/lit/ - Literature

There is nothing better than watching weak willed, effeminate beta males get turned into bitches who need a strong man to press and fill them.

God damn 4chin has turned me into a fagget that likes pedobear and tomgirls.

>>16426615
Way of Kings yay or nay? I'm trying to give Sanderson a chance in order to study what's doing well and what's popular right now but a thousand pages of something I might not like is a tall order. Other books of his to start with instead that isn't pure YA shit?

Imagine how crazy a miniseries based on this would be

>>16426643
yay

Dune: Messiah is probably the most underappreciated out of the original main six Dune novels.

Why aren't you reading Worth the Candle yet, /sffg/? It's a rational self-insert litrpg isekai webnovel by Alexander Wales, and it's the best piece of writing I have read in years. Currently at 1,357,293 words, it's over THIRTEEN NOVELS' worth of free content, and still ongoing!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478249/chapters/25740126
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/25137/worth-the-candle

>It's a self-insert litRPG portal fantasy, loosely based on my personal experience of falling into a portal to another world and discovering that I had a character sheet attached to my soul. This story uses some custom CSS for the character sheet and definition tags to allow mouseover on various game terms, so mobile and touchscreen users, you're missing out.
>Update schedule is, as always, whenever I feel like it. Special thanks to the people of /r/rational for helping me think about ideas.

The setup is that Juniper "Joon" Smith, an ordinary suicidal rationalist teenager who has been on a self-destructive downwards spiral ever since the tragic death of his best friend Arthur, suddenly finds himself transported from English class to the magical land of Aerb and given RPG abilities along with a quest system and achievements. Specifically, he finds himself dropped into the Risen Lands, an abandoned hellzone filled with undead used by the government as a trail by ordeal. There, he meets the most beautiful woman in the world, Princess Amaryllis Penndraig, who has been falsely accused of a crime by her power-hungry family in a bid to claim her substantial assets. Now, the two of them must team up to escape the Risen Lands alive while unraveling the hints that Amaryllis's great ancestor, Uther Penndraig, may be someone Juniper knew in his past life.

And that's just the tutorial!

>>16426671

What really sets this story apart is the intelligence of the characters, the plot or the setting.

There are no idiot balls, failures to communicate, or any other form of artificial conflict; Joon and Mary act exactly the way you would expect smart, rational, mature adults who are trying to survive and achieve their goals to act. Their every move, from which quest to tackle next to how to optimize Juniper's build to whether to trust this or that stranger is discussed and analyzed in excruciating detail as the life-or-death choices they are. Personal and romantic issues are brought into the open and worked-on rather than allowed to fester for umpteenth installments as they would be in a typical anime. Juniper is incredibly well-read and a veteran Dungeon Master with a ton of experience in worldbuilding, while Amaryllis is a workaholic with a gift for diplomacy and management. Both of their skillsets get a lot of use in the story.

Aerb is an extremely detailed and coherent setting. Everything from the mechanics of travel on a hexagonal grid to the logistics of bulk-teleportation to the economics of magic items has been accounted for and integrated into the story. More than once, these details turn out to be the key to solving this or that puzzle.

The plot is hard to explain without spoiling anything, but rest assured that there IS a rational explanation for everything, up to an including why a random Kansas teenager was transported to a fantasy realm and gifted with magical powers.

Overall, if you are the kind of person who likes Greg Egan or (early) Larry Niven, you will not be disappointed with this story.

>>16426647
No I am not. It was sffg that started me on these book. Now I'm not right. I see effeminate men as future onaholes.

A family member tried to buy my love a few years ago and got me these. Are any of them worth reading?

>>16426643
Yay it's a decent book

>>16426615
What's the final word on the original Dune and its sequels?

>>16426671
>,suddenly finds himself transported from English class to the magical land of Aerb and given RPG abilities along with a quest system and achievements. Specifically, he finds himself dropped into the Risen Lands, an abandoned hellzone filled with undead used by the government as a trail by ordeal.
>There, he meets the most beautiful woman in the world, Princess Amaryllis Penndraig
>And that's just the tutorial!
Oh christ, it is just the tutorial but already there is a female character, not just any third rate supporting no name character but THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WAMAN IN THE WORLD. And there are THIRTEEN NOVELS worth of this trash! and still ongoing!

>>16426729
I only read the first one and it was like reading a cheap thriller movie. It doesn't have the best prose, it's not very beautiful, and the characters are rather flat, but it's ideas and plot were so good you keep reading it. Each chapter leaves you hanging so bad you think "just one more" and you become enveloped in the story. Really fun. Didn't read any other ones because everyone always says 2&3 are worse and it's only for pay off in the 4th book. I'm not gonna invest that much time in it.

Who else reads S&S and imagine themselves as the strong barbarian pillaging temples and taking all the comfort boipucci?

Anybody else read out-of-copyright science fiction and fantasy? I found a little gem from 1912 a while ago called The Second Deluge which is about this scientist dude named Cosmo Versal who predicts that the Earth will pass through a "watery nebula", drowning everyone on the planet, and sets out to build an ark in order to save a chosen remnant of mankind with which to repopulate the human race. The scenes set aboard the ark while the downpour rages outside are oddly comfy, and hearing the hero talk completely unironically about the importance of eugenics to regenerating the human race is a delight.

