dead Edition
Recommendation Charts:
>Fantasy
Selected: http://i.imgur.com/3v2oXAY.jpg
General: http://i.imgur.com/igBYngL
Flowchart: https://i.imgur.com/uykqKJn.jpg
>Sci-Fi
Selected: http://i.imgur.com/A96mTQX.jpg
General: http://i.imgur.com/r55ODlL.jpg / http://i.imgur.com/gNTrDmc.jpg
>What are you reading right now?
>Favorite parent character?
>Favorite time period?
>Who is the most /fa/ person in SFF?
I picked up Ian McDonald's 'River of Gods' alongside William Gibson's 'Virtual Light', they were on clearance for like $5 each. Are they actually any good? I want to start them at some point after reading my shitty Uni course books
Thoughts on the Dresden Files?
>>7782563
Anyone read The Night Angel trilogy by brent weeks here?
i read the first two books and working on the last one and its hard to get through. i cant stand his writing. its just cringeworthy and BAD. holy fuck i have never been so disappointing in a book series before.
If you hated the Night Angel books try Prince of Thorns, its like that but times a thousand
>>7782723
I read them when I was younger and enjoyed them, but I'm almost certain that's more of a statement on my crap taste than the book's quality.
>>7782762
do you know what im talking about? he just gives godly powers to the main character. apparently the "vir" or whatever the fuck it is, is alive? what? its conscious? not to mention the wacky cartoon hands that the godking and other people use. its like a 14 year old just wrote his personal fantasy. i was on board with "talent". but now theres "vir" and conduit organs and it needs to be replenished with sunlight? what?! like a fucking video game.
he's also TERRIBLE with environment descriptions. it was painful trying to visualize what he was talking about with the invasion. apparently there was a bridge and a castle. i dont even know where kylo and durzo were fighting. some tunnel or something. and that's not even all the complaints i have. in the first book.
sorry i just needed to vent.
tl:dr
>the night angel trilogy sucks
>>7782762
Do you mean it's a thousand times better, or just a thousand times "it" (terrible)?
>>7782822
not him but i think he means its a thousand time "it" (terrible).
>>7782783
if you enjoyed it as a kid then thats ok. its a teenage fantasy book and i can understand that. but i was hoping for something more adult and less "middle school emo edgy".
hopefully the witcher books will serve me better.
anyone read the witcher books here? do i need to start with the first one?
>What are you reading right now?
I just finished Voyage of the Trigon by Adriana DeBolt. It sucked. More of an overlong short story than a novel. It might have been better with more time to flesh stuff out.
What would improve my list here: http://imgur.com/FaU8eYs
Is the idea itself too stupid (silly categories of mostly 60s-80s books with no guarantee of readability)? Over the last year I have been purchasing random SFF from that era (library bookstore that gets donations from estates and stuff) and reading them steadily. Do I just need more categories? Is the list layout too hideous (I didn't put much effort into that, but I can)?
Has the intrepid anon who purchased Midnight at the Well of Souls received their book yet?
>>7782563
who on earth made that selected sci-fi reading list? I'd really like to know so I could take a SHIT in their pillowcase for assembling a list that pretentiously asinine
>>7782866
Sounds like you're a bit of a pleb
>>7782642
I liked the rape, gay and incest in Dresden Files series.
>>7782959
hello again, friend
>>7782977
shit. ill try reading the witcher at a barnes and noble. if its bad, ill drop it.
another one i plan on reading is the book of the new sun. thats one that /lit/ recommends and apparently its really good.
>>7782563
>>What are you reading right now?
American Gods
>>Favorite parent character?
>>Favorite time period?
>>Who is the most /fa/ person in SFF?
Maybe we should just drop the rest of the questions
>>7782563
>>What are you reading right now?
Still on Aztec magic murder mystery, I've been busy.
>>Favorite parent character?
Helion in Wright's Golden Age. It takes a real man to man up and take care of theAI construct you accidentally raised to sentience. Plus his law about never wearing evening wear while on the solar station.
>>Favorite time period?
1940s. There's a wretched shortage of non-mecha dieselpunk.
>>Who is the most /fa/ person in SFF?
YE BRAGGERS AN' 'A'
BE SKEERED AND AWA'
FRAE BRANDOCH DAHA
>>7782838
the first two witcher books are collected short stories and only have a couple chapters dedicated to the plot advancement
I'm reading the third book and it switches to a linear storytelling format
>>7783045
Delirium makes a cameo in American Gods, look out for her.
What does the "African American Science Fiction" section of a bookstore contain?
I try not to loiter lest people think I'm copping a look at the nudy brown girls on the covers.
>>7783260
Delaney I guess? Do blacks even read him?
>>7783260
Didn't even know they had one
>tfw my book may probably get stuffed in one, right next to Trap House Thuggin 2025
>>7783260
Probably a novelization of 'we wuz kangs'
Recommend me some books please.
I like Jack Vance but I've read most of his books now.
Short stories or a single novel are preferable to a series.
Thanks.
>>7783298
William Hope Hodgson.
>>7783271
Do tell.
>>7783342
Its science fiction. To give an idea on content, lets say my biggest inspirations are John Hawkes, Gene Wolfe, and William Blake.
>>7783348
Oh, you're saying you're black, not that your book is hood-themed SF. Got my hopes up.
>>7783353
there's a wealth of urban tribalism if that makes you feel any better
>>7783366
A little. I hope they are loyal and violent warrior-poets who ostentatiously display their wealth and use mind-altering chemicals in their sacred rituals.
>>7783308
Anything a little more modern?
>>7783374
Lol very close aside from the wealth flaunting. The drug use is more of a last resort berserker stimulant.
Are there any sci-fi stories that use the science behind nostalgia? Like a machine or drug that allows people to experience good memories again.
>>7783388
ETA Hoffmann.
>>7783298
Have you picked up Michael Shea (Nifft the Lean; Mines of Behemoth; In Yana, the Touch of Undying; A Quest for Simbilis) or Matthew Hughes (Henghis Hapthorn) yet?
