/sffg/ Science Fiction & Fantasy General

[Anony No.16516220]

/sffg/ Spoopy edition

Are you waiting up for the Great Pumpkin?

>>16495181
Thread of the dead

Crossdressing costumes Discord
https://discord.com/invite/KWPCM7m

>Are you happy now autists?

[Anonymous No.16516281]

I'm looking for sci-fi set on interesting alien worlds, like Solaris, Dune, and Stations of the Tide for example. Anyone got any recommendations? Vance's The Blue World or GRRM's Hunter's Run look promising, anyone read either of those?

[Anonymous No.16516289]

What fantasy or sci-fi books have actual literary merit?

[Anonymous No.16516335]

>>16516289
Literally none by definition.

[Anonymous No.16516544]

>>16516335
I mean, Aniara won Martinson the Nobel in 1974 so by any reasonable metric you're wrong.

>>16516289
The answers are going to be subjective, anything in particular you're looking for?

[Anonymous No.16516571]

>>16516289
1984, Animal Farm, Clockwork Orange, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, etc.

[Anonymous No.16516592]

>>16516571
I forgot The Jungle Books

[Anonymous No.16516597]

FUCK E WILLIAM BROWN

[Anonymous No.16516604]

>>16516220
>reposting my q from the last bread

Grimmest darkest fantasy that’s still somewhat literary and philosophical?

I couldn’t get into Joe Abercrombie or Shadow of the Torturer. I did like the insanity of R Scott Bakker’s books, but his endless navel-gazing got pretty tedious. Any recommendations? Thank you

[Anonymous No.16516615]

>>16516220
Which writer has a similar prose to Nabokov's but writes fantasy/sci-fi?

[None !SFFG.n1h7M No.16516679]

The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison (2014)
This is a fantasy of manners insofar as I understand the term. The primary focus of the novel is not the plot, the setting, or the characters, but rather the processes that are the government. The protagonist who knows almost nothing relevant becomes emperor and for most of the novel he is shown what it means to be emperor and all the manners, etiquette, and proceedings of court life. There seem to be various people who have confused this with worldbuilding, but it isn't in any meaningful way. The protagonist doesn't ever do much of anything, but rather most everything happens to him or simply just happens.
There are many questionable aesthetic choices such as the naming scheme, the occasional archaic language in dialogue, and the usage of elves and goblins that likely detract far more than they add. There's a glossary at the end, and while I didn't extensively check, I suspect most of the entries are for the most minor and trivial of matters and it's possible that there are those included that exist in the setting but are never mentioned in the text itself.
While there is a considerable amount of darkness in the background, it's mostly only alluded to or glossed over. There's a disappointing lack of exploration in the themes that are brought up, only to be pushed aside because it's too difficult to confront them and would alter the tone of the book. There are political assassinations, hunting people for sport, prostitution, kidnapping, attempted rape, attempted murder, jokes about incest, child abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia, forced ritual suicide, several suicides, offers of ritual suicide, executions, the disregard for suffering in pursuit of profit, workers' revolt, mental illness, and tacit approval that revolutionary violence by the common people against the powerful and wealthy is beneficial and necessary for the continuance of society. There's also feminism. This may seem like it would dominate the book, but as I wrote, it's mostly all described in passing because it's much more important to focus on the Bright Side of Life.
I'm not confident that author knew what she wanted this book to be, and if it is what she wanted it to be, then that's unfortunate because I found it to be very inconsistent as to what it ought to be thought as. The antagonists were the weakest part of the book to me due to their almost comical bungling and buffoonery which is somewhat acknowledged even in the text. From what I've seen this has led to widely varying readings from calling this grimdark to being a simplistic feel-good book.
The book received many nominations for awards and even won one. I don't believe that it ought to have been nominated for any, let alone won, and I can't say that I understand why it did, even after looking at various reviews of why it's so great.
Despite all these flaws it was still an enjoyable read and I'll read the next novel in the series which will release next year.
Rating: 3/5

[Anonymous No.16516712]

yo SFF-brained /lit/fags,
Started an SA thread look it up in the catalog.

[Anonymous No.16516729]

>>16516712
Why wouldn't you just link it?

[Anonymous No.16517114]

>>16516335
Frankenstein is taught in high schools across America. inb4 that also means it has no literary merit.

[Anonymous No.16517118]

>>16516289
Pat rothfuss has decent prose for fantasy..that’s about it

[Anonymous No.16517161]

>>16517118
No he doesn't

[Anonymous No.16517260]

>>16516712
Reminder Akka did nothing wrong and CHADweel is the most based character in the series.

[Anonymous No.16517305]

Just finished Book of the New Sun, liked it but wouldn't say I loved it. You fellas think it's worth jumping straight into Urth of the New Sun?

[Anonymous No.16517312]

>>16513018
>socialist
By socialist, I meant you like to interact with people... Socialize...

[Anonymous No.16517329]

>>16517305
Yes

[Anonymous No.16517440]

>>16517312
Lmao, based esl anon.

[Anonymous No.16517516]

>>16516615
Wolfe. BotNS can be seen as a long riff on Pale Fire.

[Anonymous No.16517549]

>>16516615
>>16517516
As much as I like Wolfe, I've been reading many of his short stories and his actual prose is nothing like BotNS. Not even the other Solar Cycle books. To compare him to Nabokov and Pale Fire makes no sense except maybe in thematic scope and tone.
There's no answer to the question, really, because there are never equivalences in art. There's no other Nabokov in detective fiction, or in non fiction, or in erotica or anywhere else. The best you can hope is to find some other decent writer.
The best prose stylists in fantasy would be Tolkien (Lord of the Ring, not the other stuff), Mervyn Peake (very visual prose), Guy Gavriel Kay (imo shit), John Crowley (Little Big, Engine Summer). Jack Vance is pretty good and has some of the irony and semi ridiculous of Nabokov, but it's purely accidental.
Ignore the new age people (Zelazny, Bradbury, Le Guin, Asimov). Their prose is average.
If you want to have a laugh, read Dune which is one of the genre cornerstones.

[Anonymous No.16517606]

>>16517549
BotNS is not a departure in style, not at all, so I don't know what you're on about.

[Anonymous No.16517663]

>>16517606
>A moment suffices to describe these things, for which I watched so long. The decades of a saros would not be long enough for me to write all they meant to the ragged apprentice boy I was. Two thoughts (that were nearly dreams) obsessed me and made them infinitely precious. The first was that at some not-distant time, time itself would stop … the colored days that had so long been drawn forth like a chain of conjuror’s scarves come to an end, the sullen sun wink out at last.

Find me a similar passage, or the opening line, or the "we think we invent symbols" line from BotNS in Wizard Knight, Peace,. A Borrowed Man, Long Sun or any short story (that isn't from 5HOC). Maybe your eye isn't as keen to pick on these differences.

[Anonymous No.16517684]

>>16517606
But don't take my word for it. Even this article points out the changes in Wolfe's career as he experimented with different styles and it's written by a famous writer who was a sort of protegé of his
https://www.nyrsf.com/2013/09/a-story-kim-stanley-robinson.html

[Anonymous No.16517702]

>>16517663
>Seeing him brought in, has, I think, saved me from losing my mind; for that I do not thank him-sanity, after all is only reason applied to human affairs, and when this reason, applied over years, has resulted in disaster, destruction, despair, misery, starvation, and rot, the mind is correct to abandon it. This decision to discard reason, I see now, is not the last but the first reasonable act; and this insanity we are taught to fear consists in nothing but responding naturally and instinctively rather than with the culturally acquired, mannered thing called reason; an insane man talks nonsense because like a bird or a cat he is too sensible to talk sense.
5th Head

>Where was he now, old Patera Pike? Where did he sleep, and did he sleep well there at last? Or did he wake as he always had, stirring in the long bedroom next to Silk's own, his old bed creaking, creaking? Praying at midnight or past midnight, at shadeup with the skylands fading, praying as Viron extinguished its bonfires and its lanterns, its many-branched candelabras, praying as they were forfeited to the revealed sun. Praying as day's uncertain shadows reappeared and resumed their accustomed places, as the morning glories flared and the long, white trumpets of the night silently folded themselves upon themselves.
Long Sun

>Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. What we think of crickets, perhaps, whose singing we hear with pleasure, though some of us smash them with our heels when they venture into sight.
Latro

There's a bunch in Tracking Song, Island of Dr Death and even his more grounded stories like The Ziggurat. You're talking out your ass boy.

