I still have 10-15 favorite SFF books under 150,000 words and also a standalone or first book of a series. Let me know if you want me to make one more recommendation video with these criteria included! Also, do tell me what short SFF books you love! :)
How about a list of first boks in a series that can also be read as standalones? There's quite a few you can include, like Mistborn 1, Risen Kingdoms 1, Legacy Trilogy 1, Founders 1, Riyria 1 etc.
That would be great! Shortish (under 400 pages SFF books): 1.Annihilation (part of a trilogy but works perfectly as a standalone) by Jeff Vandermeer (also Borne, Veniss Underground by the same author) 2. Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman 3. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip 4. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin (also a Wizard of Earthsea - part of a series but works as a standalone) 5. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes 6. Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky 7. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and I know this doesn't work as a standalone but it is one of the most beautifully written books I've read so I have to mention it: 8. The Slow Regard Of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss.
Glad you mentioned The Children of Hùrin. It's legit a masterpiece and Tolkien's best work IMO. And yes you can definitely read this book first without reading his other works because Tolkien only started to write the mythology of the Silmarillion when his friend asked for a backstory after reading an early version of The Children of Hùrin. So it was designed as a standalone.
I wish I know about this before I made this video... Hahaha, glad to know that!! I agree with you that it is Tolkien's best work. Turin Turambar is one of my favorite characters! :)
Thank you. I am a little terrified to buy all three books but I think I will start with this one to see if I enjoy the writing. Did I mention I haven't watched or read any of his works?🥲
Of the ones from your list that I've read, 100% agree with Jade Setter, Emperor's Soul and Legends and Lattes. Since our tastes are similar, I will be putting your recommendations in TBR. Thank you!
Thank you for that list! You must have done another video on a similar topic because I've read Skullsworn on your recommendation (oh yes it was a video on standalones!), and though this story's message didn't work for me (but it does seem Staveley intended his characters to have a twisted understanding of love, I just expected more impactful themes for the reader by the end - I knew it was grimdark but still 😅), I did find Staveley's prose, storytelling structure and character work phenomenal and so I don't regret reading it. ☺️ I've read LOTR and The Hobbit, and though I've loved Return of The King and thought The Hobbit very charming, creative and clever, I'm looking forward to reading Children of Húrin and his other works just to see if any of them could beat RoTK for me! I'm currently reading his translation of Beowulf and really enjoying it as even through translation his authorial voice & prose style are very recognizable and I already notice parallels between this epic poem's lore and themes and those of his most beloved works. And last but not least, I'm so curious to see what I think of The Greenbone Saga, it sounds amazing! Maybe I should start with Lee's short story to see if I vibe with her writing style as it's a very important factor for me. I don't know if you have any favourites when it comes to middle-grade or timeless fairy tales' classics that can very much be appreciated both by a younger and older audience (most of them I've loved more as an adult actually). I think many of those works are absolutely worth reading for Fantasy lovers, both for their literary and cultural value, even if they have a hard time with soft magic systems (but that's because fantastical elements in those works are mostly allegorical or symbolical in nature). A few authors I'm thinking about are Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials), C.S Lewis (Narnia), Michael Ende (The Neverending Story), J. M. Barrie (Peter Pan), Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), Carlo Collodi (Pinocchio), and Lois Lowry (The Giver - usually categorized as YA but very thematically mature in my opinion). Oh and one very short adult book that comes to mind that I've read this year would be Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. It got so many praises already, and though it didn't become a favourite of mine I do see why people rave about it and so it deserves to be on that list. 😌
You're welcome! Haha, I've recommended Skullsworn a few times on my channel now, I really love the book. No worries if it didn't work for you! I really love Staveley's prose. I think he has a way with words. I hope you'll love Children of Hurin, it's certainly different from LotR. And obviously, I hope you'll love The Green Bone Saga! :) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke was great! One of the most surprising reads for me this year was that. And I rarely read middle-grade books, but I'm not excluding them from my TBR pile. Right now, I'm just more focused in reading adult fantasy books right now. His Dark Materials, once the second series is done, will be prioritized, though. :D
From this list I've read, so far, Children of Hurin, The Martian and The Emperor's Soul. All are brilliant books. Adding the rest of your recommendations to my TBR!
