/lit/ - Literature

What sci fi or fantasy would I like if I like Pynchon?

Can anyone recommend some audio books?
I need shit to listen to, preferably something that isn't good enough for me to actually read, but not bad enough to actively poison my mind when I expose myself to it
Gonna get an audible free trial for a month, thinking about Song of Ice and Fire because the first book alone is over 30 hours long

>>15911644
Are there some fantasy clichés that you genuinely find trite?

>>15911719
all of them

Is Earthsea more of a childrens book or is it a good read for adults?

Is there a fantasy book that matches the aesthetic of Close To The Edge by Yes?

Discuss

What does it mean if I'm more attracted to this aesthetic than I am these mongo bazoongas?

>>15911746
>Earthsea

>>15911761
Sometime after I finish Dune, Way of Kings and then Conan, I plan on getting around to a Bakker piece.

>>15911780
You're into anime.

>>15911695
Castle of Otranto for a good absent minded laugh at what once was considered spooky.
It's old, it takes itself seriously, and it has aged like a lot of horror films from the 80s and has become near-comedy.
The libravox version done by some dude is the best.

>>15911761
I started reading the Darkness that Comes Before. But it seems 3edgy5me.

>>15911780
What are some books with that aesthetic?

>>15911800
Am I seriously the only one who got kinda spooked by Catle of Otranto?

>>15911695
You can torrent almost everything on audible that's not completely irrelevant on Abb. I'd look through there and if you find something you can't get there, use your credit on that. But if you don't want to pirate, I'd spend the credit on the Alien 3 dramatization. Great job by the VAs and it's using the alternate movie script.

>>15911797
...and into trash it goes.

What's a good first contact story from the alien's perspective?

Just finished The Way of Kings. I never want to do that again.
btw, fuck kuckadin

>>15911644
What are some fantasy books that are written as if they were science fiction? By which I mean, everything is secondary to some fantastical idea and the exploration of it.

>>15911891
Book of the New Sun

>>15911810
It gets even edgier.

>>15911800
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check out Castle of Otranto

>>15911843
If it's already free pirating doesn't seem worth the effort honestly, but I'll keep it in mind for later
Didn't know about Alien 3, I'd be interested in hearing that alternate script people talk about, thanks for recommending it

>>15911891
David Weber's Multiverse series but prepare for infodumps.

I’m reading the new Dresden Files book and it just reminded me how much I love The Carpenter family despite how on the nose their name is.

Are there any urban fantasy books with a more religious tone? I know Sandman Slim, but the first book was a bit too on the edgy side for me, like it was written by a gen x-er that thinks Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive is an instruction manual for cool.

>>15911761
Edgier than it needs to be, but its biggest crime is that it's pretty boring. To be fair that's a problem with most epic fantasy. And as I understand his publisher forced him to split the last book into two books which then forced him to add a lot of fluff to get each book into the "epic" page count and it sure shows. I think Bakker, despite all his ideas, is a fairly dull writer overall though.
>tfw you write a battle between a naked witch using a magical sword and a gigantic ancient dragon and somehow make it boring as shit
I don't even remember how that ended. I ended up zoning out.

Just finished Blindsight. Does anyone actually read the notes and shit at the end? I didn't. The normal book was already kind of tough-going in that regard.

>>15912072
>The normal book was already kind of tough-going in that regard.
By that I mean, I'm not very scientifically literature. I know enough to kind of get the gist of things but once you go into the details I can get lost.

You boys gonna read it?

Also thoughts on the series as a whole...

>>15911931
Looks interesting. I'll be sure to look at it sometime soon. Thanks.

>>15912171
I can't bring myself to finish the first trilogy to justify reading the sequel one

>>15912171
Personally the first book of ravens shadow was fucking gangster, and though I liked the next 2, they weren’t as gangster (lesbians, strong wahmen, faggots) but still aight.

Just finished John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" and am 80% through the second volume "The Ghost Brigades". I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised - very little brainless "alien blasting" or dumb militarism/jingoism, instead really well written and intelligent military scifi with a complex, intriguing plot and some memorable characters.

>>15911855
The Flying Sorcerers by David Gerrold and Larry Niven. Genuinely funny too.

> Nice idea Anon, mind if I take it?

>>15911797
Take that as a no then.

>>15912262
>very little brainless alien blasting, intelligent, complex/intriguing plot
This seems to be EVERY milscifi novel and I'm getting bored of it.

>>15912480

>This seems to be EVERY milscifi novel
Does it? No the ones I know - Star FIST, John Ringo's "Invasion" series, the "Galaxys Edge" books, the BOLO series ... I have never been able to finish any of it, usually not even a couple of pages (like with the BOLO and Galaxys Edge books)

>>15911746
Earthsea is simple but good. The trilogy is pretty short, you could read it in a weekend.

>>15911797
Why are they so intent on destroying our beautiful genre, lads?

>>15911797
fantasy literally wasn't good until the deviations from the standard plot that guin started took place

If anyone was interested, this is how the map for the stone age Inuit setting turned out after I got it done by an artist. Any anons want to write into this universe?

What series or single book has nailed something you genuinely fear or get spooked by?

For me, Dopplegangers are a massive spook. Dune Messiah manages to do exactly what a good (as in fuck I'm scared) doppleganger with a particular character.

>>15912923
Never really been spooked by any book except Junji Ito's Uzumaki, but that barely counts. I think words just aren't scary to me.

>>15912923
>What series or single book has nailed something you genuinely fear or get spooked by?
Not spooked but Kafka's In the Penal Colony made me nearly vomit

>>15912923
>doppleganger with a
doppleganger would, with a*

Fuck me.

