/lit/ - Literature

>>9357366
I love fantasy and science fiction, but the OP provides no impetus for the thread. What are you trying to achieve, here? It feels like you're making this as a containment thread out of distaste rather than appreciation.

OP didn't list a theme, so lets have a thread about series featuring Death Worlds?

>>9357428
/sffg/ was once a very active community with hundreds of posters, now it is a rather slow thread that gets posted mostly out of habit. Because things stagnated and people got bored of talking about the same tiny selection of books over and over again. The threads are kept alive by shitposters and people with no lives, and the occasional newfag who wanders in asking for recommendations.

>>9357440
What would make discussion exciting and vital again?

>>9357451
New authors who don't suck.

Which haven't popped up in a while. Sanderson is honestly one of the better modern SFFG writers as sad as that is. There's been a massive literary brain drain in the last 30 years.

>>9357454
Can we do group reads, or is that not cool?

>>9357451
A super popular new fantasy author taking the genre by storm probably. Even though this thread pretends to hate mainstream authors that's basically all they talk about, plus a few niche favorites. Funnily enough, Rothfuss probably would have been the one to do it if he hadn't decided to play release-delay-chicken with GRRM and stall his third book for most of a decade.

>>9357454
When the third Stormlight Archive book drops later this year we'll probably see a spike in discussion and speculation from that.

>>9357477
Probably. I'll probably read it, even. I can't help but think Sanderson could put out some legitimately good work if he'd just be willing to step outside his Mormon sensibilities and create characters that he doesn't necessarily like though.

Any good books with a girl protag and a reverse harem?

Currently reading through this series, not the best books i've ever read but they're fun

>>9357485
The closest you're going to get to this is male homosexuality with no females.

>>9357492
>Third book is on Kindle
>First two aren't

I don't suppose anyone has the Simon Vance narrated rendition of 'War of the Worlds'? I've been on a huge war of the worlds kick, and while I have the book itself, there's just something powerful about it being narrated by someone with skill. Not to mention it's a whole lot easier when you're stuck riding in a shitty subway for hours a day.

Unfortunately, the only commonly available audibook rendition of it is done by some trannie bonger that butchers it, and a few other renditions done by americans in a fairly plain and mediocre voice for some reason like they're doing a software lecture.

>>9357502
Had to get mine from here: https://pirateproxy.cc/torrent/9158259/Raymond_E._Feist_Riftwar_Saga_Complete_(30_Books)_-_sam2085

>>9357479

If the fucker took some classes on dialogue and worked on dialling back the nothing personnel characters he could legitimately be comfy epic fantasy author of the decade. I'll read the next book and enjoy it, but the frustration will be there. He's so close.

>>9357492
I read those in late middle and early high school.The original Riftwar saga and the Daughter of the Empire series he co-wrote with Janny Wurts are the best of it. I have a soft spot for parts of the Serpent War Saga but it's barely worth reading honestly. You can skip the rest.

>>9357477
When summer starts we will see an increase, as all the collegefags will be on holiday. Same shit with Christmas, huge increase from collegefags and those too busy to work, read, and sffg.

>>9357435
Try death world by Bv Larson. But it's a book within a series, and you will kinda be lost if you don't start at book one.

>My name is Kvothe which is pronounced almost like "Quothe"
Sounds like a childish, camp voice lisping "gross".

>>9357440
>It wasn't the hundreds of redditposters flooding /lit/ every time somebody updated the infographics
>Or the jemisinposters who attacked every dinoposter until they abandoned the thread and now exclusively meet on discord
>No it was people got bored of discussing something we've discussed since time immemorial

Is the C.J. Cherryh anon about? I feel like reading something about other worlds and societies, as well as having the high adventure of space opera. Cherryh seems like a well known and award winning writer of these sorts of stories, so I'd like to read something by her, preferably with likeable characters and immersion. Chanur, Hestia, and Down Below Station seem to fit the bill, but the author's bibliography is vast. What's good for a first timer?

What has more rape, Black jewels or Night angel? In terms of it occurring not just mentioned as backstory.

any books with helicopter parenting?

Has any one read Three Parts Dead? Wondering if it's any good.

>>9357435
These are great. Harrison is one of my favorites.

Got recommended Stand on Zanzibar recently, anyone know if it's still relevant and worth a read through?

>>9357899
>Or the jemisinposters who attacked every dinoposter until they abandoned the thread
I like how revisionists change shit to match their agenda. If you weren't here long enough. It was the dinoposters (the original one to be exact) who started this feud. Don't try to garner sympathy where none need go. We can discuss both old and new books here, there is enough room. But when you start the shit flinging then duck out, it just shows you are weak sauce and don't deserve to simmer around such complex flavours.

>and now exclusively meet on discord
Good. Just shows they are redshitfags at heart and wanted a name and email tracking social media site. The real anonymous stay here to discuss our books.

I'm not sure which series to start next, The Wheel of Time or Thomas Covenant.

It sounds like WoT is pretty comfy, which is what i'm after.

By the way, the /sffg/ meme was right. I walked into a bookstore the other day, grabbed a random WoT novel, flipped to a random page and literally the first sentence I read had the word "tugged" in it. It was quite remarkable, actually.

>>9357970
He also goes by the name catfag. Post a book with a catgirl on the cover to summon him.

>>9358056
While Night Angel has copious amounts of forced breachings, it's not THAT vital to the plot. The veer does live off suffering, but the book is not centered around it.

Now black jewels trilogy, rape is a vital plot point, both men, women and loli get raped. The book is centered around rape.

Thank you for choosing my shilling, and I hope your erection leads you onto more and more better works, which you in turn will share with us.

Welcome to the fold™ brother.

>>9357806
Even better, one of his (many) aliases is Kote. German for "I defecate."

>>9358174
Since you listen to our memes. Read neither.

One is a book that meanders all over. And is filled with repetition.
The other is filled with angsty cries of a disease and FUCKING REPETITION UP THE ASS HOW EVERYTHING IS NOT REAL. SEE WHAT I DID THERE WITH UP THE ASS? THEY DO THAT TOO. OF COURSE IT'S NOT REAL AD NAUSEAM.

Read something else. Don't add your cries to the hundreds that came before you and thought they knew more than the advice offered to them.

>>9358118
I really liked it. The world in particular is easily the best part of it, and the interpretation of gods as magical corporations is very interesting.

>>9358155
Your posts radiate insecurity and an infantile personality.

>>9358056
I actually dropped Black Jewels because I got sick of how often rape kept getting brought up. It's like the author wanted everyone to be sad and angsty, so she has them all get raped, because she couldn't think of anything worse.

I see Wheel of Time get brought up here a lot. I'm curious, what would you guys change about the books to make the series better? Besides removing the tugging and smoothing, that's a given.

>>9358212
you say that those two are not worth reading yet you offer no alternatives...

>>9357454
>>9357473
I wish we were capable of speculative, constructive analysis beyond "lazy navelgazers chatting about nothing and barely seem to care" -tier discourse.

>>9358303
I don't know what you likd.