Nice list! Song of Achilles is a great one to recommend as a shorter (and perhaps easier) gateway to historical fantasy. Several years ago, I took part an interesting exercise in regard to novel length--one that really taught me why most epic fantasies are longer, and how rare it is for shorter editions to be excellent. Back when I was seeking a traditional publishing deal, my agent at the time challenged me to cut the manuscript that will soon become my debut back fairly significantly. He actually wanted me to take it from 150K to under 120K, so I did. I cut pretty mercilessly, and removed entire aspects and some entire scenes. My agent was thrilled (he thought it would make it easier to sell to acquiring editors), but my wife... Not so much. When my wife read the stripped down version, she was distraught. She said I'd stripped away much of what made the story feel rich, and lived-in, and what had made the world-building and backstory feel immersive and real. So, short story, long--now that I'm self-publishing, it's back to being over 150K again. I still very much admire those who can get the job done in under 400 pages, but my experience makes me doubt I'll ever be one of them, lol. Another engaging topic and video, Petrik!
Thank you, Vaughn! And that's an interesting story. I've heard plenty of similar stories from self-pub authors, actually. I think it's kind of crazy when trad pub agents are strictly asking for stories to be inside a certain word count. There shouldn't be any limited word count to a story. If it requires 200k words, or 300k words, then that's what the book shall have! :D
You recommended reading Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron and have been inhaling the series. Literally. The first book is short but things are moving so fast you barely have time to eat. Thank you btw. I do wish it was on this list because it is a mix of Sci-fi and Fantasy
You're welcome! Heartstrikers isn't on this list only because the first book was a bit on the weaker side for me. But overall it is a wonderful series. I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)
Great list, thank you! Agree about Children of Hurin. I should read The Emperor's Soul at some point - I have heard from many readers that it is one of Sanderson's best written books. Mildly curious about Legends and Latte, not going to lie 😊.
Petrik, some great recommendations here. Also, if you go back 30-40 years ago, there was so much shorter sci-fi and fantasy written. When you get a chance, if you ever can being bombarded as you are, you should explore some of the classic titles still in print.
Excellent recs!! Also, I had no idea that The Martian was so short! For some reason I always thought it was a 600 page chunker or something, lol. After loving the War Eternal series, I really can't wait to get to more Rob J Hayes!! Never Die sounds like a blast 🤩 Great video, Petrik ☺
Thank you so much, Esmay!! Yeah, The Martian is a quick read! 🤣 I think you'll love Never Die, too. It's a very different kind of series compared to War Eternal, though!
A few suggestions: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Monk & Robot #1 by Becky Chambers (160 pgs) Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (272 pgs) Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (272 pgs) Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (303 pgs)
Great list! I added Skullsworn to my TBR, I have been wanting to get into Brian Stavely's works, so hopefully, this will intrigue me to pick up the rest!
I recently read Legends and Lattes and I loved it. I found myself missing the characters when I was finished. I also enjoyed Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. It's a really short fantasy book with characters I still think about months later. The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August is an indie SF debut. It's short, deals with loss, and has a cat in a space suit. Highly recommend it. Thank you for another great video!
Thank you so much, Jennifer! I should check out Nettle and Bone, too. Been hearing plenty of great things about it. And I'm glad you loved Legends and Lattes, too! :D
@@PetrikLeo Nettle and Bone is my top book of the year. The author, in my opinion, got so much immersive story in such a few amount of pages. I hope you can get to it soon. I'd love to hear what you think.
I had a chance to buy the B&N edition of Red Rising for $15 a few years ago and I didn't buy it because I hadn't finished reading the series yet. It remains my single biggest regret in book buying ever lol. Also, the fact that Emperor's Soul is not talked about nearly enough is a tragedy.
To be fair, I also didn't realize Red Rising B&N edition would become something rare now. *sigh* I agree. The Emperor's Soul should be talked about MORE! Such an amazing novella! :)
I love Emperor's Soul! Red Rising the first book is underrated imo!!! I was captivated by it! Really enjoyed Never Die. I need to add some of these to my TBR. Surprised you didn't add Name of the Wind. I feel like book 1 could be a stand alone even though its not haha
The fact that below 400 is considered short shows how much expectations have changed over the last few decades. It used to be that 200-400 pages was the standard length of a book, whether non-fantasy or fantasy, like Earthsea, the Belgariad, or the Chronicles of Amber.
Not only expectations, many fanfasy authors have told me that the standard in trad publishing now entails that anything above 150,000 words are considered big books now. I think the standard is around 110,000-140,000 words. I THINK.
Great video Petrik! Thank you for all of the recommendations, and I would not mind more. I am currently reading Assassins Fate and then planning to read Legends and Lattes for something a little less emotionally draining after finishing ROTE. Hope you have a good day!
Thank you so much, Drew! Assassin's Fate is a HUGE EMOTIONAL damage. Good luck. It is amazing, though. Truly one heck of a finishing touch to the series. Legends and Lattes will be a great relaxing book after that! :D
Hey Petrik, I’m new to your channel but love your videos and reviews. Can you do a video on how you read so many books so often and if you speed read? Thanks!
