/lit/ - Literature

science fiction and fantasy are cringey

>>14152801
no u

>>14152768
Are those "hoops" some scientific structure that was reclaimed by nature?

>>14152801
I like both genres but I hate how 90%+ is pro-feminist garbage.

>>14152878
Source:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Ka41VW
It's whatever you want it to be.

>>14152932
That's just your narrative.

>>14152951
What about life? Is life also what you make of it?

reading al renyolds' zima blue, most of the stories feel like echoes of Revelation Space. they're good but not fresh anymore. feels weird man.

>>14153138
Life is what it makes of you.

>>14152768
Can we talk about litRPG's here? What are some good ones to read?

Finishing the First Law Trilogy and I love it. Where do I go from here if I want more of Abercrombie?

>>14153193
If that's true I'll FUCKING KILL MYSELF.

>>14153198
It's 4chan(nel). You can post whatever you and others will respond however they want. Look at the charts and the pastelink.

>>14153203
Please be considerate of others if you choose to do so.

>>14153218
I won't because it's not true. It's not true. You're wrong. Life is what you make of it.

>>14153222
What have you made of it?

>>14153237
Nothing but I still have time. Plenty of time. I'm going to do something special with my life, just you wait. Just you wait.

>>14153243
That isn't true either. At any given moment you may die. I don't know what you'd consider "special" so I can't really comment either. This is my last response.

>>14153146
Zima Blue got a television adaptation but I thought the overall story was one of the more underwhelming ones.
>no Diamond Dogs adaptation

>>14153251
FUCK YOU. You're a fucking loser with no life. I'm going to do something with mine. My life has purpose. I'm going to be happy, I'm going to achieve great things and find happiness and I'll be happy, not a fucking loser with no life. My life begins NOW and I'm going to be someone who loves and is loved.

>>14153255
Is a Netflix original really "television"?

>>14152768
>mfw I memed half the fantasy nominations on the list
>mfw nobody nominated Jules Verne, Malazan, A Wizard of Earthsea, or any of the Narnia books

>>14153292
I know, but I didn't care. I probably should all just picked them all myself, but it doesn't really matter that much. All that means is that you cared to put in more effort than basically anyone else.

>>14153271
Don't be pedantic.

>>14153198

>>14153345
Where do you think you are?

I'm sick of this /sffg/, I'm sick of being a shitty, sucky, crappy fucking goddamn writer. Every waking minute I'm not hypomanic is wasted in this mongoloid fucking retard brain who can barely churn out legible sentences. I need to be smart again. and talented. and enthusiastic. and creative. FUCK! just something so I'm not a useless fucking piece of shit cunt all the fucking goddamn time

>>14153753
have you tried being yourself?

>>14153753
Maybe you don't have a talent for it.

>>14153792
yeah. It turns out myself is a fucking useless fucking cunt

>>14153797
I don't. At all. At least not naturally. I do when I'm hypomanic. Never any time else. Oh, and don't give me shit about delusions of grandeur. I have several pieces solid goddamn proof that that high-off-his-ass shit I sometimes turn into is better than me in every fucking conceivable way.

>>14153199
first law has 3 more standalone novels, a short story collection, and the first book of a new trilogy

>>14153271
are self published novels really "literature"?

>>14153812
Do you at least have people that reads your stuff and give you criticism? I believe that's the only way to improve.

>>14153878
showed my friends something that I thought was good today. They didn't dig it, and reading it aloud, I didn't either. I guess that's not surprising given that I'm shit and it reflects that

>>14153878
Is self criticism not productive or worth it?

If I read this will I be made painfully aware of the author's pitiful life prior to writing his dream escapist fantasy?

>>14153899
It may be too subjective (either you think you're too good or too bad)
>>14153889
Try writing lots of short stories and see if they like any in particular and why. Also, post them on a forum for a more objective review.
Like any other activity, practice makes perfect. I had a friend that was a really shitty drawer, and in 5 years he was good. In 10 years he was publishing his own stuff. Anything mastery of something takes effort.

>>14153961
>drawer
lel I meant cartoonist

>>14153920
Excerpts
(1) Dennis E. Taylor - We Are Legion (We Are Bob) [SF]
Through The power Of Cryonics I Was Reborn! What Would It Be Like To Be A Colony Ship? Enjoy These References From Centuries Ago!
>movie called Castaway
>If you're up on Star Wars and Star Trek, you're golden
>one of you to be the controlling intelligence for a Von Neumann probe
>MUST LOOK LIKE SCARY GUY FROM POLTERGEIST 2
>Calvin, Goku, and Linus...Garfield
>actual Vulcans...[Gene] Roddenberry would be proud

>>14153973
I'd do it but I have neither the patience to wait 10 years to write my novel, nor the reliability to write every night for the next ten years. Frankly, that I've been doing it for a month is a freak occurrence.

It's worth noting that if I had that hypomanic edge I wouldn't need practice. I'd just know how to write. I know that for a fact because I've written a novel while on it before, and it holds up. I am nothing without it and it is everything without me.

>>14153998
I can`t be bothered with self improvement. I should just be recognised for how great I am right now.

This is what you sound like,

>>14153998
Different anon.
If you need something so unreliable than you ought to give up. If you can't do it in a normal non-depressed state, then it's all a foundation of sand. Of course, you may be only depressed or hypomanic for all I know.

>>14154005
I'm not great. I'm average. I'm less than average. a joke. Average with above-average aspirations is more than pathetic, it's sick. I'm living my life pretending I have the potential of someone else, a fickle genius who takes up residence in my skull and truly emerges maybe once every year or two. to take control of my body and shame me by showing everybody else in my life how great I can be if I was just someone else.

Maybe if I shot myself in the head only I would die and he'd be able to take over and live my life better than I ever could.

>>14154011
I'm normal right now. Angry, and incredibly bitter but not depressed. This me is capable of writing, he's just shit at it. Too normal to ever truly accomplish the things he dreamed of. The other me, the real one, or at least the one who should be the real one, he isn't

Stop using this place as your mental health status blog.

