/lit/ - Literature

Bakker = King

hello friends, ive maybe read 2 books in my life and recently finished stephen kings fairy tale, the first part was pretty garbage but the fantasy part i liked, what fantasy books do you guys recommend ?
bonus (but not necessary)
no fucking guns and high tech,
elf focused
good worldbuilding and show instead of tell

Grrm finished twow

>>21787099
No one cares. Bakker is the new GRRM.

There is only one fantasy adaptation of the War of the Roses written by a fat American. It ain't Martin, it's Ford.

>>21787071
LOTR

>>21787018
liking the winter theme'd OP pictures in these threads of late.
In other news fantasy is dead.

>The bad authors adopt the class structures of the Middle Ages; where you had the royalty and then you had the nobility and you had the merchant class and then you have the peasants and so forth. But they don’t seem to realize what it actually meant. They have scenes where the spunky peasant girl tells off the pretty prince. The pretty prince would have raped the spunky peasant girl. He would have put her in the stocks and then had garbage thrown at her. You know. I mean, the class structures in places like this had teeth. They had consequences. And people were brought up from their childhood to know their place and to know that duties of their class and the privileges of their class.
Which author is he talking about?

>>21786011
>>21786128
Listening to Sufficiently Advanced Magic as Audiobook sounds like pain. The story is a decent attempt at mixing several tropes (but mostly just copying Mother of learning with addition of better written characters), but most of combat scenes suck. Like, every time there's a section of 'adventure', such as doing test trials in the first book I just skimmed. Some part of the series are just straight up boring. Which is a shame, as the series overall is quite good.

There are some problems - mostly trying to enforce MoL's progression and story blueprint onto a story without time-looping, which was executed so-so...But the author definitely understands what made Mother of Learning work and the 'progression' aspect of the story is very good, especially in context of all the tinkering the main character does (who is just more characterized Zorian but without all the family angst, I'd say a better protagonist overall).

I read all the four books and I rate it as solid 6.5/10 so far, with compelling story, interesting character drama and above all else solid progression. I'm actually hyped for the fifth book, but due to some actions of the author I'm ambivalent about the future of the series.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Alas, the author has two major flaws - first is that he made an entire shared world for his stories, but haphazardly stitched different places and stories. What you see in Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a MoL-like continent, what you see in other series from the same world reads more like cultivation. This wouldn't be an important mention if the author could resist trying to make a larger story out of all the series he writes, he downright forces the extended story down your throat.

It hits its worst point in the book 3, I believe, where the author straight up tells you many things are going to be confusing for you unless you read other series. Yes, characters and events from those series come into play. Yes, the author is something of a piece of shit for doing that. I read Arcane Ascension series because it has what I like, I don't want to read SIX fucking books about something else just to get what's going on. I don't want any extended shit. Fuck that noise. Thankfully, it can be overlooked, but still leaves a sour taste.

Another flaw is the author's commitment to American social issues. It's cringe and tasteless, resulting and in off-putting scenes and conversations that don't actually discuss the topics but preach the authors views at you. I don't even disagree with msot of his views, but self-indulgent preaching to a choir disgusts me. But what else should I expect from a person that's a moderator for /r/progressionfantasy, the worst subreddit to discuss anything webnovel that also infamously refused to change LGBT flag from its banner after the pride month ended. Weird place with weird people, and quite toxic. Just go to /r/litrpg instead if you need.

>>21787220
>The bad authors adopt the class structures of the Middle Ages
Sounds like good authors to me. Reject modernity.

>>21787220
He's an atheist who is projecting his own evil nature onto others. That's why he can't even imagine a good person in an important position.

>>21787252
He means the bad authors adopt it without understanding it and so write unrealistic fiction.

>>21787271

>>21787220
Almost every modern author seems incapable of understanding what a social position means. They think high and lower classes can just bicker casually or act like everyone's on the same level. All they would need to know is watch a decent historical movie or just read a book on history of scoieties...or just look beyond Western civilization circle to see human societies work. But no, they just do casual set dressing with not actual substance.

I getting annoyed at smut authors. I've noticed a recent trend where once they sell a few books they seem to think people read them for the story. All I'm asking for is some sexy fun times with a hot lady or two, I don't care about 300 pages of badly written politics in your made up fantasy knock-off world. Know your audience.

Anyone read books by Lyon Sprague de Camp?

>>21787276
Yup KEK

>>21787244
It doesn't quite seem like you REALLY need to have read the other books so far. I did, because why not (Weapons and Wielders is actually pretty good, a lot more condensed and interesting personally), but all that really carries over is "Corin gets an idea how to do a thing because Keras' story had a thing in it". Author seems to have another series coming up starring Wrynn/Rin, but given how relatively far-removed that character is from Arcane Ascension (and, judging by the excerpt we've seen, it's a story being told TO Keras), I doubt it'd be necessary to read that one to carry on with Arcane Ascension. But maybe I'm wrong and he's trying to Cosmere this shit, which is annoying.

>>21787332
Rowe is coming up with new books in the universe without first finishing his other stories. That's just stupid. Oh yeah, I'm so thrilled to wait until the author writes some incosequential side-story while letting his other popular series go cold, even worse if he actually intends to connect them in a meaningful way.

Brandon was never good with his shared universe stuff, it's a cautionary tale, not a decision worth imitating. Why can't Rowe just finish a series? I get taking breaks, or doing other projects to refresh the mind, but several series? With settings and stories overlapping in content? Madness.

>>21787358
Who cares? He's shit.

>/sffg/'s are slow threads on a slow board, they can easily last a week or more

Post the
>last book you read
>current book you are reading
>next book you plan to read

>>21787461
Last book: Sins of Empire, got bored at 40%
Current book: The Misplaced Legion, currently at 60% but very bored with it
Next book: Maybe Master of Sorrows unless /sffg/ memes me into reading something else first

>>21787461
>>last book you read
The Double Shadow by Clark Ashton Smith
>>current book you are reading
Art of Dying by Roberto Bellarmino, Demon Princes by Jack Vance and Death of the West by James Burnham
>>next book you plan to read
Finish Night Land. It is incredibly dull so far. If not for the status and reputation amongst writers I appreciate I would have long dropped it. Then more Vance and Integralism, Manual of Political Philosophy.

>>21787481
All these look like crap new fantasy.

>>21787519
>35 year old book by Turtledeve
>crap new fantasy

>>21787461
>>last book you read
mistborn 1
>>current book you are reading
mistborn 2
>>next book you plan to read
mistborn 3

>>21787481
>Sins of Empire, got bored at 40%
Huh, really? Anything specific that put you off from it or were you just not feeling it?

>>21787271
>He means the bad authors adopt it without understanding it and so write unrealistic fiction.
Ironic considering his own poor grasp of history

Say his name!

Where did this entire concept of Demon/Dark Lords even come from? Was it all started by Tolkien?

>>21787655
The Old Testament.

>>21787244
Is MoL the only other progression fantasy you've read? I find the two nothing alike beyond genre conventions.

But I agree about his wokism. The genderless character fits into the story, but the pages of lectures about privilege-checking do not.

>>21787676
>Is MoL the only other progression fantasy you've read? I find the two nothing alike beyond genre conventions.
You serious? The author uses some random genre elements like 'towers' that allow one to progress or strange 'cultivation' techniques, but by and large the attitude, mood and story-structure is almost copy of MoL. This is the most MoL story I've ever seen, basically the only one that managed to emulate it in a decent way and without even using time-loop for that. But it's still heavily inspired by MoL.

>>21787461
>last book you read
King of the Cracksmen
Not very good. Wanted steampunk crime adventures and got poorly written political rebellion and "I recognize that historical figure!" Had to force myself to finish it.
>current book you are reading
Nothing sff related.
>next book you plan to read
I found a beat up paperback called Martian Knightlife. It's from 2001 but looks like it's meant to be a pulpy throwback.

What are the best fantasy Japanese LNs to read?

>>21787461
>last book you read
I finished Exodus of the Long Sun.
>current book you are reading
On Blue's Waters
>next book you plan to read
In Green's Jungles.

Long sun was pretty straightforward, and Silk and his struggle feel much more relatable than Severian, although perhaps the audiobook format forced me to slow down and pay a little more attention.
I'm mostly through Blue, and I can already tell this is going to be some proper weirdness.

I swear to the outsider, if the narrator turns out to be Silk this whole time. Or if the Alzabo are involved somehow.

>>21787461
>War of the Worlds
>Prometheus Rising
>probably something by Robert Silverberg

>>21787018
what can i read for this feel?

>>21787461
>last
Warbreaker to try out Sanderson. The ending was cool but in general the writing wasn't great.

>current
Blood Meridian, The Two Towers, Sword of Destiny

>next
Either Prince of Nothing, Book of the New Sun, or Tide Child. Thoughts?

>>21787655
Zoroastrianism, unironically.

>>21787244
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>21787461
>last book you read
In The System #2
>current book you are reading
In The System #3
>next book you plan to read
In The System #4

It's not bad, if you like Russian litrpg. The first two books were more standard, with "players" plucked out of their daily lives to go fight in an area contested by goblins and the undead. In the third book, the action moves to a parallel present day Earth (Russia is battered by leadership changes, while Old Man Clinton brought stability to America with his 30-year rule). Now the outsiders are coming to Earth and the MC has teamed up with the Russian government to stamp out incursions and gain levels. I thought I wouldn't like the change, but I'm on board.

