totally not Jeff could do the first line of rhe book, but that’s Jim Butchers forte. How can you beat “ The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault”?
The funny thing about "The Return of the King" is it was NOT the title Tolkien wanted for the 3rd book, because it tells you what happens and he thought that was a bad idea. He wanted to call it "The War of the Ring" but the producer overruled him.
In case folks don’t know, “The Blade Itself” and “The Last Argument of Kings” are historical quotes. “The blade itself incites to violence” is from Homer, and “The Final Argument of Kings” was inscribed on the cannons of King Louis XIV.
Robert Winslade It is also a real point of criticism for the english language, where the preposition “of” is way overused. As an example: “The Dawn Of the Planet Of the Apes”
@@Faish09 It doesn't sound much better in German. Die Dämmerung des Affenplaneten or Die Dämmerung des Planeten der Affen. In my opinion, that sounds awkward and cumbersome.
@@chrismath149 On the other hand it disappears in languages like Polish, where we have noun forms for that. Name of the Wind - Imię Wiatru The Way of the Kings - Droga Królów Return of the King - Powrót Króla Etc
Miara Mck it implies the aftermath of a storm of swords that is kind of a large war battle and political battle, where A feast for crows just tells you that this is the consequences of the actions before because you know crows come after battles! So very poetic.
@@thallan But think about it, criminals are often sent to the wall to live out the rest of there lives serving the realm blah blah blah, so in a way, although much of this conceptual and literal feast for crows is dead, many are also prisoners of war. Pretty cool when you think of it like that I feel
I think you've underestimated the quality of The Blade Itself. It's more than just solid. It's in reference to a line from The Odyssey that says "The blade itself incites to deeds of violence." Which is absolutely perfect for The First Law.
@@Al-nj8ow you should. It starts a bit slow but it's do worth it to push through that (let me rephrase, it starts amazing, page 5-100ish are a bit slow, after that it gets better and better)
I like that Martin's titles contain a story in an and of themselves. They also lead into one another. A Game of Thrones > A Clash of Kings > A Storm of Swords > (aftermath) A Feast for Crows > (other threats) A Dance with Dragons > (Climax) The Winds of Winter > (Resolution) A Dream of Spring.
Wonder if he changed his mind about how to end the series at some point, seeing how the last book was originally titled "A Time for Wolves"? Maybe he just thought it was too spoilery, idk
@@arjunmanoj2155 well I believe the series was originally supposed to be a trillogy: a game of thrones -> a dance with dragons-> a time for wolves. Perhaps he felt that the vibe he was going for with a time for wolves was done well with a feast for crows.
100% behind your Philosopher Stone rant 😂 the philosopher stone was a real alchemy myth that the real Nicholas Flamel tried to make! The sorcerers stone is a dumbed down publishing invention
This is where a portal stone would come in handy. You could go to an alternate reality where the only difference is the US version was called Philosopher's Stone and see if it sold less copies. And then it would turn out that in that reality the Nazis won WWII or something.
Normally I'm more annoyed than offended whenever a European country does something like that because they think Americans are stupid, but that one really irks me.
Taragon Leaf based on that, I am assuming that Tolkien didn’t really know what he was going to call the three books separately. He had the name Lord of The Rings planned from the beginning, but when he had to split them up he wasn’t sure what to name the separate parts.
@@lordofdarkness4204 that's exactly correct. Tolkien never wanted to separate the Lord of the Rings into three volumes. That was a publisher decision because they thought it was going to flop and making three volumes instead of one giant book would mitigate some of the loss. Tolkien rushed this title "the two towers". He actually didn't even know what it meant. Contrary to popular belief it doesn't necessarily refer to orthanc and barad dur. In actuality the "two towers" could refer to pretty much any combination of the six towers in the book.
'A Song Of Ice And Fire' as a series name is just beautiful. Sounds poetic, conveys the themes of the story, makes you want to read on. Much as i love The First Law, as a series name it's always struck me as a bit too generic, especially compared to the individual book titles
The Lies of Locke Lamora should be in perfection. It's not generic, It says so much about the story, it means more after you finish the book, lovely alliteration, and it's even fun to say!
Seconded, what takes this title to perfection level is the fact that it's a lie in itself. (Locke's not his real name.) It's good as a title you'd see for the first time. But the story just transcends it to god-tier level.
Every book of A song of Ice and Fire has an "A (something something)". I understand why people always omitted the "A" of the title, but it just doesnt sound the same without it.
@@pretendtheresaname9213 it just sounds better to me. I was just commenting on it because I thought it was interesting that it makes a difference to me. I'm not sure why, maybe it changes the tone of the title slightly.
Yeah because "A Game of Thrones" implies an event in motion that starts to captivate you instead of presenting you with an idea of "Game of Thrones" which you can dismiss at face value if you so choose.
I actually love the fact that mistborn 1 is called the FINAL empire. It's so intriguing when you know it's the first in a trilogy and my brain was like "but it's already FINAL?? Ohhhh I gotta find out why!"
I think so too! That the first book is called the final empire just makes it more interesting, because it does not follow the usual logic. It would be super generic as the last book, but for the first one it's very intriguing.
Yeah it’s a title I would think would be for a last book, not the first. Arguably, you could reverse the title sequence of the trilogy and that would make more sense, if you don’t look at the actual content. Very intriguing.
Because I really don’t think it is. Aragorn is made known to us pretty early as the king who needs to return to his kingdom. The title just says that he went, not what happens because he did, or his journey there.
Daniel: the name of the wind is poetic and a good representation of the book. Goblin Daniel: you don't like this book, remember Daniel: ah lets put it in generic
Butcher initially wanted his first Dresden novel to be called "Semiautomagic", but was overruled by the publisher, because it was apparently too reminiscent of Terry Pratchett's titling conventions of puns. (Book 5, for example, was going to be "Holy Sheet")
Honestly the biggest problem I have with the list is that The Lies Of Locke Lamora is not in the perfection tier. It says so much about the book, and it may be one of my favorite fantasy titles of all time. The alliteration is so satisfying. It’s the only title on the list that somehow feels gratifying to say out loud.
@@UltimateKyuubiFox Yep. Lies of Locke Lamora makes a more painful punch to your gut. It sounds more direct and quick to read. Lies of Locke Lamora takes about 3 seconds to read while The Lies of Locke Lamora takes about 4 seconds.
@@deanryanmartin both those things take less than a second to read. 'The' provides emphasis to 'lies' which makes the rhythm of the title flow, is what gives it impact, and tells the reader what the book is about. Cutting 'the' would make the title weaker in every way and would just be awkwardly poor language usage...
“It’s a spoiler” lmaoooo Nevermind the fact that the first chapter of Two Towers is named “The Death of Boromir” :))))) Tolkien was not one for twist :))
Just for reference Tolkien did not name the books for publishing and was upset when they named it Return of the King, the chapter names have switched based on publishers too so hard to nail down all that.
Love the list, except for one glaring question: Shouldn't "Winds of Winter" and "The Name of the Wind" be at least swapped? "Winds of Winter" is a great title, but there's nothing unique about winds in the winter season - "The Name of the Wind" has a much more poetic vibe.
They are fairly the same. The Name of The Wind sparks more curiosity in me. The choice of words for Winds of Winter is simple, intriguing as why it has to be a wind in a winter season, still it is simple.
I fully agree with this. But my point is - even as a standalone title (with no context from the story), I believe it should be swapped with Winds of Winter. All of this is subjective fun, and it's just my humble opinion :).
I think his justification was that The Name of the Wind is the first book in a series and that title looks generic if you are just going in, Where Winds of Winter is just as generic but its a late book in a series and by the time you are getting to it, you fully understand why that title is powerful.
