/sffg/ - Science Fiction & Fantasy General

Somewhat related.

The Humble book bundle is the Horus Heresy books by the black library.

Are any of them good, or are they as schlock as the covers make them out to be.

https://www humblebundle com/books/horus-heresy-warhammer-book-bundle

anyone else read too like the lightning?

>>9347296
Nope, how was it?

>>9347198
I liked half of Unremembered Empires. Mostly because I liked the theme of isolation, regret and opportunism. Then it just escalates into action schlock for the rest of the book. Most people that read the HH books seem to think it's crap, but most people that read HH also seem to think that Fulgrim is a good book and I found it to be quite terrible.

Black Library in general is pretty rubbish and they are not competent enough to do what they are trying to do with the Horus Heresy and they should just stick to smaller stories.

>>9347335
it hit all my literary fetishes: sorting systems, complicated politics, an excessive number of twists, unreliable narrators, also my actual fetishes: people going to uncomfortably complicated lengths to get off, hot girls dressed as boys, cute boys dressed as girls, an androgynousfutawhose gender is a mystery.

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>>9344934
Moorcock is desperate to secure his legacy, he hasn't released a successful book since Stormbringer, New Wave has aged horribly and goes completely unread unlike the pulp he derided, and continues to embarrasses himself with his childish and underdeveloped political opinions.

What does /sffg/ think of Sergei Lukyanenko?

>>>9346958

>>9347525
Not on my watch ;^)

>>9347525
Apparently the Watch series is so much better if your Russian.

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Thread I made last night got me nothing so..
What are some other short stories/novels that touch on the themes used in The Last Question by Isaac Asimov? The whole end/creation of the universe/god really interests me

>>9347452
>futa
>whose gender is a mystery

if it has a dick, it's male

quit trying to complicate things just to keep from admitting to yourself that you're gay as fuck

>>9347662
Genesis

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What is the best from Asimov? Is it absolutely necessary to read all of his works or can I do well with I, Robot and Foundation (skipping Foundation and Empire, and stuff like that)?

>>9347662
I don't care for him, particularly, but Clarke's works often explore becoming a god. Also Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon.

>>9347783
In my opinion Asimov's best are short stories, particularly Nightfall, The Last Question, and The Psychohistorians. And of course you don't need to read all of his work, the guy wrote a shit ton. Read as much or as little of him as you want, whatever looks intriguing to you.

>>9347663
what no i admit i'm gay. the character has a penis and a vagina, one of which was added surgically. we never find out which., and that's what the term means.

>>9347929
Decided to look up futanari on Wikipedia, found something kinda interesting.

>To restrict women from accessing prohibited areas and to avoid smuggling by hiding items in the belt bag, guard posts were assigned to perform body checks. In historical records, it can be seen that guards liked to joke about this matter quite frequently, resulting in various stories and even poems.

>>9347929
>what no i admit i'm gay
Wait, earlier you said
>hot girls
So are you gay or bi or what?

>>9347783
Skip I, Robot it's the Robots series you want not a random unrelated short story collection.

Robots Series → Foundation.

>>9347965
gay tranny

Okay, I know it's a sffg meme or whatever, but are there any books like the beginning cutscene of dark souls where a whole awesome creation myth is laid out? Books similar to silmarillion where a mythology is created to immerse oneself in?

>>9347981
Well, that opens up, like, five more questions. Never mind then.

>>9347987
The best creation myth I've seen in any /sffg/ material is probably Talos' play in the middle of 'Book of the New Sun.' But that's about 10 pages in the middle of 1000 so maybe it's too much for you. It's also painfully esoteric so you might feel like you wasted your time. I always thought that Dark Souls felt heavily Dying Earth inspired so it feels like the most appropriate recommendation to make.

Also King's Field is better.

>>9348031
Have read and absolutely loved BotNS, but not Dying Earth yet, even though I own it. I'll check it out, cheers anon! Also
>King's Field is better

That may be so, never played it. I'll look into that as well

>>9348038
I meant more Dying Earth as a genre rather than specifically Jack Vance but if you're a fan of BotNS and Souls you should take to it. Lots of hopelessly obscure lore and talkative weirdos all over the place.

>>9348045
Talk about a game, get a book recommendation? Sounds fun. I'll say... Radiant Historia.

>>9347987
Paradise Lost by John Milton?

>>9348063
Could be good, but I'm pretty familiar with Christian stories already. I suppose I could just seek out some foreign holy book, but it still wouldn't be the same as if a single person invented it all from scratch. It seems strange to me that the fantasy genre is so overflowing with Tolkien clones, but nobody has bothered to write some kind of completely (or I guess just mostly) original mythology the way he did.

>>9348085
>nobody has bothered to write some kind of completely (or I guess just mostly) original mythology the way he did.
Because mythologies should make some sort of sense in their symbolism and meaning, whereas conlanging is just throwing random letters together.

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>>9347987
The Faraway Paladin

>>9348085
Well, is hopelessly a side note, but "my diary desu" may apply as I wrote an entire mythological background as the backstage for another story

It was first intended as a satire for overpowered characters in audio visual media, Dragon Ball Z to be precise, but it grew to be something I actually enjoyed to write

Can't really tell is based on anything, but to my surprise years after I wrote it I could actually find fragments of similar stories in the Marvel universe and more recently on the Warhammer 40k setting

Is crazy how things develop in unexpected ways when you less expect

>>9348108
By that do you mean it would be too much work for the average author? I suppose it would probably be more easy and lucrative to just vomit a poorly edited 8 volume series that rips off Tolkien or worse ASoIaF into the mainstream than to carefully create something artful.

>>9348125
>audio visual media
So, media sensed with sound and sight, as opposed to media sensed with taste, smell, and touch.

>>9348085
There's a ton of shit like that, it's just that not much of it is very good. Tanith Lee's Tales from the Flat Earth, for instance.

>>9348155
Think more on the lines of videogames, television, and anything printed

>>9348125
I think you're right and that's a good reason why the idea should be explored more often. Something about how most people regardless of culture or background would come up with very similar themes for their own mythology really seems to have a deeper message about how our minds work. I'd like to see more of that sort of thing and less of the DnD-campaign-put-on-paper thing.

>>9348125
>Is crazy how things develop in unexpected ways when you less expect
The phrase you're going for is "least expect". But yeah, it is interesting how far ideas will change and evolve over time.

>>9348161
The joke was to point out how you said "audio visual media" when that's a pretty redundant phrase considering that all the media we talk about here are audio and/or visual.

>>9348167
So so, many ideas out there are not even scratched, and yet again not deeply explored

I wonder why so many authors still miss the wider field of imagination when there is so much to explore

>>9348173
Is almost a given this thread is for printed media only, although slowly expanding

But yeah, maybe I shouldn't be lazy and name things one by one instead of giving short phrases

>>9348193
>But yeah, maybe I shouldn't be lazy and name things one by one instead of giving short phrases
Sounds good.

So, we're talking about mythologies now?

>>9348201
Not a people person, aren't you

>>9348206
He's got the tiny dong syndrome. Or legitimate, non-memeing autism.

>>9348206
Mmm, maybe? No, not really. Sorry, I'm a bit out of my mind right now from meds and a dire lack of sleep

>>9348220
Well shit I feel bad now for saying you have a tiny dong. Feel better

>>9347198

>Horus Heresy

Since the books are done by a smattering of different authors it's an uneven experience. Generally anything by Dan Abnett is great, the other authors not so much. It's a shame because it could have been an epic saga in capable or more consistent hands but as >>9347430
says they fumble the execution (particularly Horus' fall)

>>9347495
Agreed. It's also ironic/poetic that with the benefit of hindsight it's obvious that Moorcock was a born pulp writer.

