/lit/ - Literature

Nice art.

Bakker is Kang.

Sample as.

What happened to the old thread?

>>>/tv/169031071
>>>/tv/169031071

>>20466763
Archived, no one managed to make a new thread in time. There should be some sort of 'time until archived,' so that we know when to make one. Or just have a janny make general threads with special function like that. 4chan seems to be really anti general threads.

>>20466773
I don‘t recall seeing the last general hitting page 10, but maybe I‘m just wrong.

>>20466777
Was it even over 300 posts? I don't recall.

>>20466784
The previous thread is in the fucking OP, you fucking retard. Just check it.

>>20466784
No, it wasn’t.

>>20466790
>>20466789
Huh, that's happened a couple times before. Is it just done when there's too many spammers or some shit?

>>20466770
Excited for it, ngl

>>20466798
Only four minutes passed between the last post on that thread and the first one here. It couldn't have been pushed off naturally in that time.

>>20466798
It happens when there are too posts janny doesn't like and he can't get them all deleted.

Bujoldbros, she’s into D&D manga.

>>20466898
I am glad she found something to self insert herself into.

>>20466745
he looks longingly at the airship, "if only i were not planted on the ground"

>>20466898
Who.

>>20466933
Flying is overrated.

sffg discord invite:
https://discord.com/invite/KWPCM7m

>>20466898
Is this about Frieren? She still only gave it 3 stars so eh.

Why aren’t there Nazgûl that are dwarves or elves if they also received rings like the nine kings of men?

I insert my crushes into the characters I like.

I'm writing a medieval fantasy book set in the 14th-15th century. I'm inspired to do so because of the lack of historical accuracy in the genre. I love ASOIAF but I'm doing this because the historical inaccuracy in that series. I want all fantasy elements rooted in real medieval mythology. I'm researching etymology in old French, Norman, Anglo Saxon, and English to create a distinction between English and French cultures in my naming of people and places. I want the book to be a fiction parallel to England, France, Brittany, burgundy, Flanders, Ireland, and Scotland. I want to write the most historically accurate medieval fantasy book ever written. I want to use old medieval terms. Every piece of armor will be accurately listed. I want to accurately depict what a Knight was in social standing and the battlefield. Tell me, what do you guys want to see in my book?

>>20467056
not intimidating enough, they had to be tall ass motherfuckers.

>>20467066
You're in the wrong general. Here's /wg/. >>20464476

Where are those comfy Greek polis settings with magic?

Misery of the Sanderson reader

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=renjPo6qrMM

>>20467067
Elves aren’t that short. Also corrupted dwarves would be scary (see Chaos Dwarves), when even Gollum is unnerving, and he’s not even fully corrupted yet.

>>20467069
Nobody writes in writing general and I'm asking you the people on this board that read fantasy

>>20467066
>strong white male mc,
>strong supporting male characters,
>no harem,
>no women drama,
>no children drama,
>little to no dialogue with women,
>no romance etc,
>only mature themes (except drama and romance),
>violence and action
>at least some basic non pozzed philosophy.
>No progressivism, no sjw nonsense, no melanin enriched urban youths and no people on hrt.

>>20467113
The ultimate, exquisite, premium and deluxe answer

>>20467113
That's a long way of saying "I don't want your book to get published".

>>20467066
It would be cool if when you make the French, Burgundian, Breton, and English naming conventions to also include their individual takes on something like Arthurian legends, since from what I know there is a lot of individual oral tradition, stories, and poetry in each culture. It would also be cool to see the Welsh side of it. Lots of people also neglect Scottish mythology, so you could write about Sidhe and what have you. Also, if there was a wider theme about how history is constructed via written accounts rather than linear, plain reality, I’d definitely find it compelling. History is stranger than fiction, so it would be cool to see what you come up with.

>>20467066
you basically covered it already. i would suggest looking at a specific period of conflict and interplay between these different cultures to use as a framework. having a historical basis for the actual narrative would be cool and help it feel real

Some retard is copy pasting the replies in /wg/
Show yourself, CUR.

>>20467131
big merchant publishers wont touch it but who goes through publishers these days? Its all self published serialised patreon begging business model. I can guarantee in this say and age of liberalism and wokeness I and many others would pay money to read something like that

>>20467056
Men don't have magic running in their veins like dwarves or elves do. They're easier to corrupt.

>>20467201
Age of liberalism began its reign
everything sucks and I feel pain
The age of woke began its rule
My ass gapes and my mouth drool

>>20467219
What’s with the trochaic meter? Reads terribly. Or did you think “of” or “and” were stressed?

if Bakker is so good why doesn't he have merch

>>20467056
sauron wasn't directly involved in the forging of the elven rings so he wasn't able to corrupt the elves
dwarves have mind control resistance buffs so the rings just made them greedier and lust for gold more, but didn't bring them under sauron's dominion

>>20467243
Books are enough consoomerism for the Bakkerchads

>>20467066
characters and a story would be cool

>>20467233
Because the poet here is broken and defeated, trochaic is the best choice.

>>20467253
hes got the Kubrick stare

>>20467281
a Kubrick stare is more subtle and sneaky. this is a confident and direct stare, a lesser man will tremble before his eyes.

>>20467281
Kubrick stare: whites BELLOW pupil showing
Supreme stare: Whites ABOVE pupil showing

>>20467324
>>20467281
>>20467253
He just looks like he's gonna kill somebody.

>>20466745
Phoenix Extravagant - Yoon Ha Lee (2020)

The protagonist, Jebi, an artist, is non-binary (geu-ae), of which the usage of "they" is the sole indication. Jebi is probably of female form and is attracted to women, as is their sister, whose wife was killed in the most recent war. Their society seems to be rather indifferent about identity and orientation. Which to me brings up the question as to whether there can be meaning without distinction.

I read an interview did Lee about this book, as he tends to provide a lot of information by being open about relevant matters. Although this takes place in a secondary world it's based upon the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and for the most part is a blending of real world history and fantasy. It's not as egregious about it as The Poppy War was, but it still bothered me, if only because how of jarring it felt. The narrative is primarily concerned with whether one ought to be a collaborator and whether it's possible for the colonized to remain apolitical. There's also the question of revolution and the extreme threat posed by The West.
Lee says that book is either silkpunk or historical fantasy, the former being coined by Ken Liu, and the latter being the one I think fits far better. Lee stated that this work was most inspired by Guy Gavriel Kay. He also recommended reading the Traitor Baru Cormorant, which is moderately relevant to the narrative. Various other influences were mentioned and evident, such as the anime Code Geass, as noted by calling the conquered regions and its people by numbers, which in this case was Fourteeners.

As with his previous books, worldbuilding is only provided as decoration to the narrative. It's very focused and much is left unexplained. The magic system is metaphorical and not elaborated upon. Possessions of cultural meaning from the deceased are ground up into powder to create magical pigments. The primary usage of these pigments, such as Phoenix Extravagant, is to give life and orders to automata, most notably the mecha dragon seen on the cover.

The largest problem I have with this book is that it's mostly a character drama, but based on this and the previous works I've read by him, to me character drama is one of his weakest points. However, Lee notes that he had written various works that were all about the impersonal, but readers didn't like them and they weren't salable. There wasn't anything notable about the characters aside from how flat their characterizations were. The troubled romance was something that just happened without much reason other than I guess love at first sight or something. The sex scene was also just something happened. The other characters existed as props. The dragon's personality was not what I expected, but I suppose I should have, and I would have preferred it to be different.

