Rate fantasy series you've read out of 10

[Severn]

It doesn't beat a long and good discussion about why we like a book (I don't know where you got "defining discussion" from though- I never mentioned it) but- say I notice that someone else has very similar taste to me, rating many of the same series as I do highly and rating many of the series I dislike low. I then see that he has a series I haven't read marked very high- hence I decide to check out it's plot description and perhaps buy the first book. You don't need discussions to find new books to read.

As for the differences between 7.2 and 7.4- it may seem a bit silly, but this is how I do it. I give a series a whole number rating- say 9, or 8. I then look at other books I give a 9, and see how I like it compared to those. The decimal point can be a bit random, but the point is that it should be lower than series I like better and higher than series I like less.

Oh, Brahm, I'm not directing any of this at you. You're just the one I've started talking to about this. I noticed this last night and have been thinking since then how silly it is, heh. Tis just my personal opinion...

But, still, would you, since I'm talking to you, buy a book rated 9 by someone, without knowing anything about it? Or would you need to read up on the book first? Or at least look at the back in the store?

Because it's entirely possible that just because you shared an '8', say, with someone that you wouldn't actually like their choice of '9' after all.

Eh, coming back to edit this since I somehow missed the part where you said this would lead you investigate a book. Silly me. Let me rephrase - would these numbers by your peers make you more inclined to buy something, do you think, than if you'd just found the book by yourself in a store? How much weight do you give to a system like this? Without discussion?

[cgw]

Fantasy Series

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings 9
Roger Zelazny: Amber series 9
George R. R. Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire 8
Raymond E. Feist: The Riftwar Saga 8
Zelazny: Changeling/Madwand 8
Fritz Leiber: Lankhmar series 7
Robin Hobb: The Farseer Saga 7
John C. Wright: Everness 7
John C. Wright: Chaos 7
Fred Saberhagen: The Books of Swords 7
PC Hodgell: God Stalk etc. 7
Zelazny: Amber-2 7
Anne McCaffrey: Dragonriders of Pern 6
Fred Saberhagen: The Books of Lost Swords 6
Raymond E. Feist: The Serpentwar Saga 6
Janny Wurts & Raymond E. Feist: Empire series 6
Dave Smeds: The Sorcery Within 6
Jordan: WOT 6
Laura Resnick: In Legend Born etc. 5
Master of the Five Magics -- Lyndon Hardy 5
David Eddings: The Belgariad 5
Robert Don Hughes: Lamath 5
L.E. Modesitt, Jr: The Recluce series 4
Katherine Kurtz: Deryni series 2

This thread will be very helpful.
I have not included any series where I have read only one book.
Why did you read more than one book of something you rate lower than 4ish?
How do you come up with numbers like 4.62? What is the formula?

[foolofgold]

In my order of likeness.

The Realm of the Elderlings: 10 Robin Hobb
Farseer Trilogy: 9.5
Assassin's Apprentice
Royal Assassin
Assassin's Quest
Liveship Traders Trilogy: 10
Ship of Magic
Mad Ship
Ship of Destiny
Tawny Man Trilogy: 10
Fool's Errand
Golden Fool
Fool's Fate

The Camulod Chronicles: 9.5 Jack Whyte
The Skystone
The Singing Sword
The Eagles' Brood
The Saxon Shore
The Fort at River's Bend
The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis
The Lance Thrower
The Eagle
Uther

Ishmael 9 Daniel Quinn
My Ishmael
The Story of B
Beyond Civilization

The Gentlemen Bastards Series: 9 (so far)
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Red Seas Under Red Skies

Ender Saga: 9
Ender's Game
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind

Lord of the Rings: 9
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

A Song of Ice and Fire: 8
A Game of Thrones
A Storm of Swords
A Clash of Kings
A Feast for Crows

The Kingkiller Chronicles:8 (so far)
Day One: The Name of the Wind

Harry Potter: 8
The Sorceror's Stone
Chamber of Secrets
Prisoner of Azkaban
Goblet of Fire
Order of the Phoenix
The Half-Blood Prince
The Deathly Hallows

The Templar Trilogy: 7 (so far)
The Knights of the Black and White

The First Law: 7 (so far)
The Blade Itself
Before They are Hanged

Shadowmarch: 7 (so far)
Volume I


Soldiers Son Trilogy: 6
Shamans Crossing
Forest Mage
Renegade's Magic

Dragonlance: 5
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Dragons of Winter Night
Dragons of Spring Dawning
Time of the Twins
Test of the Twins
War of the Twins
Soulforge
Brothers in Arms
Second Generation
The Dawning of a New Age
The Day of the Tempest
The Eve of the Maelstrom
Dragons of Summer Flame
Dragons of a Fallen Sun
Dragons of a Lost Star
Dragons of a Vanished Moon
Amber and Ashes
Amber and Iron

Cleric Quintet: 5
Canticle
In Sylvan Shadows
Night Masks
The Fallen Fortress
The Chaos Curse

The Legend of Drizzt: 4
Homeland
Exile
Sojourn

[Brahm_K]

Eh, coming back to edit this since I somehow missed the part where you said this would lead you investigate a book. Silly me. Let me rephrase - would these numbers by your peers make you more inclined to buy something, do you think, than if you'd just found the book by yourself in a store? How much weight do you give to a system like this? Without discussion?

