Most Influential Fantasy/Scifi Authors of 2000 - 2020🏆

[@Avieate]

Proud of having contributed to this video (sent a single message in the Discord that got completely ignored)

[@mycointhetrees]

jus wanted to say thank you for the laugh 😭 bless your day

[@samuelleask1132]

💙

[@Avieate]

@@mycointhetrees I'm glad I could do that! Have a good day, and happy new year.

[@collicou]

Madeline Miller also seems to me like she has had a big impact in popularizing the "modern retelling of historical myths and legends" genre

[@tatianar9429]

True, but Rick Riordan also did that first, and a lot of retellings of classics can be traced back to him

[@jdsilber772]

Though I agree Riordan is way more influential in that area, Miller opened quite a different way of retelling the myths, and many recent books are clearly influenced by her work. ​@@tatianar9429

[@koirena]

@@tatianar9429 I'd argue Rick Riordan did a "reimagining" rather than a "retelling" though, there are distinct differences. Madeline Miller's work is a retelling.

[@Based808]

Except her books are post-modernist and reject the real philosophies of ancient times.

[@bearman2373]

I dunno I kinda disagree with Stephenie Meyer. She had a huge impact to the fantasy genre. Maybe not romantasy, but vampires were everywhere in media because of Twilight, and she redefined vampires in books, to the point people are ecstatic that vampires are "returning" to being scary killers instead of sparkly and friendly. Not a fan, but she had a huge impact. Also great video lol

[@TheEickert]

Laurel K Hamilton made vampires sexy before Stephanie Meyer, and was commercially successful in the genre. The whole sexy vampire, werewolf, fae, monster of choice movement could be directly attributed to her books in the 90s. As someone who grew up during the 90s/00s, I'd agree that Twilight preceded Hunger Games as cultural chokeholds and I'm not disagreeing with you that Stephanie Meyer was hugely influential and could be considered for the list, just that she wasn't original.

[@CrownlessStudios]

​@@TheEickertHamilton and, perhaps even more famously, Ann Rice.

[@TheEickert]

@CrownlessStudios good point! Although anne rice is still strongly horror, at least imo. I didn't find her vampires or the relationships sexy, but also I'm not a fan, so I haven't read many of her books. There's a book called Carmilla, which is horror, but also shows some of the elements that modern vampires seem to have. I've been trying to read about the vampire myth through time, so if you have other recommendations, I'd love to hear!

[@mamahand9390]

@@TheEickert oh trust me- Anne Rice vampires are super sexy and the relationships are so intense- it’s just that the writing style and formation are from several decades ago and not done in the very in-your-face way the romantasy (smutty) stuff is done now. I started with Anne Rice and moved on to all the others. I love SJM and Sanderson etc. 💕

[@TheEickert]

@mamahand9390 good to know! Do you have any recs of hers? I've only read the first couple vampire chronicles books.

[@mattcruz5266]

Hey boss next time you do a list like this could you put the name next to the picture so I can pause and google the author?

[@joeybelasco]

Seriously no chapters, no list in the description, my TikTok ass brain doesn't remember one name from that video

[@admiralepic1357]

People say first or whatever, but this video had 68 views before I clicked on it. Daniel, I was view number 69.

[@ryno_8848]

69th nice

[@Matt_Laine]

Hunger Games was insane when I was in high school. I remember we were traveling to a basketball game and almost everyone on our bus was reading it. Guys who hadn’t read for fun since they were little kids were reading it

[@nicolasbell145]

One thing I’ll mention about Jemisin and the Broken Earth Trilogy - I have a geology background, and I read this trilogy first before I got my degree in geology. I thought it was amazing then. And then I got a degree in geology, and I’m pursuing higher education in geology, and I read the books again and I still absolutely freaking love them. So the rock stuff is on point within the series as well as them just being incredible in their own right.

[@samuelleask1132]

In conversations I’ve had with people who aren’t massively into the genre, Brandon Sanderson is probably the only mainstream fantasy author without an adaptation they are aware of

[@markstenquist2315]

Kudos for putting Rowling on. It's a no brainer for me, but I've seen discussions like this that don't include her and it blows my mind. Like her or not, her impact on books and culture is on a scale only a handful of IPs ever realize. People talk about "boulders" of impact, as it were, and ignore the friggin mountain behind them sometimes.

[@benjaminrawls5479]

While she is a huge deal for YA she did intentionally distance herself from the fantasy community as a whole and I don’t think she was nearly as impactful for works in that space as her impact on wider culture would make a lot of people think. Separate from success absolutely destroying her morality.

