/lit/ - Literature

First for warlock of the magus world.

>Starting off with a book that isn't memed on
and ironically trashed/praised every single thread
Careful. We might actually have to discuss things.

>>9669860
Do you guys think I'm going to crash and burn if I pick Titus Groan as my first fantasy book ever? I've been getting tired starting with the Greeks and Romans lately and i need a break. I don't think i will be spending as much time as you guys reading fantasy and sci-fi so I want to go straight for the very best. On the other hand, I'm afraid I might be prematurely put off if the work i pick requires some prior familiarity with the tropes--some already acquired taste, if you will. Whatcha think, fantafags?

>>9670063
>>9670063
I think the stylistic shift might actually kill you if you've actually been reading ancient works.

anyone read pic-related?
read one review where the person thought it was his best, but otherwise seems to be a bit polarizing.

>>9669860

>Gormenghast edition
You did good OP, absolutely love the first two books, haven't bothered to check out three and four as I've heard some less than positive things about them. Pretty curious how Peake was going to make it last ten books though.

>>9670063

Gormenghast has pretty good prose for fantasy fiction, lots of great descriptions kind of feels like you're reading Last Year at Marienbad a little.

Why hasn't Gormenghast attracted the faux geek chick fans in the way franchises such as Harry Potter, GOT or Star Wars has? I can see someone like Disney trying to make it into a movie or something but I really don't see it working out all that well.

>>9670077
Haven't gotten to it yet, but from what I've heard it's a kind of unpleasant experience until/unless you get it, at which point it's great. It doesn't seem to have that surface-pulp tone that makes most of Wolfe's work enjoyable even before you understand what he's doing.

>>9670125
>Why hasn't Gormenghast attracted the faux geek chick fans

It's way too bleak and literary. The aesthetic is basically grim-core Tim Burton, and he already ran off with the goods and made his own fanbase, so.

>>9669309
>It's all YA teenybopper shit made to attract tumblr fandom retards and MUH WORLDBUILDING Sandersonfag mouthbreather
>It was bad from the start, but not for the reasons you've said.

Why do you say it's bad? I read far worse. Please enlighten me.

I just read the opening of Prince of Nothing. It's supposedly an edge-fest but so far there's been nothing too offensive. The only potential problem is the constant references to things with retarded names. The made up names all sound ugly and I have the creeping feeling that I'm going to have to actually remember them to make sense of this story.

>>9670341
>he fell for the meme.

>>9670063
There's no reason you can't read both the Greek/Roman classics as well as the best of SF+F. It would work especially well with somebody like Philip K. Dick, who often alludes to Plato and the pre-Socratics. Robert Silverberg is also a Greek/Roman nut - his novel Dying Inside has a protag who ghost writes student papers about Greek plays. I recall a couple of allusions to Heraclitus in Ursula Le Guin's work, too. Most of all there is Gene Wolfe. Many New Wave era SF/Fantasy writers are steeped in that material and allude to it.

as promised, here comes the discord

https://discord.gg/P7GT29d

when it started we had some ok trolling and some ok discussion. get back on here and discuss Ubik with me you cunts

https://discord.gg/P7GT29d
https://discord.gg/P7GT29d
https://discord.gg/P7GT29d

>>9670434
>discord
fuck off

>>9670442
Why are you creating discord on my dear board when you have Discord to create discord as you please?

>>9670442
>being gay
WEW

You guys got any tips on how to begin with third person limited

>>9670341
The names sound ass retarded until you realize that theyre pseudo ancient Mesopotamian type civilizations

>>9669546
>Do you think that Sci-Fi/Fantasy have actual merit, for example being able to pose and construct tough questions such as the benefits of human engineering or is it a bunch of armchair philosophy?
Not inherently they don't. It heavily depends on the author. SF/Fantasy can of course pose tough questions and >really make you think, but that's not inherent to the subgenre either. I also believe authors who try too hard in that aspect often fail miserably, because instead of starting from a good idea about a fictive world and building from that, they start from what they want to say and articulate the world about how to convince the reader, and it really shows in the final work. In the end I think the best way to insert more philosophical questions in a fiction is to do so subtely through the actions of the protagonists and their consequences. (For instance, you could write a remake of LotR with a female Frodda and she gets caught 50 miles out of the shire, thus subtely making the case that females are good for nothing except cooking, cleaning and vaginas)

>>9670077
It certainly isn't his best. It's middling Wolfe.

I love science fiction and like fantasy to an extent but I'm a pretentious fucker so I'm just ITT to hear some /lit/ core recommendations of the genre.

>>9670575
Solaris
Gateway
The Thing Itself
Wolfe's works

>>9670575
Best recent authors: Peter Watts, Guy Gavriel Kay, Daniel Abraham (Expanse is fucking shit, avoid expanse)
Best FUN classic authors: Asimov, Dick, Strugatskys, Gibson, Orwell, Lem, Oscar Wilde, Jack Vance
Fantasy authors to keep an eye on because they're probably going to be the next classics: Bradley P. Beaulieu, Ada Palmer

Do not miss these fucking authors because they are great and fun and amazing: Vonnegut, Dan Simmons

>>9670063
>Gormenghast
>Fantasy
if Gormenghast is fantasy so is Shadow of the Wind, which sets everything up for a ghost story but just leaves it as an incest story instead.
>mfw I thought Name of the Wind was Shadow of the Wind whenever it was rec'd to me, so I just put on a weary face and said "I've read it"

>>9670434
there's already a /lit/ discord
I got banned for toasting the admin in an argument months ago so I couldn't tell you how active it is

>>9670642
>m]24 / 2 / 20 / 2 [Update] [Auto]
/lit/ =/= /sffg/

>>9670734
ain't that the truth
it was mostly SFF there anyway, that's what everyone that put their writing in the weekly meetup was writing

>>9670593
>>9670605
Thank you guys!

