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So i just finished reading harry potter ( which was great) but

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So i just finished reading harry potter ( which was great) but im still in the "Wizards N' Shit" mood. What are your favourite books with Mages/Wizards?
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>>46050916
Sanderson tends to do magic pretty well. I'd recommend Mistborn as another fun YA-ish magic-n-shit series. Just skip past all of the horribly cringeworthy romance.
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>>46050954
>horribly cringeworthy romance.

but thats my fav kind of romance
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>>46050916
The Craft Sequence series by Max Gladstone is about WIZARD LAWYERS and it's even more fun than that implies.
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>>46050968
not OP but where should i start? Three Parts Dead?
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Stasheff's Her Majesty's Wizard
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>>46050916
That shit be RACIST homie
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>>46050916
I know the comic is old but I'd love to play D&D with this guy.
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>>46050916
I liked the Bartimaeus books. Summoners 'n' Shit.
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>>46050996
Yeah. Deffos read in published order.
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David Eddings Tamuli series, or the various Belgariad books (3 series).
Weiss and Hickman's Death Gate cycle.
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>>46051057
>Death Gate
by the gods... i need to go back and reread those books.
>>
Lev Grossman's The Magicians Trilogy. Or at least the first one. Can't really recommend the others since I haven't read them, but I'm sure they're pretty good too.
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>>46051040
Seconded. It's always fun to read books from the point of view of an unapologetic asshole.

Speaking of which, I would very highly recommend The Name of the Wind if you somehow haven't read it yet, and suggest the the Chronicles of Amber find it's way onto your list at some point.
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>>46050916
The Alex Verus series isn't too bad.
Protagonist is a gradually improving dickass Mage specialising in telling the future, but with sod all offensive capabilities.
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>>46050968
The Choose Your Own Adventure game that came out for that series was pretty great too

And I havent even read the books
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>>46050916
Dresden Files, if you like detective stories.
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>>46050954
It's a shame about the romance sub-plot, my favorite part of Mistborn were the chapters about being incognito among the nobility. And then everything went to shit once out in the open with love intrests.
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>>46051147

Seconding this.
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>>46051070
I did, they weren't as good as I remembered.
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>>46051153
For real. Have two character with less chemistry ever been forced together in the history of literature?
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>>46051124
Hey, Nathaniel was an unapologetic asshole with a heart of gold, I'll have you know.
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>>46051161
The first one is the worst, so it's handy for deciding whether to reread the whole series or not.
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>>46051146
The choose your own adventure game was what got me interested in the books myself.
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>>46050916
Well, there's the Dresden Files, which is pretty great and about a Wizard Detective. Has a pretty solid universe, some fun characters, and quick reads. Solid series, a little slow in the start, but the writing quickly improves.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman is Harry Potter/Narnia mooshed together with a lot of fucked-up stuff added. The first book is absolutely worth a read for some fantastic moments and a lot of very realistic character writing. The second two get more fucked-up and weirder, but I'd recommend them.

The Vlad Taltos series by Stephen Brust is about an assassin-wizard human living amongst elves, and deals with lots of gang politics, delicious recipes, and stabbing motherfuckers in the face. Vlad is a Pretty Cool Guy.

The Chronicles of Amber is sorta about mages, but the magic is all probability math and multiverse shifting. Still great, Zelazny is a crazed genius.
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>>46051040
>>46051124
The MC was legitimately my favourite part of reading the books. He was so unapologetic it was amazing. Still a little sad he didn't go anywhere with the rebellion(?) girl he 'saved', but hey, I'm a sucker for cute couples.
>>
>>46051124
>>46051040
Bartimaeus books are great, they're the only books from my childhood I kept

I've always wanted to run a campaign based on that setting
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>>46050916
I like the Nightside series of books by Simon. Less Wizards and shit, and more WIZARDS and everything else supernatural.
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>>46050916
This is the best fantasy novel published in decades. Prove me wrong.
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>/l/ tells you to fuck off to /v/
>/v/ mods instantly delete thread
Don't have any suggestions for you op but felt bad and wanted to see if you would actually get anything from here
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is the Malazan empire series anygood?
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>>46051253
Would you play magicians or demons though?
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>>46051274
For ants maybe
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>>46051307
Presumably humans since we have no good way of emulating four separate trains of thought, although I'd be open to a resistance kind of thing where people play as gifted humans like Kitty's group instead.

