I came to read Bakker either just before or just after the release of WP.  I think there was an interview with Bakker posted on the wotmania other fiction forum wherein he said something about keeping true to the story he had envisioned from the start.  It stuck a chord with me at the time, currently experiencing the bloat and derailment of what began as a great story in wot.  Since, I have read most of TSA several times and grown to like it more and more.  It has probably reached the status of being my favorite series, or at least listed among the upper echelon.

Interestingly enough, that is right about when I started reading it too.  I saw a mass market paperback of tDtCB, so I got it and once i was done, tWP either just came out, or was right about to.  Post-Bakker, I was (and still am) pretty disullusioned with genre fiction.  I read some here for there, but not much.  I used to read a lot of history and moved into some "literature" proper, but now almost all I read is philosophy itself.

I read a fair amount.  30 or so books a year, nearly all sci-fi or fantasy.  Occasionally I read a "classic" or some general fiction.  I am also into the designer board gaming hobby, which is my social activity of choice though usually it's just my wife and I after the kids are asleep.

I used to read a lot more, but now, between the kids, work, and everything else, I just don't have much time.  I am lucy if I get 6 books a year now, give or take.

Personally, my hobby of choice is Magic: The Gathering, secondary is table-top wargaming.  Not that I have much time of either of those too.

Again, welcome to the forum. Always nice to have fresh blood to keep the walls wet new perspectives on-board, 

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I personally really enjoyed Library at Mount Char, that it sits next to Shadow of the Torturer is somewhat telling to me. Though personally I'd place them at different ends, they do end up both being rather moody and have similar themes of emotional development during hard times... However I'm not really a fan of Shadow to begin with so maybe I "didnt get it".

And yes, that's why polls are pointless. The fellow that's not read any of the top 5 (for the sake of argument), might put Elric of Melnibone at a 5 if their other experiences of reading fantasy are Shannara, Sword of Truth, and LOTR.

A list like this is really only as valid as the number of people who have read every one and ranked them accordingly (edit, went back and read your comment - this is exactly what you said lol). Given a few hundred of those people and you might get a list that was at least consistent, but it is then impossible to generalize on a greater scale, as the whole list needs re-evaluated every time a new book is added.

But, I find the attempt enjoyable, and will continue to make up words and genres for "books that are dark" rather than using words other people have made up but don't have useful definitions .

Edit: Also, this makes me not want to read Fletcher - I'm pretty skeptical of a book thats "way more grimdark" than TDTCB.

I went back and checked... 8months later. The more I happen to read the books on this list, the more I realize that whatever it is I might think "grimdark" actually is does not appear to be what the general consensus is.

Though, given how varied each individual book's votes are, I suspect there's not much of a consensus.

Like, for example, Poppy War having the same rating as Elric, and Library at Mount Char being so low. Or Fifth Season, Legend, and Lamora being basically the same rating.

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