The Biggest Fantasy Series/Universes of All Time is Not What You Think

The Biggest Fantasy Series/Universes of All Time is Not What You Think | 15 Big Fantasy Universes.

Рет қаралды 21,752

Күн бұрын

Hi everyone! Today's video will be about 15 of the biggest/longest fantasy series or universes of all time. When we think or discuss the biggest fantasy series/universes, I think most of us will think of a few popular series like The Wheel of Time, Malazan Book of the Fallen, The Realm of the Elderlings, Discworld, and The Stormlight Archive. Some of you might know already, but the number 1 biggest fantasy series of all time right now is not any of those...
(As a disclaimer, I mentioned this in the video, but this list will not be 100% accurate as I fail to find the actual word count for plenty of other fantasy series and universes. MANY self-published fantasy series/fantasy webnovels won't appear on this list due to that reason. But I think this video should give you an idea of how massive these fantasy series/universes are. And one more thing, this list consists of English-based stories because that's the language I usually utilize to read the books I'm reading.)
Let me know how many you have read, have you read the biggest fantasy series yet, and what do you think about them?
0:00 Intro and Disclaimer
2:28 A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
3:25 Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts
4:02 The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
4:40 The Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky
5:14 The Cosmere Universe by Brandon Sanderson
6:07 Discworld by Terry Pratchett
6:56 Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey
7:22 Essalieyan by Michelle West
8:03 The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
8:40 The Shannara Series by Terry Brooks
9:11 The Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts
9:48 The Saga of Recluse by L.E. Modesitt, Jr
10:14 Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind
11:28 The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
12:19 Malazan Cycle/Universe by Steven Erikson & Ian Esslemont
13:42 The Wandering Inn by Pirateaba
15:32 Conclusion
Sources:
-My own research using Kobo.com
-Ethan Sholly: shol.ly/ethan/data/fantasy-sc...
-Looping World: loopingworld.com/2009/03/06/w...
Music:
Stinson - Reed Mathis
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Пікірлер: 491

@deepakkamlesh5912 Жыл бұрын

Glad to finally see TWI get the attention it truly deserves!

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

I hope to read it eventually!! :D

@bitcoincrap839 4 ай бұрын

Favorite series but it seems like the author is having to rehab RG I almost stopped early because of that stupid character

@KevlarIlluminati Жыл бұрын

The Wandering Inn is (without hyperbole) the greatest book series I've ever read. It completely altered the way I think about stories, their lengths and what a book's genre is. It starts off pretty good and only gets better. It's completely blown out my literary high-watermark and everytime I think things couldn't be more... everything, Pirateaba asks me to hold their acid jar. - Sincerely, Another Fat Duck.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Ohh yesss! That is high praise. Glad to hear you praise it that highly! It won't be soon, but I look forward to getting to it! 😊

@Elfhelm Жыл бұрын

Though it's worth mentioning that two MCs are probably one of the most obnoxious MCs you can find - especially the second one. It is to the point that I enjoyed reading side-characters entries and rolled eyes when it came to chapters for MCs.

@KevlarIlluminati Жыл бұрын

I mean. That might speak more about your tastes then the books. I personally love Erin and her shenanigans. Ryoka serves as a Work in Progress, she starts off in a bad place and improves as a character bit by bit. The character I personally dislike reading about the most is actually the [Emperor]

@toobieswithtimmy1382 Жыл бұрын

I love this series. The audiobooks are truly the best. Please note: the audiobooks are not aligned with the written work; I finished audiobook 8 and could wait for the next audiobook---in the written work, that would be at approximately book 5.5 (halfway through book 5). I'm now at around 7.4 and I can't say enough good things about it!! LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOKS!

@reklin Жыл бұрын

Pirateaba is an absolute machine when it comes to their word count. Their average chapter is about 30,000 words, and uploads twice each week. The amazing part isn't that they can cram so many words on a page. It's that they can do it while maintaining such high quality at the same time.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Seems like that's the general consensus. Pirateaba has a terrfying production output! I look forward to reading The Wandering Inn as soon as I can! 🤩

@windwatcher460 Жыл бұрын

The Wandering Inn is amazing! It is a... slice of life epic fantasy? Phenomenal characters, strong plot, and the most well narrated audiobook I've read.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Sounds amazing to me. I will definitely read it someday! :)

@soulofshukaku Жыл бұрын

If you ever actually manage to get into The Wandering Inn, I'd love to watch a volume by volume review. You've got a solid presenting voice and style. It is hands down my favorite piece of fiction. Ever. It lives rent free in my brain, constantly relating itself to my life. I devoured it in less than two months back in late 2019, just in time to start volume 7, and I've re-read most of it (skipping a few chapters here and there) twice. So far I've convinced two other people to read it - it is a daunting quest, to be sure. One was a girl my age (mid 20s), and the other is an 80 year old woman whos been reading fantasy all her life. Both have been loving it so far - and they are still in volumes 2-3, last I spoke. And If they're loving it now, they will be bowing before it as the pinnacle of fiction by the time they get to the later volumes. The Wandering Inn starts small, but grows ever greater. The Wandering Inn is an Epic Fantasy masquerading as a slice of life. It includes children's birthday parties and glorious battles and the horrors of war. All are excellent. I am constantly reading fantasy and sci fi, and of the ones on this list I've read... only two others, actually. A Song of Ice and Fire (which, before TWI, felt like the longest) and The Dresden Files, which I like a lot. Hope to see more, especially if its Wandering Inn. Read that and change your entire outlook on literature.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for your opinion! It sounds super promising. It won't be soon. But yes, it will happen eventually. Next year I will read Mother of Learning and hopefully Worm first. After that, Wandering Inn will be the next webnovel I read! Let's hope by that time, my channel has became larger so I can even give more exposure to this series, which so many people here praised HIGHLY! :D

@antekacki8753 Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo I highly recommend getting into it sooner rather than later as pirateaba often writes more than 40k words per week :b

@jsguinomhay1097 10 ай бұрын

I read this comment almost a year ago and never regretted following it. A story of loss and hope and wonder in equal proportions❤

@noellesnook 2 жыл бұрын

The wanderins inn is on audible and it’s so so “cute” that’s how i would describe it! I know that may surprise people but after listening to it, it’s a very simple and cozy adventure story! It’s a “leveling-up” story, and I would say it’s not for everyone because it’s veryyyy slow at the beginning. The audiobook is the way to go for this story!!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Oh, I didn't know you've read this, Noelle! Thank you for your comment. I guess I'll be talking to you about it when I start The Wandering Inn! :D

@tgwtom 2 жыл бұрын

Haha ten million and slow. Best worst review of all time.

@geowar20 Жыл бұрын

Pirateaba drops two chapters a week… each chapter is between 20-60K words long… but a few have been as large an 90K words!!!

@noellesnook Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo yes please do, I’m very interested to hear your thoughts! I’m curious to see if you enjoy all the DETAILS of the character’s daily activities or if you feel like it’s progressing too slowly… I personally enjoy being in the character’s head. I enjoy listening to her (Erin Solstice) thoughts. :)

@savagecabbage8630 Жыл бұрын

There's nothing simple about the wandering Inn. Lol. How much have you Even read?

