Recommendations:
>Fantasy
Selected: http://i.imgur.com/r688cPe.jpg/
General: http://i.imgur.com/igBYngL.jpg/
Flowchart: http://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/
Previous: >>8257339
First for Serwabowl
![231ccecb08b09d6af2fcfefb185dea9c[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/CAuYVlQ.jpg "231ccecb08b09d6af2fcfefb185dea9c[1].jpg")
Just picked this up, good book?
Been thinking about writing for a month or two.
After realizing that I will probably not write my postmodern magnum opus at the first try,I decided to settle on a post apoc theme.
And I feel like there are bad spirits looming around,watching these events unfold,making sure I make a mistake.
After a year of elitism,writing genre fiction feels oddly wrong and sinfully wonderful!
>>8263717
Postmodern is a fucking meme, have fun with your book
>>8263537
Daughter of the Empire series with Feist is decent.
>>8263730
Yeah I thought that'd come up. Was more curious about her own novels, in particular "To Ride Hell's Chasm" which is a stand alone.
>>8263736
Well, I picked up most of her The Wars of Light and Shadow, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I've not seen her others around.
So is there anything else decent with a girl protagonist?
Reading Mistborn right now but blazing through it so I need more.
>>8263696
I've heard it is, but I haven't gotten around to reading it myself yet.
>>8263779
I don't think I've seen this one mentioned before.
>>8263797
Err... I meant this.
>>8262951
>Tower and knife?
Chart anon here. Don't touch that book if your life depended on it. It's shit.
>>8263668
>I read somewhere that the main female characters were all based on different aspects of his wife's personality.
Is she bi-... quad-polar? Schizophrenic?
>>8263696
Yeah it's pretty good.
Should I read Jack of Shadows, The Dying Earth (Mazirian the Magician), or Elric of Melniborne next?
>>8263672
I am going to write a fantasy novel and it is going to be great.
I know my purpose in life.
Thank you for your help /lit/.
>>8264101
Make sure to write a western Final Fantasy to become the next Sanderson.
>>8264129
>implying i'm not the one who's going to do that, but in a post-apocalyptic world
How many days? Where's the Bakker bro ?
This is the best post 00' series , if you didn't read it, you are a pleb
What do you noobs think of the Dresden file novels?
>>8264192
they are reddit tier... They where written by a neckbeard
>>8264089
Dying Earth. How much Zelazny have you read?
>>8263779
David Gemmell's Hawk Queen series, you fucking cunt.
>>8263672
How did you find Earth Abides?
>>8263696
I've read the first two and will get around to the third soon. I really enjoyed the first, the second was good as well but didn't capture me as much.
>>8264143
gonna have to beat me to it bro
>>8264283
The card catalog, idiot.
>>8264237
None. Should I start with Lord of Light instead?
The Dunyain had sent him into the world as an assassin. His father has imperiled their isolation, had threatened Ishual, the great sanctuary of their meditations. They had no choice but to send Kellhus, even knowing that they served Moenghus's ends...
So Kellhus has walked the length of Earwa, from the ruined wastes of the north to the raucous cities of the south. Every advantage had been exploited, be it a smile or a thousand fists. Every liability had been minimized. He had learned as much as this world would yield.
He was Dunyain, one of the conditioned. At every turn he followed the Logos, the Shortest Path.
And yet he had come so far.
>2 days until The Great Ordeal
>get hyped
>>8264190
Sorry, I'm a bit late this time.
In case we don't get another thread, thanks for putting up with me /sffg/
>>8264348
Probably. I haven't read Jack of Shadows but I'm told it's a little weaker. Lord of Light is a good choice, as is Nine Princes in Amber. My personal favorite is A Night in the Lonesome October, but it's not nearly as pulpy.
His short stories are also excellent. I've seen For a Breath I Tarry mentioned a few times and I can join in recommending that. Creatures of Light and Darkness is really fun but you probably need a few Zelazny levels to enjoy it.
>>8264400
Thanks for the recs
>>8263672
I see people posting about writing in here sometimes. I don't really think about it that much (since it's just one of my responsibilities), but I'm a game developer and currently basically head writer for our game. The game doesn't have a story, I just came up with the basic lore to put the game in.
Center piece of the lore are the gods, who have no actual physical powers. They can just get messages to people and convince them to do stuff for them. They have managed to do so, various religions which now exist or have existed and died out testament to their wit, basically.
People in that world develop actual magical powers and attribute it to the gods, and don't realize they don't really need them. Thus gods are way overrated as hell but still have major influence in the world by virtue of having all the best words.
