/lit/ - Literature

first for sanderfag a hack

>>12772302
fpbp

>>12772295
I've read all the Conan stories. I prefer Howard's other characters, especially Kull and Bran Mak Morn. Conan is still great though, pure entertainment, modern fantasy writers could learn a lot from how much Howard could pack into a short story. I think sword and sorcery is associated with video games nowadays, most fantasy writers seem to either write multi-volume autistic epics or "woke" social commentaries.

>>12772295
Are C.S. Friedman's standalone books (The Madness Season and This Alien Shore specifically) as good as the Coldfire books?

>>12772325
I’m going to read something of Tad Willims. Already read memory, sorrow and thorn a long time ago. Should I read otherland or shadowmarch?

I think they absolutely they could make a comeback, if cliché will be avoided. Maybe stuff like “Kull“, the original philosopher king

>>12772076
House of blades is more closer to anime than the cradle series.
Cradle series is like the western's take on old Chinese movies with people lighter than air and jumping all over the place. You likes old martial arts kino Chinese movies right?

>>12772337
Bump I’d like to know too

>>12772352
Speaking of Kull, some turbo-autist wrote an essay on the stories, similar to Dale Rippke's on Conan.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/ay2rfg/kull_of_atlantis_chronology/

Yeah, I know, it's r*ddit.

>>12772325
>implying conan, princess of mars and others of their ilk wasn't autistic stories about strong muscly men epicly vanquishing evil(whatever they see as evil) and getting the gril
Conan cunts are the most delusional cunts in this general. They believe their shit don't stink. Commit sudoku.

>>12772392
Then go back there if you know. I don't, nor does any true 4chen user use redbits.

Porting my question over: Does anyone know some good sci-fi horror? Stuff in the vein of Event Horizon or Dead Space. Preferably not 40k or novelisations of the aforementioned movies/games. One of those charts would be handy, if one exists.

>>12772295
>Do you think Sword and Sorcery type stories will ever make a comeback
To be honest, no. Especially with today's reader base who majority of are too busy looking for things to get offended by instead of reading the actual story. S&S stories in particular seem to draw their ire because it's "toxic masculinity" or whatever buzzwords they spew from their ass.

>>12772399
Why does Conan trigger you so much? Last thread too literally all you did is cry like a bitch about the series. Or are you that retarded Malazan fag who thinks that bloated piece of garbage is the one of the best fantasy series to exist?

>>12772425
>S&S stories in particular seem to draw their ire because it's "toxic masculinity" or whatever buzzwords they spew from their ass.
You should get them to read Gor. Though I bet half of those sjw women would shlick to those books, I know I have rubbed out a few to some scenes, though it wastes time with pointless ideology and plot too much sometimes.

>>12772412
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Both the book and the film adaptation are solid but the sequel books are a letdown so I wouldn't bother with them.

>>12772489
I've read it. It's got the right feel (though I felt like it was just Roadside Picnic regurgitated through an American lens.) But I was looking for more of a spaceship/future sci-fi, you know?

>>12772489
I actually liked Authority. It's the only book that's given me real anxiety pains while reading it. Something about confusing bureaucracy and people acting outwardly normal while also being knee deep in their own fucking confusion really got to me. I didn't even finish it because the mindfuck was getting too strong. I don't really know why it got me so badly, but it really hit me.

>>12772412
The Andromeda Strain and Blindsight

>>12772625
>people acting outwardly normal while also being knee deep in their own fucking confusion
you need to embrace the Dick, anon.

>>12772409
You may be autistic.

posted a few threads ago but fuck me this shit is good. It's definitely a /lit/ book; the Greeks, based monk life, capital-t Technology is bad, etc. I just came from reading some Bakker too, so I'm still getting my philosophy fix.

I've been told by some Bakker fans to read Black Company, too, so I'll get on that soon. Hope you boys are enjoying it.

>>12772642
Not the kind of confusion I was talking about, but thank you for your concern.

i can't remember if it was this thread or another but whoever recommended A God Of Hungry Walls.

Fuck you. Interesting and fun narrator but that was just pure torture porn. I finished it because the POV was super interesting but FUCK that was taxing and I never want to do it again.

What do people have against Sanderson? I don't like his books but the guy himself seems pretty laid back and chill unlike someone like Rothfuss who is a complete and utter unlikable faggot.

>>12772399
>lol I haven't read anything I'm talking about
We know, Sandersonfag. We know the idea of actual masculine protags triggers you something fierce like the feminist incel you are.

>>12772325
That chart is crap because it doesn't list the stories in the order they were written which is how you should read them. And what do you think about Solomon Kane?

>>12772364
I'm not sure, I haven't seen those.

>>12772635
Blindsight looks like a good recommendation, thanks anon.

>>12772707
I dunno, never cared about him or his books that much. Btw, did anyone here watch his lectures on world building from 2013 or so now?

>>12772848
>lectures on world building
lol the least important aspect of storytelling and of course he gives lectures on it.

>>12772707
His books are popular, that is enough of a reason for most of the oxygen wasters here.

Yes, his books are shit but as a person he's chill af, has an incredible work ethic so you know if you like any of his books he will deliver the next one on time and most importantly he never preaches or panders to anyone in his books like all the other hugo grubbing clowns.

The man just wants to let his autism loose and build worlds and write anime story lines. I can respect that.

>>12772412
Rogue Moon by Algis Brudrys
The Legacy of Heorot
Galactic Center Saga is an space opera with some horror

>>12772707
He's one of the most popular modern fantasy writers,i can literally go to any other forum to talk about him,why would i want to talk about sanderson on 4chan(nel)?

>>12772725
>Dalinar isn't masculine
t. Habitual liar

I'm reading Foundation right now and I've read 2 out of the 5 stories in the book so far.
Apparently the first story in the book was actually written after all the others, and IMO it shows.
Asimov is going full Lucas here.

>>12773070
Compared to based Conan he's as masculine as a canadian.

