/lit/ - Literature

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January-February 2021 (F&SF, #753)

NOVELLAS
The Dark Ride - John Kessel
A story about Leon Czolgosz with additional material to be appropriate for inclusion.
meh

NOVELETS
Interludes with the Gunwright - Jonathan L. Howard
A story of a soldier and a Gunwright, both women, who just can't quit each other.
Ok

Bible Stories for Adults, No. 51: The Great Fish - James Morrow
A mother and son are swallowed by The Great Fish and inside are biblical prophets and a few others. There's also a demiurge.
Meh

SHORT STORIES
Integral Nothings - Robert Reed
Stories of those living through the "Blessings", which is an external force ostensibly developing Earth into Paradise. This may be message fiction, but I'm not quite sure who the message is for. Somewhat humorous in terms of schadenfreude.
Ok

The Diamond Family Glitters - H. Pueyo
A Portuguese Jewish family living in Brazil have "brilliance", mostly assorted psionic powers, but some are more abstract. They've gathered to observe the passing of a relative, and perhaps their gifts as well.
Meh

A Little Knife Music - Jenn Reese
Moderately similar to Ken Liu's The Hidden Girl. It differs in that the protagonist is a teen assassin who has sex with his male partner and wonders if maybe the Princess would be better.
Ok

N-raptured - Justin C. Key
A hilarious satire about saying the N-word. Woke Aliens, as the text says, carve the numbers of times a white person has said the n-word into their forehead. Seven strikes and that person becomes a rat. Yes, a certain "rat with orange tufts of fur over its eyes" makes an appearance.
Highly Enjoyable.

Hard! - Van Aaron Hughes
A father doesn't want his son to think he's a "weeb", maybe a mistype for dweeb because there's no indication that's what's actually meant, so he takes him to a curling game to meet his son's friends who he only knows from online games. Then it goes silly in a way that I wasn't amused by at all. Not my kind of humor in the least.
Blah

Litter Witch - Susan Palwick
I usually don't like allegories. This wasn't an an exception. An abused teenager runs away into the woods and becomes a witch and recluse, but eventually wonders if there's more to life after a fateful meeting.
Blah

Wild Geese - Lavie Tidhar
In this "post-post-cyberpunk", as its described, two friends and a sentient wise-cracking van go on a wild goose chase in the Gobi desert, but this goose isn't an animal.
Ok

The Piper - Karen Joy Fowler
A charismatic military recruiter, the piper, tricks young men into joining his army of probably Danes to invade probably England. The unnamed male protagonist is expected to marry the prettiest and nicest girl, but he plans to marry the disabled girl because he'd be useful to her. He really wants to marry his friend Henry though, because he has such big thoughts.
Ok

You Make the Best of What's Still Around - Paul di Filippo
A satirical exposé of Best-of-the-Year anthologies.
Enjoyable

>>17204092
These books suck lol

>>17204105
>There's also a demiurge.
What a tweest!

I found First Law pretty shit. Is Abercrombie supposed to be good?

>>17204107
I liked them back when it was strictly Wizard PI, but it feels like Butcher's gone totally up his ass with the plot now. I basically spite-read them because he's the worst author I know about dangling interesting plot threads you won't see again for at least 2 books.

>>17204105
>A hilarious satire about saying the N-word.
Wait, for real? Is this the first one under the new editor?

>>17204172
No, it's the last one under the current editor. All stories afterward will be from the new editor.

> tfw no autistic Anasûrimbor meragnosis gf

>making a thread before 404
CRINGE

>>17204440
>shitposting in a dying thread
Miss me with your fagocity.

>>17204117
Am I the only one who loathes "comedic" fantasy?

Mixing it with Grimdark doesn't make it any better. I want a story that has real stakes and meaning. I don't want constant jokes or funny situations. It diminishes the value of the drama for me. It's why I've never been a big fan of Discworld.

I know Abercrombie is not "comedic" as such, but through reading the First Law I just felt this great sense of a lack of seriousness the author was regarding his own work. No, constantly trying to subvert the reader's expectations is not interesting. Having war weary characters gets tiresome.

Don't even get me started on the dog shit world building. The whole thing feels fucking empty and completely unappealing, and I don't even remember the name of the world. It's a shame, because I initially liked the campaign into Angland (where I thought the story would pick up but disappointingly went down hill after Ladisla's disastrous battle) and I thought Davoska was interesting.

However:

The capital was fucking boring the Gurkish development was fucking boring Bayaz was fucking boring their journey to the other continent or wherever the fuck they went was boring Ferro scowling constantly was boring meeting the tanner was boring the House of the Maker was boring Jezal becoming King was boring even Glokta's torture scenes eventually became boring.

Boring Boring Boring.

>>17204530
How could you say such cruel things about me, anon??

>>17204530
Why aren't you reading BAKKER?

>>17204549
Say one thing for Joe Abercrombie, say he's a fucking hack.

>>17204554
I will be. Soon.

>>17204440
tranny

>>17204530
>Am I the only one who loathes "comedic" fantasy?
I don't hate it, but it can certainly be jarring if you're also trying to maintain a Super Serious Setting otherwise.