>"I can take exactly one thousand individuals, exclusive of the crew," continued Versal, paying no attention to his confidant's repeated shaking of his head. "Good Heavens, think of that! One thousand out of two thousand millions! But so be it. Nobody would listen to me, and now it is too late. I must fix the number for each class."
>"There is one thing--one curious question--that occurs to me," put in Smith hesitatingly. "What about families?"
>"There you've hit it," cried Cosmo. "That's exactly what bothers me. There must be as many women as men--that goes without saying. Then, too, the strongest moral element is in the women, although they don't weigh heavily for science. But the aged people and the children--there's the difficulty. If I invite a man who possesses unquestionable qualifications, but has a large family, what am I to do? I can't crowd out others as desirable as he for the sake of carrying all of his stirpes. The principles of eugenics demand a wide field of selection."
>Cosmo Versal covered his eyes, rested his big head on his hands, and his elbows on the table. Presently he looked up with an air of decision.
>"I see what I must do," he said. "I can take only four persons belonging to any one family. Two of them may be children--a man, his wife, and two children--no more."
>"But that will be very hard lines for them--" began Joseph Smith.
>"Hard lines!" Cosmo broke in. "Do you think it is easy lines for me? Good Heavens, man! I am forced to this decision. It rends my heart to think of it, but I can't avoid the responsibility."
>Smith dropped his eyes, and Cosmo resumed his reflections. In a little while he spoke again:
>"Another thing that I must fix is an age limit. But that will have to be subject to certain exceptions. Very aged persons in general will not do--they could not survive the long voyage, and only in the rare instances where their experience of life might be valuable would they serve any good purpose in reestablishing the race. Children are indispensable--but they must not be too young--infants in arms would not do at all. Oh, this is sorry work! But I must harden my heart."

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9194
https://archive.org/details/seconddeluge00serviala

How would wizards be incorporated into a modern military like America’s? Would they be warrant officers like army helicopter pilots, regular officers like doctors, or would they be an entire separate branch like the marines?

What are some white flags in a fantasy book?

>>16426694
Abnett is an above average writer most of the time so read the books written by him I guess.

>>16426816
I'd assume they would be a separate section like the marines or JAG. There would have to be specific testing to go through to be able to use your powers correctly and within the scope of what the military would want. Like psychers in 40k.
>>16426781
That's really silly but very interesting to have a story like that from 100+ years ago. Crazy how much yet how little we change as a culture over time.

>>16426816
They wouldn't, they would be too valuable for regular military and only some black ops cia unit would have them

What should I read next;
>Count of Monte-Cristo
or
>The Princess Bride
or
>Perdido Street Station

>>16426823
Cat girls or lolis.

>>16426823
Explain this image

>>16426695
>>16426662
>>16426643
reddit

>>16426643
Yes. But if you might start with Emperors Soul for something shorter.

>>16426842
Did you know that most of Count of Monte-Cristo, the unabridged version, is just the dude walking around, hanging in caves, talking and taking drugs?
I suggest Perdido, because this is /sffg/

>>16426956
>Did you know that most of Count of Monte-Cristo, the unabridged version, is just the dude walking around, hanging in caves, talking and taking drugs?
Is it comfy though?
I love when protagonists just to menial shit, and have downtime between adventures.

>>16426967
Dumas is the unrivalled king of filler. The foreword of my Puffin edition of The Three Musketeers literally says "his novels are too long"
>>16426956
Perdido sucks dick

>>16426842
The Count. Perdido isn't good. The Princess Bride is better as a movie but still good as a comparison.

>>16426216
Ah, I see what you're saying. I wasn't insulted, just thought you were pointing out a pitfall. I agree, good stories are usually retellings in some fashion.

>>16426842
Count of Monte Cristo is excellent.

>/sffg/ has better discussion about the Count of Monte Cristo than the rest of /lit/

Is this bizarro /lit/?

>>16426640
>>16426681
All 4chan did was provide you an opportunity for you to be how you really are. Nothing more than that. It was all you. Accept yourself.

>>16426640
Bad art and story and you aren't who you think you are in it.

>>16426816
The Irregular At Magic High School

>>16427306
>this book good
>this book bad, guy tripping
>this book long
>'discussion'
Are you literally retarded?

>>16427459
Probably, but I'm just impressed they are actually talking about a book at all.

>>16426679
Imagine trying to sell your story by saying that it doesn't have things I dislike. Is there anything actually worthwhile about this?

>>16426671
I did read it, but dropped it after the time chamber stuff where he met "the creator" of the world. It was such a turn off when he just randomly cried about "why is there pain" to the creator. Also, I knew Leah was a used good, but after reading the extent how much of a used good she was, I stopped shipping them together.

After playing State of Decay 2, I'm craving for some zombie survival books, any good ones?

>>16427753
Just play another zombie game.

>>16427442
That artist has a way of drawing traps that makes me diamonds. It's the eyes. Other traps look like guys in dress, but tonikaku actually makes me want to fuck a guy in a dress.....

>>16427432
Was on 4chan for fifteen years... This place molded me into the degenerate I am today. It started it /b/, then spread from there. Praise Snacks.

>>16427814
Fuck I miss snacks. BRING BACK SNACKS.

>>16426823
What do you mean by "white flag"?
Red flag means warning, what does a white flag in a book mean? That the author surrendered to some ideology?

I started reading Dune, and after 5 chapters or so I'm not super enjoying it. The world building is interesting enough, and I like the character interaction for the most part but the 3rd person omniscient narrator just bothers me I guess. Like if Dr. Yueh consciously thinks "I'm a traitor for reason X" one more time I'm going to lose my mind.

Does it get better (or at least a little more subtle)?

>>16427831
>What do you mean by "white flag"?
French.

>>16428021
>Does it get better (or at least a little more subtle)?
Yes (no).

Who's the Kanye West of fantasy authors?

>>16428166
Glen Cook

>>16427753
Did you read the Max Brooks books? Those are fun.

>>16426825
I remember reading one of the commissar ciaphas cain novels a long while ago, I remember it being really funny but repetitive.

>>16426643
It's honestly okay, 6/10. Don't keep reading on though.

>>16426694
I only have the Gaunt's Ghosts books but they are pretty solid, read at least up to Necropolis which is my favourite.

>>16428021
It gets less subtle with each book. By God Emperor, Herbert just moralises directly to the reader.

>>16426823
Lmao this pic is all over the place

>>16426644
That's the way it should be adapted, movies of these books would just flop as edgy suicide squad-esque clones but TV could really do the books justice, especially for the characters and their interactions outside of battle (which are really the best bits)

>>16426664
we already had this conversation in the last one m8, yes it is and that's okay because GEOD is the most overrated that people always froth over. For my money Heretics is right up there, honestly such a nice turn it's a shame Chapterhouse was so shit

>>16428698
Only the current thread and current replies matter. All else is nothingness and never was.

