Schlock

[Anonymous No.14875555]

Give me your favorite schlock reads. Stuff that would never show up on a best of, but you still love for one reason or another. Guilty pleasure sci-fi or fantasy or any other genre. I want to see what schlock you read and tell me why you enjoy it.

For me I enjoy the first couple Halo books. I wouldn't say Nylund is a fantastic writer, but his military/boots on the ground approach to a game series I enjoyed got me hooked back in the day. Currently re-reading The Fall of Reach and it is just a nice, light read with fun action.

[Anonymous No.14875618]

The Running Man is a fun read, it always makes me want to watch Rollerball (1975).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVUxK1mNups

[Anonymous No.14875638]

I'm currently reading Doom, it's exactly what I expected from the games. It's a good fun read.

[Anonymous No.14875684]

This got me into short stories. All the stories are set in the same city around the same time but written by different authors.

[Anonymous No.14875704]

>>14875555
QQQUUUUUAAAAADDDDDDSSSS
Bear's forerunner trilogy is bretty good sci-fi
halo novels, with a few exceptions, are fun enough reads in a couple of different styles depending on writers.

[Anonymous No.14875726]

>>14875704
I've only read Fall of Reach, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx. If I wanted to continue what would you say are the exceptions that are not redeemable enough to be read? Also, pretty excited about the Shadows of Reach book that just got announced.

[Anonymous No.14875729]

>>14875618
Damn King wrote this one? Would’ve never guessed desu

[Anonymous No.14875738]

Just finished it yesterday. Pretty fun read, excited to see what happens in the next two.

[Anonymous No.14875759]

>>14875555
I know it's for kids and it's hypocritical to make fun of harry potter while I like this, but I just love it.

[Anonymous No.14875766]

>>14875738
Oh, yea, this trilogy was fucking amazing.

[Anonymous No.14875776]

The Stainless Steel Rat and Deathworld by Harry Harrison

https://www.tor.com/2019/09/26/make-peace-not-war-deathworld-by-harry-harrison/

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/28346/28346-h/28346-h.htm

[Anonymous No.14875804]

Dragonlance

Pic related was the first big boy book (no pictures) I ever read on my own. I think I was about 8 or 9 years old and didn't really give a shit about reading. Parents and teachers tried everything, harry potter, percy jackson all that shit and I didn't care. Then I saw this dusty old half-busted book from decades ago tucked away in the school library with a cool looking dragon dude in armour fighting another angry guy on the cover and I was sold. I am generally disinterested in fantasy on the whole but I will still read a dragonlance book every so often, although I think it is mostly because I associate it with a really good time of my life.

[Anonymous No.14875817]

>>14875726
release order is probably the best way. the flood is a novelization of CE so you can skip it if you want, but it's not bad. if you really like his more military fiction style, nylund also wrote a banger of a short story called the impossible life and the possible death of preston j. cole in the halo: evolutions short story collection.
the novels that most bother halo fans tend to be the karen traviss trilogy—for the same problems as with her star wars novels: she openly and proudly does not care about the established canon and makes changes for the benefit of her stories only—though they are not entirely without decent content. some of the characters are likeable, imo, and the trilogy directly continues from where ghosts of onyx ends, to mixed receptions (having some kind of conclusion is nice even if it could be better). the only books after those and the forerunner trilogy I have read are hunters in the dark and new blood, which were decent enough.
i'd read basically all of the pre-343 novels + the forerunner trilogy, because its all pretty good, and then just read wiki summaries to decide what sounds interesting, but remember that a lot of the 343 era novels are more closely connected so you may want to stick to a loose release order still.

[Anonymous No.14875876]

>>14875738
>>14875766

Much better writer than Chuck Wendig.

[Anonymous No.14875917]

Good thread. Is there a genre besides Sci-fi/fantasy that has that feeling of stupid comfort? Maybe surreal short stories or something? I very much enjoy Lydia Davis. Some of the stories are funny and they don't require commitment.

[Anonymous No.14876015]

The Doom novels from the 90s. The first two are fun if nothing else.

[Anonymous No.14876067]

John Rain Series by Barry Eisler

The Belgariad and The Malloreon by David Eddings

[Anonymous No.14876138]

>>14875555
I'm an unironic fan of Battlefield Earth by Elron. It's a giant slab of rip roaring golden age SF rubbish and I'm there for it.

[Anonymous No.14876158]

>>14875804
Love this shit.
O basically know the first three parts of "Dragons of..." by heart.

[Anonymous No.14876178]

>>14875638
these were decent novels and the writers take it to a really strange place in the fourth book

[Anonymous No.14876183]

>>14875555
i was really into this series as a teenager and i still have fond memories of it even though i'm smart enough now to know that it's just thinly veiled neo-randian propaganda

[Anonymous No.14876759]

>>14875704
It's good sci fi but it's not halo

[Anonymous No.14876806]

>>14875555
unironically warrior cats
bluestar's prophecy made me cry like a bitch

[Anonymous No.14878142]

This trilogy still ranks up there as one of my favorites. I read it after having played through the underdark section in Baldur's Gate 2 so getting an inside look into the society of dark elves in Menzoberranzan felt like a treat. The time Drizzt spends alone nearly losing himself felt like a fever dream to read and brought me that much closer to him as a character. The companions he meets are also fun characters.
While I feel Drizzt is utilized a little too heavily as an easy "in" with fans, this trilogy is still a fantastic read.
>>14875684
>>14875776
>>14876067
>>14876183
>>14876806
I'm going to scope these out.
>>14875759
Man, I remember back in elementary school Animorphs being insanely popular. That's a trip.
>>14875917
Yeah, I don't know. Sci-fi and fantasy definitely lend themselves more easily to that "I have quality food at home, but I'm still going through the drive-thru" feel. I'll look into Lydia Davis.

