I've yet to encounter someone who it like..."I collect only ugly covers"

That's why i never buy romance...the covers suck

Thank you like the cover looks intriguing makes me want to get the book half of the time

I think about it as hey, if this book is really good then the publisher is going to put more effort into trying to sell it with a good cover because they are more likely to get a return on their investment. If a book has a bad cover I assume the publisher sees it as a mid -tier book (could also just be a newer author) and will be less willing to spend a whole lot for a good cover so I wont buy it (I only have so much time, I only want to read 4-5 star books). I also just like good art. Unfortunately I think the vast majority of sci-fi and fantasy covers in the US are pretty bad. It seems like there are artists publishers have been working with for a long time that get the contracts simply out of tenure while there are far more impressive artists out there throwing stuff up on deviantart.

That's avery old saying that's not always true for nowadays. So I propose a saying that replaces that one in commonspeak "don't judge a book by its movie" is more likely to fit.

I’m now going to name a character by hitting my face into the keyboard and seeing what comes up 💁🏻‍♀️

To be fair, a lot of real-life languages have pronunciations that are incomprehensible to native English speakers, and probably vice versa (other language speakers vs English words/names). Like many Irish (or Celtic-based in general) or French names. So at least there's precedent! Lol to your second remark. True!

Olfghanifax The Wise rippled his muscles enticingly.

@@ebnovels I try my best to avoid doing this but if I do have a rather difficult name I have tried making misspelled or mispronounced jokes to have the characters pronounce it in a simple way to help the reader to pronounce it, or I give them a nickname. so far I have gotten good responses from my proof reader.

dude your entire comment has me dying 😂😂

Same lol

that's a good point. Also definitely don't read The Wheel of Time in that case

Me too!! Wanting to read a novel aimed at adults doesn't necessarily mean I want maximum gore and explicit sex scenes. I wish there was something like an "age 12+" rating for novels for adults that lets me know "yes, the themes in here are complex and interesting to adults, but it's not a gorefest/smut".

I wish they did too! And you’re welcome :D

I do swear, but adding swearing to an otherwise bland story does not make it any more interesting.

Maybe not on the cover though

N.v West I agree, I meant the back cover, (like on a DVD) but was half asleep when I wrote this haha.

Me too!

Best stand-alone sci-fi book off the top of my head - Armor by John Steakley. Cult classic, the author only wrote two books (Vampires is the other one, with the "s" replaced with a $ sign, also a great urban fantasy read, back in the day) and died before he could do a sequel. Highly recommend it. Best stand-alone fantasy is tougher....Legend by David Gemmell was meant to be a stand-alone, Gemmell had cancer while he was writing it and fully expected to die soon after it was finished...but he made it (yay!) and went on to write a bunch of sequels and prequels, so try that one, it's really good...

@@ebnovels I can't seem to find that stand alone book you recommended at 3:45

Hahaha, that’s very true! And yes, your last sentence rings true for a lot of stories I’ve come across.

Authors get in huge trouble for misrepresenting non-western cultures, intentional or not. Publishers strongly discourage it, so in an over saturated market where the tiniest thing can get you passed over, it’s easier to simply not risk the mistake. They say to write what you know, and most authors writing (and reading) in English know western culture best.

@@Meshuga63 Well, that's boring...

Jarin Jove it IS boring and most of the authors I know are not happy with it. When “I’m about to ruin this man’s whole career” ceases to be a meme and becomes reality, though, authors are very conservative.

You can follow characters aren't very western minded while not offending anyone. Don't draw too heavily from only one real-life culture in an obvious way (using typical stereotypes). Try to find more references and make the created culture unrecognizable. Avoid using iconic elements from the groups of people the authors don't know much about. I don't think that's too hard to do. Some of the cultures I've seen in certain books are quite original and I can't make any link between them and real-life cultures. I really wanted to follow more characters from said cultures, yet the main characters...ah, I don't hate them, but they are just not as interesting.