On it! Edit: The first chapter of Fifty-two Elves can be found here: www.wattpad.com/story/253332879-fifty-two-elves and here: www.booksie.com/643540-fifty-two-elves
If it sounds generic in english, I tend to just get the spanish title, as it sounds more epic to me for some reason. El Camino De Los Reyes. No, I am not a master of spanish, and am a bit lost on some of the stuff there. But as a student of it, I am trying to get there. And I love the Cosmere, so one of my ultimate goals/benchmarks is to get the audio and text of that version, and understand it from both sources. I think I am about halfway there in comprehension. It should help that I have already flown through and understood the english version several times. o.O
I think the words themselves are generic, there are a lot of titles with "way" and "king(s)" in them. But put together it raised the question (at least for me) "Ok, so what is the way of the Kings?" How does the author interpret kings and their actions? It suggests, that all kings have a specific part in common regarding how they rule. And that is quite intriguing, I think
@@adrianbundy3249 Are you telling me that they had the option of naming it El Camino Real in Spanish and didn’t do so? Talk about missing an oppertunity.
Gotta say "A Memory of Light" triggers this sort of instant emotional response in me. Like when the horns of Rohan ring out, or the banners of Aragorn appear at the horizon, I've immediately got tears in my eyes. And something similar is happening here; the idea that it's finally over, that you can remember the light once again. That's just beautiful. Oh and let me just make you aware of the atrocity that is the German titles for the First Law books. They are (translated literally): "War Blades, Fire Blades, King Blades, Revenge Blades, Hero Blades, Blood Blades, Shadow Blades, Magic Blades (that's "A Little Hatred" btw...), Peace Blades, and Silver Blades" (all in publication order). This is an absolute crime. This extends to the Shattered-Sea trilogy as well, by the way. The beautiful simplicity yet genius of "Half a King/World/War" is replaced by "King's Vow/Hunter/Crown". German publishers seem to love generic titles...
Sorcerer’s Stone is one of the most infuriating publishing decisions ever. First, the original title just sounds better. Secondly, Rowling didn’t make the concept up; it’s called the Philosopher’s Stone, not the Sorcerer’s Stone. And worst of all, it makes such insulting insinuations about the intelligence level of American readers.
And don't you guys have the myth, as well? I mean, I'm Portuguese, we have the same concept. It was translated as "Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal", which is the exact same thing as the original. If they had decided to go with Sorcerer's Stone the title would have lost all of its appeal. Harry Potter e a Pedra do Feiticeiro, pfft. No one would pick it up. I still don't get it
pipitameruje I mean, yes, kind of. It’s definitely less known than other myths and legends though. So I know that’s the logic. “Oh those Americans won’t know what philosopher means, so let’s just change the meaning to help them out.” 🙄🤦🏻♂️
@@danlafferty1222 except that it was the American marketing team that changed the title, so it’s not anything to do with British people talking down to Americans.
@@laurelelasselin Which they apparently did because the French would be _too_ familiar with the Philosophers Stone myth and the story would be spoiled because of it. Which doesn't even make sense because the story wasn't even about discovering what the stone did.
I've had to go through no less than six title iterations so far for my current book, mostly because my earlier titles were the same as other works of fiction, but I'm really happy with how the current title came out. I ain't gonna share it here though, for fear of it being stolen before I can publish :D.
One of the (many many) things I like about Joe Abercrombie, is that in the beginning of each book (sometimes in the middle) he has a page with a quote that the title of that book came from. For example: The Blade Itself, comes from Homer's Odyssey "The blade itself incites to deeds of violence." Last Arguments of Kings, comes from the inscription on Louis XIV's cannons. It really helps to establish the theme, and is just cool, I guess. Abercrombie also titles every chapter, and he often has some nice little touches there too for the most part.
orcanimal I really like that too, currently about halfway through the Blade Itself and I really like the chapter title ‘ Tea and Vengeance’ . Those two just go so well together, quite scrumptious 😋
@@nasteho6614 Wow, you are in for a ride if you're just starting Abercrombie. A couple of useful notes for you: The trilogy books serve as act I, act II, and act III of their overall story. However, the standalones (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, Red Country) are each self-contained (and for my money even better than the trilogy, which is fantastic). But only read the books in publication order, to avoid spoilers, as the standalones, though focused around different characters (with lovely surprises), do see consequences of previous books play out in the world. I envy every person who's only starting on Abercrombie. The standalones, in particular, are some of my all-time favorites.
I think "the blade itself incites.." is from the odyssey but yeah cool titles, cool influences. "Before they are hanged" is my favorite. comes from the German poet Heinrich heine
The Name of the wind should be in poetic tier according to the criteria you have enonced at the beginning of the video. The title is very uncommon, really reflects the content of the book (wind : call to adventure...), its intringing and poetic. Beside the title is vague in a good way and could refer to another genre than fantasy and that sole fact makes it not a fantasy generic title
It reminds me of an old school love song the first time I read The Name of The Wind. You know that song that goes like this "The will of the wind, you feel it and then , it will pass you blowing steady, it comes and it goes and God only knows, you must keep your sails on ready, so when it begins, get all that you can, you must be friend, the will of the wind"
A classic as a similar title: The name of the rose. Came out in 1980. Umberto Eco wrote a masterpiece. Rothfuss is a good writer, although not in the same league as Eco. Considering, using a title like The name of the Wind does feel generic. Not considering Eco, other authors also used The name of the X before. Plus the Wind as an image is overused.
@@acheneniwae2362 Achene Niwae So according to you, I propose a downgrade to generic of the Winds of Winter, also of the Eye of the world because of the Eye of Darkness by Dean Koontz (1981), and Promise of blood because the term blood is so overused in fantasy and The way of kings, because of the Return of the King by Tolkien which is a classic
@@gaspardg119 I would put it in Good. It's generic if we're talking poetry. But still, that title is what made me read the book. Depends what you're going for, looking at his other works, he's going for something poetic. Haven't read the book, but like you mention, Promise of blood, blood is overused, yes, but is it used as a medium for something deeper or are the words what they are? That title is enticing nonetheless, like The name of the Wind. Simply put, my point might have more to do with Daniel Greene using poetic in contrast to an A from another list. Poetic should be a sub category. When it comes to it, the judging parameters are very different from the rest. Like the Winds of Winter, it's a good title if you've read the entire series. Winter is coming, now it's there. I also don't thing it belongs up there if we take it as a standalone. The ways of kings, wouldn't say it's because "king" is overused, it's probably one of the most used word in fantasy titles. Look at what Brandon Sanderson is going for with his titles. It's full of cliche. He's not going for anything poetic. That's why I think "poetic" should not be used as a category in a list like this.
@@acheneniwae2362 The problem, I have with the list is that it's biased by Dianel's opinion on the books and not strickly on the title. I think that other tier list could be funier than this one. I find it pretty useless because of the lack of objective criteria to compare the titles
I've always loved the title Flowers for Algernon; I basically read the book based on the title alone. Now that I've read it I find the title alone seems to evoke the sense of melancholy I felt when I finished the book.
I know. It probably tops every other one of Brandon Sanderson's titles IMO. Also, just in case you didn't know, there's no "the." Looking only at the first letters, it's deliberately the reverse of Words of Radiance. He's going for a bit of a palindrome with his titles, and even said he's probably revising the title of book 5 to fit the pattern.
I've always liked "The Final Empire," I feel like the title raises interesting questions, (what happened to the previous empires?), as well as foreshadows that something is coming to end this one.
A Feast For Crows is my favorite title in the A Song of Ice and Fire series! The title is hammered home in the novel at many points and the theme is so dark and heavy. When it comes back around in the story it always gives me chills. I think it’s perfection, and also incredibly underrated.
I've always considered "The Name of the Wind" a poetic title because the anthropomorphization in it sounds mysterious and evocative, like the wind is somehow an entity in this world and not just a mundane, natural phenomenon
Exactly. And it has great context. And its not even that generic when you think about it, tbh most of the things he put in solid sound more generic than that, except for the blade itself ofc and baptism of fire. I mean lets be honest, 1000 orcs? Is it possible to come up with a more "is this walmart lotr?" kind of title?
