/lit/ - Literature

How do you feel about female protagonists?

>>12695685
woman first character second
autists always want to prove they can write a woman

>>12695667
It's a shame that western fantasy doesn't have enough god emperor figures.
The chinese have a real mastery over bastards.

It's voting time! Here follow the nominees:

City,
by Clifford D. Simak. ~250 pages
>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222093.City

In Other Worlds,
by A.A. Attanasio. ~200 pages
>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/552275.In_Other_Worlds

The Iron Dream,
by Norman Spinrad. ~250 pages
>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/633177.The_Iron_Dream


Space Viking,
by H. Beam Piper. ~250 pages
>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/676237.Space_Viking

The Black Company,
by Glen Cook. ~325 pages
>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140671.The_Black_Company

West of January,
by Dave Duncan. ~325 pages
>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57694.West_of_January

Strawpoll: https://www.strawpoll.me/17537820

>>12695685
Female protagonists have existed for as long as SF&F has and didn't think twice about it. It's only recently that incels have learned how to type on the internet echo-chamber.

>>12695730
>incels
Thanks for letting me know I can discard your opinion.

>>12695685
I'm a huge fan.
I like them even more when they have a penis.

>>12695685
Awesome.

>>12695699
Are there any good Oriental Fantasy?

Recommend me some good books with semi hentai themes. Basically porn with a plot. Can be from women perspective too, because I'm gay

>>12695803
No, just great wuxia nonsense.

>>12695776
Same.

>>12695685
Very good

Just started reading the Gor novels

>>12695730
It's ironic you're crying about the incels when it comes to female protags when in fact it's the feminists who hold up the false narrative that female protags (and female writers too for that matter) have only just recently entered into literary fiction. But we all know you're just an incel yourself projecting your insecurities on the rest of us so whatever.

>>12695810
>good
you're gonna have trouble there bro

>>12695766
>>12695881
Incels confirmed.

>>12695911
Good as in "gets the dick hard" not "pretentious philosophical themes for hipsters" like all the "Muh Golden Age" Scifi and Fantasy turds that couldn't even write about tits without their books being banned

>>12695685
They tend to suck balls.

>>12695915
I kissed a girls cheek once faggot

Thread’s off to a great start so far. I read a fantasy trilogy recently that featured a faction of atheists in a setting where Gods walked amongst mortals Greek-style, and thought the idea was neat. Is there any other solid atheist fantasy I should check out? Non-memes preferred.

>>12695685
Nothing wrong with a good female protagonist. All the hate from a vocal few is them projecting hate for feminists onto characters.

>>12695952
Nigger

>>12696009
>All the hate from a vocal few is them projecting hate for feminists onto characters.
Are you implying that hating feminists is a bad thing? Modern day feminists are fucking lunatics.

>>12696043
So are incels though

Normal people don't care about either.

>>12696009
See: >>12695881

>>12696043
This.

>loved tamora pearce and her lioness quartet as a child
>that glass throne crap makes me want to shit myself to death

>>12696043
I think you missed the point. Many feminists deserve the hate for being crazy nut jobs. This >>12696085 isn't about feminists or female MC's, it's simply that Glass Throne is a shit book.

What is your comfiest reading position?

>>12695701
Black Company, because whining about "not liking Cook's writing style" has to cease already.

Lady a shit

>>12696202
Black company sounds gay

>>12696278
It's pretty good. At least the beginning is, the series just slogs on after a while though. It's also one of the rare examples I can think where the protagonist gets an evil waifu.

Give me a reason there isn't more cute traps in western fantasy

>>12696362
Because suspension of belief only stretches so far.

>>12695685
I'm a huge fan.
I like them even more when they are hot moms

>>12696326
>evil waifu

I'm listening.

>>12696362
You'd think westerners would be all over elf trap sex slaves, considering the amount closet fag manlets/dwarves with hate boners for elves there are.

>>12696362
Because writing a book for the 5 people interested in that kind of thing isn't profitable.

>>12696377
Exactly as it sounds.

>>12696377
also used goods btw

>>12695851
KS3 is the best of the franchise.
surely Eroges are the /lit/est way to fap

>>12696392
I'm writing a fantasy story where one of the hero's companions is a very feminine looking mage. There may or may not be a blowjob scene in involved. Because a blowjob from a dude that looks like a girl isn't gay, hypothetically speaking of course haha.

>>12696407
Croaker isn't exactly a pure spring chicken himself. All thinks considered he hit to of his league with her. And then there's her equally hot but fucking insane sister who also wanted to fuck him.

>>12696407
Yeah, I just spoilered myself a bit to check. Why do western fantasy authors love used goods so much?

>>12696427
I'm pretty sure she says she never did the deed with the dark lord

>>12696427
>Why do western fantasy authors love used goods so much?
Because it's realistic. Also Lady is pure so I don't know what spoiler you saw. Her relationship with Dominator was anything but intimate.

>>12696424
Is croaker a self insert for the author?

>>12696444
>Because it's realistic.
Sure, in a fantasy world with no contraceptives, women would all be sluts like in our enlightened modern world.

>>12695685
All my favourite books growing up had female protagonists, pretty sure they messed up my sexuality.

