/lit/ - Literature

>>18118952
In the previous thread, an anon was talking about self-publishing science fiction and fantasy novels. How do they compare to the traditionally published ones? Was aiming in buying some in support for the authors.

>dude who masters himself proceeds to make the world his bitch because he's in control of his emotions and desires
do you enjoy this kind of protagonist?

>>18118978
Buying the book and leaving a review is about the best thing you can do. I haven't read them but Tao Wong self-publishes a few different series and has blog posts about marketing, etc., if you're curious.

>>18118987
I am actually curious, do you have a link and a few of his works?

>>18118987
I am actually curious, do you have a link to his website and what works would you recommend to get started?

>>18118980
>do you enjoy this kind of protagonist?
Yeah, reading power fantasies and self-insert protagonist are my guilty pleasure. You writing a novel?

Thread Theme(s)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LANHWwEjOAU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl-ez0N8p_Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1on_N1R9vc&list=PL4CA33FD3350985EC&index=5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykDj9Bt2hBU&list=PLA053CEFC232537FC&index=12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqTExeEAYqs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWowNF-xeXA&list=PL69JX3_fW92EwY8WiTX9qlnJTrxTMRsmx&index=7

>>18118987
Almost all his books are shit (what do you expect from litrpg). His xianxia story (First Step) is better but each novel in the series is worse than the previous one.

>>18119023
Yeah, I don't have anything yet though. Just fishing for ideas. Reading Dune and Bakker have me thinking about the type of guy who discards their setting's conventional morality as a result of a heightened awareness of some sort. I personally prefer an everyman protagonist.

>>18119081
Once you’re done writing, post your work on Royal Road, you’ll get a following.

>>18119042
What do you have against litrpg

>>18119171
Different anon here but my biggest problem is that the numbers are meaningless. They’d be better off just doing class/levels, while leaving off the damage/hp aspects of litrpg, imo.

>>18119171
Same as with books written by women. I don't mind the idea but in my experience they are invariably shit.

I'm trying very hard to finish this, but I'm not sure I've ever read something so inane in my life.
>man is offered a position as a butler
>spends a chapter discussing the contract with his lawyer
>he receives his uniform
>he learns to cook
>he talks to his employer about the possibility of having internet installed
>proceeds to work with a contractor to fit the internet to the house's needs
>his employer's niece thinks he ought to get a physical
>the employer's doctor passed away three years ago, though
>butler begins to look for a new doctor
>goes to dinner with his parents
>they talk about his new job
I'm halfway through the book and this is literally everything notable that has happened. The magic is so fucking irrelevant, it's all shit like "oh don't worry about doing yardwork, the fairies take care of that" and "oh wow, my butler's handbook opens to exactly the page I'm looking for whenever I want". What is the point of this book? Why did the author feel the need to write it?

>>18119288
And let me emphasize that none of the events I describe are short. There are long drawn out passages about the internet contractor teaching the employer how to use a computer, and endless sections about the butler learning the various chores around the house.

>>18119288
strange, that sounds like this guy that wrote the golden age of the solar clipper series. main character is a dude that joins a tradeship, a good chunk of the book is him making good coffee.
i know it sounds boring but those books are great, first 3 or 4 at least. very comfy.
>look it up
>same guy
well i'll be.
i don't think i'll be reading that book though, spaceships are kind of a big draw for me. you might like that instead, it's the only series i've read that does mundane things in a manner that makes them engrossing and enjoyable to read.

any xanth fans here? i keep looking at my library for the first 2 books but they're always checked out

>>18119319
I don't generally pick up fantasy novels for the chance to read about mundane tasks. As a scene? A chapter? A moment to relax and release tension from the story? Sure, that can be quite enjoyable and a good way to demonstrate more about characters than what they can show in high stress situations. But probably there is no book ever written where I will enjoy watching an old person struggle to use an internet browser. That is not interesting, and it says nothing about the character except that they are old in a very normal way.

>>18119354
yeah that doesn't sound interesting, you might like quarter-share, but maybe take a break from boring tedium books for a while.
i've been re-reading the discworld stuff, not boring at all, just wish there were more rincewind and/or death books.

Fuck E William Brown
Fuck paywalls
Fuck Pay Piggies

>>18119023
Not him but yes please look forward to it I want to make myself start writing as soon as I can move and have my own place with peace and quiet. I have a shitty chapter, a portion of another, and a few pages of notes so at least I've put in /some/ effort and it doesn't wholly reside in my headspace.

>>18118952
There seems to be some confusion here. Monster Hunter is a video game. Why is it here on /lit/?

>>18119579
Unfortunately, /sffg/ is cursed with the dumbest and pettiest thread bakers, so our OP topics are rarely of any real use

What are your favorite examples of fictional Chads? I feel fiction doesnt like basing stories around them.

>>18119751
The MC in any of David Eddings works.

>>18119942
What the hell is that thing

>>18119751

I kind of want to see a western author do a fighting tournament arc that isn't just a shitty version of a shonen fighting tournament arc which is to say, on par with 90% of shonen fighting tournament arcs.

Nice bird, asshole

>>18119751
Depends on what you consider a chad, but I would go with, Obi-Wan.

>>18120099
Just read Battle Royal. It’s objectively, the best tournament arc ever written.

Gimme a work of speculative fiction with the vibes of this ten-minute album:

https://youtu.be/kRJyKP8crAI

(You'll need to listen to at least like the first 5.5 minutes to get the range of it.)

>>18118952
>torrent
Why would someone grab this torrent instead of getting individual books from libgen?

>>18119751
Lucky Starr
Stainless steel rat
Roland

>>18119751

Just started Gardens of the Moon and finished the prologue between the merchant’s son and the commander and was wondering if the rest of the book is like this because there seems to be a lot of characters and references I’m missing

>>18120631
The entire series is like that. Every book introduces a completely new cast of characters with a completely new plot and none of it is ever resolved.

>>18120649
>and none of it is ever resolved.
Really? I wanted to start reading that. Is there any fantasy series that's both good and has satisfactory ending?

>>18120666
game of thrones in 5 years

>>18120666
There's plenty, you just need to look beyond the reddit meme 10+book series that are never intended to end. Try the Chalion series.

