/sffg/ - Science Fiction & Fantasy General

[Anonymous No.23649631]

>Recommended reading charts. (Look here before asking for vague recs)
https://mega.nz/folder/kj5hWI6J#0cyw0-ZdvZKOJW3fPI6RfQ/folder/4rAmSZxb
>Archive
>>/lit/?task=search2&search_subject=sffg
>Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1029811-sffg

Previous Thread: >>23639576

[Anonymous No.23649669]

>>23649567
thanks friend. i'll also mention the other first contact things i've read, they are both very good and interesting. the first one maybe it's not for everyone

his master's voice
Story of your life

[Anonymous No.23649676]

>>23649631
I want to read a fairy tale, anons. Share your favorites with me.

[Anonymous No.23649678]

[Anonymous No.23649758]

Any of you guys know good sci-fi where it's about or at least features a lone operator doing behind enemy lines wet works kind of shit instead of the usual huge fleets having massive battles and such?

[Anonymous No.23649823]

Lord Fifth is here, making the fifth post, now all your posts are belong to me!

[Anonymous No.23649877]

>>23649631
Xianxia recommendations and mentions from last 2 threads:
>>23629826
>>23632882
>>23633837
>>23634364
>>23635588
>>23635692
>>23638938
>>23638995
>>23641550
>>23642417
>>23644388
>>23645788
>>23646959 (Eternal Sacred King)
>>23648445 (Martial Peak)

[Anonymous No.23649889]

>>23649877
Thanks for the post but just because you reposted all those recs doesn't mean we are not going to talk about xanxia in this thread.

[Anonymous No.23649891]

>>23649889
Yeah, it's for the people who actually read, not you.

[Anonymous No.23649892]

>>23649758
Warhammer stuff about assassins, maybe.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60705777-assassinorum

[Anonymous No.23649909]

>>23649892
I'm happy they added female custodes, if only to signal to retarded chuds that they aren't welcome.

[Anonymous No.23649915]

any anons got good Golden Age Sci-Fi recs that aren't Hugo Award winners or well known works like Foundation/City/Childhood's End/Heinlein Juveniles?

[Anonymous No.23649919]

>>23649915
>Golden Age Sci-Fi
I, Rocket

[Anonymous No.23649948]

>>23649915
99% of this thread doesn't read anything that did not receive some award or was not by a bestselling author.

[Anonymous No.23649968]

malazan feels like a daunting read. i'm hesitant to start it. why shouldn't i be, anons?

[Anonymous No.23649982]

I have won again, Lews Therin.

[Anonymous No.23650012]

>>23649631
First for read The Belgariad
>>23647773
Same, Pol is Top 5 fantasy mom/aunt/tutor for me
>but her standalone book was kind of shite. at that point Eddings was really just coasting on the whole Prophecy handwave
Pretty much everything they wrote after The Tamuli was a cashgrab, every character in The Dreamers acted like Silk lol

[Anonymous No.23650042]

>>23649948
fucking pseuds even about their own genre.

>>23649919
ah now there's one that wasn't in that big gigantic bradbury collection. coolio.

[Anonymous No.23650059]

>>23649915
The Demolished Man

[Anonymous No.23650065]

>>23649758
Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
>>23649915
Fury by henry Kuttner
The Heads of Cerberus, Claimed! and Citadel of Fear by Francis Stevens
I'm sure you will find at least 1 (one) book you haven't heard of in one of these lists
https://reactormag.com/who-are-the-forgotten-greats-of-science-fiction/
https://www.hilobrow.com/golden-age-sci-fi/
https://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_50s.asp
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/79807.Best_Fantasy_of_the_40s
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/the-best-lesser-known-golden-age-science-fiction-books/
>>23650059
>that aren't Hugo Award winners
>Demolished man
Haha

[Anonymous No.23650071]

>>23650065
>implying i know what did or didn't win a Hugo

[Anonymous No.23650085]

Books like Proust's In Search of Lost Time?

[Anonymous No.23650095]

>>23649676
The Golden Key by George MacDonald. It's not a fairy tale per se, but it reads like one and I liked it a lot.

[Anonymous No.23650142]

>this book has an average score of 4.19 on Goodreads
>4,884 ratings
>334 reviews
>4.4 on Amazon with 5,848 ratings

[Anonymous No.23650149]

>>23650142
a lot of people like it? then that means it's good!!

[Anonymous No.23650166]

>>23650149
I KEEP GETTING BAITED AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Anonymous No.23650179]

>>23650142
...
And? Please tell me you have a complaint that isn't just "MUH CLUMSY PROSE". It's 2024.

[Anonymous No.23650185]

>>23650179
No, you're actually right. It's the fact that stuff is happening in the story and THE FUCKING AUDIENCE DOESN'T KNOW WHY THE PROTAGONIST IS DOING SO AND WHY. He's not struggling. He apparently has everything under control. Worse yet, he's the perfect person for the position he's in.

[Anonymous No.23650203]

>>23650142
When you know the audience is retarded so you just go through the motions without a care in the world as to whether or not it reads well. Also
>Endless Forest
>Endless Forest
kek If I gave enough of a crap I could write a passage about a cat stealing a frozen fish that was left out to thaw sound more interesting.

[Anonymous No.23650222]

>>23650065
Kuttner's been on my radar forever. Francis Stevens I haven't heard of.

Thanks fren.

[Anonymous No.23650353]

any grimdark with decent prose?

[Anonymous No.23650391]

>>23650353
The Road

[Anonymous No.23650404]

>>23650391
read it

[Anonymous No.23650627]

>>23649631
in the books, whats the sense of the tech level of aSoIaF? I know armor wise the show gives stuff all the way into the 1500s.

Like, I know in Tolkien that its mostly all about mail and stuff, but is Game of thrones a little more consistantly 1300s ish, or is it pretty vague too?

[Anonymous No.23650672]

>>23650627
I can't remember there being any particular attention paid to the types of armor used aside from a few parts featuring a specific character, and even then it was quite vague.

[Anonymous No.23651019]

Uhhh wtf? When I click it it just says "this page does not exist"

[Anonymous No.23651034]

>>23651019
if you think that's a blunder, wait until some newspaper accidentally prints their pre-planned obituary for Martin

[Anonymous No.23651052]

>>23651034
What are you insinuating? That the book is finished and they're just waiting for him to die or something?
If anybody else has the Kindle app and is following him did they send that dead link to everyone?

[Anonymous No.23651078]

>>23650353
Karl Edward Wagner's Kane stories

[Anonymous No.23651101]

FUCK he is good. I know you hate him because he is a commie but FUCK his books are good.

[Anonymous No.23651190]

>>23651101
why is he named China

is it his parents being hippies like American McGee’s or did he rename himself that

[Anonymous No.23651207]

>>23651190
>His parents chose his first name, China, from a dictionary, looking for a beautiful name.
I honestly thought he picked the name himself later because he's a commie.

[Anonymous No.23651216]

>>23651207
So, he became a commie because of parents.

[Anonymous No.23651233]

>>23650627
The tech levels vary by region and there's a sense that at one point technology was either more advanced or magic filled in the gaps. Westeros has late medieval technology with windmills and armored knights, the biggest meaningful anachronism is medical technology is much more advanced than in real life. You have maesters who understand germ theory and anesthesia. Essos is much more of a mixed bag. It feels at times like a dying remnant of a bronze age rump state to just Continental Europe. Military technology seems to not be as advanced as Westeros, at least in terms of individual combatants.

Architecture specifically has some outstanding examples that are more grandiose than equivalent time periods, certainly in England. The Wall is the most obvious one, but that explicitly had some magic in its building. Harrenhal I also feel is more advanced than should be possible, but its also just able to exist as a grotesquely large edifice of slave labor.

[Anonymous No.23651279]

>>23650353
>grimdark
>decent prose
ENTER

[Anonymous No.23651289]

>>23650627
Armor-wise it's pretty late medieval. Full suits of articulated plate aren't that uncommon, but the average soldier still wears either mail or "boiled leather". I'm wondering what book GRRM read about "boiled leather" in, because the term is a misnomer for the type of armor it describes, and it also wasn't really used that often (we have barely any historical or archaeological evidence for its use).

We actually do not get a lot of information about architecture beyond the construction of massive stone castles. Stone castles in our world started being built in earnest in the high medieval period (so between 1000 AD and 1300 AD roughly). But these castles would be considered poor, dowdy things by Westerosi standards. Actual medieval castles were fairly simple in design and rather bare bones in their amenities. They were primarily built (at great expense) for military purposes.

By comparison the castles of Westeros vary from "small" castles which are of-size with normal castles from our own medieval period, and then you have the massive, sprawling, scientifically advanced and magically imbued castles of the great houses. Winterfell alone is a marvel due to its sheer size, incorporation of indoor plumbing, and the presence of a massive green house within its walls. Such a castle would never have been built in the medieval period of our world, and even early modern European nobility would've beggared themselves to build anything like it. To make it even more anomalous: Winterfell, plumbing and green house and all, is thousands of years old. Its amenities are apparently lost technology because we see them nowhere else in Westeros. There's really nothing like it from our world. The other great fortresses are less improbable but still anachronistic for the late medieval period suggested by other elements.

