Hi bookworms! I know a video like this will get some folks heated, but as always these are only my opinion and some things that just weren't working from me. It definitely isn't meant as a slander for some of your favorite series. Thanks for watching!
It's been years, but Rise of Endymion was for a very long time my favorite book ever. Endymion is jarring because it jumps in time so much, but the forth book really brings everything together very well. There's just no one else like Dan Simmons in sci-fi, it's such a small part of his bibliography, but he really shines in the genre. Give the Endymion duology a chance.
Loved ilium and olympos as well. Sci fi without real humans, it's great. And the reference and homage to great classic writers and poets in his books is great.
Endymion hits like a truck at the end. Gave the finality I needed for the series. Love that Dan Simmons world. But all good Mike still got love for you lol. We still got the First Law in common! :D
Mike don’t walk away from Endymion!!!! The final book is HUGE! It sums it all up. If you don’t finish it you won’t truly understand Hyperion either. The final book is key to it all!
Time of Contempt actually explodes into action about halfway through. I highly recommend that you give it another chance….if you can. Otherwise I understand why you stopped because it was a bit of a slow burn there in the first half.
I stopped with the books basically after Geralt reunited with Ciri and Yennifer because after that, it ground to a halt to give you pages and pages and pages of boring political narration that I just couldn't get through
@@michaelc1626 Yeah to be honest, tower of the swallow and lady of the lake were my least favorite books out of the entire series for that very reason. Those two books had a lot of chapters that felt like more of a filler with boring history lessons and conversations about politics. But I still enjoyed the series as a whole because of how good the previous books were (at least to me).
You should go back to the Hyperion Cantos. The Endymion duology is very different from the first two in the series, but it's just as intelligent a read and just as intriguing. And these books answer a lot of the questions you didn't know you had reading the beginning. Don't worry about the Shrike, it's not like he starts patrolling the streets looking for Kids to save. It's more of why he was created in the first place.
Not finishing Endymion is a mistake, imo. Those are great, creative books. But I loved The Fall of Hyperion. Which is still different from Endymion anyway.
I always love these types of videos. I don't think it's necessary to agree on every book/series, like *at all*, because I like some of these series; but it's strangely validating when someone dislikes the same books as me (Shadow and Bone). 😆
I loved Endymion, but I’m not sure I would recommend it for you Mike because the series moves further away from what Hyperion was, and I know you preferred Hyperion to The Fall of Hyperion.
I want to like Kingkiller Chronicles so much because I appreciate what it's going for, but I'm struggling to finish book two because it just feels like not a lot is happening for the amount of text I'm reading. It has a few high points, but the lows are *low*.
I felt the same way about Thrawn, I was spending credits on them from audible. The reader Mark Thompson is excellent and I think I made it through the second book, and just stopped listening. I didn't really decide not to listen to the third book, I just did not have the urge to continue... Too bad because the older books (Heir to the Empire... etc) were so good.
The witcher isnt my favourite book series but Id definetely say its worth finishing if youve already finished Blood of Elves, because its half way through time of contempt that things really start getting interesting and Baptism of Fire is tied for my favourite in the series. I will admit they then slow down again until halfway through the last book but remember these are still pretty short books so its not a challenge to get through.
I like Poppy War but I was always kinda surprised you did haha. I think the problem with the New Star Wars canon books, including the Thrawn ones, is that it feels like nothing big is allowed to happen in them so they don't confuse people who watch the movies and the shows. You will never get the moments and the character growth you got in EU in them, so it gets a bit like, why am I bothering?
Almost DNF Mistborn era 2. The stakes didn’t feel high enough to be invested. I wish I had stuck with the original trilogy, taking a break now from Sanderson because it was such a bummer
Right now, I'm working on The Dark Tower. So far so good. I've had yet to finish Red Rising, and not really excited about that. I DNF'd the Wheel of Time.
I dnfd the Wheel of Time back when they were releasing i recently tried rereading the series and i don't thing i am going to get past book four. At this point i am okay with that.
