/sffg/ - Science Fiction & Fantasy General

[Anonymous No.9913633]

Arthurian Edition

What's your favorite work concerning The Matter of Britain? Medieval or modern?

FANTASY
Selected:
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21329.jpg
General:
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21328.jpg
Flowchart:
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21327.jpg

SCIENCE FICTION
Selected:
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21326.jpg
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21331.jpg
General:
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21332.jpg
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21330.jpg

NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books:
>https://imgoat.com/uploads/6d767d2f8e/21333.jpg

>>9895758
>>9886926
>>9878678
>>9869681
>>9864270
>>9858262
>>9844642
>>9832837
>>9904008

[Anonymous No.9913647]

Jack Vance is (rightly) shilled on here quite a bit, so I'll toss in a recommendation for his epic fantasy trilogy, Lyonesse.

Vance's masterful prose and wry affect is in full effect here, although Lyonesse fittingly contains more somber passages and arcs than usual for Vance. The ending is a tad rushed, but given the proliferation of interminable epic series it's hard to hold that too much against it.

[Anonymous No.9913650]

I did however find the portrayal of the Christian bishop absurd in a bad way; the guy is a relatively major character but seems to have no motivation beyond just being totally evil.

[Anonymous No.9913652]

Ok just ignore my thread I guess then

[Anonymous No.9913657]

I read pic realated and really enjoyed it. Is her Fifth Season any good? Any other authors similar in their worldbuilding?

[Anonymous No.9913662]

What do good people of /sffg/ think about Culture of Critique by Kevin MacDonald?

[Anonymous No.9913672]

>>9913662

Hey man this thread is for fantasy books so you better make yourself at home.

[Anonymous No.9913673]

>>9913657
Fifth Season is the best book she's written so far.

As far as similar stories -- Sandman by Neil Gaiman.

[Anonymous No.9913679]

>>9913652
suck a cock

[Anonymous No.9913711]

Speaking of Arthurian fantasy, I just finished pic related (looks like Castalia finally found a decent cover artist, finally). It was actually quite good, although I'd only make a totally unqualified recommendation to someone who's a fan of paladins, just because of the subject matter.

This is actually the first three books (they're only about 150 pages each) of a planned 12-book YA series. In contrast to some of Wright's recent works (Eschaton Sequence, Unwithering) the story is pretty tightly focused. We get some acquaintance with the world but little worldbuilding exposition. Much of the plot is a reworking of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, hence the title.

The book is explicitly Catholic and deliberately sets out to create a wholesome adventure for teenage boys, although it doesn't shy away from mild GRI when required by its subject matter.

Wright's dialogue continues to be top notch; there are many excellent pre-battle bantz written in a suitable Arthurian style. His control of tone is far above the typical YA hack and he uses this quite expertly to contrast the innocence sincerity of his protagonist with the ancient and otherworldly denizens of Faery.

[Anonymous No.9913718]

>>9913711
>GRI
What's this?

[Anonymous No.9913724]

>>9913718
Gay, Rape, and Incest.

[Anonymous No.9913734]

I finished 3 books of Malazan ~2 years back and want to get back to it since I have been too much into philosophy since then. Is there some place I could recap the first books except Wikipedia? They are so daunting though, I still haven’t readied myself to get into them again.

[Anonymous No.9913748]

>>9913711
I should add that while this is definitely Arthurian, the planned series consists of four trilogies with different themes. The one Wright is working on right now is apparently more of an urban fantasy. Green Knight's Squire does take place in the world we live in, although the story spends most of its time in Faery or remote places close to it.

[Anonymous No.9913760]

>>9913711
Epub please

[Anonymous No.9913761]

>>9913657
The Broken Earth is far better than Dreamblood and is the best thing that NKJ has written.
>>9913662
>he finds out that the Culture of Critique is truly fantasy
Like pottery.

[Anonymous No.9913784]

For the record, I resent Book of the New Sun being called science fiction

No matter how large and supposedly intricate the scifi work is behind the scenes, the reality is this story is fantasy. Any reference to scifi is indistinguishable from magic, both in tone and nature.

This is not the undermine the book. I really did enjoy it, and the praise of the worldbuilding is well earned, alongside some really strong characters and storylines.

Nonetheless, I think that in the future this commendable series should be listed as fantasy rather than scifi, as it is (IMO incorrectly) in the recc lists in the OP. It's perfectly possible that I missed a lot of scifi elements, but I was somewhat consulting the wiki as I went primarily for the meaning of words and I lapped up some minor plot elements too.

Am I a faggot? I can see why fantasyboys or scifantasycunts like it, but i'm a scifaggot

[Anonymous No.9913806]

where can i download modern sci fi books for free?

[Anonymous No.9913843]

Unholy GRI discussion from last thread: Yes there's strong implication that Shauriatas is still alive to some extent inside the Dunyain that have joined the Consult. Kellhus has been cucked.

The real mystery though is why that one Dunyain isn't scarred at all. Did he join the Consult BEFORE the attack on Ishuäl?

[Anonymous No.9913848]

>>9913784
Yes, you are a faggot.

[Anonymous No.9913850]

How is this.

[Anonymous No.9913857]

>>9913806
on the internet

[Anonymous No.9913860]

>>9913850
I liked it.

[Anonymous No.9913862]

>>9913850
it was ok

[Anonymous No.9913865]

>>9913850
Is that Rorschach from Blindsight by Peter Watts?

[Anonymous No.9913871]

>>9913860
No you didn't.

[Anonymous No.9913877]

>>9913850
It's been a tad overhyped because the author is an Asian tranny but it's OK. Personally I just felt like it was sort of a worse version of Too Like The Lightning but plenty of people have liked it.

[Anonymous No.9913899]

>>9913850
Great example of good ideas with poor execution

[Anonymous No.9913951]

>>9913784
For the record, I resent Dune being called science fiction

No matter how large and supposedly intricate the scifi work is behind the scenes, the reality is this story is fantasy. Any reference to scifi is indistinguishable from magic, both in tone and nature.

This is not the undermine the book. I really did enjoy it, and the praise of the worldbuilding is well earned, alongside some really strong characters and storylines.

Nonetheless, I think that in the future this commendable series lel should be listed as fantasy rather than scifi, as it is (IMO incorrectly) in the recc lists in the OP. It's perfectly possible that I missed a lot of scifi elements, but I was somewhat consulting the wiki as I went primarily for the meaning of words and I lapped up some minor plot elements too.

Am I a faggot? I can see why fantasyboys or scifantasycunts like it, but i'm a scifaggot

[Anonymous No.9913963]

>>9913951
Argument falls apart because I thought Dune was arse

Do the copypasta with Hyperion and you've got an argument

[Anonymous No.9913970]

>>9913963
It was not really an argument and I've yet to read Hyperion. But honestly, sci-fi and fantasy are basically the same and anyone that say differently is either a faggot or should be reading technical documentations instead of fiction.

[Anonymous No.9913986]

>>9913970
>But honestly, sci-fi and fantasy are basically the same
I agree in theory but not in practice.

[Anonymous No.9913999]

>>9913970
I get you're critiquing hard scifi but it's part of the genre so deal with it

What sets Hyperion apart from Dune and BotNS is that while the ridiculous magic-level science is described instead as advanced tech, complete with pseudo-correct jargon and the characters treating it so. BotNS has advanced tech described as magic, and Dune has magic described as magic.

[Anonymous No.9914071]

>>9913633
I just read Merlin's Booke by Jane Yolen, bit of a mixed bag - the first few stories and the one about him trapped under the tree at the end of his life were good, but there's a long one about sword-smithing women on Avalon that barely has him in it.

Philip-Purser Hallard's Pendragon/Locksley stuff is also great

[Anonymous No.9914099]

>>9913999
>Dune has magic described as magic
You mean the control words and the Weirding Way, or does actual magic show up in later books I haven't read?

[Anonymous No.9914130]

>>9913850
Soft sf in Hard uniform, I liked, tho your ability to enjoy it will depend on your ability to quickly grasp and accept the more peculiar aspects of the story, which aren't all that well explained. Granted, as someone who hates pages and pages of exposition, I found it refreshing, but many find it unpalatable because of that.

[Anonymous No.9914199]

>>9913711
epub where?

[Anonymous No.9914238]

>>9913718
>not knowing about the holy trinity of a book's worth

[Anonymous No.9914253]

>>9913877
>It's been a tad overhyped because the author is an Asian tranny
??????

[Anonymous No.9914267]

Why did nobody warn me how fucking bad this book is? Holy shit, I've heard nothing but high praises, but it's written from the perspective of a tweenage millennial.

There's no sense of place nor world. The main character is some teenage fedora tipping power gamer. It's fucking Brandon Sanderson all over again - WHY do fantasy readers have such shit taste?

[Anonymous No.9914314]

>>9913843
Kellhus is a head on someone's body somewhere. We know he can swap, and we know the one who got salted wasn't him. He could be ANYONE! EVEN YOU!

