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/lit/ - Literature


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13309041 No.13309041 [Reply] [Original]

KING ARTHUR EDITION
>Which is the best Arthurian retelling?
>Is Guinevere a whore?
>What have you been reading?

Monthly Reading for June: Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

Monthly Reading books: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15ZwgDZVXB-nLqjbgcqgntZDyTddd0eqP

Fantasy:
https://imgoat.com/uploads/0935e4cd59/105363.jpg
https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21328.jpg
Flowchart:
https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21327.jpg

Science Fiction:
https://imgoat.com/uploads/def184ad8f/124507.jpg
https://imgoat.com/uploads/b44928ae11/114401.jpg
General:
https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21332.jpg
https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21330.jpg

NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books:
https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21333.jpg

SF&F author listing with ratings and summaries:
http://greatsfandf.com/authors-full-list.php


Previously:
>>13291196
>>13278088
>>13265641
>>13250604
>>13236170

>> No.13309073

First for Kim Stanley Robinson

>> No.13309084
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13309084

Anyone reading the book of the month? How is it? Any good?

>> No.13309088

>>13309073
Don’t read girls

>> No.13309090
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13309090

>>13309041
What are some xianxia I can read while I wait for the next exciting installment of Cradle(TM)?

Pic related.

>> No.13309099

>>13309084
Very good, it's a classic and not the boring kind. Read it and if you like it move into to Zelazny's Amber books after.

>> No.13309136
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13309136

Never been a fan of the arthurian legend although I see the value of it.
As for reading, I've got into Hyperion recently, some parts are a fucking slog of slogs though. I'm at the poet's tale and I fucking can't get myself through it to save my life.

>> No.13309143
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13309143

Need a sci-fi audiobook for a long ride. Is Vinge any good? Recommend me literally anything, I just haven't read any Vinge before and thought why not.

>> No.13309157

>>13309084
I read it a few monts ago,it's great,a scifi classic like Stars my Destination,and it also works as Buddhism 101

>> No.13309181

>>13309041
>Which is the best Arthurian retelling?
The Once and Future King though I love the warlord trilogy as well.
>Is Guinevere a whore?
Depends on what telling though mostly yes.
>What have you been reading?
Been rereading ASOIAF also Darkstar is a chad. Incels cope.

>> No.13309286

why do authors always force sex scenes into their books, its getting annoying

>> No.13309349

>>13309136
What? You can't take the Keats masturbation?

>> No.13309357

>>13309286
Sex sells. It's the oldest profession of man.

>> No.13309360
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13309360

>>13309088
>Kim Stanley Robinson

>>13309041
>>What have you been reading?
Re-reading The Wee Free Men
It's nice.

>> No.13309415

>>13309349
Ok, what's the deal with this? It's like, say, someone writes a book somewhere in the future and since he's obsessed with Gene Wolfe, he keeps referencing him and his works?

>> No.13309436

>>13309415
I couldn't take Keats either.
He loved Keats so much that he made a living version of him, from the poems he wrote....
I just read Hyperion to strike it off my list. I'm not reading the sequels. Just finish book one and move on.

>> No.13309587
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13309587

Just finished Book of the New Sun and it was truly amazing. I must've sat in silence for a solid half an hour after closing the final page sitting back and contemplating the entirety of what I just read.

Which is best to read next: Long Sun/Short Sun or Urth of the New Sun?

Also, I simply have to post one of the most sublime pieces of text in the entire series:

>What struck me on the beach–and it struck me indeed, so that I staggered as at a blow–was that if the Eternal Principle had rested in that curved thorn I had carried about my neck across so many leagues, and if it now rested in the new thorn (perhaps the same thorn) I had only now put there, then it might rest in everything, in every thorn in every bush, in every drop of water in the sea. The thorn was a sacred Claw because all thorns were sacred Claws; the sand in my boots was sacred sand because it came from a beach of sacred sand. The cenobites treasured up the relics of the sannyasins because the sannyasins had approached the Pancreator. But everything had approached and even touched the Pancreator, because everything had dropped from his hand. Everything was a relic. All the world was a relic. I drew off my boots, that had traveled with me so far, and threw them into the waves that I might not walk shod on holy ground.

Gene Wolfe was too good for us; may he enjoy the most peaceful rest in the presence of his Lord.

>> No.13309605

>>13309587
dropped this shit halfway through the first book. It sucked shit and made no sense

>> No.13309617

@13309605
Nice try, but no (you)

>> No.13309625

>>13309041
>best arthurian retelling

Once and Future King and it's not even close

>> No.13309633
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13309633

>>13309041
I'm looking for some sort of drug quest literature. Some intersection of buddhism and drug culture. Man alone with nature, going off into the extreme ends of the earth to find the gods while hyped up on the strongest psychedelic substance known to him.

Anything like that?

>> No.13309643

>>13309633
Poppy War is EXACTLY what you're looking for but there's only one problem.
it's shit

>> No.13309644
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13309644

>>13309587
That paragraph drew me closer to God - if He exists - more than anything else in my life. But the very end of Urth was such a gut punch I'm still reeling. Gene was too good to us.

>> No.13309648

>>13309587
why do so many people enjoy that quote so much?

>> No.13309660

>>13309643
What's that? I'm assuming it's not fantasy enough or something?

>> No.13309675

>>13309648
Because it's one of the most beautiful and poignant descriptions of an almost universal religious principle (that is to say, it appears in almost all religions and is somewhat inherent in the heart of men as a result), namely that all comes from one; everything we have and everything that was and is and will be derives from the grace of some eternal, almighty being, and when you truly realise it the fact will knock you back - so that you stagger as at a blow - and invariably make you alter your behaviour in some way. Severian decided to remove his shoes because he decides it's better not to walk shod on holy ground (a common theme in many religions), but it can manifest in many different ways.

>> No.13309693

>>13309644
>But the very end of Urth was such a gut punch I'm still reeling.
Oh? Do you mean this in a good way or a bad way?
Not sure I can handle a bad gut punch right now, so I might read Long Sun first.

>> No.13309815
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13309815

>>13309660
It's something I've been ranting about for decades.

>>13309587
Book of the New Sun is my favorite book of the past and all the infinite multitude of futures. I must have read it to completion at least 9 or 10 times, and many more times through reading certain chapters and parts of it. Interestingly enough, I never did read anything beyond it. No Long/short sun, no Urth. I fear it would spoil the sheer delphic quality, the mystery about Severian's journey and all it's consequences.

>There is a payment made by Nature to those who undergo hardships; it is that the lesser ones, at which people whose lives have been easier would complain, seem almost comfortable.
This particular quote has resonated with me at the basest, most primordial level.

>>13309675
Ooh, I like this...
The presence of God is everywhere in existence. Yes. I also believe that God is, in the most practical sense, the sum of all the universal processes. Anything with a sufficiently large amount of processes is conscious, and so I think God is the active universal consciousness. Every star, even our Sun, HAS to have some form of consciousness. We ourselves have consciousness and we're so vastly limited compared to what's out there. The universe as a whole NEEDS to be alive.
And that's God.

>> No.13309847

I've read Peace and Latro in the Mist and I thought both were mediocre (peace is atrocious actually). What's the appeal of Wolfe? What do you people see in him?

>> No.13309860

>>13309847
Could you elaborate a little more on why you dislike Wolfe? Might help in formulating a response as to why I (or others) like him.

>> No.13309875

>>13309815
>decades
The book came out last year?

Also I meant Why's* not What's

>> No.13309884

>>13309617
>denying (you)s
Sick

>> No.13309957

>>13309041
>Which is the best Arthurian retelling?
Malory, no contest.

>Is Guinevere a whore?
Yes. Not as bad as Morgause but still a whore.

