/lit/ - Literature

Reminder that these books contains NO sjw elements or pandering

>>18408254
Absolutely BASED anime poster; western cuckholds are absolutely seething rn

>>18408254
Is Goblin Slayer a good story to read?

> When she slept it seemed he could see her as she could be, if only he could tear down the conceits of her gifts and station. What she should be were he strong and she weak.

> She stood upon a canted slab, its back carpeted in black-green moss, its edges caked in white lichen. She seemed taller than him because of it … mightier. [...] “You love me …” she said, her voice flat as her gaze. Rage, as if he were a catapult and her voice the release. “I think you are an incestuous whore!” She flinched, and some vicious fraction of him exulted.

> It seemed an insult clutching her, feeling the slim body that his heart had never ceased to ponder, even when fury made his jaw ache and his ears roar. For no matter how hard he hated, his lust refused to leave him.

Are you such a fool, Anon?

>>18408325
Ywnbaw

>>18408355
>tfw no autistic, emotionally manipulative Anasûrimbor Swayali gf

>>18408345
Pretty sure Goblin Slayer is just a Dungeons & Dragon story. But from what I’ve read of it, both in light novel and manga, it’s decent read. Still I need to warn you about the rape that goes on it. So be careful.

Is there such a thing as too grimdark?

>>18408345
Pretty sure Goblin Slayer is just a Dungeons & Dragon story. But from what I’ve read of it, both in light novel and manga, it’s an entertaining story. Still I need to warn you about the rape that goes on it though it does diminish in later novels.

>>18408290
>Nigger Kween Jameson
Hard pass

>>18408411
not everyone can be saved..

>>18408411
Yes.

>>18408411
If it’s poorly written schlock? Yes? If not, then no. The darkness should serve a purpose.

>>18408428
>Still I need to warn you about the rape that goes on it though it does diminish in later novels.
Wasn't rape its main appeal?

>>18408535
Only for edgelords. It’s still a good story to read.

>>18408345
Unless you like the edge - in which case its quicker watching the anime - just read Dragonlance or something instead for a better written D&D style story.

Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive is the best work of ficiton. I challenge ANYONE to name a better fantasy/sci-fi novel.
I'll wait.

>>18408697
The shit I just took. It’s in braille. Have a read.

>>18408654
>Unless you like the edge
I don't mind a story having a few dark moments.


>in which case its quicker watching the anime - just read Dragonlance or something instead for a better written D&D style story.
Then I'll watch the anime and read dragonlance.

>>18408290
>initials
>magumbo name
>post contains "sjw elements" and "pandering"
Black woman.

>>18408754
All you're missing out on watching the anime over the novel is the stilted and poorly translated prose, so that is probably the better choice.

Other D&D style stories are: The legend of Drizzt, Erevis Cale and I guess WoT and pretty much anything by David Eddings so long as you don't care about 'game mechancis' in your fantasy adventure.

>>18408345
Off to a great start. Naruto, anyone?

>>18408722
Not an argument.

>>18408806
Record of Lodoss War was a D&D session that became an anime.

>>18408697
I literally can't. I'm a Sandersoiboi.

>>18408697
I genuinely don’t think it’s as bad as people here tend to claim. It’s certainly an enjoyable series.

>>18408290
Ma'am.

>>18409028

>>18409038
I personally found it lackluster.

>>18408754
the anime for GS is garbo of near lowest tier.

>>18408254
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/KWPCM7m
Book Club Read: Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds, starting yesterday
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89185.Chasm_City

> The once-utopian Chasm City -a doomed human settlement on an otherwise inhospitable planet- has been overrun by a virus known as the Melding Plague, capable of infecting any body, organic or computerized. Now, with the entire city corrupted -from the people to the very buildings they inhabit- only the most wretched sort of existence remains. For security operative Tanner Mirabel, it is the landscape of nightmares through which he searches for a low-life postmortal killer. But the stakes are raised when his search brings him face to face with a centuries-old atrocity that history would rather forget

>>18409078
It fits the quality of the source material.

>>18409038
want to read
the alien sequel novelization also looks like it has potential.
god i love my 80s scifi films.

>>18408290
I understand a lot of edgelords can't get over thinly-veiled politics in books, but I just want to know if it's worth dropping 30-40 bucks on this series.

>>18409215
money is immaterial
what you should be asking is whether it's worth dropping 40+ hours on it and the answer is yes

I need a crash course reading list to get me up-to-date on modern fantasy, something to get me up to speed so I can participate in modern discourse about the genre and get a feel for what is currently out there and currently popular. Here is what I've got so far
>Game of Thrones (first three books)
>Name of the Wind
>Mistborn/Stormlight Archive (and other Brandon Sanderson books, like Elantris/Warbreaker)
>Prince of Fools
>Lightbringer
>the First Law trilogy
>The Farseer trilogy
What other books would you add to this list? Remember this is not about quality, but more a crash-course to catching up with where the genre has been lately

>>18408697
I think my biggest issue with it is the constant character flipping. I very much love the building momentum with characters as a story progresses and it helps suck me into the world and want to keep reading. But with the Stormlight Archive we switch perspectives so frequently that I feel like I can’t get any steam going, he starts going down a narrative route with one character, just as things are set up and poised for more he jumps ship and does the same for someone else. Then repeats the process as he has to over and over again reset the narrative for which character were following, and it eventually gets somewhere but it feels like it takes so long, not even considering the absolute brick houses the books already are.

>>18409256
Gentleman Bastards series

>>18409261
This is actually a really good point. I read "Age of Madness", the first book and noticed the same thing. All the flipping is exhausting.

>>18409215
Download the epub via the sticky links or torrent the audiobooks or use audible credits
If you like it buy the books

>>18409224
Did you like the ending? I felt it didn't live up to the promise of the first book, Jemisin was more interested in a message/moral than in a tight plot.

>>18409256
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

>>18409256
I mainly know epic fantasy, so not much else I can give. I'll list what I can think of as being majorly influential or popular.

Wheel of Time
Malazan Book of the Fallen
Gentleman Bastards
Eragon
Sword of Truth
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

I went as far back as the 1990s cause a few of the series you named are that old, which means you're probably way behind the times.

>>18409256
Bakker's books (not joking)

>>18409261
I feel like PoV switching became a fad at some point. Can anybody think of a series pre-1990s that used multiple PoVs, especially ones from antagonists as well as protagonists? Cause I see in the 1990s Robert Jordan going from mainly writing about just Rand, to Rand + 1 or 2 other PoVs, to eventually having many different ones including several antagonist characters. And in 1995 you have A Game of Thrones with its very PoV focused way of writing, deliberately switching to different perspectives in a multifaceted conflict. However the few fantasy series I've read from the 80s or earlier didn't really feature this style of storytelling, it was more traditional for the narrative to follow the protagonist for the most part. It's in the 90s I started to see more and more series where the protagonist could be absent from the story for half a book, or even an entire book.

>>18409455
Lord of the Rings is a pretty obvious example of older fantasy that uses multiple PoVs.

>>18409467
POVs from first person perspective (which is most likely what >>18409455 is referring to)? No; POVs from a third-person perspective? I guess, although it doesn't really fit IMO

>>18409477
He remarked on protagonists being absent from the story for half the book. Frodo is literally absent for two books, most of the rest of the cast is absent for another two books. It's the most obvious and foundational example of split PoV in the genre.

