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/lit/ - Literature

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6502052 No.6502052 [Reply] [Original]

I gonna drink the /lit/ kool aid and give a try to The Book of the New Sun, i have never read a fantasy book before and i find things like LoTR awful (mostly their fans and concept, because i never read it).

What i am for?

>> No.6502054

idk i haven't read it read it and tell me what you think bro

>> No.6502074

>>6502052
it's certainly a far cry from the lord of the rings but you won't finish it
also be careful calling it fantasy because there's a ravening neckbeard or two here who get rustled by the label

>> No.6502083
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6502083

>>6502074
Even the book's publisher calls it fantasy.

>> No.6502087

>>6502083
yeah a lot of versions of the book do
i don't care either way

>> No.6502089

>>6502083
thats one fugly cover

>> No.6502151

It's boring. The writing is just a series of disjointed events.
>I was challenged to a duel, then I was told that for the duel I needed a flower so we went to the gardens, then on the way to the gardens our chariot crashed into a temple holding a religious artefact. The monks were angry but allowed us to leave. Then we arrived at the garden then we walked through the garden, then we took a boat across a lake and I found a woman in the lake and she couldn't remember who she was hen I found the flower needed for the duel so we went the arena to fight the duel, etc.
It just keeps on going and going with dully-described , disjointed events that you have no reason to care about.
It does nothing to make you want to continue reading, you have to force yourself almost every step of the way.

The only reason people here like it is because it makes them feel clever. IT isn't genuinely enjoyable or interesting like a piece of fiction should be.

It's boring which is the worst thing a piece of fiction can be.

>> No.6502165

>>6502151
BOTNS is a full book divided into 4 parts, no scene is pointless or disjointed, and to be perfectly honest every sentence counts toward something. When you view the thing in it's full context it all slots together very well, and entire events are foretold in the very first chapter.

I'm sure you only read the very first part of the book, so what you're doing is only giving 1/4th of a review, which is unfortunate.

>> No.6502268

>>6502151
lol faggot

>> No.6502312
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6502312

If you want to get the most out of the series then do not read it until you have a working knowledge of Boethius, The New Testament, Roman Catholicism, the works of Borges, Chesterton and Tolkien (particularly The Silmarillion), hermeneutics, phenomenology of religion, kabbalah, etc.

>> No.6502332
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6502332

>>6502312
How much truth is there to this?

I've been thinking of reading either The Silmarillion or Book of the New Sun. If New Sun builds on Silmarillion then that makes the choice very easy.

As for the other stuff, well I'm a Catholic but not a very good one. What constitutes 'a working knowledge'?

Please feed my peasant brain, I want to ascend.

>> No.6502357

>>6502332
In other words, a basic knowledge of the aforementioned subjects. If you're a Catholic I'm assuming you've received some degree of Catholic education. If this is the case, then I'm sure you'll understand some of the allegories, references and messages. Others may go over your head.

Yes, read The Silmarillion first. Make note of the way Tolkien structured it.

>> No.6502359

>>6502312
lol

>> No.6502364

>>6502357
Thanks.

I'll get around to Silmarillion soon and maybe go over some bible stuff too while I'm at it. Never been through the whole thing front to back before. That might be interesting.

>> No.6502366

>>6502364
fucking great now you'll never read anything

you're going to actually think you're going to read the bible then you'll get through like genesis and maybe exodus and give up and then you'll stop reading because you'll be discouraged

>> No.6502370

>>6502332
Its bullshit.

I read BOTNS blind and still enjoyed it, and am enjoying it again on my second read. Don't waste your time "studying" for a fucking sci-fi novel Just experience it.

>> No.6502388

>>6502370
BOTNS is not just "a fucking sci-fi novel." Gene Wolfe is in a masterclass reserved for geniuses like Borges, Lewis, Tolkien, Carroll and Proust. He is far and away the greatest living writer currently alive.

Having a knowledge of everything I laid out will *greatly* increase your understanding (and thus enjoyment) of the book/series.