Some of my favorite titles are for Ruta Sepetys's books. They are just wonderful and make me want to read. Some of these titles are Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, and Fountains of Silence. Especially those last two, I just love them and I don't know why; I'm just drawn to them for some reason.
I think these tier list are important because it's good to have a discussion hub on the internet where we can talk about what works and what doesn't work in fantasy categories. Keep it going 💪🏿
Rhythm of War is actually my favorite stormlight title. After learning about the listeners/singers and the rhythms, that title just feels so imposing and cool. like "shit is about to go down"
"The Return of the King" isn't really a spoiler, because Aragorn becoming king was foreshadowed several times "The Fellowship of the Ring", including the reforging of Narsil into Andúril, and when Elrond straight up says that Aragorn is Isildur's heir. It's a key part of Aragorn's identity. If you get to "The Return of the King" and think "Well, I guess the king is gonna return in this book", then I dare say that you haven't been paying attention. So, if the title being spoiler is the reason you placed it where you did, then I argue "The Return of the King" should be higher. However, I do agree that it shouldn't be higher than Solid, though, maybe a bit higher inside Solid. The list in general is very good!
agreed. Not to mention "return of the king" doesnt even really spoiler him becoming king, it only say he "returns" aka arrives in gondor. And that one is really not much of a spoiler at all
How can the name of the wind be in generic and a cliche phrase like baptism of fire be in solid? ( I didn't like rothfuss' book but it was the title that made me read it in the first place)
one of the things that intrigued me when my friend donated me the Mistborn series was why the the first book was called The Final Empire, though I can see where it might be somewhat of a generic title I've always really liked the title and fits the book really well.
It does seem like a concluding book title not the first book kind of title, I'll give it that!! I had to check to make sure I had them in the right order
I love the titles of the Expanse books. I love that this really hard sci-fi series references all kinds of different mythology in its titles, and that having not read past the third book, I can look at the titles of the rest and get just a tiny bit of an idea what each one will focus on, based on the reference it makes.
I think the best malazan title would be Crippled God if we are going without context. If you are someone who does not know anything about Malazan, it raises question about why the god is crippled and it might newcomer think that maybe that god should be given sympathy, which is something beater knowing might not give based of his actions in the series. Which is kinda cool and in my eyes makes it at least solid title.
Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers and the Return of the King aren't the titles that Tolkein chose for his LotR series though. Book I: The First Journey, or The Ring Sets Out Book II: The Journey of the Nine Companions, or The Ring Goes South Book III: The Treason of Isengard Book IV: The Journey of the Ring Bearers, or The Ring Goes East Book V: The War of the Ring Book VI: The End of the Third Age
I know I'm a little bit late for the party, but Tolkien didn't like the name of his third book; originally, It was The War of The Ring or something, but Stanley Unwin's son (I forgot his name lol) told him otherwise. So... Yeah.
German titles of The First Law books are laughable. The first book has the word 'blade' (Klinge in German) in it, so lets name every book like that. For example: Best served cold gets translated to "Racheklingen" (Revenge-blades) or The Heroes "Heldenklingen" (Heroblades). The worst title tho, is the translation of A little Hatred. Its called "Zauberklingen" (Magic-Blades)! WHAT. THE. FUCK
@@Earls_sweaty_shirt German translations are overall subpar to the original work, both in literature and TV. In both cases, accents often get lost in translation as most translators use that horrible Bundesdeutsch so that everyone understands it and I want to strangle whoever is in charge of translations. English authors don't seem to worry that much about this.
@@Earls_sweaty_shirt they are calling the entire thing "Klingen-Saga" (Blade saga) and you can wonder, if this has anything to do with the actual story... But nice to see, that I am not the only one, who has problems with this topic.
Tbh I hate when they do that, the majority of titles sound so weak when translated into German, I just can't get myself to take something like "Seltsam der Träumer" seriously
A friend/neighbor of mine has a little brother named Levi. Which is kind of a cool name I guess. Then you realize it's legitimately short for Leviathan. And while I do kind of feel a little bad for the kid because that's one helluva name (in a bad way), it's also one helluva name (in a good way). It sounds badass. (His middle name is also Danger. So yeah, he has that going for him too.)
Aw man, I love the title “The Two Towers”. I agree it’s kinda boring on the surface but it has soooo many interpretations and ways you could understand it. 100% agree with Return of the King. Did you know Tolkien wasn’t a fan of it either? It works, but it’s such a spoiler for the ending. 😅 I think he wanted it to be “The War of the Ring” or something along those lines.
@@bookschocaholic I agree that The Two Towers is better that War of the Ring. First of all War of the Ring is simply to simmilar to Lord of the Rings. Secondly wed o get introduced two the towers in question in the first book so we know kinda what it’s a reffering to before we read, but it still give little away.
TWOK-WOR-O-ROW-KWOT The titles of Stromlight archives are forming a symmetry like a ketek. These titles are also the in-world book titles on Roshar. They do seem to be generic at first glance but I think there's definitely some thought process put into it.
How is "The Way of Kings" not the most generic title ever? It's one letter away from the most generic fantasy title I could come up with: The War of Kings
Pretty sure Daniel was taking into account what the name meant in world or for the story. Not saying it isn't generic, but the in-world book ties in beautifully
The Lies of Locke Lamora is a fantastic title, but I may like Red Seas Under Red Skies a tiniest bit more GGK's The Lions of Al-Rassan is a good one, too
I just started The Blade Itself, even though I'm not a huge fan of Grimdark fantasy, because I love the title A Little Hatred so much and really want that title on my shelf
The First Law and Age of Madness trilogies have good titles, but the three standalone books in between belong in eh tier. Best Served Cold, The Heroes, Red Country.
The difference is that the name of the wind is the first book, so a new reader had no context for the title. The winds of winter is the 6th book in a series, so we n though it hasn't been released yet there is a lot of context for the title that pulls it up to a solid title. Having said that, I do think Daniel shortchanged the name of the wind, and it's appeal to mystery. Why does the wind have a name?
What about "The Skeleton That Stood On Top Of A Van And Then Waved At A Bird And Stole A Traffic Cone" by stephen king??? Also, standalone books tier list pretty please?
my favorite title ever translates to "beyond the forest", "bortom skogen" in swedish. Some random philosofy writer in a fb group im in named his weird book this and i was so jealous when i heard it. For me the translation doesnt really do it justice, because its slightly more clunky and sounds more generic, but its such a layered title in my opinion, and it just sounds mysterious.
Best title ever is Chronicle of a Death Foretold. It's perfect: it's mysterious, it's poetic, it set tension up even before the first line of the book and it perfectly fit the novel (great novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez by the way).
Nonfantasy but my favourite titles are Burial rites by Hannah Kent and All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr Also I really love the translated version of Game of thrones in finnish which is "Valtaistuinpeli" = Thronegame (it sounds very epic and chess-like in finnish) 😂
You might think the alliterative "The Two Towers" is generic, but at the right time it can be evocative as seven hells - the movie being set to release in 2002 had a campagn to change the name out of respect for the fallen. I don't know if it actually helped it, Fellowship was already doing fine, but part of the cultural flavor and maybe helped people relate the story to their lives. Not that any of that was intentional, and in the context of the story, it's bugged me that it's not clear which towers Tolkien (or Unwin?) is reffering to.
as someone who hasn't read the three-body problem, I wanted to mention that that title was what made me pick it up. I think its super intriguing! and should have been higher, but all respects to you, its your list
11:20 Tolkien also hated that title Return of the King. Tolkien felt the chosen title revealed too much of the story, and indicated he preferred The War of the Ring as a title. As Tolkien wrote LOTR as one book LOTR so that was the title in his mind. However printing cost back then ... was high so they spilt book into 3.
