/lit/ - Literature

first for zyzz

King of /sffg/.

Simple as

My name is Bakker and I'm here to say
That I'm going to rap in an eliminativist way
Word on the street
Your soul is just meat
Attempts to disprove
Are met with defeat
See it doesn't really matter what you feel
Because your inner experience isn't real
See here's the thing
You're a puppet on a string
Completely enslaved by your conditioning
Its a truth that you can't escape
Man is an ape that's designed to rape
So get this through your head
God is long dead
And neuroscience rises in its stead

>>19763851
It's just meaningless noise like

>>19763880
>>19763881
>>19763893

I am looking for a dark fantasy series with intense battles, pitch black lore, highly intellectual themes that dovetail into real world philosophy, poignant character psychology, and just a hint of Lovecraftian horror. Is there anything out there like this?

>>19763933
You are not a real person

>>19763933
I would heartily recommend the works of Brandon Sanderson who has helped modernize and popularize the concept of "hard magic", which is basically the idea that magic needs rules to make sense just as there are rules for science. Fantasy can largely be divided in to before and after Sanderson, a divide which is synonymous with Unrealistic and Realistic fantasy.

>>19763933
Kane by Karl Edward Wagner.

These threads usually have the same recommendations for anything
>Bakker
>Sanderson
>the one other guy

> It has been said that Lord Dunsany sometimes conceived stories while hunting and would return to the Castle and draw in his family and servants to re-enact his visions before he set them on paper.

>>19764009
Prince of Nothing by Bakker

>tolkien
>the grandfather of fantasy
Fantasy is older than some br*tish cuck larping as an elf, his """"accomplishment"""" is making it palatable to the lore-obsessed masses.
>>19763933
Probably The Worm Ouroboros.

How to be a non-pozzed in pozzed times

1- read Bakker
2- hate women
3- be masculine and hard
4- re-read Bakker
5- discuss Bakker with your Bakkerchads
6- antagonize anyone showing hate Bakker
7- Bakker is king

Friendly reminder that /lit/ is a Modesitt board. We recognize him as the quite achiever of modern fantasy. A prolific yet unsung artisan toiling in relative obscurity weaving gold from lead on the loom of his imagination.
We here on /sffg/ represent that vanguard of what will one day be known as "The Modesitt Century" by future generations.
We know history is on our side. We know that there is only one answer to the question 'Who is the greatest fantasy writer of all time?".
And the answer is Modesitt!

>>19764061
>women on cover
oh I'm sure he is the best at being pozz pilled!

Fuck bros, the Lord of the Rings is so fucking good
As someone who tried reading the fellowship when I was 12 and found it difficult to enjoy I only ever really watched the films until I was about 23 and decided to give the series a proper read, it's funny how my enjoyment of the films has plummeted so much but my enjoyment of the books has become so great
This will be my 2nd re-read and I'm loving it even more than my first time
It really makes me wish I wasn't so close minded about fantasy, I've tried authors like Sanderson, Pratchett, Gaiman, Rothfuss, Feist, Abercrombie, Jordan and even some of the older classics like Dunsany, Vance, Moorcock and Howard but I just can't enjoy any of them
I think George RR Martin is probably the closest author for me but I find his world view to be repugnant to me unfortunately, I still need to read Gene Wolfe

>>19764009
>>the one other guy
BOTNS by Gene Wolfe?

>>19764090
>and even some of the older classics like Dunsany, Vance, [...] and Howard but I just can't enjoy any of them
Taste this bad should be reportable

Is the Once and Future King good?

>>19764090
I too tried to read LotR when I was younger. My grandmother gave me all her Tolkien stuff and I'm due to read the books soon - what is it that you like about the books anon?

>>19764103
I just finished it literally a few seconds ago. The first part is written like it's for kids, but it comes back to have worth come the end. The Book of Merlyn totally ruins the ending The Candle in the Wind has, plus it's White's raw, unfiltered opinion coming out of Merlin's mouth and is totally repugnant. And a whole bunch of it is reused material from the first book anyway.

>>19764090
A thing that surprised me with LOTR is how it seems to be the unrefract light of fantasy genre. I knew there would be lots of feasting and singing and general jolliness, because I had read the hobbit as a kid, but what struck me was how mournful and melancholy much of the world is depicted as, especially in Fellowship, where much of the journey is them passing through the ruins of fallen kingdoms that have given way to desolate wilderness. And of course realizing how Orcs were made is actually quite brutal.

That tone is pretty much what I would consider to be the tone of 'Dark Fantasy', except it also has all that aforementioned jolliness, and moments of simple honest heroism.

It struck me how Tolkien was able to harmonize all these different tonalities. It made me realize how the majority of modern fantasy, even by authors I like, seem to lack that ability to weave multiple tones in to a harmonious whole, instead being sort of one note beginning to end.

>>19764157
Yes

The Tolkien Ghola will soon be ready

>>19764099
>removing Moorcock the best of all those he listed
Fuck off.

>appropriates norse mythology for his britbong christcuck fantasy

>>19764294
Based. Been thinking of doing the same with Aztec mythology, I know the Mormons already kinda did it, but think I can do it better.

Any more space horrors? preferably on ships but I’ll take other stuff. Someone mentioned Ship of Fools before, im looking for more options

>>19764339
It isn't strictly horror, but try Revelation Space. The series as a whole is technically space opera, but the way it is done is dark, spooky, atmospheric and has horrific moments. Just don't expect a slasher in space.

accidentally made a new thread for this but asking again here >>19764387

>>19764371
Thanks I read Chasm City a while back and enjoyed it, maybe it’s time to continue the series

>>19764294
The Anglos love to persecute the Germanic people. Some say they can even smell Aryan blood.

>>19763893
Post authors that actually have a physique similar to that.