>>9348225
Eh, my fault for staying when it was clear to me I had no clue what people were saying. I need to kick my ass to sleep anyway. And thanks.

Moorcock? More like Moorcuck!
>criticized right-wing writers for their views
>never criticized left-wing writers
He really is the Alan Moore of fantasy.

I need that website where the patrician dude catalogs and reviews all the SF&F he's read and gives star ratings. I can't find it on a google search. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

>>9348471
>m-muh safe space!

>>9348471
I love these /sffg/ meta pictures. Do you have any more?

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>>9348534
Not him but this one was always my favourite.

>>9347783
Foundation and Empire rocks though

How the fuck is a book NOT on Amazon Kindle wtf. Too Like the Lightning more like Too Like the Grt on Kindle amirite??

Also Three Body Fans, Cixins shorter stuff is pretty good too. Wandering Earth is a fun novella

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>>9348579
I love the Mule I want his autograph.

>>9348588
Exactly. The saga of the mule and the other section about that Galactic Empire general were great.

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Now when the dust has settled, what's your opinion on Wheel of Time?

Started Pandora. Seems like Wolfe did the Latro thing with Aurora, Illinois and it became Dawn. Makes me wonder what other fictional Illinois towns are actually real. I don't know what Barton could be. I don't remember any specific features of Medicine Man, other than that it was on a river. But wasn't Castleview supposed to be close to Galena? Shit like this is why I waste so much time on Google Earth.

>>9348634
*crosses arms beneath breasts*
*smooths skirt*
*sniffs*
*tuggs braid*
It's comfy desu. Not flawless but no fantasy really is.

>>9348634
I like it, it's comfy as fuck with likeable characters and fun world building. It's no thought provoking literary masterpiece but it's a good read.

>>9347198
Been reading alot of Warhammer for awhile, some of the books are meh but most are good. I just finished reading Mechanicum, i liked it. Going to reread Legion.

Read the Night Lords Omnibus, Eisenhorn Omnibus, Ravenor Omnibus, any Gaunts Ghosts.

Any of the Chaos sided books are more entertaining to read.

>>9348220
I've was in that state last year. It sucks because I felt like I was being normal, but at the same time I knew all the dumb shit I was doing was not normal.

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>>9347981

>>9348133
>everything fantasy rips off Tolkien and GURRM of Thrones
Kys. Your type is not welcomed here. People stopped copying Tolkien decades ago.

>>9348230
Haven't read Moorcock, but I find it hilarious that Ballard was part of the New Wave. The movement, in theory, is all about bringing a higher level of writing to the genre, but Ballard doesn't have nearly the talent necessary to do that. I expect, given that his most famous work looks like grimdark fantasy schlock, that Moorcock is the same way.

>>9348471
So are you going to pretend to be me? I don't see any polposting itt, unless it was deleted?

These influx of redshitors are really fucking with our general... they feel this is /b/ with books. And they can troll without consequence.

>>9348499
Yeah, here.
http://greatsfandf.com/site-overview.php

>>9348499
It's a blog. There you go. Search through the archives with ease now.

>>9349192
Eragon and TNotW both read like shitty attempts at copying Tolkein. The former more in more fantastic aspects like magic and elves, the latter in worldbuilding. Neither of them really have any clue what they're doing though, and fall flat on their faces.

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>>9348770
>>9348776
I need to make a macro for reddittypes pretending to be sffg.

Old sffg members what you thing for a concept? A variation of this pic with the reddit logo hiding behind the mask?

>>9349317
Not either of those guys, but I take it you don't like Wheel of Time. Why not?

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>>9349328
Redshit loves WoT. They expose themselves when they post about it.

I hate repetition in books, tugging is not a character trait. I think the fucker who wrote pic related sampled too much from WoT. "Tuggs god-braids".

>>9349257
Are you reading the same JG Ballard I am? High-Rise and The Drowned World are well-written, prescient and profound explorations of psychotic reversion. Granted, I haven't read any of his short stories, which he is well known for.

As for New Wave, it's inconsistent. I've read Great and unreadable things by the same authors.

As for Moorcock, it is interesting that he worships Leigh Brackett in that she is firmly within the pulp/adventure writing school (and her Martian stories are superb.) However I continue to be underwhelmed by him; I read His 1966 novella Behold The Man, a meandering and navel-gazing existentialist time travel story with cardboard characters where everybody is a pervert or sexual deviant. I also read a fair way through his Hawkmoon series (Runestaff) and it was formulaic sword and sorcery done dispassionately (obvious hack work), and so I quit halfway into the third book. Perhaps his Elric will redeem him if I get to it.

>>9349328
I'm not that guy, but there is (used to be?) a general consensus that the Wheel of Time books were terrible. Even fans admit that after the third volume the series takes a drop in quality, the only debate is how steep that drop is. Beyond question, it lasts a long time, with some of the books in the series being 1,000 page tomes where nothing of significance happens. There are issues with the characters as well, specifically nearly every female character being somewhere on the harpy spectrum, and more. Plus, the series in total is almost 12,000 pages, and, while some fantasy fans find that appealing, I always think of the fact that I could read 40 good books of 300 pages or less instead, and that's always going to be the better option in my mind.

>>9349374
>I always think of the fact that I could read 40 good books of 300 pages or less instead, and that's always going to be the better option in my mind.
I feel the same. I'm not sure I'll ever understand some writers' fascination with giant, sprawling series (people ripoff Tolkein, but LotR was only a trilogy). As soon as I look at something like Horus Heresy or Discworld, I immediately throw out the idea of reading all the books, and I just try to read the ones that sound the most interesting.

Why is urban fantasy such a black sub-genre? Nothing but black authors and black characters. I don't get why that demographic dominates.

>>9349359
I have read both High-Rise and The Drowned World, and I disagree with you entirely. What about them is prescient? They are divorced from reality, not just in terms of setting (it's sci-fi, so of course they should be), but also in terms of characterization. People in Ballard's books don't act like people, which completely frustrates the New Wave ambition of exploring the human condition. Psychotic reversion is a fine idea to throw into a pulp sci-fi work, but it's a made up condition, and what does it illuminate about the real world? You can analogize it to depression, to general social angst, to any number of things, but not with any depth. So I disagree with them being profound. And well-written? They are serviceably written, I wouldn't go any further than that.

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>>9348534
I don't post them unless it applies to a post. Otherwise it would be spam / avatarfagging. And I don't spam. Lurk moar if you want to see them all. But here.

TUC EXCERPT WHEN???

>>9349192
If you just keep saying it maybe it will become true.

>>9349408
Just speculating, but it could be that typical fantasy is so deeply tied to Medieval Europe, they feel they have to try something different if they want to have a cast that isn't 99% White.

>>9349482
That makes a world of sense.

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>>9349408
>I'm posting it sffg

Hi pol/r9k/reddit. It's not filled with black authors and black characters. Please stop racebaiting.(I think the mods ban for blatant signs of that here. Either way they delete your posts).

Look at pic related for Urban fantasy books.

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>>9349443
You don't read much do you?

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>>9349263
>only gives Wolfe 4 stars out of a possible 5

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>>9349526
Aram that you?
Like my new pic?

I like tits and consensual fucking, what should I read?

>>9349410
Put simply, High-Rise anticipates the way people in modern urban society can live physically among eachother while being psychologically isolated by modern architecture and media. This technology allows these people to inhabit a new estranged psychic reality, reverting to a lizard-like state of cool detachment, eschewing sentiment and compassion, insidiously removing the previous bonds and assumptions of civilisation. Given he is writing this in the mid 20thC it is prescient of the tower block phenomenon, and the way 21st century human beings isolate themselves with television and the internet.

From what I have gathered, he treats gated communities of the rich in other works similarly.