I'd have to find a system or homebrew one with summoning rituals and rules since that would be a big deal. And something that really emphasizes social stuff since that's what magicians are all about in high society.
>>
saw you on /lit/ which I entered after thinking how much I loved reading Harry Potter
good thing you came here anon, now I get exactly the kind of recs I wanted
>>
>>46051147
>>46051160
Dresden Files is like the exact opposite of Harry Potter.
Both are about wizard detective stories, but Harry Potter is well written, has likable characters, a coherent world, and actually has humor rather than awful attempts at snark and lolsorandom.

Telling someone who likes HP to read Dresden is like saying "Hey, you know that thing you like? Here's something of infinite worse quality that only superficially resembles it. Your welcome."
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>>46051347
Out of curiosity, what did /lit/ recommend?
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>>46051397
not a single thing. The only post was the one telling him to go away
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>>46051397
nothing just told anon to post this here and on /v/, of all places.
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>>46050916
Sword of Truth (Wizard's First Rule being book 1) was alright but it gets TERRIBAD as the series goes on. But the first few are good, no matter what these plebs want to say.
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>>46050916

>ctrl+f
>no Earthsea

Alright, I guess it's up to me then.

The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. LeGuinn. It's fantastic. Read it. Begins with A Wizard of Earthsea.

>>46051195

Fire Sea is always worth re-reading. Whenever I re-read the Deathgate Cycle, I start there, mainly because the first book isn't great, and the second book is even worse, with unlikable characters.
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>>46051334
Humans can't think as demons do, but considering that players can spend minutes debating things that happen in a few seconds in-game and bring notes made between sessions... It's not necessarily that huge a difference.
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>>46051393
>inb4 only popular because of advertising
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>>46051522
Male Twilight.
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>>46051422
>>46051438
Kek. What the fuck is /lit/ even for? Do they just fap over Shakespeare or something?
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>>46051534
Its not even close to twilight dude.
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>>46051393
>Both are about wizard detective stories
>Harry Potter
>wizard detective series
U fucking wot.
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>>46051028
I do, he's latino though.
Apparently he go into it when he was in prison and just....well he's the most creative PC I've ever had. Regularly makes weapons/shivs out of wands, rods, and staves.
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>>46051707

Sorry meant for >>46051031
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>>46051664
Really? You didn't even pick up on that?

Not from the way each book was classically constructed as a detective story, the assemblage of clues to solve the whodunnit mystery complete with unmasked villains delivering "how I did it" monologues,, or even from how Potter ends up as an Auror, which is a funny magical sounding word for "Specialist Wizard Detective"?
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>>46050916

The Magicians by Lev Grossman - Harry Potter for edgy people. It's good though, kind of like if Stephen King wrote Narnia.

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher - Wizard Detective in Chicago. Really fun series, first book isn't very good but it ramps up quickly after that.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke - British as fuck but well worth reading.

Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss - First book is great. He's got some of the best prose in fantasy. Too bad he done fucked up with the second book.

The Once and Future King - A retelling of the legends of King Arthur. Author has a comical distaste for women. It's a classic though.

The Spellsong Cycle ; The Magic of Recluce ; The Corean Chronicles ; The Imager Series all by L.E. Modesitt Jr. - He pumps out books at a ridiculous volume but they are enjoyable and his worlds are well put together. The basic gist of most of his books is that [young adult male who is the quiet, composed type] leaves home for [reasons] and learns how to be a user of [magic system]. I recommend the Magic of Recluce as a good starting point with him.

The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist - Classic of high fantasy, the first few books are about a Magician though later entries branch into other characters stories.
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>>46051735
In fairness a lot of the later books are him being a bit of a whingey little teen so its easy to forget he is detecting stuff. Even then mostly he just gets told about something or someone figures out the problem for him.
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>>46051765

>It's good though, kind of like if Stephen King wrote Narnia.

You go through a magic wardrobe and find yourself in Maine?
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>>46051707
Prison DnD honestly sounds like the most fun DnD.
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>>46051295
It's amazing, but long. I read the first 4 books, each about a thousand pages, in a month. For those who don't know, its basically the roman empire conquering africa, with wizards and wizard assassins. And then shit gets real.
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>>46051765
>Too bad he done fucked up with the second book.
What was the problem with it, apart from being five years late and about as long as the entire trilogy was supposed to be?
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>>46050954
War-something the one with color magic was pretty neat too.

And Rithmatist.

