"It feels like a message from Wendy to her younger self, because despite all the action and violence, reading Elfquest is like getting a big warm hug, like someone telling you it's okay to be who you are."
"A good magic system is a magic system with rules."
"The irony of those saying that fantasy should resemble the real world is that their fantasy depictions much less resemble the real world than the older iterations they criticize."
"Discworld is probably the best absurdist/comedic fantasy ever written."
"The best fantasy series outside of The Chronicles of Narnia, which is a definite must family read."
"The entire book (Sorcery of Thorns)...it's everything that I would want from a fantasy."
"Lord of the Rings kind of broke everyone's brains."
"The Ministry basically just turned into Nazi Germany. Wizards are interrogating other wizards, trying to weed out any muggles in their family tree."
"Malazan Book of the Fallen's lesser-defined magic system effectively raises stakes and creates mystery."
"Wheel of Time's multiple magic systems interplay and create depth while withholding information effectively."
"Lord of the Rings' magic system is unmatched in tying magic, lore, and history together."
"After a century of building his strength in secret, Sauron is now ready for his final war."
"Arwen lives as an immortal elf until she gives up her immortality to marry Aragorn. 'I choose a mortal life,' she says."
"The fundamental idea of the Cosmere was power of deity put in the hands of ordinary people."
"More people need to check this out, it's one of my favorite fantasy trilogies out there. It's incredible."
"It's just so good, in one of my all-time favorite fantasy series."
"Elves have since become staples in many high fantasy works."
"In Lord of the Rings, the word 'man' is only used for human men. So now I'm imagining like, 'Are you a man or woman?' 'I'm a hobbit. But what's in your trousers? Mostly snacks.'"
"The Dragon is such a powerful figure in fantasy because it represents the most intense expression of the potential of our human experience."
"I loved every single book in this series. It's just so fresh for me in the fantasy genre."
"It's honestly just some of the best fantasy I have read in a long time."
"Classic fantasy is to blanket of a term and instead we need to acknowledge the fact that this genre it deserves the academic approach of looking at each decade individually."
"The fantasy genre as we know it was created by JRR Tolkien... making a hundred carbon copies of Middle-earth with elves and dwarves..."
"Lightbringer, for me, is still one of the most interesting magic systems."
"Locke and Jean have the best friendship dynamic I've come across in fantasy."
"Moraine introduces one of the largest, most complex brilliantly put together fantasy worlds ever made."
"Malazan hits different and it starts brutally. Gardens of the Moon should not be skipped, skimmed through, or ignored."
"Wow, wow, wow, from alienating her entire fan base to inspiring hundreds of authors to come together to condemn her words, J.K. Rowling is truly the biggest villain the fantasy genre has to offer two years in a row."
"Wheel of Time’s kind of place in the genre, in my eyes, is to kind of take fantasy out of the shadow of Tolkien and move it forward."
"The fantasy genre is bigger today than it's probably ever been."
"I am now at the state I have the status in the genre where you just get the Brandon Sanderson book and you are happy you got it."
"You can thank chess for Game of Thrones. Thanks, chess."
"Tolkien has set the bar for the entire concept of world-building."
"Characters in Lord of the Rings have just transcended fantasy."
"I finished age of myth by Michael J Sullivan 400 Pages down for this book and oh my gosh I really like this."
"The bloodhound knights are trained as hunters and known to be unshakable trackers without the use of language."
"Tolkien's Silmarillion is the prequel to Lord of the Rings, providing the big picture surrounding it."
"If you haven't read Elric yet, then you know, despite my spoiler warnings, go have a read about the true original Witcher."
"Fantasy literature has the power to transport us to magical realms, to ignite our imagination, and introduce us to unforgettable characters."
"Most fantasy novels regard dragons as intelligent and sensitive beasts that can be allies of humans."
"A book for climate activists who love fantasy... The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin."
"A boyfriend who loves Game of Thrones and Aragon... Brandon Sanderson's books."
"What if the old gods in a song of ice and fire are like the elder gods in Lovecraft lore? Eternal. Sleeping. Dreaming."
"Tolkien stuff to me is sacred. It is [expletive] amazing."
"Bell by himself makes the Hestia familia a significant powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with."
"Haruhime's one and only spell is one of the most overpowered things in Arario."
"The songs of the return... full of magic and wonder."
"Transcends and moves beyond a lot of classic fantasy tropes."
"Could Arya be Azor Ahai? Some say absolutely not, some say she could from a certain point of view."
