How’s fulfillment going for the Neon Ghosts Kickstarter? There hasn’t been an update in a few weeks and it looks like anyone can just buy a copy now. I still haven’t received any info shipping info for my order? Kind regards!
Just got the hardcover version of your beautiful book, here where the world ends, in Madeira Island, but maybe because of that, no 'Neon Ghosts: A Witch's Sin' Deluxe Foil Bookmark'.
I finished my first book after a yearslong dry spell yesterday and told myself "I should go back to reading fantasy but picking a new series is going to be difficult". Your timing couldn't be better 🙏
I just got out of a yearslong dry spell as well! I forgot how much I loved reading fantasy in high school and got back into it. Been collecting recommendations like crazy. Congrats on getting back into reading again! 😊
I returned to reading after a decade+ out and smashed the wheel of time 14.5 book epic) in 3 months 😂 If you liked the sound of the humour books then I read small gods from discworld and it was really good and works as a standalone Also recommend Piranesi and American Gods as standalones or Joe Abercrombie / Ken Liu for their series
@@Andrew-ss7jd I also did this, but it was an even longer break of 8 years rather than two. Ended up dropping it cause I was not ready. Have now just recently (a year later) gotten back into reading, starting with the lies of locke lamora and then mistborn. It really does matter where you start - I'm sure I will love Malazan if I go to read it now (which i plan to at some point) however it really just wasn't the right choice to jump back into fantasy for me.
@@themythosarchives7520 got my friend absolutely hooked on Sando by giving her that quote from Daniel. She has just finished the whole of the Mistborn series in under three weeks. I think she just might do it
Holy shit! You finally mentioned the Belgariad!! This was my re-introduction into fantasy, back in highschool when I decided to start reading again. I had listened to my father’s copies of the Zanth series by Piers Anthony back in middle school and knew I liked fantasy so when a friend put the Belgariad into my hands it was a perfect match. Super great recommendation for a newbie reader into fantasy. 10/10
Same, my HS girlfriend got me reading that, and still one of my favorite old-school fantasy reads (I'd only read the Shannara series before that)...Honestly, Belgariad is probably THE best series to start reading Fantasy with!
The Belgariad (and the follow up Mallorean) will always have a special place in my heart as it is the first fantasy series that I was able to read in its original language (English) instead of waiting FOREVER for the French (and more expensive) translation. I learned SO MUCH English during the last 35 years in good parts by reading Fantasy. Thanks Garion, Belgarath, Polgara & friends.🙂
Gotta work on step 3; problem is, I just get so distracted (hell, I can lose days on fanfiction sites alone!), and then I grab new books before finishing the old...my kindle is so full to bursting, I don't when I'm gonna make time to get through what I've stuffed it with!
Sir Pratchett as a whole is a great intro to fantasy with Discworld (worked for teenage me lol). He combines genuine love, talent and earnestness in delivering inventive, rich, whimsical fantasy characters and elements but with that absurdist edge that is more palatable to fresh readers unaccustomed to a lot of fantasy's loftier, sometimes daunting scope, lore-dumps and verbage
I wonder how Discworld stories land nowadays with younger readers who grew up in social/digital age (i.e. post-2000s), and esp. in a non-western country. Discworld relies heavily on an inherent understanding of a pre-internet, pre-smartphone (and, frankly, a mostly 70s/80s british) way of life that is humorously, mercilessly mocked, parodied and sometimes fondly reminisced on. And the discworld stories are great... but the point of view they require, especially the more city-focused works, is getting more and more distant as the years go by.
@@ElijsDima that's a fair and interesting point. Stuff like HEX at the Unseen University is certainly dated for Gen Alpha. I still think his work is expansive enough that there's something for everyone
@@stephennootens916 discworld is amazing. I have not read good omens but this world is highly regarded as one of the best fantasy works ever and certainly the best absurdist fantasy ever. Opinions obviously vary.