>>12696413
Based

>>12696413
You're doing gods work anon

>>12696455
Honestly it's pretty normal for a young girl to want female role models

>>12696427
>Yeah, I just spoilered myself a bit to check.
Not very well, she's a virgin. Bit ridiculous for a widowed thousand year old demi-goddess to be a virgin, but Cook's a hack.

>>12696427
>used goods
I'm tired of this incel logic that women aren't allowed to fuck

>>12696484
>it ridiculous for a widowed thousand year old demi-goddess to be a virgin
Given context, not really.

>>12696430
>>12696444
>>12696484
I only read she had a husband and is hundreds of years old, it also mentioned her child dying, but that's apparently her child with the protagonist.

>>12694716
>>12695250
>Timetraveling incest harem fantasies
>What are the titles?
Time Enough For Love
The Number of the Beast
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
To Sail Beyond the Sunset,this one literally ends with the whole family having a wedding orgy.

>>12696499
>women are allowed to be sluts but men aren't allowed to prefer women who aren't sluts
Okay, Chad Thundercock, enjoy your used goods as much as you like.

>>12696501
Men can have fantasies of a pure first love too!
Though yeah it's pretty weird to start applying that logic irl

>>12696524
I like my women to be able to cook and fuck. Both need practice first to do well.

>>12696524
We will, thanks. You're welcome to stop being so insecure.

>>12696536
>Both need practice first to do well.
So learn along with her? Have you ever even had sex? Partners are different, what she does with five other guys isn't the same thing she'll do with you. But if you need to use this logic to feel better about fucking some whore, then by all means go right ahead.

I don't mind if a girl has had a previous serious relationship, but if you expect me to do do anything who just takes dozens of cocks just because she can then you have some pretty piss poor standards.

>virgins telling virgins how to fuck
can we get back to telling each other how to read?

>>12696515
>Timetraveling incest harem fantasies
>Could make for decent VN fodder
I actually read a sci-fi VN about that recently.

>>12696560
But anon, I'm illiterate.

He could never relax his watch, for the dead cannot deal with anything new. When overtaken by disaster, a corpse can but try to match it to confused memories of life. Thus Mobrid, stupefied with exhaustion, ignored a dead woman’s cry, “The bacon is burning!” Recalling too late her mental limitations, he turned to see her torn to pieces by a herd of feral swine. A youth who fretted that he was “late for work” was staggering under the weight of a vulture on his shoulders as it gobbled his eyeballs.

kek

>>12696552
>he doesn't know
Sex with someone inexperienced just isn't fun
Having sex with someone who knows how to make you feel good and make themselves feel good is just more fun

>anons in /sffg/ pretending to know about sex
Just stop.

>>12696565
What VN?

>>12696552
It's obvious you're a virgin.

>>12695810
Just read I Roved Out

>>12696707
So are you. Not sure why either of you are pretending to be otherwise. Now go back to talking about books.

>>12696719
No need to get defensive anon and project your virginity onto others. It's okay, we all were at some point.

>>12696730
>spends entire thread projecting
>tells other to stop projecting
kek

Is The Hobbit the greatest Western fantasy book of all time, gents? I can't think of a book that brings me more pleasure errytime I read it

>>12696741
Masters of Rome.

>>12696748
Oh? Never heard of it

>>12696536
Imagine actually defending the miles of cock that have entered your wife/gf.

>>12696741
Is it better and less tedious than lotr?

>>12696771
>Imagine actually defending the miles of cock that have entered your wife/gf.
He actually thinks those miles went into his wife for his sake.

>>12696579
Sex isn't for fun

>>12695803
Bridge of Birds

Any fantasy like darkest dungeon?
>inb4 hp lovecraft. Already got that magnificent bastard

>>12696699
I'll put it in tags since the incest and time travel aspects are spoilers: Island. It's all ages but it's great. Here's a good review of it: https://vnreviews.blog/2016/05/19/vn-island/
The writer wrote another sci-fi VN called Himawari that is also good.

>>12696741
Not even Tolkien liked The Hobbit.

>>12696413
It's best if the trap has a masculine ego and resents his own feminine looks and mannerisms

>>12696791
Clark Ashton Smith

>>12696791
The Laundry Files series

>>12696790
Birdboi related?
God I want some bird slavers molesting human slaves (both male and female) literature.

>>12696809
no, fuck off.

>>12696778
>>12696778
yes by far

>>12696828
>>12696778
it's less than 300 pages for a start, and so much happens in that span it's a bit of a rollercoaster by comparison

>>12696515
Nice. Thanks anon.

>>12696798
You mean like a tsundere or something? Because that's what I'm kind of going for. He tries to come off as a cold hearted edgelord but nobody takes hi seriously because he's a harmless looking twink. Now I just need to come up with a scenario where he gives the protagonist and "accidental" blowjob.

>tfw it's yet another series

All of you are fucking degenerates.

>>12696536
The Babylonians have one most shameful custom. Every woman born in the country must once in her life go and sit down in the precinct of Venus, and there consort with a stranger.

>>12695685
I’m a bixexual incel, and I’m depressed and autistic. Female protagonists help me escape my miserable existence and show me that I’m ok.