[Anonymous No.23651295]

>>23651101
Perdido Street Station was amazingly bad and I don't mind his politics in the slightest. It's just a very poorly written book.

[Anonymous No.23651307]

>>23650627
Like many would-be medievalists, GRRM can't help but portray a fusion of late medieval and early modern thinking it is the height of the middle ages.

[Anonymous No.23651330]

>>23651289
>I'm wondering what book GRRM read about "boiled leather" in,
D&D player's handbook

[Anonymous No.23651343]

>>23651307
>>23651295
>>23651330
i forget GRRM was a teen during marvel and dc’s heyday and genuinely saw their comics as an inspiration for his own writing

[Anonymous No.23651399]

>>23650012
Is that DALL-E3? I really like the fantasy clothing/gear you can get out of that, I still can't get local gens to look half as good.

[Anonymous No.23651400]

>>23651295
How so?

[Anonymous No.23651422]

>>23651400
Why is bug girl?
Why is the wingless faggot?
Why are cactus niggers?
Why is junkyard trash?
Why is mayor?
Why is weaver?
Why is newspaper?
Why is torque?

The book relentlessly wastes your time on "worldbuilding", but the entirety of "worldbuilding" is just mentions of shit about the city that is
>oh sooooo sick
>oh sooooo dangerous
>oh sooooo fucked
>oh and also muh social commentray
but ultimately either means nothing whatsoever or helps/hinders the plot in an incredibly minor way, while the plot itself is rather dumb even for a YA book
>some shit buggers got loose
>a retard runs extermination of them because he needs to do that since otherwise the plot would not have a protagonist

And every time the plot moves forward, in only does so through ungodly messy and ugly action sequences.

If China just wanted to wank to his Eberron homebrew he should've just dropped a collection of short stories showcasing his ebin magical steampunk city. Instead it's all mangled across a plot that gets in the way of atmosphere, and itself gets in the way of plot.

Also none of the characters are even remotely likeable.

[Anonymous No.23651427]

>>23651101
He's great, but he also pretty much burned all his bridges when it comes to writing fiction. Seems to prefer politics.

[Anonymous No.23651450]

>>23650185
That's literally every protagonist. All of have reality mold them into the exact form needed for the story to appear

[Anonymous No.23651486]

Just finished picrel.I love this series. Is there anything comparable?

[Anonymous No.23651489]

Is the
>TITLE: SUBTITLE
format off-putting, in your opinion? I'd like to make a script+storyboard for animations and would prefer to signal to the viewer that they're set in the same world/mythology, but I wonder if it's even proper to use that sort of convention. I do remember many fantasy books getting Forgotten Realms etc plastered all over it. lol That was more like a brand.

I know this isn't strictly literature, but I'm looking for some real insight, so other boards won't do.

[Anonymous No.23651563]

Again if your mc can't destroy a planet with a wave of his hand then it's not fantasy

[Anonymous No.23651570]

>>23651101
>commie
He's an idpol shitheel like most avowed "commies". If you bother to look up his outspoken viewpoints his marxism end where his racial grifting begins.

[Anonymous No.23651707]

this was pretty bland and i don't know why it's on every recommendation list

[Anonymous No.23651946]

What's some good DARK fantasy? I read black company and gardens of the moon and I found they weren't dour enough for my liking.

[Anonymous No.23651962]

>>23651946
First Law

[Anonymous No.23652020]

>>23651489
Yeah, it's pretty off-putting to me. Maybe it's a bit too wordy but I prefer the Title (below) A story/chapter/adventure of Land/Kingdom/Place, although that would work for a more fantasy style story. I guess Title: Subtitle, if you keep it short, works better for something sci-fi.

[Anonymous No.23652050]

>>23651946
Throne of Bones

[Anonymous No.23652094]

>>23651422
Perdido Street Station precedes Eberron. I was at the GenCon panel where it was announced it was the winning campaign setting from the preceding search.

[Anonymous No.23652106]

>>23651707
/sffg/ opinions are very mixed on it, tending towards disliking it.

[Anonymous No.23652123]

>>23651946
Sounds like you want less dark fantasy and more misery tourism mudcore shit.

[Anonymous No.23652160]

>>23649948
>pick random sci-fi author and a random book
>it's mid
>keep doing this
>it keeps happening
If you have infinite time to check all the books that didn't sell, then let us know what they are

[Anonymous No.23652181]

Interesting book, but felt like the concept was not taken to its logical conclusions. Le Guin clearly wanted to make political points rather than go further with her concept and the entire narrative suffers for it.

Definitely preferred her writing style for Earthsea

[Anonymous No.23652219]

>>23652181

[Anonymous No.23652245]

>>23652219
Yeah this part is hilarious because Ged is clearly a white European seafarer and everyone imagined him as white. Then they made him white in the Ghibli adaptation too lmao

Brown people have a completely different approach to storytelling because of their cultures and genetics

[Anonymous No.23652265]

Sanderons one-shot stories are way better than when he tries to piece together a complex narrative across 3+ books.

[Anonymous No.23652286]

>>23649631
New poster. Small question. Can someone separate these into gay rape AND incest? Got it from the Recommended reading charts in the OP.

[Anonymous No.23652291]

>>23652219
>It's in this sense that A Wizard was perfectly conventional.
So she wrote them as if they were European, based them on European tradition, but then gave them a coat of black paint for no reason other than what? Self hatred? To be "different"? What a clownish approach.

>>23652286
kek

[Anonymous No.23652326]

>>23652286
KEK

[Anonymous No.23652344]

>>23649877
Slamming down dozens of recs is a retarded thing to do especially when its webnovel slop. It should be rec -> why are you reccomending it. Otherwise it's a waste of a post

[Anonymous No.23652355]

>>23651330
D&D doesn't have boiled leather, though, they have "leather armor" which is just regular leather. I think that is a misconception from leather being considered a "tough" material. And it is, in that it doesn't tear easily and is good for weatherproofing. But it won't stop a blade or do much to stop an arrow either. People used leather as a component in armor, but not AS armor. For instance, you might wear a padded coat (stuffed with rags or thick wool depending on how much money you had) and then maybe a leather jerkin over that to give it some water proofing, so that if it rains it doesn't essentially double in weight. The leather isn't what is protecting your body, it's the padded jacket underneath the armor. Likewise, leather worn between mail / plate and under clothing is meant to protect the body from hard metal edges of the armor, it's not a line of defense.

[Anonymous No.23652357]

>>23651707
I've heard a lot of criticism of Broken Empire but I've never heard anyone call it bland. More often "edgy" or "puerile".

[Anonymous No.23652359]

>>23652344
From the OP, I took
>Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn - The Final Empire
>Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn - The Well of Ascension
>Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn - The Hero of Ages
>Brandon Sanderson - Elantris
>Brandon Sanderson - Warbreaker
>Brandon Sanderson - Wax & Wayne - The Allow of Law
>Brandon Sanderson - Wax & Wayne - Shadow of Self
>Brandon Sanderson - Wax & Wayne - The Bands of Mourning
>Brandon Sanderson - Stormlight Archive - The Way of Kings
>Brandon Sanderson - Stormlight Archive - Words of Radiance
>Brandon Sanderson - Stormlight Archive - Oathbringer
>Brandon Sanderson - Stormlight Archive - Rhythm of War
>Brandon Sanderson - Tress of the Emerald Sea
>Brandon Sanderson - The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
>Brandon Sanderson - Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

>China Mieville - Perdido Street Station
>China Mieville - The Scar
>China Mieville - Kraken
>China Mieville - King Rat
>China Mieville - Embassytown
>China Mieville - The City & the City

>Darrell Schweitzer - The Shattered Goddess

>Gene Wolfe - The Knight
>Gene Wolfe - The Wizard
>Gene Wolfe - The Shadow of the Torturer

>Jack Vance - The Dying Earth
>Joe Hill - NOS4A2
>Joe Hill - Heart Shaped Box

>Michael Moorcock - The Dancers at the End of Time
>Mark Z Danielewski - House of Leaves

>Peter Watts - Blindsight
>Philip K. Dick - A Scanner Darkly
>Philip K. Dick - Valis
>Philip K. Dick - The Transmigration of Timothy Archer
>Philip K. Dick - The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
>Philip K. Dick - Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep
>Philip K. Dick - Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
>Philip K. Dick - Ubik
>Philip K. Dick - A Maze of Death
>Philip K. Dick - The Divine Invasion
>Philip K. Dick - Dr. Blood Money

>R. Scott Bakker - The Darkness that Cums Before
>Richard Adams - Watership Down
>Robert E. Howard - Conan
>Robert W. Chambers - The King in Yellow

>T.H. White - Once & Future King

>Will Huygen - Gnomes
>Whitley Strieber - Communion

I got sick of the Wheel of Time, and gave up after book 3. Jumped into the Dark Tower series after reading a bunch of the supposed prerequisites. I'm on book 5 atm, and I'll probably finish it by tomorrow. 5 feels like a worse 4. The same premise of going to a small town, except there's nothing interesting about it and there are no new interesting characters, and I hate the concept of the MUH POP CULTURE robots with Star Wars lightsabers, Harry Potter snitches, etc.

[Anonymous No.23652362]

>>23652355
it also depends on the kind of leather

in asia where they had access to rhinos, elephants, etc., aka surviving megafauna who were notoriously difficult to kill pre-gun, they made armor from their leather.

