/lit/ - Literature

Hello

What story has Howard's strongest prose? I think Beyond the Black River is a strong contender.
>There, at the fort, civilization ended. Fort Tuscelan was the last outpost of a civilized world; it represented the westernmost thrust of the dominant Hyborian races. Beyond the river the primitive still reigned in shadowy forests, brush-thatched huts where hung the grinning skulls of men, and mud-walled enclosures where fires flickered and drums rumbled, and spears were whetted in the hands of dark, silent men with tangled black hair and the eyes of serpents. Those eyes often glared through bushes at the fort across the river. Once dark-skinned men had built their huts where that fort stood, yes, and their huts had risen where now stood the fields and log cabins of fair-haired settlers, back beyond Velitrium, that raw, turbulent frontier town on the banks of Thunder River, to the shores of that other river that bounds the Bossonian marches. Traders had come, and priests of Mitra who walked with bare feet and empty hands, and died horribly, most of them; but soldiers had followed, men with axes in their hands and women and children in ox-drawn wains. Back to Thunder River, and still back, beyond Black River, the aborigines had been pushed, with slaughter and massacre. But the dark-skinned people did not forget that once Conajohara had been theirs.

I'm trying to remember the title of a book series I read that was very interesting. It had a color magic based system, where I'm pretty sure 'mages' infused or took color from their surroundings to achieve particular affects, along with a corruption and so on. Does anyone know the name?

I wrote a fantasy novel where one of the main characters is a knight. He’s tall, handsome, muscular, a great fighter, noble, and heroic, but terminally shy around women. Several women throughout the story practically yell in his face that they are into him, but he doesn’t pick up on it because he’s too nervous/inexperienced/dense. Eventually, he gains the courage to admit his feelings to his crush, the princess of his land, after they save the kingdom from an evil wizard. She, of course, reciprocates his feelings even though they come from two diametrically opposed social castes.

>>23391681
How long is your story?

>>23391688
75k words. I wanted to keep it somewhat brief as it's my first novel.

>>23391673
Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker, or see image related.

>>23391398
Dark Age, Red Rising Saga #5 - Pierce Brown (2019)

Like Saturn, the Revolution devours its own children. - Jacques Mallet du Pan

Dark Age is nearly a literal Hobbesian "the war of all against all". There's hundreds upon hundreds of pages of all-out war, betrayal, carnage, mayhem, intrigue, and insanity. I found it to be all rather exciting and fun. This space opera is the closest I've read that I'd compare to A Song of Ice and Fire in terms of warring factions, character deaths, and length. There are several groups that have both overlapping and mutually exclusive goals. The allies of today may be the enemies of tomorrow and those you save may try to kill you afterwards. I liked reading about how all the differing motivations and plans interacted with each other. There are so many character deaths that I was able to believe that anyone could die at any time and it mostly didn't feel arbitrary in a disagreeable way. That made it considerably more suspenseful and tense. Many named characters die and it may not be who, when, or why you'd expect. The unnamed masses fare far worse. This is a long book, though it earns its length.

Powel: "Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?"
Franklin: "A republic, if you can keep it."
- Benjamin Franklin & Elizabeth Powel

Whether they'll be able to keep it is an unresolved question with no clear answer. France went through five republics in not much more than 150 years, so who knows how it may proceed. This time there are five viewpoints, still all first person, that detail this tumultuous era. Darrow makes me want to create a Top 5 list of the worst idiocies he's committed in his tragic life. Ephraim deals with the hand he's been dealt by playing the people rather than the game. Lyria adapts to her brutal circumstances through creative violence. Virginia is finally able to express her perspective. Lysander endures accelerated character development. I believe the hate against him to be overstated, if not unwarranted. That may be because I'm indifferent to the outcome as I believe either way is valid. Emotional engagement is important to me, but investment isn't. All that matters is that it's fun and entertaining. Everything else is a bonus.

The oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors. - Paulo Freire

Early on in my reading I thought that if Brown has improved this much in terms of my enjoyment, then his next series certainly will be one to anticipate. By the end there was no need for any waiting, as this was impressive in how much I enjoyed it relative to my expectations. It manages to indulge in ridiculousness while maintaining depth and complexity. That's bothersome because I dislike the argument of "It gets much better later", though I can't deny that's been true. Hopefully this book isn't a fluke, but even if it is, it's enough that it tips the scale towards me recommending reading this series rather than not.

Rating: 4.5/5

>>23380957
First thread barely survived. The second died right away. Such has been the fate of all offshoot threads. RIP this most recent attempt. /sffg/ barely makes it without spam and other filler content. What hope would any other thread have?

>>23391778
ya love to see it

Why are these threads so dead now?

>>23391834
there's only so many times ones can post
>Read Tenebroum
>Read Reverend Insanity

>>23391834

Maybe cuz all the litrpg fags broke off

>make a shitty offshoot thread
>a chunk of the regulars start posting there expecting it to last
>they're still waiting for the new thread instead of posting here
hmm i wonder why...

why do some people declare that "fantasy setting is revealed to be actually scifi" is lazy writing?

This is good but slightly too predictable.

>>23391926
To have that "reveal" instead of just being a realization like how Wolfe does it in some form of another is gay and pretentious. So it is lazy and I bet the writer smirked smugly when writing it as if they are the first person ever to do it. Also write something new

Thanks to the last thread I found out about The Chalk Giants by keith roberts. I want to get a physical copy but I just found out that all the US editions are abridged/missing stories? The fuck why would they do that? The UK editions are almost nonexistent/very expensive.

>>23391958
Ok, so you mean it's more important to just have it established that the story is a mix of fantasy and scifi at face value, even if not all of the scifi elements have to be revealed from the start? The story I have in mind has wizards literally traveling to other planets via portal magic and space ships. The "magic" is a mix of both arcane mystery and misunderstood advanced technology, which convolutes their understanding of everything because they don't know how to distinguish between what is tangibly learnable and what isn't. The other intelligent species are aliens, and not in a 'oh they're just space elves' kind of way, but a grotesque and foreign-looking way.

>>23392002
>>23391681
Use
>>23350138
or
>>23382472

What am I in for?

>>23391778
So that's why there was so little shitrpg spam. Keep making the generals, anon, I believe in you

>>23391934
I liked it a lot. I would've preferred if the author had stayed with the esoteric sort of trippy atmosphere of the world rather than how the story wrapped up. Still good

>>23392062
A confirmation that the Chinese/communists are inhuman bugmen that will try to destroy all of humanity if given the chance.

>>23392062
Pure trash it's made by Chinese communism. Don't read this so garbage and trash. Who the hell wants to read a book who is write by a Chinese?

the racist anti-chinese defence force out here today

>>23391719
your """reviews""" are SHIT. fuck off

>>23392140
but racism is good

Is Black Company worth reading? Read the synopsis and it sounds like the wackiest shit

>>23391934
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is still the GOAT

>>23391672
I've always liked Queen of the Black Coast.
>“I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom's realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer's Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.

Fartspren

>>23392140
Where do I sign up for this defence force?

>>23391398
What would you recommend if I liked Red Rising, but I don't particularly like the science fiction genre? Basically, science fiction with strong (not literally) characters. I hate when the characters are lifeless shells (Asimov).