The writing is very inconsistent, and switches over to summary mode for uncomfortable stretches but there are enough things going on so I'm not bored with it. Like most Russian litrpg, it is blessedly free of Americanisms, but I wouldn't rank it with the best of those.

>>21787220
why didn't Alfred simply rape the peasant woman who scolded him for burning the cakes?

I couldn't get an answer last thread: is there a printing of the Silmarillion that has Mandos' prophecy of the Dagor Dagorath in it? Or are all licensed copies of it only the Christopher-approved version where it was excised?

>>21787995
12 miles below

>>21787220
this fat faggot is so fucking annoying

>>21787461
malazan 9
malazan 10
elder race

>>21787461
>last book you read
Castle Town 4
>current book you are reading
Mask of the Template
>next book you plan to read
Stand on Zanzibar

>>21787461
The Stone of Heaven
Defending Heaven
Might finish The Judging Eye, dunno..

The first two aren't even /sffg/ they're history, lol.

>>21787018
Persepolis Rising, The Expanse #7 - James S.A. Corey (2017)

Persepolis Rising is the first book of The Expanse's third act and the first that I've read that wasn't covered by the TV series. I'm quite impressed by it and tentatively like it more than the first book. So, for those wondering whether they can skip the first six books and start at the seventh because they've watched the TV series and don't want to read through them, I say that you can. I wouldn't advise it, but that's only because I almost never would for anything with a continuous story. Someone who did so would still know the the most important parts of the plot and the characters are mostly as they were. If it's a choice between starting here or not reading at all, you should start here.

The narrative begins with a considerable time skip, which is mostly to allow for the events of the previous book to take their course. This makes the crew of the Rocinante much older, but they don't act all that different aside from the occasional complaint that they're getting too old for this. Multiple centenarians are mentioned and one has a role in the story. There's a line about how they all take anti-aging drugs and life expectancy is much higher, so I just accepted it. There's also the question of what happened for everyone during this time, and a few things are mentioned, but surely not enough for those whom it'd bother. I decided not to dwell on it.

These are eleven viewpoints, four of which are primary. This is the first time I've enjoyed all the primary viewpoints when there's been more than two of them. James Holden has the fourth most chapters, which is his lowest ordinal position thus far. A character tells him, "You don't get to make the universe be what you want just by saying it" and he admits to himself that "something terrible is happening, and I don't know how not to be in the middle of it", so he's the same as ever. Bobbie Draper returns and is the only character aside from Holden to be a primary viewpoint twice. She's much the same as well. Camina Drummer isn't as enjoyable as her TV counterpart, but she's close enough. Santiago Jilie Singh, the captor, has the most interesting role. It's been a long time since I've read a character so pitiable in their naïve idealism that crumbles into cruelty. He's a tragic character in a way.

As for the story, the prologue is more meaningful if The Vital Abyss has been read. It's incredible how much progress the breakaway group has made, but I'm willing to believe. They have the protomolecule, artifacts, an absence of research ethics, a highly focused society, and a potential God Emperor. Once again it's to be war. Most of the viewpoints are those of the captives and the captor. I was surprised by how well it worked for me. Even if the next two books don't go over that well, this was a highly enjoyable way to start off again. This alone has made it worth reading the first six for me.

Rating: 4.5/5

>>21787461
>last book you read
Webnovel: Mysteries 1, Mother of Learning
Traditional: Lies of Locke Lamora
>current book you are reading
Webnovel: Mysteries 2, Reborn as a Demonic Tree
Traditional: Blacktongue Thief
>next book you plan to read
Re-read Rings in english (I've read it in my native language only)

>>21788299
>Castle Town
I thought it would be real incest, but the author pussied out, shame!

>>21787461
The Infinite and the Divine
Dark Age
Light Bringer

>>21788414
Tiamat's Wrath is the high point of the series, be ready for kino

>>21788515
Maybe. I got to 50% yesterday/today before I went to sleep. I'll finish today and then have something written for the next thread probably. It's at least still one of the best in the series so far though.

>>21788414
>>21788573
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>Crying “Glory to the God!” Athjeäri and his thanes broke ranks, crouching forward on their mounts, slowly dipping their lances. More Houses abandoned the line and pounded toward the Kianene: Wanhail, Anfirig, Werijen Greatheart, and then old Gothyelk himself, bellowing, “Heaven wills it!” Like an avalanche, House after House followed, until almost all the mail-clad might of the MiddleNorth cantered out to greet their foe. “There!” footmen on the line would cry, glimpsing the Red Lion of Saubon or the Black Stag of Gothyelk and his sons. From a trot the massive warhorses were urged to a slow gallop. Nesting thrushes took flight, burst slapping into the sky. Everything became breath and iron, the rumble of brothers before, behind, and to the side. Then, like a cloud of locusts, arrows swept among them. There was a hellish racket punctuated by screaming horses and astonished shouts. Warhorses toppled and thrashed, yanking knights to the ground, breaking backs, crushing legs. Then the madness fell away. Once again it was the pure thunder of the charge. The strange camaraderie of men bent to a single, fatal purpose. Hummocks, scrub, and the bones of the Vulgar Holy War’s dead rushed beneath. The wind bled through chain links, tousled Thunyeri braids and Tydonni crests. Bright banners slapped against the sky. The heathen, wicked and foul, drew closer, ever closer. One last storm of arrows, these ones almost horizontal to the ground, punching against shield and armour. Some were struck from their saddles. Tongue tips were bitten off in the concussion of the fall. The unhorsed arched across the turf, screamed and swatted at the sky. Wounded mounts danced in frothing circles nearby. The rest thundered on, over grasses, through patches of blooming milkwort waving in the wind. They couched their lances, twenty thousand men draped in great mail hauberks over thick felt, with coifs across their faces and helms that swept down to their cheeks, riding chargers caparisoned in mail or iron plates. The fear dissolved into drunken speed, into the momentum, became so mingled with exhilaration as to be indistinguishable from it. They were addicted to the charge, the Men of the Tusk. Everything focused into the glittering tip of a lance. The target nearer, nearer … The rumble of hooves and drums drowned their kinsmen’s song. They crashed through a thin screen of sumac … Saw eyes whiten in sudden terror. Then impact. The jarring splinter of wood as lances speared through shield, through armour. Suddenly the ground became still and solid beneath them, and the air rang with wails and shouts. Hands drew sword and axe. Everywhere figures grappled and hacked. Horses reared. Blades pitched blood into the sky. And the Kianene fell, undone by their ferocity, crumpling beneath northern hands, dying beneath pale faces and merciless blue eyes. The heathen recoiled from the slaughter—and fled
KINO

>>21788465
>I thought it would be real incest, but the author pussied out, shame!
I don't think authors that want to sell on Amazon can actually show Incest porn desu, maybe it's just American law. But I know the 'real' incest is avoided like fire. Step-mothers and adopted mothers is the best you can get, if you are into that. I read it because the writing is decent, and the author is seriously into exploring sexual dynamics like that.

>>21787244
I do a lot of driving for work so audiobooks are pretty damn handy. I noticed immediately that Sufficiently Advanced Magic referenced Mother of Learning quite a lot, a few of the professors even come off similarly. Combat scenes with Corin are far too short while anything he observes is poorly described and paced. For every 3 bad chapters, there's probably 1 good one. Like you said, the blueprint is derivative but Corin's approach to design is interesting if not simple

In a world full of airships, mages, and Gods, I find it hard to believe that no one thought of a tangible mana tracker like Corin did. The professor's eureka moment like he had struck gold... eh. That professor is by far my favorite though, she adds some character to the academy FINALLY. Besides that, everything is still just fine. At the 5h and 30m mark we're finally getting into relationships... Sera and Corin's odd chemistry, and then Corin going on a date with Jin.

LitRPGs love their gays. I usually run into lesbians before anything else though.

/SFFG/ Recommendations:

Read Reverend Insanity, Lord of The Mysteries, Neuromancer, Hyperion, The Prince of Nothing

Also read The Wandering Inn, Between Two Fires, Mother of Learning, Cradle, I Shall Seal the Heavens, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Poppy War.

>>21787018

>>21788917
Hey anons. Posted a thread on what could possibly be the "next" fantasy epic that changes the genre and literature. Think the next LOTR or ASOIAF. Interested in your guys's takes

>>21787461
>last book you read
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
>current book you are reading
Watership Down by Richard Adams
>next book you plan to read
Either The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear by Walter Moers or The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams

>>21787655
>[anything] getting started by Tolkien
Fuck off.

>>21788726
A sort of running joke of the series is that a protagonist from another progression fantasy series shows up in that store Corin keeps going to. In the first book it's Simon from Traveler's Gate. I think Zorian shows up in book 2. Cute references, at least.

>>21787018
Other than Codex Alera, what are some fantasy stories with novel takes on elemental magic and abilities? And what other abilities do they associate with each element besides the typical Water and healing?