[Anonymous No.16517709]

>>16517684
You can see the roots of BotNS in his earlier works, Tracking Song, A Story by John V. Marsch and Peace to a lesser extent, BotNS did not just appear out of nowhere and then Wolfe reverted to his Operation Ares style as though he didn't have a 15 year old career behind him at that point.

[Anonymous No.16517739]

>>16516281
grrm's thousand worlds would be a good place to look; from them, i would recommend windhaven and dying if the light.
Here's the description of the thousand worlds
>These stories take place in a universe where Earth has settled numerous planets, thus forming the Federal Empire. As they expanded, however, humanity entered into wars with two rival alien species, the Hrangans and the Fyndii. This Double War ended up destroying the empire and plunging the galaxy into chaos. The title "Thousand Worlds" is a reference to the leftover worlds and peoples of this intergalactic melee. Most of the stories are set during the post-Interregnum period, as disparate human cultures gradually regain interstellar flight and re-establish contact with one another.

[Anonymous No.16517742]

>>16517739
Are they as bloated as the man himself? His short stories are pretty good.

[Anony No.16517759]

Wow some actual discussion and textual analysis on my /sffg/?

[Anonymous No.16517762]

>>16517742
Windhaven would definitely rank amongst his best works, dying of the light, not so much, but then again it was his first novel and is thus weaker in certain aspects, but is still a poignant story
>The novel takes place on the planet of Worlorn, a world which is dying. It is a rogue planet whose erratic course is taking it irreversibly away from its neighboring stars into a region of cold and dark space where no life will survive.
If you've read the shorter stories, then you are probably aware of the 1000 world setting, which did you read? sandkings, song for lya and seven times never kill man are good stories.

[Anonymous No.16517774]

>>16517762
I only read A Song for Lya which was kind of great, but Nightflyers and ASOIAF really put me off. Had no idea it's a sorta Hainish Cycle/Noon Universe setting.

This sounds like a fairly Star Trek done by Ellison thing, is it really that good?

[Anonymous No.16517788]

>>16517709
Eh, the first story in Fifth Head would be closer from what I can remember, more so than A Story. Again, I'm talking about prose style, not so much tone, and not themes, obv. The Ziggurat is nothing like BotNS. It's a dude writing down utilitarian shit on a journal and mulling over his shitty ex wife and eating beans and heating up coffee. There is zero refinement in that story. Not one of the later Wolfe pieces in Strange Travellers has a prose similar to New Sun. I'd know as I've finished it yesterday. Silhouette and many stories on that collection (Endangered Species) neither.

The other quotes, I'll grant it for Soldier. Harder to find them in Long Sun and Short Sun, and almost every chapter in New Sun has overly verbose, purpley digressions like those. Not to mention the vocabulary, which is unique and it's part of the frame narrative and makes the whole series sound outlandish.
Kim Stanley Robinson pointed it out.
It's not unheard of. Wolfe wanted to resemble Proust, so he read him a lot and as a result, he sounds a bit like Proust. Eco wanted to sound like a medieval monk in The Name of the Rose, so he read every medieval text he could find. Borges wanted to sound like a latinist expert from the 1600s or so for Inquisitions so he picked a lot from the Spanish Baroque writers.

If you read Lolita, Pnin and Invitation to a Beheading or Ada, they're all pure Nabokov. You probably won't find a Wizard Knight in Nabokov oeuvre, or a Borrowed Man, even less probable any stories told in a common man's voice like in so many of Wolfe's stories.

[Anonymous No.16517829]

>>16517774
i found those stories to be pretty good, you might give a shot to windhaven, it was written with lisa tuttle, so there's a distinctive voice to the story that is in addition to grrm's usual melancholic setting.
Dying of the light is poignant, there are fewer than 50 people on a dying planet, which was once named the festival planet, the setting itself and the unrequited love of the mc frame the entire story, and barring certain shortcomings, the story is decent.
Or, if you are in the mood for a quick story, read sandkings, it won the hugo, nebula and locus.

[Anonymous No.16517888]

New cradle....

[Anonymous No.16517897]

>>16517788
All right, I see where you're going with this: I mentioned The Ziggurat as it reflects a first hand account of a mad person and his warped view of reality and him justifying what he did, while all the while hiding it in text(which goes back to Pale Fire and maybe even House on the Borderland and if you wanna stretch it all the way back to Dracula). However, clouding things subtextually is something I think Nabokov pioneered(more because I can't think of anything else that did it before him) the technique.

Purple prose is characterization in BotNS and in 5th Head(only the Number 5 story), and to a a lesser extent Peace and pirate Freedom, since we are talking about main characters and their memoirs or confessions, which serve to describe them as clever and witty, but a bit full of themselves. I suppose Latro is just an extension of New Sun(a memory reverse) and having been written just before Urth, the style stuck, although Latro's prose is less explainable since he's a merc and not a learned man.

I'm not sure what story collection I've read it in(probably Island of Dr Death), but Tracking Song is effectively an alpha version of BotNS, purple prose sprouting here and there, but the vocabulary is excentric and the concepts even more so. I'm saying Wolfe exhibited purple prose(of varied styles mind you, folktale-like in A Story, Proustian-lite in 5th head, almost scientific in Tracking Song, hallucinatory in Peace) long before BotNS and he merely added them all up for it.

He came back to the style time and time again, every time Silk and Horn flow into a verbose digression you can almost hear Severian creeping in, and you can hear him sometimes in Baxter's voice in Sorcerer's House. The style, I'm arguing, is essential to Wolfe, even though he only employs it thoroughly in only a few of his works.

[Anonymous No.16517935]

>>16517114
Frankenstein isn't sff.

[Anonymous No.16517946]

>>16517888
Reading it right now. So far hating the romance in it.

[Anonymous No.16518047]

Anyone read this book? Any good or not?

[Anonymous No.16518231]

Anyone else read this in their youth? I had a wonderful time reading this by the Christmas tree while drinking Abuelita.

I think Rhiannon was my first fantasy boner. Probably because I pictured her a skantily clad witchy forest girl.

It's surprisingly rich for a children's books, much more so than HP or the Inheritance cycle. Just don't expect edgy violence en par with T.H. White.

I only read the first one, but a piece of me never left...

[Anonymous No.16518241]

>>16516604
Weaveworld. You will never forget it.

[Anonymous No.16518256]

I need you to recommend me some fucking sci fi RIGHT NOW
Revelation Space was good what else can I listen to while I do the dishes

[Anonymous No.16518275]

>>16518256
The Neuromancer radio-drama. It's almost dawn after an all nighter and I'm about to put it on. Finish the dishes, fix some popcorn, and listen with me.

[Anonymous No.16518281]

>>16517440
Fully English anon, actually. Never understood why a socialist and socialite can't be the same meaning.
Fag is a cigarette, but also a gay shit.
Gay is a homosexual, but also mean happens.
Faggot is a bundle of sticks, but also an over the top homosexual.

[Anonymous No.16518283]

>>16517260
Sorwa was literally blacked

[Anonymous No.16518304]

>>16517759
Thanks. Now I have to shut it down.

[Anonymous No.16518313]

Are there any comfy Fantasy books that have have a sense of beauty and wonder?

[Anonymous No.16518337]

>>16518313
You have to read GRI APPROVED books. It's only through rape that the female shows her secret true face, which is filled with want, desire and ecstasy. There is a beauty hidden in every woman that is only released when they are raped.

[Anonymous No.16518366]

>>16516679
>The protagonist doesn't ever do much of anything, but rather most everything happens to him or simply just happens.

I've noticed that female authors are often guilty of writing protagonists that lack personal agency.

Why is this?

[Anonymous No.16518406]

>>16516679
>Despite all these flaws it was still an enjoyable read and I'll read the next novel in the series which will release next year.
>Rating: 3/5
Reads like the conclusion to a different review, you mentioned none of the positives that made the text enjoyable to you and 3/5 seems high compared to your hatchet job

[Anonymous No.16518431]

>>16518256
The rest of the RS universe, of course.
Other standalone stories of his like Pushing Ice.