Overall, this wasn't bad so much as it was thoroughly mediocre. It failed to make use of its potential in any way.
Rating: 2/5

>>20467113
>>20467133
>>20467150
Thanks for the feedback. The main theme will be the decline of the Knight and a contrast between the romantic view of Chivalry with reality of war and politics. This is something that I think George Martin does well. He captures the reality of Chevauchée in the Riverlands. The destruction of medieval warfare and pillaging. This is exactly what Edward III did throughout France. My biggest problem also with medieval representation is the lack of religion. These people were extremely religious and internally conflicted when they were brutal. I want to represent the theme of the growing class of yaoman. These people were free land owners and had the ability to rise above their status through a free market. The emergence of a middle class above peasantry. So many changes to feudal structure happening. Also Arthurian legend from all the cultures will be the basis of my low fantasy setting. In the backdrop of this, we have feudal dynasty struggles. Wars of the Roses type struggle will be the building conflict but to do so, I want to show how wars and families such as The Capatians and Plantagenets were plagued by poor kings and slowly became pawns in the Era of bastard feudalism.

>>20467113
Forgot to mention, females play a huge part in medieval society, but they are not done right usually. Joan of Arc is a great female character I will take inspiration from. Also women and their influence over English and French marriages played a large part in the hundred years war and wars of the roses.

>>20467337
I have to admit, even if I wouldn't dislike the idea of non-binary people, I find it hard to read stories or texts where singular people are called "they". It's probably because my mother tongue has grammatical genders, but it just seems dehumanising to me and makes me uncomfortable.

>>20467392
Egan has some stories with non-binary entities but you're right, it does feel incredibly off to read about.

>>20467398
>>20467392
I don't really mind it as long as 'they' is used for unknown gender too, it makes it more natural for the book's language.

>>20467337
>Incredibly timely
that's how you know it's terrible

Any books that are just worldbuilding, like encyclopaedic entries or atlases?

>>20467349
Please elaborate on magic and fantasy aspects. Will you use grum tier magic? I guess it is your choice, if your aiming for largest generic audience (and their money) thats fine, but for many /sffg/ fans it wont be enough, because frankly asoiaf is medieval action politics and drama, and magic part of the story is sort of irrelevant.

>>20467384
It is fine if their sexuality and romantic feelings are not brought up at all and plot does not get affected by their lack of logic and rational decisions, they can play important roles and decisions but the moment they bring up their female emotions is the moment quality of story goes down, also limit casual dialogue and conversations of important and influential women, I don't need to say this but do not have medieval type characters in a medieval settings talk and act like people from modern times.
Again don't make this some family drama or some medieval husband and wife feud/love story that spans generations. Nothing kills quality of story more than a routine life of a girlfriend/boyfriend or married couple. For gods sake if you really need women in your story just limit female interactions to mc visiting inn, ordering ale and potato stew and whore for the night.

This has got to be one of the worst threads in a while. I miss the Bakker-Sandersonian wars.

>>20467510
They're not wars, they're one guy spamming "Bakker is based fuck Sanderson" because he hates people talking about books.

>>20467521
you know you’re replying to him, right?

>>20467534
>>20467521
Just as planned

>Let's go, Cnaiur-kun!
>B-baka! I'll go! But I hate you, Dunyain baka! It's n-not like I like you or something!
>haha ^^
> >////<

>>20467392
>>20467398
>>20467402
Would you prefer the various other pronouns? I've certainly seen a lot. It doesn't matter to me what's used as long as it isn't a long word.

>>20467392
>I find it hard to read stories or texts where singular people are called "they"
this really bothers me as well. i wish they'd come up with a different word. one that doesn't sound fucking retarded.

>>20467505
Yes, they're called campaign setting books. There are a few other similar types as well.

>>20467563
I would prefer correct pronouns specifically he and she.

>>20467563
There really aren't 'various other pronouns', not widely. It's he, she, they and occasionally it.

>>20467572
>campaign setting books
I’m not really into D&D even if the original monster manuals are kinda cool. The other TTRPG books I own are light on worldbuilding too (like Jackals, Paleomythic, etc.)

>>20467566
I don't know that it would be possible for that to be possible for personally.

>>20467578
I know, I meant that I've seen authors address it in a variety of ways. Sometimes they're exclusive to a single book.

>>20467576
What about languages that are genderless or have many?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_type_of_grammatical_genders

The man revealed his phallus to the horde
His phallus erect like a two handed sword
The horde began to cower in fright
None can withstand the phallic might

>>20467563
I don't get the appeal of made-up pronouns as well. For the most part of humanity's existence people thought of themselves as either he or she. It's the most natural thing to do. The majority of mammals are the same. I don't see the reason behind identifying as something completely different, aside from the sake of being different.

>>20467593
Oh fair enough. I've never really seen invented pronouns or anything. Fantastical species or aliens might have other genders, but they typically aren't pronoun'd. It's usually just male, female, neuter if there's a third one, and the latter is just they/them.

>>20467583
Well, I meant more like Grand History of the Realms, but yeah otherwise there isn't really a market for it so you'd have to find some random person's stuff.

Even the Game of Thrones works that are moderately relevant didn't do that well.

>>20467509
I want magic rooted in mythology. For example in Aurthurian legend, Merlin's magic is clever and there is always a sense of return to nature. Returning what was taken and a cost to it. But it can't be too powerful. I heard someone once say that ASOIAF lost his interest when Stannis killed Renly. He felt like it took away the clever court intrigue, and just made it so that magic allowed Stannis to kill from afar and felt cheap when a king can just be assassinated like that. I agree. In regard to your statements about romance, I also agree. I don't have any intention to describe POV characters going through relationships unless it impacts the plot.

>>20467593
>What about languages that are genderless or have many?
They can invent the required he she pronouns if havent already or they can discard the unused pronouns in case they have many.
Frankly in literature most languages other than English are irrelevant.

>>20467113
You sound kind of homosexual with that women should have no lines part and the no harem or romance parts.

I know exactly what I want and who I want to be
I know exactly why I walk and talk like I rule supreme
I'm now becoming my own non-pozzed prophecy
Oh! Oh, yes! Oh, yes! Oh, yes, oh!

>>20467601
I'm not going to argue that other than to say that an appeal to being natural is on shaky grounds at best. An example would be the study of penguin sexuality that went unpublished for a century or so. Natural doesn't mean better or worse. At best it's also an emotional appeal similar to tradition, which has its benefits and problems as well.

>>20467680
Or Bonobo sexuality for that matter. I remember a sff where humans were spliced with a few Bonobo genes to make them have a similar sort.

>>20467392
>I find it hard to read stories or texts where singular people are called "they"
But the usage of "you" for singular people you have no problem with?

>>20467680
That's why I have reduced my own argument on the majority of mammals. There are a lot of species that can't be separated into two genders, of course. I also differentiate between gender and sexuality. Otherwise, I don't disagree with you.

>>20467694
I wonder if you are serious. But to bring back my original reason for my problem: I come from a language that has grammatical genders, and calling a singular being with a plural pronoun just feels weird and off from that perspective. But we have a plural word for the polite singular address of a person, so in that regard, the whole "you" theme doesn't feel as weird.

>>20467707
Well, 'they' has always been used for undefined/unknown gender in the singular. Adding on "not male/female" to the usage is fine.

>>20467610
>want magic rooted in mythology. For example in Aurthurian legend, Merlin's magic is clever and there is always a sense of return to nature. Returning what was taken and a cost to it
I don't know specifics but isnt it a miracle type magic? For some magic to happen wizard just casts the spell. That is it, no further explanation, no elaboration or depth to it. It just happens when plot requires it.
Its up to you how you do it, but please don't use the most basic grum style, its just not fun. If magic in the story is not approached with same effort the world building is (in other words it should be "magic building") and its just added to serve a function then its not fun or interesting.