Endymion feels very much inspired by Simmons seeing T2 or something. There's even a more advanced new evil Shrike to go with the Shrike being good now. Also has a chapter that's like 15 pages of the mechanics of how climbing gear works for no apparent reason. My main reaction was "Huh?" really more than good or bad. I do however think the short story in his collection that's an epilogue to all of it is pretty good.
I've been grieving for months since you've decided to hang up the Hyperion Cantos hat, but I'm glad it didn't get the official 🪓 chop. Not so much because of how much I, myself, enjoyed it, but because Endymion is a book that I feel that you would enjoy. This is a perfect character book, and to give up would be to never know Aenea, Raul Endymion, A. Bettik, and their experience with Consul' Ship.
@@arte0021 I enjoyed Endymion moreso than Rise of, but still had a blast with both. In fact I thought the ending in Rise of Endymion was a bit emotional, and was such a great way to wrap up the series. But even still, it just shows how divisive the series can be for folks. I can see why people wouldn't like it. The futuristic Christianity, for example, can be a bit much
@@alynam82 the Christianity wasnt really a problem for me. It was the main characters, Aenea especially . She reminded me a lot of these hippie new age spiritual gurus that i cant stand. Though at least i got some satisfaction when she was horribly killed at the end😂😂.The book just has a very cult- ish feel to it after they arrive on the Buddhist planet. I just hated the main characters so much that i started rooting for the religious bad guys even though im anti religious. Also at the end the whole concept of privacy was basically destroyed since people could read each others thoughts now. Didnt make much sense why thats a good thing. The book actually was good at first but really went downhill after the female robot thing was destroyed. a huge shame considering that the Hyperion duology were actually some of my favorite sci fi.
Off topic of the vid but ty for getting into Drizzt my man! Motivated me to pick up some of those I haven't read. Currently reading Timeless and I'm loving it
Emperor of Thorns was actually the best one of the trilogy for me, with book 2 the least best. I wanted to know what actually happened in that world, can they fix it. I was not disappointed by that, but that was more important than the characters or their likeness.
Probably Dresden Files for me. 4 books in and haven’t disliked any but there’s 17 more books. Just can’t commit to that when there’s so many other things I’m more excited about
Me too, but I made it through book 7 because people kept telling me it gets better. I don't like the main character and my dislike for him ruins it for me.
@@susiebolt4021 The Dresden Files is my favorite series but I totally understand not continuing a series when you don't like the main character. Have you tried any of Butchers other series?
I agree with you on Endymion and I'm not very eager to add the Broken Earth and the Poppy war books to my tbr after hearing yours and some other booktubers thoughts. I finished the Inheritance cycle, the Lock Lamora and the Lighbringer series and liked them all quite a lot. One of the series I might not continue with is a Darker shade of magic
I put aside "the restaurant at the end of the universe" to watch you. I'm glad i did. I agree on the Bobiverse series, I'm glad I read "bob" but there wasn't enough there to continue. I picked up a copy of "the Heritage of Shannara" for 4e last week but fear it will not be read. I recently finished the Expanse which I read back to back. This was a mistake as the format became annoying and ruined an otherwise good series. Keep up the good work.
I have a hard time DNFing things but one that comes to my mind as something that I don't think I'll ever finish is His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. I don't know if it's an age thing but I found Lyra to be so annoying I literally haven't been able to get past the 70% mark of The Golden Compass. I really wanted to like the series cause people speak very highly of it but it just didn't click for me. Maybe later on? Who knows haha. I also didn't go past the first book in The Broken Empire, I just really didn't care what happened to anyone in that series so my attention wandered more often than not. It also felt like the first book closed good enough for me so I left it there.
Only series I can think of off top of my head for sure will likely never finish is The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Like the tv adaption, True Blood. I don't see myself ever finishing them. The Tarl Cabot Saga/The Counter-Earth Chronicles/Books of Gor was something I never thought I could complete but the age of e-books has made it possible. I am finding though actual story is lacking with a old school comic book like approach of seeming to treat every book like it could be someone's first read. The same repeated world building is a constant and understandable with how books were kept in print but when you have just over 200 pages it doesn't allow much else to happen. The e-books always seem to go on sale though and work good as taking a break from other things so maybe will get through the 20 something books I have yet to read. They are popcorn books so if I finish it I finish it.
