/lit/ - Literature

>>13071324
Read it. READ IT.

>>13071337
Question from old thread

>>13071328
Monthly anon is going to start feeling bad if you take away his only purpose in life.

>>13071349
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. As soon as he's back I'll relinquish the duties.

>>13071328
>>13071357
>wake up early to post image
>anon does it for you anyway
I told you I'm back you usurper!

>>13071358
Dude I totally missed that in the last thread. My bad.

RECOMMEND ME A BOOK ABOUT

<blog>
>be traveling
>no internet
>did not download monthly book prior to leaving
>stuck reading Rendezvous with Rama for a couple of days
The writing is quite weak compared to what other Clarke I've read. His constant use of the word Rendezvous in the first chapters is hilarious and bordering on the absurd. However the excitement of exploring an immense, unknown space craft is conveyed convincingly enough making the book enjoyable.
</blog>

>>13071363
All is forgiven.

Is Tigana good? I have never read anything by Guy Gavriel Kay but this one seems to be the one most people talk about.

Have other authors figured out grrm's trick of using four letter words to add another dimension to fantasy characters? Literally just throw fuck shit piss cock whore into the dialogue and now your characters seem much more realistic. If branderson did that stormlight would be a masterpiece instead of giving me the impression that I'm reading a really well made cartoon.

>>13071324
>(embed)

I am 80% through Battle Mage. For the most part--as generic of a tale as it somewhat is--the writing is certainly tolerable. Aside from some rather oft-repeated isms (nodding, bowing, etc.), the descriptions and prose tend to be immersing.

Afterwards, I suppose I'll focus on finishing Book 2 of Coiling Dragon while alternating between that, a handful of chapters of Desolate Era a day, and whatever book I focus on next. Maybe I'll finish Darkest Revenge if I can find the interest, or start the first Cradle book.

>>13071471
The perils of copy+pasting without double-checking the OP.

>>13071487
4chanX even has a "copy post text" button on the dropdown.

>Have big, bad, spooky pirate as villain in the 1st series
>He tries to cuck our pure inquisitor boy protagonist
>Make him the protagonist of the new series
How the hell did the author think this was a good idea? Man, I just wanted to read a series about burning heretics and now I'm reading about peak degeneracy where he most likely is going to end up sleeping with the degenerate female inquisitor. I want my smiting back.

>>13071437
It's very good. The prose is one of the best.

>>13071511
>How the hell did the author think this was a good idea?
Western fantasy authors worship degeneracy. Nowadays, they are all atheists who just want to submerge the one genre where good and evil could be written about unironically and legimately and just want to dump their gray and brown morality feces over it.

When does Book of the New Sun get good? I just read past the but where Severian visits the prostitute look-a-like of Thecla?). Nothing interesting has happened yet. Prose is nice, but when does this get god-tier like everyone says?

>>13071511
>>13071534
Isn't um Terry Goodkind your cup of tea? I think there are plenty of those books around for you

>>13071591
Those kind of books*

>>13071492
lol I’m not installing special software to browse a Malaysian basket weaving forum.

>>13071615
It's a browser extension, fuckwit.

How is Sabriel? Worth reading?

>>13071621
Fine, I’m not installing a browser extension just to use a Malaysian basket weaving forum you autistic fuck.

>>13071324
Outside of Dying Earth by Jack Vance, what else should I read before Book of the New Sun? I haven't read anything by Wolfe before.

>>13071511
How's the original trilogy? Does it stay consistent at least so I know what to expect from the first book or does it run out of ideas?

>>13071758
It's pretty good, stays consistent and author know's where he wants to take the series. Also, doesn't meander into a 1000 page tome like Sanderhack and a bunch of other fantasy, which is nice.

>>13071534
Yeah books pretty degenerate. Still blows my mind the author decided that focus on the guy who tried to rape the female lead, then try and seduce her in process cucking the hero of his og series was a good idea. Feels like the guy has massive hard on for the pirate.

>>13071729
helps to have a basic knowledge of the bible, particularly the new testmaent

Anyone know any good fantasy (can be sf too, but I prefer fantasy) book in which the main character or a character ascends to a higher form/consciousness and proceeds to curbstomp all opposition into a pink paste?
It's THE main thing that got me into Dune. The way Paul, Leto II and Teg all ascend and develop strange OP powers that set them far beyond any other human ever conceived. I don't want stories with characters going "this isn't even my final form", but stories in which their new powers are forms of higher consciousness and state of being.
Children of Dune and God Emperor fit this perfectly.

>>13071585
After the second half of the second book unironically, and nobody can say otherwise with a straight face. However, the book gets better on a second read.
the pimp of the house azure is ackshually the Autarch. Mind blown yet? And the lookalike prostitutes are imperfect clones of the actual exultant women of house absolute. Mind blown yet?

Does anyone else think the way he represents the chaos of living life (as in: life that lives) is narratively contradictory* in that its always represented in the same way and with the same narrative rhythm in very different contexts? ie birds that "arched and shat", the sea that "throngs", or the way he presents Armada as being a patchwork of ships from all sorts of places.

*pass me the term

Literally name one bad thing about Sanderson's writing.

>>13072155
its predictable and designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. its formulaic and simple, basically made to be able to be marketed.
thats excluding the usual anime complaints that are associated with sanderson writing.

>>13071324
>new slave anon has gotten to the point that he makes OC for the OP and throws the sffg stamp on it
Good. That happened to me before, we got you now. You ain't going anywhere.

>>13071621
>a browser extension isn't code
>a browser extension isn't software that runs in a specialized VM

>>13072059
Blue mage raised by dragons
The godking's legacy

>>13072173
>can't count and post more than one
I knew a lot of people here couldn't read, but didn't realise they can't count either.

