/lit/ - Literature

>>22169525
Fuck bakker

Wolfefags are making fun of us

I need a light and entertaining sf series. Would this do?

>>22169530
ya no shit. Look how bad these generals are lately. Total dogshit

imagine unironically reading this swill

>>22169551
Depends on what you mean by "light". Is genocide, torture, suicide, child prostitutes, body horror, physical and mental mutilation, and tons of other terrible things throughout the series light?

>>22169551
Honestly the expanse is one of my favorite scifi series, idk if I would describe it as light considering its a 9 book series about solar system wide conflicts (generally, not all of them) but they are entertaining as hell and the audiobooks are very high quality.

>>22169560
Even Kingposting has deserted us. Truly dark times.

This true?

>>>/s4s/10861120

>>22169551
Try John Birmingham's Space Opera trilogy, starts with The Cruel Stars. I've heard good things

>>22169525
>Discuss a side character that you enjoyed, perhaps one you were averse to when they were introduced.
You are supposed to add 'edition' at the end.

>'>>>22155520 '
Jesus christ is that what you annons do when I'm not around and can't make new threads? You cannot even copy-paste the last thread without fucking it up? I really am too smart for this board.

Any more comfy sci-fi like pic related?
I found this book randomly at the library and fell in love. Just blue collar spacedudes breaking OSHA guidelines in space.

This is boring as fuck. Alia is such a shitty character. Why has everyone suddenly become some melodramatic caricature of what they were in the first book? If you're going to write so much dialogue then it better be dialogue worth reading.

>>22169551
The Expanse is largely entertaining and doesn't require muh 250 IQ, yes.

>>22170796
Planetes

Am I the only one reading The Last Echo of the Lord of Bells?

>>22170714
>you are supposed to add edition
How about no, newfag? Generals should have never been normalized and while it doesn't happen here, 'edition' is a method of getting your threads deleted elsewhere: Because big surprise, 24/7 nonstop generals does not a quality thread make.
I'll add what I want next time I make a thread too which is why I added a discussion prompt, that of course nobody picked up on. Gotta discuss Dune and The Expanse for the umpteenth thread in a row instead..

>>22170974
>..
oh no that was only meant to be a regular period, not an ESL attempt at an ellipsis.

>>22170974
>I added a discussion prompt, that of course nobody picked up on.
More like your feeble attempt at forcing discussion went rightfully ignored.
Take a page from /tg/ and try questions if you want to prompt discussion. Demanding one is retarded.

>>22170982
>one sentence is "forcing" and "demanding" discussion
>BAWWWWW
What a surprise, newfag doesn't even know that these threads used to begin with discussion prompts but go cry about it on /vg/ or somewhere else, newfag filth.

>>22170991
No helping the illiterate I see. Enjoy your dead thread.

>>22171017
>one sentence is "forcing" and "demanding" discussion

>>22170714
>bitching about muh Proper General OP Post Etiquette instead of contributing any good discussion

>>22170991
>bitching about being bitched at instead of contributing any good discussion

You deserve a thread that you create.

Meawhile I've recently finished the Lensman series. The language and style is wonderfully old-fashioned, and some parts are just plain fun regardless.

>>22170461
I liked the first three when I was in middle school and Halo had just come out and was a huge thing. Not sure how well they hold up but I am sure that every book after the first three are irredeemable trash and not worth anyone's time.

Only on book two, but I'm starting to think this Stannis plonker has already spoilt everything

>>22170801
Messiah is kino. Great dialogue. Go back to sanderson

The Knight was incredible, so why has The Wizard been so god damn boring? Really, everything since they met King Gilling has been just plain bad. I think I'm gonna drop this one.

A lot of people seem to have evacuated from this shit general—no wonder. All that is left is some clueless newcomers, one bakkerchad, two wolfefags, and a circlejerk of 14 litrpg autists, who constantly fight about the definition of litrpg and which one of their shit books is the least shit.

>>22171365
If you can make it until Able comes back it returns to form pretty fast.

Gook book posting has ruined this general

>>22170801
Frank Herbert is a terrible writer. Dune is also boring and filled with caricatures that have terrible dialog, but somehow it all magically works. The magic wears off fast.

>>22169525
Dungeon Crawler Carl, Dungeon Crawler Carl #1 - Matt Dinniman (2020)

When I first tried reading this I didn't get past the introduction. The initial set up and premise simply have to be accepted and moved on from, which requires significant suspension of disbelief. After I settled in I found it to be greatly enjoyable. This isn't Dinniman's debut novel - that was twenty years ago. He's been traditionally published and has self-published. At nearly fifty years old he's probably at the older end of those writing in this space. With that age and experience he's demonstrated a surprisingly considerate take on gaming, reality tv, social media, and content creation.

Dinniman's depth of knowledge is readily made apparent through his understanding and proper usage of the conventions from the sources that he references. I wouldn't surprised if there was barely anything original here. Quite possibly almost everything could be traced back to something else. He excels in the execution of bringing these disparate elements together. If this were a literary novel it could be called densely intertextual. The downside to this is that it assumes the reader is familiar with what's being referenced. Those without a background in the relevant subjects may struggle to understand how and why anything happens for the reasons it does. There are a lot of general pop culture references as well. The references are mostly presented as they are, with a few notable exceptions. The contemporary Japanese interpretation of orcs is used rather than the Tolkien or later Western revisions. What I assume to be the Kuo-Tuo are called Kua-Tin due to Wizards of the Coast's active enforcement. Despite Nintendo's litigious nature their references are unchanged.

After decades of preparation an alien corporation is ready for the newest season of Dungeon Crawler World, a death game broadcasted throughout the known universe that's extremely profitable. It begins by instantly destroying all of Earth's infrastructure and putting up entrances to the dungeon everywhere. The goal for the crawlers is to reach the 18th floor within the time limit to win back their planet. Unfortunately for them that's never happened before. There's also a bit about what's happening outside of the dungeon.

The two primary characters are Carl, the first person viewpoint character, and Princess Donut, a talking cat. There are around 13 million concurrent cralwers to start, which is a considerable amount for a massive multiplayer dungeon crawler. In this first book though they don't come across all that many other crawlers. However, since the monsters are real Carl engages in conversation with those that can, when not gruesomely murdering them. He'd rather not massacre sapients when possible. There are also player killers, which are shown by how many skulls they have when examining them.

>>22171788
The game mechanics are both practical and an aesthetic. They're a rather incoherent mixture from many different sources. The d20 System Reference Document is a major influence, from the levels, stats, magic, classes, equipment, and much else. Combat is entirely freeform and free of minutiae, aside from the occasional mention of how much of a healthbar is remaining. There's a hotbar, cooldown timers, healing potions, and other similar mechanics displayed through the HUD. The focus seems to be more on clever solutions than brute force. Grinding is mostly skimmed over. The inventory system reminded me of Fallout, both in terms of hoarding literally anything the protagonist comes across and being functionally unlimited, though without the carried weight limitations. Borderlands seemed to be a primary influence in terms of its humor, active and passive abilities, challenges/achievements, and boss fights.

In terms of dungeon crawling there are primarily hallways that have connecting rooms. Fog of war is present and what's been explored can be viewed through the minimap, which is filled with the relevant colored icons. There are a lot of menus, though they're mostly applicable to peace mode. A few other mechanics are that skills increase through usage, any notable event may give a treasure box, and there are various chat functions. Overall it provides a distinct feeling of both tabletop and video gaming without being overly concerned with trying to exactly replicate the experience.

The story leans into ludonarrative dissonance through agency, or lack thereof. Rather than a crawler trying to get as much entertainment out of the game as possible, the game tries to get as much entertainment as it can from the crawler, adapting as needed to do so. Situations similar to Spec Ops: The Line's White Phosphorous and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's No Russian scenes occur where a crawler is all but forced to commit atrocities to progress the gameplay, though unlike the former example, no self-reflection is intended. The only moral judgement is how well it plays to the audience.

