/sffg/ - Science Fiction and Fantasy General

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1st for anybody who doesn't read Wolfe is stupid.

2nd for female warriors ruin books

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So does /sffg/ have anything comparable to Crest of the Stars?

>>9212647
Describe Crest of the Stars and explain why nobody should laugh at you for enjoying it.

Anything with lolis in them that play a big role, maybe even as the protagonist? Bonus points if said lolis tempt and seduce men.

>>9212647

Any other good Japanese science fiction besides LOGH and Crest/Banner of the Stars? I'm hoping Crest gets a reprint sometime since it looks like it is out of print.

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>>9212663
Devilman is the eternal GOAT if you're asking specifically about manga. It's not a never-ending Asimov-style humanities lesson in space in the style of LOGH but it's incredibly well structured and entertaining and if you can't appreciate it you suck.

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>>9212651
Humanity created a race of genetically engineered Polish space elves designed for prolonged life in zero-g and psychological resistance to prolonged isolation to make them better at deep space exploration called Abh. The Abh eventually harnessed their weaponized autism and started and intergalactic empire and started conquering everywhere, except they don't actually care about what happens on the surface of the planets at all, just that Humans stay out of extra-solar space which they consider "theirs".

The main character is the son of the Prime Minister of an agricultural world, his father made a deal with the Abh when they came calling, surrender without resistance, but in exchange, he becomes one of the Abh nobility and overseer of their planet rather than an actual natural born Abh noble.

The plot follows this kid as he grows up making sense of an Alien monarchy and his exploits with the Granddaughter of the Empress of said empire.

All their names are impossible to pronounce and it's a running gag in the series itself.

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>>9212677
Pictures aren't fun to look at and I don't see the story going anywhere interesting.

>>9212672

Already read Devilman, really cool series for only being short. I was actually on planning to watch the 70s anime soon.

>>9212663
>>9212663
If you're not looking for manga specifically, Kobo Abe has some good scifi books.

Idiot here, I'm wondering about the "Severian is an unreliable narrator" thing

Having finished BotnS I do not trust the fucker one bit, but I can't point to any specific thing that he might have lied about
Sometimes we only learn something he knows or suspects when he reveals it to another character and there are instances where he doesn't tell someone something that I know he knows and he never actually tells me either but that's about it

Is there some specific thing that strongly suggests he is a dirty liar or is he just being a bit shady and blurry?
At the beginning I thought he had a great reason for lying, but at the end I'm not sure I feel about it that strongly anymore

I'm open to the idea that there aren't any answers to any questions I have because Wolfe decided to be ambiguous, I would be fine with that. It's also possible that Urth over explains everything, I don't have a copy yet
Can someone help me understand the end of book 4 when he explains how the grave was his?
I'm not sure how Dr. Talos is returning the coin, if it's the same one that he had and if there is something in the book that gives some further motive as to why the grave has the same imagery as the coin or if Severian just thought that would be a neat thing to put on his grave

The whole time thing fucked with me a bit, am I right to assume that the first Severian didn't live a linear life like the one of the second Severian that is described in BotnS and instead time warped all over the place?
I am thinking here that first Severian was who became known as the Conciliator, someone who seems to have lived very long ago while the grave in the necropolis seems less ancient

Is it bad that I feel like a moron not because I don't fully comprehend, but because the thing I don't fully comprehend is genre fiction?

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Anyone out there read this? Or any of Stross' work?

>>9212724
>70s anime
Neat for what it is but it's more a Devilman-themed superhero show than a real adaption of Devilman. Consider eventually checking out Devilman Lady. Nobody's quite certain what to make of it, but I don't think it would have been possible to make a better continuation of the story. It sure beats the hell out of Parasyte if nothing else.

>>9212745
I don't understand the graves thing myself since I've only read it once, but it's clear that Severian isn't giving you events as they are in a few places, more because he doesn't have a solid grip himself than any kind of dishonesty. Anything involving Thecla is particularly blurry since he ends up sharing his consciousness with her and their memories become intertwined and confused together. Something which some people particularly seem to miss is that through off hand comments we learn both that Severian and Thecla had a sexual relationship and that out of desperation or possibly even madness Thecla apparently tried to attack and possibly kill Severian at least once during his visits. Their relationship likely wasn't half as friendly or stable as he puts it in a surface reading.

>>9212769

While I did enjoy Parasyte a lot I was expecting the ending to go in End of Evangelion or Devilman like direction.

>>9212752
I have, I think it was the only thing of his I have read. It's not really a "novel", more a series of short stories in the same universe with the same characters set over a long period of time. It reads very much like watching a TV show where at the start of each episode it recaps the story so far. It explores some interesting ideas but is both repetitive and disjointed.

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>>9212815
The ending really deflated the whole thing for me. The whole thing was building up massive world-scale happenings and trying to impress this feeling of dread onto you but then everything is resolved in a fashion which felt entirely too much like straight wish-fulfillment for my liking and everything beyond the direct conflict between bad guys and the protagonist was handwaved away at the last second. Their were some almost-big ideas being thrown around in Parasyte but the ending made it clear that the author didn't really think them through, let alone have any idea on how they'd naturally tie in with the progression of the story towards some kind of resolution. It felt like just about the single most lazy ending the story could have possibly had, while Devilman's enormous influence on the industry is probably largely due to how bold, unique and intelligent its ending is.

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>>9212630

I fell for the /lit/ memes once again. this wasn't even that good of a book

>>9212644
>who is Eowyn?

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Since when is scifi /lit/erature?

It's just a bunch of cheap tricks. Meek hero + sexy woman + evil badguy + weird names = GROUNDBREAKING SCIFI.

>inb4 muh hero's journey is not overdone

>>9212864
sci-fi is far more patrician than fantasy which is complete and total garbage

>m-muh tolkek tho...

>>9212852
That book sucked because it presented all humans as emasculated dumb pussies who still emptily bang. Not one trace of testosterone in the whole culture, leading me to believe cloning actually does produce totally inhuman drones incapable of true violent passion. How should I care about fools who won't even try to take some mother truckers out, especially after the first transplant? Everybody knows what the endgame is. Terrible novel. Dostoyevsky would have solved this "problem" in two pages.

>>9212974
>it presented all humans as emasculated dumb pussies who still emptily bang. Not one trace of testosterone in the whole culture, leading me to believe cloning actually does produce totally inhuman drones incapable of true violent passion.

Sure sounds like it was written by Jap

any good sci fi written in the past 2 years?

last two good authors were bacigalupi (meh) and chiang, anyone else break out?

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>>9212864
>not lit reported
Nice meme

>>9212988
What I suggest yall don't even read, you start making excuses and using ad hominem about m-muh cover.
So no, fuck off.

>>9213050
hi paolo

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I read The Eyes Of The Overworld, Jack Vance's second Dying Earth book. Its conceited thief protagonist, Cugel, blunders into one perilous situation after another as he undertakes a picaresque journey southwards through the continent on a wizard's errand.

There is plenty of witty dialogue and irony, much more so than in the first book. However, the setting remain perilous, full of violence, scammers, curiosities, and surprising spectacles in every section. Not too long a book either. All being considered, this book deserves five out of five dinosaurs.

