God I love the schaudenfraude this is giving me. These books are so hyped. I disagree on a few, but I feel Booktube is filled with so much Yes-men/women without critique. Thank you!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

I'm glad my pain could give you some gratification!

This was fun! Honestly worst book lists are more informative what a book is actually like than the best lists. at least for a lot of channels you just hear how great a book is, get rather weird comparisons to other books, maybe a trope or too and that's that😅 I have a long list of books I don't want to read but no books on the plus side 👀 most of the recommended books I tried last year gave me reading slumps. I'm avoiding hyped books and I'm out if someone tells me a book has "vibes". YA and Romance is a definite no too😐 I'm just looking for good fantasy (without smut or other shock value) and science fiction (no dystopia or horror)... It's like so many genres get mashed together

I'm so excited for your end of year videos!!!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Dino!

Few things are more fun to watch on KZread than BookTube salt.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL

As a local goblin I am upset at your "all your names are the same" statement.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Dang it - I knew this would happen. I'm about to get cancelled, aren't I?

Matt, this video is truly comedy gold for me. Your biting comments gives me life. I'm literally brought back from the dead by your aggression towards these books. Thank you

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much - you are too kind!

I love how Jemisin writes in terms of style. But her story-telling does leave a lot to be desired! The Fifth Season was one of her books I just hated with all my soul once I figured out (fairly early on) what the big "twist" was. Your reviews have really helped me better sort my TBR, and I'm so glad you spend time really going into detail about what worked and what didn't for you. I hate getting into book 1 only to discover book 3 is horrible - that's a series deal-breakler for me! (I get emotionally invested in the story and bad books in the story can ruin the entire experience for me.) You cover a lot more than the first book, or the "series" as a whole, and I (and my poor, sensitive reading soul) appreciate it!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

So happy I have been of assistance! Happy reading!

Let's be honest. Too many authors just want to "milk" the series. There is only so much before readers start to realize that some books are just repetitious.

Currently struggling through the broken empire right now, almost done book 2. Undecided if I’m going to bother with book 3. Could agree more about the fifth season!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

If you are struggling through it, just move on! There's thousands of other options!

I thought I was the only one who didn't love The Shattered Sea trilogy. Loved the first book, but books two and three followed characters I just couldn't get behind. Great video as usual, thanks!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Nope, there are dozens of us!

@ShelfCentered

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews Okay, I knew you were good people, but you go and throw in an AD reference and I didn't realize you were that good of people!

Love how you are calling out all these terrible modern hype books... I don't agree about all of them, but the majority are IMO just popular because of hype

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, hype is a crazy thing and it can REALLY influence people.

Hi 👋 I’ve had a lot DNFs and some disappointing books this year.. I hope 2023 books are better for you! Happy reading to you! 📽☃️❄️⚔️

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks as always Safina!

I agree with some of your takes. Always interesting to hear different perspectives. I'm curious to see how the quality of the secret project novels by Sanderson pans out. I liked The Lost Metal a lot, but I'd love to see him knock it out of the park like Words of Radiance/The Way of Kings. My most disappointing fantasy read this year was Illborn. With a lot of fantasy booktubers giving it 5 stars, I thought I'd love it but I couldn't get past the amateurish writing style and uninspired plot. John Gwynne was another disappointment for me this year. I read both Malice and The Hunger of the Gods and gave both only 3 stars, but expected to give both at least 4 stars. I don't read fantasy for action scenes so that may be why he doesn't work for me as well as other fantasy books. I plan on reading Valor next year because I heard it's better and I want to love the series. And I think Gwynne is a good writer, but his style isn't quite clicking with me.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

I haven't read Illborn yet but I've heard so many good things - I think this is the first time I've heard someone say something bad about it. I hope I agree with the masses! I'm sad Gwynne didn't work for you, but not every author is for every person!

Wasn't very impressed with Shadows of Self, I particularly thought Wayne was an awful character. Glad to see that I didn't make the wrong choice to drop Mistborn era 2

you should give a try to The Exterminating Manuscript by Gema Clouds!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Never heard of it, I'll have to look into it!

