/lit/ - Literature

first for sanderfag a hack

First for Shadow over Innsmouth.

Is there any litRPG where a guy gets stuck as a sexy female character and hates it? Asking for a friend.

>>10743792
Re-reading it today. It's got that weird combo of comfy and spooky going on.

>ywn be trapped in a decrepit New England fishing village that possibly at one point hosted Poles or even Filipinos

>>10742590
Just got back, it was shit

>>10743810
>it's even whispered, among the older families of the town, that a merchant sailor journeyed to the mysterious Orient and, after years sojourning through those alien lands, returned with....a waifu

>>10743810
Ironically Filipino folklore had their own version of Deep Ones. The Shukoy. They either appear as fish-man or octopoid men.

>>10743817
yes, but the books?

>>10743824
Slavs have them too. Vodyanoi.

>>10743810
I listened to the audio, and goddamn, Wayne June is masterful. I don't think I would've reacted the same way to the story if I'd just read it.

>>10743817
Give in to the Dark Side. Unleash your fury! VENT!

But seriously, I'm just curious what they changed that you didn't like.

>>10743827
Fun, but not destined to become classics

female protagonist

>>10743810
>ywn see the sly look a fish-faced sea demon gives when it wants to breed up some hellspawn with you

>>10743836
>I listened to the audio, and goddamn, Wayne June is masterful. I don't think I would've reacted the same way to the story if I'd just read it.
I had no idea there was an audio book.

>>10743846
>tfw no qt 3.14 ichthyic waifu

>>10743801
In Robert Bevan's series a guy gets stuck as an ugly female dwarf and is ambivalent about it. Does that count?

Still looking for and requesting good Urban Fantasy series. I read all of the Dresdan Files and the Blue Angel Electric Light series (some of those descriptions and in and outs of we's and i's really got my head twisted)

>>10743821
They just need to take a page out of XCOM 2's book and start offering alien waifus.

But I actually did think it was kinda interesting that when Deep Ones knockoffs appear in other works, they sometimes are portrayed as willing to imprison and rape humans in order to reproduce (such as in the atrocious Neonomicon), yet in SoI, that doesn't really appear to be the case. What's more, all the revealed Deep Ones miscegenation is with female Deep Ones.

>>10743856
No. I'm looking for normal dude into character designed for cheesecake.

>>10743869
I mean my friend is looking for that.

>>10743852
>I had no idea there was an audio book.
Really? The monthly reading guy posted it like every time. But here it is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFZrqYn5f_0

>>10743867
>xcom
>alien waifus
obligatory snekguy dump
https://pastebin.com/dHd9iFCN
crashland and snek 1-4 are great.

>>10743867
To be honest I probably genuinely would fuck a deep one if she gave me a big pile of gold. How bad can it be? Some women already smell like fish.

>>10743775
Do The Abhorsen Trilogy books still hold up? I've been meaning to give Sabriel a try but the covers make it look like shitty YA trash.

>>10743878
Thanks!

>>10743817
lmao they didn't even include the crawler or "where lies the strangling fruit," it's like the scriptwriter just read the back cover

>>10743883
>Sabriel
>Back up, I don't take kindly to darkies.

>Lirael
>Fuck it's cold out, my nips are frozen solid!

>Abhorsen
>I'm so fucking high right now. What was I doing again?

>Across the Wall
>You came to the wrong neighborhood, motherfucker.

>>10743867
Actually I was talking about the fact that one of the non-Deep One "dark secrets" of Innsmouth was that someone once married a Chinese woman.

I beta-read all 11 volumes of Gaskun’s autism space opera. It’s like he took fucking Harry Potter and Star Wars and put them in a fucking blender. Kill me now

>>10743890
>atmosphere in the book
>The shadows of the abyss are like the petals of a monstrous flower that shall blossom within the skull and expand the mind beyond what any man can bear, but whether it decays under the earth or above on green fields, or out to sea or in the very air, all shall come to revelation, and to revel, in the knowledge of the strangling fruit—and the hand of the sinner shall rejoice, for there is no sin in shadow or in light that the seeds of the dead cannot forgive

>atmosphere in the movie
>it's mutating... it's going to consume... everything! and end in annihilation!

>>10743792
>>10743876
SHIT I FORGOT. monthly reading guy will be here any second. somebody stall him while i listen to it quickly.

>>10743907
What's this now?

>>10743897
I forgot how much the MC hated black people ahaha

>>10743857
The first few Iron Druids were good, but it becomes really terrible at some point. Larry Correia's Hard Magic in a way. Perdido Street Station didn't come together for me until the last page, but that was amazing. I swear I read Elliott James' series Pax Arcana, but it made almost no impression. Sandman Slim is mediocre noir. I liked Night Watch and Day Watch, but haven't read the rest of that series. Tad Williams' Bobby Dollar series was underwhelming for him. Maybe not quite urban fantasy but the Magicians series is good, with modern characters and a fantasy mixin.

Then there's the girly stuff.

>>10743919
You can read it much faster. It's pretty short.

>>10743883
The first three were fun overall but Clariel was kinda shite.

>>10743831
Does the hydra count? It's a creature of vile and poison coming from the depths of the world.

>>10743999
Nah, too different.

>>10743920
The vampire story shitposter from the tapir threads. He used to post pics of a stack of manuscripts of a supposed “sci-fi epic.” I asked him for the files.
It’s basic hero journey shit for autistic fourteen year olds.

>>10744016
lmfao
>I asked him for the files.
Jesus why? Was there anything redeemable?

And 11 volumes, really? How long was the whole thing?

>>10743883
>series has some of the fantasy book covers ever made
>replace them with YA symbolmeme

>>10744004
Where I'm from, the Hercules figure funnily cuts a mountain in half with his sword and defeats the hydra, one head at the time. Wherever a head falls vile poisons taint the earth and eventually the monster flees back towards the bowels of the Earth. Its spawn still plague the area(horned adders).

these any good?

>>10743857
I've only read Neil Gaiman so far and

>coraline
Pretty good
>neverwhere
Weak start, picks up, becomes boring real fast
>American Gods
Good ideas not the best execution
>Anansi Boys
The only must -read from Gaiman, it's excellent

>>10743857
I've heard the Craft Sequence is good. And somebody on here was recommending the Kate Daniels series as "Dresden Files but if Dresden wasn't a tool."

>>10744304
That was my biggest complaint about the Dresden Files, he was just everyones bitch/tool

>>10744306
That and the whole thing where Dresden seems to rapidly alternate between either trying to protect random women (leading to them being hurt/killed by his enemies) or trying to push them away so they won't get hurt/killed (spoilers: it happens) and him going "damn I shouldn't have pushed her away."

Also the recent couple of books have felt more like somebody's World of Darkness game than the older ones.

Webnovels are novels too

>>10744304
The world of Craft Sequence is pretty interesting. Three Parts Dead was really good. I never finished Two Serpents Rise though. The main character in that book is an idiot being lead around by some Luddite bitch, and they just make it unbearable to read. I think I'm just going to continue to Full Fathom Five, since AFAIK, the stories are unconnected to each other. IIRC, Three and Two take place on different continents.

>>10744102
Sandman was the best thing Neil Gaiman ever wrote. Maybe Coraline but half credit since it's a novella for children.

>>10744212
Make him a self-insert for the (average member of the) audience like how it's done in japanese manga and anime and you're go.