>>17204554
Because I'm older than 14 anon, pseudo-philosophy rants and le edgy rape just don't do it anymore.

>>17204661
What gets you off now then?

>>17204666
THE FOUR HORNED BROTHER IS HERE.
HERE... IN /SFFG/!

>>17204666
Mostly old short story collections, Avram Davidson is a guy who deserved to be better remembered. Haven't really done "epic" fantasy series in general for a while to be fair.

Bakker is a meme

>>17204598
want to see my cock?

>>17204693
I've always wanted Moash to have a redemption arc, but now I want it just for all the salt it will generate.

>>17204092
That cover is cringy.

>>17204799
If you'd ever read a Dresden novel, you'd understand.

Has anyone read the new Bobiverse book? I liked the first trilogy for light reading, but the man does not know how to end a novel. I wanna know if ends on a cliffhanger so I can wait until the sequel comes out.

> All is eaten here.

is Watership Down fantasy?

/sffg/, what's the dumbest zoomer-humor name I can possibly give to a healing potion that rewinds injured body parts to a time before they were injured?

right now Time Syrup and Clock Juice are at the top of my list, but I'm trying to see if i can think up a pun with a brand name in it

>>17204685
a good meme


>>17205198
clock blocker


also zuem is china if they wuz black not africa

>>17204107
They were enjoyable for a few books then it just continues to get ridiculous

Finally finished Rhythm of War. Felt like 900 pages of filler with the vast majority of important developments happening in the last 100 pages.

>>17204092
>Does anyone else actually read these
I started reading them in order after the TV series came out but they got progressively pozzed to the point of being unreadable.

>>17205198
End of Entropy?
Double Reverse (it reverses time to reverse the crime... against your body)?
No, Take Backs?

>>17205331
That's the prevailing sentiment, but can it really be filler if most of it is integral to the next book?

>Class, professor Wolf Wolf is sick today, on this full moon evening, so I'll take over. Today we're talking about werewolves.

>Dear students, there's some mysterious monster in the school, we have no idea what it could be except that that snake guy Slither-in put it here.

>reading

>main character Reads
whoa meta

What to read? I'm empty. Just give me title and I'll read it.

>>17206164
I see you crossshitposting fa/tv/irgin.

>>17206340
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

>>17206340
https://biblioklept.org/2017/10/08/roog-a-short-story-by-philip-k-dick/

>>17206340
Dhalgren

Donaldson's The Gap Cycle. Is it good, is it bad?

>>17204092
I was thinking of getting into these. Worth it? I heard you could skip a few of the first ones, where to start?
Alternativly, what is some good urban fantasy for someone who is rather new to that genre?

>>17206385
>has graphic gay sex in it
Yeah NO THANKS!

>>17206537
Hey, you were open to anything?

>>17206546
Not the same guy. I'm very open to graphic gay sex.

>>17206566
That's disgusting

>>17206519
I've read every one, and while I haven't had the urge to go back and re-read them the way I do books I really like, they're enjoyable. I like the early books best, back when the action is more focused on the wizard-for-hire gimmick and before it goes all Wizard Savior of the Universe in the last few novels.
For another choice, I'd say Nightlife by Rob Thurman. It's a little more YA than not (and apparently the series has spun way out since I finished book 5 years ago) but I found them to be enjoyable genreshit. As much fun as I have with urban fantasy, I wish I knew of more.

>>17206569
Don't care Jew.
Give me book that has lots of violence, sex, rape, incest etc. but is still a good decent book.

>>17206519
Oh, and additional unpopular opinion: the Sookie Stackhouse novels are also enjoyable if you don't mind romance with your fantasy, but I'm not sure mid-size Louisiana town qualifies for urban.

>>17206340
Read Moorcock or Moore's Promethea

>>17205094
No, it's a fable.

>>17206623
prince of nothing

>And the Nonman King cried words that sting:
>"Now to me you must confess,
>For death above you hovers!"
>And the Emissary answered ever wary:
>"We are the race of flesh,
>We are the race of lovers."
What did he mean by this?

>>17205198
Die-Not Coke
Re-Sprite

>>17205198
>1-UP

>>17206488
I read it a long time ago and enjoyed it, but it will depend on your feelings about rapey bio-horror.

>>17207306
>rapey bio-horror
Not him, but that sounds interesting at least.

What is the /sffg/ equivalent of pic related?

Wow this thread is even worse than those full of Bakker and Sandersoy fanboys battling

>>17206686
fables can't be /sffg/?

Whats his problem?

>>17207867
Can't tuck his low-information politics in his pants long enough to release a decent novel that doesn't expect the reader to be a retard with flawed morals.

>>17207867
Genetics.

Brandon Sanderson can’t write good characters.

Is this man writing the new bible? I am reading third book in the stormlight archives and he's literally writing kind of fantasy that most mythologies tend to fall in to some extent. Bigger then life in every sense. He's describing various virtues in depth, explains each of his point through various stories then goes in depth as to how to follow these ideals correctly. Finally he shows how this would benefit one and everyone. Is this okay?