>>12696898
But you aren't okay, anon

The one on the left is what the appearance in mind I have for the trap mage. And yes that is a boy. God bless Japan.

>>12696869
No

>>12696902
>>12696839
Not quite, but close enough

>>12696902
all three of them?

>>12696515
>To Sail Beyond the Sunset
From Wikipedia:
>Maureen's adventures include a series of sexual encounters, beginning in childhood wherein, having just had her first sexual intercourse, she is examined by her father, a doctor, and finds herself desiring him sexually. Her story then encompasses various boys, her husband, ministers, other women's husbands, boyfriends, swinging sessions, and the adult Lazarus Long/Theodore Bronson. Additionally, she continues a lifelong pursuit of her father sexually, encourages her husband to have sexual intercourse with their daughters, and accompanies him when he does; but forbids a son and daughter of hers from continuing an incestuous relationship, primarily for the sister's reluctance to share the brother with other women.
Why is science fiction this evil and degenerate?

Where should I start with wuxia?
What are the best?

>>12695685
>female protagonists
Lolis ftw

>>12696793
Based,thanks anon

>>12696936
Wuxia (focus on martial arts and the lives of said practitioners; think low fantasy), xianxia (focus on protagonist who gets stronger; think high fantasy), or xuanhuan (fantasy but with chinese myths thrown in)?

>>12696966
Wuxia and xianxia
Or chinese isekai

>>12696902
>Royal Koyanagi
Okay,this is epic
>>12696913
>Why is science fiction this evil and degenerate?
Because most of scifi writers are degenerates who want to fuck their moms or daughters,in Heinlein case he wants to fuck both of them.
Also because of the sexual liberation movement from the 60s

>>12696975
Xianxia basically is Chinese Isekai.

So there's a couple of classics, which I think are good starting points. I've not read all of them myself, to be honest, but this list ought to tell you if you like xianxia or not:
>Renegade Immortal (https://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/renegade-immortal).). Very basic but enjoyable xianxia. Goes deeper into what cultivation actually means than most, IIRC. Same author also wrote I Shall Seal the Heavens (also good, strikes a decent balance between action and comedy) and A Will Eternal (basically 99% comedy, it's basically xianxia Jackie Chan)
>Desolate Era (https://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/desolate-era)) Actual isekai, including being thrown into a new world. Same author ("I Eat Tomatoes") has also written a bunch of other things, like Seeking the Flying Sword Path or Coiling Dragon.
>Reverend Insanity/ Daoist Gu Master (https://www.novelupdates.com/series/reverend-insanity/)) is rather more edgy. Protagonist hates honor and the like. Haven't read it but hear good things about it.
>Douluo Dalu (https://bluesilvertranslations.wordpress.com/chapter-list/)) is yet another different system from the previous couple, where there's a focus on "spirits". Other than that, it's perfectly standard faire (and technically isekai, since the protagonist is from another xianxia world), except that instead of just the protagonist soloing everything he has a bunch of allies helping him and keeping up with him (more or less). There's a bunch of sequels to this, as well.

That should be enough for quite a while.

>>12697074
Thanks senpai

>>12697074
I used to shill Renegade Immortal a lot around here, it starts off so well but unfortunately doesn't stay at the same level and falls off quite fast.
>>12697099
Trust me on this and start with Desolate Era. Whatever you do though, don't start with I Shall Seal the Heavens or Coiling Dragon.

If you want a redpilled protagonist Warlock of the Magus World is also a great option.

>>12695701
Is West of January a rewrite of night fall?

>>12697161
So I have to use the extension to make an epub or is there one on another page?

>>12697177
Yeah you need an extension. I use webtoepub. Works perfectly with Wuxiaworld, you might have issues on different sites though.

>>12697201
Yeah that's the one I use but I recently used it on a book on royalroad and every chapter started with an annotation of the author. It got fucking old fast. Anyway, I'll download Desolate Era.

>>12695701
VOTE BLACK COMPANY
also city sounds pretty good too

>>12697074
Is there one where the pacing isn't completely buttfucked? I don't mind powerfantasy, but I'd like something where the mc maybe improves 2 times as fast, like for example in a school setting they'd be very elite when graduating, but not that shit where they're destroying their teacher a week after enrolling because of some bullshit

>>12696270
She did her best even though she lost everything twice.

>>12697269
I ask this partially because I hate the one-man army aspect. Having some cobsistent relationships that the mc has to actually work around is much more interesting than mc swinging his mc dong around in constantly new settings with every chapter mostly talking about how increasingly weighty and girthy it is

>the extension is still compiling the chapters
Do the chinks get paid by word count? Jesus christ

>>12697291
>Do the chinks get paid by word count?
Would it surprise you that the answer is "probably"?

>>12697269
All chinkshit becomes more garbage the longer it goes on

>>12697315
Is that a no?

>>12697324
Yes. Let me tell you why chinkshit is bad. They're paid by word count so they constantly drag shit out and repeat inane descriptions over and over again. The exact same filler is used all the time with the only real difference being names of the current antagonists.

>>12697339
Surely there's also published isekai in book or ebook form?

>>12697281
Yeah you won't find that in most CN webnovels. Even in the ones that do have it it's not particularly well done.