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Can we all agree that pic related has finally ended the "what's the darkest/bleakest/edgiest sci-fi universe" competition?

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Why was Vodalus being such a dick in book 4?

>>9213070
This was a big influence on Soma, I believe. That and a bunch of Greg Egan books.

>>9213070
sure sounds like you haven't read my diary

>>9213077
Because he was always an asshole. Remember when he first killed innocent people to dig up a corpse to eat and then later forced severian to eat the love of his life?

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>>9213060
Stop using dinosaurs as a unit of measurement, or I will make a macro specifically for you.

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>>9213112
looking back on it he really was a cunt
and right at the beginning he falls over a fucking dirt pile and almost gets his head smashed in what a dip

makes me feel bad i thought he was cool you know

>>9213060
solid summary and review, i was wondering if i should read Dying Earth

thank you for doing a good service and i hope you will continue to use dinosaurs as a measure of quality in the future

>>9212974

That wasn't the issue. They didn't rebel because they were conditioned not to. They were raised to believe this is their destiny, they were raised with the knowledge they couldn't rebel.

I agree though that it was solvable in a short story of a couple pages.

Also, the problem was the slow pace of the book, and the many parts of the book that were completely unnecessary to the plot. I get it, you want to present how they were given the chance of experiencing childhood and were presented as 'human'. But jesus, I got it during the first third of the book - at this point I was always wondering... when is the inevitable plot twist finally coming?

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>>9213140
>my day is shot
>oh? What is this? Some autist getting triggered?
>imma say something positive about the thing he was talking about
>kek
>shit. Forgot to post my pic

>>9212974
>>9213146

Also, I hated how he presented each arc.

He'd start with "I should tell you about X... but we'll get to that later, first I need to tell you about Y!"; and X and Y are completely fucking unrelated, and he does this EVERY TIME. Why?

>>9213151
dinosaurs are second only to NINJAstars and it's not my problem if you can't handle that

What's the best novel that has a little girl protag?

>>9213169
my diary to be honest

>>9213134
>>9213151
It's too late Kevin. I've started using the dinosaur system as well. Very comfy. You should try it.

>>9212857
She's a ruiner, desu

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>>9213134
Dino-haters this is your mindset

>>9213200
Hey Vince what you reading recently?

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>>9213260
Only 10 years old desu. Giving me the chills.
Yourself?

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>read genre fiction book
>it takes me to a place very very far away, nice
>finish reading book
>fade out of it
>back to reality

>>9212857
A booker ruiner

>>9213290
hurry up and start a new one before it's too late

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>>9213538
I'm getting a new book tomorrow

>>9213595
okay good. stay safe out there, it's a hard world.

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>>9213290
When will someone invent a device that allows us to live in a fantasy world of our choosing?

>>9213613
bro.... what if they have... and that's... where you are RIGHT NOW

i've never read anything by Arthur C Clarke
If i was going to read one book of his, which should it be?

(my fave scifi author is Lem, if that helps)

>>9213290
I feel that way when I finish an rpg. The fleeting triumph resolves into the cold truth of another hundred hours wasted.

>>9213290
I haven't felt like that since I was a kid.

>>9213699
It's not the same as a child because then the biggest problem in the whole wide world is that your Bionicles might not get along and be jealous of each other because you don't play with them for equal amounts of time.

>>9213060
THIS, if anyone reads Dying Earth read Cugels Saga its the most entertaining, funniest, and readable Jack Vance story.

>>9213622
in that case I want a better fantasy world to live in.

>>9213639
A childmolester oddyssey.

>>9212988
>any good sci fi written in the past 2 years?
No, not for a long, long time.

>>9213639
Rama

>>9213136
You were supposed to

Should I read the Ender books past Speaker for the Dead? Heard it drops off after that

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Why haven't you donated yet anon? Every cent counts.

>>9214306
Is that the cunt that wrote that shite book that everyone loves.

>>9214351
Yeah, he wrote ASoIaF.

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>>9214351
D-don't make me delay book 3

>>9214371
:3

Overly delayed book releases were not an issue before smart phones.

Stop doing Ama's on reddit you fat fucks.

Anyone here read Last Call (Fault Lines trilogy) by Tim Powers? It's the same guy of Anubis Gate.

>>9212672
>I see breasts
>is that.. a dick?
the fuck

Started reading Coldfire, I like the Fae stuff and other worldbuilding so far and the way it's written, but holy shit does Damien become any less of a boring shit after starting their trip? It feels like it's going to be one of those cases where every single side character is five times more interesting than the MC and his dumb girlfriend. Like she didn't even break down over her inability to help people due to her power being gone, literally crying that she has to live like a regular mortal pleb, how am I supposed to give a shit?

>>9213268
DUNYAIN
I need to catch up so I can meme when the time comes

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I hate the fucking belters

>>9214597
>tfw no catgirl gf

>>9214597
Coldfire is a trilogy with a 99% male cast, all of the females vanish one way or another.

>>9213967
why?

>>9214658
Honestly surprised that the main characters didn't end up going full homo before the end of it

>>9213639
Rama

The Fountains of Paradise is his best book imo but Rama is more representative of his style while still being good.

>>9214261
No, and I mostly say that because I think the opportunity cost is high. If you're the kind of person that reads interminable fantasy epics on purpose go ahead.

>>9214658
This doesn't tell me much about the MC. At least the granny isn't an overly major one then.

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Redpill me on C.J. Cherryh, /sffg/

>>9214716
In my subjective opinion Vryce's characterisation becomes more interesting as time goes by.

>>9212630
>bring your own little girl protagonist
What does this mean?

>>9214836
Read through the thread. Two posts already did the meme.

>>9214813
She is the best.
What do you want to know specifically?

>>9214642
Should I be adding this to my watchlist?

>>9214876
Where do I start? Downbelow?

I got hooked on listening to Finity's End, but I have no idea what to read first.

>>9214891
Yeah, for the Company Wars books you might as well start with Downbelow Station as it's the meatiest one that establishes much of the context.
Finity's End is a great book, but the style is a bit different, more bildungsroman than political thriller.
Heavy Time and Hellburner take place earlier chronologically, but they aren't strongly connected to the other books, just make sure to read them together.

>>9214879
Its meh catfag. There are cat people that share the world with humans, but she never passes the pussy (hehe), I think she wanted the dicking though AND I WAS SURE IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED BUT FUCK THAT AUTHOR FOR NOT LETTING IT BE.

>>9214842
So are there actually any sci-fi/fantasy books with a little girl protag?
I would like to read them.

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>>9215028
Cherryh has you covered.

planning on writing a fantasy story about the sundiata myth.

Any advice guys?

>>9215051
Wrong thread, this here is for consuming fiction.

>>9214642
>>9214965

>you will never create an entire species through your planet's magic catering to your sexual fetish

wolfe is just a moderately better rothfuss

ya'll have some huge cognitive dissonance over this, so much so that you attack anyone who says this

>>9215101
He isn't better.

>>9214621
is this show bad?

>>9214836
Talking about the pic. No one forced Sanderson on us these last 2 threads. Are his supporters dying out?