>>12772412
Solaris

Just ordered the Last Wish, gents. What am I in for? As a fan of grimdark, such as Bakker, I mean, will i enjoy it?

>>12772447
>Gor
I've heard the first couple books are based. This true

>>12773150
You honestly think so? Dunno desu, both are stereotypically male in slightly different ways imo. Not even all that dissimilar

>>12773206
the first dozen or so are actually farily enjoyable.
after that the premise gets boring because you can only do so much with the world.

>>12772725
>denying the girls that want my dick makes me an incel
Okay
>masculine triggering
I read books where girls are raped and learn to like it. I don't know how much more masculine you can get than teaching women their place after killing their men.

>>12773392
What if a sly low test faggot poisoned a Chad. Then your rape fantasy sort of comes apart here doesn't it. The women now to bang some random incel and maybe have genetically inferior offspring.

Kinda considering downloading the first Dresden Files book this afternoon, but I'm not normally a fan of urban fantasy, generally prefer high fantasy. The books look equal parts intriguing and cringe tho, and I'm tempted to give it a try.
Can anyone give me an honest opinion on the book, not just /sffg/ memes?

>>12773544
1-7 or 8 are fairly enjoyable. after wards the series takes a nosedive in quality and writing. dresden becomes the very image of a mary sue and nothing is ever exciting or fun.
waldo is the best character in the series, closely followed by mouse.

>>12772425
>Or are you that retarded Malazan fag who thinks that bloated piece of garbage is the one of the best fantasy series to exist?
not him but what's with the Malazan hate? It *is* one of the best fantasy series to exist.
The quantity isn't for everyone but when you're looking to get into a full-fat series you can't beat it.

>>12773544
The first 3-4 books are noir wizard detective novels. After that the books go completely crazy in both scope and action as the MC slowly turns into a huge Gary Stu. It's decent popcorn entertainment with a breakneck pace once it gets going.

>>12773674
>It *is* one of the best fantasy series to exist.
No it isn't.

>>12773720
prove it.

>>12773720
yes it is

>>12773729
no u

>>12773720
couldn't agree more, anon, Erikson's prose is far to trashy for him to really be one of the greats/ There's no art to what he does

>>12773737
His prose isn't trash

>>12772337
What's so good about Coldfire? Haven't heard of it much.

>>12773764
It's water trash.

>>12773774
>What's so good about Coldfire
read it and find out

>>12773782
how does water make trash?

>>12773544
Just know that Anita Blake and Dresden Files spawned dozens if not hundreds of copy cats. And were two of the corner stones on which modern urban fantasy was built.

>>12773795
Ask your mom.

>>12773849
Can't yours tell me instead?

>>12773855
She could but she charges by the half hour

What book can provide me with a +5 to my testosterone levels?

>>12774027
Throne of Glass

>>12774027
GOR

>>12774047
>Throne of Glass is a young adult high fantasy novel series by American author Sarah J. Maas
>"young adult"
>American author
>Female author

>>12774068
Yeah but she finished with MAGNA

>>12774068
you sound triggered

>>12774027
fuck, I'm a paki and that snownigger's nose is bigger than mine
peak genetics I guess

>>12774068
>>American author
America created Sword & Sorcery which is the most masculine genre of fantasy.

>>12774068
based

>>12774107
>MUHRICA
kys any time

>>12774082
SEMEN

>>12774243
LOAD

>>12774247
IN THE ASSHOLE

>>12772670
Hey, I'm currently about halfway through The Thousandfold Thought and loving the series so far. How far are you, and what do you think of Second Apocalypse so far? Encountered any parts which felt like a major slog to you?

>>12774264
Not him, but the journey of the Great Ordeal in the Aspect Emperor gets a little slow - stretching one single journey over four books will do that - but Bakker still handles it masterfully.

Sweet Sejenus, you've no idea what's coming. The finale will blow your mind

>>12772412

Hull Zero Three

>>12772707
>What do people have against Sanderson
Against him as a person? Mormons are insane and he use big boy words he does not seem to understand (>muh deconstruction) but other than that I have nothing against him.

I'm back to reading Tolkien, just yesterday I re-did Akallabeth or whatever. It's fascinating how Numenoreans are essentially white pharaohs that turn into niggers as they go landward-southward. I also unironically believe that Sauron was right, even though he used deception to push them to their doom: everyone can see that immortality is a boon that is unfairly bestowed solely upon the Eldar who act as asexual manbabies 90 percent of the time.

>>12773864
Would I be able to cum in her? I want to give you a brother.

I just brought Robert.E Howard's "the complete chronicles". What am I in for? Is this a good start for Conan?

>>12774027
Is the V supposed to symbolize evola?

>>12774294
>The finale will blow your mind
And your butthole
there is a head on the pole behind you

>>12774160
Calm down, Mohammed.

>>12774533
You need to buy the Del Ray collections.

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
The Bloody Crown of Conan
The Conquering Sword of Conan

They're the absolute best collections of not only REH's Conan, but ALL of REH's works.

>>12774564
But no one likes you. Not even your allies.

Eye of the World was the best WoT book, prove me wrong.

>>12774584
You're projecting, Achmed.

>>12774556
8^O

>>12772423
good choice; I wonder if there will be any quality discussion regarding how underhanded Cook's prose is in that particular book; how subtle and unasumming, and how much bleakness it manages to evoke in that regard. It dissipates as the series wears on, I'm afraid. But I loved how 'hinted' the magick was in that book, how undercurrent-ly powerful.

Any good literary criticism / essays / scholarly work on the fantasy genre? I'm not looking for someone who's just an erudite but someone who can really write about a topic.

For example, I really like how Houllebecq wrote about Lovecraft.

>>12774294
>>12774264
Keep in mind that The Great Ordeal and The Unholy Consult are one book split in two due to length and it shows. All the payoff TGO is building too is shifted into TUC. But still a fantastic ending to the series.

