The Ultimate Top 20 Fantasy Series of All-Time
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- Опубликовано: 3 авг 2024
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The Ultimate Top 20 Fantasy Series of All-Time according to various websites and blogs!
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0:00 - Intro
00:57 - Surprises
1:22 - 20
1:52 - 19
4:21 - 18
5:31 - 17
6:19 - 16
7:20 - 15
7:48 - 14
8:38 - 13
9:08 - 12
9:47 - 11
10:18 - 10
10:56 - 9
11:43 - 8
12:25 - 7
13:13 - 6
13:52 - 5
14:26 - 4
15:05 - 3
15:47 - 2
16:17 - 1
Lists analysed!
- www.werd.com/best-fantasy-boo...
- www.pastemagazine.com/books/b...
- www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/b...
- www.rd.com/list/best-fantasy-...
- culturedvultures.com/best-fan...
- www.thetoptens.com/fantasy/fa...
- nathanbweller.com/essential-f...
- www.menshealth.com/entertainm...
/ the_rfantasy_2021_top_...
- geekdad.com/2021/11/a-tour-of...
- www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/fan...
- thoughtsonfantasy.com/2016/06...
- screenrant.com/best-fantasy-b...
- reedsy.com/discovery/blog/bes...
- www.bookbub.com/blog/the-best...
- / 10-fantasy-series-of-a...
- www.ranker.com/list/best-fant...
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Man really sad that the best Urban Fantasy Series of All Time in The Dresden Files didn’t make your list. Far too much of a focus on Epic Fantasy not near enough on Urban Fantasy…
Hello ..i wanna Ask A Book About Sisterhood Relationship..
I mean Love and Hate relation like Jinx And Vi in Arcane
IM Okay If ITS Going to be Bad ending , IM also okay If Good ending but pls don't make them United and loving each other in just One Book Like SUPERNATURAL ACADEMY
Heck They like wanna Kill Each other in beginning But they Became united in just 40 Pages? the animation is still good Because it still took 6 episode before they united but still bad though and the animation really show how the Little sister really have hard time adapating in her new life while in the Book she was like Mastering everything in her new world in just 50 page in Book 1 😂
And Please I Don't want The Female Character Like a Slut , All Plot Changes whenever Male Character Appear..ITS like She is forgett what is her purpose and Focus to get his cock...
Hey there, big fantasy fan here too! Have you read anything from Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory? I recommend The Obsidian Trilogy and The Pheonix Unchained Trilogy.
Can you please give the book list here in this reply I cannot pay for the list in patreon. Love your content
I'm 57 years old and Name of the Wind is still one of the most mesmerizing, captivating books I have ever read in my life. I stumbled across it in an airport bookstore, was not (and am not) an active fantasy reader, yet for some reason I was compelled to pick it up. (I have read a few of books or series from the list, as well as more of the books mentioned below.)
When I read Name of the Wind, the first two books were already published, so I quickly picked up the second book. I had to know what happens to Kvothe! Alas, upon completing the second book, I then discovered the third book wasn't (and still isn't) available.
I'm still heartbroken after the gradual realization that Rothfuss will never finish the series, and I will never know what happens to Kvothe.
How do you know he won’t finish it? I had no idea and Ive been hoping for the last book for a long time
@@Daniel-vi8ox he'll finish it, he just has alot of pressure to make sure it's perfect. He's talking about it a bit in stream, so I wouldn't give up quite yet
@@Daniel-vi8ox That's just the prevailing opinion. He claims he has it completely written and just needs to edit it, but few believe it.
The first novel was amazing. The second novel was really good... but hoping there's not a downward trend in quality. I'd much rather see Rothfuss take his time and do it right. I waited years for successive ASOIAF and WoT books, I can do the same with the KingKiller Chronicle.
I just read it yesterday and this morning and it is truly amazing! Easily in my top 10 books (: Could I ask what some of your other favorites are?
So glad Wheel of time made it to spot 3. I just finished it and as soon as I was done, despite it's many issues,I found myself wanting to immediately reread it. I've waited a few months and I'm back doing a reread. Lovely series
Wheel of time is so weird. It has many flaws but somehow works really well
I remember the Dragonlance saga fondly... But it seems forgotten by everyone else.
My first intro to fantasy. Loved it. Raistlin was the OG.
Raistlin Majere is one of the best characters...ever.
Dragonlance should have at least been in the top 5.
That's why I take these lists with a grain of salt. While better than his first video, the recency bias is understandably still there. Dragonlance when we were kids is what Stormlight is today.
