/lit/ - Literature

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) - Arkady Martine
Vastly different books may arrive at the same rating because that's the nature of such a reductive system. Sometimes the book has great high and lows in roughly equal measures and other times a book will be entirely decent throughout with neither highs nor lows. This book is an example of the latter. I'd sum it up with a single word: "plodding". There was never any risk of me of dropping it, but there was also a distinct lack of enthusiasm with reading it. This won the 2020 Hugo, which I don't understand, but also don't think was a terrible choice, relative to the others. Gideon The Ninth ought to have won of the finalists. While the two books are rather different overall, they share various specific ideas and stylistic choices.
The title and cover are rather nice, but the content leaves much to be desired. About 75% of the novel is the protagonist talking with people and learning what it means to be the ambassador, similar to the Goblin Emperor learning to be emperor for most of the book, which she would already know if not for the malfunctioning of her embedded personality. Initially I felt revulsion at the idea of implanted personalities, which to me is a sort of mind horror analogous to body horror, but over the course of the book with greater understanding I came to appreciate its functional pragmatism and its cultural restrictions.
The characters severely strained my credulity as being appropriate for their age and position, but perhaps I simply had the wrong expectations in terms of seriousness. This may be because it's stated that the citizens of Teixcalaan are often actively trying to emulate characters from both their fiction and historical record. It's like a mild version of chuunibyou on a societal level. If instead this was "Two high school students and a transfer student get into various hijinks with the government that could determine the fate of the world!" they wouldn't be out of place.
The dedication reads: "This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever fallen in love with a culture that was devouring their own." As an American of the majority culture, it's difficult for me to properly understand this feeling. The author surely made an attempt, but I don't feel as though it deepened my understanding of how this must feel.
For those whom it may interest, this is a "lesbian SF author writes mildly queer SF", but it never progresses far and ends up as these stories I've read tend to in terms of relationships, which I am yet to understand why it is as it is.

Will I read the next book? Possibly, but it'd be rather low priority as there are far more worthwhile series to read.
Rating: 3/5

This review from a fellow /sffg/ member is an excellent summary of the novel that I almost entirely agree with, though you probably shouldn't read the spoilers if you intend to read the book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3559689208

>>16556872
Ahem...
Fuck
E William Brown
Rent Free 24/7
Fuck you! FUCK YOU

How big do you think Sandy's house is?

>>16556909
Ahem...
Fuck Wolfe
Fuck Peake
Fuck Sanderson
Fuck Brown
Fuck Bakker
Fuck Rothfuss
Fuck L....or...d.. o.... th...
Fuck female authors
Fuck chinkshit/weebshit and gaijin copycats
Fuck rec beggars
Fuck frogposters
Fuck coomers
Fuck bloggers
Fuck crossboarders
Fuck discord trannies

>>16556904
I'd like to give Shallan some facetime, if you know what I mean.

>>16556881
>This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever fallen in love with a culture that was devouring their own
What if she's secretly alt-right and meant queer/SJW culture by this?

>>16556981
Considering the drama she's been involved with recently that's doubtful.

>>16556872
Fuck Sanderson
Fuck Grrm
Fuck Abercrombie
Fuck rothfuss
Fuck female authors
Fuck magic systems
Fuck trilogies
Fuck sagas
Fuck chronicles
Fuck maps
Fuck the chosen one
Fuck violence fetishized by soft losers
Fuck the evil empire
Fuck the underdog
Fuck magic swords
Fuck maps
Fuck female protagonists
Fuck chinkshit
Fuck modern ethics in a fictional medieval world
Fuck grimdark
Fuck unreliable narrators
Fuck african "fantasy"
Fuck dragons
Fuck sci fi

just picked this up at a thrift store, has anyone read it?

>>16556945
land is cheap in New Mexico but yeah look at that huge ugly mcmansion and all that fucking lawn in the desert

>>16557038
>I enjoy reading one book

>>16557133
>enjoying reading
>enjoying things

>>16557072
I have. It's pretty good, but somewhat long-winded. Great premise. The short story version is vastly superior, yet you could easily read both, because that one has a somewhat dissimilar premise.

Holy shit reading Way of Kings and these Shallan chapters are so fucking droll. One minute I'm intrigued by Kalladan's shit situation and the next I'm reading some boring as fuck Pride and Prejudice tier shit.

>>16557038
>hatefuck female authors
ftfy

>>16557363
>droll
>having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality
>amusing in an unusual way
That word doesn't mean what you think it means.
I think along the way some began to think that "droll" was a better way of saying "dull".

>>16557878
Imagine reading Don Quixote thinking droll means 'dull'. I swear that word is used four times on every page.

>>16556993
Like what?

still waiting on recs for sci-fi/fantasy lit podcasts . . .

>>16557133
What book

>>16557363
I just skipped that shit, along with all non-Kalladan chapters. I actually accidentally skipped 25% of the Kalladan's chapters as well.

>>16556945
not as big as enya's

>>16558211
Daniel Greene

>>16557431
Not even 4chan permavirgins are THAT desperate

>>16558262
probably something dinosaur like The Worm Ouroboros

>>16558620
By Allah I will give you a taste of my shoe.

>>16558211
the Coode Street podcast
By industry insider editors. They know their stuff and they have had great guests. And if your favorite authors haven't appeared on it, they have interesting discussions about their state of the sci-fi genre, fantasy too.
This year they have a "Ten Minutes With..." off-shoot, where they have talked to dozens upon dozens of sff writers and editors for about 15-20 minutes about the books they read and write and how the situation has changed during this year.

Is anyone else confused which creatures in the dresden files can use electronics and which can't?