>>23392578
The Expanse

>>23392578
Sun Eater

>>23392140
just read better books

>>23392683
the chinese are literally one of the strongest people in history. who is going to believe a stupid movie over reality? you, apparently.

>>23391705
Naw it was the Lightbringer by Brent Weeks, found it after some searching. A good set of books, I think.

>>23391398
how is the elric series?

>>23392780
I think it's good but I also don't like it.

>>23392713
>the chinese are literally one of the strongest people in history
>get btfo'd by every single people they encountered
eh

>>23392786
>I think it's good but I also don't like it.
explain

>>23392844
It's well written and engaging but I just don't very much care for the overall tone of it and Elric himself is, well I can't say much without getting into spoilers, but I just don't much like that kind of anti hero. It was not for me. It is not my jam. There's nothing wrong with it. It's not my style.

>>23392852
ahh, okay. that's understandable. btw, has anyone here read the black company? was kind of interested in this series and wanted to hear people's opinions

>>23392780
depression kino elric is a retarded pessimist but i like him

>>23392856
comfy and worth reading, the first one is definitely the best but if you enjoy it you'll probably enjoy the later ones too.

First for read The Belgariad

>>23392780
Excellent, but not without problems. The original stories were short and written for pulp magazines with no continuity. He later decided to write more with an overarching storyline while implementing the previous pulp stuff. The result is that it can feel a bit disjointed and since he improved as a writer over the years the quality can vary in a jarring way. You can very easily tell the old stuff from the new. Absolutely still worth reading though, it just won't be a smooth ride.

I'm kind of shocked at how this series has remained more underground than other massively influential works on the Fantasy genre like Lord of the Rings and Conan. Once you are done reading Elric you will see tons of references and bits and pieces from it pretty much everywhere, some way more obvious about it than others such as The Witcher and Drizzt Do'urden from D&D. Not to mention A Song of Ice & Fire, Valyria is basically Melnibonean fan fiction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AnV4C3MuZU

>>23392891
Do you like it?

>>23392786
just picture elric as michael jackson and you'll have a blast.

>>23392856
I enjoyed reading it. Some others don't (wow what a shocker people have different reading tastes). But its good, unique

>>23392856
what makes the black company good is how the magic feels real and how it does read like being in the army. it's basically (early) berserk in novel form. with magic.

>>23391398
I just found out Vernor Vinge died. Was it mentioned on the board? In the general?

Made a thread, because I felt a need to put this somewhere.
>>23392915

>>23392780
Elfdick of Melaninboner is a whining emo who hates everything including life itself but continues to live in spite of this hatred for the sole excuse of being able to continue moping about it. Practically every element of cynical subversive revisionist fantasy that people complain about in modern fiction, both print and cinema, can be traced to this series.

If you want an idea of this series, the following review blurb should sum it up:
>Writing for NPR, Jason Sheehan calls Elric "far and away the coolest, grimmest, moodiest, most elegant, degenerate, drug-addicted, cursed, twisted and emotionally weird mass murderer of them all".
If what you want out of your fantasy fiction is a depressed edgelord teenager saying "UGH MOM, YOU JUST DON'T UNDESTAND! I'M DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHER KIDS!" before shooting up a school, Michael Blackdick has you covered. For the rest of us who aren't Britons with a cuck fetish, we read Glen Cook or David Gemmell.

>>23392062
wacky ideas and entertainment t contra contrarian.

>>23392926
Why did he die?

>>23392908
yes it's peak soul

>>23393049
Neat. I will add it to my list.

>>23392961
damn, chuddie didn't take his meds today, shouldn't you be making threads on /v/ about the new assassin's creed?

>>23392820
Nta, but you don't know shit. Why say things when you know you don't know what you're talking about? You certainly wouldn't call ancient Rome, or the Ottoman Empire or the Mongol Empire weak.

>>23393072
CHINGCHONGBINGBONG

>>23393040
Parkinson's

>>23392062
>>23392140
>>23392683
>>23392820
>>23393072
>>23393097
[ROMANIZED]
Ching cheng hanji
xiang shang xie zhou
Qin xiang lian na san shi er suinazhuang gao dangchao fu ma lang
Ta qi junwang a man huang shang na hui hun nan er zhao dong chuang

About 200 pages into Lord Foul's Bane and it's taken me around two weeks to get here, I actively don't want to keep reading this utter shit. What a miserable fucking book. Nothing that happens feels like it has any impact whatsoever.
Don't read.

>>23393072
>Nta, but you don't know shit. Why say things when you know you don't know what you're talking about? You certainly wouldn't call ancient Rome, or the Ottoman Empire or the Mongol Empire weak.

>>23393182
don't believe the lies of The Despiser, read on and find the Power that Preserves

>>23392891
>>23393049
Belgariad (+Malloreon) is based, but tranime is cringe.

>>23393187
>Is proud of having /pol/-level of historic knowledge
Lol

>>23393072
Chinese have probably the most disgraceful military performance in history of any other nation on the planet. There is nothing to be proud of for existing in a state of either perpetual civil war in which grotesquely gargantuan portions of the populace are massacred and eaten, or perpetual servitude to foreign conquerors. Even African tribals and Indians have a better martial track record; but what can you expect from a country whose most famous military individual is a potentially fictitious author of such galaxy-brained strategic maneuvers as "try to trick your enemy in order to win".

>>23393187
>angry-chinese-man-bad-teeth-portrait-angry-chinese-man-bad-teeth-portrait-eyes-closed-white-background-asian-157313287[1].jpg

>>23393250

>>23393250
copy-paste the url so I don't have to save some ugly chinaman on my pc

>>23393256

>>23393284
holy fucking BASED milf poster

>>23393284
Bitch got a weird hand, the longer I look at it the more weirded out I get

>>23392961
>elric making tolkiendrones seethe all these years later
tolkiendrones get so buttblasted at based moorcock they see his name which means male chicken on a moor and immediatly start thin king about nigger dicks
funny how tolkiendrones larp as based right wing tradcaths and see innocuous names and start thinking about male genitalia

>>23393326
Where did Tolkien appear in that post?

>>23393326
>IT'S THOSE FUCKING TOLKIENDRONE RIGHTWING TRADCATHS THEY'RE AFTER ME AGAIN
Michael "Pleaser sir may I have some" Moorcock is an obnoxious, nihilistic proto-redditor. That's an opinion every respectable, normal person holds, mister schizo.

>>23393216
>perpetual servitude to foreign conquerors
Besides the Mongols this was only true in very modern history when China was at its weakest. Before that it was constant civil wars on massive scales. The history is insane if you actually take more than a couple minutes to read it.

>>23393291
Gay ass mofo looking at a bitch's hand and not her tittays

>>23393216
>what can you expect from a country whose most famous military individual is a potentially fictitious author of such galaxy-brained strategic maneuvers as "try to trick your enemy in order to win".
Dunning-Kruger midwit

>>23393417
Oh yeah? Try not looking at this bitch's hand. I double dare you.

>>23393435
Uhh UGhhhh ohh i fon't efel so goo

>>23393389
Several of the dynasties were also ruled by a variety of cossacks.