What's the best alternative world fantasy series out there?

>>10744373
thats like the best kind of brain cancer

How do I learn to like reading again?

I was never this picky as a kid. Even a few years ago I'd read any book I got. Now I can't finish shit

>>10743857
>Blue Angel Electric Light
That the guy where all his magic is city flavored, right? Like he uses a train station turnstyle and the terms and services of a ticket to make an impenetrable barrier? I've read those.

I'm the recommendation guy from last thread.
Sorry you guys don't like Simon R Green. I like him despite his flaws. If you're willing to give him a second chance I say try Ghost of a Chance, it's the first of the Ghostfinders series and newer than Nightside and half the Secret Histories, see if you think his style improves. Joanna doesn't even survive the first book and it's a while before there's any romance again.

Now to more recommendations:
Alex Verus by Benedict Jacka, The MC has the ability to see the future, but it manages not to be broken OP or useless.
The Connor Grey series by Mark Del Franco occurs in an universe where the barrier between our world and the fae breakdown and stars a broken druid/private detective. Good but the ending was rushed.
Glen Cooks Garret PI series is urban fantasy from the other end, a fantasy setting that evolved enough to start looking like a noir detective setting. I like it better than his more famous work, the Black Company.
Monster Hunter by Larry Correia has strong /k/ vibes. It is really good if you can ignore the gun porn, and excellent if you can enjoy it.
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch is a pretty good police procedural, with the extra of the cop learning to be a wizard.
Once you're done with Rivers of London, if you want more London police procedural, there's the Shadow Police series by Paul Cornell.
I really like the first Hellequin novel, Crimes Against Maggic, by Steve McHugh, the series after is still good-ish, but I liked the first one better.
The Caulborn series, by Nicholas Olivo stars a demigod with a strong array of powers. In truth the MC was a little bit too much OP, but I liked the side characters enough to keep reading.
Charles Stross Laundry Files is a pretty good mix of eldritch horror and espionage, but the newer books are geting weaker.
The Simon Canderous series by Anton Strout, has a fairly underpowered MC for the genre having only postcognition as his power. Can't say I remember much of the plot, but I remember it was entertaining.
John Dies at the End is really good, really weird and at times actually pretty scary.
Stuff on my to read list, but seem interesting from what I heard: Daniel Faust by Craig Schaefer, Colin MCCool by MD Massey, Nathaniel Cade by Christopher Farnsworth, Luther Cross by Percival Consttantine and Inspector Chen by Liz Willians.
Some already taled about Gaiman, the russian stuff, Sandman Slim and Iron Druid. I think that covers near everything.

Where are my malazbros? Just picked up pic related and so far it's the best of the series imo

>>10744536
Your tastes have probably just refined. Keep looking, I'm sure you'll find something.

>>10744536
this>>10744558 keep looking for books that catch your interest and if it doesnt hold you all the way through, dont waste your time. that doesn't mean stop when it gets boring for a chapter though, stop only if you really arent enjoying it and find yourself counting pages.

>>10744536
Short stories and novellas really helpd me get back in the habbit.

>>10743857
Lukyanenko's Night Watch is pretty fun from what I remember.

>>10743775
Yes you are a newfag because you fucked up the "previous threads" part. Fucking idiot.

>>10743775
Just finished Songs of a Dead Dreamer & Grimscribe. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for weird fiction after reading that, I've already read most Lovecraft and The House on the Borderland. What do people think of Algernon Blackwood?

>>10744896
get the VanderMeer collection of 'The Weird'. It's basically a huge tome of everything from the past century or so. If you loved Ligotti, you'll have a field day with that thing
Blackwood;s best work is honestly ;The Willows' (which HPL called the finest weird tale of his time) 'The Wendigo' is great too.
If want something a little more modern, Laird Barron's stuff might be for you. Start with his first two short story collections then read 'The Croning'

>>10744896
I think Blackwood's real life is more interesting than his fiction too. His time with the Golden Dawn & being a huge outdoorsman/mountaineer gives him more credibility since he actually lived what he wrote about

>>10744896
I haven't read this yet but wanted to put it on your radar. I'll probably read it quite soon and let /sffg/ know what I think. There are other anthologies out there like >>10744965 but I have a personal preference for the NYRB Classics. The stories in this anthology are as follows:

Edgar Allan Poe, "MS. Found in a Bottle"
Bram Stoker, "The Squaw"
Ambrose Bierce, "Moxon's Master"
Ambrose Bierce, "The Damned Thing"
Ambrose Bierce, "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"
R. W. Chambers, "The Repairer of Reputations"
M. P. Shiel, "The House of Sounds"
Arthur Machen, "The White People"
Algernon Blackwood, "The Willows"
Henry James, "The Jolly Corner"
Walter de la Mare, "Seaton's Aunt"
H. P. Lovecraft, "The Colour Out of Space"

Which big bad has had the shittest downfall in your opinion when it comes to science fiction and fantasy?

>>10743902
Truly theirs was a more innocent time.

>MFw Tuor killed millions of Easterlings

SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH!

Optional questions:
>How would you rate this story compared to other Lovecraft stories?
>What kind of blasphemous crap do you think the fish people hauling to Innsmouth?
>Did the fish people actually do anything wrong?
>swastikas lmao

Also, RESPOND TO THIS POST WITH NOMINATIONS FOR WHAT WE'LL READ NEXT. Preferably the story should be about 100-200 pages long, but I'll accept longer/shorter works and let voters decide. Voting will commence during next thread. 'I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream' is automatically nominated because it came second last time. 'Lord of Light' and 'A Night in the Lonesome October' by Roger Zelazny are banned this round because they lost horribly last round, F.

I hope I did not forget anything important.

>>10743919
I stalled myself. By sleeping.

>>10745235
>>10745235

Any good omnibus of Lovecraft's works I can get that aren't those tacky Barnes and Nobles hardcover? I mean it's not a bad price £10 for the lot but I'd really just wait for something else.

>>10745179
>Which big bad has had the shittest downfall in your opinion when it comes to science fiction and fantasy?
Walter O'Dim in Dark Tower, no question.

>>10745235
>How would you rate this story compared to other Lovecraft stories?
One of his best if not the very best.

>What kind of blasphemous crap do you think the fish people hauling to Innsmouth?
Shoggoth polyps?

>Did the fish people actually do anything wrong?
Worshiping Cthulhu seems stupid to me. I doubt it cares about them much more than it cares about humanity. They're not its kind.

>>10745257
I personally have the Necronomicon hardcover by B&N and I'd honestly recommend it. I'm no expert but the quality of both paper, binding and cover seem great to me, they don't seem to have edited the texts and the illustrations are beautiful. My only complaints are a couple of minor spelling errors and that they only commissioned like 10 illustrations for specific stories and then placed them at random to accompany the remaining ones.

>>10745280
>one of his best
I agree. One thing that really set this one apart from many of his other stories was the long action sequence during our hero's escape. I feel that Lovecraft seldom write such hands on sequences with many active agents. I also read on some Wiki that Lovecraft was self conscious about that sequence and felt he could not write good action, something I have to disagree with.

>Worshiping Cthulu
But don't they get like magic gold and eternal life from their hellish rituals? Seems like a neat bargain considering the chances of Cthulu ever returning seems minuscule. I'd fuck a fish waifu and return to the sea no doubt.