>>18119751
Also Lance and Jack

trying to remember the name of a fantasy novel where it’s about magicians that turn their coats inside out to enter a new world, the cover had a character with a red coat

>>18120666
Lyonesse is great and ties its loose ends so well it'll make you warm and fuzzy.

Just started getting into wheel of time after putting it off for years and years mainly because of too much hearsay, some praising it to heavily and so people going overtop in their criticism, I don't really know why it took me this long considering I bought the first few a few years ago but it just did. Finishing up the Dragon Reborn right now, and it seems okay, I haven't been blown away or anything but it's been fairly comfy. I've heard people criticise it in regards to repetitiveness, also I know that Brandon Sanderson is the author of the last few, I don't mind him but sometimes he can be annoying as he isn't funny and he is especially unfunny when he tries to be funny.

What is /sffg/'s general opinion about these books, what am I in for?

>>18120737
>it seems okay, I haven't been blown away or anything but it's been fairly comfy
That's my feelings as well after 7 books.

>what am I in for
it goes from random adventures to politics and building up Rand's army

>>18120737
Shlock

>see someone ask for help for their story
>ask about their story
>they say the world had an interstellar war that led to advanced tech treated as black box magic so they rely on spacetime anomalies to get people from the past
>keep talking about details like savage people from frontier, religions, brood enemies both bio and AI that are frenemies with humans
>keep talking but almost nothing about characters or what they want or why can't they have it or central conflict
How am I supposed to help? It's like asking for a stage play advice when all you show is the stage itself.

Maybe someone can help me: some years ago a group of military science fiction writers got their wikipedia pages marked for deletion, mostly because they were right wing people and some wiki-editor felt offended. Anyone knows who are those writers?, or what happened at the end with their wikipages?

I've never read any Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard. I found a collection on Amazon but I'm wondering if it's missing any notable stories. Do you guys have any recommendations or should I just read them in the order they came out?

>>18120803
>someone asks for help with their story
>they don't have one
classic

>>18118952
>https://mega.nz/folder/kj5hWI6J#0cyw0-ZdvZKOJW3fPI6RfQ
holy FUCK I have been looking through all my bookmarks and browser history for that link yesterday, I thought I went insane because I was sure I had it saved and was looking it up regularly. Turns out it came from the ssfg general all that time and I couldnt remember

>>18120737
Decent story that should have been edited down to like 8 or 9 books max.

>>18118980
Thats literally Bakker

>>18120973
You know they padded that shit out for sales alone.

>>18118952
>A link to the ultimate colossal science fiction and fantasy collection torrent.
>>>>/t/1023504
Wow, you actually did it! Thank you!

>>18118978
>self-publishing science fiction and fantasy novels
John Norman has been self-publishing his Gor series ever since he got canceled by woke publishing houses. IIRC he says it is great and that he makes more money than before.

>>18120861
>any recommendations or should I just read them in the order they came out?
Reading order doesnt matter with Conan stories, IIRC Howard wrote and published them without any kind of "correct" timeline in mind.

>>18119031
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnC8fYwem2o

Only 'theme' I read to.

>>18120111
thank you mr lamora

>On the tenth floor of the labyrinth awaits the minotaur. Many brave adventurers have challenged this great beast, all have thoroughly failed. "More!" Demands the powerful monster. "Send me more powerful opponents!" This creature blindly pursues strength at any cost. Perhaps it will even grow strong enough to surpass the rules of the labyrinth itself! Can any adventurer hope to stand against such a mighty creature?

Worth a read?

>>18121758
What kind of mystery meat is this Shien Bis? What a stupid name.

>>18120980
It's not just Bakker, it's a lot of authors and frankly it's a little tiresome
Hell, the grand conceit of any run-of-the-mill rpg isekai is that the protagonist can do what he does because he's emotionally detached and can treat the world as the game it is

/lit/ what are your opinions on the chronicles of the raven and legends of the raven by james barclay?
>The Raven: six men and an elf, sword for hire in the wars that have torn apart Balaia. For years their loyalty has been only to themselves and their code.

But, that time is over. The Wytch Lords have escaped and The Raven find themselves fighting for the Dark College of magic, searching for the location of Dawnthief. It is a spell created to end the world, and it must be cast if any of them are to survive.

Its great and I love it

>>18120737
Drop it now, you have read enough. What comes latter could be described as torture.

>>18119288
With a title like that, I’m genuinely curious what you were expecting.

>>18121882
elaborate

>>18119288
If you know it's trash then why do keep rearing it ?

>>18122027
>If you know it's not good for you, why do you keep eating it?

It comforts me.

>>18119288
lol wtf is this, didn't George from Seinfeld pitch something like this as a sitcom

>>18122099
Do you eat trash from trash bins? Does it comfort you?

I'm looking for a sf or fantasy book with few proper nouns, and a relatively straight forward narrative. I want to listen to it in the background, while programming or on long drives, so it has to have an audio book version.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I've tried Gardens of the Moon but there were too many names for me to follow, and after an hour of listening I realized that I have no clue what's happening.

>>18122244
>audiobooks while programming
this will never work out, no matter how many names or nouns the story has
just listen to random beats or classical music if you really have to listen something while coding

>>18121808
except kellhus is 10x more based than those characters

>>18122244
rothfuss

>>18122244
>book
>whilst doing something else
No

>>18120666
>any fantasy series that's both good and has satisfactory ending?
The Shadowmarch series by Tad Williams, if you can live with the constant side stories about the various gods that one tends to skip but which turn out to be important in the end. Oh and every god has a different name in each of the three or four languages in the book and you need to keep them straight.

>>18120468
Why would one bother with individual books when one can grab tens of thousands of books all at once, most already in different formats, and when he can rummage and browse in that collection to his heart's content?

>>18122891
>and when he can rummage and browse in that collection to his heart's content?
Why the fuck would anyone want to dig through an enormous amount of shit to find what they want to read?

>>18122891
because individually selecting and downloading books is infinitely better than having someone dump a garbage scow's worth on your doorstep and telling you to go find the diamonds in the rough.
almost everything that has ever been written is garbage, acquiring books is not an issue as long as you're ok with ebooks or libraries, the entirety of difficulty in selecting and reading good books is finding them in the first place.

