/lit/ - Literature

>reading fiction

>>14441223
Reading nonfiction is like being cucked at life. You are reading about someone live a more interesting life than you can if you tried to live your own. Your life is like your wife, only you should live it or fuck her.

>>14441265
>only you should fuck your wife
oh my god
get on with the times grandpa thats like
totally backwards

>>14441265
>>14441286
We should all fuck each other in an orgy

>>14439711
>>14439760
>>14440504
>>14440619
>>14440634
>>14440646
Dont forget a woman was blown the fuck out last thread

>>14441295
>Dont forget
The absolute state of this board.

>>14441295
cool post, but can you do this? *pees out vagina*

>>14441315
>but can you do this
no

>>14441315
Aparently anyone can in this day and age.

>>14441217
I just wish GRR Martin would just tell the truth: The show killed his motivation to write more coomer/doomer fantasy books.

>>14441343
Nah the show was how he wrote the ending of his books so when it flopped hard for HBO he gave up because he finally learned hes a hack or had to re-write everything

>>14441343
>GRRM: *Gives the show a retarded ending*
Based.

>>14441354
He wasn't credited but D&D said they talked to him about what they were writing for it so he has to be somewhat culpable to some degree, he is not as innocent as some people like to argue.

>>14441380
Didnt he star GoT in the 90s? Seems like he has no clue how to end his story.

>>14441412
Nah, it was published in the 90's my money would be on that he started them in the 60's

>>14441315
i'm 100% sure a woman didn't write this because it's actually funny

What is your favorite book? Why? Stand alone or series, either is fine.

Black Company for me

Grandfather read them all to me when I was a kid and he did voices for everyone and drew pictures for scenes, battles, people, etc/
Then he died soon after finishing and its my last memory of him

>>14441479
Reaper Creek by Onision

>>14441484
>Onision

Are there any cute and comfy books about raising a genetically engineered superpowered little girl?

>>14441495
Not outside of Japan that I am aware of.

>>14441479
Paprika. Dont ask me why because I dont know. I just had fun reading it.

>>14441479
Malazan.

>>14441295
Is the woman you?

>>14441354
>>14441380
I think the ending was probably "generally" what he had intended, but D&D rushed things along and cut some things out to get the show over with. From what I understand they were primarily interested in filming up to the Red Wedding, so it makes since that things gradually fell off after that. And of course the latter two books are likely not adaptable anyway.

>>14441479
too hard for me to pick a favorite book, guess i'll just go with the one i've reread the most - american gods.
idk what it is, but something about it just hit the correct note with me. reading it feels like home. i know "comfy" is a buzzword, but i don't know how else to describe the feeling it gives me. i love that atmosphere of going on a roadtrip and exploring the supernatural side of america, i liked the characters i like the plot's premise and i even liked that period of time spent in the small town because it felt so genuine and wholesome.
every other year me and my family go to some rural or mountain "hotel", where you can rent a small cabin and i bring the book with me. my paperback copy actually started falling apart from all the times i reread it so my mom took it to some guy to restore it and give it a proper hard cover.

to keep it /sffg/, my second favorite book is lord of light, though admittedly i've read it probably less than half as often as american gods. i just love how creative it is, how the plot is presented, the main character's motivations and thoughts and how successful it is at being both a sci-fi book and an almost mythological book.

>>14441479
The Coldfire Trilogy. It's not a perfect story but it is definitely my favourite one. If you put all my favourite tropes, this trilogy is exactly what you'd get. A redemption story featuring dark lords, a gothic setting, all-your-fears-become-a-reality, a cute husbando, sacrificing your loved ones for power, scifantasy, well-intentioned extremists, eugenics, religious factions, a hefty amount of worldbuilding wank, good prose and an exciting plot.

>>14441556
American Gods seemed right up my ally but I could not get into it. I only picked it up because of the show which I saw first and disliked. I think thats what ruined it for me.

>>14441566
hated the show too, for what it's worth. i can understand why seeing that tryhard cringe on screen would prevent you from enjoying the book. i don't think gaiman's tone can really be presented in film without it coming off as that obnoxious blend of "weird and quirky" that just gets under my skin.
actually iirc it worked for stardust, since it was basically a fairytale but for his modern world stuff, i doubt it can ever work.

>>14441587
I thought the Coraline movie was decent.

>>14441558
You have convinced me to read the first book. Seems interesting.

>>14441607
eh, it certainly was pretty inoffensive. don't remember being particularly impressed by it either though. 6/10

Which of the Elric books by Moorcock should I read? He has 12 of them.

Anything modern about end of the world, or the apocalypse? Or post events?

>>14441670
With internal chronology in mind you go like
Elric of Melnibone
The Fortress of the Pearl
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
Elric at the End of Time
The Weird of the White Wolf
The Vanishing Tower
Revenge of the Rose
The Bane of the Black Sword
Stormbringer

>>14441709
>internal chronology
I dont know what internal means in this context

>>14441632
>eh, it certainly was pretty inoffensive
So you didn't like American gods because of the faggot jhin getting jihad'd up the ass?

>>14441719
There's a published order which goes all over the place in the timeline and then there's a chronological order which I suggested

>>14441556
>to keep it /sffg/
But American Gods is fantasy. Multiple times? Once was more than enough for me

>>14441354
I mean the plot beats were mostly fine, just handled with the mental acuity of an infant born from watered down paints.

Neil Gaiman is overrated.

>>14441769
I mean, not bad just not as good as everyone seems to hype him up to be.

>>14441769
The only thing I liked by him was Neverwhere and Good Omens. I always thought he was a bit of a garbage author outside of it.

>>14441777
Neverwhere was pretty good. I thought Ocean at the End of the Lane was just overrated as all hell. I feel like if he ever published with a pseudonym the result might be a bit more than disappointing.

DISCUSSION TIME!
>Did you like the book?
>Did you find it dreamlike? Hallucinatory? Kafkaesque?
>The ending is quite abrupt and nondescript, what did it mean? Was there even a point to the plot?
>Is the Warden and the narrator the same person? The Warden and the husband?
>Is the ice and snow really a metaphor for heroin addiction, as claimed on Wikipedia?
>The book is often classified as sci-fi, do you agree? Why/why not?
>Any other thoughts?