@@timswabb Its probably the best fantasy title I've come across. Its full meaning isnt apparent until later in the series when you hear the poem/story its based on, but it also takes a literal meaning when you think of one of the main plotpoints in the story "moons spawn". My least favorite book in the series, but a great title.
I find it interesting how The Return of the King and The Way of Kings aren't next to each other. Also since you even said it was a spoiler that should have made RotK lower I think... I haven't read Leviathan Wakes but I've seen the TV show and I dunno, the title doesn't do as much for me as it does you lol. You could totally do another tier list for series titles too, Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, Gentlemen Bastards etc
A Wizard of Earthsea is a good example I think. Earthsea is both distinct and helpful with deducing what the story is about, actually (a different world with lots of islands)
![Hunxho - Ball Forever [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nki9ZTF9Uls/mqdefault.jpg)
This week has been rough, so I am just doing a bit of an easier video for today. Hope y’all don’t mind!
Daniel Greene hope you are alright! And i could never mind one of your awesome tier lists :D
You should rank the first words of books, or just the best quotes.
I don't mind at all, I really enjoy these :D
Take your time to relax.
totally not Jeff could do the first line of rhe book, but that’s Jim Butchers forte. How can you beat “ The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault”?
The funny thing about "The Return of the King" is it was NOT the title Tolkien wanted for the 3rd book, because it tells you what happens and he thought that was a bad idea. He wanted to call it "The War of the Ring" but the producer overruled him.
In case folks don’t know, “The Blade Itself” and “The Last Argument of Kings” are historical quotes.
“The blade itself incites to violence” is from Homer, and “The Final Argument of Kings” was inscribed on the cannons of King Louis XIV.
I really thought the Blade Itself sounded poetic, and that was before I knew it came from an epic poem, I feel validated.
Before they are hanged comes from a German poet as well
"The Blade Itself" quotes the fricking Odyssey, but I guess Homer is not poetic enough for Daniel! :D
Love this, nice insight
Omg
Dear everyone,
It's pronounced "drow", not "drow." There, the debate is settled once and for all.
Also, it's "gif" not "gif".
LegendOfZia you’re wrong it’s drow and gif
Tolandruth no it drow and gif idiot
It's "Drow" like "bow", not "Drow" like "bow".
drow like "how now brown cow?" not "row row row your boat..."
English everyone!
“I don’t think anything Martin is going to go below solid” _proceeds to put Fire & Blood in generic 30 seconds later_
loool it is tho
Don't forget how he bumped it down to Eh^^
He should've said “I don't think anything from ASOIAF is going to go below solid”
Which is crazy because Fire & Blood is amazing
Fire and Blood sounds like an 80's Kung Fu movie
Even though it doesn't make them bad, it's amazing how many titles are "____ of ____"
That title format is a fantasy trope in its own right
Robert Winslade It is also a real point of criticism for the english language, where the preposition “of” is way overused. As an example: “The Dawn Of the Planet Of the Apes”
@@Faish09 It doesn't sound much better in German. Die Dämmerung des Affenplaneten or Die Dämmerung des Planeten der Affen. In my opinion, that sounds awkward and cumbersome.
@@chrismath149 On the other hand it disappears in languages like Polish, where we have noun forms for that.
Name of the Wind - Imię Wiatru
The Way of the Kings - Droga Królów
Return of the King - Powrót Króla
Etc
I'm just going to start calling them "Epitome of Generic."
Feast for Crows is definitely poetic. I mean, it implies dead bodies.
Miara Mck it implies the aftermath of a storm of swords that is kind of a large war battle and political battle, where A feast for crows just tells you that this is the consequences of the actions before because you know crows come after battles! So very poetic.
@@thedeadnightking9975 also crow is a nick name for a member of the nights watch. a feast for crows should have 100% been in poetic.
OH SHIT, I’m a dumbass, never caught on, yeah that titles awesome
@@Ub3rSk1llz except that the night's watch aren't in affc. They're only in it for like one chapter.
@@thallan But think about it, criminals are often sent to the wall to live out the rest of there lives serving the realm blah blah blah, so in a way, although much of this conceptual and literal feast for crows is dead, many are also prisoners of war.
Pretty cool when you think of it like that I feel
Okay but you have to admit “Before They Are Hanged” has a certain appeal to it
Certainly a poetic-tier title. The arrangement of words is rare. It is never been heard without the usual terms as A, An, of and The.
I was actually waiting to see that and was disappointed when it wasn't on the list. It's one of my favorite book titles
@@shirashmu2188 Hey Daniel Greene what happened to our homie Joe Abercrombie's Before They Are Hanged?
It is my favorite Joe Abercrombie title for sure
@@mustachedpikachu7454 Me too. Never I heard the word Hanged in a title.
I think you've underestimated the quality of The Blade Itself. It's more than just solid. It's in reference to a line from The Odyssey that says "The blade itself incites to deeds of violence." Which is absolutely perfect for The First Law.
It literally says it in the freaking book as well!!!!!!!!!!! I have feelings about this tier list!!!
Holy hell that's awesome and actually really makes me want to read it
now i want to read it..
@@Al-nj8ow you should. It starts a bit slow but it's do worth it to push through that (let me rephrase, it starts amazing, page 5-100ish are a bit slow, after that it gets better and better)
I like that Martin's titles contain a story in an and of themselves. They also lead into one another. A Game of Thrones > A Clash of Kings > A Storm of Swords > (aftermath) A Feast for Crows > (other threats) A Dance with Dragons > (Climax) The Winds of Winter > (Resolution) A Dream of Spring.
Wonder if he changed his mind about how to end the series at some point, seeing how the last book was originally titled "A Time for Wolves"? Maybe he just thought it was too spoilery, idk
@@arjunmanoj2155 well I believe the series was originally supposed to be a trillogy: a game of thrones -> a dance with dragons-> a time for wolves.
Perhaps he felt that the vibe he was going for with a time for wolves was done well with a feast for crows.
Poetic and Solid if not Perfect
100% behind your Philosopher Stone rant 😂 the philosopher stone was a real alchemy myth that the real Nicholas Flamel tried to make! The sorcerers stone is a dumbed down publishing invention
they thought american's couldn't handle the word philosopher
This is where a portal stone would come in handy. You could go to an alternate reality where the only difference is the US version was called Philosopher's Stone and see if it sold less copies. And then it would turn out that in that reality the Nazis won WWII or something.
@@naughtscrossstitches More importantly, they thought American *schools* couldn't handle philosopher
I accidentally watched the US version of the movie the other day. It was jarring.
Normally I'm more annoyed than offended whenever a European country does something like that because they think Americans are stupid, but that one really irks me.
Even Tolkien didn't really like the name of two towers.
Taragon Leaf he didn’t like Return of the King either, iirc.
Taragon Leaf based on that, I am assuming that Tolkien didn’t really know what he was going to call the three books separately. He had the name Lord of The Rings planned from the beginning, but when he had to split them up he wasn’t sure what to name the separate parts.
@@lordofdarkness4204 that's exactly correct. Tolkien never wanted to separate the Lord of the Rings into three volumes. That was a publisher decision because they thought it was going to flop and making three volumes instead of one giant book would mitigate some of the loss.
Tolkien rushed this title "the two towers". He actually didn't even know what it meant. Contrary to popular belief it doesn't necessarily refer to orthanc and barad dur. In actuality the "two towers" could refer to pretty much any combination of the six towers in the book.
I think it's fantastic. The focus shifts to Orthanc, while Barad-Dur remains a threat. I just don't really know what else you'd call it.
@@tommyscott8511 The two towers are Orthanc and Minas Morgul.
