OVERRATED FANTASY BOOKS

[@ebnovels]

I’m currently doing a “TRASH MY FAVORITE BOOKS” on my IG stories, so if you feel like ruining my day, feel free to chime in 💁🏻‍♀️ (this is now closed)

[@jasonkonas]

She might not think Cassandra Clare counts because they aren’t really fantasy.

[@freyafrye7830]

Person: The Witcher. Elliot: Glare intensifies.

[@harryfailsgaming1246]

Ah, Cassandra Clare. I love her books, but I can admit that they’re very overrated. Also the “siblings/lovers” was gross, but that characters involved in that plot knew it. Also SPOILERS, but they are NOT siblings.

[@Lilac-and-Gooseberries]

I liked the concept of the The Shannara Chronicles, basically it’s set in our world but there was some big disaster and everything went back to the beginning. Currently set in medieval-esque era but it’s interesting seeing characters going through an ancient ruined version of Seattle. The tv series attempt was awful though.

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

That was the MTV adaptation. The original books had none of that. At least, the first three didn’t- it might have been added later. The tv show borrowed from The Elfstones of Shannara - which is the best book - but changed almost everything except the most basic plot elements. As someone else pointed out, the Sword of Shannara is obviously Lord of the Rings with some changes, but I still liked it. Probably seems super unoriginal now.

[@robertblume2951]

@@doctorlolchicken7478 it was unoriginal when it came out. It was a deliberate knock off of lord of the rings, like old man's war was a deliberate knock off of Robert Heinlein. Brooks folded his excellent Knight of the Word urban fantasy into Shannara and that's how you get the new origin being the ruin of our world.

[@riva7rau]

Terry Brooks has probably written 25 or more books in his Shannara universe, including a trilogy partially set in Seattle (Armageddon's Children, The Elves of Cintra, and The Gypsy Morph). I haven't finished them, but I believe that it's an attempt to explain how we got from our world to the world of Shannara. I too also loved the Elfstones of Shannara, but also enjoyed many of the later series of books.

[@sese8976]

@@doctorlolchicken7478 it’s was hinted in the first book that it was future earth ….

[@GalaxyElfJess]

Could you possibly do an "unknown fantasy books" recommendation video? What I mean by that is it's kinda like the underhyped thing, except like books that you've read or your subscribers have read that you/them feel like nobody really knows about or at least talks about on Booktube.

[@eltic3]

It's not about drama it's about the fact that very few people will have read an underhyped book but a lot of people will have read an overhyped book and be very mad about it...... Wheel of Time

[@ebnovels]

Devin Young hahaha, I’d still expect people who love to read to be just as excited to hear about some good books they’ve not checked out 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@nathansequeira182]

@@eltic3 WoT is heavily overhyped. What is good in the book except excess worldbuilding

[@wastingmylifeaway4898]

@@nathansequeira182 There's such a thing as excess world building? I love pretty much everything about the books until Jordan jumped the shark. I am pleased with how Sanderson brought everything together in the end. Unfortunate how it had to happen, though.

[@brianclark6340]

@@wastingmylifeaway4898 thank you my thoughts exactly

[@aukword6255]

Great video. It is so good to see an influencer supporting open minded discussion. You approached this minefield of conflicting emotion with respect and empathy. Too often, people are only pushing a personal agenda. More like this, please. Perhaps, you could break the videos down into different reasons. For instance 'Overated because the plot is weak' or 'Overated because the characters are flat'. This might support discussion even more by reducing the complexity of the question.

[@insilencea4599]

The Sword of Shannara definitely used LOTR as its building blocks, but the series as a whole became something very different, especially once Armageddon's Children etc connected it to the Word and the Void trilogy retroactively. Can't really comment on most of the others; Malazan especially seems to be a love-or-hate-it kind of thing. While I lean more toward love, I can agree with some of the complaints people have. 😂

[@ShalomDove]

“You guys love it...” oh absolutely. Book nerds love the tea... all that salty tea 😜 I hear that criticism of Mistborn, but the way I see it , there aren’t many plot lines that haven’t “been done” before , so being creative with the world building surrounding the core plot is a big part of what makes a book special to me, personally. We talk alt about originality in book circles, but for me personally, I enjoy stories that take well known plots and find new ways to subvert them , rather than trying to be wholly original, since I don’t think that’s really possible at this stage of human history. In fact, one thing that first attracted me to the Mistborn series was the subversion of the “chosen one vs dark lord” trope (ie chosen one fails, dark lord won, now we’re here).