>>13072155
In stormlight shallan has too many sensibilities of a modern quirky nerd girl, aside from that i do believe that, despite the sheer volume of his works, he has several major missed opportunities in character relationships department, he just doesn't milk stuff that is ready to burst. Aside from that his prose isn't that special but imho it's good enough for his ends, not an expert but there is rarely any magic as far as wordporn is concerned (though i am sucker for his key phrases like life before death and you won't have my pain and such, it just works for me).

Elantris is plain horrible but it was his first work so whatever, i just wish I hadn't read it.

>>13071511
Finally finished this book and on to the Fifth Empire of Man. All in all, was pretty boring compared to the original trilogy. And I was right about the inquisitor girl sexing the captain. Was pretty anti-climatic for all the build up towards it in the novel. She's worst girl and if she ends up with the inquisitor boy after bullying him in childhood and being the pirate's sloppy seconds I'm gonna reeeee. Boring stacy ice princess out.

Fifth opens up with the original cast and I'm glad for it, crazy how much more fun the original characters are then the pirate ones. I wanna say people should read the pirate books before the original trilogy to make the pirate books more enjoyable, but considering how boring it is better to just read the original first and power through the pirates to get back to the original cast.

Anyone tried Arand's new urban fantasy? How's it so far?
What about his post apocalyptic zombie farm novel? How was that?

>>13071591
Not really, not many fantasy books that follow inquisitors burning heretics.

>>13072539
I liked Remnant. He moves a little too fast through the girls in this one, which is probably my only complaint. Probably his first book where the first girl is actually best girl.

>>13072534
Reminder the captain is the villain, along with his yellow eyes half brother. Can’t wait for inquisitor to kill them both for getting his swordmaster slutfu killed.

>>13071585
When he goes beyond the wall is when it really gets going, IIRC. I haven't read it recently enough to remember the exact order of events of the earlier parts but I think that's pretty soon after the duel, which you probably haven't gotten to yet. Thecla becomes more interesting before long, too.

>>13072628
So you're just reading them for the sex? Not the plot?

>>13072539
Anyone who reads books for plot and characters, and not sex read this?

>>13072746
No, but theres a lot of focus on building the homestead here. Plot doesn’t really take off until the last quarter of the book. Seems interesting, but it hasn’t really started moving yet. Still just laying out the strings for what will be the plot. It’s a lot lower stakes than his usual series have been.

>>13071629
It's among the rare good YA books.

>>13072059
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radix_(novel)
The other books in the Radix Tetrad deal with this to a varying degree as well. Too bad /lit/ doesn't read what I read.

>>13071629
Honestly, Sabriel feels less YA than most non-YA fantasies that come out these days, at least the first book, the other two slip a little more into YA territory but are still decent enough for a quick read.
Genuinely decent.

Novellas > Short Stories > Standalone Novels > Trilogies > Longer Series > 8+ novel series

Brevity is incredibly underrated in the genre.

>>13072999
It certainly is.

Didn't think teferi could get any worse but they really took it to the next level by giving him that mini-me version for three mana.
The times I have to grind out matches 30min+ until they deck themselves or start self tucking their big Teferi got even more ridiculous since WAR.

Is there any sci-fi/fantasy book that's similar to BotNS wrt finding out lore/entire subplots upon rereading it? The level of depth it has is incredible and I need another book that has that level of payoff/engagement. It's been on my mind for weeks.

>>13072900
Cosmerefag come off it. If you want people to read your books, make charts and shill them to people who might be interested. I finally saw someone reading a book today itt, that I've been shilling for the past 5 years.

>>13072999
Then you should like self published trash. Each book is about the length of a short story.

>>13073089
Wrong board avianmale /mapfag.
>>>/tg/

Read A Clockwork Orange. It being written entirely in "slang" made it a fucking chore to get through. It's not confusing, just annoying.
Also fuck the whole, "poor baby can't rape and murder any more" shit.

/sffg/ are there any books where the MC or one of the POVs is an amputee?

Im trying to find some reference for my MC's disability that's accurate about the physical challenges it presents

>>13073190
supposedly the author wrote it because his wife was gang-raped by a gang of teenage soccer hooligans, so I guess those complaints make sense

>>13073340
Didn't Burgess write it in 2 weeks because he always had problems with deadlines so it's essentially a first draft? Hunter Thompson of all people wrote a letter to him ripping him to shreds for some half assed shit he sent to a magazine or something where Hunter was an editor.

>>13073340
Jaime Lannister

>>13073112
No, there's a reason Wolfe is as treasured as he is.

>>13073112
Entirety different beast, but try Gormenghast.

>>13071324
What are some strange space adventure books?
Something along the lines of astronauts go out and things get weird/bad

What is a good intro to science fiction?
I have never read anything sci-fi but I have greatly enjoyed movies and series dealing with artificial intelligence, artificial bodies, transhumanism and such. What would you recommend /sffg/?

>>13073478
You might like neuromancer though that may not be the best place to start (while its held as a classic, some here love it, some hate it)

>>13073478
Asimov

>>13073375
Yes he wrote it for the money and considered it primarily a linguistic exercise

>>13073478
>>13073510
Yeah. Robot novels tackle programming that govern robots, what happens when those are broken, etc

>>13073507
Yeah, I've seen it mentioned around here lately, apparently some people struggled to understand what was going on when they read it. I like the premise though so I might as well give it a try.
Thanks m8

>>13073510
>>13073521
What's your favorite Asimov story?

>>13073478
You should get an anthology collection for sure. Dunno how easily available they are but Damon Knight's Orbit series is great. But any decent collection of short stories would be a good introduction to the genre, they're the bread and butter of science fiction and you get to sample a bunch of authors and can then read their novels if you find yourself interested in someone in particular.

Another great little book is A Pocketful of Stars. Lots of heavy hitters there.