[@markstenquist2315]

@@benjaminrawls5479 Yes, she has distanced herself, and her later works aren't impactful in the slightest, but that doesn't take away from the 7 published books and their impact on the genre and culture with those books.

[@AtticsTV]

Yeah you can hate JK Rowling for what she has become recently... but Harry Potter is arguably the most influential piece of literature in the past couple decades. The cultural phenomena spanned multiple generations at once and was a household staple in the life of an entire generation, to the point that even today you have that generation discussing what House they belong to.

[@bullbythehorns808]

Was afraid to say her full name like she voldermort tho 😂

[@Beigeboss95instagram]

JK Rowling- the blend of academia and magic; getting youngsters into reading and fantasy (this one was true in my country India cause she was the one who got we traditionaly scripture readers into reading secualr fiction books like harry potter and even watching british films. such great memories she has created for we urban indians...besides tthe UK.)

[@asterius4856]

The last time I was this early a week without Fantasy News was still a week without Fantasy News

[@mndrew1]

Honorable mention: Chuck Tingle.

[@samanthaa.6055]

No one has written about the impact of generational trauma in such an intimate way better than NK Jemison.

[@Dynnen]

I will say a nice hidden bit of having Sanderson at the top is that he creates voracious readers. Speaking anecdotally here, I didn't read a single book that wasn't an operating manual for nearly 20 years. Then my wife got me a kindle and The Way of Kings. From Sanderson I've jumped into so many other book series {including Wheel of Time} Purchasing and consuming them like some locust swarm

[@edanmaor]

Great video. Agree with your picks. I do think one SF series that deserves a mention is Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem, which is one of the greatest and most impactful series of the last 20 years IMO, not to mention one of the most original. Also, Ted Chiang, while only writing short stories, is one of my personal favorite authors, and has managed to snag an adaptation. Don't know how *influential* he is. Finally, as a huge Brandon Sanderson fan - can't agree more with him being on the list. His impact is not just in writing very popular books - his approach to his fans, his turning his books into a business, etc - I think it's only comparable to the rise of comic books as a genre. I've heard him say his goal is to become like Stan Lee - and that makes total sense in terms of the amount of impact one person can have.

[@Federgeistchen-cg2nr]

I completely agree. I too would have swapped out Brandon Sanderson for Cixin Liu with exactly the same reasoning. He seems to be a huge influence in Chinese Sci-Fi (though judging from the outside is difficult) and he is responsible for making Chinese Sci-Fi popular worldwide. In Europe, his effect on the genre may be more obvious than in the US, and equally, Sanderson isn't that big of a name here. (Still very well known and respected, of course, just not nearly to the same degree as he is in the US)

[@happymemeco]

Ted Chiang is an incredible author, almost on the level of Le Guin, but I don't know that enough people have read him outside of of people interested in philosophy. Whenever I'm in those spaces I hear his name all the time. But outside of those spaces you're really the first person I've seen mention him. I hope he gets the recognition he deserves.

[@theindigofrog]

I just finished Jemisin's Fifth Season a few days ago and it hasn't left my brain. I could feel brilliance in every minute decision she made

[@valarya]

It feels SO strange living and breathing within the fantasy and sci-fi world since I was a teenager in the 90s, and never once hearing of Adrian Tchaikovsky. Thanks for the recommend - I'll have to give him a shot.

[@Cinephilemo]

most of his stuff is not crazy popular, but cmon you had to have heard of children of time. Thats like the Scifi book of the 2010s

[@valarya]

@@Cinephilemo Nope! I just looked it up, never heard of it. 🫣

[@Aldric524]

He''s on my list of favorite authors, even if not near the tip-top. He writes SO much, and it's so incredibly varied. You don't get formula stuff from him. Some is amazing, some is wtf, you never know. He's like Sanderson in quantity produced, but much higher quality prose.

[@themythosarchives7520]

Percy Jackson did get a musical adaptation in 2014 and it was beloved enough to help green light the tv series. There is also Rick Riordan Presents, a program meant to spotlight lesser known authors who know their own mythology and culture and it’s still going with tons of new books and authors. Also there’s the LGBTQ representation that he’s had to fight for and got a Stonewall award for one of his books, which he says he should not have as a cishet author and has actively shouted out other authors who are LGBTQ.

[@AltonV]

I read his Stonewall acceptance speech and that definitely raised my opinion of him (not that it was particularly low to begin with)

[@monskiethemonsk6461]

So pleased to see Adrian Tchaikovsky in there, I remember reading The Empire in Black and Gold back in 2009 and being blown away by the alternative evolution world he had created.