>start reading Malazan
>it's proper nouns: the book

Is this supposed to be interesting to read? I'd rather read about the story on wikipedia desu, at least that format's designed for it.

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SHAEÖNANRA DID NOTHING WRONG

>>9215350
He literally betrayed humanity for alien rape monsters

>>9215328
Literally what is wrong about that?

>>9214965
Ah, thanks. A sexually consummated relationship isn't necessary. It's just too bad she's not on the cover :3

>>9215287
>Sanderson
Is he shit? I enjoyed The Way of Kings

>>9215775
The response is mixed. Some of us like him, and some of us are edgy teenagers.

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>>9215703
There's very little literary value, it's like I'm reading a sequence of events. He makes very little effort to establish his world and to say what's happening where in relation to what.

Look at this page, for example. This is only a few pages into a new chapter which has characters and a setting we've not been introduced to before. This is only the second chapter of the book, so it should still really be introductory. There are just proper nouns everywhere with no indication of what they mean. What the fuck is an Archmage? Who are the Tiste Andii? What are the Warrens of Sorcery? What kind of author would call a character Caladan Brood? Or Hairlock?

And when I tried looking at the shitty map he's provided for a place called Moon's Spawn (if you're going to make a novel that consists entirely of proper nouns at least make them good ffs) I couldn't find it, so I also have very little idea of where this is all taking place. Above all, I don't have any reason why I should care.

>>9215865
Yeah, you won't like Malazan. Please don't read it.

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>>9215865
>where are the info dumps
>why isn't he over explaining like Sanderson
I don't think Malazan is for you.

>>9215811
Are you saying only edgy teenagers like Sanderson?

>>9212663
Blame! is good. And the English edition finally got a reprint. I also really like Abara, it's awesomely bleak.

Bodacious Space Pirates is also good, however last I checked the novels hadn't gotten a English translation.

For the fantasy fans, Spice and Wolf is actually really readable for a LN series, it doesn't really have the tortured "author literally describing a anime episode" prose that most of them have.

>>9215906
I haven't read Sanderson, but if "over explaining" is providing basic details of context and creating a vested interest in the characters and the world then perhaps I'll read him instead.

>>9215888
From what I knew about it, I was expecting interweaving plotlines and a large-scale story. This is just tripe that has the worst characteristics people think of fantasy, including stupid place names that have no meaning to anyone except the author.

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What's this one like? Any good?

WHEN'S
THE
FUCKING
TEE
UUUU
CEEEE
EXCERPT

>>9216047
It's not for you.

>>9216051
I liked it

>>9215227

I haven't read the series but I found season one interesting. Season two, I watched the first two episodes and then found better things to do. According to wikipedia, the ratings aren't falling off a cliff so presumably others feel differently.

>>9216061
Thanks for the in-depth response, I'll be sure to taken your opinion into consideration.

>>9216047
>perhaps I'll read him instead.
You do that. The reason Malazan is praised is because it doesn't hold your hand. You are dropped into the middle of the world where you are lost, an outsider, just as if someone took you to a foreign country and abandoned you. There names and places are going to sound off, it's not fucking English, and even if it was it has a different culture and different history.

Do the people in the other country not exist because you don't understand? What the fuck does your understanding have to do with the events that unfolds in their daily lives? If you have to be lead to the fucking urinal and someone has to hold your dick and blow on it so pee can come out, then I think you are in the wrong place.

Try YA trash. They are all relatable and have teenage problems how adults just don't understand, and rants about places and people having names that are not approved by them (the teenager).

Go neck yourself.

>>9216051
I-is that a v... vagina?

>>9216054
Are you armored with the truth?

>>9215101
here comes the attack you predicted, but it comes with a backhanded complement. At least you aren't as clueless as the poster immediately after you, who can't tell the difference between amoebic dysentery and ambrosia. Wolfe is thousands of time better than Rothfuss - an actual all time great writer, albeit eccentric. Rothfuss is the guy posting right after you, I presume.

>>9216110
>with a foreword from Alan Moore
Probably.

>>9216110
Nah, those are the tarantula mandibles in front of it.

>>9216127
>navel
>pubic mound with pubic hair
>fat pussy lips
>not a vagina

>My newest novel IRON GOLD, a continuation of the Red Rising Series, will come out in January 2018. And my first comic, THE SONS OF ARES, will debut its first of six issues in May 2017.

Darrow's gonna have more adventures? about what?

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I am almost done with this just a hundred pages to go. I absolutely loved the first one. This one however is kinda disappointing me.

>>9216153
Getting cucked by the jackal

>>9216047
I haven't read the book but your complaint reads like a recommendation to me. I find it much more engaging to wonder about the world then to have it explained to me.

Just put the things you don't understand on the shelf and let their meaning crystallize from future context.

>>9216153
>what is mustang's tax policy?
can't wait

>>9216266
That's what I was doing, but the story kept rushing on at a frantic pace despite the lack of context. I got about a fifth of the way into the book and I didn't care about any of it because there was no attempt to make the reader invest in it, just more names thrown at you.

>>9216374
No response to>>9216105??

>>9216427
>>9216105
Well maybe if it hadn't ended with "neck yourself" and "read YA trash" I would have responded.

I also think that if you can't see the problem with your own words when you say "you are... an outsider, just as if someone took you to a foreign country and abandoned you", then I can't explain to you why I think that's bad writing.

We just have different ideas of good writing. I like interesting and realistic characters who develop through the story, and settings which are made to feel viscerally real and a product of the themes that the story espouses. I don't want to feel lost for more than the earliest part of the story, I don't want to be dropped into Central Africa and be struggling to figure out what's going on from the barest context.

Most fantasy stories introduce the pieces one at a time to make sure the reader has a chance to understand the foundations before more bricks are piled on top of them, but with what I read of Malazan it starts with the bricks and no foundation is ever laid.

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What are some other works besides the Three Body Problem that take the "dark forest" solution to the Fermi paradox?

>>9216460
>I don't want to be dropped into Central Africa and be struggling to figure out what's going on from the barest context.
Then you won't like Malazan. I'm just trying to save you some frustration here.

>>9216483
In Altered Starscape, Earth is in a isolated part of the galaxy easily overlooked also we were using antiquated technology for communication, basically we skipped a tech tree.
Once we got FTL we ran into aliens on the first expedition and there are tons of them.

>>9215914
I don't know what you mean. I merely implied that there are among us several individuals to whom marketers can successfully pander the edgy teenager demographic. You know "How tall is the Buddha?" and so on.

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>>9215328
You haven't lived until you've seen the sheer amount of variation in Doctor Who prose, from incredibly descriptive worldbuilding to almost encyclopaedic as in the related image, to the shitty shallow YA they push out these days.

>>9216553
Doesn't sound much like the dark forest, dark forest means that
>The universe is full of civilizations
>All the civilizations are keeping quiet and hiding from all the rest
>Any civilization that exposes its existence and location is preemptively destroyed by some other civilization because the universe is a zero sum game

>>9216483

http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts/PeterWatts_Ambassador.pdf

This Watts short story.

I guess his Blindopraxia setting is also an even more extreme version of the dark forest, where all aliens are not only hostile, but not even conscious.