This guy was a missionary for Mormon church and seems like to really believe what's he's writing. I've seen him talk about how he decided to write even if he never succeeded. He claims he'd been writing for a long time at that point and wasn't getting anywhere. But somehow it felt right to write even if he was unsuccessful. First ideal of his religion seems to be "Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination." It is one of more discussed ideas so far. And what seems interesting to me is how it's the first one and it is shared across hierarchies as it is there to safeguard rest of the ideals just like the first amendment.

On top of this he redefines what we consider reality like many eastern religions. He has lived in Asia if I'm remembering correctly. Quantum physics is part of his magic. Does he think he's a prophet or is it just me?

Just wanted you all to know that I'm absolutely never going to read a Branderson book, aside from the WoT ones I got tricked into.

Why do trannys hate good books?

>>17208111
because they are demonic abominations who want to drag the world into the void
a tranny future is a future devoid of life

>not sure if it's a whole rent free apartment block or one creepily devoted house

>>17206164
>enter thread and perform automatic ctrl+F 'Wolfe'
>2 hits! Perhaps a discussion is going on about the king of genre fiction
>instead it's this post

>>17208211
You will never be a woman btw

>>17208235
We can discuss wolfe anon

Just finished the “Darknesses that comes before”.

The ending was slightly underwhelming, but the entire thing was kino otherwise.
The whole thing was very entertaining and I never felt bored.

Is the second one even better?

>>17208211
>Rent free
You’re the only one defending Sandaro.

>>17208255
I haven't defended anything, I just think it's cute how much you retards think about me. How about discussing some shit you actually read for a change? I already have.

>>17208245
2nd one is the best imo, quite a bit better than the first. Most people rank the 1st book as about average or below average as the series goes.

What if Sandersoy...and Anti-Sander-Schizo...were the same person?

>>17208279
Why are you like this?

Answer my question bros... Pleaae... Is sanderbro worth reading?

>>17208279
I can guarantee you that you’re being baited my multiple people right now.

>>17208288
It’s not “one” anti-sander-schizo, but it’s most likely just one Sandersoy.

>>17208302
Depends. What do you like in fantasy? SANDERSON misses a lot of marks.

>>17208307
>It’s not “one” anti-sander-schizo
yes there is, you can tell by how he rage posts
while there is certainly more than a few anons here with a disdain for Sanderson, only one takes to the extreme of being as negative an influence on the general as the Sandersoys

>>17208302
if you feel like letting your brain go on autopilot for thousands upon thousands of pages of disney-tier storytelling, sure. it does have its moments.

>>17208310
Poetic and mythic stuff, religion and philosophy, songs and bards, brown ale and red wine. Chivalry and heartbreak, passions that move mountains.

>>17208338
You are completely delusional and it shows.

>>17208349
at least I'm not a Sandersoy or an anti-sander-schizo

>>17208119
>a tranny future is a future devoid of life
explain how that's a problem

>>17208346
Ok, that’s all in there. You only need to like anime and mmos now in order to enjoy him.

>>17208338
>reading comprehension

>>17207882
I thought you were just another anon complaining about critical theory or minority representation like usual but holy shit Dan Simmons really did write a near-future dystopian story in which Obama ruined the united state with welfare programs. Like the kind of shit Ben Shaprio writes. Incredible.

>>17208378
I don't need to comprehend the entire statement when I can pick it apart, phrase by phrase

>>17208346
>>17208369

Wolfe, Chesterton, Lord Dunsany, Cervantes, Arthurian Romance, Sir Walter Scott, Laffarty, Dickens, I enjoy fantasy that resembles these writers and things.

>>17208403
>let me prove my wild non-demonstrable conjecture to you with epic redditor logic

>>17208369
I do not enjoy most anime and I have never played MMO's.

>>17208403
You are in fact a disgusting deformed tranny

>>17208425
nah I've still got my biological cock, wanna see it?
>>17208414
>epic redditor logic
taking shitpost to a whole other level? have at it

>>17208403
>I don't need to comprehend the entire statement when I can pick it apart, phrase by phrase

Hol up Sanderson is a Mormon? Does this influence his work at all?

>>17208469
Yes. Everything is YA.

I am dead serious someone sell me on Sanderson or I will weep.

>>17208484
WEEP THEN YOU WOMAN

>>17208484
based on what you told us you would not like it. it's not good. it's mediocre mass-market fantasy. the author does try to make it something more and his efforts fall flat.

>>17208362
Life is good. Without life there is only the void.

>>17208484
he's like the mcu of literature

>>17208499
Good thanks.

>>17208484
According to his own fans on his own fan forum.

>>17204440
>>17204720
>>17205094
>>17208356
>>17208403
>>17208456
Gross.

>>17208458
UH OH, LOOKS LIKE ITS SCHIZO O'CLOCK

>>17208533
I'm a biological male, you should be grossed out, right?

>>17208523
>hated by your own fans
tranny trannyson seething and sneeding and farting lol

>>17208523
>shitting on Brandon this hard
>3497 posts

These are the true schizos.

>>17208523
>catra pfp
is there any other bigger tell than this one that you're some gender-confused twitter/tumblr addict born after 2000.

