/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.8523021]

/sffg/ - Latest Edition

>Fantasy
>Selected: http://i.imgur.com/r688cPe.jpg/
>General: http://i.imgur.com/igBYngL.jpg/
>Flowchart: http://i.imgur.com/uykqKJn.jpg/

>Science Fiction
>Selected: http://i.imgur.com/A96mTQX.jpg/
>http://imgur.com/a/90laS
>General: http://i.imgur.com/r55ODlL.jpg/ >http://i.imgur.com/gNTrDmc.jpg/

Old Thread: >>8515534

[Anonymous No.8523048]

>>8523021

I know /sffg/ isn't too keen on Rothfuss but I'd like some discussion on TNOTW so far, so thoughts on Abenthy possibly being in league with the Chandrian and murdering all of Kvothe's troupe to set him on the path of going to the university? Just seems odd Abenthy and Kvothe's parents were talking about his potential, how the troupe is holding him back and some slight discussion of Chandrians then one just shows up and murders them all as Abenthy slips away on his own a day or so.

[Anonymous No.8523125]

What fantasy writer is the most aesthetic?

[Anonymous No.8523193]

>>8523048

[Anonymous No.8523218]

What sci-fi does tech porn the best>

[Anonymous No.8523242]

>>8523218
joe abercrombie
george r. r. martin

[Anonymous No.8523248]

>>8523021
You fucking idiot. You put sffg in subject.

Now when ppl search for the thread it's gonna be problematic.

[Anonymous No.8523258]

>>8523242
Do you know what tech porn is?

>>8523218
Do you want hard or soft? Futuristic tech that makes your inner geek/nerd squeak?

[Anonymous No.8523264]

Where is the house of blades anon shill? This thing is literal anime.

Naruto makes a deal with Pegasus, so he can use the millennium eye to access power from the shadow realm, while using his sage mode powers given to him by brook from one piece, to weld a 7 foot long sword.

He then has a desu desu rozen maiden doll (about 70 of them) who talk to him and give him advice.

WHAT THE LITERAL FUCK

[Anonymous No.8523270]

>>8523264
Being more anime than Sanderson?

Is such a thing even possible?

[Anonymous No.8523287]

>>8523048
I'll repeat myself for you.
Rothfuss is an awful writer and you won't see your theory come true because he'll never finish it. But by the time you finish it you won't care, unless you have severe autism.
>>8523270
Smiles sardonically*
Raises an eyebrow*

[Anonymous No.8523308]

Terra or Tellus?

[Anonymous No.8523315]

>>8523287
Kaladin dropped his pants and let out a flurry into the trough. Fecalspren slowly rose around him as the smell of Shallan's jam n' bread. The bread had digested in his bowels, came into his nose. Relieved, he pulled his pants up and performed a quarter-quadruple full lashing. Which meant his down was now up and...

[Anonymous No.8523316]

>>8523308
Terra because Rewrite

[Anonymous No.8523358]

>>8523021
I'm looking for a new book. Literally anything fantasy that isn't shit.

Hit me with your number 1 choice, /sffg/

[Anonymous No.8523361]

>>8523358
The Buried Giant

[Anonymous No.8523370]

>>8523021
Aside from the obvious answer of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, are there some great sci-fi books with an underwater/ocean setting/theme?

[Anonymous No.8523372]

>>8523361
Looks good. Thanks.

[Anonymous No.8523374]

Never Let Me Go has to be one of the most boring books I've ever read

There are no stakes, there is nothing engaging in the story, it's just a drag to get through

The prose isn't good enough for atmosphere alone to carry it, either

[Anonymous No.8523415]

>>8523374
I can definitely understand why people don't like Never Let Me Go, it's a middle ground of sci-fi lit that I don't think will satisfy many people looking for science fiction or people looking for literature, but I liked it very much. Like The Remains of the Day, it's Ishiguro writing a character study, so the events of the story are minimal and downplayed, and I can see why you would think it boring. I disagree about the lack of stakes and the prose, however.

[Anonymous No.8523541]

>>8523125
Mervyn Peake

[Anonymous No.8523572]

>>8523358
Lyonesse

[Anonymous No.8523591]

This has to be one of the worst scifi books I've read in a while.

Premise
>in THE FUTURE America has been reduced to a bunch of the burbclaves from Snow Crash and imports Chinese people to labor for them, dystopian society, the rest of the country is lawless, etc etc
>The boyfriend of a Chinese girl at a fish farm in Baltimore gets kidnapped by the corporations, she sets off in search of him

Actuality
>One dimensional main character leaves the city, gets hit by a car, spends some time recovering with the family of the country doctor who ran her over, then gets kidnapped by crazy cat lady who now keeps girls like pets because pets got banned in the burbclaves, THEN THE BOOK ENDS

So much wasted potential.

[Anonymous No.8523605]

>>8523591
Forgot something:
>one of the other girls poisons herself with spoiled canned food to let the main character escape, this has no real emotional impact

[Anonymous No.8523802]

Oh man I'm geeking out. I emailed an author to ask him about a release date and to tell him how much I enjoyed his books and he actually responded. He just said thank you and gave me a date but still, that's awesome.

[Anonymous No.8523827]

Bakkerfags, report in.

>The fields must burn to drive Him forth from the Ground.

So let me get this straight: Kellhus is going to kill everyone by becoming the No-God in order to starve heaven and hell until God comes out of hiding, and then he's going to kill God?

[Anonymous No.8523828]

what is the No-God ? what is it's end game?

[Anonymous No.8523831]

>>8523827
You can't grasp the mind of Kellhus. You are but a child to him.

[Anonymous No.8523845]

>you will never feel Kellhus's wisdom flowing deep inside you

[Anonymous No.8523883]

I can't come up with stories short enough to actually finish /sffg/, what do I do?

[Anonymous No.8523896]

>>8523883
Maybe practice writing individual scenes first, then stitch them together to make a story?

[Anonymous No.8523915]

>>8523896
It's the desire to fix things and start over that screws me up though

[Anonymous No.8523965]

>>8523802
If it was Sanderson, it's probably Peter who responded.

[Anonymous No.8523981]

>>8523883
.... this reads like you are a spammer who is looking for short stories to "finish" sffg by filling up all 310 posts.

[Anonymous No.8524018]

>>8523883
Be happy you can come up with stories at all.

[Anonymous No.8524090]

When will fantasy move away from autistic levels of description?

[Anonymous No.8524141]

Choose your meme

[Anonymous No.8524151]

>>8524090
When autists stop paying money to read about their favorite autist-sensei's autisticly-constructed fantasy world. I.e., never.

Imagine a sperglord analyzing magic systems on an anime message board, forever.

[Anonymous No.8524206]

>>8523315
I'm honestly not sure if this is in the book or not

[Anonymous No.8524218]

I just finished pic related, after hearing for years about Chiang.

The stories are technically well-constructed; hardly a wasted word. "The Tower of Babylon" is very similar to Clarke's "The Wall of Darkness", for instance, but much shorter while including additional interesting the details of the tower and the workers. Chiang's prose is far above the typical SF author; I recall maybe one or two awkward sentences in the whole collection. No wonder he publishes so few stories. Posters complaining about bad writing in SF should consider this to get into the genre.

The stories were more of a mixed bag than I would have thought, though. "Division by Zero" felt like a shaky trial run for the far better "Story of Your Life"; I don't think it should have been included. "Hell is the Absence of God" is a ridiculous shaggy-dog story that couldn't have been written as anything other than to troll Christians.

"Understand" is one of the best first-person portrayals of a superhuman intelligence out there, although Chiang didn't adequately explain why THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE.

This is a dumb comparison, but I'm going to make it anyway: "The Golden Age" did a much better job describing a pervasive computing's effects than "Liking What We See". The campus politics phrasing, evul corporations, quasi-epistolary format, narrow subject: I can't take this story seriously.

Would definitely recommend though.

[Anonymous No.8524227]

>>8524218
The sounded way too negative. "Seventy-Two Letters" was great, as of course was "Story of Your Life" (I was initially put off by the intercuts about the narrator's daughter, but they turned out to have a purpose). "Division by Zero", while bad, was short, and "Hell Is..." is probably more "divisive" than "bad" and at least worth discussing.

[Anonymous No.8524248]

What do yall think of these lists?

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5406.Best_Fantasy_Books_Under_the_Radar

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/26220.Contemporary_Fantasy_for_Guys?page=1

Which obscure ones you read and would recommend?

