/lit/ - Literature

What are you guys currently or planning on reading?

Due to yet again unforeseen circumstances, I could only read two chapters, Catelyn’s fifth chapter and and Ned’s ninth chapter. Nonetheless, those chapters were superb for what they were and got me excited for more. Lysa pretty much acted how any other person would act in her situation, which was quite nice change of pace. I thought for a moment that she would side with Catelyn. Don’t know what she expected from Lysa. Ned’s chapter is more reminiscent of a mystery novel, if not for the fact the everyone bit Ned seems to have already figured it out already. His fight with Jaime was great, shame it was cut short.

Oathbringer, The Stormlight Archive #3 - Brandon Sanderson (2017)

And so the narrative cracks have become ever more evident. I enjoyed the first half significantly more than the latter half. Exploring a base, how people live there, and the ways to improve it has been something I've liked in games for a very long time, but not as the primary focus. The latter half though? Not so much, which was a problem considering how many pages that was. This was when I really began to feel, which I hadn't so much in the previous two, that it was taking far too long to get anything done. Of course, I only felt that way because I wasn't as engaged in what I was reading as much as I had been.

I think Sanderson's two favorite elements to include in his works are reification/anthropomorphism and atonement/redemption. For the former, many of the characters are "what if this mental disorder was a person", and "what if certain behaviors were entities external to us". For the latter, it's a lot of the characters in general, probably too many.

As for others who felt this was worse than the previous books, it may be because of how the political and religious themes became more explicit. For politics there are discussion about slavery, indigenous people, oppression, class solidarity, privilege, realpolitik, homosexuality, women in combat roles in the military, drug use, and various other contemporary issues. They're often presented as "here's the issue and what you should think about it" though. That's not how I like anything to be presented and I don't think most are reading this series for such commentary.

The religious themes, which are often a smattering of various world religions and moral philosophies, make this increasingly a struggle of Good vs Evil without much in-between. That isn't to say that individuals aren't able to switch. The Evil can become Good if they're Born Again and repent, which is a great example of forgiveness, although at times I feel that it's too convenient. I wouldn't describe The Stormlight Archive as a religious fiction series. As for the philosophies, they're far too externally-oriented for my preferences and exemplify how the characters have relatively little agency. I don't think that's what most are reading for either.

What it does seems that people are reading for is that the "Sanderlanche" the cathartic outbursts of an ending. Unfortunately, for this one I felt that it overemphasized its attempt at shock and awe to where it was relatively nonsensical. Comparisons to Marvel movies aren't misplaced, but I don't think that's a bad thing. They're extremely commercially successful. I watch them and enjoy them for what they are, but that places a hard cap on the upper limit of my enjoyment. I wonder how I'll feel after I read the fourth book next month. After that it's years of waiting between each book. The Cosmere is a very long and interesting experiment to me, but not one of the utmost interest.

Rating: 3.5/5

>>20199683
Blood of The fold. I'm about 100 pages in. It's alright so far but I'm having trouble remembering a lot of the characters that Goodkind introduced in Stone of Tear. He added a bunch of characters that are only in the story for a short amount of time and somehow I'm supposed to remember them 1500 pages later.

>>20200059
Assassin's Apprentice is not a good book.

why am i being bombarded with a million names right in the beginning? it's confusing

>>20200354
Wolfe is not for everyone. He demands you to pay close attention to every paragraph, and if you merely skim over his scenes you're going to miss how it's all connected.

Perhaps describing this book as a "detective fantasy," is not too far off with how surface reading won't yield you the fertile fields underneath. Then again, I didn't really enjoy Wolfe's writing style at all, or his characters, only his storyworld.

>>20200354
Some authors like to drop you in up to your neck right off the hop. Just keep going and don't worry about memorizing everything as soon as you see it.

>>20199683
The guy on the right is drawing a sword longer than his arm from a sheath strapped to his back.

>>20199683
Just finished Citadel of the Autarch. Gonna. Catch up on some non-sff stuff before I start Urth of the New Sun next month.
Gene Wolfe is a genius on the same level as Tolkien
Fuck you if you disagree

There's no ASOIAF character that comes even close to complexity of Cnaiur urs Chadotha

>>20200354
wut

there's less than 20 characters through the first 2 books or so. wtf

some serious midwittery at play here

>>20200354
The main character and his three friends?

>>20200432
it's possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EWi2DnDoaI&ab_channel=Shadiversity

>>20200539
he looks very jolly

>>20199675
Is there any kino urban fantasy? Seems like a lot of people have a low opinion of it.

Pic related because Jesus Christ is our eternally present Lord and Saviour.

>>20200623
Weaveworld is pretty good.

/sffg/, which sounds like the more enjoyable character

>twitchy, manic simp of a conspiracy theorist
>happy-go-lucky idiot out of touch with reality

>>20200630
The one that goes to its proper general.
>>20197291

>>20199675
Is there any kino urban fantasy? Seems like a lot of people have a low opinion of it.

Pic related because Jesus Christ is our eternally present Lord and Savior. Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

>>20200630
I can already tell you're not going to write anything original.
Hey I have an idea. What if that twitchy, manic simp of a conspiracy theorist lived next door to an alien disguised as a human!

>>20200605
he sure seems to be

>>20200438
I will never forgive him for Pirate Freedom.

>>20200651
lol you deleted your comment just so you could post this image? And the comment on it isn't even funny. Anyways Clive Barker has some pretty good urban fantasy novels. He's pretty bad at writing characters and probably hates jesus too.

>>20200630
depends on how well they're written.

>>20200653
Name one (1) original story

>>20200663
>He's pretty bad at writing characters
how dare you

>>20200667
The illiad

>>20200671
Weaveworld and Midian basically have the same characters but with different names. There's a cop who hates nigs, there's a priest that's in the closet, a girl who has sex all the time, a guy who is uninteresting, a tolken black guy, and probably others but I can't remember. What saves these books is that the world building is good and the setting is actually interesting.

>>20200657
What did he do? Someone mentioned it has a good plot.