>>13072999
Rec some fantasy short stories/ novellas. I can never imagine who they could work in shorter forms.

>>13072155
I couldn't make it to halfway through that Mistborn book because it was so cliché

>>13073551
His Foundation trilogy is his best work. I, Robot is a decent introduction I guess.

>>13073426
does his work, or it just a hand-shaped block of brass he can strap a shield to

What else should I read if I like ASOIAF

>>13073551
My favorite is the caves of steel. First robot novel. I robot is a bunch of short stories and is a nice intro but you can read caves of steel without reading I robot

>>13073630
Bakker, Abercrombie, Moorcock.

Tad Williams maybe.

>>13071324
I know this is a weird question but I read last months "we" and I wanted to discuss it, do you guys just have a discussion on this thread?

>>13073517
Guess that explains all the slang.
>>13073668
Montly reading anon posts a few questions on the day and people may choose to answer them or just write whatever. Just say what you like, it's never that involved a process.

Posting again from the last thread.

What are some good magical survival books?
I want some magical Robinson Crusoe. Man gets stranded in x place and uses magic and his wits to survive. I already read most of Heinlein and a few others survival stuff (like Lucifer's Hammer), but if you have good scifi survival books where they use technology cobbled together from bits and pieces, I would take that too.

I already read Daniel Black and other regularly recommended stuff. Please rec stuff that you don't see in the general.

>>13073742
i remember a book about a space wizard being stranded on a planet with orc-like primitives that had no magic. if i remember correctly he gets captured and they wanted to slaughter him and eat him he escapes with the chiftains daughter as hostage and they fall in love and live together in the wilderniss away from the tribe. i dont remember the book but i remember that it was fairly popular. eventually they go back and rescue the tribe from a hostile neighboring tribe of red skinned orcs or something.

>>13073598
Just a hunk of brass.

>>13072999
Based and checked
>>13073575
Lord Dunsany

>>13071328
Okay, okay already! I'll read it!

>>13073340
I started to read a book called Inzani. The MC can't use one of his legs. It's also a huge deal in society, because those people shouldn't live or something like that. And I remember that it described how he rides are horse or does other mundane things every now and then.

Though the book is from a German author and I have no clue if there is a translation and I dropped it because it was way too slow...

>>13071381
I wish I had something to look foward to and discuss in this thread.

>>13073834
hm, im surprised george didn't go off of Gotz the Iron Handed, but I guess that makes the middle ages look too flattering.

I was hoping for a more modern example, though maybe a bit out of date since my MC is broke, but i suppose if I want that my best options are probably scifi andfantasy around WWII. thanks for the rec though

>>13073112
Infinite Jest is sci-fi

>>13073478

If you want a smattering of different short stories about various subjects in a way that shows how science fiction changed in the 60s, Dangerous Visions is the anthology I'd reccomend to you.

Otherwise I'll back up anyone who suggests Asimov's I, Robot

>>13073575

The Kane short stories by Karl Edward Wagner

>first Ted Chiang story in six years releases today, first story collection in 17

>can't find a single pirated copy anywhere and there's literally 0 discussion on /sffg/

>>13074821

Tedpill me, I'm interested in expanding the diversity of my authors

>>13073575

Conan, Kane and Elric

>>13074821
buy it and support the author you poorfag

>>13074904
He has a really small oeuvre, you can literally read everything he's published in an afternoon. He works as a technical writer making software instruction manuals and then puts out a short story every couple of years, wins all the awards, and goes back to his day job. His voice is something like "Borges if he was a suburban engineer."

"Story of Your Life" was adapted by Villeneuve into Arrival. That's a good starting point. So is "Hell is the Absence of God" which is a story about life when angelic visitations happen consistently like tornadoes or earthquakes. I really like "Seventy-Two Letters" which is partly about Victorian-era science if old biological conjectures like preformationism and spontaneous generation were actually true, partly about Kabbalah as applied science. Also "Tower of Babylon" which follows a miner in a world where hebrew cosmology is true making the months long climb up the Tower of Babel to start mining at the firmament separating earth from heaven.

>Hell is the Absence of God

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50e08e65e4b0c2f4976972df/t/588a2e70725e25b6981e64d1/1485450864394/Chiang+Hell+Is+the+Absence+of+God.pdf

>Seventy-Two Letters

http://will.tip.dhappy.org/blog/Compression%20Trees/.../book/Ted%20Chiang%20-%20Seventy-Two%20Letters/Ted%20Chiang%20-%20Seventy-Two%20Letters.html

>Tower of Babylon

http://gws.soonlabel.com/misc/Ted%20Chiang%20-%20Tower%20Of%20Babylon.pdf

Can't find Story of Your Life, but honestly just buy the original collection, there's not a bad story in it.

>>13075094
I dont support chinks

>>13075180
and by "buy" I mean download of libgen. Because I am physically disgusted by the act of paying for ebooks, to answer >>13075094

>>13075187
Why not buy a print copy?

I’ve come to recommend this beautiful book. Do yourself a favor anons

>>13075244
Because only 2/7 stories are new and I've read the other 5

>>13074695
BotNS > IJ, unironically

Need a good space opera
Got any recs?

What's the Black Company trilogy like? Looks a bit edgy..

>>13075369
It isn't, but it's kinda boring.

>>13074732
An anthology seems like a good place to start, and this one is fairly cheap for the amount of content in it, thanks for pointing it out m8

>>13073633
Caves of Steel sounds rad, the premise seems pretty interesting, I'll check this one out too.

>>13073579
Now that I think about it, a friend of mine read Foundation a while ago and he said it was pretty good, I forgot about this until I saw this post.

>>13073573
I searched for "A pocketful of stars" and I'm pretty sure what I found is not what you mean, but I could give the Orbit series a try.