I remember. Typical D&D book. Read all. It just shouts that “I’m a game” so it’s not high end quality, it was good to read back then but not top of all time for sure.
These lists are always so fantastic! Great job Daniel!
Fantastic resource; thank you!
Interesting - I like the fact that you created a meta list of lists you came across and didn't just do something arbitrary, kudos for that! Only one of these I haven't read is Ken Liu, which I plan to fix this year.
Thanks a lot for your work ! I am getting back to reading and this help with choices as to how to prioritize and/or expand my TBR list :)
Thank you for all your hard work compiling this list, another great video! Your videos are filling up my tbr 😅
So glad to see Tolkien at number one. Thank you for compiling this list.
Can anyone ever beat him? You know George RR Martin said in an interview that "After Tolkien there are only two types of fantasy writers... Writers who were influenced by him and writers who desperately tried not to be influenced by him. "
In my opinion, Tolkien is number 1 in Fantasy World building, but GRRM is number 1 in story plot, twist, and turn. It's just what I think.
@@prakashsahoo4415eiichiro oda has the potential if he sticks the landing
@@fetchyryuCompletely different medium. Oda should be compared to other mangaka, not fantasy authors. It’s apples and oranges.
i see it now! thank you for sharing
Malazan book of the fallen is my favorites series of books ever, its amazing.
You really went above and beyond with this list! Love it!!
Thank you Isa!
Yeah. Recommending a bunch of books you've never read before from random, top-book lists is tough work! 😅
This is a fantastic list! There's some I need to read, some to add to my TBR & even a few that I need to attempt to re-read after not enjoying them first time around
This was a fascinating list! Definitely some surprises on there, and I appreciated your perspective on them. There are several I'd never heard of that I want to try now!
Thanks for your time and effort 💝
My pleasure 😊 thank you for watching!
Thank you for taking the time and doing your absolute best to take ALL of the work out of finding new books to read! I appreciate you so much! I have been wasting so much time watching book tube lists that end up being identical or reading reviews that may or may not be legitimate, only to find out that I can't find anything new. These lists that you've compiled will keep me busy for a while! Thanks and cheers!! Keep up the good work!!!!
Thank you Jessica! I am glad you found it helpful!
Appreciate the time you put into this. Thank you!
Finally, bro got the wits to include A Song of Ice and Fire
The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons is the greatest Sci-Fantasy series I have ever read. By a lot too. After I was finished with book four, I was heartbroken it was done, and I remember actually feeling like I wished I could forget about it so I could read it again all the sooner lmao.
It might not qualify as Fantasy alone, but if you're a person who also has interest in future technology, AI, human nature, unlikely heroes and the most horrific creature of ANY written universe you would LOVE these books!
I second this opinion! I loved this series, and still think about it often.
Hyperion was the series that got me back into reading during covid. I got a kindle for Christmas of 2020 and I devoured the entire series in January and February of 2021
Hyperion was the only book that ever made me weep openly as a father of a young daughter.
I agree. My next two favorites would be Night's Dawn by Peter F. Hamilton, and for fantasy, the Malazan series.
The first two books indeed are incredible. Endymion is great too as a fun adventure story. The Rise of Endymion kind of sucked though imo.
Absolutely loved the Black Company series. Just finished up the three Gentleman Bastard books and they were fantastic. The conclusion of The Hero of Ages was everything I ever wanted in a story.
I should maybe add it to my tbr! I look forward to continuin The Gentleman Bastard series! Happy reading!
Well you unintentionally tricked me into watching by putting a red X on the Dresden Files. I’m kind of attached to Dresden Files because it really stuck with me at a difficult time (especially the quote about pain) Your list was really good by the way.
1:10 That's truly absolutely wild, as The Riftwar Saga is an outstanding series.
Riftwar is fantastic.👍🌟🌟🌟🌟🏆
Yes, it's by far the best series out there!
I think your point system should be slightly less linear - give more points to the top rankings like 15 to #1, 12 to #2, then 10 to #3, 8 to #4, etc. It would reward series like Malazan that not a lot of people have read but nearly everyone puts as their #1 after they've read it.
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to compile this :)
Surprised to see Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion Series not mentioned. Its so iconic, Chaosium did a roleplaying game based on it, and even Rock bands of the 70's based songs on his works, from such bands as Blue Oyster Cult, and Hawkwind.
Moorcock never gets the appreciation he should. His new book is also great. Elric most famous but my favorite is The War Hound and the World's Pain
Big in the UK I think but doesn't get enough love overseas.