@dunkymonkey2012 2 жыл бұрын

The Wandering Inn is an amazing series that quickly became one of my favorites of all time. It also completely ruined my understanding of a story's length. Now when I see a story that's only a couple million words long, my first thought is "Oh, that's not too long, maybe I'll give it a try."

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Damnnnn 🤣 That good, huh!? I hope I'll love it as much as you did! I bought the first volume on Kindle already to read someday!

@jer2dabear Жыл бұрын

@Petrik Leo it's so good, I hope you enjoy. I'm on volume 6 on kindle/audible. There are 8 released now. But so much more that's still needs to be "kindle'd"

@demonsanta6922 2 жыл бұрын

The Wandering Inn's author, pirateaba, is phenomenal in speed and quality. I love how they spread out the mystery of a plot and eventually pull a string and they all connect, across either a single chapter or a whole volume. The story itself is an emotional rolercoaster, mostly calm and cozy, but it's got its' fair share of combat (from dueling to all out war) and adventuring, some bits of horror which i especially like, plus more adult themes like slavery and kinks. The worldbuilding is so in depth and fascinating, with the leveling system being a part of everyday life of every sentient being in that world. Despite that, the storytelling doesn't rely too heavily upon leveling and its magical overall. As soon as you're done with the millions of words, you'll be looking for more, like a fat duck who just consumed a loaf of bread.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

That is so wonderful to hear. I already have The Wandering Inn on my TBR. I'm not sure when I'll get to this yet. I'm thinking of reading Mother of Learning and also Worm first before tackling Wandering Inn, but I will get to this one eventually!! Can't wait to become a fat duck who just consumed a loaf of bread! xD

@soulofshukaku Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Worm has really intense pacing. I found myself savoring the few days off the characters got to enjoy, but mostly they were fighting for their lives.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

@@soulofshukaku That sounds awesome! :D

@Uppernorwood976 2 жыл бұрын

I didn’t realise The Dresden Files was so long! I thought the books were quite short on average, but can see they get longer later on.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Oh they're HUGE alright! We just didnt realize because each book just seem to flew quickly. 😂

@whatsascallion Жыл бұрын

The wandering inn is great at making you care about the characters. Not many books make me smile or tear up this one did.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

I really want to read it! But not right now as it will mean me forsaking many other series/books I can't forsake at the moment. But it shall be read eventually!

@judaihyuga Жыл бұрын

WOO!! Wandering Inn for the win! Love that series!

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

I'm sure the series is already much bigger since I posted the video. 😂

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this very interesting video, Petrik! I had no idea about The Wandering Inn before watching this. Some surprises here, for sure!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, my friend! Glad you found the video informational! :D

@emroyka 2 жыл бұрын

Another great topic to explore Petrik, thank you so much for sharing! I was actually happy to hear you haven't started Wars Of Light And Shadow yet, because I've finally gotten my copies of books 1 and 2 but can't start them just now, so I'll just hang on to them dutifully until you do dive in✨📚✨

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I'm hoping I can actually start it at the end of this year. But with how packed my schedule is already, I don't think that will happen. But we'll see. I'll definitely mention it on my TBR when the time comes! :)

@braun008 2 жыл бұрын

Woot woot! Awesome video Petrik!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! :D

@SuperSalvatore27 2 жыл бұрын

The wandering inn is a coming of age epic. And It happens in the realm of daily life in a fantasy world. The social problems in the world are both referential and allegorical of real problems. The fantasy people are just that, the good and bad. Pirate represents it all with love and a rationality. The novel itself shows the growth of the author. And fantasy Ants.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Nice. Sounds superb to me! Also, Fantasy Ants...!? Like the Chimera Ants from Hunter x Hunter or Solo Leveling if you've read them? :D

@Finn_Ryan 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo No ants in a bit more literal of a sense. No consuming and changing their forms, they are just human sized upright ants which are supposed to be a hive mind but are having an identity crisis.

@SuperSalvatore27 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Finn Ryan gets it, think of warrior children finding their individuality.

@soulofshukaku Жыл бұрын

@@Finn_Ryan My favorite dialogue from the Antinium (edited to avoid spoilers): ..."Antinium expect to die. You’re not angry. You should be. They’re out there. Don’t you want revenge? Don’t you want justice?” “We cannot think like that, Commander.” “Why not?” “Because…because if we were angry about our people dying. If we were angry that we were killed, that so many die…we would be too angry. We would be…so angry.”

@vgmaster9 Жыл бұрын

So kinda like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?

@RedFuryBooks 2 жыл бұрын

I was so surprised to see so many series on here I've never heard about! Thanks for the research - I'm sure it took some time to compile all the numbers!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! It did. Took me so hours to gather, compile, and rank! 😄

@safinan8008 2 жыл бұрын

A very intriguing video!! I didn’t know about these books how big these series are 😮 thank you for a wonderful news about books!! Happy reading to you!! 😊🦋

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Safina! Happy reading to you, too! :)

@RekindledReader 2 жыл бұрын

Great video, Petrik! Thanks for putting some of these series on my radar! I'm always looking for new stuff to read even though my TBR is so long that I don't think I'll get to everything while I'm alive lol.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Looking at my TBR right now, I think I have enough to last me at least 10 years IF I don't buy anything else. And that doesn't even include books I want to reread... xD

@RekindledReader 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo I know!!! HAHA It's almost depressing to think about. Almost.

@nikk345 2 жыл бұрын

What a great concept for a video. Thanks for the effort put into this. I guessed the Midkemia books as #1 because it takes up the most space on my shelves, but turns out it wasn't even in the top 5! I'd never heard of the #1 spot, so I think you were right to say that people wouldn't guess the #1 spot.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Took me hours to gather the data. I know it won't be perfect. But I did mention it is not 100% accurate. 😂

@esmayrosalyne 2 жыл бұрын

Suuuuper interesting list!! I am very surprised by some of the entries though. Some were definitely bigger than I thought they were, while others ended up being way lower on the list. Bizarre to think that these authors have written so many words for us to enjoy... I mean, I could never, haha. Loved this video, Petrik! 🤩

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Esmay! Yeah, I really thought Cosmere would be bigger than 4 million words already hahah. It is impossible for us to read all the series we want to read! :')

@angelamccollister 2 жыл бұрын

So cool to see Valdemar on this list. I love this world. This would be a cool video to revisit in a couple of years to see how it has changed with authors still publishing.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

So great to hear you loved it, Angela! Yeah, I think I will revisit this video someday. Maybe even make an updated version with an even more thorough research! :)

@tovx76 2 жыл бұрын

Great video Petrik! I’m very interested by The Wandering Inn, but that is a big commitment. Have a good day!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Andrew! It truly is a big commitment! I hope you'll have a good day, too! 😄