>>10745306
If you live long enough, you'll see Cthulhu reawaken. Suppose it might be worth it for all the fish on the way, if you're into that.

>I feel that Lovecraft seldom write such hands on sequences with many active agents. I also read on some Wiki that Lovecraft was self conscious about that sequence and felt he could not write good action, something I have to disagree with.
That was actually one of the more suspenseful things I've read in any work. Maybe it was that hyper self critical outlook that made it so good?

>>10745306
>I'd fuck a fish waifu and return to the sea no doubt.

>I-it's not like I like you, surface dweller. It's just for Father Dagon. S-stupid.

>>10745291

I just saw this edition which actually looks pretty ideal.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Fiction-H-P-Lovecraft/dp/0785834206/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519389502&sr=8-1&keywords=HP+Lovecraft+complete+works

>>10745275

I was pretty pissed about Flagg dying so effortlessly.I really wanted one last good showdown between him and Roland before he eventually reached the tower.

So I just started reading Unfinished Tales and I really haven't read any Tolkien an about a decade. I'm guessing Grey Havens have some connection to Ulmo and they are some underwater paradise or something?

>>10745314
You can always just kill yourself once you notice old squidhead coming around. But, going by my own reasoning, I guess I'd be one of those idiots either shot by the government, consumed by some random horror or kidnapped to Pluto for unknown reasons if I were actually a character in a Lovecraft story.

>Maybe it was that hyper self critical outlook that made it so good?
That's probably part of it. I also think the action help you to imagine the horror of the situation more than the usual ending where the main character ensuring you that it was totally ghoulish and that he'd probably go insane if he wrote it down.

enough

>>10745235
This thread need more Dick, I nominate Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said.

>>10745363

you want dick
you love dick
you need dick

>>10745369
yes

>>10745235
It's one of my personal favorites, along with Color Out of Space. I think the atmosphere building is top notch, but like a lot of readers (I assume) I find Zadok's exposition dump monologue to be challenging to get through. I agree with the other posters in that the chase sequence is excellent... H.P. should have taken cues from Howard on how to write action.

If we want to continue with Weird Tales and other foundational stuff, I nominate C.A.S.'s "City of the Singing Flame."

>tfw you will never watch Gundam Zeta with Palmer Eldritch while on his ship being beamspammed

>>10745235
I thought SoI was great, and listening the the audio by Wayne June made it even better. Despite the final twist ultimately resulting from miscegenation, it's still aged very well, due to the obvious mental change that occurs to the protagonist. The line
>No, I shall not shoot myself—I cannot be made to shoot myself!
is one I especially enjoyed. This finalizes the narrator's change mentally, and leads into his plot to flee from the world of humans and fully embrace the world of the Deep Ones.

I usually don't like purple prose, but I actually liked it here. I'm not entirely sure why. I think because it makes the story sound more fantastic and heightens the effect of the mood. I remember my father saying the same thing about Tolkien's works when he was reading them in German for the first time (after having read them in English seven times previously).

Unfortunately the story infodumps. I found the conversation with Zadok far most tolerable though. He conveys information not just with words but also actions. Lowering his voice in fear, glancing to the tides, disappearing at the end. I think his sudden disappearance was needed in order to make the audience feel there's some actual threat to the narrator's livelihood.

>How would you rate this story compared to other Lovecraft stories?
Never read any, so I can't say.

>What kind of blasphemous crap do you think the fish people hauling to Innsmouth?
Ah, the strange gold?

>Did the fish people actually do anything wrong?
I have no idea why the Deep Ones even want to interbreed with humanity. Honestly, I think I can see why later authors would say the Deep Ones kidnapped humans for reproductive purposes.

Supposedly the Deep Ones live underwater in some fantastic city, but for some reason they just leave Innsmouth to decay into a rotting shithole. It's like they couldn't care less about the world of humans, which seems strange for a race that wants to breed with them.

The destruction of Innsmouth should've made them think about their next move more carefully. If they got busted once, it can surely happen again. Maybe cooperate with humanity a bit more instead of being elitist snobs. (Also waifus.)

>>10745235
>>10745462
Oh yeah, nominations. I can't even think of anything to nominate, so I guess I'll just nominate I Have No Mouth.

And, no offense, but why do you guys use page count instead of word count?

>>10744548
Its funny, when I was reading it last year /sffg/ was talking about the series constantly.
Now it rarely comes up.

Great series, though. Just understand that its all you're going to be reading for about six months.

>>10745474
>I guess I'll just nominate I Have No Mouth
>nominating a book that's already nominated

>but why do you guys use page count instead of word count?
No offense taken, it's a somewhat retarded practice. It's because I'm lazy, when I look up a story on Goodreads the first thing I see is a page count but finding out the number of words is way harder.

Nearing the end of the first story with Tuor in Unfinished Tales. Did Tolkien ever do anymore with his sea mythology? I find Ulmo pretty fascinating.

How are the Strugatsky bros books? I've got Roadside Picnic but how are the rest?

>>10745703
I really like Picnic but find Hard to Be a God quite dull, even through the themes are just right for a fedora tipper like me. Going to read The Doomed City sometime this year.

>>10745703
>>10745708

Only read Hard to be a God but it's fascinating but does get a little repetitive with LOOK HOW BRUTAL STALINISM WAS themes drilled into you. How are the other books in Roadside Picnic? I've only seen the movie Stalker but I'll probably buy the collection soon.

>>10745716
>the other books in Roadside Picnic
Roadside Picnic is a single story anon. What collection are you talking about?

>>10745723

I thought Roadside Picnic had more than one story in it? My mistake then. For some reason I thought it was a small collection of short stories. I might be confusing it with another Strutgatsky book.

>>10745729
No, not really. There's a couple of different POVs and some timeskips but they're not different stories.

Has anyone read Eden, by Lem?

I really enjoyed it but I think I have to read it again to get a better understanding of the various attributes of the alien society. I get that it's an allegory for a failed state but some of the descriptions are so bizarre that I couldn't quite get the symbolism.

>>10745462
>I have no idea why the Deep Ones even want to interbreed with humanity.
Hmm, here are are some thoughts:
Did it ever say that pure Deep Ones were immortal, or just that Human/Deep One mixed bloods were? Maybe when the human genes get thin they need to introduce more into their society. Do successive generations get fishier and fishier without humans?
Perhaps immortality leaves males infertile. Maybe both sexes are infertile after a certain point, but they store large egg caches against need and can place them back in the womb or use some hellish fish ritual to fertilize them.
Maybe immortality gets boring and they want to get to know new faces or genitalia.
Is the entire thing a dark ritual handed down from Dagon?
Is it a long term plot to eradicate humanity by effectively stealing their offspring?
Are male Deep Ones ritualistically castrated as part of their coming of age rite?

Are the fishies just really horny?

>>10745854
>Are the fishies just really horny?
Maybe.

>>10745854
"We must secure the existence of our people and a future for Dagonian children."

Why do I feel like Bitterblooms is one of the most underrated works by George RR Martin? I genuinely enjoyed it mostly because of the backdrop.

>>10745854
Read more Lovecraft and you'll understand the meta he operated with.

Lovecraft was terrified of what he called "the mongrel races". Deep ones, the men of Leng, nyarlothotep, shub niggurath; all stood in for various aspects of other races.

