/lit/ - Literature

Laird Barron is my waifu

i've heard about your litrpgs and im curious, hit me with your best ones

Fuck me, it's actually September, I lost the track of time.

'Not a good start Boris!'

>>13782286
What some good sci fi about first contact?

>>13782326
His Master's Voice was fucking kino and I will not accept any opinions to the contrary

Alright lads, so I've this story planned out.

Basically, almost 200 years from now humanity is ruled by an essentially immortal dictator who masterminded our species' expansion into the stars and its continued prosperity. He maintains a fairly free society, also runs a sham pseudo-democracy for legitimacy.

The plot centres around a few POV characters from very different backgrounds getting caught up in a conspiracy to kill him.

The main difference between this and other stories in a similar vein is that the aforementioned ruler is also a POV character and not necessarily a 'bad guy' despite having done an endless list of ostensibly bad things.

It's up to the reader to decide who is right and who to sympathise with.

>>13782353
40k did it many times over.

>>13782378
Yeah I know, but 40k is basically fantasy, and very niche. I'd like to see a character-driven more contemporary approach to the idea.

>>13782353
You wouldn't happen to be this anon, would you?
>>/lit/thread/S13657428#p13663275

>>13782394
Don't think so. Never recall posting anything in pastebin. Says file removed regardless, so I can't see it.

>>13782405
More so the replies to it, which is why I linked the beginning of the chain. I was just curious. Thanks.

>>13782408
Had a read there, looks like an interesting idea, but alas no, not mine.

Unlike that guy I'm trying not to make a study of ideology or philosophy, more an exploration of the characters involved.

The biggest flaw in the sci-fi genre in my opinion is that writers spend too much time on an ideology or an idea, and base their story around that. Which leads to hollow characters and derivative plots.

In fact, I think most SF writers begin with an idea like 'what if the earth fell out of the suns orbit' and then write about that idea, rather than beginning with a vision of a world, a conflict, and the characters that populate it.

total tangent, but mildly relevant

>>13782326
Gold in exchange for a cow?

>>13782353
Making the ruler a POV character is risky. Hard to convincingly write a genius immortal godking's internal thought processes.

>>13782477
Aye, but if pulled off correctly I think it could be the unique element that would make it all fit together.

Of the few bits I've shared with people they tend to see him as believable. Opinion varies as to whether he's likeable though.

Recommended fantasy-themed short stories:

Jorge Luis Borges - Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius
Robert E. Howard - The Tower of the Elephant
H. P. Lovecraft - The Silver Key
Lord Dunsany - The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth
Clark Ashton Smith - The Dark Eidolon
R. A. Lafferty - Narrow Valley
Jack Vance - Mazirian the Magician
Peter S. Beagle - Come, Lady Death
Roger Zelazny - The Last Defender of Camelot
Theodore Sturgeon - The Silken-Swift
Ursula K. Le Guin - The Rule of Names
Gene Wolfe - The Detective of Dreams
James Blaylock - Paper Dragons

For those who don't know Ted Chiang is actually something of a low energy phenomena and one of the more heavily awarded genre fiction writers of the last two decades. I had no idea because honestly who cares about Hugos and Nebulas but now I'm kinda looking forward to reading his collection.

When does Dune start getting good?

>>13782644
After Paul's mom fantasizes about being raped by Harkonnen bulls

>>13782622
Ted Chiang is personally one of my more liked short story writers.
I would have considered if it I hadn't excluded single author collections.

The movie "Arrival" is based off "Story of Your Life".

How long should a prologue be and how do you transition from a prologue to the first chapter?

I have a two part sci fi work planned out (Roughly 60,000 words for each part, though it that proves too ambitious, I might condense it down into one work) and I'm not sure how to go from the prologue to the first chapter.

I've described the setting and set the scene by naming the main characters, but the transition seems too... abrupt. It basically goes straight from setting description to character description and dialogue.

test

>>13782738
Next you can test how to delete a post.

>>13782732
How about you just don't have a prologue?

>>13782745

I did consider it, but I'm 4,000 words down at this point. I suppose I could remove it and keep it for reference. I'm trying to make a bible of sorts for the setting because I'm terrible at remembering my own stuff.

>>13782622
>>13782677
Ted is based, I can't remember reading a story by him that I didn't like
He also seems to have some communist sympathies at the very least which I enjoy

>>13782756
GRRM has a personal assistant to do it for him and consults the fan wiki. Even then apparently a lot of minor inconsistencies and a few more than that still happen. Honestly, most people aren't going to notice unless it's an extreme inconsistency and/or if for some reason they are extremely particularly about every little detail.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do that that.
Consider reading about what others consider to be a useful prologue and whether what you are doing with it is as well, since you seem to be having doubts about it.

>>13782353
So God Emperor of Dune without sandworms?

>>13782644
I enjoyed it from the get go, but the quality picks up once Paul and Jessica join the Fremen.

>>13782644
The first paragraph.

>>13782326
Darkover Landfall

>>13782787
Not that extreme really. It's only set in the 22nd century so life is observably similar to life today, just as life in the 1800s is recognisable to us.

And the guy isn't merged with a sandworm or anything, ostensibly just a very clever man who has been alive a long time.

>>13782803
Based.

>>13782821
So the setting is kind of different, but the whole 'immortal tyrant and a conspiracy to assassinate him' and POVs switching between the two is straight out of GE. Not trying to shoot you down or anything, but you keep saying it's a unique angle to take when it's the whole shtick of one of the most well known books in one of the best known sci fi series around.

>>13782827
Not him, but personally I don't see anything wrong with that. The "give the people what they like only somewhat different" is an established way to go about being successful.

>>13782835
Fair enough. Like I said, I wasn't trying to shoot him down. Just making sure he's aware that it's not unique enough of an idea to carry the piece alone. If it's engaging and well-written it'll be good regardless of similarities to past works.

>>13782827
I've actually read God Emperor and funnily enough it didn't even come to mind in the planning of my current project. Maybe because the setting of Dune is so bizarre.

Either way they're not that similar even if, I admit, ostensibly the base idea sounds similar. Thanks for reminding me of GE though.

>>13782851
GE is one of my favourite books so i don't think there's anything wrong with taking influence from it. Just be aware and try not to be too derivative.

>>13782286

Fuk u just say about tolkien?!