@Troyzaboy Жыл бұрын

Glad to see you mentioned The wandering inn. Easily my fave book. love it

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

I have to. After that insane word count and high praised from the fans. 😂

@MiguelArguelles 2 жыл бұрын

You might be interested to know that the first volume is being rewritten, because the author is well aware of the flaws from when they started writing it years ago. It won't fix some complaints I've seen, like it being a very slow burn story with more POVs than you can count--I can see why people would list those as negatives, but for a certain group of readers (eg: me), it's a selling point--but it does fix a lot of the awkward early prose, and addresses complaints like why certain characters act in overly illogical or toxic ways in volume 1. There is no estimate on when the rewrite will be complete, but based on their current progress my personal guess is around October or November. This isn't to say the version of volume 1 currently on Amazon/the website TOC is bad--it's still fun--but it's true that it... could be much better. Anyway, that said, I love the story--the characters are fun, the worldbuilding creative, and to add to that, it's incredibly impressive how the scope of the story slowly grows, starting with a small inn in a backwater town, and eventually weaving its many threads into a grand world-spanning epic storyline. I'll be the first to admit that it has a few POV arcs that overstay their welcome, but those are rare, and even in those cases, the story hardly ever hits beats that feel repetitive, despite their length.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

No idea whether I should thank you or be angry at you for your comment. Because you're about to add 10 million words series to my TBR... xD Seriously, though, thank you for your comment, Miguel. From what I've heard, I think I'll actually enjoy the series. I also enjoy slice-of-life and slow burn stories, very much! :)

@misecarp Жыл бұрын

I spent the last year (May '22) reading the entire TWI. It's fantastic and still growing.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

I look forward to reading The Wandering Inn once I'm done with Mother of Learning and Worm! :)

@davidlarramore1990 2 жыл бұрын

LOL. I share in your amazement of the size of this fantasy series that I had never even heard of! The wonder in your voice as you talk about the series echoes the feelings I had as you announced it as number 1. I was amused and enlightened. Thank you.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for watching, David! Good to hear this video has been useful and surprising. 😂

@miawithahat7218 Жыл бұрын

The Wandering is the best i ever read. Pirateaba is simply genius. One might think the quality suffers from writing so much so fast, but no in the contrary she gets better as the series goes on! Am currently on my second read through!

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

I'm so glad to hear that! I will be reading Worm by Wildbow next year! And then most likely begin Wandering Inn the year after. It's still a while, but I'm too scared to be obsessed with this massive series at the moment... xD

@miawithahat7218 Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo But if you love it, and you will love it, there is nothing better then 10 Million words to love you back.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

@@miawithahat7218 that's true! I guess we'll see. Who knows, I might end up reading it next year. My reading mood will decide it for me! 😁

@mastersal4644 2 жыл бұрын

Never heard of the wandering inn. So cool ! Great video

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Sal! 😄

@quackaddict9810 Жыл бұрын

The Dresden Files is a top series for me. It will always break me out of a reading slump so I keep 4 or 5 in the queue so they dont end :) Glad he’s still releasing them! Definitely recommend the audiobooks.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Yeah! It's a great series to defeat the reading slump! 😄

@mariareadsssf 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome video and huge respect for your research. I struggle even with trilogies my friend . From your list I will give a second try to "The Liveship Traders" at some point. To be honest, I would always chose to read a standalone over a series.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, my friend! I hope you'll love Liveship Traders! 😄

@darksephirothi 2 жыл бұрын

Your English got really good! Very impressive!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Awww, thank you so much, Yojimbo! So happy to hear that! :)

@welshflower Жыл бұрын

FINALLY. THE WANDERING INN IN A BIG VIDEO! Yes, it deserves this attention.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

The series is MASSIVE, too. I will get around to it (fingerscrossed) in 2024 or the latest 2025. 😂

@welshflower Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Oof, good luck to you. It took me over a month--and that was back when it was still 7 volumes, and I had been basically reading from morning to evening with almost little to no breaks aside from food and classes. I think I actually improved my reading comprehension and reading speed by, like, three times, just from reading the entire thing from start to finish alone... 😏So, yeah. Once again, good luck to you.

@andrewf7732 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. There are a few series here I hadn't heard of and will diligently add to my 2026 TBR :)

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Andrew! Good luck with them! :)

@reaper2r 2 жыл бұрын

Can’t wait to hear your opinion of Small Gods, it may be my favorite book

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

That's great! I REALLY hope I'll love it. I'm also scared what it will do to my TBR if I love it, though... 😂

@djbailey1982 Жыл бұрын

Small Gods and Nation are my two favourite Terry Pratchett!

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

@@djbailey1982 that's great to hear! 😁

@hexaterra 2 жыл бұрын

Nice video Petrik 👌

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Andre!

@Praetorian_Rex 2 жыл бұрын

This list was not so surprising before the number one spot XD Great research Petrik! I would like to see a similar list of the 15 biggest science fiction series. Maybe with Warhammer 40K included. :D

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Science fiction one is CRAZY. Several of them reached hundreds of million words! 😂

@Praetorian_Rex 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Would need several lifetimes to read all the largest science fiction series. 🤣

@YaniqueSGillana 2 жыл бұрын

The Wandering Inn is LitRPG and it’s so good! Worth the word count for sure.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Dammit... with all the praises, I feel like I should give it a try at least. xD

@sorryman105 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Its worth it. I've been a fan for years and supported Pirateaba's growth as a writer and storyteller. Full disclaimer I'm super invested in the community and run a podcast about it for the fans. There are a couple of things to know for new readers. First, Volume 1 is being revised and re-released. It is Pirateaba's earliest work and it creaks with age/inexperience. They wanted to take the time to rework it and then release as a physical book. In addition, they have another book coming out and a graphic novel already published. These may be better starting points if you're daunted by the length. Or try the audio books! Second, a web serial is *not* a novel. TWI was written as a serialized fiction. The traditional trade publication format of a novel wants concision to create compelling story to keep the pace consistent. Web serials however are episodic in nature. This allows pirateaba to tell dozens of stories and create wonderful character depth to even the most minor seeming of threads. This is what contributes to the length. Pirate literally takes the time to explain everything we would normally never get to know or would miss out on due to restrictions. I like to think of it as Scherezade style but with a much more compelling arc. Third, this is a slice of life work BUT one of the most compelling parts of it is that the slice of life stands in contrast to the impeccably written horror/darkness that the story does not shy away from. It was once described to me as slice of life war crimes, and I think it fits. I really hope you enjoy it WHEN you give it a try. Pirateaba and other writers like them represent a new wave in writing that has me super excited.

@sorryman105 2 жыл бұрын

Join the community on discord! We are nice!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

@@sorryman105 Thank YOU so much once again for your insightful comments on the series! The third paragraph, in particular, definitely informed that I will have to give it a try! :)

@nikkisweezea2388 2 жыл бұрын

Someone needs to make a video on what LitRPG is. I don't get it.