>>14154061
Yes, there are various people who say they are only alive when they are doing various drugs or some other activity. There are know who claim to never be awake until they've drank coffee. It's all silly and self-deceptive.

>>14154091
know = *those

>>14154079
All that can be done until reporting until banned and then ban evades and more bans. You have to take the good with the bad. Such is the nature of our system.

>>14154091
Oh, I'm alive alright, and it's wasted on me. I do well at my job, I see friends, I spend time with my family, I write, I enjoy myself, I eat well and it's all fucking disgusting. I'm living a pointless normal life when there's a a fucking super power latent in my skull that I don't know how to harness and don't believe I can. My greatest fear isn't that I'll never find a way, but that I'll find it, and use that well of power up in the process

>>14154213
>that I don't know how to harness
We told you how, you're just lazy.

>>14154315
maybe you're right anon. I can't control this part of myself, and I probably never will. I hate him you know? Maybe instead of trying to control this lazy piece of shit extra cortex, I should live to spite him, spend the rest of my life doing the things he refuses to and surpassing that lazy sack of shit

>>14154397
Changing oneself is the hardest thing to do; I wish you good luck.

>>14153264
>that time of the month

>that feelio dealio when Coiling Dragon is getting good again and Linley is about to shit all over Miluo Island
may actually finish the damn thing before Desolate Era at this rate

54th for vampire loli

>>14148931
Agreed. In the books it is described as mostly chain mail.

>finish a good book
>emptiness ensues

>>14155181
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FB9GYkIT3E

>>14153872
Are movies not viewed in a cinema or theatre really "movies".

>>14153995
So you decided to sperg out again autism cunt.
You don't read a novel, you just search for and cherry pick phrases which will agree with how you want to perceive a book.

Just finished Stapledons dulogy. Any other grand scale scifi books that dispense with characters and tell stories of entire nations/species?

>>14154079
Use this on him, if you see him.
Or the other ones out there. Like the idea thief kicking in our door to molest our nubile ideas.

>>14155451
silmarillion?

>>14155181
iktfb

>>14154884
You're late, monthly reading anon.
Also, you should apologize for the lack of I, not GI

>>14155181
What book?

>>14155472
I need my beauty sleep, how could I predict that like 40 BotNS posts would appear the second I closed the thread?

>you should apologize for the lack of I, not GI
Refresh my memory, who is gay?

>>14155505
everyone that wants to dip their wick
i read that book years ago and it still stands out to me.

>>14152768
>Good Reads

Is that site actually any good for quality reviews? There's a fuck ton of YA stuff populating the front page.

>>14155623
it's not a serious literary magazine, look at a few reviews of books you've read and decide for yourself. the site is mostly for keeping track of your own books anyway.

>>14155623
it's just like every other outlet that lets anyone post - you get varying degrees of quality and the most popular stuff gets featured. you'll probably have to find people who's opinions are at least articulated well.

>>14155623
Look for books that have a 1 star review somewhere where the reviewer posts 30 gifs and says Harry Potter was better to find the good shit.

>>14155623
>Is that site actually any good for quality reviews?
No, it's not. If you want to spend the time you can search out reviewers with tastes that align with yours but I find it easier to just ask /sffg/ and reread Bakker or BotNS for the fifth time.

>>14155623
The best place for reviews has always been Amazon. Just be discerning and try to look for reviews that are well written and thoughtful. There are normally at least a few.

Need more rape books.
So far Lightbringer 5 has zero rape.

>>14155873
I won't read a fantasy book unless it has at least 2 rape scenes, personally.

There's only one rape scene in BotNS, right?

>>14155873
Jon Sprunk's first trilogy has rape and it's MC's love interest. Dropped it like a hot potato.

Whoever shilled Katherine Arden with regard to her being longlisted for the GoodReads awards, thanks. It's been a long time since I read a /sff/ book that had me sympathizing with each and every one of the characters. Except Konstantin. Fuck Konstantin.

>>14155956
There's only one direct scene, when Severian rapes Jolenta. Then there's Thecla having sex with Severian during her time imprisoned in the Torturers Guild, which some would consider rape based on their relationship at the time. Then there's the rape we're told of, like the Masters of the Guild using rape as a method of torture. And then there's the implied rape, like for example the Masters of the Guild raping the apprentices.

>>14155986
>the Masters of the Guild raping the apprentices.
So severian was a butt boy?

>>14156006
Nothing is confirmed, and even if you buy into the implications he was no more a butt boy than the Ancient Greeks. So don't worry, no homo.

>>14155873
He lost his touch. He usually rapes at least once in the first 5 chapters.

>>14156023
The ancient greeks were full of buggery though.

>>14156032
Nah mate, homosexuality was literally invented when the proto-christians decided to forbid it. Before that there were nothing gay about fucking man ass. The Romans kinda kept this belief but with the disclaimer that it was kinda gay to get fucked in the ass. And now that I think about it this would probably be Severians way of looking at things, considering his comments about others homosexuality and boyfuckery.

>>14155956
The part with Daria in Citadel is arguably rape.

Is it worth it just to read Riftwar the original trilogy by itself and forget about the rest of the books or is there some good lore and stuff expanded upon later in the other books? Looking to get into a new trilogy and Riftwar sounds really fun but I'm aware of just how massive the scale and scope of it is so kind of hesitant to start reading.

>mfw I just realized that for the title in the covers of the '60-'70s New English Library edition of the Dune trilogy and God Emperor of Dune the publishers used the typeface created by my mother's cousin

>>14152768
My favorite work of genre fiction is a collection of Star Fox fanfictions by one author. He finished part 1 of a fantastic James McCloud story before disappearing forever, I assume to law school or practice like he once mentioned in an author's note. FanFiction eventually fell out of my life while i was growing up (parents upgraded internet so a whole new world opened up beyond text stories) but I'd still go back here and there to check for signs of life. He hit a diverse amount of genres too, including horror, all while implementing a lot of really cool science fiction elements. I wonder how much was his own creation vs things he took from elsewhere since some of his earlier works were definitely pastiche-y.