>>17208523
>nobody in thousands of years of civilization even thought about the concept of democracy before this one aristocrat bitch did in pure ideologically motivated selflessness
>nobody in thousands of years of civilization even thought about the idea of treating psychological conditions before this one badass soldier dude did
>nobody in thousands of years of civilization even thought of fucking around with tuning forks and stormlight before this other aristocrat bitch did

the more I think about this fucking book the more I am ashamed of having read it

>>17204117
no

>>17208625
That what Outlining does.

>>17204530
it's a le epic gen-xer writing snarkyness thing, this series must be super popular on reddit,

>>17208625
Democracy is an old thing irl, all the First Kings were elected

>>17208244
No.

>>17208625
1. realistic lol look at real history, and even if a normie thought of it hes a fucking normie, a king has no incentive to start a democracy

2. they were trying to treat them, just badly, realistic, you think medieval mental health was better? they thought every crazy person was possessed


3. not that farfetched

>>17208710
Bro, tribes cities and nations electing their leaders and chieftains is thousands of years old. Absolute Hereditary monarchy was an early modern invention for Europeans.

>>17208469
There is one chapter in Well of Ascension where Sazed asks Elend why does he do good things when they were discussion about existence of God. Elend could not answer Sazed's question.

Basically Sanderson was saying between the lines that there is a God and that is why Elend is doing good things.

I am not saying this is a bad thing, on the contrary. Atheism is cringe.

>>17208710
>All at those at the same time
>Immersive

He was just dying to regurgitate all of those concepts into his neo post woke era novel. Where was all this shit in Oathbringer? Also, what happened to the gay guy?

>>17208484
He is a simple man writing because he likes to write. He doesnt try to be better than he is. A humble man writing genre fiction. Writes a lot and has some interesting philosophical debates in his books.

>>17208747
>has some interesting philosophical debates in his books.

>>17208759
Imagine rubbing her little cheeks and kissing that nose

>>17208747
Does he integrate the consequences of philosophy into the work and plot in a way that the Bakk does though?

>>17208759
God I fucking hate this cis bitch she look like a terf fucking cunt, I'm trans btw

Is the Second Apocalypse series finished?

What yall reading so far for 2021?

>>17208775
No lol.

Reading this thread, have trannys actually invaded /lit/? How did this happen.

>>17208780
Not sure if trolling, either way you will never be a woman.

>>17208792
Yeah, I thought so.

>>17208775
Example how Bakker does it? I have not yet read his works. Reading Malazan atm.

>>17208783
No because two books are missing.
yes because bakker will never publish another one.

>>17204092
https://www.deviantart.com/uthp/journal/The-Legend-of-Twilight-Zelda-Princess-part-I-348420007

>>17208775
completely not

>>17208814
The starting premise of the entire series is basically "what if objective, Old Testament style morality and damnation were actually real" and extrapolating the logical consequences of that from there, for a start.

>>17208814
Bakker incorporates true historical and philosophical events and concepts into his world. Multiple characters are impacted by this, both in personality and even their own power(s). It's hard to be more specific without spoiling some of it.


>>17208825
>No because two books are missing.
Wasn't it just one?
>yes because bakker will never publish another one.
How so? When did he publish the last one?

>>17208825
Imagine reading a series that is never finished.
>Until Bakker dies and his family cucks him asking Sanderson to finish the series.

>>17208830

>>17208840
>Jack

LMAO a bit of a split there buddy.

>>17208839
It’s not that Bakker doesn’t want to write. Overlook chose not to renew his contract.

>>17208793
I don't see any tranny posts.

>>17208852
So he writes only for the money. Sanderson would still write. Imagine his blue collar work ethic, just writing because he wants to and was destined to.

>>17208791
finished Earthsea 1 and am now reading a literal children's book Watership Down

>>17208855
he's complaining about my anime pictures but his blood pressure is gonna land him in the 40% well before my hentai addiction will

>>17208839
Lel, trying to imagine Sanderson picking up and finishing the series from the clusterfuck that is TUC is legit hilarious. Only actual anime supoerpowers could save the entire setting from getting actually, literally assfucked at this point.

>>17208858
Not for the money entirely. He writes for the “prestige” of being a published author. If he can’t get a major publishing company to publish him, he doesn’t think his writing is worthy.

>>17208859
It can be enjoyed by adults.
I only read it 2 years ago after I was already past 30.

>>17208895
Every children's book that's halfway decent can. Not to mention that WD gets pretty dark at times.

>>17208837
That's only confirmed in The Thousandfold Thought. It's more about the Dunyain, who truly internalized and live moral nihilism.

Who is the most criminally underrated SFF author alive today and why is it Vladimir Sorokin?
I usually hate dystopiashit but his is among the best things I've ever read.

what is the reason most popular booktubers dont review bakker

>>17209117
Lmao even Malazan is widely reviewed

>>17209117
It's slightly complex enough to filter most of those people like that fag Daniel Greene.

>>17209117
Sometimes a man is too based for his own good.

