To be a great writer is to be a voracious reader. I learn from every author I read, whether a literary technique or an archaic noun. But the best stories do more than entertain us; they take us to new horizons and broaden our minds, helping us to see the world with greater richness and clarity.

Book ratings are strange things. One reviewer’s ** star rating might equal another person’s *****, despite both readers enjoying the book equally. Three stars might mean the book is trash or that it’s just plain average. Whether you see it on Amazon or Goodreads, what a critic means by their rating is too often arbitrary. So I have decided to overhaul my own system in a way that, I hope, my followers will find more useful.

Key to my rating system:

DNF — Did Not Finish: Despite a sincere effort, I simply could not bring myself to read these books to the end, though I give each novel I start a minimum one-hundred pages to hook me.

NF — Non-Fiction: I tend to rate these a bit higher because knowledge is always important!

K — Kids: This book is intended primarily for younger readers. I tend to rate these books a bit higher because it matters more what they think than what a jaded writer like me thinks.

* — Not Recommended: Boring, amateurish, or just poorly written. These books are usually written by beginning authors who haven’t quite mastered the art of storytelling.

** — Forgettable: The rudiments of grammar and story are all there, and there might even be a cult following for it, but I find these books to be cliché, formulaic, and, more often than not, just plain forgettable. Popular authors churn out books like these every two months.

*** — Great: This is a really well-written book with an engaging story and lots of clever ideas. But there are a hundred others just like it, which makes it fall just short of a must-read.

**** — Mandatory (A Must Read): This kind of book comes around very rarely. It’s the kind of story that, when you finally get around to it, you’ll feel bad you didn’t read it sooner. These books transcend mere entertainment, changing how you look at life, sometimes even going so far as to make you a better person. Yes, great books can do that!

Because I am fascinated by the evolution of literature, I have ordered my reviews from the earliest publication date to the latest. To browse the Story Matters Podcast archive, click on the orange link.

Fairy Tale by Stephen King (2022) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (2021) **** | PODCAST
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw (2021) * 1/2 | PODCAST
A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat (2020) **** K | PODCAST
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (2018) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
Circe by Madeline Miller (2018) ** 1/2 DNF | PODCAST
The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien (2018) ** 1/2
Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. Tolkien (2017) *** 1/2
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by JK Rowling (2016) **
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling (2016) ** 1/2
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin (2015) ***
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014) *** 1/2 | PODCAST
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (2014) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (2014) *** | PODCAST
Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski (2014) **
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doecher (2013) ** 1/2
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King (2012) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby (2011) *** K | PODCAST
11/22/63 by Stephen King (2011) *** | PODCAST
American Gods, 10th Anniversary Edition, by Neil Gaiman (2011) *** 1/2
The Martian by Andy Weir (2011) *** 1/2
Theft of Swords by Michael Sullivan (2011) **
Never Knew Another by J.M. McDermott (2011) **
The Maze Runner by James Dashner (2009) *
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (2008) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008) *** 1/2
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (2007) * 1/2 DNF (400 p.) | PODCAST
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007) ****
The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien (2007) ***
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (2006) *** | PODCAST
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (2006) *** K | PODCAST
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006) ****
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (2005) ** K
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005) ****
The Dark Tower by Stephen King (2004) *** 1/2 | PODCAST
Song of Susannah by Stephen King (2004) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004) ****
The Darkness that Comes Before by Scott Bakker (2004) **
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2004) *** 1/2
Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King (2003) *** | PODCAST
The Land of Naked People by Madhusree Mukerjee (2003) *** NF | PODCAST
The Dark Age of Enya by Nick Alimonos (2003) ** 1/2
Lamb by Christopher Moore (2003) ***
The Writer’s Book of Hope by Ralph Keyes (2003) **** NF
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2002) **** K | PODCAST
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2001) ****
The Other Wind by Ursula K. Leguin (2001) *** 1/2
On Writing by Stephen King (2000) **** NF
Tides of War by Steven Pressfield (2000) * DNF
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (1999) ***
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King (1997) *** | PODCAST
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (1997) *** | PODCAST
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (1997) *** | VIDEO
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (1997—2007) ****
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996) ***
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (1996) *** 1/2 NF | VIDEO
His Dark Materials Series by Philip Pullman (1995—2000) *** 1/2
The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993) ***
The Wastelands by Stephen King (1991) ** | PODCAST
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (1990) ** 1/2 DNF (300 p) | PODCAST
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (1989) ****
Misery by Stephen King (1987) **** | PODCAST
The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (1987) *** | PODCAST
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (1986) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
IT by Stephen King (1986) **** | PODCAST
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985) *** 1/2
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (1985) ** 1/2
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (1984) ***
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (1983) ***
The Body by Stephen King (1982) *** 1/2 | PODCAST
The Gunslinger by Stephen King (1982) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
The BFG by Roald Dahl (1982) ** 1/2 K
MAUS by Art Spielgelman (1980) **** NF | PODCAST
The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende (1979) ****
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (1977) ****
A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony (1977) ***
Carrie by Stephen King (1974) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
Inverted World by Christopher Priest *** (1974)
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy ** 1/2 (1973) | PODCAST
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973) ***
Watership Down by Richard Adams (1972) ****
Grendel by John Gardner (1971) ** 1/2
The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny (1970-1992) ** DNF
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969) *** 1/2
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (1968) ****
Dune by Frank Herbert (1965) ****
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1963) *** | PODCAST
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962) * K
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) **** | PODCAST
The Once and Future King by T.H. White (1958) ****
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis (1955) ** 1/2 K
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1952) **
Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951) ** 1/2 | PODCAST
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951) ****
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950) ****
1984 by George Orwell (1949) ****
Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) ****
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939) ****
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937) ****
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers (1934) ** K
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1914) ** 1/2
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912) ** 1/2
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865) ** K
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1818) ****

Modern Masterpieces

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (2021)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007)
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2001)

Greatest Novels of All Time

The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Greatest Fantasy Novels of All Time

The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Dishonorable Mentions (Popular Books I Loathe)

The Name of the Wind — A meandering, directionless 650-page slog about a “Gary Stu” who’s just oh-so special in every way.
The Poppy War — Tonally inconsistent, offers some of the worst examples of “power creep” in fantasy, and involves racist caricatures of a thinly veiled real-world people.
Circe — A “feminist” heroine sits on an island waiting for things to happen. The 11th hour conclusion is inconsistent and utterly contrived.
The Maze Runner — Flat characters are trapped in a mystery that makes little sense and is never resolved.
A Wrinkle in Time — A bland group of kids embark on an adventure where nothing is explained and every event is incidental.