Saw a tweet about the way of kings a few weeks ago and it resparked my reading kick, havent read fantasy since the inheritance cycle in middle school and now im halfway through the cosmere
That was my gateway drug into the Cosmere as well. In a vacuum, I'd agree with Daniel about Mistborn being the safer point of entry to recommend, though.
@@akshayhere not exactly halfway but ive read sa, mistborn era 1, yumi, tress, warbreaker, elantris. Starting mistborn era 2 soon! When i read i get pretty sucked into the stories and fly through pages, also helped that im a uni student on break.
I swear that Daniel’s book premise readings (also referencing Fantasy News self pub promos here) are specifically calculated to test his viewers to see who likes his content enough to stick around. It’s a test, a trial, and some may not survive.
RU-vid started playing the video before I opened it, and without actually looking at it I thought that was a wall of funko pops behind you and was worried that was some subliminal message for help
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. The Belgariad was the series that hooked me on fantasy in the early 80s. I had already read Tolkien and liked it well enough but it was Eddings who drove me to the bookstore and library looking for more. Ironically one of those I found was Raymond E Fiest. Both authors are part of the core authors I read through the 80s, 90s and beyond in Fiest’s case. Both are excellent recommendations.
As a German (that probably taught herself to read at age 5 mainly to read fantasy): My first two books (that my mom gifted me when she noticed I could read) were "Die kleine Hexe" and "Das kleine Gespenst", both classic children's books by Ottfried Preußler. (They're still really cute to read as an adult though, a bit like The Little Prince.) What really got me sold on fantasy (and dragons) for good though was Cornelia Funke's Drachenreiter, I loved that book to pieces, and can recommend it to anyone who likes stories with a dragon companion.
A really big comedy author for me growing up was Diana Wynne Jones. Would highly recommend and Howl's Moving Castle might still be my favorite book of all time.
The Earthsea series was the first series I read as a teen that showed me that Fantasy was more than Orcs and Goblins. Also first Hard magic system I read
I loved seeing The Belgariad on a recommendation list. It's a bit of an older series that I feel gets overlooked way too often Other good starting point series I've recommended are the Xanth series by Piers Anthony or the Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Keep up the great videos!
I'm bummed that the Belgariad never resonated with me. I enjoyed Tolkien as a kid and despite its weaknesses, WoT has a special place in my heart, but the Belgariad was almost cringeworthy to me in how cliche it felt (I know, it played a part in creating those in the first place, but so did those other series). I wish I had discovered it at a younger age. That might have made a difference. Anyway, I hope I'm the only one with that problem. Enjoy the series, everyone!
@@methany8788 Did you ever try Shannara, by Terry Brooks? Pretty well-written, but is sooo derivative of Tolkien that it infamously got called a "war-crime of a book" by a famous fantasy editor, lol! But honestly, if the archaic language of LOTR throws one off, Shannara is basically the same story, just in much more accessible modern prose, and a good place to start reading fantasy!
@HandofOmega I've been meaning to, but kept putting it off. Reading time is hard to come by these days. I'm not too worried about language. I just want some obfuscation of the fact that the book is following the same old formula. It's been a while since I read the Belgariad, but that's what I remember. It just felt too in-your-face.
@@methany8788 I agree that The Belgariad as a series is pretty staid. However, if someone has never read a fantasy book and is intimidated by Tolkien, I'd argue that the series is more accessible. It's about as generic in plot as you can really get, and I think that's one of it's strengths as a book recommendation.
Nice to see the mention of the Belgariad here! It's ideas seemed very derivative, but it's the easiest fantasy series to consume that I've ever read, with great characters. I've only read the Belgrariad though, not the following series.
The follow up, The Malloreon is great as well. It's refreshing to see Eddings being recommended, considering the controversy around his personal life. His work should be read for enjoyment. Keep the other stuff out of it.
@@dalicieux Yall gonna have to elaborate on that because Marion Zimmer Bradley abused her children and help her husband to hide his sa of children and percure new victims for him to groom and people still spam recommendations for Mists of Avalon.