Happy new year! Be sure to take care tomorrow, you won't be able to read nor shitpost if you blow your hands of with fireworks.

>>14441827
And reply to this post with nominations for next months reading!

Anything dealing with the origins of humans? Like the movie Prometheus, or that show Ancient Aliens? Stuff like that. I read Atlantis Gene and want more of it or similar.

>>14441709
>>14441729
I see, ill use your order then. Thanks fren.

>>14441908
Inherit the Stars

>>14441670
Where the fuck you even get those, I thought they weren't in print anymore.

>>14441936
ebook sadly

>>14441944
Were that, too? I'll take it, can't find them on kindle.

>>14441709
Are they all worth reading or is it like Dune where of the 6 original you can read just the first or some mix of the rest and be fine because the other books are shit and go downhill a lot

>>14441954
I have this one

https://1337x.to/torrent/3705789/Michael-Moorcock-Elric-of-Melnibone-Full-Collection/

How do i go around improving my prose?
Read books?
Read Poems?
Please help.

>>14441968
>1337x.to
based
>not just posting the infohash
cringe

If I write a story, would anyone actually like it?

>>14442008
If I wrote one would you like it?

>>14441984
have you tried posting the hash here? go ahead and post it for us.

>>14442008
The short lived litrpg threads have taught me that if you write, someone will like it, no matter how god fucking awful it might be.

>>14441217
Does anyone know any places to publish SF short stories?

>>14442257
submission grinder

>>14442257
L-lewd

>>14441611
It is interesting. You might like it. It just feels depressing to consider the fact that I may never find a book that I love as much as it ever again.

>>14442068
40581680B5266183624F0513C18FCE0B377F3391

Can someone tell me in what order I should read the Elric saga ? I dont trust lists on sites like Tor, they always do retarded shit.

>>14442595
Someone posted an answer earlier >>14441709

>>14441968
You fool. You committed an ancient blunder by giving that link to a facebook user.

Praise Bakker.

>>14441217
We're totally getting a Jon warges into Snow and then fucks a wolf bitch chapter aren't we?

>>14442817

Jon used Mel's pendant to switch places with Dolorus Edd, remember how he had that whole dream about being Lord Commander, Edd switched places with Jon and Jon is hiding somewhere waiting for his moment to outsmart Marsh and co.

Baru is cute uwu

>>14442620
Thanks for linking that, anon.

>>14442835
I take it you haven't started the trainwreck that was the second book.

>>14442835
Based tier:
Baru is cute.
Apparitor is a cute tsundere but is also a degenerate shotacon
Farrier is probably evil. He probably considers Baru his daughter and secretly wants to fuck her which is even more degenerate than Hesychast but he's still cute.
Hesychast is a cute degenerate pervert.

Shit tier:
Xate Yawa
That rando in Monster

>>14442834
Isn't Edd at the whore tower?

Is this series the best the 2010s has offered?

>>14442911

Supposedly. Neither he nor Satin were present in the last couple chapters where Jon got stabbed, for all we know it could be Jon in the tower. What I want to know is if Val is in league with Marsh, very interesting that a suitor they were trying to set her up with was killed by Wun Wun when the mutinee started. Either it could be a coincidence or she is in leagues with Marsh and everyone to get Jon out of the way so that she can kill Shireen like she wanted too. I think it'll be Val who kills Shireen in the books, makes much more sense and she has a good enough reason to do so with how paranoid she is about Greyscale being present on the wall.

>>>14440619
Tolkien is far from the best moid.
Hope Mirrlees is easily better, although she got nothing on Jack Vance and Mervyn Peake.

Still our unbeaten queen.

>>14442965
Would dump a load in, but readin her books is too much to ask.

>>14442965
I wanna she her get dicked.
I'm already super hard from her moaning.

I've gotten into Sword and Sorcery lately. I've read pretty much everything Robert E. Howard wrote, the entire Black Company series, the Elric saga, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, the entire Dying Earth series and I'm currently reading Kane by Karl Wagner. What are some other good Sword and Sorcery books?

>>14442965
i have beaten to her, if you catch my drift

Fuck roasties who break the hero's heart.

>>14442998
The Birthgrave series.
Don't worry about it being written by a foid, all of her adult stuff is as dark as it gets.

For a more conventional recommendation Roger Zelany's Chronicles Of Amber

>>14441380
>He wasn't credited but D&D said they talked to him about what they were writing for it so he has to be somewhat culpable to some degree, he is not as innocent as some people like to argue.
He 100% quit the show after season 4 when they started changing things willy nilly and didn't listen when GRRM warned them that changing things now will cause major issues down the road. They basically told him to fuck off, and he didn't have much to do with the rest of the series.

He gave them his outline for the plot points of how it all ends, but that's about it.

>>14441343
GRRM was never the most motivated writer.
A single novel flopping halted his career for a decade.

He wanted to do a trilogy, his publisher told him to fuck off and ASOIAF got bloated beyond what GRRM intended.
The show being shit has no bearing on him not finishing asoiaf.

>>14443117
>He wanted to do a trilogy, his publisher told him to fuck off and ASOIAF got bloated beyond what GRRM intended.
Source? I don't see any reason to believe that the story isn't going exactly how he wants it to.

>>14441558
>written by a woman
nope

I decided to take a chance on a >fememe author and absolutely regret it. Again.

Tamora Pierce's new book Tempest and Slaughter would be more aptly named Breeze and Snorter. The plot is the following: three kids go to magic school and do nothing for 500 pages. One of the kids is a genius who is good at everything and beloved by every master and is also so good-hearted, one is a racist prince who wants to kill all niggers (based, but not really), and a girl who is a manipulative bitch. Nothing at all happens in this book. I think the author chose this title because there was a scene of half a dozen pages where a ship crashed because of a storm and people died? It also sounds better, and probably draws more readers, than my choice, I guess.

And the search for the good female author continues. My endless quest.

