Top Ten Fantasy Series 2023 

Be sure to check out danielbgreene.com Thanks again to Warframe for sponsoring today’s video! This offer is available for a limited time and only one per player. Head over to wrfr.me/duviri-daniel-greene-01 and use code “DUVIRI-STYANAX”.

You can tell how much you respect LoTR because you set it gently in the honorable mentions box instead of chucking it. Such reverence!

The list may change over time but...everything is within the flow of causality!

Dude!? Timestamps??

I know this is a personal list, but I have an question: why does everyone rank the Cosmere as a whole, and not break it down into a smaller series held within? I feel like it’s a disservice to the heavy hitting series within that series to include it alongside some of the lesser works or earlier works like Elantris. I agree the Cosmere as a whole is borderline top 10, but Mistborn era 1 and Stormlight Archive are top tier. Again, I totally get that this is Daniel’s personal top 11, but why can we disregard the weaker books in the Dune series (as an example) but must include every work in the Cosmere?

Absolutely understand that this happens for lists like these, but I do think it's funny that Sanderson released 2 books that Daniel ranked S tier since his last top 10 in 2021 and he somehow dropped from 4 down to not even on the list at all.

Red rising series truly deserves a full HBO series adaptation. It’s sooo good, and would be perfect for a big budget tv show. It’s had the potential to be the next game of thrones; games of thrones in space!😊

my heart hurts with the placement of the Dresden Files, but I understand

I tried Red Rising due to your recommendation. It got me bad. (especially the ending in book 2) THIS SERIES IS SO GOOD

Berserk is the epitome of the aesthetic of evil, and because Miura is able to depict evil in such a powerful way, it therefore makes the beautiful moments in the series that much more meaningful. Whenever you read it, the despair can seem like it drags on and on, but in a good way because it's so tragic and well written. Then you get a panel of simplistic beauty such as a character smiling and it makes you feel like a comforting respite from the darkness, and you pause to appreciate what Miura as a writer can do.

My list has to be: 10. The Patternist - Octavia Butler 9. The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan 8. Greenbone Saga - Fonda Lee 7. The Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson 6. Malazan - Steven Erikson 5. Discworld - Sir Terry Pratchett 4. Long Price Quartet - Daniel Abraham 3. First Law - Joe Abercrombie 2. ASOIAF - GRRM 1. Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb

These are awesome videos because this is the exact kind of thing that new fantasy readers look for.

My personal top 10: 1.A Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM 2.Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb 3.Second Apocalypse by R Scott Bakker 4.The Bas Lag Trilogy by China Mieville 5.The Masquerade by Seth Dickinson 6.First Law by Joe Abercrombie 7.The Craft by Max Gladstone 8.The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S Friedman 9.Tower of Babel by Josiah Bancroft 10.Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

From the person who sent you Parable of the Sower back in 2020, I’m SO HAPPY to see Octavia Butler on this list!! 💚💚

Malazan makes you work for it, but OMG is it worth the effort. Several years after I first finished the series I am going through it again. Knowing where the series is headed, where the characters paths will lead them, the ancient histories that lead to where the story is makes the series even more epic and many of the character arcs even more poignant.

Red Rising has had me in a chokehold . I have been saying this needs to be adapted it would be the next big thing . Amazing characters

Hopefully Dresden Files redeems itself for you once 12 Months comes out and you do see the full after effects of Peace Talks/Battlegrounds (which def. needs to be read as a single book). I agree with you that The Law felt weird in the fact that there was a tiny mention of aftermath, and then they just tried to plod on like nothing really happened. I think a short story that took place, not between the gargantuan events of Battle Grounds and 12 Months would have been better.

Hyperion Cantos is such a masterpiece, because the writing is SO SOLID, despite the fact that the author writes in every imaginable style, from funny and vulgar, to just beautiful prose, to horror, to poetry, and it just nails everything, I devoured this series in short bursts, while also taking my time to reflect on what the author wants to teach, and it was the best time I've had reading. Its a MUST read for Sci-Fi lovers and for people who just love good, clean, clever writing, I believe there's something in this book for everyone interested in fiction.

If you want to get more into Octavia Butler, I highly recommend the Earthseed books. Never have I encountered something so bleak yet somehow so hopeful, if only in the sense of “this is necessary to survive.”