>>19764482
>>19764339

Also I’ve read Blindsight and liked it a lot

>>19764061
Cool book art

>>19764057
>read tanith lee
Bakker is too easy on women

I just started this. The first chapter looks good.

>>19761522
Based. More books for this feel?
I also wish I was Des Grieux' driver getting yelled and and savagely berated. Maybe after the battle he rapes me too
I liked Des Grieux character a lot. The whole psycho ultra-violent fucking up friend and enemy alike character is a lot of fun. I wish Hammer could have figured out that all he needs to do is find a field of bodies, point Des Grieux at it and say "go crazy". It seems like really bad staff management to take a guy who is reckless and heady but incredibly good at violence, and try and cram him into by-the-book tactics.

>>19764719
Is there some massive twist near the end of the series that justifies what feels like a very sloppily presented premise and extremely half-baked psychology?
It seems like a hell of a long slog if the punchline is just "lmao none of this actually works xdDDD" and when I dropped it at the psychic civ being introduced that's the only way I could imagine the book playing out and being received well since it was doing a garbage job presenting the premise as functional.

After reading War and Peace and Bakker, I have decided that I quite like historical or historical inspired books, any recommendations for historical fantasy?

>>19764766
It’s good. Yes, a twist.

>>19764778
I enjoyed this one, its Historic Fantasy and Romance

>>19763933
Ever read malazan? Pretty good tbqh

>>19764846
that cover looks extremely gay, I really hope the story isn't like that because there is too much of this shit in main stream media already

>>19764812
>>19764766
Sorry, can someone who isn't mentally handicapped respond to me, please?

>>19764778
The Deluge
Knights of the cross (Krzyzacy)
Both by Henryk Sienkiewicz

>>19764946
Of course they are gay, gramps. It's a good book.

Recommend non-mainstream books

>>19764964
Yeah, the book is based and redpilled, its super cool and approved by the non-handicapped

>>19765144
https://www.docdroid.net/1kOuPvV/thousandworldspart1-pdf#page=248

is laughing when reading soft gay?

>>19765212
Not having a sense of humor is cringe

>>19765233
But I want to be Ryan Gosling from Drive.

>>19765241
Why don't you try being Ryan Gosling from BladeRunner 2049? Or Ryan Gosling from LaLaLand?

>>19765277
Notebook Gosling

>>19765241
just bee yourself

>>19765277
I'm too busy being Ryan Gosling from "Lars and the Real Girl"

Any scifi or fantasy books with libertarian themes? I read Starship Troopers and The moon is a strange mistress is on my list.

>>19765241
>>19765277
Close, but it's Ryan Gosling from The Place Beyond the Pines for me

Who's Ryan Gosling?

>>19765520
Try using google next time, retard.

>>19765525
How would using 10^100 power help?

>>19763871
What are some "orc books" in Warhammer Fantasy universe?

Is the Sword of Truth series any good? I know it’s got Ayn Rand shit in it but although I think objectivism is stupid it doesn’t trigger me like some people. Just want to know if the series is passable fantasy. FWIW I consider Wheel of Time passable fantasy and stuff like LOTR, Dune, Hyperion good fantasy.

>>19764061
Sounds autistic enough, I'll read the first book.

>>19763933
The first law has some of that.

>>19764858
Malazan hardly has intellectual themes. It's 10,000+ pages of D&D OCs wandering around with the occasional crossover episode.

>>19765520
Ligma balls

>>19765646
It should meet your definition of 'passable', at least enough that you should give the first book a fair attempt before deciding if you want to continue with the rest of the series.

>>19763933
That's literally Conan the Barbarian, down to the Lovecraftian horror bit.
So you2re looking for Conan clones. Try Conan stories by authors other than REH. and maybe Kane, as it's a conan copy; but it's the story of the wandering jew.

>>19765837
Unfortunately Conan got exposed for being a simp, he goes around and saves women and help them to get some puss!

Simp of Cimmeria

>>19765984
You keep using that word the wrong way.

>>19766054
>Look up vampire books
>Bombarded with vampire Josei smut
I'd like to do now, please

>>19764061
Isn't this the guy someone used as an example of mediocre and not very popular fantasy a couple of threads back?

The best book in The Dark Tower series and arguably the best Stephen King novel.

kindle unlimited has a ton of sword and sorcery/pulp scifi short story anthologies. they each range around 2-300 pages and most have decent 4.5 or 5 star reviews.

>>19766118
Do I have to read 10 other novels to understand it?

>>19766121
So does libgen. I'm not sure I see your point.

>>19766172
I'm not a faggot pirate

best dark fantasy?

>>19766160
It would help, it takes place between "Wizard and Glass" and "Wolves of the Calla" but you can just pick it up and read it, shouldn't be too confusing.

>>19766121
recommend some

>>19766118
I like the ones that take place in Midworld the best as well, though I prefer The Gunslinger personally.

>>19766218
The Gunslinger was a very good novel even stand-alone. Somehow 'The wizard and glass' (that's the one with Roland's past right?) was the worst one for me. It felt too much like a standard cowboy romance novel with very little mysticism and exploration of midworld.

>>19766225
Yeah I agree, The Gunslinger is actually one of my favorite novels and I prefer to read it as a stand-alone. Can’t see why so many people seem to dislike it.
I liked Wizard and Glass quite a bit myself, but then again I love westerns. Sort of felt like my ideal YA novel, I sort of wish it had been its own thing.

>>19766118
The Gunslinger is the best Dark Tower book. Shame it's all downhill from there.

>>19766253
I really like that the whole story is basically a metaphor for addiction, even hammered home with the last book's ending.