[Anonymous No.8524294]

>>8524151
>>8524090
The real problem is that fantasy readers still buy books by the pound. Fatness is a known selling point in that genre, so authors pack in the lard to bulk up a thin story.

[Anonymous No.8524462]

I'd recommend "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling"
>http://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/fall_2013/the_truth_of_fact_the_truth_of_feeling_by_ted_chiang

and "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate".

[Anonymous No.8524510]

I'm surprised Gor never gets mentioned even as a troll recommendation. How are those if you ignore or don't care about the girls being willing slaves? Don't actually know anything about the series besides that since it's the only thing everyone talks about.

[Anonymous No.8524513]

>>8524248
I only checked the first 100 books in each list. I have read the following from each.
BFBUR: The King of Elfland's Daughter
CFFG: The Way of Kings, The Final Empire

TKOED is an interesting read, bit slow, very good prose. At least one passage struck me as if a physical blow.

TWOK was okay. TFE is pretty rad, if you like action anime/have autism.

[Anonymous No.8524548]

>>8524510
>Unfortunately for me, only about seven or eight publishing houses maintain a mass-market paperback line in science fiction and fantasy; this small, closely-knit group effectively controls the market. With such a group, a blacklist need not be an explicit, formal written or oral agreement subscribed to by a gathered cabal pledged to secrecy. It is an understanding that a certain individual is to be ostracized, excluded, methodologically overlooked or such.

Did he name the jew?

[Anonymous No.8524588]

>>8524248
lmao decided to look at the first book from the first list and look at the reviews

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16155612-the-orb-of-truth

is goodreads always like this?

[Anonymous No.8524603]

I want to write a short story its actually a fan-fiction tier story for a game I'm making set in a world with fantasy elements, specifically with magic people use to fight each other. The magic is explained away as technology left behind by an advanced civilization thats no longer around (left of their own accord or maybe post apocalypse etc)

The actual plot of the story is going to be a seven samurai rip off. Each chapter will be told in the style of singular pov a la Hyperion, explaining each character's journey up until the end chapter. The end chapter will be narrated in a more traditional third person fashion.

I'm having trouble not just creating a braindead copy of seven samurai's plot. I'm looking for some inspo and ideas for how I can make it a bit different.

One thing I really like (but that's gotten cliche lately I guess) is an element of mindfuck. We've all experienced this in great /sffg/ books where you go "oh shit!" when something is revealed, etc.

Anyone want to recommend stuff that'll inspire and help shape what I'm trying to write?

Stuff I've read over the last while:
>book of the new sun
>blindsight
>spin
>wind up girl
>water knife
>hyperion, fall of hyperion

[Anonymous No.8524628]

>>8524510
I've never read them, although I do have a weird uncle who once mentioned he had. The following is my impression:

They're written in the pulp tradition. Burroughs' Barsoom stories are pretty straitlaced, but everybody is running around naked, and the erotic subtext isn't completely absent. Many fans in the old days were not content with leaving things where pulp authors left them.

Then in the 60s John Norman basically writes "Hardcore Barsoom" and there were plenty of people who lapped it up. He merely put into writing what everybody else had already been doing and saying. And by most accounts, the first few novels were at least passable outside of the BDSM stuff, certainly better than whatever fanfic was being put out in zines.

I have no idea how well the new Gor novels sell, but I imagine Norman has gotten really good at writing BDSM pulp after doing it for 40 years, so if that's what you're into he's probably got what you want.

[Anonymous No.8524630]

>>8524603
Write the ripoff version first. Give yourself one week. Then write the same thing, but different. Keep doing this and one time you'll go "oh, shit!".

[Anonymous No.8524635]

>>8524630
will try that anon thanks

im going to dump some BoTNS art I found

[Anonymous No.8524638]

>>8524635

[Anonymous No.8524641]

>>8524638

[Anonymous No.8524648]

>>8524641

[Anonymous No.8524651]

>>8524648
>tfw u will never own BoTNS with covers illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano of Final Fantasy fame

Japan gets all the coolest shit

[Anonymous No.8524652]

>>8524651

[Anonymous No.8524655]

>>8524548
I'm sure Vox Day would have loved to publish him.

[Anonymous No.8524656]

>>8524652
stupid sexy severian

[Anonymous No.8524657]

>>8524656

[Anonymous No.8524658]

>>8524657
not anime enough you say?

[Anonymous No.8524662]

>>8524658

[Anonymous No.8524665]

>>8524658
Wait, wait hold the fuck up, is this an actual thing?
Is Book of the New Sun even a logical thing to turn into a manga?

[Anonymous No.8524666]

>>8524662

[Anonymous No.8524669]

>>8524665
I think they are just book covers, not manga.

>is it even a logical thing to turn into a manga
Have you ever read manga? It'd fuckin' work man.

[Anonymous No.8524676]

>>8524669
Man this fucking pose. WHAT IS A MAN?

[Anonymous No.8524689]

Speaking of Book of the New Sun, I'm about halfway done with it and I'm enjoying it a lot.
Is Urth of the New Sun worth a read too?
From what I understand it's sort of like a sequel/conclusion to it, but is it of the same quality?

[Anonymous No.8524691]

>>8524676
>>8524669
>>8524666
>>8524662
>>8524658
these were drawn by the death note guy if anyone cares

[Anonymous No.8524707]

alright /sffg/ im looking for a book series. forgot the title but it's supposed to be similar to a song of ice and fire.
apparently its really complicated with a huge cast of characters. not only are there humans but also gods who play a part in the politics and war as well.
its fantasy but i dont think its necessarily high fantasy. i know this is pretty vague but thats all i can think of. i found it years ago on goodreads then just forgot about it.

[Anonymous No.8524742]

>>8524707
Malazan?

[Anonymous No.8524788]

>>8524707
Smells like Malazan

[Anonymous No.8524808]

>>8524742
>>8524788
i think thats it. thanks. also, if anyones still here, is it worth reading? if youve read it?

[Anonymous No.8524833]

>>8524808
First book is a bit overwhelming, but you'll eventually pick up on things. Supposedly begins a nosedive at Reaper's Gale (I just finished that one, did seem like too many povs). I've enjoyed it so far, but the thing is looong.

[Anonymous No.8525030]

>>8524689
It's there to explain itself to stupid people because the editor made him write it.
It's good, but not as good.

[Anonymous No.8525141]

Abercrombie's Shattered Sea is better than First Law. Less edgy, but also unfortunately less deep (if FL ever had that much depth to it)

[Anonymous No.8525148]

>>8525141
no

[Anonymous No.8525149]

>>8525148
I fucking hated how edgy FL was.

[Anonymous No.8525151]

>>8525149
I can live with edge, but he had a straight face about it and made his novels dull so you couldn't just read it fast and be done with it, he had to write 1800 pages to finish the story.
And that writing does not carry a story for so long.

[Anonymous No.8525165]

>>8523358
The Dream-Questof Unknown Kadath.

[Anonymous No.8525180]

Am I the only anon who really likes Harlan Ellison?

[Anonymous No.8525182]

>>8525180
No, he's even in the /lit/ top 100

[Anonymous No.8525200]

I feel like a lot of fantasy readers are sleeping on Michael J. Sullivan.

I'm reading the Riyria Revelations, on the last book. It's a really fun series, even if it's only PG.

I might need to spice it up after this series though. Can anyone recommend some good fantasy with a lil bit of sex (don't want anything graphic) and appropriate cussing (as in not overdoing it)? After reading this series for a while, I feel like I need something a little more appropriate for my age.

sword & sorcery is what I dig the most, but really it doesn't matter too much.

Thanks.

[Anonymous No.8525462]

*tugs braid*

[Anonymous No.8525571]

>>8525180

[Anonymous No.8525580]

>>8525462
Raises eyebrow*

[Anonymous No.8525586]

>>8525200
Welcome to the fold new Sullivan reader.

Try Lightbringer series, fifth season, and the magicians by lev grossman.

Those three are gri approved authors.

[Anonymous No.8525596]

>>8525180
nah senpai, i have like 7 collections of his short stories on my shelf.

I always get made fun of during "post ur bookshelf" threads for it though :(

[Anonymous No.8525601]

Everyone reply to this post with a GRI APPROVED book, so we could help others our who are looking for such.

I'll start: Night Angel Trilogy
I know its edgy but wew is it GRI filled.

[Anonymous No.8525678]

>>8525601
Does it have to have all three or does just one make it GRI passable?