>>20200663
I wasn't making a joke man I was 100% serious lol. Just spreading some good cheer to the thread.

>>20200727
The plot is fantastic- almost tailored personally to me, honestly. Unfortunately, Wolfe ignored everything that makes that kind of plot good, and turned it into an embarrassing self-insert gary-stu wank fantasy.
He skips over the world-building and adaption phase of a fish out of water story, skips right to the ship, makes the MC the captain within the first few chapters, and then gives him two super hot women that want to bone him real bad. Then at the end he meets he younger self who gets with one chick while he gets the other, which is a "eat your cake and have it too" which doesn't even make sense, unless of course, the MC is a self-insert gary-stu.

>>20200770
Damn so this is the power of Gene Wolfe.. We got too cocky Cradlebros

>>20199940
well, wax and wayne 4 is due this november, then there's 3 cosmere books in 2023, followed by sa 5 in mid to late 2024.
After that books would be spaced out though, before mistborn era 3, we might get nightblood, with elantris 2 after mistborn era 3.

>>20200663
Based schizo poster

>>20200770
I can't spoilers, might read it

>remember books I used to read when I was younger
>want to buy them now in proper non-worn out editions and in their original language
>all the new editions have different covers which are just fucking disgusting
I hate when this shit happens.

>>20201037
The art of making decent covers for books is long-lost. Maybe if a protagonist strolled along we could rediscover it but until then it'll be basic-ass symbollogy and plain colours and whatnot.

>>20201037
>>20201050
*sip* Yeah... they don't make them like they used to

Well, this was a major drop in quality from the first book. I'm disappointed.

>>20201085
Was thinking more of this kind of change.

>>20201309
>endorsement on the front from Christopher Paolini
haha...

I'm on book 4 of Wheel of Time. My thoughts so far:
>Mat is best boy
>ALL women except Min are terrible
>the Forsaken are clowns and present zero threat

>>20200770
Sounds like the pirate chose freedom rather than being bound by your fancy rules. Based and Jolly Roger-pilled.

>>20201339
Nynaeve gets much more bearable as soon as she gets the dick she desperately needs.
>the Forsaken are clowns and present zero threat
For the most part yes, though Semirhage and Moridin prove to be much more competent than the rest.

>>20201350
I also must've missed the part where Lan fell in love with her. She's been tugging her braid and mooning over him since the beginning but I have no idea what Lan sees in her.

>>20199675
What am I in for /sffg/?

>>20201422
monke

>>20199683
Finished Rythm of War. as always Stormlight stories are good but I'm getting very tired of Kaladin. I am curious though, to see what he does with the task Dalinar gave him. Maybe it will take his mind off his own faults for a change. Also I wasn't expecting the thing with Taravangian and Odium, that was pretty crazy.

I took up the powder mage saga again, and began with some short stories that take place in the years before Promise of Blood. They proved useful to paint a more accurate picture of how Tamas became the man he is at the time Promise of Blood begins, and also of Ado society

>>20201339
>>Mat is best boy
Yup. Sanderson fucks up writing him really badly though.
>>ALL women except Min are terrible
Eh, a few of them have their moments. Nynaeve makes more sense once you realize she's deliberately working herself up to get past her block and to project authority to cover up her insecurity.
>>the Forsaken are clowns and present zero threat
It does make sense, IMO, even if it's not that narratively satisfying. These dudes come from a time more advanced and peaceful than ours, where evil was barely a whisper and where war was nothing but a distant memory. Now they're in medieval times where wars occur every decade and most have to struggle for survival. That said, I do think Moridin and Semirhage have a real sense of threat.

>>20199683
Nearly done with rereading Wheel of Time. On A Memory of Light and wishfully thinking about if Jordan had completed the books instead.

>>20201447
>Sanderson fucks up
Oh who would've fucking guessed

>>20201309
And now that I read through the first two books, I'm reminded why I don't like these kinds of books Antagonists who happen to be women always seem to be spared of any violence that is due to them. It's fine if a boy burned some old sorcerer to his death, but can't have any actual violence on a leader of a slaving, drug-peddling and raping nation, nope.

>>20201437
Yeah it was pretty crazy how such a silly cosmere-changing event occurred and how seriously the reader is supposed to accept something so fucking unbelievable

>>20201535
I haven't read these books, give my a quick summary of what he did

>>20201549
Just imagine an elderly feeble man, with all the physical prowess of an elderly feeble man, yanking a battle-hardened warrior's (sentient) sword out of its scabbard and stabbing a distracted god-entity, killing it and becoming the new god-entity.

>everyone here hates Sanderson
>Some people hate Wolfe or Tolkien though, so I decide to give him a shot
>100 pages into Mistborn, and I feel like I'm reading a low quality anime

Does his writing ever get better? Is this how he produces so much content?

>>20201579
>Does his writing ever get better?
No, he just becomes more refined in his style.
>Is this how he produces so much content?
Yes.

>>20201579
>Does his writing ever get better?
No, if anything he actually gets worse. Mistborn isn't great but at least you can feel that he's TRYING. This isn't true for what comes after.

>>20201567
Foxy grandpa strikes again

>>20201579
Not really. His writing level is at a permanent YA level.

>>20200179
Yes it is

>>20201579
I don't think he really thinks about what he writes, he just does

>>20201579
>Does his writing ever get better?
No. Worse. At least Mistborn has half-way decent pacing.

>>20199675
I wish life were like that image, bros.

>>20201729
Go visit Angkor Wat

>She set her jaw and her dark eyes met his. There was a strange depth to them, as though she were pleading with him.
>“You're holding more than this,” she said. “Pull it all out! Let me see it!”
>Lindon didn't know how to respond, but she wasn't waiting on him.

>>20201586
>>20201597
>>20201623
>>20201683
Christ. I don't know if I should even bother finishing it. Is it worth it to finish the Mistborn trilogy.

>>20201724
I honestly think the pace is a little rapid. At least the exposition rolls things along at theme park pace.

Are there any fantasy books?

>>20201821
If they existed, they wouldn't be fantasy.