[Anonymous No.23652366]

>>23652344
You seem retarded and perhaps autistic, if it was reccomeneded just once it's already in another league compared to 95% of books, books that never get a rec and people don't talk about.

[Anonymous No.23652370]

>>23652366
The only retard here is you. You're going to be ignored if you toss a couple dozen titles around

[Anonymous No.23652377]

>>23652362
Yes that's true. Rhino hide is significantly tougher than, say calfskin or sheepskin, or even deerskin. Also, you CAN prepare leather in such a way that it stiffens up and holds a rigid shape, and this is what "boiled leather" referred to. However, it was a lot more expensive to make than regular leather, so you didn't really see it used for armor, more often for waterproof containers. Since you could mold the leather into any shape you liked, then let it harden, you could make made-to-fit containers for anything with it. Being innately waterproof made it ideal for carrying papers, for example.

[Anonymous No.23652379]

>>23652370
>Is that a dozen series
>ooooh lawdy whoses gunna reads all dat
>aint noboody got time for that
>imagine looking at 12 different books
>ooooooohh noes I can't, my brain it hurts
Stop projecting

[Anonymous No.23652390]

>>23652370
>I'll read lord of the ring 6 times cause the jews tell me to
>I won't even look at the recs on the basedboy website I frequent desu
This is the problem with zoomers

[Anonymous No.23652392]

What is with the fuckin awful cover on the left?

[Anonymous No.23652394]

>>23652357
it tries really hard to be edgy and that's all it has going for it. if you're not interested in the novelty of an edgy child then it becomes bland as fuck
>>23652106
i meant more normie recommendations but they're obviously often not good

[Anonymous No.23652398]

>>23652219
Inversion is such a bland cliche

[Anonymous No.23652400]

>>23652392
Who gives a fuck. nigger. You sound like a woman or a faggot

[Anonymous No.23652403]

>>23652400
t. sunk cost

[Anonymous No.23652411]

>>23652355
D&D leather is cuir bouilli.

[Anonymous No.23652412]

>>23652403
>t. zoomer who has no conception of reality beyond a screen.

[Anonymous No.23652418]

>>23652412
Why are you crying about reality, while posting in the fantasy section of a 4chan board?

[Anonymous No.23652428]

>>23652418
>why are you pointing out my blatant retardation
So that others aren't retarded in the future.

[Anonymous No.23652449]

>>23652428
Bro, it cost you like 15 dollars. Relax.

[Anonymous No.23652467]

>>23652449
>If you think I'm retarded you must be x
Zoomer, we both know you are retarded, there are no two ways about it

[Anonymous No.23652473]

>>23652394
>and that's all it has going for it.
When I read it I was interesting in the setting. I mostly read high fantasy for world building, the plot and characters just need to be inoffensive for me to enjoy a well-realized setting. Broken Empire being really edgy, if anything, made it stand out from stuff that I would call bland, stuff with cliched heroes and villains is a dime a dozen, but Broken Empire was so over the top with its villainous protagonist it felt pretty different from other stuff on the market, if nothing else. I didn't think Jorge was a very well written character, but he definitely wasn't generic.

But anyway, I'd say the biggest asset the series has its is setting. That's ultimately what compelled me to read all 3 books.

[Anonymous No.23652478]

>>23652411
Really? Cause none of the art makes it look that way. Boiled leather has absolutely no give to it, it's as rigid as metal and you'd put on a cuirass made of boiled leather much the same way you'd put on a metal breastplate.

[Anonymous No.23652484]

Was just catching up on the last few threads and some anons were having an interesting conversation on Hyboria. One anon had mentioned he can only think of 4 artworks that accurately portray Howard’s vision. I must admit as much as I respect Frazetta as an artist it rankles a bit how much of an outsized influence he’s had on how people visualize the Conan world and how this has effected adaptations in other mediums etc. I mean keep in mind this is a guy (genius that he is) who supposedly never even read a single conan story! Anyway if said anon is reading this I wonder if you can’t post the others as I’d be interested in snagging them?

[Anonymous No.23652544]

>>23652392
I recognise the style in the second cover from the left, I think it's an artist who used to do Tolkien fanart among other things. Rather amazing how she hasn't evolved in ten years, if it's the same person.

[Anonymous No.23652555]

If your series doesn't make someone, somewhere seethe then it is worthless.
On the flip if your series can make an entire community seethe, then it's a work of art.
That's why all xianxia, is high art.

[Anonymous No.23652594]

>>23652392
From left to right
>what I'd expect from someone trying Ps for the first time
>abominable blend of Disney and Samurai Jack (nice colors thoughbeit)
>best overall but bottom left takes up way too much real estate
>more talent than the first, but equally bland and with less mystery

[Anonymous No.23652614]

>look up recent releases tagged science fiction on goodreads
>it's all slop
depressing.

[Anonymous No.23652764]

>>23652614
>resent releases
you expected different?

[Anonymous No.23652814]

>>23651330
>>23651289
>>23652355
It could be a connotation thing connected to cuirass and cuir bouilli.

One of the most prominent names for armor in general was "Cuirass", and while it usually is in reference to a breastplate, it was often used for armor in general, and it etymologically comes from French adjacent words for leather, "cuir".

So someone with a prefunctory knowledge of french would see a lot of "leather" around when looking at historical documents and such.

[Anonymous No.23652820]

>>23651233
>>23651289
>>23650672
Thanks for the info.

[Anonymous No.23652837]

>>23652392
The bottom part looks okay, but then they just have these random architectural doodles above it.

[Anonymous No.23652842]

Is this any good

[Anonymous No.23652846]

>>23652842
Wait nevermind. Why did I think this was a science fiction title?

[Anonymous No.23652872]

>>23652842
If we're judging by covers (and I am) there's not a chance in hell that's any good, and now that I've made my claim I shall read the first page before posting.

Well, it doesn't read like shit so there's that, but I am bored to death and have no interest in continuing.

[Anonymous No.23652926]

>>23652814
>>23652478
Gary Gygax was just some boomer with a few outdated books from the Lake Geneva public library. He got a lot wrong. D&D went on to influence writers and creative types with weird misconceptions about weapons, armor, and medieval life in general.

GRRM probably absorbed tons of bullshit, such as leather armor being common.

[Anonymous No.23652944]

>>23652926
>>23651330
I mean, yah, But I feel like I have seen prominent leather armor in thing outside of gygax. Like movies and shit from the 40's 50's and 60's too.

I dont think its a squarely a D&D problem, but a wider "Folk etymology" thing between armature historians broadly before the internet.

[Anonymous No.23652989]

Halfway through Rule of Two and I can't stand this shit anymore. Path of Destruction was okay, far from being anything special, but it was entertaining at least. Rule of Two though, just a horrible fucking novel. I need to drop it.

On a side note, I read Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover which was amazing.

[Anonymous No.23653044]

>>23652926
>outdated books from the library
Not really. He sourced from plenty of places and it wasn't outdated scholarship by the 60s to cite Oman, Ffoulkes, Stone, Burton and Delbrück. (frankly most of it still isn't people just like to pretend our scholarship has "advanced so much" when it's mostly nitpicking on the big discoveries, nitpicks that are then disproven by archeological finds)
Gygax was also plenty clear that he made concessions to what made for a fun game and aesthetics in the equipment lists, he wanted plate armored dudes gallivanting in dungeons so plate armor is cheap rather than historical.
Incidentally the whole bullshit surrounding leather armor and ring mail is a) a semantic shift and b) continously shown to be nonsensical by actually looking at armor from the middle-east and far-east like the neo-assyrians, sengoku armor, etc.
If GRRM is being a retard, and frankly I don't care enough about those novels to bother finding out if he is or not, that's on him.

[Anonymous No.23653073]

>>23651450
Except that's not fucking true. For the story to appear, they have to be the worst fucking person for the job, so that they can change and become the person they need to be. Else they're destroyed. If stories were as you described, then they would all be filled with Gary Stus that can do no wrong and never seem to make mistakes. Fuck outta here

[Anonymous No.23653093]

>>23652344
This

[Anonymous No.23653101]

>>23652392
Middle right is the worst one (unironic comment)

[Anonymous No.23653102]

read Dunsany.

[Anonymous No.23653112]

>>23653102
can't, my cock too small.

[Anonymous No.23653151]

Halfway through Man in the High Castle and I cant take the cuckshit and infidelity anymore even though it was finally going somewhere. Gonna drop it and go back to reading coffee histories

[Anonymous No.23653196]

>>23651279
This pic confuses me. Women don't read, and they especially don't read Bakker.

[Anonymous No.23653210]

Interesting idea, atrocious execution.

[Anonymous No.23653220]

>>23652392
*what's with the awful books?
ftfy

[Anonymous No.23653271]

There really isn't any martial arts fantasy that aren't either horribly translated Chinese shit, or horribly written webnovelslop, huh?

[Anonymous No.23653274]

>>23653196
>Women don't read
Women read significantly more than men do. That's why chick lit is a huge, booming industry, while books aimed at men are struggling.

[Anonymous No.23653279]

>>23653271
if you want slop you get slop, why are you complaining?

