/lit/ - Literature

First for I can stop calling sanderfag a hack, just get a tripcode

>>14461336
I got 48 (you)'s last thread.

>>14461343
Why do you get butthurt when people discuss Sanderson? There are much worse authors out there and the discussions are usually shitting on him anyway. I thought the first Stormlight Archive book was great, and I want discuss how by the third book of this series that is planned for ten books, he's already trashed his own story and characters.

>>14461336
Best house

books

>>14461369
>much worse authors out there
None of them get discussed here. Even Will Wight and the Daniel Black guy are better.
If you want to talk about shit, just be like that elf faggot, and get a trip. It is not that hard. Or go to reddit, there is literally a thread about him every day.

happy birthday!

>>14461403
have that on my bookshelf, how is it?

Who are some of the worst love interests in fiction?

>>14461406
>get a tripcode to discuss a popular fantasy author in a general about fantasy books
Nah. Don't know what your deal is but I'm not going to indulge your mental retardation. Just filter out Sanderson and anything Sanderson related if it bothers you that much.

choosing what to read next is a struggle, i have so many books i want to read but only a finite amount of time

>>14461421
I was impressed. It's all logistics, politics, and cold war era dancing with russkies.

mommy

>>14461427
She's not even a love interest, she's a projection of Rothfuss being the massive white knight that he is irl. He even doubled down and said if you don't like Denna you're apparently sexist.

>>14461439
I mean, its fine, I will just keep polluting every Sanderson discussion with as much negativity as I can. Enjoy.
I am also debating spamming the general with /pol/ sentiments (which I believe to be retarded) just to keep you fucking redditfags from invading the general further.

ASoIAF question: my memory is hazy, but does anyone remember what the initial outline for the series was when GRRM intended it to be a trilogy? I think he had the three books defined by the type of threat: the first book would deal with a domestic threat, the second book with a foreign threat, and then the last book with some sort of otherworldly threat.

>>14461459
Ok.

>>14461480
https://www.insider.com/game-of-thrones-original-story-2017-8
yes, how he thought he could do this in 3 books is a mystery

Is this a good book? I like the cover but know nothing, just saw the pic online randomly and cant find it on amazon.

>>14461514
Author was banned from amazon

Seems I'm going to have to not sleep in so much if I'm going to make the thread so much considering the thread post rate dies off but becomes close to ending when I sleep then two excitable anons spam argue while I'm asleep now and a new thread is made before they finish arguing and it spills over into the new thread. That's just how it goes though.

>>14461514
MSE was banned from amazon for “allegedly” botting to abuse kindle unlimited

>>14461539
>>14461575
Oh no wonder I couldnt find anything. Other than that how is he as an author? Or this book in particular? Kindle unlimited is mostly junk books and erotica from what I have seen.

>>14461597
It’s junk erotica. His tamer series is better junk erotica than this. That’s basically all he writes

>>14461608
Oh. Well never mind then.

>>14461336
I've added some bookshelves to the group.
By clicking on "view activity" on the far right for each book you can see what each member of the group thought about that book.
This can also be viewed on the main group page by opening "view" at the bottom of the page of the shown book.
More details can be read in the relevant discussion thread in the group.

I've added a discussion thread about the Monthly Reading
Two threads ago there was only one response and one nomination for the Monthly Reading
Why was this?
Is a month an excessive duration?
Is it because there isn't enough discussion because it's limited to a single thread? In the previous case it wasn't even two days.
Does discussion need to be more guided, like a weekly check in or broken down in some way?
Are the novels too long?
Is it simply lack of enough interested in reading it?
For this particular one is it due to the time of the year?
Is there something wrong with the strawpolls to make it non-representative in some way or another?

Depending on how Monthly Reading Anon proceeds I'm considering changing the format.
I'm currently thinking that anyone can nominate a book by shelving it in nominees then voting will be done by seeing how many members have added it to their "to read" shelf which can be seen in the "view activity" after a certain duration of time has passed.
Yes, this entirely ignores the thread in terms of nominating and voting representation but I'm not sure that matters as far as I can tell basically all the people who read and respond are already in the group.
For other options and details read the discussion thread.

There's also the option of just letting it be whatever happens and instead creating discussion threads on the group for specific books if book discussion is wanted, which isn't really that prevalent in the threads.
Let me know what you think.

I just finished The Name of the Wind, why is this crap so popular? I lend the Book of the New Sun to a friend, he liked it, and he thought that I might like this crap. Is the second book any better?

>>14461688
2nd book is near universally regarded as taking a turn for the worse
Even the overly stylised prose, the strength of the first, takes a hit there

>>14461369
Of all the places in the internet why you want to discuss sanderson here? you know reddit loves sucking sanderson cock why don't you go there?

>>14461711
Thank you for providing the requisite amount of autism for each thread.

>>14461459
>further
sanderfags have been here for years, they're especially swarming now since there was stormlight 4 news, don't worry about it

>>14461380
>Y
>M
>C
>A

Never read sanderson but people talk about anime tier characters. Is it sort of like cradle where his characters train and get stronger over time? I could use a similar series to that

>>14461458
this is the first time i've read the whole page instead of just the highlighted part and it's painfully pathetic

>>14461458

Fela and Vashet best girls. Denna is boring.

>>14461808
more like everyone secretly has a specific magic power
The Kaladin arc has training/betterment elements and rules problem is the rest of the book

>>14461458
>there were never tears.
>there were tears once or twice
What did that hack rothfuss mean by this?

What do I read to prepare for cyberpunk 2020?

>>14461889

you cunts complain about sanderson, but have you read powder mage by brian mcclellan? that shit's bad

>>14462005
>reading modern fantasy

>>14461905
BASED

>>14461688
Ditch the friend, go read Fantasy Masterworks

>>14461711
holy based, I am not alone

>>14461808
I liked cradle, but I hate Sanderson. Cradle is based, non-apologetic fun about getting STRONK and cool and being smart. Sanderson is about whining and feet fetishes.

>>14462005
Dropped after 4 pages, got memed intro trying it by the synopsis suggesting it being interesting from a sociological perspective.

>>14462022
>He doesn't know about John Crowley and Samuel Delany

>>14461458
Is this real?

What the fuck am I supposed to do with my life after I finished Worm?
The ending was the epitome of scifi for me - the action, the human elements and plots elements falling into place, the metaphor revealing its second layer...
Stopped working on my novel completely after that finishing it.

What the fuck am I supposed to do with my life after I finished Worm?
The ending was the epitome of scifi for me - the action, the human elements and plots elements falling into place, the metaphor revealing its second layer...
Stopped working on my novel completely. Don't see the point.

>>14462590
Yup

>>14461457
what is this

>>14462693
The best version of Dune.

>>14462700
I tried playing it but it's filled to the brim with cuckshit. Want to fuck a girl? Too bad, instead you can watch her take seven other dicks in a giant orgy.

What are the best barbarian hero books other than Robert E. Howard's works?

>>14462815
Darkwolf, but he's not form a book unfortunately.