The One Piece format is sort of a double-edged sword for itself, because binging it is great and helps with the pacing, but once you done and have to follow weekly, it can feel like a drag and a grind, and it can takes years to get accostumed to it. however, i believe that Daniel has not read past the ending of Wano, and we already 25 chapters past it, and each and every one of those chapters have been great, and the Manga is now at an insane peak naratively speaking.

Hey Daniel, great list. I'd love if you got into Gene Wolfe sometime. He's sort of the SFF writer's SFF writer. Dude holds an official Grand Master Award from SFWA, even Le Guin called him "the Melville of science fiction", but he's not covered a lot because his books tend to be complex and full of secrets you only catch on a reread. My favourite SFF series of all-time is his four-part Book of the New Sun (with an optional fifth book as a coda). I'd highly recommend that, along with an accompanying podcast (Alzabo Soup). He also engineered the machine that makes Pringles. So that's another cool thing about him.

Just gave the Witcher saga a reread and it is great. I think the best aspect of the saga is how Sapkowski satirizes the fantasy genre and makes use of its tropes to enrich the story. It is victim to some classic tropes though (sadly), but overall its best aspects outnumber the bad. Hopefully they grow on you again.

The Green Bone saga got me back into reading, nor could I have imagined that I would finish a trilogy in 2 weeks; coming from not reading for pleasure for the better part of 12 years.. I'm happy.. what can I say?. Buying a bookshelf .. starting Red Rising, and The Poppy War.

I enjoy the subtle changes and little shifts in your top 10(11) list and the mentions. I love to see the dark tower in there, it was the first of the longer series I've read and it's kind of like my childhood as a reader - I will always love those books, and the nostalgic effect is very strong.

As someone with a deep attachment to the Dresden Files, it was the series that made me start reading again as an adult, it hurts to agree with you. Jim Butcher's next entry might addresses some of the issues you rightfully called out. Unless plans have changed from about a year ago, the next entry is supposed to spread over the next year following the events of Peace/Grounds. I'm hoping we get time for Harry to be introspective.

The Hyperion Cantos changed me. The Bobiverse was an extremely fun thought experiment. I'd like to add my own honorable mention: The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir was a ton of fun. Hard to compete with space necromancers and an evolving love story that doesn't follow the formulas.

Love to see The Bloodsworn on there 🤩. Happy that Red Rising, Farseer and First Law are here as well!

Question: would Cosmere rank on this list if you broke it up into individual series e.g. would Mistborn or Stormlight make it in individually?

Daniel really gets his favorites impacted by recency. It's quite interesting.

You got me started on Discworld and I could not agree more! My recommendation - start w/ Pyramids, then Small Gods, then Death series. Love all you do! ❤

The Bobiverse is so much fun that if I find out someone doesn't like it I automatically question all of their life decisions up until that point.

Having read the Liveship Trilogy & Stormlight Archive books 1 to 4 in no small part due to your channel; i am very interested to see what made it on the list.

It always makes me so happy when ever I see Discworld on a list!!! No matter where it places (for me it's no.1 but I acknowledge other people have more attachments to other series)

I have to say, this video felt very classic Daniel. Very well put together, transparency about what he has and hasn't read, no fence sitting (not putting LOTR as a default number one and actually taking a stance on that) some solid takes and all round just a fun video. Good to be back.

Loved this video! I can’t do a top ten really, I am indecisive as heck. But here are some that are currently in my feels: -Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer -One Hundred Years of Solitude -Hexarchate series by Yoon Ha Lee -anything sci-fi by Le Guin -Realm of the Elderlings -Ancillary series by Anne Leckie

You can count on me pushing Red Rising to the top of my TBR, and then auditioning for a role in the adaptation

Loved seeing this top 10! I’m right with you on loving Murderbot and Bobiverse even if it’s not so hip these days. Bobiverse is indeed like a comfort read (especially the audio with Ray Porter), but it still has great depth and is full of intriguing thought experiments.

Do you think your view of Dresden files is affected by reading most of them in a row and now we have a large break for the next book?

Posted at the same time as I'm looking for a new series to read. Excellent timing!

I was literally sitting there yesterday wondering what series I should try next, so this is great timing!