>>18409455
i wouldn't call it a fad, it's just the way the medium developed

>>18409278
>All the flipping is exhausting.
It honestly is, I find myself having to set the book down and take a break every time I finish a chapter because I'm frustrated with the switch.

Considering its only one negative aspect its frankly a large blight on my enjoyment of the series, and I genuinely do find it fun despite it even with Sanderson's predictive characters.

Let's be honest it's only the Shallan chapters that are a pain in the ass

>>18409558
Reminds me of wheel of time and the Aes Sedai chapters.

>>18409558
Her chapters were the worst part of the latest book

>>18409615
>>18409558
And by her I mean Navani. Shallan was even more bearable than that dumb Manhattan project bullshit

I've got some audible credits left.

Give me your best recommendations.

I've read Malazan, ASOIAF, LOTR.

>>18409641
>audible
>read

>>18409641
The guy who did the audiobooks for The Prince of Nothing trilogy is fantastic, if you haven't fallen for the meme yet his readings are a pretty good way to do so. Unfortunately the next three books were done by a different guy who is nowhere near as good and sounds like he's reading the book for the first time.

>>18406212
>>male-male-female relationship pirate paradise commune island
Ha! I forgot about that.

>(these didn't feel organic to me, like it was part of an agenda, rather than the story)
Well why would you think it's not organic? Do you think that a black American author wouldn't have a genuine interest in US race politics?
Do you think that an American liberal would have a genuine interest in transgendered people?
Do you think that humans are naturally horny creatures willing to hook up in weird polyamorous ways?

I believe that there are a lot of people who have these genuine interests. It's their fantasy world, and so they put their own fantastic ideas into it. Just because their ideas happen to reflect the ideas of others, doesn't mean they're pandering. There is no indication of pandering in the text.

>It doesn't even portray characters raising above and overcoming these issues, rather it shows them lashing out in destruction against the people that (ranging from helplessly passively, ignorantly to actively ) abetted their oppression
Then goes on to justify this reaction
It actually shows various different perspectives. There's a radical character who act "by any means necessary". A not subtle Malcom X type character. People in the book actually look at him as a radical, and don't necessarily agree with him. But he's a good character because he creates drama, and his motives are hard to argue with.
But then you also have a character who is mostly neutral, and seeks to keep her head down and just survive.
And the other characters who try to create their own society where they can thrive alone.
And then other characters who seek to change the status quo.
And then other characters who try to do good from within the system.

I don't really know what you consider "rising up". Or even why you think that rising up is important to the narrative. Or even how you think rising is possible to do without at least some people getting hurt in the process. You'll have to explain this to me, because it sounds rather like an empty platitude to my ears.

>VERY topical
I really hope you're not referencing Black Lives Matters right now. You realize The Broken Earth was released 5 years ago, right? Well before the George Floyd riots? People justifying their destruction in the name of justice has existed since the dawn of humanity. You will always find this to be the case throughout history. It's not "topical", it's an aspect of humanity.

>>18409677
Ma'am.

>>18409641
In no particular order: You should of course listen to the audio samples before deciding for yourself.
Lies of Locke Lamora (AKA The Gentleman Bastards)
Assassin's Apprentice (AKA The Farseer trilogy)
The Blade Itself (AKA The First Law)
Cradle by Will Wight
Wheel of Time
The Curse of Chalion

They all have good narrators. Some better than others, but still all good voices.
If you want a big grand adventure then go with Wheel of Time.
If you want something more contained, then go with Curse of Chalion.
If you want something episodic, then go with Cradle. It has an overarching plot, but for the most part, each book is its own story.

>>18408697
I haven't read them but I read a lot of reviews.

Mostly they say it's 3-400 pages too long with a lot of boring shit in-between.

Shill me the series and I'll order it RN but I'm on the fence.

>>18409866
it's a book if things are starting to bore you, just start speed reading

>>18409866
Just read the sample chapters from way of kings and see if you like it.
What sold me initially was the back blurb

>>18409866
Don't fall for the shills. Sanderson is not worth the investment.
I'm convinced that Sanderson is a litmus test for good taste. Because he's juuuuust competent enough to fool people into thinking he's good. But only if you don't really care that much about what you're consuming. If your standards are low, then you won't see any problem with him.

>>18409980
What's bad about him then? People say he's shit but never why. At least those who say he is good (usually) say why he is good.

>>18410031
just read it then

>>18410044
I read mistborn and it was ok. It's a committment to read 4 books though.

surrealist fantasy literature?
I want illogical scenarios to activate my almonds

>>18410031
I've already said why he's bad multiple times. You just are never around to read it. Here, see a couple of my previous posts
>>/lit/thread/S17283669#p17285611
>>/lit/thread/S17295900#p17308586
I also skipped mistborn because it was suffering from the same problems at the other books.

>Steven Erikson (born October 7, 1959) is the pseudonym of Steve Rune Lundin, a Canadian novelist, who was educated and trained as both an archaeologist and anthropologist.
>He is best known for his ten-volume spanning epic fantasy series Malazan Book of the Fallen, which began with the publication of Gardens of the Moon (1999) and was completed with the publication of The Crippled God (2011).
>Fellow author Glen Cook has called the series a masterwork, while Stephen R. Donaldson has praised him for his approach to the fantasy genre and has compared him to the likes of Joseph Conrad, Henry James, William Faulkner, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.
That is very, very high praise; does he live up to it? If so, then I've gotta read Malazan

>>18410115
Literally every above-average genre writer gets this kind of hyperbolic praise, it means nothing.

>>18410115
Malazan is my favorite fantasy series, but it's not really comparable to the best of literature. It's a decent story with rather flat characters carried by the exceptional worldbuilding.

It's a series with no 10/10 books; it's all 8 or 9/10 - doesn't have any weak points, but no exceptional high points either.

>>18410080
boku no pico

>>18410080
Discworld

what are some scifi academy setting books

>>18410371
Starship Troopers.

The first foreigner book has a really weird start.
For 2 chapters it continues telling the story about one of the first colonists then suddenly in the 3rd chapter the book switches to decades after the first colony without even telling this.
Still a good book but I thought my copy had a chapter missing because of that.

Why was it so much better than the other books in the series?

>>18408254
Which is your favorite long running fanatasy book series?

>>18410371
ender's game.
armour (a little)

>>18410115
Yes. Biggest problem is he falls into self masturbatury philosophy a bit too much, especially in the later books. The world, characters and story are some of the best in fantasy.
It's the sort of series that makes it hard to read all the other dross put out at the moment.

>>18410371
The Forever War has brootal bootcamp.

Looking for another recommendation. Mold me, /sffg/. I am your golem. Character and intrigue is what I like.
BTW, does anyone else get a little fog-headed after finishing a book? I had to take a break after finishing the Tawny Man trilogy. My head just felt... strange.