>>15912933
Ito's a spooky one for sure, weird to hear the dude talk about how he draws and seems completely normal - then you see his stuff.

are there any contagious monsters besides vampires, zombies and lycanthropes?

>>15911797
>>15911848
>>15912476
>>15912563
>writes in elevated mythic prose that actually respects the traditions while adding her own twist
ew bad, brown people bad, women bad
>dime a dozen hacks who write like high schoolers, anime-tier tripe, web novels so awful you think they are written by ESLs
this good, grug like, makes me grab and yank little grug

>>15912990
plagues

>>15913064
cunt, trying to trick the reader into thinking mc is white, and brown boys dindu nothin.

Why does fantasy feel so soulless these days? It's like everyone wants to mimic that fat fuck GRRM now where there's an obsession with being "gritty" and "subverting expectations". Then there's the other crowd that just writes fantasy as a way to soapbox about their personal politics. I just want some comfy fantastical adventures.

>>15913224
because you're looking for stuff to moan about rather than looking for stuff that fits what you want

>>15913224
That is literally all entertainment these days

>>15913311
fuck off tranny

>>15913338
Every time you make this post you never list any books, it's a very easy way to tell that you're just soapboxing rather than trying to make a post that contributes anything.

>>15913311
No I'm asking a genuine question. If you have any recommendations then let me know instead of jumping to conclusions and acting like a twat.

>>15913431
Tell us what you've read and disliked first so we can get a better feel of what you're looking for and don't suggest shit you already hate.

>>15913431
Mage errant is fun although a bit juvenile

>>15913338
You have a mental illness.

>>15912072
>>15912139
>Does anyone actually read the notes and shit at the end?
I've re-read Blindsight and Echopraxia a bunch of times and never bothered with the notes.
Watts even admitted on one of his blogs that some of the notes are outdated and shit. That was more concerning Rifters though.

>>15913224
The wizard knight by gene Wolfe

Peak kino comfy

>>15913311
Virgin vibes

>>15913311
I mean I have been searching for stuff I like but I keep coming back to works done earlier.
Bland and repetitive is a nice way to put how modern fantasy is these days, and that is when the prose is worth anything.

>>15913694
This.

>>15911848
>>15911797
That’s not why I threw it into the trash (i did because woman writer) but I literally did toss it into the bin. Lmao seeing this tho, very very glad I did.

>>15911797
I assume her other books like Dispossessed and Left Hand are also like this then?

>>15913694
When I first read the books, I didn’t really vibe with them that much, didn’t like em.
But something weird happened... I’d get the images that I made when I first read em in my head, randomly, and redoubled, all the shit sir able was doing and all the places we went, more so than any other book I’ve read. It like there was some kind of malfunctioning projector in my head.
So I set out to re read them, and honestly, this was me pic related. gene Wolfe man. Crazy

>>15913923
He's such a lucid writer, it's insane. He doesn't even need to use many words either.

Is there any SF books with alien conspiracies vibe like The X-Files?

>>15911719
chosen one
revenge
female protagonist

>>15912171
he should have stopped with blood song

>>15913064
>strawman good

>>15913224
the thing is grrm is talented author who wrote great horror books before got. most young fantasy authors are not that talented. you need specific talent to make characters feel alive and bring out emotions of the reader. a good plot is not enough

What's the best LotR clone?

>>15911656

Vonnegut he's Pynchon lite

Fantasy with good emotional drama?

>female protagonist
>doesn't lust after BCC (Big Canine Cock)

I want some easy reading that isn't completely shit. Maybe Dark Materials or Harry Potter? Though I heard the latters first books are quite shitty and the formers later books get pretty bad too. Maybe something else?

>>15914010
Yeah of course there is, let me rephrase it, can you recommend books with X-Files vibes that has government and alien conspiracies plots?

>>15914122
Already got his collected works and even getting published by a magazine tied to him. Thanks tho anon, they're both my favourites.

You know I read everything on my Kindle but The Memoirs of Lady Trent series has some god damn beautiful covers that make me want to get physicals.

>>15914236

Maybe try Philip K DIck then I feel like he fits in with that Vonnegut and Pynchon bracket

>>15914377
Thanks. I was gonna get the Four Novels by Everyman's, or the Library of America PKD.

>>15914403

It's more experimental than sci-fi but I think you'd like The Third Policeman Flann O'Brien really cool and trippy novella

Is there any urban fantasy that isn't structured as cop/mystery novels?

>liked a book from an author I'd never heard of before
>looked her up after reading
>it's an author I already like writing under a different name
This has happened twice recently with Carol Berg and Robin Hobb lol

/sffg/, would it be weird if I hammered in a siren's lack of humanity depicting her as equally likely to try to seduce creatures that aren't remotely humanoid

>>15914507
Do it, that would make my pp big

Anyone read anything in the Yarnsworld series?

Popped up on goodreads and it looks interesting but I'm always skeptical of self-published stuff

>>15914507
No but i would not drive the point home. Furries are a thing Humans can become, and do so in large numbers, after all. Instead if you show she is as likely to fuck you as to kill you and eat your liver, you give her a truly inhuman aura.

>>15914211
Stross' laundry files

>>15913224
>Why does fantasy feel so soulless these days?
its too inspired by anime and video games to be compelling.

>>15911891
Darkover

I just finished "The Book of the New Sun". Is it worth it to read the rest of the solar cycle(long sun, short sun, urth of new sun)? This series was amazing. Terrific writing. It was way more accessible than the tards made it out to be.

>>15914622
Absolutely. Just don’t expect Long Sun to be the same as New Sun. The style of writing is drastically different.

What is the best?

>>15913224
Literally every single good teacher of writing will slap any person who uses their fiction to soapbox. Nobody wants to be preached to. That doesn't mean your ideas cannot be in the fiction or your characters cannot preach something you believe; but it becomes a problem when it's regular and they're proven 'right' every time and the BBEG is always the one disagreeing.