[Anonymous No.23653292]

>>23653196
How does it feel to live in your special little bubble? Is it lonely?

[Anonymous No.23653330]

>>23652379
if you want people to read the shit you're trying to shill put more effort into it. Put a description, describe genre, etc
>>23652390
>im going to make shit up
the problem with retards

[Anonymous No.23653359]

Has anyone read these? Are they any good?

[Anonymous No.23653364]

>>23651279
If either of those women had actually read his work, they wouldn't want to be anywhere near him.
The Second Apocalypse its basically incelcore.

[Anonymous No.23653368]

>>23653364
>the kind of women that willingly cling to men on camera instead of modestly reserving themselves for marriage
>intelligent enough to read
Select only one.

[Anonymous No.23653394]

>>23651078
thanks homie

[Anonymous No.23653413]

>>23653359
idk but the art's pretty smexy

[Anonymous No.23653425]

>>23653274
No anon, they skim, they do not read.

Its the same as speaking a lot and saying very little.

[Anonymous No.23653426]

White men in suits smoking cigarettes put together a team to solve the mysteries of the cosmos and it all goes perfectly. Top tier aspirational sci-fi.

[Anonymous No.23653466]

>>23652764
I was hoping something good was released from one of the few modern authors I do follow. I was disappointed.

[Anonymous No.23653477]

>>23653359
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show_book/1029811-sffg?book_id=36159

[Anonymous No.23653490]

>>23652614
Read Legend, by David Gemmell.

[Anonymous No.23653529]

Peak sci-fi

[Anonymous No.23653554]

>>23653529
>no lasers
Not sci fi.

[Anonymous No.23653608]

>>23653554
Laser deez nuts

[Anonymous No.23653633]

>>23653274
>>23653292
Should have specified, women don't read SciFi or fantasy.

[Anonymous No.23653718]

>>23653633
I imagine the disparity of female readers between those genres is big enough to at least say they read fantasy.

[Anonymous No.23653734]

Where should I start with J.G. Ballard?

[Anonymous No.23653823]

>>23653734
Warosu.

[Anonymous No.23653912]

>>23652392
All of Sanderson's UK books look like that for some reason.

[Anonymous No.23654092]

>>23653633
Women read fantasy an order of magnitude more than men. It's enough that if women like a fantasy author, they tend to become a best seller. The same is not true for authors mostly liked by men. Especially not authors exclusively liked by men.

[Anonymous No.23654098]

>>23651279
Bakker resisting the innate male urge to rape those two women...

[Anonymous No.23654114]

Holy gigacomf

[Anonymous No.23654162]

Read Tenebroum

[Anonymous No.23654173]

>>23653529
I read the second one a bunch of times as a kid. never got around to the other two.

[Anonymous No.23654248]

any (preferably military focused) fantasy with asshole elves fighting humans? i've read malazan already
i am also desperate enough to consider some warhammer novels if it comes to that

[Anonymous No.23654265]

I finished this last night and fucking hell what a letdown. The Book That Wouldn't Burn was the first of Mark Lawrence's I read and I absolutely loved it, so I was really hyped to read this, but it completely dropped the ball on everything that made the first one good.

New characters and POVs are introduced that pretty much serve no purpose except to bloat half of the book with irrelevant backstory to an event we saw in book 1, and have extremely telegraphed "twists" that I saw from like chapter 2. The characters from book 1 have about 80% of their chapters filled with filler chase and fight sequences. The ending was ok I guess but ended up with everything pretty much in the same place as where book 1 ended. Pretty much nothing fucking happens: the book.

Pretty bummed out, will see if I'll read book 3 when it comes out.

[Anonymous No.23654310]

What's that short story collection about a knight who gets cursed by a witch and is forced to wander the world doing bad things. The first story is him on a hunt, stumbling upon a cabin in the woods, and he ends up banging some hot chick who is actually a witch in disguise try to pass on her curse to the knight.

[Anonymous No.23654421]

>>23654265
Reading this right now. Despairing now that I saw this.

[Anonymous No.23654438]

>>23654421
Sorry anon, I hope it works better for you than it did for me. The reviews generally seem to put it as good as or better than the first one though I saw some that shared my opinion.

[Anonymous No.23654440]

Reading the first dresden book, feels like something a highschooler wrote in his spare time. Does this shit get better or should i just drop it?

[Anonymous No.23654447]

>>23654114
>tfw his new series is meh

[Anonymous No.23654451]

>>23654440
Haven't read any yet but what I've seen people say (and turns out even the author recommends this) is just skipping the first two or three books.

[Anonymous No.23654459]

>>23654451
Ah, the good ol, it gets good in book 5, trust me bro. At least the books are short

[Anonymous No.23654489]

>>23649968
you should be

[Anonymous No.23654498]

>>23649915
The Retief series, the Stainless Steel Rat, Deathworld

[Anonymous No.23654510]

>>23653359
They are SO good. The protagonist is an enormous chad

[Anonymous No.23654575]

>>23654447
Yeah it felt so much flatter than the Babel-stuff. Kinda too slapsticky

[Anonymous No.23654594]

>>23653359
I read the first one a few years ago and I barely remember anything about it, except that the plot was an extremely straightforward "quest into the evil antagonist's lair" kind of thing. Idk, I guess I didn't dislike it?

[Anonymous No.23654665]

>>23654114
how do the rest of the books compare to the first? i remember liking the first a lot at the start but by the end i fucking despised it and i didn't want to even continue with the story

[Anonymous No.23654737]

>>23654665
Id say 2 and 3 were the best, but I really liked 1 as well. I just really enjoyed the prose and found it to be weirdly dreamlike/nightmarish throughout. I see it as a flawed gem, it has some really lame moments but overall I devoured these books and enjoyed my time. If you hated the first in the end, dont bother I think

[Anonymous No.23654803]

>try to start a new fantasy series
>The The The The The The The

[Anonymous No.23654843]

>who is J̶o̶h̶n̶ ̶G̶a̶l̶t̶ ̶ Richard Rahl?

[Anonymous No.23654938]

>>23654803
Most nonsensical complaint I've seen yet.
>ugh this book follows the rules of English grammar?
>wheres' the verbal diarrhea!?

[Anonymous No.23655204]

I need something new to sink my teeth into bros. Finished my third re-read of Bakker's oeuvre. I've spoiled myself with fantasy/sci-fi that's assembled by individuals who have at least an inkling as to how prose functions.
Favorite series include
>Prince of Nothing/TGO
>Acts of Caine (Matthew Woodring Stover)
>Terra Ignota (Ada Palmer)
I'm not necessarily looking for stories "similar" to these. They're all pretty disparate when it comes to theming and plot, but I guess I'm asking for recommendations from others who also enjoyed these.
I've read a lot of the entry-level stuff, mind. Vance. Black Company. Everything by Robin Hobb.

[Anonymous No.23655213]

>>23654803
>that that that that
>was was was was

[Anonymous No.23655224]

>>23655204
The Broken Sword
Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Titus Groan
Book of the New Sun
John Crowley

[Anonymous No.23655231]

>>23655224
Have read almost all of those except Black Leopard, Red Wolf because it is written by a black. Is there something specific you'd recommend by John Crowley?

[Anonymous No.23655246]

>>23655231
>will read womeme
>will not read nigger books
You are a lost cause anon

[Anonymous No.23655320]

>>23655204
Malazan

[Anonymous No.23655369]

>spend the first 2 books building up a sympathetic, relatable cast of characters around the MC
>book 1 is just the right length, book 2 is starting to get a little bloated
>book 3 is as long as 1 and 2 combined
>oh well at least I'll get to read more of the characters I like
>MC is alone for half the book
>the entire plot is a fucking travelogue
>most of of the supporting characters from the previous books barely appear, other than a few who turn up in the back half
>even the main villain has 2-3 scenes at most
>the 2 separated characters that we get to follow a little are only there to be contrived into cucking the MC
>95% of the way through several plotlines are nowhere near being resolved, and I start thinking that some of them might be left over for the following trilogies
>everything gets wrapped up out of nowhere in the last 3 chapters
>the mystery behind the secondary villain/main world threat gets handwaved away in the very last chapter
What the fuck was this. I've never seen an author sabotage their own strengths as badly as Hobb did here.
I actually enjoyed books 1-2, they weren't perfect but there were enough moments were the characters got to shine to make them worthwhile. Those moments were much fewer and farther between in book 3, and the story sucked balls. I think I'm done with the series.

[Anonymous No.23655381]

>>23655204
You should read this, it's a Hugo award winner so you know it's top notch!

[Anonymous No.23655388]

>>23655381
>nigger author
>nigger mc
hard pass.

[Anonymous No.23655526]

>>23655369
Unfortunately I think that's when she realized this was going to be much longer than a 3-book series. Read the rest of it and you'll get more suitable resolution.

[Anonymous No.23655553]

>>23655320
I've wanted to do Malazan, but it feels like such a commitment. I'm not sure I want to get into a 20+ novel series.

[Anonymous No.23655622]

>>23655388
Ummm racist much? How many Hugos did Bakker win, I wonder?

[Anonymous No.23655634]

>>23655369
>>23655526
Don't do this. It's misery porn the series.

[Anonymous No.23655638]

>>23655622
Hugo Awards mean nothing anymore. They've turned into participation trophies for women and minorities.