>>9670402
Thank you, most informative. For sci-Fu i was going to start with a classic such as A Case of Conscience or The Stars, My Destination or A Cantiicle for Leibowitz or Childhood's End, but i will look into PKD and Silverberg. My dad was a big fan. His sci-fi cheap translated paperbacks are what reminds me most of him.

"Alone" by Robert Reed was a pleasant story. Also, I can't export my goodreads library. What a shit fucking unworking feature that they need to fix.

>>9669860
Oh boy, oh boy
>I get to post, that!

Tfw all hard science settings (no FTL) with competent aliens are unenticing to live in...
Oh killing star, your my only hope.
also
>>9670614

>>9670434
>laughs at us and goes to his email ip name club
>his fellow discord users of the past 10 months up and left him
>discord is completely dead
>comes back to sffg to try and recruit
>he took all the reddites and tumbfags with him last time
I saw there were some new redshitors exposing themselves last thread, you can take them.

>>9670402
honestly when I see a classical or high culture reference in these sort of book its usually so ham fisted and pointless, ie dont be exzpecting Moby Dick like intertextuality from SF

>>9670901
That's not how hard sci-fi is defined, you chalkboard.

>>9670593
>The Thing Itself

>>9670546
its actually none of the above. SF is just a narrative tool, it allows you to construct narrative and characters that you otherwise wouldn't be able to in a conventional setting.

>>9670933
>spaceships and trulit force each other off the page
yeah no

>>9670939
if you wanted shilling i'd have mentioned Too Like the Lightning

tTI has a fair bit of Kant and philosophical themes but it's a good book nonetheless

>>9670063
>I've been getting tired starting with the Greeks and Romans lately
You actually fell for that?

So what should I get into now?

Thinking of
>First Law trilogy
>Malazan Book of the Fallen
>Titus Groan

>>9671027
Tired doesn't mean I'm not enjoying them or that it's a meme. I just need a break, that's all.

>>9668983
lordy

the prologue was pretty well written, but this is quickly degenerating as i read more

>>9671058
>First Law trilogy
Read Best Severed Cold, The Heroes and Red Country instead.

>>9670434
Would Stevian be allowed there?

>>9671058
Malazan is amazing

Brandon Sanderson is the Best

>>9671554
Anime

Did i do good?

>>9671871
Enda en norsk jævel her ser jeg.

Ways in which Stormlight Archive is anime (feel free to add to the list):
>power levels
>emotion represented by colorful blobs floating around the characters (red angerspren when someone's angry)
>anime/video game mechanics (you have to his the Shardplate twice in the same spot for it to break)

>>9671871
why would any one buy half a book?

>>9671902
H-hvordan fant du ut det snusmummeriken?

>>9671911
It feels better than reading a 1000 pages in pocket

>>9671915
I recognized the bookmark. Better not be in Bergen or I'd fight you for buying a Ian Brandon Sanderson book

>>9671930
>Not buying the superior Hardback version

>>9671943
I'm from Molde. I would't want to punch a guy who plays league, my hands would get filthy

>>9671962
I doubt it would hurt much you limp wristed contemporary anime fantasy fag. it's ok I love you anyway

>>9671871
where's blindsight?

>>9671980
Y-you too.
>>9671981
Gone

>>9671058
no point reading the whole first law trilogy.

read the first book if you have to or alternatively just glokta chapters because they're the only ones worth a damn.

>tfw a mad moon tyrant drains the powerful rays of Blue stars to destroy your rocket ships and all you have are rays drained from the puny Red stars
The pulps are weird

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/2017/06/22/chivalry-and-the-struggle-between-good-and-evil-animate-this-new-ya-fantasy-series/
Catholic Fedora Man getting noticed by serious publications.

This is shockingly bad.

>>9672254
elaborate

>>9672191
>YA
>Serious publications

>>9672263
I don't have a sustained critique, just wanted to vent.

The prose isn't even serviceable, there's essentially no setting, it reads like the outline or summary of a plot, culture remains completely static over hundreds of years, and is just 1950's America except with FTL, the worldbuilding is stupid (numbers and scale make no sense), 'all according to keikaku,' fedora-tipping, plot points never actually happen but are only explained in retrospect in clumsy 'let's sit around and talk about what we already know' dialogue, plot points themselves make no sense (taking over entire stellar systems with an invented religion in 30 years, entire solar systems forgetting about nuclear power in decades, manning spaceships using coal), unhappy mixture between dialogue transcripts / play format and ordinary prose, juvenile character interactions, prophecies, ridiculous portrayal of 'symbolic logic'

>>9672298
I felt exactly the same about the trilogy, but the books around it Asimov wrote later were much better and enjoyable.

>>9672287
Getting noticed by serious publications is not the same as writing a serious publication, can you not tell the difference?

>>9672455
Any publication that "notices" YA is not a serious publication.

Hey guys I'd like some recs.