Since this is a Sanderson-themed thread, what do you think about him ever finishing the Cosmere?
>still no conclusion to Era 2 Mistborn until next fucking year
>no Warbreaker or Elantris sequels until the gap between SA 5 and 6
>still working on YA nobody asked for
>lot of side-Cosmere projects put on the backburner of backburners
I think he'll croak before it's all finished.

>>14462922
He will never finish the Cosmere because the Cosmere IS his life and work. Every story he comes up with is linked to it. So yup, he'll be shitting out Cosmere novels and sequels until he dies.

>>14462940
>Every story he comes up with is linked to it
But that's wrong, you fucking retard.

>>14461905
Happy vehicle

>>14461905
>>14462030
Based Zelazny posters

Can anyone recommend some mythology-based fantasy?

>>14463100
Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight books might scratch your itch.

>The setting of the novel features elements from Norse, as well as Christian mythology and a smattering of European sources, such as Arthurian myth, and involves a seven-tiered world that is separate, but not completely detached from ours.

>>14463100
Dont read if you want a more history accurate based book. I think its more action adventure with a shitload of mythological people and creatures with good and bad sides and incest. I enjoyed it though

Any books with likable villain protagonists? Bonus if they actually win and reach their goal in the end instead through some half assed "redemption".

>>14463147
>welsh
>likable
fuck off dafydd

>>14461336
whats up boys. how hard is it to get rich off writing fiction? this shit is borderline autistic.

>>14463147
In Black Company the main character works for an evil empress and she's pretty cool.

>>14463264
Easy if you write low IQ trash, hard if you write good books.

>>14463264
you can piss out a 200-page Young Adult fantasy novel in 6 months and make a decent amount off that. Writing quality doesn't matter so long as the book idea is good.

>>14463147
Depends on what you mean by likeable. The villains in Bakker’s books objectively did nothing wrong.

>>14463147
BLACK SUN RISING and the whole trilogy it's part of is anchored by the villain being fun

>>14463362
Excuse me?

>>>/tv/126941260
The poll rigging can't be escaped.

>>14463147
Johannes Cabal books
The Coldfire Trilogy

>>14463100
Lord of Light can be read as fantasy

Finally read Dune and it was great. I don't understand what people meant by it being "dated" because it was a smooth and fun read in my opinion. I didn't mind that the pacing sped up after part 1 either. I was on the edge of my seat throughout part 3. I don't know what I'm more excited to do, reading Messiah or rereading Dune.

>>14463688
the biggest way it's "dated" per se beyond Herbert's relatively stilted writing style is that it uses so many phrases and concepts that were entirely new at the time but are now commonplace in genre fic.

So it's not a negative but it loses some of the impact it had when it came out and became a genre definer

>>14463688
Same here, reading through God Emperor for the first time and really enjoying it, It's not as bizarre as I'd hoped for since everyone talks about how this is "the weird one" but it's still a lot of fun.

>>14461882

She never cried over men and yet this doesn't mean she never cried for herself. It's just shittily written.

>>14463982
the only thing I though of as weird that he chose an all female army and homosexuality (things we would think of as "progressive") as things to include in his stagnant civilization.

>>14463982
People don't talk about how weird God Emperor is because it's some PKD-style headtrip, people talk about how weird it is because nobody expects the big finale of an epic space opera to be 75% dialectic conversations with a psychic worm monster.

>>14463436
You heard me. The consult did nothing wrong

>>14463285
>Black Company
What's the consensus on this series on here? .I've been meaning to read it for the longest time now but I just never got the chance before. But now I have some free time and I want to sink my teeth into it. The premise sounds like my kind of thing as I'm a sucker for mercenaries.

>>14464226
Personally I think Glen Cook's writing boring but inoffensive, though for that reason I haven't read much of the series.

>>14464226
People generally like it and many authors credit him as inspiration. I read the 4 omnibus volumes in a couple months. Couldnt put it down.

>>14464226
It's good, probably the reason Grimdark exists as a subgenre but unlike so many of the works it inspires it never gets taken over by the grimdarkness.
Cook is a very stripped down writer (even his maps are basically just two circles lol) but that works if you buy into the narrative conceit of the narrative being the observations of the mercenary company's archivist.

I'm actually gonna probably reread the whole series this year so it's deffo stuck with me

>>14464226
I've only read the first book and I thought it was kind of boring. I'm personally not a big fan of the military angle; most of the story is focused on large battles and the journey to those battles, with downtime used to develop characters. It wasn't for me, but people seem to like it here.

>>14461336
what's the monthly book?

>>14464265
https://www.strawpoll.me/19168205

>>14462922
He's not going to make it.

>>14464265
>>14461653
>Two threads ago there was only one response and one nomination for the Monthly Reading
There isn't one.

>>14463114
Latro in the Mist is another of Wolfe's works in that same vein.

>Lovecraftian slow-burn
NOOOOOO, YOU CAN'T PUT OCTOPI ON DRY LAND, OUTSIDE OF THEIR NATURAL ELEMENT

NOT THE RUBBERY TENTACLE BOY

NOOOOOOOO, BRAIN GO CRAY-CRAY

>>14464300
Back to /tv/ with you

>>14464265
>>14464289
>>14461653
I nominate Last and First Idol by Gengen Kusano.
Despite the loli cover, it's a revered dystopian that I'd like to read.
And you fucks won't vote for Jules Verne so I have to find something to nominate.

How bad should I feel for liking this baby's first science fiction book?

>>14464730
You should feel bad about feeling bad over liking something you perceive as being something that you should feel bad for liking.

>>14464747
Man I don't spend that much time on this part of 4chan, I'm honestly baffled at this reply

>tfw my writing isn't getting any better
>tfw my dnd group is probably going to be disbanded soon
>tfw only getting worse and worse at video games
>tfw career is completely dispassionate

why...

>>14464764
That anon is saying that you should enjoy what you enjoy reading and not to worry about what other people think.

>Out of doubt, out of dark to the day’s rising
>I came singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
>To hope’s end I rode and to heart’s breaking:
>Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!
What are some other nice poem epics?

Are there any sites in particular you guys use to gather infos on a book? Or is just googling around the way?

>>14464836
sadly, goodreads is the best we have

>>14464848
Ok, thanks.

>>14464836
my autism makes it unbearable for me to know even a single fact about a book's plot so i just make sure that it's fantasy or sci-fi and that it's highly rated. sometimes if it looks like schlock i allow myself to read a spoiler free review on good reads or wikipedia to make sure it's the kind of schlock i like.
this single sentence convinced me to read dread empire's fall

"There’s a war, in which the characters get to do clever things and get promoted. If you like military SF you’ll like it."

though i'd say it was a waste of time though. too much time spent on boring and simplistic politics, not enough time spent on battles which were decent. and the conflict wasn't really that interesting anyway.

>>14464855
>unbearable for me to know even a single fact about a book's plot a book's plot
before i start it i mean

>>14464848
I thoiught you were being overly dramatic when you said "sadly",but damn some of these reviews are cringe as fuck.
>>14464855
I would like to read random shit too, but i don't read enough to afford "wasting a book", i'd rather get in knowing what to expect.

