/lit/ - Literature

>>6764382
>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Rogues. An anthology by GURM

>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
Thats hard to say, read too many good books with great imaginative worlds

>Favourite fictional city?
Another hard one to answer, it would have to be one where "magic" is part of the ecosystem and my class would have no say in me being able to wield it or not.

>Favourite/most memorable villains?
Byaz from first law trilogy

Also where the fuck can I get a KJ Parker audiobook from?
Can't find any anywhere, even old books like The Book of the New Sun had an audiobook in the 80's/90's.... why the fuck can't Parker have one?

>>6764382
>What SF/F books are you currently reading?

61 Nails. Can't say I'm overly impressed

>>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?

I kinda wanna go with Discworld, though it can also be argued for it being the least imaginative.

I'm also not entirely sure about in Sci Fi, but I kinda wanna go with the Expanse. Simple, small, but consistent.

>>Favourite fictional city?

Definitely Ankh-Morpork

>>Favourite/most memorable villains?

Dolores Umbridge.


I know, I know, I sound casual as fuck.

>>6764382
>>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Infinite Jest
>>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
Tlön/Uqbar
>>Favourite fictional city?
the one where the people who live there are unable to view the city, or the spiderweb city from Calvino
>>Favourite/most memorable villains?
God

>>6764382
>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Words of Radiance. I'd love to check out this thread >>6747739 but I'm on page 650 and don't want any spoilers.

I would add pic related to the July releases. I'll be interested in reading some opinions on it when it comes out, I suspect it will probably be shit but that cover art is just gorgeous.
>armored nights riding raptors
I want to believe.. No idea who this Milán guy is but I hope he can pull it off.

>>6764532
>nights
Ayy just noticed my typo, damn keyboard keeps skipping letters. Armored nights, now that would be quite something.

Where my Pushing Ice niggas at? Let's talk about this book.

>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Chrome shelled regios volume 25. Don't bother with any of it.
>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
The warded man. It might've gone to Blood Song had the world not been butchered and shrunk in the second novel.
>Favourite fictional city?
I don't remember what it's called. The Clayr live there. From Garth Nix's Lirael.
>Favourite/most memorable villains?
Not much comes to mind.

>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Robot Series by Asimov
>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
Puppeteer stuff from Ringworld
>Favourite fictional city?
Terminus
>Favourite/most memorable villains?
Gully Foyle

Am I being overly harsh or is Murgen kinda shitty as a narrator? I know he had big shoes to fill from Croaker but Im not impressed so far

Also I fucking knew Croaker would get cucked. Im 2/3 through Bleak Seasons and him having a deep personal hatred for Blade has been mentioned like 10 times already with public rumor they fucked. What else could have possibly happened that would make him so mad?

Just had to be a black dude didnt it. Poor Croaker, why is he so damn unlucky. He shouldve went for Soulcatcher. She may be crazy as fuck but I bet she'd be faithful

Post /sff/ related pepe's

>>6765471
Do you mean to tell me that based croaker goes away :'(

What is the best book by Parker?
He seems pretty interesting

is samuel delaney good

>>6764485
>Dolores Umbridge
Well at least you have a disclaimer

>>6764382
does anyone have a non thumbnail version of the science fiction chart so I can actually read it?

>>6765471
bleak seasons sucks. she is the darkness is much better. murgen is ok when he's not falling through time accidentally.

and with regards to the cucking...are you talking about blade? or lady's cult underlings.

Because if you're talking about blade, LOL just wait

>>6766623
>>6765471
you were clearly talking about blade, sorry.

I don't want to spoil blade for you. Next spoilers is real spoilers if you must know, you reading ahead faggot

Croaker wasn't cucked. Blade is pulling shenanigans over on mogaba

>>6764470
>Favourite/most memorable villains?
>Byaz from first law trilogy

I think the First Law books are super overrated but I gotta agree with him for most memorable. Brand from Amber is another good one


>>6766101
Nah hes still there, another annalist takes over for the later books though. Not really a spoiler, its plastered over every blurb/back cover of the books

>>6766623
Yeah the time stuff was pretty jumbled, it look me a lot longer to read then the previous few. His voice isn't terrible it was just weird him always moaning about his pain and stuff and the siege didn't seem like it needed to be that long. It felt like the book was as much of a warmup/reintroduction to the series for Cook as it was for readers, I figure he needed to get back into the flow of things after taking some years away

I don't know, maybe Ill grow to like Murgen

For the Blade stuff

Murgen kept mentioning how Croaker hated Blade with a irrational hatred and they had a falling out, with rumors that him and Lady fucked. It was mentioned so many damn times that I figured it had to be important and something happened. At the very end of the book though Murgen does some time stuff and says it was all Croaker's fault so now I'm not sure. I guess it really could just be Croaker being jealous. Im just paranoid since I keep expecting the worst to happen to him and Lady's relationship and I didn't realize it could all be his wrongdoing completely. Its weird to consider negative aspects of him after riding in his mind for so long where you only see the good

As I was typing this I saw your 2nd post come up, I'll avoid the spoilers since I'm about to start She is Darkness and I figure it'll be summed up somewhere in there. I'll probably end up feeling really silly I bet

Which Fantasy author writes sex the best?

>>6767371
The ones that describes rape and you don't even realize that rape is taking place until you finish the paragraph... sometimes that doesn't even work

>The Good, the Bad, and the Smug

books you wish you didn't enjoy?
john ringo why did you have to make me enjoy your fucked up fantasy so much
its like a warm blanket that gives you a half chub

>>6767371
I really want Charles Stross to do a fantasy series just so I can read his god tier sex chapters.

>>6766229
The Folding Knife if you want a standalone, the Engineer Trilogy if you prefer a series.

sry for tiny pic, shrinked it to fit

I'm getting into sci fi, recently finished Ender's Game and Rndezvous with Rama. Rama was great for what it is, and Ender was a lot better than what I thought it would be for how popular it is and the name is lame sounding. Also read androids dream, Neuromancer & Count Zero, I am legend, Hitchiker's guide #1 and #2.

I'm also finishing book #2 of the book of the new sun, which feels on a total different level from those other books, despite being a very personal journey type thing at least in these first 2 books.

I'm ordering the books in the pic.

Are there any other books that I definitely should check? Especially from the 90's and 00's (and 10's) since I don't think I got anything from past the 80's.

Also general books I must read from authors other than PKD/Asimov/Clarke/Heinlen.

>>6768209
For recent sci-fi I can recommend Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan and Brasyl by Ian McDonald.

>>6768209
Get Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap too, along with Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days; the Galactic North collection; and whatever else the other RS stories are apart of.

Entire RS universe is really fucking good.

>>6768248
All these are related to revelation space?

>>6768252
Yeah. They're in the same universe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_Space_universe

>>6768248
I wondered when you'd turn into a tripfag with all that avatarfagging going on for so long.

>begging for recognition on an anonymous mongolian cartoon forum
shiggydiggydoo

>>6766434
http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading/Genre_fiction

sorted under fantasy and science-fiction, obviously.

>>6768209
Asimov's robot stories, all the foundation stuff in general (with the original trilogy being the weakest link in my opinion), Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Moon is a harsh mistress and Friday at the very least.

>>6767613

Are there any good non-Howard Conan books?

I think I read most of the Howard ones but I'm kinda hooked.

>>6768437
lol he dropped it on the very next post
must have thought better

After reading ASOS. I think GRRM spends too much time describing food, people eating food and clothes in all uses.

>>6768539
Boiled leather and lamprey pies are probably in the top 10 of most high frequency words in the series.