>If you want long and adventurous
Try Black Company and Malazan.
>Want a standalone novel that mixes sci-fi with fantasy?
Try Iron Dragon's Daughter, and library and mount char.
>politics with magic appearing a total of one page in a 800+page series?
Try long price quartet and dagger and coin.

Enjoy if any gets your fancy.

>>9358208
Christ. This book is really awful.

>>9358092
My Life as an AH-64 Apache Longbow.

>>9357440
newfag here. Is there any books similar to berserk or dark souls?

>>9358538
Try The Eternal Champion trilogy or anything by Moorcock

>>9357492
is this like Zothique or Gene Wolfe ?

>>9358174
>>9358212
Covenant is better than WoT, and I'd defend it, but it's probably not for everyone.

>>9357503
Myanonamouse has it as well as a version read by some of the ST:TNG cast.

>tfw our civilisation resides in an outer arm of the milky way
>tfw civilisations residing in the dense, central galactic cluster will find aliens much more easily than we will
>tfw central galactic alliances and mega-civilisations will reign supreme on us outer-arm loners
>tfw humanity destined for neither greatness nor conquest

feels man, bad

>>9358174
WoT is quite comfy from time to time but it's also really long and sometimes literally nothing happens for at least a thousand pages. As long as you're ok with that, go with WoT.

>>9358977
>implying there's life anywhere else than earth
we're all alone senpai

>>9358979
by "nothing happens" do you mean mundane "slice of life" things occur? Because if so, that's extremely comfy.

>>9358259
I'd not remove the tugging and smoothing. I'd have the slowest mid-story plotlines go somewhat faster, for example it felt like Perrin hunted the Aiel for 10 books, another plotline preparing him for the final battle would probably have been better. Also Egwene inventing a counter to balefire out if nowhere in the middle of battle is kinda stupid. And of course I'd have Jordan write the whole thing.

>>9358977
Welcome to Earth. If their's a bright center to the galaxy, you're on the planet it's farthest from

>>9359009
Well I guess. Or rather they do plot relevant things but at the speed trees grow. It's quite impressive actually.

>>9357502
>kindle

>>9358924
Thanks anon, much appreciated. I thought about checking out the cheeky star trek version as well.

>>9358997
>not realising life is incredibly common, and has likely existed on Mars and Venus already in our solar systems history, and likely currently on some gas giant moons

awful

>>9358977

>>9359009
As a fan of WoT, there was an entire book where basically nothing progressed at all. It was a pretty popular and valid criticism at the time, but thankfully the plot picked up in the next installment and if you can stand that sort of thing it won't be a problem for you reading WoT.

>>9359051
>>9359029
>>9358979
>>9358680
Thanks for the replies. I'm probably going to get the first book of both WoT and Thomas Covenant and read both, then decide from there.

Alternatively, I may read one and <spoiler> listen </spoiler> to the other at work.

I'm looking for a new book to read and came across The Book of the New Sun
Is it enjoyable or will I waste my time?

>>9359119
You need to read it at least 3 times to get everything.

>>9359119
I must admite, I absolutely loved the first portion of it but at a certain part each chapter seemed to turn into pointlessly "clever" little parables as the characters just wandered from place to place. I do plan on returning to it at some point as I'm hoping once I get past that part the wonderful world taht the book began with will return.

inb4 pleb

Lifecycle of Software Objects was a nice little novella. Very concept driven but still had that human element grounding it. Incidentally I agree with Chiang's views on artificial intelligence (as purported by one of the characters) so the jabs at the demon-summoning camp later on were appreciated. Thought it ended pretty abruptly but I guess that just speaks to his views on the subject.

>>9357970
Hestia is for tragic feral catgirl waifus. It's a weird little book that won't give you a good feel for Cherryh's other writing.
The Chanur Saga and Downbelow Station are both good entry points, I usually suggest them as such. Downbelow Station is her political epic with a large cast. The action focuses on a single station, with other events learned from survivors and passing ships. There are some space battles, but Cherryh writes mostly of their effects on the station.
The Chanur Saga is a tighter story with a very limited cast, most of it is written from the perspective of a single ship's captain with a few sections featuring crew members. The action ranges across many star systems. It feels kinda like a submarine thriller. Lots of tension and grimly anticipating the opponent's next move. Politics is also featured, but not as heavily due to the limited viewpoints.
If you want to dive into her meatiest political thrillers, start with Downbelow Station and proceed to Cyteen.
If you'd prefer more space opera and fewer, more fleshed out, characters, start with the Chanur Saga and follow with her Merchanter novels. Tripoint, Rimrunners, Merchanters Luck, etc. The order isn't that important (except that Hellburner is the direct sequel to Heavy Time).

>>9359509
I admire your dedication, Catfag.

>>9359509
sounds like chanur is more to my taste. there is an omnibus of the first three novels.

>>9359529
Thanks I, errr, was rereading her stuff every year for a while :3
>>9359550
Yeah, that omnibus is weird because the first book is self-contained, but the next three are a trilogy, and the final one is a sequel with new characters.

>>9357970
>>9359550
Also, you didn't mention Foreigner, but it fits your description as well. It is her most fully realized alien society, but with the theme that the differences between deceptively similar cultures are what get you killed (the aliens look like tall, dusky elves with night vision). I believe that later on in the series it catapults into space opera, but haven't read all the books currently out (every time I want to read a new entry I have to start over from the beginning, and she's at 18 books and counting).

>>9359644
This looks interesting, and vast in scale. I guess there is GRRM levels of world building and intrigue?

>>9359017
I'd try to merge the Elayne/Nynaeve go on adventures into just one of Tanchico/Ebou Dar, because they felt too similar, but it's hard to make the timelines match up. You'd also obviously cut most or all of Elayne in Caemlyn too because that fucking dragged on.

I guess for most it wouldn't be cutting to many events, just writing them faster so it didn't feel so dragged out.

>>9359773
I dunno, haven't read GRRM.
It's fairly heavy on the politics/factions, but perspective is entirely constrained to a single viewpoint IIRC. Worldbuilding is practically all cultural and political, there isn't much emphasis on unique locations, though sections involving the Atevi conservative faction focus on it.

>>9359119
It's not for everyone. I'm not quite sure if I enjoyed it or not.

Didn't see anything in the OP images, so what does /sffg/ think of The Name of the Wind?

Read it for the first time a few years ago and I find it's one of the only few books in the past 20 years that I could re read

>>9360081
Reeeeeeee

>>9360081
The book is shit, Rothfuss is shit, your taste is shit.

>>9360092
>>9360089
Reasons behind this? I'm genuinely interested in hearing your arguments

>>9360116
Seriously, imo it's a book deep and wide as autumn's ending, like a fine lady to be plucked only by the most masterful of lute-playing fingers.

>>9360116
It's a planned trilogy. The first book was pretty well received, but the second book (Wise Man's Fear) was absolutely atrocious. Publication of the third book has been delayed for years, with rumors of a manuscript being rejected by the publisher for being terrible.

>>9359831
You do get a second pov a few books in.