The main difference between here and the relevant reddit subreddits is that they aren't ~100% male posters.

>>13782875
Aka this is better.

>>13782781

There is a lot of what I would consider essential information in it. Rather that spreading the fluff throughout the work, I want to the reader to have an idea of what the setting is about and the major historical events that happened within it before starting the first chapter. The first Horus Heresy novel struck me as a really bad way to enter a universe. It just starts describing characters and fleets like you are familiar with them. I had to look up the wiki to see what the fuck it was going on about, which was made even more confusing because it was about an impostor emperor ruling a fake Earth. I was familiar with the background of the setting and the major events, but still had no fucking what was going on. That might have just been retardation on my part. Maybe there was another work I was meant to have read beforehand. That is the kind of thing I want to avoid, though. You get everything you need to know in a few pages. It's set in the X galaxy in the X empire in the X time period, after the X wars. X happened in X and that's important because it led to X, and X and X have been sent to X to do X. Then chapter one.

>>13782875
This isn't 100% male either sorry. Also you're delusional if you think it's only the women on r/fantasy who have trash taste.

Charles Stross
>ebooks are now up to 75% of sales in genre markets; also, we don't know much about the readers of web serials and non-trad fiction.

>SF/Fantasy sales: historically SF is out-sold 2:1 by genre fantasy. Within sub-genres, female readers outnumber men in all categories except Military SF -- and even there, the split is roughly 40:60 female:male.

> I estimate (based on my royalty statements) that mass market sales are down roughly 80% since 2008.

>book sales have exploded since 2008, going from roughly 3-5% of the market to 75% in SF/F, and maybe more in genre romance, over that time

> Because of Amazon's opacity we probably won't have any way of knowing if novel-reading is in steep decline among teen-agers ... or exploding, but hidden from public view on their smartphones.

>All I know is that, as a working author who is currently published by Tor and Orbit is that I'm selling lots of ebooks but zero mass market paperbacks and my income is roughly the same as it was in 2008.

>>13782915
Do you understand what the ~ symbol means?

So see the sequels of Neuromancer worth reading, or should I just ignore them and read better stuff?

>>13782915
It may not be entirely men, but you've got to admit that it's probably in the range of 90%+

>>13782937
if you liked neuromancer, they are good

I just read the first dune book and really like the world he was building.
Are the sequels worth reading, or should I get something else?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosociality

>>13782990
The sequels are rather different from the first.
So if you want more of the same, that isn't what you're going to get.

>>13782996

And?

>>13783025
It is what it is.

>>13783003
Will there be more of the I can see the future but don't want to go in that direction stuff?
I found that part of the story somewhat weird to be honest.

>>13783047
And yet despite not wanting the future to go that way, fate is too powerful and that's exactly how it goes.

It becomes a lot weirder.

>reading pace has totally cratered as I've ran out of stuff I really want to read
ahh

Are the Warhammer fantasy novels good?

>>13783110
that particular series is, the other ones I've tried weren't

>>13782990
Herbert ones are all good although there is a dip in quality before it rises again
The ones with other authors stink

>>13783086
Well I guess I'll give it a go anyways just to see if I like it.
Thanks for the info.

>>13783127
Okay thanks.

>>13783134
that's specifically frank btw, his son tries to carry it on after he dies and it's just awful

>>13783096
That's only because you haven't bothered finding what you really want to read.

Is Will Wight any good

>>13782326
how did nobody even mention BLINDSIGHT ffs

>>13783182
Since he's incessantly posted about by the same few people who demand everyone acknowledge their taste and read what they read, at least a few people think so.

>>13782931
Yeah you press it to activate the cheat console

>>13782353
So you're writing mistborn in space, but without the metal burning?

>>13783182
He's good at what he does which is briskly paced anime style power up fantasy, both series where he does that are fun easy reads the one where he moves away from it didn't grip me at all.

>>13783200
I was wondering why it sounded familiar.

>>13783200
Kek. To an extent. Except there's more than one Vin and Kelsier and the Lord Ruler is a pretty cool guy.

And hopefully with better characterisation too.

>>13783200
>>13783208

On a side note, I read mistborn considerably after beginning to plan my current work, but it helped me a lot in exploring the idea of how someone can go from nothing to trying to kill a god.

>>13783202
What's the other one do then?

>>13782922
>Charles Stross
How horrible.

>>13783241
it's a dual protagonist (each get their own books) typical fantasy style series about the struggle for power after an emperor is killed
biggest problem is that it's intentionally kinda generic to make the books from different perspectives gimmick work

>>13783186
Why? You just did.

>>13783275
That's unfortunate, anything else I should know before I abuse kindle unlimited to binge this shit?

>>13783283
Nah, Cradle's ongoing so maybe read Traveler's Gate first. I like both so idk

>>13783283
>kindle unlimited
I increasingly have come to think of Kindle Unlimited as for people who don't want to pay anything but also can't be bothered to pirate.

>>13783377
Pirating is so incredibly easy I can't see how anyone isn't bothered

>>13783382
I don't really see it as any different from people who exclusively play f2p (free to play) games just because it's free. It's gotten better now, but it used to just be the worst absolute sort of garbage, and still mostly is, but they were satisfied with it.

Never underestimate how silly people can be about stuff.

>>13783401
>Never underestimate how silly people can

Words to live by my man

What does this general make of pic related? Re-read it just recently and found it more provocative in the current climate. Its flaws are noticable but PKD writing himself as a moody cynic paralysed by political centrism in the face of fascism in contrast to his hopelessly idealistic but more heroic friend Nick is one of the best explicit self-inserts I've seen done in fiction.

/sffg/, I think about writing less and less every day. I'm starting to worry that pretty soon I'm going to give up on my dream, and when I do that I'll be as good as dead.

>>13783186
blindsight is mentioned every thread (because its based) so everyone probably assumed hed read it.

>>13784040
You're being melodramatic and angsty.

>>13784040
If only there were a person who had control over your life and could make you sit down and write about an hour every day. Too bad there doesn't seem to be any such person.

BASED

Any books about adventurers trying to settle down or retired adventurers getting pulled back into adventuring?

>>13784185
Name of the Wind

>>13784185
So basically you're looking for every pulp spy thriller ever written, except fantasy?
I'm actually shocked that nothing comes to mind.

>>13784194
>Telling anon to read a dead series
Don't do that to him, man, no one else should suffer the tragedy of Doors of Stone.