[Anonymous No.9914318]

What's /lit/'s opinion on Peter F. Hamilton?

[Anonymous No.9914321]

>>9914267
are you the same faggot posting about that in every thread? fuck off

[Anonymous No.9914324]

>>9914267
Ive seen people here trash it here a couple times this month.

[Anonymous No.9914325]

>>9914267
the first praise i can find for it describes it as 'pure anime' which frankly is a big red flag
>>/lit/thread/S9895758#p9902019
>>/lit/thread/S9895758#p9902072

[Anonymous No.9914336]

>>9914321
No, I just picked it up. That's why I'm butthurt.

>>9914325
It's super anime. Feels like a fucking video game, because apparently it's part of some "LitRPG" genre? Which sounds super autistic.

[Anonymous No.9914364]

So I'm aware this has been meme'd so you're all probably sick of talking about it, but I'm not a regular in the sffg so I thought I'd try my look. Just read pic related, and really dug it. As I was reading I grew concerned that Kvothe's near-perfection was going to put me off eventually but it never did, I was engaged the whole time.

Is it generally well regarded on here? Is the next book just as good?

[Anonymous No.9914367]

>>9914364
*luck

Christ.

[Anonymous No.9914368]

>>9914364
kys

[Anonymous No.9914373]

>>9914364
It's generally looked down upon and while it's decent the second book is bad and the third will literally never be released.

[Anonymous No.9914374]

>>9914267
>Why did nobody warn me how fucking bad this book is? Holy shit, I've heard nothing but high praises,
Okay. Now we know you are lying. You have to be from reddit because sffg has done nothing but shit on that book every time it was brought up.

[Anonymous No.9914384]

>>9914373

Why's it looked down on? I can see flaws in it but overall I liked it.

>the third will literally never be released

What's the story there?

[Anonymous No.9914386]

>>9914364
It's rightfully considered awful.

[Anonymous No.9914391]

>>9914253
>posting a screenshot of an image file

[Anonymous No.9914394]

>>9914364
Go in the fucking archives. We are not going to have screen long posts discussing this book again. Want to know our opinion? Check the archive.

You look like the same fag who posts this same shit over and over again, so you can say "it's not that bad", "you don't understand it". You do this because you want discussion of your favorite book. It's even the same fucking photo.
If you continue I will consider this shit as spam. We already said our pros and cons are in the archive.

[Anonymous No.9914401]

>>9914391
>wants me to unzip the folder
>look for the file
>and post it by itself to appease his autism
Neck yourself

[Anonymous No.9914411]

>>9914394
Well, how about I just knock you flat on you're ass you troll, that sound any better to you? Just name the time and the place and I'll be there.

[Anonymous No.9914412]

>>9914401
>phoneposting
>ever
politely kys.

[Anonymous No.9914414]

>>9914394
I just finished it like, 3 minutes before I made that post. I have never posted on the sffg before as I don't read much of the genre.

I'm not going to argue it's merit as I'm not offended by other people disliking a book that I liked. I just wondered what the consensus was.

"Check out the archive" would have been fine, thanks.

[Anonymous No.9914416]

>>9914411
Not me btw.

[Anonymous No.9914432]

>>9914414
Not me btw, I'm
>>9914364
>>9914411

[Anonymous No.9914458]

>>9914384
Honestly it's probably mostly because of the second book. Basically Kvothe is a whiny bitch and the good chapters drown in endless Denna chapters and "problems" with the most basic solutions. In the second book there's another people that beat out Kvothes beloved gypsy troupers for the trophy of most stupid people in fantasy.

>What's the story there?
Just like the other fat fuck he's busy writing reviews, shorts and 200 page long blog posts.

[Anonymous No.9914471]

I liked the first four or five books but then the story started to fall apart, the books should have ended at the scattering. I dont personally care if a book is scifi or fantasy, I enjoy both. You could say that a scifi book is fantasy just because the POV character doesn't know how the technology works and then treats all technology as "magic", imagine how people would treat smartphones 500 years ago.

[Anonymous No.9914480]

>>9914471
meant for
>>9913951

[Anonymous No.9914493]

>>9914199
http://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic.php?f=1293&t=2079455

[Anonymous No.9914497]

>>9914267
Come on. Sanderson is hardly high art, but he's infinitely better than this autismo.

[Anonymous No.9914499]

>>9914384
You should reread and pay attention to prose after reading some of the better prose fantasy has to offer, you'll notice how inconsistent it is throughout the book and utilizes the same structure you'd read out of a high school poetry textbook every time: [pronoun-modifier-Intensifier-allusion-punctuation mark-repeat].

[Anonymous No.9914521]

>>9914412
>not using your 9 inch tablet with no phoning ability to post on 4chin with wifi from the comforts of your bed
Pleb

[Anonymous No.9914523]

long scifi book recomendation plz

[Anonymous No.9914536]

>>9914414
We discussed it last week I think. The entire fucking thread was hijacked. This guy does this on the regular. "Pretends" to be new, then argues. I'm fed up reading the same shit ad nauseam.

[Anonymous No.9914540]

>>9914523
>long

book of the long sun

[Anonymous No.9914549]

>>9914523
The library at mount char
Red Rising trilogy
Metro 2033
Roadside picnic

[Anonymous No.9914551]

Does Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles count as (very low) fantasy?

There is clearly magic by the end of the books.

[Anonymous No.9914560]

>>9914523
Anathem (Neal Stephenson math monks)

[Anonymous No.9914563]

>>9914549
>roadside picnic
>long
not even close to 1000 pages

[Anonymous No.9914580]

>>9913850
>asian author
>HUGO AND NEBULA NOMINEE
Gonna go ahead and guess it's either mediocre or outright shit.

[Anonymous No.9914675]

>>9914551
>There is clearly magic by the end of the books.
Clearly? I disagree. The "magic" could still be considered entirely coincidental by the end. I do think it should be considered fantasy though because the characters believe it's magic.

[Anonymous No.9914738]

[Anonymous No.9914748]

>>9914580
>guess
Your schedule too full of dick-sucking to make time to read?

[Anonymous No.9914779]

>>9914748
>Wasting your life reading diversity quotas
But why

[Anonymous No.9914781]

>>9914748
lol you mad as fuck.

[Anonymous No.9914791]

I can't for the life of me get into sci-fi no matter what medium it's in. What do you guys like about the genre the most?

[Anonymous No.9914842]

>>9914791
The alien babes.

[Anonymous No.9914864]

>>9914791
It allows the scope for an author with a good imagination, and the ability to write well, to do amazing things

[Anonymous No.9914886]

>ignore author's descriptions
>imagine scenes and locations that are fitting for whatever scenario might be taking place rather than piecing together their poor sense of place
Is this legal? I keep doing it.

[Anonymous No.9914929]

>>9914791
>What do you guys like about the genre the most?
The slaughtering of alien scum.

[Anonymous No.9915005]

>>9914364
The Name of the Wind is ok, despite its flaws.
However, everything wrong with the first book is cranked up ten notches in the second book.
>Dana is an even bigger leech and acts like an even bigger whore
>kvothe still pines after her like a beta while every other female not related to him begs for his dick, even so a sex goddess wants him.

i wouldn't bother continuing to read it. It's only made more infuriating when you listen to Rothfuss talk about all the "systemic issues" fantasy stories contain, and realise that all the stuff he complains about is not only present in this series, but also done worse.

[Anonymous No.9915033]

May sound weird, but i'm looking for books that read like how synthwave music sounds. A book that evokes imagery and a tone similar to Blade Runner, for example.

would Dick, Matheson or Asimov fit this description?

[Anonymous No.9915034]

>>9914886
I literally do that for everything, including character descriptions.

To me the Weasleys were also blonde hair and blue eyed but had a slightly yellow tint compared to everyone elses platinum.

[Anonymous No.9915115]

>>9915033
It sounds like you want to read New Wave SF from the 60s/70s, where the minimalist white-walled decor is accentuated by burnished metal surfaces, and men and women dress in brightly coloured tunics, breeches and smocks, and the media is projected from small crystals, or little silver ball-bearings, or even on tape mediums (despite conquering space and FTL travel, analogue is still the preferred choice.) This, combined with a flowing prose style.

Philip K Dick is nearest to these, but Robert Silverberg comes to mind because his prose is more mellifluous with that ethereal touch. Some of Jack Vance's SF has the kind of gleaming minimal aesthetic I described, the early 20thC idea of the future of gleaming rooms and conveniences. Alfred Bester too, but his style is more beatnik.

Read Downward To Earth by Silverberg, Demon Princes by Jack Vance (or To Live Forever, for a one-and-done) and Demolished Man by Bester. Or for a safe best read a volume of PKD's short stories from the mid 50s-70s. These stories have the sparking clean sort of settings that I think you're reaching for, as opposed to a grimy setting.