I'm in the mood for a fantasy series...something that's really just fuckin weird without being uncomfortably/twistedly so. Maybe the right word is wonderful?

>>9672521
>>>/r/

>>9672531
>>>/pol/

>>9669860
I literally cannot get through Titus Alone. I've tried three times now. I've realized that I care very little about Titus himself, Gormenghast was the interesting character.

>>9672298
Asimov writes like a historian, part of the appeal for some (like me)
It's the 50s with space but then that's a product of its time really
It's just old man, compared to a lot of pulpy shit from back then it's bretty gud

>>9672695
>compared to a lot of pulpy shit from back then it's bretty gud
what's really bad then

I've finished this trilogy.
Well, at first I hated these books: slow, verbose and too many environmental descriptions, but progressing with reading, however, I have become very attached of history and characters, expecially reading "Green Mars" and "Blue Mars". Probably "Blue Mars" is the best book of the trilogy.
What do you think?

Do you know good books about the space colonization and/or the terraformation of the planets?

Thoughts on this book? I've been thinking about picking it up because I like the idea of a mailman in a post-apocalyptic world.

>>9672739
I really liked it even though it's heavy-handed on the feminist hippies beating gun-toting survivalists angle. Very hopeful story, very feel-good.

>>9671962
>Molde
wew

>>9672752
thanks gonna check it out

>>9672521
Maybe Vandermeer? City of Saints and Madmen was pretty good.

>>9672087
How come?

What was the name of that one microfiction magazine that used to shill here? Did it have something to do with bards?

Give me something short to read

>>9673110

Just finished wheel of time, 14 books feels too short. I would have preferred it if they had kept some loose ends to think about.

>>9673124
>14 books feels too short.
Are you serious?

>>9673129
Absolutely, because as many as the words were, the world was so much larger.

>>9673129
No, are YOU serious?

god seven surrenders is even worse
I just want to read about the plot & not genders
futa? joocy tho

>>9671871
>w..what are we gonna do on the bed anon-san
>why do.. why do you have a book about my tight no no place?
>waahh
>pomf

>>9671871
>brent weeks
no

>>9673167
>a book about my tight no no place
What is no no? Anal? There is a book about all anal there? Which one???

Is the illustrated edition of Gormenghast worth getting?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590207173

>>9673191
>doesn't know the tight meme
how new are you bruh
heres a hint the entire book is about a girls vagina

When is it coming again guys? I forgot the date.

>>9673116
got this in a fucking cereal box
comfy/10

>>9673284
11 days until the Unholy Consult is released! Remember to preorder my book!

just finished

I liked it, interesting world and pretty intriguing plot.

my only real problem was how Palmer makes all these historical references, especially to the enlightenment and the supposed 2150-2300-ish region, but aside from the 2100-ish Church Wars she almost completely skips the time period we're in now. A minor WW2 reference then suddenly there's a massive religious war.

I know she's trying to avoid offending anyone but come on, she could even make a totally benign reference to a 2000/2010s popstar or some shit. Just seemed like a rather glaring omission

>>9673270
Yes

>>9671155
Just wait until the Lift Interlude.

Been out of the loop for a while, did anything new and good show up in fantasy field this year?

Give me recs please

New books by established writers as well

Why are fantasy authors such fags about people asking when their next book is coming out?

>>9673582
because they're lazy sods who only get paid because their pals burned the field to the ground and there's no competition, so two out of the three most word-of-mouth famous fantasy authors have published one or fewer books in the last ten years.

>>9673582
It's understandable to be mad at your fans when they ask about your next book just after you released a book but people like GRRM and Rothfuss have no business being mad

>>9673592
Those are the two I was thinking of.

>>9673597
>>9673597
Rothfuss is worse because he has the audacity to release a tenth anniversary edition of The Name of the Wind with extra "worldbuilding"

>>9673547
hola

>>9670125
They did make a miniseries about the first two books,and I believe they did it with considerable affection and reverence. Here is a gem from it...

https://youtu.be/GsQJ8nYvyLE

>>9673648
He looks like Londo.

>>9673643
noted thanks

>>9672703
I refuse reading anything of that writer.

>>9669860
>Malazan: book of the strong womyn

I'm just a few pages in, should I stop now? Why is stronk womyn so damn prevalent in fantasy

>>9673786
Try reading Ender's Game it only has naked boys in a shower.

>>9673791
>you don't like feminist dogshit?
>i know i'll refer you to some faggot pedos wank fantasy how hilarious

yea anon, you're a riot

>>9673807
>some faggot pedos wank fantasy
That's surprisingly accurate

>>9673786
>Why is stronk womyn so damn prevalent in fantasy
since you could freely choose between man and woman at character creation in any kind of RPG without it having any impact on your stats whatsoever.

>>9673875
I did not ask when it became prevalent did I? Your reading comprehension disgusts me more than all those limp wristed authors and their female soldiers.

>>9673886
You belong in a mental asylum.

>>9673807
>the Malazan retard can't comprehend books
What a surprise.

>>9669860
that makes me groan if you know what I mean

Now that I've finished Thousandfold Thought, I'm wondering, are there any other books with GOOD gay characters? As a fag, I'm usually very bored reading about other homos because the author prances around the character being anything but perfect.

Cnaiur is an absolute madman and I want to pet his greasy head

>>9673930
I've been, doesn't change you being ignorant.

