/lit/ - Literature

>>12534119
reading roadside picnic lads.
are sf masterworks shit publishers or is everything spelt wrong on purpose?

sanderfag a hack

>>12534122
You are obviously reading an OCR'd and not retail copy

>>12534135
what is the differenace?
i would just like to know what a hoverboot is and why the cunt says anyways after every 5th sentence

>it’s a Perrin chapter

redpill me on conan? should i read it?

Monthly reading Anon ask your fucking questions.

Just wanna say these books should be held on the same level of acclaim as BotNS. Feels like ascended SF/F and reading through all three is a delightful experience.

Should I read this?

>>12534151
>it's a Faile chapter

>>12534138
Optical Character Recognition isn't perfect and might get some letters wrong e.g: "rn" might get turned to "m" or "d" turns into "cl".
A hoverboot is just some kind of fictional hovercraft that doesn't touch the ground. (this way it can't trigger anomalies by stepping on them)
All those "anyways" stop with the first chapter, IIRC.

>>12534119
Anyone know any PDF torrent sites where I can find Creating Character Arcs by K.M Weiland

>>12534263
check mobilism you fucking nigger

>>12534267
I'm fucking broke man, I can't help it.

>>12534260
>>12534138
Annotation: "(das) Boot" is german for "boat".

>>12534271
You could work on moving up professionally and cut out unnecessary spending.

>>12534233
Yes

>>12534276
I just want to write a good book.

Thoughts on pic related? I like the idea of the book but publication date deters me for now.

>>12534281
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman#Advocacy
Is American Gods full of current year bullshit though?

>>12534289
>first thing he does is google and wiki the author
>what anons said about /pol/ reading the authors and not their books is true
This really shouldn't surprise me, but it did.

>>12534282
>broke cunt is a kpop can
No wonder you broke if you spend your money on virtual girls who don't even know you exist, or will never love. When you can get qt asian sticc / thicc / slam piggie porn for free.
Just end yourself.

>>12534398
I don't mind reading opposing opinions, but why would I want to read borderline propaganda from a low-tier comic book writer?

>>12534288

>>12534413
>doesn't deny he is /pol/
Guess I should start listening when this general tells me something

>>12534408
I just save reaction images, why are you so mean. I found it though.

>>12534414
>Avoid
>A Princess of Mars
You'd better have some kinda reasoning to back that incorrect opinion up and jot just some chart you post to feel like you're superior to the unwashed masses

>>12534414
Why should I avoid The Blade Itself? I actually have that sitting on my desk, but haven't opened it up yet. I heard it's got some grimdark fantasy. Which I like.

>>12534414
>>12534434
>>12534436
Oh I just noticed LotR is on there as well. It's a bait chart, ignore it.

>>12534414
>Moorcock
>Abercrombie
>avoid them
You madman.

What does /sffg/ think of Gizmodo's 37 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books To Keep You Warm This February? Not going to link it unless asked because fuck giving them clicks.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James (kek)
Endgames by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Figuring by Maria Popova
The Ingenius by Darius Hicks
The People’s Future of the United States edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams
Polaris Rising by Jesse Mihalik
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
Same Same by Peter Mendelsund
Sisters of Fire by Kim Wilkins
Snow White Learns Witchcraft: Stories and Poems by Theodora Goss
Stray Moon by Kelly Meding
Strife’s Bane by Evie Manieri
Your Favourite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore
All Roads End Here by David Moody
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
The Nine Cloud Dream by Kim Man-Jung, translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl
The Revenant Express by George Mann
Terminal Uprising by Jim C. Hines
The Test by Sylvain Neuvel
The Afterward by E.K. Johnson
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation edited by Ken Liu
For the Killing of Kings by Howard Andrew Jones
Gates of Stone by Angus Macallan
Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
Kellanved’s Reach by Ian C. Esslemont
Possible Minds: Ways of Looking at AI edited by John Brockman
Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock
The Dysasters by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
No Way by S.J. Morden
The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

>>12534464
(((Gizmodo)))

>>12534464
Ken Liu and Charlie Jane Anders' names make me interested in looking a bit deeper at the list but a lot of it sounds like garbage.

>>12534464
literally never heard of them
if they're literally all coming out this february i assume that it's just all the fantasy books coming out in that period and that most of them are shite

>>12534182
What's the premise of these books?

Redpill me on Station Eleven

>>12534414
I thought this was a meme, and to prove you wrong I read a few of them.... I should have listened.

>>12534434
Never read Barsoom series or A Princess of Mars, why should I read them and are they similar to anything else I might know? Redpill me.

>>12534398
>muh /pol/
Protip: I'm not from /pol/. I'm just trying to find out if the book is good or not because I don't want to waste my time if it's shit.

>>12534417
>muh /pol/ again

>>12534541
A few different chosen one stories crossing paths and conflicting with each other in a German lumber colony on the edge of a magical African forest shortly prior to the beginning of WWII. It has a really neat blend of the mythologies of African mysticism and Judaism, and some historical figures (big ones being Eadweard Muybridge and William Blake) show up in interesting ways that build on the world of the novels.
They're hard to compare to other works because of how unique they are. I'd recommend reading the first, and then I'd you enjoy it pick up the second and third; The Vorrh is a solid standalone piece, but Erstwhile and Cloven feel like two halves of a second, longer book.

>>12534414
>Avoid Elric and Moorcock
>Avoid LotR and Tolkien
>Avoid Conan and Howard
>Avoid John chadcarter and Burroughs
Bait bait bait bait bait

>>12534289
>Please provide me trigger warnings

>>12534246
If that’s even her real name

>>12534442
>lotr is so goood! Everyone will enjoy this dated, boring piece of shit
>out of the 20 books I read in my entire life lotr is in my top 5! It is so gooood! Anyone who doesn't like it is bait troll

>>12534568
>you are just like the SJW if you don't like stronk and idependent genderqueer black wymyn in your books

>>12534566
Sounds like they're really similar to Moorcocks Eternal Champion in many ways?

