/lit/ - Literature

>>22155520
What's the main source of inspiration for modern fantasy novels? I somehow don't see Lord of the Rings or Dungeons & Dragons being IT anymore.

>>22155527
Probably shitty lit-rpg novels

>>22152880
>Last and First Men/Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
It still blows my mind away just how overlooked Stapledon is. Has anything matched the sheer scale of his works?

>>22155527
What ever tv series was popular a year before release of the boo.

i'm reading my first book with a character that goes by they/their and it's very silly

>>22147937
>Between Starship Troopers, The Forever War and Armor, what's the best "military vs bugs" novel?
All three are worth reading but Armor is my favorite. It's more about the protagonist's PTSD and coping with it.
>mfw Felix goes all out at the end

>>22155527
>What's the main source of inspiration for modern fantasy novels?
women and retards

You know, I've been trying for over a decade to write a story about a protagonist in fantasy who has abilities normally reserved for antagonists or side characters. Necromancers, oracles with the gift of prophecy, that sort of thing. I think that I have actually improved enough to try my hand at writing that again.

>>22155690
>starting with something as banal as "abilities" for [character archetype]
Strong foundation for trash.

>>22155698
That was definitely my mindset at 18, which is why most of what I wrote along those lines was trash. I was thinking of powers and character archetypes, and later on I started thinking more along the lines of what a particular character with a particular ability might actually do with that power and how they would interact with the world on that basis. After I got over nearly terminal world building syndrome I improved how I went about it.

>>22155527
Critical race theory, intersectionality, queer theory

>>22155520
That mega file or link has been compromised. I get a virus warning every time I try to download charts. No other mega download is doing this to me.

Does anyone else think fantasy and sci-fi stories (especially the former) generally suck on account of their obsession with world-building for its own sake? Stories today are obsessed with creating entire sandbox worlds that are overly simplified, overly defined/explored, and filled with so many highly specific terms.

I miss the old days, about a century ago, when there was almost no such thing as strict genres, and fantasy stories were less obsessed with pointless world-building. I think Tolkien is the one who cemented the idea that fantasy stories needed to be so strictly defined. Before him, authors like Lord Dunsany, James Branch Cabell, Clark Ashton Smith, H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, etc. were writing fantasies set in worlds that had endless potential for all kinds of things, and greater concern for atmosphere, themes, etc.

>>22155781
I don't think Tolkien really cemented anything as much as he spent decades building his world. Problem is everyone wants to use shortcuts to measure up to that. Other examples of both SF and fantasy didn't really do that because they were publishing in magazines which meant stories were supposed to be not only standalone, but also split into parts. You didn't have the luxury to do all the behind-the-scenes work for a short story largely treated as disposable by the publisher.

>>22155781
You only know about Tolkien's worldbuilding because of meta commentary and easy access to supplementary works. If you just read his books they would read like any other fantasy, just with more ancient history being relevant. You don't miss the old days, you weren't alive back then. What you miss is reading things without the culture of fandom and discussion and analysis of worldbuilding that constantly buzzes around certain older works and most modern works.

You aren't tired of magic systems, you're tired of nerds sperging out about magic systems. You're not tired of stories with elaborate settings, you're tired of geeks constantly discussing trivial minutia from fantasy worlds.

>>22155781
I don't read series that have this obsession with worldbuilding a la Sanderson. It isn't hard to find series that don't do it. I don't read much recent stuff though.

>>22155801
(Person you responded to) I gotta admit, that's a good point regarding Tolkien imitators. And I must emphasize that although I haven't read much Tolkien (only The Hobbit), I still respect him for his pioneering genius. I keep forgetting that his Middle-Earth stuff was developed over the course of his life, intimately tied with his academic, intellectual, and poetic expertise.

As you said, I think most fantasy world-builders tend to mimic a shadow of Tolkien. It's the difference between an author who is keenly aware of folkloristics, linguistics, history, culture, poetry, human relationships, etc. and an author who has only watched shonen anime or Harry Potter movies.

Though I must admit, I rather like some of the limitations of magazines like Weird Tales and Argosy. The fact that most of their published stories had to be standalone allows them to feel complete in themselves. And allows their invented worlds to have all kinds of tantalizing mysteries and suggestions. I would hate it if the worlds of Clark Ashton Smith's fantasy stories were thoroughly explored and defined by some "official" manuals or exposition.

>>22155940
And this is a damn good point too. I haven't read LOTR, but if what you say is true, then that must mean the LOTR books aren't nearly as obsessed with world-building as the fans and franchising are. I might lean toward reading them now, without checking wikis or forums or fan groups.

I'm reminded of R. E. Howard's stories of Conan. Technically, he wrote a very detailed summary of the history and setting of Conan's world. But very little of this information was ever used in the actual Conan stories themselves. Thus most readers have no clue what Conan will encounter in this or that country or city.

You guys got any recs for someone getting into speculative evolution? I got the time machine and all tomorrow's on my to read list.

>>22155520
Bit of a blog post:
I was sort of enjoying Dune, but I'm not sobsure ofnmy overall feelings on it and dont feel too motivated to keep reading/listening to it. I like the political plotting, but some things about it just sort of drag on for me. Maybe it's partly the pacing? I think the main thing is how much it goes into them being able to read entire minds with just looking at very minor facial expressions. I enjoyed the whole trying to one up your rival while staying politically correct, and maybe it's my own lack of social skill, but when out of nowhere someone can just just see multiple timeliness from next to nothing (with no satisfying explanation other than just trust me bro), I kind of got tired of it.
I was also backpacking when listening to it so that may have affected my attention and enjoyment of it. I'm halfway done so I'll finish Dune at least
>tldr did onget filtered or is it not just for everyone

>>22155957
>then that must mean the LOTR books aren't nearly as obsessed with world-building as the fans and franchising are.
This is absolutely the case. None of the hyper-autistic lore details of Middle Earth are intrusively included in The Lord of the Rings. Everything like that is in The Silmarillion and his notes.

>>22155957
>then that must mean the LOTR books aren't nearly as obsessed with world-building as the fans and franchising are.
Absolutely. People basically take the expanded Middle-earth stuff for granted. You can feel there's richness to the world in LotR, but at most you gleam from songs or characters who would legitimately know about those things.

>>22156054
>>22156064
Tolkien was fundamentally just a man creating an interesting fantasy world, and then later going "Oh I could actually write a story in this", and then both his major stories in that world are incredibly self-contained. Hell, even The Hobbit and LotR don't even really rely on each other, even though one's a prequel to the other, because the narrative obstacles of The Hobbit are almost entirely separate from those of LotR.
Also there's the sort of metafiction deal both had where they were "translations" of existing histories in the world compiled together, so of course they're just about what's relevant, they're not 'for' people outside of its world.

Lmao

>>22156072
Looking at Rings of Power I'm glad most of his stuff will never be touched and yet plenty of Tolkien's writing deserves to be seen by more people than those who delved deeper into his world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ybSi5EcZ3M

>>22156089
>yet plenty of Tolkien's writing deserves to be seen by more people

>>22156077
Corwin is fun.

>>22155763
Could you be more specific? When did you first notice this? Which files in particular? All of them? What specifically did you do?

>>22156179
Never had this happen during mega downlead in the last 7 years of using it.

>>22156221
That just means that URL is blacklisted, for whatever reason. As far I know you can add that manually as well.

>The charges, officer?

>>22156333
oh ok, thanks for clearing that up. Sorry for the false alarm.

>>22155706
what are you even talking about? Can you write moderately good non sff adventure story/characters? If not then all your ability and magic and whatnot wankery is irrelevant

>Very first proper line of the book is 'One cannot raise walls against what has been forgotten.'
>7 books later the unstoppable god force that has conquered man gets turned into a statue of salt because he forgot about his psychopath little kid
Bakker is a genius.
>So did the Great Ordeal of Anasurimbor Kellhus perish in salt and butcher.
Best final line I've ever read of any book or series.

Waybound, Cradle #12 - Will Wight (2023)

This is the twelfth and final book in the series, though it's only the one I've written about other than the first book. That's because I didn't see any reason to do so after summarizing the series with what I wrote about the first book and later added onto it. I don't know what else I would've written. Now that I've finished the series I ought to rewrite what I initially thought, but that's unlikely. I've written almost twice my usual length because it covers my thoughts on the series as a whole and other related thoughts.

The final book isn't exempt from the usual formula of training and fighting to the exclusion of almost all else. If you've read this far you ought to know how it goes. That doesn't seem the case for those who have built up unrealistic expectations over time and thought it would turn out some other way. These aren't serious books and those who who begin to examine the specifics or try to enjoy them in a cerebral way are going to be in for a bad time. I wouldn't go as far as those who I've seen say that they half-listen to them as background noise and are unable to understand why anyone would give their full attention. The vast majority use audiobooks for this series, which I have strong preference against, and I give my undivided attention to whatever I'm reading.