[Anonymous No.8525756]

>>8523845
>>8523827

Is there a more powerful "realistic" human in fantasy? And i'm talking about his manipulations not his magic...

Imagine when Kellus walks out of the wilderness he ends up in another novel. Who could beat him at his own game? ( no magic powers)

[Anonymous No.8525774]

>>8525756
Bakker fans have finally devolved into Naruto versus Goku tier

[Anonymous No.8525943]

>>8525678
2 minimum.

[Anonymous No.8525974]

>>8525943
That's pretty gay, other than non-consensual incest...

[Anonymous No.8526015]

"In the combat autism, the world always makes sense".

My sides have reached orbit. If this author cunt never used to lurk on 4chan then I'm a faggot.

[Anonymous No.8526030]

>>8525774
They don't have anything else to discuss, what you expect?

They are not reading other novels.

[Anonymous No.8526071]

>>8526015
what book?

[Anonymous No.8526169]

>>8526071
The sequel to 4chan the novel.
It's filled with battle autism, otakus, and weaponized memes.

[Anonymous No.8526180]

Is Jeff VanderMeer worth reading? The local library had some of his books out on the "New Old Arrivals" shelf and the blurbs seemed interesting.

[Anonymous No.8526192]

>>8525141
They're pretty good, but I wouldn't say they're better than the First Law. Everything is so dull and grey. I think he could have compressed the story into one book and nothing would have been lost.
Also none of the fights are as hype as the ones with Logen. Him fighting the Feared is an amazing scene.

[Anonymous No.8526280]

>>8525774
>>8526030

I was asking this specifically because i would like to read another series...damn u guys are triggered by bakker....what about him makes you so upset ?

[Anonymous No.8526296]

Anyone here read the Age of Myth? First Empire series

Looking pretty good

[Anonymous No.8526308]

>>8525200

Sullivan uses feminist bullshit in his books and he uses it also as filler for the boring parts
There are no 1/2 star reviews on goodreads for his books that say anything about sexism = he is a shit author

[Anonymous No.8526376]

>>8526296
I was the anon hyping it months ago. It disappointed me, that why I stopped hyping.

Maybe I've gotten engorged on gri, but Sullivan waw too clean and kiddie to me in this book.

[Anonymous No.8526384]

>>8526376

He is way too clean and did you fucking see the huge WOMEN INVENTED EVERYTHING THEY ARE GENIUSES fucking part he put in that was so completely fucking ridiculous

[Anonymous No.8526412]

>>8526384

>>>/r9k/

[Anonymous No.8526445]

>>8526180
The Southern Reach books were pretty solid afaik, so probably. Do you happen to remember any titles?

[Anonymous No.8526449]

>>8526308
>Goodreads complaints about sexism are the defining trait of a good author
Nicememe.jpg

[Anonymous No.8526484]

>>8526445
They had Area X, City of Saints and Madmen, and Shriek.

[Anonymous No.8526508]

>>8526449

They are though, from the books I've read and the reviews that I've looked at, I haven't been disappointed yet

[Anonymous No.8526557]

>>8526308
>>8526449
Testing this theory.

>The straining and/or arcing phalluses, let alone corpse violations, grew tiresome as well; we get it, sexual violence.

Nice.

[Anonymous No.8526568]

>>8526508
What untalked about books from these >>8524248
lists match?

[Anonymous No.8526575]

>>8526557

No seriously this shit works, look at 1 or 2 star reviews, if there's nothing about sexism or objectification or whatever else buzzwords they use, then the book probably is shit, I'll remind you that this only goes for fantasy, if they have something other than sexism etc to complain about then the book probably is bland and boring

[Anonymous No.8526585]

>>8526568

>Rothfuss shit is #1

I don't even need to look at anything else on the list to say the list is complete shit and the person who made it is also complete shit

[Anonymous No.8526612]

>>8526585
*tips dino fedora"
Muh lady

[Anonymous No.8526631]

>>8526612

What?

[Anonymous No.8526674]

>>8526575
>>8526508
>he's doubling down

[Anonymous No.8526833]

So I've been trying to psych myself up for Tad Williams writing a new book in the same setting as Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn but it's been like a decade since I read that series. Anybody else read TW?

[Anonymous No.8526915]

Ok, if anyone's interested I just finished reading The Three Body Problem.

Here are my initial bad thoughts:
The story doesn't feel much like solid science fiction. It actually feels like something more akin to YA, and it would certainly fall in this category for me if the characters were younger. There seems to be an almost childlike take on the world, with matters that usually hold weight given very little. Too many coincidences and revelations without buildup. Hopefully you know what I mean.
Massive assuptions are made with the aliens having similar biology to our own, ie having eyes, and a caste structure that holds ministers of science and war etc. Nothing we're not seen before but it didn't seem very novel.
The three body problem games excuse as being "too abstract" doesn't distract from the fact anything deemed "impossible" on the internet is likely to be solved quickly by some smart-arse, no matter if it's subject matter is interesting or not. See, No Man's Sky: two players finding themselves on the day of release
The video-game interaction suits were introduced much too quickly
The version I read: Pic related, did not read very well in English. I know how hard it is for Chinese to turn into English, but a lot of phrases didn't ring well enough, nor did a lot of sentences flow very well.
Ultimately: Here's my biggest dislike. After reading the novel I couldn't for the life of me describe the main character for you. He's dull, acts as the plot needs him too, and doesn't really learn or change at all throughout the novel. He also solves the first 3body.net problem incredibly fast for a man who's not an astrophysicist. Overall he just wasn't a very enjoyable protagonist. He had no emotion, and it was dull to experience the story through him.

Here are my initial good thoughts:
I was certainly frazzled and excited when it was revealed the tristellar system was Alpha Centauri, and I was a little goose-pimpled when the "Do not reply!" message came in.
Scenes in the video game were abstract and entertaining.
The sections involving history were done well, and didn't exclusively hold the novel up.
The other main character, Ye, was very interesting and I enjoyed following her tale. The massive flashback section didn't feel that hammy despite its sudden appearance.
The scene where they cut the boat into a "deck of cards" was very good. I enjoyed that entire chapter a lot.

Overall:
Good, but not excellent. Doesn't live up to its supposed hype. For a Chinese equivalent of "babies first scifi" it's fair enough. I hope more scifi can be seen to coming out of China after this one's success. I do intend to read the rest of the series, so that certainly redeems it a bit. I could however go without reading the rest if I really had too, as it semi-finshes itself off. I have the heard Dark Forest is good though, so I will push on.

Thanks for reading.

[Anonymous No.8526936]

>>8526915
Learn to use spoiler tags.

[Anonymous No.8526979]

>>8526915

>Massive assuptions are made with the aliens having similar biology to our own, ie having eyes, and a caste structure that holds ministers of science and war etc. Nothing we're not seen before but it didn't seem very novel.

Confirmed for not having reading comprehension. It's like you hadn't read the fucking book. They clearly explain that the biology and societal structure of the Trisolarians was alien as fuck. However, they showed that it wasn't so different in the Three-Body game because they wanted people to become familiar with the Trisolarians.

[Anonymous No.8527042]

>>8526936
Yeah actually my bad I intended to go back and spoiler stuff. Incredibly sorry if I've fucked you over at all. To be fair the only real spoiler is aliens (better late than never!) but if you read the blurb of the second or third books it's hinted very strongly and tipped me off.

>>8526979
I could tell a perfectly boring and mundane story of a man going to work, finding a bank note under his chair, then spending it on a chocolate bar on the way home. BUT! If I add the pretext that he's really an alien and I've just turned it into human terms for you to understand it instantly becomes AMAZING science fiction. See what I mean?

That section you quoted isn't really me complaing about the 3body.net sections though, more the part at the very end on actual their planet. We have have misunderstood each other,

[Anonymous No.8527097]

>>8527042
>We have have misunderstood each other,
Nah. You have misunderstood the book.

[Anonymous No.8527107]

>>8523605
Why are you trying to silence diverse voices?

[Anonymous No.8527110]

>>8526280
>what about him
Nice save.

[Anonymous No.8527111]

>>8526280
>what about him makes you so upset ?
He managed to pull off a fucking Gay Stu and get people to praise him at the same fucking time. In the first book this wasn't so evident so I consider that one decent. Kellus shouldn't have never been a fucking wizard or a fighter, just a charmer with words who had to juggle people like Cnaiur around. After that scene with him going full Matrix with some arrows all tension went to shit since he's just the best on everything. I don't want to read a circlejerk and I get it, he isn't a good guy, stop shoving it down my throat Baker for fucks sake.

