Stephen King's meandering style is actually what makes him so appealing to me. It makes the story feel much less scripted, formulaic and predictable. It feels like a group of real living people with normal ordinary lives stumbling towards an unfathomable goal like your local average guy or gal would do. I also care about characters way more than plot in any genre or medium, and that's where I think many of his works truly excel. I think his horror books and thriller books are much better than his fantasy books overall though. Respect you opinion, hope one day you'll give one of his horror books a go (:
I'm so with you on some of these and so opposed on others. That is why I love these lists and love art and lit. It speaks to all of us in such a singular, subjective fashion. Awesome!! I can add my voice to Dark Age and LightBringer are well worth a try.
I'm SO with you on the MurderBot series. I don't understand what people see in it and why they like it. I also got the first one from the library (because I was unwilling to pay full cover price for a novella!) and did not continue. I also agree with you on Brent Weeks. I don't like his writing style at all. I read The Black Prism and it was okay at best, but I wasn't really feeling any of it.
I'ts obviously an opinion, but I love The Expanse. It's very much sci-fi which does seem to not be your thing the same, which I get, but the series is thoroughly enjoyable to me and urge you to give it another go. It really picks up in book 5.
I just started reading The Expanse- after having watched the show (twice!). The show was so great- and so I had to try the books (I've been warned they are different). Leviathan Wakes was really enjoyable- 5 stars. Looking forward to Caliban's War...
Baptism of Fire & The Tower of the Swallow are so fantastic it is a shame most people are stopping before they get to these books. I loved the Witcher novels!
Thnx Matt, I watch all of your content and loving it. This instance I noticed that your ‘hate’ for The Fifth Season sounded a lot more considerate than in your previous rants about this book. Thank you for that.
I agree with everything you said about the King books you mentioned, but I do want to say that The Shining and Pet Sematary are two of the best books I’ve ever read by anyone.
After the third Red Rising book I also thought the story was told. But the more I read the second arc the more I think it absolutely needed to be told. This second arc is about what happens after a revolution, about how some of the choices made come back to bite you, about the price there is to pay. Light Bringer is the best book in the whole series and one of the best sci fi books I ever read.
Regarding Speaker for the Dead, sequal to Ender's Game, you should give the book a shot at some point and not worry about what others say negatively regarding it. Speaker for the Dead is a great book, but it helps if the reader is open-minded to the journey the writer is taking you on and the reader doesn't want to pre-determine what the story should be. Speaker for the Dead for sure is a more of a philisophical read. It will make you think and question things. It's introspective. For me the second book in the series was highly interesting and I appreciated that the story wasn't static, that Card was taking you on an original trip and not just a repeat of the first book in the series, as you mentioned you disliked from the Murder Bot series. Something to consider if you ever are curious. It's also a fast read and is not a long commitment.
One thing to know about Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead is that Orson Scott Card had the idea for the sequel first then wrote Ender's Game as a short story just to set up the real story that he wanted to write. Then the short story was such a big hit that he was told to make it into a full book. Speaker for the Dead is a completely different book, both in tone and themes and it isn't YA anymore in my opinion. You really should give it a shot but with the view that it isn't a sequel but its own story.
Greetings from Ukraine. The Witcher was pretty popular here in the Eastern Europe even before the games. I consider it as a pretty good "generic" (humans, elves, dwarfes) fantasy setting with cool concept of witchers (as monster hunters) and nice Slavic vibes. But yeah, its good books are the first ones, the last books are pretty average.
Everything you said about King/TDT - as someone who HAS plowed through the series - is true. Nothing on my own DNF list yet, can't have a DNF list when all is chaos.
10:20 You are 100% right, when You read it in polish, Sapkowski's writing style is top-notch and very funny, but because he uses old polish language, it's really hard to translate it. I agree that story is slow and not really gripping. But dialogues between Regis, Geralt and Jaskier, especially in Baptism of fire, are just amazing.
I found the witcher story brilliant, or at least interesting and quite unique. Even in English, I found it full of humour. But Regis and Geralt's hanza are my favourite aspects among many
In Spain, the renaissance polish was translated as barroque castellano. It works great, the books feel special. I agree with u. Why english dont translate the books with shakespeare's english?
Great video. I appreciate your frankness (as I think a lot of your viewers do). Also, I guess I liked this video because I agree with so many of your choices (and of course we all like to agree). Like you, I didn't want to continue with Red Rising, Enders Game, The Expanse, Fifth Season, Dresden Files, The Witcher, and Dune either. However, because I have not read nearly as much as you, I'm probably going to continue or revisit quite a few of these. I have not given them as much of a shot as you have before stopping. Plus, I have found others that I did not enjoy on first reading that I went back to reread (because of the hype) and ended up enjoying quite a bit (namely Hyperion and Three Body Problem). I'm hoping that I will have positive experiences when I find the time to go back to them (part of me still believes the hype!).
--I still plan to try Murderbot (I got the first one free from Tor's eBook of the month club), but I definitely agree with you on that outrageous price! If it clicks with me, I will plan to check out later books from the library. --I loved The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, but still need to read the third book. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. --I totally get your criticism of Dresden Files, but I am still enjoying it so far. I don't typically listen to audiobooks, but agree that James Marsters is fantastic! --The other series on this list are are my TBR. I'm curious to see whether they work for me or not. Thanks for sharing this, and happy reading! 📚
The Broken Earth Trilogy is the most disappointing fantasy series I’ve ever read. Considering it won 3 straight Hugo’s, I thought it was going to be one of the best series I ever read. After reading, I thought it was a mediocre series that had great ideas with mostly poor execution. I really don’t understand how each of those books won a Hugo award. It’s made that award meaningless to me in terms of being an indicator for how good a book is.
Really? Hugo prize goes to popular votation. As those books are just a fantasy version of Roots, the BLM supporters all voted it. If there wasnt corruption in the counting. Hugo prize shows how popular is.
@@RLX5201 I actually understand why people do not like Iron Gold. However… the story makes so much sense!!!! It answers all the questions the original trilogy didn’t AND the Fear Knight is just a delight to read about
@some5794 Yeah of course, I guess when you do things differently, in this case introduce multiple POVs and move forward in time, not everyone will like it but for me every new POV was superb and I enjoyed them all. I do also think if Pierce Brown just ended the series after Morning Star, that would have been an excellent ending but... the story's nowhere near over😅
Matt this video reminded me why I started following you in the first place. You’re the first/only booktuber who disliked The Fifth Season as much I did. I thought something was wrong with me because literally everyone, including friends, raved about it. Another series I’ll never finish is Robert Jackson Bennet’s Divine Cities trilogy. The first book was not a fun read for me and I’ll never revisit it.
Some people will love whatever authority tell them to love, “the Emperor’s new Clothes” saga described this several hundred years ago. Very disheartening for me personally since I held out hope that we(humans) had changed for a long time.
I agree on Fifth Season. I did read all three because I hate DNFing series but the first book was the best one and that's not saying much. I HATED the second person and she kept it up even after the first book when it was completely unnecessary. Removing the second person aspect still wouldn't be enough to make it good though.
I was tracking until you said the word “Dune.” Then I had to run to the bathroom when I heard “..never a truly epic story.” Name calling, otherwise cyber bullying is over the line. But if you share your opinion on the internet, you must accept that other people can and will tell you where you’re wrong. Tell me you don’t like Dune, ok fair enough. Tell me the world is flat? I respectfully disagree
I absolutely loved the whole Dune series I read all 6 books BUT there were supposed to be 8 and the author died before finishing it so the 6th book ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. Since you love endings so much Matt I think you probably wouldn't want to keep going with a forever unfinished series
I also read the whole 6 books. I felt more confused than anything when it was done. By the third book, the narrative style was so tiring. The writing style is so strange and nothing can be just clearly said.
Speaking of supposed continuations, Frank abandoned the serie after 21 years writing it. George started the series 27 years ago. I think he has chosen to leave it unended. In fact I have the great impression he lost interest in it after book 3, the next 2 came far more spaced and barely advanced the plot, looks like h wrote them just for money and bored. Maybe he got glad that HBO made the series, so he didnt had to continue it. So, I have th impression, maybe people with Ice&Fire should read just the 3 first books, and then watch the series. Mmmmmmmmm. O maybe George will do as Frank Herbert, Jon Tolkien or Robert Jordan, and will enable his apprentices/succesors Ty&Frank to end it after he dies.