These books are heavily underappreciated, I'll wholeheartedly recommend them to everyone on these thread.

What happened to goodreads? Why is the new layout so shit? Weren't there tags or something when looking at a book to find similar books?

Holy shit! What a fucking good character, he's better than Conan.

>>21789500
For some reason the tags have been removed from some books, I noticed this the other day. No idea why the would do that.

>>21788467
>Light Bringer
DO NOT read anything that hack Weeks puts out

I'll read the first sci-fi novella you guys (you) to me.

>>21789573
A canticle for leibowitz

>>21787461
1984
Gormenghast and Dying Earth
John Carter

>>21787220
rape rape rape rape
this guy is such a fucking idiot degenerate and he has the gall to tell others they don't know history lmao

>>21787138
Holy based The Dragon Waiting enjoyer

>>21789503
Don't forget to read his other characters like Bran Mak Morn, Kull, Turlogh O'Brien or Cormac Mac Art

>>21787220
So it's not really much different than what the wealthy do today?

>>21789575
Reading

>>21789660
hope you enjoy it

>>21789573
>>21789575
>>21789660
>>21789675
That isn't a novella though.

>>21789721
oh sorry. I meant The Fifth Head of Cerberus. You are welcome.

>>21789730
That's 3 novellas.

>>21789721
Book of the New sun, alright ok.

>>21788726
>LitRPGs love their gays. I usually run into lesbians before anything else though.
Does it, though? I assume by 'Litrpg' you mean Progression Genre in general, and still despite reading a lot of the genre I can name only two male gay protagonists. The first one is Corin, obviously, the other the infamous 'Nothing Mage' webnovel case where the backlash over the protagonist being gay was so extreme the admins of Royalroad had to step in.

There are next to NONE gay protagonists in Litrpg/Progression Fantasy community. The fanbase is 94%+ male and there is ALWAYS backlash when the protagonist is male and gay. Hell, even a female protagonist being heterosexual is something I rarely see, to the point I had a lot of respect for Azarinth Healer's author decision to portray the protagonist having relationships with men, and even that character was bisexual and ended up with a woman anyway.

There is something very, very creepy about the way webnovel & self-pub authors approach their protagonists' sexuality. Female protagonists appear to be the majority among popular stories, and they are almost always lesbian or at least bisexual. Hell, even if the character is heterosexual you will see a lot of homoeroticism and jokes.

It's borderline unnerving how young online people these days live vicariously through Female characters having relationships with other Women.
Not that I don't enjoy some cute Yuri content myself, but the prevalence of this is disturbing.

>>21789795
Honestly, I'll give Iron Prince this, it had a bi character end up in a straight relationship. Still a boring book, but hey.

>>21789736
Well no but ya if you want to be a shit

>>21789503
>>21789614
based

>Fantasy world
>The white people are good
>The black people are bad
Who wrote this shit?

>>21790017
That's just real life

>>21790017
>fantasy world
>dark elves are the bad guys
>ugly fat goblins are rapists
>white blonde azure eyes human is the hero

>>21789614
for me, it's Elkin Breakinridge with all dialogue read in the voice of Arthur Morgan

>>21790017
You're right. When fantasy mimics reality too much, then what's the point of fantasy?

>>21789795
Fans are STILL reeing that Forge of Destiny's main character isn't a lesbian.

>>21790068
Are you implying that race is a valid concept

>>21787461
not counting LNs
>Stone of Tymora: The Shadowmask
>Stone of Tymora: The Sentinels (I really want to get over DnD Salvatore)
>Not sure (I could torture myself with some litrpg such Towers of Acasia or Zenith Academy, or going for a more DnD-esque approach and read Rise of the Ranger or Child of the Daystar)

>>21787461
>Faulkner, William; As I Lay Dying
>Howard, Robert Ervin; Queen of the Black Coast
>Graydon, Alexander; Memoirs of a Life, Chiefly Passed in Pennsylvania within the Last Sixty Years

>>21789795
It's because there is literally no hope amongst zoomers in general, let alone zoomers lame enough to be reading webnovels, of being in a normal, straight relationship. It's in their nature to like girls, but none of the media they've been raised on shows straight relationships. The closest they can get is cute girl on cute girl yuri. I blame millennials for making fiction all about their self-inserts and personal issues, rather than about telling satisfying stories.

>>21788690
my favourite parts of bakker's books are the battles and the narrative style he has when describing the holy war's journey and struggles through the world

Any good audiobooks you guys like?

>>21790506
no

I need more 1980's gritty books like The Black Company series by Glen Cook or sword and sorcery like the Drenai Saga by David Gemmell, any recommendations?

>>21790506
You mean the performance? I liked Project Hail Mary, it's pretty well narrated. If you want to coom then Herald of Shalia is the best you can find.

>>21790386
based
>They jostled before him, now as eager to avoid as to close with him. “Where are your mighty warriors?” Cnaiür screamed. “Show me your mighty warriors!” His limbs fevered by all-conquering hatred, he cut them down, weak and strong alike, fighting like one mad with heartbreak, hacking shields until arms were broken, pounding figures until they stumbled and spouted plumes of blood. The advancing ranks engulfed them, but still Cnaiür and his Utemot killed and killed, until the turf beneath their feet became bloody muck, treacherous with corpses. The Nansur relented, scrambled back several paces, gaping at the Utemot chieftain. Sheathing his broadsword, Cnaiür vaulted the bodies heaped before him. He caught a wounded straggler by the throat, crushed his windpipe. Roaring, he heaved the thrashing man above his head. “I am the reaver!” he cried. “The measure of all men!” He sent the body crashing at their feet. “Is there no cock among you?” He spat, then laughed at their astonished silence. “All cunts, then.” He shook the blood from his mane, raised his broadsword anew. Panicked shouts erupted among the Nansur. Several threw themselves against the men packed behind, mad to escape his deranged aspect. Then rumbling hoofs breached the din of the greater battle, and all heads turned. More Utemot horsemen exploded into their midst, impaling some Nansur on long lances, trampling others. There was a brief moment of pitched melee, and Cnaiür hammered down two more, his sword now blunted to an edged iron pipe. Then the men of the Nasueret Column were fleeing, casting away weapons and shields as they ran. Cnaiür and his kinsmen found themselves alone, chests heaving, blood streaming from unstaunched wounds. “Ayaaah!” they cried as cohort after wild cohort galloped by them. “War and worship!”

>>21790527
Thomas Covenant?

>>21790017
>>21790136
>Fantasy world
>The black people are good
>The white people are bad
Heckin basederino, amirite trans sisters???

>>21790506
Gibson reading Neuromancer is pretty good.

>>21790553
>Here's why being an evil pedo is a GOOD thing

>>21790506
I'm using Elevenlabs to make Elden Ring characters read excerpts from LOTR

>>21787461
>last book you read
The Dragon Republic - R.F. Kuang
>current book you are reading
The Burning God - R.F. Kuang
>next book you plan to read
The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

>>21790553
>being a mongol raider is le bad
Stay mad Chang

>>21790549
Slow paced books, whiny, sorry-for-himself protagonist. Nothing like what the poster wanted.

>>21790613
>reading female protag and female writer
Daring today aren't we

>>21788720
i thought coleen hoover did it and nothing happened to her

>>21790658
Who cares?

>>21790570
post you're best rannis; I simp for she

>getting caught up on Infinite Realm
>the constant never-ending run-on sentences
Upsetting. Also lol'd when there was a 9 year timeskip mid-chapter.

>>21790723
sorry only Melina because her voice is cute and peaceful and elegant

https://vocaroo.com/1oE8EmFTTiM9
https://vocaroo.com/1058dteui9Pe
https://vocaroo.com/17B406PJW9Sl
https://voca.ro/1llgcLbgDqIS
https://vocaroo.com/1oIup5gkY9sQ
https://voca.ro/12qwxABrWnNE
https://voca.ro/1Q3ByHGZWHvU
https://voca.ro/1oCo7zU5CIBZ
https://vocaroo.com/1iIlWHS6ILfF
https://vocaroo.com/18BvikSxWOTZ
https://vocaroo.com/12jTanct2pf9

>>21789795
>Female protagonists appear to be the majority among popular stories, and they are almost always lesbian or at least bisexual. Hell, even if the character is heterosexual you will see a lot of homoeroticism and jokes.
It's the current thing.
There's an explosion of titles with female lead tag and LGBT romance as subplot on Royal Road and Scribble Hub in the same way that most of new tradpub fantasy books are populated with female protags and LGBT content (just check on Goodreads).
>It's borderline unnerving how young online people these days live vicariously through Female characters having relationships with other Women.
Most readers are women (on Goodreads) and they're really into these things for some reason. As for guys, it's like >>21790338 said. For guys who are into straight romance in fantasy, good luck finding titles to read, it can be really hard.