I rarely buy books in bookstores without having read something about them before- someone who's opinion I respect giving a series a 9 here would lead me to amazon to look it up and check out the plot, and see what the general consensus is (through non spoiler reviews). I try to avoid intense discussions of books I haven't read for fear of spoilers. So yes, seeing that people whose opinions I share have enjoyed the book does make me more likely to pick them up at a bookstore. Its how I got into Erikson and Bakker a couple years back- its not foolproof, but it does tend to get me good books. On the other hand, there's no doubt that I appreciate a detailed non spoiler review by someone whose tastes I share over a simple list.

[Crysania]

Le Guin - Earthsea: 8
Tolkien - Lord of the Rings: 10
Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: 10
Hobb - Assasins: 9.5
Hobb - Liveship: 8
Hobb - Tawny Man -- in progress
Donaldson - Mordant's Need: 7
Jordan - Wheel of Time: 7
Friedman - The Coldfire Trilogy: 9
GRRM - A Song of Ice and Fire: 8.5
MacKillip - Riddlemaster: 7.5
Williams - Otherland: 6
Williams - Shadowmarch: 5
Kay: Fionavar: 3
Erikson: Malazan: 3
Susan Cooper: Dark is Rising: 10
JKR - Harry Potter: 8.5
Eddings - The Belgariad: 2
Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn: 9
Goodkind - Sword of Truth: 0
Crown of Stars: - couldn't finish - 4
Dragonlance - Time of the Twins, Test of the Twins, War of the Twins: 9
Dragonlance - Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning: 3
JV Jones: Ice/fire - whatever -- in progress -- but 7 so far
L.E. Modesitt - The Recluce: 2
[/QUOTE]

i guess this is kind of our version of Amazon ratings? Each series will have an average? That might be more useful in the shortrun than the enormous recommendation threads.....

[Mithfânion]

Lord of the Rings- JRR Tolkien: 8.5
Silmarillion- JRR Tolkien: 9.5
A Song of Ice and Fire - George RR Martin: 9
The Lyonesse Trilogy - Jack Vance: 8.25
The Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe: 8
The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson: 7
The Prince of Nothing Trilogy - R. Scott Bakker: 8.25
The Culture Books - Iain M. Banks: 7.75
The Sword of Shadows Quintet - JV Jones: 8
The Revelation Space Trilogy - Alastair Reynolds: 7
The Gentleman Bastard Series - Scott Lynch: 8
The First Law Trilogy - Joe Abercrombie: 8
The Dune Saga - Frank Herbert: 8.25
The Wheel of Time- R. Jordan: 5.5
The Troy trilogy- David Gemmell: 8
Rigante- David Gemmell: 8
The Memory, Sorrow & Thorn Trilogy - Tad Williams: 8.5
War of the Flowers- T. Williams: 7.5
Shadowmarch- T. Williams: 7
The Riftwar Saga - Raymond E. Feist: 7.5
The Crown of Stars series- Kate Elliott: 6
The Fionavar Tapestry - Guy Gavriel Kay: 8.5
Tigana- Guy Gavriel Kay: 8.5
Lions of Al-Rassan- Guy Gavriel Kay: 8.75
Song for Arbonne- Guy Gavriel Kay: 8
The Shannara Trilogy - Terry Brooks: 6
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - Stephen Donaldson: 7
The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb: 9
The Tawny Man trilogy- Robin Hobb: 8.75
The Liveship Traders - Robin Hobb: 7
The Soldier Son trilogy- Robin Hobb: 5.5
The Song of Albion trilogy - Stephen Lawhead: 7.75
Mythago Wood cycle- Robert Holdstock: 8
Merlin Codex trilogy- Robert Holdstock: 7.5
American Gods; N. Gaiman: 8
Anansi Boys- N. Gaiman: 7.75
The Wizard Knight- G. Wolfe- 7.75
The Etched City- KJ Bishop: 7.5
The Merlin trilogy- Mary Stewart: 9.5
The Warlord trilogy- B. Cornwell: 8.5
Winterbirth- B. Ruckley: 7.75
Trial of Flowers- Jay Lake: 7.5
Coldfire trilogy- CS Friedman: 7
Elric saga- M. Moorcock ( Corum as well): 6
Bridei Chronicles- Marillier: 5
Swan's War- Russell: 6.5
Kingdom of Thorne and Bone- Greg Keyes: 7
First Chronicles of Amber: 7.25
Second Chronicles of Amber: 4
Tales of the Otori- Lian Hearn: 7.75
The Dark Tower- Stephen King: 8