>Human Wizards/Sorcerers: Can't use tech
>Sasquatches: Can't use tech
>White Court: Can use tech
>Black Court Wizards/Sorcerers: ???
>Red Court Wizards/Sorcerers: ???
>Fairies: Can use tech
>Human Wizards with a Knight's Mantle: Can't use tech
>Human Wizards with a Queen's Mantle: Can use tech

>>16557038
based

Recommend me some /sffg/ books that recognize the greatness of God and His kingdom.

@calibre anon(s)
How do I acquire/import Amazon fonts?

What would a burgerpunk fantasy book be like?

>>16557878
Welp, this is why I read books and don't write them. Thanks anon.

>>16558425
They're so god awful and boring. It's like she exists purely to facilitate the development of all the most boring parts of his universe. There's nothing I want more in my high-octane action adventure epic fantasy novel than getting to read about an idiot girl petition a huge bitch for tutorship for page after page after page.

>>16558620
>>16558803
What's wrong with Daniel? He seems like one of the more tolerable 'booktubers' out there.

>>16558969

Broken Sword you double fag

>>16558969
All fantasy and sci-fi is haram and sinful. Even Tolkien and Lewis. Stay away from this sinful thread.

male protag and anti-heroine/villainess?

>>16559014
A parody of cyberpunk, set in a dystopian alternate reality, in the year 2021! Disturbingly similar to our current dystopia, but where biofuels from the Heavily subsidized fast food industry are what runs society, since peak oil has come to pass. Ranch factories breed twice as many cows as now (that’s a lot!) Monsanto dices their GMO potatoes right out of the ground ready for frying in their GMOed corn oil

>>16559014
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17911147-yurope

>>16557072
If you found it at a thrift store I'm guessing at least one person read it.

>>16556965
Based

>>16559062
how about a tranny protagonist that commits suicide halfway through the book

>>16559014
Rant Chuck Palahniuk

Just finished reading Neuromancer after years of not reading books.I absolutely loved it.
Gonna start Count Zero next week

>>16559235
Such themes haunt you this much do they?
Have you tried gothic horror?

>>16559538
I finished Count Zero recently, it gives the world a more lived-in feel. The plot kind of doesn't matter, it exists to show off aesthetics.

>>16559550
It's hard not to think about whenever I come on here and you're still spouting the same asinine bullshit

>>16556872
Does anyone still write good heroic fantasy?

>>16556872
based OP is back.
>Have you read any books that were released this year?
not yet. wintersteel soon.

>>16559700
man im not even surprised when these obnoxious tripfags turn out to be trannies anymore.

Should I read Dragon Princess by S. Andrew Swann, lads?

>>16559732
It’s a photoshop

>>16558807

It used to be good, but now it’s incessant non-binary genderqueer political rambling from aging or emerging authors trying to ride the zeitgeist.

>>16559710
David Gemmell a shit. His books are full of femoid worship and it distracts from actual good heroism.

>>16558969
The Space Trilogy

What coomer lit is coming out on Amazon in October /November /December 2020?

>>16560224
It isn't like that at all, though. The most radical thing is that they occasionally promote authors from outside the Anglo-sphere.
>ride the zeitgeist
scifi can't just be Clarke and Asimov until the end of time, you tribalist.

>>16559710
check out thune's vision by hernstorm schuyler

Realistic sci-fi that could just as well be set within the next 10 years?

So I had a fit of boredom and read Cradle. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It does the whole anime action schtick better than Sanderson does without getting bogged down in autistic worldbuilding and Marvel quipping. Powerlevels are pretty damn inconsistent though. Tournament arc dragged a bit, but I enjoyed the main characters' borderline Prepper autism.

Now I'm back to being bored.

>>16560866

>scifi can't just be Clarke and Asimov until the end of time, you tribalist.

no, but good sci fi seems to have ended with clarke

>>16560224
Personal politics are present if you know what to look for, such as Heinlein's obsession with incest and free love, of which I personally equate rampant hedonism with "non-binary genderqueer" nonsense.
Clarke dicked down little boys in Sri Lanka. I don't remember (((Asimov's))) vice but maybe I don't need to.

>>16561399
>old good, new bad

>>16557363
You can really tell that Sanderson took inspiration from WoT.

I lived for Rand and Mat chapters and died every time I turned the page and it was more Elayne or Egwene chapters. Used to just start skimming eggy chapters until I got back to the parts with the characters who were actually doing something interesting.

>why yes i write fantasy, how could you tell?

>>16559710
Why is Sean Connery on the cover of this book?

>>16561294
Is it borderline prepper autism if it actually helps you stay alive?
I'd just call it proper planning.

There's no point in reading something if you're going to skip chapters or speedread.

>>16561457

how bout: the most interesting ideas were explored in the 1900's. Since today sci-fi writers are a dime a dozen and everything is lgbtq+ friendly and transhumanism, there's basically not many interesting ideas left to explore. Except the navel gazing dreams of becoming a Mecha furry with a dickgina that can copy itself. Kinda meh, wouldn't you say?

compare that to let's say The last and first men by Stapledon.
Stapledon alone had more ideas in that book than 10 generic sci fi writers today.

>>16561874
How about: The problem with sci fi is its obsession with being new and interesting instead of good and well executed. The Heroes Journey is literally 5000 years old and it still works, not every story has to be a snowflake.

>>16561880

I mean you're partially right, except the original charm/idea of sci-fi was to be more than a backdrop for The Heroes Journey. So yes, average sci-fi settings which are well executed in writing is fine i guess, as long as i don't have to read it.

For me, sci-fi will always be about the idea first and execution seond. If i want to read actually good writing i'd read... something other than sci-fi. To each their own i guess.