[Anonymous No.9915171]

How does Rothfuss get away with being such a lazy piece of shit?

At least GRRM was an established writer before aSoIAF, plus he has a successful tv show that he directed a couple of episodes of, and works on novellas/Wild Cards/anthologies and shit. Rothfuss is doing jackshit. Why does his publisher allow this?

[Anonymous No.9915204]

>>9914886
I do that because I don't have a choice. No matter what, I get confused trying to imagine a 3d space an author describes, and it ends up being impossible or incongruous. I suppose thats the advantage of books, imagine whatever makes sense to you.

[Anonymous No.9915205]

>>9915171
Sales of his existing books still rake in money, which is ultimately all the companies care about. Same reason they let Rowling shit out that horrible fanfiction play thing.

[Anonymous No.9915253]

>>9914499
>implying anyone but pseuds even gives a fuck about prose structure in fantasy

[Anonymous No.9915280]

>>9915204
This really fucked me up with Bakker.
>all of those technical terms for foliage and battlements
Fuck you nigga, I have NO idea what's going on in those scenes.

[Anonymous No.9915296]

>>9915115
fucking solid response, Anon, thank you.
Going to put in an order for your recommendations now.

[Anonymous No.9915308]

>>9914886
I initially put an effort into following the author's descriptions, but eventually give up in utter confusion.

There's a battle scene depicted in Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne where Loghain fights on some sort of cliffside where he maintains both a height advantage while also being able to push the enemy forces off the cliff and into the sea. I still have no idea how this land formation is supposed to look and get confused every time i read it.

[Anonymous No.9915391]

>>9914314
>and we know the one who got salted wasn't him.
No we don't. Even Bakker confirmed he was dead. He got outplayed. Deal with it.

[Anonymous No.9915467]

>>9915308
>Loghain fights on some sort of cliffside where he maintains both a height advantage while also being able to push the enemy forces off the cliff and into the sea. I still have no idea how this land formation is supposed to look and get confused every time i read it.

Sounds like the 300 version of Thermopylae except the attackers are also going uphill.

(IRL Thermopylae wasn't/isn't a cliff, rather it was more of a narrow beach abutted by steep hills on the inland side)

[Anonymous No.9915493]

>>9915308
>Some poor soul actually read the book that fag hack shat out

[Anonymous No.9915521]

>>9914886
Sometimes I have to, since the field of battle often seems to change in the authors' minds.
A river north of the city is suddenly east of the city, and the army coming from the south has to cross it, or whatever the fuck. To this day I don't know where the river by Mereen is.

[Anonymous No.9915544]

Amateur writer here.

When it comes to fantasy, what's the shit that puts you right off it in the first few chapters?

Writing can be 'to each their own' but I'm fishing for opinions here to see what people think. As far as writing goes, I'm big on internal consistency when it comes to anything out of the ordinary, so I'd at least like to say I have that going for me.

Might as well tell me some of your fantasy/sci-fi gripes so I can improve as a writer.

[Anonymous No.9915563]

>>9915391
That's exactly what he would say if he wanted to hit people with the surprise next book

[Anonymous No.9915581]

>>9915544
Graphic sex scenes are a big warning sign. It's cringeworthy and frankly insulting.

Anything viscerally disgusting is also up there. If im feeling nauseous five pages into a book im not going to read it

[Anonymous No.9915611]

>>9915544
quips

'badass' characters

[Anonymous No.9915612]

Newfag here, I wanna start with something that has it all - comedic elements, grimdark elements, lots of likable characters to get invested in, intriguing and well executed plot. Does anything in particular come to mind? I'm going through the books in the OP but I'm sure you guys know those selections much better than I can figure out with 5 minutes of research.
tl;dr dipping my toes into fantasy, want a good starter that covers multiple elements

[Anonymous No.9915614]

>>9915544
The title of the book starts with The.

[Anonymous No.9915631]

>>9915544
Making up names for literally everything. When made up "exotic" words make up a big part of a paragraph in an attempt to make the setting seem strange and otherworldly you know you're reading a shit book. Of course there's exceptions, 'Tales of the Dying Earth' comes to mind.

[Anonymous No.9915650]

>>9915581
Guess you don't like Cliver Barker, then.
>>9915611
Avoid writing it like a Marvel film, got it.
>>9915614
Seems a bit petty but hey, whatever works for you.
>>9915631
Is a word here or there in a paragraph fine? How much is too much for this? Can you elaborate a bit more?

[Anonymous No.9915689]

Diana Wynne Jones is really bloody underrated

[Anonymous No.9915713]

>>9915493
> three times

[Anonymous No.9915736]

>>9915563
Alternatively consider that the theme of the entire series about the ignorant being blind to their own ignorance is best served by Kellhus being depicted as being an all powerful mary sue but subtly undermined until he's completely screwed and all his plans fall apart, leading to him being killed by his insane son just as happened to his own father.

In particular, that surprise wouldn't be surprising at all since he's well aware that he's created a bunch of Zaudunyani among his fans that will be convinced everything is going according to Kellhus's plans no matter what until the series has ended.

[Anonymous No.9915744]

>>9915612
Unironically ASOIAF if you want a bit of everything good in the genre as a newfag. Though it's not finished and likely never will be

>B-but the TV show
Has little to nothing to do with the book at this point in tone or content.

[Anonymous No.9915754]

>>9915650
>Is a word here or there in a paragraph fine? How much is too much for this? Can you elaborate a bit more?
Prologue of Wheel of Time would probably show you how not to do this.

[Anonymous No.9915772]

>>9915612
First thing that comes to mind is the first law trilogy.

[Anonymous No.9915841]

>>9915754
I've had a quick glance over. I see exactly what you mean now.

[Anonymous No.9915843]

>>9915544
The main character having no idea how his world works or just what's going on in it.

[Anonymous No.9915846]

>>9915544
>what's the shit that puts you right off it in the first few chapters?
When there's no gratuitous rape.

[Anonymous No.9915859]

>>9915754
Speaking of Wheel of Time, would you recc it?

[Anonymous No.9915866]

>>9915859
Not to anyone over the age of 16.

[Anonymous No.9915874]

>>9915544
The MC talking to the reader, especially in an informal style. Makes me want to an hero. The Memetian is a good example.

[Anonymous No.9915879]

>>9915544
when they story starts off so med res that it's just a bunch of made up names, factions and settings that I know nothing about.

[Anonymous No.9915888]

>>9915879
*names, factions and settings being listed off

[Anonymous No.9915903]

>>9915843
Clueless protags annoy the shit out of me so I'm with you on this one.
>>9915874
I can sort of see how that would annoy you. I'll try to avoid it but writing in first person for the first time in a small while, I may have to double check to see if I'm doing this or not.
>>9915879
I've got my start sorted out to go slowly and ease in the details without being in media res so I'm good for this, hopefully. I'll double check when I get chance though because it annoys me as much.

[Anonymous No.9915907]

>>9915544
Don't give too much into fan service. Too many authors try to suck up to the vocal minority of their fandom and end up fucking up their work.

Also don't have people going against their established personality just because you wrote yourself into a corner.

[Anonymous No.9915920]

>>9915874
>*record scratch*
>You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation. Well...

[Anonymous No.9915925]

>>9915907
I get you. I doubt I'm going to have a fandom anytime soon but it's specifically asked for things people don't like instead of shit that they love.

As for being backed into a corner, if it comes to it I'll either scrap the idea and start over with something that works or the characters will suffer consequences for it. If they're in a fight they might lose limbs or a character might die. Characters don't get plot immunity as far as I'm concerned.

[Anonymous No.9915926]

>>9915920
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Anonymous No.9915942]

>>9915544
Random sections of anti-religious trite that serves no purpose, it makes atheists look so fucking bad.

[Anonymous No.9915959]

>>9915942
>tfw atheist that hates atheists
I know that feel, bro

[Anonymous No.9915997]

>>9915959
>tfw too intelligent to be an atheist

[Anonymous No.9916005]

Whats the most generic but not terrible fantasy book out there?

[Anonymous No.9916006]

>>9914411

Bugs... Lay off the autism

[Anonymous No.9916013]

>>9915997
You fucked up the meme

[Anonymous No.9916016]

>>9914748

literally butt-devastated ladyboy """author""" detected

[Anonymous No.9916020]

>>9915879
>Don't start in media res
>People complain the start's too boring
>Start in media res
>People complain they don't know what's going on

How do you win?

[Anonymous No.9916030]

>>9916020
by being a good writer

[Anonymous No.9916036]

>>9914523

Bit late to reply but The Expanse series by James SA Corey is pretty great. They spin their wheels a bit since it was a trilogy that got expanded into 9 books or something like that but the world is just so good.

[Anonymous No.9916043]

>>9915544

Unsubtle political agenda pushing. If I go "I see what u did there", even if I don't agree with the position, I at least appreciate the effort. If the narrator is explaining your point in a missionary style, I'm going to start skimming and flat out drop it if it doesn't stop fast enough.