The first few Sookie Stackhouse books were fun. Harris said she always knew how the books would end. But the problem is that she didn't really make it believable for many, many fans. I found the last few books tired and definitely thought the last book was awful. I would have OK with the ending if she had set it up better, but she didn't. She's very dismissive of the wrath that followed that book's release, but they have legit complaints. She's a good mystery writer. I don't know what happened with that fantasy series, but it ended with a whimper for sure.
Very interesting video. You should try to find alternatives for Demon Cycle, a series with scary demons in them. As many of your viewers are also horror readers they may be interested in spooky fantasy series
I can see your points on many of these series, many I have fought through to finish, and some as well, such as the Bobiverse, just couldn't begin book 2. I read Brett series through, and should have been shortened to three books, may have worked. I have the Weeks series complete in hardcover and still have not made the plunge, now I wonder if i ever will? I read the Simmons books years ago, and can say that the second duology does not even get close to Hyperion and the Fall of Hyperion.
The Demon Cycle was the same for me. The first book was awesome, the second was still okay.. but the third.. nope. I didn't finish this but still started reading book 4 and it didn't do it so I just gave up on this series. Let me tell you something: I had a lot of series on pause for looong times. I thought I would never finish some series cause one or two books didn't do it.. But with some series I someday felt the urge to reread the first few books I actually enjoyed and then I just read thw whole series. That is what happened with Throne of Glass. I liked the first 4 books, book 5 was awful for me.. I stopped reading the series. I read the first 4 books 4 times by now and actually will finish the series very soon, only a few pages left. I enjoyed the rest of the series. If it's a book right in the middle I can often push trough, if it's multiple bad books in a row or the second one was really really bad and there's only a third... no I won't finish this. The Witcher is a great series! I needed a long time to read the whole thing. After book two of the main saga I was feeling a little meh and didn't read the series for almost two years.. But I finished it and man, this really is a great series. I enjoy Geralt as a character soo much, but my favorite is the bard whose English name still won't stay in my head. 😅
curious what vampire chronicles book lost you. the first three, obviously, are awesome. i really enjoyed tale of the body thief and parts of memnoch the devil, and then the actual plot ending of that one felt like something you don't continue after. so, it made sense that when she wrote more vampire books--i think the next ones were armand and pandora--they were set in the past, and i couldn't even be bothered to start them.
I love the bobiverse the last book wasn't the best but still enjoy it. Maybe because I listened to the audiobook. I've tried to finish the demon cycle twice I love the first 2 books but I can't carry on after book 3 or 4
Hah Mike, oh no, the first two series you mentioned are BOTH on my shelves and on the schedule for next year 😅 I feel like I will love the first book so at least there's that... I like the Poppy War but I do think that the series goes slowly downhill so if you start disliking it, I think it's best to not continue. I don't like Mistborn Era 2 but I have a complete opposite opinion than you haha, I liked each next book in the series just a liiiiittle bit more than the last one, which is why I will be reading the final book. I think I'll just think it's fine but at this point I want closure.
I had the same reaction to Hyperion. The second book I did genuinely enjoy, but I put the first one on SUCH a pedestal it's hard to envision reading the third. Really too bad.
Hyperion is probably my most read book. I've read it countless times. And The audiobook is the best produced book I've ever heard. I can listen to the poet's tale over and over. The voice actors are amazing. And the writing is insanely good. Not a single excess word, it all has meaning But you'll miss out a lot by not finishing Endymion as well
I feel the exact same way for Mistborn Era 2 and The Vampire Chronicles. I was so disappointed when I heard he was writing a fourth Era 2 novel because I barely made it through those three in the first place. The Vampire Chronicles...whew. I made it either 8 or 10 books in and just had to quit. I got so annoyed with all the whining! As for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, I felt the last 2 books didn't live up to the first, but I still enjoyed them. After reading the fourth book where I think a family member continued from his notes I decided that I just didn't want to continue. The first book was amazing though!
I am in my early 40s and i know lifes too short to force myself to finish something i am nir grooving with. On the other hand i will give authors a second chance if they come out with another series ie not a fan of Malice but i am really enjoying Shadow of the Gods.
