/sffg/ - Science Fiction & Fantasy General

any cyberpunk fans itt

>>9571588
Book Review: Old Man’s War | THE INK SLINGER
>https://inkslingerblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/book-review-old-mans-war/

REVIEW: OLD MAN’S WAR
>https://surrealtimepress.com/2013/09/02/review-old-mans-war/

SF REVIEWS.NET: Old Man's War / John Scalzi
>http://www.sfreviews.net/oldmanswar.html

Book Review: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi | Best Science Fiction Blog
>http://bestsciencefictionbooks.com/blog/old-mans-war-by-john-scalzi/

Old Man’s War, 10 Years On | Tor.com
>http://www.tor.com/2015/08/11/john-scalzi-old-mans-war-10-years-on/

>>9571596
represent ! cyberbro

i enjoyed this book, in particular the depth of world building and the numerous alien societies described and engaged with.

any recommendations for scifi that deal with a large inter-galactic ecosystem of different species, planets, experiences, etc?

>>9571629
i just started Black Glass but idk if i'm feeling it rn, though City Come A Walkin' was pretty solid. I think I want something more political but I don't know if anything even has a similar feel to Islands in the Net

>>9571646
Islands in the Net is a favorite. I started Snow Crash and it's just the kind of thing I like; the really cheesy old computer game aspect of it, its some really original cyberpunk imo

>>9571659
Snow Crash is a bit too ironic for me personally, but I did like Cryptonomicon

>>9571671
Really? That's what makes it good to me. I haven't heard of Cryptonomicon, what's it about ?

>>9571707
It's a really long book about cryptography, bounces back between a World War II storyline and a 90's hacker storyline. It's still got a good sense of humor but the crux of the story isn't a meme, and in general that's enough to keep me interested.

>>9571588
john scalzi sucks.

redshirts was the worst thing i've read this year. how the fuck did he win awards for that shit?

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Why was Plum such a useless character? She literally contributed almost nothing to the plot. The only thing I can think of is her getting Quentin kicked out of Brakebrills. She has little to no personality besides"quirky genius in a school full of quirky geniuses and also she's a Chatwin". She has no purpose in the last part of of the book and her "league" friends are severely underdeveloped and poorly explained. We are given no reason to care about her internal conflict, which also contributed nothing to the plot. And to rub salt in the wound, we are given constant reminder that she is smarter than Quentin, a character who we've been following for three books. I feel like editorially fuckery changed the plot around halfway and they were supposed to stick with the group dynamic but shoved Plum into the spotlight for some reason.

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>>9571726
>redshirts
Is it supposed to be a parody of Star Trek?

>>9571796
And all the trash tier space opera shows nobody remembers.

>>9571796
its 25% parody of star trek and 75% a bunch of people standing in a room and quipping at each other with no descriptions to interrupt the dialogue. also there is a garbage time travel subplot, which was always the worst kind of star trek episode gimmick.

Does anyone else have extremely frustrating dreams in which they obtain a book for a series that they have been waiting forever for and it takes you like 3/4 of the dream to fucking get it and it keeps disappearing and when you try to read it you either wake up before you read the ending or you read it and it reads like shit or the book just keeps fucking vanishing or you lose it or you start dreaming about the book in third person and can't actually read it or you read it and enjoy it and then you wake up and realise that it was all part of your imagination?

Does anyone else have those hallucinations before they sleep where you vividly see the book getting uploaded in front of you and then you check your phone or whatever and it turns out that you were just hallucinating the fact that a fucking book just got released?

JUST

>>9571596
cyberpunk is 99.999% completely gay and shit.

>>9571961
I get that with all kinds of things. Dreams where you keep coming really close to getting something you want are garbage.

>>9571975
As long as I'm not going insane.

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Can anyone recommend anything similar to Clarke? I like that a lot of his stories are more about humanity just entering into space or making first contact. More Science Fiction, less Science Fantasy. I've tried Azimov and Heinlein and didnt like them very much.

>>9572007
Maybe Olaf Stapledon.

>>9572011
Thank you. Star Maker, along with Last and First Men, sounds really interesting.

Is Malazan a meme?
I see it recommended often in here.

>>9572061
No, it isn't a meme, but some people are pretty set against it because of how fanboys suck its paper dick.

Okay so if name of the wind, storm light archive, bakker, GRRM are all memes with shitty prose, what is good modern fantasy

>>9572074
There was a reprint of LOTR recently

>>9572074
New
Tigana by GGK
Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman
Dagger and Coin series and Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham
NK Jemisin's Broken Earth
The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu
The Golem and the Djinni

Old
Amber Chronicles by Zelazny
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Divine Comedy

Scifi has more of a problem with modern authors since a lot of them enjoy drowning the reader in a surfeit of jargon and with science fiction a lot of the best books are the classics since almost all of them are easy to read, short and very accessible.

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>>9572074
>good
>modern
Impossible. All of the good authors are dead or dying and all of the new ones grew up on Star Wars, Dragon Ball Z and Joss Whedon.

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>>9571588
You guys know any good Russian sci-fi other than pic related?

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>>9572061
Its fucking brilliant, I unironically am thankful everyday people here shilled it. Most people criticising it are either brainlets who gave up after 100 pages (I almost did desu) or haven't read it.

>>9571634
Revelation Space

>>9571726
It won because the Hugo is a popular award and Star Trek is popular so people enjoyed a homage to it

>>9572241
Why is Malazan considered intelligent? I've never bothered with it because most descriptions of it make it sound like a DnD campaign which conflates in media res storytelling and a mountain of lore with depth.

>>9572257
Not him, but I don't think it's necessarily intelligent. He probably was referencing people who can't keep the varied stories and other details straight since the books dump loads of info in your lap.

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>>9572112
>old
That's a rather shallow list friendo
Try this:
Lord Dunsany - The King of Elflands Daughter
E.R. Eddison - The Worm Orborus
Evangeline Walton - The Mabinogion
Robert E. Howard - Conan the Barbarian
C.L. Moore - Jirel of Joiry
Fritz Leiber - Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Poul Anderson - The Broken Sword, Three Hearts and Three Lions
Ursula K. LeGuin - Earthsea

>>9572272
More recs is always a good thing.

>>9572061
It's a genuinely good series, can get a bit dragged out some books in but I highly recommend it, it does go on about philosophy/criticism of real world problems etc but it's not so heavy handed, compared to Goodkind who tries to be what mazalan is in terms of just sharing a point of view with a good story behind, take into account it is based off of their dnd game but it has wonderful characters and enough shit going on to make it worth the trouble.

>>9572263
yeah this. He doens't spoonfeed you, and no this doesn't mean he hasn't giving you the tools, the people who say this are just ESL/lazy/dumb

it has some fairly idk not /lit/ deep but pretty deep moments, like way of kings or something it has lots of really hype and anime typw "teleports behind you, walking forward with the sword like 9572241 etc. Its really cool and great high fantasy though.

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Hey lads! Pls recommend me an author or a book. I like Lem, Simmons (especially Ilium), Stephenson, Wotts, Egan aand that basically it. Nothing else was able activate my almonds.

>>9572272
>every time old is mentioned
You are persistent Mr Old shill. I'll give you that.

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>>9572213
>the only good author is a dead one meme
I think you are in the wrong thread friendo.
Dank memes are that way >>>/lit/

>>9572216
Metro 2033

>>9572272

>Ursula K. LeGuin - Earthsea

Is this just ironic like Discworld? I have it lying around, but I'm not in the mood for shits and giggles.

>>9572061
It's one of the better billion-word-long EPIC FANTASY SERIES if that's your thing. If it's not don't bother.

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>>9572061

It's horrible, and if you fall for the meme and listen to these idiots you're going to regret it. The main narrative is basically non-existent, and it's more about the wacky adventures of Reddit characters. If you're expecting a cohesive magic system like Sanderson's then you won't find one, and if you're expecting proper world-building you're also out of luck. Also, it's incredibly long, the fifth book is downright atrocious, and the ending is completely unsatisfying.

