Legends say that in the darkest hour, when all seems lost, Salty Petrik will return to rejoin the battle…

Salty Petrik deserves a trilogy written about him. Such an engaging and interesting character

I think my least favorite trope is how a book will have every chapter be a different characters perspective but then you'll get to a big cliffhanger for one character and have to read a hundred pages or more of other characters chapters before it gets back to the cliffhanger.

There is one fantasy romance author who had to switch cover art after two books (in a quartet) because the original cover artist wasn’t following deadlines and the ghosted her. I feel like that is the only acceptable reason to change cover art 🤣 I can’t believe ANYONE would claim you’re creating toxic spaces 👀 your channel is so safe and positive … what a bad take from that person ❤

Good example of a Duology, King Killer Chronicles 😢

Now i don’t know if it’s really a trend but lately I’ve been seeing so much spice. Like the book would be a fantasy, yes, but there’s so much spice that the fantasy and the main plot are completely “disappearing” within the spice. Like i just need an epic adventure story with sword fights etc. I don’t need to see two people sleep with eachother for more than half of the book. (Looking at you Sarah J Maas who wrote spice and then decided to throw in a last minute subplot. Like if you write that much spice, what’s the point of adding an actual plot later?)

🤩👍🏼😃 Wow! Thank you so much for the double shout out, Petrik! I was on a 3 hour podcast, and when I logged into my KZfaq channel, I suddenly had a bunch of new subscribers, and it is all because of you. Thank you so much! 😊❤😅

I grew up with fantasy books cover designs of the 90s. Discworld, Forgotten Realms, MTG, Dragonlance, L5R etc. There was a certain joy to be had when marvelling at one's own book collection. Should minimalist cover designs for SFF books are the new norm, I rather get the eBooks instead of the actual books themselves. Minimalist covers do look good on screens in my opinion.

Relating to your comment about receiving ‘hate’ from an author or readers, I can only say: when I love a book (looking at you Robin Hobb), I want to tell the world just how wonderful it is so other people can feel the same - it’s like being in love, EVERYONE should experience it. As for the hate, from fans I would say it’s disappointment and sadness and loyalty. From the author? How dare they! I would say they know their book/story is not up to quality and their arrogance won’t let them admit it. They need to take a good look at themselves! You, Petrik do not! You do a wonderful job and I don’t think any of us realise how much time, money, effort and work it takes you to provide us with your reviews - salty or not! More power to you Petrik. 💕

Great video! loved hearing your thoughts! 100% agree on covers. We need more detailed scenes!

Love hearing your thoughts on all these book issues. Fun video, Petrik! I just got my Cradle hardcovers 2 days ago - they are heavy!

Great video, Petrik! I can't think of any trends I dislike, so it's awesome to hear other people's thoughts on the subject.

Yes, more standalones please! I don't always want to invest the time in a series.

Completely agree with you about the seriousness about sci-fi & fantasy genres, about gatekeeping, and about not appreciating people's differences in personal tastes somehow making them a bad person too or whatever-AND about respecting each other's differences of opinions in general. ^^

Really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on all those topics. 😊👌

Yes! I love what you said in 2:25. As much as I understand and at times wish there where more standalone books in fantasy it is EXTREMELY difficult to do with certain sub genres. It’s almost always going to be a double edged sword. For example with Priority of the Orange Tree, where you have some fantasy readers dislike tied to the reasons it is only a standalone and stuffing so much info in one book (info dumping, pace, not fleshed out characters etc).

I completely agree with all these points! 😤 especially with those regarding cover art and novellas(I cannot understand how some people buy these short little books that look ugly next to the series and ALSO cost a ton of money!!! I mean...if you have the money...don't you want something beautiful and matching???? >.>...please stop giving money to the publishers...just my opinion here...😥); not to mention, but that comment about contrast between world and action is also great!🤔

The therapy I didn't know I needed but got and stayed for. 💜 Yes to more standalones! (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Spinning Silver are some of my favourites) Oh God the overlong series is soo annoying and a subset of my bigger pet peeve with many fantasy authors: edit your books/listen to your editors please! 🤣 I think trilogy or quartet is my limit. I don't like novellas and short stories in between series. Except The Slow Regard of Silent Things because I am a hypocrite! 🤭 Mainly an ebook reader so won't say much on the cover art but I agree with all the points. No to unnecessary romance for me as well. So agree with the unnecessary gritty for gritty sake books. Haven't liked even one. I read many classics and general fiction too and honestly fantasy is the most complicated to read. Toxic fans oof. Gives me a headache when I read their views. I like and respect your approach, please don't change. Totally unrelated but I need to vent: news of Dunk and Egg show with GRRM as writer and his latest blog post made me lose some hope as a ASOIAF reader! 😭

Great video! I agree with a lot of what you said. The different spines just drives me wild. Peace.

