/lit/ - Literature

>>16236371
First post for Gene "Gigachad" Wolfe.

>>16236371
When will you pseuds accept that prose is nothing compared to the actual content?

>>16236371
>great prose
Jack Vance. I like how he doesn't seem to give a fuck if it's too flowery or purpley, and his writing is never TOO flowery to the point you might start skimming ahead. Just a great balance overall.

>>16236371
>>16236410
Because that how much I care for your shitty OP.

>>16236413
Fuck off, autist.

>>16236413
>actual content

>>16236421
You do understand that the OP is quite literally implying that Gene Wolfe has great prose right?

>>16236458
The only reason to obscure your writing is if you know it has no real substance. At least with Sanderson what you see is what you get.

>>16236481
It's not obscure, you're just dense like a cabbage.

>find a site that's reviewed all of Klarkash-Ton's Zothique tales
>"Hmm lets check this out"
>"Oh it's a woman who reviewed all of them; well I guess that's interesting"
>"She sure likes saying 'fuck' a lot like an edgy teenager"
>"Oh boy she says she doesn't like Lovecraft"
>"And here she is saying how sexy Smith was..."
>close website
>decide to never read any reviews about anything from a female ever again

Since some people were talking about BotNS last thread, does anyone have recs for books that give a similar vibe as the more adventure-oriented chapters of BotNS? Talking stuff like when Severian is in the House Absolute or while he's escaping Thrax. Already have Eyes of the Overworld in my backlog.

>>16236481

>>16236528
You might like The Mask of the Sorcerer. Some anon shilled it and I can confirm it might remind someone of BotNS for the religious themes, weirdness and the general unpreparedness of the MC. There's a fair amount of adventures on it as well.
The first 50 are slow though.

>>16236481
>obscure your writing
I will never, NEVER understand this hatred brainlets have for nice prose. Never.

>>16236371
Ursula K. Le Guin
John Crowley
Hope Mirrlees
Patricia McKillip
Austin Tappan Wright
R Scott Bakker
Thomas Ligotti
Robert Holdstock
Algernon Blackwood
M.R. James

>>16236481
By your standards, is the ultimate style of writing exemplified by a microwave manual?

>>16236566
>cant understand being honest with your writing
ok. Notice how none of the great classic authors have this flowery prose though?

>10 books behind schedule
I didn't even stop reading I just didn't finish a few things and then read some long things

Just finished Rob Inglis's Lord Of The Rings reading. Honestly, I read The Hobbit, but I feel like listening to his reading of these books was such a treat. I feel as if reading them I would have missed out. Heresy? Maybe, but I still feel more people should listen to his reading.

>>16236593
Stop reading things you dont enjoy

>>16236592
It may have been more convincing if you brought up like, Hemingway as your example of good prose rather than fucking Brandon Sanderson. It would still be false

>>16236606
alright I'll stop reading sff

>>16236371
recs for books including a magical card game?

>>16236604
Also for people who haven't listened to them, they were recorded ages before the films and it's almost like the film cast listened to them and aped his take on characters. Like Gollum sounds fucking identical to the movies, but arguably better

>>16236371
I never browse these threads but if The Future Eve and The Supermale are considered science-fiction then Villiers de L'isle-adam and Jarry have great prose.

can I read The Simarlillion without reading LotR first?

>>16236371
Sanderson

>>16236674
sure. It's like reading a wiki for a game you haven't played.

>>16236674
100%

The Silmarillion , apart from a few long aged elves and villains, barely concerns itself with the events in the Third Age

>>16236415
I really liked the stories about Cugel, does he have anything similar? I've read Tales of the Dying Earth and Dragon Masters/The Last Castle/The Miracle Workers and Cugel was definitely my favorite.

>>16236854
You might be interdasted in reading A Quest For Simbilis by Micheal Shea. Read up on it first if you do decide to read it.

secret sffg disctard cabal: https://discord.gg/KWPCM7m

>>16236628
The Witcher series and Gwent

>>16236592
>Notice how none of the great classic authors have this flowery prose though?
t. has never read "the great classic authors"

>>16236674
>got to have 20 tabs of tolkien gateway open each time i read silmarillion
Is that just me?

>>16236371
>PROSE EDITION
To the careful eye, he shivers uncontrollably, tendons and veins make themselves known as he clenches his fists under the table.
There is a look in his eyes that can't be expressed into words, but it sends the lower back muscles a-spasming once gazed upon. His lips spread thin in a flat line. Fuck E William Brown.

>>16236371
I got these writers on my "classic fantasy" author list:

>Tolkien
>C.S Lewis
>George MacDonald
>Lord Dunsany
>Robert E. Howard
>Mervyn Peake
>William Morris
>Lewis Carroll
>H.P. Lovecraft
>L. Frank Baum
>Novalis
>Goethe
>Jack Vance

Anyone else, /sffg/?

>>16236711
Did he hold her forehead from the back while he doggy styled her?

>>16236528
the wizard knight also by Wolfe

>>16237139
dude thats a mother and child

Why didn't rand let everyone live in a happy world

>>16237173
he didnt like their eyes

>>16237166
Did she hold her forehead from the back while she used a strap on and doggy styled her?

>>16237110
Arthur Machen
Eric Eddison (Worm Ouroboros)
Gustav Meyrink
William Beckford (Vathek)
G.K. Chesterton
Non Western: Arabian Nights, Pu Songling, Journey to the West

Hawthorne, Wilde, Kafka, Saki and Poe also wrote fantasy.

>>16237173
because it was basically mental communism

>>16236428
Like I said, you have a very shallow reading of the book.

You can;t say Severian hides that or does this, because the Severian that is writing the story has Thecla's memories in him, all previous Autarchs, and hes not the first Severian to attempt his New Sun journey.

When you lay it like "Severian bad and tries to hide it because reasons" the book becomes dumber than it actually is. It reads like some gatcha at the end of a lesser book where everything is reveled to be a dream, or the good guys are actually bad or some such similar bullshit.

>>16236466
I didn't read the OP at all, just Wolfe posting.

any recs for stuff that successfully apes JoJo and Persona? as in the "projection of muh inner self" as a form of magic/plot device?

>>16237110
If you're going back to goethe and forward to vance then there's literally hundreds for that time frame, many markedly better than several names on that list.

Anyone read non-thousand names django wexler stuff? Thinking of giving him a second chance

>>16237446
I bet it will be more lesbian protagonist. I'm not reading a lesbian protag unless they get raped, multiple times.

>>16236413
I don't really understand the pseud obsession with prose. They're reading genre fiction, yet pretend like they're some kind of serious aesthete. Focusing on prose as if it can redeem a boring or mediocre story in a genre which exists to tell compelling and interesting stories in fantastical settings is missing the forest for the trees. It's like walking into the Sistine Chapel and insisting they tell you the exact measurements of the paints used and how it was affixed to the surface, completely ignoring the image overhead and its context. It's such an obvious put on in this case, it's almost comical. A person trying so hard to be literary they become a parody of a literary person.

>>16237446
Read it all. What do you want to know about it?

>>16237173
It wasn't really happiness, and the people there were slaves, not free to truly feel or think. They were kept in a state of uncomprehending bliss. People in that world would not understand each other, would not have to understand one another, thus would have no real need for personal attachments. They'd just drift through life, not thinking or caring about anything, feeling great the whole time.