[@ebnovels]

Yes! I completely agree :D I get wanting to read something that’s extremely original, but often I find those books a little more difficult to get into (duh).

[@ShalomDove]

Elliot Brooks True! That’s the vibe I get from Black Leopard Red Wolf, or , more accurately, the vibe I get from people’s reviews: an attempt to be experimental and unique (which I respect as a concept) with the side effect of making the actual text less accessible

[@MrWhangdoodles]

@@ebnovels I think you need to finish Fifth Season then. 2nd person was annoying but it switches to first quickly. It's not unique but the character growth and sacrifice is Jack London esque in execution. The ending is poetic and beautiful. Plus, the magic is different. There isn't really anything like it.

[@FyreNano]

Hold up, Skyward is SciFi...so I think I know why they had issues with it as a fantasy book...

[@michaelxz1305]

skyward is SciFi for kids

[@MrWhangdoodles]

@@michaelxz1305 Basically all scifi is for kids. Because the harder stuff is horror in SPAAAACE.

[@misskels94]

Great video! I absolutely loved the demon cycle series and I don't really agree with all the women being in sex scandals. This world is sexist but not because Peter V. Brett is sexist on the contrary, I think Brett has created some of the stongest female charcters I have read about. I also like that the women are all strong in very different ways like you have women that can fight and are physically strong but also other women who strong willed and powerful but not so much physically also this applies to the males in this world aswell. I always love seeing different types of strengths portrayed no matter what the sex because it makes for a much more interested story and characters. I think you would really enjoy it :). Sidenote: I just found your channel and am loving it. I am also a massive fan of Mistborn!! :D

[@robbien19]

Oh no elliot is on to us! She knows our insatiable love if drama! Lol actually if you think about it, book worms are the most drama filled people! We spend all our time reading drama! Lol

[@ebnovels]

Robbie Moore hahaha, that’s seems very accurate 😂

[@adrianreinstein1154]

So I read the last wish (witcher prequel) for YOU Elliot! Lol... And I totally agree with the negative comment mentioned... I also didn't realize it was going to be a retellings book... (did I miss that mentioned somewhere?) BUT... Because you are SOOOO down with the series, I have ”blood of elves” being shipped to me as we speak... Again, ALL FOR YOU ELLIOT!! Lolz... Seriously though... Your enthusiasm for the series makes me want to love it too... So I hope the actual novels are better than ”meh” last wish was...

[@animeshsrivastava7525]

That Witcher reaction though, you could have blasted that person with Aard :D... mine was the same lol

[@naxremtartaros3353]

Demon Cycle? Yup, pretty much felt like that. Dropped it after 2nd book.

[@rosemarkd1]

Is it just me or was Mistborn like reading an Anime and not so much a fantasy? As a fan of Brandon Sanderson, I keep getting Anime vibes when reading his books. Don't get me wrong, I love Anime, but would you put him in the Fantasy genre with such writers like Tolkien, or even Terry Brooks?

[@Scarecrow367]

You and Merphy Napier are never in the same place Hmm.

[@stephenlitten1789]

Suspenseful music, indicative of a conspiracy...

[@Martin-xp5yl]

Of the sentences I didn't expect you to say 'are they lovers or are they siblings? tropes' ranked quite high 😂With the length of my tbr list now, overrated videos help me chop the list down a bit... and the salt never hurts...

[@christinag2420]

I don't think the Skyward one was abt people dying but moreso abt the cyclical nature of the plot but idk i haven't read it

[@ebnovels]

Christina G perhaps. It’s a book about a civilization constantly under attack, though, so the battles are to be expected.

