/lit/ - Literature

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, The Road to Nowhere #1 - Meg Elison (2014)

This is a post-apocalyptic story where a disease has killed 98% of men, 99.8% of women, and 100% of births. The narrative begins with a frame story saying that these events took place centuries ago, the history of which is chronicled in 19 handwritten journals that are collectively called The Book of the Unnamed Midwife. These books function as their civil religion, though its practice has elements of traditional religion that have accumulated over the centuries.

The journals were originally intended to be private rather than public, so their presentation differs from standard stories. The beginning is especially informal, though the writing becomes more formal later on. Because they are journal entries, their reliability and accuracy isn't guaranteed. Sometimes there are substantial changes from one sentence to the next because the writer went away and did other stuff before completing the entry for that day. I liked this affect, though I would understand if others found it bothersome or jarring.

There are also times where the POV changes to third person omniscient and how the information is presented is unclear, to me anyway. It may be the in-universe author speculating about what happened to provide an imagined resolution for their own benefit, or it may be additional information added by others over the centuries, or it could be Elison letting the reader know what happened outside of the context of the frame story. This had me thinking a lot about the in-universe possibilities that may have occurred up to current day in the story that led to the creation of their canon.

As for the story itself, it follows an unnamed woman who tries to pass as a man for her own safety. This is a dark story. If I listed out everything potentially offensive, it'd be a long list. The treatment of women, who are outnumbered by men by at least 10 to 1, is especially brutal. Sexual slavery is commonplace and women are treated as commodities. Sexuality is explored in various ways. One thing there isn't though is cannibals. Overall this is a small story of a woman wandering through the United States just trying to survive in a world that's hostile to her and hoping that one day she finds something better than what she's found so far.

I came across this by looking through the spreadsheet of short fiction I've read to see what novels the women I've read had written. I'm continually surprised by how often I think the short fiction and novels an author writes can be so different in every way, especially in terms of my enjoyment. I had read a few of her short fiction which were published after this book, which were ok, but not something I personally particularly enjoyed. This book however is something special. It'll probably be among what I enjoyed the very most this year. I can only hope that the following two books of the trilogy are anywhere near as enjoyable.
Rating: 5/5

Respond to this post and with your favorite lesser read sff novel and one of them will be selected as the April book for the Goodreads group. Probably.

What's a good erotic fantasy with a female protagonist? It doesn't need explicit sex scenes I just want a girl getting laid.

What is the, unintentionally, silliest fantasy book or series you have read? Keyword unintentional, so not Pratchett or whatever.

>>20121810
A Children's Bible
>mfw reading that book

>>20121789
>>20121810
Fledgling

Reign over them all
Stand proud and tall
Martin and sandy will fall
Rule supreme the Bakkerchad call

>imagine reading bakker

>>20121874
And people make fun of anime for this shit

Any more junk fantasy books like cradle that came out recently?

>>20121918
There's nothing funny about vampires with the power of melanin.

Did someone say best Chinese litprg?

>>20121901
Sanderson cope, everyone knows hating trump is based and non-pozzed.

>>20121984
Man it's been a while since I got to post this

>>20121901
>the phony baloney /pol/ack tourist "tradcaths" shilling bakker were conned by a fedoratipper
not surprising that those morons would compare him favorably against Wolfe and Tolkien

>>20121984
Seething about your highschool's girlfriend's mom isn't. It's quintessential reddit behavior.

>>20122001
His highschool girlfriend's mom is womanish and a christcuck, also this only proof that he was a Stud in highschool.
>>20121999
Killary is more non-pozzed than trump, at least she has balls

>>20122023
>christcuck
Unlike bakker who's an atheist redditcuck still seething about his highschool girlfriend's mom.

>>20122032
He was just giving an example, womanish retardation can be a good example to educate the masses on what not to do.

>>20122038
weeper

>>20122023

>>20122043
soul

These sandy shills are trying to hard, Bakker will always prevail, Bakker will always rule, Bakker will always reign.

Coolest charcter in terms of looks?

For me its Cnaiur the Stud supreme.

>>20122055
For me its Kellhus the blonde BVLL.

>>20122055

When it comes to design, its the Inchoroi, when it comes to the character itself, its Kellhus.

>>20121984
Nonetheless Bakker is a terrible author

>>20122055
weeper

All bakkerfags are womanish and weepers. Ignore them.

>>20121810
Desu it’s Bakker, but he probably intended at least some of the over the top insanity and silliness.

>>20122055
IRL the entire body covered in scars would look fucking retarded

>>20122229
I imagined it something like pic related, maybe a little more linear than circular.

>>20122225
I think Bakker's silliness is very unintentional, he is usually pretty good at stopping right at the line of schlock, but you can tell that he probably thought lines about anus honey were profoundly human and literary in an honest warts and all kind of way, but it just comes across as "lol stinky butts".

>>20122255
t. didn't read Bakker just follows maymays

>>20122273
I am currently on the last 100 or so paged of TUC and I count myself a fan. He has his highs and lows like any writer and isn't above critique. Ironically it is you who is obsessed with the "maymays" as your only mission here is to render all discourse on his writers into mindless affirmations of "based" or refutations of "pozzed" to get a rise out of the other posters here.

>>20122290
So you read the entires series but choose to focus on a random lines about the honey of anuses mentioned once in the passing? Also that line was meant to be anything but "profoundly human", it shows how Kellhus sees people not as sentient being but a collection of physical processes and predictable emotional responses. He pays more attention to the stink of their assholes than to their humanity

>>20122307
>honey of anuses
Truly Sublime

>>20122307
>He pays more attention to the stink of their assholes
Absolutely Supreme

When I see people in front of me, I don't see a sentient beings, I see stinky assholes.