>>19766197
well I looked through a lot, and the ones I picked out were: gardens of the moon, the barsoom collection, the vagrant, blood on the blade, empress of dreams, and necromancy in nilztiria

>>19766253
I wouldn’t say it’s all downhill but I preferred the first book as well and, like I said to another anon, I like it a lot more as its own story.
>>19766258
Didn’t know about that addiction theory, sounds pretty interesting. I didn’t actually read the post “ending” last chapter so maybe that explains why I didn’t pick up on it.

>>19766269
It's been years since I finished it and I still don't know whether to like or hate the final chapter. It gave me such a mix of emotions, chief among them being disappointment but I can't say it wasn't fitting.

>>19766179
Real men pay Jeff Bezos to read 80 year old pulps?

>>19766329
some are new enough to not be public domain

>>19766258
Awful. Just awful.

>>19766183
Lords of Dyscrasia

Can anyone recommend some good space scifi with lots of religious themes? Think Dune's Fremen and Bene Gesserit, the Bajorans and Dominion of Deep Space Nine, or the Inquisitors from 40k.

>>19766054
>Conan tries too hard to save women and acts like a mommy's boy running around causing a ruckus just to please some pussy owner
yeah... a Simp

I think trannies fail to realize that rape scenes in shows/movies/books are there for (cis) women.

>>19766542
>>19766563
We don't care. Stop posting this shit already.

>>19766567
>We don't care. Stop posting this shit already.

>>19766567
You will never be a real woman. You have no womb, you have no ovaries, you have no eggs. You are a homosexual man twisted by drugs and surgery into a crude mockery of nature’s perfection.

All the “validation” you get is two-faced and half-hearted. Behind your back people mock you. Your parents are disgusted and ashamed of you, your “friends” laugh at your ghoulish appearance behind closed doors.

Men are utterly repulsed by you. Thousands of years of evolution have allowed men to sniff out frauds with incredible efficiency. Even trannies who “pass” look uncanny and unnatural to a man. Your bone structure is a dead giveaway. And even if you manage to get a drunk guy home with you, he’ll turn tail and bolt the second he gets a whiff of your diseased, infected axe wound.

You will never be happy. You wrench out a fake smile every single morning and tell yourself it’s going to be ok, but deep inside you feel the depression creeping up like a weed, ready to crush you under the unbearable weight.

Eventually it’ll be too much to bear - you’ll buy a rope, tie a noose, put it around your neck, and plunge into the cold abyss. Your parents will find you, heartbroken but relieved that they no longer have to live with the unbearable shame and disappointment. They’ll bury you with a headstone marked with your birth name, and every passerby for the rest of eternity will know a man is buried there. Your body will decay and go back to the dust, and all that will remain of your legacy is a skeleton that is unmistakably male.

This is your fate. This is what you chose. There is no turning back.

>>19766569
abby btfo

>>19766567
>t. Abby

>>19765680
>Filter's working

Playing Kenshi, getting inspired to read BOTNS

>black and/or female writer
I do not read that book.

>Female japanese author
I will now read your book

>>19766689
unpozzed game, the bakker of vidya

>>19766542
Wait what. It's been awhile since I've read I Have No Mouth, what's he bitching about

>>19766830
you must respect wahmen

are we getting raided by americans again?
anyway, I just finished Black Stone Heart, honestly don't know what to think of it, kind of eh..

>>19765332
The Probability Broach by L Neil Smith
Alongside Night by J Neil Schulman

if by "themes" you mean "beats you over the head with it"

>>19764090
i'm doing my 3rd re-read, but it's getting close to 20 years since my previous one. absolutely loving it.

>>19766249
>>19766225
i liked the first two books best. wizard and glass was a nice idea but it was wayyyy too fucking long.

>>19766830
The chick is raped or something in a previous life and AM mocks and tortures her mentally with that information.

Later on in the story she kind of allows under pressure the big retard to fuck her or something, so they all look down on her. She may have done it out of some weird trauma reason, I cannot remember. But she becomes the groups' shameful character or something.

Either way, IHNMAIMS is not a woman hating diatribe, AM is the villain of course, so I don't see the big deal here. Is Schindler's List and anti-semetic film? It has Jews being killed, right?

>>19765332
The Prometheus Award is the award for the best libertarian book of the year.

>mfw Stonny gets raped to death
What the fuck?

>>19763880
based

Just finished God Emperor of Dune. Not sure what to think of it. I liked most of the book except the ending. I understand it was necessary for the Golden Path, but Frank could have made Siona and Duncan more likable. Duncan in particular made the whole experience unpleasant with his incessant whining and tantrums. Why did Frank keep shoving him into every book? Was he fan favorite or Frank's self-insert? Just started Heretics and Duncan is back again, seemingly even more wanked than ever. For fuck's sake.

For anyone wondering this is the book I was trying to remember the other day. Turns out I was right when I said its name was a 7-letter word that starts with O, but holy shit did it take a while to find. So is it actually worth a read? And yes I get it's a sequel to another book called Ilium.

>>19763940
>Fantasy can largely be divided in to before and after Sanderson, a divide which is synonymous with Unrealistic and Realistic fantasy.
In usually just distinguish the eras as BS (before Sanderson) and AE (After Elantris)

>>19767621
Duncan is a big part of Heretics but he takes a back seat a bit by chapterhouse. You will get my favorite character in Heretics, Miles Teg. I feel like Duncan being brought back in Messiah existed purely to create conflict for Paul and to also show Alia's Humanity (her lack of or deprived desire for human connection). He is really like a Villain, or weapon that the Tleilaxu and conspiracy use. In Children of Dune he has the worst story I think. It's more about how Paul and the court react to him and it introduced the Tleilaxu lore.