>>23393375
>nihilistic
he isn't, he was an anarchist when he was young and wrote elric when he was depressed, Dorian Hawkmoon and Corum represent more about his actual ideals

>>23393428
Yes, Sun Tzu is for midwits, I'm glad you agree.

>>23393389
Please keep in mind, I am only criticizing China's -military- history as one continuous debacle of incompetence and sadism, in response to that ridiculous CHINA NUMBAH WAN chankoro shitposter. When it comes to cultural and technological history, China has very much to be proud of - at least before the 20th century.

>>23392111
The story is an ontological mystery, how else should it have wrapped up?

>find my Radix Tetrad books because I'm moving
>but not "Radix" itself
Once I complete the tetrad, I will banish evil from this thread and restore quality.

i think i'm too dumb to read dune. i'm on children of dune and i'm enjoying it, but like the other books it just kinda washes over me.

>>23393550
They're a bit dry

>>23392897
Elric is kind of like John Carter in how it's massively influential and you see elements from it everywhere once you learn to recognize them, but the original stories are obscure. John Carter blew its chance to break out of that ghetto; hopefully Elric will have better luck if it ever gets a chance. The timing will need to be right since depressive emo heroes aren't always in vogue.

Is this book worth reading or is it gigaslop?

>>23392926
>>/lit/?task=search&ghost=false&search_text=Vinge+died+

>>23393618
only his first series is somewhat worth reading

>>23393618
>Is this book worth reading
eh kinda, if you have already read the usual suspects of heroic fantasy i guess it's nice if not just read gemmell again
>or is it gigaslop?
Not really, feels like old school fantasy but worse

There's some really good parts in here but fucking hell Hamilton needs an better more forceful editor. I'll read Judas Unchained relatively soon but I need a break after this one

>>23393494
well, yes I agree. It was a bit too clear cut. If it's an ontological mystery, keep it mysterious, imo. Otherwise it takes away the mystique for me. We literally get an exposition dump from the police woman near the end. Not saying the story was ruined by it just that I would've actually preferred it to stay vague

>>23393736
Okay fair enough. I'm inclined to agree but it's not fresh enough in my mind. I remember at the time thinking it should probably have ended a chapter or two earlier than it did so maybe we're on the same page

>>23392780
>>23392786
>>23392852
What's the series order? There's like 15 books under the Elric Saga title

>>23393758
Publication order is the only answer

>>23392961
>Elfdick of Melaninboner
okay, this made me laugh

>>23393284
I want to suck those saggy sourmilk fun bags dry

Do you ever read an anons take on a book and just think "How the fuck do you even feed yourself"

>>23393326
>tolkiendrones get so buttblasted
>funny how tolkiendrones larp
beautiful to see how a brit who's been dead for 50+ years still makes trannies seethe. Who the fuck even mentioned Tolkien lmao

>>23393813
A liberal homosexual feminist Protestant was teaching a class on George R.R. Martin, known hack

”Before the class begins, you must get on your knees and worship Gurm and accept that Planetos is the greatest fantasy setting of all time even greater than Arda!”

At this moment, a brave, patriotic, British WW1 veteran who had served 1500 tours of duty on the Somme and understood the necessity of war and fully supported all decisions made by Butcher Haig stood up.

”What are the linguistic differences among the peoples of Westeros?”

The arrogant proddie smirked quite schismatically and smugly replied “There is the Old Tongue and the Common Tongue, you stupid warmonger”

”Wrong. There should be hundreds of dialects. If the Wall is 8000 years old as you say, how can the Wildlings and Northmen understand one another?”

The HBO shill was visibly shaken, and dropped his chalk and copy of A World of Ice and Fire. He stormed out of the room crying those redditor crocodile tears. The same tears redditors (who today live in such luxury most can afford sex changes) cried when Missandei was beheaded. There is no doubt that at this point our sola scriptura-faggot wished he had pulled himself up by his bootstraps and become more than a garbage pulp fiction fan. He wished so much he could die a glorious death in battle, but he had sworn to always be a draft dodger!

The students applauded and became Tolkien fans that day and accepted the Pope as their Lord and Master. A giant eagle named “Thorondor” flew into the room and perched atop the flag of Gondor and shed a tear on the White Tree. Beowulf was read in the original Old English several times, and Eru Ilúvatar himself showed up and enacted Aragorn's flat rate tax policy across the universe.

The Lutheran was fired the next day and sunset found him squatting in the grass, groaning. Every stool was looser than the one before, and smelled fouler. By the time the moon came up he was shitting brown water.

>>23393810
costantly

>>23393822
>The Lutheran was fired the next day and sunset found him squatting in the grass, groaning.
kek got me here

>>23392780
Bloated. The best parts are when he goes berserk, but those only take a page or so.

>>23392780
the songs are cool
Water from a thousand tears
Feeling of a thousand years
Flows over me
But the dream it is too real
Cold reality of steel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSqdaoMSFRE

why kellhus assfucks proyas???

>>23391398
Read A Ruthless Tutorial

So I'm a bit confused about some of the posthumous and greater legendarium Tolkien stuff. You got the Hobbit and LOTR and that makes sense. But there's the Silmarillion which I understand to be a collection of history and other such tales. But then you have books like The Great Tales which sort of sounds like it covers a lot of what's in the Silmarillion but I assume in more detail but then you also have The History of Middle Earth books which are... I don't know. I'd appreciate if someone could shine some clarity on what is actually what.

>>23394142
Ok bear with me because it's been a while.
The Silmarillion is more or less what he'd wanted to publish alongside TLOTR but it also contains some stories or details that were edited, updated, removed or rewritten by Christopher and Guy Gavriel Kay, like The Fall of Doriath because Tolkien's notes had been insufficient. The Great Tales basically expand on some tales from The Silm and contain the full accounts as Tolkien wrote them. I've only read Hurin, but I think Beren and Luthien contain several versions of the tale and The Fall of Gondolin is basically the story as he wrote it back in the 1910s and never got to finish. The History of Middle-earth basically contains all the versions of the tales, rejected, reused, removed, rewritten, everything. For example there are his time travelling stories connected to Numenor and Anglo-Saxons, Elf Beren, the Maiar being the literal children of the Valar, the Noldor being called Gnomes, sort of proto-Sauron etc., alongside like four versions of what happened to Elwing and Earendil, the first drafts of TLOTR etc. HOTM very much feels like someone collected all possible versions of a culture's myths and legends and traces their development.

>>23391672
I'm just gonna say Red Nails cause I like Red Nails. It's meatier than the other stories.

anyone read this yet? saw it on sale on kobo and snagged a copy

>>23391934
>>23392111
it's a great example of a what-could-have-been. great concept, nice way to tell a story, told via a good MC and with nice style, and decently written. then it turns into something else, ruining kinda everything. senlin ascends is another example of this

I think I'm ready to take on Malazan again. Going to go pick up Deadhouse Gates from the library

Anyone else a fan of Donaldson's The Gap Cycle? I finished the first one last night and absolutely loved it.

What the fuck was his problem?

