Getting into Fantasy - What Books to Start With

[@DavidFraser007]

I read the Hobbit when I was 11, it was recommended by a teacher, The Fantasy genre didn't exist then, it was described as a slightly complicated adventure fairy tale, this was 1970. I then borrowed a copy of fellowship of the Ring, I had to wait as it was popular at the school library. I was advised to read it in a week as other kids wanted to read it too. I was hooked and bought a copy and then I saved and bought the other 2 books in the trilogy. Unfortunately I lent these out and never saw them again. But I still have my all in one Lord of the Rings paperback from 1983, it's a bit yellowed and careworn now. I've read lots of fantasy since then, some good and some cliched and repetitive.

[@thephantom3487]

Im so happy you mentioned Chronicles Of Prydain. The nostalgia is real.

[@jtlivin]

This was one of the best lists of this type I’ve seen on KZbin. So many modern fantasy fans seem to dismiss anyone pre-1990 not named Tolkien, so it’s nice to see some classic fantasy in this list.

[@bridge4]

Mistborn is my first choice as a rec for new fantasy readers. Actually, I say emperor's soul to get a taste of sandersons style. And then Mistborn :)

[@Slowly_We_Rot]

Mistborn is a good book, but I feel it's slightly advanced for someone just stepping into the genre. I personally would recommend Magician/The Riftwar Saga. However, if it had to be a Sanderson novel, I'd suggest Elantris, as it's the first book of the Cosmere universe.

[@ahmadfarhan6306]

As a huge fantasy consumer, I appreciate this video to help lost souls enjoy this fantastic genre. I myself had to stumble through it a lot in the beginning, mostly reading random fantasy books until I realized what kind of fantasy I loved the best.

[@LoyaFrostwind]

I think Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" was the first fantasy series I read back in elementary school. Then there was also Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series and Tamora Pierce's "The song of the Lioness" series. All very good. And last but not least Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" series.

[@Jbay2608]

I don't think I'll ever get bored of LoTR. I've had my 3 in 1 since high school when the movies came out, I've read it so many times and it's always such a fun story.

[@lifesabeach2597]

I got into reading fantasy and science fiction in the mid 7os when I was about 13-14 with stuff like Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, Burroughs and the Howard/L. Sprague De Camp Conan books and the Elric books, and sci-fi like Asimov and Bradbury

[@andreworr4307]

I would definitely recommend legend by David gemmel as a start into fantasy

[@toddherklotz5970]

Yes! Gemmel is brilliant but easy to read.

[@dirkmacdorn2478]

Michael moorcock is my favorite fantasy author hands down. Just my opinion

[@GirlWithTheBook]

I’ve been looking everywhere for a historical fantasy! It seems harder to track down a good one than most might think. I’ll put that one on my list!

[@Agonis100]

I saw the Rankin-Bass animated adaptations of The Hobbit and The return of the King as a little kid, and noted in the opening credits of The Hobbit that it was originally a book by some author named J.R.R. Tolkien. 😉 The tone of those films sparked an interest stayed with me, to say the least.

[@loxee4769]

Some of these sound really interesting. Totally adding Amber and Black Company to my TBR!

[@JarrodShadowsonng]

I remember when I was a very young child and couldn't read myself yet, my dad would read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings out loud for me as they were his favorite books. I read them twice myself when I was a bit older and the books will forever have a certain magical feeling to them for me. I still take out my dusty Fellowship of the Ring translated into my native language that my father gave me when I was younger and just browse through various parts, embracing the nostalgia. I am currently getting into the Malazan Book of the Fallen, but I'm still at the very beginning, about a third into Gardens of the Moon. The first 70-90 pages or so were really tough, but I feel I've gotten a bit better grasp of what seems to be unfolding and where and my reading is going much more smoothly. If you feel like providing any additional commentary on the series I would love to read/watch it. Thanks for the insightful video, and looking forward to more

[@DVSPress]

Stick with it. Erikson doesn't come out and explain how things work, you have to pay attention to the characters to understand everything. The end of Gardens of the Moon is awesome, and everything necessary for that book comes together at the end. Deadhouse gates is the book that really blew me away. It was some of the most brutal fantasy I've ever read and expands your understanding of the world tremendously.

[@JarrodShadowsonng]

I am really trying to pay attention, and the Dramatis Personae and map in the beginning are quite helpful in that regard. I'm definitely going to stick with it, and looking forward to the ending and the next books. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts!

[@crusherven]

@@DVSPress I really enjoyed the first few books. Somewhere along the line I felt that Erikson lost the thread. Or at least, the things he was choosing to focus on were not what I was interested in, and I didn't like what he was doing with the characters. Some of the plot threads and characters I was most interested in just seemed forgotten.

