/lit/ - Literature

first for sanderfag a hack

>>11347393
You've been doing this for months, when will you stop? Aren't you tired of it as yet?

>book goes into a training montage
>protag spends months/years destroying thousand year old trees + billion year old boulders
>noone even notices

>>11347377
>good self published
I have only read one it was ok. Wouldn't recommend it.
>avoid
I haven't had too much experience, but I would say avoid the ebook print services if you want a hard copy. They are pretty shit.
>future
Can't really say for sure. If the hard copys were quality, and if there is decent authors, then it would be a great launch point for aspiring writers.

>>11347398
Every day until you like it

>tfw caught up on revered insanity and still think web novels are the tits.

How long until western authors switch from !not anime to !not wuxia?

>>11347377
>amazon

I literally avoid everything published there, not because it's bad but because it is always poorly edited.

What themes/settings/characters are overdone in modern fantasy in your opinion? YA-Vampire-fiction excluded.

>>11347399
Go away treehugger anon

>>11347468
>poorly edited
Yeah that's a major blow to them 2bh

>>11347377
>I don't buy from amazon but I think Senlin Ascends started as self-pub, I also like Will Wight's stuff
>I don't buy from amazon
>maybe in terms of getting discovered instead of going through submissions/literary agents but I ultimately can't see the publishers losing relevance.Publicity is just to important even in the word of mouth heavy genre fiction world.

Science fiction big list here, I changed it a bit https://pastebin.com/raw/Kd0pN7xy
Tell me what you think.

>>11347483
Grimdark and Anti-Tolkien epic fantasy is fucking charcoal at this point.

>>11347468
t. professional editor

>>11347528
What is your definition of "ani-Tolkien" - Fantasy?

>>11347526
putting the culture under aliens is a bit weird

>>11347542
I think of the AI as alien behaviour, don't have something as AI gods so I am a bit of concerned as of where to put it.

This was fun. It's an enjoyable read about alternate history hitler writing scifi anyway but the fact that Spinrad very clearly wrote it just to shit on Campbell and his Hero's Journey nonsense makes it very amusing.

>>11347557
>yet another alternate history with nazis

>>11347540
Grey mortality only, pointless sex scenes, more grit than Kiev, etc.

>>11347377
>what are some good self-published books you picked up from Amazon?
I liked Bayne's Climb and the trilogy involved.

I hope more Amazon books are recommended and discussed!

>>11347561
It's a what if the nazis never really took off and the soviets conquered europe story rather than a usual nazi alt-hist. It's actually a deliberate critique of the nazi focus in alt-hist.

Within the novel itself hitler moves to the US and writes this ridiculous alt-his about what would happen if the heroic nazis hadn't collapsed with the Jews being this gigantic evil empire and Hitler's obvious self-insert being a cool biker mary-sue.

>>11347580
Bayne?

>>11347399
based treeposter

Are the sequels to Hyperion worth it?

>>11347603
Yeah, Simmons' brain didn't break until 9/11 so the original Cantos is worth reading in full

>>11347599
>>11347499
More books should end with elves coming to avenge the trees

>>11347612
Yeah even if you don't go beyond Rise I think pretty much everyone would say its worth it.

>>11347607
Thanks, I'll read until Rise of Endymion.

>>11347377
A Shadow in Summer sounds intriguing, I'm in the mood for something slower and with fewer over-the-top action scenes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208.A_Shadow_in_Summer

>The city-state of Saraykeht dominates the Summer Cities. Its wealth is beyond measure; its port is open to all the merchants of the world, and its ruler, the Khai Saraykeht, commands forces to rival the Gods. Commerce and trade fill the streets with a hundred languages, and the coffers of the wealthy with jewels and gold. Any desire, however exotic or base, can be satisfied in its soft quarter. Blissfully ignorant of the forces that fuel their prosperity, the people live and work secure in the knowledge that their city is a bastion of progress in a harsh world. It would be a tragedy if it fell.

>Saraykeht is poised on the knife-edge of disaster.

>At the heart of the city's influence are the poet-sorcerer Heshai and the captive spirit, Seedless, whom he controls. For all his power, Heshai is weak, haunted by memories of shame and humiliation. A man faced with constant reminders of his responsibilities and his failures, he is the linchpin and the most vulnerable point in Saraykeht's greatness.

>Far to the west, the armies of Galt have conquered many lands. To take Saraykeht, they must first destroy the trade upon which its prosperity is based. Marchat Wilsin, head of Galt's trading house in the city, is planning a terrible crime against Heshai and Seedless. If he succeeds, Saraykeht will fall.

>Amat, House Wilsin's business manager, is a woman who rose from the slums to wield the power that Marchat Wilsin would use to destroy her city. Through accidents of fate and circumstance Amat, her apprentice Liat, and two young men from the farthest reaches of their society stand alone against the dangers that threaten the city.

>>11347622
It's alright but someone here hates Abraham so they'll be along in a minute to tell you otherwise.
If you want to consider other stuff Modesitt a nice option for a more sedate fantasy writer but he's very love or hate.
Kushiel's Dart is also good slow build and intrigue over action but it's got a main character whose magical power is being really good at masochistic sex so it's not for everyone.

>>11347607
>Their are people still upset over Flashback

>>11347468
>can read very poorly translated web novels but can't read self-published amazon books
???

>third stainless steel rat book has time travel
Holy shit this series just keeps getting better

>>11347617
I wouldn't. I thought the second one crapped all over the existential mystery of the first.

>>11347632
>Daniel Abraham

The talented half of James SA Corey, right? If so, I might have to check it out myself. I enjoyed The Expanse novels for what they were, so him doing fantasy should be at least halfway decent.