I also always recommend NE Davenport (The Blood Trials), Mercedes Lackey (One Good Knight is a good starting place standalone but she has a TON more if you enjoy her), Naomi Novik (Uprooted is a great standalone and Temeraire is there if you want to commit), CE Murphy's The Negotiator Trilogy, Tasha Suri's Burning Kingdoms Trilogy, Sue Lynn Tan's Daughter of the Moon Goddess duology, Gabi Burton's Sing Me to Sleep, anything Tamora Pierce has ever written, Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, and Moniquill Blackgoose's To Shape a Dragon's Breath. Just more rep for women and BIPOC fantasy authors in general
I'm so glad to see the Belgariad on this list! My parents are also huge fantasy fans, and when I was a kid they read stuff to me every night before bed. They DID start with the Hobbit, and followed it with Narnia and the Chronicles of Prydain (I think I had watched the Black Cauldron movie and my Dad was like "THE BOOK IS MUCH BETTER!" lol) BUT "The Belgariad" was another very early one that DEFINED my love of fantasy in so many ways. It's also one of my Dad's favorites, and as a kid I related a lot to Garion but my absolute FAVORITE will always be Silk. I'm a huge fan of charming and witty rogues, but he was the one who made me start writing my own little stories about heists and capers.
For those who aren't interested in heavy world building, I want to give a mention to the short fiction of the early 20th century. Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, etc. All of these authors had incredibly beautiful writing styles, which took you to other worlds with the atmosphere of their words alone. Honestly, I wish there was still room for this in the modern era of fantasy.
@HandofOmega Oh yeah, I've been meaning to get around to them for a while. I have Birthgrave on my shelf rn, but I just haven't got around to it yet. To throw a rec back at you, Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe is an absolute masterpiece of prose and atmosphere.
I love Lies of Locke Lamora and the all the Gentlemen Bastards books, but the actual writing and layout of the books can be daunting and confusing for a newer fantasy reader. I personally bounced off of it 3 times before becoming my favorite series lol. I have seen similar sentiments online with the constant flip flop between the present and the past.
Also it's far from finished so it's in much the same category as Game of Throne and Name of the Wind. Although I prefer Name of the Wind and Gentleman Bastards personally.
It's more of a good starting point for people who are new to fantasy but aren't new to reading novels. If you can handle a crime thriller, political drama, or historical romance, you can handle the Gentleman Bastards.
I'm glad someone pointed this out. I started it and barely made it past the prologue, I intend to go back to it but I would not consider it a entry-level fantasy book and I consider myself a somewhat experienced fantasy reader
I totally agree. It was actually the first adult fantasy book I read and the first 100 or so pages were tough for me. BUT it is now one of my favorite books.
...Am I the only one who started reading all the flashbacks first through, instead of alternating between the time zones, like you're clearly supposed to do? I dunno, somehow that just felt more natural to me.
Yay David and Leigh Eddings and the Belgariad!! I love that series and authors, grew up on the Belgariad and enjoyed the writing and world building enough to read all their other books. The Belgariad is definitely the best series of theirs IMHO, and there's a bunch more books in that world if you get hooked.
Adding my recommendation for Philip Pullman's continuation in the world of His Dark Materials with the Book of Dust trilogy. Two of the three have been released and if you loved His Dark Materials as a kid The Book of Dust is more adult and in some ways more brutal. I think about the villain in La Belle Sauvage a lot, and have a visceral memory of walking home from work on a cool autumn night listening to Michael Sheen narrate a truly horrific scene. Absolutely incredible please Mr Pullman finish the third
The Michael Sheen narrations are amazing! I personally didn't enjoy book 2 too much because of things I cannot say here without spoiling potential future readers, but book 1 is one of my favourites.
Love seeing powder mage on here! Made my buddy getting into fantasy read it. Now we just will yell at each other NIKSLAUS from across the bar. Fantastic series!