>>17207453
please respond

Any hard sci-fi that deals with time dilation in a realistic way?
I’ve been thinking of a story where a man returns to earth from some kind of space mission gone wrong and time dilation has caused him to return to a totally different earth than when he left but I don’t know if such a story exists yet

>February 19, 2020
>no publisher
i-is he alright bros?

>>17209117
he is persona non grata in normie-adjacent SFF spaces, presumably for writing women wrong

How do we feel about this fag?

>>17209239
Forever War

>>17209239
Pretty much the entire premise of this. Might be a stretch calling it hard sci-fi though, considering how far in the future it takes place and all the crazy shit. Still an extremely fun read though.

>>17209292
Panders to SJW audience, tries to be funny but is not. Gives bad reviews. Cringe, possible that he is not hetero.

>>17209292
His face makes me think he probably sounds like an effeminate bitch and I'll never watch any of his videos.

what if I became a booktuber but never showed my face, never gave spoilers, discussed the author, and played dad rock music at the end of the video all in under 5 minutes?

>>17209117
They can’t handle how Bakker writes Esmenet.

>>17209349
Extremely based. Don’t know if the music is necessary. At least it wouldn’t be any TikTok shit. Based boomer

>>17209374
based Bakker

>>17208791
25 or so chapters into Shadow of the Torturer. Very engaging so far, kind of already looking forward to re-reading

>>17209349
Also no ads, just get to the point.

>>17209380
>Don’t know if the music is necessary
it won't always be dad rock, just whatever I'm listening to, but I think the music is important to me, for some reason

>>17208791
I finished Of Sea and Shadow this morning, and I started Of Shadow and Sea.
I definitely think I'll like Calder's books more but I am interested in seeing the overall conclusion to Asylum's saga.

Does Bakker's second tri(tetra)logy have an ending? As in, does it provide something of a satisfying closure?
I guess it must have, but now I'm getting contradictory information. The shills hyped me enough to reread The Prince of Nothing before starting the second series, but I'm not sure it will be worth the time.

>>17209349
The reason booktubers put out 10 or 20 min videos is because it takes too much effort to condense information and being concise. 5 minutes is not a lot to go over some book. Read some paragraph you found captivating and that's 60 seconds less left on your 5 minute mark.
And dad rock is a bad idea since they'll just mute or delete your shit on copyright grounds.

>>17209465
Yea. Reading about the girl is a bore.

>>17209349
>what if I became a booktuber but [...]
enjoy your three views because you don't have a vagina
>you'll never be katie's little tampon baby boy

>>17209495
Yes it does have an ending.

>>17209349
It's doable if you have some decent drawing skills to spice up your vids, otherwise, tough sell bucko.

>>17208783
>>17209240
>Bakker dead from covid/an hero
>And/or Bakker being a little bitch about muh contract, muh publisher
>Workmanlike, blue collar, non-complaining Hero-Author Sanderson steps in to finish the series, finishes it in three months
>Gives it an inspiring and positive happy ending
I'm thinking based

>>17209495
>yes.

>>17206373
not that guy, but i've seen this recommended a lot, tried it recently, found it to be pretty terrible. main character is a dick, his motivations are just greed, the universe's rules on magic are nonsensical, it's just generally shitty.

>>17209495
>As in, does it provide something of a satisfying closure?
You'll be thinking about it for weeks and months afterward. Wouldn't necessarily say it's satisfying though.

>>17209545
>>17209505
>>17209495
and just like that my motivation is gone

I miss this lil' nigga like you wouldn't believe

>>17209599
Well, I don't mind if it's a bad or bittersweet ending or anticlimatic or whatever. I just can't deal with cliffhanging shit right now.

>>17208600
Maybe they started out as just another one of the retards that mistake Sanderson for good writing when they're young and have literally read nothing else, but have finally started to notice all the many glaring flaws in his hack job writing.

>>17209676
> The Ordeal fails, Kellhus is salt, No-God awakens, the World is utterly overtaken by rutting sranc, everyone dies, Dunsult rules happily ever after over the last 144,000 survivors...except it turns out it didn't work and they are still damned anyway.
Not really a cliffhanger bro, seems like a pretty conclusive end.

I just finished Dune for the first time and it felt kinda rushed towards the end. We just straight up timeskip to the final battle because Paul decides to drink some worm water and go comatose for 3 weeks. I was kind of wondering how Herbert would wrap up the whole thing in 100 pages. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book. Gonna start Dune Messiah soon.

>>17208747
>has some interesting philosophical debates in his books.
I can see an idiot thinking this if they've never in their lives engaged in even the softest of softball philosophical contemplations.

>>17209723
I still enjoyed the 3rd act more than the boring as shit 2nd (I'm counting it as starting after Leto's death)

>>17209292
Was tolerable enough with simple-minded reviews of simple books, until he became super obnoxious by starting to pander to his tween audience and trying to be "funny" and "zany".

>>17209744
Yeah for me it's 1 > 3 > 2 just like dark souls but some of the fremen stuff in book 2 is interesting worldbuilding.

>>17209634
bakker is always photographed with uggo to average girls but you can hardly deny the man doesn't get himself some pussy... uggopilled chad.

