/lit/ - Literature

Just disconnect your opponent in real time, easy-peasy. Turning ddos attacks into something you can actually do with your hands - Roberts is a genius.

gubble gubble

I, Robot

GLURP GLURP
GLURP GLURP

>>21965886
>>21965887
I, GLURP

Jules Vernes, anyone?

Is pic rel any good?
I've read one of his short story collections, the Foundation trilogy and am currently reading The Caves of Steel.
Not really sure about Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth, heard they were jarringly different from his original Foundation books.

>>21965740
Sci fi comedy is unappreciated, methinks…

>>21965897
Sure.

>>21965900
>Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth
I really didn't like them as much as the first three books, however part of that was me simply not being familiar with his other works and the significance of some stuff that happened in the story. I think with proper build up from the other series it could be better

>>21965740
Book name?

Has anyone read Cage of Souls by Adrien Tchaikovsky and if so, do they recommend? The blurb sounds really interesting (post-apocalyptic, fantasy/sci-fi) but I don't want to sink a week into a shitty book

Anyone read these? They seem pretty cool.

these go really hard, though if you'd rather avoid spoilers don't read their description if you haven't read Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained

>>21965966
Martian Time-Slip by Philip K Dick

>>21966033
i really like nght's dawn trilogy, have you read that and how does this compare?
also i'm not sure what you mean, should i read those other two books you mentioned before jumping into this "void trilogy"?

>>21966003
I read it and enjoyed it, also because of the blurb. it's a cool setting book more than anything else, wouldn't mind another book in the same world.
only Tchaikovsky work I've read, so I can't say if it holds up or is similar to his other works or not.

my only real complaint is that it felt like he didn't really know how to wrap up all of the plot threads and just kind of dumped it at the end. nothing that made me regret my time or anything

>>21966078
One of the best Dicks.

>>21966155
Cool, gonna jump into it now. I've never read Tchaikovsky but this one sounds really interesting

.

>>21965897
Reading Michael Strogoff atm, one of His non-scifi adventure books..

Does anyone know where else I can read this? This guy's website seems to be down

>>21966101
I read The Reality Dysfunction but haven't finished the rest. The Void Trilogy is I'd say more fast paced when it picks up. The fantasy stuff might seem unimportant but it actually pays off.
>should i read those other two books
they take place in the same universe, with some recurring characters and references to the first two books so definitely

>>21966279
Try asking plebbit.

>>21966335
Thank you for your guidance and wisdom

I am almost done with my dying earth setting collection. Will post it in the coming weeks and ask if I'm missing anything

>>21966421
How much did you read of it, incel?

>>21966327
cool, thanks for the rec, i'll probably try them. night's dawn trilogy had a lot of problems, taking fucking forever to start being one of them but i also found it to be incredibly enjoyable and memorable with a lot of great concepts, fun action and fun characters.. if you got bored or fed up with it i get it because it does really meander a lot in places but i have a soft spot for it because the good parts
should be interesting to read a hamilton work that's more fast paced

>>21966433
like 75%

>>21966574
Nice. Which was the best?

After finishing God Emporer I feel like I've been conned into reading these books by an intriguing setting. The first book has everything you'd want in scifi - fantastical adventure, tense drama, unique world and cultures to explore, clever ideas, prose that feels like it takes you to the future and minds alien to us. The other three feel like a longform political shitpost. Like, really, 3 books and there's virtually no plot or development to speak of, just Herbert hitting the blunt and going off on massive, multiple page long diatribes on state policy, bureaucracy, culture, gender roles, time, space everything really. I'm not a plotfag I swear but there has to be SOMETHING ffs, you cant just write ~1500 pages of sitting in a castle and complaining that the voices inside are uncomfy. GE in particular is just Leto jerking himself for being such a cool martyr while fawning over some brown girl he met 5 minutes ago (dat ebony ass is apparently kryptonite against 3000 year old demigods) and telling us that tyrannies are actually awesome cause they make people appreciate life or some shit and how women are better than men at warfare (???) and how much she likes Siona, probably worlds first YA protagonist. Wow Frank she's so rebellious and not like other girls!
Knowing that the remaining two novels take a dip and end on a cliffhanger I think I'm done.

>>21966579
my favorites were Zothique or maybe Nifft the Lean but then there's Wolfe and Vance. Too much good to choose from

>>21966016
Bad, so very very bad.
>>21966033
Can second this, as long as you can forgive authors transgender fascination.
>>21966598
Trying to re-read dune now that i'm older is like pulling teeth.

>>21966598
people always meme GE but it sucks, i cringe so much at the leto brown girl love story. Heretics is the true based god.

>>21966598
>The other three feel like a longform political shitpost
kek, my sentiments exactly
first time i tried dune i devoured it in a weekend, then it took me a month to finish the second one and i gave up on the third one
second attempt i got the audiobooks to listen to on my commute and i made it to god emperor, more or less not regretting i did it but fuck me if "a longform political shitpost" isn't the best way to describe it all.

Lovecraft reigns supreme.

Name anything better than a reading light. Pro-tip: you can’t

>>21966764
I can't even begin to imagine how unhealthy that is for your eyes. Been using a Kindle for probably 12 years and never looked back.

>>21966764
Nice b8

>>21966800
>muh eyes
I have 20/20 vision and I’m nearly 30, so if I go blind by 50, I don’t care much.

>>21966808
Ok.

>>21966811
It’s also a myth that it will hurt my eyes, chud. Read the scientific literature!!!
>But why are our eyes not damaged by the extra strain? To understand this, we need to take a glance at how our eyes work. When trying to make out letters in weak lighting conditions, two particular parts of the eye are used: the ciliary muscle, which needs to keep the lens taught in order to read letters, and the photoreceptors themselves. In dim or poor light, the light-sensitive rods are particularly important. They require a special pigment, rhodopsin, also known as visual purple. The molecular structure changes when the ambient light is reduced. The result: reading in dim light is much more strenuous. However, it doesn't damage the eyes, as they can relax and recover as soon as they are closed.

Unrealistic female characters are better.
It's fantasy, after all, and a man can dream...

/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.

>>21966829
Reddit women go on about how fantasy needs more female characters with periods, and I concur!

>>21966836
Well, I don't need more books where men clean their dick cheese, so I don't get the need for period(ic) women.

>>21966840
If your dick cheese becomes a frequent, monthly occurrence, it’s time to see the urologist!

>>21966845
Lol, it's more than monthly, but then, I was not jewed out of my foreskin like some people.

>>21966829
Female characters in books are the best because they are written by men starved for loving and caring women that will love them uncoditionaly. In literature a woman falls in love with you as long as you are a decent and not a total failure, which the fucks young men's heads because this is not how it works. Fantasy books written with romance plotlines should have mandatory warnings the same alcohol or cigarettes have, they are that fucking destructive.

>>21966855
Hmm, so bodice rippers and alike have similar effect to women?

>>21966849
You might have yeast or balanitis, bro. I’m intact but only get redness, never had dick cheese ever. Maybe clean and wank better!

>>21964454
>I just know those middle volumes were dreary and my engagement has only increased since he returned from Earth.
More power to you then bro. Like I said, him getting magical therapy for a book or two to sort himself out wouldn't be a problem, but it's Every. Fucking. Book.

Also I don't know if interaction with Star Phoenix turns one into a reality virus, because all of Jason's companions are slowly turning into a lesser version of him, mouthing off to powerful people, not showing respect, etc. It's getting tiring to see the buff knife ears behave like it's Jason. It's funny when stash does this shit, but not the others.

>>21966829
I like it when they're faithful and non-scheming, as unrealistic as that may be

>>21966855
>Female characters in books are the best because they are written by men starved for loving and caring women that will love them uncoditionaly.
That's pathetic af. Men who willingly read this trash deserve the rope.

>>21966598
> Knowing that the remaining two novels take a dip and end on a cliffhanger I think I'm done.
Honestly, I liked Chapterhouse better than God Emperor. Plus, I dont think the story ends in a massive cliffhanger.