>>13073478
Hyperion by Simmons is good if you want something that'll give you a wide flavor of the sci-fi genre, but it's not as small/condensed as you may like

>>13073112
Ada by Nabokov

>>13075424
I had my eye on that but someone told me it was more like Fantasy than Science fiction? Is that so? Not that I'd mind to be honest.

>>13075378
>It isn't
>"protagonist" has a dream where's raping two underage girls
>not edgy
lol okay.

>>13075450
Was it in the trilogy? Read it two years ago and don't remember it at all.

>>13075450
Whoa I need to read this.

Has anyone gotten around to this yet?

>>13075474
It's in the first damn book. We don't see the dream itself, but Croaker says that's what he was dreaming about right after he wakes up. The Black Company was very edgy for its time. Of course it seems quite tame when compared to today's horribly edgy fantasy.

On Book 9 of Malazan Book of the Fallen. In general, how does this series compare to other series in terms of complexity, quality and scope? Is it at the top? It's hard to imagine a larger and more complex series, I think it beats ASoIaF and WoT. Although I stopped reading WoT at Book 8 out of disinterest, and if I went back I think it would feel like a child's story.

>>13075407
Pic related is what I meant and it can only be found used as it's out of print, but if you find it in some bookshop or whatever I recommend it.

>>13075545
I haven't even had the time to read the original trilogy despite having the books in my bookshelf for years. Heard they required some investment to get into so I never got around to reading them.

>>13073478
Dune

>>13075690
I don't think they're that complex. The first one definitely isn't, the second one does hit you with a little more but if you read fantasy regularly it's nothing too crazy.

>>13075268
Seconding. Some of the most fun I've had reading fantasy, and that goes for all three books.

>>13075762
>fun
Fantasy is serious business. No fun allowed.

>>13075779
Too bad, I had fun.

>>13075268
>chinkshit
Oooo no thanks

Elfhome series by Wen Spencer
the Starship’s Mage series
Damned and Cursed by Glenn Bullion

>>13075445
There is a distinction between "hard sci-fi" and "soft sci-fi." Hard sci-fi seeks to justify the speculations, soft sci-fi simply presents them as they are without much thought put towards explaining how they might reasonably fit into the world we know. Soft sci-fi is infinitely better, and Hyperion does indeed fall into that category.

If/when GRRM gets put in the ground before finishing Ice & Fire books who could take over and do a good job wrapping up the series? Sanderson is too Mormon to do it. Abercrombie? Mark Lawrence? how bout Neil Gayman?

>>13076056
Sanderson

>>13076056
He's already said it's in his will that everything will be burnt if he dies and the series will remain unfinished. The TV show is probably the only ending you're going to get.

With that said I think Abercrombie would do a good job writing the last two parts.

I want to read more historical fiction. Recommend me a new series. I have currently read masters of Rome and The warlord triolgy

>>13076217
any history book ever written by a white man

>>13076231
Back to tumblr.

>>13075834
Cringe

Lads, Jade City by Fonda Lee?

Worth getting or overhyped trash just because the author's Asian?

>>13075648
I feel like I wrote this post myself. Seconding the request.

>>13076286
>Worth getting or overhyped trash just because the author's Asian?
I haven't read it but always assume the later is the case when applicable.

>>13076321
I didn't used to but then I read the "highly acclaimed" Poppy War by RF Kuang. I forced myself to finish it hoping it would get better, after all it was being praised to high heavens everywhere.
Regret.

>>13076217
The Steppes Quartet and The Swords Quartet by Harold Lamb if you're interested in reading historical fiction from a hundred years ago that was a huge influence on Robert E. Howard.

Anyone finish the Cassandra Kresnov series? How many books are worth reading? Didn't think I'd enjoy a book about an organic nymphomaniac battle android but the first book was fun. Second book not so much.

Should I keep going or drop it?

I just finished these, along with the two books currently out of the sequel trilogy, and I enjoyed them a lot more than I expected. I was leery about American civil war with magic snipers at first, but the author made it work. The sequel series stepped it up as well and managed to be really good and I was a little disappointed that the final book isn't out yet.

>>13076392
>I was leery about American civil war with magic snipers at first
nigga are you for real? American civil war? That's what you think this is based on?

>>13076197
Pls no anybody but that fucking hack.

>>13075545
Oh shit is the next one out already? Tad Williams is my jam.

>>13076405
I was referring to the technology and the underlying theme of republicanism.

>>13076415
Well you're still wrong on both counts there, since the tech in powder mage is 18th century + magic, and how on earth you think "republicanism" relates more to the American Civil war and not the French Revolution is beyond me. How you see a popular revolt overthrow an ancient monarchy and go "yup that's the American civil war" is just baffling.

>>13076411
Came out today.

>>13076392
>American Civil War
More like the French Industrial Revolution if you want to draw a real world parallel.

Also, read the novellas if you haven't, there a bunch of them and they're quite good.

>>13076426
Yeah I saw, just ordered it on Amazon next day delivery.

>>13076422
>How you see a popular revolt overthrow an ancient monarchy and go "yup that's the American civil war"
Because they're using civil war era guns. They have rifling and mention trapdoor mechanisms (though they aren't actually used by any of the characters) which are extremely anachronistic in a french revolution setting. They also have nitroglycerin.

>>13076410
Gurm is a worse hack so it would be fitting.

Anything good with the same feel of mystery as Shadow of the Colossus?

>>13075369
i really enjoyed it. its not that edgy, there is sort of an unreliable narrator thing going on where the main character alludes to bad shit that the company does but doesnt outright explain it

>>13075450
that really came out of nowhere though, i still have no idea what it meant

>>13076497
>that really came out of nowhere though, i still have no idea what it meant
A moment of projection from Cook no doubt.