Yes! I don’t think I saw any comment mentioning this, but I completely agree 😄

Ahem Ahem Malazan...😉

**sighs** Agreed. I get told how much I should love Dresden Files a lot. Mostly kind enthusiasm, but sometimes...

@@gracelesspassion1750 that "definitely not for everyone" is problem with Malazan fans... many of them think they are superior to everyone just because they've finished the series. And I've seen many instances when somebody reviewed one of the books badly and malaz-fans just downplay the reviewer and mock them that they "did not understand it". Just recent example - Daniel Green did a rant about Malazan and he was immediately mocked in a facebook Malazan group

@@MsAndrej26 I love the Malazan books personally, but yes the elitism in the fanbase annoys me. I also really like a lot of Brandon Sanderson's work - other Malazan fans are always acting as if he's the worst author on the planet. He's not, his books are just different from the Malazan style and that's fine by me, there are other things about his writing that I really enjoy - cracking plot, interesting worlds, well defined magic systems and so on.

I second that. More adult fantasy standalones! Is that 20-year-old-book's sequel a jab at something specific, or just general? (my 1st thought jumped to Neverwhere)

That’s very true! I know most of my family members have noticed the size of a lot of fantasy books (they’re not really fantasy readers!).

Unfortunately it seems to be a sales issue. Series just sell better. (Source: An author's Twitter thread.) I try pushing series that wrap up well enough in the first book. Mistborn, for example. The story isn't over, but its reached a satisfying conclusion to the events of the book.

I second Mistborn, Dune is another good one. Warbreaker is the only true stand alone that I think is WORTH mentioning (though it seems is not going to be a stand alone for much longer, I think Sanderson is planning a sequel).

The trouble with fantasy standalone as an author is spending so much time worldbuilding for a single effort. This and one of the other points mentioned, that fantasy is so complex, are side effects of what drives fantasy in the first place. Readers want landscapes, government systems, ecologies, technologies, etc. that differ from the real world, but they also want systems that make sense. Consequently, fantasy books must dedicate significant word count to developing these unique settings which enlarge the book and make the systems complex. That’s a LOT of work, in preparation and drafting, to abandon after one publication. Perhaps a good solution is for an author to publish several standalones in a single universe. A self published colleague of mine, B.K. Boes, is developing this idea now, but she only has one book out so far and it’s the beginning of a trilogy.

Sometimes I have to reread the beginning. I don’t mind not knowing at first if later those things are elaborated on, but when I’m expected to remember, I get a tad annoyed 😆

sounds like your iq is too low for this genre, maybe romance novels would be more your speed

Hahaha, I think for many people it’s easier to hate on YA too 😆 Haha, and yes on the names!

@@ebnovels Authors really need to put up prononciation videos on YT when they publish a book.

More than one apostrophe in a name is a catastrophe.

Can we get fictional names that aren't just repeated vowels and apostrophes? I slam my head back in my chair when I see Ma'aalashia'an and Innul'chuga'in and Schmu-D'zeef and G'h'chh'lllchu and

I second this. It’s funny too, because fantasy readers are often shamed by non fiction readers or literary fiction readers, but then they turn around and do the same to people who enjoy YA. I don’t understand why people ever feel the need to do that.

@@ebnovels I guess it's classic bullying. I mean they're usually not as outright mean as bullies typically are but whenever someone tries to validate themselves at the expense of others that's basically what their doing. Especially when they themselves have experienced invalidation.

YA is trash and everyone is right to shame you

Hahaha, sometimes it can be fun...but only sometimes 😆

Yes! That's how I felt trying to read Rage of Dragons.

AMEN!

Type type type! Ok, that’s the character name-that’s what it feels like sometimes 😆

A great and happy reading day to you! Also, the tiny prints is absolutely a “no no” as one person in the video put it! I can’t stand the tiny print either 😅

Hahaha, I feel you 😆

Shardik by Richard Adams is worse than LOTR.

But there are also some readers (like me) who love that stuff!!!! I know i put that kinda thing in my own novels...because i love doing it. That is the part of writing that brings me joy. And, yes, some reviewers do complain, but most don't. To each there own on this subject for sure.