>>12697349
Honestly I'd take it poorly done

>>12697355
Chink MCs usually still do the latter. Chink writers hate writing relationships. Usually the only constant characters are the MC and their pet.

>>12697347
Sure, there's plenty of stuff out there that started as light novels or went from somebody's webnovel to a traditional book form.

Though allegedly a lot of WN to LN adaptions in Japan are actually written by editors, because the WN is the absolute extent of the author (sometimes likely a literal teenager)'s writing skills.

>>12697347
Not from Chinks

>>12697365
Stupid sociopaths. Why won't they write what I like.

>isekai trash

>>12697369
Being an editor of anything's gotta be a prety thankless job.

>>12697240
Or maybe just vote for what book you want to read

>>12697381
Just read Cradle then.

>>12697419
Okay what do I read after that?

>>12693985
Sorry, I just saw the post, and I had to rewatch some videos, all worth it, JoeGoes is based
Dune guy who reminds me of the Dune reading list is in the Wondercon 2015 vid, maaaaybe in another video too or some other event where Joe is like
>book booth
>why are you here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKTBSpe2gic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CQnqGkJXlg

Just some other videos that get me every fucking time, I want Joes life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUZw6lUWC3Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O839E_bJj14

>>12695685
Plenty of great female protags exist.

But, just like books with male protags, you have to sift through a lot of shit to find the good stuff.

>>12695685
I don't see why it's a big deal to so many people. Only being able to like characters with the same genitals as yourself seems very limiting. It's not like writing about boys magically makes someone a better writer.

>>12695685
It's fine so long as their defining feature isn't the shit between their legs. A well written character who happens to be a woman is more than alright.

>>12697700
> I don't see why it's a big deal to so many people.
Normies don't give a shit. It's just a vocal minority of incels, misogynists and man childs that bleet.

>>12697728
Normies don't read, please stop making up stuff.

>>12697728

>>12697728
I don't think that's true at all. Partly because people writing stories for boys tend to write about boys and vice versa, but even without that most people seem to want stories about people of the same sex as them.

>>12697786
>most people seem to want stories about people of the same sex as them.
[citation needed]

>>12697786
You need some evidence for that statement. Personally I'd guess that is only true when you are a child. Then we grow up.

We read sf&f where the protag can be a dragon, an elephant, a tree, a worm, a ship, a slime, an AI, a 3 eyed 2 brained alien ... etc

Why should be care if it's a woman?

>>12697821
A tree is more relatable than a woman.

>>12696407
>used goods
uuhhh.. She losses her power if she has sex... She was all powerful before she met Croaker, she was helpless afterwards. You do the math.

>>12697760
Explain pulp (or as it's called now, "young adult")

>>12697833
>She losses her power if she has sex.
Since when

>>12697833
Wrong.

>>12696407
Lady's not. Croaker pops her cherry.

>>12697835
YA are read by fat women and numales. Those aren't normies. Normies watch GoT and capeshit.

>>12697720
>as their defining feature isn't the shit between their legs
That's why my women always have a penis. Except for the changeling girl, she has a penis only when she wants to have it.

>>12697853

>>12697881
Hit a nail on the head, uh?
Enjoy your "young adult" trash

Is there a fantasy book that comes close to pathologic in literary merit? Is there a sf that comes close to e.y.e in literary merit?

>>12696499
Why is that, that I know you have a vagina?
So Stacey. how many cocks did you give the merry-go-round ride?

>>12697903
>Why is that, that I know you have a vagina?
Because you're on sffg? Are you new? Men don't read fiction

>>12697835
>lol I have no idea what I'm talking about
We know, anon. We know.

>>12696893
Interesting. That's a concept I've seen done in a few fantasy series before.

>>12696913
Holy shit based

>>12695701
>Black Company is winning
>another series
For fucks sake you idiots, it will be just like the Sword in the Storm. No one read it.

>>12695701
sffg monthly reading became shit ever since we started including fantasy

>>12697446
Cradle Series by Will Wight
Cultivating Chaos by William D Arand
Blue Mage raised by Dragons

>>12697946
I read sword in the storm
I've already read bbc company tho, so has most of sffg because it's non-stop shilled

>>12697946
City, Space Viking, and West of January sound interesting. Black company sounds like a generic series

>>12697964
Based anon. Is cradle better than travelers gate?

>>12697973
Yes. It’s his best series by far.

>>12697973
Surprisingly enough, yes. Wight has his issues but somehow he's actually improving as he goes along, instead of backsliding.

>>12697510
Damn. I wanna fuck that tall bitch.

>>12697838
Did you read the series or just skim it?

Seriously though anything similar would be neat
>>12697900

>>12697846
>Wrong.
>>12697838
>Since when
She had to be a virgin to use magic. When she gave it up to Croaker she lost it. Croaker had to statue himself to give her power again.

>>12697915
Can you stop that meme faggot? You are the only one spouting it, and you've been doing it for years. Fuck off.

>>12698051
>reality is a meme
Get a load of this schizophrenic vagina-haver

>>12697957
>we
I don't think you speak for sffg anon.