The Emperor's Soul was my first Sanderson book; i read it because it was short and I'd been hearing good things about Mr S, and was halfway through the Wheel of Time. The quality of writing in the Emperor's Soul convinced me to dive right into Stormlight.
Yeah, The Emperor's Soul is brilliant. I believe it has some of the best writing by Sanderson. Glad it pushed you into starting Stormlight Archive after that! :D
It has been 20 years since I read Tolkien, but I remember thinking back then that _Farmer Giles of Ham_ is his best book. I don't know would my current self agree if I read Tolkien's books again, but I channel that as a recommendation from my past self.
My dad bought me _The Children of Húrin_ in 2006 when its Finnish translation came out, and it's one of the books I took with me when I moved to another city. I still haven't read it. It's a book that I have decided to read 'later'.
I hope you'll love The Children of Hurin when you get around to it! I haven't read Tolkien's books that aren't in Middle-Earth. Maybe one day I'll check them out! :D
I really disliked Red Rising, but I just read Golden Son and Morning Star back-to-back and I'm definitely in the camp that the series gets much better after the first book. It's a super fast paced, action packed sci-fi series. While they are brutal books, I was thoroughly entertained. I'll probably start the next arc next year leading up to the new release.
Another fab video, Petrik! The Jade Setter of Janloon was sooooooo good!! I also loved Legends & Lattes and Never Die! Will add more to the ever-growing TBR list :D :D
Petrik, you're not a fan of urban fantasy? Most UF books are well under 140,000. My favorite is the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka and I think the longest one is only 110k words. They're fun & fast paced and can easily be finished over a weekend.
I love urban fantasy. Admittedly I haven't read too many of them. But from my experience, many UF has a weak first few books. That's why they're not on the list. I still have to check Benedict Jacka's series, though!
@@historymax5479 I started out as a Dresden fan but MUCH prefer Verus now. Admittedly, the first book in the series, Fated, isn't the best one, but they get so much better after that. And, it's a finished series with great action, awesome fights, absolutely no sex & almost no relationship drama (unlike Dresden where relationship drama abounds--with Susan, Ebenezer, Thomas, etc.)
@@PetrikLeo Well, like Dresden & a lot of other series, the first Verus book is the weakest one but they just get better from there. I absolutely love the series: it's fun & fast paced and Benedict Jacka absolutely stuck the landing with the final book, Risen.
These are much appreciated Petrik. Can you please tell from where I can purchase "The Emperor's Soul" with that cover art? I am keeping my fingers crossed to be able to get a TBB special edition of Legends & Lattes.
Thank you so much! That's the Chinese edition of The Emperor's Soul btw, so yeah, probably not easy to order. I LOVE that cover art. I think the US and UK cover art of The Emperor's Soul are lacking.
Another comment said the same, I will repeat my thoughts on this! "Not only expectations, many fanfasy authors have told me that the standard in trad publishing now entails that anything above 150,000 words are considered big books now. I think the average is still around 110,000-140,000 words, though. I THINK." But many readers now, myself included, tend to think: "Oh it's only 300/400 pages long." That's fast read. 😅
@@PetrikLeo If we go by Hugo or Nebula definitions, 40,000 words is where novellas end and novels begin. Do you think you would be hesitant to pick up novels on the lower end of novel-length range (say 40k-70k words), or do you just consider these to be for times when you want a fast read?
@@gregoryamato8693 I think it depends. From my experience and comparatively, I tend to not have many satisfying experiences with books below 100k words. And that's also the purpose of this video; that there are still some awesome "short" books. Obviously, word count isn't everything. Execution matters more than total word count. I will admit, though, that I tend to be more hesitant in picking up books below 200 pages unless I'm really in the need of a fast read. :)
@@PetrikLeo Afraid I also didn't like it much, though to be fair I read it immediately after the madness and mayhem of Locklands. That might've skewed my perspective a bit.
@@baronnashor7713 I did a full review on it. I tend to love darker and serious fantasy books, but I can't read them nonstop 24 hours for an entire year. As much as I love to read serious and dark fantasy books, I will burnout on it if I do that at that pace. Sometimes, I need to read something lighthearted as a break. And that's where books like Legends and Lattes come in. 🙂
@@baronnashor7713 it's an interesting perspective. The book begins right when the protagonist has slain the great enemy and retires to a simple life. It's a subtle, epilogue of sorts. Therefore, the protagonist prior life of battles slaying evil would likely be the stories you and others who don't like it may prefer. 🤔
Empires Blade and Skullsworn were soooo hard to finish. But, Empires Ruin was a page turner that gripped me from start to finish. When will the next installment come out?