The gods are important because the player is one (but this is never stated anywhere, but you can clue it together). It's an idle game so the player doesn't have much direct influence on the game. It seemed like a good conceptual backdrop to explaining why the player just watches other things in the game do everything, instead of doing stuff himself.
The world itself is then filled with various factions and shit that play with this idea of powerless gods. Factions that realize gods are worthless, etc...
Sound interesting?
>>8263672
What do people think about all the Commonwealth Universe novels?
>>8264519
Since its a game...I'm more interested in the gameplay.
Is this an RPG or something? This is important to know since that kinda determines how the story will even play out (defined protag vs blank slate), lore is really just lore, it can be anything.
Will say Dark Souls does it effectively because its lore is like a series of stories within that overall scenario, so you still know actual characters an their struggles throughout the ordeal, although indirectly. Thats what gives it the 'staying power', the characters and their mystery.
Any children's fantasy recs? Is Jonathan Stroud's new series good?
How long until Sanderson is LITERALLY anime?
Is it any good, senpaitachi?
>>8264559
I hope trigger replaces Okada with him.
>>8263696
The first is good for what it is. I think that the second and third genuinely add nothing to the ideas presented in the first.
>>8264583
No idea, I've just read Vampires which was alright, if not exceptional (he's not much for titles, is he?)
What's the consensus?
>>8264722
It's a tough call.
We know Ishterebinth has sided with the Consult, so there's not telling what sorts of fucked up sexual shit is going down once Sorweel's crew gets there. Regardless, the odds are heavily stacked in favor of Sorweel getting cucked multiple times, possibly by skinspies in addition to nonmen erratics. At the very least, we're looking at two, possibly three cuckings in just the next installment of the series, not including your standard NTR and reverse-NTR scenarios.
Betting closes in twenty-four hours.
>Demandred demanded
>Demandred demanded
No, this is it, , fuck you, I'm done. Fuck your embroidered brocaded fucking silks, fuck your useless thousand Sea Folk fucking characters, fuck your braid tuggings and fuck your fucking editor wife.
How did he get away with this shit?
>>8265328
Is it too demanding for you?
>>8265330
That single line convinced me he didn't give a single fuck about the readers. No self respecting writer would have done that.
>>8264552
Artemis Fowl , Charlie Bone, Septimus Heap, Percy Jackson and Rithmatist
Phew. Two and a half hours later, I present you with V2.
>>8265342
It should be intuitively obvious to the casual observer that it's very good writing, actually.
>>8265390
Don't you need like Name of the Wind and stuff in there.
Also, picrelated :}
>>8265411
>>8265399
Is this b8?
>>8265390
And it's just as shitty as before.
>>8265328
>he doesn't into alliteration
>>8264775
>>8265390
Do you just like every book you read or something
>>8265425
Not him but I'm a bit like that, of course i can't like outright trash like Twilight or Harry Potter but short of that I tend to find the good in every book, like "yeah the prose was kind of wonky but I liked the characters" or some such, I always look at the bright side I guess.
>>8265328
In his place I would have gone with "Demandred demanded the man dead"
>>8265462
>why is there no Snow Crash in these lists
nvm, found it on the last link
Why is 'Ring' such a good book? I wish I had a competent understanding of mathematics and physics to truly grasp it but I'm having FUN reading this story.
Mediterranean fantasy, / lit /.
I've finished William Tenn's A Lamp for Medusa and Kutter's The Mask of Circe. Very very nice.
So, at this time my jam is the Greek mythology so I would read a few themed novel. I want to read the prose version of Odyssey. Do you know some another good books?
I would also like to start, sooner or later, the saga of Percy Jackson ... ... Is it worth?
>>8263779
I like Trudi Canavan's stuff, which usually has female protagonists. The Black Magician trilogy is a comfort read for me, must have read it 3 or 4 times.
How did any of you fuckers make it through Jonathan Strange & co?
I gave it a serious fucking try, like hundreds of pages serious, but it never got anywhere. Biggest fantastical element was like turning some road into mud to screw over an army.
Anyway, I gave up. Did I miss out on interesting plot or was it just a history text the whole way
I don't think I understand anything not even enough to ask questions about the thing I'm not understanding so I won't ask anything.
>>8265597
Good post.
>>8265600
Thank you.
Where do youpirateyour books?
I've been using http://gen.lib.rus.ec/ for quite some time now, but they're slow with adding new releases.
>>8265641
>>8135585
>>8265390
You need to add some Alastair Reynolds, you analphabet.