@purenightshade Жыл бұрын

I'm so pleased to see Valdemar on this list. Lackey seems to still be writing in it, so that count is likely going to change. Regardless, I love that series. It was one of my earliest gateways into the genre. It's also one of the only series that has stayed with me through multiple moves and paring down my book collection. I just... can't get rid of them. I'm curious how a series like Pern would rank in this list.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

I haven't read anything by Lackey yet, I'm glad to hear how much you love her books! And someone made the word count of Pern but I can't be sure about it. 😅

@rumpelRAINS 2 жыл бұрын

Great video

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! 😄

@ambrineo8613 2 жыл бұрын

Super cool video my friend, I discovered new series that I’m super interested in !! I’m caught up with the Cosmere, I am reading the last WoT book (and also have New spring to read) and I started Robin Hobb’s work this year 👌🏼 As soon as I finish it, I’ll then attempt to tackle Malazan !! The Wandering Inn is now calling to me though… 😂

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Good luck with your adventure! I just finished Lord of Chaos and loved it. Guess we'll dive into Wandering Inn when we're ready... xD

@sorryman105 2 жыл бұрын

Join the ducks with the Wandering Inn. We are a well fed group of readers. Seriously though, I hope you give TWI a shot. There is a joy in having a book a week to read even when I can't find a new series (Pirateaba writes a *lot*)

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

@@sorryman105 I think I will take you up on the offer when I'm tackling the series! :)

@dintan24 2 жыл бұрын

Lovely video. Regarding the difficulty around finding accurate word count. I find that kobo always list the books with the word count.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Daniel! Yeah, I use Kobo when I can't find the word count for a book. :)

@annmoore321 2 жыл бұрын

You are the first person I have heard mention the Valdemar series on BookTube! I love that series!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I haven't read it, though. I've only heard about it. But I'm glad you loved it! 😊

@annmoore321 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo it’s all good. Most people haven’t.

@sorryman105 2 жыл бұрын

@@annmoore321 I think it's a generational thing. People missed out on lackey if you weren't around when she and Tamora Pierce and Patricia Wrede were big. It's like everyone forgot them when Harry Potter came out.

@CatWipedTheRaid 2 жыл бұрын

I read and re-read the Valdemar books many times! I love them too.

@charliesmith5783 2 жыл бұрын

The saga or recluce in my opinion is definitely worth a read. It shows a realistic fantasy world with a very interesting magic system that consideres the economic viability of practicing magic. Also the series jumps to multiple different eras of the series world with characters you read in one book becoming legends and myth in another. Also seeing the changes in politics, kingdoms, and empires over the century's is fascinating. It definitely has some problems at times but was a very fulfilling read by the end.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Noted! Thank you so much, Charlie! "Also the series jumps to multiple different eras of the series world with characters you read in one book becoming legends and myth in another." This is something that I usually enjoy in my books! :D

@Shoutinthewind Жыл бұрын

I’m almost done with book 5 of TWI and its surprisingly fantastic! I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it is! I’m going to binge listen to the whole thing!

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Woohoo! That sounds amazing. I hope you continue to enjoy it. And I will catch up someday! 😁

@Shoutinthewind 2 ай бұрын

I am now count up with what is now 13,280,972 words.

@jacekciesiokiewicz7582 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video 🙂

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome. Thank you for watching! 😄

@Brandonhart100 Жыл бұрын

Found the wandering inn through Audible. That's how I know it. Heads up, do not judge the book by the first few chapters of the first book. This author will get you completely invested in all of the characters, and have you wondering how they can write so quickly and well at the same time. Oh, and you'll likely even cry - geez right? It's definitely in my top 5 of all time. I'm currently reading on the website because I can't stand the though of waiting another 5 months for the audiobook to come out. However, I will say it's a masterpiece in its audiobook form.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Yeah! I've received some warnings on the first few chapters of the first book. I look forward to reading it. Not this year, though. I still want to finish Mother of Learning and Worm first. After that, I do plan to try tackling The Wandering Inn. :)

@dyfandavies8105 2 жыл бұрын

First like and comment! Keep up thr good work Petrik.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I'll do my best! 😄

@avi4905 2 жыл бұрын

Great Video, appreciate all the hard work and effort that went into this video, however I was wondering if Bernard Cornwell series isn't among this list? Thank you for the great content

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I'll try to do even more research if I make an updated list. Bernard Cornwell series is historical fiction! 😊 And even then, The Last Kingdom series has relatively small word count. Based on estimations, the series should be around 1.3 million words. None of the books in the series ever reached the 200k words mark. 😄

@avi4905 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo thank you for quick reply, as always very thorough 👍. Looking forward for your next video.

@Edog1337 Жыл бұрын

It has taken me 3 months of reading it, but I am now caught up to The Wandering Inn

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Well done!! That is a great feat, considering how HUGE the series is. 😂

@CatWipedTheRaid 2 жыл бұрын

Michelle West’s Sun Sword series is one of my all time favorites and no one ever seems to have heard of it! I’ve re-read it multiple times.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad to hear you loved it that much, Tara! I saw that she's working on her last series for the universe, and she has so many supporters on her Patreon. So awesome! :D

@christophervennix9861 Жыл бұрын

There is a beautiful site called 'Neocities' that offers an exact chapter-by-chapter word count of the entire Wandering Inn series to date. As of the begining of Volume 9 (June 03, 2022), the Wandering Inn series contained 10,194,776 words. As of today (May 13, 2023), the Wandering Inn is 41 chapters into Volume 9 and contains a whopping 12,121,219 words. Put another way, in just short of a year (344 days), Pirateaba has pumped out 1,926,443 words, or 5,600 words a day.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Holy mother of god. 🙃🙃🙃 12 million words already!? Sanderson feels like a slowpoke compared to Pirateaba. 😂😂

@jeremywilson8210 Жыл бұрын

The author is rewriting the first volume, the rewrites are online. I admit that having read half of the series on your list, I had a hard time getting through the first few chapters of the original audiobook. Once I did though, I was hooked and I eagerly await each new chapter.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it end up working for you! I am so looking forward to reading The Wandering Inn! It's just a matter of finding the right time to commit myself to this massive series! :)

@juts89 2 жыл бұрын

Wandering inn, at least the first 3rd that I read, was excellent

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Great to hear that!! 😄

@bluovalgal 2 жыл бұрын

Loved this video! I've never heard of The Wandering Inn, but you made it sound interesting! I wonder how "similar" it might be to Legends and Lattes? I read from another commenter that Legends was like a cozy fantasy, and I kind of think that's true. Anyway, great video, Petrik! Might add Wandering Inn to my TBR. Barbara :)

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Barbara!! I appreciate it. I think people have mentioned the similiarity to Legends and Lattes in some sections of the book! Supposedly, it does get very epic later on, though. 😄

@djbailey1982 Жыл бұрын

The early stuff isn't as... focused, as Legends and Lattes, but the author is doing a rewrite of it! I'd say it bounces between lovely slice of life, devastating emotional impact, and epic events, usually in ways that feel very natural and well written.

@bluovalgal Жыл бұрын

@@djbailey1982 Thank you! It's on my TBR. It sounds like a great story!

@simeonr4767 Жыл бұрын

it is like a cozy fantasy until it suddenly turns into grimdark horror for a few chapters that leave u crying about some of the characters. the horror chapters are like 1 in 40/60 chapters so not that often.

@grantsampson776 7 ай бұрын

The Wandering Inn has a balancing act between heartbreaking sadness, mind-numbing rage, and unshakable optimism that it somehow continues to pull off, at least up to the volume I'm at now. Went in completely blind and got a very pleasant surprise. Would recommend.

@PetrikLeo 7 ай бұрын

Sounds amazing to me. As everyone mentioned and recommended, I definitely will read Wandering Inn. I have a plan to start the series next year! I haven't been spoiled by anything in the series. Looking forward to it!

@outofthisworldreader1700 2 жыл бұрын

I feel that the Cosmere is going to rise up a couple of spots just based on how long the first four novels within the Stormlight Archives are. I'm not sure, but I think the Skyward series is also based in the Cosmere. 10,000,000 words in 6 years, that's absolutely crazy, lol!