Also read Prince of Memes and don't do any of that ever

[Anonymous No.9916049]

>>9916005
It depends, for example The Black Company when first published was a unique combination of epic fantasy and dark fantasy but it's the most oversaturated subgenre combination by far.

Then there's Leiber who repeatedly published his stories with a near identical theme or aesthetic at the same time as more popular authors by pure coincidence.

But honestly any of the forgotten realms novels, all the bland but not terrible prose of Sanderson but none of the interesting and unique wordbuilding/magic shit.

[Anonymous No.9916060]

>first book is a 10
>rapidly downhill after that

Share your disappointments /lit/

[Anonymous No.9916061]

>>9916020
what i meant was you shouldn't start off the story so deep into your world that you end up listing a bunch of fantasy shit without any context
ex.
>the mendesian paladin rode her winged phalusian into the trader town of mogdul located in the province of rupertville in the country of guildebron. "hello, great hero." said the town guard. "on a mission from king chaucey the 4?"

[Anonymous No.9916062]

>>9916043
I liked prince of nothing even though the writing is tedious at times. Way less tedious to read than Malazan in my opinion.

[Anonymous No.9916064]

>>9916061
it's just a bunch of shit that's dumped on the reader with no context/ introduction.

[Anonymous No.9916077]

>>9916062

I meant Prince of Thorns. Two months ago I read the Amazon preview, first ten pages or so, to see how bad it really was and I am so eternally triggered that I am still autistically shilling against it to this very day.
>I nodded to the crows
>It's KILLING that gives me a thirst! >:)

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Anonymous No.9916079]

>>9916060
Only barely lit but I just watched the Twilight rifftrax. I never imagined that the books/movies could be so terrible that it even drug down the rifftrax. Hard to watch. Very disappointed.

[Anonymous No.9916081]

>>9916049

Agree on The Black Company, its like discovering Lovecraft now, really good stuff but its been ripped off so many times since that you have a since you've already read it before.

[Anonymous No.9916101]

>>9913850
This book is great, the sequel is shit because it got dumbed down. Like other people said, it's a worse hard scifi version of Too Like the Lightning.

[Anonymous No.9916103]

>>9915942
>>9915959
There'll be mention of religion (as well as more recent ones that are gaining traction) but it's not the focus point. I'm actually aiming for a theme about knowledge, being prepared, and how thinking things through is a good thing. Likewise, thinking too much that you hesitate and sometimes pure dumb luck make it sometimes irrelevant will also come up. Trying to show all sides of it instead of a single agenda.
>>9916043
I keep politics out of my work. Ideas and stuff yes, politics no.

You guys are great for advise and really civil compared to other boards and I'm enjoying talking here.

[Anonymous No.9916109]

>>9916103
>You guys are great for advise and really civil compared to other boards and I'm enjoying talking here.
fuck you faggot kys

[Anonymous No.9916113]

>>9916109
Oh you. Thanks for making the 4chan experience complete.

[Anonymous No.9916121]

>>9913843
I am sort of leaning toward that Dunyain being a traitor of some kind. Or maybe the Ark actually seeded the Dunyain philosophy long ago - maybe it's all some subtle ploy on Sheonanras part, create the perfect vessels and tools for the Mangaecca to counter Seswathas school?

[Anonymous No.9916132]

>>9916121
I was thinking he might be another exile, but one that went north instead of south, and led the Consult to Ishuäl.

[Anonymous No.9916134]

>>9915544
When your terminology/names are just taking a medicine and slapping a cool suffix on it or taking a common name and changing a few words (Daniel is now Taniel!"

[Anonymous No.9916144]

>>9916134
Names I'm pretty okay with. Magical/fantasy stuff, I tend to look into old languages and see if I can mix them up. The current 'words of power' I'm using are modified Sanskrit.

I don't know if this is a bad idea or not but I liked it and went with it.

[Anonymous No.9916148]

>>9916132
Makes as much sense as anything. Maybe he's just maimed under his clothes or something.

[Anonymous No.9916165]

On a scale from 1-10, how cheesy are fictional journals/diaries?

[Anonymous No.9916167]

>>9915544
Poor writing. Wait a minute, I'm getting Deja vu here. Have you asked this same exact question a few weeks ago?

[Anonymous No.9916170]

>>9916165
9, but sometimes they're cheesy in a fun way so it's ok

[Anonymous No.9916176]

>>9916167
This is the first time I've been on /lit/ my dude. I was writing and browsing some other boards and somebody who offered to proof read my story told me they 'forgot' after a week.

I thought it'd be an alright idea to come here and see what other people didn't like to see.

Does this question get asked a lot?

[Anonymous No.9916177]

>>9916165
Anne Frank/10

[Anonymous No.9916189]

>>9915544
Fictional quotes from people/texts in the lore universe at the head of every chapter.
Nah, I'm just joshing. I love that shit.

[Anonymous No.9916204]

>>9916189
I love Sanderson!

[Anonymous No.9916209]

>>9916176
Not a lot, but I remember someone asking the exact same question because I made the exact same non-reply last time. Serious Deja vu.
Elaborating on your question, I don't think there's anything you can do in the first few pages to put me off. I have a sixth sense for those things and I can avoid them before even looking at the blurb. The REAL important stuff is getting me interested enough to give your book a second glance on the shelf, and after that I'm in for at least several chapters before even the mos blatantly bad writing gets me turned off. Worry more about the general beginning of the story than the intro scene, and remember that as long as you have AT LEAST ONE THING you're good. ideally you should have compelling characters, a cool setting, and an interesting plot, but realistically you can get away with any one of those.

As for how to attract attention, I can't give you a lot of detail since it's mostly subconscious, but I can say that the font and color scheme of the title on the spine matters FAR more than you could possibly imagine. I swear I can tell 9 times out of 10 whether I'll like a book solely from the spine art.

[Anonymous No.9916233]

>>9916189
I was thinking of doing this but using quotes from the big antagonist at the end so that they seem out of place until you hit the chapter where he's saying them and it makes sense. Would that work?
>>9916209
Sound advice. I'll worry about book spines if I can ever get the fucking thing published anytime in my lifetime. But when I do, I'll make sure the spine looks good.

[Anonymous No.9916236]

>>9915879
In media res is the worst meme to be propagated by authors, especially in the fantasy genre.
>dude just get the action started lmao!!!
It's literally like that just so retards will read past the first two pages. People who aren't worth your time.

[Anonymous No.9916250]

Is it possible to develop a somewhat stunted imagination?
I enjoy reading Fantasy but most of the time it is very difficult for me to imagine the locations and characters unless they are explicitly described in detail; sometimes when I read dialogues between characters they just sort of stand in a kind of featureless void.

Anyone else here have a similar problem?

[Anonymous No.9916278]

>>9916233
Check out how Vance does it in Demon Princes. He quotes fictional people/writings to give some background and lore. Some of them even activate an almond or two insofar as you can achieve that with genre fiction.

[Anonymous No.9916291]

>>9916233
>I was thinking of doing this but using quotes from the big antagonist at the end so that they seem out of place until you hit the chapter where he's saying them and it makes sense. Would that work?
Interesting. Could be shit, could be awesome. Depends on you really.

[Anonymous No.9916298]

>>9916250
ur fucked bruh. might as well quit the patrician art of truly enjoying the literary beauty of campy genre fiction with big breasted alien women on the cover and resign yourself to the miserable drudgery of being a neurotypical Chad who gets laid and has friends.

[Anonymous No.9916304]

Any cyberpunk recs? I've read everything on the chart

[Anonymous No.9916327]

>>9916250
Are you at least trancing right? If you can tell you're readin you're doing it wrong. How imaginative are your dreams? How often/vivid are they? You can DEFINITELY improve the ability to imagine things through focussed practice. You can also do it by hanging out in the "not quite awake" zone.
Here are some "tricks"
>instead of "imagining" things, try "remembering" them. Fundementally they're the same but remembering is somethign you do more often so you might find it easier to imagine fake memories than straight fantasy
>explicitly picture everything described in the book the first time it's described and then tweak/correct that image as further description is read. For example, when a character is introduced as tall and blond, immediately picture a tall blond guy, then if it turns out later he has a beard and is fat, reimagine him. Don't wait for all the details, you'll never get them. This is also very handy for spacial relationships, always decide what's to the left and what's to the right, you can flip it around later if you need to.

[Anonymous No.9916347]

>>9916304
I'm a big fan of Delete Yourself by (you)

[Anonymous No.9916398]

reposting from >>9916383

not really huge a /lit/ guy, here, but ive been reading old mans war at the behest of a friend and now finished metal boxes book 4.
can you guys recommend me similar books? i liked the serious tones of old mans war but also the more humorous style of metal boxes so either way is fine. bonus points for books that have audiobooks as i can absorb those while i work.