About Ender's Game. I understand what you mean, there are a ton of books and extra series that seem unnecessary and I certainly haven't read all of them. However I did read the first book of the Shadow Saga called Ender's Shadow(this book is from the perspective of a side character, Bean, and runs at the same time as Ender's Game) and it was so incredible that it actually made me like the original book even more. I highly recommend it, even though I read it a long time ago I still remember a lot.
I've read a lot of sci-fi in my life, and I read the Dune trilogy three different times (the last time in my 20s) all in an effort to understand what was going on in the plot. But Herbert has such a dense writing style that it was difficult to understand the story and a slog to get through. I can't believe I actually read the first three novels three different times. (I think I even read the next two books).
I read all 6 three times... Once in high school where a lot of it I didn't really get. Again in my 20's when I really appreciated the later books (book 4 went from my least favorite to my favorite), and then in my late 30's when I got even more out of it.
18:37 Do people hate Speaker for the Dead? That’s one of my favorite books. Although I’m in the opposite boat with you. I wasn’t impressed with Ender’s Game but blown away with the sequel.
Great video. I haven't read most of these so I cant speak to them...But I have read Enders Game and I will just say, if you haven't read book 5, Ender's Shadow, then you should read it. Many like it more than the first book. It's a retelling of the events in book one but from Bean's perspective and its really a great book. Thats where I stopped in the series so I cant speak for the others after book 5. I have two of these series on my TBR and will keep them there and those are The Expanse and Red Rising. Thanks for the video!
I read the entire Shadow side and its seriously amazing. It goes deep you can feel his mormon values showing but I enjoted it so immensely. I havent started Enders quintet yet because even after over a year now that the last Shadow book came out I'm still not over it. I don't know why this storyline is so interesting to me but it is. I'll never shut up about Ender's Game. 😂
Two things: The second book in the Enders game series is one of the best books ever written and one can stop there The dune series is unfinished but a lot of people say stop at god emperor due to that being a halfway point to the series with a definitive ending
Everything I've heard about Murderbot doesn't sound like it'll be my thing. Plus for novellas they ain't cheap so that's always put me off. Just to be clear, I'm not blaming Martha Wells for the pricing.
I agree on Ender's Game, it's like if they did a sequel to the Sixth Sense. But I disagree on the Dune series. If you can get past Dune Messiah which is short, I think the rest of the books are quite good. Just stop at Chapterhouse, before his son took over the franchise.
I'm more into sci-fi and fantasy, but I'm with you on Murderbot. Read the first 4, but will not continue. Got more and more bored as the series went on (and it's not good when you struggle to finish books that short). I see what you're saying with The Expanse too. I've read the first two, and enjoyed them, but somehow they didn't excite me enough to carry on yet (I probably should as they are all say on my bookshelf). As for Dune, I read and enjoyed the first 3. I will read God Emperor next year and stop. Apparently that makes sense - I think you can stop at book 3 or 4 and still feel like you've read a complete story arc.
Good stuff, love every video! Still think it'd b cool to see li a t of your favorite or alternatively you least favorite or annoying characters in books :)
Interesting video! I appreciate your honesty with what works and doesn't for you, even though I hard disagree with some of the series for me personally. It's funny how much I agree with you on some books / series and entirely opposite on others :)
Thoughts: Red Rising I hard stopped after book 3. I honestly felt like it was amazing as a trilogy, so I just stopped and left it there. Hearing your review made me happy because it made me feel justified in my decision. Way of Shadows - Fun read but nothing special. Since you're DNFing, I'll say this - the best part of the book is watching one characters slow walk towards being evil and his redemption. That storyline is amazing, but I am not sure it's worth dcontinuing just for that. Broken Earth - Amazing books, but I can see where it's not for everyone. The second person POV is really rough. Leviathan Wakes is great, but the TV show is one of the few amazing adaptations. I highly suggest watching the show and then if you're really bored and curious jumping into the series again. Dark Tower is average at best. I'm with you on this one. I highly recommend Swan Song by Robert R McCammon. He's like Stephen King but better. If you ever get that post-apocalyptic itch but want one that's very character driven with a big splash of fantasy. He's like Stephen King if Stephen King used actual plotlines instead of doing lines. Ender's Game through Children of the Mind is one of the best SciFi ever written. The tone does shift to a more hard SciFi instead of the YA Military School SciFi. Every other book he's ever wrote has just been milking these. As far as series I'm gonna DNF not on your list: quite a few LitRPGs. You've reviewed some of the best, but you havent dove hard into some of the bad power fulfillment fantasy LitRPGs like Defiance of the Fall or The Land... books that are like Dungeon Crawler Carl but the characters are completely one-note and the entire book is written to make the reader fantasize about how they'd abuse their power in the ways the MC does.
Personally, Red Rising didn't grip me till book 5, and I'm so glad I kept going because book 5 and 6 for me were 5/5. Just like you I wasn't a big fan of book 4, but I do urge you to give book 5 a try because it's a truly amazing!
I LOVE Red Rising! For me, all the books have been great- 5 stars all around. I was fully engaged and fell in love with the characters. Red Rising is a certain 'type' of read- super fast-paced and entertaining. You'll dig that, or you won't. And that style might not hold up for a reread (haven't reread yet).. I'm very much looking forward to the final book!
I think Orson Scott Card's books would work better as a stand alone series instead of a continuation of Ender's Game. The Problem is that Ender's Game is such a gooooooood book, that it sets unrealistic expectations for the rest of the series.
I love Dresden but I can see how you could get burnt out on it if you read them back to back...I don't read any series back to back for the same reasons of getting burnt out...I always read at least 1 book in a different series or even different genre before going to the next book in a series I'm reading. I love Red Rising as well. Everything else I either agree with you on after reading a book in the series or have just stayed away from the series because it didn't seem like it was going to be my thing. So 8/10 agrees is actually pretty dang good. :)
Read all the Frank Herbert Dune books. They get really philosophical and amazing. Too much thinking for a lot of people, I guess. Don't read the ones written by others. I liked Red Rising, but if you didn't already love it, you won't like the rest of it more.
I’ve said it before , I’ll say it again . I disagree with almost everything you say about books and I use your reviews that you don’t like as books that I pick up immediately 😂
Some of his opinions I disagree with vehemently, and some are almost spot on the same as my opinions. I do appreciate how he isn’t afraid to be blunt and “mean” (for lack of a better term) to certain books he dislikes. I feel like a lot of book RUclipsrs try too hard to not step on toes when talking about books they dislike.
Well then this is certainly a list...haha. I am not a huge Sci-Fi fan but I have absolutely loved the Expanse and Red Rising books. I don't want to claim the Red Rising books are literary genius but they're so damned entertaining and sometimes that is enough for me in between the heavier grimdark that I tend to gravitate to.
Oh wow, all the series you mentioned are on my DNS (s = start) or DNF list. I'd rather reread old favourites or try some books I haven't tried than keep slogging with things I don't like. Happy reading!
For me it would be Murderbot Diaries ( they’re fine but they weren’t grabbing me ) and GreenBone Saga I don’t understand where the love comes for it. I put book 2 on hold about 70% into it and I just didn’t ever feel hooked
I started Game of Thrones, didn't get into it right away, never returned for, reasons, and now I never will unless GRRM ever finishes the series. I will not invest in an uncompleted series, no matter how good the leadup novels are.
Knife in the Heart with Red Rising, I do understand, 4th book is pretty big departure, even though it all works out in the end, but take your time, there's no forcing these things. I know, I dnf Malazan on the 10th book. Couldn't agree more about Stephen King, but I more or less loved every adaptation of his books, even the bad ones, so weird.
I didn't like the other Ender book's ether. They are very different from the first book. I have to recommend Ender's Shadow though. It's Ender's Game from Bean's point of view and it's very good..
Hello from Poland. Yes, Witcher is a big thing there, even older people, who never read fantasy often know what The Witcher is, so some part of it is probably cultural thing as you said. Cheers.
2 books i read this year that i won't finish are He who Fights with Monsters and Defiance of the Fall. I do love me some litrpgs, they unfortunately fall into the category where most end up, they start strong and promising, have a hint of some fun stuff coming up, but end up just being very samey and get me to a point where i just start skimming. Gentlen Bastards i also consider dropping, read the first book and thought it was okay, but it just didn't grip me.