So, the new Thrawn book by Timothy Zahn is out today. How long will it take for the usual hives of scum and villainy to upload the audiobook (my preferred way of consuming new Star Wars books)? Anybody have it already?

>>18123003
>new Thrawn book
woot
I really enjoyed the trilogy and think Thrawn is the coolest character in the whole Star Wars universe, but he dead
does it play at some time inbetween or before the original story?

>>18123218
Assuming you're talking about the original Thrawn trilogy—well, the new books are in nu-canon, so it's not much like the old trilogy at all, save that it's got Thrawn as a protagonist. The nucanon Thrawn books take place before the events of the Rebels TV show. The first one is basically "how did Thrawn get to his position in the Empire", second one is a buddy-cop adventure between Thrawn and Vader, third one is Admiral Thrawn having Horatio Hornblower navy adventures.

After that "Thrawn's time in the Empire" trilogy finished, they latched onto one of the few nucanon successes and gave Zahn another trilogy, "Thrawn: Ascendancy", all about his time with the Chiss. It's got a lot more worldbuilding and fewer familiar faces, but the first one was still good Zahn Star Wars, so I'm optimistic about the second one, which is scheduled to release today.

new to the genre, which books are easy reads?
>Kingkiller chronicles
>Broken Empire
>Traitor Son Cycle
>Black Company
>First Law
I tried Malazan, but going to put it off until I read some other since Erikson doesn't f around with world building

>>18123362
Kingkiller is shit
if you want easy to read go with our resident saint Brando Sando

>>18123372
>Kingkiller
I see a lot of people say it's good and there are only 2 books out

>>18123392
A self-insert protagonist, long, rambling, pointless scenes written in pretentious tortured flowery prose (ignore the retards calling the prose 'literary' it's not, it's just syrupy and whiny)

>>18123392
it's ok, it's not unreadable trash but it is a story built using a lot of build-up and it doesn't currently have an ending, nor does it look like it ever will, so most people seem to regret reading it. kingkiller is the series that made me adopt the whole 'never read a series that is incomplete' rule.

>>18123003
i liked icarus hunt a lot and the quadrail stuff was ok, never been that into star wars but i might give these books a try, they seem highly regarded. where do i start, just anything thrawn related in chronological order? are there any bad eggs i should skip?

>>18123362
None of those are "hard" reads, so just pick whatever you like. Neither is Malazan either, really, but most fantasy readers continue to push down the boundaries of what is considered acceptable levels of literacy.

>>18120666
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

what is the best modern medieval fantasy that isn't Tolkien?

>>18120861
Doesn't really matter. I think there are a few references to other stories but it's not a big deal.

If you ever feel like getting into some of the old Savage Sword comics they try and piece a time line together and add transitional stories

>>18123392
It's a meandering, tonally inconsistent mess with constant hints at more interesting stuff coming, but nothing is ever really developed meaningfully. All the supporting characters are boring and one note, and it's not like the main character is particularly interesting either. A lot of morons that read absolute garbage shit like Sanderson are blown away by what is mostly the purplest prose out there that tries too hard to ape actual poetic prose.
It's not very good, but it's not terrible either. Honestly, it's pretty average and forgettable for the most part.

>>18123392

>>18123408
>where do i start, just anything thrawn related in chronological order?
The starting point for any Thrawn reading is always the original 90s Thrawn trilogy, because pretty much every later iteration of the character references it in one way or another. That's "Heir to the Empire", "Dark Force Rising", and "The Last Command". That said, that trilogy is very much traditional Star Wars—same cast, same style, same themes. If you aren't into that, you probably won't be into the Thrawn trilogy. If you just want a "hey, what's this Thrawn guy all about," primer, you can probably just read the first nucanon Thrawn book (simply titled "Thrawn"). If you want more, then anything by Zahn with "Thrawn" in the title will probably be good.

>are there any bad eggs i should skip?
None of the Zahn books are bad as a whole, but if you do read the first nucanon Thrawn book, every Arihnda Pryce chapter can be skipped. It's all just backstory for a character in the Rebels TV show that only tangentially relates to Thrawn himself.

Christ, that's too many "Thrawn"s in one post. I feel like it's just stopped being a word. Thrawn. Thr-awn.

>>18123490
I can see why reddit eats this shit up

>>18123509
neat, thanks anon.

>read book
>really enjoy it
>find out its part of a series
>become convinced that the author will ruin his own legacy and that I'll be disappointed if I read it
>avow to never read a sequel novel
>look up the contents and plot of said novel on wikipedia anyway
i-is this semi-normal or am I a special brand of retarded?

>>18123676
I did it with Lonesome Dove.
Only ever read the first one, and just wikipedia'd the rest.

I am a MTF trans and I met my boyfriend a year ago, and we used to be only friends, so I did not really care about his white nationalism bullshit and I didn’t expect him to find me attractive at all or fall in love with me.
It happened tho. And I quickly fell in love with him too and we got into a relationship. He is very sweet to me, he calls me pretty, he says I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and he wants to marry me. He wants me to move in with him as soon as possible.
The thing is, I didnt forget the thing he said. I am Syrian, so Arab. He is English white.
When we were still friends he would stay stuff like, sandniggers are so ugly, fucking mudslimes shouldnt come to america blablabla. And I knew he was serious. I know for a fact that he still thinks like that, he just doesnt say that kind of stuff around me anymore. I know he says awful stuff about people like me with his friends.
It really fucking hurts me, but I can’t see myself with anyone else. And he is the only man that ever really wanted me, I feel like if I leave him I won’t find anyone else.
It’s just so hard to believe he says stuff like this, and then kiss me all over and calls me perfect etc..
I know he is serious about me, since he introduced me to his family (they arent racist, and they like me).
I am just starting to having doubts about his feelings towards me. I feel like he probably doesn’t find me attractive since “shitskins” are so ugly to him.

I wonder if this ever came up in Dune

>>18123693
yeah I did this with LD too; read the book, thought it was great, wikipedia'd the rest of the books in the series, and was shocked to find out what the author had done; I now have my own headcanon of what happened to all the characters, because what the author had in mind is just depressing

>>18121758
Did you write it? You tell us.