>>20201821
library at mount char

>>20201821
No

I don't really read fantasy, but I'm writing a magical realism piece and I have a problem that fantasy fans probably know how to solve.

I don't know how to deal with my character having magical powers. How do I limit it? What's the general consensus on what a well-defined power looks like? How do I balance it? Doing shit like he can only teleport five times a day feels too robotic, and basing it entirely on what the plot demands is feeling too hacky now.

>>20201867
If it's magical realism then I wouldn't try to systematize it much.

>>20199683
I'm going to do it... I'm going to read The Way of Kings. I swore off Brandon Sanderson before. But I've been hearing that The Way of Kings is his best work. I even have an endorsement from an alien source that I somewhat trust.

If you want to prevent me from reading this book, then you have to recommend me an alternative. Here is my entire reading history so far: https://pastebin.com/ciCgF217

Pic related is me eating garbage.

>>20201884
What makes you think that aliens would be a trustworthy source regarding human literature?

>>20201867
Just introduce his powers before he uses them to solve a problem. The only real issue I've found with ill defined magic, is when a protagonist whips a new spell out of nowhere to resolve the current issue.

>>20201884
Way of Kings is probably his best book. But the sequel, Words of Radiance, is worse and Oathbringer is a borderline unreadable slog. I haven't even bothered with Rhythm of War.

>>20201884
It isn't going to go any better considering what you thought of his other works.

>>20201867
An energy that fuels the magic is the best limiter. He can only teleport a few times because it makes him *tired.* A lot of magics establish some kind of mana pool from which they draw power from. Some magics are vague and mysterious. You don't need to explain why someone becomes tired from magic use, they just do. Some magics have DIRE consequences, like literally taking time off your life. Body deterioration and advanced age progression. Some magics have a physical fuel source. Liquids, minerals, or spiritual energy made into physical form.

One limiter I've only seen once, is the body's own metabolism. And they didn't take the concept very far. You might be able to do more there. When a character uses a magic ability, their metabolism kicks into overdrive, as they're literally burning their body for fuel. The body burns glucose the quickest, putting the character in a hypoglycemic state, causing them to tire out. It then burns fast, causing their body to become very lean. After that, it becomes extreme. muscle loss, then bone loss, then organ loss. Those kinds of effects you can save for when it's most dramatic.

The character will of course have to eat a lot more to regain his strength. So he has the reputation as a guy who eats a lot, despite being thin. Or, you can make him eat so much that he stays fat, because that's his way of staying prepared for anything.

>>20201923
All of this is gaymy and fundamentally idiotic shit you can't find in a single (1) good book.

>>20201931
That's what the anon needs if he is going for magical realism. He needs something that is vague. If he makes it like D&D rules it will not work, because that isn't what magical realism is and his readers will not enjoy it. No one likes shit like that outside of fantasy readers.

>>20201931
All rules sound gamey when you write them out like that. But you need rules to make magic make sense to the reader. Or, a deliberate lack of rules to make magic feel mysterious to the reader. It's all in how you sell it.

>>20201931
>>20201867
Another more realistic way is to make the magic require drawing specific patterns to invoke. In most fantasy settings, things like magic circles are learned relatively easy, and executed without much problem at all. But if you really think about it, drawing a magical pattern would take a ton of precision. You would need ruler and compass perhaps. Unless you're some kind of drawing savant. It would take minutes to draw, even if you were an expert, because the pattern would have many lines. So by emphasizing the difficulty of creating magic patterns, you can make it understood why the character isn't teleporting around all willy nilly.

>>20201806
Mistborn original trilogy has a good twist at the end

>>20201873
I'm doing it to satisfy my own autism.

>>20201889
Fair enough, but if I don't define it well, then that opens the door to 'if he did X why didn't he also do X when Y happened?' Even saying something like, he produces fire by breathing hard is to vague because that implies he can produce heat, his mouth is fireproof, and a whole other slew of side-effects. They either end up trivializing some parts of the book, or feel like bullshit when you acknowledge them.

>>20201923
Thanks for the reply, but I have to agree with the other replier. It does feel gamey, and even stuff like mana pools and metabolism can feel like contrived bullshit unless I always state what's going on with the character's hunger and mana levels.

>>20201988
That's a good idea. I could define the physical process for invoking magic properly, instead of an arbitrary limitation, and then I'd have something real to use for a plot limitation. It's still open to bullshit, but it feels more in line with the story.

>>20201867
Follow the footsteps of King Bakker to establish the limits of magic
>each spell is a product of the mind and philosophy, so a sorcerer has to both understand the technique and meaning behind his magical incantations to evoke them. Particulars of magic school philosophy define their limitations:
>anagogic mages can only conjure analogies of real objects, so their wards are literally spectral brick walls
>gnostic mages can conjure pure abstractions, so their wards can be made of pure essence of 'hardness'
>metagnostics can reinterpret reality and fucking do whatever they want lmao their wards are daemonic portals or some shit
>psukhe mages forgo intellect in favour of passion and instinct
There are also two meaningful limitations: spells have to be verbally uttered, and objects known as tears of God exist which cancel all magic and kill sorcerers with a single touch

>>20200795
>I wonder how I'll feel after I read the fourth [The Stormlight Archive] book next month. After that it's years of waiting between each book in the [The Stormlight Archive].
Otherwise, yes.

>>20201867
>magical realism
You don't know what this is.

>teleport
The Jumper series doesn't really put much of any limits on teleporting.

>>20202015
>satisfy my own autism.
Already lost before you began.

"...even now I can hear the foosteps of that shambling monstrosity, and hear its eerie piping upon the wind. Poor Blakely, he never dreamed - but now the door is being smashed to flinders, and at last I behold what my meddling has awakened! And now it is dragging me across the floor toward its hideous suckered mouths! Ia! Ia! The Goat With a Thousand Young! No!"

One has to wonder if the narrator ever considered running away, or even getting up from his writing desk at some point. Is lovecraft a hack?

>>20199683
Clearing all the standalone novels from my to-read log.