[Anonymous No.16518447]

>>16518275
>radio-drama
Don't do this to me chief

>>16518431
Is Chasm City any good? The parts of Revelation Space set there were probably my least favorite

[Anonymous No.16518455]

>>16518447
I have read everything RS EXCEPT Chasm City because I have no interest although others in the thread seem to post good things about it.

[Anonymous No.16518468]

>>16518455
Based, maybe I will skip that one as well brother

[Anonymous No.16518474]

>>16518241
Based Barkerbro.
Have you read The Great And Secret Show? I'm thinking of reading it, but I'm not sure if I should read that or some early Gothic fiction.

[Anonymous No.16518480]

>>16518468
Good luck. I enjoyed the majority of RS short stories from what I remember. I don't think there was one I particularly hated. The Prefect series (novels) is nice but I have no idea when book 3 will be out. It takes place in the Glitter Band pre-Plague so you see a bunch of higher-order technologies.

[Anonymous No.16518501]

>>16516289
The L... The Lor.... of..... th...... .......

[Anonymous No.16519081]

>>16518501
The shit of the neck yourself faggot bitch cuck?

[Anonymous No.16519097]

What are some fantasy or sci-fi books that revolve around uncovering great ancient secrets about the world?

In kingkiller chronicle, for instance, there's a lot of mystery around the chandrian, the fae, etc... It's not just mysteries about the personal journey of the hero, but about the whole nature of the world, its magic and its "big players".

Do you know any books/series that do this right?

[Anonymous No.16519116]

>>16519081
Th.... or...... f......... ing......................

[Anonymous No.16519197]

I'm looking for a book or series that's basically Space Fantasy rather than Sci-fi, I suppose something like Star Wars. Also not looking for anything grimdark like 40k. Just want a nice relaxing autumn read travelling across space.

For reference, I've read Dune and thought it was decent but a bit too on-the-nose about it being ABOUT myths and religious storytelling, which for me is something I don't particularly like about strictly Sci-fi books - they tend to be pretty blatantly about some sort of philosophical or scientific idea rather than letting themes hide in the subtext.

[Anonymous No.16519242]

Coomers of lit you disappointed me. I tried reading kaleydoscope century and a third into the boook all i got was some fat people sex and a lot of murder and killing of families with a massive dose of politics in it. For shame.
The main character is also absolutely unlikable and seems like a edgy self insert.
First book I'm dropping before finishing in a long long time.

[Anonymous No.16519291]

>>16517935
Yes it is science fiction, Frankenstein's monster was based on known science of the time and speculation.

[Anonymous No.16519303]

>>16517305
Yes definitely, since it answers certain mysteries if you haven't figured them out, and leaves with more

[Anonymous No.16519337]

>>16519097
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn are all about the ancient race called Sithi who once lived alongside men, and royal family trees and the sins of the past have major implications on the war taking place in Oster Ard through the series. Good ending, too.

[Anonymous No.16519358]

>>16519337
Alright, it's the second recommendation I get for this one. I'll definitely check it out.

[Anonymous No.16519504]

>>16516604
Despite the goofy title and the dated, uneven film adaptation, Richard Matheson's The Incredible Shrinking Man is a remarkably vivid, scarifying, grimdark book. Bonus points: somewhat literary and philosophical. Possible negatives: It's this world, albeit from a slightly and then very different perspective.

[Anonymous No.16519525]

>>16516544
>anything in particular you're looking for?
I guess I'm just looking for some really damn good science-fiction. Stuff with good characters, mainly, as most of the classics from the golden age of sci-fi and from writers like Asimov and Heinlein seem to be more focused on the 'science' part of the stories rather than the actual characters and stuff like that.

[Anonymous No.16519662]

Delilah is the original thot that had to be slayed.
Books where cheating thots gets theirs?

[Anonymous No.16519894]

>>16519662
Your mother's obituary

[Anonymous No.16519908]

>>16517888
Nice

[Anonymous No.16520080]

>>16518366 bait
>>16518406 Oh well. I've been trying to limit the reviews to a single post and that's at the limit. I don't think it's necessary for every review to cover everything. I wrote what I felt at the time.

[Anonymous No.16520329]

>>16517897
Yeah, I was talking about prose style, which is what people usually praise in Nabokov and what the dude was asking for (>>16516615).
>The Ziggurat as it reflects a first hand account
Not sure what you mean by that, as The Ziggurat is told in the third person pseudo omniscient.
>I think Nabokov pioneered
Doubtful. The earlier unreliable narrators in such fashion were made famous by Henry James but at least 2 of the most famous works by Nabokov feature an unreliable narrator.

Wolfe may have such prose but it's not in every book which is why I mentioned it would be foolish to recommend one writer with so many different styles. Even the shit with Oreb in Long Sun (in a narrative sense) is pretty intruding if you're expecting some Nabokov tier prose.

[Anonymous No.16520827]

Does anyone here know Meekhan? What's your opinion?

[Anonymous No.16520850]

>>16518501
>LOTR
Sigh. Who's going to tell him?

[Anonymous No.16520873]

>>16518474
Never read that, but Barker is great. What's it about?

Early Gothic fiction is IMO far more enjoyable than British dark fantasy. With the exception if few like the one mentioned.

[Anony No.16521676]

>>16518313
The Last Unicorn, The Night Circus. A Wizard of Earthsea, The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, Fellowship Of The Ring

[Anonymous No.16521693]

any action oriented mythological fantasy like the movie clash of titans but doesn't have to be greek? Also not percy jackson

[Anonymous No.16521792]

>>16521693
Latro in the Mist

[Anony No.16521837]

>>16521693
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

[Anonymous No.16521846]

>>16516281
>Vance's The Blue World

Check out Vance's Araminta Station. First book of the Cadwal Chronicles.

You won't be able to put it down.

[Anonymous No.16521956]

>>16517260
Akka was a fucking simp. Sorwheel was pretty based though. DESU I really liked Saubon and Proyas, and Cnaiur was always great. The series did a pretty good job of conveying how fucked up a society like theirs would be.

At the same time, one thing I sort of regretted was that almost everyone was either a humorous jackass or unfunny and depressing. The funniest characters in the entire series were the fucking Nonmen, which was a red flag from the word go.

[Anonymous No.16522389]

>tfw you used to love 'action' in fantasy, but now find yourself skimming over it if it's not written stylishly or a part of the drama of the overall story
Just finished a new S&S novella that was solid enough and never dragged at any point, but the end was basically several battle scenes that had me zoning out. And it's not even because they were poorly written; there just wasn't anything to the action I hadn't already read a hundred times before. I definitely think I prefer the 'adventure' aspect of a story over the action these days.

[Anonymous No.16522426]

Any good modern day science fiction? Something not too out there.

[Anonymous No.16522428]

korean web novels > chinese web novels
prove me wrong.

[Anonymous No.16522442]

>>16522426
The Aristillus series

[Anonymous No.16522455]

>>16522442
>Aristillus
sell me on it.

[Anonymous No.16522485]

>>16522455
No

[Anonymous No.16522503]

Those who read Peace Talks. Did Murphy get killed yet? You don't touch the supernatural and come out unscathed. I just can't stand her.

[Anonymous No.16522515]

>>16522485
then i won't read it simple as that

[Anonymous No.16522533]

>>16522428
I spent eight years in Seol and I'll tell you right now, Koreans are basically the Chinese if they had double the tolerance for dystopia and an uncontrollable lust for white men knocking up their daughters because they think half-white children will have more opportunities.

And you know, this is true in Korea, but in America everyone treats half-Asians like the effete fags that they are. Some of them are cool but generally even if they're high-Q you get the impression that they're living a lie, basically trying to improv their way around looking like girls but having chips on their shoulder the size of the rescue rangers.

Way better than identity-crisis spic bean people who are part white, but frankly at least the nigger mulattoes are aware that they're black and don't try to front differently.

[Anonymous No.16522547]

>>16522533
what does that have to do with web novels?
also i though everyone in korea is cucking everyone regardless of race.

[Anonymous No.16522626]

I want to read something "Heavy metal" or "metal as fuck". Whatever that means to you, I want it. Cringe, based, s()y, onions, seethe, cope, cool, dumb, whatever. I want it.

[Anonymous No.16522673]

>>16522626
Can't think of any book that evokes the feeling.

But I wouldn't doubt if Sanderson wrote the stormlight archives after listening to Neon Knights.