>>17209676
It's not really a cliffhanger, imagine if terminator 1 ended and there were no sequels, it ends at a great point, but there are still stories to be told in the world

>>17209972
the cope

>>17205736
That's the weird thing with Stormlight Archive. It all feels pertinent for the most part, yet fillery at the same time because it was needlessly stretched out. But in this case... Kaladin is retreading the exact same shit he went through for the last 3 books, and Venli's flashbacks did not really add much. I actually started skipping the "X years ago" chapters whenever I didn't see italics type since the conversations with spren were the only interesting parts.

Navani's stuff was actually pretty interesting, but also needlessly drawn out. And that's really the sentiment I have: it was all pertinent (except the flashbacks) but didn't need to be carried on for so long.

I like having some ambient music in the background while I read.
What would be fitting for my Second Apocalypse re-read?

>>17210200
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKvE7LK4gho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUDDv0R3bbU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY_uj-fqyrE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9XzCWeIn-E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Z1MY1DUZs
That's my Bakker playlist, enjoy

>>17209117
because he's irrelevant, hardly anybody reads his books and he's had zero impact on the genre

>>17210254
he's "irrelevant" while sandersoy is considered a modern titan of the genre. clown world, folks.

after finishing the second apocalypse i've been unable to get into any other fantasy except re-reading Tolkien and Herbert (and noting the brilliance with which Bakker referenced and skewed their works). Bakker ruined the genre for me bros, I don't know what to read next.

How would religion actually change in a world with DnD style gods? Meaning, lots of them that do intervene in the world and that provably exist. Let's say the idea that worship empowers or even creates gods is believed, but hasn't been proven.

> tfw you will never drink with heroes and bed virgins in Holy Chalahall
> tfw you have committed acts that would soil the heart for hearing
> tfw you trusted Him
> tfw

>>17210280
bakker

>>17210280
It would be like the historical pagan world you fucking idiot.

>>17210200
Good old dungeon synth for PoN, straight atmo black metal for TAS

>He thought of her cunny, pressed tight and greasy between her legs, and shivered with hunger. To simply be where the Architect had been! To thrust where he had thrusted. It at once humbled and engorged. To plunge into a furnace stoked by the Old Father!
uhhhh /sffg/???

>>17210278
Why is it everytime somebody is critical of bakker, sanderfag's name comes up? Why is this happening more and more in the last couple months? I just checked the archive, and prior to around mid November, the only real mentions of Bakker are shillposts and judging by the writing mostly by the same couple people. Then starting in November but especially in December, you have tons and tons of shitposts that mention both Bakker and Sanderson. Why?

>>17210344
HOW
I HATE
THIS WORLD

>>17210351
Sherlock Holmes, I presume?

>>17210344
Why is the sexual violence in Bakker so actually horrific and demonic but GRRM stuff is just corny, creepy and bad. Does GRRM just lack empathy and experience?

>>17210351
Discord brigade. One of the spammers outted himself last thread.

>>17208600
>>17209688
If you ever go on that forum this is very obvious. Lots of super young people who have Sanderson as their intro to fantasy and then slowly grow to dislike him as they read more.

>>17210351
>Then starting in November but especially in December, you have tons and tons of shitposts that mention both Bakker and Sanderson. Why?
Because Rhythm of War came out in November and both authors are quite the opposites, so both fans find each other inimical maybe?

Scylvendi>Dothraki

>>17210387
I guarantee you these people will defend Sanderson from anybody who actually hates him and his books. You don't understand this type of fanboy. They are basically hostages to their own obsessions. They have so thoroughly exhausted the ordinary forms of fan-worship that they have become critics of the things they enjoy in order to sustain their interest, but still hold such a deep abiding affection for them that they cannot stand to see them genuinely ridiculed.

>>17210397
Is Sanderson Reddit?

>>17210404
Both of them are extremely oversimplified and stereotyped versions of the huns/mongols/xiongnu/gökturks, but I dunno if it's worse or better that the Scylvendi are nihilists while the dothraki are all muh horse and don't even wear armor.

>>17210425
Scylvendi = Scythians-Sarmatians, dumbass.
Jekkhia = Mongols

>>17210412
yes

>>17210387
I assume you're talking about /lit/ because in general most people have never even heard of Bakker and Sanderon's fanbase in general likely does not think about Bakker or his fans at all. But on /lit/, where Bakker is continuously shilled by a couple people, this might be the case.

>>17210397
>thinking anybody cares about Bakker enough to even hate him
If not for a couple autists constantly spamming this thread nobody would ever mention Bakker.

if anyone is wonder what happened to the chinkshit spammer, I finished the two hapa authors I was reading works from and moved onto something else.

>>17210425
At least scylvendi wear armor and act like actual steppe people

>>17210444
>>17210435
>>17210351

“How long?” the Holy Bakker-Shill cried in tones of heart-cracking defeat. Twin rivulets, silver for the shining blank of the sky, slipped across his cheeks, so profound was his staged grief.
Anon could summon no more than a wild look in reply.
“Tell me!” the face that had been his temple cried. “Traitor! Miscreant! False”—a breath breaking about convulsive passion—“friend!” The Bakker-Shill raised the blade of a gold-rimmed hand, held it shaking in the simulacrum of scarce-restrained violence. “Tell me, Anon! HOW LONG HAVE YOU SERVED REDDIT?”