>>9349538
Anita Blake later books, or Danielle Steele.

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>every book a master piece
How does he do it?

>>9349545
>High-Rise anticipates the way people in modern urban society can live physically among eachother while being psychologically isolated
But they aren't psychologically isolated at all in High-Rise, that's why the entire building goes to shit en masse. There aren't holdouts, in Ballard's book everyone is on the same psychological wavelength.
>This technology allows these people to inhabit a new estranged psychic reality, reverting to a lizard-like state of cool detachment, eschewing sentiment and compassion, insidiously removing the previous bonds and assumptions of civilisation.
Which is why I don't think Ballard's writing says anything about humanity, because this isn't what actually happens in high-rises and it makes the characters more alien, not less so. Ballard criticized pulp for having aliens, while populating his books with things apart from humans.
>Given he is writing this in the mid 20thC it is prescient of the tower block phenomenon
He wrote High-Rise after tower blocks were already a thing, and the breakdown he paints isn't one that occurred in the real world.

I like High-Rise, but I think it's pulp. Different than golden-age pulp, but pulp nonetheless. Thus my amusement at the disconnect between what Ballard espoused for science fiction and what he produced.

>>9349520
Evidently more than some. But no really just repeat it in your head and you'll trick yourself eventually. All that shit you're consuming will taste the sweeter.

>>9349517
>The Black Jewels
Fuck, I tried reading that. Problem was, I just never cared about any of the characters. And the way that book uses rape in nearly every character's backstory really dampens my emotional response to it. "I got raped" oh, everyone gets raped in Black Jewels, who cares?

>>9349586

Notice in High-Rise how the breakdown becomes increasingly local, with region being pitted against region, then floor against floor, then neighbor against neighbor. In this sense he is writing of the gradual psychological alienation of people as they become enthralled with their own new subjective reality. Psychologically they become more apart from eachother - so they are holdouts in this psychic sense..

Ballard has a lot to say about humanity, but it's the antisocial and barbaric aspects, the ever-present ancient instincts beneath the modern veneer of civility; selfish, and violent ways. He is interested in how the veneer CAN slip due to modern constructs, but he is not dealing in absolute rules. He's not so simplistic as to say that tower blocks will make us barbaric, but he speculates how in a perfect storm of circumstances it can happen by degrees.

>>9349705
>in a perfect storm of circumstances it can happen by degrees
The perfect storm he depicts is some condo owners having kids while other condo owners have dogs.

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

>>9349705
Not him, but High-Rise sounds like everything I hate about dystopian fiction. Bullshit logic to make a bullshit social statement.

>>9349317
Settle down "anon".
You know as well as I that we still have a few weeks left.

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>>9349546
A vampire harem does sound hot tho.

>>9349732
>>9349733
Nevertheless, there's truth in Ballard. In any neighborhood there is antipathy and petty grudges between groups. Some people hate dog owners, some people hate cats for shitting in their gardens, others harbor simmering resentment of those with children who make noise. Look at vandalised lifts and walls of graffitti in ghetto blocks, and the ways that a breakdown in communal services like garbage disposal and launderettes can bring simmering resentments to the fore. He's writing about all of these sorts of tensions which are a part of modern communal life.

>>9349763
>Nevertheless, there's truth in Ballard.
Just like a Christian would say there's truth in the Bible. Seriously, you sound like an apologist.

>He's writing about all of these sorts of tensions which are a part of modern communal life.
No, he's writing about fantasy tensions in a fantasy communal life so his bullshit dystopia can play out and he can get his bullshit social statement across. Just like Anthem, just like 1984, just like Brave New World, just like all the other dystopian novels out there.

>>9349777
Not the guy you're replying too, but

>writing about fantasy tensions in a fantasy communal life so his bullshit dystopia can play out and he can get his bullshit social statement across

that's like, the entire point of fiction you nonce

if you think the fantasies of Ballard are "bullshit" then you've clearly not understood the text, or your own view of society is so warped you're unable to identify with it.

also 1984 and BNW are incredibly strong novels and you hardly help your argument but bringing in random criticism of them

>>9347103
You know what, does anyone want to rate my writing?
As the crew boarded the Sagittarius, the docking clamps let go. Slowly, ever so slowly, with the sharp, precise movements of the impulse engines. Then, there was a rumble, at least in the ship.
"Safety procedures activated, sir. Warp drive spooling", The ensign said in a monotone, sterile voice.

"Engage.", as one simple reply from the Captain began the warp process. Slowly, a small hum, emanating from the power drainage of most systems, shook the ship. Then, there was nothing. Earth was no more to be seen in sight. The Saggitarius had managed to penetrate the thin veneer that humanity had managed to cross so long ago, now, setting off to face the unknown horrors of the universe.

If one could take a look outside, it was just simply a dark surface, no stars, no light. Just a inky, black void. Practically devoid of anything, as the Sagittarius set course for the Alpha Gammoris system.

>>9349777
As >>9349813 begins to point out, he is writing speculatively as an SF (speculative fiction) writer. He is part a long tradition of such writers, who explore humanity in interesting situations which may not be strictly scientifically accurate or entirely probable, but nevertheless reflect human behavior and tendencies, and provide food for thought. This is the value of Ballard and SF/science fiction - not as a clairvoyant, but as a marker of the potential pitfalls of modern life and technology.

I concede that Ballard's characterisation can be lacking, but this is the way of many 'idea' books with cardboard characters, just as it is the case with books that prioritise setting and worldbuilding.

>>9349813
Yes, I understand how fiction works. But the reason I said it's fantasy is because the guy I'm responding to keeps insisting that it actually relates to real life. But it doesn't, none of the books I mentioned have any more bearing on real life than Harry Potter or LotR.

>>9349880
>explore humanity in interesting situations which may not be strictly scientifically accurate or entirely probable, but nevertheless reflect human behavior and tendencies, and provide food for thought.
But that's the thing, it's not accurate, it's not probable. It can make for a good story, sure, but anything beyond that is simply nonsense.

>>9349865
not sure if this is a troll

it's literally fine, not great but not awful

>>9349909
Not a troll, being serious.
;P first time writing seriously.

>>9349892
You view things too simply and absolutely in terms of real/unreal, probable/improbable. You're a confused specimen if you can't see how Ballard's High-Rise depicts behavior that lies in the broad spectrum of humanity.

Nothing is new under the sun. This is from the bible, my dear fellow, the book you amusingly crow-barred into the argument earlier. Works of fantasy, myth and speculation can have wisdom while being fictional..

>>9349865
>monotone, sterile
Too many adjectives. I think the writing style is too clinical, you'll need to practice more. Leave out the stuff that doesn't matter or just jump straight into it.

Look up the opening paragraphs of other science fiction books with medium jargon or the creme de la creme of fanfiction in the same genre.

Might want to try Blindsight or Hyperion to get some exposure.

>>9349965
Okay. I'm currently reading the Culture, and I want to try to take inspiration from Mr. Banks.

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>>9349595
>Tolkien was the first fantasy writer ever
>every fantasy is a bad hack and mockery of Tolkien
>just repeat it in your head and you'll trick yourself eventually into believing that there are works that don't copy Tolkien
Kys

>>9349865
>The ensign said in a monotone, sterile voice.
Not really necessary, we can tell how he's speaking from the words and the context, unless there's something specifically unusual about this ensign.
>"Engage."
I can't not think of Picard.

Also watch your commas and periods, they go inside quote marks when writing dialogue.

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>>9349646
Hence why isn't in GRI??
You aren't supposed to care about the characters, you are supposed to care about the rape.
I see sffg isn't for you.

>>9349984
Okay then. Nice, my captain is actually more relaxed, think of Riker except less of a chad. That is my captain.

>>9349740
"Canada" is that you?