>>18123676
I feel like I'm going to do this with Dune

>>18122244
I find litrpg is perfect for this, since it rarely matters if you miss some

>>18123408
Icarus Hunt is based. Light, fast and fun.

These threads used to be popular. It seems posting anime gets rid of Bakker posters like me. I just don't feel like posting in cringe.

>>18123345
I did not even know about the second trilogy, exclusively read the original one. Thanks for telling me, guess I know what I will be reading the next few days

>>18123722
Let know how it goes, I've finished the OG book but don't think I have the patience to make it to God Emperor

>>18123931
messiah is pretty safe to skip and read a synopsis of, it's not very good. i enjoyed children but if you find it awful i think a synopsis is sufficient to get you to god-emperor, which is so good that it's worth just reading a bunch of shitty books to get to it. stop there though, nothing good comes after god-emperor.

>>18123676
>read book
>really enjoy it
>find out its part of a series
>author has released other stories but nothing in that world since 2014
>his wife also died in 2014
I hope they're not connected but sad to get on a train late and know there is no continuation.

1-3 Dune
4-6 Thrawn
7-9 Confederacy of Dunces
0 none of the above

>>18124248
well the numbers have spoken though I would have prefered the SF

pretty based so far
love how he went through thermodynamics laws

>>18119288
An autist book for autists

>>18123931
>>18123957
Messiah is essential, dont listen to this retard. Its also very short.

>>18122027
If I'm being totally honest, it's because I'm out of audible credits and have nothing else to listen to at work

>>18123931
>God Emperor
Overrated. Loved the series up to this point but just couldn't be bothered to finish this. It's so boring.

>>18124769
no. it's short, about half the length of dune, and yet feels twice as long. almost the entirety of the book is just people talking, nothing of interest happens, then more people talk and nothing continues to happen. it's only at the end where events actually occur, it's prime material for a synopsis.

>>18124876
never seen anyone refer to god-emperor as worse than messiah or children, that's a new level of hot take you got there. horribly wrong of course.

>>18124876
I got Children of Dune yesterday. Not looking forward to it haha just want to read God Emperor

>>18124923
>just people talking, nothing of interest happens, then more people talk and nothing continues to happen. it's only at the end where events actually occur
Play more vidya zoomer

>>18124941
get better taste in prose, shiteater

>>18124522
You are so, so right. The main character just mentioned liking to read sci fi novels, but avoiding adventures because "the authors never get the mechanics right"

this good?

>>18118978
most are shit

Don't even try to lie to me faggots, I know you've read this

>>18121467
>got cancelled
>makes more money than before
sounds too good to be true

>>18125358
Publishers pay ~10%. Depending on the platform, a self-published author might retain as little as 70% in the worst case. So he could lose 80% of his audience and still come out ahead.

>>18123722
Just read the first 4. The series takes a dip in quality post God Emperor of Dune (and is never actually resolved because the author died before he could complete the 7th book.)

>>18123676
i did this with rama except i didn't even read about the sequels

>>18118952
what are some good books about monster hunting?

>>18125356
I read it when younger. Stopped when James sold the series to someone else to write.
I think that was the one about the little girl, Angel?

>>18123676
>read book
>really enjoy it
>find out its not part of a series
>author explicitly says he doesnt want to write a sequel
>that was 6 years ago and he kept his word

what do you guys think of Ted Chiang?

>>18125498
that's actually the first book of the series which they've retroactively named The Angel Experiment, I'm guessing
I stopped this series on the fourth book (the obvious globohomo environmental one) when it was incredibly obvious that it was only meant to be a trilogy. I was also like 13 at the time.
I just randomly remembered that it existed because I decided to look up one of Patterson's early detective novels

>>18118952
I like 1984 but never got into SciFi, give me recs bros.

>>18125705
start with Ready Player One, then check out the latest Hugo winner for soft Sci-Fi, or the latest Star Wars High Republic novel for something more hard

>>18125769
No

>>18125705
>>18125772
fuck if I know man, try Ender's Game or Dune

can anyone rec a terrible all around sff? I would like to try reading one, for fun

>>18126049
walking to aldebaran
it's got a literal tranny astronaut and there's a twist, the book was bad all along.

>>18125830
don't worry ab it bro, I'm just being a dick. What I was looking for was "The Forever War" but I remembered the name.

>>18125705
Try starship-troopers.

>>18120803
You've already identified the problem

>>18125333
Most of them aren't bad

>>18126049
Schild's Ladder

Any of you faggots read this shit? I see book 3 was released and I have a few credits to burn. Want something fun but not too deep. Have a trip coming up and these looked like they would pass the time.

>>18119751
Analsûrrender Killhouse

>>18126256
What do you think of "The Forever War"

>>18126304
The prose is terrible even by smut standards. Couldn’t get into it.

>>18126314
>google "The Forever War"
>expect Tom Clancy
>instead get literally who (not a bad thing)
>less than 300 pages
>about war with distant ayys
>also written in '70s
lotta green flags here, guess I'm gonna have to check it out

any sci fantasy featuring furr-, I mean anthropomorphic animal characters?

>>18126314
Great and more "relevant" to 1984 than starship troopers. But it was already recommended so i decide to give another book.

>>18126517
Roman de Renart (Reynard the Fox)
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The Metamorphosis
The Last Unicorn
Little Fuzzy (1962)
We the Underpeople (Norstrilia) (1975)
Aldair in Albion (1976)
Spellsinger at the Gate (1983)
Tailchaser's Song (1985)
Redwall
Mus of Kerbridge
Shohan Alliance
By Sword and Star by Renee Carter Hall
Flight of the Star Phoenix, by Bernard Doove
God of Clay by Ryan Campbell
Skyfire by Jess. E Owen
Barsk: The Elephant’s Graveyard
Imperium Lupi, by Adam Browne
Small World, by Gre7g Luterman
Symphony of Shifting Tides, by Leilani Wilson
Blood in the Mist, by Josh Vogt (this one's terrible)

t.furry scholar

>>18123003
Up on audiobookbay now.

>>18126847
based reccs, thanks

>>18126517
Mask of the Template

>>18123362
i dropped traitor son on the first book because it was boooring and the magic felt bad. also hardened mercenary companies having badass women is extremely cringe. I wouldnt call it easy reading just because of how long and tedious it was.