I had an idea for a story about the far-flung descendant of the oracle of delphi. The family's magic had long since dwindled to almost nothing and the girl grew up proud to live in a time of scientific and industrial revolution.

When her mother dies under inexplicable circumstances, the girl is forced to reconstruct her model of the laws of reality, as well as her mother's mysterious past

Y/N?

>>9360292
Hmmm, was it Jace?
It might be time for me to read through to the latest again.

>>9360116
Mary Sue protagonist, conlang alphabet soup, anime-like amounts of padding, disgustingly purple prose, awful worldbuilding.

>>9359119
Start with some of Wolfe's earlier stuff. It might not be more accessible but if you don't like his style you at least won't waste as much time. Try 'The Fifth Head of Cerberus.' If you don't like that book you're 100% certified pleb.

>>9360243
>rumors of a manuscript being rejected by the publisher for being terrible.
Does this ever happen to big name writers? Surely at this point Rothfuss could shit out anything and his fans would buy it.

>>9360337
Y to first para
N to rest

Anyone read the Drenai series?

Are all the entries worth reading up to a certain point?

>>9360116
It's overwritten to the Nth degree, so that you can only read it without cringing if you're a complete literary neophyte.

>>9359773
>GRRM levels of world building and intrigue
That's not saying much

>>9360116
Lame attempt at deconstruction
>If Kvothe was a hero like the stories he would have princess carried
>Instead he put her over his shoulders like a real person
Rothfuss is an awful writer

>>9360598
Every book is worth reading. Only real complaint is that Gemmell tended to use the same themes in a lot of his books, but they're still good anyways. The entire series is good so read that shit.

>>9360755
>I don't understand what a deconstruction is
Why do people make posts like this?

>>9359260
No dinosaurs as a form of measurement?

>>9360380
can someone tell me why the second part sucks?

>>9360808
That book is from 2010. Dinosaurs were extinct.

Where is the audiobook board?

Listen to The First Law trilogy, Steven Pacey absolutely kills it.

>>9358174


Covenant. Donaldson is a good writer. You have to get used to the idea that the protagonists are ill, mentally ill, or both. Donaldson treads where others will not.

>>9358259
>what would you guys change about the books to make the series better?


Edit out 85% of it.

>>9360870
>all this nostalgia

>>9360842
There isn't one, we listen to our books here >:^)

>>9360338
nvm, forgot how little I'd actually read. Only read the third arc once so far, and nothing past that.

>>9360784
That anon's correct, that's about as far as Rothfuss goes in his supposed deconstruction of fantasy.

>>9359119


Wolfe is a sort of IQ test. If you don't like it you're probably just stupid. Go straight to Terry Brooks.

>>9360896
I guess I misunderstood anon's criticism then. Thanks for clarifying.

>>9360918
>tfw "patricians" will never know the comfy that is Terry

>>9357366
I read Enders Game, Ender's Shadow, Speaker for the Dead, and some of the third Ender book (begins with an X)

I loved how epic the space travel was, and the science fiction aspects of it all.

I want more stuff with like, epic space travel and stuff like that, wide scale. And mind bending if possible, a bit. Speaker for the Dead was probably the best one.

Any recommendations for similar stuff?

>>9358259
Make the women actually likable or interesting characters or just not have chapters from their perspectives. This would fix some of the issues people had with Elaine/Nyneves wild adventures.

Make the Forsaken actual villains instead of being total jokes after the 3rd book.

Delete Faile <--This one is VERY important

does anyone else think the first Foundation is kind of meh, considering how hyped it is?

it was good, just kind of shoddy writing and more philosophical than a real story and what I want from sci-fi, personally

>>9360929
I love a lot of Terry's stuff. I mean, I would probably not enjoy it as much now if I read it, but it holds a dear place in my heart, you know?

>>9360938
>Faile haters
oh boy, here we go

Any fantasy that focuses on eldritch/cosmic horrors and weird anatomy? Besides the obvious stuff like Lovecraft of course

is Simmons Hyperion a good entry point

>>9360968
Failes kidnapping was single handedly the worst arc in the series. It took forever, accomplished literally nothing, and served only to make Perrin act like a whiny edgelord and be plot MIA for 4 books.

I was fine with Faile during and before the Two Rivers defense but afterwords she just turned into a turbocunt constantly bitching that Perrin didn't know her culture that she wouldn't teach him and gave him no allowances.

>>9361009
True enough. As far as her bitchiness goes, just think of it as foreplay and it becomes much easier to forgive.

isn't reading sci fi something cowardly losers do to run away from real life?

>>9361020
sorry this is cunty, it just feels like escapism. then again all entertainment is escapism to some extent

I just feel guilty reading sci fi right now

it feels nerdy

>>9360928
Pic for reference. First part is a quote from the book, second is a reader commentary.

>>9361019
That's sexist as hell.

>>9361019
I just never got what her point was, Bashere and Lan gave insight into the Borderlands culture. And the one young queen of Saladia was a better example of the Tomboy headstrong Saladian woman than Faile was.

She didn't really make Perrin change as a character; the death of his family and him accepting the role of leadership to save the town did that. It always seemed like she existed purely to give Perrin someone to marry.

Like its fine to have a character be unlikable, but dont make them unlikable AND irrelevant or I just wonder why the fuck I want to read their sections of the books.

>>9361019
Sounds like femdom that would end with Faile pegging Perrin.

>>9360931
You sound like you're describing a subgenre called "space opera" although Ender's Game isn't really an example. I don't read a lot of it but you can try:

>Night's Dawn
A straightforward modern example of the genre, probably not a bad place to start.

>Revelation Space
Somewhat downbeat, cyberpunk-ish take on the genre. Start with the namesake novel.

>Dune
A feudal empire in the far future constrained by reliance on the drug required for superluminal travel, found only on the titular planet. Less emphasis on space travel. Don't read anything not written by Frank Herbert.

>Hyperion Cantos
Makes a conscious attempt to be literary that mostly succeeds at first, but the later entries are terrible.

>Xeelee Sequence
A large number of independent stories that take place in the same space operatic universe. Tends to be a bit dry and lack a convincing narrative arc overall but individual stories can be interesting. Start with "Vacuum Diagrams".

>Count to a Trillion
An attempt to be as "epic" as possible that sometimes bites off more than it can chew, in which an evil Spaniard and a noble Texan struggle for the future of humanity from the near future to the end of the universe.

>Imperial Radch
Very recent trilogy, widely acclaimed although I haven't read it. Maybe read it and tell us how it is.

>>9361002
Yeah.

>>9361039
If you like. It's hot as hell though.
>>9361047
Probably just a young pair of eyes and tits to confuse and frustrate Perrin and readers alike.

>>9361052
Nah, not my thing. Just some vanilla shit where frustrating relationships with women turn into ridiculously vigorous sexual impacts.

I never read Ender's Game, but I did see the movie. How do they compare?

>>9361039
All of Jordan's female characters are nagging, ungrateful harridans because his wife was like that and that's basically just what all women were like in his life. For real.