>>13076511
>They sent Goblin to wake me. I was my usual charming morning self, threatening blood feud with anyone fool enough to disturb my dreams. Not that they didn’t deserve disturbing. They were foul. I was doing unspeakable things with a couple of girls who could not have been more than twelve, and making them love it. It’s disgusting, the shadows that lurk in the mind. Revolting as my dreams were, I did not want to get up. My bedroll was toasty warm.
its just fucking weird

>>13076442
>Because they're using civil war era guns.
So? The books don't even have all the Civil War tech, like the telegraph for a big example.
Moreover, the American Civil War and the French Industrial Revolution are only separated by a couple of decades.
The actual theme of the books consists of overthrowing the monarchy, establishing a republic and the subsequent rapid industrialization of the nation. A la French Revolution followed by the Industrial Revolution.
The lack of any kind of an actual civil war is a strong hint that the books do no in fact have anything to do with the American Civil War.

>>13076511
>>13076531
It was the Lady sending him dreams about herself and her sister as children because she hear about how fascinated he was with her past, and wanted to fuck with him.

>>13076538
Okay buddy, but I said what I did because that's what the guns portrayed in the book put in my mind, kindly contain your autism because you're clearly sperging out over semantics.

Just played through Shadow of Mordor. What were these writers thinking?

>>13076545
i could see that

>>13076545
That just makes it more edgy.

>>13076558
Don't go all defensive on me now, btw I'm not even the same anon that you were arguing with, just decided to point out the obvious because you were being an idiot. You were the one clinging to semantics, "ooh look nitroglycerin, it has to be the Civil War." it's funny that you're accusing me of the same.

And did you think the French didn't have rifles before the Civil War? Who do you think invented the fucking bullets that were used in all the rifles in the war? That's right, a French Army officer during the Industrial Revolution did.

>>13076531
Is this considered edgy even though he clearly didn't enjoy said dreams?

>>13076531
So it wasn't rape. Figured you were full of shit.

>>13076287
I'm surprised nobody has replied. Maybe MBotF isn't as popular as I thought it was.

>>13076611
Chinks invented gunpowder tho

Is it generally agreed upon that Sword of Truth is trash? It was the first adult fantasy series that I read at around 13 and I liked it a lot but looking back it seems like it would be dull and simple.

>>13077129
Not gun powder, I was referring to a specific type of bullet, namely minie balls, the bullets used in rifled muskets during the Civil War.

What does William Gibson know? What sort of author does he think can make a career like this? He does what others fail to do: he doesn't give a crap about himself.

Wired wrote a letter (PDF of his) to Gibson, in which he describes how he found himself unable to see the humor in writing about books that he knows are going to be about the Vietnam War. (I should note that Gibson's letter was actually written to me, not an editor. It was published in The Washington Post in December, and was part of The New York Times book review piece entitled "Cultural Inaccuracy" from February). He described a conversation he had with his mother while driving home from college. "She kept making these noises. 'I don't know who you are anymore'… and I looked over to see if she was going to say anything about what I could possibly be about. And it was like, I can't believe this.

>>13077142
It's starts out as a perfectly fine if unoriginal sword and sorcery series by an author with an obvious BDSM kink. It quickly descends into complete trash and that's all most people remember.

>>13075648
>malazan
>complex

quantity=/=complexity

>>13075648
What gives a fantasy series "complexity"? It is certainly ~better~ than WoT imho. I haven't read ASoIaF so not sure there

>>13072095
Do I think he uses the same descriptive terms over and over intentionally? Yes.
Decent book, by the way. I know China sometimes gets some hate and he has said and written some cringy tryhard stuff, but the Scar was pretty solid.

>>13077546
There ain't a damn thing complex about Malazan AT ALL. Just a bunch of shit being thrown at your face to distract from the lack of a coherent overall story.

>>13077678
I'm not sure if complex series means anything, maybe individual elements like complex plot (which malazan certainly doesn't have) or characters (this either) or world building (maybe) and such. I guess the first thing that'd come to my mind if someone just said complex series would be that they're primarily talking about the plot. Don't know if having a bunch of historic details even counts as complex general world building, I guess you can say Malazan has a complex historical backdrop if you're into that, and that's about it.

And I liked WoT more than Malazan, while it does drag most of the character arcs go somewhere and things get resolved, doesn't feel like shit just got thrown at a wall and 80% of the subplots get abandoned like Malazan.

In the past 2 months i have only read 1 fantasy, the rest have been scifi. Big change from a few.
Why is good fantasy so sparse outside the top dozen authors or so?

>>13073776
Does he fug her in the poosey?

>>13075854
>Glenn Bullion
Any of you fags read this guy? Not really into horror, but I saw someone mention it's like Dresden Files

>>13076491
>>13076562
this is a book forum, fuck off with your video games

What's everyone reading?

>>13077142
It's not that bad honestly. Goodkind has a very basic command of prose and he's not spectacularly original and his worldbuilding is very basic and minimalist, but he's actually rather a good plotter and what's often a problem for fantasy writers he has no issue with. He keeps making things happen that makes the reader turn the page, his characters are simple but efficient and the central stories are resolved within each book.

If anything I'd say he's underrated. Each of his books are like an anime season and while this isn't high literature or even great writing they do keep you entertained. Despite their pagelength they're books you can quickly read during a short vacation. They're not very complex books but I think that can work to their advantage.

>>13078441
Alan mooreheads "African Trilogy" firsthand accounts on the british-italian and later british-german wars in ww2 north africa.
This particular badboy is a dutch translation from 1948 (pic related, look at those marks. Yeahhh boiih). Shows at Italians cant fight, Germans can fight, and Aussies are terminator-tier war-machines
Found it for free on the street.

It aint sci fi but it inspires me to start some dessert fringe system sci fi story with smugglers and scrapyard merchants n shiet.