>>16236413
>>16237582
lol what straw man is this? Who the fuck is saying prose is more important than content, retards? Liking nice prose is no different than liking nice cinematography in a film. And your Sistine Chapel analogy is completely wrong: The "prose" in regards to the Sistine Chapel would be the QUALITY of the amazing art in the chapel; not it's measurements and paints.

>>16237684
It's an ebook, no one can see what you read on a kindle, unless you have text to speech and you are using the speakers on your kindle.

>>16237677
> Who the fuck is saying prose is more important than content,
You are, just now, because you think prose is content by saying this
>your Sistine Chapel analogy is completely wrong: The "prose" in regards to the Sistine Chapel would be the QUALITY of the amazing art in the chapel
Prose is not content, it's the building blocks you use to create content. In talking about prose you are examining the components beneath the content that make it work. I shouldn't have to explain this to an actual aesthete which I think proves you are at least as fake as I first intimated.

Prose artistry is generally reserved for stories more concerned with form than content, where pulling people out of the narrative flow doesn't harm the experience. It serves little purpose in genre fiction, where the narrative is king and all else exists to serve it. It's not that you can't write a sci-fi or fantasy story that focuses on form rather than content, it's just not going to impress the dedicated readership of the genre.

And that's the simple truth of it. If you actually do care about prose, you read books where prose artistry is common, which means you probably don't read a lot of SF&F. If you do read a lot of SF&F you either insist on reading books you dislike (because the prose is very "workmanlike") or you don't actually read very much at all and just pretend that you do.

No matter how you cut it, you're a phony.

>>16236674
Not only can, but you probably should if you can stomach it. You won't understand many things in the lore if start with lotr.

>>16237528
>>16237446
Read it and yes you are right. Lesbian protagonist. Brother and sister at ideological odds in pseudo scifi/fantasy world. It was an ok read but nothing really special imo.

Schools of magic based on what type of synesthesia your brain uses as a filter for the supernatural. Fresh concept?

>>16237851
>schools of magic

>>16237782
Not the guy you replied to, but imagine being this wrong. Use of color, of lighting, excellence in proportions and perspective, and brush work would be more analogous with prose.
>Prose artistry is generally reserved for stories more concerned with form than content, where pulling people out of the narrative flow doesn't harm the experience
Imagine having such a crappy and limited notion of what prose is, you think it's something external to the narrative. Your generalization about prose style somehow being distracting is frankly infantile.
Your acceptance of the quality of the writing as being secondary to content, because it's genre fiction, is a very poor excuse. Maybe it is secondary, for some it's on par with content. There are some genre writers who do care about their prose. Bradbury, even if a shitty writer, filled Fahrenheit 451 with evocative language and poetry, which I found terrible, but at least he tried. Others have been more succesful. As writers, their craft is not just to come up with plot, setting and characters, but how to express those things and ideas in words. Otherwise, every genre writer would use the most basic and simple language possible. But no. Almost every storyteller cares about his words, because that's his voice. His prose is therefore subject to analysis.

Better to be a pseud than a low iq autist. At least the pseud can improve.

'Prose is nothing' anon setting a record for getting btfo'd in one thread.

>>16237956
What appear, externally, to be wholly separate categories of magic based on their effects and the means by which one accesses them but which are not necessarily quite so distinct.

>>16237956

RAGE OF DRAGONS CHAPTERS ELEVEN TO FOURTEEN
Tau is a paragon of PTSD psychopathy.

> negotiations for surrendering
I didn't expect this to happen, but it helps with my prediction.

> You could be Champion, Tau!
So he shall be.

> I don't need your help
> You can't protect me
> There are no men like me
> To make them feel my pain
> I am neither asking nor looking for opinions
> You were born too late to make a difference. We all were.

ASSIMILATION IS DESTRUCTION!
PEACE IS DEATH!
MIGHT MAKES RIGHT!
NATIONALISM!
IT WAS TO BE GENOCIDE INSTEAD OF PEACE!

> The world burns!
> You'll stand in a world of char and ash
> But, I will stand.
2 is Tau, as champion, carrying out genocide.
3 is having repeated the mistakes of their past, The Cull comes for them.
4 (apparently) is somehow they defeat The Cull and all the world becomes char and ash.
Maybe I'll be surprised. I have a few alternate theories.

Nymumba (house) ya (of) mizimu (ghosts/spirits/souls)

> You still don't understand what we are
Neither do I.

The Jabari reunion was underwhelming to show how far Tau has come.
Tau defeated Kellan even more easily than I expected.

> I'm not looking to change the chosen
He's certainly not.

> YOU BETRAYED ME, ZURI!
Ha ha, what an abusive relationship they have.

Dragons are destroying the balance of the worlds!
Reminds me of the Dark Sun campaign setting.
>Arcane magic draws from the life force of the planet or living beings turning it into a sterile wasteland

>caramel skin, green eyes
https://www.quora.com/What-ethnicities-are-known-for-having-olive-skin-and-green-eyes

Prince Xolani is dead.
> unable to imagine Omehi royalty being killed...It made no sense.
Apparently Tau considers royalty to be different from greater-nobles.

> Daaso
Preferably Tau would have been killed instead, but of course that isn't what this book is. Reminiscent of Abercrombie.

>Two-swords was not a man
The power escalation continues. Tau superficially reminds me of Kirito.||

>>16236604
i think andy serkis took his inspiration for gollum from the bbc audio-drama

Any of you fags going to read this?
I wonder if it will have footnotes like Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

>>16238171
I thought Johnathan Strange was fantastic and immensely satisfying, so I will definitely read it. But I fear that first was a one-off and this may be more an exercise than an inspiration.

>>16237782
The 'prose' in regards to the Sistine Chapel art is the QUALITY of the art; not the art itself, you absolute moron. You think quality = content. The art in the Sistine Chapel could have been done with pixels and the CONTENT would remain the same, but the QUALITY would not. Do you understand yet, you simpleton?

I finished another of the demon princes books, two down 3 to go. I feel like Vance is going to spoil me and i will have to drop reading sci-fi, maybe fantasy as a whole, for a while. Nothing comes close to his quality for writing, at least nothing I haven't read yet. I tried to get into several series but I just dropped them because they just seemed bad in comparison.

>>16237092
Purple as fuck. Also fuck off with your one man author vendetta. You ain't gonna change shit.

>>16237391
Is there a small sample of of those hundreds?

If there are named movements that affected the fantasy genre between Goethe and Vance, I'm more than happy to research into it.

>>16237110
john harrison

>>16237110
Homer

started this two days ago, and it's pretty fucking shit; for "hard scifi" it's just focusing on shallow romantic drama and who's-fucking-who on a supposedly crucial interplanetary colony mission

so does it get good or can i drop this turd?

>>16239162
okay, i scanned the archives it seemes to be 90% clarke-esque cucking and polygamy with some interesting stuff tacked on at the end

into the shitbin it goes

>>16239162
I've been reading a lot of older sci fi lately(70s-90s) stuff and a common event that happens in each novel is that there's always a sex scene or some type of orgy scene. Anyone have any ideas as to why this was so prevalent back then?

Thoughts on Magician by Feist? I'm liking it but a lot of the characters feel pretty cardboard cut out

>>16239196
it's probably the stinky afterbirth of the free love movement and 60s utopian movements

it seems like all of those new wave authors (save for phillip k dick ironically) thought that humans would just shuffle off pair bonding like an old sweater and fuck each other in one big happy orgy

New stormlight book soon, what are your expectations?