"Aragorn and his friends would liberate South Gondor."
"For me, the really great literary achievement of The Lord of the Rings is its portrayal of evil."
"Saruman's entry to the story and turning to evil are foreshadowed in an early conversation between Gandalf and Frodo."
"Stormlight Archive has an incredible world..."
"A three-eyed crow should have three eyes. He has only one, and that one red."
"And when that ship passed, an end had come in Middle-earth for the Fellowship of the Ring."
"Tolkien's story is a traditional story. It doesn't get more traditional than this good versus evil."
"I have just been wanting to read all the books about witches and magic."
"Magic, the family, the small town setting, I can't wait."
"Just the overall plot conflict escalation, how Brandon Sanderson writes magic."
"A Song of Ice and Fire is fantasy, not science fiction."
"Tolkien's works produce nostalgia in many ways, nostalgia of lands and peoples of high virtue and heraldry, and they fade over time until only the echoes of such places and peoples remain."
"I am the light that brings the dawn, the sword in the darkness."
"Ciri is actually the most important character in the Witcher story, even though most people come to this thinking Geralt is the main character."
"Let's take a moment and remember before Aragorn was a would-be King, he was a ranger, ladies and gentlemen."
"Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a story that knows exactly what it is and is told in the best way possible to communicate exactly what the author was going for."
"I often get asked, 'How can you tell that the author is a big old fantasy nerd?' Hey, what's up? Me too."
"Our collective concept of Elves and Orcs comes nearly entirely from his original outline."
"The saga begins when our hero Seth, a young sailor washes up on the shores of one such Kingdom."
"A Song of Ice and Fire: Navigate political intrigue and epic battles in Westeros."
"The characters in the Stormlight Archive feel so real and you just love them and fall into their story so easily."
"I'm definitely on track to finish tonight. It has magic, it's dark and intense, but also just like gray characters. Really liking this book so far."
"The wrath of the Storm Dragon passed over Yuan Bo like mist... only the irrelevant and endlessly inventive Monkey King still had the knack of provoking him."
"Harry Potter is one of those series that got me into reading and writing from a young age."
"The idea of a two-God was first introduced in War of Secrets."
"Everyone's ghost books in the ghost realm were everything."
"The less dark way to do it is that Galadriel is just simply unable to let go of Revenge, let go of Middle Earth."
"If Tolkien baptized my imagination, then I would say the Malazan world has set it free."
"I just want to read stories that make me feel like I'm walking around a little magic land."
"In Game of Thrones, the three-eyed Raven appears in Bran's visions, guiding him on a quest."
"I love Legend of Huma! The Light, the Kaz, and Huma - that's perfect."
"You shall not pass!" - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
"The treasure that joy boy left behind on the mysterious island of Laughtale... and yet we still don't know what it actually is."
"An ancient weapon certainly can... win the final battle of the story."
"The One Piece may be within this emerald city or it could be the emerald city itself."
"The Lord of the Rings is the greatest story ever created."
"Toph is appreciated for her character, not because she's overpowered."
"Fairy tales are more than true, not because they teach us that dragons exist but because they teach us that Dragons can be beaten."
"This fantasy series has been raved about by a lot of people that I trust."
"The Harry Potter books are special, they transport you into another world."
"But the real star here is Hogwarts and J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World."
"The Stormlight Archive is proving to be the most luscious and vibrant fantasy world I think is currently being written."
"Sigmar can smash things flat with no problem if he needs to, but the man is more than just a roid-raging barbarian."
"Sigmar left nowhere, he claimed that the entirety of mankind was to be his heir to the throne."
"Just as his ancestors before him, the fiery High King Thorgrim Grudge Bearer rules the city without bowing down to anyone."
"The Slayer's oath is a binding promise that requires its taker to live in exile while seeking redemption by attaining the most honorable death battling monstrous creatures."
"The fame of the city comes especially from the weaponry created from Grongrill, the strongest and the most enduring metal existing in the world."
"The Dragon Prince's magic system serves as a metaphor."
"9th House boldly put Leigh Bardugo on my radar. It affirmed for me that I definitely love a cult fantasy because it's prevalent here in the pages."
"Holy Sister for me is the best. It's rare to see a fantasy series where the ending is the best because a lot of fantasy authors flub their endings."
"Robin Hobb's books are the perfect ones to pick up and you will not be disappointed."
"The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson is mind-blowing."
"The books of Babel series by Josiah Bancroft combine so many interesting elements."
"The mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson has one of the most twisty and tourney plots."