Thanks for discussing my complaint about novellas! I could spend hours ranting about them!

petrik, thank you for being our voice!!! I"m not reading much because I don't have the energy to dedicate to an entire series, I was literally thinking of looking up fantasy santdalones yesterday. I certainy agree with the commenter that said duologies are better than 7 books

What I don't like with crowdfunding is when you see exclusive short stories and stuff you can't go back and buy or read anywhere else. I recently spent $50 + international shipping on an edition of a book (which I don't even know if I like yet, since it's not published), and I'm still missing out on a short story that will only come with the $100+ tiers. If I turn out to love the book, I'll never be able to go buy or read that story anywhere. Ditto for anyone who finds it in the future. Collectibles and art books seem fine, but limiting a part of the text like that is crossing a line in my book.

Salty Petrik is kind of fun. 10/10 on the sass ^_^ One of the things I'm gonna stop short on is with the cover art. Cause with the minimalist approach, if it's by a trad-publisher, there does become the obvious trend and it gets boring. I felt that way 100% when the trend for white covers and wisps of smoke dominated every genre. However! Some indie authors who create or hire an artist with a minimalist style do look really nice. However, the quirky world setting and dark story comment is something I would love to see more of as well. Or, at the very least, to start off in a cuter/quirky world and have a slow burn towards something more sinister. And someday... I'll see "Let There be Fire" on a booktube review, talking about the title and a new trend, and I will squeak with so much joy that it might be heard from across the pacific ^_^

Great video! Another thing I hate is people saying books are bad without explaining the reasons why. I usually do my best to include the reasons why I like or dislike a book when I'm telling someone about it. Otherwise it creates opinions based on too little information, which isn't good for either the book or the community in general. Bone Shard War is still days away... how I'd pay for a time machine.

Don’t worry I’m working on a standalone dark grim book. ; Well, I got the dust jacket description in my head ready to go

I agree with all your comments and answers; a brilliant video, Petrik! The only issue I have with Sanderson is a recent one, but it's been chafing me quite a bit. It's the shipping prices. As an international reader I am not willing to pay more for shipping than what the price for the book. I'm simply not. As I missed out on the Kickstarter - again mainly because of the shipping prices - I decided to get the books when they are available from Dragonsteel. This would allow me to save up for each, and was hoping the postage was going to be less. I was wrong; it is still 55$. Fifty-five. While at the same time, I paid 26$ for three (3!!!) hardcover special edition Cradle books. 👀 If you take into consideration the different levels of magnitude between the two Kickstarters - and the "fame" factors discrepancies of the two authors - then I simply can not fathom why Brandon's shipping prices are so high. Really.

Another amazing videos!!! Thank you! I love it whenever we get Salty Petrik haha (even though Salty Petrik is still like the nicest guy in the world haha)

It's not surprising there are so few fantasy/sci-fi standalones. If you're a writer who spends months and months developing your own fictional world, it's a bit of a waste to only have one book set in that world.

For cover art, I agree completely with switching artists. The best I’ve seen recently was the Sun Eater books. Empire of Silence had a different cover artist than than others and I think it still fits well and (to me) is a fantastic cover, even if the others have been better

What a wonderful video, loved it.

Love the video! I felt the same way about the Priory of The Orange Tree. I thought POTOT would be a standalone, but I guess the author is making it into a trilogy. Not that I am complaining, but still, I feel like POTOT could have just been a standalone.