Shannara was one of my intros into fantasy, and there was a time as a young teen I would have said Sword of Shannara was my favorite book...but I fell off it maybe early 2000s around the time he started linking his two series' together with books like Armageddon's Children (which I remember thinking was really cool)...I went back a few years ago and re-read the original trilogy and man, I know it's common to say Sword is derivative of LoTR but in my view it's a downright ripoff, same character analogs, same plot beats and setpieces...that being said it gets much better after that, but it's just a series I feel like I've aged out of, and there's no going back for me. One thing that happened to me reading it as an adult though...when I was a kid, it took me...6-7 books to realize that Brooks' world was meant to be Earth in the far far far far etc future...and coming back to it older, it was so damn obvious in book one, I must have been blind lol
Hmmm, I got to the last book in Malazan and every day I'm more and more certain I won't finish it. I mean it's been about a year since I put it down, if I still have no desire to come back, what are the odds that'll change.
I agree with a lot of that. I did finish emperor of thorns and I did like the way it ended. But it was an mnight ending. Quite liked the next two books in the gentleman bastards. Tarantino is definitely what he was going for and I think achieved. The first one is thieves, the second one is pirates and the third one is politics. He's going up the line of Crooks. I think that would make a really good anime. Meanwhile I think Tarantino is the perfect director/producer for the first law. I love to read and I don't care if anything is actually finished. Journey before destination. So I love web serials. Wandering inn. He who fights with monsters. And I don't know what happened to Chaos Seeds - but when it comes back I'll be there.
I agree with many of these, but I'm surprised about Millenium. For me, the books kept getting better and better. Book 1 did feel a bit like a standalone, though. I'll be interested to see if Cradle gets added to this list. I bailed on that pretty early.
The novel "Thrawn" was amazing! The other new Thrawn novels werent as good as it however. Kingkiller is amazing! Gentlemen Bastard Sequence is amazing! Red Seas Under Red Skies and Republic of Theieves weren't quite as great as Lies of Locke Lamora, but they were still great. it's a great trilogy even if Scott Lynch doesn't continue the series.
Halfway through Lightbringer book 1 right now, and while I'm enjoying it, I think I have other books on my shelf I'd rather read than continue at this time. I have absolutely ZERO desire to continue with the Dune series after reading book 1. Mistborn Era 2 was (to me) a fun ride and I'm looking forward to book 7. But I also tend to love anything Sanderson puts out.
I don’t know if I’ll finish The Dresden Files. I’ve read through Dead Beat and don’t have the desire to continue. I’m keeping all of my copies just in case I get the itch to go back.
For Mistborn Era 2 Im kinda split. I loved Alloy of Law cause of the interesting villains and new concepts. Shadows of Self was fine but just drawn out. I havent gotten to Bands of Mourning yet cause I put it off due to lacking interest behind other stuff but I still think Ill finish them when Lost Metal is out unless that one absolutely bombs.
I watched the live stream but forgot to post my comment/question. Did you enjoy Breaking Bad? I ask because I thought of it when you were talking about The Poppy War and saying you have trouble with an unlikeable protagonist. Because I hated Walter White but loved that show. Just curious! And I’m starting Poppy War in a few weeks and you have me a little nervous lol
Fair enough with era 2 Mistborn. It's not for everyone, despite the fact I like it. You're absolutely right with Wax being boring. I like the side characters a lot more.
I'm going to be re reading the Witcher next year after I finish wheel of time. I stopped on book 4 because I HATED the politics. So. Boring. And there's a part in book 4 where there's like a 30 page stretch of just politics and I just COULDNT anymore lol
I know I will probably get lit on fire in the street for saying this (especially here :P) but I just don't see myself finishing First Law. I read the first book and while I thought the character work was pretty interesting, I just didn't get all the hype. And I've heard that it's all just set up and all and that the next book takes off, but I just have no interest in going on.