[@Llewellyn2844]

Also highly recommended: The Last Unicorn --- Peter S. Beagle The Face in the Frost --- John Bellairs The Weirdstone of Brisingamen --- Alan Garner "The Scarlet Citadel" (Conan) --- Robert E. Howard "The People of the Black Circle" (Conan) --- Robert E. Howard "Red Nails" (Conan) --- Robert E. Howard "Two Sought Adventure" (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) --- Fritz Leiber "Ill Met in Lankhmar" (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) --- Fritz Leiber "Bazaar of the Bizarre" (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) --- Fritz Leiber The Sword in the Stone (the original standalone version) --- T. H. White

[@Llewellyn2844]

The Conan tales are essential because D&D and the whole RPG field owe a lot more to Robert E. Howard than to J. R. R. Tolkien. In fact, I view RPG games as a literary sub-genre rather than as a gaming genre. Here is "Appendix N," which is Gary Gygax's list of recommended fantasy (which supposedly influenced D&D): www.digital-eel.com/blog/ADnD_reading_list.htm

[@TheWrongHands18]

I recommend THE CRYSTAL SHARD. Not the best of the series but certainly an introduction to the characters and world especially if you have preconceived notions about fantasy. This fills the fantasy tropes and if you keep on with the series will open up the possibilities for you for more complex stuff later.

[@xTheNameisEthan]

I read a shit load in like elementary and middle school but haven't really read anything in longer than a decade, I've recently gotten back into it and I'm super wrapped up in the Dresden files series rn

[@ShyFly1000]

Wow i havent heard about the amber books in ages. Totally loved them as a kid. Love the darktower too. Still mad about the movie though.

[@leafwiz83]

The Dresden Files, a fun loving novel about a private detective that is also a Wizard! Simple to read, plays of stereotypes of a crime novel, but with cool twists in the plot.

[@jacebralor]

I didn't hear you mention it in the video, but one of the things I loved about the Chronicles of Prydain was that while the collective whole tells a big, overarching story, each book within the series is it's own stand-alone. you could read the third or fourth of the series first and not feel lost as to what happened before. hell, my parents when I was growing up gave me a copy of the last book for a Christmas present one year, and I didn't feel cheated reading it until I realized (after the second time re-reading it) oh, hey, there's all this stuff that happened first. so I tracked the other books down from my local library and everything was fine again. And a series I was surprised that you didn't mention, and served as my own personal first introduction to the world of fantasy literature, was the Chronicles of Narnia. C.S. Lewis was a contemporary of Tolkien at Cambridge or Oxford or wherever it was, and the series is another that has really stood the test of time. If people have never read it, (all two of you, seriously, have you been living under a rock?) I won't offer any spoilers, but will give the warning that it's highly Christian Allegorical. It has many of the sorts of creatures you'd expect to find in a fantasy world, however, like Fauns (Satyrs), minotaurs, centaurs, pegasi, dryads and naiads, that sort of thing. and talking beasts, like wolves and Horses and things. the one character common to all seven books is a talking Lion called Aslan. there's two ways to read the series, by the way; chronological or publication, because first chronological is like, second or third to last publishing, and first publishing is actually second chronological.

[@joshcowart2446]

Wheel of Time is my favorite. 6-10 don’t bother me as much as they do other people. I have no idea how Jordan would have finished it but Sanderson did a wonderful job of bringing it all to a close. Those last 3 by him are awesome. When I first read the final book I couldn’t sleep and then rushed home from work to get back to it. I just kept reading and finished it in about 2 days. Though I don’t know how much of it was the book or the fact that i had waited 20+ years for that ending.

[@MRCKify]

I could and can reread #4 by itself anytime. The back half of 8 & 10 are best consulted through internet rereads.

[@carlwilliams9642]

Yes! So glad someone else remembers the Chronicles of Prydain. When I have kids I'll definitely start them off with this alongside the Chronicles of Narnia. As much as I love The Way of Kings I agree it's not the best place for new fantasy readers to start simply because of the sheer size. A brand spanking new fantasy reader might be overwhelmed just looking at the book and how big it is. But yeah, if you start off with Mistborn and enjoy it you would probably love the Stormlight Archive.

[@dt7353]

Tamora Pierce is a good introduction as well. The Alanna series is a very good quartet for children and adults, followed by Immortals and Protector of the Small quartets, though in my opinion the franchise ends there.

[@Zironeful]

My own recommendation would be my own start into fantasy; "Guards! Guards!" from Terry Pratchett. A wonderful book, which I would especially recommend for teens. The books from Terry Pratchett are very imaginative and present crazy images for the head. My favorite mental image from that book was a dimension which is full of dragons. So full in fact that the author compared the dimension to a dose of sardines, the dragons being the sardines in the dose.

[@DVSPress]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@danjalwaziri1657]

Yeah, thanks for providing him with another great piece of art to thrash...