If you're the sort of person that enjoys shallow stories full of quips and cringy, One Piece tier tugging at the heartstrings, you'll probably enjoy if. If you want a compelling story with well-written characters, a deep narrative with a consistent tone, don't bother. Malazan is more like a comic book than it is a novel series.

>>9572061
It's worth it.
I'd say it deserves most of the praise it receives, and when I'll feel like emotionally abusing myself I'll reread it.
It portrays some awful stuff.

>>9572074
What's wrong with Stormlight?

>>9571720
Have you read the Baroque Cycle too?

>>9572563
I haven't, I plan on it eventually but it's a bit of a commitment

>>9572071
I see.
Fanboys are always annoying, I get it.

>>9572241
>>9572297
>>9572554

Sounds right up my alley, thanks for the input.

>>9572546
>m-muh Reddit

I can't take anyone who uses Reddit as an adjective seriously.
Thanks anyway.

>>9572513
Some guy in the Amazon reviews said that all the books could be standalones. Did he miss the point or something?


I'm pretty sold at this point and Gardens of the Moon is pretty cheap, might as well order it now and find out for myself.

>>9572566
I loved it. Quicksilver can be kind of a slog, though, especially during the Waterhouse parts.

>>9572569
Have someone you love on speedial during the second book. You're going to need a healthy way to process it.

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>>9572241
So the first book starts in the middle of a war. None of the sides are adequately explained. We are given rapid, short character introductions and some demonstrations of magic systems which are also not adequately explained. A series of betrayals involving characters we don't care about because we haven't known them for longer than five pages each transitions into a bizarre mission to some gaspunk city where an entirely separate and equally ill explained plot runs parallel to the initial plot which wasn't adequately established or explained, culminating in an evil monster who was neither established nor built up nor foreshadowed meaningfully which is then resolved using a magic trick we haven't seen before in the magic system which was not previously adequately explained.

First book was fucking terrible. Its plot structure was awful, the storytelling was simply bad, the characters were flat and uninteresting and the worldbuilding, which might have compensated for these problems, was also scarcely shown off.

Then the second book is 250% better, but by this point nobody is fucking reading anymore except people with no taste because they actually liked the first book, so they do not understand just WHY the second book is good, and cannot articulate clearly to people who gave up on the first book that they should give the second book a chance.

>>9572593

>he doesn't know that the series only get worse as time goes on

>>9572241
So the first book starts in the middle of a war. None of the spiders are adequately explained. We are given rapist, short characters and some demonstrations of magic systems which are also not adequately explained. A series of betrayals involving characters we don't care about because we haven't known them for longer than five pages each transitions into a bizarre mission to some ga-spunk city where an entirely separate and equally ill explained plot runs parallel to the initial plot which wasn't adequately established or explained, culminating in an evil monster who was neither established nor built up nor foreshadowed meaningfully which is then resolved using a magic trick we haven't seen before in the magic system which was not previously adequately explained.

>>9572597
2 had an actual good plotline, the entire Chain of Dogs event was cool. But, once again, the story suffered from a lack of focus and too many plotlines that had too little to do with each other. If Ericksson actually knew how to write, he would've just written fuck separate fucking books to cover the material in each one of his.

Also, piss everywhere. So much piss. Once a soldier gets hit, and she flies cartwheeling though the air, "trailing a stream of urine."

This is in the book. A woman flying through the air pissing herself. Not blood, not viscera, piss. I've got nothing else to say.

>>9572603

>2 had an actual good plotline, the entire Chain of Dogs event was cool

I don't think so at all. It was just a tragedy happening for tragedy's sake, as it is in Memories of Ice. None of the events in this series have any reason for happening. The plot simply demands that they do, and Erikson goes through the motions.

>muh broken leg

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>>9572569

>I can't take anyone who uses Reddit as an adjective seriously.

>i'm autistic and i'll ignore valid complaints because i'm a redditor and any reminder of that triggers me

Okay, bud. Enjoy your shit series extolled exclusively by fanboys.

>>9572601

The magic system is never adequately explained. Half of these retards can't name half of the Warrens.

Has anyone read Warlock of the Magus World?

What are some fantasy novels that have deeper meaning.

>>9572639

Prince of Nothing?
Thomas Covenant?
LotR/The Silmarillion?

>>9572272
>womameme author rec

>>9572614
Saying something is reddit is not a valid criticism you stupid cunt

>>9572649

>ignoring all the other things mentioned

And it's pretty clear to anyone with a brain what Reddit means. Shallow and meme-y with no distinct identity or long-lasting value. Which describes Malazan's characters to a fault.

>>9572007
Stephen Baxter is pretty much the modern inheritor. They even cowrote several novels, including Clark's last work, the Time Odyssey series.

>>9572498
its a good fucking book, but I say that tentively as it is probably the best fantasy YA i've ever read.

>>9572498
No its serious

>>9572644
Only 3 of those authors are women you cocksmoker

>>9572498
It's good, and a lot of people have tried to steal teh magic system without really getting it (the idiot of Eragon for example). LeGuin some times is a bit cringey but earhsea is brilliant in a simple way, specially the first books (later aren't that good but still better than most).

>>9572593
Thats more or less what I felt with gardens of the moon anon, so it gets better and anon there aren't retards?

Hey /sffg/, could you recommend me some books where someone gets put in to a board game and it becomes reality sort of idea or anything similar?

>>9572639
Solar Cycle
The Man Who Was Thursday
The Last Unicorn
Biography of the Life of Manuel

>>9572061
It's a good series but there's at least one autistic fuck shilling it like crazy which have lead to a counter reaction.

>>9572754
3 too many

>>9572794

Can't think of a book but there's a light novel called No Game No Life that's at least somewhat similar.

>>9572061
Beyond the first four books it definitely becomes a meme.

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>muh magic systems

Anybody here read Ken Macleod's "Engine of Light" trilogy? Is it worth reading?

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>>9573010

Stay jealous, my man.

>>9572794
Sounds familiar desu, characters being trapped in acting out the part of a doomed side in sort of a board game/play type of thing and dying and reincarnating every day to do it again until some sort of revolution happens catalyzed by the main character.

>>9572882
Thanks man

>>9572546
>The main narrative is basically non-existent
>and it's more about the wacky adventures of Reddit characters
>If you're expecting a cohesive magic system like Sanderson's
>wants a hand holding narrative
>calling a book reddit when it was out before reddit
>mentioning Sanderson's magic systems
>Sanderson listening to redshit and putting in a fag character
Why do reddit cunts come here and pretend that they are not reddit?

>>9572593
>some demonstrations of magic systems which are also not adequately explained
It is explained. You're just a brainlet. But Jesus fuck these redditors raised on Sanderson and his explained magics is annoying. Not every single book has to autisticly describe how a magic works.
When you read a lot of reviews on book sites you see people decrying the magic systems as not explained. This shit is going too far, andI thought the old Jack Vance and "I ain't got to explain shit, it's magic" anons were annoying.

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>>9573010

>>9572784
Yes, it gets better.
The second book focuses on a story which is both smaller in scale and more structured.

>>9571588
Don't read Old Man's War when you could read the military sci fi trinity:
Starship Troopers by Heinlein
Armor by Steakley
Forever War by Haldeman

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>>9573305
>>9573335

>boohoo my author sucks and people are complaining about it

Cry more, niggers. You chose this. You had tens of series to become fans of, and you went with the worst one.

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>>9572794
DM transports his party into the world of DnD. Might not be board gamey enough for you. Also, off-screen rape.

>tfw you fell for the Mieville meme
Should have fucking known the dude is named China for fucksake. /sffg/ is nothing but memes!