>>18119751
Apollo Mojave

>>18120404
This is shit

What do I read after Gene Wolfe? All other fantasy is drab and shallow now.

>>18127052
bakker

>>18122244
Mars trilogy

>>18123362
None of those

>>18127059
Looks interesting. I'll pick up The Darkness that comes Before.

>>18125356
Loved it when I was a kid

>>18126517
CJ Cherryh

>>18127052
R. A. Lafferty and Jack Vance. Matthew Hughes would be good as well.

>tfw finally starting the crippled god
Gonna suck when I wrap up this series for good. Been a neat ten books.

>>18127052
John Crowley and M. John Harrison. Peake and Dunsany too, if you haven't gotten around to picking them up yet.

Also, I'll second the first two recommendations here >>18127111 as well. Haven't read Matthew Hughes, so I can't comment.

>>18127129
I remember being you, starting The Crippled God and believing that I would get a great book.

>>18119288
Alright, just finished it, fucking mundane all the way to the end. The climax of the book was the old man having a heart attack right before a competency hearing at the courthouse. This is a book written by a man without a romantic bone in his body. It even does the whole thing where a wizard shows up on the doorstep of a distant relative to offer them training and their fortune, and instead of jumping for joy or anything one might consider normal narrative irrationality, the heir demands a written contract, and we get the delight of spending a chapter at the law firm of her lawyer as they verify that everything is in order.
In short, it's not a book with zero magic, but it very well could have been with no serious damage to the core. If you really, genuinely want to learn about what it's like to be a caretaker for an old, wealthy man who is, tangentially, cursed, by all means give The Wizard's Butler a read. If you are looking for more excitement than the joys of discovering someone else has already done all the dusting and polishing, I recommend looking elsewhere. 4/10.

>>18126304
That's literally just Rydia

>>18127052
dunsany, clarke ashton smith, bakker, vance

>>18127141
literally me except im on memories of ice and i cant bring myself to finish it. its so fucking boring and self indulgent in exposition

>>18118952
I've said it here before and will say it again. If you haven't already, Read Thomas Covenant.

>>18119751
Too many to count. John Carter of Mars, Conan the Barbarian, Victarion Greyjoy, etc.

beside stanislaw lem and bulgakov, are there any (good) non-english sff authors?

just a reminder that we have a discord: https://discord.com/invite/KWPCM7m
currently on book 2 of broken earth trilogy, gonna finish the series

>>18127747
Yes.

>>18127754
Although if sci fi you have in mind is Futurulogical Congress by Lem, I'm not sure.

>>18127751
>reading Jemisin
Get better taste discord nerds.

>>18123003
It's funny how Zahn still writes books for a fanbase he hates

>>18127751
Fuck off

>>18123362
Kingkiller is some of the smoothest prose out there, very easy going, the book itself is fun on the surface but if you don't like the MC you better stop immediately because there is not much else going for it if you can sniff out the Stu. There's also the problem of book 2 advancing 0 plot and you can quickly see that Rothfuss has no idea what he's doing.

Broken Empire has a lot of buy in but became one of my favorite series of the last decade.

Only read the first Black Company book and its easy to see why it's a classic. High recommend.

Could never get into First Law.

>>18127771
the writing in broken earth is honestly really good. great worldbuilding and imagery.

>>18127833
cope

>>18123449
Robert Jordan

>>18127751
>broken earth trilogy
First one was really good, second one was already bad but I forced myself to go through it expecting it to get better (it didn't), third one was so terrible I had to drop it.

>>18120737
>What is /sffg/'s general opinion about these books, what am I in for?

They are okay but one of the more annoying things about the series is that some of the subplots are more interesting than the main story after a while, which I think is one of the signs of a failure as a fantasy writer ngl.

>>18120737
It's garbage.

>>18120737
Fun but a single book behind you.

>>18128018
>Kingkiller is some of the smoothest prose out there
I don't understand this take at all. I find most of Rothfuss' prose to be clunky and his pacing awful. He has his moments, but he needs an editor with a spine.

What's best finished fantasy series?

>>18128725
MYTH Inc

>>18128725
Earthsea unironically

>>18128725
realm of the elderlings

>>18128725
probably the book of the new sun
for a longer series maybe dark tower, even though there's a drop off in the later books
does lord of the rings count?

>>18128812
>probably the book of the new sun
It's a sci-fi
>does lord of the rings count?
No. No children's books

At first I was very upset with Hans murdering Krueger and it being written as if it was some kind of just desserts. At first I thought the author was spitting in my face by spending the whole book building this universe of duty and needs-must-when-the-devil-drives, only to pull the rug out from under my feet by having the empathetic tank commander murder, in cold blood, and out of sheer spite, one of his loyal crew after they'd spent months fighting through hell to save humanity.
But now I'm thinking back on the rest of the book and I can't help but wonder if Hans was meant to be the bad guy all along.

>>18118980
No, this sound white power as fuck. If I read anything like this I only think about how flabby the author’s man-titties are.

>>18125769
>then check out the latest Hugo winner for soft Sci-Fi
Dont do that. I recently read "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet " and it such a woke SJW shitfest that it felt like a genuine insult to the readers intelligence.

>>18126453
Dude, The Forever War is probably among the ten most influential scifi stories ever written. It was absolutely outrageous at the time. like sex among male and female soldiers was pretty much unthinkable back then.

>>18126453
The most important thing is not to ever read the read the sequels.

>>18127059
I can't even imagine how this is the case unless there's two Bakkers and I read the wrong one. Bakker's is the exact "epic fantasy" drivel that Gene Wolfe manages to side step entirely. Which of his books is meant to be comparable to Gene Wolfe?

>>18120631
lot of characters that are spoken of show up in later books or prequels, the references will be more clear and easier to understand as you go through the series
>>18120666
he got filtered, of course the plot arcs are resolved eventually, how else would the author have reached 10 books + all the side books if they're so shit that plots don't get resolved?
only thing is Gardens of the Moon was his first book so he hadn't hashed out how everything worked yet, definitely better on a reread when you've gone through the rest
Deadhouse Gates and Chain of Dogs is where it really starts to shine and hooks you in

>>18127129
read the The Tales of Bauchelain and
Korbal Broach afterward to get some short fun stories set in the same universe
Path To Ascendancy trilogy to see how Dancer, Kellanved, and Dassem meet up. Warning it's by the second Malazan author, Esslemont, so it's not as good, but I remember the second book being pretty worthwhile with the author having improved, but the third one he kind of reverted back to his shittier writing.