>>9216711
I know I've read the series, but I misread your post sorry.
I thought you were asking for more examples of Fermi Paradox stuff.

>>9216460
>I like interesting and realistic characters who develop through the story, and settings which are made to feel viscerally real and a product of the themes that the story espouses
Well the books do this.
>I don't want to feel lost for more than the earliest part of the story
And this, tho. Erikson doesn't give you anything for free, so take notes if you need to. Bits of info will be dropped here and there and will make sense as you go on and in retrospect.
>This is only the second chapter of the book, so it should still really be introductory.
But the POV is not new to the story, so spoonfeeding info doesn't make sense.
>What kind of author would call a character Caladan Brood? Or Hairlock?
I really don't see the issue in having abnormal names in a fantasy book. There are several humanoid races and a large world, so you're bound to get variations across languages.

Go to TOR and follow the Reread of the Fallen.

Also the first book is usually regarded the worst, and some just need to get to book 3 before they're starting to like the series.

>>9216808
>Well the books do this.
I duno, desu so far I felt like I'd get more out of reading a wikipedia summary of some historical event. But I'm early on in, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt here.

>Erikson doesn't give you anything for free, so take notes if you need to. Bits of info will be dropped here and there and will make sense as you go on and in retrospect.
This is my point though. I don't want to take notes. I'm reading this for pleasure, and I don't want to take notes, I want to be immersed in the story.

>But the POV is not new to the story, so spoonfeeding info doesn't make sense.
Yes it is. This is the second chapter, the first followed Ganoes Paran, this one follows Tattersail.

>I really don't see the issue in having abnormal names in a fantasy book.
I still think they're particularly bad here. It could just be my personal taste, but they stand out to me quite a bit and don't really flow very well.

>Go to TOR and follow the Reread of the Fallen.
Ah so this will help guide me if I'm interested in continuing but struggling for my place in the world? Seems like a fantastic idea desu, thanks.

>>9216808
>>9216929
Actually on reading this Reread of the Fallen stuff, I feel pretty good that I was getting most of it. I still don't think it's the most effective way to write a story, but I'm inclined to give it another go now that I know what I'm getting into.

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>>9216961
>I still don't think it's the most effective way to write a story

I think you're confusing academic papers with literature.
Non-fiction doesn't really need to adhere to rigorous methods and guidelines though sometimes those can be helpful to get a nice structure.

>>9217093
>Non-fiction doesn't really need to adhere to rigorous methods and guidelines
I think you mean fiction. And sure there's a lot of room for creativity and uniqueness when writing a novel, but I don't think that throwing the reader into a world of proper nouns without explaining what they mean is the best way to write one. I'm starting to understand that it's this story's main attraction, however, and it's shaping my perspective while reading it and has made it more enjoyable for me.

I was also glad to see that I wasn't alone in struggling with the second chapter, this is from the Reread of the Fallen:

>Wow, this paragraph was seriously as though I had started reading the book in a different language:
>“The Tiste Andii are Mother Dark’s first children. You’ve felt the tremors through the Warrens of Sorcery, Tayschrenn. So have I. Ask Dujek about the reports coming down from the North Campaign. Elder Magic—Kurald Galain. The Lord of Moon’s Spawn is the Master Archmage—you know his name as well as I do.”
>I sincerely hope at least some of this will begin to make sense soon!

I found the third chapter much more enjoyable, and am keen to keep reading now.

anybody got sins of empire by mclellan to share?

>>9217098
>I think you mean fiction

Of course.
I'm a fucking dunce.
But I like the in medias res start of the Malazan novels where you have to glean everything from context instead of everything being described straight up.
I just started Malazan for the first time too and coming from Sanderson's Mistborn novels that I just finished, Malazan feels like high literature.

>>9217099
https://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic.php?f=1293&t=1974646&hilit=sins+of+empire

My dog ripped up the cover and first few pages of Heroes Die but not anything pertaining to the actual story.

I didn't know that was something that can actually happen

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>“Your eyes …”
>“Shall be put out …”
>“Your manhood …”
>“Shall be cut from you …”
>“And I shall give you over …”
>“To my children …”
>“To their rutting fervour …”

>“You will be shattered …”
>“Beaten and degraded …”
>“Your wounds will bleed …”
>“The black of my children’s seed …”
>“Your honour will be cast …”
>“As ash …”
>“To the high winds …”
>“Where the Gods shall gather it!”
>“And you will weep …”
>“At the last …”

>>9212630
>what are you currently reading?

I Shall Seal The Heavens
The Great Book of Amber
Stellar Transformations
Martial God Asura

>>9217099
How good is the Powder Meme trilogy?

>>9213613
Related books: The Thursday Next series.

>>9217361
I can't believe Fforde isn't writing Shades of Grey with the maneating road and is instead writing that literal shitty fanfiction series.

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>>9214595
yes

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>>9214663
>main characters didn't end up going full homo before the end of it
then what's the point

>>9217389
gotta pay the bills

>>9216929
>summary of some historical event.
He is an archeologist and sometimes writes so as to give you the feel of things being ancient, prehistoric.
>the first followed Ganoes Paran, this one follows Tattersail.
Yes, and they don't need introductory information, therefore it is not given.

The writing was hard to get into for me as well, with the lack of introduction, lacking maps, and fast-changing POVs, but I've grown to really like it.

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>>9217291
TUC WHEN

yeah uuuuuuuuh can i get a uuuuuh TUC excerpt?

>>9217699
God that's cringy. I mean, I've shilled my book a couple times on /lit/, but at least I don't put up a song and dance to try and sound like just some person who bought, read, and enjoyed the book. I do miss being a stoner though, I hear that Trudeau j.r. already has legislation written to legalize cannabis and it's due to be checked over by the Senate or whatever this year, so perhaps joints will be on store shelves along side cigarettes sometime later in 2017. I used to prefer rolling my own, but there's just something romantic about walking into a store and buying a pack of joints. Something about it just says 'freedom', and then you look down at the snack section of this convenience store you're buying them at and suddenly it also says 'Cheetos'.

>>9217699
July 4 m8
Please look forward to it

>>9214371
ASoIaF atleast starts off pretty good.

>>9217892
Really makes me wist for pot to be legal where I live...

>>9218257
Give it time; the war on Drugs can't go on forever. Especially in the US. Bloody expensive to be clothing, feeding, and keeping all those prisoners warm on your tax dollar even though they performed a victimless crime.

It's worth reiterating, for the benefit of neophytes such as myself, just how much Isaac Asimov draws upon Roman history in his Foundation trilogy. I've just finished The General, from the second book, which turns out to be an extended Belisarius and Justinian analogy.

I'm getting real tired of the women power angle in every single fucking fantasy book I ever read.

I get it already, women are just as good as men or better in every single sphere possible and can become adventurers and soldiers or anything else they want with no problems other than those evil pesky irrational MEN who always "get what's coming to them" getting in their way out of pure malice.

I FUCKING GET IT
STOP TELLING IT TO ME
IN EVERY FUCKING FANTASY BOOK EVER

HOLY FUCK

>>9218335
You need to read better books.