>>16558991
>>16558991
>>16558991
>>16558991

>>16561874
>Except the navel gazing dreams of becoming a Mecha furry with a dickgina that can copy itself. Kinda meh, wouldn't you say?
But modern sci-fi isn't like that. Maybe you should stop reading self-published smut and haremshit?

>>16562001

well... you kinda got me. Haven't really given it much of a chance to be honest. Except reading about different books and swallowing my puke. Suggestions? No series of 10 books please.

>>16562041
The Stars my Destination, Jurassic Park.

>>16562062
Those aren't modern sci-fi.

>>16562081
Yes they are.

>>16562062
>>16562084

Chrichton is great, but that's 1900's sci-fi. Other anon is right, this is not new. The stars i haven't read but it's published in '56 so again, other anon is right. Not new.

>>16562084
Published in 1956 is not modern relative to sci-fi.

It's out.
blindsight.space

>>16562062
>>16562084
You just proved the anon right that you read only old books and say that new stuff is bad.

read the entirety of cradle last week. was actually pretty fun desu, but fuck the space shit

Who has the biggest kill count in sci-fi and fantasy is it Paul Atreides? I reckon it might be him considering how much indirect conflict he has caused with his jihad. I don't think The Mule ever had that much bloodshed on his hands after starting his own empire

>>16562635
Read more than dune and culture

I’m reading The Throne of Bones, and I can’t get totally immersed because I know the guy behind the type writer was a huge autist. Anyone read through it?

>>16559710
Renegade Swords

https://dmrbooks.com/renegade-swords

>>16562041
M. John Harrison's Light
Vurt by Jeff Noon
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Sewer, Gas & Electric – Matt Ruff
Carve the Sky – Alexander Jablokov
Stations of the Tide – Michael Swanwick
Software – Rudy Rucker
Synners - Pat Cadigan
Beggars in Spain - Nancy Kress

I wanna cum in a cunny so bad and not my hand. How do you trick girls into giving you cunny?
In all the books girls just throw themselves at the protagonist, but girls don't even wanna look at me.

>>16562958
Wrong board.

>>16562881

thank you!

>>16562958
Cunny?

>>16562958
CUNNY?

You guys read horror? I just discovered Ligotti and am reading Teatro Grottesco, it's pretty neat. I really like his writing, wish he wrote a long fiction novel.

>>16562966
It's obvious that the degenerate shit yall rec'd me here has made me lust for cunny.

>>16563011
Horror is not frightening. Not after being desensitized on 4chan for a decade plus. If anything, I get a boner at the thing looking to kill me.

>>16563013
Your own weakness is your own fault.

>>16563030
I don't really read it to get frightened, I just find the atmosphere cool.

reading lotr and jesus in the first 200 pages 80% must be them walking up and down various hills and valleys and descriptions of what's over the next hill and where they slept

>>16562635
the emperor of mankind

>>16562958
1. Get off 4ch
2. Go outside

>>16563011
Personally I like sff but rarely like horror and generally think capeshit is meh

Man Frazetta painted some good pawgs

I don't know much aboutt he fantasy genre so I was looking at you tube videos for recommendations.
It seems like a pozzed genre, is it?

>For many years their starships were mistaken for natural objects: massive, black, irregular as meteoric rubble, here and there a huge multifaceted crystal face glittering – through which nothing is visible.
>Inhabitants of at least two hundred gas giants throughout the galaxy, the Xlv still can not be designated a race with whom we have ‘established communications.’ Our ignorance of them is oppressive. Do they have [a] language[s]? Can the term intelligence be applied to them? Do they know of our existence? There is still a raging debate on whether they construct their ships as humans do, or whether they secrete them in some way similar to the way certain insects secrete the waxy material for their nests …
>As I reviewed their tripartite plasmoid biology, learned of their odd colonies that may or may not be floating well down in the atmosphere of gaseous planets almost large enough to ignite into small stars, reviewed the rare space encounters between human and Xlv – so baffling as to leave moot in almost every case whether an encounter had or had not occurred...

Wtf I hate Watts now, fookin plagiarist!

>>16563245
Modern fantasy is absolutely pozzed, I wouldn't read anything written in the 21th century, with maybe a couple of exceptions like Gene Wolfe's last works.

>>16563245
>It seems like a pozzed genre, is it?
Which genre isn't in 2020?

>>16563286
my diary desu

>>16563272
ok.
Wheel of time sounds good even though I have heard the magic system is gender based. It still might be worth a try.
>>16563286
that's fair

>>16563245
>is it?
Post mid-2000s, yes, definitely. (with the notable exception of Gene Wolfe who died last year)
Several of us shill chinkshit as an alternative since a significant chunk of them don't even countenance pozzed shit or outright mock it as villainous but reading old fantasy is also an alternative.
Old pulps and pre-20s fantasy are about as far from pozzed as you'll get, some of the post-60s authors like Jack Vance delighted in setting up completely twisted societies (in one story he makes a point about a lady being upset about a bridal rape because her abductor was lower class than her) and protagonists (Cugel trading away a woman as a slave to avoid a fight) and some of the epic fantasy of the 90s was still alright with a few annoyances here and there.

>>16563299
Wheel of Time is veering into pozzed but not in the modern twitter sense.
Most of the women are infuriating bordering on fucking evil and a lot of the early books treat that as a natural thing.
There's some comeuppance but you have to read like 6 books of filler with filler phrases before it's even hinted at.

>>16559014
/lit/ was writing one, but it got derailed by an asshole deleting everything in the doc over and over. A real shame, I lost many pages of my developing obese trucker/Wendy's cashier fapfic in the process.

>>16563128
Yes.
I also think that he stated that basically he almost never read the books his artwork was used for cover.

any fantasy novel in a sand setting? I read Dune but I want something more Fantasy and less Sci-fi.

>>16563604
The Shadow Campaigns

>>16563128
>Frazetta
>Died:May 10, 2010, Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.