>>9361077
>because his wife was like that
All women you mean. Women poison books, look at poor Scott Lynch

>>9361020
>>9361031
Some serious projection going on here.

Supposedly the last Kingkiller book has Abenthy be Lord Ash and the Chandrian behind every little thing in Kvothe's life

>>9361055
thanks!

>>9361104
>hen later, when it’s revealed that Kvothe’s old mentor Ben is actually Lord Ash, Kvothe shakes his head and grins while pointing out that this seems like something out of a story- but, of course, it actually is a story. It’s intellectual flourishes like this that truly elevate the material into the realm of greatness.
https://ronanwills.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/doors-of-stone-world-exclusive-first-review/

>>9361114
>>9361104
He was making it up although it may not seem like it

How common are fantasy books with anti-gnosticism themes?

>>9361114
Why is this guy so butthurt?
I get that rothfuss is shitty but this guy has literally written a shitton of analysis on him

>>9361142
Gnosticism is kind of a broad term. Could you be a bit more specific?

>>9361151
He read TNotW and TWMF. I'd be pissed at Rothfuss too if I read those books.

>>9361158
But why read them in the first place?

>>9361077
>>9361085
They're just women, jesus. It's no big deal. If you want a woman character that's basically a man with tits (yes I am aware of the irony in this statement), or a monolithic cliché of the feminine ideal, there are books for that.

>>9361165
Because exploring the depth of ignorance is as important as exploring the heights of brilliance when making an assessment on behalf of the public.

>>9361152
Crazy god making a fucked up world.

>>9361194
Ah, Yaldabaoth? Yeah, that does seem pretty cool. I'd also be interested in any fantasy books with that as a theme.

>>9361064

I'm sorry that your mind was poisoned with the unsalvageable trash that is the movie before you read the book.

>>9361210
>>9361142
>anti

>>9361245
Let me just ask one thing. In the movie, when Ender learns about the egg or whatever, how was that handled in the book? In the movie, it was so sudden I thought I'd dozed off and missed a solid hour of exposition.

>>9361254
Right. Well, what is the opposite of a dickish god? A god that most people are used to? Then why specify anti-gnosticism?

>>9361258

Pretty similar, he goes to colonize the dead bug homeworld and finds a replica of the castle from the mind game, but the game was handled very differently in the book, and given far more page-time than screen-time. The way it happens in the movie doesn't have the context of the additional development of the game, which is pretty critical.

He doesn't find a dying queen, just a dormant egg behind a tapestry that communicates with him psychically.

>>9357366
HALO BOOKS only

>>9361271
>>9361254
>>9361142
Christianity has always had Gnostic themes, but certain strands of orthodoxy have also always been anti-gnostic. So any author informed primarily by orthodoxy (even say Lewis and Tolkien) are in a way anti-gnostic by default. A Gnostic would probably see Tolkien's implied world-order as saccharine and in ultimately in service of spiritual imprisonment.

Though in a way, I guess any devil-God schema is somewhat Gnostic in spirit, with the Christian picture being that Satan is 'the god of this world' – so even the most generic sort of Ba'alzamon versus the Creator WoT sort of thing has a kernel of Gnosticism in it, with the 'low' deity transcended by the 'high.'

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Gnosticism is not disentanglable from Christianity and so from western civilization and its fantasy as a whole. But the most overtly traditional Christian authors would probably have the most to disagree with about it.

>>9361316
The devil-god thing doesn't really happen in Christianity, because they always establish that God is a unique being, there is no-one else that is his equal (there are some vague references in the Bible that kinda fuck with this though). Something similar happens in Zoroastrianism too, where Ahriman is sometimes understood to be a devil-god, even though in the religion itself, this isn't true. Monotheisms don't really take well to that sort of duality, because at the end of the day, they want to say that they're god is best and has no equals.

>>9361341
Yeah, the Bible itself doesn't seem to settle the question: at times God is implied to be one deity among others, but with a special pact with the Israelites, then as a kind of Lord of hosts above lesser spiritual beings, then as a unique being. Even so, there is a sort of Pauline gnosticism that regularly insists that the world is in the grip of evil forces, and Satan effectively rules the earth. It's not that God has an evil equal, but that the world is an inferior sphere and so an inferior wicked being rules it. The Gnostics are just take this and run with it farther than orthodoxy, insisting that this lesser being is also the creator (possibly even Yahweh). In typical Christian-flavored fantasy, the Creator is transcendent, and some lesser, non-creator deity is somehow imprisoned in Earth and trying to escape / wreak havoc (Ba'alzamon, Lord Foul, Morgoth, etc.)

I just have one question for you assholes. What the hell were you thinking when you recommended The First Law series? I thought you people had refined tastes. What a pile of this this series is second book in. Oh what's that, a fight that involves a main character? Might as well skip the next four pages until the inevitable triumph of the main fucking character. This shit has nothing on Game of Thrones. Do better next time you make an image of recommendations.

>>9361271
Anti-gnosticism would mean showing that all apparent evils are the result of a flawed perception.

>>9361020
No, you're thinking of troll posting.

>>9361364
>regularly insists that the world is in the grip of evil forces, and Satan effectively rules the earth
This is an interesting interpretation. I guess this is original sin, and people having to fight temptations to achieve a sort of transcendence in the afterlife? Though I guess reading Hell as of the Earth helps too, especially since the Devil's closest Greek counterpart Hades was also seen as having aspects of an Earth god. Man, and I was just thinking earlier about a setting I was making where the Devil-figure was more material than ethereal, in contrast to the God-figure, who rules from an ethereal Heaven-realm. I still haven't decided if the Devil-figure should be evil to serve as an opposite to the God-figure, or merely different.

>>9361378
Isn't that what basically happens in Zoroastrianism? I could be remembering it incorrectly, but it seemed like it was less like evil was an absolute, and more like it was simply a corruption of good.

>>9360956
That's how I feel about pretty much all of Asimov. His work feels more like high school science/humanities class in the form of pulp sci-fi stories.

>>9357451
Chinkshit like TBP trilogy providing a fresh perspective on SF.

>>9361423
>I still haven't decided if the Devil-figure should be evil to serve as an opposite to the God-figure, or merely different.
Satan is a power-hungry materialist who uses violence and fear to control his subjects.

>>9361532
The christian god is satan?

>>9361533
God promises heaven, the devil pays well.

>>9361085
>>9361077

>>9361532
>The Devil is a crime lord.
Damn, I never thought of it that way before. That's probably not precisely what you intended, but still.

>>9361554
The mafia claims to have learned their tricks from Washington.

>>9361562
???

>>9361567
The devil uses the same tricks whether he is running a gang or ruling a country and he loves to lie.

>>9361575
Well, I'd rather not have politics randomly injected into /sffg/ (again), but yeah, the rules of power stay the same regardless of context.

>>9361592
The one that rises to the top is the one willing to do anything for that power and with enough talent and intelligence to sacrifice.

To get things back on track the anons talking about gnosticism should read 'A Voyage to Arcturus' if they haven't already. Then after that they can read 'The Flight to Lucifer'.

>>9361377
Here have mine.