[Anonymous No.16522743]

>>16522626
(1) Malazan, see Caladan Brood band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw4SmoAXwgc
(2) Elric of Melniboné, see Eternal Champion band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODNqxcRQGH4
(3) the original..Tolkein - Lord of the Rings, see Summoning, Blind Guardian, etc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc_xx1PTQ8Q
god listen to those synths, that drum beat, that guitar tremolo picking
(4) Prince of Nothing series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjBSQL5lvU
this song has no ties to the PoN series but this band - Ruins of Beverast - is what I listened to the most when reading the books. just fucking brutal rape, cannibalism, death, disease, war, fear of Eternal and Infinite Hell, etc. yeah Prince of Nothing is honestly pretty fucking metal

[Anonymous No.16522780]

I can't believe Jason Grace stayed dead and that we went five books about Roman emperors without any I, Claudius memes.

[Anonymous No.16522857]

>>16522780
> The Hidden Oracle
>(The Trials of Apollo #1)

[Anonymous No.16522893]

I just started wheel of time, I'm enjoying the first book but it's like 16 books long or some huge number and I'm worried I'll get half way through and regret it. Is it worth getting stuck in?

[Anonymous No.16522933]

>>16522893
It's derivative shlock that even fans concede is bloated

[Anonymous No.16522982]

>>16522857
There are tons of kino fantasy books for children. You can read stuff like rangers apprentice when you're 30 and enjoy it

[Anonymous No.16523056]

>>16521956
That’s so funny cause I never thought of that but yeah the nonmen were a laugh.

[Anonymous No.16523115]

>>16522626
In the second book of prince of nothing series when the (spoilers) werigda Warriors were tracking down their kin, and then aurang (or was it aurax) shows up and is asking his questions, I always in my head read it too change by Deftones because for whatever reason it reminds me of the dragon ball z cooler movie super saiyan scene. Idk what it is, but it’s just cool as shit to me

[Anonymous No.16523124]

>>16518231
>I only read the first one, but a piece of me never left..
2/3 are just as good or better 4 and 5 were not as good to me but definitely worth reading

[Anonymous No.16523128]

>>16522893
Read The Lord of the Rings again instead

[Anonymous No.16523131]

>>16521956
Achamian literally did nothing wrong, and you can't call him a "simp" just for being in love. Even the uncharacteristic choices he made for that love weren't "wrong" in context. Sorwheel is a great character; it feels like Bakker learned a few things about characterization in between writing the original trilogy and that character. But I haven't finished his story yet so we'll see how I feel later.
Saubon felt like one of those characters who gets neglected because the author actually hates him, while Proyas felt like he was intended to be some grand moral center for the whole universe, but his role never quite panned out.
Cnaiur is the real antagonist, and he completely fucked up. If anyone is damned, he is.

[Anonymous No.16523445]

>>16522857
I dropped Riordan when he made Nico gay.

[Anonymous No.16523738]

/sffg/, what would the intersection between paint magic and inertia magic look like?

[Anonymous No.16523756]

>>16523738
Please leave.

[Anonymous No.16523763]

>>16523756
no

[Anonymous No.16523788]

>>16523763
Now.

[Anonymous No.16523791]

>>16523788
you can get rid of me faster by answering my question. otherwise I'm just going to stick around

[Anonymous No.16523797]

>>16520850
i honestly hate tolkein but what a smug fuck. His books are all terrible too which makes this even more cringe

[Anonymous No.16523849]

>>16519097
lord of the mysteries. Its chinkshit but doesnt have most of the issues with the genre and the translation is pretty good. Overall one of the best chinkshits and theres a really big focus on uncovering ancient secrets (hence lord of the mysteries) relating to all three of the things you mentioned.

[Anonymous No.16523895]

Lingering questions after Battle Grounds:

>What happened to River Shoulders?
>Was Esperacchius destroyed and/or turned into a lightsaber?

[Anonymous No.16523911]

>>16523895
also

>where the fuck was Eldest Gruff?
>why wasn't Lara at Harry's side when she just got done making it clear she couldn't afford to let him die?

[Anonymous No.16523944]

>Sanderson literally modded out head explosions in Fallout
I knew the guy was a faggot but holy shit

[Anonymous No.16524029]

Reading the Terror and really liking it. I just got to the part where Crozier gets blackpilled... I feel so bad for my guy

[Anonymous No.16524049]

>>16524029
You reading it because of Derrick's suggestion as well? I'm waiting for my copy to come in the mail.

[Anonymous No.16524057]

One of my favorite parts of A Wizard of Earthsea is how, after most of the book being immersed in the weird magic-islander culture, the guys who are more or less European knights sitting in a castle come across as very exotic and out of place during the chapters with the Terrenon.

[Anonymous No.16524163]

All this talk about Wintersteel tells me all I need to know about the book.

[Anonymous No.16524316]

>>16516220
I stopped waiting around for the Great Pumpkin a while ago and asked /x/ for some help to summon him instead.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RfBd7DvvGDs

[Anonymous No.16524438]

>>16523131
Cnaiur is the one who is victimized by the Dunyain and then spends his entire life trying to rectify it, to the point of deliberately losing his mind so that nobody can predict his actions.

By the time we reached the end of Unholy Consult I legitimately thought that he WAS the No-God, and that the point was that Cnaiur had in fact overcome the darkness that came before by not allowing anything rational to dictate his behavior, and instead being a self-moving soul motivated by inductive hatred. I.E., that Cnaiur had actually become what the Dunyain always wanted to be by accident.

[Anonymous No.16524444]

>>16523944
Lmao what

[Anonymous No.16524445]

>>16522893
It's great. If you get stuck I'm just about done abridging the series.

[Anonymous No.16524446]

>>16523944
explain pls

[Anonymous No.16524458]

>>16520850
Communist faggot enabler. Hope he gets knifed by a paki.

[Anonymous No.16524480]

>>16523944
Imagine if one of your writer's favorite VIDEO GAMES was fucking Halo lmao

[Anonymous No.16524488]

>>16524480
>fucking Halo 2
fucking hell, I mean if you're going to put Halo on a list of favorite games at least put the only good one in the series (that's Halo: Combat Evolved)

[Anonymous No.16524491]

>>16524480
Leaking ab it of soi there but Blooborne at least was good.

>Undertale
Jesus Christ Sanderson.

[Anonymous No.16524506]

>>16524480
>Undertale
fucking kek

[Anonymous No.16524512]

>>16524444
>>16524446
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFZNpT_INmA&t&

[Anony No.16524535]

>>16524512
>white tee sticking out under a black tee and trying to dress it up with a non-matching jacket
you'd think with all his money he could hire a stylist

[Anonymous No.16524538]

>>16524535
the dude is literally just a neckbeard that made it big writing fanfiction levels of fantasy, can't blame him for his neckbeardiness showing through every once in awhile

[Anonymous No.16524545]

>>16517118
Identify yourself so I can filter you

[Anonymous No.16524554]

Wintersteel was good.

[Anonymous No.16524571]

>>16524512
This video makes me wonder if it's possible to say anything new or intelligent about video games, at least coming from these manchildren.
Here's a 17 minute long monologue that provides zero insights. The most vanilla of opinions. I literally feel dumber after watching it.

[Anonymous No.16524636]

>>16524571
Well, to Sanderson's credit (not words I ever thought I'd right) he does provide a clear bill of goods for absolute pleb normie taste.

I.E., just as Sanderson is the lowest common denominator for fantasy work he also has the most aggressively basic take on vidya I've heard in years. This guy is thirteen years older than I am and none of the interesting titles he lists were made before 2001. It's not even that he's a stupid guy, I think he's got a brain in him but he feels like a puerile consoomer simply because he forgets the old in favor of the new. Like, really, not Baldur's Gate 2? Not Fallout 2? Not KOTOR, not even anything interesting like Just Cause or one of these games that actually plays like one of his extended fight scenes?

No, fucking Civ VI. Not Alpha Centauri, Civ VI. Honestly this makes me want to drag this Mormon fuck out to an abandoned barn in Utah and just force him to read Scott Bakker and play Pathologic for six weeks. But that would spoil the magic, because the magic of Sanderson is that he emulates the feelgood emotional moments of anime people were watching on Adult Swim fifteen years ago and the action moments of Dragonball Z. Stormlight Archives could have been developed in a CIA blacksite as a tactical cultural weapon to gradually dissolve peoples' ability to discern quality from kitsch. It's incredible to watch.