By God Emperor, Duncan becomes more of your every man's character. He is meant to remind the reader of how far the world has changed and gives Herbert the need to explain those changes to him in dialogue. When I first read the book as a teen, I only cared about Leto and I disliked the rebellion. That said, returning to the books I connected with Duncan a lot more because I had a negative opinion of the Atreides which I think is how we are supposed to feel. Especially in Heretics I liked Duncan because I felt even as a reader I was being taken advantage of just like Duncan by Emperors and the Bene Gesserit. I think ultimately though, God Emperor makes us too sympathetic to his tyranny because the books make us think practical and political. We understand how important it is that somebody take control. We often feel too disconnected from the humanity, or lack there of, in the Dune saga. That to me is the largest weakness of the sequels (less so with Paul in the first book, even though he's a Mentat with autistism).

>>19766356
Copyright expires after 28 years. To acknowledge anything else is ignorant and ahistorical, or worse, Jewish.

>>19764691
Where should I start with Tanith Lee?

what are some books that'll let me get a glimpse into what loves feels like...
Preferable scifi with a male protagonist.

>>19767863
>To acknowledge anything else is ignorant and ahistorical, or worse, Pro Disney
Fixed it.

>>19768006
>or worse, Pro Disney
aka jewish

Literally the best fantasy books ever written

just got myself Mistborn #1 from the library, what I am in for bros?

>>19768098
This makes Disney spin around in his grave. Doesn't make it false though.

>>19768185
I'm reading the last 100 pages of Heroes of the Ages (Book 3), these have been my first Sanderson books. I really enjoyed the first book. I think Book 2 is better and so far the third book is weakest for me, although I've not finished yet. Book 1 feels like God Emperor of Dune setting mixed with this 15th-16th century Europe feel where some techs like gun powder have been suppressed through stagnation of being lead by an immortal Emperor for 1000 years. It's a pretty basic heroes journey and is pretty entertaining and straight forward. Its fine on its own if you don't want to continue.

Recommend a fantasy series that is still grounded in reality like ASOIAF but has high fantasy elements like LOTR or Wheel of Time.

>>19768201
>This makes Disney spin around in his grave
You're right, and it's a sad fact.

>>19765646
I would say it is roughly on par with WoT. I just finished the final book in the Chainfire trilogy and must say that after 7700 pages of Goodkind it probably wasn't worth it. Though if you're choosing between nearly 10k pages of SoT and nearly 10k pages of Chinese fanfiction I might be tempted to recommend the Goodkind.

If you wanted more of the things you thought were good, why not try:

- Wolfe
- Zelazny
- Le Guin

I would say Malazan and Prince of Nothing are roughly equivalent, a little better, to the "passable" tier at which you've placed WoT and where I would place SoT. So maybe those would be a better option too.

The objectivism stuff gets worse as the series goes on. The first 5~ books are relatively objectivism lite, but when it ramps up it ramps up hard and you'll eventually have 20+ page slogs of "why is Buddhism evil" repeated in slightly different words 10 or more times in a single book.

>>19768404
and also has a romantic subplot

>>19768404
I don't think that's really possible. At least in terms of books that exist rather than could theoretically exist.

Who here also likes to read Stephen Baxter? I was a big fan of Ring and Vacuum Diagrams. I also liked the Time Ships in an homage of H.G. Wells kinda way.

>>19763871
What are the best books about post-singleton solar system with colonized moons such as Titan and Ganymede. Good books on AI super intelligences, that people eventually forgot they were machines at all, becoming cosmic horrors/wonders would be nifty as well.

I'm writing something and I want to make sure it's unique to some degree.

>tfw nowhere to sit but only my computer chair and bed
i feel like i would read so much more if i had one of these

>>19768478
It doesn't matter if it's "unique", or even if it's been done many times.

>>19768496
I want to make sure I'm not entering into a hornets nest of far future sci-fi blindly is all.

>>19768513
Using other books as source material for your own writing is a bad idea.

>witchcraft
>kraken attacken
I'm glad i'm into this stuff otherwise it would have thrown me right out. Apparently Crichton was working on this since the late 70s and died before he could finish it. I think he needed a few more years.

>>19767719
Yes, but read Illium first. Simmons is one of my favorite authors.

>>19768540
It's actually for a game world, it's inspired by Nick Bostrom's writings and The Revolutionary Phenotype.
Mostly about virtual emulated minds and the transition from virtual Mind Emulations to True AI super intelligence machines that over time become atemporal & haunt the shit out of the solar system from their pocket dimension/non-locality.

>>19768614
>It's actually for a game world
By "game" world do you mean /v/ or /tg/?
Also, are you the anon that said he's given up on writing a book and will be making a game instead?

>>19768635
No, not that anon but I can agree with him especially after attending jams where my skills are desired. Books are for nerds who are already interested in subjects, whatever you write will be preaching to the choir more or less. The average youngster wants video games and simulations, even TV & movies are seen as passe for the neglected young & forgotten old. The creative design space within them is limited now. People want experiences rather than just storys told to them, so I am doing just that.

It is for a video game, but I want to create a world for me and my co-workers to dev all the games we want in it so it has to be structured somewhat like an TTRPG setting text book yet those details hidden from the user when they play. Show don't tell, the levels themselves should tell a story.
I think video games are the best way to pull off 'techno-magic' since in a book you would have to write it twice to explain the contrast between the primitive magics and the enlightened sciences, or blur the two together that the average person wouldn't understand it. While in a simulation or game world you can have a full sensory overt experience and a covert experience at the same time.

>>19768687
If books are for nerds already interested in the subject then why are you worried about the average person not understanding?

I'm trying to remember the name of a fantasy series I read years ago. All that I remember was that it was post apocalyptic. Dragons had woken up and devastated the world.
Pretty vague, but does it sound familiar to anyone?