[@christinag2420]

@@ebnovels ya makes sense

[@elazarsinger4187]

@@ebnovels honestly the death count felt realistic and made the book more enjoyable. A bunch of people died that I didn't expect. It was nice to have a story where the gritty instructor says "only two of you will make it out of this training" and he was actually right.

[@DryBooks]

Unpopular tropes that you loooove

[@FairladyZ2005]

I find Tamora Pierce to be underrated. No one outside of those who have read her even seem to know who she is though she is one of the most influential women in the genre of the past 30 years. Arguably she is a gateway drug writer compared to more complex adult fantasy, but she is still a queen of YA, and the Harry Potter effect has allowed for her own books to get longer and more complex since the early 2000s. Now if she could just finish up the Numair trilogy.

[@bentheoverlord]

So I’ve read the first book in the Demon Cycle and I can agree that this was my only major flaw with the first book, an event happens about 80% of the way through then is just glossed over It was honestly a 5/5 before that

[@AmeliaOak]

I am so close to finishing the Mistborn trilogy! I wanted to watch you talk about Hero of Ages the other day but I’m not at the end yet! So yes, I disagree that it’s overrated haha I agree about LOTR being overly descriptive. I DNFd it 😂 I loved the Farseer trilogy! Except the second book. I just liked that one. I don’t feel like these videos are really “drama”? Everyone has different opinions and that’s okay! I find it interesting

[@Jrdn357]

I love Lotr, really, I do. But I agree. A multiple page description of a cave is fairly shallow compared to some of his other descriptions. I remember a description in the third book that was about ten pages long describing the sound of a battering ram striking a gate. God.

[@umairasif15]

They cross a line saying that about the Witcher series. Unacceptable! I toss my gauntlet at their feet!

[@Riverpeth]

Farseer trilogy, honestly never understood its popularity. One of the most "characters making dumb decisions" series that I've ever read...

[@CallmeJochem]

Just because Fitz is a flawed character, doesn't make it a bad story. The whole series is incredible. It has real depth, amazing characterisation, shocking and emotional moments and is absolutely beautifully written.

[@Riverpeth]

@@CallmeJochem I never said it was just Fitz, literally every character makes terrible decisions throughout. The King, Prince, etc, illogical decisions just to drive the plot forward.

[@lifesabeach2597]

Malazan just OK? HA! I like both series, but I would choose Malazan over WOT any day

[@randyrogers1853]

WoT is great, but Malazan is just on a whole other level.

[@lifesabeach2597]

@@randyrogers1853 Agreed, I just finished Deadhouse Gates and I am just getting ready to start Eye of the World. Yes, I am re-reading both series at the same time, and yes, I am crazy

[@anangryscorpion5838]

I just finished book 3 the other week. Never have i had my heart broke so thoroughly in a book before. WOT isn't even comparable to Malazan to be honest, the ambition/scope of Malazan puts WOT to shame. But to quote from the man himself, "ambition isn't a dirty word, piss on compromise. Go for the throat.

[@aghazi94]

@@anangryscorpion5838 my god memories of ice is just so good and the ending damn. i especially loved itkovian and paran's story line

[@aghazi94]

@@anangryscorpion5838 the whole book reminded somewhat of the dark souls series if you've ever played them

[@AllTheNamesIPickedWereTaken]

The one about Skyward particularly ticked me off because we’re made to know at the very beginning of the story that a lot of the recruits won’t make it either through dropping out or through battle. I mean what do you want man a story with no stakes?

[@christinacarter5018]

Have you finished the John Gwynne series, the Faithful and the Fallen?

[@FairladyZ2005]

Shannara is good just start with Elfstones or Wishsong instead of Sword. The series quick evolves beyond a Tolkien homage. Or try Landover, Brooks's other series which is a lot of fun.

[@MrWhangdoodles]

Try The Coldfire Trilogy. Living in a world where beliefs, dreams and thoughts shape reality. You can tell the author is shaped by Gaiman but it takes it a step further. It's dark but hauntingly beautiful. With one character I felt a cold shiver run down my back. He's an absolute monster but I would've done the same thing, if I had his will.