>>14156413
Nice blog, have a (you).

>>14156391
How old are you, racist boomer.

>SFFG: Sychologist Free-form self-help-Forum General-mental-health
>blog about your mental problem freely for self treatment.
>literature

>>14156370
Serpetwar saga is his best work. Rift war is cozy but the original trilogy itself is pretty vanilla.

>>14156542
Fuck off HP Lovecraft's cat.

>>14155662
>he only read BotNS four times

Ascian out

>>14156370
Yes, the first trilogy is completely standalone.

>>14156768
sensible chuckle.wav

Abandon all hope

>>14152768
I just finished a song of ice and fire after a few months of reading, and I really picked up pace near the end. Trying to keep up so i don't spend another year before reading again. I read this book called Death's Head in high school about a super soldier in the future, real hardcore edge there and I'd like to find something similar. currently reading caves of steel as well but I should be done soonish given how short it is

So I started Gardens of the Moon this week, what am I in for?

>>14156542
I'm not even 30, but that cousin is like 81yo

so waht do you actually think of A Song Of Ice And Fire /sffg/?

>>14158205
I have no desire to read it.

>>14158078
i know a book you might like it might have been a double book with psychic kids/futuristic mercenaries books our something that was forever ago. our you could just read some old battle mech books. it had one side bought futuristic tanks and one side hired mercenaries
space ships and mabye falcon our hawk in the name?

>>14158265
I'll look into it. Honestly I just want some violent scifi. looked around a bit and got recommended 'Consider Phlebas so i'll check that out and come back later.

>>14158205
Never read it or watched the show. I love lotr and sword/sorcery fantasy in general, and when those books got popular I got an idea of what they were about but I haven't read a single page and like >>14158239 just have no desire to give it a try for whatever reason. I might just force myself to eventually

>>14158205
I know I read part of a George R. R. Martin book because my grandfather literally has walls and walls of books but I think it was the second one and I thought it was kind of lame at the time.

Not sure if Sci-fi, but has anyone read William Golding's The Inheritors, an attempt to portray neanderthals being suplanted by early homo sapiens.

>>14158205
Martin is a fat pervert, normally I wouldn't care but he really lays it on thick and it detracts from the rest of the (diminishingly interesting) story

Anyone know which version of 1001 Nights (Arabian Nights) I should pursue? If you know an Arabic version even better.

Your posts are futile.

>>14158893
Because you don't plan to read any sff books?

rec me a book for someone who has never read sf before and has never been attracted to it either

>>14158681
storm of swords was good though, everything after less so and the story will never be finished

>film tie in print of let the right one in has "now a major film" instead of "now a major motion picture" like every other film tie in print of a novel

>>14159009
Why would you want to do something you have absolutely no interest in? Might as well get into cheap romance fiction while you're at it

>"There's another emperor I want you to note in passing - a Hitler. He killed more than six million. Pretty good for those days."

How did Herbert get away with this?

>>14159131
Flexing on Hitler is pretty standard edgy far future SF territory. I think even Gundam does it

>>14159131
he was implying that hitler would still be relevant 20,000 years from now, or however far in the future those books are. not really much to get away with. I also thought it was funny that other religions mutated drastically but there are just regular old jews hanging around among the space muslims and jesuit ninja nuns

Post your favorite science fiction anthologies. I’ll start.

I kinda want to re read Wheel of Time. But then again holy shit it could be chore at times.
Maybe I could just skip a few books or something.

>>14159585
Just get the audibooks and have them as background noise.

>>14159290
Brave New Worlds
Reach for Infinity
Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology
Supermen
The Year's Best Science Fiction 26
The Year's Best Science Fiction 28
Year's Best SF 10
Year's Best SF 18

Only read a few random of the year's best. I liked several stories a lot in all of the above. I've read a lot where I've only liked a couple.

I've read Again, Dangerous Visions, but I only liked two stories from it. Haven't got around to reading the first one yet.

>>14159611
good idea

>>14158078
starship troopers is a classic sf book about super soldiers. if you're really new to SFF just browse any top 100 list.

>>14159009
frankenstein

What this general is for:
Trolling
Spamming
Griefing
Blogging
Convincing others of your superior taste

What the general is not for:
Discussion
Responses

If you want either of those, you have to make your own thread, such as this:
>>14154272

>>14159648
I read that last year along with Dune. Real good, but I would have liked something more direct. most of the stories on the top 100 style lists I'm already familiar with, I wanted to get some deeper cuts.

/sffg/ group is now at 20 members.

Are there any good Buddhist/Taoist theme inspired fiction books?

>>14159743
“Conservation laws” is a decent short story with buddhist elements

>>14155623
It's okay. I find the best way to use it to figure out if a book is good or not is to read the low/mid rating reviews. They seem to be written by people who read a little more critically than the ones who give everything a 4 or 5 star rating and you can figure out based on the things they didn't like whether or not a book is for you.

Speaking of some things being a chore to read;

What has been the most consistently enthralling /sffg/ related readings that very rarely felt like a chore?

>>14159634
>>14159611
It's still 19d 5h 25m of audio.

>>14159787
>rec me fun good books

>>14159863
Didn't intend for it to actually sound that way.

Whoops.

>>14159796
>461 hours
>4 hours a day
>115 days, or basically 4 months

>last fucking book of WoT
>Egwene gets handled smoothly by Rand
>supposed to be bonded and married to Gawyn
>But Rand though and their promise which was a fucking books away
what's her problem? Why can't she get excited by Gawyn? It's fucking hilarious how she barely gets excited by Gawyn now that he's her bitch.