[thrinidir]

A Song Of Ice And Fire (George R.R. Martin) ~ 9.5
Malazan Book Of The Fallen (Steven Erikson) ~ 8.9 [first 4 books]
Lord Of The Rings (J.R.R.Tolkien) ~ 9.2
[Hobbit ~ 9.1]
[Silmarillion ~ 7.2]
Otherland Series (Tad Williams) ~ 8.7
Riftwar Trilogy (Raymond E. Feist) ~ 7.9
Wheel Of Time (Robert Jordan) ~ 8.0
Farseer Trilogy (Robin Hobb) ~ 8.4
Liveship Traders Trilogy (Robin Hobb) ~ 8.8
Tawny Man Trilogy (Robin Hobb) ~ 6.3
Discworld Series (Terry Prattchet) ~ 7.6 [book 1,2,3,4 and 7 where 4&7 were best by far and Equal Rites was the worst of the bunch]
Shannara Trilogy (Terry Brooks) ~ 8.2 [yes, I'm a fan + this was my first step into fantasy so it is somehow expected]
[First King Of Shannara (prequel) ~ 8.6]
Heritage Of Shannara (Terry Brooks) ~ 7.5
His Dark Materials Trilogy (Philip Pullman) ~ 8.7 [I've enjoyed this one immensly; beats HP any day]
Harry Potter Series (J.K.Rowling) ~ 8.1
Legends Of Dune (Herbert Jr.& J.K.Anderson) ~ 7.9
Prelude To Dune (Herbert Jr.& J.K.Anderson) ~ 8.2
Hyperion Duology (Dan Simmons) ~ 9.0 [first book is one of my favourite reads and best sci-fi I've read by far]
Endymion Duology (Dan Simmons) ~ 8.3
Prince Of Nothing Trilogy (R.Scott Bakker) ~ 7.6 [This one was really tought for me to judge...while I've really liked the first book and find Bakker an intelligent writer I had far too many problems with second and third book to rate it any higher; i'm sorry]
Drenai Saga(David Gemmell) ~ 7.7 [first 3 books]
The Sword Of Truth Series (Terry Goodkind) ~ 7.4 [first too books only; but I think you are being way to hars giving him a value of zero point something]

[shadow9d9]

I would argue that 'discussion' consists of words, rather than a bunch of arguably meaningless numbers. The only way we can get to know each other here, and therefore each other's tastes, is by talking. A long, long stream of numbers doesn't hold my attention. I mean really - what on earth is the difference between 7.2 and 7.4? Even a few lines of meaningful opinion is preferable, and more informative, than this.

I truly am bewildered. The 'fun' side of it, ok, I can see that. But as a means to gain information on what book to pick up next?

The difference is that the 7.4 is better than the 7.2, but both are within the same range. Just one edges the others.

[shadow9d9]

It doesn't beat a long and good discussion about why we like a book (I don't know where you got "defining discussion" from though- I never mentioned it) but- say I notice that someone else has very similar taste to me, rating many of the same series as I do highly and rating many of the series I dislike low. I then see that he has a series I haven't read marked very high- hence I decide to check out it's plot description and perhaps buy the first book. You don't need discussions to find new books to read.

As for the differences between 7.2 and 7.4- it may seem a bit silly, but this is how I do it. I give a series a whole number rating- say 9, or 8. I then look at other books I give a 9, and see how I like it compared to those. The decimal point can be a bit random, but the point is that it should be lower than series I like better and higher than series I like less.

I do mine the exact same way.

[Dace]

I do mine the exact same way.

I use the same logic.

I dont see anything wrong with using decimal places or giving a book a mark out of 100; plenty of magazines/websites that review books/games/films do the same.

[blackswan]

Song of Ice and Fire- Martin = 9.5
The best fantasy series I have read,the way Martin weaves numerous plot lines in a seamless fashion, develops characters that are so much deeper and more interesting than simple good vs. evil cliches, and paces his plots create, in my opinion, some of the best works of fiction across any genre I have read. Perhaps when the series is finished I rate it even higher.

First Chronicles of Amber- Zelazny = 8.5
Read years ago, this was one of my favorites due to plot twists, characterizations, and ambiance.

