/lit/ - Literature

unironically, completely honestly, Name of the Wind is currently my favorite book of all time

>>16653763
well, at least you got a lot of books left to read that will measure up to your favorite

>the most fantastic, setting centric, escapist, action focused genres
>stories conveyed entirely through words
Does not compute. Let's face it, scifi and fantasy are meant for an audiovisual medium. Books alone do a shit job at providing what these genres have to offer and the only reason they exist en masse is because they don't require a budget

>>16653884
>Let's face it, scifi and fantasy are meant for an audiovisual medium.
Maybe it's time you faced the fact you are a retard fishing for (You)s in the wrong place.

Guys this is supposed to be a comfy thread not a brainlet thread.

>>16653844
Really, academy/teacher-pupil/school phases really get me. I've been clamoring for an adult Harry Potter for a long time. Any recommendations in that vein?

>>16653884
>Let's face it, scifi and fantasy are meant for an audiovisual medium
Maybe audiovisual entertainment should make the effort, then. All sci-fi/fantasy video entertainment of this era is either absurdly small-scale or just plain shit

Post good Sword and Sorcery books that aren't by Robert E. Howard or Fritz Lieber please.

>>16654134
The Magicians

>>16654361
I thought about writing about the Magicians in my comment but I didn't think it necessary.

Got around to the Wheel of Time books. First is great, second is even better, third is okay, and I've been stuck on the fourth for a month now. Oh well, maybe it will pick up. I was making collages of the characters as I interpret them but I lost them when I reinstalled my os so here's my best recreation, anons. I'm too lazy to redo the other two, maybe some other time.

Are there any sci fi authors besides M John Harrison and Michael Swanwick who you'd consider as "writer's writers"?

>>16654474
"gene wolfe" "writer's writer"
About 2,470 results

>>16654134
I remember one I read when I was like 13 about a group of just four or five teenagers in a remote academy in the woods. They're powerful with innate abilities the teachers find difficult to harness. They try to escape a few times. The principal is an attractive older man and the main character gets wet when he spanks her for disobedience. Ring a bell for anyone?
>>16654361
This sounds so eugh
>>16654169
Not even plain shit, fancy absolute shit. I hate it's so sanitized, or any dirt looks airbrushed on

>>16654495
Lol nice try, not falling for the Gene Wolfe meme again. Riddling your prose with obscure and antiquated words does not a writer's writer make.

>>16654474
Frederick Pohl, Jack Vance

>>16654507
Then read something of his that isn't BotNS, like Soldier in the Mist, The Knight, or Fifth Head of Cerberus.

>>16654507
>highly esteemed by SF and fantasy writers
>largely unknown by the general public
>not a writer's writer
Wrong.
You shouldn't judge his merit or how he fits the description by a single book series you got filtered by anyway.

>>16654507
ive never seen a worse take. gene wolfe is literally the nabokov of scifi

>>16654134
Vita Nostra, but it's Russian so it's depressing.

>>16647416
>CYBERPUNK 2077
That's a videogame.

some lady has been standing in one spot in her bedroom thinking about every single thing thats been going on in her kingdom for like 10 pages now. this is some of the worst exposition dumping ive ever seen
i thought guy gavriel kay was supposed to be good?

>>16654237
John Brunner has one
Traveller in Black

>>16654461
I haven't played most of those RPGs but James Caan seems like he's at least 35 years old in every movie. I really don't see him as a young naive hero type. May Ray is too cartoony.

>>16654461
why is your head cannon rand so old? mine is jonas from dark

>>16654857
>>16654823
Rand is supposed to have kinda curly red hair and I can't think of anyone except James Caan. I don't know, most of my interpretations are first impressions, often based on slight misreading of descriptions. Once I have an impression, it's impossible to change. They are always that way to me. It makes these books come to life though, and the characterization is already pretty great. I'm trying to remember my collage of The Great Hunt. All I remember is Liandrin looks like Grimes and Selene is Kate Bush. Also, Faile is Abigail Shapiro. Any more from you anons? I'm interested in other's visualizations.

>>16654895
I find the character description often doesn't even influence my mental image. And, like you, once set it's extremely hard to change even if I read them described again later and realize mine doesn't match up

>>16654895
>>16654911
We have completely different thought processes. I imagine them as their own unique characters, not someone from irl or another medium. If there's a character pic on the cover that will influence me, unless it's a bad cover.

>>16655031
i don't make all characters someone who already exist but sometimes something triggers the comparison in my mind then it sticks

I am once again faced with the fact that I have read everything worth reading that I can get my hands on and I am going to have to go and re-read something just to have something to read.

>>16655060
have you read disciple of the dog and neuropath yet?

>>16655060
That's wrong and you're dumb.

>>16655065
>Bakker
I said worth reading.

name a fantasy story with a black blade that isn't based, Stormbringer, Dragnipur, the list goes on

>>16655068
I liked the Aspect Emperor trilogy. The ending of the second series was especially cool.

>>16655068
This is a bakker board bro...

>>16655069
Ravnica: War of the Spark

>>16653755
I didn't see anyone else recommend this, but in high school Greek, we read Gustav Schwab's most beautiful legends of classical antiquity. It's pretty much the entire Greek mythology in chronological order.

>>16655098
touche

>>16655060
post your top books

>>16654461
still not as bad as some of amazon's casting choices

>>16654857
>cannon
Based antique firearms obsessed retard

>>16655289
I am terrified by the concept of a cannon which has heads as its sole purpose.

Halfway through Children of Ruin. Shit's getting X-Filey with the sentient alien oil.

>>16655430
Maybe it's just head mounted. Lost opportunity by Bakker, among many: the Consult launching rotting human heads at the Ordeal
>>16655531
Reminds me of an idea I had for a sentient amoeba-like goop the changes colors to communicate. They use an enslaved race of chameleons to translate

>>16655075
>that webm
Why?

>>16655065
Based disciple of the dog and neuropath shiller weirdo

>>16655782
mexican/spanish tradition, pretty fucked up

harrison beregon and the harlequin are based

I know Sanderson is a bit of a meme, but I want to try at least one of his books just because he’s so popular. Is The Way of Kings his least YA book? The stuff like mistborn seems YA

>>16656200
uhh probably. way of kings isn't that bad, the issue with stormlight seems to be that it's getting worse

>>16656200
All of his books are extremely YA.