Warning about the The Kharkanas Trilogy also, by the main author but he double-downed on randos philosophizing and it was just too much for me

>>18128859
The only thing I remember from the book was the bitch boy who let the enemy through the bridge because he was too much of a pussy to blow it up while it was still full of civvies.

>>18127596
Well I never played final fantasy. She doesn't look 16 in that pic.

>>18129087
Yeah he was a little retard. The transformation his mother went through makes me want to believe he spent the rest of his life transforming into the hardest arnold schwarzenegger alien killing bastard in the universe to atone for being such little faggot.

>>18120022
Only seventh, pathetic.

>>18127637
Thomas covenant is nothing special

>>18128859
John Ringo is so shit. Couldn't stand his Monster Hunter Memoirs fanfic compared to Larry Correia's real Monster Hunter International books.
Also read The Last Centurion, got burnt out before even reading Part 2 which supposedly has the anabasis part. Yeah it was funny he was shitting on democrats but the whole Part 1 just felt like a shitty World War Z but this time with H1N1. (One okay point was even if it was written in 2008, it feels like he's talking about coronavirus and the govs shitty attempts at handling it. But just cause it's 'relevant' doesn't mean it's not shit.)

>>18129335
Everything I've read by John Ringo has had a really good premise that he ends up taking a steaming shit all over near the end of the book.

https://files.catbox.moe/3asqb2.webm

been enjoying a re-read of the rincewind novels, are there any good british humorists other than terry pratchett douglas adams?

>>18128937
>

>>18128725
the second apocalypse by r scott bakker

>>18127637
Have you read the second and third Chronicles?

Reminder the Culture series is better than 90% of the dogshit posted here

>>18118987
The System Apocalypse series is great. It started as a humble litrpg and ended up as a goat space opera.

>>18128725
Hyperion

>>18127637
Would you care to elaborate as to why?

>>18118978
What are some good self published novels besides the ones from Wong and Norman?

>>18130080
He hasnt done NG series yet

It's pretty cool that sorcerous light doesn't illuminate chorae or people who hold them. It must look freaky as fuck to stand under a surillic point and see everything, but have someone holding a choare just be an indeterminate shadowy figure.

>>18130392
protip:
he won't

>>18130326
The Heresy Within
The Cradle series
Wraith’s Haunt
Aching God
The Cartographer series
Waldo Rabbit

>>18130080
I am reading TGO atm, is the series truly finished in TUC so that it feels satisfying or will I be looking for NGS?

>>18130636
>is the series truly finished in TUC so that it feels satisfying or will I be looking for NGS?
the eternal question on every bakkerfan's mind...

i'm reading swan song by robert mccammon right now and i'm wondering what the fuck is going on here.
is this book some sort of elaborate retelling of the stand? a remake? am i going crazy

>>18130305
Really good story, really interesting setting, and a great protagonist

just finished Goblin Emperor, only thing that threw me off in the start were all the honorifics being thrown around
best part is when it's the mc's birthday and he gets all these gifts and wishes of a happy birthday, and he has no idea what they want since he never really celebrated his birthday before

>>18130456
Cradle is boring and repeatable but i will try the others. Thanks m8!

Any good modern novels about the near future and space exploration and/or colonisation and/or first contact without galaxy spanning empires, author's perfect self-insert main characters and preferably without any political allegory bullshit that you can recommend anons?

>>18131492
blindsight?

>>18126453
>The Forever Wa
I'm amazed you made it to /sffg without knowing this.

>>18131492
>Near future space exploration
So, nuclear tugs ferrying asteroids to lunar orbit for factories?

>>18129031
I'm pretty sure he was being ironic.

>>18131511
Sure, a couple of centuries further max, nothing like
>IN THE YEAR 3700 THE PRAXIAN DEMOCRATIC EMPIRE HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A GALACTIC HEGEMON
>>18131502
Was looking into it already. That's all there is?

>>18131492
I knew that my story has its audience. Now just to get out of 5 month hiatus. And edit into shape after.

Reminder Tyrion will be the one to kill Daenerys in the books and will strangle her to death. Not only will it mirror Jaime murdering Aerys but will also serve as bringing Tyrion's redemption arc full circle for convincing both Trgaryens Aegon and Daenerys to invade Westoros. Aegon probably dies without getting any sort of confirmation whether he was genuine or fake

>>18130169
If you agree with the author yeah.

>>18126304
It's smut.
You wouldn't read smut would you? You're not some kind of filthy coomer, right?

Jesus fucking christ there's so many epubs to pick for Book of the New Sun
Hope the one I downloaded isn't fucked up

>>18131767
download, import to calibre
convert to whatever, usually mobi, on layout remove paragraph breaks and toggle heuristics on
this has served me well for 99% of books. some are unsalvagable.

>>18131788
What's the difference between mobi and epub? I don't know what the other two are either but I will keep it in mind if it breaks

>>18131806
determined by your device. if you use an old 1st gen kindle like me, mobi is all it'll read successfully. epub readers want epub, most amazon readers can read azw, etc..

>>18118952
Anyone here read nosleep? It's basically reddit's version of a creepypasta, there's a surplus of shit there but there's also some hidden gems. "The Third Parent" for example is an utterly horrifying story about a supernatural entity that terrorizes a family through physical, psychological, and sexual terror whilst larping as the head of the family. Borrasca is another good one about a town with a sinister secret that three teenagers find themselves trapped in.
Anyone read those stories? Or have other stories from there that they'd recommend?

>>18131879
Ah gotcha. I have this old Kobo Touch, so far it's read epubs well, so I guess I'll stick to that
>>18131977
Funny you should mention it, I went back there a few days ago because I remembered a stupid story I liked when I was younger (one of those The Rules type things). Holy shit is the writing bad. I'd rather just read SCP most of the time.
I'll check out the ones you mentioned though

>>18132233
not him, but honestly the scp wiki is pretty shockingly solid in quality for the most part vs. even most professionally published horror short stories I've read

>>18128827
>No children's books
the parts where Arwen's mom was raped by orcs and the decapitated heads thrown during siege of Minas Tirith were for kids?