Finished:
Dune**, Licanius Trilogy*, The First Law, The Broken Earth*, Memory Sorrow and Thorn*, The Wheel of Time**, Nightflyers*, Book of the Ancestor*, A Memory Called Empire*, The Curse of Chalion 1-3**, Penric's Demon*, Penric and the Shaman*, Penric's Mission*, The Library At Mount Char@, The Farseer Trilogy**, The Elder Empire series(Shadow), Liveship Traders*, The Gentleman Bastard 1** and 2, Hyperion**, Endymion 1, The Dying Earth, The Emperor's Soul, Elantris@, Warbreaker@, Book of the New Sun, Arcadia by Iain Pears**, Best Served Cold*,
The Heroes, Red Country**, Sharp Ends*, The Tawny Man**

Ongoing:
Cradle(Will Wight)**, A Song of Ice and Fire**, Vorkosigan Saga**, The Age of Madness

Skipping:
The Prince of Nothing, The Black Company, Malazan, The Song of the Shattered Sands@, Borne, The Mermaid's Tale(V.D.Valdron)@, The Elder Empire series(Sea), Endymion 2, Lyonesse@, Mistborn, Seveneves, A Desolation Called Peace

*liked
**liked a lot
@disliked

>>18411267
Dying Inside

>>18411267
Read the gate of ivrel and the sequels.
Fantasy novel about a son of a king and he is exiled by his father later put into the service of a witch lady and he works as her warrior servant.

>>18410989
It wasn't. You have probably just read more than a dozen books by now, so you've started to develop some actual sense of good taste. After seeing how good writing actually looks like, you've started to notice how lacking Sanderson is in such aspects. You just have nostalgia for this one because you still had incredibly shit taste back when you'd only read a few books in the past and were super easily impressed. It has all the flaws the later books have. You have just begun to become more critical as the years have gone by.

>>18411267
Read the rest of the Frank Herbert's Dune books if you haven't already.

From Arthur C Clarke: 2001, Childhood's End, and Rendezvous with Rama.

From Asimov: I, Robot; Foundation

Three Body Problem (pretty much the best sci fi series I've ever read)

>>18408254
gayest most irrelevant OP image i’ve seen yet in this shit thread

only reason this animeshit is tolerated is because the janny is an autistic animetranny like op

>>18411499
It's the same mentally ill discord tranny every time.

>>18411505
yes, it’s obvious it’s the same troon
he waits and lurks til the thread reaches ~310 posts and then snipes the new thread with his cringe animeshit. obvious it’s the same person given the filenames

what an exceedingly sad and empty failure of a human being

>>18411520
He also gets mad if someone makes the thread before he does
>>/lit/?task=search&ghost=yes&search_text=why+thread+bump+limit

Scroll down a bit

>>18411528
KEK

some “people” need a “purpose” in life i suppose

Lmao why the fuck do you guys still read SF/F?
It’s for children.
Why don’t you guys read something that’ll actually enrich your lives like philosophy, history, or learn Latin?

>>18411560
Are you going to spam this in every thread now?

>>18411560
why don’t you stop listening to awful “music” made by literal larping faggots? DiJ has never released a good album, and the music is grating to the ear. dougie’s only strength is his larps. and boyd is worse.

kys and stop spamming this thread nigger, it’s bad enough already

>>18411584
That’s a rare Rose you got there.

This is seriously one giant shitpost

>>18411560
>Ah, I am such a cultured intellectual, behold my taste in pop music.

>>18411321
I have a good feeling about this. So of course the torrent has no seeds.

>>18411442
I have a bad feeling about this, so of course it downloads in minutes.

>>18411498
>Read the rest of the Frank Herbert's Dune books if you haven't already.
I read to the end of the main series, including his son's books. I'm not going to do the side books though. The expanded universe doesn't interest me that much, and there's a clear drop in the quality of his son's writing.

Three Body Problem sounds interesting, no seeds there either. Fug...
I bet the other books are available, but I don't want to read boomer books right now. Honestly, I think I get the idea of AIs going rogue already. It's bee covered in every other media by now. Is I, Robot really so good that it's worth reading today? Will 2001 blow my mind with new concepts?

Say his name.

>>18411773
>boomer books
This is a really weird take. That's like saying it's not worth reading lord of the rings or dune because they're old. They're not as hugely influential for sure, but Asimov and Clarke are still bedrocks of science fiction IMO. Besides, every book I suggested from them are relatively short. All of them combined probably add up to a single ASOIAF book.

For 2001 specifically, it makes the movie exponentially more enjoyable as you understand the context and story far greater than is ever shown on film.

Asimov basically invented (not technically, RUR came first) robots as we know of them today. None of his robot novels and short stories are just "rogue AI bad". There's a lot more nuance than that.

>>18411817
Sandyturd

authors similar to Greg Egan? I read all his novels and stories and I need more

>>18411856
>>18411773
Yeah, Asimov stories about AI are more about interesting and theoretical situations where AI would fail to function properly (even without malice or self-awareness). There's one short story where, for example, a utility robot on Mars gets stuck in a feedback loop between two incompatible orders: "Stay more than 10 meters away from danger so as to not be destroyed" vs "Go collect this resource that is within 10 meters of something dangerous." The robot ends up running back/forth over the 10m line in a process that wears itself down. It's interesting and a realistic scenario of AI failing to function properly despite following orders exactly, being less about "oh shit rogue AI killing us all" and "here is a possible future, and here is an interesting problem caused in this future." The science is outdated now, but Asimov generally took great pains to keep all his stories accurate to current knowledge of science, so they have a strong undercurrent of realism.

>>18410103
Hmmm thank you anon, these are some fairer critiques.

>>18410989
Shallan in the second book did something, in the first she was a complete passive character.

>>18410103
The no mystery of finesse is a good point as well. If there is any sort of mystery he resolves it immediately.

I’m currently reading oathbringer and throughout most of the series there has been very little mystery to any of it. Sure he holds back some information but if it’s important it’s so heavily implied and foreshadowed that it’s impossible not to see coming. I rarely feel tricked, surprised, or even have a simple “whoa didn’t see that coming”. Not that his novels are mystery novels and need to keep us in the dark, but I keep reading because I want to know how things play out, but when I can already get a pretty good picture early in it lessens the enjoyment of doing so.

So I've been reading through The Road to Middle-Earth, and damn, I didn't realize how much Tolkien actually just lifted from actual history or mythology. No disrespect of course, but he did a fuck ton of copy-pasting; I wonder if it was because he was so familiar with the material that he ended up copying it subconsciously? Or did he do it on purpose because, in his own words, he was literally trying to create a fictional history for England? Take these examples from the book
>Thus historically the Shire is like/unlike England, the hobbits like/unlike English people. Hobbits live in the Shire as the English live in England, but like the English they come from somewhere else, indeed from the Angle (in Europe between Flensburg Fjord and the Schlei, in Middle-Earth between Hoarwell and Loudwater).
>Both groups have forgotten this fact. Both emigrated in three tribes, Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, or Stoors, Harfoots, and Fallowhides, all since then largely mingled.
>The English were led by two brothers, Hengest and Horsa, i.e., 'stallion' and 'horse,' the hobbits were led by Marcho and Blanco, cp. Old English 'marh' = 'horse,' 'blancha' = 'white horse.'

Any grimdark fantasy/sci fi that isn’t black library? I’ve read prince of thorns and ASoIaF before.

>>18412249
Have you read The Broken Sword or The Black Company or The Second Apocalypse?

>>18411632
There’s a lot of instances of the n word in it.

