Rate fantasy series you've read out of 10

[lillumultipass]

I am impressed by the quantity of books you guys have read! And I thought I was an avid reader
Well, I think I have read more sci-fi than fantasy anyway.

In any case, I am starting to be a bit concerned by the fact that my two favorite fanstasy series, i.e. Elric and The Chronicles of the Ravens have not been rated a lot, and if so, not very highly.

Well, at least I know this is all very subjective since most people rate "The Malazan.." rather highly, but I have seen someone give a 6.5 rating to it.
The same goes for Hobb, which is generally highly praised, but not by everyone.

At least, I know what to read next: finish Hobb series, the Malazan, and ASOIAF.

Btw, I am a bit surprised that I don"t see more of Kate Elliott "Crown stars" series, since it seemed to be popular in another thread.

[Power to the J]

This is mostly the big-hitters, and a few are trilogies (a few even less) but they are big names.

I feel kinda pathetic compared to some of these lists, but here goes nothing anyway:

Brooks Sword of Shannara: 8
Clemens Godslayer Chronicles: 9
Douglass, Wayfarer Redemption: 9
Eddings, Belgariad: 10
Elliot, Crown of Stars: 8. It just got a bit draggy for me as it went on. Great start however.
Goodkind, Sword of Truth: 4 at best
Hobb, Assassin's Apprentice: 10
Jordan, Wheel of Time: 9.5
Kikuchi Vampire Hunter D (sorry for the relatively unknown): 10
King, Dark Tower: 10
Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire: 9.5
Paolini, Inheritance (I know it's only at book 2, but I said big hitters): 7
Rowling, Harry Potter (as an adult series; as kid 10): 7
Tolkein, Lord of the Rings: 8
Williams, Memory, Sorrow & Thorn: 9

Okay, that's the list. I still feel like I'm forgetting something, but I guess you people will have to call me out on that.

[BigNaruto]

Btw, I am a bit surprised that I don"t see more of Kate Elliott "Crown stars" series, since it seemed to be popular in another thread.

Crown of Stars is overrated, I think. I read it and did not like it. See the first page with the link to its rating/poll. It does not score well.

[Rob B]

Crown of Stars is overrated, I think. I read it and did not like it. See the first page with the link to its rating/poll. It does not score well.

Which means exactly nothing.

[lillumultipass]

Well, it could mean something if the sample was bigger, but clearly, 5 votes are not enough.

Still, it might give some indications, and since I have many things to read (ASOFAI, Memory, sorrow, and thorn, Liveship, Tawny man, Tyrants and kings, Malazan, Prince of nothing...), Crown of stars might not be my priority.

[Lady Envy]

GRRM: ASOIAF:9
Erikson: Malazan: 8.5
T.Williams: Memory Sorrow and Thorn: 7, Otherland 7, Shadowmarch 7.5
Keyes: Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone: 7
Hobb: Assassins: 7.5, Liveship 8, Tawny Man 8
K. Elliot Crown of Stars: 6
Katharine Kerr Deverry 7, Westgate Cycle 7, Dragonmage 7.5
J.V Jones Book of words 8, sword of shadows 8
Sara Ash lord of snow and shadows 6
T.Pratchett Discworld 8
David Eddings Belgariad 6, Mallorean 5
Robet Jordan WOT: 5
S. Douglass Axis 7, Wayfarer redemption 7.5
J.Wurts mistwraith series: 8, Cycle of Fire 7.5
K. Forsyth witches of Eilian 6, Rhiannons Ride 7
C. Dart thornton bitterbynde 8, Crowthistle series: 9
S. Donaldson Mordants Need: 7.5
J. McKenna Einarran: 6
I. Irvine: View from the Mirror:7
D. Farland Runelords: 7
M. Chadbourne Age of Misrule 8.5, Dark Age 8
R. Feist Midkemia series 7, Empire 8
Tolkien: LOTR-8
T. Goodkind sword of truth 4
T. Brooks Shannara 3,
J.K Rowling H.Potter 7
S. Russell Swans War 6.5
T. Harding Ancient future series 3
F. Macintosh-can't remember the name of the series but it was pretty bad: 2
A. McCaffrey Pern: 6, Crystal Singer 7.5
M. Scott Rohan winter of the world 6.5
Trudi Caravan Black Magician: 6
K.Britain Green Rider: 7
Herberts Dune series 7.5
J. Fisher Fools Gold 6.5
Glen Cooks Black Company 7.5
Weis & Hickman Death Gate Cycle 8, Sovereign Stone 8, Dragonlance 4
Scott & Gordon Eldarn Sequence 7.5

[BigNaruto]

Can a Moderator answer why Shannara, Sword of Truth and Troy Series are deleted? (first page)

I only post about 1 thread a week. It is not clogging up the board. AND it is helpful to some. For newbies who are looking for fantasy series to read, the poll is very helpful.

Thank you.

[Julian]

Can a Moderator answer why Shannara, Sword of Truth and Troy Series are deleted? (first page)

A fair question. But:

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

So could I, in fair turnaround, ask again what the purpose of this thread is? Is anyone keeping tabs? Is there going to be a conclusion of sorts?

