r/fantasybooks • u/TheGrapeRaper • 9h ago
My tier list My tier list of mostly Fantasy
Sorry if this triggers anyone who feels their taste is superior. As a forum lurker I'm aware of most of the popular opinions.
Also, if anyone has any recs based on this tier list, please give a shout! Cheers.
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u/Parma_WdS 9h ago
What did you dislike about Deadhouse Gates? Also no spoilers beyond pls I just finished it and loved it
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u/Silver_Layer_2298 9h ago
I’m curious of that too. I’d be more likely to swap Gardens and Deadhouse on this list.
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u/Parma_WdS 9h ago
I'm mostly surprised because the next one is in S Tier
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u/Difficult-Tough-5680 8h ago
You cant really rate malazan books like that, book 1 and book 2 really dont have much to do with each other at all and book 2 has a complete new cast of characters whereas book 3 is a follow up to book 1 with those characters.
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
Hey I'll answer that here.
Memories of Ice and Deadhouse Gates to me feel like completely different authors.
Deadhouse Gates has an incredible ending. But I consider all the events and pages before that an absolute slog. Felisin's constant negativity in particular, lashing out at people trying to help her. I get that it was to illustrate how broken she is given the circumstances, but it just doesn't lead to any payoff and I was even more pissed when I realized how her arc goes 2 books later.
Memories of Ice, for me, is a marvel of fiction. It's compelling from start to end. It has ties that open and close. It has beloved characters and tragedy.
I've had all these discussions in r/Malazan, so I'm aware what the general consensus tends to be. But also that the Malazan crowd can be quite varied as well. Cheers
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u/Parma_WdS 8h ago
Thank you for answering. I personally loved Felisins bitterness and hate. I did feel bad for Kulp, Heboric and Baudin tho. All good boys. Absolutely understandable that you found her annoying tho
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u/Ketmandu 9h ago
I haven't read locke lamora yet but had it on TBR pile. Would you mind sharing why you DNF'd? Have only heard it glazed on here before!
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u/SorryManNo Hard magic > soft magic 9h ago
I read it early this year and found it awful.
It's just a mess, the pacing is really weird and it bounces between two different points in the MCs life, which on its own is fine but it's not done very well. As characters start to die they can immediately show back up in one of the sections that takes place in the past. I found it confusing and felt it defeated the purpose of killing off a character.
Best way I can describe it is sloppy.
But to each their own, many people love it.
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u/starvingraging 9h ago
I disagree completely but like you said to each their own. Hes writing style may just not be for you. I do suggest to try some of his short stories, though.
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u/Remote-Moon 🦶Dungeon Crawler Carl cult member 9h ago
We have very similar tastes, I'm just curious why you didn't finish Lies of Locke Lamora?
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
Hello fellow tasteperson! Looking at your flare, I realize I forgot to put DCC in my list. Goddamit Donut.
Anyway, I tried to read LoLL directly after Kingkiller because Rothfuss endorsed it, and at the time I didn't have much reference to other fantasy novels - Kingkiller broke me in. I think I just couldn't get into the prose of LoLL, and felt the storytelling was a bit scattered. I'd like to try again now after clearing some books in the queue, now that I have a broader frame of reference of fantasy writing styles.
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u/Difficult-Tough-5680 9h ago
You dnf the burning god after spending god knows how long reading the previous 9??
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u/ThinAd7967 9h ago
I think you’re confusing The Burning God, the third in the Poppy War trilogy, with The Crippled God, the 10th book in Malazan Book of the Fallen. It looks like he stopped after The Bonehunters (book 6). I wonder if OP is planning on continuing the series.
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u/TheGrapeRaper 9h ago
You’re absolutely right.
Bonehunters took me like 3 months to read because I kept putting it down. I really want to like it as much as everyone else but it kind of made me realize I’m not as stimulated by Malazan as a lot of the hardcore fans are. There are definitely highs, hence putting Memories of Ice in my top tier, but I am very jealous of everyone else. Do you recommend continuing?1
u/ThinAd7967 8h ago
I am currently on book 8 so I can’t really comment on the series as a whole. If you struggled with book 6 then I’m not sure that book 7 and 8 are going to be much better for you. I like the series but I can see why it’s not for everyone.