>>14464836
>>14464848
>>14464853
>>14464855
>>14464863
>>14464880
I spoil myself on every plot before I start reading/watching/listening to ANYTHING. The only time when I'm forced to read/watch/listen without spoilers is either:
>When it's a anime original anime
>When the source material isn't translated
>When it's a manga that hasn't been completed yet
>When it's a brand new book
>When the only source of book spoilers is on the reviews and not on the wikipedia
In the good ole days with bookstores and libraries I would physically flip and read the ending first.

Unfortunately, reviews nowadays are totally unreliable. The publishers essentially bribe readers with ARCs. These are books released MONTHS in advance of the actual purchase/release date so having them is way superior to pirating a book after it's released. If the user doesn't review things positively constantly I'd imagine that it might be more difficult for them to secure ARCs in the first place.

You can just pirate dozens of books before you decide what one to read desu.

>>14464912
>I spoil myself on every plot before I start reading/watching/listening to ANYTHING.
>In the good ole days with bookstores and libraries I would physically flip and read the ending first.

why tho

>>14464925
To ensure that what I end up reading is good anon. There's so many books, I don't want to miss one that I do want. Besides, I enjoy the book just as much if I get spoiled in the first place.

>>14464930
But why the ending? Is that where you understand if a book is good?

>>14464930
but what would just the ending or plot points tell you in regards to the book's quality? the writing might be shit. the characters might be annoying and retarded. the actual plot progression and setup might be poor

>>14464934
I used to read the first 1/3 and then the ending when I was little. Nowadays, I just skim the summary. If the summary is interesting, I go on a hunt for spoilers and if that's also good I download the book.

>>14462679
Read something good instead

>>14461427
>>14461458
I thought this book was amazing until he cucked and chased the fucking dragon around. The first part was really amazing but it went out of control towards the end.

>>14461458
godamn pol memed the cuck memes so hard they became reality
i always tought
>she may suck you cock but its my hand she holds
was a fucking meme holy fucking hell

Neal Asher any decent? He has too many books, which books are his better ones?

>>14464999
Thats when I dropped the book years ago. Im still upset I wasted the time I spent reading it.

>read books based off a thread mention and/or if a generic summary blurb sounds interesting
>many a wild fucking adventure with PKD without any idea what the specific book was about
>tfw too high IQ to exist in these generals

>>14464999
/pol/ didn't even exist when WMF came out. Lurk a lot more, newfag trash.

>>14461514
is that the one with the autist and the elves?
I think it was ok

>>14465032
>/pol/ memes and kek incantations bent time and space to influence WMF before /pol/ came into existence
h-heil hitler..?

>>14465032
>ha! fucking newfag!
>i wasted way more years of my life on this cesspool than you haha!
based and dare i say
redpilled

>author releases book
>its a fucking knockout, everyone likes it, truly something else
>author never writes another book again
>if they do though its always shit

Whats their name /sffg/?

>>14465069
>author never writes another book again except for when they do
Are you the same poster as the guy above you? What a post-combo of idiocy.

>>14465074
t no fun allowed

>>14465007
>Neal Asher any decent?
no

>>14465074
severely triggered rothfuss fan, sorry you like reading cuck fantasies

a friend of mine is tormenting me with excerpts from this book, which is basically Horse Girl Writes A Fantasy Novel.

>Lightning outlined the draconic shape before him. It wasn't Sharanakal, the volcanic dragon who had sought to keep him prisoner. This was a different dragon, white and grey and silver, blue eyes sparkling gemlike.

>Staring at him.

>Time froze, stretched. Her eyes are the same color as mine. Only afterward would he realize he'd assumed the dragon's gender.

their statement: "this isn't woke, this is something Jordan Peterson would write to parody Woke Twitter."

also the society has the roles of "stallion, mare, gelding, foal" ("ah yes the 4 genders: man, woman, man but worse, child") but you can only switch after serving in the military because SERVICE GUARANTEES GENDER TRANSITION!

>>14465069
Daniel Keyes.

>>14463138
That's a fucking horrible tagline.

>>14464062
>4chan politics reflect real life politics

Stop being a tard, it's stagnation because it means their genes don't get passed on

I read three books from Vorkosigan and now I finally understand why people love it so much.

>>14462830
That movie is fucking awesome.

>>14465116
Bujold in general is pretty "where have you been all my life," I'm very grateful to the anon who recommended Curse of Chalion last summer.

>>14465122
An anon suggested im a few threads ago, while another called it creepy because of a love interests age difference. I picked it up since overall it seemed very interesting.

>>14461336
>>14464265
>>14464289
>what's the monthly book?
I've decided to put monthly reading on hiatus. There's a couple of reasons, where the most obvious is the lack of further interest. While my original intention during early winter was to keep going at least until summer ending things on our two year anniversary felt more fitting.

Monthly reading might return as a summer project, or revived by someone else but I'm done for now. Thanks for joining, see you later space cowboys.

>>14465124
It's mostly about a dude working out the bad consequences of being pious and honorable while he's really sick.

>>14465124
If he means the love between Cordelia and Miles she's in her early 30s and he's in his early 40's. If he means Falling Free... I still don't buy it, Leo's in his late 30s-early 40s and Silver is around 25.

>>14465069
Susanna Clarke

Anyone read The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer? The movie was decent, at least the idea of what they were going for was interesting. I figured it would make a better book only to find out it was already a book first. But a lot of reviews say its bad, but I think if normies on Amazon shit on a book then its probably good because if its nothing but 5 star reviews, then its played to the lowest common denominator and its actually boring shit.

>>14464848
The fucking app doesn't even let you filter by stars. I always read the 1-2 star reviews first to see what the fuck's up.

>>14465104
I wonder how the current tranny forced diversity trend will look in 10 years

>>14465128
Jesus Christ, I meant Aral not Miles and you were talking about Curse of Chalion not Vorkosigan.

>>14465141
They're fine, but not great. Veniss Underground is where he shines and Borne is so fucking weird it works in a puzzling "what the fuck are you snorting" way.

>>14465141
Honestly, he's the only guy that actually still does weird fiction and he does it right. His Ambergriss stories are pretty great.

Can someone recommend me something similar to this or roadside picnic? I tried Google but the recommendations sucked ass

>>14465141
book 1 is fine, haven't read the rest but will try it. borne is fucking amazing.

>>14465156
lovecraft, PKD

>>14465156
Color out of Space.

>>14465156
Have you read other works by the Strugatsky chads?
Mieville maybe. PKD sure. Glukhovsky, Pelevin, an Lukyanenko for someone who continue in the Strug tradition.

>>14465141
The film is better than the books. The books put a lot of effort into being weird but not a lot of effort into any other aspect.

>>14465116
Welcome to the cult.

I'd suggest Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh too. It hits a bunch of the same buttons for me.

