book of Ash #2, Alt-Historical Military Fiction inspired by the Mercenary Wars of the Renaissance) «The Blood Dimmed Tide» by Stephen Aryan (Historical Fantasy inspired by the Mongol Conquest of Persia) «Firelord» by Parke Godwin (Arthurian Historical Fiction) «Women of Troy» by Pat Barker (Historical Fiction take on the Iliad, from the perspective of Achilles’ and Agamemnon’s «War Bride» Briseis) «The Crystal Cave» by Mary Stewart (Arthurian Fantasy from the perspective of Merlin) «The Wolf Den» by Elodie Harper (Historical Fiction set in the, eh, «Red Light District» of Ancient Pompeii) «Informocracy» by Malka Older (Cyberpunk) «Brothers of the Wind» by Tad Williams (Prequel to «Memory, Sorrow & Thorn», Epic Fantasy) «The Folding Knife» by KJ Parker (Political Fantasy) «Pompeii» by Robert Harris (Historical Crime Fiction, set against the Destruction of Pompeii) «The Bright Sword» by Lev Grossman (Arthurian Fantasy) «Augustus» by John Williams (Epistolary Historical Fiction about the Eponymous Roman Emperor’s Life) The “Aspect Emperor» series by R. Scott Bakker (Epic Dark/Grimdark Fantasy, sequel series to «The Prince of Nothing» Trilogy) «Written in the Dark» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Published in 2025, Fantasy inspired by Medieval France) Cheers Professor!
Thank you, MacScarfield -- if there's anyone who can make me feel like I'm not being too ambitious with my reading goals (and I am), it's definitely you! I hope you'll love everything you read in 2025!
A suggestion on how to make Dear Dr. Fantasy more popular: Still invite up-and-coming BookTubers and such, but instead of centering the concept around the BookTuber, center it around a predetermined topic that you know that BookTuber will have interesting things to speak on, and have a discussion. This is similar to Johanna's "Why Read?", except that I'm suggesting a different topic for each video, or at least not the same one for all of them. In that format, you can still ask the BookTuber personal journey questions-either by working them in to the broader topic, or (perhaps better) by having a segment at the end where you basically do a mini version of the traditional "Dear Dr. Fantasy" and ask them some questions about themselves and their reading journey, but only for the last twenty or thirty minutes or so (not that you can't then also work some in to the main segment). If you take my suggestion, one caution: You're a teacher, and as such you have a tendency to guide conversations like you're 'in charge', in a kind of fatherly manner; great for the classroom, but I think (quite unintentionally, I am sure) on this platform it can feel a little patronizing sometimes. It doesn't matter at all in your normal "Dear Dr. Fantasy" videos, because of course you are taking on a mentorlike role for your guests; but if you decide to recenter the Dear Dr. Fantasy videos on topics rather than BookTubers, then it will be important that you come off as treating them like equals, not up-and-comers, when it comes to the actual discussion portion (this is not so important when introducing them or during the final segment idea, if you go that route-in those places you can still play the gracious, guiding host; it's the discussion where it matters). This looks like finding the right balance of neither speaking too much (and thus taking over the conversation) nor too little (and thus acting like a teacher prodding a student to give a report). If you go with this suggestion, I recommend titling the videos like this: "Dear Dr. Fantasy 100: Should heroes always win? feat. Mortimer Reads" and "Dear Dr. Fantasy 101: History in fantasy, feat. The Flybrary". Then I would recommend doing the thumbnails exactly as you do them now (they're great), except that the words should state the topic, not "Dear Dr. Fantasy" or "with So-and-so". In other words, an entertaining and engaging image, and a very clear statement, cutting out the couching fluff, of what the discussion will be about. As for how you choose these topics, I leave that for you to fully brainstorm! You could choose them based on an analysis of that BookTuber's content; you could ask the BookTuber to suggest the topic; you could (and perhaps this is best) figure it out together in communication prior to filming the video; or whatever else works.
Thank you for the feedback and excellent suggestions, Eustace! I might actually try the topic idea. But who is this Mortimer fellow, and why doesn’t he like heroes? 😁
My 2025 TBR is looking as full as yours 😂. Debating whether to start Book of the Fallen or the Wars of Light and Shadow. I want to read one series, but I don’t think I can do them simultaneously 😂
I don't think you can go wrong either way! Keeping in mind that I'm currently reading the 7th book of WOLAS, I would say that Malazan has a slight edge in terms of emotional impact. Both series are deep and incredibly well written and vast, but WOLAS is a tighter story in that it consistently focuses on a specific cast of characters -- the main characters, if you will -- whereas Malazan sprawls over different continents with a huge cast of characters, and it's harder to see the connections until later in the series.
HELL YEAH AKIRA!!! I suggest finished the manga first before you watch the EPIC FILM...also, "word from the wise" please put akira especailly berserk under lock n key coz if someone close to you might see them and read them. They might give you a stinky eye at minimum...
Tigana is in my TBR for this year. I only read The summer tree from guy gavriel kay, loved it. I read dragon bone chair didnt really enjoy it. May be I will read the second book in the series idk.
i loved berserk and would love to hear what you thought of it! also if youre going back to dune i hope you read god emperor of dune because i felt like i was too dumb to understand it lmao, would love your indepth thoughts on it because i was getting lost oh also i read parable of the sower and talents and just want to hype talents! i thought it was even better than sower in my opinion so definitely worth checking out. im reading her xenogenesis trilogy right now and loving that even more!
Oh yes. Berserk is in the list. Then i would like you to consider to add this series with kings and generals theme. Sam Kok (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) by Luo Guanzhong. Reading Kingdom manga by Yasuhisha Hara made me purchased the whole series of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The charms are definitely the politics or maneuver amongst royal court, the lobby between factions, and the war itself. For small synopsis it's about the conflict among three factions that led by Naive lord Liu Bei, pragmatic schemic, viper prime minister Cao Cao and a young king Sun Quan from Sun. And enter the fourth player who made this game more chaotic, the Great General Lu Bu (I got that after I played dynasty warriors game, but still I need a full context from the book). Knowing you loved kings and generals story theme. It is definitely should be added on the list. And now I currently on the first arc for the introduction and the interaction between Liu Bei and Cao Cao and it is quite interesting for me. For what I can say is, the Game of Thrones is always happened anywhere anytime, the only difference is just the culture but the alliance and the betrayal were pretty much the same. And yeah it is already officially translated into English. So yeah it is going to be easier for you to read/find Samkok than Kingdom manga. And I also heard this series is influential for the Chinese Happy reading professor
2025 is shaping up to be a banger of a year. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on many of these as well as the ones we plan to read together.
@@mikesbookreviews Likewise, my friend! I’m looking forward to all the discussions to come!
I’d like to thank YOU:
As a viewer-for having both a soothing demeanor and infectious spirit for all things literary. You’ve been a steadying presence in a tumultuous year.
As a reader: I’ve lost track of how many things I’ve read because of you. Including your wonderful trilogy, now one of my all-time favorites! You broaden our world and show us the value of time spent between the covers of fantasy books.
As a writer: No one has been more supportive, encouraging, and inspiring to me-and so many other writers-than you, my friend. Can’t thank you enough for highlighting my series once again.