@satricv I'm not. Most 20 somethings doing "all time greatest fantasy lists" don't know jack shit about the fantasy genre. They think classic fantasy starts in the 90's as well as slotting the Narnia books in with the grown up stuff because they saw some movies when they were kids and are too lazy to do even a modicum of research into the history of the genre. Any "all time greatest" list fails without ERB, Lord Dunsany, Howard and Moorcock. The first three made the fantasy genre possible and the fourth re-defined it for a new age. These lists are more accurately called "I like the same shit all the other 20 something fantasy readers on RUclips" do.
@@LegCramps1no moorcock - no Witcher
I found the list interesting, in that Tolkein, LeGuin, and Cook were the oldest of the series - which doesn't list many I consider essential classics. I also noticed that these are all series, with no stand alone or duo books. Also note, the Pern series is NOT fantasy, but actually HARD Science Fiction -as the Dragons are bioengineered by the colonist specifically to deal with the problem they encountered. May I suggest you check out: The Eternal Champion series by Michael Moorcock, The Amber-Chaos Series, Dilvish duo, and Madwand duo by Roger Zelazny, Duel of Sorcery by Jo Clayton, Dragaeran series by Steven Brust, Riftkind series by Lynn Abbey, Lord Darcy by Randall Garett, Initiate Brother duo by Sean Russell, the Merlin/Arthur tetralogy by Mary Stewart, Mabinogeon tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, The Lost Swords series by Fred Saberhagen, Incarnations of series & the Xanth series by Piers Anthony, Arafel duo by CJ Cherryh , Tros of Samothrace by Talbot Mundy and probably one of the greatest of all, The Witch World series by Andre Norton. Another SF-F cross is the Morgaine series by CJ Cherryh. Some solo novels: Darker Than You Think -Jack Williamson, Dwellers in the Mirage -A.Merrit, Jack of Shadows - Roger Zelazny, Glory Road-Robert A. Heinlein, Jirel of Joiry-CL Moore, Sacred Ground - Mercedes Lackey, Moonheart-Charles deLint. Whatever happened to Conan, Kull, Grey Mouser, Saint-Germain, Maelin the Moonsinger, (and Rod Galloglass although that could be considered SF) in your list?
Zelazny was my favorite all time author.
Michael Moorcock is my all time favorite
Just finished Dance of Dragons of A Song Of Ice And Fire today. I think all in all, the whole series is about 5500 pages, but it's definitely worth it!
I used to be a lazy reader (and it took me 6 months to read the whole series), but it was such a phenomenal read. Would recommend to anyone who is maybe a bit hesitant on fantasy. The political plotting, the character development and the female representation(!) is impeccable. It combines so many good plot lines and the world building is incredible.
And the new book may be coming out this decade already!
agree
This decade 💀 keep dreaming
I have never been an avid reader and have only read required reading and a little over half of the harry potter series in my adult life. I started reading the mistborn trilogy this year because of the book-tube fantasy series video you made. I'm about 200 pages from the end of Well of Ascension and Hero of Ages came in the mail today lol I would love suggestions from anyone.
Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive) is great as well (it was #4 I think).
I also started reading mistborn this year to get into reading again. Glad to know I’m not the only one lol.
Gemmell all the way! Waylander, Legend, White Wolf, Jon Shannow series, Troy series, take your pick they're all great
jump straight in to "the Way of Kings" (Stormlight Archive)
same author but this is his magnum opus
Try these: The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia McKillip, the Earthsea series by Ursula LeGuin, The Chronicles of the Deryni by Katherine Kurtz, The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Steven Donaldson, THe Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazney, The Shannara books by Terry Brooks, The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock, The Conan series by Robert E Howard, The Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart, The Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake, The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, The Redwall books by Brian Jacques, Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey, The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook, The Witch World series by Andre Norton, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series by Fritz Leiber, The Narnia series by CS Lewis, The Song of Ice and Fire books by George RR Martin, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss, The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling, The Way of Shadows books by Brent Weeks, The Jirel of Joiry books by C.L. Moore, The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski and The Dagger and the Coin series by Daniel Abraham.
Just finished all 36 of The Legend of Drizzt series. I absolutely loved it, especially the lady few. I enjoyed the friendship, fighting, and character arcs. Any suggestion on where to go next? Sanderson is s cool guy, but I am missing Salvatore, Drizzt, Jarlaxle, and even Kimmuriel. I find them more enjoyable than Mistborn.
I recommend Andre Norton's Witch World, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar, Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser
Thanks again for putting in the time and effort to make these lists/videos, I love it!!