You are not alone, I’m not a Stephen King Fan. I liked his early short stories and the Stand. I’ve read a lot of his books, and wasn’t liking them. Kept reading because of all the hype. They just got worse so I quit. I really like McCammon better!
Above all else, if you're reading a first person POV story and don't like the main character it's really gonna be hard to enjoy yourself. I'm surprised you got all the way to Changes before tapping out if you weren't feeling it. For The Expanse, I felt similarly about the small scope of the books but it does open up more as you read. TOTALLY agree that it's absurd how expensive the Muderbot series is when they are novellas, absolutely nuts. Couldn't agree more on The Witcher, I feel like I'm missing the amazing story that is claimed to be there at times. Red Rising, how dare you =p When it comes to King...I get it. I love his books but there's at least one moment in every single book of his where I question wtf he's doing. As I understand it, his fantasy is clearly his weakest writing. It's PERFECTLY fine to stop with just Dune, the sequels are really, really weird. It's basically a fever dream by book 3.
What I like about the Dune sequels is you really could bail after any of the first 4 and get a complete story. I haven't read the Expanse (yet) but I adore Daniel Abraham's Fantasy stuff, especially Long Price Quartet.
@@thatsci-firogue Expanse is great but the stories from book to book do seem small for a series you'd expect to be more grand but that does change as you progress through the story.
Dude. I love the Expanse. It's 9 books. I recommend giving it another shot, but i understand that not everyone feels the same way as I do. I also love Dresden and Dark Tower, but I can definitely understand why people dont. I've been hesitant to read the 4th Red Rising book. I like how the 3rd one ended. I also haven't read any more of Dune after the first one. My list would include Poppy War and Gentleman Bastards. Yuck. Lol
With you on Ender's Game. I loved Ender's Game, then I saw the back cover descriptions from the next books and I was like "I'd rather watch grass grow." I don't count this as me DNFing a series, because I didn't know Ender's Game was part of a series when I read it. On Red Rising, I will say that I thought Iron Gold and Dark Age were good but Light Bringer was an incredible book. Still like Sun Eater better though. On the Night Angel front, I did enjoy it. It has one of my favorite moments in fantasy, where (spoilers below) On an arranged night, the whores - many of whom were forced into it if they wanted to take care of their families - of a conquered kingdom all collude to kill as many men they sleep with as possible. This is dubbed the Nocta Hemata, the night of blood, and later in the book, a broken duke who was saved from a living hell by a prostitute gives a rousing speech about how they turned shame into courage and showed the rest of the kingdom the path back to honor, and he dubs them the Order of the Garter. He shames the men who have shunned them as "damaged goods" etc., and families reunite etc., and the Order of the Garter, with garters made from enemy battle flags, basically becomes his personal guard if memory serves. It's just beautiful.
Dune can be a stand alone. The first three do complete an arc if you are curious about Paul and what happens after. Did not care for God Emperor. Herbert's reach surpasses his grasp as he moves to a cosmic scale and things get a little odd. I have read Brian's final books and while I dont hate them, I am curious if it is different than what Frank envisioned. I have read Royal Assassin and that might be enough. I did read Liveship first and there were good points, I found the ending very dark. Fitz just came off as annoying and again, very questionable plot choices made by Hobb. I have the next two but continually wonder if it is better just to stop or see if suffering through .ore Fitz is worth it.
I disagree that Dune can be a stand alone. You only get the message Frank Herbert was trying to send about the dangers of "Chosen Ones" if you at least read Dune Messiah too.
Love the brutal honesty here! Nothing wrong with embracing our own personal tastes. You made a great choice I think DNFing Broken Earth since that goes way way downhill after bk 1. Also good to know I’m not missing anything with Night Angel. I promise you, I PROMISE that Expanse bk 3 was the lowest point in the series, so you couldn’t have sold on that one any lower. You are missing out on some awesome stuff, and the final trilogy is on its own one of my favorite things in modern sff. Book 4 is cool though, and then book 5 is 🤯.
I've always felt like Stephen King writes without any particular plan in mind. His writing drives me a little bonkers. I agreed with A LOT of what you said here. I loved Mazerunner, and I immediately went onto the next book thinking, "What has hapened?!?" 😅
I kind of agree with you on the witcher books. They really aren't great, though the 2 short stories books are better. That being said i got invested in the show so im going to finish the saga anyways 😂 ( im on lady of the lake rn)
i did DNF a book that was given to me because it was second person, present tense. It was too jarring for me. sad to see The Witcher on this list. Admittedly, it is a lot of work getting used to how it's written
The Gunslinger is one of my all time favorite books. The rest of the Dark Tower series is crap. He didn't write the rest until 19 years later and he really shouldn't have. Definitely not planned out. Ender's Game is really good, but Speaker for the Dead is spectacular. It almost stands on its own, though there's enough of a tie-in with the Buggers that it would be weird to read it without first reading EG. I read some of the sequels, but only Ender's Shadow is any good. I also tried to read the prequels, but wow, they are just terrible. Series that I haven't finished but not for lack of trying: Wheel of Time - loved 1-6, bored to death by 7-8, never read 9-11, audiobook'd 12, have 13 and 14 on my bookshelf Xanth - loved the first 6 or 7 books, stopped because that's all there was at the time, but now it's up to like 40 Shannara - first two old school Shannara series are amazing--at least my teenage self thought so. Favorite series and long time favorite fantasy author. But the newer stuff is painfully bad. The High Druid's Blade is probably the worst fantasy book I've ever read.
I agree with your take on Red Rising. I thoroughly enjoyed the first trilogy and book 4 was a complete miss for me. I disliked the POV's of the fourth book. I didn't care at all for the new characters and didn't want to follow along with their stories.
As a huge Stephen King fan who both loved the DT and its ending, I don't think you're going to enjoy it. With everything you've said its probably not your bag. But that's okay, not everything has to be liked by everyone. I find myself souring on modern fantasy and maybe its because i like meandering character stories. I grew tired of overly series like ASOIAF and Wheel of time. I really want to like Malazan but after two books i find myself looking at the tower of the rest of the series just get disheartening.
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I in te opposite camp concerning The Witcher I really lied the whole series (well maybe except Lady of te lake). The Dark tower was a real roller coaster for me. I absolutely loved some of te boos and absolutely hated others. But the ending I consider brilliant in its own way. The series not mentioned here I will DNF is Space Oddysea by Clarke. I read the the first one, liked it, but it was enough. I feel no urge to continue reading. Also I DNF many YA series I started at one point but I really came to realize I am not into that subgenre.
I love the concept of Murderbot. I just wish she would give it to a different writer who might do something more with it. Did not like Murderbot at all.
Fully agreed about Dresden! Was super uncomfortable with it and didn't like the rest enough to continue. Also impressed with you getting to book 4 of Red Rising...the first book was fine, but as you say, there's so much out there!
Agree about Ender's Game. Loved the first book although I can see it's flaws. The second book was a bit of a mess but had some good parts. Not enough good parts that I want to read the rest. I own the third book but who knows if I'll ever get to it.
I had to DNF The Shadow of What Was Lost and will not finish the Licanius Trilogy. Started his next series The Will of The Many and it's amazing so far.
Why do people love The Will of the Many? I mean, it's fine, even enjoyable, mind you, I'm pass the half way point, Vis just won the duel (holy Gary Stu, against a champion, WHO WAS ALSO CHEATING!?!?! it's fine, it's fine, it was very tense, but not really, since I was sure he was gonna win anyway, I just hoped it would be more, I don't know, creative) and he's in with the 4ths. Maybe by the end it all comes together in a way I'm not seeing yet, but so far not a single part is above everage, not a single part is bad either. But without spoiling, what the hell is amazing about this book?!?
@@SonOfSeth I just finished it and loved it 5/5 stars. I really liked Vis and being in his head. From the very start I was hooked and loved the way he wrote Vis and felt like all his actions make complete sense and most everyone makes choices that feel natural to the character. I'm completely fine with Vis being good at everything as long as the world and plot are interesting and I found that out to be the case. The ending blew my mind and made me re-think the whole entire book and had me going back to re-read passages and see the hints. Some stuff is super obvious and other stuff is completely unpredictable and this book has a great balance of that. I could see why people would think this book was just good and not amazing but some stuff just clicks with certain people and this really clicked. But its worth it for the ending even though I had top re-read it multiple times to understand what happened.