-Anasûrimbor Kellhus

>>20121810
The Drawing of the Three

I'm sure King was aware he was writing something silly but it's written so sincerely it's comical

>>20121746
Does anyone know what the following book?
Has a hot sex scene where the androids wear clothes, since they're usually naked.
It's a book from maybe the 1970s or 80s? Has vintage cover Illustration of a naked android lady.
Set in a dystopian future where the world is climate controlled, with much of the world is under domes due to pollution outside.
I read as a teenager. Fucking loved it.

>>20122755
>sex scene where the androids wear clothes, since they're usually naked.

>>20122760
I was so fucking horny when reading that part of the story. The way they described it was so good. Cover illustration was gorgeous as well.

I was really horny when reading that part of the story, the way he gets in flaming rage and pass out, only to wake up with poopy penis from a honeyed unwashed anus, absolutely sublime how he described it.

Premium Bakker Honey, Buy at your own risk.

>>20121764
The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison

>>20121764
Aeronaut's Windlass

What's anti-Bakker spammers deal? Molested in childhood? Tranny? Sandersnoy?

I stopped asking /sffg/ for fantasy recommendations and now I just watch these "my top 10 fantasy series" videos by female youtubers. Best choice of my life, reading the Poppy War now and it's immensely more entertaining and enjoyable than Bakker, Malazan, Sanderson and all that other shit that you retards have been telling me to read

I will never post in this general again. Goodbye

loads of novels on RR have swearing, murder, torture, rape
but then when I give a low score review to a mod's favorite novel (path of ascension) for being cuck about with swinging it gets deleted because suddenly profanity (just a simple "fuck around") is against the rules?
rules for thee, not for me I guess

the post is meant as a warning, if you give bad reviews to popular shit, be sure to censor even a simple "fuck" or the fanboys will get your honest review deleted

>>20122880
Butcher isn't really applicable, even for this novel of his.

>>20122877
This is what it will be unless something more suitable is provided by the end of the month either here or in the group.

>>20123076
Shills payed by the Mormon lit machine, they work for the Mormon goon leader known here as Sandersoy.

The ending implies Miles consumed or destroyed 88 and freed the world, right? Fitting ending, considering how naive 88 was. Scanning Miles could only end one way. Fun read.

>>20123179
Keep us posted about your experiences with smut on a literally who site.

Any recommended S.M. Stirling to help me decide if Blood of the Serpent will be worth reading? Looking at descriptions of what he's written nothing seems similar to Conan at all.

>book price on kindle device
>$14.99
>ebook price in browser
>$3.49
What a scam. I wonder how many times I've overpaid by buying books directly via my Kindle.

>>20123379
just get your books from zlibrary and then use calibre to convert to azw3 or mobi for your kindle

any books about being a slave?

>>20123473
On the Geneaology of Morality

>>20123473
Most stories with a slave protagonist tend to have the prtoagonist bust out either as the inciting incident or the start of the climax. That what you're looking for?

>>20123379
>book price on libgen
>0.00$
Stop being a fucking retard consoomer

>>20123473
Chronicles of Gor series

>>20123542
>not supporting authors you like

>>20123542
consooming is pozzed, buying things is sjw, having income is Mormon ploy to enslave the masses.

>>20123562
Humanity long solved this with shit like patreon or just a direct transfer. You can be your author's paypiggie without involving a publishing jewhouse as a middle-man

Fantasy books with deep economy and finance?

>>20123596
>without involving a publishing jewhouse as a middle-man
This is what King Sanderson did.

>>20121756
When are you rewiewing book of the new sun,I noticed you haven't reviewed it on gr

>>20123609
He still publishes traditionally, he just doubledips he gullible fans

>>20123542
based

>>20123599
Done

>>20121756
I always wonder what is a redditor doing on 4chins.

>>20123634
Cuck supreme

>>20122301
Do you have any cultivation stuff that isn't 1000+ chapters and has actually seen an editor or at least been proofread?

>>20123634
is the book as boring as the movie, never read it

>>20123634
>>20123653
what is this?

>>20123655
what are you?

>>20123708
a man asking what that novel is called

>>20123599
A Song of Ice and Fire

>>20123715
can't you read?
>>20123634
>Done
that's the name

>>20121756
>female author
Not even once

>>20123599
Probably Discworld books
https://youtu.be/fALLFfCJ1Lc

>>20123653
I quite enjoyed done messiah, you'll like messiah if you like foundation
>>20123655
Done

>>20123732
>>20123816
so it's dune?
funny thing I read it as a kid (all there was at a time, so none of that cash in his son did) but cuckoldry wasn't memorable to me as a kid
only now had I started to love to hate on cucks
cheers

>>20123470
>>20123542
>one of the cheapest hobbies to have
>refuse to pay anyway
Based thirdies.

>Sanderson is donating to every single publishing jewstarter
Pretty based honestly.

>>20123949
Wagecuck mindset. You don't become rich by frivolously spending money. Every dollar wasted on books is a dollar not invested in crypto.

>>20123973
>crypto
You're not even trying.

>>20123973
Ah, another mindbroken /biz/ guru. I see what level of mental illness we're dealing with here. You're right, spending $30 a year on books is financial ruin.

>>20123949
if you want to be a good cuck then paypal the writers whose books you like, instead of paying for a new yachts for publishing house's shareholders
authors get very little of the novel price

so has anyone unironically read this? how bad is it?