>>8265641
audiobookbay
thepiratebay
good enough for me
>>8265641
Check out the sticky, newfriend.
>>8265554
Mary Renault, The King Must Die. Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen's Thief books. Lloyd Alexander, The Arkadians.
>>8265572
I think I made it on my third try. Yeah, the interesting plot was Norrell making a deal with a fairy and how it tries to screw over everyone, but if the pace during the Peninsular campaign didn't grab you none of it probably would. You could try watching the BBC adaptation.
>>8265891
thank god, finally the shitposting will end while you cucks will indulge your fetish to your heart's content.
>>8265572
I finish everything before I finish almost here. I think one thing that did not work for me, so I did not like or care about one trait. (Stephen was good)
I'm glad Norrell. I do not like about it.
I do not know who to root for.
If it seems like I am a blind LOTR fan or a fan Harry Potter, not all. I love the dust ASOIAF and purity. I find something redeembable about novel of Clarke.
In his daily life.
Should I read Mistborn or Stormlight Archives First?
>>8266020
>first
Only read SA at all, Mistborn is not worth anyones time.
>>8265977
>imblyign
Unholy Consult comes out next year, and the next trilogy soon after that.
>>8265425
I've read 600+ books... do you see 600+ books on that list? I'm recommending things people might like from the books I read and approve. Trust me, there are a LOT of shit books.
If I could harness my autism, I would do what I originally wanted, i.e have a subsection like military, rape, time travel, adventure, hero's journey, etc. But my autism is in no way close to that level of self torture.
>>8266046
>have a subsection like military, rape, time travel, adventure, hero's journey, etc.
>rape
Kinda interested to see this list.
>>8266046
Thank you for your sacrifice
>>8266046
Wait, so out of those 600 the best fucking books you can list are 'The Magician' and fucking 'Dresden Files'? What piles of shit are you reading?
>>8265747
Haven't read him, it's only recently (few years ago) I been reading more scifi, I was predominantly a fantasy man for years.
The list consists of books I personally read, and approve. If I get around to Reynolds and like him, I will add him to the list. Although the books I see yall discuss by him aren't interesting to me, I would try the space rape vampires by Watts though.
>>8266055
Maybe try one of his standalones, or short stories. Also:
>The list consists of books I personally read, and approve
It would be nice if you'd clarify that in the image.
>>8265561
Did you get boners you had to hide? Did you read the prequel?
>>8266010
Illegible
>>8266046
You must have read hundreds of shit fucking books for Trudi Canavan to make the cut.
>>8265390
Fight the good fight anon. Charts can only make this place better.
>>8266054
>I'm recommending things people might like from the books I read and approve.
This isn't a "what I like and you should read it" chart, it's a chart to cater to different people, and different likes. Like I said before, If I could arrange it by subsection /sub-genre it would make much more sense, but believe me when I tell you there is a little bit of everything for everyone in there.
Hell there are at least 2 books for the pedo book anon.
Is this a containment thread?
>>8266072
I only read 2/3 series from here. I tried that new millennium book from her and it was absolutely shot.
Here have a look at my "library", this shit hasn't been updated in years, I have 100's of books to add, but too lazy to organize.
>>8265390
What is that stupid watermark saying?
>>8266109
Yes, now get to work!
*whipcrack*
>>8266061
>It would be nice if you'd clarify that in the image.
That seems too ODC, Autistic for my taste to put a disclaimer.
That's like the anon who wanted us to put year published, and blurb under the books we recommended.
You know what we need? A chart for stand alone novels.
>>8266146
Not much of those released nowadays. I read a lot of standalones and novellas, but I not suggesting them. You look like a man who enjoys his pulp.
At the bookstore now, haven't read fantasy/sci fi in a couple years.
Good starting point?
>>8266177
>Jim Butcher
No, only get Hyperion
>>8266182
You sure? It's got good ratings?
>>8266177
This is an autistic thing to do.
>>8266193
What should I do then?
>>8266182
I want something fantasy as well (with magic)
>>8266177
Did you get pic related?
Also ignore this fagget >>8266182 .. but starting at book 2.. you might be lost.
>>8266210
What do you mean? Bad writing or..?
>>8266177
What are your interests? You want GRI? Military? Slice of Life? Steamcunt? Biopunk? Mechs? Cyberpunk? Alternate worlds? Wizards just fucking up shit wild west? Wizards just fucking up shit within a structured world?
What is it that you want?
>>8266221
Where is the option for just something good that puts me in awe?