There is no problem with being gritty, but GRRM isn't gritty. GRRM is killing people for the sake of killing them and going to great lengths to cover your fetishes.

>>15914779
>and going to great lengths to cover your fetishes
M-my fetishes??

>>15912032
>somehow make it boring as shit
This has been one of my major reasons why I've not even started my book. I don't know what makes exciting combat. I get so many different responses when I ask online. Like, some people like War & Peace, some don't. I'm fucked. I don't think I'll ever write again.

>>15914809
I meant his fetishes, but I'm sure rape and scat is somebody's fetish.

Self-pub reading anon, should I bother with Into the Labyrinth?
Wary of anything set in a school

>>15912990
Slaad. Vargouille.

>>15914027
>female protagonist
But what if you write one for coom reasons?

>>15913224
>Why does fantasy feel so soulless these days?
Because it's mostly written by bugmen and femishits who are themselves soulless.

>>15914181
Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell

Sanderson good
Abercrombie good
Erickson good
Rothfuss shit_

>>15914027
Have you read Surface Detail by any chance?

>>15914892

>>15914994
>t. femishit bugman

>>15914884
Acceptable.

Sometimes I read woman's lit and imagine the protagonist as a sexy spinster hungry for shota cock.

>>15915035
You don't have to imagine, some female writers are hungry for shota cock, like Bujold or Catherine Asaro

>>15914914
I don't read sci-fi

>"ahhhh"
>"observe the plans within plans within plans"
>*cut to conversation between two people discussing a plot to gain power but without making it clear to the reader what they're even talking about half the time*
>"ahhhh"

honestly this is getting frustrating.

>>15915122
>reading beyond the first book
You played yourself.

>>15915132
Reading the first book is a mistake already - it sucks

>>15915132
the setting is too good and is the main thing keeping me hooked.

What is the series with the cuckung spurdo meme which was used in /sffg/ for a while?

>>15915217
your post is incoherent but lightbringer had the tight pussy spurdo

>>15915240
Sorry for being unclear. I was the freedom aint free spurdo meme, with the bear talking about cucking and had a tally on its golden armor. I remember wating to check it out, but forgot what it was called

>>15915290
probably the darkness that comes before, haven't read it so can't be certain but I think that matches what people say about it

>>15915290
>>15915306
Just found it via archive searching (>>/lit/thread/S8678486#p8685249)) and this is correct btw

>>15915306
>>15915318
Thanks!

>>15914685
Why is the style of writing drastically different? Did Wolfe suffer a stroke?

>>15914730
The holy bible

>>15914902
You have to admire ruthfuss

>>15915461
As I was saying >>15914902
You have to admire the guy, he has this ability to jerk the reader off, jerk him good and long, and just when he’s boutta bust he lets off, edging him, edging him. It’s especially a powerful effect for an 86 iq guy Myself. You’re always like yeah yeah kvothe use the name of the wind yeah yeah aaarggg he didn’t do it aaaargh yes cmon please ruthfuss let me bust aaaaoooooohhh gooooddddd

How is the Kingkiller chronicles?

>>15915715
Unfinished.

Alright lads, give it to me straight.
Currently reading Memories of Ice. Loved it until now, but I'm starting to feel a bit burned out.
Will the book ever settle for the same characters? Because almost 4000 pages in and the characters and setting still keep changing every new book.
Also, will it ever stop being a DnD fanfic? Every character is more epic than the last, if it keeps going like that I can't even imagine any other result than

1) Massive powerbloat
Or
2) incongruent power levels

I also hate that until now every "good" character that died gets resurrected or the future resurrection gets implied

be honest lads, do you like powerlevels?

>>15915857
Do you believe the release date: Aug 20th?

>>15915945
Sure do. Jojo doesn't have them, though.

>>15915863
>Also, will it ever stop being a DnD fanfic?
it's literally a campaign erikson ran lol

>>15914540
It’s pretty good, but each story is mostly stand alone, and the author is slow as fuck.

>>15915945
They work well in xianxia but like 90% of them fuck up by giving the protagonist some gimmick that means they can easily beat everyone of their own level.

In western scifi I much prefer battles of skill/smarts to the overly defined power level stuff that the likes of sanderson have popularised.
Someone winning because of clever magic use is always more entertaining than someone winning because they unlocked their third magicum node and can now use ice or whatever

>>15915451
No. The narrator for Long Sun is a different person writing a different story for a different reason than Severian wrote his.

>>15915945
Not in the way done by the eastern asian. JL novels and chinese novels made me hate the concept with passion.
It makes no sense unless you are using some absurd gimmick. Even in hard magic systems putting strick levels makes for bad story telling.

>>15911797
>contrived physical differences That make no biological sense to preach about nonsense she has no clue of
Would she put Her kids into a modern American public school? I fucking doubt it

>Warning: Zeal of the Mind and Flesh is the first novel of a series containing graphic violence, explicit sex, and a harem of magical girls. Read at your own risk.
What a time to be alive, finally we get trigger warnings in book synopses.

Is there any good self published book?

>>15916299
yes

I really enjoyed Ender's Game, are the rest of the books worth a crack?

>>15916318
Like what?

>>15916277
>The following tale is a fantasy, pure and simple. It is a flight of sheer imagination. It contains no hidden meanings and none should be read into it; none of the sociological, economic, political, religious, or racial “messages,” with which far too many modern novels abound, are herein contained.
This is my favorite trigger warning.

>>15914902
Roth is a good writer, he's just an Anti Trump baby

>>15916362
>Roth is a good writer

>>15916299
I don't what you consider 'good', but there were some that I enjoyed. They were all cultivation stories though, so I'm guessing that they aren't 'objectively good' enough to satisfy you.