[@TheWrongHands18]

One of my favorites of Discworld. I love the Night Watch

[@TheSwartz]

The Hobbit for a "first book" is a safe recommendation. However, let me please clarify this does NOT mean to watch the movie... horrible movie.... just horrible.. spend the 6-8 hours reading anything else in this video instead!

[@ct7842]

The Hobbit was amazing. The movies were just terrible

[@taikajorma7276]

The Swartz In my opinion they werent that bad but still not even near of the LOTR movies but books > movies

[@evenstar1608]

Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I love the modern fantasy.

[@constantin5509]

Good list, and makes me realize that I really need to update the Fantasy section in my library. Any chances that you might do a similar video for Science Fiction? I've watched a lot of movies and TV shows that were Science Fiction but books I've not read one novel(excluding H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, but they are old). I'm currently reading Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series and really liking it.

[@DVSPress]

Good idea.

[@syrales5539]

i liked the dragonlance books aswell, very good for teenies imo. i still think corwins race against chaos at the end and how it turns out is the most epic thing ive ever read .-)

[@WhatsTheTakeaway]

I started with The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance, then Wheel Of Time, Sword of Truth, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Piers Anthony, C.S. Lewis, huh...Ill be here all day...

[@phillipmoore6295]

Okay, so I'm not a fantasy guy. But I do read sci fi that strays into fantasy. With that I would recommend Andre Norton, especially her Forerunner series. But she has a lot of interesting other fantasy books. Check her out. Also John Varley's Gia series. Science fantasy and adventure. Try it.

[@arungraeff4547]

The Chronicles Of Narnia is very good book series also!!!

[@hydraelectricblue]

Hey me too! I first read the Hobbit when I was ten years old! I picked it up at a school book fair! I had Lewis read to me as a child , but The Hobbit was the tipping point. Harry Potter came out in America one year after I'd read The Hobbit and of course Lord of the Rings hit theaters right after that.

[@vladvanessa]

I started with A song of ice and fire. That one got me into fantasy

[@cdeford]

I've never heard Zelazny described as 'dry' before. I'd recommend something by David Gemmell, especially the Drenai series.

[@nicnakx2]

I would really like to recommend The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever and also The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson. Great series of anti-hero fantasy that I've read multiple times and are probably my favourite in the genre. Not for the faint of heart. The first book came out in 1977. Also, the earlier books written by Terry Brooks with the Sword of Shannara trilogy and The Heritage of Shannara series are fantastic reads that I've enjoyed a number of times. The first book in the Sword of Shannara series is almost a plot by plot copy of Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring but after that the next books from there really get into their own direction and are excellent.

[@DVSPress]

I caution Thomas Covenant. You will either love it or hate it, and it really takes you on a deconstructive trip. I think it's great to try AFTER getting into the other stuff.

[@nicnakx2]

David Stewart Thanks David for replying! Agree with you on that. It's definitely not for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed the strong character development in this story though through all the struggles Thomas Covenant experienced because of leprosy, which was out of his control like so many things, and how these experiences were so consequential in his decision making and how those decisions, through reasoning or raw emotions, affected those around him. The way those around him in the Land were always there to support him by having hope, love and faith regardless of the dark consequences of his actions and the internal workings of himself, the potency vs impotency, selfishness vs selflessness, hope vs despair, blew me away. It just reminded me of the human condition and the amazing potential for redemption that we have. In the end his transformation from potency of life to impotency through leprosy and the gracious love of others saved his life. Some have said that reading it depressed them but I found the opposite for me to be true. Thanks again.

[@mcelroyguy76]

I started the gunslinger. Didn't finish, I need to buy the book and give it another try. I got halfway through and really enjoyed it I don't know why I stopped reading it.

[@TheMrSarcastic]

Barbara Hambly’s Darwath Trilogy (The Time of the Dark, The Walls of Air, and The Armies of Daylight) is a great series and introduction to fantasy.

[@cmeflywva]

The big book of Amber, Lord of the Rings, the Balegrarad series in that order. If you can find you like the genre try reading the The Mabingion (Rhiannon from Fleetwood Mac) The Wheel of Time (It stops at book 6 for me) and one with a King Arthur version The Mists of Avalon series. It is told by Morrigan instead of Merlin or Arthur.

[@joebobhenrybob2000]

Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd & Grey Mouser series is kind of essential and of high quality

[@TheWrongHands18]

joebobhenrybob2000 not simple enough in the prose. I guess accessible is the word. Might turn somebody off.

[@jeremydanchuk1897]

For first timers I would recommend David Eddings and would recommend the Sparhawk books, also David Gemmel and the Druss books.

[@Caesar2k1]

I find it interesting on what you said about the Dresden files and the fact you mentioned glen cooks the black company series. From my understanding, one of glen cooks other series he is known for is Garrett PI, which is a fantasy series about a private detective and he started publishing the series in the late 70s or early 80s. If I’m missing something, let me know

[@raefinoh1172]

I chuckled when you said The Hobbit might be at an 8th-grade reading level. I read it when 10.

