Beginner to Advanced Fantasy Books Sorted (All our favorites!) ft Daniel Greene 

“Brandon , go outside...” *Sanderson, holding a bottle of vitamin D tablets* “sunlight is for amateurs.”

This only makes me wish for a podcast with these two.

2019: Brandon, go outside 2020: Brandon, stay home.

Daniel: “Brandon, go outside!” Also Daniel: *New video every day

Merphy: I skip the song breaks... Do you read them?? Daniel: I read them, they are good poetry Me: .... I sing them... I thought that was what every one did

I still think it’s one of the greatest flexes in authorship ever that Tolkien wrote the LotR series because he thought the languages he invented as a linguist needed some background...😂 He basically created the greatest series of fantasy ever on a whim...

It's not a Daniel and Merphy crossover episode unless Daniel praises Wheel of Time and Merphy praises The Lies of Locke Lamora.

16:45 As Merphy was falling, she was like "The book, Daniel, save the book!", not knowing how Dan treats his own books.

Beginner 1:01 Mistborn 3:50 Warbreaker & Elantris 4:50 Good Omens 5:45 King Killer 6:45 Narnia 8:25 The ocean at the end of the lane 8:40 Duel of Fire Intermedite 9:10 Stormlight Archive 10:45 Gentleman Bastard 12:40 American Gods 14:00 Lord of the Rings 15:25 First Law 17:00 An Unkindness of Magicians 21:05 Lightbringer Advanced 18:25 The Wheel of Time 22:30 A Song of Ice and Fire 23:47 Broken Earth 24:25 Dark Tower 25:00 Witcher Actually, having read about half of these already, I don’t agree with this at all. Witcher is so easy to read through. Good omens as well. The stormlight archive I could barely put down. Lord of the Rings however really was a struggle. Both because of not being used to the writing style and because of already knowing the story too much to have this strong drive to find out what will happen next. Also the wheel of time is much easier to read than A song of ice and fire, but for both series I’m at book 5. Asoiaf b6 has been waiting on the shelf for almost a year and wot is an addicting I started not even two months ago that hooked me so much at the start of this year that I’ll finish the series before I know it.

"Brandon, go outside...", who needs sunlight when you have Stormlight?

The Mistborn series is one of the tighest I ever read. You get to the end of the last page in the third book and you feel as if the author knew exactly where he'd be and how he'd get there from page 1 of book 1. It just all came into play and you realize clues were laid out two books before for things that pay off in book three, and not in that "they threw a lot of mud at the wall early on so that they could make something pay off and look like a genius, even though a lot of things didn't pay off" way. It felt like every word had purpose and intent all the way through. It's impressive.

Merphy: Kingkiller is Daniel’s favourite right now. Wheel of Time: *Sad noises*

A goat person is either called a satyr or a faun. A satyr is the name they used in the Greek mythology while faun is from the Roman mythology. Yay to Rick Riordan for educating me about mythology😂😂

Levels of fantasy books based on reading difficulty: 1. Kid's first fantasy 2. Easy to get into 3. Intermediate 4. Advanced 5. Really advanced 6. What the hell is this???? 7. Please help me! 8. Why, oh god, why?!!! 9. I just can't anymore.... 10. Malazan book of the Fallen

I tend to think of LOTR as Advanced but this is because I was introduced to it with reading the silmarillion as book 1... I regret nothing...

I think reading the hobbit first in the LOTR series makes the books as a whole easier to read. I read the hobbit as a kid (which shows how easy it is to read/comprehend) and didn't read the rest of the series until high school after rereading the hobbit.

To get into Lord of the rings as a beginner, it might be better to read The Hobbit before the Trilogy.

"If you haven't read Lord of the Rings I think you're a bad person" I like him.

"Excited for book three" of the Kingkiller Chronicles. Oh sweet summer child..

The Malazan book of the fallen series is hands down the most complicated fantasy series ever written IMO :)

To me, Tolkein's writing style is pure magic itself. It one of my favorite things about the whole LOTR world!

"Sticking with out Sanderson theme-" *Picks up Harry Potter*

Malazan should be labeled “beyond advanced”

This was the first video I found on RU-vid of people talking about books. THIS is when I discovered booktube 2y ago and decided to read all the books on this list and follow you and Daniel. I've never looked back since. I watch both your videos religiously and have loved coming back to this first video of yours that I watched to reflect on how much you have both grown and encouraged my love of reading ❤️ I love you guys.