>>12534553
A Princess of Mars is the first book in Burrhoughs' Barsoom series. They're one of the earlier examples of swashbuckling pulp crossing over with sci-fi, to the point where the "science fiction" elements almost feel more like fantasy.
Great adventure stories where the heroes are manly warriors and clear-cut good triumphs over obvious evil. Not nuanced literature or anything, but the stories are fun and Barsoom is a world that you'll probably fall in love with, dying though it may be.

>>12534579
Well think about it rationally. Sjw reads a book with something they don't like and they freak out, demand to know if the contents will offend them etc.

And then you do the same exact thing. I'm not even necessarily against you or your beliefs, I might even agree with you on most but think for yourself and read it yourself.

>>12534579
>Find out author advocates helping refugees through the UN
>sperg out and refuse to read his book
yeah, you're a real free thinker anon

I thought my English was on a good enough level already. At least it was when I read other books, but the first paragraph of Gardens of the Moon got me.

"The stains of rust seemed to map blood seas on the black, pocked surface of Mock's Vane. A century old, it squatted on the point of an old pike that had been bolted to the outer top of the Hold's wall. Monstrous and misshapen, it had been cold-hammered into the form of a winged demon, teeth bared in a leering grin, and was tugged and buffeted in squealing protest with every gust of wind."

What the fuck.

>>12534581
Haven't read it, but from what I know of Moorcock his stuff tends to be higher on the fantastical side of fantasy, The Vorrh leans a lot more towards "grounded" mysticism. If that makes sense.

>>12534436
Read it if you want. But I'm a completionist. After I started I was obligated to finish the trilogy. And reading a book where you only like the cripple is annoying to say the least. The book had many, many faults, but I powered through hoping it would get better. It really doesn't. When I read one of his standalones that featured the cripple it was such an improvement. The book should have focused on the cripple.

>>12534590
Thanks, will get Princess then and try it out.

>>12534597
The Eternal Champion saga is all kinds of crazy stuff.
There's high fantasy, low-fantasy, more sci-fi esque stuff, alternate history, "grounded mysticism" and super surreal imagery.

Thoughts on this underrated novel?

>>12534595
It's a weather vane made in the shape of a demon on top of a pike (as in the weapon), It makes squealing sounds as the wind blows. Took me a while to remember what a "vane" was and i though it was pike as in a hill. I honestly didn't remember it being that complexly written

>>12534603
I'm pretty sure the first five books, if not more, are in the public domain at this point, so you can probably find a collection for cheap. I got a big hardcover volume of the first five for 4 bucks not too long ago.
>>12534611
I'll have to check it out. My recommendation for the Vorrh books still stands though, I haven't read anything else quite like them. If I had to give a comparison, it'd be Blood Meridian meets Heart of Darkness meets Annihilation, under a layer of African tribal magic with a dash of Jules Verne sci-fi

>>12534595
"The rust stains look like blood on the gargoyle. It sits on the wall attached by a pike. It looks like a grinning demon and is moved with gusts of wind."
It really isn't that difficult.
This really isn't even that difficult

>>12534627
Thanks for this anon. I just glanced at the preview of the book and thought about getting it, but I don't want to end up reading it with a dictionary.

>>12534637
Well. If it was just a gargoyle on a pike, then yeah, that would be rather strange.

>>12534640
You're not gonna get better at reading by avoiding to read though.

>>12534640
It's not too bad, he just throws in an obscure word every now and then like "Ochre", which most people don't know and have to look up.

What's the best way to read the Elric books?
is there a good collected edition?
Going all over the web looking at physical and ebooks and it's really a mess with the editions and what's available where

>>12534648
I don't avoid it though. It's just that I read some of Moorcock and Abercrombie and it was easy to read most of the time. Now I feel like an idiot, if I struggle through the first paragraph.

>>12534651
That's fine. I reckon fantasy books have to have that in them anyway.

>>12534659
>That's fine. I reckon fantasy books have to have that in them anyway.
One of my favorite things about BotNS is the way Gene Wolfe uses words that exist in English but don't see any modern usage to describe fantastical elements.

>>12534672
Like "awe-some"?

>>12534414
>Avoid A Game of Thrones

bait

>>12534655
Copying my post from a previous thread:

Nice!
Gollancz has all the ones you need in print
The series was not released chronologically, but Moorcock and everyone who's read them recommends that you forego the rule of publication order and read in chronological order for Elric
The series starts with Elric of Melnibone and other stories, and overall goes like this
>Elric of Melnibone
>Fortress of the Pearl
>The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
>Weird of the White Wolf (Contains three short stories: The Dreaming City, While the Gods Laugh, The Singing Citadel)
>The Sleeping Sorceress (also called Vanishing Tower)
>The Revenge of the Rose
>Bane of the Black Sword (Contains The stealer of Souls, Kings in Darkness, The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams)
>Stormbringer
You need to end on Stormbringer, it's so fucking satisfying now that everything Elric is out in chronological order and you can go through from start to finish and end on Stormbringer. Originally Stormbringer was released as one of the earlier Elric novels, but it bangs hard as fuck when you finish on it.
You can also instead choose to seek out "Tale of the Eternal Champion Vol 8" and "Tale of the Eternal Champion Vol 12" which collects all Elric stories "Main story" (All the books above) in chronological order. These are really easy to find online and pretty cheap depending on cover.

>>12534678
http://www.pannis.com/SFDG/specific-Shadow-2.html

>>12534683
>Moorcock

>>12534119
>reading
Joe Abercrombie - Blade Itself. About halfway through. Pretty good.
>next
May get the second books of Abercrombie's trilogy but I want to read something barbaric and senselessly brutal. I want the main character to break a stone in half, stomp on a dragon's tail, seduce a woman, avenge his long dead comrades, and bite into a lump of raw meat. All for no good reason. Probably gonna go for Conan then.