Wishing you the loveliest of holiday seasons, and a new year full of wonderful books and bright blessings.
My thanks for all your support here on the channel, Vaughn! It was also to be able to work with you on the SPFBO team, and I look forward to the future!
I actually just didnt know what Dear Dr. Fantasy was for quite a while now. I just happened to click on the most recent one and realized how enjoyable of discussions they are! With all of us newer one piece fans that found your channel, be sure to keep shouting it out!
@@Tusky1039 Thank you, James! Jake, my most recent DDF guest, is also reading One Piece. All the best!
Thank you so much for everything you do.
I stumbled on this channel a few months ago through your One Piece videos. I stayed for everything else. It's an absolute delight to find a community that's as passionate about story as I am. I love Dear Dr. Fantasy, and it's a quiet dream of mine to some day be a guest. I love hearing your lectures about the genre, hearing about your writing journey, and keeping up with your TBR. The Quilluminati is such a fun group and every collab you do across BookTube is another insightful pleasure to watch. As an artist and writer myself, it gives me hope that there is such a fervent audience for character driven fantasy like the series I've been at war with my imposter syndrome and general 'not good enough' demons over for two years. Thank you for supporting self published authors. Thank you for giving us your time and your carefully crafted art. Thank you for your love of story. I hope you get to every book you want to read in 2025, and I am waiting patiently for your thoughts on all of them.
What a beautiful comment! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and in turn I wish you much fulfillment from your writing, and I hope you will kick that imposter syndrome where it counts!
Wow, that Broken Binding cover for The Way of Edan is something else! Kudos for continuing with Dresden Files: it has become one of my favorite series. I'm also looking forward to Wars of Light and Shadow in Janny-uary!
@@MichaelRSchultheiss I hope you’ll enjoy WOLAS, Michael! I think it’s an incredible masterpiece.
Will Phillip become the new Dark Arts teacher next year?
Snape will be jealous!
I hope so
@ 😊
So, not "Defense Against" the Dark Arts...?
@@Paul_van_Doleweerd Oh, yeah . . . That too!
I can highly recommend the manga of Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. An amazing science fantasy epic.
I actually watched the film a few months ago when I went on a bit of a Studio Ghibli binge with my daughter. I loved it!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy The film is good but the manga is extremely different and also better.
Once again, my Saturday morning is happily welllllcooommed to your channel! Just so many fantastic reads upcoming in 2025, Philip! I absolutely love how you are on your own schedule regarding The Stormlight Archives. We share many books on our 2025 TBR! I love when you make me smarter by osmosis! Happy Saturday! Long Live The Quilluminati!
Long live the Quilluminati, and may the Grand Poobah ever tread the path of wisdom!
Thank you for a great 2024 philip. looking forward to an even better 2025, i sure hope Frieren Beyond Journey is in your manga shortlist, i believe you would adore it. It is a story about life, the ways of living life and how you need to enjoy the moment before it becomes a memory. and a bit of magic, but a simple magic system. See you in 2025!
@@gogotaro1 Thank you! Frieren is indeed on my list!
Oh my goodness what a stacked set of reading plans!!! Can’t wait to track your Sun Eater journey, and of course I’m excited for your continuing Dresden one. I loved the first Earthsea book and need to catch up with you on those. And I am soooo pumped for you to get into Warlord!!!!
Thank you so much, Ben! As you're my Dresden guru, I will be turning to you for a chat eventually, I'm sure. My very best to you for your plans in 2025!
Berserk!!!
I look forward to seeing what all the praise is about!
I love le guin. She was a visionary. Her dystopian novels are also rlly great.
I’m looking forward to her science fiction after I finish everything Earthsea. She remains a pillar of SFF. Cheers!
SO many books and so little time. Best wishes and happy reading for 2025!
@@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk Too many books for a lifetime, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Best wishes to you as well for all your reads!
Great video Philip! I can't wait to catch up with you early in the coming year, to hear more about progress with your own marvellous work, and chat about all things bookish in general! Thank you so much for including THE LAST OF THE ATALANTEANS & THE DROWNED KINGDOM SAGA in the books/series you plan to continue in 2025! I am honoured! I hope you enjoy it, & all your upcoming reads. I think you are absolutely going to LOVE WARLORD CHRONICLES! It's my fav thing written by Cornwell, one of my fav authors and inspirations! It is a truly special series! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it! Among the self-pub series, I too very much will be continuing with Vaughn Roycroft's series. The first book was incredible - can't wait to get to BOLD ASCENSION! Wishing you and your family all the best over the holidays, and a safe & prosperous 2025! Looking forward to seeing all your amazing 2025 RUclips content!
@@plstuartthedrownedkingdomsaga Thank you, P.L.! You’re the best of us, and I look forward to continuing in your incredible series!
I can't recommend Gormenghast and the dandilion dynasty enough! I read them both this year, and both have become some of my favorite series. I hope you enjoy them. TBH I was genuinely surprised when you said you hadn't read Gormenghast.
@@rammelbroadcasting There are too many gaps in my reading to fill, but I’ll try! I’m looking forward to both!
I wish you a wonderful and successful 2025.
I feel like I ought to apologize, I almost exclusively watch this channel for One Piece content. I have ADHD and reading things without pictures has always been a painful experience for me, which is why I've grown attached to the few visual media that can provide comparatively depthful themes and characters as I seek out new ways to analyze them. The gap in view counts between One Piece videos and everything else tells me that quite a few people are coming here for more or less the same reasons.
But I want to make it clear that I'm not just here for manga talk. I actually stuck with this channel because I'm trying to learn how to become a writer myself and the series on how to analyze stories has been incredibly helpful from the point of view of someone still learning how and where to focus their story to make it easily digestible while maintaining the intended mood. While I doubt you had any intention of pivoting to a manga-exclusive channel I feel it needs to be said there is more going on than just what the view counts show. There is a lot of pressure online to adhere to algorithms but if it's possible in your personal life to keep doing what you do despite that, you fill a niche that is both increasingly important and increasingly rare.
A little note on Akira, it had a very interesting development period that I recommend looking into. I forget the details but it started as a manga, then the movie and manga were written side by side, the movie came out first, and a lot of the changes that made it to the movie helped continue to shape the manga as well. As a result, many consider both pieces to be parts of the larger whole narrative rather than one being an adaptation of the other, but they are more complementary than supplementary so don't worry too much if you want to analyze it exclusively by the standards of its own medium.
Lastly, I know you said you're overloaded with collaborations, but to suggest one more: The Drawk Show started a One Piece analysis series about a year ago and they just started their Berserk analysis series this past month. They've mentioned in livestreams in the past that they would be interested in collabing with you and personally I think your personalities and expertise would compliment each other quite well in an entertaining analytical discussion.
@@piclemaniscool Thank you so much! No apology needed - I’m grateful to anyone who engages with any of my videos, and it’s natural that some would appeal to a bigger audience than others. And I’m very glad that some of the videos have been helpful for you. Thank you for the tips as well - I will check out both the film and the manga version of Akira. All the best!
Can't wait to hear You talk about BERSERK !
Thank you! I confess I'm a little nervous to read it, but I'm going to give it a chance, and I hope I'll find plenty to admire!