>>6768525
I forgot to re-add it. It's not very consequential. I can always keep it for strictly contextual replies. Doesn't matter to me.

>>6768671
Of course not, as long as people still recognize you by those pictures amirite? As long as you get the attention you need, and can feel distinguished among anons?
>It's not very consequential
>Doesn't matter to me
Yes, obviously.. How about you just stop reposting those same images over and over again and forget about the trip, and we can all pretend this embarrassment never happened. It's the easy way out, choose that or trying to be a special snowflake while actually being a needy attention whore.

>inb4 u mad
It's just a good thing to do when witnessing the birth of new tripfags, trying to talk some sense into them before it's too late. Though this one seems already deep in his own smugness.

>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Toll the Hounds from the Malazan series and The Island of dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells.
>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
I don't know maybe something from one of Dicks novels, i really like it how he creates a believable futuristic world with just the addition of some small details.
>Favourite fictional city?
I like Chromeria from the Lightbringer series.
>Favourite/most memorable villains?
Lord Ruler or whatever he was called from Mistborn.

>>6768513
Is Black Company the most underrated fantasy series?
Most big fantasy books gain some amount of popularity, enter pop culture, have casual readers talk about them, fan art being made, so on.
Black Company however remains a fantasy reader only book, and never left our circles. People havent even heard it exists.

What do you guys think of the Prince of Nothing series? My friend is going to lend me his copy tomorrow. Is it like LOTR or ASOIAF?

>>6768982
Its a fantasy version of the christian crusades to retake Jerusalem, except there is an actual messiah helping out.
The author first felates what great warriors the notArabs are, then has them lose every fight. He felates how great conquerors the notMongols are, then has them lose a fight and never conquer anything or be talked about ever again. He felates what great politicians and schemers the notRomans are, then has them lose every political game in the series.

Its good, great really. Just has some very annoying issues in it. Unlike most books it keeps being good throughout, with me expecting the last book soon.
You will enjoy it, I think.

>>6768977
no it's shit

>>6769273
Good thing your opinion isn't shared.

>>6768209
Dune

I just finished Ra by Sam Hughes, was pretty fun even though the last third felt shitty compared to the earlier stuff.

What are some good books with interesting, well-defined magic systems?

>>6768977
Not exactly. They're among those books which have influenced many writers in the genre despite not being the most widely read. Gets recommended often enough.

Starting to write a five part fantasy epic in a world based on Anatolia and Greece during the Greco-Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Currently just fleshing out my ideas. At the moment I just finished my map and am now thinking of the world's nations and their religions. I'm hoping to include the introduction of philosophical ideas through philosophers in the story in order to reflect the Greeks doing so at the same time and hopefully by offering commentary I can offer some humour and criticism on the concepts as we see their creation in a different but similar world.

Just worried this is gonna get complicated.

Also, how do people come up with names for their nations?

>>6770194
steal it from words from other languages, make it mean something related to that nation

>>6766635
>>6766711
Well I was right and I did feel silly. Gotta say I didn't see that coming at all, glad I didn't look at the spoilers.

Wasn't all postive though since it sure made Croaker seem like a real dickbag leaving Lady in the dark and barely talking to her the whole time. At this point though Im content to stop worrying so much and just let shit play out. Seems like everything will be explained in time

>>6768513
Damn Im gonna miss Goblin and One-Eye once I finish. The big frog grins always get me

>>6768977
Obviously I still have a couple books to go but I'd have to agree with that. Even among fantasy circles it doesn't seem to be as big as it should be.

I think it just came at the wrong time (popularity wise). Back then people weren't looking for realism in fantasy, and now all these years later when grimdark became huge and desirable people are just way more likely to recommend and talk about something that came out more recently like First Law or Broken Empire. And if you're a new reader it makes more sense to read something more recent that most people are talking about rather than a cult classic decades old and 10 books long.

With when it was released I think it always was more destined to be known as a innovator and something to influence later series while taking a niche readership rather than become some huge hit

Also in a way you need the open mind of a fantasy reader to get used to the writing style. I remember seeing a forum thread of some idiot saying they were the worst written books ever and posting excerpts of simple prose because somehow he could just not get his mind around the fact that they were written through the voice of a everyday solider. I could see a lot of people dropping it early because the style was too big a hurdle

>>6764382
>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Just finished Ubik; I thought it was pretty good, but I predicted the twist about halfway through it, and what Ubik was three-quarters in. Although I thought is was really neat in its presentation, the ending was a bit too over the top for me. I am about to start off on a few Murakami books for the summer; I think the order's going to be Hard Boiled Wonderland, A Wild Sheep Chase, and then The Elephant Vanishes.
>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
I was really impressed by Dune, I really liked the desert environment and the feudal politics. I also enjoyed Howard's Hyborian Age.
>Favourite fictional city?
Arkham, Mass because all these haunting monsters and occurrences are existing beneath the veneer of a typical New England city. It was cool.
>Favorite/most memorable villains?
Nyarlathotep in Dream Quest. I'm a huge Lovecraft fan and that's my favorite story.

>>6770194
When me and my mates play DnD, we usually use amalgamations of either our names or two or more historical references. It usually turns out all right.

Got Paingod and Other Delusions by Harlan Ellison today. Gonna read it tonight. I've read a few of his other collections and liked them a lot.

What are some story collections you guys like?

Logh novels are being translated to english by viz. Its on their twitter.

>>6768917
Toll the Hounds is my favourite in the series at present, intend to get onto Esslemont's work shortly.
Iskaral Pust vs Kruppe is the series' true climax

>>6768839
If you perceive someone to be attention-seeking, then don't provide them with "attention", newfriend. This is not a very hard concept to grasp yet many of your brethren sure fall into these fallacies. Go ahead and make more empty personal assumptions and attacks, though. Wouldn't expect anything else since civility is lost and newfriends seem to follow a checklist of feigned content in their posts.

>>6768917
Rashek. What made you like him so much?

>>6768977
Probably. Kind of bummed that a lot of people get it backwards and think that Malazan inspired Black Company, instead of the other way around.

>>6770265
what did you think of Murgen as a narrator after she is the darkness?

The next annalist is cool too

Sleepy

>>6770194
Don't forget to out how the greeks stole their learning from Egypt, then went back and sacked the place.

>>6771105
Old man Croaker best narrator. He just had more connection with everything and more to say about everyone.
Sleepy was good as well, in a different way.

All guys I'm currently reading the Brothers K and it's exhausting the say the least. Leaves me feeling like a dusty Russian whoremonger after every session.

I going to need a sexy space opera/intergalactic adventure when I'm done to cap the summer off. Only science fiction books I've read are 1984 and Fall of Reach.

>>6768982
It's kind of a blend of those two books, if the epicness and worldbuilding of LOTR and the sexual violence of ASOIAF were turned up to 11 and it was set in the Crusades.

>>6770194
For some humour/criticism on that kinda time period you could try reading some of Tom Holt's historical fiction set in ancient Greece. Alexander At The World's End has a philosopher as the main character (if I remember correctly) so it might be your best bet.

As for names, just rip them off real names and change them up a bit. Iarta instead of Sparta etc.

Would also, if you haven't put any/much thought into it yet, keep that world low/no magic.

>>6764382
>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
Bas-Lag from China Mieville's books. I really want to know more about the places outside of New Crobuzon.
>Favourite fictional city?
I always think of Ararat, the sprawling city of a thousand gods from Thunderer by Felix Gilman.
>Favourite/most memorable villains?
The pirate Kennit from Robin Hobb's Liveships books - it's probably over a decade since I've read these and I'm not sure how they still stand up, but I always remember him.