There's certainly a lot that happens in this book and its progression may feel rushed compared to the previous books that took their time and gave a greater sense of substance to their advancements. This is the last book and several of the characters needed to be much more powerful than they were, so it's powerleveling time. I understand how this could bother those who take the books very seriously and feel that it cheapens everything. Just because something is a common practice in the relevant videogames and shonen battle manga doesn't mean it's acceptable. Sometimes there are narrative trade-offs that aren't going to satisfy everyone and that's how it is. The most that can be done is to minimize dissatisfaction. Maybe I simply never saw it, but the Dragon Ball series does this ever more greatly, though I suppose that isn't what it's being read for. Perhaps those same people would have the same complaints, which to me is a problem with having a very narrow set of interests and expectations.

The Abidan parts are fine by me and I think the complaints that they trivialize anything that happens on Cradle because of power level differences are very silly. However, I agree that they weren't integrated all that well and Wight may have initially included them because it showed what it could eventually become. Considering the relatively few pages devoted to that though, having the characters and readers be completely amazed by it all being introduced for the first time in this book probably wouldn't have worked out. There are definitely a lot of structural issues that could be considered.

>>22156535
Reading this series has been a worthwhile experience though it's hard to say how much my enjoyment has been from it being different and due to a lack of easy comparison to what else I've read. My rating system doesn't categorize it well. I liked it more than my rating would indicate but I can't rate it any higher than I have. Saying this makes me feel like those who would say the same of any genre fiction, which is an attitude that I dislike, but it's how I feel. I understand how wonderful this must be for its most appropriate audience, which I would've been a part of in my teenage years. I can still appreciate some similar works more, but that's only because of my long-standing relationship with them. From what I've looked at of Wight's other works I'm not interested, though I'm open to what else he does in the future.

I still don't think I could enjoy translated xianxia from what I've looked at, though that may be more about the webnovel format than anything else. I'm appreciative that this series wasn't written that way as it's become ever more apparent that I have fundamental disagreements with it. That doesn't mean serialized works in general because there's plenty of short fiction that I've read over time in magazines that I've enjoyed greatly. Regardless, that doesn't mean that I'll stop trying to do so though. Now that I've finished this series it's a suitable time to give a sincere try to what else is out there. Will I regret it? If so, I won't mind because regretting in moderation isn't all that bad.

I don't know if I would've come across this series if it weren't for /sffg/, or self-published works more widely for that matter. Whether that's a good thing overall is debatable, especially when considering how overzealous some become with what they're pushing for whatever reasons they have to do so in every thread. That's unfortunately understandable because even if something is in every thread that doesn't mean that it will be noticed. The vast majority of lurkers likely aren't regulars so for them if it isn't always it's never. That doesn't mean it ought to be allowed.

Apologies for being longer.
Gratitude for having read.

Rating: 3/5

>>22155527
GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire, by way of its HBO adaptation, has had a pretty strong influence on what publishers are pushing, if not exactly on new writers in general. I wouldn't say it's become THE source of inspiration though, it's just got a notable presence. For a while it felt like every month there was another series being touted as "game of thrones with ______".

I think the other major influence is anime, manga, light novels, and other Japanese media.

>>22156535
>>22156538
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>22155957
Like 95% of the world building for LotR is not in the books, it's in the Silmarillion, which isn't really a volume Tolkien compiled himself. The Silmarillion was compiled after his death, by his son, from various manuscripts and fragments he had no real intention of ever publishing. These were things like timelines for major events, historical summaries written in the style of a mythological record or saga, some short stories focused on legendary people or events, etc. Most of the spinoff publications are drawn from stuff like this, all of it published posthumously. The only books Tolkien published related to Middle Earth while alive were the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. And both of them are fairly focused on the story they are telling, rather than "building a world". World building was something Tolkien did which led to the creation of these stories, the stories were not themselves an act of world building.

>>22156535
unfortunately too many strong women make it into some retarded western abomination of female drama and weak men. Cradle is amything but progression fantasy, it's garbage.

>>22156658
I don't think that's exclusive to the west.

/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

>>22156775
>can't even copypaste correctly
>missing wars at the end
>the ritualposter has malfunctioned

/SFFG/ Recommendations: LITRPG Edition

Read Azarinth Healer, Primal Hunter, He Who Fight with Monsters, Dungeon Crawler Carl

Also read System Universe, Dissonance, Defiance of the Fall, Iron Prince.

>>22156785
huh what are you talking about schizo

>>22156786
>can't even correctly spell the titles of what he recommendeds correctly.
>He Who Fights With Monsters
>The malfunction continues

>>22156792
It's The Poppy Wars, not The Poppy.

>>22156809
The Poppy Wars is ass. The Poppy was all balls.

>>22156802
>He Who Fights With Monsters
Thats literally the book title on Amazon

You don't think I wrote any of these titles do you? retard-kun

>>22156809
I just ctrl+c from the previus thread, went to check now, apparently the last 6 or so threads had the same error, lmao

Anyway, see you fags in 2 or 3 days when someone remembers to post a new thread (probably the same fag that loves dragons)

>>22156835
>He Who Fight with Monsters
>He Who Fight with Monsters
>He Who Fight with Monsters
This is the title on Amazon?

>>22156835
>Endymion
Based, now this is a good book, even the cover exudes SOVL

>>22156835
>>22156858
>Endymion
>good

>>22156867
Sorry zoomer, litrpg trash will never have SOVL

I'm about to buy Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone after seeing it shilled here, I hope I enjoy it

has anybody here read John Marco? I'm wondering if I should get into his book series, but those paperpacks are fucking enormous, and those are the single entries, not omnibuses

>scifi story suddenly introduces magic into the story a few books in
based or based?

>>22156895
unbased (unless it's religious)

>>22156895
name?

>>22155781
>>22155957
to me it seems more a problem with the presentation than with worldbuilding proper

Goodreads only recommends me books with women protagonist, women author or LGBT stuff. The hell?

>>22156946
It's goodread what do you expect?
Books have been subverted and faggotised

>>22156535
>>22156538
I have the last chapter and the epilogue left, and I've enjoyed the last ~6 chapters post-game than the rest of the book and the past several books. It does frustrate me though that we're still not getting any more Traveler's Gate stories, soon or at all for the time being since he's writing his current thing. Simon would be perfect on the Reaper team and damn, while I haven't cared much for Cradle since Underlord, I'd read all about Yerin and Mercy ending global threats on random worlds.

>>22155854

>>22156946
I have no idea why people rely on shit like good reads to find books. Do you value the opinions of people on good reads? No? Then stop using the site. End of story.

>>22156895
Highly based.

>>22157098
I don't understand.

>>22155781
The problem is in-depth worldbuilding requires worldliness, which your average genre fiction writer has little of. All else aside, most of them just aren't learned enough. And then despite the popular obsession with realistic geography and otherwise agonizing over real-life accuracies that forget the whole point of fantasy, much more important factors of human nature are ignored, not only through lack of education but from the influence of modern Western culture. How many aspiring worldbuilders make 95% of inter-cultural relations powerfully racist towards one another? Very few, because even the concept of fictional racism is borderline taboo unless it's committed by a condemned antagonist. Yet tribalism is the rule, unless you have extraordinary reasons for it not to be.
TL;DR Detailed worldbuilding requires you to be uninhibited and to know your shit, and most genre fiction authors fail to make the grade.

>>22157118
Do you value the opinions of anyone?

>>22157085
I do wonder if we'll see any of these characters show up again in any capacity after this. The Last Horizon PRESUMABLY takes place in some Iteration of its own but it's pretty solidly just its own thing right now. Ozriel had a brief but fairly strong appearance in Elder Empire, but it was clearly set well before Cradle anyway.

>>22157085
It's not really "post-game" though is it? Not sure what you spoilered that. It's only that of you consider the "post-game" to potentially be something like 90% of the playtime if really grinding, in a game like the Disgaea series. I agree that's it's a shame that there wasn't much about your last spoiler, but I guess that's how it was always meant to be. I doubt that there will be a sequel series that covers their time there.

>>22157160
Not that anon, but I don't really have any interest in reading in all of Wight's books to see his take on his expanded universe, like Sanderson.

>>22156946
That's why you ignore the algorithm and look through the profiles of those with similar taste.

>>22157171
>his take on his expanded univers
Well, as-is, I don't think there's ever gonna be an overarching story. It'll simply be a broadening universe, which I think is the better approach. Elder Empire's the only one to really consistently make any points towards the other series anyway, as a character from Traveler's Gate is quoted in a chapter opening quote, but vaguely enough you wouldn't really know it was him unless you read the book.

>>22157098
Long time on see, anon

>>22157330
*no

>>22157098
I had to look up the author to make sure these were real and not a parody of bland and cliche pulp fantasy covers.

>>22157346
>he doesn't know about Sarah J Maas

>>22157402
>h-he doesn't know about Sarah J Maas
"No!"

>>22157542
I'm not a fan of her writing, but the bitch has been on the best seller list for ages. There's cringier shit out there.