[@robertblume2951]

It is a good series but I doubt it is shaped by Gaiman. It's original release is almost concurrent with sandman Gaiman's first fictional work. The psychic world that reacts to people's thoughts and dreams has been done at least since 1969 in A Warlock in spite of Himself.

[@Seolhe]

I wonder if the person mentioning Milk and Honey read the prompt properly, because that's not a fantasy book, it's a poetry collection (and yeah, it's bad and definitely overrated). I definitely have to agree with Tamora Pierce, based on my limited experience. I read the first Alanna book last year and it was... not very good. At all. Perhaps her other work is better, or you just have to read it as a young kid to enjoy it. Either way, definitely not for me.

[@matthewpettipas8233]

I was waiting for the Sword of Shannara to pop up haha. I love the book, but I admit it's heavily influenced by LOTR, and I can understand why many would be thrown off by that. But for me, Terry Brooks is my favorite fantasy author.

[@AnnaMarieReads]

About Skyward. I personally didn’t mind people dying during battle. I just minded that the characters that died were one dimensional cardboard cutouts. So them dying didn’t make me feel like it was that big of a deal.

[@littleblue752]

New to your vids.... Great Job, loved it!! Wonderful editing, tone, & content 5 stars!!!

[@ebnovels]

Little Blue haha, well thanks 😄

[@GEORGIOARCADE]

Lol i know theres gonna be a lot of hurt feelings with this video jk 😄 This video was pretty fun tho Elliot. I hate i haven't read most of them so unfortunately I'm just a spectator on some of these awesome comments. I do think that animation with your Instagram name at the beginning was cool. I use something like that in my videos too 👍. I love your creative thinking. Anyways have a lovely day. Can't wait to see what people think of your favorite books 💜

[@robpaul7544]

Overrated books are just easier to have discussions about , cause more people will have read them. It only becomes drama when people allow themselves to feel hurt or attacked because somebody has a different opinion. Don't get that.. my opinion is my own, everybody else can make up their own minds. Underrated books I always like hearing about cause I'm always on the lookout for new books - and I can name a lot of writers I would love to see getting more attention. And that's also one of the biggest problems I have with overrated writers; they tend to get all their books mentioned on a lot of booktube channels, at the cost of those underrated ones.

[@elazarsinger4187]

For me the problem is that often people won't phrase it as their opinion, but as an undeniable fact, and if you like it, then you like trash and are stupid/uncultured or whatever. I am very happy when people take the time to show some respect for other people's opinions by prefacing their statement with "in my opinion"

[@robpaul7544]

@@elazarsinger4187 Oh aye, judgmental folk are a pain. I tend to ignore them. Anything said by any person is an opinion. Why judge someone for liking/disliking different books? Just enjoy sharing a hobby 😊

[@morgandestiny5321]

I personally think Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series was very underdeveloped in her writings style. I felt like it was cheesy teenager stories but honestly, her newest trilogy that came out was absolutely amazing and I feel like she's progressed so well with her writing. But as a side note, her stories and the "shadowhunters" are a very unique and original idea. I definitely love the concept.

[@loljinxboi385]

Demon Cycle series is quite full of sexy times, but I found only one of the female side characters to be "scandalous" in that way. And she really annoyed me, but she would be annoying even without sex part, so... But, there are people who are slut shaming all the female characters in this series just because they had the same view on sex, and were very open about it, as men did, and obviously there are double standards when comes to male readers. Which says more about them, than Bret's female characters...

[@gabolujan]

Strange that there was no Harry Potter, I was waiting for it because I actually think it IS overrated

[@ebnovels]

It was in part one.

[@bryanbaker6040]

The first Mistborn was good, but not great. It didn't inspire me to read the rest of the series. Maybe I should, but I think I'll move on to Stormlight before I go back to Mistborn.

[@spinthepixel8268]

Bryan Baker - I read the first Mistborn book 4 or 5 years ago. Thought it was ok, but overhyped IMO. Finally got around to reading book 2, finished it just a couple of days ago and I'm glad I did. I actually enjoyed The Well of Ascension a lot and am now looking forward to book 3.