So is the Dagger and the Coin series worth reading? I havent read anything by Daniel Abraham but some of his stuff gets recommended here.

>>21966983
look at those low effort covers

It’s kino…

>>21967068
Crackerman, help!

>>21966598
The author hit it big with Dune and wanted more money, which is a rare thing for authors to come by, and that’s why all these other books exist.

>>21966983
I think he's a great author. I've read 3 of his series and am reading a 4th right now. The Long Price, The Dagger and the Coin, The Expanse, and Kithamar. He has 5th series under a different name, but I'm not interested from what I've seen of it.

>>21966983
>>21967068
Jesus christ these covers make me psychically ill

>>21966983
>Everthing a fat cuck looks for in a fantasy
What a damning statement.

>>21967119
Modern readers are so sensitive they they can't control their seeting and screaming once they see a gay character. It's truly fascinating. For decades homosexual and other uncommon types of characters were included in fiction and people barely cared most of the time. You could diasgree, dislike it or whatever, but no one chimped out. Now the culture war brought those issues to the front and people are losing their damn minds. Not that agenda-focused books don't exist, but insane reactions upon seeing gay characters are excellent way to signal to others you are absolute retard incapable of engaging with fiction in a serious way.

>>21967119
And?

>>21966833
Is Bakker done? He hasn't been active online in the last three years. Last thing I heard was a post from his brother saying he's focused on his family right now.

Is it over No-God bros?

>>21967189
What if the character was written to be a mouth piece for the author to try to get cookie points?
I fap to tomgirl porn, so you can say I don't give a fuck about faggots, what I have a problem with is someone preaching at me through a book. I don't go to church, and I don't want no fagget preaching at me through my escapism books.

>>21965740
Which fantasy settings do elemental varieties of dragons the best?

this book was really good

>>21965908
Alright, thanks I'll check them out if I can find them for cheap

>>21967189
Modern readers are so sensitive they they can't control their seeting and screaming once they see a white straight male character. It's truly fascinating. For decades white straight males and other common types of characters were included in fiction and people barely cared most of the time. You could diasgree, dislike it or whatever, but no one chimped out. Now the culture war brought those issues to the front and people are losing their damn minds. Not that agenda-focused books don't exist, but insane reactions upon seeing white straight male characters are excellent way to signal to others you are absolute retard incapable of engaging with fiction in a serious way.

>>21965897
Maybe one day.
Feels like one of those books you don't need to read because you've heard about it everywhere and it's been copied a hundred times.

Thoughts on Lovecraft ability to draw kittens?
>"Between March and December 1936, Lovecraft wrote several letters to his next-door neighbor, Marian F. Bonner. The most frequent subject was the cats in the yards between their homes, dubbed by Lovecraft the “Κοµπων ’Αιλουρων Τάξισ” (Band of Elegant Cats)."

>>21967119
It's an automatic response, we cannot be held responsible and it's morally disingenuous to do so.
A bucket of maggots eating a cow's head and seeing homosexuals kiss produce the same response.

>>21967282
Bahamut Lagoon.
It's not /lit/, it's /v/

>>21967484
Very good.
Very cute.

>>21967549
Books with this vibe? And hopefully without the cuckoldry

>>21967564
Yeah I remember Princess Yoyo going for the guy who literally kidnapped her too.
Shit was a weird vibe for a 13 year old to take in.
And the homosexual old man who was all over you.
But at least you were a cool general who had a cool ship with a cool name.

>>21967354
>buying
lol

>>21967453
I felt this way about Dracula, but when I read it, it was very different than what I thought it would be.

>>21967453
I went on a Jules Verne binge a few years back, and all of the books are massively different than whatever Hollywood depiction you've gotten an impression of through cultural osmosis, with the exception of his best work - Around the World in 80 Days - which is pretty much exactly the same as the 1956 movie

>>21967601
>>21967617
I should know better too because I did that with Treasure Island, then I read it and it's a shitload more than "Yarr, x marks the spot!" In fact I don't think anybody ever says yarr.
Great characters in that book.

>>21967631
ngl the 1930s Wallace Beery movie is better than the 1950 Robert Newton one

>>21967601
>tfw the whole book wasn't just Harker in the castle
what could have been

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9be4bSZa4

>>21966764
My hot wife dictating the book to you.

>>21967702
Nice try. I’m a volcel monk of science fiction and fantasy.

Do you know what kind of books you like?

The more I think about it the less sure I am. I like books that are fun to read. But that's subjective. One of my favorite books features one of my most hated tropes and somehow it doesn't bother me.

Why does Erikson passionately deny that he drew no inspiration from Elric of Melnibone when creating Annomander Rake even though they're both mahes who have long white hair with badass soul eating swords? He even says he didn't grow up with Tolkien and he mostly read sword and sorcery stuff.

Been working through the original mistborn trilogy a second time a few years after my first. Has anyone tried editing it to take out the repetitive points and "character says what the writing implies"? I think the story is compelling but Sanderson has this remarkable tendency to write as if his chapters are meant to be consumed as audio, spaced days apart. It makes it a little maddening when you're binging as perhaps a fifth of the books are repetition. I really like his setups and payoffs but man sometimes you just gotta let the reader think. like the bits with Vinn hearing voices in her head from the jump as soon as we are shown her mother's earring, and any mention of her mother's insanity and parallel issue with hearing voices is a nice clever nudge, but I'm 100% certain sometime in the next few books Sanderson will mention it, elaborate on it, then have Vinn say aloud, "it was my mother's earring that put the deepness in my head OMG!" I enjoy the books by the repetition is so sloppy and annoying.

>>21967717
I like military sci-fi, but I've read most of the classics and the new ones have a bunch of woke shit in them, so I'm kinda wondering what to even read at this point.

>>21967823
I pretty much stopped reading new milscifi after reading Angles of Attack. Sad!

>>21967786
Maybe he doesn't want to get into legal trouble.

>>21967829
I'm still reading the Undying Mercenaries series. It's cheesy and has toxic masculinity cranked up to 11, just like God intended.

>>21966734
Terrible prose. Author didn't even watch a 3 min video about point of views. Literal low tier fanfiction prose.

>>21967823
Have you read Undying Mercenaries? It was a thing here once, and it's pretty fun. No wokeness and the first bunch are great. Later books settle into a B+/- groove but blame capitalism.

>>21967936
Ah
Should have read ahead to >>21967896

>>21967896
Have you read his other stuff? The first few are wonky but when it hits its groove I almost prefer Star Force to Undying Mercenaries (if only for Hoon and Marvin). MC is quite similar.

>>21967896
>>21967936
>>21967941
>>21967963

>>21966221
What the fuck I literally just started dune and read this part yesterday.
Why is it everytime I start something new and get on /lit/ I see that someone else has also just started?? Am I being cyberstalked? Am I that unoriginal?

>>21967968
lmao

>>21967981
>read the book read by more than literally any other in /sffg/ on an ongoing basis
>why is this happening to me?!

>>21967968
>reading a male protagonist and looking for "bad ass females"
Go look for female authors or female protags if you want that toxic femininity

>>21967968
The sad thing is that isn't even true. His own daughter is a badass killer. There's the hacker chick, the stalker chick, the power hungry schemer chick...they're all over the place.

are his books really THAT bad?

>>21968039
You are missing the point, it's scifi book writtem by a male, but instead of scifi and action adventure author write some coomer fantasy about females.

>>21967786
desu i had not heard of eric of melbourne until some time after reading malazan, i assumed the inspiration for rake was just some OC drow leader sorcerer, honestly if you are trying to make a cool edgy character he ticks all the boxes for young men playing dnd
if he says he didnt take inspiration from eric i believe it

>>21968067
You must be thinking of another series as that one is miltitary sci-fi and entirely about going from one alien world to the next and blowing shit up.

