I love a Durfee list. I love that you include nostalgia reads like Dragonlance. I love that you appreciate 'older' books, but also throw exciting new finds in (Neither a curmudgeon who thinks it was better 'back in the day', nor someone who thinks old means outdated/passe.) And, I love how many female fantasy authors show up on your lists. The depth of your reading knowledge is always impressive. And, considering how many of my favorite things show up here (Dragonlance, Hobb, Feist, Eddings, CS Friedman, Tolkein), I'm looking forward to finding more great books in your recs!
100% agreed. I'm a bit flabbergasted at some of the ranking choices (like Silverthorn above The Dragon Reborn or Robin Hobb's books for example), but i just love the breadth of the top 100 and the variety of authors and books.
Should maybe put one or two of the qualifiers in the title, like 100 Greatest "High" Fantasy Novels or whatever term(s) the kids are using these days ;)
@@Rhand007, why flabbergasted? He's not creating some definitive best of all time list, it's a personal love/like list. We all have different tastes, and sometimes our preferences don't line up with what might be "better' from a literary merit or popularity or sales perspective. FWIW, Silverthorn definitely beats The Dragon Reborn on ANY list! 😉
I’ve watched A LOT of top fantasy lists from all the RU-vidrs…you’re one of the only ones I trust due to your true passion, study, and knowledge of this genre! Ty for all you do 💕 You’re also the first person I’ve heard recommend David B Coe!
The excitement this man feels makes his entire body vibrate with pure joy as he shows off book after book. I love this dude. Makes me feel so happy to be a fantasy fan. Thank you man.
David Eddings "The Belgariad" and "The Mallorean" series are among my favourite fantasy novels, as is Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series, (I was hooked from book one: "Wizard's First Rule") and both Jennifer Roberson's "Tiger and Del" and "The Chronicles of Cheysuli" series.
Best fantasy book list on RU-vid thank you, I will reference this for years to come. Also can’t wait to read your books !! You deserve more subscribers for all the work you put into these video 🤘🏻
I highly recommend to read Durfs trilogy as soon as you can! His and Michael r fletchers Manifest Delusions trilogy are my favorite reads in past 2 years 👍👍👍
I really appreciate your channel. You've turned me on to so many authors I never would have read and even different genres ( who knew I'd like westerns). I always check out your channel before I go book shopping
You got a lot of gold here, I personally just started reading books about a couple months ago. I can;t wait to dive into your list, but who knows when that is going to be as I already got a huge back log of stuff I wanna read. Thanks for the list :)
I started reading fanasty in 2018 and I have yet to know of or read a Tad Williams book. Your enthusiasm definitely put him high on to my must read list and I am excited to dive into his work.
Hey another great video. I’ve been watching a lot of your stuff recently and have discovered some great books that I never would have found on my own, just wanted to say thanks and keep up the good work.
Thank you for all these recommendations! I am getting back into reading and fantasy has always been my favorite. While my back account does not thank you, I really appreciate you suggesting such a wide variety of novels and series!
This was so entertaining to watch! He hit all the major authors and series for sure!! I need to check out his books as well. Keep up the great videos! ❤😁😊
Great list and nice to see the silmarilian on it. I actually think it’s better enjoyed as an audiobook - it somehow makes all the names and places less confusing which allows the beautiful stories to come through.
Great video with an amazing collection of many types and styles of epic fantasy through the last 4 decades (plus some 70s and Tolkien of course). But what really messed me up was that pile on the floor at the end of the video. For 25 mins I watched those gorgeous hardcovers and other rare books flash on my screen and make me jealous... and then I see them all on the floor on top of each other! Whaaaat! I don't know how to feel about that really. It will push us to our limits but I think we (might, just might) still love you after this... :D
Love the list, also love all the paperbacks. I have a thing for those yellow pages, those frayed spines and those flimsy covers packing beautiful retro fantasy illustrations.
Loved the video. Awesome picks. I remember getting Sword of Shanara for my birthday and sitting outside reading it. I had finished reading Lord of the Rings and was thirsting for more fantasy. I had the trade paperback with the illustrations...so fun to read. I am looking forward to reading Tad Williams!
Enjoyed the video thanks for making it 😊 I have a worn pb copy of The Dragonbone Chair that I picked up at a charity shop last week. Thanks to you I'm reading it next right after I finish Needful Things. I've also never read Tad Williams before.....
Great list so far (still listening). I can't escape childhood nostalgia so Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, and Michael Moorcock will always top my list, but there's a lot on your's that I hope to get around to. I don't know how you keep up the insane output. Cheers
My first time watching one of your videos. You have SO MANY MORE female fantasy writers on your list than other book tubers. Although, I guess I'd have to admit I've never seen a list limited to sword/dragon/fantasy. I love your list! I've got lots of new (old) books to look for! Thanks so much for sharing!
so glad that Melanie Rawn gets some love. She's underrated and it seems that most book tubers these days haven't even read her stuff. what a shame. Also wanted to say that Dragonlance and Shanara probably launched my love of fantasy as a teenager in the late 80s.
unfortunately, most booktubers will only read what will give them clicks and engagement so they stick to modern popular fantasy. It sucks because there are decades of great fantasy novels being forgotten as a result. I get it though. Trying to make money doing booktube requires such things.
I would rank Lord Fouls Bane as #1 but that’s mainly due to nostalgia from reading it as a teenager. Have read many on your list and have many on my to read list based on your recommendations. I would definitely include Forgetting Moon in my top 100! Looking forward to reading your other 2.