>> No.13309986
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13309986

>>13309860
Peace was just plainly badly written. I don't know how to describe Latro. It was intriguing, but the plot not only stretched credulity, but also delivered no payoff. The story didn't communicate anything. Whatever reward the reader is supposed to reap can only be enjoyed after rereading, and I don't really like that. It makes the story feel like a mechanical puzzle, something to be deciphered, not enjoyed.

>> No.13310186

>>13309986
Wow that’s bad

>> No.13310574

>>13309986
>>13310186
I'm no smart guy but isn't the point of big parentheses like that to simulate thought as the character's mind wanders off on a tangent before returning to the task at hand?

>> No.13310661

>>13309041
>Which is the best Arthurian retelling
Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came

>Is Guinevere a whore?
Yes, no question

>What have you been reading?
Fall of Hyperion, again

>> No.13310682

>>13309041
>>Which is the best Arthurian retelling?
Can't beat Malory

>Is Guinevere a whore?
Absolutely, and it reflects poorly on T.H. White that he went so far out of his way to try and make her seem otherwise in The Once and Future King.

>What have you been reading?
The Dark Avenger's Sidekick by John C. Wright (recommend)
Eden: It's An Endless World by Hiroki Endo (just finished Vol 2, I think I'll try to see it through to the end)
The Complete Works of Plato (hope to finish it this summer)

>> No.13310765
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13310765

/sffg/, I think it's time to give up.

>> No.13310817

>>13310765
Foodfag, it was better when I could guess who you were from the topic of your post, and the way your typed that post.
Stop avatar fagging. It's beneath you. I never shit on you all these years(in regards to you aspiring author ways), don't make me start now.

>> No.13310826

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/110237.Pseudo_LitRPG_Books
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/106563.LitRPG_audiobooks

Give me some fresh reads.

>> No.13310874

>>13310817
fine, I'll cut it out. I only started doing it because birdboi and planeboi were doing it and I thought that's just what people with identities in the general do.

I was going to say something more that's self-deprecating, but now it strikes me that I'm just letting my habitual defeatism get to me. I think what I need most is emotional control, so what I'm going to do is just shut up and write something and see where that takes me

>> No.13310879

>>13309090
Whenever someone asks for books similar to cradle there are always the same 2 or 3 recs but I can't remember them but they are apparently not as good as cradle

>> No.13310997

>>13310874
Just write. It's not the age of typewriters anymore anon. Write something, save it in a word file. Go back to it later. Stop fucking trying to edit an unfinished work.
If your rock soup story isn't feeling right, go write about your flavours as elemental particles or w/e.
Just write something, even if it's a greentext version of what you actually want, then save it. Stop pity and shit posting. I'm not going to pat you on your back and tell you we're all going to make it. I never gave pity all these years, not going to start now.
If /ck/ is taking up your time, write a fantasy cookbook for your rock soup book.

>> No.13311175

>>13310997
Just finished a short story. Sorry anon. Sometimes I need someone to tell me enough is enough

>> No.13311196

>>13309041
Mary Stewart's version is really good, I remember staying up late and skipping homework just to finish it.
Crystal Caves
Hollow Hills
Last Enchantment
Wicked Day

>> No.13311924

>>13309041
should I read Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson? is it good?

>> No.13311993

Did some more writing. Not enough of it, but I made my word goal with the short story and almost made my word goal with the novel as well. I'm going to try to keep this up.

>>13309286
I just skip past the sex scenes. There's too much of that shit. I want plot and characters, not awkward porn between characters I'm not attracted to

>> No.13312029

>>13311924
Yes
Yes

>> No.13312076
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13312076

I read YA

>> No.13312081

>>13312076
cute art

>> No.13312105
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13312105

What are some fantasy novels where magic is used in clever and creative ways, like this scene from ATLA? Or shit like Gandalf using ventriloquy magic to trick the trolls in the Hobbit?

>> No.13312174

>>13312105
unironically dresden files. Here's a few examples

>enchanted a tub of playdoh to detect magic and then put blobs of it all over a convention center
>Bluffed a monster with a fireball when really he was stealing the heat from the wet floor underneath it
>another wizard got around a heavily warded manor's physical and magical security by dropping a soviet satellite on it
>effective counters to undead have included paintballs made with holy water, mouthfulls of garlic powder, and a dust made of depleted uranium (though what's never really discussed is that he once threw that shit in a maternity ward)
>don't get me started on the museum of natural history incident

>> No.13312180

>>13312076
They cute

>> No.13312201

>>13312076
pedo

>> No.13312203

are the non robert e howard conan stories any good?

>> No.13312214

if i wanted to read elric, what versions should i get? some of them on ebay are fucking expensive as shit

>> No.13312333

Harry potter is the best series in 100 years. Maybe even of all time. It's honestly so complex and deep that anyone with an IQ lower than 172 really coukdn't appreciate its intricate workings.

>> No.13312334

An honestly good young adult series: the faerie wars. Its a western isekai I

>> No.13312345
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13312345

Not sure how often this is asked, and this is my first time here but anyways is there a good book series I can read similar to Game of Thrones? Doesn't really have to be exact but I want to read a long-running fantasy series.

Thinking about the Wheels of Time; any other suggestions would be nice though!

>> No.13312369

>>13309041
ops picture is too much of a wholesome comfy feeling image for this board imho

>> No.13312372

>>13312345
Malazan, The Prince of Nothing.

>> No.13312381

How the fuck do I read Dune? I am a hardcore Asimov and Arthur C Clarke dude but when I try and read Dune I just have no idea what the fuck is going on and who everyone is.

>> No.13312388
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13312388

>>13312381

>> No.13312410

>>13312369
what should the pic be? a bunch of dudes dutch rudder-ing each other? that seems more inline what this place is

>> No.13312413

>>13312381
with your eyes. or listen to an audio book

>> No.13312480

>>13312381
>I just have no idea what the fuck is going on and who everyone is
I have no idea how this is even possible unless you're just skimming through it.

>> No.13312563

>>13312381
You are the definition of a brainlet then.
Dune is incredibly simply written.

>> No.13312575

>>13309041
What book for this feel?
I read all of the Dying Earth related books, currently going through Lyonesse and I can't get enough of old school colorful wizards and magic.

>> No.13313037

>>13312575
Michael Shea if you want more Vancian-style fantasy.
A bunch of Lord Dunsany's stuff.
Three Hearts and Three Lions and The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson.

>> No.13313169

>>13309143
Vinge is really good, I haven't read Rainbow's End but I've heard it's not as good as Fire Upon the Deep and Deepness in the Sky, which I loved.

>> No.13313197
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13313197

PSA: I won't be able to post at the turn of the month so we'll have to pick the July book in advance. I'll collect nominees around the 24th and then we'll vote before the Lord of Light discussion.

>> No.13313220

>>13312174
>dust made of depleted uranium
Oh. So that is where John Conroe got the idea from when he retroactively nerfed his character.

>> No.13313230

>>13312369
>you will never be powerful enough in the fantastical to own and command a wolf
It's why I live through my books.

>> No.13313239

>>13312381
Dune doesn't handhold. Read it until you understand.

>> No.13313257
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13313257

This is pretty good, lads. I would recommend it.

>> No.13313260

>>13313197
Job hunting is affecting your bills, monthly reading anon? Is your internet going to be taken away for July?

>> No.13313268

>>13313257
>Priest
What is he affirming?
That little altar boys are the best?

>> No.13313273
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13313273

>>13313268
good one

>> No.13313274

>>13313257
I've got fond memories of Inverted World.

>> No.13313286

>>13313274
I'll have to pick that one up.

>> No.13313311

>>13313260
Nah, I'm actually going /out/ backpacking for a week.

>> No.13313318

>>13313286
>>13313274
>>13313257
What is the book about faggots. You are doing a poor job of shilling.

>> No.13313324

>>13313318
I don't know, probably some clever device with the structure of the novel reflecting the theme like in everything Priest writes.