>>16427527
/sffg/ confirmed for only thread that actually reads books and doesn't degenerate into pseudointellectual/coomer debate

also fuck sanderson

>>16428748
That's wrong all counts.

>>16428021
The next 5 novels are even more interior monlogue-heavy, the main cast alternating between "what if genocide good?" followed by "but actually what if genocide bad"

>>16426753
I thought I was the only one.

>>16426753
Sword & Sodomy

>>16428775
>also help
There's no reason for help.

>>16427269
Wait so you're abridging WoT and adding to it with your own fan fic?

>>16428775
Name of girl (male)?

>>16428775
what's the box on the floor?

I'm craving something similar to the Witcher saga, as in guy who is roaming through the lands with some companions (I liked more than the protagonist), while stumbling into political situations once in a while (not necessarily due to (b)/witches.)

>>16427668
>Imagine trying to sell your story by saying that it doesn't have things I dislike.
I don't know anon.. To try an analogy, if all the juices on sale have apple as ingredient even when its not apple flavored and you find the one without added apple and actually containing the fruits they sell its flavored for is kind of noteworthy

>>16429598
Conan: The Road of Kings

>>16426694
Anything by Abnett is legit

>story ends with a man (possessed by some sorta earth elemental thing) having sex with a sea lion (who is also possessed by some sorta sea elemental thing)
I wasn't expecting that.

>>16426694
eisenhorn omnibus is the only thing in 40k worth reading

>>16429997
Is it gay sea lion sex?

>>16430024
The sea elemental thing was treated as female so I doubt it.

>>16429598
I was just about to start writing something with this in mind.

>>16429997
Title?

>>16430112
The Way of Kings

>>16428453
God Emperor is in many ways a shit book but it's so unabashedly weird and surreal I can't say I regret reading it

>>16430434
>>16430011
>>16429875
Nice. Something fun and easy to look forward to for whenever I finish infinite jest.

Is there a sci-fi/fantasy lit podcast out there? I know the more acceptable thing on this board would be to just listen to an audiobook for something I'm only half-interested in to fill the dead air in my commute, but I usually forget every other sentence anyway.

>>16430781
Of course

>>16428744
Based senile man

>>16428698
I think what makes or breaks GEOD is not the philosophical core, but the very human drama of a man alone and not being able to be understood in his pain and loneliness by anyone, only able to be worshiped and revered or loathed and feared. That and Duncan dying over and over.

>>16430894
That was an indictment, not a self-description.

>>16427723

Yeah, Fenn being used goods is such a turnoff. Seriously, Joon as an entire harem of pretty girls pining after him and he goes for the single mother? What a fucking cuck.

>>16430799
Well go ahead with a recommendation then.

>>16430894
I didn't care that much for Leto's monologues, but the way the world as depicted in the previous books is COMPLETELY stomped on and reduced to a ridiculous parody of itself was fascinating to me when I read it as a teen.

Dune is interesting to me because it presents itself as a cool adventure story, pretty by-the-numbers Hero's Journey stuff, but is something completely different *just* below the surface. I feel that in many ways God-Emperor is when the jig is up and the series declares what it's really about, even as flawed as the execution was.

I was surprised by how much of the series' themes were actually presented in the first few chapters of the first book. Yueh's chapter in Dune where he's repeatedly wondering about how history will remember him was the obvious one on a reread, and >>16428021 almost noticed it.

Anyone read this? Is it good? Main selling points?
I'm not exactly into hard SF and the Greg Egan's description that has stuck with me was 'autismo'.

>>16431097
If you're not into hard SF then you shouldn't be reading Greg Egan in the first place. The entire selling point of Greg Egan books is that he is the hardest SF writer in history; he's for people who think that Arthur C. Clarke and Larry Niven novels are too soft. If you are an autist with a hard-on for physics and transhumanism then there is no better author.

Is there any Stephenson fiction that is good without being 10000 pages of super wacky stuff? I liked Snow Crash but I don't know if I could ever something like that again

>>16431589
The Diamond Age is his best novel. It does start with a short satire of cyberpunk but changes style after that.

>>16431547
Where should I start with Egan?

I've read two: Axiomatic which was amazing, and Quarantine which was sometimes poor, sometimes interesting.

>>16431589
REAMDE is a modern action/adventure thriller. Not really SF. I enjoyed it a lot.

>>16431547
>The entire selling point of Greg Egan books is that he is the hardest SF writer in history
Bullshit. Egan's crap is thinly-veiled gnosticism bullshit papered over with some extremely cringeworthy technobabble.

To claim that it is in any way 'scientific' is an affront to science and you should neck yourself.

why does kellhus give a fuck about meeting his father, leading the crusade and killing the consult?

>>16431985
RAFO

>>16432018
I did and i didn't

>>16431916
I'd say Permutation City is to go-to. Very good book.

>>16431589
Anathem is his most comfy. so fucking comfy, especially if you have any interest in western philosophy

>>16430091
Make it good.

lunchtime bump

Well bros, should I:
>continue my journey through the Culture series
>pivot to the black company
>pivot to wheel of time
>do a one off, either the terror or pillars of the earth
Do not call me a brainlet I’m warning you

>>16426615
Can you recommend me a fantasy/sci fi book about parallel worlds? I'm looking for something that feels similar to pic rel basically

>>16433424
Based. Nothing more insufferable than the 70s-80s crop of "Tolkien Lite" authors (especially the Shannara guy and his 31 books.)

>>16433241
b
r
a
i
n
l
e
t

Thoughts on Vonnegut's sci fi?

>>16433241
The Culture is the most interesting of those three by far. On the other hand, the first three books are the best, so if you already passed those the series hits diminishing returns.

>>16433436
You want Anathem my friend. go watch a intro video on Ancient Greek philosophy then have at it

>>16433576
>go watch a intro video on Ancient Greek philosophy
Do I have to? Philosophy is a bit too much for a brainlet like me

>>16433436
The City and the City by China Mieville

>>16431547
Okay, thx. But what about that particular book? An autist's take on a space opera(?) set 1 million years in the future sounds interesting and it couldn't be as 'hard' for how highly speculative it would be.