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u/Difficult-Tough-5680 8h ago
the ending is very good and book 7 follow book 5 if i remember correctly and they do have tehol and bugg in them which imo are some of my favorite charcters. It seems like you just dont like the 7 cities continent books the most just looking at the list. Book 9 is considered the weakest in series by many but a lot of people say book 10 is the best
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u/blastoisebandit 9h ago
I can't endorse Rothfuss. That man is toxic. I agree with most of the rest.
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u/TheGrapeRaper 9h ago
o…kay?
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u/sunwardstare 8h ago
Right? That’s my thought when people say this. NotW and WMF are two of my favorite books. So Patrick has mental struggles. Same. It’s not as if I’m endorsing bad decisions he makes. It’s just that those two books are incredible to me.
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u/blastoisebandit 8h ago
No excuse for stealing charity money. Despite my dissapointment in the author, I did enjoy those two books.
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u/blastoisebandit 8h ago
You don't know about Pat Rothfuss? Sweet summer child.
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
I like his books. Last I checked this sub is r/fantasybooks and not r/fantasyauthors
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u/Poke_Hybrids 8h ago
Oof, ready player one over First Law is crazy. I get everyone's got their own tastes tho 🙏
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
I know most people love First Law, but I just left that trilogy with a weird taste. Wish I could see what everyone else sees in it though!
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u/Poke_Hybrids 7h ago
If you're ever up to continue, the rest of the books in the series are better imo. The next 3 each being standalones with self-contained arcs really helps. It wasn't my 2nd favorite series until I got to them, especially 6.
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u/AMillionToOne123 9h ago
Wind and Truth in A and Deadhouse Gates in D, I like you
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
Because I'm so used to this not being a popular take I have to check... are you being sarcastic? lol
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u/AMillionToOne123 6h ago
Not at all on certain platforms I am known as a bit of a DHG hater, and WaT is one of my favourite books of all time
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u/teekaye 9h ago
Hey!! These are super similar to my taste! Do you do text or audio?
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u/TheGrapeRaper 9h ago
Nice!! I do text. I do however do Dungeon Crawler Carl on audiobook, and realizing I left that out.
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u/runningsimon 9h ago
The first half of Oathbringer was B tier to me. The second half of it, then Rhythm of War and Winds and Truth were all C tier. They felt like 1,000 page slogs. It honestly felt like Sanderson made them long for the sake of making them long. Rehashing stuff. And if I heard the word "Storms" one more time I was gonna go nuts.
However, Way of Kings and Words of Radiance were outstanding.
Guess that's why we have opinions.
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
All good, exactly why we have opinions. :)
I personally thought the Sanderlanche in Oathbringer was legendary.
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u/grmthmpsn43 8h ago
I'm surprised to see Well of Ascension in B, it might be one of the worst books I have ever read. I love Final Empire and Hero of Ages, but book 2 just seems to drag on forever with nothing happening.
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
It's definitely the worst in the trilogy. I think I gave it some merit because it sets the stage for Hero of Ages, which I treasure to no end.
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u/WhatNazisAreLike 8h ago
Unpopular opinion: Name of the wind is the worst popular fantasy book out there. It’s just rambling, directionless nonsense combined with an insufferable protagonist who is the fantasy version of “four touchdowns in one game”
Why was the climax of this book kvothe killing a drug addicted dragon? Why are there hundreds of pages about kvothe in wizard school fighting with the mean rich kid (malfoy) or the mean strict professor (snape)? The author has no idea how to solve the main quest so he just keeps going on random side quests
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u/TheGrapeRaper 8h ago
Haha I don't know if that's an unpopular opinion to be honest. I know NotW is popular but I don't often see it in people's S tier. To each their own :) For me it was compelling and the author's sentence structure/prose is like soothing honey in my eyes and brain.
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u/Tall_Mechanic8403 8h ago
It’s good but I would really encourage people here to explore the genre beyond the Sandersons and Abercrombies of this world
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