Fuck.

>>16563604
Reccomending Malazan book of the fallen series by Stephen Erickson. The 2d and 4th book take place in the *not* middle east. And the worldbuilding in 1st and 3rd books is also heavily Persia and Arabian influenced. It's pretty gud.

>tfw when you grieve for all the many billions of humans who have died

>>16562041
The anon you responded to here with some interesting recommendations from the last decade that I've read. Books that have left an impression.
Too Like the Lightning
Quantum Thief
Arcadia - Iain Pears
Exhalation: Stories
The Fractured Europe Sequence
Spaceman of Bohemia
Then there are the more well-known authors like Alastair Reynolds, Ian McDonald and whoever who continue to write good and respectable sci-fi.

>>16556945
Not as big as him

>>16561488
some dude was talking about how they were writing an edited down version of the series. Can't remember if it was on this general or not...

>>16564135
That was here. Cutting it down is a good idea but he also wanted to throw in some fanfic which is just cringe and a no.

>>16563323
Why didn't you ban him? I bet he was a pol christcuck.

>>16562101
Pretty cool.

Any tips on maintaining the balance between cool fantasy and childish fantasy?

Like I had an idea that there's a trade wind ships take that's caused from dragon migration or mating season causing a heat differential, which causes strong winds. But after thinking on it, it feels like it's "thunder is god bowling" tier shit suited for a children's book.

>>16564846
Dragons are queer but that specific idea doesn't seem too bad to me

>>16564950
Maybe I just need to trust my gut more, then. Honestly, I'll probably make it an original animal, but I still haven't decided if I want to go darker or more optimistic with the tone and that's going to play a huge role in the wildlife, obviously.

>>16565075
Everybody loves flying whale cities

>>16564924
>fairy land
I'm fed up of the fairy tropes. Lud in the mist was the last straw.

What is the best S. M. Sterling series to start with?

This was fantastic. Humans going on near-suicide missions trying to recover alien artifacts is an interesting enough concept to carry an entire book. The visceral experiences and inner turmoils, just detached enough to spare the reader nausea, elevate it into something special

Wasn't surprised to find that this won several awards. I'm somewhat surprised it hasn't been adapted yet as it seems like an ideal candidate to strip down into a film

>>16565397
>Mary the original thot queen
>gave up her virginity to another
>tricked Joseph into being a cuck and raising another man's kid

>>16565402
How much advertising and product placement was in it?

>>16565715
None whatsoever, why?

I think we've gotten quite enough of flintlock fantasy in Continental Europe, it's time for American flintlock. Or India, maybe. Or just a global East India Company in a fantasy world.

>>16566577
Maybe it already exists and you're just unaware of it.

>>16566583
I dunno man, I've read an awful lot of flintlock. I guess there's the Temeraire series, but it gets retarded as soon as it leaves Europe.

Trying to get back into reading & finished this the other day, do I read the next two books?
It was pretty good.

How do I get over the schizophrenic fear that if I show somebody my work and can't physically be there to kill them they'll steal it? It's not bad with actual friends or family because they know not to fuck with me or I'd go insane, but I can't really do anything about showing my work to people online for critique. I badly want some advice and some validation to at least know there'd be one entirely unobliged stranger out there who would read my shit and enjoy it when it's done, but I can't bring myself to post any writing or art anywhere.

God, I think I saw a post with a cover of a red book with this sketchy jester type figure on it but I've mislaid the name of it.
Does this ring any bells?

>>16563056
Yep

>>16566699
You're a beginner. Your work isn't with stealing honestly

>>16566656
Do you ask strangers if you should eat an extra slice of pizza? Or brush your teeth? Or go to sleep at some specific time?
"I don't know, are yellow t-shirts cool or not?"
I will never understand this. Even if someone told me the sequels to some book I enjoyed was terrible, I'd still do my own research and probably end up reading the damn book and drop it if it was terrible. But then, I'm not a physicalbooksfag so it costs me literally nothing.

>>16565709
>>Mary the original thot queen
I know you were trying to be witty but this makes you sound like you're an embarrassingly ignorant American.

>>16566846
OOOYYY VEEYY GOOYIIMM IT'S NAT EVEN DAT GOOD JUST POST IT GOY! GIVE IT TO ME YESSS!!

>>16566846
Brainlet. My car isn't a Lamborghini but I still don't leave it parked and unlocked on MLK JR Street.

>>16566878
Doing part of my investigation now mate.
Have you read the books, think it's worth picking up the next ones?

>>16566882

>>16566910
Funny picture but most of those ancient goddesses and literal queens became thots much earlier than the Virgin Mary.

>>16563604
Robert E Howard's Irish/Kurd hero stories. (cant remember his name)

>>16566910
imagine being the guy who was so mad about fatty wank material he was compelled to put this together

>>16563967

thank you too!

>>16566699

honestly? You traverse through the insecurity and anxiety and just go for it. There are no certainties in life except that no one will show up in your parent's basement and ask you for your literary work. Like Gretzky said: you miss 100 % of the shots you never take. Man up.

>>16567141
imagine not being disgusted by fat people

I feel empty. I have lots of ebooks and can't start to read anything. I'll read first thing that someone reccomends in reply. Within reason ofc.

>>16567758
Play Winning Chess by Seirawan

It's fun to read and nothing better to get out of a burnout than to try something new

>>16562879
thicc

>>16567764
I'll read second thing that someone recommends. I feel empty but not enough to start playing chess. Thanks though.

>>16565907
Pohl is a notorious product placer and advertiser.

>>16567774
daodejing

>>16567895
>daodejing
I'm on sffg so I naively presumed that recommendations would be sci-fi or fantasy. Silly me.
I'll check it though.