Basically every damn series he starts has some fascinating magic system regardless of its other qualities.
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>>46051767
It does put some effort in departing from a straightforward detective story, and it puts a lot of effort in disguising the real main character (hermoine, her Mary Sue), but Rowling's forte is the classic mystery, which is rather evident with her post-potter work.
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>>46051836

That it read like bad fanfiction of the first book? That it went from a coming of age story to a self masturbatory author insert. If you didnt at least find the Felurian part to be obnoxious then I don't know man.
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>>46051789
Which one is the first one?
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>>46051459
>ctrl+f
>find thread saying "ctrl+f but no Earthsea"
Seconding A Wizard of Earthsea. It's a great book, if a bit young adult-ish (though if you're coming from Harry Potter, that's obviously not an issue). The other two books in the original trilogy are pretty good, but not nearly as good as the first, and are kind of different animals (think Dune Messiah to Dune, though maybe not with as wide of a quality gap). I started on the 4th book, Tehanu, which was written almost three decades later, and found it excessively... well... the only way I know how to describe it is "womany" and overly concerned about interpersonal relationships and shit. It didn't appeal to me, and I put it down before I finished it. I never picked up the next two books, so I can't comment on them. But the books of the original trilogy are all good, and A Wizard of Earthsea is great.
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>>46051863
I have read all the books and as far as I remember hermoine was pretty damn side characterish.
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>>46051664
Nevermind that dresden only starts as a dectective series. I don't know what it is at this point, but not so much detective type activity going on.
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>>46051887
General city defending + a reasonable amount of mystery solving?
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>>46051534
Now this is just blatant bait.


As for OP. The other series by Jim Butcher is really interesting in terms of magic too. Everyone gets magic from these sorts of spirits.

First book is called uh....

Shit I can't remember right now. Anyone else remember the name? I'm not gonna have time to Google and come back.
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>>46051871
Gardens of the Moon, though it does somewhat feel like you've been thrown in halfway through a trilogy, which was the author'sintention.
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>>46051871
Gardens of the Moon. It's a 10/10 series. I didnt recommend it personally because while it's got Mages it's not about them like Harry Potter is.
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>>46050916
hpmor.com

the best fanfiction about Harry potter ever written.

(beadvisedmostof/tg/thinksitsucks)
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>>46051905
Furies of something or other?
>>46051906
>>46051915
I hear there are two series set in the same universe.
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>>46051905

Way of Kings
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>>46051905
Furies of Calderon
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>>46051887
The detective part is mostly used as a backdrop by this point, which is probably for the best since it was easily the weakest aspect of the first few.
Well, apart from some personality issues, but credit where credits due, that got quite skilfully rolled into character development.
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>>46051867
The Felurian was the plant right? I was disappointed at the sex, because it was so out of place. ESPECIALLY IN THE !NINJA VILLAGE holy fuck. I don't know how he could think that was a good idea when he penned that.
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>>46051539
Philosophy, mostly.

>>46051887
The latest one is fairly close, but the latest trilogy in the series is basically just getting over the fallout from Changes and reclaiming his place in the world.
That said, they're still good.

>>46051765
>British as fuck
Not like Harry Potter isn't

>>46050916
Still on the YA end of things, but the Abhorsen books by Garth Nix are pretty good
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>>46051922

Yes the world is based on GURP roleplaying two friends did in the 80s/early 90s. They both wrote a series. The Malazan Book of the Fallen is generally considered the superior one. Stephen Erikson, the author of that one, makes better use of humour and was a better writer at the beginning. Ian C. Esselmont, who writes Tales of the Malazan Empire, doesn't have that same sense of humour, and his first book(Night of the Long Knives) is very raw. He improves a lot though over time.
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>>46051946

Yea, I got even more annoyed when I saw a picture of the author and realized Kvothe was just an idealized version of himself. It was just a really cringey self-insert masturbation fanfic that wandered aimlessly without plot progress.
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>>46051867
I just kind of read both books assuming that Kvothe couldn't resist a healthy amount of embellishment even in his honest biography, and basically everything was bullshit. I thought it was a bit drawn out, but I'll let a bro tell his story about that time he totally fucked a sex goddess so hard she let him return to reality.