Please make another one of these with series titles. So Kingkiller Chronicles, ASOIAF, First Law, etc
ooh that would be awesome! kingkiller has an appeal to it that name of the wind probably doesn't
@@mariaslm8 I agree! Name of the Wind is kind of poetic, but Kingkiller just sounds badass. Here's hoping book 3 follows suit!
'A Song Of Ice And Fire' as a series name is just beautiful. Sounds poetic, conveys the themes of the story, makes you want to read on. Much as i love The First Law, as a series name it's always struck me as a bit too generic, especially compared to the individual book titles
Dresden Files and its many many eh titles 😂
The Lies of Locke Lamora should be in perfection. It's not generic, It says so much about the story, it means more after you finish the book, lovely alliteration, and it's even fun to say!
🤘
Seconded, what takes this title to perfection level is the fact that it's a lie in itself. (Locke's not his real name.) It's good as a title you'd see for the first time. But the story just transcends it to god-tier level.
It makes me want to read it, something titles dont usually do for me
It is A Game Of Thrones, not game of thrones. Idk why exactly but the "a" makes the title better in my opinion.
As he has said a lot of times, get over it.
Every book of A song of Ice and Fire has an "A (something something)". I understand why people always omitted the "A" of the title, but it just doesnt sound the same without it.
@@pretendtheresaname9213 it just sounds better to me. I was just commenting on it because I thought it was interesting that it makes a difference to me. I'm not sure why, maybe it changes the tone of the title slightly.
ikr!
Yeah because "A Game of Thrones" implies an event in motion that starts to captivate you instead of presenting you with an idea of "Game of Thrones" which you can dismiss at face value if you so choose.
The comments are going to be filled with A LITTLE HATRED 😜
Lol
A little?
Loool
They've actually been shockingly civil so far
I actually love the fact that mistborn 1 is called the FINAL empire. It's so intriguing when you know it's the first in a trilogy and my brain was like "but it's already FINAL?? Ohhhh I gotta find out why!"
YES, I was " who's ending and why? " and started reading
I think so too! That the first book is called the final empire just makes it more interesting, because it does not follow the usual logic. It would be super generic as the last book, but for the first one it's very intriguing.
Now I'm just thinking of Final Fantasy. The first game was already final, but it has sequels in the double digits.
Yeah it’s a title I would think would be for a last book, not the first. Arguably, you could reverse the title sequence of the trilogy and that would make more sense, if you don’t look at the actual content. Very intriguing.
"The Return of The King... it's a SPOILER"
lol why didn't I ever notice that
its pretty much an obvious spoiler. is there anyone who doubted that Aragorn will become king at the end?
Because I really don’t think it is. Aragorn is made known to us pretty early as the king who needs to return to his kingdom. The title just says that he went, not what happens because he did, or his journey there.
It is a spoiler but it's one the series is building toward and hinting to throughout the entire thing, so it's also not really a spoiler
"Never Die". Never read, maybe great but sure sounds like a James Bond movie.
Tomorrow Never Dies
I have to admit, I love the title Final Empire, the fact that it sounds like the end of something is kind of the point.
Yeah, it really strikes up cool ideas in my head.
I was so confused hahaha i thought that I picked the final book
just sounds like a shitty faceless/generic faction from star wars to me
@@olliepugh3926 i feel that it works well in context
Daniel: the name of the wind is poetic and a good representation of the book.
Goblin Daniel: you don't like this book, remember
Daniel: ah lets put it in generic
Butcher initially wanted his first Dresden novel to be called "Semiautomagic", but was overruled by the publisher, because it was apparently too reminiscent of Terry Pratchett's titling conventions of puns. (Book 5, for example, was going to be "Holy Sheet")
That’s a shame; semiautomagic sounds so much better IMO
That’s an amazing title. I always confuse the titles of the Dresden file novels with each other. Semiautomagic would have stood out no question.
A Little Hatred is perfection, so charming and original. And Name of the Wind is good, if the wind had a name you would want to know it too.
A Little Hatred and A Feast for Crows I think deserve perfection.
I would have preferred Crow's Feast.
ikr! I love The Name of the Wind's title
The name of the wind is such a unique name. If any its nothing but generic
Honestly the biggest problem I have with the list is that The Lies Of Locke Lamora is not in the perfection tier. It says so much about the book, and it may be one of my favorite fantasy titles of all time. The alliteration is so satisfying. It’s the only title on the list that somehow feels gratifying to say out loud.
... due to the word Lies followed by two capital Ls. I would like it even more if the word The is omitted.
@@deanryanmartin that's literally what they said : the alliteration
Heirofbooks DRM was just saying that removing ‘The” makes the alliteration more satisfying. I don’t know what the vague animosity is about.
@@UltimateKyuubiFox Yep. Lies of Locke Lamora makes a more painful punch to your gut. It sounds more direct and quick to read. Lies of Locke Lamora takes about 3 seconds to read while The Lies of Locke Lamora takes about 4 seconds.
@@deanryanmartin both those things take less than a second to read. 'The' provides emphasis to 'lies' which makes the rhythm of the title flow, is what gives it impact, and tells the reader what the book is about. Cutting 'the' would make the title weaker in every way and would just be awkwardly poor language usage...
“It’s a spoiler” lmaoooo
Nevermind the fact that the first chapter of Two Towers is named “The Death of Boromir” :)))))
Tolkien was not one for twist :))
Huh, in my edition it's titled "The Departure of Boromir", which I thought was terribly clever
@@joshual3486 now I want to know if death or departure was the original reading
"The Departure of a Friend"? "Finding a Fallen Brother"? "The Horn of Gondor"? No?
There are a lot of differing chapter names… hell, there are at least two titles for each of the six LotR books
Just for reference Tolkien did not name the books for publishing and was upset when they named it Return of the King, the chapter names have switched based on publishers too so hard to nail down all that.
Now rank book titles by how much they sound like power metal albums.
At least waking poetic: The Shadow of What was Lost” by James Islington.
"A Feast for Crows" is POETIC. I love Martin's contrasting concepts. "A Game of Thrones" is PERFECT.
Love the list, except for one glaring question: Shouldn't "Winds of Winter" and "The Name of the Wind" be at least swapped? "Winds of Winter" is a great title, but there's nothing unique about winds in the winter season - "The Name of the Wind" has a much more poetic vibe.
Specially how The Name of The Wind is a big driving force for the main character.
They are fairly the same. The Name of The Wind sparks more curiosity in me. The choice of words for Winds of Winter is simple, intriguing as why it has to be a wind in a winter season, still it is simple.
He literally addressed this in the video: it's nothing special if you haven't read the books, if you have it's an incredible title.
I fully agree with this. But my point is - even as a standalone title (with no context from the story), I believe it should be swapped with Winds of Winter. All of this is subjective fun, and it's just my humble opinion :).
I think his justification was that The Name of the Wind is the first book in a series and that title looks generic if you are just going in, Where Winds of Winter is just as generic but its a late book in a series and by the time you are getting to it, you fully understand why that title is powerful.
How can you say Baptism of Fire isn't generic. It's literally a common saying used in regular conversation.
This is very random but it makes me think of Brothers in arms by Dire straights - it always stood out for me in the lyrics 😊
super generic
Baptism of Fire is super generic and The Name of the Wind should be in poetic!
Now I really need someone to write a book called "Fifty-two Elves" and I'll read it.
On it!
Edit: The first chapter of Fifty-two Elves can be found here: www.wattpad.com/story/253332879-fifty-two-elves
and here: www.booksie.com/643540-fifty-two-elves
"The Way of Kings" is as generic a fantasy title as you can get!
If it sounds generic in english, I tend to just get the spanish title, as it sounds more epic to me for some reason. El Camino De Los Reyes.