>>12695685
Honestly female warriors and whatnot are only good for fetish fuel. I know it's popular to hate on it these days, but I always had a soft spot for females fighting in stupidly impractical skimpy armor. Then again I feel the same about male characters too, so you can't accuse me of double standards there. I'd rather have a male protagonist dressed up like Conan the Barbarian rather than wearing full plate armor or even chainmail.

>>12698126
>takes off safety and chambers a round
Yeah. Fighting in a bra is so smart.

>>12698158
Who are you quoting

Making my way through this right now, enjoying it a fair bit. Usually into harder sci-fi but the breadth and imagination of the world-building is refreshing. Some of the characterization is a little cheesy, particularly between Ravna and Pham Nuwen. Just one question for /sffg/...

Anyone else's mind immediately turn to a pack of Tines having their way with Johanna as soon as she was taken prisoner? The whole "marooned on an alien planet with psychic barbarian wolves" scenario is so ripe for mind-break smut.

>>12698384
I liked it a lot. The galactic communications network posts and shitposts were great.
And yeah, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

>>12698384
You will finally understand the
>teenage space sluts taking puppy knots
meme

Thoughts on neuromancer?

>>12698384
>>12698413
>>12698419
I'm a furry and didn't even think this.
What is wrong with you people?

>>12698493
Great except for the rasta's, that section sucked.

>>12698384
Never and that's kind of gross
If you enjoy it you would probably like Culture and the Gap Cycle too.

>>12695667

Can anyone recommend some good sci-fi and fantasy that has decent interpersonal relationships and character development? I used to love the genre but but hate how in a lot of sci-fi (esp. hard sci-fi) the characters all sound the same, male or female, and sort of talk like automatons spieling out scientific data. I get that sci-fi is sort of more about the concept than the characters, but is their a book/series that does both really well?

>>12698384

I hated this book but can't really explain why. I think I couldn't get over how dated their internet was. You'd think Vinge would have a foresight to envision something more advanced the the early 90s net especially in a far a far futuristic society.

>>12698507
Bull shit

>>12698537
It wasn't dated. It was structured like usenet because interstellar pipes were so expensive as mentioned in the book.
Picture star systems as cities that shared a single dialup line.
You can't do the things that the utterly wasteful web of today does with that kind of connection.

>>12698507
>>12698512
Don't kinkshame us. Johanna yearned for the knot(s). Thanks for the recs though

>>12698493
It's good. Stylish, I'm a sucker for noir-style stories and of course the cyberpunk aesthetic is in full vogue right now so it's aged pretty well. I do think it unravels a bit near the end though.

>>12698510
Smoke the space weed mon

>>12698384
Would have thought it if I had read it.

>>12698588
> the cyberpunk aesthetic
Gibson is the only cyberpunk I've read. What else is similar and good?

>>12698605
Bruce Sterling is a Gibson contemporary and collaborator, he's great too

>>12695667
Any thoughts on Stormlight Archive? It's been hyped up to me a lot but I don't see it talked about here.

>>12697828
>MUH SELF INSERT ISEKAI

>>12698662
Because it's literally anime. We talk about it enough, but I guess comparing to other sff communities, we may not talk about it all that much, as you may know. Anyway, it's literally anime, with flying people with glowing swords walking on walls etc.

>>12697900
Book of the New Sun

>>12698384
I've read this and it was okay. Not really up there, but alright. Should I read the next one with the knots? I read the summary but thought that would be mostly about dog politics, and that seems boring af.

What book do you think of when you hear this?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4TNt3Yu0AJ4

>>12698662
I only read the first book but I like it, it's fun.

>>12698126
My thoughts exactly. I mean, if you are going the unrealistic way, you may as well go all the way. I usually don't read female protagonists, not because I think they are inherently bad, but mostly because they tend to be written by female authors, and those authors today are usually writing primarily for women. Sometimes I break the habit, but probably not often enough, I just have a hard time finding a book with either a female lead or that was written by a female author that has a concept that draws me. Last time was Mount Char, and it sucked.

Your pic is missing the high heels, by the way.

>>12698126
>it’s another female thief/assassin shows she’s just as tough as the boyz book

>>12698662
We're all talked out.

>>12698700
That is the dog one.
A Deepness in the Sky is the spider one

>>12698835
>>That is the dog one.
Yes, that's the one I read. But I think book 3 comes back to that planet. The Children of the Sky. I skipped book 2, should I read it? I kinda like spiders, I didn't know it had them. Anyway, book 3, all about dog politics? Because, if so, I think I'm out.

>>12697417

Anyone read this one? Its one of my favs and I'm looking for something similar

>>12698958
Oh boy.

Someone posted a link of this thread to the outside, right? It can't be, this particular one is just too shitty for it to be natural.

>>12698958
Try Erika Moen's "What the Fuck's a Cuck?"

>>12698662
I don't read books by "Le Announce many books man" until he is down to just 1 book in the works

>~80% through
>shit about to go down into Darujhistan
HOW STRONG WILL THE HAPPENING BE

>>12695701
>The Black Company is winning the vote, by a lot
>Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead. Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her... So begins one of the greatest fantasy epics of our age—Glen Cook's Chronicles of the Black Company.
>Book 1 of 10 volumes
>Other books that have actual descriptions are ignored
Why are you picking a series with that many books and that the description for is that cryptic and faggy?
/sffg/ is dead

>>12699738
Don't look at me, I voted for City.