Interbreeding and the corruption of the New England white race was what he was writing about. In the lore, I believe the deep one's species was partially propagated by hybridization of humans, as eventually in the deep one hybrids life cycle they would no longer be able to live on land, but this is secondary to Lovecraft's message.

>>10745854
>Maybe both sexes are infertile after a certain point
In Shadow over Innsmouth there's a distinguished fish lady that's over 80 000 years old and fertile.

>>10745916

Lovecraft give me a fetish for centuries old fish eldritch waifus. Well I'll be damned.

>>10745895
Everything GRRM wrote before ASOIAF is underrated. At least he built up a decent catalogue before he burned out, unlike The Meme of the Wind guy.

>>10745992

Seems like every Tolkien wannabe wants to dive straight into writing an epic masterpiece three volumed trilogy rather than perfecting their prose and seeing what their style is with short stories is. I feel like this is why a lot of modern fantasy series tend to fail since it shows how amateurish the authors are.

>>10745998
I remember someone else having this exact same opinion. He practically begged fantasy authors to put down the doorstoppers and just write short stories and novellas.

Though I think I can kinda see why fiction authors suffer from an addiction to doorstoppers, especially fantasy authors. There's an incredible allure to creating your own world, so of course you want to show it off as much as possible. And it's hard to do that in a short story.

>>10746020

I feel like Chine Mieville and Pratchett are the only modern ones who have done this method right. The amount of lore and detail they put into their works is pretty amazing when you think about it.

>>10745998
>>10746020
Absolutely. The thing about shorter forms (even standalone novels) is that they allow an author to actually work out the formal aspects of his writing and the structure of telling stories.

>it's hard to do that in a short story.
There's nothing wrong with building an elaborate world and then writing stories set in it. The problem is that what makes it hard is actually that it requires the author think hard about what's necessary exposition, what story he's actually trying to tell, how to create and resolve conflict appropriate to the scale of the story. It's no coincidence that the absence of these things are frequent failure modes of Generic Fantasy Series. If you can't do it in a 15-page short story, you're not going to do it in a 1500-page trilogy.

GRRM ought to be considered more of a cautionary tale than he is. Here's a guy that wrote great stuff for decades, used that experience to blow everyone's socks off with his masterpiece, then...petered out because he lost control of this huge narrative.

>>10746030
I still need to read Mieville. I liked his comics work (yes, capeshit, I know), I just need to get pick up one of his books.

Personally, I think the best way to do it is to just tell your story, but drop hints that there's a whole bunch of other stuff that has happened in the past or is happening in the background. Yeah, you don't get to shove your entire fantasy world into the audience's face, but that's what spinoffs are for.

>>10746055
>GRRM ought to be considered more of a cautionary tale than he is. Here's a guy that wrote great stuff for decades, used that experience to blow everyone's socks off with his masterpiece, then...petered out because he lost control of this huge narrative.
I've seen this same thing happen in comics too. Jonathan Hickman immediately comes to mind. With Secret Warriors and Avengers, he tries to pull off this vast, epic narrative that crosses time and space, revealing details about the world you never knew... but my god everything moves so fucking slowly. You get boring, dull issues where almost nothing actually happens because Hickman is still worldbuilding, all for the promise that it'll pay off in the end. Which it never does. Hickman's stories don't feel that they come to a natural, satisfying conclusion. It feels more like he gets bored of his own work and hastily ties up loose ends before dropping it.

>>10743817
Oh holy shit. Watching a Midnight Screenings review of Annihilation. Apparently, some producer behind Geostorm and Terminator Genesys thought the original cut of the film was too smart for average moviegoers, and had it changed.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/annihilation-how-a-clash-between-producers-led-a-netflix-deal-1065465
>The movie, which wrapped shooting in July 2016, had a poor test screening this summer that sources say was the root of the conflict. After the screening, Ellison became concerned that the movie was “too intellectual” and “too complicated,” according to sources, and wanted changes made to make it appeal to a wider audience. They included making Portman’s character more sympathetic as well as tweaking the ending.

lmfao

>>10746101
I thought the producer and director fought those changes and won?

only thing I've read from Vandermeer was "Dradin in Love" and it made me not want to touch his stuff again.

>>10746074
There's other things going on: editors afraid to edit big names, publishers who want to string out series for sales, autist fans who pitch tantrums if every little thing isn't explained in detail. But none of those things (except maybe the first, and that's questionable in a post-Robert Jordan world) are helped by an inexperienced author.

>>10746134
Ah, it looks like you're right. I thought it was a repeat of Wolverine Origins.

>>10746149
>editors afraid to edit big names
Edit how?

maybe i'm just a cynic but i dont believe there's a 1000 page book without boring stuff. Probably cause i come from reading more horror stuff but I feel like there's no way anyone needs upwards from 500 pages to tell a story and if they do it's usually because there's filler in there that could be trimmed. The thought of trying to make ONE single story that requieres like 3 or more books each with 1000 pages just sounds astoundingly retarded, it's as if you are begging to dilute your story with unnecessary details.

>>10746175
Book of the New Sun

>>10746184
I haven't read it but as i understand the tetralogy is 1000 pages in it's whole with each book having a sort of conclusion. Sounds more reasonable than trying to string 3000 pages of bs. Also I've heard wolfe is more of a "show dont tell" kinda author which goes in contradiction with those guilty of filling hundreds of pages of exposition and worldbuilding just for the sake of it.

I'm reading trough PEACE by him right now and it's dizzying stuff

>>10746205
Actually lots of his books are just characters sitting around telling each other stories. Peace is a good example.

How is the Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett

>>10746175
What about a 1000 page collection of shorter stories you like?

>>10746055
>>10746020
As an aspiring novelist (hopefully this doesn't trigger the wordart guy), it's really hard for me to keep a story short and contained. I've told myself several times that I'm going to start out with something small and simple, but before long I've turned it into a whole series in my head. I literally can't help myself from turning it into a giant, spawling thing.

I don't know if it's this way for a lot of actual established authors, but that's how I feel. What you guys are saying makes perfect sense and is the ideal path in my opinion, but it seems like more of a self-control issue than anything.

Yeah but worldbuilding by itself is not interesting. Good stories within that world are the interesting thing. I think wanting to tell a story and then building the setting around it, to compliment the narrative and the characters and ideas to tell would be better than just coming up with hundreds of cities and races and magic and then having nothing interesting to say with them

Has anyone read the new translation of The Legend of the Condor Heroes? Is it a good translation?

Reading Words of Radiance.
Thought it couldn't get any more anime than wallrunning and power armor.
Then Dalinar caught Szeth's blade in his bare fucking hands
Is it confirmed Sanderson is a massive weeb?

How are the Books of the Long/Short Sun?
I really enjoyed BotNS but don't see the others mentioned too much.

>>10746555
>I think wanting to tell a story and then building the setting around it
That sounds like it would make a setting completely shallow and obviously artificial.

>>10746653
If I ever get around to writing, I think I'd have to include a scene where some idiot tries to catch a sword and gets mutilated for his trouble.

>tfw starting Heroes die
Holy fuck it's like an edgy 80s movie

>>10746101
>book protagonist is a humble biologist interested in studying area x and seeking closure regarding her husband’s death
>movie protagonist is a hotshot ex-military biology prodigy, invited onto the expedition without even receiving training, hell-bent on shooting mutated alligators in the face and setting aliens on fucking fire to magically cure her husband’s cancer
Thanks for making this adaptation so intellectual, Garland

>>10746760
What did you expect? From the title alone I'd assume it's edgy.

are there any good scifi mags like pic related still going? good situation irl and would like to get back into writing and always found the shorts in things like that good for inspiration and helped with writer's block.