Lessgo new Salty petrik video dropped 💪💪😎

Hi there Petrik. How are you doing? This was an interesting video. I can't relate to the comments about the books being different sizes, because most of the books I get are audiobooks or Kindle books. I'm sorry that I have not written in a while, but I am still reading while listening to the A Certain Magical Index light novel series. Only the first Old Testament series has been translated into English, there are 2 other series after that, but I am completely hooked. I hope someday that you will give that series a try. I love it just as much as the Fullmetal Alchemist. After I get done with that by mid May, I will be able to catch up on a few books that you have recommended. I also wanted to let you know, that I picked up the Secret Project book 2 by Brandon Sanderson, so I will most likely be listening to that one and Tress this summer. I have about 5 books left in the Index series and if I read one chapter a day, I will be done in 5 weeks. The other book I have been reading while listening to is called the Kingdom of Back by Marie LU, which has also been very good. Elliot Brooks recommended it to me, and it has been a gripping read. The narrator is excellent. Take care.

I think we need to keep in mind that there are different types of "series." There are some series that are individual stories that follow each other. Basically a series of standalones. Eg. Discworld. Whereas there are other series that are basically one story split into several books. Best example of this I can think of is the original First Law trilogy. The Blade Itself is just Act 1 of a longer story. It's not a complete story in and of itself (or if it is, it's a story where not much happens). I have less issues with the former, and more issues with the latter (even though First Law is one of my favourite stories of all time... most authors just can't pull off what Joe Abercrombie can).

Great video - I always feel like you are fair with your criticisms and not just being negative for the sake of being negative. My biggest pet peeve right now is the actual physical quality of the books put out by the traditional publishers in North America has really deteriorated. The paper they are using now is lower grade (rougher and thinner), paperback covers are also thinner and don't have a coating on them to prevent them from bending or tearing (the paperback covers are barely thicker than the pages), even the quality of the hardcovers has lessened with the bindings not being as tight or just glued in instead of sewn, and they are not investing in cover art (the whole AI cover art controversy and Michael Whelan being dropped as the cover artist for Tad Williams books are examples of this). Of course the prices of the books have not changed, so I'm paying more for a lower quality book that is easily damaged. What really bugs me about it too is these are the big 5 trad publishers doing this, the guys that that make BILLIONS of dollars every year and control OVER 60% of the publishing industry! They are already making so much money, which they are not sharing with authors (the amounts of advances for books are not large and the majority of writers still need a day job to get by), they're not sharing it with their employees either (I think the Harper Collins employees are still trying to unionize for fair pay), they're not sharing it with the cover artists, and now they're screwing over the consumers as well. Ah, sorry for the rant! but this is why I'm picking up more and more self-published books, they are usually far better quality and I know my money is going directly to support the writer.

Hello, Petrik! Have you read The Spear Cuts Through Water? That was a great standalone. Simple plot but, beautifully written and executed

Absolutely agree with you about Kickstarter though!

I think that all those painted fantasy landscapes or character poses and such all start to look just as similar, honestly. I am personally way more likely to pick up something with a cover like N.K. Jemisin's books, myself. ((I just really like covers that are a little more mysterious, or more about the aesthetics of it, and I just personally happen to gravitate more toward symbolic imagery over some kind more overt imagery like a person on a horse or a person with a sword or some kind of battle sequence.)) And I wouldn't personally call either of those (Matthew Ward or George R.R. Martin) covers particularly minimalist either-they're actually incredibly busy, honestly, and I kinda really love them(they're the kinds of covers I would happily keep around even if I hated the books when I read them); in my opinion, if they were truly minimalist style covers, they would have just a plain white (or some other color) background and the crest or emblem or whatever on the cover would probably be more of an outline or a flat shape than a detailed 3-dimensional object like that! Buut that's just me!^--^ 🤭😆🤣Lolll 🤍🤍 I really wonder sometimes if everyone who mentions "minimalist" style covers really do all mean the same kinda thing or have the same exact types of covers in mind, sometimes. Loll ^--^

Great video, I recall you did one other Salty styled before, they're good, keep them coming!! Stand alones, Williams War of the Flowers, excellent. Sometimes the expansion is about sales, or dollars with these authors. Jordan without a doubt. A duology is really just a one long book. Dandelion Dynasty we discussed, the UK editions are so beautiful , they match and attach together into one pic. Tad Williams is worse, I am sick over those. Whelan is one of the best. Islington's new book, can't get more minimalist. There are so many sub genres that work well, and it gives all, those choices. Agreed, developing a world, characters, magic systems, religions, etc., is so difficult than just writing of our current world. Impossible, correct can't love all the same, I had someone very aggressive once about a book that I didn't like. Certain authors writings don't work for me. The only problem with Special Editions is the costs, LOL. The Kickstarters work well, you do not have to order the extra items, just the book. I do hate the waiting. You're right you don't spend much time on Sanderson, you do champion many new and young writers which is wonderful. You have intorduced me to so many that I have enjoyed over the past two years plus. Thank you.