Philip I love your comment “Catch up with the kids these days” lol. I can relate. Livestreams get a bit hectic for sure. I’m excited to see where you go with Dresden. I have a feeling we’ll get a new book next year. I love how ambitious you are for next year. All the best, my friend.
@@BookishChas Thank you, Chas! I have undoubtedly bitten off more than I can chew, but I’ll make a valiant effort at reading all those books, and I aim to enjoy myself doing it! All the best!
@ absolutely, and I have the utmost faith in you. 🙂
The Broken Binding one looks gorgeous!
@@MaxFidler Thank you! I couldn’t be happier with all the interior art as well. All the best, Max!
I might have to jump on Akira with you, because I've watched the anime back in the 90s and loved it but found out it only tells the first part of the story and I have always wondered how it was supposed to end. Jumping on Berserk after!?!? I think reading Bakker has been grooming you towards the darkness😮
I have that edition of Earthsea because Charles Vess' illustrations looked great but have yet to go through that edition. I should make it a priority read for 2025. Also might have to do a Book of the New Sun reread when you all get to it.
Have a great reading year Philip!
@@andrewhanson405 Thank you, Andrew! I do like to occasionally read the grimmer side of fantasy, though I admit my preference is for a balance of suffering and beauty. I’m curious to see what I make of Akira, and you are most welcome to read along!
I read Gardens of the Moon and I am currently reading Deadhouse Gates because of you. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@badguybuster1401 I’m so glad! My best wishes for your Malazan journey!
Some great reads ahead of you. I think you're going to really love Suneater.
@@Kellen81 Thank you, Kellen! I look forward to it!
Exciting news! Can't wait for these new projects and reads.
Thank you so much, Mario!
I'm so excited for your 2025 plans! Some things I've read and some that I have not, but regardless I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of these things. I'm very happy to be part of the Book of the New Sun crew and am so grateful to have you guys to help me be less utterly lost and confused than I would otherwise be during it 😂
@@NerdLevelRising Book of the New Sun will be a wild ride, Jake! Looking forward to it!
I'm very excited to see where 2025 takes you Philip! Many best wishes! And as always, looking forward to your bookish thoughts 😊
Many thanks, Kat, and all the best to you for your reads in 2025 as well!
Awesome reads coming in 2025! I'm looking forward to it all and I'm glad to see more manga coming. Akira and Berserk are going to be quite the ride. I know you've got it all planned out but I can't help but to recommend something from Osamu Tezuka, the "god of manga". He is well known for Astro Boy but he has authored many other interesting works (My favorite is Black Jack). I would like to encourage looking into his work as he is considered a foundation to all of manga as a whole. I'm sorry for recommending more when your plate is already so full, Philip, and thanks for all the excellent insight and hard work you put into the community!
I appreciate the recommendation! Tezuka is on my radar now!
Such great plans for 2025. Funny, a lot of those books are waiting for me on my TBR shelf.
My best wishes to you for all your reads in 2025!
Cool to see The Book That Held Her Heart and The Grace of Kings on your list!
@@Stillnothereanymore I’m looking forward to both! Cheers!
Thanks for another great year of videos, and looking forward to all you have planned for 2025 (especially the le guin content)!
@@Snally38 Thank you! For me, Le Guin’s stories are timeless!
I love your enjoy-or-die commitment to The Warlord Chronicles! We can’t have you shutting down your channel, so you will have to read and love it! 😂 While the first book is exposition-heavy, I am extremely confident you will be singing its praises! Starting The Dandelion Dynasty and continuing the Wars of Light and Shadow will be so wonderful! I don’t mind taking those series at whatever pace works for you. I’m just thrilled to be a fellow reading companion! 😊
I’m fairly exposition-tolerant compared to most readers, I think, and I totally get the need to do a lot of exposition in the first book of a series. I fully expect to love Warlord Chronicles. I’m excited for our discussions in 2025!
Oh I’m glad I’m not the only one not caught up with Stormlight Archive stuff. I have Wind and Truth with me now but I haven’t cracked it open yet. For some reason I’ve just been rewatching One Piece episodes instead of starting the book aagh. I used to be a huge SA/Sanderson nerd since reading Mistborn in 2011-2012 and the Way of Kings is my favorite book ever. Now I’ve just been watching more anime instead. One reason: anime has something that books or manga don’t have - music. I discovered my favorite composer through watching Anime, that being Hiroyuki Sawano who did Attack on Titan. And this is weird to say but I think I love Attack on Titan more than Stormlight Archive and Stormlight Archive has been my thing for over a decade now. I still love you, Kaladin!!
I saw someone else comment that they were disappointed you didn’t like Oathbringer as much. While that is the favorite on the subreddits, it’s my least favorite book of the SA…I’m really hoping Wind and Truth is more like The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance as you mentioned.
That's a great point about the music that you get with the anime -- the one thing I actually do regret about reading the manga versus watching the anime is that I don't experience that music. Best wishes!
I love Stormlight as well but yeah, the love I have for anime/manga is unparalleled haha
Next year I will get into Rhythm of War, it is time.
Thanx so much for the kind words, Philip, and your ongoing support of me and my writing. And you should check out the 80s anime movie version of "Akira." It was filmed before the manga series was finished coming out. It is easily in the top five of the best animated movies of the 1980s -- intellectual, visually wonderful, and contains some of my still-favorite, Post MCU craze, superhero (actually supervillain) action put on screen. It's an incredible cinematic achievement, and remains a testimony to the enduring creative possibilities of traditional, hand drawn animation.
Thank you for that recommendation, Micah -- I think I'll follow it! I look forward to reading your fiction!
Great TBR, Philip. I also have "The Spear Cuts Through Water" on my TBR, so I look forward to your thoughts on it. I've read both of Butler's Parable novels, but Kindred still sticks with me. The Left Hand of Darkness is amazing and both it and The Dispossessed should be right up your alley on themes. On Stormlight, I know you mentioned reticence about the science aspects of magic, particularly with fabrials. I will say that I did a re-read and you can see Sanderson working a lot of examination of major themes in those sections as well; so you can always read it on that level. I enjoyed ROW much more on re-read because I was able to focus more on theme instead of plot. I'm looking forward to your videos in 2025. Thanks for your content, Philip.
@@TeamSnitchSeeker Thank you so much, Danie! That’s helpful to hear about Rhythm of War. Best wishes for your reads in 2025!
What a great year it's been for your channel and a pleasure for me to follow all your content; I'm sure next year is going to be even better! I will, of course, continue watching your manga journey (these are some fine reading choices, by the way). I will also try to read along with some new series at your pace so I can engage on the same level of discussion and not as someone who has already finished the series for once. I'm looking at the Dandelion Dynasty, Sun Eater, Saxon Stories, or even Dune (I read the first one a while back, but I didn't like it very much, but I heard each book is quite different, so who knows).
@@darKuchiki Thank you so much! It’s a pleasure and an honor to have you along on as many of these reading journeys as you would like to undertake!
I read Titus Groan for the first time in November and it became one of my favorite reads of the year! Can’t wait to continue. Peak’s prose is some of the best I’ve ever read.
I’m looking forward to reading that prose!