>>6772579
I intend in avoiding non-human races, magic (although there will be some implied sorcery and Godly intervention that never gets explained) and I intend on making it like in Game of Thrones where there is a certain point of the world which no one knows anything about and there is creepy and fantastical legends and stories about it to creep a sense of epicness and to show how unexplored the world is.

>>6770398
Is LoGH genuinely well written?
Or is it just well written by light novel standards

>>6770398
>>6772686
Sorry to get off topic, but is the actual cartoon well written?
I never went around to watch it.

>>6771548
>Don't forget to out how the greeks stole their learning from Egypt, then went back and sacked the place.
>stolen learning

>>6772748
I personally think it's well written.
But I've only just started reading again weeks ago, so I don't HAVE much to compare it to.

One thing I will criticise is that the battles are won not by one side being smart, but by the other side being retarded.
The two main characters are hailed as geniuses, but it only works because their enemies are idiots.

I liked everything else though.

>>6771097
I guess i'm just a sucker for his whole "i'm bad but i'm really just protecting you all from worse" attitude. And also i'm always in favor of public torture and execution.

>>6772781
Fair enough.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that he would be a Skybreaker, after all.

>>6771097
I'm not that new though five years don't make an oldfag either, but at least I've grasped the idea of an anonymous image board which seems to yet elude you.

>If you perceive someone to be attention-seeking, then don't provide them with "attention", newfriend
Why? It's not like they go away if ignored. I'm just having a laff harassing you a bit and you get replies, so I'd say interests are aligned. If you disagree just stop the avatarfagging. You can do it.

>personal assumptions and attacks
There was absolutely nothing personal there m8. Only facts based on observation.

>civility is lost
Says the criminal scum who keeps breaking the rules. Maybe you should have read them before starting to post here, newfag.

>>6767600
So Wolfe?

Currently reading Epiphany of the Long Sun
New Sun is also by far the most imaginative work that I've read, alongside Borges.
Favorite city? I don't know, I guess Nessus.
Villain? Morgoth obviously.

>>6772331

>I going to need a sexy space opera/intergalactic adventure when I'm done to cap the summer off.

like what

>>6772986
Is it in the same universe as book of the new sun? What are all the books in that universe?

>>6772970
I loved how he raped his grandmother in BoTNS

>>6773012
The Book of the Long Sun and the Book of the Short Sun are both successors of sorts to the Book of the New Sun.

>>6773025
I don't recall him raping Dorcas.

Just read about a quarter of this today. Pretty fucking dense, not at all what I expected compared to most speculative, future history "the fall of man" stuff.

Has anyone here written a fairy tale?

>>6773664
I tried, but it's a bit of a mess at the moment. I need to go back and fix it when I finish some other stories.

>>6773669
How did you approach it? Was it supposed to resemble the old stories or was it something modern?

>>6764382

this really should just be "genre general", AKA "GG no read unless you're a pleb"

>>6773654
Starmaker's the really good one - I'm never entirely sure why last and first men is so much more famous given that it's literally "if /pol/ got really bored and started inventing aliens that exist on venus just so they could be racist towards them" while starmaker is really "SPECULATIVE COSMOLOGY FROM THE YEAR 19-ought-fuck!"

>>6773700
Genre general would turn this into a clusterfuck

Rereading Gardens of the Moon after a couple of years and man, it is slow going. I remember enjoying it more than I am currently.

I've heard good stuff about Deadhouse Gates though, so I'm slogging through it.

>>6773700
I'd never heard of LaFM until the other day, someone bought it for me. Is Starmaker worth checking out afterwards?

>>6772764
This is the problem when you have characters who are geniuses, they're only as smart as the writer.

>>6773608
>I don't recall him raping Dorcas.
That is why I like Wolfe, you didn't even realize what happened.

Go reread the book.

>>6773608
And urth of the new sun right?

what else

I've been reading through the Honorverse books the past two weeks and currently on book 4.

It's fun but it's pretty damn 90s as fuck.

>>6772331
try Friday by Heinlein, it's sexy as fuck.

>>6774106
Are you sure you're not thinking of Jolenta? I've leafed through the book and the only scene that is almost rapelike is the final parting between Severian and Dorcas, which is fairly chaste (though strained) as far as their relations go. You'll have to refresh my memory because evidently a clandestine rape has escaped three readings of the book.

>>6774124
Yeah that too. There's three stories, if I recall correctly. The Map and The Cat both take place within New Sun's chronology and setting and The Night Chough takes place on the same planet that The Book of the Short Sun takes place on.

r8 my /sff/ purchases

>Before they are Hanged
>Hyperion
>Dune
>Tales from the Dying Earth
>Complete Chronicles of Conan

>>6775600
no
no rating here
just go read them

I'm on book 2 of this series now. It's okay. It's a nice, light sci-fi that teases at being hard without even remotely being scientific. Good weekday read, I recommend it.

>>6771105
Bit late I know, I hadn't finished She is the Darkness yet when I saw the post.

I came around on Murgen some, I liked him quite a bit more without the time stuff and he isn't all bad. His reliance on Smoke was still a problem, I still don't know if the positives of that as a narrative device outweighed the negatives but that's kinda changing the topic

I thought it interesting Cook had Croaker point out all of Murgen's flaws as a narrator to us. They basically summed up my issues with him perfectly - too self-centered, thinks hes smarter than everyone else, too descriptive at times. I wonder if that was because he got negative feedback from Bleak Seasons and was poking fun or what, but it was weird to see how completely aware he was of the flaws. Got a laugh out of "why would we give a shit about your nightmares or your girlfriend?"

I honestly had no idea there was gonna be another annalist, I thought it was gonna be Murgen until the end. When I peeked a bit ago and saw who it was it wasn't a big shocker but I figured there must be a long timeskip coming since I thought they couldn't even write yet. Looks like I misremembered though

>>6772241
Yeah I dont think anyone can really compare to Croaker, his voice is too perfect (except for GOAT annalist One-Eye of course, but that goes without saying)

I thought Case was hilarious, I was surprised how much I liked him. Lady was alright, would've been better if she was allowed to have some funny people around instead of nothing but scarf fags

Croaker > Case > Lady > Murgen for me. Interested to see how Sleepy will fit in

>>6776037
You heard Cook suppose to drop another Black Company book for us?

What would this be about..... croaker already a god... what can they write about?

>>6773840
I'm reading it again also after a few years (when I dropped it).
There are some really boring sections (book 2 for instance) that seem so unrelated to the story until the end. Even then you're wondering why these characters were introduced so long before they're relevant to the story?
I'm hoping they don't continue to pull this shit in the sequels.

>>6775608
Pls

>>6772331
Risen Empire

>>6775600
Dying Earth is my favourite sf/f ever, read it now.

>>6775600
>Hyperion
INCOMING DISAPPOINTMENT

>>6775587
Not him, but it's also with Dorcas. Their first time he "forces himself upon her", the exact words I believe. Dorcas didn't really mind that much since she was sort of using him the whole time and this was payment of sorts.

>>6776460

I haven't seen any new articles regarding a new Black Company book. Latest was interview in like 2005 where he said he's got contractual stuff to do first then he'll get onto it?

>>6776919
thats a nice renaissance painting
who is the artist?

>>6764470
>Bayaz
>"I bought you from a whore. You cost me six marks. She wanted twenty, but I drive a hard bargain.”

>>6777526
I don't remember the names but you can probably find them on Sanderson's website. I believe he mostly uses two different guys for his artwork and illustrations.