Worth the Candle #1: Through Adversity

[Synopsis]

The last thing Juniper Smith remembers before waking up aboard a plane, strapped to a seat with his mouth sealed, was passing notes in class. Surrounded by others, he's informed that he is a CRIMINAL that will be dropped into the Exclusion Zone. Should he make it to a place called 'the outpost' his crimes will be forgiven and he'll be given passage to a city. Dumped out of the plane and barely landing safely, he receives an achievement and learns of a skill menu that allows him to distribute stat points. Before he can make sense of what's going on he encounters other survivors... and the zombies that are stalking them.

After encountering an oddly capable woman and teaming up with her to get to Silmar City, he begins making realizations to the world that he's in. For instance... that woman Amaryllis is too perfect, as if someone took his idea of his personal 'dream girl' and made her manifest. The history she speaks of and the magic that she wields, all of it is starting to feel awfully familiar. These are all places and concepts that he created for a DnD game back in the real world. His group fell apart after the death of his best friend Arthur, but it seems that Arthur's character persisted on in this world.

Amaryllis herself is one of his descendants, looking to claim a legacy of magical items that they left behind. After Juniper is near death and more of a burden to her than a benefit, she abandons him... only for Juniper to level-up shortly after. With each level-up comes exuberant bliss as a golden light washes through him, healing all of his wounds and bringing him back into fighting shape. Struggling to survive in Silmar City, it's there that he meets a young half-elf girl named Fenn. Juniper learns that Fenn is being compelled to help a group of adventurers looking for Amaryllis...

And is soon compelled too, Skin Magic used to put a deadly tattoo around his neck. Should the Mage activate it, it will bite into his neck and sever his carotid. Receiving a quest that he needs to kill the Skin Mage before being killed himself, Fenn and he team up to move forward... and save Amaryllis from the party they're trapped in. After all, she's their only means of escape from this zombie-infested hell.

[Thoughts]

Very enjoyable, tempted to pick up the sequels sooner rather than later. The premise of entering your own DnD world that's developed on its own is pretty intriguing, making a basic character act like a 'god' as he holds information standard characters would not have. The system is your standard points/skills/talents spread, this one following a tabletop motif as opposed to others with their MMO stylings. The main character rationalizes what would be dump stats or misdirects in the system and that amount if depth isn't too cumbersome, save for one chapter near the end that's entirely stat math. Fenn and Juniper are solid characters and I enjoy their dynamic much more than others.

8/10

>>21967992
I guess, but to be on the same page on almost the same day?
I've also experienced this for elric, m&d, beowulf, titus groan, and book of the short sun. They're popular series sure but it's crazy how we never pay attention to others mentioning them until we ourselves get invested.

>>21968297
Just about done with Battle Mage Farmer. Pretty good... litRPG version of Beware of Chicken with Clint Eastwood as the protagonist. More of a 'homesteading after the great war' vibe than 'fleeing the sect' though.

>Lord of the Mysteries by Cuttlefish – 9/10
>Dungeon Crawler Carl Series by Matt Dinniman - 9/10
>Cradle Series by Will Wight - 8/10
>Worth the Candle by Alex Wales - 8/10
>Mother of Learning Series - 8/10
>Ave Xia Rem Y by Mat Haz - 8/10
>All The Skills by Honour Rae - 7.5/10
>Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor and Luke Chmilenko - 7/10
>Chrysalis by RinoZ - 7/10
>Forge of Destiny by Yrsillar - 7/10
>A Thousand Li by Tao Wong - 7/10
>Retribution Engine by Akaso - 6/10
>Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer – 6/10
>Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe - 6/10
>Wandering Inn by Pirateaba - 6/10
>Virtuous Sons by Ya Boy - 6/10
>Bastion by Phil Tucker - 6/10
>Heaven's Laws by Apollos Thorne - 6/10
>I Shall Seal The Heavens by Er Gen - 5/10
>Reverend Insanity by Gu Zhen Ren - 5/10
>Soulhome by Sarah Lin - 5/10
>Soulship by Nathan Thompson - 4/10
>Azarinth Healer #1 by Rhaegar - 3/10
>Reincarnation: Threads by Michael Head - 3/10
>Portal to Nova Roma by JR Mathews - Dropped
>He Who Fights Monsters by Shirtaloon - Dropped
>The Elevation Chronicles by Captain Capslock - Dropped
>Last Ship in Suzhou by Lungs - Dropped
>Defiance of the Fall by J.F. Brink - Dropped

>Still Reading (Cultivation)
18. The Human Emperor
19. Way of Choices by Mao Ni
20.

>Still Reading (LitRPG)
13. Battle Mage Farmer
14. Re-Start (Level Up Series)
15. Dissonance
16. The Primal Hunter
17.
18.
19.
20.

Any recommendations, fellers? Still haven't read Rascor Plains... Trying to make my peace with Travis Baldree so I can grab more of my listed titles on audible.

>>21966855
>Fantasy books written with romance plotlines should have mandatory warnings the same alcohol or cigarettes have, they are that fucking destructive
I thought this verbatim recently. Oh well, waifufaggotry makes me excited regardless of how fucked the dynamic between men and women is IRL. Young asocial kids are not helped by this kind of writing for sure though. Guaranteed PTSD.

>>21968297
>Convicted criminal is dropped out of a plane (why, why not just kill him?)
>If he makes it to some local town his crimes will be suddenly forgiven. (Why?)
>Then of course he encounters a woman and teams up with her.
typical nonsensical litrpg plot. Pure garbage.

i like the wheel of time

>>21968316
>Any recommendations, fellers?
for cultivation read Sovereign of Three Realms. Somewhat similar to Human Emperor. It's more traditional chinese xanxia with less politics, there is love a love story (which I didn't like at all but coomers love it), all in all it's a very comfy action/adventure story, also translation is excelent, no worse than Human Emperor and maybe even better.
For asian fantasy read Genius Warlock. It's an ongoing series that is not cultivation, I found to be interesting and somewhat unique, not like other asian fantasy.

Picrel, Someone’s fantasy, but not mine KEK

>>21967786
There's been so many Elric ripoffs over the decades it's possible he was influenced by one of them and not Elric directly.

>>21967484
Little niggermans.

I want to write a book about cute robots. Anyone have any good recommendations for work I can get inspired by?

>>21968378
he cute

>>21968333
I remember seeing the walls of shelves with it in 2005 and calling it slop then.

>>21968368
Sexy vampiresess could be my fantasy.

>>21968067
Sold lol.

>>21968297
FUCK THIS SHIT
shit fucking sucked
it was NOT worth the candle

May the Light illumine you, /sffg/

>>21968394
kek but lot lizzards thought?

>>21968387
Stanisław Lem's Moral Engines
The Deep John Crowley
R A Laffery's Arrive at Easterwine

>>21968316
How many books do you read a year?
How can I stop being a retard and wasting 16 hours a day doing nothing, watching Youtube, and... I don't even know how hours go missing sometimes like the last 2, I didn't even watch a video...
If I'm gonna be a neet I should use this time to hammer through books.

>>21968618
Are you addicted to tv/4chan? Pron? Just force yourself to read but it sounds like you don't really like reading.

>>21968624
I asked because I'm reading and am 3/4 of the way through a book right now and it's the most fun I've had all year. I just wonder why I don't do it more.
Maybe it is 4chan and pron.

>>21968618
I tend to get overexcited and daydream about books more than I read them. It's a problem.

>>21965897
20000 leagues under the sea is my favorite book of all time and the only book I have ever read more than once. I picked up the b&n shifty cover version when I was 10 and still have it 15 years later

>>21968316
>>21968297
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>21968708
he makes me afraid of putting my royal road novel on sffg. What if you guys call it shit? How would I ever live with myself?

>>21968730
If you're that afraid of criticism you'll never make it as writer.

>>21968730
your story IS shit, as soon as you accept that you can gmi

>>21968737
>>21968738
I only have a 40% retention rate between chapter one and chapter two.

It's over isn't it?

>>21967786
Have you actually read Malazan?

>>21968368
>lot lizards
that's a peculiar title. was it chosen on purpose?

>>21968730
>>21968744
if you read litrpg royal royad trash then you're automatically subhuman

>>21968744
You're not going to make it if you're autistic about retention rate instead of actually writing and improving.