[Anonymous No.23655785]

>>23655638
>a man hasn’t won the Hugo for best novel since 2015
Ladies are epic now, get over it.

[Anonymous No.23655818]

>>23655785
go back, tranny

[Anonymous No.23655825]

>>23655785
Any actually good books to recommend?

[Anonymous No.23655868]

>>23653529
his Sword of the Spirits sounds great. Anyone read them?

[Anonymous No.23655874]

>>23655638
>a Black womxn tied with Asimov and Vinge for most Hugo awards
>only person to win 3 times in a row
Kneel before your kween, whitebois.

[Anonymous No.23655885]

>>23655874
What books did she write?

[Anonymous No.23655899]

>>23655369
many people disliked the third book but I found it fine. the next trilogy (liveship) is different and very good if you can handle women povs

[Anonymous No.23655951]

>>23655885
write?

[Anonymous No.23656115]

What about it?

[Anonymous No.23656200]

>>23656115
>TAD
>WILLIAMS
>shadowshit

[Anonymous No.23656320]

>>23656115
This was actually the first series from Tad Williams that I read, and it convinced me to read everything the man has written. I consider it a fantastic introduction to him as an author, since it showcases what he does best: mythological world building, atmospheric writing, and grand, sweeping narratives steeped in heroic tradition.

If you've never read Williams before, you should know that his writing can be really slow paced. His older works, including Shadowmarch, tend to stick with his characters even in the slow and peaceful moments of their travails. He uses these scenes to either work on building the characters, or to reveal more information about his settings, on account of how much history and detail he fills them with. Shadowmarch isn't any different in this regard, and some of the most fun I've had reading a fantasy series has been trying to puzzle out the mythology in Shadowmarch.

There's two families of gods, one worshiped by humans and the other by faeries. They fought a war 1000 years ago which saw the gods of the faeries destroyed, and the faeries driven from human lands to the far north of the northern continent, behind a mystical barrier that they erected to keep humanity at bay. The interesting part is that everything we know about the Theomachia (god war) is told in a series of excerpts from different theological histories at the start of each chapter. First we get the narrative taught by the church on the northern continent, then we get the version of the faeries. And right away things get confusing, because faeries and humans have different names for the gods, and ascribe to them different attributes, and also emphasize different relationships between them. So it is not at all clear how the two accounts line up, which gods are which, and which version is correct. Then we get the THIRD account, the scripture of the southern continent, which is totally different from either of the other two, and adds a third set of names for the gods into the mix. I literally had to draw a diagram for this series to figure out the mythology as I was reading it, to figure out which names in each theology corresponded and what happened.

That alone made it a blast for me to read.

[Anonymous No.23656392]

>>23649631
once again a long-running manga end,with cuck consequences, reminding us of the dismal state of masculinity even in so called 'non woke' fiction
discuss
recommend

[Anonymous No.23656419]

>>23654265
That's too bad. I considered reading the first book but I saw 'time travel' as a tag. I cannot stand time travel books.
is time travel a big part of the series?

[Anonymous No.23656442]

>>23656320
Thanks.

[Anonymous No.23656492]

>modern fantasy writers want to make writing that 'represents the modern world'
>the modern world is more horrifying than a world where getting a light infection on your finger could mean an amputation of your whole hand
Fuck it. Medieval or tribal era fantasy, sexism, racism, slavery.

[Anonymous No.23656495]

While I was on vacation I read 2 out of 3 books of the Locked Tomb series (4th one is yet to be released). 1st was okay even though I'm not a fan of 21st century Earth memes being incorporated in a galaxy far far away storytelling, so it was kinda cringe at times, 3/5.
Second book was mostly the writer huffing her own farts: 70% of the book was boring slog in service of a mystery that a person with half a brain would guess in the first 30 pages (though I did like the in-universe mechanical, I'd even say visceral way the character came up with the solution to the problem posed by the first book's ending; honestly, I'd rather read more about different ways necromantic bone constructs could be utilized rather than mediocre relationship drama), 30% was a payoff which felt half deserved and logical and half random, even though there were some interesting bits and pieces there and a few cool ideas I'm stealing for the future, 2.5/5.
I've read in a spoiler-free review that Nona, the third book, is like the second book in its structure. Not a fan of the trend so I'm not sure I'll like reading it.
The worst part about the series is that feeling I have, a feeling that if a different writer was in charge, I'd love the story. Because most intriguing part about it for me is worldbuilding and setting, not lesbian relationships or whatever else the writer's fetish is. I wish someone competent did the "necromancers in space" thing and did it well.
Are there any good books about necromancers in space? Hell, are there any good books about necromancers period?

[Anonymous No.23656595]

>>23656419
Time travel is the core of the book, it's basically its whole premise. The two protagonists don't even exist in the same time period, yet are aware of one another because of a time loop that they eventually create at the end of book 1. Book 2 has so much time travel in it that I don't think any of the characters at the end of the book are in the same timeline they were at the beginning.

[Anonymous No.23656627]

>>23656419
Time travel is the core of the story. And there's a lot of it. Don't read it if you don't like time travel.
I will say that the way he handles time travel is different than most stories. Because it's not the "let's change the past!" kind of time travel. And it's not the "there are infinite universes!" kind of time travel.
It's the "You CAN'T change the past, and there is only this one timeline. Time only flows forward, and you can't go back" kind of time travel. For that reason, the narrative is more stable. Fewer paradoxes.

>>23654265
>>23654421
I wouldn't call it a "let down". But I would say that book 2 mulls over concepts they established in book 1. Plays with them. Savors them. A lot of the stuff they suggested *could* happen in book 1, *actually* happens in book 2. So yeah, it's not as interesting as the first book, because it's not constantly dripping you new world building functions like the first book does. But it's still fun seeing scenarios play out within the world that was built.

[Anonymous No.23656650]

>>23656627
Book 1 is all about establishing the original time loop that fucked everything up. Then book 2 introduces the time looping caused by that time loop, which due to the nature of time loops means the secondary time loop occurred chronologically before the original one that caused it.

[Anonymous No.23656674]

>>23656495
I felt similarly. 3rd book worse than 2nd imo desu.

[Anonymous No.23656675]

>>23656650
I'm not sure what you mean by two time loops. But the one loop I'm aware off always existed. There isn't a normal past, and then a changed past. There is only 1 past, that always plays out exactly the same, because the loop always existed. And it might appear as though the loop is creating new events, because the author is presenting events in such a way, as to make the narrative make sense to the reader. So things feel kind of "changed" to us. But in truth, we just didn't realize how twisting the turning the loop actually is at first. And now we're coming to realize it's deeper than we thought.

[Anonymous No.23656679]

>>23652355
>People used leather as a component in armor, but not AS armor.
Yes they did, the buff coat (though that's Early Modern). It wasn't great as armor but considered armor nonetheless

[Anonymous No.23656696]

>>23656675
The first book's time loop is the one with Evar and Liviria. The second one which intersects with it, is the loop involving Starval / Mayland, and Celcha / Hellet. That secondary loop only happened because of the events caused by the first one, yet its events heavily inform the first one.

[Anonymous No.23656697]

>>23656679
Buff coats are not armor, they're clothing. They were typically worn under metal armor.

[Anonymous No.23656732]

>>23656696
The events of the "second" loop heavily informs the events of the "first" loop. The first loop would have never happened, if the second loop's events never happened, and vice versa. That's why I say there's only one loop that's deeper than what was initially thought. The second book shows us the depth of the loop.

[Anonymous No.23656811]

>>23656732
The loop probably goes all the way down. That's what happens when you have a stable time loop. Any part of the chronology the loop touches is liable to spinoff into a sub-loop that also was always part of the chronology.

[Anonymous No.23656826]

Any good magical girl stories?

[Anonymous No.23656869]

>>23656811
Exactly my thoughts. If the author stays consistent with the loop, then it's going to be difficult to write a satisfying ending. It's hard to sell people on "This outcome was inevitable. The End". The idea that you could destroy the library is a tempting one, but it's likely not possible. As doing so would also existence itself. Since so many events are woven through the library.

[Anonymous No.23656994]

>>23656495
>are there any good books about necromancers?
Necroscope

[Anonymous No.23657027]

>>23654440
The first Dresden book was literally a creative tantrum thrown by Butcher during his time as a student. His professor kept on wanting him to use structured worksheets and other aides, derided as training wheels, to write stories. He said no again and again until in a fit of pique he decided to perversely do everything according to sheets to prove how much of a failure it would be. Enter Storm Front.

The books get better mechanically, narratively, and lexically. If the character archetypes bother you, then I'd say best move on. The appeal of the series is the cast of characters that show up depending on what area of the universe they want to cover each case. If you just want tighter plotting, less wooden dialogue, and less formulaic structures then yes that gets remedied as the series progresses.

[Anonymous No.23657041]

When is that fag Brent Weeks going to release the follow up series to the Night Angel trilogy he teased in the end?

[Anonymous No.23657050]

>like 30 books on my kindle
>no overt interest in any at the moment
D:

[Anonymous No.23657058]

>>23657050
I have nothing to read myself. Show me what's on your kindle, so that I may find inspiration. You got any fantasy on the thing?