>>9218335
>>9218340
I think I agree with anon there; I haven't read too many books with girl-power themes in them, but then again I don't typically bother with fantasy. If you'd like to read a book in which a feminist gets kinda sorta fucked over in the zombie apocalypse, then I know a book you can check out.

Forewarning; I'm shilling at this point, but I won't sugar-coat it if you're interested in hearing it out. It's not a book that's for everyone.

>>9218335
Female warriors ruin books

>>9218373
You don't need to preface a book recommendation, ya donut. Just say it.

>>9217699
That guy is pretty clearly just meaning to say; "So what? I smoke pot too. It probably helps him write" but was stoned and fucked it up. Most tenuous "evidence" that Bakker posted here, ever.

>>9217291
SRANCED

>>9218380
People seem to fucking hate shilling, so I try to tread lightly when bringing up my book. Living amongst the Dead. I actually got a review recently and I damn near shed a tear at hearing how much someone loved it.

>>9218335
Dropped the demon cycle series because of this shite.

>>9218388
Shilling others books is completely fine, but shilling your own is pretty damn low. I'm disappointed, Morgan.

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>>9218388
Fuck off shill!

>>9218388
SHILL!

>>9218418
>>9218421
A dude complains about woman-power, I happen to have written a book where a feminist has a bad time. It's also apparently fairly well-written since the dude who gave me that 5-star review also reviewed a bunch of other novels, some of them being as low as 1-2 stars so he seems like a pretty fair critic. Thought it was relevant to bring up, so I did. Sorry to disappoint, /lit/...

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>>9218442
>Thought it was relevant to bring up, so I did.

>>9218442
>It's also apparently fairly well-written
Morgan, stop...

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>>9218442
We only read high-brow sff literature here, anon.
Like Sanderson's WoT novels.
The original """""""""""""""""""""""author""""""""""""""""""""""" of WoT was subpar.
None of that zombie schlock that's been coming out of everyone's asshole the past 5 years.

>>9217291
HE CANT KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS

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this series is trash

why do i enjoy it

>>9218482
Yeah, I understand. I'll stop. Stupid to have brought it up.

>>9218452
I didn't mean for it to sound that way, but anyways I'm probably just digging a deeper hole for myself. Sorry /lit/.

>>9218335
Which ones fall into this so I can avoid them? Only one I can think of off the top of my head is demon cycle like that other anon mentioned. Oh and I guess kingkiller shit in it's fuck awful second book.

>>9218614
Most modern books / the ones often recommended by Reddit.

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>>9218596
You need to lurk at least 2 years before posting.

>>9216929
You just sound really impatient to me. You're barely into the first book of a massive 10 book series with dozens of interweaving conflicts, some of which are on a MASSIVE scale that you can only see slivers of, and you expect to understand everything by chapter 5 of book 1. And what's more you don't even want to put in any effort reading it, not even the bare minimum of remembering a few names.

The other guy was right: this series is not for you. Malazan does not hold your hand, if you want to follow what's going on you need to pay the fuck attention to dialogue and start making connections on your own or you will be left behind by the story. Somebody once said the series is more like a puzzle that you gradually put together than a normal epic fantasy series, it requires several books worth of info before you can really see the bigger picture of what's happening. If you don't have the patience to do that, then pick something else to read.

>>9218628
What's even a popular modern fantasy series that doesn't get talked about here? Most recent (last few years) somewhat notable fantasy stuff I can think of are Bakker and Breeks who probably do not fall under this. And I guess powder mage? Don't know about that one.

You'd think people would at least talk about them here to shit on them like with Rothfuss.

>>9218649
I'll admit, I've only been on /lit/ for perhaps 7 months or so, maybe 10 at most. Frequented /k/ for years, 5+ at least, but /lit/ is substantially different.

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At what age do you think you should introduce younger relatives to fantasy and science fiction?

I really want to write a fantasy novel but I suck so bad at worldbuilding

>>9218955
Buy or download a mythological atlus or dictionary.
Read some fucking mythology besides Greek/Roman/Arthurian/Norse shit

Find good ideas or interesting ideas (like the Irish myth about the two guys who were punished by being turned into a deer for 1 year, a wolf for 1 year and a boar for 1 year, except one was also turned female and they were forced to mate so every year they showed up for their next punishment with a new kid) and world build from there.

Like shit, if you're not white or Asian you've even got an advantage

European fantasy is the only good fantasy.

Do characters in Malazan die often? and not just redshirts?

Do they change and develop as characters? Fall in love, get depressed, hate each other, mutilated etc

as you can tell I am a characterfag

>>9218984
it's not so much mythological aspects I mean constructing a world that's believable, without feeling boring

I want it to be a kind of medieval setting but without ripping off GRRM

>>9219033
>Do characters in Malazan die often? and not just redshirts?
:3
>Do they change and develop as characters? Fall in love, get depressed, hate each other, mutilated etc
Yes
>as you can tell I am a characterfag
Malazan definitely has those

>>9213766
Eyes of the Overworld/Cugel's Saga is absolutely fantastic. One of my favorite fantasy stories period.

does anyone have a fantasy novel/series where the MC is a fat ugly virgin

asking for a friend

>>9215101
Requesting that you post that side by side comparison of their writing again and admit you can't tell the difference so I can laugh at you some more.

>>9219283
my diary desu

>>9219050
Still read that shit dumbass. Those ancient myths ARE literal world building 101. Look at the fucking Bible or Quoran if you need proof of mythos being world building

Okay, give me your favorite "popcorn" fantasy/sci fi. That is, not high concept or masterworks of writing, but the kind that's just fun to read. Snarky characters, good humor, bodacious babes, fun writing style, ect. I've been on a classic Greek/Roman and Russian lit binge and need something to cleanse my palate.
Example: Dresden Files, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

>>9219358
Jack Vance

>>9219358
Six Wakes by Lafferty

Murder mystery in space.

>>9219375
Actually read all of Vance's works already. Demon Princes/Cugel's Saga are stellar.

>>9219378
Looks promising. I'll check it out. Thanks.

>>9219378
is it a good murder mystery or a shitty half-baked one?

Amazon keeps recommending Scalzi books to me.
I don't know anything about him, is he any good?

>>9219407
sounds Italian, probably shit

>>9219358
Robert Asprin's Mythadventures are fun light reads.

>>9219448
I prefer something heavy, like your mother

>>9218652
Added to to-read list.

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>it's a Tom Bombadil character

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>>9219358
Pic related. I recommend starting with Guards! Guards!
Or wherever.

>>9219472
Discworld's great. I didn't even think to mention it because I assume that everyone here has already read every book in the series.

>>9219479
Dropped Small Gods like 5 pages in. Unbearable forced writing style that desperately attempts to be funny, no idea how anyone can stand it.

>>9219358
>the kind that's just fun to read
Conan the Barbarian
Howard's writing is at it's best during action sequences and is what pulp fiction sff should strive to be

>>9219479
It sounded suspicious that you didn't mention it. I've read almost every book at least twice. It's just so comfy. The Watch tv series when?

>>9219458
Indeed? Would Cryptonomicon slake your lust for weighty SFF?

I'm looking for something with a lot of rape scenes, any recommendations?