>>9361480
it's not bad if you know what to expect. for what they are, they're quite great. just not the pinnacle of what science fiction is able to do

>>9360081
It's captivating and while the anons arguments against it hold some merit, they apply more to the sequel.

>>9361631

Oh, man, Maximum Ride was my fucking jam when I was little.

I almost threw book four out the window, though, and stopped reading after that.

>>9361158
So you have not read them?

>>9361631
That's a fucking woeful list

Best novels for fantasy in a sci-fi setting? As in basic fantasy tropes/storytelling but instead of swords and magic it's laser guns and future tech and instead of demons and monsters it's aliens.

Legitimate question:

Why do so many fantasy authors and fans of the genre (male) have long hair?

I know it might be seeen as a stupid question but it's something I've noticed and it interests me.

>>9362158
>tfw I unironically grew long hair because I want to look like Faramir in the lotr movies
I should just end myself.

>>9362158

I thought that was Sam Hyde

>>9362158

Lack of the most basic grooming, a common trait in all men associated with the fantasy genre.

>>9362056
Hyperion.

>>9362205
No

>>9362257
Hyperion is an excellent example of science-fantasy

>>9361055 also describes a few others. Space Opera usually coincides with more fantasy elements

>>9362158

Look at the book cover then look at Butcher. Laziest self-insert ever.

Still a guilty pleasure of mine though :(

As for your question - because they're all greasy nerds who spent their teen years playing D&D and their 20's playing WoW. Hygiene doesn't matter if nobody except fellow nerds see you.

>>9360956
Foundation is foremost fairly old. While it's certainly required reading for classic space scifi fans, I wouldn't go so far as to say its an amazing novel.

Asimov had a bland writing style, and the characters are hardly enthralling. But the story itself is engaging and I nonetheless enjoyed it a lot.

I think if one enjoyed Dune, the supposed entry drug into scifi, then Foundation can be a good stepping stone into harder/alien-less Space Opera.

ps. I finally started Mistborn trilogy (1/3 of the way into book 2) and now I understand why people rant about Sanderson so much. He's not mindblowing, but this is the first time in years I've actually found a fantasy series engaging enough to read it in chunks larger than an hour or so at a time. Somehow it's even better than Gentlemen Bastards, despite all expectations to the contrary.

>>9362176
Faramir looks cool so I wouldn't worry about it.

>>9362186
Can't unsee.

>>9362352
>>9362194
The thing is, there's nothing inherantly unhygenic or unkempt about long hair. Of course you can be a gross slob with long hair but I see plenty of gross slobs every day with short hair.

>>9362337
>Hyperion is an excellent example of science-fantasy
It's not really science fantasy I'm looking for. I guess it's really just pulp science fiction I'm looking for, but I'm not too interested in actually reading pulp sci-fi from a century ago. The closest example I can give is the comic book The Omega Men by Tom King.

Maybe the Star Wars novels are close to what I'm wanting, but fuck Star Wars.

>>9362414
>The thing is, there's nothing inherantly unhygenic or unkempt about long hair. Of course you can be a gross slob with long hair but I see plenty of gross slobs every day with short hair.

There's a definite correlation, even if it's not necessarily causal. There's a reason "greasy, long hair, metal band tshirt" is a stereotype.

Putting aside hygiene, long hair just doesn't look good on most men, doubly so if it's left flowing free like most of these guys. Unless you have solid facial structure and a well built body (think Antonio Banderas), long hair is always just going to make you look more effeminate. For some reason, the guys who are drawn to the power metal hair look are always the last guys able to pull it off.

Like goddamn, just go to the barber every other week and get a fucking undercut like everyone else. It will look 10x better for 1/100th the effort of maintenance.

>>9362440

>Maybe the Star Wars novels are close to what I'm wanting, but fuck Star Wars.

I've looked for what you're describing, it doesn't seem to exist, except in some really shitty self published stuff on amazon :(

Possible exception is some of the better 40k stuff - namely the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies, which are actually kinda good if you like the setting.

Strange request.

Any scifi or fantasy that deals with the themes of drugs or recreational?

Wizards purifying LSD, or Space Marines dosing up on MDMA. You get my drift.

>>9362450
I just really like the idea of taking a fantasy novel I like and replacing all the fantasy elements with sci-fi elements. Like a sci-fi version of heroic fantasy a la David Gemmell.

I can't help myself but I'm in love with Sword of Shannara book. I know it's LOTR clone but still... it's the comfiest book ever

>>9362456
>it's a simulation!
>it's the far future!
>it's the far past!
>it's an alien hyper-civilizations fetish!

boom

>>9362440
>fuck Star Wars
Why?

>>9362451
>Any scifi or fantasy that deals with the themes of drugs or recreational?

The Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies (and to a lesser extent, the Liveship Traders) feature fairly extensive drug use - probably the most realistic depiction of the effects of drugs and drug addiction I've seen in a fantasy series (Hobb definitely had a groovy time back in the day).

>>9362477
If you enjoy Star Wars you will almost certainly enjoy Hyperion and Foundation.

>>9362456

So do I, but for some reason most authors suck at it.

The Eisenhorn/Ravenor books from 40k are fairly solid though - procedural mysteries starring a psyker Inquisitor and his team of allies as they face off against aliens, heretics, etc.

Far more focused on character development and plot than any of the other 40k books I've read - definitely worth a look if you want a scifi/fantasy mashup series.

Really the only recommendation I can think of - if you dig the 40k setting, you'll probably enjoy them.

So I just finished Eye of the World and had to start on The Great Hunt right away, the book really got better in the second half.
I've heard it said the series goes downhill after book 4, is it really that bad? I don't want it to be that bad.

>>9361799
Hence why it's "Trash".

>>9362638

They stay pretty solid up until 6 or 7 (6 has one of the most epic climax's in the history of fantasy, so it's worth it for that alone).

8/9/10 see a huge quality drop - story grinds to a halt, tons of shitty sideplots with nothing important or interesting, main characters barely appear. There's the occasional good scene or interesting storyline, but overall it's a marked decline from the first 6. It's not as bad if you read the whole series back to back as it was back when the books were still being released, but it's still a bit of a slog.

Picks up again with book 11, then RJ carked it and Sanderson took over, doing a pretty solid job of wrapping things up for good.

IMO keep reading, if you find that things start to slow down after the first 6 or 7, just read the POV's you enjoy and use chapter summaries for the shitty ones (protip: this includes everything with Perrin. Fuck Perrin).

Speaking of series that go downhill, I heard that this hit Artemis Fowl pretty hard in the later books. I read the first five books and that they were pretty interesting, at least when I was younger.

>>9362660
That's a shame, I was looking forward to Perrin killing zealots.

>>9362660
>that face
What the fuck?

Does anyone actually like Kvothe as a character? It doesn't matter if he's a reliable narrator or not, he's still a prick whether he did the things he said or is just claiming to. Boy needs a good hard slap.

>>9362456
>>9362440
Try Iron Dragon's Daughter, and cogweaver trilogy.
Read the blurbs and see if that will tickle your itch.