Is there a chart for grimdark books?

>>11347618
No, don’t read either Endymion books. Just stick with the two Hyperions. You’ll be much happier.

>>11347772
there was but it teleported behind itself and smirked "heh nothin' personal, list"

>>11347772
yeah, it's just a picture of black company

>>11347622
Fuck Abraham. That series wasted weeks of my life I will never get back. All the times magic was used in all the books can probably fit on 2 pages. It's even worse in coin and dagger (dropped after the first) the only time magic was used was when some not-orc shot some magic fireworks in the air AT THE END OF THE BOOK.

FUCK DANIEL ABRAHAM.

>>11347632
>>11347860
called it lol

>>11347622
>>11347632
It's slow. In fact, if you read this series, you can then go read Abercrombie's First Law, since it's the only way to make Abercrombie seem like he can move a plot along.

>>11347864
I don't like First Law at all but I never really thought of it as slow but I suppose it really is one book's worth of story padded out over a trilogy.

>>11347860
I wish blood of elves wasn't a witcher book but was actually about a slave trader rising to fame by dominating the elven market.

>>11347650
It's a gift, anon.

>>11347538
>>11347517
Yeah if only I was a professional editor, I would make millions selling my services to vanity publishers with the ancient art of "copy & pasting into a word document then running spell check."

>>11347860
Why avoid Dhalgren?
Why avoid A Princess of Mars?
Why avoid Lord of The Rings?
Why avoid Gormenghast?
Why avoid A Game of Thrones?

>>11347902
Anon, it's literally just /lit/ contrarianism, never take charts here seriously

>>11347902
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI_P3UtZXAA

>>11347772
>>11347832
How about The Prince of Nothing?

>>11347377
What are some books about demon hunting?

>>11347832
Are the sequels any good?

>>11347980
Yeah, books of the north improves a bit as it goes on. From what I can remember people are a bit split on the newest ones

>>11347883
Spell check doesn't pick up on the use of wrong words that well. It also doesn't pick up if you go into too much detail of something that's irrelevant or check you when you go off on a tangent ect ect
It also doesn't pick up if you contradict yourself.
>the universities location was selected to be politically neutral
>a page later describes how the university grew naturally from fishing village and it's location was never purposely selected

But yeah lamo use spell check ecks dee

I read all of Otherland in a week and really liked it, aside from Renie being a dumbass constantly. I really wished there was more romance in it though, particularly between Orlando and Sam.

Anyone have some decent scifi/fantasy with romance on the side? I want some love damn it!

>>11347902
Yes it's contrarianism like >>11347915 said.
Read Dhalgren, while you at it read HOGG by the same author.

>>11348014
t. 45 year old female reader

>>11348028
I'm 20 years old and am a male.
I just like romance. I don't like stories to have a massive focus on it, but I like to have romantic elements in a story. Mostly because I am a lonely man sitting in an apartment all day programming as a job and drinking tons of beer while doing it.

I JUST WANT LOVE! IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?

>>11348033
>>11348028
Maybe this is something that can put things into perspective - this is what I'd like:
>A fantasy story/scifi story with a focus on the characters, and where the protagonist forms a romantic connection with another character, but it's not at the center of the story, it's more on the side, and here and there are scenes with it, but over all it doesn't detract from the main storyline.
Like two lovers or something on an adventure. They don't got time to fuck or kiss every five seconds, but you can tell there's something there.

>>11347975
Demons of astland
Demon accords
Trymoon saga

>>11348014
>Orlando and Sam.

>>11348028
fuck you i like romance in my novels. i just dont like them to be shoehorned in. i dont mind if it gets explicit too as long as it doesnt take over the actual story.
romance is great. there is so little actual romance in the world is it too much to ask for some in fiction?

>>11347749
He's not even 50 and he looks 65. What happened?

>>11348014
Unironically every book listed.
Also add trysmoon saga to it

>>11348043
It was just weird as fuck how they went through all that shit literally with just each other and nothing ever formed between them. Just her kissing him on the cheek when he's on his death bed and then that's it. Mean while Renie gets to fuck Xabbu. Give all the romance to that cunt. Great.

>>11348060
alpha world = guy is imprisoned in a video game & plays with other people in the video game

>>11348048
That's a picture of S. Daniel Abraham, some shady neocon.
DA the author actually looks young for his age

>>11347902
Well Dhalgren has a lot of boy cock and not much sci fi, so I can see why it's not for everyone. a Princess of Mars is ridiculous. The good parts of LOTR have been absorbed into the culture, but weighed down with a slow start, the limp scouring of the shire ending and tom bombadil. Gormenghast is like being awake at 3:00 am with a fever. And do you really need to ask about Game of Thrones? The author lost the plot 20 years ago.

>>11348063
>she
Oh. Sam is a gril? I thought you fagget into boipussies

>>11348070
It has romance. He fell in love with a qt AI.
Don't tell me you're a normie? Get out. Digital gfs are the future. No one wants 3dpd.

Alright, I can't deal with this shit anymore - I need to bitch. I've been listening to Malazan on my commute for the last few weeks, and I've hit my frustration tolerance for Erikson's "tell - don't show" problem.

A full third of each book is bloated with the POV characters' internal monologues - all of it telling the audience what they should think and feel about the other characters, almost none of which is established through mood or tone, let alone the events of the story or even a fucking flashback scene. If Erikson put half as much work into characterization as he did into the anthropology/worldbuilding, it would actually be fun to read. As it is, it seems like he decided that illustrating these things was too much of a bother and instead had his rotating and ill-defined protagonists periodically break out of character to start infodumping the audience.