I'm not a romance guy and I tend to get bored as hell when I'm reading it (it's just tiring enough in real life for me) so I often speedread the romance chapters in books. Fantasy harem is a godsend because the romance is as bare bones as it can get and the girls are really cute and interesting in some titles so it's perfect for me, so I read these a lot. It's funny when people post comments wanting more realistic romance in harems, it's the thing I'm avoiding the most lmao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1zDNBIswek&list=PLsMvKnB7m6NSvkpOs17QyJCh8ZVtSq67P&index=1
How's this audiobook?
>>21790811
basedish

>>21790820
audrey is NOT a cuckqueen

>>21790549
TC isn't really gritty, it's more like Hobb where it's ultimately hopeful epic fantasy but everyone has to suffer (including the reader) to get there

Roast my WIP:

Isekai story about a hopeless NEET who gets recruited into an enclave of rangers tasked with protecting the imaginary frontier of Fantasy itself. He travels to realms representing the various ages of fantasy fiction: Iron Age (Pulp era of Howard and Lieber), Golden Age (Tolkien, Lewis), Silver Age (Moorcock), Bronze Age (80’s/90’s DnD, Eragon), Dark Age (Grimdark) etc.

In each realm, he meets a prototypical Ranger of that age, tracks and kills and monster and tries to unlock the gateway home.

>>21790888
>Isekai story about a hopeless NEET who gets recruited into an enclave of rangers tasked with protecting the imaginary frontier of Fantasy itself. He travels to realms representing the various ages of fantasy fiction: Iron Age (Pulp era of Howard and Lieber), Golden Age (Tolkien, Lewis), Silver Age (Moorcock), Bronze Age (80’s/90’s DnD, Eragon), Dark Age (Grimdark) etc.
>In each realm, he meets a prototypical Ranger of that age, tracks and kills and monster and tries to unlock the gateway home.

>>21790888
>Isekai story about a hopeless NEET
Boom. I'll read it.

>>21790888
Idk man. How are you going to make the rangers different from each other?

>>21789545
Different Light Bringer

>>21790922
Aragorn is different than Drizzt is different than Geralt is different than Jon Snow …

>>21790888
Ideas are worthless.

>>21790958
Ok so it's all pastiche. It will probably find some readers

>>21790888
Ngl bro, I cringed before I even read half of the first sentence

>>21790888
... How about starting with the basics? Write an one shot about a guy hunting slimes.

Rate my idea:
>Kenshi but it's Conan

>>21790888
How utterly dreadful, especially the self-awareness that will be involved.

Are there any sci-fi books anticipating the current hellscape? Namely the advance in algorithms that

>kills every facet of content writing
>kills helpdesk jobs
>kills voice acting
>kills tech support jobs in general
>kills low-end coding jobs (for now)
>kills most of the art scene

Surely this will end well. It's great when white collar jobs don't exist anymore in the middle of a crisis. It's grLuddites were wrong during the industrial revolution since it eventually made the world better and more advanced - though you should read Tess D'Ubervilles for an opposing, nostalgic view of ye old time agriculture with dances and rape.

What AI is doing right now is massacring white collar jobs in the middle of a ww3. Plus, it's not making anything on its own, it's openly stealing written and drawn content and warping it to make a handful of oligarchs a boatload of cash. There is zero alternative, zero advancement and zero improvement. Those who get the content for free instead of paying, 50-100 bucks for it might feel like things are moving in the right direction, until they take a look at the world around them.eat when Big Tech can take other people's assets and paragraphs and merge them in oh so original package that their algorithms can shit out on the web.

I know PKD was prescient about microtransactions, but I don't think he covered any of this.

>>21790897
>monster hunting
gaaaay

>>21790888
I would read a good book where the protag goes through a series of bossfights. In fact, can anyone rec me something like that? Ninja Scroll / MGS 3 type of narrative?

>>21791079
There are officially published and translated Metal Gear novels.

>bakker

>>21791134
At least he tries. Enjoy your ban btw.

>>21790553
Every time I read anything not Earthsea Book 1 from Le Guin I stop and think

"damn, this bitch retarded"

>>21790553
>a great many of white readers weren't ready to accept a dark-skinned hero
>i did not mention his race

so nobody cared?

>>21791065
Not a book but I found Her to be rather prescient.

>>21791151
>present tense
topkek

>>21791222
got an epub / mobi link for this?

>>21791065
>>kills most of the art scene
Maybe on fucking Deviant Art or some shit, but most boomers will not buy NFTs from AI art when they can get free physical paintings for their offices when it's tax deductible.

>>21791304
>Human-made banana with tape on it: good
>AI banana with tape on it: bad

>>21791324
I don't really care either way but you can't claim digital AI art on tax at the moment. So that's why painters are still being supported by rich boomers who need to launder money.

How hard of a read is Bakker and the Book of the New Sun? Will I know what's going on? Is the prose super complicated and is the pacing slow where I'd get bored of it?

>>21791421
Because you're asking these questions, the answers are: Difficult, no, yes.

>>21791421
You could just download them and read the first few pages, anon.

>>21791065
Internalized failed artist seething. Chat / art bots aren't capable of doing any of those things and aren't getting close very quickly. Any machine that could would be too dangerous to use outside bizarre niche situations. Alastair Reynolds had a jag about this burried in the middle of Redemption Ark iirc.

Million-selling author Leigh Bardugo has reached a blockbuster deal with Macmillan Publishers, an eight-figure agreement for a dozen books across several imprints.

The rare author success story.

Is it just me or does anyone else slow down nearing the end of a book? I just don't want it to end

>>21791512
Jesus. Good for her tho

>>21791536
Do you sit motionless when it does end as well?

>>21791562
Yes

>>21791430
My reading comprehension's fine I'm a lawyer, that's not what I was asking. I guess you get off to making neckbeard comments feigning superiority on an online forum, sad.

>>21791566
He was fucking with you. They're not that hard to read. BotNS has an unreliable narrator so you have to think about what you're being told

>>21791566
You're a public defender. If you read a lot of fantasy and science fiction you should be fine. See Hard Reading by Tom Shippey. These genres have their own unique rhetoric that requires reading within the genre themselves in order to comprehend them. It's why many literary writers are terrible genre writers (unaware of the rhetoric).

>10- Have you begun writing A Dance with Dragons? And if yes, when will it be coming out?
>The next book will be out in fall, 2002.

>>21791566
Lawyer, KEK, all you’re trained to do is read legal texts and forms, that doesn’t mean you can extract and comprehend abstract forms and imaginative information from novels with loose chains of informal reasoning written amid complex prose. Come on, man. If you are really an attorney, which I doubt, you’d know there is a major difference between the skill sets required to read lit.

>>21791421
Not really. You can get way into BotNS, but the surface level story is easy to follow. Darkness That Comes Before starts with a shit test you just power through for a few chapters, and after that the series is totally serviceable 3.5/5 contemporary fantasy writing.

>>21791579
>>21791581
Makes sense, thank you. I'll pick up one of the two soon then. The unreliable narrator is definitely adds an interesting element too.

>>21788037
what would you recommend as "good" Russian litrpg? I just finished Dragon Heart 2 by Kirill Klevanski and it was alright, but i'll probably switch to a different cultivation novel next.

i found In the System 1 and 2 on Zlib, do you know where to find the others? apart from kindle unlimited

So this Bakker guy... Where should I start with him? His fantasy epic seems a bit daunting (in size). Does he have good single book stories?

>>21791609
>imaginative information
>loose chains of informal reasoning
>complex prose

Oh boy we're really bringing out the big guns aren't we? Yeah reading fantasy is super complicated and there's no reading comprehension or intelligence required in law that could be transferable to being competent in a hobby like fiction reading.

You caught me I'm lying about being a lawyer, no way a lawyer likes reading fantasy novels, you're so smart! Get a life lol.

>>21791648
A shit-test the first few chapters, funny way of putting it lol. I think I'll start with BotNS after I finish what I'm reading now, I like that there looks to be many layers to get immersed in.

>>21791669
Yeah. You could literally look it up on Wikipedia.
>Short stories
Light, Time, and Gravity, Three Pound Brain[40]
The Long Held Breath, Three Pound Brain[41]
Reinstalling Eden, Nature (2013)[42]
What Was...And What Will Never Be, Three Pound Brain[43]
Crash Space, Midwest Studies in Philosophy (2015)[44]
The Dime Spared, Three Pound Brain[45]

>>21791669
>>21791687
>Stand-alone novels
Neuropath (2008)

>>21791675
There's wikis, podcasts, blogs, published books on Gene Wolfe's books.
https://www.wolfewiki.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Articles.Novice

>>21791609
>If you are really an attorney, which I doubt, you’d know there is a major difference between the skill sets required to read lit.
If you aren't a lawyer, how would you know what reading legislation is like in legal practice?

>>21791703
He doesn't. This is law in legal practice: he can extrapolate lyrical meaning from verbiage in different forms and tell you what it means in a court case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlmvZ9ac63U

>>21791675
>get a life lol
Heckin Kekarooni! So your argument, as a lawyer, is: “me smart, fantasy dumb.” Then why would someone with such acumen and prowess pick up something so easily understood and obviously beneath you?

>>21791711
He knows terminology and can manipulate it in the same way a cook knows ingredients and can substitute them for each other. Which any minimum wage employee can accomplish.

>>21791725
You try pass the bar exam and practice you fucking bittttchhhhhhh

>>21791711
>This is law in legal practice
It's not. Law exists in a lot more countries than just US.