>>14443166
>Source? I don't see any reason to believe that the story isn't going exactly how he wants it to.

The publisher told him to expand the series to at least 5 books, which lead to the mess we're in now. Originally it was a 3 book story.

>>14441558
A spell for chameleon. It's great. It's light while also broaching on heavy themes, it's fun and funny and the magic is wonderful. It's a book I'd give a nephew I hoped wouldn't turn out to be a brainless NPC.

>>14443202
>Young adult
What did you expect? Are you retarded?

Also if something has >1000 ratings and averaging a 4 or higher you can bet your ass on it that it appeals to the lowest common denominator.

> good female author
CL Moore
Hope Mirlees

>>14443202
Read some good old books by women to get your confidence back up.

>>14443036
I'm reading a book where the girl dumped the mc, then he became extremely influential, and now she has huge regret. I love thots getting put in their place. Her tears and the mc not giving a shit makes it more delicious. Usually authors like to do cuck shit like accepting her back, but our mc is no weak willed chump.

So after finishing Death's End the other day I've been looking in the archives for comments on it, and I found a few describing the ending as nihilistic or horrific, focusing on the universe gradually collapsing in pointless wars between godlike alien hyperhypercivilizations, all it's leading up to is the slate will be wiped clean and it will start all over again in an endless cycle. As one anon put it, "a misanthropic environmentalist message wrapped in hinduistic principles.".

I think though this conclusion might not have stopped one step away from the further message I got from the ending. It's the answer to the debate between the merits of selfishness and selflessness that runs throughout the whole story.

Up until the last chapter, ruthless characters like the Trisolarans, Wade and Luo Ji always come out on top and benefit humanity with their ruthless pragmatism. When they are prevented from doing so by the more empathetic and humanist Cheng Xin's this has always led to poor outcomes e.g. the Trisolaran invasion of Earth, the delay in developing FTL. Selfishness = you win, selflessness = you get fucked.

The ending then abruptly flips this. The final outcome of all this selfish ruthlessness and pragmatism on a cosmic scale is pointless zero sum game wars collapsing the universe. Once you extrapolate the "dark forest" shit up to this level, nobody will really come out on top in the end. The only hope left for any good to come of this is to wipe the slate clean and have a new Big Crunch and then Big Bang. But so many have now taken refuge in their own pocket universes, and taken matter with them, that this may not even happen, instead there may be infinite heat death into oblivion of a dead, one-dimensional universe with not enough gravity to lead to a Big Crunch.

Uncountable people must now overcome their selfishness, and be selfless enough to return to the dying universe and bring their little bit of matter with them. In helping to ensure the universe is reborn, they give up their chance of living to see the rebirth. Their individual contribution will be so small as to be near meaningless, and they have no way to know whether enough others will also do the same such that the cumulative effect will be meaningful. But it must happen, because otherwise there will be no future.

The end of Death's End is, then, I believe, Liu Cixin's final answer to the theme of selflessness versus selfishness, trust versus paranoia which has run all the way from the start of the first book to the end of the third. Whereas ruthless paranoid shit has always won the day and brought benefit in the short term, ultimately only selflessness, cooperation and trust will ultimately bring about a positive outcome in the long run. The very, very long run.

A misanthropic environmentalist message wrapped in hinduistic principles, but perhaps more hopeful than that anon gives it credit for.

>>14443249
couldn't fit this in the character count, but I wonder what Liu Cixin's views are on environmental conservation. The idea of everyone having to make their own small sacrifice that will be useless without the equal contribution of all others, and yet having no way to ensure that others do the same, in order to preserve the world in which everyone lives, sounds a hell of a lot like the environmental debate.

>>14443230
As I said here: >>14443223, a spell for chameleon is my favorite book. I am of the mindset that because something is supposed to be light-hearted (or for kids) doesn't necessarily means it has to be bad. And this book wasn't really the most kid-friendly one. I think she mentioned rape once or twice. And I was mostly joking when I said I was looking for female authors, this book just happened to come to my attention and I decided to read it while noticing it was written by a woman.
>Also if something has >1000 ratings and averaging a 4 or higher you can bet your ass on it that it appeals to the lowest common denominator.
Yes. But also, more than 1000 reviews: some books are just popular without being over-hyped. I didn't know that because I was actively avoiding reading the reviews to try not to taint my opinion and try to keep an objective view of the book.

>>14443218
> "high fantasy"
> virtually no magic, just a sociopolitical commentary

Was GRRM kidding himself?

>>14443357
that's what struck me too, but i figure at the time of writing there wasn't such a clear division between high fantasy and low fantasy. not that it's all that clear even now.

>minimal worldbuilding
>great story
Does anything like this exist?

>>14443357
>>14443362
Perhaps since the original trilogy was going to feature the White Walkers more prominently he felt it was high fantasy.

>>14443357
The only thing that defines high fantasy is that it's set in a different world. Low fantasy is Earth with some fantastical / magical elements.

>>14443202
Try c.s. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy
Scifi by cj cherryh

>>14443373
Dying Earth by Jack Vance.

>>14443357
uhm grrm said GoT is low fantasy.

>>14443172
Based

>>14443387
>Scifi by cj cherryh
I've read the one with the cats. Someone's pride or something. I liked it, but not enough to read the sequels. I think she put the token human character there and didn't explore enough of his relationships or the differences between species, although that was evident as the story progressed. I just thought it would be a major plot point when it was introduced, only for it to fade into the background.

>>14443202
>reading a fucking schoolastic author and using it as your judgement
lmao

>>14443416
Yeah, I prefer her 'foreigner' series which is all about the human/alien relationship. Tho I think her stories unfold quite slowly, so factor that in. I read the whole of the chair trilogy, and I'd say it was explored eventually. But that series also had a lot of alien/alien stuff too

>>14443479
>Yeah, I prefer her 'foreigner' series which is all about the human/alien relationship
Nice. Does it also have catgirls or other alien waifus?

>>14443449
schoolastic? what do you mean by that?