>>46051931
I don't get it, is this supposed to be some sort of bait?
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Check out Wildbow's Pact. A modern fantasy serial novel about a young adult who gets thrust into a world of MAGIC AND ADVENTURE when he inherits his diabolist grandmother's house and immense karmic debt.
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>>46051393
I was always under the impression that Dresden was written intentionally pulpy. I could be wrong, butcher could be a hack, but i always thought it was to be a callback to the detective penny dreadfuls.
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>>46052002
>I saw a picture of the author
Kvothe is a scrawny redhead, though.
>>
can't go wrong with the Old Kingdom series.
You'll also shit yourself when you reread Lirael and pay a bit closer attention to the dog's first words and a few choice sentences.
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>>46052074
Still mad he didnt call his first book semi auto magic. That said I didnt read the first book, and as far as I can gather I didnt miss much.
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>>46051393

>A coherent world

It's fucking Harry Potter what are you smoking?
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>>46052128
You really didn't.
The constant callbacks may get irritating, but they do at least save you the pain of reading the first two books.
Even the audio versions can't save it, because the editor seemed to have ADHD when working on it, and randomly jammed sentences together and apart with wild abandon
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>>46051031
good cuck
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>>46050961
Yeah it is.
And Sanderson is master of such romance.
No irony.
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>>46052160
I was about to contest this, then I realized that the only not painfully cringeworthy romance in all of his books is in Warbreaker, where he tried to write James Bond and ended up with merely mildly cringeworthy.
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>>46051920
It's okay.
There are times when the author has trouble letting go of his soapbox, but if you can look past that, there are a lot of good parts too.
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>>46051859
> War-something the one with color magic was pretty neat too.

Warbreaker.

And yes, Sanderson is fucking amazing if you like deep worldbuilding and/or incredibly well-designed, internally consistent magic systems. He's struggled a bit with characterization, but he's gotten a lot better at that, too.

And if you like Sanderson's work, you should definitely take a moment to look up the Cosmere. It's stuff that's only shown up in the books a little at this point, but it's awesome.
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>>46051274
Not even as good as the Sabriel books.
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>>46051393
"This is not to my taste, so you shouldn't like it either. Nyah!"
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>>46051773
More like, you go through a magic well and Mr. Tumnus tries to rip out your throat and eat your eyeballs.
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>>46052392
>More like, you go through a magic well and Mr. Tumnus tries to rip out your throat and eat your eyeballs.
In Maine. That part is VERY important.
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>Control + F, 94 replies and no Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, or Wheel of Time

Holy shit guys, are you even trying? Also, Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei for those of you so inclined.
>>
>>46051274
>laughing Red Knight.vellumscroll
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>>46052417
Also, you're an author who was hit by a car.
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>>46052431
None of those are good, though. Literally everyone in FR is a Mary Sue, Dragonlance is okay but Weiss's worst work, and WoT doesn't get good until you're 40,000 pages in and cognitive dissonance makes it so you couldn't dislike it if you tried.
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>>46051173
Romeo and Juliet.

To be fair, that was kind of the point. Teenagers not making good decisions and all that.
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>>46051905
Furies of Calderon.

Who doesn't love Fantasy Roman Elementalists?

>>46051920
>implying the Methods of "dissecting a children's book series and exploiting the intentionally whimsical magic system like the world's worst Munchkin while ACTUALLY being an advertisement for a particular ideology " is a good fanfiction
>>
Black Company
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>>46053204
The only fanfiction I ever liked was the mass effect/command and conquer one.
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>>46053204
It might have been good had it been tongue in cheek, has a few time skips to spread out the knowledge gathering/extrapolations and kept to being just a small derail in the same setting.
As it stands, a first year being an insufferably smug cunt of a genius, and the backstory changing to make everything unrecognisable, renders the premise utterly pointless.
>>
>>46053270
Most of Peptuck's stuff is pretty good.
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>>46053040
Check and mate. Well played, sir.

In a related note, how do I overcome my rage when someone calls it a love story? What do I do if they then claim that it was Shakespeare's best work?
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>>46053270
wat
Link?
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>>46053391
Go home and scream into your pillow
>>
what romance books do you guys like?
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>>46053413
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5851454/1/Renegade
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>>46051274
I enjoyed the fuck out of it but my main criticism is that it felt like I was reading a shitty alternate reality version of Seattle in the 90's without drugs. Like, my thoughts while reading it were that it's a very cool setting, but the characters are a bunch of fucks
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>>46053445
50 Shades of Grey.
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>>46053391
Show them how much you love them by stabbing/poisoning them?

It's not a terrible play, by any means, but it's just not the story a lot of people think it is
>>
>>46050916
For something magical but unique that I never see recommended try the Man of his Word series by Dave Duncan, which starts with Magic Casement.
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>>46052156
When was the vampire ball? Cause whichever book that was in was when i decided to keep reading the series. I was on the fence until then.
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>>46053413
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5851454/1/Renegade
Tiberian sun guys get into space and find mass effect technology. They then give the turians a run for their money. Humans are not part of the council races and use tiberium tech to compensate
>>
>>46053451
Neat thanks.
Have a Harry Potter and the Natural d20, introducing a D&D wizard in Hogwarts:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8096183/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Natural-20
And a WH40K/ME crossover, where a Stormtrooper and an Eldar Iforgot land in the beginning of ME2:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7436717/1/The-Mission-Stays-the-Same
Fun times all around. I like how in the first one a muggle cop tries to find out more about wizards.
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>>46053486
I feel like it might have been the third one. Possibly the fourth.
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>>46053391
Bask in the warm feeling caused by not being a pleb, then change the subject to analysis of a minor character from a more obscure play. Someone like Abhorsen or Ariel is a good bet.