"The city of stairs series by Robert Jackson Bennett is a brilliant and underrated fantasy series out there."
"The hero is not heroic Aragorn or impressive Gandalf or expert legalese, instead it's Frodo, a hobbit small, vulnerable, gentle, and good-hearted."
"The spirit of A Song of Ice and Fire, to me, one that critiques authoritarian politics and respects the value of ideals in a fallen world."
"Fantasy elements can have a literary function. Dragons embody both the initial allure and the inevitable consequences of governing by force."
"'The first and most essential step is to remove Azkaban from the control of the dementors.'"
"'It's made all the difference in the world, Harry. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate.'"
"'If the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he's strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort.'"
"You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from death. He accepts that he must die and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying."
"Harry is the master of the Elder Wand. Oh my God! Expelliarmus! Bang! Whiz! Kapow!"
"Neither can kill the other, but also must always be hunting the other."
"But there you go, guys, that is part seven of Dumbledore's Big Plan."
"This reread was actually so easy breezy kind of coordinating right now loved it quest focus classic fantasy with great romance."
"The Maester conspiracy is a vast theory that claims that the maesters have been working to rid the world of magic for perhaps centuries."
"Saved and Peter Susan Edmund and Lucy are Crown kings and queens of Narnia."
"Ned Stark's death is kind of the conclusion of the introduction."
"Harry Potter is one of the best fantasy series ever written."
"The introduction of new realms and dimensions really opens up the world of Black Clover to infinite possibilities."
"It's such a beautiful end of the story Marion Pippen started as these loaf abouts roll back into hobbiton as giant soldiers and they take action right away."
"I'm very very excited at the prospect of this new scary fantasy novel."
"Creating a hard magic system is essential to establish the rules and limitations of the powers."
"The waters are shown as basically being near equal partners to the Isadai."
"Tolkien's influence can be over and understated easily."
"I'm the lone person who's like, yeah, I think that's like, whether or not it makes logical sense with the rules set forth, I'm sure more well thought out in the books or whatever. I don't know, I like Bran."
"I also have The Forest of Souls by Laurie M. Lee, this is one of my most anticipated fantasy releases for the year."
"The best way to understand how this great war will end is going back to the first great war during the first long night."
"It's just the modern-day version of sort of burying your head in Tolkien as a child."
"Just dress good, not too hard with the money."
"I just love markets, magical markets in books, best Trope."
"The magic is stunning in this and has so many different forms."
"The Lord of the Rings is one of the most expansive and detailed fantasy worlds ever created."
"Keep your secrets. Go back to the shadow. You cannot pass." — Gandalf
"This is the battle for Dale, one of the most important battles in Tolkien's war."
"The main thing about a hero in fantasy novels is you never lose hope."
"What do we say to the god of death? Not today, huh?"
"Holy moly, I love nothing more that traversing the plains of fantasy, sci-fi and horror literature--and picking a fight with some of the most terrifying monsters that have ever been inked on the page."
"The Wheel of Time crafted the best flushed out fantasy world that has ever been written..."
"Valentine books saw an opportunity in that sudden unmet demand for fantasy stories and quickly pivoted to provide more choices for readers."
"Valentine's bold experiment with its adult fantasy series might have been a financial disappointment but it had a profound positive impact on the development of the fantasy genre."
"I've been ripping into this novel a whole bunch but the story that Wizards of the coast told on the cards themselves of this set is leaps and bounds above anything I could have ever anticipated from wolf to spark."
"Rhaegar and Lyanna: together they could fulfill the prophecy, but life in this universe is not so easy."
"This is the first entry in the Discworld series... incredibly creative, really enjoyable."
"Animus magic has zero negatives and we find out that it's absolutely godly."
"All one really needs to do to fix Animus magic is just to set some limitations."
"I think that animus magic is the most interesting ability and that there's the most that you could do with it in the story and in general I just really enjoy magic mechanics and books."
"Yes, point two goes to A Song of Ice and Fire."
"The main point of the discussion is the infiltration by C rank adventurers."
"N.K. Jemisin's writing is astonishing; she is just one of the best fantasy writers out there, in my opinion."
"Alistair is the best written overpowered character I have seen since Sid Kagano from Eminence and Shadow."
"The most memorable part for me is probably Hopper, Perrin, and the Whitecloaks."
"The battle could still have been won, but for Morgoth's secret weapon..."
"The intersection of religion, science, and magic in Tolkien's world."