>>21791740
Enlightenment value legal systems function almost the same since they have the same sort of rights. Do you live in Ex Soviet shithole country #47?

>>21791742
>Enlightenment value legal systems function almost the same since they have the same sort of rights.
They don't, continental and case law function very differently. This is common knowledge amongst all legal practitioners around the world. Continental law is vastly more formal and stiff than case law. The traditions in Europe for civic law come from Rome, while the US has its own tradition. Ex soviet states will also generally have continental Rome based law with influences from either France or Germany.

>>21787254
100% missing the point. its embarrassing how stupid u are

Which irl first world country has the most retarded legal system?

>>21791783
Japan probably

>>21791226
https://files.catbox.moe/kpxf0p.epub

>>21791783
Germany and sweden

>>21791758
What point have I missed?

>>21791822
Nah. Definitely a toss up between Japan or China. Japan because it's close to being a guilty until proven innocent system (police rarely admit they made a mistake). China because it's so corrupt, if you have money or connections you can get away with a lot of things. Far more than western nations.

>>21791866
China is not first world.

Not sure what its called but the state of mind where a warrior becomes consumed by bloodlust and goes on a killing spree, indiscriminately slaughtering anyone in their path. It is presented as a negative aspect of a warrior's psyche, where they become obsessed with the desire to kill and lose their sense of morality and compassion.
Any books with this trope? Any genre

>>21791886
You mean a berserker? That would apply to a major character in The First Law books.

>>21791886
Armor has this. The first half of the novel is really fun, the second is not that interesting, because it isn't about killing bugs.

>>21791892
>>21791895
These are right up my alley. Thanks.

>ironborn are a running joke for their entire history
>AFFC rolls around and now I'm expected to take these seaniggers seriously
George, please

Something like Star Wars that isn't Star Wars?

>>21791913
It's repeatedly explained (by Asha, Rodrik Harlaw and Victarion, and by Theon's example) that Ironborn can't actually CONQUER shit. But with the utter shitshow that is the War of Five Kings messing shit up, they definitely can invade, pillage, steal, rape and burn like, half the continent, even if it is bound to end in nothing.

This is why Ironborn who are interested in conquest and glory and wealth and building up and all the civilization shit like that were opposed to Balon both times he tried to fuck up the Iron Throne, and why they were against the aggression at the Kignsmoot (Asha's chests of pebbles and turnips).

Euron plainly states that he simply doesn't plan to actually conquer and hold lands and grow his kingdom, so it doesn't matter if they are strategically bound to lose the invasions. That leaves the question of what if his endgame after all the pillaging and looting, but nobody knows that - most Ironborn simply follow him because he is based about this whole
>pirates everyone's shit all his life disregarding diplomacy
>murders his kin.
>steals power
>rapes and humiliates women
>toots a big horn
>says "fuck landlubbers"
>refuses to elaborate
while they are all very sad and bitter about getting dabbed on by everyone, so they believe that he can lead them back to the ol' glory days, even if ultimately it's all an elaborate political suicide by a madman.

>>21791933
I wonder how well it would work if you took a story about samurai or knights and gave them lightsabers and blasters instead of swords and bows.

Meanwhile, I've finally started Book of the New Sun, and so far it is... supremely boring. I mean, it's all very original and the writing is nice, but the so far fails to make a good case for why should I care.

Am just a brainlet that doesn't understand the beautiful picture being laid out in front of me?

>>21791940
What nonsense is this

>>21791946
>Am just a brainlet that doesn't understand the beautiful picture being laid out in front of me?
Most probably, yes. The fact that it is full of imagination, original and beautifully written should be plenty for any reader to continue reading.

>>21791946
No you have to pretend like in that soiboi cartoon where they pretend beer tastes good

>>21791961
>>21791962
The duality of man...

>>21791944
Probably how you'd imagine it

>>21791944
12 Miles Below does this, and quite well for the first few books. After that though it gets bogged down in promising all this really deep and interesting shit happening elsewhere in its world. So much so you end up wanting to be there rather then with the main character.

Why do fantasy "masterworks" suck so hard? Can fantasy writers just not write with any competence or is that writers with competence avoid writing fantasy...or both? This guy's work is so bad it's unreal, yet he's praised by well-known retards. Makes no sense.

>>21791996
Anything that wins awards in current year is shit by definition.

>>21792000
It won an award in 1984 and isn't recent. Yet still blows chunks.

>>21791996
What are your top 10 novels?

>>21792010
I haven't read 10 novels

>>21792020
based bakkerchad

>>21787138
>>21791996
Seeing him mentioned for the first time. As Gene Wolfe reced him I'll probably check him out.

>Grover Tully had a grandson who was named Elmo Tully, who named his sons Kermit and Oscar Tully
>Dickon Manwoody
>Utter Shett
>Ossifer Lipps
>Aenys Frey
>Dick Crabb
What's this hack's problem?

>>21791662
Mahanenko, Atamanov, Dan Sugralinov, Osadchuk (less so)...probably forgetting someone. I should make a chart some day.

>>21792028
I've never met a single person who'd recommend Gene Wolfe so you're shooting yourself in the foot on this one.

>>21791512
I like Leigh but it's a classic fucking case of the people getting mega deals all having connections from going to oxbridge/the ivies

>>21792059
If you just want something to start with, try Way of the Shaman. Very early in the genre, but all the pieces are in place.

>>21792077
I've met plenty and having already read a lot of writers on Wolfe's recommendation, I think I'll trust him over you. I've had plenty luck with Kipling, Borges, Eddison, Peake, Vance, Melville. He had good taste.

>>21787970
Long Sun is definitely way more straightforward than BOTNS and Short Sun, and Silk is much more human than Severian

>that spoiler
lel

>>21787970
Lmaoing on that spoiler, you'll see.

>>21790506
Tokybook's reading of LOTR is great

>>21791820
thanks

>>21792104
A drunk high school English teacher could make those recommendations.

>>21791512
>Leigh Bardugo (Hebrew: לי ברדוגו) is an Israeli-American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels
Crazy

>>21792207
I doubt it, English high school teachers don't read good books. And they'd never recommend Kipling. Too racist.

>>21792207
>In another universe, Critical Drinker writes drunk book reviews.

Can I blind buy big compilations of Verne, PKD, Asimov, Lem and Wells or do they have stinkers?

>>21792300
Depends how you're defining a stinker. Asimov and PKD definitely have stories that are appreciably worse than their best work

>>21792300
Of course, they have stinkers. Every author has them. But some are probably going to be pretty good.

>>21791222
Why can't western authors write a character as unhinged, menacing and truly free from any kind of moral shackles and carnal desires as Fang Yuan is?

>>21792351
>It's another westoid who never realized Reverend Insanity was a parody of xianxia, and that Fang Yuan is meant to come across as such a gigantic asshole that it becomes comedic

>>21791996
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks

>>21792351
Because authors write what they know and have experience in. Someone raised in a typical western family with weak father (or no father at all), feminism and liberalism all around will never even think of a main character who cares about himself (being selfish is a negative quality in the west) and does things that benefit him.

>>21792374
>parody
is it? some of it may be, but more likely its a western coomer cope.

>>21792436
Solid list, I'll keep it in mind. Most of what I read from it was pretty solid or great.

>>21792374
>parody of xianxia
>indistinguishable from genuine xianxia
sounds like Tommy Wiseau cope

Hello, I'm trying to remember an old sci fi story where humanity has managed to create these large mainframes capable of generating high quality predictions on a general scale.

The plot revolves around one of these machines malfunctioning and failing to predict a drought or a similar disaster. At first, the culprit seems to be an anti-machine governor who allegedly fed the machine false data, but the technicians realize that input from a single region wouldn't have been enough to throw off the model, and conclude that the machine made the mistake on purpose to smear its detractors.

Seems...topical nowadays

>Dungeon Crawler Carl is going to be 8 or 9 books
>Infinite Realm is going to be 7 books but has a planned sequel series (question fucking mark)
Discuss.

>>21792730
DCC is for cucks so it doesn't matter
The other one I didn't read

>>21792730
I don't really care, so long as they actually finish. I'm not really sure what Infinite Realm would really end up doing anyway, because that story just kind of is "anyway, problem". Arcs, until relatively recently, were quite disconnected.

I read the Powder Mage Trilogy and its sequel recently, and I quite enjoyed them. So I figured I'd read the first book (and only one out) of the authors newest series, and it is...quite the tonal difference.
Every single character is gay or bisexual (and this is stated very strongly). It takes place in some sort of arabian-nights fantasy, so almost everyone is some shade of dark skin (sometimes olive). The only "white skinned" people are the "Purnian" barbarians: large, cumbersome oafs hired for muscle, not brains.
Even the main character is bisexual - the female heroine is bisexual, one of the other sub-main male characters is gay and the other female one is gay. The entire book seems to be about degeneracy.
Am I just letting /pol/ rot my brain or is there something being pushed seriously hard here?

Anyways, I need more fantasy books. I've recently been going through long series I never managed to finish in the past. I read the Game of Thrones series, Wheel of Time, caught up to the Stormlight Archives, read stuff like Dwarves and obviously this Powder Mage trilogy, all in a few months. I'm also working on the Malazan series and finished all of Sabriel/its sequels/prequels. I read Master Artificier and Master of Sorrows, and I've read basically everyone from Michael G. Manning.