>>20123076
weeper

>>20123994
Ah, yes. The honor system. No, thirdie, the world doesn't work like that. Authors working full-time will take royalties over potential paypal donations no matter how much they favor the publishers. This would be a dead medium if everyone shared your mindset.

>>20124073
self-pub and authors making 10k+ a month for writing webnovels on sites like royalroad prove you wrong

>>20124077
name me one.

I am going to take a couple years of NEETdom and read through the entirety of the colossal science fiction and fantasy collection torrent

>>20124081
Sanderson just made millions from kickstarter. On RR the guy writing Path of Ascension (terrible cuck story, but that is besides the point) makes a LOT from patreon.
That's two for your, sweatheart.

>>20124077
Nope, that's essentially a subscription service, not a tip jar. You're still paying for new yachts for whoever runs those services, by the way. Self-publishing (ebooks) on Amazon is a 70/30 split in the favor of the authors, which comes with visibility and accessibility. 9/10 authors will choose this approach over donations. Don't worry, it's okay to be a cheap little pirate. No need to justify not supporting authors.

>>20124089
What do I need to do rack up this kinda cash (aside from being a competent writer)

>>20124092
>essentially a subscription service, not a tip jar
tomato tomato
the novels are still published for free on RR, yeah there are advance chapters for patrons (in some cases not really or only one advance chapter)

>>20124099
Write a cuck story my dude.

>>20124092
>pirate
I wish, but I have neither the money nor the courage to procure a vessel to roam the high seas in search of merchant vessels laden with goods. I'm but a lowly 'unauthorized downloads' enjoyer.

>>20124092
>Self-publishing (ebooks) on Amazon is a 70/30 split in the favor of the authors
I see someone never heard how shit the split is for publishing houses. Authors would be lucky to get 70/30 in favor of the publishing house, I kid you not.

>>20124073
>Authors working full-time will take royalties over potential paypal donations no matter how much they favor the publishers.
>potential
Yeah, they choose sure pittance over unsure fortune. But I can assure you every single one would rather you wire him the full amount than go through the thieving middleman.

>>20123967
>inb4 twitter hating him again for not donating enough or donating too much and being a white savior
>>20124019
how unfortunate for another author to share a name with that booktuber sperg

>>20123986
where the fuck do you live if 30$ buys you more than 2 books at most?

>>20124275
Ebooks are cheap.

>>20123623
If you saw it on there, you should've seen what I wrote in the comments as well. Not anytime soon and anything I'd have to say about it would be nothing compared those who take it very seriously. So, you certainly shouldn't have any sort of expectations for this at all.

>>20123641
I always wonder why you remain satisfied with such simple and old material for insults. It does well enough for masturbatory purposes, but don't you ever want something more exciting, or at least new? Considering almost the other sites anons would use for insults have died off or become irrelevant, it can't be helped.

>>20123774
I haven't the slightest doubt that "not even once" is a rather common, though unfortunate, condition for you. You really ought to consider being open to more experiences.

>>20124320
It's not an insult, I'm honestly curious.

>>20124326
Who is he?

>>20124326
That depends on what you mean by the words. They're semantically empty to me. At best they mean to me, "Why is someone who doesn't share my personal values here, where I prefer to believe everyone believes as I do?" The answer to that is that I've been on 4chan since the beginning and the site has changed a lot over time. That's just how it is. I'm here because I've been here. I don't leave because I haven't cared enough to do so.

>>20124368
Seems like reddit would be a better place for you. They share your views, you could get likes and reddit gold there, honestly check it out.

>>20124375
You don't know what my views are and nothing prevents people from using as many sites as they so choose.

>>20124320
>>20124368
>>20124385
Anon, please stop responding to the threadshitters. They only want to get a rise out of you.

>>20124385
Your posts read like they were written by an enlightened liberal.

>>20124237
>>inb4 twitter hating him again for not donating enough or donating too much and being a white savior
Oh they'll definitely attempt to cancel him once they find out some of those kickstarters weren't started by far-left lunatics.

>>20124388
Well, that's boring. I'm done replying unless you can think of something worthwhile to respond to.

>>20124413
>>20124392
Oops, I was going to say something to that one first, but then changed my mind and forgot to change the post. Oh well.

>>20124424
whooopsie ooopsie

>>20124434
So goes inattention while doing other stuff.

>>20124424
>>20124447
reddit may have forgiven you, but we will not
we are anomalous
we are a region
forget and forgive
and make fun of people making mistakes

>>20124465
Even a parody of that is greater than what remains.

wow /sffg/ sure is shit today

>>20124561
Always has been and always will be.

>>20124088
It would take more than a lifetime to do so and most of them aren't worth reading in the slightest. Yes, I've downloaded it all.

>>20124587
Yeah, but there's like a 100 actually good scifi novels and maybe 30 decent fantasy series

>>20124631
>and maybe 30 decent fantasy series
haha

>>20124587
In another thread a little while ago, an anon was talking about how the fantasy genre is now so expansive and contains so many sub-genres that it has become its own self-contained world inside the genre of fiction; this is reflected, for example, in the way that fantasy readers have started to create (unconsciously) their own jargon and technical terms and systems for critiquing and discussing fantasy literature (the example anon used was the "clear wnidowpane prose vs stained glass windowpane prose" term that get thrown around in fantasy literature discussion circles).