>>23394906
Deadhouse Gates is one of my favorite fantasy books you're in for a treat

>>23394906
Why would you do that when you could read a dozen better standalone fantasy novels instead?
Long series are a padded bloated mess with the soul purpose of milking for money.
wait
>again
holy shit

>>23395137
By again I meant "try it again" Ive only read GotM and want to try getting into it again

>>23395101
No, but I've decided to read it next because of your post.

>>23393358
>>23393375
>>23393813
>>23393822
>>23393842
Here's your "based tolkien", tolkiendrones
>“I have in this War a burning private grudge—which would probably make me a better soldier at 49 than I was at 22: against that ruddy little ignoramus Adolf Hitler (for the odd thing about demonic inspiration and impetus is that it in no way enhances the purely intellectual stature: it chiefly affects the mere will). Ruining, perverting, misapplying, and making for ever accursed, that noble northern spirit, a supreme contribution to Europe, which I have ever loved, and tried to present in its true light.”
>Thank you for your letter. I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects. But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.
Tolkien's great grandson is jewish btw :)

>>23395405
seems based enough to me. nazis were retarded and jews write good books.

>>23395405
Anglochads win again.

>>23395405
>noooo Tolkien didn't dunk on my heckin jewishrinos!! How could he be against Germany in a time of war against them?!?!
Lol. Lmao even. Ledditors think we fall for the same groupthink as them. I don't give a fuck. Tolkien was based and he made good fantasy. Seethe, cope, dilate and YWNBAW.

Tolkien was a huge Franco supporter, btw :)

>>23394447
Okay that clears things up a bit. Thank you. It was starting to get a bit confusing as to whats contained in what.

>>23395405
>I'm not a Gypo-Paki or a Jew, sorry
>erm, this is NOT based
What point did you think you were making here?

>>23395467
Glad I could help a bit. There are also some books I haven't gotten to yet, like Nature of Middle-earth or something, which I think it's a collection of Tolkien's notes on... the nature of Middle-earth and its peoples etc. There's also The Fall of Numenor which also seems to be basically everything he wrote about Numenor taken from various sources, like The Silm, TLOTR etc. No actual new content, just a compilation.
Honestly I feel that at this point they should just stop. I don't think there's anything left, unless they want to release a big book on lingvistics.

>>23395497
Yeah I love the stories and a world but it's getting to be very hard to keep track of what's what, what's actual prose and fiction and what's history of notes, what's overlap of material collected elsewhere and so on.

Any books about modernish worlds but with a feudal run world with kings and knights and shit? Maybe like final fantasy 15?

>>23395561
urban fantasy = dogshit

>>23395580
Ya I assumed, but there must be 1 good one

>>23395611
You'd think so but no

>>23395611
Hypothetically, there's nothing preventing a good urban fantasy novel being written, but in practice the laws of probability have not favored that genre.

>>23395580
>>23395735
I think it's because it's a misnamed subgenre. It should be called modern supernatural, contemporary mythology, or present day paranormal.

>>23395561
There are FF15 books.

>>23395933
Good lord the absolute balls for the stunts they pulled on that game.
>Make sure you watch the movie. And read the book. And buy all the DLC. And buy cup noodles.

>>23391398
I forced myself to finish Liveship Traders. It felt like a chore all the way through. The raping did not save it for me. I liked the farseer trilogy, but I am not reading more shit from this author.

Fuck you to anyone that recommends Robin Hobb. Fuck female characters and their problems. And fuck women in general.

>>23395953
>The raping did not save it for me

>>23395953
the fitz books are good, the side stuff is indeed very mid

Are there any battle royale novels which aren't YAslop?

>>23396116
No, the very concept is intrinsically geared towards Young Adults and invariably used to produce low-effort schlock. All philosophical and intellectual meaning behind the idea was thoroughly exhausted 70 years ago when it was first put into a Twilight Zone episode (or was it Outer Limits?), 30 years before the Japanese latched on to the fad; since then it's been nothing but shallow rehashes of a dead horse that's been beaten so much there's nothing left.

>>23396116
Just read The Most Dangerous Game

anyone here read the nevernight trilogy?

>>23396116
Have you read the Battle Royale? What do you think of it either way? The newer translation is better.

Finished Black Company series. I hate how mythical it got. I understand wizards and magic. I understand being able to extend life a bit. I don't like how fantastical it got with soul switching and immortality. I just wanted a nice solid end.

>>23396501
NTA but I didn't know there was a new translation I've only read my old copy I got at a Barnes and Noble like 12-13 years ago I don't remember the translation being bad but I was also like 14 when I read it

>>23396624
There are 3 translations technically. 2003 original, 2009 revised, and 2014 with a new translation. So, it may have been the newer one.

>>23391719
You consistenly have baffling takes on the books you read, it has to be on purpose.

It might also be because you speed read like a fucking cretin.

>>23396532
grunts don't get solid ends anon, they live and wonder why

I've run into a bit of a dilemma. In my youth I started with Discworld. Didn't read again until I was an adult and it was The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, then Ubik, then IQ84, then All of Asimov. L.E. Modesitt and now I'm at Alastair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton.

The dilemma is that I can only seem to read sci fi kino. I tried Red Rising, I thought the color coded class system was fucking gay, as a million YA novels deal with similar systems be it crystal names or usefulness, like Divergent. And I've tried a few other fantasy books as well. I just can't do it. Please help me, I want to branch out but after finishing the Kino that was House of Suns 2 days ago, I'm at a loss. Im reading Chasm City right now and of course, being Reynolds, it is kino as well. Please help me.

>>23396673
What's baffling about it? I don't speed read, but I do marathon read. Sometimes I'll wake up, start reading, then not stop until I sleep, excluding a few minor interruptions. It's even more so for games because they can last for so much longer.

>>23396749

>>23396754
I've seen that episode. Fortunately I'm near sighted so I can read without glasses.

>>23396749
That counts as speed reading. You don't digest what you read and its painfully obvious in your reviews.

>>23396778
I don't know how many times I have to say they aren't reviews and they're intended for those who haven't read the book. If I wanted to do analysis, critique, or criticism, I would. If I wanted it to be shorter or longer than a full post here, I could. They're my thoughts and nothing more or less. I agree that they're usually insubstantial and without much or any detail about the content of the book, that's intended. I have no intention of being unbiased or objective, whatever that would be in theory. It's entirely, here's some stuff I thought it and maybe why. If. I was going to be serious about it, I'd want to be compensated in some way. You have too high expectations for content posted here. I do it for fun and nothing else.

>>23396793
You can call them whatever you want. Reviews or just sharing your personal opinion. The point is you're talking shit. It not being a "review" doesn't make it not shit and doesn't make it suddenly a worthwhile discussion.

>>23396801
It's not even discussion because probably 1 in 25, at best, gets a single response aside from >>23392146 and I've never argued that they're wrong. If anything, it's been the opposite. Semantics aside, I haven't disagreed with anything you've stated either.

>>23396808
Spineless, witless, half baked, FUCK OFF

>>23396820
I may consider it after reaching 5 years of doing this later this year. That's a nice number. Maybe I won't though. I won't know until I do or don't.

>>23396824
Spineless, witless, half baked.