>> No.13313332

>>13313324
>>13313257
>reads book
>this is pretty good, lads. Would recommend
>can't say what the book is about
???

>> No.13313339
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13313339

This book was awful and I feel my life is worse for having stuck it out through the whole thing out of a hope that it surely couldn't be so bad for its entirety.
I need a recommendation for a good SF book to make me less mad that I wasted my time on this one.

>> No.13313340

>>13313332
Inverted World is about a city on train tracks crossing a wilderness that does funky geometric stuff ahead of and behind it, I liked it, so other Christopher Priest ought to be good. That make sense?

>> No.13313341

>>13313339
Orphans of Chaos.

>> No.13313347

>>13313332
different posters

>> No.13313406

>>13313341
It sounds like bog-standard YA fantasy from what I'm seeing at a glance. Does it rise above that or are you memeing me?

>> No.13313416

>>13313406
It does and I really like it but I am memeing you. Do you think you'd like The Algebraist? It's Iain M. Banks except not about people getting tricked into wasting their lives on totally pointless things.

>> No.13313434

>>13313416
The elevator pitch synopsis sounds interesting, I haven't actually read anything of Banks' before, but I'll probably give it a look after I finish the other books I'm on right now.
Good lookin out senpai

>> No.13313490

Just finished The Dark Forest last week, it was way better than I thought it would be, much better than Three Body Problem. Kind of a slow buildup but it was worth it.

>> No.13313554
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13313554

I have a confession to make. I was always a big fantasy buff and easily found fantasy series to enjoy. Attempts at finding sci-fi I actually liked proved much harder. It seemed like no work of science fiction had ever been written that suited my tastes.
That was until I picked up Horus Rising. It finally happened. I found a sci-fi series that I can enjoy as much as all my favorite fantasy series. A story with good world-building and fun, interesting characters, neat plot twists and a writer who can actually make me feel like I'm right there, witnessing all this shit happen.
I didn't expect a Warhammer novel to make me happy, but it did.
Thus ends my confession, AMA.

>> No.13313753

>>13310765
Every time you get a surge of motivation and a rise in discipline, you immediately fall back on self pity and lose all drive. You can't seem to maintain your high spirits, and I think I know why, and it's a common problem.
Basically you don't have confidence in the vision of your idea. It's not even about writing skills and knowledge. Because the vision is not clear enough, I have no idea how to properly materialize it, and so everything you write looks bad because it doesn't correspond to the shape in your mind that you're seeing.
I highly suggest you take a decision and rewrite everything you've done. I also had that happen to me, as I said I have had over 90k words written and nothing came of it, and had to rewrite almost everything.

>> No.13313828

>>13313340
>city on train tracks
You mean like that Russian movie about people living in an iceage on a giant train that has to keep moving to stop it from freezing?
Picked up.

>> No.13313832

>>13313339
Is the book named Alien Steel and the author is Ark Wright?

>> No.13313833

>>13313828
>Russian movie
Snowpiercer wasn't Russian!

>> No.13313841

To the guy that wanted xianxia. Blue mage raised by dragons book 3 is out. Try that series.

>> No.13313849

>>13313832
The book is Arkwright and as far as I can tell the author frequents /r/atheism
A good 60% of the character interactions were
>*smokes weed*
>Hey, fuck religion
Even in the last ~20 pages when the story actually starts to feel like SF instead of bland near-future character "drama" the formula doesn't change. I regret reading that book.
>>13313833
It was actually a Korean production, based on a French comic iirc
Same director as The Host (the fun monster one, not the twilight with aliens one), Okja, and a handful of others.

>> No.13313858

>>13313841
>Blue mage raised by dragons
It's shit. It all reads like one long ass Twitter post. Some of the worst prose I've ever read. There's actual fanfics with more literary value than that shit.

>> No.13313882

>>13309587
I love that quote
Remind me of the Gospel of Thomas

>> No.13313921

Arthur Rex by Berger, also The Once and Future King by White. Two ends of the spectrum, as 'twere...

>> No.13314217

>>13309041
>Which is the best Arthurian retelling?
If Malory counts it's Malory, but arguably that's not a "retelling". In the latter case it's Steinbeck's unfinished one.

Never understood the love for White's version, I thought it was awful. It reads like the kind of hate-fanfic a tumblrtard would write, "all these knights are problematic! The best one should be some kind of stunted uggo! Oh yeah well in MY headcanon Merlin is from the FUTURE" and blah blah, just absolutely dire.

>> No.13314225

>>13313828
Not quite, it was really slow and on a bunch of wide train tracks and they tore up the track behind them to put in front.

>> No.13314773

>>13309041
>Which is the best Arthurian retelling?
Mallory and White
The Warlord Trilogy is good too because you can finally see Lancelot getting rekt
David Gemmell and A.A Attanasio wrote one too but i haven't read them yet.
>Is Guinevere a whore?
Yes,but Morgause was the bigger whore
>What have you been reading?
Stormbringer

>> No.13315010

Does anyone have perhaps a list or /sffg/ chart for books old and contemporary which delve into the hero's journey and has lots of mythological/subconscious symbolism.

As opposed to more typical modern fantasy like ASOIAF which tries to dispense with that stuff in favour of an attempt at a realistic approach to fantasy tropes or situations.

>> No.13315069

>>13315010
The Knight Wizard by Gene Wolfe

>> No.13315115
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13315115

>>13312575
This one lad. You can cry with me after you realize why the series stops at 2 books. Can be read as stand alones though so dw about it being an unfinished series.

>> No.13315145

>>13315115
>You can cry with me after you realize why the series stops at 2 books
I opened the image and the first name I saw was Greg Keyes and I started to panic.
Shame to hear about the actual author though, I'll give the book a look, sounds right up my alley.

>> No.13315523
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13315523

can anyone recommend some fantasy with lots of comfy Englishy imagery?

for example the Shire chapters in the Hobbit/LOTR where there's lots of descriptions of tables full of cheeses and cakes and pots of tea to be had before a relaxing smoke of pipeweed sat watching the world pass by.

>> No.13315589 [DELETED] 

>>13312076
I love cunny books :3

>> No.13315594

>>13313169
I read all three and can confirm - Rainbows End is not as good, but still pretty interesting. There aren't many stories whose authors actually know their shit when it comes to CS. It is enjoyable mostly in the same way Stephenson is - for the ideas and worldbuilding, plot and characters are secondary.

>> No.13315633

>>13313753
anon, im not sure it's that. while I agree that for a long time I didn't have a clear vision of my story, the one ive constructed in the past six months is rock solid, or at the very least ceramic-solid. Its got complex and interesting characters, plot progression, world details, and thematic struggles.

I'm more certain that the issue in question is related to my mental health rather than my story. Ive got a large number of minor mental disorders and many more that I have some of the symptoms of but not enough to qualify a diagnosis. in particular, self esteem issues, aspergers and symptoms of rapid-cycling type II bipolar are playing a large role in my mood swings and reactions to them. Ive been trying to get a therapist but ive had trouble finding one with my budget

>> No.13315903
File: 3.03 MB, 3307x1584, 20190617_223608.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13315903

>> No.13315952

>>13315523
It's not exactly fantasy but you should get into some Wind in the Willows, my man

>> No.13316545

Hey whoever posted a memory called empire, thanks

>> No.13317056

>>13315903
a little thin but pretty based

>> No.13317095

>>13313858
>prose
>literary value
>>>/lit/

>> No.13317141

I read the first 50 pages of a wizard of earthsea and it reads like a children's book. Is the rest of the series like this or does it get better?

>> No.13317191

I'm forcing myself to read the last 70 or so pages of Dune. Nothing in this book has grabbed my attention and I don't see why its so highly praised.
The combination of uninteresting one dimensional characters, awful attempts at profundity, and stilted dialogue have made it a slog to read.
Am I alone in this opinion or are there others who agree?