I'm a derp Library at mount char is exactly what you want

>>9362669
In all honesty I felt like Colfier ran out of ideas after the third one and just recycled Opal because he couldn't come up with anything new that was good.

>>9362676

No, he sucks, he sucks twice as hard in any scene with Dena and book 2 is the most absurd wish fulfillment Gary Stue bullshit in the history of fantasy.

>>9362682
Yeah, Opal coming up again in Opal Deception was OK, but reading about how he reused her in Time Paradox and Last Guardian, yeah, it definitely seems like that. Also, is the last books really "Fuck humanity."? From what I know, it's basically an even worse version of the Mass Effect 3 ending.

>>9362699
I don't know, I read Time Paradox, saw young Arty next to the grown up one and decided he was better before his character development so I stopped reading there.

>>9362669
Artemis never got the cougar fairy pussy, she wasn't pedo enough to go through it.

>>9362721
Artemis x Holly was the best ship.

>>9362721
Man I wanted to fuck Holly... I'm sure there is rule 34 somewhere.. maybe some erotic fanfic.

>>9362721
>that scene in book 2 where Arty is predicting puberty will eventually make him attracted to Holly
>the way she left him speechless in the first book
I don't like lollipops
Come on it was meant to be.

>>9362732
>>9362733
>3 secs between posts
Hollyception. Do I need to read these books to meme with the best?

>>9362733
>maybe
Seriously?

>>9362746
You mean you haven't read the story of the criminal child genius, his hardcore butler Butler and the cute magical fairy cop?
Also Mulch.

>>9362746
The premise is actually pretty good. Imagine Shadowrun, except most of the humans are completely unaware of the magical stuff going on, which is deliberately hidden from them.

>>9362752
>Also Mulch.
Who could forget the dwarf who shits rocks and farts explosions?

>>9362676
As Kote he's fine. As Kvothe it vary from ok to annoying.

>>9362698
I find that hard to believe after what I've read of book 1.

>>9362768
Kote's a prick too. And that Bast being a simpering piece of shit. I hate them.

>>9362746
I found Charlie Bone and the red king series more entertaining.

>>9362780
>I really wanted Kvothe to fuck bast in the boipussy but he never does it
>you can see bast is willing to do whatever to please kvothe
>kvothe is still uninterested
>they wasted my time I thought I would get some shipping
>I hate them both

>>9362795
What is Bast's deal anyway? Is he a demon or something? I haven't gone through the WMF commentary yet.

>>9362780
Opinions and so. I like both Kote and Bast.

>>9362805
He's of the fae and I guess Kvothe somehow saved his life or in other ways made Bast indenbted to him.

>>9362811
Wow, so Kvothe is turning down not only boipussy, but fairy boipussy?

>>9362815
Basically.

>>9362780
>I find that hard to believe after what I've read of book 1.

Haha, you're in for a shock then.

>>9362785
My IRL number one nigga
Best series I read as a kid

>>9362056
Dune. There's no other contender.

I realized today that I don't actually much care for fantasy which strays from the classic "High fantasy" setting: humans, dwarves and elves at least. Medieval type setting etc

Anyone else agree?

So what guild would everyone join if they lived in Ankh-Morpork? Fools guild for me. The funeral in men at arms was hilarious.

>>9363066
I'd have to know more about More-Pork to say. I've been meaning to read Discworld for a while, haven't really gotten around to it though.

>>9363042
I disagree, personally. Then again, I am less of a man with a fetish for genre then I just enjoy good implementation of something that interests me.

What forms of fantasy other than high fantasy have you tried and disliked?

>>9362672
Its never that bad, one arc during book 9ish drags on terribly but other than that its pretty overblown.

Most of the pacing complaints arent nearly as bad when you arent waiting years for the next book.

Opinions on the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne?

>>9360931
You'd probably like Hyperion a lot.

On another note, would anyone happen to have a link to Hammer's Slammers as an audio book?

>>9358977
>dealing with alien foreigners becomes so annoying and routine no one bothers writing fantastical stories about alien contact as they did on Earth
>the galactic Senate is a group of incompetent, elitist assholes
>galactic emperor version of Trump

>>9360896
What's with all these grimderp authors trying to deconstruct fantasy tropes? Is it some mean-spirited attempt at one-upping daddy Tolkien?

>>9363581
LotR was written over 60 years ago, and yet the entire genre is still dominated by him.

Who can blame them?

>>9363581
I doubt it. I think part of it is that they realize if they made a fantasy story that was entirely played straight, they'd get utterly stomped by all the people who've come before them. So they try to do things differently, create their own niche basically.

But as for Rothfuss specifically, he actually has a pretty good idea with Kvothe. That is to show how myths and legends are based around this one guy and the not so legendary things he did, and how they became incredibly embellished. So the idea behind it is that Kvothe doesn't do things the standard fantasy hero way, he does them in a more grounded, realistic way that becomes exaggerated later. The problem with this is that Rothfuss never really follows through on this. The standard fantasy story would be to tell about an incredibly gifted boy who learns magic incredibly quickly and is even able to master a form of magic that's only rumored to exist. And this is precisely what happens with Kvothe. What should be the grounded and realistic version of events differs only from the fantastic legends in very minor details, like picking up a girl like a sack of potatoes instead of princess carry.

Now that I think of it, this kind of story done right is basically the premise of the Ciaphis Cain series. The core of the series is that Ciaphis Cain is seen as some sort of great hero, despite himself saying that he's an utter coward, and his actions just get misinterpreted. But the unreliable part comes in when it's also suggested that Ciaphis isn't as bad as he says he is.

>>9363581
Deconstruction is just a tool, not an evil.

>>9363581
What was Aragorn's tax policy?

>>9363654
Here's a small example from Ciaphas Cain (misspelled it wrong in that post). He has one of his subordinates, who's wounded, sit up with him in the cab of his vehicle. To the troops, it looks like he cares for the life of the people he commands. The only thing Ciaphas was thinking about though was turning the subordinate into a meat shield if trouble broke out.

>>9363521
Good for the first two books but the third book reads like a rushed mess that has too many loose ends to tie up. Also fuck adare

>>9363521
ARE YOU TRYING TO TRIGGER ME? I BET YOU ARE A FRATRICIDAL WHORE LOVER. FUCK YOU AND FUCK ADARE.

>>9363798
>fuck adare
>>9363802
>FUCK ADARE
Why so mcuh hate for this person?

>>9363529
You are probably an undercover spook trying to honeypot us but here you can't-google-to-save-my-life sad fuck.
http://audiobookbay .me/?s=Hammer+slammer
If you say the link doesn't work then I will leave you to the crows, and let natural selection take it's course.

>>9363838
Because she is a c u n t

>>9363654
>despite himself saying that he's an utter coward, and his actions just get misinterpreted.
So basically King from one man punch?

>>9363839
Yes, I looked through that site already but they don't appear to have the first book.

>>9363798
>>9363802
>22 seconds apart
>both fucking adare
Did she touch you in the no-no place?

>>9360938
Nynaeve is one of the best characters in the book.