>>16567501
>>16566910
>>16566882
People like meat on their women, not the morbidly obese shit of that statue, it's only pedophilic Americans who like the hungry skeleton prepubescent boy looking women they have moving around over there, with their ribcages showing.

America is always an extreme. Either extremely hungry skinny, or disgustingly obese.

>>16567932
You are not people, you are just you, schizo anon.

>>16568008
Thanks for confirming that I'm alien.

>>16559312
Perfect
>>16561160
Next by Crichton

Any of you read Gun Mage by Logan Jacobs? I heard many a people in here say to stay away from Jacobs and a few others, but I really love gun books, and this seems to be magic guns.
Is it good? Would you recommend? Is Jacobs really a group of authors sharing a pen name?

Started reading the old's men war, i liked the first chapter and now I've got an "evil racist who hates brown people farts a lot and is dumb, and is a christian who doesn't even read the bibble".
And it just goes on and on and on and on. I think I'm dropping this piece of shit book, it might have been "revolutionary and brave!" to shit on white christian america in 2005 but i had enough of it. It's supposed to be fucking sci-fi for fucks sake. I've read authors that self describe as communist being less blatant and provocative in their ideology pushing, which made for better actually good, stories.
This really bummed me out because i was looking forward to it.

>>16568540
Such are the limits of imagination and tolerance. We cannot accept that which goes against our ideals.

>>16568540
>book is poorly written just because it doesn't align with my sensibilities
What a shallow "criticism".

>>16568223
No. It’s bad, like all Logan Jacob books, the gun play is bad the harem is bad and the magic is bad.

>>16568540
Fuck off you christcuck piece of shit. No one cares about your opinion. You and your pollie brothers fucked this board into trash (it was crap before, but it's unusable trash now), you chased away many of the regulars.

>>16566597
K.J. Parker, the Hammer is my rec

>>16568725
Dilate, you dumb troon.

>>16568564
>"So Leon would not find himself making a sudden and entirely unexpected return to the Earth's embrace. More's the pity. Leon had attached himself to me in Chicago like a fat, brat-and-beer-filled tick; I was amazed that someone whose blood was clearly half pork grease had made it to age seventy-five. I spent part of the flight to Nairobi listening to him fart and expound darkly on his theory of the racial composition of the colonies. The farts were the most pleasant part of that monologue; never had I been so eager to purchase headphones for the in-flight entertainment."


Yeah Great writing....And don't get me wrong if that were it I would still go on with the book, It's a jab at what the author seems as immoral and that is it, mention how bad he is in passing latter on and drop it. But it just keeps going on and on with this.

>>16568725
> You are only allowed to like what I like, you are only allowed to talk about what I want to talk about. If you have different preferences or different tastes and you share them you are turning this board into trash.

Oh really, why is that not the case with your opinions?
Like I said I don't mind the bashing as long as it's "tasteful" and serves a purpose. Writing an old farting retard as the culmination of those who disagree with you politically is just not to my taste.

>>16568807
So an author should never have an opinion on mortality? All works need to be amoral and apolitical?

>>16568852
morality

>>16568852
Yes.

>>16568852
>So an author should never have an opinion on mortality?
It's fine for them to do so, But at the same time, I think, one should have enough self reflection in order to understand that "the other" is not inherently evil and retarded. I would also have a hard time going on with a book that depicted the soviets, represented by a soviet officer of some sort, as imbeciles who take pleasure in starving their people while also complain about the lack of motivation caused by capitalistic propaganda infiltrating the ones who didn't truly believed the cause. All the while smelling of not having showered and being piss drunk all the time. Having to be corrected on proper Marxist doctrine by a enlightened protagonist.

>>16566699
you can send it to me for review
you can trust me i'm a doctor

>>16568852
>All works need to be amoral and apolitical?
in 2020? definitely
the squealing retards of today are literally fucked from birth starting with dozens of vaccines, having their genitals mutilated, being raised on formula and shit water with chemicals and birth control piss that can't be filtered out and once they're grown enough to think they're throwing into the churner of public education which perfectly breaks them until they are obedient and attentive to the word of their "superiors" and their personal sence of "morality" and their understanding of "politics" is more akin to a monkey pressing buttons on a screen for a banana than out of any real thought or comprehension

>>16569117
how does this relate to what is being said? did you just want to go on a rant about muh younger generation and how dumb they are?

>>16559710
Blood Song and The Wolf's Call by Anthony Ryan

>>16558823
Well currently the only human with a queens mantle isn't really human anymore and likely hasn't been for a while and as your list shows, the fae can use tech. White Courts magic isn't terribly strong and what power they have tends to come internally. After looking at this list, my guess is it's magic that changes the universe vs innate magic that's part of the universe. If you disrupt the natural order, things are going to break down, but hunger, winter and summer are all natural, so things using this power likely disturb reality less.

>>16556872
Is the new Joe Abercrombie book good?

>>16569710
If you've read this far, you may as well keep reading.

>>16569744
>If you've read this far
I listened to the A Little Hatred audiobook, I thought the narrator Steven Pacey did a good though the story was kinda bland but serviceable.

Has the hitchikers guide to the universe had a good or a bad impact on sci fi in general?

>>16565397
I must insist.

There must be someone here who's read Sterling.

>>16570562
sorry mate can't help you.

>>16570562
There probably are, but that doesn't mean they are currently around, let alone wanting to reply.

>>16570562
It's STIRLING btw.

does anybody have either of the new chronicles of alsea books? i need them desperately.

>>16570562
I agree, there's gotta be at least a few tards who'd slog through his garbage.

>>16570948
Not only that, there are people in the group who have rated his books 5 stars!

>>16570895
Looks like they are on various sites, such as mobilism

Anyone read Robert Jordan's Conan books? Should I get em?