At least we have both Empire's Ruin to praise then! :D I haven't heard anything about when the next installment will be released. I hope sometime next year!
I stopped your video to read Paper Managerie. I have just finished The Grace of Kings and felt compelled. Now I get to finish watching your video with tears in my eyes. Ken Liu's genius lies in his ability to explore uncomfortable things. I had to switch to an action series to cleanse my palate before I tackle Wall of Storms. How can I love a writer that makes me feel so uncomfortable? I have read all of Brian Staveley. I believe it was because of your recommendation. I am going to revisit J.R Tolkien. I have read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The Hobbit was what made me fall in love with this genre. But, I have totally overlooked the Children of Hurin. I really enjoyed your video but, may not forgive you for the Paper Managerie. It broke my heart.🥲
Hahaha. You're welcome! I totally understand what you mean, Irene. The Paper Menagerie is so heartbreaking. How a short story can be that emotional is crazy to me. It never happened to me before. And also, I'm glad you loved The Grace of Kings! And Wall of Storms is even more amazing! Fingerscrossed you'll love Children of Hurin when you get around to it! :D
I still have 10-15 favorite SFF books under 150,000 words and also a standalone or first book of a series. Let me know if you want me to make one more recommendation video with these criteria included! Also, do tell me what short SFF books you love! :)
How about a list of first boks in a series that can also be read as standalones? There's quite a few you can include, like Mistborn 1, Risen Kingdoms 1, Legacy Trilogy 1, Founders 1, Riyria 1 etc.
@@historymax5479 oh yes! I will put this on my list of videos to do. Lies of Locke Lamora count, too!
Please do! After reading so many large series, I’ve been craving short standalones/installments in series.
That would be great!
Shortish (under 400 pages SFF books):
1.Annihilation (part of a trilogy but works perfectly as a standalone) by Jeff Vandermeer (also Borne, Veniss Underground by the same author)
2. Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
3. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip
4. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin (also a Wizard of Earthsea - part of a series but works as a standalone)
5. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
6. Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
7. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
and
I know this doesn't work as a standalone but it is one of the most beautifully written books I've read so I have to mention it:
8. The Slow Regard Of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss.
I'd love to see another recommendation video. Always nice to have a list of shorter book options.
Glad you mentioned The Children of Hùrin. It's legit a masterpiece and Tolkien's best work IMO. And yes you can definitely read this book first without reading his other works because Tolkien only started to write the mythology of the Silmarillion when his friend asked for a backstory after reading an early version of The Children of Hùrin. So it was designed as a standalone.
I wish I know about this before I made this video... Hahaha, glad to know that!! I agree with you that it is Tolkien's best work. Turin Turambar is one of my favorite characters! :)
Thank you. I am a little terrified to buy all three books but I think I will start with this one to see if I enjoy the writing. Did I mention I haven't watched or read any of his works?🥲
Of the ones from your list that I've read, 100% agree with Jade Setter, Emperor's Soul and Legends and Lattes. Since our tastes are similar, I will be putting your recommendations in TBR. Thank you!
You're welcome! I hope you'll love the ones you haven't read! 😃
I need to read red rising.
I’m currently reading never die and really liking it so far.
Loving the recommendation videos.
Great video, Petrik🥰
Thank you so much, Holly! Never Die is great, and yeah you have to read Red Rising!
Thank you for that list! You must have done another video on a similar topic because I've read Skullsworn on your recommendation (oh yes it was a video on standalones!), and though this story's message didn't work for me (but it does seem Staveley intended his characters to have a twisted understanding of love, I just expected more impactful themes for the reader by the end - I knew it was grimdark but still 😅), I did find Staveley's prose, storytelling structure and character work phenomenal and so I don't regret reading it. ☺️ I've read LOTR and The Hobbit, and though I've loved Return of The King and thought The Hobbit very charming, creative and clever, I'm looking forward to reading Children of Húrin and his other works just to see if any of them could beat RoTK for me! I'm currently reading his translation of Beowulf and really enjoying it as even through translation his authorial voice & prose style are very recognizable and I already notice parallels between this epic poem's lore and themes and those of his most beloved works.
And last but not least, I'm so curious to see what I think of The Greenbone Saga, it sounds amazing! Maybe I should start with Lee's short story to see if I vibe with her writing style as it's a very important factor for me.