[@w8stral]

Reading comprehension/vocabulary today is abysmal. High school used to be grade school. I have my grandmothers books to prove it.

[@JayDee284]

What no Terry Pratchett ?

[@oliverwolf7262]

Kallavan I actually agree

[@MagusMarquillin]

I think it makes sense to read serious fantasy before you read a parody, or else jokes will fly over your head if you don't know the tropes they are playing with.

[@handlesarestupid154]

Michael Moorcock's eternal champion sequence is unbelievably great. recently I've been reading Jack Vance's The Dying Earth and its damn good.

[@TheWolfgangGrimmer]

Branding Harry Potter of all things as "low fantasy" stretches the definition too far for me. Unambiguously supernatural events happen all over the place in that series, usually with a heavy amount of spectacle. Funny thing, I'm re-reading the Silmarillion right now, and compared to the stuff I've been reading in-between it actually feels fluid as water. Everything reads clear and most of the chapters seem very short. I like A Song of Ice and Fire quite a bit myself, only I'm one of those total weirdoes who think books 4 and 5 were handled _better_ than the first three. As for the TV show, well... it was good at first, if not quite on the same level as the source material, but it sure as hell isn't anymore. I gave Black Company a try a while ago, but... I just don't care. None of the characters involved are relatable or likable for me, and the story didn't seem to hint at any particular depth. This second issue also strikes Royal Assassin, which after finishing the first book I gather is pretty much nothing but plot. I do like the characters a lot more than those of Black Company, but still I don't see a good reason to carry on. I've been getting curious about Malazan lately, mainly because of Caladan Brood (as in, the band). Finally, here's one you might not now about: Book of the Stars. It definitely targets a Middle School audience, but it's mythology is unusually well-researched and the story is quite original for the most part.

[@LynxieDove]

Terrific video, I like the way you talk:) I do have a small objection to the novels you have suggested. (Objection; for want of a better word...)With exception of The Hobbit, all of the books are fairly thick and I think that might put alot of people off, (Depending on what they have read before, I mean if they've really loved books such as War and Peace by Lev Tolstoy, then most of the books you suggested probably would work.;))So, my suggestions would be more along the lines of: The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb, any of the Valdemar Trilogies, Arrows of The Queen Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, (I generally don't mention Harry Potter, because people that wanted to read the books, have at least started by now. ) If they are open to other YA books then I suggest Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Kane Chronicles and The Magnus Chase series, all by Rick Riordan. (I am suggesting newer fantasy because many people have issues with stuff that seems to be kind of dated.) Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce is another series for a more YA audience, I don't see why an adult can't enjoy them too. With Brandon Sanderson: I would be inclined to suggest either Steelheart (Especially if they are Superhero comic book fans.) or The Rithmatist. (Has a very unique magical system, what made me fall in love with the crazy amazing world building/magic systems skills that Sanderson has.) Anyways, hopefully you don't mind my practically writing a novel here;) Have a great day/week!

[@sextonlovecraft]

if you like heroic fiction you should check out david gemmell and he has his own cowboy/fantasy hero john shannow that is well worth reading too.

[@hikaru99]

David! I've subscribed to you earlier this year because of your Classic Wow content but found your other videos informative. I recently been getting back into reading with the Wheel of Time series. But I want to take breaks throughout with other titles. I was just thinking about your channel and what book recommendations you might have. This is perfect! You hit on a lot of the books I have been hearing about from other sources plus a few others like Elric. I have a "shortlist" including The Way of Kings, Black Company(1-3), Dragon Riders of Pern(1-3), Redwall(Martin the Warrior, Legend of Luke), and Dragonlance Chronicles(by weis hickman). Would you recommend any of your books? I hope you have a video on scifi books!

[@joebobhenrybob2000]

Tad Willaims Green Angel Tower series does kind of the same thing as Wheel of Time but far more competently written. Many classic scifi & fantasy authors cite Peter S Beagle's Last Unicorn in their top 5. The first 2 Thomas Covenant trilogies are excellent but not for everyone. I strongly second the Wizard of Earthsea and Amber recommendations. Feist is patchy but his Servant of the Empire and original Magician series are good. The ol Thieve's World books are actually ok

[@Rose-zg9pu]

I really like tad william's books. Do you have any suggestion for for classic fantasies?

[@oberstul1941]

Outcast by Clayton Emery and Conan - brought me into reading fantasy.