Oh, another trend is the copycat type stories that suddenly appear when something gets popular. I understand that authors need to make a living and some "write to market" to do so, but it's disconcerting to see the explosion of Legends and Lattes lookalikes right now - I'm all for cozy fantasy, but can they not find their own type of cozy story, rather than having the exact same elements and cover art? I guess that happens with everything, but it's a bit sad because then it makes it more difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff

I got my Cradle Kickstarter, but I got the paperbacks. I imagine your stuff should be shipping soon if it hasn't already. I thought all of the books had been received from the printers by now.

I quite like novellas nowadays; if done well it's a nice bite sized piece that gives you a bit of a bonus on characters you love. However l think they should be priced accordingly - definitely should be less expensive than a full length novel in the same series. Agree about the Kickstarter. If an indie author wants to put out a special edition or other print editions, why not? You're not obliged to participate. You can stick to your ebook, but let those who can afford it and want one have their pretty edition 😃 Also some books are so good, you WANT them to have a nice edition available... Or more illustrations, or whatever. The Cradle books were really delayed but l think that was partly COVID era problems and also the overwhelming response. Hopefully they will be better prepared the next time

Didn't feel all that salty this time. There is plenty of positivity here, in spite of the fact that you're talking about folks' opinions on bad trends. I guess there is always a bright side, right? Oh, and put me down for loving full painted scenes featuring characters in cover art. I really don't have anything against minimalist covers, and some are great, but I always imagined having covers like John Anthony DiGiovanni is doing for my trilogy. I couldn't be happier. Thanks for all you do, Petrik! (Wait till you see the next one!)

Very interesting opinions

Lol you were talking about Dandelion Dynasty covers and I was about to say "what about Osten Ard"....Then you mentioned Osten Ard next. It is honestly an eyesore on my shelf with just book 3, I almost don't want to get book 4 because cover is the same. Can I complain about UK physical books here? I am a US reader, and have always collected US books. With Broken Binding, and other special editions I have started to import the occasional UK edition. Holy shit, I cannot believe how stiff the paper and glue is on UK hardcovers. They are not meant to open. I have to break it in for 20 minutes and they still don't open. As an example, the Babel US edition nice light paper and falls open nicely; the UK edition looks better but is harder to read. Unless they are Smyth-sewn binding, I don't want to buy any UK printed books anymore. Also, the $20-30 shipping and 2 week stall in customs are another turnoff to importing.

I agree with the forced romance comments! I get my romance kick from actual romance novels. I don't need it in my fantasy. It's always so awkward and detracts from the story. I'm a fan of the Robert Jordan fade-to-black approach 😅

I agree with the novella issue. If I read novellas from a series, it would be like the Arcanum Unbounded where it's a collection of short stories. That way I don't feel as cheated as if I had to buy each novella on their own.

Yes to more standalones! I'm not opposed to duologies. I think there are many among trilogies that could have just as well been duologies. Not matching covers? Major side eye. As for removable or permanent stickers on books...I just hope whoever decided on this gets their sleeves wet the next time they wash their hands, I know, what a curse. I don't say that lightly...But hell would be too kind, I'm not that forgiving of a person. 😂 I like romance, but rarely are in the mood for it, there were many books in which the romance felt like a unnecessary nuisance. But I can't pinpoint what it is that irks me in some cases, and in others I'm looking for romance where there is decidedly none? The chemistry? Maybe. I have no solution to this. As for the gatekeeping, I stand by the firm belief that there is not a single book you have to have read, especially if it's just to fit in. Be it classic, or whatever. And I understand being passionate about a book and wanting to explain why you liked it when someone criticizes it and you don't agree with the stated criticism, but getting seriously heated over it and insulting the person for it? It's just a book, even if they mock it. I feel like special editions aren't really any of my business because I don't really consider myself a book collector. I keep some, but most books I send off on their merry way after reading them, and I much prefer paperback over hardcover. But my two cents is that it promotes unnecessary consumerism, especially if it's the same book over and over again, and it isn't like the previous editions are outdated. I do have special editions of The Lord of the Rings which are decidedly unnecessary (to be fair though, they are my first and only editions of LOTR), but that trilogy is also decidedly older than a lot of other books that get special editions nowadays.