@@DoNotLookDown I agree about the ending, It was my favorite part, I just wish I liked the rest the same way. Like I said, I didn't think any part was bad, it was just flat in my opinion. Glad you liked it. Maybe it was because I read it after finishing Dandellion Dynasty and that series took over my life untill I finished, that's how much I was invested, so naturally, first book in the series, setting up the world and characters, it would be very hard to reach the same hights. After the ending I am hopefull that next books hits harder.
That's me with oathbringer. I stopped about a third of the way through and haven't picked it back up. Sanderson needs to do some serious cutting on these books. It seems like a lot of filler just to increase the page count.
I watched _Ender's Game_ movie a couple of years ago, and the 'twist' in the end was in the top three* most obvious I have ever seen. Perhaps it was surprising when the book was new and fresh, but I just thought: 'Umm, wasn't I supposed to see that coming?' * The others are two techno-thriller novels where a murder happens and AI exists. Well, who could the murderer be?
If you think the murderer is the IA, you are totally wrong in the second. I didnt read the third. The murderers are known from the beginning. The mistery is why. As it was to be expected, ue to a misunderstanfingwith the aliens. And the second isnt a tecnothriller. Is more like a mission book.
@@adamnesico My apologies. I might have expressed myself unclearly: The techno thriller novels I am talking about are Lincoln Child's _Death Match_ and Dan Brown's _Origin,_ and I was not trying to imply that there is an AI in _Ender's Game_ --- just that the ending was very easy to predict.
Spoiler Free: You already read the end of Gunslinger - THAT is how bad it is. #10 - one of the better trilogies Ive ever read. Shame you wont finish. As for book 4, it isnt part of the trilogy, and some rhings are not able to be continued. #6: Ill continue, but i get it, although i love the MC; I've not noted the women issues. Not sure where this one is going, and if you felt this way around the peak of the series - it isn't getting better. 1. Enders Game jumped the shark so long ago. The rest all make sense to me.
I have read about 9-10 books in the Dresden Files. I haven't read any more in the series for quite awhile. Not sure why I stopped reading them...maybe fatigue. I actually did like Dresden as a character, maybe for his snarkiness and anti-authoritarianism and the fact he seemed like a regular guy. I'll have to reread the first couple books again to see if I pick up on any misogyny or weird vibes that I missed before. I just thought Dresden had problems in developing relationships with other people for various reasons, particularly with women.
He describes his female characters by how they look, what their breasts look like, how attractive they are, etc. He doesn't do that with male characters. It's the objectification that's the problem.
I like the outline of the story of Dune way better than I actually like the book Dune. I understand its importance in SF history, but I think it’s very overrated as a novel. I think a lot of Booktubers rate it so highly on lists because they are expected to and because it is en vogue. I first read it in the 70’s and thought it was just ok, and I read it again just before the first part of the new movies released. Once again, I thought it was just ok. I love the story, but I just don’t like the storytelling all that much. The pacing isn’t great and the ending isn’t the best because of it. I feel the same about the sequels that I’ve read over the years, but none of those are great examples of SF novels that can stand the test of time. I’m grateful to Herbert for the story and the influence on the stories that were to come, but I just think a lot of those that game after were just better.
Your favorite books aren't always my very favorite books, but the books and series you hate I think I almost always hate as well haha 😂. All on this list except Red Rising. Dune and Ender's game I really loved but also stopped after I finished them.
I loved Dune, started Dune Messiah and just stopped listening halfway through. Really didn’t like it. Felt like a bridge before the next book. I might retry the series at some point, but I really didn’t like the sequel.
Well the only series (other than some small forays into The Gunslinger but not enough to form an opinion) I have actually read/listened to is Dresden and you and I have certainly had our disagreements about that Series in the past lol. Honestly this is probably your most digestible take on the Series yet. I Totally disagree with you when it comes to the way Women are handled by the way. They aren’t shown as perfect angels who can do no wrong they are shown as people with flaws, who make mistakes (Murphy with her early treatment of Harry, Susan by refusing to tell Harry about Maggie, Charity stubbornly hanging on to her dislike despite Harry constantly protecting her family from the craziness she knows is out there, Molly with everything she did before Harry came back into their lives, KIM FRICKIN DELANEY), but also have their triumphs (Murph running a full Department of the Chicago PD under the age of 30 which is remarkable no matter who it is, Susan taking her mistakes and choosing to work for a good cause). They are also shown as powerful, intelligent, and dangerous Supernaturals in their own right with Bianca, Arianna Ortega, Susan, Lara, Molly, Luccio (who starts in the series as a bad ass elderly woman in charge of the Military/Police of the White Council and is actively shown as being weaker and less fulfilled with being in her younger more physically attractive body), Maeve, Lily, Aurora, Titania, Mab. The Fae Courts are Entirely Female Dominated for Christ’s sake. You’re wrong about this Matt’s Fantasy Book Reviews there’s no Opinion Bias here you are, objectively, wrong about this part of the Dresden Experience. The thing that rounds it all off into a comprehensive and understandable position though is not connecting with Harry Dresden as the MC as well as getting to Changes, which is actually the 12th Dresden book don’t short change yourself lol, without enjoying the Series. Even I an affirmed Dresden fanboy can give you that it’s ok to DNF a Series if you get 12 books in and can’t connect to Man’s desperate attempt to save his Daughter from the evil Forces that have kidnapped her lol…
The witcher I've stayed away from exactly because I've heard the translations are absolutely horrible compared to the original language.. Stephen king I've generally stayed away from because they books i've read from him never really finishes for me, I need more lore.. You can't just throw creatures at me and not explain what they are, not satisfying my curiousity is the biggest no no for me. Those were my biggest thoughts, I agreed on some of your others, disagreed on others.. I enjoy watching your videos because you really stay away from stating things as if they are objective truths, it's absolutely fine to not like a book, by definition they are subjective. As someone who does not care about pros, I simply don't have the imagination to see the six sand grains we walked past 4 steps ago, so I've never cared for too flowery language.. Some youtubers can come off rude to me with how much they think writing in big descriptions or flowery language makes books objectively good.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Stephen King's meandering style is actually what makes him so appealing to me. It makes the story feel much less scripted, formulaic and predictable. It feels like a group of real living people with normal ordinary lives stumbling towards an unfathomable goal like your local average guy or gal would do. I also care about characters way more than plot in any genre or medium, and that's where I think many of his works truly excel. I think his horror books and thriller books are much better than his fantasy books overall though.
Respect you opinion, hope one day you'll give one of his horror books a go (:
I'm so with you on some of these and so opposed on others. That is why I love these lists and love art and lit. It speaks to all of us in such a singular, subjective fashion. Awesome!! I can add my voice to Dark Age and LightBringer are well worth a try.
I'm SO with you on the MurderBot series. I don't understand what people see in it and why they like it. I also got the first one from the library (because I was unwilling to pay full cover price for a novella!) and did not continue. I also agree with you on Brent Weeks. I don't like his writing style at all. I read The Black Prism and it was okay at best, but I wasn't really feeling any of it.
I'ts obviously an opinion, but I love The Expanse. It's very much sci-fi which does seem to not be your thing the same, which I get, but the series is thoroughly enjoyable to me and urge you to give it another go. It really picks up in book 5.
I just started reading The Expanse- after having watched the show (twice!). The show was so great- and so I had to try the books (I've been warned they are different). Leviathan Wakes was really enjoyable- 5 stars. Looking forward to Caliban's War...
I just started Leviathan Wakes last night and I was hooked right away. Can't wait to get to the other books in the series!
Baptism of Fire & The Tower of the Swallow are so fantastic it is a shame most people are stopping before they get to these books. I loved the Witcher novels!
Thnx Matt, I watch all of your content and loving it. This instance I noticed that your ‘hate’ for The Fifth Season sounded a lot more considerate than in your previous rants about this book. Thank you for that.
I agree with everything you said about the King books you mentioned, but I do want to say that The Shining and Pet Sematary are two of the best books I’ve ever read by anyone.
Yeah he does have great books
After the third Red Rising book I also thought the story was told.
But the more I read the second arc the more I think it absolutely needed to be told. This second arc is about what happens after a revolution, about how some of the choices made come back to bite you, about the price there is to pay.
Light Bringer is the best book in the whole series and one of the best sci fi books I ever read.