>>20202064
>You don't know what this is.
I do, what I posted was hypothetical.

>>20202047
That's actually pretty cool.

>>20199940
I may read books but I ain't reading all this shit

What should I read to into Michael Moorcock and Tabelorn?

>>20202359
Elric of Melnibone

>>20201867
>>20202015
>>20202337
Go to the writing general, you dipshit
>>20197291

>>20200651
>>20200760
>>20200800
Sorry I was stoned last night.

>>20201658
I honestly don't understand what people see in this book. It's boring as fuck, the strongest swordsman in the Kingdom is a woman, the main protagonist just mopes around, there's no waifus to speak of... Yeah I'm gonna give Assassins Apprentice 5 out of 10 stars.

>>20202423
dude weed lmao

>>20202436
Yep

>>20199683
I'm reading The Aching God from Mike Shel right now. Anyone else read it?

>>20201254
It wasn't quite as interesting as the first I agree, but it definitely appealed to me, and I really hope Barlowe is working on finishing the trilogy.

>>20201528
Boy are you in for a surprise when you see what happens to female villains in the Malloreon!

Is coffee good for you?

>>20202465
Putting makeup on an orc is disgusting. You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig. Anyways I bet that things breath smells like pic related.

>>20202465
Definitely. It improves my mood and gives me energy to achieve my dreams. Drinking coffee, alone or with friends, can easily be one of the best parts of my day. On top of that, it's not nearly as addictive or expensive as other popular stimulants.

What are some books with bloodborne vibes? Meaning the feature tragic characters, mysterious lore, and a pervading feeling of melancholy. Preferably around the same time period.

>>20202483

>>20202490
A Detailed History Of The Black Plague by I. P. Freely

>>20202386
Pretty sure the writing general doesn't like anything that isn't realism.

>>20202465
I too am intrigued by erotic high fantasy.

>>20202492
I would fuck the demon girl. She looks pretty hot. But yeah I'm not fucking a savage orc.

>>20202490
If this isn't a meme, there is unironically some chinkshit that hits all of those.

>>20200651
Library at Mount Char
It has gangsters and lions in it.

>>20202507
>mount char
fuck off zeon

>>20202490
Masquerade of a Dead Sword: A Tragedie by Thomas Ligotti

>>20202463
>Boy are you in for a surprise when you see what happens to female villains in the Malloreon!
What happens? Spoil away, I actually read the books a decade ago, just forgot.

>>20201309
Are those good, they're his better known series right? I liked the Eleniad.

>>20202533
thanks i'll check it out.

>>20202533
That story made me wish Ligotti would try his hand at more sword n sorcery/fantasy styled horror. It definitely gave me CAS vibes.

>>20199940
>half of this book sucks, to the extent that it fails to even deliver on the goals it sets for itself, never mind the general standards of good writing
>3.5
You are, without a doubt, the biggest clown in this entire general, and that's saying something.

>>20202003
Not really. It's a pretty obvious one. Sanderson is really shit at subtle foreshadowing.

>>20202673
>Ignores the rest of the review
Truly, no one reads in /sffg/.

>>20202598
Well for one thing, the Snake Queen you're bitching about, whose name I've forgotten, had her soul neutered in the transformation from slut to snek. She's effectively lobotomized, an NPC now controlled entirely by the eunuchs of her court who only have to feed her the occasional mouse.
Then there's the Murgo priestess/magician (whose name I've also forgotten) who threatens the protagonist out of sheer feminist delusions of self-invincibility, and who, for her trouble, is cast into a pit of hell where she will be rent by demons for eternity when her half-baked spells backfire off of Polgara and summon a monstrous Cthulhu beast.
Then there's the big bad Zandramas who gradually loses her existence in a horrific fashion that is highly Lovecraftian; like Marty McFly phasing out of reality when the timelines are going haywire in Back to the Future, except instead of it being something that lasts for 2 minutes, it's something that affects her for 2 YEARS in-universe. She decays into non-existence, an absence of reality, as her component atoms are rent in real-time to be spread throughout the galaxy as stellar particulate while being wholly cognizant of the fact, and she desperately (in a quite literal sense, as her sexual overtures to Garion are genuinely pathetic) tries to save herself from this fate but only seals it ever further.

>>20202618
Elenium and Tamuli are considered Eddings' "mature" works. Not in terms of explicit content or characterization, which is almost identical to that of Belgariad/Malloreon, but in terms of deeper and more complex world-building and a more variegated plot format than the admittedly conventional and formulaic bildungsroman that Belgariad and Malloreon are. If B&M were closer to Star Wars, then E&T are closer to Frank Herbert's Dune.
I highly recommend them all, because they are some of the most enjoyable books I've ever read.

>>20202714
Yeah, that's not enough for me. When I say violence is not done unto them, I mean strictly and directly by the protagonists.

>>20202854
Polgara is completely responsible for the snake queen and the Murgo priestesses' fate
If I throw someone into a volcano, the volcano may be the thing that kills them, but I will have done the deed by all rights
Also Garion and the retarded kid who is secretly god do it to Zandramas

>>20200160
>pic
Gud gurl, take your pills regularly.

>>20202465
>>20202483
>>20202492
>>20202504
They are lesbians

Are there any series that are comfy like pic related? Plz sirs recommend for the needy.

Can you rec some good books about a human being abducted by aliens?

>>20200160
Yeah his plots are weird. His worldbuilding is also weird.

>>20202871
It's adderall. How else am I supposed to get through this series?

>>20202728
Oh nice, so I read the arguably better one. It's funny which parts of it I remember 20 years later. Near the top of the list is "My bonnie blue-eyed boy." I thought it was the coolest shit at the end of the last book when Sparhawk and the villain fight to the death after becoming gigantic.

>>20202961
I agree but Sword of Truth has a weird charm to it. I don't really know how to explain it. I also like the cover art.

>>20202995
Yeah, I liked Temple of the Winds cover in particular. Read to the end of Soul of Fire. I wonder how much of my interest in the series was fuelled by the erotic undertones.