Whats that bitch Sandy up to nowadays? I pay that fucker so much money, can I at least get stormlight 4?

I was going through adding some of the books I read in my teenage years. Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Magic: The Gathering, and so on and I saw that Brandon Sanderson wrote a Magic: The Gathering novel last year. I guess he really does a lot of various stuff.

>>14160019
Because Egwene is a turbocunt who’s only happy when she has someone to fight.
>>14160095
He just put out a book in his ya series or something

Year's coming to an end.
What did you guys get so far from 2019?
What new likes?
What new hates?
What new discoveries?

I recently reread The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin which is probably my favorite book. Every second of reading it was pure pleasure. I never wanted it to end.

Now I am reading Rosewater by Tade Thompson and the prose is shit, I hate the protagonist, dialogue feels stilted. It isn't just this book. Almost everything I read lately is extremely unsatisfying, and I push myself to keep going just so I can get it all over with.

Why don't I enjoy reading anymore? Why do only 2-3 authors give me any joy?

>>14161083
Because you are bad at picking what you think you'd enjoy.

>>14161092
I wanna read about ALIENS!!!!

>>14161092
>>14161083
Also you don't have to find or read anything that you don't find enjoyable. Sounds like you are basically self-harm reading.

>>14161094
I've read several books that I hated until the last chapter, which is why I push through.

>>14161118
You hate them until you finished them then you didn't hate them any longer? You don't think that isn't just cognitive dissonance justifying why you finished them?

>>14158205
I felt like it was a pulp book in a fantasy setting. Got bored of it pretty quickly but kept on reading up to ADWD because a girl I liked kept on telling me that I'd have loved it.

Turns out that I was a lot more ignorant than I thought and going about things in a lot worse way than I thought.

>>14160907
I got to finish tight pussy two after years of push backs.

>>14160907
When it comes to SFF it have been quite a run-of-the-mill year for me. The only book I've found exceptional is Hyperion. Honorable mentions go to Lord of Light and Wolfe's The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories (Seven American Nights is an absolutely amazing story, unfortunately some of the stories were more lackluster). The worst books I've read are The Quantum Thief and The Heart Goes Last by Atwood. The only thing I hate is Ada Palmer's publisher for not releasing Perhaps the Stars sooner.

>>14160095
Sandy of the Sanderhack a fag fame?

>>14159765
Could you post a link? Googling conservation laws shows other conservation laws.

I haven't read botns in a while but what was so bad about the witch tower? Didn't Sev visit it and everything was fine?

>>14158205
It's alright, if it's ever finished I'd really recommend it. Dunk and Egg stories are great.

I can't take it anymore.
I didn't get much gri for the year.
Post saturated gri approved books that you don't see mentioned much or at all.
Going to /h/ for my fix isn't working out.

>>14160095
He's been writing it since January and is currently 3/4 of the way through the first draft. Should be out by the end of next year.

>>14162244
It's established that the witches fuck torturers when Gurloes asks if Severian has gone to see them before sending him to the House Azure.
He also mentions that he was unattractive and that the screams coming from the witches tower are not of agony or lunacy like in the Torturers' tower. It seems he was afraid of them molesting him.

About to read Eddie Lacrosse
What should I expect?

>>14152932
Could you recommend a book to a liked minded anon?

>>14158205
I lurk here a lot. But I love the books so much. All the books are perfect in my opinion, not a single flaw.
>inb4 lurkmoar

>600 chapters in the author outs herself as a woman in the notes
No wonder all the villains were misogynists
Dropped

>>14162954
>reading anything written by a woman
lol

>>14162332
Thank the Increate he wasn't sent to the Tower of the Bear.

>>14153199
A mental hospital.

>>14158205
I think of it as lost time, as there's no way in hell that Fat Fuck will ever finish it.

inb4 but but Sanderson

Just finished reading pic related....holy fuck is this dudes prose bad. Tomas literally says "to my mind" once per paragraph, and im not exaggerating that.
Also, is it just me, or does it seem like the author just watched the first 2 seasons of Peaky Blinders, and said "yeah, im just gonna do exactly that, but with swords instead of guns"? Tomas Piety's story is plot point for plot point Thomas Shelby's, he didnt even bother to change the first name:
>Leader of crime family (calls himself a business man) goes away to war
>Aunt is supposed to watch over operation, loses it all
>he comes home with brother who now has PTSD and is a liability
>Decides to reclaim crime empire but bigger than before, starting with his old pub
> Is contacted by secret agent of the crown, classy woman who pretends to be his barmaid
>becomes attracted to secret agent
>agent pushes him to do things for the crown that he has to pass off as being for the gang
>he begins to style himself as legitimate business man while upper class knows he's actually a thug

It's so blatant you can't even tell if i was just describing the book, or peaky blinders

>>14163372
I'm less triggered by the author ripping off someone else than by the fact that he doesn't seem to have a clue about what medieval life was like.

>>14163559
I noticed that too. At times, I would forget it was supposed to be a medieval setting and would read it as being set during the industrial revolution, until a character would mention chain mail or a sword, and i would be reminded when it was supposed to be set.
Actually, if you just read it as being set during the industrial revolution, it has less anachronisms and is more historically accurate...

>>14163625
>>14163559
>Why doesn't my fantasy adhere to real life development!?

>>14153753
All you can do is keep trying. It's your only option. Make it your only action.

>>14163683
McLean, just admit you didnt do any research and ripped off a mediocre BBC show. It's okay bud, for a first effort, you could have done worse
to my mind

>>14163683
If you set your story in a certain time period, then your characters should behave like it. Their way of thinking, their institutions, the way they did things, these should conform to the conditions at the time, otherwise there's no point setting your story in that time period in the first place.

>>14163711
Not everything set in the past has to be historical fiction. It's unclear if you understand what fantasy means. Do you also complain when fantasy races don't act human enough?