[@aikenpublishing]

Sanderson's lectures are a go-to for any new fantasy author. I can't get enough of them.

[@Sunlit_Reading]

A very cool impact of the Hunger Games is the adoption of the three finger salute in pro-democracy movements in Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Myanmar since 2014 onwards against dictatorships.

[@Based808]

Democracy is weak. Let’s salute constitution republics

[@b_olson542]

Having spent my entire 2000s and 2010s in education, your analysis is 1000% on point.

[@anubis42]

Great video! I really enjoyed watching this one with my mornin coffee. I really agree with Sarah J. Maas being up there (even though ACOTAR was my first book in a decade that I DNF.) I do think that Stephanie Myer was the forerunner of the supernatural romance section. But not in a published setting. The iconic boom of amateur writers slogging out werewolf and vampire romances after the release of Twilight was a huge part of webnovels / preteen writing. I know so many writers nowadays who started out there as teens. Was it good? No 😂 But it sure did make a giant impact. Since it was a genre that got a lot of teens into writing on forums and free webnovel platforms like Wattpad.

[@raphaelzakhm7310]

I love this type of videos, keep up the good work!

[@heyimsasa]

nk jemisin is such an underrated author. the broken earth is one of my favorites (i haven't read the last novel because i don't want it to end) and i recently read her short "emergency skin" as an ebook and audiobook and both are excellent and timely.

[@Federgeistchen-cg2nr]

Now, I know a *lot* of people will not agree with this, and it seems almost crazy to say, but I don't think that Sanderson is among the most influential authors. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love his books, and buy the new ones as soon as they come out. BUT, to me it seems that with or without him, bookshelves in stores would be largely the same, the "fantasy landscape" would be largely the same. I feel like, while his works are excellent, and while his output is impressive, he has entered an already quite mature field and has largely stuck to the conventions already in place. I also don't think that he has caused a huge gain in popularity for the genre, I think his success comes mostly from appealing to those already into fantasy and them (us) all agreeing that his books are indeed quite good. Also, I would put Cixin Liu on the list (not just as an honorable mention) as he has popularised Chinese Sci-Fi worldwide. And while I cannot judge this from the outside, he probably has influenced Chinese Sci-Fi immensely. P.S.: As I'm from Germany, I may not be that aware of the US-fantasy scene and his influence there. Please keep that in mind before you start shouting at me. :,)

[@apmanda]

I feel you are MASSIVELY underestimating Stephanie Meyer’s influence/impact in the space. Albeit, I don’t think she influenced much in the realms of classic or traditional science fiction or fantasy, but she had a HUGE impact on how YA-leaning and Supernatural genres were told. The rise of steamy young adult love triangles, and particularly how people view vampires and werewolves was hugely influenced by her. She was absolutely not the first, by any means, to implement these tropes, but she was the one, imo, who solidfied their use and prominence in the mainstream and that is honestly HUGE. Not a personal fan of Meyers or her stories, but I do think you wildly under-represented her influence in the space.

[@AuntieBooks]

Really cool discussion! I like the guidelines you personally put in place to determine what “influential” means. Certainly thought provoking.

[@folkertdejong6974]

Good list, though if you ask me who is missing: Nnedi Okorafor. Carrying the flag for African Sf/Fantasy into battle. A lot more will follow. Wole Talabi, Tomi Adeyemi, Tade Thompson, Suyi Okungbowa, Namina Forma….

[@LordPerrin]

Okorafor fucking RULES. Lagoon is one of my favorite books ever.

[@linkle123]

Wow, tysm for the pinned link I actually got to vote this time

[@keatonr776]

Feel like Paolini deserves and honorable mention for the number of people he got into the franchise and self publishing his first book.

[@HanaNoMaude]

This was gonna be my shout for an HM as well!

[@mikefrost5575]

Disagree on Stephenie Meyer. I don't even like Twilight, but when the phrase "this is Twilight but with..." is a thing, it becomes hard to deny how much reach she has had.

[@PatentlyWillton]

Adrian Tchaikovsky’s name is pronounced the same way the famous Russian composer’s name is pronounced. Chai-KOF-skee

[@randomguy970]

I like this list - feels representative of many changes in the space in the last 2 decades and true to changes in audiences. Here for the Tchaikovsky representation

[@MichaelSmith-zx5lw]

I honestly think the biggest miss here is Robin Hobb. I cannot speak for the USA, but in the UK where I live, she is one author in the genre that you can find on every bookstore fantasy section, often even moreso than Sanderson. Her books are very popular here and even online she's one of the most talked about I've ever seen!