Regarding Speaker for the Dead, sequal to Ender's Game, you should give the book a shot at some point and not worry about what others say negatively regarding it. Speaker for the Dead is a great book, but it helps if the reader is open-minded to the journey the writer is taking you on and the reader doesn't want to pre-determine what the story should be. Speaker for the Dead for sure is a more of a philisophical read. It will make you think and question things. It's introspective. For me the second book in the series was highly interesting and I appreciated that the story wasn't static, that Card was taking you on an original trip and not just a repeat of the first book in the series, as you mentioned you disliked from the Murder Bot series.
Something to consider if you ever are curious. It's also a fast read and is not a long commitment.
One thing to know about Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead is that Orson Scott Card had the idea for the sequel first then wrote Ender's Game as a short story just to set up the real story that he wanted to write. Then the short story was such a big hit that he was told to make it into a full book. Speaker for the Dead is a completely different book, both in tone and themes and it isn't YA anymore in my opinion. You really should give it a shot but with the view that it isn't a sequel but its own story.
Greetings from Ukraine. The Witcher was pretty popular here in the Eastern Europe even before the games. I consider it as a pretty good "generic" (humans, elves, dwarfes) fantasy setting with cool concept of witchers (as monster hunters) and nice Slavic vibes. But yeah, its good books are the first ones, the last books are pretty average.
Everything you said about King/TDT - as someone who HAS plowed through the series - is true.
Nothing on my own DNF list yet, can't have a DNF list when all is chaos.
10:20 You are 100% right, when You read it in polish, Sapkowski's writing style is top-notch and very funny, but because he uses old polish language, it's really hard to translate it.
I agree that story is slow and not really gripping. But dialogues between Regis, Geralt and Jaskier, especially in Baptism of fire, are just amazing.
I found the witcher story brilliant, or at least interesting and quite unique. Even in English, I found it full of humour. But Regis and Geralt's hanza are my favourite aspects among many
Besides the ending to Baptism of Fire, Geralt and Regis' relationship was my favorite thing about the entire series.
In Spain, the renaissance polish was translated as barroque castellano.
It works great, the books feel special.
I agree with u.
Why english dont translate the books with shakespeare's english?
Great video. I appreciate your frankness (as I think a lot of your viewers do). Also, I guess I liked this video because I agree with so many of your choices (and of course we all like to agree). Like you, I didn't want to continue with Red Rising, Enders Game, The Expanse, Fifth Season, Dresden Files, The Witcher, and Dune either. However, because I have not read nearly as much as you, I'm probably going to continue or revisit quite a few of these. I have not given them as much of a shot as you have before stopping. Plus, I have found others that I did not enjoy on first reading that I went back to reread (because of the hype) and ended up enjoying quite a bit (namely Hyperion and Three Body Problem). I'm hoping that I will have positive experiences when I find the time to go back to them (part of me still believes the hype!).
--I still plan to try Murderbot (I got the first one free from Tor's eBook of the month club), but I definitely agree with you on that outrageous price! If it clicks with me, I will plan to check out later books from the library.
--I loved The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, but still need to read the third book. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
--I totally get your criticism of Dresden Files, but I am still enjoying it so far. I don't typically listen to audiobooks, but agree that James Marsters is fantastic!
--The other series on this list are are my TBR. I'm curious to see whether they work for me or not.
Thanks for sharing this, and happy reading! 📚
The Broken Earth Trilogy is the most disappointing fantasy series I’ve ever read. Considering it won 3 straight Hugo’s, I thought it was going to be one of the best series I ever read. After reading, I thought it was a mediocre series that had great ideas with mostly poor execution. I really don’t understand how each of those books won a Hugo award. It’s made that award meaningless to me in terms of being an indicator for how good a book is.
Really? Hugo prize goes to popular votation.
As those books are just a fantasy version of Roots, the BLM supporters all voted it. If there wasnt corruption in the counting.
Hugo prize shows how popular is.
I'm glad you might give the rest of Red Rising a shot. Iron Gold is great but Dark Age and Light Bringer are something else!
All 3 of those are phenomenal. Imagine only reading the first 3 books and missing out on the brilliance of Iron Gold onwards!😱
@@RLX5201 I actually understand why people do not like Iron Gold. However… the story makes so much sense!!!! It answers all the questions the original trilogy didn’t AND the Fear Knight is just a delight to read about
@some5794 Yeah of course, I guess when you do things differently, in this case introduce multiple POVs and move forward in time, not everyone will like it but for me every new POV was superb and I enjoyed them all. I do also think if Pierce Brown just ended the series after Morning Star, that would have been an excellent ending but... the story's nowhere near over😅
@@RLX5201 you know what's funny? I wasn't a fan of Ephraim whom people love, but I LOVEEED Lyria whom a lot of people disliked.
Matt this video reminded me why I started following you in the first place. You’re the first/only booktuber who disliked The Fifth Season as much I did. I thought something was wrong with me because literally everyone, including friends, raved about it. Another series I’ll never finish is Robert Jackson Bennet’s Divine Cities trilogy. The first book was not a fun read for me and I’ll never revisit it.
Yeah, hard agree on Divine Cities. Very cool concept. Not great execution.
Some people will love whatever authority tell them to love, “the Emperor’s new Clothes” saga described this several hundred years ago.
Very disheartening for me personally since I held out hope that we(humans) had changed for a long time.
I agree on Fifth Season. I did read all three because I hate DNFing series but the first book was the best one and that's not saying much. I HATED the second person and she kept it up even after the first book when it was completely unnecessary. Removing the second person aspect still wouldn't be enough to make it good though.
I was tracking until you said the word “Dune.” Then I had to run to the bathroom when I heard “..never a truly epic story.”
Name calling, otherwise cyber bullying is over the line. But if you share your opinion on the internet, you must accept that other people can and will tell you where you’re wrong.
Tell me you don’t like Dune, ok fair enough. Tell me the world is flat? I respectfully disagree
I absolutely loved the whole Dune series I read all 6 books BUT there were supposed to be 8 and the author died before finishing it so the 6th book ends on a pretty big cliffhanger. Since you love endings so much Matt I think you probably wouldn't want to keep going with a forever unfinished series
I also read the whole 6 books. I felt more confused than anything when it was done. By the third book, the narrative style was so tiring. The writing style is so strange and nothing can be just clearly said.
kevin j anderson and his son brian finished the series
@@acie782 Kevin is just a shadow of his dad in style and ideas.
I read the first sequel and refused to read the last one, just read a resume.
Speaking of supposed continuations, Frank abandoned the serie after 21 years writing it.
George started the series 27 years ago.
I think he has chosen to leave it unended.
In fact I have the great impression he lost interest in it after book 3, the next 2 came far more spaced and barely advanced the plot, looks like h wrote them just for money and bored.
Maybe he got glad that HBO made the series, so he didnt had to continue it.
So, I have th impression, maybe people with Ice&Fire should read just the 3 first books, and then watch the series.
Mmmmmmmmm.
O maybe George will do as Frank Herbert, Jon Tolkien or Robert Jordan, and will enable his apprentices/succesors Ty&Frank to end it after he dies.
About Ender's Game. I understand what you mean, there are a ton of books and extra series that seem unnecessary and I certainly haven't read all of them. However I did read the first book of the Shadow Saga called Ender's Shadow(this book is from the perspective of a side character, Bean, and runs at the same time as Ender's Game) and it was so incredible that it actually made me like the original book even more. I highly recommend it, even though I read it a long time ago I still remember a lot.
I've read a lot of sci-fi in my life, and I read the Dune trilogy three different times (the last time in my 20s) all in an effort to understand what was going on in the plot. But Herbert has such a dense writing style that it was difficult to understand the story and a slog to get through. I can't believe I actually read the first three novels three different times. (I think I even read the next two books).
I read all 6 three times... Once in high school where a lot of it I didn't really get. Again in my 20's when I really appreciated the later books (book 4 went from my least favorite to my favorite), and then in my late 30's when I got even more out of it.
18:37 Do people hate Speaker for the Dead? That’s one of my favorite books. Although I’m in the opposite boat with you. I wasn’t impressed with Ender’s Game but blown away with the sequel.
Great video. I haven't read most of these so I cant speak to them...But I have read Enders Game and I will just say, if you haven't read book 5, Ender's Shadow, then you should read it. Many like it more than the first book. It's a retelling of the events in book one but from Bean's perspective and its really a great book. Thats where I stopped in the series so I cant speak for the others after book 5. I have two of these series on my TBR and will keep them there and those are The Expanse and Red Rising. Thanks for the video!