>>23396839
As a final message for now, if you're the same anon who's been making these posts, I appreciate the consistency you've shown over the years. Thank you, it's been amusing. I hope you don't use this negging strategy on others though. Let's keep it between us.

>>23396846
Nta, I started out thinking he was blowing it out of proportion. But no, you actually just have dogshit opinions. Stop posting thanks.

>>23392891
Read the first one and it was ok but Garion's character development and conflict with Pol felt forced. In the second it wrote a passage that was meant to read like mythology but included the phrase "hit-and-run", and that triggered me too much to continue.

>>23392891
Read the first one and it was ok but Garion's character development and conflict with Pol felt forced. The second one had a passage that was meant to read like mythology but included the phrase "hit-and-run", and that triggered me too much to continue.

>>23392891
Read the first one and it was ok but Garion's character development and conflict with Pol felt forced. The second one had a passage that was meant to read like mythology but included the phrase "hit-and-run", and that triggered me too much to continue.

>>23396989
You guys like Sailor Moon?s

Kino incoming.

>>23396820
>>23396839
>>23396851
samefags can stop posting their dogshit opinions and other newfag buzzwords any time.

mCNN: Would you like to live in the Culture?

Iain M. Banks: Good grief yes, heck, yeah, oh it's my secular heaven ... Yes, I would, absolutely. Again it comes down to wish fulfillment. I haven't done a study and taken lots of replies across a cross-section of humanity to find out what would be their personal utopia. It's mine, I thought of it, and I'm going home with it -- absolutely, it's great.

could he talk more like a soi?

>>23396989
/c/Abhorsen Lirael

Piranesi was shit.

>>23393216
>There is nothing to be proud of for existing in a state of either perpetual civil war
China was an empire, not a single country or nation. That's like saying Europe sucks because it was in a constant state of civil war.

>>23396839
Let the dude make the shitty reviews he wants. Holy shit, you guys sound like reddit mods. I want to make my own shitty reviews now just to spite you

I would like some sword and sorcert suggestions please

>>23397786
>Europe is an empire
70IQ moment

>>23397300
so was the film

This is a very lonely story of you think about it.

>>23391398
What's the best complete torrent?

>>23398081

Of what?

>>23393182
Filtered
>>23395101
Based
>>23396989
Also based
>>23397300
BASED

Read William Sleator

>>23392062
I just finished the first book. I still don't understand why the scientists killed themselves. was it really,
>ALIENS TRICKED ME INTO THINKING SCIENCE IS BROKEN! IM GOING INSANE HELP ME MAO ZEDONG
Help me out if it's not that stupid. I'm retarded.

>>23398587
>Help me out if it's not that stupid. I'm retarded.
You made the mistake of reading a novel by a Chinese person, you actually are that stupid.

>>23397300
Only saw the movie which was bretty gud

Just finished Memory, Sorrow and Thorn.
Bretty gud/10

Just finished Bakker's series. I thought the first three were decent, but I'm a little confused on the final book. Could someone explain what Bakker meant when he wrote
>I love Cunny

>>23398938
He's talking about his favorite Redwall villain but made a typo.

Just finished Bakker's series. I thought the first three were decent, but I'm a little confused about the conclusion. Bakker wrote and I quote
>I love Cunny
And then proceeds to have those in support of that quote genocide everyone else. What exactly did he mean by this?

>>23398949
Whoops double posted. Can I get a moderator to delete this?

>>23398951
You can do it yourself, newfagbro.

Just finished Bakker's series. I thought the first three were decent, but I'm a little confused about the conclusion. Bakker wrote and I quote
>I love Cunny
And then proceeds to have those in support of that quote genocide everyone else. What exactly did he mean by this?

>>23398932
I've seen a lot of praise for this series, but it seems generic and dull to me. QRD on why you enjoyed it?

The Great Ordeal failed.

>>23391778
/wbg/ has also died. Archived before bump limit and no new thread for 13 hours. Will it rise again, or is it gone for good?

Do mercenaries make for good (multi-use) enemies in Fantasy and Sci Fi since it makes sense that they would cut and run rather than fight to the death?

>>23399015
It depends how they're written. A lot of mercenaries can have their own codes of honor. They're own senses of loyalty and could easily value their reputation as much as their lives.

/grrm/ - George R. R. Martin General
Currently in its 9th iteration. Started March 18th.

I had no idea there were so many Chinese in this website.

>>23399069
>Chinese novel about literal bugmen
Lol

>>23399069
Just kill yourself already

>>23398993
I like the magical elements to it. Lots of prophetic dreams and dark rituals and not so many fireballs. I also really enjoy when knighthood features in stories and while it's not a major focus here chivalry and knighthood does play a part in colouring the attitudes and motivations of a lot of the characters. Knights and Princess and Dragons and Magic Swords are peak fantasy imo. Pic definitely related.
All 4 books are pretty long but I don't think that's a negative at all and the fact that they do go on for so long makes me appreciate the payoff to all the foreshadowing and character development and whatnot all the more.

>>23399144
4? I thought it was 3 with an on going sequel series that has a new book out in the fall

>>23399171
To Green Angel Tower's paperback edition is presented in two parts due to its sheer size, totaling nearly 1600 pages in length. Parts 1 and 2 were subtitled Siege and Storm, respectively

>>23399204
Ah gotcha so it's like how some ASOIAF novels got split in two in the EU

>>23399144
My favorite part of Memory Sorrow Thorn is when absolutely literally nothing any of the heroes do matters and the supervillain self-destructs because he trips on a banana peel.

The next best part is when after the world and all 12 of the remaining living creatures in it are saved and Simon is a king of ashes and ruins, even this small "victory" is thrown into the trash into the equally monolithic sequel series "The Last King of Osten Ard" in which the ice queen manages to destroy the remainder of the world after the previous novels alleged that she had been stripped of power.

>>23399231
Maybe use spoiler tags when you post shit like this, you spastic.

>>23399289
>spoilers on a 30 yo novel
wait til you hear who Luke Skywalker's father is

>>23397420
Woah, the same anon is the same anon?

>>23397787
Let me complain about the shitty reviees. Hoky shit. You sound like a faggot.

>>23399027
I think that's the advantage, though. You can have a merc who will come back to harass the protag even if there is no real profit in it, since honor demands it.

>>23393216
Pajeets always reveal themselves when other countries are brought up.

Great Ordeal status?

BORN TO CANT
CONSULT IS A FUCK
鬼神 Kill Em All 4132 Year-of-the-Tusk
I Am Mandati Man
478,637,782 CULLED SRANC

>>23399334
Eat shit and fuck ofpn4pvpf, tranny

>>23399552
Unironically mald

>>23399040
It's beautiful. Every thread is filled with discussion. It's about the opposite of here.

>>23395953
>Fuck female characters and their problems. And fuck women in general.
Based

>>23399579
Yeah, I dunno. Even the magic system debate was better over there and you'd expect the fantasy general to froth at the mouth over that. Oh well

>>23399604
>the magic system debate was better over there
How?
>the word magic is defined as things that make me feel mystery and wonder
>but people use the word in other ways too
>reeeeee they're not allowed to do that reeeeeeeeeee

>>23395953
>Fuck women in general
That is the goal of being alive.