>>14163723
or in other words:
Why didn't this secondary world develop exactly the same as Earth and why don't all the humans there act exactly the same as humans world? It's almost like they don't know the history of a planet they don't know exists!

>>14163723
Anon, i have to tell you something: I fucked your dad.

I mean, I fucked your dad like he owed me money.
But that has matured into a loving, supportive relationship between the two of us. He's going to leave your mother to be with me, as he has realize that she doesn't fulfill him emotionally like I do, and he has accepted that he deserves to live a life filled with happiness.
This means I'm going to be your new stepdad. And as your stepfather, I won't have you disrespecting me like this, or defending shitty, hack writing. It's not how your father and I have raised you. I want us to be a happy family, and I would like it if you called me "dad". Cause remember: I fucked the shit out of your dad.

>>14163723
Authors should write stories that are free of inconsistencies. That means that while their narratives can be fantastical, they can't be illogical. If you set your story in a time period with circumstances, institutions, and modes of production that resemble those of a period form our own history, then it's only fair to assume that characters (unless for some reason they operate according to radically different mental imperatives, in which case all their actions would be incomprehensible to us) should behave like the ones from that period. For example: take PTSD. No such thing was recorded in antiquity, and is a uniquely modern phenomenon related to industrial warfare. Or take the idea of a female running a crime syndicate in an agrarian society. It's so blatantly absurd it's almost laughable.

>>14163764
At least it isn't a copypasta. If you tell your highschool friends, I think they will appreciate it more. It doesn't do anything for me.

>>14158205
Best series I ever read in my life. The only fantasy I've ever enjoyed. I'm almost exclusively a scifi fag, I read this series only because I saw the first book in a thrift store.

I figured I would read a chapter or two and throw it away just so I could say I didn't turn my nose up purely because it was popular, but it was so good I burned through that book and bought new copies of the rest of the series.

However, I did notice that the series declined in quality in the last book, and I assume the end will be unfulfilling.

>>14162223
https://megaupload.is/Me4fE7A7na/Conservation_Laws_-_Vandana_Singh_pdf

>>14163811
>Authors should write stories that are free of inconsistencies.
It's only inconsistent relative to your preferred frame of reference.

>they can't be illogical
Clearly they are often, even intentionally at times. Logic isn't the most important concept by any means.

>No such thing was recorded in antiquity,
Yes it was, it just wasn't called PTSD. PTSD only dates back to 1980 and there were many terms that preceded it. It's difficult comparison for many reasons though, mostly cultural.


Overall, you have a very limited view of fantasy.

>>14163811
Don't bother having this argument with fantasy readers, they can't comprehend the meaning of internal logic.

>>14163851
"internal logic" in this context often just means "the stuff that I know isn't logical but I'll allow it in terms of technology" but not for anything else. For science fiction anyway.

I'm trying to identify a sci-fi book a friend gave me as a birthday gift in 1987, that I lost since. It wasn't good, but I'd like to find it for nostalgia's sake.

What I think I remember: the main character thinks he's male, but is actually a hermaphrodite (or female with a sex change?) with some kind of mental block that keeps him from knowing that. He's part of a military special forces assassination squad. I think the squad leader is some kind of shapeshifter, and there's also a werewolf of some sort. There's lots of weird sex and drugs, and I seem to remember "peptides" being dripped into eyes for that purpose.

Any ideas? You'd think something that weird would be easy to track down, but I've had no luck. It seems like it would have been pretty unusual for 1987 or earlier, but not so much now.

>>14163851
Please explain to me the internal logic of "I'm gonna write 'Peaky Blinders: But With Swords This Time'. I'll set everything up like its occurring during the industrial revolution in both the aesthetic and world building sense of that time period, but I'll just constantly insist and remind the reader that it's during the medieval period even though other than me saying it, there is nothing that resembles that period. This way no one can accuse me of writing the novelization of a somewhat popular tv show."..... Just so im clear, to you this represents internal logic, not a shitty copout to defuse plagiarism ?

to whoever recommended traitor baru cormorant
hah, almost got me, thankfully i dropped it 10 pages in, better luck next time kid.

same guy recommended tigana to me though, and i greatly enjoyed that, although i started skipping over the purple prose a quarter in the book in
>omg his whole world was shaken by this revelation
>2 pages later
>omg what a night of revelations this is, his world was shaken again!
>he couldn't even imagine the complex emotions going through alessan's heart soul
>alessan's voice was stern but also passionate and also SO much pain

but all that said, i still loved the book. great little story.

>>14161083
>Rosewater by Tade Thompson
>Published in 2016
Stop reading modern scifi

>>14163950
Stop being so concerned about politics that you don't entirely agree with.

>>14163959
excellent reply to that anon. tells me exactly what i need to know about you and that book

>>14164016 You're welcome.

I just got around to Senlin Ascends and I have mixed feelings. Setting aside the slow start, it just feels a bit too obvious in its absurdism, and I don't really care for any of the characters. I've finished the first book and am debating continuing - I like the idea of Senlin and his motley crew wandering the tower but it also seems super depressing for his wife still being probably raped by some nobledudes, and this not being resolved for however many years it takes Senlin to get through four books . Is it worth continuing? I should note that I actually quite like the prose. it just seems like a dreary overall plot.

>>14163930
I was taking your side you dummy... reread my comment. I haven't read that book or seen that TV show, I don't care about either, and I was only skimming your conversation.

>>14163811
>a uniquely modern phenomenon related to industrial warfare
Are you implying that one can develop PTSD only through war? Surely you wouldn't critique an author for not getting facts correct then spew some equally ignorant propaganda, right anon? Surely your intelligence is higher than this.

>>14163838
Thanks mang.