Lord of the Rings trilogy - Tolkien = (7.0-8.0)
Really not a fan of LotR compared to other series, I only rate this high due to influence and complexity of world. As far as I enjoyed the characters and plot, I would rate LotR lower than most people, maybe around 7.0. No doubt Tolkien is a master of literature but this story just doesn't do for me what it seems to do for others.

Dark Tower - Stephen King = (6.5-8.0)
This is the average for the series. I thought The Wasteland, Wizard and Glass and Wolves of Calla were the 3 best and I felt the last two lost weight.

Harry Potter = (7.0-8.0)
Like LotR, this rating is a bit higher due to modern impact than just personal taste. The stories are enjoyable and I enjoy JKR's plot twists more than Tolkien's but Harry Potter is a bit light for my taste.

Conan Stories - Howard = 7.5
I enjoy Conan stories more than hobbit stories but I can't rate this any higher because Howard never composed long story arcs or many complex plots that connected his short stories

Riftwar Saga - Feist = 6.5
Read this when I was younger, I probably would have rated it higher then but after reading so many more books since then, I dont think this series would hold up.

[intensityxx]

Err, yes - and then? Are you going to tally up all the results or do anything else?

It doesn't matter to me. What a wonderful, densely informative thread!

[Werthead]

Forgive the sarcasm, but I just truly don't see...why? I mean, why? What is this doing?

Because to engage in an in-depth discussion of each of the series on my list would take a ridiculous amount of time, basically

[Siberian]

Lord of the Rings and related books (Lord of the Rings was not meant to be a series so I've included other books) 10 (a classic is a classic)

Earthsea books by Ursula Le Guin 8 (the first three were great, the rest so-so)

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny 7 (had a great beginning, but it soon became obvious he didn't plan ahead at all, plus I couldn't get into Merlin's books)

The Deryni series by Katherine Kurz 7 (started well, but went downhill in later books, still some cool characters in it)

The Pern books by Anne McCaffrey 7 (interesting premise, but too much soap opera and books were hit or miss)

The Witchworld books by Andre Norton 7 (a bit unsure of the grade; loved the first few, but didn't read the rest, I think they weren't even written by her)

Rai-kirah books by Carol Berg (Transformation, etc.) 7 (again, the first book was very appealing but it definitely didn't need sequels)

The Dark Jewels series by Anne Bishop 8 (well, it's more of a guilty pleasure of mine, but I still think it's an interesting dark fantasy)

The Dragonlance trilogy 5 (I honestly don't know how to grade them. I liked them as a kid, but they seem just a piece of fluff in retrospect, so I give them a 5 just for entertainment value)

Harry Potter 8 (it's fun, 'nuff said)

The Wheel of Time 7 (gave up after book 5, but going to reread it close to the release of the final installment)

His Dark Materials 3 (it was entertaining in the beginning, but became boring; and atheism and fantasy don't mix well together)

The Chronicles of Narnia 9 (it does have its flaws, but Pullman doesn't hold a candle to Lewis and even Rowling seems fluff compared to Lewis)

Riftwar series by R. Feist 5 (largely forgettable)

Temeraire by Naomi Novik 8 (love dragons, love military adventures)

[suciul]

I would limit myself to fantasy series with at least 2 books written (since for sf I would need 2 pages )

GRR Martin - Song of Ice and Fire - 10
L. Bujold - The 5 gods series (Chalion) - 9.5
L. Bujold - Legacy series - 9.9 (if the next 2 books are up to par this will be a 10 too)
S. Bakker - Prince of Nothing - 9
S. Swainston - Fourlands series - 9
S. Monette - The Mirador series - 9
JC. Wright - Orphans trilogy - 9
CS Friedman Coldfire trilogy 9
S. Russell - Magic and Moontide 9
S. Russell - Initiate Brother 8.5
S. Russell - River Into Darkness 9.5
S. Russell - Svans War - 5
S. Lynch - Locke Lamora - 9
J. Abercrombie - Blade series - 9.9 (if the ending is up to par this one would rate a 10 too)
R. Hobb - Fitz1 - 9
R. Hobb Fitz2 - 9.5
R. Hobb - Shaman (read only 1 and 2 yet) - 9
JV Jones - Baker's Boy - 5
R. Feist - Riftwar (read first 2 or 3 and got bored)- 5
C. Mieville - New Crobuzon series - PSS and Scar 10, Iron Council 5
J. Fallon - Second Sons - 7
J. Vandermeer - Ambergris - 8
D. Weber - Bazhell - 7
WJ Williams - Metropolitan series - 9.5
P. Kearney - Monarchies of God - 9
P. Kearney - Sea Beggars - 9.9 (another series that if it gets continued and it's up to par would be a 10)