/lit/ - Literature

Rhythm of War is up.

>>16788131
I can do that too nigger, post source or gtfo.

>where did you get that early digital copy you little punk b*tch?

>>16788143
Would you like a MEGA upload?

sci fi/fantasy inspired by arab/meso-american/chinese mythos

>>16788117
*this theme comes from an old Mieville essay, where he talks about the differences between different kinds of "weird" fiction - been thinking about this a lot lately.
https://weirdfictionreview.com/2011/11/m-r-james-and-the-quantum-vampire-by-china-mieville/

>>16788149
Sure

>>16785924
capped for posterity

Should lovecraft stuff be in these threads? it's fantasy, right?

>>16788188
I vote yes but only because I use this thread as a reprieve from infinite philsophag posting

>>16788163
https://mega.nz/file/mldREApL#xS9PHUZysQ2CsGjhfn4ZM44HqwFVLpYFUc2sPjsr0Qo
Enjoy Rhythm of War. Don't spoil it for us who aren't getting around to it yet.

>>16788211
>it's real

Blessed and thank you anon

>>16788287
Happy to help. At first, I was confused at its size but then I remembered the illustrations.
>tfw haven't first-dayed a book since gay Uncrowned

>>16788188
>I'VE BEEN KNOCKING AND KNOCKING AND KNOCKING AND KNOCKING, POUNDING, AND KNOCKING AND KNOCKIIING....

oh, oh my god bros...
I'm...
I'm.......
I'M WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLDBUIDINGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

>>16788143
you don't need racism to express yourself

>>16788607
Nigger

>>16788607
Nigger

do they actually exist?

Finally finished Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others and want to give my thoughts on it. Overall a really nice collection. Liking What You See and Division By Zero were the two that stuck with me the most, with Seventy-Two Letters being quite enjoyable and Tower of Babylon being pretty neat but neither really evoked an emotional response like Division by Zero or made me think like Liking What You See (both Tower and Letters had very interesting settings, however). I was lukewarm on the title story and The Evolution of Human Science.

Liking What You See's documentary format really made sense. It allowed Chiang to provide an ethical dilemma, a whole bunch of viewpoints to examine this future technology, the world that it exists in, as well as a narrative all in one cohesive package. It was the standout of the book for me and I would highly recommend it. A lot of the stories in the book made me doubt Chiang's ability to write really convincing personal interactions, but Division by Zero proved otherwise as a very grounded display of pain in one person affecting both in a relationship.

I liked that Chiang included some notes on the stories in the back of the book; Understand getting rejected from publishers and being the oldest story in the collection made a lot of sense to me due to its cheese factor.

Hell is the Absence of God had a sort of detatched omniscient narration that I think worked well with Chiang's writing style (allowing him to do more broad strokes of character work rather than the more meticulous stuff in Understand, Tower, or Stories which I think fell a bit flat - notably Division by Zero focused on more detailed character dynamics and did work very well, though) but the story itself felt a bit lacking. I vaguely get the Book of Job parallels (and maybe if I was more well-versed in the Bible I would like the story more), but the package felt rather meaningless.

tl;dr
Good collection, felt worth reading.

>>16788731
all this is redundant considering the fact he writes YA schlock for teen girls

>>16788117
TVA Baby and Other Stories - Terry Bisson (2011)

This is his 4th collection and the first I've read.
What surprised me the most was the author's age when he wrote these, I would have assumed they were written by an author several decades younger rather than having been written by a guy in his late 60s to early 70s for most of them.
Many were irreverent, surreal, absurdist, dark and/or transgressive. In other words, fun. They may require a specific sense of humor to enjoy. I was thinking "wtf lol" a lot.
The theme for this collection is "saved stories". Stories that were rejected by their intended buyer but found a home elsewhere.

TVA Baby
I don't know what this was meant to be, but I read it as a parody of violence in media. Games, TV, music, movies, and whatever else. It's very much over the top.
Ok

Private Eye
This was written in 2008, a year after Justin Kan (justin.tv, Twitch) popularized the term "lifecasting", though Steve Mann pioneered the practice in the mid 1990s. The protagonist is a struggling livestreamer, though only part-time, who falls in love with a successful camgirl. The author notes that Playboy rejected this particular story though he had many others accepted by them.
Enjoyable

Pirates of the Somali Coast
This is an epistolary story told through emails sent by a young boy. Pirates take over a cruise ship. It doesn't go well for anyone. Considering the transgressive content of this story, it would probably upset most people. Personally, I found it to be so ridiculous as to be hilarious. It was included in a volume of Year's Best SF and I haven't looked for its reception, but I can't imagine that went over well for most readers.
Enjoyable

The Stamp
A boy orders stamps from the future and sees himself on it! GOLLY GEE WILLIKERS!
Meh

Catch'Em In The Act
Anyone whose picture is taken with the camera commits a criminal act. The protagonist decides this is a very fun thing to do and enjoys himself with it.
Ok

A Special Day
A sentimental story commemorating 9/11. Tonally out of place.
Meh

BYOB FAQ
Build Your Own Boyfriend. Human prisoners and others with no life prospects volunteer to have themselves completely erased and rebuilt to suit the desires of the one who purchases them.
Ok

Captain Ordinary
A complete mocking of superheroes.
Ok

Farewell Atlantis
The two remaining survivors of Atlantis return to Earth from orbital stasis to find out that no one cares or believes them but they will still try to convince them anyway.
Ok

Corona FAQ
The corona is an artificial heart with many side effects. It's presented as a consumer FAQ.
Meh

Billy and the Circus Girl
This is almost entirely about masturbation. As with many of the previous stories it's transgressive and absurd.
Ok

Brother Can You Spare a Dime?
A homeless man steals a time travel device and goes to the utopia that is the future, but...
Ok

Charlie's Angels
A private detective investigates the mystery of a suspected murderous statue.
Ok

Expectations for schizo shallan?

>>16788741
Yes, but he does write which more than most can say on this board.

>>16788150
Bump for recs

>>16788763
>Le "you don't do thing so you can't criticize thing" basedboy argument

bros, I...don't think I like DUNE...

>>16788779
Seethe, cope and dilate tranny.

>>16788150
The Mirage by Matt Ruff
Son of Heaven by David Wingrove

>>16788734
>included some notes
This should always be the case.