Don’t give up on Mark Lawrence. I hated King of Thorns as well, but I really liked Red Sister. I’ve heard nothing but great things for The Book That Wouldn’t Burn. I’ll be starting that one on audio book soon.

Lawrence is one of the more controversial authors. I have ot read his latest prequel to Ancestor but his protagonists in his other ones are competely different and many who hate Empire love Red Queen and/or Ancestor. The latter in particular. My disappointing read was Assassins Apprentice. Everything I liked in Liveship was just gone and there were several nonsensical plot/story issues I just could not get past. Will read Quest at some point.

I love the shattered seas series, yes it YA but its Joe Abercrombie. I also quit the broken earth and senlin ascends though.

"If I was walking around and heard Serenity, I would probably get PTSD." - Quote of the day for sure. Keep it up man! I was one of your first 500-600 subs and you are by far the booktuber that opinions align with my own so it is nice to have someone I can fully trust with my hard earned dollars!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much, you are too kind! What books were you really into this year?

@SINW

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews Definitely The Green Bone Saga and finished up all of First Law. I finished the Red Rising trilogy and ran into the same issue when I started Iron Gold.. I was just unsure why I was supposed to care about this set of events. I am about to start the Blackest Heart and I thought The Forgetting Moon was the best thing I have read this year for my personal tastes. I LOVE religion and prophecy tropes and it is done so well. Do you have any other recommendations for books that have a great religion and or prophecy? I'm really excited to start Empire of Silence after I finish up the Cradle series. Will finish Blackflame tonight so hoping to finish Cradle by the end of year and then go through the Sun Eater series. I have watched several of the Christopher Roccicio's videos and he seems like a brilliant guy just like BLD.

I just thought of Seinfeld when you went 'serenity', 'serenity now!'

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I definitely feel like I'm channeling my inner Frank Costanza there!

Gideon the Ninth is also in my disappointing books of the year. So is Godblind, which a lot of people seem to really like.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Haven't read Godblind but I'll stay away!

Matt, I also had a hard time getting into Iron Gold. I did find myself enjoying it more towards the end, but he spends a TON of time worldbuilding and developing characters. If it makes a difference, Dark Age is, in my opinion, on par with the best books of the original trilogy! Give it a shot.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks - I keep hearing that! I need to give it a try at some point apparently.

Your comment about Iron Gold is the same thing I did with Robin Hobb....I love the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man but have no interest to read that last trilogy with Fitz and the Fool...to me Tawny Man ended perfectly and I have no desire to go back in to that final one. I also didn't really like Ship of Magic so never finished those and I have no interest in the the RainWild Trilogy. With that said I did enjoy Iron Gold and Dark Age...it is a bit different than the original trilogy, but it's pretty epic and I'm looking forward to the 6th book.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I definitely have heard that criticism of Realm of the Elderlings before - I could totally see that perspective.

I loved the end of Ryira, but I didn't like the end of the Legend's series. I totally agree because I really enjoyed the beginning of Legends but was disappointed by the last two and I couldn't get into Nolyn. I'll probably give it another try though haha

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah the last two Legends books were....bad. Which is too bad because the beginning of Legends was amazing.

@dinocollins720

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews My thoughts exactly!!!

I’d give TLM a 2/5 myself, and it’s almost entirely because of Wayne. I love Wayne as a character, but Brandon gave him literal breadcrumbs across the rest of era 2 in terms of Character development, and it felt like he had to dump it ALL here for the ending to be happy. I really like Wayne, though the potty humour really gets on my nerve sometimes, but this really wasn’t it. It felt to me like Brandon was trying to do almost an Oathbringer-Dalinar again but it didn’t work because we didn’t see Wayne get past some of his other flaws (like Steris) in the book.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

So much of the book felt thrown together in the last book and on it's own it might have been fine, but it makes the whole 4 book arc rather weird in retrospect.