>>8266221
Wizard schools, wizard universities? That kind of thing.
>>8266215
Do you open a book and start in the middle, finish it, and understand everything? The pic you showed us is book two, unless you read one and liked it how can you start book two?
Unlike some novels the codex alera books are not fully self contained, you will be lost starting with book 2.
>>8266224
So you want insane clown posse "shock your eyelids" tier? Prince of Nothing, hull zero three.
What does /sffg/ think of Guy Gavriel Kay?
Just finished reading this as my first GGK and thought it was pretty good. I wasn't the biggest fan of his writing style (a bit too spare, especially for a lavish setting like Tang China), however, and though the happy ending was refreshing and I enjoyed it, I thought it was a bit too neat.
Still a 7/10 for me, as I really liked the characters. I've heard it's one of his lesser works but I read it first because of the setting.
>>8266202
Buy a book like a normal person instead of taking a picture of books you might by then staring at your phone awaiting a reply
>>8266233
I liked the rape, gay and incest in Lions of Al-Rassan series.
>>8266233
One of the better modern writers. Check out Lions of Al Rassan or The Sarantine Mosaic if you want his best novels.
>>8266225
Earthsea trilogy, name of the wind(shit), the magicians by lev grossman, codex alera. Can't think of anymore atm.
>>8266233
>no one likes tigana
>>8266232
Do not fall for this man's devilish memes.
>>8265977
You're going to miss us when we're gone
>>8264089
Dying Earth then Elric
>>8264552
A series of unfortunate events.
>>8265390
>Ubik
>Ringworld
>modern
If PKD is modern why not to add all 80s-90s cyberpunk? Like Gibson, Sterling, Rucker etc.
>>8266580
I also have magic goes away, and empire of the east.
>If PKD is modern why not to add all 80s-90s cyberpunk? Like Gibson
I heard too many people shit on that book to try it, also not really a scifi nut.
So, I finally got around to reading Shades of Grey and Of the City of the Saved and liked both, probably Shades slightly more. If the anon who recced them to me is still here, got anything else in a similar vein - "SF with an unusual setting", I guess you'd call it?
>>8266558
This, even though the "fantastical" elements are pretty minimal. The Redwall guy's pirate books are good for that age too.
>>8266758
Alan Campbell, Scar Night.
I bought Ilium and Olympos today what am I in for?
>tfw halfway through Winter's Heart thanks to one anon who told me don't give up
At this point I am gonna assume that a) Mazrim Taim is obviouslyDemandredand b) Rand is fucking retarded for not having realized this when everything points to it, it's literally staring him in the face.
Does anybody know how hugo awards work and what is this group Sad/Rabbid Puppies?
I found out that 2016 prize in novels got Slow Bullets by my favorite author Alastair Reynolds and in his blog he was really pissed because of connection to S/R Puppies. I keep reading the internet abot this vote bloc but it gets only more confusing...
>>8266908
As I recall, he couldn't do anything because Taim largely had the Ashaman's loyalty. Also, Rand is going insane.
>>8266986
Hugo is made up of SJW-types so they award SJW message fiction only. Sad Puppies respond by trying to get people to vote for more pulpy stuff. Rabid Puppies is a different response by Vox Day, an alt-right retard, to promote his own books.
>>8266986
It's a long story but in short a couple of bad authors got the Hugo for Best Novels two years in a row and this made a lot of /pol/ tier alt right fags butthurt so they mounted a campaign to destroy the Hugos or free them from the evil clutches of the secret SJW/Jew/Leftist cabal, like 4chan shitposting but in real life.
>>8267000
Not him, but couldn't they like, create their own award and give it to whoever the fuck they want?
>>8267016
It's a popular vote award. They're trying to influence the vote.
They want books that aren't crappy left-wing stuff to get the awards. Crappy left-wing authors call them racist, Rabids don't care, everyone who doesn't want to be called a racist immediately disavows. The sincere folks that just wanted a better democracy in the awards were chased off a long time ago, and the lefties gave awards to some majorly bad books, so alt-right personality Vox Day is the one left in charge now, and he's nominating a mix of books he really thinks deserve awards (like our very own Aram's Wolfe criticism) and jokes like Space Raptor Butt Invasion. Lefties don't have a response other than LITERAL HITLER.
>>8267016
That would be the case if they didn't claim to represent all of fandom and if the Hugos didn't have such a good reputation.
>>8267023
Nice narrative except for the fact that Vox Day IS a self-proclaimed racist, and just Scalzi and Leckie aren't nearly enough to make a " crappy left-wing stuff gets all the awards" claim, especially when the right-wing stuff is often just as shitty.