>>13077819
>shit just got thrown at a wall and 80% of the subplots get abandoned like Malazan.
That does seem to be what most people mean by complexity when they talk about fantasy, lots of pointless sideplots and the lack of a strong central narrative. Lots of filler.

>>13078441
reading legend of the arch magus.
it has its self published and has some grammar issues here and there, you can tell its not written by a non native english speaker but its a very fun read in my opinion. its basically about empire building but without the usual litrpg elements that would acompany such a novel. second book just came out so im reading the first and then moving to the second.
its short, not very demanding but its fun for what it is so far.

>>13078566
Doesn't matter, you can always go back and improve it during revision.

>>13078550
>you can tell its not written by a non native english speaker but its a very fun read in my opinion
Is that sentence correct? Did you mean you can tell it's written by a non English speaker?

>>13078550
What an atrocious cover

>>13071469
Whore is a 6 letter word silly

>>13078753
sorry i was on my phone when posting. autocorrect does some weird shit sometimes when you set grammar to correct for german but have the dictionary set to english.
i meant that you can notice that the writer is not a native english speaker but its miles better than what you would find on lets say royalroad.

>>13078548
It's not even having pointless side plots that I mind, that stuff can be subjective, it's starting them and never finishing them or having them go anywhere. Even bad developments are a lesser sin to me than leaving shit unfinished left and right, nothing worse in writing for me than setup that has no payoff whatsoever.

>>13071324
Bump

>>13079658
We busy shitposting on /tv/

>“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
wow based

>>13078441
Just read Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City.
Ending is not satisfying or cheery (Parker's staple), the story was great though.

>>13078441

For my nonfiction choice, I'm reading Homicide by David Simon. Incredible style that throws you in with the character details and scenery and police procedure. Baltimore sounds like hell desu.

For my fiction choice, I'm reading this anthology called Little Gods by Tim Pratt. I delayed reading it for a bit because I saw it as a random ass thing, but it was a gift so I gotta at least try it out of sheer obligation.

>>13071324
I just tore theough blindsight. Damn book reignited my love of reading. What else is like it? I have echophraxia to go through but I want to build up a queue.

Pic unrelated

>>13071324
Do any of you lads have the Sword of the Lictor cover art, but without the title and obligatory gurm/Gaiman quotes?

>>13080057
No but this one looks good.
Which begs the question, why is Severian always depicted as grey and ugly as fuck? Wasn't he supposed to be sorta handsome as described by Cyriaca?

>>13080104
I liked the one with the boats better.

Cyriaca described him as handsome because she was trying to seduce him so as not to be killed by him.

>>13080057
The UK cover looks much better than the US one desu.

>>13080171
Yeah this one by Bruce Pennington but without the title and shet

Lol

>>13080133
Or he might have bulshitted us, the readers, into thinking she said he was handsome. kinda like when a woman says "he's ok" you instantly go "dude she's TOTALLY into me and she wants my coque"

Either way, the fact that he's kinda handsome is a constant throughout the book so I don't think he's particularly ugly by most standards, and is often mistaken for an exultant. Well, now that I think about it, female exultant are peak female beauty in that time and, based on descriptions, they are willowy 3m tall alieneqsue abominations, so maybe an ugly motherfucker Severian in our society is handsome in his'

>>13080181
Lmao, most Botns art is so wonky

>>13080181
>Baldanders as giant Klaus Kinski with Ron Perlman's nose
>Sev as a fetish punk rock zombie

What the fuck?

What should I read if I enjoyed Vurt by Jeff Noone ?
I really enjoy descriptions of weird shit happening where you have to visualize it in front of you in order to make sense of it all.

>>13080057
>>13080104
>>13080133
>>13080171
>>13080181
>>13080198
>>13080215
Any good detailed reviews of BotNS?

>>13076392

As someone who loathes real life models on book covers I have to say this works well

This isn't the right place to ask but has anyone got the image where /lit/ upsets that innocent girl reviewing books?

>>13077546
Obviously, but it's still pretty complex compared to the other series I've read. Do you have an answer to the question?

>>13077747
Sounds like you weren't really able to grasp all of it. If you were able to, then you would make the connections, and see that it is complex. Everyone keeps saying Malazan isn't complex and that complexity =/= quantity, but nobody is actually able to compare it relative to anything else so I have no idea. I've read ASoIaF and it's about the same in complexity as Malazan, but Malazan is much more vast so in the end I would say Malazan actually is more complex.

Again, I would consider myself a novice to the genre, but you guys aren't really comparing it to anything, which is what I was asking

>>13077819
What are you comparing it to? What series has a more complex plot or world?

>>13078441
WoT book 9.

>>13080772
This will help you along
>katie's classic books and stitches
That's her channel name. Use your google-fu

>>13078297
Anyone? Do you guys read anything other than big names?

>>13080772

>>13081227
fucken enabler

>>13078441
Children of Dune, Shadow of the Torturer, some non-Conan R.E. Howard short stories

>>13078441
Just started Reaper's Gale, the 7th Malazan book. Pretty good so far

I don't know half the words and it's supposed to be fantasy for 12 year olds...
English is only my 3rd or 4th (if I count Arabic which I was speaking fluently but almost lost it all now) language but still...

This is just shameful.

>>13081207
It’s shlock. Starts potentially interesting, but gets pretty repetitive in later books. Also a very slow writer.

>>13081403
It'll get much worse than that. Great book desu.

>>13081403
try BotNS if you think that's bad

>>13081939
Are you supposed to read that with a dictionary, do you actually know all these words or do you just under their meaning from the context or something?

I have zero vocabulary in English it's insane Jesus Christ I should fucking end myself I'm twenty seven years old for fuck's sake.

>>13081957
*Infer
Yes on top of that I'm a phoneposter who doesn't proofread himself.