>>16656200
What is he thinking about?

Also, this is your occasional reminder that The Meme Itself is an amazing novel

>>16656209
Ok I’ll try it
>>16656230
Well that sucks

>>16653884
This is only true if you’re one of those people that literally can’t imagine stuff in your head

>>16656601
>people

Anyone have a dl to Drowntide by Sydney Van Scyoc, cant find it anywhere

>>16656665
It probably was never digitized.

>>16656831
Damn, I've looked at my nearby libraries and thrifted bookstores and cant find it at all. Amazon has it but im a broke cunt atm

>>16656657
NPCs are people too

>>16655065
I got Neuropath for Halloween. Not very far yet. I had the same idea for a book.

>>16655068
Bakker is worth reading IMO. The Darkness That Comes Before was great. The second series didn't quite live up, but it had its moments.

>>16656960
What sucks about the second series is you're so used to badass Kellhus scenes from the first series, that are all but absent in the second. When he pops up at the end of the third book and just destroys Fanayal's army it's a complete surprise.
>>16656843
In what sense?

is NK Jemisin SJW? are her books good?

>>16656209
>seems to be that it's getting worse
Happened in Mistborn, happened in Stormlight.
The moment it turns into some grand epic about saving the world it turns to dogshit.

Does Traveller novels by will wight get any better? I am almost done with book 1 and it is just bad, nowhere near Cradle quality.

>>16656990
Yeah, that part was great. The second series just seemed to get bogged down early. Like 80% is Akka chapters in the first two books and all the most interesting shit is going on elsewhere. Granted, the scene with the dragon was great.

>>16656990
> When he pops up at the end of the third book and just destroys Fanayal's army it's a complete surprise.
Not anymore...

>>16657210
Yeah the skin eater shit really was the slog of slogs after that Nonman mansion. A real slog
>>16657223
Eh the book's been out four years, Anon

>>16654237
Elric of Melniboné

>>16657083
Broken Earth books were interesting.

>>16657083
It's one of those cases where it gets worse with each book, don't bother. She gets pushed a lot because yes, she's a minority with very woke opinions.

is he just incapable of writing an ending that's good?

>>16657340
Indeed. I've read some Wolfe readers mentioning they were reminded of Wolfe with that series.

>>16657513
Speaking of the Wolfe, I recently read A Borrowed Man. I liked it. The scene when the narrator gets back on the bus was shockingly brutal.

>>16657580
I'm between starting A Borrowed Man (which I think has a sequel? Idk) and Pirate Freedom. Have you read both, anon? I got the impression the latter would have more fun.

>>16657580
Borrowed Man and The Land Across are the only Wolfe books I haven't read yet. Er,,, and Operation Ares
Man, they are all so good, Wolfe definitively got a style, but there is always some unique gimmick (or no gimmick) that makes the books distinct from each other, and memorable to boot

>>16653755
These six stories are called Forward, an "Original Collection" from Amazon Original Stories, which is apparently a thing that exists. There are various other collections, but it's unlikely that I'll look at any of them. They're all from September 2019. They were also all rather disappointing. The collection curator, Blake Crouch, ought to have done better.

Randomize - Andy Weir (28 pages) CONCERN: CRYPTOGRAPHIC SECURITY
A story of quantum computing vs gambling story. As expected of the author, it's competency porn, but also it may be mocking of that as well, I can't really tell.
Meh

Ark - Veronica Roth (39 pages) CONCERN: EXISTENTIAL RISK
An asteroid named Finis will soon arrive and devastate Earth. How shall they spend these final days before they leave in the Ark? Boring. Dull. Insipid.
Blah

You Have Arrived at Your Destination - Amor Towles (46 pages) CONCERN: GENETICS
An oblivious story with an oblivious protagonist. What I saw as native advertising, but may not have been, seemed intrusive. It may have been "ironic", I can't tell. Basically about "genetic forecasting" where after having the DNA of the parents, the parents can choose the "contours" of their child's life in advance and get to pick from various scenarios. The protagonist is continually shocked by everything because he is oblivious. I constantly felt the need to roll my eyes. What a mess and waste of time.
Blah

The Last Conversation - Paul Tremblay (56 pages) CONCERN: CLONING
This was mostly written in second person. What it would have you believe it's about, but clearly isn't, is the story of a man with amnesia undergoing physical rehabilitation. What it's actually about is that a global pandemic has struck and many are dead, maybe almost everyone. A researcher who is insane with grief keeps creating clones of someone very important to them and hopes they will eventually be just like how they were before. The failures are discarded and the process begins again.
Blah

Summer Frost - Blake Crouch (75 pages) CONCERN: AI RISK
A NPC in an online game glitches and becomes sentient. An AI researcher devotes their life to making them the best they can be, eventually falling in love with their creation. However, as you would expect, it doesn't go well. I almost dropped it at 71% when the AI begins going on about Roko's Basilisk in detail due to my feelings about that. So, yeah, the AI then goes on about how its already done its plan to kill every human in the world at once and those few humans its digitized will get to merge with it as a collective consciousness. What a fun Singularity.
Meh

>>16657630
Emergency Skin - N.K. Jemisin (33 pages) CONCERN: OPPPRESSION
This won the Hugo and IGNYTE Awards for Best Novelette and was a nominee for the Locus and Audie Awards for Best Novelette and Science Fiction respectively. Should it have won the awards? Well, if the purpose is for symbolism, then yes, I don't think literally any other novelette written last year could have won instead for those of which it won.
The story is entirely others talking to the protagonist. The protagonist's side of the the discussion isn't included in the text. It's certainly a different from narrative styles that I usually see.
So, Elon Musk and Robert Mercer* develop some sort of space drive and take all the most worthies to their own planet and colonize it. Then they have to continually come back for hand-outs from those they ruined and abandoned because it turns out their way was a dead end and unsustainable, same as it was on Earth.
This is easily among the most grating works of short fiction I've ever read. It's about as wish-fulfillment as stories come for a certain demographic, which I'm not included in, that I'd call the "your tears are delicious" subgenre of the schadenfreude genre which can be found across the political spectrum. The decision to have the narrator whining the entire time was thoroughly disagreeable. I have no doubt there are many who read and this and thought, "What an empowering and inspirational story that just feels good." I can understand the sentiment, but it isn't something I can appreciate. I assume how a person feels about this would be the same as how they felt about the nazi-punching videos and debate of 2017.
Is there any irony in this having been published by everything it stands against? I don't know.
Why
*the first names are omitted, but it's obvious who is meant.