>>12774599
I'm only on The Dragon Reborn but honestly I think I prefer it thus far. The whole thing about Rand becoming a rampant killer the more powerful he gets is quite gripping and not what I expected

Loved the climax on the first one though, that battle at the Eye of the World was great

>>12774661
True that, most devastating climax to a fantasy series I've ever experienced, holy shit

Positively roiling for The No God, whenever that drops

>>12774660
https://www.blackgate.com/the-demarcation-of-sword-and-sorcery/

>>12774708
looks decent; Ursula Leguin's language of the night also comes to mind

>>12774599
It's hard to pick between the first 6 books. They all have their pro's. Possibly The Shadow Rising because of the Aiel and their history. Lord of Chaos is the start of the pacing issues but ends with Dumai's Wells ...

>>12774779
The aiel are cancer and you're a homosexual.

"You insolent bastard's son! Your father was a traitor to the Empire, and I killed him in a fair fight!"
"You murdered him in bed when you found he'd seduced your wife! Couldn't you even get it up for Efrel?"

Damn.

>>12774685
Honestly. I opened TUC and saw the chapter titles in the table of contents. The last chapter is The Furnace Plain. Oh fuck.

I shook my head at the end, Bakker you bastard.
>>12774027
Masters of Rome

where can i read some good critical essays on sff? anybody know a good place to start?

>>12774660

Language of the Night by Ursula K. Le Guin

On Fairy Stories by Tolkien

The Decay of Lying by Oscar Wilde

and the rather hard to find Beyond Life by James Branch Cabell

All of them writers who must be respected in their field, not agreed with necessarily, but respected for their knowledge of the craft.

>>12774660
Read Moorcock's Shitpost about lotr

>>12774952
Based

>>12774660
>>12774953
https://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/on-thud-and-blunder/

>>12772295
Why don't we have a discord?

>>12772993
Definitely going to check out Rogue Moon and Heorot, thanks.
>>12773157
Read it, but a solid suggestion, thanks.
>>12774476
Looks interesting, but the reviews slam it. I’ll see if I can pick it up cheap. Much appreciated.

>>12772670
Stephenson is so underrated it's sickening. All the praise he gets is muh Snowcrash (which is really good), but Anathem, Baroque Cycle, Cryptinomicon, hardly get a mention.

>>12775350
Because we're not Discord trannies.

>>12775350
Because we are not leddit

>>12775407
We aren't? Certainly had me fooled with all the Malazan, Breeks and Sanderson spam.

>>12775429
Touche'

>>12775429
Redshite was made 2005
Malazan was released way before that
Sanderson's first book was 2005
How can two things before the upvote spawn, be the upvote spawn?

Any books about someone gaining power and trying to use it for good only to realize they're so powerful they don't answer to anyone? Wouldn't that always be the result of someone with that much power? I'm talking Superman-tier powers not political.

They don't come any finer, lads. Farce, tragedy, satire. If you have a Kindle, do yourself a favor and download every volume from Project Gutenberg.

For although they have kept from the sight of man for centuries in that great abyss, they are not stripped of all the power that once was theirs. Not all of their undersea craft have been destroyed. They have fantastic machines, built by an alien science of a scope far beyond human comprehension. Colossal metal ships that move at tremendous speed beneath the sea, propelled by a power that is not pure magic but of a science which even they no longer fully understand. They have weapons that can burn right through the stoutest warship. Their submarine craft can lash out with fearful streams of elemental flame--controlled bolts of energy that can blast to cinders all that they strike.

>tfw the Sword & Sorcery novel you're reading suddenly takes a sci-fi turn

>>12775549
>Any books about someone gaining power and trying to use it for good only to realize they're so powerful they don't answer to anyone? Wouldn't that always be the result of someone with that much power?
Any book on communism/socialism.

>>12775549
Worm, kind of

>>12775636
Worm is unadulterated dogshit though.

MoL is the superior and only good web novel.

>>12772412
You might try Admiral by Sean Danker, it's kinda Alien in theme. Basic setup is a Admiral (who's not actually in the military) and a couple other military people wake up from cryosleep to find themselves in a crashed starship on a mysterious asteroid.

>>12775381
>“What’s your pleasure?” asked the barista, a young Asian-American woman with interesting piercings, tattoos in place of eyebrows, and a demeanor that blended I’m sooo interesting and this job sucks with I have a really cool secret life and this job is an awesome front. Her nametag read “Julie Lee: Professional 聪明的驴子•双簧管” (which I understood, roughly, as “Smart-ass Oboist”).

>We ordered drinks—Tristan, black coffee; myself, something I would never normally have, a complicated something-latte-something with lots of buzzwords I picked out at random from the menu over the bar, and which prompted a brief smirk from our barista. The agents of shadowy government entities, I reasoned, were likely to be trained in psychological evaluation of potential recruits, and I did not want him getting an accurate read on me until I decided whether or not I wished to pursue his offer. (Also he was rather handsome, which made me jittery a bit, so I decided to hide behind an affected eccentricity.) The result being that he sat down with a lovely-smelling cup of dark roast and I sat down with something almost undrinkable.

wow such prose

>"We have a bunch of very old documents—cuneiform, in one case—and we need them translated, at least roughly, by the same person. You’ll be paid very well. But I can’t tell you where we got the documents, or how we got them, or why we’re interested in them. And you cannot ever tell anyone about this. You can’t even say to your friends, ‘Oh, yeah, I did some classified translating for the government.’ Even if we publish your translation of it, you can’t take ownership of it. If you learn something extraordinary from translating the material, you can’t share it with the world. You’re a cog in a piece of machinery. An anonymous cog. You’d have to agree to that before I say another word.”

>“That’s why Blevins threw you out,” I said.

>“Yes, he’s strongly committed to academic freedom.”