So excited for you to try Dandelion, it's SO good. And I just read A Game of Thrones for the first time and already totally get the hype, it deserves to be this high on the list for sure.
Great video!! 🤩
Keep going. A Storm of Swords is well worth the read. Easily the best of the first four of the series (haven't read any of A Dance with Dragons.)
@@PowerRangerfan I am about to read book 5 this month hahah, definitely kept going strong!
@@esmayrosalyne Do you by chance know what that book yellow book on the middle shelf on the right is called? It looks like it would be a good one but I can't read the title.
@@PowerRangerfan I believe that is The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. One of my faves, highly recommend!
Ooo I’m excited to see the list fantasy is my favorite genre and I’m trying to pick more up this year
I wonder if any of these people cared to read authors like Bakker or Wolfe. I seriously doubt it. At least there are some youtubers who finally cover such exquisite authors.
I think the Shannara series is worth reading - even though I haven't read all of it. Also, I truly love The Pern books. They are compulsively readable. Just know they are definitely written awhile ago.
Plus, there is so much more nuance to His Dark Materials that a reread as an adult is well worth it.
Every time I see one of your videos I find myself adding another series to my TBR :)
And yes, Harry Potter definitely passes the test of time.
I feel honoured! Thank you for watching and for the support!
I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm also very trans. It's really hard for me to enjoy it now... after the author made it clear that trans people can't attend Hogwarts.
@@transjoyous I get you. What an awful thing of her to say and think.
For myself - I separate the work from the creator. The books are full of such positive messages about inclusion and to not discriminate, so to me they are still relevant and still hold a place in my heart even if JKR doesn't anymore.
I mean it does seem that the books teach to discriminate against races that are predisposed to slavery cause they’re better as slaves…or the goblins who are too evil to be given rights apparently…or the fact that you can’t be a wizard in poverty because you have to purchase everything. Harry Potter does not reach acceptance or tolerance. I have fond memories of reading it as a child but there are some truly backwards messages in the books.
@@braedenneale845 Then we had two very different experiences reading the books. I saw an imperfect world being called out. Werewolves should not be marginalized just for their affliction. House elves should not be enslaved... And more.
You are from the Faroe islands? Thats cool. I visited a couple of years ago. A beautiful place.
I just read a book called "Four Wings of the Dragon Goddess" By Theodora Quinn. It had Dragons and time travel which for me is my two favorite things. I highly recommend it.
I am so excited to see Dragonriders of Pern make the list! While it is not the first fantasy I read, it is the series that made me a lifelong fantasy and sci-fi reader. You find out later in the series it qualifies as sci-fi too. When I was 12 my Mom let me join the Fantasy and Science Fiction Book Club, a type of mail service that used to be popular. You’d choose 4 or 5 books for a dollar then had to buy a certain amount in a year. I made sure to choose 3-in-1’s or more to make my dollar go as far as possible. One was the first 3 books of Pern, Dragonflight, Dragonquest & The White Dragon. I was enchanted. I daydreamed about being a dragonrider. I even met Anne McCaffrey many years later. I’ve seen a few BookTubers review it and there are a few issues that bother modern/younger readers though honestly it went over my naive 12 year old head. And if you know Anne’s life story you can see where her real life was creeping in. I feel that later in the series she moves past and makes up for these areas. One note about Shannara. Much like The Eye of the World the first book is pretty much a Lord of the Rings clone. While I haven’t read all of them, I did read the first 3-4 a long time ago and Brooks does move on to make it his own.
Could you do a video of top fantasy series with 1st person narration/perspective.
Thanks!
Thank you very much. I appreciate the effort you have put to help me and many others. Sacrificing part of your life to help is very kind of kind of you. I watch RUclips videos but generally I don't put thumbs up to videos even if I love them. I appreciate what you have done so I decided to put a thumbs up. Thank you.
Im currently reading the Riftwar Saga and cant wait to start some Series you mentioned here on this List.
I recommend continuing on with the Daughter of Empire trilogy by Feist/Wurst. It's very intense.
Great list! Interesting that this list has a more even mix of classic and newer series than the Booktube list.
I was shocked to hear that the Shannara series was ranked so low, but I guess it is understandable considering how long it has been out; many people who read fantasy tend to voraciously devour new offerings, and there is now so much stuff coming out that it's difficult to find time to add in some of the older classics. I, for one, have everything ever written by Terry Brooks as well as Terry Pratchett; I practically grew up with their writings. I also have the entire Pern series, and all the various Dragonlance books. I really feel like the 80's/90's was the Golden Age of fantasy writers and I really think that was helped by the Dungeons and Dragons game. As an aside, tabletop games are making a niche but quality comeback as a new generation discovers the game can be a really good way for socially awkward people to meet and socialize.