>girl fawning over and boys getting jealous of the good looking guy from the new village
>guy drooling over and acting like a retard because he saw a beautiful woman
>it's the sidekick getting greedy and getting everyone else in trouble
>any female POV chapter
God I hate these

>>20203035
I hate women in general.

>>20202979
I thought they were your whore moan pills.

>>20202490
>>20202506
This is legit good. The best chinkshit I've ever read. I wish we had more characters like Kleinn.

>>20202356
There's no need to read.
Your acknowledgment is all that matters.

>>20202673
I thought about whether I should give it 3/5 for a while but decided against doing so. Half of it didn't suck, it's just that I enjoyed half of it less. I think it accomplished its own goals, which would be Sanderson's goals. Of course, my preferences and those goals aren't in the best alignment. Unfortunately, you seem to have wanted something that wasn't there. I look forward to what you have to say about books and authors that aren't so emotionally charged so for you. You may want to reconsider your investments.

>>20203091
>>20199940
I assume, as a Mormon, Sanderson isn't shilling for fag marriage like most other modern authors?

>>20203102
>implying
He went out of his way to add gays to the Wheel of Time

>>20203126
QRD?

>>20203132
He made a character gay in Wheel of Time.

>>20203153
Now I'm glad I didn't finish the series

>>20203153
>>20203126
how many characters? was it an established character turned gay or a new character who happened to be gay? was the gayness promoted as a positive thing or as a character flaw?

>>20203185
..... If gayness was a character flaw you would of heard about it already. You can't put that in a popular book/tv show as a negative trait.

>>20203200
That's a shame because a negative trait is exactly what it is.

Didn’t realize we had anons so were insecure about their sexuality.

What are some of his best stories?

>>20203230
the one about his cat,. what was its name again?

>>20203238
>zoomers are scared to say nigger and have to make roundabout jokes like this to giggle about it amongst themselves

>>20203102
Excerpt from Oathbringer

“Well, he’s been courting a man, you see…”
Kaladin threw on his coat, chuckling. “I did know about that one. You only now noticed?”
Sigzil nodded.
“It’s Dru he’s been seeing, still? From the district quartermaster’s offices?”
“Yes, sir.” Sigzil looked down. “Sir, I… Well, it’s just that…”
“Yes?”
“Sir, Drehy hasn’t filled out the proper forms,” Sigzil said. “If he wants to court another man, he needs to apply for social reassignment, right?”
Kaladin rolled his eyes. So, there were no forms for that in Alethkar.
Sigzil couldn’t say he was surprised, as the Alethi didn’t have proper procedures for anything. “Then how do you apply for social reassignment?”
“We don’t.” Kaladin frowned. “Is this really that big a problem to you, Sig? Maybe—”
...
“The other day,” Skar added, “he was talking about what he’s doing there. It sounded an awful lot like he was learning how to read.”
The men shifted uncomfortably.
“So?” Kaladin asked. “What’s the problem? Sigzil can read his own language. Storms, I can read glyphs.”
“It’s not the same,” Skar said.
“It’s feminine,” Drehy added.
“Drehy,” Kaladin said, “you are literally courting a man.”
“So?” Drehy said.
“Yeah, what are you saying, Kal?” Skar snapped.
“Nothing! I just thought Drehy might empathize.…”
“That’s hardly fair,” Drehy said.
“Yeah,” Lopen added. “Drehy likes other guys. That’s like… he wants to be even less around women than the rest of us. It’s the opposite of feminine. He is, you could say, extra manly.”
“Yeah,” Drehy said.
..
I’m sorry,” Kaladin said, holding out his hand to calm the men. “I wasn’t trying to insult Drehy. But storms, men. We know that things are changing. Look at the lot of us. We’re halfway to being lighteyes! We’ve already let five women into Bridge Four, and they’ll be fighting with spears. Expectations are being upended—and we’re the cause of it.

>>20203230
Celephais is my favorite HP Lovecraft story. It's about a guy who is having lucid dreams and becomes obsessed with going back to that dream world. It's a very relatable story.

>>20203230
No shitposting, these are the ones I enjoyed the best.
>Dagon
>The Picture in the House
>Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and his Family
>The Music of Erich Zann
>Herbert West - Reanimator
>The Lurking Fear
>The Rats in the Walls
>The Shunned House
>The Horror at Red Hook
>The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
>The Colour Out of Space
>The Dunwich Horror
>The Whisperer in Darkness
>At the Mountains of Madness

His most famous works - The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and The Shadow Out of Time - I consider as some of his weaker "good stories", though by comparison to most of the rest of his oeuvre, they are extraordinarily high quality.

>>20203258
the worst part about this isnt the literal faggotry that is the subject of the dialogue, its the meta-faggotry of the reddit-tier prose
if that's what I have to look forward to in Wheel of Time, I won't regret missing out on it

>>20203258
This sounds like it was taken from fanfiction.net

>>20203279
I've read fanfiction and, frankly, it's a different kind of shit. It reads like a script thrown together as a bad pitch by Amazon or Hollywood screenwriters adapting something they don't understand and don't care to.

>>20203276
That's not from Wheel of Time.

>>20203276
>I won't regret missing out on it
As you shouldn't. Why spend time, effort, and emotional investiture in something you don't enjoy and those you don't care about. Though, some seem attracted to doing so, if only because it's the only way they know to stoke the embers of their burnt out lives.

>>20203318
I thought we were discussing a character turned gay in WoT?

>>20203357
And you believed him?

>>20202465
I like tea more but this looks good, coffee makes my stomach uncomfortable especially if I don't eat a lot with it. I like cold lattes more than hot plain coffee.

>>20203357
Sure, but that anon posted an excerpt from Sanderson's own stuff and wasn't part of the WoT reply chain. In WoT he took a minor character that was mentioned in one of Jordan's books, brought him back, and had another character point how how he was clearly gay much to the surprise of Sanderson's own self-insert OC. Hardly a big deal but it is notable that there are 0 confirmed gay characters in the series until Sanderson takes over. And then there's 1. Maybe 2. I don't remember if he lesbianifies any Aes Sedai or not. They already toed the line.