'ate mieville
'ate sanderson
'ate tolkien
'ate double r martin
luv wolfe
simple as

>>16433652
No but it will enhance the experience. if you don't like philosophy then I take back my suggestion for Anathem - you may get filtered. if you like bookishness/monks/academics/philosophy/the-pursuit-of-knowledge then you'll like Anathem.

>>16433745
I was looking more for a book where the main focus is on the parallel worlds rather than being just a part of the worldbuilding

>>16433674
Wrong thread

>>16433867
Wrong website

>>16433877
t. reddit opinions

>>16433892
literally the opposite. Never reply to me again, this is your only warning.

>>16433900
Just downvote me and move on bro

>>16427753
The Black Tide Rising Series is pretty good in my opinion, I’ve been looking for other Zombie books that aren’t The Walking Dead because that’s retarded

Any recommendations for some fun stupid books? Like some straight up retarded anime-tier bullshit that makes you question what the fuck you've just read but you still love every second of it.

>>16434192
Black tide rising, it’s mostly just a tomboy slaughtering zombies, sex rotas, “Subtle” Right Wing talking points, and the constant usage of “Never give an order you know won’t be followed” in order to justify looting
All in all, pretty fun
(Yes, I literally just recommended it)

5 DAYS
5 DAYS
5 DAYS
5 DAYS
5 DAYS

>>16426615
How much should magic allow you to sidestep or outright violate the laws of nature and physics, and what’s your reasoning? What about the law of conservation of energy in particular, should magic be able to create matter and energy from scratch, or should it be limited to rearranging and transforming existing material and energy? Should magical power even count as “energy” in the same manner as heat, electricity, light, etc., or should it be something completely separate that doesn’t concern itself with the laws of thermodynamics at all?

>>16434270
I tried to get into Dresden and it was cringe city. Is there a point it picks up?

>>16434338
Depends on the setting.

>>16434347
What exactly made you cringe?

>>16433667
Don't think you understood that book.

>>16434338
That's entirely a matter of personal preference.

>>16434338
“Stephen King once wrote, “Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear.” In a horror story, the victim keeps asking why - but there can be no explanation, and there shouldn’t be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it’s what we’ll remember in the end.”

Magic exists outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of wonder. In a magical story, the reader keeps asking why - but there can be no explanation, and there shouldn’t be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it’s what we’ll remember in the end.

>>16434338
It should be able to transcend newtonian physics. I quite like the model of Peter Hamiltons Void series. It is scifi and has somewhat loose scientific but alaos logical explanation of magi, it would work perfectly for all fantasy. That would allow for existance of magic, spells, magical creatures etc while at the same time adhering to physics.

>>16426615
Does anyone have any advice for creating original funeral rites for their own settings? Besides taking inspiration from any real-life culture or cultures that the culture in your setting is based off of, I mean, or another real-life culture, particularly a similar or related one. In your experiences, what should be avoided, particularly when trying to craft more original elements in terms of how the culture treats the deceased and why? Especially when souls are real in setting?

>>16434521
It just felt like a 14 year olds idea of what a "cool" guy would be like. It makes since, I think Butcher was pretty young when he wrote the first book.

>get halfway through 2nd kingkiller book, go to download the third
>third book hasnt been released 9 years after the second
I'm getting real sick of this shit, any other good series that are actually finished? This killed any chance of me finishing this book for now.

>>16434744
I don't mc is cool or even supposed to be cool. He just does what he does and most people don't take him seriously because he is a wizard, some even ridicule him for it.

>>16434744
lol the MC is not "cool" nor is he meant to be. Of all the reasons to dislike Dresden Files this is the dumbest.

>>16434776
Harry Potter

>>16434776
>Reading the second kingkiller book
That’s where you played yourself

>>16431950
In your opinion who is the hardest or most scientific sci-fi writer?

>>16435304
I have never actually read the books but I can only assume it's really kiddy, right?

>>16435352
Does it get worse or something? Honestly the premise of the guy being able to describe food he had eaten ten years back is retarded, especially how he'll be putting together some big plan, then describe the taste of dried apples and sausage in the middle of it

>>16434706
If souls are real and the living know, you’ve made it easy on yourself.

Take what they know and add a leap of logic where the living do things to help/hinder the dead souls. As an example, how Celts believed the dead would sometimes wander the earth after death instead of going to the otherworld, so they cut the feet off their dead.

>>16433527
Is excession a good place to start with culture

>>16434706
There's a ton of different funeral rites and feasts for the dead all over the world. To name one of the weirder ones, in some parts of the Philippines or some eastern hellhole they practice cannibalism.

I'd rec tying the soul and rites to the creation myth. Mask of the Sorcerer has some nice mix of this with an Ancient Egypt vibe.

>>16435661
nta but.. you should read them anyway. It's YA of course, but worth the read nonetheless.

>>16431985
>leading the crusade
To find his father he needs power and to not be a tool of other
>meeting his father
Because his father risks exposing the secret monastery. So the council of dunyain sent kellhus to kill his father and silence him and whatever dream sorcery that they didn’t understand.
>killing the consult
Read the end of warrior prophet & thousand fold thought again.

>>16436993
Retard alert. Retard. Alert. Re. Tard.

>>16437008
Correct me then assfuck

>>16434338
Why not all of the above? Have some wizards that can access other dimensions. Maybe it makes them nutty the more they do it, or maybe it tends to be unpredictable.

>>16432057
I will do my best.

>Wizards: No Sense of Right and Wrong

>>16434338
Magic should be in service of the narrative, characterization, or tone/setting. Otherwise you're placing a system above storytelling.

>>16433424
What is wrong with her? I even liked her Embassytown but how the fuck can someone like Iron Dragon's Daughter?
It's literally "muh vagina" the book. Interesting first few chapters but after that it deteriorated into one of the worst books I read in the last years.

This was great

>>16437487
No it wasn't.