I had this (very autistic) idea of creating a kind of system or theory of fantasy literature to go with this idea of fantasy as an (almost) independent self-contained realm of fiction; a form of literary theory and criticism that draws from, is meant exclusively for fantasy fiction and exists (as independently as possible) separate from general literary theory. Imagine a Venn diagram with general fiction, with its theories and systems, as one circle and fantasy fiction as the other; I would take that space where they overlap and turn it into the foundation of my theory, before building upwards from this common ground by using examples and modes of reading taken exclusively from works of fantasy fiction, thus creating a philosophy that is tailor-made for the genre.

I doubt that I possess the levels of autism and erudition necessary to produce such a work in any completeness, and if I do indeed possess a sufficient amount of autism, I doubt that I possess the willpower needed to bring it to bear to produce such a work in a way that is readable and (generally, with some effort) understandable to fellow anons who wish to become philosophers of fantasy fiction themselves.

I'm currently reading The Leviathan Falls.
What are my thoughts?

>>20124666
Trick question, you don't have any and want to take ours for your own.

Have there been any good new releases lately? 2020-22

>>20124673
Good for whom? You? Who knows.

>>20124673
I just read Piranesi, which was good.

>>20123651
There is no cultivation "stuff". There is reverend insanity and maybe two or three others novels worth reading. Everything else is just trash.

>>20124690
those are trash
>>20123651
I don't know about editors or proofreaders, but Beware of Chicken, Virtuous Sons are good, Speedrunning the Multiverse is an enjoyable enough time killer.

>>20121746
Is any Robert Silverberg worth reading? He has a good amount of writings in the public domain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Silverberg

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/28358

>>20124713
I've enjoyed a number of his works.

>>20123651
I started pick related cause of the shills on here and am enjoying. As far as fast food fiction goes I really couldn't ask for better. It's pretty "anime" at points but I kind of figure you're signing up for that reading cultivation stories.

>>20124716
It at least feels like it's a bit more about the characters and everybody feels a bit more distinct than a lot of the other cultivation stories I do see where it's just "genius protagonist, idiot everybody else".

>>20124722
Perhaps you don't understand the purpose of wish fulfillment and power fantasy stories.

>>20124716
it was pretty engaging for a time
enjoy until you get burned out by how shit it gets

>>20124684
it's meh towards the ending but the first thalf is pretty good

>>20124722
>it's a bit more about the characters and everybody feels a bit more distinct than a lot of the other cultivation stories I do see where it's just "genius protagonist, idiot everybody else".
wut
he achieves more in a year than other people did in decades, hundreds of years
it's more of the same

>>20124726
I do, I just don't enjoy them when it's so blatant that literally everybody besides the protagonist is a fucking moron. I don't mind exceptional protagonists, but I like it when it feels like they just are exceptional in a world of people who feel close to that same level of absurdity. Lindon does admittedly hit the upper end a bit with just how fast he does advance, but it's largely put down to "Lindon doesn't really know how to relax".

>>20124733
Yea, I agree. The ending fell flat. That is always the problem with mystery stories. When the mystery is revealed they become mundane.

>>20124671
Yes, that's correct.

>>20124740
I also wished they had done more with the 'Great and Secret Knowledge'

>>20124736
Sure, but it's not because everybody is an idiot or something and he's just doing it the right way. He has unique outside help, he genuinely doesn't seem to know how to stop and just keeps pushing himself to absurdity, and he spent years beforehand stewing a drive to improve so that when he finally got his opportunity he shot up pretty quick. It's got a lot of "he's exceptional" but protagonists are, and he's also not the only one doing unprecedented stuff within his team.

>>20124088
Beware that there are works by woman writers in there, you wanna skip those. Even as a NEET your time cannot possibly be worth so little that you'd want to waste it on the writings of a hole.

>>20124753
>he genuinely doesn't seem to know how to stop and just keeps pushing himself to absurdity
this 'argument' always makes me laugh
there's plenty of driven people
MC just has plot armor
simple as

>>20124741
Why are you even here if you don't read?

>>20124756
Wise advice.

>>20124731
>enjoy until you get burned out by how shit it gets
Such is the way of the battle shounen. They always go to shit sooner or later.

>>20124758
I identify as a reader. I'm a transreader.

>>20124758
I've just read and replied to your post

>>20124765
I don't think you understand how humor works.

>>20124771
You have a pretty impressive decision tree, anon. What version are you running?

>>20124740
>When the mystery is revealed they become mundane.
This was especially bad for me reading Piranesi after coming off of Wolfe. He completely avoids this problem cause he's able to make puzzlebox stories that remain engaging as traditional stories and only get better as you work through the layers.

>>20124776
Version of what?

>>20124698
I have not looked too deeply into older xanxia/wuxia novels but out of current internet age novels Reverend insanity is in top 3 if not number 1.

>>20124787
Best chink xianxia (is it?) still means it's not worth reading. Read the ones I recommended instead.

>>20124779
also he doesn't introduce characters out of nowhere that save the day at the the very end and then retroactively tells you why you are supposed to like and admire them

>>20124757
This
Lindon is shitty protagonist. Also let's not forget that in later books there is tons of drama and female dialogue, that's is where books turn completely shit.

>>20124813
What kind of dialogue? Like
>Oh, god, harder!
or
>Well, I think...

>>20124713
His best books are ones from the period 1967 to 1976. The public domain ones are earlier pulp works or Ace doubles that aren't as good.

Ones I'd recommend: To Live Again, Tower of Glass, The Man in the Maze, Up the Line. Dying Inside is from this period and often cited as his best, but I didn't like it much - it's an ordinary mainstream novel with 1-way telepathy as its single SF element.