> It was the standout of the book for me and I would highly recommend it.
I agree.

>>16788790
Kill yourself.

>>16788779
I never said you couldn't criticize what he writes retard. Im just pointing out that atleast he does write.

>fags bashing Sanderson
>fags bashing Dune
What's happening with this thread, senpai?

>>16788823
So does chris chan, so what?

>>16788813
>>16788838
I didn't bash Dune, I just said I'm not enjoying it
I feel let down, honestly.

>>16788846
>he haven't read Dune yet
Go away, zoomer.

>>16788840
Based.

>>16788849
>he haven't read Dune yet
What the fuck are talking about?
I'm reading it right now.
I'm not enjoying it.

>>16788860
I wish whoever this is was playing Chani in the new movie.
Anyone know whose ass this is?

>>16788858
keep reading bro, maybe it will be one of your favorite books.

>>16788858
Well, I think pretty much everyone over 25 read it like, ten years ago since it's very entry level, almost Lotr tier.
That being said, just like Lotr most of people hate the first 100 pages or so when they're reading it for the first time since it's basically an assault of concepts and lore that are "boring" even if they are important so maybe you'll like it when you finished.

>>16788868
This image does nothing for me.
I'm at the part where Paul just killed Jameson(or w/e his name is, the first person he kills in hand-to-hand combat) and takes the name Mau'Dib
I guess you could say I greatly enjoyed the house-politics in the beginning and am let down by where the novel is heading

>>16788866
it is a nice ass indeed.

>>16788866
What ass?
Anyway, that's a painting retard.

>>16788889
>What ass?
nigger
>Anyway, that's a painting retard.
no shit but I assume there was model used and such
also that worm looks much better than the DUNC trailer's worm

>>16788895
>nigger
I think you mean "based and high-T pilled"
>also that worm looks much better than the dunc trailer's worm
They usually do.

>>16788883
keep reading, more politics will come. there is a lot of desert adventures but there is also a lot of politics in dune, the book you're reading "dune" has politics to offer and the book after it "dune messiah" will have politics too.

>>16788895
Well, it's a lot easier to make a motionless picture look good than a CGI scene.

>>16788883
If you like political intrigue you'll probably love the sequels.

>>16788903
Poverty and preference curviness are correlated.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/On_Second_Thought/PbmCduwc-yYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=men%E2%80%99s+preference+for+the+curviness+of+women%E2%80%99s+figures&pg=PA136&printsec=frontcover

>>16788932
Just admit you like boys.

>>16788932
Cringe.

>>16788846
You're not alone. The setting is interesting but it's very poorly written. It would take some skill to make some magic order of nuns with cringe prayers, trying to rule the universe through some Gary Stu, into something subtle and engaging, and it's not exactly that.
>Jessica felt that the night was dominated by degrees of smallness in substances beneath their feet and hands – boulders or pea gravel or flaked rock or pea sand or sand itself or grit or dust or gossamer powder.
"Degrees of smallness in substances." Jesus fucking Christ.

It's a very stilted, awkward coming of age thing.

>>16788800
>This should always be the case.
I think this is the first short story collection that I've read with author commentary. It's really nice to have a snippet of context to view a story in

>>16788838
Sanderson bashing is not new.

>>16788981
But that butt is very feminine. An ass doesn't need to be a dump truck slab of meat to be nice (speaking as someone who likes both ends of the ass spectrum).

>>16788745
Are there any SciFi/Fantasy anthologies/ mags that aren't mostly made out of "meh" or "ok" stories?

>>16789020
That of course depends entirely on the reader.

>>16789020
>>16789033
You could try some of the various Year's Best anthologies or read a preferred author or a anthology with a theme that you really enjoy.

On a different note, I really ought to go back the collection/anthologies/etc that I've rated and give them a proper rating based on the stories rather than only of their best.

books like Evangelion but good?

Conan the Nignagian Nignogian

What's the most relaxing, feelgood fantasy book you've ever read?

Is R.A. Salvatore worth reading? Assuming i don't know anything about the Forgotten Realms or Dungeons And Dragons and shit?

>>16788211
Wasn't expecting it until tuesday. How come ?

What's some comfy fantasy to read? Loved to read the Hobbit when I was younger, something with that feeling?

>>16789152
>>16789173
Gene Wolfe's The Knight

Malazan Book Of The Fallen is so fucking kino lads

>>16789115
Childhood's End

>>16789152
The Hobbit and LOTR. loved the hobbits, nothing more comfy than hobbits smoking or eating.

>>16789178
which book did you reach? I heard its a huge series.

>>16789162
I don't know anything about you, but I'll hazard a guess at "no". If you mean his non FR and D&D novels, then probably still "no".

>>16789152
A Wizard of Earthsea

What's the most obscure fantasy book you own?

>>16789224
I was looking at that in the bookstore the other day but I’m going to read the Radix series next.
I shill Zod Wallop here sometimes. It’s one of my favorites but I think few people have ever read it.

>>16789152

Anyone here a fan of A.E. Van Vogt? Recently finished The Weapon Shops Of Isher, thought it was breddy gud

>>16789278

>>16789260
Sell me on it

the sffg book club has started reading Too Like the Lightning
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114545-too-like-the-lightning

KWPCM7m

>>16789224
Before self published shitty book covers, I guess there was this

I’m about to start reading dune but I’m a bit of a retard and worried it will be too smart for me.

>>16789458
its low brow fiction

>>16789458
enjoy, I finished the first one it wasn't that sci-fi or crazy, im reading the second one and it has more sci-fi.

>>16788879
>an assault of concepts and lore that are "boring"
fuck those people

Any fantasy books with politics that aren't on par with Twitter?

I'll even accept /pol/-tier stuff if it means I'll get to see a racist dwarf.

>>16788799
I want books that celebrate the mythos, not
>islam bad
>gommunism bad

>>16789509
Why haven't there been any fantasy books about dwarves building underground Elf Holocoasters? Seems like an untapped market.

Can anyone recommend me a Year's Best anthology for sci-fi stories?

For years I've read Gardner Dozois The Year's Best Science Fiction, but now that he's passed away who out there has a yearly anthology collection that's worth reading? Also, it would be nice if it had a Summation like Dozois' had, if possible.