No, I am not a master of spanish, and am a bit lost on some of the stuff there. But as a student of it, I am trying to get there. And I love the Cosmere, so one of my ultimate goals/benchmarks is to get the audio and text of that version, and understand it from both sources. I think I am about halfway there in comprehension. It should help that I have already flown through and understood the english version several times. o.O
If it would not have been recommended to me by an excellent clerk at my bookstore, I would've never picked Sanderson up.
I think the words themselves are generic, there are a lot of titles with "way" and "king(s)" in them. But put together it raised the question (at least for me) "Ok, so what is the way of the Kings?" How does the author interpret kings and their actions? It suggests, that all kings have a specific part in common regarding how they rule. And that is quite intriguing, I think
@@adrianbundy3249 Are you telling me that they had the option of naming it El Camino Real in Spanish and didn’t do so? Talk about missing an oppertunity.
Gotta say "A Memory of Light" triggers this sort of instant emotional response in me. Like when the horns of Rohan ring out, or the banners of Aragorn appear at the horizon, I've immediately got tears in my eyes. And something similar is happening here; the idea that it's finally over, that you can remember the light once again. That's just beautiful.
Oh and let me just make you aware of the atrocity that is the German titles for the First Law books. They are (translated literally): "War Blades, Fire Blades, King Blades, Revenge Blades, Hero Blades, Blood Blades, Shadow Blades, Magic Blades (that's "A Little Hatred" btw...), Peace Blades, and Silver Blades" (all in publication order). This is an absolute crime.
This extends to the Shattered-Sea trilogy as well, by the way. The beautiful simplicity yet genius of "Half a King/World/War" is replaced by "King's Vow/Hunter/Crown". German publishers seem to love generic titles...
Daniel is really obsessed with doing tier lists, isn't he? XD
well, co complaints here. They're fun to watch.
@@elessar6950 And easy to produce.
Yet here I am watching them every time! Haha
they are entertaining
Gotta milk that shit
daniel is really carrying us through lockdown
Next list: Ranking fantasy books's first sentences
@@hristol7537 red sister is going to be S tier on that list
…lockdown was three years ago? Oh my gods
Sorcerer’s Stone is one of the most infuriating publishing decisions ever. First, the original title just sounds better. Secondly, Rowling didn’t make the concept up; it’s called the Philosopher’s Stone, not the Sorcerer’s Stone. And worst of all, it makes such insulting insinuations about the intelligence level of American readers.
And don't you guys have the myth, as well? I mean, I'm Portuguese, we have the same concept. It was translated as "Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal", which is the exact same thing as the original. If they had decided to go with Sorcerer's Stone the title would have lost all of its appeal. Harry Potter e a Pedra do Feiticeiro, pfft. No one would pick it up. I still don't get it
pipitameruje I mean, yes, kind of. It’s definitely less known than other myths and legends though. So I know that’s the logic. “Oh those Americans won’t know what philosopher means, so let’s just change the meaning to help them out.” 🙄🤦🏻♂️
They changed it to 'Harry Potter and the Wizarding School' in French, which is... Even worse...
@@danlafferty1222 except that it was the American marketing team that changed the title, so it’s not anything to do with British people talking down to Americans.
@@laurelelasselin Which they apparently did because the French would be _too_ familiar with the Philosophers Stone myth and the story would be spoiled because of it. Which doesn't even make sense because the story wasn't even about discovering what the stone did.
This is gonna be helpful for authors deciding what title their book’s gonna have.
I've had to go through no less than six title iterations so far for my current book, mostly because my earlier titles were the same as other works of fiction, but I'm really happy with how the current title came out. I ain't gonna share it here though, for fear of it being stolen before I can publish :D.
One of the (many many) things I like about Joe Abercrombie, is that in the beginning of each book (sometimes in the middle) he has a page with a quote that the title of that book came from.
For example: The Blade Itself, comes from Homer's Odyssey "The blade itself incites to deeds of violence."
Last Arguments of Kings, comes from the inscription on Louis XIV's cannons.
It really helps to establish the theme, and is just cool, I guess. Abercrombie also titles every chapter, and he often has some nice little touches there too for the most part.
orcanimal I really like that too, currently about halfway through the Blade Itself and I really like the chapter title ‘ Tea and Vengeance’ . Those two just go so well together, quite scrumptious 😋
@@nasteho6614 Wow, you are in for a ride if you're just starting Abercrombie.
A couple of useful notes for you:
The trilogy books serve as act I, act II, and act III of their overall story.
However, the standalones (Best Served Cold, The Heroes, Red Country) are each self-contained (and for my money even better than the trilogy, which is fantastic). But only read the books in publication order, to avoid spoilers, as the standalones, though focused around different characters (with lovely surprises), do see consequences of previous books play out in the world.
I envy every person who's only starting on Abercrombie. The standalones, in particular, are some of my all-time favorites.
That makes me want to put his titles into poetic tbh
I think "the blade itself incites.." is from the odyssey but yeah cool titles, cool influences. "Before they are hanged" is my favorite. comes from the German poet Heinrich heine
@@ItalianStallionBDM for some reason I always think of The Iliad as the overall title for the two books. But I'll change it, thanks.
Leviathan Wakes is such a fantastic title. It actually makes me want to read this book even though I have no idea what it's about.
The Expanse is the best modern sci-fi series you will read.
The Name of the wind should be in poetic tier according to the criteria you have enonced at the beginning of the video.
The title is very uncommon, really reflects the content of the book (wind : call to adventure...), its intringing and poetic.
Beside the title is vague in a good way and could refer to another genre than fantasy and that sole fact makes it not a fantasy generic title
It reminds me of an old school love song the first time I read The Name of The Wind. You know that song that goes like this "The will of the wind, you feel it and then
, it will pass you blowing steady, it comes and it goes and God only knows, you must keep your sails on ready, so when it begins, get all that you can, you must be friend, the will of the wind"
A classic as a similar title: The name of the rose. Came out in 1980. Umberto Eco wrote a masterpiece. Rothfuss is a good writer, although not in the same league as Eco. Considering, using a title like The name of the Wind does feel generic. Not considering Eco, other authors also used The name of the X before. Plus the Wind as an image is overused.
@@acheneniwae2362 Achene Niwae So according to you, I propose a downgrade to generic of the Winds of Winter, also of the Eye of the world because of the Eye of Darkness by Dean Koontz (1981), and Promise of blood because the term blood is so overused in fantasy and The way of kings, because of the Return of the King by Tolkien which is a classic
@@gaspardg119 I would put it in Good. It's generic if we're talking poetry. But still, that title is what made me read the book. Depends what you're going for, looking at his other works, he's going for something poetic. Haven't read the book, but like you mention, Promise of blood, blood is overused, yes, but is it used as a medium for something deeper or are the words what they are? That title is enticing nonetheless, like The name of the Wind. Simply put, my point might have more to do with Daniel Greene using poetic in contrast to an A from another list. Poetic should be a sub category. When it comes to it, the judging parameters are very different from the rest. Like the Winds of Winter, it's a good title if you've read the entire series. Winter is coming, now it's there. I also don't thing it belongs up there if we take it as a standalone. The ways of kings, wouldn't say it's because "king" is overused, it's probably one of the most used word in fantasy titles. Look at what Brandon Sanderson is going for with his titles. It's full of cliche. He's not going for anything poetic. That's why I think "poetic" should not be used as a category in a list like this.
@@acheneniwae2362 The problem, I have with the list is that it's biased by Dianel's opinion on the books and not strickly on the title.
I think that other tier list could be funier than this one. I find it pretty useless because of the lack of objective criteria to compare the titles
I've always loved the title Flowers for Algernon; I basically read the book based on the title alone. Now that I've read it I find the title alone seems to evoke the sense of melancholy I felt when I finished the book.
Its not out yet obviously but "The Rhythm of War" is one of my favourite titles.