>>14443514
Scholastic, often pronounced School-astic, is the biggest YA/middlegrade publisher in the US. because of lobbying, Scholastic has a deal with our public school system where they can hold an annual book fair in elementary and middle school gymnasiums and market directly to young readers. as a result, for middlegrade authors, publishing through them is basically mandatory

>>14443416
The human character is there to remind you that the cats are alien, even though the book is entirely from their pov. Most interactions are reactions to his character, he remains fairly nonverbal in the sequel trilogy. The final book, which is mostly stand-alone, has a new cast and eschews humans entirely. The povs are mostly split between the captain, juniormost crewwoman from earlier books, and a young male hani crewman.
>>14443490
>foreigner
>Does it also have catgirls
No catgirls sadly. The aliens are dark skinned giants. It is entirely about human/alien interaction. The theme being that similarities are deceiving.
If you're jonesin for catgirl waifus, then give pic related a read. It's short. :3

Why didn't anyone tell me that the everybody loves large chests audiobooks were so good? It was so fun.

>>14443573
>Scholastic has a deal with our public school system where they can hold an annual book fair in elementary and middle school gymnasiums and market directly to young readers
hahahahaha holy fuck
fucking america. is this why hunger games is so big? i thought it got big organically. i thought it was kind of lame and sucky, like most ya, so when it got so popular over the others, i thought it was just a matter of chance. now you're telling me there's a publisher who gets first dibs on marketing to children and teenagers? fuckin 'ell

do you have a link for some article or something where i can read more about this "deal" they have with us public schools?

>>14443579
Cat girls getting penised is the best. Those whore like to play coy and innocent, but they have a serious itch for penis.

>>14443607
There is scholastic versions of Harry Potter.
Sanderson probably has a deal with them too if orbit allows him.

>>14443611
Oho?
Read this one then.

When is the next Daniel Black book?

>>14443607
not at the moment, but you can just look up "Scholastic book fair" if you want to know more. they also used to hand out catalogues in schools every month so kids could pre-order the next harry potter or captain underpants or whatever depending on their reading level.

the sad part is that as horrible as it is, this is pretty much as benevolent as our american corporate overlords get. it got me reading certainly

>>14443579
I'll probably read both, desu. I like catgirls but I also really like first contact and clash of civilizations stories. I like it best, of course, when they are both in the same book, but we can't have it all.

can anyone hep me with this, theres a fantasy series where when someone dies they start spouting prophesy about the end of the world but for the life of me i can't remember what series it was. its not powder mage i know that starts with this but its only those mages, i'm talking everyone even random peasants.

big thanks

>>14443579
>>14443611
>>14443620
cute cat girls get dicked in these books?

>>14443625
>extermination: 11/2015
>thrall: 12/2018
Probably 2021.

>>14443607
>>Scholastic has a deal with our public school system where they can hold an annual book fair in elementary and middle school gymnasiums and market directly to young readers
>fucking america.
we had this in the uk, i dont remember them shilling any books though just reading in general and "hey kids here's a load of books aimed at children" some had toys packaged with the books, mostly i remember goosebumps and tracy beaker

>>14443627
Foreigner timeskips the first contact part and then just refers back to the horrible mistakes as why the races are so isolated now. It's pretty much First Contact Round Two: We'd better get it right this time.
>>14443636
IIRC Hestia is more implicit, but Godsfire probably has what you want.

They were certainly doing book fairs in the early 90s when I was in elementary school. It was held in the school library. It wasn't much. There were like 4 metal fold up book cases. That's when Goosebumps were first released and they sold rather well. I never bought or read any though. I don't think I ever got many books from them. I don't really remember. I believe I certainly looked at it a lot though.

Anyone read any Adam Robert's? I'm liking this so far. Not sure how I feel about the main character's sexual bullshit, but it's sffg so of course there will be unnecessary sex.

>>14443669
On that note, here's a similar corporate intrusion in US public schools:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_One_News
It's gone now though apparently. It was required watching every morning to start off school.

In high school the ASVAB was mandatory. I mistakently actually tried on it like basically any other "test" and as a result I had the military branches contacting me rather often for years.

>>14442759
What's he up to? I saw he's finally posting again on his blog. Will I ever read a new book with Akka again?

>>14443691
he's working on a 3rd series in the franchise

>>14443691
>>14443705
i'm reading the darkness that comes before now and i was under the impression the second trilogy had a different cast of characters but now i see akka is still the main one?
i don't want to get into a series that isn't completed yet and i'm not too far along so i can just drop it if i have to. be honest with me anons, is the first trilogy a self contained story and can i just drop the series when i'm done or does it end on some kind of cliffhanger?

>>14443744
Well the second series pretty much continues from where it left off and to be honest all seven books are pretty much one series.

my last book of the year/first of next year is going to be something I'm only finishing because I'm mad at it lol

>>14443744
there's a timeskip after the 1st series and the 2nd ends somewhat definitively, so much so that i and a lot of people assumed it was the end.

>>14443753
well fug
thanks for the heads up anonymous

>>14443770
really? cause i just doubled checked what anon told me on wikipedia and it said that the second book still has kellhus and the consult as main players.
i assumed that meant that their story wasn't concluded in the first series.

>>14443764
based and seethepilled

>>14443744
Just finish all the books that are out now, they're very much worth it. (Except the first book of The Aspect Emperor, damn that was a slog).

>>14443798
>second book
second series

>>14443798
>prince of nothing series
kellhus is pretending to be a prince to find his father
>aspect emperor series
kellhus is emperor
>upcoming 3rd series
well who knows

>>14443854
yeah, nah, think i'll drop it for now
i like it so far, but i'm not too far into it or too invested so better to rip off the band aid quick. anon recommended an interesting book yesterday that i want to try anyway.

>>14443678
I really love some of his other books but I've never tried that one.

>>14441556
I read it on a trip to America - drove down from San Fran to LA, then flew to Missouri to see family then on to New York for four days. It was the perfect book for that time in my life. I’ll never forget it.

why the fuck are all the books i want to pirate only available in audio book format

>>14443971
because audiobooks are big enough to be worth torrenting, epubs/pdfs can usually be shared on irc/html without much trouble

>>14443971
what books

>>14443620
>felice
>writes a book about cats
Is she a proto-furry?