@bpj 2 жыл бұрын

Skyward is Cytoverse not Cosmere

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Cosmere will definitely rise up. As i said, we're only almost halfway through the universe. Skyward is not in Cosmere, though! :)

@LadyPatienceK 2 жыл бұрын

While WOB is that Cytoverse isn't connected to the Cosmere, a lot of people speculate that it might be.

@nikkisweezea2388 2 жыл бұрын

@@LadyPatienceK My new theory is that Cytoverse = Wheel of Time. And, Cytonics = Channeling. I mean, probably not, but a lot of things line up. Minus the Taynix LOL

@LadyPatienceK 2 жыл бұрын

@@nikkisweezea2388 that's interesting! I haven't read WoT yet.

@krispy.reading Жыл бұрын

Oh my goodness, lots of research went into this video. I love seeing all the people in the comments praising The Wandering Inn. I had never heard of the series prior to this video. I've had my eye on those Janny Wurts books.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

It's the same for me! I've wanted to read Wars of Light and Shadow for a while now. And The Wandering Inn is exactly why I made this video! 😄 I love seeing everyone's reaction to it!

@ireneparker8253 2 жыл бұрын

I have read the Dresden Files (Love it), A Song of Fire and Ice (read, watched and listened to), I have read a lot of what you call the Cosmere Universe. All of the Stormlight Archive and 5 of the Mistborn series, all of the Valdemar books (I love them but think they are for a younger audience), All of The Realm of the Elderlings (They are on my re-read list), I have only read the Magic of Recluse. No other books in that series, I have read the first 3 of Malazan. I just bought 4 and 5. So, that is on the re-read list too. I have only read the Hidden City by Michelle West. I have only read book 1-9 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Janny Wurts and Adrian Tchaikovsky are new authors to me. I just added them to my list to explore. Thanks for the topic. I love a good long series that goes on forever.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Those are not 'only' 😂 You have read a LOT even if you haven't finished some of them. Well done!! I hope you'll love the rest you haven't picked up.

@ireneparker8253 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Well, I am 63 years old and have loved reading since I was a girl. So, I have had some time. I am always on the hunt for new authors. Right now I am reading the Keeper Origins by J.A. Andrews. I think that was also one of your recommendations. I am enjoying it so far.

@chestersnap 2 жыл бұрын

Even with Stormlight 5 being pushed back a year, we're still getting 3 new Cosmere books next year plus the Lost Metal later this year which will probably be enough to bump it into the top 10

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure in 2024 Cosmere will no doubt be in the top 10! :)

@morbidgirl6808 3 ай бұрын

I was shocked by how good is The Wandering Inn. I would even recommend it to non fantasy reader. It may be long but very quick read and easy to grasp. It's a mixture of everything - cozy, dark, sad, adventurous, nostalgic, epic and terrifying. I can't even explain how good is it. It has a simple start then it blossoms into something bigger. It's like fantasy version of slice of life.

@PetrikLeo 3 ай бұрын

That's what I heard, too! I plan to start reading it this year. 😄

@Pireslvhc 2 жыл бұрын

I've never heard of The Wandering Inn, I'll have to check it out. R.A. Salvatore's The legend of Drizzt with 34 books (not sure of the exact number) as to be up there in word count I think.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah! That's part of The Forgotten Realm. I'm really curious about the word count, too! :)

@RhiannonSenpai 2 жыл бұрын

I know that Guin Saga by Kaoru Kurimoto has 130 volumes but each volume has about 250 pages. From wikipedia: "Guin Saga is the longest single-writer's work in the world."

@RhiannonSenpai 2 жыл бұрын

I don't know how many words that would be. But 130 volumes x 250 pages x 280 average fiction book word count=9,100,000 words. Of course some volumes don't have exactly 250 pages, some have 280 or 300 pages. So it can easily be more than 9,100,000 words. It can be closer to 10 million words.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Nice! I thought about including Guin Saga, but as I said in the beginning of the video, I couldn't find the actual word count for it. BUT by estimation, I think it should about 8-10 million words. Putting it at the number 2 spot. That said, I don't think many of them are translated to English. 😅

@RhiannonSenpai 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo I read the first volume in English. Only 5 volumes were translated in English >.< There is a 26 episode anime adaptation but it's pretty mediocre and the dub is REALLY BAD. 5/10 for me.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

@@RhiannonSenpai God I watched that anime adaptation. Nope. Hated it. Insanely disappointing really. xD

@dinocollins720 2 жыл бұрын

fun video!!!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Dino! 😄

@thesmuli83 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Petrik. These are insane series/worlds😱I can promise that I won't read every one😂

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I totally believe you will live up to your promises. Actually, I'll promise to you the same thing, too. 😂

@amypink1111 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@amypink1111 2 жыл бұрын

This took you so much time to put together! Thanks for always bringing me a smile and great fantasy content. Much love, amy

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome! Thank you so much, Amy. I try my best! 😄

@bookishlybookish 2 жыл бұрын

Valdemar is amazing and I'm so happy to see it on this list

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

That's great, Casey! :)

@akellerhouse83 2 жыл бұрын

I agree with you about the Sword of Truth series. I actually tried the first 2 books and I just couldn't continue the series. There are actually 2 series on this list that I've never heard of, which surprises me because I've been reading fantasy since the early 90's. I think the Mercedes Lackey books are for somewhat younger readers. I've read most of them years ago and gave them to my daughter. She's 14 and she said they felt like they were too young for her.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I can't even read the first book of Sword of Truth series. Genuinely no idea how it became a popular series in the first place. That said, I could totally be influenced by how much I disliked the author. An author's behavior usually doesn't affect my reading, but this one just seem to bleed into my mind when I read the book. xD

@sorryman105 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Good advertising and a gullible teenage me. Thats how I got Sword of Truthed...I had to finish because I had to prove to myself it couldn't be that bad.

@nikkisweezea2388 2 жыл бұрын

@@sorryman105 Same. I was in college, they were there. I really enjoyed WFR, and then proceeded to read the next 8 or so of them over about 2 months waiting with bated breath for it to get back to as good as the first one was. It never did, and when I caught up to the ones that had already been published, I never picked up another one.