[Anonymous No.14878173]

>>14876183
It isn't, it's thinly veiled femdom and rape fetish wank material. The randian vibes are just ripples from the reddity narcissism splash, people are dumb but I'm not dumb kind of stuff.

[Anonymous No.14878174]

Thanks for the nostalgia OP, my local library was full of passable videogame adaption military sci-fi when I was a young teen.

[Anonymous No.14878198]

>>14876806
i loved this series when i was a kid

[Anonymous No.14878234]

>>14875555
Funny that you mention those Eric Nylund Halo books, I just tossed a some into a box to with other titles to donate (First Contact, Fall of Reach, Ghosts of Onyx). I think Ghosts of Onyx was my favorite.

If you are REALLY into Halo like I was back then you might enjoy the Forerunner trilogy written by Greg Bear.

[Anonymous No.14878253]

On Stranger Tides is pretty good if a Pirate story with some supernatural elements sounds interesting.

[Anonymous No.14878259]

>>14878234
I think the atmosphere of Ghosts of Onyx is what made it one of the top Halo books for me.

[Anonymous No.14878273]

>>14876806
Based and catpilled. Never read past the first 6 books, but thoroughly enjoyed a very comfy and classic heros tale and somehow makes a pretty mundane world really magical and wounderful.

I dont think anything else made me want to eat stringy raw birds more 8/10. Would ethnically clense kittypets again.

This may be nostalgia tho.

[Anonymous No.14878342]

>>14876183
Terry Goodkind reminds me of Lars Ulrich. They are egotistical hypocrites who somehow get worse in their artform as they age. I agree with your sentiment though. Imagine an HBO version of The Sword of Truth. The memes that would come out of that...

[Anonymous No.14878351]

>>14875555
Depends on what you define as "schlock" but Warhammer 40k stuff, Sword and Sorcery, Pulp heroes, stuff of that nature. I think Gor is a "so bad, it's good" type of series.

[Anonymous No.14878357]

Anyone got comfy stuff about modern normal life? As in 70 onwards to today, not just fantasy stuff? There is one that I can barely remember, but I absolutely loved it. You know that feeling where you know you loved something but you cant for the life of you remember why or anything about it?

[Anonymous No.14878395]

For me, it's generic 70s sci-fi books for kids and young adults

[Anonymous No.14878536]

Pic related was pretty good. More of a mystery/thriller kind of deal rather than horror unfortunately, but there were some very memorable scenes, such as the opening and the stalk through the destroyed military base. Well-written too.

[Anonymous No.14878953]

>>14878395
I dig that old art.
>>14878536
I could never get into those games. How many Dead Space books are there?

[Anonymous No.14878992]

>>14876806
Read Tailchaser's Song.

[Anonymous No.14879042]

for me it's the Gaunt's Ghosts books in the 40K franchise, along with Eisenhorn. Bla bla fiction is for children, Dan Abnett is a great writer, never got disinterested with his work.

[Anonymous No.14879256]

>>14879042

Only read the first Gaunts Ghosts, but for me it's Cain and some of the HH books. Cain is a bit repetitive but still pretty good, HH varies from actually well written to absolute garbage.

Still a big fan of the Istvaan ones, Galaxy in Flames and Fulgrim. The lore sections from the HH black books probably also count, war-documentary style 40k is best 40k.

[Anonymous No.14879303]

>>14879256
I've been meaning to get into the Horus Heresy, but i'm too damn busy writing my own book, working, and playing admin for the guys I used to play vidya with. I've heard that there are some truly great entries in the series, with some that seem completely redundant or the author obviously doesn't know enough about the franchise.

[Anonymous No.14879367]

>>14879303

Yep, that's about it. I would say that the good-slash-relevant ones are the first three, maybe Fulgrim if you vaguely like the Emperor's Children, Know No Fear (Ultramarines being cool, Word Bearers being scary, Admech kicking ass and taking names alongside), Betrayer (World Eaters par excellence and the best character around, Argel Tal) and then just whatever else you're interested in.

Salamanders books are memetically bad, as is Furious Abyss, everything else varies massively.

[Anonymous No.14880502]

Hard Case Crime books are fun and have great covers

https://pulpcovers.com/tag/hardcasecrime/

[Anonymous No.14880580]

>>14878234
I read these in elementary school. I got through Fall of reach, the flood, and first strike before I stopped in the midst of Ghosts of Onyx
Do I need to go back and reread these? Its been awhile

[Anonymous No.14880581]

>>14875555
>>14878234
Halo has some deep fucking lore and its not haphazardly put together. All of it is very intricate. Not quite at the level of LOTR, but severely underrated nonetheless.