>>9573404
TOP
MEMES

>>9573404

I read Perdido Street station less than three years ago, yet all I can remember is some bug girl, clocktowers, and an eagle-man.

>>9572794
Not quite what you're looking for, but "Epic", "Saga" and "Edda" by Conor Kostick. They follow societies that have come to be utterly reliant on an Artificial Reality MMO system to qualify and justify their world. People compete in this virtual reality to win farming equipment, food and other essentials.

>>9572074
How is bakker a meme? The others I can understand, but bakker is probably one of two or three good authors in the cesspit that is fantasy

>tfw started subvocalizing again
Fuck, why is this shit even taught in schools?
It just permanently maims a developing human being.

>>9572625
Reading it now, on chapter 666.
Spoilers below.

Interesting premise and characters, enjoying the Chinese brew fifty potions aquire throbbing erection pattern.
I like the take on wizards as well, they aren't dicks they just don't exist to wipe your arse.

Ripping a shit tonne of it off for my own litery works, might try finding a basement western fantasy and re-write one of the chapters with potions and meditations instead of characters just being the most powerful mages by default.

>yfw harry potter and the philosophers stone is actually good now

>>9573446
>Spoilers below.
Are you retarded?

>>9573450
I'm actually just phone posting.

>>9573445

This. I always love to shit on Prince of Nothing when I get the chance, but it's only because I love it as much as I do. I'll probably still be re-reading The Second Apocalypse even two decades from now.

Stay strong, Proyas-kun.

>>9573446

You make it sound interesting. My friend recommended it, but since he only reads manga with big burly men I decided to get a second opinion first.

>>9572353
Reynolds

>>9573456
Interesting.
GET OUT

>>9573461
It certainly is interesting, it's not particularly long either so it's a quick yet immersive read.

>you will never give the dicky to bicky ;_;

>>9572061
It depends on your tastes. If you enjoy war, fantasy worldbuilding, banter, and the physical gods trope, then you should try it out. My problem with it is the bad writing. The whole metanarrative, that people tout around, is very poorly written. There are explanations for a lot of things that show up books later, but the explanations read like bullshit made up on the spot to fill up a terrible plot point to begin with. The "good" characters are also annoyingly uninteresting and samey. It's like the author had to go out of his way to make them all sympathetic, so they're all honorable good fellows that are trust into difficult circumstances. Which is not fine when every single protagonist is like that. There are a few very interesting characters that aren't like that, so there are exceptions.

Also the fucking infodumps that show up in mid conversation as near tangents. Erikson does this all the time, and is indicative of him being a shit writer.

>>9573437
/tg/ recomended it to me.
Fucking waste of time, it's one of those bugs than would have been better as a rpg splatbook tough, like cadwallon.

>>9573490

The story is like a combination of comic books and anime. Characters are constantly quipping and making jokes even during high-stake moments full of bloodshed and misery, just like in comic books. But then, as you've said, he goes he PAINstakingly tries to make every character sympathetic when the context does NOT call for it, inserting some sob story or moments of a motherfucking berserker or dark god taking pity on randoms.

And I simply fucking HATE these fake endings he keeps doing. Like, ah! these guys solved a problem and now they're going to be happy in Darujhistan. Even though it's abundantly fucking clear that their part in the story is not over, so why are you doing this? Probably because he has no clue what to do. He's constantly bringing in new characters instead of sticking to and/or developing the ones we start with.

That's another thing I'd like to warn potential readers about. If you're expecting this to be like other series where the characters you start out with are present in each novel going forward (or at most skipping one), guess again. You might love a character that disappears and comes back way, way later (or not at all).

>>9573397
I don't care what you think of the series. I just want reddites to stop pretending like they don't use that site, and to stop using "unexplained magic systems" as an argument point.
Just admit that you're too brainlet to understand the works, and you have adhd, so you can't keep track of the persons and their activities. Just admit that you like kiddie books which make sure to keep reminding the reader who this person is, what they did, and how "awesome" they are.

I don't even know why you're reading an epic grimdark series, when it's obvious you are a Sanderson and YA novels fan.

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>>9573404
Where do you think you are?

Magic is better when it's hardly explained at all, and is a mysterious force used primarily by the antagonists, who are generally to be stabbed by the plucky, mischievous heroes.

>>9573542

Are you talking to me? Not sure what gave you the idea that I'm a Sanderson or YA fan (though Sanderson's magic system are undeniably better than the gibberish in Malazan). Also,

>epic grimdark series
>malazan

Do you by chance mean Horus Heresy or Prince of Nothing? Malazan is neither grim nor dark.

>>9573547
That fucking Rothfuss pic.

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>>9573461
>implying there isn't going to be a second coming of nukes to end TUC

>>9573554

>Magic is better when it's hardly explained at all, and is a mysterious force used primarily by the antagonists.

That's true, but in that case it should truly stay mysterious, a la the first season of Lost. If you start saying that x draws his magic from y, and that z item has q property, then you're down the opposite path, and you better explain that shit.

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>>9573568

I can't wait. You have no idea how excited I am.
There is a head on the pole behind you.

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>>9573490
>>9573514
>this book is too hard for me
>I self insert when I read so I need my fav characters to live through
>i just can't enjoy a story being told
Kys-ves

>>9573570
I agree. My favorite fantasy series is Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The only time I remember magic being explained in any detail at all is in the Mouser's backstory, and it was just more incomprehensible and horrifying based on that extra information.

That's how you make magic, magical.

>>9573578
So... You're just a fag that likes the idea of raping straight men?

>>9573602
>tfw the dino magic anon is less annoying than the Malazan butthurt anon
Never thought I'd see the day.

>>9573585

Yeah, man, Malazan is just too hard for me. I wonder how fucking stupid you have to be to think that a series like that would be too hard for any person, let alone one posting on /lit/.

Also, my problem isn't with characters dying. That's fine, so long as their arcs are concluded. There's a difference between killing off a character or shoving him away because you have no idea what his purpose was to begin with, and simply arriving at the unavoidable destination (which should seem obvious in retrospect). Erikson is a bad writer, and that's why he can't handle juggling too many characters at once. And because he's also disrespectful towards his readers, he has no problem with simply abandoning characters and subplots.

>>9573607

Why would I be?

>>9572546
>>9572614
Just out of curiosity Anon, what authors DO you enjoy?
Please recommend something to me. You obviously have Patrician taste, I'm sure it will be something good.

>>9573619
Not him, but why the unecessary capitalization? Where in the fuck are you from?

>>9573619

As far as fantasy goes? Bakker, Tolkien, Lovecraft, Peake. ADB for guilty pleasures. Outside of fantasy, McCarthy, Marquez, Dostoevsky, Dumas, etc.

Does anyone have recommendations of books writer from the point of view of Death/the Grim Reaper?
It's an interesting angle I was thinking about earlier, I had a quick google but there was a lot and they sounded shit.

>>9573633

You could try the Discworld books that deal with Death. First one in the cycle is Morte.

>>9573634
I've never really been a fan of Discworld if I'm honest. I was looking for one that is set in our universe.

I've only ever liked Gene Wolfe. He had masterful understanding of language. Others, only had 'nice' ideas I suppose, but not language masters and writers like Wolfe or, Tolkien (forgot him nearly lol).

So, I'm bored when reading Asimov but I dig Wolfe and Tolkien for example. Any suggestions for writers that had great mastery of language that did scifi?

Srry for spounding like a sperg I have 39 celsius fever

>>9573644
Jack Vance.

>>9573628
Germans tend to do that.

>>9573655
thank you friend.

Does anyone have any good reviews and/or essays on Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep and Dune?
I tried googling some reviews, but couldn't really find any from people actually knowledgeable about sci fi

>>9572272
>People suddenly recommanding Evangeline Walton after that one Anon bitched about the tiresome feminism spread throughout the book
I'm on to you.