And the characters. It's clear Erikson has his pet characters like Whiskeyjack and Silverfox and tries his fucking hardest to get us to like them by telling us (via other characters' monologues of course) how great they are and how much they've suffered. To be honest, the only character I like so far is Kallor since it's easy to pretend that he's well-aware he's trapped in a shitty fantasy plot with unlikeable cardboard characters and just wants to murder everyone to get this bullshit over with.

Every chapter, I was hoping that Erikson was going to feature more undead velociraptors fucking shit up, but it ends up being more vague inner turmoil and corny humor starring characters that no one gives a fuck about. At least with Bakker, you knew that every chapter would have something fucked up like a guy raping a screaming monster.

Thank you for reading my gay blog. Please like and subscribe.

>>11348091
Naw.
Sam is a girl who actually used a male avatar and Orlando spent the entirety of his 2 year friendship with him not knowing until he stumbled upon the fact while searching for her in real life to see if she was ok after some events in the book separated them online.
She liked not being treated as a girl or something. She was basically a tomboy I guess.

>>11348109

>>11348109
You chose the wrong place to blog.

>>11348033
>>11348014

Have you ever read any of the early romances, like Jane Austen, the Brontes or Georgette Heyer? Give it a shot.

>>11348112
So she a lesbian. like ready player one
it's actually my fetish to mating press a lesbian.

>>11348139
Nope, she's actually not a lesbian surprisingly. In a short story set after the Otherland series she even has a boyfriend.
I feel bad for Orlando. Poor kid. he has progeria, gets trapped in a fucking simulation with a girl he can't have, and then he dies and comes back and can't leave the simulation since he is now apart of it, and then he has to get cucked by her. shit, might as well just go back to being dead. lol.

Did anybody here read Kushiel's Dart? How about the sequels?

>>11347622
It's really good

>>11348109
Malazan would seem to be a difficult one for listening. You can't miss anything and it needs to percolate forever.

>>11348316
>You can't miss anything

most of the details dont fucking matter anyway, and even erikson forgets half the shit that he writes

how long did it take him to remember that paran had the adjunct's antimagic sword?

>it needs to percolate forever

this isn't nabokov, you fucking queer

>>11348423
>this isn't nabokov, you fucking queer
sorry, percolate wrong word.
you need recall
for later

>>11348423
>>11348429
my sides

Care you gentlemen to percolate this list and dispense your appraisal https://pastebin.com/raw/1H3bSnWg

>>11348013
It'd do half the work for me anon, you might want to look into just how bad some of amazons works truly are.

>>11348466
Make use of vertical whitespace.
Add some Clark Ashton Smith to your horror section.

>>11348473
The quote is paraphrasing from an Amazon book. It also used jealous several times when envious was the correct word. Things like that. Correct spelling isn't even half the work 2bh.

>>11347557
I thought it was fucking terrible. It's an interesting concept that Spinrad runs into the ground with tedious execution, always with the ready excuse of "it's just satire bro" when you get sick of it.

>>11347603
Fall isn't as good as Hyperion but worth reading, the Endymion books are trash and if you really want to know what happens just read Wikipedia.

>>11348526
Added CAS.

>>11347902
>Why avoid Dhalgren?
It's an incompetent postmodern wankfest, in the guise of science fiction so it doesn't have to compete against Actually Good postmodern wankfests like Gravity's Rainbow or The Recognitions.

>Why avoid A Princess of Mars?
It's basically the textual equivalent of an action B-movie from the 1980s.

>Why avoid Lord of The Rings?
You don't have the attention span to understand what makes it good beyond what you've already absorbed through derivative works and the general culture.

>Why avoid Gormenghast?
It's intensely involuted and the author is more concerned with showing you how sensitive and clever he is than telling an interesting story.

>Why avoid A Game of Thrones?
This fat fuck has lost the thread of the narrative and is going to die before he gets it back together. Also, you've already watched the show.

>>11348013
You're not wrong, but you also clearly haven't actually delved into the world of Amazon authors if you think pervasive, basic spelling and grammar errors aren't a problem.

>>11348132
The problem with writing a blog is nobody reads it. I can write lengthy effortposts on here and be guaranteed at least a pity reply or two. On wordpress you're lucky if your scream into the void gets a double-digit view count.

What makes Bob in Bobiverse so fucking insufferable? I listened to the first book and I liked the premise but damn that guy is cringy, what's with the references? Are there really people this annoying? Anyway any series like Bobiverse without the protagonist being a complete faggot? Not sure if I want to finish the series.

>>11348676
"Reddit" isn't just a meme, and Bob is literally just the self-insert/internal voice of a habitual reddit poster. That's really all there is to it.

>>11348676
>Are there really people this annoying?

Welcome to the tech industry.

>>11348707
>>11348715
I'm painfully aware of that behavior or the basedboy manchild shit but this is slightly different. It's like he's so pleased with himself by making those shitty references, like he's expecting to get a thumbs up or some sort of street cred. Maybe that's just the boomer style geeks back in the day? Maybe the Chads were right.

>>11348754
>basedboy
I meant to say onions, not sure where that came from

>>11348761
We all love onions here

>>11348761
basedboys
onions

>sleep for 6 hours
>I'm suddenly 100 replies late

>>11348761
Stupid plebbit poster

>>11348676

Complete lack of self awareness from both character and author.

Is Gardens of the Moon okay for somebody new to fantasy?

>>11349060
If you want to taste shit and find the next decent thing you read to be a masterpiece, yes.

>>11349060
>is a 12,000 pages series suitable for someone new to a genre
What do you think? In addition to being long it's also a clusterfuck.

>>11349106
Thats why I asked about the first book in the series you fucking moron.