>>16239208
I guess that makes sense

>>16239232
disappointment

>>16239232
OOF and then YIKES in that order.

>>16237195
>When you lay it like "Severian bad and tries to hide it because reasons" t
I think it is you that is misunderstanding me completely. I am not saying "severian is EVIL", I am saying that Severian is a massively conceited and unpleasant person that has undeniably commited many horrible crimes either on purpose while performing his "duties" or out of sheer self-centered apathy and obliviousness. Due to his position at the time he's writing the text, has every reason to not be honest about them. Again, he can barely keep his story about Thecla straight, and I do not buy that this is due to some vagary of his amalgamated personality since at one point he describes Thecla SCREAMING in his mind while he tells Dorcas he could have freed her

>>16236583

No, it's Dr. Seuss

Just finished The Way of Kings for the first time and holy FUCK am I glad it's over. That book probably had the worse pacing out of anything I've ever read. Never have I read a 1,000 page book where the characters are in the exact same positions 1/5 of the way through as they are 4/5 of the way through. There was definitely plenty to like and the ending was satisfying but honestly I'm not sure it was even worth it. The barrage of cliffhangers at the end have me interested in Part 2 but I might have to take a breather before I check that out.

Also not shocked at all to find out Sanderson is a Mormon. The whole thing is so sterile that, in retrospect, it feels like a Mormon wrote it.

Could I get recs for fantasy books where either a lot of shit happens or where there's some edge or grittiness? The only fantasy books I've read in the past are the Song of Ice and Fire books which I thoroughly enjoy and I'm interested in Kingkiller Chronicles, Malazan, and Book of the New Sun. Would any of those serve as a decent palette cleanser?

>>16239960
Don't keep reading. Book 2 is even longer than book 1 and the 4/5ths are even less satisfying, mostly centring around Shallan and her hyperintelligence. The final act is not as good as in book 1 either, unless you like anime star wars bullshit.

>>16239960
Berserker Trilogy by Robert Holdstock. VERY dark and gritty Sword & Sorcery in 3 novels. The complete opposite of something like Way of Kings.

>>16239960
The Darkness that Comes Before by Bakker

>>16236648
>it's almost like the film cast listened to them
They did.

>>16240004
>Berserker Trilogy by Robert Holdstock.
Thanks, anon. Added to my to-read list.

What's the fantasy equivalent of The Black Parade?

>>16239402
>I am saying that Severian is a massively conceited and unpleasant person that has undeniably committed many horrible crimes either on purpose while performing his "duties" or out of sheer self-centered apathy and obliviousness.
Like I said, shallow reading of the novel that makes the book have less quality than it actually has.
He never lies about Thecla. First he doesn't mention that they slept together, but later he reveals it, in the same book. It should be noted that all the discrepancies we can gather from Severian's account comes from him directly. And he tells us many things without hiding anything as they happen which make him look worse than the ones he witholds for a time. So the reading that he is lying is false, and the one that he tries to paint himself in a better picture is simply moronic because in many many times he goes right into painting himself badly in no obfuscated ways.
Again, you reading would be the end point of some other lesser novel, but Wolfe has infused many many deeper levels which when examined reject such a shallow reading of New Sun. Also the Hierodules are influencing Severian further complicating the reading of the novel and rejecting examinations like yours.
Like I said, you reading makes the book dumber than it actually is.

>>16236410

>heard alot of people here praising it while shitting on martin and sanderson
>decided to give it a read
>its 7/10 at best

does 4chan really has such a bad taste in fantasy?

>>16241078
>WHEN I WAS

>>16241181
>Brainlet outing himself getting filtered.

>>16241170
Just wan to add, your observations are ones Wolfe has certainly expected from the reader to arrive at some point, its just its not where the analysis of the novel ends, there is more to uncover, you haven't solved the book yet, not even close.

>>16241170
I'm 2/3s of the way through book 5 and it is making a lot of sense in context, but not all of it does. Why would the hierodules pick out a retarded torturer apprentice child to be the next Autarch? And when Severian left Thrax, how did they influence it do that he would happen to randomly wander into the leader of the universe in the jungle? The guy was frozen and Severian took no directional cues from anyone.

>>16241181
>while shitting on martin and sanderson
What does this have to do with anything? Even if Wolfe is only 7/10, shitting on a 3/10 and 1/10 writers is perfectly acceptable!

>>16241249
You just outed yourself as someone who doesn't read. Martin wrote books other than a song of incest and fidelity

>>16241321
You just outed yourself as a seether of shit taste. The Tuf book is what elevates Martin to a 3/10. Fevre Dream is even more awful than a song of memes and shitting.

>>16241390
Seethe more.

>>16236410
>has been /sffg/ recc'd for years
>only being discussed and shitposted over recently
I'm glad the zoomers are starting to read but don't be so obnoxious about it

>>16241413
It's more like every book can be someone's first. Not like people spend here 24/7 religiously following what's being discussed or recommend all the time time.

>>16236371
>mfw anything by Peter Watts

>>16241408
>Kindergarten tier of arguing
>Starts seething over Martin being called a 3/10 writer
Checks out. I understand doing this for twitch thots, they may fuck you if you pay them enough money, but simping for old fat guys is honestly embarrassing!

>>16241413
What? There's been BotNS discussion and shitopsting for years.

>>16241413
The thing is we also have so many wolfe memes too. I guess it's probably outer lit, remember they don't read an author unless they are dead, so the author can't naysay their (anons) wrong interpretation of his works.

>>16241420
>Not like people spend here 24/7 religiously following what's being discussed or recommend all the time time.
Hello newfag. Sffg is love, sffg is life.

>>16241427
I just devolved into unintelligent strawman shit posts before you had a chance to. I know you would have started with the discord, tranny and dilate "insults" when you started losing, so I just preempted you.

>>16241453
stay in your bucket

>>16241453
Wrong. I would have posted a copypasta and started Wojakposting afterwatds

>>16241420
It also takes longer to read books than to do other shit like listen to albums or watch movie, so people take longer to get through their backlogs.

>>16241453
big brain
use the gun and the bullets before they are used on you

What about Redwall, but on a spaceship

>>16236371
i just finished lotr
what else should i read?

>>16241575
sounds based; I would read it

>>16241775
Literally anything else. It is all uphill from there.

Is this image out of date? I feel like Malazan and Kingkiller Chronicles get talked about 100x more than most of this shit

>>16242062
It's a meme chart.

this series any gud?

>>16242104
>tfw I don't have my bf's dead wife in a bottle
>tfw if I fuck her again I might damage the body

Books with thicc Asians?
Harem shit welcomed.

>>16241775
Poul Anderson's Broken Sword, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy, and Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.

>>16242104
Depends how much you like grrrl power

>>16242062
Being talked about does not equate being widely liked.

>>16242070
No, it's a real poll /sffg/ had.

>>16242062
/sffg/ has been getting progressively worse for at least 3 years now

what are the next 3 books you plan on reading? I'm thinking of mieville's "The Scar", "Howl's Moving Castle" and Hodgson's "The Night Land" although I'm not sure if I'll go at it in that order

>>16242301
Green by Jay Lake

>>16242353
>No, it's a real poll /sffg/ had
I was here. It's a meme chart. I and many others didn't vote.

>>16242484
Green is a skinny loli. She isn't a thicc asian.

>>16242705
Who cares whether you voted. I didn't vote either, you don't see me bitching.