>>20124817
>Oh, god, harder!
I'm not entirely sure Will Wight knows what sex is. In his quest to become dollar store Brandy Sandy he seems to have inherited the Mormon's squeamishness when it comes to writing about sex drugs and rock n roll.

>>20124817
I don't remember exactly what it was, it was mostly irrelevant women talk, I skipped most of it.

>>20124779
I am pretty annoyed lately by Wolfe's puzzle boxes because I feel like they never have an actual solution, but you are right that as a story telling device it does a good job keeping up the mystery in the story. Immediately after reading Urth of the New Sun I thought it diminished the BotNS, for example, by spelling out everything. I don't really feel that anymore, but to some it might be a better choice to only read BotNS, for the same reason the last part of Piranesi was worse than the first.

>>20124794
I just read the first two chapters, mc has potential, but how does he compare to Fang Yuan?

>>20121756
Sounds interesting, I put it on the list.

>>/lit/thread/S16157388#p16163887
>>20101008
I finished Harrow the Ninth. I can definitely see why it filtered so many people who liked the first, and I agree that it's a weaker book overall, but I still enjoyed it quite thoroughly. I felt the "mystery" dragged on for too long. There are enough clues thrown at you to figure out most of it early on so it felt that it was dragging on for far too long. As a result, the "weirdness" or craziness or whatever you want to call it overstays its welcome and becomes tiring. I felt it still managed to pay off in the end, however. I wouldn't call it a fulfilling conclusion since it's clearly meant to set everything up for the next book, but the final fourth or fifth of the book was a lot closer to GtN and is heavy on what (I believe) attracted fans to the series in the first place. I agree with what the reviewanon said about not liking what the book did to Harrow's character, though. I don't think that aspect in particular paid off. It seems odd to put the character and the reader through that for so long only for her to snap back to normal at the very end, seemingly unchanged overall by the experience and there not being enough pages left for her to show otherwise. So I guess it comes off as wasted potential? Wasted pages?

I did like the second person perspective, though. I get why it was done and I get why others hated it but for me it worked out well. I also greatly enjoyed the switch to first person and everything that came with it.

Next I'll read the shortstories set in the universe though I won't post my thoughts on those here. I'm looking forward to the next entry. Muir hasn't scared me off yet.

>>20121746
Just finished it and I am in awe by Frank Herbert's use of foreshadowing to deceive the reader: his depiction of statecraft and the borderline sociopathic understanding of how social manipulation works was really interesting. There is way more to onions jack over but that would take awhile. 10/10 this was a really good read.

>>20124966
Forgot about the onion thing, fug

i'm gonna buy a new kobo guys it's gonna be awesome and i'll read a lot of books

>>20125003
Good luck in your quest

>>20125003
Hello me from six months ago. Yes, I did buy that kobo and yes I have read a fuck ton of books on it since then. It's been great and I can't wait for you to catch up.

>>20124856
Urth is passive aggressive on a monumental scale, but I like how it creates as many new questions as it answers.

>>20124731
Why are you spreading lies?

>>20124933
The short stories are just sort of there. Not much to say about them anyway.

>finish second book in this
>ends on sweet cliffhanger
>jump straight into next one
>its a fucking side story

why. why would they do this.

>>20125037
People have a hateboner for Cradle sometimes because it's just a fun fantasy story and also because female characters who do things exist I guess.

>>20124933
Second person? How does it work in the book? I only read second person ocne in the Fifth Season and didn't like it. But maybe it was because I didn't like the book itself.

>>20125157
Is poz anon the same as the bakker poetry autist or reverend insanity poster? There's so many resident sperglords nowadays that I can't keep em straight.

>>20125149
Ah, I see someone else found themself following the extended adventures of an edgelord they'd thought they were rid of at least twice before and a dog.

>>20125169
I THINK he might be the Bakker guy but I don't think he's the RI guy (that guy just genuinely seems to be a weirdly dedicated fan who's just meming).

>>20125169
All part of the collective /sffg/ Gestalt

>>20125167
Did someone request second person narrative kino?

>>20125177
think i might just read something else until the other books arrive

>>20125200
Which one is in second person?

>>20125207
The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories. Note that the first "and Other Stories" is part of the title. You'll have to read it to find out why though.

>>20125169
>There's so many resident sperglords nowadays
No, just one autist with no life whatsoever.

>>20125219
i think he means you and all the other retards who sperg over him

>>20125167
>How does it work in the book?
It's a little odd at first since the first book is in third person but there's a narrative reason for the switch that becomes apparent early on. It was an odd choice by the author to help convey what the character is going through but also an interesting one. I liked it after I got used to it.

>>20125230
You are the embodiment of the "this is fine" image.

>>20125287
Hmm. Doesn't sound all that bad. Maybe I'll give the books a try. Thanks

>>20125037
I'm not
I really liked it
Until it stopped being fun
I couldn't slog through the volume where MC returns to his valley

>>20125169
>poz anon
is he in the room with us right now?

This general is pozzed

>>20125323
No good of himself does a listener hear,
>>20125445
Speak of the devil and he's sure to appear

>>20125157
>because female characters who do things exist I guess
fucking tourists I swear

Francis deserved better

>>20125474
>tourists
This thread is literally the same 50 people circlejerking around the same 5 authors and has been that way since like 2019.

>>20125483
Gonna cry over it?

>>20125491
No I'm gonna fuck your bussy. Bend over and bite the pillow bitch, I'm going in dry.