>>46053426
Gooby, pls
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>>46053352
>a first year being an insufferably smug cunt of a genius
What else would he be, though? The kid is literally Voldemort.
>>
>>46053486
Third one.
Harry going absolutely apeshit and immolating the entire ball on half power is a high point, and was also where the audio versions get good as well.
>>
>>46053530
An insufferably smug cunt of a genius that at least had the decency to wait a few years before making vast leaps in the field of magic, as Voldemort and Dumbledore did.
>>
>>46053611

This. Methods of rationality's flaws absolutely wouldn't be removed if you took out the element of "smug as shit eleven year old pulling all this crap", but it still amplifies the flaws for being there.
>>
>>46053530
Reminds me of a great fanfic where the kid is literally Voldemort. Instead of dying, his soul goes in the baby's body and takes over. It's pretty hilarious, really.
>>
>>46051534

He's not wrong. The writing is better, but that's not saying much.

The difference is that Twilight targets demographics and themes that are incredibly creepy (repressed sexuality and rape fetishism) and Dresden targets demographics and themes that are at least goofy. Dresden is *canonically* a walking caricature of masculinity, and while Butcher is slightly more self-aware than Myers, that is, again, not saying much. Frequently the wince-inducing 'manly' parts are pointedly unintentional.

They're both 'fun', pulpy trash that's meant to be easily consumed and both target very specific aspects of gender demographics. I could rattle on about how women are raised to find overt masculinity appealing and men are raised to find overt femininity unappealing, but the nuances of the discussion would almost certainly be completely wasted on this board and I'm tired.
>>
>>46051886

Like he says, it puts a lot of effort into disguising the fact that she's the driving force behind the plot. You said it yourself: he kind of gets stuff just handed to him or solved by other people. Spoilers: it's usually Hermione.
>>
>>46052074
He's just a bad writer.
Admitting to liking his writing might as well be a bannable offense, because it's basically admitting that you're under 18.
>>
>>46053747
I dont know man, I think hes just old fashioned. I read a lot of westerns when I was young and he wouldnt have been too out of place there.
>>46053790
Being smarter than an average teenager who is usually brooding over some shit doesn't make you a driving force.
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>>46052598

I managed to dislike book 8 with mild difficulty, 9 was bizarrely better, and then I literally threw book 10 at a wall and only picked it up to shove it in a box over a year later.
>>
>>46053747
>men are raised to find overt femininity unappealing
I think you're going to have to state and justify your definition of femininity for that statement to mean anything.
>>
>>46053835

>old fashioned
>westerns
>canonically a walking caricature of masculinity

Anon, I don't know how to tell you this...
>>
>>46053855
When your dad learns to make knives from bits of cars,seasons wood for bows and arrows and encourages you not to be a pussy and be nice to girls it gives you a different opinion I guess.
>>
>>46053843

God fuck fine

Men are raised to find *female* things (the characteristics that define an individual as 'female', primarily their sexual characteristics and the behaviors related to them) attractive and *feminine* things (the characteristics that define an individual as 'feminine', and the behaviors related to them, generally the non-sexual or more technical female actions, such as the the fine points of makeup, fashion or home making) unappealing. Obviously this doesn't apply universally and it's not (usually) any kind of intentional indoctrination or brainwashing or anything, it's just kind of a pervasive thing. It's messy.
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>>46053905
Really? Did this post just happen?