>>9673933
>read 5 pages
>malazan retard

who am retard now

Fuck Gene Wolfe. Shadow of the Torturer was so fucking hard to read.

>>9673973
>>>/lgbt/
literal faggot

>>9673886
He still answered your question, no matter how stupid the answer.

>>9671058
Malazan is a soap-opera crossed with a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

>>9671871
>buying physical books
You did very badly

>>9672298
Alternate view: http://www.cosmoetica.com/B264-DES204.htm

This guy considers Infinite Jest the worst science-fiction novel ever written and the original Foundation trilogy to be a masterpiece. Our Guy for sure.

>>9673786
>not realising the stronk woman is clearly a facade.

>>9671871
you forgot to turn the photo, retard

>>9671058
First Law

>>9672298
I didn't like it either. Glad I'm not the only one as everyone else seems to rave about it.

>>9672521
The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker
The Princess Bride
The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

>>9673393
quick rundown of what happened in the last book and where we're at storyline wise? i have a shit memory

>>9673734

Why?

>>9672703
Liked the first book, didn't amaze me or anything. Glad to hear it gets better.

>>9673270
yes his art makes you understand the characters and setting instantly.

>>9674103
Ordeal got nuked
Kellhus and Esmenet are possibly dead
Akka and co are going to the great ordeal
Sorweel and friends killed all the nonmen and sorweel became alpha as fuck

Just finished this and liked it very much. Never read Miéville before, how is his other work compared to this? Will I be disappointed, or will Perdido Street Station for example be even better? This is all subjective of course but I'd like to hear opinions

>>9674731
Didn't read Kraken but Perdido Street Station is pure dope.

I just finished this and it was a fucking good reading. Dunno how it translates in english though; probably not very well (I don't even know if there is a translation to be honest), but if there is some french guy here go for it.

Anyone know some fantasies with asian settings ?

>>9673988
Sparknotes my man

>>9674731
Kraken is sort of all his unused ideas put into one book. The others are enjoyable in their own way but they're different in terms of the type of content.

Is Brent Weeks any good or overhyped trash?

I found one of his books in the poundshop (hardcover).

Araminta station trilogy is bretty gud.

>>9674908
Black Prism 1-3 is pretty good.
Everything else is trash.

>>9674765
>fantasies with asian settings
Under Heaven and River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay

>>9674765
the Crimson Queen has a lot of Asian shit in it.

>>9673087
Check out the /tg/fags or archive. Dailybard or the online bard.

>>9673191
Learn your memes.

Any books about more or less stereotypical paladins doing paladin shit? Smiting evil, being lawful good, spreading God's word, etc. Preferably not too self aware or 'comedic'.

Who else can only read during the night (after dinner)?

I fucking hate being interrupted

>Rothfuss gets a 10th anniversary ed. of NotE
>only written two books and a novella
>gets to travel to cons/signings all the time
>doesn't have to actually work on his books anymore, can put off Doors of Stone for as long as he wants
the man is a genius. how does he keep getting away with it?

>>9675115
People so butthurt about the Kip storyline, the other storylines were god tier, I hated literally every single word of Liv and she was a huge book 1 character, you hated her shit too but since it wasn't about sex you were okay with it.

>>9674731
>>9674765
pss is utter shit at building characters, they're all one dimensional grimaces showcasing author's marxism which wouldn't be a big deal if he wasn't a base, blase, retard.

it also solves plot progression by the worst of tropes, "here, i'm your dubious benefactor, all your money problems are solved, go there, do that"

>>9675429
>any Christian fantasy

>>9675458
>liv
So true her parts pissed me off. Was mad when they switched to her and her "perfect logic".
>>9675428 ayyyy bretty gud

>>9675115
>tight pussy

>Still no books similar to Sabriel in terms of necromancy use

>>9674731
You'll probably like Mieville. I don't know that PSS is "even better", probably not since it was his first published novel, but I doubt you'll be disappointed.

>>9675434
>I fucking hate being interrupted
>sitting down with a 600+ page book ready to sink in 200 pages over the next hour
>Read 10 pages
>ANON COME HERE

>watching anime named parasyte
>they creator is a bakker fan
>skinspies everywhere
>subvert getting cucked to the protagonist cucking others
Bakker's influence reached far.

pornography

>>9675757
I used to be like that but then I started to take my kindle to school and began to read every time I had a few minutes off. It's amazing how many pages you blaze through with a couple minutes here and there. It really adds up. Especially if you're smart enough to finish your assignments in a fraction of the time and the teachers knows and lets you read for most of the lesson.

>>9672703
I downloaded the Red Rising trilogy looking for that and love it and now I can't muster the elan to download those.

Stephen King needs to get back on the drugs, fucking bill hodgins trilogy is pure garbage

How good is the Shades of Magic series?

Hey peeps, aspiring author here, would any of you be interested in a series similar to Sanderon's Mistborn, that is, a huge fuckton of magic everywhere, constantly used, etc..?

>>9676272
What elements would you be using in your story? Even if you use little magic it can't be asspull magic.

>>9676175
That or start boozing again. He needs his vices back.

Any good recommendations for books about life under an alien occupation?

>>9676524
Pic related.

>>9676522
Is the woman supposed to represent us the readers? Authors are using use a fixtures to dictate words upon, while simultaneously shafting us?

>>9676175
>>9676522

Isnt it strange that his best books these days are ideas he had decades earlier?