>>18412252
>The Broken Sword
Just what I’m looking for! Thank you. I love Viking settings after reading Beowulf.
>The Black Company
Looks cool, I’ll put it down for later.
>Bakker
He’s seems interesting, but I barely got through the first few pages of The Darkness that Comes Before

>>18412201
Not quite.
Hobbits in LOTR are the indigenous population that was left over after the Arnorian empire collapsed. Culturally, they were 'Arnorized' heavily when Arnor was still around (seeing as Hobbits were a much more primitive tribe), but ethnically and genetially they're very insular and distinct.

In that respect they're the Picts, not the Anglo-Saxons.

>>18411950
I was thinking of the exact same story you mentioned while reading the post you replied to

>>18412339
It definitely seems to be one of his most popular robot shorts

>>18408254
Has anyone here read Michael Scott Rohan? Specifically his Winter of the World and Spiral series, I've seen them in used bookstores and they look interesting but potentially too generic, if they are worth a read let me know. Thanks.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/52622-the-winter-of-the-world
https://www.goodreads.com/series/108169-the-spiral

If I was some kind of military/stategy autist like my Hearts of Iron playing friends I think I'd like this a lot more, otherwise the protracted battle scenes based around the Romans coming up with some ingenious idea to overcome their opponents doesn't mean all that much.
There's also a green-skinned space babe, just like in my Megas XLRs.
It's fun, but not as good as Hammer's Slammers, which I think has more to offer than just the premise of "Romans fight aliens."

Fuck E William Brown
Fuck Delays
Fuck Pay Walls
Fuck Pay Pigs
Fuck Incommunicado
Fuck You

Morrowind is one of the best fantasy settings in recent history; fuck Westeros; Malazan? Never heard of it; the Cosmere? Psssh

It's a shame there aren't any actual fantasy books set in Morrowind though

>>18411856
>This is a really weird take
I know. But atop of what I already said, there's a stylistic thing I don't really like. It's not easy to describe at all, because it's mostly subtle stuff like the pace of the story, and the blandness of the main characters. I guess you could say I'm not "vibing" with it.

I find that I like late boomer to gen X books the best. Stuff published between 1980 and and 2005. That's the sweet spot. With the addition of some more modern titles. That's not to say I'll never get to the boomer books. I will eventually. I just don't have that urgency to read "foundational" titles. But I don't know... My recs are looking pretty slight so far, so I might just get to them very soon.

>>18411973
Glad you think so. I was pretty emotional when I wrote those, so they're pretty cringy looking back on them now. I made more measured posts too, but couldn't find them easily. Still, I'm glad my ravings sounded reasonable.

Just when you thought the Hugo awards couldn't get any worse.
https://twitter.com/writriverdale/status/1402105943643410432

>>18413302
lmao when even twitter starts blasting you, you know you really fucked up

>>18413289
Anyways, given how many series you've already finished, you could probably read almost anything written by Clarke or Asimov in a day. I checked my shelf, and all but one of them are <250 pages at mass market paperback size.

If you want something more modern, I'll recommend (as I have in the past) both Bobiverse and Murderbot. Both are fun and easy, have good main characters, and not particularly complicated.

>>18413329
Why do they take all 4chan memes

>>18413394
4chan has the best memes and 4chan is equally as much of a cesspool as twitter is, so it only makes sense

>>18413389
>tfw you write 100+ books over a lengthy, prestigious career, but still have less overall output than a newbie author publishing a novel's worth of text for her web novel every week (The Wandering Inn being at 7+ million words)

does anybody know any book about mobs trying to smell out moles? i guess it doesn't have to be a mob necessarily nor told from the perspective of a person trying to find the mole, but you get the idea, a story about an organization that knows there's a traitor among the ranks
i know this isn't a /sffg/ request but you niggas are the only people i talk to

>>18413461
>gets two degrees, a doctorate, tenure, 13 hugo nominations, and 6 hugo awards
>dies of HIV
>not even gay

Shame, not even his legendary mutton chops could save him

>>18412325
>In that respect they're the Picts
the picts were completely wiped out

>>18411817
BRANDOOM SANDERSTORM

>>18408697
Tried to read it but it was too boring

Fantasy idea
Man travels to Amazonia where the Amazon tribe lived, or a similar version of that, and is enslaved there.

>>18413631
that's what they want you to think

Say what you will, but the Dying Earth subgenre of fantasy (originated by Vance, carried on in legacy by Wolfe) is the most innovative and literary of bunch, compared to sword and sorcery or epic fantasy

>>18413904
Why does this "subgenera" only have two notable works?

>>18413914
it filters people so hard that nobody has been able to carry on the legacy since BOTNS was published almost 40 years ago

>>18413904
Innovative and literary are insubstantial buzzwords.

>>18413914
;(

>>18413914
Revelations and?

>>18414055
Ah wait I forgot this was fantasy.
Ignore that.

Sex Books

>>18414114
are all for women

>>18414132
it's not fucking fair

>>18414133
isnt fair at all.
tried one but it wouldnt stop mentioning his "throbbing manhood" every 3rd paragraph so it was too gay for me to read.

Where do I start with Viagens Interplanetarias?

>>18412287
Read The First Law

>>18413505
Jade City is good mob fantasy

>>18411817
Stinkfat Mormonson

>>18413302
This is fine, there's absolutely nothing wrong with reinterpreting the classics as modern fantasy.
The John Dolan Illiad for instance does this and is absolutely brilliant

Someone needs to write a book where the gods are malicious and cruel, and the wizards, instead of being champions of reason in the face of religious superstition, are autistic lunatics tyrannizing humanity and waging psychic warfare against each other.

are the arkhalla novels any good?

Is Gentleman Bastards worth a read? I like really long, complicated, and involved storylines that take half a dozen books to work through, and also series where the author knows how to write suspense and mystery. Does it check either one or both of those boxes?

>>18415136
Don't bother. Author got canceled and the series will never be finished.

>>18415040
It's absolutely not the tone you want but Discworld does this lol
>>18415136
Book 1: real good
Book 2: meh
Book 3: actively boring

>>18408254
This is a list of books/series I’ve gathered, anyone who’s read any of these can you give me your thoughts

American gods
A darker shade of magic
Sycthe
The tawny man trilogy
The prince of nothing/the second apocalypse
The blade itself
A dark inheritance
Kings of the wyld
Dragonsbane
Memory sorrow and thorn
The faithful and the fallen
Shadows of the apt
Demon cycle
Shadow of the gods
Six of crows
Trials of the four olympians

>>18415136
Honestly if you want fantasy thief books that actually stay good for more than one entry your best option is Megan Whalen Turner's Thief books.
Those actually keep mysteries and plots going without it ever feeling too contrived and they manage to pull off reveals that you don't guess beforehand.
Cate Glass' Chimera books are the only other series of "thief" fantasy that I can think of from more recent years that I actually like. Mainly because she keeps the characters doing heists, most series in this subgenre lose their nerve and turn into standard adventure by book 2 or 3.