>>16789181
This is degenerate spooky dooky freemason horseshit

Any good sci fi that incorporates horror or gothic? Space gothic sounds really fun.

>>16789661
roger zelazny

>>16788731
Writing a lot isn't always a good thing. His books are very bloated.

>>16789673
Thanks. Lord of Light looks kino even though I'm not sure if it's that gothic.

>>16789694
It's not but it's great.

>>16789661
Ship of fools, blindsight, revelation space.

>>16789020
most anthologies will be filled with average stories, by definition

>>16789302
>I haven't noticed my slip
>Mycroft going on inane tangents vs the 'reader'
I'm liking the book so far, mainly for the characters which are ideals personified, but god Mycroft needs to shut up

>>16789720
Cont.
So far the book is an endless struggle between dropping the book out of frustration with the style and absolute fascination with what the next page may hold.

>>16788211
>100mb epub
what in the actual fuck

>>16788117
Anyone ever notice that people how are into sci-fi more than fantasy are less gross and overall batter people?

>>16789754
I think fantasy has a tendency to be nostalgic and reactionary, whereas sci fi might be more humanistic and objective. I don't think either makes for better "morals," and I'd argue I've seen more moral relativism in sci fi than fantasy. Interesting premise though.

>>16789754
Not really

>>16789784
I wasn't trying to say anything about morality. More like that sci-fi people just tend to shower more and be less social retards.

>>16789842
There is neckbeard on both versions

Low fantasy with gritty realism? Want to read about normal guys taking down orcs and the like using normal weapons, tricks and tactics

>>16788211
why is this 100mb

Alright, time to read some space explora-
>The only bit of rampant nationalism was Eda Ostrom, a geologist, who taught everyone Danish through sheer force of personality and taking double shifts, so that her native tongue was our lingua franca by the time we arrived. The rest of the long-running edutaintment was Jain Diaz from the NASA contingent teaching us considerate use of pronouns with sufficient patience and determination that ze even had the most hardcore Russians respecting hir life choices. Ze was an indicator of just how much looser things had got in the States after the fighting, which I suppose is some small consolation. By the time the interplanetary satnav told us we’d reached our destination, then, we were fully up on nonbinary etiquette and everyone’s messages home were peppered with incomprehensible Danish slang.

>>16789898
"Hir" is the zumbest alternate pronoun. Worse than "xe."

>>16789866
Between two fires.

>>16788838
>>fags bashing Sanderson
Hello, newfriend.

>>16789754
>he doesn't know about the connection between Star Trek fans and pedophilia

>>16789898
kino, what book is this?

>>16789898
This sounds like the worst thing ever.

>>16788211
Kingdom Hearts was already ruined when they put most of their budget into the Frozen world.
Why would I willingly read the novelisation?

What's some SFF that mixes well with Black Sabbath?

>>16789961
Walking to Aldebaran

>>16788731
His writing will not be remembered. But he's making bank now so good for him i guess

>>16790038
Sanderson is living in geek heaven, writing out his own worlds and being adored for it. I don't think he cares about spooks like 'being remembered'

>>16790044
He should, his kids are grandkids are going to get bullied for their dad/grandad being tone deaf to legitimate criticism.

>>16790076
The amount the $$$ they'll have they can pay other bullies to beat their bullies up.

>>16790027
A Fire Upon the Deep

>>16790076
>Sanderson, more like forgottenson!
>Sick, shitson? Should have asked your da to write a note - oh wait!
>Sleepson, what's the laws of being interesting??

>>16790080
>Paying for someone else to stand up for you because you're to limp dicked to admit your dad's a loser.

>>16790091
I think most would settle for 'Dude, your dad's a fucking loser. Imagine thinking Kingdom Hearts but in book for is a good idea.'

>>16790076
>his kids are grandkids are going to get bullied for their dad/grandad being tone deaf to legitimate criticism.

when did that happen, he's not erikson who went on a facebook rant when people said his characterisation was bad

>>16790102
>not erikson who went on a facebook rant when people said his characterisation was bad

speaking of, what's our position on this. I always felt he was kind of meh, though that's largely to to how big the cast is

>>16790102
I guarantee he seethes as he reads people shit talking him on chan/reddit.
Just because he doesn't say it doesn't mean he doesn't feel it.

Mormons have thin skins, try talking to one about atheism some time.
It's good fun, even if you aren't atheist.

>>16790110
Everyone seethes. We can only nobly cope

Looking for a comfy fantasy book, what ya got for me?

>>16788211
Thank you based piratefriend. I don't know where the fuck you got it, but this was the only thing that made work overnight tolerable.

>>16789162
R.A. Salvatore and the Dragonlance books were my first foray into fantasy having no experience with it, let alone D&D as a setting. Salvatore's books work fine as standalone novels and have some of the best fight scenes in fantasy.

>>16789685
You must loathe Bakker.

>>16790076
>legitimate criticism
This thread is hilarious.

>>16790095
>using kingdom hearts for a frame of reference
>shitting on anyone else's taste

>>16788607
Wrong, nigger

>>16788117
>Lovecraft
>Tolkien
>Brandon Sanderson

Do you guys read like... any other fantasy authors besides these guys?

It seems like these kinds of threads repeat themselves, talking about the same books and authors over and over again with no new perspective.

>>16788699
>>16790372
Oh man, aren't you 2 lads tough and edgy?

>>16790352
Hey man, I just know what Brandon is stealing from.
Doesn't take an aristocratic taste to call someone out for being a hack.

>>16790345
Thanks for proving my point, drone.

>>16790407
bakkerchads represent

I also just got a weird book called bequethal godsent that has like no reviews but the amazon ones are very positive

>>16790407
Herbert bro here.
Fuck Snadesron, the rest are fine.

>>16788699
>>16790372
You are in lit
behave

>>16789743
>>16789874
Why didn't you fags lurk a basic reply chain and see why this is 100mb?
>>16790327
Bibliotik. I see it still isn't up yet on mobi, kek

>>16790407
Think I'm the last surviving Mieville guy, he disappeared for the last 2 or 3 years after writing only a couple novellas before that - they were good novellas though

>>16790407
I highly recommend these (if you can read spanish).