>>20467066
The biggest challenge when writing something like that is actual writing. If you are already competent writer it can probably be done but would require effort comparable to writing a few books w/o such degree of accuracy. If you aren't, you will likely burn out or shit the bed on characters/plot/worldbuilding long before historical accuracy can come into play.

Regardless, give it a go, if nothing else you will probably learn a lot.

>>20467712
Won't argue with that. Like I said, I find it hard to read and a weird concept. It's mostly a feeling.

>>20467671
I am not homosexual, I did say no to progressivness and sjw.

Why do people want romance in every story? I dont understand this, I have read a few (straight) romance novels which were pretty good and I enjoyed them, there a lot emotions and romantic feelings, but I do not want this in fantasy or scifi, those kind of things just limit the potential of the story, of the characters. There cannot be epic adventure, action, mystery or war if a character is instead lead by his dick/pussy and coomer desires. A character like that is a low effort, low energy literal average joe transported from a random street to fantasy world, he has no potential, in such stories the plot itself limits how good the story can be because every time there is a high point or a culmination approaching, instead of putting effort and making it good or even epic author finds it acceptable to just use a sex scene instead.

>harem
its beyond me why anyone with functional brain would want this in a serious story

>>20467769
Homos rule, straights drool, its a known fact

Adding to the discussion above, I'm not a native english speaker, but I like 'they.' My language uses he, she or it extremely, everything is gendered, but using 'they' to refer to a unknown person is good, especially in literature. Just using 'he' or 'she' would be stupid, having a neutral word is nice.

As for the biological argument, I used to believe that there are only two sexes, then I changed my position when I heard the argument that there isn't really any concrete 'sex' and only some biological factors leaning in one or the other direction, since then I had been thinking that there is no sex. However, as of late I've come to a different position, I still believe that objectively sex doesn't exist, but we as humans have two sexes, 'male' and 'female' imprinted directly into our brains by biology, so while sexes don't exist on their own, they exist for humans directly in our programming, i.e transgender people who have brains biologically incongruent with their bodies brains. Therefore saying that sexes aren't real is silly and negates that it's humans we are talking about, not some random conciusnesses that are able to reason.

Considering the above, I am for using they for unknown characters in literature as it's simply adding a new avenue for mystery, or just makes more sense when refering to a proffesion or anything like that.

Should we be discussing it in /sffg/, though?

Joe many liberals does it take to change a log by bolb????? None , their to busy ???? Their gender

>>20467800
there are only to sexes.

>>20467800
>then I changed my position when I heard the argument that there isn't really any concrete 'sex' and only some biological factors leaning in one or the other direction
You should look up the term "chromosome" and familiarize yourself with it.

>>20467964
>You should look up the term "chromosome" and familiarize yourself with it.
No need, i've already read up on chromosomes long ago and I am aware that MOST people have XY or XX. But a significant amount also has XX while being male, XY while being female (and I don't mean transexuals, but normal people that aren't even aware of their combination). Not to mention XXY, XXX, XYY and other chromosomes combinations. Saying that Chromosomes define sex is just plain wrong, and modern science uses multiple factors of a body to determine sex. I recommend reading up on biology yourself.

Last time I'm responding on this subject, this is fantasy general, not scientific one. Start posting some fucking books, even if it's 'Save the Pearls.'

>>20467392
Dungeon item shop had one (not played for any purpose, just there) and it was annoying to read through.
>She gave them the item and they walked away
Did they walk away or did "they" walk away? Sure you figure it out eventually, but the story made no use of the genderlessness, and I probably wouldn't be interested in what it was if it did so it was just tedious.

Right wings destroyed! a very rare situation!

>>20467988
All that and you can't even admit that something outside of "X" and Y" exists purely in the land of fable. A fitting place for you to be, here.

>>20467988
>But a significant amount also has XX while being male, XY while being female
What in name of fuck? What kind of retardation is this? XX IS FEMALE, XY IS MALE.

Hol shit, fuck off with politics posting and let us discuss Bakker in peace.

>>20466745
Books that feel like Orc Stain? Just reread the comic and I'm in the mood for more like it.

>>20468079
XY is Supreme, XX is pozzed

Simple as.

>>20467769
What if it's about a favourite/monarch dynamic? You also have a "does he really love her or just wants power?" conflict to explore etc.

>>20468391
>"does he really love her or just wants power?" conflict to explore etc.
Relationships and possibly even romance. Would probably work well in a romance novel but not in strong male lead fantasy.

>Is superior to Bakker in your path

>>20468454
A peasant named after jackals is not superior to anything

>>20468487
>still trying with this jackals nonsense
Regardless of your blather, Wolfe remains superior to you in many ways.

Any recommendations for a story with lots of female characters?

>>20468619
The Darkness that Comes Before by Richard Scott Bakker.

Any recommendations for a story with lots of gay anal rape?

>>20468500
>peasantry of the lowest of lows
>family named after jackals
>doesn't look noble
>looks like an ugly peasant
>looks fat
>bald
>no glorious blonde hair
Not superior

>>20468637
is this a real rec? i can't tell with you guys sometimes.

>>20468670
No, it's a spammer spamming. You're going to have to wait a few threads to get any real recommendation.

>>20468670
NYA, but the single best female character I’ve ever read in a fantasy novel was in The Prince of Nothing series.

>>20468619
I'm currently reading Gideon the Ninth, its main cast is predominantly female so far. Men exist and do stuff, but it's largely centered around Gideon and Harrow, who're... Y'know, lesbian space necromancers like the entire gist of the series is.

>>20468650
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson?

>>20468696
Series was much better than the elevator pitch made it sound. The lesbian stuff is there but there's more to the story than romance, which is all I ever hear normies talk about.

>>20467713
So basically you like hard magic? Personally I like magic very mysterious and not that important

>>20468709
I'm only partially through, so there's actually no romance elements at all yet beyond the fact that there's the clear "hatefuck" vibes between the two. It's got a weird style to its text, where it seems to flip-flop between utterly crass and blunt and then overly-wordy and grandiose-sounding stuff, so it's weird to get used to.

>>20468733
> it seems to flip-flop between utterly crass and blunt and then overly-wordy and grandiose-sounding stuff
I think it's supposed to be evocative of the two main characters.

>>20468804
Maybe, it just makes it tricky to get in the right headspace to read. It's very jarring to get used to a more grandiose block of text and then Gideon thinks about tits or something or a meme reference pops up. I suppose that's the intended effect, but still.

>>20468733
Enemies to lovers is a very popular and beloved trope by female readers.

>>20468878
It's a trope I have never actually seen existing outside of fanfic. Grumpy not-friends to lovers, sure, but flat-out enemies, never seems to properly exist.

>>20468904
This Is is How You Lose The Time War might be an example, but probably not properly. I'm sure examples exist though.

>>20468155

>>20469008
I admittedly haven't seen much stuff with romance as a focus. Rivals to lovers I've seen a couple times, though. They're usually friendly rivals, though.

>>20469101
Worse than Bakker.

Truth Shines.

I made it half way through DotF V. Zac has lost all connection with the story and characters, and is just wandering from one low-effort scenario to another. Is there any reason to keep going? Does it rally?

I got it; recreating classic Bible/Christian tales as dark and violent S&S stories.