>>16657595
>Have you read both, anon?
No
>>16657603
There's a sequel to BM too that came out this year. And I want to read that, as I've heard it really reflects on the whole (dead?)author-reader conversation, from his point of view. But I can't find a pirated audiobook copy.
audiobookbay seems to be a little slow on uploading some stuff. I only today found a copy of Piranesi, which I've been looking forward to.

>>16657636
>N.K. Jemisin (33 pages) CONCERN: OPPPRESSION
lol

>>16657671
>audiobook
You may be already aware if you have already read some Wolfe text books, that he can be very clever with how the books are actually typed out
I'm referring mostly to how he has people talking with individual speech-patterns, dialects and such, but also the scripting. It's very interesting to read, and may come across as something the person recording the audiobook decided to do, I can imagine.
Just a tiny element that will be lost in translation

Also Wolfe's books are very information-dense, personally I'dd prefer to take them as text, as I'll just miss some things when listening

>>16657603
>Borrowed Man and The Land Across are the only Wolfe books I haven't read yet
Don't forget the sequel to A Borrowed Man.

>>16657223
#rekt

Are Conan books any good? I heard they were an inspiration for Beserk and I love Beserk.

Does is get better? I feel like it's jumped around since the opening a bit and been a bit slow.

Finally starting a new series and I did this instead of Malazan because Malazan had mixed reviews.

Anyone read these? Enjoyable soft scifi. A lot of plot twists and interesting ideas, even if the plot hook is a bit silly.

>>16654822
Is it good? I enjoyed The Sheep Look Up.

>>16656200
His least YA book is Snapshot and it is terrible. Virtually all of his other works follow a similar formula and are more or less entertaining.
Steelheart is pretty much indicative of his blueprint and quite brief. It is about an autistic teenager who kills superheroes with his rifle, unless they are hot.

>>16657819
Dropped it when MC got cucked. Not because of that though, I really wasn't into the Gold political machinations bullshit.

>>16657808
>get better
Ehh, I consider it to be a masterpiece (from beginning to end), so I'm obviously biased

The style or pace of the book does not fundamentally change at any certain point, however, nothing happens in it without a reason, no wasted sentences
as you advance in the series you see things coming full-circle, this may feel like the book picking up speed
what would earlier in the book have been meandering, now has a clear plot connection

speaking of meandering, I get that it's a hit or miss kind of book, if you don't like listing to the main character's meandering musings, you will not love this book, that's fine
but you really, really should give it a chance, there is a reason people claim it's the best of the best

>>16657808
Malazan is reddit-tier trash

is this the place for weird fiction too? Anyone here read Ramsey Campbell before that would point me in a good place to start with his stuff? I read his collection The Inhabitant of the Lake but while it has a couple good stories it's super early in his career and has a lot of lovecraftian pastiche stuff.

>>16657808
i thought the better parts were all at the beginning and up to 2/3rds of the way through with the very last third dragging a bit. The series as a whole is amazing though considering wolfe's prose, the mysterious way things tie together and all the amazing imagery.

>>16657972
>no wasted sentences
A plotfag would probably say that Severian's digressions and musings are unnecessary.
It's a matter of style and characterization though, to contrast some baser events centered around a slightly brutish young Sev with Autarch Sev. I wasn't a fan of every single one of them. Some, I felt, were saying nothing. Most mask Wolfe's own thoughts, or at least his themes (which you'll recognize if you check his short stories and other novels). However some of these passages hide something relevant to the plot, a contradiction, foreshadowing, a clue. Sometimes they are amusing tricks, that are not exactly accessible from the dry-ish tone.
A friend of mine loves them unironically, as if he was reading Brothers Karamazov.

Also, fuck audiobooks.

>>16657097
>The moment it turns into some grand epic about saving the world it turns to dogshit.
This certainly happened in Mistborn.
It seems that he's figured a way to get around it with time skips as a way of resetting the world, but who knows with this guy.

>>16654134
Arcane Ascension
Mother of Learning

>>16658069
>plotfag

well that's the fault of the reader coming in with shitty expectations to a work that's considered famous for its literary nature, for all the embellished language and the musings and insights on stuff rather than a linear heroes journey, even the way it's told is made to engage the reader and entertain him mentally while he tries to puzzle things together. It's like reading faulkner and faulting him for not going from plot point A to B.

It's not wrong to dislike convoluted, artistic, literary stuff but to approach it and dislike it because it doesn't fit conventional genre fiction style is dumb. That's the whole point of writing like that, trusting the author to do more with the regular narrative devices and structures.

>>16657083
yes, but nothing in broken earth felt SJW-preachy and I enjoyed the series

>>16654507
Stupid fucking faggot

Is there room for another Sanderson in Fantasy?

what are some books that haven't aged at all? I finished reading Dune last month, enjoyed it greatly thinking it was like a book from 78 or something early 80s and damn then checked it came out in 1965. I didn't feel it was dated at all, the writing is quite timeless if I remember correctly. I don't recall any instances of happy stuff being described as "gay" or other old parlance, most I can think that sounded weird was Paul having a regular ass name instead of something more futuristic sounding.

>>16658178
i'd prefer his counterpart, a prolific as fuck literary fantasy writer.

>>16658200
You can't have someone who writes as much as Sanderson with a high quality. In the same way Cormac McCarthy can't release 3 books a year like Stephen King with the same level of work.

I'm now as old as Sanderson was when he wrote his first book.

>>16658217
Didn't Sanderson write 10 novels before he got published? And some of those 10 novels are /lit/ quality of work. Are you on your 11th novel like he was? How old are you?