What are the best Body Horror books out there?

>>22157566
I've never once looked for something to read by checking a best-sellers list. I'm commenting on the cover art and in particular the titles being as generic as they come, I don't care how well it sold.

books for this feel?

>>22157813
>I comprehend what Generic is
>I refuse to comprehend how an Author has 8 books that are all best sellers

You are not special. You aren't even generic.

>>22157868
FitzChivalry.

>>22157346
The covers aren't her fault. That's how everything looks now.

>>22157868
The Broken Sword

>>22157869
You're free to enjoy it if you want anon, there's no point replying to my throwaway comment with incoherent seething.

anyone here still purchase magazines? if so, which one would you recommend

>>22157872
Ntayrt, is the Fitz stuff worth reading after Assassin's Apprentice? I read that trilogy almost a decade ago then stopped.

I want fantasy about witch hunting so much

>>22157940
The second trilogy is decent. The third is awful. All in all, the series is one of those ones that I liked when I was reading it but in retrospect, not so much.

>>22157143
I agree. The problem with a lot of bad fantasy authors is that they don't put enough of themselves into their stories. And I assume this is because there is actually very little to themselves in their life. Their lack of worldliness, their lack of wider experience, severely limits their ability to express a world that is both convincing and unique. I think truly worldly people, with either lots of experience or at least lots of deep thought, can potentially create much more convincing fantasies, because they have a wider range of experiences to draw from. As opposed to nerdy fantasy fans who have only experienced high school, social media, and a lot of popular shonen anime or fantasy games.

Writers like Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, etc. experienced many areas of life, and had wide social circles, and traveled to many places, and pursued many different passions and interests. Whatever weaknesses or blind spots they had, they were still highly experienced people with highly individual personalities. They did not limit themselves to hive-minded fandoms. Thus their fantasies have a much more convincing sense of characterization, atmosphere, and genuine creativity.

(I know, most people still believe the myth that Lovecraft was a hermit who had no friends. But this is a lie concocted by sensational biographers. Lovecraft had actually traveled all over the East Coast of the U. S. by himself, and personally me a wide variety of friends, including many women. And when I say Lovecraft excelled in characterization, I do not mean he created deep and complex characters, but that he made realistic and believable *people* in his fiction. And such realism can only be obtained by someone who has actually interacted with people.)

BAKKER IS KING

>>22158263
>BAKKER IS KING

>>22158250
(Continuing) On the flipside, I also agree that when authors today *try* to be realistic, they do so in very shallow ways. Like trying to create agonizingly life-like geography or political structures in their stories. Unless their stories actually hinge on scientifically accurate geography, or life-like politics, then that much obsession with accuracy is only going to hinder the fantasy.

And, again, I think this type of agonizing world-building is a result of inexperienced people *trying* to be realistic, rather than people who are sincerely expressing something real in themselves. There's a huge difference between a fantasy authot who obsessively studies the science of mountains, and a fantasy author who has actually seen and felt mountains on a personal level. Or an author who may not have known the mountains, but at least appreciates a basic feeling or idea of them.

H. P. Lovecraft notoriously disliked fantasy stories that focused too much on plot and action scenes. But in spite of this, he still praised R. E. Howard's stories of Conan the Barbarian. He specifically praised the fact that Howard was not writing cliched genre fiction; he was sincerely expressing his genuine thoughts, genuine feelings, genuine character, through his fantastic (and well-written) stories. Conan was not a cliched cardboard cut-out, he was a genuine expression of Howard's personality and beliefs. When an author has very little personality, and very little perceptivenesd, they can only rely on cliches and structures that were already set up for them.

I will quit reading the dune sequel reading and start reading Lotr
I just want to write this to reaffirm my choice

>>22158250
>>22158267
I think characterizing it as a lack of worldliness is wrong. In reality it comes from conformism. Too many authors simply conform to genre conventions because that's how they think they're *supposed* to write. They don't colour outside the lines because they don't even realize doing that is an option. It's a kind of creative incest, writing that is derivative of something derivative of something which is derivative of Dungeons and Dragons. That mindset kind of goes hand in hand with a lack of worldliness to be fair, people stuck in that mental rut in their writing are probably stuck in it in real life as well, the type of people who go on vacation then never leave the tourist trap locations.
Another aspect of it is that by conforming to genre conventions you, in a sense, shield yourself from criticism. The writer essentially hides behind convention, never having to take a risk with their writing that could potentially just not work. Like how Marvel movies couche everything behind Irony and self referential quips, so the audience never has to take it seriously. It's a lack of confidence in their own writing that conveys itself strongly to the reader.

Interesting stories come from a willingness to break genre convention (or even break genre completely) at the appropriate time. Like how GRRM did in the early Ice and Fire books. But then, as the Ice and Fire series went on, he started to define his own conventions, and no longer broke them, and the quality of the books dropped because it became predictable and repetitive. a self made cliche.

>>22158267
Adding to this, I'd like to say a big "Fuck You" to any fantasy fan or aspiring writer who whine "All stories have been written already!!!", and use that as an excuse to make lifeless cliched crap.

No, all *cliches* have been written already, but the sincere expression of a person's thoughts and feelings in narrative form is never cliched, whether or not it is poor or excellent. There's a reason why non-genre fiction exists, and why it's usually exalted above genre fiction (whether or not this is justified is up to you, but fiction that doesn't rely on recycling conventions are far more common than these lazy writers claim).

>>22158282
I must agree with this as well, and I thank you for the much more coherent wording than anything I can accomplish. I myself am not an author, which shows, but I am passionate about fantasy storytelling, in that by its natute it *should* free people from boring conventions, and yet too many people cling to those conventions.

And now that you mention it, I can agree that perhaps too many people simply accept these conventions because they're used to them. When I was in high school, I was mostly only used to popular blockbusters and young adult fantasy novels. I was actually uncomfortable with many ideas that went beyond genre conventions, and could not imagine, for example, a story in which the protagonist is NOT a blandly morally upstanding person, or at least a bitter anti-hero with a "heart of gold." After high school, when I started reading a variety of authors from previous centuries (both fantastic and realistic, and everything in-between), I was quickly flung into a world in which many more things were possible.

The Mind Parasites

>>22157085
I finished it. The epilogue sucked hot ass and wasn't needed. The final chapter itself was lackluster. Ah well.
>>22157160
I hate that we won't see more of Simon and that he's stuck in a dead series when he was a superior Lindon.

I love audrey so much bros :(

Going on a trip and thinking of picking up Silverlock by John Myers Myers. The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson is one of my favorite books and I heard it's similar.

I really cannot find another fantasy book that I want to read. I think I genuinely read all the stuff worth reading. Somebody recommend me something I haven't read. I love Dunsany, Vance's Lyonesse, Gormenghast, faerie tale/folklore stories

>>22158658
I dunno dude, go to the library and just pick something with a rad cover.

>>22158658
Pick some random bullshit off Kindle Unlimited and go to town instead of pigeon holing yourself into such a narrow style of stories.

>>22158658
Warosu.

>>22158658
Boku no Pico

>>22158553
Simon had zero personality, my man.

>>22158658
Ever read Mythago Wood?
I think that fits exactly what you want.

>>22158658
A. A. Attanasio's Dominions of Irth trilogy
Little, Big by John Crowley

I decided to read The Iron Dragon's Daughter, and the book played a nasty trick by writing a compelling opening and then becoming a meandering mess.
>human girl kidnapped to fairy world must engage in mental battle with mechanical jet fighter dragon mech she pilots
Then she escapes her life of enslavement and I'm subjected to hundreds of pages of stiffly written, loosely plotted fairy world Americana with painfully vague worldbuilding and description.

>>22158768
Simon is Lindon if Lindon weren't submissive and didn't have a group of friends/others to wrangle his questionable decisions.
>Lindon
6 books till Underlord
>Simon
3 books

>>22159264
Simon still has no actual personality. He's just kind of a vaguely determined dude.

>>22159099
I read about 60% of Little, Big, but I just got a bit bored. It's extremely long, and it's very well written, but call me a midwit, it didn't really focus on one character enough for me to really get into the interpersonal stuff, and while I appreciate the subtle suffusion of fantasy throughout everyday life, it rarely went beyond subtle. If you're in it for the actual fantasy, it's basically about as weighty as real life fairy tales.

>>22159334
And Lindon does? Okay.

Are there any good novels that sorta points out characters that are "learned" don't actually have a lot of practical experience and that musing over esoterical lore/philosophy isn't a really good personality trait? Confederacy of Dunces and Book of the Long Sun did it in interesting ways which I loved.
There's way too many sci-fi/fantasy authors who think the MC making dumb speeches and spewing out random discourse makes them "smart" instead of insufferable.

>>22158266
>>BAKKER IS KING
Truth Shines

>>22158177
I'm currently starting the last book of the second trilogy.
What did you think about the trilogies set in different places? (Liveship Traders and Rain Wilds?)