>>20468155
i only know, as i've read on the internet, a very bad german books series just called Just Orcs. I remember the book because it had kind of nice cover but never read myself

>>20469268
Yeah. Book five seemed to be one long filler through the tower. The other books had him accomplish so much in one book, and the majority of book 5 he is in the fucking tower.

>>20469285
forgor pic

>>20469268
I dropped it too somewhere around there
Only royal road thing I'm following us tree of aeons

>>20468155
>>20469292
>>20469285
aaand it's not german sorry i mixed up with another The Orcs book by german author Michael Peinkofer. Dunno which one was the bad lol

>>20469277
mediterranean and/or middle-easteasten fantasy is kind of cool or hot if you catch my drift

>>20469268
I haven't even picked it up yet and I'm not sure I want to. I sort of soured on DotF with book 4 when I realised Zac wasn't going to actually be interesting ever.

>>20468454
Can't we just bond over a shared love of rape, incest, and gender bending?

Truth Shines and praise the Pancreator!

>>20469293
>Only royal road thing I'm following is tree of aeons

I stopped reading at some point, but for anyone here who wants to read litrpg, but with a psychopatic genocidal tree for a protagonist feel free to check it out. It's kinda insane, at times meanders, but the murder-tree is hilarious.

>>20469387
Non-human protagonist LitRPGs feel like a ground that's not quite treaded. I've toyed with the idea of sci-fi surveying drone getting isekai'd and its scanning functionality gets converted into LitRPG mechanics.

>>20469368
>gender bending
so pozzed it becomes non-pozzed
so unbased it becomes based

>>20469388
>Non-human protagonist LitRPGs feel like a ground that's not quite treaded
You wot mate? Non-human protagonist Litrpg is bread and butter of the genre. There are dozens if not hundreds stories about that.

>>20469398
Really? I haven't seen that many. And I mean ones where it's a straight-up non-human from the get go, not reincarnated into a non-human thing.

>>20469368

I'm looking for a highborn maid of three-and-ten, with a fair face and auburn hair

>>20469415
He is smug, because he knows he ruled supreme with that TV show, he knows he doesn't have to finish writing his books, he knows that his fans rage and scream while he drowns in pussy cream, he knows that they know that he rules supreme and they rage so hard they blow steam, he knows that is a known fact that his reign is supreme and that they can't compete even in a dream.

>>20466745
Are any books by Diana Wynne Jones worth reading or are they all just lame YA fantasy?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47587.Dark_Lord_of_Derkholm

>>20466798
Janny does that sometimes when the thread is off rails and close-ish to bump limit

>>20469556
I read the Chrestomancy books a long, long time ago and I don't remember a thing about them other than that I liked them. It's possible she has been imitated to death in the meantime, or maybe they still have a spark. I might revisit.

>>20451689

Cradle bros, its fucking happening

>>20469936
too scary

>>20470096
>1 month away
We're going home bros!

>>20469368
How come all the "great" sci-fi I read seems to feature cuckoldry?
Rise of endymion has raul get cucked by his future self
The incal has john get cucked by god himself
Book of the new sun ends with severian getting his dick chopped if he fails his quest

>>20470096
>>20470141

>>20469368
reading Lictor
That kid just got roasted lmao
I don't get it. What's the point?

>>20470210
Much of Lictor is very focused on Severian. He tries out a number of different roles during the vignettes that make up most of Sword. Lictor (Thrax), Warrior (Casdoe's Hut), Sorcerer (Village of the Sorcerers), Father (His journey's with the boy), and more. Each vignette tells us a bit more about Severian and helps to develop his character in a way that only really starts to pay off about a third of the way into Citadel imo.

>>20470210
Much of Lictor is very focused on Severian. He tries out a number of different roles during the vignettes that make up most of Sword. Lictor (Thrax), Warrior (Casdoe's Hut), Sorcerer (Village of the Sorcerers), Father (his travels with the boy), and more. Each vignette tells us a bit more about Severian and helps to develop his character in a way that only really starts to pay off about a third of the way into Citadel imo.

>>20470210
There is none it's just being edgy and wolfe probably was too lazy to write a chapter where the kid gets dropped off at a town or something. Same with hyping up typhon as a big bad who dies almost immediately

im reading hyperion :)

>>20470286
holy shit what a brainlet take

>>20469556
A tour-de-force? Is it, dare I even say it, a love letter to fantasy?

>>20470346
>no counter-argument

>Ser Waymar Royce goes ranging to look for wildlings
>Benjen Stark goes ranging to find Royce
>Mormont takes half the nights watch to go ranging to find Benjen Stark
????????????????????????

Whats some good sci-fi with deep space combat?

>>20468454
Did you all know there was a Shadow of the Torturer comic? Was supposed to be 6 issues but they only made 3 before going under in the early 90s

>>20469936
wtf is with that book? it's like a 70's closeted serial killer's erotica written down in a secret diary

>>20470162
obviously someone didn't read urth of the new sun

>>20470626
To be fair he does get cuckolded in the new sun but it's not like he has nothing else going on, he's the autarch and Jesus II.
What hurts more is our bro Zama, feels fucking terrible man.

>>20470585
Look at his body, holy crap that art style is far out.

How smart do you have to be to understand Tau Zero? It sounds interesting but I'm pretty retarded in the sciences and maths.

>>20470686
what about Gunny? didn't she also cuck him?

>>20470727
Who do you think I was talking about

>>20470736
I thought you were talking about his wife Valaria or whatever on the throne

>>20470703
yeah, the cover art is very strange and epic muscle man shit I guess to try and sell for that 90s time period. The art inside is more like Sandman, it's pretty nice.

>>20466745
I've read a considerable amount of fantasy but I've never run across one that had a significant role for airships that I really enjoyed. I'm of the opinion that airships are detrimental to plots and have a tendency to break immersion.

>>20470703
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Gene-Wolfe-s-The-Shadow-Of-The-Torturer/Issue-1?id=142222

Here's a link to read it if you're interested. I like the decision to portray Exultants as vampires. Especially because the Autarch mentions Exultants use blood from their khybits to extend their lifespans.

>>20470772
Read Cradle.

>>20470772
Not books obviously but ghibli movies have cool airships, like in Nausicaa and Howl's

>>20467505

Get Guide to Glorantha, its an anthropologically driven work that's literally just an illustrated guide to the setting

>>20467066
diversity and troons.

>>20471097
The duck people and weird shit puts me off the setting, but I'll check it out. I like KoDP though.

>>20468454
i keep confusing this with prince of thorns because the cover is similar

>>20470787
No

>>20469388
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/52923/mechromancer-a-robot-necromancer-litrpg

already exists

>only 30 or so chapters left of PGTE to read
i'm gonna miss this...
i heard his next work isn't set in this world. it's a shame.

>>20466249
>>20466253
I can not get past chapter 10 of Azarinth Healer, my brain has an internal filter that recognizes that there is no underlying structure and filters it faster than the n word on a New World algorithm. I could not care less if the system is coherent if the overall plot isn't.

>the system and how it works
In reality, this is the least important part of any progression novel, the system itself is does not matter in the grand scheme. Your system can be the most well-built and coherent but I would not care at all if I didn't like the characters inside that world, I could even ignore it if I enjoy the plot enough. The system only serves as a gateway to explaining progression and showing who's boss and who's not. It is like 1/10 of what a novel actually needs and only needs to be coherent and understandable. For example, take MoL and you'll realize that it has really no underlying explanation of how magic actually works at its core, you just know that magic exists into an infinite subdivision of categories that with enough time the main character somehow bullshits into existence, and even with that people still applaud the story as the best around because they like the idea of time looping and the characters personality are relatable to them.