>>9363890
is that what those numbers mean? wow

>>9362852
Not if I don't fucking read it I'm not.

>>9363892
>Nynaeve is one of the best characters in the book once she gets away from Elyane and Egwene
Fixed for you anon.

>>9363042
You mean Tolkien knock-offs. And no, I got bored of those in high school because it was all I read after reading LotR. I just assumed that's what high fantasy was: people imitating Tolkien. I never looked back after realizing the genre was a lot more versatile than that. To this day I can hardly stomach to read Tolkien imitators. If I want that shit I'll reread LotR since nobody did it better than him.

>>9363863
>you gave me what I was looking
>although I didn't specify specifically what of that I saw loop

Why the fuck does sffg talk about name of the wind as though it's a good book? The gene wolf was ok but after this I've lost all faith in the idea that you have any idea what a good book is. I genuinely want to burn this copy, only it's not mine so I can't.

>>9363654
I think you're onto something with how Kovthe's story is meant to be about how legends and stories become distorted over time, that's a big part of everything that happens in the books. But to say it's supposed to be entirely about some average guy who was exaggerated into legend is not really true since from the beginning you're hit full in the face with Kvothe's immense ego and larger than life accomplishments. What I think is going on is that Kvothe is meant to be a mythological type hero. He's larger than life, he's like Hercules, but unlike Hercules none of his flaws are that damning and he never really goes up against anything to challenge his godlike talent so the result is lackluster. Hercules was given impossible ordeals to overcome, but Kvothe as you said just does pretty ordinary things for the most part and they end up exaggerated. So it's this mismatch of having this guy who is a legit warrior-poet-inventor-wizard with an incredible intellect, the makings of somebody out of the Iliad, but the only somewhat mythological challenge he meets for his nigh-mythological stature is fucking a fairy goddess. That's a huge let down. Book 1 you gave him a lot of slack because he was still young and you were waiting for him to explode onto the scene, to have his 12 labors, or his Odyssey, his Trojan War, but it never happens.

>>9363913
Nynaeve is usually the only good part of their chapters. I didn't like her the first time I read the early part of the series but on the second time around I found her really endearing. She's basically all bluster, an angry little mouse.

>>9363940
>although I didn't specify specifically what of that I saw loop
Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying.

>>9363977
>>9363977
Yeah, there's a ton wrong with the setup. Including how Kvothe is already introduced as being over the top awesome. But one of the most glaring problems is how Kvothe is about 25 during the frame story. It's only been 10 years max since he did the incredible stuff that became legends, which is absolutely ridiculous. And that's not even getting into how Kvothe is supposed to be this jaded veteran waiting to die or some bullshit.

Anyone have a recommendation for Any Sci-Fi with a lot of world building/extraneous info. I like info dumps even when it isn't all that fluid when I'm reading for fun. For reference I really enjoyed a lot of David Weber's books, specifically the first bit of Honnorverse, and his Multiverse books.

I hate this trend of making modern fantasy novels look minimal and "grown up". I really wish they still had paintings or illustration on the front. I know some people find it cheesy but I love them.

>>9364149
Reynolds? He likes to go on and on.

>>9364149
Anathem

>>9364152
I think some of the new style covers are good, but I do miss the painting covers, they had character.

just had a bit chat/argument with my mum about how ultimately all science fiction is scientists or atheists just trying to believe in god, and superimpose god into reality.

Any thoughts? We're a bit slow today

>>9364499
Lol what? You're going to have to elaborate a little so that I can understand what your mum -bless her- is even getting at.

>>9364499
>We're a bit slow today
Yeah, you and your mom are a bit slow if that's what you think about sci-fi.

>>9364499
You'll have to get her in here so we can hash everything out properly.

>>9364516
I mean ultimately she was just being stupid because the fools never read any damn scifi but I think the point she was failing to make was science fiction authors create these imposing omnipotent figures in the context of scifi as a substitute for god. Her main examples were either aliens (in general), or great celestial events like the big bang or the end of the universe.

While shoehorning religion into fiction is fairly common, I thought she might have a minor point about the influence religion has on literature as a whole.

>>9364517
all i think about scifi is it's better than fantasy :^)

>>9364527
kik?

>>9364548
>kik?
This some meme I haven't caught up with yet?

>>9364548
What about the 99% of SF that has no imposing omnipotent figures?

>>9364548
>great celestial events like the big bang or the end of the universe.
I wouldn't say this is a religious influence, it's just people trying to answer the same questions. Humans just want to know what will happen to them, they're concerned about the future, it's just natural. Honestly, I think religion just starts with people trying to answer the questions that everyone has.

As for aliens, when they aren't the omnipotent, god-like aliens, they're basically a parallel for things like elves and fairies. Other sapient beings hidden out there. Again, I think this is just humans asking questions. We want to know, is there any other life out there?

>>9364499
The idea of SF being about finding God simply doesn't apply to large swathes of SF. If anything, SF broadly emphasizes our cosmic insignificance, and the need to be assertive and shape our surroundings by our will and ingenuity. This is in line with Campbellian SF (Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke) of engineers and problem solvers.

And then there is the escapist and pulp tradition. I find very little theological subtext in something like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Leigh Brackett, C.L. Moore, Jack Vance, and their progenitors. They are fantasists and romantics with very little soul searching.

You might have a point about finding God with New Wave SF (Dick, Moorcock, Ballard, Aldiss, Silverberg), if you think the preoccupation with Carl Jung and the subconscious, and exploration of inner psychic landscapes, is an attempt to find 'the god within' i.e. the divine spark.

And there is a large contingent of Christian writers who have found God already.

SF is a nebulous and diverse thing.

>>9363895
>I just thought a reddit a little bit on how to 4chan

>>9364076
Makes no sense to me either. I was falling asleep when I was typing that. I deleted and retyped, but it seems that I still didn't make sense and I can't remember what I was saying.

>>9364583
>>9364575
>>9364567
Guys come on she's nearly sixty go easy on the old girl.

Would love to keep a conversation up with you guys as you've clearly wrote some good answers but I agree with almost all you've written and can't devil's advocate forever.

Is there any good book that deconstructs the whole hero's journey thing where the hero realizes his quest is actually horrible, the aid he's given is next to worthless and he's seriously not sure whether there really is magic in play or if his family history of severe mental illness has struck again

>>9364589
>thought
I wish I could report both you and the other one.

>>9364614
Tell her that it isn't the sci-fi writers who are imposing "God" into the books but that she is. Checkmate theist.

>>9364149
How about repetition about delta v's? Try seveneves.

>>9364152
They do have paintings, but instead of paint and paper, they are using Photoshop.
Deal with it.

>>9364636
>Deal with it.
I refuse!
When I get home today I'm gonna huff a bunch of old books.

>>9364615
Duno about books, sorry, but Scanners does this. The hero is a social outcast, barely in control of his powers, and borderline sociopathic. His mentor is an immoral mad scientist. The hero's powers are incredibly disturbing.

>>9364614
>she's nearly sixty
>milf
She attractive? I have a think for smart mature older women. especially if she wears glasses and a power business suit.