>>20203392
Based lesbianifier

>>20203258
I was curious about picking up some Sanderson material after the news about his kickstarter but after reading this excerpt I vow to never read another fucking word of his for the rest of my life.

Best non-Gemmell heroic fantasy books?

>>20203430
Congrats on making an important and meaningful resolution.

>>20203392
So what series is that excerpt from? I want to know so I can avoid it

>>20203458
Whee of time.

>>20203430
The left has to ruin everything.

>>20203458
The Stormlight Archive

>>20202423
It's ok man

>>20203479
He said, assured in the righteousness of his preferred identity politics.

>>20203496
Which group is mutilating children again? I forget.

>>20201867
>teleport
For magical realism I'd tie it to sympathetic magic, he needs to be holding something from where he wants to go. The farther he's going the bigger the thing needs to be, and it's also physically taxing.

>>20203483
stormfront arcive

>>20203510
Trad Americans circumcising kids.

>>20203527
I don't support circumcision or trans mutilation.

>>20203533
Wow you are a ruler supreme.

>>20203551
Thanks for clearing it up that you support mutilating children.

>>20203551
dis nigga eatin kelloggs lmao

>>20202955
Fire in the Sky is a fantastic film and based off this dudes "account"

>>20203258
where are the fantasy

>>20203563
I wish you were trolling rather than this being your sincere belief.

>>20203619
How could a person sincerely believe that children shouldn't have their bodies mutilated through surgery and hormonal injections? Crazy.

>>20203527
Whoa, cool it with the antisemitism buddy

>>20203619
Thankfully people are finally starting to realize that your ilk are actually evil.

>>20203626
Anon, you have to ignore troons. It's the only way. They feed off attention.

>>20203608
That's an interesting question.
At what point does an arrangement of words become defined as fantasy?
Consider the following two sentences:
Naethan Heartoak cast Gharlan's Devastation on the Orcs who dared cross the border of Rodrom into Nahor after defeating Ethen Strongshield's band of adventures, despite that they had many magical swords. The people watched in awe at what had been wrought.

If we consider only the second sentence out of context can we say that it isn't a fantasy story? Perhaps.

>>20202502
Shill us your book bro. Is it high fantasy Belle de Jour?

Any fantasy with weak main character being a smart ass and a cute fem warrior as bodyguard

>>20203626
If you want to have an honest dialogue elsewhere, let me know.

>>20203685
books are a crappy medium so no.

>>20203685
Go back to watching your shounen anime faggot.

>>20202500
>A Detailed History Of The Black Plague by I. P. Freely
nigga really had me google I P Freely
ya got me lol

Scorio is cute. Cute!

>>20203685
Neverwhere

I want to finally get into LotR but I feel like a giganormalfag going into a used bookstore and asking for it

>>20203766
Somehow I don't think this is an accurate depiction of the Unmaker of Joy.

>>20203835
take the kindlepill

>>20203835
you can buy paperbacks of it for like 10 bucks off amazon or walk into a barnes and noble to pick it up

>>20203496
>the righteousness of his preferred identity politics.
Yup, because my preference is none.
You don't write gays into a story for any reason other than identity politics.

>>20203835
>going into a used bookstore and asking
Yeah, that alone makes you an ubergiganormalfag right there.
The way to do it is to just browse the shelves until you stumble on it or figure out the categorization system in use for yourself and tell all employees "No, I'm fine" when they ask if you need help.

>>20203903
That's the plan, but I mean I just feel weird buying it. Like I should've read it already, what am I doing buying it now. Maybe I'm autistic.

>>20203890
What if I write a gay character and make them a villain?
What if I write a bisexual female (with big boobs and sweaty abs) who prefers dick 99% of the time but fools around with women a bit?

>>20203905
If you're having trouble walking into a fucking bookstore and buying out the books you want, "cripplingly autistic" doesn't begin to describe your problems.

>>20203911
hey buddy I think you got the wrong door
the rude club is two threads down

>>20203906
It's obvious even from the way you write that comment that you are absolutely doing it for identity politics reasons.

>>20203268
>>20203264
Thanks, I just finished Shadow Over Innsmouth and whilst it was good, Colour Out of Space remains my favorite for now by far. Will try Celephais and a few of the others mentioned next.

>>20203916
Actually I rewrote Mordred from Arthurian legend to be a fag, to show how evil and depraved he is
So I guess that's identity politics in reverse because I'm a right-wing Christian

>>20203890
>>20203916
Muh "identity politics". Seriously this is just a bullshit buzzword made up by some Jew. Now normy tier conservatives go around saying it because they're retarded. You could also argue that any political movement ever was a form of identity politics. I think you're listening to too much Sargon.
Though I do agree with you that adding gays to books is progressive bullshit and they don't belong in my fantasy novels.

>>20203939
Mordred is cute. Cute!

What other Wells should I read after War?

>>20203964
die anime filth

>>20203753
Can't believe that got someone in 2022
Truly the classics never die

>>20203964
>tranime

>fatefags yet again being obnoxious retards
don't confuse animechads for fatefags

>>20204011
>animechads
lol

>>20204024
Normalfags that read berserk and watch cowboy bebop or jujutsu kaisen et al aren't animechads

>>20203944
You have a very weak, loose, and ill-defined idea of what identity is then.

>>20204033
You used the term "identity politics". So this has nothing to do with my personal opinion of identity. If you google the definition of identity politics it's very vague. It can literally apply to anything.

>>20199675
>Myrefly is a character-focused series spanning multiple genres, primarily sci-fi and fantasy, revolving around themes of divine hubris, and the often cataclysmic consequences of achieving godhood as an individual or civilization. The characters traverse a multiverse, called the Cosmic Tapestry, where their Alias alter-egos live differing lives. A character you loved can just as easily become one you despise. Nothing is what it seems. Everyone has a goal… New alliances! Heart-wrenching betrayals! Heroes straying from their righteous path! Villains finding redemption! The only consistency is that characters in Myrefly will cross one another’s paths, again and again, across the myriad permutations of their collective existence.