>>13080705
this guy is basically Wolfe's #1 fan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR6XewCfSK0&t=371s

>>13078441

Chessmen of mars, John Carter's daughter just got almost raped by a retarded subhuman with no head who serves as a beast of burden to an alien who is only a head. Pretty out of left field for Burroughs

>>13074821
what is a library anon?

>>13080839
>but you guys aren't really comparing it to anything
It's grimderp epic fantasy based off a fucking RPG the writer and his friend cooked up with most of the focus being on world-building and vastness for the sake of vastness because Erikson is an archaeologist and anthropologist. There's nothing complex about it AT ALL once you eventually realize shit happens just to happen. Malazan is incredibly WIDE storytelling, but also incredibly SHALLOW storytelling. Even though I liked the Prince of Nothing series even less than Malazan I'd say that series had more depth to it.

>>13081983
Thanks

>>13075268
Thank you brother, now I can breathe.

Now I've finished BotNS, and Book of the Long Sun just recently. Those are the only books by Wolfe I've read. And surely among the best books I've ever read.

What's the deal with giving the main character a constant item to "fiddle with", or what to call it:
Sevarian's sword, which he constantly observes and maintains
And Silk's medical ankle wrap, which a lot of time is dedicated to charging and re-wrapping
It's almost like a conversation piece, to have focus for the character while things unfold around him.
There are a lot of items, come to think of it.

I get that the sword was important to Sevarian, and changed him when it shattered, and all. But it just strike me as similar, because both it, and the ankle-wrap disappeared halfway throughout the story.

I guess you could call it a literary technique, but I've never read anything quite like it before.

>>13081957
I legit recommend pairing it with a dictionary, it'll be like a crash course into becoming a literati.

>>13082026
It sounds like you just weren't able to connect all the dots. I think it was a bit too much for you and you got overwhelmed.

>>13081954
Wolfe is cheating, just making up words as he goes along.

>>13073630
Robert Jordan

>>13082166
lol whatever you say, Steven. Hey; remember at the end of the last book where one character basically asked another character what the fuck just happened and that character pretty much just shrugged and said "2deep4u?" Wow. That was some amazing dot connecting.

>>13082185
Just like Shakespeare.

>>13082185
That's the proper way to do it.

>>13082244
You sound like a female which would only confirm my suspicions.

>>13082621
>You sound like a female which would only confirm my suspicions.

>>13082244
>Hey;
Is that really how you use a semi-colon?

>>13082699
It is now.

Anyone here own this thing?
I know I should be wary of anything that calls itself the ULTIMATE collection, but it seems like a good anthology for someone who has rarely read Science Fiction and wants to read more.

>>13082699
nope not even close

>>13082739
>says the tard who doesn't use any punctuation at all

>>13082758
my lack of punctuation is laziness, egregiously misusing a semicolon is brazen stupidity

so I'm fine being lazy

>>13082800
Whatever you say, tard.

Hehe; fuck you,

>>13082800
>>13082844
>tips

>>13082166
Have sex

>>13078313
shadow of the colossus is /lit/ af

>>13082676
Good to know. Go back to r3ddit.

>>13082699
>expecting women to know how to use semicolons
Lel

>>13082872
Stop being a dumb bimbo who can't keep track of names

Last scifi I read was Revelation Space. I liked it alright, but not enough to get into the sequels, unless someone can really sell them to me.
Otherwise recommend me your favorite book with spaceships?

Name of the Wind is fucking garbage

>>13082965
And this is news to you? Everyone already knows this except for the new fags who just stepped off the boat from leddit.

>>13082965
The only queers who like that shit are fags like these retards >>13082952 >>13082944 >>13082800 >>13082699 >>13082621

>>13082965
why?

>>13081403
They're all just fancy adjectives.

>>13081403
>I don't know half the words
maybe you should read a dictionary first then

Books for this feel?

>>13083114
The main character is good at everything and faces no challenges, the world building is shallow and there isnt much of a coherent plot. I enjoyed it when i was younger the first time i read it though.

>>13083036
So non redditors like it? Makes no sense

>>13082982
Been on 4chan nearly a decade, never used r3ddit, rarely come to /lit/ except that school is over so I have time to read.

>>13082965
Everything not written by Gene Wolfe, Jack Vance and J.R.R. Tolkien is garbage.

>>13083203
whats it like living life with only 4 senses?

>>13083184
Iron Man

>>13083203
Why is there a typewriter on his back?

>>13083234
>Why is there a typewriter on his back?
Why wouldnt there be?

>>13082959
Shatterpoint
Don't be put off by Jedi. It's still a nice book.

Is Malazan worth reading?

>>13083688
No, it's shit. It's badly written, needlessly complicated and the size of an ocean with the depth of a puddle.

>>13082724
>edited by the Vandermemes
I'd probably pass

>>13083203
Based

>>13083203
>i'm putting together a team

>>13083719
Was still 2deep4u

>>13083688
Sure, if you also think sticking a cactus up your ass is "worth it."

Which is better, Wheels of Time of Malazan Book of the Fallen

>>13084175
I have personally not read Wheel of Time, but my brother says it starts good, but becomes increasingly frustrating to read and the last book is a garbled mess that ends anticlimatically.
Though perhaps the translator wasn't up to his game

>>13083688
Definitely

>>13084175
The only winning play is to read neither. If you have to pick one pick WoT because at least having read it will help you talk to nerds.

>>13083203
This but unironically

WHEN DOES BOTNS GET GOOD. I FEEL LIKE IM ALSO DOING A READTHROUGH THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY

>>13073578
It stops being cliche after the first book and then wraps around and becomes cliche again. Fun rollercoaster of wondering whether the ending is going to be interesting or generic. It was the latter

>>13084175
The good parts of WoT are much better, the lows much worse. Both suffer from authors that seem to think writing excessive amounts of text makes for good writing - though to be fair that only affects certain parts of WoT. In Malazan it's every book.