Loooved this video!! And seems like we agree on pretty much everything here, haha. Yes to more standalones, saves me a lot of time re-reading to prepare for sequels as well hahahah. And totally agree with what you said on the stupid number of special editions for EotV, lol. It's a good book, but they could've put that money into sooo many other smaller or upcoming authors dammit!!!

I like series if they aren’t serial… ❤ (and I can just pick and chose what to read) [example: Xanth novels]

Hi 👋 happy reading to you!! 📖📧

I can’t recall. Have you read Legend by Gemmell? Although it’s part of a series, it can very much be read just by itself. He also wrote a couple of other standalones

I dont mind series fantasy but i prefer when series are trilogies. Even 2 of my favorite fantasy are Prince of Nothing/Aspect Emperor and Malazan LOL

Rebecca Ross has a really beautiful, cozy duology - “A River Enchanted” and “A Fire Endless” I really enjoyed. A good set for those wanting to dip their toes into Fantasy

I love special editions. I'll just grab my favorite.

1:54 this has always ALWAYS been a problem with fantasy… but many people like to go back and read the same thing over and over again… stick with something they know they like. I’ve always been a fan of individual books or the type of series that are basically standalone books, not continuations… Basically I don’t want to read 12 books that are actually one book.

I feel that, by their nature, shorter standalone books tend to have less depth and substance and would be too restrictive to have the scope a lot of fantasy readers - and writers- enjoy; fantasy readers generally want meat, not milk. Absolutely I enjoy short stand-alones such as the Drizzt D&D books and Kings of the Wyld, but they're not technically standalones, they just work as one. I'm actually having trouble thinking of a standalone fantasy book I've read, lol. Just think of what would happen to your two most beloved series, Greenbone and Mistborn if the authors tried to condense them down to a single book. I would be interested to know some good standalone fantasy books if anyone has any recommendations. I do like a short, quick, fun read between series.

Let the spice flow...

I am happiest reading horror, thrillers, mysteries, dark creepy weird & quirky books. I also love fantasy. However it usually doesn’t have enough ‘grit’ to keep my attention. So the discovery of grim dark fantasy was just what I needed. Long live all the grim dark authors. 📚🖤

The darker the better, I want the worst of the worst, including the world. I want more people writing like Michael R Fletcher Cozy fantasy doesn't really appeal to me much at all Litrpg isn't for me at all Give me the grimmest of grimdark, or the most epic of epic

About the price of novellas, specifically Untethered Sky. Ya way too damned expensive. I picked up the paperbacks of the first Raksura trilogy by Martha Wells for the same price as the hardcover of Untethered Sky. I really want to read Untethered Sky but not for that price

Making the Hobbit into 3 movies was brutal

Interesting topics Petrik. What upsets me in literature is that female authors are still not taken as seriusly as their white male colleagues. Also, while we have great diversity at the moment, marketing and trending still prioritise white males over females or POC writers.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a perfect standalone

6:39 I don’t think of books like this…

Opinion time! - I love romance in my books, but I need more: "I love you as mu sibling and I will protect you with my life. Come, let's banter as only siblings can" - I'm tired of people calling an author sexist or a pervert when the books says a woman has big boobs, but it's completely fine to objectify boys/men, especially in YA. (eg: cheekbones to cut yourself, bronze skin and ABS FOR DAAAAAYS(even though that's unhealthy for teenagers)) I instantly dnf a YA the moment I read that. I can go on an hour-long rant about this. - Parents dying/ abusive parents. Where are the loving parents that stay alive until the end?

I mean the whole special editions... I can't knock. another man's hustle. Empire rocks, BTW. There must be demand, or they wouldn't do it!