>>6764382
>>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan, having a rough time getting into it since I can't remember everything from the last book.

>>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
dunno

>>Favourite fictional city?
Buckkeep town, sounds maximum cozy.

>>Favourite/most memorable villains?
Soulcatcher, her crazy tingles my loins.
Ahmann Jardir, though he's more of an antagonist than the villain.

>people actually like Brandon Memerson

Has savages leaked yet?

kek

>>6778626
>Ahmann Jardir
If soulcatcher tingles your loins, do Ahmann make your push'ting pussy wet?

>>6764382
What does /sffg/ think of the eternal champion?

>find a random fantasy book at store
>huh this looks interesting
>skim through it
>characters share a bevy of names that should not exist
>Francois, O'Neill, James
>mfw

>>6764382
>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Eon - Greg Bear, just finished Rendezvous with Rama (I refuse to read the sequels; I hear they are poop)

>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
The descriptions of the aliens in Blindsight were pretty radical

>Favourite fictional city?
varanasi in river of gods was p cool

>>6764382
>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Use of Weapons

>Most imaginative fantasy or sci-fi world?
Probably the Culture

>Favourite fictional city?
Metropolis

>Favourite/most memorable villains?
The Goa'uld System Lords from Stargate SG-1 because they were so over-the-top cliche

what are the best Medieval-esque fantasy books that someone must read?

>>6781806
Black Company is the tightest shit.

>concentrate your mind on a good memory
>white silvery stuff comes out of your "wand"

Is the Patronus Charm a metaphor for masturbation?

>>6781864
read the books again and replace the word "wand" with any synonym for "penis"

>>6782174
Wang is easiest.

Is The Stand SF/F? It's been pretty great, only ~40 pages left. Unless some weird shit goes on before the end this cover is pretty misleading.

>>6781806
LotR of the Rings

>>6783914
Well it includes surnatural element such as the antagonist etc and the fury of god

>>6781806
A Hymn of Frost and Flame

>>6781806
Grimms' Fairy Tales

>tfw the Brothers Grimm are basically the German version of JRR Tolkien, doing great work in philology but getting remembered for a fantasy book

Starship Troopers has put me off Heinlein forever.

Seriously. I was expecting some action scenes, interspersed with soldiers reaffirming their beliefs and wondering if their ideals are truly worth dying for.

Instead I got a fucking brochure for a career in the military and 2 short action scenes.

>>6783930
Just finished it, overall I'd say I really enjoyed it.
The cover made me expect a regression in society to medieval times, leading up to a sword fight in the desert between a jedi with a rapier and a bird man. It was enjoyable even without that though.

Are Star Wars novels actually good?

I just can't imagine they'd be all that great considering how visual a franchise Star Wars is. I love writing, but I feel like I'm handicapping myself by writing any Star Wars.

>>6784287
guess you got spoiled by the movie. in the worst sense of the word

>>6784390
there are some really good ones, problem is since Disney announced new movies, pretty much all of the expanded universe is going to be non-canon.

>>6784419
I don't get why this sparked such an uproar from fans. It's all still canon, just an alt canon.

>>6784419

Why would you care about the fact that some corporate enitity arbitrarily decided that something is not "canon"?

Whether something is considered "canon"or not has no bearing on the quality of the work in question, which is the only thing you should be concerned about in the first place.

Aside from legal issues and pointless internet debates, "canonicity" is completely irrelevant.

>>6784501
Disney is basically seen as overwriting their childhoods, and it doesn't help that most of the new material is shit.

I just finished Fellowship of the Ring. It was long and exhausting, and I kinda don't want to go to Two Towers right away, but at the same time I think I should go Two Towers right away so stuff stays fresh.

What do, /sffg/?

>>6784652
Maybe read The Hobbit as a palate cleanser.

>>6784676
Read it pretty recently.

>>6784677
Have a nap?

>>6784677
read a 200 page sci fi book

>>6784390
Anything by Timothy Zahn is well written, cohesive, and good original characters that blend with the movie cast convincingly.

A few Drew Karpyshyn novels about Darth Bane offer a lot on lore, although writing and some characterization is clunky sometimes...

There is one author, Stover I think, who did a few Vader novels that had good writing and felt like he knew the character of Vader well.

A good chunk of the EU books are garbage, though. Growing up my local library had a huge Sci-Fi fantasy section, which had a lot of Star Wars books I wasted time on. A few were worth slogging through the shitstorm of EU.

>>6784652
Nah go straight to Two Towers.

>>6784287
The autism needed to make this chart is astounding.

Desperately waiting on pic related and the upcoming film to the first book.

>>6784287
>wondering if their ideals are truly worth dying for.
therein lies the problem
you went in expecting heinlein to agree with your agenda and attempted to read it that way and failed miserably
it's still a pretty mediocre book though so it's not like you're missing out or anything

>>6781806
Rigante

>Unholy Consult being held hostage by Orbit

Holy shit can I just buy a copy of the manuscript from Bakker or his test readers or something

>>6768539
I can only see this as a good thing.

So I just finished Water Sleeps, all thats left now is Soliders Live

I've spent pretty much every waking moment of my free time over the past couple weeks reading these books, to finally be at the last step feels weird. It feels like its been months rather than weeks that Ive been reading, thinking back to the first trilogy feels like a lifetime ago almost. In a way Im glad it's almost over because I'm emotionally exhausted but in another I dont know what the hell Im gonna do once Im actually done

It's been one hell of a journey so far, I can't even imagine how I'm gonna feel once its truly over and I turn the last page

All I'm hoping for at this point is a good end for Croaker and Lady. Now that Goblin (; ;) and One-Eye are gone they're the only ones I have left to hope for

Also Sleepy was a damn good annalist. I liked her a lot

>>6784652
I bet the Fellowship wished they could have chilled out and taken a break. Too bad they couldn't.

Read TT now.

>>6785728
They could have at least done this with the first book in the trilogy instead of cockteasing us like this.

>>6785728
Are those excerpts on the forum actually from Bakker?
I cant tell if they are legit.

Can someone recommend me a sci-fi that's mostly about exploring other planets and detailing each creatures, how they live, their environment, their issues or the same, but for other sentient civilizations?

>>6786323
You'll get a good end. Don't worry. I was surprised at how nicely it tied things up without leaving loose ends.

Water sleeps.

>>6786610

There's only one actual excerpt, one's a transcript from a reading.

The 1st chapter is too horrifying to not be Bakker.

>>6766090

>>6786809
Like Ringworld?

Just finished Consider Phlebas, except for the appendices. Lots of action and introspection, thought the main character had bad morals.
>Favorite place - I really loved The Land, from the chronicles of Thomas Covenant. The Dungeon from Philip Jose Farmer's anthology is a close 2nd
>City - Lud from King's The Waste Lands
>Villain - Can't really think, but since this is a SF thread I'll say
>The Assassins
from Pohl's Gateway.

>>6787343
But more about exploring and adventure in space and less science shit

>>6764382
So, I'm getting into Science Fiction and Fantasy, r8 my first picks after a long time of only reading Discworld and gimmicky Pop SF books like the Hunger Games (I made it about halfway through Catching Fire before just finding myself bored and uninterested.)

>PKD: Ubik
>HP Lovecraft's Dream Cycle
>Terry Brook's The Elfstones of Shannara

>>6788204
>wants to read science fiction
>doesn't want science in it

>>6788345
i want science to play an aesthetic role, as in describing a cool world based on tech, but not actively trying to explain how they function.

