Top Ten Stories of All Time

I was given the choice of being a part of a group of bloggers who would all on the same day—December 15, 2011—post an article on their blog about their top 10 favorite stories of all time. This would include books, movies, video games, and heck, even songs! Entire series could count as one story, as they technically are the same story. The only downside is that there are many book series and video games that I haven't read or played that apparently have amazing stories—better than most I have experienced. So say my brothers, and I believe them. They have been trying to get me to read The Sword of Truth or play Tales of Symphonia for several years now. So don't expect this to be the only Top Ten Stories list I ever write. There may be another in a few years once I can read through that many super-long books and play through that many super-long games. I've already started playing Alan Wake and Chrono Trigger, but unfortunately it would be a little against the rules to add them to the list without finishing them. So, without further ado, enjoy!

10. Metroid
As one of my favorite game series of all time, I find the story intriguing and, frankly, pretty awesome. Metroid: Other M ruined it for me a little, but with that omitted I've found the story is quite amazing. I highly recommend you play at least one of the games in the series.

9. The Pilgrim's Progress
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is one of few ancient classics that I truly appreciate. It's hard to get through, as are most classics, but the story itself is intriguing and actually quite ingenious. It is quite hard to write an enjoyable allegory, but Bunyan was able to do just that.

8. I, Robot
The novel, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, was a spectacular novel that I enjoyed very much, but this entry is of the movie adaptation. More often than not movie adaptations are horrible compared to their book counterparts. Many, I, Robot included, have very few similarities to their books. However, this is one of those almost-nonexistent number of movies that are just as good as their books, if not better. In this case, the movie's story far outweighs the book's, and it is one of my all-time favorite movies.

7. The Bourne Trilogy
I have not read the books, but the movies, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, make up one of the best film series I have ever seen. I have heard that the original books by Robert Ludlum are different but just as amazing. One reason I loved the movies as much as I did is because I believe antiheroes are often the best true heroes.

6. The Chronicles of Narnia
C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series has always been a favorite of mine. My favorite novel in the series is The Horse and His Boy, and I am very strong in the opinion that everyone should read the series in original publication order instead of chronological order.

5. Immanuel's Veins
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and Ted Dekker's Immanuel's Veins is a mixture between historical fiction and the amazing degree of fantasy he's known for. In addition to being a spectacular novel with a great story, it loosely ties into Dekker's fantasy mega-series, the Books of History Chronicles.

4. A Change of Seasons
The song, A Change of Seasons by Dream Theater, is the story of a man living through his life. It starts when he is young, moves through hardships and depression, hate and love, faith and mistrust, and ends with the man at the end of his life, much wiser, having learned from his mistakes. The reason this story is on this list is not that the story itself is amazing. It's the way the story is presented. Dream Theater paints a beautiful picture: you can see the colors, feel the emotions, sense the seasons passing by. It is impeccably well-done, and is one of my favorite songs of all time. When people complain that metal bands have bad lyrics quality, I just point to Dream Theater. The band is made up of some of the most talented musicians and songwriters ever to walk the face of the earth.

3. The 13th Tribe
This was coincidentally the latest book I finished. The 13th Tribe was an amazing story; it awed me and even made me tear up a few times. There are few words that can tell how much I loved this story. One reason it is so high on the list is because I just recently read it, so obviously I still love it a lot. Give it a few months and it'll definitely drop, though that will just be because time will have passed since I'd read it. Another reason is because it truly is an amazing story. I very highly recommend you read it when it releases in April.

2. The Lord of the Rings
The are absolutely no words to explain how much The Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium means to me. The languages, races, worlds... everything the story did... how it changed the world of literature, specifically fantasy... and even how it inspired my own writing. The Lord of the Rings is possibly the greatest epic ever written, and it is absolutely spectacular. There is almost nothing that comes anywhere close to The Lord of the Rings in my book, no pun intended (not referring to my actual book I'm writing). It is... it is... I can't even describe it. IT IS.

1. Mirror of Souls
Mirror of Souls is a song written and performed by Theocracy. It is my all-time favorite song, and at present my all-time favorite story. When people argue with me that the rock genre is better than the metal genre, I ask them, "Have you ever wept after listening to a 20-minute rock story song?" Let me tell you this now: do not go to a site such as YouTube or Grooveshark and look up Mirror of Souls. If you're going to listen to it, do it right. That would be in a dark room with your eyes closed and no distractions. That's how I first listened to it, and I cannot describe the experience I had. I said that for the past few entries on this list, but it's true. If a person cannot describe the amazing experience of a story, then it truly is a good story. Without doubt..