I really liked Fitz's first trilogy. Am currently enjoying the second one even more, to be honest. But my brother says the last book will shit the bed real hard at the end and he says he's really having a hard time reading the Rain Wild trilogy.

Now you're the second person telling me that it gets worse. This saddens me because until now it has been great

>>22157933
I don't, but was shocked to discover Weird Tales still exists.

>>22159450
You don't have to listen to others. Whatever you feel is what matters most.

>“You have not seen King Gilling receive a bride. He will lie upon his back, his member standing.” Hesitantly, Toug nodded.
>“Disrobed, I will love it as if it were a dwarfish man. I will draw staring eyes and a smiling mouth. I will anoint it with sweet oils, cozen and kiss it, beg its love. Gilling will reply, speaking for the dwarf I kiss. Erupting it will bathe me in semen, and I will praise and kiss the more, saying how happy it has made me and begging it not to go.”
Lmfao, is this the Gene Wolfe everyone has been telling me to read?

>>22159450
Imo the second Fitz trilogy is the best, didn't like Fitz & The Fool. RainWild is fantasy Romance with environmental and animal (dragon) rights themes.

>>22159564
Kino

>>22159523
I know, but my brother disliking it this much is a big red flag. We usually have the same opinions on things and he is that kind of guy that really analizes what he consumes. So he saying that it went south worries me.

>>22159565
I like dragons, so I might enjoy it. My brother hates dragons.

>>22159564
>>22159659
I think wolfe fans really overrate wolfe as a writer
i read BOTNS and it was good as fantasy books go but it wasn't some masterpiece like wolfe fans have described it to be

>>22159821
To each their own I suppose. To me, BotNS was everything it was hyped up to be and more. Reading Wolfe permanently changed the way I think about fiction, and to some extent life as well. I'm being earnest and forthcoming on 4chan so no doubt someone is going to call me cringe and to kms but I don't care. BotNS makes me so happy to think about, I can't help but be earnest in how much I love it. It's a masterpiece and I won't pretend it's not.

>>22157542

>>22159392
Magister Ludi

>>22155520
has anyone here read the black company series? what are your thoughts on it?

>>22159855
same bro

Title: Waybound (Cradle #12)
Author: Will Wight

[Review]
I won't be talking at lengths because I've seen many other people discuss some parts of the book before, but I will give my brief opinion: the book's a failure of storytelling. It's not a bad book, nor a disaster, but it failed to provide a satisfying conclusion. Well, kind of. I am not angry at the ending or anything, but the final book should be a solid climax, not a mild whimper.

There was very little tension in Waybound. While the previous books managed to provide a solid, structured experience, Waybound is more like a webnovel. Freeform, unstructured and chaotic. A list of boxes to check, rather than a story to be experienced. The less said about the irrelevant Abidan plotline the better.

I'm baffled. Will Wight has showed he can write books before, but here he just went off the rails and showed us what seems to be a Beta draft of the final book. No, an Alpha draft, as this rushed story is barely stitched together.

A disappointing finale, technically delivers what it promised, but falls flat in terms of storytelling. Damn, I had real hopes for this one, but half-way through I could only feel exhaustion from endless fight scenes of no consequence, too much meta comments and lack of real drama.
The last book was a bit like this, but only now everything started unravelling.

Well, at least he delivered an acceptable last book. A disappointing one, considering the series as a whole, but an inoffensive ending nonetheless.

Rating: 6/10

>>22160171
Kinda falls off in Books of the South but the original books+Silver Spike finishes it well

>cradle has shit ending
You guys are getting the real webnovel experience lmoa

>>22160648
I don't think it was shit, it was just kind of... Whelming. Not underwhelming, not exceeding my expectations, it was just kind of exactly what I thought it'd be with no surprises at all.

"The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.

‘Old fool!’ he said. ‘Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!’
And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade"

Is this the most kino passage in Tolkiens works? Is there any other recommendations you can give me for any genre that has passages as kino as this? Now I've read Tolkien I don't think it can be topped.

>>22160631
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

Cradle ending was perfect.

>>22160631
It doesn't really matter, but I was intentionally trying not to preempt you so that you wouldn't feel like less ought to be written. That's just how it goes though. As to what you have to say about I wrote somewhat similarly and agree for the most part.
>>22156535

Current /sffg/ Ratings of Waybound, excluding unrated states made in this thread and recent ones

"Reviewers" who have posted here
!SFFG.n1h7M / Y - 3/5
Of 20 / name maybe he should've stuck with and joined Goodreads with, but I referred to him as Of 20 and linked to archive with that but now says of 40, which is fine because can use: >>/lit/?task=search2&ghost=&search_username=Of
for most of them: 3/5 (6/10)
J: 3/5

Others
G: 3/5
M: 5/5

general statement follows
There's books I've been putting off posting. I finished Waybound and write shortly after it was released but I didn't to post this right away. There's still others I haven't yet posted. Starting in either the next thread or the one after I'll probably be starting another streak of posting a book each thread, for at least 5 threads. May or may not go longer depending.

>>22160648
>You guys are getting the real webnovel experience lmoa
You mean? I cannot recall a webnovel ending that was significantly worse than its average quality. Webnovels ending is significant in and of itself, very few actually do.

Is it true what they say about Susan?

>Going to be listening to Normies say how deep The Three Body Problem is with it's bugman philosophy for a few years now

UGH

Black Mirror S6 was rather disappointing.

>>22161038
Bro your tab...

What's up with webnovel chinks and their blatant misogyny?

>>22159564
>author describes disgusting villainous abominable fantasy monster in a suitably disgusting and abominable fashion, once
do you see how that is different from GRRM talking about cocks and doodoo or Bakker discussing gay cuckold rape all the time? somehow I doubt you actually read that 800 page book and just searched for a gross and shitty cherrypicked passage as some sort of epic gotcha for upvotes on reddit

>>22160693
the greatest passage in Tolkien actually comes from the same book several pages later:

>“And far away, as Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in Sammath Naur the very heart of his realm, the Power in Barad-dûr was shaken, and the Tower trembled from its foundations to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had made; and the magnitude of his own folly was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung.

>From all his policies and webs of fear and treachery, from all his stratagems and wars his mind shook free; and throughout his realm a tremor ran, his slaves quailed, and his armies halted, and his captains suddenly steerless, bereft of will, wavered and despaired. For they were forgotten. The whole mind and purpose of the Power that wielded them was now bent with overwhelming force upon the Mountain. At his summons, wheeling with a rending cry, in a last desperate race there flew, faster than the winds, the Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths, and with a storm of wings they hurtled southwards to Mount Doom.”

although Theoden's ride of the Rohirrim earlier in ROTK is a close contender

>>22161226
Gie me on example

>>22160036
This is an old pic. Is she still hot?
>tfw no cute famous smut writer gf

>>22160171
I found it boring and I read like the first 100 pages or so, stuff just happens out of nowhere and characters were pretty dull in my honest opinion
I also didn't like how little there's described about medical practices that main protagonist applies

>>22161365
>>22160036
Cant forget that one series from her, where the protagonist fall in love with a loving guy in the first book, but when he showed a bit of jealousy in the second suddenyl she instantly ran away to the bad boy she met in the first book and several pages lateral there was a hardcore sex scene, not even some pretentious poetry or flowery language, straight up description of him face fucking her with his big dick. This sudden 180 is burned into my memory. She popularity of her writing only makes me respect women less.

>>22161436
>straight up description of him face fucking her with his big dick
lol

rothfuss is king

>>22156221
tech illiterates shouldn't operate computers

I finished reading The Wise Man's Fear yesterday, and I'm sure you've all already discussed it ad nauseam, but I have started reading fantasy again with The Name of The Wind, so I don't know what the general consensus on the books is.
WMF was a bit of a let down, and worse than the first book, I don't know about you guys, but the whole Adem chapters felt horribly out of place, their culture is retarded and impractical. Most of the book felt like filler, it started off strong and in my opinion the final chapters were very good as well. But the middle of the book was almost unbearable, Felurian and the Fae were the only enjoyable parts. I enjoyed the conclusion of the Maer subplot, but the whole thing felt pointless during it's beginning and middle. Kvothe's friends don't really have a reason to be on the story, but Auri and Elodin still continue to be some of the best aspects of the book, and Denna continues drag the work down, I don't know what the author was thinking when he wrote her. Overall it would be a 3/5 because it ends on a strong note, though it's not far from a 2/5. Which is a pity, because the first book was really solid.

>>22160631
I more or less agree, it didn't seem to have much passion put in it. It feels like a chore that had to be finished.

I guess that's arguably better than other authors like Aaron Kong or George R.R.R.R. Martian who just give up and refuse to right for fear of producing a disappointment.

>we are legion
Does fucking anything happen in this book? I'm 63% in

>>22160171
Good shit. First book ends on an open note, but you can treat it just fine as standalone if you don't want to commit for the long haul.