>>14465128
I think they're talking about the romance in Chalion, the Cazaril is 35 and Lady Betriz is 19, and Cazaril is also her tutor, so yeah it's kinda creepy... but somewhat par for the course for fantasy romance novels I've read, and the actual medieval period.

Miles and Taura's relationship is also kinda ehhhh to me.

>>14465191
CherryH's works in general resemble Bujold's stuff, I felt, while reading it.

>>14465199
The only other stuff by her I've read is some of the Chanur books but generally yeah. I think partially because there are so few writers doing character driven SF, and both tend to look more at how technology affects people and societies.

>>14465149
>>14465154
Ill read the first book then and check out his other works

>inb4 female authors
Should I read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin or Mary Doria Russell? The Sparrow seems interesting and Le Guin is mentioned a lot everywhere for Left Hand of Darkness and Earthsea but not her other books. How about Ann leckie and the Ancillary books? Or Martha Wells Murderbot books?

>>14465247
The first Ancillary book is good but the second and third are different and change the framing and goal of the whole thing and a lot of people didn't like them since they expected it to be more of the same space opera stuff instead of tea services. I haven't read her newer stuff.

Murderbot I found to be overly... twee I guess? It's popcorn fiction about a android/cyborg that wants to watch TV instead of getting involved with human bullshit. I didn't hate it but I didn't have any interest towards reading the sequels.

Do look at C. J. Cherryh or Bujold too, since they're being talked about right now.

>>14465273
Oh, a recent release I'd recommend would be Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. The official book description is total bullshit and makes it sound like some insufferable Whedonesque action novel, it's actually a fairly WH40k-esque locked room mystery about a bunch of necromancers trying to figure out how to become the next necromancer-pope.

>>14465287
>Gideon
no

>>14465214
>The Sparrow
This author has a problem in that a large number of crucial interesting scenes are missing and are left as exposition between the characters. The actual scenes that are shown tended to be a lot less interesting. I do have a favourite character from the two books, Supaari, but this duology should have been a LOT better than it actually was. The books feel literary, but you know, the plot felt like it needed to be there and it was just missing in huge chunks which was quite disappointing.
>Le Guin
The only long story I read by her was Lathe of Heaven. I felt that PKD was a lot better, Lathe was goodish but lacking elements that made it truly great. I read one of her short stories - "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" - thought it was great and should have been longer.
>Ancillary books
First book was great, the other two books weren't on a large enough scale for me and were disappointing given that the author leads you to think that they are going to be tackling bigger issues and ends up tackling none of them. At least the Presger are very entertaining, the tea drinking, definitely not so much.
>Martha Wells
She has other books, you know. Murderbot is basically a mass appeal book for people marketed towards people don't really read scifi. The first one is excellent, the others are entertaining but the actual quantity of plot drops dramatically from there. I am still going to read the final book.

Martha Wells' fantasy stories are much less well known, but they are far less of a mass-market creative sellout. My favourite book by her is the excellent 'The Death of the Necromancer' which is more Conan-Doyle-ian outing with a main character who essentially feels a lot like Moriarty. The City of Bones was another that I liked. In any case, her fantasy books feel a lot more soulful, while Murderbot feels a lot like it fulfilled a bunch of checkmarks for what sells. Murderbot isn't bad, per se, but I expect much more out of the novel.

>>14465287
>Gideon the Ninth
Based taste.

>>14465247
>The Sparrow
This author has a problem in that a large number of crucial interesting scenes are missing and are left as exposition between the characters. The actual scenes that are shown tended to be a lot less interesting. I do have a favourite character from the two books, Supaari, but this duology should have been a LOT better than it actually was. The books feel literary, but you know, the plot felt like it needed to be there and it was just missing in huge chunks which was quite disappointing.
>Le Guin
The only long story I read by her was Lathe of Heaven. I felt that PKD was a lot better, Lathe was goodish but lacking elements that made it truly great. I read one of her short stories - "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" - thought it was great and should have been longer.
>Ancillary books
First book was great, the other two books weren't on a large enough scale for me and were disappointing given that the author leads you to think that they are going to be tackling bigger issues and ends up tackling none of them. At least the Presger are very entertaining, the tea drinking, definitely not so much.
>Martha Wells
She has other books, you know. Murderbot is basically a mass appeal book for people marketed towards people don't really read scifi. The first one is excellent, the others are entertaining but the actual quantity of plot drops dramatically from there. I am still going to read the final book.

Martha Wells' fantasy stories are much less well known, but they are far less of a mass-market creative sellout. My favourite book by her is the excellent 'The Death of the Necromancer' which is more Conan-Doyle-ian outing with a main character who essentially feels a lot like Moriarty. The City of Bones was another that I liked. In any case, her fantasy books feel a lot more soulful, while Murderbot feels a lot like it fulfilled a bunch of checkmarks for what sells. Murderbot isn't bad, per se, but I expect much more out of the novel.

>>14465312
Can the first murderbot and ancillary books be considered standalone? Ill see Marthas other works and look more into the other authors works.

>>14465331
iirc Murderbot is standalone but it's been too long since I read Ancillary Justice.

>>14465169
I've read everything Lovecraft has to offer, colour out of space was the best imo

>>14465287
>Gideon the Ninth
the absolut state of this thread

>>14465331
murderbot is a novella, so it's complete in the sense that one crisis happened and resolved w/o a cliffhanger, but it's clear there will be more adventures.

>this is what /lit/ recommends you read

>>14465483
>noooo please judge a book by its cover

>>14465485
The book's problem dont end in the cape, but the cape is a huge redflag.

>>14465489
You realise that most cover artists literally just download some photo off the internet and paint over it? They aren't paid to read the book, nor are they paid to interact with the author at all. The publisher is the one who finds the poor cheap shmuck and feeds him literal peanuts. Even furry porn pays more.

>>14465498
Like i said the problem isnt really the cover but if you saw the cape and expected a young adult book for retards with stronk womyn(not strong woman mind you) then you'd be absolutely not disappointed.

>>14465512
It's the opposite, YA books tend to have the cheaper photoshopped covers in my opinion - objects, minimalism or photographs in my opinion. But then again, that's also encroaching on the adult sff books, for example, Sanderson's books are illustrated by Whelan in some editions, but the alt covers are just a grey fractal smoky mess that is intended to look modern that you can generate in something like Apophysis or another fractal generator in like 60 seconds. Some books, especially the hard scifi ones, are also moving towards heavy use of 3D models that have been vaguely painted over.

Most concept artists want to work in AAA title vidya games or movies rather than draw book titles for peanuts. You'll notice that not only does the cover look generic as a fuck but there's black everywhere so that the artist doesn't need to actually do any painting.

>>14465557
why does every book nowadays need FUNNY QUIRKY and SPECIAL cover

>>14465483
Have you read it and if so how bad was it?
>>14465557
Vomit inducing image

Also, fuck jannies. Disgusting Sanderson sympathizers. "Troll post" when I am doing more to keep the board clean then they will ever do.

>>14464624
>it's a revered dystopian that I'd like to read
>would like to read
>using the possibility of a book winning as the reason to finally read it
Read your loli jap ya comic book if you want, don't use us as an excuse.