>>16790271
The Chronicles of Narnia
Good Omens
Lud-in-the-mist
Tolkien's short stories
Wilde's short stories

I've heard people saying Rythm of War has been leaked, does anyone have any news on this?

>>16790543
>He asks when the download link was literally posted at the top of the thread

>>16789661
Iron Truth - textbook gothic horror in space.

i've started to read the library at mount char

this is batshit insane

A weird question but has WotC stopped publishing Forgotten Realms novels, and other D&D company books like that? I used to read those a lot back in the 90s but grew out of it. Was browsing a hobby store that used to stock giant shelves of them and it has been reduced to a pitiful half-empty row on a small shelf.

>>>/wg/7663546

>>16788117
"Mordred's Curse"

>>16790751
God I am so sick of retreads of folk tales.

do you think there should be a Dune general ?

DUNC

>>16790704
They've been having some issues lately, think the Dragonlance creators are suing them over some kind of contract dispute

>>16790792
No, go shit up /tv/, please

>>16790704
Not stopped definitely scaled back. There's been one novel in 2020. Relentless by Salvatore.

>>16790454
I don't see any replies that explain it

>>16790759
Yaaawn. Well thanks for chiming in.

I TRUDGED THROUGH THE WHOLE BOOK, BEING FED ONE DETAIL AT THE TIME JUST TO MAKE MYSELF READ MORE OF MYCROFT BULLSHIT 4TH WALL BREAKS AND BY THE END THE DETAILS START FOLDING OUT AND YOU END IT ON A CLIFF
BITCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh

>>16790912
We could have told you it was pozzed shit and saved you the trouble.

>>16790936
I loved it, that's why im upset. it's like im being dripfed all the world and have to trudge through the awkwardness of mycroft to get at it. I don't know if the book would be better or worse with some cutting, but there were sections I audibly sighed at mycroft going on another tirade

and if you read that shit and thought it was 'pozzed' (I assume you mean very left leaning) you seem to have misread the whole thing. She's obviously against removal of gender identity.

>>16790936
I don't understand the recent use of pozzed.
From my understanding it used to be willingly accepting of HIV/AIDs positive partners. What the fuck is it doing in /lit/ as a term outside of that definition?

>>16790410
Don’t be so sensitive, hotshot

>>16790619
Seems pretty recent. Do you know the author?

>>16790991
Not him but people tend to use 'pozzed' as a synonym of 'woke', if that gives you an indication as to its context. Modern (((agendas))), the SJW acronym, et al.

>>16790792
We need Song of ice and fire generals

>>16791118
No we don't.

>>16790799
>>16791259
let me see ...
you are not the official representative of /lit/ dude

>>16791305
Neither of them but lurk for at least two more years before posting and apologize to your parents for having a two-digit IQ, normalfag newfag filth.

>>16791118
LOL. That time has passed, all these conformist contrarians seeeeeeeeethed when it got famous and now dogpile its corpse and show you their nostrils when you mention it. Oh wait, you were kidding. Well, I wasn't. Shitty read though it may be, I think that's entirety due to piss poor editing. I still like the series. It's what I'm getting at here. Even more so now that edgyfags wouldn't be caught dead with a copy

>>16791314
I just want to see your reactions, don't get so serious lmao

>>16788153

That's a fascinating article from what appears to be a high-quality publication that I never heard of before. Any recommended writers or specific articles in Weird Fiction Review?

>>16790410
>2020
>Still thinks nigger is edgy
Reddit might unironically be better for yoh

>>16791336
>I was pretending to be retarded

What fantasy series have the best duels and power fantasy battles?

Any of the Warhammer books worthwhile? Especially ones that are lore heavy

>>16791641
The Gotrek and Felix novels by William King are excellent. The rest vary between decent and mediocre.

>>16788211
Thanks senpai :3

>>16791628
I thought that was very normal around here.

No fuck for E William Brown.

Why can't we get an early release on Alice Long?

>>16788211
Where did you get that from, bitch?

What are some decent cyberpunk books that focus more on the cybernetics angle and the experience with them?

Based Sanderson giving us trans representation and more autistic rep in rhym of war

>>16788188
>Daughters
Any books that capture the same feeling of dread this album evokes?

>>16790345
Sanderson wants to write lore for videogames or long arc anime, not novels.
He's an okay ideas guy but he writes like a middleschooler half assing a creative writing assignment.
I really enjoy Brandon as a person. But I think his books belong in teen reading shelves moreso than YA.
Going over the common 'counter points' made by drones.

>But worldbuilding
Loving someone else's make believe doesn't make up for a shit story. Even worse, when you're using worldbuilding as filler, it ultimately detracts from the story. To deny this means you might actually be retarded, there is literally 0 reason for Interludes in WoK outside of Szeth.
And even then, his worldbuilding is not even that deep. Like really, other anon's have said this before and I'm surprised people still defend the piss poor worldbuilding of his.
He doesn't think beyond rule of cool. Turning stone to food, or gas, or whatever - at the cost of a fucking gemstone that's like $5; is broken beyond belief and breaks any sense of equivalency in his magic systems meme that he loves to talk about.

>But story
You can only read so much patterned writing before it sounds overly robotic - and that's in a short story.
A tome's worth of he "did this, then this, then this", or the more obvious pattern of his combat writing being: "Character did [Action]" followed by a verbal soup, "but then / suddenly" ; it's inexcusable.
He's a 40 year old man that writes like a 13 year old that hates reading.
Not only that, but when a character's literal existence is to exposit - heaven forbid a perspective character - it becomes real fucking boring to read.

He can't even write epigraphs properly. And they are the easy-mode for foreshadowing.

>But social issues
>But representation
>But thing that is absolutely not unique to Sanderson at all.
Read other books and authors. You're lying to yourself if you think he's the first to write about mental health, and social issues (and even then he does it so fucking clumsily it comes off as almost offensive.)

I'm not saying you can't enjoy it, I thought the first Mistborn was solidly enjoyable; I'm just saying stop making out that poorly written toilet reading is kino.

>>16789115
Second apocalypse series

>>16791638
You pretty much nailed it w pic related

>>16792289
Oh sht, I would like to know as well.
But it will probably be something more related to horror or drama than sffg.