[Anonymous No.9916447]

>>9916060
>it's by one of The Expanse guys so I'll probably like it

[Anonymous No.9916449]

>>9916447
I could not get into expanse, it was completely shit compared to DA's other works.

[Anonymous No.9916501]

>>9915280
I had that problem with the Battle of Helm's Deep. Thankfully, Tolkien is pretty good about keeping descriptions vivid yet concise, but the whole location in that scene was completely abstract in my mind.

[Anonymous No.9916526]

>>9915033
The obvious answer is Neuromancer. I can't believe nobody's suggested it yet.

[Anonymous No.9916539]

Finished Stone Sky. What a ride. A few lingering questions though...

How did the first Guardians get from the moon back to earth after the engine backfired and exploded?
Did the modern Guardians know their origin? Why didn't they try to recreate Syl Anagistine technology in the Stillness?
The stonelore tablets supposedly talked about Syl Anagistine, but were suppressed by the Guardians. But who created stonelore if not the Guardians? Was there some kind of change of sentiment as the original Guardians died?
Who created Castrima? It needs orogenes to run, and it also had a corestone in it. Was it one of the structures used to survive the Shattering?

[Anonymous No.9916547]

>>9916539
One last one I forgot:
Has a character ever fucked up as hard as Hoa?

[Anonymous No.9916556]

/sffg/ I've been working on this story for a while and while it's perfectly self contained there's a friend of the main character I want to write a story about later.

Should I set up a sequel hook, go with an AU or change the names of the characters

[Anonymous No.9916564]

>>9916556
IMO none of the above. Just make a stealth sequel.

[Anonymous No.9916576]

>>9916564
isn't that just changing the character's names?

[Anonymous No.9916581]

Anyone know a translation of the divine comedy that's super comfy to read and is in a modern style?

[Anonymous No.9916590]

How did the first Guardians get from the moon back to earth after the engine backfired and exploded?
Probably just drifted.

Did the modern Guardians know their origin? Why didn't they try to recreate Syl Anagistine technology in the Stillness?

The wasp hive place is probably where their memory suppressed. How anyone could live with being them and doing all kinds of fucked up things without some kind of deprogramming is impossible.

Why didn't they try to recreate Syl Anagistine technology in the Stillness?
The knowledge was probably lost and therefore the science fiction mech explaining how to use it eroded into fantasy.

But who created stonelore if not the Guardians? Was there some kind of change of sentiment as the original Guardians died?
Everyone - human, orogene, guardian probably contributed, but the addition to it was probably moderated by the Guardians and if one generation of the Guardians were kooky in the head, bits of it could have been erased.

Who created Castrima? It needs orogenes to run, and it also had a corestone in it. Was it one of the structures used to survive the Shattering?
No rules during a season, it was probably what was needed to survive.

[Anonymous No.9916595]

>>9916539
>>9916590

[Anonymous No.9916597]

>>9916103
>You guys are great for advise and really civil compared to other boards and I'm enjoying talking here.
Once you don't come crying about writer's block, writing yourself into a corner, or a blog about how your day of not-writing when, we can be friends.

[Anonymous No.9916607]

just finished this mediocre slop and need some captivating fantasy to wash it out of my mind

[Anonymous No.9916702]

>>9916607
Tales of the Dying Earth
Book of the New Sun
The Fionavar Tapestry

[Anonymous No.9916708]

>>9916576
I meant just treating it as a standalone story even though it shares a setting and some characters. Literary fiction does this all the time. Salinger with his Glass family is an example. It's all up to you of course, but that's how I would go about it.

[Anonymous No.9916719]

A lot of people ask what you look for in races when it comes to writing fantasy but what do you guys AVOID?

I try to stay away from the elves and dwarves, but I still lean towards those with humanoid mentality. Exceptions are made for villains, though they aren't villainous because they aren't humanoid but because they are hardwired to think differently.

[Anonymous No.9916747]

>>9916719
>A lot of people ask what you look for in races when it comes to writing fantasy but what do you guys AVOID?
Niggers.

[Anonymous No.9916758]

>>9916719
Non-felines

[Anonymous No.9916806]

>>9916719
Tolkien-ripoff elves and dwarves are a big turn off for me. Also generally dislike noble savage archetypes regardless of whether or not they are a fantasy race. Just a shit way to write a culture.

[Anonymous No.9916815]

>>9916719
Avoid furries at all cost. Also >>9916806 this.

[Anonymous No.9916817]

For Moorcock's fans: have I made a bad move on starting Elric by the very first novel?

I've heard of how influential and intricate Moorcock's works were, so I was expecting, I don't know...something good? I just finished the first part of the book; maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but most good books show what they are made of since the first page or chapter. Moorcock doesn't have Dunsany's written beauty to bind me, and story-wise I am finding it a gigantic bore. The "baby's first existential crisis" nature of Elric simply didn't click with me.

Do I insist a bit more? Or give up and read something other by Moorcock, which can show me why he's been so damn influential?

[Anonymous No.9916819]

>>9916806
This.

[Anonymous No.9916836]

>>9916719
I haven't read a lot of stuff with other races. If you do it however, for the love of god don't make them humans with different body shapes.

I want to see their culture, their cuisine, their biology, and I don't want them to be rip-offs unless there's enough obscure nuance that it stands out.

If you make dwarves just short viking stereotypes you've fucked up. If you make them actual vikings including the ridiculous grooming standards, paranoia about mathematics, and the culture where lawyers are seen as rock stars, and then you give them a mole-like biology, then you're on to something

If you make elves gay guys, that's still a fuck-up. I want to see elves whose skeletons are 80% cartilage, and who are so racially supremacist that they don't see eating humans as cannibalism

[Anonymous No.9916837]

>>9916817
>why he's been so damn influential
He was one of the early edgemasters. Truth to be told he's a shit writer.

[Anonymous No.9916862]

>>9916815

What books feature furries in it? I particularly wanted to read something with anthropomorfic or human-mixed animal races like those in the Mana series and Final Fantasy (no fury fetishism for christs sake), or talking animals in general, but not in a childish way like the Narnia series. I never really find any books like this, thinking about it.

>>9916837

Yeah, I noticed that. If only the story was interesting I could keep going, but it already got on my nerves, but I didn't want to simply give in since he seems like such a big deal among fantasy literature.

[Anonymous No.9916872]

>>9916817
He's vastly overrated and a faggot. You're better off reading the comic book adaptions of his work. The French ones have gorgeous art.

[Anonymous No.9916883]

>>9916815
:(
>>9916862
I got you.

[Anonymous No.9916901]

>>9916872

Maybe the problem is that I can't get into Sword & Sorcery. Conan too wasn't very appealing to me. Also they apparently possess voices that hesitates between a fast paced story and a lingering contemplative narrative, which kind of set me off.

>>9916883

...well, it looks rather silly and more sci-fi, but thanks for the suggestion.

[Anonymous No.9916912]

What does sffg think of The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge? It gets described as a mixture of Dune and Star Wars. Is it a good read? I am looking for something scifi/space opera that contains fantasy elements.

[Anonymous No.9916920]

>>9916590
I'll mull on these.

[Anonymous No.9916921]

>>9916901
>...well, it looks rather silly
No, it's unironically serious. The 80's man, wew.
>and more sci-fi
I didn't realize you were looking for fantasy. Furries are far more common in sci-fi.

[Anonymous No.9916959]

>>9916901
Well if you can't get into Conan (REH's Conan that is) then you might as well give up on life and an hero. But Moorcock's bullshit is a deconstruction of sword and sorcery and what that basically means is he takes everything good about the genre and shits all over it because he actually doesn't like it. Add that to the fact that he's simply not a good writer and you get a lot of garbage.

[Anonymous No.9916983]

>>9916959
I was pretty impressed by the comic adaptation of Behold the Man. Is his non-Elric stuff any good? Not the that guy btw.

[Anonymous No.9917003]

>>9916983
None of his stuff is good, but they are some great comic book adaptions of his work if only because of the art.

[Anonymous No.9917021]

>>9916817
The character of Elric is influential to video games and DnD. That's how influential it gets. It's also pulp, it's a cursed sword Conan. He runs into weird shit and his sword gets him out of it, and Kanye he screams out some spells.

Jack Vance and Fritz Liber do the genre more justice. Even better than Howard's Conan.

[Anonymous No.9917035]

>>9917021
Typo.

Kanye is an epic level bard btw.

[Anonymous No.9917046]

>>9917003
This.

Artists have done more for Moorcock then his own damn writting. His books have fucking typos in them.

[Anonymous No.9917068]

>>9913734
You're probably going to have to start over. Malazan's fan wiki is pretty garbage. I don't know if they wrote it to be utterly lacking in real information on purpose, to avoid spoilers, or if the people maintaining it are just clowns, but you're unlikely to find any substantial info about anything there. The first time I tried to read Malazan I gave up part way through and ended up coming back to the series years later after the books had been finished, but I had to start over from the beginning cause I had forgotten basically everything.