I read the entire Shadow side and its seriously amazing. It goes deep you can feel his mormon values showing but I enjoted it so immensely. I havent started Enders quintet yet because even after over a year now that the last Shadow book came out I'm still not over it. I don't know why this storyline is so interesting to me but it is. I'll never shut up about Ender's Game. 😂
Two things:
The second book in the Enders game series is one of the best books ever written and one can stop there
The dune series is unfinished but a lot of people say stop at god emperor due to that being a halfway point to the series with a definitive ending
Thanks for the reviews. I'm a slow reader, so hate it when I get into a series, which could take me months to read, and find out it's not so good.
Everything I've heard about Murderbot doesn't sound like it'll be my thing. Plus for novellas they ain't cheap so that's always put me off.
Just to be clear, I'm not blaming Martha Wells for the pricing.
I had the exact same thoughts on Murderbot. DNF'd the series after book 3 after I realized it's copy and paste
I agree on Ender's Game, it's like if they did a sequel to the Sixth Sense. But I disagree on the Dune series. If you can get past Dune Messiah which is short, I think the rest of the books are quite good. Just stop at Chapterhouse, before his son took over the franchise.
I'm more into sci-fi and fantasy, but I'm with you on Murderbot. Read the first 4, but will not continue. Got more and more bored as the series went on (and it's not good when you struggle to finish books that short). I see what you're saying with The Expanse too. I've read the first two, and enjoyed them, but somehow they didn't excite me enough to carry on yet (I probably should as they are all say on my bookshelf). As for Dune, I read and enjoyed the first 3. I will read God Emperor next year and stop. Apparently that makes sense - I think you can stop at book 3 or 4 and still feel like you've read a complete story arc.
I strongly agree with those who have said Dark Age is one of the best books in the Red Rising series, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
Good stuff, love every video! Still think it'd b cool to see li a t of your favorite or alternatively you least favorite or annoying characters in books :)
Interesting video! I appreciate your honesty with what works and doesn't for you, even though I hard disagree with some of the series for me personally. It's funny how much I agree with you on some books / series and entirely opposite on others :)
Seriously surprised to see The Expanse on here. The rest of them made a lot of sense, especially Murderbot.
Great video, great honesty,
Thoughts:
Red Rising I hard stopped after book 3. I honestly felt like it was amazing as a trilogy, so I just stopped and left it there. Hearing your review made me happy because it made me feel justified in my decision.
Way of Shadows - Fun read but nothing special. Since you're DNFing, I'll say this - the best part of the book is watching one characters slow walk towards being evil and his redemption. That storyline is amazing, but I am not sure it's worth dcontinuing just for that.
Broken Earth - Amazing books, but I can see where it's not for everyone. The second person POV is really rough.
Leviathan Wakes is great, but the TV show is one of the few amazing adaptations. I highly suggest watching the show and then if you're really bored and curious jumping into the series again.
Dark Tower is average at best. I'm with you on this one. I highly recommend Swan Song by Robert R McCammon. He's like Stephen King but better. If you ever get that post-apocalyptic itch but want one that's very character driven with a big splash of fantasy. He's like Stephen King if Stephen King used actual plotlines instead of doing lines.
Ender's Game through Children of the Mind is one of the best SciFi ever written. The tone does shift to a more hard SciFi instead of the YA Military School SciFi. Every other book he's ever wrote has just been milking these.
As far as series I'm gonna DNF not on your list: quite a few LitRPGs. You've reviewed some of the best, but you havent dove hard into some of the bad power fulfillment fantasy LitRPGs like Defiance of the Fall or The Land... books that are like Dungeon Crawler Carl but the characters are completely one-note and the entire book is written to make the reader fantasize about how they'd abuse their power in the ways the MC does.
I'll always tune in to hear Matt bash The Dark Tower. lol
Personally, Red Rising didn't grip me till book 5, and I'm so glad I kept going because book 5 and 6 for me were 5/5. Just like you I wasn't a big fan of book 4, but I do urge you to give book 5 a try because it's a truly amazing!
So torture for four books for a possible payoff?
Nah, that sounds quite horrendous;)
@@Br1cht they are 4 good books, it's no torture, it's just that books 5 and 6 are amazing
I LOVE Red Rising! For me, all the books have been great- 5 stars all around. I was fully engaged and fell in love with the characters. Red Rising is a certain 'type' of read- super fast-paced and entertaining. You'll dig that, or you won't. And that style might not hold up for a reread (haven't reread yet).. I'm very much looking forward to the final book!
I think Orson Scott Card's books would work better as a stand alone series instead of a continuation of Ender's Game. The Problem is that Ender's Game is such a gooooooood book, that it sets unrealistic expectations for the rest of the series.
Matt, if you don't mind me asking what software do you use for your videos?
Awesome content as always.
Thanks! I use the free version of da Vinci resolve.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews thank you!
I love Dresden but I can see how you could get burnt out on it if you read them back to back...I don't read any series back to back for the same reasons of getting burnt out...I always read at least 1 book in a different series or even different genre before going to the next book in a series I'm reading. I love Red Rising as well. Everything else I either agree with you on after reading a book in the series or have just stayed away from the series because it didn't seem like it was going to be my thing. So 8/10 agrees is actually pretty dang good. :)
Read all the Frank Herbert Dune books. They get really philosophical and amazing. Too much thinking for a lot of people, I guess. Don't read the ones written by others. I liked Red Rising, but if you didn't already love it, you won't like the rest of it more.
Empire of Silence...that series suuucked.
psyche, its my new favorite series and the author's my hero now
I’m with you on Dune. Enjoyed the first as a standalone but that’s all. My biggest unfinished will always be WoT. Just too much..
While golden son is my favorite red rising book, I believe dark age and light bringer are the best written by a long shot
Wheel of Time, Shannara, Sword of Truth and, yeah, Dark Tower.
I’ve said it before , I’ll say it again . I disagree with almost everything you say about books and I use your reviews that you don’t like as books that I pick up immediately 😂
Sooo cool
He’s a clown 😂
I had exactly the same thought 😊 Anything he dislikes i am going to read (or have read already and liked a lot)
Some of his opinions I disagree with vehemently, and some are almost spot on the same as my opinions. I do appreciate how he isn’t afraid to be blunt and “mean” (for lack of a better term) to certain books he dislikes. I feel like a lot of book RUclipsrs try too hard to not step on toes when talking about books they dislike.
@@imhim9989 sure, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and being blunt is fine, it is just that my tastes are largely opposite to his, it seems
Well then this is certainly a list...haha. I am not a huge Sci-Fi fan but I have absolutely loved the Expanse and Red Rising books. I don't want to claim the Red Rising books are literary genius but they're so damned entertaining and sometimes that is enough for me in between the heavier grimdark that I tend to gravitate to.
Oh wow, all the series you mentioned are on my DNS (s = start) or DNF list.
I'd rather reread old favourites or try some books I haven't tried than keep slogging with things I don't like.
Happy reading!
For me it would be Murderbot Diaries ( they’re fine but they weren’t grabbing me ) and GreenBone Saga I don’t understand where the love comes for it. I put book 2 on hold about 70% into it and I just didn’t ever feel hooked
I so totally agree with you on the Greenbone Saga!
Have you tried The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley? I'm on the 3rd in the trilogy and it's pretty good
I started Game of Thrones, didn't get into it right away, never returned for, reasons, and now I never will unless GRRM ever finishes the series. I will not invest in an uncompleted series, no matter how good the leadup novels are.
Knife in the Heart with Red Rising, I do understand, 4th book is pretty big departure, even though it all works out in the end, but take your time, there's no forcing these things. I know, I dnf Malazan on the 10th book. Couldn't agree more about Stephen King, but I more or less loved every adaptation of his books, even the bad ones, so weird.
10:20 Yes, it's from Poland. It's hard to translate it right.
🇪🇸 did it, it was 👏, we 💕 it.
I didn't like the other Ender book's ether. They are very different from the first book. I have to recommend Ender's Shadow though. It's Ender's Game from Bean's point of view and it's very good..
Hello from Poland. Yes, Witcher is a big thing there, even older people, who never read fantasy often know what The Witcher is, so some part of it is probably cultural thing as you said. Cheers.