I love the direction Dresden Files has taken. The slow opening of the world was done incredibly well in my opinion and I think Battle ground blew open the door

I like how consistent you are, because even though we heavily disagree (WOT isn't even in my top 20) you are consistent. It makes your reviews easy to level with my own thoughts and understand if I will or won't like a book. Thanks for the content!

thanks so much! I needed more book recs!

The one piece comment, as a life long fan whose been with it since 12, I 100% agree that post timeskip, I have been feeling less invested. The underdogness of the crew has filled and since the crew has been getting larger, it's been harder to give everyone appropriate screen time. It's getting easier and easier for members of the straw hat to feel lost in the frills in the arc

My Current Top 10 1. The Wheel of time 2.The Cosmere 3. A Song of Ice and Fire 4. The Lord of the Rings 5. First Law World 6. Inheritance Cycle 7. The Green Bone Saga 8. The Realm of the Elderlings (still reading this series) 9. Kingkiller Chronicle 10. Lightbringer Saga Honorable mentions: Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson and the Olympians/ Heroes of Olympus series, and the Hobbit all got me into the Fantasy Genre Really want to get into the Dark Tower Series after I finish the Realm of the Elderlings series. The Stand and 11-22-63 by Stephen King were fantastic!

I was surprised that Asoiaf didn’t even make your honorable mentions. I think I remember a top 10 video of yours where it was around number 4. Did anything happen to make you really fall out of love with the series?

Also, in my exploration of other authors in helping aid my own ideas for writing a sci-fan series, I eventually ended up listening to a lot of Robert E Howard's various original works thanks to freely available audio dramas here on RU-vid (shoutout to The Cybrarian for the very best examples). I gotta say, for a guy that died so young, I am truly mind-boggled at just how much material with substantial variety he was able to churn out in such a short time, not to mention having newfound mad respect for the man given that his works not only predate many of our more famous comic and pulp franchises, but he also predates Tolkien's own published works by several years. Be it Conan the Cimmerian, Kull of Atlantis, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, or any of a dozen other series, I can wholeheartedly say they are worth a listen, and given their relatively short length you can knock several out over the course of a day. Perhaps you can do a retrospective on a few selected highlights one day? At the very least, read Kings of the Night. It took me off guard by how good it was and I would love to see it adapted into a movie one day.

It’s tough to make a top 10 list because you have to exclude people’s personal favourites. I appreciate that you’re giving your honest opinions and I hope you never feel like your have to lie to us in order to placate others.

I know Dark Tower is a hard one for many to go full out balls to the wall and put it in a top favorite series video. But since it’s my number one all time favorite, I’ve read it 3 times now (16 more to go) I love seeing it even come into honorable mentions for someone as big as Goblin Green so maybe even a few more of the masses can give it a shot.

What I love most about these lists and is they were the first videos I watched of yours several years ago and when I first watched them did not recognize a single series. Now not only do I recognize all of them but I’ve read half of them. Thank you so much for getting me into reading as an adult. You the best❤

I'm just getting back into reading, so I love hearing your thoughts on these!

Thanks for the video! Makes my day bearable 😊

You’ve always given great recommendations. I’ve loved most of them - thanks for the great content Daniel!!

Personally I find it difficult to group the Cosmere altogether as 1 entity. Despite a few connections here and there, at present the stories are not intertwined enough for me to view them as a collective. My personal top 10: 1. A Song of Ice and Fire (first 3 books only, don't like 4-5) 2. Chronicles of Amber 3. The Stormlight Archive 4. Harry Potter 5. Malazan Book of the Fallen 6. The Wheel of Time 7. Mistborn 8. Lord of the Rings 9. His Dark Material 10. Discworld Lots of others that are very very good as well, we are very spoilt for choice in this genre.

always love your approach to these my friend!

I read a couple of entries in Murderbot, but it was just not for me.. But, I love that I got to add another series to my TBR - Bobiverse! Thanks Daniel!

You should give The Traitor Son Cycle a shot. Definitely one of my favorites for this year.

My top ten are (in no order) Gentleman Bastards, Rivers of London, Wayward Children, Skulduggery Pleasant, Earthsea, Abhorsen, Song of the Lioness, Shannara, Discworld, and Gunpowder Mage. I do have some honourable mentions: Howl's Moving Castle (only read the first book), Wheel of Time (only read the first book), The Last Dragon Slayer, and Nevermoor.