I never really read very much until a few years ago. My first delve into fantasy was The Wheel of Time… dove right into the deep end. 15 books and a year and a half later, Thanks a lot Daniel! Lol
A quick note for fantasy newbies: you may have noticed that modern fantasy books tend to run long. In terms of page count, and in terms of the number of volumes. If you find this threatens your ability to enjoy the genre, then you should know that there are many fantasy books that are both short and excellent. Some recommendations: The Dying Earth series by Jack Vance The Elric Saga (also the Corum and Hawkmoon books) by Michael Moorcock The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny Tales of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirrlees Chronicles of the Deryni by Katherine Kurtz The Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen Not only are they all pretty good, but you're goimg to see the roots of a lot of modern fantasy series in these. And they're all pretty short, so you can use them to take a breather after some epic tome from Erikson or Sanderson or the like.
Beautiful list, my TBR just expanded 😁. I think Night Angel trilogy would be a good suggestion. It introduced me to grimdark fantasy and I've read some comments that it introduced others into fantasy altogether.
Just as a thank you, I hope you know had you not pushed Green Bone Saga so hard I probably never would have had what is still my favorite reading experience of the last 5 years. I still think about it from time to time and am caught off guard by how strongly I still feel about those characters and that massive story. And not far behind it is Book of the Ancestor, wow what an ending beautiful character work.
One category I think worth recommending to someone wanting to start reading fantasy is 'fairy-tale-adjacent'! I feel like most people will know the basic story of fairy tales, so there are plenty of books with either modern fairy tales or straight-up retellings that make for a great stepping stone. Heck, two steps in one author: Robin McKinley wrote a VERY approachable (might even be shelved in middle-grade) Beauty and the Beast retelling called simply Beauty...and then later in her career she wrote Rose Daughter, a much more deep, thoughtful, slow and winding and poetic retelling of the very same story. Short story collections are also a fun place to start in any genre! Not as much of a commitment as a full novel, and you can pick an anthology on a theme that looks fun to you and get exposed to multiple fantasy authors to pique your interest
I can't recommend The Long Earth series enough. Pratchett sci-fantasy and humor with some harder science-fiction from Stephan Baxter, The Long Earth is a fantastic series.
That was a really neat series. I'm also a fan of "hard sci-fi written by people with STEM PhDs", and Pratchett's involvement really did an amazing job at toning down Baxter's usual "you will need to do independent research to understand what I've written" vibe.
I think as a Diskworld recommendation, it can be great as a starting point, but I would recommend seeing it as separate sub series, and just picking one (I like City Watch) to start with, and if you like it, you can go wide, or just pick another sub series. Also, as an intro to Gaiman, it kind of straddles the line between fantasy and magical realism, but “The Ocean At The End of the Lane” is great. Anansi Boys is also a good starting point with him. If you don’t mind possibly never getting the end, Kingkiller is one I’ve recommended to people who loved Harry Potter but haven’t read much fantasy as adults. I sort of see it as “Harry Potter, but Kvothe’s response and school experience seems more believable than Harry’s slacking off”
The Tiffany Aching series was my absolute favorite series when I was a kid (and Discworld overall today :)). I also love Gaiman. The ocean at the end of the lane is definitely a good starting point and was mine (besides Coraline which I read as I kid but didn’t know it was from Gaiman at the time). I think Stardust could also be a good starting point.
Since it's been a minute since you commented and nobody has mobbed you yet, here you go. Give Mistborn a shot (or The Way of Kings if you prefer your sprawling epics).