>>9676716
>Is the woman supposed to represent us the readers?
Yes.

>>9676798
Looks like john Travolta's cousin.

Nearly finished my current book, considering this next. Is it good?

>>9676871
definitely

>>9665386
Look how you are embarrassing yourself. ['s] is ownership... you are on the literature board and you don't know how to read nor know grammar.
ESL should either kys or learn the language before criticizing someone. Reading ESL are cringe inducing, you look like the same fag who "corrects" people's proper grammar regularly on this general.

>>9676895
>replying to a 3 day old rusepost from an archived thread

>>9676895
>you look like the same fag who "corrects" people's proper grammar regularly on this general.
you look like the same fag who regularly "corrects" people's grammar on this general.*

>>9677175
naw thats okay
the guy that does it shows he doesn't the grasp English language
its embarrassing tbqh

>>9677290
>mfw esl but my correction is okay

>>9677434
80% of sffg is esl

>>9670341
Doesn't the opening chapter contain a gay rape scene?
Seems pretty edgy to me

>>9670434
>irc for the technologically illiterate

>>9675536
I wouldnt care so much but he was Freakishly focused on this shit it was jarring, I'm all for women body health but christ it was almost fetishistic

>>9677540
The way it's presented isn't very edgy.

What do you call urban fantasy that takes place in a different world than ours?

>>9676154
They could have used a swordfight let me tell ya.

>>9677913
I call it modern tech secondary world which is a mouthful. I've seen "allo-industrial" used but that sounds pretentious.

I don't know, honneamisean? Anathematic?

>>9677984
>>9677984
Is that peace or angel egg?

>>9674765
>Anyone know some fantasies with asian settings ?
Dragon in Chains by Daniel Fox

>>9677913
urban fantasy

Feudal or Mythical Chink/Nip fantasy or sci-fi. Does ANYONE have decent stuff exist?

>>9678277
Sorry I am phone posting. My grammar is much better I promise.

>>9678031
Wings of Honneamise, one of anime's greatest pleb-filters.

Should I read Wheel of Time, Malazan, or Name of the Wind?

Last series I tried to get into was the First Law. Read The Blade Itself and it was so fucking cringe worthy and generic. Felt like it was written by a 15 year old for 15 year olds. Can't believe I wasted time on that trash

>>9678327
WoT is probably worse than First Law regarding
> Felt like it was written by a 15 year old for 15 year olds.

Malazan's biggest flaw is that the first book is noticeably worse than the rest. (Only very few actually prefer the first book)
It's also basically multiple D&D campaigns worked out (semi-literally)
Otherwise it isn't too bad.

>>9678308
I meant literature wise examples include the Moshui Trilogy and Detective Inspector Chen series'

>>9678327
Wheel of Time and Malazan are soap-operas with a Conan and D&D flavour respectively. The Name of the Wind is so badly written as to be unreadable if you have anything resembling taste.

>>9678327
Wheel of Time is extremely long and gets really slow in the middle due to all the unnecessary side plots, but is still a very easy read overall. What kept me going in the series was getting invested in the characters and curiosity about the setting and trying to figure out the intrigue going on behind the scenes. The first book is weird in that it doesn't really give you any idea of what the rest of the series is about, I'd give WoT til like book 3 or 4 and if it still isn't doing anything for you then just drop it cause it only gets harder to read from there even if you do like the story.

Malazan is also extremely long, but isn't as easy a read as WoT. You get dropped into a very complicated setting without any real exposition and have to piece things together as you read the first few books. An anon in /sffg/ once described reading Malazan as putting together a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the final picture is supposed to be, and I think that's pretty apt. I really love the characters and dialogue in this series though, simultaneously one of the funniest and saddest series I've read. If you can't handle being disoriented and taking a jigsaw puzzle approach to the setting, then don't bother picking it up because you will not have a good time. Malazan does eventually start dumping exposition on you but it's not until like book 4, and most of it sort of assumes you've already pieced together a lot of things yourself.

Name of the Wind is polarizing. People either hate it after the first couple pages, or they end up loving it and dive into the next book then get frustrated when they hear Rothfuss is taking a decade to write the next one. The thing that makes people love or hate it is the main character, Kvothe, who is also the first person narrator of the story. His ego is massive and is an immediate turn off to like half the people who pick up the book. You should know within five minutes if you are going to like the story or not. Either you can deal with Kvothe's personality, or you can't.

>>9678409
>>9678327
Or you could not be a giant pleb and read The Book of the New Sun. You could read it twice in the time it takes for one of those doorstopping shitfests to get rolling.

>>9674044
Man, I really couldn't disagree more with this review and it baffles me. I've never heard anyone praise Foundation for having good characters.

>>9678277
This question is asked in every thread, most recently >>9674765

>>9678495
Really old Chinese settings with magic and mysticism are so rare. The only times I have encountered it and it wasn't shut was a video game called Prince of Qin. I guess Age of Wushu tried it too but those are video games.

>>9678460
Or he can just read whatever he wants instead of trying to impress pseuds on /lit/.

>>9678490
Asimov can create a fleshed out character in a sentence. They might be archetypal as hell but at least he's sharp about it.