Good list and well reasoned! Listening to Blind Guardian's 'Wheel of Time' right now and realising I've never heard a piece of music that so well recreates the epicness of a book series.

Thank you for this video. I finally got the mental help I needed to pull myself back from the dark and feel like I can read again. So I needed some recommendations.

Dune: House Atreides and Dune: House Harkonen are narrated by Tim Curry. So regardless of what you think of the other Dune books or of Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson's writing...it's a must-listen. Last I checked the Tim Curry version was still on RU-vid but if it's not I'll send you the old cassettes.

Ouch , that dresden fall hurts. I found Daniel around the time he started reading it and following his discovery is part of what kept me around in the beginning.

Hey! Just found your channel. Have you read any of the web novels by John C McCrae? Like Worm, Ward, Pact, or Pale? Easily some of my favorite reads in a while!

This is actually super helpful since I'm looking for a new big series to read after Lightbringer.

Hopefully one day you have the time to reread The Dresden Files series again. I'm pretty sure the series will shot through our top once again. Butcher managed to create such a fast paced story without sacrificing characterization and depth, that it feels like magic sometimes. This is also true for Peace Talks and Battle Ground, that while not the pinnacle of Dresden, they're still good entries.

Bruh…. Dark Age (red rising book 5) was insane, I’ve never had a book pull me in and feel what the characters were feeling 😵‍💫

Thanks for the list. I just added 4 new series to the my to-read list. Looking forward to new stories.

Hey bro new to the channel found you from the red rising books. Wrapping up the 3th one (gonna listen to the audio book of all of them) can you do a video on top audio books? I don’t have time to read but with my work I can listen all day to stuff

Glad to see Hyperion making a splash in the list. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

So. Stormlight is not in your top 10? I would definitely seperate it from the cosmere as one series.

Subscribed for, including number five on this list. I’ve been watching a couple of these list videos and this is the first time that my favorite manga of all time in one of my favorite fantasy series is getting the recognition it deserves. Thank you.

So I started reading Discworld because of you - and it has quickly rocketed up into my personal top tens.

Hyped to see Berserk at #4 after completely catching up. This is what I wished for since Daniel dropped it 2 years ago 🙏

I'm sitting down and reading Lord of the Rings to my daughter right now, and just floored at how good it is. I would have also said, it's not what I'm feeling right now, but about ten pages in I was like... Oh yeah, yeah this is great. Mostly because the prose is beautiful and economical. Yes it's wordy, but it's a dense kind of wordy that communicates a ton in a small space. I mean I'm reading Rhythm of War right now too, and I love stormlight, but bruh. Dem words.

Been meaning to read them, but Bobiverse and Murderbot series has climbed my TBR list quite a few places Have you read any of Gemmell?

I've been waiting for more Hyperion. Thank you Daniel.

The Cosmere not being in the top ten is shocking. But also, respect!!

I love red rising and Pierce Brown dude. My favourite series of all time, was super happy to see it make it on here!!!❤

I love that you've got the Bobiverse on there. It's definitely on my top list. Do you know if Bobiverse books are still forthcoming?

Hey buddy, I just subscribed to you two days ago. You have some good videos and good talking points. Congratulations ! on your channel. As of the top 10 fantasy series you might want to make one for older readers for the 70's and 80's books.. more Fantasy and High fantasy started to come out a lot more around those times and getting very popular.. When I first started out they used to put fantasy and sci-fi in the same section and everybody had to weed out what you liked. Not a lot of fantasy was being written so it was more convenient to just put them together, but we both know they're not the same genre. If you decide to make a video about the beginnings of that era. I would be very interested & more than happy to discuss my opinion & knowledge with you and everybody else who is interested in those books that came out to then ,(Kenneth Flint, Feist, Goodkind, Mercedes Lackey, Katherine Kurtz, Ursula Le Guin..ect. I think everybody should read those. Take care buddy keep up the good work.

Your opinion on the Witcher broke my heart

My top ten (ranked but many of them could switch places based on my mood tbh): 1. Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin 2. Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb 3. The Culture by Iain M Banks 4. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman 5. A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin 6. Hainish Cycle by Ursula K Le Guin 7. Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold 8. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons 9. First Law by Joe Abercrombie 10. Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

Daniel: "I am surprised to see book this high" Daniel: Also created the list

I need to delve into some of those. Haven't had much time for reading lately. But I need to pick it up back again.