Bakker is kinda based doe
I don't read a 2000s fantasy authors but his stuff is pretty nice

So are the Consult trannys?

>>17210425
Scylvendi are clearly Iranic steppe people like scythians and sarmatians

>>17210242
Thanks anon. These are quite good.

>>17210343
Any recommendations for the latter? Closest I know is Shylmagoghnar and while I like them, they are not as atmospheric for most parts of the books I'd imagine, just battles and such.

>>17210471
Yes

>>17210471
No. They’re just degenerate hedonist coomers.

Another detail I like about Bakker, the armor worn by the warriors of the different nations is consistently early middle ages type stuff: mail hauberks, lamellar, scale, a few old bronze cuirasses. Just helps nail the immersive feeling unlike GRRM where a society based on 1000s england is full of knights wearing armor belonging in the 1600s

>>17210358
Why was he so mad?
Also what is even the deal with the Synthese? Are they shapeshifters of some kind as well or just a proxy for the Inchoroi?
I listened to the audiobooks on my first run and seem to have missed this.

Have you guys ever read Nifft The Lean? Or the collaborated Liavek books?

>>17210450
?
There’s lots of good chink shit coming out

>>17210577
From what I understand the consult are the ultimate Materialists, they want to severe the planets connection to divinity and the spiritual realms.

>>17210599
rec me some stuff, loser

>>17210599
Chink boys cant fight, fuck, or write

>>17210599
>>17210606
can chink stuff be good? doubt it until proven otherwise. you can only recommend something that I would read 25 pages of to make my mind.

>>17210577
They’re just a proxy for consult leadership to pilot

>>17210616
No

>>17210624
based Yes/No poster

>>17210599
CHING CHONG BING BONG DING DONG LING LONG

>>17210616
I only read chinkshit when I'm fed up from stronk wymen watered down comedic fantasy bullshit

>>17210660
Have you tried reading stuff written before 2000s?

>>17210351
People still seethe about Sanderson making it.

>>17210660
generally just dont read shit written after like 2014 or so.

>>17210673
>PLEASE DONT WRITE ANOTHER BOOK FANTASY BOOK AUTHOR NO NO NO NO
>Muh Bakker isnt writing anything so you cant either

>inb4 woman author rape fantasy not real SF/F
Just finished The Testaments and it's very middle-of-the-road for me, doesn't really expand the dystopian world vividly illustrated by the original, similar to the 2nd and 3rd seasons of the tv show in that regard--the sole compelling feature of the story is to see how Aunt Lydia and Offred's daughters' stories conclude. Wasn't a fan of Aunt Lydia being anti-Gilead all along, nor the YA bits with Daisy/Nicole. The Agnes chapters were the best IMO coming from the viewpoint of someone growing up in Gilead. Other gripes being the optimistic tone of it all, regardless of it being in its own cannon from the original and the tv show, and all the lame worldbuilding "econowives" "microdot" "Pearl Girls" terminology that seems half-baked yet are thrown around on every page, weak compared to the rich biblical elements of Gilead introduced prior. My favorite thing about it was just having different perspectives of women, the crutch of the handmaidstaleverse, and their different origins in society, contrasting chapter-to-chapter, a good successor to Offred's personal accounts and the written style of the original.

If anyone in this general gave enough of a shit to read it, what did you think? Besides that Margaret Atwood clearly wants to fuck Garth Brooks, of course.

Not gonna lie, former Bakker reader here. This is fucking hilarious watching Bakker crash and burn. But in all seriousness we can't let this guy surpass Brandon Sanderson.

>>17210700
This is just porn. Its porn. Reading about women being subservient sex slaves for breeding thrills borderline women.

>>17210599
>good chinkshit
haha

>>17210700
>ugly woman fantasy of being desired
nah

>>17210702
This post makes no sense, explain yourself.
How is Bakker crashing and burning?
How would he "surpass" Sanderson, and why, and why can't "we" "let him"?

>>17210737
and when did sanderson even surpass bakker?

>>17210351
You didn't to very far back in the archive, did you?
>>17210555
>plate armor out of time
So like Le Morte D'Arthur.

>>17210737
It’s pasta dummy

>>17207863
By definition, no.

>>17210737

>>17210760
The Death of Arthur is chivalraic romance, Game of Thrones is about diarrhoea and rape.

>>17210767
Do you know /b/?

>>17210737
Based retard.

>>17210767
>>17210764
yes its a meme but there are still questions we asked

doesnt matter if it is pasta it is still a message conveyed

>Game of Thrones is about diarrhoea and rape
I, too, bash things I never read.

>>17210781
I have read it though :)

Bakker sorcery is pretty wicked and scary
Dudes shooting flames and lasers out of their mouths and eyes and flying around and shit, tearing out hearts.

>>17210769
The historical Arthur would not have lived in a time where plate armor was readily available. The 1400's romances used the technology of their own time to dress them.
There were no dragons, or gray scale, or wargs in 1000 AD England, why would you be autistic if they had 1500+ AD decorated plate helmets.