[@hydraelectricblue]

My favorite fantasy stories are as follows: 1. *The Hobbit* by JRR Tolkien 2. *The Magician's Nephew* by C.S Lewis 3. *The Goblet of Fire* by JK Rowling 4. *Beowulf* 5. *The Last Unicorn* by Peter S Beagle 6. *The Dragons of Autumn Twilight* by Weis and Hickman 7. *Elric of Melnibone* by Micheal Moorcock 8. *The Golden Compass* by Philip Pullman 9. *Magician Apprentice* by Raymond Feist 10. *The Eye of the World* by Robert Jordan

[@hobowizardsdumpster]

The Gunslinger is amazing. The complete series is more... meh. I own all of them, including 2 copies of the Gunslinger (one is the original version, one is the "updated" version) and they kind of go down hill over time. The first one, with the imagery in the desert, was just amazing. Super excited for the movie, and I recommend it to all of my friends who read fantasy, sci fi, or westerns. I have not forgotten the face of my father.

[@DVSPress]

The first book hints at so much depth, but unfortunately the rest of the books don't quite deliver. I blame it on the fact that King is a gardener/pants writer and didn't really have a plan on how to deliver the right resolution to the conflict he established.

[@hobowizardsdumpster]

This may be a personal issue, but I also found it harder to enjoy the later books due to the number of characters. Which is odd, because I usually enjoy King's characters, but this time I would have preferred if it was just Roland and maybe Jake. Also, Martin dying to someone who wasn't Roland? Left me feeling unfulfilled. I got pretty attached to that conflict, and then it was "resolved" by the antichrist.

[@joshcowart2446]

The gunslinger was great. I made it to wolves of the calla and just couldn’t finish it. It was just so damn slow and boring.

[@theaverageDon]

Glad you didn't bring up the Name of the Wind series, it's not that the elements brought on by the novel are bad, but the plot is a huge turn off. The Harry Dresden series though is really amazing, a really nice urban fantasy that's like an adult version of Harry Potter. Neverwhere is also a really nice stand alone novel

[@DVSPress]

I did a video replicating the cover for Name of the Wind in a free program (just to demonstrate what goes into a cover design and how to do it on the cheap), but I actually didn't enjoy the book. Too much of a power fantasy and far too slow for my tastes.

[@theaverageDon]

David Stewart I agree with you 100% on the sloth like pace to the story, one of the reasons I struggled to complete it, but mostly the plot was just so underwhelming. The best thing was the setting and the rules of magic introduced

[@samuelhaines3685]

Eh, I liked it, lots of things, sympathy works very well and all, but the second book just left a bad taste in my mouth. As I saw it in a bad summary (intentionally bad, for satirical effect) but true nonetheless, the second one feels like one man's quest to have sex with everyone who is not the main character (Kvothe's) gf.

[@alexandruteodor3585]

Hello! I tried to read the first book from The Name of the Wind and I liked the book tremendously at the beginning. But I quit when Kvothe arrived at school and got in conflict with a teacher. I was very dissapointed because, I felt like it became a different book and, to me, it was like a copy of Harry Potter, and I did not want to read another version of Harry Potter(after I read it several times :D). So, is there something more that I missed, or am I right and The Name of the Wind is a copy of HP? Thanks!

[@GleeChan]

Thumbs up for trashing Game of Thrones alone. I went through the first few books hating them, but kept going because the bastard always ended on a cliffhanger. Then you'd start the next one and it's hours of pointless nonsense until the next cliffhanger. Screw that. I hated the books so much I wouldn't give the TV show a chance, which... given the fan reaction on how it ended... was probably a good thing.

[@DaveMakes]

Amber! Yeah!

[@Tracks777]

Awesome video,Keep it up!

[@goricexi7118]

What are your thoughts on The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison? Too me represents everything missing from modern fantasy.

[@alexchen7729]

A grew up loving a Wizard of Earthsea. It was my favorite book and I read it every year for a decade as a youth. Have you ever discussed what Ursula La Guin did to the series when she revisited it with Tehanu, book 4, decades later?

[@DVSPress]

No, but I'm not a fan of that particular book. Painfully slow for how short it is.

[@alexchen7729]

@@DVSPress Hi! Thanks for the reply. Not only was the book horribly slow but it seemed a big shift in tone and theme. Seemed like the author has regretted her earlier work and was trying to “fix” it.

[@happyheathen7153]

My first experience with Tolkien was the Simerillian, but I couldn't get through it. I love TLR books, but despise the movies. I highly recommend the Glad Taltos series by Stephen Brust. It is in first person, and considered high fantasy. However, it somewhat relates to a modern mafia story. They books are not written in chronological order, but the should be read in the order they were written in.

[@theaverageDon]

Also, never read Mistborn, but love the Way of Kings series, although i wish the Shalan arcs were better. KInda skipped a couple of the parts dedicated to her arc because it felt like filler almost until the second book

[@WhatsTheTakeaway]

Corey Ciepiela Shallan is pretty important in the second and third books.

[@theaverageDon]

What's The Takeaway? Oh I agree, as I said in my comment, I skipped her parts until the second book

[@shashemption]

Way of Kings is the weakest of the current three books imo. Very much enjoyed WoR and now reading Oathbringer.