I was thrilled to see a series I hadn't heard of before "The Light Bringer" and now I have some additions for my next haul! Thanks for your videos!
This is such a good list!
I became aware of The Dragonriders of Pern in the summer of 1973 and from the start hated that I always had to wait for the next book to come out I wanted the whole story. This series of books would take up many many hours of my time due to the fact that they were something that seemed to connect with me. Looking for something to fill the gap between books I ran across Terry Brooks and the Shanara books. There are others Like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, S. Kings Gunslinger series, Saberhagen's Book of Swords series and never forget the incredible Xanth series by Piers Anthony. These books have taken me to places in my lifetime that I really do wish I could have seen in other places than my mind. Peter Jackson did a good job with Tolkien's series bringing it to life. I just wish some of the others could get the same treatment. As a last note to this long comment the SHIP books also by the author that I started this with Anne McCaffrey are amazingly written. At 72yrs old I do a lot of reading now and just last year stepped once more into the world of Tolkien, MacCaffery and Anthony and they were as much a pleasure to read as they were the first time around.
Nice list. I also like Terry Goodkind's series.
Finally a top fantasy list thqt tesonqted with me. I am far from an expert, but it seems your wider net has caught the real list. Book tubers are definitely biased to recent.
I am almost finished book 1 of RA Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy, after a bit of a long hiatus from reading. I started out reading with Asterix comics, Roald Dahl, Game books, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. As an adult I happily tackled all kinds of Novels and classics alike. But this Homeland book has been a real page turner. Which I have not experienced since maybe Ender's Game. For me this is the way I like Fantasy. I don't want it to be chore in the way a much loved Oscar Wilde novel would be. Does anyone have a good page turning recommendation to follow up the Dark Elf Trilogy? I have never really tackled any adult themed Fantasy but would be keen to give it a go. Cheers.
This just makes me feel so old, last time I read fantasy there was no Sanderson hype.
You just got yourself a new subscriber 😄
Thank you Frankie! I appreciate it!
One of the difficulties of this list is that some The Malazan books suffer from their complexity of writing and plot (also one of their strength). Much harder to get into the majority of the books in the series. I would argue that if they were more widely read and completed they would surpass the wheel of time series.
Woot you put my favorite highschool and college years books.
Terry brooks shanara. I have read the first dozen of those
Pratchett's Discworld with its amazing story arcs Night Watch, Rincewind, The Witches of Lancre (Love Granny Weatherwax!), all the DEATH books, and the last real arc Moist von Lipwig...and those don't even touch the stand alone books. Then he sent out possibly the best YA fantasy arc, the Tiffany Aching novels...which terminated with his last book before his heartbreaking death in 2016. He makes you laugh, think and ponder. He's worth reading just because of his invention of L-Space. A triumph of world building and characterization.
My mission for the rest of the year is to get the wheel of time read fully. I have read the first 6 books a number of time and they are immense. But if often started to struggle through the 7th book. But i AM going to get them done this year and finally get to the ending of Sandersons books at the end. I am reading them again mainly due to my dispair of who amazon have ruined the story by changing it too much.
Chronicles of Amber should definitely have been on this list.
I am a bit sad David Eddings' Belgariad seems to have fallen off people's radar. When I think of 100% vanilla fantasy that fully and joyously embraces all the conventional, it's the Belgariad: Orphan boy on a farm- check. Mysterious grandfather figure- check. Stuck up, plucky princess- check. Evil god bent on taking over and bending the world to his whims- check.
I recently reread the seris (and the follow up seris The Malorian) and they were still very fun adventures.
Belgariad might be shamelessly cliche, but it handles its tropes and characters better than most others of its kind in my opinion. It has some of the most genuinely hilarious comedy, sassy romance and witty dialogue I’ve ever seen in fantasy.
its the series that got me into fantasy, more years ago than id care to mention. still love it.
I voraciously devoured the Belgariad,Mallorean, Tamuli, and The Elenuim. Eddings style won me over, and I found myself delving deeper by reading Belgarath the sorcerer, Polgara the sorceress, and the Rivan Codex.😂
i wonder how much being incomplete hurt the Dresden Files, because i'd imagine some websites top 'of all time' lists might require the series to be finished to be considered. i know other series up there were also unfinished, but Dresden Files gets knocked for it a lot more than most other series i see. I'm also glad to see dragonriders of pern on the list which is one of my favorite series.