>>16242768
Of course you didn't vote, you can't vote on your own poll.

>>16242842
lmao it's not mine, keep on seething over a fucking chart.

>>16242705
Shut the fuck up already with "I didn't vote" shit, it is such a retarded complaint. People who voted are a mostly random subsampling of /sffg/ as a whole. It is like declaring presidential elections fraudulent because "I didn't vote". Seriously, just fuck off already.

>>16242881
Sure tranny. All those books are discord favourites. Dilate.

>>16242962
Seethe more

>>16242979
NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT NOT MY PRESIDENT

>>16242962
>>16242962
>It is like declaring presidential elections fraudulent because "I didn't vote". Seriously, just fuck off already.
>>>/pol/ just go back. Had to make a political analogy, couldn't make a book one.

>>16243026
That's literally the EXACT same thing, tranny. No mental gymnastics in the world could prove this wrong. KYS, dilate, have sex, seethe, and sneed!

>Nooooooo, you can't just post a chart containing 50+ anon votes to give newfags a starting point. I didn't vote so it doesn't count. #NOTMYCHART

>>16239196
Sci-fi was written by actual turboautists back then that probably jerked off to that shit.

>>16242705
>>16242962
>>16243105
I propose we do a new vote for the 2020 edition. Reply to this post if you want to nominate a book or series. I'll tally the top 20 and put them in a strawpoll so we can decide an order.

>>16243156
Better yet, just re-reply to the first person who nominates a book if you want to nominate the same book. Will make the tally easeir.

>>16243164
LOTR

>>16243195
>>16243164
>>16243156
Redwall

>>16243156
Claiming this trip to avoid interference with phonies

>>16243156
Strawpolls are worthless due to manipulation.

>>16243156
Rhythm of war

>>16243310
You might be right, but 4chan replies can be manipulated too. I might just stick with the nominations depending on how this goes. Might try to keep this going for a week or so to keep a larger sample size.

>>16243312
I'm going to count this as an unironic nomination for Stormlight Archive

>>16243310
It's why the last vote was with google spreadsheets, but anons weren't linking their email accounts to 4chan.

>>16241775
Silmarillion
>>16242025
It's all downhill form there

>>16243156
What exactly would be the point? It's just going to be a reshuffling of at least 80% of the ones on the 2019 list, and some faggot is going to come in late complaining OMG YOU DIDNT INCLUDE <this shitty series> YOU GUYS ARE PLEBS.
20 is a seriously low number if you just count the genre staples.

Turns out that I haven't got around to working on this more as planned, but may as well link it now. I've read a lot more this month than I thought I would be, among other stuff. This isn't spreadsheet isn't automated. The metadata hasn't been cleaned. What the "top" or "best" is depends on the criteria used. I believe it was out of 220 members at the time.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vSIqYUrsZUm9ssjDnDIrTH1C6OEQeYCNFRIz6orzgXBdsGZiB8MNbsfiykqp602ipeEMYFkTpyW6Bwt/pubhtml#

For the edit view, you'll have to join the goodreads group for the link.

>>16241030
Based.

>>16243426
There are various limitations, such as only the first book in the series being included at this time.

>>16243370
Nah I don't think that's necessary. /mu/ does charts based entirely on replies with no problems. Plus, if people are going out of their way to bombard a book or series with nominations that will at least reflect its popularity in some respect.

>>16243422
This is a good point. Maybe I'll extend it to a top 30 or even 50 depending on how many replies I get.

>>16243452
>>16243426

>>16243426
For example, here all the books rated 4/5 stars or better with at least 20 ratings. Presented in order of rated best to worst. 30 books in total. Note the limitation: >>16243438

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1)
Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1)
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1)
The Shining
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1)
Dune (Dune #1)
The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun #1)
Ubik
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Roadside Picnic
Cat's Cradle
1984
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1)
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company #1)
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1)
The Silmarillion
Red Rising (Red Rising Saga #1)
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner #1)
Solaris
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1)
Flowers for Algernon
The Metamorphosis
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1)
The Forever War (The Forever War #1)
Starship Troopers
Blindsight (Firefall #1)
The Time Machine

Whops, turns out I'm not awake enough to be sufficiently attentive to numbers.

Here all the books rated 4/5 stars or better with at least 20 ratings. Presented in order of rated best to worst. 24 books in total. Note the limitation: >>16243438

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1)
Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1)
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1)
Dune (Dune #1)
The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun #1)
Ubik
Roadside Picnic
Cat's Cradle
1984
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1)
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company #1)
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner #1)
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1)
Flowers for Algernon
The Metamorphosis
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1)
The Forever War (The Forever War #1)
Starship Troopers
Blindsight (Firefall #1)
The Time Machine

>>16243546
>Sandershit is # 1

Boy we sure do have some great taste over at /sffg/

>>16243546
4/5+ rated, 10+ ratings. 50 books.

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1)
Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1)
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings #1)
The Shining
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1)
Dune (Dune #1)
The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun #1)
Ubik
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Roadside Picnic
Cat's Cradle
1984
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1)
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company #1)
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1)
The Silmarillion
Red Rising (Red Rising Saga #1)
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner #1)
Solaris
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1)
Flowers for Algernon
The Metamorphosis
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1)
The Forever War (The Forever War #1)
Starship Troopers
Blindsight (Firefall #1)
The Time Machine
A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz #1)
I Am Legend
Watership Down (Watership Down #1)
Nine Princes in Amber (The Chronicles of Amber #1)
The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle #4)
The Sirens of Titan
House of Leaves
Norse Mythology
The Stars My Destination
The Dying Earth (The Dying Earth #1)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Captain Nemo #1)
Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park #1)
Breakfast of Champions
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Promise of Blood (Powder Mage #1)
The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer
Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1)
Spin (Spin #1)
Sabriel (Abhorsen #1)
The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy #1)

>>16243567
From a GR post I made:
Let's say 60% of people attempt to read a book but find it terrible and immediately reject it without providing any public information that they did so and the 40% who did it read it rate it mostly 4 and 5 stars. How does that compare to a book where 90% of people who attempted reading the book and finished it but rated it mostly 4 stars with some 3 stars and no 5 stars? Or, an extreme case, where 90% reject it and 10% finish it and all rate it 5 stars. How does that compare? Individuals aren't an aggregate rating. Unfortunately, this won't ever become what I'd consider particularly useful due to a variety of limitations, but it's something.

>>16243567
/sffg/ has always been mostly basic bitch shit; no different from plebbit.

>>16243567
This is why these
>/sffg/ list durrr
is so fucking retarded. We're not a subreddit we're individuals

>>16243573
Just glancing at the series pages I have to wonder where Books 2 and 3 of Malazan as well as book 12 of Wheel of Time. Does this only account for non-series books and book #1s? If so, I feel like it may not be reflective of this board's taste as a whole. The fact that Wheel of Time is #18 on the 2019 list and isn't featured on this list at all tells me that you and I are kind of trying to measure different things.

I think I'm gonna keep trying to make another chart unless my attempt crashes and burns.

>>16243618
The GR ratings and difference is included for that reason, to see how different /sffg/ ratings would be from the GR average.