@schnauzerboyo4958

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I agree. Sanderson essentially ignored wayne up until now in terms of arcs (unless you count him giving up ranette as an arc, which it isn’t as he just decided to do it immediately after figuring out he can) and ignored wax past book 2. For a series literally about Wax and Wayne, that’s a big issue.

1,000% agree with you on the Burning God -- what a narrative disaster!!!! This list scares the Bejesus out of me -- I was a HUGE fan of the first Red Rising trilogy, and am so frightened the sequels will ruin what was a perfect story for me. I'm also a giant First Law fan and hopefully will go into Shattered Sea with tempered expectations that will help. Also have Books of Babel and Goblin Emperor on the tbr shelf. I think I've given up on Riyria after the 3 Chronicles books I tried...I'll try to view Sullivan fondly just through the Revelations series. I'm glad to see the warnings on the Broken Empire book and Gideon the Ninth -- those aren't on my shelf and have no reason to ever be. Seeing what works and doesn't work for you, I'm more convinced than ever that Shadows of the Apt will be a big hit -- there's a really engaging political element to the series that might be of particular interest too now that I know you actually work in politics.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

I think my best advice for Red Rising (advice I haven't taken myself) is to commit to reading the next two in the series. Everyone tells me the 2nd book in this new series makes it worth it, so push on to that one. Yeah keep in mind Shattered Sea is just not dark...at all. It's a YA story so definitely manage expectations. Books of Babel I think you might like, but I would be shocked if Goblin Emperor works for you. Looking forward to eventually getting to Shadows of the Apt!

@BooksWithBenghisKahn

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews that sounds good for Red Rising (and I've already bought the next two so I'll stick it out for sure) -- the rest I'll cross my fingers for!

i have to agree with you in some cases, and appreciate your stance on not liking some books which are so lauded. While I thought the Hod King was a 3 star the last book was such a disappointment. Pierce Brown read the first trilogy, enjoyed it, and would not go further, it was done. Michael J Sullivan has written one other book, a sci-fi Hollow World which was good. I have read everything by him other than this series. He does need to change it up, as I didn't find the Empire series more than a 2.5-3 star read. I agree with you on Gideon the Ninth and The Fifth Season, both disappointing as well.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! I wasn't aware of the Sullivan book, I might have to check it out!

I hope you find this helpful so you know which opinions of yours are right and wrong. Wrong: 10, 9, 2. Right: 6, 4, 3, 1 N/a: 8, 7, 5.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL - thanks for setting the record straight Richard!

@raswartz

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews Of course! I just want you to know what opinions you are allowed to have.

Every time you say “serenity”, the only thing I can imagine is in the Seinfeld episode where the character says “serenity, now. Insanity later” lol

🍿🍿🍿 I dropped Sanderson after Oathbreaker, maybe I’ll go back but not anytime soon

@Christian-ut2sp

Жыл бұрын

I’m trying my best to love Sanderson’s books but it’s just not working

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah if they aren't for you - it's best to drop so you can move on to things you enjoy!

@ernstbrehm1135

Жыл бұрын

@@Christian-ut2spI tried numerous times & just realized his work is not for me🤷🏻‍♂️

@chandlerholloway3900

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I love Sanderson’s earlier works, but Stormlight and the direction he’s going with his books now just isn’t for me. Part of it might be the Marvel Superhero formula fatigue, and I feel like his works are becoming more like that but tackier

@Christian-ut2sp

Жыл бұрын

@@chandlerholloway3900 another problem for me is the humour, whether it’s Wayne or Shallan it just doesn’t stick

i agree with you about the Fifth Season. The book was disappointing. The plot let me down and saw through most of it very early. The characters were also not interesting to me.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

I just cannot see what other people love in this series!