>>14465007
The agent cormac series.

>>14465287
Hi rebbit.

>>14465247
Left Hand and Earthsea are all people talk about Le Guin for, Left Hand is overrated but Earthsea is excellent. I recommend her Hainish trilogy, especially if you're a fan of New Wave SF to begin with, and The Dispossessed.After the mid-seventies she decided to never write another good novel but her short stories were consistently good till her death.

>>14465670
>Also, fuck jannies
>"Troll post" when I am doing
Are you by chance, evading a ban for trolling, fren?

>>14465851
A warning
What grinds my gear isn't even the warning but that it was for "trolling" when what I was saying was quite clearly serious if somewhat screechy in nature.
I said I was considering posting /pol/esque shit to keep reddit out. Because now look at the shit that is being recommended here.

>>14465888 (checked)
You do know that rolling digits is a bannable offense, don't you? You're posting on shaky ground.

>trying to write litrpg erotica for money
>Outline and start writing
>Send excerpt to peers
>Realize when they point it out there there's no rpg or erotica at all

>>14465954
Still nobody has defined what "litrpg" or "western harem" rpg seems to mean. The covers we saw in the other thread just seems really cheesy, but litrpg sounds to me like those old choose your own adventure books.

>>14465888
>openly admits to wanting to post off topic pol shit in the fucking literature board
>is confused when he gets a warning
It wasn't your post about Sanderson that got you the warning. I seriously think you pol guys have mental problems, or some type of no blame complex. You think it's okay to pol shit outside of pol, then you're surprised and angry when you're banned. Nothing is ever your fault.

>>14465888
>I said I was considering posting /pol/esque shit to keep reddit out
Is this why you're anti-reddit posting like a disgusting cross-site mutt trying to hide its newfaggotry? Everyone knows that /pol/shitters are newshits from leddit, even newer than phoneshitters and gaymergayters. (lol

>>14465963
>>14465954
Litrpg is just progression novels with stats and game like elements.
But that is a slowly dying market. People have moved to cultivation and wuxia rpg.
If you read enough you will get an understanding of the genre.
My tips, have an actual story to tell, incorporate the rpg elements (don't do tables of stats), don't do asspulls like Harmon Cooper and you should be okay. When doing the Harem, make it believable. You can't have 10 women in a harem and they aren't backstabbing each other for cock. No woman would give up her chance for cock to another woman. A lot of these harem authors never dealt with a lot of women. They portray them how virgins think women are / behave.

>>14465954
>>trying to write litrpg erotica for money
Degenerate

Hey, I'm looking for a book that I can't seem to remember the title of. It had a setting of a city with districts based on the five senses (sense, sight, taste, hearing and touch). I just remember the setting and that was it, not the actual plot. Does anyone know what book I'm talking about?

>>14466007
I'd much rather have inexperienced virgins writing them then women-hating incels like yourself writing them themselves tbqfh.

What are some books about guile heroes other than the Odyssey and Cugel the Clever?

>>14465991
Pol guys do have mental issues but they at least never had to suffer fucking 13 year olds discussing the latest Anime release.
The point is that, even assuming I did something wrong, the reason for the warning had absolutely fucking nothing to do with reality. That was perhaps immature behavior, or threats of racism, not sure which category, if any, that falls under. There was no trolling involved. In fact, after reading through the rules, it doesn't look like I technically broke any (>openly admits to wanting to post off topic pol shit in the fucking literature board doesn't break any rules). If you are moderating a website whose major selling point is freedom of speech, you better be precise at the way you follow the letter of the few laws you have established.

I didn't even post anything /pol/, I just (somewhat sarcastically) said that I am considering doing that. It's like banning someone for a post like "I am going to say the N word" due to racism outside of /pol/.

>inb4 not contributing to discussion
What god damn discussion? Half the posts here are one-sentence long gems like "Hi rebbit" and "Degenerate.".

>>14465992
This post makes literally no sense, newfag

Disgusting morons, every time there's a vacation this general gets worse because it is flooded by morons who won't understand that they can talk about Sanderson in LITERALLY ANY OTHER FANTASY FORUM ON THE INTERNET and they will get more negativity than actual discussions here.
Meanwhile the only place on the internet that regularly mentions Wolfe, Vance, Silverberg, etc. is become /r/fantasy poster's second home.

>>14466124
Spouting out buzzwords doesn't make that post any less true.

just finished this. good shit as always. the ending made me sad.

now starting abercrombie's a little hatred.

>>14466128
Oh stop crying, you got a warning for acting like a raging autist and literally stating that you're going to spam these threads with unrelated stuff just because somebody wanted to discuss an author that you seem to have some unhealthy obsession against.

>>14466140
Finally, a based post

>>14466144
Which fucking rule did I break? Perhaps stop this little power trip of yours, and start following the 4chan rules instead of creating your own and choosing a completely unrelated reason for the warning.

>>14464624
Don't fall for this meme book. The publisher tried hard to push this shit as a big deal, but it's fucking garbage.

>>14462815
Louis l'amour maybe but not fantasy nig.

>>14466140
It's the best thing he's done since his Scavenger and Engineer trilogies. The ending wasn't so much sad as very abrupt and a let down. There was so much build up and potential for more story but it's almost like he was going to write another book or two and then went "fuck it" and just finished the whole thing in two pages.

>>14461700
I for one like the second a lot more, but I agree with you in that the prose derails a bit (not to say there's anything special about it in either of the two). I guess that if you didn't like the first, the second probably won't do much for you either

Brandon Sanderson

>>14466339
(you)

Hey /sffg/, I wonder if you can help me with sourcing a short story I read but can't remember where.

Basically, these people live in a hollow earth, and they drill into the rock around them looking for a way out, and this causes wars as there is limited space and the refuse has to take some of that up. Eventually they make "bubble" ships that are self enclosed and act like worms, but when they go far enough through the rock they hit I think an acid ocean, and this obviously means the ships need to be refined again.

Eventually, I'm pretty sure they break out fully. I reckon it's a short story.

>>14466124
>watches Simpsons
>calls my post cringe
>inexperienced virgins
>women-hating incels
How can I be an "incel" if I'm not a virgin? Which authority is denying me the pussy? There is no such thing as an incel unless you are in jail. If you want sex, pay a hooker. You must be a female and a rebbet user if you feel "incel" in an insult.

You must feel threatened that nerds might stop putting females on pedestal in books, and stop worshipping women as some goddess on earth, instead of a human being with three holes instead of two. If the virgin nerds found out what women are truly like, you probably imagine all the life of ease you could have slipping away. Maybe I should write a book about how females like you get your pussies btfo by as many chads as possible, and when your nubility wears off and chads don't want you anymore because they can see you have the thousands cock stare, you dress up quirky and pretend to be nerdy to attract some nerd who studied and was successful in life, so they can look after you and give you the life of privilege that you crave. All while praising and being thankful to you for choosing them, when in reality it should be you who is thankful for them to be looking after you. You Stacies want nerd culture and litrpg-esque novels to continue because it perpetuates the image you want to portray to the sad socially inept nerds. It's why you don't see feminist decrying litrpg novels. It helps their agenda. The only ones you see called sexist are the ones that show women how they really are, people like everyone else, not some divine being on earth.