Here's another repost about the /sffg/ to GR comparison:

Top 5 Rated More Highly By /sffg/ With 10 or More Ratings
The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun #1)
Watership Down (Watership Down #1)
The Dying Earth (The Dying Earth #1)
The Metamorphosis
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company #1)

Top 5 Rated Less Well By /sffg/ With 10 or More Ratings
Twilight (Twilight #1)
Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1)
Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth #1)
The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1)

>>16239960
>Could I get recs for fantasy books where either a lot of shit happens or where there's some edge or grittiness?

take the bakkerpill

let kellhus (pbuh) fill your moist dark places with his gnostic wisdom

>>16243651
>that difference in taste

>>16243651
>The Dying Earth (The Dying Earth #1)

Wait, so Vance isn't actually a meme?

>>16243567
I think this relates to the times when sffg was less hard on Sanderson, GURM and Rothfuss and other writers, and more frequented by tourists or probable redditors, who were "honest" and not trying to be more critical or elitist, and they just joined the GR group ages ago and never left.
I wouldn't know for sure, because back then I was mainly outerlit and only came here to check some random charts, slowly going over the must reads.

>>16243641
Yes, it's only for the first book in the series as noted here: >>16243438
It's not meant to be reflective of the board's taste as whole, It's only for those who joined the /sffg/ group.
Eye of the World isn't included because it has a 3.58 average with 38 ratings. It was rated significantly worse by the /sffg/ group than by goodreads. Look at the series sheet.
One of the main differences is that this isn't so easily manipulated.
Since the voter turnout is so low every time what you're trying to do is done, it's extremely easy for literally a single person to determine the rankings if they want to do so.

>>16243684
I created the group in November 2019.

>>16243684
>Sanderson, GURM and Rothfuss

The GRRM has many faults, but he's a league above Sanderson and Rothfuss.

>>16243683
I think more people than you'd expect probably started reading Vance after hearing how D&D shamelessly stole from the man.

>>16242062
Just for anyone who doesn't know, aeos did the polling for. I made my complaints known at the time, but I can't be bothered to find them again.
Revelation Space definitely doesn't belong in the top 20 though.
Another problem with these is voting for an individual book versus voting for an entire series.

>>16243704
The only writer to create a "magic system" that wasn't pure cringe.

>>16243700
I must have mistaken it for one of the 2 /lit/ groups then.

36 people (90% of readers) rated WoK 5-4 stars, which means they've given up defending him or migrated to, eh, Discord. Or a large portion of people know not bother with it.

>>16243781
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1029811-sffg

>>16243781
It's not readers. It's raters. Readers is somewhat higher. Also, as I posted, this may be the case: >>16243593
The people who recently been posting their reviews in the thread have had a lower opinion, certainly. As well as the overall tone. It's unclear how much opinion is informed by possibly a few dedicated posters.

15 to epilogue - rage of dragons
Write-up/review in a few days or so, along with various other books I haven't been writing much for.


There was a scene where he chops out a hand and then stabs through the chest, so very casually. Unclear if it was supposed to be calling back to his father's death where now he's the one who does it so casually and it meant nothing to him, just as his father meant nothing to them.

Mirror gift seems to be what I was thinking from the prologue about forcing them out of the spirit world.

I had the interview going on 2x speed while writing this stuff up. Clarifies that Tau is supposed to be "This is a bad way to be" which I wonder what the ration of people thinking it's good versus bad is.

Genocide happened, of the conclave and everyone there. Wiped out at least 100s of thousands and a large part of their leadership structure, including the top guy.

Tau continues to increase in being overpowered, defeating an enraged now even.

So it went with Zuri had to die so that Tau wouldn't have choose between her and the Queen. I knew it was going to be Queen regardless.

Well, I guess he won't kill Kellan now. Still the hate shall rage. Book 2 is going to entirely about the civil war I guess instead. I'm not particularly interested in that.

Tau does take the power as thought.

> Tau felt trimuph.
> Tau felt power.
> This is what it was to be a God.
and then gets taken down. I don't have a problem with Tau's power as it is, but rather how he came about it. Seems that I'm unable to accept it for whatever reason, as opposed to other series where the characters are more powerful but I accept it better. Maybe it's just how silly I feel it was.

> rare and impressive stupidity
I don't think it's been rare in this book, but certainly is impressive in stupidity.

Tau couldn't not be Champion. What kind of power fantasy would it be otherwise?

> flashed in Tsiora's mind that he could kill her before she could call out
> felt ensorcelled
What an auspicious beginning to their relationship.

>>16241775
Anything. Everything you read now will be far more enjoyable.

>tfw reading the Goodreads reviews of the last Narnia book
>Majority of the negative reviews are buttblasted women who are mad about the Susan situation

Lmao

>>16237110
Brandon Sanderson

>>16244243
Everything will be less enjoyable because now the first thought for anything you read will be "This is derivative of Tolkien and he did it better."

>>16244300
You sound upset. I've read hundreds of books that didn't copy Tolkien. Go seethe somewhere else.

>>16244349
Are you the Miéville poster?

>>16244300
That's because you're a tourist that only read Tolkien

>>16244368
Anyone who would be a in regular in this thread should have their opinion ignored because that's a greater indicator of bad taste than anything else could be.

Rec some new shit to read, just finished book of the ancestor. i quite enjoyed red queens wars, but this was getting pretty cringe with the lesbian assassin nun shit, the new series of him looks even worse with that.

Are there are recent series that are just comfy reading without any of this shit? Or is every new series doomed to have this cancer like all movies / tv shows?

>>16244494
Since /pol/ is so much more active, you'd do better creating a book thread there for recs.

>>16244494
Here's what someone else has been saying about The Rage of Dragons:

Finished chapter 3 and it's just gotten really good
best protagonist
Normally in fantasy, it's "I shall defeat you in single combat"...Not this protagonist, he smashes the cunts head in
There's something refreshing about a fantasy protagonist making it through the story on just pure 'fuck you' energy
a real gangsta
Guy's going to destroy because fuck you and fuck everyone else
i just like how he literally gives zero shits on what the political system is
He'll do what he set out to do or die trying
A lot of fantasy books focus on prophecy or destiny. So i like how the main character of this series has none of that, he just makes shit work through his own willpower
Hell, i think thats why i like the book as much as i do, it's few and far between that you find a protagonist that makes you care about them because god damn it, they'll MAKE things work
Maybe it's my own morality on strength and inner workings talking, but he's pretty fucking cool
Finished chapter 8, still good

>>16244551
>>>/lgbt/

>>16244688
>he smashes the cunts head in
>Guy's going to destroy because fuck you and fuck everyone else
True african fantasy.