[@bryanbaker6040]

Good to know. Thanks!

[@TheRailbow]

Hey Elliot, the sound on your videos is a bit low compare to others. Maybe you can check this 😊

[@fullspectrumgeek5925]

I always found myself really sympathizing for the female characters in Demon Cycle Trilogy because it's a fd up world and all kinds of brutal things happen in that world and I was actually really happy how as the story progressess how all the female characters pretty much get stronger and stronger really. It's a fantasy american like country setting with fantasy Arabic like society at the forefront so I can see why all the female sexual scandals are emphasized.

[@Revanchist]

The song of Ice and Fire is pretty overrated in my opinion. I understand why a lot of people really love it but for example if you have seen the show the first 3 books are a unecessary read because it's pretty much the same story while later seasons do derive from the source material a lot more. Now that's my fault for watching the show before but in general a lot of the plot is kinda boring and so are mayority of the characters except like three of the which are the best ones and in my opinion should have been the base of the books.

[@martybrunner]

Oh boy... you have no idea.. there SO much more to the first three books than what is in the HBO series. Read it again when you grow up

[@khrishobkirk9020]

George RR Martin is on another level. Period! People can complain about how long he takes to write a book. With U! Trying to down play his work that is out as of now on ASOIF series so far is just crazy. U could argue his last book was slow but if he finishes strong. Then the story goes down as EPIC!

[@Revanchist]

@@martybrunner Seems like a self entitled comment on how you are smarter than me because I apprently missed something in the three books. Like I said I was bored because the show pretty much tells the same story...

[@martybrunner]

@@Revanchist have you read the first three books? Obviously the main story is pretty much the same, the series IS based on the books, duh. But in the books there is just so much more going on, more characters, more story, more depth, absolutely worth the read even if you have watched the show before. It's just a great read. Not sure how you can say the books are overrated just because there is a series based on them? That has nothing to do with the books.

[@krakentoagoodbook]

Yeah, the Demon Cycle comment is pretty accurate. I thought the first three books were pretty good and then for some reason, the author decided that he needed to have everyone talk in like rural slang. I don't know the best words to describe this, but for example, there were many "ents" (ain't, but fantasy I guess?) and it got a bit annoying to read.

[@MrJordwalk]

"Malazan is nothing special, it's just ok" Whoever said this was either being sarcastic or didn't make an effort when reading Malazan....BECAUSE IT ISN'T JUST OK. IT'S FAR BEYOND: PHENOMENAL.

[@robertblume2951]

The Sword of Shannara can't be overrated. It's been bashed from day one for being a LOTR knock off. It isn't until the Knight of the Word series gets folded in that the series actually grows beyond its derivative beginnings.

[@willprotector]

I feel like many of those who complain about Malazan being "meh" haven't read past Gardens of the Moon. Even then...I am just confused at that opinion. Even people who hate Malazan admit that is unique in how it tells its story.

[@tahmidtargaryen6230]

5:36 😂 Finish the first Triology ; you'll know. Or Just read Infernal devices ... This Triology was great.

[@fictionfanatic3469]

Anyone else read 'The Demon Cycle' series? This is by far one of my favourite series but none of the booktubers I've watched seemed to have read or done any reviews on the series.

[@robpaul7544]

Yep, read it. I liked it. A lot, actually.

[@lauri167]

Does somebody remember book series where one of the characters was young girl who played some sort of flute and later was revealed to be some god or something. I dont remember what was that series.

[@Meshuga63]

Way to call out the drama llamas, but I have a theory. It’s “safer” to 👎 a popular book than to 👍 an unknown.

[@randyrogers1853]

1:20 if you take half of what makes a story great out, it's not that great a story... groundbreaking.

[@somekidwithaphone3345]

Even if you took out the world building it would be 7/10 still at least based on characters and plot alone

[@jimcowhand1749]

Shannara - Elfstone is much better than Sword. It's hilarious how many times Brooks uses the word 'taciturn.'