>>22155976
Last and First Men, and Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

>>22159450
I never read any of the other series in the setting. The problem with the third Fitz trilogy is that it's bad in a technical sense. For example, the first book is over 800 pages long and the plot doesn't even START to happen until the last 50 pages. It's filler, and it was irrelevant.
There was a scene towards the end of the second trilogy which would have been a perfect end to the series, it's simple, it's just Fitz and Kettricken having a drink together. Nothing after that needed to happen.

>>22159099
>Dominions of Irth
Haven't heard of this before. Looks great, thanks anon.
>>22159060
Haven't read it. I don't tend to read fantasy with modern settings. Give me the QRD on the series?

>>22162549
>>22158177
>>22159450
Bros, is the third trillogy really that bad? The first and second trillogies used to be my favourite fantasy series for years, but I've never got around reading the third. Now I'm afraid to do so basing on the info I got. an someone give me a short summary of problems, without spoilers?

What's the closest thing to Wizardry as a book?
Like Record of Lodoss War.

>>22162875
D&D novels?

>>22162926
I know the japs do a lot of that (novelizing campaigns verbatim), but I didn't think we got much of it in the west.

>>22155527
Other modern fantasy novels, games, movies, TV shows.

>>22162927
What? There are a lot of them, me thinks. Many straight-up in DnD universe, even more inspired by DnD, and that doesn't even count LitRPGs.

>>22162927
There's tons of that, it all sucks. Malazan for example. Tabletop games suck and novelized tabletop games are worse.

>>22160171
Finished the third one.
I liked the first the most.
Juniper went on too long, the Plain of Fear and Barrowland were more fun.
Raven's a faggot

Oh Cradlefags, what did you think of the literal ending? How long did you think that fuck was waiting to have the last two words literally be "the end"?

>Bored
>look up some lit harem sloppa
>All newer books are shitty Civai covers
Its kinda of impressive how little effort someone can put into a book

>>22163057
I thought it was acceptable, but it was clearly too much content to get through in a single book. I get that he didn't want to drag the series out, but dealing with all the Dreadgods and all the Monarchs in a single book was just too much. It was wall to wall action with very little time to breathe and didn't have enough space for the character moments. I think he should have done another book, deal with Shen and the Phoenix in the first, then the rest in the last.

>>22163066
That's not what I was asking about though. Literally just the spoilered cheesy bit lol but I agree with you overall.

>>22163065
A good artist can charge up to $1k+ for a cover
better use AI to generate a breedable waifu and fix her hands and bam, you saved money
remember that most coom writers are broke af

I just want to read something both indulgent and substantial. Is that so wrong?

New er gen kino on the menu boys

>>22163264
>new er gen film
>>>/tv/

>>22163057
It probably meant a lot more to you than him to use those specific words. Considering the style that he writes it probably just seemed appropriate and didn't put really any forethought or other consideration into it. So, he wasn't waiting at all. In figurative terms it may have been a while.

>>22163066
I don't think the series has been all that much about about character moments unless you consider training as such.

>>22163075
>>22163065
Whining about AI harem covers is retarded. Just look at what people were using before. This is a substantial improvement. People who could afford pricey art can still get them, while the cheap fodder can elevate their works by using something better than cheap paint-made trash.

>>22163358
For some it's more the principle than anything else. That AI shouldn't be allowed to take any potential work from a human. It's the same way how in some countries with very strong labor groups that they prevented automated machines from taking their jobs for a long time. That eventually failed when they were no longer competitive and the cost to subsidize them became too much. The Market is savage. As Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and other capitalist luminaries have said: “if you don't cannibalize yourself, someone else will.”

>>22162927
>but I didn't think we got much of it in the west.
?
>Forgotten Realms books: 295
>Dragonlance books: 153
>Dark Sun novels:16
And mystara, eberron, greyhawk etc

>>22163285
Now kino means "it's good" and nothing else, like so many other words that have lost all nuance. One can resist the undeath of meaning, but it's a futile struggle.

Have you made piece with the fact that the fatass will die before finishing ASOIAF and it'll have to be finished by Sanderson?

>>22160171
Reads like proto-malazan. Worth a read but I felt like the first arc just sort of wraps up abruptly. Not counting Silver Spike which came out 30 years later.

actual spoiler: They just immediately beat the big bad and it isn't even really described. Just They piled on him, he killed a bunch of people but we got him. felt like a 3 book built up left high and dry

>>22163641
>Reads like proto-malazan
Malazan was, quite literally, inspired by Black Company.

>>22163641
>Not counting Silver Spike which came out 30 years later.
>Publication date September 1989
>30 years later

>>22163641
>Reads like proto-malazan
You people are insane. Black Company doesn't read like Malazan at all. Cook has a completely different writing style than Erikson. There are elements of Black Company that are similar to Bridgeburner/Bonehunters sections, but style is not one of those things.
Thomas Covenant is what actually reads like proto-Malazan.

>>22160171
skip the pointless interquel

>>22163575
He'll die before finishing ASOIAF for sure but no way will Sanderson be the one to finish it. The guy can't write a well written character especially femsles to save his life.

>>22163993
>The guy can't write a well written character
They could stick a badge with his name on a book-shaped turd and it would sell millions of copies, that's a big plus.

Are the Endymion books after Fall of Hyperion worth it?

>>22164091
The conclusion of what I what wrote about them, and the overall sentiment of of those who have read them is that it's marginally worth it as long as you don't directly compare them to the first two books. If you want more details let me know.

>>22163723
>Thomas covenant
Please never mention these again in sffg. Those books are so fucking terrible.

>>22164008
I don't think that matters for ASOIAF specifically, it's a big enough name that in terms of pure money it would sell even from a literally who author.

>>22164421
I don't complain about your litrpg and progression trash, please refrain from besmirching literature actually worth reading.

>>22164424
Found the one shill who has been putting Thomas covenant on the recommended graphics

>>22160171
I read the first two books and really liked both.

>>22164421
>Proto-Malazan
>"Those books are so fucking terrible"
Makes sense.

SFF that actually feels strange and fantastic (not done to death by derivatives):
BoTNS
Most Jack Vance
AA Attanasio
Altered Carbon
VI Viral Intelligence by Don Debrandt (this one was my holy grail. I still look in vain for something on its level)

>>22164601
After dying earth and the demon princes, anything else by Vance worth reading? Those were comfy

but have you heard about vance????

>>22164601
R A Lafferty

>>22164608
Caldwall Chronicles, The Last Castle, Trullion, The Dragon Masters, Ports of Call, Planet of Adventure

>start reading The Black Company again
>some dude has a threesome
>the two girls were 11 and 12
God bless 80s fantasy

>>22164717
I think that's Croaker having a fever dream or nightmare.

are there any more good ones with the same trope?

>>22161024
>no even thread on /tv/
Nah. And it's pretty redpilled. It has pills for everyone! Especially when second book tells you everything was just Trisolaran propaganda

>stations of the tide
Where to next with Swanwick. This was good.

>>22161024
/tv/ hates Chinese media though and nobody talks about the Tencent show which can't be worse than whatever Netflix is doing

>>22164929
>Tencent show which can't be worse than whatever Netflix is doing
It's actually pretty good despite being dragged on for too long. New OCs were fine but censorship is weird. Netflix show is already looks pretty cheap compared to chink show.

>>22164782
That's a different threesome

>>22155520
Sff that is like berserk? Not in the medieval sword and sorcery fight sense but in the contemplation of suffering and pain sense. With fucked up shit as a bonus

>>22165117

>>22165137
I see nothing wrong with dark fantasy, what's your point?

>>22165137
Unironically, Elric is close to what that anon is asking for because he lives to suffer and he suffers to live.

>>22165186
Fire of destiny
Fire of reality
Zarozinia
The burning of flesh
Flames loving caress
Zarozinia
Water from a thousand tears
Feeling of a thousand years
Flow over me
But the dream it is too real
Cold reality of steel
Zarozinia
Hurt and wounded you return
But deep down feel the anger burn
Zarozinia
:(
>https://youtube.com/watch?v=FSqdaoMSFRE

>>22165186
What's Elric?

>>22165260
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elric_of_Melnibon%C3%A9

Waybound by Will Wight

[General Review]

Not too certain how to feel about the finale, having finished it in the last hour. This book had a tremendous amount of ground to cover and while I think that's done WELL, it's incredibly rushed. Emotional and meaningful moments are taken from characters (such as the conclusion of Mercy and Malice's storyline) in favor of... Well, it's hard to describe.

Earlier Cradle books knew exactly the story that Wight wanted to tell and were paced accordingly. If the Path to Gold took 3 books then there was an arc and satisfying character growth within those books. Dreadgod and Waybound by comparison are a rush job to make Lindon and his group into the 'Reaper Division' and add them to Wight's desperate grabs at a Sanderson-like larger universe. Waybound reads like a Marvel movie conclusion

"You'll see Lindon, Yerin, Mercy, Ziel, and Eithan again in..."
"THE REAPER DIVISION"

The Abidan plot was poorly handled and ultimately pointless and without conclusion. The Mad King was cut down... but Oth’kimeth vanished without notice from the Abidan. That story needed closing just as much as Lindon's on Cradle and yet it has to be a loose thread. Otherwise there's no call-to-action in the future for Eithan, Lirin, and the Reaper Division.