Author here! I made a piracy thread to let you enjoy Myrefly for free. Literary discussions welcome.

>>20202342

>>20204043
Anything can apply to anything for someone motivated to do so. That's why it's important to have a common understanding of terms in any argument.

>>20204049
Someone was memeing you a few threads ago, discussing self publishing.

>>20204060
So then what is your argument? You're just saying that putting gay people in a book is identity politics. All I'm saying is that using a social marxist term like identity politics is stupid.

>>20204071
Thank you.

>>20204082
Oh, I see, part of the problem is that I'm not the anon you thought you were responding to.

>putting gay people in a book is identity politics.
It can be, but it doesn't have to be.

>social marxist
How is that different from identity politics being stupid? Social Marxism is something at least as made up.

>So then what is your argument?
My argument was that useless to use terms if you aren't going to have them mean anything. Also,
>this has nothing to do with my personal opinion of identity
Why would you present ideas other than your own in this case? What a way to hedge.

Gonna be spending a lot of hours on a road, what are some good audiobooks of sci fi novels? I really enjoyed Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" as narrated by Jonathan Davis.

>>20202490
library at mount char

>>20204123
surely you should read The Road on The Road

>>20204123
Jurassic Park has great audiobooks
also the earlier Star Wars EU novels like The Thrawn trilogy, especially the version read by Larry McKeever

>>20204123
World War Z is has a full professional voice cast and lasts for hours, each character is brought to wonderful life.

>>20203438
It's funny how on the surface Gemmell's brand of fantasy doesn't seem to be particularly special (even generic), but you'd be hard-pressed to find similar full-length novels. And that's because he wrote this weird hybrid of S&S in an Epic Fantasy structure.

I think GRRM will release TWoW and ADoS

>>20199675
Is the goodreads group worthwhile?

>>20204213
>TWoW
Probably
> ADoS
Lol no

>>20204258
What would you want from it?

>>20204258
There is zero discussion and most people read little. These threads are more active.

>>20204290
Just a place to find new books and hopefully talk about the books as well.

>>20204312
You may or may not be able to find new books, but abandon almost any hope about talking about books. Why? The same reason you probably haven't been talking about books.

>>20204258
The goodreads group is pretty quiet. The people who do post are going to be the same kind of people you'll find in a 4chan discord server.

>>20204258
It's worthwhile if you respect the opinion of people who look like this.

>>20204387
That's more the discord.

>>20204387
I bet their bussie is tight.

>>20204413
It probably smells like taco seasoning

>>20204294
My goodreads is at least 3 years behind my actual reading. At this point it feels weird to update like I'm just making stuff up.

>>20203521
Thanks anon, this gives me a couple of ideas.

Does anyone else remember those LOTR Lego sets? Those were my favorite when I was a kid and I always wondered what movie or show they were from, I guess I was just retarded back then

>>20202490
unironically BOTNS
also Elric of Melnibone

>>20202942
The Belgariad is M A X C O M F Y.
That being said, its very clearly written for a much younger audience, so if you dont like it i'd recommend The Elinium, it's considered his more "mature" work.
see >>20202728

>>20203268
Good list

No matter how many times the same few books are posted in almost every thread there will always be those who haven't seen them before. Wearing away at resistance is also a strategy as shown by marketing and advertising. Perhaps the correct method is to only ever look at a single sffg thread because each one more has less and less marginal value.

>>20204543
yeah, maybe it works like that for you. but the rest of us aren't psychically cucked faggots. toughen your mind up, nigger.

>psychically cucked
Newfags say the darndest things.

>>20204559
based

>>20204559
How is that a relevant response?

>>20204559
Woah fucking based
>>20204679
shut up faggot

>>20204782
An upvote and downvote in a single post? Truly, you outdo yourself.

>>20203258
>Drehy,” Kaladin said, “you are literally courting a man.”
you're fucking with us right

>>20205117
>that makes him extra manly!
I think he really believes this.

>>20204600
Kellhus mentally cucks people

>>20200657
What’s wrong with it? I’m about to read it and I was looking forward to it.

>>20205122
Totally not reigning supreme in the face of misery.

>>20199683
Still on Night Winds, specifically the Raven’s Eyrie, and the Three of Swords. Also ordered a copy of Warhammer: Way of the Dead because it features my girl Angelika Fleischer and her man Franziskus in one of the stories.
>>20200438
Based and correct pilled.

>>20200657
>>20200770

>>20205139
>>20200770

Did anyone read this?
I did as a kid and it was fun, I could never find the second book however.
I kinda want to re-read but I'm afraid this is Eragon-tier.

Solo adventurer fantasy recommendations now…

>>20205117
The first chapters of stormlight was about war, death and conspiracies. You can't see it coming at all

>>20201313
I swear this guy just pretends to read shit.

Looking for 'dark fantasy' novels that specifically involve a fallen or forsaken world. Like the gods have died or left, or otherwise a prior system of morality has been lost. It strikes me as a very common set of ideas that I usually only see pieces of.

Are the Foundation books good?

>>20205659
yeah. they take some getting used to because they're part of a really old SF style, and comment a lot on that style. but they're good.

>>20205659
Read them and find out, anon.

>>20205676
reading? what am i, a faggot

>>20205423
Lords of Dyscrasia

Is the ISBN 9780007581146 of LOTR the definitive version to get?

>>20205712
Buy it and find out, anon. And if it isn’t, just return it.

>>20205353
>I kinda want to re-read
Then just re-read it, what's the problem?

>>20205813
The problem is that it won’t be intellectual enough for him to seek validation from /sffg/. Which is utterly retarded.

>>20205844
>seek validation from /sffg/.
Really hope you're joking, because if not, this is just extremely sad.

>>20205868
Many such cases. Sad!

>>20205868
>>20205884
Many people here treat /sffg/ as their social interaction, not really that surprising when you stop and think about it.