By the way, if you don't mind me asking, since you say you've read most of his books by now, have you read him in ebook, or just hunted down used copies?
>>7783484
Thanks for the recommendations.
Ebook.
>>7783408
Proust uses special Madeleines that do just that
Does anyone have a link to the Assassins Apprentice torrent?
>>7782563
Hey guise, I'm back.
I come here every time I finish a fantasy series to look for another one. Can some of you spare the time to recommend a new series? I like long winded, epic fantasy. WoT is the best I've read so far.
>What are you reading right now
I just finished the entire Black Company series. I recommend it. It really reads like old war memoirs, the voices of the characters were handled very well. Worldbuilding wasn't as in-depth as I would have liked, but I understand that that's not what the author was trying to do here--and it did have a kind of Lovecraftian, discovering deeper and deeper secrets kind of feel to it. The best feature was definitely the characters. They felt genuine and unique, and for the most part believable.
The biggest criticism I have is that some of the themes and events repeated themselves a little too often. The theme of faked deaths was far, far overused. The villains were shamelessly recycled, to the point where any time new villains were encountered in the series, you start racking your brains to figure out not whether it was an old one returning in disguise, but which one it was. Also, I found the magic to be a little too mysterious and not explained in enough depth, but I realize not everyone prefers that kind of thing.
>>7783260
That's retarded as hell. I'm not racist, but I'm not one of those Tumblr awareness types either--I try to be as fair and purely egalitarian as I can be, justice is blind and all that--and there's really no purpose to separating books by the race of their authors. The only reason to do that is so the annoying awareness faggots can blather on about the achievements of black people.
>>7782563
Who made those recommendation charts? They have a lot of problems. The Sword of Truth should be listed under "Entry Level", not "Epic Fantasy". (if it even belongs on the list at all)
>>7783594
Do you only want finished series? Have you read "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn"?
I'm currently reading Solaris and enjoying the hell out of it. Can some recommend some good sci-fi as I'm about halfway through I need something to read next.
>>7783669
I don't really care if the series is finished. I've started two unfinished series, and didn't regret it.
I haven't read that. Who's it by? I'll look it up.
>>7783675
Tad Williams. It's a very slow-paced, traditional epic fantasy series, but it is very, very well done (IMO). I don't think it's generic at all, even though it may seem like so on the surface.
If you want the best epic fantasy currently being written, try R. Scott Bakker (very much unfinished).
I'd also suggest Paul Kearney's "Monarchies of God", but it goes against your long-winded requirement. It's five books, but each book is about 300 pages, so it's a relatively quick read. But I recommend it.
>>7783702
Well, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Like I said, WoT was exactly what I like, like 14 books of rambling, slow paced fantasy with excellent worldbuilding. From the reviews that series seems very good, I'll try it.
I've tried Bakker but I can't find audiobooks of him. I'm a faggot like that.
>>7782642
Loved them. I listened to most of them as they are narrated by Spike from Buffy. He does an amazing job. They're just fun books. Highly recommended.
I just finished the first Mistborn trilogy, my first Sanderson and honestly I really liked it. I began thinking (knowing) how goofy it was and it got really out of hand toward the very end but the magic was neat and the characters really likeable.
What does a shitter pleb like me read next?
>>7784000
Despite what some people here are gonna say, it's a great entry. You could try Sandersons other series, Stormlight Archive, which pretty much everyone considers better.
>>7784005
Thanks I'll give it a shot!
>>7783260
I don't think there is such a thing, apart from maybe at some remarkably self unaware hipster bookstores or stores owned by black people maybe.
>>7784000
Brent Weeks. Lightbringer is a sanderson stylistic clone
>>7782838
The first witcher book (Last Wish) is great. It's made up of a few short stories.
Sword of Destiny is similar, but merely okay.
The five main series books aren't very good. They have their moments, but Witcher is much more suited to the shorter stories about Slavic folklore and general human shittiness seen in the short stories or games.
>>7783594
What else have you read and liked? We'll just fall back to our usual recommendations otherwise.
>>7783260
Afro Futurism stuff probably, only author I can name off the top of my head is Nalo Hopkins.
>>7783673
Check the selected favorites rec chart.
>>7784000
Consider suicide
>>7784000
Mistborn is good. The trips have spoken.
Read the Wax and Wayne books and then Secret History.
>>7782849
>that cover
>>7782563
>What are you reading right now?
still The Pirate King, I've been slacking off and having much stuff to do right now. It's pretty good though, all that orc war shit was annoying as fuck.
>Favorite time period?
the ever-flowing "a few years into the future" period
>Who is the most /fa/ person in SFF?
Jarlaxle, hands down.
>>7784146
If you liked Mistborn you should like the Wax and Wayne books. Sanderson is not everyone's cup of tea, but I don't think I've seen anyone who liked Mistborn but then genuinely disliked Wax and Wayne.
>>7784192
Yeah I'll probably give it a shot. There's something about continuing a book where all the original characters are dead makes me feel sad
>>7784097
People here should read Croatian Tales from Long Ago for quality Slavic mythology.
>>7783673
Lord of Light
Book of the New Sun
Roadside Picnic
Ubik
>>7784106
Favorite was Wheel of Time. The Dark Tower is up there as well. Enjoyed ASOIAF, though it tried a little too hard to be dramatic. Mistborn wasn't terrible, but the writing just wasn't cutting it, it read like borderline YA fiction. The First Law was fun to read and beautifully written, but way, way too damn cynical. It seemed like it was trying to train you to think that everyone is inevitably a selfish, evil bastard and no one has any control over their lives. Tried Malazan and put it down after the first book, it was just too rushed to really slow down and explore the scenery, you never really knew what's going on. Rothfuss I enjoyed and hated at the same time. He clearly did something right, it keeps you reading and gets you involved somehow and I'm not sure why, but the character is just a little too much of an obvious neckbeard daydream, sometimes it feels like reading fucking Superman.
I think that's pretty much everything I've read for fun over the past couple years.
>>7784848
Check out the new selected Fantasy chart in the OP.