>>12534119
>reading
Just finished The Unholy Consult. Still need to browse the appendix.
>how is it
I loved it for the most part. Every book seems to have at least one or two "Bakker, please stop" moments, and this was no exception.
>reading next
Not sure yet. I always get need a lot of time to mull over a book and get over it before starting something new. Probably The Blade Itself though since I was supposed to read that first.

>>12534713
>Moorcock
Yeah, Elric is basedkino.

Redpill me on Throne of Glass.

>>12534733
no

>>12534733
no

>>12534733
This looks like YA levels of mary sue garbage written but some Silicone Vaalley airhead. Is the protagonist named something pretentious sounding too?

>>12534683
Saved, thanks. Definitely been interested in starting on Elric for a while now.

>>12534764
Don't forget about /ourgoyim/ Erekose. Was pretty good in The Eternal Champion, too.

>>12534728
>tfw a little shit ruins everything

>>12534773
That was honestly TUC's saving grace. I was incredibly pissed off with the conclusion of The White-Luck Warrior and Sorweel's storylines, and that barely made up for it.

Any fantasy (preferably) or sci-fi set in a glacial period?

>>12534119
Why didn't you write a popular YA and became a millionaire yet if it's so easy, huh?

>>12534733
Looks like a collection of some drow horrible DnD adventures.

>>12534733
The poor man’s Masters of Rome

>>12534733
>Deviantart tier covers
>NOUN OF NOUN

I hate it, cap'n.

>>12534733
Together with pic related one of the best modern series.

>>12535102
The titles are like they were chosen from a random fantasy name generator.

What are some good incest literature? Asking for a friend.

Idea for a magic system. If you have positive or negative blood types then it heavily affects whatever magic you wind up with but they are just variations of the same spell.

>>12535211
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Kafka on the Shore.

>>12535230
I hate magic systems that treat it like a JRPG mechanic.

>Knight: "Do you know any spells?"
>Loli Mage: "I know lvl two fireball spells."

Fucking ridiculous, it only works when the story is parodying JRPG's or other video games.

>>12535258
Categorizing spells by ranks is not an outright bad idea in itself.

>>12535102
>coaurt thoofrns roandses

>>12535258

What if my series is more about breeding out weaker spellcasters to create stronger ones via Darwinism rather than some JRPG nonsense?

>>12534288
I liked it, but the autists on here tear it to shreds.

>>12535282
If any of the spellcasters being targeted for elimination are white, progressive twitter will get your book canceled.

>>12534436

>>12535271
I'd say this, but I think you have to support it with what makes it a higher rank spell. I think you could make some decent plotlines for:

>I can try it, but it might not work out right
and they cast a high level fireball spell but because they didn't study the directional shit it just causes a massive explosion. I'm not a big fantasy guy, but I do play dnd so do with this as you will. "Levels" and rpg mechanics are only fun in anime and cartoons honestly

>>12535301
Per example, like Konosuba. Sure you can cast that extremely powerful nuclear explosion spell, but you'll be drained and unable to move after one.

>>12535230
I know it's magic but that still makes zero sense.

>>12535301
>>12535282
>>12535271

Maybe i'm old fashioned but treating magic like game mechanics feels so robotic. I prefer ritualistic stuff, praying to gods, making offerings, blessing objects under the light of a full moon, studying dusty old tomes full of green dust by candle light, subtle magic etc etc.

>>12535307
Konosuba is a bad example because it uses video game style magic. It feels like an MMO.

>>12534288
if you liked the thorns series go for it, it's a bit less edgy and goes more indepth on the magic/technology stuff

Currently reading The Knight.
So, without spoiling much: is Able going to keep being a bully all the way through? I am enjoying the book but Able himself has been sort of an unlikable cunt so far.

>>12535312
>konosuba isn't a lightnovel/manga/anime, it's an MMO

>>12535409
Don't be fucking dense, you know damned good and well the series is based around JRPG and MMO video game stuff.

>>12535409
I know, i'm saying the series take inspiration from video games you mong.

>>12535442
What is wrong with this anime girl?

>>12535230
>>12535301
>>12535312
I like the system in the Divine Dungeon books.
It takes the generic RPG things and pulls them into a more esotheric direction.
Essentially, adventurers accumulate "essence" in their center by meditating in dungeons, and can then direct that energy along set paths, i.e. through their heart, eyes, limbs, etc, which powers those up.
The whole systems revolves around meditation, focus, control, and channeling various elemental essences into different shapes like auras or bursts.
It strikes a decent balance between abstract "powerlevels" and downright stat cards.

>>12535464
She's literally retarded. Not joking.

>>12535464
She's dumb and useless and lazy.

>>12534813
Early riser by fforde

>>12535464
The most useless goddess

Read this a while ago. It was alright. 5/10.

>>12535285
>anyone who doesn't like what I like is an autist
>anyone who says things I don't like is a bait troll

>>12535532
Looks interesting, gimme a quick rundown.

>>12535532
How is your butt after you are done?

>>12535551
Protag climbs a tower to save his brother. Author shoehorns in gay at the end to meet the diversity quota

>>12535551
There are magical towers owned by countries where people go and climb and survive in (think DnD dungeons) and earn tattoos that give them magical powers. The higher you climb the better you get. The MC had his brother enter the tower and never return so he plans to climb as high as he can looking for him, but he doesn't get a cool magic as he hoped for.

>>12535567
>Author shoehorns in gay at the end to meet the diversity quota

I had someone tell me I need to do this for my book to get published once.

>>12535532
it's fag shit so don't bother

>>12534813
The Ice Schooner

>>12535574
Really? Was it some random person or a actual publisher? I've heard rumors about this type of thing but always dismissed it as a meme. If someone tells me to shoehorn in a same sex romance or minorities in a particular story when I have zero intention of including either then I'd tell them to fuck off.

>>12535645
Self publishing. It was my headmate.