>>16658066
>is this the place for weird fiction too?
It's not unwelcome, that's for sure.

>>16658066
Read Teatro Grottesco for peak weird.

>>16658211
there must be a prodigy out there man, people considered Leguin and Wolfe prolific and high brow. I'm not saying multiple books per year like sanderbot but maybe one every couple years? A bit removed from regular fantasy but people seem to think Mieville is consistently interesting, I read his Scar and it was quite good.

>>16658245
nice, read anything interesting recently?

>>16658275
im was going through Ligotti chronologically, last i read of his was Noctuary. It's really impressive how he refines his stuff from SoaDD to Grimscribe. Maybe I'll skip straight to TG considering the whole corporate horror doesn't sound too interesting to me.

>>16658069
>Some, I felt, were saying nothing
Hey, at the very least, the short stories - within the story, instils feelings.
Even if that feeling is confusion.

>>16658217
Don't worry. I'm 30, and I'm about to write the greatest fantasy novel of all time, without having written anything previously.

I don't care if you call me delusional, it's happening and there's nothing you can do to stop me.

>>16658235
I do mean published. I'm 29 and have written nothing.

>>16658316
Excellent. Do make sure to read it through at least once to check for grammar!

>>16658317
Just start writing now and if you have what it takes, you'll be published by the time you're 40. It's never to late if you actually have the talent, see if you do, you might not, but you might actually be born for it. Tom Clancy didn't start until he was in his late 30's. Not saying you'll be like him or anything close, but, maybe there's something in you that will bring you to an "Atlantis Gene" level or a Sanderson level in due time.

>>16658316
>30
it's over gramps

>>16658316
Don't open your book with weather, and don't use too many exclamation marks!

>everyone knows about 1984 and Brave New World
>no one has heard of That Hideous Strength
makes u think

>>16658377
Some books are annointed, some aren't.

>>16658317
Gene Wolfe didn't get his first book published until he was 39. Don't worry. Work at it.

>>16658526
>Gene Wolfe didn't get his first book published until he was 39
Thank God

>>16658540
That doesn't mean put off writing, it means that you can still start now and become something. If you would've gotten published at 29 if you started at 15, there's no reason why you wouldn't get published at 44 if you start at 30.

>>16658548
I got published in an anthology of spooky stories when I was 10
am I gonna make it?

>>16658571
Write another one targeted at the same audience, maybe you do, or maybe you've lost it and need to start over.

>>16658571
>am I gonna make it?
You already did, bro.

>>16657477
>is he just incapable of writing an ending that's good?

No

>scanner darkly
>three stigmata

>>16655075
>webm
that's too fucking much. It's just a fucking kid trying to eat his fucking cake, what the fuck dude

>>16658316
>CHAPTER 1

>It was a dark and rainy night, and a sense of forboding instilled me as I cracked open my Corona Extra and drank to La Familia

>Apropos of heading outside to stretch my legs, someone came inside, univited
>"The King is dead!" He said, calmly
>I already knew this, having had some presentiment of my future...

So I just started reading Dune for my first time, and I'm a bit confused by something. What exactly is the difference between a bene gesserit and a mentat? They both seem to be superhumans that had their senses heightened thanks to the spice, and their powers seem to be more or less the same thing. I know the bene gesserit are more like a religious sect, but their powers seem to be more or less the same.

>>16658217
>>16658316
It's not impossible but maybe temper your expectations for yourself. I'm 51 going for a commercially successful first novel. Hoping it'll at least reach cult novel status, a small audience of devoted fans.

>>16658706
No, the bene gesserit are about observation of minute details and self control both physical and mental to read and understand others and the best way to manipulate individuals, they are well versed in history, religious beliefs, physiology, etc. Mentats are more like super assasins that take information and parse out different future possibilities based in what is known, like a computer they analize a vast amount of data and make different predictive models, planning out complex plots.

>>16657791
Yes they are some of the best heroic pulp fiction that I've read, but make sure you read these editions published by Del Rey, some editions aren't complete.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00SNDZY70

>>16658706

Mentat is someone born with mental powers while Bene Geserit is like a witches coven full of all women

God, the Dune series is so fucking good. I just wish I got the courage to read it earlier.

I just finished Children of Dune, and despite what's written in the chart, I liked it a lot. I'm gearing up for God Emperor now. I originally planned to stop after finishing that, but I might read the last two books as well.

>>16654507
haha what a retard

>>16658690
I want to read more

>>16658812
Nice. You won't be disappointed, God Emperor is the best one

>>16658812
yeah i just read Dune this year and it was pretty damn good, thinking of going up to God Emperor for sure cause I heard he gets into religious stuff and I'm a sucker for that. Among my favorite stuff in Dune were the funerals in Arrakis and the mystic stuff.

>>16657477
All of his books are written in a week on speed and end when he crashes.

>>16658880
Thanks anon, I really have my hopes up

>>16658928
I loved the description of life on Dune and the fremen lifestyle and society. It's a perfect mix of familiar and strange, which makes it incredibly intriguing. It's also the first actual space opera I've ever read. Also if you liked Dune I'd definitely suggest reading at least Dune Messiah as well.

On another topic, a few days ago I found at a library which sells used books. It's a translation of Schismatrix, which is super rare here: I love to see my collection of old / rare sff books growing

>>16657477
Frolix 8

>>16658954
Is this now a Bret Easton Ellis thread?
>>16658989
Frank Herbert is a master at reeling you in. You read Dune thinking it's a sci-fi fantasy and Paul's the hero. By the time you finish God Emperor you've basically read a prosaic socio-cultural-religio-evolutionary treatise with necessarily orange and blue morality. It's amazing

>>16658789
The other Del Ray editions for Solomon Kane, Kull, etc are also worth checking out.

>>16659172
keep overthinking, lest you end up like Sanderson

Have any of you fucks read The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny?

I read Lord of Light and loved it. I am curious about this series (as it's currently available complete in one volume).

>>16659169
Ahem, it's "Rey", not "Ray".

>>16659200
I can't do 10 novel for one series. The Wheel of Time took me 3 years to finish.