>>11347468
>How long until western authors switch from !not anime to !not wuxia?
https://www.goodreads.com/series/192821-cradle

>>11349119
It's not like it's a standalone. It makes about as much sense as asking about the first chapter, or the first sentence.

>reading titus groan
>literally all that has happened in 300 pages is some bitches lit a library on fire

Why do you boring faggots like this again?

Next month we will get russian translation of this. Is it any good?
The blob on goodreads sounds pretty neat:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18428829-holocaust-f
"Holocaust F" is a dynamic blend of Stross's energy, Stephenson's grandeur of vision, Watts' pessimism and more than a pinch of Dick's madness. Such books are extremely rare, but when they appear, they invariably become a great reading holiday.

>>11349153
>stephenson
Umm no thanks sweetie

>>11349151
Because I'm a boring faggot, duh.

>>11349151
based peake has caught another pleb in his filter once again

>>11348578
those are some phallic looking plants....why though?

>>11349153
It's Russian, so no.

>>11349323
It's from Poland.

>>11349329
So it's even worse.

Having read the first 9 books in the Elderlings Realm cycle by Robin Hobb, I can safely say she's shaping up to be one of my favorite authors in the genre.

>>11349357
do yourself a favour and never read the soldier's son books, they're such a massive step down from everything else

>>11347860
is that one dude who hates Red Knight still around? The nuns not being raped by the company was a big deal for him.

>>11349370
I wasn't planning to, they didn't sound too interesting from the get-go. Going to search for Assassin's Fool at my bookstore these days, I'm heckin' hooked.

>>11347975
peter v brett, though I wouldn't suggest you read all the books. first two maybe.

>>11348109
is that the one with corpse-raping?

>>11349373
The only way I can see someone hating Red Knight is if they're French.

>>11349357
RWC books are a bit of a step down imo but at least they're not that long individually.

>>11349402
he made a chart and everything

>>11349384
you cant rape the dead

>>11349408
post the chart

>>11349357
robin hobb is a she?

>>11349693
It's a pen name.

>>11347377
I need help guys. last series i read was the first law. I loved that. Now i'm trying to read the Gentlemen Bastards but i just cant give a fuck about the characters and especially not about his descriptions of the city. There is something limp-wristed about his writing i just cant put a name to it. His descriptions of the environment make me automatically go blank-minded. I'm about 3/4 through the first book. What should i read next? I want something longer and fleshed out. Malazan? BotNS seemed ok-ish after the first 50 pages but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for either I think. Not sure though.

>>11349151
>is told to avoid book
>what does he know I'll read it anyways
>books later
>why didn't you guys tell me this was shit, omg
Kys. You deserve everything. Read it all and an hero.

>>11349718
>gormenghastpark.jpg

Ive read the whole trilogy and I dont get this.

>>11349373
Luckily I have new haters of Red Knight to help keep the flame of disgust alive. They also get nausea from hearing perverts trying to foster that drivel upon unsuspecting new comers who don't know better.

>>11349711
>i read was the first law. I loved that.
Pick your poison. Just know that shit and trash, are shit and trash.

>>11349733
Honestly I won't read a fantasy book if it doesn't at least have rape in it.

>>11349749
>windup girl

literally asia you nonce

>>11349749
>first category is gay rape and incest
Based /sffg/

>>11349726
What does the poster look like?
What does the merging of the two mean?
What type of "core" books are they?
You have to open your mind.

>>11349772
I dont fucking get it REEEEEEEEE

>>11349733
im going to read this just to find out why you hated it

>>11349754
>Honestly I won't read a fantasy book if it doesn't at least have rape in it.

>>11347622
I found them to be extremely mediocre but it seems like I'm in the minority.

>>11349777
>got to spell it out so much
Here's your answer

>>11349780
it's because the abbey full of nuns the company is hired to protect aren't raped

>>11349788
I don't get it.

>>11349772
>>11349788
I miss him.

>>11349754

>>11349754
BASED.

>>11349754
/sffg/ ladies and gents

>>11349782
No you are not >>11347860

>>11349792
So does the book have rape in it or not? If it doesn't I'm not going to read it.

>>11349792
Not only the inconsistency of high test men who just came out of a wilderness without a drop of pussy juice for months not going wild, it's also the dual faith shit. But the god they speak of is the Christian god. Read the book, and if you aren't a brainlet you will see the many inconsistencies. I only read book 1, but someone in this thread or the last also complained. And it's the names that trigger him.

also that sweet mature nun pussy wasn't ravaged

>>11349749
that's a troll list isn't it

>>11349796
He's accusing you of reading books written by dinosaurs. The implication of this >>11349718 is that Gormenghast is fucking old, which is true.

>>11349132
Sweet baby jesus thank god, here I was about to re-write athutian tales. Shittily. Just replacing the sword with a cultivation technique.

>>11349804
I miss you too anon. I give you permission to touch my daughter, but only once.

>>11349840
not as I recall, it's particularly non-lewd in general.

>>11349844
there are dualist interpretations of Christianity and it's also revealed at some point the denizens of the world weren't necessarily originally from there.

>>11349845
Yes. Everything you don't approve of is a troll list.

Just fucking neck yourself. If you think I would spend 3.5 hours making that fucking chart just to "troll" your nobody ass into reading books when you don't even fucking read then you have a very high and inflated opinion of yourself.

>>11349865
You recommended Correia and Mark Lawrence muh man.

Is Red Knight actually good then, I was but off by the boring opening and the writer being an actual medieval larper

(although the Greatcoats author is one too and those books are fun as hell)

>>11349865
no need to get all riled up. a simple yes or no would have sufficed. please understand that i will not neck myself for having made you angry.

>>11349861
Lame.