>>12535211
The Main character of Dancers at the End of Time has an incestous relationship with his mother.
Time Enough for Love and the Lazarus Long series by Heinlein has all kinds of incest (but mostly momcest)

>>12535574
It’s 100% a thing. Big publishing is all in on the sjw thing unless you’re already a well established name

>>12535645
It was an editor I knew from a friend online. They do professional editing and editing for indie authors. I was throwing some things at them and discussing ideas and they said I needed to make the characters more diverse.

The main character is "white" but her grandfather on her moms side is Japanese, her best friend is Chinese and her other friend is South East Asian. But the love interest is blonde haired and blue eyed and her best friend is a red haired girl of Irish descent.

Oh did you see that? Yes the main character is a lesbian. But there are no black main or side characters so it's not diverse enough. What does diversity mean if not that?

Asking again. Any opinions on Prince of Fools? Liked the opening paragraph and tempted to buy.

>>12535826
It means black. It has always meant black

>>12535839
It's not even that I have anything against having black characters, I just haven't come up with any. There's maybe one I had an idea for in a scifi setting but i'm nowhere near working on that project yet.

People talking about that diversity book with tower climbing made me think, are there any actual good fantasy novels where there's a huge tower or dungeon that is the main setting of the story?

>>12535834
It's noticeably better than the authors The Broken Empire Thorns trilogy thing.
If you like the opening just get it and read the book, then decide whether or not you want the others in the series

>>12535834
You were given answers. If you don't want to listen then buy and read the fucking book and make up your own mind.

>>12535870
Not the same thing exactly but I had an idea for a story where the characters are trapped in a house that goes on forever and they can't leave. It's like Dogscape but Housescape.

>>12535870
Diversity part is so minuscule I do not even remember it.

>>12535868
A Lilly white Asian qt goes to school in the tropics and is taught by a dark skinned teacher.
The teacher ends up fucking and marrying her mother. Now she has to survive school with her stepfather strong arming her to be the best she can be.
Put it in a fantasy or scifi setting.

>>12535904
That sounds hilarious actually but I don't want to plagiarize your ideas anon. I'll think on it though.

>>12535882
House of blades

>>12535870
Dungeon deposed
Dungeon Born
Ruins of the ancients

>>12535915
It's free. Go ahead.
Ideas don't really matter. After reading literally hundreds of books, I can probably throw something together. It's the skill to pull the ideas off that I lack.

>Want to write a fantasy Novel based on the Mexican Revolution.
>Thirtheen P.O.V based on the Factions.
>Finish the Draft and outline
>It's over 600 hundred pages
How do I trim it down?

>>12536130
Cash in on those YA trilogy bucks and sign a deal for four poorly written and directed movies that your fanbase who doesn't actually read will eat up.

>>12535892
It’s hilariously forced. Literally the final chapter is “hey wanna be gay with me? Wow I never thought about being gay sounds great sign me up!”

>>12534119
>142 posts already
Fugg, I was only away half a day.

>Did you like the book?
>Who was your favourite character?
>The book is quite autobiographical and the experiences narrated in it seem to have influenced many of Dicks other books, do you think A Scanner Darkly should be considered required reading to understand Dick? How would you rate it to his other works?

Reply to this post with nominations for next months reading. Preferably nothing longer than 300 pages as February is a short month and we're already a couple days in.

>>12536347
>Fugg, I was only away half a day.
I don't understand this thread; once it reaches 290 posts you get like one post an hour, then this happens.

>>12535532
It's gay, don't fall for the meme.

>>12536347
I nominate The Iron Dream, also known as Lord of the Swastika. I book about if Hitler moved to America and became a pulp sci-fi author instead of the Fürher. Just look at this beautiful cover.

>>12536347
Thought it was a pretty interesting read. So had they always planned for Arctor to go insane and end up in True Path? Also, was his mind still kind of "awake" when he takes that bit of Substance D back? Is that the kind of proof they are looking for, as far as a bust goes?

Overall, I think it provides a pretty decent insight to Dick's perspective, though i've never read his other stuff. I think it provides a LOT of insight into his personality, especially with the author's notes.

>>12534559
Neither of those anons, but your metric is shit. If you're too afraid you might encounter an opinion different than yours (ie "if it's shit"), why even fucking ask when you could just Google the answer yourself. There are plenty of reviews and passage samples. Do you want some kind of bullshit validation?

>>12534464
Have not heard of any of them except Liu

.

>>12536347
Stormbringer (Elric Saga)

>>12536347
I enjoyed it. I was kind of disappointed that Hank didn't turn out to be anybody we knew but I reckon Donna being a police balanced that out. I think ASD provides a great insight to what it is like to be on a drug, to be high, as well as the general state of paranoia you see in many Dick works. I enjoyed it but I still prefer some of his other stories for sheer incredulity.

I nominate Radix by A.A. Attanasio. Or even In Other Worlds by same author.

>>12536783
>thinking about it
>been AT LEAST 3+ years
>STILL have nobody to talk about A.A. Attanasio with
I have a deep simmering hatred for all of you.

>>12536586
There's a bit in the book before Donna picks him up to send him to New Path. He's talking to Hank and he mentions that he has two daughters, and Hank replies "I don't think so. You weren't supposed to", or something to that effect.

>>12536347
I liked the book, the sequences where they were just acting like drugged up idiots were hilarious. Towards the end I was getting bored but the ending was good combined with the poignancy of the authors note. I nominate The Demolished Man.

>>12536586
>>12536923
Also this passage in one of the last chapters, from the perspective of Mike Westaway, Donna's colleague who infiltrated Arctor's New Path residence posing as a patient:

There is little future, Mike thought, for someone who is dead. There is, usually, only the past. And for Arctor-Fred-Bruce there is not even the past; there is only this.
Beside him, as he drove the staff car, the slumped figure jiggled. Animated by the car.
**I wonder, he thought, if it was New-Path that did this to him. Sent a substance out to get him like this, to make him this way so they would ultimately receive him back?**
To build, he thought, their civilization within the chaos. If “civilization” it really is.
He did not know. He had not been at New-Path long enough; their goals, the Executive Director had informed him once, would be revealed to him only after he had been a staff member another two years.