As this is a for-profit death game, merit doesn't matter at all relative to how much money any given crawler can make for the corporation producing the show. To that end, the crawlers want to have as many viewers watching, following, and favoriting them in order to attract sponsors who can help them survive. After their activity stats are activated, the beginning of each chapter shows their current views, follows, and favorites. It's one of many numbers that go up and down. Crawlers also need to develop their own catchphrases, forced memes, and whatever else that helps them go viral. They may also have to do interviews on talk shows and participate in game shows as required. Even the fetishes of the sentient algorithm must be indulged. Those who are dependent on patrons for survival may have to make a lot of compromises, or even let them assume direct control.

Rating: 4.5/5

>>22171796
I've written twice as much as usual because I'll be writing less about the rest of the series. I only wrote about the first and last Cradle books which I think was a mistake so I'm doing differently this time.

>>22170801
>This is boring as fuck.
Try reading it when you grow up. This site is for adults only.

>>22171414
>All that is left is some clueless newcomers
newcomer here
I tried following the link the pasta for recommendations or starting points and all I found was a massive waste of time.
Going to ignore all that shit and just start with Swords and Deviltry and see where that takes me.

>>22171788
>>22171796
>>22171803
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

/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.

>>22171888
>12 recs, but only 10 in the image

/SFFG/ Recommendations: LITRPG Edition

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

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

>>22171888
>>22171909
>Also read
Why are you at arbitrarily separating them like that? I can't take you seriously for doing unnecessary things without logic.

>>22171933
Because that's the nature of a ritualposter. He decided not to combine them.

>>22171863
Why does he only review absolute dogtrash books

>>22170801
Herbert is an autistic fuck that slowly lets dune devolve from political rambling to poorly written smut hiding behind the veneer of plans within plans within feints within feints within plans within feints

>>22171941
What would you want me to write about?

>>22171788
>>22171796
Shit Crawler Carl was good at first, but it got worse with each book that the author was giving the catfags fanservice. I dropped the series at book 3. It's so fucking boring.

>>22172036
The author does like his trolling and intentionally upsetting those who complain it seems.

>>22171788
>At nearly fifty years old he's probably at the older end of those writing in this space. With that age and experience he's demonstrated a surprisingly considerate take on gaming, reality tv, social media, and content creation.
You've...actually managed to make me respect DCC a bit less. I've known the author isn't young, but writing something like a DCC at his age isn't impressive, considering the 'quality of ideas' and depth the story presents. I'd have pegged his maturity at something like ~35. Idk, maybe it's my bias of reading lots of solid and mature fantasy when I was younger.

Of course DCC is a good story, one of the best in LitRPG genre, but overall it's still 'only' very good when compared to big fantasy.

>>22172054
I intentionally included his age for that reason. There are far too many expectations for age and what's appropriate, expected, and should be done. It's silly to be so self-serious. Having fun is for all ages.

>>22172033
The Lair of the White Worm

>>22172033
Either write reviews for books we might have heard of or books you actually recommend. Your "Book you've never heard of: it's decent I guess" reviews are pointless.

>>22171813
>Try reading it when you grow up. This site is for adults only.
People like to say this shit, like adults have endless patience to read books they don't like. The older I get, the more I've "seen it before" and the more willing I am to drop something that bores me.

I am reading Greg Egan's Dichronauts, which is certainly one of the sci-fi stories of all time. (Water is flowing uphill, or sometimes downhill, who knows. everyone is in a symbiotic relationship with some bloodsucking creature living inside of a hole in their skull, which allows them to see sideways. Turning left or right at all is literally physically impossible. The sun moves around the earth. The earth has the shape of a hyperboloid, not that of a sphere. Light can only travel in some directions.)

Went to /lit/ hoping to see something interesting here, but the fact that someone here unironically recommends The Wandering Inn gives me little hope.

Anyway, any /gregegan/ chads here?

>>22172080
Nice meme. Maybe I'll read Eye of Argon, My Immortal, or other similarly considered terrible. I've read and wrote about few memes suggestions before, but that isn't what I want to do right now.

>>22172096
I write about whatever I've read. I agree that we believe what I'm doing has different purposes. In the Goodreads group I see in my activity feed marking the books as to-read. Maybe they never would have seen the book otherwise. That's even the case when it's a "decent I guess". I don't usually outright say I recommend something, but I think the ratings do that enough.

As to what you've heard of, writing about only the most popular and talked about books isn't really what I want to do, though I've written about a lot of those though as well. I have over 500 books written about to some degree. They aren't all posted here. If you would, please give at least one specific example of what you think would be appropriate.

>>22172113
I've written about several of his novels. I've been slacking on reading him lately though.

I recommend Don DeBrandt here a couple days ago. I love this shit.

>>22172099
I will accurately and appropriately judge anyone who doesn't deem Dune Messiah worth reading.

>>22172123
Anything about his novels you wrote which you'd want to share? I read Diaspora, Orthogonal 1, Schild's Ladder, Permutation City, now Dichronauts, Book of all Skies. Possibly another one which I'm forgetting.

Honestly some of his shtick gets a bit old after a while. You see certain patterns in his writing emerge, especially when he's writing antagonists, or when it comes to the overall structure. Still, I find Dichronaut's quite engaging.

>>22172119
What would actually be useful is a list of hidden gems, especially recent ones.

>>22172119
It's not a meme. The Lair of the White Worm is good, and influential. See pic.

>>22171414
I've been trying to consciously get into fantasy but never make it past the first novel of a series. I'm just too used to standalone works.

>>22172140
Simply because I like something doesn't others will. I would never say that someone ought to only consider a single opinion. If I thought otherwise I never would have founded the Goodreads group or made the mega that has all the charts. As for recent stuff I've enjoyed you can either sort by year on my profile or search by year on warosu. Here's an example:
>>/lit/?task=search2&ghost=false&search_text=2023&search_tripcode=Sffg&search_ord=old
Change out 2023 with your preferred year in the search field or the URL.

I also do yearly write-up of what was most read and liked by the sffg group each year of what was published each year. There's only so much I can and and willing to do by myself.


>>22172136
>>/lit/?task=search2&ghost=false&search_text=Greg+egan&search_tripcode=sffg&search_ord=old

>>22172147
>The book is widely considered one of the worst books ever written.
I don't really like Stoker. Dracula was decent, barely. It's horror. That's not as relevant either. I appreciate your effort, but no. Even if I did, I would most likely have write terrible things about it, which wouldn't be what you'd want I assume.

>>22172152
Just read standalone fantasy if you want to then. Whether it's short fiction, novellas, or novels. If it doesn't bother you to only read the first book then there's nothing wrong with that either. All that's matters is whether you believe it's worthwhile to do.

>>22172171
I'm just messing with you.

>>22172190
If you're done with that, then you can try being sincere next.

>>22172147
the reviewfags in these threads believe that anything that isn't shitrpg chinkshit slop is a "meme"
one of our resident reviewfags gave a negative review to fafhrd and the grey mouser tales because they were short stories instead of a shitty bloated 800 page epic fantasy novel. imagine being mad that tales published in pulp magazines are in a short story format lmao

>>22172201
I am being sincere. Me saying "I'm just messing with you" was the ironic part because of your dismissal.

>>22172205
Once again you're creating your persecution. You can't not give up this false narrative. It doesn't say anything like that.