>>10746983
People seemed to like it. Guess the anon was an exception. Or maybe it just didn't follow the book closely enough for him.

>>10746757
Wait, it came out?
Wondering if I should read the books, watch the movie or both.
The premise seems interesting

>>10746714
I think Long Sun is better than, or at least equal to New Sun. Though the language is much simpler. Short Sun will make you weep uncontrollably.

>>10747010
Anon, go home. You're drunk.

>>10746336
I think the consensus is that it starts off ok but then they get progressively worse. I dropped the series around 10% into book 4 and from a lot of reviews i've seen it seems that Brett shat the bed with the ending and it's really not worth the time to finish all 5 books.

>>10747052
It's always a shame when a good series goes bad. Apparently the same thing happened to Artemis Fowl. I just happened to start growing out of the series when it began to go downhill.

>>10747011
Thank you, I'll pick them up when I can.
Would you (or anybody else) be able to recommend any other books like New Sun? Especially something similar in terms of world building

Gurgeh stared at the space chess. He considered moving the space king over to the space rook, but then he didn't. Instead, he moved it to the right. He nodded. The robot flew over, and said something bitchy. Gurgeh chuckled, then sighed. "Robot," he said, "please fly away." The robot made a light from his head and then he flew away.

Gurgeh stared at the board. He reflected that the best games were the games that were so hard. And that what this game was. Where would he move the space piece next?

"Well, Gurgeh!" harrumphed the space alien. "Perhaps now you see that the game is so hard?" Gurgeh nodded. The game was so hard. That night, he thought about the space board. He glanded a drug that made the game less hard, but even then, it was still so hard. Gurgeh was immortal and rich, but still he didn't want to lose, because it would be better to win. But the game was so hard.

The robot flew over. "Gurgeh!" said the robot. If you don't win, there will be a space murder, and maybe a space rape!" Gurgeh was appalled. "I must win the space game," he said. He sighed.

The next day, the alien bragged: "I will win the space game! I am the best at winning the space game!" Gurgeh sighed. But then Gurgeh saw what he would do: instead of moving the space piece to the left, he would move it forward. The alien was so surprised. "But... but the game is supposed to be so hard!" But Gurgeh was very smart. He moved the piece again, and in a way that was so smart.

"NOOOOO," shouted the space alien. Gurgeh had made the best move. He had made the best space move. The robot congratulated him, and the girl wanted to have sex with him. "Well," thought Gurgeh, "I will have sex with her. I am, after all... THE PLAYER OF GAMES."

>>10747192
What the fuck is this?

>>10743775
What are some novels focused on girlpower?
I enjoy Arthur C. Clark but am willing to step outside my tastes.

What's some straight up beautiful prose out there boys? With examples if possible. I need to see what is recognized as beautiful and not just deep or insightful.

>>10745351
the softcover version of this is absolute garbage. its like it was printed on receipt paper
>>10745235
is science fiction allowed? if so i nominate childhood's end by clarke

>>10747321
>I managed very little sleep that night, and Losi came closer to killing me than Felurian ever had. She was a delightful partner, every bit as wonderful as Felurian had been.

>But how could that be? I hear you ask. How could any mortal woman compare with Felurian?

>It is easier to understand if you think of it in terms of music. Sometimes a man enjoys a symphony. Elsetimes he finds a jig more suited to his taste. The same holds true for lovemaking. One type is suited to the deep cushions of a twilight forest glade. Another comes quite naturally tangled in the sheets of narrow beds upstairs in inns. Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.

>Some might take offense at this way of seeing things, not understanding how a trouper views his music. They might think I degrade women. They might consider me callous, or boorish, or crude.

>But those people do not understand love, or music, or me.

>>10747515
I knew the prose was going to be garbage from the first paragraph. "It was a silence of three parts." Oh, and this.

>>10745235
is the church of dagon supposed to be that big tower in pic related?

>>10745916
>>10745948
Maybe Deep Ones can only breed with humans and hybrids. Maybe after enough generations of pure breeding their pairings are nonviable.

Help me out, I'm having a total blackout and can't remember the title or author of this scifi short story I read a couple years back.

So there's a civilization that thinks the universe consists of their planet and a few suns, and it's bright all the time because there's always at least one sun in the sky. People are waiting for a moment when the suns don't shine with panic because in the past something terrible happened then, and when they see the night sky and realize how absolutely fucking massive the universe is they go crazy.

Anyone recognize this?

>>10747192
10/10

>>10747579
Nightfall

>>10745916
I don't remember wherethat was alluded to.

>>10747435
Most everything is allowed, I rely on the superiour taste of /sffg/ posters to filter out unwanted crap during voting.

>>10747607
That's it! I remembered it had a longer name for some reason.

Here, have some Pillars of Creation as thanks.

William Gibson writes like a fucking poet. The language he uses in his early stuff is just mesmerising.

>>10747632
Close to the end, in the dream where the main character meet his grandmother.
>I met also that which had been her grandmother. For eighty thousand years Pth’thya-l’yi had lived in Y’ha-nthlei, and thither she had gone back after Obed Marsh was dead.

>>10745235

This was my first Lovecraft story so I can't compare this to his others, but I enjoyed it.

I really liked the start of the chase scene, the part where he's lying in bed awake and the key gets turned in the lock. That was quite intense.

>>10745703
Recently read Hard to be a God and didn't enjoy it

>>10744548
I’m over halfway through. It’s fucking brilliant. If the climax can beat Y’Ghatan it will be easily the best Malaz book

>>10744326

not good ones though.

>>10746714
>How are the Books of the Long/Short Sun?

I've only read Long Sun so far. Long Sun is excellent. I still think New Sun is a superior novel, but it's probably my favourite book full stop so that's not to detract from Long Sun. They're written in a different style though. Long Sun is slower, and although the plot is pretty complex and lots isn't revealed until late in the story, it's a bit more straightforward than New Sun. In my opinion.

>>10747116
>Would you (or anybody else) be able to recommend any other books like New Sun? Especially something similar in terms of world building

I've never read anything else like New Sun. We know that Gene Wolfe was inspired by authors like Borges and Jack Vance, so maybe check them out if you haven't already. But BotNS is unique. I know all novels are unique in a sense, but BotNS is more unique than most.

>>10747265
Anon's rendition of The Player Of Games by Iain M. Banks.

>>10743792

92nd for qt3.14 Innsmouth waifus

>>10746336
Just finished last book, the Core, to say its bad is an understatement.
The first book is good, but i think its the only one worth a read.
The sequel is a retelling of the first book mostly form a different perspective, the perspective of mass murdering psychopath Muslim leader, but hes a good guy since murder. rape and torture are part of their culture, and all cultures are equal!

But the distorted glorification of violence and worst aspects of Islam and highly questionable morals and of the author isnt why i find the sequels bad, its because the ever increasing number of characters you fallow make the original protagonist less and less relevant until in the final book he has less than 5% of page time. The series cant decide who it wants to fallow, so characters disappear for entire books, show up at random, again go away somewhere, die off screen and became the main focus for 1/3 of book out of nowhere.
The narrative is completely incoherent and seems to be made up at random with no planning or any kind of direction other than making and publishing another book.