>>9349977
Emulating other author's styles can help a lot, I feel. Different authors have different ways of starting the passages and ending them.

Authors do read a lot (although I know they complain about people reading in the same genre, I think it does help in getting the action happening more fluidly).

>>9349991
I tried reading the book before I knew about all of that though. I didn't know what to really expect at first.

>>9349742
It happens after obsidian butterfly. The books were enjoyable before then.. after it's just how many dicks can Anita take in a day.

It's like the moral degradation tag in sadpanda. Anita goes from a god fearing woman, into a sex starved whore who literally needs sex to survive. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the guys wrote "whore" on her stomach, and pierced her nipples while they were fucking her. I stopped at twenty something books and I think I saw book 26 released the other day...

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>>9349865
Stop touching my child you filthy fucking pervert scum.

>>9349998
Okay then, I read sci-fi, fantasy, and many other genres. I practically despise the pleb-tier books that my peers read.

>>9350020
kek.

So after a decade i re-read LOTR.

I hadn't read it since i was 15 and i have no idea how i did it, i found myself completely unable to read past 2/3rd of it.

It was so incredibly boring, okay i get it tolkein you don't like industrialisation, okay got it you like your pretty boring character to go on a long journey that's mostly boring.

The most interesting thing about LOTR is literally everything not covered (mostly) in the main story which is the histories of it's world and whatnot.

Is there a book/series that captures the world building of LOTR except yknow, doesn't take 300 fucking pages for 2 things to happen?

>>9349996
I'm pretty sure that "Canada" is either a bot or a woman. They appear to be on a binge of rating every book they've ever read.

>>9350029
I suppose you could try the Silmarillian. That's where all the world building happens :3

>>9350034
Well after I exposed them they tried to cover any trace of being here by adding nonsense.

>>9349952
>Works of fantasy, myth and speculation can have wisdom while being fictional..
Yes, they can. My problem with dystopian fiction is that it so often tries to pass off some sort of wisdom, but in order to do so it always goes to such ridiculous extremes, I just don't see how any of the purported wisdom would apply in real life. Well, unless they go for the blindingly obvious. I can't tell you how many times I've seen anti-racism stories rehashed, with "Black" being replaced with "cyborg", "alien", and "clone". I think it's just the way I think. I'm a fan of instrumentalism, which basically says "If a thing has no purpose, it might as well not exist." And I just don't see much of a purpose in what you see as the wisdom in dystopian fiction. Sure, they have a purpose as entertainment, even if I don't really like them, other people do. But I don't see them as having any purpose beyond that.

>>9350029
Tell me about it. I tried to read the Hobbit again a year or so ago, couldn't get past Mirkwood.

>>9350061
Whether a thing has a purpose or not is a matter of perception, and perception is a nebulous and subjective thing. In this case, you perceive that dystopian fiction has little edification and therefore small merit. I daresay that the opposite is true; that the waypoints and lessons of 1984, BNW, Fajrenheit 451, and Ballard's works populate the lives of many us and can inform how we negotiate life itself. I believe, like Tolstoy, the novel has this power.

However, by this token of subjective reality, it is apparent that mine isn't the same as yours. By the by, this instrumentalism sounds like the notion of fascists. But I am a neophyte.

>>9349980
So we're in agreement then? But no I really think that Tolkien relied a lot on the traditional monomyth and that many since have done the same without copying Tolkien. There are however an unfortunately large amount of authors that do copy Tolkien's original elements that he introduced to the monomyth, and they do it without the work and care that Tolkien put into his own world. But you knew that, you're just upset and projecting because you think I've insulted whatever shitty fantasy series you've devoted hours of your life to. Your anger nourishes me my friend, let it flow. And keep posting those funny pictures!

>>9350054
Then their dedication is impressive as it has continued steadily for months.

>>9350029
Yeah, Frodo didn't level up once the whole story, he had NO powers by the end.

>>9350103
Kek
Some people want to read Bioware rpgs, pay them no mind.

>>9350029
>it's boring

fucking pleb, I've read heaps of fantasy series now and it's still my favourite

>>9350088
>In this case, you perceive that dystopian fiction has little edification and therefore small merit.
No. Looking at dystopian fiction, I think the wisdom, as you said earlier, has little to not merit. They still have plenty merit as entertainment.

>By the by, this instrumentalism sounds like the notion of fascists. But I am a neophyte.
Well, I'm not a huge practitioner, but I do agree with a lot of it. But it's basically just pragmatism applied to science. You mention subjective reality, so let's talk about that a bit. I actually believe that there is an objective reality out there, somewhere. So we have theories to create accurate predictions of things that we can witness. These theories work, they have a purpose, they are accurate every time they are used. I accept these things as true. The thing is, it might turn out that the objective reality is completely different from all of this. Maybe we're all just squares and circles in Flatland, imagining what it would be like to live in a two-dimensional world. Maybe that is the objective reality, but until you can demonstrate that too me empirically, I'm not going to accept it as true, even if it actually is. Really, that's the problem with objective reality. It might be everything we see, or it might be totally different.

>>9350103
>>9350110
>How dare someone not like something that I like!
Jesus, let him have his opinion.

>>9350176
If you post an opinion to this place you should expect that it will be attacked. It is one of 4chan's basic social contracts.

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Wowzer, A lot of his stuff is very good at all and It can't be blamed on the drugs or breakdown either.

>>9350363
>is
Isn't* I'm fucking retarded.

>>9349262
Apparently it was deleted

>>9350373
He isn't wrong though, redditposting has destroyed these threads, we went from requiring a new thread every 6 hours to 140~ posts in 20 hours.

I miss dinoposting.

>>9350384
You are implying a lot of things there buddy

Actually, is that kind of "anti-reddit" attitude of yours the very poison on /sffg/

Please go away

>>9350366
we can tell by you using the cringe word wowzer you leave it to beaver fuckface

>>9350384
I think it more likely we have some /fit/friends still checking us out.

>>9350390
REDDIT
SPACING

>>9350403
More like /pol/, check the comment, he is attempting to make another flamewar

>>9350363
Yeah he wrote a lot of crap. Early on he was churning out like 5+ novels a year, many of which went unpublished until later in his career. Honestly, I prefer the expanded version of that book, "Lies, Inc." It's more blatantly drugged out and honestly a lot more fun.

>>9350417
I was referring to the recent influx of newfriends. Don't worry about "him". He is a cross we must all bear.

>/pol/'s guy Vox Day describes reddit's guy Mieville as one of the best modern authors
>Meanwhile redditposters on /sffg/
Really makes you think

>>9350491
Rothfuss is reddit's guy though

Which should I read leading up to Easter? Behold the Man by Moorcock, or Jesus on Mars by Farmer?

>another thread where redditors who have been here for 3 or more years try to witch hunt the redditors who only got here last week
You're all from the same place, stop acting like you're better. You're not.

>>9350608
>Projecting this hard

>>9350620
Why don't redditors know what projecting means?

>>9350634
>HAHA I'm from reddit so you all must be!

I just read all of the malazan books. What are some others that can give me a similar experience?

>>9350754
The other Malazan series. Also the prequels

>>9350793
I did that. What other malazan series? I read all the main books + short stories and novellas, and all the rest.

Any books with helicopter patenting ?

Any books with parenting helicopter?

Is the Thomas Covenant series comfy? It appeals to me as I gather it has an introverted loner as a protagonist.

Any parents with book helicopter?

>>9351050
It is the opposite of comfy. Pretty good anyway.

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I read Jack Vance's 1969 novel Emphyrio, a speculative fiction set on another world, where a society of artisans must produce beautiful handcrafted goods in return for a subsistence level stipend from a welfare state operated by overseer lords who live in towers above the city. Duplication and machine-working are punished by brutal rehabilitation.