>>9573644
Ada Palmer

(reads some Dinosaur SF at the highest possible speed) ah it sucks ass. but my taste is increasing so much

>>9573655
seconded

>>9573615
>Why would I be?
>there is a head on a pole
>get raped while being straight
>why would I be gay

>>9573560
its grim and dark, rhulad, felisin, chain of dogs, a bunch of other shit.

>>9573615
> Erickson is a bad writer
>i took creative writing in college so i know
>i could sell like Erickson if i wanted to but i choose not to
>he has no idea how to write
>he has no idea how to use characters
>he has no way of explaining his magics
>how did this guy find a editor and a multiple book deal
>he is trash he can't write
>why do people buy this trash i could have written it if i wanted
kek. Look at this wannabe writer with his creative degree in writing. Thinking he can shit on Erickson who is more educated and a better writer than himself. I bet you are that fag who always cries about his elements as taste and the rat king.

>>9573630
>I'll parrot what others say is good to fit in
Look at this sad human being.

>>9573778
He also included le nigger man.

>>9573637
So urban fantasy then?
Comics might be your best bet.

>>9573674
>I have homework and I want to plagiarize someone else's thoughts instead of reading the book myself
Typical

>>9573695
I feel that you are ada yourself shilling your own book...

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Caroline Sula is the best female character of all time to be quite honest with you

>>9573760

A tragic event doesn't make a setting grimdark, fool. In order for something to be grimdark it has to be entirely hopeless. That's why 40K counts as grimdark. No matter how much the "good guys" struggle, there's no winning. Even the mere act of opposing Chaos only strengthens it. And I'm pretty sure Bakker is leading into the same metaphysics.

>>9573769

He couldn't find anyone to publish his books for years on end, as he himself mentions. And I never said I'm going to write anything and outdo him. I'm also not a cook, but I can tell you if your food tastes like shit. And Erikson remains one of the worst writers I've ever come across. Granted, there are bottom of the barrel tier like Rothfuss, but that ginger faggot is the worst I can think of.

>>9573778

Those are the best authors I can think of off the top of my head. Why would I put ADB on a fucking list if I wanted to play at being some turtleneck hipster? You goddamn retard.

Amazing how any fans on here ranging from Martin, Sanderson, Bakker and Wolfe fans can take criticism, but mouth-breathing Malazan niggers with no taste immediately consider the other party inferior. You're absolutely pathetic. You're like those kids that watch bad movies and then accuse others of being too dumb to get them--when, in reality, you're the one with shit taste and too dumb to understand how awful your favorite novels are. Isn't there some Marvel thread on /co/ you should be posting in? That's about Malazan-level entertainment.

>>9573781
You don't see there has been a rise in squidcraft posts? Lots of people asking for rec's concerning black, asian, and sea creatures hate and fear.

>>9573815

Wait, wait, wait. So you're implying that people dislike Malazan not because it's garbage, but because it happens to have Quick Ben and Kalam? And that people like Lovecraft because he was a racist?

Amazing.

>this is your brain on erikson

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>>9573547
>I'm new to reading
gets me every time

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>>9573812
40k isn't grimdark than considering there is a sliver of hope.

>>9573812
Why it it everyone is against you with Malazan then?
We know gurm is trash, and we often ignore when people shit talk books (because we don't say shit, they think their opinion is objective). Why are you so flustered when people halt your shit speech? Because you usually get free reign to shitpost what you don't like, you feel afronted when people attack you back? Kill thy self before the morrow, least thine stupidity infests the minds of the meek.

>>9573829
What are you talking about? Have you been reading random posts and assuming they're about Mazalan? No wonder you're all spun up.

>>9573829
I was responding to your post on "le black man", you talked as if he isn't discussed in this general. Look at >>9573547 for goodness sake.
>erickson
Where the fuck did that come from? I was talking about Lovecraft.

>>9573846

>everyone

Now that's a big word. Just two threads back there were more people agreeing than disagreeing. Not that it would matter one bit when talking about the objective merits of any series. Like I said, Bakker fans don't get frustrated when he's accused of fucked-up fetishes, GRRM fans don't deny that he's a lazy piece of shit, and Wolfe fans recognize the work suffers from certain tropes due to the time it was written.

And you're free to disagree with me as much as you want, when you start making some arguments. If somebody attacked PoN I would defend it like a reasonable person, instead of giving the same tired lines, over, and over, and over again.

Every single comeback from a Malazan fan is either to call the other party stupid to understand the series (lol) or to ask what their tastes are so they can start spouting nonsense about a series they've probably never read themselves. They are always dodging any kind of serious criticism.

tl;dr malazan fans have no honor

>>9573845

Which is, what? And I do expect an answer.

>>9573859

I don't think I'm the anon you think I am. Where exactly did I say Lovecraft isn't discussed in this general?

>>9573873
Emperor getting revived, primarch's returning.

also dont be a bitch and pretend you don't really like adb, he's good

MoM was bad though

I'm looking for a way to get ahold of a torrent or some other download of The Shadow stuff. Ideally the original pulp novels/novellas in particular. I figured that it'd have more of a place here than creating a thread about it. Anyone got any thoughts? I was able to find a huge archive of the Doc Savage stuff, which I'll share here for you guys via dropbox. Anyway, if anyone's got any idea where I can get ahold of all this stuff (read online would work too) I'd appreciate it. Here, have some Doc Savage.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8zjxv1fvph1bq3u/AACGWDedGB9E7Gvz6l58B75na?dl=0

Also, does anyone else like early sci-fi stuff? 30's-50's in particular? There's some decent anthologies on kindle for like a buck each. Shit's fascinating.

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> tfw completely lost any interest in fantasy
> now read only hard sf
What is happening to me?

>>9573585
Where the fuck did I say any of that. I said the executions of his stories are shit, all his characters are the same, and his metanarrative is far less brilliant than people think it is. I don't really give a shit if you like Malazan, I'm just putting out that there is a lot of reasons to dislike or not care for it. I simply don't care for it. It's mundane, banal, and doesn't stimulate.

>>9573881

>also dont be a bitch and pretend you don't really like adb, he's good

Why would I when I FUCKING PUT HIS NAME IN MY LIST OF FAVORITE AUTHORS?

>Emperor getting revived, primarch's returning.

That would solve absolutely nothing, you realize that, right? Sooner or later they would all die. And as I've said above, fighting Chaos (since you're using rage, violence, etc.) always just makes the gods stronger. There is no winning. Absolutely none.

>inb4 emperor becomes a god fanfiction

>>9573890

>losing interest in fantasy
>not switching to historical fiction/nonfiction

What IS happening to you?

>>9573896
Imperial truth + robots that fight chaos and returned emperor is a big threat to chaos.

you said it was a guilty pleasure, he also is becoming a god and arguably already was one. he has greater demons and blesses people. But lets not debate that right now.

there is also stuff like the cadian pylons, which could neuter chaos.

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>>9573829
kek.
>this guy hates malazan so much that he is grasping at straws and seeing erickson in every shadow
I love the autists in these generals. So entertaining.

For everyone complaining about Malazan (info dumps, comic book quips, etc) what's a series that does massive world building better?

>>9573010
His magic systems are hit and miss I really don't get why people praise him for them

>>9573445
>How is Bakker a meme
Hey Scott welcome back

>>9573873
>I don't think I'm the anon you think I am. Where exactly did I say Lovecraft isn't discussed in this general?
Follow the links to the top?

>>9573909

He is a guilty pleasure. I love him, but he has some shitty books too. Master of Mankind hurt me physically. Same with that other one... Talon of Horus, I think? Not a fan of the Night Lords stuff either. But The First Heretic and Betrayer were both amazing. Up there with Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns.