>>14466363
>this whole post
jesus mate, calm down and have sex, don't take 4chins so seriously

>>14466128
>If you are moderating a website whose major selling point is freedom of speech, you better be precise at the way you follow the letter of the few laws you have established.
Rules such as keep pol in pol? Even mentioning that you want you post pol shit shows your intention to troll. It's why you got a warning instead of a ban. If you followed up on your "threat" you would have been banned. You pol fags just don't understand that the entire site is fed up of your shit. Now you're playing the victim by saying you "didn't do nuttin". You if discuss lit shit you wouldn't get any problems. There are many, many users who follow up on their threats on this site after they are made. You're vex because the mods notified you that you are on shaky grounds?

>>14465483
It's a very good book

>>14466196
>The ending wasn't so much sad as very abrupt and a let down. There was so much build up and potential for more story but it's almost like he was going to write another book or two and then went "fuck it" and just finished the whole thing in two pages.
It's absolutely intentional and planned from page 1, give it a few months and read the book back knowing the details from the end and knowing that the protagonist is a dying man embellishing the story so he can try and leave a legacy behind

>>14466128
>Meanwhile the only place on the internet that regularly mentions Wolfe, Vance, Silverberg, etc. is become /r/fantasy poster's second home.
Oh. So you're just a disgusting dinofag. No wonder. You're probably the one that frantically shills Vance and juggler-berg, trying to get more people interested in those two shit authors.

>>14466397
>You pol fags
I think I stated quite clearly that I am not from /pol/. In fact I despise their racism, deeply. But you still feel the need to pretend that I am because of the preconceived notion of what you are arguing against rather than reality.
It is disgusting how you keep totally ignoring my actual problem: the fact that I didn't "troll" by any definition of the word and yet got a warning precisely for that.
You are not actually looking for truth but rather trying to win an argument because you had a bad experience when a /pol/fag called you bad names.

>>14464624
>hair so thin that you can see her face and eyes through it

arcanists are so cool

>>14466417
>I'm not from pol
>threatens to post infographs
>despises pol
>willing to use the modus operandi
You see why no one cares or wants to hear your shit? You got caught and now you're vex because you thought you can post pol everywhere. You know how many polfags such as yourself tells me that 4chan IS pol, and they can do what they want, and where they want. That warning just showed you that you are wrong.

Man I just want a series with some hot barbarian bitches, preferably one as the main love interest. It's so easy I can't believe it hasn't been done before, just take Conan and genderbend him so you have some hot blooded warrior with thunder thighs who loves to fight and fuck. Guess I'll have to write my own.

>>14465125
Thanks for all the effort anon. It was a nice addition,

>>14466354
It sounds almost exactly like this description

"In one of Isaac Asimov's stories in the rather epic Robots/Empire/Foundation chronology, some of the inhabitants of Trantor believe the universe to be an infinite mass of earth and rock, punctuated by occasional life-bearing bubbles"

I haven't read any Asimov, but it's almost exactly that premise

>>14466468
>completely ignores everything I said
>proceeds to use me as a medium to express his hatred towards /pol/
I would just like to say that I hate this website, and the only reason I am here is because I hate it a bit less than any other website for fantasy books

>>14466563
>>14466354

These posts were both made by me btw.

Is a princess of Mars good or is it trash?

>>14466140
>>14466196
This dude's books are always such a downer at the end.

>>14466575
Do you like Conan?

>>14466580
Is Conan any good or is it trash?

>>14466585
It's read and find out

>>14466594
But I'm more into sci-fi than fantasy that's why I asked about princess of Mars

>>14466585
Depends on what you like. Conan is peak sword and sorcery. If you aren't into the genre then you probably won't like Conan and by extension won't like the Barsoom series.

>>14466603
If you prefer sci-fi you probably won't like either.

>>14466606
I like the dune series a lot and also Warhammer 40k tho, both are sword and sorcery oriented

>>14466501
Me too anon. Hard to think that no one has done it yet.

>>14466354
>>14466563
>>14466573

It's Mountain by Cixin Liu

>>14466569
>doesn't realize that everyone uses this website to express their hatred towards something

>>14466703
Not everyone friend. I like to read books. Not this one though. I grew bored.

>>14466007
>People have moved to cultivation and wuxia rpg
What the hell is cultivation and wuxia rpg?

>>14466617
Neither is the pulpy mc-focused chad kind, though its been a long time since I read dune, so I may be misremembering.

>>14466726
Clearly, a voracious book-sniffer

>>14466404
You're going to have to explain that theory because I didn't read a single indication that it's true.

>>14466767
Muad'dib was a fucking chad (at least in the first 2 books in the third he was a cuck) but I'm not sure if pulpy

>>14466756
It's the future of literature.

>>14465125
ah alright
the ice rigger really killed the club.
Thank you for your service

>>14465273
>Murderbot
yes it was very American in that all the jokes are explained and predictable.
but the plot made an effort and it's a short read.

>>14466054
idk

>>14466155
it's like 10 hours to read and there isn't a January read anyway, I'll be fine

>>14466501
pretty sure i remember reading some smut with a female amazon. i think it was /ss/ though, so not everyone's cup of tea.

>>14466786
How so? What are those two genres?

>>14466974
They're amateur Chinese genres based on Dao/ gook medical practices and romance of the three kingdoms/ kung fu monkey king.

Essentially the CCP banned supernatural themes in any literature set after the creation of the CCP so a generation of nerds who live in the dysopian nightmare that is china created rape-fu novels about young masters becoming immortals.

Check out warlock of the magus world if you want something western themed and reverend insanity if you want something more eastern.

Or don't.

>>14466756

A genre of books that's even lower quality than litrpgs

>>14466946
Sounds interesting, think you can remember the name?

>>14467110
Just read Red Sonja

Just finished God Emperor of Dune. Not as good as Dune or Messiah but better than Children of Dune, which I found pretty meh in comparison.

Are Heretics and Chapterhouse worth reading or should I stop here?

>>14467110
it's called Tannah and Vard. it's 2 short stories that you can get for free on the author's gumroad. seems like it's dead though since i downloaded both of them years ago and there aren't any new ones.
https://gumroad.com/gunwild

Most anons don't understand how moderation actually works on 4chan. It's volunteer work and activist janitors who take action on their initiative quickly find themselves no longer a janitor. There's also so much to always to look at in the report queue. So, in practice the moderation is mostly because other users reported you. It's basically the users are the prosecutor and the janitors are the jury. Mods are the appeals court but aren't involved that much overall. That's the basics anyway. So in the case of the previously mentioned warning it's because other anons in /sffg/ reported that anon. If there were no reports, there wouldn't have been any action taken. That being said, even if there are reports that doesn't mean there will be action taken.