What else am I missing? I need more literature.
I'm open to basically anything that isn't solidly young adult (Wheel of Time is young adultish, but it is a bit more complex of a read, so that level is fine). Not interested in science fiction, just fantasy - Doesn't have to be high fantasy, low fantasy is fine too.
Bless

>>21792732
Repeating it every time you get the opportunity doesn't make it true, newfag.
>>21792735
Me either. The concept of a sequel renders any conclusion null. I get that the Dome arc seems to be heading into its finale but I'm not quite sure how much content the current RR material is to make up a new book. If we have one book's worth of chapters to go then I could see it ending after this Dome event thing. Who knows what will happen though.

>>21787532
based

>>21792906
>Am I just letting /pol/ rot my brain or is there something being pushed seriously hard here?
Pozzed shit is real. The people who say it's not simply support it and don't want you to criticize it. The evidence is right in front of you.

>>21792954
I don't even care about it much its just...really extreme. Like every single situation it can explain something quickly, it goes longer. It goes into detail on how this character clearly likes men and women or their history of it. Also, half of the soldiers and 75% of the generals are all women - I've seen two or three male general types, and one is the MC, the other was a bumbling idiot, the rest are hardcore badass women. The greatest army in the land is lead by a woman. The magic users are lead by a woman. The heavy cavalry divisions are lead by a women. 2 of the 5 great families are lead my women.

>>21792906
sabriel is the best out of this entire lot
funny how you include it with these megapopular titles though also funny how you include manning
he has some weird ideas and his last book was a real stinker. mageborn was fun but zzzz it's all interconnected!

>>21792973
I just added what I've read in the past 3 months or so. I like stuff like that.

>>21792968
Sounds awful

>>21792984
It feels a bit silly overall. I don't need my fantasy land to just be white dudes leading everything, I like a bit of, and I say this unironically, "diversity", because its interesting. But it feels like this book is just written to alienate me, and when most readers of white male literature are, shock & awe, white males...odd design choice.
I browsed this thread and saw a series called "Arcane Ascension", I guess I'll add that to my reading list too.

Title: Pyresouls Apocalypse: Rewind
Author: James T. Callum

If someone told me a Dark Souls-inspired niche LitRPG would be the most curiously soulful book I read in a while...I'd probably believe, because nothing surprises me anymore. Still, I wish I read the book sooner. Thought it'd be a cheap Souls-wannabe, turned out to be a way more inspired reading than I assumed.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Story]

The story starts in-media-res, of a kind. The year is 2045 and it's been a long decade since the world has collapsed after a hardcore Pyresouls Online game turned out to be more than just a new VRMMO. The monsters have somewhat escaped the game and brought the rules of the game with them, making the world crumble with one horrific atrocity after another.

Jacob is part of the last few remaining groups left of humanity, trying to survive day after day in the undead-filled hellscape the world turned into. All hope is lost...yet a mysterious item, combined with knowledge of the last scientists brings an opportunity unlike any other - to send Jacob's mind back to the time it all started in attempt to stop the apocalypse before it even began. Each action in the past matters in the future, as Jacob races with time to stop the apocalypse and not lose his mind in the process. But Pyresouls Online is uncommonly cruel and not even all of his hard-earned skills can fully prepare him for the daunting task ahead...


[Review]

It was good. I'm actually undecided how to rate it, as all-in-all, it was just a decent book, but the story, themes, characters and sheer writing quality make the book punch above its weight. This a LitRPG strongly inspired by Dark Souls, and not just in the game system. It might at first look like a cynical attempt to write a story set in a Dark Souls world, balancing on the edge of the copyright infringement...yet it's much more than that.

Does it copy a lot from Dark Souls? Yes, but more in the vein of themes, mood and feeling than set dressing. I'm a strong supporter of any LitRPG that tries to emulate more video game systems than just dime-a-dozen basic shit you see everywhere. People spent a lot of time making those video games for fuck's sake, go and use them in making interesting stories!

If someone were to translate a video game into a book format, this is how it should look like.
This is how you write GRIMDARK. There's not a single part of this book that I could call 'edgy,' yet it feels darker than many 'grimdark' stories hopelessly endeavour to be.

This is not an amazing book, however. It's well-written both technically and structure-wise, with competent grasp on story-stelling, but nothing particularly impressive. Still, you can feel the author's passion for the subject in every page. I wish it were a bit better, but for a niche LitRPG Grimdark story it's better than you'd think, and that is just enough for me.

Also, ferret bro is great.

Rating: 6.8/10

>>21793034
can you not
your writing sucks

>>21792906
>Am I just letting /pol/ rot my brain or is there something being pushed seriously hard here?
If an author introduces more than just a few non-heteronormative character (unless it's relevant for the plot) then they are either writing something weird or trying to push an agenda of some sorts.

I've seen these kinds of books before, the people behind them are fucking weird. Most of the time it's the result of replacing the brain with a some sort of modern dogma or just fetish stuff, and almost always the result of not leaving the house for too long.

>>21793049
Yeah, that's fair. Its a pretty crazy jump from his previous series which didn't really have anything like this. It had a few famous female generals, especially on the second half of the series, but this new series is just...everyone is gay or bisexual. Also, everyone canonically has ear piercings, because the best way to use the "magic glass" is to hook it into your ear piercings. So everyone is a dark-skinned, pierced homosexual.

>>21793034
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>21793034
zzzzzzzzzzz
go away

>>21793034
Huh, read another book by the same author. I think he's got a vague multiverse 'thing' going on but it's largely disconnected, because everybody has that. It struck me how absurdly derivative his take on goblins were from Final Fantasy XIV. Like they were straight-up the same thing, same masks, same name styles, same speech styles. FFXIV's goblins are a fairly unique take on them too (weird speaking styles is one thing, but it's the same type of speaking) so it was a bit jarring to see them just sort of wholesale lifted out. Good enough book besides, I guess, though.

>>21793049
You don't think it's just marketing?

>>21793040
>>21793058
>>21793062
seething tards

>>21793068
they're not wrong though
you're unwanted

>>21793040
>can you not
>your writing sucks
If you want me to write better just say where can I improve desu

>>21793034
There's an official(TM) Dark Souls book that came out a few months back.

>>21793071
by not shitting up our comfy threads you frog-posting fuck

>>21793069
>t. tard

>>21793034
How something makes you feel can matter more than anything else. It may be helpful for others, but that doesn't really matter as much. I haven't played Dark Souls and it's unlikely that I'd enjoy anything like this, but seeing the opinions and thoughts of does who is very worthwhile. After all, that's what writing is about.

>>21793100
stay pissed

>>21793063
>It struck me how absurdly derivative his take on goblins were from Final Fantasy XIV. Like they were straight-up the same thing, same masks, same name styles, same speech styles. FFXIV's goblins are a fairly unique take on them too (weird speaking styles is one thing, but it's the same type of speaking) so it was a bit jarring to see them just sort of wholesale lifted out. Good enough book besides, I guess, though.

If the stealing is done tastefully and for a purpose, I don't mind. It appears the author is rather authentic in his writing and afterword, I saw many authors try to obfuscate and pretend they came up with the stuff themselves. This one straight up names all the games he was inspired by. I can respect that.

As for the author's other books, he apparently has another series that is loosely connected in a larger shared universe. As long as it's not annoying, I don't mind. Unless he tries to force me to read another to know what's going on, then I WILL get mad.

>>21793130
I've scoured some of his books, and it looks like they're broadly shared multiverse sort of stuff, and at least one of his books is a magic school on Earth, and said magic school is referenced in the book I read (it's an isekai LitRPG thing, and the protagonist is sort of a weird alt timeline version of another guy, and one of his friends is also from Earth and one of the chapters from her POV references that magic school by name but I haven't read that book about the school so I dunno much else). The LitRPG mechanics are at least neatly pulled from video games, like every class has their own 'mechanic' they have to deal with, some of which are just kind of blatantly pulled from MMOs and such. I guess you're right, it's not really obfuscated, it just feels a little weird to see a wholly unique take on a species used so completely. If it was just the names or the speech style or the masks, it'd be one thing, but it's the totality of it all.

>>21787018
>read through the archive for the last few months
>threads still devolve into bakkerautists and bakker antifans constant making shit up and shitflinging
/lit/ jannies should unironically ban anyone who treats authors like sports teams. It's console war bullshit in a different flavour.

>>21793106
stay a tard

>>21793157
pissed

>people spam /sffg/ with Bakker shit and the same shitposts over and over every thread
This is ok
>anon who actually reads books writes reviews to let other anons know about the books he read so you can see if it is something you want to read
Anons spurge out reeeing

Keep posting review anon.

>>21793211
Fuck off reviewfags
All your reviews and the books you review are shit
Reviewfags are illiterate retards spamming their low iq opinions and shilling their goodreads accounts
FUCK OFF

>>21793211
Remember to report automated spambots when and if you see them. :)

>>21793211
Same thing as those anons who get furiously angry about anyone talking about writing their own sff stuff here, because 'this isn't /wg/.' I don't know why retards can't just be satisfied with being the lowest common denominator, and have to drag everyone to their level

>>21791996
this is good. Are you retarded?