>>16659172
>How do I stop overthinking every line?
Replace whatever you were thinking about writing with "He said calmly" or "apropos" depending on the context

>>16659212
Technically it's 5 for one run and then 5 for an arc with the Hero's son.

I agree, though, 10 books is a lot.

>>16659212
Yeah but Wheel of Time is a bloated mess of unresolved plotlines. Amber is like Dune, a few c'mon sense stopping points throughout if you've had enough

>>16659212
>>16659231
At the very least, they are each significantly shorter than the Wheel of Time books

>paul atreides is just the story of shah ismail
i feel enlightened

>>16653884
"Audiovisual" sci-fi and fantasy usually suck big time.

>>16659264
The only permanent exception is if the sci-fi includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's going to be good

>>16659212
>>16659200
Amber is my favorite fantasy series. The books are around 200 pages each. The 2nd series is unnecessary

>>16659206
Umm, I think you meant "Rey Skywalker".

>>16653884
"Jolenta's boobs was like the size of her head, big milky balloons"
*SLOSH, SLOSH, SLOSH*
"Her thighs was so thick they chaffed and rubbed together when she walked"
*WLOP, WLOP, WLOP*

>>16653755
>Are you reading anything comfy?

It's surprisingly comfy.

How do you guys not get bored of reading fantasy when there's so much crossover in setting/species/story arc/magic? It's like everyone is in Tolkien's wake, and it was awesome for the first couple decades, but I don't understand how you're not all extremely bored of it now.

>>16659482
It's like talking sports. Everybody knows the rules, everybody has their take.

>>16659482
it's easy: i don't read fantasy that reminds me of d&d lore

Is Bruce Sterling incapable of writing anything without cuck shit in it?
>>16659370
Where can I read more?

>>16653763
It’s my mom’s favorite too. That’s the only reason I’ve read it and am half way through WMF right now. It’s a good series and certainly better than most fantasy, but I wouldn’t call it a favorite. My mom thought I would love it because she thought Kvothe would remind me of myself. I don’t know if that should be insulting or not.

>>16659619
do you have anger problems

>>16659569
It's a direct excerpt from /sffg/'s favorite book; Book of the New Sun, by Eugene Pringles

>>16659315
I agree.

>>16659619
Are you still simping after your oneitis?

>>16659624
Some mommy issues I guess :/
>>16659861
Shut up

>>16659624
>>16659861
No, but I do generally use deception to get through difficult situations. I like to lie and I’m good at it. I also consider myself to be much smarter than those around me, whether or not it’s actually true in my case is another story. I guess I’m more like Raskolnikov before he finds God, since I’m pretty sure I could get away with murder if I wanted to. I’m calculating would be the word for it I suppose. I don’t want to murder anyone by the way.

>>16659911
I didn't think they'd let Chris Watts visit 4chan from prison

>>16654521
>>16654537
>>16654556
>>16658169
>>16658833

lmao thanks for the (you)s

can anyone identify this dying earth jack vance story? i havent read it in ages. it involves a thief in some kind of garden/ruins who gets killed at the end

>>16659200
one of the best series I've read. go for it anon

>>16660414
>merely pretending to be retarded

>>16657835
I've not read it yet, but I enjoy all Brunner works I've read so far. So I'm assuming it's good.

>>16660586
hmm. im pretty sure thats one of the stories in the dying earth. mazirian the magician or t'sais

>>16659482
I literally never read tolkienesque fantasy.

>>16660586
probably Liane the Wayfarer

I've decided to get into a fantasy series. My options:
1. Dresden Files
2. Realm of the Elderlings
3. Mistborn
4. First Law
5. Wheel of Time
Choose for me, for I am weak-willed and wishy-washy.
>>16653763
That makes me so sad.

>>16661039
All of them.

>>16659619
I think your mom is trying to hint something about that girl you like and your friend Jamal...

>>16661040
That's a lot of reading.

>>16661039
dresden, but skip the first two books

Okay, I just finished Dune Messiah and there are some things I don't understand.

First of all, if Paul lost his prescience at the end, how was he able to accurately kill Scytale? Second, how in the FUCK would Alia be able to execute Mohiam? She's a fucking Bene Gesserit, can't she just use the weirding way to own anyone that tries to kill her?

Great book though. Can't wait to read Children of Dune. Chani's death made me really sad.

>>16661072
But won't I be lost?

>>16661079
Meh, not really. Book 1 has maybe one plot point that comes back later, and book 2 I honestly can't think of anything that's relevant.

>>16659482
now reading: Ka by John Crowley

>>16659462
added, thanks

>>16661046
It's not like the books are going anywhere.

>>16661100
Well alright then.

About to read starship troopers

>>16661122
wow.

>>16661072
Dresden Files are MISOGYNIST DRIVEL

>>16661144
Hot damn I forgot how trite the first book was.

>>16661144
I'm not even going to read it. Let me just take a guess:

This person thinks the quality of the books are bad because they have problematic elements from their time. This person refuses to objectively critique the work, instead focusing on how "offensive" it is.

This person will never openly admit it, but they probably want to ban this book. These people are such trash.

>>16661156
She's just mad that he's ripping off noir tropes, with all of the traditional gender archetypes those stories carry.

>>16659482
You know Tolkienist fantasy went out of style decades ago right? The late 80s and 90s were all about D&D and other tabletop chads taking over, and the 00s saw the rise of the "cinematic" author, who really wanted to write for TV and movies, but settled for novels instead.

>>16661039
>1. Dresden Files
Read actual noir fiction first, then if you decide it would be more interesting with monsters and ghosts and shit, read Dresden.
>2. Realm of the Elderlings
Extremely comfy to read if you first picked it up when you were a kid, comes off as very childish and almost self-parody otherwise.
>3. Mistborn
Do you enjoy anime-esque fight scenes and needlessly detailed and highly rigid magic systems that take up several appendices in the back of the book? Then Mistborn is for you.
>4. First Law
Do you like what GRRM did with gritty medieval fantasy? But hate having to keep track of characters and places? And wish it would just skip to the fighting? This is for you.
>5. Wheel of Time
You will be baited by the first book, momentarily interested by the second book, then gradually lose your patience over the course of the third and fourth book, and give up during the 5th book, a.k.a. the Great Filter. Only one person in ten million has the curious mixture of willpower and unlimited patience to pursue the series past this point.