Also trilogy my ass. Nothing got resolved.

[Anonymous No.8527117]

>>8524218
Did you read it after Wright reposted his review of it? He offhandedly mentioned Smith of Wootton Major in it, and I read that instead, and now I'm on this huge fairyland kick.

[Anonymous No.8527123]

>>8524691
Oh man you couldn't tell at all.

[Anonymous No.8527130]

>>8525943
The Broken Sword.

[Anonymous No.8527133]

>>8526915
When it was about scientists committing suicide because the laws of physics are variable and other Unseen Horrors it was pretty good. When it turned out that we're okay! Science works! Look, it even works BETTER than we thought because the aliens were rusing us! it was just okay.

[Anonymous No.8527155]

>>8527097
Maybe I have. But I've followed more complicated works than this, I refer again to the translations.

[Anonymous No.8527341]

>>8526915
But did it make you witness the death of the west?

[Anonymous No.8527493]

>>8526915
I honestly appreciate the effort post, but I didn't read it because I just bought this at a Hastings going out of business sale and will read it soon.

[Anonymous No.8527494]

>>8527341
Cringed when the British guy said "to be or not to be."
It's a very China-centric novel though.

[Anonymous No.8527520]

THIS GENERAL IS BORING AS FUCK.

WHAT HAPPENED?
THE DINOSAURS AREN'T EVEN HERE TO SHIT ON.

[Anonymous No.8527538]

What are, in your opinion, the best novels with a cyberpunk setting? I'm starting to get into sci-fi in general and really like the cyberpunk aesthetic.

Bonus points if they deal with ontological-type shit a la Blade Runner

[Anonymous No.8527549]

>>8527117
I hadn't read Wright's review; I just did.

I agree with most of his criticisms, although I didn't think "Understand"'s ending detracted much from what came before. Also, either I interpreted "Story of Your Life" differently or one of us doesn't get it, but I didn't think it was about precognition, per se, so much as perception and memory. The heptapods (and the narrator) aren't "seeing the future", they're basically reminiscing back from their last moment of awareness before they die.

He also didn't address "Seventy Two Letters" at all. I can guess what Wright's criticism of it would be, but he probably liked it overall as he didn't bother writing it out. It's also the loosest story, technically; there were a few hollow or cliched sentences, noticeable in context with the rest of the anthology only because Chiang makes so few missteps. Probably not coincidentally, it's also the most fun, and probably my second favorite.

Don't let Wright put you off the collection; a bit of hype deflation is all you need to enjoy it.

[Anonymous No.8527555]

Are there any books set in the future which parallel late antiquity?

[Anonymous No.8527572]

>>8527538
>cyberpunk
Altered Carbon
Books by Neal Asher
Books by Bv Larson
for something fun? Perfect State by Brandon Sanderson

Although I'm kinda spoiling it with saying that it is cyberpunk. It's super short though, you should finish it in 3hours max.

[Anonymous No.8527574]

>>8527538
The Stars My Destination, Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Neuromancer, Schismatrix (Plus), Altered Carbon, Snow Crash.

Cyberpunk novels tend not to have great prose, so keep your expectations in that regard low.

[Anonymous No.8527582]

>>8527555
Foundation.

[Anonymous No.8527617]

>>8527555
Do you mean the future but it feels like late antiquity or the future but late antiquity things are happening?

[Anonymous No.8527641]

>>8520233
>>8520242
>>8520326
This is the rear half. Insulation looks crummy, but it was free. The project is moving at a glacial pace because I don't know what I'm doing and suffer from terminal laziness.

[Anonymous No.8527667]

>>8527641
Is that in a storage locker?

[Anonymous No.8527692]

>>8527667
It's a 40ft shipping container.

[Anonymous No.8527700]

How about simple but dank fantasy set in our world? Not dumbass urban fantasy or shit with monsters or demons popping in and out a la Darren Shan, but something like Jumper. Picked it up on a whim for $3, and honestly it puts 90% of the books I've read to shame. Abuse, loneliness, alienation, love...it blows the """movie""" version out of the fucking water.

>>8525601
Does attempted GR count?

[Anonymous No.8527702]

>>8527617

Future but feels like late antiquity

Sorta like if 400 years from now civilisation was decaying and a future Boethius was writing - the same sort of feels you get reading about the Roman Empire in that time

[CS !ONk14TfQNk No.8527708]

>>8527641
It looks like a nice place to archive all of your SF classics.

[Anonymous No.8527842]

I picked up A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z. Williamson among a few other books on a trip to the bookstore to sell some stuff back. It was pretty awful, nothing really happened. After 900 pages they just went home and the book ends.

I also picked up and finished Warp Speed by Travis S Taylor. Wouldn't recommend, he aped the style of a fast, fun read without grasping the heart.

[Anonymous No.8527894]

>>8527702
That's Dune then. I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but I enjoy the future primeval myself and I'm still having a hard time coming up with another title. Poul Anderson might have something good but I haven't read much by him.

[Anonymous No.8527924]

>>8527842
>Warp Speed by Travis S Taylor

One of the worst books I've ever read, little more than a "the author has a STEM degree and writes fanfic about himself" joke made real.

[Anonymous No.8527945]

>>8527924
>Travis S Taylor
>The strong resemblance between Clemons and Taylor, along with the tremendous skill, intellect and competence demonstrated by Clemons (and multiple other characters), has given rise to commentary and critiques characterizing Clemons as a "Mary Sue": a character patterned after the author's personality and appearance, but possessing exaggerated abilities and/or attractiveness. Taylor has been described as "irked" at such reactions; he is quoted as saying:

(quotes long paragraph of Taylor whining about IRL competent people not being mary sues)

>Regardless of such criticism, Warp Speed belongs to the genre known as an Edisonade, and the heroes of this genre are inevitably multitalented. It is common for the protagonist of a first novel to be strongly inspired by the author's personal experiences. Warp Speed was voted #3 best science fiction book of 2005 by The Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.

>tfw you will never be so thin-skinned you edit your own wikipedia page

[Anonymous No.8527969]

>>8527708
That's the the idea. I've already got bookcases for it.

[Anonymous No.8527999]

Just finished the first Black Company book.

What a mess. Pretty good idea, but poorly written as well.
>the Lady and the Black Company seem to win every story told Croaker
>yet they ares losing the war

I know, Cook wants to tell the story of the Company, not the war, but I think more details about what was happening should be given.

[Anonymous No.8528029]

Can I get some high fantasy recommendations?

What even is high fantasy compared to simple sword and sorcery stuff?

[Anonymous No.8528041]

>>8528029
I dunno, whiz-bang Shannara stuff? Or maybe it's got mythopoeia in it? Supposedly LotR is high fantasy but there really isn't that much magic in it. Maybe it's the secondary-world aspect? I've been getting into classic fantasy, pre-Tolkein stuff, and the mindset is 180 degrees from Dragonlance and the like.

[Anonymous No.8528053]

>>8528029
High fantasy:
>L'aeondrel prepared his mighty sword Darkblighter and the elfin bow Windsmith as he prepared to confront the evil sorcerer and rescue the queen

Sword and Sorcery
>concealed in shadow, Grabthar flexed his mighty thews as he prepared to stab the evil sorcerer in the back and steal his wallet

[Anonymous No.8528055]

>>8528041
Anything pre-tolkien you'd recommend?

[Anonymous No.8528091]

>>8528055
So far I've just read half of Worm Ouroboros and Well at the World's end, plus MacDonald's Light Princess and Day Boy and Night Girl. I'm hoping to knock out MacDonald, Eddison, Dunsany, and Morris, and I'm sure to have more recommendations then.

Right now I would recommend MacDonald, there's this weird combination of economy of words and action in some parts and long digressions onto seemingly unimportant topics in others, but it always comes out meaning something. He's able to paint very detailed characters with just a few words, and there's a science-fiction sensibility applied to fairytales; like with a princess who's cursed to not have gravity apply to her, so she can't have heavy thoughts either, but when she's swimming there's weight on her and her lightness of thought disappears. Or there's a witch who's really more of a mad scientist.

And for anyone who loves the beginning of LotR where it's just hobbits taking a walk and having episodic adventures, Phantastes is all that and more.

[Anonymous No.8528115]

i'm halfway trough Dune and the levels of deception i'm feeling cannot be described

(i had already read Destination:Void so was slightly aware of Herbert's floppy prose but still)

[Anonymous No.8528123]

>>8528115
>baby raised on Hemingway-style skeleton prose can't handle a real full-bodied woman of a style

[Anonymous No.8528129]

>>8528055
Oh, and Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword is definitely pre-Tolkein fantasy but I wouldn't categorize it with the rest of those. It's... it's it's own thing, different from the rest of Anderson as well. I highly recommend it, though.