I know. It probably tops every other one of Brandon Sanderson's titles IMO. Also, just in case you didn't know, there's no "the." Looking only at the first letters, it's deliberately the reverse of Words of Radiance. He's going for a bit of a palindrome with his titles, and even said he's probably revising the title of book 5 to fit the pattern.
@@groceryliszt3346 I really liked one of the working titles he had before, Stones Unhallowed if I remember correctly.
@@groceryliszt3346 i knew that at some point, slipped my mind. Yes i noticed the palindrome before
tWOK WOR O ROW wonder what book 5 will be
I've always liked "The Final Empire," I feel like the title raises interesting questions, (what happened to the previous empires?), as well as foreshadows that something is coming to end this one.
A Feast For Crows is my favorite title in the A Song of Ice and Fire series! The title is hammered home in the novel at many points and the theme is so dark and heavy. When it comes back around in the story it always gives me chills. I think it’s perfection, and also incredibly underrated.
I've always considered "The Name of the Wind" a poetic title because the anthropomorphization in it sounds mysterious and evocative, like the wind is somehow an entity in this world and not just a mundane, natural phenomenon
ikr. I love the title. Suits the story perfectly too
Exactly. And it has great context. And its not even that generic when you think about it, tbh most of the things he put in solid sound more generic than that, except for the blade itself ofc and baptism of fire. I mean lets be honest, 1000 orcs? Is it possible to come up with a more "is this walmart lotr?" kind of title?
@@berserker8884 I actually like the title A Thousand Orcs. It sounds like a fun, unassuming read. The Blade Itself is another one I consider poetic
@@taylor_green_9 good for you!
Years later, I just find his titles just as pompous as the author himself.
No respect for his readers.
Some of my favorite titles are for Ruta Sepetys's books. They are just wonderful and make me want to read. Some of these titles are Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, and Fountains of Silence. Especially those last two, I just love them and I don't know why; I'm just drawn to them for some reason.
I think these tier list are important because it's good to have a discussion hub on the internet where we can talk about what works and what doesn't work in fantasy categories. Keep it going 💪🏿
I wonder when you'll do a retrospective tier list of your tier lists...
Ok we have to get this comment higher so he sees it😑
so meta, I want to see this.
This ones going to F for me lol. Hard disagree on most of the ranks, but some were okay and I could agree with.
You should do a tier list for just the 15 WHEEL OF TIME titles alone.
'Words of Radiance' is such an awesome title, I'm a little sad it wasn't included.
Rhythm of War is actually my favorite stormlight title. After learning about the listeners/singers and the rhythms, that title just feels so imposing and cool. like "shit is about to go down"
The Lies of Locke Lamora is the best fantasy title. period. i havnt read the book yet but it makes me want to.
Yep the title intrigues me. Incredible book, read it. You won’t regret it.
Kinda
"Lackluster Lies of Locke Lamora" would be a better title more fitting the content of the book. And even more alliteration for people enticed by it.
"The Return of the King" isn't really a spoiler, because Aragorn becoming king was foreshadowed several times "The Fellowship of the Ring", including the reforging of Narsil into Andúril, and when Elrond straight up says that Aragorn is Isildur's heir. It's a key part of Aragorn's identity. If you get to "The Return of the King" and think "Well, I guess the king is gonna return in this book", then I dare say that you haven't been paying attention.
So, if the title being spoiler is the reason you placed it where you did, then I argue "The Return of the King" should be higher. However, I do agree that it shouldn't be higher than Solid, though, maybe a bit higher inside Solid.
The list in general is very good!
agreed. Not to mention "return of the king" doesnt even really spoiler him becoming king, it only say he "returns" aka arrives in gondor. And that one is really not much of a spoiler at all
New contest: The most generic fantasy title you can come up with. Bonus points the more you manage to use the words Dragon, King & Sword.
The sword of the dragon king
Done
@@erikcarp9359 The King of Dragon Swords
The Dragon Sword of the Dragon King
The Sword King of the Dragon.
The Dragon in the King's Sword
How can the name of the wind be in generic and a cliche phrase like baptism of fire be in solid? ( I didn't like rothfuss' book but it was the title that made me read it in the first place)
one of the things that intrigued me when my friend donated me the Mistborn series was why the the first book was called The Final Empire, though I can see where it might be somewhat of a generic title I've always really liked the title and fits the book really well.
It does seem like a concluding book title not the first book kind of title, I'll give it that!! I had to check to make sure I had them in the right order
I write myself and I struggle so much with titles.. this helped me figure out some important things with titling
I’ve just discovered your tier vids so I’m not sure if you did it already, but I’d love to see a tier list for book covers!! And opening lines!
I love the titles of the Expanse books. I love that this really hard sci-fi series references all kinds of different mythology in its titles, and that having not read past the third book, I can look at the titles of the rest and get just a tiny bit of an idea what each one will focus on, based on the reference it makes.
I think the best malazan title would be Crippled God if we are going without context. If you are someone who does not know anything about Malazan, it raises question about why the god is crippled and it might newcomer think that maybe that god should be given sympathy, which is something beater knowing might not give based of his actions in the series. Which is kinda cool and in my eyes makes it at least solid title.
Daniel: The Lone Drow
Me, an Intellectual: The Lone Drow
"This is generic, let's put it in solid"
Daniel: poetic is Rothfuss' territory
also Daniel: *puts Name of the Wind in generic*
ok
@guitarknees Greene really does not like the series
Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers and the Return of the King aren't the titles that Tolkein chose for his LotR series though.
Book I: The First Journey, or The Ring Sets Out
Book II: The Journey of the Nine Companions, or The Ring Goes South
Book III: The Treason of Isengard
Book IV: The Journey of the Ring Bearers, or The Ring Goes East
Book V: The War of the Ring
Book VI: The End of the Third Age
The ninth house, the two towers, never die, scythe, promise of blood, the ways of kings are above name of the wind? Seriously?
he hates the books...he hates the sex and the poetic vibe to the second book, also he doesent know what name of the wind entails in the title
I know I'm a little bit late for the party, but Tolkien didn't like the name of his third book; originally, It was The War of The Ring or something, but Stanley Unwin's son (I forgot his name lol) told him otherwise. So... Yeah.
All of 'The Expanse' series book titles have specific meanings that relate back to historical myths or religions, based on events in the book.
10:52
Daniel: "There's going to be a flood of hatred..."
Or maybe just... A little hatred? eh? eh?
I'll see myself out
This makes me once again realize, how bad( or just generic) titles are, that were given to the german translations...
So true...😓
German titles of The First Law books are laughable. The first book has the word 'blade' (Klinge in German) in it, so lets name every book like that. For example: Best served cold gets translated to "Racheklingen" (Revenge-blades) or The Heroes "Heldenklingen" (Heroblades). The worst title tho, is the translation of A little Hatred. Its called "Zauberklingen" (Magic-Blades)! WHAT. THE. FUCK
@@Earls_sweaty_shirt German translations are overall subpar to the original work, both in literature and TV. In both cases, accents often get lost in translation as most translators use that horrible Bundesdeutsch so that everyone understands it and I want to strangle whoever is in charge of translations. English authors don't seem to worry that much about this.
@@Earls_sweaty_shirt they are calling the entire thing "Klingen-Saga" (Blade saga) and you can wonder, if this has anything to do with the actual story... But nice to see, that I am not the only one, who has problems with this topic.
Tbh I hate when they do that, the majority of titles sound so weak when translated into German, I just can't get myself to take something like "Seltsam der Träumer" seriously
A friend/neighbor of mine has a little brother named Levi. Which is kind of a cool name I guess. Then you realize it's legitimately short for Leviathan. And while I do kind of feel a little bad for the kid because that's one helluva name (in a bad way), it's also one helluva name (in a good way). It sounds badass. (His middle name is also Danger. So yeah, he has that going for him too.)