>>16661239
You seem like a very negative person. Do you find joy in anything?

>>16661247
I actually enjoy 2 out of the 5 series listed there, and unironically for the reasons stated. Can you guess which ones?

>>16661039
Those are pretty different from each other, is there a reason you chose a bunch of long running series in particular? And why these?

>>16661253
Seventeen!

>>16661255
I've read a bunch of others already (Black Company, Malazan, ASOIAF, Witcher, every Middle-Earth book) and these seemed interesting.

>>16661261
>>16661039
OH NO NO NO WE GOT TOO COCKY BAKKERBROS

>>16661268
Bakker?

I'm pretty new to fantasy, and I'm looking for something that will scratch my Game of Thrones itch. Are there any good fantasy books that are more grounded, with the fantasy elements being more in the background?

>>16661247
It's a list of lowbrow normalfag fantasy, my man. Nothing worth getting that excited over.

>>16661270
>can I have fantasy without fantasy?
You might be more interested in historical fiction my man.
Conn Iggulden wrote a series of books about the War of the Roses, which is what ASOIAF is based on. Read those.

>>16661270
yeah

>>16661269
R. Scott

>>16661270
>more grounded than GOT

>>16661275
>>16661277
>>16661282
Can I have an answer that isn't blatant shitposting please? You all know exactly what I mean.

>>16661291
Have you tried perusing our collection of fine charts?

>>16661291
I gave you a 100% serious answer with War of the Roses, take it or leave it but do not call it shitposting when you specifically asked for GoT but with less fantasy

>>16661261
Well based on those books I think you'd be more interested in Mistborn, First Law, or WoT more than the other two series.

>>16661297
I've also read all of Discworld and like 40 Drizzt books, does this help?

>>16661294
>>16661295
Oh wait shit my bad. I reread my post and realized I sounded like a retard. What I meant when I said "more grounded' was that I wanted something more grounded than traditional fantasy, not more grounded than GoT lmao. What I'm trying to say is that I like my fantasy elements to be semi-realistic, if that makes any sense.

>>16661297
Awesome. Thanks anon.

>>16661291
You want GoT without fantasy, that's basically just English history from 1400 AD to 1500 AD.

>>16661305
have your tried perusing our collection of fine charts?

>>16661305
>Awesome
But that was said to me, not to you

>>16661311
I'm very fucking tired. It's 4am. Sorry.

>>16661291
there really isn't much fantasy with less magic/supernatural stuff than asoiaf

>>16661314
He doesn't want less, he wants a """""magic system""""" because he's a /v/tard

n-nani..

>>16661303
You probably have the patience to stick with WoT if it catches your interest then. The series is 14 books long and for most people it starts to drag in the middle, around book 5. The first book can also be a turn off because it's much more in the vein of Tolkien fantasy than the other books, except for the final chapter, which sets up the main plot for the next 13 books. So I'd recommend at least finishing book 1 if you pick up WoT.

Mistborn is ongoing, but is 6 books at the moment, it's more manageable and a much faster read than WoT. The kicker is that it's set in Sanderson's mega-mythos Cosmere setting, though these series are only very loosely connected and it's not required to read them all to understand the individual series, you may feel the pull to get into the other Cosmere series he's in the middle of writing.

First Law is a trilogy, but part of a larger epic narrative that moves along at a plodding pace. The individual books are generally more focused on the characters' situations, but it does tie them into the "bigger" story now and then, almost as if just to remind you that the bigger story is still there, barely advancing. If WoT requires patience to reach its conclusion then First Law requires acceptance that you're not going to see any meaningful progress in any individual book.

>>16661305
>I wanted something more grounded than traditional fantasy, not more grounded than GoT
>What I'm trying to say is that I like my fantasy elements to be semi-realistic, if that makes any sense.
It doesn't. I don't know what you mean by this. I don't know what you mean by "traditional fantasy" or how fantasy is "semi-realistic" when the definition of fantasy is anti-realism. Your descriptions are too vague for me to understand what about GoT appeals to you beyond the fact that you seem to not like magic and other fantasy elements, in which case I'm forced to reiterate what other people have said: read historical fiction.

>>16661321
I don't see how you got that out of his posts, it seems more like he just wants political intrigue, but for whatever reasons thinks he has to read a fantasy series to get it.

>>16661310
The charts aren't very helpful, desu. They just throw a bunch of titles at you with no context and it doesn't help you narrow things down to make a selection at all. Also lots of them are just random collections of books that have almost nothing in common.

>>16661374
It's the description of "fantasy elements to be semi-realistic". He read GoT, liked the magic, but really wanted proper spellcasting, because he doesn't read books and his only prior exposure to the concept is video games.

>>16661376
The charts are more helpful than I'm going to be, which I consider a fair baseline.

>>16661377
>He read GoT, liked the magic, but really wanted proper spellcasting,
I have no idea where you're getting this from his posts, it must be some next level close reading because I don't see him saying anything that even implies this is how he felt about magic. If anything he seems totally disinterested cause he specifically asked for series where fantasy elements are in the background, which would include magic. The part that confuses me is why he wants fantasy elements at all if he doesn't even care about them.

>>16661383
There's so many charts with harmful misinformation though. Like just browsing through real quick, there's a Malazan Reading order chart which is 100% horseshit.

>>16661392
You're just misunderstanding what he wanted to be "grounded". He doesn't want the setting to be grounded, he wants the magic to be. GoT magic is esoteric and mystical. I think you just have to think about the posts from the perspective of someone who only really knows pop culture, and what kind of stuff every beginner wants out of their fantasy stories. Why does every kid love magic schools? It's not because they love school, it's because they want a world where magic is something they can learn. Am I making lots of assumptions about our little newfag? Definitely. But I don't think I'm wrong.

>>16661400
It will be educational, then.

>>16661406
Actually, as I think about it, we probably should just recommend Harry Potter to everyone who stumbles in here saying, "I want to get into fantasy, where should I start?" because they're guaranteed to like it.