>>8267050
I didn't say he wasn't. Torgersen tried to fight it and got nowhere. Are you saying books are bad because racists like them?
>>8267081
>Are you saying books are bad because racists like them?
Of course not. Lovecraft was racist as fuck and I love his books.
I'm saying Day is intellectualy dishonest and far from caring about Hugo fairness he's using the whole thing to a) promote his own publishing house by constantly nominating their own books and b) get publicity for himself.
>>8267092
>a) promote his own publishing house by constantly nominating their own books and b) get publicity for himself.
This is called running a business m8.
>>8267092
Day doesn't care about fairness. Correia did and they tarred and feathered him. Day cares about ruining the Hugos' reputation, and he's been completely honest about that, and he managed to give Aramini a little broader exposure while doing so.
Besides, Castalia has hardly anything nominated this year. They blew JCW's collected short stories already and Day's been publishing Westerns and litfic recently.
>>8263672
Never read any sci-fi before, what are some must read "classics"
How trust-able is the sticky for recommended reading btw
http://scifilists.sffjazz.com/lists_books_rank1.html
How is this sites list, is it shit?
Have any of you guys read dune?
>>8267165
I am constrained for time so don't want to waste hours reading something that isn't good
By trust-able I mean was the person who wrote it a fucking pleb with shit taste
>>8267179
Classics are classics for a reason - they survived for decades and are still read today. Whether you will like them or not you have to find out for yourself.
Some big names are Jack Vance, Arthur Clarke and Philip K Dick.
>>8267154
Martian Chronicles from Bradbury is great.
Though I'm biased in favour of short stories.
>>8264190
Fucking love that shit man.
Wish I was a Quya mage tbqh
>>8267179
Dune and Hyperion are pleasant, long to read soft sci-fi. Might start with them.
I'm reading the wheel of time series (4th book so far), but the next 2 book will take a while to arrive.
What other series can I read to pass my time?
Any horror esque SFF novels with a little girl protagonist?
>>8267315
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23398606-alice
This is apparently an Alice in Wonderland retelling with blood and rape. Haven't read it myself though.
Someone here did maybe?
>>8267315
Uprooted. Less horror to be honest, but it's spooky in parts. Some neat things, some bad things, I liked it overall.
>>8266070
We can rule out a google postbot.
>>8263696
Depends on what you want. If you want plot that actually makes sense, it's better to avoid. Also purple-ish prose.
>>8267266
>going mad from living forever, no living females, only remembering the most horrifying events of your life
Mandate is best.
>want to listen to an audiobook
>can't focus on it unless I'm doing nothing else and just idling in bed
>if i'm doing nothing else it feels like a waste of time and I constantly think that I could be reading it faster in text instead
>>8267162
Hunger Games is shit, otherwise great list.
Began reading A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and am disappointed, not to mention bored as shit. It feels like every other paragraph Martin has to stop to get exposition on everything and everyone and just want focus on Dunk & Egg, as I somewhat enjoy their interactions. So, my question is: does Martin eventually ditch having to constantly explain shit or what? Does the book get better. I'm nearly halfway done with The Hedge Knight and feel as if it's going nowhere.
>>8267487
It takes time to get used to it. Took me a while to be able to multitask while listening to an audiobook, and understand what I heard afterwards.
I can cook, wash dishes, clean and listen to audiobooks. These are great when you are no longer neet, and you got to wage slave for dinner. No mommy and daddy looking after you.
I finished Elantris. Overall I liked it. The twists and turns and characterizations were satisfying. I also really liked my nigga Hrathen.
But there was way too much of characters keeping secrets for no reason other than plot convenience. Other things that bugged me werethe lack of closure regarding the insane Seons. Raoden's "humorous" time disguised as Lord Dindu. The pacing being weird; it feels like a television show with many "episodes", many of which feel tacked on with little to do with the overall plot. Sanderson feeling the need to stop and describe Raoden adding modifying lines to his Aons "Oh wow, his power level must be like waaay higher now". I thought Eventeo being coy about the identity of his spy was going to come back ("Well, he must own a seon"), it didn't. The bizarre and inhuman way both of Raoden's parents behaved. His father is a murderous lunatic (Who by the way, instead of just killing Serene, he murders many other women in pagan ceremonies that turn out to do nothing to harm her at all. Huh?) and his mother who inexplicably doesn't seem to care at all about her son basically dying.
But I enjoyed it enough to try reading more of his work. I think either Warbreaker or The Way of Kings will be next.