>>11349863
Red Knight was a turning point for me in fantasy.
I used to complete a series once I started it, autism in its purest form. But after the cluster fuck that was miles cameron, I started to drop books at one if it wasn't good.

Now tell me, if I read a complete shit book, which only semi saved near the end with the dragon/wurm/w.e making guns["spoiler], why would I continue on to book 2 because the anons said "it gets better in 2".
At the point of Red Knight I think I read about 600 books. You can't understand how ideas and events that were executed great in another novel/novels, were poorly fumbled in this. I don't have time for shit books anymore. I was seriously looking to torture myself with book 2 because of that ending in the shop, but I couldn't do it.

>>11349900
Probably should've been 3 books instead of 5 but there was enough there for me.

>>11349912
Understand I just don't see it as being of a significantly lower-tier than most else on that chart.

What is the /sffg/ equivalent of Dies Irae?

>>11349749
Undying mercenaries isn't really milsf, its pulp.

>>11349870
I was memed into reading black sword son. It started kinda alright but got shitty. But some people liked it here, so I rec'd it. It was just filling out the sword section.

How that chart came about is that I took the most requested things at the time and placed in books I read. But I don't think you understand how hard it is to make a chart. 3.5 hours and it's still incomplete.

>>11349923
Probably BotNS. What is Dies Irae?

>>11349923
>those gloves
Probably Alucard

>>11349931
It's pulpy milsf. Still joining the space marines and dropping into hot zones.

>>11349931
there's like too military scifi books in existence that aren't pulp

>>11349940
A visual novel about superhuman Nazis trying to use a Japanese city as a mass sacrifice to return their leader from another dimension and bring about hell on earth, basically. It has a rather complex story so I don't know how to try summarizing it. It also has an anime adaptation that is terrible.

>>11349958
Point of defining genre is to let the reader know what to expect from a book. If someone goes into RCN series expecting milsf they'd be turned away from it because its a space opera, and author even makes a point of stressing it at the beginning of the series. Similarly here, by calling Undying Mercenaries milsf you give people impression that it's milsf, even when you call it "pulpy milsf" you are wrong, because it's pulp, honest and well written (for the most part) pulp, in milsf setting. But its not milsf.

I should note that I actually like Undying mercenaries, all but one, maybe two, of the series are a good laugh and even occasionally present you with interesting plot developments. But calling it milsf is like calling captain america comics historical fiction.

>>11349969
What's your point? I don't mind people recommending pulp, I just prefer when things are advertised as what they are. You wouldnt want to go on a date with the girl, take her home and discover it's really been a boy all along, would you?

>>11349935
I was memed into reading [Salic Law Denomination for the Inheritor of a High Ranking Feudal Title] of Thorns and it was awful.

>>11349711
>I need help guys. last series i read was the first law. I loved that.
Yep, you definitely need help.

>>11349923
The Tale of the Imperial Capital.

>>11349976
the story isn't really complex, in fact it's nothing special at all. it's all about the characters

>>11350034
That's really what I mean. When I think of Dies Irae I think of the characters and I don't know how to summarize that. Giving a short plot description doesn't do the VN justice.
>>11350029
That looks interesting but doesn't appear to be translated.

>>11350039
if you want something with complex characters where the story takes a backseat try realm of the elderlings

>>11350053
I want something with complex characters that's wrapped up in a bunch of dark, edgy crap.

>>11350027
yes i also loved crime and punishment. what's your problem, friend? i came here asking for suggestions but so far ive only been bashed for liking the first law trilogy.

>>11350089
If you liked Joe try Mark Lawrence.

>>11350098
okay thanks

>>11349991
>You wouldnt want to go on a date with the girl, take her home and discover it's really been a boy all along, would you?
According to b the penis makes it better, and lgbt says you are sexist transphobic homophobe if you don't want to touch a penis.

>>11350089
>bashed for liking the first law trilogy.
I posted a chart you fuccboi. This is why people don't help when yall ask for it.

>>11350089
The standalones in the same setting are better imo.

>>11349940
Your average visual novel except the characters monologue like a 15 year old on /r/philosophy so the main audience of it thinks its deep.

>>11348852
There's two different translations for Roadside Picnic too.
Apparently the new 2012 one fixes a rather glaring translation mistake that confuses the timeline.

How important is a detailed and believable setting to you? In theory I care, but I'm on book 10 of WoT and a few books back I started skimming or skipping long paragraphs describing the same "liveried servants" and "stark white spires" in every goddamn city. Even when it's different, he goes on forever about mundane things like what clothes a random villager is wearing, so even when I want to care I just don't.

Whats the fucking rundown on this book do I pick it up to read right now or not

>>11350241
Not important. I want a setting that's interesting, and going into too much detail makes me lose interest. I'm also willing to suspend my disbelief quite a bit, so being believable isn't too necessary.

>>11350246
yes. It is good and not a difficult read.

any good?

>>11350280
no your general fucking sucks

wtf is there really a cross over between wild wastes and super sales.. and otherlands too ? ?

I really dunno how much I like this...

>>11350029
Tried googling this with no results.

Anyone got good historical fiction with a fantasy/scifi twist?
I'm talking aliens invading the three kingdoms, vampire outbreaks in WWI, Charlemagne conquering europe with an army of demons, the Napoleonic wars but Europe is ruled by wizards instead of nobles, etc...

>>11350309
I'm told Worldwar by Harry Turtledove is amusing. Haven't red myself, but I suppose it's worth a shot.

>>11350309
There's a bunch of shit about Sherlock Holmes where he was actually investigating demons/ghosts/wizards/Ctulhu, that might be your thing.

There's also Temeraire. Dunno how good that is, all I've heard about it makes me think it's Eragon with a slightly historical bent.