>>16788188
Why 2, btw

>>16792128
He got it from the great pirate fleet

>>16790407
I like Moorcock, grew up with Elric.

>>16792128
Is that a young Snaderpunk?

So is this series a giant meme or actually worth reading? Seems like the consensus is all over the place whether its good or not.

>>16792673
Decent first few books, nothing spectacular, but dear fucking God it just drags on and on and on.

>>16792287
Ugh. Well, he is trying to catalogue all the kinds of mental illness in this series.

>>16792673
Read the first three and pretend its a complete story.

He wrote the first one to be stand alone, then got it extended for two more books, then he wrote it to stand alone in three, then it got extended, and then shit went haywire.

Also its meant for children, so don't expect too much

>>16792682
can you recommend me a good alternative then? I don't want to waste my time if there's something better out there.

>>16792708
What are you looking for? Something like WoT, where a party of people go on an adventure? I'd recommend Abercrombie's First Law trilogy if you haven't read him already. Also, Sabriel by Garth Nix.

You guys got any tips on how to write female characters in fantasy?

My female characters tend to start of strong but then, in the end, become mothers and housewives to the boys they met in their stories

How do I fix this?

>>16792750
Give them motivation for something beyond the scope of your story. Simply because the overall story is ending doesn't mean your character story has to as well.

>>16788117
Hey guys I never read a science fiction book before, what book got you into sci-fi and/or what do you recommend as a first read?

>>16790912
Wait, you didn't know that books 1 & 2 are actually one book that was so big that the publisher wanted split in two, considering this was a debut and for some reason would have been too long?

>>16788131
>110.24 Men in Black
What does that mean?

>>16792673
I call it The Waste of Time. Theres decent shit in there but too much pointless crap. The chapter Im on spent 2 pages describing walking down a road and the whole book is like this

>>16792790
Schismatrix
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Schismatrix
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schismatrix

>>16790504
Not him, but I left my damn copy of Lud-in-the-Mist on an airplane. I'm still mad.

>>16792790
What do you normally read? Sci-fi is pretty broad and comprises pulpy stuff and really thinky stuff. Books that are "hard" and are very grounded in real principles or "soft" and use more fantastical elements. Lord of Light by Zelazny is one that I like a lot. Not a hard read, blends sci-fi and fantasy, neat premise.

>>16792418
>>16791638
What is it

>>16792750
Write a man and take away reason, responsibility, honor and a sense of honor

>>16789898
I would kill everyone in their sleep
Better humanity dies than be cursed

>>16788886
>white

>>16788211
ty based worldhopper.

>>16789162
They are childish but fun. You won't like them if you're fussy.

>>16792698
>he is trying to catalogue all the kinds of mental illness in this series
And some retards actually mistake these shallow, repetitive one-note depictions for depth.

>>16792338
For someone with such long-winded opinions, you seem to have an inexplicable problem with lengthy writing.
>I just think it's unnecessary
And you thought your entire wall of text wasn't?

Wait, is the Mother from Short Sun an undine?

>>16793461
>400 words is long winded
Milennials and zoomers be gone.

Any S&S books as kino as this?

>>16793546
When the entire point is "I just think he sucks", yeah. Long-winded. Which isn't bad necessarily, but I'm not the one saying most of someone's writing is useless filler.

>>16788731
>mormon but doesnt inject religion into his books
this is wrong lol
>against homosexuality, still respects it
source? im not sure if its a morman thing or not but ive never heard him talk about it

>>16793553
Elric I suppose

>>16793745
He doesn't inject overt Mormonism into his books. More importantly, despite being a theist he still finds worth in atheistic or agnostic views of religion without making those characters evil and/or one dimensional.

>>16793610
Okay, let me ask you about the reverse position. What's the point of writing something like "I know it's not high art but it was a fun and enjoyable story, very well told with an interesting setting", when "Me likes" would achieve the same purpose in 2 words? 20 words, all subjective, against two.
Who in their right minds would attempt any serious criticism in a thread devoid of OC, where faggots like you get tired of writing more than 1 line of text? You couldn't parse a few clearly distinct ideas in 4 or 5 paragraphs of text.

Moreover, what sort of retard thinks literary criticism is anything but glorified and better documented personal views and opinions? Maybe that's the sort of optimal Sandersonfag. The one who skims and knows shit about things outside genre fiction.

>>16789898
It's hilarious that the writer went with Danish of all things. It's nearly unintelligible to non-natives and referred to as a potato language by other Scandinavians.

>>16792724
>look at picture
>Finally, a spooky fantasy series about some cute twink! Looks like something I might...
>notice mammaries
Yiiiiikeeeeesssss.flac

>>16793772
dude, the passages from "the way of kings" in the book is literally from matthew 5:5
also dalinar says to "stick the orange" or something to adolin, basically saying dont drink anything alcoholic because they arent supposed to indulge in drunkeness, literally a mormon rule.
also its mentioned that the "heraldic" city urithiru will be found by traveling west. so theyre going to travel west to find utah

>>16793886
Good thing you filtered yourself considering Sabriel's balls are bigger than most male MCs.

Im finishing the Hyperion cantos, any reomendation for something similar?

>>16793329
Nah, its just a collection of all the ways people's brains can break. B.S. would never go for actual depth, as going into depth on a subject is the fastest way to offend someone. He knows that his popularity is due to people reading messages they like in his work. By staying completely neutral, everyone can believe he shares their beliefs. It is good business sense, and by including depictions of subjects leftists hold dear he is able to delay taking a public stance irl.

>>16793745
This is his reddit account. He also wrote a blog post about the topic, which has since been deleted. You can still find it on the wayback machine if you try want to find it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/gafab/comment/c1m62eg

>>16794209
holy shit what an asshole. he comes off as such a douchebag writing that. and at the end he tries to spin it on them, like, "oh YOURE actually being hateful to US" lmao what a fucking prick. mormon brainwashing is ridiculous

Who's the Kanye West of fantasy literature?

>>16794517
>Genuinely quite talented, had a few early hits, then devolved into weird schizoid religious antics as time went on
PKD

>>16794517
Orson Scott Card

>>16793610
>>16793461
How can you say that when it's the response is to >>16790345

Christ, drones are fucking unbearable sometimes.