>>19768760
Nerds might not even understand. Trying to explain virtual minds jumpboxing between singleton artifacts as a game-play mechanic is harder than I thought, as they(the player) are the spirit inhabiting the object rather than the object itself.

>>19768185
A cool super powered heist story with some shaky YA writing.

>>19768185
Neat magic, semi neat plot, ok everything else.

>>19768494
I unironically do most of my reading in bed or on the toilet.

>>19768816
That's because you're thinking in video games, not literature. Brandon Sanderson might be more your speed.

>>19768478
Not necessarily cosmic horrors, but this and it's sequel tick some of those boxes.

>>19768816
Various games have already used a similar mechanic.

>>19768183

>>19763933
Wildbow’s ‘Pact’ is the grimmest of the grimdarks. Its an urban fantasy story rather then what you are probably envisioning with swords and monster slaying ‘dark fantasy’ but everything else in your checklist gets ticked and double ticked between the demons and the MC’s degradation.

>>19768837
same
but bed reading kills my shoulders and neck since I do it bellyside down

>>19768851
I know, but it's often presented as gamist rather than role playing.

>>19768842
If it's character driven, I probably can't read it. I get hung up on the bad choices characters make and it just becomes a depressing story of winning stupid prizes. Soft bellied writers rarely can convincingly explain the inner alchemy of courage and the superpersonal unless they themselves have charged into a fight.

I enjoy reading more about worlds & the people that emerge from them rather than characters & the world they interact with. Probably because autism.

>>19767952
All I've read of her is half the Birthgrave trilogy, which is pretty decent if you like stuff that's brutal in general and especially about women. She's a great student of esoteric roastieism.

>>19764766
The ending is so band. It's definitely not worth. It just makes you mad

>>19763933
>>19765144
This book was recommended in one of these threads a while back and I never heard of it but now it's definitely in my top 10 fantasy. You all need to check it out

Just started Titus Groan and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Any recommendations once I’m through Peake’s books?

>>19768935
I think that, in that case, you're not cut out for story telling in any measure.

>>19764057
hate to break it to you bro, but my recent browsing suggests Bakker converted to Christianity, stopped posting on Dennett worship bugman shit on /lit/ and went to /fit/.

so there is hope of making it, even if you write 4,000+ pages of rape, gay rape, and cuckoldry

>>19769419
forgot the evidence

>>19764157
>seem to lack that ability to weave multiple tones in to a harmonious whole
unironically Tad Williams, despite his flaws

>>19767840
unironically: very solid post, have a (You), have an upvote!, etc.. I still need to read Heretics

>>19769391
>nooo you have to like modern mentally ill characters

I prefer classical and traditional story telling, over modern.

was reaper that bad?

>>19769222
checked.

dumb story about the author: I was at Philcon (local Philadelphia science fiction convention) many years ago looking to pick up some used books. I go up to a guy selling some books and ask if he has any Zelanzy, that I'm looking for Lord of Light.

"No I don't have any Zelanzy but you should check out [pic related]. It's very Lovecraftian".

"That's great but I really want some sci-fi".

"How about if the author signed [pic related] for you?"

"Oh... ok."

so I bought this dude's book and he signed it. still haven't read it. Fuck me for being pressured into buying your shit, Darrell.

>>19764946
Anon...

>>19764294
And you know the best part?

You cant do anything about it :)

>>19764719 here. I didn't know Asimov was so much into Gaia theory. He even kinda ditches robots.

>>19770266
> He even kinda ditches robots.
Kinda. Not sure where this is stated, so spoilers for caution, but the first wave of human colozination into the galaxy were robots/probes that terraformed the planets they landed on. This also explains why tehre isn't any life in the galaxy other than humans/life humanity brought to the planets, as all other lifeforms died during the terraforming process

>>19769608
Good place to start with Tad?

Is it really that bad? Should I skip it? Just finished Fall

>>19768432
why is buddhism evil

>>19770452
>Tad Williams
I've gotten most of the Otherland series from an accident recently. Do you know if they're worth the read?

>>19770519
All religions are evil

>>19770531
money is a religion

>>19770541
therefore...

>>19767719
Yes ilium and olympos are great. I wish I went into it with knowledge of Shakespeare and Homer but if you’re like me and don’t have any then it’s still really good and actually got me interested in learning more about both. Simmons is my favorite author along side Neal Stephenson

>>19770579
>along side Neal Stephenson
based. any favorite Stephenson books that standout? I've only read Snow Crash and Anathem.. not sure what to read next. I'm thinking either Seveneves or The Diamond Age.

>>19770591
Diamond Age is peak Stephenson imo. And shares a continuity with Snow Crash, although it isn't a Sequel.

>>19770591
Cryptonomicon is my favorite but the Baroque Cycle though very long is fucking awesome. I haven’t read Seveneves or Diamond Age yet even though I have them both, so I’m not sure about those but I always see people saying great things about them. I’ll probably read Anathem soon but first I’m going to check out Book of the New Sun.

I am new to /sffg/
Is this a pretty good reading list for the Springtime?

I just finished with Hail Mary (I actually really liked it) and I'm halfway through Red Rising.

So far I'm undecided on RR. It has massive potential but it feels very Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. I'll hold my opinion until I finish it though.

Please suggest your favorite of all time. This is my favorite genre, I read Wells and Verne as a kid non stop, and didn't pick up reading again until about a year ago and I'm really glad I did. I prefer Sci-Fi more but I also really loved fantasy.

>>19764019
Makes sense, he seems to have quite a few stories that revolve around hunting. Hell, half of King of Elfland's Daughter is a hunting expedition.