>Dear reader, give me credit for not -going LOL on- mocking him.
(the - section is struck through)
>“No he isn’t.”

many underrated

>>12775429
>a miniscule percentage of people on reddit like malazan so i dont like it

>"All those poor old heroes of legend," Kane mourned. "Gone out and died for their lady's love. All we three got between us is a one-legged madwoman, and I can't even give her away."

Kane can be pretty funny.

>>12772295
picked up pic related at the store once. thought it'd be cool, kinda is, but its a hole lotta sex and magical realm stuff. it reads like an extended shitpost. actually the adventuring aspect of the story is very imaginative. p.s. yo boy be high off the weed

>>12775712

>>12772412
Where do people here get such good Sci fi/fantasy art?
>your pic and this one related

>>12775805
unironically deviantart or just google/ddg images.

>>12775805
I posted that in the op a while back, the file name is the same. I got it from reddit/r/art/top all time list.

>>12775886
>reddit

>>12775805
I follow a bunch of art blogs on tumblr and save the good stuff.

>>12775658
I like the sound of that.

>>12775656
When mother of memeing turns into an ebook, then an audiobook, I will read it.

>>12775685
When did Stephenson hurt you anon? As a child? Did he touch your nono place?

>>12774264
Nice dude, read it all. It's a great ride. The book after The Thousandfold Thought (The Judging Eye I believe) was borderline unbearable for me, but it was worth it to get through. Great Ordeal and Unholy Consult were great in my opinion. Truth shines.

>>12775967
>and save the good stuff.
With their permission I hope.

>>12775805
Artstation, tumblr, /a/, pixiv and no one uses Deviantart anymore.

Are there any good flintlock fantasies that don't take place mainly in a war or on ships?

>>12776060
If they didn’t want their shit pirated they wouldn’t put it on the internet.

>>12776213
There’s Brian McCellan’s stuff, but ‘good’ might be a stretch.

>>12776213
The last two books in the Rigante series by David Gemmell.

Is The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison a decent read?

>>12776262
If you like gay faggot jigaboo bullshit then sure!

>>12776221
>>12776241
Slim pickings, huh?
How about just flintlock fantasy in general, what are some of the more standout books?

>>12776273
What does that even mean?

Book report time! My first full-length Kane novel and even though it lacked the punch to the testicles horror shock most of the short stories of Kane have it was still an enjoyable read. I feel like these Kane stories are grimderp done correctly; they're written more from a horror perspective than a 'I want to shock everyone with how nihilistic and edgy my stories are because that makes it DEEP' perspective grimderp writers seem to have.

>>12776353
It means she writes gay faggot jigaboo bullshit and if you're a fan of gay faggot jigaboo bullshit then I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

>>12776310
The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler is all that comes to mind. I've only read the first book of the series and liked it well enough, when I'm bored sometime soon I'll probably read some of the sequels.

I think I've figured out my villain problem /sffg/. I still wish I could have gone with a wendigo, but the villain I came up with is if nothing else memorable and neither too silly nor edgy

>>12775576
I've read a bunch of arabian nights stories. I'm actually really surprised how few of them are remotely good. I guess that's why aladdin, ali babba and sinbad are the only ones people remember.

Also, the city of brass was the biggest disappointment of my life. I spent months look for a version with it and in the end it was a whole lot of fucking nothing.

That said, there are a few good ones. Notably, the story THE THREE CALENDERS, SONS OF KINGS, AND THE FIVE LADIES OF BAGDAD, has just about everything. A scribe turned into a gorilla, an island with an insane video game puzzle, a bunch of drunk people telling the stories of how each of them lost their eye...

>>12776310
the powder mage series, liveship traders, gentlemen bastards I think

it's mostly garbage

>>12776374
So it's a great book, but you hate gay people. Got it.

>>12776427
Nice try, Jemisin, you malignant cunt.

>>12776310
Okay off the top of my head:

Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler: IMO this is probably one of the better/best offerings. Basically it's the French revolution transposed over a fantasy world and Napoleon is trying to harness the power of demons.

Powder Mage by Brian McCellan: Entertaining but McCellan is one of Brandon Sanderson's disciples and it shows in his writing. On the upside his characters are nowhere near as wooden. It uses the same "fantasy French revolution" setup to start things but diverges a fair amount.

Instrumentalities of the Night by Glen Cook: Set more around the early modern period around say, 1300 or so. Early cannons and so on but it's not the full gunpowder age yet. IMO it's some of his better writing but the last two books are fairly rushed because he intended the story arc to cover 5 books but he found out the publisher was cancelling the last one while he was finishing the third book.

Temeraire by Naiomi Novik: The Napoleonic Wars but dragons exist and are crewed like tallships. Hornblower style stories about a naval officer going on adventures except instead of having a ship it's a dragon.

Cold Iron by Stina Lecht: More a traditional fantasy novel but with guns.

Sword of the Bright Lady: Portal fantasy where a engineer from Arizona ends up in fantasy land and starts teaching the locals how to make guns, first to kill the monsters, second to shoot the nobility.

Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky: apparently it's really good but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Adjacent would be historical fiction, mainly the Aubery and Martin novels, and Sharpe.

>>12776433
And women too apparently.

>>12776401
Winter never learns the joy of dick. Don't bother continuing.

>>12776353
It means he is from pol and should go back there.

>>12776456
>>12776474
>>>/lgbt/

>>12776371
Why, as a heterosexual man, would you pick up a book with scantily clad men, with bulging muscles and appendages on the cover? Are you a closet fag?

>>12776483
>if you aren't a hh 88 lover, you are a filthy faggot
Nice strawman pol. Now back to your containment

>>12776484
>Are you a closet fag?
You should be asking yourself that question, Mr. I'm Not Secure In My Sexuality At All

>>12776436
Guns of Dawn is pretty decent, Emily is a genuinely well written female character who actually feels like a female character instead of just "man with tits" and the battle scenes are really good, unfortunately Mallen and the Indigines are the worst part of the book with how horrendously out of place they feel (honestly feels like they were pulled straight out of a YA novel) and they show up a lot, also doctor Lam's entire character can be summed up with "he was sad"
Still, worth a look if you're into the genre.