Be sure to check out the video we did together on Daniel's channel too! Also, if any of these books interested you, be sure to check out the links I left in the description! It took me a looooooong time to put them all there 😅

the two of you have SUCH a great dynamic filmimg together omg im disappointed i'm seeing this video a YEAR LATER and adore these recommendations!

Thank you for including Narnia. I feel a lot of people forget about one of the best series ever.

Reading WOT on a kindle makes it a lot easier. When I forget who a character is, I just click on then name and bam! I have everything I need to know

Daniel's face when you bring out The King Killer series lol!

This was amazing, so happy my favourite booktubers are collaborating with each other in person now! :D

I'm also standing up for Terry Pratchett here. I'm now at 28 out of >40 Discworld books and it just gets better with every book

Beginner: Hobb's Fitz nonology (Farseer trilogy, Tawny Man trilogy and Fitz and the Fool trilogy) In my opinion one of the finest fantasy series and certainly one suited to novice readers. The magic system isn't complicated, the politics aren't too dense and the main character is highly relatable. Since the series consists of three trilogies, it's not very daunting to start with. Intermediate: Jordan's WoT Lots of reading material with a plethora of names, extended plot lines and grand scale events. However, the number of *prominent* characters is somewhat limited, the magic system isn't too complicated and plot is easy to follow. Advanced: King's The Dark Tower Long, bizarre, even more bizarre and requires knowledge of King's other books to be fully appreciated. Luckily the number of characters is limited, the magic system is barely existent and the separate events in the story are fairly straightforward. Off the charts: Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen Long, half a million characters and plot lines, difficult to grasp, complicated magic/god system and did I mention there are a *KAJILLION* characters?

“Daniel posts videos 6 days a week, cuz he’s insane.” “Actually, it’s 7.” “Are you serious?!” Lolol

“Brandon, go outside.” That particular comment didn’t age well

She's just so damn cute. And he's Daniel. What a combo

So true about Sanderson . I consider myself an ‘average’ reader, when I picked up The Last Empire, man I flew that! It was just such an easy, believable read, I really enjoyed it. I got so hooked, I wanted to know more about the author’s other works, enter Stormlight Archive.

Notice the shelves at 10:49 when she says "... Is up there with Sanderson" - Oathbringer and WoR tumble as if they heard it

Personally I recommend Earthsea to everyone who wants to get into fantasy. The writing is beautiful!

Just started the final empire in the mistborn trilogy because of this video. I listened to the first chapter through audiobook from the library, but now I own the novel and am really enjoying the second chapter. I’m glad you guys suggested it for beginners, otherwise I would have waited ages before attempting something so highly regarded

The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin is a good beginner book. Set on a world with no connection to ours-- it's all small islands. Ged is a young man with magical talent-- magic comes from knowing true names. He makes one mistake early on, and spends the book dealing with it. There are dragons.

I didn’t know much about fantasy, but have read “Kingkiller” and “Gentleman Bastards”, before I got to Mistborn. I was in NY for a work trip, and stopped at a Barnes N Nobles. I saw Mistborn, picked it up, and it opened up my world to so many great stories! It led me to WOT and StormLight Archives (naturally). Best random pick up of my life!

This is the high quality friendship I need in my fantasy books.

Daniel, "That is a fact of life." Merphy, with a HUGE smile, "Disagree!" Love it!

Skiping the LOR songs is sacrilegious you must sing them out loud at full volume

I grew up reading Pratchett, love so many of his books.

The lack of Jim Butcher (Dresden in particular) is really perplexing. I cant think of a more accessible fantasy book series than that. Funny, dark, intriguing; filled with extremely well written heroes, anti heroes, and villains, Dresden Files is one of the most well-read and popular fantasy books series in the genre. The books are basically "pulp-fantasy noir" (although that steadily changes over time as Harrys decisions continuously haunt him years after he makes them). Sanderson, and Gaiman I get as recommendations--but Butchers work (3 separate series so far) are all great, if not phenomenal.

I’m sorely missing seeing Robin Hobb on this list!

Definitely should have included Malazan Book of the Fallen in Advanced, also think Tad Williams Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn would fit well in the Advanced category.

Perfect introduction in my opinion: Ranger's Apprentice

Malazan book of the fallen is amazing.. gets really good from book 3 onwards (although book 1 is still one of my favourites on the re-read). I also love Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy, fantasy at its best.

I also disagree, Narnia is absolutely amazing! I've probably read it more times than Harry Potter as a child.

You guys have great chemistry! You can tell that your good friends and bounce off each other well which makes the video really interesting to watch! Thank you for the list I'm really looking forward to checking some of these out and I'm glad you guys don't agree with everything because it gives different perspectives based on each book. Thank you again!