>>16437244
Morality is a spook

I reckon Ice and Fire is going to end with mankind dying out, all the magical races coming back and the Others winning but centuries later it is hinted mankind is somehow returning in the same way the Dragons and and The Others were originally nothing more than a myth or bedtime story to mankind humanity will be treated in the same way to whoever inherits Westeros and the Earth.

>>16437510
yes it was

Anyone else read this shit? It was so unbelievably cringey. They made the protagonist so ridiculously powerful without any buildup. It is like they removed chapters because it happens so fast. He is the definition of a Mary Sue. He is supposedly super intelligent, have infitine power/potential and all the girls want him. I think it is just an author's power fantasy.

>>16437544
I reads it, I don't remember much about it. You just have to understand those books aren't written to be good, they're more like a writing exercise, just throwing shit at a wall and trying out new story structures, different ways of writing scenes etc.

>>16437544
I read it back in high school I think, yeah, shit is basically just YA fiction that throws in a couple "fucks" so it can claim to be adult fiction.

>>16437534
That's dumb.

>>16437534
we literally know the ending

Ecce and Old Earth

This probably could have been two books, or Ecce could have been rolled into Araminta Station. Still, the Old Earth portion is fantastic. An old fashioned serial-esque treasure hunt, full of delightfully lovable/loatheable characters and interesting situations to test the protagonists' courage and guile. Incredibly verbose relative to Vance's typically austere wordcount, and not as funny as Araminta Station, but consistently enjoyable.

A minor point that drove me nuts was why the fuck didn't Wayness just ask the clairvoyant boy where the charter was? It seems like a pretty big oversight

Based Conan.

What do you guys think of the culture novels?

I am looking to get into quality Sci-Fi series that doesn't have an absurd amount of novels.

>>16438827
I think people become tired of answering the same questions every thread and sometimes multiple times per thread.
Hence, >>16428744

>>16438827
fun book
horrible artwork

>>16437556
I tried it because I thought Lightbringer was mostly okay and wanted to see what else he wrote. Lightbringer wasn't great but compared to this dogshit it doesn't seem like the same writer.

anyone read Empire of the Ants? looks interesting but it's also the only book of the trilogy that's translated in english, so not sure if I should pick it up

>>16426671
Jfc this sounds awful

Thinking about picking up Tau Zero. Is it bretty gud?

>>16439596
I remember it being a quite comfy read

>>16426643
Anything Sanderson is gay and nay.

>>16433241
Black Company probably, with the caveat that some of it is really shitty and/or tired because of people aping it.
Culture isn't worth reading same as Wheel of Time and Pillars of the Earth is Days of Our Lives in book-form.
Can't comment on the Terror.

>>16433527
>first three are the best
>consider phlebas is part of the best
So it's a shit series then?

>>16433436
>>16433806
If you don't mind it being very trashy sex-filled even by webnovel standards and clearly ripping off stuff from Fallout then "I have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World" does that as a main device. Kind of amusing too in chink sensibilities just naturally throwing out stuff like "oh yeah the Jews and the WASPs are fighting over control of the US banks!" as a sideplot without any political intent. (not that TLJ is exactly the watermark for good writing either)
Otherwise VRMMOs, Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and similar stuff like The Devil's Cage give a similar delineation between their worlds and like 50% of the time the VRMMO world is an actual real world.

>>16426671
>Rational
>Isekai
Eat shit chink

>>16440021
>Alexander Wales
Doesn't sound very chink to me.
Seriously though who reads the western litrpg shit?
I read tons of utter garbage chinkfiction and even I will avoid anything marked "original" AKA western-made on webnovel.

>>16437544
I loved the rape though.

>>16440072
Spoken like a true chink, or a low iq readlet. Chink novels are shit, and poorly written, poorly worde, and poorly paced.
It's why you have fags like you say that it gets better in chapter 350 and really picks up at chapter 1200.

>>16426694
Ciaphas Cain books are tongue in cheek and tend to gloss over the fucked up side of the 40k universe. They are alright for light reading. Gaunts Ghosts is more serious and competently written. Really gets going after the first book.

>>16440282
>Spoken like a true chink, or a low iq readlet.
This coming from some faggot pushing for western litrpgs.
>Chink novels are shit, and poorly written, poorly worde, and poorly paced.
Chink novels are infinitely better than anything that's come out of the western fantasy and SF scene since the 30s bar Wolfe and Vance.

>>16440363
Here, let me help you getting gulaged.

动态网自由门 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Free Tibet 六四天安門事件 The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 天安門大屠殺 The Tiananmen Square Massacre 反右派鬥爭 The Anti-Rightist Struggle 大躍進政策 The Great Leap Forward 文化大革命 The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 人權 Human Rights 民運 Democratization 自由 Freedom 獨立 Independence 多黨制 Multi-party system 台灣 臺灣 Taiwan Formosa 中華民國 Republic of China 西藏 土伯特 唐古特 Tibet 達賴喇嘛 Dalai Lama 法輪功 Falun Dafa 新疆維吾爾自治區 The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 諾貝爾和平獎 Nobel Peace Prize 劉暁波 Liu Xiaobo 民主 言論 思想 反共 反革命 抗議 運動 騷亂 暴亂 騷擾 擾亂 抗暴 平反 維權 示威游行 李洪志 法輪大法 大法弟子 強制斷種 強制堕胎 民族淨化 人體實驗 肅清 胡耀邦 趙紫陽 魏京生 王丹 還政於民 和平演變 激流中國 北京之春 大紀元時報 九評論共産黨 獨裁 專制 壓制 統一 監視 鎮壓 迫害 侵略 掠奪 破壞 拷問 屠殺 活摘器官 誘拐 買賣人口 遊進 走私 毒品 賣淫 春畫 賭博 六合彩 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Winnie the Pooh 劉曉波动态网自由门

Ender's game was really gud

>written by a tumblr lesbian
>chock full of fanfic tropes and low brow internet humor
>it's actually fucking great nonetheless

>>16426644
get the production team behind The Boys to do it

>>16426671
why does this book look like it'll charge me 10$ to buy Platinum Tokens halfway through so I can keep reading

>>16440505
Agree, but the second book kind of drops the ball (not that it sucks completely, just in comparison to the first book)

>>16440514
With how Pozzed 'The Boys' is, why would you want a '"Black Lives Matter" Company'.