Basicly like star wars, but with obvious more details and novel lore

>>6788204
I think you'd be interested in whatever genre the Barsoom series is. I know there's a specific term for it but it isn't coming to me. All I know is that it's a play on term sword-and-sorcery.

>>6788364
Science fantasy?

>>6788666
Thanks, Satan. I was thinking too hard about the answer, when that's probably the right one.

>>6788666

isnt that harry potter tier?

>>6788364
>it's a play on term sword-and-sorcery

Wikipedia says there's a subgenre of science fantasy called sword and planet, that's probably what you were thinking about.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fantasy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_and_planet

>>6788793
The Book of the New Sun is science fantasy so I wouldn't say so.

>>6788845
Yup, that's it. From my (Evidently faulty) memory, that should be what he's looking for.

>>6766341
I liked Dhalgren but it's more literary fiction dressed up as genre fiction than anything.

Still recommend it if you want something cerebral.

>>6781806
City of Madmen and Saints

Speaking of sci-fant, what are some good series for someone who is just getting into hard sci-fi novels? I've recently read most the books and novellas and such in the Revelation Space universe, and Pushing Ice, by the same author, and all of this absolutely tickles me. I should ask what Clarke's essential stories are too, as I haven't touched anything of his yet but Clarke's Third Law is my favorite concept of anything and I really dig its rare presence in vidya.

>>6789819
what concept is that

>>6789864
Any sufficiently advanced technology is akin to magic.

>>6789819
>Clarke's Third
You might try Blindsight/Echopraxia. The tech jumps into that range, but because the books are hard sci-fi, it has the underlying citations that would go with actual tech.

>>6789880
What books of clarke have it?

>>6770265
>trusting Lady
>ever
N o
It blew my mind they didn't just fucking gut her at some point.

>>6790027
I've heard a lot of good things about Blindsight. What is it about?

All I want is a SF or fantasy book with a young protagonist, who isn't a reluctant pansy, with all the depth of a modern fantasy book.

Is that too much to fucking ask? Why doesn't anyone write about teens running off to save the world anymore? When did it become hip to make your main character middle-aged, and therefore incapable of showing the kind of character growth these books used to be good for.

>>6790343
Check out Neal Asher

>>6790343
Modern fantasy books with young protagonists of varying quality:
Robin Hobb's Farseer triloy
Fatrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller books
Wheel of Time
Daniel Fox's Books of Stone & Water
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt series

>>6790343

Wheel of Time
& Farseer Trilogy

>>6790343
>fantasy book with a young protagonist
>who isn't a reluctant pansy

That would be The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence. Though the protagonist isn't trying to save the world or something like that.

>>6791255
>The Broken EDGEpire
No thanks.

Anyone got any real suggestions?

>>6764382
>Science and fantasyshit united in one thread

Wow, is /lit/ really this much of a pleb board?

Anyway, just waiting for Aurora epub files to pop up somewhere. I'm still kind of reading On the Steel Breeze, the 2nd book in Poseidon's Children trilogy, but even as a huge Alastair Reynolds fanboy I'm struggling. Wish he wrote another Revelation Space book.

>>6791454
>being a genre fiction elitist
>on a korean dog cooking recipe forum

>>6791440
I told you >>6790535

Take it or gtfo

What books have good descriptions of battles/fights?

Can be small scale 'people bashing each others heads in an alley' or a more tactical battlefield kind of description.
Preferably a bit of both.
I wouldn't mind it being pretty graphic either.

>>6792812
The Iliad is GOAT for this

>>6792401
That wasn't me.

>>6790311
First contact, but actually the nature of conciousness

>>6792812
LOTR

>>6792812
Raymond E Feist's Serpentwar Quartet is GOAT

Basically all of his stuff up to the end of the Serpentwar are eminently readable. After that it goes to shit.

>>6792812
Robert E Howards Conan stories

What are s good
>science fiction/science fantasy books with really mind blowing concepts along the lines of "the human brain is programmed in ancient sumerian" or "black holes are their own universes"
>fantasy books where cliche monsters like vampires, necromancers and dragons are treated like eldritch abominations or nearly invincible demigods

>>6791454
>liking alastair reynolds
i think it's you that's the pleb

>>6792812
Paul Kearney - The Ten Thousand
R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing

>>6794693
>science fiction/science fantasy books with really mind blowing concepts along the lines of "the human brain is programmed in ancient sumerian" or "black holes are their own universes"
The first one you're referring to Snow Crash right?

You might like The Book of All Hours by Hal Duncan.

>>6795121
that was the reference, but I didn't actually like snow crash. The uber-90's concept rubbed me the wrong way. It's felt like hard scifi mixed with rocket power.

I would like to find something that has a mindblowing concept like that, but without that storywise doesn't come off as super ironic and edgy

>>6795158
I'd still recommend Duncan, and also maybe The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway.

>What SF/F books are you currently reading?
Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Armor, Expanded Universe.

>Most imaginative SF/F world?
I can't really say because I don't think I've been exposed to enough SF/F. I guess from what I've read I'd have to say The Forever War's world was pretty neat.

>Favorite Fictional City?
I'm not sure.

>Favorite/Most Memorable villains?
I really liked the Worm creature in Robert E. Howard's short story "The Valley of the Worm."

I read more Scifi than just regular Fantasy, and could use some direction there. I'm not sure where to start, I imagine the "Entry Level" in the chart might help, but I'm still not sure what books would get me into Fantasy.

>>6795114
>R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing

He is very guilty of hyping up an enemy to be incredibly strong and powerful, and then have them lose every time.

>>6795993
Does he? I hadn't particularly noticed - but would that not be a theme with a lot of fantasy?

>>6794693
Anything by PKD nigga

VALIS will destroy you

>>6794693

If you haven't already read Blindsight, I think you'll enjoy it. It's got an interesting take on vampires as genuinely terrifying superpredators and while the concept of the book is just first contact with aliens, it plays around with how human perception and consciousness are not compatible with alien life in very cool ways.

>>6796027
>Does he?
He spends half the books convincing us how strong the not-arabs are, how courageous and hard they are, how cunning their leaders are.
The other half of the books they lose every single fight ever, bring cowards who run away and their leaders are shown to be imbeciles that lead them to death despite their huge strategic and numerical advantage.

>Would that not be a theme with a lot of fantasy?
Just because its also bad in other places doesnt make it less bad here.
I particularly dislike it when the author tells us something, and shows us the opposite.

>>6776919
Everything after Hyperion is a disappointment. I enjoyed Hyperion. Some of the travellers stories were garbage, but there were a few gems in there.

That science fiction chart needs a revision. There's a ton of utter trash that shouldn't be recommended to anyone.

>>6796185

>The other half of the books they lose every single fight ever, bring cowards who run away and their leaders are shown to be imbeciles that lead them to death despite their huge strategic and numerical advantage

And the not-christians starve themselves across a desert and let themselves be surrounded in a city of their own capture. They only win because of Kellhus

All the previous battles are also incredibly hard-fought. What's with people and their retarded illiterate criticisms?

>>6794693
Are you the guy that had the idea of a being buying the deed to earth from 'god'?

>>6795710
I'm told 'The book of the new sun' is a good place for sci-fi fans to start on fantasy

>>6796310
>All the previous battles are also incredibly hard-fought.
They are hard fought despite the odds, as every single battle should've been an easy win for the not-arabs if the author's own words are to be believed.
And yet they reliably lost every time.