>got my passion back for another few days, only to lose it

at least I'm getting it back occasionally. I need to figure out how to maintain it

>>15916380
what's a cultivation story?

>>15916299
There's loads out there, there's also a fair few books from big publishers i.e. Rage of Dragons and SL Huang's stuff that was self-pub first then got published

>>15916395
Chinese martial art fantasy

>>15913922
just read the word for world is forest and i cannot believe how shit it was. it was unbelievably heavy handed allegory for the vietnam war with some message about colonialism and environmentalism. absolute snorefest

>>15911931
Goddamn dude holy shit. I read the Safehold series and by about book 4 it's just fucking meetings and bullshit. Then books 7-10 he just turns war into fucking meetings and politics. The man can drag a fucking book on and on and on. I read the new Dresden right after I finished Through Fiery Trials and that half assed cash grab had more action in 400 pages than 2000 pages of Safehold.

Do you know any western xianxia that isn't completely retarded? I want something at least at the level of Azyl Academy or First Step. The only other western xianxia I know was Cradle, liked that one too, it was better than the other two, at least at the start, Ucrowned was kinda bad though.

>>15916479
Yeah they do drag on, but I still read all of them.

...can someone tell me what xianxia is?

>>15916616
Dragonball is wuxia
Dragonball z is xianxia

not even joking.

>>15916277
>What a time to be alive, finally we get trigger warnings in shitty self published litrpg """book""" synopses.
ftfy

>>15916681
And DB super is the higher world arc

Why did Peter Jackson do my boy Faramir so dirty in the films?

>>15916479
https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-david-weber-orders-a-pizza/606473
Anything Weber has made that extends beyond 5 books is 100% not worth investing in.
I could not get through Safehold, it was such a slog, but that's nothing compared to Honorverse. I have no idea how he's managed to make entire shelves of books off of a series where pretty much only the first 5-6 are passable and only book 1 being soidly "good".
Plus he's gone off the deep end in his latest books, Honorverse is now basically his platform to explain why the government giving people healthcare is evil while making reliable cash. I really enjoyed Multiverse but I'm assuming his joint author is curbing his rambling.

/sffg/, I have an urge to go back and rewrite some characters introduction scenes but I'm barely inching along in the story as is. Should I?

>>15915122
>le feint within feints within feints
>le spice
>le wormos
>le wormo EMPEROR

>>15916965
No.

Rewrite when you are done with the first draft.

>>15917020
what precisely are posting this in response to?

I finished Peace Talks, it was pretty good. At least we don't have to wait the better part of a decade for the next one.
A side note, I know it's an old detective novel thing for the PI to do the written version of male gaze, but it seems like Jim cranked it up to 11 since he got divorced and gave Harry the winter mantle as an excuse for it.

>>15916838
No one here should even consider honorverse for the basic reason of female protagonist

>>15916681
That's actually a pretty apt explanation.
Original DB slowly shows elements of Xianxia but mostly stays within the realm of 'grounded enough' in it's own world.
DBZ's first arc (Vegeta/Nappa/Goku death 1/99) is really close to the Xuanhuan edge but then as soon as it hits snake road, full blown Xianxia ensues.

>>15916965
Either do it or don't. Stop begging for attention retard.

>>15917350
But the distinctive characteristic of xianxia is the cultivation of immortality, the higher power level is just a consequence of it. Sure, Goku dies and trains with a god, but then he goes back to his mortal friends to fight mortal enemies. I'd say at best Super qualifies as xianxia.

Reading a pretty decent darkish fantasy novel RN. Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James. First book in a planned series(The Dark Star Trilogy) It's pretty good so far, anyone else read it yet? Glad I picked it up was having a tough time figuring out what to read, if I'm not pretty interested in whatever it is I'm reading I won't be able to read it, I'm a fairly picky reader Not sure what I'll start after that but I have a few ideas & still have a few books that I need to start.

Is Ranger's Apprentice YA trash?

>>15912923
The King in Yellow collection hits me.
The feeling of dread for being insane often comes up a few times when I'm out with others. Not like haha I'm so quirky tumblr shit, like I speak about shit that's just outlandish or not really in the current mood.

>>15917589
>One review noted that "themes of loyalty, bravery, endurance and friendship leave young readers in safe hands as they learn to navigate dangerous waters on their own."

~Skip.

>>15917589
Just check Goodreads. If a good chunk of people have added the book to their Young Adult shelf, it's probably YA.

Can I get an urban fantasy with lesbian romance and minimal sex? and that/s /u/ lesbian not /lgbt/ lesbian

TEDDIES!

https://youtu.be/WcMQk4ltJa0

>>15917792
>magic systems
Yikes

>>15912923

In Cloud Atlas - the story of Sonmi-451 unsettled me quite a bit.

Essentially a portion of the world devolved into a corporate hellhole and the treatment of the clones (as well as the corporate hellhole) are presented in an uncomfortably close to possible way.

Maybe not a "fear or spook" you asked for but it hits a little too close to home and I've found myself thinking about it long after I finished.

>>15917589
Not only is it YA trash, it’s the sort of lifeless YA trash where every book follows a formula. Not worth your time.

>>15917792
Video is way too long

>>15911644
Anyone got a dl link for Michael Andre-Driussi's Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun: A Chapter Guide?

>>15918158
Buy it and share it with /lit/.

>>15918223
I'm a poor East Yuro, I think that's something a rich Anglo should do.

I'm just a pirate.

>>15915715

>>15918320
>Friend says KKC was one of the best series he's read
>Doesn't mention this cringe shit.

I swear social media weighs too heavily on expectation, seems like a lot false-critique led to it's praise and success.
Old men shouldn't write young women dialogue, let alone internal dialogue.