22:35 Actually it's " *A* Game of Thrones" Sorry

"His dark materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman is genious. Don't make the mistake of watching the movie-adaption of the first book, though. Awaiting the BBC/HBO series with terrified joy! :)

First law world was my start into fantasy. I have reread them several times. Definitely my favorites

Because of your video I started Mistborn and I have now completed all of the cosmere books..... in the past year... I NEED MORE!

I hear at Barnes and Nobles if you buy the first 2 Kingkiller books they give you the 3rd for free right then and there

I love these chill videos. You've both mentioned so many of these books before but I like how you explained why to read them in a casual way. Like anyone could connect to and like these books.

I feel like we need an updated list for the two of you!!! or even sic-fi!

The Witcher was my introduction into fantasy last year (if you don't count the childrens / YA books I read over 10 years ago). Really loved it and now I am enjoying other fantasy as well since the age of 25. Lot to catch up on :')

I started reading fantasy with ASOIF and then I got into Malazan ... I regret nothing , great reads , specially Malazan , I'm still reading into the Malazan world.

I'm surprised that David Eddings or Raymond E Feist didn't appear on the list as beginner fantasy. They were my gateway into Fantasy when I was a teen (and to a lesser degree was Piers Anthony, although his books have not aged well IMHO).

I am so glad you added The Dark Tower! Brilliant, epic, hardcore fantasy like you said 🙏

Daniel: “he writes like a madman…he writes like 4 books a year” oh how that aged well

Robin Hobb's three trilogies based on FitzChivalry and the Fool are excellent. In addition, Raymond E Feist's Riftwar series based on Pug and subsequent series are quite excellent too.

David Eddings is another who should be still counted among the great introductions to Fantasy. Especially if you've got young family members who you don't think are ready for more adult themes. I'm personally more partial to the Elenium and Tamuli series but I suspect the Belgariad and it's sequel Malloreon is the better place to start for a teenager looking to get into fantasy.

Love this vid! The chemistry between you two is amazing!

I was a casual reader for years until covid. Now 2 years later, I consume all spectrum of fantasy books. Finding your video now, in 2022, I will definitely read some of the recommendations. Especially since you'll listed The Witcher as advanced. I was just curious about it when the Netflix show was coming out. I apparently jumped off the deep end on that one. Lol. It was sooo frustrating at first with the time jumping but I got it. I did burn myself with the epic fantasy novels because of it and went down the road of a fairy tale retellings... and some fantasy smut. (Like I said I enjoy all spectrum of fantasy). Your video definitely inspired me to jump back into epic / complex tales again.

You shouldn’t skip the songs in LOTR! There’s a lot of history in them, and you get an insight into the cultures that produced them!

LOVE the Wheel of Time! Found book 5 for sale used and thought it looked interesting. Then realized it was a part 5... so got the first 4 and read 1-5. Then re-read 1-5 when 6 came out. Then re-read 1-6 when 7 came out, and so on and so on. Read the whole series at least 3 times through, and have skimmed the series at least another 5 or 6 times. So great.

The Dark Tower was actually how I discovered Stephen King. It's still one of my favorite book series :)

Tried The First Law series after this and loved it, my new favorite series alongside the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Currently trying to get into the Wheel of Time and look forward to seeing how it goes. Anyway, just came back to say thanks for the suggestions, have a good one!

Pausing the video at Narnia to pass my two cents: I kinda agree that it hasn't aged well in regards to what is currently on the market. However, I read the entire series, from beginning to end, to my fifth grade class two years ago. This class hated reading so much but they'd beg to bring their lunch to the classroom to hear more. I just had a former student from that class find me on IG and send me a message that he is going through the hardest time in his life right now, but he remembered Narnia and has reread the series and now wants more fantasy. I think it is an excellent door for children, even if it fails in comparison as an adult reader. WITH THE EXCEPTION of The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle. I think those two could team up and fight with some of the greats. :)

As an introduction to urban fantasy the Dresden files is great, because it mixes your standard poke detective novel with a dash of magic

You guys should read Realm of the Elderlings. I've read most of the books in your list and I can safely say that (besides LotR which gave me the fantasy hunger when I was young) the most memorable series I've read would be this. I tend to forget most things I read but somehow a lot of it has imprinted in my mind through the years. Amazing characters, huge world and an extreme emotional rollercoaster.

both of them got into one piece, it's spreading

"Christian fantasy" made me laugh, because even if it's...sorta....true, there are a bunch of Christians out there who have a lot of issues with Good Omens. think i'd call it religious satire?