[@bethanygreenwood8259]

A bit random, but I'm really liking having the little edits of Author cut outs on screen while you talk about them. Just really effective 👍🏼

[@Parmandur]

Imagine how big Sanderson will get if he gets even a halfway decent show or film...

[@sgnox7781]

Prabobly wont happen in his lifetime but yea he would be even more of a force of nature then he is now by a lot.

[@Parmandur]

@sgnox7781 I think it will happen by the end if the 20s, even if not the Cosmere.

[@sgnox7781]

@@Parmandur I would love to see it myself but i dont really see it happening, Hollywood right now doesnt have that good of a record of doing adapation and hiring right people and Sanderson wants someone that can capture the magic of the books which is the right attitude. Also it would be extremely expensive its hard to imagine a company willing to put that much not wanting to control too much of how it is adapted, another thing its just really hard to adapt those books into the movies there is a ton of cgi and even with cgi its hard to show certain things, it would prabobly be a lot better for animation but Sanderson not as willing to do that. I love what Sanderson is doing but hollywood doesnt really know how to handle someone that doesnt want or need their money he just wants great adaptation.

[@Parmandur]

@sgnox7781 per the latest State of the Sanderson, Dragonstell is actively trying to get an animated series based on Tress of the Emerald Sea, and TV shows for Snapshot and Skyward are getting pretty close.

[@sgnox7781]

@@Parmandur I havent been actively checking out so thats good to know last ive heard he doesnt want animation because it doesnt reach as big of an audience. But to be fair things you listed are not his major works like Mistborn or Stormlight and those are what would really skyrocket his fame even more, but if Tress gets popular for example i can see his major works being adapted as way more possible.

[@ChristianBullock]

Super solid list. Love seeing Tchaikovsky on there - I read everything by him.

[@epicgamer2727]

I will say that I think Steven Erikson has had an impact on authors who write epic fantasy. Malazan is a high watermark for the genre in terms of ambition and scope and no one was doing what he was doing prior to their release in the beginning of the 2000’s. He also set records for the advance on the series at the time.

[@DanielGreeneReviews]

I really struggled with whether or not to include Erikson on this list. I LOVE Malazan, but in my experience its a VERY insular series. The success is there, but I don't see many people trying to do what Erikson has done. I COULD ABSOLUTELY BE WRONG

[@BloomageOne]

@@DanielGreeneReviews I think that it may take a little bit longer to see some of the impact from Erikson and Malazan due to the long time horizons for upcoming authors to do something similar. I see two different ways that Erikson may influence speculative fiction moving forward: 1. The ambition and scope of his worldbuilding and stories set within that world. Erikson and Esslemont developed Malazan over years through GURPS and D&D and any similar project would likewise take years to replicate (especially if you don't have a partner like Esslemont). 2. This doesn't get discussed as much, but I think Erikson brings a lot to fantasy in terms of writing philosophy - a great example is actually your discussion with him about characterisation! Erikson studied literary writing extensively, including studying at the Iowa Writers Workshop, and I hope that the standards and ideas he brings to writing and prose itself may influence upcoming authors as well. In terms of similar series to release since Malazan (in terms of both ambition and to a lesser extent writing style) there's Second Apocalypse by R Scott Bakker, but I think this released close enough to Gardens of the Moon that influence from Malazan is unlikely.

[@jaspervanheycop9722]

I found what I've read from Erikson to be very derivative of what was common in "low-brow" (paperback) fantasy in the 80's and 90's. He even cites quite a few of his inspirations directly in his foreword to the (latest?) edition of Gardens of The Moon. He just brought back a lot from that writing that sort of went away in the 90's early 2000's, a bit like how Quentin Tarantino remixes 70's B-movies. It's more a competent pastiche than something very new.

[@Parmandur]

@@DanielGreeneReviews I think Sanderson would include him as an influence: Stormlight Archives is way more accessible than Malazan, but Malazan influenced writers like Sanserson to go way bigger and more wild with their fantasy worlds.

[@timholland1764]

I totally agree that Erickson will be an author that is more appreciated as time passes. His books touch on so many deep themes that other series do not even go near. That said, I think his lack of accessibility for many readers limits his impact in the shorter term.