William Hope Hodgson gets classified as science fiction or horror but his stuff is very fantastical as well.

[Anonymous No.8528136]

>>8528123
>"Isn't this a magnificent plan prepared by me, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen?"
>literaly fairy tale-villan kind of dialogue
>a real full-bodied woman of a style
fuck you

[Anonymous No.8528149]

>>8528136
The Baron is supposed to be such a ridiculous piece of shit that he would talk like a comic book villain on purpose, because he thinks it sounds cool.

[Anonymous No.8528339]

Trying to read the Elric saga but I'm finding it hard to figure out where to start in terms of chronology. Anyone know where to actually start?

[Anonymous No.8528371]

Finally about to finish the Gap Cycle. About halfway through pic related. It's been pretty good, my only complaint is the heavy political undertones to the main story. Really want to read the King's Justice if I can find a copy for cheap. Also hype that Donaldson is writing a new fantasy trilogy.

[Anonymous No.8528372]

>>8523021
Is this worth reading/good?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13578175-the-emperor-s-soul

[Anonymous No.8528383]

>>8526631
There are certain retards who believe that one should like every book out there, unless they want to be fedora tipping elitists.
>>8528339
Go to goodreads and search for it, they will have the publishing order next and number next to the novels in question.

[Anonymous No.8528416]

>>8528372
Yes, if you like Sanderson or are interested in giving him a go for the first time. It's quick and easy and shows the strengths of his writing. If you've already made your mind up that Sanderson is shit/anime, then no.

[Anonymous No.8528522]

>>8528371
Awesome! Personally though, I liked the political undertones. Do you feel they detract from the story?

[Anonymous No.8528621]

>>8528371
That is a really cool title. I'm not even a fedora.

[Anonymous No.8528634]

>>8525601
>night angel trilogy
REEEEEEEEEEE QUIT RECOMMENDING THIS EDGY GARBAGE

[Anonymous No.8528732]

Cosmere's the only thing that gets fanart.

[Anonymous No.8528822]

>>8528634

It's a pretty good series

[Anonymous No.8528833]

>>8528822
Count Drake is best boy.

[Anonymous No.8528884]

What does everyone think of graphic audio? I just downloaded way of kings since I haven't around to it yet and didn't even know graphic audio was a thing and it blew my mind, holy shit.

Sure some of the effects can be a bit irritating or too loud but the music score is generally awesome and i love how the whole 'he said' or 'xxxxx, said blah' is removed with the use of a third person narrator and full cast, makes it feel way more natural to listen to.

Must be expensive to produce though.

[Anonymous No.8528898]

>>8527999
But the company is clearly losing logistically. They have to keep moving all the time, retreating or chasing enemies, and because the enemy hits where they aren't at the moment, they are losing the war.

I always understood the events as "if they gave us a fight, we'd win, but they keep outmaneuvering us".

[Anonymous No.8528909]

>>8528884

I love it

[Anonymous No.8529009]

>>8528898
>>8528898
>defeated the strongest rebel, who becomes one of them
>she them defeats the rebels in their strongest front
>defeat many other of the rebels leaders
>yet they are capable to march to the heart of the Lady's Empire and outnumber them in 10 to one

Was that even part of her plan?

[Anonymous No.8529146]

>reading through the Last Battle chapter of AMOL right now
>mfw Gawyn just died

Serves you right you fucking prick. Shame about Siuan and Bryne, though. They were based.

Sanderson saved this series, no two ways about it.

[Anonymous No.8529151]

>reading through the Last Battle chapter of AMOL right now
>mfw Gawyn just died

Serves you right you fucking prick. Shame about Siuan and Bryne, though. They were based.

Sanderson saved this series, no two ways about it.

[Anonymous No.8529224]

>>8529151
I don't even remember how it ended. The early books were childhood defining, the later were homework, something I had to get done with to feel better.

Was it the totally-not-a-samurai fallen king figure who slays the totally-not-satan dark force in the end?

[Anonymous No.8529377]

I really don't like reading Sanderson or Rothfuss but you know what they say enemy of your friend is your friend

[Anonymous No.8529401]

What's with Croaker dream? suddenly fantasizing about Darling aged girls. I don't get why Croaker suddenly despises the Lady either.

[Anonymous No.8529611]

>>8528634
*recommends behind you* tchhh, nice try kid.

[Anonymous No.8529734]

>>8529377
>but you know what they say enemy of your friend is your friend

Nobody says that

[Anonymous No.8529774]

>>8525601
Is it GRI if it's not edgy? What if there's lots of cute loving gay sex and that's all?

[Anonymous No.8530011]

>>8529224

>Was it the totally-not-a-samurai fallen king figure who slays the totally-not-satan dark force in the end?

I take it you're referring to Lan, who killed Demandred in the Last Battle.

[Anonymous No.8530027]

I did it /sffg/, I finally bloody fucking did it

I finished the whole Wheel of Time. Took me the better part of six months.

I feel empty, but my completionist autism is sated at last.

Now I can finally get back to Wolfe.

[Anonymous No.8530029]

>>8529377
>you know what they say enemy of your friend is your friend
It's actually the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[Anonymous No.8530036]

>>8529774
Then it's gay shit. We want none of that.

[Anonymous No.8530150]

>>8530027
Isn't WoT super easy to read schlock in which you for the most part skim the pages anyway thus making it possible to read 80+ pages an hour?

[Anonymous No.8530163]

>>8530036
>We
Speak for yourself senpai

[Anonymous No.8530166]

>>8530036
>Not wanting gay shit
What're you, some kind of faggot?

[Anonymous No.8530216]

>>8530150

Yes. Still took six months due to the sheer quantity of stuff to read. Also I never skim anything as a rule.

It was mostly entertaining, although I feel I'll need to retrain myself to read better stuff now.

[Anonymous No.8530231]

>>8523021
>ghormengast
>dhalgren
>BOTNS
>Lord of the Rings
are there any other non-shit books that fantasy/sf nerds like?

there's stuff like Elric and Conan that's a bit closer to classic D&D vibes and at least isn't so transparently commercial but they're still just entertainments.

[Anonymous No.8530249]

>>8530231
Jack Vance
Lord Dunsany
R. E. Edison
T. H. White
Fritz Leiber
Philip K Dick
Ursula le Guin
Michael Swanwick
Frank Herbert
Stanislaw Lem

These are some good ones, of course varying in quality.

[Anonymous No.8530256]

>>8530249

You are a man of taste.

[Anonymous No.8530258]

>>8530231
foundation, dune, the ender series cs lewis' space trilogy, childhood's end, all have their merits and their drawbacks. Scifi and fantasy just offer a lot of plot devices that compensate for terrible writing, but also lend themselves to great ideas. It's a trade-off.

[Anonymous No.8530259]

>>8530249
>Ursula le Guin
>Jack Vance
>Frank Herbert
come on man

th white and pkd aren't bad, haven't read any of the rest.

man this sort of shit is the reason fantasy and sf doesn't get taken seriously. fans just religiously exalt boring trash because it plays into a familiar set of aesthetics.

[Donkey !HOTAY/zB0Y No.8530262]

>>8528884

I started to listen to something like this once not long ago, an Ursula LeGuin audiobook I think. It had sound effects and multiple voice actors. I didn't care for it and stopped listening almost immediately.

This format reminds me of old-timey radio serials. I have nothing against it in principle but something about it in person just annoys me to no end.

[Anonymous No.8530264]

>>8530258
>foundation, dune, the ender series
trash

if fantasy and sci-fi readers weren't so willing to read shit books, less fantasy and sci-fi would be so bad.

[Anonymous No.8530269]

>>8530264
>>8530259

Dune was boring and dry to me, but like it or not it's a feat of worldbuilding. The ender series varied widely in style and content and just because the first one was thrown together to get to the later ones doesn't mean the whole thing can be lumped under your disappointment with the first one. Foundation I also will grant you was based on the retarded concept of psychohistory, but all that aside, you and every other pompous autistic cunt on this site need to remember that there is middle ground between a masterpiece and complete trash.