>>13784185
Kings of the Wyld

Anyone else participating in the freeman world engine thing?

>read Riftwar Saga
>MC gets captured by invading army early on
>timeskips over timeskips with several POV's
>MC turns from slave to some powerful mage off-screen

i just want to read some comfy fantasy....

I need a book for feels. I'm feeling very feelsy and sad and I need some sci-fi to make me feel better

>>13784510
Whats that

>>13784166
anon, if you're implying that I myself am that person you're out of you gourd. I have no control over my life, and I can't force myself to do anything. I started therapy to get me writing again and after 5 sessions I think I'm worse off than before

>>13784621
>I have no control over my life
Yeah that's the point I was making. Bitching to people that you can't exert any kind of will over your own actions isn't productive.

I'm three weeks into a chapter per week discussion series on my youtube channel. It's for the lord of the rings. Maybe check it out.

https://youtu.be/GtD0TNAr0LI

>>13782309
Litrpg is not allowed here. This general is for the discussion of science fiction and fantasy. Maybe try asking over on /tg/
>>13782562
>Dark Eidolon
>Mazirian
>Last Defender of Camelot
Based. I will add Unicorn Variation and Mana from Heaven to said list
>>13782771
>Chicom
>Based
Cringerino
>>13782937
If you're not a brainlet they are better than Neuromancer.
>>13783208
Bro, just write something original. No one wants to read Twilight tier fanfiction here.

>>13784821
>litrpg is not allowed here
And yet it happens and you use a RPG image.

>Cringerino
However shall anyone survive your withering social disapproval?

>just write something original
What does "original" mean to you?

>>13784821
>Litrpg is not allowed here
As laws and rules are understood, anything not expressly forbidden is allowed. So suck it.

>>13784861
1. It's a funny picture you mongoloid
2. I don't know, but you seem pretty butthurt
3. It's not a subjective term. Don't rip shit off and create a Frankenstein's monster of fanfiction with the names changed and the setting slightly altered featuring your self insert God King cringemaster supreme, and THEN have the gall to think that any of us want to read your mental wankfest. It's pretty simple, broshi.

>>13785034
Just going out on a limb here, but would you happen to have a folder of my little pony porn?

Any other fantasy novels like this?

What are some fucked up horror sci-fi

Give me necromancy.
Why is there nothing else like Rise of Nagash? Just a blatantly edgy rise of a big bad evil.

>>13785760
The Autopsy by Michael Shea
>>13785788
Mask of the Sorcerer by Darrell Schweitzer

>>13784736
No one wants boring of the ring.
Duck off.

>>13782309

What books can we expect for October?

>>13786257
Conan and the Living Plague

>>13786124
hey thanks, most of these look awful

Any Fantasy or Historical Fantasy books that feel authentic and mystical?

>>13786403
The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell

>>13782622
Yeah I fucking love Ted Chiang. Exhalation was a highlight of the summer for me. I adored the story about the memory-saving device and how he contracted it with the arrival of writing to pre-print society. Fascinating stuff.

>>13782154
Got seven chapters into the fourth book(Skysworn) and I'm at my limit, it's just too shallow and bland. Everything is perfectly convenient or directly relevant, all the characters are hollow cliches with no driving motive besides advancing the plot, and it seems like no matter the power or position, everyone in the entire universe has the same weak, simplistic personality.

I thought I could keep going, but it really hasn't gotten better, and in many ways has degraded, though that could just be more of the "plot" revealing itself over time.

Final score as of this point 5/10, maybe 6/10 if I'm feeling generous.
If anyone has anything to say about the series as a whole, or about the later book, I'd be interested. Does it change/improve, remain the same, or somehow become worse? If you hated it, or if you liked it, what stood out to you?

>>13784598
Some meme guy ranted about RWBY so much that he made an alternate version of it, but shit got out of had so he burned it down. Now he’s making some “anarcho capitalism” cyberpunk mass effect space thing with genetically modified humans and space armor and I was bored so I thought about jumping in

>>13785955
>Mask of the Sorcerer by Darrell Schweitzer
Waddaheg this is great

>>13786515
If you are feeling that everything is convenient in that book, you'd drop it for sure in the next one.

I liked it. But I read it the same way I'd watch dragon ball, not monster. Honestly, what I liked best were the characters. If you are not liking them, then there's really no reason to keep reading. Don't bother reading any other chinkshit either, they're all much worse.

Any anon's know where to post a fantasy novel chapter by chapter for a story aimed at the 20-25 crowd? I heard that Wattpad was popular but when I checked it out it seemed like it was a place for teenage girls' creepy fantasies.

>>13786675
royalroad?

>>13786675
I read wattpad and was about to say that it was for teenage girls, but you have figured it out yourself.
RoyalRoad is probably the best for most cases, and spam reddit with links to your story.
Also check out archiveofourown

>>13786550
>Waddaheg this is great
Yes it is. I brought this novel to /sffg/ and I'm glad it's spreading around like herpes.

>>13786550
>>13785955
where can i get this the usual place doesn't have it

>>13786882
https://www.file-up.org/ye03ppgn9klk

>>13786922
shit thanks man

>>13786365
No prob senpai. They are utter shit.

>>13786515
>and it seems like no matter the power or position, everyone in the entire universe has the same weak, simplistic personality.
It's a western take on an eastern genre. Chinese are called "bugmen" for a reason. They lack morality and would do whatever it takes to get the job done. Of course everyone is going to be a "cut off your dick and apologize and I might not fuck your girl" type villain to everyone they perceive as weaker than then, and beg for forgiveness when they see they bit off more than they can chew.1

I want to read a Arthur C Clarke /lit/. Which one is a good starter? Childhood's End?

>>13787085
This is sffg, not lit.
>>>/lit/

>>13786124
>Morningwood
>everybody loves a large chest
Kek

>>13787104
protagonist is a mimic.
his name is Boxxy T(rap). Morningwood completely oblivious to the double meaning.

>>13787085
Childhood's End is certainly a good place to start. It's dated and he's not exactly a great writer but he had amazing ideas. Rendevous with Rama should be next.

Why is this happening? I don't know how much longer I can wait.

Why is there like no fan art for the Wizard Knight series? I want to see people’s interpretations!