>>16661409
lmao I just found a chart that lists Sabriel as dark fantasy, these things are a fucking minefield for the uninitiated

>>16661416
Yeah, I'm still kind of miffed that the first thing I got when I was looking for flintlock fantasy was a YA romance novel.

>>16661412
Motion carried, with a vote of 2 yea, 0 nay, uncountable anons abstaining. Session adjourned.

>>16661422
I get that the idea is people would do some additional research after being given a title but if you're going to make a flowchart you should at least try to get the genres right.

>>16661333
Sounds I'll read them in the order of First Law first, Mistborn second and then Wheel of Time, then.

Guys, would you read a slow book about a person looking through the rubble of our civlization trying to figure out what happened?

just finished wot book 6. ending was kind of shit and the elayne/nynaeve/egwene bitchy retard power team is reaching new heights of bitchy retardation
i was told i was going to get filtered by book 7, is that true?

>>16654237
Lesser known but probably the best fantasy novel I've ever read. Chateau Cascade

Recommend me tradionalist fantasy (without strong w*men)

>>16661618
If you're the author of this book stop posting it. If you're someone else with some kind of grudge against the poster who published it, stop doing this.

>>16661566
Yeah sure

>>16661566
Yes, I read Revelation Space which is a very slow book looking at a dead alien civilization.

>>16661618
We don't like you, Rosey.

>>16661757
Gor
>>16661400
If the chart has Malazan on it, it's a troll chart
>>16661295
>conn iggulden
Is this blatant trolling. He writes exclusively YA. For War of the Roses read Sharon Kay Penman, NOT Philippa Gregory

>>16661834
>troll
>troll
Man you're lame.

>>16661566
It's not a new idea but it all depends on the execution.

>>16654237
Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

>>16661814
>>16661826
>>16661844


thanks for the answers. I'm basically done writing it and have reached that "wait, is this really readable?" self doubt phase.

>>16661849
Gotta get some beta readers then and find out what people think.

>>16661853
Plenty of betas here

>>16661868
BEEETA
Amazin'

>>16661853

I have forced it upon friends. The reviews are ok but didn't really give me a lot to work with. I even had comments with thoughts written out in the script but no one gave any feedback on those.

Can't get away from the feelin that they read it cause they are my friends and not really interested. And that's why i'm probing for interest here.

Anyways thanks for the interest in whatever vague shit i'm describing. Hopefully it'll be out one day.

>>16661566
In the end, it was trannies.

What fantasy is worth reading for the prose?

>>16661885
Jack Vance, for the prose and more besides
>>16661838
Fugg of, they're genuinely shit answers

>>16661885
2nd apocalypse, name of the wind

>>16661919
I am so sick of hearing about Cuckfuss

>>16661927
his prose is pretty good

>>16658789
Based del ray shiller guy

was quite shocking how hard it was to find out that the three body translation was pozzed, if you google "thre body translatio censorship it only comes up with stuff about china and the revolution, not the feminist stuff"

some version of kane I bought was censored as well, only found out from the amazon reviews

>>16661268
Exactly what was I was thinking. I’ve come to realize that bakkers not for every faggot just passing through sffg

it's not fantasy without names like "Yooliseez" is it?

Currently reading Dune, and just got to Part 3. I thinks a good book, but does anyone else feel it really takes it's damn time?

Part 1 is about people moving house. Part 2 is literally people dashing across hot sand to get to some caves. I can see Part 3 is ramping up some, with Alia drama, The Based Baron, and Paul popping his Shai Hulud cherry. But I have maybe 100 pages left and I dunno how much of a whirlwind it could really be??

It's still pretty good though.

>>16662035
Ahh yes, yes my dear!

Anything as comfy as Narnia?

>>16662223
lord of the rings

>>16661122
It's great. It will charge your testosterone. You will be more manly after having read it.

>>16662223
Earthsea

>>16661877
Rosie, return to the discord

>>16662403

not her. I'm a dude, dude. (but i'm intrigued as to why you'd think i'm some certain discord broad)

>>16662223
Belgariad
Deltora Quest
Epic by Conor Kostick

>>16662043
Frank Herbert clearly had a vision for Dune, and the first book in its entirety is like the prelude.

>>16662249
More like lord of the cringe lmao.

>>16662223
Lyonesse
>>16662263
Seconding this. Drop it before Tehanu for maximum comfy.

>>16653755
Fuck I'm so Late.
Fuck E William Brown

Anyone has any actually well done romance fantasy books? Hopefully something with a married wholesome couple doing adventure together or something like that. Pretty hard to find something like that with all these epic and edgy dark fantasy books being so innately popular.

>>16663232
Drizzt was adventuring happily with his wife for a while

>>16662223
Bakker's Prince of Nothing series

>>16663267
Is Bakker a meme?

>>16663285
You're a meme.

SLOG
L
O
G

>>16663321
Reading WoT are we?

>>16663329
That isn't the only slog there is.

>>16663232
Unironically The Princess Bride

>>16663321
Weeper faggot

>>16663359
Not an argument.

>>16662514
Nice joke Rose.

Just read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
Boy it didn't age well. Why is praised so much? Heinlein's vision of future is so flawed and shortsighted.

>>16662035
That's not true. Urban Fantasy and contemporary fantasy has very normal and common names.So does historical fantasy.

>>16663357
Is it as good as the movie?

>>16663374
That's like, just your opinion, dude.
*inhales deeply*

>>16663379
The source material is almost always the best.

The more I shit, the thirstier I grow.

>>16663013
Nah, it was just the one book and then he was confused what to do afterwards.

>>16663374
Heinlein was a weird dude and then he turned into a crazy grandpa

>>16663406
Diarrhea is a leading cause of death globally.

>>16663359
Based and Utemotpilled
>>16663379
Shit man I don't know

>>16663460
>Utemotpilled
Stop trying to force this.

>>16662633
Worst taste.

>>16663260
Thanks my man, that actually looks pretty good.

>>16663359
Sadly I have already read that one, but thanks regardless, kind anon :).