Lest Darkness Fall - L. Sprague de Camp (1941)
I read this because I had seen it mentioned as an important novel of the Golden Age of Sci-Fi by various authors in various books. The Wikipedia article says that "The book is often considered one of the best examples of the alternate history genre; it is certainly one of the earliest and most influential."
The book was written in 1939, while "World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939". Mostly this was of interest because in the book it's stated at the very beginning that "There will be no more great wars, everybody knows it is too dangerous." I assume this was meant to be topical sarcasm, though he probably didn't expect what an understatement that would be.
The 30 year old American male protagonist*, an archaeologist, from 1938 is wandering around Rome and then lightning flashes and he finds himself back in 6th century Rome, in the midst of the Gothic War (535–554 C.E.). He adjusts rather quickly to his new circumstances. Luckily for him, he's well-educated and uses that to establish his place in this era. He opens a distillery and sells his knowledge about double-entry bookkeeping, the concept of zero, and other helpful ideas. I thought it was wonderful fun when was used his knowledge to do various things. Then of course, what would this be without the early invention of the printing press? I'm greatly interested in this sort of premise, but I haven't sought it out much. It was unfortunate for me that this slice of life couldn't last and he becomes involved with politics and war, which in this particular case were less interesting for me. I think it would be rather difficult to resist the lure of changing history in a drastic way. Many of the characters throughout the book were rather amusing which helped with the second half. Since he remembers the details of how the war will go and much else, it isn't too much trouble for him. His knowledge of the future doesn't help him at all though in the various relationships he has with various women. Probably the most important warfare technology he introduces is the semaphore telegraph. I would have liked to have seen how everything he did affected the future, but none of that was included, and it seems to be use branching timelines rather than affecting his own previous present. The book's central question is "Could the 'dark ages' have been prevented? If so, what would one need to do?".
*considering that the protagonist seems very similar to the author, including the same age at the time, if this had been written today, it'd probably be called a "self-insert isekai" by silly people.
Overall, I thought it to be a decently realistic portrayal of how someone would behave and I hope I find similar works that I enjoy more.
The rating is mostly for the first half or so. I went back and forth between rating it 3 and 4 stars. I'm not quite what it is about it that denied me from giving it an assured 4 stars.
Rating: 3.5/5

>>16241181
f i l t e r e d

Fuck it.

/sffg/ here's my current reading list. I'll Add one entry, remove one entry and increase an entry's priority based on your recommendations.

>>16241453
>I beat you to the punch by acting like a retard first haha got 'em.

>>16245271
Since you are presenting yourself to be unduly influenced by random people, here are my thoughts, which will strongly deviate from popular opinion:

Light novels: just watch the anime or read the manga

Overrated
Konosuba
Roadside Picnic
Discord
Re: Zero (one of the most overrated Japanese series ever)
No Game No Life (banned in various countries for being too pedo)
Nonfiction: irrelevant

Overall, a rather awful reading list that doesn't belong here.
Please remove yourself forthwith.

Best Regards,
Your Anonymous Influencer

>>16245325
Dear anon,

Thank you for your reply

Konosuba being overrated is an opinion I respect but disagree on, considering I've already read most of the novels and was satisfied by their quality.

Though I do appreciate your opinion on Roadside Picnic and No Game No Life and will reconsider these books on my list

Unfortunately, I shall not remove myself form this website at this moment as, despite my horrible conttributions, I still enjoy it.

Thank you for your consideration,
Your Anonymous Reader

>>16243156
Prince of Nothing

>>16244400
Seethe

>>16245405
To Whom It Concerns,
Roadside Picnic is generally well-respected considered the among the best books by this thread in general. Ignore the post you responded to.
That being said, being the redditor you are, you will probably not enjoy it.
Due return from whence you came,
An Anonymous Detractor

>>16245271
>the Prince of milk
Anon I... What is this about?

any books for this feel?

>>16245450
NAYRT but it seems to be a Comedy/Philosophy Sci-Fi novel (Apparently written by a Youtuber)

Anyone else ever read these?

>>16244494
Rec me more books w lesbians in fantasy/sci-fi plz. I don't need it to be all the book is about but I think they are nice.

>>16245447
I hope this reply finds you well,

Thank you for the input regarding Roadside Picnic. I figured something was wrong with that anon's reply due to the usual level of praise this book receives here

Unfortunately for you and gratefully for me, I am unable to return to Reddit as that place is not where I come from.

Do keep up with the constructive comments

My best regards,
Your Anonymous Reader

>>16245519
Gideon the Ninth is Sci-fi and/or fantasy and I've heard from somewhere it has lesbians in it, so it may just be what you're looking for.

is there such thing as academic science fiction?

>>16245519
And Shall Machines Surrender

>>16236371
My brother is in jail for stupid addict shit. I know he's into sci-fi and horror. Pretty basic shit like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman but is what it is. What can I send him?

Will recommend a historical fiction book, as that's more what I'm into, in return.

>>16245538
What do you mean by that?
Some hard sci-fi certainly may be considered as such depending on what you mean by that.

>>16245519
Gideon the Ninth
The Thousand Names
Ashes of the sun

>>16245519
This Is How You Lose the Time War

O u T b Y t H e R o O t S

>>16245470
Why do the evil ones look so hot?

>>16245489
E L E P H A N T

>>16245271
remove No Game No Life and move up Codex Alera. The former i dont think is being published anymore the way the narrative voice is translated (it might be just as bad in the original japanese) is so cringeworthy that I've given it up except for the anime

>>16245550
Print some tomgirl comics from sadpanda. So he can learn to enjoy getting his boipucci used.

>>16245271
Remove Kings of the Wyld. It’s cringe, one joke dragged out over the whole book.
Add The Darkness that Comes Before.
Move up the Counte of Monte Cristo. How have people not read that yet.

>>16245600
Its his 9th or 10th time now out of probably 20 more. He doesn't have shit else to learn. Ain't looking for a book to help his life just occupy his time.

>>16245579
you know why

>>16245271
Why is chink shit there?

>>16245563
>>16245543
>>16245530
>>16245553
Thank you pervs

>>16245627
>He doesn't have shit else to learn.
So..you're saying you're big bro has embraced being a prison wife?

>>16245638
The Traitor Baru Cormorant

Why was this so popular in the '60s?

The Well of Ascension, Mistborn #2 - Brandon Sanderson (2007)
And so I read the 2nd book, roughly 12 years after I read the first book. It was a solidly good time and probably deserves it reputation. I think it ought to be recommended for people who haven't read much fantasy, and maybe others as well. It's the sort of book that has mass appeal for fantasy fans, but never reaches the heights of what could be, and that's fine. I think this series will serve as a perfectly suitable exemplar of the sort of fantasy that was popular and well-regarded at the time. As with the first book, I enjoyed the magical system and thought it was well done. It isn't a 5 star for me though because magical system was the high point. I was indifferent to most of the characters, I don't like or dislike them, they were mostly just there, which overall is how I would describe the series. Benign indifference tending towards enjoyment. If it were a food, it'd be something you'd eat often because it's reliable and familiar, though a bit bland, as compared to something that's one of your favorites. That's probably why there are almost zero reviews of all three books by the group despite the number of people having read it.
Rating: 4/5

>>16245643
Eh, he's a big dude that can take care of himself but I don't think that hard about how prison gay he is, I accept my big addict prison gay bro for what he is. For some reason you are obsessed with this fantasy though.

>>16245655
americans were afraid of sex and nudity

>>16245655
Because people groked it.

>>16245701
Surely that can't be the only reason...
There's also cannibalism in it.
>>16245717
I read it but I'm not sure I grokked it.

>>16245695
Because I always wanted to turn soft feminine men into the bitches they are.

>>16245598
Sure, I'll drop NGNL then I've already read some of it a while back but didn't really enjoy it that much, so it won't be much of a loss

>>16245616
> Remove Kings of the Wyld
Does the Cringe outweigh the Comedy? Because if so I might consider dropping it from the list. Otherwise, I have no problem with comedy being the focus of the book
> Add The Darkness that Comes Before
Hmm, this reminds me of Dune for some reason, and not in a particularly good way. I'll give the First book a try and see where it gets me.
> Move up Counte of Monte Cristo
Sure

>>16245271
Arendt is great but the weebshit is not

>>16243704
Back in the days when not everything was owned by Jews, people could show admiration for something clever they read.
https://dungeonsdragons.fandom.com/wiki/Appendix_N

Is this worth reading?