By itself as a book in the Cradle series, I'd say its one of the better written ones. His flow of large scale combat is excellent and something worth paying attention to if you'd like to write in this genre yourself. As a finale to a (personally) beloved series, I'm left... satisfied but ultimately disappointed that whatever emotional pay-offs I was looking for, whatever FINALITY, was taken out in exchange for continuing the story in the future. While that's fine, Wight probably could've taken the time to set it up better.

It's like going to a world-star restaurant and ordering blind. You see the cook put all of his passion into your dish. He's enjoying himself and the gusto of presentation is enjoyable. You're actually EXCITED to know what's coming to your table and when it finally arrives...

It's just a serviceable grilled cheese sandwich.

>Waybound (Cradle #12)
7/10

>Cradle Series
8/10 (Formerly a 9)

>>22165270
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>22165270
>specializes in the Void Icon
>steals the ending you wanted
>he is The End(TM)
Pottery.

>>22165270
>As a finale to a (personally) beloved series, I'm left... satisfied but ultimately disappointed that whatever emotional pay-offs I was looking for, whatever FINALITY, was taken out in exchange for continuing the story in the future.

This was my take and it appears to be a common one among people with anything worth saying, he fumbled at the end but delivered something acceptable.
However, I'm unsure why you think there will be a continuation in the future. IIRC Will Wight does not intend to continue Lindon and Yerin's story. You might hope for some cameos in the future series, but as it is their story is over. They graduated Cradle, found a job in a cosmic CIA and made themselves a child. That's it. Their story's over.

By the way, one aspect I didn't see discussed is the final status of Lindon and his stuff. Throughout the books we've seen some snipets about strange and powerful beings of the universe, like the Mad King and his cloak made of a living cosmic monster, people using mighty weapons made out of weird stuff, etc. At the end Lindon becomes exactly that kind of person, ascending from Cradle and wearing fucking armor, weapons and utilities made out of Dreadgods he has personally slain. Those weird, powerful guys that create cosmic dangers? Lindon's one of them now. That IS some pay-off, although very subtle.

Anyway, whatcha reading now?

>>22165293
>among people with anything worth saying
Just say your favorite streamer so we can laugh at you, dumb frogposter.

>>22165293
Yeah, the finale didn't really read like a "there will be more later". Compared to his other series' finales so far, it's his most definitive (well, Elder Empire was definitive on Shera's end, but Calder's was very open-ended, and Traveler's Gate basically just ends with a LOT of open shit still left), it's simply giving a snippet of what these characters will do in the future, they've gone through the hardest parts of their lives, so no reason to continue writing about them because their lives afterwards are a lot more stable and 'boring' for lack of a better word.
I'll agree Waybound feels like it's rushing through A LOT, though. It could've benefited from being a tad longer to give things more room to breathe (the final final fight felt almost like an afterthought given how much of the book is dedicated to the Dragon and Northstrider and Malice being dealt with and those latter two feel glossed over in how quickly they're actually dealt with when the time comes).
I've said it before, though, my personal opinion of Waybound as a finale is that it's just whelming. It's nothing I didn't expect, so I'm not disappointed, but none of my expectations were exceeded. I got pretty much exactly what I'd have thought I'd get.

>>22165283
Discourse remains the same, kill yourself.

>>22165285
I'm about a hair's breadth away from tapping the COPE Icon.

>>22165293
Indeterminate point in the future with the Epilogue, given everyone is effectively immortal. If they aren't a constant background fixture in his future stories, I do fully expect to read about them again. Oth'kimeth was the one pulling the strings and the Free Alliance still had a complete standing structure with an AMPLE mystery behind it. As for Lindon's final ascension, I think that note would've been better paid off if we saw that kit against the Silverlord first instead of Li Markuth. While a good note it's was too close to the first instance of it occurring, so it was just a 'oh he's doing it again neat'.

I told some other anon that I would finish Human Emperor since I've been sitting on my thumbs and doing audiobooks only. Re-reading some of that and I'm enjoying how he's a weakling (and knows it), so he keeps asking his baby sister to fight his battles for him. She's maybe... 6, but is a body cultivator and by far the strongest person in the village.

>>22165326
Really? Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like a big fat rush to make the Reaper Division and setup Oth'kimeth and the Free Alliance as an ever-present background threat against them.

>>22165332
>Really? Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like a big fat rush to make the Reaper Division and setup Oth'kimeth and the Free Alliance as an ever-present background threat against them.
I can kind of see how you'd come to that conclusion, but if anything that'll be stuff for either an Abidan-focused series (or hell even a Vroshir-focused series, flip the script), but the origin of such a thing isn't really 'relevant' to telling a story about them.
It's like Ozriel showing up in Elder Empire. Within the context of Elder Empire, he's simply a being akin to a jailor for the prison world that EE's planet is. If you'd read Cradle, you'd know more of who Ozriel is, but the appearances don't depend on each other at all. I don't think Wight's planning a grand over-arching storyline like Sanderson's Cosmere, he's simply introducing more to a shared multiverse and occasionally bringing something back now and then for bit parts.
Basically it's an ending in an "so the adventure continues" style. The grand scale multiverse still has issues, of course it does, but the stories about the smaller-scale stuff are the focus. You know what they're gonna be up to, maybe in the far far future they'll settle down (but given they both intend to live forever probably not) and maybe we'll see cameos here and there but likely nothing that needs foreknowledge.

>Its a Eithan chapter

Title: Saving Supervillains 5
Author: Bruce Sentar

[Review]
Aaaaand that's it. The series is over. Definitely among the best harem novel series I've seen, but still with some serious flaws. I've noticed the author has started to pay more attention to harem members the last two books (of his writing, not the series, I read the new Dragon's Justice book recently), which is an improvement, but the story could be more engaging. The consistent competency at interesting characters, compelling 'plot' and well-written erotica is still there.

Plot is used loosely here as the 'conflict' has been pretty much irrelevant for the last two books, being basically an afterthought. It's more about the characters than the story anyway. To be fair, the setting has been strongly 'inspired' by Worm, too strongly almost, but there's enough creativity and well-done personal spin on things that I don't mind that much.


Overall, there's not much to say for the book quality itself as Bruce Sentar is incredibly consistent in his books.

[Weird political themes of the book]

Now, there's one interesting thing to mention about the main conflict. To give picture of the setting, it's post-apo where the humanity has been reduced to several large metropolises due to the rise of super-powers and Titans (enhanced extremely powerful animals that gained powers as well) that have loose contact with each other. The super mutation has changed gender rations to 8:2 female to male and usually have one more super-power than men, the author portrays the society with reversed roles where it's mainly women who are criminals, in charge of things or raping/sexually assaulting men, straight-up role reversal.

Now, the conflict in the last two books was about the hidden cabal of men that want to restore the 'old ways' of men being in charge, but it's all paper-thin. What's weird is the author presenting the adversaries in speech and actions as foolish Incels. In comparison the protagonist is supposed to be the 'cool' guy...that keeps adding more women to his harem, left and right, and keeps enhancing their powers. So theme-wise, it's the conflict between conservative incelism and liberal polygamy.

It's fucking weird. Especially in the context of haremlit being commonly full of liberal feminism where the male protagonist is strong, but has a lot of similarly strong hot women that fight alongside him. Haremlit is politically confused as hell, and it's faaaaar from basic reactionary male fantasy people portray it to be.


[Rating]

The book: 6/10 - still decent Erotica, but not much to get into here, mostly erotica popcorn with decent characters and setting.
The series as a whole: 6.75/10

>>22165476
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>22165476
Who is the red haired one? I have book 4 to read in the coming weeks. Probably going to coom at the female YA.

>>22165496
It's a slight spoiler, but it's Kim, the director of the Super Bureau. The one that feels guilty about the protagonist's past where he had to kill the hero-gone-mad and turn villain.

any good fantasy with netori?
preferably if the bvll isn't mr prince charming

>>22165270
What will it take to get 10/10?

I like Nick Harkaway and I like his newest novel Titanium Noir. It's maybe 30% sci-fi and 60% murder detective novel.

>>22165525
I considered reading it months ago, but when I looked at an excerpt I decided not to request it.

>>22165540

What is it about chinese stories that are so engaging? When reading shit like Bastion book 2 or Powder Mage series 2 I kept getting bored and doing other things. Meanwhile while reading LOTM or RI I can't put the book down.

>>22165702
How"engaging"
You soulless chinkshit loving retard

>>22165702
It's not that they're Chinese, it's their style. It's a supernormal stimulus for those who enjoy it. Almost web fiction is the reading equivalent of meth.

>>22165513
Stuffing granny guts is so hot bro.