Hell, I don't even care if it is litrpg or epic or magic or whatever, as long as there is strong chemistry between the characters. It seems to me that far too many authors place too much significance on the setting, the surrounding, magic, action and so on, rather than ensuring that the chemistry is there between the characters, which according to me is the most important thing in any book that is character driven (which is any fantasy book)

>>16661972
You've sure posted this a lot.

>>16663475
Urban Fantasy tends to be filled with Paranormal Romance, at least from the women authors anyway.

>>16661882
It always is the designated hated group.

>>16659569
Are you incapable of not thinking everything is?

>>16659212
Yeah, but how often did you read and for how long? That's like a book per 3 months on average.

>>16659370
I would rape her too

>>16654367
Everything is always necessary.

>>16654498
That's some weird fetish material you have there.

>Scott Lynch has a novella collection about the Gentlemen Bastards coming out next year
How do we feel about this?

The thoughts of all men arise from the darkness.
If you are the movement of your soul, and the cause of that movement precedes you, then how could you ever call your thoughts your own?
How could you be anything other than a slave to the darkness that comes before?

>>16663510
That's a toxic statement. You need to repent for your problematic behavior.

>>16663537
She was ASKING for it

>>16653755
>tfw I have two thread to read to catch up
>630+ posts

>>16663564
>tfw when I know you read all my reviews

>>16663526
Moderately intrigued.

>>16663585
Who'd have thought Lynch would return before Martin?

I read neuromancer and now I really want to smoke and take meth while soldering all the time. Help.

>>16663621
Do not take meth. Soldering however is very good.

>>16663465
Cringe and Munuätipilled
>>16663519
I don't even know, it was just in the normal section of the library

So your fantasy characters aren't just walking around with modern social and political views that wouldn't have developed organically in your fantasy world, right?

>>16654134
Black Magician Trilogy

>>16663737
When I was a "politically aware" teenager I actually thought about writing a story where dwarf clans went to war over communism vs capitalism

>>16654507
oh no, you've spurned the sacred cow /sffg/, now you are pariah'd

>>16663754
I think we all tried to write cringe shit when we were teenagers.

>>16663768
Yes, but how many of us got 40 pages in before quitting?

>>16663754
I mostly just wrote edgy power fantasies about powerful mage prodigies who grew up to be evil wizards that took revenge on the people who bullied them when they were kids.

>>16663758
He's not alone, for he has my sword.

>>16663775
Oof.

>>16663780
And he has my 5 lbs of cock meat.

>>16663775
Do you still have those 40 pages? Keeping your awful cringy writing is important. It gives you perspective. Actually committing your adolescent ideas to paper preserves them as objective proof for how you were at that age. Which makes you realize you were far shittier than you ever realized. It's humbling and important.

>>16663782
Every dwarf clan had an anvil logo of a specific color, every color of the rainbow and more!

>>16663799
>Do you still have those 40 pages?
Hell no. I gave them to a friend to read, he laughed so hard everyone else wanted to read them too, and thus my public shaming began. It's gone baby gone, from everywhere except my nightmares.

>>16663737
I hate this. Oh so your world's a carbon copy of Medieval Europe? But every character except for one to be the "example" is fine with homosexuality. Alright
>>16663744
>black
>academy/student/pupil
??

>>16663846
You wanted a magic academy story, and Black Magician is one of the comfiest in that genre.

>>16663815
You'll probably regret not keeping it 10 years from now. It is painful going back and reading stuff I wrote as a teenager, 15 or so years ago, but it makes me realize how much I've grown.

>>16663870
I still have my 70 pages of a play I wrote from 9th-grade to the 2nd year of high school

>>16663870
This.
>every male character I wrote in my late teens and early 20's was a smart underachiever who did nothing but chase girls in his free time

>>16663846
No, it's not the Negro Magician.

>Spaceman of Bohemia is getting a Netflix adaptation
Cool! Didn't think that this would happen to some surreal and sorrowful Czech sci-fi that delves deep into relationship trauma and Soviet-block state terror.
>directed by Johan Renck, who won an Emmy for his work on Chernobyl
Interesting
>starring Adam Sandler
excuse me, but what the fuck

>>16664089
>starring Adam Sandler
He was actually pretty good in Uncut Gems. I wouldn't count him out immediately.

>>16663777
kek

>>16664089
>starring Adam Sandler
Now I will watch your adaptation.

>>16664109
Yea, it seems that he does bad, easy movies on purpose, between his sparse stand-out roles.
Nice to see Eastern-European fiction getting such attention.

>>16664126
The "bad"/lowbrow comedies he starred in during the 90s and 2000s were movies he produced himself as vehicles for his actor and comedian friends to perform in. He made those movies just for fun, and the studios kept letting him do it because they would always make money. When another director approaches Sandler to star in a movie, rather than Sandler making his own movie, it's almost always a serious role that will go on to earn a lot of respect (like Uncut Gems, Punch Drunk Love, Reign Over Me, etc.).

>>16664121
Some of you are alright. Don't come to herbology tomorrow

>>16664161
None of you is alright. Don't come to the next thread.

The thread continues on heedless

New Thread
>>16664222
New Thread

I have to confess something. Partway through Mistborn Sanderson prompts the reader to think of Kelsier as being too extreme in his views on the Final Empire. After starting the book out using every cheap trick to make us hate the Final Empire and its nobility I just didn't buy it. No Brian, you can't start the book off by showing that it's perfectly normal for these people to rape and murder their slaves as part of their standard practice and then expect us to think that the main character might be a little bit too black and white in his views on them. I haven't read past the first book because the sudden shift in tone felt too much like whiplash.

>>16663621
And how are those things related? The meth part I get, somewhat, but soldering?

>>16664233
It's Brandon, not Brian.

>>16664089
Nice. An excuse to finally read this.
Sandler is not terrible in Punch Drunk Love and Uncut Gems.

>>16664280
It's B-something, oh well.

>>16664233
It wasn't that he was too extreme, it was that he was motivated by personal feelings of anger and vengeance rather than any desire to create a better society. In other words his extreme actions weren't justifiable because they were done solely to assuage his grief and anger, not in the service of a greater good.

>>16664353
>>16664353
>>16664353
>>16664353

Actual new thread!