Just when I thought The Iron Dragon's Daughter couldn't get any worse with mediocre prose, degenerate shit and edgy subversions, I get this fedora tipper's wet dream of a line:
>So all-encompassing was the dragon's nihilistic vision that Jane could not at first speak.
I skimmed ahead and chapter 21 begins with
>... Jane waggled his penis back and forth. It was such a funny, floppy little fellow, she thought affectionately.
All this shit would be alright if 1/3 of the book had not been about poor teenage Jane, an innocent and exploited 13yo who barely escaped rape and a life of just breeding half blood pilots for other dragons. It's creepy and cringe. The lore and world building is so schizo I don't know how it made it past an editor. There are trolls, faeries, talking gargoyles, hyena headed people, a world ruled by some Godess and high elves and this bastard has the nerve to drop a mention of Catholism and Islam. It's too late to drop it now.

>>15914600
Are you retarded? even shounenshit is far more creative than any western shit right now. Nothing about western fantasy is inspired by anime.

>>15918676
You're going to love the ending

>>15918796
Well, I'm still looking for the Evangelion shit, desu. That's the carrot at the end of the stick for me. So far the relationship between MC and dragon, even though it's a bio-mecha, has been closer to Kill la Kill.

>>15918320
>yea im a proud beta orbiter how can you tell

>>15913224

>>15913064
The problem isn't having a non-white protagonist. The issue is that this fantasy story which a lot of people read on good faith and enjoyed was actually just political propaganda wrapped in a fantasy costume in order to trick people into reading it.

>>15919023
I mean, this shit kills my enjoyment of something. There's no other world to become immersed in. There's just this one with a new skin on it. Oh white people bad brown people good because politics but the brown person is a wizard ;). Fuck it.

>>15916594
Forge of Destiny is a traditional xianxia even in length but from a westerner and it's good

>>15917453
Yeah it's good, James is a fantastic writer (and critically acclaimed) outside of fantasy so it's pretty interesting that he chose to start writing genre fic.

Can anyone recommend me some urban fantasy/horror/sci-fi? Ideally I'd want something that goes for that World of Darkness vibe: mostly at night, lots of drugs, sex, violence, politics. The lower the stakes the better.
I'm not super picky but I don't want to read some romance about a high schooler.

>>15916616
>>15916681
Lord of the Ring is xianxia
The Silmarillion is high-end xianxia

Recommend me a good book that has a romantic subplot

>>15919617
chalion

>>15912262
The book is overall very forgettable. The whole old-man spiel doesn't even play a role at all after the first few pages

>>15915122
>The Duncan Idaho Saga

>>15914010
Element x by bvmlarson

>>15919617
Blindsight

>>15914865
It's YA, so it's up to you. It's the normal "weak kid orphan is bullied by stronger /more talented others" trope. If you don't mind kiddie tropes amongst other things you can give it a go.
I read the publisher's pack and I'm pretty weary of reading book 3.

>>15919989
i'll skip if it's actual ya

>>15920030
It's actual YA. And the third book turns into screeching about not!Trump.

>>15916277
This has been a thing for years. You're now just starting you're self pubbed journey.
Also the start of that series was bad with the germiphobe robot. Gets better when he is out of the picture.

>>15916594
Check the last thread. Some were given.

>>15917736
Ancient Ruins Trilogy by Benjamin M
I'm livid that the protag wasn't raped. Lesbians getting dick is the hottest thing ever.

>>15919168
I've read a bit of his other stuff & I thought the same thing. I'm interested to see where he goes with the series.

>Be writer
Actually written the book, get fucked lazy anon. Anyway;
>editted 3 times before doing a 2 month break from the piece before final edit
>Reading through, come to grave realisation;
>It's got literally no appeal to underage B&s, Sanderson's stans and similar.
>Taboo is commonplace but with a low amount of smut so not even sex-perverts might enjoy it.
>Androgynous character that will undoubtedly be confused for trans-allegory - honestly don't care, but I know people are going to say 'So they are X, right?' when I just want a blank slate.
>3:1 male-female character focus, of which most feminine characters even though compared to most people are higher in status, they are 'lower' in position to most male characters - anticipating the screaming already.
>Publisher of previous works is far too left leaning to accept what is on the surface a commentary on religious dogma affecting the world - over-saturation of shallow pieces similar.
>Options to publish are dwindling rapidly the more I pick up on my narrative choices.

So how is the self-publishing meme nowadays?
Should I do a kickstarter for a 'mature-age fantasy' or whatever their template is and ask for 10k or some shit?

>>15920124
Post a chapter a week to royal road, then self published to Amazon, then get picked up by Orbit or penguin, now you're a publishing house author.
You're work gotta be good though to get step three.

>>15920124
>a commentary on religious dogma affecting the world
Yeah nobody ever wrote that before.

>>15920124
>Christians bad: the book
Woah...

>>15920136
Yeah but income.
As a dude that got paid to write biography collections for a few years and now is looking at no income, posting stuff for free seems like a waste.
I will however look into it, see how I can spread the piece into Xianxia-esque chapters.

>>15920155
>>15920143
Get hyped, you think someone was the king of boring fantasy?
Just you wait anons. I'll have you going "Oh fuck, I'm not even hard." before you've even finished the first chapter.

>>15920100
On the one hand i appreciate the reply, on the other we seem to have very different ideas of what we want out of lesbian stories. I'll check it out anyway though, thanks.

>>15920208
>see how I can spread the piece into Xianxia-esque chapters.

>Fedora tipping chinkshit
Please stop.

>>15920215
While I do enjoy Xianxia, that's not what I was going for.
But hey, you're probably the anon that likes litrpgs, so at least I'm not the only one with shit taste.