[Anonymous No.8530294]

>>8530259
Ursula le Guin is the one author from the list actually taken seriously in academic circles. Of course she isn't nearly as good as Vance, Wolfe or Peake and is closer to Herbert in quality.
The reason sff isn't taken seriously is because people don't want to take it seriously. Vance is 10 times better than Vonnegut who is arbitrarily so not sf at all and unfortunately, he's taken seriously.
And I don't see how any of these has a familiar or even similar aesthetic to each other.
>>8530269
Exactly. Science fiction and fantasy is not Russian realism in terms of consistency of quality and largely is there only to be (well written) entertainment. It's perfectly reasonable to dislike Dick, Herbert and Asimov because each has glaring faults as a writer. But it's equally unreasonable not to recognize their quality in certain aspects.

[Anonymous No.8530306]

>>8530269
>there is middle ground between a masterpiece and complete trash
yeah that's sort of what i'm getting at. Not everything has to be on the same level as Book of the New Sun or Dhalgren (that's why i mentioned moorcock in my first post, he's a perfect example of someone who competently and creatively engages with fantasy aesthetics without doing anything particularly astounding or groundbreaking) but fantasy and sf fans' willingness to accept mediocrity really doesn't help the genre go anywhere positive.

It's the same reason why romance novels and mysteries are generally written off. horny housewives and old grandmas will read them even if the writing is awful because the books have got the same stupid shit that keeps them coming back.

your defenses here reek of this kind of bullshit. Dune is allowed to be buttfuck boring thematic noise because the "worldbuilding" is on point and that keeps nerdy plebs buying. Sure, it's got some redeeming qualities, but there are so many other better things you could be reading.

It actually personally really gets to me because I really love fantasy aesthetics, always have, and I know a lot of fantasy books have some serious art (or even just skilled entertainment) behind them, and I wish fantasy/sf fans would stop accepting mediocrity. it makes us all look bad.

[Anonymous No.8530312]

>>8530306
All I see here is that you care entirely too much what people think of your reading and it's very important to you that you're better than them. I'll bet you genuinely wonder why women don't like you.

[Anonymous No.8530319]

>>8530294
>Exactly. Science fiction and fantasy is not Russian realism in terms of consistency of quality and largely is there only to be (well written) entertainment. It's perfectly reasonable to dislike Dick, Herbert and Asimov because each has glaring faults as a writer. But it's equally unreasonable not to recognize their quality in certain aspects.

Has some redeeming qualities =/= good. When fantasy and sf fans talk up this shit that is so transparently and obviously mediocre it makes it very easy for less fascinated (by the genre's aesthetics) readers to miss the real gems.

PKD's books are bearably short and have some really interesting ideas, but the other two could only ever be successful in circles with low standards.

[Anonymous No.8530332]

>>8530312
I'd really like it if there was significant bodies of analysis written about Gene Wolfe's work. I'd like it if Book of the New Sun was taught alongside Gravity's Rainbow and Blood Meridian in postmodern literature classes. Fucking kill me.

It dissapoints me that he's glossed over because he's lumped alongside Asimov and Orson Scott Card and fuckin Joe Abercrombie.

[Anonymous No.8530346]

>>8530332

>It dissapoints me that he's glossed over because he's lumped alongside Asimov and Orson Scott Card and fuckin Joe Abercrombie.

I never asked for this feel.

[Anonymous No.8530371]

>>8530306
Dune is at the same place Moorcock is.
I don't accept mediocrity, but there are mediocre books, the modern literary fiction is no better.
Romance is in a different basket altogether, especially since as far as Dune, Asimov and Dick were aren't talking about some random shit, we are talking about authors who for whatever reason endure decade after decade. They are now over half a century old and certainly do hold a degree of quality.
Dick is especially strong as far as I'm concerned, reading him provides a unique experience for the reader unlike everything else from the druggie period, be it Pynchon or Burroughs.
I do certainly agree that both Dune and Asimov in general are not amazing authors, I'm indifferent towards Dune and dislike Asimov, but there's certainly something there.
And yes, there are better things I could be reading, but in fact, I like to break up my contemporary thomist ethics and metaphysics and Russian whatever for something decent and fun. I don't think they are literary masterpieces, but they'll hold the same place in literature as Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie.
Science fiction and fantasy have a lot to offer as a literary movement, but a lot of it is honest fun. Herbert and Asimov will never be on the same level as Wolfe or Pynchon or Peake and Joyce, but they have a place between them.
>>8530332
Book of the New Sun is anti post-modern. It's a response and a subversion of techniques used in it. Subjectivity of Severian does not lead to more subjectivity,
His moral ambiguity does not lead to moral relativism, but a firm thomist stance on values.
But it is unfortunate that sff is a sort of a ghetto where there indeed are lower standards.

[Anonymous No.8530381]

>>8530259
>>8530294
Can you fuck off back to r/fantasy already?

[Anonymous No.8530407]

>>8530381
Why? What's the problem?

[Anonymous No.8530414]

>>8530407
Nobody gives a flying fuck about the your non-existent academia.

[Anonymous No.8530433]

>>8530414
So? Why are you posting here?

[Anonymous No.8530442]

>>8530433
To discuss literature and genre fiction, not Marxist themes in Shakespeare.

[Anonymous No.8530463]

>>8530442
But science fiction is literature.

[Anonymous No.8530469]

>burn out on traditional fantasy
>can only gen enjoyment from Discworld novels

Wat do?

[Anonymous No.8530475]

>>8530469
Guess you'd better read all the Discworld novels.

[Anonymous No.8530484]

>>8530469
Have you read Good Omens and The Bromeliad Trilogy?

[Anonymous No.8530486]

>>8530469
Accept adult fiction isn't for you and start on Roald Dahl.

[Anonymous No.8530493]

>>8530484
Not yet, I'm currently going through the Sam Vimes books, I have The Bromeliad ready to read afterwards.

>>8530486
>implying Discworld is for kids.

[Anonymous No.8530497]

>>8530493
>implying it isn't

[Anonymous No.8530500]

>>8530497
I wouldn't let my kids read the majority of them.

[Anonymous No.8530520]

We've just gotta mention Hitchhikers and we've hit the Reddit trifecta.

[Anonymous No.8530522]

>>8530497
Not really, Amazing Maurice and the Tiffany Aching books are though

>>8530500
>controlling what they can or can't read
Get out.

[Anonymous No.8530609]

Does it ever go anywhere, or just sorta meander along until I get tricked into pleb sudoku?

[Anonymous No.8530737]

Just finished WoK, please tell me Sanderson's writing gets better in WoR

[Anonymous No.8530741]

>>8530737
Don't hold your breath faggot

[Anonymous No.8530745]

>>8530737
see
>>8523315

[Anonymous No.8530874]

>>8530029

I'm pretty sure it's the way I said it friend

[Anonymous No.8530877]

>>8530737
WoK is sanderson after a lot of time to get better already. He's not changing

[Anonymous No.8531626]

>>8523021
Any word on Vox Day's bew book, was supposed to come out this month if I remember.

[Anonymous No.8531644]

>>8531626
That rock and roll thing with the horrible Photoshop cover?

[Anonymous No.8531655]

>>8531644
No it was a pretty generic fantasy thing. Quite liked it though.

[Anonymous No.8532027]

>>8530150
I'd say it's only like that after book 6 or so. Prior to that there's a lot of little details worth paying attention to, but it still reads really fast. Jordan was never one to twist language into unusual shapes. Once he really hits the slog part of the story where it's so many different points of view and events slow to a glacial pace though you can skim almost entire chapters depending on who the PoV is.

[Anonymous No.8532050]

>>8530027
WoT is better on the second read through IMO. It's a very comfy series to slip back into if you find yourself with extra time on your hands.

[Anonymous No.8532455]

>>8523021
Well this series went to shit didn't it

[Anonymous No.8532481]

>>8532455
Man I dropped that series after book 1. It was just so boring.

[Anonymous No.8532489]

>>8530231
>dhalgren

This is so much a critic's book. The literary equivalent of Oscar bait dramas in the movie industry.
If thats what you are looking for, make a new thread, people here mostly enjoy reading entertaining fiction.

[Anonymous No.8532493]

>>8532455
so disappointing, I couldn't finish the third book and I'm usually a completionist autist

[Anonymous No.8532516]

>>8532489
The fact that people enjoy entertaining fiction doesn't make them automatic plebs who never like complex novels.

[Anonymous No.8532521]

>>8532516
Something being cryptic and nonsensical, and lacking a plot or structure, doesn't make it complex.

[Anonymous No.8532701]

>>8530264
But every genre is a sea of shit.