How much do you think your expectations play into your experiences with these books? Seems like the ones you were the most hyped about were the ones that disappointed you the most: Half a King, Lost Metal, and 5th Season your hopes were sky-high. Even most the other books on this list you enjoyed the first book(s) in the series and was let down. Just wondering because it's the story of my life haha

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

I think expectations hugely impact my experiences with books. Which is why I try REALLY hard to temper expectations. But I fail sometimes...miserably.

@dinocollins720

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews Haha I'm totally with you! I'm trying to get better at this, but it's freakin hard!!! lol

Matt and N.K. Jemisin will never be a good match I feel. I loved that series :-) Liked this video. very entertaining.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Peter!

How come you still didn't read the infamous, hardcore, grimdark "Second Apocalypse" by R. Scott Bakker, Probably the most dark story ever created in fantasy gen. really hope you start it one day especially because you enjoyed malazan book.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

It's on my 2023 reading list!

There were so many things that I loved about The Burning God but I also have so many issues with it. I really wish we had a Nezha POV. The entire series would have been made better with 2-3 POVs overall. Iron Gold takes place 10 years after Morning Star and Morning Star had such a spectacular ending. I do appreciate that in his decision to come back to Red Rising he didn't simply continue Darrow's story and created a multi-POV story taking place a decade later. The big miss for me with Iron Gold was I actively disliked Lyria and Erphaim. Oh god.....The Lost Metal has even MORE Wayne "comedy"?! Fuck.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah completely agreed about a Nezha POV - it would have GREATLY increased my interest in this story. And yeah, the Lost Metal is one big long Wayne comedy. It's the most Wayne heavy book in the series.

@alexnieves

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I just want Wayne to die :(

I feel the same way about the burning god and gidian. Glad others can enjoy them I guess. I want to also say that it had nothing to do with the primary characters being of any particular background or identity, simply the way the book was written + character decisions. I loved books of similar themes and cultural influences but these two just weren’t it for me

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I feel the same. I'm glad others got some enjoyment, I just can't like main characters like that.

I have to agree with all of these except for Gideon the Ninth. I 100% get why people would hate it, and I don't even understand why I love it. I was also baffled by why people love The Fifth Season so much. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about it

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL on your reasoning for why you liked Gideon. Glad it worked for you!

Maximum authenticity. Loved it.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I gave up on Nolan after about 30 pages...I just didn't care for the main character or where the narrative was taking me. The AOM series was full of tropes but they were still somewhat compelling. Iron Gold is the worst of the RR series but Dark Age was significantly better and worth pushing through, the next book should be a cracker. I view N.K Jemisin with the same sort of disdain as Arkady Martine. A Memory Called Empire is one of the few books I've felt buyers remorse over. It made me feel absolutely robbed and I never even finished it.

I didn't like The Poppy War so didn't continue. Sorry to hear about The Hod King. I liked it okay but The Fall Of Babel was just a complete disappointment for me. Agree with you about reading more from Bancroft. Mark Lawrence and Joe Abercrombie are not for me. Ooh who is #2 if Abercrombie is #3 and #1 is Erikson? No interest in Red Rising or Riyria right now. I liked The Goblin Emperor as a decent one-time read. Sorry it didn't work for you. The names were indeed a weak point for me. Again Tamsyn Muir and Brandon Sanderson are not authors for me though I read and really liked Way of Kings. Words of Radiance was good but too long in my opinion and I didn't continue. I didn't like the writing style in The Fifth Season at all (not just the second person, throughout). Not for me and didn't continue. We seem to have quite a bit of overlap!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

#2 for me is John Gwynne. Wow we agree on so much here!

Iron Gold isn’t great but the follow up Dark Age is a lot better in my opinion.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I keep hearing that. I may have to try it, but I need a good long break before I dip my toes back in.

Senlin ascends is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. Glad I didn’t push myself to continue the series based on what you said.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah if you felt that way, you definitely would hate the rest!

I really like Mark Lawrance women characters

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah that is a good point, he does write good women characters.