The story concerns the rebellion of an idealistic young woodworker, Ghyl, who wishes to enlighten, escape, and change his society after being inspired by the incomplete tale of a mythical figure in a fragment of old parchment.

This book crams a lot of observations and big ideas into its two hundred pages. Broadly speaking, it's a coming-of-age story and an observation of the way societies are constructed by (objectively silly, but subjectively orthodox) assumptions, and how these are enforced by bureaucracy. By the treatment of its protagonist it also looks at the role of idealism and force of will in changing society.

This is less episodic than the Dying Earth books, with more character study, a protagonist to root for, and memorable supporting characters, along with picturesque scenes of a well fleshed-out city. The 'big' secret (conspiracy) at the heart of the book also keeps the pages turning. This book isn't flawless but I feel compelled to award this old book the full complement of five dinosaurs.

>>9351100
Yeah, there's no way it gets less than 5. First Vance I've read. Excited for more when I get to them.

>rothfuss is worth $4 million
where did it all go wrong, /sffg/
he uses so many adverbs that it annoys even me, and i am usually an advocate for them in genre works
do people just not care

>>9351203
People confuse overwritten with well written a surprisingly large percentage of the time.

>>9351203
I honestly don't think he was lacking money even before he became a successful writer; he spent 9 years as an undergraduate despite his insistence otherwise, and then became an adjunct.

>>9349406
I actually read through the entirety of Discworld in release order all at once. Including the Science of books. I regret nothing.

>>9351112
Yes, and Emphyrio was my second book, after the Dying Earth series. Getting into Vance is like finding out that you like Philip K Dick, and then happily finding out there is another fifty or so books to discover. The man has a distinct way of writing.

Vance, like PKD, is a West Coast writer. Ursula Le Guin is another who I enjoy. Bradbury arguably. Did the locale of California produce better 20thC SF writers than New York? I will percolate on this for some time, but right now only Asimov, Alfred Bester and Frederik Pohl comes to mind on the East Coast. Moreover - is there a distinct identity and flavour of West/East Coast SF?

>>9351050
No – everything about it, even the prose, is sort of 'queasy,' and illness, rot, and physical pain are persistent themes. It's good, though, sort of an attempt to revive the epic spirit in a hopeless age by incorporating unbelief and impotence as 'heroic' qualities, and an explicit use of the epic fantasy-as-psychodrama.

>>9351462
For one reason or another California has always been a dystopian hellhole, it makes sense authors could channel that.

It also helped you couldn't get a job as a pulp author unless you lived in California because of the turnaround required and they couldn't afford the better standards of living other major cities provided.

So uh, anyone have any good planetary romance? I tried reading Barsoom and I just can't, lol

Also, I'm not looking for stuff like Dune, I'm looking for actual adventure stuff that's just, not as poorly written, you know

>>9348707
I've realized now that Barton is Barrington, Wolfe's home town. Should've known right away, but the 65 miles thing threw me off. Plus I'd never heard of Barrington Hills.

>>9351556
Look no further than the Vance guys right above you.
>Tschai
>Cadwal Chronicles
>Demon Princes
>etc.

>I'm looking for actual adventure stuff that's just, not as poorly written, you know
It's like you stopped in specifically for Vance.

>>9351562

I've been meaning to read Dying Earth too so I guess this works. I'm glad there are people in this thread that get that pulp =/= shit, it's a tiered thing

>>9351595
There's definitely been an upswing of interest in older works lately. Catfag and the Vance boys have been doing well-written short summaries lately.
>somewhere Dinofag grumbles and kicks at a loose Cheeto

Keep in mind that Dying Earth, at least the short stories of the collection, are the Barsoomiest of Vance's writing. His Sixties-onward production was almost all adventure novels and his style is at its best. The Cugel books in the Dying Earth collection are from this period so you'll see the difference that I'm referring to.

What precisely makes a story "comfy"?

Can anyone give a rundown on Chronicles in Amber?

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I don't get it, what do people see in his writing? Its so fucking mediocre.

>>9351739
He's very good at making a story seem mythical or fairy tale-like. But yeah, whenever he moves away from strictly fantasy, I start snoozing. Sandman has both sides of this.

>>9351739
I've never been able to properly read one of his books.

>>9350363
I've read about 90% of PKD's novels and this is unquestionably the worst one he wrote imo.

>>9351739
Basically what >>9351756 said. Gaimans magic always feel right even though it's seldom defined by complicated systems like otherwise common. And he's generally well-read in literature, symbolism and mythology which makes his works seem rooted in reality. Sandman is a prime example of the later.

>>9351203

I'm patiently waiting for the 3rd book to come out and continue to completely fail to deliver on the genre deconstruction and unreliable narrator that Rothfuss keeps insisting the books are about. If that happens and the next book is as overwritten and sloppily plotted as the previous ones then surely even the most brain dead of his fans are going to struggle to argue that Rothfuss is nothing but a hack.

I genuinely cannot understand why this series is still acclaimed after Wise Man's Fear came out. It just boggles my mind

>>9351960
>unreliable narrator
Doesn't sound so hard to pull of.

>>9351978
>Make a mega Gary Stu

JK he was just lying

>>9351739
I like Sandman a lot.

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>murder and rape are awesome.....did i mention i'm only 12 and lead a mercenary band

Never dropped a book so fast.

>>9351729
I've only read the first one, and it struck me as a fantasy written in the form of an old SF paperback – sort of pulpy, the plot is breezy and intense, some things seem to go by far too quickly without enough description, but others are pretty neat.

It has a 'multiple worlds' metaphysic centered around an 'ultimate reality' that's an opulent Renaissance-styled city on a mountain, of which all other realities, including our own, are shadows that the main characters can traverse.

It also has a weird 'hard boiled / mystery' feel to it in the first several chapters for some reason, and the narrative voice is nice, the protagonist brash and competent without being invincible.

>>9351726
...Anyone?

>>9352080
Jesus, really? Sounds like an even worse version of the comic Wanted, which by itself is just edgelord shit.

>>9351739
He's excellent at establishing a certain tone in his work, which doesn't always enhance the story, but when it does it's pretty great. I actually think that Gaiman at his best is a pretty damn good writer, don't care if that puts me in the minority of sffg. Sandman is a masterpiece, Neverwhere is pretty great too.

>>9351978
It's not at all hard to pull off, in fact any first person narration can be interpreted as having an unreliable narrator. The hard part is doing something interesting with that idea, that enhances the story being told. G. Wolfe accomplishes this, don't know if Rothfuss is going to. Many authors mistakenly believe that having an unreliable narrator enhances their work inherently, when in fact on its own it's just a literary device like any other, and doesn't necessarily add anything at all.

>>9352392
Rothfuss never really uses the unreliable narrator thing though. It's like he thought it was a cool quirk he could add to his story to make it stand out and nothing else.

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Any fairly modern sci-fi novels similar to Rick Remender's Fear Agent?

>>9348031
>I always thought that Dark Souls felt heavily Dying Earth inspired
I just listened to a podcast where someone compared Dark Souls to BotNS

>>9352392
Black Company had a great unreliable narrator.

He even pointed out he was unreliable because he skipped over the fucked up things like rape and murder they committed to make them seem more like heroes.

>>9352204
Emphasis on atmosphere, especially descriptions of food and song (Redwall, Shire/Rivendell scenes from Tolkien). Kindly elder characters (Gandalf, Granny Weatherwax). People having leisurely discussions about things in libraries (Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell).

>>9350608
Sadly I never went to redshit. I remember when someone in /b/ years ago posted a screenshot... I didn't understand wtf I was reading.. who was replying to who. I don't know how they track responses.