And the problem with all of those things and why I consider them fanfiction tier is because they fundamentally go against what Warhammer is all about. Similar to how that whole bullshit spin on Star Wars Obsidian tried to pull with KotOR II was miserable. Except in this case, if Games Workshop were to make the Emperor strong enough to equal Chaos outright, it wouldn't just neuter their power, it would neuter the entire setting and franchise as a whole.

>>9573630
>Bakker
And you expect people to take you seriously?

>>9573933

... to where, exactly? I made a single post about Lovecraft, when that guy asked me what authors I happen to like. That's it. I never mentioned anything about Lovecraft not being popular or anything else.

>>9573920

Lord of the Rings? A Song of Ice and Fire (it's generic and stupid, but it's consistent and intelligible)? Second Apocalypse? Never read Wheel of Time, but maybe that too.

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>>9573445

>>9573956

Yeah, a man as eloquent as I am is definitely going to write a post like that.

>>9573920
LOTR

>>9573954
Look at >>9573781
I then said >>9573815
Then you said >>9573829

Bakkerfags are actually a thing now? I remember a little while ago when everyone made fun of him. Either that or we have new people.

>>9573969
no, it's just bakker samefagging

>>9573966

And where was it that I said Lovecraft was unpopular or whatever you were implying? Or are you saying that's implicit? I truly don't understand.

>>9573961
Author would love to shit talk fans without consequences. If all authors shit talked their fans like Rothfuss they would lose a lot of readers.

>>9573954
>Second Apocalypse
This is one I've never looked into. Seems bretty gud so far

>>9573514
>these guys solved a problem and now they're going to be happy in Darujhistan. Even though it's abundantly fucking clear that their part in the story is not over, so why are you doing this?
It might just be related to writing from their POV, and for all they know, they are done and through.

>Read new fantasy series
>They either start off bad or start off good and become bad
>Series starts off a trilogy but later ends up z quintet
That's why I stopped trying new fantasy

>>9573983
This. What's wrong with the series being episodic? Just because the author has foresight doesn't mean the characters do.

>>9573969
Well we have people recommending chinese novels so not surprised by the sudden influx of Bakkerfags.

>>9573975
THIS MAKES SO MUCH SENSE.
Bakker is jealous of Erickson's notoriety, so he tries to discredit him on this board which has anonymity. Unlike reddit.
Jesus fuck....

>>9573975
I know Bakker used to post here but does he still do that?>>9573985

>>9573920
Bakker does it really well. He trickles small info about the world through POV observations, dreams, and conversations that are relevant to the topic at hand. He also sometimes writes in a pseudo historical narrative voice, omniscient third person, which has perfect thematic reason to do info dumps. Even then, the info dumps aren't excessive nor tangential. For example, he might mention from the POV of an especially observant character that saw that the wild haired axemen thunyeri contingent was led by a guy named the Sranchammer who wears a necklace of shrunken heads of Sranc. But that's it. From that you can get the impression that the people from thunyersus are laid back and barbarian-like, and that they fight Sranc a lot.

He's not perfect and sometimes the info dumps are very blatant, but most of the time it's very well transitioned into the writing.

Sanderson also isn't that bad with info dumps. His prose is shit, but it's generally trickled in at relevant parts of the story.

>>9573988
Just ignore that anon. He is screenshoting all the (you)s we are giving him.

>>9573999
>>9573997
these shitposts write themselves

>>9573983

That's fine, but it's a matter of presentation. It's one thing for the character to think that everything's solved, and it's another for the author to present it as if it is.

>>9573988

How can it possibly be "episodic" when so many narratives remain unsolved? I'm not even talking about some meta-narrative. You could make the case that certain threats are just existential in some cases (like a villain or evil race that just won't go away). But in Malazan you have clear plots that simply get shelved for thousands of pages.

>>9573985
>They either start off bad or start off good and become bad
Raven's Shadow. The first book was solid but the second book was garbage. I didn't even bother reading the third one. Also Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne was pretty bad overall. Once Adare got more chapters I had to take more breaks.

>>9573997

>implying bakker ever posted here

Be serious, he's a philosopher professor and a renowned author, there's no way I have time for that.

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>>9573999
>bakker stroking his own ego
Just STOP Scott

>>9573985
>Series starts off a trilogy but later ends up a quintet
If a writer can't finish a series by the third or fourth book then they have problems. That's why I'm amused at Sanderson's planned 10 book series. It's already turning out bad and the third book isn't even out yet

>>9574007
A D A R E
D
A
R
E

>>9574005
>It's one thing for the character to think that everything's solved, and it's another for the author to present it as if it is.
>But in Malazan you have clear plots that simply get shelved for thousands of pages.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me you're saying that Erikson does not and does make it absolutely clear the characters aren't finished.

>>9573999
>info dumps
A sign of a bad writer. Scott you're not fooling anybody

>>9574004
Have you not been on his blog and seen how he writes? He's clearly not a fucking pleb when it comes to writing

>>9574008
He never passed his thesis. The books you've come to know and love is his philosophical thesis embedded into a fantasy setting.
>i gave them my thesis
>they didn't give me my phd
> so I gave it to the world

>>9574005
Do you not understand what episodic means? The books resolve the conflict at hand but that doesn't mean the characters won't get pulled into further conflicts, or that the main narrative has concluded.

Why is GRRM so obsessed with Tolkien? First he complains that Tolkien doesn't go into depth about Aragorn's tax plan and then he goes ahead and says he's currently writing his GRRMarillion.

>>9574036
inferiority complex

>>9574031
Really? Go update his wikipedia page. It says he has a PhD

>>9574036
>if I post it every thread maybe people will eventually care and discuss it with me

>>9574027
Bakker please

>>9574023

>Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me you're saying that Erikson does not and does make it absolutely clear the characters aren't finished.

Erikson doesn't make that "absolutely clear." Erikson loves to wrap up every book like a happy-go-lucky adventure has finally concluded, by focusing on a few plots and completely disregarding all others. But considering the powers they're given and that their character development they're given, the momentary happy ending is just condescending and unwarranted.

>>9574033

Okay, buddy, let me ask you a question. Apart from the first and fifth books, do you think any other Malazan book was "episodic"? Do you think Deadhouse Gates was? Memories of Ice? House of Chains? Are you seriously implying this?

>>9574049

I mean, character development is unfinished**

>>9574049
>Deadhouse Gates was? Memories of Ice? House of Chains?
Every time someone posts a fantasy title I cringe. Would it kill authors to come up with some better title?

>>9574041
He must have edited that himself

>>9574062
lol you guys are going to meme me into reading his shit, aren't you?

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>>9573888
archive.org sometimes has this stuff. I found 2 of the magazines:
https://archive.org/details/the_Shadow_33.08.01
https://archive.org/details/the_shadow_32.11.01
>Also, does anyone else like early sci-fi stuff? 30's-50's in particular? There's some decent anthologies on kindle for like a buck each. Shit's fascinating.
I like pic related.

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>>9574055

I've got you covered.

>>9574063

And nothing bad would happen. Bakker has amazing prose, a great world, and a legitimately interesting story. If you like Lord of the Rings and/or sci-fi stuff, you will enjoy it. Just stay away from his standalone novel, it was garbage.

>>9574049
>Erikson loves to wrap up every book like a happy-go-lucky adventure has finally concluded
Did you even read the books?
Dead house gates ending was definitely not happy and obviously didn't conclude a lot of character plots, as they were picked up again in house of chains.
Same for the lot of the others...

At least criticizes the series for flaws it actually has.

>>9574049
the books don't even resolve the conlflicts because there are multiple characters and continents. It's not episodic, did you seriously think karsa's story was finished by midnight tides?