Redpill me on the Zamonia series

>>22165779
It doesn't satisfy. Find something more pure.

>>22165795
>pure
What does that mean? Explain

>>22165713
>posts literary gold
>this is supposed to be an insult to the writing and not his own abysmal taste

>>22165702
True, I finished ISSTH last year and it was KINO, I'm on volume 7 of LOTM and having a great time, maybe I'll read RI in the future too.

>>22165521
10/10 is Perfect, I believe they should be handed out as if there were a finite supply. In comic books I only have 5 perfect titles, in video games only 4. Dungeon Crawler Carl would be a 10/10 if it wasn't being written by council. Lord of the Mysteries as a series might be a 10/10, but the first book had some growing pains. Once I finish these last 6 books I plan to go through all the series that actually meant something to me.

>>22165864
>In comic books I only have 5 perfect titles, in video games only 4
Name them

>>22165884
>video games
Nekopara
Doki Doki Literature Club
Danganronpa
Netorare Wife

>comic books
Black Panther
Miles Morales
Luke Cage
Ultimate Nick Fury

>>22165884
Hell, don't I catch enough flak here for my harsh takes and weird proclivities in fiction?

>Comic Books
Amazing Spider-Man: Happy Birthday (#498-500)
All-Star Superman
Hellblazer "Dangerous Habits" (#41-46)
Green Lantern Corps (2004 - 2011)
DnA's Guardians of the Galaxy run (2008)

>Video Games
Final Fantasy X
Seiken Densetsu 3
Legend of Dragoon
Dragon Quest V

>>22165476
> it's all paper-thin
it's almost as if the books are smut and any semblance of plot exists solely as filler between the sex scenes and collecting the next generic 1-dimension female for the collection.

>>22165924
>All-Star Superman
Exquisite taste.

>>22165923
>entry level VN
sasuga
>>22165924
2000s GL was cool with the multi-color Lanterns arc but damn if Cosmic Marvel in the 2000s wasn't the absolute top shit. Annihilation was wild and GotG getting neutered in the movie was sad to see.

>>22165924
I at least called All-Star Superman being there, because how could it not be, really. I don't read enough comics to have read many 'runs' though, so I dunno the rest there. The games reveal you've got a very specific type, but fair enough.

>>22165932
Thanks, pal.

>>22165939
Prior to the multi-colored Lanterns was the development of the Corps, which I loved. There was a specific series of comics where Guy Gardner joined The Corpse, a black ops division of the Lanterns. They swallow a disk that provides them a 5-day ring charge and are dropped into the shit of it with a time limit. Massive turnover rate, but the story was fantastic. There's also a tremendous amount of development for B and C-list Corps members before DC finds some excuse to erase them all again.

Cosmic Marvel was a very close second for me. I read EVERYTHING up to that final spread with Star-Lord and Nova blasting their way to an early death in the Cancerverse. Annihilation and Annihilation-Conquest were amazing.

>>22165940
Love me ensemble casts. Love me bittersweet tragedies.

>>22165924
>not even the best final fantasy
>I played a fan translation on an emulator , truly the best.
>one of the most overrated RPGs
>Emulator or port, first that didn't initially release in English, they just didn't understand!
Hipster taste desu

>>22165977
Baffling that that shit was going on alongside Civil War. Comics can have such extreme contrasts in quality sometimes.

>>22165977
My brother I was debating on posting that exact image. It's one of my favorite moments. I vaguely remember the early Corps stuff you're referring to, like with the Parallax arc. I didn't get into reading comics online until the late 2000s and all these years later I have a very vivid memory of reading that Sinestro Corps betrayal arc as one of my first comic full arcs, along with all the GL Corps stuff beforehand, accompanied by Nova and Annihilation. I think I read a bit of Civil War at the time but I was fully enamored reading Annihilation -> GotG, etc. I didn't read the Thanos stuff the first time, as it was coming out. I don't remember why I dropped it at the time, probably because that's when demonoid got shut down and I didn't know where else to go haha but I came back years later and reread it all. They don't make 'em like they used to.
I actually grabbed that Doomverse thing where Doom broke up the world into all kinds of different nations/realities but I haven't touched it in years and it's taken me years to very slowly and casually work my way through whoops. I really liked some parts and should redownload some of it maybe.

>>22165925
Post bobs

>>22165990
>not even the best final fantasy
You're right, I pussed out. It's 8.
>I played a fan translation on an emulator , truly the best.
Also correct. ZSNES on a DSL modem in the early 2000s. Good times...
>one of the most overrated RPGs
Overrated and under-appreciated. I'll shut the fuck up about it when I get my full upscaled remaster.
>Emulator or port, first that didn't initially release in English, they just didn't understand!
First one, then the other. I prefer the DS release myself. Movie is good too.

>>22166001
Depends so much on the authors and how much room they're given. Cosmic Marvel was essentially free reign while anything on Earth had to shackled by mandate. That and I believe this is Abnett right after or during his 40k book run which adds a lot.

>>22166019
Amazing scene, they really don't hit the highs of older comics anymore. I fell out of comics once Bendis moved to DC and ruined Superman just a few years back. Never read Doomverse because of that, but I heard (mostly) good things. I'm a huge Doom fan myself, so I'll kick a few recommendations... My personal favorites are the Fantastic Four: Masters of Doom run by Mark Millar and Doctor Strange and Dr Doom's Triumph & Torment.

>>22165270
Total disappointment. I guess only hacks can have an interest in progression shit, and I'm the fool for hoping someone would come along and write "xianxia but good". Such a strong start, too.
Hope you're reading this Will, you FRAUD. What the fuck man, did someone give him brain damage after Uncrowned? Quality just went down and down until we're here at webnovel tier ending.

He has NEVER published a good ending. FACT.

>>22166111
I never cared for Doom much myself, just checked out the Doomverse because of the crossover. I liked Punisher MAX and Planet Hulk a whole lot too, as far as standout capeshit goes. Secret Wars, that's what it's called: the Doomverse.

>>22166147
Sure, ending is the hardest part, but Travelers last book at least still had, you know, STAKES, and didn't end in "everyone lived happy ever after".

>>22166127
Uncrowned is around the time he confirmed that he was releasing a book around every 6 months for maximum relevancy and profit.

>>22166147
I never fully understood the cult of Sanderson, but I find his writing generally palatable most of the time.

>>22166111
>ruined Superman just a few years back
Up In The Sky was a good one, though that's 4 years ago now. Haven't heard much of Superman comics good or bad besides that.
>>22166147
Well, I think Elder Empire's was good, even if goddamn did Calder get shafted a lot more than Shera. Like, rough endings for both of them, but damn the dude who deserved it the least of the two protagonists got it the worst.

How would you distinguish between a fiendish or devilish contract and a contract with the fae? I know there's a lot of overlap there, but it feels in my mind like there is a difference, and I'm not quite sure how to put it into words.

>>22166236
The method in which you take in energy or generate power, maybe? Kinder fae in mythos are always asking of nature, while devilish fae will just take the energy that they need.

Anyone reading re:monarch? It's kind of baffling how the plot makes use of the time travel element as minimally as possible despite the number of uses being completely arbitrary.

>>22166240
Do you mean maybe in terms of one party giving the other a raw deal by working loopholes in the contract vs the other simply being a strange contract with odd stipulations?

>>22166247
I suppose the question is 'what's the nature of the contract'? Your interpretation is right too: good fae would expect righteous service, fiendish fae would generate disorder or try to swindle you.

>>22166270
Well, in all cases the contract would be a bit coercive.

In the "fae" instance, the contract writers are necromancers dealing with the spirits of the dead, and the terms that they might be brought back. I very much don't want to go with a gothic dude with skulls and black robes thing like most fantasy does. So it's a fairy bargain offered by the caster with the dead. In the fiendish instance, it's a summoner summoning fiend, but they are the ones offering the contract to the fiend and attempting to dominate it.

I'm trying to do things a bit backwards here, but I want both instances to feel like they're rooted in the same sort of magic, it's just that both practices went in completely separate directions with how they approached it.

>>22166147
Only cucks and women care about endings, we enjoy the journey

>>22166337
The ending is part of the journey.

feel when travelers gate is still better than entirety of cradle

>>22166337
Cope, the journey's been shit for 3 books now. The ending is where frauds reveal themselves.

>>22166654
oh no 5% of my readers hated the ending

>>22166693
My nose doesn't curl over my upper lip so I don't give a shit about money. And I never gave him any exactly for this occasion

>>22159821
He's only a better than every single other author that gets postd here but yeah totes overrated lol

Why can't this hurry and come out faster bros? Anybody else excited?

>>22155520
A friend (female) recommended me this book and I’m going to start reading it. What am I in for? Is it worth its length?

>>22167045
>lightbringer

>>22159821
Friendly reminder it’s OK not to share opinions with everyone else, anon. Just because you liked something more or less than someone else doesn’t mean that thing is under or overrated.