Is Children of Dune worth pushing through? I heard God Emperor of Dune is god-tier, but I'm struggling to get through Children due to absolutely NOTHING happen, it has been almost all philosophical wank so far with almost no plot.

>>13084246
I think once Severian makes it to the Botanic Gardens it really hits its stride.

>>13084306
It's worth it.

>>13084246
I wasn't that keen on it until about book 3. Though I suspect the real answer is, "the second time you read it".

>>13083688
I'm enjoying it.

>>13083688
Sure, just don't expect most plotlines to get anything like decent closure or for good characters not to be sent on a bus and never used again.

I haven't read the spinoff books by other authors but I really shouldn't have to. 10,000+ pages should be enough to settle everything.

>>13084246
Personally I found it average at the start but started enjoying it more once Severian met the old guy that showed him the image of the man on the moon.

BORN TO DIE
URTH IS A FUCK
EXECUTE THEM ALL 1989
I am torturer man
410, 757, 864, 530 DEAD THECLAS

Why are there so many rebbit users shilling Wheel of wasted Time recently?

>>13084564
It's summer, what do you expect?

>>13084564
You're an idiot. Why would one of the, if not the most successful fantasy series of the last 30 years need shilling?

>>13084367
>10,000+ pages should be enough to settpe everything
you'd think that, wouldn't you anon. however...

Imagine a modern epic fantasy series that isn't all world-building, magic systems, back story, nihilism, edgy emo bullshit, subversive and doesn't go past 3 books.

>>13084731
>Lord of th-
fuck, you said modern.

why is Sanderson so fucking popular?

>>13084604
Newfag. Read the fucking thread and see how many leddit users are praising WoT.
It's also only successful because at the time of its publishing, there wasn't much to choose from. It was low quality , readily available, in a high demand area.
If wheel of shit was published today, no one would know of it. It would be like those obscure self published shit.

>>13084993
he releases a bazillion of very samey books that appeal to surface level fantasy fans

>>13084993
Because he has morals in an age of debauchery.

>tfw your work schedule is so all over the placed you're too exhausted to read or write.

>>13072999
>5k word web novel releases > Novellas > Short Stories > Standalone Novels > Trilogies > Longer Series > 8+ novel series

Fixed that for you.

>>13077142
It's not anymore trash than most fantasy, it's just that it's all self insert written by a guy who isn't particularly interesting.

>>13079985
That fucker tricked the shit out of me.

>>13085017
That's the one thing Sanderson deserves praise for: not falling for the grimderp meme. He's still a WORLD-BUILDING AND MAGIC SYSTEMS retard though.

How is Too Like the Lightning? I'm debating procrastinating on writing more with it. Should I start it now, or just wait until the last book in its series comes out?

Is this pic from a certain story? I'd like to read it

Any good modern vampire novels that aren't YA or romance?
Anything with a female vampire protag?

>>13083808
kek
Why do people hate him so much?

>>13085250
Of all the black metal bands for hipsters and the s.o.y to latch onto... they chose Burzum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLp34a-qEhM

I've finally found a good novel.

>>13085205

>>13082724
Eh. I mean, these are generally good enough to give you a taste of authors included so you can decide whether to look them up further or not.

>>13084564
>talks about shilling
>posts a Malazan image

Hmmm.

slave

post authors that aren't fat ugly fucks like sanderson, grrm and wolfe

>>13086002
Goblin

what am i expecting

>>13085250
>Any good modern vampire novels that aren't YA or romance?
An Unattractive Vampire
The Fat Vampire
>Anything with a female vampire protag?
No Female protag, sorry.

>>13083184
Literally every cyberpunk novel

>trapped inside his vr headset
When will this fad finish, and everyone mass exodus to wuxia?

Who read this?
It's being promoted as "time travler lit rpg".

>>13086258
THat looks exactly like sufficiently advanced magic.

>https://williamdarand.fandom.com/wiki/Writing_Calendar
>Dungeon Deposed 3/Inc Inc July 7, 2019
To you William D Arand Aficionados, what is Inc Inc suppose to be about?
Is this the novel he said he has to keep quiet or people will steal his idea and publish it?

>>13083820
DAMN,John Harrison looks like THAT? chad as fuck

>>13082201
>Robert Jordan
Is the Wheel of Time really that similar to ASOIAF? Or is it more like Sanderson type fantasy?

>>13086363
It's like Asoiaf but for 10 year olds.

what's the most aberrant high fantasy you've read?

>>13086268
I did. It's meh.

>>13084246
See>>13072085

Every thread has this question.

>>13086218
>Obligatory gorm quote about how good this book is
Will fantasy books covers ever know sweet release from this shackle?

>>13086371
Can you explain yourself a little bit more?

>>13086465
It's written for kids. What more you want?

>>13086515
Is it that way because it's got less (or none at all) sex? murder, rape? Or is the prose just easier to read or more infantile? Or maybe the world building is much smaller and less complex, with less characters and places? Or maybe the politics and backstabbing are much more evident?

Like there is so many tangents that could be extrapolated from saying "It's like X but for 10 years old" or "it's written for kids".

Thread Slave Get to Work.
We are on page 8 going to page 9.

>>13086002
Very good looking authors are either hacks or only published due some corporate marxist "diversity" quota. Within sffg fiction anyway.

>>13086538
>infantile
Yes

>>13084246
I dropped it in the first book when he left the first city and reached some cave

>>13084246
You need to level up your lit skill, maybe stick to stuff like Narnia for now.

Jumping into the breach :3

NEW THREAD >>13086919

NEW THREAD >>13086919

NEW THREAD >>13086919

>>13086703
Philip K Dick was beautiful