>>12536347
Also, nominating "The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe"

>>12536586
I agree with the last line you wrote, definitely seems like he had a lot of personal issues to get off his chest in this one. This has been my introduction to PKD as well, so I think I'll go back an read one of his earlier novels next to get a better grasp on his overall style.

>was his mind still kind of "awake" when he takes that bit of Substance D back?
That was not at all how I read it. I saw it either as some very small part of his former conscience getting through and recognizing the flower as being of some significance, and his body just being on autopilot and picking it up. Or he was just completely gone and thought his "friends" would enjoy seeing a pretty blue flower.

>The Gentleman with the thistle-down hair appears in my dream for the third day in the same week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

>>12536347
I didn't get much out of it, it was very meandering and aside from the paranoia aspect, it was uninterested. I think the story would fit a visual medium way better. I felt the same way about Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which I preferred the Blade Runner film way more, so I think PKD is more of an ideas guy.
Nominating Ted Chiang Stories of Your Life and Others for Feb reading.

>start writing a few pages of a draft thinking it looks good enough
>got to sleep
>wake up and look at the draft
>be disgusted and throw it away only to rinse and repeat the process
How do you overcome this? I feel like I'm too critical of my own shit. Every idea I have I go back after a few hours and think how shit of and idea it was and trash it.

>>12537193
>arrival

>>12534119
Does anything torture-related actually happen in Book of the New Sun? They're supposed to be torturers and yet no one has been tortured yet. Where is the poking of tender flesh with hot irons? Sodomy using spiked metal rods? Sewing shut of eyelids? Even the cliche flaying.

I'm only 60 pages in to book one but is being a torturer's apprentice anything beyond just a novel background? Give me some rapes or something.

>>12537402
He rapes everyone until they like it.

>>12537402
Those are primitive methods, better left to cultures of the past. ;)

>>12537494
Please don't tell me that's some sort of "twist"

They've already alluded to what seem to be lightbulbs and I'm pretty sure the Citadel is some sort of old-world military fortification.

Judging by the other response >>12537488 there isn't going to be any torture and he's just going to set out on some journey with the artifact after being exiled, hmm?

I'm certainly missing the historical context, though. Was this book revolutionary for the time? It smells a lot like a LOTR copycat with a barely deceptive coat of paint.

>>12537512
There will be a bit of torture, but it's pretty PG13. The books are a neat road trip adventure in a unique fantasy-ish/sci-fi-ish setting with cool overarching plotlines.

The series gets praised a lot more highly on here than it probably should, as far as "revolutionary" SFF, I enjoyed Dune more. That said, I enjoyed BotNS quite a bit, it just sounds like you got memed into thinking it was more than it is. Which is genre fiction that stands slightly above the crowd by jot being complete amateurish drek.
There is some rape in there. Somewhere around the third book iirc but it's been quite a while.

>>12537532
>sounds like you got memed into thinking it was more than it is
Yeah, that seems to be the case. I'm gonna stick with it either way, but what should I read next? I read Dune a couple years ago but haven't done much SFF since. What's on the higher tiers?

>torture
>in BOTNS
Good joke

>>12537561
LotR, Dune, BotNS, and Hyperion (I've only read the first book, heard good things about the rest of the series though) are pretty much the best I've read as SFF goes. That said, I just finished Catling's Vorrh trilogy this week after reading the first book years ago, and the books need more time to unpack in my brain and maybe a reread of all three in a shorter period, but I think they might be up there for me as well. I tore through the second and third books in a couple days each and enjoyed my time with them immensely.

There's torture in BOTNS, Severarian just doesn't go into detail because he's trying to make himself look good and sympathetic in his retelling of events

goddam there's only like two even remotely interesting books out this month and they both could turn out shit

>>12537602
Which ones? I have a feeling that The Ruin of Kings (the one I'm looking out for) will turn out shit

>>12537737
That one and the Marlon James stood out, plus a couple of space opera that could be okay or utter trash

James is a really good writer but I'm never confident in seeing literary writers do an sff book

>>12537754
What were the names of the Space Opera ones? I'm too desperate for something promising to be judgemental.

>>12537773
closed the list right now and am posting from bed, I read quick so I'll bring them up this week after reading

>>12537129
nice, ill help fund the campaign to get this elected

>>12534233
If you want a Jew to you that Norse gods were hipster diversity jews who moved to America coz capitalism is great, yeah

>>12537561
>>12537532
the book is absolutely revolutionary for the time. its not at all a LOTR copycat if anything it's a spiritual successor to the dying earth series, but told with a cohesive story with many splintering plotlines and puzzle pieces that fit to make a whole story that is pretty mindblowing, but it doesnt outright tell you any of it. you have to dig through and find it yourself. if you think its just a "journey with the artifact" or "amateurish drek" you probably read through it once without really looking into the text

So I was reading about what happened to Amélie Wen Zhao and it got me thinking, how much longer till the SJW masses come after fantasy in general and try to get everything they don't like banned?

I know a lot of books I have read have incorporated slavery/racism/ect as plot lines, but it seems like now if you even write about it you are labeled racist.

>>12534289
Yes. United colours of Benetton, he went full MTV

>>12537818
And if you think I was calling BotNS amateurish drek, you probably read every other word of my post. I said it elevates itself above most genre fiction by not being that. I loved BotNS, I just think its zealots are a bit ridiculous.

>>12534444
Ignore that foolish chart. It’s the same user posting it over and over again

>list out my progatonists
>druggie slave owner who globetrots to find a new supply
>arrogant bird boy who wasted his inheritance and is getting sent to the jungle to die
>human slave who was sold into slavery because he was so incredibly unlikable
>human undertaker who steals from dead bodies
>slappy whale boy drone supervisor who was bullied so hard he became infertile

Perhaps I should change at least one of them to not be a complete piece of trash.