>> No.13317202

>>13317191
I felt the same way about Book of the New Sun. Just drop it, spend the time looking for new shit to read

>> No.13317203

>>13317191
It's dated for a reason.

>> No.13317206

>>13317191
There will be one other person that agrees with you but that will be it. It's almost universally praised for a reason.

>> No.13317270

>>13309587
I, too, finished this series recently. I read Urth of the New Sun immediately afterward and I suggest you do the same. I haven't read the others, but Urth continues Severian's story and brings it to a conclusion. I don't really understand why Urth isn't considered Volume 5 of Book of the New Sun, it's a direct sequel.

If you're not familiar with him already, I suggest reading the short stories of Jorge Luis Borges. I think many of them have a similar tone as Book of the New Sun. I remember one story that is very much like that quote you greentexted, but I can't remember the title. It was about a sorceror and a panther, I believe? Does anyone know which one I'm talking about?

I don't feel like committing to another series just yet. How are Gene Wolfe's other novels?

>> No.13317305

>>13317270
>I don't really understand why Urth isn't considered Volume 5 of Book of the New Sun
Although it's a continuation of the story, it's written in a completely different and more exoteric/straightforward style. Apparently Wolfe's editor wanted him to write it because he thought important plot points of BotNS were too oblique (e.g. what the fuck is the New Sun anyway?)

>How are Gene Wolfe's other novels?
They range from good to great, although even the great ones are pretty different from BotNS so chase the dragon.

The problem with continuing the Solar Cycle is that although Short Sun is incredible, Long Sun is meh but is absolutely required for Short Sun. It's worth it IMO especially if you're weighing it against Wheel of Time or some shit but fair warning.

The Latro/Sidon books are great but if you're not into Classical Antiquity you might not groove with them. I'm a huge fan of The Wizard Knight, personally.

>> No.13317342
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13317342

Are there any good books about time travel that don't retread cliches from every other time travel story? Or if they do, at least do something interesting with it?

>> No.13317347

>>13317342
What cliches are you hoping to avoid?

>> No.13317376

>>13317342
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

>> No.13317424

>>13317347
Going back in time to prevent something and accidentally causing it.

Going back in time and fucking up the future in some way (Sound of Thunder, Back to the Future)

Trying to change time but discovering that time is "fixed." (Akin to the first cliche I listed.)

Also not looking for time travel stuff that is just an excuse to put a character from one time period into a different time period (like Army of Darkness).

>>13317376
Guess I'll give this a read, even if it has one of the previous cliches, it's by big T.

>> No.13317430

>>13317424
>Going back in time and fucking up the future in some way (Sound of Thunder, Back to the Future)
Actually, if fucking up the future it the big twist, then I consider that a cliche. If the plot is about fixing the future and cool interesting shit happens along the way, then that's fine.

>> No.13317432

>>13317424
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov

>> No.13317450

>>13309090
>xianxia
I always wanted to give that a try, what's one that isn't awful to start with?

>> No.13317458

Are any of the 40K fluff books any good? Preferably post-heresy

>> No.13317492

>>13317458
I could halfheartedly recommend the Ciaphas Cain books. It's a great concept, a Commissar who just wants a quiet post behind enemy lines keeps accidentally building a reputation as a valiant war hero. Only problem is that most of the books don't quite lean into it hard enough; they're mostly just decent military scifi with a couple jokes sprinkled in.

The one that I think realizes its potential best is the chronologically first one, Death or Glory. That one's really enjoyable for how the plot unfolds in a constant chain of accidental and unwanted triumph. I'd recommend Death or Glory on a general basis, the other ones only if you're looking for anything decent and 40k.

>> No.13317493
File: 192 KB, 480x360, homerstuck.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13317493

>>13317342
Not a book, but Homestuck is and always will be the best time travel story ever made. it may have many other flaws, but how it handles time travel isn't one of them. In fact, I'm pretty sure it sets the standard for how time travel is supposed to work.

in homestuck, past present and future follow a script, albeit one that's extremely non-linear and includes so many loops it's a running joke that one character keep getting into arguments with himself. In general, the universe will follow this script, but time travelers can go off script in which case a new timeline is created that usually doesn't go well. Once it goes wrong, time travelers can travel back to before the timeline split to prevent things from going wrong, but unless they were tying up a loose end in the script they'll just create another timeline

however, the form of time travel where you can go back in time and change things actually does happen, but as this naturally results in massive plot holes, the only way to do it is to use a magical artifact that is represented in-comic by a hole in the page in the shape of the logo. In other words, it's a literal, physical hole in the plot

>> No.13317533

I'm delving inch to fantasy and really enjoying Earthsea right now. Will the sequels be worth it as well?

>> No.13317540

>>13317450
Battle through the heavens
Desolate era
Renegade immortal
A will eternal
Martial world
Immortal mortal
World of cultivation
Seeking the flying sword path
A record of a mortals journey to immortality
Talisman emperor
Sovereign of the three realms

These are just some of the ones I’ve liked, in no particular order either

>> No.13317660

>>13317533
absolutely

>> No.13317711

>>13317450
Read cradle. It’s a westerners take on xianxia, which makes it more palatable as it’s not a translation and lacks the alien morality of the bugmen.

>> No.13317721

>>13310826
Is acts of caine really a litrpg?

>> No.13317727

>>13317711
Bugmen anon. What did the Chinese do you? Did a rich one steal your gf in college?

>> No.13317748

>>13317727
Cripple your legs for me and I won’t pull your family lines out by the roots.

>> No.13317836
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13317836

>>13317727
Not him, but once I went to China and they served me cow brains without telling me what it was until afterwards.

Fuckin' weirdos man.

>> No.13317970

/sffg/, does anyone else have an interest in how most fantasy races or creatures could have evolved naturally?

I'm a strong believer in the ideas that Merfolk would be amphibians rather than aquatic mammals (according to tradition, they undergo metamorphosis at age 40, losing their tails and gaining legs), and that the goblins are brood parasites who evolved to resemble juvenile orcs (hence why goblins are depicted as either mini-orcs or antisemitic stereotypes – the former are just orc babies).

>>13317836
was it actually brains, or sweetbreads? Contrary to popular belief, sweetbreads aren't brains, they're made from the pancreas or thymus gland, and unlike brains, they're pretty easy to mistake for something else due to the lack of wrinkles

>> No.13318112
File: 1.36 MB, 2096x1353, 1456397652-movies-a-sound-of-thunder-ben-kingsley.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13318112

>>13317424
>Sound of Thunder
That movie sucked, although Ben Kingsley's hair is still pretty funny. The Ray Bradbury story could really use a good adaptation.

>> No.13318172

>>13317970
Why not write a fantasy story about a fictional Darwin or Linneaus trying to figure out how to categorize different species and discovering evolution?

>> No.13318312

>>13317141
Keep going, it gets much better. I found the first half or so of Earthsea to be rather generic, but nearing the end it was absolutely amazing. Easily my favorite LeGuin book, though I've only read the first 2 of earthsea, lathe of heaven, and left hand.
She does tend to be a bit spotty at times, most of her works have poor sections between moments of greatness.
>>13317533
Only read Atuan, which is very worth it. I've heard they get political later on, but I can't speak to LeGuin's later works.

>> No.13318333

>>13309587
Sounds like christkike propaganda, is it?

>> No.13318387

>>13318333
Get behind me half-Satan. Also, fuck off.

>> No.13318591

>>13317458
Gaunt's Ghosts is pretty good. It's just Sharpe's Lasguns, but better than muhrine shit.
The Eisenhorn books are also great, but stay away from Ravenor. Eisenhorn has capers, and interesting characters, while Ravenor is a floating egg. The Eisenhorn omnibus also has a very interesting short story about how Guardsmen (try to) readjust to civilian life.