>>16570562
I want to adopt the snakekitty on the right.

>>16563604
>tfw finished the Golden Path route this week
>tfw afraid to read Heretics and Chapter-House since it will only make the pain of not having more good Dune to read

>>16558969
A canticle for Leibowitz

>>16561874
Just read Kim Stanley Robinson man

>>16569710
Waiting on the final book before passing judgement. It's a single story, like LOTR.

>>16559014
Judge Dredd maybe?

>>16569710
Hawk spit and fuck wet gash and crawl in the mud after dodging the great leveller and plot and stab balls and fuck shit piss

>>16571108
Joke's on you, pleb, I liked the Heretics and Chapterhouse, Emo Paul and Cuck Leto can barely compete. Perhaps that's because I never saw it just as Paul/Leto story, for me it was about this whole batshit insane universe and how it becomes even more batshit through millennia. Such a wild trippy ride, sucks that this last arc doesn't have a proper ending though. Honored Matres are kino.

>>16571257
By the dead!

I wish jim butcher would work on this.
Or literally anything.

>>16571261
Did you go on to read Hunters and Sandworms or did you call it a day with Chapterhouse?

>>16567774
Matter by ian m banks

>>16558969
The Sparrow

>>16571301
No, I didn't read the son's stuff

>>16571081
It's a fishkitty actully. A placoderm, to be more precise.

>>16571293
he literally just put out two dresden files books in three months

/sffg/, I'm thinking of injecting my dnd character into my novel. Talk me into or out of it

>>16572186
Something like 13% of modern fantasy novels are just novelizations of the writer's latest DND campaign, so it's probably fine

>>16572137
Three months and five years

>>16572186
Do it. Think of your DnD campaign as "workshopping".

>>16571293
I hated that cat in that shit.

>>16570197
It hasn't had a lot of impact imo. It was published in the late '70s but not a lot of comedic SF or F came after it. Red Dwarf sure but what else? You could make a case for Spaceballs but I think Mel Brooks was doing his usual satire but based on one certian humongous sf blockbuster. The cyberpunk trend in the mid '80s had more influence.

>>16572749
I don't think it had a lot of impact on the genre of SF itself, I think it's impact was on the culture of the "le nerd" crowd.

anyone wanna recommend me a scifi horror novel or two to read this month

>>16563245
read Piers Anthony for anti-poz

>>16572903
Hull zero three

>>16572915
Too much rape.

lol

You motherfuckers. You TRICKED me. When I last asked for a recommendation, I specifically said "no pirate stuff". So what do you cheeky bastards do? Recommend a book where the first in the series is normal enough, but then the second book IS ALL PIRATE SHIT.

God.

One of you said there's some "pathetic simpy shit". And while there was a bit of that, it wasn't so bad. A bit of romance never hurt anything. It was just kind of cheesy. But what really grinded my gears was that all of the romantic stuff HAPPENED ON A PIRATE BOAT. FOR FUCK'S SAKE, I'M SICK OF PIRATES.

And you know what? It was so hamfisted. The book starts out meticulously setting up this elaborate scenario involving these two warring factions, and how Locke and Jean planned to dupe both sides to pull off this ultimate heist. So the setup was what you expected from a book about thieves. Elaborate lies, wacky plots, duping a bunch of people, etc. Good fun.
The plot even goes a little sideways, in a good way, and suddenly gives Locke this experience that kindles a burning desire to be MORE than a mere thief. And you think "alright, Locke is evolving. He's becoming something greater. This is great."

But then somewhere halfway into the book, the author gets bored with his own plot, and contrives to put Locke on a pirate ship, so he can go on gay ass pirate adventure. Suddenly we're hearing the terms "larboard" "crap lines" a thousand fucking times. The whole pirate plot feels disconnected from everything else. You have to learn a whole new cast of characters. They mention the old characters often, but it's all conversational stuff. Like, the new cast doesn't interact with the old cast. So it just feels like a new story referencing the old unfinished story.

Locke and Jean are pretty much helpless out in the water. None of their thief skills are useful. So you don't get to see them actually do anything proactively. It's all just them trying to survive. They just do whatever they're told for chapters, and chapters...

The pirate adventure goes on for nearly half the whole book. Only then deciding to come back to the main story in the last few chapters. Where Locke and Jean can act like thieves again. And the book expects you to remember all the complex lies that were told in the first half of the story. Plus a new set of lies they concoct to contrive the conclusion of the heist.

I swear to god, the author wrote two shorter stories, and then glued them together. I still have one more chapter to read before I'm actually done. But I'm already "done" with this book. I'm so not invested in the heist, because all the wind was taken out of my sails with the overly long pirate bullshit.

You might think I hate the book after reading all that. But I still actually kind of enjoyed it after all. It wasn't badly written. Just poorly structured. But if you enjoy pirates, then you'll probably enjoy it a lot more than I did.

>>16573624
Nigger, I shit on this series every time it's brought up, and I know I'm not alone, don't lay this at my feet.

>>16573624
>gets mad at pirate shit
>picks up a book titled RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES
Nigga what did you expect?

>>16573659
The first book was good, ok! I wanted to see where Locke's story was going! I didn't know the second book was about pirates until after I finished the second book and was already invested.
If one of you guys said "I really don't want to read about pirates", I wouldn't then recommend a series were the second book is about pirates.

>>16573676
What series, Lies of Locke Lamora? I have the first one lying around somewhere, but don't really want to read it because I read a bunch of Lupin short stories and most of them just made me mad for some reason or another. "Gentleman thief" stuff is usually done poorly, and it's a long book if it's going to wind up being one that's shit.