>>12699796
I may wind up reading city anyways, it sounds much better

>>12695667
Where can I get this at a reasonable price? Why did its price blow up?

So I do a lot of running. Normally when I run I listen to podcasts to pass the time, but I am thinking I want to try listening to some audiobooks as well.

I know a bad narrator can ruin an otherwise good book, so I am wondering if you guys have any recommendations.

>>12699874
the Stephen Fry and Martin Freeman Hitchhikers audiobooks are pretty good.

I have a very strange dream. I'm considering writing a short story about it. I will greentext the dream.
>only half asleep, curled on my bed in the fetal position looking across my room to a red light on my desk
>brain starts falling asleep so I begin hallucinating as the dream and reality sort of meld together
>feel like I am on a great vast wall, thousands of feet high
>my body is curled up sheltered in a crack of the wall
>three others are there with me
>it's my turn to rest for months, curled up in the crevice
>far in the distance there is a small red glow that shifts and morphs with time
>we have a little outcropping from the wall made of decaying concrete and rebar
>chained to this is a pod
>the pod is lighter than air and floats pulling itself towards the red light
>we draw it in occasionally and open it up, it uses the light to make food somehow
>we switch between hibernating in the crevice and tending to the food pod
>someone suddenly appears from higher on the wall, climbing down
>disturbs us
>tries to break our food maker away from the wall
>I begin freaking out because we'll starve without it
>I wake up

Think I should?

Are all the Amber books worth reading, or should I be stopping after a point?

>>12699861
It's on mobilism

>>12699999
The Corwin Cycle is self contained and there's really no reason to keep readin but if you like it you can read the sequels

>>12700004
What's that?

>>12700047
you know

>>12700047
It's a forum for pirating books. mobilism.org

>>12700048
Are you saying it's available on ebook?

>>12700053
thanks lol the clark ashton smith website has all his short stories, anyway.

i, for one, applaud our heroes in green for protecting America from Canadian authors and their autism vampires.

>>12698126
>dressed up like Conan the Barbarian
In the stories by REH Conan is heavily armoured more often than not. Only in a few of the stories centered on fighting and combat is he dressed in a loin cloth.

>>12698662

>>12698958

>>12699738
I suspect that it's people who have already read the book that are voting.

>>12699738
>Why are you picking a series with that many books and that the description for is that cryptic and faggy?

Because the first book is very much self contained and not grimdark you'd imagine it to be. Hell, Company are big softies. Cook continued from there but there are time skips as the series goes on.

>>12700221
doesnt calling out bait, make it bait?

>>12696202
>Black Company
audiobook worth it?

i'm going to jail on tuesday, /lit/
doing 75 days
the only fantasy series i've read is ASOIAF.
i'm going to start reading malazen while i'm inside. should i go all out on malazen and only read that? or try reading either mistborn, kingkiller chronicles, or stormlight archive as well?
i'm also getting the brothers karamazov, infinite jest, and a japanese learning textbook/dictionary

>>12700275
What did you do?
>or try reading either mistborn, kingkiller chronicles, or stormlight archive as well?
Don't read those. Read BotNS so you can be a real member of the general.

>>12700275
You should take In Search of Lost Time too, it's essential prisoncore and will also pair well with >>12700279

>>12700275
What did you do? Anyway, leave that crap on the outside. You'll be better of just rereading Brothers Karamazov four or five times.

>>12698994
well that was something
his fucking avatar, lmao

So I had an incredibly vivid dream a few nights ago about 4th dimensional entities. It was so terrible that I am still a bit aghast by the whole experience. Is there any good books that deal with truly, truly morbid depictions of aliens, beings from other dimensions, creatures of dread, etc?

>>12700275
What kind of soft-ass prison allows inmates to bring in their own books? That shit will get confiscated at the door, and put in a bag for you to pick up in three months. Good luck finding Mazalan in the prison library.

>>12700345
Palmer Eldritch

All right, I tried reading BOTNS a few years back and thought it was godawful, but I enjoyed the Fifth Head of Cerberus quite a lot. At what point, if ever, does BOTNS get good and if so do you think BOTNS is worth a shot?

>>12700275
>75 days
What, did you assault someone?

>>12700345
the willows by algernon blackwood

Is there any cyberpunk, sci-fi or dystopianism that doesn't fall victim to the manic pixie dream girl / wish fulfillment cancer? It's like everything I pick up is just some Robot writing in his idealized quirky gf that saves him from his boring routine and dialectically moves the plot forward.

I'm not calling for the removal of women from the plot, but for them to not be written as in-cel wish-fulfillment.

>>12700345
Robert Bloch, HP Lovecraft, >>12700406 Clark Ashton Smith

>>12695788
>I like this Elric character, but he could really use a nice pair of tits.

>>12700410
This isn't a purely western, post-80's cancer, btw. A text-book example would be 'WE', by Yevgeny Zamyatin, published in 1924.

>>12700219
I don't get why authors like Branderson puts so much effort into creating magic systems, or why their intricacies are seen as a merit. Just make a fucking instead if rules and balance are that important to you.