>>15920214
Not them, are you in it for smut, romance or just a sort of 'by the way...' thing?

>>15920266
>But hey, you're probably the anon that likes litrpgs
No, I'm the anon that thinks anyone who reads or writes LitRPGs or chinkshit should be set on fire.

>>15916395
It is when you are a farmer and prepare a field/soil for planting crops.

>>15920266
20% romance 80% actual plot would be good. "Things are going on right now but also wow Samantha's new white button-up really accentuates her collarbone" type stuff. Like Kim Harrison if that's a useful comparison for you.

Any good Sword and Sorcery stuff in recent years?

>>15920124
Why don't you just make a strong/smart 100% MALE mc, cut out as much sex/romance/femakes as possible and deliver strong story, strong plot, and good charactser development?

>>15920347
no, dead genre. few authors dabble in it these days but nothing stands out. no self respecting publisher would pick up something like that these days anyway. literally just a teenage boy's wet dream come to life with a badass muscular protagonist who has a weapon in one hand and a scantily clad woman with an unrealistic body in the other. that portrayal of "masculinity" is outdated for good reason, it's cringe as fuck.

>>15920392
Kys

>>15920377
Because I'd make it homoerotic.
Unironically.

>>15920339
I see, I've heard good things about Gideon of the Ninth but haven't read it.
Guess I'm just sort of blank otherwise, hope you find what you want anon.

>>15920392
Haha cuck
>>15920347
I asked some similar questions in the last thread anon, I got recommended Thune's Vision and the Rogues of Merth. I'll read them both and do post a writeup in the next week.

>>15920347
the thief who pulled on trouble's braids

isn't obvious it's S+S at first but it breaks out into it as the book advances

>>15920347
To be honest I always liked Vallejo's art over Frazetta's. Frazetta did backgrounds and action better but he over exaggerated his human anatomy a bit too much especially with women. Vallejo's women are more in line with what I imagine what women are supposed to look like in S&S settings. Slender yet fit and muscular.

>>15916325
>I really enjoyed Ender's Game, are the rest of the books worth a crack?
I found them quite enjoyable. I have always had the feeling they were not real sequels though, Ender always felt shoehorned in somehow. The novels would have stood, and stood better, on their own.

>>15920662
>yfw you know just what she trained the dragon to do with that tongue

>croaker unironically writes self insert fanfiction about himself and the lady
wtf I though you guys were memeing

>>15911695
Remember once you've cancelled your trial you can return books for free and get your credit back

Guys, in my novel, the two best friends the main character has known for 9 years are gf and bf. Only problem, he fell in love with her. It's like in the song "Jessie's girl". What should my character, who is obviously not me, do ?

Lord of the Rings sucks!!!!

>>15920124
I have the opposite problem: I like to write female POV but always make them sluts

>>15917350
The fuck is that? A Japanese Team America?

>>15920974
>main character has known for 9 years are gf and bf. Only problem, he fell in love with her. It's like in the song "Jessie's girl". What should my character, who is obviously not me, do ?
Your character should slit his wrists and you should too.

>>15921206
Gen Urobuchi doing a show with Taiwanese puppets. It was fucking fantastic.

>>15921019
Okay Brandon, go back to playing your videogames.

>>15921206
See >>15921220
It's called Thunderbolt Fantasy and it's honestly one of my favourite things to rewatch.
It's a mixture of cheese, seriousness and genuine human genius that makes it perfect.
First 6 minutes as a taster;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1muOeJ4fBps

So I'm about halfway done with the last novel in this trilogy. An anon here cautioned me against reading past book 1 due to a change in the narrative style, and I would say there was a decline in quality past book 1 due to multiple perspectives being introduced (I find it a lot less engaging now that I have to wade through less interesting characters to get to the good parts) but on the whole I found the world building sufficiently interesting to keep going. I also did like a lot of the characters, even if they didn't stick around by book 3.

You can definitely feel this is a recent fantasy novel though, on top of the grittiness that is so in fashion these days because of GRRM, it has the obligatory non-traditional relationships, including lesbians, bisexuals, and gays, a whole tribe of warrior savages that practice polyamory, female on male rape, and so on. I don't recall any incest though so it's not the full GRI trifecta, but 2 out of 3 is respectable.

>>15921272
>female on male rape,
This one is actually pretty based though.

>>15921272
>You can definitely feel this is a recent fantasy novel though, on top of the grittiness that is so in fashion these days because of GRRM, it has the obligatory non-traditional relationships, including lesbians, bisexuals, and gays, a whole tribe of warrior savages that practice polyamory, female on male rape, and so on. I don't recall any incest though so it's not the full GRI trifecta, but 2 out of 3 is respectable.

>>15921272
I found magic to be weak and not very interesting. Also there is a sequel, Wolfs Call, and a couple standalone novels (one of them featuring mc brother Sollis so it should be good), but the sequel is not that great and just boring.

>>15911644
Annual FUCK YOU to everyone on this board for calling people pseuds and ripping on genre fiction, then you faggots just make these threads OBESE with replies.

>>15921235
Looks wild, but where are the male characters?

>>15921407
There hasn't been a japanese male since Mishima who was a fag himself.

>>15920459
>I got recommended Thune's Vision and the Rogues of Merth
>tfw I was the anon who recommended those

>>15921406
What?

>>15921407
The most manly man character on that show isn't even gay too wtf.

>>15920392
>no, dead genre. few authors dabble in it these days but nothing stands out. no self respecting publisher would pick up something like that these days anyway. literally just a teenage boy's wet dream come to life with a badass muscular protagonist who has a weapon in one hand and a scantily clad woman with an unrealistic body in the other. that portrayal of "masculinity" is outdated for good reason, it's cringe as fuck.