>>16573695
the first one is the only decent one of the bunch

>>16573637
I might just skip the third book. This is the description off of goodreads
>the Bondsmage's mention of a woman from Locke's past: Sabetha. She is the love of his life, his equal in skill and wit, and now, his greatest rival. Locke was smitten with Sabetha from his first glimpse of her as a young fellow orphan and thief-in-training. But after a tumultuous courtship, Sabetha broke away. Now they will reunite in yet another clash of wills. For faced with his one and only match in both love and trickery, Locke must choose whether to fight Sabetha - or to woo her. It is a decision on which both their lives may depend.

So it's going to be painful femme fatale bullshit. Gonna have to pass on that.

>>16573695
Yeah that's the one. Lies of Locke Lamora was a lot of fun for me. I don't have much experience with these kinds of stories, granted. I haven't read Lupin, but I enjoyed some episodes that aired on TV. And I've seen a heist movie or two. So I know a bit of the tropes. And this book definitely follows the tropes. If you're not into that kind of thing, then perhaps it really isn't for you. But I enjoyed it.

But maybe that's because it's so different than the other stuff I've been reading. Like I had a long string of books where the child prodigy character is a little girl psychopath, devoid of empathy. But then this book features a boy who is *seemingly* without empathy at first, but then as he comes out of his shell, you realize he's actually very empathetic. In his own way. He's still a thief, but he cares about things, and has a moral code. And idk, it's just NOT the edgy black haired psychopath archetype, so that in of itself impressed me. Maybe I'm easily impressed?

>>16573730
Let me assure you that each book is worse than the last, and that the third is a fucking travesty completely unworth reading. Sabetha is a waste of space, and Locke ends up getting magical chosen one bullshit

dudes I love Rothfuss' writing style. Are there any writers that write like him?
pls don't meme me about the subject matter

>>16573735
>and Locke ends up getting magical chosen one bullshit
Don't tell people that. That's kind of a spoiler. I've been thinking Locke is special from the start. I just don't know how. The intuition is working, but I don't have the brains to put the clues together.
Chains definitely had bigger plans for his crew than he let on. Hell, I'm still not convinced Chains is dead. But with all the talk of gods, And magic actually being a real thing people practice in this universe, I wouldn't be surprised if Locke really did have the assistance of the Crooked Warden.

>>16572186
What makes it an illegitimate mode of inspiration?

https://rsbakker.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/crash-space-tpb.pdf

>>16573454
>stoplikingwhatidontlike.mobi

It's so hard to find books about slavic myth. Almost all of what I find is written by women with female protagonists and I'm not falling for that trick again.

>>16574149
As long as it was written pre-2010, female authors are usually fine.

Just finished this. What do I read next?

>>16570973
thanks

>>16556872

What do I need to include to make the greatest fantasy novel of the 2020s?

Second world, urban, fantastic realism, or portal?

Grim, hopeful, or funny?

High magic, low magic, or realism?

Humans, Tolkienesque, or menagerie of original creatures?

Play it straight, subvert fantasy tropes, or inject social agenda?

>>16574486
You need to write a story that can't be boiled down to buzzwords.

>>16574486

I’m leaning portal. I really don’t want to compete with the second world books that are being produced. I’d rather make a quick read over giant doorstop books.

Also, more pictures from my drives around where I live.

>>16574490

I don’t know if that’s possible. Reviews and literary academia will always be reductive. I think there’s also an advantage is categorization to help readers set expectations and find its genre.

>>16574486
If you think about any of this you're incapable of writing a good novel.

>>16574602

What should I think about?

>>16568540
>looking forward to a Scalzi book
The guy's is a soiboy supreme and very-in with the awards crowd.

>>16574155
>pre-2010
That's for fantasy in general.
Specifically women is more like pre-1970s and by the very latest the 80s.

fucking hell I really want the 4th babel book already, also anyone read the new kj parker book? its sitting there on my table but I'm a lazy piece of shit

>>16574486
>greatest
Sounds like you're going for sales over quality. There's nothing wrong with wanting sales but the two are different and don't necessarily coincide.

>>16574663
Sales: a catchy hook
Quality: learn how to craft compelling characters, narrative, and tone

>>16573730
>>16573676
>>16573624
I'm sure most people say to treat lies of locke as a standalone. Not our fault you thought you knew better than us and continued reading.

>>16573624
A paragraph and a sentence are interchangeable and double spacing is needed.

Just read this. Should I read Night's Dawn or Commonwealth next?

Who the fuck okays these quotes and puts them on the front cover?

Just finished reading something really depressing and want my next read to be uplifting.
Something sci-fi, but with romance in it, maybe like an epic romance? obviously not too overly cheesy.
Anyone have any books to recommend me? Thanks!

>>16575644
The kind of people who look up to Neil "Hackery Personified" Gaiman.

>>16575644
gaiman is a parasite that worms himself into everything and his attitude is part of his act

>>16575650
old mans war. book 1 and 3. skip 2 and the rest of the series.

>>16572137
>>16572221
> two books
It was one book but his editor had him sell it as two.

>>16572663
What, the talking cats?
I like animal mascots.

>>16576154
Not the anon you responded to, but I just read old mans war and was wondering why I shouldn't read 2?

Also the first book reminded me of this song:
https://youtu.be/azozp85S94A

>>16576338
2 is really just a retelling of 1 but from the female pov. 3 is the direct sequel to 1 basically and 4 changes the cast and the series gets worse.

>>16576154
>old mans war
thanks I'll definitely check it out!

>>16574486
Write about the breakdown of civility, groups of people being pushed too far, and civil war.

>>16574255
The road by cormac mccarthy

>>16575216
Like 1 anon told me to stay away from the other books.

>>16575254
Grading my post? Give me a score if you don't mind

>>16575650
I don't know what an "epic romance" is, but this is sci-fi and has romance.

