/lit/ - Literature

>>22110412
Tolkien if it's possible you haven't read him
John Crowley
Jack Vance
Gene Wolfe
Robin Hobb
Le Guin
GRRM
R Scott Bakker
Robert E Howard

>>22084236
>Fantasy
I have a soft spot for the 80s and 90s
This too >>22085328 Dunsany is king
>Scifi
60s, 70s
>How were the 80s in particular?
Big boom of D&D style fantasy and fantasy has never moved past that ever since, space opera was pretty big at the time too.
>I'm interested in reading CJ cherryh because I like alien species/cultures and mysteries as a plot element.
Cherryh's great but be aware that even though her worldbuilding is amazing a very imaginative her stories are always more character driven, think Bujold or Hobb.

>>22081868
>does anyone have that list an anon made of all those books with milfs?
I have it
>Caught in Crystal (1987) by Patricia Wrede
>The Interior Life (1990) by Katherine Blake
>Raven's Duology (2004-2005) by Patricia Briggs
>Wolfblade Trilogy (2004-2005) by Jennifer Fallon
>Bridge of D'Arnath (2004-2005) by Carol Berg
>The World Gates Trilogy (2004-2005) By Holly Lisle, She wrote Minerva Wakes and the Arhel trilogy, those two books also have mom mc
>Dragonsbane (1985) by Barbara Hambly
>Paladin of Souls and Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
>Sunrunner Saga (1988-1993) by Melanie Rawn. Mommy Sioned best yandere girl
>The Empire Trilogy (1987-1992) by Janny Wurts
>Liveship Traders (1998-200) by Robin Hobb
>Birthgrave (1975-1978) by Tanith Lee
>Heart of Bronze (1997-1998) by Matthew Stover
>Karavans Trilogy (2006-2012) by Jennifer Roberson
>Skinwalkers (2014) by Wendy N. Wagner, about an ex-pirate Axe wielding mom!
>Frostfell (2006) by Mark Sehestedt
>Legacy of Steel (1998) by Mary H. Herbert
>The Traitor Spy Trilogy (2010-2012) by Trudi Canavan
>Sevenwaters Trilogy (1999-2001) by Juliet Marillier
>Blood songs (1987, third book in the Frost trilogy) by Robin Wayne Bailey
>Bloodsong Trilogy (1985-1986) by Asa Drake
>Gypsies (1988) by Robert Charles Wilson
>Child of Time (1991) by Robert Silverberg
>The Wayfarer Redemption (1995-1999) by Sara Douglass, by book three almost every character is pregnant, after book three there's a 20 year time-skip so all the mcs have grown-up children
>The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974) by Patricia A. McKillip
>The Keys to Paradise Trilogy (1987-1988) by Robert Vardeman, trio of mcs all of the same importance, veterans of the Trans-War that ravaged the country, one of them is a cat-girl who saves a slave kid and adopts him
>Bitter Angels (2009) by C.L Anderson
>The Great Wheel (1987, book three of the Tredana Trilogy) by Joyce Ballou Gregorian
>Daughter of the Bear King (1987) by Eleanor Arnason
>Night-Threads series by Ru Emerson, portal fantasy about a druggie mom, her sister and her teenage son.
>Frostflower adn Thorn (1980) Phyllis Ann Karr
>Fifth Millenium by S.M. Stirling, Shirley Meier, and Karen Wehrstein
>Spellsong Cycle (1997-2002) by L.E. Modesitt Jr
>The Sword of Lyric by Sharon Hinck, christian portal fantasy about a soccer mom and her son fighting against Not-Satan
>Cradle of Sea and Soill (2020) by Bernie Anes Paz
>Boneshaker (2009) Cherie Priest
>The Gap Cycle by Stephen Donaldson, absolute grimdark kino but like most of Donaldson's work it has a happy ending, the main characters just have to go through hell to get it.
>Dragon Gate by Lindsay Buroker, a six book epic about a Mother-son duo
>Memories of Ice (2001 Book 3 of Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson
>To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987) by Robert Heinlein
>The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliott

>Get recommended Robin Hobb's books
>Her protag is an idiot who can't do anything right and actually gets his wife stolen from him by his adoptive father who then has like 4 children with her
>He's still on good terms with them after that.
>He also has this weird homosexual thing with a tranny?
I will never read anything written by a woman or a cuckold fetishist ever again

>>21984067
Sure, here are some book recommendations for each of the themes you mentioned:

Assassins:

"Assassin's Apprentice" by Robin Hobb: This is the first book in the Farseer Trilogy, which follows a young man named FitzChivalry who is trained as an assassin in a medieval kingdom.
"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas: This series follows a skilled assassin named Celaena Sardothien who is forced to compete in a deadly tournament to win her freedom.

Psychics:

"The Institute" by Stephen King: This novel follows a group of children with psychic abilities who are held captive in a secret facility.
"The Bone Season" by Samantha Shannon: This series is set in an alternate version of London where clairvoyants are hunted and used for their abilities.

Alternate history:

"The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick: This novel is set in an alternate version of the 1960s where the Axis Powers won World War II and now control the United States.
"Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland: This novel is set in an alternate version of the United States where the Civil War was interrupted by a zombie apocalypse.

World adventure:

"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss: This series follows the adventures of Kvothe, a legendary magician and adventurer.
"The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien: This classic novel follows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he goes on a quest to reclaim a treasure from a dragon.

Space opera:

"Dune" by Frank Herbert: This classic novel is set in a far-off future where a young nobleman becomes embroiled in a complex political struggle for control of the desert planet Arrakis.
"Leviathan Wakes" by James S.A. Corey: This series follows a group of characters as they navigate political intrigue and dangerous situations in a colonized solar system.

In-depth magic systems in a fantasy setting:

"The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson: This series takes place in a world where powerful magical abilities are tied to specific gemstones.
"The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin: This series is set in a world where certain individuals can control the forces of the earth itself.

Any writers similar to Lois McMaster Bujold (Five Gods, Vorkosigan), Robin Hobb (Farseer) or Katherine Addison (The Goblin Emperor).
I love their prose and character development, though I could do without Hobb's tendency to psychologically torture her main characters all the time.

didn't know Robin Hobb was a woman

>>21895723
>EQUIVILANTS... anon
>I expect an apology
I kneel...
Some contemporary female authors i like
Martha Wells
Juliet McKenna
Juliet Marillier
Glenda Larke
Kate Elliot
Michelle west
Lindsay Buroker
Carol Berg
I want to say Robin Hobb but she doesn't write anymore.

>>21882129
Get Tad Williams, Robin Hobb and Joe Ambecrombie to finish this faggot's book.

>>21863443
Robin hobb. Not garbage like Sanderson, and not purple prose like Mielville.

>>21834785
>>Robin Hobb
>>Through her writing, Hobb explores otherness, ecocentrism, queerness, and gender as themes.
I don't remember reading that in the farseer trilogy

>>21832906
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld sounds interesting, might read it later, thanks.
>>21833220
>Susanna Clarke
>Partner with Colin Greenland
Why "Partner"? Why aren't they married?
>>21833264
>Robin Hobb
>Through her writing, Hobb explores otherness, ecocentrism, queerness, and gender as themes.
No thanks.
>>21833978
>Pro-Abortion Pro-Open Borders Pro-LGBT Pro-BLM White-Guilt Marxist Feminist author
>"bUh mUh tRaNspHoBiA"
Her garbage drew in the troons in the first place for a reason anon.
>>21833996
>In 2020, Novik published A Deadly Education, the first in a trilogy set in the Scholomance, the retelling of folklore about a school of black magic. The main character, Galadriel "El" Higgins, a half-Welsh, half-Indian sorceress, must survive to graduation while controlling her destructive abilities.
Sounds like le quirky poc. Hard pass.