>>21968744
As soon as you put it on Royal Road, it was over, so retard-rate doesn't matter. Don't be a pussy. Post your story.

>>21968754
Probably it was chosen on purpose and it worked because it caught my eye KEK I thought it was hilarious and wanted to share

>>21968754
more like this? asking for a friend

>>21965740
Oooooohhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....

The shadow walking scenes in Chronicles of Amber were excessively bloated. The whole book could be trimmed to half it's size and be better.

The author should have set fire to his manuscripts of the second book the moment he wrote the name of his protagonist as Merlin.

Do the climaxes of these books get any better? I've only finished the first three so far, but it seems like every book spends hundreds of pages building up to a massive showdown with multiple characters & factions colliding, only to quickly wrap the thing up in half a dozen pages.

Do the climaxes of these books get any better? I've only finished the first three so far, but it seems like every book spends hundreds of pages building up to a massive showdown with multiple characters & factions colliding, only to quickly wrap the thing up in half a dozen pages.

does anyone have scifi/fantasy novel recs that dont have this overly cheery/pop culture atmosphere around them, but arent exactly horror/shock novels?

>>21968920
bakker

>>21965740
What is the Blood Meridian of fantasy? Just finished all of the Conan stories and want something darker and heavier.

>>21968926
The Prince of Nothing
The Black Company
The Night Land, although an acquired taste

>>21968926
Literally "The First Law" trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.

>>21968297
Oh man, if only you knew half the weird stuff WtC gets up to. I've never seen a story so meta before, especially at the end where it goes full schizo and becomes retro-actively even weirder. More than just a litrpg story, Worth the Candle is literature. Mogs most of the stories out-of-the-box through sheer depth of storytelling.

Btw, I recommend reading the story on RR or AO3 or wherever, I heard the author had to adjust some things or change names due to copyrights, as such some things will be made worse for the published version, like lack of Shia LaBeouf.

The korean cover you used is absolutely cursed, in the best way.

>>21968330
>Convicted criminal is dropped out of a plane (why, why not just kill him?)
>If he makes it to some local town his crimes will be suddenly forgiven. (Why?)
Because it's a zombie-infested death-zone and you are senteced to 'Trial by Adversity'. The government want the zone restored, eventually, so they need people to cleanse it and having convicts do that is acceptable for both parties as they get to life somewhat miserable ways in the zone clearing everything while also getting to have a job and live, with sentence eventually nullified (they still can't leave the zone IIRC, forced to live there)

Basically, it's just a fantasy version of hardcore prison labour. Convicts have been used for dangerous stuff as long as humanity existed, from working mines, being sent to Australia to settle the land or recently by Russia to fight on Ukraine. Nothing unbeliveable about this.

>>21968920
Worm

Just bought VG hardcover copies of Warrior Prophet and Thousandfold Thought for less than $30 USD. Do I reign supreme? It would have been nice to get Darkness That Comes Before as well, but the hardcovers for those go for $75-100 USD.

>>21968316
>Any recommendations, fellers?

You still haven't read Infinite Realm: Monsters&Legends? One of the best LitRPG around, but it's more of a Cultivation story than LitRPG. Solid story, in-depth exploration of Cultivation and other power systems, interesting world-building and above all serious characters. When I think about top LitRPGs, Infinity Realms is up there.

Other than than that:
Rock Falls, Everyone Dies: A LitRPG Story - Funny, fast-paced, entertaining and without filler. A quick 130 pages-long LitRPG story about a rock Cultivating.

Never Die Twice - A book about a Necromancer obsessed with trying to stop death itself and grant everyone immortality, whatever the cost. Self-contained, no trillogy or series. One of Void Herald's best works in my opinion (you still haven't touched any VD's works, right? Vainqueur the Dragon, The Perfect Run, NDT, Kairos: A Greek Myth LitRPG...The author's a solid writer, not my favourite but he's known for good stories that get finished).

Street Cultivation - A Cultivation story set in a modern setting very alike USA. One of the more known Cultivation stories, although very different from the usual schitck of epic fights and defying the Heavans. Just a story about a normal guy that fights to make ends, but inadvertently gets into something way bigger than he wanted. Written by a Woman, and it shows, but is a good contrast for the rest of the genre and worth reading just for that. It's a trillogy, but if it falls off a bit with the second book just to eventually ending up decent with the third. I recommnd it just for the first book, though.

>>21967786
Because Anomander was his Drow warrior in an old D&D campaign (the era referenced to as Malazan's pre-history).

>>21969050
>Street Cultivation

>>21968905
It gets both worse and better. But you don't stick with WoT unless you're into delayed gratification.

How did Wheel of Time fans feel about Sanderson's books?

>>21969084
Lemme quickly poll every single person who read WoT

>>21968330
>Convicted criminal is dropped out of a plane (why, why not just kill him?)

>>21968752
soon brother! soon

>>21969129
Would unironically descend into insanity if I had to read on a device this thick and cumbersome. i prefer my phone, thank you very much.

>>21969152
spoken like a true retard, quite the exquisite bait anon

Just finished Project Hail Mary.
I can't give informative reviews but I liked it a lot!
Even though it's mostly 2 people talking it's a lot more fun when there are... circumstances to that communication.
Any recs based off of me liking it? Not The Martian, I already read 3/4 of that and watched the movie.
Spoilers:
Like most stories I wish we got to see what happens at the end. How is humanity doing? How's Stratt? How's the atmosphere on Venus? And of course I thought that the alien in this book was going to be a big gaseous system wide cloud so I thought that whole 90% sunlight thing was going to have more to it as to why it stopped there specifically. But I love a happy ending.

>>21966598
>>21966674
>>21966679
>>21966646
filtered retards circlejerking each other. Just discarding messiah makes you absolute drooling moron because it's what makes first dune book actually good.
As for GE only people who kvetch about it are buttblasted faggots who got called out.

>>21968730
I've heard every single pornstar mentioned on this site called shit.
Every one of them, over the ~16 years I've been here. From Lexi Belle to Belle Delphine.
Everything EVER has been called shit, with the sole exception of RollerCoaster Tycoon.

>>21968744
I thought about writing a summary of each chapter so it sticks in my head but I think I'm just happy with, "I enjoyed The Three Musketeers, I thought it was funny how Aramis tried to shut everybody up when they talked about his "possible" ladies." I remember D'Artagnon bumping into them. I remember Constance at the nunnery, I remember the fort, and that's about it. And some vague pictures of streets in Paris.
I enjoyed Blindsight, the alien was alien. Vampires, smooth automated space robots, feet thick space suits, 5 personality lady.
Etc.

>>21968730
>you guys
It's one spamming newfag who doesn't even read books.

>>21969239
>RollerCoaster Tycoon.
It's shit.

>>21969282
That doesn't work.
It's a universal law. It's written in Assembly, it is proven {by math} that you are merely jesting.
Go ahead. Fire up windows ME and tell me I'm wrong. The 90's merely exist to hold RollerCoaster Tycoon.

>>21969273
Reviewfag seethe
All shitrpgs are trash. all reviewfags are self important midwits who deserve all they get

>>21968048
>no, stalker child, you may NOT post about my books on 4channel and you ARE going to jail.

Weirdest ending to a book I can remember... I'm an unironic schizo so seeing him at this level of artistry makes me doubt he was at all crazy. Maybe he was weird as shit, but nothing about his interweaved plots and execution make him seem insane. I think the religious themes just rub people the wrong way.

>>21969401
Nah, he was definitely mentally ill. It's just that he was a brilliant author besides that.

>>21969403
Amphetamine psychosis isn't schizophrenia, although it presents the same. I feel like he became sane again, since he seemed pretty lucid even up until his death, even he was rambling crazily at the Metz address.

>>21968744
A huge chunk of people never do more than the first look at something, especially if that something is free. Webseries have a massive drop-off after the first episode, webnovels have a big drop-off after the first chapter, etc.