I don't know if this is a trend persay, but I hate how woman are written in fantasy. Why can't they just be... people, instead of trope-ified husks, always flawlessly beautiful and looking to romance the first bland-ass protagonist they find? So many promising stories dropped because of this

It sounds like many of these complaints can be summed up with “if you can’t do it well, then just do something else”.

Something im really starting to dislike is how it feels like every series has to have multiple povs because there is always one character who is so much less interesting than the others and you immediately feel like its a slog once you see that its their chapter because you know theyre the most boring

The thing about Novellas is, we're encouraging the publishers by buying these books despite the absurd prices. If the sales are poor, publishers will think twice before pricing the novellas so high.

Unfortunately, the Kickstarter shipping fees for international readers tend to be insane. It's common for them to be double the price of the actual book, so there's no such thing as a $30 hardcover for me. Usually around $75-90. I just cannot justify paying that much for a standard hardcover when I can just wait a bit and totally avoid the shipping fee.

Can't wait until Salty Petrik talks about the dude that wrote a noel with ChatGPT

I'm so tired of all the larger series getting more and more novellas. I thought I was alone in this 😂

Thank you honestly I'm really tired of that romance. There's this one story that I am reading that I love so much. all of a sudden the writer add romance in the guy suddenly change and I think it's all these Chinese people that are doing it. sorry to mention nation here but is getting too much and web novel is doing nothing about it. 😢😢

Salty petrik is back, back, back. The petrik lɔre is growing, we need to see angry petrik now

Haha thanks for using my BS comment. Only read his TWoT books but I found his writing so boring and joyless I've been forever turned off. Spaghetti without sauce

True. Those Broken Earth series covers are both ugly and non sensical. I hate them and i'm tired of pretending i don't.

As for novellas; if the information is so essential authors should put it in a main book. Novellas are not serving the story. It's a cash grab and I'm not here for it.

Fantasist need to be long and thick. One cannot write just one book. I’m having a hard time keeping the one I’m working short enough to be trad published. It’s already over 450 pages! 175,000 words.

Saga Press updated and changed the spine for the 4th book of The Dandelion Dynasty. I bought the last book recently and it matches the rest of the series.

Any novel that is over 1200 pages is about 40 % filler. It could easily be 800 pages, I hate when authors throw everything in but the kitchen sink. Lean and mean makes a more exciting better paced experience for the reader.

Hey, Petrik. Would you like some armbands? You seem to be swimming in a salty sea 😂

My issue with the lack of negativity, is that massive corporations go very far to remove all negativity, even going so far as claiming people are "sexist/racist/phobic" if they don't like their product. It has been a massive coordinated push over the last decade, for corporations to cleanse the internet of negative opinions about their products, because that affects their profits. It is a huge problem.

OK. I didn't know Sword of Kaigen was not standalone. I feel oddly robbed......

24:17 whhhyyyyyyyy??????????? Why do you say “underscore” instead of blank?????!!! I’m all like… I’m not uptight enough for most of these things to bother me… And then… I had to get triggered by someone saying underscore instead of blank. Blank blank fill in the blank. I’ve never heard anyone say fill in the underscore. Thank you listening to my rant. (It’s just that my brain couldn’t follow because I didn’t have time to translate it in my brain.)

My gripe with long fantasy series is the waiting time. If the author can publish them on yearly basis then it is ok. But it is annoying when they publish the succeeding installments every 3 to 5 years. These days I tend to prefer stand alone or shorter fantasy series, a good example is the Mortal Technique "series" from Rob J Hayes, every book is a stand alone but they are set in the same universe, with re-curring characters. It is such a clever way to do a series because it looks after the readers. Personally I prefer fantasy and sci-fi book cover arts to depict the main charaters and a scene from the book. I absolutely hate those cover arts that depict an image with no people in it. For example, when I first saw the cover art for the Jade City I wasn't interested at all because the cover art didn't help me understand what is the book about. But after I read it I love it. I would have picked up Jade City earlier had they used a better cover art which depicts the main characters in a scene from the book.

I have a hard time understanding obsessive fans who can't understand "I didn't like it". Posting criticisms or "didn't like" the book reviews should be well understood as a subjective opinion. I can understand an angry author but from fans? Dude, you didn't even write the book, so why are you getting upset?

The worst trend is that the writing sucks.

For heaven's sake books are words, thoughts and ideas, not interior decor!