>> No.13318606

>>13318591
>Sharpe's Lasguns

That's pretty good anon.

>> No.13318609

>>13317458
Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies for fun investigative stuff.
Forges of Mars trilogy is great too.

>> No.13318617
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13318617

>>13309633
Anymore recs for this?

>> No.13319030
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13319030

Just finished Rendezvous with Rama. Did the crew really just all fuck in the end to celebrate? Did the Space-Jesus guy join?

>> No.13319058

>>13317450
They generally seem awful whether because they are badly written to start with (xianxia authors seem to have ridiculous word outputs) or because translations are shit and make language seem extremely stunted, newspaper-like. Probably both.

You can avoid much of those problems by reading their manga versions. I've liked Battle through the Heavens and I Shall Seal the Heavens as unironic almost completely shameless power fantasy stories (the first also features a harem), Spirit Sword Mountain as a semi-parody of the same, Reverend Insanity for playing a villain protagonist dead straight (manga is on hold for it, though, and the novel version is especially badly written).

>> No.13319075

>>13319030
I couldn't make it through the first few chapters but that's definitely a Clarke thing to happen.

>> No.13319090

>>13317191
I fucking hated dune
but apparently you're supposed to love it

>> No.13319328

>>13317342

All You Zombies got me at the exact right time I needed it as a young man

>> No.13319412

>>13312345
People always recommend The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. I finished the trilogy but didn't really enjoy it, some parts were good but I didn't really like any of the characters, they're all just way too over the top. One is basically barbarian Wolverine/Hulk who goes into rampages while fighting and starts killing anyone near him, allies or foes, and then doesn't remember it afterwards. Another main character is a nobleman who was tortured for years and had his dick chopped off. He's basically Tyrion but even more hateful and evil. Oh, he's also a torturer. The plot is also no where near as complex as Game of Thrones.

>> No.13319417

>>13313169
Fire Upon the Deep is the book that really got me into scifi. Great book.

>> No.13319458
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13319458

>>13319328
>I needed it as a young man
Degenerate

>> No.13319630

Why are elves so promiscuous and degenerate? They do nothing but dominate each other through sex.

>> No.13319631

>>13319412
I find the bigger problem in the fact that PoVs are basically what happens if you ask a bunch of XXI century basedboy students who have quite a trouble comprehending mindsets other than their own to roleplay a bunch of quasi-medieval assholes. The amount of self-reflection every character except Ferro, who is probably played by GM's solipsistic girlfriend, goes through is just insane, and their values/motivations tend to be entirely implausible for their social roles.

>> No.13319762

>>13319630
Because they are godless heathens.
Elves are descendants of humans that discarded their humanity and copulated with the sidhe.
Beheading or enslaving elves is the only acceptable way to entreat with them.

>> No.13319819

>>13309041
Dammit. I've been reading Fifth Head of Cerberus since the monthly reading (and Im the one who suggested it). I'm in the middle of VRT and I don't even know what the fuck is going on.

Does this shit ever get better or should I just drop it? I'm so bored of it.

>> No.13319852

>>13317492
Problem is that Ciaphas Cain books are pretty much just an inferior scifi knockoff of the Flashman historical fiction books.

Mark Lawrence's Prince of Fools is the fantasy Flashman knockoff, but even that's better than Cain if I'm being completely honest.

>> No.13319854

>>13319630
Elves are generally played as being aloof and having no desire for progress or innovation due to long lifespans, and that's why I usually dislike them so much.
Honestly the only elves I've ever really liked are the Ishgardian Elezen from FFXIV and that's because they're basically just tall Germanic humans in a society where the catholic church has been at war with dragons for a millennium

>> No.13319863

>>13317711
Alien morality is pretty much the only thing I even remotely enjoy about xianxia. Pretty much every other aspect is uninteresting or trash.

>> No.13319872

>>13317721
Someone in a previous thread described it well, saying "It's like Stover in 1996 heard the word LitRPG and interpreted it as something far less retarded than LitRPG actually ended up being."

>> No.13319877
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13319877

>>13319819
>unironically spending half a year reading a 250 pages long book you don't even like
I mean yeah, you should probably drop it.

>> No.13320202

>>13317450
Look no further than The Ellimist, my friend. :-)

>> No.13320226

>>13319058
What xianxia has faithful manga adaptations?

>> No.13320242

>>13319854
That's funny, I believe progress and innovation are bad but I also dislike elves, possibly because they don't have to work for anything or maybe just that the whiff of brimstone is so often lacking. I loved Poul Anderson's elves.

>> No.13320367

>>13320242
>I believe progress and innovation are bad
Explain this ass-backwards point of view

>> No.13320455

>>13320367
Even under a strictly utilitarian and materialistic standpoint, progress and innovation can only possibly be viewed as good within a very narrow range of parameters that would allow an intelligent species to expand its resource intake virtually indefinitely after reaching its industrial revoltion, while not erasing themselves in one way or another.

>> No.13320468

>>13320226
Dunno, so far I've read either the novel or the adaptation because the other was far too bad.

>> No.13320526

>>13319819
John Marsch is replaced with viktor trenchard halfway through VRT, which is why nothing he says while in prison adds up

>> No.13320721

>>13320455
So kys

>> No.13320733

>>13319877
>"i understood that reference"

>> No.13320763

>>13319852
If Mark Lawrence is better than any book series, I believe that series needs to be purged and the author sent to Hague on trial.

>> No.13320783

>>13320721
does not follow from premises

>> No.13320804

>>13320783
We don't need anothet primitivist wanker, get lost hippy shitstain.

>> No.13320817

>>13320804
When you grow up you'll find out lots of people disagree with you on lots of things and none of them have to die for it.

>> No.13320875

>>13320763
I mean, I'm comparing the guy's least serious and least objectionably shit work with painfully repetitive licensed fiction churned out under a pseudonym and set in a universe made entirely to sell overpriced plastic figures to fa/tg/uys.

So yeah it's one comparison he'll emerge from looking like the winner.

>> No.13320916

Bakker I get that you walked in on your mom getting railed by the postman or some shit but holy hell get over it already

>> No.13320920

>>13320916
Being Akka is suffering

>> No.13320937

>>13309693
It was an amazing finale is what I meant. The Jesus imagery comes to be full blown in the last third of it.

>> No.13320951

>>13320875
I know a couple of W40k guys, they're a tad strange but kinda fun and well adjusted. There's another guy who's a major autist and is super into the lore but he doesn't play that at all.

>> No.13321081

>DOG DICKS HAHA SO BASED READ PRINCE OF NOTHING LE EBIN CANNIBAL RAPE ARMY LEL SOO DEEP LMAO ELVES WITH DOG DICKS THAT RAPE BABBYS AND THEN THEY EAT THE DOG DICK ELFS AND EVERYONE RAPES EACH OTHER THEN THEY EAT EACH OTHER ALSO HAHA SUCH SUBVERSION WOW
There. I saved you 10 books and 700,000 pages

>> No.13321146

>>13321081
Unironically this.

>> No.13321160

>>13321081
Seething redditor.

>> No.13321188
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13321188

>>13321160
Hi Scott. How's the new book coming along?

>> No.13321210

>>13321081
surprisingly accurate

>> No.13321211

>>13321188
>everyone I don’t like is a shill
How’s the 9th grade treating you, newfag?

>> No.13321327
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13321327

>>13321211
>Im not a shill
>Shills the dog penis grimdark philosophy book every time someone asks for a rec
Ok bud

>> No.13321351

>>13321327
That's actually a meme though, it's sffg's boku no pico

>> No.13321404

>>13321327
I explicitly recommend it to redditors like you for just this reaction. Go back to reading Abercrombie and Rothfuss and posting on r/fantasy.

