The 3rd book of Asoiaf (storm of swords) is the best book in the series "so far" , one of the best fantasy books ever I might add :) totally worth a read
@@jaimelannister1797 Oh no we will surely get TWOW, A Dream of Spring will never be released though (at least not by Martin), all fans have already accepted that.
Lovecraft is a better recommendation than you could have guessed! There are a lot of directly lovecraft-inspired cosmic horror elements going on in the background that aren't very evident early in the series.
I discovered your channel through your OP reviews and it actually got me back into reading. Jurassic Park was amazing and I guess I need to check these series out
Seeing “A Song of Ice & Fire” in a Merphy notification makes me smile for half a second and then get sad. Dune and Percy Jackson fans must feel the same 😂😂😭 Edit: Hard agree with Jurassic Park.
Nah. Game of Thrones was a great adaptation of an incomplete series that went *really* bad when it tried to go beyond the books and, in the process, turned some people off to the prospect of future books. Dune and Percy Jackson are complete series that have some film adaptations that are just plain bad, and all the adaptations have ever been is bad (and not of the complete series), so fans of the books can love the books and pretend the movies don’t exist.
@@logicisuseful I think…the original comment is probably referring to Merphy not finishing reading certain book series. Not that she won’t ever, but she hasn’t finished ASOIAF or Percy Jackson yet.
Definitely some interesting recs that I wouldn’t have ever compared with these books. The darkness of the troop didn’t bother me. I love dark and gross horror. I just didn’t think the execution was the best.
Always enjoy your videos. If you like The Gentleman Bastards (which I most definitely do) you must check out Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoat quartet. It has been described as The Three Musketeers meets A Song of Ice and Fire, but I think that the humour is more akin to that of Locke Lamora. Very accessible and very good.
This is a great video. I haven’t read all the books you gave as a comparison but, the ones that I have I definitely agree! Although I never would have thought of making the comparison. I really enjoyed this video and I have some books to add to my TBR!
I have said this a lot but I seriously can not wait for a supper in depth conversation about The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm currently thinking about rereading it myself and even annotating it. The story has meant a lot to me and I would love to hear someone other than me gush about it.😊 There so much there to talk about. Please do a reread?!!
Love, love, love Locke and Co. despite my giving the the subsequent books fairly low ratings. But to put my OTHER fav book (The Troop) in the same arena? Crazy!
Wait, the Outsiders? Loved the movie, didn’t really like reading the book, for 9th grade English class. Actually read 4 of these recommendations in middle/ High school. Jurassic Park was a fav of mine, but The Andromeda Strain would be a better for that spot…
It's sad that you did not finish the song of ice and fire series. I know book 2 is like walking throw mud but book 3 is the absolute opposite once you start it you cannot stop till you finish the 5th book after that you go on Twitter and tell Gorge RR martin to finish the god damn series.
Please read Ascendance of a bookworm by Miya Kazuki It has the best worldbuilding I've read for a fantasy series with a focus on the importance of Books and reading.
I hated Monte Cristo. It seemed like I should have loved it but it was so bloody tedious. The count is rich and pale and if he has a problem he buys a solution while everyone comments about how pale he is. And there are like 800 sodding pages of it. We get it, the bloke is minted. I don't care to be reminded of that fact five times per page... Tess is on the reading list. Always willing to second Lovecraft. Bear Town I've heard lots of good things about.
I think you do yourself a disservice my not recommending more historical fiction. After all it is the natural cousin of fantasy. For example, ASOIAF is influenced heavily by the historical wars of the roses, a 15th century English civil war. The closest thing to ASOIAF outside of the genre is clearly conn igguldon’s “wars of the roses” series
probably not necessary tbh, having read some of the suggested books as well as the big fantasy series her recommendations are based on, I can't say that there's really a strong link between reading one and liking the other. For instance, I respect The Outsiders but I feel like there is no reason that you would like that based on the fact that you like Stormlight lol
Discworld fans: You should read Discworld! Normies: Yes, I heard but what is about? Discworld fans: You should read Discworld! Normies: You already said, but it's more than 40 books! Can you give me some details? Discworld fans: Do you mad? You want me to be an IGN Wheel of Time video! Because if you don't stop I begin, but you have to listen me 5 bloody hours about deatailing how excellent (mayherestinpeace) Sir Terry Pratchett was!