[@Salena_M8]

Thanks for calling us out on liking the drama 😂

[@lifesabeach2597]

One other series I liked, even though many strongly disagree is R. Scott Bakker, Prince of Nothing/Aspect Emperor, I have one big complaint, his use of the phrase "and death came swirling down" when a character dies, WAY too much

[@krisar788]

i love mistborn!I had made a big mistake reading the mortal instrument series and for years i've been avoiding books with women MCs because of that.Vin single handedly changed my opinion on that matter!

[@ebnovels]

Vin is awesome :)

[@NicoleJC92]

I stopped reading the footnotes after Nevernight, didn't bother with Godsgrave and Darkdawn and I dont feel like I lost out on anything.

[@MrJacob1487]

Demon Cycle remains one of my favorite series to date, I don't feel like every female POV is a sex scandal, but that's my opinion

[@hoggelpops3632]

Not every female POV but about 98% of them aha. The Demon Cycle is one of my favourite series to. But I've not read book 5 yet

[@maryownby2184]

That is exactly how demon cycle was. It's so annoying because EVERY female character is described in an extremely sexual way and it's just kinda got the point of being disgusting. I finished the first book, but honestly, it wasn't worth it to me.

[@jeremydanchuk1897]

I agree with the Mistborn and Witcher critiques, I strongly disagree with the Malazan one. As Daniel Greene would say, fight me...lol.

[@rmpumper]

I want to see your reaction to someone saying that the Witcher is overrated, lol.

[@simmonslucas]

Stormlight is the most creative piece of fantasy of our time. Wrong wrong wrong haha

[@arnarnarfi8430]

I struggled with the Demon Cycle trying desperately through two books to let the interesting concept carry me through, to let me ignore how I disliked every character.

[@thewatchman1547]

Sword of Shannara is hot garbage. My mom got the first 6? I think at a good will. I read the first one, finished it hoping it would cease to suck. Never stopped. Never bothered with the others the first was so bad.

[@meurer13daniel]

I feel the same way about Mistborn. Read 20% of the first book. Couldn't finish it.

[@anangryscorpion5838]

Mistborn is a great trilogy, pretty much anything Sanderson writes you can pick up and be sure your going to have a good time. However, i have noticed people tend to heap praise upon his writing, while never talking about the flaws. I feel at this point, critiquing Sanderson is as good as blasphemy. People just don't want to hear it. No hate, Sanderson is one of the best authors working today, and i'm sure will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time.

[@TalisUmbras]

Ryan Copeland It’s YA fanboys reading YA content thinking it’s good writing. Sanderson couldn’t write a compelling character to save his life.

[@riggers1977]

LayupSlamDunk yep - Sanderson’s ‘The Way of Kings’ is the worst thing I’ve ever read👎

[@leithskilling552]

Malazan is amazing!

[@michaelxz1305]

you can tell it's amazing just by looking at it in a bookstore.

[@masoodvoon8999]

I think it is amazing but wouldn't put it in my top 3. LOTR, WOT, Witcher are higher for me. I have read 6-7 entries from different series in this world am about to start HoC this month. I felt Memories of Ice was the first but only book that balanced the incredible detail in setting history with emotional character arc payoff. The others had some really cool stories but were overshadowed by grimdark meaningless nihilism. Too many characters are just out to do a job with ruthless devotion and although the purpose of these characters' motivations is usually purposefully hidden by the author, I felt there should have been less characters with super secret plans and more with obvious motivational payoff.

[@MrWhangdoodles]

It manages to make military fantasy boring.

[@masoodvoon8999]

@@MrWhangdoodles do you recommend any military fantasy? I DNF'd black company book 1 and haven't really read a series which focuses on military strategy & campaigns in fantasy (it usually serves as a backdrop). Some of the Forgotten Realms books do but every author I've read seems to not have a good historical background on morale, medieval warfare,, and such.

[@lostinabookcase3796]

Salt and tea is delicious together >:)

[@raynethescribe2772]

I love the worldbuilding and linguistic aspects of lord of the rings, and the movies are great on their own. However i personally cannot get past the writing style. I don't mind descriptive but it's just a bit too much for me. Which honestly sucks bc i really respect Tolkien and this series...