>>12537823
Only YA gets targetted because these people don't read adult novels. One of their reviewers obviously uploaded the eARC to a bunch of monkeys so they'll probably find the people who gave the book a low rating and never give them an ARC again since I'm pretty sure netgalley is tied to reviewer accounts.

>>12534122
Good stuff

>>12537855
>Perhaps I should change at least one of them to not be a complete piece of trash.
I don't see any catgirls

>>12537842
i wouldnt call myself a gene wolfe "zealot", i actually didnt like the wizard knight. but i do think botns is genuinely amazing and its hard to find such good writing in this genre. have you read any of the dying earth books?

>>12537575
>Hyperion (I've only read the first book, heard good things about the rest of the series though)
You heard wrong. The second book is a step backwards in terms of quality, but at least it completes the story. The Endymion duology is hot steaming garbage.

>>12537889
Good thing I never called you a zealot, then. I haven't read them, but they've been on my list of books I ought to check out for a while. Would you recommend them?
>>12537915
It's a shame to hear that. I enjoyed Hyperion enough that I'll probably pick up the lot of them at some point, though.

>>12537956
Endymion
Pros:
>It has de Soya
>The worldbuilding is great

Cons:
>It reads like a bad fanfiction of Hyperion especially the out of character mess that is the pope
>The Shrike becomes A FUCKING TAXI

Is it considered diversity if it's fantasy demihuman race but they got brown skin?

>>12538084
Yes

>>12538093
Neat.

ever known an author to recycle a magic system they have into 2 different unrelated series of books they've written?

>>12538103
Every fucking LitRPG is the same.

>>12538112
I meant specifics, like magic system. I get you mean they are all unoriginal and indiscernible from one another, but I'm talking about the same author using the exact same magic system in 2 different unrelated works.

>>12534595
Seems simple enough to me. What’s the problem?

>>12538112
>he hasn't read ELLC yet
lul

>>12537129
I read this two weeks ago but will definitely read it again if it wins

>>12538103
Doesn't Brandon Sanderson do this?

>>12538103
>unrelated book series
>book 4 in the series reveals they're the same universe
BOY!

>>12534288
It's worth a read, much better than Thorns.

>>12538773
The way Sanderson writes by micromanaging powers it would be very difficult to ensure that one power is not OP if he did not participate in any reuse.

Currently reading "Return from the stars" by Stanislaw Lem. It's his second "longer" book that I'm reading, the first one I read was "Futurological congress". Enjoying this one just as much, if not more, than the first one.

His short stories are best, though.

>>12538932
not sure a book could ever live up to that cover

>>12534182
>>12534541

No no no no no NO NO NO you got me with this you fucking shill but I'll be damned if you'll lure anyone else into your fucking horrifically written Heart of Darkness spin off fan fiction you twat.

The authour had about 5 vignettes in his mind and filled everything else in from these. These vignettes are cool but mostly unrelated to each other while the characters, plot, settings and dialogue dangle off the edge of a precipice waiting to be rescued by another set piece scene.

The prose in BOTNS is purple, sometimes, but overall imo its beautiful. The prose in Vorrh is ALWAYS PURPLE AND ALWAYS FUCKING GARBAGE. The authour also consistently fucks up his metaphors (like a blind clock that makes no sound when it should - wouldn't that be a deaf clock?) Look up reviews before reading this, mostly reviewers point out how garbage it is.

>>12538955
Thanks, think I'm going to avoid.

>>12538955
That would be a mute clock, anon.

>>12538103
David eddings.

>>12534153
Couldn't hurt, the problem is that you won't be able to feel out the series because you've been exposed to reiterations of it already.

>>12538955
It's definitely not for everyone, but I loved the books and will continue to recommend them.

Which one of you told me to read this.

I'm at the Lancelet-Morgaine-Gwenhwyfar shit and honestly it feels like I'm reading twilight.

>>12540088
>Which one of you told me to read this.
My mom sometimes uses my PC and she loved those books. I'll ask her not to troll /lit/ from now on.

>>12540088
>reading strong independent womyn version of stories
>surprised when it’s shit

>>12540099
We'll miss her though :(

>>12540100

Usually /sffg is pretty safe from independent womyn. I'm a bit mad actually

>>12540138
>Trusting nu-/sffg/
What were you thinking

>>12535549
t. autist

>>12534578
Absolute state of this desperate contrarian faggot.

Strong dependent women > Strong independent women

>>12534119
Arrypotter

>>12540200
Austen pls go and stay go

>>12538932
>>12538936

>>12536875
>A.A. Attanasio
I'm here anon. Recently started the dragon and the unicorn. Feels like a mix of the Silmarillion, the once and future king, and maybe some of Le Guin's work.

Loving it so far. Which work of his should I read next?

Has anyone read Jacqueline Careys work? If so how is it?

>>12540349
The Kushiel books are great. Amazing prose.

is there a generic apocalypse scenario that specifically relates to color or colorlessness?

the only one I can think of is gray goo

>>12540426
Black Death

>>12540205
Literally who

>>12540192
>>12540199
The absolute state of this samefag.

>>12538936
You'd be wrong!

>Fostering Faust 2 is doing well. Most people seem to be enjoying it. Whew.
>Audibook for it should be April, give or take.
THE FOOKING CUNT. Cultivating Chaos audiobook cam out the same month. I thought he was improving the distribution system.
I have to wait 3 fucking months.

>>12540708
Maybe you should get a hobby
Something calming

>>12540715
Like Masters of Rome

>>12540728
How many times have you read it and over what time period?

>>12540708
Being this obsessed with a smut book,

>>12534553
I tried to read the first novel many years ago, but I dropped it again because all those descriptions of magical superweapons like deadly rifles with a range of dozens of miles were killing my braincells.