>>7784848
I hate to be that guy, but you sound ready for the final boss Wolfe.
>>7784868
That's the first place I looked, actually. But it doesn't give any information about any of them, and I distrust any list with Wizard of Earthsea at the top of it. That series is a big, smelly, steaming pile of horse shit. I read it on a recommendation from here, when people told me that my tastes were shitty and that was an example of good quality fantasy writing. I don't listen to you faggots as much anymore.
>>7784882
Heard that recommendation before, I was thinking about it. Where should I start? Can you tell me a bit about his books and writing style? He seems to write mostly science fiction, I'm not into that much.
>>7784907
>liked King
>liked Rothfuss
>disliked Guin
did you perhaps consider that you DO have shit taste?
>>7784932
Fuck off with that. You faggots have derailed entire threads before to bitch about my tastes.
"shit taste" isn't a valid literary criticism. If you'd like to discuss the good and bad points of their writing, go ahead, but I'm not even going to bother defending them unless you give me something real to argue with.
>>7784907
Your taste really is garbage, regardless of Earthesea being not all that great.
In that very thread she also wasn't recommended as the staple of great fantasy, it's just the one you picked out.
I mean you like so many shitty novels that make Earthesea seem like Tolstoy in comparison.
>>7784976
It's not a criticism of those books in themselves, its criticism of you liking trash for trashy reasons (aka enjoying wiki world building over prose, themes and characters).
You liked the prose of Rothfuss and Jordan and criticised Le Guin for pseudo old English which is really just as low as you can fall.
Also with that taste you'll hate Wolfe because it's too complicated for you.
>>7782563
>LeGuin
Dropped and saged
>>7784907
>Where should I start?
Book Of The New Sun.
>Can you tell me a bit about his books and writing style?
His biggest influences are G.K. Chesterton, Proust and Borges. He's a Catholic writer so expect heavy biblical references and theme. His prose is very ornate, flowery, and yet it flows beautifully, at least in my opinion. I recommend checking out the incipit to the BOTN to see if it's your cup of tea. He also wrote several other novels and short stories, most notable among those The Fifth Head Of Cerberus and the short story collection The Island Of Doctor Death And Other Stories And Other Stories.
>He seems to write mostly science fiction, I'm not into that much.
I know it's sci-fi, yet it FEELS fantasy. I can't explain it very well, you basically have to read it to understand. I feel it trascends both and becomes something else entirely.
>>7785003
Can it be? Someone's actually giving me real information? Thank you for that. I'll try it out.
I have never liked writers that are heavily influenced by religion or idealism. They always come across as being too preachy, and it disrupts and distracts from the story. How exactly does his religion influence the book?
>>7785030
To enjoy great art that I can't create myself.
>>7785028
>Can it be? Someone's actually giving me real information?
This about Wolfe is constantly posted in these threads and in two Wolfe threads up right now. It just takes some lurking to read detailed descriptions of his works.
>I have never liked writers that are heavily influenced by religion or idealism.
I'm assuming you never read those known as greater? Because they are just as often as depressive or ascetic as they are idealistic.
>They always come across as being too preachy, and it disrupts and distracts from the story.
This is true for who exactly? Tolstoy, some Dostoevsky novels maybe and?
How exactly does his religion influence the book?
The point of the novel is a religious, spiritual path and cosmology of a world ordered by Logos.
>>7785030
Because it offers a lot of very profound and imaginative works such as Book of the New Sun, Lord of Light, Children of Hurin and well written adventure stories like Amber Chronicle and Lankhmar.
>>7785028
>I have never liked writers that are heavily influenced by religion or idealism. They always come across as being too preachy, and it disrupts and distracts from the story. How exactly does his religion influence the book?
In Wolfe's case, the religious stuff is not "in your face" or overly preachy, but rather is the groundwork for everything, the behind the scenes, so to speak. During my first reading, I never even realized he was a devout Catholic, and yet it seemed so obvious during the second sitting.
Even though there is a lot of symbolism he manages not to be obnoxious about it. I don't know if you will like it but I do know that his views on God do not harm the story but rather they enrich it and make it whole, and this is coming from someone who doesn't believe so I think I'm not biased towards Christians.
Give it a try, you might like it. I know I did.
Everyone always talks about BOTNS, but how is Wizard Knight?
>>7784932
There is nothing wrong with disliking LeGuin, her books are essentially collections of Marxist propaganda leaflets trying to pass themselves off as mediocre children's novels. Taste is entirely subjective, but please, stop pretending her books aren't absolute trash.
>>7785061
It's quite different. The influence for inspiration is mainly arthurian myth if I'm not mistaken and it's very entertaining. It's like being a boy again, it returned me to those boyish fantasies about being a knight and fighting evil. It's much simpler, but like with his newer work it's harder to see the subtext, and honestly I don't know if I 'got it'. It has a very rich cosmology and some really nice Catholic imagery such as Able meeting an Archangel, talking with Satan and kind of showing you how parallel universes and levels of creation work and I use that as help for interpreting the New Sun.
But yeah, expect something akin to Leiber in a way, but with subtext and cosmology.
>>7785070
>There is nothing wrong with disliking LeGuin, her books are essentially collections of Marxist propaganda leaflets trying to pass themselves off as mediocre children's novels.
Maybe later in the series and she's in the Dispossessed and Left Hand of Darkness just about as graceful as a Marxist can be. I'm a Catholic and didn't find it obnoxious for being preachy at all, her anthropology is quite interesting.
>Taste is entirely subjective, but please, stop pretending her books aren't absolute trash.
Do you not see the obvious contradiction in that statement? If it's all just subjective it isn't trash because it's just like your opinion man and if quality is objective we can't speak of entirety of taste being simply an opinion.
I'm not a big fan of her work, but you can recognize that there's quality to if anything elements of it.
>>7785077
Basically BotNS, except using accessible tropes and language.
>>7785119
Yeah? Why would I would I read bad and shallow stuff on purpose? That's boring.
>>7785119
Yes, that is what literature is for.