>>18415211
>American gods
Meh, mythology stuff is interesting but the main character isn't.
>A Darker Shade of Magic
Not supposed to be YA but reads like YA. Something pissed me off about 3/4 of the way through and I stopped reading.
>Sycthe
Definitely YA, lost interest once it tells you where exactly the plot is going. Decent writing for YA tho.
>The tawny man trilogy
It's great but it's the third trilogy in the world by the author. You must read Farseer first and you should also read the liveship trilogy first.
>Prince of Nothing
Not for me
>The Blade Itself
Well written but I hate how he chooses to end it. The final 50% of the 3rd book is so keen on subversion that I think it actually kills the series as an interesting work.
>Kings of the wyld
Didn't like it has a massive "mercenary bands as washed up rock bands" metaphor that it leans heavy on and I felt that it made the whole thing feel cheap and uninteresting.
>Dragonsbane
Not read this but other works by Hambly (Sun Wolf and Starhawk) are some of my favourite books.
>Memory sorrow and thorn
Good fairly standard epic fantasy but it's soooo slow. Like genuinely might be the slowest fantasy series ever.
>The Faithful and the Fallen
Malice lost my attention fairly early on. Only cared about one of the many POVs
>Demon Cycle
Read the first book and didn't enjoy it enough to continue. And it's supposedly book 2 that puts people off lol.
>Six of Crows
Good, probably YA but Bardugo's good enough for you to want to read anyway.
>Trials of the four olympians
This came out like a week ago going by google, nobody's gonna have opinions on it.

>>18415211
>American gods
It's fine, I guess.
>Six of crows
Good if you can ignore the shitty YA romance (although there's not that much of it compared to some other YA).

>>18415211
>Memory sorrow and thorn
This is an old school hero's journey epic fantasy story. Callow youth stumbles into adventure involving runaway princesses, washed up legendary knights, dragons, magic swords, elves, etc. It starts very slow and takes a long time to build up its character arcs, then suddenly toward the end of each book a lot of things will begin to happen very quickly, with the biggest crescendo at the end of the series. This is the basic Tad Williams formula you see in basically every thing he writes. Very slow, gradual buildup where you're just wading into the story and immersing yourself in very languid description and leisurely pacing, and very slowly the heat is turned up until the story is finally at a roiling boil in the last few chapters.

If you're familiar at all with older, Tolkien-inspired fantasy this will feel like very familiar territory for you. The fantasy world is basically just Europe with funny names and elves. Lest you think it is a product of its time, this was written in the very late 80s and early 90s, so even by that point this style of story was considered dated. Williams is something of a romantic and his writing feels like it belongs to an earlier era.

>>18415164
>>18415177
>>18415214
Thanks for the input. I'd heard good things about the Lies of Locke Lamora but I guess the author had only one good book in him. A shame.

>>18415263
>>18415269
>>18415311
Thank you for your thoughts, I appreciate it

ITS UP
>https://www.wattpad.com/story/272893054-a-fallen-race-the-progenitor-war-part-one

>A Fallen Race
>The first part of the Progenitor Saga, titled A Fallen Race, is the epic tale of one amogus' rise to power and his eventual downfall at the hands of his estranged brother; taking place on the First Iteration of what would eventually be called by the heresiarchs as the 'old earth,' this first part sets the stage for what will come to be known as the Progenitor War, the apocalyptic struggle between the selfmade gods of creation-the amogus, and their monsters-imposters.

boys, we are witnessing the beginning of one of the greatest shitposts in history

>>18415327
He's a classic case of guy who spent 10 years polishing his debut to get it published and then suddenly had to do sequels on a much shorter timeframe imo
It reads fine as a standalone if you still want to try it, just be aware that the followups aren't as good.

>>18415351
>He's a classic case of guy who spent 10 years polishing his debut to get it published and then suddenly had to do sequels on a much shorter timeframe imo
Sounds like Rothfuss really. All that effort put into Name of the Wind, then he fumbles the sequel badly after delaying it for years, and now basically dropped off the face of the earth since Covid wrecked his "sponge off convention appearances instead of writing" plan.

>>18415351
>>18415360
Meanwhile Adrian Tchaikovsky increased his output considerably after finishing his Shadows of the Apt series after going unpublished for 15 years.

>>18415374
He is quite hit and miss tho
Loved Tiger and the Wolf, hated Made Things so much that I almost never gave him a second chance.

>>18415382
The only Tchaikovsky book I've read and disliked is Doors of Eden. Dogs of War is one of my all-time favorite SF novels.

Realistically, as a base standard to reply in this thread, you should have read

Initiate Tier
- Malazan
- Bakker
- WoT or Sanderson
- Wolfe

Having done so will have given you experience within four main schools of fantasy, from the deeply philosophical and political Malazan, to the mind shattering beauty (content and prose) of Bakker, to the pulpy fun of the higher quality less serious standard stories of WoT and Sanderson, to the deep, complex, demands a reread masterful work of art that is Wolfe.

Of course this is a basic list but it should give you a holistic experience within the genre. You should also include staples such as LOTR, Fantasy not written by nerdy white guys such as Le Giuin and Hobb, and 2edgy4u storytellers such as Lawrence and Abercrombie to gain a footing on the current fantasy zeitgeist.

This is a confirmed and 100% correct post. It is not opinion. If you disagree - you may as well just stop reading now entirely, for you are unable to understand simple genius when you see it.

>>18415516
lol

>>18415327
I liked book 2 and 3 as well, ssssomebody.. stop me!

>>18415516
its really bad that I actually agree with this

>>18415530
I really don't have high standards but Wolfe is the only one of the 4 exemplars given who I even like.
And the rest aren't even different schools, they're all just mass market american fantasy! Bakker's only slightly more interesting because he failed to find a mass audience lol.

>>18415520
>>18415530
It is a factual post.

You may notice I omitted sci fi - that’s because sci fi is for engineers, plumbers, and children - people doomed to live a life of permanently awkward social interaction and at best a sub par experience or gentalia mashing together, hindered by the inherent obesity of the sci fi fan.

If you must have that sci fi fix note Wolfe has been added to the initiate list.

>>18415549
It seems you were filtered - a simple search would have shown Malazan was written by a Canadian (unlike your post, which was written by a cuck)

>>18415374
Read spider and squid book, thought they were uh, OK. But I know I'm biased towards the subjects in the books.
Still puzzled over the widespread recognition Children of Time received.

Just recently finished his newest book. Shards of Earth. Which I genuinely liked.
Which also came of as very accessible to me. Why are not every scifi pleb reading this? Maybe they are?
The subject was not unique, so I can also see this getting lost in a huge pile of similar books.
I just liked it for being real good at what it tried to do. Being an action packed(heh), space opera with a setting that kept me hooked throughout the book.

Surprised how different it read than the 2 other book I was familiar with.

>>18415575
>a simple search would have shown Malazan was written by a Canadian
I said american not American

>>18415516
AAAAAA
I DON'T WANT TO READ MALAZAN

I don't know why. It's basically the only big thing I've entirely skipped.
I don't wanna, I don't wanna

>>18415586
You said nothing, for you wrote.

>>18415590
we should all read it together fren, I'm down

>>18415590
it's not good, very obvious it's a tabletop rpg campaign being written up after it was played

>>18415590
Why have you skipped it, do you not like cool things?

>>18408345
Manga was kino for a few chapters when it was fantasy Doom. Then it becomes a regular fantasy but with an autistic MC.

>>18411773
Books have better availability on DDL sites.

>>18412532
Considering their age and their number of ratings and the lack of anyone in the /sffg/ having anything at all to do it with it, probably not.

>>18411773
Use IRC

>>18415350
>>>/r/eddit

>>18413329
is "i hate women" a facebook meme now?