>>21832861
Robin Hobb?

Fantasy writers seem to have a thing for cuckolding. I was liking those Robin Hobb books but somehow she thinks is normal for a guy to want to marry his former girlfriend after she had SIX babies with his former surrogate father. WTF is that??? If she wanted Fitz to start a family why inserting Molly again in the story? Same shit happened when i read those Tad Williams books.

>>21796538
hobb recently released some nice editions of the farseer books afaik

>>21790549
TC isn't really gritty, it's more like Hobb where it's ultimately hopeful epic fantasy but everyone has to suffer (including the reader) to get there

>>21784273
Great but slow moving series. It's a blast seeing where GRRM gets his tropes and Hobb gets her style from.

>>21779896
>The Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
>Middle-Earth Universe - J.R.R. Tolkien
>First Law World - Joe Abercrombie
>A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin
>Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
>The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
>Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb
>Discworld - Terry Pratchett
>Malazan - Steven Erikson
>The Green Bone Saga - Fonda Lee
I imagined the most Reddit list imaginable and it came into being. I hate how stagnant everything is. How many more times can people adulate the same shit, over and over? It's the same thing here.

>>21778361
r/Fantasy Top Novels 2023: Results!

Top 10
The Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Middle-Earth Universe - J.R.R. Tolkien
First Law World - Joe Abercrombie
A Song of Ice and Fire - George R.R. Martin
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
The Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb
Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Malazan - Steven Erikson
The Green Bone Saga - Fonda Lee

Here are some others:
#15 Dune
#17 Cradle
#26 Hyperion
#49 Book of the New Sun
#53 Black Company
#61 Bakker
#68 Parahumans
#93 Blacktongue
#93 Gormenghast
#101 The Wandering Inn
#120 Dungeon Crawler Carl
#183 Between Two Fires

It isn't all that different from here. In terms of what's posted here, the only major missing genre is Xianxia. Vance is also considerably lower. So really though, how meaningful is it to call anything Reddit in any practical way? If it means newly published SFF with a focus on culture war and identity politics and whatever else is to be abhorred, then that isn't represented by this all that much. The primary reason for that is the demographics are rather similar. The 2020 census for /r/fantasy was 70% male, 40% 23-29, 30% 30-39, 56% American. Yes, it's another bastion for adult men who want to talk to each other. If you want some place that's mostly women and their preferred books, you'll have to go elsewhere, like BookTok. What this means though is that you may find this to be valuable as a source of recommendations. It's entirely possible that you'll find something here that you'll enjoy. The best will probably always be personal, but this aggregation is a worthwhile place to start.

Don't want to open Reddit or Google?
https://paste.bingner.com/paste/72ayv

Those with 5+ votes are here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/11mvwsa/rfantasy_top_novels_2023_results/

The full list of 1,181 can be seen here
The creator didn't expand the columns, so you'll have to copypaste the series name to see it all.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rgODLOgPAooPyTXRyhD1_ZkOtqx0HcWiYZnKpbjcv4w/edit#gid=0

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/mpe9ox/census_results_are_never_late_nor_are_they_early/

>>21750028
Vaginacore is no fucking joke. There's nothing funny about it. Period. I have no platitudes what could console you, welcome to the club. Hobb is a master of some things you don't even think about until you're left holding them and trying to figure out what they are. They're feels and there isn't a closet big enough to stuff them in. I'm sorry. I've never told anyone that ever, I'm genuinely sorry you had to go through that.

>>21749995
I (hopefully) warned you about Hobb. There's no coming back from it. I'm still thinking about Farseer and I read it over a decade ago.

Realm of the Elderlings is now my favorite fantasy series, what can I read that makes me care about its characters as much as Hobb does?

Is Robin Hobb good?

>>21708878
in fact I will add

Moby Dick
Histories by Herodotes
Terry Pratchett
Kingkiller Chronicles
Robin Hobb