>>14467171
It's difficult communicating with someone who has a rudimentary grasp of english, Deng. How many years of shitposting do you have left before they'll let you see your wife and kid again?

>>14461458
>true, you have been inside the circle of her arms
Somehow I know this isnt exactly how cuckfuss wanted to end this sentence

im almost done with call of the wind. i think i get why you guys dont like it. the romance scenes with Denna are so fucking boring

>>14461688
Ditch your friend. /sffg/will be your friend now.

>>14462726
That's too bad. I only played it once a long time ago and it didn't have much content at the time. I really like the designs, though.

>>14467166
Stop

>>14465483
It isn't that bad but I did had to force myself to go through it. In the end it never made me care about the characters, the universe or the story.

There's more random discussion about random books than the monthly reading in most threads.

>>14467278
Because for some reason the guy in charge of monthly reading spergs out if you try discussing the book throughout the month. You get one day to talk about it and that's it.

>>14467278
well sure, do you expect me to drop whatever book i'm reading and just start reading the monthly discussion book and rush through it to meet a deadline? that's not going to happen, of course

>>14467309
>>14465125
He's quit. Do you think there would be more discussion if it was encouraged to post every thread about it or would that be too intrusive?

>>14467317
It takes you more than a month to read a book on average?

>>14467330
>It takes you more than a month to read a book on average?
such a pathetic passive aggressive response. i'm still not dropping my own book to read your shit.

>>14467353
I hope you realize that you don't have to drop anything. It wasn't intended to be passive aggressive, it's an honest question. Some people may only have a single day of the week to read for an hour or two at most. Would it be better if there weren't any deadlines or do you simply a have a complete aversion to anyone telling you to read because your own choice is all that matters? Again, not being passive aggressive with this question.

>>14467278
Well yeah. It's always been that way. We come here to discuss random books. The monthly reading was just a nice addition. Certain books attract more effort posters.
>>14467317
I always read it the last day desu

>>14467366
well, if you're being genuine, there's pretty much no way to get me to interrupt my own reading and start reading a different book. i think the monthly reading is a great idea, and the titles that get picked look very interesting and i wish i could participate but the only way i'd do it if for some reason i found myself idle without a book on my list at the start of the month and that never happens.

as for how long it takes me to read a book, it differs. i like devoting about 15/30/60 minutes per day to reading, depending on circumstances but it's not a given. if i started it on the 20th, in theory i could get through a 300 page book but i probably wouldn't take the chance and my autism prevents me from starting a monthly discussion book (even if it looks interesting), because i'm not sure i could finish it in time for discussions

>>14467415
I understand. Thank you.

>>14464836
Isfdb.org is good specially if you are looking for obscure sff
Worldswithouthend.com is ok too

>>14467018
do those two books have rape, i feel like with the male/female ratio problem of china and the whole relationship issues they have there because of it, they would write tons of rape fanfiction

So I started reading Mistborn after reading through the entirety of Stormlight (as much as is released at least). I never understood the criticism of Sandersons prose up until now.
I found the way he describes his prose, as a clear window through which one witnessess the story, to be quite acurate.
I understood this to be a "naturalistic" approach to storytelling, meaning that the quality of the art improves as the presence of the author in the perception of the reader decreases.
And I would make the case that for stormlight, this principle applies, I experience the story with minimal distraction by way of writing.
His prose, his usage of words was a bit unfamiliar at first, but, after a short while, it had the effect intended by the author, namely creating an image in the head of the reader as efficiently as viable.
But with Mistborn, it is easy to see that Sanderson wasn't the master of his own philosophy quite yet. While I still enjoy the story for what it is, I find myself then and again distracted by out of place description, that are either too technical or don't mesh well with the spoken parts of the story.
And while it isn't damning, it makes me wish that Sanderson had developed his particular style in private, while sticking to a more middle of the road approach until he had all of the kinks worked out.

>>14467317
you're fucking retarded, you can't remember a book you'd finish 10 days before the talk?

>>14467465
i think it's possible you might be fucking retarded because that's not what i said at all. maybe you have some sort of brain tumor that fucks with your perceptions?

>>14467481
fucktard

i want to write young adult fantasy but have no idea how to write a book

do kids and normies care about bad prose?

also, should i add romance? i have no experience with that so it might end up being cringe

>>14467509
how dare you speak to me in this way

>>14467510
just write furry erotica and make $$$ those fucking yiff faggots will read anything if the MC fucks an animal.

>>14467521
the MC will have a giant talking wolf companion

i dont want it to be pure furry because then it turns off the normies, and furries+normies=more $$$ than just furries

Reminder Stannis loses Winterfell and decides to take the black in hopes of becoming Lord Commander to boost moral for himself and his troops after suffering a crushing defeat. Theon becomes his steward.

>>14467530
Dude, specialization is your strenght here, you will have an easier time to breach the furry market, and then you will have highly engaged readers who are willing to pay premium for quality content.

>>14465146
>I always read the 1-2 star reviews first to see what the fuck's up.
My nigger.

>>14461336
There's no reason to respond to all of this. You can ignore it and reply in a general way.
I'll post this at the beginning of the next thread with changes from feedback, if any.

GENERAL
Should it even be done? Is it mostly for having it as decoration?
What is the purpose of the group reading? Is it to have a common book to discuss? It is a way to expose readers to that which they wouldn't otherwise consider? Is it see which book is most commonly listed on collective "to read" lists and then reading it?
As this is a general, should any specific book be discussed a lot rather than having its own thread?
Does it matter whether is there discussion?
Does this take more time than you are willing or able to provide?
Does this disrupt what you are currently reading?
If you've read any of the books, when did you read them? Beginning, over time, last day?

NOMINATIONS
How many people care about the process rather than just having a book presented to them? Does representation matter?
Should a person be nominated who then chooses a book?
Should there be public nominations with private voting? If the book fails then that person can't nominate again.
Should only novellas or shorter be allowed?
Should nominees be selected from "to read" lists?
Should the nominator be required take the lead in discussion?

VOTING
Signed in gmail voting with for and against voting rather than a simple approval vote
Goodreads group poll
Public vs anonymous voting
A substantive one sentence response for or against each nominee posted in the thread.
Only allowing those who have previously discussed to be allowed to be vote.

DISCUSSION
Allow discussing the book at any time in the thread. Spoilers would be needed. Intentional spoiling can be reported. Discussing any time in the group is already allowed.
Copypaste thread discussion into the group for people who don't/aren't able to follow the thread but want to be involved. Can reply wherever.
If people are mostly reading late, perhaps make it bi-weekly rather than monthly, or depending on how it goes maybe even weekly. The only people who are relevant to this are the people who discuss. If you aren't discussing, then it doesn't matter when or how you read it. If you disagree, tell me why.

>>14467549
but my family is going to read this stuff

you want me to send them furry erotica?

>>14467521
I mostly saw homoerotic books at the con, so there might be a niche available if you don't do that.

>>14465191
>>14465128
>>14465124
Is /lit/ seriously fazed by something like this?
For fuck's sake that's how the starlets (like di Capcrio) roll and even most normalfaggots don't lose their shit over that.
How would you people react to Lolita?