>>21793219
Writefags should kill themselves too.
This is NOT fucking /wg/ you stupid nigger shit brain. Nobody wants to hear about your shitty fantasy world concept or sci fi ideas. This is not the place for that, get that though your ugly, brown, shit filled skull. Fuck off, NOW.

>>21793219
>writefag mad his retardation isn't tolerated here
>hurr durr it says a genre so I can write about it
>is retarded
actually fucking kill yourself you jewish bitch

@21793223
@21793231
The samefag is too obvious

>>21793232
>newfag doesn't even know how to quote properly
LOL

>>21793211
Why are retards like writecels and reviewfags so insecure about Sanderson and Bakker
Maybe it's because they realize theyre retards who can't measure up to shit that actually belongs here.
Stop shitting up the thread
Start having sex
Neck yourself

>>21793232
nice one newfag, pretty good quote

>>21793034
>>21793211
>>21793219
>>21793232
Why do you spergs samefag instead of just going to /wg/? Is it because even the shit on your goodreads account is too horribly written for there? Why would you think anyone wants to read your shitty books if they don't want to read your shitty opinions. Do explain, I'm genuinely confused.

>>21793246
imagine caring this much about who or what is posted on a 4chan general lmao, go out and have sex incel

>>21793219
Nah, writing discussion has its own general, as you even mentioned, and belongs over there. We don't need more shitposters like the newfag who spams his three-line ideas one post at a time, or newfags who ask their common questions assuming everyone else here, in a reading discussion thread, is also a writer, and on and on. They can discuss their topic in the thread meant to discuss it at. Not everything ever needs to be brought up in every thread ever.

<<21793237
<<21793242
He keeps doing it

>>21793249
I think writing discussion as it pertains to the genre can belong here, since obviously /sffg/ will know more about sff than /wg/. I think my point is proven by how autistically angry faggots on here get at the mere mention of it.

I'll enjoy this thread to say that this sucks and i regret reading it.

>>21793254
I believe there are some tertiary elements that can fit the discussion/'genre', such as "I want to write books that feature x thing, what books have a similar thing?" to get inspiration/ideas/brainstorming/etc., but the deep inane writing structure and people wanting their rough drafts proofread and specific writing questions do not belong.

>>21793251
>posters 25 seconds apart are samefags
lol kys newfaggot. And go back to /wg/ in case you thought you had a point so they can remind you how shitty your writing is.

>>21793251
>not even 1min apart
>samefags

newfag-kun??

>>21793258
Well of course not, because those don't pertain to the genre, those posts would be about the writing itself. As I said, the mere idea of writing a fantasy work of your own, coming up with a fantasy universe, having a sci fi concept, or apparently just reviewing some litRPG, is enough to send an army of samefaggers into a blind rage, which is ridiculous. I don't see how it helps discussion at all.
Thanks for being civil though anon

#21793259
#21793265
endless samefaggotry

>>21793267
I don't believe it's quite that bad, anon but to provide a possible answer, I think some/most posters are simply fed up with the constant barely-related/off-topic posting and may react a bit more aggressive, in relatiation against... well, look at the current type of nonstop shitposting going on around us now. /sffg/ does have a record for relentless bad faith bot-like shitposting.

>12:15:02
>12:16:06
>less than a minute apart
Chudbros... did we fail 1st grade math?
>>21793268
There are genuinely two spergs here though, so retarded and illiterate that they get mad at anyone being an IQ point above them, but I don't know why they couldn't see which posts you were referring to.

>>21793257
>here, let me copy your memories into a new body and kill you
>oh, the old body is dead so i guess that means i was transferred and am not a copy looking at a man who was killed in a shitty process
>oh well
And that is all the addressing the matter gets. It's avatar tier. Jake sully died too but since they sang songs and celebrated nobody gave a fuck

>>21793278
I can see an argument to why writing stuff shouldn't be here, but the fact that the sperging is in response to a review of a litRPG shows that your answer is wrong. If it was some guy asking how his sci fi concept could be put in a story, maybe, but for a discussion about a prototpyical /sffg/ work? I don't see how you can see the rage as anything but a sign that these faggots are obsessed with keeping this general as retarded as possible.

>>21793295
"your reviews are shit" shitposter is one dude. I agree with you that it is an effort in keeping the general in poor quality but I don't see that specific ritualposting being beyond one person.
I think that is different than the response to /wg/-related posting.

>>21793315
It's gotta be at least two based on posting times, barring some outlying possibilities. I've also seen him show up at all hours of the day, but that doesn't mean much for a NEET.
But yeah. Maybe one day this thread will have decent discussion throughout. But I doubt it.

Are you looking for big thick books about dragons, sorcerers, and magic?

Are you searching for angsty, first-person musing from depressed millenials?

If so, you've come to the wrong place.

Our books are mean, rough, and gritty.

Best of all, they fit in your pocket... unless you wear skinny jeans in which case you won't enjoy our books anyway.

You can't download our books.
If you want to read on your kindle or phone, you're not a real man.
Real books are made of real paper... cheap absorbent paper that can stanch a bullet-wound in a pinch.

And, we sure as hell don't sell audiobooks...
A real man doesn't need his mommy to read to him.

Can you find them on Amazon?
Perhaps... You'll recognize them by all the one-star reviews from offended liberals.

mfw Odin turns up in The Broken Sword

>>21791755
Completely missed the point. Many ex Soviet countries don't have the right to bail. Seethe more, illiterate fantasy reader.

>>21793295
>>21793315
>>21793356
Don't post your shitty reviews to shitty books and shill your goodreads accounts and cry when people call you out on it
Either you review shitty books that only subhumans think are entertaining (like litrpg/dragon erotica trash) or you fundamentally mistunderstand good books and insist that your opinion is right and that you aren't just a braindead retard
All of the 3-4 reviewfags that post their swill on this thread are like this, and that is why I will continue to call them out time and time again

>>21793446
>(like litrpg/dragon erotica trash)
Why are you lumping litrpg with dragon shit? There are good litrpg out there, it's just that they shitty ones float to the top.
I used to leave reviews years ago (not for litrpg), but it makes no sense, people here don't read anymore. It's just a bunch of memeing and shitposting. I just post my shit to goodreads. I don't know why anyone would link their goodreads account to 4chan, but you do you.

Give me recs based off pic related that aren't Warhammer.

>>21793476
There's no good "litrpg" out there. It's trash. If you find shitrpg enetertaining then kill yourself
>muh goodreads
There is one reviewer here who continues to shill his goodreads account. He uses this thread to shill his shitty opinions,he complains that stories in pulp magazines are short stories, he's a retard just like every reviewfag in this thread

At what point do you realize you're reading a good fantasy story?

>>21793223
Want to read my fantasy novel I wrote for /wg/ and RR?

>>21793558
>At what point do you realize you're reading a good fantasy story?
I cannot stop reading.

>>21793526
https://www.manticgames.com/fiction/

>>21793526
Nemesis the warlock

>>21793548
>There's no good "litrpg" out there. It's trash.
Old classics are trash too, but people still read them. Just neck yourself. I see no one can talk with you. You're probably that write fag that is butt hurt.

>>21793381
was it cool or were you just shocked to see the god of norse mythology show up in a book about norse mythology?

OH MY FUCKING GOD I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE FUCKING FAGGOT SQUID

>>21793605
>the god of norse mythology
Not how it works. Read the Eddas.

I can't take satirical fantasy/scifi seriously. I'm never reading Discworld or anything like it.

>>21793548
What does it matter if nothing you do has any effect? It's just like people on Twitter who think their tweets are going to change the world. Though, at least you get a sense of self-satisfaction out of it I guess.

>>21793685
>satire... seriously
Based retard

>>21793685

>>21793598
Even the shittest old pulp is better than the "greatest" litrpg
>writefag
no writefags are cancer as well and need to stop shilling themselves on this general
>>21793694
It does have an effect
It is at least cathartic

>>21791933
star of the guardian series by margaret weis (one half of the dragonlance authors)

>>21793575
Warhammer-lite.
>>21793591
That's a comic.

>>21788299
>Castle Town 4
>Stand On Zanzibar
Based milf poster.

>>21793773
I will continue to provide carthesis for you. You're welcome.

>>21793605
>>21793644
Odin isn't even a real god, he's a euhemerized human shaman or warchief from the 3rd-4th century AD, the original chief god of the North Germanic peoples was Thor, or possibly Tyr but he's somewhat doubtful compared to Thor

>>21793867
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx-mvPD92Lo
All rationalisation of religion is retarded. I'm sure Zeus was just a stand in for lightning and other kings from the East. Lol!

>>21793879
Zeus is actually Dionysus
My reference to Odin was the fact that the only attestations of Odin prior to the (transcribed by Christian monks) Eddas over 500 years later refer to him exclusively in human terms, as someone you could meet in person and drink ale with and even be related to

>>21793866
And I will continue to call you out
Faggot
and If i ever met you in real life i would smack you in the face

>>21793773
Does Fighter Fred count as LitRPG?