>>8267813
Sanderson heard you have like three bad novels before you can really write, or something like that, so he got a creative writing degree then worked as a hotel clerk writing novels until he'd written a few bad ones. Then he wrote Elantris. You might be able to sense a little autism there and that might help you interpret Sanderson better.
Anyway there's a tenth-anniversary edition that's supposed to smooth things out, and his writing does improve, though it's always Sanderson. Welcome to the club.
>>8264281
Who is David gemmal?
FOUR
FUCKING
HOURS
LEFTyeah, i know TGO is already out, but i'm waiting for amazon to stop cucking me
>>8267825
>lose your soul but gain the world
Do you even self sacrifice?
>>8267847
the world is gay as hell anyway
>not mongols
>not muslims
>rape monsters
>autistic sociopaths who steal yo girl
>constant fucking warfare
the best you can hope for is to worship a chill deity and secure a decent place in the afterlife
>>8267889
Just go to high ainon where you do drugs and play chess all day.
You even get a sweet mask
>>8267009
Nice try, tumblr. The Hugo Awards have been shit for years and was only awarding pure SJW garbage BECAUSE it was SJW garbage. Some writers and fans were understandably upset by this and decided to do something about it.
>>8267889
>not mongols
>not muslims
Don't forget the not Byzantines, and the not crusade.
I have to say I was thoroughly disappointed with The Great Ordeal, I was so hyped and excited for it, and all I got was.. this, what a waste
>>8268135
>take the sweet climactic shit and shove it into the next book
It's A Dance With Dragons all over again. Fucking Jew publishers.
>>8268135
so in the end it was *we* who were cucked
>>8268142
At least Unholy consult comes out next year. We don't have the 5 year adwd wait
The slog of slogs, boys!
>>8268196
It's probably just all build up and no major climaxes, since it is one book split into two. Next book is next year, probably, so it shouldn't be too bad. I'll let you know more when I get my copy tomorrow.
>>8268274
>since it is one book split into two
Fuck that jew shit.
>>8268299
Jew publishers win again
>bawww book spines can't handle a 1200 page book
>>8264583
Yes but it's odd, half of it is a guy in power armor doing whatever it takes to survive on an alien infested shithole. The weird part is the other half which is set years later where a nerd and a roguish space adventurer type find his armor and get addicted to watching the recordings of one poor son of bitch trying to survive a situation that killed everyone else
>>8267813
Read Warbreaker before Stormlight.
>>8268174
I guess I'll put my helium tank back in the attic until then.
>>8268135
How could you possibly read the entire thing already?
>>8268377
Apparently some brick and mortar bookstores had copies already.
>>8268377
A lot of bookstores were breaking the street date
>tfw I love fantasy novels but have never read any of Tolkien's work
Feels bad honestly. Could The Silmarillion be read on its own without having read any of the previous books?
>>8268644
Don't bother. Tolkien is a boring windbag and the Silmarillion is as enjoyable to read as the Bible
>>8268654
dont listen to this pleb
Just read The Hobbit and carry from there, its very short
>>8267825
Using magic condemns you to eternal torment?
Uh oh, how is Kellhus going to get out of this sticky situation?
>I did wade through the unsanitary sewage of Mr. Michael Swanwick’s IRON DRAGON’S DAUGHTER for about half the book, before realizing than Mr. Swanwick was having a joke at my expense, and at the expense of all his readers, and a rather dark and bitter joke at that.
>Stated as a ratio, IRON DRAGON’S DAUGHTER is to honest fairy stories with real magic to them as the movie version of STARSHIP TROOPERS is to that novel of the same name: an elaborate and obsessive long-drawn-out paean of hatred and contempt of a cramped and unlit soul crouched in a fen or cave against the sunny upland glades of some larger and more glorious thing he can neither understand nor adore: a harpy excreting the excess of diseased bowels on festal delicacies her digestion cannot accept, and elfin wines her tongue not savor.
Is he wright?
>>8266054
It's called fantasy.
![Sword_of_shannara_hardcover[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/8QZ7l3F.jpg "Sword_of_shannara_hardcover[1].jpg")
What was the most popular fantasy series of the 1980s? Like the ASOIAF of that time period.
>>8268781
>It's more into shock value than say thematic exploration.
Sounds a lot like Steel Remains.
>MY PROTAG IS GAY AND HE HAS GRAPHIC GAY SEX
>CAN YOU HANDLE IT, AMERICA?!