>>18415686
that seems like the logical conclusion though, the main character of Doom is definitely autistic after all

>>18415822
My point was it stops resembling Doom in any way at all apart from the 'tism.

People like to say The Expanse is like ASOIAF but Sci Fi. How accurate is this?
Really liked ASOIAF and have been more on a Sci fi kick lately

Bonus cool artwork 'cause there's not enough images in this thread

>>18415898
I haven't read ASOIAF but that doesn't seem like a correct comparison. The whole Expanse series is structured far more like a adventure/thriller scifi series (I think allegedly the first one is based off a GURPS: Transhuman Space game the authors did?) and the characters are more random people than duke so-and-so, if anything it's more like Firefly (but not bad) or Ben Bova's Grand Tour series and KSR's Mars trilogy.

>>18415595
we have a discord for group reads

>>18408697
>>18409224
>>18409980
robert jordan let sanderson his series post death because they both suffered from excessive fluff and 'superman' main characters too OP they make the villains appear flat. even the 'super smart planning' villains feel like a struggle in pretense. sanderson should have simply become a comic writer instead of making novels.
>>18409256
>>18409379
I enjoyed the first law trilogy far more than the others being listed and even the irritating narrative choices eventually grew on me.
>>18409455
I miss the days of each character getting their own trilogy and getting story/world/character crossovers versus switching POV each chapter.
>>18411773
>boomer books
careful on your phrasing since tolkien would fall into that category if you think asimov does... also good chance that 'blandness' you're talking about is the narrative style of the noir everyman archetype of 'grown up and part of society' versus the post modern everyman falling into rebel archetype 'the struggle to exist despite society' thing.
>>18412201
martin is just as guilty doing that with song of ice and fire.
>>18412252
enjoyed these very much, the black company doesn't get enough attention
>>18415516
hate to agree but can't really argue a counter point that doesn't dive further into the scifi end
>>18415579
might give a go...

been searching for a book with a silent protag conan the barbarian style setting... any recs that aren't john carter?

>>18416108
> silent protag
There's a relatively recent one that's somewhat like that, but the name escapes me and I can't be bothered to look.

>>18409323
Different anon but I felt that way too. Felt too much like it needed big moral stakes.

>>18409761
Why do fantasy books have such god awful jackets my god. Who drew this and thought “yeah this is good?” Who the fuck paid them for this?

>>18413904
>Jack Vance
>literary
Oh my fuck, have you even READ Vance you little retard? He is a far cry from literary.

>>18415579
>Shards of Earth
>Why are not every scifi pleb reading this?
I think it's only available in the UK and some European countries for non-pirates. I finished it about a week ago. Enjoyed it a lot.
>Surprised how different it read than the 2 other book I was familiar with.
He's known for his wide range. You'd be surprised by what you find if you delve into his novellas and standalone novels.

>>18416193
if you remember i'm ears.

Holy shit why does this nigga Abercrombie write GRIMACE so much?! Every character is grimacing at everything. I'm listening to the audioboom and the retard reading it pronounces it like grimACE and it's weird as fuck why didn't they tell him to not pronounce it like a fag

What are the odds of the new Dune movie being good instead of trash

>>18415729
What? Where? I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll get googling.
The Three Body Problem downloaded when I was away, so I'll probably start that next.

>>18415752
I'll never get the hang of IRC. Once every couple years I want to complain at 4chan mods, try IRC, get confused and give up after an hour or two of fumbling around.

>>18416327
+400

>>18416334
Then just use libgen and mobilism

>>18416370
or the-eye

Maybe I'm just getting filtered by politics, but recently every real life reccomendation for sci fi or fantasy novels I get, the books are all too topical regarding the present.

Anyone have non pozzed recs for sci fi or fantasy? I've read a ton of Black Library, Starship Troopers, Forever War, Armor, Destroyermen, other alt hist, etc.

I don't mind characters who are women/not White/gay etc. I just dislike books that seem to shill modern day politics and lib left bullshit.

>>18416401
Walter Moers

Unrelated, but I could use some help finding a book I read a few years ago. It was some trash I picked up for $10 from an airport kiosk, but evidently the story was interesting enough to want more. From what I remember, the main characters were a traveling party in a fantasy setting, with the main character being a wizard who visited a city where the rulers had used magic to stop time within it, and the main plot revolved around said rulers attempting to close off the city again. The cover was dated-looking not unlike a sanderson title, if that helps.

>>18416420
nevermind on this, of course I found it nearly right after posting. Shroud of Eternity by Terry Goodkind. Not exactly something worth reccing but the series has my attention.

>>18416401
>reading alternative history and military sci fi
>suprised that they have politics
Also, I rarely read alt history or military sci fi, so my recs would probably be too far from them.

>>18416420
>German cartoonist
Not quite what I had in mind, but thanks anyway.

>>18416475
It's not the presence of politics itself. It's just that a very particular leftist slant on politics seems to seep into lots of newer books or books I've recently been recommended.

But it seems like this wasn't a good question to ask here, so no worries.

>>18416500
I just never look at specifically politics of the story.
As for sci fi recs, look up Simak, or Niven, or Zelazny or Braian Aldiss.

>>18416514
I could recommend some LNs too, but it usually causes Reeeeing here.

>>18416327
No chance, have you seen what they did to the casts?

>>18416293
So you know how grim and gritty it is. Try not to laugh once the war starts and he tries to describe warfare despite having no clue how a military works.

>>18416620
I actually just got to the end of book 2 and did note how odd the battles in the north felt, maybe the worst part.

anybody else have this kind of problem

>>18417105
If you don't like reading them, but like the concept of reading them, you have two choices:
One, admit to yourself you don't like them and move on. It's okay to have a different hobby and not lie to yourself.
Two, examine why reading them might feel like a slog to you, and identify ways to unlock the enjoyment for them you feel you should have. For example, maybe you're having problems focusing due to the internet, and you would like them a lot more if you weren't constantly distracted. Or maybe you've just talked yourself into thinking they're boring, so instead of giving them a fair shake, you refuse to engage properly, which kneecaps your enjoyment. Etc.

Either way, the state you describe is double-think and can be easily broken if you just think about things. Don't let your feelings be mystic, identify the causes and take immediate steps to change (whether that change is you no longer lying to yourself, or you unlocking the enjoyment.)

>>18417105
Fantasy is the lowest genre.

>>18416434
there is something very comfy about this cover

>>18417105
Book tubers exist for people like you to live through vicariously.

>>18417291
And this is why I am never reading Terry Goodkind.

>>18416193
The Vagrant is silent protagonist but despite being set in one of the most over the top edgy worlds ever it plays it for laughs

>>18416401
If you don't like modern issues being brought up then don't read modern books.

If you don't like politics then don't read genres that are inherently political.

"pozzed" could mean a lot of different things depending on how down the rabbit hole you are

>>18416401
>I don't mind characters who are women/not White/gay etc. I just dislike books that seem to shill modern day politics and lib left bullshit.
>I don't mind pozzed books but I dislike pozzed books

what are some wish fulfillment novels
with Male MCs
no limitations

>>18417360
>receive email from Goodreads telling me about the hottest new fantast titles
>every cover is niggers

>>18417320
What's with these snowflakes? You did the work, own up to it. B-b-but art director made me do it

>>18417320
>And this is why I am never reading Terry Goodkind.
Weird, I'm not reading him because he's a terrible writer

>>18417360
They just want an excuse to offtopic post, they don't actually read anything that they didn't already list

>>18417371
>no limitations
Basically most isekai light novels have what you're looking for if it's wish fulfilment fantasy. Konosuba is my favourite.