Who are you trying to impress?
You just succeeded in convincing me that you're not capable of following a pretty straight-forward discussion, and I think it might be because you're an insecure homosexual.
>>
>>46053983
I'm just saying when you come from an old fashion sort of family it seems like less of a caricature.
>>
>>46053958
Got any citations there for such an incredibly sweeping statement?
Be warned that if feminism crops up in any of them, I will laugh at it.
>>
>>46053905

Do you just not know what 'canonically' means? Is that the issue here? Dresden *himself* talks about this, and it's written in a way that is pointedly tongue in cheek. Butcher isn't insulting masculinity or anything, he's just writing Dresden as kind of an awkward goofball whose definition of being manly comes from stuff like old westerns (as opposed to his father), for reasons that are pretty well outlined by the plot.
>>
>>46054025
Just saying there are people out there whose definitions of being manly also come from westerns and shit.
>>
>>46054020

...uh, are you implying that knowing how to apply makeup and an in-depth knowledge of fashion aren't feminine qualities that most men find unappealing? I'm legitimately confused now.
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>>46054047

No, your definitions of manly pretty obviously come from your dad. Dresden's, equally obviously, do not come from his father.
>>
>>46050954
If the romance bothers you just read the Era 2 books. Its still got all the magic from the original trilogy but the main character is a mid 40s something lawman instead of a teenage girl orphan
>>
>>46054068
And my dads came from westerns. He literally learned that shit because he read about cowboys doing it.
>>
>>46052598
I really do like WoT but I love epic fantasy and stuff that goes on forever. The others I agree with you, FR is just the same rehashed crap rebranded 30 times, and dragonlance is OK sometimes but still pretty poorly written
>>
>>46050916
Jack Campbell's Pillars of Reality.
Technology is controlled by one Guild, Magic by the Other. They hate each other and normal people are treated like second class citizens.
The first three books are out already.
>>
>>46054049
That's because you deliberately funnelled your argument into applying to a very specific behaviour despite trying to discuss the impact of broader definitions of femininity, all in order to create a now painfully obvious gotcha.
>>
>>46053958
I'm not sure where you're going with this. Or where you're coming from, for that matter. Men may not be predisposed to engaging in "feminine" pastimes, but it's no less common than women interested in traditionally masculine pursuits (cars, tech, and professional sports come to mind). And just because a man may not be interested in the finer points of cosmetics, fashion, and home making doesn't mean he's any less likely to appreciate a well-dressed woman and an orderly household.
>>
>>46054100

Sure, but your dad didn't spring forth from his father's forehead fully formed or anything. He's had a whole lifetime before you were even born to refine and consider them, and then pass THOSE refined and reformed ideas on to you. The best Dresden had was McCoy, and their relationship was explicitly, pointedly and consistently that and teacher and student (in ways that were somewhat upsetting for Dresden, I think; if I recall correctly, there are points where Dresden contemplates just how far away from a father figure McCoy actually is and how that's kind of a sad thing for both of them) so his whole life philosophy is a piecemeal mess of noir and western ideologies that are completely self taught while also being an orphan with an evil uncle. Dresden's emotional maturity is stunted, to put it gently.
>>
>>46053747
A rebuttal on why I find Dresden Files better than Twalot.

- At least Dresden's terrible choices (romantic and otherwise) are acknowledged as such, instead of romanticized.
- At least Harry doesn't do dumb shit like throw himself of off a cliff because his waifu left town.
- It's made very clear that the entire series is filtered through the lens of Harry Dresden (which explains, among other things, the attention to detail when describing women), especially seen in the Side Stories book where we get a short story from Murphy's POV, which makes Harry seem like some sort of disheveled autist - literal autist, right down to being socially oblivious/inconsiderate/responding with pop culture references.
- This point is more along the lines of why I like DF over "Muh chosin wan" stories. Dresden gets his ass kicked at least once a book, and has to have help quite often, while still not being worthless on his own. He employs lateral thinking, but also thinks himself cleverer than he is.

I find the comparisons between Twilight and Dresden Files inaccurate, even if they're "fun, pulpy trash that's meant to be easily consumed and both target very specific aspects of gender demographics."
>>
>>46054215
Didnt he have some contact with his dad? Pretty sure he wasnt straight orphan.
>>
>>46054089
Oh god, the Wax and Wayne books are even worse in that regard. Marasi may well be the cringiest character he's ever written. She's literally worse than Elend.
>>
>>46051887
If you want one that's more detectivey, try Rivers of London/Midnight Riot (two titles, same book). It's about a policeman who becomes a wizard and investigates supernatural cases.
>>
>>46054248

...an orphan is just a child whose parents have died, and Harry's dad died when he was pretty young (I wanna say seven?). Also, his dad was a stage magician who was, if I recall correctly, not a stellar specimen of manhood himself.
>>
>>46054315
I cant remember much about his dad so I cannot refute you.
>>
>>46053826
Youre shitting me. Im 19 and my dad who's 50 loves the series to the point of denying my criticisms. Shit taste transcends age.
>>
>>46054294

There is no "romance" with Marasi though. Her fascination with Wax is cringeworthy buts its a one sided crush that ultimately goes nowhere
>>
>>46054221

I agree. Dresden is way better than Twilight. Calling it 'Twilight for men', though, isn't really far from the truth. It's a very specific kind of genre fiction, one just happens to be higher quality and have a narrower band of appeal.