>>20205909
I haven't talked to another human being in 7 years

>>20205912
Get out and touch grass, anon.

>>20205912
Do you at least get out? If not, seek help.

>>20205914
touch grace

>>20205912
I really don’t believe you since you would need to get groceries and other items.

>>20205980
>he doesn't use self-checkout

What other Verne should I read outside Leagues?

>>20206001
Journey to the Center of the Earth

Book of the New Sun sounds interesting but you niggas said Wolfe sucks

>>20206012
Nobody ever said that, stop making up lies.

>>20201884
>keeping track of everything you've read on paper
Thatta lad

>>20201884
Good to see you're still here, thought you left.

>>20205994
No, because I actually want to talk to other people.

>>20204258
Yeah, if you want to have book discussion, it’s worth it.

>>20202502
>>20202465
I'll have to take a look at these self-publish books.

Is it.. good?

>>20206100
Have you tried reading it?

>>20206101
Just tell me what I thought about it

>>20206100
Read it, anon. And form your own opinion on it.

>>20206108
No.

>>20199940
Would you the stormlight archive series?

>>20206136
Not him, but it's acceptable for what it is, so there's that.

>>20206144
Don’t know if that’s a backhanded compliment or not.

>>20206153
Take it as you will, I'm just stating the facts.

>>20206158
Okay, thank, I guess?

>>20206168
You're welcome, you can try reading an excerpt on his website or on amazon to see if you like it.

Just finished Jim butcher's latest book. Man, this guy is a colossal fag. The air of false humility and self righteous pretentiousness with which he presents the protagonist, juxtaposed with his incessant undercurrent of unabashed lasciviousness, is disgusting.

I noticed, since returning from his long break in churning out installments of his flagship series, the old boomer seems to have taken an interest in promoting polyamorous relationships, mostly for sexual purposes. Well, at least he's not a crusader for gays or transvestites yet.

>>20206184
>The air of false humility and self righteous pretentiousness with which he presents the protagonist
It was obvious from his first book; how could you not catch it?

>>20206184
I think anons were talking about how he's a collosal closet homo last thread. I dropped Desdren Files at book 8 purely because I hate kidnapping plots.

>>20206194
I dropped it a quarter of the first book.

>>20206194
>I think anons were talking about how he's a collosal closet homo last thread.
My gaydar hasn't been chimed. I can't think of a single instance of homosexual themes in any of his books.

>>20206219
Have you tried reading his books instead of posturing?

>>20206219
You mean aside from how the books constantly highlight how hot Dresden's vampire twink brother is?

>>20206222
Dude didn’t read it and is just faking it.

>>20206219
Kek, of course you had to out yourself. Makes me wonder how many people here actually read.

>>20206222
>>20206221
>>20206224

Hmm, Thomas never struck me as being portrayed with the intention to arouse men. Maybe the fujoshi demographic would readily ship him that way, but that possibility never crossed my mind. In the book the character's relationships are never remotely portrayed as homosexual. What reason do I have to assume there is an unwritten implication of homosexuality there? Are you guys watching too much anime, maybe?

>>20206231
This is just getting sad and pathetic.

>>20206231
>Are you guys watching too much anime, maybe?
You're trying too hard to cover up your fuck up. Try reading the books next time.

New thread
>>20206240

>>20206229
see
>>20206231
What IS in Butcher's book series, which I will not dignify by naming, is a screaming obsession with heterosexual lustfulness, especially towards young women, and a recent trend towards MFF polyamory. I don't understand why (apparently) three anons are all acting as if there are gay sex scenes in the books. There aren't

>>20206237
>>20206239
Lol wtf guys. Instead of repeatedly accusing me of not having read the books, why don't you rather point out a single instance of faggotry.

I wonder if butcher will do anything cool with that one demon under demonreach who seemed to get a little character development at the beginning of book 15 or 16 (I forget which)? That seemed like it could be interesting! Hopefully he wont squander another potentially actually interesting story element like he did with Lashiel at the end of book 16! Gosh, I hope Murphey dies soon.

>>20203258
I am not even mad about him not actually following mormon doctrines. I am mad because this seems something taken from the diary of a teenager.

Seriously Sanderson you are like 40. What the hell man.

>>20206184
>>20206247
>cuckshit

sad to hear that cradle apparently gets worse. vol8 seems great so far.

>>20206687
It's mostly just complaining from people who will say anything gets worse if they have to wait for it to release. Bloodline is lightly worse than Wintersteel, but the worst book in the series is easily the second one. If you liked that, you'll like the rest.
There's a subset of people who hype shit up in their own head so much before it releases that they're always going to be disappointed when it comes out, you can always spot them because they will always complain that the most recent release of anything is awful, and everything before it was good.

>>20206702
that's encouraging to hear. i'm familiar with the kind of people you're talking about.

>>20205813
Because I read it a long time ago and I want to know what people think about it?

>>20205813
It can be disappointing to reread stuff you enjoyed as a kid and see negative things you didn't then, undermining your happy memories of it.

>>20206687
Will never gets better as a writer, much like Sanderson, stagnating early. Also Lindon remains an apologetic mess for 10 fucking books now and the insecurity has moved far beyond insufferable.
But hey, this just means that I'm "upset that I have to wait" because mouthbreathing cradle fanboy logic.

>>20206832
Seethe and cope

>crossboarder devolves into formulaic newfagisms
sasuga, like a Sanderson novel

>>20206702
I'd say the worst was the 4th one, because it's the one where nobody you care about actually does anything. Soulsmith at least introduces Eithan.

>>20206247
If he was writing perv shit his entire life like Piers Anthony it wouldn't be weird, but that just sounds even more like he's trying to cover for something.

>download Kindlian
>make Collections but they don't show up on the Kindle itself
So what is the point of the program?

>>20201567
If you had bothered to read the book, you would know it says his soul was taken by Odium in a place between realms, and Nightblood had a presence in that realm too. So he took the soul of the sword with his own soul and stabbed Odium with it.

>go to used bookstore
>has literally nothing worthwhile
>only books by literal who's for $15