>>16794539
can't really argue with this

>>16793553

>an immortal amoral rapist dithering about not conquering the world with his army of slave lizardmen because a girl won't fuck him if he does

There are none because bloodstone is shit

>>16794877
That's a funny and sad description.

>>16794424
Fag

>>16790991
you are pozzed

>>16794877
>>16794907
The whole point of the story is that Kane is bored of Earth. He's killed and raped for tens of thousands of years and now he wants to travel to outer space and experience new events.

Is malazan actually worth reading? The person who recommended it to me talked up the prose but so far the only thing that's interesting to me about it is the autistic worldbuilding

>>16788117
I bought most of Glen Cook's "Black Company" series, but skimming over the wikipedia says his newest book takes place between the first and second. Is this the way they should be read, because I've also been told to just read it at the end

>>16795169
Haven't read it but the only good thing about it is that it's set in the North iirc.

>>16795093
There are certain storyline that are absolutely worth it. Tehol Bedict is a high point, Trull Sengar and quick ben are both compelling. Karsa Orlong is the best character, even though erickson wrote him to make fun of Conan. Just accept that the pace is meandering at best, and like all history textbooks, the ending is rather unsatisfactory

>>16791118
Then create it

>>16792750
just write a man and change the name

>>16788150
sounds like Morrowind

>>16795169
As a general rule, always read in publication order.

Earthsea series based or cringe?
[Spoiler]I'm reading them anyway[/spoiler]

>>16795217

he didn't write him to make fun of conan, it's more a take on the noble savage myth and showing how a savage would just be a savage savage

>>16795491
Its a young adult book that was cutting edge in the 80s. That means that if you aren't 15 it feels juvenile, and the polt is predictable. Ged is your typical amazeballs teenage whiz kid, with all the pig headedness that entails. But it isn't cringe.

>>16788117
Do you guys have recommendations for funny/comedic sci fi or fantasy books? I've read some Discworld and the first Hitchhiker book.

>>16795522
>a book from the late 60s, early 70s
>cutting edge in the 80s
What did he mean by this.

>>16795807
Did you like the ones you read?

>>16795822
He made a typo phone posting. Or he's an idiot. Take your pick.

>>16788763
Not writing but being highly critical of literature is unironically totally based.

>You've never put yourself in the arena, who are you to judge?
>Bro, you fucking suck.

Just bluntly repeating "No, you just suck dude, I don't need to write to tell you that you used infer as a synonym for imply, you blow dude. You are to real writers what nelson mandela is to dead people--a nigger and good thing he's dead I guess but I thought he died like ten years before he actually did" is actually pretty based imhofamalamadingdong.

>>16791638
unironically sanderson, that's a big reason people read him

anime as fuck 1v1 fights between super powerful beings

>>16790271
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

Any decent 40k books? Finished all of Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn and Forges of Mars

>>16792338
There's not a single bit of substantial criticism in this post. You can sum it up as "I don't like him" and the only specific critiques you have are about prose. You are like a caricature of a pseud who thinks he knows how to write.

>>16795909
>Not writing but being highly critical of literature is unironically totally based.
Being lazy and stupid, I can see why you would believe this.

>>16791638
Gemmel in terms of actual quality, Sanderson if you're just looking for a quick fix. The entirety of the Mistborn saga is literally just lengthy fight scenes with crazy magic connected by a thin mucus that constitutes the "plot" of the series.

Stormlight Archives does it too but with keyblades and power armor instead of Victorian aesthetcs and infanticide-fueled telekinesis and avatar the last airbender bending but with metal.

>>16795854
Yes! Well, Discworld moreso than the Hitchhiker's guide.

>>16795243
kek

>>16792750
I don't think there's a major problem with that. women are different from men, and that's not a bad thing. just don't make them inferior. lol if you're trying to write strong women, I think a nice approach is highlighting what traits make her strong. or ask the women you know how they picture strong women and then work from that. Imo women are strong even when they're delicate and feminine

>>16796316
>kek

I wasn't joking, feminine traits are passive and not very interesting to read about, and you will be accused of being a sexist

>>16796316
if you want to know what not to do though, read king killer series. I quite like the books but the way Rothfuss portrays women is weird as fuck

>>16795943
ravenor, similar to eisenhorn.

The first heretic is pretty good. Ciaphas Cain is like blackadder and kind of comedic but comfy.

First three books of the horus heresy are pretty good as well

What's a good book if I want to immerse in magic system and creative worlds like Harry Potter's? I'm not saying HP is a masterpiece ffs i just want some cozy wizardry read

>>16796333
I included ravenor etc. in eisenhorn series. First book of Cain didnt really cought me, I liked the concept but his inner monologuing felt tiresome after a while

>>16788143
epub is 110mbs. wtf does this Sanderfag include in his books?

>>16792278
I don't know why they don't reply you, here are many anons who know about this. The other day they recommended me many cyberpunk books, most of which I still do not read, otherwise I would tell you.

>>16796343
Not really "cozy wizardry", but Malazan is good pick if you are looking for well-defined, intresting magic system and cool universe. For more cozy read, pick one of those school-centric reads like Cold Iron by Cameron

>>16788883
dont keep reading it. It's a mediocre book only for people who think have a MENA setting is "worldbuilding." (and also for people who think worldbuilding is the toppriority in scifi)

>>16796454
Prose is the only thing that matters, that is why the book of the new sun the the only good sci-fi series

>>16796398
Probably, high res maps and drawings lmao
Just convert it to epub -> epub or to mobi/azw with the Disable compression unchecked.

>>16793903
1. Wooow, almost as if the Sermon on the Mount is basic moral philosophy.
2. literally a military rule. Plenty of people drink and get drunk in his books without any negative connotations.
3. this is a real stretch. it is mentioned to be in the center of the continent. Not unlike jerusalem being depicted as the center of the world in a lot of middle eastern maps or china being the "Central Country." It was literally the most important city on the continent and they just happened to be east of it. Besides, they never travel to it overland and always teleport to it. No mormon pioneer cognate.