>>8268743
Bloody hell that's pretentious. And insulting - if you satirize or subvert something, it's because you're a "cramped and unlit soul" who "can neither understand nor adore" it? What if you understand perfectly and that's WHY you don't adore it?
I like his work, but he's pretty John C. Wrong here.
>>8268792
No, it's not written like that. It has solid characterisation and it is just a steampunk capitalist society with bdsm loving cocke snorting armani suits wearing elves.
It's probably a too long, he should have cut it down in parts and the bizzareness would have had a stronger effect.
You guys should try The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien. It's pretty cool.
>>8268803
>What if you understand perfectly and that's WHY you don't adore it?
Then you're a cramped and unlit soul, sorry anon. Milton understood both sides, that's why he made Satan so noble and why he had Satan BTFO.
>I... I don't want Heaven! B-better to rule in Hell amirite guys?
>>8268803
It's often hard to believe an ass like Wright can write good novels.
>>8268770
That and the Belgariad
>>8268811
It's Tolkien's self-insert fantasy which is "good-natured fun and a classic for all ages" when he does it but when fanfic writers do it? Burn them at the stake!
>>8268826
I liked Bilbo.
>>8268792
I always wonder who they're trying to "shock" with shock value stuff anyway - at this point no one outside the Bible Belt, and even there mostly no one under 35, would really be upset by a book having gayness in it. It's like they try really hard to be mature and challenging, but the only things they can think of are a) sex stuff, b) violence, or c) basic moral ambiguity - which end up having the opposite effect, and making the book seem like it was written by an edgy teenager. What would really be shock me at this point would be a book with nuanced, thoughtful takes on complicated issues, but those seem to be thin on the ground.
Why are all of Abercrombie's female characters so edgy?
>>8267081
>Torgersen
aka "Autistic man complains about metaphors, not being able to judge books by their covers."
>https://bradrtorgersen.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/sad-puppies-3-the-unraveling-of-an-unreliable-field/
>These days, you can’t be sure.
>The book has a spaceship on the cover, but is it really going to be a story about space exploration and pioneering derring-do? Or is the story merely about racial prejudice and exploitation, with interplanetary or interstellar trappings?
>There’s a sword-swinger on the cover, but is it really about knights battling dragons? Or are the dragons suddenly the good guys, and the sword-swingers are the oppressive colonizers of Dragon Land?
>>8268848
Anon, everyone in his stories is edgy.
>>8268846
I live out in the tool shed where my uncle Bill reads to me and taught me how to play butt darts.
>>8268856
>'pshht, nothing personal' said Shitgut Wheatsmasher as he dumped the screaming grain upon the millstone and tipped the brim of his woolen coif
>>8268848
>>8268856
>>8268867
>>8268853
So, by that logic doesn't he have to hate H.G. Wells?
>This book has a big ape-man on the cover, but is it really a mutant jungle adventure? Or is it about ethics in science, Darwinism and religion, and whether nonhumans can be sentient?
>>8268873
I miss you, Tolkien.
>>8268873
>aristocrats fighting
Please have more of this in your fantasy story. Too much in the genre we have muh evul nobles over and over again.
>>8264552
Deltora Quest.
>>8268895
Not to mention all the publishers that just buy generic art and randomly use it for books. I think I read a old Asimov paperback once where there's a couple starships slugging it out on the cover, but the book is entirely planet-bound.
>>8268946
Well, not to the point it overshadows the actual storytelling, but it'd be nice to see something a bit more meaningful than "Chosen One Does a Quest" or, more recently, "Grimdark Assassin Is All Brooding and Morally Grey".
What sci-fi novels would you recommend based off of pic related?
>no Lovecraft please
>>8267971
Yeah right, the heroes to the rescue.
Name one sjw trash novel that got the Hugo for best novel other than scalzi and leckie.
>>8268743
No, he's a pompous asshole who wouldn't know a good novel if it walked up and hit him in his fat face. I mean look at that writing style, could you possibly be more pretentious?
>>8269075
Fifth Season
>>8268743
I literally cant wait to hear him review my book
>>8269089
Except that is actually good.
>>8269095
>name one time thing happened
>except for all these other times that don't count because I say so
>>8269102
Yeah it doesn't count because it's not bad. I doubt you even read it honestly.
>>8269112
>feminist cunt shit
>not bad
Tumblr, please.
>>8263696
I liked it. It does lose some coherence towards the end, fair warning.
>>8269316
Your only response is calling me tumblr because you haven't actually read the work you criticise, which makes you a fucking hypocrite at best.