@philipripper1522 Жыл бұрын

The Saga of Recluse is my favorite series. Has a special place in my heart.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

That's great! I don't know when I'll get around to it, but never say never! :D

@FreeLatveria 2 жыл бұрын

Malazan I'm currently holding at book 10. When I finished Book 9 I was just so burnt out that it has turned into a couple months pause. Wheel of time I got to Book 4 before I DNFed. But I'm going to give it a second chance sometime. Comere I've read Elantris and I think almost all of Mistborn available. Currently reading Secret History. Next will probably be Warbreaker. Haven't started most of the rest but most interested in Realm of the Elderlings and Shadow of the Apt.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Good luck with your reading. The Realm of the Elderlings is wonderful. And I know what you mean regarding Malazan. Book 9 was my least favorite book of the entire series. Book 10 is amazing, though, imo! :)

@devlyn873 2 жыл бұрын

I've read a lot of The Wandering Inn and it's a lot of fun!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Oh that's good to hear! 😊

@dndknower Жыл бұрын

I don't see anyone talking about it, so I'll throw my two cents in. The Saga of Recluse is very interesting in that it is less of a Good vs Evil and a Chaos vs Order. Not all Order is good and Not all Chaos is bad. As for the characters and how the story is formatted, it is more of a buch of smaller stories set in the same universe over a timespan of 2000 years or so. It is a lovely time (for me personally but i'm weird so eh) and the characters feel very real and set into their situations. I love it, but thats just me.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your thoughts and opinion on The Saga of Recluse! I think I will try the series someday. Not soon, but certainly will give it a try! Some of the comments and reviews I heard ever since I posted this video have convinced me it's at least worth the try! :)

@danielleoliver1734 2 жыл бұрын

I’ve nearly bought the first audiobook for Wandering Inn so many times, now I’m so nervous. It just seemed cute and cozy, but I might be wrong

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Maybe you watching this is a sign to cave in and buy it.... 🤣🤣

@Kalyahna 2 жыл бұрын

It definitely has cute and cozy moments, but it also has monsters and sadness and grief. But also friendship and laughter and junk food and characters that are flawed to varying degrees, who grow like real people (as in, not always in a straight forward line, they struggle to be better, just like we do). It goes at times into some pretty dark places, but it also has some truly sublime heart-warming chapters. It runs the gamut. If what you're looking for is just cute and cozy (and that's fine, we all need some dedicated cute and cozy at times), then it's not for you, but if you also enjoy stories that get grim because there's also the moment when the light shines through again... I think you'll like it. And the narrator is *fantastic* with distinct character voices.

@gabrielsalazar9220 2 жыл бұрын

It’s really good it has a bit of everything but that helps make the cozy moments cozier and the cut moments cuter cause like life things only stand out in contrast. Hopeful is one way I would describe the wandering inn

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

@@Kalyahna I really love what I'm hearing from the people who love Wandering Inn like you. I will definitely check it out someday. I'm so confused by the negative things I heard about it so far. Just from the comments on this video alone, it seems like it all came from those who haven't even read the series. So confusing. xD

@MiguelArguelles 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Oh, there's plenty of legitimate criticisms of it that you can make for sure. But it's also true that many reviews I've read just state bafflingly weird non-problems like "why does the main character not simply kill the goblins instead of treating them like people?" Putting aside the growing pains of the prose in earlier volumes, the biggest actual concerns--as far as I can tell, anyway--owe to its format as an ongoing web serial. Mainly, this is what I called a slow burn earlier, but it's a lot slower than what you're thinking. No, even slower than that! There's a grand overarching story, but at the same time, the author is often more concerned about telling us about that time the main character invented hamburgers and sold them for lots of money. Or, other times, just when something fun is happening at the inn, the story cuts away to a totally unrelated plot happening a thousand miles away, sometimes to an even better character, and sometimes to a less interesting one. The pacing is definitely NOT that of a traditional book with rising action, climax, and denouement, I can tell you that. It's easy to see how this makes it hard for people used to literature with stronger structure, but I honestly think this is also a selling point for a particular niche of readers--unconstrained by physical limitations like number of pages, the author doesn't just use this length and pacing as an excuse to artificially bloat the word count with endless descriptions of a single blade of grass in a field, but rather, to give the world and characters time to breathe, say more, and do more. It's true that a talented author can say more with less, or leave things to the imagination instead of overexplaining, but if the "more" part is still entertaining, I don't particularly mind reading it!

@ValeVin Жыл бұрын

As soon as I saw the title, I was looking forward to seeing the Valdemar entry. Though I think you said 36 books, and I think I've got 50 Valdemar books on my shelf, and I'm missing some? Obviously, The Black/White/Silver Gryphon trilogy is a classic, but if someone said "imagine a fantasy book," I'd probably imagine Magic's Pawn or Brightly Burning. I think what surprised me the most about the books, especially from the 80s onwards, is how modern they read. "Nineties fantasy" has this connotation to it of slow pacing, padded wordcount, millions of confusing names, and hints of bigotry that the Valdemar books lack, making them feel strangely modern. (Though if I were encouraging someone to try out the series, I do feel like the Arrows trilogy and Oathbound/Oathbreakers, the oldest books, aren't a great entry point.)

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

If I'm not mistaken, there are 36 main novels and 15 collection of short stories in Valdemar right now, which I should've mentioned and included. But I haven't read the series, and it seems like people haven't counted the word count for the collections yet! That's interesting, btw. I love when a classic can still be read now without it ever feeling like the negatives you mentioned!

@Greyhound53200 Жыл бұрын

A serious tip: drop everything you're doing and start reading The Wandering Inn. If you're still in doubt just go to their web page and start reading from there. I just finished listening to the first audio book which is, believe it or not 43+ (!) hours long. Pirateaba (he/she/they?) paints a great fantasy world. What really stands out in the audio book is what narrator Andrea Parsneau does in this book. Her performance is Oscar worthy in my book. The best I've ever heard.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Not in doubt at all. I just have to make sure I'm in the right schedule before I dive into it. I expect to love this massive series and I hope to clear some of my responsibilities before diving into it. 😊

@jessicar.6268 2 жыл бұрын

I'm about to finish the Realm of the Elderlings in August. One book left!! I started the Valdemar series. I really liked the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy. I'm trying to read it in publication order. The publication order and the chronological order is on Goodreads.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

One more book left!? Oh, Jessica, prepare some tissue for tears... Though, i think you know already that her book is so emotional! 😅

@DerUnbekannte 11 ай бұрын

I read all of the wandering inn in the last 12 months I started very non-committal with an audible credit, and the wonderful voice acting of andrea parsneau just sucked me right in after the first 6 audio books I discovered that that was only 20%, and I got right to work :D

@PetrikLeo 11 ай бұрын

Absolutely amazing. I wish I have the time to commit that deeply to Wandering Inn, but I can't at the moment! Heard many amazing things about the audiobook, though!!

@DerUnbekannte 11 ай бұрын

@@PetrikLeo I suddenly found I really needed to go for a lot of walks 😂

@RyanLane42 2 жыл бұрын

Woah, haven’t heard of The Wandering Inn until now

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Well, now you know. 😂

@axtell500 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Petrik, the series I have read the most is probably Discworld, I think I have 2 left - loved that series. Sword of truth I somehow got through the first 8 books then stopped wasnt enjoying it - I think why I continued is I didnt know any better, before Booktubers etc. Plus the tv series was terrible. Enjoyed Shannarra for what it is - will continue eventually. Same with Wheel of Time and Malazian. Regarding Shadows of the Apt, to me it felt the series wasnt originally suppose to be 10 books long, after Book 4 the rest seem "bolted" on, I reached the end of book 7 and I am still undecided if I will continue - I enjoyed the ideas initially.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Wow! Well done. You're almost done with Discworld! I will have to catch up. And that's interesting regarding Shadows of the Apt! I don't know when I will get to that one yet, but I hope I'll like it more than you did! :)

@axtell500 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Yeah love the humour in his books. I have met the great man twice, before his health issues started

@jennifersterken4869 2 жыл бұрын

I've read a couple disc world books and most of song of ice and fire. I've decided not to finish either one even though I enjoyed what I read. I'm intimidated by wheel of time and the cosmere. There are so many books that I want to read, that I've basically decided not to read any more massive series, at least right now. Thank you for the video! 🙂

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching, Jennifer! No need to force reading something you lost interest in. I know how intimidating big series can be. Especially when our life is super busy! xD

@adoniscreed4031 2 жыл бұрын

The Cosmere is so manageable 😶 Its a couple of standalone novels and a couple of trilogies... Stormlight is the only one that is quite long but it is also one of the best stories in the genre so its super worth the read! You can read each bit and take a decent break before starting on the next one!