Looks like a lot of awesome reads! You also got me to put some of those self-pubs on my TBR!
Whatever books you read in 2025, I hope you'll love them all!
@ thanks! Same to you!
So excited for all of your plans for next year!!! I just discovered your How to Analyze Stories series with AP, and I'm absolutely loving those! Still making my way slowly through Prophet of Edan, just been so busy with work and school, but I'm loving it! And I have a new favorite character in Galdor lol, he's the best!
I'm so glad you like Galdor, Chris! He was easily one of the most fun characters to write. All the best!
Philip, a true joy watching your content!
Thank you so much, Matthew!
Thank you for this video, Philip. I am unsure why I haven't subscribed to you sooner. I really thought I had months ago! Well, I remedied that. :)
This video serves as an inspiration. I'm a VERY new booktuber - a fledgeling if you will - and so I know I need to start planning what my 2025 looks like! Heck, at my age, I need to plan what my next week looks like! ;)
I look forward to starting out the new year following your journey and being a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, it seems I need to add "The Way of Edan" to my ever growing TBR! :)
Have a blessed Christmas to you and yours!
@@TedReadInstead Many thanks for subbing and for including Edan in your reading plans, Ted! Best wishes!
Yes! Akira is a classic for a reason and you can see how stunning it would be to experience it in the 80s. If you're looking at the foundational pillars of the medium, be sure you check out something by Tezuka. You might like his Buddha biography considering your background. He's considered something like the Father of Manga, like a Will Eisner if you need an American comics comparison.
I second Osamu Tezuka! His line work, especially in Buddha, is insane. And of course great storytelling.
Adding Tezuka to my list! Thank you!
I really wanted to get to more Bakker before year end, but I definitely plan on continuing as a priority in 2025! I'm so incredibly excited for you to continue WoLaS, those discussions have been fantastic! I really need to continue Discworld as well (I also do them as palate cleansers), excited to see what you think of Wyrd Sisters when you get to it! Dandelion Dynasty wasn't for me, but I think you will really enjoy it! Empire of Silence (and Dune) have also been on my list for a long time. GGK will be a priority for me in 2025 as well, I want to finish everything from him (I highly recommend Lions of Al Rassan, it was my first and one of my all time favorite novels!). Also so happy you'll be getting back to Tad Williams, I loved LKoOA! I also really want to read BotNS!
@@nikosbookreviews Sounds like we will have plenty of overlapping reads in 2025, Niko! I wish you the best for all of yours!
My comment got way too long so I decided I should split it lol. I've been very curious about Spear Cuts Through Water. Gormenghast I've also meant to get to a long time. Gosh and the Warlord Chronicles lol, way too many things here I also need to get to that you're reminding me of 😂 I'm hoping to get caught up on P L Stuart's series this year too!
@ So many great books, so little time!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy The eternal problem 😅
Congrats on the amazing 2024, Phillip, and heres to an awesome 2025 😊
Thanks so much, Zammar -- the same to you!
Since you've been reading a lot of Bakker, I'll draw comparisons between Second Apocalypse and Berserk to contrast them. Both are stories filled with the worst of what humanity (and non-humanity) has to offer, both can fall into the depths of depravity and despair and both even question the very existence of free will. Where they differ though is that Bakker is pursuing answers to intellectual questions while Miura's pursuits are more sentimental, even romantic in nature. Because of this difference, Berserk is not only filled with deep depravity but also great beauty. Miura's pursuit of excellence in his craft as an artist continued throughout his life, outgrowing his obvious influences and eventually relearning drawing entirely when he moved from pen and ink to digital drawing and firing on all cylinders to depict that beauty Berserk is capable of. Bakker had his stuff pretty much figured out when he started writing his big books, but Miura was a much, much younger man when he started Berserk and dedicated his whole (sadly cut short) life to it, maturing with the series and climbing further away from the darkness and towards the beauty as he did so.
Think I've said this before but I printed out a spread from Berserk and put it on my wall so it's the first thing I see when I wake up. "Mankind's desire... fantasia." Miura's sincerity always shined through in his work. RIP
This is very helpful, Kalle -- thank you! I will try to keep Miura's overall journey in mind when I encounter the bleak stuff early on, and I will be on the lookout for the beauty. All the best!
I would argue that Mirua's story is more hopeful than Second Apocalypse.
I’m looking forward to the new year, and some of your planned reads-I’m especially looking forward to those lectures you mentioned! I have a deep love of fantasy and I’ve long wanted to learn more about the genre from a genre history & literary analysis point of view.
Thank you so much! I enjoy engaging with essays on the topic of fantasy by authors like Tolkien, Le Guin, Donaldson, and many others, so I hope to put out some videos on some new ones in 2025.
Love the deep dives into LeGuin and the Butler journey! Two of my favorite authors of the 20th century for sure. Kindred is one of my favorites. You should also think abouth The Lathe of Heaven by LeGuin, a great stand alone (and pretty short)!
@@kellycorbit7260 Thank you! The two of them are major pillars of SFF!
I have loved watching your videos, this is my favorite account on the app!
A lot of one piece fans also like the manga series hunterxhunter! I really recommend it for you :)
Thank you so much! I believe I’ll read Hunter x Hunter after Berserk. All the best!
That’s a mighty tbr Philip!! Very excited to hear you’re rereading The Book of the New Sun! I’ve actually started reading The Shadow of the Torturer. I’ll definitely been taking my time with it.
I’m also very excited to get my hands on The Book That Held Her Heart! Lawrence said it’s a heartbreaker. Wishing you all the best this coming year!
Lastly, yeah Gormenghast! It’s a new favorite series of mine and I had such a fine time talking about all the books with Evie! Looking forward to your thoughts once you get to it ☺️
I too am worried about the possibility of heartbreak while reading The Book That Held Her Heart! Thank you, Marianne. By the way, I left you contact information last time we exchanged comments so we could get in touch about DDF. I haven’t heard from you, and there’s no pressure whatsoever, but I thought I’d mention it in case you did reach out but I didn’t get the message. All the best!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Thank you Philip! I must have missed the comment containing the contact info. I'd love to have a chat!
@@marianneguevara8279 Cool! I don't think we're on the same social media platforms, so email is probably the way to go. I have a gmail account that begins with "philipchase90" -- the rest is the "@" plus "gmail" plus "." plus "com" (if I write it all out, the message is likely to disappear).
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Got it! Sent you an email :)
@@marianneguevara8279 Yay!
I came from Johan’s channel and subscribed!
@@papyrusted Many thanks for the sub! 😊 All the best!
If you start doing weekly One Piece chapter reviews that would be insanely awesome.
That is my plan, but I still have a ways to go to be current -- lots of good stuff in the meantime, I'm sure!
@ so much good stuff. Looking forward to your thoughts!
What a year you have planned. I am working through GGK myself and it is glorious. It really is a shame how little he is talked about on booktube.
I'm excited to return to Tigana and delve into more books by GGK! Happy reading to you!
@ excellent hope you enjoy the reread and everything else. A Song for Arbonne is in contention for BOTY for me presently
I'm very excited for you to focus (hopefully) on Guy Gavriel Kay. I have zero doubts that you'll find a personal connection with his works as I have. I've read 9 of his 15 and plan on finishing the rest next year. I'll be starting Dragonbone Chair on January 1! I'm leading a read along on my channel and on the discord, so jump in if it works for you!