I've been reading through Discworld in publication order. I'm on the sixteenth book now, Soul Music, and at this point I can genuinely say that Terry Pratchett is my favorite author.
For Song of Ice & Fire recommendations, I’d add the Expanse series from James S.A. Corey. The world building is amazing, the characters are fun to be around, the sci-fi tech is just believable enough that you could see them appearing in the real world at some point, and (I know this is going to sound harsh, so apologizes in advance) the last book in the series is coming out this year, barring any delays, so you can start now and be able to go thru the main series without delay.
I’ve read all of both series, and I love both, but I don’t understand everyone regularly comparing the two. The only thing they share is perspective character chapters, which isn’t that unique.
@@Kujakuseki01 Eh, heavy emphasis on faction politicking, the unseen approaching threat, one of the authors was George’s assistant… I can see why it’s brought up
@@Kujakuseki01 I think the simularities are, when great powers collide, life becomes cheap and people are killed for no good reason. People don't die heroic deaths or for a great cause, they simply die. It's a very Nihilistic view of the world and universe. The opposite of high fantasy. (Or Star Wars)
For Sanderson fans, I would recommend Attack on Titan. I've only seen the show, but I imagine the Manga would apply. I got Sanderson vibes early on, specifically in the particular cadence of set-up/reveal. It turned out not to be quite the same thing, but by then I was hooked. It also has a "flying but not flying" mobility system that reminds me of Mistborn and Stormlight. AoT also has great world building and politics that Sanderson fans should feel right at home in
Hey Murph, excellent recommendations! Gentlemen Bastards is also my absolute favorite fantasy series ever, I love the flowery sarcastic prose and the baroque swashbuckling setting. Your recommendations for similar genre books are spot on - especially happy to see Alexandre Dumas among them. So, I wanted to return the favor and give you a couple of recs similar to these ones. First, more Dumas books - check out "The Three Musketeers" and "The Man in the Iron Mask". Both books are chivalric romance adventure/thrillers set during the baroque period in France, both have the same swashbuckling vibes as Lamora. Other works might also interest you - like the "Adventures of Baron Munchausen" by Rudolf Erich Raspe, and "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand. All of the mentioned follow the same style of protagonist - a flashy, larger than life, bombastic individuals with a lot of heart and even more charisma. :) If you don't know some of these, give them a go, I swear you will not regret it (especially the Dumas works, he's a master).
This was a really neat premise that helps with "what to read next" after completing a series. It's especially helpful when looking for a change of pace, since fantasy is my favorite genre. It's always good to change things up a bit. Thanks for the help.
I recently picked up Rebecca per your recommendation and it's easily one of my new favorites!! Definitely do more of these because we all need more of your recommendations :)
People, just a warning if you pick HP lovecraft, he was very racist. I didn’t knew when I began reading his stories but slowly something felt off and then I found out that, yes, he was just that racist and I just couldn’t stand his writing anymore. So be careful and remember that it’s ok if you can’t stand to read these stories. You don’t owe anyone to read him just because he’s famous. (Also the few storie that I read, weren’t blowing my mind. There are betters books out there I think.)
I don't like to spread conspiracy theories, but since I started this one, I'll point it out. Are Merphy and Daniel Greene the same person? Merphy is a shifter, that changes into a dissheveled goblin. Just saying. Evidence: Yesterday neither Merphy nor Daniel posted a video. Today, Merphy and then Daniel posted. And most days it is just like that. Merphy posts, and then she SHIFTS, and posts a video as the Disheveled Goblin. Prove me wrong. BTW, the Merphy version is my fav.