>the weak characterization charge seems to stem from a fundamental lack of understanding what constitutes good characterization- namely that people believe that detail- knowing every physical aspect of a character, or seeing every little trauma that inflicts their life, when not ‘on stage’ suffices as good characterization. Of course, that’s bunkum- one can glean all that is needed to be known of a character in terms of the storyline by how they react ‘in the moment’ of the tale’s crux, as well as other on stage moments.
This is a very astute point which many /sffg/ posters should try to process. It's misunderstanding this principle which causes anons to think that Malazan isn't a waste of time. More characterization doesn't mean better characterization. Of course this doesn't mean that 'less is more' is a flat rule but if you can establish all that the reader needs to know about a character in a few lines of dialogue that's never not a good thing. I've heard The Foundation criticized for having flat characters, this isn't true at all. They aren't individually relevant in the big picture for the most part, but everything that happens when they're on stage is shaped by the kind of person they are. I consider that great characterization.

I think that Asimov's career has plenty of dull spots, but something that he's generally good at his having his plots driven by rounded characters, rather than just dumping a pile of science on you and having his characters act as a vehicle to explore and dump ideas.

>>9678521
If you don't want to read good work you're doing it wrong.

>>9677547
>irc for the hip kids

>>9676716
worst scifi vampire novel since blindsight

>>9678503
I liked The Initiate Brother and its sequel Gatherer of Clouds by Sean Russel. And also the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn.

What the fuck is Severian's problem?

>>9673988
>>9674905
Imagine being this stupid and ill-read

I'm still waiting for the review from the guy who claimed he was gonna buy To Kill A God, just to shut shitposters up.
Did I miss it or hasn't he delivered yet?

>>9678796
>powerful compulsion to give benis
>was raised not to have a problem with hurting or killing people
>is good at hurting and killing people
>his weird brain is probably at least a bit mad.

>>9678782
Both of these but especially the Initiate Duology look great. Thanks anon!

>>9678801
He didnot deliver yet it probably shit anyway

>>9678503
see:
>>9678100
don't read it though

Are there any science fiction or fantasy novels in which the discovery of God is the ultimate quest?

Im looking for the opposite of Moorcocks Von Bek series; "After many adventures, von Bek eventually finds the Holy Grail, and discovers that it will set mankind on the path to self-redemption through rationality, without the help of God or the hindrance of Lucifer."

Aspiring author here, anyone else realized that years of using green text to quote has ruined their communication skills?

Literally anytime one of my characters gets ambushed or surprised its just
>skely bro gets up in me shit
>proceed fuck skeletons mouth with holy sword

Wut do?

>>9679311
You're on the right track kid

Find a way to make it into your style.

I don't understand how the hard sci-fi dick riders in these generals could recommend hyperion when it has ftl travel, and long distance teleportation devices (far caster)

Don't let your daughters go to college. They will sleep with professors because they remind them of daddy.

I'm going to pick up a book or two today. Anyone have some Cyberpunk recommendations that are not William novels or Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

>>9679311
How about you write your doorstopping fantasy novel all in green text, could break new grounds anon

>>9679458
>yfw greentext faux journal entries

Might try it.

>>9679471
greentext might be nice for some sort of soldier or someone who doesn't have the time on his hands to be writing flowery prose

>>9679436
If you can stretch your imagination a little bit then The Stars my Destination may be working out for you.

>>9678327
>Should I read Wheel of Time, Malazan, or Name of the Wind?

"Hey guys should I read popular fantasy series A, popular fantasy series B, or slam my face into a hot stove?"

>>9678581
I don't disagree with the point in principle, but the idea that Foundation pulls that off baffles me.

>Shallan
Why is she so increadibly obnoxious? Was it intentional?

>>9679949
It's not that bad if you compare her with other fictional women in fantasy.

>>9679949
Sanderson seems to think having "witty" characters is important, but doesn't know how to avoid giving them Aspringers. However, she isn't that bad with the ghostbloods, barring Tyn, and Jasnah.

>>9678379
>>9678389
>>9679889
All you guys are shitting on Rothfuss but look. Do i detect jealousy?

Even if this series is shit, I'm curious as to why it's been as successful as it is. Why is it so popular? I want to read it , if only to try to understand it from a pleb's point of view

>>9679967
I'd think he'd learned to stay away from that after butchering Mat in WoT, by his own admission even.

>>9679979
No one gives a flyingyou're gay

>>9680057
actually his entire fanbase gives a fuck, which seems to be huge

Does everyone here shit on him because that's the accepted circlejerk opinion or do yall hate him because he's so praised in the public sphere?

>>9680115
>yall
Gr8 b8 m8

>>9680115
Every group needs a whipping boy, Rothfuss happens to be one of ours.

>>9680115
>Does everyone here shit on him because that's the accepted circlejerk opinion
Bingo

Is there any decent sf/f with lots of lewd in it? I wish to be aroused and entertained.

>>9679979
It's self-insert-mary-sue-core
If you're into that, go ahead

Series that dropped the fucking ball after book one?

Pic related had so much fucking potential. The last two books have been badly written filler with tiny glimpses of plot progression every so often

>>9680223
>self-insert-mary-sue-core
wat does dat mean

Is there only one launch in July?

>>9680364
No. I'm also launching my rocket into your mothers docking bay.

>>9680369

lèl

Did you like it?

>>9680433
I had fun reading it. It's very predictable though and I did dislike the ending.

Could someone recommend me some immersive sci-fi novels with complex and well written characters?

>>9680479
>I did dislike the ending.

What about it?