I'm not reading any fantasy right now but that's mostly because every time I return to my last foray into the genre I'm left so disappointed. Did anyone else find Deadhouse Gates to be a completely intolerable book? The first of the Malazan series (the name evades me now) had a few things going for it, but the dialogue for the majority of this offering - especially in any of the chapters dedicated to Felisin etc. - is so wooden as to be unbareable. Her thoughts re: the other survivors and her association with Hood are emblematic of some of the reasons I struggle with fantasy nowadays: there's an attempt to wrangle with esoteric ideas but in the absence of real substance pure convulusion just seems to enter the fray.

>>6796310
I agree. Seems to be just a pet peeve of this guy. Also it would have been a shit story if the Muslims had won and the crusaders went home. The whole point is that they keep winning because of Kellhus which is how he consolidates power.

>>6789819
Please respond.

>>6796662

>>6796676
I'll consider it after I get an answer but likely, nothing will change.

>>6796484
So is Kellus suppose to be Alexander the Great?

>>6796316
N-No that was me, I-I'm glad you remembered me anon-kun.

Did you start work on it as yet?

I just realised that selling earth is kinda like what happened in Hitchhiker 's guide to the galaxy

>>6796762
Nah, he's Muhammed but with Jesus's power level.

>>6796788
Scratch that - more like Goku's power level.

>>6770528
The Esselmont stuff has a huge quality gap compared to Erikson's stuff so be prepared for that. Got through Night of Knives and Return of the Crimson Guard myself, but I couldn't finish Stonewielder due to some truly terrible writing.

>>6796377

>there's an attempt to wrangle with esoteric ideas but in the absence of real substance pure convulusion just seems to enter the fray.

There's no "real substance" since we have no gods or magic in our world.

Fantasy fiction is in most cases is turning ancient understanding of the world into reality. To enjoy it you simply have to enjoy navigating a fiction world for no other reason that the details are automatically of ultimate significance to the artwork. It's pure face-value.

And the Malazan series, almost entirely volumes 2-5 though (the series goes whack from book 6 onwards) is a masterpiece of fantasy (face value) despite Erikson's mostly terrible dialogue and copy/paste characters.

>>6796377

>there's an attempt to wrangle with esoteric ideas but in the absence of real substance pure convulusion just seems to enter the fray.

There's no "real substance" since we have no gods or magic in our world.

Fantasy fiction in most cases is turning an ancient understanding of the world into reality. So to enjoy it you simply have to enjoy the pure act of navigation -- for no other reason than that the "fiction" is automatically of ultimate significance to the artwork. It's pure face-value.

Deadhouse gates has some interesting characters and situations, the anthropological focus is neat, Felisin's plight is pretty sad at times, the Chain of Dogs is moving, etc., but it it will never be a "literary" masterpiece.

The Malazan series, mostly volumes 2-5 (the series goes whack from book 6 onwards), is a masterpiece of fantasy (face value) despite Erikson's mostly terrible dialogue and copy/paste characters.

>>6796924

Don't get me wrong, I loved the first book and had no illusions in regard to its literary status. I've just found a lot of the passages in DHG dedicated, for example, to Felisin and her relationship with Hood to feel really contrived.

As far as I can tell that whole narrative centering around the three escapees began well enough but became formless and without direction as it continued. There's too many pages dedicated to their journey, as if Erikson was scared to let us join the dots if he just left them alone for a while. It really sabotaged the pacing of the book for me.

>>6796960

Hmm. Well I also like the first book a lot, but DHG was definitely a step up.

People like to claim Malazan is great because it's "post modern" or "post structuralist" (can't remember which one Erikson endorses) but I find this disingenuous considering the climax of the series is a gigantic brawl between the Forkrul Assail and every other species over the Crippled God's heart.

Malazan is just the biggest, densest, most badass DnD-style epic fantasy setting ever, and I loved almost every page of it .

I've read through 2 books in 5 days, i'm kinda tired of reading right now and started a canticle for leibowitz, its good so far 10 pages in but does it get more exciting?

>>6796984

I'll soldier through it, then. I do need something lighter than what I've been reading recently and I'd genuinely wanted Malazan to be all it'd been made out to be.

>>6797000
It's not that great. In general I liked it but didn't feel the need to continue the series after 4 books. If you didn't like Deadhouse Gates - which a lot of people consider to be the best in the series - then I see absolutely no reason why you should soldier through it. Read something else.

>>6796984
What's the first book called?

>Favorite Fictional City.
Buenos Aires is pretty cool.

Hey anyone got a series similar to R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing? Dude's taking forever with the Unholy Consult and I need my pitch-dark philosophical fantasy fix.

>>6786809
Jack Vance, Tschai.

Are Karl Edward Wagner's Kane stories good or are they just shitty, edgier Conan knockoffs?

Any suggestions for a series or book set in a "pike and shot" or 18th century age of muskets setting?

I am putting the pen down

>>6798297
I'd say Powder Mage but it was kinda mediocre and often bordering on bad

What are some good Sword & Sorcery novels? I just finished the Elric series and I'm considering reading these two.

>>6798072

WH40k novels.

No, I'm dead serious. Bakker's setting is WH40k but with different aesthetics.

He pitches it as "LoTR meets Dune" -- what else is LoTR meets Dune by chance? WARHAMMER 40,000.

Science and magic? Check. Reflexive psychic dimension masquerading as objective truth? Check. Rape aliens? Check. God Emperor? Check. Repulsive elves? Check. Absurd levels of suffering and death? Check.

Second Apocalypse could just as well be about a Dark Eldar incursion on an agri-world that contains a large amount of natural psykers. With the Dark Eldar bent on evading the chaos gods and dragging the natives into it.

>>6798951
>le memehammer

Back to /tg/ with you!

>>6799020

I don't particularly love the setting. Just a funny realization I had m8.

>>6798951

I've never played the games, but I have read Dan Abnett's Ravenor and Eisenhorn novels and they are pretty decent reads in their own right. I was sold on trying them when someone told me that fans often joke that Event Horizon is an unofficial prequel to that whole universe.

Since we've been talking about Blindsight a lot, I'd say they're also worth reading if you like that mixture of horror and science fiction and want to read something else about space being creepy as fuck and full of Lovecraftian horrors, though Warhammer has more fantasy elements. But yeah, surprisingly good read, I was pleasantly surprised by them.

>>6798951
I unironically love WH40K lore. I liked Eisenhorn but was told that was about as good as it gets for WH40K novels.

also never made the connection between Inchoroi and Dark Eldar before.

Noice. and will check out Blindsight

>>6798231
bump

Also taking recommendations for Modern Sword and Sorcery in the vein of the classics

>>6781864
Staves off depression...

Can we change these to Genre Fiction General? It would be cool to be able to discuss westerns and hardboiled detective fiction and such in these threads.

>>6800331
Make your own thread

>>6800331
Just make a different thread for the topic you want and if it picks up then start to make a general for it. I'd rather not dilute these threads by spreading their topics out.

>>6800333
>>6800335
Alright. Started a thread, thanks.

>>6798951
Half of the things you checked arent present in Second Apocalypse without grasping at straws.

>>6796762
He is an ubermensch pretending to be a God to advance his agenda, and halfway there he realizes he might actually be one.
Although I'd certainly prefer it if at the end of the saga it is revealed he wasnt, and he just got lost in all his lies.

>>6800335
>I'd rather not have more than 5 posts per day

>>6800941
Rather 5 posts of things that interested me than 20 that dont

>>6800954
>it's all about what I want

Stirnerists need to leave.

>>6800931

Nah. tSA really is nearly conceptually identical to Warhammer. And I'm sure Bakker has next to no acquaintance to WH40k, which is what is funny. How two different people/peoples think up the same sort of setting separated by a few decades.