>>14443983
yeah i figured, but where are these repositories of books located
i feel like such a massive pleb boomer every time i google "book title download" and i save a pdf i have to convert on calibre
>>14443986
Pushing Ice
House of Suns
The Inverted World
The Killing Star

>>14443999
I uploaded what I found for you
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ry9324du5fj5nma/ebooks.rar/file
The first three were on the #ebooks channel of IRChighway. You need to look up how to setup and use irc for ebooks in the future since it's pretty easy and the most reliable method.

Couldn't find the final book after searching the title and one of the authors separately and after a little google it looks like nobody has ever converted it to an ebook or even pdf/html file.

>>14443999
I pirated both pushing ice and the killing star.

>>14443854
There will never be a third series. Orbit canned him, so the final ending is all we’re going to get.

>>14443249
>perhaps more hopeful than that anon gives it credit for.
The problem I have with the ending is that it's an unprincipled exception to the rest of the books. It's more like Liu didn't want to follow his nihilism to the end so he just tacked on a non sequitur sort-of happy ending.

>>14444086
thanks lad. i'm able to "acquire" them but it's the lack of convenience, of having them available in the usual torrent places, even myanonamouse (most slightly obscure titles in ebook format there are in the VIP section, while the audio books are public), that frustrates me.
that said, these are formatted way better than what i was able to find on google so, thanks for the books and the source.
i'll get on the IRC, it's probably been just south of two decades since i've used IRC, but i should be able to figure it out.
>>14444088
hmmm, according to the anon nobody has ever converted the killing star. mind uploading it somewhere?

>>14444153
yeah I use mobilism for super new stuff since it tends to go there first and then irc for everything else and hit on like 95% of the books I want
(and the ones I can't find are usually up if I look again in a month)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/2oftbu/guide_the_idiot_proof_guide_to_downloading_ebooks/

This is way wordier than the blog I remember using years ago and recommends a different client (I use hexchat instead of mIRC) but it explains how to setup irc for ebooks pretty wel

>>14444153
>hmmm, according to the anon nobody has ever converted the killing star. mind uploading it somewhere?
It was some other star that I pirated. My mistake.

Aside from Black Company any decent books about a group that follows around a group of mercenaries and their exploits? I had pic related recommend to me once and it sounded like an interesting premise, but I had to force myself to finish the first book and the author went full retard with progressive shit in the second book so I dropped it.

>>14444168
heh, fucking mIRC. that's what i used as a wee lad. thanks, i'll save this link and do the setup when i'm back on my own pc

>>14444191
oh well, no biggie.
funny thing is, iirc had that recommended to me here, so i guess some anon had the paperback copy

>>14444210
malazan with its bridgeburners has some of that

Mother of Learning delayed to 26th of January.

What's /lit/s opinion on Warhammer 40k series? I'm looking for a military sci-fi to read that I don't have to take seriously.

>>14443678

>>14444463
it's not a series, it's a fictional universe that has hundreds of books set in it. they have vastly different levels of quality. are you at all familiar with the world and looking for some decent titles or are you pretty much starting from zero?

if you don't know anything about the lore, i wouldn't recommend starting. play a videogame or two (space marine, dawn of war), pick a faction you like and read about it on the warhammer wiki or lexicanum. lexicanum has less stuff in it but it's structrued much better.

NK Jemisin

>>14444463
forgot to say most of them are fun reads, but in order to care about them, you have to care about the universe.
when i was into 40k, i read about 50 or 60 titles but i've stopped being interested in it since then and i haven't touched a 40k novel in years. i will say that, military sci-fi that scratches the same itch as 40k is fairly hard to come by.

>>14442869
It sucked. But waiting for the 3rd one to formulate my final judgment.

>>14444210
I dropped that book part way in, it was the second book In 10 years that I dropped instead of forcing my way through. It was so bad.
>I lost my butt bugger husband
>letting skanks steal from you multiple times
It was the recurring "gag" the author was setting up that drove the nail into the coffin. They had those skanks rob from them multiple times, and found it amusing, not.

>>14444210
stranger of tempest and the sequels is the most pure mercenary book I've found outside of black company but you might not get on with that if you have an issue with female characters being useful in combat
Snakewood is mercs but mercs as a framing for a tragedy

>>14444595
>I lost my butt bugger husband
is this a line from the book? lmao

>>14444619
>if you have an issue with female characters being useful in combat
That's not the issue I had. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out.

>>14444627
I read half of the Wyld sequel which is why I mentioned it.
Not really sure what you saw as overly progressive when the running trait of that book is how shitty and neglectful the female leader of the band was so I thought it might be a fighting thing.

>>14444463
Never really got on with 40k, even the novels with GW's best writers didn't stick with me.
Think I just like the world less overall than Warhammer fantasy because it's such an over the top pastiche of everything all at once.

If you want fun mill scifi I like Cry Pilot and Poor Man's Fight

>>14443999
lib.gen.rus.ec

>>14444444

>>14443876
Heretic. Definitely not based.

>>14444210
Honestly the first Black Company book is the only fantasy book that really gives you the feel of a mercenary company made. The later books kind of lost me with the plot but the first one is one of my favorite books period.

>>14444718
What is going on in outer /lit/

>>14444725
i'm sorry baby. anything i can do to make it up to you?

>>14444498
He talks Kant-101 but I like it.

>>14444742
It's what happens when pol, phil, and religion collides.

It's 12 hours to new year's, what you fags planning to read for 2020?

>>14445279
Re-read ASoIaF and Witcher. Read Discworld, Elric and Conan.

>>14445279
Finishing off The Municipalists, Storm of Locusts and Ninth House
Reading Knight of the Silver Circle, a Sword Named Truth and another sequel I haven't the name of on me.
January releases I will definitely read are The Fugitive and the Vanishing Man and Prosper's Demon. Plus there's new books in the releases I want to check out. Also just saw Ancestral Night in a list and I will read that.
After that I've got a bunch of stuff that needs to be finished off a bunch of classics I finally want to get to.
Having a quick glance through the year after Jan on goodreads and The Worst of All Possible Worlds, Crush the King, Network Effect and Driving the Deep are all sequels I am gonna read the moment I get my hands on them.