[@dragonphoreal]

currently reading a trilogy of books called the Coldfire Trilogy (Black Sun Rising, When True Night Falls, and Crown of Shadows). I finished the first book months back, picked up the 2nd book but stopped until recently. Have you by any chance heard of this series (I think it's more of a lesser known trilogy though)? - it's book covers were drawn by Michael Whelan as well however. The author's name is C.S. Friedman

[@errrzarrr]

ASoFaI is a great fantasy serie dude

[@timholden8007]

Thanks

[@missjean5029]

Great video! I've subscribed

[@DVSPress]

Thanks so much!

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

In case you are in the mood for comment reading, here are some: The Black Cauldron did not "almost ruin Disney" because it was too dark. It almost ruined Disney because it was crap. I almost got into The Song of Ice and Fire at one point, because an artist I follow wrote praise for it. Then looked into just what the heck it is, and found it not to my liking. Still have not finished The Dark Tower. I dread what lies ahead. I was introduced to Elric by a certain RazörFist fellow, about a month ago. Will read someday. The Harry Potter films are a disgrace to the books. Not only are they very tonally inconsistent with each other, but some of the story choices are just dumb. A friend... sort of..... of mine really praised the Wings of Fire books (which I have not read). They are about dragons apparently. Do you know anything about them?

[@DVSPress]

Children cried during screenings of black cauldron because of how scary it was, it hurt Disney's image, and was much darker than the pieces that surrounded it. Dark Tower is good, but I looking back I don't like the final three volumes. It was probably inevitable as King had written things in earlier books he had to deliver on. Overall, it delivers enough for me to recommend it.

[@hecatr]

Dave, read anything by ND Wilson?

[@Juan-gd2yo]

Have you read the Witcher series?

[@marcushedstrom8124]

Wasn't there an Amber movie?

[@travis8504]

The Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini was my first Fantasy series and the series that made me fall in love with reading. Does anyone have any recommendations for a fantasy series like a song of ice and fire? I want to read a series with really interesting characters and a plot that develops slowly over a large series.

[@joshcowart2446]

It’s hard to find on like ASOIAF. That series deconstructs a lot of fantasy tropes so if it’s your baseline you may be disappointed. As for long series, wheel of time is my favorite. It drags a bit at times but finishes strong. R A Salvatore’s demon wars trilogy is really good. It starts with a trilogy but then he has several more series and individual books all linked to that universe. Sarah Douglas wayfarer redemption trilogy. Elizabeth Hayden symphony of ages. Terry Goodkind sword of truth is great up until the final 3 books

[@callianr6980]

I would suggest The Stormlight Archive.

[@joshcowart2446]

Callian r yes, slow at first but very good. I just got oathbreaker but haven’t had a chance to start it

[@MilkshakeEnthusiast1992]

Do not start with Malazan! You will not make it through it if your new to Fantasy haha. Jim Butchers Dresden Files or Codex Alera are pretty good starters.

[@truthwatchers8]

Great recomendations! I started reading with Harry Potter, actually. But I would also recomend Neverending Story by Michael Ende. That's the book that actually tells you why read fantasy and is perfect por young people. Greeting from Mexico!

[@dragonphoreal]

My Dad has that exact version of The Hobbit

[@REALmikegordan]

I think you misuse some of the Fantasy terms. Low Fantasy pretty much is real life, but with one or two fantasy elements thrown in, may it be a supernatural occurrence or entity. The supernatural element doesn't even dominate the functionality of the world so much as they simply appear in front of the main character for one reason or another. Examples of Low Fantasy: The Borrowers, Kiki's Delivery Service, Groundhog's Day, and It's a Wonderful Life among others. Many horror movies--including slashers--tend to fall into the subcategory of Low Fantasy as well. Sword and Sorcery are pretty much fantasy adventures that are largely episodic. But there's still a heavy emphasis on magic, the mystical, and fantastical. Harry Potter skates between Sword and Sorcery quite a bit, but given the overall high stakes of the Harry Potter franchise, it's probably closer to High Fantasy regardless. Sword and Sorcery pretty much keeps the stakes simple. Examples of Sword and Sorcery: Dungeons & Dragons, Conan the Barbarian, the Periden books (it's been a long while since I last read them, and I don't have a copy of these books anywhere on me), and Tales of Earthsea among others. The High Fantasies, obviously, are the epic, grand scale fantasies. We know what they are; Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, etc., etc. They're pretty much the most popular form of fantasy that there is. Although there are several works of fantasies that lack proper categorization here. For example, Mysticism may have fantastical elements, though the fantasy nature of the narrative is left a mystery. Examples include Wind in the Willows, Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, and The Land Before Time. Neither of them are Low Fantasies, but neither could you classify them as Sword and Sorcery or High Fantasies, either. I think it's safe to say that most fairy tales lean more towards Low Fantasy, though they probably deserve their own set of standards altogether, especially since the supernatural is quite common in these worlds; they simply have a symbolic or subconscious purpose in order to help teach children back in the day (which is why there were a lot of Big, Bad Wolves and wicked witches--not a lot of dragons, though). And finally, we have surrealism. Now, to be fair, surrealism isn't really fantasy, though it accomplishes many of the same things as fantasy. Surrealism is pretty much a lucid dream where the unreal seems real. However, I think the simplest way to describe Surrealism is that it's basically characters or situations that act and function in ways that no normal human being would (a good example is a young boy wearing his dad's head around the house like a helmet, and his mother telling his son to put his father's head back). Much of noir falls into the category of surrealism. And in some of the most effective examples of how surrealism can still feel like a fantasy, I highly recommend John Wick Chapter 2. Definitely a great film by any stretch, and the imagery definitely feels otherworldly as if the world itself is supernatural unto itself.