>>16440835
have you actually read black company

like half the characters are black especially towards the end

>>16440505
No, it was a self-indulgent mess.

>>16441211
You can have something with black characters and it not be pozzed. I know that seems crazy in this day and age, but it's true.

>>16440835
well now you've got me more interested

>cracking in to some trashy warhammer after months of dry non fiction and stream of consciousness fiction

oh yeah im relaxan

>>16441211
Black Company gets worse the further you get into the series, yes.

>>16441211
I am currently reading it, I just hope Croaker isn't black.

>>16434270
4 DAYS
4 DAYS
4 DAYS
4 DAYS

>order a bunch of kino books
>email out of the blue saying my order was cancelled for no reason
Now I actually have to read some of the shit on my backlog.

>>16441843
Or just go to libgen or irc and download said books.

>>16441855
>reading on a screen
I could never

>>16441862
That's your loss. Eink screen is better than physical paper.

>>16427753
DJ Molles "The Remaining" series

>>16433436


The Long Earth series

>>16434270
looks like the undertaker lost some weight

>>16441794
they only meet a bunch of blacks when they go south. that's after the third book. the author doesn't dwell that much on skin color anyway.

>>16442020
one eye is black and several soldiers of the company are black.

>>16442126
well, one eye IS from the south. he came from one tribe there. I can't recall if any other members of the company are black though.

>>16442020
>>16442205
From what I remember, the 3 wizards were black, and there's no other PoC on the company. They were Croaker's only source of information of what the South looked like, and they knew shit about it.
The South has some blacks (closer to the desert/North border) and mostly brown people. Cook literally ripped the whole Hindi bullshit, even the Thugs and their record breaking killer.

It's amazing how much of this shlock has stuck with me after 3 or 4 years since I read it.

What do you guys think about the Mars Trilogy, I think it’s one of the best ‘plausible’ near future sci fi series ever written.

I'm thinking if rereading the Lyonesse series by Jack Vance, haven't read it since I was 13. Is it as great as I remember?

>>16442260
>shlock
anon please, it's one my favorite fantasy books.

Looking for;
>Comfortable Series (Fantasy or Science Fiction)
>Just people existing in a world, going about their day and having comfortable adventures
>No "Secret Heir", "Chosen One" crap
>!!!BRUTAL NTR!!!

Any series that check all those boxes?

>>16442554
It's very comfy even with its dark turns, so yeah.
>>16442592
>wizards playing magic tricks out of Disney's Fantasia
>muh astral projection bullshit
>"Croaker is so hot and his dick is so big, I'm totally in love with him" -- The Lady (totally not Croaker self inserting)
>everyone gets killed, except they don't really die
Come on, anon. It's entertaining but it's hardly literary.

genuinely dont know how people can stomach drivel like sanderson or 99% of modern fantasy

dudes were writing more captivating fantasy 100yrs ago

>>16442642
>>!!!BRUTAL NTR!!!
kill yourself

>>16441216
which is a good thing

>>16441794
why do you care

>>16442666
If that's the result of it happening, then so be it.

>>16442665
Video game-ism has seeped into fantasy novels too strongly. Case and point just look at the magic systems Brandon Sanderson always uses, they belong in an rpg not a book

>>16442666
I'd accept 3/4.

>>16442665
that's because you're a jaded 4chan dullard who needs to make even enjoying things a performance

>>16442675
Ok.

>>16442710
Good luck finding younger authors who have no exposure to games and doesn't influence their writing at all.

>>16442712
You'd also accept 3/5s.

>>16442592
Your post indicates that you think that matters. It does not.

>>16442713
no. ive tried to enjoy a lot of modern fantasy and it just doesnt do it for me like the works of the greats manage to do it for me

the only authors I can think of who do video-gamey magic system shit are Sanderson and Rothfuss

>>16442689
subjectively I have neutral feeling towards other races, I just like to stick to my own race (and them to their people) , If I were to be tricked into having a enjoyable literary experience identifying with main character who is somewhat like me and find out in the end that mc is black, I would be very upset.

>>16442650
>literary
Wrong argument for this thread.

>>16426643
>yay
the absolute state of /lit/

>>16442745
My condolences for your derangement.

>>16442743
I wish I were so oblivious and ignorant.

>>16442763
It is perfectly healthy and rational position If you want or like to identify as someone of different race then you are the one who is deranged.

>>16442738
commercially successful genre fiction usually stays relevant for half of a decade or so, and then fades into obscurity, unless its extraordinarily good. all the stuff that gets remembered from 50+ years ago is extraordinarily good.

there is nothing wrong with "modern fantasy". you weren't born in the wrong generation. the problem is you

>>16442775
You don't have to identify or self-insert. You can be a cold and impartial observer.

>>16442745
that's not a "neutral" reaction at all

>>16442769
that would be a progress in your case

>>16442777
>tfw when you were born in the wrong millennia

>>16442775
why would you be incapable of/upset about identifying with a person of another race if you weren't a nazi or something

are you afraid you'll start craving watermelon and criminal activity?

>>16442796
That's why it says subjectively.

>>16442745
>tricked
What a terrible mindset.

>>16442796
Yes, I agree it would be progress.

>>16442809
you don't have "neutral feelings towards other race"

subjectively you are a racist

and that means you should be euthanized, but that's another matter

>>16428388
>No they aren't. World War Z was one of the few books I gave away after reading just because it was so annoying.

>>16442804
Not literally everyone who doesn't believe what you believe exactly is a nazi.

>>16442830
Violence is not the answer.

>>16442837
genocide is the ultimate product of racism

in other words it makes no fucking difference to me whether you yourself think you're a nazi or not. you're incompatible with civilized society. you have to go

>>16439161
I haven't read it but I'd pass on it until the rest are translated. Unless you find information that there's enough closure in book 1 or if they're kinda standalone despite being in a trilgoy, unfortunately I can't help

>>16442853
Fighting genocide with genocide is not the answer.