>>10743836
audiobook was great.
>>10745320
>tfw no fish waifu

>>10745320
Wowowowowow i need me a fish bimbo just like that one

>>10748317
ayy fishface

>>10748563
>bimbo
She's a princess and a lady, asshole.

>>10748589
does that say lol or \o/?

>>10745235
>How would you rate this story compared to other Lovecraft stories?

Easily in my top five (with At the Mountains of Madness, The Rats in the Walls, the Dunwich Horror, Dreams in the Witch House, not necessarily in that order)

>What kind of blasphemous crap do you think the fish people hauling to Innsmouth?

No idea, Zadok's mention of Shoggoths brings up a lot of questions...

>Did the fish people actually do anything wrong?

They killed poor Zadok, every town needs a town-drunk.

>swastikas lmao

Every time I play a "Mythos"-themed game that uses some shitty star symbol for an Elder Sign I sigh wistfully for what might have been...

>>10748790
I wonder if the shoggoth thing will go any better for the Deep Ones than their creators.

>>10747683

what would you do for 80,000 years...

What if the breeding program was just due to sheer boredom

>>10746599
Just purchased it brah.

I will write up a review for you when I am finished.

Is The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson good?

>>10748841
Maybe humans are just a lot better at sex than Deep Ones.
>Look, just sit at the end of the bed and I'll suck you off. It means I'm going to use my mouth. No, I can't get pregnant that way. Yes, I know it's "inefficient," but trust me, you'll love it. Look, missionary is fine, but for the love of God- er, Dagon- let's try something different for once.

>>10745703
Hard to be a God was great and so was Doomed City and so was the Time Wanderers.

>>10748841
>>10748864
Male deep ones have cloacas so it's very unsatisfying. They want a dick in the cloaca that can satisfy them in ways that just rubbing holes together can't.

>>10749045
Kissing is just rubbing two holes together in a satisfying way

>>10747290
Females make for shitty protagonists

>>10747515

>>10747321
Hissing, hackles lifting, the chicken’s head rose. Kahlan pulled back. Its claws digging into stiff dead flesh, the chicken slowly turned to face her. It cocked its head, making its comb flop, its wattles sway. “Shoo,” Kahlan heard herself whisper. There wasn’t enough light, and besides, the side of its beak was covered with gore, so she couldn’t tell if it had the dark spot, But she didn’t need to see it. “Dear spirits, help me,” she prayed under her breath. The bird let out a slow chicken cackle. It sounded like a chicken, but in her heart she knew it wasn’t. In that instant, she completely understood the concept of a chicken that was not a chicken. This looked like a chicken, like most of the Mud People’s chickens. But this was no chicken. This was evil manifest.
-Terry Goodkind, Soul of the Fire

>>10749064
The best kissing still involves one appendage penetrating another person's orifice.

>>10747515
>>10749093
Someone post that passage from Gor where he keeps calling a chick a plant until she begs to be raped. I didn't save it.

>>10743801
http://www.tgstorytime.com/viewstory.php?sid=3064&ageconsent=ok&warning=4

>>10749350
>tgstorytime.com
This probably sucks but I'll try it

>>10749093
I fucking hate Goodkind. The early SoT novels were actually fun then he had some kind of mental breakdown and turned into the biggest cunt of an author I've ever had the misfortune to read.

Reading pic related currently and I fucking hate it. It's beyond me why Heinlein is so popular and why this book in particular became so famous.

I was expecting something deeply philosophical, but Heinlein just uses lots and lots of words to express very simple and obvious ideas. Jubal is a bully and a fuckwit and for some reason Heinlein delights in sending forth a parade of idiot bureaucrats for Jubal to be rude to while the plot stalls.

Right now I'm stuck at the part where they meet in person with Secretary General Douglas. I really hate putting books away without finishing them, but I don't know if I can get through this.

Does it get better at all?

>>10749350
>>10749382
>oh no I'm a girl
>time to suck cock

>>10747290
Not really sure what you mean by girlpower but lots of Varley's novels contain female protagonists.

Try Titan, Wizard, Demon & The Ophiuchus Hotline

>>10749427

I, too, hated it. Not as much as Farnham's Freehold, but after reading both I haven't read a single Heinlein since, and probably will continue not to do so (especially after reading someone's spoilers ITT about the plot of Friday).

Recommend me books that have JRPG feeling

>>10749513
> JRPG feeling
Under-age girls dressed like strippers attacking 10 story high dragons?

>>10749513
The Final Empire.

>>10749513
Elfstones of Shannara

>>10747537
>huge piece around a piece

>>10749559
>"Saying that I realize it makes no sense. Why would I use 'piece' in the same sentence to describe two different things? Ah well it's not like I ever wanted to be an author."

>>10749519
Exactly.

I have an intricate fantasy world that I can't use because the stories I had planned for it are shit.

what do I do with it? (don't say dnd)

>>10749602
If you really can't bring yourself to use it, save it, and work on improving your writing.

>>10749582
I think I just vomited a little

>>10749648
Eh, sorry.

Which book do you think makes the best audiobook? Anything from the prose to the performance of the actors.

>>10747192
I can't wait to see Amazon's adaption of this.

>Called The Bastard, like William The Bastard
>Enjoys sacking and flaying people who oppose his rule

Ramsey is going to win, right? It's surprising how much similarities there are between him and William the Conqueror. Ramsey winning the throne would be an absolute shock for a lot of people and I think George would definitely go down this route.

>>10749880
Ramsay in the books is a terrible commander and politician, and only a middling fighter, though. Basically everyone hates him. Roose has probably sent him into the field to die along with the other least reliable elements of his host.

>>10749880

obviously not

>>10749880
The books are never going to be finished, anon.

>>10749427
I bought the paperback of Starship Troopers at the Salvation Army last week. Should I just wipe my ass with it? Anybody?

>>10749427
>"In 2010, feminist science fiction author Jo Walton denounced the book as sexist, smug and weakly plotted, saying she would not recommend that others read the book"

Is it considered shallow for me to read the book based alone on this glaring recommendation?

>>10749956
Yes.

>>10749944
Yep, read that a few months ago and thought it was shite

>>10749966
rats!

>>10749978
Really? Snap. Ah well, it's short so I'll knock it out this morning for funsies.

>>10749944
I enjoyed it. His later ones aren't as good.

>>10750003
>"funsies"

One.

>>10750041
Two.

>>10750055
Two.

>>10750064
Shit, this is starting to add up. Can't we just talk about how neat-o Echopraxia was and hate all over Stephenson and his stupid goatee? Like we don't notice how painfully bald you are, dude. Amirite?

>>10750087
>hate all over Stephenson and his stupid goatee

Three.

>>10750041
>>10750064
>>10750095
sameposter
don't try to ms paint it boer

>>10750095
I-I hate his awful writing too, senpai! Can we talk about Three-Meme or what?

>>10749427
I was down with it until the later parts when it turns into a hippie orgy while the plot completely dies.
In the end i felt i wasted my time.
>>10749944
Read Starship troopers, though it was meh. All the good ideas of alien power armor future combat were already copied by other writers and are used more confidently by them. Removing the fresh s-f ideas he had the book plot isnt anything special and its political and social commentary is confusing, probably colored way too much by the 50ties communism influence to be seen as logical and coherent today. To me nothing in the military structure he describes makes any sense.