>>16790445

>>16796508
1. Wooow so you dont have an argument against this
2. lmao no its not. and especially not in your own free time. they were literally at a fucking party. yes, plenty of people other than dalinar and his house drink. this is clearly him inserting mormon values
3. i havent read oathbringer yet who knows. i thought it was in shinovar, which is just on the other side of the rocky mountains, i mean misted mountains

Guess I need to get on reading the stormlight books. I have Rhythm of War on preorder anyway and will probably take awhile to turn up. Need to get copies of the first 3 books as well.

>>16790445
Based etiquette anon

>>16795953
>>16796508
Saying 'No u' doesn't mean anything on this board anon.

>>16790445
Actually based.

>>16796430
I like malazan but not really, there are literally no spells other than go invisible, teleport to travel, and throw a wave of energy at the enemy, enegy waves are so much faster and easier to cast that's all anyone uses

>>16792456
>He only owns one copy of YWGWYW

>>16796430
>>16796744
the more I read malazan, the more I think this author just wanted to write some band of brothers war story, and the intertwining gods/houses/ethereal shit is all just an afterthought.
t. just started book five

>>16796343
Read Bakker

>>16796822
Well, Malazan is quite literally Erikson writing down a RPG (GURPS) campaign he played with Esslemont in college.

>>16792817
no. Good to know

>>>/tv/142167148

Science fiction and fantasy seriously should go in separate generals

>>16796959
Then they'd both die.

>>16796959
>thinking the posts in this general have much to do with sff in general
When's the last time you read a thread?

>>16796999
Oh and then y'all joined forces like one of those cheesy novels

(no spoilers for other books pls)

How old is Simon in Equal Rites? I assumed that he was at least 16, enrolling at university and all, but then the story seemed to start subtly shipping (?) him with Esk, which would be kinda creepy 2bh pham

Any books with really well written hand to hand combat? Bonus points if the author is extremely knowledgeable about it or did an autistic amount of research for his book

>>16797309
The Combat Codes by Darwin was fun. Not as technical as I'd like, but the author clearly a huge fan of combat sports.

>>16797309
There's some of that in Heroes Die. The writer did kali or eskrima and some martial arts and some of the fights (not a huge number of them for a 500 page book) are very play by play with some technical fighting terms thrown in there for good measure.
>The best time to catch a man off guard is while he’s talking—too much of his attention is on what he’s going to say next. Still on my knees, I cross-draw my throwing knives from the sheaths on my thighs and flip them both spinning backhand.
or
>I backhand the knife with my right to rake the point across his eyes, and miss by a handbreadth. I continue the motion into a diving side roll, and Berne comes after me, slashing, the air singing a tooth-grinding whine as his blade cuts through the carpet and into the floor beside my head as though the planks are soft cheese. I hook his ankle with my toe and kick his knee; he bends his leg to take it so the joint doesn’t break, but it brings him to the floor.
It was a fun read, with a bit of dystopian scifi but the actions read like that, like a role player describing his actions.

>>16797321
>>16797351
Thanks both of these look awesome
Btw I wouldn't mind combat with melee weapons either

>>16797058
No age given
>no spoilers
Equal Rites has no relation to the rest of Discworld besides introducing Weatherwax

>complaining about the main character being “the chosen one” when that’s LITERALLY how the heroic cycle is supposed to work

>>16797607
>supposed to

>>16796316
>just don't make them inferior
Don't listen to this idiot. Literally make them inferior. Women will complain about your writing but they'll actually enjoy it more.

>>16797607
I don't mind that being the case, some of the best stories are told like that. I don't like it when it's all over my face

>>16796999
which is ironic for a freaking literature board

>>16797699
You sure seem to be familiar and good with women anon

>>16797719
/outerlit/ does not read anything at all, ever.

>>16797563
Esk is also in I shall wear midnight.

>>16797743
well, i guess it's fair to think they're at least not hardcore enough about it to bother browsing this board. it's nice that both genres are tied by world building though

>>16797783
They pretend to be really hardcore about it when they're just tourists that don't enjoy anything and LARP as Catholics.

>>16788117
What's up bros. I don't really like posting in general, but you guys were my first thought when I was thinking about getting reliable non-filtered feedback.

Usually I write poems and songs, but this time I have set my heart on a sci-fi horror novel set in deep space with some Lovecraftian/Junji Ito elements. I don't want to give away too much info because I plan on making copies of the book free anyways, but I wanted to give tidbits and see what you guys think.

While incomplete, a basic summary would sound something like this:

In the most ancient reaches of space, the crew of colony/research vessel [insert ship name here] are pitted in a struggle against the void. Battling the will of men, the void will warp the minds and flesh of men against itself in an effort to be at equilibrium once more. Our "protagonist" must push through both this new hellish reality, and the ever growing reminders of his old life. Whether he finds himself a pawn of the will of the void may not matter in this trek for self forgiveness.

It's going to have body horror, it will have overarching questions and themes about hopelessness and the desire to take routes of least resistance, it will attempt to toe gray lines as the insane is justified, and down starts to feel like up.

It's my first attempt at a novel and is more of a passion project, so I won't try and act pretentious, but does this sound like something anyone here would be interested in reading? Many thanks, excuse any blatant autism.

>>16797885
>with some Lovecraftian/Junji Ito elements
Oh look it's this exact same book again. And again, and again, and again, and again.

>>16797885
post a poem

>>16797885
I'll be interested when you've made significant progress. Sharing things too early can stymy your motivation to work on them.

>>16797901
This.
Doing Nanowrimo and fuck me was I too passionate for an idea that I rather would've done something else with.

>>16797892
Lmao yeah. I was aware and actually made notes in my writing that I didn't want to do the same old thing again, but I couldn't help but notice the direction I was going. I may have misused terms such as Lovecraftian, but I do intend there to be a slight tinge of cosmic horror, but not necessarily referencing fears of the unknown/beyond comprehension. The main fears I hope to inspire are the ones based in the self, remembering things we'd opt to forget. On that note, I need to apologize and correct myself. This would be an attempt at a more psychological horror, with the "antagonist" possessing elements of cosmic horror.

>>16797894
Sure. Let me rummage around and grab one for you.

>>16797901
>>16797916
This is actually great advice. Now that you've mentioned it, I've run into this problem before where I'll start working on something like a song, share my progress, and stop while I jerk myself off to the positive feedback, failing to actually finish it, eventually finding myself working on another project like I am now.