I had to recommend a fantasy book for the bookclub I attend at my local bookshop for this month's meeting and no one in the group has really read fantasy at all except for a couple of people who read sci-fi. This video will be really helpful for me to personalise recommendations for individuals after we've talked about what I picked (Tress of the Emerald Sea by the way since it had just come out in PB). I'm also very happy that you included the Belgariad because I've been telling people to read it for years! Those were the books that made me fall in love with fantasy ❤
So happy to see the Belgariad getting some love. While I had read The Hobbit and Chronicles of Narnia as a child Pawn of Prophecy was the first book I bought for myself, and really made me love reading. It's a fantastic starting point in the genre.
my family didn't believe me when i said that sanderson writes faster than i can read, but then the secret projects happened and then they believed me lol
His Dark Materials had me in a chokehold right along with Harry Potter as a kid. Oh and the Bartimaeus Sequence. I really need to reread His Dark Materials and Bartimaeus now that I am a grown up
If you like the inventiveness of Sanderson's worlds and magic systems, but also want something darker (and less PG), I would recommend The Coldfire Trilogy by Celia Friedman. It's a fantastic series that's close to impossible to put down, and Gerald Tarrant is hands down one of the best characters in the genre (yes, I will die on this hill). If you want something that feels more like classic fantasy (the kind with dragons, magic, and swords), but doesn't have a whiny teenage boy as it's main character; Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly might be up your alley. BrandoSando himself has mentioned it as the book that got him into fantasy as a teenager. It's basically about a 38 year old witch who's drawn between her ambition for power, and her dragonslayer husband and their sons. There's also a really well written dragon, and an evil witch.
Happy to hear that the First Law trilogy picks up a bit after book one. I just finished "The Blade Itself" and I love the characters but I am definitely looking forward to the plot picking up the pace.
A few author recommendations I make for new readers are Naomi Novik, Kristen Cashore and Trudi Canavan. Lots of short series and stand alones, with female leads.
I had a fear of any book labeled "Adult" because of my love for the escapism aspect of Harry Potter so I took me until my mid twenties to start reading outside of YA. And the series that opened that door for me?...Way of Kings. I so clearly remember my brother telling me "it takes a bit to get into but it's worth it" and as someone who'd only read YA, I definitely was like whoa what is going on here, but luckily I loved it, and that began my adult scifi/fantasy reading journey that got me out of my "rereading HP for the millionth time" rut that I was stuck in (although I 1000% still listen to HP on audible as a comfort thing when I'm stressed or in between books and trying to find my next recommendation). This channel has been an awesome way to discover the genre!!
Just want to say, there's nothing wrong with enjoying YA as an adult (see both Daniel's and The Book Leo's videos on why the label is increasingly misleading/inaccurate), but I really enjoy Adult as well!
If nothing else, Sanderson is the PERFECT transition from YA to adult fantasy that maintains some of that YA tone and optimism while tackling grown up issues and themes in a slightly more mature and realistic way
I liked your choices, good varieties mentioned, Belgariad under appreciated (although not sure if it would hold up or if it is nostalgia on my part). A couple of missing things though: Urban Fantasy - obviously Jim Butcher "Dresden Files" is the most common here, and could work fine as a starting point, although Storm Front is maybe not the best first book, but there are lots of other urban fantasy / paranormal authors too for instance pick any one of: Kim Harrison's "Hollows", Seanan McGuire's "October Dye", Patricia Briggs's "Mercy Thompson", Ilona Andrews "Kate Daniels", Jennifer Estep "Elemental Assassin", Tanya Huff "Blood series", Kevin Hearne "The Iron Druid", Richelle Mead "Georgia Kincaid", Laurell K Hamilton "Anita Blake", and Charlaine Harris "Southern Vampire Mysteries" (that True Blood was adapted from). These are often approachable as they are often quicker shorter reads so less intimidating for newer readers to the genre. Overlapping with many, but not all, of the above is the Romantasy books as well. Obviously Rebecca Yarros "Fourth Wing" is the breakout hit of the recent year, and Sarah J Mass and ACOTAR has been one of the main players for the last decade, but you could fit in at least half the urban paranormal books above as well depending on how much you want to balance the romance and fantasy things like Grishaverse's Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, or Cruel Prince by Holly Black, or even Twilight to go back to a previous breakout from this category (before it was a category label). I also liked Poison Study by Maria Snyder or going back again the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey which is underappreciated. I'm sure someone that reads more from this category than I could likely pick the best/right ones. I don't know if there are as many as in straight sci-fi, but short stories/novellas might also be an entry ramp for fantasy and might be worth recommending, but again I'm not the best person for that as I tend not to read as many and the ones that I like tend to be sci-fi. In the authors to mention, watch, it is good that Wizard of Earthsea got Le Guin mentioned, but I'd try to find a way to get Guy Gavriel Kay (maybe a subgenre on fantasy historic fiction which could bring in many of his but also bring in things like poppy war and Naomi Navok's Temeraire would also fit?), Robin Hobb, and Lois McMaster Bujold just as authors very well worth reading.