>>6801620
>Science and magic? Check.
What? Its the standard few crazy "alchemists" looking for their immortality stone that are present in most of the stories in the genre.
>Reflexive psychic dimension masquerading as objective truth? Check.
Just the standard heaven where souls and Gods live, and from where power comes.
>Rape aliens? Check.
What? I cant tell what you are referring to here.
>God Emperor? Check.
We dont know if he is a God, or a divine being. We know he convinced everybody he is, and even himself, but we cant be sure if thats true yet.
>Repulsive elves? Check.
Elves are described as beautiful, actually. They are more like angels.
>Absurd levels of suffering and death? Check.
Standard for the genre, really. War and famine, with a tinge of evil race capturing slaves.

>>6801642

>What? Its the standard few crazy "alchemists" looking for their immortality stone that are present in most of the stories in the genre.

tekne=science. nothing but science

>Just the standard heaven where souls and Gods live, and from where power comes.

Wrong. It behaves exactly like WH40ks immaterium.

>What? I cant tell what you are referring to here.

The inchoroi? The side-villians? Did you even read this series?

>Elves are described as beautiful, actually. They are more like angels.

There are no elves in tSA. They are the nonmen and are describe as repulsive on a deeper level than their physical beauty.

>Standard for the genre, really. War and famine, with a tinge of evil race capturing slaves.

Okay you know what? You didn't even read the series idiot. And you're clearly incapable of logic. Why respond about a series you didn't read?

>>6801821
>tekne = spoilers
You guess thats so. We dont know. I dont think its even implied.
>icnhroi are aliens
Nope, they are just "gods" that entered from the "heaven" dimension to our own.
Tekne is their grasp of "magic".
>not-elves are repulsive on the inside
They are different to men, thus men see them as disturbing. Thats why they are repulsive. In reality, they are near perfect.
>you didnt read the book!!!
I did read the five (?) books that came out already, and I read them all this year.
Correct me where I am wrong, I'd love a deeper understanding of the series, but please argument yourself properly.

>>6801837

>You guess thats so. We dont know. I dont think its even implied.

Read "the false sun".

>Nope, they are just "gods" that entered from the "heaven" dimension to our own.

They aren't from the outside judging by Wutteat's dialogue.

>They are different to men, thus men see them as disturbing. Thats why they are repulsive. In reality, they are near perfect.

"Repulsive elves" is obviously from the point of view of humans. Like the Eldar. Oh and the Nonmen aren't morally perfect, like the Eldar. In fact they are Bakker's camp of Nietzscheans in that universe. They literally worship "becoming".

>Correct me where I am wrong, I'd love a deeper understanding of the series, but please argument yourself properly.

All of this really doesn't bode well for your level of conceptual understanding of what you read.

>>6801850
You're right it's exactly like Warhammer, please forgive me.
PS: Not even samefagging :3

>>6801959

I'm not even a huge warhammer fan. The point is that I find it funny on many levels how similar the two settings really are.

Speaking of Bakker, the scenes with Seswatha and Ganrelak (I think?) traversing the Ark of the Inchoroi were fucking horrifying

How are the Night Lord books, Warhammer bros? They're the only books I have downloaded on my Kindle as Night Lords were the only chapter to personally interest me. I've read the short story intro thing and I've got the trilogy plus the... other novel, or novella, or whatever it is.

>>6802256

I think a few of the dreams and The Slog of Slogs plotline in TJE/TWLW are Bakker's two peaks as a writer.

>>6802256

It was Nau-Cayuti, looking for his main bitch.

It's implied they found her, dunno if she survived the apocalypse though.

>>6764382
>asoiaf
>epic fantasy
dropped

>>6802814
>focuses on multiple POVs
>world scaling narrative
>long as balls
It's epic

>>6802256
So umm.... did the Skilvendi... fuck a dude?
All the skin spies are men right?

>>6803617

Yeah Cnaiur rapes Conphas.

Skinspies are ungendered.

>>6801837
Inchoroi are not "gods", they're a race of biologically-engineered-to-fucking-hell-and-back ultra-hedonists who only live to bust nuts in novel ways. their objective in the series is to cut the ACTUAL gods off from reality so they are not damned when they die.

>>6802256
prob one of the most fucked up sections ive read in any book ever. oh my lawd

>>6803617
>Yeah Cnaiur rapes Conpha
I know he did that, I was talking about the skin spy that looks like his "prize", i read that they are all men because the consult wants a wombless world.

... Remember when the emperor was going for some putang from his mom.... she had a dick

>she
>dick

>>6803671
for
>>6803625

>>6803671

I forgot about their genitalia. Though I'm sure in the world of tSA they can't be "men" regardless since they don't have souls.

Speaking of skin spies, I was wondering after finishing TWLW if the Soma skin spy had anything deeper than just saving Mimara on Aurang's orders going on with her. It's mentioned in the first series that one skin spy had somehow gained a soul (it impersonated a sorcerer). Begging her to kill him/itself seemed uncharacteristic.

>>6803704
I only read the first trilogy, don't think I want to touch anymore.
The Prophet likes to steal the women of his strongest supporters/"friends", wonder if the Prince had a woman, if she wouldn't become the new Prophetess.

Did the Wiz bow before the Prophet's feet in the later books?

I mean I got a good stiffy when the Emperor was begging his mom for some poon and saying "you know you are the only one I could trust".

Also I think Conphus is gay now... he got turned on by the skilvendi after the butt invasion right?

>>6803817

>Did the Wiz bow before the Prophet's feet in the later books?

He has yet to kneel

>Also I think Conphus is gay now... he got turned on by the skilvendi after the butt invasion right

He needs to find his head first

Anyone here read Lord of the Ice Garden? It's a Polish book series and I'm not 100% sure if it got an English release but I'd definitely recommend it. It's sci-fi crossed with fantasy and takes elements from norse mythology as well as mongolian/persian culture for world building. Also the 'villains' of the series are done in a very fun way.

Why the fuck is so hard to get the book of jhereg? No ebook, and only one barnes and nobles in all of new york has it in stock.

I ended up buying The Alchemyst: The immortal secrets of Nicholas Flammel and it's complete trash. Generic villains, boring protagonists, a linear plot and a pretty lame magic system

Thank god I still have Infernal Devices (the steampunk book, not the YA series). I just kind of wish the language was a little less opaque. It's like reading through mollasses

>>6773840
>and man, it's slow going
The thing with Eriskon, is that in every single instalment of the Malazan series, he introduces characters (such as >>6776607 points out) waaaay too early on. I think I get why he does this, but the choice is bot at all his strong point. His strong point is brining together all the boring, irrelevant characters and plots to suddenly combine them into the most satisfying, mind-blowing endings out there, making the 1000+ page swamp sludge of introductions entirely worth it, somehow.

That's Eriskon's problem: He's great at writing tragedy, but for some reason decides to draw out all the 'setting up of the stage' until it's just bloated and boring. I have stockholm-syndrome, so I read every novel from the series, putting up with the boring 1000+ page beginning just to read the last 200+ pages of endings which somehow make it all worth it.

>I've heard good stuff about Deadhouse Gates though
DG was the only one I remember being actually good throughout the first half. It wasn't like his others, where they are mind-numbingly slow and bloated in the first half, then great in the last half; instead, DH was great all the way through as far as I remember (it was a long time ago). And the ending was by far the most tragically emotional of the lot. There's a reason why that book sticks with everyone one who reads Malazan.