>>19770463
Both of the Endymion books are pretty bad desu. You are better off not reading them

>>19770704
Replace Blanderson with Vance

>>19766299
That's why I didn't want to finish it. I had so much fun with the story I knew the reveal would likely disappoint me. I guess that's what he was going for and why he included that little caveat.
>>19767059
>wayyyy too fucking long
Kek, my brother "warned" me about Wizard and Glass before I read it. Like I said, it's one of my favorite but I don't blame anyone for hating it.

>>19763933
The seriesI'm writing, desu, give me a few years anonkun pls

>>19768771
The novelization of Reign of Fire.

>>19770463
It's so bad it'll make you think it was ghost written by someone else.

>>19764090
Have you read the Silmarilion? It's got a different feel to it, since it's primarily lore, but if you love LotR you should absolutely read and not get filtered by Sil. It also will make you appreciate LotR more, as you'll see and understand the references made by the characters. for example, when Sam is using the vial of Galadriel to fight Shelob, he actually (without knowing what he's saying) calls out the name of Elbereth- which is what the Elves call Varda, the valar of the stars
It's stuff like this that makes his world so special. I think there was an interview by Tolkien where he said the he doesn't remember when he started writing LotR because he doesn't remember a time in his life where he wasn't
Also
>I need to read Gene Wolfe
Yes, anonkun, you do

>>19765241
You already are a real human bean, anon

any new recent(decade) scifi authors worth checking out and keeping an eye on?

>>19763880
Mirin

>>19764057
I don't get why people say he "hates women." Oh no, one female character is a prostitute!. Oh no, people are raped! The Dunyain have whale mothers! Come on, it's body horror. Body horror tends to focus on the reproductive system.

>>19766542
>>19766563
i just looked abby up on goodreads to find out what she books considers worthy of 5 stars and what i found will shock no one

>>19771010
nobody cares.

>>19763940
>anon asks for dark fantasy series with intense battles, pitch black lore, highly intellectual themes that dovetail into real world philosophy, poignant character psychology, and just a hint of Lovecraftian horror
>gets recommended Blandon Sanderson
what did they mean by this?

>>19770704
Red Rising is so fucking bad

>>19766463
nothing jewy please

>>19768478
Just write cowboy bebop bro

>>19767952
>>19768994
I read empress of dreams (free on kindle unlimited)
I'd consider it flawed but above average

>>19771204
Slice of lice? You might like A Thousand Baths by Tao Wong

>>19768478
Olympos by Dan Simmons is kinda all of what mentioned wrapped up with quantum abusing greek gods.

>>19771209
I"m looking for something from a western author after devouring japanese comics for 20 years.

>>19768994
bruh, thats like some coming of age feminist shit

>>19771092
It is not jewy.

>>19769222
I was the anon who brought this book to the general. You're welcome.

>>19771018
Shut up, Abby.

>>19771265
>written by jew
>book is about criticizing gods/religion
hard pass

>>19771018
I'd tell you to kys but I don't need to

What are some good space operas with lots of alien civilizations and cultures with diplomacy and the like?

>>19771124
Yeah, that's basically my feel for it too. Deeply flawed but interesting.

>>19771240
>when you read a summary and pretend you read the book
Why do people feel compelled to do this?

>>19771302
>only jews criticize gods/religion
Big surprise, anon. The religion your sensitive ass follows is a Semitic desert tribe cult.

>>19771586
>he doesn't even TRY to understand the Dao
ngmi

Does /lit/ have an opinion on picrel? First book of its kind I've read in decades. I liked it but would have enjoyed less plot, more worldbuilding.

>>19771565
>Why do people feel compelled to do this?
be honest anon, its actually not pozzed?

>>19771822
It's about an incredibly foul woman who ruins everything she touches because she's fucked in the head. I don't even know what that is on the poz scale, but it's not feminist. If anything it's an advertisement for the nunnery.

>>19771759
I loved it honestly.

>>19771652
Based fellow brother Daoist. Speaking of the Dao, what is some good Daoist fantasy/science fiction? I've read The Lathe of Heaven which was pretty good.

pozzed machine reigns supreme
but bakker boys will have a scheme
to break the pozz and make it based
to make the pozzedness go away

>>19771920
the summaries all make it sound like its about independence and female empowerment shit

>>19771973
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHUoXc2c1Bg

>>19764431
i have read all of them, i liked these particularly
dying of the light - set in a sort of dying earth
windhaven - poignant story written with lisa tuttle
sandkings - his most celebrated short story, enjoyable
a song for lya - again great concept and execution
tuf voyaging - bit stated, but the world hopping makes up for it

>>19765144
thune's vision
master of sorrows (starts of ya-ish yes, but i believe better than most of the works out there

King of /sffg/.

Simple as.

>>19771759
In most discussions here its been rated pretty favourably. I liked it but wanted more plot

>>19770962
This is 4chan. People here are retarded. You surely have realized that by now, right?

If anything, he hates men by the way he describes them as monsters.

>Taim walked to the block stiffly, and Rand bent to pin the silver sword to the tall collar of his coat. It seemed to shine even more brightly against the pitch-black wool. Taim's face had as much expression as the stone beneath Rand's boots. Rand handed him the bag, whispering, "Give these to whoever you think is ready. Just be sure they are."
>Straightening, he hoped there were enough; he really had not expected anywhere near so many men. "Dedicated who advance their skill far enough will be called Asha'man, and they will wear this." Taking out the small velvet bag, he held up what it contained. Sunlight sparkled on finely crafted gold and rich red enamel. A sinuous form exactly like the one on the Dragon banner. That went onto Taim's collar too, on the other side, so sword and Dragon shone at the sides of his throat. "I suppose I was the first Asha'man," Rand told the students, "but Mazrim Taim is the second." Taim's face made stone look soft; what was wrong with the man? "I hope that all of you will become Asha'man eventually, but whether you do or not, remember that all of us are soldiers. There are many battles ahead, maybe not always the ones we expect, and at the end, the Last Battle. The Light send it is the last. If the Light shines on us, we will win. We will win because we must win."
>There should have been some sort of cheer when he stopped. He did not take himself for the sort of speaker who could make men jump and shout, but these men knew why they were here. Telling them they would win should have produced something, however feeble. There was only silence.
>Rand jumped down from the stone block, and Taim snapped, "Disperse to lessons and chores." The students-the soldiers-went their ways almost as silently as they had stood, with only a murmur of quiet words. Taim motioned toward the farmhouse. He was holding the bag of sword pins so tightly it was a wonder none of them stabbed him through the cloth. "If my Lord Dragon has time for a cup of wine?"
Rand nodded; he wanted to get to the bottom of this before returning to the Palace.
How did Jordan write this and then say that Taim wasn't Demandred? This scene is clearly Demandred seething over being the second fiddle to LTT yet again