[@natcommon]

I liked Skyward overall, but it felt like other sci-fi stories I’ve read. A little cliche in some ways. But I liked that he killed people. Not many authors kill their characters because it’s hard to do.

[@hyroproto4364]

what is YOUR list of overrated fantasy books?

[@christianmagrum3282]

“Are they siblings or are they lovers troupe”. .... why not both? (Banjo starts playing)

[@katiemarsden8753]

All the Tamora Pierce books I’ve read are YA or middle grade, so “great for kids” is what they were going for.

[@KayBethBookish]

I agree with the Witcher writing. I adore the plot and world, just could not get into the writing style which broke my heart a little

[@ItalianStallionBDM]

People say the original polish versions are way better. I have to assume that something was lost in translation

[@tritonneptune3834]

There is so much hype and praise for kingkiller chronicles, so I find that it's my duty to spread the word on how mediocre those books are, just to establish some balance of opinion on the internet.

[@MrWhangdoodles]

The Demon Cycle has a great first book and, IMO, a better second book, but after that it falls apart. The women are fantastic but the ending is more cobbled together than GoT S08. It also has a serious case of "I am the Chosen One, not you" syndrome. Just know that the ending is predictable and ... boring.

[@melissavines4454]

Hey can someone tell me what the series of books with white spine just over her left shoulder are?

[@ebnovels]

Do you mean vagabond? :)

[@melissavines4454]

Looks like a series, not sure how else to describe it.

[@melissavines4454]

10 books

[@dakrakenz5314]

The cosmere books?

[@Alithia451]

Everything not from The Faithful and the Fallen series. :)

[@Ray-td4tq]

What are the books in the bottom right corner? The ones with the numbers.

[@ebnovels]

Vagabond :)

[@Ray-td4tq]

@@ebnovels it looks so pretty what's it about???

[@Revanchist]

@@Ray-td4tq Its a manga series about a samurai.

[@TheMutualEnemy]

Yeah there’s a lot of sexual assault/ sexual violence in Demon Cycle. About halfway through the second book I just couldn’t stomach it any more. It’s a shame because without all that the plot is really interesting.

[@Victoria-pt4io]

Demon Cycle- yes! Every woman seemed to be a victim of rape/incest and when that wasn’t happening her virginity and everything else surrounding her vagina was the most important thing about the female characters. I liked book 1 well enough cause it’s an interesting story/world but had to dnf book 2 as it was just too much

[@JudieTroy]

I definitely agree with the comment about the Demon Cycle. The way female characters are written was the main reason I gave up on this series.

[@ACourtofHooksAndBooks]

i like mistborn and the last like 40% of each book is always bomb but he needs some WORK on the first 60% it's so slow paced

[@freya704]

If you didn't like Black Prism then you will really dislike the Demon cycle.

[@sodreigor]

only the first of the Demon Cycle books is good. The comment about the women in the series is accurate

[@davids2735]

You are probably the first person I've seen that has agreed with me about this series. I loved The Warded Man, but I struggled through book 2 and then DNF'd book 3 halfway through and gave up on the series. The concept and execution of the first book was excellent, the world was unique and so cool. But I think it really suffered from bloat. In my opinion it didnt need all those flashback chapters. They all felt like unimportant filler. I think if this series would have been a trilogy I would have loved it.

[@bentheoverlord]

I’m struggling with book 2 currently, I just don’t care where the story is going

[@simmonslucas]

Footnotes were also used heavenly in Death's Gate Cycle... I hate footnotes. Put the world building in the story!

[@berserker8884]

I would say Death Note is the most overrated manga and anime ever. Very good premise, amazing first 3 or 4 episodes, then it falls into oblivion, save for that epic strategy of Light's, but thats all. No real development imo, ehh characters, the premise never goes anywhere and as much as I like the strategies, it is very hard for me to care. For a contrast of an anime that does succeeded where death note failed, check out Code Geass.