I'd love to join the read along you're having for Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, but I'm afraid I won't be able to due to my SPFBO reads and buddy reads I need to finish before starting a new one. Let's see, though -- perhaps I won't be able to resist! Regardless, thank you, Josh!
Congrats on a great year! As a new fan of your channel, you reeled me in with your entertaining analysis and honest appreciation of One Piece. I’m not a huge novel reader, but you convinced me to check out the bloodsworn trilogy which I’ve actually been really enjoying! Berserk is indeed a breathtaking read with some amazing eye candy to boot, so that’s a solid choice. In that same vein of bleak fantasy epic storytelling, I’d also recommend checking out a manga called CLAYMORE. I actually like that one even more than Berserk.
I'm so glad you've enjoyed Bloodsworn! I'll add Claymore to my list of manga to check out. Cheers!
Happy 2025 reading Philip!
💙📚📚📚🥰📖📚📚📚💙
So many great stories to come!
I've also only read the first Dune book.
Thank you so much, Amy!
I dnf’d Mort but absolutely loved Wyrd Sisters! I think that book has everything, a love letter to theater & nature at the same time.
I have Wyrd Sisters and am excited to get to it -- it's probably next after Mort, actually!
I'll repaint that red wall in the background a better color if you let me get that poster of your awesome book cover, Dr. Phil.
Satire!
In all seriousness, Merry Christmas and I look forward to a great 2025.
Merry Christmas to you too, John!
I really like your approach with Dear Doctor Fantasy Philip!!
Please don't change to LIVE, there are others doing Live, I'd prefer if you'd keep your more thoughtful and more naturally paced one to one conversations!!
If you want do some Live, do it especially with returning guests, but your one to one interviews are very good!
And a reminder...
Please listen or watch the video from Jared Henderson:
Why we can't focus
He released it just a few days ago.
So, with your one to one conversations you are at the very least forcing your guests to not multitask and practice focus and attention!!
And the "very few" who consume your Dear Doctor Fantasy (as it has been) are experiencing a natural conversation one to one.
I like this advice! Thank you! 🙏
Very cool and very inspiring to see you looking forward to all these series. I'm sure you'll love Berserk. You should be aware that in terms of narrative Dune sort of operates in duologies; Dune Messiah is a real sequel to the first book while Children of Dune is almost entirely setup for God Emperor of Dune.
Thank you for the tip in regard to the Dune books!
Great video,definitely not long enough 😅.I'm glad to be hier and support the most friendly person on this platform.Thank you for your kindness and consistency regarding quality content this past year. A lot of my absolute favourites on your list Sir,can't recommend Sun Eater enough and I think you should read The Lions of Al-Rassan after Tigana,absolutely loved it same with The Warlord Chronicles. Happy readings.
Ha ha! Thank you, Ciprian! 😊
Wishing you all the best with your reading and channel plans, Philip! But you might have to use that time expanding spell quite a lot to read everything.😁
There is definitely a lot that interests me as well and where I'm very keen to hear your thoughts. Like those blasts from my past like Akira and Gormenghast. And of course Le Guin! I promise you that you will read everything that's in that collection. Love that you will continue to explore Octavia E. Butler. And like you I can't wait for Mark Lawrence's next book.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you so much, Angela! You are probably right about Le Guin -- it would be a shame not to read everything I can by her!
I dont know if you plan on reading Akira physically or digitally, but you should know the standard english physical copies of Akira have fully mirrored art and speech bubbles. As one of the first manga translated for the west, publishers didn't think people would understand the right to left reading. So if you want a non-mirrored experience you'll want to find a digital source that has the un-mirrored art.
@@ozkantd Good to know! Thank you!
Wow! That’s a very ambitious 2025, love it! I will follow your example and try to push myself a little more next year :).
Regarding dear doctor fantasy, for me, it really helps when those kind of videos have time stamps in them, so that I can pick the topics I’m interested (although I have no idea if that’s too difficult or too much work)
Thanks so much! Time stamps for DDF would be a very imprecise art since we tend to wander a lot in the conversations, but I'll give it some thought. All the best!
If you truly want to start with Origin of Manga , I highly recommend Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix aka Hi no Tori , he left it incomplete (because of death related reasons). Each volume of the Manga is a stand-alone story. And Osamu's Manga became the foundation for the manga and anime industry that flourished in Japan. It has old trope because of its age, but by reading it you can clearly draw the lineage of modern Manga as a medium. It is a reason he is called godfather of Manga. He have tons of other works in almost all genre, but that is considered his most philosophical.
Also on Berserk don't judge it by first three volume, because Berserk story starts after the character arc of Guts have been completed , it is only in Golden age arc you will get to know how we reach here. So stick until you reach there, because First Three volume are essentially a prologue that only makes sense once Golden Age arc is complete
Awesome plans for next year! I am very much looking forward to While Darkness Gathers. With some foundational manga series you should add Dragonball to the list. It was the stepping stone for a lot of shonen manga that came afterwards like One Piece. Also as someone who enjoys DDF I look forward to see what you do with them lives could be interesting but I also enjoy the one on one conversation you have with your guests.
@@TomOrange Thank you, Tom! I appreciate the advice in regard to Dragonball, and also the interest in While Darkness Gathers. Speaking of DDF, I’d love for you to be a guest in 2025!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I would love to come on anytime!
@ Awesome! I’ll look for your contact information.
I don't normally comment twice on a video, but I commented early, and just now reached the end of your video where you are talking about live streams.
I like live streams because you can engage with the content creators, and don't normally go on the ones where the creator doesn't pay attention to chat, because I like to attempt to make them break/laugh, and set the mood of the stream to be fun and light.
That being said, some of my Shenanigans are not appreciated by the audience, some creators, and (more than anything) the creators by pressure from their audience. Not everyone can juggle chat and pay attention to both the guests and the stream in a way that makes a great Live, and I respect the decision you have made to not interview your guests while on a live stream due to your attention span.
That being said, you are still the go-to guest for BookTube live streams, as you can take a joke, are pleasant, and also have great wisdom to add.
Please continue to post your involvement on other creator's streams so I can continue to attend the best Lives.
@@momo_genX Many thanks for the encouragement, John!
Wowsers. Ambitious indeed. But more importantly, very exciting! What’s more fun for people like us than having so many great books to look forward to? Dandelion Dynasty is my priority read for next year. Should you need another voice in the conversation you need but ask. Otherwise I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Ambitious? Moi? I'll talk to Johanna about collaborators for Dandelion Dynasty. I think I might have promised a couple they could join already, but I'll be damned if I can remember who . . . It would be awesome to have you on board, Sam!
@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy haha easily done. No stress or pressure. Would be great to join but like I said, I'll be happy just to follow along :)
An ambitious list! My own "priority series of 2025" video is coming out next week, and we have some overlap, with the Library trilogy and the original Dune trilogy, among others. Some other notable overlaps in terms of standalones are _The Spear Cuts Through Water_ and _The Left Hand of Darkness._ Actually, Johanna and I are planning a buddy read of _The Left Hand of Darkness_ for February, so maybe you want to get in on that?