>>16442853
>>>/lgbt/

>>16442382
I've been meaning to read them for a while

>>16442871
racism isn't a gene

>>16442736
i just don't want to feel bad, anon.
>>16442650
>it's entertaining
yes, it is. fantasy can and should also have literary value but we all know that's not what we're looking for here. first book is very unique too.

>>16442804
>incapable of/upset
That is not the same. I am quite capable of doing it, but it is something I do not like doing. I am what I am, and such exercise disrupts my inner self, it won't change me but it is intelectually uncomfortable nonetheless.

>>16442830
Subjectively I have nothing against other races, that is true, I even like and respect some people who are otherwise very different than me.

>>16442665
Same.
I read chinklit now since they’re the only ones who can think of interesting worlds with a bit of mystery to them even when they’re resorting to genre tropes.
Sanderson can barely hack it half a novel before he drops the ball on the worldbuilding.

>>16442910
can you conceive of a person who is not "very different than you", and who isn't white

>>16442853
t. Bloodthirsty faggot projecting.

>>16442931
No

>>16442904
If you don't want to feel bad, then you shouldn't be here

>>16442872
when you, in your tiny little reactionary shit brain, conceive of this imaginary reality where issues of races and sexual minorities and marxism are all one and the same, and share this notion with the rest of the world in the form of an internet post

are you aware that you're doing our work for us?

>>16442940
that is deeply racist, and also completely irrational

>>16442931
To be fair, he's probably unable to do so in general regardless of race.

>can you imagine yourself as non-white?
NO!!!!!!

>can you imagine yourself as an elf?
YES!!!!!

>>16442970
this is unironically the best place I know to talk about fantasy and science fiction books. I never felt bad here.

>>16442993
>that is deeply racist, and also completely irrational
what is your definition of racism? Is it nu racism where everything and anything a white person says about a non white person is racism (because the speaker is a straight white man) ?

>>16443025
Give it time.

>>16443016
Elves are white though?
Literally ascended norsemen turned demigods in norse myth.

>>16443036
No, that's Mormonism.

>>16443016
>>can you imagine yourself as an elf?
>YES!!!!!
but only if it is a white nordic forest elf, not the dark elf.

>>16443044
Guess mormonism ripped off norse myth then.
Propably left out the parts about elves being rapists too.

>>16443083
Nice pagan fanfic you have going.

>>16426694
Eisenhorn has a good reputation.

>>16443029
believing that race is a basis by which you can draw conclusions about other human beings

>>16443093
lol at the unironic use of ”pagan”.
I take it you’re some brand of amerifag who’ve never read the sagas but still feel compelled to comment?

>>16440363
>Chink novels are infinitely better than anything that's come out of the western fantasy and SF scene since the 30s bar Wolfe and Vance.
Oh no no no HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

>>16443096
I too think we shouldn’t differentiate between races and give all people the same types of medicine and organ & bone transplants that we know only works on certain people groups.
Anything else would be racist.

>>16443116
That only speaks for how terrible western fantasy is desu.
I’d probably cut the demarcation closer to the 90s/00s myself but there’s really nothing of worth in the western scene right now.

>>16440363
Who are the Chinese versions of George MacDonald and Lord Dunsany? I'm open to expand my Chinese readings.

>>16443096
"Conclusions about other human beings" is a broad term. Maybe a person of some non white race is inquisitive or adventurous, and there may be an inquisitive white person. So are these people same, or almost same? This also applies to groups of such people. Two people of same race can be very different while sharing same passion for something. When genetics of two racial groups come into play the differences become quite pronounced.

>>16443120
direct links between race and physical characteristics are demonstrable.

when it comes to social comportments though, or intellectual aptitudes, the best we have are weak correlations that can in all cases be more better (or just as well) explained in some other way, and for which there are always countless exceptions.

in light of this ambiguity you could either choose to believe that people of a certain race have a genetic predisposition to behaving in a certain way, or that the social phenomena occurring in response to their race make them more likely to be in a situation that elicits that behavior.

seeing as neither can actually be demonstrated scientifically, you have a choice to make, and only one of them is humane. but don't let that distract you from the fact that racism is completely unscientific and that there's not really any ambiguity in most cases.

>>16443202
>be more better
be better*

excessive self-editing be damned

>>16443153
That quote seems to preclude chink novels being as good as the pre-pulps.
That said i’d throw some recs in for World of Cultivation, Lord of the Mysteries, The Human Emperor, I Shall Seal the Heavens, Omniscient Reader, Release That Witch, Transcending the Nine Heavens, The World Online, The Legendary Mechanic, The Card Apprentice and Cultivation Chat Group to name a couple of different styles i’ve enjoyed.

>>16443202
>humane
Ambiguous language meant to avoid stating your religious moralisms outright.
In reality I, unlike the fag you were talking with earlier, have no desire to hand over my people’s ethnic homeland to invaders that make up one of the two majority groups of humanity and could care less if they belong to the invaders who have the low crystallized g factors of the average subsaharan african or the mid-to-high ones of the southeast asian.
Cloak your nonsense in some faux-science status all you like, all sentient people can identify forms and differentiate racial outgroups.

>>16443264
>Cloak your nonsense in some faux-science status all you like
the absolute fucking irony of saying this and spewing quackery from some mid-century eugenicist fuck.

I return to my previous statement : you should be euthanized

>>16442777
>there is nothing wrong with modern fantasy

>>16443202
>direct links between race and physical characteristics are demonstrable.
>racism is completely unscientific and that there's not really any ambiguity in most cases.
What is human brain? Is it not a physical characteristic? Or do those demonstrable differences in physical characteristics cover all human organs and tissues except the brain, central nervous system and endocrine system?

>>16443296
t. The kind of fag who’ve literally never spent a minute in real education.