[Anonymous No.8532819]

>>8532050

I doubt I'd be able to summon the strenght to go through the whole thing AGAIN, at least in the foreseeable future.

The mere thought of having to reread the fucking Bowl Of Winds/Ebou Dar sections is unbearable.

[Anonymous No.8532822]

>>8532819
Give it a few years and you'll begin to forget the long chapters of reading so you can get back to the only interesting plotline.

[Anonymous No.8532824]

>>8530264
thank you anon

Dune is literally fan-fiction tier prose.

[Anonymous No.8532843]

Why did no one tell me about Ted Chiang sooner?

[Anonymous No.8532860]

>>8532843
I've only read The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate of his and it was top notch. What else would you recommend?

[Anonymous No.8532861]

>“My stallion, come! Let me ride you to Paradise!”
>Edrique’s turn to cough, averting his crimson features.
>“When you are sufficiently recovered,” said Nino icily, “go about your business. You might be interested to know there is an ambush laid at the neck of this valley.”
KEK.
Kay is such a shitposter, holy crap. I read Tigana too and there's a snark off between Brandin and the other tyrant that had me in stitches.

[Anonymous No.8532902]

>>8532860
Tower of Babel is good. Story of your life is what people usually talk about. Understand is circle jerking.

[Anonymous No.8532911]

>>8532902
Thank anon

[Anonymous No.8532913]

>>8532911
>Thank
Thanks*

[Anonymous No.8532940]

>>8532455

Should have just kept the first person perspective of Blood Song. Never before seen such a huge drop after the first book.

[Anonymous No.8533034]

Holy shit the transition from WoT to Wolfe has been brutal. Now I have to actually pay attention to what I read instead of

>and then so and so smashed a thousand Trollocs but then another ten thousand came and he smashed them too and then...

[Anonymous No.8533047]

>>8533034
[BRAID TUGGING INTENSIFIES}

[Anonymous No.8533060]

>>8533047

You say that but I'll have you know you're nothing but a woolheaded sheepherder wearing embroidered skirts divided for riding and good stout Two Rivers woolens.

[Anonymous No.8533109]

>>8533047
>[}
you're a monster

[Anonymous No.8533255]

Just finished the first law trilogy, what does /lit/ thing about it?
I found it a decent read, a bit tryhard and tedious at a few times, but otherwise good.

Also, Glokta best boy, easily.

[Anonymous No.8533279]

>>8533255
>Just finished the first law trilogy, what does /lit/ thing about it?
One of the worst novels I've ever had the chance to read. Absolute bottom. The only two authors who I'd characterise as worse are Rothfuss and Scalzi. The one self help book I've read was much better somehow.
>I found it a decent read, a bit tryhard and tedious at a few times, but otherwise good.
It's boring and dry, like most modern fantasy written in volumes instead of being compressed into 150 pages. And the flaws really come up more easily when the author is incapable of writing a god damn description.
Seriously, how the fuck is it even possible to write 3 volumes without creating a mental image for the reader from the book itself, instead of video games and game of thrones?
>Also, Glokta best boy, easily.
Entertaining. The only bearable thing about the damn thing.

[Anonymous No.8533288]

>>8533255
Pretty damn good, one of the better modern fantasy series.

[Anonymous No.8533293]

>>8533255
I like it, because I actually like fantasy, and have my head on my shoulders rather than up my ass.

[Anonymous No.8533318]

>>8532489
I had the exact opposite feeling. To me the book seemed insistently personal and damn the consequences. But it's not sci-fi.

[Anonymous No.8534041]

I'm kinda an edgelord and I want to read books with downright villainous -not rough means for good ends antihero- protagonists in fantasy (high/low, whatever) settings that are also manipulative and so on. (one might unironically say intelligent, nihilistic with wicked sense of humor).

What would you recommend? Right now, prince of nothing is on my list, though I suspect it'll be awfully written.

[Anonymous No.8534046]

I just started Book of the New Sun yesterday.

I'm really, really enjoying it. It's unlikely any other SFF novel i've read and unlike any other novel in generally really.

It paints such a beautiful and wonderous image in my mind as I read.

The only annoying thing is taht the copy I have on my ereader has weird spelling mistakes, anyone else have this issue?

[Anonymous No.8534069]

>>8534041
>though I suspect it'll be awfully written.

It is. Every time a Bakker excerpt is posted here I laugh my ass off at how tryhard and pretentious the prose is.

[Anonymous No.8534077]

Would it be slightly edgy of me to write a novel about a masonic order type deal and it turns out they accidentally locked the wrong God away and they worship the adversary instead?

[Anonymous No.8534092]

>>8534077

This actually sounds interesting.

I have always thought that if I was Satan, the first thing I would do is declare I am the true God and the other guy is actually Satan.

[Anonymous No.8534099]

>>8534046
Sadly, Wolfe did not repeat the greatness. He wrote good books for sure, but the New Sun really is his magnum opus.
And yes, I've had the same problem, but with Book of the Long Sun and Book of the Short Sun. Probably the same torrent.

[Anonymous No.8534102]

>>8534046
>The only annoying thing is taht the copy I have on my ereader has weird spelling mistakes, anyone else have this issue?
Sounds like OCR jitter you piratical degenerate.

[Anonymous No.8534118]

>>8534092

Here's what I was thinking:
>Masonic order setting so ritualistic, boarding school type thing
>Main girl is a baka but loveable who can't really do anything right and is always in trouble with her teachers
>Mysterious new apprentice enters, she's basically kind of a Mary Sue but has some mysterious qualities about herbasically turns the equivalent of Satan's daughter, who sacrifices the baka MC because a ritual or something needs you to kill your closest friend, she basically lies all the time to grow close to the main to make her ritual work
Not too generic or anything?

[Anonymous No.8534124]

>>8534118
Honesty it seems devoid of themes and characters. I could live with genericness of it.

[Anonymous No.8534141]

>>8534077
Anon, it's always to write, than not to write. I've even written anime ff in my time.
No shame.

>>8534069
I suspected, but due to lack of options, I'm considering it. Anything else you'd recommend? I've went through first law and prince/king/emp of thorns.

[Anonymous No.8534144]

>>8534102
>>8534099
Yeah I think i'm gonna order the paperback right now actually, from the small amount i've already read its definately worth owning.

>>8534099
By this do you mean taht his other books (outside of the New Sun series) are not as good?

Also, I heard the New Sun is four books plus essays. Are they all worth reading?

[Anonymous No.8534208]

>>8534144
New Sun is essentially 1 novel split into 4 because of publishing reasons (tomes did not sit well with fantasy audience at the time, same thing which happened to Lotr).
Yes, none were as good. Book of the Short Sun is really good, but much less grand in scale and theme. Fifth Head of Cerberus and his short stories are amazing, but he hasn't topped himself as far as New Sun goes. He's not like say Dostoevsky or Tolstoy where people argue which is the best novel.
I haven't read Peace, but some claim that it's his hidden gem.

[Anonymous No.8534291]

for fuck's sake, I've been going through lists of villain mc fantasy novels
such ridiculous repetitiveness
60% assassins (more than half of which are from the slums) and 38% mercenaries

what, nobles or wizards are illegal?

[Anonymous No.8534335]

>>8534291

I'm gonna get shit for this but Rand Al'Thor from WoT is a noble, a wizard AND arguably a villain for at least 90% of the series. He does some really fucked up shit.

[Anonymous No.8534398]

>>8534041
Kellhus is not a main PoV after the first book, so if that's what you're expecting you'll be disappointed

[Anonymous No.8534410]

Fuck Anglo-Saxons. Give me something European. Sci-fi and fantasy, both.
Where are French disciples of Jules Verne? Where are German knights and racially superior German-Aryan astronauts? Do poles have something to replace old Lem and something other than slav wet-dream Witcher? Can Swedish vikings read? Do modern Italians know alpabet and know how to write?

[Anonymous No.8534432]

>>8534410
>Do modern Italians know alpabet and know how to write?

There actually quite a few good scifi and fantasy books being published in Italy recently, but you'd have to know the language to read them.

[Anonymous No.8534451]

>>8534432
That's what I ask for, Einstein. Give me those who made it out of their countries.

[Anonymous No.8534452]

>>8534410
Why is the London penis tower in Moscow?

[Anonymous No.8534460]

>>8534452
War trophy

[Anonymous No.8534466]

>>8534452
Yeah kek what the fuck's the Gerkin doin there

[Anonymous No.8534475]

>>8534451

>Give me those who made it out of their countries.