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Somebody explain pic related from Dune to me, I have read this dialogue 8 times and I still dont fucking get it.

I understand the math, but what is he trying to say? Date palms equal people?

WAT

>>9219460
>shilling this book for years on lit
>anon basically said what I said but with many, many more words
>anon now picks it up
rrreee?

>>9219407
>Kiva Lagos was busily fucking the brains out of the assistant purser she’d been after for the last six weeks of the Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby’s trip from Lankaran to End when Second Officer Waylov Brennir entered her stateroom, unannounced. “You’re needed,” he said.

>“I’m a little busy at the moment,” Kiva said. She’d just finally gotten herself into a groove, so fuck Waylov (not literally, he was awful) if she was going to get out of the groove just because he walked into it.

>>9219851
Water is life on Dune.
To the people on Dune, those tree represent water that could be given to people.

Water (Life) that could be used for people is being used for Trees. 100 people could be surviving off the Water being used to keep those trees alive. 100 people are dying to keep those trees alive.

Now 100 people AREN'T actually dying for those trees to be alive, but to the Islam inspired Religious fanatic Fremen of Dune, they treat it like it is.

Man, I don't browse /lit/ alot but am I being baited or something because that passage is pretty obvious.

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>>9219283
Not sure if you will want to read it. It was okayyyy. I gave it a 2.5 I think.

Spoiler He turns into a chad of sorts at the end.

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>>9219895

>pseudo obscene scene shit for shock value

zzzzzz...


>so fuck Waylov (not literally, he was awful)

that's so horrible it made me cringe


Do people really buy this crap?

>>9219407
Try Lock In by him. I enjoyed it. Never read any other books of his.

>>9219916
BRRRRRRAAAAAAPPP

>>9219814
Black Jewels Trilogy
Also has little girl protagonist if you into that shit.

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>>9219900

Why would they make the assumption that there are "100 of us" (meaning the Atreides host?) when they're literally LOOKING at the very palms that consume the water that said 100 people would need for themselves?

The calculation he assumes to be going on in the Fremen people's minds just doesn't make any sense to me, because if they understand that the palms need the water, the Atreides can't use it.

It's like having a cake and eating it at the same time, right? It doesnt work.

>>9219900
It is obvious. We have a local low iq anon that likes to ask obvious questions. I haven't seen him in months but maybe he has returned?.. but how did he screen cap?

>>9219942
the Atreides host are invaders on dune. The freemen see anything they do with water as a waste. Write down your questions, read the entire book, then look at your questions to see if they were answered.

>Kiva gave her starship captain a long look of you have to be fucking kidding me, pal and then, having received an I am so not fucking kidding you, you asshole look back from the captain, turned her attention back to Vanosh. “Yes. I made a bad joke. Sorry about that.”

>“Perhaps you should stay out of the field of comedy, Lady Kiva,” Vanosh said.

>“That’s a hot tip, thanks for that.”

>“In any event, Lady Kiva, Captain Blinnikka, you appear to be under the impression that I’m the reason your goods are sequestered and your trade privileges suspended.”

>“Aren’t you?” Kiva asked.

>Vanosh smiled, again thinly, which made Lagos wonder if he could smile any other way. “If it were up to me, Lady Kiva, I would have taken the bribe and then threatened to have all three of you arrested, and then pocketed the even larger second bribe.”

>“I knew it,” Kiva said. “You shifty little fucker.”

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>>9219880
Well I guess I've never ruled it out, just been putting it off. It seems like another loooong fantasy series and my to-read list already seems long enough, even though I've been hearing good things about it for a while now.

Also I finally read a little about the series on Wikipedia.

A question: Can at some point the separate Malazan series by Esslemont and Erikson be actually read in parallel? As in does it enhance the experience if one would read them switching authors by the in-world chronological order? Like SG1 and Atlantis?

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>>9219033
>Do characters in Malazan die often? and not just redshirts?
Erikson is worse than GRRM in that regard. Worse in the sense that GRRM pales in comparison.
>Do they change and develop as characters? Fall in love, get depressed, hate each other, mutilated etc
Yes, very much so.
>>9220055
See pic for reading order.
I read up to and including Toll the Hound, then went back and caught up with ICE's books. Didn't read Orb Sceptre Throne between Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God tho.
ICE's writing is somewhat different from Erikson's, and the first book (Night of Knives) was difficult to get through. He greatly improves tho.
ICE's books help clear stuff up about e.g. The Crimson Guard and the Stormwall, so imho they really do enhance the Malazan experience because I really like everything about the Malazan world. Many people find Erikson's books to be the real Malazan experience tho.

>>9220127
Nice chart, thanks.

>>9220127
Wouldn't it be easier to just read them in publication order?

Also I've heard a lot of dead characters come back to life in Malazan

I have a bunch of superpowers I really like left over from a project I abandoned. What do I do with them?

>>9220192
Eh, not really. Especially not compared to the amount that die in the first place.

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>>9216483
>Fermi paradox
>"in a hundred years with crap instruments we haven't found aliens, this is obviously the state of the galaxy"

>>9216483
The Forge of God had this, with an alien civ complex that operates on the Dark Forest principle and another faction that operates to punish anyone that does.

It's still a silly idea.

>>9218388
don't say it's yours

>>9220164
No problem lad. Also, you'll be tempted to go to Malazan wikis, but don't.
>>9220192
>Wouldn't it be easier to just read them in publication order?
The Erikson series, yes. Not sure how that would work out in combination with ICE's books.
>Also I've heard a lot of dead characters come back to life in Malazan
A truth with modifications. I can't really go into it, but noone comes back to actual life (spoiler Reaper's Gale except one).

>>9219283
That's every single isekai.

>>9220240
is this from the three body problem sequels? that sounds badass and cba to finish them

>>9219916
>Do people really buy this crap?
Time will tell. A lot of people will need to to pay off his six million dollar advance.

>>9220250
That's lying, and I don't want to be a liar. I'd also feel even worse for shilling if I tried to pretend I wasn't the author. Perhaps you're right though. "This book has a feminist getting practically raped", that's all I really have to say. Making it "My book has a feminist getting practically raped" isn't necessary. It all feels so wrong to shill, but if I see someone who might like my book... ehhh... I want to mention it because they might very well enjoy it. Anyways, I'll consider it, but if anyone asks "is that your book?" I'm not going to lie, even if it'd be safer to do so.

>>9220265
It's from the Count to Infinity sequels. They're overflowing with neat worldbuilding but there's something strangely lacking, like the camera's always in the characters' faces or something. It is the series if you love infodumps though (I do).

>>9220240
This actually reads quite well.

>>9220281
I'm halfway through a novella that I love dearly and will shill like mad on Twitter and FB, and probably spend more than I'll ever make on it to give it a decent cover, but I won't bring it up here because it disrupts the hivemind. I don't mean that as a bad thing. I love being an anon in a sea of anons. If someone else brings up my book I'll blush furiously and shed tears of joy, and maybe drop subtle hints in social media about GRI or dinosaurs or something so you know I'm your guy. I never want you to think I'm some Stevian just dropping by to try to make a few bucks.

It's different for Aramini because his books are just extended Wolfeposting.