[Anonymous No.16524668]

>>16524554
Yes, it was, fellow points sage.

[Anonymous No.16524692]

>>16524571
Presumably there is, but why would anyone expect a writer to know anything about vidya to begin with? I'm certainly not going to expect a video game designer to have insightful opinions on books.
But also it's fucking Sanderson.

[Anonymous No.16524701]

>>16524692
I actually asked Terry Goodkind at a panel if he played video games and he admitted to liking those top-down bullethell WWII fighter pilot games they used to have in arcades. Said the whole medium rots your brain though.

[Anonymous No.16524745]

>>16524692
Because in the most basic of comparisons, videogames also have characters, plot and writing. Writers are readers and usually somewhat educated people with unique world views who happen to know how to observe things and express ideas or arguments.
Why care for a random writer's opinions on religion if he's not a philosopher or a PhD in theology? Cioran is not exactly a musician but reading him talk about Bach is interesting.
Gibson didn't even own a computer and knew shit about technology* and he came up with a pretty decent world (* and some fags meme it as a negative when it actually speaks volumes about his creativity).

This is how genre fiction rots your brain. You're used to reading mediocre people with mediocre ideas who can only churn up new mediocre ideas inside a specific scope of mediocre concepts, and as long as everyone stays in their little comfort zone of allowed mediocre ideas, everyone will be content, as well as mediocre as fuck.

[Anonymous No.16524757]

>>16524745
I doubt the most ardent and knowledgeable video game consumers give praise based on the game's writing, if I'm honest. They're entirely separate mediums, how a game communicates its themes must be an entirely separate endeavor from how a novel would do so. Game design and novel writing are extremely disparate professions.
I'm sure some writers have interesting observations about other mediums, but I still wouldn't trust them to be experts just because they're a popular writer, and I wouldn't expect their recommendations to be any good just because I like their books.

[Anonymous No.16524797]

>>16524757
Who said anything about experts or being knowledgeable about the medium?
>They're entirely separate mediums
That may share writing, characters and plot. If you think some ARPG's dialogue, lore and story are entirely different from a novel you're just being disingenuous.
>Game design and novel writing are extremely disparate professions.
Game design is one aspect of a game. Some games are more closer to regular fiction or even films than others. It would be absolutely retarded to talk about games without acknowledging the obvious differences between something like Tetris, 2048, or Mario World, Bloodborne or Uncharted.

[Anonymous No.16524812]

>>16524797
>Who said anything about experts or being knowledgeable about the medium?
>why would anyone expect a writer to know anything about vidya to begin with?
Sorry, am I wrong to think that "knowledgeable" means "knowing about a subject"?
Less sarcastically, if you want to ask a writer for recommendations on the best written games, fine, fair enough. But that seems to me to be an inadequate benchmark. A game can have great writing and still be an unplayable mess, but a game with a great gameplay loop will be good regardless of what it's about. They're different mediums with different goals.

[Anonymous No.16524865]

>>16524812
>knowledgeable
See, here's where you're mistaken. I never said I was expecting Sanderson to provide better, obscure or unique game recs. I was expecting him to provide some interesting thought about those games he liked so much (and which he seems to have played a lot). Or anything original about the medium and its relationship to the 'end user' (I feel like Sanderson is such a hack he would refer to the readers of his novels as end users anyway).
But his 'reviews' are even more basic than an IGN game review. I've read film reviews written by a blind short story writer who never directed a film or wrote a film script or worked in the industry, and yet he had interesting things to say about the medium. That's the comparison I was aiming at. Video games and the sort of people they produce and cater to.

Why would any interesting insights about video games be exclusive to experts in video games? The insecure faggots spent years trying to convince Roger Ebert lmao.
At any rate, I thought (some) video games were supposed to be art and one of the main things about art is literally anyone can experience it and be made to feel or think things.
Your apparently narrower view is either peak autism (narrow sort of useful opinions from experts) or elitism. Which is dumb imo, because you're making it sound like it was rocket science or some inaccessible area of knowledge, when, as I've already explained, it shares many similitudes with more established forms of art and story telling.

[Anonymous No.16524887]

>>16524865
You're correct, I'm an elitist. I don't, however, think game design is rocket science, just that a writer who has spent no time researching it is going to do a very poor job talking about it. And that gameplay loops are to video games as prose is to novels, the heart and soul of what makes something great.

[Anonymous No.16524913]

>>16523895
Got a download link senpai?
I'd buy it if it wasn't DRMed. Fuck DRM.

[Anonymous No.16524964]

>>16524913
Nice excuse.

[Anonymous No.16525052]

>>16522503
[Spoiler]You're in luck, my dude. Hope you like Butters though[/spoiler]

[Anonymous No.16525102]

>>16523911
i assume eldest gruff was at the gate fighting off outsiders

where the fuck was the entire white council to fight off a titan? if harry can get to their hideout in like 30 minutes of walking through the never never, im sure they could have made it to chicago to help, not just having the 3 council guys there

also, wasnt it cristco the one they were setting up to be the badguy, or am i thinking of a different white council guy?

[Anonymous No.16525107]

>>16524480
>curse of monkey island
based
>FF10
not ff6? i cant give you a based for that

[Anonymous No.16525161]

>>16524512
>I don't like a Song of Ice and Fire because of Daenerys's story.
Well alright then.

[Anonymous No.16525185]

Someone give me a series to get my teeth into?

I tried locke lamora but can't stand the wanky dialogue, got halfway through the wheel of time but it just seems childish

[Anonymous No.16525223]

>>16524964
Don't particularly care if you believe me, but it's not an excuse. I'm not a poorfag and I'm all for supporting authors. But I'm not paying money just so I have to crack this shit to make it readable on my old pocketbook.
FUCK DRM

[Anonymous No.16525533]

>>16522933
>bloated
That's what I'm most worried about

[Anonymous No.16525548]

>>16525223
just buy it on your pocketbook lmfao you dummy

[Anonymous No.16525633]

Not sure how much I like this new cradle
This guy seems to be falling into the same issue all western fantasy authors run into, too many goddamn characters and POV’s and the ant protagonist learning things irrelevant to them

No where near enough bloat to slow the pacing down either ...

[Anonymous No.16525696]

>>16525633
The problem is with you. You can only like something for so long until you have to mentally discard it.

[Anonymous No.16525722]

lads, im 3/4 through fellowship of the rings, and i dont know if i can do it. its so boring, please tell me it picks up the pace

[Anonymous No.16525732]

I've been reading a lot of CS Lewis recently
Is it worth me, a 22 year old reading the Chronicles of Narnia? Is there anything deep in it or is it just for kids

[Anonymous No.16525740]

>>16525732
are you under some belief that an adult is too mature to ever learn anything that was created for children?

[Anonymous No.16525754]

>>16525740
Instead of sperging out why not just answer the question

[Anonymous No.16525771]

>>16525633
>thinking Cradle would be any good after Uncrowned
>complaining about pacing in a fucking xianxia

[Anonymous No.16525790]

>>16525754
They did answer. If you're seriously too fucking stupid to infer the obvious, seriously consider necking yourself.

[Anonymous No.16525794]

>>16520329
Ziggurat presents the psychotic break of narrator even if it is in third person. He kills his wife, son and one daughter and then shacks up with the other. The snow is indicative of his delusion and the space ship has a super low melting point- it would have burned up in the atmosphere like the snow that dissolves in the cup at the end, leaving much less water behind. He has his psychotic break when his wife is bitching at him and the tree snaps under the snow - crack! Then whenever snow covers his eyes he is deluding himself and demonizing wife and daughters as alien. https://pastebin.com/5urZT5qk?fbclid=IwAR36uaQFbmiVlOD5V9Ghhb-brKY8f23Ey-IDqByJ7lCDup6AqXLfnh8Y2oY

[Anonymous No.16525799]

>>16525790
>samefagging this hard
shameful

[Anonymous No.16525833]

>>16525799
>she doesent know how to check for samefag
oof, thats a yikes from me, dog

[Anonymous No.16525849]

>>16525754
>>>/v/

[Anonymous No.16525899]

What the fuck am I reading?