[@VetinariClone]

I think that was a pretty solid list. I kinda went in expecting to disagree or wonder why some other authors weren’t on the list, but I had far fewer quibbles than i expected.

[@BookslingerMonty]

I understand that she's not had the same level of commercial success compared to some others, but Robin Hobb has been hugely influential to other authors at the very least. Realm of the Elderlings is not perfect, but her achievement in character writing is unsurpassed in my view.

[@LordPerrin]

I've never been so emotionally attached to characters than those in RoE. From Fitz to a sentient ship, I adore every character.

[@bethlondonart]

Daniel could do a video on characters who became most deeply entrenched in our hearts and minds. Fitz and Night Eyes would be close to the top for me.

[@marilynfishel3843]

Daniel. Thank you. Hope you have a great year ahead! Most thoughtful, & in my opinion, insightful & thorough & in agreement. Well done.

[@lytalo]

My gaming friends are all Sanderson fans and have backed his kickstarter of the Cosmere TTRPG. He has a big impact.

[@John-lo2wn]

This video feels like a direct follow up to Sanderson big speech at DN24.

[@deadlightlabyrinth]

One of the best/my fave vids of yours I've seen! I approve of your choices. Also, you freaking rock the sweater.

[@enlightenedcentrist96]

New drinking game, drink every time Daniel says "space"

[@woolwizard2469]

I love your Content Daniel, i just wanna point out a thing, that was bothering me a little bit. In the honorable mentions part you said a lot of times, that some authors just did things, that were done before (although they did it really well). I kind of disagree, that this seems to be a reason to not include them in the actual list. I don't think originality and influential are mutually exclusive. And i wanna point out, that i don't think you see it that way either (i might be wrong) but it just sounded that way. A lot of things were done before but the ones, that made it popular or executed it really well are the most influential in any art form in my opinion. And i also wanna say, that i don't write this because i would like to see someone in the honrable mentions be included (i didn't even read anything from most of them if not all, i don't remember), it was just a general point i wanted to make... that a writer doesn't have to do anything groundbreaking and original to be considered very influential. Even just bringing a new audience into a genre or into reading in general is really influential, even if the things, they write, is not original in any way.

[@benhodgkin5198]

A really well thought out video.

[@michaelvcelentano]

2:20 Respectfully, some of Le Guin’s best work after The Dispossessed was in the latter part of her career…

[@michaelvcelentano]

I say this as someone who spent 2024 reading everything she wrote

[@Syco07-pm3iz]

My order of the Earthsea series has arrived today and am so excited to get into Le Guin's works​@@michaelvcelentano

[@nazimelmardi]

Agreed.

[@Federgeistchen-cg2nr]

@@michaelvcelentano Damn, you are a fast reader! All her works in one day??

[@michaelvcelentano]

@Federgeistchen-cg2nr Thanks for catching that, I’m running on no sleep right now

[@bullbythehorns808]

1) 5:07 Sarah J Maas (for popularity of romantasy) 2) 8:08 Joe Abercrombie (Rise of Grimdark through amazing characterwork and humor) 3) 10:12 George R Martin (getting tv series adapated) 4) 11:59 Susan Collins (making modern adaptations so popular/ YA dystopian ) 5) 15:19 Rick Riordan (mental health in books) 6) 17:33 Will Whyte ( changes in publication) 7) 19:11 Adrian Tchaikovsky ( for writing good books) 8) 20:58 NK Jemisin (cultural statements in works) 9) 22:30 Harry Potter and the author who shall not be named... 10) 24:33 Brandon "Storming" Sanderson( just prolific AF)

[@zack-apsalar-rake]

I scroll down for this. Thanks mate!

[@glory4645]

JK Rowling there you go I did it for you. I don't care what people think about her opinion on certain issues but she risen from literally nothing and left huge impact for popularisation of fantasy and female authors.

[@satinsleeves]

@@glory4645 And she completely ruined her legacy. It's okay if people don't like her or want to support her

[@hammerandthewrench7924]

As our country falls apart, Daniel keeps up together

[@dukeofdenver]

Stephanie Meyer popularized the "sexy monster" trend, from vampires, werewolves, aliens, zombies, ghosts etc. I would take out Adrian and put here in there.