>>9220320
That's very admirable. I've already almost got a tear to my eye when I got my first review. When I actually see someone talking about my book, though? Dear God, that will be amazing. Absolutely amazing. Awesome touch with the dinosaur bit as well, makes me think I should give a shit about social media, but for some reason I just can't stand it.

>tfw want to write book for sole purpose of shilling here

>>9220331
Why do you desire hatred?

>>9220338
Schadenfreude

>>9220346
Ohhh, that German word for feeling pleasure from other's discomfort... you're a sick puppy, you know that?

>>9220331
I'm totally shilling my web novel when I finish the first arc.

>>9220329
Probably the best "social media" for people that don't like fast-moving memeseas is blogs. Find the authors that you like that have blogs, some of the commenters will have links to their own blogs in their usernames, join a community.

I've got like 200 Twitter followers after a year or so participating in conversations, and when I advertise my blog posts there and with my normie friends on Facebook they get about ten times as many views as when I don't, especially when I touch on hot topics in the community. I've done longer reviews of other peoples' novellas, they've shared those on their end, and I'm sure that whatever I publish will get at least those people buying it. Rawle Nyanzi who is not me, he has a distinct, autistic writing style wrote a novella about an anime idoru getting mixed up and sent to Puritan purgatory, it's not very well-written, but it's got like ten reviews on Amazon because he's so active on other peoples' blogs and Twitter.

>>9220375
>>9220331
If we can keep the shilling funny I might share mine BUT I would do so with a Mediafire link. Never going to try to make money off you people.

>>9220283
The reviews for it don't look to good desu. Will you vouch for it then

>>9220394
Oddly enough, I recently touched bases with a blogger. Perhaps that's what I'll focus on to see where it goes. It's also an interesting concept to perhaps swap books with authors, read each other's book, and then rate each other fairly. Though I don't have much time to read books since my free time (what I don't put towards drinking, Youtube videos, my emails, /lit/, and /k/) typically goes towards reading. I was editing for quite a while, but now I'm back to writing. Sadly my latest book, which I'm REALLY excited about, is kind of slow going. I guess you could say I have my first case of writer's block. I WANT to write more, but I don't know which direction to take it...

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>>9220448
Are you looking on Goodreads? Yeah those are all about Wright's politics, he pissed off a lot of people with the Puppy crap over the last few years. His SF is on point though, especially the stuff published by Tor (which hates him) as opposed to Castalia (which loves him too much to do good editing).

If you're looking for cosmic stuff like I posted that's mostly in Architect of Aeons and Vindication of Man (which was pretty disappointing in a lot of ways). His best work is the Golden Age trilogy, but there's really fun worldbuilding in the earlier Eschaton books as well, more Earth-focused though.

>>9220449
Look up Nick Cole, he also likes post-apoc, zombies, guns, and doesn't like feminists. He's pretty active on his blog too.

>>9220481
Wow, he seems like a seriously successful dude. Not gonna lie, I feel kind of intimidated at the thought of approaching a successful actor and author while I'm just some nobody with one decent book and a novella that's selling about as well as a cold shit-sandwich with a side of luke-warm vomit stew. Still, I'll check out his blog, see what he's like, and perhaps sometime he'll have a post that I might try commenting to. See where that leads, if anywhere. I'm liking this blog angle though, a lot more easy going than stuff like Facebook, Twitter, and the like, even if I'd contact much more people that way.

>>9220526
Watch Sanderson's videos on shilling your books.. i mean marketing.

>>9220470
Vindication was disappointing? that is unfortunate I am looking forward too it.

>"I Rose De Nose, Jewboy extraordinaire, and you ain't nothing but a pinhead pinprick son of a goy"
What did Card mean by this

>>9220533
I'll check him out, thanks. Still feels dirty to shill, but it's so damn exciting when I get sales, not for the little money I get (seriously, it's barely anything), but it means someone is checking out my book. Might read it, might even review it! I can't wait for my second review, even if it's not an awesome 5-star one like my first!

>>9220539
There were some cool bits but it felt like a lot got pushed back again. The duel in this one was the best yet though.

>>9220577
Jews, once pariahs in all nations, have by the time of Ender's Game risen to the status of world saviors, even if they haven't done any world-saving in a long time. There's a theme throughout the novel of fighting the temptation to stick with what worked once, and Rose is riding on the reputation that Jews are good at fighting (much stronger sense of that in the 80s when they were still busting up hijackings every other week). Ender doesn't do what's worked before, he does what'll work now.

>>9220709
I was joking but thanks for the interesting tidbit about the jews in the 80s, it's easy to forget the times the book was wrote, something to think about
Pretty hype to start Speaker soon

>>9220733
I hope you like it, it's pretty different though.

Can I get a retardation check on a character?

>Lydia Goldstein
>She's a greedy alpha bitch with a fetish for asymmetry, and if she sees something she wants, she will not stop until it's hers
>Long ago she made a pact with a gorgon to gain the midas touch, but was cheated, so now she can only turn what she touches to pyrite
>She either wears thimbles on all her fingers or articulated pyrite gloves (I haven't decided what's less egregious) to avoid turning everything to pyrite

>>9220577
Card is a /pol/tard. That's never not bee a thing. Of course, unlike most /pol/tards he doesn't do a very good job of hiding his fascination with naked preteen boys, nor his desire to see them kiss other naked preteen boys from darkest africa

>>9220753
>adores Israel
>hates Trump
>loves musical theatre
>Ender marries a black Brazilian woman
The term you're looking for is "cuckservative."

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>Read Ender's game
>“I love your butt. Let me kiss it”
Gayest book that I've ever read.

>>9220775
would honestly make a terrific anime, the movie was terrible

also dudes call each other gay all the time, the real subtext in the shower fight was Ender protecting his butt from the eternal Spaniard

Realtalk, how did a boy under 10 kick two people to death by accident?

>>9220794
It wasn't an accident, he was just lying to himself. He knew what it would take to make sure they'd never ever come after him again.

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>>9220753
Yeah the kids in battleschool having to be naked in their quarters weirded me out to, made me think like "what the fuck is this mormon thinking"

I had another dip into an old anthology where I came across Charles De Vet & K Maclean's 1958 SF novelette, Second Game.

At the outset, Earth is flourishing and colonising thousands of worlds except one holdout, a planet inhabited by a proud race of warriors who prefer to be left alone. An envoy is dispatched from Earth to begin diplomacy and gather intelligence, and the story is told from his POV. He plans to ingratiate himself with the ruling caste by beating them at their national past-time, a complex game much like chess.

The writing is noticeably above 1950's pulp standards and reads more like 70's New Wave or something by Ursula Le Guin; particularly in its observations of the differences and reconciling of the logic driven Veldians and the more emotionally driven Terrans. The prose is smooth and the dialogue is cerebral without being overly verbose and complex. As far as novelettes go I believe this deserves five dinosaurs out of five.

>>9220920
Have you any Poul Anderson to dinosaur?

>>9220929
I read something by Mr Anderson not long ago, the entertaining if uneven time traveling story Flight To Forever. Next it might be Walter M Miller's Dark Benediction (he of A Canticle For Leibowitz fame.)

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Threadly reminder that this happened.