Really nicde video, I like that you recomended books from different genres and periods. Tess is one of my favorites novels. If you like really emotional stories with deep characters I highly recommend "David Copperfield" and "Anna Karenina".
It's funny, because when it comes to Sanderson, I'm the opposite of Merphy. I'm in it for the worlds he creates, but I could give or take his characters. I only keep reading to see where he's going with the Cosmere.
Why?? GRRM is never going to finish this series. I have already tortured myself by reading it more than 3 times to get to know more..... But one should not read unfinished series 😑
@@mishranidhi8352 curiosity. Never read it. Never watched the show. I'm not expecting him to actually finish. As far as endings go. I'm not too worried. Either someone else will finish it, it will go unfinished, and/or I'll make up an ending that I feel fits and treat it as head canon. I agree one shouldn't start a series without an ending as a rule. There are always exceptions though. As it happens I have 1 book out of a massive planned series. I hope people go into it knowing it's just the beginning. My book 2 is roughly 50% done too!
Death Note is one of my all time favorites and I re-read it almost every year :) the second half isnt my favorite, but the first part of the story more than makes up for it!
I was brainstorming something like this and thought of a few recommendations for if you hate Jane Eyre or Stargirl. So let me know if anyone wants to hear them :)
Do you think these recommendations work inversely as well? Like, if I enjoyed Desth Note would you recommend A Song of Ice and Fire? Or if I like The Count of Monte Cristo would I like The Lies of Locke Lamora? (I think those went together iirc, if not the point of the question still remains even if I got the specifics wrong)
I really love Death Note I'm so glad you also liked it. 😁 🍎 And I really want to read Lies of Lock Lamora and Jurassic Park soon. Also really curious about Song of Ice and Fire and the Discworld. And all the other ones too 😝
I stumbled upon your channel a few months ago and subscribed, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your review/recommendation videos. I’ve discovered a lot of books through your videos! Thank you so much!
Popped a couple on my TBR 😁 Really need to get the Gentlemen Bastard series. I have just, finally, finished my latest re-read of WoT, so that gives me a 14 book space in my TBR hahaha!!
For a manga recommendation for game of thrones i would honestly say attack on titan over deathnote. I always felt it was the game of thrones of anime. Its like game of thrones if the whole thing was about the war with the white walkers and where they came from and some political conflict sprinkled in thru out. Large cast of gray characters who are never safe, mysterious history to the world where the truth is highly debated, and a very grounded approach to the idea of good and evil being more about perspective. Oh and its brutal and unforgiving. Awesome show and manga.
If ya'll love A Song of Ice and Fire I'd reccomend to you Ken Follet, mostly the Kingsbridge series! But anything from Ken, I guarantee it will hit the spots you want!
I hate goodreads looking at fantasy. You look at the popular fantasy, go to “books like this” and it’s just other popular books. Not actually books that were like the one you were looking for. I need more Lies of Locke Lamora style + name of the wind
hp lovecraft is a given for people that like ASOIAF. Also if you think ASOIAF is too dark, you can read the dunk and egg novelas that are lighter in tone and talk about previous events to the main series.
For another manga that I think people who liked asoiaf might enjoy, I'd recommend Berserk. The stories are very different from each other, Berserk focuses a lot more on fighting than political intrigue and a much smaller main cast of characters, but they do give me kinda similar vibes especially with how violent they can be, and they also share some themes (the futility of revenge for example). Unfortunately though, Berserk's author Kentaro Miura died very recently, and we do not yet know if the story's ever going to be continued. The current last chapter makes for a beautiful open ending tho, at least in my opinion
Loved Berserk, but any Berserk recommendation needs like a hundred content warnings. It is graphic! Also, I’d say Griffith’s stories cover the “political intrigue” angle pretty well.
An information I think you'd appreciate :) Beserk ist officially going to continue!!! by the author of Holyland (people say he and miura were close friends... so that might be the reason why)
Merphy can you try reading trash of the counts family it’s a story with a huge found family that would die for each other and I think you wound like it