[@REALmikegordan]

And just a heads up. Urban fantasy is pretty much fantasy that is set in the modern world. Most fall into the category of Low fantasy, though there are examples like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter that are most definitely fall into the category of either High Fantasy or Sword and Sorcery. Twilight is a bit of an oddball since the supernatural element is way too prevalent to be anything less than Sword and Sorcery, and yet is terribly lacking in the supernatural department otherwise. Then again, I blame it mostly on the fact that the quality of the writing, well, sucks. Especially when it comes to the world building or characterization--especially the characterization (it's very difficult, I find, to properly build and establish your fantasy worlds without proper characterizations).

[@judewarner1536]

Gemmel & Eddings definitely for newbies, because they are very simplistic, despite their length and numerous sets. I hate them. Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series; are slim, funny, Monty Python-style humour, but get a bit samey after the first four. Harry Potter? Lost interest after the first four, again, but my granddaughter loves 'em. The Hobbit, then LotR, if you wish to start at a more literate level. Failing that... ... Conan the Barbarian, et al, move along nicely, simple & sufficiently bloodthirsty. ''Nine Princes in Amber'', Roger Zelazny, 1st in the Amber series that goes rapidly downhill after a brilliant first book. Also ''Lord of Light'', a bit more adult, based on Hindu mythology combined with super-science. James Branch Cabell, funny & filthy, not for youngters or prissy people. For the cogniscenti, top of my list: ''Malazan Book of the Fallen'', Steven Eriksen. TEN (yes 10 !) volumes ranging from 700 pages to over 1100. Don't expect a finished tale in ANY book. Multiple threads and story arcs, weaving in and out over ten books ''mostly'' drawn together in the final volume. Brilliant, erudite, subtle, black humour abounds (Vol. 5 is particularly funny) harsh, bloodthirsty... adult. A sophisticated read, watch out for clues embedded in both conversation and narrative text that point to unexpected mysteries.

[@thegremlinduke2190]

I am creating, Know what I said this like hundred times an 'Isekai series' yes I have so many plans with this series can you suggest isekai books?

[@DVSPress]

Chronicles of Narnia A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court A princess of Mars / barsoom

[@thegremlinduke2190]

@@DVSPress Ummm okay thanks. I was thinking in the light novel section but okay thank you. I hope your channel reach trillion subs.

[@arkfounder7056]

I've gotta ask, if I ever publish my book would you ever like to read it. It is planned to be a three part trilogy, about the main character going through five or four different motives of what the villains desire and plan to do. If I ever publish Insintation, would you be interested in it? Also the goat on my icon is the main antagonist of the series. Eogo Ali Tainter

[@austinshockey9274]

Psh. I was SIX when I read The Hobbit the first time - first grade. It’s awful that 13 yr olds are considered beneath that reading level.

[@kanegord3109]

Fantastic video, David, really great stuff. I really like fantasy novels more around morality and character stories, The Grimm brothers come to mind. Out of curiosity, have you ever played any of the Dragon Age games?, it's usually not my thing but after playing Mass Effect: Andromeda, I thought I'd try Dragon Age: Inquisition (both made by Bioware), I have to admit that its blown me away, great storytelling and crafting.

[@DVSPress]

Dragon Age Origins is by far the best Dragon Age game. Inquisition is terrible by comparison (more for gameplay reasons than story, but I like origins's characters and story better too).

[@CloudStrife893]

Heya David. Idk if you've ever tried any of the warcraft books out but they are so good man. Would start with "Rise of the Horde" if interested.

[@corm1000]

Is that an Edguy shirt I see, cool.

[@DVSPress]

One of my relics.