Fantasy books are awesome when done right (Twilight Harry Potter take notes). One fantasy series I keep going back to, over and over again because its just so good, is Redwall by Brian Jacques (pronounced Jakes), the descriptions the adventures the food 🤤🤤so good. I keep going back to this series and his other books because of just how fun they are, most fantasy books don't let you see yourself in that world (besides Narnia) and some are just so dark and hard to follow *cough*Harry Twilight *cough hack* but Redwall, both me my friends and other readers I know just whiz through the books its so easy to follow and is so fun to picture yourself there with the characters in the midst of battle in the middle of the festivals in the group of friends exploring the world or young ones going off on adventure. I overly recommend it to people but you can't blame me once you start the Redwall series or the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy.
Im new to readings books as a hobby. Fantasy is my favorite genre so my first book/series was Mistborn because everybody was talking about Sanderson. Im reading Elric saga right now.
When you were discussing the fantasy books for younger readers, have you ever read the The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander? I feel like that's a must read series for younger audiences that still hits home as I've grown older. The Phantom Tollbooth is another excellent fantasy book for young readers, though it's definitely different than the other fantasy books imo.
I would add one addition to your recommendation list for first time fantasy readers, and that's Trudi Canavan's The Black Magician, it was my second fantasy trilogy I ever read and while its not the greatest story ever written it is a great entry level story. David Edding's The Belgariad was the first fantasy series I ever read, the hero is a bit dunce and rather annoying, but characters like Belgarath, Silk and Beldin make the story very enjoyable.
One series I don't hear much about is the Godserfs Trilogy. Very interesting world, each character has their own unique voice, and deals with a lot of stuff not dealt with in fiction (pregnancy, feeding an army, maimed main characters). Highly recommended for people looking for something different.
I didn’t start heavy fantasy reading till high school (small indigenous community) - I got my own library card and the first books I picked up for Weis and Hickman Death Gate Cycle. Looooved it. I still own a second hand copy of the series. After that I read Belgariad, and I thought it was so cool. A few years later in university I found d Lord of the Rings (again my background meant I didn’t realise it was probably the most famous fantasy story).
Here to recommend the Half Orcs series by David Dalglish. It is quite dark fantasy but don't let the start discourage you. It's fast paced and easy to read. He just finished the last book in the series but there are more connected in the same world. Enjoy!
Paolini would be another good one. The Inheritance Cycle was my first fantasy series outside of LoTR and Harry Potter, and helped make me a lifelong fan of the genre.
I didn't read any books for about 10 years after graduating high school and the book that got me back into reading fantasy again was Jade City by Fonda Lee. Now I can't stop adding books to my tbr.
Hey Daniel, I love these recommendation videos and I have a request: Could you make a video recommending fantasy books surrounding female characters or by female authors? I love Sanderson and everyone but it hurts my heart that there's a lack of female voices in the "Most Important Fantasy Books" list, and yes Sanderson has a lot of great female protagonists that I love, but still there's definitely something lacking. The only female authors I see highly recommended across the board are Robin Hobb and N. K. Jemisin. As a young woman hoping to become a fantasy author one day, I really want to see my ladies in fantasy represented. IDK if you'll see this but pls consider my request if you do.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold is a great place to start reading fantasy! Bujold is a master of characters and settings and the story feels straightforward enough without holding your hand. It is a trilogy, technically, but the first book is fine as a standalone as well.