>>18132340
>>18132233
Can you guys recommend some good SCP stories?

>>18132423
scp-087 (be sure to read the three documents at the end)

>>18132340
It is yeah. Mind you, there's a lot of not great stuff, or concepts not fully explored. But a lot is really really good.
The fluid canon helps as well.
>>18132423
http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-2602

>>18129031
You are unironically just dumb

Is he a good writer?

How do I contact Amazon customer support and actually interact with a human being?

>>18133379
that's science-fiction/fantasy

>>18132831
>packed with MEAT

>>18132831
No

>>18133379
Impossible, Amazon only employs human facsimiles

>>18128859
Well I guess that's that

>>18132831
Mr Bones and space Raylan in aftermath are the only good things he ever wrote in his entire life.

>>18128686
I'm saying its extremely easy to read and invest yourself in it. Quality is another axis.

>>18132831
So fucking onions it hurts

>>18118952
I know you are mexican or brasilian fucking asshole, so you better stop posting anime or else

>>18123362
>>Kingkiller chronicles
unfinished cringy mess
>>>Broken Empire
only read a hundred pages but it was embarrassing edgelord nonsense, i couldn't keep reading it
>>Traitor Son Cycle
have not read
>>Black Company
the best one on your list. not a hard read but it's a bit wonky because of its storytelling method. a lot of skips in time and matter of factly stating important things without much fanfare. worth a read for sure i think, there's nothing quite like it.
>>First Law
probably your best bet out of that list. i found it very easy reading, got through it fast, found it enjoyable and no-nonsense. a bit depressing.

if you're just starting on fantasy, i'd recommend codex alera. it has a classic hero's journey from small town start to world ending crisis, is fairly lighthearted, easy to read and has a satisfactory conclusion without being 15 books long.
for what it's worth i finished malazan but i regretted wasting my time on it.

What are your favorite fictional creatures?

>>18123362
Black Company is pretty comfy. Cook is one of those authors you're either cool with or can't stand. First Law is also good and may be easier to follow for non-natives.

You could always go with high grade YA like Earthsea or one of Piers Anthony's less deranged series.

>>18134789
>Piers Anthony's less deranged series.
What do you mean by this?

Alright, I came back to give this another shot after dropping it pretty quickly the first time around, and I didn't hate it nearly as much this time. I still don't particularly like any of the characters, with Ranami in particular being an insufferable idealist who doesn't get nearly enough push back*. Still, I find the machine code necromancy to be a fun system of magic, the world as a whole naturally engaging, and the plot competent. The strength of these aspects outweigh the uninspiring characters. The plot is fairly predictable, however, all but perhaps one of its twists easily predictable within the first third of the book.
I am a little confused that the book isn't labelled YA, and probably wouldn't have bought it at all if it had been. It is exactly at the level of quality I would expect to see in that crowd, and the de facto author to rely on for the publishing quotes is Sarah J. Maas, so it's obvious they're appealing to high school girls in the marketing department. Anyway, I'm just trying to get across that it's a low reading level, and the only kind of readers I can really rec it to are kids looking for another shoddily written lesbian romance or worldbuildingfags. Overall 6/10, just barely scraping by with a passing grade.
*As a side note, I feel compelled to rail against what a terrible, stupid fucking person Ranami is. Imagine being driven by a passionate desire for economic equity on your island, having the Governor's heir deeply in love with you, and yet continuously refusing to get married because you feel like it would be lending support to the status quo. Bitch, just get fucking married and change shit from the inside! Your girlfriend will literally do fucking anything you ask to get another shot at that pussy. But no, much better to get pretend kidnapped by the most famous rebel terror group in the empire, and then guilt trip your girlfriend into joining them when she comes to save you. Dumb fucking cunt.

>>18134843
not him but
>look this guy up
>title of his next upcoming book is "Apoca Lips"

>>18134921
He basically solely writes pun-based comic fantasy
>>18134843
I assume anon is referencing Anthony's insatiable lust for cunny. Nigga loves writing about how sexy the rather young females in his novels are

>>18134932
hahahahaha

>>18134932
>>18134843
>>18134789
>Anthony has defended his work, saying that societal attitudes toward sex are different from culture to culture and that his work reflects those differences. When asked about his feelings about pedophilia, Anthony said:

>Am I attracted to young women? Yes; I am attracted to the entire female persuasion, and have women of every age in my fiction, and women of every age have sex in my fiction. The fact is, as I explore in my GEODYSSEY series, men are attracted to women, and to the shapely ones more than the others, and to the young ones more than the older ones. I don't mean to children, but to girls after they develop breasts and pubic hair, signals of sexual maturity. This relates to the apparent breedability of women; the strategy of the man is to capture a woman at the beginning of her reproductive life and have as many children by her as possible. So young women tend to be the most appealing; it's pretty much hard-wired in our species, and this is reflected in our society's glorification of youth in TV, movies, magazine, advertising--everywhere, as if it is a crime to ever get old. As a man who recently shared the 46th anniversary with the woman I married when she was 19, I deplore this global cultural attitude, but I understand it. To appreciate young women should not be to disparage older ones. And I do like to look at young women. Yes, my wife understands; once we were watching a video, and I needed to brush my teeth in the bathroom and missed a very nice nude-woman sequence with Bo Derrick, so she told me, wound it back, and played it over. It's like bird watching: one looks and appreciates but does not touch. I suspect that 90% of men who claim to feel otherwise are lying. (I'm allowing for the gay contingent.) This is reflected in my fiction in large part because it sells better than more realistic fiction, and publishers want it. But about membership in an anti-pedophelia organization--I do oppose pedophilia, but don't belong to any such outfit. In fact, I correspond with some pedophiles in prison.

>>18134974
One can only aspire to such heights

>>18134974
based

>>18134974
>In fact, I correspond with some pedophiles in prison.
I guess that is where he got the inspiration for that scene in Firefly

>>18121758
yeah it sounds hilarious

>>18123362
First Law and Kingkiller are both easy reads. First Law is much better, imo, and the author actually finishes his books which is good. I haven't read the others.