>>16576685
Glad to see ms frizzle is doing well

>>16576693
Yep, she got her doctorate and ditched the kids to become an Astronomical Survey. She's doing big things now.

>>16576646
>Give me a score
2/10 would send to remedial formatting school.

>>16575770
>>16575644
>>16576133
>kneel gay man

>>16566889
>>16566900
Did I say post it here? You're ridiculous. OP literally has anxiety about showing his work to anyone outside friends and family.

>>16576974
the early old mans war was from a time where the author wasnt as cucked.

>>16576992
nvm im retarded and completely misread.
gaiman is weird. on one hand hes a fucking hack that somehow is still successful and on the other hand he wrote the sandman comic book which was fucking fantastic.

>>16557363
The dull shallan chapters make the kaladin chapters that much better

>>16576790
Fugg. That bad huh? Well it was just a stream of consciousness. I didn't worry about formatting. I got good scores in writing back in school. My teachers always liked my creative writing stuff. Not that I ever aspired to be a writer. Just saying, I'm used to getting high scores is all.

I will admit I tried to make my post interesting. Hammed it up a little bit. So hopefully you at least got a small amount of entertainment value out of my ramblings


Incidentally, I'm starting Hyperion today. Since someone recommended it the last time I asked for recommendations. Hoping it's good as it was promised to be. I have zero expectations going on. I even forgot what the back cover description said.

Fuck E William Brown.
Fucker piece of shit don't talk
FUCK HIM.

>>16577151
he got the coof.
daniel black never ever.

recs for comfy space faring novels pls

>>16571257
you forgot the random upscale in sex scenes and grunting in the latter half of the second book for no reason

Trying to find books that have "high magic" while I mainly read grimdark shit, anyone have any reccs? Writing a dnd setting and need inspiration on how it would change the base functions of society

>>16576319
Mogget is the best cat. Sometimes I think of Mogget when I call people a faggot.

>>16577535
>you forgot the upscale in grunting sex scenes
nice

Is it worth reading sanderson?

>>16577909

If you enjoy a well built house that’s totally up to code and capable of living in comfortably, then yes.

If you want interesting characters and complex plot, no.

>>16575517
that's a cover that would guarantee I'd never pick up the book

>>16575644
Book quotes exclusively negative advertisement anyway, only thing that could put me off a book more is a "now a Netflix original" sticker.

Great short fantasy pieces? I want to start writing short stories but haven't read any. What would you guys recommend?

>>16577909
try way of kings and see if you like it I guess. his books are all very similar

>>16578960
It's more magical realism than fantasy but my favorite short story ever is The Aleph by Borges.

I've been trying to find a good fantasy novel for ages but nothing appeals to me anymore, especially modern stuff. All the stories just seem like canned goods, everything is predictable and has been done to death, and generally the prose of modern fantasy seems to have gotten worse.

>>16579360
Have you read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell?

>>16579360
Guns of the Dawn is an excellent book

I just finished watching this. Does anyone know a good book with a similar tone. I want something with space/ fantasy war and a lovable cast.

Anyone read this yet? Always nervous to pick up a female writer

>>16580278
>female writer
Trash.

>>16573624
This and the first book are decent but the next one is really, really bad. Consider yourself warned

What are some books about imperialism?
Invading other states and subjugating them, enslaving lesser races, etc.

Seriously?

>>16580350
Wouldn't say it's "about imperialism", but I enjoyed March Upcountry's whitey bigdick amongst the savages vibe.

>>16580461
Thank you senpai

>>16566699
Exchange random words for nigger and then share it, then they can't steal it or they're racist.

>>16580350
The Thousand Names is literally about a colonial force putting down a native rebellion to reinstall their puppet ruler

What's some good sword-and-sorcery fiction that puts more emphasis on the sorcery part? I want stories about wizards doing wizard shit. I'm giving Elric a chronological spin, and while I loved the first book, Sailor on the Seas of Fate was such ass that I want to start looking elsewhere before going on to Weird of the White Wolf.

>>16580948
Another Day, Another Dungeon

>>16580983
Anything less comedic?

>>16580904
No it isn't, it's about teenage lesbians and their feewings.

>>16581084
That's a fair criticism of most of Wexler's books, other than the thousand names which is 95% musket era war tactics, 4% magic shit, and 1% the main character having nightmares about lesbian sex.

>>16581082
No, sorry

>>16581115
That's only the first book, beyond that it's entirely about teen lesbians, with one of the teen lesbians becoming the primary antagonist.
The protagonist of the first book is barely even IN the second book.

>>16564924
is Mistborn such a household name for fantasy readers? almost everyone that likes reading has loved it. Which only is about 6 people and 3 are online.

>>16581320
Sanderson is the /lit/ equivalent of Marvel movies. Normies gush for it despite it being complete garbage.

>>16581333
that really hurts because I really liked those three books, even the one I'm reading now I like it because it reminded me of mistborn. Guess I'm fucked, atleast it's better then dragonlance, right?

>>16581350
Both Mistborn and Dragonlance are decent for what they are.

>>16581141
I only recommended the first book, not "The Shadow Campaigns"

>>16580392
What's wrong Anon, do you hate fun?

>>16580948
Did you read Wizard of Earthsea yet?

>>16579360
Nine Princes in Amber
Vurt
Last Call
Zod Wallop

Which should I start first?
Revelation Space or A Fire Upon the Deep

>>16581877
RS

new bread
>>16582271

>>16582271

>>16582271

>>16582271

>>16580058
>book with a similar tone
Good luck with that. I don't know any other writer who writes every character like an autistic robot and the dialogue that seems generated by AIs who fail the Turing test hard. But someone with quality standards as low could read and like virtually anything, I suppose.