They're written with the same intent in mind, one's just better and less creepy than the other.
>>
>>46054367
My mother and my father both enjoy it.
>>
>>46054012
That's hardly "old fashioned." At best, your dad likes arts and crafts.
>>
>>46051442
Loved that first book. Read the next like fucking dozen out of some misplaced sense of obligation. Had to skip Pillars of Creation, felt so glad to read Confessor or Chainfire, whatever the finale in that trio was and finish the series.

Found out a week ago there are like 8 more books. Fuck that guy.
>>
>>46054416
He supplied his own lunch for several years at work by hunting animals and butchering them.
The man has a spear on top of one of our shelves and laments not having any boars in the country to use it on.
>>
>>46053445
Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series. I can't get over how awesome "A masochistic Renaissance-era French whore travels to pre-Roman Britain to enlist the help of the Celts in repelling an invasion of bloodthirsty Vikings" is as a plot summary. I'll admit that the prose leaves something to be desired, though.
>>
>>46054476
You're talking to a guy who lives in Russia.
>>
>>46054537
Well thats not fair. But consider that we do not live in russia and he still does that shit.
>>
>>46051539
They're mostly try hards who jerk themselves off for laughing at a 700 year old joke about hangovers and hate anything that isn't literary fiction.
Just kidding.
>Fiction
>Not reading Nonfiction exclusively.
>Having fun
>>
>>46054476
He should move to Texas. Apparently there's pretty good money in going around killing wild pigs.
>>
>>46054658
I think if we lived in Texas he would actually try to get a job as a cowboy. Texas still has cowboys right?
>>
>>46054681
Sort of.
Not him, but I am a Texasfag. Find a ranch, and if they could use a hand, you might as well be an honorary cowboy.
>>
I heard that Howl's Moving Castle was originally a book.
Is it any good?
>>
>>46054844
I thought it was better than the movie, and I liked the movie.
>>
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>>46051274
Bitch please

That honour goes to Malazan Book of the Fallen.
>>
>>46050916
OP, welcome home.
You even need other boards.
>>
>>46051905
Furies of Calderon.

It's shit*

*It's not actually shit, but it has some very shitty elements to it that serve to ruin the entire thing - Mainly the main character and his mother.
>>
>>46054868
Good. I'll have to order that, Tales from Earthsea, and few more Pratchett novels, then.
>>
>>46054907
Varg a best.
>>
>>46054947
I would totally read 'Varg, Aquitaine and Araris Fuck Shit Up' for six books. Antillar, Fidelias, Gaius, Bernard and Aldrick can stay as well. Maybe Ehren and Amara. The rest of them need to go and stay go.
>>
>>46053502
HP and the Nat 20 was pretty good, but the sequel got swallowed by a weird side plot and I eventually dropped when the original premise of ''did wizard at Hogwarts'' got sidelined by ''muggle police discover the magical world''.
>>
>>46053502
I would ask if there is a reason everyone uses femshep in fan fiction but she is actually better than manshep.
>>
>>46054874
Tool is literally the best character.
>>
>>46050916
Raymond E. Feist's series of books starting with "Magician" is probably the best fantasy series out there. There must be 20+ books in the series by now. Makes game of thrones seems like a fucking kid's book just like Harry dicksplash Potter.
>>
>>46054874
>>46055193
Who is this undead fellow?
>>
>>46055095
What about Doroga and Walker?
>>
>>46054844
It's pretty good. The book and the movie are different in a few key aspects, but I wouldn't call either one better. That said, the book has two sequels that are also pretty good, which is not something the movie can say.
>>
>>46050916
While it's not exclusively about wizards, the Traitor Son series does have quite a few of them in prominent positions.
Most of them are dicks in one way or another.
>>
>>46055221
An undead Neanderthal swordmaster

His entire race spooky-fied themselves 100,000 years before the main series so they could commit genocide on the elephant people more thoroughly
>>
>>46051765
>He's got some of the best prose in fantasy.

that's a damning criticism of the genre
>>
>>46055329
Thats dedication right there.
>>
>>46055221
Onos T'oolan, nicknamed Tool in Book 1. He's the (Ex-)First Sword of the T'lan Imass, who are a race of skeletons who became immortal so that they could exterminate the Not!Orcs. He's also one of the few T'lann Imass who retains any sense of personality after literal millenia of existing as little more than dust kept alive by an oath.