>>9680485
The Martian

>>9680515
kys

What is the comfiest /sffg/ book of all time?

>>9680596
The QURAN

>>9680601
/sboiler/xD/sboiler/

>>9680485
Fire Time.

>>9680495
What Nona became after the timeskip and how that affects the tone of the next book. I liked how Nona interacted with all the people at the convent and how their friendships grew. The story didn't really hold my attention.
It seemed that the next books would have that pretty much reversed, which could work of course. Just have to wait for the next book I guess.

>>9680628
Looks interesting. Thanks anon.

>>9680596
Gateway
Hyperion, weirdly
Hobbit

>>9680596
a few Forgotten Realms novels are comfy as fuck.
City of the Dead for example.

>>9680596
Lately I read The Last Wish, and it was extremely comfy at times.
Fforde's Shades of Grey was also pretty comfy.

But for sheer bulk comfyness you can't go wrong with most of the Discworld.

>>9680223
>Destroys all of both worlds
>Dooms humanity to a violent death
>Releases ultimate evil from the tree
>Loses the girl he loves to a violent death
>Is a crippled powerless shell of a man left without magic/music/dexterity

Why can't I be more like him, a character who at the end of the story is a broken shell, what a great guy to be.

The reason Rothfuss isn't writing is because everyone know about his big twist. He thought he was being clever when he mentioned Ambrose in the line of succession but we all know who was the king Kvothe killed

>>9681172
Discworld is so fucking comfy. I know I will be re-reading these books throughout the rest of my life.

I used to think the Death line was the best - now, I think I prefer the Watch novels, but I love them all.

Except 'Monstrous Regiment'. You didn't need to re-write Jingo with women, Pratchett.

>>9681434
Moving Pictures is really weak, but it's saved by the giant woman climbing a tower with an orangutan in her hand.

The Light Fantastic is a bit boring to me, Discworld doesn't really exist yet then.

Yes, I know it's shit. But it's genre savvy, metafictional shit. Is there anything like that in the fantasy genre? The closest I can think of is House of Leaves, but that's not exactly a genre piece.

>>9673538
>this annoying cunt will eventually have an entire book for herself


you ready for some awesome?

>>9680433
First book was alright, ending felt kinda rushed. Next book will decide whether it's good or off the rails.

>>9681490
This game was such shit... you realize it's the fidget spinner of games right? It's literally made for autists who don't like too much stimulation

>>9681406
Lol, the King he kills is Bredon you pleb. Bredon is behind the assassination attempt on the Maer, he's the next in line for the position (he specifically doesn't state his position in the court because the reader would instantly know "oh, of course the next in line guy is behind the assassination attempts") of Maer as Alvaron has no living heirs to inherit the title. He is also Master Ash, meaning he has the information about how Sympathy works that Denna obtained during her scene where she talks to Kvothe+friends about how magic works. Bredon will use that information to kill Alvaron, to kill the others in line, then use the Vintish superstition of magic in addition to the fact that magic killed those in the line of succession to lead an inquisition against the University like what happened 200 years before. The four plate door is where the information about the Amyr has been hidden (the archive war is cover for hiding the information, and the scrivs travel the world collecting works, aka pruning collections unknowingly) and it's also probably their little domain, Bredon will force Kvothe before the door, have him open it, then it will fulfill the Cthaeh's line about "Stick by the Maer and he will lead you to their (Amyr) door; Blood, bracken, and bone, I wish you creatures had the wit to appreciate me. Whatever else you might forget, remember what I just said. Eventually you’ll get the joke. I guarantee. You’ll laugh when the time comes. (a reference to the fact that Kvothe/first-time-reader thinks he means Alvaron the Maer, when in fact he means Bredon after he succeeds the Maer via murdering him then forcing him before the door)

Also I'm a T. 6th Time Reader, and if you need further explanation I can go into it...

>>9681554
>read Name of the Wind SIX times
I have no words

>>9681320
>Have sex as a virgin with a love goddess of sex so hard she mindbreaks and considers you the best she ever had

Holy crap this series is so good, why have I not heard about this before? Are his other series this level of good?

>>9679979
>>9680115
>>9681554
What is this pile of shit, I'd rather read recommendation chart arguments.

>>9681590
I asked whether I should get into Name of the Wind series, several people laughed at me for even considering such a thing, I genuinely asked what was so bad about Rothfuss, and all I got was "hurff durf nice b8 m8" in return

I literally know nothing about the series, I'm just wondering if sffg hates it solely because of its popularity or if it's actually shit...still waiting for an actual answer

Is it possible to print a book with a small amount of the text being colored? Is it allot more expensive?

>>9681689
Why would you want to use a gimmick like this?

>>9681675
If you want an unbiased opinion, I'll be totally objective and just post a passage from the book, and you can draw your own conclusions.

>"You’ve been looking a little ragged lately. Ragged isn’t the right word, really." “Weary?" I guessed. "Yes. Weary." He eyed me speculatively, smoothing his beard with a hand. "You have a gift for words."

>>9681761
This means absolutely nothing without any context. Thanks for nothing

What are some books that convey unease or danger from seeking or utilizing forbidden knowledge, preferably fantasy? I'm talking things like Wizard of Earthsea with get and his shadow.

>>9681675
The prose can be pretentious at times
The main character is a blatant Mary Sue
It can be a complete cringefest at times (particularly the second book)

I actually liked it

>>9681761
>i'll be completely objective and cherry pick
>>9681675
I liked it.