>>9573769
>Rothfuss is a bad writer
>i took creative writing in college so i know
>i could sell like Rothfuss if i wanted to but i choose not to
>he has no idea how to write
>he has no idea how to use characters
>he has no way of explaining his magics
>how did this guy find a editor and a multiple book deal
>he is trash he can't write
>why do people buy this trash i could have written it if i wanted
kek. Look at this wannabe writer without a creative degree in writing. Thinking he can shit on Rothfuss who is more educated and a better writer than himself. I bet you are that fag who always cries about his elements as taste and the rat king.

Nice argument.

>>9574077
Nice post

>episodic means everything is perfectly resolved
you guys are retarded. it's like you can't fathom a multi-part story. you guys would have lost your shit during the golden age of serial novels

>>9574068
>>9573888
There's some interesting stuff here
http://roger-russell.com/sffun/sffun.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cJ6ercgdE8

>>9574031
He thesis was about cuckoldry ?

>>9574072

Wow, so because it doesn't happen in a few cases that means it doesn't happen? Remember Memories of Ice? Remember how it fucking tried to wrap up almost everything, and how we got some tearful ending, and how almost all of the Bridgeburners fucked off?

>>9574076

>It's not episodic, did you seriously think karsa's story was finished by midnight tides?

I know it's not episodic, I'm not the one Implying it was. I'm only saying that he's a moron that continues some plots, and entirely abandons others for ages.

>>9574063
Don't read Bakker. Yes he's just a meme

>>9574049
I honestly can't see how every book is finished the way you say. He makes it clear to you that there are larger plotlines spanning books, and every book initiates the next.
>condescending and unwarranted.
I don't see this. I rather see this as characters hoping they can retire from the hell they've gone through and leave peacefully, while the reader knows this is not the case for most, which makes the endings partly happy, partly sad.

>>9574015
To be completely fair, the >10 book series is basically 2 series in the same world with a big time gap in between. The current storyline will end with book 5.

>>9574088
>and how almost all of the Bridgeburners fucked off?
A lot of them died and the rest reappeared in book 8.
Are you now "criticizing" that Erikson tried to wrap a few plots up? (obviously it is not "almost everything" since the next book continues book 2)

Please, try criticizing the book for its flaws, not some straw mans.

>>9574093
No I'm not. You probably haven't even read his novels

Neal Asher is the best sci-fi author working right now. Check him out. Gridlinked.

>>9574093
Don't even read fantasy. It's just a meme

>>9574101

>A lot of them died and the rest reappeared in book 8.
>the rest reappeared in book 8.
>in book 8.

AFTER FIVE FUCKING NOVELS. AMAZING. THANKS FOR PROVING MY POINT.

>>9574097

But if the readers know that's not the case, why would you go out of your way to try and give a satisfactory gift-wrapped ending? And don't tell me he doesn't do this, anon. He really does. I've never read any other author writing a series that pulls this sort of crap.

>>9574099
A ten year timeskip isn't huge

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>>9572794
"Player of Games" by Iain M. Banks is about a society that revolves around an extremely complex board game. The protagonist is known within his separate super-society for being a very advanced board game player, he goes to play the complex game. It's a pretty fun adventure.

>>9574105
I'm actually Bakker, don't listen to this anon. And I am a meme

>>9574115
>AFTER FIVE FUCKING NOVELS. AMAZING.
What is wrong with that?
Why do you think not focusing on all characters at the same time is somehow valid criticism?
It would be quite literally impossible to write a series of books with that size and number of characters WITHOUT shelving some of them.
It is not a flaw, it is a necessity...

For the last time, criticize the book for its flaws.

>>9574118
Well, that depends on what happen during that time skip and how the stories are written. But let's not derail this beautiful Malazan shitfest with Sanderson.

>>9574015
Sanderson's real problem is killing off Sadeas who was his best antagonist in the second book. His voidbringers are lame as fuck so I'm not really interested in the third book

>>9574130
Having too many characters is a flaw.

>>9574130

Let me make this very clear: as far as I am concerned, that is a flaw. If you write a book and present a character in detail, you should not pussy out and shelf that character (especially when there's things they can do). If you really want him gone and want to focus on other things, then go and find a reason for him to suffer some heroic death or whatever and be done with it. But shelving a character for five novels, which in this case amounts to four thousand pages and God knows how many real life years is beyond absurd.

Are there exceptions? Sure. Sometimes you put a character aside because his or her fate remains a mystery. That isn't what what Erikson does. If you don't consider shelving a character whose story clearly needs to continue only because you've decided you want a new wacky adventure somewhere else!

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>bakker finishes everything tuc last week, arc info collected, books edited,
>printing and storage commences
>bakker has free time on his hands
>comes back to his favorite shitposting hole
>erickson tirade starts one week ago
>before that nothing
>bakker spews spital and bile as he fumes over the success of Malazan
It's like clockwork

>>9574145
nice use of spoilers you fucking asshoel

>>9574151
and pottery. "clockwork pottery" would make a decent name for a shit fantasy novel

>>9574157
it's been out for three years moron. Here's some more for you
>Adolin kills Sadeas
>Renarin is a radiant
>nightblood from warbreaker is in Szeth's hands now
>Zahel is Vasher
>Kaladin has Szeth's honorblade
>Shallan killed her parents

>>9574115
You would do that because you're writing form the characters' POV.
I just don't understand how you cannot get that the books are written from the characters' POV and that they, for all they know, have now finally "made it".
>>9574150
>(especially when there's things they can do).
Give examples of characters that were shelved and who they should've switched places with, please. I can't think of any.

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>>9574151

Jokes aside, is there any proof that this man has posted in /lit/ at all, ever?

>>9574149
>>9574150
Fair point, having too many characters can certainly be a flaw, but it is also pretty clear that it is inherent to the scope of the series.

Personally I have to say that I never felt bothered by that, but I can totally see why it could.

>>9574105
>>9574125
How do you do fellow Bakkers?

>>9574151
The Aspect Emperor transcends genre fiction

>>9574169

So what if it's been out for years? Do you think that gives you a right to spoil him? Most of the material on here has been out for a long time. You are simply a moron, and you should learn to use the spoiler tags. Kill yourself.

>>9574172

>Give examples of characters that were shelved and who they should've switched places with, please. I can't think of any.

The first that comes to mind is Paran fucking off for a while. Icarium and Mappo also dropping off the map for the longest time despite the fact that Icarium is pretty much the apocalypse incarnate. And that's just what comes off the top of my head now, I would have way more if I re-read the books. He isn't even switching from one set of characters to another. He's just adding more.

The thing is, there are good things in Malazan, and it would've been SO MUCH BETTER if he just wrote standalone novels. It's so clear from DG and MoI that Erikson likes to have his epic endings and to giftwrap conclusions. There is nothing wrong with that, nor writing standalones.

>You would do that because you're writing form the characters' POV.
>I just don't understand how you cannot get that the books are written from the characters' POV and that they, for all they know, have now finally "made it".

By that logic, you can excuse any retarded thing thought or done by a character (really the author writing), because it's done in a POV. How does that make sense? I get what you're saying, but it's Erikson that makes it that way.

>>9574177

Like I said to the anon above, Malazan would've worked far better with a standalone focus. Even if it was a """series""". At the very least, he could have made it clear where a certain character would appear or where he wouldn't, which is super useful if you want to read stuff like Discworld or Horus Heresy. No such option in Malazan? You like one character and you hate all the others and don't want the novels spoiled? Good luck, bucko! You better read on and find out what happens. Maybe in ten pages. Maybe eight books later.

>>9574173
this>>9573956

>>9574200

That isn't really proof...

>>9574036
Americans are always obsessed with trying to outdo their British superiors.

>>9574145
The problem was killing him of to late. He had already played his role as an internal antagonist and the story was ready to move on to the real enemies. But when he survived the journey to Urithiru and hinted at new plans to oppose the protags he became interesting again. And then he died.