I'm always surprised that no one ever mentions the works of Stephen Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (3 series totaling 10 books) and the 2-book series Mordant's Need. I've heard some criticisms of those series (Thomas Covenant especially), and I do agree with some of them, but they were bestsellers in their day.
When your protagonist sucks it’s hard to cheer them on
@@johnny6128 I agree that Thomas Covenant can be a very irritating character -- but the story makes it very clear WHY he is that way. He's a very broken man who has had everything good in his life ripped away from him. Yes, he's a jerk sometimes, but he does actually have a character arc and slowly grows throughout the series.
Fascinating character with a fascinating story, but probably a bit too dark and existential for a lot of modern fantasy readers.
It's my favorite fantasy series. Thomas Covenant is a very unpleasant protagonist, but I think the other characters, and the world building make up for it. I think the biggest issue for younger, newer readers is getting past the rape in book one.
Just a little constructive criticism the music in this video is louder than your voice so really struggled with this video but other than that, you were great
As an almost 44 year old who reads Harry Potter every couple of years I can definitively state that it definitely holds up. It’s stop as magical as it was the first time I read it almost 20 years ago.
That sounds wonderful!
Dude Harry Potter never held up at the time of each books release. JK Rowling did nothing new and wrote a dog shit predictable, pedestrian, by the numbers story. Stop fooling yourself, and get over it take the nostalgia goggles off, and read something better.
I feel the same about Percy Jackson. I started reading them when I was in elementary school and re read them a number of times since. Plan on owning them and sharing them with my kids.
You do you, I guess...
@@GreenTeaViewer oh I will 😁
Yay! I’m glad to see Anne McCaffery RIP finally get some praise. I’m looking for my next series to read and so I’ve been watching a lot of RUclipsrs share their top fantasy series lists and not one has mentioned my beloved Anne McCaffery. I have read every one of her books and recommend each of them, including those she co-wrote with other authors. I am 71 and Anne first published Dragonriders of Pern in 1967. It may be that today’s readers and RUclipsrs want the “latest and greatest”. If this is true they are missing an important era of fantasy. Remember, today’s popular writers fell in love with fantasy when they were growing up through reading Anne and her contemporaries such as Mercedes Lackey whose Valdemar series is fantastic.
I was fortunate enough that my introduction to fantasy was reading the Lords of the Rings as a child. I was around 10 so I got hooked earlier than most. The Shannara series was next, though I believe I only read the first four or five books. Books two (Elfstones) and three (Wishsong) are among some of the best fantasy I've read. The Riftwar Saga as well (Pug/Milamber!). My nascent addiction to these stories has certainly done a great deal to shape my lifelong journey. They spurned me toward many great adventures and friendships. Thank you for the video. I wish you well.
I literally followed the same reading progression as you! Started at the same age as well....
@@sorboom nice! Read any good ones lately? I'll give you a fun one that I bet no one here has ever heard of. It's called Crispan Magicker by Mark Lowenthal. He's not the greatest wordsmith, but you'll dig the magic system. I think it's also the only novel he ever wrote.
Definitely read Pern.
It is great to see the breadth of fantasy series available now. I grew up in the time of Katherine Kerr's Dagger Spell series, Raymond E Feist's Magician (Riftwar Saga) and David Eddings Belgariad series. Its odd not seeing any of these listed here, but if you are looking for some timeless classics that are unique in there own way after devouring this creator's list give these a try. I am grateful to for this list, because it gives me a chance to dip back into the genre to catch up on all that I have missed in the last decade.
I agree regarding David Eddings... how he's not included is criminal!
The Belgariad is a magical experience. I read it last year and it helped lift me out of a depression. The characters are whimsical and hilarious. It has some of the best comedy, witty dialogue and heartfelt tender moments I’ve ever seen in fantasy.
Really need to get around to Riftwar. I’ll check out Daggerspell as well.
14:34 "Taking the fantasy community by storm" Pun intended?
The Death Gate Cycle by Weis & Hickman should be on the list and be in the top 10. It’s a 7-book series, published 1990-1994.
For Lightbringer, I'm a little surprised that people thought books 4 and 5 were not good. They were great to me
To be clear, I don't think this series deserves top 20 realistically, but it always will be in my heart. The inheritance cycle is what got me into reading fantasy and was one of the first books that kept me up late reading, one of my favorites and I highly reccomend.