[Anonymous No.23657076]

>>23657058
Nothing 'directly' fantasy. I'm more of a sci-fi guy. The most fantasy-adjacent I have is litRPG shit like the DCC series or perhaps some xianxia/progression fantasy. I checked out this book called BuyMort which is a DCC-like but I ain't feeling it. Same-ish for this prog fantasy called A Blade Through Time where the MC has time reversion powers: meh.
What kind of fantasy are you looking for exactly? How fantastical? Act quick. Sleep will claim me soon.

[Anonymous No.23657079]

>>23657041
>The perfect killer has no friends, only targets
I thought the perfect killers didn't have targets, they have deaders.

[Anonymous No.23657102]

>>23657076
Forget I asked, I don't want any litrpg shit. I'm upset you abbreviated Dungger crawler carl. Forcing me to google it.

I want something like Penric and Desdemona. I like it when character have to investigate something. And then the investigation unravels into greater drama.

Or, The Long Price Quartet. Which is difficult to describe. It's character driven with fantastical elements. A serious tone, without being too edgy. More about character conflicts than action and battles. Not that the story has to be devoid of battles. The battles just have to mean something.

[Anonymous No.23657145]

>>23656495
I have the exact same opinions on this series. Except I abandoned it shortly after starting book 2.

[Anonymous No.23657150]

>>23657102
I'm going to assume you're familiar with the rest of Bujold's work, she holds that concept dearly. If you want something from the golden age then try The Demolished Man for a compelling caper that adds telepathy to a police procedural. Courtship Rites might be on the verge of too edgy for you, but I like it. Maybe Gun, With Occasional Music would fit as well in your paramters.

[Anonymous No.23657176]

>>23656826
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

[Anonymous No.23657181]

>>23657150
I'll look them up, thanks.

>I'm going to assume you're familiar with the rest of Bujold's work
Ye

[Anonymous No.23657207]

>>23652837
>top
SOUL
>bottom
sandwiched between "F*ck you're awesome" and "The Delta Connection" at the airport bookstore

[Anonymous No.23657411]

>>23653426
My general rule of thumb for older SF is:
"Have any of the author's works been translated into Japanese?"
Never has let me down.

[Anonymous No.23657450]

>>23657411
mine is

"if it's older, is it in the SF or Fantasy Masterworks series?"

Typically works out decently well. I just wiki it to make sure it's not labeled an LGBT/Feminist work.

>>23657102
You might like Fritz Leiber then. A very literarily solid writer, but his most famous work (the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser series) have excellent banter and character dynamics.

>>23653044
Gygax was clear about wanting a specific aesthetic for DnD. Hell, I don't blame him. He worked at it and the Appendix N (I think it's called?) outright lists a lot of writers whose influence makes sense for how DnD works.

Still don't think any of those writers was known for plate mail wearing chars but it doesn't matter.

GRRM is fat and only Lizzo should have sex with him.

[Anonymous No.23657554]

>>23657079
The quote was probably added by somebody who hasn't read the book.

[Anonymous No.23657720]

>>23651422
>filtered

[Anonymous No.23658151]

Okay, I've got a special challenge for you friends:
What's the most basic bitch fantasy and sci fi (one of each) to get into that's been published in the last two years?
That means nothing that relies on a series knowledge like Twilight or Hunger Games sequels, spinoffs, etc. It's gotta be something that any retard can understand without having read anything else.

[Anonymous No.23658299]

>he got tricked into reading the reddit female "grimdark"

[Anonymous No.23658486]

>>23656320
Fun fact about Tad:

He did co-host duties on radio station KFJC's conspiracy theory show in late 80s/early 90s called "One Step Beyond." He went under the moniker 'Nip Tuck' and had an excellent radio persona to go with his research skills.

> In 1983, Emory and "Nip Tuck" (AKA Tad Williams) created The Guns of November, a four-part four-hour-long-segments series on the Kennedy assassination for Foothill College's radio station, KFJC, in Los Altos Hills, California. Emory became co-host of KFJC's One Step Beyond which started in 1979 and was a multi-hour Sunday night phone-in show hosted by Nip Tuck focused on political topics emphasising "Nazi spies, CIA mind control experiments and mercenaries, among others."[2][3]

The show was a great inspiration to me as a lad in the '00s when finding good parapolitical research well-sourced from the public domain was extremely difficult and borderline anti-social.

He switched gears and started writing fantasy shortly after leaving the radio show, and I intend to read him someday.

As a Tad Fan, you got a good book to start with for me?

[Anonymous No.23658490]

>>23658151
why would anyone waste their time with derivative modern slop?

[Anonymous No.23658492]

Ok so whats the difference between sci fi and fantasy?

[Anonymous No.23658493]

>>23658492
nothing

[Anonymous No.23658529]

>>23658492
sci-fi is about space and lasers and aliens and robots and stuff
fantasy is about elves and orcs and wizards and necromancers and stuff
it's not complicated

[Anonymous No.23658596]

>>23658492
Sci-fi=Magic in speculation.
Fantasy=Magic in myths and legends.

[Anonymous No.23658657]

Thoughts on Jack Chalker and Piers Anthony?

[Anonymous No.23658676]

>>23655231
stop being a racist and enjoy a good book you dumb fuck, go read James Baldwin too. fuck you 4channers who claim to love literature and then cuck yourselves out of good shit for the sake of pointless bigotry piss me off.
The Deep is my favorite Crowley. Ka was also excellent. I haven't read AEgypt or Little Big yet.

[Anonymous No.23658685]

>>23658657
Piers Anthony wrote horny slop, but he's actually an excellent writer when it comes to story structure and pacing.

[Anonymous No.23658716]

>>23658492
Lasers and no magic.
Not lasers and magic.

[Anonymous No.23658734]

>>23658676
I love all the books you have mentioned in posts and am a racist. Checkmate

[Anonymous No.23658768]

any good dorf kinos besides Tolkien?

[Anonymous No.23658844]

>>23654665
Can you explain why you despised the ending without spoilers? I read the sample recently, and was planning on buying the pb sometime this weekend

[Anonymous No.23658845]

>>23652484
>this I wonder if you can’t post the others as I’d be interested in snagging them?
This aquilonian knight

[Anonymous No.23658850]

>>23658845
Along with these ones

[Anonymous No.23658925]

>>23658845
>>23658850
is there any book accurate art of the sorcerers? despite the fact that every sorcerer has been described with broad shoulders, strong body, etc., peope always draw them as skinny wizard men when in fact Thoth-Amon for instance is a broad-shouldered black-haired man

[Anonymous No.23658954]

Sci-fi idea:
Tyson Sphere, which is basically a megastructure that covers a planet made of water and used coal based technology to generate energy.
This energy is then transported back to the home planets via cables crossing the space. Coal is brought in by ships, harnessed from planets made of... coal.
>but anon that's stupid
idc
>that's already been written!
Source?

[Anonymous No.23659047]

>soldier of sidon ends on a cliffhanger
Damn, really enjoyed it though. What should I read next, read new sun and 5th head as well?

[Anonymous No.23659057]

Anyone have any recs for stories with romance between a human guy and vampire woman?

[Anonymous No.23659089]

>>23658925
>is there any book accurate art of the sorcerers
not that i have found

[Anonymous No.23659092]

>>23658954
Ideas are the easiest and most useless part of any creative endeavor. When you begin to actually create there's a high probability that things are likely to change so drastically they'll be unrecognizable from the original vision. In regards to story creation in particular, I find the setting to be similar in its effect on the end product as ideas. For starting out they can be a lot less important than the plot and characters even though they all end up intersecting in the end (hopefully). The reality is plot and characters are what determine which parts of your setting matter, and so to get too hung up on the world in the beginning can end up costing you a lot of time if you aren't considering the other two factors alongside it.

[Anonymous No.23659117]

>>23659047
of course read those

[Anonymous No.23659142]

What is the most gosh-darned FAR-FETCHED vision of the future you've ever read in sci-fi?

[Anonymous No.23659159]

>>23659092
It's just an idea man

[Anonymous No.23659174]

>>23658768
Gotrek and Felix.

[Anonymous No.23659178]

>>23658768
That was pretty good if you want something LIKE Tolkien (but slightly darker).

[Anonymous No.23659187]

>>23658676
>stop being a racist, homophobe, misogynist, antisemite bigot, cis, white male
enjoy a lgbt progressive feminist garbage book you dumb fuck

[Anonymous No.23659242]

>>23659178
I heard these Mithgar books are pretty fucking bad and were originally rejected sequels to LOTR

[Anonymous No.23659246]

>>23658768
The Bound and the Broken has cool dwarves. They're not the main focus but there are pretty big sections of the story in dwarfmountain.

[Anonymous No.23659298]

>>23659242
It's OK. A pretty atmospheric dark version of LOTR at the beginning of the series (The Iron Tower trilogy). It deviates from LOTR afterwards.

If you want something like Tolkien it is OK. If you hate any plagiarism of Tolkien a priori, it's not OK.

[Anonymous No.23659349]

>>23658492
These are genera that are defined by the expectation of certain cliches

[Anonymous No.23659378]

Why can't progressives write good books?
They can't have the antagonist be actually evil or the hero be actually good, or it degrades their postmodernist world view where there is no objective good or objective evil (an objectively wrong world view).