>>/lit/thread/20841537#p20842718
The Unholy Grail - Fritz Leiber (1962)
There were bits of unintentional humor in this. For example the villain decries the uselessness of his daughter as compared to her mother who was so fierce that she may have even cuckolded him. A young Gray Mouser is the protagonist and not very fun to read about. There were a few interesting ideas, but little was done with them.
Meh

>>22172230
Just ignore him. He is a failed starving author, and is mad that people are getting success with fun stuff and no one wants to read his shit of the rings knock off.

>>22171788
>>22171796
>get halfway through the first book
>entire plot premise is an excuse to build entirely from pop culture references
>MC is from Seattle
>MC's primary companion is a talking cat named Princess Donut the chonker
>MC's first encounter with PKers is two white ICE agents who murdered a pile of illegal minorities for no reason the second the apocalypse happened
How is literally R*ddit: the novel 4.5/5?

>>22172230
Don't care
One of the resident reviewfags claimed the F&GM was bad because it consisted of short stories.
Imagine complaining that pulp stories are short
>>22172282
I am not an author in any way
You can keep reading your chinkshit shitrpg swill though
And you can keep shilling it here and accusing people who call you out of being shills
Faggot

>>22172136
>I read Diaspora, Orthogonal 1, Schild's Ladder, Permutation City, now Dichronauts, Book of all Skies. Possibly another one which I'm forgetting.
Quarantine and Incandescence are his best, IMO. Teranesia has a cool premise. You've already read the rest of the worthwhile novels, so you probably know what to explect.

>Honestly some of his shtick gets a bit old after a while. You see certain patterns in his writing emerge
It's easily his weakest point. When he really lets himself go, he inevitably comes back to the same three chords every time.

Also, please ignore the tripfag. He starts acting up if you give him (you)s.

>>22172312
>How is literally R*ddit: the novel 4.5/5?

>>22170796
>Just blue collar spacedudes breaking OSHA guidelines in space.
now this is a review I can appreciate.

>>22172312
I don't base my beliefs around identity politics or being Extremely Online. Whether or not I agree with something often doesn't affect my enjoyment.

>>22172322
I'm the only "reviewfag" that regularly writes about works that aren't self-published. There's been a few one-offs, but almost the others who have written more lengthy posts are writing about self-published or other works that aren't like that at all. In all the times you've posted this, you've never stated a source. If you look at the archive there isn't really anything to go by.

>>22172312
>How is literally R*ddit: the novel 4.5/5?
It's not R*eddit, but you won't like it - the phrase 'The Apocalypse WILL be televised!' didn't land ont he cover of the first book randomly. The story is full of anti-capitalist, anarchist themes of going against the big corporations and fucking up the authority. Old 'burn the rich with molotovs' way, not the 'r*ddit' way.

>>22172344
That's an interesting definition of what a review is.

>>22172379
I guess it would be more of a synopsis

>>22172377
>says it isn't R*ddit
>spoilers are as R*ddit as possible
I know you can't help it as a braindead commie, but that's exactly what R*ddit is.

>>22172375
and your """reivews""" are shit
and you should fuck off

>>22169551
Read PF Hamiltons commonwealth saga

>>22171361
Haven't read Sandershit in my life.
>>22172132
It's not so much that it isn't worth reading, particularly when I've read and enjoyed Dune, but it's boring and Alia sucks. I'm still going to finish it nonetheless.

>>22172375
>I don't base my beliefs around identity politics or being Extremely Online
Me neither, but the author does and he inserted it directly into his story. Some of the author's beliefs will inevitably seep in and that's fine, but this is ridiculous. It's on the same level as if the MC entered the first safe room and found a troon hanging from the rafters, it's hamfisted idpol shit that no one came to read.
>>22172377
That's extremely R*ddit, anon, but I knew it was a capitalism bad story from the synopsis. The sticking point is in degrees of extremity and subtlety, and idpol inherently more retarded than anti-capitalism.

>>22172558
I don't know what tell you other than that what you mentioned is irrelevant to me. It clearly bothers you though and that's unfortunate.

>it's reddit to hate corporations even though all of 4chan seethes about corporations and their libshit cocksuckers daily
Make up your minds

would you say it's a good buy? i wanna read some contemporary short stories

>>22172588
There's no consistency to be had on an aggregate level, or on an individual one oftentimes.

>>22172096
>we
It's always newfags who say this. Lurk a lot moar, newfag trash. He reads and reviews several current/recent year tradpub titles which should suit newfag tourists like you just fine.
>>22172585
>no u
damn dude GOTTEM

>>22171888
stop posting this shit

>>22172588
That's anti-corporatism. What anon specifically wrote"(anti-capitalist, anarchist themes") is R*ddit, yes.
Regardless, I already said I was willing to stomach that level of R*ddit and it wasn't what I was complaining about. I wasn't the one who brought it up.

>>22172598
It's only as good as you agree with the editors taste.

>>22172603
I've been here since 2006.

> doesn't care about identify politics
> defines what he dislikes as an identity, reddit
So deep into idpol can't even see it. Tribalism is identity politics. Everything stated is about identity rather than behavior.

>>22172646
You haven't. Are you the one censoring reddit too? If so, this doubly applies, not that newfags admit wrongdoing.

>>22172588
The issue is never the what - it's all about the how. Reddit-ness is the self-satisfied conformity, the silent appeal to the common sense, the stale joy of unoriginal mediocrity - it's not the topic, it's downright avoidant fear of even accidentally appearing transgressive or even original. So the problem is not hating the corpo - it's expressing hatred for the corpo in the entirely safe, publicly approved, common, domesticated, pedestrian way.

If you're Cormac McCarthy, you can write about literal transsexuals and still be good. If you're Reddit, you can write about divine ubermeshchen enacting the Final Solution in cross-dimensional space and still have it be pure, well, Reddit. In fact, about 70% of all fanfiction and ""worldbuilding"" pieces that Reddit does (excluding the ones focused on cuckoldery) are about enacting the Final Solution on someone the author does not like.

>>22172654
Thank for you the astounding display of mental gymnastics.

>>22172652
>You haven't.
Yeah, ok, and you're an oldfag, you've been here all summer.
>Are you the one censoring reddit too?
No.

>>22172647
>gets mad, can't counter-argue and hides in semantics
like clockwork

>>22172405
>>22172558
Idk guys, I spent a lot of time on R*ddit these last few years and R*ddit is as liberal as it gets, not anarchistic. It's like comparing center-right to actual modern christian crusaders.

>>22172665
I'm not the same anon - I was just giving my two cents on the issue. It just does make sense to me how hating corporations, or literally any other stance, can be Reddit.

Neuromancer was somewhat original when Gibson wrote it. The idea that economic entities could own your body and make profit off it and drive you to fight it on the fields of the Virtual Network Wild West was something that elicited genuine reflection and interest in the audience, regardless of the audience agreeing or disagreeing. Even decades later, it still is original, and it always will be - because it was an authentic expression of genuine creativity for the context in which it existed, and the text is good enough to make us feel the shape of that context within the text. This authentic originality is the same one that makes Solaris and Rendezvous with the Rama, A Scanner Darkly and God-Emperor of Dune, Earthsea and Lord of the Rings, even much worse things that at least TRY like M*lazan or Ancillary Justice - evocative even when they tell us exactly what we already heard.

But imagine writing literally just Neuromancer, but today. Absolutely none of it would be original, and none of the thoughts expressed in it can evoke even a genuine disagreement - it's all "ugh, duh, whatever" when approached critically, or unthinking upvoting when it's a part of a circlejerk. It's just slag in the industrial sense - a worn-out material, a creative vein that was examined, mined, chewed out and discarded.

"Reddit" is in inhabiting and living that slag, and feeling comfortable in it. None of it is authentic because we know that it's an attempt at imitation at best, and a consequence of having group behaviour instead one's own brain at worst - it's obvious that you can't genuinely think and what Gibson wrote in 1984 as a same sort of expression in reaction to the same sort of inspirations he had then. You're not building up into the sky - you dig in what long became the foundation, so regular that it is generally no longer acknowledged, and which doesn't challenge you or the audience in any way.