It looks to be an exciting (reading) year!
@@arockinsamsara Thank you, Lekden! It might be more delusional than ambitious, but I’ll make a noble effort at it. I’d love to join you and Johanna for The Left Hand of Darkness!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Ambition, delusion, you know how it goes, six of one, half dozen of the other...
It will be great to have you join us with _Left Hand of Darkness._ Johanna and I are aiming to read it in the early part of February and then have a conversation about it sometime in the back half of the month. I will email her to let her know that you are interested in joining us, and we can coordinate from there!
One Piece and Berserk are my goats. Berserk is absolutely amazing. I can't wait for that one.
I'm looking forward to it!
With respect, I’m not sure Berserk will be for you Philip - but I’m glad you’ll give it a go!
I'll give it a fair shake! Cheers!
I’m actually reading Grace of Kings right now and loving it! It’s also helped me realize that I’m finally recovering from the dissertation experience, because it’s the first book in a long while that makes me eager to finish work sonó can read more.
Like you, I’ve only read Tigana of GGK’s oeuvre, back in 2012. I’m actually gonna be reading Lions of Al-Rassan next.
In 2025, I’m gonna reread New Sun, then read Urth and Book of the Long Sun. Sun Eater is also coming up quickly.
And I’m finally gonna bloody read Gormenghast in 2025! (It’s been on my shelf since 2017 and I’ve been saying it was a priority ever since…)
Library of America Le Guin! Brian Attebery (the editor for the series) is an excellent man and scholar. If you make it to ICFA I can introduce you to him :) I’d definitely recommend his scholarship, especially Strategies of Fantasy and Stories About Stories.
Thank you, Paul! Sounds like we'll be reading some of the same book next year. It would be very cool to see you at ICFA -- I'm still hoping to make it this time. All the best for your continued post-dissertation recovery!
You do a ton of collaborations! I often wonder how you have time for so much reading and making videos, and being a professor. I work in a laboratory from 7 to 3:30, and I feel like i barely have time for reading unless I ignore my family and stop going to the gym. Lol. I'm trying to read Wind and Truth, but I'm only 300 pages in. If i said that to a non fantasy reader, they probably would think I was doing well. But we all know better. 😂
Ha ha! That is so true -- fantasy readers are a different breed! Best wishes, Amanda!
Warlord Chronicles is probably going to take my top spot for best series i read in 2024 and may even make my top 10 series of all time. Saxon tales is on my tbr for 2025
@@arthurnoglak6386 That’s high praise! I look forward to Warlord Chronicles very much!
Berserk is so good that if you read it , it could get in the next top 10 you make.
I would love that!
I also have The Sun Eater Series on my 2025 looking forward to starting it and starting Wars Of Light of Shadow i'm ready to get my hair blown back! I loved Gormenghast it has such a unique and interesting characters and such a fleshed out world so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the trilogy :) Good luck with all those plans that is a lot of books!
Thanks so much! Our hair will be blown back so much that we might want to consider wearing a helmet while reading!
Of course, I'll be reading the new Lawrence book right along with you! Also, I may jump on th e Suneater read along with you when you get to that. I would highly recommend Lone Wolf and Cub for manga, especially if you want to go truly classic. Cheers!
Yes! We definitely need to get together again to discuss The Library Trilogy, Jarrod. I look forward to it!
Wow! I'd call this Title Wave 25. Happy reading.
Ha ha! An apt title. My very best to you, Curt!
Sounds like a great year ahead! I think you’ll like Mort. It was the first really good Discworld. Curious to see what you think of The Left Hand of Darkness - it didn’t jibe with me.
@@NevsBookChannel Thank you, Nev! I have high hopes for Mort as he did appear in at least one of the Discworld books I’ve read, and he seemed a decent fellow.
Hi Phillip.
I hope that you are having a great closure of 2024. I'm glad that you are diving into more manga and I was wondering if you would consider reading Shoujo and Josei in the future. Manga has 4 main demographies: Shounen, stories where the target audience are boys and male teenagers (like One Piece), Seinen, where the target audience are male adults (like Vinland Saga), Shoujo, where the target audience are girls and female teenagers, and Josei, where the target audience are women.
In youtube Shoujo and Josei are usually underrepresented, but they have amazing stories. Taking into account your English literature background, you might be interested in Requiem of the Rose King, a reimagining of the tragedy of Richard III.
That's all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
(Sorry for my English, is not my native language).
Thank you for the recommendation - much appreciated!
I am looking forward to your reflections on Tigana and Empire of Silence.
@@thenostalgicdragonbooks Thank you, Shrikant! It will be an interesting year. All the best for your reads in 2025!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy good luck to you as well :) I am currently in Howling Dark, btw, maybe 200 pages left. When it comes to Gavriel Kay I strongly recommend The Lions of Al Rassan. I haven't read Tigana yet. I have it on my list. I am sure it is good though...
Songs of Chaos hype!!
@@Michael_R_Miller I’m looking forward to your series very much, Michael!
You may actually have a stack more daunting than mine! Makes me feel bad for adding to it 🤣. Think you will really enjoy Songs of Chaos just got to interview him at Dragonsteel. Warlord will be an absolute fav!!
Ha ha! No worries, my friend. I'm very much looking forward to reading your ARC soon. Maybe even sooner than I thought if I can get all these papers graded!
@ you assigned em this close to the holidays?!
Sun Eater! Hype
I'm excited for it!
It sounds like you are finally able to catch up with your origonal backlog you wanted to work on in 2023 and 2024. Which is nice because that means you're able to join in on more conversations that you've been wanting to be part of (Berserk and Akira are major classics. I will say though Berserk is under the "Sword and Sorcery" genre of Fantasy, so you'll probably notice it's not going to follow the typical tropes you're used to in Fantasy. It's going to be weird, horror leaning and it's not really about "saving the world" but more interpersonal conflicts. It does also have "Grim Dark" elements like Ambercrombe, but I would argue it's still not to the same in what people see as grim dark.)
My goals start this month: Finishing "A Soul to Keep" as it's the buddy read I had been working on and want to finish it before the end of December (lost track of it due to everything happening around me). I want to finish that so my buddy read people and I can start a new buddy read come 2025; I stared "The Crane Husband" and I want to finish that before December; And start "Mortal Follies" so when it comes the new year, I can have that at least started.
As for my goals for 2025: Get no more stuff your Kindle day free books and read the books I already have; Continue series I started (Dresden Files, The Mage Wars (Mercades Lackey), The Memoires of Lady Trent, The Broken Earth Trilogy, Earthsea, The next book of Song of the Scourgelands series, And The Gentleman Bastards), And finish "A House with Good Bones". Also read more libaray books. Pretty much this is me doing my less consummerism era. Also not to worry so much of book count but at least keep consistant in my reading enough where I'm finishing them decently.
Those are excellent goals, and I love the idea of prioritizing quality over quantity. My very best to you for much fulfillment from your reading!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Yeah, this became a conversation with one of my buddy read friends who was the one showing me the stuff your kindle day stuff and we both realized we just need to read more of our books instead of just getting more. I've noticed more monster romances are actually be put in the libaray so I don't feel guilty in slowing down in all. A lot of the Stuff your Kindle Day books are on my TBR at least so I can safely say I'm working on said TBR. (435 books in total including the ones I don't own).