I don't know if you have any favourites when it comes to middle-grade or timeless fairy tales' classics that can very much be appreciated both by a younger and older audience (most of them I've loved more as an adult actually). I think many of those works are absolutely worth reading for Fantasy lovers, both for their literary and cultural value, even if they have a hard time with soft magic systems (but that's because fantastical elements in those works are mostly allegorical or symbolical in nature). A few authors I'm thinking about are Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials), C.S Lewis (Narnia), Michael Ende (The Neverending Story), J. M. Barrie (Peter Pan), Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), Carlo Collodi (Pinocchio), and Lois Lowry (The Giver - usually categorized as YA but very thematically mature in my opinion). Oh and one very short adult book that comes to mind that I've read this year would be Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. It got so many praises already, and though it didn't become a favourite of mine I do see why people rave about it and so it deserves to be on that list. 😌
You're welcome! Haha, I've recommended Skullsworn a few times on my channel now, I really love the book. No worries if it didn't work for you! I really love Staveley's prose. I think he has a way with words. I hope you'll love Children of Hurin, it's certainly different from LotR. And obviously, I hope you'll love The Green Bone Saga! :)
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke was great! One of the most surprising reads for me this year was that. And I rarely read middle-grade books, but I'm not excluding them from my TBR pile. Right now, I'm just more focused in reading adult fantasy books right now. His Dark Materials, once the second series is done, will be prioritized, though. :D
I have been meaning to read The Martian, I have that and Project Hail Mary just sitting on my shelf waiting for me.
They're worth the read! 😁
I just read Legends and Lattes and loved it! I kept thinking it would make such a fun tv series, almost sitcom-ish but with fantasy creatures.
Yay! Glad you loved Legends and Lattes! Who knows, it might happen one day with its rising popularity! 😃
Finally, a BookTuber that gets me.
Hahaha you're welcome, Zach! 😃
From this list I've read, so far, Children of Hurin, The Martian and The Emperor's Soul. All are brilliant books. Adding the rest of your recommendations to my TBR!
Woohoo! Plenty of other great books for you to read then! :)
Nice list! Song of Achilles is a great one to recommend as a shorter (and perhaps easier) gateway to historical fantasy. Several years ago, I took part an interesting exercise in regard to novel length--one that really taught me why most epic fantasies are longer, and how rare it is for shorter editions to be excellent. Back when I was seeking a traditional publishing deal, my agent at the time challenged me to cut the manuscript that will soon become my debut back fairly significantly. He actually wanted me to take it from 150K to under 120K, so I did. I cut pretty mercilessly, and removed entire aspects and some entire scenes. My agent was thrilled (he thought it would make it easier to sell to acquiring editors), but my wife... Not so much.
When my wife read the stripped down version, she was distraught. She said I'd stripped away much of what made the story feel rich, and lived-in, and what had made the world-building and backstory feel immersive and real. So, short story, long--now that I'm self-publishing, it's back to being over 150K again. I still very much admire those who can get the job done in under 400 pages, but my experience makes me doubt I'll ever be one of them, lol. Another engaging topic and video, Petrik!
Thank you, Vaughn! And that's an interesting story. I've heard plenty of similar stories from self-pub authors, actually. I think it's kind of crazy when trad pub agents are strictly asking for stories to be inside a certain word count. There shouldn't be any limited word count to a story. If it requires 200k words, or 300k words, then that's what the book shall have! :D
You recommended reading Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron and have been inhaling the series. Literally. The first book is short but things are moving so fast you barely have time to eat.
Thank you btw.
I do wish it was on this list because it is a mix of Sci-fi and Fantasy
You're welcome! Heartstrikers isn't on this list only because the first book was a bit on the weaker side for me. But overall it is a wonderful series. I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)
Great list, thank you!
Agree about Children of Hurin.
I should read The Emperor's Soul at some point - I have heard from many readers that it is one of Sanderson's best written books.
Mildly curious about Legends and Latte, not going to lie 😊.
Thank you, Paromita! I think in terms of technicality, Emperor's Soul is his best written books together with Stormlight Archive. :)
Petrik, some great recommendations here.
Also, if you go back 30-40 years ago, there was so much shorter sci-fi and fantasy written. When you get a chance, if you ever can being bombarded as you are, you should explore some of the classic titles still in print.
Thank you, Frank! I definitely plan to read more classic fantasy books eventually. I haven't even read Earthsea!! xD
Yes! Awesome list of books that are short and sweet. I've read lots, and the rest are all on my tbr!!!
Thank you so much! Glad the video is useful to you! 🙂
Excellent recs!! Also, I had no idea that The Martian was so short! For some reason I always thought it was a 600 page chunker or something, lol.