>>21969050
Infinite Realm is a weird one, where I like it but it's also marred by a fairly notable lack of writing ability. Author has some grand ideas and worldbuilding and makes these characters feel pretty well-realised, but goddamn is his writing amateurishly okay at best. I also disagree that it's "more a cultivation story". It blends the two fairly well, with each protagonist focusing more on one than the other.
Also it just seems to not really have a clear 'story'? Like stuff just kind of happens and there's maybe one actual story arc and I guess one potential main villain but it's really just kind of 'things going on'.

>>21969406
I did not even mention schizophrenia once, you're skipping your meds again my dude.

>>21969429
VALIS, Divine Invasion, and Transmigration all mention schizophrenia. It's a massive theme. Usually, Dick seems to bring it up either as how people perceive divine inspiration, or how the state of the world is senseless (seemingly from Gnostic points of view). In the first instalment, Horselover Fat's literally in a psych ward for schizophrenia. I feel like Dick was commenting on how people viewed him.

/x/ was right...

https://locusmag.com/2023/04/2023-locus-awards-top-ten-finalists-2/

Which of the locus stories are the best stories?/

>>21969426
Fair critique, and I agree in part. Ivan Kal has ambition to write a story this large with myriad of characters and PoVs, but not quite the grasp on how to do it. Still, it's a good attempt, definitely much better than most of the stuff I see day by day. It's one of those stories you criticise for what went WRONG, rather than how they SUCK.

>>21969523
Yeah, that's fair. I'm not saying it's overall bad, it's just notable for how ambitious the story feels sometimes. Also I feel like the author just didn't know what to do with Zach for the first three books so him getting stuck in a mind-prison for 5000 subjective years to give him a personality shift felt a little... Out of nowhere but also probably just done to give him something to do with Zach.
I appreciate how there's nothing quite like it, though, it's very much a unique 'thing' even as derivative as it feels (and sometimes it just very blatantly lifts stuff from other things, the two aspects of Death are just so blatantly Kindred from League of Legends it's hilarious), but as a complete package I can't think of anything really like it.

>>21968974
Based on that cover it and what you typed it looks like it becomes fanfiction, not metafiction.

Metafiction died in the 80s. I've heard idiots say that simply having a self aware title makes something metafiction. It beggars belief.

>tfw when plagiarism becomes normalized and even applauded because the author comes from a fanfiction, or often self-published in general, background

>>21969556
>Based on that cover it and what you typed it looks like it becomes fanfiction, not metafiction.
The author is known for writing solid fan-fcition, like popular The Metropolitan Man about Super-Man, so you are close to a mark, but no, the story is nowhere near anything fan-fiction (I personaly dislike 99% of fanfictions with rare exceptions like The Purple Days that's a solid, inspiring story and brings a closure for people into ASOIAF).

The cover is a meme, but the story itself is a deconstruction of classical adventure and harem/litrpgs stories, especially the nature of stories and cyclical Call to Adventure etc. It is strongly recommended to be aware of typical fantasy tropes or stories before reading WtC as otherwise a lot of things may seem abstract and unrelatable.

>>21969628
And this sounds like you're just trying fluff it up to make it seem more palatable in literary terms, and/or convince yourself that it's more than what it is. There's no need to do that. Accept it for what it is and for why you you enjoy it.

>My little lesbian can't be this ruthless and sociopathic.

>>21969661
"Literally"
-- NPR

>>21969528
>Zach goes from one of the most boring characters to one of the most interesting
Why can't more cultivation/etc stories feature personality shifts after a time change?

>>21969661
Unfortunately the end of the first book completely nerfs her to address those concerns.

>>21969705
Because it's utterly idiotic, as in most everything in those works.

>>21969715
The concept? How so? It's utterly idiotic to remain the same exact person after 1000000 years cultivating.

>>21969722
Because if it's a metaphor it's idiotic to treat it literally. If it's literal it's 100% the dumbest thing. The world continues on around them. Why aren't they attacked during that time? Why would anything be the same afterwards? What if the protagonist wants to attack the enemy but they're blocked by someone saying "Sorry, but you have wait a million years first until he's ready." It's just the worst sort of nonsense.

Which stand alone Alister Reynolds should I start with? Or best to go straight into Redemption series?

>>21969705
I actually really liked Zach at first, I just felt the author didn't know how to utilise him. I like how he's an uncomplicated heroic guy in a world that doesn't really fit those rules, and he tried to make those two coincide together before eventually breaking down and going "fuck it, I'll just make my own nation".

>>21969753
>people changing over time is dumb
Okay, anon. I hope you get through the rest of your day without difficulty.

>>21966221
>Galacian
What does this mean? Is their planet called Galaxy? This is almost as stupid as Earth being lost despite Herbert mentioning in the appendices that half the planets are within two dozen light-years of earth

>>21969776
People change over time through experience, by which I mean interactions with the world. Thinking everything changes through meditation basically is some weird psuedo-religious nonsense.

>>21969804
Galicia. Surely Galaxy is an autocorrect mistake.

>>21969705
because these kinds of "novels" are written exclusively by autistic shutins and the chinese, neither of which are capable of comprehending changing one's behavior

>>21969804
Galatia

>>21969768
House of Suns is good.

>>21969159
I got tired of it by the end, but it was objectively well-crafted
There should be more books with similar kinds of starting premises

>>21965900
it makes sense, especially because it preserves the Reveals of the Robots, Spacers and such, until after the Foundation Story is done, but resolves it before going into Foundation and Earth - honestly a pretty sensible Narrative Structure if you ask me

>>21969804
due to the nature of how Space Travel actually works by the time of the DUNE story, actual Distance is not as important my boy, and History has been Subjected to many a Djihad cleansing unwanted unorthodox information.

>>21966598
good call. One just needs to be aware that the books decline steadily after the second or third, and rather rapidly imho - bail while you can, I also kinda conned myself into reading more than I actually enjoyed in hindsight

>>21968752
oh man just fuck off
Gardens of the Moon is as good as that series gets, and it just cheats you into continual reading, until eventually you're five books deep and realize how disgusted you've become with yourself over having persisted this long and deep into that drivel

>>21969968
second this
actually the first one of his I ever read
beautiful

Are there any time-travel stories about people from the PAST coming to the PRESENT? Like ancient Romans being transported to 20th century New York or Wild West cowboys in a modern suburb? Usually it's always vice versa, or else from the present to the future. Or for that matter, isekais from the real-world into the fantasy-world, and never the tiefling rogue or orc barbarian into the Japanese high school drama.

>>21970327
The Devil is a Part Timer

>>21970335
I was just being comedic for the sake of explanation, the last thing I want to read is something written by an Asian.

>>21970327
I can think of several tv series, and other media, but no books come to mind at the moment other than romance ones for women.

>>21970327
never seen it but there's look who's back about hitler

>>21970365
>other than romance ones for women.
I'm willing to give those a chance provided they aren't Chuck Tingle degrees of bad.

>>21967340
What is it about?

How do I rid myself of anime-brain? Whenever I read a fantasy book I imagine all the characters and everything as anime/manga

>>21970511
it's over

>>21970511
>he asked on the anime website

>>21970489
>Exiled exorcist Lucian Negru deserted his lover in Hell in exchange for saving his sister Catarina's soul, but Catarina doesn't want salvation. She wants Lucian to help her fulfill her dark covenant with the Fallen Angels by using his power to open the Hell Gates. Catarina intends to lead the Fallen's hordes out of Hell and into the parallel dimension of Woerld, Heaven's frontline of defense between Earth and Hell. When Lucian refuses to help his sister, she imprisons and cripples him, but Lucian learns that Rachael, the lover he betrayed and abandoned in Hell, is dying from a demonic possession. Determined to rescue Rachael from the demon he unleashed on her soul, Lucian flees his sister, but Catarina's wrath isn't so easy to escape!

This actually turns into a portal fantasy where a young girl from earth gets sucked into this setting and has to help the protagonist exorcise demons

>>21968378
>>21968391
https://jurn.link/tentaclii/index.php/2022/03/19/some-notes-on-the-cole-letters/

What happened to the prior thread? Someone started talking about Iain Banks books and the thread vanished

>>21970327

The Dark Tower has some of that, especially in Drawing of the Three.