>>13787122

>>13786624
>>13787070
The thing is, most xiaxia I've read has been BETTER, at least setting/power/plot wise. The reason they go to shit is because of endlessly drawn out arcs packed with filler to squeeze every last cent per word out. If you took a chinkshit cultivation novel and hacked out 90% of it it'd be great most of the time. And the pro/antagonists in Cradle aren't anywhere NEAR the level of bugman I've seen before, only the Jai clan head thing came close, and he came across as more stupid than threatening. What I mean is that, personality wise, random hobos on the street come across as more threatening and serious than the fucking emperor or any of the "gods", who seem like kinda whiny pushovers compared to literal animals.

It does kinda resemble the worst of the chinkshit genre without the best. A "mystical adventure to reach the gods" which mainly involves sitting in a cave for years at a time meditating, occasionally emerging so heavenly treasures can fall into your lap. It feels like the MC hasn't DONE anything since the first book, he's just been dragged around like one of the other mascot pets, and they feed and train him because he's some sort of amusing human-shaped hamster.

But unlike eastern fantasy, which at least gives a nice payoff after the hundreds of agonizing buildup chapters, this series INTENTIONALLY SANDBAGS all the interesting parts. Deadly opponents flee when the fight gets serious, major wars sputter out before really affecting the setting, convienient keys arrive right before reaching a locked door. The MC is KIDNAPPED BY SLAVERS and then RELEASED IMMEDIATELY IN THE SAME CHAPTER! Then later, when trapped in a real life and death challenge, succeeds by the skin of his teeth, clutching victory by a sliver OFF SCREEN WHILE THE REST OF THE CHARACTERS MONOLOGUE ABOUT THEIR BACKSTORIES! The powerful clan head with endless resources and a bloody thirst for vengence at any cost spends the first chapter of the book FAILING to do anything threateing and being belittled and mocked, before DYING EFFORTLESSLY without accomplishing anything! I expect the forshadowed dreadgods to threaten the MC, maybe stab him a few times, and then commit suicide out of grief and leave him all their stuff in a will! WHEN WILL AN ACTUAL CHALLENGE OR DANGER HAPPEN?

>>13784581
>tfw just want to read about character going from peasant loser to god like mage
>the only way to do this is to read chinkshit

Most fantasy is wish fulfillment, so I don't get why more western authors dont do this. Are they ashamed of writing fantasy so they try to not make it as wish fulfillment-like? If there are western authors that do this well please rec. The only one I can think of is Earthsea and I didnt enjoy it much.

>>13787280
The do get wish fulfilment, but they don't understand that what people want isn't the end goal, but the journey. You want to see that you could become a powerful badass and have all sorts of adventures. Just being a badass already is boring and unrelatable, there are plenty of them around right now, and I'm not any of them, why should I care? But a good for nothing weak shithead who goes on adventures and eventually becomes cool is much more relatable.
In other words, banging hot chicks is more interesting than HAVING banged hot chicks in the past, and likewise gaining cool powers is more interesting than HAVING them from the start. That's why even the most blatant isekai-cheat-lns have the protagonist hide their powers and only use them occasionally, because it's boring and unrelatable if they don't at least pretend to be vulnerable.

>>13787276
What are your top chinkshit recs?

>>13787276
>If you took a chinkshit cultivation novel and hacked out 90% of it it'd be great most of the time.

Big laugh

>>13787311
>pure chinkshit magical wizard kungfu
>Reverend insanity - 9/10 to 7/10 (depending on arc)
500 year old asshole builds a time machine and goes back to when he was a teenager to fuck up everything, steal all the shit, and become god, but the universe literally hates and constantly tries to fuck him over before he fucks it over. There's also a Manhua of the first few chapters that's pretty neat.
>Warlock of the Magus World - 8/10 to 3/10
Random chink, transported to another world in the body of a frail sickly child, decides the most practical course of action is to become an evil god and rule the universe with an iron fist.
(the second to last arc is literally an entire unrelated book in a totally different setting, and then the MC comes in through an interdimensional portal, kills everyone and then flies away in the last five pages )

>not technically chinkshit but close
>Dungeon Defense - 8/10 (Actually Korean Isekai)
Lazy edgemeister transported into a videogame, as the tutorial boss that dies in the first five minutes of the game, in a world where the ending is "then the universe exploded and everyone died" Tries to avoid it, goes hilariously insanely evil in the process, 11d super-chess Kaiji gambits style.
>Lord of the Mysteries - 7/10 (Victorian lovecraft steampunk chinkshit)
Isekai into the body of a suicide victim, with a hole already blown in his head, has to cover up his own murder to avoid supernatural detectives finding out he's an evil ghost. Uses insanity-inducing magical powers to navigate ancient conspiracies, fails, repeatedly. Consoles himself with exotic foods and spices made from evil demonic monsters.

Those are the only one's I'd recommend you read, there are others which are okay mostly, or decent for a little while before evntually turning to pure unfiltered shit, like History's strongest founder and it's HUNDRED CHAPTER SIDE CHARACTER FILLER TOURNAMENT,

>>13786124
https://pastebin.com/MgtmPmp3
I should really get around to looking at some of these more in-depth so it doesn't remain as inaccurate, but oh well.

Also, collect responses from others as well. That would be good.
Such as this guy's:
>>13786515
>>13787276


or just not do anything at all. That's always a valid option.

>>13782326
Fifth Head of Cerberus

>>13787276
So you admit that you have shit tastes and enjoy machine level tier translations from a source that was nonsense prose and consistency wise from the get go?
A chinkshit reader has no right shitting on better written imitation chinkshit, doesn't your brain get soggy from reading all that chinkshit garbage?

>>13787231
The series is funny.
I suggest audiobooks for maximum enjoyment

>>13782286
What author is the /lit/ equivalent of Nihei?

>>13787680
I admit that poorly translated bugman fantasy is MILES BETTER than western pig-dog capitalist trash yes. At least the chinks have style and personality.

>>13787961
>chinks
>personality

Lord Dunsany > Tolkien.

>>13787975
Exactly, western shit is that bad. If you don't agree, you've either read no chinkshit, no westernshit, or simply have very poor taste. There's no such thing as bland or mediocre chinkshit, it's always a blend of great and terrible, though mostly terrible. Westernshit is usually just meh, never as bad, but also not as good.