>>6776607
Bad news. He pulls this shit all throughout the entire series. I explained it to the guy above, in this post.

>>6804115

> but for some reason decides to draw out all the 'setting up of the stage' until it's just bloated and boring. I have stockholm-syndrome, so I read every novel from the series, putting up with the boring 1000+ page beginning just to read the last 200+ pages of endings which somehow make it all worth it.

I don't consider volumes 2-5 boring at any stage. They are genuine masterpieces of fantasy. And the rest are not so much boring as they are unintelligible (until the endings).

>>6802959
>sex, violence, raw stuff (vomiting, diarrhea, smashing skulls) all described in detail
>literally the main plot is about sex
>author describing penises
>few moments of real magic

The fact that it is long does not make it an epic. And there are way too many PoVs. Like 50% too much.

>>6804155
>I don't consider volumes 2-5 boring at any stage
Can I retract the words 'boring' and 'slow', then?
>the rest are not so much boring as they are unintelligible (until the endings)
Your words are better, I think. I found them boring BECAUSE they were unintelligible until the endings. But the ending are masterful in themselves.

All of this said, the series is still my favourite, don't get me wrong. I think Malazan is a masterpiece, albeit with flaws.

>>6804178
>it has to be Young Adult to be epic fantasy

>>6804115

First guy here, just finished GotM and it definitely picks up during the second half

>tfw based Circle Breaker lives

Like the necromancer I use my powers to bring life back to that which is dead!

>make some fuckin crazy-ass settings
>love the ideas behind them
>no way to execute them properly in novel form
I'm so fucking mad every day

Trying to start Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale, but having trouble actually sitting down and reading it.

>>6803704
>Though I'm sure in the world of tSA they can't be "men" regardless since they don't have souls.
Pretty sure thats religious interpretation in a patriarchal society rather than a fact and a rule of how that universe works.
Not all narrators are reliable, and our sources of the claim that only men have souls are all pious religious nuts, or uneducated whores.

>>6801959
Why do you pretend to be me? I'd never apologize to somebody who acts like such a cunt, regardless if they are right. And 90% of what he says is liberal interpretation of more ambiguous citations.

>>6804913
GotM is nothing compared to the rest of the series m8. If you're liking this one, then fuccboi, let me tell you: you're in for a ride and three quarters.

>>6805470
send me your settings lets be co-authors

eliotrosenstock at yahoo

Achamian's dreams arent actually visions of the past. They are his own consciousness rationalizing Kellhus lying to him and denying him the woman he loved for the greater good.

Seswatha(representing Kellhus) leads Nau-Cayuti(representing Achamian) through hell (representing the battles, the torture, all their struggles) promising him salvation and finding his love (as Achamian was promised his soul would be saved and during the crusades his life with Esmenet seemed almost possible), but in reality he is just lying to him, tricking him in order to achieve his goal, which is needed for the greater good and to save the world.

After Achamian realizes this, any moment now, he will rejoin Kellhus and they will stand together in the final battle.
Maybe its Kellhus sending him these dreams in the first place. Achamian himself had considered this early on, before he convinced himself of the opposite.
Maybe his mission to find the coffers and later the home of the Dûnyain is part of our lord and savior Kellhus' plan.

>>6802293
first one is probably one of the best WH 40K books there is. stopped reading them around 2010 though so I wouldn't know the other ones.

>>6802293
Aw shit nigga, don't trigger this level of nostalgia in me.

Aside from anything Abbnett wrote, the Night Lord books were the only memorable 40k novels I've ever read. Highly recommend them.

>>6805882
I always felt Abnett's books were vastly overrated and the lore he created felt a bit out of place. McNeill's stuff was much better, as well as the Ciaphas Cain stuff by Mitchell.

>>6805848
>>6805882
Good to hear. I'll probably read those then get into Otherland finally.

>>6784419
Who cares, if it's good it's good whether or not Disney says it's canon

>>6806582
looks like Poland, with the Vistula as the river

>>6806835
I don't know if they're based off actual countries or what. These are only towns in-book.

what are some stories that tie modern science and magic together in interesting ways and don't mutilate the science in the process. I don't mean science fiction that is so bad it's fantasy, wizards with railguns, or sufficiently advanced technology. I mean more like a mesh of alchemy and DNA or technomages casting spells from their cell phones. That kind of thing

>>6807819
like shadowrun?

>>6807836
no. I mean modern science, not scifi, and a blend between the two. You know how in the dresden files Harry might use depleted uranium in spells, or how a holy sword took the form of a light saber because the guy holding it was deeply inspired by star wars? Sort of like that.

So me and my friends recently started playing D&D5e and now I'm interested in some D&D books.
So my question is, what are some good/reccomended D&D books to read?

already read those Drizzt books, which were okay

>>6807879
You're better off reading other fantasy TBH.

>>6764382
Is "Overworld 7" a good name for a post-apocalyptic novel? In the book, "Overworld" is how everyone calls the world after the nuclear attacks, and 7 is because there are 7 main characters. I want it to be similar to books like "Lord Of The Flies" and "Metro 2033", to talk a lot about human nature.
I was considering changing the name to something like "Delusion's home"

I just started reading ASOIAF because I'm a pleb who got hooked on the show, and I'm enjoying it a lot so. He's a great storyteller and knowledgeable historian which makes for some nuanced political dialogue and intrigue. I also like how he doesn't overuse the mystical elements of his world and focuses more on how the characters are affected by his universe than the universe itself.

That being said, he's not the most gifted wordsmith; I think he used the "fortnight" 4 or 5 times in the span of two pages in one of the Chapters I just read.

>>6772764
But anon, that is how all battles are won. Losers always are retarded on hindsiht. Evenly matched sides pretty much can only win due to sheer numbers.

>>6805596

>Not all narrators are reliable, and our sources of the claim that only men have souls are all pious religious nuts, or uneducated whores

No it's that all the beings with higher consciousness in tSA (men/women, nonmen/nonwomen, inchoroi) have souls. The skinspies/sranc don't. There is of course the possibility that souls don't function in that manner of course.

I know I'm the greatest of plebs, can anyone recommend a book like Wheel of Time series or The Stormlight Archive?

>>6810031
Both those series suck. Read

Black Company
Conan the Barbarian
Elric of Melnibone
The Dying Earth
And The First Law

And become a real man.

>>6810182
narrow it down, which one would you recommend first. I'm a cuck with 3 kids, 2 of them not being my own. I don't have much time.

>>6810193
Choose for yourself, I'm not your fucking father

>>6810193
Read them in this order:

Conan
Elric
Dying Earth
Black Co
First Law

>>6810207
Does your father recommend you books?

Anyone got any good recs for sci fi or fantasy written by women? Want to branch out a bit now i've read a lot of "old" stuff.

>>6810985
God's War by Kameron Hurley
Robin Hobb's work, starting with the Farseer Trilogy
The Anvil Of The World by Kage Baker

Just realized that's about the extent of fantasy that I've read by women, except a couple of others not worth recommending.

>>6811065
Will check them out, thanks.

>>6810985
>muh womyn

>>6807980
>I think he used the "fortnight" 4 or 5 times in the span of two pages in one of the Chapters I just read

yep. his frequent usage of some particular words is quite queer.

>>6810985
I haven't read anything by Le Guin yet but the Earthsea books have been on my to-read list for fucking ages, they seem to be well regarded.

>>6811610
>they seem to be well regarded.
only the first one

>>6811610
They probably won't hold up well. They're good, but they're written for a younger audience and should have been read as such. Go for The Dispossessed first and if you like it, you can go back.

NEW >>6811689