[Anonymous No.16525906]

>>16525899
if thats the same scott bakker who wrote the prince of nothing, i can only assume complete garbage

[Anonymous No.16525932]

>>16525633
Were coming up on the projected end of the series. Of course things are going a bit faster. That said it was still double the length of prior books.

[Anonymous No.16525951]

>>16525932
>end of series
lolno

[Anonymous No.16526057]

>>16525932
>coming up on the projected end of the series
>STILL six more books to go after this
guess who is wrong?

[Anonymous No.16526198]

>>16525899
I thought it was pretty entertaining.
Pretty GRI approved as one would expect of Bakker.

[Anonymous No.16526308]

Does the pussy bitch fuck the sword girl in wintersteel
If not I'm not reading

[Anonymous No.16526327]

>>16526308
No.

[Anonymous No.16526589]

>>16520873
The synopsis is pretty vague, but apparently its about the conflict between two great armies "made from the hearts and souls of America." I think the vagueness of the synopsis probably comes from the fact that Barker jumps from idea to idea like a chipmunk on meth. Its his greatest strength, as seen in Weaveworld; but its also his greatest weakness, as seen in Coldheart Canyon.

And yes, early Gothic fiction is comfy as fuck.

[Anonymous No.16527380]

>>16524913
https://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic.php?t=3879045

Check the sticky resources if that doesn't work. A lot of people who frequent this thread are aspie fuckwads.

[Anonymous No.16527405]

>>16525102
Eldest Gruff is summer, Winter fights at the Gate. My theory is Cristos will be shown later to have done some things during the battle that sets up the Black Council in a better position. Like he isn't the bad guy, just part of their group.

[Anonymous No.16527409]

>>16516220
Howard Browne's Tharn is some good action cavecore. What are some other good cavecore settings?

[Anonymous No.16528004]

>look at flicker scions on poe.ninja
>they don't even have raider nodes
What the fuck?
Is Farrul's really enough to sustain frenzies?

[Anonymous No.16528097]

>>16525102
yeah, cristos was supposed to be black council. it's weird that he was the one who died in this fight. Rudolph was also really clearly supposed to affected by Nemesis and that kind of got dropped

Also, am I the only one who things Butcher dropped the ball with Bonea? Skin Games made it pretty damn explicit that Harry saw her as his daughter but she gets mentioned like twice in two books and Harry doesn't seem to see her as anything other than a compromising piece of furniture.

[Anonymous No.16528166]

>>16525794
M-Marc? Is that you?

[Anonymous No.16528274]

>>16528166
Only way to know for sure is to ask questions only Marc could answer ...

[Anonymous No.16528491]

Reminder: Soap Opera Fantasy is awful.

[Anonymous No.16528596]

>>16528491
Examples?

[Anonymous No.16528677]

>>16525794
Very interesting read. I also subscribe to the maximum delusion theory for The Ziggurat's MC.

[Anonymous No.16528750]

>>16526308
It’s YA they don’t fuck in YA. They do finally kiss though.

[Anonymous No.16528893]

[Anonymous No.16528949]

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/

I never realized that Watts wrote this.

[Anonymous No.16529142]

accidentally read all of Novik's new book (A Deadly Education) in a single day after not finishing anything in ages lol
Wasn't until I finished it that I remembered that she wrote all of those napoleonic dragons books as well as uprooted.

It was a fun read although it lies to you about how dark it actually is so although I wouldn't class it as YA it's a lot closer to it than initially implied. All of the deaths are either offscreen or of pretty incidental characters.
What saves it is the character setup where the protag has believable neuroses and interesting limitations on her magic powers. If anything the book goes downhill as she resolves some of her social issues.

If nothing else it was nice to read a book where the magic users are just actual wizards instead of some "unique" magic system that just feels like a copy of anime.

[Anonymous No.16529144]

>>16525899
try his short story crash space, you can get it free online

[Anonymous No.16529154]

>>16525932
>>16525951
isn't the whole point of xianxia that it basically never ends

[Anonymous No.16529260]

>>16529142
I recall her other stuff as being a might twee -- is this better? I don't need grimdark, just less precious.

[Anonymous No.16529267]

>>16529260
*mite

[Anonymous No.16529319]

Can you reddit fucks stop saying tha E William Brown has a 9-5? he quit his job and is now a "full time author" stop spreading misinformation, you stupid fucks.

[Anonymous No.16529339]

>>16529260
I'd say it's still twee, the mother character (not present for the book's events but talked about a lot) is an incredibly over the top free spirit type as a deliberate contrast to the protag who everyone hates.
Outside of her that's still Novik's general approach for lighter moments. For example the big early gag is that the main character wants a spell to clean her room but keeps getting given ones to cleanse it with fire or enslave people to do it for her because of her affinity for destructive magic.

[Anony No.16529368]

>>16529319
>so obsessed
maybe go for a walk outside anon

[Anonymous No.16529561]

>>16529368
I can't. The chinks might knock me up with a bat flu.

[Anonymous No.16529578]

>>16529561
Stop being fat and you won't have to worry about it.

[Anonymous No.16529634]

>Crossdressing costumes Discord
What do you mean by this? I used to CD and I was uber cute.

[Anonymous No.16529908]

>reading a book on Kindle for PC
>reading a different book on my actual Kindle when I lay down in bed
:V

[Anony No.16530038]

>>16529561
if you dive deeper into your inceldom then the virus becomes a hoax and you can go outside without a mask

[Anony No.16530045]

>>16529908
I pretty much always read more than one book at a time.

[Anonymous No.16530091]

>>16528596
A Farce of Lice and Bile.

[Anonymous No.16530109]

>>16527409
>tfw want to read stone age S&S with lots of horror thrown in and there really isn't any

[Anonymous No.16530374]

>>16530109
have you been watching Primal?

[Anonymous No.16530450]

>>16530109
why did they make that cave THOT so voluptuous

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » No.16530480]

>>16530450
Comic book artists take life drawing and playboy magazine for their models and never learn any other way to draw people

[Anonymous No.16530577]

>>16530480
seething landwhale sighted, starboard ho!

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » No.16530634]

>>16530577
Who’s seething?

[Anonymous No.16530652]

Which writers are similar to Gene Wolfe and Jack Vance, where they leave a lot of mystery and fantasy in their scifi? I like that they take a "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" approach. They don't try to explain how anything works and that leads them to make things up that are much more imaginative than what other writers would. Is this "science fantasy"?

[Anonymous No.16531108]

>>16530652
Schuyler Hernstrom

[Anonymous No.16531114]

>>16522780
>he made Piper fucking gay
Jesus fucking Christ, why?
Wasn't Nico enough?
A fucking Cherokee lesbian? Is Annabeth going to be a black tranny in the live action?

[Anonymous No.16531150]

>>16522626
https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Heavy-Metal-Complete-Boxed-ebook/dp/B089P37QK9
>NOTE:There may or may not be gratuitous sex in this book. Or it might actually play into a later book with funny talk about men vs. women's abilities and capabilities. There is ABSOLUTELY cursing in this book. LOTS of upset cursing, cursing out of anger, fear, and other emotional issues related to carnivorous alien flora or fauna eating humans who don’t say ‘darn.’ LOTS of gratuitous cursing just because the author finds it funny, too. There is death and sadness...and more death. In fact, it’s a blender of blood out in the ZOO. Man vs. alien nature seems to justify ugly results. Plus, people have emotional hang-ups. Expect to smile, laugh, cry, and perhaps have a spate of jealousy or two. Further, there might be explicit sex, thank-you sex, and you're welcome sex. Finally, there is no Coke in the ZOO. That is probably the worst and most offensive trait in these stories. This is Michael Todd, and I approve of the shenanigans pulled in ZOO stories.

Godspeed.

[Anonymous No.16531181]

>>16530652
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

[Anonymous No.16531197]

What is a good website to visit to read up on new monthly releases? A title and a few sentences are all I'm looking for, nothing fancy.

[Anonymous No.16531218]

>>16531197
tor.com

[Peter F Hamilton No.16531502]

Which Hamilton series should I read? Commonwealth or Night's Dawn?

I read Great North Road and liked it - particularly the mystery and the well done ending.

[Anonymous No.16532101]

I didn't expect to touch Heinlein again after attempting Stranger in a Strange Land, but I picked this up on a whim and it was pretty good. I wasn't aware just how influential this book was, it becomes apparently pretty quickly that as a well of influence it has been drawn from often and deeply.