Any writers similar to Lois McMaster Bujold (Five Gods, Vorkosigan), Robin Hobb (Farseer) or Katherine Addison (The Goblin Emperor).
I love their prose and character development, though I could do without Hobb's tendency to psychologically torture her main characters all the time.

>>21970637
To be precise I'm not actually interested in the fantastical element, I was merely using it as an example to illustrate the comparative lack of content relative to the other direction of the genre - what I'm actually looking for is Abraham Lincoln or Frederick Douglass witnessing how blacks in the present handle themselves, or how Scheherezade would appreciate electrical home refrigerators, or Vikings in awe of modern skyscrapers, or a Roman family wondering at how Christianity came to dominate European society, or something of that sort. I'm not genuinely that interested in Morgan le Fay popping out of Arthurian myth to start slutting around in 1920s speakeasies or Jack the Ripper being an intergalactic energy being to appear in a Star Trek episode.

>>21970654
C. Dale Brittain gives me Bujold vibes

>>21970672
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17289087-look-who-s-back
I only saw the movie. It was alright.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11983499-taft-2012
I read this on a whim seeing it at library a long time ago. I didn't like though.

How do I make it less shit.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/67568/a-knight-of-valora-serenity

>>21970688
I saw the Look Who's Back movie, it was alright
a Taft-based book is ridiculous but based as hell, I have to see that shit

>>21970672
Some other stuff that may be of interest:
El ministerio del tiempo / The Ministry of Time
Beforeigners

I'd have to think of what else. Maybe some time travel anthologies. I'm sure I've seen read and seen various other things. I just don't remember at the moment.

>>21970699
The taft book was shit because the author barely did any research on taft except he was fat. Seriously 2/3 of the book was him eating. His policies and rhetoric were nowhere to be found. The book was supposed to have him destroy both the Neo cons and DNC, but ended up him just fucking eating all the time

>>21970722
awww that sucks

>>21968330
I'm parsing things down for post length, but the other anon's further explanation covers it well.

>>21968366
I'll give these a look, thanks for the recommendation. Genius Warlock might be a nice change of pace.

>>21968437
I don't know, man. Even if Fenn was a sloot she was an endearing kind of sloot, couldn't help but think her characterization with Juniper made it... worth the candle.

>>21968618
So far this year I'm at 20 titles? I'm completely outpaced by other reviewers though, lucky to finish a book a week. Most of my work day is driving, so I listen to audiobooks for a good 4 hours of the day.

>>21968708
Thanks man.

>>21968730
I try to be constructive with my criticism of royal road titles personally recommended here. I still want to go back to Retribution Engine despite myself... Don't be afraid, little fellah.

>>21968974
Drives me up a wall when titles change from RR/AO3 to publication. I'll make sure to read the rest from there. Good looking out.

>>21969050
Haven't read an Ivan Kal title yet but I've heard a lot about him... I'll add that to the list and will check out the rest. I gave a different Sarah Lin story a try and wasn't impressed, which made me hesitate with Street Cultivation. Soulhome, iirc? Boring as fuck and led to my hatred of Travis Baldree.


>>21970690
You finally posted it... HELL yeah. Will read and review it later this week.

>>21970865
If you didn't like Soulhome you probably won't like Street Cultivation either. Rick (I think that's the protag's name) is a more interesting protagonist than Theo, but he's simultaneously a less exciting one, because he's somehow incredibly averse to actually getting involved with anything interesting. The first book ends with him reflecting on how much he's changed and I looked at that and went "What? No he hasn't. He's literally the same person getting jerked around by the plot".
Also the 'modernisation of cultivation' concept is one of those things that's only interesting conceptually. In practice it's really bland.

>>21970865
I can't tell if you've finished WTC or not, but man does it get melodramatic and annoyingly self indulgent towards the end
it was so fucking annoying to read

>no one reads the classics of SF anymore

>>21970909
we're literally the same old farts posting over the years, anon

we can't keep pretending to be new every few months just to talk about them again

>>21970909
They do. Apparently not enough to your preference though and what is classic to you may not be to others, unless you mean some other's popularized idea of classic.

>>21970690
>https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/67568/a-knight-of-valora-serenity
From the blurb, your story sounds exhausting. Like, these days if I see a story I want to see something concrete. Your description doesn't seem interesting at all. If you want to be generic, you at least need to sound fun or entertaining. This just sounds like something demanding a time investment that MAYBE will give something back, and it will definitely not be something I haven't seen hundreds of times before.

In comparison, an average LitRPG on RoyalRoad, even in its most cliche set-up story, will at least give me some numbers going up or entertaining cliches. An OP MC beating up arrogant nobles, flexing his insane power against normies, progressing through sheer bullshit and coincidences...These things are cliche because they are ENTERTAINING.

A Knight of Valora's decription sounds like a blind date - you might get something that will not leave you disappointment, but risk-reward calculation just works against you.

GIVE ME SOMETHING INTERESTING. Where's your hook? Just look at this seriously and critically:

>Adah Phenric took a vow to protect the world from any threats when she took an oath as a Knight of Valora. All was well until she and her team were sent on a routine mission to hunt a monster, but things go awry and Adah finds herself to be the sole survivor. Unconvinced her comrades are dead, she ventures out into the world to uncover the reasons for their disappearance. Coming in contact with a mysterious merchant, her investigation leads her to uncover a plot that threatens the world and discover the nature of the Goddess herself. Armed with nothing but her wits, friends, and a bit of magic, Adah commits to bringing the culprits to justice. For duty binds all.

You are an average reader. You've probably read at least some stories, can recall most genre tropes without issue. Would you pause your search for new stories to read if I saw this? A random story blurb that offers the generic experience? Not even certaintly that it is competent as no one has commented or rated it before?

Some female knight is a part of X group. She goes to do a thing and things go awry. Some random characters are missing. Some things might be afoot. Then generic ending statemenet. Seriously, would you give a story with description like this the time of your day? It's tofu of stories. Utterly bland.

Don't know what to tell you, do something controversial. Commit to an idea that might please some readers and antagonize others. Even a story where the MC is a wilful cuck would have more chance to succeed because it stands for SOMETHING and offers a distinct experience. It doesn't need to be original, just not utterly generic.

Like, unironically ask ChatGPT for ideas and how compelling blurbs for stories sound. It might actually explain it to you better than me.

>>21970690
>female lead
Why does royalroastie attract so many people who want to write female protagonists?

>>21970690
>female protagonist
biggest mistake, RR shit lit is like masturbatory wank

I doubt women would go on there to read shit

>>21970932
The most successful stories on RR have female protagonists, what crack are you on. And it's because anything with 'female' next to it makes male neurons activate, except most RR writers are young shy males with social phobia who probably never held a girl's hand, resulting in utterly unvonvincing portrayal of women, males in female bodies at most.

>>21970971
on yeah? those are shit! SHIT I TELL YOU

>>21970929
It fit the narrative better. I can't possibly have a male MC go around trying to kill his sister now can I?

>>21970984
why not?

>>21970909
But anon, I literally read Non-Stop and Hot House just last week

Do you judge everything the same way? Is it better to rate self-published works on a curve?

>>21970971
>anything with 'female' next to it makes male neurons activate
I don't understand this, I watch porn just like most other guys but reading fiction about females is just tiresome, if it's not some tired traditional trope then it's lgbt feminist subversion which is just as bad. Why do authors think that to write good scifi/fantasy adventure a female character is necessary? It seems to me that most authors can't even write (interesting) interactions between males, infact they have to include females to advance the story, connect different male characters and connect and advance one subplot to the next, and they can only do it by writing a female to act as inbetween.

>>21971004
>Do you judge everything the same way
Yes.