>>18417379
>m not reading him because he's a terrible writer
I remember reading the first few books of the sword of truth series. Not the greatest writer, but the world he's built was comfy

>>18417384
I'm sorry, I should've known
Western novels

>>18417320
Never read him and never will but he's right, the cover looks like shit, which isn't the same as saying that it is a badly done illustration.

>>18417386
You should try it.

>>18411210
The Forever War is hilarious. It makes fun of pronouns trannies unironically use today and also has "basedashit" used as a derogatory term. Homosexuals are living the "homolife" and straight people are breeders. It's so fucking hilarious for something that came out in 1974.

>>18417105
Not really, I genuinely like sitting down and chugging through a good fantasy

>>18417105
Just envision all the characters as anime characters while you read and it will suddenly become interesting.

>>18417708
it actually suddenly becomes cringe

>>18417708
I'd like to imagine the male characters potentially cuckolding each other or me, it had a philosopher's profundity even to shallow stories.

>>18409215
Regardless of the politics that leave our resident spergs fuming and drooling, not great.

>>18415516
cool i qualify
calling malazan deeply philosophical is hilarious though. i'd put it in the same group as sanderson and jordan

tried to read a femdom book. 3/4 of the way through the book the author decides to have the main character get gangraped by men without any sign of gayness before hand.

>>18418156
I need to know the name of this book, anon.

>>18418167
https://www.literotica.com/s/goblin-queen-pt-01
the writing is decent for a book up there
its about the size of a short novel.

>>18412532
Haven't read any of them but I'm digging his cover art.

>>18418189
Thanks

>>18417329
>The Vagrant
That is what I was thinking of.

What's your favorite book you've read this month?
I'm gonna just start reading random stuff to try and broaden and maybe pinpoint my interest

>>18417378
It doesn't matter if it's good or bad. You don't trash the people you work with on social media. This should have been handled quietly, but like the comments point out, Terry is more interested in getting (You)s than being professional.

I want to read a good novel about space trucking.

>>18418496
Why not just read what the overall consensus of those who've came to this thread think are the best? Otherwise, why not read possible "hidden gems" books that have been well-rated but not well-read?

>>18418596
If you only ever read the books people say are great you'll never develop personal taste. The limits of your taste will always be defined by what other people have recommended to you. IDK maybe you're fine with that, but I'm not.

>>18418652
"personal taste" is a delusion caused by excessive need for uniqueness that often leads to insufferable behavior.

>>18418652
> don't read books people say are great
> WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BOOK THIS MONTH, I'LL READ IT!
Seems contradictory if same poster.

>>18418496
https://recommendmeabook.com/
Very random books

>>18418496
>implying posters in this thread read on a monthly basis
lol

>>18418707
No it's just a result of thinking for yourself instead of just parroting other people's opinions. I'm not talking about being a contrarian, but being able to actually hold a conversation about literature. People who only read what they're told to read seldom are worth talking to about books.

>>18418719
I'm not the same poster which should be obvious since I'm giving exactly the opposite opinion. I don't ordinarily speak out against the mindless conformism on /lit/ cause it's so ubiquitous but /sffg/ at least shouldn't be so packed with pseuds and drones.

>>18418774
>being able to actually hold a conversation about literature.
This isn't what genre fiction is about. It also isn't literature. It's about maximizing your enjoyment so there's nothing wrong with reading what you're told if that gives you the maximum enjoyment/effort ratio.

> mindless conformism
I don't think you understand what this means.

>>18418496
based anon

>>18419028
You should've provided a book instead of a compliment. You have read a book this month, right?

>>18419061
yeah, I'm currently reading through Codex Alera

New Donald Green video
>Fantasy is real literature

https://youtu.be/UOQfz-cxzDg

Based or cringe?

>>18419087
cringe and reddit. Who gives a fuck. Only insecure faggots care about this.

>>18419087
He's right, but it's still pretty faggy. Like >>18419321 said, you shouldn't care about what others think of what you read.

>>18419087
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhWeBvgNnIE

I feel like genre fiction vs literature is one of the most shallow dichotomies to have ever developed. It's purely mystical in nature and arbitrary.

>>18419533
>>18419321
>>18419568
I agree, but I never had a strong opinion about it in the first place.

I mostly posted because I just saw it and it came up here >>18418817

>>18419087
Anyone who makes the argument fantasy isn’t literature is a pseud and shouldn’t even be entertained. The points he expresses should be clearly known to anyone with a functioning mind regarding literature, but nonetheless correct.

>>18419087
>>18420018
That's the thing, technically, he is correct; people who sperg out about the reputation of the literature they are reading are pseuds who are more than likely reading to impress others, other than for enjoyment or something similar; however, anybody who feels the need to rant like Green does is also retarded

>>18419568
It seems wrong (in my opinion) to state that all genres have equal amounts of literary merit, because we know this is not true; compare something like The Sun Also Rises to Twilight and anybody can clearly see the superior one (Twilight obviously)

But seriously, his argument is clearly very flawed – you ever notice that whenever the argument about fantasy not being 'real' literature comes up, they go for the same things? That one Terry Pratchett quote, that one Ursula K LeGuin quote, and they cherry pick examples of well-known and respected literature and they say "Look! This has fantastical elements! Surely fantasy has literary merit!" This is stupid and shows an incredible lack of understanding of how literature works in general, and the role and purpose of fiction.

1.) Most of the 'literary' examples of books that fantasy fans point to and say, "Look, this is considered high literature and it has fantasy elements!" (Books like the previously mentioned A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Odyssey, Moby-Dick, etc) don't realize that the fantastical elements in these books are, most of the time, drawn from real-world religions and mythologies that people actually believe/believed in; In The Odyssey and the Illiad, the greeks actually believed in and worshiped the gods and monsters that appear in those books; A Midsummer Night's Dream draws its fantastical elements from ancient Greek mythology (again, a mythology that people actually believed in).

>>18420240
1a) This ties into the point that Terry Pratchett makes in that one quote that inevitably shows up whenever this argument breaks out: "The first stories humans told were fantasy, blah blah blah..." Again, people actually believed in these stories; a lot of these early stories so carelessly called "fantasy" by the modern reader were important and formed the basis of a lot of religions that were very important to peoples' daily lives; to explicitly say that these two types of stories are "one and the same" is fucking retarded, and shows a very flawed understanding of history in general; one of the comments on this video sums it up very well and shows you the level of discourse these people are working at: " The first classic works of literature known to man are essentially legitimate fantasy fanfictions, of course fantasy is literature." - 43 likes

2.) The Lord of the Rings: While yes, LOTR is much more 'literary' than the majority of fantasy being published today, it is also worth noting that the themes Green keeps pointing too aren't at the forefront of the novel; Tolkien's explicit goal in writing LOTR was to (a) create a mythological supposed past and set of legends for England and (b) create a detailed world for his constructed languages; themes were not his primary concern (although they are present in the book) and are not at the forefront of the novel, so stressing their importance here seems dishonest (Green even shoots himself in the foot by mentioning that Tolkien never intended for LOTR to be read with allegory or deeper meaning in mind, and then goes on an entire tangent that shows that Green has never read anything about Tolkien or about the creation of Middle-Earth in general; this entire section, from about 4:43 to about 5:19 is very wrong and honestly really embarrassing)

3.) 5:45 to 6:27 what the fuck is this guy smoking; I love Tolkien and Middle-Earth to death but everything he says here is pants-on-head retarded

4.) I haven't read The Poppy War so I won't comment on this; maybe he's right, but his track record has been really bad so far.