>> No.6502400

>>6502388
Great, you'll be so busy patching together crack theories of the book instead of just experiencing it. Who honestly gives a shit if the library and the curator was a reference to Borges? Better to just experience the story within it's own context instead of making some shitty mental quilt over it. (Ironically Borges would say the same thing)

And the idea of reading other big ass tomes in preparation for, again, a sci-fi novel, is utterly retarded.

>> No.6502402

>>6502388
>Borges, Lewis, Tolkien, Carroll and Proust

One of these things is not like the other

>> No.6502404
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6502404

>>6502400
You, sir, are a moron.

OP if you don't want to "waste your time studying," as this prole so delicately put it, then I'd suggest reading BOTNS a 2-3 times then reading this.

>> No.6502407

>>6502404
>muh self-prescribed reading list in preparation for a science fiction novel
>you're a prole if you don't like the idea

I know you wanna look at "patrish" and stuff,. but lets be real here. Why would NOT read the book you actually want to read?

>> No.6502410

>>6502407
You clearly have no idea how reading works. Please go back to your Kmart realism or whatever the fuck you postmodernist shitheels are gobbling up these days.

>> No.6502415

>>6502410
I'm pretty sure I do. If you want to absorb and masturbate over someone elses ideas of what someone wrote then be my guest, I'll just sit down and enjoy whatever I want and my own pace.

>> No.6502428

>>6502400
>>6502410
Also the Borges influence/reference has absolutely nothing to do with the curator and Borges' Library of Babel and literally everything to do with Borges' "Funes the Memorious" which I guarantee you have never read nor heard of. Peasant.

>> No.6502434

>>6502428
You should remember that all I said was "it was a reference to Borges". Hopefully the implication hits you.

I know you're scrambling for some witty response, but take your time and read closely.

>> No.6502438

>>6502434
You clearly meant that the library and curator in BOTNS were a reference to "The Library of Babel," which is probably the only work of Borges you're familiar with.

Please get off my board, swine.

>> No.6502440

>>6502312
Why not read the work first, then follow up the connections that interest you, which will prepare you for 2nd, 3rd, etc readings? That gives you more motivation for secondary reading.

>> No.6502443

>>6502438
>Putting words in my mouth
>literally guessing at what I have and havent read

Not so fast, Poindexter.

>> No.6502445

>>6502404
>>6502428
>>6502438
>sir
>prole
>peasant
>swine

why are you a parody of a person

>> No.6502448

>>6502443
No guessing involved. It's transparently obvious.

>> No.6502451

>>6502448
Sometimes, reality isn't what you think it is anon.

And it's cute how you micoscope on such a little point when the greater argument is whether it's worth it to study for a science fiction novel (maybe I'll be nicer and say a novel, I didn't study for Melville or Dostoyevsky either), which you know clearly isn't.

>> No.6502476

>>6502052
I'm a practicing Catholic and I had the knowledge to get some references,didn't read the Silmarillion or much else since this is the book that really got me into literature. I've reread it multiple times since and it is still amazing. You can read it without knowing anything prior to it, but then reading it again is highly recommended. Keep in mind that everything is important and that things connect into a very fine and complex painting. It isn't a standard fantasy, I personally wouldn't classify it as fantasy at all. It's much closer to Borges and Proust than it is to Tolkien. Don't get into it the way you would get into Asimov. Get into it the way you would go into Joyce and inb4 faggots I'm not comparing their quality, just the mindset you as a reader need
>>6502312
This is good advice, but it isn't 100% necessary.
>>6502151
You will have this moronic opinion if you only read 1/4 without close attention and knowledge of the New Testament (reading that is a must, other stuff is optional).

>> No.6502480

>>6502451
All novels are worthy of study.

Again, you don't know how any of this works.

>> No.6502488

>>6502480
Let's not kid ourselves.

>> No.6502501

>>6502476
>It isn't a standard fantasy, I personally wouldn't classify it as fantasy at all
Because it's science fiction, just saying. The book having intricate and lofty concepts dosen't change it's nature. There are good books and bad books, regardless of the symbols it uses.