I almost never DNF a book or series. I tend to finish them once I start. But I did DNF Terry Brooks after 6 or 7 many years ago even though at the time I did enjoy the first few. I DNF the dresden files like 15 years ago. But ended up starting them over earlier this year and read everyone in a few months. There are a few other series that I haven't finished yet like (The Runelords and the third Farseer trilogy) but I have copies of the rest of the series and will get to them. There have just been other books Ive wanted to finish first. I read the Broken Empire Trilogy a while back my self and it wasn't my favorite the main character was just a little to insane. I end up deciding to read the Red Queens War anyway because I had heard that the characters were a little more easy to like. I'm in the middle of the second book now and can say that I like it more. The characters well still not nice upstanding people are a bit easy to like and no we're near as cruel. I have liked Mark Lawrence books enough so far that I will probably end up reading the rest of them.
I will say this about the Witcher too. There were a few points were I had to just power my way threw part of a book but in the end I was very glad I did as a whole it is one of my favorite series. Maybe not in my top ten but close. At the moment I have the Tower of Babel as any unfinished series. I will probably end up finishing it at some point just to finish it but I just haven't had the interest to start the second book yet. It not that I didn't like Senlin Ascends I thought it was ok. I think maybe the hype I had heard are the series. Had me expecting more so I end up a little bit disappointed. I felt that it was a little bit slow at points but the ending I thought was really good. It just took me a long time to finish the book when I normally read a book that size in under 10 days it took me almost a month to push threw it.
Oh damn, I thought I was on the only one who couldn't handle the Gentlemen Bastards, the first book was okay, but I had to force myself to finish the next two. (Don't ask why, I think I read them because I bought them all at once.) All of the books follow the same formula, and although I read books 2 and 3, I can't bring myself to go any further. I read Brent Weeks first book, but I'm not sure I want to go any further. The main protagonist bothers me. And, I'm sorry - I tried to read Malazan with you, but I made it half way through the second book... Don't know if I'll be able to go any further.
I gave up on the Witcher as well. I love bobiverse but I think that's an audio book series (better on audio) which isnt your thing. You're right that there is no point pushing through on a series that isn't fun. Did you read Brandon Sanderson's secret history?
Hi Mike, I read Blood Of Elves in the Witcher Series and thought it was the most boring book I'd read in years. A real shame as I had high hopes. Also a bummer as I'd bought the next 2 books in the series at the same time. (I can't ever see me reading them). As a side note I read the Hunger Games trilogy just to see if the books would be better than the films (as is usually the case) and boy was that a big disappointment. Have you ever finished a series of books and wished you hadn't bothered? (Maybe an idea for a video?)
@@mikesbookreviews I read them all. I wanted them to be great. There seemed so much potential.... but looking back it was the potential that kept me reading, and the lack of living up to most of it that made me feel empty at the end.
You echoed my opinions on Lies of Locke Lamora. It was just okay. And that’s fine. Not a revelation, to me, like the fantasy corner of the internet would have you believe
I think I love you! So many series in common! I thought it was just me - I hated books 2 and 3 of Locke Lamora, Brett Weeks can write 1 good book but NOT a series. Kingkiller - yeuch, hated Kvothe. Terry Brooks books are awful, I read 2 and it nearly put me off fantasy forever!
I quit Wheel of Time after book 4 because I couldn’t take anymore of Nynaeve. If it was only 1 or 2 books left I’d finish but I’m not reading 10 more books of her bs. And no, I don’t care if she changes later in the series
Yup, both Lightbringer and Demoncycle started brilliant! Shame. Not touching Rothfuss or Lamora till they are finished. Same goes for GRRM. Thought Endymion was excellent. Think the "divisiveness" comes from the fact that it focuses on different people than the first book? Unsure.
I love Gentleman Bastards and enjoyed The Poppy War. I agree with you on Demon Cycle and The Witcher ( I DNF'd them as well). I also DNF'd The Book of the Ancestor, Dresden Files, and The Green Bone Sage (don't get the hype).
Dresden I don’t think has a lot of hype to be honest. It sells but I don’t think like crazy. I love it because that’s what got me into fantasy and reading in general
I also don't care for the characters in Mark Lawrence's universe there just seemed to be no growth which is fine but don't complain about the same thing for 600 pages!