>>7784768
They're not.
It's not even just Sazed.
>>7785254they're still around after 300 years?
>>7785276
COSMERE, SON
>>7785283
do they make any appearances in any shape or form?
Any other present-tech high-body count space pioneer novels like Seveneves?
>>7785288
First trilogy spoilers:Sazed becomes the god of the new world.Alloy of Law spoiler:He hears and answers prayers.
Bands of Mourning spoiler:So does Kelsier.
>>7785130
>>7785145
so it's all either "great and profound" or "bad and shallow"? The sole purpose of reading is to sit there admiring how deep and philosophical the work is?
I thought that was the problem. I'm looking for something entirely different when I read. I don't feel the need to sit around masturbating over how deep and sophisticated my tastes are.
I read because I like exploring detailed and complex fictional universes. A good fantasy story is, to me, like being taken on a safari somewhere you've never been. You're mostly there to analyze and appreciate the novelty of this whole new world in front of you, and to see the ways it all fits together, complicated cause and effect relationships and such. The characteristics of a good story, to me, are a complex environment with realistic relationships between people and nations, and a lack of loopholes--you don't want to be left questioning, "why didn't they just do ____?", and not have a good answer. That's why I hold Jordan up as a good example of what I'm looking for. Say what you want about his prose but he did that very well, all of the nations in his story had detailed cultures and they meshed together perfectly.
>>7785364
pleb
>>7785378
Well buzzword'd!
>>7785364
I kind of see where you're coming from.
I always wanted to try WoT, but I am discouraged by just how unbelievably loooooong the thing is and the fact that most anons agree that after book 6 it gets extremely boring and filler-stuffed. What's your take?
>>7784192
Some people on Sanderson's 'official' forum dislike Wayne because he's too "mean" and "vulgar". Essentially, normalfag-reasoning.
>>7785276Why would a 'God' be dead after such a short time?
>>7785288Sazed (Harmony) makes appearances in each Era 2 book, to some extent.
>>7785348
Don't get ahead of yourself. We don't know whatKelsier's dealis but he very very likely is not a Vessel.
>>7785383
>any word is a buzzword when you don't have a counterargument!
>>7785400
For a counterargument to exist there first has to be an argument, retard.
Your opinion on /r/fantasy?
>>7785409
I have literally never been to reddit except one time to get Samuel L Jackson to read the Navy Seal copypasta, which he didn't, and another time to ask Andrew WK a question which he didn't answer.
So I wouldn't know.
>>7785409
Too many small writers self advertise there and everyone sucks their dicks to the top of every thread.
>>7785407
add hominey to your personal attack soup
>>7785431
Hang yourself.
>>7785364
>so it's all either "great and profound" or "bad and shallow"?
No, there are works that are both entertaining and well written. But Jordan isn't one of them.
>The sole purpose of reading is to sit there admiring how deep and philosophical the work is?
You don't sit there and admire it on how philosophical it is, you think about it and you let great thinkers shape and educate you.
>I don't feel the need to sit around masturbating over how deep and sophisticated my tastes are.
My taste isn't something I mastrubate over since I really don't talk about literature with people outside my group of friends and here where most people have a relatively similar taste so I'm not something special in those terms.
>I thought that was the problem.
Well you are, your taste is shit. You aren't looking for quality works that are also entertaining, you want cheap escapism.
>I read because I like exploring detailed and complex fictional universes.
Yeah, escapism.
>The characteristics of a good story, to me, are a complex environment with realistic relationships between people and nations, and a lack of loopholes
This excludes most of actual literature.
>Say what you want about his prose but he did that very well, all of the nations in his story had detailed cultures and they meshed together perfectly.
So did 40k, but that harldy makes it a well written series of novels, it makes it cheap entertainment good at what it is.
>>7785436
looks like I've got it covered.
hey you grimey fucks
is the gentlemen bastards series worth continuing?
I liked the first book, but it didn't click all the way with me. Everybody except Locke seemed to be written specifically to service the plot in one way or another.
I keep hearing mixed things about the subsequent novels, and also that they're long as fuck.
>>7785453
The first book is the best one by far, so if you didn't love that one then no.
So I just finished the Powder Mage trilogy, It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but at the sametime I don't think it was as good as it could of have been. Ultimately the god conflicts are resolved almost as an afterthought, and it feels like characters have powers that are better than the others for no reason? I get that Taniel got more power from shooting the god in the eye, but how did Nila get so powerful that she could do the magic without the gloves? Why was the savage girl able to seal a god? It could have been so much better if they left out the god stuff I think. The magic systems could have been explained a bit better, or used more.
Anyone who read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel want to talk about it a little bit? Unsure if I want to read it as a lot of people quote it being very slow. Is it worth it?
>>7784848
Farseer Trilogy.
Also can't argue with that Book of the New Sun recommendation earlier.
>>7785391
I didn't say he heard and answered prayers with magic. He does it in person.
Hey guys, I asked this question a few threads ago and forgot to check in so I'm asking it again.
What, in your opinion, makes good science fiction? Please say anything that comes to your mind in response. Thanks.
>>7785089
I liked The Dispossessed. It honestly made me understand the appeal of Communism/leftist Anarchism. Anarres was also obviously headed for a Malthusian catastrophe, but conveniently Le Guin set her story after the initial scrabble of the anarchist settlers and before the limits of the Anarresti biosphere became a problem.
Do Dancing Lights and/or Silence count as Sci-Fi?
>Sanderson announces another new series
How does he do it?
>>7786481
Because he doesn't care, a lot of authors write on a similar scale but they're only allowed to publish one book a year at the very maximum.
>>7786521
Oh and he only writes 2.5k words a day.
>>7785717
I've read it, and think it's good. I can see why someone might call it slow, there aren't many action set-pieces like you find in a lot of sword and sorcery fantasy (not that it's sword and sorcery, its setting being relatively rare for fantasy is one of its strongest features). It goes more into characterization and character motivation than most fantasy books, which I count as a plus, but which a person might count as a negative if they'd prefer a more plot-driven work. It doesn't fall into the usual pattern of fantasy novels, so despite being good it's not for everyone looking for something in the fantasy genre.