>tfw when you get to mould an impressionable, gullible, and naive anon into yourself.

>>16238021
Fuck pa.

>>16245784
But anon, you do know this is an anime messageboard, right?

>>16245835
It used to be, years ago. Now it's a Gaming & Politics site.

The Hero of Ages, Mistborn, #3 - Brandon Sanderson (2008)
And then I immediately went onto the 3rd book. This one seemed more so that he was padding it out, but that may be because I read both books over the course of 4 days or so. Although it the series had been at least superficially about a dying planet since the first book, this one really increases the pace on the dying. While the religious character has been important since the beginning, I think Sanderson tipped his hand a bit too much here with his Mormon beliefs, as it often seemed to me that he was a step or two away from proselyting, especially by the end. I wasn't satisfied with the build up to the ending or its resolution in general. It felt like a deus ex aer to me. Since I wasn't able to remember what I thought or why I did, I lowered the first book to 4 stars and now all in the series are 4 stars. Because of the ending, I'm seriously considering this being 3 stars, but I'll probably leave it at 3 stars. Will I read read more Sanderson and Cosmere? Yes, I will, because of what I wrote in the review for the 2nd book. Is it a high priority though? No, no, it isn't. I probably won't read any more Sanderson for rest of the year.
Rating: 3.5/5

>>16245701
Nice try, chinkoid.

>>16245844
>I probably won't read any more Sanderson for the rest of my life.
Fixed that for you, bro.

>>16245832
Seems based to me.

The Drowned World - J.G. Ballard (1962)
I had expected this to be about exploring a drowned world that had reverted to the state the planet was in many millions of years ago. I was very wrong. This is entirely a novel about passively suicidal fatalism. Sometimes it's arguably actively suicidal fatalism.

Sample lines:
>Every morning one should say to one's friends: 'I grieve for your irrevocable death'
>leaving the seas two hundred million years ago may have been a deep trauma from which we've never recovered
>"Did I or did I not try to kill myself?" One of the few existential absolutes, far more significant than "To be or not to be?", which underlines the uncertainty of the suicide, rather than the eternal ambivalence of his victim.
>the suicide should never return to the scene of the crime

It turns out that I didn't like this "pulp adventure philosophical novel" at all. The only reason this isn't a 1/5 is because I was mildly amused.
Rating: 1.5/5


I had read this at the beginning of the month for the August Book Selection and delayed it until now, but turns out no one was interested enough to read it, despite all the votes for it, and thus ended anonymous voting. All in all, a failure, but that's to be expected.

/sffg/, my novel is trashy, it will be an uphill battle getting it published, it will probably never sell more than a dozen copies and despite all of that I'm immensely proud of it

>>16245823
Yes, I enjoyed it.

>>16245890
Just self-publish

>>16245890
>getting your novels published
>not just letting them sit on your hard drive gathering dust for all eternity

>>16245890
>>16245903
>being creative enough to write a novel
wtf

>>16237110

DUNSANY

>>16245889
>pulp adventure philosophical novel
That's an oxymoron if I ever saw one. That should have been a warning sign right there. If it's a "philosophical novel" then there's no way in hell it can be a "pulp adventure" because 'pulp' is the complete opposite of that pretentiousness.

>>16245890
>tfw you don't give a fuck about getting published; you just want to write unabashedly right-wing fantasy under a pseudonym and spread it out all over the interwebs

>>16243618
Is Vance as resurgent among normies as he is here?

>>16245949
lol no. Which you'd think he would be since normies only care about magic systems and Vance created the very first magic system.

>>16245898
honestly, I've had some debate over this. For most of my career I told myself I was never going to self-publish anything and would be ashamed to do so as it would be admitting it's unpublishable, but now that I've realizing my ambitions were just a proxy issue I'm starting to see the benefit of self-publishing

if i did so, I'd be publishing my story as a webnovel. A serial update schedule would allow me to put out a persistent stream of content while i'm writing the sequels and build a fandom with a speculation culture. I could also commission artists to draw my characters on social media sites, allowing me to make the series visual in a way i wouldn't be able to do otherwise. One would hope that the end result would be pretty close to Homestuck

>>16245931
>unabashedly right-wing fantasy
Actual right-wing or how normies perceive Starship Troopers right wing?

>When SCP-1230 is opened, it displays the phrase “A hero is born” on the first page viewed, while all other pages will be blank, "resetting" once the book is closed.
>Upon falling asleep, the reader will dream of a fantasy world where they are the protagonist of a troubled land.
>Dreamers are completely aware and all senses work just as well as when awake.

Any books that tackle this concept well, bros?

>>16245910
>writing
>creative
All you need to write a book is a talent for obsessive drudgery. If you can sit down and type for several hours a day, every day, you'll have a whole book in a month tops!

>>16246028
>If you can sit down and type for several hours a day, every day, you'll have a whole book in a month tops!
I can do this.
What I don't have is a creative bone in my body. I don't know what to write about. I'm too much of a social retard to understand people.

>>16246036
Literally anything you want to. Pick a genre, choose a topic, write! You've read enough books to know how it's supposed to go, just do that! Just avoid any areas of inexpertise, don't know people, don't put them in the story!

>>16246053
>Literally anything you want to. Pick a genre, choose a topic, write!
You need creativity for this.
I need someone to tell me what to write about.
>You've read enough books to know how it's supposed to go,
I... uh... have not.
I pretty much limited myself to non-fiction until a couple years ago.

>>16245931

>>16246002
Lovecraft Dream Cycle

>>16246068
> I pretty much limited myself to non-fiction until a couple years ago
Well, what have you read that's non-fiction and that you've enjoyes?

>>16246068
You are mentally selflimiting. None of that is a boundary. Write historical fiction if you have and enjoy a good non-fiction style. Science fiction can also benefit from it. I strongly recommend writing or at least starting a few short stories in each genre to get a feel for it, they only take a few hours each and it's better than starting a 200k word novel and realising you made some beginner mistakes halfway through. Also most authors prefer writing short stories anyway.

>>16246073
Whoa we gotta triggered bad ass over here.

>>16245983
I'm talking about 'being put on a watch list' right-wing.

>>16246083
Heinlein, Asimov, Wells, Verne.
The classics. Looking for something new if you have a suggestion.
>>16246096
I want to. I want to write a short story. I am completely creatively bankrupt.
I was watching the outer limits (revival series) a couple months ago and thought to myself I could write something like this - not a tv script but a story that would fit the show. I could not. I don't know what to write.

>>16246120
The temptation is to write something based on a sci fi or fantasy idea. Don't. Think of a good character dynamic or arc and an interesting story to contrast it and challenge it, and then spice it up with fantasy or sci fi elements.

>>16246120
So you're more of a sci-fi guy then.
Well, you could always pick an interesting non-fiction idea (From science, or philosophy or whatnot) and take it to its extreme (or natural depending on hwo you view it) conclusion.
That could give you fun ideas for a sci-fi short story, and be somewhat in your league considering you're aquainted with non-fiction.

Also, sorry but i have no appropriate for you since I've only read Asimov out of stuff somewhat related to what you've read.

>>16246113
ah, so kiddie porn

>>16245890
What's it about Anon?

>>16246146
You're projecting.

What are some fantasy tropes that you love or hate, /sffg/?