I'm not a lover of fantasy so most of the series you mentioned I wouldn't be interested in reading. I do agree with you on the Hyperion Cantos series of books. I made it through Fall of Hyperion and probably will never get around to reading the Endymion series. For me the series of books around The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin I will never finish. I slogged through the first book and that was enough for me.
I'm trying to find the video you mentioned you're unsure if you'd be continuing with Stormlight Archive. I'm over halfway through Words of Radiance and still enjoying it (I'm not a massive Sanderson fan fyi) but I can see myself finishing all the books in the future. Are you still unsure about them? I was hoping you'd mention it again here.
Poppy Wars terrible, I bought the full trilogy based off positive online reviews but realized very quickly in book 1 that I couldn't stand it. Bobiverse gets worse the further you get into it, I finished book 4 and promised myself no more. Book 4 felt like it took the worst aspects of the other books and stuffed it into one book it was just unbearably dull.
series ill probably never finish: 1: malazan tried it twice now , just can't get passed book 2 , think it just isn't for me. 2: and i think youl be disapointed in me but: Wheel of time , first time i read the series was in my teens bought everybook when it came out but after book 6 i think was feeling it less and less,stuck around till book 8 and tried again when you read it for the channel but got stuck @book6.just to much filler, time what characters that i don't liked or was interested in.
Oh man i loved the millennium trilogy, however book 4 was meh I tried 5 and it just killed it for me stieg was the much better author and he understood so much more than the new guy that’s picked it up.
I'm tired of series in general. It's such a pain to get invested in a world/characters and then get burned a few books in for whatever reason. Maybe I'm just old and don't want to invest so much time when there are other books I want to get to as well. Why can't authors write standalones? Or at least switch it up once in a while? Do publishers these days always require series? Is it solely about the money? I have no idea. I don't know if you've done a standalone recommendation video or if someone else has done one, but that would be helpful. I can't be the only one burned out here.
Interesting, I'm the opposite. Never read standalons only series, the longer the better :). Probably same season I don't watch movies but love to binge tv shows.
There are so many series out there that are incomplete that it has eroded my love for them. Looking at you George and Scott. I walked away from fantasy for so long that it almost impossible to get back into it.
Yeah it's tough. There are no series I have willingly quit at this point. It's just the commitment that is the problem. Even the classic series I haven't managed to complete quite yet. Problem with me is that I try to mix it up rather than reading an entire series in one go. So I intend to go back to a series, but it can take months or years while I'm off starting new series or reading standalones.
OMG! I felt I was too old for The Inheritance series, and I wanted to love it for years! Just kept trying and it never clicked for me. True, I am 55. However, I love other young fantasy series, but this (sadly) didn’t catch me.💕💕
I read the entire Witcher series like 4 times now. Those books are such a great mix of medieval politics, interesting creatures and lore and fantastically grey characters! Time of Contempt IS indeed the slower book. It ramps way up after that. Give it a chance. It’s so good.
I read the first one and loved it. But the second one has parts that have made me repeatedly put it down. Specifically the relationship parts with yennefer. To me that stuff just drags everything to a halt and seems to be written so much worse than the rest of the book. I wish we could juat be done with that stuff and just keep the rest. I'm crossing my fingers that it finishes strong and the 3rd book is better.
I made the grievous error of continuing Dune past the Frank Herbert books. I'm may go and do Sandworms of Dune to finish it off at some point...but I sort of doubt it.
Oh no. I am about to start Hunters of Dune soon because I want to see this whole thing end. Especially because I didn't even like Frank Herbert's last two books so I am hoping maybe I will like Hunters/Sandworms more than others.
I just finished Mistborn Era 2 today and its my favourite bit of the cosmere so far (I havent read Stormlight yet but have read everything else)... But I also really love Elantris so our tastes when it comes to the Cosmere are the completely opposite hahaha
Finally, someone else who agrees with me that the Era 2 stuff is fav I’m reading Way of Kings at the moment and while it’s really good, I just love the cowboy western setting of Era 2 and the fun shinanigans. Need to read the 3rd book, saving it for a rainy day at the moment. But I can’t get enough of the cast of Wax & Wayne.