>fight scenes
Use your imagination? The words on the page for action are just there to guide you.

>Protagonist's progression lacks any substance, it's just the MC killing things and leveling up, in the most uninteresting way possible
You forgot that the mc has a clear internal struggle on who they want to be, which is 99% more than any LitRPG you have ever enjoyed.

>To talk about the fighting scenes one most talk about the writing, and the writing is bad Not bad as with errors, but just uninteresting and empty. Slow and tedious recital of every move the character and enemy do.
Don't you dare talk about writing quality in webnovels, I enjoy plain writing 10000x more than writing that tries to be witty and interesting but fails because it comes from a webnovel author. Most webnovel authors don't understand that prose's main purpose for fantasy is to augment how one sees the world, not to be fucking interesting and witty or to be unique. If the writing style has no purpose than it should just be plain, because then atleast you aren't fighting your readers from understanding the text for no purpose.

>interesting class names
It would be hard for the main character to understand what a class is about if its called something like [CHAOS DEVOURER], considering it doesn't show what skills you gain at a class up. Anyways do you jerk yourself off cool names, is this what gets you up in the morning, a lot of substance there to enjoy for sure.

>dialogue and sidecharacters
I agree with this, the side characters and dialogue are horrible, anything that doesn't pertain to Salvos is horrible really except maybe the Devil, since his interactions with Salvos are funny due to her naivety.

>>20467066
You should focus on a plotline before you get burnout in the details.

>>20470096
I'm still wondering how the fuck this can be resolved in only two books. There's so much LEFT to do.

>>20471530
Feck. My idea isn't quite the same in application, but still.

>>20469368
Gender bending? Did I miss it amongst the homo butt sex?

>>20471622
>I can not get past chapter 10 of Azarinth Healer, my brain has an internal filter that recognizes that there is no underlying structure and filters it faster than the n word on a New World algorithm. I could not care less if the system is coherent if the overall plot isn't.

First 10 chapters of AH are shit. Like, it's so bad I can scarcely believe the author decided to continue. But after first 15~ chapters? It blossoms. It's still similar quality of writing itself, but it keeps getting better and once the protagonist goes to the caves near the city the story hits its stride and becomes what people have loved for over four years now. Salvos does have advantage here, I'm convinced the original 'starting in hell as a cute slug' beginning bought a lot of people into the story, and AH had, like, almost the opposite of a good beginning. Still, AH does explore the protagonist's character, morality and her place in the world even more than Salvos, and in greater depth.

I could probably spend a day reciting all Azarinth Healer's flaws, but I still read it because of how damn fun it is. Salvos is downright boring in comparison, despite the author trying to write (meaning: steal ideas from others) well, he falls short all the damn time. Meanwhile AH's author does battle maniac protagonist traveling over the world and I still read it 900 chapters in. AH is literally open-world Action RPG in literary form and it's excellent at it.

Btw, I believe AH has much better story structure and arcs than Salvos, I'm actually convinced Salvo's author doesn't know anything about actual storytelling, I rad around 4 books of Salvos and I can't recall a single actual arc, it's all just random events strung together.
PS: Speaking of power systems, you are right in principle about MoL's not having an actual in-depth magic system, but not a single existing story has one, not really. What an author is supposed to achieve with a power system is VERISIMILTUDE of having one, putting a cardobard so life-like you don't think about what's beneath. That's why the author of Delve fucked up extremely by doing hard litrpg system, sentencing himself to years of autistic fixes and in-depth system crafting that only 5% of readers actually really care about, while he could do it lighter and not waste so much time, instead writing actual STORY. Trying to be overly precise might be the single worst litrpg idea any author can make.

>>20471765
>Random events strung together
That's sort of a webnovel problem in general, only the top tier ones seem to have a plan.

>>20471745
I was originally going to type GRI but there's no gay in New Sun that I remember. Bakker has gender bending with the skin spies.

>>20471772
Oh yeah the Cnaiur's Serwe trap trap now I remember

>>20471771
>That's sort of a webnovel problem in general, only the top tier ones seem to have a plan.
Hard disagree on this one. It's rare that a webnovel is as bad in that regard as Salvos. Yes, the arcs are often haphzard and have some filler, but the authors know where they are going and how, it's just the question on how well they fill in the blanks. Of course, the better webnovels are the only ones worth talking about, and among those Salovs is plain and simple poor.

>>20471790
I haven't read either Salvos or AH, they're on the docket for 'things to look at later', but I'm reading finished stuff right now rather than trawling ongoing webnovels. Probably gonna read some of Void Herald's stuff, he seems good at writing webnovels that actually end.

>>20471793
>I haven't read either Salvos or AH, they're on the docket for 'things to look at later', but I'm reading finished stuff right now rather than trawling ongoing webnovels. Probably gonna read some of Void Herald's stuff, he seems good at writing webnovels that actually end.

Azarinth Healer is actually on its last 'arc' at its moment, though considering what kind of arc it is it bery well might go for another 100+ chapters. As for Void Herald, his work ethic of consistently deliering coherent, well structured stories speaks for itself, although I don't think he's an excellent writer, just a good one. I wish him all the best in putting more ebooks on the market and mogging bigoted anti-webnovelists.

>>20471807
I admittedly haven't read too many webnovels AS webnovels, only published versions for the most part (Mother of Learning I read as a webnovel because it's not fully published yet), but I'd feel awkward delving into a 900-ish chapter webnovel just because that's so fucking much. I know they're relatively short chapters compared to MoL's chapter length but it's still just a daunting thing, and I don't like to drop reading something until I finish.

>>20471765
yikes everything you've said is just completely wrong I've never read something that is the exact opposite of what they're trying to read. also i've read till the cave part and thats where i dropped it.

>>20471574
PGTE?

>>20471850
Practical Guide to Evil. Not bad, but it fluctuates in story quality, extremely so. Considered one of the best webnovels, although I personally stoped reading around book 4, but I will likely read it at some point to the end now that it's finished.

Damn for all the spoilers I had read I did not expect Varys to come back in the way that he did

Uhhhhh
What is the best way to do magic?
Do people prefer magic with well defined or systems or something like Harry Potter where it's MAGIC, I DONT HAVE TO EXPLAIN SHIT?

>>20471938
You don't have to have an absurdly in-depth system, but if it's something constantly being used, some sort of basis for it is good to establish. Harry Potter establishes only one real thing about magic, that you can do spells with chants and wand-waving somehow. It's a mediocre system with no real foundation, but it uses it well enough because it rarely uses a spell that wasn't earlier established.

>>20471938
>What is the best way to do magic?
>Do people prefer magic with well defined or systems or something like Harry Potter where it's MAGIC, I DONT HAVE TO EXPLAIN SHIT?

An experienced reader has a taste on whether they prefer hard or soft magic system. An average reader expects soft system with the barest of explanations, judging everything by the rule of cool.

>>20471969
If you're going to do hard magic, it should be done well. Soft magic is also tricky to write, because you often have to address "well why don't they just use magic for X".

>>20471938
if your novel is set in a magic school or just about someone learning magic you better actually have some sort of challenging system.

>>20471999
Honestly that's my big issue with HP, for being in a magic school we learn shockingly little about how magic actually works. How are new spells created, are they discovered from trial and error, or what? Are the chants and wand-waving necessary? Apparently not, because some people can cast without either, but is it just sort of casting on improv then?