>>13787276
>If you took a chinkshit cultivation novel and hacked out 90% of it it'd be great most of the time.
I'm with you, except I'd cut out 100% of it. That way it'd be great all the time.

>>13788002
Oh yeah? Well the jerk store called, and they're running out of you!

Threadly reminder: all litrpg and chinkshit belong in the general on /tg/. Fanfiction and self published smut belong in their own respective threads as well. And remember, only you can keep /sffg/ free of bugman trash and furry porn.

>>13788039
/tg/ doesn't need any more garbage. We already have CYOAniggers.

>>13787421
ive read wmw and RI (at least the translated chaps) both of which I really enjoyed. Lord of the mysteries is already on my list. Is dungeon defense really worth reading? ive hated the KR novels ive tried (solo levelling, moonlight sculptor).

>>13788051
If you've ever watched/read romance of the three kingdoms, the MC is like Cao Cao if he was a demon with magical powers. I think it's great, maybe better than RI, though different. It's definitely way better than other Korean stuff I've read. Highly recommended, excellent translation too.

>>13787988
Rudpilled n basssed
>>13787994
westnshit iss bascly chinkshit, butt insteeeead off immaral fantasies yu hav capitalist/democracy infisted gurbage whach is bacicly thi sam sheet.
>>13788039
riminder thut noone laiks yu

>>13787961
>I admit that poorly translated bugman fantasy is MILES BETTER than western pig-dog capitalist trash yes. At least the chinks have style and personality.
Want to know, how you let me know, that you are actually a chink?
I guess Huawei coming out of hot water freed up you lot from urgent damage control, and you can go back to pushing anything that originated from China onto western users on the internet.
You chinks don't fool me though (I already know you influenced the monthly reading because the author is a chink). How come you haven't picked back up your three meme problem shilling?

>>13788114
China is a terrible degenerate country, but compared to US it is heaven.
US is legitimately the most evil country since, well honestly the most evil and misguided country in history of humanity.

>>13788129
>China is a terrible degenerate country, but compared to US it is heaven.

>>13787988
I've read King of Elfland's Daughter, what should I read next?

>>13788129
>.05 points have been added to your social credit score.

Keep it up buddy, soon you will be allowed to ride the train again!

>>13788147
DRANK

Is there any book about an alienless galaxy? Of mankind discovering nothing, not even other life of any form. Guess it would be philosophical horror if anything, maybe it jumps decades multiple times, centuries of nothing other than themselves.

>>13782286
Where do I go to talk about mystery and horror? Do people squat here from time to time?

>>13788178
Foundation has a setting without any native aliens, but that isn't really explored as a theme, Asimov just wrote it like that to avoid an argument with his editor.

>>13788175
>tfw your country denies climate change, has the most inefficient healthcare in the world, legalizes machine guns, but not shrooms, lets 50 people control more wealth then 50% of the population, has a school shooting every other week, the average person can't point to US on the map, is infested by SJW's, is infested by republicans, liberals think driver's license is a scam, and whenever a third world country starts doing OK you send a shit ton of troops to destabilise the region again, so that oil prices don't go up, but you still feel the need to shit on a developing country for implementing an authoritarian policy which is actually effective.

>>13788049
So you're saying they'll fit right in

What are some fantasy series with good prose? Especially older ones. I'm amazed how bad this new shit is, it's literally worse than books from the TES games and some fanfic. How did we get to this anime tier writing?

>>13788318
Dying Earth by Jack Vance has insane prose. it was fun reading just becasue the way characters talked and acted

>>13788217
>tfw that one soiboi furry kids obsession with chink webnovels attracts the attention of the ChiCom propaganda ministry and they shit up your board forever

>>13788318
Roger Zelazny. Vance, Moorcock and Wolfe are great as well

>>13788346
>Roger Zelazny
Is this for real? I started up Chronicles of Amber and dropped it after a few pages because of how cringe the writing was. Something about a guy waking up in the hospital.

>>13788372
>Zelazny
>Cringe
Is this bait?

>>13788318
Jack Vance as mentioned by the other poster. Great stylist.

Lord Dunsany, the giant behind Tolkien.
I guess you're already accustomed with Howard, Peake.

Tanith Lee, Susanne Clarke, McKillip.
Lee was a very prolific writer although a lot of it is more horror than fantasy, Clarke hasn't been prolific but both her works are masterpieces. Mckillip is a safe bet when it comes to prose, more typical than the other 2 but her prose is still up there.

Just go through the 5 and 4 star authors of "http://greatsfandf.com" really.
The author of that site is more knowledgeable than 99.9+% of us. And if he rates an author a 4 or 5, you know they're worth their salt.

On the Witcher series: I enjoyed The Last Wish quite a bit but cannot for the life of me get into Sword of Destiny. Is the first story just a bit of a drag(on)? I generally enjoy short stories but in this case I feel it may be best just to skip to Blood of Elves for the full novel experience.

>>13787920
From Nihei himself:
Great Sky River by Gregory Albert Benford (Cibo)
Feersum Endjin by Ian Banks (Netsphere)
Busou Shimada Souko and Ad-Bird by Shiina, Matoko (Garbage storage, Tetsu, Zulu)
Dead boys and Dead Girls by Richard Calder (Ivy and Maeve)
Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick (Mensaab)
Greg Bear's New Collection by Gregory Dale Bear Permutation City by Greg Egan Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, and Burning Chrome by William Gibson
Steel Beach, The Ophiuchi Hotline, Millenium, Titan, Wizard, The Persistence of Vision, Blue Champagne, and The Barbie Murders(Picnic on Nearside) by John Varley
Billenium by James Graham Ballard
>http://www.randomisgod.com/blame/Artbook85.html
>>13787988
Based and Peganapilled

>>13788432
>Female meme authors
>Doesn't mention CS Friedman
>Greatsfandf.cum
Do not, under any circumstances, trust anything that the guy that runs that site, or anyone that recommends it, has to say

>>13782922
>tfw just bought a Stross paperback

you're welcome Charlie

>>13788432
I don't like to call things autistic but whoever made that site has serious issues.
>read this intro just to progress
>also those godawful colors
Don't doubt the recommendations but holy shit.

Where should one start with Alastair Reynolds? Short stories or longer works?

>>13787421
>isekai
>isekai
>reincarnation
>litrpg
Sorry, but you opinion has been summarily discarded.

>>13789025
It's native isekai.

