Top Ten Fantasy on Kindle; and what it means to Fantasy Writers
If you're looking for the best fantasy novels for the Amazon Kindle a good place to start is the Amazon Kindle Fantasy Bestseller lists. These rankings are fast-moving, but today shows:
1. A Dance with Dragons (Ice & Fire: Book 5) George R.R. Martin, $14.99
2. A Game of Thrones (Ice & Fire: Book 1) George R.R. Martin, $8.99
3. A Storm of Swords (Ice & Fire: Book 3) George R.R. Martin, $8.99
4. A Clash of Kings (Ice & Fire: Book 2) George R.R. Martin, $8.99
5. A Feast for Crows (Ice & Fire: Book 4) George R.R. Martin, $8.99
7. A Game of Thrones (4-Book Bundle) George R.R. Martin, $29.99
6. Wicked (Celestra Series Book 4) Addison Moore, $2.99
8. Taming Fire (The Dragonprince Trilogy) Aaron Pogue, $0.99
9. The Kinshield Legacy (The Kinshield Saga) K.C. May, $0.99
10. Wizard's First Rule (The Sword of Truth) Terry Goodkind, $2.99
So Kindle fantasy is totally dominated by George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. This demonstrates the massive marketing power of the TV tie-in. If you didn't know, HBO has just run the acclaimed first season of Game of Thrones on TV worldwide, with a second season planned for 2012. All his books are priced high, AND Book 4 and 5 are rated mediocre by readers. Yet 3 starred $14.99 Book 5 is currently the bestseller. What's the gist of the story? It's epic fantasy in an invented world. Gritty adult themes, with violence, vulgarity, and intrigue, but essentially, it's all about a political power struggle between families.
#6 is Addison Moore's young adult paranormal romance series, fairly priced at $2.99 for +-200 pages, rated above 4 stars by readers. She's been a self-publishing powerhouse since March 23, releasing a short book every two months. This seems to have built momentum. When you consider that all her books combined don't yet equal the wordcount of one George R.R. Martin book, she's getting paid more for her words and has less chance of being fatigued or fatiguing her readers by developing rambling 1000 page epic books that go nowhere. Clever lady. Great to see an indie right up there. I hope the magic of the bestseller lists lasts for her.
#8 is Aaron Pogue's high fantasy coming-of-age about a young boy who has a tough life as a beggar and gets a chance to learn wizardry, but is framed for murder and then hunted. At +-330 pages it's really cheap at $0.99, with a poorly designed cover that doesn't make it jump out of the list, but the writing is rated above 4 stars, so readers like it. It's another indie list-breaker, demonstrating the guerrilla strategy of rock-bottom pricing available to new authors going through Kindle Direct Publishing.
#9 is KC May's heroic fantasy about a kingless kingdom in decline. At $0.99 for +- 400 pages, this is really really cheap considering the length (my feeling is a fair price would be at least $3.99). This book started life six years ago at Archebooks with an awful cover but is now self-published with a professional cover (good move KC, outsourced to the designer who does Daniel Arenson's books). It's rated above 4 stars by readers. What's it about? A ruffian of a hero solves the puzzle of the talisman and will be the next King of the realm, unless he can find a replacement. A number of people are trying to track down this future king, each with their own agenda. Sounds traditional but interesting. If you pop over to her website there's a sample that will engage you with a cheeky, light-hearted writing style. It would be my choice from the top 10 right now. At $0.99 you hardly have to think about the purchase.
At #10, Terry Goodkind offers the equivalent of 770 pages for $2.99, a heroic fantasy in an invented world. Primarily about a quintessential orphaned 'hero' and his intensely moral female counterpart who attempt to save the world from ruin. An enjoyable classic that begins well with a good magic system and some cracking combat, becomes a bit tiresome, moralistic and unbelievable later in the series. Selling better than I'd expect, may be due to the low price. It has the most brilliant title: Wizard's First Rule … it's automatically intriguing. You want to know what the rule is, and if you have any interest in magic (i.e. all fantasy readers) you have to buy the book to find out.
Rough analysis: I'd say this shows that in fantasy, readers want a good series or continuing world. Nothing weird or wacky, just stories that fit well into the fantasy genre. And ignoring those authors who have the benefit of a sales team led by Sean Bean, it shows that Kindle fantasy readers care more about what the story is, than the length of it, maybe because the size isn't immediately obvious. In the end, what matters is a good tale.
But fame and a good marketing team can cast a glamour on some books and induce people to buy the same thing for three times the price.