>>9352688
>A: Response to subject
>>B: Response to A
>>>C: Response to B
>>D: Response to A
Though a lot of times, you have to press a button to show all the comments. I don't use Reddit much at all, because it honestly does have one of the worst UIs I've ever seen. And it's so sprawling, it's a nightmare to get anywhere. Oh, and each subreddit has their own set of rules, so that's fun.

>>9352472
Is.. is her nipple standing up?

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>>9352715
Is that strange to you?

>>9352755
HAREM!!!

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What are some good science fiction stories about assortative mating?

OK, finally finished that fantasy western thing I mentioned days ago. Should I post the pages here as images or what?

>>9353069
Mandem gets annoyed at OC shit posted but I wish we could so just do it #fuckoffspoilsports

>>9352565
Sounds nice, can you reccomwnd more stuff?

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Who's the most qt sff writer? My vote goes to CS Pacat

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>>9353482
Emily St. John Mandel, maybe? Too bad Station Eleven isn't any good.

>>9352392
>G. Wolfe
I've read several times in this thread that Severian is supposed to be an unreliable narrator but I've never quite understood what it's hitting at. I've read Book of the New Sun twice and the closest I can come up with is skipping some parts between books and his changing description on his nonsexual/sexual relationship with Thecla which I assume come from Thecla also becoming a narrator and her not having the same mental problems with their relationship.

>>9353523
In regards to unreliable narration, consider what kind of man a torturer like Severian would be, raised that way from youth, with specialist knowledge in clinically inflicting pain, without remorse. A bit of a cold fish.

Then consider the gap between the way Severian and the outside world regard him.

>>9353541
Is there really such large a gap? It's not strange that Severian himself does not feel remorse over practicing his art but he's not unaware or ignorant to how others feel about it. Neither does he describe himself as some perfect being, he willingly admit to cowardice, doubt, thoughts of abandoning people depending on him and other bad traits.

>>9353577
Well, Severian's whole being is a construct by necessity. He has to act unnaturally and in a studied and stilted manner in order to commit murder without being crippled by the brutality and sin of it. I think this explains Severian's own eloquence and erudite voice - it's an affectation, a veneer. In this one way he is unreliable. There are other situations where we are not sure who exactly Severian is, and whether he is delusional, schizophrenic or fantasizing.

>>9353577
>Sorry if I offended you. I'm a little slow sometimes. Masters Palaemon and Malrubius only just barely taught us to read (and anatomy, astronomy, government, theology, history, etc.)
>No you're fine.
>But I don't understand lots of stuff. I'm quite stupid.
>Dude it's fine, you're a pretty smart guy actually.
>I'M SO FUCKING STUPID HELP ME THECLA

>>9353577
I actually consider Severian to be one of Wolfe's more straightforward protagonists. He doesn't come close to understanding everything that goes on around him but he's at least willing to be candid with the reader most of the time. The only thing he blatantly doesn't want to reveal is the true nature of his relationship with Thecla. The sex thing most people pick up on, but I've noticed a few people seem to miss his off-hand comment where he (probably not intentionally) reveals that she desperately attacked him several times.

Don't think of Wolfe as trying to trick you or build a puzzle. Treat his protagonists like you would somebody speaking to you face to face irl. Nobody is really capable of explaining things 100% as they are or were even if they want to.

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>>9353708

>>9353712
>I actually consider Severian to be one of Wolfe's more straightforward protagonists.
I've not read any other Wolfe but I feel like Severian is reasonably honest.

>Treat his protagonists like you would somebody speaking to you face to face irl
I also do this. The combination of this and that I've often seen Severian mentioned as some kind of prime example of an unreliable narrator is what've got me confused.

>>9353753
I think that holding Severian up as a prime example of an unreliable narrator isn't wrong, but it can be confusing. He works because his perspective is handled so subtly. Most hack writers use it for some forced 180 gotcha moment but Wolfe just writes about people telling stories as people do. Just because somebody is unreliable that doesn't mean there's some huge evil secret behind their story. Severian is simply unreliable.

>>9353263
Read them before you ask for more. Jonathan strange will take you at least one week.

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What are you cunts reading?
How is it?
What you reading next?

>>9353860
I'm weighing up potential choices currently after reading Emphyrio. I've had Zelazny's Lord Of Light Of Light on my pile for a year, but I can't be bothered interpreting the kind of Eastern religious parable it looks like being. So it may be some C.L. Moore or Robert Howard adventure stories until I feel like something novelistic. If I had a space opera to hand I would choose so.

>>9353860
I'm still reading through everything written by PKD, I'm probably going to stop after finishing Galactic Pot-Healer.

Next? A Throne of Bones, I've seen it mentioned a couple of times on /sffg/ and people spoke positively about it.

>>9351595
The first Dying Earth book are short stories, so you dont get one cohesive adventure like you do for the Cugel books (Books 2 and 3 for Dying Earth). But if you find it doesn't work for you, give Demon Princes or Planet of Adventure a shot before giving up on Vance.

>>9353838
I've read Tolkien, most of redwall and Strange...

>>9353947
Should have said so then. I'm not the guy that originally replied, but if you can deal with curry characters try green by jay lake. It has some action, but I found it a slow slice of life type book.

>>9353932
>A Throne of Bones
People also speak positively about pol, doesn't mean it's good.

Anyways. I'm in the school of read it before you bleed it. I was going to put it on my to read list (because I saw the same shit as you) then someone posted a review? Can't recall... made me reconsider... I might add it to my list, I already have Three parts dead, might as well add bone throne.

>>9353992
Likewise you can't trust any negative review of it, as mentioned in this thread Vox Day isn't a idealogue and happily recommends authors who are diametrically opposed to him unlike the authors he recommends.

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>>9353945
>if you tried, understood and completed an entire book by an author and you didn't like his writing style or characters and their one spell per brain
>try this other book by the same author, in the same series, with the same characters
>it will be different I swear!!!

You vancefags really do push too hard you know. Other people (possibly you) don't even give modern books the benefit of the doubt and complete it.
>"Dropped 100 pages in, what complete trash."
Yet you want people to continue or try another book by the same author, when (you) don't extend the same courtesy?

>>9354002
Also I've had way more success with recommendations by /pol/ than /leftypol/ on /sffg/; van Vogt was quite enjoyable, Robinson was not.

>>9353945
Demon Princes was alright, but Planet of Adventure was kinda weak

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>>9354066
What is with pol calling us lefty pol? I'm not even an Americlap. Your political systems do not apply to me. Why do they feel that everything has to be about politics? I come here to read. Once the book isn't full pol (kill everyone not white, start spartan culling of infants, whites should get away with whatever crime they wish, or any variation on those) I would read it.

>>9353860
Too Like the Lightning is up next.

Heard some mixed things on here but it did get nominated so here I go

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>>9354115
/leftypol/ is a board on 4+4chan known for being retarded communists anon. Pic related.

>>9353860
Nothing at the moment. Gonna start on Jonathan Strange tonight.

>>9354115
You can't deny that there isn't a massive presence of Marxists on /lit/ and they tend to overreact to any even remotely conservative author.

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lol

>>9352828
The Time Machine
Brave New World

>>9353523
>>9353712

There's an interpretation of Severian as more or less completely making the whole thing up to justify his being the Autarch -- think about how he "proves" his status by knowing passwords etc and how much room that could leave for doubt; it's not like he was ever publically declared the successor--but I think this is silly. The existence of Urth of the New Sun pretty much kills this interpretation imo.

The thing about Severian is that most authors who write from a "first person" perspective just use the third person with different pronouns, maybe with a gotcha moment or two. Wolfe thought very carefully about things Severian knew and did not know, saw and did not see, wants to talk about and wants to elide, mislead, or skip over. This makes him "unreliable", but not because he's lying so much as because what's being described is really, truly being filtered through the perspective of his character.