The Witcher is for me probably the best fantasy book series. Characters are well developed, story is complex, there are very well narrative tricks used in story and many more.

I don't know why I took so long to watch this video. You're two of my favorite people on the internet

Need to add an expert category: Malazan Book of the Fallen. If you like dark gallows humor and soldier’s tragic camaraderie in the face of horror and trauma this will both make you laugh and punch you in the gut at times, sometimes both at the same time.

Only 5 minutes into this video so far but it's already a really fun one with great recommendations! I love that Daniel gushes about Good Omens for a hot sec because it's also one of my faves! And Neil Gaiman is a writing god in my opinion, I will always read and recommend his books! They're just so enjoyable

Advanced Level: Book of the New Sun. Probably one of the most complex fantasy series you can find

Thank you! For that!! I've been struggling with books that I find kind of difficult to follow, which would make a 50 page run extremely difficult for me and hence made me sway away from reading because I only seem to choose advanced english books, and your description isdetailed enough for me to know where to start now... I love both your channels, both of you have been extremely helpful to me, and I find myself enjoying your opinions although I've not read most of these books yet, lol. Peace!

Watching this after going through all of WOT on audible, and now I feel like I've been working this list backwards advanced to beginner.

Merphy, The Graveyard Book is brilliant. I read it and thought, "I will never be this good as a writer."

Such a good video ! Having both your different perspectives on books give such a more complete portrait of the recommendations and makes it so richer (and entertaining). 💕

I really loved watching this video! It convinced me to pick up Mistborn and even though I am only on chapter 2 I am already seriously hooked- I forsee a whole lot more of Sanderson and other Fantasy in my future reading :))

I've written a fantasy novel, that I'm querying for now. I hope to see you all discussing it (and its sequel) one day in the future. The short summary is below. 1824 Scotland - After losing his father, Lain’s love Adaira gets called into the sea by sirens. Shortly after, a fisherman tells that he hears Adaira in the water. While running the family apothecary shop, struggling with grief, and learning about sirens, kelpies, and the caoineag (the wailing woman), Lain discovers his violin has an effect on the creatures and thinks he may be able to bring his siren home. Maybe I'll come back and update when I've got an agent. I've had a full request, but not much else. Maybe I'll come back and update when I've got an agent. I've had a full request, but not much else. Unfortunately, the amount of agents accepting YA fantasy is much smaller than a lot of other genres. Seems contemporary, literary, and other commercial fiction are big on the list for many agents.

The fact that my two favourite booktubers are friends has me dYiNg I love you guys so much

I love the Broken Earth trilogy! I read the first book last summer, then I read books 2 & 3 earlier this year back to back. Each book flows seamlessly into the next so that it really just feels like one long novel. Highly recommend it. Best adult dystopian I've read and it'd be hard to top it.

Thanks Merphy and Daniel. Because of this video I am reading sufficiently advanced magic and I really like it. Whoever is reading this have a good day.

So I was just watching this casually. But I enjoy both of you and together it’s magic!

You two are a light hearted, buddy cop movie, waiting to happen! Thank you for your work!

This video got me into wheel of time. And I’m loving it!

The way of Kings has some of the best moments I have ever encountered in a book. Kaladin goes down as one of my all time favorite characters because of this. Still following the series so we'll have to wait and see if he stays as great of a character as we all want him to be.

The first time I read Lord of the Rings in my native language, I was ten years old and I think that version may have been condensed or simplified because I loved it. Then when I was 13, I read it in English. And my English was not good at all at the time. The old style description of scenery nearly did me in but I was just stubborn enough to struggle through it although I didn't enjoy it at all. I learned a lot - I had to keep a dictionary next to me while reading... re-reading it as an adult I did enjoy it, though I can see how people would not love the trilogy.

Ever since I got into BookTube, I've noticed how highly praised Brandon Sanderson has been. Will try to read the Mistborn trilogy next year, hopefully!

Awesome list. Subscribed. I’ve read most of these and agree with the list with ONE big exception. I’m on book 6 of Malazan Book of the Fallen series. It absolutely deserves a spot on any list, especially if we are setting aside a category for difficult or advanced books. Series has everything: best magic system I’ve read, amazing plot, great characters, etc. My mind is blown book after book, and after careful research, I know enough to know the final entry stuck the landing.

I usually read Horror stories and novels but found both of your analyses of the Fantasy genre interesting and now I'm wanting to start reading some.

why is no one talking about merph falling off the chair xD