>>9574169
Well you should use spoiler tags but most of use don't care if you spoiler Sanderson because if you watch anime you already know what's going to happen in Sanderson novels

>>9573033
Never trust a macleod

>>9574198
I do remember reading like a whole book and being like WHERE THE FUCKKK IS KARRRSAAA, and he showed up for like 2 pages total. still best high fantasy though.

>>9574212
Tell me, how are they going to stop the Everstorm?

>>9574216

>karsa
>lead me, warleader

That fucking start... Probably the best part of that series. I loved Karsa. I loved him a lot more than Bakker's Cnaiur.

>>9574209
Well now we have his wife, that gary stu king, the parshendi/voidbringers, and the skybreakers. I'm not really interested in any of them right now. All I want from book 3 is for Sanderson to not repeat Kaladin's arc from WoK again. Also I want him to get rid of that stupid love triangle and for him to lessen Shallan's role but the latter probably isn't going to happen

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>>9574224
I will kill you... once".

>>9574212
>Sanderson is anime meme
I hate how memey this place is

>>9574230

Is there even a list anywhere of where each character appears in these goddamn books? I wouldn't mind reading Karsa's story all over again. But no way I'm going through the whole of Malazan.

>>9574220
They won't get anything done until book 5 where Kaladin and/or Dalinar will sacrifice themselves to hold it back. They'll also get a power up by picking up a a huge sliver of a shard or a shard itself temporarily.

>>9574235
malazan wiki maybe.

>>9574228
Considering Shallan was the main character of WoR and Dalinar will be the focus in Oathbringer I'd say the latter probably is going to happen.

Since we're talking about Sanderson right now how do you guys think his Mistborn space opera is going to turn out? I think he's going to fuck it up because while he's a decent fantasy writer I think he'd be a terrible sci fi writer. One of the reasons I think this is because there are already people who can teleport to other worlds

>>9574151
Wait who here is salty about Erikson's success? I've just seen some discussion about whether or not Malazan is shitty. I don't think anyone gives a shit about success when authors like Sanderson and Rothfuss are far more successful with much less work and quality

>>9574257
Yeah but Kaladin had the same amount of chapters in WoR as he had in WoK and who knows who is favorite character is right now.

>>9574257
>Dalinar's book is book three
What the fuck is he doing?

>>9574258
>Sanderson
>sci-fi
trainwreck. The man can barely write fantasy

>>9574261
Rothfuss' net worth is about 4 million and he keeps pissing it away with shitty investments like Kingkiller trading cards. Also he probably spends a lot of money trying to get laid.

>>9574283

>Rothfuss' net worth is about 4 million

Those shitty books are seriously that popular? Incredible.

>>9574262
Yeah, I guess that is true.

>>9574268
I don't dislike it. What's way worse is that the stupid fuck Szeth is going to be the focus in the fifth book.

>>9574295
To be fair I expect nothing less from a world where JK Rowling is a billionaire

>>9574295
There was a bidding war for the rights to adapt the series back in 2015

>>9574198
I agree that I would like to see more of Ganoes, Icarium and Mappo, but they don't really drive the plot between our encounters with them, do they?

If the retarded thing though or done is consistent with the character, you can to some extent excuse it (see: Felisin, young and makes a series of bad decisions when dropped into the real world; we cannot expect her to behave rationally).

>>9574329
>I’ve never been that interested in a straight-up movie deal. Pretty much every fantasy movie created so far has been an action movie, or plot centered, or both. And my books aren’t like that. My books are about the characters. They’re about secrets and mysteries and the hidden turnings of the world. My books are all about anticipation. And a movie, even a long movie, simply doesn’t have enough time to fit all of that stuff in. That’s why my original option was for a TV show. I wanted space for the story to breathe.
http://www.tor.com/2015/10/01/patrick-rothfuss-name-of-the-wind-movie-tv-video-game-rights/>>9574329

I forgot how arrogant the guy is.

>>9574343
but TNotW is literally just Kvothe worrying about his debt

>>9574216
It really didn't make any sense for him to be featured more than that. He was just waiting around.
>>9574235
Pirate the e-book and ctrl+f Karsa or his companion.

>>9574343

>My books are about the characters.

Does he mean himself?

>>9572272
Jirel has YELLOW eyes in the stories unlike the depiction here. They're also very formulaic stories - usually Jirel finds a portal to another world, sees a few spooks and scares, and comes back. There's not a lot of action and lots of inward looking/thinking passages. They're individually good, but very repetitive when read together. Once you have read one, you've them all. I do prefer her SF N.W. Smith stories which have more variation.

>>9573796
I read the books, asshole. I just want to read other people's perspective on them.

>>9571726
>how the fuck did he win awards for that shit?
SJWs, son.

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>when the author starts using weird names you're not sure how to pronounce and it disrupts your reading flow

>>9574548
>not just skipping over the names in your inner monologue

>>9574548
>not just making up your own pronunciations on the fly because who cares

>>9574343
I think Rothfuss is one of the few people who deserves to get mugged. Seriously, it would make him reevaluate his own superiority complex, his career and what he writes.

So Im reading LoTR for the first time, and have reached the chapters with Tom Bombadil

How the fuck has these books gotten so much praise. This is some of the most boring and fucking childish thing I have read to date. The whole character just pisses me off. Is he even gonna be fucking relevant

>>9574584
No, he's not.

>>9574584
Leave Tom alone D:

>>9574584
>his is some of the most boring and fucking childish thing I have read to date.
Yeah why don't the Orcs just rape everything and why are the good guys such pussies wtf? The Hound would totally kick their asses XD

>>9574610
>le ebin strawman
Thats not what im talking about you fucking idiot.
Its the whole way the character is presented.

He basicly a whobling autist, who dances and sings all the fucking time, for no fucking reason than to be "lmao random xD"

He feels like he belongs in The fucking Hobbit - which I could understand why had such characters

>>9574629
>who dances and sings all the fucking time
Do you seriously not know why Tolkien included a mirthful bard as a character? It's all based on mythology, which had plenty of those rhyming trickster characters.

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>>9574629

>>9574629
The Bombadil parts (along with the drawn out ass ending) are the worst parts of the book.

>>9574584
Tom Bombadil is like the most powerful character seen in lotr

>>9574635
>Mirhful bard
Tolkien apologists everyone
>>9574646
Yes I know. That doesnt excuse it from being a shit character. Sure I get that its to show that some things are stronger and more ancient than the ring. But the way it is presented it pretty badly written imo.
>>9574643
Well Im gonna read all of the books anyways. I know it takes some time before the fellowship meets and shit. I just find this part to be very dragged out

>>9574664
>Tolkien apologists everyone
Not an argument

>>9574669
And you spewing shit that isnt true, isnt either

Tom is in no fucking way just a "mirhful bard"

Even if he was, he still serves no purpose

>>9574629
Bombadill is there to show that there is more going on than just the conflict of the one ring. By showing that some people don't care about Sauron and the ring was one of the ways Tolkien showed how big the world was.

>>9574629
>He feels like he belongs in The fucking Hobbit
He was in the Hobbit

>>9574664
I read it as the literal boundary between innocence and the unknown beyond. When the hobbits meet Bombadil, it's when the also face their most life threatening challenge yet. His whimsical and merry nature purposely clashes with his seeming omnipotence/esotericism to show the contrast of the borders the hobbits have arrived. They're on the border of leaving the Shire/innocence and entering the unknown/vast beyond. So there's thematic importance.

Also, Tolkien wrote lotr to be like a national "myth" not too dissimilar from King Arthur, Odyssey, etc. And in those stories, they always encounter mythological and mysterious characters that help the heroes in a small way. To cement the good natured wills of the hero, or maybe as a demonstration that the heroes don't stand alone. Tolkien wanted to capture that aspect with the bard. The bard is significant because he is a storyteller in ways. He is most powerful because storytelling represents a permanence of passing events. Stories are how the past communicates with the present, whether in a fictional or historical manner. Anyways that's why him being a bard and powerful is important in lotr.