>Is it better to rate self-published works on a curve?
No
This would make them continue making the mistakes. Criticism is what makes us better. If you just handhold the author so you don't hurt his feels, he will continue putting out mediocre shit. You can see it on amazon, people giving books 5 stars, but then saying it isn't really good but they are giving the author the stars so he can feel better.
They can say it's he algorithm or w/e, but I am not giving a shit book stars it doesn't deserve because amazon will be mean to them if they don't get 5 stars.

>>21969813
I don't know. I woke up after a dream where my older cat is still alive and was waiting for me outside of my bedroom door and I'm in a way about it. I was putting my socks on and about to open the door and everything until I woke up. If only I didn't have toe socks I might have been able to throw them on faster and hold her.

>>21970327

>>21970987
There's a chapter where the MC gets captured by bandits. I have very little desire to write bandits fondling the MCs cock and balls. Nothing wrong if you lie that, but not for me
>>21970921
I can't possibly give away the plot twist in the story. I went with the Metal Gear Solid blurb route.

MGS blurb was Snake is sent on a mission to Shadow Moses to destroy the top secret weapon known as metal gear.

But the real plot was he was sent there as a training mission to gather nano bots and clones. That can't be all given away!

>>21971062
>There's a chapter where the MC gets captured by bandits. I have very little desire to write bandits fondling the MCs cock and balls. Nothing wrong if you lie that, but not for me
Dropped.

>>21971068
But you never picked it up.

DESU, I didn't expect this level of misogyny here that ssfg seethes the moment the MC is female

>>21971074
Don't get uppity or I'll actually rate it to show my displeasure.

we definitely needed another 2016+ newfag to visit /sffg/!

>>21970909
Because it's generic and bad. I only read sci Fi if there's progression and excel worksheets

>>21971082
I honestly didn't know this demographic wanted strong male MC in the vein of Conan.

>>21970511
This but for stooping imagining rooms where multiple people have to stay as my elementary school gymnasium with cots.

>>21971074
bruh it's because this whole thing is soulless. i found this thread less than 2 minutes ago, read the first paragraph, and instantly knew what type of writer you are and what type of stories you will write.
>>I can't possibly have a male MC go around trying to kill his sister now can I?
and things like this only further confirm my thinking.
you made the mc female for bogus reasons just like you made this story for bogus reasons. now you don't need to write (what is this, a book, fanfiction? idk never heard of RR until now, only read actual books) for like a friend or for some super emotional reason.
but holy shit please put some soul into your work next time. come back when you get better.

>>21970909
ngl most "classic" SF is genuinely pretty bad

>>21971062
>I can't possibly write an interesting premise because it would give the twist away.
Bro. You need a deep soul-searching. You need to make your story presentable. One cnanot simply expect a reader to fall for a mediocre blurb just to find something interesting, it's the other way around. You can keep a reader if the story isn't shit if you first bait him, but who on Earth would want to read an uninteresting at a first glance story?

>>21970921
>That image
>Writers: "It's sunset"
>Your brain: *fills in everything effortlessly*

>>21971111
>>21971101
Fair enough. I'll rewrite the blurb.

>>21970690
>Adah Phenric took a vow to protect the world
lost me there

>>21970909
>>21971104
I vaguely remember reading The Gods Themselves but I can't remember what actually happened in it.

>>21970875
Her systems seem interesting but her character execution leaves a lot to be desired. Don't think I'll bother with it but I'll consider the other titles.

>>21970887
Only Book 1. I didn't mind the melodrama around Arthur and Juniper's friendship, but that scene near the end where Reimer gets on his ass for dating Tiff behind the group's back was odd and out of place. I also don't give a good goddamn about Amaryllis given her nature, so I'm not looking forward to that relationship being developed. Grahk also hasn't had any time to grow on me and it also feels like a 'here's a dwarf to round out the party...' add-on. I've got GRIPES but it was a strong enough start.

>>21970511
Look up art of the characters

>>21966016
Unredeemable reddit tier trash

The setting and premise is alright, but the character interaction are painful to read and make no sense.

>>21971101
I would like to know what type of writer I am, and why do you hate female MCs so much. I would listen to your criticisms, but to be fair, your criticisms are meaningless without substance and to use your term "soul"

>>21968905
They are consistently the worst part of the series. The climaxes are shit and the villains are utterly nonthreatening.

>>21971255
The type that doesn't know how to write an interesting male character.

Has anybody read this? Is this OK or stinky feces?

>>21971029
Maybe they're hoping to publish some day.

>>21971396
It's surprising read a lot and liked for something new, but that only says that about those who have. The most recent book was the most read of any book last year for /sffg/. For more details look at the /sffg/ Goodreads group bookshelf.

>>21971353
But I've written male MCs before.

>>21968926
Unironically bakker, though only the second series.

>>21971417
God just fuck off. Writers are so fucking needy. Worse than actors, even. Go back to your containment thread, fruitbowl.

>>21969159
Again, I enjoyed it, but it is funny to think that this is almost as long as Dune and there is a vast difference in performance of characters and world.

>>21971396
Scifi for Rothfuss fans who thought Kvothe wasn't enough of a cuck

>>21971255
fair game. i was in another thread so that's why i didn't see this until now. and ignore >>21971439 writing is a very hard thing to do. no shit you'll be 'needy' that's kinda why i bothered responding to you in the first place, and why i'm doing it again.
>I can't possibly have a male MC go around trying to kill his sister now can I?
there are a lot of things wrong with this sentence. first, it assumes that readers will see this as you do. personally, i see readers as a diverse group of individuals. if I were to write this, I would be sure to play on every part of the tragicidy. play on readers who would dislike this for the sake of gender norms (which you fall into, except you are the writer which is a problem). then i'll play on readers who are simply saddened and care little for gender and so on. that is what, I believe, a good writer should be doing. a good writer does not look at a concept like this and deciede that it is 'undoable' and deciede a very important aspect of the **protaganist's** character on that.

now let's look at your blurb.
>Adah Phenric took a vow to protect the world from any threats when she took an oath as a Knight of Valora.
stop throwing proper nouns in your blurb. it never looks good. obviously, i'm not talking about her name-- although I personally only like to include the surname, that's personal, though-- i'm talking about 'Valora'. I have no idea what that is. can't be a kingdom since normal knights usually pretend the monarch and not 'the world'. this confuses me and makes this less impactful. why not just say
>Knight Phenric once took a vow to protect the world.
notice how I only used her surname which could be used as a surprise later one. 'oh i didn't know she was a girl' sort of thing once her first name is used by one of her close allies or something. this makes me think of you as a writer who just assumes i know everything and assumes that i'll just be interested because you wrote it. wrong.
>All was well until she and her team were sent on a routine mission to hunt a monster
holy shit, i have never seen a sentence more boring before. write this better.
>On a routine hunt, everything falls apart as Phenric's team is devoured by the beast they swore to destroy.
or something like that, listen, i don't want to write this for you, but i believe in the power of example. in your blurb, be short, sweet, and aggressive. hammer in the concept of the oath to pretend with repition (yes recall your high school english course). keep hammering it in that she was supposed to save everyone yet failed. make that a part of her character, maybe. (cont.)

>>21971503
>Unconvinced her comrades are dead, she ventures out into the world to uncover the reasons for their disappearance.
this just seems impossible. unless you really phone in the monster scene, which should be one of the most important moments in the book, it seems illogical that she would be 'unconvinced'. wtf? there's a gore tag on your book, so either you use gore pointlessly, or knight Phenric is fucking losing it. in fact, that could be interesting. why not write it like this?
>However, Phenric is unconvinced by the beast's deception and journies to [don't know enough about your story to write this]
something like that. i don't know if this monster dies so i don't wanna say she goes after it, but you get what i'm going for here, right?
>Coming in contact with a mysterious merchant
stop using gerunds. (that's your '-ing' ending). why not be more direct?
>When she encountered a mysetrious merchant, her investigation unravels a plot regarding the world at large
notice that this is more direct and impactful and has less proper nouns like 'the Goddess herself' who the fuck is that? why do I care? just be simple. focus on the world being in the balance and less on 'homework'. 'the Goddess herself' is homework. 'Valora' is homework. stop giving me homework in your fucking blurb.
>Armed with nothing but her wits, friends, and a bit of magic, Adah commits to bringing the culprits to justice. For duty binds all.
just, no. you don't need this. shorten your blurb.