>>11350309
Temeraire is an entire series that's the Napoleonic wars but with dragons
Glen Cook has one that's european historical conflicts but with demons and shit

>>11349900
The start of the first book can be a little dense but one you get over that hump it's pretty fun, once the actual siege/battle gets underway it's pretty great . The 2nd and 3rd books are also markedly better in my opinion. Author goes a little wayward in 4th and 5th books and I confess was little exhausted at the final climax at the end of the 5th. The epilogue was a little bittersweet too I guess.

>>11350309
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

>>11350309
Cabal the necromancer

any cute sff youtuber i should know about?

>>11350156
There are many people who can enjoy things by appreciating what they were trying to be. Most readers of Dies Irae don't think it is "deep" work, but can enjoy its attempts

>>11347393
You're doing god's work

>>11350436
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw--xPGVVxYzRsWyV1nFqgg/videos
he's adorable

>>11350436
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht8kyDw35as

>>11350439
>>11350443
i mean a girl

>>11350445
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dueg2R7cJRg

>>11350449
whats with you and throne of glass?

Why should anyone care about internal consistency in a story belonging to a genre that is already inherently absurd?

>>11350500
Because inconsistency means the writer is a lazy asshole.

>>11350500
Not being realistic and contradicting prior establishments are different things.

>>11350500
Realism isn't about story being consistent with the way our world works, but with the way the it's own world's works. And if the author is so much of a hack that he can't be arsed maintaining it, then why should I be arsed to read his hackery.

>>11350566
>>11350584
The tweet was directed at a complaint regarding a quest where a ghoul survived 200 years inside of a fridge without food or water despite it having been clear that ghouls still need to eat and drink in previous installments of the story

>>11350590
When it comes to that fridge thing, realism doesn't even enter equation. It's just plain stupid, lazy quest, by stupid, lazy writers that thoughts that plebs are equally stupid and lazy so they wont put two and two together and ask questions like "why wouldn't anyone open the fridge in 200 years?" and "why wouldn't parents look for their kid after the fireworks were over with?".

But the sad thing isn't that the authors think that their audience is lazy and stupid and would eat shit from their hands, the sad things is how many in that audience go out of their way to prove them right by defending that shit, eating it by bucket loads, and asking for seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxN8pr4B7LA

>>11350620
>rage comic
wtf

Do Steerpike and Fuchsia do anything in the second and third books? The knowledge that I will get to read that is probably the only thing that would make me want to continue this series.

>>11350436
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSIvcPekFfk Looks like someone who knows their stuff.

>>11350963
>Fuchsia

Anon... I....

http://www.nightshadebooks.com/2018/06/19/cover-table-of-contents-reveal-the-best-of-the-best-horror-of-the-year-edited-by-ellen-datlow/

Give me the rundown on these names. I only know Gaimon and Barron.

>>11350436
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OtDjRvBHOA

>>11350993
Yeahhh

>>11351107
Mira Grant aka Seanan McGuire is a fat SJW who writes zombie fiction, pic related.

Tanith Lee is an old veteran, she's written fucktons of stuff and I haven't read much but what I have read is generally pretty good.

Peter Straub has won a lot of Bram Stoker awards but I've never actually read any of his books.

>>11351107
wtf tanith lee's been dead for way more than a year

>>11351153
Holy bookmarks Freman, makes me feel like a brainlet.

>>11350993
tfw no le guin loving gf

>Protag hides their power level
>Is attacked by people because of that hidden power level
>Protag then kills the people who attacked him due to his deception
>Protag thinks he's the good guy
>Protag celebrates by destroying giant healthy old growth trees

Modern fantasy is so disgustingly cliche'd

>>11351281
I'm starting to think that you have a tree fetish.

>>11348014
Bujold's books often have a bit of romance in them, iirc. And she's a good storyteller.

>>11351281
>modern fantasy
You've been reading too much xiaxia. I do agree that it gets old fast, but the opposite is just as awful.
>pretend they're a god-level badass
>works because they're so hideously weak no one can even sense their powerlevel and assumes they must have transcended the mortal realm
>every time someone comes around who'll actually call them on their bullshit they coincidentally are just strong enough to wreck them and horribly main/torture them
>these displays of absolute cruelty are treated as great mercy for "holding back"

>>11351281
Based treeposter

Was there someone else reading A Voyage to Arcturus? I just started reading it.

>>11351281
>>11351319
Why do you people insist on reading that garbage.

>>11351315
>she
>female authors
lol

>>11351350
*blocks your path*

>>11351350
Here's your (You)

Anyone else feel like the Malazan Book of the Fallen series could have been great but because Erikson got lazy and bored it turned out just adequate?
I wonder how the Karsa Orlong books are going to be.

>>11351358
With what, her piles of dreck?

>>11351358
only ever read the first assassin book and it wasn't very good

>>11351601
This

define "good" fantasy

>>11351615
nah

anyone tried this?

>>11351350
I'll go with Susanna Clarke but that's about it

>>11351615
Fantasy where trees aren't harmed.

>>11351615
books i like vs books i dislike

Hey whoever recommended A Maze of Death, thank you, that shit was great

I didn't like it.

>>11351421
It was great tho

>>11351678
protect our trees at all costs

How does the TV series of Gormenghast get the tone of the story so horribly, horribly wrong.

>>11348852
>tfw today read to chapter three
Quant stuff!

>>11351756
That's a first.

>>11351756
I didn't like it either. Felt overwritten as fuck.

>>11347483
Magic systems and anything that makes magic look like super powers. We need to bring back old, esoteric magic into fantasy.

Any books other than Thomas Covenant where the protag rapes somebody?