>> No.13321432

>>13309633
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQE800eZZ_w

>> No.13321560

>>13314217
>Never understood the love for White's version, I thought it was awful. It reads like the kind of hate-fanfic a tumblrtard would write, "all these knights are problematic! The best one should be some kind of stunted uggo! Oh yeah well in MY headcanon Merlin is from the FUTURE" and blah blah, just absolutely dire.
What are you even talking about ? Did we read the same book?

>> No.13321625

>>13309815
Seriously, read Long & Short. Long Sun will feel like a drop in quality at first, but it, like much of Wolfe's work, perfects itself upon reflection. But Short Sun is every bit as great as New Sun no matter if it's your first or tenth reading.

>> No.13321636
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13321636

>>13321404
>G-guys its just a meem heheh.. i-i don't REALLY read the upcurved p-p-peepee books with all the hot man on man rape scenes heh... heh. ..im j-just goofin on ya. G-go back to r-reddit

>> No.13321664

>>13321636
>I don’t like all this gay shit
>has posted nothing but gay shit in this thread

Are you underageb&? Real question

>> No.13321727

>>13315115
Just looked into this, apparently the author put in his manuscript for the final book before his death and it'll be published this October.

>> No.13321780

>>13319852
Agreed with the first sentiment. Cain is really just a reluctant hero, whereas Flashman is an actual bastard motherfucker who has to evade meaner bastards, and the series is richer for it.

>> No.13321812

>>13321780
>Motherfucker
Semi-literally, iirc in the first book he fucked his stepmother or at least tried to.

>> No.13321990
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13321990

>>13319877
It's fucking boring. I just keep dropping it and reading nonfiction

>> No.13322147

>>13321812
Wtf i love Flashman now?!

>> No.13322184

>tfw trying to write a story about not-Scandinavia Viking land.
>It's just a shittier Skyrim.

Feels terrible man.

>> No.13322205

>>13319412
>>13319631

The First Law trilogy doesn't know if it's serious Grimdark or Discworld comedy.

You end up with neither.

Also:

>Angland
>The Gurkish Empire

Absolutely fucking not.

>> No.13322304
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13322304

Fuck me, cyberpunk is aesthetic as hell but devoid of any literary value. I'm almost inclined to drop everything I've done so far and just start writing a sloppy shitty cyberpunk action novel with a quirky twist at the end to satisfy normies.
Then again even so, cyberpunk is not really normie in book format. It's aesthetic as fuck for games, movies, music, videos, whatever, but as a book cyberpunk is a shit genre.

>> No.13322332

>>13322304
Snow Crash and the Sprawl books were pretty great, especially considering when they were written.
I think complaining about any SF/F lacking arbitrary "literary value" is like complaining about television series lacking artistic merit.
Occasionally one will break the mold and rise above, but generally speaking they're just meant to be fun, non-challenging entertainment.

>> No.13322410

>>13322304
Yeah Cyberpunk seems to be written by complete autists that are obsessed with the tech side of things.

No /lit/ value whatsoever.

>> No.13322481

In a SFF reading slump. Finished House of Suns last week and now can't find anything that interests me.

>> No.13322499

>>13309587
Urth of the New Sun.

>> No.13322566

>>13322481
Try xianxia

>> No.13322604

Do anyone have recommendations of fantasy where the MC is already in a position of power?
Saw it on /fantasy a few days ago but it only got the generic dozen replies all /fantasy requests get.

>> No.13322752

>>13322604
ASOIAF

Eddard Stark is the Warden of the North and becomes Hand of the King ;)

>> No.13322837

>>13313858
>why do you guys read things for fun
>why don't you read these boring ass REAL™ literature books that expounds upon the human condition in flowing prose, they have more literary value than tripe genre fiction
Leave here, never return, then an hero off a bridge and kys.

>> No.13322840

Anyone here a fan of Phillip Jose Farmer? AKA the thirstiest of the sci-fi authors?

>> No.13322847

>>13322840
I picked up Strange Relations during my last visit to my local bookstore. Will read it after Lord of Light.

>> No.13322894
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13322894

Why didn't anyone tell me that this existed? and that it was written by Matthew Woodring Stover?

>> No.13322942

>>13322847

I think Lord Tyger is probably his best work. It's basically a complete 'FUCK YOU' to the Tarzan mythos. It has a ton of rape, beastiality, graphic violence, and racism.

>> No.13322958

>>13322942
The word is "bestiality." I'll check it out down the line, sounds fun.

>> No.13322978

>>13319458
what does gri even mean?

>> No.13323031

>>13322978
Grey red yellow

>> No.13323036

>>13322304
Just read cyberpunk books published before the 2000s

>> No.13323264

>>13322978
It means lurk moar

>> No.13323273

>>13322942
Boy that sure sounds awful.

>> No.13323296

What is the highest realm of martial arts that anyone is at today?

>> No.13323317

/sffg/, is there any work of scfi/fantasy out there that takes a cynical approach to human nature and still manages to be hopeful?

I'm tired of drowning in my own cynicism and defeatism, but I can't see any evidence to prove that it's wrong

>> No.13323363

>>13323317
Stephen Donaldson's Gap Cycle for scifi
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant for fantasy,also by Stephen Donaldson.
they are only hopeful near the end tho,you have to read like 900 pages of thomas covenant being a depressed piece of shit before he becomes a Real Human Bean.

>> No.13323390

I realize a lot of writers these days write fiction just for the sole purpose of letting everyone know what their personal and political beliefs are, but it's annoying when people mistake a character saying something in the story as the writer themselves saying it THROUGH the character. Recently read a review of King Beyond the Gate by Based Gemmell and the reviewer (who loved Legend) was extremely butthurt that Gemmell wrote some very cynical characters and assumed it was Gemmell himself speaking through the characters which is complete bullshit since Gemmell was a CHRISTIAN and specifically said he believed in things like redemption and hope.

>> No.13323397

>>13323273
It's a lot more awesome than you'd think.

>> No.13323421

>>13323397
I very much doubt that. I've read enough "WHAT IF LORD OF THE RINGS WAS REALLY EDGY AND NIHILISTIC" stories; I don't need the same treatment for Tarzan of all characters.

>> No.13323471

>>13317270
>I remember one story that is very much like that quote you greentexted, but I can't remember the title. It was about a sorceror and a panther, I believe? Does anyone know which one I'm talking about?
"The Writing of the God" or "The God's Script", depending on translation. It's not really very similar, though.

>> No.13323475

>>13323421
It's not 'edgy' for the sake of being edgy. It plays most of the ideas in the tarzan mythos for realism, and shows how the only way a Tarzan character could exist is like this. I didn't like it initially until I realized the twist and then I said 'oh! Okay now it makes sense'.

>> No.13323499
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13323499

>>13323475
>It plays most of the ideas in the tarzan mythos for realism, and shows how the only way a Tarzan character could exist is like this.

>> No.13323590

>>13323499
Sex
With
Monkeys

>> No.13323598

>>13323590
I don't like interracial porn though.

>> No.13323600

>>13321560
NAYRT but if you don't remember Merlin living in reverse or Lancelot being an ugly deformed guy, you clearly didn't read The Once and Future King.

>> No.13323632

>>13322840
I like To Your Scattered Bodies Go, but honestly, Farmer was mostly a fanfic nerd who somehow managed to get a lot of his shit published. These days his 400 Tarzan variants would be published on fanfiction.net to low ratings and he would be infamous as "the Tarzan Autist".

>> No.13323636

>>13323590
Actually no. He trains a monkey to suck his penis but no human on monkey sex. . . . although he does cuck the entire african tribe out of their wives and daughters.

>> No.13323642

>>13323636
I thought Tarzan was set in like peru

>> No.13323647

>>13323636
He's confusing Lord Tyger with a different one of Farmer's Tarzan fanfics where it's more explicit. I can't be sure of which one, because there isn't just one.