If I'm in the mood I really want to finish off everything pretty early in the year so I can put 2019's reading behind me and it'll mean I can ignore the annoying reading pace report every time I open goodreads.

>>14445279
About a hundred different books

>>14445279
All of Dune that Frank wrote. Put it off for reasons I don't remember anymore.

>>14445279
The rest of Lyonesse. Maybe some Ian M Banks as some anon has been shilling him hard

>read book
>700 year old loli angel

>>14445279
3 body problem series, culture series, dread empire

>>14445279
>>14445279
Elric, the 34ish Discworld novels I have not read before, finishing witcher, the rest of the Frank Hebert Dune books.

>>14445675
>culture series
what is this

>>14445726
fuck off

>>14445726
you've probably heard of Consider Phlebas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series

What's some good noir/cyberpunk sci-fi with a Blade Runner aesthetic and not too space-y?

>>14445917
altered carbon?

>>14445917
Snow Crash

>>14445938
morgan sucks imo

>>14441217

Ice was absolutely horrible.

>>14443971
i never have trouble finding shit on b-ok

>>14445917
do androids dream of electric sheep, isaac asimov robot series, neuromancer, Hyperion and Endymion, snow crash is so cyberpunk its practically a parody of cyberpunk

>>14445279
malazan book 1
lies of locke lamora
rest of the dying earth books
urth of the new sun

Anything modern about end of the world, or the apocalypse? Or post events of trying to figure out what happened?

>>14446035
Seveneves

>>14445279
I'll try to read more women/POC, so Broken Earth, Circe, Poppy War. I also want to read new releases, so to that end I'll finish up the First Law and Stormlight Archive series to prep for the new books. DESU most books will probably be whatever looks good at the moment.

>>14446052
>delta V's

>>14446195
>I'll try to read more women/POC
why not just read whats good?

>>14446195
>I'll try to read more women/POC
haha why are you doing this to yourself

>>14446195
>I'll try to read more women/POC,
oof but why >>14440619

>>14446195
>>14446238
>>14446244
>>14446277
oh no, the americans are coming home from work
there goes the thread

>>14446285
>gets btfo
>"YOU ARE JUST AMERICANS REEEEE"

>>14446304
huh?

>>14446304
>anon wants to read something
>hurr wimen bad
>calm down, muricans
>YOU GOT REKT LOL U BUTTHURT

Any books about a "normal" but mentally deranged protagonist?
Kinda like some of the batman comics, i love the comics that focus on his psychology.

>>14445978
>snow crash is so cyberpunk its practically a parody of cyberpunk
It is a parody you nitwit

>>14446360
well to be fair, you know the poster who wanted to make a point of reading muh women and poc authors was probably american too, right? that's why i included him in my quote. he's either a faggy american or a baiting shitposter.

>>14446238
>>14446244
"""modern""" male literary contributions
>Scott "I was secretly a wizard all this time" Lynch
>Brent "tight pussy" Weeks
>Patrick "one entire book of elf sex in a fucking forest rather than plot" Rothfuss
>GRR "more constipated than squatting in the sunset" M
>Brandon "anime superpowers" Sanderson
>Anthony "MUH EVIL SCIFI SCIENTISTS MADE AN EVIL WHITE DRAGON" Ryan
>Pierce "mediocre space opera" Brown
"""modern""" female literary contributions
>NK "MUH EVIL SCIFI SCIENTISTS ELECTRIC BOOGALOO 2" Jemisin
>Ann "tea drinking" Leckie
>Jenn "Brandon Sanderson 2" Lyons

Meanwhile, actually good authors like Susanne Clarke are having mysterious illnesses and Jasper Fforde will write shitty Thursday Next fanfictions instead because they sell better than his real books until the end of time. But haha don't worry we'll see great new male authors in a few years r-right guys? Cope faggots.

C. J. Cherryh never stopped writing books. I can hear her right now. Tap tap tap.

>>14446417
i think i'm right there with you but i can't tell whom you're mad at

>>14446438
Yeah but when she dies there will be no one to replace her.

>>14446460
Be angry for its own sake.

>>14446417
hey i said just read whats good, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell may be the best thing i've read all decade

>>14446463
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

>>14446460
The chance of rolling an actually good author, the sense of crushing disappointment that no good new ones actually exist and that the existing actually good ones might have decided to get a real job, while the prolific shit ones earn far more and continue the trend of bad authors selling. The fear of web novels, haremshit and isekaishit eating up all the book shelves.

>>14444210
I got meme'd into reading this garbage too. To make matters worse the book has cool looking cover art so it made me inherently excited. Don't know how you even made it to the second book because that was some hot garbage.

>>14446471
I look forward to the sweet release of death

God, why are cucks so angry that female authors exist? Just don't read them jajajajajajajaja

>>14446660
Who are you quoting?

Bros... the content... where is it...

>>14446660
>jajajajajajajaja
Me das asco

>>14446660
I'm going to be real with you spic, out of the countless books that I've read I can count on one hand the ones that were from female authors that I finished and enjoyed. I have nothing against female authors, but generally as in most things in life, they seem to be very poorly written in comparison to their male counterparts. Or used to be at least since male authors these days can't write for shit either. So in a weird way I guess it's equality.

>>14446686
I really dig Bujold

For me it's Soulcatcher

>>14446675
You should have read Attanasio when you told anon you would

>>14446686
I suspect it's because most specfic authors are basement dwelling NEETS writing for basement dwelling NEETS while non genre fiction ate up the good portion of writers.

>>14446701
Which book do you recommend?

>>14446784
I wouldn't know, I didn't read Attanasio either so I'm stuck here with you

>>14446785
I'd never even heard about Attanasio until today and I've been in this thread for years

There's a perp in this thread who I think likes Radix though, so maybe that's the one.