But he serves very little narrative function, you're right.

Holy shit Sanderson only has a net worth of 6 million.

>>9573903
rec me some historical fiction, kind Anon. I pretty much only read Sienkiewicz and Stephenson when it comes to that genre.

>>9574664
>I just find this part to be very dragged out
I, too, felt this, but I reckon I did because I'm used to the movies. I can definitely see how these parts are more exciting when first encountering them.

So Neil Gaiman, does he literally have anything worth reading? I know he's probably the biggest pleb meme outside of Stephen King. But he has to have produced at least something of value, right?

>>9573802
More based than Polgara? I doubt that.

>>9575120
I enjoyed some of the short stories in Fragile Things and Smoke & Mirrors. Trigger Warning not so much.

>>9575120
The Sandman comic, that's literally it.

>>9575120
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqcqapoFy-w
No he's a faggot

>>9574224
Don't know who this karsa nigga is, but did he rape his mortal enemy as a demonstration of dominion, but also as a subconscious refutation of realizing that he was basically raped by a man he thought he loved/worshipped in his youth?

otherwise go fuck yourself

>>9573695
If someone has recommendations like Too Like the Lightning/Seven Surrenders and Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey please post. With Palmer's stuff I love characters like Bridger and Mycroft and with Shades I like the worldbuilding. From both I like the surface layer of light wackiness before the really fucked up stuff came pouring out of the woodworks.

In similar author vein, I liked: Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five and Philip Purser-Hallard's Of the City of the Saved (if you are that other whofag I like FP already especially Miles' stuff)

Didn't like: Neil Gaiman (took the wackiness too far and Urban Fantasy rubs me the wrong way), Wright (too many mythology references), Mieville (not a fan of a tonne of races)

Dan Simmons has the perfect level of mythology in my humble opinion.

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anyone read this?

>>9571588
Who likes The Black Company?

>>9575578
White girls

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>>9575587

>>9574107
>all my years of shilling paid off

How hard to read is Latro in the Mist?
I read Book of the New Sun and I'm pretty sure I missed the point despite reading several chapters more than once, is this one just as complex?

>>9575120

I like the Urban Fantasy stuff so I liked his early novels. Smoke and Mirrors. Sandman.

That said, if you want something with a bit of a similar feel to it but significantly better: Tim Powers.

>>9573873
>Wolfe fans recognize the work suffers from certain tropes due to the time it was written.
cunt I will stab you until you die. Wolfe hu'ackbar

>>9575120
Sandman and Coraline

>>9575963
You'll be perfectly fine, assuming that you started with the Greeks of course. You have read The Illiad, Herodotus' Histories and at least one encyclopedia on Ancient Greek mythology haven't you?

>>9574584
Bombadil is just Tolkien paying his respects to old school fairy tales which were weird as shit

Any good novels with a girl protag?

>>9576012
Where would you recommend starting with Tim Powers?

>>9576315
Anubis gates

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>>9574838

Start with Eiji Yoshikawa. His books are similar to fantasy, in the sense that they start our small and gradually the story of the character envelops more and more of the world.

Tom Holland is technically counted as nonfiction, but his prose is so strikingly beautiful that it blows most author in this thread out of the water. You can try Rubicon by him.

Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem is fucking incredible, if you want to continue with the downfall of Rome thread. I, Claudius is neat too.

And as I'm an Alexanderboo I must recommend God of War by Cameron and Alexander at the World's End by Tom Hold.

In any case, so long as you avoid anything written by a woman you'll be fine. If the top reviews on Goodreads are five star ones by teenagers, especially girls, you should stay the fuck away.

>>9575400
Nah but he raped like 30 wmmn.

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opinions on this /lit/ recommended shit?

i think it was a little to grimdark in my opinion, i get its a decaying world but honestly even real life isnt as bad as whats in the book. I read fantasy to distract me from my problems not take on other worse ones, the themes get repetitive and the action is only okay. I did enjoy the world building though and the pacing was pretty tight.

some of the characters were just what the fuck, like ferro

>>9576530
I didn't like it and I didn't think it belonged in the recommendation charts.

>>9576530

I read that entire series and I can barely remember a thing. Except that I didn't like it and I wouldn't read it again.

>>9576536
im going through the lit recommended list and have been disappointed by the black company (only read the first book, was disappointed), first law trilogy, and storm light archive (the first book was solid, second turned into anime bull shit and not really interested in the direction he is taking the series, characters are solid though imo).

Last sci fi/fantasy book i enjoyed the hell out of with no complaints was Dune. Any advice on where to go from here? or is the fantasy genre dead? should i just give up and read crime and punishment or middlemarch again?

i was thinking about reading the coldfire trilogy or something by gene wolfe.

>>9576576
>disappointed by the black company (only read the first book, was disappointed)

Why didn't you like it?
Currently debating whether or not to get it myself.

>>9576576
The books you are picking are pretty grimdark (First Law and Black Company I think are targetted to that audience). Coldfire is not a grimdark story although it is still dark fantasy. If you enjoyed Way of Kings it is likely that this sort of story is the type you may enjoy. Friedman also has nicer prose than Sanderson and some of the ideas elaborated on are significantly more complex and in terms of the content Coldfire is scifantasy.

Coldfire, in my humble opinion, is one of the best books I've picked up out of this thread however I'm a little biased because I love it a lot. It's very much a characterisation focussed novel.

Give the first book a try, it basically sets the tone for the series.


>>9576586
>to get it
There are plenty of ways of downloading books, in fact one of the best methods in existence (downloading off the IRC) is stickied.

>>9576586
characters were just not interesting, it sometimes feels like they only exist to be a camera to show what transpires. It does not help that almost all the important action is removed from their control. The story itself is pretty good though, i might pick it up and read the second one. There are a few concepts that are really fucking cool and stuck with me, but honestly i cant describe a single character from memory.

Of all the okay to disappointing fantasy ive read it was probably the best, id for sure give it a shot, you might not have my same hang ups

>>9576600
>There are plenty of ways of downloading books

I really prefer reading physical versions but I guess I could read one or two chapters this way and then decide if I want it.
Thanks for the input m8

>>9576616
It's great for sampling chapters too, although I actually prefer to do my sampling with physical books and reading on digitised copies because it's easier to conceal the fact that you are reading books on your phone at 2 AM.

>>9575539
Yes. The first 2/3 are great, but this is not a good book to start with this author.

>>9575120
I really liked American Gods, but be forewarned - it's a 750 page book that could be told in 50 pages, were it not for all the digressions and excessive descriptions. Those things appeal to me, though.

>>9576576
Library at mount char
Shades of grey by fforde
Enjoy

>>9576615
Well, it sounds like it's more plot driven than character driven.
That might be refreshing after the last things I've read, maybe I'll go ahead and check it out.

>>9576600

Well, The Prince of Nothing is a fantasy version of Dune, more or less. You might like that.

>>9576673
Wrong perp mate
>>9576576

>>9574145
The best thing that could've happened with Sadeas would've been if he were right that he and Adolin would end up being good allies after Dalinar's death.

>>9573335
>>9573397
1: The magic is not explained. This is to say nothing of the fucking Tyrant. I also don't read Sanderson because I don't like anime.
I also didn't say the BOOKS suck, I said that the first book was a discombobulated mess. I have never met a human being until this moment who defended Gardens of the Moon.

>>9574216
Karsa's part in the last book was disappointing to me. Was hoping he would do more.

>>9576702
>I have never met a human being until this moment who defended Gardens of the Moon.

I've been saying gardens of hte moon is the best book in the series for years

>>9575400
He raped a mother and daughter after killing all the males and got them both pregnant. They loved every second of it.

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Best sf/f blogs and news sites?

>>9576411
Masters of Rome is based, and was writed be a woman.