2 books i read this year that i won't finish are He who Fights with Monsters and Defiance of the Fall. I do love me some litrpgs, they unfortunately fall into the category where most end up, they start strong and promising, have a hint of some fun stuff coming up, but end up just being very samey and get me to a point where i just start skimming.
Gentlen Bastards i also consider dropping, read the first book and thought it was okay, but it just didn't grip me.
I told you The Witcher was weird after the short stories. It stopped being The Witcher and it started being a weird family drama with little action.
You are not alone, I’m not a Stephen King Fan. I liked his early short stories and the Stand. I’ve read a lot of his books, and wasn’t liking them. Kept reading because of all the hype. They just got worse so I quit. I really like McCammon better!
Nah, Murderbot is bae. Its episodic and I love the humor. Listen to the audiobook version. The narrator is amazing!
Above all else, if you're reading a first person POV story and don't like the main character it's really gonna be hard to enjoy yourself. I'm surprised you got all the way to Changes before tapping out if you weren't feeling it. For The Expanse, I felt similarly about the small scope of the books but it does open up more as you read. TOTALLY agree that it's absurd how expensive the Muderbot series is when they are novellas, absolutely nuts. Couldn't agree more on The Witcher, I feel like I'm missing the amazing story that is claimed to be there at times. Red Rising, how dare you =p
When it comes to King...I get it. I love his books but there's at least one moment in every single book of his where I question wtf he's doing. As I understand it, his fantasy is clearly his weakest writing. It's PERFECTLY fine to stop with just Dune, the sequels are really, really weird. It's basically a fever dream by book 3.
What I like about the Dune sequels is you really could bail after any of the first 4 and get a complete story.
I haven't read the Expanse (yet) but I adore Daniel Abraham's Fantasy stuff, especially Long Price Quartet.
@@thatsci-firogue Expanse is great but the stories from book to book do seem small for a series you'd expect to be more grand but that does change as you progress through the story.
@@alexnieves yeah, based on what I've heard it might not be space opera-y enough for me.
Dude. I love the Expanse. It's 9 books. I recommend giving it another shot, but i understand that not everyone feels the same way as I do. I also love Dresden and Dark Tower, but I can definitely understand why people dont.
I've been hesitant to read the 4th Red Rising book. I like how the 3rd one ended. I also haven't read any more of Dune after the first one.
My list would include Poppy War and Gentleman Bastards. Yuck. Lol
With you on Ender's Game. I loved Ender's Game, then I saw the back cover descriptions from the next books and I was like "I'd rather watch grass grow." I don't count this as me DNFing a series, because I didn't know Ender's Game was part of a series when I read it.
On Red Rising, I will say that I thought Iron Gold and Dark Age were good but Light Bringer was an incredible book. Still like Sun Eater better though.
On the Night Angel front, I did enjoy it. It has one of my favorite moments in fantasy, where (spoilers below)
On an arranged night, the whores - many of whom were forced into it if they wanted to take care of their families - of a conquered kingdom all collude to kill as many men they sleep with as possible. This is dubbed the Nocta Hemata, the night of blood, and later in the book, a broken duke who was saved from a living hell by a prostitute gives a rousing speech about how they turned shame into courage and showed the rest of the kingdom the path back to honor, and he dubs them the Order of the Garter. He shames the men who have shunned them as "damaged goods" etc., and families reunite etc., and the Order of the Garter, with garters made from enemy battle flags, basically becomes his personal guard if memory serves. It's just beautiful.
So he struck a blow for working girls everywhere then? ;)
Dune can be a stand alone. The first three do complete an arc if you are curious about Paul and what happens after. Did not care for God Emperor. Herbert's reach surpasses his grasp as he moves to a cosmic scale and things get a little odd. I have read Brian's final books and while I dont hate them, I am curious if it is different than what Frank envisioned.
I have read Royal Assassin and that might be enough. I did read Liveship first and there were good points, I found the ending very dark. Fitz just came off as annoying and again, very questionable plot choices made by Hobb. I have the next two but continually wonder if it is better just to stop or see if suffering through .ore Fitz is worth it.
I disagree that Dune can be a stand alone. You only get the message Frank Herbert was trying to send about the dangers of "Chosen Ones" if you at least read Dune Messiah too.
Love the brutal honesty here! Nothing wrong with embracing our own personal tastes. You made a great choice I think DNFing Broken Earth since that goes way way downhill after bk 1. Also good to know I’m not missing anything with Night Angel.
I promise you, I PROMISE that Expanse bk 3 was the lowest point in the series, so you couldn’t have sold on that one any lower. You are missing out on some awesome stuff, and the final trilogy is on its own one of my favorite things in modern sff. Book 4 is cool though, and then book 5 is 🤯.
I've always felt like Stephen King writes without any particular plan in mind. His writing drives me a little bonkers. I agreed with A LOT of what you said here. I loved Mazerunner, and I immediately went onto the next book thinking, "What has hapened?!?" 😅
I highly disagree with you about the 5th season. Brillant and innovative writing. Good character and world building. Overall very good and enjoyable.
Loved the first Red Rising trilogy. Iron Gold was a big let down & I DNF Dark Age after 2 attempts. So I’m done with this series, unfortunately.
I keep hearing great things about Red Rising. I promised a friend of mine I'd give it a shot lol
I kind of agree with you on the witcher books. They really aren't great, though the 2 short stories books are better. That being said i got invested in the show so im going to finish the saga anyways 😂 ( im on lady of the lake rn)
Poppy war surely should be number one
Sadly, I actually finished it!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews thoughts and prayers
i did DNF a book that was given to me because it was second person, present tense. It was too jarring for me.
sad to see The Witcher on this list. Admittedly, it is a lot of work getting used to how it's written
The Gunslinger is one of my all time favorite books. The rest of the Dark Tower series is crap. He didn't write the rest until 19 years later and he really shouldn't have. Definitely not planned out.
Ender's Game is really good, but Speaker for the Dead is spectacular. It almost stands on its own, though there's enough of a tie-in with the Buggers that it would be weird to read it without first reading EG. I read some of the sequels, but only Ender's Shadow is any good. I also tried to read the prequels, but wow, they are just terrible.
Series that I haven't finished but not for lack of trying:
Wheel of Time - loved 1-6, bored to death by 7-8, never read 9-11, audiobook'd 12, have 13 and 14 on my bookshelf
Xanth - loved the first 6 or 7 books, stopped because that's all there was at the time, but now it's up to like 40
Shannara - first two old school Shannara series are amazing--at least my teenage self thought so. Favorite series and long time favorite fantasy author. But the newer stuff is painfully bad. The High Druid's Blade is probably the worst fantasy book I've ever read.
Wheel of Time
Night Angel
Malazan
Acacia
2nd Mark Lawrence series
I agree with your take on Red Rising. I thoroughly enjoyed the first trilogy and book 4 was a complete miss for me. I disliked the POV's of the fourth book. I didn't care at all for the new characters and didn't want to follow along with their stories.
As a huge Stephen King fan who both loved the DT and its ending, I don't think you're going to enjoy it. With everything you've said its probably not your bag. But that's okay, not everything has to be liked by everyone. I find myself souring on modern fantasy and maybe its because i like meandering character stories. I grew tired of overly series like ASOIAF and Wheel of time. I really want to like Malazan but after two books i find myself looking at the tower of the rest of the series just get disheartening.
I in te opposite camp concerning The Witcher I really lied the whole series (well maybe except Lady of te lake).
The Dark tower was a real roller coaster for me. I absolutely loved some of te boos and absolutely hated others. But the ending I consider brilliant in its own way.
The series not mentioned here I will DNF is Space Oddysea by Clarke. I read the the first one, liked it, but it was enough. I feel no urge to continue reading.
Also I DNF many YA series I started at one point but I really came to realize I am not into that subgenre.
I love the concept of Murderbot. I just wish she would give it to a different writer who might do something more with it. Did not like Murderbot at all.
Fully agreed about Dresden! Was super uncomfortable with it and didn't like the rest enough to continue.
Also impressed with you getting to book 4 of Red Rising...the first book was fine, but as you say, there's so much out there!
Agree about Ender's Game. Loved the first book although I can see it's flaws. The second book was a bit of a mess but had some good parts. Not enough good parts that I want to read the rest. I own the third book but who knows if I'll ever get to it.
100% agree on N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season. The writing style is so atrocious it physically hurt me to read it.
I had to DNF The Shadow of What Was Lost and will not finish the Licanius Trilogy. Started his next series The Will of The Many and it's amazing so far.