Make the new thread Conan themed AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_507xVKN56s

>>21793796
Not doing your work for you. Look it up yourself.

Any cultivation like I shall seal the heavens? I want to read something like that

How is Reverend Insanity? Does it even have a ''end'' or did it just stopped half arc without no type of ending?

>>21794122
Read it to find out.

>>21794123
Idk if i feel like reading something so big only to end when the MC is in the middle of a sentence without even finishing speaking.

>>21794130
Then don't read it. Very simple. Why make this post in the first place if you don't want to read it? We're not here to make life decisions for you.

>>21794140
Im asking if theres any type of end, if you dont the answer, dont bother trying to start shit, you either answer what i asked first or you shut the fuck you fucking retarded nigger

>>21794152
>Im asking if theres any type of end
You can just google this. Why the fuck are you asking this here.

>>21794152
Here. I spoiled it purposefully for you. This is the ending.

So funny seing the google_this nigger getting mad about question heres, always makes me laugh at how easy is to trigger the retard

>>21794163
>anon asking spoilers about the end of the novel
>Here. I spoiled it purposefully for you.

Imagine being braindead like this.

>>21794171
>seing
Nice English.

>>21794163
holy fuck mtl is bad. how do people read this shit

>>21794175
>Imagine being braindead like this.
I'm not the loser wasting my time reading science fiction and fantasy. I don't even read anything, not even people's posts.

>>21794176
heh, and what you gonna do about it? google about me?

>>21794061
Look what up myself?

>>21794183
>What are some novels for consumerist retards who have no frame of reference except schlocky art?

>>21794179
>I'm not the loser wasting my time reading science fiction and fantasy.

Yeah, you the loser wasting time using google to reply to 4chan posts lmaoooooooo

>>21794191
>you the
It must be a struggle using determiners in your backwards language, Chiang.

>>21794171
>>21794182
>>21794191
I think it’s really sad and pathetic you got this triggered because people refuse to do your work for you.

>>21794179
>>21794191
>I'm not the loser wasting my time reading science fiction and fantasy.
>I'm the loser wasting my time responding to multiple 4chan posts

>>21793446
that's not "calling out" , don't be delusional

maybe if you put a few extra brackets on the word "reviews" you'll get there.

>>21794201
It takes much less time and I get about the same amount of dopamine, if not more.

>>21794202
>expecting civil discourse with a blatant underage who views all interactions with other humans as "calling someone out"
All it will do is endlessly shit the thread up until it gets range-banned because this is clearly one of, if not the only form of validation it receives. It's probably one of the current samefags.

>>21793548
DCC and TWI are good

>>21794196
I think it’s really sad and pathetic you waste so much time coming here just to reply to multiple 4chan posts.

>>21794222
It's called "keeping the quality of the general higher." Google it.

>>21794163
That's considered good writing?

I like reading books

>>21794260
Then why are you here?

How good is Reverend Insanity ending?
Google slave feel free to answer for me

>>21794246
Better than anything 4chan could make.

>>21794210
Please stop. Both are shit.

>>21794276
Please deposit some Conflux tokens into my account for the answer.

>Prease post Reverend Insanity

>>21794187
Why are you so upset?

>>21794177
Nobody reads it but one fag who ritualpost it because he has no life

>>21794320
I’m outside going to the gym, while you’re at your computer gooning to Adepta Sororitas cosplayers. Get out of my general.

I like reading books

>>21794321
yeah making one post every 2-3 days when a new thread comes out must be sucking all his life bro, fr fr fr no cap

>>21794343
I wanted to read his series but I can only find some of it (none of the first arc) at the charity book store. I used to read him at my uncle’s though. Sparhawk was based.

>>21794292
you reviews are shit

>>21794325
Please tell me why you're so angry.

>>21794410
I don't post reviews though. It's a mathematical fact that dcc and designated goblin shitting Inn is crap.

>>21794423
The gym has shit music and this thread turned into Reddit.

>>21794428
Are you the guy who spams Carl being a cuck or the guy who hates Donut specifically?

>>21794436
Why do you keep replying to him, just fucking ignore him already. How fucking difficult is it to do that?

>Read Dungeon Crawler Carl
>ok bro
>First page
>Carl was cucked by his girlfriend that was sitting on her ex lap

yeah bro sorry im not reading Dungeon Cuck Carl

>>21794442
>How fucking difficult is it to do that?
Considering how easy this thread and previous threads were derailed because people can’t just ignore shitposters, really difficult.

>>21794442
That was my first post to it but yes I agree.

>>21794445
Primal Hunter MC also got cucked by his girlfriend, theres a chapter explaining how he went back home and found his bestfriend fucking her

Whats with LITRPG authors writing cuck MC?

>>21794433
>phoneposter
no wonder you're a fagget with his jimmies rustled

>>21794428
your shit taste is a mathematical fact

DCC and TWI are legit good

>>21794445
Who would event want to be with Bea?

>>/lit/thread/S21591294#p21592264
I knew I saw this pattern before. Hard to ignore shitposters when they samefag themselves nonfucking stop to keep a perpetual argument going.

Like i really dig reading books
>>21794367
Sparhawk trilogy was awesome, great classic fantasy about fighting gods, too bad sparhawk was a groomer.

>>21794469
Anon, its been known for a while that people just copy and paste their post from previous threads. it's why /sffg/ is such a shit place to talk about books.

>>21794476
That's the author who wrote the recent Dark Souls book. The official one.

Books? Books!

>>21794479
Yes, haven't read that one yet but stackpole writes good pulp, he isn't pretentious and doesn't try to be the next big thing.

>>21794260
>>21794343
>>21794476
>>21794482
You’ll have a better chance at discussion and talking about books on Reddit or goodreads.

>>21794469
Are you just finding this out? It's been known for more than a year already.

>>21794455
>t. Fat shut in who can’t even use google

What if someone rewrote Reverend Insanity in proper English and gave it an ending?

>>21794469
nooo!!! why you dont like Dungeon cuck carl!!!!!!

>>21794526
I wanted to learn Mandarin but it takes 2.5 years to get good. I might try learn it still but I’m going to focus on old Wuxia kino
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_and_the_Sword

>>21794469
I knew i saw this pattern before. Hard to ignore Shitty LITRPG when every author make the MC a cuck betrayed by his own girlfriend.

terrible threads. i hope 90% of you get cancer and fucking die.

awesome threads. i hope 90% of you get rich and fucking post forever.

>>21794596
Thanks anon

>>21794587
Just don’t use /sffg/ to talk about boooks. There’s literally no point when you have raging faggots like >>21794596 and >>21794602 posting here.

>>21794607
People actually come here to talk about books?

>>21794574
what's the story behind that pic?

>>21787220
It seems kind of stupid to assume that all men would rape if put into a position of power; it says more about the person who thinks this than about men in power. Tolkien actually handles class relations in a medieval society better because he was a pre-modern man who grew up prior to WWI eroding the last vestige of that old social order.
Samwise is subservient to Frodo but Frodo isn't an asshole to him because he relies on Samwise; same with the prince who relies on the peasant girl to sow his clothes and pay taxes to upkeep his castle.
If he raped or killed her over a fucking insult their would be bitterness, a possible serf revolt and a flogging from a priest.
>>21787655
Tolkien seems to be the first to use Dark Lord in a fantasy novel, but he took it from his religion. Sauron is based on Catholic conceptions of demons

>>21788075
>scolded
Peasant woman literally yanked his ear. There's also been accounts of peasant women fighting off the lord who tried to rape them. A lady who does heavy labour isn't always weaker than a pampered aristocrat

>>21794607
fuck that, i'm taking these threads back for people who actually read books and don't come here just to shitpost about some author i bet half of them haven't even read.

>>21794596
>>21794602
i'm going to come to your home and KILL you.

>>21794622
Didn’t some Byzantine woman kill a Varangian Guard and the Vikings gave her all his possessions as a sign of respect? I think it was seen as fate or the absolute dishonour to try rape someone and not do it properly.

>>21794343
Belgariad is comfy af that I reread. Mallorean is so much fucking bullshit.

Books!

>>21794642
>fuck that, i'm taking these threads back for people who actually read books and don't come here just to shitpost about some author i bet half of them haven't even read
You’re just wasting your time. /sffg/ was never meant to talk about books.

>>21794642
>i'm taking these threads back for people who actually read books
Wasting your time, anon. Just head to reddit or goodsreads, or any forums that talk about books and save yourself the time.

>>21794290
Oh no, it's really not

>>21794644
Yep, they honored you if you defeated them even if you were a woman
They also sometimes had cordial relationships across cultures and classes. The idea that every lord would rape the peasant girl comes from someone who turns European history into a backdrop for his non-Con fetish
Which would be okayish if he were honest about it and writing erotic not "realism"

This was great.

>>21794433
>this thread turned into Reddit.
then why is it so bad

>>21794670
the youtuber?

>>21794290
Chang...

Reddit fantasy has gotten better in the last few years, i remember back in the day when almost every user thought that every book written in the 20th Century was racist, homophobic and misogynist by default, shit was whack.

>>21794728
Gygax was a Christcuck. Better to read Raggi IV's recommended reading.