[Anonymous No.9917070]

>>9916912
I've never read it but apparently it won awards and has incest so it can't be that bad.

[Anonymous No.9917081]

>>9915204
>No matter what, I get confused trying to imagine a 3d space an author describes
Damn, I thought this was just me.

[Anonymous No.9917134]

>>9916901
>well, it looks rather silly and more sci-fi, but thanks for the suggestion.

http://hulkload.com/iy2t5llt2ygw

It's a short story, but it's fantasy and has cat people.

[Anonymous No.9917154]

>>9915689
>>9915689
In this thread or in general? Because in this thread, while there's not much discussion about her works, she see almost no hate when brought up and that's quite rare.

[Anonymous No.9917166]

>>9916005
Wheel of Time.

[Anonymous No.9917172]

>>9916134
It's better than just slamming your head on the keyboard to make your names up. If you steal from some coherent source, like some ancient civilization, you'll end up with coherent names at least. Doing it so it feel really natural is harder.

[Anonymous No.9917174]

>>9914886

I do that a lot. Actually through all of American Gods I imagined Shadow as a big metalhead, precisely the guy from metalocalypse in human form (but not that gay goth he was inspired on). Also I had just read Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill (which was fun but kinda shitty) and the impression of a big metalhead biker and his goth girlfriend stuck with me through all Gaiman's book.

[Anonymous No.9917235]

>>9915544
Characters that communicate by exchanging verbose monologues.

[Anonymous No.9917240]

>>9915544
Black and white morality, internal inconsistency and unnecessary coincidences, are the big 3 for me as far as things that I hate go.

[Anonymous No.9917245]

>>9916398
For gritty military sci fi, try some Hammers Slammers novels. "Rolling Hot" is my favorite so far.

[Anonymous No.9917249]

>>9917068
I guess I'll have to comfort myself with the fact that I had not gone over 3 books when I stopped reading then. Based on what I've read until now, it seems worth it to continue reading the books. Are the later books also worth reading?

[Anonymous No.9917296]

So I started writing a Star Wars fan-fic but a page in my friend told me, on the tiny chance I somehow come out with a great set of characters and story, that I should do it in an original setting.

Thing is, my original setting just feels like a mix of Stellaris and Star Wars. In other words, Generic Sci-Fi with a Star Wars twist.

I, of course, don't have Jedi or Sith but I do have energy weapons, hyperlanes, military droids and foot soldiers.

What would you guys say makes Star Wars "Star Wars" and what could I try to avoid in order to not make this too obviously derivative?

I can put my notes in a small pastebin if you guys think it'll help.

[Anonymous No.9917309]

>>9917296
No death star.

[Anonymous No.9917313]

>>9917296
Vonnegut + Star Wars = Fun, fun, fun for everyone

[Anonymous No.9917315]

>>9917296
>What would you guys say makes Star Wars "Star Wars" and what could I try to avoid in order to not make this too obviously derivative?

Light sabres and Force.

[Anonymous No.9917324]

>>9917315
>>9917309
What about smugglers?

I went with "Courier" instead but it's still pretty much your classic Star Wars smuggler.

[Anonymous No.9917367]

>>9913724
That gave me a legitimate chuckle.
Well done.

[Anonymous No.9917376]

>>9917296
Starwars doesn't own the concept of laser swords,at least I think they don't, just don't use any of the characters, names or events, and describe everything at least slightly differently.
I think "StellarConflicts, featuring Death Nadir, an evil wizard with a sword made of the heart of a star who rules his Kingdom with an iron fist and fights a war against the Burghers, an organization of low-class citizens who fight for freedom from his rule" would be fine. Honestly that's BETTER than StarWars already imo.

[Anonymous No.9917388]

>>9917376
No light swords, don't you worry.

There are human-like aliens though, by the boatful, but I have an in-setting explanation for that.

No sexy-aliens though. I left that job for white women.

[Anonymous No.9917422]

>>9917367
>Well done.

You must be new here m8. GRI is an established and widely-known metric used by the literati of /sffg/ to review works of art. The GRI Stamp of Approval has passed judgement since time immemorial.

[Anonymous No.9917429]

>>9917422
Can we make it GRIP?

[Anonymous No.9917432]

>>9917429
No

[Anonymous No.9917439]

What's the Hardest of the Hard sci fi novels?

[Anonymous No.9917441]

>>9913734
If you can't be fucked to reread the books, TOR Reread of the Fallen chapter summaries are okay I suppose. Don't go to the wiki to read about or refresh your memory of people or places, they're rather bad with marking spoilers. I've had a few significant plot events spoiled by going there.
r/malazan is a good and helpful place if you need to be reminded of something.

I would still recommend rereading the books over the Reread of the Fallen, but the Reread helps making sure you didn't miss anything. Bill's recaps may be spoilerish and Amanda's reactions and musings sometimes prove to be true, but the chapter summaries are handy.

[Anonymous No.9917457]

Finished the third Malazan book today, Memories of Ice.
Plotwise it was the best book in the series so far, I think, it just lacked any truly exceptional and likeable characters like Icarium.

I still feel like Ericson just kills off people at the end for the sole purpose of tragedy, just like he did in Deadhouse Gates. Some of these deaths feel forced.

Anyway, House of Chains is next. I don't like the Seven Cities and Whirlwind setting at all, but I hope that the writing will be good at least.

[Anonymous No.9917459]

>>9917249
IMO, absolutely. You're aware of how the books are written now, so you won't completely recoil when you get to book 4 and 5, both of which introduce some of the best characters in the series. Some find book 5 to be difficult because it's a completely new continent with lots of new characters, but stick with it. It's no less great than the other books. Book 6 starts the convergence of plotlines established in the first five books, and it's an incredible ride.
I'm >>9917441 btw.

>>9917296
>What would you guys say makes Star Wars "Star Wars"
The Force. Everything else about Star Wars is just sci-fi, imho.

[Anonymous No.9917465]

>>9917439
The hardest sci fi I ever read was Red Mars.
Even the seven pillars of wisdom didn't have as many lengthy descriptions of rocks and rock formations in it.

[Anonymous No.9917469]

Is Jack Vance a reactionary?

[Anonymous No.9917471]

>>9917324
Totally fine, people hardly think about Han Solo as a smuggler even. He's just a hot space cowboy.

[Anonymous No.9917475]

>>9917457
>I still feel like Ericson just kills off people at the end for the sole purpose of tragedy, just like he did in Deadhouse Gates. Some of these deaths feel forced.
Who are you thinking of?

Erikson makes a point of nobody ever being truly safe, as even the gods can be killed. The majority of deaths are foreshadowed and not entirely unreasonable. SPOILER MOI Whiskeyjack always had other shit to do than get his leg looked at, and he's too honorable to not intervene when Kallor made his move, so it happened the way it had to.
There's a lot of stuff going on in House of Chains, and some things may only make sense in hindsight, as usual.

[Anonymous No.9917476]

>>9913843
Probably. I'd go so far as to suggest that the Dunyain have been made by the consult in the first place, probably by Shauritas without consulting the others.

[Anonymous No.9917479]

>>9917469
If his views weren't out of step with with his generation could he really be called that?

[Anonymous No.9917487]

>>9917479
Are you defining being a reactionary as not falling in line with the prevailing zeitgeist?

[Anonymous No.9917498]

>>9917475
>Who are you thinking of?
Yeah, Whiskeyjack is one of them. The thing is, during one of the parleys Brood himself offered to heal Whiskeyjack, as he eventually did with the Rath'Burn priestess. The process of healing took him a minute or two. It feels like Whiskeyjack kept refusing these offers because Ericson wanted him to die the way he died, his behavior doesn't seem natural to me.
Also, the forces splitting up and a part of Onearm's Host travelling ahead to Coral, without consulting Brood first, results in Onearm's Host being slaughtered for the most part. Had they kept together with Brood's army, things might have ended differently. This reminds me of the crucifixtion of the entire Malazan army at the end of Deadhouse Gates, which, after the Death of Coltaine and the likes, felt like a way for Ericson to make the readers suffer even more and make the book unnecessarily tragic, for the sole purpose of being tragic.

[Anonymous No.9917499]

>>9917469
No, although you might get that idea if you read other SF authors who have always been fruity progressives.

[Anonymous No.9917507]

>>9917487
I feel society itself will keep redefining what constitutes a reactionary as time goes on.
I'm probably not the only one who thinks this. I'm not trying to redefine it myself.
Not trying to upset anyone.

[Anonymous No.9917541]

>>9917439
Diaspora by Greg Egan

[Anonymous No.9917549]

>>9917541
read it not that hard

[Anonymous No.9917578]

>>9917549
Well now I'm intrigued. What is the hardest scifi book you've read?