After loving the War Eternal series, I really can't wait to get to more Rob J Hayes!! Never Die sounds like a blast 🤩
Great video, Petrik ☺
Thank you so much, Esmay!! Yeah, The Martian is a quick read! 🤣 I think you'll love Never Die, too. It's a very different kind of series compared to War Eternal, though!
@@PetrikLeo I kinda like that Rob J Hayes' series are all so different. Excited to see what Never Die is all about!!
Good video, I just finished the final empire and it's by far the longest book I've ever read, definitely going to read some shorter things now lol.
Haha, understandable. The rest of the series get bigger and bigger, too. I think you'll get used to it eventually, though! 🙂
A few suggestions:
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Monk & Robot #1 by Becky Chambers (160 pgs)
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (272 pgs)
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (272 pgs)
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (303 pgs)
I've read only Piranesi from that! Certaibly have to give Psalm and Sea of Tranquility a read! 🙂
Great list! I added Skullsworn to my TBR, I have been wanting to get into Brian Stavely's works, so hopefully, this will intrigue me to pick up the rest!
Thank you so much! fingers crossed you won't become one of Staveley's haters! xD
I recently read Legends and Lattes and I loved it. I found myself missing the characters when I was finished. I also enjoyed Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. It's a really short fantasy book with characters I still think about months later. The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August is an indie SF debut. It's short, deals with loss, and has a cat in a space suit. Highly recommend it. Thank you for another great video!
Thank you so much, Jennifer! I should check out Nettle and Bone, too. Been hearing plenty of great things about it. And I'm glad you loved Legends and Lattes, too! :D
@@PetrikLeo Nettle and Bone is my top book of the year. The author, in my opinion, got so much immersive story in such a few amount of pages. I hope you can get to it soon. I'd love to hear what you think.
I had a chance to buy the B&N edition of Red Rising for $15 a few years ago and I didn't buy it because I hadn't finished reading the series yet. It remains my single biggest regret in book buying ever lol.
Also, the fact that Emperor's Soul is not talked about nearly enough is a tragedy.
To be fair, I also didn't realize Red Rising B&N edition would become something rare now. *sigh*
I agree. The Emperor's Soul should be talked about MORE! Such an amazing novella! :)
So happy you included "The Paper Menagerie."
Always have to when we're talking about small and impactful stories!
Some great novellas that you might like is the fantasy Spiderlight (290pgs) by Tchaikovsky and his sci-fi novella Elder Race (201pgs). Great list!
Thank you for the kind words and recommendations!! 🤩 I'll have to check those out!
Another fantastic video!!! Thank you!
You're welcome, and thank you, Dino!
I love Emperor's Soul! Red Rising the first book is underrated imo!!! I was captivated by it! Really enjoyed Never Die. I need to add some of these to my TBR. Surprised you didn't add Name of the Wind. I feel like book 1 could be a stand alone even though its not haha
Red Rising is awesome! And Name of the Wind is more than 600 pages long, and it's more than 200k words. So it's not a small book at all. 😂
@@PetrikLeo oh forgot that was your criteria I was just thinking stand alones, forgot you said that haha
Great list Petrik! The Martian is truly an epic book. I will hopefully get to Jade Setter soon. I’m finishing up Jade Legacy at the moment.
Thank you so much, Chas! Jade Legacy is soooo amazing!!! Enjoy! 😃
Never Die was such a fun book that reminded me a lot of my favorite seinen samurai manga. Haven't read any of the others yet, but I definitely will!
Yessss! It is one of the main reasons why I loved Never Die, too! :D
The fact that below 400 is considered short shows how much expectations have changed over the last few decades. It used to be that 200-400 pages was the standard length of a book, whether non-fantasy or fantasy, like Earthsea, the Belgariad, or the Chronicles of Amber.
Not only expectations, many fanfasy authors have told me that the standard in trad publishing now entails that anything above 150,000 words are considered big books now. I think the standard is around 110,000-140,000 words. I THINK.
Great video Petrik! Thank you for all of the recommendations, and I would not mind more. I am currently reading Assassins Fate and then planning to read Legends and Lattes for something a little less emotionally draining after finishing ROTE. Hope you have a good day!
Thank you so much, Drew! Assassin's Fate is a HUGE EMOTIONAL damage. Good luck. It is amazing, though. Truly one heck of a finishing touch to the series. Legends and Lattes will be a great relaxing book after that! :D
Hey Petrik, I’m new to your channel but love your videos and reviews. Can you do a video on how you read so many books so often and if you speed read? Thanks!