Finished shadow and claw and going to start sword of the lictor. Still very strange (not bad) and lots of questions. Severian remains a very weird guy. It's like every time he makes a commitment/swears allegiance to someone and he later bails/wants to bail and ends up fulfilling his previous agreements by happenstance. To be 100% honest I'm still not sure if there is actual magic in this universe or if everything can be linked to science (either real or fantasy), though I'm leaning toward science-based explanations for everything. Certain things like Dr. Talos's projector and use of solar panels should be incredible pieces of (past) technology but they are mentioned like it's nothing. It also seems like Severian is a "chosen one"-type rather than a random guy who got caught up in all this. I assume most questions would be answered with "keep reading"

>>14164460
> It's like every time he makes a commitment/swears allegiance to someone and he later bails/wants to bail and ends up fulfilling his previous agreements by happenstance.
In sword he acknowledges he's pretty bad at keeping his word.
> To be 100% honest I'm still not sure if there is actual magic in this universe or if everything can be linked to science (either real or fantasy), though I'm leaning toward science-based explanations for everything.
When a witch says “There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.” it's a pretty safe bet that magic isn't real.
> Certain things like Dr. Talos's projector and use of solar panels should be incredible pieces of (past) technology but they are mentioned like it's nothing.
Severian met a reverse cyborg that he saw get teleported away by Father Inire's mirrors. Right after the play he saw aliens fighting a giant and a gun that paralyzes people with frightening visions. A projector and solar panels are hardly anything to be amazed by. If Severian doesn't gush over some piece of technology it's safe to assume that it is either common or well known.

>>14164907
>>14164460
This mixed level of technological development is not historical!

Recommend me some modern horror fantasy like classic REH or CAS or KEW.
Pro-tip: You can't because there isn't any.

>>14165220
Congrats, that means you've finished reading them.

>>14163723
>just be inconsistent bro, fuck it why even have a setting at all!

>>14165220
kill yourself

>>14165243
My condolences that you've so greatly limited what you are able to enjoy.

>>14165254
Make me.

This might be one of the least narratively bold books I've ever read, even for a novella it's laughably unambitious
The author creates an unjust and unsustainable society adds in a race of magical puppet beings that humans were previously unaware of and then all he gets out of it is a standard fantasy heist plot and an ending where the most insignificant positive changes possible happen to his story's society.

Dunno if it's a comment on how unimaginative Tchaikovsky's personal politics are or what but he has the potential to explore all these interesting avenues of anthropological and political upheaval between humans and his magical creatures and all he can come up with is "the new gang lord is nicer".

>>14165469
If only it was in a litrpg format huh

>>14165469
The cover is pretty neat.

>>14165469
>Dunno if it's a comment on how unimaginative Tchaikovsky's personal politics are

I smell a Commie.

Are you a Commie?

>>14164062
Yeah keep going

>>14165469
What If Toy Story Was About Doing A Heist?

>>14163935
>baru cormorant
I thought it might have been me (I make troll recs sometimes just to see if the person finds a books sucks as much as I thought it did), but it can't have been because I never read Tigana. Will try though.

>>14166419
DifAnon
How inconsiderate of you.

>>14158205
Inb4 Martin dies and Sanderson has to finish it like he did with WoT.

>>14166695
>Sanderson pulling an anime ending

The collective butthurt would be so great I will never call him a hack or a fag ever again.

>>14165065
Ever been to Africa, India or China? You get New York tier development mixed with 3rd world countries all a couple of miles apart. Do you think a guy raising cattle in the Nigerian farmlabds has access to what IT guys in Lagos have?

>>14164460
As another anon said magic is probably not real but just like in Dying Earth by Vance the difference is negligible, especially from the perspective of some characters.

>It also seems like Severian is a "chosen one"-type
Yeah, basically.

>tfw I really need to take a shit
Books for this feel that are not by GRRM?

>>14166977
Ayn Rand. You can wipe with the pages afterwards.

>>14163811
Greeks mentioned having PTSD after the persians invaded.

Started reading Masters of Rome. It's great but is just too long. I've been reading for hours and only just hit the 10%.

>>14167021
Is historic fiction allowed in /sffg/?
Though I really want to read that series

>>14163005
I read somewhere that Severian saying that the guild members in that tower marrying their beasts is probably just him misunderstanding the term "animal husbandry"

hate myself lads

Just did a huge, smelly Brian Sanderson.

>>14163920
Sounds like imajica mixed with a bunch more fucked up things.

>>14164907
>a reverse cyborg
What's that? A robot with pieces of flesh added to it? Like the terminator?

>>14165220
>trying to use reverse psychology to get recs instead of just asking

>>14167475
>a reverse cyborg
Something artificial becoming biological, at least partly?
I mean a cyborg is something biological getting enhanced with artificial or mechanical parts. So it stands to reason that the reverse of it is something unnatural becoming natural?
I can only guess here.

>>14167241
No. Historical fantasy and scifi is allowed though.
Masters of rome was forced by a meme shill who doesn't even read sff books.

>>14167410
You just fucked a man that likes anime and doesn't shower?
Hey man, you do you. I don't judge people's fetishes.

>>14167480
That's why I asked about "pieces of flesh". But I don't see a robot willingly doing that (other than bicentennial man). Organics are squishy, and unreliable.

>>14167479
>implying anyone here besides myself reads based Horror Fantasy

>>14167520
>still using lvl 1 reverse psychology
Are you underage b& and in highschool? Just ask for recs and stop using this blatantly feeble attempt at manipulation.

tfw if I finish off all my halfread books I can probably hit 100 books in a year
tfw I'm getting reminded why I stopped reading them all

>>14167526
>implying you could even rec any

>>14167512
Systemshock comes to mind. 1&2 are all about the union of flesh and machine. in the second Shodan, who originally was an AI becomes an amalgam of flesh and machine.

>>14167475
>>14167480
>>14167512
>A robot with pieces of flesh added to it?
Correct. The technology needed to properly repair the robot was not available so he had to be "repaired" with organic spare parts. I seem to remember Wolfe using the same idea in one of his short stories but I can't exactly recall which. Or my memory might be wrong.

>>14167622
>tfw I laughed at the pun

Recommend me some fantasy Pirate books.