I could have done without the “sad finish” spoiler to the Wheel of Time series, being halfway through the 14th and final book as I am at the moment.
It seems like a spoller, but it really isn't: why the finish is sad? Because you reached the end of a journey that took you so much time and focus? Because the main character dies? Because the main character lives but dies another character who you loved even more? Because ultimate victory came at the cost of a stagging sacrifice you didn't see come?
You'll know only at the end of the last book.
For now, all you know is that it's been written by Brandon Sanderson (following the notes of Jordan), so it'll be truly an emotional and heart-wrenching experience.
2:25 - You are so right! Gen Z doesn’t appreciate this series. This WAS fantasy for me! This was everything I wanted in a fantasy novel.
Just goes to show you how much things change each decade.
I would love to see a Booktuber cover the top 10 books of each decade for the last 100 years.
Have to put in a word for the Inheritance Cycle. My favorite.
I'm still waiting for the fourth book of Gentleman Bastards. I raced through the first book and got the other two...but been waiting for the 4th novel The Thorn of Emberlain for six years. He started it in 2016, was supposed to come out in 2019...and now they say 2024. Agony...will have to reread the first three all over again and hope the 4th book will show up...sometime.
Awesome list! I was wondering how high up Wheel of Time and HP would get.🙂🙂 Percy Jackson is great, but I enjoy reading Magnus Chase even more with the Nordic Myths you sbd I come from. Another thing maybe you can help sharing the word Bookdragon instead of Bookworm? Its so much nicer and fits js fantasy loves do much better. My favorite fantasy dragon is Arzozah from Katherine Kerrs Deverry saga....she is the best, most clever, funny and mysterious 🥰🥰
Katherine Kerr is also one of my favourites, I have the entire Deverry series plus her stand alone book, Palace.
@@skwervin1 I haven't read Palace! Haven't to check that out. I ordered her new Deverry story a year ago, Sword of Fire, which apparently will be q trilogy. Haven't read it yet
The original Shannara trilogy is definitely worth reading: Sword, Elfstones and Wishsong. I have read a couple others and they are good but not as great as the first three.
The trouble with shannara is that it’s considered as a poor mans LOTR. It’s definitely more accessible though and personally I enjoyed it but I see the similarities.
@@ChapHammersmith The echoes of LOTR are definitely there in the beginning of the first book, The Sword of Shannara, but about two thirds of the way through, Brooks finds his own unique voice and he never really looks back after that. As someone else in these comments said, the second and third books (Elfstones and Wishsong) are two of the best fantasy novels I've read outside of Tolkien. And many of the later books are equally good.
I also want to put in a word for David Gemmell, nice to see him mentioned even if he didn't make the list, because he has some fantastic output starting with the first of the Drenai novels, Legend. A couple of other authors not mentioned who take up a serious portion of my shelf space are Jack L. Chalker and Mercedes Lackey. And of course my earliest introduction to SF/Fantasy even before Alice, Narnia and Rings was Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars. To this day, John Carter is still one of my all-time favourite characters.
What, no Chronicles of Amber? A must read for lovers of fantasy. Also big thumbs up for Black Company and everything by Joe Abercrombie. Rothfuss and Martin should both hire Sanderson to finish their work.
Thank you! I was scanning the comments to see if anyone mentioned the Amber novels. They're my all-time favorites, but maybe showing my age. There are a few sluggish parts when Corwin or Merlin are moving through Shadow, but otherwise they're S tier for me. I've read recent Fantasy, and a lot of the hyped series (some on this video) are a bit generic. Don't get me wrong, it's not all vanilla. I have been impressed with some recent fantasy series, like the KingKiller Chronicle and the Green Bone Saga.
I suspect Zelazny's works are all largely unknown to people ages under 30-40.
That series is so crazy and creative. I really enjoyed it.
I am sorry but sanderson sucks, better both Martin and rothfuss never finish their books than sanderson writing them.
Loved Zelazny
I completely agree with the Song of Ice And Fıre, Tolkien, Harry Poter, and Peter Jackson.
It would be cool to see what you think about adaptations of these series, like his dark materials, lotr movies and such
Oh that is a great idea! I might do that someday. Thank you for the suggestion!
To not see David Eddings or Ra Salvatore on this list is mildly surprising. But they are older series, and most on the list are not. Except for the very top ofc, but we all knew what the top 3 would be :)
Belgariad and Drizzt are wonderful. They deserve more love.
I never see the Belgariad and/or Malorean by David Eddings included in these lists. It's one of the few fantasy series that I re-read every five years or so. The Cold Fire trilogy by C. S. Friedman is another that's on my list.