One of the more unique lists I’ve seen. I’ve not read a lot of fantasy, but my current personal favorite is ASOIAF and it’s hard to imagine a series being as good.

One thing that jumped into my top ten is The Culture series by Ian M Banks. It's like everything I love about Terry Pratchett mixed with some of the heavier stuff from Steven Erikson, all in a fun sci-fi environment that puts Star Wars and Star Trek to shame. The Culture, best sci-fi series out there.

i was wondering if i should pick up kindred and that review def added it to my list

Would you do this format for fantasy universes in general rather than just literary series, Daniel? While my interest in the genre primarily lies primarily in books, my actual favourite fantasy setting of all time is The Elder Scrolls universe. I realise there's something to be said about comparing a massive, decades-spanning collaborative universe to something a single creator came up with, but goddamn does TES have some of the most beautiful, fascinating world-building I've ever encountered.

Me feigning surprise when Wheel of Time is #1 for the bazillionth time

You could check out "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes." It's a great series (10 books, but they are not that big). It's considered a sci-fi masterpiece. It's like A Song of Ice and Fire, but better

Does anyone know where to find the hardcover versions of the blood sworn saga? I’ve been looking but can’t find them.

I have a completely unrelated question. Im on the second book of the mistborn series rn and just wondering why you have the sign for Bronze tattoed (if i got it right). Just curious why u chose that metal:) Loove your videos and your personality. You are such a light in this world, thank you for sharing your passion and excitement with us! Greetings from Berlin:)

My top 10, this is largely subjective. (also not listing any manga) 1.) Kingkiller Chronicles (the series that got me into reading as an adult) 2.) Cosmere 3.) Greenbone Saga (honestly really surprised it's this high, but very well deserved) 4.) Realm of the Elderlings (Fitz is my son) 5.) Sun Eater by Christopher Ruocchio (favorite scifi series of all time. Patrick Rothfuss prose, with dune politics/world. The Author likes to sell this series as and I quote "what if Anakin becoming Vader was the right choice") 6.) Dungeon Crawler Carl (the only series I actually laughed out loud in. System Apocolypse, and very fun and enjoyable read. Favorite audiobooks of all time) 7.) He who fights with monsters (I'm a big fan of Anime/manga in general, especially isekai stuff, and this is at the top for me in that type of genre. Litrpg/isekai) 8.) Dresden Files (always a fun time) 9.) Kings dark tidings (if your a fan of Kvothe (kingkiller chronicle) you'll enjoy this alot. Semi-epic fantasy that has (almost) John Gwynne level of fight scenes and romance!) 10.) Mother of Learning (Harry potter if it had a hard magic system, and a time loop story. Self-Pub. Just recently finished releasing on kindle.) Honorable mentions: First Law, Gentlemen bastards, Arcane Ascension, Red Rising Saga, WOT.

Berserk and One Piece are two of my favorite series of all time so it’s so cool to see them both land on your Top 10, the content you’ve made on them is some of my favorite too especially Berserk

thanks for introducing Murderbot to us! I would have never known about it if I didn't hear about it from you and I'm enjoying the series a lot so far! (only read the first 2 books though since they take so long at the library haha). I agree that the Murderbot is such a relatable character with dealing with mental illness, and also for me as an asexual lol

I remember seeing you top ten list for 2020 when I first found the channel and when I was getting back into reading. It made me put so many series on my TBR and I really hope this video will do the same for someone starting out with the genre

I don't know about putting the Cosmere as a whole out of your top ten..i think stormlight, mistborn era 1, 2 etc should be seen as individual series..just my 2 cents.

Glad to see Bobiverse in there! I feel the exact same way and after I had a break from reading a while back, the Bobiverse is what pulled me back in! Cosmere still sits in my top 10, I think Era 2 of Mistborn landed better for me than it did for some, which keeps it up high.

you’re so real for putting green bone saga and first law high up there (and in close contention with each other too)

Is there a place you have the lists of your top 10’s listed. I used to be an avid reader but life has gotten in the way (kids and such) and I want to get back into it. I love your videos but it would be easier if they were maybe listed in the description or something