To be more than Reddit, an author who hates corpos/commies/niggers/Jews needs to find a new way to look at and therefore a new way to hate corpos/commies/niggers/Jews, one that goes beyond Gibson or Hitler. Otherwise it's all just nodding along and thanking kind strangers for gold.

>>22172730
It's the upboat/downboat system that fosters circlejerking of an established roster of accepted ideas. DCC's trite regurgitations of past thinkers' most palatable ideas are like political pop culture references, which makes sense when the rest of the book is just regular old pop culture references.

>>22172760
>It's the upboat/downboat system that fosters circlejerking of an established roster of accepted ideas
Naturally, yes.

"Discuss a side character you enjoyed"

I like that archivist guy from the second web volume of Beware of Chicken. He's in like three (maybe more) chapters but stood out in my mind.

Dude is there when an ancient device suddenly activates, everyone thinks he's the reason why (he's not), and because of this he has to lead a bunch of important sect elders deeper into a mountain to explore it, where they get trapped. This is done in story just to get the elders out of the way so they won't interfere and can react to what happened in the plot.

The dude's nervous because of the sudden change in events and because he's trapped with a bunch of important people who could ruin him. But inside of flipping out and getting mad at him, all the elders are just chill with him and give him advice on his work and love life - which I found funny.

Like I said, dude exists mainly as a plot device, but it allows the audience to see the kinder side of the elders, and the revelation of whats in the mountain is pretty cool too. I guess this is more an appreciation of an event the side character was involved in than the character, but whatever.

Beware of Chicken's pretty chill and entertaining, read it if you want.

https://www.theoryland.com/intvsresults.php?kw=language
I love reading Jordan's responses to fans and seeing his thought process on things.

>>22172730
Cyberpunk was and always has been an aesthetic. It's primarily about the US reaction to Japan in the early to mid 1980s. There was both a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment at the time and a lot of people who wanted to engage with the emerging technological ideals. Mostly though for the latter it was just about the coolness. The corporations were about the Japanese Zaibatsu.

>The idea that economic entities could own your body and make profit off it and drive you to fight it on the fields
With just a few less words this would literally be about slaves working the fields on a plantation.

>This authentic originality is the same one that makes Solaris and Rendezvous with the Rama, A Scanner Darkly and God-Emperor of Dune, Earthsea and Lord of the Rings.
These are are all arbitrary emotional appeals. "Authentic originality" doesn't really mean anything.

>It's just slag in the industrial sense - a worn-out material, a creative vein that was examined, mined, chewed out and discarded.
This is usually a criticism leveled against genre fiction in general by the literary crowd, including almost all you've mentioned previously. Regardless of whether it has been or not, people aren't the sum total of readers. If an individual hasn't experienced something, it's new to them, regardless of how much it's been done before. It's same general ideas, the only real difference is the superficial surface layer. That does well enough for most though in terms of being called "original" again.

>"Reddit" is in inhabiting and living that slag, and feeling comfortable in it.
I think it's a fundamental mistake to call it "Reddit", because that makes the stereotypes about Reddit the central aspect of any argument. It also makes it seem like such behavior is exclusive to the site, when it clearly isn't.

>You're not building up into the sky - you dig in what long became the foundation, so regular that it is generally no longer acknowledged, and which doesn't challenge you or the audience in any way.
Audiences don't usually want to be challenged. All the most popular stuff doesn't really post any challenge at all. Again, this is a funny statement to make about genre fiction which is often defined by its tropes.

>To be more than Reddit, an author who hates corpos/commies/niggers/Jews needs to find a new way
"New ways" as you put it are often independent of the author. Gibson would've been hard pressed to write what he did the in 1800s. This could be also be related to the idea of a paradigm shift where most are working within what is known rather than advancing anything. That's for a relatively few people to do. In that regard webfiction is a something new, in that it reinvents serialized fiction and makes use of modern concepts. Honestly, I think you have ideas of how it ought to be, but have no idea how to get there. Just vague of feelings of discontent that the way it isn't how it ought to be.

>>22170801
im sorry to say you have been filtered.

christ lads
why are you writing essays about a shitty litrpg book?

>>22172760
>It's the upboat/downboat system that fosters circlejerking of an established roster of accepted ideas.
4chan isn't much of a bastion of freethought. It's just a different system. There isn't an extensive roster of accepted ideas on almost any board. Compliance is enforced through a different method. I think you like the idea that upvote/downvote system has unlimited control as an easy way to disregard it all. I don't know how you could reasonably say that 4chan isn't about circlejerking as well.

Since you've defined reddit as per what you believe, how about defining what 4chan is?

>DCC's trite regurgitations of past thinkers' most palatable ideas are like political pop culture references, which makes sense when the rest of the book is just regular old pop culture references.
Simply because an idea has been expressed before doesn't make it a regurgitation. I hope that it isn't lost on you that you're on a site produces a lot of memes, which is itself a form of pop culture.

>>22172866
It's not about the book really. It's more general sense of "original" versus "derivative" and who prefers the latter and why. Also, allegedly about authenticity and what that is.

>>22172871
>you're on a site produces a lot of memes
Not him but to go beyond, it's a strong argument that 4chan created the concept of internet memes, through the Caturday/shoopdawoop era, and 4chan certainly created the normalfag concept of memes: that is, image macros.

/sffg/ is dead

>>22172898
Popularized, perhaps. Early 4chan was continuing on from Something Awful which is where most of the earliest members were from.

>>22172911
For the origin, it'd be more like it says here:
https://www.wired.com/1994/10/godwin-if-2/

>>22169782
>>22169997
>>22170868
I meant light as an entertaining page turner, no matter the themes nor the length. I'll give the first book a try. Thanks.

>>22169560
>>22172441
Thanks anons. I'll take a look.

>>22172911
I'm aware. It's weird to think that zoe quinn was partly responsible for "furries" being a thing/concept on the internet.

>no anonymity
>post history
>upboat/downboat system
>self-appointed moderation
Whether you're being wilfully obtuse or are actually retarded, I'll not be wasting my time explaining how 4chan is freer than reddit.
>I hope that it isn't lost on you that you're on a site produces a lot of memes, which is itself a form of pop culture
You think my criticism of excessive pop culture references is that the subject is pop culture? Bizarre.

>>22172946
please explain to me how upvotes and post history restrict your freedoms

>>22172654
This is pretty much correct, though I haven't visited that site in years except for the occasional internet search. For any given topic, the leddit version would always be the most cringey.

>>22169529
Did you like my book about a blonde guy with long hair that is basically good at everything and smarter than everyone?

>not having a 4chan gold account

>>22172904
litrpg killed it

>>22173407
yes. My main problem though was you used 3 books to tell a 1 book story.

>>22172817
These Q&A's are a goldmine. Not only for the bants but also because jordan is so happy to go into detail about almost anything he's asked.

>>22172946
Not him, but you're being a bit obtuse as well. Fear of having abuse heaped on them, even anonymously, can change what people will say.

>>22173366
And you are being obtuse as well. You are even more susceptible to social pressure when you are recognizable and have a mineable history. Everybody understands this, but so many people pretend not to.

Picked up empire of silence based on a recommendation here.

Couldn’t finish it. Book is shit. Written by a fag that epitomizes the worst of Reddits politics and atheist forums. Plus. The writing and character development is beyond bad. It’s like the writer completely forgets what the characters just thought or did a paragraph before and now thinks or does something 180 degrees.

>>22172730
>>22172760
>>22172687
Reddit is literally Read-it.

>>22169551
I personally did not like the last four books and think they lower the quality of the series.