[@carolbriscoe9337]

Glad you're mentioned those authors who are self-publishing. Started reading Glynn Stewart an Audrey Faye that way, though they use Amazon to download their e-books. On the whole you've covered the real influential authors of this time. Thanks

[@TheCheesecakeWonder]

Great list, Daniel! Definitely thought provoking and shined a light on some authors that I need to prioritize to get a greater understanding of the modern fantasy literature space. Only pick I disagree with is your first, with Maas over Meyer. I know ACOTAR was published in the 2010s, but its impact and mega-popularity really only hit during and post-pandemic, with the rise of TikTok/BookTok. Like Collins w/ dystopia, Twilight's influence has really died down by now, but for the better part of the 2000s and 2010s, supernatural romance had an absolute chokehold on YA fantasy. As other commenters have pointed out, her portrayal of vampires massively shaped modern perceptions of the trope. And Twilight's impact on online fan culture/spaces can't be understated, either!

[@kredonystus7768]

I feel like Sanderson isn't one of the most influential yet. He's well loved and sold but I can't think of many authors naming him as a writing inspiration, I think he'll be one of the most influential in decades to come but the rest of these have caused huge genre shifts. Hundreds or maybe thousands of authors can name Abercrombie as a reason they are writing in an inspiration way, Sanderson is more of a I learned from his marketing and success way which isn't really "most influential" in the classic sense.

[@pandusonu]

Given Daniel's manga arc, I half expected Oda to be listed as well

[@DanielGreeneReviews]

That would need to be its own list I’m not qualified to even attempt to make yet.

[@LalitKute-ie8vr]

@@DanielGreeneReviews oda has not influenced manga as much as tite kubo oda has influenced very little

[@eumetazoa]

​@@LalitKute-ie8vr As much as I dislike Bleach, I must agree and unfortunately in a lot of modern series we see the shortcomings of this series as well.

[@strangekitchenappliances2314]

@@LalitKute-ie8vrwell he’s certainly inspired a lot of people to write manga so if somebody counted that as influence but if we mean tangible changes to the status quo of a genre than yeah I don’t think he was that influential.

[@neutral_narr]

I disagree I think Kishimoto and Togashi have had a bigger impact than Oda. Mind you I prefer One Piece to any shonen series.

[@TheCoreyWolfe]

Adrian Tchaikovsky has quickly become my favorite author in the last few years, thanks for mentioning him Daniel. Alien Clay and Service Model were both stand out titles from him this year

[@kimberley670]

Adrian’s amazing!

[@akellerhouse83]

I loved Service Model! It's like, cozy sci-fi almost.

[@ThePoliticsofFiction]

Nice video. N.K. Jemisin is probably my favourite current SFF author, every single element of the Broken Earth trilogy is just incredibly high quality. I love Tchaikovsky's work too; Children of Time is an all-time great, up there with the best of imaginative SF like Banks and Vinge. What I love about him as well is that he churns out books like crazy, but his prose is consistently excellent. Unlike some other big fantasy names...

[@Talking_Story]

Awesome list!

[@vinnieandhispizza6299]

Not gonna lie, a count down of numbers for the list would have been really helpful. I got lost in the middle how many authors were or were not on this list

[@Federgeistchen-cg2nr]

Well, he has said "in no particular order". It's not meant to be a ranking with a definite first, second, third, ... place

[@kristagallitelli]

You go, DG. Super interesting content here! Loved this video.

[@crimsonraen]

Yes, Sanderson definitely has an impact on what I'm reading now.. Being that I'm currently reading Wind and Truth. ;) Also, him being a bridge to other authors.. Bridge 4! Anyways, thanks for the video Daniel! This list is really great, and well thought out. :)

[@barryfinn4139]

I think you were bang on. Great video Daniel!

[@image6053]

Just wondering why you didn't mention Sanderson pretty much singlehandedly being responsible for audible changing their terms for creators?

[@roger4fiona]

Yes - this is HUGE.

[@clayharden8663]

The inclusion of Adrian Tchaikovsky is very interesting to me. I have a few of his books, but have yet to read any. I think I’ll move him up my TBR. Great video, thanks!

[@noraholdenziel278]

I truly am just missing Guy Gavriel Kay. The author that is your author's favourite author :D

[@gavinsmith9871]

You probably should have mentioned Wildbow when talking about the online space. He was essentially the first pioneer in serialized internet fiction with Worm and his inflauance has been felt in superhero fiction in that space ever since.

[@yasaminyaldaei7357]

I consider these as Martin's influence too: - Making soft magic/low fantasy exciting again in the era of magic systems and sci-fi leaking into fantasy - Proving that a mainstream fantasy series can have spectacular prose

[@EatItBeatIt]

I am only 4 minutes in but, I already know I will enjoy this video and will probably end up taking notes.