>>16797885
just write

>>16797894
Okay so I found a poem. Unfortunately the one that I wanted to post was recently destroyed in a drunken bout where I spilled my drink on the page and ruined the only copy I had. Instead I'll post my first ever "poem" I wrote several years ago that I'm not even sure can truly be called a poem.

Here they come,
the forces of dark,
Soldiers clad in black.
They will burn the stars,
they will tear apart all precious cloth
Behold, bringers of chaos

A wise Tyrant stands, he watches his armies.
He scratches his whiskers,
he contemplates his choices.
He hears his subject's whispers,
his motives they question, his acts they decry
"I am therefore I am, you need not know more."

Before the wise Tyrant his general kneels
"It is complete my Lord, all that ever was is not,
but what shall we do my Lord?"
"Sit with me" asks the Tyrant
"Look at this sea, a parchment perfect,
a backdrop of blackness, void as far as one can see."

"Do you regret your actions?"
Beckoned with a question, he let loose a cry
"Why my Lord do we destroy such beauty and substitute,
with darkness so obscure?"
And his Lord said, "My friend you may not know it,
but we've done this all before"

Behold a place so pure,

Where stars no longer detonate.

Where sounds no longer resonate

A place of no friction,
but of all encompassing contradiction

How strange is it to be anything at all,

Stranger yet is it to be nothing more.

FIN

Honestly I think my songs are better.

>>16797563
>How strange is it to be anything at all

>>16798100
FUCK

I promise that is mere coincidence, but you're not the first one to point that out.

>>16793905
>Sabriel's balls are bigger than most male MCs
So it's an unrealistic strokwomyn Sue to boot. Indeed, good thing I saved me some time.

>>16792771
>>16795243
>>16796316
Y'all orcos replying to a bait post. An author who cared about making SJW-approved female characters wouldn't do their market research here.

>>16797719
Genre fiction is not literature
Accoring to neophyte patricians at least
They're just scared that if they post in this thread they'd lose their patrician license

Finished Ted Chiang's Exhalation collection today. Overall I think I liked it more than Stories of your Life and Others. The stories in Exhalation were mostly aligned around ideas relating to decisionmaking, and having that vague structure let it all fit into place in a satisfying way.

The two stories about determinism -The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate and What's Expected of Us- didn't really hit home with me. Gate was definitely entertaining and I like the stories inside the story, but the time travel logic didn't really get me thinking since it didn't introduce anything very new as far as time travel stories or heavily fatalist stories. What's Expected of Us made more of an impression on me, and while I didn't like the format which suggested that "please wake up" copypasta/image I did like the idea of the horror implied within. It's neat and left me a bit angry and I think it was better than Gate in that it provided a new way to use determinism in a story.

Exhalation is the story that prompted me to buy both of these collections. Heartwarming despite the finality. Love the world that's built and how it reacts to the narrator's discovery. The way the story is told and its message combine for some real quality, but it's beaten out for best-of-show by The Lifecycle of Software Objects.

Lifecycle struck me as being very similar to Liking What You See from Chiang's previous collection in terms of quality, in terms of being what seems to be a very realistic extrapolation from the present, and in that it developed a dilemma within the story and showed how multiple characters in the setting approached it in different ways. What makes Lifecycle really click with me is how the characters are more intertwined than in Liking What You See, giving the narrative (which was sparse in See due to the documentary format) a lot more weight, especially when the moral question drops later in the story. Lifecycle uses the setting itself to drive conflicts in and between characters which I think is a mark of very high quality. It comes off as a very, very well thought out story with some real substance to it. It's enough to make the collection worth buying.

There's still more quality yet to come, though. Omphalos had the same revalatory discovery feel of Exhalation but approached it with religion, and reminded me of Division by Zero from the previous collection (another great story). Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom stuck a great ending, had a bit more grit than the relatively clean stories that Chiang writes, and explores some neat stuff about identity (through one's choices) that I found interesting. The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling's twin narratives worked very well. The Great Silence was very short, very cute, and very sad. That parrot quote hits me hard.

Automatic Nanny befuddled me.

tl;dr
Another great collection, try it out. At least read Exhalation, which you can find online really easily.

>>16798229
Those people think and talk about what you should read or shouldn't that they don't read. At all.

Just finished RoW

Damn, thats a shitty book!

Like, i liked first three. All of them had flaws but all had well constructed plot and character moments felt great.

In RoW all plot lines felt disjointed, fragmented, with shit pacing, Sanderlanche is short and chaotic mess, and none of character moments felt actually well written.

Also could have easily cut 200 pages and nothing bad would have happened.

I think Brandon need to take a slight break and then go write Book 5, because its clear that amount of work hi does for other books started to damage his main project quality.

>>16798562
book must be real trash because most people who liked the first two didn't seem to like the third one but you actually did

Manilla Road is a good fantasy band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF19h3TXQek&ab_channel=SatanRising

>>16793553
did you read conan? whats better? I suppose this since its in book formant instead of short stories but I want to read conan before checking this one.

is Tolkien the best poet in fantasy? his poem are really good.

>>16798721
>tolkien-with-tree.jpg
looks comfy ngl

>>16798721
strider poem is neat, malazan has a few good ones as well

>>16796454
>MENA setting
pls explain

>>16798845
same, its my favorite from him. good to know Malazan has poem because I will read it one day, after I finish Dune and Elric.

>>16791035
Nah, got a recommend off someone else. I think they knew the author tho.

>>16798721
No, Howard and Lovecraft are better. Fuck off with this old coot.

>>16799083
Tolkien fucked you're grandmother.

>>16798930
To give you an example:
my native language is Turkish, I have baklawa as dessert whenever I feel like it. That word "baklawa" was in the dictionary at the end of the book- for alien language.

It may sound alien to american nerds, but this setting is a stereotypical Orientalist perception of the Middle East and North African lands.

The cultural mirror-opposite of this would be an Arab writing about aliens who have doughnuts for dessert and ride SUVs to work while living in suburbia-style planet.

What books related are really racist, according to you?

>>16799170
Bakker believes in jewish balls supremacy

>>16799198
Based bakker&balls poster

What is Peter Watts doing these months and years?

n-new??

>>16799118
>aliens who have doughnuts for dessert and ride SUVs to work while living in suburbia-style planet.
Mexicans?