What's up with you guys and rape?

>>11351999
there's cross protag rape in liveship traders

>>11351999
BotNS

>>11352020
>he doesn't know about the seal of quality

>>11351756
That's because it's Patrician

>>11352020
Lotta edgy teens here

>>11352144
>rape
>the oldest tradition known to man
>the way man of caves had to mate
>edgy teens
kys faggit

>>11352157
Most cavemen were edgy teens
They died young

>>11352157
kys you rapemongering samefag, yes I know is (You)

>>11352020
everyone is reading the stars my destination

>>11352323
Is there rape in it?

>>11351999

>>11348852

I'm about 60 pages into this. Does the book get better later/is there more of a story later on?

>>11352413
>He fell for it
Point and laugh.

>>11348589
>>Why avoid Lord of The Rings?
>You don't have the attention span to understand what makes it good beyond what you've already absorbed through derivative works and the general culture.
So JRR Tolkien was basically the Wagner of literature? Makes sense desu.

>>11352432
:(

>>11352413
The series gets better but probably not enough to redeem it for most people.

Also the mild improvement is tied to the ending of the first book so if you hate it stop now

>>11352167
>general started with a GRI index years ago
>one person in the general likes rape in his books
uhh..

>>11352448
I don't hate it lol, I just think it's okay. I'll probably finish this one but not pick up the sequels.

>>11352167
>making jokes about rape is wrong and immature but telling people to kill themselves isn't xp

>>11352413
it does yeah, it's easily his worst book.

>>11352476
is there anything you'd recommend instead from this author?

>Book has murdering and reaping of souls
>WOW I DON'T RAPE THOUGH, THATS A STEP TOO FAR, ALSO BY "RAPE" I MEAN SEX WITH EMPLOYEES/MAIDS

>>11348033
Check out Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer

>>11352494
And eating the corpse.

I wish they'd just let him be amoral.

>>11349749
Hey do you have any more recs for gay rape and incest

I need it to, uh, broaden my cultural horizons, thanks

>>11352487
His 2nd trilogy in the same setting is a lot better.

>>11352487
Red Sister.

>He smiled slightly, tightened his fist suddenly and violently smashed the enormous tree behind him.

AUTHORS? IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY
Why are all fantasy worlds filled with an infinity of old growth trees just waiting for our protagonist to punch into oblivion

>>11352487
He's a really good reviewer of other books lol

>>11352588
>>11352632
>>11352634
thanks for the tips everyone

>>11350089
If you like Slow Joe that much, just move on to the Shattered Sea trilogy.

>>11352634
LOL just read his review of Luke Scull's The Grim Company

>>11352634
he fucking reviewed Green Eggs and Ham. I now like Mark Lawrence, never saw this day coming.

>>11352494
You're pretty autistic y'know

>>11350309
Check out the Latro books by Gene Wolfe, Soldier of the Mist being the first. They are set in ancient Greece and follow a soldier who, upon receiving a head injury, loses his memory and begins having run-ins with the gods. It's pretty surreal and you don't often know what is real and what is imagined, but it is a great mix of fantasy elements with historical fiction.

>>11352903
Any link to the Latro? Didn't find it in libgen.

>>11347377
What is the greatest alien invasion story ever written?

>>11352906
http://b-ok.xyz/s/?q=soldier+of+the+mist&yearFrom=&yearTo=&language=&extension=&t=0

I just threw it in the search bar and saw some options. Not sure what format you're after but if you dig a bit you can probably find it. There was a torrent on The Pirate Bay that had the complete works of Gene Wolfe, which is where I downloaded my epubs of the Latro series. Check there, and some other trackers

>>11347860
J.R.R. Tolkien is literally the only epic fantasy Elves, Dwarves n' Orcs type shit that is essential reading.

All others are baldfaced imitations.

read any sci fi page turners recently?

>>11352930
Thanks.

>>11352827
It's not a bad point, desu

Micheal j Sullivan's riyria books are worth a read

>>11348109
I appreciate it, it would be nice if more people concisely "blogged" about various aspects of books they read without going into spoilers so you could actually get some kind of impression before getting into it. But no, let's have the same 20 copy-pasted approved meme replies over and over from retards who don't read or are too stupid to elaborate on anything they did read. Had the same problem with malazan, and it only gets worse as it goes on, most of the interesting characters just end up in dead ends and never develop.

>>11351970
The old magic shit died for a good reason. Have you read Terry Goodkind's garbage fantasy books? Wizard there pull all kinds of shit out of his ass. It only really worked on Tolkien as a novelty too.

>>11348578
>Fall isn't as good as Hyperion

Its better.

>>11347860
>Avoid LOTR

Agreed, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and Unfinished Tales are all far superior.

Thought on this in your fantasy novels?

>>11349749
>Female Urban Fantasy Protag
>No Word & Void books

Seriously, Terry Brook's Word/Void series is underrated as fuck. Super comfy shit.

>>11349754
Is this what the modern Fantasyfag that's been raised on R.R. Martin shit really like?

>>11353025
I don't see the essential quips & 90's references stage

>>11351756
Is it at least a better book than Song Of Kali?

Because I recently finished that and was disappointing as fuck.

>>11353025
I wonder why he went counterclockwise tbqh. Was he chinese?

What is /SFFG/s opinion on Footfall?

>>11353071
Cute doggo there.

>>11353075
Dass a Fithp niggah.

>>11352020
Newfag detected

>>11353071
Well worth it if you're looking for an action / adventure story.

>>11352020
Shut up fag or I'll rape you

>>11353025
The theory’s was dumb to begin with. You can’t shoehorn all stories into this set up. Now it’s been overdone and totally cliche.