Really good list Brian! You are well-versed in many of the ‘classic’ titles and authors (Rawn, Kay, Brooks, Goodkind, etc.) that most of your BT contemporaries tend to overlook… I think I just called both of us old 😅 Tad is the best, especially MS&T. Yes! Here’s a few that would slip into my list: Mists of Avalon (MZ Bradley), Heir of Fire (Book 3 of Throne of Glass by SJ Maas) and Malice (J Gwynne’s debut)… all 5* reads for me. Your Pile of Fame shot at the end earned a grimdark chuckle… oh how the pressures of Booktubing can cause such neglect and abuse! 😮😂
This list brought back memories, several of the books I have read, reminding me of when I use to go from book shop to book shop looking for the latest fantasy books. Many of the covers familiar to me. Every week I would read the Amazon reviews. My obsession has waned, the changing moral landscape cooling my ardor but you did peak my interest in Dennis L McKiernan. Thank's for the videos.
GREAT to see some love for the Melanie Rawn Dragon Prince books! After Tolkien, they were my second foray into fantasy and when I was young and I've always loved them.
This is good list. I haven't heard of many of the books on the list, even #1, but I'm always looking for recommendations. I love the Wheel of Time, Way if Kings, and Farseer Trilogy (I think there are 3 trilogies in it)! It looks like I have a lot more series to delve into. 😮
I wish I had the time to read and rank 100 fantasy novels (as I watch a 1000 RU-vid fantasy ranking videos 😂) Love this man, thank you ! So many new recs to try!!
I’m currently reading The Dragonbone Chair and am LOVING it! So to hear you say To Green Angel Tower is the best epic fantasy book ever written in your opinion has me so amped to continue the story. Great list!
100 epic fantasy novels, wow! I have read your complete trilogy and it would most definitely make my top 10 epic fantasy series. I don't see the Gwynne comparison personally, for me I see the analogies to ASOIAF and Shadowmarch (especially the epigraphs which I am rather fond of). And it makes sense that I think when you did a top 40 video earlier ASOIAF and MS&T were #3 and #2 respectively. You put Tolkien at #12, #8, #3 aww. 🥺 For me Tolkien is #1 always. 😄 It's close enough to the previous one, JRR Tolkien, Martin and Williams in top 3 still. Great video.
Brilliant! You have all my favourite authors in there plus some I’ve never heard of and have put on my ‘must read’ list. Just what I wanted. Thankyou!👌. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is my all time favourite as, indeed, are the movies of the same name my favourite films. They were the first epic fantasy books I read back in the early 1960’s. (I suspect I’m a fair bit older than you LoL)
Great that you’ve included so many older books which don’t get a lot of attention on booktube. Dragonlance was also my first foray into fantasy. Surprised that none of the Narnia books made the cut though 🤔
Literally yesterday was thinking i wanted some good older fantasy recommendations. Back to the simpler stories where it was a little more black and white, good vs evil. I'm sure many on your list fit the bill. Also, i loved your trilogy. Saw you at Dragonsteel 2022. Thanks for being awesome.
Great list. Here's my critique. Best Anne McCafrey book, hands down, is the first in that Pern series, Dragonflight. I did read the whole series until her son took over. I thought you might not be into absurdist fantasy, but you did have Aspirin on your list. Given that, I would have expected a nod to Terry Pratchett and some Piers Anthony. The Xanth series got me into reading in high school in the 80's. I don't read grim dark unless my favorite series, Mistborn counts so I have more room. 3 notable absent titles that I would have put in as well: A Wrinkle in Time, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelansky. I give you props for high rankings for both McCafrey and Brooks, widely forgotten or underrated in the booktube community.
Good to see that Coe novel on the list. I bought all five of Winds of the Forelands a few months ago because I liked the covers. I might put it on my TBR list for 2024.
Im so happy that you included Brandon Sanderson in your list. I havent read that many epic fantasy books, besides Talkien's Lord of the Rings and Silmarillon . However the day I discovered Sanderson's books I started to fall in love with the genre.
So pleased to see CS Friedman make the list. She is so underappreciated. Also, one of my favorites that no one reads anymore: Mirror of her Dreams by Donaldson. Such a fun duology.
Really appreciate your listing, for reasons others have said -- shows a much wider range of fantasy (old and new) than many of the fantasy book-tubers, most of whom talk about the same set of books. Also have to give a shout out to your mention of CS Friedman since just the other day I was trying to remember the name of that series. I can't fault any list that puts "To Green Angel Tower" at the top - Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is still one of the best fantasy epics ever (can't wait for "The Navigator's Children" to drop later this month). I personally would have included less grimdark and more light/humorous fantasy (like Asprin's Myth series, Craig Shaw Gardner's books, or Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series), though I guess it's arguable if any of that counts as "epic". I also would have included JV Jones' "Sword of Shadows" and Rawn's "Exiles" series, even if they're unfinished
Thanks. This could have been a best fantasy series of all time list. What are your thoughts on game books? Lone Wolf series never gets mention. But I think it was unique enough in that it had a consistant narrative that followed a single main character across the span of 20 books. From the age of 15 to 50. All the while choosing to level his skills and attributes. The world building was very good. Unique beasts, races, languages. And geography was great too. Very different to the typical game books of Fighting Fantasy or Sorcery. Very young adult but truly got me locked into the Fantasy genre for life.
Is The Lonesome Crown coming to Kindle in UK?? Would appreciate a response, I want to start the series but not having the last of the series on Kindle is unfortunate 😔
# 96: :"Rules of Ascension" by David B. Coe...can we get a review on this??? There are almost NO REVIEWS on this book on RU-vid. I grabbed the whole series on a book haul but im not sure where to place it on my TBR list. If you like it, it must be good though.