>>12776486
See: >>12776483
This thread isn't for commie incels.

can we just purge the /pol/tards already? Not just ban them, I mean physically. It would solve a lot of societal problems

>>12776533
>>>/lgbt/

>>12776537
not now sweetie. the grown-ups are discussing grown-up stuff. We can play later

>>12776542
>not now sweetie. the grown-ups are discussing grown-up stuff. We can play later

>>12776490
I'm not the one that only reads books with near full nude men on it.

>>12776610
No; you're the one who needs to see a therapist to help you finally come out of the closet.

>>12775656
i have this weird feeling that MoL is at least 4000 pages. That can't be true r-right?

Where should I start with Gene Wolfe?

>>12776876
start with greeks

>>12775656
Fuck off Worm is great. But I agree MoL is too.

>>12776037
You can turn into an ebook yourself, use webtoepub, works like a charm. Why you would want an audiobook of a web serial is beyond me. Even if it's made it will likely be fan made and terrible.

>>12776874
Its around 700k words so about the size of a series that is 6-7 standard sized books.

>>12772295
Is this better than WoT?

>>12776945
What the fuck is that cover? Why is there a horndog in the background?

>>12774533
>What am I in for?
The Complete Chronicles of the editors at Weird Tales and various later chums. As others have said, if you want REH's complete stories you need to get the Del Rey collections.

>>12776262
Non meme answer. It is decent. Jemisin is undoubtedly a talented writer but unlike Le Guin, for example, her politics are a little heavy handed.

>>12776952
>complete chronicles
>not actually complete
Not him but this triggers my autism.

>>12776945
While certainly not a masterpiece it's better than WoT.

>>12776975
Thanks for answering. The protagonist seems interesting, all the shit that happens to her, being mentally broken and all. So I picked it up, and hopefully it has a good story and be worth a read.

>>12777000
To be fair to Gollancz The Complete Chronicles of Conan is quite a good collection. The main fault of the collection is using edited manuscripts instead of restored originals. From my understanding no stories later "completed" by other writers or editors are included, if included they are there as drafts and fragments.

>>12777020
Worst case scenario just drop the book/series.

>read Terra Ignota
>expect feminism
>get female autism and yaoi
O-okay. I like it though.

>>12777020
If you're into that kinda stuff I can recommend The Last Man on Earth Club. It's just 400 pages and not part of an eight book series or missing the final book like most of the things posted here.

So after finally overcoming the greeks, I've been allowed by the secret /lit/ council to read sci-fi. I've looked around a bit and the following (based purely on description and word of mouth) seemed interesting to me:
-Dune
-Prince of Nothing
-Way of Kings
-Malazan
-Hyperion
I was also thinking of Lord of the Rings but I was hesitant because I watched the movies like 10 times already.

My question is, which one of those would be best for someone dipping into the genre for the first time, and which ones should I keep for later? (Like maybe one book has stuff you appreciate more if you're already accustomed to the usual tropes and plot points.) If there's other novels similar to those that are even better for beginners, shoot away.

>>12777083
>fantasy general
>hasn't read LotR

>>12777083
Start with Malazan but at book 5

>>12777083
Maybe start by learning the difference between Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Way of Kings and Malazan are only recommended by redditfags, don't touch them as they're absolutely awful.

Dune, Prince of Nothing and Hyperion are all fine. Read the blurbs and just pick one, any one will do.

>>12777112
>LotR
That's a children's book. People over the age of 7 won't like it. It has the depth of Dora The Adventurer in terms of storytelling, and less characterization.

>>12777119
Are the first 4 books worthless?

>>12777083
>Dune
Only the first book is worth reading at all and it's not as good as its reputation. Worth your time and pretty entry level though.

>Prince of Nothing
Lord of the Rings minus the compelling prose. I finished the Aspect Emperor recently and I still don't know whether I actually enjoyed any of it. It has a very peculiar pseudo-epic style that leaves you disconnected from most characters, and as a consequence from many events. I really don't know. There's no Frodo and Sam in this, like, no characters you relate to and root for, it's all Aragons of some kind.
Read LotR, if you loved the movies you'll probably like the books, since they're (mostly, frick you Tom Bombadil) better.
The story is continued in the Aspect Emperor tetralogy, which is probably not the last in this world either, so take that into account too.

>Hyperion
The first book is decent, but the others are increasingly annoying. Simmons throws a lot of crap at the canvas and it doesn't always work. I almost think this book was an accident, because all his other work is noticeably worse (and this isn't amazing to begin with). Worth a read, but the other books are not and you'll need to read them to know the full story, so :shrug:

>other novels similar to those
A Song of Ice and Fire, which is unfinished and I haven't read in ages. My young dumb self enjoyed it, but I can't vouch for it.

>The First Law
Often suggested, but I found it jejune. Like, not even in a fun way, it's downright cringy with its edginess.

>The Black Company
Starts out pretty fun, but turns bad in the later books. I wish things would stay consistent, it's difficult to recommend stuff that starts good but ends trash.

>>12777126
Midnight Tides takes place at the same time as the first on a completely different continent. It's just easier to get into it that way as I and a few others will attest. Go back and read the first afterwards. It might be a slog and jumbled but it's worth it once you start Deadhouse Gates

>>12777120
don't listen to this faggot. Malazan is huge in scope so maybe not the best to begin with but it's not hard if you're not an imaginationlet down the line

>>12777020
The third book of the Broken Earth is disappointingly average because all the motifs and mysteries in the other books hinted at throughout the series are explained to you with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The second book is by far the highlight of the series because it hints at it rather than telling you.

I was also disappointed in Flow my tears, the policeman said's epilogue for much the same reason.

Furthermore, I think Shinsekai Yori (an anime) handles the themes behind the Broken Earth better. There is a subtler moral examination and ambiguity about what society ought to do if magical users possessing such power were to exist.