Yes, now you begin to understand the mental issues at work.

>> No.13323655

>>13323642
>t. the biggest donkey on the entire planet

>> No.13323670
File: 232 KB, 960x1440, p19545_v_v8_ak.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13323670

>>13323363

>> No.13323682

>>13323647
It was defnitely lord tyger.

>> No.13323694

>>13323296
wtf

>> No.13323697

>>13323642
Africa. It was written in the 1910s for people who grew up in the 1890s.

>> No.13323732

>tfw want to read modern pulp about blonde-haired, blue-eyed Aryan space warriors murdering alien commies

>> No.13323751

>>13322304
It's a nihilistic genre

>> No.13323761

The writing for Dungeon Born is much better than I imagined. It is carrying the entire book right now.

>> No.13323806

>>13323732
I had a tentative idea for a Space Reich story in which the Fourth Reich had essentially spread out from Earth and conquered all of the surrounding space, only to find no aliens to fight. So they kept reaching out further, and conquering and colonizing more, but still no more aliens.

And then the leadership starts to panic, because the only way they could justify a system like National Socialism was the constant threat of foreign danger, so they keep expanding, and start sending out desperate fast scouts, not even to colonize just to look for someone to pick a fight with so that they can keep the public at home content.

>> No.13323869

>>13319058
Is there any manga/webcomic xianxia adaptation with actually good art? All the ones I've encountered are some deviantart tier shit.

>> No.13323895

>>13323317
Napoleon of Notting Hill
Lilith by George MacDonald

>> No.13323916

>>13323806
>because the only way they could justify a system like National Socialism was the constant threat of foreign danger
Bad take to be honest, propaganda apparatus can still work with the threat of defeated enemies - look how twitchy moderns are about nazis today. Even without that people can get used to whatever government they're under, it's not like it's human nature to strive for 21st century liberal demacracy.

>> No.13323970
File: 51 KB, 684x518, 50cb360599180_684_!.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13323970

I need fantasy or sci-fi books where someone has a base in or near a dump, and takes garbage to build devices.
Basically turning scraps/trash into mechanical marvels.

>> No.13323986
File: 170 KB, 493x494, 1535907639766.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13323986

>>13317533
Continuing reading this book before bed.
I love the sense of wonderment and whimsy, and the main character being an arrogant prick of a kid instead of the picture perfect protagonist.
I'm having trouble visualizing scenes and places however. I'm not good at visualizing in general but I'm finding the prose isn't very descriptive.
All in all still really enjoying this book

>> No.13324043

>>13323916
>Bad take to be honest, propaganda apparatus can still work with the threat of defeated enemies - look how twitchy moderns are about nazis today

Nazi themselves might be a defeated enemy, but people who follow their ideology, ape their slogans and iconography, and rephrase their politics to mask the racism are bigger than they've been in decades. You can't post here on 4chan and deny that

>it's not like it's human nature to strive for 21st century liberal demacracy
I wish I could say you're wrong anon, but even as my grip on cynicism grows looser, the only thing I can say is that civilization is human nature. At the end, we're still selfish, still indifferent, still short-sighted, still guided by insecurities and fear of difference.

I want to believe that humans will grow out of this one day, but even if we survive long enough for our evolution to continue, it seems to me that some things we just can't grow out of

>> No.13324059

>>13324043
>Nazi themselves might be a defeated enemy, but people who follow their ideology, ape their slogans and iconography, and rephrase their politics to mask the racism are bigger than they've been in decades. You can't post here on 4chan and deny that
That's because moderns have been obsessed with nazis for sixty years after the war ended and people who don't like moderns see them as the natural enemy. That's what happens when you turn a real-world enemy into a cartoon villain for decades. If the shorthand for "people the system doesn't like most" was Tsarist Russia you'd have people aping Russian monarchist slogans and iconography.

>the only thing I can say is that civilization is human nature
Yes but not necessarily OUR civilization.

>I want to believe that humans will grow out of this one day
The word for the belief that evolution has some sort of moral direction to it is "creationism."

>> No.13324063

>>13323970
Iron Man

>> No.13324092
File: 794 KB, 1684x2560, prioryoftheorangetreee.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324092

So I picked this up on a whim, anybody read it? What did you think?

>> No.13324105

>>13324092
>girl writer
YIKES
I
K
E
S

>> No.13324113

>>13312345
Tad Williams. He doesn't do long running series, but he's prolific with lots of trilogies / tetrologies. I recommend picking up Shadowmarch. Dense world building, political intrigue, and great characters.

Wheel of Time is very different from what you might expect after GRRM. The first book also is kind of misleading about where the series goes, until you get to the very end and that basically is the hook for the rest of the series.

>> No.13324116

>>13324105
A couple of my favorite series were written by women. Black Magician Trilogy is so comfy.

>> No.13324125

>>13324059
>The word for the belief that evolution has some sort of moral direction to it is "creationism."

that's not what creationism is.

Also, it's not necessarily a moral direction. I want to believe things like hate and selfishness will prove harder to pass down genetically or memetically than the alternative. I want to believe that, but I don't.

of course, hate at least has a reason to fade on a cultural level. Because of the way society works, being hateful comes with a number of drawbacks, and it doesn't really have any individual benefits besides making you feel better about yourself. The only problem is it's coded into our DNA. We might have to battle it day in and day out the rest of our existence. Selfishness on the other hand we'll never get rid of. it has too many socio-economic advantages. The disadvantages are minuscule and don't effect the idea's reproduction

>> No.13324128

>>13315523
So Tolkien imitators? Can't go wrong with Memory Sorrow, and Thorn.

>> No.13324130
File: 10 KB, 480x360, hqdefault.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324130

>>13323970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6pz7MGw-p0

>> No.13324135

>>13324125
>Also, it's not necessarily a moral direction. I want to believe things like hate and selfishness will prove harder to pass down genetically or memetically than the alternative.
If that's not a moral direction what is it?

>> No.13324139
File: 667 KB, 1280x589, file.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324139

I'm 400 pages into the first book of Dune and I can't help but dislike Paul.

Here I have to read about this kid that knows it all, knows what's best for everyone, defeats anyone that stands in his way, and is now a messiah after a time skip. I have no reason to root for him because he's going to win either way. There doesn't seem to be any tension or reason to worry other than the side characters.

Now I can't wait to finish this book just so that I can go once more through my backlog

>> No.13324152

>>13324116
OOOOOF
O
O
O
O
F

>> No.13324166

>>13324135
I'm not saying I want to believe morality is the cause of evolution. I'm saying I want to believe that evolution will coincide with morality, or that the underlying reason we define something as immoral is because our morals are influenced by evolutionary principals

>> No.13324173
File: 239 KB, 925x663, 1520457116833.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324173

>>13324139
I thought the Lynch movie interpretation of the stillsuit was pretty good, not too greebly, but still looking functional. Although the black color seems a bit inefficient, wouldn't white be better? I can't remember if the black color of the stillsuits is canon or not though.

>> No.13324179

>>13324166
If the second is true then don't worry, if the Nazis win that's just how our morals fell out after evolution.

Back to the story idea, I just think it's a bad idea to show $POLITICAL_ENEMY having trouble with things that would OBVIOUSLY be better handled with things more familiar with, just because that's boring. I mean I'd probably have them develop into pacifists, just to show how malleable culture is, or still do the thing where they're desperately sending off probes then cut to their lives to show they're pretty much like us morally and aesthetically except they've got skulls knitted everywhere, to show human nature as universal.

>> No.13324182

>>13324173
The SciFi miniseries had white stilsuits, and matched the book a lot more closely. Lot to love about it, especially the hats.