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

@@adoniscreed4031 I second this!

@jsguinomhay1097 10 ай бұрын

Just recently discovered TWI and never thought a story about goblins and ant-people would make me cry, fret and smile. Magic. That's what TWI is❤

@PetrikLeo 10 ай бұрын

When series involves ant people, usually they're great, like Hunter x Hunter and Solo Leveling. 😄

@curtjarrell9710 2 жыл бұрын

I haven't read all of any of these series. I've recently begun reading The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb and will give SOIAF by GRR Martin another try at some point. At my advanced age I'm not going to be venturing into any more massive series. There are many other books I'd like to read before I die. Happy reading.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Understandable! I hope you'll get to read the books you want to read as much as you can! Happy reading to you, too, Curt!

@Kalyahna 2 жыл бұрын

The Farseer Trilogy (or, well, the Assassin's Apprentice books - young Fitz) are some of my favorite books of all time!

@aysseralwan 2 жыл бұрын

Can't believe I never heard of Nr.1🤯

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Shocking, right!? 😂

@johnathanrhoades7751 Жыл бұрын

You've got to read Discworld!! It's so unique and such a treasure. If you don't like the humor/satire, that's understandable, but you gotta try it at least! Small Gods is good as is Guards, Guards. It really won't be for everyone, but I feel like a few books is required reading for any fantasy lover.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Yeah! I plan to read at least Small Gods first. If I like it, I'll try Guards2 or Mort again! 😁 I really hope I'll love it!

@johnathanrhoades7751 Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo hope so! It won't be everyone's taste for sure, but it's worth a try.

@sorryman105 2 жыл бұрын

I talked about TWI a lot in reponses so I'm going to comment about another series on your list, Mercedes Lackey and her Valdemar books. I loved them as a kid and I truly still do but not all the books aged well. I think they peaked in the Arrows trilogy and the Oathbound duaology. This was written in an era where fantasy just did not have any female protags like the way the Heralds are described and she wrote queer main characters, asexual main characters. There was a lot conceptually to take away. The writing though faded in it's potency a little as the series aged. I've never really been able to pinpoint why. Michelle West is amazing but I ended up in her Elantra series to get started with her. Your video also made me realize I've read all of these series including the wandering inn...I think size does matter to me, who knew! Would you consider doing a series about prolific writers with multiple series (CJ Cherryh comes to mind or Lois Mcmaster Bujold)?

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I love reading your responses regarding TWI, I'll reply them all one by one as soon as I can!! :D I'm not too sure about trying Valdemar books yet, but I am certainly interested in Michelle West's series. Probably not anytime soon, though. I will most likely get to her books after the last series is done. Still have so MANY books to read, TWI being one of them. That's actually amazing btw. I think you're the only one I know who's read all of the series listed here! Lois Mcmaster Bujold is another author I've been meaning to try. I have her Curse of Chalion on my Kindle! I'll probably do a series of videos about prolific writers one day. Need to plan and organize my thoughts on how to do the video first! :)

@sorryman105 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo I honestly consider Lois Mcmaster Bujold one of *the* masters of fiction writing for the 80's and 90's. Jim Butcher quotes her for example. I cannot describe to you the subllime level of care she puts into the growth of her characters. The Vorkosigan Saga and especially the Mountains of Mourning short is one of the dearest works for me. I love A Civil Campaign as well, it's what good writing should be. Chalion is a whole other ballpark for me. Something about LMB's prose construction really speaks to me. She doesn't waste any words but you never feel deprived and gets across so much nuance in phrasing. I can't speak about it because it would spoil to much but she tucks away something in one of her earlier books that comes back later in a huge way. And when you go back and read it it's all so plain to see yet hidden. Skill. Wondrous skill.

@cilliansands6166 2 жыл бұрын

I read the first two in the Malazan series (GotM I read three times, I love it so much); five in WoT, only one in The Shadow of the Apt (I own the rest and even though I wasn't blown away by the first book, I have a good feeling the series will get better), only three in the Cosmere and don't get me started with Essalieyan. I'm so pissed. For years I had all House War, minus the first one, on five different wishlists. Finally, I decided to binge buy them all from three different websites (Skirmish was particularly hard to find at a decent price for a mass market). After I gathered them all, I came to the knowledge that if you want to have the full experience and not feel lost, you have to read the first three House War, then read all six Sun Sword series. If I buy a whole, supposedly, self-contained series, why do I have to go on an interval after the first 3 books to read a whole entire series so I can continue the series I intended to read in the first place? I feel cheated. Reading is not a chore for me, of course, but it's the principle that annoys me. Oh, and of course, it is recommended that before I read House War, I should read The Sacred Hunt duology which I already owned. I guess I'll have to hunt for the Sun Sword books and round them up... You posted a nice, informative, well-researched video and you get a rant for your efforts. Sorry, P, Essalieyan is kind of a sore subject. 😤

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Hahahaha. Seems like you have a LOT of anger and resentment towards Essalieyan. I can definitely see how it frustrates you, though! :D

@cilliansands6166 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Just to be fair, I don't think this was a devious move from the author, I just don't like how it was executed. If she started writing House War after Sun Sword, why divide the series into two arcs to squeeze a previously written series in the middle? Until I read them, I'll reserve my judgement, maybe it works? So far, I'm on the opinion that it wasn't cleverly planned. It didn't help to see the author trying to patch that up by offering a full recap of Sun Sword on her website. Honey! It's six books and the shortest is almost 700 pages. That makes for one hell of a recap.

@Sehad 10 ай бұрын

Compleatly worth reading WanderingInn. My fave book series.

@PetrikLeo 10 ай бұрын

Definitely will try it someday! 😊

@animeisthewayhaha Жыл бұрын

If/ when you read The Wandering Inn expect the first 70-100 pages of the first novel to be rough and the first half a little slow. Around 3/4 of the book is were it really picks up. But even saying that I binged the first novel on audiobook and finished a 1200+ page book (43 hours of audio) in about 4 days. Second novel is close to 2000 pages (61 hours of audiobook) finished that in about a week. Currently on novel 3, which is ONLY 1000 pages (37 hours of audiobook) Have fun 😙😙😙

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Thank you! It will happen eventually. Probably not soon, though. As I mentioned in some of the comments here, I want to read Mother of Learning and Worm first next year. Wandering Inn might be in 2024. I have a lot on my plate! xD

@animeisthewayhaha Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo oh you have plenty of time before you have to start! In truth I think only 7 or 8 books are officially published with audiobooks which is only a small portion of the web novel itself. No rush! The author is going through slowly (slow for them LOL)and editing the work for kindle publication. When you do get to it though I do HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. The narrator does such an amazing job with the accents of the different species and characters!