>>12777172
>but muh yuuuuuge autistic world

>>12777083
Clark Ashton Smith is underrated and perfect for beginners in fantasy. Get anything with his Zothique cycle

>>12777083
Read LotR anyway. Read Dune. Read Hyperion. Disregard the remaining. Read Latro in the Mist if you like Greeks.

>>12777112
>>12777119
>>12777120
>>12777138
>>12777172

Thanks guys, I'll start with Dune (first book) and LOTR since they seem more entry-level. I'll continue with Hyperion and Prince of Nothing and keep Malazan after since its scope is that large. Black Company also sounds interesting so I'll take a look at that once I'm done.

>>12777253
Oh hey, I actually planned to read him and Lovecraft side-by-side after going through a couple of normal fantasy books first. Which books in particular do you recommend from him?

>>12777278
If you want his best right away and cheap get pic related. If you end up liking him and want to go chronologically and see him progress as a writer, get the Nightshade editions of all his works starting with 'The End of the Story'. Never wrote a full novel sadly but many of his stories are continuous. As I mentioned before anything with his Zothique or Averoigne cycles. His wiki has the order in which they are listed. Read his poetry as well as I think that is where he excelled.

>>12777083
skip way of kings and maybe malazan

>>12772295
I love this artstyle, anyone have more? Also, how do I get into Conan? Any certain order I should follow or is there some sort of large collection of stories?

>>12777373
Get these. You can look up the chronological order online but Howard wrote them as if Conan were telling him the stories of random intervals from his life. I would start with his only novel 'The Hour of the Dragon' which is in The Bloody Crown of Conan

>>12777416
Or get this if you can find it at a reasonable price

>tfw you cross the threshold in a series that divides the "genuinely good" books from the "fanfiction schlock, only reading at this point because I'm invested in the setting and addicted like a pathetic junkie to seeing what happens to the characters" books

I just started reading the Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. As a fan of sci-fi/fantasy, I'm about 140 pages in and it's the most unnecessarily detailed story I've ever read. I find that my eyes are trying to skim over sentences, trying to summarize them instead of reading them, because my brain is learning it's usually just more pointless detailing.

Has anyone read the book, or anything by Hamilton? Is this series worth the 3000+ page investment?

>>12777373
Frank Frazetta is your man.

>>12776937
Blue mage raised by dragons
Waldo Rabbit
Trysmoon saga
And a bunch of others started as webnovels. Then got book deals / self published on Amazon. Audiobooks soon followed.

>>12777083
>maybe one book has stuff you appreciate more if you're already accustomed to the usual tropes and plot points

>>12777112
>book general
>never read a book

>>12772295
>muh sword and sorcery

>>12777416
>>12777431
>>12777514
Thanks!

Any cute vampire girl recommendations? The unfinished Zero Sight series has left a huge hole in me that wants to be filled.

>>12775850
>>12775886
>>12775967
>>12776070
Awesome, thanks for the (you)s. I'll check it out!

Going to the bookstore today, what are some recs I can try and pick up besides Black Company? I'd prefer series but I'm open to anything.

>>12777462
All the time.

>>12777491
>Peter F. Hamilton
All his books are roughly 200 pages longer than they should be, but I think his later works are more compelling.

I read dune and really liked it
What to read next?

>>12777751
>has left a huge hole in me that wants to be filled.

>Urban fantasy
Is there a single example of this meme genre where the characters don't act like insufferable teenagers?! The genre is tainted with YA fiction not characters.

>>12778215
Dune 2

>>12778215
If you really liked it you might want to keep reading Dune until you reach God Emperor.

>>12775656
>only good web novel

>>12777462
Ah, I see you just finished the books of the north too.

50 pages into The Library at Mount Char and wtf am I reading? Is stuff gonna make sense any time soon?

How do I stop myself from writing fetish shit to get off and start writing actual publishable fantasy things? Like, I love writing, but even putting aside the potential nightmare scenario of writing a fantasy novel and having it be ignored, one sort of writing gets me rock hard while I'm doing it and the other doesn't. Since I'm definitely not expecting to make a lot of money doing either, it's hard to actually make something that's meaningful. I know some of you here write and I'm sure you're all perverted fucks too; have you found any strats that work to keep your dick out of your book stuff?

>>12778996
Dude just write pure smut with minimal plot and rake in the mad patreon $$$

>>12778996
theres a huge market for erotica.
you can mix story and erotica or just focus on the smut however you want. theres a market for everything.

>>12778996
why not just embrace your fetish writing?
self publish and sell it online on amazon or patreon or something and then in your free time try and work on your non-porn fantasy books?
jerk off and when you're done and clear headed work on your 'actual' books

>>12778996
Write porn with plot novels and publish on amazon.

>>12778996
Fetish shit sells. If you write another Fantasy it'll most likely get buried underneath the slew of other writers who want to make it big with their own fantasy stories. With catering to a fetish you'll at the very least get a small and dedicated reader base. Just look at the litrpg genre.

Finished re-reading Blindsight and Echopraxia and while I can mostly figure out what's going on across both books there's one little bit that's making me feel like a complete brainlet.

In Echopraxia, at what point isBruks infected with Portia?

For the life of me I can't pinpoint it. We know it happens and we know the consequences of it, but when exactly does it happen because I'm lost. Was it when Lianna gives him the sample of Portia that the Bicamerals took? Indicating that they wanted him to get infected all along as part of their plan which eventually got fucked up in the end?

Also, why did Portia have to make Bruks kill Valerie? Sure I get that Valerie was a murderous sociopath who orchestrated the deaths of the Bicamerals and was fine with killing and eating her zombie soldiers, but in the end all she wanted was a friend as smart as her to talk to - she was just lonely all along :(

I wonder if any /wst/ people post here...

Anyone got good recs for 19th century fantasy and proto-fantasy romanticism? I really want to get into the roots of the genre.