Thank you, Nolan! Definitely no speed read, I'm not even sure how to do that. 😂 It's all time management, I'll try to make a video on it next month!
@@PetrikLeo thanks!
Great list, Petrik! As always.
Thank you so much, Camille! 😊
The Emperor's Soul was my first Sanderson book; i read it because it was short and I'd been hearing good things about Mr S, and was halfway through the Wheel of Time. The quality of writing in the Emperor's Soul convinced me to dive right into Stormlight.
Yeah, The Emperor's Soul is brilliant. I believe it has some of the best writing by Sanderson. Glad it pushed you into starting Stormlight Archive after that! :D
@@PetrikLeo Me too :) I've read 11 of his books now, and am just about to start Arcanum Unbounded (and have Rhythm of War waiting in the wings).
@@drakhir Rhythm of War is AMAZING, too! 😁
@@PetrikLeo I am expecting it to be. That is why I am saving it for when I can truly appreciate it.
I read Children of Hurin last month and loved it.
Yayyyy!! I'm happy to hear that! 🙂
It has been 20 years since I read Tolkien, but I remember thinking back then that _Farmer Giles of Ham_ is his best book. I don't know would my current self agree if I read Tolkien's books again, but I channel that as a recommendation from my past self.
My dad bought me _The Children of Húrin_ in 2006 when its Finnish translation came out, and it's one of the books I took with me when I moved to another city. I still haven't read it. It's a book that I have decided to read 'later'.
I hope you'll love The Children of Hurin when you get around to it! I haven't read Tolkien's books that aren't in Middle-Earth. Maybe one day I'll check them out! :D
Hello 👋 happy weekend reading to you!! Good video! 🎥🎬
Thank you so much, Safina. Happy reading to you!
If you like novels by Madeline Miller you might also enjoy books by Mary Renault, such as The King Must Die, The Bull from the Sea, and many others.
I haven't read anything by Mary Renault. Thanks for the recommendation! 😃
The Sunset Warrior by Eric Van Lustbader is the first of a trilogy, can be read as a standalone and is under 80,000 words.
Nice! Thanks for the recommendation! 😃
I really disliked Red Rising, but I just read Golden Son and Morning Star back-to-back and I'm definitely in the camp that the series gets much better after the first book. It's a super fast paced, action packed sci-fi series. While they are brutal books, I was thoroughly entertained. I'll probably start the next arc next year leading up to the new release.
I loved Red Rising from the beginning, but I agree that it is a series that gets better! I think Golden Son is still Pierce's best book, though! :)
If series were included, I'd add every Cradle, Dresden and Wax and Wayne book ever published. Those are easily the best short books I've ever read.
Oh I would totally include them, too! 😃
The Legend of Drizzt as well as all of Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock's fantasy books would work as well!
Great video topic!
Thanks! My goodness, you're fast. I posted a few seconds ago. xD
Reading “Never Die” right now. Great so far.
It keeps getting better, Kevin! 🙂
Another fab video, Petrik! The Jade Setter of Janloon was sooooooo good!! I also loved Legends & Lattes and Never Die! Will add more to the ever-growing TBR list :D :D
Thank you so much, Lauren! Glad you loved Jade Setter of Janloon, Never Die, and Legends and Lattes, too! 😊
@Petrik You just increased the number of books in my TBR.😅😅😅
Woohoo! That's great! 😊
I did enjoy the song of Achilles I read it a few months ago
Such a great book! Can't wait for her next work! 😃
i have yet to finish Children of Hurin, .... I have Mortal Techniques in my TBR
Finish them all! 😃
@@PetrikLeo yes!
There are tons of short sci-fi books under 250 pages if you look at classic sci-fi. more than I could possibly list, hundreds maybe thousands.
I know, I've read a few of them. I'm just listing 10 of my favorite short SFF books here. The one not in my favorites aren't included. :)
@@PetrikLeo Yeah I was just throwing in my 2 cents since I had one of those old school books in my hand at the time so I thought Id mention it.
Petrik, you're not a fan of urban fantasy? Most UF books are well under 140,000. My favorite is the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka and I think the longest one is only 110k words. They're fun & fast paced and can easily be finished over a weekend.
I've actually been meaning to check it out for a while. How does it stack up compared to Dresden?
I love urban fantasy. Admittedly I haven't read too many of them. But from my experience, many UF has a weak first few books. That's why they're not on the list. I still have to check Benedict Jacka's series, though!
@@historymax5479 I started out as a Dresden fan but MUCH prefer Verus now. Admittedly, the first book in the series, Fated, isn't the best one, but they get so much better after that. And, it's a finished series with great action, awesome fights, absolutely no sex & almost no relationship drama (unlike Dresden where relationship drama abounds--with Susan, Ebenezer, Thomas, etc.)