>>11352922
The Menace from the Earth

>>11353005
Plenty of other good books/series have been based on non-systemic magic systems. The rise of systemic systems come from the popularization of D&D and video games. Systemic or non-systemic can be done well. It depends on the author.

>>11353025
Not sure if it works well only in fantasy novels as you can see it on other genres. And they are good.

>>11353222
>The theory’s was dumb to begin with
Not at all, if it explains a bit of theory is not wrong, trying to shoelace all stories is sane? Maybe maybe not, but there is consistency and to make convincing argument we have to talk about tastes, which is never going to be enough.

You all need to watch The Cyberpunk Educator https://archive.org/details/cyberpunkeducator

>>11352952
To be fair, anons have been popping in to ask what we thought about Malazan, Name of the Wind, and a handful of others every week for three-four years or however long this cesspit has moldered. Blogposts happen sometimes, but they are quickly gone, never to be searched for again.

>>11349754

>>11348114
>>11353281
Please, I need more of this maymay.

>>11353313

How well do e-readers support plain .txt files?

I read The Last Question and like everything sff written back in the mesozoic era I thought it was ok but then I remember it's considered the greatest of the greats and so influential and my brain just can't handle it and I feel dumb.

>>11353348
>it's considered the greatest of the greats and so influential

Never even heard of it.

>>11348109
It sounds like you've only gotten as far as book 3. So many complainers I see posting about Malazan only ever seem to get to book 3 before giving up, book 5 at most. Usually the huge shift in book 5 is too much for them and they just give up.

Any story like TaleSpin? I don't mean a talking bear but a flying pirates / steampunk-like setting.

>>11353422
Tailspin is Dieselpunk.

>>11353426
Cool yo, more genres. Any cool story with dieselpunk/steampunk/flying pirates setting I am open to.

>>11353005
Have you read Lord Dunsany, Hope Mirrlees, Robert. E. Howard, or Ursula Le Guin?

>>11351649
Yeah. It's a shitty rip off of Abercrombie.

whats some cool /sffg/ with dinosaurs. maybe time travel related or other planets.

>>11353222
>The rise of systemic systems come from the popularization of D&D and video games.

True. I would also add that the world today is more methodical and scientific, which finds reflection in the literature we read. Old authors -of both fiction and non fiction- felt more free to speculate, moralize, and wade into emotional territories, whereas someone doing the same today would be laughed at or dismissed unless he knows how to be subtle enough.
Also worth mentioning is that modern authors grew up consuming different material than their heroes. Classic fantasy authors grew up reading European legends and folk tales, whereas modern authors usually get their first contact with the supernatural through comic books, hence why they can't come up with magic that doesn't make its wielder look like a super hero. I can only imagine what sort of garbage the generation raised on marvel movies will shit out in the decades to come.

>>11353507
Gormenghast

>>11353525
>. I would also add that the world today is more methodical and scientific
I wish that was true, but it isn't. The rest of your post rises some valid points, but on the whole 20th century was far more rational than 21st.

>>11353348
Asimovs influence on sci-fi can't be overstated but his writing is overrated. Desu

For all the memeing about the author, this is actually good stuff.

>>11353868
It has its moments and that series is way better than anything else he's done. I'll happily read one every 3 years. He's popular here anyway based on it being all any cunt would talk about when the 3rd book was released.

>>11353507
lost world, land that time forgot?

Dunno anything if there's anything obvious more recent.

>>11353868
Yeah the first two books are pretty decent tbqh. I didn't think Oathbringer was all that crash hot though, Shallan got shit ton of chapters which ended up being straight up boring, the love triangle felt forced and contrived, Shadesmar was a massive drag and the final battle felt a bit tiring towards the end.

Szeth, Kaldadin and the Dalinar flashbacks were the only good parts of OB.

>>11350156
No one thinks it's deep. Even the translator of the game in his review of it says the philosophy, etc. stuff in the game is just for show to try and seem cool, which is something it succeeds at.

I finally figured out what really bugs me about Oathbringer and Sanderson. Instead of using prose to emphasize things he just uses italics in every other sentence. It comes off as so incredibly cheap and lazy. It's like reading some self-righteous essay on Reddit where the dude uses a big, bold font to make it obvious what the reader is supposed to feel.

>>11354100
for me it's the eyebrows

>>11354123
Let's not pretend Sanderson is the only one with pet phrasings.

>>11354198
This. EVERY author I've read has their little pet phrase that you tend to notice over and over and over....

>>11352520
>>11352494
You're enjoying them, don't lie.

>>11352528

>>11354412
I enjoyed the first one a lot. The second he was made too heroic, with the mind reader moralizing in the first half and the action man stuff in the second.

I liked the the country to the south was called Wall, though.

>>11352949
We know. It's his age of shit series that decimates the bed in fecal matter.

>>11352952
We put our blogposts in goodreads. Where it would last longer than here. I tried to convince the blogpost reviewer anon years ago to make a goodreads account and post his blogs in there, then link to us. But he said he liked that "it disappeared from man after a few days".

If you want to, you can post your blog to a goodreads page to preserve it.

>>11354123
>38
out of 450000 words

>>11353029
Terry is a shit author and you should kys for liking him.

>>11354496
38 eyebrow raises too many

>>11353313

>>11353025
campbell's a fucking idiot who did more damage to genre fiction than anyone else in the history of literature

>>11353507
West of Eden

New thread
>>11354543
>>11354543
>>11354543
>>11354543

>>11353422
>>11353432
It's S H I T though.

>>11354559
it's not THAT bad

>>11354449
I thought of wall as china. You were getting an Asian vibe from it.

>>11354564
Did you read it? Completely? Because it was.