Any sci-fi that doesn’t overtly use sci-fi tech rather it’s just in the background and not the main point of the story?

Like a futuristic utopia but somewhat entertaining with love themes and shit

>>10750129
>To me nothing in the military structure he describes makes any sense.
Weird, wasn't he actually military? I also found a paperback of Armor. Everyone seems to cream over that book.

>>10750135
youve probably heard of book of the new sun

>>10750141
I have... but never got around to it.

I guess it sounds interesting if you’re not memeing me

>>10750129
>>10749944
>>10749427
Oh and i forgot to say, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is by a mile the best of his a read, i really enjoyed it.
Mostly since it isnt as preachy and focuses on the fucking plot, without abandoning it in later parts to focus on the current political ideology Heinlein was into at the time of writing.
>>10750137
>Weird, wasn't he actually military?
His ideas of the future of war were clearly inspired by the gender politics of the time, especially the post war sexual liberation.
I think like many of his books the military structure is used as commentary on current political ideologies popular in US rather than any reflection on structure of the army of the time.

>>10750157
>The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
That's so highly recc'ed it scares me.

>commentary on current political ideologies popular in US
So far, all I've read is a handful of good shorts from him. The one about the machine that predicts death was fairly critical of corporatocracy in the US.

Quick consultation,

Do we like the "One, Two, Three" Calo Nord meme? Are we enjoying it? If it's unpopular I can start to phase it out.

>>10750137
>>10750165
>military structure
He's an "old men giving orders while young men die, offered on the altar of the m16, etc" kinda guy. Old people aging into leadership positions is also standard practice even today, more so in the airforce though.


Also his ideas from future war were reflective of his own life experience, when he left the US shit was one way and when he came back it was completely different.

>>10749427
>It's beyond me why Heinlein is so popular and why this book in particular became so famous
To understand this you need to understand that 1961 was a vastly different world compared to today.

Reading it today, without taking it's history into account, it's a rather dull book. If you want Heinlein that's stood the test of time you should probably read some of his Juveniles or Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

>>10750201
I love KOTOR

>>10750087
echopraxia is truly a novel which grows better with every re-read. just finished number 4 on a flight last month and wowza it's still kicking

>>10750201
I like it but I'm not sure it fits /lit/

>>10750644
Is KOTOR actually worth playing? I played it for maybe 15 minutes and the combat system made me want to vomit. Same for Planescape Torment and Dragon Age Origins.

>>10750767
You probably just don't like the genre.

>>10750821
Probably. As much as I want to like these games, I just can't wrap my head around the combat.

>>10750767
the combat is secondary. KOTOR (and the sequel) is one of my favourite games and i consider the combat as something to get out of the way so i can continue with the story.

I’m trying to remember the name of a book. It’s about a time traveler who travels to different times in women’s history. One of the time periods is a far future where feminism doesn’t exist because gender inequality has been abolished. I think the main character is an activist from the 70s. Anyone know what I’m talking about?

>>10751047
The Female Man by Joanna Russ

>>10749460
>Not really sure what you mean by girlpower
I guess cute/moe? I definitely don't want any "stronk, must be man with tits" characters which is probably what >>10749069 is referring to.

>>10750201
The ROI is pretty bad since it takes three posts. The meaning was explained to me, but I still don't feel it in my gut.

>>10749956

My review is that it is cliched, inexplicably long, predictable, and essentially Heinlein's fetish fapfic (though the latter could be said for almost anything he wrote)

>>10751293
>I definitely don't want any "stronk, must be man with tits" characters

That is what "girl power" means though

>>10751708
Both images I posted refute that pretty well.
Maybe literature just isn't the place for fun female characters?

>>10743792
>Shadow over Innsmouth but it's in furry world and the deep ones are humans

>>10743879
>How bad can it be?
Sadly, Anon was never heard from again.

Looking for something kind of specific, /sffg/. I want some "ground level" fantasy (not urban fantasy like Dresden or whatever) novels or short stories. Nothing on a global scale, where the main characters are nobles or interacting with kings and shit.
something on the same scale as a show like The Wire, where there's a local framework of characters and the highest positions of power seem distant. it doesn't have to have like fifty different characters, just something on the same level.

How do people stand character bloat?
What's the purpose of 50 different view points? Give me a likeable cast and that's that.

>>10752135
muh unique story

>ywn write anything even close to as good as the LOTR

Why live fellas?

>>10750767
>>10750874

I think you had to play KOTOR upon release to truly appreciate how fucking amazing it was. It was one of those RPG's that truly felt like you had been on an adventure upon release. I remember playing it for days and days on end without washing or bathing. Just a young thirteen year old me wallowing in my own filfth, playing an incredible fucking game.

>>10752234
But there are already Robert Salvatore books.

>>10752135
Because muh epic fantasy.

>>10752135
They can stand it if every character's arc contributes to the plot, is well paced and is relevant to other characters stories and not up its own ass. Of course, the longer the story goes on the harder this is to accomplish. Some can't even do it for one book

Guys im going to be starting the Sword of Truth series any helpful insight? anyone else read it?

>>10752135
I don't think I've ever read a story with more than 5 viewpoints. I could get adding a bunch if it were something like Rashomon, but otherwise yeah, it just seems off.

>>10752267
>Sword of Truth
do you hate yourself that much, anon?

>>10752135
A familiarity with historic works or history writing. Find somebody who's really into the 30 Years War for example and not only will they talk your ear off about Pappenheim, Tilly, Gustavus Adolphus, and Wallenstein, they'll also probably regal you with stories about minor commanders, footsoldiers, or random artists and so on.

>>10752298
Unfortunately yes, I got them on sale for super cheap, i have never read a fantasy series and many said theyre a good first one to pick up though many online say he shoves his political opinions down your throat.

>>10752302
Perzactly this.

>>10752311
> i have never read a fantasy series
> starting the Sword of Truth
Unlucky anon, unlucky.

>>10752311
The early books are decent sword and sorcery fantasy with the author adding in his S&M fetishes. After that it's just thousands of pages of his political manifesto and is complete and utter garbage.

>>10749956
I agree completely with that review. I know sexism has become a buzzword now but the book really is sexist.

It's also very smug in that the characters who parrot Heinlein's opinions are wise and everyone who disagrees with him is a bumbling idiot.

>>10749602
Plan better stories.
I love talking about plotting methods and stuff like that. I'll critique your work if you want.

Isaacthekhajiit#3019 on Discord

Does anyone here like Greg Keyes?

>>10752135
I can't stand it, anon. If the extra characters and their viewpoints are interwoven with the main plot then that's fine, though.

>>10752433
>It's also very smug in that the characters who parrot Heinlein's opinions are wise and everyone who disagrees with him is a bumbling idiot.

There's nothing I hate more than Whedon style writing.

Has anyone read the Shattered Sea series? Is it on par with the First Law books?

>>10752925
What do you like about the First Law books, friend?

I have not read them yet.

>>10752958
The characters, mainly, as well as the overall storytelling. He manages to build a world without getting autistic about thousands of years of detailed history, pages of meal descriptions, etc. Each viewpoint character feels fleshed out, their dialogue unique to them. It sort of reminds me of old pulp stuff.