[@d2dMiles]

Any reason that you've not read Percy Jackson apart from the young target audience? IMO it's not only fun for grown-ups as well, it's very well written and tackles important questions of life in a meaningful, far from shallow way.

[@ElijsDima]

Oh jeez Daniel did you have to throw out all your other books just to make space on the bookshelf?

[@DanielGreeneReviews]

I'm happy to say I live in a house with a library finally :) Just one too small to shoot in.

[@shawnhitt5312]

@@DanielGreeneReviewsshow us the library!

[@GoErikTheRed]

@@DanielGreeneReviewspics or it’s not real

[@Cinephilemo]

@@DanielGreeneReviews library tour please!!!!!!!!

[@James_D_W]

Absolutely awesome video to end the year on, the list was great and your arguments and reasoning were pretty flawless. Im super excited for what we have to look forward to from you in 2025. Keep doing you boo ❤ happy new year

[@mariasofiasantos3895]

One of the biggest mysteries of my life is the success of Sarah J Maas. No hate towards the sexy scenes but it's just.. how can books with such bad writing, bad characters, weak stories and plots be so popular. I read the first three books of the ACOTAR series and.. It's still a mystery 😅.

[@sotek2345]

Ok, the ERB reference got me!

[@rvantong]

Collins got me into reading with Hunger Games, so she's my personal most influential writer

[@DavidScotton]

"He made spider society somehow not awful to read about" - I have to point out that Vernor Vinge did it first! Anyway, good video and pretty solid picks I would say. Glad you went across the spectrum from Y.A. to grimdark, romantasy, etc.

[@Rock-Child]

Whilst you are right about Sara J. Maas outselling Sanderson, and brought more readers to our genre, there is a reason he is getting more attention from Hollywood than she is

[@DrJones0801]

As someone who hasn't read a fantasy book for nearly a decade, I agree with this list

[@westmanpl]

One author that I would have on my list is Michael Anderle. He is an Indie author who became successful enough that he was able to start his own indie publishing company LMBPN. One special thing that he did was that he took his flagship series, The Kurtherian Gambit, and opened it up to other authors to write in the world that he created. I think it is a fantastic read and the entirety of the whole extended universe covers multiple genres, so there is a series within the universe that can appeal to anybody.

[@Isaiah_McIntosh]

Michael has had 0 influence

[@nightbrother42]

I'd love to see a list of the authors you talked about in this video in the description. I started looking up people during your opening discussion and just couldn't keep up. I haven't finished the video yet so if you have recommendations for where to start with any of the authors you mentioned it would be greatly appreciated (Or a second video for that ;p) Thanks for the fun video

[@emilie_b5346]

For me, Stephanie Meyer has to be here. I feel like it's thanks to twilight that books like throne of glass and hunger games could become that popular. Because twilight created a fan base, mostly made of young girls, that were craving similar stories (fantasy or sci-fi, with a love triangle, and a female main character pov). That created a group of consumer that allowed for many books to become popular. And maybe also because I come from a non-english speaking country, I believe that thanks to twilight, a lot of YA books from other languages had more opportunities to be translated. And again, thanks to twilight, love triangles were everywhere. And as a young teenager, I was loving it. And all of my friends were loving it. We were having arguments over "who was the best" in school. Also, from my perspective, Sarah J. Maas, while very influencial now, was not even someone I had even heard of before booktok became a thing. And I'm a big reader. I think worldwide, depending on countries, her books weren't as popular maybe. I had many group friends with whom we discussed YA/romantasy books, and never have I heard one of my friends mentioned one of her book before 2020.

[@jaspervanheycop9722]

I wanted to weigh in as a fantasy fan from mainland Europe (the Netherlands), Markus Heitz should be on here. His epic fantasy series The Dwarves is highly influential over here. To the point that there are several copycat authors that took his idea (i.e. write traditional fantasy from the perspective of a race/people of usually tertiary importance), and now we have The Elves, The Dark Elves, etc. And many bookstores have entire shelves dedicated to his books. Also highly recommended for your TBR, though I cannot speak to the English translations, have only read his work translated into Dutch or in the original German. Though I don't disagree with your list from an Anglosphere perspective.

[@patrickmaddy4611]

With the big section on indie, I feel like Hugh Howey deserves a spot for what he did with Wool. Originally self published, later a NY Times bestseller.

[@andrewwright64]

I also probably would've included Paolini on this list for inspiring most dragon books of the last twenty years.

[@charmz6714]

Sarah J Maas got me into Fantasy. Loved her books and now I’m working through the Stormlight Archive. I tell people who don’t read fantasy to start with her and then work their way into more epic pieces.