But that's not an indicator of quality. In fact, the only Italian fantasy I can think of that's been translated and sold abroad in recent years is a trilogy that's on a level of shittiness so bad it makes Eragon look like fucking Beowulf.

[Anonymous No.8534478]

Which fantasy writer do you think had the fastest typing speed?

[Anonymous No.8534482]

>>8534478

Sanderson is unbeatable, he can churn out a trilogy in the time it takes GRRM to write a blog post about handegg.

[Anonymous No.8534483]

>>8534410
Very lone specific example, but Tau Zero is partially set in a euro-centric Swedish-dominated world

[Anonymous No.8534494]

>>8534410

I recommend Dancing With Bears by Swanwick. He is American but has done extensive research and traveled throughout Europe and it shows in his setting.

[Anonymous No.8534498]

>>8534483
Nah, need european author

[Anonymous No.8534500]

>>8534410
/sff/ just isn't as big in europe as it is in the UK or USA I don't think

look at games workshop stores

[Anonymous No.8534507]

>>8534498
Well not sure what to tell you mate. I'm still working my way through the classics so I can't really update you on what's modern.

all I can recommend is you try writing something yourself. Or just find the closest to what you want and find stuff like it.

[Anonymous No.8534515]

>>8534482

Sanderson was my first thought too, he's a monster but in a really cool way. King would be my second guess, he's written some fantasy before.

[Anonymous No.8534520]

>>8534494
Swanwick is good, but don't fit the request, and Bears look more like kitschand parody of Hollywood stereotipes about Russians

[Anonymous No.8534528]

>>8534500
Warhammer is a bit different thing.

[Anonymous No.8534540]

>>8534410
Fuck Anglo-Saxons, hail Pax America

[Anonymous No.8534543]

Going through some older fantasy a while, this is my to-read list:

>Forgotten Beasts of Eld - Patricia McKillip
>Peace - Gene Wolfe
>Lud-in-the-Mist - Hope Mirrlees
>The Dragon Griaule - Lucius Shepard
>Creatures of Light and Darkness - Roger Zelazny

Anything else old-school but not popular enough to be generally recommended?

[Anonymous No.8534544]

>>8534478
David Weber uses a text-to-speech program (because he broke his right arm) and IIRC claims he can get up to 200 words per minute.

[Anonymous No.8534545]

Finding an European author that writes good sff is hard enough, and then you want him to write in English for your convenience too, which makes it next to impossible.

[Anonymous No.8534557]

>>8534545
there are such things as translators

[Anonymous No.8534558]

>>8534544
That actually sounds believable. I could respect reading a dictated book, I've heard some very talented speakers over the years and knowing I'm reaching speech could be interesting.

[Anonymous No.8534562]

>>8534069
>>8534335
>>8534398
It's stuff like this that makes a man have to write his own novels.

[Anonymous No.8534567]

>>8534557

I know, I am one.

But still, few European sff authors have enough success in their own country to even make a living of it, let alone get translated and published abroad.

[Anonymous No.8534573]

>>8534410
Croatian Tales of Long Ago my dude.

[Anonymous No.8534577]

>>8534573
>Century old

[Anonymous No.8534583]

>>8534573

I admire your persistence. As soon as I finish Island Of Dr Death I will read that, assuming I can keep my annoying friend at bay.

He absolutely wants me to read Way of Kings because, and I quote, "it's the best fantasy ever and Sanderson is a genius."

[Anonymous No.8534615]

>>8534567
I wonder, what would be best for a european author hoping to reach beyond his country? Write in english from the start?

[Anonymous No.8534621]

Goddamnit Demandred, you had one job.

[Anonymous No.8534700]

>>8534615
Depressingly maybe, but while it's easy for us English speakers to say this, it's depressing to have to right national pride literature in a foreign tongue, and for fucking yanks and brits nonetheless

if you're such an /int/ euroboo just learn their language, lazybones

[Anonymous No.8534720]

>>8534615
Umberto Eco wrote in Italian

[Anonymous No.8534735]

>>8534615
I'm europoor and don't even know how my countries modern literature even looks like, let alone read anything in the language.

[Anonymous No.8534782]

>>8534700
It's a question of if you want to be read. My country is tiny.

[Anonymous No.8534799]

>>8534573
C'mon Pinky you don't need shill your homeland's literature

[Anonymous No.8534806]

>>8534782
Where you from, bud?

[Anonymous No.8534828]

>>8534806
Greece.

[Anonymous No.8534944]

>>8534828
I sadly can't think of any Greek /sff/ authors.

Be that guy! Reinvent the classic "pantheon of the gods" and all those lame mythos references with the actual stance of being Greek yourself! We're heard the Zeus and Hyperion and Chimera and Rhea references time and time again, put some fresh spin on it!

Be that guy.

[Anonymous No.8534953]

>>8534944

Greek mythology has been done and redone to death for like two thousand years. It will be stale and redudant no matter how he spins it.

[Anonymous No.8534959]

>>8534953
Then make that the theme. The idea of a battered and blundered mythos which is hardly breathing in the dirt. Nothing is ever stale forever, [insert analogy].

[Anonymous No.8534987]

>>8534944
You see, there are greek "fantasy" novels, but they barely count as what you and me understand as fantasy. It's like there's a tale of a spirit on a lake that may or may not be. More forklorish stuff than magic and elves and so on.

There is one writer of actual fantasy.
And she's my age. What the world knows as fantasy literature comes to greece with my generation.

[Anonymous No.8535180]

>>8534799
Of course I do.
I take shilling to be my most important activity. How do you think Wolfe got so popular eh?
>>8534583
Well Croatian Tales are very easy to read and short. It's like 200 pages of children's short stories.
>>8534577
So?

[Anonymous No.8535207]

>>8535180

thanks anon, I will remember your advice long after the serbian death squadrons get you.

[Anonymous No.8535210]

Anyone notice any reasonably good new genre fiction to recommend/shill?

[Anonymous No.8535225]

>>8535210
The Buried Giant

[Anonymous No.8535254]

>>8535210
I liked The Golden Age by John C Wright.
>>8535207
I predict the next invasion in 25-40 years.
Wolfe will get plenty of shill in the meantime and I will be able to die happy in a chetnik death camp.

[Anonymous No.8535430]

>>8532455
That ending was horrible.

[Anonymous No.8535457]

>>8535210
Last Days of New Paris was good, despite my dislike of Mieville himself

[Anonymous No.8535476]

>>8535457

>implying you wouldn't

[Anonymous No.8535490]

>>8535476
>implying I would

[Anonymous No.8535495]

>>8535490

I would.

But that aside, how did you get New Paris? I was under the impressione the ebook comes out in February, how have they pirated it so early?

[Anonymous No.8535554]

I just read Tau Zero by Poul Anderson. It was fun. Not really a deep book, good characters. I recommend it, it's a bit under 2 hours.

>>8535254
Reading this next.

[Anonymous No.8535611]

>>8535554
Characters were well done, but I think the idea of escaping the end of the universe was interesting. Would have preferred a darker ending. I agree it's a good short read.

[Anonymous No.8535667]

>>8535495
>February
Nah, it's been on Kindle for a while, libgen got it shortly after.

[Anonymous No.8535950]

What's some good books that blend fantasy and high tech shit like Shadowrun?

[Anonymous No.8535993]

>>8534543
Lyonesse

[Anonymous No.8535995]

>>8535950
Hell's Gate series. David Weber and Linda Evans. Buckle up for the usual Weber shit, although it's tuned down.

Grand Central Arena by Ryk Spoor has space magic but it's on the tech side.

[Anonymous No.8536016]

>>8532455
It's so bad even the normies hate it.

[Anonymous No.8536047]

Should I even bother finishing WoT? I'm on crossroads of twilight atm and I feel like I'm wasting my life reading these books. A giant con I've been dragged into that I only continue because I started. Worth it to slog through? the more I read now the less I even care.

[Anonymous No.8536075]

>>8536047
You're past the hump, might as well keep reading.

Unless the bogged down bit has completely soured you on the characters.

[Anonymous No.8536091]

New Thread: >>8536090

[Anonymous No.8536210]

I'm looking for books with similar settings to China Mieville's and Zeno Clash's (PC game).
Does anyone know of anything that fits the really weird, ugly and dirty aesthetic that those have?

[Anonymous No.8536386]

>>8523374
I couldn't finish it. Was utterly boring.

[Anonymous No.8536451]

>>8535993
>implying
Lyonesse is one of the first older fantasy books I ever read