>>12700279
>>12700296
>>12700399
drug possession
>>12700292
ty anon
>>12700372
you don't bring them. your family can order you books from barnes & noble or amazon (as long as they're from amazon and not a third party seller)
>>12700279
i'm not up to the task of reading that without the internet

>>12700439
Because nerds love that shit? Sanderson is a mega autist who builds incredible worlds and crafts intelligent magic systems, his books are bad in spite of them not because of them. Unfortunately he has no idea how to write an actual story, he doesn't know how to write characters or how they interact with each other, his plot structure is straight out an anime and he often uses his world building as a crutch to fill pages instead of focussing on the plot.

>>12700528
>Because nerds love that shit?
Then nerds are fucking stupid.

>>12700507
>drug possession
sentence is too light to be quite honest

>>12698044
She lost her magic when Silent named her.

>>12698662
I like it a lot. But I like good alternate/fantastical worlds in general.

>>12695955
>Small Gods is the thirteenth of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, published in 1992.[1] It tells the origin of the god Om, and his relations with his prophet, the reformer Brutha. In the process, it satirises religious institutions, people, and practices, and the role of religion in political life.
I recommend.

>>12700410
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde

Hi guys. I only casually delve into sci fi and even more rarely fantasy. Are there any books in these genres that can rival the true greats of literature?
I have gone through the Book of the New Sun, Dune, Solaris, LOTR and other essential classics.

>>12700621
First of all there's Aniara, without a doubt one of the most literary books ever written. Gormenghast (book 1 and 2) and Latro in the Mist also come to mind.

>>12700621
Not really

Genre fiction fills a different hole than literary fiction. It's like trying to compare opera to regular music

>>12700600
>Small Gods...
Thanks for the rec. I think I've read the first Discworld novel (it featured wizards whose magic was powered almost solely by their fear of water and a character WHO SPOKE IN ALL CAPS) but will I need to read the intervening twelve books to understand what's happening in Small Gods? Or are they mostly standalone?

>>12700275
I might be too late:
>Way Station by Clifford Simmak
>Chronicles of Amber series (1-5)
>Lyonesse series (Suldruns garden, green pearl, madouc)
I also recommend very very highly the recent autobiography by Brian 'Limmy' Limmond.

Reading Amber and the mix of classically elegant prose and modern phrases is really bumming me out. I understand it's on purpose to reflect Corwin's time among humans but I keep wishing the author just stuck to aristocratic lingo because the prose is beautiful when he does.

>>12700345
I had a dream ten years ago where I lived a happy life with my wife and children. Several times a year I have that same dream. Every time I wake from it is as if I die a real death.
Also the dreams about my knees being too sore to make it up the stairs

>>12695955
This will sound like an odd suggestion, but:
Lord of Light

>>12700345
Me too. The way they navigated space and time was mindfucking.

>>12699923
Are you going to spam this every thread?
Should I put my dream idea from 5 years back so someone can steal?

>>12695788
You're a failure of a shill anon. I'm disappointed you didn't nominate that shit for monthly reading, There was a good chance it would have won just for the memes.

>>12700275
Don't forget the lube to use on traps.

>>12700554
t. japanese salaryman

>>12700654
>opera to regular music
Opera dubstep?

>>12700682
You’d like Masters of Rome

>>12700903
I've considered it but I'm not sure if it's a silly meme or if it's actually good. The shilling here has made me cautious.

>>12700665
You don't need to read anything else, not even Pyramids, especially if you read the first book, as the book is set some time before the other books and is separate. Most of them can be read as standalone, even when they're in a series, though it is a little clearer if you follow the order of the main character groups.

>wheel of time is so bad I cant 3ven be bothered listening to it anymore
So this is the power of /sffg/ huh

>>12700968
Almost every post about starting WoT get replies saying not to. You only have yourself to blame.

What does it say about us that despite the vast majority of fantasy readers being girls, we still mostly buy fantasy with male leads? Is it cultural, or do we naturally gravitate towards a male lead in some fucked up way? Or is it just that most fantasy writers are male?

>>12700996
> despite the vast majority of fantasy readers being girls
proof required.

>>12701005
Men don't read unless it's a mechanics manual or something stupid like that

>>12700996
>vast majority of fantasy readers being girls
They read Urban, Romance and Paranormal fantasy for the most part and we read completely different sub genres to those.

>>12701008
oh... you're american or something lel

>>12701020
>we
>they
Sffg is girls only

I want to unironically write a John Carter pastiche, but with a Nazi SS captain in the lead role instead of Civil War soldier.

>tfw reading the silmarillion
will there ever be anything as good in fantasy/sci literature?

Has anyone here read "The Vorrh"? I'm 70 pages in and the only thing keeping me reading is its lyrical prose.

>>12701005
It's true. Mainly YA and urban fantasy. Autistic high fantasy settings are a boys' thing.

im going to write a novel completely in greentext and theres nothing you can do about it

>>12701020
>>12701183
> Urban, Romance and Paranormal
> YA and urban fantasy
Almost all of which is written by women. >>12700996 is obviously an idiot trying to force an argument

>>12701183
facka you. you autistic mothafucka not me.

