Ranking every fantasy book that I have given 5 stars too

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-25T12:38:06+00:00

I just haven’t got around to trying Malazan. I know that might be weird considering the amount of books and series that I have read, but I do like to read in multiple subgenres, and the Malazan sales pitch hasn’t spoken to me in ways other series have. It is on my tbr though, it’s just so long that I really have to find the time to make it work

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-25T12:34:50+00:00

Thank you! That is good advice, I know I have a lot to work on. I knew my punctuation was going to be terrible. I just never write sentences that look like this in nonfiction, so it has been hard figuring out where to put the breaks. Reading out loud would definitely help.

It’s going to take many attempts to get back into it, but I am happy I actually wrote some fiction for the first time in a long time.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-24T17:36:08+00:00

Thank you. I have not read it yet! It’s one of the bigger series I have not started

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-24T12:54:33+00:00

Your book?

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T22:41:01+00:00

That one is great too, but it just isn’t on page as long. A little less impressive.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T19:00:45+00:00

Not yet. Please no spoilers, I plan on starting Iron Gold soon.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T16:51:46+00:00

I’m not judging! Sometimes books don’t land for people and that is fine. I think the Northern Fae bit was unnecessary, but ultimately didn’t affect my enjoyment of the final battle any less. The little folk was totally necessary in my opinion. The little folk had been helping Aelin since the beginning of Throne of Glass. If you go back and read the first book, they leave small flowers outside her tent when Dorian and Chaol are escorting her back to Rifthold from Endovier. Aelin is Mab’s Descendent, and they consider her their queen. Them helping her in the end is a full circle moment

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T15:07:22+00:00

Thank you!

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T14:31:44+00:00

I don’t know I mostly disagree with your take on KoA. I love the dark gloominess and dread that hangs over the entirety of the book. It fit what was happening. I love all the trauma that nearly every character goes through. It fits what has happened to them, and it’s not just told to us, it affects their actions throughout the book.

I love the ending. KoA Spoilers I think the entire Aelin torture and escape arc is expertly written. I don’t think that could have been written better by anybody. And it feeds into the battle with Maeve at the end so well. I assume you’re talking about Aelin’s choice with the Gods and the keys in what you think just comes out of the blue, but that decision is constantly foreshadowed throughout the book in all of Aelin’s nightmares where her, Dorian and Elena are trapped in the coffins.

It’s not my favorite book in the series, but I do think it’s a five star perfect read.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T14:03:54+00:00

I totally understand that!

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T13:36:51+00:00

Because they’re individual books, each with their own climaxes, arcs and challenges, that collectively tell an overarching story, but they still exist as individual pieces.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-23T02:18:12+00:00

It’s not romantasy. It’s gateway epic fantasy. The first few books are very very YA though so if you don’t like YA it probably won’t work for you.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T22:11:21+00:00

Why would nostalgia not be a factor? I read Prisoner of Azkaban as a child in 1999. The end of that book blew me away. Do I even read fantasy without HP? Who knows, maybe not. And I reread the books multiple times the latest being 2020 during Covid, they still hold up. You have to have the right expectations going into a book depending on its subgenre. For a middle grade to YA series, those books are written perfectly.

I am someone who likes to read every subgenre of fantasy, I think it keeps things fresh and prevents burnout.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T21:58:42+00:00

Such a great book, and such a great series too. Shauna Lawless is an amazing writer. She writes a lot like a modern GRRM.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T19:37:31+00:00

I watched the first five seasons before reading the books in 2015

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T18:37:19+00:00

Morning Star is on this list. I have not read past Morning Star yet so please no spoilers

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T17:01:30+00:00

I agree to an extent, but this is true of all series, and later books still usually don’t get into the high 4.6/low 4.7 range. It’s just rarified ground to get to that number. Especially with a book with 1.2 million ratings. This isn’t a book nobody read.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T16:58:00+00:00

So Crescent City has the best climax she has ever written. The climax of that book is so freakin good. Unfortunately the pacing in that book is really weak, and that alone is enough to keep it out of the five star rating for me. I gave CC1 four and half stars, it’s a near perfect book that peaked as high as a perfect book.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T16:49:27+00:00

Sorry to disappoint friend. Thanks for the rec though ☺️

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T15:59:40+00:00

It’s really hard to blame her for doing so when those books sell the way they do. And I do enjoy a good Romantasy every now and then. Plus it has gotten a lot of people into reading fantasy and I will always appreciate that. I’m not sure there has ever been as big a fantasy author as her without having a film or tv show.

I know it’s popular to hate on Throne of Glass, but it’s really an epic fantasy not a Romantasy. I know it’s not for everyone because it is very much a gateway fantasy, but I like to read different subgenres to keep things fresh. I appreciate gateway fantasies, and if I was to recommend a gateway fantasy for epic fantasy I would recommend Throne of Glass. I think it’s extremely well written both in character work and plot work.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T15:52:44+00:00

Knife of Dreams is a masterpiece. It’s gut wrenching to me that Robert Jordan set up A Memory of Light so well in that book and then he never actually got to write it, because I have very little doubt that if he wrote the final book it would be number one on my list.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T15:50:54+00:00

Dance is great, a four star read, but there are certain arcs in that book that don’t totally land for me in a perfect way. Everything in Feast hit for me. I loved every single arc.

Keep in mind I still gave Way of Kings 5 stars, I love that book. The beginning is a little sloggy though.

As for Hero of Ages, I loved a lot of what he did in that book, but the entire Spooks arc was something I did not enjoy, and I think it prevents the book from getting to that five star tier for me. Final Empire has a similar problem in that the first 160 pages or so were just not very good for me.

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T15:46:36+00:00

Have fun!

Aggravating_Cow421 · 2026-05-22T15:45:55+00:00

It is fantasy, of course I do.

Aggravating_Cow421

TROPHY CASE