>>22165006
>Netflix show is already looks pretty cheap compared to chink show
Only Netflix could accomplish this

>>22167071
Someone posted a screen of what I assume was the beginning last thread and it was hilariously bloated and needlessly repetitious. I don't think I could force myself to read it if it stayed like that for very long. It's length is less impressive if the author repeats everything four times fornnonreadon.

>>22165977
>>22165924
>>22165932
>>22165977
>>22166019
>>22166111
I told you.

I literally told you faggots that all the litrpg and webnovel shit are just symptoms of /lit/'s regressive devolution towards /co/.

You said it was bullshit, you said I was seething, you said none of you even enjoy capeshit slop. You lied because you're all just refugees from a board that you killed, who are now doing the same to a much better board.

You faggots are literally the Somalians of 4chan.

read Hard to be a god and Roadside picnic, what should I read next by the brothers?

>>22167161
>you you you you
lurk moar and stop posting, newfag

>>22167161
it's been known from the start
zoomer retards read shitrpg and chinkshit because it resembles their anime and comic books
it's why they hate old fantasy
a mind used to superman, dragonball z and spider man will never be able to understand dunsany, so they read shit like "dungeon crawler carl" and "reverand insanity" instead
people tried making shitrpg containment threads but shitrpg fans just kept polluting this one
>>22167349
kill yourself

>>22167493
read some Dick instead of choking on it, newfag

>>22167500
Seethe more shitrpgfag

OH it's anti review/litrpg fag who never discusses books that he reads.

>>22167503
Why would i discuss books with people who unironically enjoy shit like reverand insanity and dungeon crawler carl?
None of these people could read even a paragraph of dunsany

>>22167045
Probably the only thing coming out this year I care about

>>22167160
>Someone posted a screen of what I assume was the beginning last thread and it was hilariously bloated and needlessly repetitious. I don't think I could force myself to read it if it stayed like that for very long. It's length is less impressive if the author repeats everything four times fornnonreadon.
What a weird take. TWI is known for being extremely sparse with scene details and being straight tot he point in its writing, it has next to zero bloat - text-wise when it comes to plot it does become bloated, but in another way. The text itself is crisp.

Recently I tried to read The Wheel of Time and almost vomited after the first pages were descriptions of trees, wind and nature. By the time I read those pages I would be 1/3 through a single TWI chapter, even 20k words long.

>>22167071
>>22167160
>>22167576
imagine reading this shit

>>22167579
It's the fucking first page you mongoloid. If it's a slow beginning you get a calm wordy exposition. I know you are just trolling, but some anons are stupid enough to think this how an entire story looks like.
Picrel is how a usual page looks like.

>>22167595
You are arguing with a consistent shitposter who spergs nonfuckingstop at anyone he doesn't like. Stop giving it attention.

>>22167595
I don't care about muh first page
the writing is objectively bad
and you are a 90IQ retard for reading it
compare it to an actual good writer like dunsany

>>22167595
>It's the fucking first page you mongoloid.
We've reached the point where people will defend bad writing by saying it's the first page. Dear God... Look, I love anime, but you didn't really buy into the whole "three episode rule" thing did you? That's what you sound like here.

It's really unfortunate when anons use media as their identity.

>>22167045
When is Brent Weeks going to sue him?

>
>>22167637
Roughly around the time you are able to ask cogent questions.

>>22167606
My preference is the the First Word Rule. If the first word of what I'm reading doesn't start with a noun or verb it's an instant drop for me.

>Humanity, let us say, is like people packed in an automobile which is traveling downhill without lights at terrific speed and driven by a four-year-old child. The signposts along the way are all marked 'Progress.
Reject Modernity
Embrace Dunsany

>>22167595
>she
stopped reading there

Very pretentious for a mediocre author.

>>22167692
Not really. Reads like a typical marketing blurb.

>>22167692
>retarded hack who only got his book published because his parents owned a publishing company is LARPing as a self made author and adventurer
kek

>>22167678
Anon reject standard pronouns. No "he, she, xe, they, it". Everything becomes anon.

How many reads = reply?

>>22163032
Malazan rocks, you have brain worms

>>22167692
I wonder what happened in his life that made him such an ego maniac.

>>22167704
books sold well enough for holywood to make a movie about it

Cope and seethe

>>22168102
He clearly wasn't taught much humility by his parents and they're likely the same.

>>22168138
No no. Egomaniacs get that way because their ego was deeply wounded when they were children and they're still compensating as adults.

>>22167692
jesus christ

When will people understand that Dark Fantasy means that the fantasy aspect is dark
Tired of the "evil human nature" in these stories

>>22167071
>trusting women recommending books
>TWI
Going this low eh? Migh as well read these harem lit that coomers post in this thread too

>>22167692
I have half-repressed memories of writing like this in my early teens. I can't believe someone would publish this as a full-grown manchild.

What am I in for bros?

>>22168639
mediocre military sci-fi. at least it's quick.

>>22167161
>>22167601
Christ, I caught a laugh in my throat when I initially read this and almost choked to death. Dunsany? Really? The root of your autism is that contemporary fantasy and sci-fi doesn't compare to the (it could be said LITERAL) father of fantasy that inspired nearly every prolific writer in the golden age? He's been dead since 1957 anon, I think it's time to let go.

Also your argument has changed each time you're challenged on your bullshit in these threads. Before it was because review fags 'shill' while directing people to Royal Road and spending their precious money on some fool's patreon. You inferred some of us are even paid off because we're subbed to NetGalley. Now you're genuinely name dropping... THE GUY to try and prove a point. You're a fucking buffoon.

Also I think you're missing the point of this review exercise (at least for me). It was to examine 20 titles in an emerging (perhaps re-emerging) genre in the west called progression fantasy. This evolved into reviewing 20 cultivation titles and 20 litRPGs to avoid lumping it together. There are quality titles here when you sift through all the shit redditors threw at the wall to see what stuck. Will they reinvent the fantasy as a genre? No, but to compare them to the works of a man who literally pioneered the genre is entirely missing the point and to hold the ENTIRE genre to that standard is fucking insane.

I'll give Dreamer's Tales and Fifty-One Tales another read through and provide a review at some point. Don't know if I'm genuinely curious or just trying to antagonize you, but we'll figure it out.

>>22167161
You have to make the first move anon, it's over. Grab your gun, you know what you must do.

>>22168639
Kinda boring nothingburger book desu

>>22168679
>Christ, I caught a laugh in my throat when I initially read this and almost choked to death. Dunsany? Really? The root of your autism is that contemporary fantasy and sci-fi doesn't compare to the (it could be said LITERAL) father of fantasy that inspired nearly every prolific writer in the golden age? He's been dead since 1957 anon, I think it's time to let go.
No, you illiterate retard
A reader of shitrpg and chinkshit trash will never be able to read somebody like dunsany
their minds are so destroyed by hours of anime watching and comic-reading that dunsany goes over their heads
>Also your argument has changed each time you're challenged on your bullshit in these threads. Before it was because review fags 'shill' while directing people to Royal Road and spending their precious money on some fool's patreon. You inferred some of us are even paid off because we're subbed to NetGalley. Now you're genuinely name dropping... THE GUY to try and prove a point. You're a fucking buffoon.
A huge amount of posters in these threads ARE shills
> It was to examine 20 titles in an emerging (perhaps re-emerging) genre in the west called progression fantasy. This evolved into reviewing 20 cultivation titles and 20 litRPGs to avoid lumping it together. There are quality titles here when you sift through all the shit redditors threw at the wall to see what stuck. Will they reinvent the fantasy as a genre? No, but to compare them to the works of a man who literally pioneered the genre is entirely missing the point and to hold the ENTIRE genre to that standard is fucking insane.
No
All shitrpg/chinkshit/royalroad shit is irredeemable swill. It's trash, always will be.

>>22167161
>I literally told you faggots that all the litrpg and webnovel shit are just symptoms of /lit/'s regressive devolution towards /co/.
There is no shared origin between western LitRPGs and comics/anime. Some modern litrpgs incorporate anime aesthetics and cliches because zoomers shove that shit into eveything, but the spirit of the genre is pure. Don't lump it with weebshit or I will find where you live and extinguish your bloodline.

I hate rpgcoomer regressive chinkshit so much bros
This is the main reason I write. Out of anger and hate for modern faggotry

>>22168854
>>22168653
My favorite character so far is the fat beefwitted racist complaining about Pajeets getting to go into space when they're young

>>22168903

>>22168125
I went to the theaters to watch that movie when it came out and I'm still mad about how shit it was

>>22168679
>subbed to NetGalley
All NetGalley literally is, is registering with an email, perusing books, selecting request, and then either getting the book or not. It's a lot less involved than I thought it'd be for getting books for free that won't be released for months, or even a year in some cases.

>>22167595
>He was smiling. He was definitely smiling.
>but it was - well.
>*epic chungus pause*
>Just a pot.

>>22168639
I liked it but did not like the follow-ons.

bump before it 404