>>14167560
You stopped reading them because you have an inferiority complex and think whatever you do won't amount to anything in the end?

Based or not based? I love the movie, but is this new extended version of the story closer to the 80s movie or the 50s movie?

>>14167563
I had one, but you still trying to play 4d chess, so I won't give you shit.

>>14167921
>let it go, let it gooo

>>14167857
INDA and THE FOX: Inda is one of the best fantasy bildungsromans ever imo, sequels fall off a bit but it holds up fine
THE BONE SHIPS: less pirate more secret mission but it's good
ON STRANGER TIDES: don't be discouraged by pirates of the caribbean adapting this into a bad film it's a really good story
LIVESHIP TRADERS: the pirate pov is one of the best things Hobb has done imo

love to hear if anyone has any more since it's a suprisingly sparse subgenre, it'd be great to read something that draws form the quasi-egalitarian society the pirates tried to establish at their peak irl before the crown hunted them to extinction

>>14168162
>don't be discouraged by pirates of the caribbean adapting this into a bad film
So... There was a book version of Jack Sparrow? A pirate that had everything work out for him in the end, even though it seemed impossible?

>>14168384
Nah they just cribbed the general plot of OST for the 4th pirates of the caribbean movie and inserted their franchise characters into the story

if my book opens with the MC getting his ass kicked by a flamboyantly gay bully, only to be interrupted by his abusive aunt who accuses the MC of being a queer, is that automatically going to set an expectation that my MC is gay?

originally it was supposed to be a girl who was kicking his ass, and his masculinity being questioned instead of his sexuality, but I really wanted to use the girl for a more important role in the story so I swapped the characters. i dont intend my mc to be gay or even really address it again. should I rewrite the scene?

>>14167622
whatever retarded point you're trying to make aside, who the FUCK would think a lovecraft cookbook is a good idea? any horror cookbook would suck pretty much by definition (unless you count Hannibal as horror. christ that show had food porn) but basing a cookbook on the kind of imagery that evokes slime, body horror and pulsating organs sounds like a trainwreck

>>14167857
Pirate Freedom is a must. First half of Urth of the New Sun too.

>microsoft edge no longer supports epub
what the fuck apparently this was pretty old and my computer just updated last night so I guess I'm late. I don't care about fancy add ons and customization shit. Edge was nice looking and simple and now I have to find some trash thats going to give me a bunch of options to change shit I dont care about. fucking microsoft faggot retards

>>14168922
Just fucking install Calibre.

Good evening, sffg, i've come to announce my displeasure. Some sick fuck promised me a vampire loli, but all i got was a castrated trap and an underwhelming ending. Pushing your fetish on unsuspecting strangers on the internet is not okay.

>>14169379
i think its fine if you let the right ones in

Alright guys. I finished Memory Sorrow and Thorn. It was pretty good. Like I said in a previous thread, it tries so hard to subvert expectations, that it settles for the mundane, never reaching for anything that might be truly exciting.
I kind of like the chapters of characters wandering the dark. But I didn't see the point in it all. It's just a big bowl of "neat", with a cup of "what did it all mean?" to wash it down.

Well... anyone want to give me a recommendation for what I should read next? Specific book recommendations would be nice. Not just author names. Should I just read Dune? Is it really as good as people say? Or something else?
Already read: A Song of Ice and Fire. The Broken Earth. The Wheel of Time. The First Law. The Licanius Trilogy. Memory Sorrow and Thorn.

Dropped titles: The book of the new sun.(audiobook narration was awful) The Prince of Nothing.(Just didn't like the first couple chapters)

>>14169410
Dune is pretty good, black company by Glen Cook is also amasing.

>>14169410
Malazan book of the fallen
A cavern of black ice (If you can deal with the last book being in limbo because of health issues)
A promise of blood
The Black Company

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson. It's competently written time fuckery, with aliens that are omnipresent via their godlike actions, but not shown or explained until late in the book. It shows human reactions to the stars going out. It's kinda shameful that some of the main cast have become posthumanist stuff, and it seems to be for no good plot reason apart from giving them a powerboost for the sequel.

First read a french translation years ago, just finished a second reading in english this time. I would not recommend the french translation as it's using passé composé as a makeshift past tense; couldn't make it past the first few pages.

>>14169410
how far along did you drop botns and why not just read it instead of audio

>>14168922
Just get an eReader.

Hey, anons, could someone give me a few pointers for designing a map? I have an idea for a novel I've been working on, but I need to come up with a map for its setting. It'd be very helpful if you could give me some advice so that I avoid the most common mistakes beginners make.

>>14169514
Reading makes me sleepy. But I can listen just fine for hours and hours. Sometimes I listen so long, that the pressure of the headphones resting against my ear makes that spot sore.

I don't recall how far I was into BotNS before dropping it. Maybe only a chapter or two. The narrator uses such a soft, monotone, whispery voice, that I lose all interest in what he's saying. In fact, I was just checking out The Black Company as the others recommended, but then I saw that book had multiple narrators. One of which is the same boring guy. So now I'm searching around for a version without him. Or perhaps I'll try another book.

>>14169529
>map
If I open up a book and see a map I don't buy it.

>>14168922
sumatra pdf is pretty good.

>>14169458
I read Spin years ago and enjoyed it but I heard the sequel was complete nonsense so I didn't bother with it. I don't believe the third book was out at the time.

>>14169591
Maybe have a coffee or bit of energy drink before reading. You're missing out on some good books because of a narrator

>>14169529
http://www.fantasticmaps.com/2015/02/how-to-draw-a-map/

Look at the various map reddits and sites. Study geography.

Or you know, just do whatever. Or have someone make it for you.

>>14169777
Seems like a waste of time to me. I hardly even play video games anymore. Now I listen to books/audiobooks while playing video games. Or listen while drawing or cleaning or walking. I can't imagine just sitting down and expending time on a book alone. I have a lot of respect for those of you who can. But that just doesn't seem right to me, somehow.