[Anonymous No.23659435]

What's in your top ten works by PKD lads? I'm finishing up Three Stigamata and I've really enjoyd it a lot.

[Anonymous No.23659524]

>>23659378
you answered it. They have no morals nothing is true to them

[Anonymous No.23659541]

>>23659378
>objective evil
the fuck does it mean for something to be evil regardless of if anyone dislikes it or not?

[Anonymous No.23659650]

>>23659378
Progressives/women just aren't very good at forming sentences and joining those sentences to make paragraphs.

[Anonymous No.23659657]

RESPECT WAHMEN

[Anonymous No.23659668]

>>23659541
There are crimes that are innately evil.
Theft, murder, rape, etc.
If twelve people say it's okay to rape a woman, it's still immoral.

[Anonymous No.23659680]

>>23659650
And yet their memes feature entire chapters of text.

[Anonymous No.23659721]

>>23659680
Bad memes is all they are capable of.

[Anonymous No.23659736]

>>23658768
I enjoyed the way of legend books

[Anonymous No.23659749]

>>23658492
Sci fi is our future, if we play our cards right, or fail to do so.
Fantasy is a past that never was.

[Anonymous No.23659770]

>>23659378
>Why can't progressives write good books?
Self-insertion, unabashed political messaging, and the hamfisting of minorities and sexual deviants for no other reason other than to check off virtue signaling boxes.

It's a silly book, but in 'The City of Dreaming Books' there's a line pertinent to this in which two different species of writers are arguing, and one of them says something to the effect of, "You people write with ink whilst we write with blood!" Before they even begin to write progressives already have a particular message in mind, and as a result everything (setting, plot, characters) bends to that will even if it flies directly in the face of logic and a sense of fulfillment for the readers. People without this perspective have a higher tendency to write characters as if they were separate to themselves, and as such, the other elements of the novel are also freer to become something that is not auditioning for the current political climate.

[Anonymous No.23659808]

>>23659770
Ironically enough, I think it's basically necessary to have a message in mind.
However, the message has to survive in a setting that almost certainly hates it.
The Noir Detective who does the right thing, even when it pays shit and he's getting shot and stabbed and beat up, espouses the importance of being honorable and righteous even when surrounded by scum.
Leftists, on the other hand, have a story that supports their ideals without questioning.

[Anonymous No.23659842]

Anyone else like military sci-fi like Jack Campbell?

Finished The Lost Fleet by Campbell. Now I am starting The Black Fleet Dalzelle.

Some of the writing is a little hokey, like the Black Jack not banging his XO for six books. But the battles are cool and the sci-tech is interesting.

Do you guys have any recs about people getting lost in deep space? Or anything along the lines of military sc-fi where there are wars on a battleship.

Pic unrelated

[Anonymous No.23659853]

>>23659808
>I think it's basically necessary to have a message in mind
I don't believe it's improbable to write a story without having the goal of imparting sort of moral lesson (like in fables). That doesn't mean it won't be present, only that it can be achieved subconsciously. I agree with everything else, especially the without questioning part.

[Anonymous No.23659861]

>>23658486
>As a Tad Fan, you got a good book to start with for me?
Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

[Anonymous No.23659892]

>>23659842
Most of such military scifi is just garbage smut. I lost interest in Jack Campbell when he switched to fringe worlds and some roastie pov. Also some of his books in the series like about the AIs or the fleet exchanging some forbidden pictures (?) were retarded af

Read Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown.

[Anonymous No.23659905]

>>23659842
I love the Dread Empire Falls series. Its somewhat realistic space battles ruined most of military sci fi for me. In the real world, the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of relativistic speed. I'm desperately looking for a similar space war story.

Pic unrelated

[Anonymous No.23659960]

>>23659298
I grew out of my phase of hating Tolkien-derivatives awhile ago, if anything, the seemingly endless deluge of anti-Tolkien post-modern shittery that's been running amok since the late 90's actually makes me miss the LOTR clones.

[Anonymous No.23659965]

>>23658492
sci fi authors all use the same magic system called technology

[Anonymous No.23659968]

>>23659668
If everyone in the entire world, including the woman, thinks it's alright?

[Anonymous No.23659971]

>>23659842
Have you read BV Larson's Star Force? Writing is rocky for the first couple, but is fun high cheese after that.

[Anonymous No.23660069]

I require books with abnormally tall/giant/growing women in them. Give me non-porn examples.

[Anonymous No.23660107]

>>23658151
For fantasy Daughter's War, for sci-fi (its really just a haunted house writ large, but take what you can get) Ascension.

Daughter's War is technically a prequel but I hold it to be a standalone. The modern fantasy genre has murdered the self-fulfilled story, so the best I can do is give you an alternative first entry: The Will of the Many.

[Anonymous No.23660210]

>>23659968
Innately wrong means wrong regardless of what anyone thinks.
Stealing is wrong because it deprives another of their property, for example.

[Anonymous No.23660223]

>>23658486
>As a Tad Fan, you got a good book to start with for me?
If you like sci-fi, Otherland is also pure Tad Williams. You might think being set mostly in virtual reality internet it wouldn't feature as much mythology and folklore, but if anything it allowed him to go hog wild and show off an even greater variety of research than usual. But the slow burn thing applies in a big way to Otherland. There's lots of plot threads that simmer for the entire 4 book series and only really become relevant at the end.

For fantasy, I stand by my Shadowmarch recommendation, it's a good representation of his style and best attributes, and is moderately more modern and slightly faster paced than Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, which is his original fantasy series published starting in 1988. I would recommend going back and reading MS&T if you really enjoyed Shadowmarch, though,

One thing I'll say about MS&T is that it's very old school heroic fantasy. It's set in a very obvious facsimile of medieval Europe, complete with elves, and features a runaway princess, an unlikely callow youth who becomes a dragon-slaying hero, evil wizards, brave knights, etc. Absolutely loaded with allusions to real world folklore and mythology as well. He's actually currently writing a sequel series to MS&T, called the Last King of Osten Ard, which is a blast for me to read because it's coming back to his original series 30 years later but with all of the improvement in his skills since then.

Oh, another interesting fact about Tad just as an aside is that he always writes tetrologies rather than trilogies, that is, 4 books instead of 3. This isn't by design, is the curious thing. He set out to write Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn as a trilogy, but the last book, To Green Angel Tower, wound up being so massive that he had to split it into two parts, each one about 800 pages long. And that's set the standard for him. Every series I've talked about so far is a tetrology that was originally meant to be a trilogy. He even joked about this in the forward to his latest book in Last King of Osten Ard (Into the Narrowdark):

>The original (and much scoffed-at) plan was for me to finally capture, subdue, and present to the readers that most elusive beast (at least for me)—an actual three-volume trilogy. I have tried and failed several times before, but I was plucky and optimistic again this time, certain I could constrain my tale to three convenient volumes.
>Short version: I failed. Again.

[Anonymous No.23660287]

tldr

[Anonymous No.23660308]

>>23660210
Try thinking of an example of something objectively immoral that doesn't already bake in victims that subjectively dislike it, like stealing or rape

[Anonymous No.23660315]

>>23660308
>try thinking of an innate evil that does not do an innate harm
Is that what you mean?
Because the nature of malum in se is an innate harm: even stealing an apple from a store is innately evil, despite the fact that the store will likely later throw at least one apple away.

[Anonymous No.23660354]

>>23660315
>harm
Harm is bad because people (subjectively) cares about avoiding harm

If literally no one in the entire world cares about you taking an apple before it's thrown away, how is it possibly bad?

[Anonymous No.23660369]

>>23660354
>literally no one in the world cares
No one cares if the homeless die either (they will pretend, but they will not fund cheap housing for them to be warehoused in), but you cannot go around snuffing them out to make the streets a little safer and less full of drug addicts, because that harms society.

[Anonymous No.23660408]

>>23660369
>No one cares if the homeless die
This is just a lie. People care about that stuff, it makes them feel bad, etc

[Anonymous No.23660427]

>>23658492
Arbitrary lenses we use to differentiate stories of the fantastic as the weight of history forces parsing upon us. Notice if you will that genres develop as history goes on through the imposition of the reader, not the author. We go back in time to label the writings of a Grek about a bronze automaton as the first sci-fi. We reach back to stories of the fae to label them fantasy. We invent isekai to contain the narrative of becoming lost in the other world.

Weird tales from the 20th century felt no need to advertise that they specified in blasters over magic. Clark Ashton Smith was just as comfortable in science fiction as fantastical Hyborea or murky France. Robert Howard wrote about sailors and boxers and Conan finding radium and Cthulhu. I think it was the Golden Age seeking to establish harder stories, the men with Slide Rulers coming into displace the Captains Blaster or Doc Smith's soft fantasies.

Therefore my answer for you is that science fiction and fantasy are whatever the corpus of SF&F readers declare they are, and thus shall ever be and ever has been. A few decades ago I could say "speculative fiction of what was vs what will be" but that's changed. One of the most dominant veins of fantasy now is the Brando Sando and the litRPG. Both are systematic to a fault that make hard science fiction look too character focused. Modern science fiction on the other hand has become (with some precedent a la Butler or the Slan) explorations of sexual and racial identity with a roman a clef. How many books don't really explore technology in and of itself or even pose a Big Question, but are rather "this black genderqueer female and their reckoning with society"? I must revise my earlier statement in the interest of giving an answer of ultimate utility rather than philosophy. The difference between the two is an eternal shitpost, to be reposted and fought over eternally in myriad incarnations that would make Moorcock reluctantly shelve the concept of his Champion.