Why is it so hard to write villains? You HAVE to add a level of moral ambiguity that gives some justification for the villain’s actions since good and evil are rarely black and white, otherwise you’ll end up with le evil bad guy who is evil because he just is and he wants to take over the world. Problem is, it’s almost as cliche to say “oh well his village/family was killed by the good guy king” as it is to just make him evil for the sake of it.

>>15911695
Anything without very complex ideas, that is narrative driven works ok in audio. For instance, War and Peace isn't bad on audio even though it has complex ideas, because it is narrative driven. Neuromancer has language that is too dense for audio.

The Game of Thrones books are good on audio but start a bit slow. I read them first which is faster and listened to the third and fourth one.

Hyperion has a really great narrator and is on there.

If you want fantasy the Black Company is fine on audio and so is The Darkness that Comes Before, although you might want to read the latter because it can be dense and is pretty top tier genre fiction.

>>15920840
Oh yeah, it's great.

I felt like the quality really drops after the second book though.

>>15920662
Frazetta's women are thicc, Vallejo's women are aesthetic. I like both interpretations.

>>15911746
It's for teens anon, don't bother if you want some fantasy for adults. I made that mistake.

What am I in for?

>>15914779
>GRRM is killing people for the sake of killing them

Which characters were killed off in the books just for the sake of being killed off? It's been a while since I've read them but iirc characters got killed because they had it coming.

lol if you think the asoiaf body count is high read The Accursed Kings which inspired Martin.
It's actually remarkable just how much he toned down on the killing of beloved characters

>>15920840
wasn't a bad book though

>>15919158
>girl protagonist

/sffg/, would be a copyright issue if one my characters had an explicit Bag of Holding?

>>15922596
it's been used loads of times in fantasy series so as long as you don't use the d&d name you'd be fine

>>15922596
The concept appears in a Simpsons episode. Just don’t call it a bag of holding and you’re fine.

Do you know any cultivation novels with a significant focus on pair cultivation? Just read Aether's Blessing and even though it was mediocre I really liked the idea of advancing alongside your partner, helping each other advance.

>>15922596
why would it be? just like you can't get sued for using mermaids in your story because Disney made a movie once. The concept existed since ancient times.

>>15922707
It's not a pair but the protag in Je Tian Ji becomes a sort of inadvertent teacher and a lot of the first act is him helping others progress

FUCK E WILLIAM BROWN

>>15911656
My name a Jeff Vandermeer.

>>15911797
why so butthurt about this? its good that its being different. Legwin is good you buffoons.

>>15923160
>its good that its being different.
No, being different for difference sake is not good.
Writing a good story is the first goal. You can try and be "different" once you achieved that.

>>15923160
Trying too hard to be overly political in your books is disgusting.

>>15923410
You pol types don't care, once it matches your view. If a book hints at anything bad you don't like, it's bad.

>>15923084

>>15923426
Every book is political, so I wouldn't be able to read books if I cared too much. But trying too hard to make it political always makes for a worse book, regardless of the politics the author is pushing.
>You pol types
Remember that this "you're either with us, or against us" mentality also forces some apolitical/centrist people to align against you.

>>15919617
The whole books is a romantic subplot

>>15921469
>You HAVE to add a level of moral ambiguity that gives some justification for the villain’s actions since good and evil are rarely black and white
No you don't.

>>15922016
A book about swords apparently.

>>15923598
>But trying too hard to make it political always makes for a worse book
As usual, it's your taste what determines what's too much or too little and whether it's good or bad. See the big three distopics (Huxley, Orwell, Bradbury) or Voltaire or even Gulliver's Travels.

>>15923598
Concern trolling

>>15920124
>Wud if religion bad...
Woah

>>15923598
What it both sides say you're with us or against us?

>>15923688
I'm sure some people do unironically enjoy government sponsored propaganda in form of a booklet.
That doesn't mean it makes for good literature.
>inb4 good is subjective

>>15911644
Does there exist any good fantasy with well written romance?

>>15920124
>far too left leaning to accept what is on the surface a commentary on religious dogma affecting the world
Don't lefties love that shit?

>>15923723
>if you don't want OVERT POLITICS, not even just politics but overt politics, in your fictional literature you are a far right /pol/ type.
Geez i wonder what?

>>15923737
Unnatural magic's B plot is a great romance

>>15922016
Dungeon Crawling

>>15923754
I don't see how that's a response to what I asked. Maybe I ought to have clarified I was a different anon. That should have said "what if" as well

Finally figured out that you're all getting mad at the earthsea afterword because outright being told what the author's doing is the only way you lot can detect undertones in fiction.

>>15923788
fair, I deleted the comment.

>>15918676
Just finished this. It was a 2/5 at most for me.
The Evangelion connection is tenuous so the meme was good bait. I haven't read Childhood's End or Ender's Game but so far I'd say it's the closest thing to Eva I've found in literature, even though they are EXTREMELY different. If Anno's idea of cool was Gnostic symbolism with no real depth, Swanswick's is subversion of tropes for subversion's sake.

Btw, the guys making the Rereading Wolfe podcast interviewed him and focused on Wolfe, and he said some interesting things, so my contempt for the guy decreased slightly. Still, I doubt I'll check anything else by him
https://rereadingwolfe.podbean.com/e/bonus-michael-swanwick-talks-about-his-nebulahugo-winning-career-and-about-gene-wolfe/

>>15923796
Fuck off.

>>15923731
Why do you keep pushing strawmans? The whole discussion started with an actual fiction writer (LeGuin) but you keep making general observations that I took as unrelated to her writing.