Definitely worth a read

[Anonymous No.16532250]

>>16529154
Yea
The cradle series is like 200 chapters in on a bad web novel series that has introduced too many people along with too many plots

Hasn’t even left his home planet yet

[Anonymous No.16532288]

>>16531197
tor used to be but they've gotten really sloppy this year (missed august and might be missing october as well, mislisted a bunch of books)
locus mag has a constant list but there's no details so you have to go read up the blurbs yourself

[Anonymous No.16532300]

Whats some good coomer Sci-fi?
Ive already read The Man Who Folded Himself, and I wouldnt mind reading some non gay commer stuff

[Anonymous No.16532325]

What’s some good middle eastern fantasy aside from Arabian Nights?

[Anonymous No.16532415]

>>16532300
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Sail_Beyond_the_Sunset

[Anonymous No.16532418]

>>16518241
>Clive Barker
This dude is the most degenerate freak I've ever read.

[Anonymous No.16532445]

>>16532415
Man, Heinlein really went off the deep end in his later years.

[Anonymous No.16532470]

>>16532325
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

[Anonymous No.16532579]

>>16532445
His whackaddodle shit was always there, he just stopped giving a fuck.

[Anonymous No.16532615]

>>16516289
Boku no Dhalgren

[Anonymous No.16532823]

>>16516289
literally all of them, grow up you fucking nerd

[Anonymous No.16532891]

>amerikkkan just won the nobel
>still acting like literary merit exists

[Anonymous No.16532928]

>>16532891
seethe, europoo

[Anonymous No.16532945]

>>16519525
>reading SF for characters
Doing it wrong imo. Why don't jut read gerular fiction? Genre fiction is designed to scratch a different itch.

[Anonymous No.16532954]

>>16519525
Only Japan makes character-based sci-fi.

[Anonymous No.16532982]

>>16522426
>Something not too out there
What did you mean by that?

[Anonymous No.16533012]

>>16532415
>The book is a memoir of Maureen Johnson Smith Long, mother, lover, and eventual wife of Lazarus Long.
>mother
>lover
>and wife
Oh yes, just what I wanted to see

[Anonymous No.16533030]

>>16533012
Read the rest of the description.

[Anonymous No.16533066]

>>16528491
Soap Opera 'SF' is even worse.

[Anonymous No.16533079]

>>16529634
Then you'll be right at home on Discord :3

[Anonymous No.16533080]

>>16533030
>Additionally, she continues a lifelong pursuit of her father sexually, encourages her husband to have sexual intercourse with their daughters, and accompanies him when he does
OH GOD

[None !SFFG.n1h7M No.16533436]

I was irrationally upset when I wrote this the day before and thought I'd want to change it, but apparently not.

The Three-Body Problem - Liu Cixin, translated by Ken Liu, Remembrance of Earth's Past #1 (2014)

I almost didn't finish this multiple times. During the reading I found there to be much that was disagreeable and unenjoyable on all levels. After I had finished and began to think about what I had read and started to write this, it changed to anger. I haven't been this angry from reading a book in many years and it wasn't even an enjoyable kind of anger.
The characters are all awful, the prose was disagreeable, the plot was bothersome, the various thought experiments didn't interest me, and there was an excessive amount of scientific infodumping. The Three-Body game is literally a propaganda ARG (Alternate Reality Game) . The one thing that I cannot forgive is seeing humanity as irredeemable and needing to be saved by an external power greater than ourselves, which in this case, as in some other books I've read, aliens . Just as bad, if not worse, is having the solution be that humanity must go extinct because it's what we deserve. To me the thought experiments were basically "paranormal hard sci-fi", which may well be a oxymoron though what I mean by it is that they are so ridiculous in that to seriously entertain them would be an exercise in madness, similar to serious discussion and sincere belief in Roko's Basilisk. I deplore the idea of pan-species communism. Everything about the ETO is terrible.
Despite the declarations about the quality of the second book, it's very unlikely that I would enjoy it so it's equally unlikely that I will ever read it. Based on where it seems to be go, I also have no interest in that either. It's not my sort of bleakness. At this point, I think saying anything about awards is redundant. Awards of recent years certainly don't seem to be a helpful heuristic for me anyway. It's something I'll have to look into more.
My disappointment is immense, but not unexpected.

Rating: 2/5

[Anonymous No.16533513]

>>16533436
>The one thing that I cannot forgive is seeing humanity as irredeemable
Funny seething pleb HFY fag

[Anonymous No.16533530]

>>16533436
>The one thing that I cannot forgive is seeing humanity as irredeemable
You're an idiot. What exactly is redeemable about humanity? How much suffering and misery does this species need to cause (both to other life and itself) before it becomes irredeemable to you? Because the current amount is somewhere near infinity.

[Anonymous No.16533617]

>>16533436
>>16533530
The religious doctrine that humanity can only be saved by god is at least honest about the absolute depth of human depravity.

[Anonymous No.16533683]

>>16516220

Any recs for westerns?
I really liked the first Dark Tower book, but maybe it stands as a testament to the declining quality of the series that I read up to 4 but I cant remember anything past 2.

[Anonymous No.16533866]

Any fantasy books with lots of sex?

[Anonymous No.16533979]

>>16533866
R. Scuck Blacker - The Dark Semen That Cums Before

[Anonymous No.16534548]

>>16528097
Rudolph wasn't affected by Nemesis, he's just an asshole.

[Anonymous No.16534572]

Just finished pic related, it was actually decent.

[Anonymous No.16534580]

>>16534572
Is it as generic as the cover makes it seem like?

[Anonymous No.16534590]

>>16534572
>very last Shannara book comes out this month

[Anonymous No.16534621]

>>16534572
>elfstone
Is this something like a kidney stone?

[Anonymous No.16534705]

>>16534580
The first book The Sword of Shannara was, since it derived heavily off of the Lord of the Rings series. Sadly most people just read the first book and get turned off by the series, assuming that it's another lotr knockoff.

>>16534590
Damn, I just realized that also. The series has gone a long was hasn't it?

>>16534621
It's a type of talisman that can only be used by elfs of a person with elven blood.

[Anonymous No.16534715]

>>16534705
*or a person with elven blood

[Anonymous No.16534722]

>>16518281
How are you fully English and you've made like 15 errors in your 30 word post?

[Anonymous No.16534741]

>>16517663

He has plenty in Latro, LS and SS, and a few passages like that in WK. You're incorrect.

[Anonymous No.16534747]

>>16534705
40 years apparently.

[Anonymous No.16534751]

>>16534722
Perhaps
>fully English
means
>"Asian" migrant

[Anonymous No.16534780]

>>16518313
Little, Big by Crowley is a very beautiful book.

[Anonymous No.16534795]

>>16518313
The Lo.....r.....of..... th............. ng.......

[Anonymous No.16534811]

>>16533683
I've been on a western kick lately. What kind of westerns are you looking for? Specific fantasy-westerns? Just generally good westerns?

[Anonymous No.16534828]

>>16522893
You can stop in the middle it literally doesn't matter. I stopped around book 8 or so with no regrets.

[Anonymous No.16534983]

>>16533683
The Jerusalem Man trilogy by David Gemmell is very similar (and very superior) to Dark Tower.

[Anonymous No.16535001]

>>16532891
STINKY CHINKY

[Anonymous No.16535225]

>>16533683
Red Country by Abercrombie. It's part of the First Law universe, but it's a standalone novel.

[Anonymous No.16535374]

>>16534811
yeah, traditional western, fantasy, whatever punk, I'm in the mood for it as long as its good

>>16535225
I remember reading that, it was very...italian

[None !SFFG.n1h7M No.16535448]

>>16533530
>What exactly is redeemable about humanity?
Nothing, because nothing needs to redeemed as I reject it entirely as a false dichotomy.

>before it becomes irredeemable to you
Not possible because of the above.

>>16533617
It's also irrelevant.

>>16533513
HFY is silly in a different way.

[Anonymous No.16535644]

>>16527409
https://prehistoricfiction.miraheze.org/wiki/Prehistoric_Fiction_Wiki
Please use my shitty wiki

[Anonymous No.16535881]

started reading A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny yesterday and it's short and great. thank you guys for recommending it often in previous threads.