>>23399632
Well, my point was that there wasn't even a discussion (or a sperg-out, if you wanna call it that) about that here in the first place.
>but people use the word in other ways too
>reeeeee they're not allowed to do that reeeeeeeeeee
Hilariously low IQ take on the discussion, btw. You're completely wrong, unironically

I like women characters in fiction. I like women authors. I like women.

>>23399663
>I like women characters in fiction. I like women authors. I like women.

>>23399657
no discussion > bad discussion

shitposting is better

>>23399693
>no discussion > bad discussion
Low T

>>23399695
no, meangless conflict > meaningless discussion

>>23399717
No, conflict avoidance = low T

>>23399791
Exactly. You who prefer "conversations" where you talk past each other is low T, compared to me who prefers conflict.

>>23399657
>reeeeeeeeeeee
Maybe it's not surprising that softfags think sharing their feelings is a substantial discussion that proves something.

There's an interesting parallel between taste in fiction and method of reasoning that seems to explain how those 'discussions' always go. Hardfags not only enjoy axioms and inference rules, but actually reason that way too. They understand axioms are arbitrary and think that obsessing over what axioms are 'correct' is retarded. To a softfag, structure is uninteresting and even undesirable, and gets in the way of feeling, which is what's important. And they correspondingly argue by reiterating their preferences as poetically and forcefully as possible.

Are short story magazines a thing anymore?

>>23399834
>softfags
That's a good name for them. I've been thinking of them as "retarded niggers".

>>23399840
Yes.

>>23399834
>They understand axioms are arbitrary and think that obsessing over what axioms are 'correct' is retarded.
This is ironic coming from somebody who thinks there is any meaningful distinction between "soft" and "hard" SF

>>23399889
>proving his point

Hell yeah bros just got these delivered

>>23399894
enjoy the ride

>>23399894
The covers look decently metal

>>23399840
Anvil Magazine

>>23399834
>And they correspondingly argue by reiterating their preferences as poetically and forcefully as possible.
Could it be, and maybe I'm just talking crazy here, that that's the point of the discussion? How are you this autistic?

>you can't talk about how or why you prefer a magic system
>B-BECAUSE YOU JUST CAN'T, OKAY?!

>>23399982
>its just, like, an opinion, man
kill yourself

>>23400002
Kek imagine getting this fucking buttblasted over fairy tale funny science

>>23396200
No but the cover art intrigues me every time I see it at the bookstore.

>>23400048
>y- youre mad!
I'm honestly not. Some people simply shouldn't be alive.

>>23399840
There's heaps. Unfortunately 90% if not more of the stories printed in them are shit. I'd be happily proved wrong if somebody wants to post something from a recent sff magazine that isn't terrible

>>23395428
>nazis were retarded
Lmfao how do you cope?

Tolkienbros: I finished The Silmarillion 5 stars around a month ago, read a couple of other novels, and now I'm going to go back to Tolkien. What should I read next? I've already read Hobbit and LotR, and am trying to read the rest of the Legendarium.

>>23400324
Children of Hurin would be the biggest remaining real story. A lot of the other books and histories are mostly just a collection of versions and notes and all that sort of thing. It's kind of hard to sort the posthumous stuff. Interesting but there's a lot of notes and a lot of the bigger stuff is covered in the Silmarillion already.

>>23400324
Unfinished Tales maybe? Seconding The Children of Hurin. Bilbo's Last Song.

>>23399663
>>23399688
>only liking women
It is the will of Allah that you love one woman.

>>23391398
I had this pic as my psp wallpaper in like 2008. Brought back some great memories.

>>23400733
I still need to complete Tactics ogre: let us cling together.

>>23399427
based
>>23399417
scalded

Read Tenebroum

>>23401093
satanic trash

Books for this feel?

>>23400069
>m-maybe if I write a greentext of what you didn't say it'll look like I won
Keep up the buttblast, you retarded faggot cunt

>>23401562
Dirty Dozen.

>>23401465
It's not though

On topic: any good sci fi set in a tropical environment.

>>23401739
The Island of Doctor Moreau

Which version of HoME should I get, the 3 volume set or the new ones that they are putting out this year? I heard the binding on the new releases are kind of shitty.

>>23402021
I love the way the new ones look but they're also kind of expensive. I'm really on the fence if I want to splurge or just settle with my paper backs.

>>23401739
>>23401867

>attempt to read an anthology about speculative economics
>It's entirely hamfisted social ideology metaphors pretending to be economics
The only thing more disappointing than what little I read rather than skimmed was that I thought it would be about economics.

>>23401739
Isn't 90% of Far Cry sci fi set in tropical environments?

>>23402098
Academia being infiltrated by bad actors means most sciences without hard facts are fucked.

Can dog fights work in books or is it something that probably shouldn't be tried?

>>23402397
Read Robert E Howard's Fight'en'est Pair.

Any good dark fantasy come out recently?

>>23402404
>>23402397
I realized not more than a few instants after the post went through that I should have said 'aerial' dog fights.

>>23402420
The Great Die Slow

>>23402426
looks cool, thanks

>>23402425
I think it'd be like any other kind of fight scene where you have to describe it in a more brief, poetic way. Otherwise it would turn into a boring autistic list of maneuvers.

>>23402425
I mean I can't think of anything off hand but people seem to like to Tie Fighter and X-wing novels. I think wing commander had some books. I sort of remember those.

>>23402397
>>23402425
I have read a short fiction story that was literally about contemporary dog fighting from the perspective of a dog.

>>23402517
I too have read Peanuts.

>>23402425
Read WW2 auto-bios if you want first hand accounts. They can be decently well written and entertaining

>>23402098
was it Freedom! by Greenberg and Tier? I don't know of any others

>>23399663
Same
Here are some female fantasy authors that i think are good, chuddies beware
Books of Raksura by Martha Wells
Fortress in The Eye of Time and Morgaine Cycle by C.J Cherryh
Inda by Sherwood Smith
Rai-Kirah, The Bridge of D'Arnath and Song of the Beast by Carol Berg
Dragonriders of Pern
Deverry by Katharine Kerr
Essalieyan by Michelle Sagara West
Janny Wurts
Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly
Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies by Melanie Rawn
Crown of Stars and Crossroads trilogy by Kate Elliott
Sword-Dancer, Cheysuli and Karavans by Jennifer Robertson
Juliet Marillier
Robin Hobb
Irene Radford
Nightrunner by Llyn Flewelling
Last of the Renshai and Bifrost Guardians by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Trinity and The Quickening bye Fiona Mcintosh
Havenstar, Isles of Glory and The Mirage Makers by Glenda Larke
Elemental Logic bye Laurie J Marks
Fool's Gold by Jude Fisher
Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey
Wolfblade and Demon Child by Jennifer Fallon
Tears of Artamon by Sarah Ash
The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth
Symphony of the Ages by Elizabeth Haydon
The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
Ash: Secret History by Mary Gentle
i'm probably forgetting a lot of other fantasy authors but these are the ones i remember right now

>>23402759
Strange Economics

>>23402779
>C.J Cherryh
She's great, although her protagonists do get a little samey. I wish she wrote more fantasy and less Foreigner series.
>Deverry by Katharine Kerr
The first two are great, but it goes to shit in book three. It improves by the end of the series, but never reaches the level of the first two.
Missing from your list is Paula Volsky

>>23402779
what about sci-fi

>>23402804
ty fren

>>23398263
Science Fiction & Fantasy novels.