>>9364634
Anyone else /hate/ seveneves?

It was so American is almost made me throw up. The naming of one of the lumps of the moon "Mister Potato Head" literally made me stop reading it. Went back a few days later but barely got any further.

It was child-like scifi, and while I LOVE hard stuff, it wasn't exciting alien biochemistry and dimension flipping physics, but the dull tedium of the modern NASA Instagram without the badass photos.

>>9364665
>Anyone else /hate/ seveneves?
At least >>9361631 and probably others here.

>>9364623
>taught
I just saw it after it was posted. Sad really.

>>9364662
she looks like Mrs Wesley, ginger hair and all.

maybe that's your thing. either way you'll never make it past my dad, dudes a construction worker

>>9364615
Nothing is new under the sun writerfag, but I never read about that. You are cleared to write it.

>>9361631
glad you thought seveneves was shit

why'd you like Rendevouz with Rama? for its time the ideas were good, and they arguably keep the novel afloat. If this is your reason then just ignore me, but I couldn't help feel the rest of the novel sucked. The actual story was formulaic and obvious, while the characters were especially dull. Hell, I hardly ever raise this but it was pretty sexist too. Only one female character, introduced by a zero-g book description, who the protag ends up fucking while mentioning the studs got another two wives back home.

Anyone else feel like this? Maybe I'm just in a hateful mood today.

Actually while I'm at it, Fire Upon the Deep sucked too. Felt like a worse version of Reynolds, without the interesting bits. Even then, Reynolds can't write a decent character to save his life.

>>9364700
>Anyone else feel like this?
>hating on Clarke and Vinge
No, no I can't say that I do.

>>9364700
>zero-g boob description*

>>9364665
>while I LOVE hard stuff
>it wasn't exciting alien biochemistry and dimension flipping physics
I don't think you know what hard sci-fi means...

>but the dull tedium of the modern NASA
That is true hard sci-fi. Shitty technology that doesn't exceed what we have now. Aliens can't exist in hard sci-fi, since they would have had to travel from distances that couldn't be derived without lightspeed. And we all know that lightspeed travel is impossible in hard sci-fi.

>>9364724
maybe I don't, but Greg Bear gets call hard and his stuff is ridiculous.

I suppose your critique of my critique is pretty grounded, as aside from the later stuff which I hear involves a lot of crazy g-mod stuff, everything I read in Seveneves was plausible. I just didn't enjoy it as much as some other hard stuff I've read.

Maybe I'm being dumb but it just felt like I was reading The Martian, which paradoxically I quite liked. I did really hate all the Americanisms though.

>>9364700
>but it was pretty sexist too
Is this really a thing that upsets people? Maybe I'm just reading all the wrong books, but the only one that ever made me uncomfortable because sexism was a James Bond novel.

>>9364676
They older ladies always like the young chads giving them attention and looking at them with desire in your eyes. Drives them nuts that youngens find them attractive.

Not sure about the ginger hair though.. but I would ruin GURM'S wife. So who am I to judge?

>>9362440
Try Red Rising. Not even memeing, just get past part 1.

>>9363802
What happened? I stopped reading the series

>>9364755
Its upsets me because it's unrealistic, at least by today's standards. Plenty of female astronauts, and sorry, they're all pretty unattractive

>>9364700
There are reasons why women don't go up in space much unless they are post menopause.

>>9364776
That sentence explains pretty well what happened. Read it over slowly and let it sink in.

>>9364615
Fuck you that was my idea.

>>9364825
>>9364615
Not on my computer with gimp. Somebody mirror this image so the thief is stealing from another thief.

>>9364784
>unrealistic
>unattractive
I hope this isn't your only complaint, because it's kinda retarded.

>>9364830
Mirroring that image wouldn't make any sense though.

>>9364830
>Somebody mirror this
???

>>9364760
what the fuck is wrong with you?

>>9364862
That's unusual to you? Have you ever been to /d/?

>>9364825
relax. I didn't steal it from you and I'll probably never write it anyway

>>9364855
Hey. That's bretty gud. Would have been nice if you flipped the first "writing advice".

>>9364811
Who does she kill though. Was it Kaden?

>>9364784
Now, we're gonna get flooded with /pol/ in a moment, but if you're willing, I have a some sincere questions.
Would a book with a more fanciful tone (like pulp) still bother you in the same way? Does the realistic presentation of the story lead you to expect modern sensibilities where other presentations would not? Or is it all one in the same?
Can aliens be sexist? There is a popular space opera where the main alien race doesn't allow one gender into space because they consider them mentally unstable and thus unfit for such precise important work. I'm genuinely interested in your take anon.

>>9364883
I was hoping you'd ask me this. I'm using MS Paint for this. I have GIMP, but I know fuck all about how to use it.

>>9364862
>being this much of a newfag
You never read bakker have you? Or been to /b/ where they forced the tranny agenda on you. Now you a linetrap lover.

>>9364886
Got their names mixed up. If Kaden is the special ops marine ninjas, no.

>>9364893
That's lazy work you fuck. Gimp you could have cut around the letters and flipped it. Ms paint doesn't even allow floating point images... unless mspaint 10 does this?

>>9364897
>gay porn and shota are two different things
...But they are.

>>9364891
>Can aliens be sexist?
Sorry, that was dumb. I meant, would its presence (alien sexism) in a story bother you in the same way?

>>9364915
>Gimp you could have cut around the letters and flipped it.
I've only used GIMP once before, so if the pic I get is shit, don't be surprised.

>floating point images
Don't even know what this means.

>>9357366
>that horrible flowchart
stop

>>9364893
if you can figure out how, get an old version of gimp. They realized in the past few years that their intended user base (linux and bsd users, not artists too broke for photoshop) derive a substitute for sexual pleasure from making things as pointlessly difficult for themselves as possible and fucked everything up for the sake of masterrace elitism

>>9364947
I don't know what any of this means. I already have GIMP, I just don't know how to use it. I was trying to make an MTG card that used a GIF for the image.

>>9364915
OK, I'm bored and lost, do it yourself.

>>9364956
Don't worry about it. He's probably just sore because he never figured out how to turn on single window mode in the new versions.

>>9364891
One day I'm going to write a book explaining /pol/ to /leftypol/ and /lit/, and It'll explain exactly how they can support two fundamentally opposed opinions without suffering cognitive dissonance;
I'll call it "Hoppean psychoaesthetics".

>>9364825
It's garbage anyway.

So sick of the "lel any mild subversion of tropes is le epic and deconstructive!!"

New thread:

>>9365027
>>9365027
>>9365027
>>9365027

>>9364962
>single window mode in the new versions.
Not that guy but I like the multiple windows in gimp. You have your toolbar window with scale, crop etc. You have your picture window. And you have you layer window.

It's great for editing if you used paint a lot but want more detail, and tools and if you never used Photoshop (nor intend to).

>>9364976
>"damn, they don't make em like this anymore"
All that prutrifaction and the cloth is still good. Impressive.

>>9364548
Well, in the case of Wolfe she's certainly right.