>>7786225
Whether or not the alien females have luscious tits.
>>7786801
Then you'd love the alien all-female ship crews in The Pride of Chanur.>yfw they have no tits
>>7786836
>>7785717
It's absolutely unique and IMO worth reading for the footnotes alone.
Has anyone here read Something More Than Night? I read it two years ago and I've been hungry for something of similar high concept and firm execution
I'm thinking back on it and it's one of the best examples I've ever seen of fusing scifi and fantasy and it's because it uses the lovecraftian elements of religion to as a whisk
The characters are angels following the most biblically accurate model, but their experiences are woven around concepts we can only describe mathematically. They "smell" cosmic background radiation and "hear" the snap-crackle-pop of virtual particles and their antimatter components spontaneously arising from the quantum foam and colliding. The way he describes cosmic beings experiencing the underpinnings of reality in a voice oddly similar to Raymond Chandler is absolutely sublime
Reposting from last thread because I didn't see this one:
I kind of want to re-read the Dune series.
The more rational part of my brain knows I'll want to commit sudoku midway through the first book and right from the moment I open God-Emperor, or in the scenes of Duncan giving Murbella the D in the last two books. There's just a very few, very memorable scenes and my brain just filters out everything else.
What are some Dune-esque settings which are not obviously influenced by Dune? The moment I know that I'll no longer need to read them again.
>>7787447
Neil Gaiman wrote a short story called Murder Mystery about angels, but it wasn't science-based and it used human angels.
Just going off of "fusing SF and fantasy" and "lovecraftian" I'd recommend Peter Watts' Blindsight. It involves vampires as a human subspecies that are intentionally revived from junk DNA, and it's a first contact story with a very alien race of aliens. And it's totally spooky.
As for the last part, it only reminds me of my own idea to have modified humans that can see the 21-cm hydrogen line as blue, and they live on vast starships traveling by ramscoop so that the space ahead of them seems a deeper blue, as if they were eternally diving toward the ocean. I know it would have to be contrived, but it came from the wouldn't-it-be-neat cortex, not the this-would-logically-follow-thalamus.
>>7787539
That seems a bit of a jarring mashup but then again so does the idea of "fallen angel who learned how to be a human from private detective novels investigates the death of the archangel gabriel while simultaneously training a human woman (a blonde, why is it always a blonde) to be his replacement"
The issue isn't similarity, the story needs to take something that not only doesn't exist, but can't by our understanding of reality, and integrate into our reality seamlessly
A weaker example is A Natural History Of Dragons, which does this flawlessly but is too cautious.
I always thought a better variant of dragons would embrace the highest end of the dragon size gradient and make them cosmic-scale extremophiles who form from the plasma in stars or something
>>7785094
Well BotNS was supposed to be using accessible tropes. Not so much language, granted.
Anyone here read The Black Company? Thinking of checking that out now that I've finished the Farseer trilogy, want to read something still first person, just with an entirely different tone.
>>7785386
>finally, a chance to give the same kind of reviews for someone else that I'm always asking of them
My favorite analogy is that reading WoT is like listening to your old grandpa who's starting to lose his wits tell a story by the fire. Yes, it rambles and goes off topic and on pointless tangents. Yes, it has its favorite phrases and can get a little repetitive, especially when describing peoples' body language or personal quirks. It repeats the same phrases over and over. But that doesn't detract from the gripping story and overall decent prose. Jordan's prose is a nice balance in many ways. It's not immature and simplistic like Sanderson, but it's not mystical and archaic like LeGuin. Descriptions are detailed enough to help you picture the scenery, but not tedious. It's a good medium for getting a good story across, when you're not trying for artsy, deep prose or philosophy. It's mature without being pretentious. Yes, the book is long. If that turns you off, don't even bother to start. You won't enjoy it if you "just want to see what happens". I picked it up because I wanted a massively long audiobook for commutes, long walks, etc., and for that role it was perfect. The story is meandering, slow, and in no hurry to get where it's going. I like that.
The place where Jordan's work really shines is his worldbuilding, especially when it came to cultures. He created a set of cultures, nations, and factions, all overlapping each other, that interact and effect each other perfectly. It's been two years since I've read it and I could still tell you the differences in dress and behavior between a native of, say, Cairhien, Andor, or Arad Doman, and how they would most likely interact. Looking at this world is like watching the mechanics of a clock. Everything meshes together and drives each other in ways you'd never have thought of, but they fit perfectly and you have to admire the intricacy. Powerful characters and the interactions between groups are influenced, separately, by cultural factors and political allegiances in very realistic ways. The magic system is very good, too. It doesn't leave you guessing and questioning like LeGuin or Abercrombie, but it's not explained exhaustively like Sanderson. You understand it as much as you need to.
The characters are quite well done, too. You notice differences in how the different types of people perceive the world. When he's writing a section from a woman's POV, when they are meeting a stranger, the first things described are their clothes and body language. When he's writing from the POV of a young man meeting a strange woman, one of the first descriptions mentioned is inevitably her breasts and cleavage--because that's what grabs a young man's attention first. He captures it quite well. People like to complain about how much the characters from small towns go on about leaving their home, but I don't think any of them have lived in a small rural town.
>>7785436
>>7785442
I see where you're coming from, though I dislike your attitude that to read for any other reason than "shaping and educating" yourself is inferior or immature. I think reading for that purpose is unnecessary and a waste of time. What have you learned from them that you couldn't come up with yourself? What does "profound meaning" in literature actually do for you?
The trouble with lumping all worldbuilding-heavy books under "escapism" is that it doesn't distinguish good ones from bad. The fact that you don't recognize what Jordan did better than 40k shows what you don't understand. A good, elaborate fictional world isn't just cheap escapism, it's a piece of art that's worth taking time to admire.
>>7787691
I just finished it. The first book was the best by far and it got worse from there, kinda wish I'd just stopped after it to be honest.