>>20125323
Yes

>>20125501
No thanks, I’d rather not get pozzed

>>20125483
anon I was replying to was an obvious tourist
we don't get a lot of IPs, but we do get some new blood as old anons leave or some tourists passing by

>>20124823
>His best books are ones from the period 1967 to 1976
>I'd recommend: To Live Again, Tower of Glass, The Man in the Maze, Up the Line.
Thanks. Have you read Nightwings? It was published 1969.

is this worth reading? the premise sounds interesting but I'm not sure Barker can pull it off

>>20124716
I read this, but have no desire to read any more of the series. Everyone else in his entire civilization is an asshole with no redeeming qualities and I hope he lets them all die.

>>20125527
More new blood wouldn't be the worst thing. It's one of the first steps towards getting new OC, which they only thing that keeps these threads and board culture alive.

>HI!
>THE PATRIARCH OF THE CAPS-LOCK SECT HAS AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR NEW AND OLD DISCIPLES
>TODAY (27TH OF NOVEMBER) THE OFFICIAL REVISION PROCESS STARTS. IT WILL NOT BEGIN IN EARNEST UNTIL MONDAY BECAUSE THREE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WORK ON IT BEFORE THE ACTUAL PUBLISHING.
>1ST TO REVISE WILL BE THE AUTHOR, THEN 2ND HIS EDITOR, AND AT THE END A PROPER NATIVE SPEAKER PROOFREADER TO WORK OUT THE LAST KINKS WE CAN CATCH.
My fastest drop yet.

>>20125543
Fortunately he leaves them behind after the first book and goes to a different flavour of a shitty civilisation where they don't so much get upset by him existing and more get upset by him surviving when somebody tries to kill him.

>>20125543
Chinese novels are worse. They are the most unfeeling Machiavellian assholes, if life in china is every 70% accurate to those portrayals I'm honestly amazed Chinese civilization ever made it past the bronze age.

>>20125566
Every Chinese novel I see snippets of is like "everybody else is a fucking idiot who does things wrong and the protagonist is the mega super genius who figures out how to do it better just because and they get really angry at him trying to progress things at all or going above his rank or some shit".

>>20123599
Spice & Wolf

>>20125579
I've heard posters on here and elsewhere claim that's mainly webnovels and self published stuff, least common denominator pandering self insert novels like the print equivalent of japanese isekai anime, yet we don't seem to ever get translations of "real" Chinese fantasy except like Ken Liu I guess.

>>20123812
In some ways it's true. You need to be rich to afford dodging taxes, for example.

>>20125619
It sort of seems like a lot of them are almost writing from a template. Like, yeah, story conventions are a thing, but it's so often the same exact story beats in nearly the same order and the main characters are all vindictively petty assholes.

>>20125619
>we don't get translation of 'real' novels unless we do get those translations
deep insight

>>20125627
Can you give me an example of good wuxia then? Not even being passive agressive I'd be perfectly happy to read it.

>>20125636
Your post was just funny to me. I don't care for wuxia, I only read xianxia.

>>20125626
That template wouldn't happen to be romance of the three kingdoms/journey to the west would it?

>>20125647
What's the difference?

>>20125650
Not quite. I think it's Condor... Force? Condor Heroes? I forget the name, but it seems to be the one they're all based on.

>>20125658
semi 'realistic' martial artists that can at most fight dozens of men vs literal heaven defying deities that can destroy a mountain without breaking a sweat

>>20125671
Is there a subgenre with powerlevels somewhere between jackie chan and DBZ? Like street level superheroes amount of powers?

>>20125685
I think that might fit in... Is it xuanhuan?

>>20125689
xuanhuan is just western-based fantasy written by chinks
not as rigidly defined as xianxia or wuxia, but generally either has a more magic like superpowers rather than cultivation or takes place in a settings that looks more like medieval europe than ancient china

>>20125698
Ah, I wasn't sure what the term actually meant. Are xianxia stories really 90% the same shit every time or is that just kind of a meme or a problem with machine translation homogenising things?

>>20125702
The setting is similar in all of them, just this alone can make them feel samey.
But I'd also say that all coming of age stories based around a school/campus feel samey.

>>20125719
Fair enough, but it feels like a lot of coming of age school stories tend to at least vary up some key thing, like the protagonist's actual personality, etc. Maybe it's just cultural bias.

All chinklit is pozzed

>>20125737
Anon, you changed.

Hunters of Dune should have just been “Ghola Baby Play Time.”

>>20125737
Praytell, what literature isn't pozzed? That might be easier to go by at this point.

>>20125729
Xianxia protagonists also differ in personality (some are horndogs, some are cold analytical thinkers, some are more hot blooded, some care about face, some don't etc). But yeah from what I've read evil protagonist were more common (may be that those just get translated more often). The MC from Absolute Resonance or w/e seemed like the archetypal good guy? But there wasn't much translated at that moment and somehow I never went back to read more.

>>20125661
>Condor Force
Sounds like a power rangers knockoff.

>>20125759
It's probably just not a genre that appeals. The conventions and tropes involved just don't seem fun to me.

>>20125757
Just ignore the shitter already.

Based on my sample set of four novels, 100% of Chinese novel protags are homos and 50% are teacher-fuckers.

>>20125765
And I should care why?

>>20125757
>what literature isn't pozzed?
Bakker

>>20125784
The mask has fallen.

>>20125799
I never wore a mask because I’m not pozzed

>>20125799
It was obvious the second he said pozzed. Now stop giving the spamming faggot attention already.