A pretty good list and I'm pleased to say I've read a few of your recommendations. My intro was the Earthsea trilogy and maybe it's gender, but I've read more female fantasy writers than male. Diana Duane and her Tales of the Five. Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master trilogy. Susan Coon's Sentient Planets quartet. Some of my reading is rather light like Juanita Coulson's books, but Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern is a wonderful fantasy series. Hope you do more videos discussing this genre.
I’ve been wanting to get back into fantasy after mostly reading crime fiction and classics for years. I picked up Warbreaker and Assassin’s Apprentice from the library today and I can’t wait to dive in!
If you want to get into GRRM but don’t want to commit to a large incomplete series but still want to get the same vibe I would recommend A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
I’ve been desperately trying to read again after highschool English and a year of college caused me to stop completely. You have my gratitude disheveled goblin!!!!!
I AM SO GLAD PERDIDO STREET STATION IS GETTING THE PROPS IT DESERVES YYYYAYAYAAAAAASSSSS Also, would highly recommend Mieville’s Un Lun Dun as an amazing and imaginative fantasy book for younger readers
Funny timing, after 2 years of watching your content, 2024 was the year I decided to actually start reading more (before 2024 I read MAYBE 1 or 2 books a year. I do read comics though so that was something I guess). And after allll the great stuff I've heard you recommend, I've developed a sort of reading list of my own to start reading more, and more specifically, reading some scifi/fantasy. I've previously read the first 2 Dune books before the first movie (2021) came out, but I started the year by rereading those so I can continue the series soon and refresh my memory, while also being a way to ease my way back into the habit of reading. After that it's all new territory! I started with The Hobbit, and I'm currently making my way through LOTR. My next sci fi reads will either be the next 2 Dune books or the Foundation trilogy, though I haven't decided which yet. As for Fantasy, after LOTR, I have settled on your favorite for my next read through, WoT (I've been dying to read it because how you endlessly praise it!) And if you think I'm intimidated by 14 books, I'll have you know I caught up with One Piece around the time you did (also based on your high recommendation!), so length doesn't detract me from picking something up! Anyways, just wanted to give a quick thanks to you for getting me back into books and giving me a LOT of books to read through, hopefully people will find this video useful and get into reading Fantasy, or reading in general!
My first Joe book was the heroes, followed by best served cold. Hooked me and I read the rest after. I agree totally that there are connections I missed out on, I'm looking at you shivers, but I don't know if I would have been so enthusiastic about the first law without that initial kick. Keep up the good work.
My true introduction to a fantasy series, was the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. I picked up the first book from my middle school library in 1986, and never stopped reading sci-fi/fantasy.
Awesome to still see Lies of Locke Lamora receiving love. It was my re-introduction to reading, and it was reccomended by this guy obsessed with Wheel Of Time and Goblins. Now I also love both!
This is great timing!… I just finished Wheel of Time like 2 weeks ago (my first fantasy that is NOT a manga or anime as an adult) and I have NO CLUE what to read next… everything else seems so small in comparison 🤣 probably shouldn’t have started with the LONGEST series 😅
The book that got me hooked on Fantasy, and reading in general: The Eye of the World! It was 9th grade and my sister pushed it on me. I couldn’t stop until book 7. Took a break to read other things and picked it up again after Sanderson finished the series. For me, it was a perfect place to start.
Thank you for the heads up about The First Law series - I read the first book and it was ok but not amazing and I've been on the fence about starting book 2 or planning world domination.
Seeing the current state of affairs, i'd be happy if you picked world domination. Can't be any worse than it is today. You'll be missing out on a hell of a series though!!! Abercrombie only gets better!