>>17210706
and the rape scenes I'm always hearing about in BOTNS, Black Company, Bakker books, and Lyonesse isn't porn?

>>17210831
There is no rape in BOTNS pretty sure.

>>17208695
ok :(

>>17210809
It's kind of anime-ish but you'll never see bakkersoys admit to it.

How bad can Joe Abercrombie really be? He's British, for starters, which immediately sets him in a league above hack Americans like GRRM and Sanderson, and stoned Canadians like Bakker. I haven't read the first law yet, but the map looks cool. And what's wrong with a little humor here and there? Grimdark can be oppressively dull without a spot of humor here and there (looking at you, Bakkerfreaks).

>>17210840
It's more frightening desu. Like atom bombs walking around as normal people

>>17210831
There's barely any rape in Black Company

>>17210820
Again, Arthurian romance is the way it is because of its unique historical and artistic evolution. ASOIAF is written by a fat retard.

>>17210840
>anime
You could copy paste every single line by Sanderson describing his use of shitty science fantasy and compile it into a 1000 page long book whereas a single chapter of Bakker (Achamian fighting in the abandoned library) would be more interesting and poetical than the mormon's magic huge turd.

>>17210867
Still not answering what's wrong with that, so I'm going to ignore your buzzword ridden shitposts.

>magic system
Is there anything more gay and soulless? Imagine taking something wondrous, frightening and mysterious as magic and wanting to codify into just some autistic boring science.

>>17210893
I accept your concession.

>be super secret turboautist monks
>exile one of your own because he got "corrupted" after a hike to normies
>he sends you a message calling you retards
>send his son after him expecting a different result
Are the Dunyain actually retarded?

>>17210850
based aussies>onions canucks>britcucks>muritards

also the shit I took in the bathroom this morning has more consistency than that fucking map. it literally looks like abercuck based it on his diarrhea judging by the looks of the world in it ( just a circle of land surrounded by water).
>suljuks
>angland
>midderland
>fucking THOND
LMAO

>>17210766
>>17206686
but if I replace the bunnies with a race of bunny girls, its fantasy?

>By definition, no.

Who is bakker anyway?

Watership Down is fantasy

>>17210929
who are some aussie fantasists? can't think of any

>>17211021
your new dungeon master desu

>>17210927
They just wanted to be left alone

I'll suck your cock if you can show me a better sf book than pic

>>17210992
>bunny girls

Recently finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and it was a great, if a little simple, read

>>17211072
Reminds me of this

>>17210831
What, we hate porn now?

>>17211124
Neil tries to hard.
I am very concerned, if a jew happens to be an average or slightly above average writer he is always hailed for his greatness. Why is this?

>>17211194
we are pro sex, anti porn

>>17211195
Jew or not I still enjoyed the book

>>17211195
Jews are just better at everything. Hence why they rule the world.

>>17211195
He writes like a woman, but like a woman who writes well.

pic related is my favorite fantasy novel

>>17204092
Got one Howard Conan story left. It's Red Nails, which I've heard is one of the best ones. Still, wish there was more.

Is any of the non Howard Conan stuff worth reading? I know Jordan did some Conan books.

>>17208279
Stop enjoying bad writing please

>>17211261
he should write a sequel called "the very obese butterfly"

>>17208724
Ever heard of Egypt?

What percentage of sffg would you say has actually read anything other than Sanderson and Martin?

>>17211072
It's just Telepath Portnoy's Complaint meets the Underground Man.
It's well written and yeah, sure, no true love, being loathed by kids, bad trip, etc. might make you into that sort of person, but it's still not intense enough to warrant 200 pages of self pity. It has dozens of mind probes but only a couple truly capture what he'd be missing when he loses his power.

If you haven't gone over at least 50% of the depressive lit chart you have no right to shill it as hard as you shill it.

>>17211349
probably most of them
I have read some sanderson and no martin
ive read also sapkowski, rowling, tolkien, erikson, jordan

>>17211291
>big
>fat
>butterfly pusy

>>17209716
But thats not true,Kellhus did some soulshift thing with demons, why do you think he carries around the decapitants all the time.

>>17210431
Nah, they're more northerners, scythians are desert people.

About to finish this book. After the next in the series what series should I move to?

>>17211349
The vast majority.I think you'd be surprised at the percents that any given author has been read. It seems to be much lower than you'd probably think.

>>17208244
I'm just reading through Marc Aramini's theories - he was kind enough to send me his entire corpus. Very polite fellow.

What do you think of the idea that in the Book of the Short Sun, Green is in fact Urth after the coming of the New Sun, the city of the Inhumi is Nessus where Horn dies in the Matachin Tower, and Blue (a literal red herring) is a teraformed Mars? I personally find the Green=Urth logic very strong, but I wish there was more of an explanation of Blue's connections to Mars.

Malazan

Is he based?

–> NEW THREAD
–> NEW THREAD
–> NEW THREAD
>>17211800
>>17211800
>>17211800

>>17211072
>-berg
Read more sci-fi.

>>17211457
You've written your own future