[@jjrusso664]

Hard agree on SJM. Do I love her books? No, not really. But her influence cannot be disputed. For better or for worse, SJM has made waves in the fantasy/romantasy space

[@sgnox7781]

She is not a great writer by any means, but she can grabbed a massive female audience and madefantasy books trendy by people that wouldnt neccesarily get into them definitely deserves to be on the list regardless of how bad of a writer i think she is.

[@tropicaltuna]

Good call on Suzanne Collins and Will Wight, I wouldn't have thought of them initially. I would have included Stephanie Meyer personally. Aside from the enormity of Twilight as a hit, I think it had a huge impact on fandom and the fanfic writing community.

[@Amira_Ke]

Such an interesting video!

[@DanSolo41]

I can absolutely agree on why those top 10 have that status - for the lasting *impact* they had on the two decades covered - and fully agree that those others mentioned either didn't count due to starting before the time period, or didn't have the same impact as the top spots (Jim Butcher, Stephanie Meyer, while loved/hated, were either less impactful overall or came-and-went).

[@yumyumhungry]

I feel like Fonda Lee will become more influential over time as more people start reading Green bone, much like GRRM took until Storm of Swords to really blow up.

[@MrToddinoz]

Im actually curious if guy gavriel kay would sneak on this list. His numbers are small but i see his influence in so much fantasy. He really is your favorite fantasy authors favorite fantasy author.

[@jdsilber772]

Kind of a weird influence theory about Suzanne Collins, she was a great influence in the battle royale genre in games, hunger games in minecraft, then pubg, and finally, yes, I think the hunger games is a mayor factor that made fortnite the massive game/media titan that it is lol

[@annastarss]

Thanks for putting SJM on this list. She tends to get a lot of hate, but her books have influenced readers and the fantasy genre. I also think people believe that if someone likes SJM's books, they don't read any other authors. SJM is one of my favorite authors, but Pierce Brown is one of my favorite authors, too (I know that he doesn't write fantasy, but his books are vastly different than SJM's.)

[@sonfoku73]

Hunger games chokehold was crazy archery sales went up like crazy. The fact that it made an author write a clickbait first entry(Red Rising) to make it fit before writing what he wanted

[@danhogan1963]

I probably would have added Andy Weir to the list rather than a runner up just because of his influence not just on sci-fi, but on indie publishing. The Martian started on his blog.

[@nekoprankster2184]

Beyond the supernatural romance boom that followed Twilight, I'd argue Stephanie Meyer should be part of the list due to the domino affect Twilight had in regards to some of the fanfics or web-novel film adaptations we've seen in the last few years. First we had 50 Shades (outright fanfic of Twilight), then followed After (Harry Styles fanfic), then 365 Days (can't tell with Google if it was a fanfic of 50 Shades or just inspired), and now a whole flood of Wattpad stories getting movies (and they may not have all been fanfics but the business decision was def influenced by the success of After). E.L. James might have not been the first to file the serial numbers off her fanfic, but what 50 Shades was def caught the attention of not just the public but the businesspeople of the publishing industry. Who knows if everything would've played out the same if Meyer hadn't written Twilight (although ig this means E.L. James deserves partial credit; Meyer set up the domino and James pushed the first block).

[@EmilyPaxman]

I think whether or not you include Stephanie Meyer on this list has a lot to do with how focused you are on YA vs Adult fantasy. I think Meyer's influence is absolutely undeniable in the YA space. It practically defined the voice of YA books for years. You can even see its influence in things like Hunger Games. But if you're focusing more on adult fantasy and sci-fi, then yeah, Sarah J Maass is the bigger figure, since she transitioned up into adult novels, whereas Meyer never did. And while Hunger Games might be YA too, i think it's fair to say that its respected more outside of the YA bubble, so arguably has more relevance to a video like this than Twilight does. Anyhow, that's my take.

[@Bigandrewm]

I think Terry Pratchett should get an honorable mention. He was still publishing into the 2010s and even started to get some of his books adapted for film (Going Postal is especially good!) but also relevant: he notable became known for being an avid gamer who contributed to Oblivion mods.

[@isuperman1113n]

Spot on connecting Riordan to the mental health trend

[@Ipavaiva]

I feel you should have also pointed out Elden ring as part of Martin's body of work. He isn't the main auteur behind it, but it is still arguably the biggest fantasy game we have had in the last 10 years or so, maybe alongside with Breath of the wild