>>19764090
the lotr movies are actually superior art to the books

Reccs for fantasy where the antagonists are actually competent and achieve as many of their goals as the main protagonist? I'm sick of reading series where they show up only to die immediately, or worse, job again and again

>>19772723
The Second-Apocalypse features probably the most competent antagonist in all fantasy fiction.

New to this
Read the martian and Bobiverse
what are some books like these where, I don't know how to describe this, things just happen? problem gets solved?
man vs environment I guess

>>19772742
I will never understand what Hakkerfags get out of recommending their trash to innocent new anons

>>19772768
They are fun books and the unwarranted amount of seethe they produce from people like you is a nice bonus.

>>19772723
The Prestige

>>19772749
Asimov is the original people-try-to-solve-practical-problems, so you could try him

>>19772514
According to Sanderson there were actually old notes of Jordan's saying Taim = Demandred, but no indication of when he changed his mind on it.

Just finished The Dragonbone Chair. Wish I had a troll friend to eat pigeons with.

>>19773167
how was the romance and sex in the series? i ask because i had fond memories of those when i read the series as a kid

>>19770463
It's disappointing especially compared to the first two. Time skip years ahead, all new characters trying to mesh into the universe from the first books while telling an unnecessary story. Simmons is still my favorite author, but this can't be overlooked.

>>19773221
There was no sex in this book. There's Simon crushing on a few girls and Prince Josua kissing his tsundere gf but that was it. Maybe the other books will change that?

>>19772017
I've noticed these people don't like to confront dissenting authors from their in-group directly. They just misrepresent whatever was written as supporting their nonsense, and that's pissing in a sea of piss as far as the author is concerned because most literary critics do that anyway.

>>19772326
Maybe you could make posts about the content of the book instead of chanting the last name like he's some nigger on a team?

>>19773287
Not my problem.

>>19773290
It is your problem. You keep saying "bakker is king" but you never give a reason why his books are good and you certainly don't make others want to read him. So are you just one of those retards that likes inside jokes nobody understands? Maybe other anons would actually read him and have conversations about the books if his "fans" were not making retard posts with a room temperature IQ.

>>19773352
Didn't ask.

>>19773278
>people don't like to confront dissenting authors from their in-group directly
That's most people in general about most stuff.

>>19764508
The Anglos ARE a Germanic people, what do you mean?

>>19773287
>>19773352
the contents have been discussed to death, unless you just started posting here you should have seen them

>>19773352
Cope.

>>19773352
>It is your problem.

>>19770897
For others, yes, for you, probably not.

>>19771287
That seems doubtful.

>>19773535
The Norf remembers.

>>19771468
Babylon-5
Mass Effect
Stellaris
Star Trek
Star Wars
The Orville

>>19771933
That's what Le Guin does in general.

>>19772749
You may be thinking of "competence porn", look it up.

What writers have been influential on the cyberpunk genre as whole? I want read the writers who have influenced my favorite games and movies.

>>19773681
There aren't many if you mean from the early years. Just read this really: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk

>>19773694
I meant in general.

>>19773709
It's still applicable, as would any list really. There are far less than you think. Though, it really depends on how loosely you want to define to the term. It may be better if you just read the specific inspirations for your favorite games and movies.

>>19773516
Most people don't deliberately misrepresent their colleagues' views as aligning with their own. That's a political strategy shitlibs employ against writers and dead people.

>>19773681
Most old cyberpunk has aged poorly due to techno babble. God forbid you actually know anything about computer science.

I would suggest trying Snowcrash if you want one of the classics.

>>19771759
i really liked the first half, lost a bit of interest later and some details bugged me but it's solid overall. short and enjoyable read

>>19770452
not sure, i've only read War of the Flowers and Dragonborne Chair. both are good, second one is better but people here sometimes complain that it's too big and too slow

don't go in expecting tolkien because it's not as good obviously, but i do recommend it still

>>19773942
Oh, you poor deluded ideologue.

>>19774041
Not an argument Karen.

>>19774131
Not a response Karim.

Are there any thought provoking fantasy books out there?

The whole modern take on the genre seems to be something akin to meaningless entertainment rather than a well-thought outstories. At best you'll get an author mimicking a classic, but tarnishing it with their own twist/flavor or simply subverting expections.

No wonder most modern fantasy tends to be glorified romance with gary/mary stu protagonists these days.

>>19774288
none
modern writers come in two categories, masturbatory drivel, or a preaching pile of shit with an agenda
seems like the idea of exploring foreign customs and viewing morality from different perspectives and allowing the reader form their own opinion is an outdated concept.
These days it's just barely masked allegorical stories taken directly from the real world with the authors opinion so palpable you could barely tell if it's narration or a post from the author's twitter.

>>19774288
Just read sci-fi, fantasy is dead.

>>19769222
I've been looking for Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer

Not on libgen, sadly.