>>16246211
Don't think I don't know where you got this idea from anon

>>16246137
Okay, you're actually helping me here. I never thought of it like that.
But how do you break away from the feeling that it's all been done before? Whenever I think I have a basic story I end up realizing I'm stealing the plot from Star Trek. Not exactly, but it's similar enough to worry me.
There's this episode of the Twilight Zone where three astronauts land on a planet. And when they're down there they encounter themselves. A crashed copy of their ship with them dead inside. They try to figure out what they're looking at. One of the ideas they come up with is that they somehow traveled through time and are looking at their future. In the end it turns out, as Serling says is the closing narration, that we're actually looking at a futuristic Flying Dutchman. They are ALREADY dead. And the reason they're stuck there is because they don't realize it. And they just keep reliving the day, "unable to return to port." It just keeps looping until they accept their deaths. Good episode. Do recommend. But I disliked the direction it went in. I liked the earlier explanation. I wish the episode took the direction that it is a time travel situation. And it would have been a moral episode about sooner or later you're gonna have to face what's coming. You can run to the ends of the earth, but it'll catch up with you. They have to decide to leave the planet and die, rather than them being already dead.
So I thought I should write my own version. But that's LITERALLY ripping Serling off. That's not right. I suppose it would be alright for practice so long as I reference the origin.
>>16246143
>Well, you could always pick an interesting non-fiction idea
Have any suggestion?

>>16246211
Love:
hate: chosen ones, prophecy, good vs evil, stereotypical band of adventures, ridiculous names, destiny, fate, real world activity as fantasy, Tolkien fantasy races, and much more.

>>16246221
Ever heard of fanfiction?

>>16246221
>how do you break away from the feeling that it's all been done before?
Good question - let me know if you figure out the answer. My only suggestion is to ignore it. No full length story written by an individual is going to be the same as another. I think even if you distilled the plot of another story down to a storyboard, changed the proper nouns and setting-specific elements, and wrote it yourself, it would be basically unrecognisable (though comparisons would still naturally be drawn). It might even be a fun writing exercise.

>>16246211
Love: Good writing
Hate: Bad writing

>>16246158

a boy gets on the wrong subway and ends up in a place like wonderland. the thing is, wonderland isn't all fun and games. a world where anything can happen isn't one human beings are adapted to survive in. Inedible lightbulbs grow on trees, watering holes run black with ink, and the talking animals are more likely to see you as edible than you are to find them. What humans make their way here find themselves clustered in small communities where the average life expectancy amounts to less than the drinking age.

>>16246221
>Have any suggestion?
No clue. Just pick something from a non-fiction work/article/something from your field of work you enjoyed/though interesting and see what you can make from there.
Sort of how Tolkien was a linguist and autisted a whole world into existance to fit his languages,

If nothing else, it can be a fun thought experiment.

>>16246235
Oh, oh no. Oh, no no no!
Is that what I've become? Is this how it starts? I gotta get the fuck outta here.
>>16246236
So it's just natural and I have to accept it?
>>16246248
I'm a programmer. Majored in computer engineering, minored in linguistics.
I don't really care for Lord of the Rings but I love Tolkein. Linguistics has developed immensely since his day, even conlanging has. If you think he was autistic you should see what people are coming up with these days.

How much enjoyment will an adult get out of the seven Narnia books?

>>16246246
So grimdark Alice in Wonderland. Sounds a bit edgy, and the wonderland elements are kinda hard to get right, but it sounds like an interesting take on this cocnept.
I believe in your potential Anon, and am positively intrigued.

>>16246256
> you should see what people are coming up with these days.
Fair.

>With octopodal panic—like a small, soft creature seeking safety in the shadowy corridors of coral—Max weaves through the darkness of the alley
I appreciate the writer explaining what he meant by "octopodal panic."

>>16246259
Sounds more like grimdark Narnia, and I already read the Magicians, which was godawful by the way, so I'm sick of the concept.

>>16246259
edgy is a relative term, but I tried to make sure it didn't meet my definition of edgy.

If I had to give a relative level of darkness/sillyness i'd say it's closer to one piece, but with a level of realism closer to FMA

Any fantasy for coomers?

>>16246398
different anon
>anime/manga examples
You're probably unaware that there have been several grimdark Alice in Wonderland manga. Officially published in English even.

>>16246411
I should strictly clarify that this isn't a wonderland adaptation, it's just inspired by it.

as for the anime/manga examples, I think it's a pretty accurate comparison. I said in my original post that it's trashy and I meant it. I'm only classifying it as comedic fantasy because that's the only label it would be publishable under. If I it was a legitimate option it would have been an anime

>>16246398
> edgy is a relative term
True, and I don't think edge in all forms is bad.

> level of darkness/sillyness i'd say it's closer to one piece, but with a level of realism closer to FMA
I haven't seen One piece, so I guess that means Goofy but with serious moments, right?

>>16246435
So in other words, it's basically a light novel.

>>16246452
What actually is a Light Novel?
I've read a few but have no clue what's the definition

>>16245832
>>16238021
This has to be edited. These are the same points parroted in this general over and over again.

>>16246449

pretty much

>>16246452
LNs are basically manga with prose rather than illustrations. They might still have illustrations, but it's in the same manner a YA/middlegrade novel might

>>16246460
Technically speaking, they are novels serialized in magazines in Japan. Not sure how many are still serialized though. They are published by the same companies that published manga magazines. The covers are anime art. Each volume tends to have a few illustrations, sometimes color, usually black and white. They have a quick publishing rate, usually a few months. They differ from web novels in a few ways.

>>16246405
Sword of Truth, the main enemy are magical dominatrices, the heroine is a succubus, and the MC spends half the first book in a literal rape dungeon.

>>16246505
>>16243651
>Sword of Truth

>>16246405
Tons of self-published stuff is 100% coomer.

>>16246486
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_(literature)

Words don't have meaning outside of the self and it's impossible to communicate what one truly wishes to convey and most interpersonal dysfunction results from this.

>>16245212
good review.

>>16246113
>>16245931
So, domestic terrorism.

>>16246547
Thanks, you can see more here.
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_tripcode=SFFG.n1h7M
and for more than that, by looking at my goodreads account.

>>16246221
>So I thought I should write my own version. But that's LITERALLY ripping Serling off. That's not right. I suppose it would be alright for practice so long as I reference the origin.

You've come up with a viable twist. Just change some of the surrounding details, and you've got a legit original story out of it.

New thread

>>16246600
>>16246600
>>16246600

>>16246460
You can think of it as Japan's version of YA with an anime/manga flavor. They're typically illustrated, though not heavily, and have a lot of genre overlap with anime and manga, and tend to be written in a way that makes them easy to adapt to either manga or anime (though this is just a general rule). They're fairly short and easy to read, with series releasing multiple volumes each year being fairly common. As with anything, there's exceptions to these generalizations, but for the vast majority of LNs this is how it works.

>>16246650
>>16246486
I was wondering about the more technical definition, since I have read a few LNs by this point and am familiar with their style. But I guess "Japanese, Short-ish and some illustrations" is as good a definition as we can get.

>>16246701
Read the wikipedia page if you want a bunch of Jargon, it's not like there's a state mandated set of requirements you have to meet in order to use the name "light novel", it's just a bunch of industry conventions.

>>16246714
What? Do you mean publishers don't have strict requirements for what they call their books and instead use genres/names as marketing? Preposterous!

Last Post

>>16246068
take two genres or two unusual topics and mash them together, your creativity will lead them together.