5.) He then states that the value of a story is not decreased by the addition of magical elements; the example he uses is The Great Gatsby ("What is something that literary snobs love?") and states that nothing would change if Gatsby was suddenly able to "shoot flames/sparks" out of his fingers; This is a bad example for a lot of reasons, chiefly that The Great Gatsby has a very explicit purpose: to portray the American Jazz age and the sense of disillusionment and the general strangeness of American life (for fucks sake, this novel is taught in high schools for that reason); this also shows that Daniel probably hasn't read the book either, and if he did, he didn't understand it.

>>18420247
6.) He goes on to blast people who are dismissive of fantasy without having actually read it; I agree with this point, but I think things can also be switched around: the close-minded fantasy reader that refuses to read literary fiction/is prejudiced against literary fiction is a different side of the same coin; somebody who is not educated or somewhat informed about a genre should not speak badly about it, this goes for literary fiction as well as all types of genre fiction, fantasy included.

7.) "The value of prose comes from the complete picture, not just tiny sentences that you skim through it at the bookstore..." This is also very, very wrong.

All in all, 4/10: an uneducated, overly-enthusiastic argument that doesn't hold water once you dig deeper into it

>>18408697
Dies Irae is an unsurpassed pinnacle of human ingenuity, that reaches the heights, which no other fictional creation could ever hope to achieve. And as such, it's quite a tragedy that there exists someone, anyone who would challenge the obvious hegemon. It is your right however, given your free will, to be wrong. so i won't hold it against you.
:)

>>18420240
If I asked you to define literature and literary merit, what would you say? (By which I mean, I'm asking what your conception of what literature / literary merit is).

>>18419568
I'm surprised to find actually intelligent people in the comments section this time around

>>18420266
...The wait is over, i kneel...

>>18418730
It gave me a chinese book I already read, didn't know it was officially translated.

>>18419568

>>18420318
Based Finn anon reaching religious enlightenment through Chad Sanderson anime Mormonism

>>18420266
There is no mercurius route, there is no Reinhard route. It can never reach the pinnacle.

>>18420046
Of course he's technically correct; he's making the safest, most lukewarm, generally agreed upon point ever, just like always. It's just insecure idiots that need to be told these basic things because they're still emotionally and intellectually immature to require external affirmation.

>>18420353
What could you possibly mean? Every route is a snek route, every route is a de facto kemono dono route. But that aside, why would you betray one of your own?! The momentum is forever lost now...

Is there any book that merges lovecraftian horror with fantasy? With tropes like cults, gods and horrors playing a big part in the story, i've yet to find any.

>>18420284
I really liked this explanation, and the frame change is a good idea

>>18420556
Dies Irae has a cult(following), gods and is super scary. :)

>>18420556
https://youtu.be/JM5zDjMnMKk
The Winds of Winter

>>18418496
>What's your favorite book you've read this month?
Master Assassins maybe?
I read most of Penric and Desdemona as well which is really good throughout but doesn't have a standout book.

>>18418529
>I want to read a good novel about space trucking.
Trading in Danger maybe? It's space trucker gets dragged back into war but the whole book is space trucking

>>18418730
>https://recommendmeabook.com/
>Very random books
I'm using this to see how many I know guess
1st book was way of kings lol

>285
I'm saving my amazing question for the next thread.

>>18420556
>Is there any book that merges lovecraftian horror with fantasy? With tropes like cults, gods and horrors playing a big part in the story, i've yet to find any.
Laundry Files but you probably won't like the tone and it's Urban fantasy

>>18421007
lol got one that actually began "It was a dark and stormy night"
Then I got Howl's Moving Castle which reminded me of just how smooth a writer Diana Wynne Jones was

So there seems to be a book 2. Do you think golem will get her pussy turned into a fleshlight again?

>>18421007
So far literally every single book I haven't heard of turns out to be YA or self-pub shit.

>>18420284
Poor sap he actually thinks he's going to get any actual literary analysis from some dumb youtuber that thinks pulpy YA writers like Sanderson and Jordan are some the best writers fantasy has to offer.

>>18421135
I've exhausted the whole fantasy section, which was only about 40 entries. It's not worth bothering with unless you really haven't read any classics or popular recent books.

>>18420556
I think a lot of fantasy taps into lovecraftian concepts of exploring ruins of prior civilizations of unimaginable scale, if not for fear's sake but more for adventurous intrigue, owing a lot to Tolkien obviously (Especially imagining the exploits of the First Age before the Silmarillion came out and described all the grandeur)

>>18421176
how strict are you with 'fantasy'? Delve more into sci-fi, dystopian, apocalyptic, stuff like that.

>>18421202
I'll read pretty much anything under the broader genre fiction heading, maybe except outright horror.

>>18421135
Self pub may suck but it sucks in a way that's different from globohomo trash. It's better to suck as a person than as an institution.

>>18421508
retard

>>18420266
Take your meds.

>>18409256

>>18416401
>ursula leguin
Early works are harlequin space romance with race mixing, but seamlessly transitions to Let Me Tell You About the Jews. Followed by The Jews and Their Lies, YA edition.
>glen cook
Has some good books besides Black Company. The Garret series is super comfy if you can slog through the first book, and Darkwar is a trip.

>>18421688
>Le Guin
I tried reading Left Hand of Darkness in high school and found it unimaginably boring, dropped it halfway through.

Did I get filtered? Is it worth another shot?

>LeGuin
Lathe of Heaven is decent. Kinda loses the magic by the end though, and it's not even long.

>>18421725
She was the daughter of an anthropologist. Her style can be described as social-science fiction. I like it. Reminds me of Star Trek stuff. The Dispossessed is a classic, everybody loves Earth Sea, Lavinia was great. And I find her essays nice too

>>18418529
I've heard good things about this, but I haven't read it myself yet.

>>18421725
The Hainish novels are a mixed bag. City of Illusion and The Dispossessed are quite good, but you should read them all in order for maximum depth. Left Hand of Darkness is a long form thought experiment that doesn't really impact the rest of the universe. I def wouldn't like it if someone made me read it out of context.

Earthsea is plain good from start to finish, but YA.

>>18421176
What were your standouts?

>>18408254
I miss when Goblin slayer was just doom but in fantasy world.

>>18422766
So, do I.

>>18421792
You should read it, its good.

New thread
>>18422778

>>18408697
Malazan.
>>18409558
Fucking this, insufferable little cringelord. She could have been great

>>18408697
Malazan.

>>18408697
Malazan.

>>18408697
Malazan.

>>18408697
Malazan

>>18421535
>listen to my tale of brown-skinned alt people taking the fight to the MAN
Pass

Why aren't you reading fantasy YA set in Ancient Arabia?

>>18423993
male MC?

>>18424004
>Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. Both Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya--but neither wants to be.
>War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the sultan on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds--and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.

>>18424009
well, rip