>>13788217
>50 people more than 50%
My friend, it's actually 3 people control more than the bottom 90%

>>13782286
What fantasy books deal with vast stretches of ocean, sea monsters, and exploration?

/sffg/, I don't know what to do anymore. I exhausted every option, every trick, every mental hack to get me writing again and none of it worked. After six months of hopelessness, I realized I needed help and got a therapist in hopes that he'd help me solve my problem.

He didn't solve my problem /sffg/, he's just deadened the urge. Not only am I not writing anymore, I don't even have the interest anymore. I'm just... empty...

>>13782286
Is Philip K. Dick worth reading or a meme?

>>13788633
>Don't doubt the recommendations
That was your first mistake.

>>13789432
Define "meme".

>>13789372
Oh fuck off already.

>>13789372
This isn't a writing forum. Unless you want to talk about something you have written in the various speculative fiction genres, you can fuck right off to outer/lit/

Asked this a few threads back but lost the answer.

What are some good sci fi books based around investigating/exploring mysterious artifacts and ruins?

>>13785073
Nice projection my dude, just because you got blown the fuck out you don't need to assume I'm a filthy pony fucker (which thank god it's expressly forbidden in every board except one, driving my point home), but nice try.

>>13789984
If you asked and got answers, then check the fucking archive you lazy piece of shit.

>>13789372
/blog

>>13790020
This was like two months ago, man.

what should I read next:
ship of fools
a fire upon the deep
city
stranger in a strange land

>>13789984
hyperion

>>13788455
Blood of elves is where you start, the short stories are just accents

>>13788455
The Last Wish is the only thing worth reading.

Remember that it is perfectly normal to slaughter 10000 innocents to ensure you get the badguy

>>13789984
hyperion

>>13790373
I like villain books. Fed up of reading goodie goodie books.

>>13784379
You hit the nail on the head. The only fantasy example is Curnden Craw from Heroes by Joe Abercrombie. Though his retirement was short lived.

>>13784185
Warriors/soldiers settling down or trying to settle down yet still getting pulled back into "adventures" is a common theme in David Gemmell's Drenai books. Legend, Quest for Lost Heroes, Waylander 2, White Wolf.

>>13785371
Man nobody responded to this but I just went out and bought this book today cause I saw your post. Thanks man

>>13790018
>Reads and shills stories about fucking animals
>hurr yuor perjecting
You're not fooling anyone, furfag

>>13791070
>Reads and shills stories about fucking animals
When did I do that? Follow the reply chain, I just said litrpg is allowed, that's all. Maybe you're a bit confused. Also, pretending to be retarded isn't a valid excuse.

>>13791088
>Reading litrpg
>Pretending not to know what it is
You're right, faking mental retardation is no excuse

>>13782286
Anyone read stormlight archives #3? I read the first 2 and slightly lost interest towards the end. Book is called oathbringer

>he thinks that's furry shit
Nice animal you've got there my dude. A fictional anime girl with a tail and some cat ears. No kid, that's not "furfaggotry", that's just some level zero furry shit. Hell, some canadian chick wrote a book about fucking a bear.

>>13791135
It's shit.
Even people who liked the first two tend to agree, but this topic has already been discussed to death.

I always see a lot of praise for Gemmell but I'm halfway through Legend and it's pretty terrible so far. What books of his are worth checking out?

>>13791329
Stick to Sanderson.

>>13791143
Bear is fucking great

>>13790176
>>13790446
Thanks.

>>13789984
Any more suggestions?

>>13791143
Just one example of many. Your degeneracy is indefensible, and I hope your father finds out what you're into so he can be more ashamed of you than he already is.

>>13791329
>I always see a lot of praise for Gemmell
I guess I have not posted enough Gemmell hate lately then. Gemmell is a terrible writer and wish fulfillment for 15 year olds. If you believe in shit by association some Gemmell fans apparently consider Rothfuss to be his spiritual successor, which I guess is somewhat fitting as they both write absurd heroes.

>>13791144
Thx

>>13791594
The Name of the Wind is the worst piece of media I've ever come across, and I'm counting everything from the most moe anime to 90s softcore Italian porn. It's just fucking DOGSHIT on every level, how can burgers worship this guy what the FUCK? Like the book is just B A D. Objectively TERRIBLE.

>>13791594
>lol I'm a retard and I've never read anything by Gemmell
We know, anon. We know.

>>13791594
I'm liking Jerusalem man so far.

>>13791686
Based and Shannow-pilled. Ignore the Gemmell-haters; they've either never read anything by him or the extremely retarded association with Rothfuss they've created makes them say he sucks.

>>13791864
I'm only half way through Wolf in Shadow, but I like that the hellborne are french.

>>13791868
>but I like that the hellborne are french.
Because they're decadent and degenerate and satanic?

>>13791898
Yes, and the audiobook I'm using gives them french accents.

>>13789984
Excession

Why aren’t the Imass after Icarium?

Doesn’t make too much sense to me.

>>13791944
Why the hell do they have French accents? They're not French in the book.

>>13788178
Sounds more like paradise than horror to me. Rather seed a galaxy with earth life than have to deal with new and unpredictable forms. No other life of any kind would be a dream come true.

>>13789432
Defo worth reading. One of the few scifi writers whose work is so good it actually escapes the genre to become real literature.

>>13789984
Broken Angels by Richard Morgan

>>13789372
get a job

>>13791329
legit blew my mind how bad the dialogue in this was
also the last few chapters are just ridiculous

>>13782286
>tolkien is a hack
nice b8

>Mfw its been 6 days since i wrote the literary agent to publish my Nephilim Godess conquest fantasy novel and I didnt get a reply yet

Should I just kms guys?

>>13792923
>Someone says they don't enjoy an overrated, simplistic author who has harmed a genre more than any person in history so it must be bait
Also, Dunsany, MacDonald, and Peake are all miles better than Tolkien, but are unknown to the point of obscurity

>>13792117

Fuck I dont know man I read 3 chapters of dead house gates no idea if its book 1 I have NO IDEA what is happening

>>13792994

What you mean genre? Tolkien"s work are nonfiction bro.

>>13792984
Your what now

>>13793028

Nephilim... Godess?
You know what a Nephilim is right, you fucking pleb.
Pic rel. Is roughly the size of the girl in question.