>>20471999
Not really, mystery, characters, plot, even in magic school setting there are plenty things to focus on, plus soft magic is not without it's merit, so it's hardly something that has to decided one way or the other. Personally I think execution and utilisation plays greater role than soft/hard choice, a webnovel I like as of late (Eternal Myths) blends the two and it's pretty good at it

>>20472017
ITS NOT A FUCKING MAGIC SCHOOL IF YOU DONT LEARN MAGIC YOU CANT JUST SAY HE LEARNED HOW TO DO THIS AND THAT AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER YOU FUCKING HACKS

>>20472025
kek

>>20471938
If the protagonist uses magic it needs to have rules. If other people are the only ones with magic it can stay entirely undefined.

Any fantasy novels where the MC is a curmudgeonly old wizard who has to save the world because all the young chosen one heroes have failed and died?

>>20466745
any litrpgs with coherent plot structures?

>>20472137
Any [extremely specific plot that likely hasn't be done yet]

Odrade is a way better protagonist than Paul, Siona, or little kid Leto tbqh

>>20472169
Any [plot I want to do but what to make sure hasn't been done by some obscure webnovel?]

>>20467066
Sounds epic bro, only thing is reccomended is to highlight how fucking poor 99% of the population was. The leading cause of death amongst the population was starvation, and even Kings back then didn't enjoy as much food as the average person would today

>>20467243
Only incels read Bakker and incels don't have money for merch

>>20472209
>replying to your own post exactly one day later

>>20467349
I like the sound of all of this. Just be careful not to commit the same mistakes GRRM clearly has done and bite off more than you can chew. Good luck bro this sounds really interesting

>>20472151
>any litrpgs with coherent plot structures?
...basically all of the noticable ones? But I guess The Wandering Inn has the most 'published work' feeling, albeit unpolished.

>>20467800
I bet you're a fucking virgin

>>20468904
Brienne and Jaime is a perfect example, no?

>>20467800
They has been used in that same way for centuries, don't listen to the schizos

>>20472285
I have not read ASOIAF, but sure probably.

>>20472209
Only chads read Bakker and chads have a lot of money for merch, that's why they buy sandersoi books and rip them apart

>>20472137
>>20471938
this is how you do soft magic. One of the best fantasy novels ever written.

>>20472371
How's it done?

>>20472376
Through stealing
read it and find out. You won't be disappointed

>>20472371
>>20471938
And if you want to see good magic with rules check out Liavek books. They are a collection of short stories set in the same place by authors like Gene Wolfe.
Magic system has to do with birth and each year on your birthday your magic needs to replenish so if your enemies know this date they can take advantage of it and so forth.
This and Mask of Sorcerer both have an Arabian Nights inspiration.

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

Uh, the thread is going to archive soon. Anyone feeling like making a new thread? I got 1 minute too late the last few times I tried so I am kinda done doing it

>>20472590
Why? Is there a timer now?

>>20472603
If the timers runs out, the sandi comes and take reign of the thread, none will survive when the sandi arrive.

>>20472603
>Why? Is there a timer now?
It's been over 24h now since the thread has been created. It can be archived at any moment

>>20472662
This wasn’t a thing before

>>20472662
Quick, the sandi is coming, his shadow is growing larger and larger.

>>20472603
>>20472669
Ignore the retard. He can’t read the first ten or so post of this thread to know what happened to the last thread.

Sandi has took complete reign of this thread,

when the sandi arrives,
none will survive,
when the sandi takes reign,
all will live in pain,
the reign of sandi is cruel,
those who resist are fools.

SANDI HAVE MERCY PLEASE!

Just bought a book of Irish myth and sagas, as well as Lafcadio's "In Ghostly Japan". They look like they have the seeds of fantastical emanations... I do think both Irish and Japanese myth/monsters could be written about more, as I don't really know enough about them yet (until the books arrive).

>>20469388
https://www.lightnovelpub.com/novel/chrysalis-31031258

Its also on rr but when I try to read it on rr all I get is gibberish, anyone know why?

>>20472809
>https://www.lightnovelpub.com/novel/chrysalis-31031258
Lightnovelpub's design is a crime against humanity, and so is the community. For all its fault Royalroad is extremely reader friendly and the quality of the stories is much higher than anywhere else, to the point there's no reason to even use any other website unless you seek something specific like harem novels or some translated xianxia. Just read Chrysalis on the Royalroad.

>>20472809
I more meant ones were the protagonist is non-human to begin with, not reincarnated as one.

>>20472961
>I more meant ones were the protagonist is non-human to begin with, not reincarnated as one.

RR has many like that:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/4293/the-iron-teeth-a-goblins-tale
This is a good one, normal fantasy world, but the protagonist is a goblin taken in by a bandit and trained to fight. The protagonist can be best described as villain. The story is finished.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21410/super-minion
An AI shapechanger escapes from a laboratory and tries to blend in with humans. Becomes a supervillain by accident. The minus of the story is that it's pretty much abandoned, which is a pity.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26534/vainqueur-the-dragon
A story about a Dragon and its human minion, one of the most popular litrpg stories, and good one at that. It's also finished.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/15130/threadbare
I dislike this one, but it's popular. A mage creates a sapient teddy bear. The bear tries to protect a little girl. It's finished.

When you think you're done with something yet you just just discover a discrepancy or additional information.
Before I call this finished (again), and to those with any knowledge on the matter, what are your thoughts on "Tales from the Perilous Real" (about the tales within that compilation to be precise) and "The Road Goes Ever On? Do you think they're well situated, and if not where would you put them?

>>20472931
Whats wrong with the community?

As I said rr is not displaying the content correctly, see pic related this is what I ger when I go to table of contents page 1, chapters are all mixed up

>>20470258
How would you describe Severian as a character?
I have trouble having a concrete idea of who he is. He's particularly weak to killing women I guess? idk

>>20473219
Why is it whenever a character is hard to describe they're either one-note nothings or weirdly deep but hard to put into words.

>>20473219
Simp

>>20472349
They start as enemies, she takes him prisoners, beats the shit out of him when he tries to escape, then they're both captured and he saves her from getting raped but loses a hand in the process, then slowly become friends, then they fuck

>>20473310
Ah, yeah, I suppose that is a pipeline that does happen. I don't see it too often, but it is the way it usually goes down.

For me it's novels about Christian knights in power armor slaying demons and necromancers with Berserk-sized swords and .50 cal revolvers in a post-apocalypse America.

>>20473360
source?

>>20473367
Gideon Ira: Knight of the Blood Cross

>>20473074
>Whats wrong with the community?

The readerbase trends towards the most trashy system novels, the shallowest, empty power fantasies without any substance. In comparison, On RR the most popular works are stories like Mother of Learning or Vaniquear the Dragon. Maybe not masterpieces, but respectable, famous works. The Webnovel site can only siphon works from other sites or translated chinese trash.

>As I said rr is not displaying the content correctly, see pic related this is what I ger when I go to table of contents page 1, chapters are all mixed up
What the fuck is that. It looks nothing like what I got on my phone. Maybe you have some old phone with tiny screen and the website freaks out, for me reading on phone is very comfy, you can customize everything on RR, from font and its size through color and background. Royalroad has the most reader friendly settings possible, not to mention incredibly detailed search bar so that you can search exactly what you want.

>>20473049
>Before I call this finished (again), and to those with any knowledge on the matter, what are your thoughts on "Tales from the Perilous Real" (about the tales within that compilation to be precise) and "The Road Goes Ever On? Do you think they're well situated, and if not where would you put them?
I don't know anything about Tolkien works except for hobbit and the main trillogy, but one advice I can offer is that you should break up the last big chunk of text into two paragraphs. It's awkward to read it as it is now.