Aw man, I love the title “The Two Towers”. I agree it’s kinda boring on the surface but it has soooo many interpretations and ways you could understand it.
100% agree with Return of the King. Did you know Tolkien wasn’t a fan of it either? It works, but it’s such a spoiler for the ending. 😅 I think he wanted it to be “The War of the Ring” or something along those lines.
Yeah it was supposed to be war of the ring, but the publishers decided it gave too much away
@@bookschocaholic I agree that The Two Towers is better that War of the Ring. First of all War of the Ring is simply to simmilar to Lord of the Rings. Secondly wed o get introduced two the towers in question in the first book so we know kinda what it’s a reffering to before we read, but it still give little away.
I totally agree with your pronunciation of Drow, I have been reading Salvatore for many years.
How about Fantasy series title rankings
TWOK-WOR-O-ROW-KWOT
The titles of Stromlight archives are forming a symmetry like a ketek. These titles are also the in-world book titles on Roshar. They do seem to be generic at first glance but I think there's definitely some thought process put into it.
How is "The Way of Kings" not the most generic title ever? It's one letter away from the most generic fantasy title I could come up with: The War of Kings
Good idea. Ill use that one. Ill be so original
The most generic title is "The last Battle" from Narnia lol
As much I love the series, I agree, it’s a pretty generic fantasy name.
Rhythm of War sounds way better than The Way of Kings. If not for the reputation of Brandon Sanderson, I have no plans of getting The Way of Kings.
Pretty sure Daniel was taking into account what the name meant in world or for the story. Not saying it isn't generic, but the in-world book ties in beautifully
The Lies of Locke Lamora is a fantastic title, but I may like Red Seas Under Red Skies a tiniest bit more
GGK's The Lions of Al-Rassan is a good one, too
I just started The Blade Itself, even though I'm not a huge fan of Grimdark fantasy, because I love the title A Little Hatred so much and really want that title on my shelf
The First Law and Age of Madness trilogies have good titles, but the three standalone books in between belong in eh tier. Best Served Cold, The Heroes, Red Country.
I just want to point out that for Martin's books you argued for context of the books to justify the titles but you ignored that for The name of wind.
ikr :( i love name of the wind's title
The difference is that the name of the wind is the first book, so a new reader had no context for the title. The winds of winter is the 6th book in a series, so we n though it hasn't been released yet there is a lot of context for the title that pulls it up to a solid title.
Having said that, I do think Daniel shortchanged the name of the wind, and it's appeal to mystery. Why does the wind have a name?
Martin was pretty trapped into Fire & Blood as the title since it's the words of House Targaryen, but I see what you mean.
„Titles like X of Y are just generic“
„Eye of the World and Memory of Light are definitely solid“
I love the title A Memory of Light. It just sounds so powerful to me. I've not read it, nowhere close to it yet, but its an awesome title.
Noun of Noun titles are generic, they get a bit better with concepts/verbs/etc
@@shawn6745 Eye, World, Memory and Light are all nouns. I don't mind X of Y titles personally, just saying.
What do you think of A Raven's Shadow?
Edit: For anyone who wants to comment :) Also referring to the title.
What about "The Skeleton That Stood On Top Of A Van And Then Waved At A Bird And Stole A Traffic Cone" by stephen king???
Also, standalone books tier list pretty please?
Is he actually have a book names like that?
@@shamsulhaqramzi378 nah its just a meme hahahah
my favorite title ever translates to "beyond the forest", "bortom skogen" in swedish. Some random philosofy writer in a fb group im in named his weird book this and i was so jealous when i heard it. For me the translation doesnt really do it justice, because its slightly more clunky and sounds more generic, but its such a layered title in my opinion, and it just sounds mysterious.
“There’s gonna be a flood of hatred for that” - Daniel
“There’s gonna be a little hatred for that” - what should have been said
Best title ever is Chronicle of a Death Foretold.
It's perfect: it's mysterious, it's poetic, it set tension up even before the first line of the book and it perfectly fit the novel (great novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez by the way).
Nonfantasy but my favourite titles are Burial rites by Hannah Kent and All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr
Also I really love the translated version of Game of thrones in finnish which is "Valtaistuinpeli" = Thronegame (it sounds very epic and chess-like in finnish) 😂
I love The Final Empire as a title. It fits the story very well and I really love that a first book in a series is called something final.
You might think the alliterative "The Two Towers" is generic, but at the right time it can be evocative as seven hells - the movie being set to release in 2002 had a campagn to change the name out of respect for the fallen. I don't know if it actually helped it, Fellowship was already doing fine, but part of the cultural flavor and maybe helped people relate the story to their lives. Not that any of that was intentional, and in the context of the story, it's bugged me that it's not clear which towers Tolkien (or Unwin?) is reffering to.
You should do a Tier List for books you have yet to read. Rank them solely on their title and not the context.
And tier list titles of the 15 Wheel of Time books.
I have to say that the title of the fifth Wheel of Time book, The Fires of Heaven, made me shiver when I heard Michael Kramer’s voice say it.
I would be interested in seeing a fantasy tier list of book series names! Love your tier videos 😊
Agreed
as someone who hasn't read the three-body problem, I wanted to mention that that title was what made me pick it up. I think its super intriguing! and should have been higher, but all respects to you, its your list
i was literally about to start studying but i guess that will have to wait now
One of the reasons I picked up the name of the wind was because of the title! It is so intriguing!
Perhaps look into rebranding into Daniel Green Wakes.... actually nevermind, it definitely doesn't conjure the same imagery...
11:20 Tolkien also hated that title Return of the King. Tolkien felt the chosen title revealed too much of the story, and indicated he preferred The War of the Ring as a title. As Tolkien wrote LOTR as one book LOTR so that was the title in his mind. However printing cost back then ... was high so they spilt book into 3.
No Malazan titles lol. All of them come off as “metal.”
“Gardens of the Moon” isn’t metal - it’s deliberately deceptive. It sounds like a sweet fairy tale.
@@timswabb Its probably the best fantasy title I've come across. Its full meaning isnt apparent until later in the series when you hear the poem/story its based on, but it also takes a literal meaning when you think of one of the main plotpoints in the story "moons spawn". My least favorite book in the series, but a great title.
Shawn Boudreau Oh yes, I love it. And misdirection is everywhere in the series.
@@timswabb That one is the least metal for sure, but look at the others. "Deadhouse Gates" "The Bonehunters" "Reaper's Gale" "The Crippled God"
@smuckfuzzer Well yes, the cat was out of the bag after the first one.
Interesting trivia. Sapkowski took the title Baptism of Fire from the Dire Straits song with the same name. He said that he is a big fan of them.
No Malazan titles? Better send an email
Daniel appears intent on making an enemy of Anomander Rake ! :D
This is become a trope of the channel at this point lol
some of them re quite odd like Toll the Hounds or the Bonehunters. others are absolutely great like The Crippled God or Gardens of the Moon
But guys
The Malazan series is called "the book of the fallen"
And Steven Erikson once said to "name none of the fallen"
I find it interesting how The Return of the King and The Way of Kings aren't next to each other. Also since you even said it was a spoiler that should have made RotK lower I think...
I haven't read Leviathan Wakes but I've seen the TV show and I dunno, the title doesn't do as much for me as it does you lol.
You could totally do another tier list for series titles too, Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, Gentlemen Bastards etc
Also I love titles that contains words or is a word that the author created that sounds catchy
do you have an example?
Adam D Ig Stormlight archives?
Yeah, I also like titles that contains words 😜
(understand exactly what you're saying, just read it incorrectly at first)
A Wizard of Earthsea is a good example I think.
Earthsea is both distinct and helpful with deducing what the story is about, actually (a different world with lots of islands)
@@hugorade8114 Yeah, I hate when titles have no words. So confusing. X
I’m really loving these tier lists. Should do one at the end of June for all the books you’ve read first half of the year.