Basicly she is worshipped as a living Godess by the red city of Uruk. A cult of female supremacist priestesses execute her commands. Further down the hierarchy is the King and his warrior packs, and then the general populace of merchants and peasants.

>>13793058
Is that your magical realm, it sounds like your magical realm

>>13793068

Its actually based in historical and mythic sources but w/e u fucking bully

>>13792984
Post the story here first.

>>13793082
Don't worry, I believe in you anon. Your smut story about some giantess will be a success surely!

>>13782353

This is what happens when we let gamers write books, they come away with this idea that competing ideologies are just skill trees and they're all created equal and you can choose which ever one you want.

Generally-speaking, you as the author have to choose who the "correct" POV is. If you don't decide this consciously, you'll decide this subconsciously.

Dweebs always interpret the end of Watchmen to be "open to interpretation." It's not. Alan Moore is an anarchist, and if you were actually paying attention while you read you'd realize by the end that the book explicitly telling you what the "correct" opinion to have by the end is.

>>13792369
You're smelling your own fumes.

>>13792510
>recommending someone book 2 of a series

>>13789432
Only the ones generally considered to be the best. There's a lot to be said about it, but I can't be bothered.

>>13789432
He's worth reading. His best-known works are usually his best, if you go panning through his minor stories for gems you're going to be disappointed.

The "Exegesis" is, literally, a schizophrenic rant. Avoid it.

Read a few of his better-known novels -- they're short -- but don't try to become a PKD completionist.

>>13789984
Rendezvous with Rama

>>13793315
>if you go panning through his minor stories for gems you're going to be disappointed
I had the complete opposite experience. He has a shitload of good stories.

>>13793412
Different anon.
Here's my experience.

Read:
Short stories: 26 / ~130
Great: 3
Good: 6
Meh: 13
Trash: 4

Novels: 22 / ~49
Great: 4
Good: 7
Meh: 4
Trash: 7


I haven't read anything PKD in some years because the range of quality was annoying and I began to feel that I had already read everything I was going to like from him. Probably not, but I don't really want to find out that much. Maybe some year. I think I may have actually briefly looked at several others and confirmed this.

>>13787920

>fifth story in Hyperion
>suddenly 5 pages that could literally have been ripped straight out of Neuromancer
>then back to normal like nothing happened
Can't say that part aged well.

>>13793000
It gets better after book 3

>>13793000
The chain of dogs is amazing. The best thing Erickson ever wrote. Finish book two for that, if nothing else.

>>13793645
>mfw I just found out that Hairlock is not coming back
>mfw no face

Why was he even a character to begin with?

I like Tad Williams and all, but is he capable of writing anything that doesn't take entire book to get going?

>>13794018
No. If you look in the dictionary under 'verbose' you'll find his name.

>>13793688
To fuck people up. That’s literally his whole character

>>13794018
He's gotten better with practice but he's still very much a slow burn even these days. If you compare Shadowmarch to MSaT you'll see it gets into gear faster, but it's still pretty dang slow by modern fantasy standards.

What did Arthur C Clarke get up into Thailand?

>>13794057
His prose and attention to detail is great, but only after he's spent 20% of the series's length establishing all the backstories and lore

>>13791329
MC of Rigante is a Mary Sue of the highest order so not that. I liked the Troy series but was very young when I read it so it might be shit and I just didn't realize it

>>13783186
>>13784053
Is Blindsight more difficult than something like Solaris or not?

>>13794958
Literally being gay. Read about it.

>rereading Blackflame and Ghostwater
>Lindon absolutely STYLING all over Harmony
CAN he be contained?

>>13795287
Cripple your cultivation and apologize and I will not tell my matriarch.

>>13792994
>Tolkien
>Simplistic
>Hurt muh fantasy
Right Anon, it's totally Tolkiens fault that he has countless cringey imitators. Just remember you actually typed this as you beat your tiny meat to the latest chapter of your favorite elf rape litrpg

>>13795287
It’s great just how fast he beat harmony. Ghostwater was a good book. Can’t wait to see him kill the other dragon sister too in uncrowned.

>>13795287
We'll find out in a few weeks, wouldn't be shocked if first place in uncrowned came down to Yerin vs Lindon

>>13795444
>Information requested: combat solution against Akura Harmony

>Beginning report...

He's gonna dunk that other dumb bitch dragon and when he finally meets Northstrider, he'll probably give Lindon an a-okay for all the dragons he's killed.

>>13795681
>>13795287
>>13795353
>>13795444
>>13795582
Why isn't there more rape? Yerrin's master was supposed to cut that virgin cunny up with his crotch blade.

>>13795703
It's YA fiction. It's fine to make people explode into gore, but sex is just totally unacceptable.

>>13794018
That's part of the charm of his stories. They're grand, comfy, blankie and cocoa fantasy adventures, not blistering page turners.

I'm writing a fantasy romance novel. It's very lighthearted and there's absolutely no sex, just hand holding/kissing/blushing/cuddling

>>13795011
That's what I like about him, but I can see how people find it tedious if they want something more focused on characters.

>>13795872
>It's very lighthearted and there's absolutely no sex
Ah, a young adult novelist. Some day you'll graduate to writing real novels.

>>13793688
>Why was he even a character to begin with?
You could say this about most of the Malazan cast.

>>13795896
It's mostly because I'm deeply sexually repressed. I don't care about artistic integrity, I write what I like.

Someone recommend me a fantasy book about a journey to many fantastic places.

>>13796043
Death's Gate Cycle

>you will never become the first Emperor of Rome with Agrippa, Maecenas, and Livia at your side
Why even live?

>>13796043
The Voidal: Oblivion Hand by Adrian Cole

>>13796043
Gulliver's Travels
Blindsight
Superluminary

>>13793412
>>13793456
Should have been more clear, when I meant minor stories I was referring to his lesser-known novels. There is some gold in them thar short stories, although as far as I've seen his best short work is Faith of Our Fathers, originally collected in the very high profile Dangerous Visions.

>>13796043
The Eyes of the Overworld

>>13795872
>>13795923
Are you sure it's fantasy romance and not historical romance?

>>13796043
Nine Princes in Amber

>>13796043
Voyage to Arcturus

Looking back, I realized something really stupid about the swords of the cross in Dreseden Files.