>>20473434
>but respectable, famous works
hahahahahbabaabhbabababahahahahababbabahahahagahagahhsgsghdjdh

Bakker is Kang.

Sample as.

>>20473508
Among themselves anyway, possibly. Nothing to laugh about really since it isn't a comparison.

>>20466745
Cultivation has a lot of potential if only it wasn't started by the chinese. How different do you think cultivation novels would be if they were western?

>>20473434
>most popular works are stories like Mother of Learning
its terrible, its populatiy on rr is one of the reasons I would avoid the rr community

Anyway my browser is uptodate and rr is not working properly, I just finished another story by the same author on rr and it was fine but this is not working.

>>20467510
Truly peak /sffg/ Kino.

>>20473539
there is nothing wrong by chinese (or asians) writing cultivation (given how RI exists) the problem is that everything chinese goes through ccp filter, its gotten to a point where authors censor themselves(due to various reasons like just being allowed to publish, or financial reasons, if the works represents ccp values and is popular among brainwashed population it might get financial support from the goverment), you ever tried watching chinese wuxia tv dramas (which are based on approved novels) the ccp control and influence is 100 times more obvious and visible.

Same with the west writing cultivation, if some hugo or nebula prigressive writes it then it is guaranteed to be garbage.

>>20467521
Definitely more than one person.

>>20473597
this
the best wuxia tv show has nothing to do with chinks, Thunderbolt Fantasy

>>20473612
how is shou fu kan so GAR

Any good military science fiction that actually has humans as militaristic "empire" faction? Warhammer40k, for all that it is a parody, actually does a decent job representing advantages and disadvantages of a theocratic authoritarian state, I'm curious if there's anything that takes itself more seriously and does it well.

>>20467521
>If I keep repeating this it will eventually be true

Andy Weir's The Martian started as serialized webfiction on his blog.

>>20473788
Yes, and?

>>20473219
>How would you describe Severian as a character?
Wolfe refers to him as, "a bad man trying to be good." Which I think is pretty accurate even if there's still much, much more to his character than that.

>>20473219
horny and flawed Christ-like figure

>>20473360
Any recommendations for this? I'd love there to be a series based around the Viking invasion of England, but set in a universe where the same events took place but in a world with fantasy elements such as magic and monsters. There are so many great characters from that point in history (Alfred the Great being my favourite) and the two opposing cultures and religions could be represented by two different magic systems. Chuck in some dragons, orcs, maybe some dwarves to replace Scotland and it'd be fucking great.

>>20473831
And so fuck you

>>20473973
Between Two Fires

>>20473994
This looks great I'm gonna put it on my list

>>20473973
The Broken Sword

>>20470162
ilium by Simmons
Odysseus cucks himself

is there any book like between two fires?
I've enjoyed the plague + demons settings

>>20474176
I'm guessing it was heavily inspired by the film Flesh + Blood, just as Berserk was.
Gene Wolfes, The Devil in a Forest has a similar setting

>>20474214
and I shall add that what I mean by similar is brutal medieval ages. There is no plague in the book nor demons.

>>20474221
thanks, I'll look into it
I liked b2f precisely because of the berserk vibe, supernatural violent middle ages, and I'm looking for more like it

>>20474176
Check out Skin by Peter Fugazzotto. It's a short story and easily found for download.

>>20474176
>>20473973

>>20474039
This.

>>20473664
The Star Fox. Humans have one faction that is very militaristic, while there’s some that are more peacekeeping. Then add the aliens.

>>20474436
What's he waiting for?

>>20474476
for /lit/ to read this gem

To be fair, to write this much in this period of time is a virtue in itself.

>>20474508
what is this from lmao

>>20474514
Void Herald, the writer of a bunch of RR litrpgs.

>>20474516
Also one of the only people on that site who seems to finish his stories, so props to him at least.

>>20474518
>>20474508
>>20474516

anyone here finish perfect run?

I read about 90 chapters or so and that was upto date at the time, wasn't super invested in finishing it even though I enjoyed it enough, but is it worth a re-read to finish it all up?

>>20474543
I keep meaning to read it, but I've heard it's pretty solid. The first few chapters are apparently a bit off-putting because the protagonist is a bit "lolrandom" but that's sort of the point with him at that time, he's trying shit to see what works.

>>20474518
And it's not unreadable garbage like a lot of the genre. At worst it's YA lit, but then that's the market segment.

>>20474548
Frenchman showing up all the RR writers.

>>20474547
yeah i tried to get a friend into it and they couldn't because of the MC, which i get, but he's meant to be mentally unhinged haha

>>20474560
You basically have to view him as a guy trying to trial and error life, because he can do that.

>>20474543
I read it and enjoyed it. Can't imagine re-reading since the whole thing is re-reading. The main touchpoint was that the MC was slowly able to build up the circle of people who could connect with his peculiar journey at the same time as we explored the depths of suffering he felt in his immortal loop. Lots of it is trivial, but enough isn't.

Right now I'm reading his other series Vainqueur the Dragon and not really liking it. It's a comedy litrpg where a rogue (who is a toy of the gods brought from Earth) is recruited to recover a treasure only to find it is held by an ancient and powerful dragon. He accidentally spills the secret of the System (level advancement) to the dragon. It's a good setup, since the rogue becomes his reluctant minion, but hilarity fails to ensue. At best a sensible chuckle here and there.

But don't let that put you off the Perfect Run. Whatever its flaws, it's redeemed by daring just a little real emotion, a hint of real stakes, which is so often absent from this genre.

Worst opening lines you've ever read?

>Let me introduce myself. Hmm, on second thought, I should probably explain the situation. It is a bit odd, although it’s actually a pretty common one. Other than the fact it never happened before, so it is a bit strange.

>>20474676
Holy shit that's awful. Nothing is actually said. Like, if you wanna have an opening line like that, you need to pace it right.
Like, I'd rewrite it like this, and I don't think this is good, but this is the same amount of info given, more-or-less.
>I'd introduce myself, but my current situation needs explaining. It's a pretty common thing for an impossibility.

Rank these top necromancer stories. Sorry traditional fantasy readers, but if you don't discuss traditional fantasy, litrpgchads will usurp the thread.

>>20474719
Heather is kino

>>20474676
I had to go look up the first line of the Dresden Files because that book was garbage. First line isn't so bad but the whole first chapter was horrible.

What does Royal Road consider a page?

>>20474818
I believe it's a set amount of words.

>>20467593
Swedish have that kind of, you call people by first name or "you" even bosses and shit no gender or title.
If you describe shit that have happened you say he/she thou.

>>20474818
275 words

Man, I don't buy physical books anymore, but a new press just started up that's right-wing as fuck and already it has a handful of books for sale. It's all physical releases (so far) though; no ebooks to purchase. I'm tempted to buy them anyways.

>>20474543
i liked it

>>20474889
what is it

>>20474991
I can't tell you, but I did just order two of the books. They'll probably be banned from Jewmazon soon enough.

>>20474993
but i want to buy from them too

>>20474998
It's not fantasy nor sci-fi though.

>>20475023
damn well I need to start a right wing speculative fiction publishing house

>>20474889
They should learn by the communists/anarchists they all upload ebooks for free online.
Mean real communist/anarchists not /pol/ leftists that are politicaly correct capitalists.
Imagine demanding money for political books.

Almost all books is ez to get for free but you break coyright laws.

>>20475041
They already exist.

>>20475087
can you please tell me them?

>>20469277
>I'm sure to win because my speed is superior

>>20475110
Baen is the major one. Castalia House, exists. There are a lot of self-published works. Look at the sad/rabid puppy lists.