>>20125729
>Fair enough, but it feels like a lot of coming of age school stories tend to at least vary up some key thing, like the protagonist's actual personality, etc
Hahaha, nope.

>>20125808
I'm sure there's trends in genres like that. It's probably just a general unfamiliarity with xianxia that gives me the "they're all the same" feeling.

>>20125737
Reverend Insanity is not pozzed.

>>20125821
>>20125806

>>20125820
No you are correct, most xanxia are the same.

>>20125832
This post is pretty pozzed

Well this threads pretty much derailed, back to reading Cradle I guess.

>>20125856
Wouldn’t be if you just report the shitter.

>>20125862
Why would I report myself?

>>20125856

>>20125856
Which one're you on?

>>20125888
Just started book 5. There's 10 of these out so far right?

>>20125806
>autist, redditor, cuck, it all runs off him like water off a raincoat. But call him a pozzed coomer and you will be astonished at how he recoils

>>20125895
10 out of a total of 12, I believe. Book 5 is generally when the series hits its overall stride, I'd say. It only really stumbles around book 9, but nowhere near bad as 4. Book 4... I genuinely just blitzed through that in like a day and I do not remember what happened in it. It was very nothing. Book 5 introduces the best character in the series.

>>20125908
Only 12 huh? I was worried this series was gonna be like a shonen manga where it runs for 5 times longer than it needs to be and the pacing suffers for it but I guess it's almost done.
>Book 5 introduces the best character in the series.
Better than Eithan? That's a high bar.

>>20125918
Well, book 5 introduces two of my personal favourites at least. I think the content of book 5 is a little off overall, but it has some charming character moments from all involved and makes Mercy, y'know... Exist. She was just kinda tossed in in book 4.

>>20125908
Huh? Orthos is in book 3

>>20125932
Yes, but Dross and Ziel are in book 5.

>>20125928
>Mercy
So far she has the energy of the foreign exchange student who's just happy to be included, which is cute.

>>20125935
Oh yeah, she's fun enough, but she felt weirdly just tossed in with book 4. I don't HATE book 4, it just feels like the most "nothing happens" book. You see what Dreadgods can do, and then it's handled, and nothing really happens.

>>20125939
I can remember the plot of every book except 4. I honestly don't remember a single thing that happened in it, except they briefly joined the skycops.

>>20125928
>Mercy, y'know... Exist
Who gives af about her

>>20125941
There's duel with whathisface I guess? Also Eithan styled on an old man, and ... that's pretty much it.

>>20125941
They join the skycops, I think fight the blood cult or something, and then the phoenix rises up and then is promptly dealt with and the protagonists just kinda look at it all. There's some exposition on Yerin's blood thing. Mercy shows up. That's really it. It just sort of felt like a filler arc because Wight couldn't figure out how to establish Dreadgods, Mercy and Yerin's blood thing.

>>20125953
I completely forgot about the duel, the book fucking STARTS with that and it's just not really a thing. Does Lindon lose his arm there? I forget. It's weird how much of a blur it is because it feels like some important stuff went down, but it's just not sticking.

>>20125962
Yeah that's when he loses his arm, seems kind of a weird development for his character. I'll have to see if Wight pays it off somehow. I am actually gonna leave the thread now cause I'm worried about spoilers, but I'm glad to see actual discussion can still happen in this general.

>>20125979
Ah, right, sorry. As I said, Ghostwater is when the series properly hits its stride. Books tend to feel less like a single story that got cut into two (though there's still a bit of that) and generally it feels more like there's an actual coherence to things.

>>20125200
Death of Doctor Island is fantastic. I stopped reading at The Eyeflash Miracles for some reason, and haven't read any other Wolfe before or since.

>>20126007
I find it's good to take breaks with
Wolfe now and then. You can handle only so much peak fiction before you ruin all other storytelling for yourself.

>>20125619
Ken Liu is American.

Just finished the Dying Earth, and holy shit is that the most whimsical thing ever written or what. I'm straining to think of anything that even comes close in terms of pure whimsey. I might need to read the later novels

>>20125979
no spoilers here, just orthos and chill

>>20126108
read sword in the stone?

>>20126317
It's good, but it still doesn't come close to The Excellent Prismatic Spray

>>20124966
Anything that does this but better?
>Pre-medieval tribalistic society
>Hero-king
I've looked into the Conan books and they're good in their own right, but not quite scratching the itch.

>>20124966
>>20126377
Didn't mean to reply to your post.

Ded

>>20121764
The Powder Mage trilogy by Brian Mcclellan

>>20121764
Is there a prerequisite? Someone named a lesser known book and you rejected it

>>20126722
I rejected one and said the other was acceptable. Powder mage isn't lesser read for sff. Butcher is one of the most popular sff authors.

>>20126754
You accept self-publish books? Or is it only traditional?

>>20126761
Well, it also has to have some wider appeal or interest as well. If it's erotic gamelit or machine translated web novels or trying to promote your work, that isn't going to work. So, in theory yes, but in practice likely. It'd have to be something at least somewhat reputable.

>>20126775
*in practice not likely

>>20126775
Nah, just something called Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

>>20126775
He’s >>20126811 not me. Just wanted to know if you do superhero literature.

>>20126811
Silliness

>>20126818
If you're going to say Worm, then no.

>>20126824
No, not Worm, I was going to type Wild Cards, but you said lesser known fics. So, Super powereds by Drew Hayes. It’s on Amazon.

>>20126824
>Worm, then no.
What's wrong with Worm?