I'm so fucking tired of all the MilSF being about a plucky ship of autists who are out to find wunderwaffe to solve the problem of the book. And on the odd chance you find a clash of civilisations its always good federation vs evil empire. Bleh. And then when you finally find a decent book/series it ends up fucked up because of ending/crappy later books. Fucking anime did space war better then most milsf.

And to add insult to injury all non milsf seems to have been replaced with boring masturbation of adherents of various ideologies rather then exploration of possibilities opened up by technology.

>>12700996
>vast majority
It's 25% female to 23% male according to these dodgy, gallop-tier statistics. Not quite a 'vast' difference.

>>12701142
it is unlikely, anon

>>12700420
This image has such powerful atmosphere, modern fantasy just can't match up.

>>12698384
Can I get a download link?

>>12701340
Yes

>>12701220
If 25% of GIRLS THAT READ and 23% of BOYS THAT READ are the actual stats, then women are indeed the vast majority. Even 1% of girls that read outnumber 100% of boys that read

>>12700996
It says you should fuck off to goodreads and never post here again.

>>12698126
>Honestly female warriors and whatnot are only good for fetish fuel.
Read the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Bros, so in this story of mine humans send out probes guided by AI back in time to gather some data. I need an explanation, a reason for them to consider sending a human pilot there. What could it be? A constant recorder malfunction? There's also this sub-plot with him finding remains of an interstellar alien spacecraft, so maybe something to do with that? It's just a technical nuisance, can you give any advice? Hard sci-fi.

>>12701747
>back in time
>Hard sci-fi
I don't mean to be a dick, but i have hard time seeing those two in the same universe.

On subject. Is it just one pilot? Is it just one probe? If it's multiple probes with one pilot as the sentence suggests then you could have him be reclaimer of sorts for malfunctioning tech, because let\s face it sooner or later one of those probes breaks down, and then another, etc. Tho im not sure whats "constant recorder" means. Depending on the subplots temporal coordinates he could be a salvage specialist seconded to probes, or a probes specialist seconded to salvage. If it has to be the same guy that is. Tho it might be best to keep them separate depending on your plot.

>>12701512
>Reading Malazan

>>12701784
Well, a salvager is what I intended. The thing is, why would a probe break? Originally I intended for them to have a sorts of a failsafe program that would send a broken probe to the Moon where it would bury itself and wait for the future people to dig it up in the original timeline. Now I'm struggling to find a definitive reason for it to break in the way that would require an assigned technician to come back and salvage it. What malfunctioning might occur during time travel that would break an integral part of it? A small detail, but I struggle

Everything regarding Malazan seems like a confusing clusterfuck. Is it worth getting into?

>>12701814
>The thing is, why would a probe break?
Because humans made it. It's really that simple.

>failsafe program that would send a broken probe to the Moon where it would bury itself and
Just there you described three ways the whole thing might need a technician: Program malfunction, Drive malfunction and "Shovel" malfunction. Any and all of them would require either an extremely capable repair drone or a technician to fix.

>wait for the future people to dig it up in the original timeline
I recommend you think long and hard about how exactly time travel works in your book/story, because that sentence is internally contradictory. You either have timelines in which case any interaction creates a new/split off timeline, or you have the original timeline thrown out and altered every time they send a probe back, because even if the probe doesn't have any impact on history it still alters reality by just being there.

>>12701845
>Because humans made it. It's really that simple.
I probably should elaborate on that. You see you are trying to figure out how a device would break because of time travel. But any probe even a time travel probe, is still a device, and can break down in the same way any device that breaks down regardless of time travel capability. Wear and tear, collision, human error, hostile conditions, etc. Like a probe could miss coordinates and end up in a swamp, or in a sand storm, or get hit by lightning, or accidentally run into a brick/wall mountain, or (Dependent on size and cloacking capability) get swiped by a predator, or collide with an fairly small rock in near earth orbit. The possibilities are endless, and there is no way any design team can forsee all of them, nevermind more mundane things like operator incompetence, human error, or good ol shit luck.-

Essentially consider the possibility of a break down not because of time travel but during the visit.

>>12701807
brainlet

>>12701845
I made a mistake with the "original timeline" sentence. There are no alterations.
>>12701870
>Because humans made it. It's really that simple.
Yes, I guess I'm overthinking it. Thanks a lot for the advice, you set me back on track.

>>12701840
No. Simpletons like this retard >>12701872 like to pretend Malazan is "deep" and "complex" when in reality it's simply beyond bloated and focused WAY too much on world-building. If that sounds enticing to you then by all means check it out. The writer is quite good at writing action scenes and the battles can be fantastic, but it's a fucking slog to read. Crap like Malazan and Prince of Nothing made me become a huge fan of efficient storytelling.

>>12701890
Good action scenes don't exist

NEW BREAD

>>12701982
>>12701982
>>12701982
>>12701982

>>12700275
Are you allowed to bring books with you?
Otherwise, how do you know youre going to be able to read those?

>>12701191
You are years too late.

>its a final battle
>all the characters come into play, including one-off people from random bits in forgotten chapters
Ugh
How hackneyed

>>12698981
fuck you nigger