[Anonymous No.9917595]

>>9917578
honestly aspects of against the day were the hardest for me to get especially the lobatzefskian distortion of spacetime was a total mindfuck

[Anonymous No.9917612]

>>9917507
Apologizing for offense is reactionary in the context of 4chan culture by your definition.

[Anonymous No.9917618]

>>9917498
Whiskeyjack's reluctance was frustrating, but not unrealistic. A friend's father had some trouble eating and didn't bother going to the doctor as early as he should have, so he went when it was too late and the cancer in his stomach/throat ended up killing him. Many people think that stuff such as back pain will pass and they don't bother going to a specialist to have it looked at despite the treatment often being simple. "It's fine, it's fine."

I think the splitting of the army was partly a surprise attack and partly to avoid more conflict with the allied armies, an alliance which wasn't exactly solid. Pretty sure Dujek and Whiskeyjack discussed the strategy. Condors were scouting, and by making the enemy think they'll be there later, the Host would attack before the enemy manages to entrench itself, and Bridgeburners would be the Host's wildcard.
They couldn't foresee losing their T'lan Imass support either.

Tragedy is a recurring theme in the books (we even have a Lord of Tragedy), but I don't think he forces it. Lots of stories are tragic in this series, but the series is not a tragedy.

[Anonymous No.9917626]

>>9917612
I guess I should have replied with 'kike nigger faggot cuck' and left it at that.

[Anonymous No.9917715]

Thinking of writing a modern fantasy novel. What should I avoid doing?

[Anonymous No.9917721]

>>9917715
>What should I avoid?

Making it modern.

[Anonymous No.9917728]

>>9917715
Don't let the plot become more important than the people. Focus on the characters, and have them act like actual people.

Post your idea for further critique.

[Anonymous No.9917736]

>>9917715
First you need to share your young, innocent, nubile ideas with /sffg/

[Anonymous No.9917746]

>>9917715
Be x1, x2, ..., xn, but make sure you're not x1, x2, ..., xn.

[Anonymous No.9917782]

>>9917715
What's a "modern fantasy novel"?

[Anonymous No.9917840]

>>9916144
i'd go with trying to combine words from separate languages to make new ones. relying on direct translations from older languages leads to short cuts, that's how we get a 'verdent woods' in nearly every single piece of fantasy work today.

[Anonymous No.9917868]

>>9917728
>>9917736
Alright, the story starts with a young street punk coming home after a day of picking pockets and slinging weed for a small-time drug dealer. His parents are having a fight so he decides to chill with a friend of his, that lives in an apartment complex just a street away, until they're done. Said friend's drunk father opens the door and lets him inside after a few uncouth comments. The two pals talk a bit about their day, strange nightmares, and their shitty parents. Street punk makes an offer to ask his boss to "take care" of his father and hook him up with a job but best pal isn't having any of it and kicks him out. Walking out into the complex's hallway, he notices that lights are flickering and someone's lurking near the exit. He calls him out, he comes out with a knife, the punk disarms him, grabs the knife, and lightly presses the tip against his throat. Before he could question him, a woman looking down on the floor above them cryptically asks him if he saw a shade laying on his nightstand when he woke up. He asks her what she means by that but she just repeats the question. Punk decides to slit the guy's throat and get the hell out of dodge. The woman drops down and chases after him.

[Anonymous No.9917872]

>>9916817
>he didn't listen
>thinks it was a meme

[Anonymous No.9917884]

>>9917296
avoid the force, organized armies of monks like the jedi and sith, and the concept of a chosen one plucked from humble dwellings and thrust to the forefront of an intergalactic conflict.

the last one isn't exclusive to star wars, but it is a repeated meme in the series and is best to be avoided to circumvent comparisons.

[Anonymous No.9917905]

>>9917367
Look at the pic here >>9914238 It's out seal of approval.

[Anonymous No.9917920]

>>9917459
I guess I’ll start with the Greeks (of the Moon) again then. Thanks mate!

[Anonymous No.9917921]

>>9917457
>Seven Cities and Whirlwind

[Anonymous No.9917929]

>>9917921
this is bullshit

there used to be arseloads of botns memes posted now I'm finally finishing the damn thing it's dried up

[Anonymous No.9917944]

>>9917929
Dat epic cloth tunic with the threshold of leather tho

[Anonymous No.9917947]

>>9917929
here you go anon

[Anonymous No.9917949]

>>9917944
wrong thread bro

[Anonymous No.9917956]

>>9917715
You should avoid asking us questions until you actually started shit. Almost everyone in lit wants to be a writer. Not because we are a fantasy general means we will indulge you in your daydreaming whims. Started something, then come back to us.
Don't write for other people, write for yourself. You already seem like a pandering idiot from that t place.

[Anonymous No.9917966]

>>9917868
This is complete shit. An hero.

[Anonymous No.9917974]

>>9917929
Here book of the long sun

[Anonymous No.9918034]

>>9915544
Bad writing.

This really can't be overstated. Patrick Rothfuss could turn any story/premise into complete shit while the opposite is true for Jack Vance. If you understand how to properly construct a sentence and put words together with some semblance of style you can write something worth reading. Everything else is secondary.

[Anonymous No.9918038]

>>9916061
I remember an anon once wrote a great paragraph making fun of this style that was about a group of soldiers walking and talking about the campaign they were participating in with ridiculous references like these all over the place. In media res is such an awful meme.

[Anonymous No.9918040]

>>9916165
10. Unless you're Gene Wolfe in which case each one is one of the great pieces of 20th century American genre-fiction.

[Anonymous No.9918050]

Who's that writer who wrote a big and vaguely Book of the New Sun-like Dying Earth story around the same time Wolfe did? All I can remember about him is that he looks really casual in his Wikipedia photo.

I feel like reading more Dying Earth fiction in the near future that isn't Wolfe or Vance.

[Anonymous No.9918055]

>>9915544
bad dialogue
that's why i haven't read a sanderson book. whenever i skim to a random page the dialogue is so awful.

[Anonymous No.9918080]

>>9917469
Anyone who doesn't write about black shemales is a bogeyman other to you progressives, so sure.

[Anonymous No.9918117]

>>9917469
>>9917479
>>9917499
>>9918080
I intend to effortpost expounding my position on the implicit politics of Vance's works when I get to my desktop.
Have you guys even read the Araminta Station books? It seems to be unashamedly be about hard-bitten conservative Chads defending purity(environmental in this case) and the sanctity of a founding document against malicious and womanly trust fund socialists who espouse democracy and racial egalitarianism only as a façade to advance their selfish or evil interests.
Not taking sides here, but does anyone else see this kind of stuff in Vance's work?

[Anonymous No.9918122]

>>9917172
That's why you go through at least a decade's worth of worldbuilding before before writing. Come one man.

[Anonymous No.9918136]

>>9913877
>the author is an Asian tranny
ftm? I'm so confused these days. I don't feel the need to assign an opinion to what people choose to do with their genitals, but they really stirred the pot when they obscured the biological gender at birth. I mean, throw me a frickin' bone here!

[Anonymous No.9918138]

>>9918122
You can't actually world build until you've established the whole set of internally consistent natural laws dictating the construction and behavior of matter and energy in your lore.

[Anonymous No.9918142]

>>9918050
Probably Viriconium by M. John Harrison.

[Anonymous No.9918144]

>>9917920
Have fun.

It's funny about Gardens of the Moon, really. It's often considered to be bad, but it was good enough for the publisher to want another nine books.

[Anonymous No.9918157]

>>9918117
Supposedly the Gray Prince contain sincere political messages by Vance but I've never read them. From his other books Vance strikes me as a cynical/pessimistic conservative with an identifiable "reactionary" streak.

[Anonymous No.9918159]

>>9918144
Ericson really lucked out with that offer. I imagine Esslemont must be extremely jealous of his friend's success, after having co-created the world with him, but earning only a fraction of what his friend earns.

[Anonymous No.9918165]

>>9918117
The racial politics in Vance are like nature-sings-the-song-of-eternal-fascism-tier.
Araminta, Demon Princes, etc.
The star kings are complete and unabashed racial supremacists.

[Anonymous No.9918189]

>>9918136
>I don't feel the need to assign an opinion to what people choose to do with their genitals

[Anonymous No.9918197]

>>9918165
>The star kings are complete and unabashed racial supremacists.
Sure, but that's not shown positively (what makes it Vancian in my mind is that it's not really condemned either). Vance portrayal a racial-supremacist society in much more detail in Lyonesse (the Ska) and I suspect that comes at least pretty close to Vance's views on the matter.

[Anonymous No.9918202]

>>9918165
>>9918197
I know this is a meme these days, and I don't sympathize with their philosophies at all (more a classical liberal here), but there are reactionaries and even varieties of fascism that don't make racial superiority of their in-group the cornerstone of their ideology.

[Anonymous No.9918214]

>>9918189
beautiful

[Anonymous No.9918229]

>>9917868
This sounds like it'd be good if you actually wrote it out.