>>14467616
If you're doing it for the approval of your family then you've already failed.

highly recommend

>>14467616
Yes

>>14467629
This is /sffg/
Go back to /lit/ if you want to talk about Lolita.

>>14467646
not him but fuck off normie

>>14467658
You're on the wrong side of the tracks bud.

>>14467646
Good job missing the point and concentrating on some superficial bullshit. I'm just amazed that /lit/ is a bunch of soccer moms.

>>14466501
Look up Sarah Hawke.

>>14467670
Again, this isn't /lit/. They love talking about Nabokov.

>>14467680
By now you've mentioned your boogeyman more times than I did.

>>14467669
>appeal to some societal norm
wow i'm so impressed. you're definitely not a normie

>>14466140
this dude only uses this pseudonym to write downer books

>copy of silmarillion arrives two weeks late
>handwritten note from the guy explaining how his son just died and hasn't been able to focus on shipping

>>14467629
It's normie faggot that were cucked by the older women in america who saw as they aged their pussy power loses value, so they started smear campaigns that publicly shamed men if they went after legal younger women.

>>14467764
sorry anon, but you know how it is, you dote on them for 18+ years and you think you did your job well but then they just go ahead and die on you anyway

>>14467765
>this is what r/libertarians actually believes

>>14467828
>if you like young women, you're reddit
damn, what a start to 2020
can't wait to see what else is in store for 4chan this year

>>14467840
Exponentially more faggotry, so nothing new

>>14467919
can't we have just one year where everything gets better than the previous year
i keep hearing how life is so much better now than in previous eras, and that hints at some sort of upwards progression as history advances. so can't we have one year where everything is better than the previous year? i feel like we should get at least one.

>>14468010
There was 2017

Can anyone recommend something similar to Banks' Culture series?

here's our /lit/ fb group, we're doing a reading of dune this month
> /groups/291143051831606/

Is it just me or are most fantasy books, even the praised ones, just okay? Like a 5-7 out of 10. Even fans of popular authors like Sanderson or Rohtfuss fans have things to criticize, like in the former the prose/characters being shit or in the latter having no plot/too much wish fulfillment.

Are there any fantasy books that blew you away where you think every aspect is great, from the first page to the last?

>>14468106
>discord
>faecebook
>people come on 4chan to have social accounts

>>14468265
Doesn't exist. Everything is subjective

>>14468265
Genre and pulp stuff is almost without exception just worse than "serious" literature

>>14468277
So you don't have anything you really love in every aspect? That's kinda sad.
>>14468318
I don't think I agree with that, because there is "genre" things in other languages I've read that were truly spectacular. Just haven't found that in Western English Fantasy yet.

Does the Trysmoon Saga have actual cuckoldry in it? Lurking suggests so. I'm 40% through the first book so I'd like to drop it sooner than later if so.

>>14468106
There's an entire social media site for books and you made a facebook group lmao

>>14468265
Modern fantasy was fucked in the crib but Tolkien. Not that Tolkien himself is bad, but he never concerned himself with the things people typically consider good literary practice and focused on his own strengths, and his imitators followed.
Only, they followed Tolkien's strengths, not their strengths, so you have all these stories that don't give a shit about prose styling or overarching themes but they lack Tolkien's ability to craft a world or draw emotion.

Howard may've been more lowbrow but he'd have made a much better father to fantasy if his influence had held better.

>>14468339
>there is "genre" things in other languages I've read that were truly spectacular

In my people's language, this word means "stupid nerd shit."

>>14468265
>>14468339
probably bait, but i guess i'll go ahead and give you a rec. try lord of light

>friday night
>main /lit/ poster gets out of school and decides to troll the thread
every week

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39395857-the-raven-tower

This book sounds really interesting, anyone read it?

>>14468378
>don't like a particular thing in books, you drop books when it's present
>start reading book after seeing it mentioned that this thing might be in it plenty of time
>reach 40% in book and ask if thing is really in the book so you can drop it

>>14468454
School is still closed.

>>14468454
You can pirate and after reading her first trilogy I'm just going to avoid her like the plague. Yoon Ha Lee and Anthony Ryan and are two other authors from her same batch that turned out bad when all THREE of the couldn't write endings... I suppose none of them were as bad as Dan Simmon's Hyperion Cantos ending though... Jesus

>>14467456
The party provably doesn't allow that either

>>14467764
now give that bastard a one-star rating

>>14468504
What's so bad about Ancillaries ending? It has the highest rating out of the trilogy so I thought people liked it.

>>14468454
I disliked it and I didn't mind what I read of her first series

My brief problems
-whole book revolves around 2nd person narration gimmick and it doesn't pay off well
-book is supposed to be a tragedy but you don't care about anyone so the ending doesn't land
-to expand on the above none of the human characters resonate at all

There's good and interesting writing within the book but it doesn't elevate the whole into something enjoyable, it was one of the first books I read last year and out of all of them it's probably the one I have the strongest dislike for despite reading obviously worse books.

>>14466007
>>14467530

Just write furry Xianxia then, it's the perfect combination.

>>14468605
>>14468454
the one disclaimer I'll put on this is that I gave it 3/5 stars on goodreads and if it turns out there's a sequel I'll read it and stand by the rating.
If there isn't a sequel (which looks to be the case) then it's 1/5 stars and totally deserving of the hate.
Almost everything I don't like about the book would be forgivable/justifiable if it served to setup another book in the universe but from the ending I doubt that's the case.

>>14468010
Not on 4chan we can't, but my life honestly has improved constantly since 2013.

New thread in a bit.

>>14468602
Part of the reason why goodreads sucks is that the final books get rated more because people who hate the series get filtered on the preceding books. You can try it and see if you like it, if you do so please report back

>>14467600
>Should it even be done? Is it mostly for having it as decoration?
It's not an issue of should. Things get done when people do them. That's how it started. It's not like we voted an chained monthly reading anon to their computer.

>>14468773
Sure, but there's no point in doing them alone. I could have phrased it differently.

>>14468790
Are you trying to gauge interest and volunteering to pick up the torch?

>>14468814
That will be the first or so post in the next thread, yes.
More or less.

>>14468394
>muh "tolkien was only good at worldbuilding"
Tolkien didn't do a fraction of the worldbuilding of the average grognard DM - what's in Rhun? Who were the wain-riders? Where are the entwives? If you think Tolkien's prose was bad you are tone-deaf and ignorant.

NEW THREAD
>>14468853
NEW THREAD

Hey - I’m new. Just want to say how much I love these threads. They Really are the best place to discuss Fantasy on the internet and it’s nice to see that authors who don’t get mentioned elsewhere have their advocates here.

>>14468895
Too obvious.

>>14468265
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is an amazing and unique fantasy series. It has flaws of course (a running theme through the books as well) and delves intensely into the emotional turmoil of the main characters, but that's what makes it so praised.

>>14464912
Wow, finally someone like myself. I constantly keep spoiling things accidentally for people because I always forget other people care about that.