>>23398993
>I've seen a lot of praise for this series
Cause it's influential on a lot of big authors. That's not to say it's not worth reading on its own merits, but the reason you see people praise it is because people like GRRM site it as a big influence on their work.

>>23393810
It's why I stopped frequenting these threads. So many people here I have no idea why they claim to read when they clearly don't.

>>23403071
name 10 books

>>23403146
NTA but Game of Thrones.

>>23401573
Cope

>>23391398
There are a lot of stories that talk about failures of our society and paint a picture of a grim future.

Is there anything that has a positive message and portrays an improved world within the next 100 or 200 years? Something well researched and somewhat plausible?

Basically I am getting a little tired of all the doom and gloom affecting my mental state and am having a hard time seeking out media with more of a hopeful angle. Would there be a name for this genre? Like the opposite of cyberpunk. Humanity has learned how to improve as a whole. Either through political resolutions, massive cultural upheaval and perhaps unification pf all humans, or maybe more of a sci fi angle with modifications on a genetic level to remove greed and increase altruism or something like that.

Maybe even something not so grand and just tries to provide positive morals in modern situations and imagines a world where those morals are internalized and respected by most everyone in it.

>>23403537
>Either through political resolutions, massive cultural upheaval and perhaps unification pf all humans, or maybe more of a sci fi angle with modifications on a genetic level to remove greed and increase altruism or something like that.
Any of this actually sounds positive to you?

>>23403537
>Advancing technology, beyond stuff like curing infections, has mostly made the world worse
>you think more technology in the same vein, which will only grant more power to governments and corporations and take power away from individuals, will make things better.

>>23403549
>>23403719
Okay faggots you caught me. You really dissected my message and ripped me a new one. Now that you've won, can you interpret my message correctly and give me some media suggestions? Thanks.

>>23403726
The issue is what you're describing as a hopeful future sounds like the exact type of dystopian bullshit you're complaining about. The closest thing I could suggest to what you want would be Ghost in the Shell, which was informally described as "Post-Cyber Punk" because the setting had been through the dystopia and turmoil and already come out of the other side of it by the time the series itself starts. However, Ghost in the Shell isn't a book series, although most of the franchise is fantastic anyway.

>>23403726
The problem is that the vast majority of Sci Fi will not be hopeful.
You are better off reading something different, or writing something you want to read.

>>23396730
>Reynolds
>kino
>Please help me
It's only euthanasia now desu senpai

>>23403537
Noon: 22nd Century

>>23403743
>The problem is that the vast majority of Sci Fi will not be hopeful.
Nah, you just don't read any Sci Fi. I mean literally:

>>23403740
>The closest thing I could suggest to what you want would be Ghost in the Shell

>>23403726
>>23403537
>or maybe more of a sci fi angle with modifications on a genetic level to remove greed and increase altruism or something like that
Lem's "Return from the Stars" has some of that, but that book is more about a pure muscle 7ft tall chiseled relativistic astronaut gigachad struggling to integrate into the hippie cuck Sesame Street society, rather than the details of how that society functions.

>>23403743
Unacceptable answer.

>>23403740
Okay. I dropped the ball when I started giving examples. Let me try again.

In our world right now, and with myself being "terminally online," it is easy to build a perception that things are trending downwards overall. Then when it comes to media it is popular to portray future events as dystopian and pretty glum overall. Even contemporary media dramatizes divorce, violence, vice, etc and there seems little offered in terms of positivity.

So I now I engage with it as seeking out a fantasy to be fulfilled throigh someone's fictional work. And I am imagining how an author might start constructing that. Maybe they take a concept or a handful of concepts, such as a radical new gene therapy that cures several cancers, or a massively efficient solar energy source, and explores a world with that technology in it. Or maybe things do decline further and there is some great strife or conflict, but the story begins in a period afterward where the power vacuum has settled and the "good guys" are in charge and start working for the betterment of humanity.

Maybe it's just a star trek ripoff.

Maybe it's even more far-fetched and it's about the survival and modification of our species as a whole and explore what we might look like if we overhauled ourselves in a transhumanist sense. Maybe you can explore the concept of traditionalists being overwhelmed by this radical movement that ultimately leads to a different fundamental existence of humans (we expand across the solar system and all sing kumbiyah and enjoy a post-scarcity existence with no inter-species conflict).

But mostly I just want a hopeful story set in the nearish future that proposes vaguely plausible solutions to some of our problems.

>>23403808
Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale

>>23399663
>>23402779
ever read these?

>>23403366
>Cope

>>23404095
aaaaah a wojak looks live you've lost since you've resorted to posting a wojak. how sad.

>>23403808
The problem is, what would the conflict be? You could try to look into the emerging genre of cozy fiction. That may the closest that you're going to find.

>>23404303
I don't accept that there has to be conflict in the first place, but I already gave a scenario (traditionalists being paved over for a new paradigm of humanity). You could also explore conflict for the implementation of new technologies or ways of thinking.

A story about a young man who is interested in his family history. He is a martian and traces his family history back to earth, and tries to travel to germany to understand what traditions. The continent of europe was largely transformed to a nature and architecture preserve, with the archives centralized. It can be a character study of someone who gives a shit about antiquated values like family tradition in an age where there is a high quality of life but the culture is entirely geared towards the greater good of the species. So his thinking is now the minority despite the majority being an arguably superior collective to what we have now on Earth.

Maybe he can discover relatives that are long lost and start connecting with his family. It can be somewhat alien because being a blood relative doesn't have much bearing, especially with family trees being spread across the solar system. So as he tries to connect with his supposed family members he discovers their personalities and maybe comes to appreciate some of them as well as the variety of friends he has. It can end with his own contemplation of starting a family and what it means and what traditions he passes on. Maybe they will be washed away by the tides of culture over time, as humans seem to have a trajectory towards loss of self (but portrayed positively as if it will lead to a transhumanist ideal of utopia), or maybe there will still be a select few who desire to understand their roots down the generations, and the cycle may repeat itself.

>>23403537
here you go. One of my favorites

>>23404356
Why not simply read mainstream literary fiction then?

>>23404438
nta. I don't know if you're joking, but that doesn't meet what he wants at all, especially the ending.

>>23404443
>a future world without violence
>reverted back to an altruistic tribal life
> >>23404356 here he even asks about a story without conflict, which Engine Summer has. "Maybe they will be washed away by the tides of culture over time, as humans seem to have a trajectory towards loss of self (but portrayed positively as if it will lead to a transhumanist ideal of utopia), or maybe there will still be a select few who desire to understand their roots down the generations, and the cycle may repeat itself." This is a large part of the book itself.

>>23404451
Yes, but it fails everything else. It's not hopeful, they're against progress, there's much darkness behind the scenes, and the ending is a real downer. Also it's too far future.