>>16443296
>spewing quackery from some mid-century eugenicist fuck.
lol CHC is the dominant cognitive theory in psychology by far. Even real teaching degrees teach it.
The first C in CHC stands for Cattel the ”mid-century eugenicist fuck” you’re sperging out over.

>>16443328
demonstrate it or find someone who has

>>16443334
I've spent years in "real eduction"

college is a daycare for adult children and it does not actually produce independent and/or well informed thinkers or anything close to the sort. especially not STEM programs, which takes rubes and crystallizes them into overconfident rubes

in any case, you're a fucking eugenicist. walk out of the room. this is beyond you

>>16443408
>I've spent years in "real eduction"
>college is a daycare for adult children and it does not actually produce independent and/or well informed thinkers or anything close to the sort. especially not STEM programs, which takes rubes and crystallizes them into overconfident rubes
>in any case, you're a fucking eugenicist. walk out of the room. this is beyond you
Classic pseud.
”I’m totally educated but education actually sucks specially [*] which is politically unpopular with my kind of jackoffs at the moment also you’re evil and uneducated just walk away, also the dominant form of cognitive classification is evil eugenics I know this from my many years being educated (presumably all spent held back).”
* STEM, Evolutionary Psychology, some imaginary amalgamation of Austrian/Keynesian economics no courses actually teach, anthropology when it was refusing to make political concessions to identitarian movements etc.

Don't let the jews ruin the next thread like they did this one.

>>16443522
hiroshima should intrude new captha I Am Not A Jew.

>>16443548
>>16443522
Really funny. Laughing my ASS OFF.

>>16443548
The captcha should be "I admit I am a Jew," because that's the one thing that stops kikes.

>>16443561
Kek

>>16443135
Are you suggesting that there is any literary worth or originality in chinkshit, western or otherwise?

>>16443460
sure, I have no background in psychology, and my dismissal of Cattell's work was flippant.

the merits of CHC are one thing, and it's a distraction from the wild fucking claim you made about the "crystallized g factor" (fucking nonsense) of whole continents' worth of people. something that cannot, once again, be demonstrated. biological determinism, worthy of nothing but ridicule.

but obviously it would be easier to explain scientific rigor to a dog than to a fucking nazi.

>>16443522

>>16443614
>sure, I have no background in psychology
You have no background whatsoever.
You’e an anonymous cunt on an imageboard talking shit, shit you started, and whining that people call you out on it.
>and my dismissal of Cattell's work was flippant.
>the merits of CHC are one thing
You’ve made it adamantly clear you know fuckall about either, much like your take on race and ”science”.
>"crystallized g factor" (fucking nonsense) of whole continents' worth of people.
Also known as an ”average”. Like i’m going to start breaking down the differences between ethiopians and the shona as compared to the han and the kam-sui when the differences are well-known enough to be stereotypical and neither have any business in my people’s native homeland.
>but obviously it would be easier to explain scientific rigor to a dog than to a fucking nazi.
Ah yes, ”nazi” aka anyone european and non-zionist who opposes invasion.

Cult of the smart - Fredrick de boer

>>16443621
based

>>16443598
Of worth in terms of versimilitude in the world presented, characterization, vignettes, beatiful prose and so on. I don’t even know how to quantify literary value and don’t care to.

Can I read Peace Talks if I remember almost nothing from the series?

>>16443791
Yes. You can even discuss the book without having read it.

>>16443791
I'm anticipating needing to re read the series at this point

>>16443837
Just read summaries. It'd be such a waste otherwise.

Pol really ruins everything they touch.
4chan is shit these days.

>>16444267
>these days

>>16444267
>/pol/ ruins
The entire tirade started because some woke retard couldn’t stop himself from getting assmad over someone’s fantasy preferences.

>>16444404
> racism is a personal preference
Neat!

>>16444470
yeah it basically is, sorry if that offends your religious feelings

>>16444470
Yes, no one’s obliged to read or enjoy fantasy about your shitty people.

>>16444500

>>16444483
> racism is a religion unto itself
woah

>>16444500
No one is obliged to do anything.

>>16435748
Goes from kinda meandering but fun events which slowly advance the plot to tiring segments which last way too long and literally add nothing, also something something cuck shit

>>16444267
lol you're a fucking moron. This is /outerlit/ pouring into our general.

>>16444753
That's a false dicotomy.

>>16444855
*dichotomy

>>16444623
Who's worse, Porky or the Jews?

>>16444919
>implying they're not the same

>>16444869
Ich Liebe Dich!

>>16444919
Porky, as Porky Jews are just Porkys. Thinking that non-Porky Jews are part of (((them))) is retarded.

You're all buddies.

>>16444942
Yes we are.

>>16444470
Explain how it isn't

Three years ago, several women would have piled in when anon started her hysterical dogwhistling of racist! and nazi!
Times are changing swiftly, it seems.

Anyhoo, make a new thread, racists.

>>16442642
You should try killing yourself

>>16442642
>sf seinfeld

No thanks

>>16437452
>her

>>16444932
Is Til Lindemann the most alpha lead singer alive?

Thread slave. We at page 9. Get to work.

>>16443135
chinkshit actually makes western shit seem good. brandon yourself.

>>16445263
People don't choose to be racist. They're Born That Way.

>>16445574
They are taught it, faggot. When you're a child you don't notice skin difference, you just see another kid.
W/e this isn't the place to discuss this. Go to pol if you are itching to pull out your color coded infographs.

>>16445639
>when you're a child you don't notice skin difference
That's bullshit and everyone knows it

>>16445523
A new thread, my lieges. XD
>>16445685

>>16429598
My current novel is this almost exact. Any particular ideas or themes you would like to read in a book like that? Just asking so I can keep shit in mind for potential readers

>>16434744
Yeah that's a dumb thing to see ass cringe. Butcher even said Harry is like a mix between jack burton and will smith... Except he gets fucked up a lot. That's not an ideal "cool" as you're viewing it.

>>16443773
>Of worth in terms of versimilitude in the world presented, characterization, vignettes, beatiful prose and so on.
Oh God, this has to be a shitpost
>I don’t even know how to quantify literary value and don’t care to.
That much is clear