Or in the words of Epic Rap Battles of History: "We don't need the backstory on every f**kin' tree branch! " 😉

@Mike's Library obviously. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jqdxo8Kd2tLZn2Q.html

That's an interesting perspective! I definitely don't think all male main protagonists should look like a chiseled man hunk, and I also don't think that everyone needs to be in a relationship or find a lover at the end of something. Nice Sharingan btw

Can't relate lol

Sonny I agree! I think the awkward lead characters are pretty well represented in children’s and middle-grade lit, but somewhere in YA and adult leads become wish-fulfilment conduits instead, and I don’t understand it. Even adults like to see themselves represented in fiction, even in fantasy. I’m currently reading a sci-fi book where the main character deliberately checks out unpopular books from the library so that the library doesn’t purge them from the shelves, and I’m just like, “YES, THESE ARE MY PEOPLE!” 😂

@@Pajali what's the book? It sounds cool.

@@Pajali because adults don't care about relating to characters, they already know who they are and can understand following a character that doesn't represent them.

I'm on book 12 and as long as you can overlook the slow pace of books 8-10 you are in for an absolute treat. The series so far has some of my favourite scenes I've read. Book 6 in particular :O

Hmm, good question! If I had to guess, it’s that for some, they either just don’t like content that explicit, or they don’t like that sex is the only thing making the book “adult.” But if anyone else would care to share their opinion, I’d be curious to see as well!

Kayla M for me it’s more of a it wasn’t what I was looking for. You can have all the romance you want, just give me a hint on the summary/description so I know what to expect. But yeah I don’t mind romance and I feel like I am in the mood for it I know where to look 😍

I don't mind sex scenes... BUT I do mind them when they are too explicit and just there for shock value (my comment was the one about FABIO in the cover 🤣). "It"comes to mind for example, the scene in the sewers makes no sense to me IMHO... It ruined the book for me and we are taking about a book with a freaking space turtle on it 😳 my main issue is with King in general... Some of his sexual content is fine but some of it seems to just come out of no where 🤷🏻‍♂️ I cant recall any other author that bothered me that much right now...

Rodrigo Santos I was thinking that too! I love King, he’s one of my favorite authors and I love It, but what the heck was that about? The whole book was a coming of age story, we didn’t need...whatever that was for the kids grow up and come of age. That was literally what the whole book was about. That scene was disturbing, disgusting and unnecessary.

Sex scenes make me pretty uncomfortable most of the time (like my face turns all red). That’s not really what I’m looking for when I read a magical adventure.

It's not a cliffhanger imo. But it leaves it open for the eventual sequel that's planned

No, it stands alone although it is subly referenced in later Sanderson books. That said, it's definitely not my favourite of his books.

that's one of my fav author, got his whole Riyria and First Empire series :)

@@kiteflying9317 Nice! I haven't read anything but the First Empire series -- and I need to actually read the last two books still... but yeah I REALLY dig his writing style!

You’re very welcome!

I agree. I wish there were more stand alone books.

Dream Master I hear ya! It’s hard to be motivated to read Pat Rothfuss for the same reason.

Haha, that’s definitely true for some series!

Yeah, but it helps if they get written.

*Bead of sweat drips down GRRM;s forehead*

I’m more willing to give authors a pass on this just because the books tend to be the size of 3-4 books from other genres, but I also understand the frustration when a series is supposed to be 10 books long and it’s 4 or 6 years between instalments. 😭

A little bit ago, yes! But it looks extra short here because it’s tightly curled. Thank you very much for noticing! 💇🏻‍♀️🙎🏻‍♀️💁🏻‍♀️

Thanks, me too! :D

I hope you’re doing well too!