>>14446743
Most people wouldn't go an ivy league or similar to write genre fiction because that sort of person wouldn't be doing so anyway.

Margaret Atwood went to Harvard.
Most sci-fi and fantasy authors went to state universities if at all and many dropped out.
There's just too much that clashes for it to work out most times.

>>14446805
Though the Goodreads Winner 2019 for Fantasy went to Yale, so I guess there's that as well.

>>14446805
I've also heard about how reading non-genre fiction can improve your writing in genre fiction and one of the criticisms I've heard of modern genre fiction is that people only read within the genre and write for the genre these days, so they don't get new ideas.

>>14446817
All that for YA...

But I guess being an author has always been about making enough money to survive and not just about writing books filled with SOUL

>>14446847
No, being a writer has always been either having a day job or having a wealthy patron or being born into wealth or now for some crowdsourced funding.

>>14446817
>Leigh Bardugo
>Twilight but Slavic
>Yale
Checks out

"Everywhere I go I’m asked if I think the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. The idea of being a writer attracts a good many shiftless people, those who are merely burdened with poetic feelings or afflicted with sensibility." - Flannery O’Connor

>>14446847
Authors have never made money and modern publishing certainly isn't profitable. Just write for the sake of writing, and if you truly are so desperate you need to write for cash, sell out as hard as you can and make what you need.

>>14446238
>>14446244
>>14446277
> i only eat white rice
> i'm gonna go try brown rice
> REEE KEEP EATING WHITE RICE REEE

>>14446903
>I have eaten a lot of rice and I think most of it was white
>I'm going to eat brown rice because I believe in rice balance
>REEE WHY ARE YOU SAYING BROWN RICE DOESN'T EXIST

>>14446784
All of them

>>14446701
>like 4 years and still nobody has read any Radix
Some random read some of his Arthurian works in this entire time and that's all.

>>14446903
>food analogy
Pathetic

It's amazing how the most difficult part of writing a story properly is just getting the characters to act the way you want them. so far, I'm seeing the biggest portion of my editing is going to deal with touching up people's personalities and letting their quirks and antics shine through.

>>14447307
dude, you're the one who's throwing a pissy fit because some dude is interested in something you don't agree with

>>14447381
It's a bigger issue in fanfiction than it is in original fiction in my opinion, but jesus is it annoying when characters don't behave correctly.

>>14447381
>It's amazing how the most difficult part of writing a story properly is just getting the characters to act the way you want them.
It's easier to manage if you stop trying to write the story and let the story write itself.

At this rate there may well be a new thread before the new year.

>>14447463
honestly, the worst of it comes down to one character, who in the right situation would be the one with all the agency and all the other characters would be reacting to her horseshit. In this situation however, she's shoved into a passive role and I'm not even sure how to put her oddities in the forefront.

I think it will be easier to let her shine through in other scenes though. My two funniest characters are at their best during downtime

>>14447381
>you're the one who's
I'm not the same anon

Red sister is a good book, thats all.

Good night

>>14447852
>sjw junk by cuck lawrence
nah

>>14446417
>>Pierce "mediocre space opera" Brown
now wait just a dang minute

>>14447890
>Sjw
>When the main character gets beaten by a boy 4 years older than her into unconciousness in front of a live crowd as she cums buckets thinking of him
Sure.

>>14447946
>ignoring all the lgbtqia+123&*%&^ stuff

>>14447946
dont lie

>>14447983
I am not? Literally on the first book. The first lesson they give the protagonist is to avoid fighting males if possible since no amount of training is gonna win over muscle and height advantage.

>>14447977
On all 9 books I read there was a single lesbian couple, thats it.

I'm writing a mech scifi book, what tropes should I avoid?

>>14448027
Mecha

>>14447852
Legitimately one of the most boring things I've ever read

>>14447946
>>When the main character gets beaten by a boy 4 years older than her into unconciousness in front of a live crowd as she cums buckets thinking of him
holy molly this is based
pls guys recommend ryona books

How do i make a important character death not feel "forced" and actually make my readers care?

>>14443607
>some third world shit holer triggered by book fairs
I loved those things as a kid and bought a few books from them. Still have my X-Men bookmark I got from one

N
E
W

Y
E
A
R
'
S

E
V
E
!

any books where the protagonist is a bigdicked trap?

>>14448287
Based new year poster

>>14444134
I don't think it came entirely out of nowhere. We had been shown examples hinting at of the potential that cooperation offers, such as on Earth itself when all the nations collaborated to prepare for the Trisolaran fleet arrival, or that brief period of peace and cultural exchange between Earth and Trisolaris enforced by the MAD deterrent system. Conversely we've also seen poor outcomes from when people acted suspiciously and with paranoia, such as the clampdown and forbidding of all FTL research.

>>14448305
Based "based new year poster"

>>14443620
I hate you, catanon. I hate you so fucking much.

>>14441709
There are 12 books but you listed 9 books. Where do the other 3 books of Elric fit in your chronology?

Do you guys recommend Vampire Hunter D? Anything similar? Japanese fantasy in general?

Solar Lottery is pretty gosh darn great, another classic zany tale. ~75% through now, loving every laugh :-)
>another NYE alone
haha

>>14441827
>Did you like the book?
It was more interesting than enjoyable, but it was far from bad and I'm glad that I've read it.
>Was there even a point to the plot?
Of course there's a point. I'd say that the two most important parts of the book were the atmosphere and the prose and the plot certainly helped in building the atmosphere. On the other hand I don't think the ending meant anything, so in the sense of moving us from A to B the plot was pointless.
>Any other thoughts?
The book reminded me of Philip K. Dick and Gene Wolfe. The confusion regarding the identity of the narrator was similar to how the drug in A Scanner Darkly makes the MC investigate himself and the general confusion about space and time reminded me of There Are Doors. While Kavan nailed the insanity aspect (PKD makes it feel more like an discussion point, while in Ice it felt more genuine) the shifts in space and time felt more like stylistic writing choices than natural parts of the story. But what do I know, I'm neither insane nor an heroin user.