@@PetrikLeo Well, like Dresden & a lot of other series, the first Verus book is the weakest one but they just get better from there. I absolutely love the series: it's fun & fast paced and Benedict Jacka absolutely stuck the landing with the final book, Risen.
@@spike_99 I think I own the first book! I will try to gather the series and read it someday!
These are much appreciated Petrik. Can you please tell from where I can purchase "The Emperor's Soul" with that cover art? I am keeping my fingers crossed to be able to get a TBB special edition of Legends & Lattes.
Thank you so much! That's the Chinese edition of The Emperor's Soul btw, so yeah, probably not easy to order. I LOVE that cover art. I think the US and UK cover art of The Emperor's Soul are lacking.
I will read the emperors soul next year
Yessss you'll love it!! 😊
Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee. Just 160 pages of perfection
Haven't got the chance to read that yet, but I just got the ARC so I plan to fix that soon! :)
@@PetrikLeo hope you enjoy it!!
Definitely should have had murderbot on here!
I liked Murderbot but doesn't love it! xD
It's okay to have unequivocally incorrect opinions sometimes, petrik!
Under 140k words is short? Really shows how expectations have changed in just a few years since 100k was about average.
Another comment said the same, I will repeat my thoughts on this!
"Not only expectations, many fanfasy authors have told me that the standard in trad publishing now entails that anything above 150,000 words are considered big books now. I think the average is still around 110,000-140,000 words, though. I THINK."
But many readers now, myself included, tend to think: "Oh it's only 300/400 pages long." That's fast read. 😅
@@PetrikLeo If we go by Hugo or Nebula definitions, 40,000 words is where novellas end and novels begin. Do you think you would be hesitant to pick up novels on the lower end of novel-length range (say 40k-70k words), or do you just consider these to be for times when you want a fast read?
@@gregoryamato8693 I think it depends. From my experience and comparatively, I tend to not have many satisfying experiences with books below 100k words. And that's also the purpose of this video; that there are still some awesome "short" books. Obviously, word count isn't everything. Execution matters more than total word count. I will admit, though, that I tend to be more hesitant in picking up books below 200 pages unless I'm really in the need of a fast read. :)
Legend and Lattes was extremely mediocre. I can't understand why people keep gushing over it.
As usual, because everyone's experience of that book, or any book, differs from everyone else. :)
@@PetrikLeo Afraid I also didn't like it much, though to be fair I read it immediately after the madness and mayhem of Locklands. That might've skewed my perspective a bit.
@@historymax5479 nothing wrong with not liking it! 😊 The mayhem in Locklands is pretty insane!!
@@baronnashor7713 I did a full review on it. I tend to love darker and serious fantasy books, but I can't read them nonstop 24 hours for an entire year. As much as I love to read serious and dark fantasy books, I will burnout on it if I do that at that pace. Sometimes, I need to read something lighthearted as a break. And that's where books like Legends and Lattes come in. 🙂
@@baronnashor7713 it's an interesting perspective. The book begins right when the protagonist has slain the great enemy and retires to a simple life. It's a subtle, epilogue of sorts. Therefore, the protagonist prior life of battles slaying evil would likely be the stories you and others who don't like it may prefer. 🤔
Empires Blade and Skullsworn were soooo hard to finish. But, Empires Ruin was a page turner that gripped me from start to finish. When will the next installment come out?
At least we have both Empire's Ruin to praise then! :D
I haven't heard anything about when the next installment will be released. I hope sometime next year!
I stopped your video to read Paper Managerie. I have just finished The Grace of Kings and felt compelled. Now I get to finish watching your video with tears in my eyes. Ken Liu's genius lies in his ability to explore uncomfortable things. I had to switch to an action series to cleanse my palate before I tackle Wall of Storms. How can I love a writer that makes me feel so uncomfortable? I have read all of Brian Staveley. I believe it was because of your recommendation. I am going to revisit J.R Tolkien. I have read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The Hobbit was what made me fall in love with this genre. But, I have totally overlooked the Children of Hurin. I really enjoyed your video but, may not forgive you for the Paper Managerie. It broke my heart.🥲
Hahaha. You're welcome! I totally understand what you mean, Irene. The Paper Menagerie is so heartbreaking. How a short story can be that emotional is crazy to me. It never happened to me before. And also, I'm glad you loved The Grace of Kings! And Wall of Storms is even more amazing! Fingerscrossed you'll love Children of Hurin when you get around to it! :D