I do always appreciate pronunciation guides. Unless, of course, I like how I pronounce it better 🤣

@@_DarkEmperor Your argument doesn't work. Sexualisation of a woman for no reason is not the same as a battle in a war to move the story forward. Let's say your strong army was 100% women. Cool. That still has nothing to do with the sexualisation of a woman for no reason or other examples of poor treatment. What you don't seem to comprehend is that this boils down to poor writing, not what characters take the most damage. Sexualisation of women in literature is perfectly fine. As is the murder, the torture, the rape, etc. Same with men. What matters here is execution. A woman being sexualised through description because the point-of-view character is a male teenager-that can work. It makes logical sense and develops character. For no reason...well, that's poor writing then. That is what is meant (most of the time) when referring to the poor treatment of women in literature. For example, let's change your army to 100% women again. A great many are slaughtered, eaten alive, and tortured as in your example. Yes, that can work. It makes logical sense and moves the story forward. That is not poor treatment of women. Just as it isn't when it's men going through it. Poor treatment in this context does not mean literal harm of a fictional character. This is obvious, and I can't tell if your reading comprehension is lacking or if you willfully chose to be ignorant. Another reason to sexualise a woman in literature. Erotica. Because that's the entire point of erotica. It can work, it makes logical sense, and it moves that specific type of story forward. Now all my examples can still become poor treatment because, as I said before, it comes down to execution. We'll make your army all men again. This time though, they all shout for no reason, "We're dumb men. We are scum. We all deserve to die just for being men." And they proceed to do battle with this weird mindset given to the reader. That is poor writing, that is poor execution, that is poor treatment of men. Your exact scenario mixed with poor execution equals poor treatment, whether the army is all male or all female or fifty-fifty. How many soldiers get tortured, eaten, and/or killed doesn't matter. That was never the point.

@@DrawbackDrawback You are missing the point. People recognise when women are merely put in a sexual context and fret over whether they think it is acceptable or not. Where-as thousands of men being killed is par for the course. So a when naked woman raises more eye-brows than dead men I think we need to reassess our priorities...

@@_DarkEmperor hey, tbh I didn't quite understand your argument?

@@_DarkEmperor thats because thats how war is represented and described, have you heard of ww1 and 2

@@_DarkEmperor My example was that it is bad writing when there's no reason. If you wrote an army with low self esteem on purpose for a reason then it can be good writing. Reading comprehension, mate.

The first four :)

It suffer from a lot of these same things. I read all 15 books in the series and had to give it a 2 on my scale of 0-4. I would never re-read them. But I am considering watching the tv show.

I loved Queen of the Tearling, but I haven’t read the sequels and I’ve heard they’re not as good as the first 😅

Alyssa In Wonderland hi🤗 can I interest you in Kings of the Wyld or the First Law Trilogy, this isn’t a book but perhaps Avatar the Last Airbender series-some of the best character work I have seen.

@@ebnovels I will give it a try, thanks🤗 Enjoy your day🌼

@@nasteho6614 I just finished rewatching Avatar and it's become my favourite series of all time🤗 I'll definitely try the books, thanks🙌🏻

Alyssa In Wonderland I loved Avatar and I definitely hold a lot of character work to that standard. Have you watched anything by Studio Ghibli? Couple of of their movies do fantastic character development as well.

I agree that Lan & Nyneave just came out of the blue. Although, with Rand (at least in my Headcanon) I felt that the reason they all fell n love with him was because he was ta'veren, and he needed them loyal to him. That's why they were ok with sharing him, because they had been wrapped up in the web.

Glasses USA! I wasn’t sponsored either, I just really liked them (although I might be working with them in the future! :D). Anyway, the brand is Muse on their website, and these exact frames are actually a really deep red 👓

@@ebnovels I actually ordered my sunglasses from Glasses USA! Thank you :D

You can replace "when using a college word in substitution for one that is simple" with "using a big word in place of something simple."

Thanks! I think I actually love when a bunch of things go wrong 😆

@@ebnovels i agree that enjoy better when things dont go smooth. Cause that rarely ever happens in life! It be a pretty boring book if everything went as planned. Hard to describe the over the top, but am sure know it when see it. Wheel of time relationships are pretty awful. Love the series though!