[Anonymous No.9918230]

>>9918202
I think we're on the same page. Vance portrays racial supremacism as a thing that happens in the world and doesn't really condemn it as some unique evil. After all, some cultures/races are better than others so of course you'd expect some of the better ones to start thinking they're the best. That's a pretty reactionary stance. Vance doesn't then proceed to say that supremacist ideals are objectively correct, though, only admit that they exist and tend to have some internal logic.

[Anonymous No.9918239]

>>9917388
Male it sexy red/blue/green/purple women and we've got a deal.

[Anonymous No.9918241]

>>9918189
yeah, like stated, couldn't be bothered to give a fuck. Got my own prize to keep an eye on. Just wanted to know because women can't write so a ftm is just a female author

[Anonymous No.9918248]

>>9917947
What do I have to do to get Stapledon into these dino memes?

[Anonymous No.9918251]

>>9918239
Red women>green women=purple women>>>>blue

[Anonymous No.9918264]

>>9918251
Need to be more specific before we can decide that. Leaf green > sky blue > puke green for example.

[Anonymous No.9918270]

>>9918264
Touché.

Why no gold/yellow/orange, for that matter?

[Anonymous No.9918274]

>>9918159
I know I would be. He's not as good a writer though, but that may be from trying to emulate Erikson's writing. Apparently the Path to Ascendancy books are way better than the Malazan Empire novels.

[Anonymous No.9918285]

>>9918270
Just don't seem like "classic" space women colours for whatever reason. Yellow and gold might look too much like 20th century asian carictures? Orange should be fine though.

How about instead of white women, women who actually have pink skin?

[Anonymous No.9918291]

>>9918285
>How about instead of white women, women who actually have pink skin?
There's a Star Wars race of sluts like that I think. Works pretty well.

[Anonymous No.9918298]

>>9918291
Why invent a new species of sluts when white women are already the sluttiest creatures in the multiverse?

[Anonymous No.9918306]

>>9918298
Because white women only come in a few shades + sometimes spots.

[Anonymous No.9918307]

>>9918298
I like sluts, but I prefer sluts who don't fuck dogs.

[Anonymous No.9918351]

>>9918298
Jews are much sluttier than white women.

[Anonymous No.9918360]

>>9918351
Ashkenazim are just a subset of white Europeans.

[Anonymous No.9918380]

Anyone read this?

[Anonymous No.9918394]

>>9918298
>Niggers not being the ultimate sluts
By the time white woman would develop a thousand cock stare a nigress wouldn't even bat an eye. The entire reason American culture is so trashy is because they embraced negro culture, a culture in which shaking your butt is the highest form of expression.

[Anonymous No.9918403]

>>9918360
Sure they are.

[Anonymous No.9918421]

>>9917872
why are GoT, LotR, and Conan on there?

not saying they shouldn't be, I just want to know why.

[Anonymous No.9918446]

>>9918189

Anyone who has seen pictures of a post-op thai ladyboy would know better than to get his dick-inside-outening surgery in a third world shithole.

Also pretty fucked up your inside out penis can still get a boner

[Anonymous No.9918451]

>>9918421
If you haven't noticed, the whole thing's a jape.

[Anonymous No.9918463]

Can anyone suggest me a scifi novel that will keep me ocupied for a long time (preferably over 900 pages )?

[Anonymous No.9918476]

>>9918451
you can never tell on this site

>I like (insert popular book name here)
>mfw

[Anonymous No.9918477]

>>9918446
>would know better than to get his dick-inside-outening surgery in a third world shithole.
It's not like mutilating your dick into a festering wound is any better in the first world when it comes down to it.

[Anonymous No.9918493]

>>9918463
Anathem or amything by Stephenson

[Anonymous No.9918499]

>>9918239
>>9918251
>>9918264
>>9918270
>>9918285
>>9918291
>>9918298


Sexy =/= slutty

Though sluts are usually sexy

[Anonymous No.9918511]

This is just so fucking bad. Fuck you for recommending it to me whoevere you are.

faggot

[Anonymous No.9918523]

>>9918493
i heard that he is pretentious as fuck

[Anonymous No.9918539]

>>9918511
I liked it.

[Anonymous No.9918577]

>>9918523
Yeah he is. Long books though.

[Anonymous No.9918599]

>>9913633
OP or anyone else, please answer this question if you can.
That image was used, I believe, in an edition of the Mabinogion but it was also used in a collection of Arthurian tales printed in the early 90s and written and presented as being 'Tolkien-esque' called as far as I remember 'King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'. It was as thick as a volume of Lord of the Rings and heavily illustrated with beautiful paintings by I think both Alan Lee and John Howe.
Does anyone know the book I'm talking about? For more than fifteen years I've searched everywhere for it, it was in my primary school library and was the first really substantial book I ever read and it changed my life entirely. I'm sure it was by Allen and Unwin as I remember the fire and water logo and I've searched through every entry in their catalogue but can't find it.
I'm desperate to find this book and I'd believe I'd invented it if I hadn't seen it as a teenager in my high school library as well.

>Cover was a line of knights descending from Camelot with presumably Arthur in the foreground with long dark hair
>Cover design was very similar or identical to the hardback centenary single-volume editions of LotR
>presented St Michael as a huge demonic monster that ate babies
>had orcs in it as allies of Mordred near the end saying they lived in the stoney crags of Cornwall
>Vividly describes Arthur's skull being smashed in the last battle

Please someone help a bro out by remembering it too.

[Anonymous No.9918602]

>>9918511
I recommend it to you, bitch nigga. You got a problem with it cuz?

[Anonymous No.9918625]

>>9917376
Yeah, that's not better than Star Wars. Star Wars is about cool, interesting characters with conflicting personalities that you like to see on screen - Han Solo's seedy con-artistry, Luke's naïveté and wanderlust, Leia's sarcasm and dry wit, etc..

The story works without all the lasers and shit which is mostly just tangential. It's a good adventure.

[Anonymous No.9918639]

>>9918251
green > blue > red >purple, I've done extensive research on the subject and you're simply wrong.

[Anonymous No.9918652]

>>9918165
And they make the setting more interesting for being that way.

[Anonymous No.9918676]

>>9918477

Isn't there some shitty gri meme book where the evil badguy instructs his henchmen to chop off a guy's dick and fuck the would until he bleeds to death

[Anonymous No.9918680]

>>9918676
Night Angel. He also wants to use his scrotum as a coin purse.

[Anonymous No.9918688]

>>9918625

But what about NüStarWars™ with it's wooden Mary Sue lead, le effete British negro, and le evil Jewish Nazi Vader?

[Anonymous No.9918710]

>>9917872
delet that right now

[Anonymous No.9918717]

>>9918688
>watching TV/movies
just kys already

[Anonymous No.9918786]

>>9918676
>>9918680
brent weeks is a retard

[Anonymous No.9918899]

Hey sffg, I'm trying to remember the name or the author of a fantasy series about a people who live by the sea and wear masks. The MC is a son of one of the noble houses. Some shit happens to their society and they have to leave the shore.

[Anonymous No.9918955]

>>9918899
Also, the MC might be gay. I'm not 100% certain.

[Anonymous No.9919004]

Made some shit oc

[Anonymous No.9919012]

>>9918688
They're better than the prequels, and closer to the pulp and golden age tradition, unabashed entertainment. That's how they should be. It's space opera, not Bladerunner.

[Anonymous No.9919070]

>>9919004
bretty gud but the burgers won

[Anonymous No.9919078]

>>9919004
>six Dunyain in the Consult
There were only five. Unless one of the Spurdos is supposed to be Mekeretrig.

[Anonymous No.9919100]

is it just me, or is dragonlance pretty meh tier?

[Anonymous No.9919113]

>>9919078
Ah shit I forgot about that

[Anonymous No.9919133]

>>9919070
>>9919078

[Anonymous No.9919141]

>>9919100
The only good ones are the Raistlin-becoming-a-god trilogy, the rest are super generic

[Anonymous No.9919149]

>>9919012
>They're better than the prequels
Not at all, they're much worse.

[Anonymous No.9919180]

>>9919149
This is the /pol/est thing I've ever seen.

[Anonymous No.9919251]

>>9919149

If this is correct, episodes 1, 2, and 3 must be on a par with BBC's I Claudius, and all the references to ancient and ecclesiastical history, politics and economy were lost on me during the podracing, wooden acting, and Jamaican aliens.

[Anonymous No.9919290]

>>9919251
>must be on a par with BBC's I Claudius
It pretty much is actually, with a layer of science fiction pastiche on top.

[Anonymous No.9919348]

Looks like we will use this till it's filled
>>9913628
>>9913628
>>9913628
>>9913628

Some fag kept posting in it and keeping it alive.

[Anonymous No.9919760]

>>9915544
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXAvF9p8nmM
The "Chapter 2 Fantasy World Thesis"

[Anonymous No.9920034]

>>9919012
Prequels are unironically cool