>>7785803
>>7784882
I've started on Book of the New Sun and I'm liking it so far. I don't know why people were warning me about his complicated prose. I don't have a problem with it, it's smooth and kinda elegant, not difficult to read at all. Not overwritten tryhard crap like LeGuin. Don't really like the idea of magic based on poems, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for now that it might not be too stupid.
>>7787709
>well the prose has all the elements of an awful stylist, but it's not actually awful
>>7787733
>I see where you're coming from, though I dislike your attitude that to read for any other reason than "shaping and educating" yourself is inferior or immature.
It's ok to read for fun, just admit it- say I read for cheap escapism in my free time and be done with it.
>I think reading for that purpose is unnecessary and a waste of time. What have you learned from them that you couldn't come up with yourself?
Aside from literature being the best medium for understanding different kinds of people and exploring life in general, it has vastly improved my vocabulary to the point my professors note it and it's given me passes in exams I wouldn't have passed otherwise. I also have a far better understanding of religious and non religious world views. I can elaborate on why Dostoevsky has a point in his moral philosophy, but also why it goes too far. In general, it has shaped me to be able to communicate and elaborate other and my own ideas far better and nothing other than literature could have done it. As I'm studying law being able to argue is quite important and playing your cards right and being convincing has thus far been taught by literature the most because you get insight into the greatest minds who ever lived.
>What does "profound meaning" in literature actually do for you?
It's like a religious experience you keep coming back to in your mind and reliving and contemplating it.
>The trouble with lumping all worldbuilding-heavy books under "escapism" is that it doesn't distinguish good ones from bad. The fact that you don't recognize what Jordan did better than 40k shows what you don't understand. A good, elaborate fictional world isn't just cheap escapism, it's a piece of art that's worth taking time to admire.
No, it really isn't. A fictional universe is pointless unless it's there to help the themes you couldn't convey otherwise and that's true for all great fantasy and science fiction I know of as well as for bad ones.
>>7787806
>No, it really isn't. A fictional universe is pointless unless it's there to help the themes you couldn't convey otherwise and that's true for all great fantasy and science fiction I know of as well as for bad ones.
You literally just repeated what he just said.
>>7787806
Usefulness does not equate to quality in art.
>>7786481
I hope its something big, bigger than Reckoners. Reading those books made me realize he's not very suited for shoving his ideas into 300 pages.
>>7787927
He's writing some alt-universe Reckoners series.
reeeee why aren't there any good SciFi/spehs books reeeee
I've tried reading most of the recommended stuff, but I always get so bored halfway through.
The Expanse is pretty much the type I enjoy. A shame that series went to utter shit after book two, probably earlier.
>>7787962
Try taking some ADHD pills beforehand.
How to people feel about Jordan's Rithmatist book?
I thought it was okay, despite possibly being aimed at a slightly younger audience.
>>7788038
Fuck, ignore my mistake, it's Brandon Sanderson not jordan.
I read the OP but I believe I need something a little more specific, something based around european folklore and/or wicca.
>>7788067
Croatian Tales from Long Ago
>>7788067
Like Arthurian myth? The Once and Future King
>>7788104
You have shilled this so hard I think I will actually fucking read it just so I can tell you if it's shit.
Congrats.
>>7788154
I mentioned it in total around 5 times but yeah, it's good. Genuine slav fantasy. It's children tales, but it was a Nobel contender at the time. Too bad the author killed herself.
>>7788212
You only 'like' it because you're a slav yourself.
>>7788216
I like it because it's a pretty unique collection of stories.
I know of its existence because I'm a Slav.
https://archive.org/details/croatiantalesofl00brli
Here's the link
>>7787927
It's going to be more YA schlock sorry m8
I think he said somewhere that he had ideas for several new series but went YA again because that's what sells
>>7788232
>that translation
Got a Croatian download link instead?
>>7788232
Thank you.
This better be good
>>7788458
It is a collection of short stories, you can stop easily after one.
>>7788458
Also the translation is questionable because it's pretty hard to translate in the first place
>>7787709
pretty spot on
Can anyone recommend a book with character development similar to Rand from WoT. By that I meandealing with going from average person to basically Godhood
>>7788714
Book of the New Sun, but the development in it isn't shit
>>7783260
Black sci-fi fan here. It's lonely senpai. But like Chris Rock said: "You're never gonna find some one who likes *insert white thing* AND the Wu-Tang Clan."
>>7782563
nah
>>7782642
I used to like them a lot, but events piled on events and the universe became so dense it's for hardcore fans only. I don't think I'll read the next one.
I like Butcher's other work though.
>>7788750
I'm Chinese, I like WTC and scifi. Also love Butler, kind of iffy with Delaney.
I'm also tall and handsome, if that counts for anything. Peace be with you brother.
>>7788499
No. After I start a book, I ALWAYS finish it, no matter how abysmally bad it gets.
I read Twilight once. Never again.
>>7788750
Is Samuel R. Delany good? Been meaning to read him since forever.
He got famous in a time when being black AND gay didn't earn you any favors but a lot of shit instead so he must have something up his sleeve.
>>7782723
Yes, there's a lot of cringe you have to work through, and it's ultimately not worth it.
His Lightbringer series had modestly less cringe and a more interesting setting and was worth it to me. Still has a kind of teeny feel, though.
>>7788714
The Cleric Quintett (Forgotten Realms) if you like that kind of thing and can deal with an absolutely retarded dwarf as one of the supporting character who literally speaks like a baby.
>>7788764
Not him, and indeed the other Wu Tang fan, but,
He brought poetic prose to sf similar to, but prettier than Zelazny's. Good prose, but there's a lack of substance. I think if he had gotten into the heart of the matter, like Eliade did for anthropology, he would have left something more lasting. In Babel-17, he composed one of sf's earliest well developed female main characters, which is an underrated achievement.
He also did flaky semiotic sf criticism, it's not so good.
>>7788831
Severian was a true nig in my opinion. Didn't give a fuck what others thought, banged everything with long hair and a wet hole, and dressed straight (fuligin) hood.