Definitely, it seems that almost every adult fantasy is called "the x of y" while almost every ya fantasy is called "the x of y and z"

'The Assassin of Dragons'. It is inevitable that will at some point become the name of a real book at this rate.

Ironically, I think that’s actually how the audiobook narrator said it 😄

Just curious, which adult fantasy comes to mind for what you described? :)

@@ebnovels Examples would be (these aren't in any way bad books, just very low magic/no magic) : The Thief + sequels by Megan Whalen Turner, the Memories of Lady Trent series (does have dragons, but that's it), the Ranger's Apprentice series, We Set the Dark on Fire, The Warlord Chronicles by Bernhard Cornwell, the Baru Cormorant series, Amberlough, Riverside series, Fencer trilogy, engineer trilogy, Guy Gavriel Kay's novels (he DID the historical research though!), The False Prince, The Runaway King, Sword of the Guardian, Legends of Ithyria, the Temeraire series also has no magic apart from dragons, The Dagger and the Coin series, The Montague siblings, Hraban Chronicles, River of Teeth series, Adventures of Arabella Ashby, The Goblin Emperor, Joe Abercrombie's books are extremely low magic, The Folding Knife, Spindle's End - and a lot of grimdark fantasy is no/low fantasy and focuses just on warriors. I've got absolutely nothing against these books, but still sometimes I wish they came with a "low magic!" label so that I would know in advance and wouldn't have to read half the book before realizing this and being disappointed because I happen to prefer high magic worlds when I read fantasy. Somehow nobody ever tells me in advance!

Do you mean the names which are not real names or names which are not-English real names?

@@lindapenttinen3382 Most names i read in Fantasy books

There are a lot of difficult names 😆

Urgh, those books irritated me SO much. Using thesaurus words instead of plain English: check. Abusive relationships: check. Multiple times over. Gratuitous sex scenes: check. Sooooo many. Exposition dumping: check. A dinner party conversation where a secondary character explains the whole backstory of one of the protagonists in a single monologue?! Lazy world building: check. How do you have a flipping sentient cauldron, that's suddenly super powerful and central to the main plot, yet never mention it till two thirds of the way through the second book in the series?! Lazy character building: check. How can a hero protagonist suddenly become the main enemy? Oh let's not develop that at all, we'll just have the total change of character happen between books 1 & 2, so we don't have to explain it. That will be a nice surprise for the readers! And yet somehow they still managed to be compelling! But I gave up after book 2, as the irritations kept piling higher! I took a very long break from reading fantasy, and I think I've come back to it after many years as a much pickier reader than I was before!

In games, I almost always go for dual wielding. I like my people fast! 😆 I like some complex magic, but others don’t work for me.

Elliot Brooks I will say, I’ve been using magic constantly in the Final Fantasy VII remake because it’s practically unavoidable. But in Kingdom Hearts, I may use cure every few battles, but not often. I’m a rogue myself, normally. I do like Allomancy, because there’s more or less a pseudoscience to it.

I love recaps at the start, especially if its been a while between books. I'm gonna need a recap before Winds of Winter & Door of Stone.

@@MrSonny665 FR i caught up with ASAOIF 2019 and i still need that recap if TWOW coming in 2020-2021. In Terms of DoS i will read first 2 books if he actually finishes the 3rd book atm just waiting for him to complete the trilogy.

there are so many great standalones out there, and I'm sure there will be someone out there who just adores your book. The genre just has series coming out of its ears so there aren't many standalones by popular authors that people are more willing to try. If it makes you feel better, I've started looking outside of mainstream book recs and I've found some lesser-known standalones that are now some of my all-time favorite books. It is hard to set up a fantasy world and plot in a single book buuut I think its more an issue of people not searching outside of the most popular authors for standalones :-)

@@danielle3308 Awwwww thank you sooooooo much. That is so sweet of you. Your comment made my day. Yeah, I agree with you that worldbuilding in one book only is hard. You’re amazing. Thank you💕

That’s true! I also think adult fantasy doesn’t HAVE to have a super complex world 😊

Ah, that’s very true! I didn’t see anyone mention that, but it’s a good point 😄