Are genre short stories and novels going to die? I keep finding these high concept fantasy/sci-fi series everywhere but in the written form, and they receive more praise and attention than anything any writer has achieved since fucking JK Rowling or some young adult meme author.

Is there a point to producing these works anymore when so few people read? What are we creating for?

As embarrassing as it is to say considering it's a YA series, I really liked The Old Kingdom series, especially Sabriel.
Any books that got kind of a similar vibe to them?

>>12779267
>high concept fantasy/sci-fi series
Like?

>>12777253
Based

>>12779023
You overestimate how much I need money and how much money patreon authors - even good, consistent ones - get, at least within my fetish's little world.

>>12779027
Yeah, but I want to write something meaningful; that's the point. Erotica is not meaningful, to me at least, no matter how much thought I put into it.

>>12779082
I have a few hundred dedicated readers and have pretty much reached the entirety of the market my particular brand of shit appeals to. (If I post some shit I care less about on Literotica, I've got thousands of readers, but that feels like a chore because it's not my thing.) I'd rather have 20 people read a novel than 10000 read a kink story I post, anyhow.

Anyways, tips?

>>12778996
Nope. I can't escape the commission pit myself. It's so much easier to write for someone's dick than their hearts and minds. In fact, I would do it full-time if I thought it was feasible.
t. smut author who just finished a $260 porn story for a client

>>12779474
>fetish's little world.
Come on breh what gets your motor going?

>>12777373
>>12778026
Boris Vallejo has some cool art too
>>12778215
Now you play the porn game

>>12779492
>t. smut author who just finished a $260 porn story for a client
How many hours work?

>>12779492
>$260 porn story
How the fuck long it was, no pun intended?

>>12779505
Probably like 8-10?

>>12779528
13k words.

>>12779492
Damn, I don't milk people that hard, though I usually stay below the 10k word mark when I do (very selectively) take commissions. I'd probably have to ask for numbers like that if I was going to do something longer, though with kink stuff I feel like I can get the job done quicker than "steamy" erotica.

>>12779554
>13k words.
Pretty sure dude could have gotten that for much cheaper.

>>12779563
>more words = better

>>12779563
Yeah, if he wanted it written by someone who isn't me. I could also commission a ten year old to draw me a porn picture on a napkin with some crayons for a nickel.

You get what you pay for faggot.

>>12779557
It's a flat rate. 2 cents a word. Porn writers are perpetually cucked under the shadow of drawfags who get ten times the attention because grug like cave painting.

You've just gotta get an audience, up your rate, and keep improving.

>>12779583
>>12779571
I suppose, still seems to high for me. I just started to write smut for myself instead.

>>12779415
Sabriel is one of the YA series that is generally considered worth the read around here. Howl's Moving Castle is another.

>>12779616
>>12779415
Those are retroactively young adult that s*yboys and roasties use to try and legitimize their contemporary schlock.

>>12779589
I also draw. I write better than I draw, but I draw better than most. Don't bother with art commissions just because that's straight up work; if I take a written commission that I actually want to write at least I'm getting off on it, too. I could charge $20/k and still get some business just because nobody else does what I do, but I don't really feel the need.

Anyways, I guess I shouldn't have asked 4chan how not to write porn. I'm just going to try a strat where I'll write 25% of the word count of my last smut story towards a Real Publishable Novel before I let myself start on the next cock fiesta fic. Maybe that'll work.

>>12779624
I-I've read Faust (Marlowe and Goethe) and Blood Meridian if that earns me enough /lit/ good boy points to excuse the occasional episode of shit taste.

>>12777253
>>12777305
Why can't I find an ebook in English for download that collects all of CAS's Zothique stories? I know all of his stuff has been posted online, but I specifically would like an epub or mobi of his Zothique stuff and I can't find one in English.

>>12779415
No shame, it's a great series.

>>12779415
sabriel and the other books in that series are fantastic and honestly there are no other series I can think of that are really similar. The only other YA series I can think of that compared with Old Kingdom is the bartimaues trilogy by jonothan stroud. Most YA is shit but imo these books are an exception.

I really liked Will Wights cradle series and tried to read house of blades but I cant get over how juvenile and retarded the protaganist is. Does he get better or should I just drop the series? The whole Traveller system is really cool and I like pretty much everything else about the book. A shitty protag kind of ruins it for me though.

>>12779676
Try mobilism.org

>>12779777
>Does he get better or should I just drop the series
nope gets worse.

>>12779790
ok, dropped then.

>>12779797
>lied
Who's /DEVILISH/ here?

>>12779777
Nothing ever gets better

>>12779830

What are some fantasy series similar to Malazan?
>ib4 WoT

>>12779842
Relax, only pretending to be that other anon. You can drop it.

>>12779741
I'm not looking specifically for YA novels if that helps broaden the range a little.
The kind of tone I'm looking for is a vaguely understood world you want to learn more about but exploration feels tense because one thing you do know is there's potentially something real dangerous around every corner, kind of a "frontier fantasy" if you will.

Been getting into Conan and thanks to looking shit up related to Conan and Sword and Sorcery in general I came across Frank Frazetta's artworks. Goddamn how have I never heard of this guy before? He even looked like a chad irl too.

>>12779868
He was a chad,he got fit so he could draw muscles better and he liked women with big butts,a true patrician.

>>12779865
This is kind of a weird rec because its plot/setting are nothing like Sabriel but Blindsight fits what youre asking for. its sci fi not fantasy though.

>>12779865
Coldfire trilogy

>>12779868
You can even find a lot of S&S books by looking at his art because he made lot of book covers
>>12779865
This >>12779900 Coldfire it's great

>>12779868
Frazetta was into the thicc meme decades before it actually became a mainstream thing.

>>12779900
>>12779915
Thanks anons, this looks pretty neat
>>12779897
Will also keep this one in mind when I get into a sci-fi mood.

>>12779900
>>12779915
I read the first Coldfire book a while ago, and I found it to be alright but too long for its plot, and with too much of it consisting of just travelling around. Should I read the rest?