>read IDD
>have a decent enough time
>possess the ability to partake in an original discussion of said book without ad libbing through 4chan 2010 Newfag's Starter Kit
Feels BAD being one of the maybe 15 people on /sffg/ who actually reads books for pleasure and not e-attention points.

>>15923830
I just jumped into this discussion recently and I specifically replied to your post because you said "taste" is what defines what is too much or too little. And while that is true(see the good is subjective post)I would wager most people don't like ideological propaganda shoved into the fantasy book they read a a means of "escaping" the real world.

>>15923874
Ok, discuss then rather than posting for attention.

>>15923877
Our own beliefs and preferences are invisible to us.

>>15923918
That might be so. Yet you can see when you are being preached to, when a view point is being pushed towards you, even if you agree with it.
Just don't make fantasy the battle ground for your culture war. That is not too much to ask is it?

>>15919617
Seconding Curse of Chalion

>>15923980
Yes, it is too much to ask.

>>15923874
If you're referring to my posts about the Iron Dragon's Daughter (hard to tell because what sort of faggot uses an acronym —IDD— for a little known urban fantasy book from the 90s), nobody has really participated in what I'd call a discussion so far, except to vaguely defend the writing. I found said writing mediocre, often so fucking terrible it became very distracting (I doubt this style was used in a fun, self-aware way). The plot makes almost no sense, in line with the let's subvert shit just because theme, and some bits are very creepy. It's someone else's mind game of edgy fantasy, and one poorly written at that.

I take your reading for pleasure is similar to the "just turn off your brain bro" which /tv/ uses when watching capeshit. What's to discuss? Here's your (You).

>>15924031
You struggle in vain.

>>15924031
nobody wants to talk with you because you post like you're looking for a fight

>>15923693
I'm not sure what your point is. If it was meant as an attack on the post you are replying to, then look up the meaning of the term, because I didn't pretend to support alt-left.

>>15922563
it has a qt snek girl

>>15919292

Give Garret files a try. It' kind of the grandad of urban fantasy.
If you like drunken cynical womanizing protagonists you might like this one.

>>15921368
I enjoyed the sequel a lot more then books 2 and 3.
It's probably return to 1 Pov that did it for me.

>>15915035
When i read The Belgariad when i was a teen i always shipped Polgara with Garion lol

Why are so many authors forcing multiple MCs in the last decades. I prefer the tradition of one MC.

>>15924553
GoT.
Also chances for spinoffs.

>>15919292
wouldn't it be 12:00am, given that it's nighttime?

>>15924560
>GoT
No way, Harry Potter sold way better and there's a clear MC there from what I remember. Why would you copy the less successful instead of the more successful.

>>15924553
easier to adapt to tv/film

>>15924586
Because it's a newer fad and closer to the genre you're writing.

>>15924616
I think GoT is actually older than Harry Potter.

>>15924624
And yet still the GoT craze is newer than the Harry Potter one.

>>15924678
You mean the TV series, I meant the novels.

>>15924688
You really think the tv show didn't make the novels more popular?

>>15924586
>>15924678
>>15924713
The absolute state of sffg

>>15924729
Well, it's mostly denial, since I absolutely hate stories with multiple MCs.

I only said GoT because its use of the different PoVs was the first thing that popped into my head.
I guess it depends on how main your idea of MCs are. Ron, Hemoine, and the others are certainly important characters, but Harry is the only MAIN character.
GoT has more room to even discuss having multiple main characters.

>>15924729
Not an argument.

you negroes are actually talking about Harry Potter

>>15924770
Why would I waste my time arguing with a brainlet who can't comprehend the basic qualities that make a book written for teenagers and adults, three times the length of Philosophe's stone, different from a children's book? GOT was a bestseller before HP. Nobody is discussing whether the show helped its popularity. You're the retard bringing stupid shit up or proposing it as a template for success.

Even Lord of the Rings has multiple PoVs.

>>15924833
>Gorgon's door isn't made out of stone
Gay.
I need to find out more about lady k***ht's legs though.

>>15924852
>make a book written for teenagers and adults, three times the length of Philosophe's stone, different from a children's book?
And where the fuck did I imply they weren't different?
>GOT was a bestseller before HP. Nobody is discussing whether the show helped its popularity. You're the retard bringing stupid shit up or proposing it as a template for success.
Learn to follow discussions, you braindead subhuman piece of shit. Someone initially asked why so many books did the multiple PoVs and got Game of Thrones as an aswer, then proceeded to ask why not imitate Harry Potter instead, which was a bigger seller and had a single PoV. I'm assuming this someone was you, mainly because of how stupid it is (as if single was something distinctive you imitate and not the default). All I said was that GOT's popularity exploded more recently than Harry Potter's, thanks to its tv series. The fact that it was a bestseller before doesn't change this.

>>15925118
How the fuck would I know you weren't the faggot asking why not follow Harry Potter's formula when you sound almost as dumb?
GOT was a bestseller. Bestselling means its popular. There were mailing lists, wikis and forums, miniatures being sold. In fact, it was so popular I believe every one of the series was a bestseller, which is why so many angry nerds wanted to hang GRRM when he kept delaying A Feast for Crows, which was long before the show was even in the works.
Just because its popularity wasn't at the level of HP and it truly exploded after the show, doesn't mean there wasn't a craze.

Also you have to be incredibly dumb to not understand how writers will be influenced by other writers long before some book becomes popular or not.

This whole discussion is pointless and you are dumb. Sorry about that.

New Thread

>>15925512

>>15925512

>>15925512

>>15925512

>>15925512

>>15925423
>How the fuck would I know you weren't the faggot asking why not follow Harry Potter's formula when you sound almost as dumb?
Yes, I was arguing against myself, retard. Why the fuck do you butt into simple discussions you can't even follow? Holy, you're so inhumanly fucking retarded it's unbelievable.