I'm also hoping that this shift will also help me be better at buddy reads where I'm not always the last one still reading it. (I do want to continue the Duskwalker Brides series as a buddy read, but we're taking a break to start a trilogy instead upon my request so I can be in a better headspace to continue it. Right now it's between The Last Herald Mage trilogy (it would be a reread for me) or the Mage Wars Trilogy (reread of the first book).)
Sounds like a great year of reading! I very much look forward to your reread of Book of the New Sun! Did you get a chance to read Urth of the New Sun on your first read? I definitely would encourage reading that along with the main four as that book contains the many of the payoffs to Severians journey that’s set up earlier. It answers a lot of questions and Severian becomes more of a good person! So that’s good! Haha
I’ve heard of Anna Smith Spark but haven’t read her so I look forward to seeing what you think of her books!
Thank you, Sam! I can see we're going to have to have a conversation about Book of the New Sun someday. My plan is reread BOTNS first, and then read Urth. At that point, I feel like I better like Severian . . . Ha ha! All the best!
@ Not that you need to add anything else to the ever growing TBR but Wolfe does have a duology called The Wizard Knight that apparently pulls a lot from Old English and Norse myth which sounds up your alley. I haven’t read it yet but the description sounded like a Dr. Chase thing. Haha
@@iSamwise Very tempting!
I’m crossing my fingers and hoping beyond hope that you love The Spear Cuts Through Water. Whenever you do read it, the offer is still open to discuss it!
@@SheWasOnlyEvie I think it’s a BookTube rite of passage to discuss it with you, Evie! 😊
I always love your videos. Because they are so sincere and authentic with your presentation.
I do hope you find the time and enjoy the manga that I have already sometimes recommend here:
Kingdom.
The historical retelling of the unification of china.
It is quite long. But the best manga out there for great battles. With some of the most interesting strategies for battle.
Thank you so much for your kind words! Kingdom is still on my list, but I'd love an official translation for it. All the best!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Yeah I get that. Most people are just reading it online. But the translations by the community are realy good.
I am very much looking forward to you revisiting Guy Gavriel Kay's writing. He is my favourite fantasy author!
@@adamcrawford6421 I am excited to delve much further into Kay’s books!
I would still love to hear your thoughts on China Mieville Perdido Street Station. I am not sure if you read that already but I really think you would like it.
@@Morfeusm It’s in my TBR, and I might sneak it in at some point in 2025. If not, 2026! Cheers!
Akira is great, you should watch the anime after you read it, it was groundbreaking for it's time.
If you want a book with a "magic system" that's kind of hard and soft, you could try The Magic of Recluce by L.E. Modessit Jr. (chaos magic vs order magic), the series is up to 24 books at this point, but books one and five could be read as a pair.
Now you gotta get yourself some Moorcock, some Bradbury and you might be on your way! 😆
Hope you are able to enjoy some time off and we'll see you in the new year, where maybe, just maybe, we'll get that Crippled God video with that AP chap. 😁
@@Paul_van_Doleweerd 2025 might be the year of the long awaited Crippled God video!
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy GRRM would like a word...
I'm surprised that you didn't love Oathbringer. It's my favorite out of Stormlight Archive so far.
@@Blackhobbit86 Different strokes for different folks! I just don’t care for intricate magic systems, but I’m glad others enjoy them!
@ Same. I had enjoyed Dalinar Kholin's arc so much. Rhythm of War is where I had me down on the series. Too much explaining the systems in that one. Wind and Truth is definitely much better so far.
@ I’m glad Wind and Truth is going well!
I would encourage you to make Sun Eater the number 1 priority. To me, Christopher Ruocchio is the best author working right now by far. I think you will fall in love with the world he has created, his beautiful writing, the complex character study of Hadrian Marlowe and a story that doesn't pull any punches. When we talk about the all time greats, I think there are very few writers, who truly don't have any weaknesses and I believe Christopher Ruocchio is one of those writers. Somebody who loves the art and craft of writing and storytelling and deeply understands what makes certain stories stick with us for the rest of our lives. Like Daniel Greene said, Christopher is standing on the shoulders of giants to reach new heights. And remember at any point, if you think you know what the story is, if you think you know what is going to happen, I promise you, you don't.
I hope that made you bump up Empire of Silence to the top of your TBR and made you excited not just for the first book, but for the whole Sun Eater saga.
And lastly, the final book - Shadows Upon Time, comes out next year, so there is no better time to hop on the Sun Eater train than 2025, much love.
Thanks so much! I'm truly excited to read the Sun Eater series!
«The Sundered Nation», «Dandelion Dynasty», GGK, «Sun Eater», «Warlord Trilogy», «Berserk» & «Memory, Sorrow & Thorn»! 🤩🙌
My own SFF/Historical Fiction 2025 TBR list:
«Doom of Destiny» (Sundered Nation #3) by Vaughn Roycroft (Epic/Historical Fantasy inspirert by the Historical Ancient Goths and the Rohirrim of Tolkien, with a dash of «Dune»)
«After Rome» by Morgan Llywelyn (Historical Fiction set after the Roman Withdrawal from Britain)
«Cort Adeler» by Ole Henrik Gjeruldsen (Historical Biography about the 17th Century Norwegian Mercenary and Highly Decorated Admiral for the Venetian Navy)
«Anitra» by Hilde Susan Jægtnes (Alt-History Fiction, about an imagined granddaughter of the Composer Edvard Grieg living in Pre-WW2 Fascist Rome, torn between her creative dreams of creating a Mythological Grand Opera with the support of the totalitarian regime and her lesbian lover, a Jewish musician…)
«Leviathan Falls» by James SA Corey («The Expanse» #9, Space Opera)
«The Children of Gods and Fighting Men» by Shauna Lawless (Historical Fantasy set in Viking Age Ireland)
«Alamut» by Vladimir Bartol (Philosophical Historical Fiction, set among the Order of Assassins Sect during the Crusades, with parallels to the growth of Fascism in Bartol’s own 1930s)
«Mannen som bar solen» («The Man Who Carried The Sun») by Kristian Bang Foss (Historical Fiction set in the Nordic Bronze Age)
«Hengist» by Sean Poage (Historical Fiction Novella, set during the Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain)
«All the Horses on Iceland» by Sarah Tolmie (Historical Fiction/Fantasy Novella about an Medieval Icelander’s Fantastical Journey to Central Asia)
«Bloodstone» & «Dark Crusade» by Karl Edward Wagner (Both in the «Kane» series, S&S/Proto-Grimdark)
«Lancelot» by Giles Kristian (Arthurian Fantasy/Historical Fiction)
«Sun Eater» 3-6: «Demon in White», «Kingdoms of Death», «Ashes of Men» & «Disquiet Gods» by Christopher Ruocchio (Space Opera)
«Navola» by Paolo Bacigalupi (Political Fantasy inspired by Renaissance Italy & «The Godfather»)
«Carthage Ascendant» by Mary Gentle (Book of Ash #2, Alt-Historical Military Fiction inspired by the Mercenary Wars of the Renaissance)
«The Blood Dimmed Tide» by Stephen Aryan (Historical Fantasy inspired by the Mongol Conquest of Persia)
«Firelord» by Parke Godwin (Arthurian Historical Fiction)
«Women of Troy» by Pat Barker (Historical Fiction take on the Iliad, from the perspective of Achilles’ and Agamemnon’s «War Bride» Briseis)
«The Crystal Cave» by Mary Stewart (Arthurian Fantasy from the perspective of Merlin)
«The Wolf Den» by Elodie Harper (Historical Fiction set in the, eh, «Red Light District» of Ancient Pompeii)
«Informocracy» by Malka Older (Cyberpunk)
«Brothers of the Wind» by Tad Williams (Prequel to «Memory, Sorrow & Thorn», Epic Fantasy)
«The Folding Knife» by KJ Parker (Political Fantasy)
«Pompeii» by Robert Harris (Historical Crime Fiction, set against the Destruction of Pompeii)
«The Bright Sword» by Lev Grossman (Arthurian Fantasy)
«Augustus» by John Williams (Epistolary Historical Fiction about the Eponymous Roman Emperor’s Life)
The “Aspect Emperor» series by R. Scott Bakker (Epic Dark/Grimdark Fantasy, sequel series to «The Prince of Nothing» Trilogy)
«Written in the Dark» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Published in 2025, Fantasy inspired by Medieval France)
Cheers Professor!