>alt right shit
>good
>/pol/ please
See? Two can play this game, too bad I prefer non retarded discussion.
>>8269330
>reading feminist propaganda
>>8267154
sticky's are just whoever posted it's personal opinion, not good imo. sorely lacking several very good series, and also full off 'classics' that aren't really that good
Has anyone read this? I just finished the first short story, which the book is named after. I feel like this collection going be a series of flawed ideas. I don't mind though, I like books with a bit of ambition.
>>8267487
there are all sorts of activities you can do while listening to a story, partly depending on the person you just gotta find out what works for you. also you can always speed up the audio player, i've found about 1.6x speed still allows me to make out all the words just fine.
Are there any books that blend science and medieval fantasy well? I am in the process of writing a story and need some inspiration.
Anything with semi-realistic technology and medieval fantasy and magic or magic-technology.
>>8269496
Book of the New Sun
I remember reading a weird sci-fi fantasy novel as a teen and I can't remember the name. All I remember is the absurd premise. On Earth, the world is mostly uninhabitable and thus humanity lives in giant mobile cities. Cities travel around the globe eat other cities for resources.
I want to re-read this book but I can't find it for the life of me.
>>8269496
The second Mistborn series possibly. But you'd need to read the first series.
>>8267813
Trust me on this, read Warbreaker before The Way of Kings+Words of Radiance. You'll thank yourself later.
Personally I like the Mistborn books the most, but they're not for everyone.
His best overall work is The Emperor's Soul, but it's a short story. Definitely worth reading though, and it'll only take you like twenty minutes. It's actually set on the same continent as Elantris, you'll see a few terms and a gyorn pop up.
>>8269496
>>8269525
Yeah I back up this anon, the second Mistborn series (The Alloy of Law + Shadows of Self + The Bands of Mourning + The Lost Metal [that last one isn't released yet]) is a deft blend of science and fantasy.
You'd do yourself a disservice if you don't read the first trilogy (The Final Empire + The Well of Ascension + Hero of Ages) first, especially since it's one of the few examples of a genre writer successfully handling multiple generations/timelines in the same world well, but if you just need a quick bit of inspiration, just read The Alloy of Law. Fairly self-contained.
>>8269541
Multiple generations is a big bonus, thanks. I'm attempting to incorporate nuclear radiation into fantasy as what most people believe to be magic and also as the cause of certain fantasy things like beastmen and orcs and what have you.
>>8269537
>same continent as Elantris
Nah, actually. Elantris is in Arelon, a country in Opelon (or Sycla, as named by the Fjordell Empire.) The Rose Empire (the nation Shai is apart of) is on an unnamed continent to the north.
Of course, I'm being pedantic here. Emperor's Soul is still very good and anon should read it after Elantris.
>>8269547
>also as the cause of certain fantasy things like beastmen and orcs and what have you
Read the Genesis of Shannara trilogy, or maybe something like the last half of the last book, as it does exactly that.
What's the most important part about worldbuilding, /sffg/? Is it a deep lore? Is it adding tons of complex system which shape the society like government, police etc? Or should it just make sense in some way?
>>8269601
Usually highlighting aspects of the world not available to the characters in the story. Or finding grandness in small details. Worldbuilding will be tiresome to read unless you incorporate it into your writing
Guys, could someone point me on books with highly developed nature forces theme e.g. dryads, magical forests, mythical forest creatures, leaf magic, rules of nature and stuff. More precisely, I'm interested in a variety of species, so any mythology and even ttg rulebooks with good description will do as well.
>>8269673
Mythago Wood by Holdstock
>>8269316
>>8269349
How could Daneel Olivaw be considered the first robot that looked like a human if Andrew Martin and the two ones made by the cripple in the last I, Robot story exists?
Fucking /pol/fags. I can understand when someone calls Ann Leckie SJW but rest of Hugo Awards is pretty non-political.
>>8269496
Iron Dragon's Daughter
>tfw no great ordeal in book store today
Fucking Australia.
I don't want to have to blow my well earned money on one of those e-reader things you kids use these days.
>>8269741
>blow my well earned money
>an ereader is literally 40$
Shit man, do you work as a galley slave with the fat guy beating on the drums to give you the rythm and everything?
>>8269741
>use inferior technology
>complain about its shortcomings
>at the same time refuse to upgrade and solve all your problems
I need a break from WoT book 9.
Let's try this Emperor's Soul of yours. It will be my first Sanderson so it better be good.
>>8269771
>literally 40$
Fucking where.
>>8263672
Does lit support dark urban fantasy