>>9681675
Pleasant chapter title pages?

>>9681675
The series is great, you can literally spend weeks on the speculation, really rewarding on rereads. Try it and see what you think, /lit/ is full of pretentious as fuck faggos.

The point of this board is that you have like 3 books you like and 3 books you hate, then you post about those 6 books.

>>9681560
Speculative fiction rewards rereading, which is my favorite part of a series. Kingkiller happens to have the goal of hiding the third book within the first two books, so if you read through it enough you learn things like what the Archive War actually is, or what the riddles mean, what the shape of the 3rd book must entail, the overarching narrative, etc.

>>9681568
He called her name, she didn't mind break, she was going to mindbreak him until he put her into that orb then decided she shouldn't die. She didn't say he was the best she had lol, she just said he was some fucking random poetic thing about animals.

He destroys all of civilization of two worlds because he's a fucking retard, he himself says so many times.

>>9681757
Because color is very important to my story. Some of the characters are related very closely to a certain color and it would make things easier if their dialogue and thoughts were printed in that color.

>>9681675
I gave you a real answer.

What are the best books that are coming of age/power fantasies showing a single character growing from a shitter to a non-shitter?
I know this is pretty plebby, but I really like it, it's extremely comfy to me. Examples would be wizard of earthsea, Name of the wind and such.

>>9681886
Stormlight Archive does this pretty well. Takes Kaladin forever to stop being a shitter though, but it's immensely satisfying once he gets good.

>>9681882
Sounds pointless
Use a different font if you really want to do something like that
Most colours other than black are painful to read

>>9681887
Alright I will.
Although that title sucks, why would you name your book something that sound like a website for Nazies or wildlife enthusiasts.

>>9681886
Wheel of time

>>9681899
>Alright I will
Read it, that is.

>>9681901
>single character
>The Eye of the World revolves around protagonists Rand al'Thor, Matrim (Mat) Cauthon, Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere, and Nynaeve al'Meara
is it really single pov or are you tricking me?

>>9681925
It's not single pov
Each of those characters grows from a shitter to a non-shitter though.

Stormlight Archive isn't single pov either

>>9681675
Fuck you you shitposting nigger it's not hard to find valid reasons to hate Patrick Rothfuss. His story is enormous and goes nowhere slowsly because his self-insert can't stop jerking himself off over how he overcame the adversity that is student debt.

>>9681941
ah. I really prefer if it just follows one person but beggers can't be choosers. Some person earlier in the thread likened it to conan. is it very macho? that's not really my thing.

>>9681888
Can't use a different font if the colors need to be distinguishable from one another. Might have someone talking in blue, another in yellow, another in green.

>>9681942
>implying stories that go nowhere aren't god tier.

>>9681962
No one wants to read yellow text
It's a pointless gimmick; distinguish the people through your writing rather than the colour of your font

>>9681769
The Broken Sword. Witches and pacts with the devil, or maybe he's just Odin, forbidden knowledge from dead men's mouths, mounting horror as your sins lead to deeper sins and you know it's your fault you killed your family.

>>9681998
Why you using that point of view? Is it like a choose your own adventure book or something?

>>9682019
No anon, he's talking directly to you, it's a story about you. Don't play coy

>>9682026
Oh shit. How'd I kill my family?

>>9682037
The old woman whose family owned your farm before your dad killed them and settled down bought some magic from an elf to make herself young and hot, you found her in the forest and she screwed you silly, then she screwed your brother and you killed him. Then your other brothers hunted you down and you killed them too. Then the troll king let you know you're a changeling and not human at all, you don't get to live forever but you have zero chance of heaven either, so you killed the rest of your family in a rage. Except for your sister, she got picked up by the dude you replaced and they are both going to be pissed when they find out it's incest.

>>9682047
I'm kind of a dick

>>9682053
it's okay, so is the elf-king who keeps a troll-maiden in the basement to rape for changelings (your bio parents)

>Published the same year as Fellowship of the Rings

>>9681899
Stormlight Archive is the series, Way of Kings is the first book. And they're very long books, so budget your time for them.

>Have over 70 books and comics to read next year so far
>About 40 left for this year
Help

>>9682111
>help
ditch the comics and any of the books written before 1990;

>>9682164
Still over 60.

>>9682361
Ditch the meme authors (all non-Greeks).

>>9682372
Still 49.

>>9682430
Ditch the meme authors (all pre-Aristotlians)

>>9680190
Black Jewels Trilogy
Lolita
If you're a filthy faggot: Dhalgren

>>9682471
>Recommending womameme authors

>>9682471
How is lolita sci fi/fantasy?

>>9681962
>blue
>bitches love blue

>>9682491
It's fantasy. What world does loli ask for dick, then lovingly tells you at the gas station after you ravaged her cunny multiple times that she thinks you tore something inside.

>>9681462
>but it's saved by the giant woman climbing a tower with an orangutan in her hand.

>>9681490
>furries
go read homostuck and never come back

NEW THREAD

>>9682557
>>9682557
>>9682557
>>9682557

>>9681554
I had figured out Master Ash is the king Kvothe will kill and start the war because of how he treated Diana, but didn't make the connection with Bredon. Who I found very suspicious, but on a meta point of view, as in this nice helpful and somewhat useful guy can't survive very long.