>>9216483
I guess Mass Effect, kind of.

>>9212630
>before the golden age (neat/10)
>also infinite jest which is getting pretty sci-fi in DFWs fantasy of annular/concavity bullshit
>idk
>silmarrilion finally gonna read it cuz children of hurin was 9.5/10

>>9220990
How is this for real though? I read Voyage to Arcturus, liked it.

Please do NOT meme me

>>9221092
>Please do NOT meme me
wrong place if you want that, son

>>9220709
I really hope Count to Infinity is a good book. I wasn't disappointed in Vindication, but it did seem like it was sort of filler leading up to the last act.

Castalia/Vox needs to admit their hero needs a fucking editor, until that happens the Eschaton books are the only thing I have to convince non-fanboys that Wright's still got it.

>>9221325
Have you tried his YA? I've only read Iron Chamber from Castalia, it was pretty good, I liked what he was trying to do, but it didn't flow very well. I tried Somewhither a couple of times and it just sagged right from the beginning.

And you know Vox is just going to keep claiming victory and saying every new Wright novel is the best ever, can't rely on improvement there.

>>9221325
>Castalia

Their blog is entertaining; they're a bunch of wild eyed pulp zealots, frothing at the mouth about how Star Wars, New Wave, and SJW ended good SF. I half agree.

>>9221371
Daddy Warpig is a frothy zealot and half the commenters hate it, Jeffro's more down to earth. I liked Pulprev a lot more when it was more "look what we can create" and less "you know who ruined sf this week, ASIMOV"

I hope he's just drumming up controversy clicks. All the Appendix N stuff on Castalia was gold, and that three-parter on Japanese SF was pretty great too.

>>9221357
I haven't read his YA, although mostly because I'm a print snob. If they print out the whole series at the end, I'll buy it.

>I liked what he was trying to do, but it didn't flow very well

Is Castalia Wright in a nutshell, and also textbook bad editing. The guy still has plenty of good ideas, and he's motivated to write, but he needs an editor. I'm 100% behind what Castalia is trying to do, but if they can't manage someone like Wright who's got obvious demonstrated talent, how are they going to Change Science Fiction?

Maybe Wright's new YA is good, he just had to tone it down a bit and learn to edit himself, but that's not the right answer in the long run for anything styling itself as a fucking publishing house.

>>9221325
Everything I have tried from Wright has been a disappointment.

>>9221394
If you didn't like Golden Age or Awake in the Night, he just isn't for you.

/sffg/, I want a funny voice to read fantasy in. Which one of these should I try to develop? To be clear, I'll be using these voices for hours at a time as I read to myself alone, followed by crying myself to sleep.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s10ZKaS4PzOF

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0zoIDGmBhdO

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0sOHhRXYyTF

>>9221390
I've heard his manuscripts are just terrible. Maybe Hartwell was a genius and Vox is doing the best he can.

I think he's acknowledging this with the new focus on the blog, bringing in lots of new writers and having a couple new articles every day. A lot of those people are throwing together books, maybe some of them will click and Change Science Fiction by having such tight stories Vox can't hurt them very much.

I am so sick of the we-can-be-Gamergate-too drumbeating where they try to stir up controversy whenever their visits drop though. Ever since Warpig started his crusade the mood's just soured, it was such a chill place in the Appendix N days. And Vox is totally unfamiliar with what they're doing but he rah-rahs them anyway because if you show weakness you're not an alpha and what do you care if we put titties on a YA cover, you're just an SJW in disguise.

>>9221409
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
kyskyskyskys

I hated your posh accent the least.

>>9221414
I actually suspect Vox isn't that bad an editor, but he lacks objectivity. His written work isn't that bad. A Throne of Bones would sell with someone else's name on the cover and a mainstream marketing push.

>>9221436
Maybe he's too nice. Hopefully they can poach someone good from Tor when Collapsing Empire collapses the empire.

>>9221414
Superluminary is unedited and actually pretty good, although not quite as creative as usual. I think Wright may generally be dialing back his concepts to build his craft, which is the right answer for him.

>>9221442
ESR's comments on his entry to a Castalia anthology lead me to believe that Vox might be pretty good at recruiting and polishing new writers but might not be up to handling those more set in their ways.

>>9221443
That's something I really appreciate about Wright, he's still trying to improve as an author after, what, 25 years? Golden Age was a long time ago.

My favorite work of his is still the backstory he wrote for his Star Wars RPG character.

>>9221448
It's hard to tell who his new writers are and who's someone else writing under a pseudonym, but just about everything I've read from Castalia is unpolished. His newer writers... Cheah Kai Wai and Josh Young, I know them online but I've never tried reading their books, because money's limited and nobody pirates those things and I know these guys, how could they be that good? But then I thought that about Jon Mollison and he was actually pretty good.

I'm always a little disappointed at the lack of Stephen Baxter in these threads. It seems like he just released a sequel to The War of the Worlds authorised by the Wells Estate, about twenty years after his sequel to The Time Machine, also authorized by them. He's prolific, he's worked with other big names in the industry, and his work is almost always brilliant. Why does /lit/ have no love for him?

>>9221466
>My favorite work of his is still the backstory he wrote for his Star Wars RPG character.
What is it with women and horses anyway?

>>9221488
Because he's dry as a bone.

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>>9221490
>that fifth time someone says "many Bothan spies"
>"it's because your breasts are very large"

>>9218771
I tried getting my family to read fantasy when I was a teenager. They didn't respond that positively. So I gave up. Then Game of Thrones comes out on HBO and suddenly my brother who barely reads at all and is now 24 years old is asking me for recommendations for fantasy books. And he actually liked most of the shit I recommended to him.

Just need a catalyst, you can't force stuff on people.

>>9219033
>Do characters in Malazan die often? and not just redshirts?
They die in droves. So many characters I wish had lived.
>Do they change and develop as characters? Fall in love, get depressed, hate each other, mutilated etc
Oh yes, some of them have long character arcs spanning multiple books (Karsa Orlong, Ganoes Paran, Crokus Younghand) while others have shorter arcs over the course of a single book (Felisin's descent into madness and despair), and you can see relationships sour or blossom into friendship over the course of a novel as well.

>>9221092
Never read it. I don't think it can be found online so you'd have to actually buy a copy to find out.

I need some military scifi to read, don't care too much if it's land or space but I want something with either training or the mc gradually going up in rank i.e. a sense of progression

Read BV Larson because some anon here loves him and Honor Harrington which are solid schlock that I wouldn't mind more stuff like.

Also read Starship Troopers and Old Man's War years ago

>>9220192
>I've heard a lot of dead characters come back to life in Malazan
Yes and no. No they don't really come back to life, but yes you do see characters after they die. Ghosts and other things that require a lot of knowledge about how the magic system and stuff works.

>>9221561
Have you read Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series? An officer from the beginning of a century-long war is thawed out and put in charge of a fleet deep behind enemy lines and has to whip them in shape since they've been losing trained officers all that time. Really solid stuff.

>>9221582
Cheers, I'll give it a go

I'm not really asking for anything more than solid so it should be fine

>>9221588
>>9221588
>>9221588
>>9221588



It's here when you guys are ready.