How the fuck is it that a sword designed for a holy purpose can tell if the user's being dishonest and shatter to spite them, but it can't fucking detect when the enemy it was made to destroy is fake surrendering? That's not a lawful good sword, that's not even a lawful neutral sword, that's just plain fucking lawful stupid!

>>13797242
It’s not an all purpose lie detector. You have to be a good boy to use it, and you can’t lie and be a good boy.

>>13793155

There is only 1 sex in there ok! The Nephilim Priestess rapes a jailed mercenary, thus finally becoming impregnated due to a negative + negative bloodtype compability not found in her regular (sumerian) subjects.

GOSH

>>13796043

Eragon

>>13797450
Nice psuedoscience

>>13795872
It should end with s3x. Otherwise people will get pissed off.

I'm playing suikoden and now I wanna read fantasy about recruiting colorful characters to start a militia/army/rebellion. any recs?

Just finished the skull throne book of the demon cycle and damn this has been fun, watching Arlen turn into shonen protagonist absolute giga chad, eating demon flesh and tattooing himself and cockteasing his edgy gf companion has been top tier fun.

>>13797960

>>13798084
That's my reaction too but I still enjoyed the fuck out of it. Neo-Mohammed chad also gets an honorable mention.

>>13798098
How dare you speak to me?!

>>13798101

What books are you guys looking forward to being released by year end?

>>13797471

*breathes in*
Negative bloodtype women automatically abort fetuses if they take the positive bloodtype of a positive father, which is usually automatic as - is recessive and - is a rare mutation, that is, after the first child. Thus a woman with this mutation in an area without any similar carriers would effectively be sterile/birth stillborns.

First it was harem, then litrpg, then virtual reality, then isekai, now, everyone is writing western versions of dao and qi.
I just saw two of the worst self published Amazon authors I ever read (harmon cooper and JA Caprico or whatever his fucking name is) release their cultivation novels....

What is going to be the next thing? It's weird to be able to see the shift from start to it's current form.

>>13798489
>*breathes in*
Thot

>>13798613
I'm sorry if I sound like a brainlet, but what the fuck is a cultivation novel. Surely you're not implying that slice of life novels about farming are all the rage now?

>>13798631
The dao and immortality and Jiang Hu

Okay wandering inn shill (who we all know is actually the author). Your giga tome volume one is out on audiobook (43hours). I will give it a go and report back to everyone how shit it is.

>>13798631
Chinese Kung Fu Wizards fighting over immortality elixirs.

>>13798631
Ever watched dragon ball z? That is kinda what cultivation is. Goku is a body cultivar. He fights to get stronger and uses energy he got from training his body to do "magic" attacks.

>>13798616

Im a boi, and I like birdboi

>>13798631
>I'm sorry if I sound like a brainlet, but what the fuck is a cultivation novel. Surely you're not implying that slice of life novels about farming are all the rage now?
its dragonball. martial arts mixed with the mythical and magical. usually medicine and alchemy is mixed in and fighting gets as exaggerated as in dragonball.

>>13788039
>long hair and armor

I just have to imagine it constantly gets caught and pulled out in joints, rivets, and pretty much any crease any time you so much as turn your head

>Since you respect me, kill me!

I’ll never be a cultivator since I’ll never understand this t b h

>>13799214
Bugman “ethics and morals”

KEK. That link fag didn't make a new thread, so back to the old layout.

>>13795393
I won't even bother typing out a proper response, because you clearly see what you want to see and will ignore what I actually say.
Also, yes, Tolkien is simplistic compared to any of the authors I listed, or any "Classics" of the period. Remember that Gaddis wrote at the same type period.

>>13799214
chinese culture is deeply ingrained in this stuff. its a very weird thing human life doesnt hold much value to the chinese and honor can be gained or slighted by the weirdest things. most web novels are actually "westernized" and completely different to what an actually wuxia/xanxia novel would be like.

>>13799478
>the majority of xianxia/wuxia novels
>completely different to what an actually wuxia/xanxia novel would be like

You guys are talking about chinkshit again.

>>13799715
>complains about chinkshit
>posts leddit cyberpunk game

>Get recommended to read foid meme authors like Maas, McKillip and Friedman.
>They're all shit.
I'll never read anything written by a foid ever again.
They simply can not write.
Pic related is shit, but it's still better than anything written by a female.

>>13799850
Are you sure you are not being blinded by your insecurities as to the quality of mommy Mass writing?

>>13799854
Is this you?

>>13799866
All I am saying is that given the fact that you have a chip on your shoulders regarding those dastardly females, you might be overly critical of Mass and similar authors.
While their work is certainly not groundbreaking I doubt it's as bad as that novel you posted.

>>13799905
>those man hands
>those thrown back manly shoulders
>that dick tucking
>those biceps
>that manly pecs
>those man hips

Also where is the new thread? We are on page 10.

>>13799944
You forgot the pointy ears.

>>13798677
>>13798753
>>13798767
>>13798951
I honestly wished it was actually about farming instead

>>13799978
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/farm-life

>>13799905
It's certainly not.
Not even the "best" foid (Ursela) comes close to even a below average novel.

>>13799956
It's a man, pointy ears doesn't make one a man

>>13799978
Country life is the shit.

>>13800042
I hope you find some nice girl to lift you from your predicament.

>>13799978
Remnant by William D Arand is a farming simulator.

>>13800051
more like farming monster girls' virginities.

The general is gonna die. Good.
Shitposting and lack of actual discussion of books has gotten worse over the years.

>>13799978
A lot of them literally are. Where do you think magical elixirs come from?

>>13800058
He had two "used goods" though. And the way that shortstack took the entire dick uggo.

Also the book started as a farming simulator.

>>13799854
Where the hell can I meet bitches like this?

>>13800108
We are here to talk about books not thots anon.

>>13800108
Take a quiet and unassuming nerdy girl. Groom her into caking on make up and dressing sluty.
There. Your own instagram whore.

>>13800046
If she looks like a man to you, you must be one dainty femboy.

>>13798489
>after the first child
>finally becoming impregnated
Sounds like first child to me.
Also that isn't quite how it works.

>>13800142
I understand you're into trannies and traps, but please see the difference between real women and crossdressers.

Thread destruction in T minus 5 minutes

>>13800186
Anon, you poor soul, are you a tranny?
Have you come from discord to enlighten us?

This is the final post.

>>13800191
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

>>13800202
You weren't supposed to do that. RUINED.

Actual Final Post #350