>>9354115
As an American, I apologize for how disgustingly partisan our political system is. Because there's so much emphasis on left vs. right, it's created a "you're with us or against us" mentality. It's really spiraled out of control with the left-wing radicals who call themselves progressives, whose actions in turn have created a bunch of right-wing radicals.

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what's your ideal wordcount for a fantasy novel?

>>9353069
>>9353219
Well, here's hoping that this doesn't get me banned.

https://pastebin.com/sNSceD7u

>>9354401
4 410 036, give or take.

>>9354417
>4 million
Fucking hell. Does any series have that many words in total?

>>9354425
>2017
Just google it.

>>9354401
30k - 40k

>>9354451
Right, yeah. Looks like it's just Wheel of Time, surprise surprise.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/28ofhj/ocrequestsrework_word_counts_of_popular_novel/

>>9354505
I'd guess Malazan and Discworld, if you count that as a series, would be even longer.

>>9354511
Chart says they're each around 3.3 million and 3.6 million, respectively.

>>9354520
>tfw I can't into following my own advice and googling
wew
I really expected at least Discworld to be longer.

>>9353860
Just finished The Wizard Knight and it was quite good. Was confused plenty of times, but it was a good confusion.

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>>9354505
Casuals

I wish I had saved the picture of the wheel of time books stacked next tot hem so you can have perspective

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Are there any Fantasy or Sci-fi books set in Death Worlds like Australia?

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>>9354618
Ahh found it

>>9354618
>>9354644
Page count is worthless, give us a word count.

>>9354697
Word count is worthless when its a foreign language

>>9354704
Then I guess you're screwed.

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>>9354639
Jesus fuck. Nuke that place.

>>9354758
It's only a Huntsman, they're harmless. They eat Roaches and other spiders and occasionally mice. They're basically cats with 8 legs.

>>9354725
Tried to see if anyone has autismed out a word count for the series to no avail. If calibre's wasn't so shitty I would check it myself

>>9354765
I always loved the description of them that was along the lines of "They're about as big as a dinner plate. Or, in other words, big enough to fit over your face."

>>9354766
I guess if you were able to find a Japanese translation of Discworld, or an English translation of whatever you're comparing it to, that would be good enough to see approximately how long it is.

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>>9354704
Depends on the language though. With German or French or whatever it'll be roughly the same. With Chinese or Japanese you could have a single character representing a complex word.

>>9353860
Just finished Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, loved it, probably the fastest I've ever read a book because I was hooked. Admittedly I also teared up a little bit during a part of the book where two of the characters were discussing love and grief, and while I was on break at work.

Also currently reading The Lord of the Rings, still on The Fellowship... I take my time with that, reading it mostly out in the garden on a sunny day. It often leaves me feeling pleasant and I love how descriptive it is and the interactions between characters. I put it off for so long after having saw the films when I was younger, I was afraid I would never be able to conjure up my own images of the characters and settings but it naturally just happened and so I hardly ever think about the films while reading it. Perhaps I was so put off by the popularity and commercialism (the merchandise and the video games etc) that surrounded the films at the time.

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>>9354817
Word count on calibre puts the very first book which is the smallest at 360k words in english.

So lets say 300-320k without the encyclopedia.

>>9354618
What series?

>>9354848
Scratch that I fucked that up 120k without the encyclopedia.

>>9354850
Shit meant for >>9354838

Cant into posting today

>>9354848
Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

>>9354853
>Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

>In the far future, humans abandon a devastated Earth and travel to outer space. However, due to an unknown phenomenon that prevents them from traveling into space, humanity returns to Earth only to find it inhospitable except for Japan. To accommodate the entire human population, pocket dimensions are created around Japan to house the returned populace. In order to find a way to return to outer space, the humans begin reenacting human history according to the Holy Book Testament. But in the year 1413 of the Testament Era, the nations of the pocket dimensions invade and conquer Japan, dividing the territory into feudal fiefdoms and forcing the original inhabitants of Japan to leave. It is now the year 1648 of the Testament Era, and the refugees of Japan now live in the city ship, Musashi, which constantly travels around Japan while being watched by the Testament Union, the authority that runs the re-enactment of history. However, rumors of an apocalypse and war begin to spread when the Testament stops revealing what happened after 1648. Taking advantage of this situation, Tori Aoi, head of Musashi Ariadust Academy's Supreme Federation and President of the student council, uses this opportunity to lead his classmates and try to regain their homeland.
And you, uh, enjoyed this?

>>9354835
I've read that Flow My Tears. It isn't mentioned as much as DADOES?, Ubik and A Scanner Darkly, but it would have won a Hugo and/or Nebula if not for Le Guin's The Disposessed which beat him for both awards.

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>>9354893
Thats a pretty shitty synopsis but yes.

>>9354914
Wow, this sounds like trash. I'll be sure to avoid it.

>>9354925
Ehh to each their own, someone in the thread a year or two back got me to start reading it and I was really impressed.

Its less anime than Sanderson

>>9354931
>less anime than Sanderson
Please be more specific, this goes for about 90% of all anime.

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>>9354068
>Planet of Adventure was kinda weak
>Flower of Cath arc was kinda weak
FTFY.
I'd totally be down to hunt some Dirdir, sequester their sequins, and make a duster from their effulgences.


I see at least one post is missing.
>young people are [retreating?] from [something] and propaganda . . .

>>9354937
MC is just a normal guy, no super special chosen one with secret powers and ancient magics. The villains aren't edgelord monsters, generally just nice people with opposing views and circumstances.

Just a slightly dumb guy trying to help his friends.

>>9354835
>>9354902
I had mixed reactions to this one; the bit at the end with the guy in the gas station hit me hard, but overall it seemed kind of vague what was going on. Or maybe that was the point? Anyway, best PKD I've read so far, beating out We Can Build You (which I didn't like at all) and The High Dick in the Dick Castle.

PS What can you guys tell me about Radio Free Albemuth?

>>9354925
>Wow, this sounds like trash.

lightnovels.txt

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>>9354931
I told you guys this is more anime than Sanderson. The king of anime in prose belongs to this author (at least this series).

>>9354408
Anyone willing to give feedback? Or point me to a bettter place to get feedback?

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>>9355224
Shoo. Shoo.

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>>9355252
You know you can't escape.

>>9355224

I'll be blunt. If you really want consistent and varied feedback get off your ass and join a creative writing class or group irl or find a dedicated online group. At a push outer /lit/ usually has a writing feedback thread going on. You won't get much feedback here outside a handful of replies because most of us browsing /sffg/ don't give a shit and think this is the wrong place for you to get writing tips. We get a few of you each week and most of us will see your post starting "Can someone post feedback" and scroll right on past.

>>9355208
What is that like? I have a copy on my Kindle from when he did a giveaway and haven't worked up the will to actually try it

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Is the Malazan series of fantasy novels GRI approved?

>>9355511
Malazan has all 3 in copious amounts.

>>9355224
This isn't a writing workshop, it's a thread for talking about fantasy and sci-fi novels. You writing critique people should just go to the writing critique thread, or if they're mean and bully you for writing genre fiction then start your own fantasy writing workshop thread. There's enough of you to keep it going probably, provided you're actually willing to read and critique each other's stuff.

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>>9355568
Excellent.
I've only finished the first novel and a few chapters of the second and so far it has been fairly tame.
Though I did really appreciate the first novel otherwise.

>>9355592
Book 2 has some really grim parts, but the rape begins in earnest in book 3, it even has necro rape

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>>9355613

>>9355472
Thought so. Saw a few anons get feedback, figured I'd give it a shot while I'm here.

>>9355483
Then read it an form your own opinion. It's about Naruto meeting Jiyria, and signing a contract with other dimensional beings to gain power and weapons (like he did in the anime).
He gets a bleach sword and fights some devil fruit eaters from one piece.