>>22169525
i just discovered this series at my local booksamillion
is it kino?

>>22173937
I swear GRRM has quotes about every single series anyone shits out nowadays.

>>22173937
>that generic quote
>that generic title
>that faggy artstation cover
How do we get out of this cycle of shit?

>>22172837
Ugh, what a Reddit post.

>Cyberpunk was and always has been an aesthetic.
I know. Everyone knows. Why do you feel the need to state this? Who asked?

>It's primarily about the US reaction to Japan in the early to mid 1980s.
I know. Everyone knows. Why do you feel the need to state this? Who asked?

>There was both a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment at the time and a lot of people who wanted to engage with the emerging technological ideals. Mostly though for the latter it was just about the coolness.
I know. Everyone knows. Why do you feel the need to state this? Who asked?

Seriously. do you expect getting upboots or something?

>The corporations were about the Japanese Zaibatsu.
Yeah, 3Jane Marie-France Tessier-Ashpool was soooooo Japanese.

>With just a few less words this would literally be about slaves working the fields on a plantation.
You know that's not the point but you have to pretend to look smarter.

>These are are all arbitrary emotional appeals
Except that canon is not actually arbitrary. There are discernable patterns to it's existence. There's recognizing subjectivity, and then there's imagining that the whole difference between everything timeless and everything shlock is pure chance popularity.

>This is usually a criticism leveled against genre fiction in general by the literary crowd
I know. Everyone knows. Why do you feel the need to state this? Who asked?

>I think it's a fundamental mistake to call it "Reddit"
Nobody equated whole aspect of creative process to "Reddit" - we examined the content of "Reddit" as a colloquialism in 4chan lingo, because somebody (possibly (you)) stated that anti-corpo content cannot be Reddit.

>It also makes it seem like such behavior is exclusive to the site
Does calling (you) a faggot make (you)r insufferable behavior seem like it is exclusive to homosexual men?

>Audiences don't usually want to be challenged.
IK. EK. WDYFTNTST? WA?

>"New ways" as you put it are often independent of the author.
IK. EK. WDYFTNTST? WA?

Jesus Christ this has to be one of the most Reddit posts I've ever read in this thread - it contains effectively no relevant though of it's own, but states a lot of "widely known" and "well approved" opinions that sound smart.

>>22172871
> It's just a different system
I agree, but this different system tends towards counter-culture and generation new content, as it rewards outrage and not compliance.

The downsides are an audience centred around social rejects - which is normal for any counter-culture - and a tendency for contrarian treadmill. Which is okay, really. Every original movement, society and cultural phenomenon in history had these tendencies, and it's just natural by-products of cultural process.

>I don't know how you could reasonably say that 4chan isn't about circlejerking as well.
Observe the intensity of circlejerk you are displaying by vehemently disagreeing with me.

>Simply because an idea has been expressed before doesn't make it a regurgitation.
Yeah. That's what I said.

how is this rated so high by so many people? I am 50 chapters in and it's so increadibly linear and dull? Compared to other popular chinese litrpg (reincarnation of sword immortal) this is really way worse..

>>22174527
Fuck off

Is there a science fiction or fantasy novel similar to the novels of louis-ferdinand céline?

>>22174577
Rude

>>22173999
>>22173937
Do you think grrm wrote that quote himself?

>>22174815
I doubt he's ever heard of the book

So I'm looking for some lower fantasy, grim sort of books to read. I've read The Blade Itself trilogy, Conan, The Witcher, Gentlemen Bastards and a shitton of old Warhammer Fantasy books. Any recommendations?
Tried reading a few other books on the recommended MEGA, like The Black Company, but none of them really hooked me.

>>22174847
Could try Fafhrd and Gray Mouser

>>22173687
Same thing happened to me, couldn't go past the gay friend in the arena. So fucking bad.

>>22172113
/sffg/ loves Egan. I've only read Permutation City (amazing) and Zendegi (bit of a slog). Diaspora is on my list next.

>>22174847
Unironically The Second Apocalypse by Bakker, I'm actually bored since I finished it because everything is so weak in comparison.

>>22174432
That sure is a lot of filler replying to different statements with the same meme response.
There isn't a formal SFF canon.
It's convenient how you've exempted yourself from your own criticisms.

>>22174977
Why even respond to it?

>>22174977
>That sure is a lot of filler replying to different statements with the same meme response.
I just hope that repetition might help it get through your thick skull and drive you towards a moment of genuine self-awareness, away from mindlessly deflecting shit.

>There isn't a formal SFF canon.
Half of the examples were not even sci-fi. There is no any kind of fully formalized canon for any literature, genre or literary fiction or biographic or journalism or whatever. It doesn't keep us from realizing that some literature is better than other, and not merely in technical terms. Subjectivity gives this quality some dynamic and provides many more dimensions for discourse, it makes it hard and interesting to find out and see what holds something above the historical waves of shifting contexts. But if you're an NPC, you can take it to just mean that "eVeRyThInG iS jUsT aN oPiNiOn AnD aLl OpInIoNs ArE eQuAl" and feel oh so very smart about your sterile fart of existence.

>It's convenient how you've exempted yourself from your own criticisms.
No, it is not convenient because I did not exempt myself from anything - I simply do not apologize and bend over my ass to try and look good, because looking good, maintaining a persona and harvesting karma is not our purpose here. It doesn't matter how we appear, like every little braaaap of irrelevant or wrong factoids that you present as your view on any subject doesn't matter. What matters are the thoughts we come up with and what they evoke in other people.

I mean FFS, just fucking try and have an actual opinion for once. Express what you actually think, at least call me a faggot instead of giving in to your Pavlovian reflexes and going
>"Ummooaa, you commitin' a hekin' adgobbinem here"
Just be an actual person with thoughts and preferences and not a ball of geeky common sense phlegm. Prove you are a real human being and not a living expression of le Reddit. I promise it won't hurt much.

>>22175004
Because I find their responses amusing. What possible reason could we be here for other than to have fun with each other?

>>22175123
It's simple. You discuss fantasy and science-fiction books, with some acceptable tertiary topics such as film adaptations.

>>22175138
Do you really think the general could survive on that alone? In practice most of the posts serve the purpose of not having the thread bumped off your board. The board would have to be much slower than it is, whether through much stricter moderation or otherwise, or for there to be much more discussion, even if it was the same stuff over and over again. 4chan's structure isn't meant for generals or sustained discussion, but here we are and so some try.

Any good book with an opportunistic and manipulative mc? Preferably edgier than locke lamora
i don't mind female protags as long as there's no sex scenes

>>22175234
Priest of Bones

>>22175172
>Do you really think the general could survive on that alone?
After several years of consistent poor thread quality, I'm not concerned with thread survivability. This thread vanishing for weeks/months would be nothing but healthy: a chemo.
I agree with much of your latter opinions. Generals should not exist but for a wide variety of reasons and an entirely different conversation, here we are. It would be nice to find an altchan but that is on the other end of the spectrum with boards being slow to the point of almost nonexistence. I don't want a new thread every other day like this right here but I also would like to see more than five posts a week.

>>22175234
Eyes of the Overworld

>>22175244
Alright, sure. Let's try that. I won't respond to off-topic posts or provoke and the OP who has been making the threads after they've been gone for hours can consider not doing that. I don't think it'll work like you think though. If it's gone for a month, when it returns all the problems will remain but the discussion will be gone even more. The ritualposters and others are the most dedicated here after all to what they do.

>>22175234
Reverend Insanity no cap fr fr

The spider plant cringed as its owner brought forth the watering can. "I am a spider plant!" it cried indignantly. "How dare you water me before my time! Guards!" it called. "Guards!"

Borin, its owner, placed the watering can on the table and looked at it. "You will be watered," he said.