>> No.13324190
File: 2.53 MB, 1287x2185, file.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324190

>>13324173
I think you would be right in that regard. Black materials absorbs too much sunlight so the suits would have to be in a lighter shade

>> No.13324266
File: 132 KB, 500x517, siaues-only-dumb-assholes-get-in-this-box-92-20-42275408.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324266

>>13323916
I meant it more as an End of History commentary on how the modern MIC requires enemies in order to function, and so has to manufacture them, kind of like how-

>>13324043
[Cringing noises]

>> No.13324276

>>13324266
Nazis that behave exactly like soi millennials would be hilarious, right down to the one curse word they use all the time for everything. Acting like hipsters over rare Blondi merch, dressing up to go to Nazi Avengers movies, overweight with hitler youth haircuts screaming into cameras

>> No.13324285
File: 52 KB, 960x684, methodacting.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324285

>>13324139
Well then you should keep reading to find out how Paul is trapped by the Oracle's Dilemma and ultimately dies a shell of his former self.

>> No.13324292

>>13324139
Just play the porn game

>> No.13324321

>>13324292
But I already did Anon

>> No.13324350

>>13324092
Wasn't this one literally praised for its feminism
lmao this is why I dont buy shit from female authors

>> No.13324357

>>13324266
anon, at what point in your life did you start to find ideals embarrassing?

>> No.13324486

>>13324173
Stillsuit would always be under light-colored robes, so the color wouldn't really matter. Even a reflective stillsuit would be unsuitably hot for deserts on its own.

>> No.13324532
File: 121 KB, 1024x1024, 1557817344943m.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13324532

I've been looking for the short story Kalifriki of the Thread by Roger Zelazny ( http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?100280 ) for about 2 years now with no success. If anyone knows of any resources I'd appreciate it, format doesn't matter. I collect his stuff when i can find it, but I'm not about spend $30 for a 30 page story.

>> No.13324546

>>13324532
Your link shows it's in Hidden Turnings https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Turnings-Diana-Wynne-Jones/dp/0749702796/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hidden+turnings&qid=1560924876&s=gateway&sr=8-1 which is pretty much minimum-price paperback on Amazon

>> No.13324556

>>13324357
It's probably not the existence of ideals that anon finds cringe as much as the slavish adherence to someone else's. Seeing edgy memes as the literal return of the National Socialist German Worker's Party gives off the impression you've drank in a little too much propaganda.

>> No.13324589

>>13324546
Thanks bro! I had checked amazog for that one a few weeks ago and it was out of stock

>> No.13324591

>>13324589
no worries, I should have assumed you'd checked

>> No.13324676

>>13322837
Nothing you say can change the fact that some things are shittier than others. Blue mage raised by dragons reads entirely like a Twitter post made by a fat deviant deviantart furry.

>> No.13324693

>>13324556
anon, I've spent a long time considering what I believe and what I stand for. I don't agree with my own side on all of it. There's even some stuff in my world view that would be considered racist. I won't deny that it is, because it took a while for me to be honest with myself, and when once I got the that point I realized that those prejudices don't change the ideals I believe in

Not too long ago I was a lot like you were. I've been on 4chan since the jessie slaughter incident, and the thing that drew me here is the same thing that drew most of the others. Edgy jokes, like-minded individuals, a reminder that no matter how degenerate I was there were always people worse than me. It was fun for a while, but when I went to college I started realizing things that I hadn't noticed before. I failed a bunch of classes, struggled painfully with finding a GF, I made friends that genuinely cared about me and then drove them all away by treating them the way I had always acted before. I was miserable, and I couldn't understand where I went wrong, so I looked through my old chats and all I could think while reading through them was what an asshole I sounded like. I wasn't talking the way I was on 4chan, not even a tenth as bad, but it was the same underlying attitude, and I realized my personal outlook hadn't changed since I was 14.

Then the whole gamergate thing happened. For a while I moved onto hotwheels's chan, following a general from another board. When I was there, I started noticing people making the same edgy jokes as before, only this time, instead of ending on punchlines they ended on statements, claims and arguments. Joking was one thing but I wasn't seeing jokes, I was seeing opinions and actions and I realized how many of these people were just using jokes as an excuse for something else. When I realized that, I couldn't enjoy the jokes anymore, and I had to stop and take stock of the things I believed in, and analyze bit-by-bit how my own mind worked and how much of it was shit I couldn't abide by, and how much of it was stuff I couldn't ignore but had to reconcile.

I still come to 4chan to talk about stuff. Much as I hate it, I've gotten addicted to how fast board culture is compared to other communities. That said, I WANT the shit on 4chan to just be jokes but I've seen the mask come off and I'm confused and revolted by what I see underneath. To this day, the one biggest rule I have to be honest with myself and self-aware. I can see all the different pieces in my decision making processes and my opinions. I don't necessarily understand all of it, nor do I agree with things or manage to prevent them from influencing me. I just wish more people had that same policy of honesty inside and out

>> No.13324702

>>13324693
>Not too long ago I was a lot like you were.
I can promise you you weren't.

>> No.13324707

>>13324693
>the alternative to edgy humor is total acceptance of early 21st century values
Have you considered that there might exist people whose brains work as well as yours, but different?

>> No.13324758

>>13324702
you have no idea who or what I was.

>>13324707
>the alternative to edgy humor is total acceptance of early 21st century values
I actively disagreed with that statement. If you inferred that it was your input

>Have you considered that there might exist people whose brains work as well as yours, but different?
I have but that's beside the point. You've done nothing to suggest the self awareness you're talking about. Even now you're taking offense at my views while passionately arguing that your own differing views are just jokes, then denying that any such ideology exists.

that doesn't sound self-aware to me. You sound like someone defending yourself with a justification that you didn't think of yourself and didn't consider thoroughly enough to see holes in it

>> No.13324765

>>13324758
>You've done nothing to suggest the self awareness you're talking about.
because this is a place to discuss science fiction and fantasy and I don't want to crap up the place any more than I already have

>> No.13324784

>>13324765
yet you replied all the same without making a single reference to science fiction or fantasy despite plenty of characters to do so.


With that, I'll take my leave. It's 3:45 AM right now and I have work in the morning. Thanks for the talk, it's been enlightening

>>13324190
aren't the suits liquid cooled? In that case, one would think black would be better for nomadic tribes since it would help people find each other in the vast, featureless expanse of the desert if someone strayed

>> No.13324867

>>13323317
>/sffg/, is there any work of scfi/fantasy out there that takes a cynical approach to human nature and still manages to be hopeful?

Jack Vance, at least some of the time.

David Gemmell.

>> No.13325713
File: 272 KB, 1200x1770, 155487.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
13325713

>"David... you're black!
Should I just drop the book? I haven't touched it after that.

>> No.13325762

>>13324693
>I've been on 4chan since the jessie slaughter incident

Fucking newfags I swear to god

>> No.13325856

>>13325713
All I remember about that book was the submarine with the porno immersion tanks and the Grenadans used hacking to make it look like they killed some dude with voodoo.

>> No.13325869

>>13325762
anon, it was 9 years ago...

>> No.13325896

>>13325869
I was here 11 years ago and consider myself a newfag.

>> No.13325941

>>13325896
your crippling imposter syndrome is not an objective basis for heirarchy

>> No.13326004

>>13325869
If you came here after chanology you’re a newfag

>> No.13326308

Any scifi books where the protag builds stuff?

>> No.13326326

>>13326308
Yes.

>> No.13326330

>>13326004
if you came here after moot bought the domain to 4chan your're a newfag

>> No.13326433

>>13326326
>>13326308
Can you guys list a few scifi books where the protagonist takes pieces of things to build stuff to survive?

>> No.13326453

>>13326433
I mean The Martian is pretty much entirely that, but I get the feeling you're asking because you already read that and want more

>> No.13326470

>>13326433
Robinson Crusoe.

>> No.13326926

No idea why I keep making these, desu I hate you all.

>>13326920
>>13326920
>>13326920
>>13326920
>>13326920