[Anonymous No.16535903]

>>16535881
Zelazny is a legend. Is it your first book from him?

[Anonymous No.16535940]

>>16535374
Lonesome Dove is about 800 pages long, but damn it's good. It's about these two retired cowboy friends in the 1870s who decide to go on one last adventure together after they heard that there's a little bit of land left in Montana, so they decide to take a cattle drive up there and start a ranch. Like I said, it's long and kind of slow in some places, but its really comfy.

I'd also recommend Cold Mountain. It's kind of like the Odyssey, but instead of taking place in ancient times it takes place in the 1860s in America during the Civil War; it's about a soldier who flees from the battle of Gettysburg and is trying to find his way back home to his wife who's trying to run the family estate by herself, and on the way he encounters a ton of different characters like slaves, other defectors, and even witches at one point.

[Anonymous No.16536015]

>>16533866
Anita Blake
Kushiel

[Anonymous No.16536201]

>>16535903
nah, read Lord of Light some time before.
really loved the beginning, with the 'prayer machine' and stuff. was kinda disappointed when things got explained bit by bit, took away from the setting I think. still a nice book, just went from "fuck, this shit is awesome" to "nice story".

[Anonymous No.16536229]

Any well written science fiction which features the "ancient alien" hypothesis? Something like our prehistory being the backdrop of the story/setting?

[Anonymous No.16536242]

>>16536201
check this immortal

[Anonymous No.16536275]

>>16536242
will do, thanks

[Anonymous No.16536323]

>>16534795
The Lorofthng?

[Anonymous No.16536614]

>>16533436
>book is poorly written just because it doesn't align with my sensibilities
What a shallow "criticism". Why do you keep bothering writing these stupid reviews anyway? They're always reddit-tier takes.

[Anonymous No.16536757]

I'd do long reviews just to steal his gimmick but I cba putting more effort into my thoughts than this >>16529142

[Anonymous No.16536769]

I've got a request similar to >>16516604, but for sci-fi or space opera. Yes, I've already read Blindopraxia and enjoyed it. Though what I'm asking for doesn't even have to be as hard or as 'mindfuck'y. I've also tried Dhalgren and couldn't get into it, though I'm open to suggestions of other works by Delaney, if they fit my request more. Basically, what I want is sci-fi/scince fantasy/space opera which is similar to Scott Bakker's books or Berserk manga - yet, preferrably, has a focused plot that doesn't get bogged down with filler and repetition, and some intriguing characters. Cosmic horror, existential horror, even some degree of edginess, a sense of tragedy and hopelessness despite rare heartwarming moments. I once got recommended Vorkosigan Saga as 'an edgy space opera', and it turned out a huge disappointment - seemed like glorified chick lit, could barely get through the first book without dying from cringe. People also sometimes suggest I get into WH, but while it has some fun memes, this universe is jut too derivative and stale, though I dig the 'gothic' feel.
As a side note I really liked the hard sci-fi take on vampires. Are there any examples of writers doing something similar with other mythological/supernatural/religious concepts (besides the obvious Lord of Light)?

[Anonymous No.16536795]

>>16536614
I didn't say it was poorly written or necessarily poorly translated. I keep bothering because I feel like, no other reason. They aren't intended to be anything other than I how felt about it. I don't have any interest in doing textual analysis of what I've reading. Doesn't align with my sensibilities may cause less enjoyment, certainly, but that doesn't make it worse written. You don't have to read them and they can be easily filtered.

>>16536757
I encourage you to do so.

[Anonymous No.16536854]

>>16536229
Giants series.

[Anonymous No.16536897]

>>16533683
The six gun tarot

[Anonymous No.16536912]

>>16534722
I was sleepy when I posted, didn't even notice what I typed.

[Anonymous No.16536949]

Choice of magic audio book 2 is coming out Tuesday.

[Anonymous No.16537023]

Is there any good scifi or fantasy where the protagonist has a slave and actually treats the slave as such?

[Anonymous No.16537038]

>>16516289
How do you define literary merit

[Anonymous No.16537088]

>>16537023
>good

[Anonymous No.16537141]

>>16537023
Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand
probably not what a typical incel coomer is looking for in his slave fiction, be warned

[Anonymous No.16537153]

>>16537023
There are various light novels that do this.

[Anonymous No.16537186]

>>16537153
>>16537141
>>16537088

I should probably clarify, I'm not really looking for erotica. I was just thinking that usually when a protagonist comes across a slave, he's usually benevolent or even paternalistic towards him/her (think Shield Hero and Raphtalia). Just looking for stories where the protagonist doesn't act like that.

[Anonymous No.16537774]

>>16537023
Lightbringer. Andross treats his slave like he is trash.

[Anonymous No.16538034]

Forgive this one, great monarch.

[Anonymous No.16538185]

>>16538034
CHADrelius, I kneel...

[Anonymous No.16538248]

>>16538185
Cut off your feet, cripple your core, and beg forgiveness and I may spare your family.

[Anonymous No.16538363]

>>16538248
Said the copper to a rabbit.

[Anonymous No.16538482]

>>16537023
If you're willing to go with speculative fiction (I think that's what the gays who care about categorizing books call it) there's Imperial Governor by George Shipway has a lot of accurately portrayed slavery. I presume all honest books about rome will have a lot of that.

[Anonymous No.16538550]

What are some books with no human characters?

[Anonymous No.16538624]

>>16538550
BIRD
BOI

[Anonymous No.16538642]

>>16538550
17776 Football

https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football

[Anony No.16538809]

>>16538550
The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells

[Anonymous No.16538844]

>>16538550
Redwall

[Anonymous No.16539608]

>>16538550
The beginning after the end.
Since we all know that chinks aren't human.

[Anonymous No.16539631]

>>16516289
Can't believe no one's said this yet, but Book of the New Sun

[Anonymous No.16539651]

>>16539631
>Can't believe no one's said this yet
The thread is dead and it's like the second or third time a similar question has been asked here.

[Anonymous No.16539659]

>>16524554
Wintersteel was great, a welcome surprise after the disappointment that was Uncrowned.
In similar news Battleground was fairly mediocre, only slightly more interesting than Peace Talks, which was trash. At least Murphy is dead now.

[Anonymous No.16539844]

Sffg is kill. Press f

[Anony No.16540406]

I started listening to the Eye of the World audiobook while I do other shit. Since it's such an easy book it's sort of ok if I miss a little bit while not paying full attention. WoT is trite but comfy. I know I'll have to start skipping entire chapters in later books.

[Anonymous No.16540488]

Any fantasy novels about a guy adopting a kid and teaching them?

[Anonymous No.16540524]

>>16540488
Book of the New Sun, little twerp even shares his name.

[Anonymous No.16540782]

>>16540488
Want something close to home?
You adopted a kid and you're teaching them to shitpost, huh?

[Anonymous No.16540794]

>>16540488
Mistborn.

[Anonymous No.16540934]

>>16540406
What a mockery.

[Anonymous No.16540968]

Wheel of Time review from Amazon Japan (machine translated):
>It's an epic visionary work that you won't find in Japan.
>The writing is good and the setting is good.
>However, I think it will be treated as a light novel in Japan.
>In fact, LORD OF THE RINGS was also treated as a light novel type work.
>Fantasy is a branch of literature in other countries.
>In Japan, we tend to view fantasy as ridiculous.
>So the author of this series, ROBERT JORDAN, is not well known in Japan.
>Don't you think that's a pity?
>You don't know any of the world's best-selling authors.
>The Japanese translation is also available from Hayakawa Shobo, so why not give it a try?
>However, the Japanese translation is quite quirky, so I'd best proceed to enjoy the original book.
>The book is about 800 pages long, but it is not long at all.
>On the contrary, I don't think the careful storytelling will bore you.
>It starts off a little slow, but I am sure that you will be drawn into the various mysteries right away.
>If you are a fan of fantasy, this is a good game for you to learn English.

[Anonymous No.16541050]

>>16540782
What?

[Anonymous No.16541165]

To the music Argentinean anon friend from a few months ago with the qt Japanese wife. Did you give her a mating press and tell her it's from anon?

[Anonymous No.16541313]

>>16518241
>>16532418
I read Weaveworld's synopsis. Seems pretty normal to me, what's so degenerate about it? I don't mind spoilers.