[@fightingirish5755]

I would say for anyone who wants to get into fantasy that they give some books geared towards a younger audience a try. Book series like Redwall by Brian Jacques are good because he doesn't really gear his stories to young children, he just has a style of storytelling that lends itself towards them but are such good yarns and can be enjoyed by anyone. There's also a fantasy trilogy that I loved reading as a 12 year old called the Wind on Fire trilogy by William Nicholson. Nicholson wrote the screenplay for Gladiator (1 of 3 writers), First Knight and also wrote the stage and screen versions of Shadowlands, the biopic about CS Lewis and the story is simple enough but captivating and then of course there's the His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman which was written for a younger audience but is crammed full of meaty intellectual subject matter that it's just as appealing to adults.

[@DVSPress]

I liked the Redwall books a lot as a kid, and there's so many of them!

[@fightingirish5755]

Yeah they're really good and I read them when I was 13 (27 now). Simple, yet colourful prose and straightforward good vs evil narratives, really great foundation for further fantasy reading. Sometimes it seems as though fantasy has gotten so complicated that you just want something that brings it back to basics. Two of my favourite series are the Lord of the Rings and the Wheel of Time and I'm about to embark on the Malazan book of the Fallen, having been aware of it for over a decade but just experiencing a general sense of intimidation about touching them, so I'm not shy when it comes to immersing myself in a large world but sometimes you just want something where most of the work is put into the story as opposed to creating the world. That's the reason why I just bought Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. From the sound of it, it seems quite impressive how restrained he was when it comes to the worldbuilding aspects. Doing just enough to make sure he had a believable world to base events around but then putting a lot of intensive care into creating the story.

[@DVSPress]

I really like Malazan, but it's a beastly epic that doesn't spend time on exposition, just throws you into a complex, living world. The plots weave across multiple books, but each one has some insanely epic plots within it. I didn't care for the Name of the Wind, personally, as I found it extremely tedious and with an unrealistic and annoying Gary Stu of a main character.

[@fightingirish5755]

I'm really looking forward to Malazan now. In fact I'm so excited that I'm not sure how I wasn't excited a lot sooner lol. I think part of the problem was that i became aware of them around the same time I found and fell in love with the Wheel of Time so as a 13/14 year old it just wasn't on the cards for me to absorb that much, along with the fact I'd imagine Malazan would probably be a bit too advanced for a 14 year old. But I've had over a decade to absorb WOT now so at this stage in my life I'm definitely ready for Malazan. I have Way of Kings by Sanderson ordered too but I'm hoping i can fit it in on the side. Although long I imagine it'll be a much lighter read, thematically. It's nice to hear an honest take on Name of the wind but I'm going to see if I like it and even though its long at least it's not a massive series like WOT or Malazan. A point of bother for me is the way its getting a TV show tbh. My opinion with Game of Thrones is puzzlement that that's the one they chose to make whilst avoiding a lot of other, imo more worthy stories. Lin Manual Miranda is also involved as showrunner and I dislike him immensely. The one I'm really looking forward to is WOT but honestly they're most likely just going to muck it up or its not going to get off the ground anyway. They've already decided against turning them into movies which is how they SHOULD be done but I'll still be happy to watch on TV if they do a good job.

[@DVSPress]

I'm personally not interested in adaptations of any variety, at least at this point in my life. The inevitably disappoint, and why do we need them? What is lacking in the book that we need a visual representation?

[@Abstractreference260]

The prince of nothing series

[@lamadawa3645]

The Hobbit or There and Back Again...published 1937.

[@desertrose0601]

I tried reading the Hobbit and gave up about halfway through. It was so so plodding and boring. I just couldn’t get into it. I also gave up halfway through The Gunslinger. I love Stephen King but that book was again sooooo plodding and boring. The main fantasy series that I’ve been able to sink into pretty easily is Game of Thrones (just started reading it this week actually). I’m surprised to hear that you couldn’t get into that one. I’m finding it way more accessible and easier to get into than any other fantasy series I’ve attempted. The storylines and mysteries and characters immediately drew me in and I am finding it to be quite a page turner.

[@ademiranda2]

Reading The Stormlight Archives now. It’s ok. I think Sandersen is overrated.

[@willnitschke]

Could not get into the Gunslinger. Read a few chapters. Nothing really happened. Put the book down. Did not get picked up again.

[@ShyFly1000]

You should try it again. You might find you feel differently about it now

[@theoneandonlygod]

I got into books because of rick riordan.

[@Apamaru]

Fantasy literature was sort of ruined for me by Tolkien, because everything else feels so shallow and soulless and pedestrian in comparison. I do enjoy Song of Ice and Fire though - there are some truly beautiful and striking moments in that fundamentally nihilistic series which appears to have gotten off the rails in the latter couple of books. A Throne of Bones is a lesser known fantasy book with a Christian core.

[@willowproxy4346]

I love it when someone tells you that they're going to tell you about a story and then they tell you pretty much nothing about the story. That's my issue with all this guys videos, they all play out that exact same way.

[@crusherven]

What, that he doesn't spoil the story?