>>20475159
great thank you

Anybody else dig the Zones of Thought setting? A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky? Theres a newer one from like 2010 but it didn't sound good to me so I haven't read it.

>>20473870
>a bad man trying to be good
he's not bad though, Seems like a pretty decent guy from the get go.
The only real flaw I see in him is that he's bad at his job when it comes to women

>>20475247
>Seems like a pretty decent guy
What book did you even read? That being said I love how much of a shithead Severian is

>>20475211
It's my favorite hard sci-fi setting easily. Just a shame there's only one half decent book in the series.

kek

>>20475281
is he tipping his fedora

>>20475256
idk, I don't recall a lot of instances where he was a bad dude.
He gives Thecla the knife as an act of mercy, he saves that greenguy, doesn't kill Agia, spares that whore wife, etc
I might be missing things idk, but he seems to lean on the good side more often than not.

>>20475319
you're missing a lot of subtle things. One for example is when Thecla basically calls Severian a boy, it's implied he gets all butthurt and rearranges the torture orders for her to go through with it. Also later on he basically says he could have saved her and the Thecla inside of him is like the fuck. But he is incredibly selfish and omits much. He is the best

>>20475281
based, troons malding

>>20475334
>it's implied he gets all butthurt and rearranges the torture orders for her to go through with it.
Damn must have missed this. The fuck

>>20475384
well that is what's fun about rereading Gene Wolfe, unlike most other authors. It's a puzzle. Most don't care to put that much effort into parsing through it all though.

Books are not meant to be puzzles

>>20475486
Maybe Harry Potter is more up to your speed.
Most can not enjoy such highbrow art because it takes discipline and a grasp of many esoteric subjects.

Fuck
Only 1 day after having finished ASOIAF and I need TWOW to come out asap

>>20475412
Ye, I'll probably go over em again once I finish the full series. Still in Lictor with fish people and shiet

>>20475486
why not

>>20475509
Read the other books and stories in the same setting by GRRM.

>>20475310
And how! What a sartorial genius!

>>20475334
Yeah, later on (book 4) he says "I didn't love her enough" when talking about it, and that's him being generous to himself. But I don't think that detail is a puzzle, it's straightforward plot and character development that's not hidden from you.

>>20475693
What greater puzzle is there than that of the heart?

>>20475505
P R E T E N T I O U S

>>20475270
Hard SF is such an abused term, though so is everything really.

>>20474818
Could you really not just click on the tooltip that explains everything on the page?

>>20474889
Support your local neonazi publisher!

>>20475737
You have to remember that post like that are either bait, or made by people who are truly retarded.

>>20475505
>highbrow art
You're reading a fantasy book for children, not Joyce.

>>20475744
>implying that doesn't apply to literally every post in the thread

>>20475779
>Joyce
Ah, yes, the fart huffer extraordinare, same as yourself.

>>20466745
Who is the dumass who thought making dungeon core novels litrpg was a good idea? May be the worst combination I’ve ever seen that for some reason is the majority of a genre that would otherwise have a lot of potential. It denies any creativity in monster creation, trap building, and anything else to make it a boring snooze fest where magical points automatically do all the work that should be fun and interesting. I even just read a novel that limited one trap to a room for no fucking reason except muh system. It doesn’t even make sense why litrpg took hold because the original book in the genre had nothing to do with litrpg. Absolute snooze fest the Dungeon Core sub genre has become.

>>20475786
Read the Dungeon Lord

>>20475786
Litrpg is inherently retarded, so getting even more so is the natural trajectory of that trashfire genre. Read a proper good.

>>20475786
Base Building is the highest, most pure form of literary autism. You're not even just reading about someone playing an imaginary video game at that point, you're reading about someone playing magic sim city. It's utter garbage, I don't know why there's so much of it. To make matters worse, I don't even think anyone actually LIKES it - it's all being spawned by an autonomic feedback loop of Kind Unlimited recommending it to literally everyone, resulting in people taking a look at it, which results in KU coming to the conclusion that people like it, so it recommends it to more people, which starts the cycle over.
Nobody asked for it, nobody wants it, but the algorithm tricked itself into thinking it's popular and thus made it so by sheer volume.

>>20475837
>Base Building is the highest, most pure form of literary autism.
I could see it work if it's some post-apocalypse story, but other than that, who wants to read that?

>>20475874
I think zombie books do that.

>>20475837
I am of the same opinion I usually detest anything town-building, base-building, city planning related but I really like the dynamic of adventurer and dungeon. Their relationship is conflicting but also supporting, seeing both sides of the relationship react to the dungeon creation is very satisfying to me. Sadly, noone has really done it well and most lose sight of the dynamic by focusing on the human side's non-dungeon related conflict. Its Man vs Nature, Man vs Environment, Man vs Animal, and even Man vs Human if the dungeon is alive.

>>20475910
>I think zombie books do that.
Shame they're obscure since I can't find any.

>>20475741
I will, rabbi.

Good evening, fellow Richard Scott Bakker fans.

>>20475985
Really? I find them aplenty on Amazon.

>>20476007
I'm probably searching wrong then.

How do I fix my brain after frying it by reading too much popcorn fantasies on royalroad?
I unfollowed all the stories I had on there except:
-Casual Heroing
-Paranoid Mage
-Aurora Scroll
-Ave Xia Rem Y
-The Law of Averages
Because they're too good to pass up

>>20476022
>How do I fix my brain after frying it by reading too much popcorn fantasies on royalroad?
What? Just read what you enojy, who are you trying to impress?

>>20476030
I have no idea what I like anymore

>>20476032
Sounds to me you already know what you like and are just in denial about it.

Post xianxia not advertised as xianxia.

>300 chapters into Infinite Realm
>starting to get much much better
>background plot been picking up hard for the last ~50 chapters
>important side character becomes a wholly different person because plot

>>20476055
no
just give me a random book to read please

>>20476065
I'm genuinely not sure who do you mean, Naha? Zach? Ryun? Someone else?

>>20476069
Mother of Learning.

>>20476069
>just give me a random book to read please
Nice Dragons Finish Last

>>20476072
I've already read that
look man im sick and tired of those kinds of novels just give me traditional fantasy
>>20476074
read that too

>>20476078
>traditional fantasy
A Practical Guide to Evil

>>20476080
I have literally read all progression fantasy in existence

>>20476078
The Worm Ouroboros

>>20476083
Thank you

>>20476071
I was being vague because spoilers but I meant Zach

>>20476078
>>20476069
>>20476032
When you stop coping you'll realize that progression fantasy is just 10x more enjoyable, I've spent days straight reading some of it.

>>20476127
What makes them enjoyable?

>>20476151
Unique story ideas, they’re not constrained by publishing companies, authors interact with their fans, etc.

>>20476216
>Unique story ideas, they’re not constrained by publishing companies,
Only these two seems to be a positive. But that doesn't really answer my question.

>>20476230
I suppose it depends on the person then.

Fantasy protagonists that aren’t beta pushovers, genocidal murderhobos, or gritty failures?

>>20476284
Tolkien

>>20476303
Never read him can you give me a review?

>>20476367
Father of fantasy, who has yet to be surpass, and possibly will never be surpass.

New thread
>>20476506

>>20476230
The author-fan thing might help more than you think. The author can't accidentally write a 1,000 page prologue because he can't quite get at his real story without hearing about it. And the progression aspect helps things, you know, progress. It may still get mired in an endless series of asspulls, but at least he's leveling.

>>20475281
>Literally tipping the fedora

lmfao