"You do not dare to water me!" laughed the plant.

"You will be watered," said Borin.

"Do not water me!" wept the plant.

"You will be watered," said Borin.

I watched this exchange. Truly, I believed the plant would be watered. It was plant, and on Gor it had no rights. Perhaps on Earth, in its permissive society, which distorts the true roles of all beings, which forces both plant and waterer to go unhappy and constrained, which forbids the fulfillment of owner and houseplant, such might not happen. Perhaps there, it would not be watered. But it was on Gor now, and would undoubtedly feel its true place, that of houseplant. It was plant. It would be watered at will. Such is the way with plants.

Borin picked up the watering can, and muchly watered the plant. The plant cried out. "No, Master! Do not water me!" The master continued to water the plant. "Please, Master," begged the plant, "do not water me!" The master continued to water the plant. It was plant. It could be watered at will.

The plant sobbed muchly as Borin laid down the watering can. It was not pleased. Too, it was wet. But this did not matter. It was plant.

"You have been well watered," said Borin.

"Yes," said the plant, "I have been well watered." Of course, it could be watered by its master at will.

If you hate modern day fantasy why not write story you want to read?

>>22175664
Because somebody has already written the story I want to read. It's just hard to find it in all the slop.

>female MC
Pass.

>>22175664
Because I am plant.

>>22175664
Because/wg/ are all worthless talentless hacks

>>22175664
I am

>>22174527
Most people have terrible taste, 99% of all reviews for even the worst shit imaginable will be 5 stars unless there was some sort of celebrity or twitter mob campaign to downvote it.

>>22175234
Literally reverend insanity. There is no protagonist, or even villain, in any story even close to his level of pragmatic opportunism and complete disregard for morality.

>>22174527
It's all shit, Downie...

>>22174847
>The Blade Itself trilogy
Anything is better, and faster paced.

>>22175664
I'm working on finding the sweet spot where it will sell to slop enjoyers but I can still enjoy writing it.

>>22175795

>>22173937
No and the author died before finishing it

>>22175664
I have no imagination

>>22171888
>>22171909
add this one to the list

>>22175829
So it really is like game of thrones

this any good

>>22175805
Then you have already lost

>>22175896
I don't think supporting myself writing something I enjoy would be any kind of loss, but you're welcome to your strange opinions.

Have been vaguely recalling a book that I would read during homeroom in midleschool around 15 years back. The cover was a typical 80's/90's cover and part of the plot was about a tribe member or leader traveling to some sort of cult temple. The book definitely did not belong in a middle school classroom, too dark and violent. I remember that the main character, or characters would ride on a type of beast. Anyone have an idea what book or series this could be?

>>22175234
>i don't mind female protags
Stopped reading there. Coomers gtfo

>>22175942
>coomers
AGP is more than just cooming, it's a nuanced spiral of mental illness.

>>22175933
And while you're at it there's another book I can't remember. There was a spaceship, and the main character was travelling with it. He went to a planet that had some weird stuff going on. I remember the book was really good and had a lot of deep philosophical insights. If I recall correctly, he wore black clothing, or maybe red. He may or may not have been bald. Any clue?

Just finished this one, the old man talking about winter and spring was KINO idc

>>22176004
>Book 5
>Each with 250k words
Where do you find the time?

>>22176064
You read in your spare time. I personally use audiobooks,so I can listen while eating, doing dishes, washing, etc.
Also nta

Do not waste your time reading Revered Insanity. China's communist government made the guy stop posting. The story is incomplete.

>>22176064
Take 2 hours and read without breaks/distractions everyday

>>22176064
Everywhere you go, read. In the toilet, in transit, in bed, having sex, eating. Last month I read about 3000 pages of books. Plus however many of articles.

>>22176169
>>22176162
>>22176081
But if the books are shit and you are retarded what is the point of consuming

>>22176196
Just neck yourself fagget. Your jimmies are rustled because people enjoy books.

>>22176196
Are all books shit? Go read something you enjoy.

oh my...

Xianxia lovers, where the fuck is I Shall Seal the Heavens books 4, 5 and 6? Can't find them anywhere.

>>22176297
amazon? i read them for free with kindle unlimited

>>22176321
Oh, I've been downloading them, but they're free on unlimited? Shit, I can just export them then. Thanks.

>>22169525
Are the Hyperion sequels worth reading?

>>22176543
yes

>>22175633

>>22176543
Not at all.

>>22176543
No, unless you are a chud.

>>22176543
Nah

>>22176750
Or a simp.

>>22176064
Half of those words are probably statshit

>>22176720
>>22176750
>>22176752
Any reasons why not to read them? Like what sucks about them?

>>22176560
What did you like about them?

>>22176543
I liked the first book well enough and then lost all respect after finishing the second. Apparently they get worse from there.

>>22175846
neck yourself

>>22176970
The first book is elegant and mystical, underspecified, vague, rich. The rest are DUDE HE SPLAINED IT MAN. Like porn vs. romance. The publisher wanted more money and he had to say something. If you appreciate the delicacy of the first you won't enjoy the sequels squatting on it.

>>22177137
don't forget the nonstop Keats masturbation

>>22177155
Part and parcel
>SEE?! SEE HOW DEEP I AM????
It's implicit and wonderful in the first, explicit and cringe in the sequels.

I hope the Heavens do not punish little ol' me for attempting to "force" and "demand" discussion away from the threadly Hyperion circlejerk.

>>22171414
Don't forget the coomer-fags (me)

>>22177081
thats not very nice anon

What's the name of the revent book about a spooky weird magic jungle in colonial Africa? "The Voor"? Something like that.

>>22171414
Wrong.

Schizofag got permabanned after having another meltie and cursing jannie/mods

The only reason this thread is not so faster compared to past months is that we dont have the schizo going full spam+falseflagging+samefagging 24/7.

In all my years of 4channing and reading books, Mage Errant #7 is the first I've come across to have a fucking BISMUTH mage/anything. A lich, in this specific scenario, whose demesne, a physical extension of its being across land, is made of bismuth. Basically a bismuth lich town.

How interesting is a setting where luck is a tangible and measurable thing, but also an exhaustible resource?

>>22177558
Depends on what you do with it, Reverend Insanity has several arcs about that exact thing, it works because luck just functions the same way any other kind of power does, and a sufficient amount of power can defeat even ridiculous luck if you don't have anything else going for you. Likewise, even horrendous life endingly bad luck can be defeated, or at least withstood, given sufficient resources and strength.
And aside from just being a passive/active (de)buff, luck is extremely useful for divination purposes, seeing who has good or bad luck, and the nature of that luck can give you a lot of insight as to what's going on with them.

Hey guys, which of the Barsoom series books are worth reading? I am going do download some audiobooks for a delivery job that has a lot of driving, so I'd love to know which ones to burn to CD.

>>22175804
I don't know, to me the Blade Itself was a pretty good. Thought it was the second best of the series I listed (first best being Conan). Felt the pacing was alright, cause the story hooked me. I hated the pacing in the first Game of Thrones book, but Blade itself felt fine.
Though I still can't get over the "flatbow" autism in The Blade Itself.

>>22177626
The first three are alright, brimming with old-timey autistic psychopath power fantasy energy. Couldn't read the fourth one.

>>22169551
It's midwit shlock, so yes

Frank Herbert uses the word 'flesh' way too often. He also mentions lips a lot.

>>22178243
If you don't like it, make your own Frank Herbert

>>22177392
Mage Errant in general goes with the idea of highly specific mages being a thing. Isn't there a mangrove tree lich in an earlier one? And they basically make it a thing that more specific powers tend to be stronger, because they're so specific?