Why do people love The Will of the Many? I mean, it's fine, even enjoyable, mind you, I'm pass the half way point, Vis just won the duel (holy Gary Stu, against a champion, WHO WAS ALSO CHEATING!?!?! it's fine, it's fine, it was very tense, but not really, since I was sure he was gonna win anyway, I just hoped it would be more, I don't know, creative) and he's in with the 4ths. Maybe by the end it all comes together in a way I'm not seeing yet, but so far not a single part is above everage, not a single part is bad either. But without spoiling, what the hell is amazing about this book?!?
@@SonOfSeth I just finished it and loved it 5/5 stars. I really liked Vis and being in his head. From the very start I was hooked and loved the way he wrote Vis and felt like all his actions make complete sense and most everyone makes choices that feel natural to the character. I'm completely fine with Vis being good at everything as long as the world and plot are interesting and I found that out to be the case. The ending blew my mind and made me re-think the whole entire book and had me going back to re-read passages and see the hints. Some stuff is super obvious and other stuff is completely unpredictable and this book has a great balance of that. I could see why people would think this book was just good and not amazing but some stuff just clicks with certain people and this really clicked. But its worth it for the ending even though I had top re-read it multiple times to understand what happened.
@@DoNotLookDown I agree about the ending, It was my favorite part, I just wish I liked the rest the same way. Like I said, I didn't think any part was bad, it was just flat in my opinion. Glad you liked it.
Maybe it was because I read it after finishing Dandellion Dynasty and that series took over my life untill I finished, that's how much I was invested, so naturally, first book in the series, setting up the world and characters, it would be very hard to reach the same hights.
After the ending I am hopefull that next books hits harder.
Im struggling with Words of Radiance. Its so slow ive had to take a break several times.
What part of the book are you currently at?
That's me with oathbringer. I stopped about a third of the way through and haven't picked it back up. Sanderson needs to do some serious cutting on these books. It seems like a lot of filler just to increase the page count.
Dark Ages and Lightbringer are amazing
I watched _Ender's Game_ movie a couple of years ago, and the 'twist' in the end was in the top three* most obvious I have ever seen. Perhaps it was surprising when the book was new and fresh, but I just thought: 'Umm, wasn't I supposed to see that coming?'
* The others are two techno-thriller novels where a murder happens and AI exists. Well, who could the murderer be?
If you think the murderer is the IA, you are totally wrong in the second. I didnt read the third.
The murderers are known from the beginning. The mistery is why.
As it was to be expected, ue to a misunderstanfingwith the aliens.
And the second isnt a tecnothriller. Is more like a mission book.
@@adamnesico My apologies. I might have expressed myself unclearly: The techno thriller novels I am talking about are Lincoln Child's _Death Match_ and Dan Brown's _Origin,_ and I was not trying to imply that there is an AI in _Ender's Game_ --- just that the ending was very easy to predict.
@@Alkemisti my apologies for have not noticed the asterisk.
Spoiler Free: You already read the end of Gunslinger - THAT is how bad it is.
#10 - one of the better trilogies Ive ever read. Shame you wont finish. As for book 4, it isnt part of the trilogy, and some rhings are not able to be continued.
#6: Ill continue, but i get it, although i love the MC; I've not noted the women issues. Not sure where this one is going, and if you felt this way around the peak of the series - it isn't getting better.
1. Enders Game jumped the shark so long ago.
The rest all make sense to me.
I have read about 9-10 books in the Dresden Files. I haven't read any more in the series for quite awhile. Not sure why I stopped reading them...maybe fatigue. I actually did like Dresden as a character, maybe for his snarkiness and anti-authoritarianism and the fact he seemed like a regular guy. I'll have to reread the first couple books again to see if I pick up on any misogyny or weird vibes that I missed before. I just thought Dresden had problems in developing relationships with other people for various reasons, particularly with women.
Yeah I am also incredibly confused about the misogyny comment...need to reread it to find out what he means.
He describes his female characters by how they look, what their breasts look like, how attractive they are, etc. He doesn't do that with male characters. It's the objectification that's the problem.
Ohhh, okay.
I like the outline of the story of Dune way better than I actually like the book Dune. I understand its importance in SF history, but I think it’s very overrated as a novel. I think a lot of Booktubers rate it so highly on lists because they are expected to and because it is en vogue. I first read it in the 70’s and thought it was just ok, and I read it again just before the first part of the new movies released. Once again, I thought it was just ok. I love the story, but I just don’t like the storytelling all that much. The pacing isn’t great and the ending isn’t the best because of it. I feel the same about the sequels that I’ve read over the years, but none of those are great examples of SF novels that can stand the test of time. I’m grateful to Herbert for the story and the influence on the stories that were to come, but I just think a lot of those that game after were just better.
Yeah, novellas are stupid expensive. I rarely read them, let alone buy them. Cosmere is an exception.
Your favorite books aren't always my very favorite books, but the books and series you hate I think I almost always hate as well haha 😂. All on this list except Red Rising. Dune and Ender's game I really loved but also stopped after I finished them.
I loved Dune, started Dune Messiah and just stopped listening halfway through. Really didn’t like it. Felt like a bridge before the next book. I might retry the series at some point, but I really didn’t like the sequel.
I have no interest in trying #10, suffered through Broken Earth, and felt pretty much the same about all the others on this list 😅
Fifth season felt like modern Disney. More important to political correct wokeness rather than telling an exciting story
I agree with your book dnf’s .
Well the only series (other than some small forays into The Gunslinger but not enough to form an opinion) I have actually read/listened to is Dresden and you and I have certainly had our disagreements about that Series in the past lol. Honestly this is probably your most digestible take on the Series yet.
I Totally disagree with you when it comes to the way Women are handled by the way. They aren’t shown as perfect angels who can do no wrong they are shown as people with flaws, who make mistakes (Murphy with her early treatment of Harry, Susan by refusing to tell Harry about Maggie, Charity stubbornly hanging on to her dislike despite Harry constantly protecting her family from the craziness she knows is out there, Molly with everything she did before Harry came back into their lives, KIM FRICKIN DELANEY), but also have their triumphs (Murph running a full Department of the Chicago PD under the age of 30 which is remarkable no matter who it is, Susan taking her mistakes and choosing to work for a good cause). They are also shown as powerful, intelligent, and dangerous Supernaturals in their own right with Bianca, Arianna Ortega, Susan, Lara, Molly, Luccio (who starts in the series as a bad ass elderly woman in charge of the Military/Police of the White Council and is actively shown as being weaker and less fulfilled with being in her younger more physically attractive body), Maeve, Lily, Aurora, Titania, Mab. The Fae Courts are Entirely Female Dominated for Christ’s sake. You’re wrong about this Matt’s Fantasy Book Reviews there’s no Opinion Bias here you are, objectively, wrong about this part of the Dresden Experience.
The thing that rounds it all off into a comprehensive and understandable position though is not connecting with Harry Dresden as the MC as well as getting to Changes, which is actually the 12th Dresden book don’t short change yourself lol, without enjoying the Series. Even I an affirmed Dresden fanboy can give you that it’s ok to DNF a Series if you get 12 books in and can’t connect to Man’s desperate attempt to save his Daughter from the evil Forces that have kidnapped her lol…
i very much agree on your witcher take, i really liked the games, read all the books, but the books are just very mid
The witcher I've stayed away from exactly because I've heard the translations are absolutely horrible compared to the original language.. Stephen king I've generally stayed away from because they books i've read from him never really finishes for me, I need more lore.. You can't just throw creatures at me and not explain what they are, not satisfying my curiousity is the biggest no no for me.
Those were my biggest thoughts, I agreed on some of your others, disagreed on others.. I enjoy watching your videos because you really stay away from stating things as if they are objective truths, it's absolutely fine to not like a book, by definition they are subjective.
As someone who does not care about pros, I simply don't have the imagination to see the six sand grains we walked past 4 steps ago, so I've never cared for too flowery language.. Some youtubers can come off rude to me with how much they think writing in big descriptions or flowery language makes books objectively good.
I used to be a huge Stephen King fan. Then I just got tired of his writing style. I did not like the writing style in Gunslinger.
I LOVED the murder bot diaries! I also didn't buy them though.
Dresden and Red Rising are good. Agree with your other takes. My big DNF is The Green Bone saga or whatever that trash was called.