Enjoy

>>9354008
Naw, I read recent book as well, don't have any idea what you're on about.

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>>9355511
Yes. They are. Although not as high as Black Company or Broken Empire series.

>>9355823
>Jiyria
He's the perpetually horny guy with the big toad, right?

>>9355848
Yes. I'm just using him as an example because he mentored Naruto. Introduced him to the summoning technique.

>>9354639
what the fuck is that thing supposed to be?

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>>9355224
Wait a minute. Because we read fantasy (scifi is included in this) you think we are some sounding board? Beta-beta readers?

Here is some advice. Complete a work and give it to us. Or write a short story and give it to us. Don't give us a work in progress and expect us to critique it. If you finish a story (paragraphed and punctuated) tell us what it's about (shill) and some anons might read and give you feedback.

This general is for the consumption of completed genre works. Not half assed cobbled together ideas that people will critique.

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Threadly reminder that Biopunk > cyberpunk

>>9356126
Rec me some biopunk, is it actually a movement or what?

>>9356145
The wind up girl.
The author knows that thai boipussy would be yearned for in the future.

>>9355911
>Wait a minute. Because we read fantasy (scifi is included in this) you think we are some sounding board? Beta-beta readers?
No, I thought you gave feedback to writers because I've seen you give feedback to writers. Multiple times in the past few threads.

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Redpill me on Chiang or rate him in a well constructed sentence implying criticism and/or praise

>>9356228
>narcissistic whore

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>>9348634
>14 books
No thanks.

>>9356311
http://www.tor.com/2017/03/24/how-many-times-does-braid-tugging-and-skirt-smoothing-happen-in-the-wheel-of-time/

I read Leigh Brackett's The Last Days Of Shandakor, one of her Mars stories. Told in the first person, an Earthman anthropologist witnesses the last days of an ancient and proud Martian race in their advanced city, while human barbarian tribes lay siege outside the gate. An adventure story with an elegiacal turn, and a story of pride VS survival. Most enjoyable.

>>9356385
>Reddit user Nadyin recently conducted a simple condition phrase search through all 15 books of The Wheel of Time to see just how often Jordan used his idiosyncrasies. And what Nadyin found was a whole lotta skirt-smoothing.

>redshitor comes to sffg
>see our memes
>goes to redhit
>posts our shit
>gets credit for it
We really need to wipe out reddite invaders

>>9356499
Reddit has been stealing our shit for years, it's never going to stop. One of the cons of an anon-no-mouse Indian massala milling curry factory, is that anyone could take credit for your shit. Especially when Hiro nukes these threads after 7 days in the archives.

>>9352080
It actually gets better desu

>>9356659
I'm not him, but I wouldn't touch that book with a foot-long pole. How exactly does it get better? I don't really care if you spoil it.

>>9349263
That's exactly the one. Many thanks kind anon.

Make the next thread photo 1984! It's my bday and I love 1984 but I'm on mobile

>>9356228
Impressive/good ideas, mediocre/good storytelling. He's a 7/10 man
Stories of your Life is a good collection of short stories and considering his popularity you may as well read it.

>>9354198
As garbage as it is, the second is even worse. I'm too involved now though, I have to read the third when it comes out this year. Disgusted with myself desu

Is "Lifecycle of Software Objects" any good? I hope not because I can't seem to find a mobi of it anywhere.

TUC excerpt when
TUC ARCs on Ebay when

>>9356771
That sounds like a book about programming.

>>9356748
>Right-wingers dindu do nuffin!

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>>9356778
First for bitch to die horribly

>>9356778
>TUC
???

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>>9356840
THE UNHOLY CONSULT
U
C

EXPECT IT. GET HYPED.

>>9356855
Oh, Bakker. I remember people mentioning him before. Never heard of him though. What's the draw of his books?

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Gentle reminder that we come here to talk about books. :3

Anyways, I will be picking up this one next.

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>>9356923
GRI APPROVED

>>9356939
>dude's dick is so big they had to make a loin cloth jock strap for him
WeW

>>9356940
I hope there's more to him than just that.

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>>9356884
We just have to praise Hiro that in exchange for mining our data, he keeps blatant /pol/lers who come to spread their laxative pills off this board.

What you reading btw?

>>9356962
Not really, unless you want to read the rejected dissertation of a philosophy grad student chopped up and baked in with a fantasy story.

>>9356966
Two Serpents Rise. Though I'm not liking it. The protagonist is a bit of an idiot, and so is the girl he's into. Might just abandon it for a while and move onto the next book, Black Company.

Though I guess most recently I've been reading a sort of running commentary on The Wise Man's Fear, after reading the same guy do The Name of the Wind. It's shaping up to be quite promising.

>>9356974
Ugh, no thanks. I already read the sci-fi version with Starship Troopers. What a waste.

>>9356966
>>9356976
I'm sorry, how rude of me. What are you reading?

>>9356962
Some hardcore fan will probably get to you and explain the intricate relations and subtleties between characters. Or how his philosophy why drawn out is enjoyable. Or how his magic isn't over-explained down to the gestures (both a pro and a con for readers). Or how he actually depicts women as women. Or that their isn't a gary stu character in it's pages(kellus need not apply).

Someone would probably explain all that, but I liked how old whores could look so virginal and how their cunnies need to be filled.

>>9356976
>Two Serpents Rise
Aren't you that craftfag that shilled me the book a few threads ago?
Isn't that the book you said is disconnected from the first?
A shiller dropping a series that he shilled doesn't augur well.

>>9356771
it is fantastic, i just checked mobilism and found an epub in 2 seconds, just convert it to mobi, highly recommend it

>>9356821
>bible thumpers
Hi tumblr.

>>9356985
A shit series that is filled with:
>an "it gender"
>Gay people
>women can do no wrong,
>all men are sinners
>people tip toeing about pronouns
>overly complicated plot
>looks like part of a series

Fuck this shit.

>>9356995
Eh, you can always count on some hardcore fan to see brilliance in bullshit.

>>9357005
There were multiple people talking about it, I think me and another guy had both been reading the books. I thought Two Serpents followed Three Parts, the other guy said Two Serpents actually takes place before Three Parts though. Anyway, I still recommend the Craft Sequence books on the whole, I really like Three Parts Dead. And even in Two Serpents, there are a bunch of really interesting parts to it. It's just that my patience for the two problem characters is wearing very thin. And I'm not dropping it forever, just putting it on hold. Actually, I think there was another guy who said that the King in Red was the only reason he didn't drop the book.

>>9357020
Well, what's the series called?

>>Gay people
I can see why you would have a problem with the rest, but this one confuses me. Can you elaborate on it?

>>9357030
His gay friend died, came back, possessed its gay partner (one guy with a spirit riding inside him). These 2 in one fags are now his angel.

Thought you could guess it from the description, but I guess you didn't read. It's a THICC book that starts with Im by Clive Barker/Baker.

Enjoy

>>9357037
How would I be able to guess you were talking about Imajica from your list of broad complaints?

I want to write long-term memorable fantasy but all I can come up with is shounen-tier garbage. What do?

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>>9357061
End existence

>>9357110
I do I increase the value of the cosmological constant?

>>9357061
Publish it, get a book deal, and make millions.

>>9357061

Stop watching anime and reading manga. Read more books of different genres and styles. If you absolutely must read fantasy, read different types. If you've been reading lots of modern fantasy, for example, read some older stuff like Vance or Wodehouse or Peake or something. Eventually your brain will stop framing stories using shonen tropes.

>>9357152
Why should I stop? I enjoy all those things

NEW THREAD

>>9357366
>>9357366
>>9357366
>>9357366
>>9357366