>>22178389
Yes. It's one of the better progression fantasy titles/series that allow for variance of whatever your ability is, and you get some wild combinations or strange powers. The magick system works in the way that the majority of people have an affinity (fire, water, air, etc.)--usually multiple affinities but they can also complement each other like someone with air/force/gravity affinities could be one of the better fliers in the world, etc. Almost every type of metal/stone can have an affinity. There are fiber mages, mud mages, almost anything you can think of.

>>22178463
I should probably actually get back to reading it. I didn't PARTICULARLY like the multiversal direction it was going, but I never even started Tongue Eater. Just feels off to just leave it unfinished, even if I didn't WHOLLY love it. It had good parts, at least.

>>22178470
Tongue Eater was sidequest filler and a large disappointment. Siege was the best book (but I'm only halfway through so I can't say if the finale will be better.)
I don't mind this multiverse too much. It doesn't seem overtly in your face, like the Abidan was, and it seems to be shown rather than told. I can't say much more though because I don't know much about it. I do know he has another book in the 'verse but it's unaffiliated with Mage Errant/Arastis. I can't see myself reading more of this guy's work though.

>>22178491
Yeah, it was good enough to read, but not enough so that I wanna read more of this guy. Andrew Rowe's stuff, for all his faults of awkwardly just kinda stopping to lecture you, at least has compelling writing (and his non-Arcane Ascension series are more fun anyway), whereas... I can't even remember the Mage Errant guy's name, Bryce something? He's just 'good enough' but not so good I'd wanna see what else he does.

>>22178496
Mage Errant is John Bierce.
Iron Prince is the book by Bryce whatever, the same guy who is one of the /r/progfant mods--along with Rowe--who spergs out at anyone who doesn't support pride and faggotry.

>>22178500
I don't really care too much about that stuff personally, I just find Rowe's implementation of it weirdly... In-your-face. If it was just 'a thing that happened' instead of feeling like he needed to justify and explain it every time I wouldn't mind.

>>22178509
That's how the LGTV types (and the religious types) behave. Everyone who doesn't share their exact beliefs deserves a lecture until they stop being Bad People(TM).

>>22178512
But other series I've read from similar authors have it without stopping to talk about it, it just has stuff like "her wife" or "his husband" and nobody really stops to talk about it.

>>22178337
I'm not a Tleilaxu, unfortunately.

>>22177633

>>22177948
Hey John Carter is a proper southern gentleman!

Use of Weapons or Player of Games to start with The Culture?

>>22177392
>>22178389
>>22178463
Sounds good but is there romance/females?

Is there any decent old school Tor-like fantasy in Kindle unlimited? Everything seems to be progression/litrpg, grimdark, or chick fantasy, which is good for you if you like that stuff, but I don't.

Please, dear God, a chosen one or hero's journey would be great. Someone still has to be writing these.

>>22179035
Wheel of Time

>>22179041
Don't feel like a reread.

>>22179047
Then I can't help you. I have no idea whats on KU and only guessed wheel of time due to the amazon tv show. Why do you limit yourself to KU? Just download whatever you want and put it on your reader.

>>22178516
Yeah in one of the books, there was the Himbo guy who summons rock armor whose every other thought that wasn't about his dad was about some dude he was banging or in one book not banging because his dad died.

It wasn't that this stuff happened or wasn't "realistic" but the way it was focused on felt more like a "this guy is definitely bi and you can't deny it" instead of "this is important for you to know about his character".

shit my pants again

>>22179069
>Limit to KU
Was gifted a free sub, want to give it a fair shot and vaguely hoped that there were some gems outside of traditional publishing
>Just download
Yeah, probably will from here on out

Any books to read when I'm shitting my pants on the toilet? I really like Fahrenheit 451

>>22179072
Godrick, yes. The four characters are all varied enough to be interesting on their own but the forced romance, and in some instances, faggotry is annoying.

>>22179025
The main 4 are a nerd, his hot-headed girlfriend, a bi wind lady and a gay rock dude.
They're honestly decent characters, but the romance always feels a little haphazard.

>>22179025
>Sounds good
It's like a 3.5/10. The writing is overly indulgent and thinks itself extremely clever. The author tries to pull off certain patterns (usually in the form of
>[wall of text that implies one thing]
>[new paragraph, single line reveal that tries to be clever/subversive])
That he just isn't good enough to pull off. In one book, he also tries to swap perspectives into some of the opposition to humanize them, and that just is boring and ineffective. He peppers his books with pop culture references that are cringy as hell. There's no artfulness. His science influence is weaker than ifuckinglovescience, so if you have a decent understanding, it'll be painful for you to read.
It's honestly and unironically Reddit: the book.
[Spoiler] oh and the end is literally "this is all Pratchett's L-space[/spoiler]

>>22179277
>fucked up the spoiler tag
Actually worse than a typo, good job. I have no choice but to disregard everything you said and assume that Mage Errant is one of the best series ever

>>22179035
The Perilous Order of Camelot

>>22179219
>The main 4 are a nerd, his hot-headed girlfriend, a bi wind lady and a gay rock dude.
ok thanks, I won't be reading this

>>22179282
Fair. Just know it's on your head.

So when this drops later this year, is anyone here going to care? The series started off as sloppy teen lit, randomly transformed into an intriguing but gory political thriller, then slowly devolved into an unmanageable (for Pierce) slow-burn bore. I think this book has the potential to reignite some of that Golden Son hype, even with the ending we got in Dark Age and the Mary Sue character that is Lyria (pukes).

>>22179421
Only the original trilogy was worth reading. The fourth book with his noir tranny son was the end of the road for me.

>>22179443
I legitimately do not understand the point of Pax and Sevro's daughter (forgettable, can't remember her name). Why Pierce decided to introduce so many random fucking characters is beyond me. Cassius is the only one who can save humanity. Darrow and Lysander should just kill each other. The other random Golds from Mercury and Venus are straight up pointless and are just faux enemies. The "new" Jackal is the stupidest fucking thing I have ever read in any book ever.

>>22179421
Would you fuck the woman who killed your parents, anons?

>>22179483
yeah, i would make her cum as revenge

>>22179478
Should have stopped at book three. When I saw what book 4 was about, I didn't continue the series.

I'm so fucking stinky and my ass is leaking someone please help me pleasseeeeeeeeee

>>22173687
>character development is beyond bad
yeah, my main complaint
no good reason was given as to why the MC feels the way he does and hates his society

if the books weren't doorstoppers I might read the second to see if it gets better but meh

>>22179600
Stop buggering.

>>22179219
>The main 4 are a nerd, his hot-headed girlfriend, a bi wind lady and a gay rock dude.
This cast couldn't not be written by a redditor.

>>22179277
Whew, I'm glad I don't read Prachett so I can avoid the spoilage by this newfag. I'm almost finished with Last Echo so seems it's best to avoid this shithole until then.
Shoutout to the one singular individual who tried to discuss the thread prompt.

>Most based man in Westeros
>Killed unceremoniously by the funny Reddit dwarf while taking a shit
He deserved better. Books were less interesting after he died.

>>22179679
It's honestly a fairly small spoiler. More like a post credit scene in an MCU movie kind of spoiler than anything.

I do agree that it's a very reddit book and is a great example of why editors are useful.

>>22179700
nah, he deserved exactly what he got you fucking fag, if the old retard just stopped being a cunt and accepted Tyrion was 10x more worth than Cersei and Jaime he wouldve won the entire fucking game

Is Revelation Space good, the vibe I get from it is that it's super dry
Is there any hard sci-fi that isn't dry, has a good plot with good characters?

Any good fantasy books with a submissive doormat female companion?