[@mrana2424]

Totally agree

[@CoolAsianGuy]

typical shallow dumb idiot

[@CoolAsianGuy]

if anything the premise is very stupid. but the execution and the delivery is what makes death note great

[@trencher7]

Malazan is one of the worst series I have ever read. Well, I quit right before the ending of the 2nd book because it was so uninteresting. I could never get into it and I think it was because it was event driven and not character driven. All the characters were forgettable cardboard cutouts and flat. And then I recall some annoying deus ex machinas.

[@redman0901]

sword of shannara is def true, boring LOTR rip off, I couldn't even finish the last book, it's literally uninteresting the only good character is alannon and he's kind of a dick most of the time (for good reason's that the characters don't understand) and most people who study humans do understand that you can never tell anyone anything, because let's face it, most people don't believe you anyway nor do they listen.

[@lucaleone4331]

Oh damn. Swerved on me again Mrs Brooks. You just cant handle my opinions it seems! (Just kidding I'm just over here crying from neglect)

[@Trustworthy_McLegitimate]

aww... but world building is what Mistborn did great. Ask Sazed. He'd know for sure.

[@Hadrian1616]

Thank you elliot brooks followers for throwing salt at some of my favorite books. Drama FTW.

[@KierTheScrivener]

Calling out the community on loving drama

[@AozoraZz]

This is so funny even though I disagree with some of these opinions. 😆😆😆

[@DMR013]

Overrated I can only comment on just the first book of this series and I couldn't complete it: Harry Potter Sorcerer Stone. Maybe its my age but way overhyped.

[@Mement0o]

every comment :""Im too superficial to get the nuance and value in this, therefore there is none""

[@ebnovels]

Do you mean the comments on this video, or the comments people submitted?

[@Mement0o]

​@@ebnovels The submitted ones. IMO if a book is beloved by so many people then there is a reason for it. If I as a reader fail to identify that reason and just dissmiss the book, that is a failure on my part.

[@Vickynger]

@@Mement0o yep, i agree. if your only criticism is "it didnt appeal to my taste" thats not enough of an argument to call it overhyped lol

[@connorveach5986]

Umm why was Milk and Honey included in this?

[@dn7633]

ok without being inappropriate, that thumbnail glare/smirk is the hottest thing on planet earth

[@shamikmazumdar6479]

Malazan is just okay???? Well I respectfully disagree. It is an extremely complicated series with a lot of themes running parallel and intersecting each other. Erikson says in the very beginning of the author's note that he is not going to spoon-feed and it is going to require effort from the reader. So yeah. Also, people need to stop throwing shade on Stormlight Archive because that is the one series where Sanderson has handled depression and general brokenness of a human being in a beautiful way. I mean how can you hate a series where it really talk about how every one is broken, that is where the light gets in! You can still be worthy, even if you are broken, downtrodden! And Mistborn. There is more to mistborn than just world building. SPOILER: the interactions between Vin and Sazed about religion and different aspects of the same is heavily philosophical. Skyward! The stakes are real and people die. So no, it is not mediocre

[@masoodvoon8999]

Wouldn't put Malazan in my top 3 but is a little below that and am greatly looking forward to HoC. I think the author's background in archaeology and anthropology helped with his historical/mythological layering. Why some would compare him to Dostoevsky or Faulkner on his wiki is clearly over the top. His technical writing is just decent and doesn't rise to a few contemporaries such as Sanderson much less Tolkien and I wonder what is wrong with the people referenced in wiki page who compare him to Faulkner and Dostoevsky (not that it needs to be that good to be a great fantasy series).

[@shamikmazumdar6479]

@@masoodvoon8999 the comparisons are baseless I agree. It is not at that level. But it is in my top 3 for the sheer scale and the different philosophies in the book. It did shape some of mine so maybe I am biased. Although Stormlight Archive is my top, and will be.

[@AtticsTV]

Definitely did not enjoy the witcher. 20 page conversations that act as really lazy worldbuilding exposition happening 3-4 times in a book 300 pages long? Nah, I'm good.