>>12534813
"The Ice Riggers" by Alan Dean Foster is set on an ice planet.

>>12535211
>some good incest literature
The War Zone by Alexander Stuart.

>>12540801
>why are you actually enjoying reading when you can meme about the same 5 books every thread like I do

>>12536875
>STILL have nobody to talk about A.A. Attanasio with
>>12540244
>Which work of his should I read next?
I for one love "Wyvern" by Attanasio. One of the best historical novels ever. It is amazing.

>>12540456
already got that one. ive got four apocalypses but I need a fifth that's color-related

>zombie plague
>robot uprising
>meteor extinction
>nuclear holocaust (might end up splitting it into a simultaneous global warming/nuclear winter for plot reasons)

grey goo might work for the color one, but it seems redundant with robots already done

>>12540426
gray goo doesn't even relate to the color, but to the boringness. The entire earth is overtaken by a shitty boring simple mechanism.
It doesn't have to be grey.

>>12540941
get aliens for green and space anomaly for blue.

>>12534233
You should read it. You shouldn't necessary enjoy it.

I read it first as a teenager and enjoyed it. I picked it up again a few years later, and was glad that I had read it first as a teenager, because it meant I didn't have to read it through again.

>>12540943
the idea was that this grey goo consumes pigments to reproduce, even hemoglobin in people's blood. alternatively it consumes organic life in order to create pigments, since often grey goo is supposed to be used to produce useful compounds

>>12540947
honestly, i could make it three separate apocalypses, but then id need to make the meteor into meteor+aliens+two more (one time-related)

Were "journey of a hero" stories forgotten or is there any recent (post 2010) books with that framework?

>>12541125
>reading modern fantasy
Bruh look a this dude

>>12541131
>actually reading instead of memeing
>Bruh look a this dude
ftfy

So, I will read some western fantasy/scifi haremshit and there is nothing you can do about it, except recommend me your favourites. I bet you guys like that dinosaur tamer series.

>>12541257
> dinosaur tamer series
Didn't he get kicked off Amazon for plagarism and/or trying to increase his Kindle Unlimited author payments by padding?

>>12540426
it's not "generic" but read "the colour out of space" by Lovecraft

>>12541375
That would be a really sad reason for losing that source of revenue. I could apparently still buy the audio books on amazon.de, though.

>>12541421
> losing that source of revenue
He was supposedly one of the top earners on KU before all his books were removed. Like 6 figures a month earning.

>>12541474
Well, I'll give some of his stuff a try, then. If it makes money and gets lots of bad reviews from manginas and women calling the female characters one-dimensional, it's got to be entertaining, at least.

>>12541581
KU is the perfect place to publish trashy pulp fiction.

>>12541375
It was for allegedly botting his reviews/views. But there’s really no way he can disprove that.

https://lithub.com/10-works-of-literary-fantasy-you-should-read/

Wonder how the first 3 and the semi-last book are. Never heard of them.

>>12541708
He got banned with a bunch of other authors at the same time so the theory is they was all using the same bot service.

>>12541125
can you be more specific? that's such a broad net I'm having trouble understanding what you're asking for

>>12540244
>>12540926
bless your existence

I actually have never cared about Arthurian myths in any capacity so I haven't read his medieval fantasy works but I would recommend the Radix Tetrad--at least the first book, Radix, for a WEIRD sci-fi story. I don't know how it shows in his Arthurian tales but he has great wordplay and is clearly tripping hard when he writes, some truly abstract material in a similar vein of PKD.
The Tetrad is all connected but I'd say it's loosely as the end book takes place over cosmic timescales. You could read them as stand-alone which is why I've been recommending In Other Worlds as it is also much shorter, I believe. Either way.

>>12541125
You mean zero to hero?
Plenty.

>>12541257
Add Dungeons Deposed
Fostering Faust to that list.

>>12541745
>the buried meme
gtfo you fucking shill i hope you an hero in your sleep tonight.

>>12542194
Thank you, Anon.

Any main contenders for February's book of the month? If it looks interesting I'll probably try to juggle it with the Pale King group read.

>>12537855
Sound interesting anon, what's your book is gonna be called?

Do you listen to music while reading?
I like to listen to stuff depending on the setting of the book.
For example, when reading Elric I'm listening to this atmospheric dark ambient album with dreamy qualities and feels of finality and stuff coming to an end
When reading Tigana I put on a mellow Renaissance Lute at very low volume to ring in the background. This makes me much more enthralled in the worlds.
I don't listen to anything if the POV's are vastly vastly different in tone and if the setting is all over the place.

>>12542385
I can't do two things at the same time.

>>12542246
pale king group read? where?
also remember to vote FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS for february's book of the month

>>12542292
Working Title is The Mouths & The Voices. I didn't mention one of my protagonists. A bird boy drug supplier who gets his orchard repossessed by big government so he sells half his slaves and forces the other half into service as he heads off to war.

Basically the entire story focuses on the invention of chemical warfare and a conflict similar to the opium wars, but on a larger scale. Both the drug and the neurotoxin used in the chemical warfare are derived from the same plant (from the flesh of the fruit and the seed of the fruit respectively).

>>12542392
I can't either, but I don't blast it. I put it on very low volume and it goes completely unnoticed, only blends in with the atmosphere and makes me more focused on the book. If it was louder I wouldn't be able to, but on low volume it's like it's not even there once I'm reading.

>>12542385
Yeah, I listen to j-pop

>>12542385
I like to listen to j-pop and anime openings, especially if the book takes itself pretty seriously like Tigana or Jonathan Strange.

>>12534436
It's awesome, ignore these contrarian niggers.

>>12534600
>When I read one of his standalones that featured the cripple it was such an improvement.
which Abercrombie standalone book has Glokta in it?

>>12542417
>pale king group read? where?
>>12537487

What are the bleakest/most nihilistic sci-fi & fantasy novels you can think of?