@bottle1211 Жыл бұрын

I've read ASoIaF, Dresden Files, Cosmere, Realm of the Elderlings, Malazan.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Well done. That's a lot already! :)

@bottle1211 Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo yea I didn't realize until this video

@christianboi7690 Жыл бұрын

Xanth by Pierce Anthony is a pretty good series, a few hiccups with weird sexual tension scenes since it’s a college age comedy fantasy series, but there’s so much creativity and fun in the series and it has almost 5 million words I think. Sometimes the series can get a bit too hung up on puns and it’s probably at its worst, at least for me, when it gets hung up on Pervy bits, but I don’t think it ever gets downright explicit. I haven’t read the who series, so I don’t know for sure, but I’m pretty sure it’s mainly focused on the fun adventure and the comedy aspect. At least in high school I had a blast with all of the fun and creative ideas in the series.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I haven't read Xanth yet! I unfortunately can't find an accurate word count on the series everywhere that's why it's not on the list.

@jeremyfee 2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful video, as always. There were so many interesting fantasy series that came from Dungeons & Dragons. In addition to Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance, there are novels for: Greyhawk, Spelljammer, Planescape, Eberron, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, [the list goes on and on]...

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, Jeremy! From what I know, I think sci-fi has the tendency to go more insane with its word count. I mean, Star Wars alone, if you combine all the books and stories published to date, I think it has reached more or less 100 million words. xD

@bizzhat 3 ай бұрын

I've read Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind, unsure if I ever finished it.. I enjoyed it a lot. I also started Martin's Song of Fire and Ice, but once the movies started it shattered my imaginary img thereof and I dropped it altogether. > on that note I'd like to recommend Eric van Lustbader's 'Pearl Saga' and Eric Lynch's 'Gentleman Bastard' series (unfinished) ..

@PetrikLeo 3 ай бұрын

I love The Gentleman Bastards series. I haven't read Eric van Lustbader's books, though. Thanks for the recommendation! :)

@bizzhat 3 ай бұрын

@PetrikLeo spreading the joy of reading a good book is always worth it :-) > van Lustbader only ever wrote than one fantasy novel, all his other works are thrilers and the like, like meh material > I see you've also touched the realm of manga reviews... so many titles, so little time xD Lynch's last book was my last fantasy book per se before I entirely moved myself to various Asian LN .. **edit. nvm I just found your video regarding that.

@rainydayz7866 Жыл бұрын

I want to read all of these series. Mind you have yet to start any of them because I just started to get into fantasy book. 😁😅

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

We will be spending years or decades to read them all. 🤣

@LadyPatienceK 2 жыл бұрын

It would be interesting to see the word count for universe of Anne and Todd McCafry. The books aren't huge but the vast majority of their writing is in the same universe.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I think so, too! I can't seem to find the word count for Pern! :)

@karenlp5867 2 жыл бұрын

I liked “The Sword of Truth”. I think what you suggested is correct. Peoples’ opinion of the story is tainted before they start reading because of the author’s reputation. There are some problems with the series though. In the first book, the story kicks off with a massive coincidence that seems beyond belief. And as the books progress, they get increasingly preachy in tone. The main characters are very often thinking or talking about how terrible the enemy regime is in detail, over, and over, and over again. Despite these things, I did enjoy these books very much overall. I liked the main characters very much, and even though each book is very long, I never got bored. (Except for the repetitive bits, but I skimmed over those).

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

I definitely think my opinion and patience with the first book is stained by my opinion on the author. I'm glad you're still able to love the books, though! 😄

@Dave3Dman 2 жыл бұрын

Interesting that so many of these very different series have ended up almost at the same length in words around 4 million words

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

They write so MUCH. 🤣🤣

@thelasthandbook6704 2 жыл бұрын

What's the word count on Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, Thorn/Last King of Osten Ard, I wonder? The combined series must be around 2 million words, at least, probably quite a bit more. To Green Angel Tower is over 500k by itself, to the point the paperback edition is typically sold as a Part I and II. And the Osten Ard books have shorter books in the 80k range in between the main series. Too lazy to run the numbers, since I'm not a KZfaqr, LOL. (Kobo doesn't include those shorter books in the Osten Ard series listing, but both Fantastic Fiction and GoodReads do.) 2.5 million plus would not shock me, though, possibly putting it ahead of a few on this list, if so. Was a little surprised to see the Thomas Covenant books as all being less than 200k words. They seemed to take forever to get through, though I've only read the first two series. Shannara is complete. Terry Brooks confirmed this in 2021. (Pity because his last book was terrible; incoherent YA.) I'm also a bit dubious about the word count on Kobo. I'm pretty sure they're estimates, though I admit I do not have a better alternative. Frustrating that publishers don't make this information easily available. There's no reason they couldn't nowadays.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

Yup, you're right! The word count for The Osten Ard Saga (7 novels + 2 novellas) currently sits at 2.17 million words. Thomas Covenant with 10 books sits at more or less 2 million words. I think the word count on Kobo is close enough to be accurate. I've run it with some books that I have access to convert to docx, and they're very close with one another! For example, this is the word count for The Wheel of Time: external-preview.redd.it/JRo6mHoQeCbw8V7mjmn7sOJDDj6e_lKZQbO_9Fv_n4Q.png?auto=webp&s=c99630c3ff2d7b3166303586fb0d2db8459afd71 On that image, A Memory of Light is at 353.9k words. A Memory of Light on Kobo is marked at 354k words. I do, however, agree so much that publishers/authors could make this more public. It would've saved so much of my time! :)

@Speed202 2 жыл бұрын

Cool video....I was surprised Harry Potter didn't rank in the top 15....unless you've counted it as middle grade.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

The entire Harry Potter series is around 1 million words! 😄

@Speed202 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo wow....who would have guessed?....LOL

@SrikkanthG Жыл бұрын

For anyone who haven't read "Wheel of Time", skip the books and just read this part. It's a story about few people riding horses for a very long period of time and in between few of them fight with few others and it doesn't matter who. Post the fight, they ride again and the story repeats.

@PetrikLeo Жыл бұрын

That's the entirety of the Eye of the World. 😅

@SrikkanthG Жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo 😜

@Ragnarokgar 9 ай бұрын

Not only is the Wandering Inn long its also really good

@PetrikLeo 9 ай бұрын

That's what I keep hearing, too! :)

@calliope9th217 2 жыл бұрын

How about Roman/ Greco mythology and the classics for world-building and the origins of modern fantasy. Try this: Ovid Metamorpheses as a prelude, then The Iliad, followed by The Odyssey and rounded off with The Aeneid. Follow it up with Watership Down for some beautiful perspective. Doubt anyone will take me up. But you should...

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

You mean like combine their word count? I'll try to search the word count. Not sure whether they're available to find easily or not, though. 😅

@calliope9th217 2 жыл бұрын

@@PetrikLeo Nope. Was just suggesting what I consider good reading for fantasy afficionados. Especially combining The Aeneid with Watership Down. "Word count" need not apply.

@PetrikLeo 2 жыл бұрын

@@calliope9th217 ah got it! I've read Illiad and Odyssey a long time ago back in school. Definitely need a reread. Watership Down is in on my TBR. Will have to look up the other books you mentioned!