>>7788781
>In Babel-17, he composed one of sf's earliest well developed female main characters
>implying
>>7788764
I'm 29 years old and I did not know that Delany was black until about 8 months ago. I'm just throwing that out there.
>>7789997
Well shit, I'm 24 and I've been spelling his name Delaney for almost a decade.
>>7788764
>No. After I start a book, I ALWAYS finish it, no matter how abysmally bad it gets.
Try breaking this habit. It's very liberating.
>>7789997
I knew he was black and gay from the first I knew of him but I never cared enough to try and read his stuff. Saunders, though, he seems interesting. How black is Imaro? Does Saunders' negritude shine through?
I'm currently reading The Chronicles of Narnia because I missed out on it as a kid.
bretty gud.
I just finished reading the Prince Roger series, it was enjoyable enough.
>>7790205
seriously who gives a fuck as long as he doesn't write
>WE WUZ GAY KANGS N SHEET
or goes full
>MUH IDENTITY
I really won't care.
Please recommend me novels that are similar in atmosphere to Skyrim. Cheers.
>>7790347
>WE WUZ GAY KANGS N SHEET
I'd read a novel about that
>>7790349
The sword and sorcery subgenre. Welcome to reading.
>>7790349
Beyond the Gap
>>7790349
desu senpai
>>7788714
Sanderson's Mistborn and The Black Company's Croaker. They both do it in more inventive ways, too, though I thought WoT was more fun to read.
>>7787806
You're ignoring the point I made. Whether you think it's a worthy pursuit or not, the fact is that I, and many readers like me, enjoy reading for the sake of exploring and analyzing a fictional universe, but are discerning enough to not be satisfied with cheap, badly written shit like 40k. Jordan's work is in an entirely different class. No, the prose isn't perfect, but the level of detail and intricacy in the background he created is far, far beyond cheap, mass produced, wiki tier crap like 40k.
>A fictional universe is pointless unless it's there to convey themes
Maybe for you. To many readers, it's central to our enjoyment of the book. And to entirely discount the tastes of those readers as inferior and irrelevant in a discussion of literature is elitism of the worst kind.
>>7790349
Wheel of Time, if you have a fuckton of patience. The basic old theme of swords 'n' magic 'n' preventing-the-end-of-the-world, young hero from a small town and his friends adventure their way to saving everything, you know the drill. Where WoT stands out, besides it's immense length, is the detail of the fictional world. Much of the appeal of Skyrim is the wide open, detailed world to explore, and you have a similar experience with WoT.
There's an exhaustive criticism of it earlier in the thread.
>>7787778
My point was that the prose and style (I wouldn't say awful, maybe mediocre at worst) isn't nearly enough to outweigh the interesting story and excellent, detailed worldbuilding, to those readers that like that sort of thing.
>>7790456
It's the same universe but it's not at all like Skyrim.
>>7788764
>I read Twilight once. Never again.
Heh, that brings back memories. I snoozed and cringed my way through the first 3 books in the series in elementary school to impress a girl that was into it. It was a waste of time, of course.
Friendly reminder that Brandon Sanderson is the future of fantasy and there's nothing you can do about it
>>7782642
I'm on the 8th book right now and really enjoying them.
>>7790557
>Read twilight in elementary school
>last book came out in 2007
Underage alert!
>>7790810
I'm okay with this, at least if modern fantasy was that level of quality.
Shame the new wave of authors following his footsteps range from shit like Weeks to okay like McLellan.
>>7790810
Not if I have anything to say about it. I'll be fucked if I let a fucking Mormon (ANOTHER one) dictate the future of the fantasy genre.
Anyone read this? How is it?
I'm thinking of reading it.
>Mazirian
Holy shit, this guy is a huge, relentless faggot. He's like an autistic manchild with superpowers.Poor T'sain ;_;
I'm enjoying The Dying Earth a lot.
>>7790810
And the good thing is that I don't read popular fantasy anyway and there's a lot of older one I still haven't gone through.
>>7791207
Oooo look at me, i'm a hipster!
>>7791283
Oooh look at me I have a shit taste and justify it by calling people hipsters and elitists
Fuck off jordanfag your taste is garbage
>>7789997
I only just found out from this thread.
http://strawpoll.me/7034532
Your thoughts on Snow Crash?
Around Chapter 11 right now. I love the Metaverse parts and the fictional programming, but Im not really fond or interested in Y.T. nor her shenanigans.
>>7791455
It aged like milk. It's unfocused, has no notable characters, plot plays out like an action movie, it doesn't know if it's a parody or trying to be serious, it's 200 pages too long
>>7791455
Was bored out of my skull by the babylonian mythology parts. The whole premise is dumb(linguistic hacking), Hiro is pure power fantasy, way too many descriptions and way too little action, plot threads just disappear... It's a mess. Sometimes it's well thought out, and some revolutionary stuff for the time it was written, but it's still a mess. And yeah, it aged badly.
>>7790941
no, that fits. I was in 6th grade then, graduated high school in '13, am collegefag now like the majority of 4chan.
>>7790810
Could be worse. I just wish the prose was a little bit better. I'd be fine with authors that write stories like his but with a little slower and better written prose.
Anyone here read Mists of Avalon?
HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!
Oh wait, he can.
Not that I disliked it and I get the point, but the adoring thing was annoying, especially Serwe.Thank god she's dead. Sadly, she just got replaced
Still rooting for Ikurei. Best pride, best style, best general, best plots.
>>7791902
Forgot pic.
>>7791710
sixth grade is middle school, not elementary
Man, Peace Talks is taking forever to come out. Butcher shouldn't have started a new series, though I guess I kind of know the feeling of wanting to try something else
Is Zaleznys Amber series worth reading? I heard the first book is a masterpiece but it drops off hard, thoughts on this?
>>7791146
>Card
>Dictating the future of anything
He was a comfortable anomaly. The stuff he wrote at the top of his game was incredible but not game-changing.
>>7792027
The first book is great, the next four peter off to above average, and the last five (about the son of the protagonist from the first five) are average/standard fantasy fare.