>>18125542
wait, he's asian?????????????????????

>tfw finished TUC and keep having scary nightmares about inchoroi

>>18134753
My gf

Sweet Sejenus the Dagliash battle would be epic in a movie setting.
Meat

when did people start seeing the goblins in harry potter as antisemitic caricatures?

>>18135540
Not everyone can be saved...

>>18134753
Alzabos

>>18135540
every single “set piece” that bakker writes is kino AF. TSA would make the most fucking awesome fantasy film series of all times if cucked hollywood had the balls to produce it.

>>18135554
The fuck is that.

>>18125065
>prose
literally kill yourself retard Messiah is essential you filtered moron

>>18125436
What did he even do to get canceled?

>>18135540
queue all the vids trying to explain that it was a nuke to get that youtube money
am still laughing at how Kayutas was described in a previous thread as a discount Kellhus who gave in to the meat

>>18134921
>>18134932
Jest Right, Knot Gneiss, Up in a Heaval, Faun & Games,Night Mare
Jesus this guy really is just having fun with puns
Xanth series still worth reading though? I don't mind it being 40 books

>>18135840
An alzabo?

>>18135549
The same reason why they saw Watto and his species as some sort of Jewish characters. For no reason.

My sister-in-law bought me pic related and two sequels, are they worth reading? I'm hesitant because it's a recent hugo winner and the SIL is so pozzed she's a Cambridge (MA) academic who unironically writes for the NYT, so her book opinions aren't ones I particularly value

>>18136230
Why don't you read it and find out, anon.

>>18136230
>recent hugo winner

>>18136230
You literally have the book already, why the fuck are you asking to be spoon fed an opinion instead of forming your own?

>>18136241
>>18136251
I don’t want to waste my time with reading books.

>>18136251
>>18136241
Because I have way more books than I have time to read, hence the question of whether it's worth the time. I also prefer digital to paper books since they're easier to pick up at a moment's notice (I have an infant at home), and the copies are in paper, so I'm leaning away from reading them on the convenience factor.

Sorry for asking about scifi novels in sffg, I'll let everyone get back to bakker posting and the culture war.

>>18136264
>Because I have way more books than I have time to read, hence the question of whether it's worth the time. I also prefer digital to paper books since they're easier to pick up at a moment's notice (I have an infant at home), and the copies are in paper, so I'm leaning away from reading them on the convenience factor.
Can't you just look up reviews online?

>>18136264
What an utterly retarded post. It costs you literally nothing to start reading it, saying you haven't got time is totally irrelevant because if you don't like it you can just put the book down.

>>18136230
A writer friend of mine pressed this book upon me unequivocably, mentioning in passing that one of the book's biggest fans was Barack Obama. How could I refuse?
It was unfortunate that I was, when I started The Three-Body Problem, in the afterglow of having read the latest and best novel from the planet's greatest living novelist, Javier Marias, Berta Isla. A pretty tough act to follow, to say the least.
So I must be forgiven for perhaps being less than generously disposed to prose that limps off the page, at best, and at worst, whose characters aspire to caricature and cardboard. The extra-terrestrials? When revealed, they're just like us, only duller.
As fiction, stultifyingly dull and clueless. As Science Fiction, though, in terms of high concept, science-philosophical queries, fractal insights spanning the multi-various universes, nested enormities of dimensions, intergalactic espionage as subverting our own grasp of reality and potential scientific progress?
We can all name Sci-Fi writers who used speculative fiction for merely satirical ends, or writers who drape a multiverse in empyrean thought and inspiring, deeply artful prose. The 21st Century's best trilogy has already been written, with reality in all its multiplicity as a mere starting point: Alan Moore's Jerusalem. There are plenty of novels of the undead to amuse, but there's only one Green Eyes by the late Lucius Shepard. SciFi can cast a fantastical speculative vision of the future, but at its best, with Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and a host of others, an inward glance into the microcosm of the soul, of the heart, is also possible. As fiction, The Three-Body Problem is at best, amateurish. On the Science level of grasp, probity and vision, this is the masterpiece everyone says it is.
I bet this trilogy will make a much better movie than the paper version. Even with my caveats, I'll be reading the rest, just for the occasional mind-blowing, universe-winking-right-at-you stuff.

>>18136230
idk why they're bullying you, they're a hivemind.
1st book is excellent although chinese propaganda.
it's important culturally for everyone and a movie is in the works.

>>18136274
K thanks

>>18136268
Yes, but like the recent Hugo's, online reviews aren't very valuable. I generally respect the opinions of anons here more than whatever journalism major got assigned the book report

Ok, so I have this problem where I really want to start a fantasy novel series. I've been building this world for YEARS, every day during meaningless tasks I'll daydream and spin around ideas about this setting. Recently I've been trying to focus it all down to characters and events so I can really pin down a plot for this thing. The BIG problem though is my anxiety and how shut off I can become when these kind of things come up around people. I live with my girlfriend and a roommate and I dread the thought of either of them catching me writing and asking about it. How can I get past this and just get what I want down in writing so I can get this thing started? One last thing, I can write on paper but I'm so heavy handed that my wrist will start hurting; I'm also divisive on going on my main PC in fear that I'll dive into a game or something else. I'd like a dedicated platform to be creative on and have dipped in the idea of getting a Samsung Galaxy Book Flex? The ability to write and draw maps sounds great to me, but I feel I need to show some commitment to this hobby before I start dropping hard money on it. Sorry for the spill but I'd love some advice, Thanks.

>>18136230
I've heard good things from very nonpozzed friends who are into hard sci fi.

>>18136288
Just write.

>>18136278
Thank you for an actual answer.

Sounds like I should just regift the set to someone. Translated chink fiction beloved by King Negro is not my cup of tea.

>>18136298
Just give it to some used bookstore.

>>18136288
Literally open a word document and press buttons you autist.

>>18136302
That isn’t advice.

New thread.
>>18136305

>>18136304
It was a non answer to a non question.

>>18136274
This, just learn to drop bad books. I used to have this autistic compulsion to finish everything you picked up, but it's way better to drop as soon as you realize it's shit/boring/juvenile/whatever.