Yep. Belgariad and Mallorean are my comfort reads. I go through them maybe every coupla years. 😂 Also like Eddings’ Sparhawk series.
Althalus and Polgara are my favorite books ever. But Eddings just isn’t very good writer. He has similar flaw to Sanderson where you really have to just stick reading 1 series of them because they recycle their material hardcore.
I had to step back and realize this list is all about influence, not my personal tastes. From that standpoint it feels spot on, I’d rank a personal enjoyment list very different but that's alright.
Great list, I'll have to check some of them out that I haven't read yet. I think not have Steven Erikson on the list at all is an oversight - if you have not ready his works yet you are in for a treat.
Erikson's Malazan series was number 16 on the list.
@@abbys9934 ahhh, thank you for the correction - not sure how I missed that. I’ll have to rematch that section.
Now I see, 16 is a shared slot, that’s how it got passed me.
Eriksons work behind so many mediocre works? Really? Easily Top 5.
And where is Joe Abercrombie? R. Scott Bakker? Mark Lawrence?
I would love to try the app Common Place Share Quotes but I don't see link below? Can you please share it?
Link is in the description!
You can start just about anywhere with the Pern books. It’s amazing. I love the stories of Pern.
Actually, no, you can't. there are specific groupings thhat need to be read in order.
Malazan being ranked so low is criminal 🥲
My favourite series
Thank you for this video!
If I may give a suggestion for your next video-lists, each time you introduce an entry in your video ("for spot # 5 we have..."), please consider editing/placing on the video text that includes:
- The name of the series you are showing
- The author of the series
- And maybe the first book (or first few books) in the series
That would make it way easier for us to look up the series that look interesting to us!
Additionally, you could also add in the video description a link to a post on your website, where said post has Amazon affiliate links to all the books in the video-list.
This was a much better and well-rounded list than the Booktube list. When I saw Poppy War in the top 10 and especially the Faithful and the Fallen in top 3 it immediately just negated the entire list for me. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad books but a lot of other books with more character could've easily replaced them on the list. Booktube just gets too caught up in hype a lot of the time to better cater to the algorithm I feel like.
Redwall and Wings of Fire should've made this list too. Both of those are great fantasy series. And on the topic of A Song of Ice and Fire, you stopped reading that series at the worst possible spot. A Storm of Swords is hands down the best book I've read in that series so far. I'm currently on A Feast For Crows and I can say that the whole series is definitely worth the read.
Well this was a pleasant surprise. I stumbled upon this video by grace of the algorithm, and I was instantly befuddled by the accent. "This guy has to be Faroese" I thought, being one myself.
Consider me subscribed, and do give Malazan another try, It's amazing.
Percy Jackson isn't just Middle Grade! It's one of the best series I've read and I've probably read the series 5-10 times. I highly recommend reading them!!!!
Same
Loveeeeed The King Killer Chronicles
This is a GREAT list with more unique reccomends than most booktubers. I was glad to see the Dandelion Dynasty up there, it was my favorite read of 2022.
Crap I forgot Hobb...well...carve another face.
I totally didn't mean to comment as a reply to your comment lol. Prob confused you a bit
Still haven't found a modern series that can match the world that Feist created. It is a shame that it is passed over so much.
I would add to that...The Belgariad series by David Eddings, The rift war saga by Raymond Feist, and The Magic of Recluse by L.E. Modesitte Jr..
i agree, it seems a lot of the great series and books from the 80's are now forgotten, i also think unfinished series should not be on a list like this.
Agreed! I adore the spin off mara of the acoma , some of my fav books of all time!
I wonder if because it is from RUclips the list reflects the tastes of younger readers who might not be familiar with older works. Mising from the list are The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolf, the Nine Princes in Amber series by Rodger Zelazny and perhaps some others.
Sometimes you want to hear what someone hates so you know what will probably be good...
I'm always looking at the used book store for the Thieves' World series. A good representation of what fantasy literature was at the time of ttrpg development in the late 70s and early 80s.
Can't believe you put dandelion dynasty at that number. It's in the top 10 for me.
Love this list. Awesome job. Just wish Commonplace was available for Android phones.
Thank you! I appreciate it.
I believe Common Place will come to Android soon!
Our website is accessible to all, and we are working hard on making an android app available!
@@commonplace3546 ohh I'll definitely be installing it on my desktop. Thank you for your response.
Feist, Eddings, Salvatore, Brooks and Moon. My Mnt Rushmore
Do you do book reviews?