>>7791203
It is really really cool. It's amazing how this itty bitty collection of short stories is so well-remembered.
Have you read The Dragon Masters?
>>7792039
Incidentally, how is Ender's Game?
I have heard good things, but god knows the movie sucked copious amounts of ass and the guy himself couldn't be more of an asshole if he tried.
>>7792043
I've only read the first 2 stories. Gonna start the third one, T'sais, tonight.
Slightly off topic but there's no general for this.
I just started writing some smutty genre fiction, it was essentially just the story of two grey elves in a world ruled by a sex goddess getting molested by monsters and misunderstanding sexual tensions between the two.
My rewrites have pretty much removed all the smut though and I'm not sure if I should turn it into a full length novel.
What do, in your opinion?
>>7792188
I was curious until you removed the smut. Keep it, but also keep up the story quality. That kind of thing is rare. Oh and remove 'misunderstandings', the worst trope I can think of.
>>7792078
Best version is the novella in Unaccompanied Sonata
>>7792188
I like some good ole elf smut, but how about some dinosaurs? I'm not talking dinosaur rape, which is dime a dozen, but dinosaur romance, which is rare. Perhapos the rgay elves could have, "primal forms," where they become raptors, or velociraptors? Just an idea. thanks
>>7792206
It's not that kind of "misunderstandings", it's just that neither one of them recognizes their lust for one another.
Kinda using it as a way to tease at lewdness, the original draft was a world where the lust goddess made the covering of sex organs a sin.so everyone was constantly exposed in some way, kind of like those African tribes but dialed up to eleven.
>>7792211
Actually I wrote a rough draft collection of scenes after watching the all star superman movie with the lizard people scene.
Essentially they broke into an underground lizard temple to steal treasures and had to sneak through a giant lizard orgy in the dark.
>>7792078
The movie sucked because it diverged from the book, which was very good, and the author is just this eccentric dude that's not willing to go against his conscience because people tell him to.
>>7792239
That sounds supremly erotic. As you no doubt know from watching lizard mating videos, their sex is very sensual and yet can be as rough as anything. It would be intriguing if your protagonists, mayhaps, had dino-metamorphoses triggered on exposure to the lizard love fest... Obviously akin to like how, in Pokemon Erotica, the Pokemon will often evolve due to sexual activity, a device worthy of Ovid.
How edgy is this?
>>7791902
>ywn be cucked as hard as akka was in this book
Sometimes God is merciful
>>7792254
I was going for more of a snake pit breeding vibe, like a huge mass of bodies intertwined, with the would be heroes overcome by the huge amounts of breeding pheromones in the air.
>>7792279
Oh that's nice too, love me some amphibians. The snake, a primordial symbol of the temptation to sin, owuld be a perfect inductor for your elfs into the Cthonic, Dionisian world of seduction. Do you prefer moist snakes, or dry ones? I'm personally not sure.
>>7792211
>>7792254
>>7792296
Who finished all Malazen books already? The ones from Erikson?
>>7792340
Never went past gardens of the moon myself. I don't get why people love those books so much.
I heard that the first 3 or four are the best though.
>>7792296
Are you familiar with Camille Paglia? This sounds like some real Sexual Persona stuff. I don't want to talk about smut, just Paglia.
>>7792296
Shit that's a tough call to make, moist snakes sounds a bit too damp for my tastes though.
>>7792392
Indeed, good old Camille P, a glittering successor to my favorite of the philosophers, the tragic and joyous Nietzsche. Few works are as liberating as her's. It is not by the denial of our darker natures, not by the equivalence of it with that dirty Christword evil, that we shall transcend and become more than man, newborn feathers shivering in the cold morning of Enlightenment, but rahter by an embrassé of wilderness, of passion, of wonder,,... fuck dude... ALL OF THIS is what dinosaur romance can teach in a breath, and you would dismiss it? What then shall we speak of?!
>>7792446
Do any of you have headcanons for Nietzsche's fursona? I poersonally think he would be a wolf or a dragon - wise, solitary, powerful -- or perhaps a noble deer
>>7792453
Or... perhaps...?
>>7792453
>Nietzsche's fursona?
lit is a horrible place but it IS the only place where one might discuss topics such as this
(Wonder what's on front page /lit/ today?)
*scroll*
*scroll*
>Do any of you have headcanons for Nietzsche's fursona?
...
>>7792453
This shit needs to be on the banner.
Sort of related to discussions of transcendence vis a vis the ubermensch of Nietzsche -- how do you envision the Perfect Man, physically speaking?
Personally, I think he'd have a lovely segmented tail, like Justice from Guilty Gear but less mechanical.
Indeed, it was never said the Beyond-Man would be strictly human --- only that he (or she; I think, in fact, she would be a more appropriate pronoun) would be a man (person).
>>7792542
Humans are patterns of thought currently occupying post-primate bodies. Appearance doesn't matter, and may become quite protean in the next century or two. The superman - and it would likely be a man - is an attitude.
Should I read Long Sun after New Sun?
>>7792446
>that dirty Christword evil,
What are you smoking, friend? I've heard many outside the faith call evil evil, and tell me it's bad to distinguish good from bad, and then grapple for a thesaurus when I ask them to clarify. Paglia is a prophet of the Enlightenment's doom. God let her bring us understanding of our own dark, hidden natures that we might illuminate them! She reminds us of the power and passion of romance, the brutality inherent in all sexuality, so that we might achieve balance, not in the suffocating marshes of the Feminine or in the airless pillar'd halls of the Masculine, but in the proper union of sexes in Matrimony. And Matrimony does not include lizards in any way.
>>7792658
If you want. It's his least interesting 600+ pages work.
>>7784192
I like Wax and Wayne, but I liked the original trilogy even more.
Also, I understand he's eventually going to merge the universes and their respective magic systems. I read Mistborn, Elantris and I'm just starting to read Stormlight. Please don't spoil me, but how is Allomancy or this Stormlight stuff even going to compete with AonDor, which seems absurdly powerful, if geographically restricted.