>>12542758
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216399.A_Maze_of_Death

>>12542758
If you don't mind web serials then anything by Wildbow.

Just finished the first two books of the chronicles of amber.... does it get better? The characters and narration are kinda boring though the worldbuilding seems great.

>>12542851
It turns into plot tweest heaven but it never stops being YA.

>>12542853
That's disappointing.

Anyone up to date with A Practical Guide to Evil? About halfway through book one and I feel like the plot's not going anywhere. Like, why the fuck are we taking a detour to a military school? I didn't dislike what I read so far but I just have no motivation to keep going. Does it get better?

>>12542882
You know, the Amber books are a lot like Sanderson's books but with more motivations and backstabbing. Due to plot tweest heaven I doubt you'll be bored for the next set though, I find the first set of books at least (I haven't read the Merlin ones) to get a lot better as you go.

>>12534436
it's literally a 200k+ word prologue. the plot begins in earnest at the very end. in the meanwhile, you are subjected to content not worth all the verbiage. just meandering storylines that never intersect. its considerably longer than fellowship of the ring and for what reason?

>>12542758
Iron Dragon's Daughter

>>12542898
I'll keep going then, thanks.

Is Ballard sci-fi or not?

>>12543000
Yes. He was a serious author who also wrote science fiction as back then it was not frowned upon, many notable authors did. It was used as a way to write about the current world and how the world was rapidly changing. It was a golden era.

Reading i, Robot right now, going for Second Foundation next. Then back to Robot series THEN Foundation's Prelude.

>>12542385
I listen to post rock while reading.

>>12542758
Firelance by David Mace.

>>12541631
more like tranny pulp fiction.

>>12542719
Explain. Does her horns grow larger the more nervous she is? Or is she an alien cockroach?

Just finished asoiaf. What's a good series to read next?

>>12542735
>anyone who doesn't agree with my views are contrarians

>>12543974
>every stool was looser than the one before

>>12543969
It's a trope from Evangelion where riding in the mech mentally/physically contaminates the pilot and might trap them in the mech forever (since it's alive)

Can anyone recommend some good short story collections? I like Borges but I'm looking to go pulpier/more genre-based than just """"""here's a concept"""""""

I just finished Warlock, and something within that realm (but sci-fi, and ideally short stories) would be great.

>>12543969
The horns grow because she's not human.

>>12543969
And also because of the contamination riding in the mech makes them less human and the horns are a physical manifestation of that.

>>12543974
>sunset found her squatting

Are the Warhammer books any good ?
If yes , what are your recommendations ?

>>12544025
Thune's Vision by Hernstrom
Night Winds by Wagner

You know those "male power fantasy" stories femishits are always harping on about? Yea they're nothing compared to the female power fantasy those same femishits right. Jesus Christ. I'm reading a review for one of those stories that was a Hugo nominee (of course) and it sounds like the most insane garbage ever.

“I hatched anew. I flapped my wings and hurricanes flattened cities in six different realities. I was a tee–ninsy bit motherfuckin’ pissed, maybe.”

>>12544668
No way that was in a Hugo nominee. Is the award that fucking meaningless now?

>>12544668
“I was playing at being mortal this century because I love cigarettes and shawarma, and it’s easier to order shawarma if your piercing shriek doesn’t drive the delivery boy mad. Mortality is fun in small doses. It’s very authentic, very down–in–the–dirt nitty–gritty. There are lullabies and lily pads and summer rainstorms and hardly anyone ever tries to cut your head off out of some moronic heroic obligation to the gods. If you want to sit on your ass and read a book, nobody judges you. Also, shawarma.”

lol this is fucking awful.

>>12544669
It's been meaningless for years now, but I especially felt the need to point this story out because of how we always hear about MUH MALE POWER FANTASY and we never hear about the opposite; which turns out is a million times worse. Here's a link to the full review:

https://emperorponders.blog/2017/04/22/reading-the-hugos-our-talons/

>>12544679
It's always been meaningless you triggered bitch, it's a popularity contest not some literary award about who wrote the best book about balding english professors having midlife crises and screwing their students.

>>12544707
Whoa calm down, princess. You can still enjoy your terrible female power fantasy schlock despite us making fun of it lol

>>12544671
The tiger has broken his cage

Yes

YES

>>12544668
Seems retarded politicsfags killed the Hugos but what do they expect when they limit voting to people who pay to vote? Also they should force everyone to read all the books before voting and put all the books in the packet because at this rate mobilism has the most refined taste on the internet.

>>12544721
>unlike you feeemales I only read the finest in genre fiction

>>12544765

>>12544765
Still nowhere near as bad. Nice try though, cupcake.

>>12544765
The shittest author ever is still Rothfuss, the Twilight person, Ready Player One and the Sword Art Online author.

>>12544795

>>12544797
>and truly we were Gay Rape Incest

>>12544797
For the first time, I'm considering reading this.

>>12544025
The martian chronicles by Bradbury

If I build a world in which the vast majority of people who can use magic are women am I going to be called a hack fraud homosexual?

>>12545161
Just write the protagonist as one of the few male wizards (and a particularly powerful one) and make it a harem and you will be called a weeb instead.

>>12545161
This sounds like the plot of chinese cartoons

>reading Good Intentions by Elliott Kay
>currently at the part where nice guy mc tells his succubus that he doesn't like the words whore or slut because double standards etc
>earlier he was thinking that guys who sleep around don't respect wamen
Do I have to brace myself for more of this bullshit or does it get less in your face?

>>12545274
>>12545274

>>12545239
It's just setup for when he starts sleeping around.

>>12545283
I guess I can live with that as long as the m'ladying doesn't get even worse.

>>12545275
fucking retard 4chanx extension wont let me post a thread again for a while even though i changed ip
fuck

>>12545317
>>12545317
>>12545317

>>12545161
Don't worry, you'll just be called Robert Jordan.