>>10753001
>He manages to build a world without getting autistic about thousands of years of detailed history
Sounds like really shallow world building to me desu. I mainly read epic fantasy for the super detailed world building.

>>10752234
You're never going to write anything, period, as long as you keep comparing yourself to other people.

>>10749602

get some upvotes on r/worldbuilding

>>10753001
Thanks, I'm thinking of checking it out next.

>>10752135
I like my stories on a massive scale, where there's so much going on over such vast distances that it's impossible to get the full scope of it unless you have dozens of characters' points of view. I realize not everybody can handle this though, just like not everybody can stand to study history. Most people find the subject boring and tedious, but I read historical sources for fun.

>>10752135

In some books I like it, like ASOIAF where the characters are spread out over continents so they really are offering unique perspectives, but then you get something like Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan where its like one or two dudes doing the things and then a bunch of shitters who are just in it for the sake of being in it

>>10752267

jesus christ dont do it anon

dont...

>>10752311
>i have never read a fantasy series
Nor will you ever want to if your first exposure to it is Sword of Truth. It's absolute rubbish.

>>10752925

Not even fucking close my boy, I'd recommend reading the rest of his books in that universe if you haven't yet.

>>10749602
If you can't write a story you probably couldn't write a D&D campaign out of it even, both require effort and creativity.

>>10752116
>tfw
guess I'll read pillars of the earth or something.

>>10752116
>>10753111

You might enjoy The Chronicles of the Black Company, its told from the POV of a guy whos job is to chronicle the story fo the Black Company, a mercenary group, and while he does eventually come into contact with some of the movers and shakers of the world its from the perspective of a guy whos just trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.

>>10753084
I'm working my way through them. I'm on "Best Served Cold" and love it more than the previous three (so far.) What's the biggest difference with Shattered Sea?

>>10753369
Its been ages since I read the first one but its just a YA book with a dumbass crippled kid as the protag who bumbles his way around the world picking up a motley crew of diverse people. The world is terribly uninteresting too. Being YA it has none of the grit of Joe's other books either.

>>10753250
i'll check it out, but doesn't he end up fucking the empress or something?

>>10749513
Emberverse series. Blessed be

>>10753250
Black Company is good and I love Glen Cook's writing, but it's worth making a distinct note that he was one of the first authors doing the "what if fantasy... but dark?!" thing so it might feel a bit derivative now. Also he's got a really terse writing style that's not for everybody.

His other big series, Garrett PI, might be a even better recommendation though. It's about a ex-Marine turned private investigator in a big fantasy city. A lot of it is "ground level" stuff with him, for example, being hired to investigate the kidnapping of a sorceress's son or the brewery he's on retainer with getting blackmailed.

>>10753645
Basically over the course of the series the Lady loses her powers and heads south with the Company before people in her empire figure out she can be killed now. She and Croaker end up shacking up together during this period because, IIRC, she found out about some romantic fanfic he'd been writing about her and thought it was cute, or something to that effect. (It's been years since I read the stories and I'm planning to do a reread when the new book is out later in the year)

>>10753839
>she found out about some romantic fanfic he'd been writing about her
I only read the first book, but he does do that. I loved too how another guy teases Croaker about it, and Croaker gets all passive aggressive in his journal entries.

>>10752311
>i have never read a fantasy series and many said theyre a good first one to pick up
Seriously?

>>10754444
Not the person you're replying to but I visit some lit subs on reddit and they absolutely love Rothfuss, Sanderson, and Goodkind on that site.

>>10754477
Heh. Figures.

Urth of the New Sun was really confusing. It probably doesn't help that I waited almost a year after finishing BOTNS to read it. Started Long sun, though, and it's really good so far.

>>10754595
>Urth of the New Sun was really confusing. It probably doesn't help that I waited almost a year after finishing BOTNS to read it.

You have to read Urth right after as it ties up most of the major things left open by BotNS. It's a nice capstone.

>>10754595
Long Sun gets substantially worse (although never actually bad) in the second half. It's basically a 1300-page prequel to Short Sun.

>>10754595
Long Sun isn't as good as New Sun, but it's much more straightforward to the point I think it might actually be a better introduction to Wolfe.

Any good recent (guess in the last ten years) space opera novels? I remember reading some of the deathstalker series which seemed fairly mediocre but had some neat ideas. I specifically remember the repeating of paragraphs through the series.

>>10755468
I've read some of the expanse series recently as well. Not really fond of the alien bit.

>>10746653
Boy, you are in for a ride if you think that's as anime as it gets.

Terry Goodkind shitting on the cover of his new book which is no doubt much better than what's contained inside.

>>10755541
that cover is sweet. hes on bath salts

>>10755541
This author is cancerous as fuck.

>>10755541
Really don't get what Terry is going on about. Not really sure why he's shitting on his publisher so publicly either.

Any pro-tips on world building? I'm awful at the pre-planning in stories outside of general summary or outline. Making bios always came off as artificial, even though I know why it's important.

>>10755568
how do people get off in your setting?

>>10755568

just take a european history book and change some names

why do bad girls never win the MC bowl?

>>10755541
My mother told me that everybody she knows is currently raving about Goodkind and that series, or whatever. That's women aged 45-65. Take from this what you will.

>>10755468
The Galaxy's Edge series. Though the first book is pretty much military sci-fi the rest are pure space opera.

>>10755642
I think the only people left reading his shitty books are diehards, the first one didn't even break 4 stars on goodreads with less than 2k reviews.

>Onetime lieutenant of the evil Emperor Jagang, known as "Death's Mistress" and the "Slave Queen", the deadly Nicci captured Richard Rahl in order to convince him that the Imperial Order stood for the greater good. But it was Richard who converted Nicci instead, and for years thereafter she served Richard and Kahlan as one of their closest friends--and one of their most lethal defenders.
>Now, with the reign of Richard and Kahlan finally stablized, Nicci has set out on her own for new adventures. Her first job being to keep the unworldly prophet Nathan out of trouble...

>>10755697
>Nicci has set out on her own for new adventures. Her first job being to keep the unworldly prophet Nathan out of trouble..

"Tune in tonight to see what kind of zany trouble unworldly prophet Nathan gets into this week. Will the deadly Nicci be able to solve this one? The real hero in this one is the viewer!"

>>10755697
This is apex cliche. Fucking garbage

>>10755643
So I looked into this. Apparently they do like a subscription system with their website? Do I just buy a sub and get access to the books?

I'm about a quarter way through ringworld, the concepts are cool but the characters and execution of said concepts are garbage and the novel has shit pacing. Does it get better or should I just give up?

>>10755751
Hell if I know, but it's two guys writing the series and they put out a new book every couple of months it seems. None of that 'waiting 10 years for the series to finish' bullshit.

>>10755541
Goodkind is famously asshurt about covers, I remember he kept going into autistic fits about them even like twenty years ago.

I listened to the first 10 books of the SoT series and remember maybe half of the first book, is there any sane reason to re-read them?

>>10755862

sword of truth? jesus christ no

>>10755862
The title alone should tell you it's shite.

>reading BotNS for the 3rd time in a year
Is something wrong with me?

new thread

>>10756138
>>10756138
>>10756138
>>10756138
>>10756138

>>10755617
Yennefer is an antihero and she won in the Witcher. Does that count?

>>10755617
Can't have a love interest more interesting than the MC.