>>23404466
but the progress is what leads to our eventual destruction over and over again. I don't see it as a downer but just a fact of cyclical nature of our existence much like on smaller scale of Wolfe's ideas.
It's not far future, building and highways still exist like the roman colosseums, they didn't turn to dust yet.

>>23404489
You really consider the ending the protagonist is a simulation replayed over and over again, doomed to eternal imprisonment as an entertaining toy for children not to be a downer?. It's around 700 years I believe. In any case, it's not a flourishing society where everything has gone well. Explicitly feel good futures are wanted.

>>23404503
In an ocean of depressing dystopian novels, it's the most comfy not depressing one I've ever read, so I guess op should write his own happy one as others have said

>>23404126
>He posted a wojak! He le heckin lost!
Go back

>>23404562
I agree that it's a book worth reading. It's enjoyable and very well written. I don't think it's what is wanted is all.

I just finished volume 1 of Wandering Inn and what the holy shit is this... you can't mix wholesome slice of day with shit like this man, what the fuck, what if someone's kid starts to read

what's the lit consensus on this series, should I keep going?

it's not the worst thing I've ever read but I don't really like the 2 main women either, I liked the bugman

>>23403537
maybe songs of distant earth? it's about colony ship going to a colony planet, that seeks to make perfect society so that shit like war doesn't happen again

>>23395953
fucking based are you me anon? enjoyed assassin's apprentice original trilogy, dumped that shit while attempting liveships

Just finished book 5 of red rising. The first 3 are definitely what I expected. But now it's starting to feel like a critique on Western culture.
>Silvers(jews) given freedom will try to own everything at the cost of the working class.
Even the founder of the rising Quicksilver immediately stops giving a shit about others as soon as he's in a position to bribe the government for personal gain.
>obsidians(blacks) turn on their "friends" as soon as someone strong incites them to violence
>working class(reds) are easily subverted into their own enslavement
The Vox allow the Senate to be destroyed by the Syndicate because they're just too stupid.

It's like the author is trying to say people like Darrow and Ragnar are the exception, not an example for others. I feel like this series is a bait and switch for publishers.

>>23404755
Your interpretation of what they represent is wrong due to your /pol/ bias.

>>23403537
Haha retard

>>23404755
>>23404763
Also how is that any different than how it began?

>>23404755
What are your thoughts about
>>23391719

>>23404763
>You're wrong and your beliefs are
>No examples or explanation regarding why I'm wrong.
Wow you really contributed. It might be easier for you to post a twitter screenshot next time though.

>>23404767
The first 3 are Darrow showing that a "Red" can be an equal to the Gold, it's the individual not the heritage. Darrow convinces his friends to support ideals, the world can change, etc
In the latter books, if Darrow isn't personally handholding someone they just revert to infighting, selfishness, and stupidity. Darrow changes from a hero into a God who no one can compare.
The beginning has golds saying that Democracy doesn't work, but the latter series is the author telling the reader that the Gold's are right.

>>23404755
>>23404818
I only ever read the first two books, but Red Rising is pretty dang shallow. Everything about the premise is clearly just a vehicle for the space opera action, don't overthink it.

>>23404818
You seem to have forgotten that Darrow is completely altered at the begining. He's very arguably no longer a Red after that after all the genetic engineering and body modifications in general. That shoes that the individual has no chance because they were created unequally. It's literally the concept of privilege to the extreme. Darrow was always a myth and not meant to be a role model. It's not that democracy doesn't work, it's that it has problems. They have to be work out. Look at how the history of fledgling democracies have gone. You seem to have too high of expectations for the average person.

>>23402937
>She's great, although her protagonists do get a little samey. I wish she wrote more fantasy and less Foreigner series.
She does likes her archetypes and sticks with them honestly it's suprising that she's writing at all she's been active since the early 70s, i love Fortress in the Eye of Time and the Rusalka trilogy and would like more fantasy too but i think she earned her right to write about her own little star trek fanfic lol
>Deverry by Katharine Kerr
>The first two are great, but it goes to shit in book three. It improves by the end of the series, but never reaches the level of the first two.
I like the entire series but the reincarnation concept got out of her hands really fast t b h
>Missing from your list is Paula Volsky
Totally forgot about her. Illusion is my favorite French Revolution novel (that and The Gods Are Athirst)
>>23402997
i could do one but it would be longer and more exhaustive, like one list for more "serious" and "literary" scifi (speculative fiction if you will) and another list for space opera
>>23403833
It's been on my TBR since forever but never got around reading it, some friends have compared it to Kushiel's Dart which is a plus since i love that trilogy. that's a cute milf on the third novel btw

>>23404818
Silver are free market fundamentalist capitalists and then later crony capitalists. There's no need for an ethnic component.

Obsidians are explicitly modeled on Vikings. They represent the concept of "might makes right" and any who believes that. Again, there's no need for a racial component.

The red are the uneducated rural people, think Appalachia, who cling to religion and tradition to endure their suffering. It's not working class in general.

The Vox show the dangers of populism due to demagogues and propaganda.

>>23404841
>He's very arguably no longer a Red after that after all the genetic engineering
I definitely agree. That's why i quoted "red", but I wasn't clear on that.
>It's not that democracy doesn't work, it's that it has problems. They have to be work out.
This I disagree with. The fifth book literally ends with the senate being dissolved following a coup and Virginia then seizing power. If the author was trying to say that Democracy has issues to be worked through, his resolution seems to be poorly thought out. I know there was that whole line about walking the stiletto, but a single individual taking power after most democratically elected officials were removed is not "walking a stiletto"

>>23404836
It is shallow, but the author is definitely trying to express his opinions throughout the story.
>The people are segregated by their physical and mental capabilities and labeled with colors.
>A substantial part of the story is about different forms of government failing or being corrupted.
>Emphasizes the capabilities (and lack thereof) of the different kinds of people in Darrow's army after he unites Mars and Luna.
This is more than just a vehicle for a story.

>>23404867
>There's no need for an ethnic component
But the entire society is ethnic groups. People weren't placed into a color because of their job's or capabilities. They were born into it.
>Obsidians are explicitly modeled on Vikings
Yes their culture is based on vikings. However there is no way the author didn't realize that labeling them with the color "obsidian", having them be uneducated slaves, and making them taller/stronger/more violent than other colors would make readers think of African Americans.
>The red are the uneducated rural people
You're right. I wrote red, when I should have wrote red/pink/copper who make up the Vox supporters.

Any good recent releases? Last 2-3 years? Haven't really kept up with new releases.

>>23404995
I've read many that I've enjoyed. Whether you would is an entirely different matter. It's also completely different if you're asking about what's been popular, which then goes into, among whom?

>>23405053
>>23405053
>>23405053
New

>>23405056
You're several hours early, but may as well.

>>23404575
>>23404438
nta i'm not sure it can be considered what the other anon was asking for, maybe, but the bigger point i wanted to make is that it's not a very good book. i think it's boring and too grandiose for its own good, the prose is beautiful and dreamy but that's it, the story is dumb and you don't understand half of it, but at least for me it doesn't capture you or entertain you and it doesn't have any interesting ideas. the MC is annoying and boring and i didn't feel anything for him