Just asking, mind

[Rob B]

Can a Moderator answer why Shannara, Sword of Truth and Troy Series are deleted? (first page)

Probably because there was a deluge of polls when they were deleted and if people REALLY want to know about the two Terry series, they can just pop into the Terry forums.

For newbies who are looking for fantasy series to read, the poll is very helpful.

I guess all the recommendation threads and you know, discussions around here are not adequate threads in which to look for good books to read, where you can get opinions on the books, as well as what the books are actually about.

But a couple of other members pointed this out very nicely already.

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?

EXACTLY.

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

Which is true (and I completely agree Adam), but that is why we have so many threads here, so we can discuss the books rather than simply assign an arbitrary number. If somebody dislikes something about, say Erikson's books, then another person may like the exact thing what that original somebody dislikes.

So could I, in fair turnaround, ask again what the purpose of this thread is? Is anyone keeping tabs? Is there going to be a conclusion of sorts?

Just asking, mind

[intensityxx]

FWIW, my 2 cents:

I kind of like this thread, but the gush of individual poll threads was too much.

To be more blunt, I don't think it fits in with the culture of the forums. When you're new to a forum it's better to observe for a while to see what kind of posts are appreciated. All these threads without substantive discussion are just spam.

Just a few years ago, when I first joined sffworld, there was an unspoken rule that you don't post a new thread at all unless it's related to the genre as a whole. We weren't supposed to post a thread for every question, every author, every book - that sort of discussion took place in the "Reading in [month]" thread. About a year or two ago we started getting lots of new (mostly young, inexperienced) members posting a gajillion new threads, most of which were either ignored, locked, or responded to by other new, inexperienced members.

I'm glad we've evolved to be less stuffy, but I sure don't want us to become more spammy.

[shadow9d9]

A fair question. But:



So could I, in fair turnaround, ask again what the purpose of this thread is? Is anyone keeping tabs? Is there going to be a conclusion of sorts?

Just asking, mind

Serves multiple purposes. To see what other people like, which can be used to find new books to read. It is also fun to compare review numbers.

[BigNaruto]

Probably because there was a deluge of polls when they were deleted and if people REALLY want to know about the two Terry series, they can just pop into the Terry forums.

Shannara and Sword of Truth were recent additions. Like in the last 2 weeks. As I said, I will only add 1 series per week. In about a year, there will be 52+16 = 68 series added.

1 thread a week will not clog up the board.

I guess all the recommendation threads and you know, discussions around here are not adequate threads in which to look for good books to read, where you can get opinions on the books, as well as what the books are actually about.

But a couple of other members pointed this out very nicely already.


EXACTLY.

Which is true (and I completely agree Adam), but that is why we have so many threads here, so we can discuss the books rather than simply assign an arbitrary number. If somebody dislikes something about, say Erikson's books, then another person may like the exact thing what that original somebody dislikes.

Discussion for the books is fine. What about a list so you can make comparision? It would be very useful to newbies.

Long time fans who have read 50+ series will not find it helpful. That's understandable. I can see why many would want to 'discuss' a book. But isn't a list like the following also useful? (specifically to newbies to the fantasy genre)

Top 15 (of those listed)

1. A song of Ice and Fire Series 9.33/10
2. Malazan: Book of the Fallen Series 8.78/10
3. Lord of the Rings/Hobbit Series 8.66/10
4. Farseer Series 8.52/10
5. Prince of Nothing Series 8.46/10
6. Liveship Traders Series 8.40/10
7. Monarchies of God Series 8.33/10
8. Riftwar Series 8.13/10
9. Harry Potter series 7.85/10
10. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Series 7.36/10
11. Wheel of Time Series 7.06/10
12. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever 7.05/10
13. Crown of Stars Series 7.00/10
14. The Saga of Recluce Series 6.00/10
15. Inheritance Series 3.36/10

Anyway, all I am asking is that I can post 1 series per week and not have the Moderators delete them. I don't want to waste my time if I post them only to get them deleted. I'm willing to do the leg work and tally the score.

[igbomb]

Just to add my quiet voice to this thread -

I think this thread is a great jumping off point for determing what books one would like to read. It's not the end all be all determiner for what to read next, but it's a great way to see what other people really like and to then dig further.

And I don't understand why there is so much irritation at this thread and the associated polls. If you don't like the polls, simply don't open them. I think that's a much better option than censoring what people can post on the board.

Also, enough with the references to the recommendations thread. That thing is a convoluted mess of links.

[xvart]

Anyway, all I am asking is that I can post 1 series per week and not have the Moderators delete them.

I think that question has been answered already... multiple times. There are already many threads that say something along the lines of: "I like books X, Y, and Z. What recommendations do you community members have?" Not only does this yield the same results as your polls but also generates discussion.

Of course, I'm new here, so what do I know?

xvart.

[LeStat]

what about G. Keyes and Heroes die? One will be great when finished i hope, and other is flawed but great...