>>21971417
I hate h*rem cuckoldry but if you really want readers you gotta write self-insert powerwank harem fantasy bullshit with edgy protagonists. Look at all the N*ruto and H*rry Potter fanfics with 1000000 readers. It's sad but true.

>>21971515
>>21971503
Thank you anon. I've been reading tons of blurbs the past 5 hours and trying to figure out why they work. So far I got the following:
1. Introduce the MC
2. Tell the reader what they can do
3. What problem does MC run into
4. Some sort of twist
5. Rhetorical question

>>21970909
There is nothing worthwhile in a classic sci fi novel. At best there is "huh, thats an intriguing idea" feeling, but in every other aspect the novels are crap.

>>21971582
yes but's a little more than that. technically you did all of these in your original blurb, the problem was the way you did it. i liken this to taking an exam.
what you did was study and do all the preperation required to get an A. sure this works, but it's tedius and bothersome, no?
what good blurbs do, I believe, is take the exam without any studying. they sort of figure things out by relation. they don't frontload information to the reader, they make the reader get the information from logic. that's why i recommened that you get rid of the final two sentences since
>Armed with nothing but her wits, friends, and a bit of magic, Adah commits to bringing the culprits to justice. For duty binds all.
is already obvious. no shit she would bring the culprits to justice if she 'took a vow to protect the world.' and readers can probably assume there will be magic because of your book's genre. readers can also assume that she won't be alone, etc.
the point is to 'not study'. basically, tell the reader as little as possible while also telling them as much as possible.
of course, going into the testing room without studying is bound to be more difficult, but it will payoff. (kinda, the anology falls apart here, but you get it)

>>21968737
plenty of successful authors on rr that throw a bitch fit about negative reviews and report them to get them removed
and van you from commenting if you criticize them in any way

>>21971036
RR staff doesn't understand that
negative reviews get report trolled by authors and shit mods always side with authors engaging in report trolling

>>21970278
>Gardens of the Moon is as good as that series gets, and it just cheats you into continual reading

>>21965740

>>21970865
Hey, if you don't feel like diving back into the monstrosity that is Retribution Engine, consider my other fic. It's like 35k words in on the public release.

>>21971776
>shit mods always side with authors engaging in report trolling
No they don't.
I know for a fact that most obviously malicious reviews do get reported, and many of them stay up due to technically not breaking any rules. The majority of ratings that get removed are first-chapter 0.5 drivebys.

First Law bros, does West end up surviving the magical cancer? Just finished LAoK but taking a break before the standalones, curious if he makes it not but don’t want to risk getting major spoilers if I google

>>21972439
................---------$$___-$_$--&&$............
He dies..................////////////////////

>>21972495
Oof, he was my favourite so I was hopeful, thanks anon

Why does /lit/ of all places get quiet on a Saturday night?

>>21972682
too busy reading to shitpost maybe

>>21972948
I hope so.
I got worried because it got quiet around 9 and I noticed after 2.
Prime bar hours.
Don't be wasting your money boozin. I could go to the bar tomorrow, Sunday night, and everyone will still be there, all the drunks I left behind. I'm no prize of a personality, I just don't waste money on bars anymore. And no more hangovers.

I wish we had another Wolfe, another Lovecraft, another Clark Ashton Smith
All we have are false idols of postmodernist politics!
But soon, a new Dawn of speculative fiction will spread its rosy fingers

>>21973082
I wish you a nice day of reading anon.

>>21973093
I’ll be moving onto some of these. Solomon Kane stories are fun but they don’t vary as much as Conan. Bujold is interesting but the Penric premise sounds like a horny old woman trying to control and be inside a teen boy. Poe is always fun although I prefer the poetry to his prose, and this book leaves out his novel that some think jump started sci fi.

>>21973110
I started Reading Three Hearts/Lions again and immediately dropped it oncemore. I HATE the way the dialogue is written in this book.

>>21973119
Poul Anderson is one of my favourites, but I guess he's not for everyone. I've heard a lot of redditors shit on him because Poul used to describe women character's tits as they walk into scene.
Broken Sword is my favourite of his. But the dialogue is a bit more dynamic since there's a lot of fight scenes.

>>21965900
If you have the time I would reccomend this instead, I read it in this order a few years ago and it unironically was pretty great.

I had read the Foundation trilogy first though, and since some books on this list are written after it even though chronologically it happens before, it might ruin some of the "surprise" in Foundation given he explains some stuff that will come up later, but otherwise was good

>>21973123
>Tis naw so canny a steadin' ye're boon fawr. An' roight noo too, when the Middle World is marshalin' all uns hosts.
Maybe this works better spoken aloud but to read this kind of stuff over and over is just kinda annoying.

>>21973136
His sci fi and other fantasy doesn't have that at all, although I do remember some more futuristic worldbuilding slang in something like The Star Fox. His plots are amazing, in my opinion, so maybe pick up something else with less medievalisms.

Based Solomon Kane fighting evil French rapists

>>21973082
Well 50 years from now, they'll sift through all the crap that's being made today in all of this decadence and excess and pick out the winners.

Is /sffg/ the elite caste of men who actually read and know the enlightening, perhaps perilous, depths of books like Lord of the Rings, whilst the peons must only watch Jackson's adaptations like plebs who cannot bear the totality of the books? We even have godlike men who read Bakker when the proletarian underclass barely know about any fantasy outside of Tolkien and The Princess Bride.

is it just me or does anyone else slow down reading towards the end of a book?

>>21973404
It entirely depends on how much I've enjoyed the book up to that point. If the book is a 3/5 I tend to read it fast to get on with another book. If it's a 5/5 I might read it a bit slower.

I usually don't finish books I'd rate 2/5 or below.

>read back my Lovecraftian story after poring through REH
>It's shit
Damn... it feels good to be humbled.

What are some fantasy books with interesting and original settings? It seems like 99% of what I find is a poor attempt to recapture (or subvert) the sense of wonder Tolkien established.

>>21973535
Mistborn :D

>>21973535
Reverend Insanity

>>21973119
Three Hearts & Three Lions is hot garbage, and I say that as someone who is absolutely nuts about The Broken Sword. It did heavily influence D&D though, and thus fantasy as a whole.

>>21973535
>Tolkien drone
I'm afraid your condition is incurable and you're doomed to call every fantasy story you encounter a poor imitation of [the first piece of fantasy world building you encountered as a wee lad], no matter if it's written in the 1920s or by an illiterate hermit.

>>21973582
He could have written anything published in the same year or before LOTR, but he decided to shitpost on 4chan. Millions must try.

>>21973535
>the sense of wonder Tolkien established.
Tolkiendrones are deusional
>>21973582
based
reminder that tolkien had to plagiarised william morris and e r eddison (among others)

>>21973600
>had to plagiarised
I'm kind of tired of pretending that plagiarizing is a bad thing in all cases.
You take good or useful ideas of others that you liked, discard the rest, synthesize and add new ideas and you get something new you like.

>>21973535
imo Brandorn Sanderson surpassed Tolkien, so anything of his

Which villain in fantasy or sci fi history would genuinely say: “millions must die!”?

Where I can find free old science fiction pdf's to download?

>>21973667
Where can I find*
>>>/t/ has a huge sff thread.

>>21973667
>old
If it’s old enough to be public domain, you just get it on Project Gutenberg.

I changed my blurb. Hope it's a tiny bit better. Leaned more into the mystery aspect of it to be a bit more "unique".

>>21973082
That dawn is coming. And when it rises you will see me shining above.

>>21973655
Bakker.

>>21973930
I bought these… I hope they reign supreme like the first book.

>make H2G2 reference in front of group of girls
>one says "my dad says that all the time"
OOOFFFF

Way to cement that I've turned 30

>>21974032
Im ok being her daddy

>>21974032
Were these highschool girls?

>>21974114
No, like early 20's

New thread
>>21974244