[Anonymous No.23660433]

>>23660427
Is this some chatgpt shit?

[Anonymous No.23660460]

>>23659842
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson is a colonial effort stuck on a ship that's constantly accelerating with the idea of stopping or even decelerating being a fatal proposition.

For space battles feel free to dip into the Honor Harrington novels with the proviso that you can stop at any point and you'll be absolutely fine. I believe the author himself admits that what once would be a single book becomes five when you have two children going to college.

This is cheating but I love to recommend this list. I have been an ardent follower of the Baen brand, and its been very kind to me. I feel that the other readers who make up its fanbase tend to have good taste for the military schlock that I love. I feel you could pick any of these books at random and have its main premise deliverd fully. A lot of them are land-based, David Drake in particular is a stand out, but there's enough space stuff in there to give you a good starting point.

https://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_baen_milsf.asp

[Anonymous No.23660508]

>>23658492

The main difference between science fiction (sci-fi) and fantasy lies in their approach to the world-building and the rules that govern their stories:

Science Fiction: This genre is based on the premise of scientific principles and advancements. It explores possibilities grounded in science and technology, often set in the future or in space. Sci-fi might involve advanced technology, space exploration, time travel, or extraterrestrial life. The key is that the speculative elements are often rooted in plausible scientific theories or extrapolations of current knowledge. Examples include Dune by Frank Herbert or Neuromancer by William Gibson.

Fantasy: Fantasy, on the other hand, is characterized by its use of magic, mythical creatures, and other supernatural elements that are not bound by the laws of nature or science. It often takes place in entirely imaginary worlds or alternate realities. The focus is more on magical systems, legendary beings, and epic quests. Examples include The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien or A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin.

In summary, sci-fi is about exploring the potential of future science and technology, while fantasy is about creating imaginative worlds with magical and supernatural elements.

[Anonymous No.23660515]

Why do you guys hate Brandon Sanderson?

[Anonymous No.23660528]

>>23656495
oh hey, this is that Homestuck fanfic that got turned into it's own series

[Anonymous No.23660537]

>>23660515
I don't hate him, I barely feel anything at all for him

[Anonymous No.23660547]

>>23660537
why do you guys shit on his stories?

[Anonymous No.23660548]

when will chatgpt advance enough to give me obscure niche recommendations?

[Anonymous No.23660549]

>>23659298
the books after the first trilogy are pretty good

[Anonymous No.23660553]

>>23658492
>Sci-fi stories are at their core religious/psychological explorations using technology and space as a means to do so.

>Fantasy stories reflect religion and myth as a record of human history and the belief in the divine world.

>>23658529
The robot in sci-fi exists to asks questions like "what makes something alive", "what would something made in our image become", and "can tools learn human compassion or hate". The golem in fantasy exists to serve as proof of the power of the divine and the complexity that comes with it being harnessed by humans.

[Anonymous No.23660564]

Any good japanese light novels?

[Anonymous No.23660581]

>>23658657
Both are very horny writers but i think Chalker's is slightly better because he actually cares about his characters and the lore, i would say that's his works are coomkino

[Anonymous No.23660584]

>>23660515
Weariness gets exaggerated as exposure increases. Sanderson is a workmanlike journeyman author whose books have decent construction and clearly have an appeal. The issue is that Sanderson is the only A-list fantasy author that most men will read. Maas and Hoover outsell him because romantasy has a much larger fanbase of horny women across the age spectrum. Sanderson however has a stranglehold on the traditional published fantasy market and because of that sets the tone for a lot of discussion. An example I found on reddit is that many of his fans want to standardize talking about magic using the term "magic system". This is a term that works very well for Sanderson and discussing why Sandersonian fiction works, its entirely a thriller based on understanding what his magic and worlds are. It doesn't work as well when you go for works where magic isn't the focus, or its meant to be murky and mysterious. You have the age old Romanticist vs Enlightenment play out on the genre-fic stage. Mix this with his large fanbase and you have many older fantasy fans feeling like they're being colonized by neophytes who do not understand or appreciate the genre and its rich history.

tl;dr Sanderson measures the moonbeam

[Anonymous No.23660588]

>>23660581
One of my favorite Ellison insults is stating that Chalker is one of the best titleists of the age, perhaps the best. Best writer no, but he certainly has the best titles.

[Anonymous No.23660591]

>>23660547
Read them and you'll know

[Anonymous No.23660601]

>>23660584
so he's bringing videogame like elements to fantasy, and the old guard don't like it?

[Anonymous No.23660604]

[Anonymous No.23660609]

>>23660604
this all seems very subjective

[Anonymous No.23660643]

>>23660515
Man is like 50 years old and still writes shitty ya drama

[Anonymous No.23660653]

>>23660588
lmao he wasn't wrong Chalker's titles are really cool and you expect them to be something really epic, and they are sometimes but most of the times you also get Heinlein-tier horny writing.

[Anonymous No.23660669]

>>23660643
how is something like way of kings YA drama?

[Anonymous No.23660673]

>>23660564
Lodoss and related books set in the same worl are the only good light novels desu, if you like old school fantasy like dragonlance, riftwar, belgariad etc you will probably like Lodoss

[Anonymous No.23660744]

>>23660528
I thought you were shitting me

It turns out that you are in fact shitting me, but the author did write HS fanfics

>>23660548
Current LLM architecture just isn't amenable to obscure. So: who the fuck knows

[Anonymous No.23660764]

>>23660609
Well, that's probably why they are given as opinions and not facts

[Anonymous No.23660803]

>>23660673
the real reason to read Record of Lodoss War is because it has brown female elves

[Anonymous No.23660859]

>>23660803
Is this .hack?

[Anonymous No.23660865]

>>23660859
how fucking dumb are you? it's Record of Lodoss War like he just said

[Anonymous No.23660875]

>>23660859
It's Log Horizon, dummy

[Anonymous No.23660879]

>>23660875
I see!

[Anonymous No.23660889]

>>23660875
actually is from Frieren

[Anonymous No.23660890]

>>23658768
The Dwarves series by Markus Heitz. Can't get any dorfier.

[Anonymous No.23660928]

>>23660408
>People care about that stuff
Just like they care about starving African children. They go "oh, that's too bad" and 5 seconds later they've moved onto something more important. Some are just more honest and self-aware when it comes to not giving a flying fuck about these issues, but it's not socially acceptable to say that the Emperor has no clothes.

[Anonymous No.23661052]

>>23658768
zwerg
dunno if its any good; its in german

[Anonymous No.23661056]

Who else has A Deepness in the Sky as their favorite sci-fi novel?

[Anonymous No.23661096]

Alright, /sffg/, it's time we all acknowledge the obvious: Brandon Sanderson is the greatest author in any universe. No cap, on Adonalsium.

You know it to be true. Brando Sando's world-building skills are unmatched. The Cosmere? Pure genius. He's created an interconnected universe that's both vast and detailed, with each book adding more depth and complexity. How could anyone forget his magic systems? They're not just cool—they're logical, well-thought-out, and integral to the plot. Mistborn's Allomancy, Stormlight Archive's Surgebinding, Warbreaker’s BioChromatic Breath—every single one is unique and incredibly creative. He's more innovative than Steve Jobs a hundred times over.

Plus, the man’s productivity is so off the charts that it makes Elon Musk rageweep in envy. While other authors are taking decades to finish their series, Sanderson is rizzing us up by cranking out door-stoppers on the regular and still finding time to teach writing courses and engage with his stans who are sticking out their gyatt. RIP GRRM is food for the wurm, Lynch got lynched, and Rothfuss died long ago.

Branderson's characters are relatable and complex, his plots are twisty and satisfying, and his prose is clear and engaging. Whether you're in it for the epic battles, the intricate plots, or the deep philosophical questions, Don Bran Son of Sand delivers every single time. We're becoming sigma with this one lads.

So, let’s hear it for the GRRM-killer himself who made us all down bad for Mormonism. What’s your favorite Sanderson book, and why is it the best thing you've ever read?

[Anonymous No.23661099]

>>23661096
the fact that so many normies like him has always pushed me away
I know deep in my gut that I wont like his slop
>are you talking about sanderson or grrm?
yes

[Anonymous No.23661116]

>>23660875
>>23660889
You're both wrong.
She's from Slayers.

[Anonymous No.23661135]

>>23661116
Obviously it's from Rayearth

[Anonymous No.23661462]

>>23661056
The only thing I've read by Vinge is Rainbow's End and it was fucking shit

[Anonymous No.23661467]

>>23661096

[Anonymous No.23661470]

>>23661468
>>23661468
>>23661468
New

[Anonymous No.23661479]

>>23661462
you read THAT and none of the others? wew
fire upon the deep, deepness in the sky, and marooned in realtime are all very good

[Anonymous No.23661940]

>>23653359
Really incredible series. Excellent characters and worldbuilding. Lots of fairly unique concepts.