Thank you, MacScarfield -- if there's anyone who can make me feel like I'm not being too ambitious with my reading goals (and I am), it's definitely you! I hope you'll love everything you read in 2025!
A suggestion on how to make Dear Dr. Fantasy more popular: Still invite up-and-coming BookTubers and such, but instead of centering the concept around the BookTuber, center it around a predetermined topic that you know that BookTuber will have interesting things to speak on, and have a discussion. This is similar to Johanna's "Why Read?", except that I'm suggesting a different topic for each video, or at least not the same one for all of them. In that format, you can still ask the BookTuber personal journey questions-either by working them in to the broader topic, or (perhaps better) by having a segment at the end where you basically do a mini version of the traditional "Dear Dr. Fantasy" and ask them some questions about themselves and their reading journey, but only for the last twenty or thirty minutes or so (not that you can't then also work some in to the main segment).
If you take my suggestion, one caution: You're a teacher, and as such you have a tendency to guide conversations like you're 'in charge', in a kind of fatherly manner; great for the classroom, but I think (quite unintentionally, I am sure) on this platform it can feel a little patronizing sometimes. It doesn't matter at all in your normal "Dear Dr. Fantasy" videos, because of course you are taking on a mentorlike role for your guests; but if you decide to recenter the Dear Dr. Fantasy videos on topics rather than BookTubers, then it will be important that you come off as treating them like equals, not up-and-comers, when it comes to the actual discussion portion (this is not so important when introducing them or during the final segment idea, if you go that route-in those places you can still play the gracious, guiding host; it's the discussion where it matters). This looks like finding the right balance of neither speaking too much (and thus taking over the conversation) nor too little (and thus acting like a teacher prodding a student to give a report).
If you go with this suggestion, I recommend titling the videos like this: "Dear Dr. Fantasy 100: Should heroes always win? feat. Mortimer Reads" and "Dear Dr. Fantasy 101: History in fantasy, feat. The Flybrary". Then I would recommend doing the thumbnails exactly as you do them now (they're great), except that the words should state the topic, not "Dear Dr. Fantasy" or "with So-and-so". In other words, an entertaining and engaging image, and a very clear statement, cutting out the couching fluff, of what the discussion will be about.
As for how you choose these topics, I leave that for you to fully brainstorm! You could choose them based on an analysis of that BookTuber's content; you could ask the BookTuber to suggest the topic; you could (and perhaps this is best) figure it out together in communication prior to filming the video; or whatever else works.
Thank you for the feedback and excellent suggestions, Eustace! I might actually try the topic idea. But who is this Mortimer fellow, and why doesn’t he like heroes? 😁
I have a feeling the 4th dune book would be your favorite of the six. I hope you read to that one at least!
Thank you for letting me know!
My 2025 TBR is looking as full as yours 😂. Debating whether to start Book of the Fallen or the Wars of Light and Shadow. I want to read one series, but I don’t think I can do them simultaneously 😂
I don't think you can go wrong either way! Keeping in mind that I'm currently reading the 7th book of WOLAS, I would say that Malazan has a slight edge in terms of emotional impact. Both series are deep and incredibly well written and vast, but WOLAS is a tighter story in that it consistently focuses on a specific cast of characters -- the main characters, if you will -- whereas Malazan sprawls over different continents with a huge cast of characters, and it's harder to see the connections until later in the series.
HELL YEAH AKIRA!!! I suggest finished the manga first before you watch the EPIC FILM...also, "word from the wise" please put akira especailly berserk under lock n key coz if someone close to you might see them and read them. They might give you a stinky eye at minimum...
Thank you for the heads up!
Excited for Dresden cos that's what I'm reading right now.
My best wishes for your Dresden read!
Tigana is in my TBR for this year. I only read The summer tree from guy gavriel kay, loved it. I read dragon bone chair didnt really enjoy it. May be I will read the second book in the series idk.
I hope you'll enjoy Tigana and all your other reads!
i loved berserk and would love to hear what you thought of it! also if youre going back to dune i hope you read god emperor of dune because i felt like i was too dumb to understand it lmao, would love your indepth thoughts on it because i was getting lost
oh also i read parable of the sower and talents and just want to hype talents! i thought it was even better than sower in my opinion so definitely worth checking out. im reading her xenogenesis trilogy right now and loving that even more!
@@a_paige_turner Thank you! It’s good to hear that you found Parable of the Talents even stronger than its predecessor. Sounds like a must read!
31:44 What has come before, Dr. Chase? The darkness comes before.
@@philipmarsh2172 Exactly! 😁
@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasyis next year’s tbr conditioned ground?
@@philipmarsh2172 Very much so!
Oh yes. Berserk is in the list. Then i would like you to consider to add this series with kings and generals theme. Sam Kok (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) by Luo Guanzhong. Reading Kingdom manga by Yasuhisha Hara made me purchased the whole series of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The charms are definitely the politics or maneuver amongst royal court, the lobby between factions, and the war itself.
For small synopsis it's about the conflict among three factions that led by Naive lord Liu Bei, pragmatic schemic, viper prime minister Cao Cao and a young king Sun Quan from Sun. And enter the fourth player who made this game more chaotic, the Great General Lu Bu (I got that after I played dynasty warriors game, but still I need a full context from the book).
Knowing you loved kings and generals story theme. It is definitely should be added on the list. And now I currently on the first arc for the introduction and the interaction between Liu Bei and Cao Cao and it is quite interesting for me. For what I can say is, the Game of Thrones is always happened anywhere anytime, the only difference is just the culture but the alliance and the betrayal were pretty much the same. And yeah it is already officially translated into English. So yeah it is going to be easier for you to read/find Samkok than Kingdom manga.
And I also heard this series is influential for the Chinese
Happy reading professor
@@ryanfebrianto8973 Many thanks!