>>20126843
July can be self-published month. It can be 1 per week. We'll see it goes then, but for now, no.

>>20126844
It's too long for this sort of thing. Also, other reasons based on when I looked at it and seen discussed in the thread.

>>20126867
Ah well, then my recommendation would be The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters.

>>20125532
I haven't read it yet, but I'm working my way through a stack of Silverberg paperbacks, including a copy of this edition of Nightwings.

>>20126882
On a personal level I find that strongly disagreeable, but sure ok, that's an acceptable pick.

>>/lit/thread/S17038393#p17051372

>>20126886
Nah, if you already read it and didn't like, then no. I wouldn't force you on it. How about The Agent G novels by C.T. Phipps?

>>20126927
I never said anything about me reading it. At this point it's mostly a spotlight now. Agent G looks too obscure actually. So, it'll stay as it is. That makes two choices for now. If it stays two, may just do both 2 weeks each.

>>20126942
>Agent G looks too obscure actually.
Is that a bad thing?

>>20126950
Not him, but it means you actually search for books on your. Unlike the rest of /sffg/.

>>20126950
In of itself, no, for this purpose yes. I have a book form 1977 on goodreads where I'm literally the only person who has read it on there.

>>20126974
>In of itself, no, for this purpose yes
Ah, I mean, you did say obscure books. Just wanted to make sure.

>I have a book form 1977 on goodreads where I'm literally the only person who has read it on there.
Name of the book?

>>20126989
"lesser read" and "obscure" aren't the same, but I understand the confusion.

>>/lit/thread/S16866934#p16871661

>>20126998
>"lesser read" and "obscure" aren't the same,
Ah, my bad. To be honest, I'm a bit tired.

>>20126998
>>20126927
Where do you guys even find these books?

>>20127075
I literally wrote
>You may wonder how I came to read this
and then explained. I have several single digits and many more double digits ratings. Most stuff simply isn't read. Certain things in particular.

>>20127084
It’s too much of happenstance.

>>20127075
I just search for them online. Nothing really special.

>>20127097
Life is happenstance. Here's 100 I've read. Feel free to ask me about any of them. Should all of them be there individually? Maybe not.

>>20127123
I’m just more surprised how you find these books. Since it seems /sffg/ just repeats the same things.

>>20127132
A few dedicated posters can easily skew perception if you let them. I could probably pick any random member in the /sffg/ with a sufficient number of books and find equally obscure stuff they've read.

>>20127132
>Since it seems /sffg/ just repeats the same things.
Pretty much what he >>20127144 said. Just a few people who don't read other books.

>>20121746
Can someone recommend me a book with this feel?

>>20127132
There are various ways. As I said, you can ask about whichever and I'll tell you how I found it.

>>20127171
The Comic book prequel.

>>20127176
I was thinking prose fiction but I'll check it out.

>>20127182
You really should. It delves deep into Hope Idaho, Elizabeth Greene, and the viral outbreak.

>>20127171
Probably not, because how you feel is personal to you.

>>20125475
You deserved better.

>>20127192
Fair,. To be honest I'll take almost anything to read. I've already read two fiction books this year and I'm hungry for the next. Just shoot your shot, recommend me your stuff.

>>20127198
If you want to do that, there's plenty in the mega in the OP.

13 deleted posts this thread

>>20127202
You don't understand, I want YOUR recs. Something that you like.

>>20127212
That's no better than random chance either, if not worse.

>>20127210
You know all you're doing is giving him more of a reason to derail the thread.

>>20127215
The problem with these charts is that they show you the most popular stuff that everyone eventually reads at some point or knows it's name. It's also true that everyone has something that's relatively obscure that they enjoy. I want that. I just notice this pattern in my life when I delve into what single individual's like I find something special in them and it hasn't failed me yet.

>>20127225
Join the Goodreads group in the OP and pick a random individual then.

>>20127229
Listen, punk. I'm tired of asking, now I'm TELLING you to give me a fucking recommendation. Do it, or die.

>>20127232
Have at it then:
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_tripcode=sffg

>>20127234
Thank you.

>>20127123
Anon, since I feel lost in the storm I'm going to shamefully beg you for help.
Where is the war-is-col military scifi? Where is the modern Starship Troopers? Where is the Armor? I've more or less given up on military scifi because its all the stupid "here's a book celebrating military aesthetic ps war is bad"

Bros, give me some tragedy cultivation novel that doesn't have harem shit

>>20127257
Consider the following:
1. Military scifi isn't something I especially like, at least of what I've read overall, let alone specialize in
2. I thought Starship Troopers was ok at best. I have more details written elsewhere.
3. I didn't like what I read of Armor to read more than a bit of it.
4. War is bad, but fiction of it can be fun.

>>20127266
Dragonball Saiyan saga

New thread
>>20127281
>>20127281
>>20127281

New thread
>>20127292

>>20127295
This is the one.

>>20127289
I would've posted in this one since it was posted first, but you just had to be rude and change the Goodreads link. It doesn't matter to me if the thread is deleted for being posted second. Life continues on regardless.

>>20127315
Any reason why you got people wanting to kill the general with that type of shit?

>>20127289
>Changing the goodreads link
Why are you always trying to shit up the threads?

>>20127322
What? No, I messed up copy/pasting the the op, I was just an accident

>>20127338
Can you just fuck off already. Fucking hell, it’s obvious why you did it.

>>20127345
Projecting

>>20124966
Sounds like you will enjoy the remainder of the series.

>>20127289
Wow, the OP is using multiple IP to keep it alive. He even copied a post from the new thread.