>>14169821
Posting in this thread seems like a waste of time to me. I hardly even believe in entertainment anymore since I've developed a Puritan work ethic thanks to all the Christian threads on /lit./ Now I only entertain myself while doing something else of actual value. I can't imagine expending time on entertainment alone. Bless your heart for those of you who can. But that just doesn't seem right to me, and somehow you need to get right with the cult(ure) of productivity.

>>14169430
Giving Dune a go.

>>14169430
I can't tell if you're making fun of me or just memeing.

Meet Jaina the short stack kobold, who likes to get stuffed.

>>14170485
How is that a kobold? I fucking hate monstergirls.

>>14169951
Why would you respond to the same post twice?

>>14170485
Clearly a dog girl not a kobold.

>>14152768
recommend me a science fiction series based upon the original poster's image

>>14170539
Oops. Simple accident. I meant "I can't tell if you're making fun of me or just memeing" for this post >>14169926

What do you guys think was the best fantasy novel of the year? A Little Hatred wasn't bad except for the ham fisted feminist shit forced into it and the drawn out uninteresting ending.

>>14170792
i haven't read any books published this year. you have to intentionally try to or it doesn't happen, and i didn't try.

>>14170549
Well Kobolds are described as "dog like" or "jackal like"

>>14170931
They're a type of German mine goblin (where we get the word "cobalt" from, actually). The "doglike" thing is a mutation of a D&D description that got translated badly in Japan which led to them being dog people (and for the "monster"girl version just being a dog girl). I think even the modern D&D lizard midget version is closer in spirit than a girl with dog ears is.

Could there possibly be a worse blurb than the description for memory sorrow and thorn? Just reading the two paragraphs of it is making me drowsy.

>>14170931
Kobolds have scales and are lizard like

>>14170967
Tell that to harem author who wants to fuck them, and want them to look attractive to the normies enough to fuck.

>>14170485
Cute used goods

>>14170792
>Open A Little Hatred
>He spat cold snot onto the mud and shat his trousers. He wiggled a finger inbetween his arse cheeks and took a sniff, it was a good day to die
hmm

>Tracked down the new translation of Solaris
Feelsgoodman

K
O
B
O
L
D
S

>>14170792
Unironically Burning White - Book 5 of Lightbringer.
It's the last book of the series and outside of one small thing that irked me, it was a great end to a pretty fun story overall. Top quality banter between the Mighty, even after their tragic loss.

>>14167502
Hey, I read this

>>14168833
Go start a writing thread to run your shitty ideas for your self-insert faggot MC. No one gives the slightest fuck about your vanity project that no one will ever read or ever want to read.

>>14169379
The irony....

>>14170568
Jack Vance's Tschai.

>>14169410
>The Licanius Trilogy
How'd you get the third book that isn't due for three weeks still?

>>14171406
This.

>>14171179
I have no idea if you're joking or not because Abercrombie really is that terrible of a writer.

Are there any good books about catboys?

Just finished this. Is there anything similar? The whole fantasy middle eastern post apocalyptic thing was cool.

>>14167622
Is that boba in that drink?

God damn just finished the part where Severian stays at the house outside of Thrax and confronts Agia and an alzabo. Absolutely terrifying.

i read neuromancer years ago and was bored out of my skull. started count zero and there were actually hints of something interesting forming there but at that point i was so fed up i just dropped it anyway.

should i give it another try? what do anons who like neuromancer think of the whole series?

>>14172035
An alzabo? What colour is it? How far away? How big?

>>14158205
Too long. A lot of it could be cut. Not in terms of content, amount of characters, but just plain blather in the narration.
Very juvenile. So many things are clearly designed to titillate horny teenagers, despite the relative tone of everything else being very adult.
Starts very strong, the causality in events and characterization is top notch, second and third books are good, 4th is a disaster, and 5th is less bad but still it's clear now that the series has completely lost its sense of direction.
The fat fuck will never finish it anyway so all in all there's no point of reading it. The buildup doesn't have a payoff and won't in any case, so don't bother.

Watch the show though. I find it MUCH better than the books. Until season 4 of course.

>>14172073
what?

/sffg/, I miss having enthusiasm for fantasy (or anything)

>>14172105
Read xianxia

Is The Fall of Gondolin worth reading?
I haven't read The Silmarillion yet, but I understand this is basically a more detailed version of a story in there, right?

>>14172105
Yes, we know, you've been telling us for months at least.

Just started the Malazan series. Only 50 or so pages in. Prose has that amateur touch you see so often in new writers. Also the prologue and starting chapters with the oh so often used cliche of wow so mysterious how cool random characters doing random things am I supposed to care about any of this shit? Names upon titles that contain zero meaning because it's the first time I'm reading them. It was only like half an hour ago and I've already forgotten all of them.
So far 8/10 I like it, better than most other books.

Currently reading an Epic Fantasy with the story confined to only one book and the book itself is only around 200 pages. You can't imagine how refreshing it is. Story isn't anything spectacular, but solid enough with things constantly happening and the characters constantly on the move and the story progressing at a good pace.

>>14172386
What book is it?
I don't want to start any new series now, I just want a good, standalone book.

>>14172405
Probably something self-published.

>>14172405
The White Arrow by Noble Brown.

>>14172408
Most of the books I read these days are either self-published or from very small publishers. Only shit worth reading anymore.

>>14172435
>>14172356

>>14172441
>>14167410

>>14172456
>>14156425

>>14172378
Another 50 pages in, that's dropped from an 8 to a 5, thoroughly mediocre. Dropping now.

New thread in a bit because I'm going to be going to sleep.

NEW THREAD
>>14172604
NEW THREAD

Off to sleep.

>>14169379
lmao

>>14158205
1000+ pages of people standing around talking about politics. Trash.

>>14171855
Cordwainer Smith wrote stories about cat girls.