>>19769803
>pressured

Who forced you to buy it? You budged for a simple signature lol

>>19774371
I pretty much only read old fantasy or scifi these days (for my non-technical reading).

>>19770897
Adam Roberts, John Lumpkin, Daniel Suarez

>>19774321
>seems like the idea of exploring foreign customs and viewing morality from different perspectives
>and allowing the reader form their own opinion is an outdated concept.
As long as characters are white and there is no faggots,trannys and niggers

>>19765332
And Then There Were None but that is more Anarchism though not of a kind i'd encountered before. The Eric Frank Russel short story, not the other one. Its quite short, found it online:

https://www.abelard.org/e-f-russell.php#chapter1

what fantasy book/series has the best romance?

>>19774548
Codex Alera
Kitai is the GOAT waifu

>>19774398
na it's on me for being pressured. oh well

>>19764090
read the silmarillion if you haven't already it filters a lot of people but imo its better than lotr

"Filter" is a terrible meme and I'll never believe otherwise.

>>19774511
checked. Adam Roberts The Thing Itself was pretty good if you like Kantian philosophy

>>19774677
What do you call this then? >>19766054
>inb4 holes

>>19774701
They're being histrionic because they're femoids, but Dracula isn't even that good compared to current books, let alone in it's time.

>>19774288
The best modern 'thought provoking' writers of fantasy tends to be in the gaming business. This is simply out of necessity of designing for example a table top RPG, you want to inspire people to create characters for the world and to explore it. They're more thought provoking and less preachy than literature writers, typically.

Chaosium legit has some of the best written fantasy/pulp fiction books I've read, they're the guys who make Call of Cthulhu.

>>19774371
Most sci-fi IS fantasy. The days of actual students, scientists, metaphysicians and philosophers writing sci-fi are long gone.

>>19774806
>Most sci-fi IS fantasy

How do you define fantasy? How do you define sci-fi? They are pretty separate in my book. Hell at base level it's space ships versus elves. At another level it's "future what-if scenarios that heavily lean towards technological and scientific themes" vs "other world with debatably-impossible qualities to them (e.g. magic)".

>scientists, metaphysicians and philosophers writing sci-fi are long gone.
Egan is a mathematician. Reynolds is what.. an astrophysics? Watts is a biologist. I don't know about any academic philosophers that write sci-fi but I'd be happy to read and review them if you can offer any suggestions. Philosophy is absolute top tier, and one of the main reasons I read sci-fi is that it offers us little philosophical thought-experiments.

>>19774845
>Watts
63 years olds

>Egan
60 years old

>Reynolds
55 years old

>>19767719
Good read but Ilium is better.

>reading authors who are still alive
I would never!

>>19774914
>being a dinosaur

>>19774881
what exactly are you and I arguing about?

>>19771759
Anyone else peep the reference to The Magician's Nephew?

>>19774925
>being an embryo

1>2>>>>3
Moorcock fuck it up towards the end.

>>19774933
Should have just ignored the shitposter, anon. All they do is shit up the thread.

>>19774947
And you're the fly that buzzes around it

>>19774845
Fantasy stories are pretty much similar to every other fantasy story before it. Sure you have different sub-genres such as urban fantasy, and low/high fantasy. They all boil down to the same formula, you are just swapping vampires and werewolves with elves and Dwarfs. Always some kingdom, with some evil, and magic with elves or a race similar to them with romance sprinkled on top.

Sci-fi is much more diverse than fantasy, there are many different types of science and an almost endless amount of things to make stories from.

>>19774947
>>19774959
as with 4chan in general, there's a lot of shit here.. but I will continue to buzz around because there is a bit of gold amongst the shit. I do unironcally love Bakker and wouldn't have found him without /sffg/. otherwise I have no friends that are into sci-fi to the autistic degree I am.. so here we are

>>19774945
Remember, the true ending of the saga is the DC comic series written by him

>>19774845
Proper sci-fi is a big 'what if?' while fantasy tends to be 'what will never be'. Sci-fi always allures to that this could be our reality one day, while good fantasy implies it is another reality even if it comes from our world. Good sci-fi is often conceptually driven story about how a world changes a character while fantasy is archetype driven(or trope driven if you're a bad writer) about how the character changes the world.

I think the realm of myth-making/alt-history of 'what might have been' is fertile grounds for fiction writers, but it has been regarded as taboo since it was considered heretical or questioning the authority of a state. But I think changing attitudes towards humanities and religion will allow writers to dabble in that genre more often.

>>19774997
I was going to ask about this book. I read 100 pages and I barely understand anything. Just that they hired Case to do a mission after they messed up his nervous system. Am I just dumb?

>>19775111
>Am I just dumb?
Considering the book spells, it out for the reader, you might be retarded.

>>19775111
checked and no you aren't. Gibson's prose is wacky, pulpy, hard to follow. the question is: is he just a bad writer or was he writing this way to evoke the fastness/pulpyness/technological speed in which the story takes place. I've read the book twice and I still forget just what the fuck the book is about (granted I read a lot and my memory is shit.)

>>19775105
>myth-making as "taboo", questioning the authority of a state

I'm not trying to be a shit but what are you getting at here? I do agree it is fertile grounds for fiction writers.. and it's being used to this day.

Can we talk about horror here? I'm looking for horror from the 18th/early 19th century or set then.

>>19775131
Only if its fantasy horror.

>>19775126
>gibson's prose
He says he was ripping off Dashiell Hammett.

>>19775131
Anne Rice's Witching Hour was horrific to me.

New thread
>>19775155

>>19775126
> is he just a bad writer
I don't think so, as some of his otehr stuf I read (Like Idoru) was really fluid and easy to grasp.

>>19773352
RAFO

>>19772722
this is 100% wrong

removing the scouring of the shire is unforgivable