IT'S BEEN A LONG ROAD BUT I STARTED THE FINALE TODAY AND BOY OH BOY I AM READY TO BE MIND FUCKED

>>12780051
>11,000 pages
Is it worth it? That's a pretty big investment if the books aren't absolutely amazing

>>12779972
That derpy looking T-rex always makes me laugh.

>>12780051
Does the series get better as it goes on, anon? I put down House of Chains a while ago, but everyone here seem to lord Erikson around here, and Malazan as a whole, so I'm considering giving it another go

>>12780151
Not that Anon but, House of chains was a bit of a slog, but I found book 5-7 great, 8 was a slog for about 3/4th of it and then great at the end.

>>12780151
>everyone
No. It's shit. But you can't just sit around replying to every post regarding a certain series telling them they have shit taste.

>>12780151
I read the first four books years ago and while I liked it, I evidently didn't like them enough to keep going. I think I didn't like the thick-ass length of each book. I decided to start the series back up with Book 5 this year--as you can tell--and have greatly enjoyed the series since. Erikson's writing carries everything and I actually appreciate being a little older to understand and enjoy more.

>>12780207
Are books 5-7 as good as Deadhouse Gates? That's probably been my favourite so far, if it's as good as that I'll consider reading on

>>12779972

>>12780222
lmao

>>12780234
Now that I look back at his works, they are full of mfw reaction image material.
>>12779972
Just look at that dino.

>>12780234

>>12780267
again, look at that face
>AAAAAGGH, save me
Women looks hot though, more or less the body type I like, scene reminds me of warhammer fantasy witch elf art.

>>12777751
Kizumonogatari

>>12776876
Book of the New Sun

>>12778678
You're kidding right?

>>12779658
Sounds like a bad idea to me: you're basically telling yourself that writing your Real Novel is a chore. It should really be the other way around if anything.
Figure out why you find it harder to write what you care about more and solve that. My guess is a perfectionist fear of doing it badly, but you should know more about you than I do.

>>12780222
This is from Fire and Ice right? What an underrated fantasy movie. I'm pretty sure Teegra kickstarted my puberty back when I first watched the film. They're apparently making a remake which is going to be garbage because the usual crowd has problems with the classic movie. Namely Teegra running around essentially naked the entire film since her outfit consists of a bra and thong so that's sexist even though the main hero is wearing just as much clothing, and the fact that the subhumans are all dark skinned people so that's apparently racist.

>>12772338
Read Otherland. I read all of the Shadowmarch books, and they're pretty generic fantasy, I'll be damned if I can remember anything about them except that he did the usual crazy faeries thing. Otherwise it was macguffin saves the day.

>>12780608
>the subhumans are all dark skinned people
So the movie is realistic is what you're saying.

>>12772295
>It's a Perrin Episode

>>12780608
Movie should have ended with Nekron alive and into incest with his queen mother....

>>12774672
>>12774779
The pacing problems begin in Shadow Rising and accelerate in Fires of Heaven due to the unbearable Nynaeve & Elayne D-plot.

I wrote a Wheel of Time pilot which will never be produced because Amazog is run by SJW retards who value a bland appeal to 'girl power' over mythological archetypes and man as a creature with a moral dimension.

>>12780991
>I rewrote the story, added literally nothing new and it's epik
You and every 13 year old on fanfiction.net

>>12779101
I havent re read the books and i dont have an answer to that cuz im a brainlet. But that book is really fucking scary to me for some reason. the thought that humanity with our sapience is a fluke, and mindlessness is the norm is terrifying

Does anyone on /sffg/ actually like the First Law series? I just finished the trilogy and I really liked it, but I never see it discussed here. I think it tried a little hard to be gritty and edgy, but there were several characters I loved, and the storyline got really interesting near the end.

>>12781123
Dude subverting fantasy tropes LOL.

>>12780965
based and milfpilled

should I read the Second Apocalypse series? i don't usually like hopelessly nihilistic works but the world seems fascinating.

>>12781339
>i don't usually like hopelessly nihilistic works but the world seems fascinating.
It really isn't. I read the series because I saw some fan art and I thought the concept conveyed in that fan art was awesome for an epic fantasy series. But then I actually read the series.... and yea I very much regret it. I can deal with nihilism and edginess, but like most epic fantasies it was such a fucking BORE. Not to mention the pretentiousness which was also a fucking slog to get through. I will commend Bakker on one thing, and I would say he's done this better than any other fantasy writer I've read so far: the villains of the story truly feel absolutely, horribly EVIL. Yes they have their motivations beyond simply being evil, but they come across so depraved and horrific that was I truly impressed. Unfortunately these villains exist in a world where almost everyone is awful to some degree so their evilness is severely blunted when the "heroes" of the story are little better. But hey that's grimderp for you.

>>12781364
>implying the consult did anything wrong
Brainlet detected.

>>12772707
I talked to him, he’s a real dick. Pirated his books ever since.

Thoughts on The Langoliers? Also who exactly do they serve in the grand scheme of things? I don't think they are agents of the Crimson King but more than likely their own boss or some sort of Todash monsters.

>>12781123
I liked it. This general is all about contrarianism.
No one recommends anything, but keep harping on how they hate Sanderson, Malayan, whatever
Except when gene Wolfe posters post.

>>12781565
>REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE JUST LIKE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE LIKES!
And you're a bitch ass faggot newfag. Every goddamn thread is filled with nothing but MALAZAN SANDERSON MALAZAN SANDERSON MALAZAN SANDERSON.

>>12781500
what did he say?

>>12780965
I'm 100% sure Nekron was either gay or impotent.

NEW
>>12781732
>>12781732
>>12781732
>>12781732
>>12781732
>>12781732

Time for the slave to make a new thread.

>>12781743
you slow bitch, i fast.

>>12775685
Is that from Snowcrash? I don't remember it being so obnoxious.
There are some neat parts though.