Erikson has written three Star Trek parodies, and another standalone Sci-Fi novel. It’s a bit funny that you chastise Abercrombie for not sticking to his wheelhouse, but then two books later you say Sullivan needs to do something new. I liked The Shattered Sea books, but don’t think they are as good as the First Law books. I just checked my Goodreads on era 2. In my review of book 2, I said I would definitely be there for book 3. And then I never got it. I like Sanderson a lot, but think he is probably the most over-rated fantasy writer. If it turns out that people I respect love the era 3 books, I will probably re-read era 1 and go through era 2. But who knows? A lot of that will depend on what he does with Stormlight.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

I wasn't really trying to criticize Abercrombie, it was more of a fail on my part for making assumptions. Abercrombie is writing a new book coming out soon set in a new world that I am extremely excited to read.

@moonbiter3094

Жыл бұрын

​@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I've been eyeing for the Shattered Sea after liking the First Law but so far the young adult label kept me at bay. Glad to get some reassurance on this. Also looking forward to the new stuff

Are we SURE that Lost Metal was written by him and he’s not pulling a James Patterson?

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL

Congratulations to myself 😎🎉 for guessing the entire "top" three books🥇🥈🥉📚 correctly.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Nice work Anna!

Spoiler Alert: Already know The Lost Metal will be on here Edit: And I was right (admittedly it was obvious)

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL. Yeah it just HAD to be on there.

I had no idea that Michael J Sullivan wrote more in the Riyria universe. I read the trilogy of dual stories he put out, and you're absolutely right- he knows how to start a series but can't finish it. I LOVED Theft of Swords, and then the rest of the books steadily went downhill from there, to a disappointingly predictable ending. I won't be picking up the Rise and Fall series, because I'm Riyria'd out, to be quite honest.

I knew it was YA and I still did not enjoy the Half As Good series. The third book is terrible after a meh first 2.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yikes!

I need to know I'm not alone on this about The Broken Empire: after reading and hearing so much online about how terrible Jorg was, and finally reading the book, was anyone else... disappointed? Like, he's absolutely a bastard, but he's way more likeable and not nearly as bad as the internet had me believe. I truly expected him to be way worse.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

No you aren't alone, I have definitely heard that opinion by a lot of people.

@jarltrippin

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews Oh very good to know, I haven't really seen anyone else share that opinion. Anyway, I totally get why you aren't crazy about the series. I had some issues with it myself, some creative choices I found to be weak/lazy, but overall I loved it. It has this dirty atmosphere that I really vibed with, like an underground death metal album in literary form. I found Jorg to be an exceptionally written character that pulled me through from beginning to end.

I'm going to be very sad when I inevitably hear Lost Metal is your worst book of the year haha 😂

@dinocollins720

Жыл бұрын

I'm pumped it was only 2nd not first haha 😂

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL! The only reason it wasn't number 1 was that I didn't love the earlier Era 2 books so my disappointment was slightly tempered compared to Fifth Season.

@dinocollins720

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews haha I'm still counting it as not the very worst 😂

I read “The Grip of It” by Jac Jemc this year. It was unpalatable and I was told it was one of the best haunted house novels. Absolute trash.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yikes!

I find it strange how you talk about Gideon as a lesbian. There is so much more to the tagline "Lesbian Necromancers in Space" than just Gideon finding women hot. That is the most obvious indicator in this book (and series). But this tagline is also a promise. The whole series is influenced by it being written by a non-straight author, most of the romances are between women and even the way the characters interact are colored by this fact. Just because there is not a standard romance in the first book doesn't change all this.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

There are no romances in the book though. It's just Gideon suggesting at a couple points that another woman is "cute". It's very odd to describe the book in that way when it literally has nothing to do with the book.

@kibert135

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews Okay maybe the word "romance" doesn't really fit. But there is at least one relationship in this book that has the potential to develop into a romantic relationship later. Just because there is no big kiss at the end doesn't diminish that. And the tagline only promised there being lesbians. It didn't even say anything about a relationship. I can get why the word "Space" throws you off because this book doesn't really take plays in space.