>>14446700
more like slutcunter

>>14446903
>i only eat food
>lets try dogshit
>I'LL EAT IT TILL I LIKE IT BECAUSE OTHERWISE IM LITERALLY HITLER

>>14448027
talk-no-jutsu and ai's

>>14448295
not the protagonist but in the 3rd prince of nothing book theres bigdicked traps

>>14443218
That's not a source that he was told by the publisher to increase it. Intending it to be 3 volumes in 1993 doesn't really mean anything about how he wanted the story to go later on. As he says himself in the letter you posted,
>As you know, I don't outline my novels. I find that if I know exactly where a book is going, I lose all interest in writing it.

>>14448961
>>14441827
>only one person read the book other than monthly reading anon
Sad!
You should extend the discussion to next thread.

>>14441829
I nominate this
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31574747-dear-cyborgs

Happy new year fags.

Does heresy within by rob what's his name have gri approval? I heard their is rape galore in it, but I want to know if I was being memed.

>>14449813
>gri
what is this

>>14449815
/sffg/'s seal of quality.

>>14449815

>>14449851
Where is the gri chart you promised.

>>14447946
I am so conflicted.
On one hand I have read One Word Kill and Prince of Thorns, and I despised both with passion.
On the other
>When the main character gets beaten by a boy 4 years older than her into unconciousness in front of a live crowd as she cums buckets thinking of him
Sounds so fucking based.

Actually after I finished typing this I realized that this is not based at all, because I don't want to read about a beta female. If the protag was the boy, I would consider it.

So are these worth reading or what?

>>14448478
Am I posting it too much, or do you just like Vallejo? He made a couple versions of the image used for that cover.

>>14449982

>>14449995

>>14449906
they're probably a decent read but consider this: literally anything else you have in your backlog is probably better
if you were invested in the star wars universe and these were still cannon, i'd say go for it. but withouth those two things they're hardly worth the read.

btw zahn's cobra series (i read the first two) remains the driest and dullest sci-fi books i have ever read. even reading the short descriptions on wiki is enough to put me to sleep

What is the /sffg/ equivalent of Taimanin Asagi?

>>14449982
>>14449995
>>14450002
I'll wait for the new thread to post my piece, thank you.

I hate you so fucking much.

>>14450060
Oho :3

>>14450094
Be prepared to defend your stupid book. I don't fancy hitting unguarded >"""men"""

>>14450111
You might have to give me a day to read it again. My memory isn't what it once was ok it was always bad

Is birdanon still alive?

>>14450180
yeah he's right here>>14450180

>>14450011
I prefer Yukikaze myself.

>>14448580
You mean the DreamQuest Trilogy? that's basically a huge crossover between almost all of Moorcock books, you must at least read the whole Eternal Champion Cycle to fully understand it. technically is set during Stormbringer.

Just found the re-release.
oof

Rate this deleted redditors 2 year old list
Historical
These are of note because of their historical value, not necessarily because they're well-written.

Asimov's Foundation series

EE Doc Smith's Lensman series

Cordwainer Smith's "Instrumentality of Mankind" short stories

Heinlein's Time Enough for Love and Stranger in a Strange Land

Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars novels

New Wave of Science Fiction (e.g., the fucking best)
These writers really saw sf take off as a genre and began to experiment with being truly literary

Ursula LeGuin's total catalogue, but with a focus on The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness

Brian Aldiss's Helliconia trilogy

Frank Herbert's Dune novels (well, the first two or three)

Michael Moorcock's short stories, but a particular focus on Kane of Old Mars and Oswald Bastable in Nomad of the Time Streams for a more sf fare

Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light and Amber novels

Ted Sturgeon's More Than Human

Sam Delaney's Dhalgren

Philip K. Dick's whole fucking catalogue, but my favorites are Ubik and The Man in the High Castle

John Goddamn Brunner, but particularly, The Sheep Look Up and Stand on Zanzibar (where yours truly gets his reddit name from)

Modern SF
Moving past the heady years of the 60s and 70s, we saw some truly remarkable talent come onto the scene.

Gene Wolfe -- seriously, every word he's ever written, but focus on the Solar Cycle

Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky

M. John Harrison's Viriconium series

Glen Cook's Passage at Arms

Octavia Butler's Patternmaster novels

Probably more that I'm missing, because I'm not staring at my bookshelf right now

Contemporary SF
Authors who are currently producing good work (since 2000)

China Mieville, anything really, but The City and the City is a fantastic sf novel.

Alastair Reynold's novels, but particularly the Revelation Space trilogy

Neal Stephenson's Anathem

Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union

Iain M. Banks's Culture novels

Ted Chiang's short stories

Ken MacLeod's thriller/sf crossovers like The Execution Channel or The Star Faction

Many, many more. Just browse and read at your local library or bookstore.

>in the shadow of the ring
not bad

>>14449906
>No pregnant Leia on the cover
Wasted opportunity

Name one good female character, there is none, females have no place in fiction and your book is worse by including them with a voice.

>>14450340
I rate it as tl;dr

>>14450340
>not necessarily because they're well-written.
>Cordwainer Smith
>not well-written
Cringe
The new wave list is good tho

>>14450378
Soulcatcher

>>14450378
Pyanfar, Hilfy, Heao. Three for the taking friend.

>>14450409
She is a cuck.

There was a book about a mage or something that was chad as fuck and would fuck all kinds of women in a castle. As for the plot I forgot but it was a normal fantasy book not the /litrpg/ harem trash on the other thread. Cover of the book was of a castle, by some water I think.

Anyone know the book?

New
>>14450424
>>14450424
>>14450424

>>14450423
Sounds like Gormenghast

>>14450428
Wasnt that. I read that book.

>>14450428
10/10 bait desu

>>14450428
guy said thats not it in the previous thread

>>14441566

Was it the homosexual djinn ejaculating in an arab man's asshole, or something else? What did that book do to warrant such joy for you?

>>14441769

Whatever man im gonna have sex with neil gayman

>>14442817

>DireWolf doesnt fuck ygritte raw in the ass

Missed opportunity man, very disapointed in you

>>14449813
Yes it does. Mostly R, but a little bit of I and G too