Some fantasy series became known not only as books but also later through movies and series. A community on Reddit recently voted on which fantasy series is the best. While a legendary series is in first place, another author ranks second, surpassing even George R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson.
What was this survey about? In the r/Fantasy subreddit, a voting took place a month ago to determine the best fantasy series. 1,074 users participated in the vote, naming up to 10 fantasy books. If an individual novel is mentioned, it counts for the entire series.
According to the thread, over 10,000 votes were cast, and the entire list totals 1,348 novels and novel series.
While the legendary Middle-earth saga by J.R.R. Tolkien sits at number 1, George R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson only find themselves at 3 and 4.
George R.R. Martin is surpassed by a legend
What does the ranking look like? We won’t list all the ranks here, but especially the top 4 are interesting.
- Rank 1: The Middle-earth Universe (J.R.R. Tolkien)
- Rank 2: The First Law Universe (Joe Abercrombie)
- Rank 3: A Song of Ice and Fire (George R.R. Martin)
- Rank 4: The Stormlight Archive (Brandon Sanderson)
Seeing Middle-earth at number 1 is not so unusual, as Tolkien continues to shape the fantasy genre to this day. However, it is remarkable that Joe Abercrombie with his The First Law series surpasses the great legends Martin and Sanderson.
You can check out the other placements here:
Abercrombie has published nine novels and a short story in the First Law Universe. Now, there is even mockery surrounding George R. R. Martin regarding how long his new novel is taking. He even has a role in a TV series.
Although Sanderson is only
in 4th place, he is additionally represented at 8th place with his Mistborn series. In a similar survey from 2023 (via Reddit), Sanderson even managed to defeat Tolkien. There, the top 5 looked a bit different:
- Rank 1: The Stormlight Archive (Brandon Sanderson)
- Rank 2: The Middle-earth Universe (J.R.R. Tolkien)
- Rank 3: The First Law Universe (Joe Abercrombie)
- Rank 4: A Song of Ice and Fire (George R.R. Martin)
- Rank 5: The Mistborn Series (Brandon Sanderson)
In 2023, Sanderson even made it into the top 5 twice, but Joe Abercrombie has already outdone Martin.
Are there any other peculiarities? For many fans, it may be surprising that Harry Potter only reached 12th
place. However, it’s not just classic novels that made it onto the list. Several mangas have also made it onto the list:
- One Piece by Eiichiro Oda in 50th place
- Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa in 111th place
- Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama in 183rd place
- Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi in 247th place
- Frieren by Kanehito Yamada in 247th place
Classics like Dracula, 1984, or Frankenstein can also be found on the list. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is one of the most important works for the vampire mythos. One of the last film adaptations was not that long ago but had issues with an animal protection organization: ‘They are the only pest’ – PETA calls for a boycott of a horror film because the director used 5,000 live rats for a scene