"Just imagine books written in the style of Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Forgotten Realms with an added pinch of Stargate. It's catnip for people like me, virgins."
"From this day forth there would be but one king in Westeros."
"We should mention Nick Martell’s Kingdom of Liars since he was on the stream a couple weeks ago, and his book is great."
"John had dreamt the Winterfell dream... the vaults were opening... the dead Kings came stumbling from their cold black graves."
"Tolkien crafted what is arguably still the greatest mythos for any fantasy series ever and his magic system stems from that."
"Lord of the Rings setting will be explored and debated again until the Sun explodes and we're all dust."
"It's exactly in our engagement with these fantastical tragedies that their lessons can be reimagined to our own lives."
"If you liked Alice in Wonderland but wish that instead of Wonderland she had been lost in Autumnland, this is the story for you."
"The Basilisk was finally killed by Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets with the Sword of Gryffindor."
"Mati's battle against the demon boss reaches its climax."
"His Dark Materials theming is some of the best I have seen in fantasy."
"The demons within His Dark Materials are one of the best magical ideas I've ever seen in fantasies."
"I absolutely cannot deny the importance of Lord of the Rings in my life."
"One of my all-time favorite fantasy series of all time and you should definitely read it."
"From my blood comes the prince that was promised, and his will be the song of ice and fire."
"Infernal Devices, Strange the Dreamer, The Starless Sea... top three fantasy reads of all time."
"Solo Leveling, the power fantasy series to end all power fantasy series."
"Whatever your thoughts, there's no doubt that the magical treaties of Solomon had a massive influence on everything from folklore and witchcraft to horror cinema and even Harry Potter."
"I feel like the majority of fantasy readers are going to find something to enjoy."
"Sanderson is the perfect gateway to adult fantasy."
"Going back to the tired old well of medieval Western European culture for inspiration for fantasy is not a lazy thing if you're from that culture."
"It kind of blew my mind a bit, I thought this was an amazing expansion of the Mistborn world."
"I think my favorite moment ever is just when Gandalf and Frodo are writing up in the wagon and you just see all the Shire."
"The hobbits of the Shire were in height between three and four feet... They did not of course call themselves halflings..."
"With that said, Leo borrows Elmina's power and imbues magic to the Demonic sword, granting him a 50% boost in strength."
"The Muggle Prime Minister's interactions with the Ministry of Magic provided insight into bridging the magical and non-magical worlds."
"Melisandre burning Shireen will happen in the books."
"Everyone appreciating Harry Potter unexpectedly."
"Your real father was Rhaegar Targaryen, you've never been a bastard, you are Aegon Targaryen, true heir to the Iron Throne."
"Before the rebellion Robert had been betrothed to and had deep feelings for Lyanna Stark sister of Lord Eddard."
"Celestra Dierfan while the High Elves are kind of her main focus because she wants to take Lothlórien for herself so that she can give that performance to the Phoenix King and potentially sink the island."
"Blood over Bright Haven: The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of Mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever."
"Brandon Sanderson is really good at piecing himself out of the world building and providing it when the time is needed, saying what he needs to say and moving on to the next thing."
"Demon king presented Merlin with detailed information."
"Drogon the winged shadow rises from Drogo's pyre, symbolizing the fall of the long night and the birth of dragons."
"The wars of the jewels were due to the legendary Silmarils being at the root of so much of it."
"Gil-galad was an Elven-king. Of him the harpers sadly sing: the last whose realm was fair and free between the mountains and the sea."
"This is from the Dresden Files which is a fantasy series, one by one of my favorite authors. It's the comic book of one of the books and it's autographed by him."
"This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all. This is the One Ring that he lost many ages ago, to the great weakening of his power. He greatly desires it — but he must not get it."
"The year of Sanderson is quickly coming to an end, the year where the madman Brando Sando published four secret projects that took the entire world of Fantasy by high storm."
"Brandon Sanderson, the Lord ruler of the fantasy genre."
"The Last Wish serves as the introduction to Geralt of Rivia, a professional Monster Hunter known as a Witcher who yearns to be the house husband of Yennefer of Vengerberg."
"This is one of the sweetest yet freakiest love stories in Middle Earth."
"Manfred would absolutely like the end times plot of Manfred helping resurrect nagash because he thinks he can take on the gash."
"Tolkien hit on a new way of using language and in using fantasy in literature for the Aesthetics of sound."
"Oh children, why are you following me?" he said. "Well, we couldn't sleep," said Lucy, and they felt sure that he needn't say more and that Aslan knew all they had been thinking.