TQ - Jehan Addels, the main character's investment banker in The Demon Princes books 3 thru 5. It is a testament to Jack Vance that this investment banker is an incredibly memorable character. In the scenes he appears his curt and no-nonsense attitude is an amusing foil to Gersen's attempts to rope him into trouble. He very much earns his pay in the 4th book by being in the line of fire, and in the 5th gets to memorably almost mess with Gersen by referring him to a very ridiculously upscale hotel.

I love Vance. His dialog and diction make him a treat to read. His sci fi and fantasy and everything inbetween, it's all good. More like Vance? I don't read much genre fiction. I presume Wolfe and Herbert are good other places to go (Wolfe due to influence, Herbert bc they lived together and thus must be of one mind in some capacity).

So I start with Mort, right?

>>22180112
No.

>>22180112
I'd honestly recommend reading in publication order, even acknowledging the earlier ones are a little rougher. They're not BAD, they're just different from what Discworld ends up being.

Is having a fleshed out outer space with other planets and solar systems incompatible with fantasy? Is a petri dish Arda-style cosmology the only way to go?

>>22180305
only if they're fantastical planets and solar systems

>>22180305
the last legends of earth

>>22180305
Yes. Fleshed out really means you wrote in them so either do that or stfu until you do.

>>22179770
If tyrion didn't whore and drink his way into a shameful state perhaps his father would have taken some pride in him. Tyrion and his siblings were sorry excuses for children.

To whomever recommended me Fafhrd and Grey Mauser book, thank you. Fun read thus far.

Been shitting my pants all night FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

>>22180769
Do you drink booze a lot?

>>22180944
No but I drink a lot of milk.

>>22179979
>Is Revelation Space good,
The first few books are quite enjoyable, and you definitely can't go wring with the first one. The later ones really go down the shitter.

>the vibe I get from it is that it's super dry
It's not dry at all - the plot is ultimately pure melodrama. Reynolds just tries a very severe, cold, post-noir style, and occasionally he even pulls it off. The series is not hard at all either, "there is no FTL so all pace travel takes decades at time dilation is a factor" is literally the one and only hard-ish element out there. The rest of it is magical nanoswarms, mind-wiping viruses, star-bursting guns, timeline-altering engines, AI-gestalts running on neutron star lattice and teleporting planets. No, I am not making any of it up.

>>22179979
>Is there any hard sci-fi that isn't dry, has a good plot with good characters?
Can I assume you've already read everything by Stanislaw Lem?

>>22179700
>gets jumped by a drunk midget with a crossbow
>does not even try to overpower him which he could do easily
>just insults the midget
>refuses to elaborate
>dies
B-b-b-b-based?

>>22179421
I'm calling out sick at work to read this when it comes out. Hoping someone leaks the ARC so I don't have to wait as much.

>>22180979
Ah yes, let's gloss over the fact he was sitting ona fucking shitter.

Klein being absolutely methodic in everything he did was the best part of LotM for me. Lumian is just a reckless YA I've read several times already, so it isn't as fun, even though he is way beyond fucked compared to early beyonder Klein.

I don't know why I keep visiting this general. I haven't read a fantasy book in years

>>22179770
>Gave Tyrion a seat on a council
>Respected his opinions
>Makes him hand to joffery
>Tyrion still pisses it away for a whore his own dad is fucking

>>22181286
Qrd on the new mc? Is he a transmigrator too?

>>22181350
>Gave Tyrion a seat on a council
>Respected his opinions
>Makes him hand to joffery

and he still saved the whole fucking place, are u trolling? and for what? for his father to get the hand back when he gets there?

>>22179700
I dropped the series after that. Definitely made the right decision.

>>22181470
He's not a transmigrator but has ties with people from the cocoons. He's involved with an outer god and is a dual pathway beyonder.

>>22180473
>>22181350
Tyrion drinking and going to brothels despite keeping a brilliant mind is a problem but Jaime fucking his own sister, the wife of the fucking king, is okay?

Tywin fanboys are completely braindead, Tywin was a beast, but he dying at the hands of the son he hated so much was fruit of his own stupidity, all he had to do was treat Tyrion like a son, Tyrion saved kings landing just to see his father robbing him of the hand, giving him nothing and trying to kill him when everyone knew joffreys death was not his fault

Finally caught up with TWI
That took longer than expected
I'm not gonna lie though these last few beach chapters have been pretty cute

>>22181916
>female protag
do you hate yourself

>>22181916
>12,267,246 words
i understand that you guys don't have families but don't you have jobs either

>>22181916
Does the qt swordswoman have anything to do with TWI or were just posting it to stir my loins?

>>22181950
thats not even 30 books of 300 pages each

good way to show everyone that you dont read shit

>>22182018
Anon, LOTR series has like 2k pages over 3 books.

Are you telling me this story is really deserving of 30 books worth 300 pages?

>>22182018
>bro just read 30 books in one series with no end in sight
I'll pass, thanks.

>>22182018
Do twi nigs really

>>22182031
>readers like the story
>author likes writing the story
>author gets thousands of dollars per month writing this story

why should he stop?

>samefagging again

oh schizo-kun....

>>22176064
>>22181950
>samefagging and repeating the same lines every thread
Where do you find the time?

>>22182091
meds

>>22182112
>so dumb he didnt edit the pic right and we can see the line difference

LMAO, nice paint skills schizo

>>22182112
>>22182127
im fucking dying
>meds
KEK

>>22182127
Am I being trolled rn

>>22182155
One form of common newfag rhetoric is to act as if everyone who shares a contrasting opinion, (or even in the spur of the moment if it is convenient) is the same person.

>>22181916
I think we are getting the Solstice night at the end of the next update. First we'll be getting the chemistry chapter Pirateaba was cooking for a while readers that know actual chemistry. Then the big event. I pray to the G____ that we're getting a Toren arc.

>>22182162
One form of common newfag rhetoric is to act as if everyone who shares a contrasting opinion, (or even in the spur of the moment if it is convenient) is a newfag

All me. Thanks for the (You)s!

>>22176543
First two books are okay, the third and fourth should NEVER be read

no god series WHEN ?

>>22173420
lack of good new books worth reading is what did for it

>>22181954
It's unrelated art but it could perfectly be a couple of characters from TWI

>>22182170
Yeah idk how I feel about the upcoming Solstice stuff. I hope it's something completely new because another showdown with the Gods or seamwalkers so soon sounds pretty boring desu. I'd much rather have another Solstice in the line of Ryoka's in Riverfarm.

Bump limit

>>22181950
No I don't have a job. And I do have a family, that's how I'm a NEET and not homeless. My parents accept it.

>>22181950
One needs to read webnovels to understand that their word-count isn't the same as that of published books. An average TWi chapter has 30k+ words and can be read in 1-2 hours, because of how it's written. It's a webnovel, not Sheakspire, don't expect each sentence to be 10 meters deep. I can't recall a single person that has read TWI and thought it's too long or anything, only that reading it all took them 2-3 months. If you binge and have time, it's 4-5 weeks.

>>22175892
Meh. It’s a bunch of common fantasy tropes that the author is trying to elevate to literary by borrowing heavily from Dickens and Peake. But his writing is nowhere near as engaging and the story doesn’t bring anything new to the genre. I won’t be reading the subsequent books

Damn I gotta say The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi is fucking grim sometimes man, just finished the chapter with the Eneshan home world and the stuff with their heiress

Posting the new thread now because once I go to sleep no one will make a new one

New Thread:
>>22182827

No creativity allowed because every general is a circlejerk edition***

We don't read books around these parts edition****

sffg is like sports
you pick one author and you shit on anyone else who didn't pick your author non stop

>>22181286
My issue is he's too similar to Klein, but without it actually making any sense. Plus the literal plot armor railroad making the bad writing canonically part of the plot
But he's really working with very little, we already know the entire setting and how everything works, there's no possible way anything is going to be mysterious or threatening anymore.