Basically, he's a skeleton swordmaster who is burdened by thousands of years of ennui and stagnation, and still finds the time to make wry comments, engage in philosophical debate, and smash through castle walls and armies of undead raptor-people by himself in order to save the one mortal who he calls friend.
>>
>>46055447
Stuff like this is why I hang around 4chan. I would never have heard about this book otherwise.
>>
>>46055447
>That bit where he carries Toc out of the castle

Literally gave me shivers. My favourite part of the entire series, but I'm still on book 4 so that could change.
>>
>>46055525
The series is well worth reading. All 3.2 million words of it.
>>
>>46055193
Memories of Ice and Gruntle are my favorites personally.
>>
>>46055643
Erickson also managed to finish it within a decade too, probably because he likes coffee more than pizza and football.
>>
>>46051393
>stop liking what I don't like
Nah, you're just retarded.
>>
>>46055212
lol. no accounting for tastes I guess.
>>
>>46055847

B-but WORLDBUILDING anon, and Gardening, and Mehrensese Knots!
>>
>>46053826
>Admitting to liking his writing might as well be a bannable offense, because it's basically admitting that you're under 18.

>>>/lit/ is that way
>>
>>46053391
Explain that being Star-Crossed is VERY EXPLICITLY A BAD THING, for starters.
>>
>>46053835
>>46053790
Apropos of nothing, I never understood why Harry was so engaged in doing as little work as possible. HE GOT ACCEPTED INTO FUCKING MAGIC SCHOOL TO LEARN FUCKING MAGIC, HOLY SHIT why wouldn't every single muggleborn or half-blood character be Hermione; that's the thing that stretches my credulity about the series the most.
>>
>>46053466
I mean, technically, wouldn't it be more apt to show them how much you love them by stabbing or poisoning yourself? Not sure that'll get the right message across, though...
>>
>>46051765
L.E. Modesitt Jr. Also writes some pretty damn good SciFi I highly recommend the octogonal raven.
>>
>>46056321
Yeah seriously. The lazy fuck has the power to defy nature and complains about it being hard.
Shit nigger try learning biotoxicology and protein analysis and come talk to me about hard.
>>
>>46056321
Children are children and schoolwork about magic is still schoolwork. And hey, why put in the effort when you have natural talent coming out of your ears(as in the case of Harry). And learning to use magic is quite different from having to write a million essays about it(or at least, that's what most teenagers would think).

Of course, I should think that given what his life was like at home, Harry of all people should've been all over that shit.
>>
>>46053674
Yeah, but at least it shows him constantly fucking up because of his smugness and slowly losing it as shit gets real.

Like, you never thought he would go there real.
>>
>>46056453
Hes only even good at defense magic isnt he? He only just scrapes by on everything else pretty much.
>>
>>46052121
>hello I am the disreputable dog or the disreputable bitch if you want to be technical when do we go for a walk
>write this out to make fun of you because there's nothing there
>look over my shitpost before I shitpost
>when do we go for a walk
>go for a walk
>walk
>bells ring in my head
>all the bells
>everyone around me begins dying because of Astarael
>a cold wind blows in from the north
>Greater Dead rise from the ground
>run to a nearby river
>such was the strength of my mind being blown

So yeah, I'm stuck on a bridge watching necromancers haul in gravedirt, and everyone I cared about is dead, but it was worth it given how clever that was.
>>
>>46056496
Admittedly it's been a while since I read any of the books, but I'm pretty sure he was more than just scraping by at least in most subjects. He just wasn't top of the class like Hermione, mostly because he didn't put in the effort.
>>
>>46050916
Favorite books?

Well, start with the OG "No sense of right and wrong" wizard - Prospero from Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Move on to Vainnamoinen, Swedish perv wizard and all-around fuckup who ends up fighting a harpy-witch for control of endless food, gold, and salt.

Then hit Merlin for a bit. Read The Once and Future King and then read "The Last Defender of Camelot" because god damn Merlin is fucking scary.

For more modern ZAP MUTHAFUCKA hit up Earthsea, The Dark Tower, and American Gods. These are by no means the best, just the ones I'm familiar with.
>>
>>46056453
Harry isn't talented at magic. Snape is correct when he tells Dumbledore that Harry only manages to get by because of his friends. Dumbledore understands (and by extension this is Rowling's point) that Harry's good-person-ness and ability to make friends is more important than his technical skill.
>>
>>46056591
>Väinämöinen
>swedish

Go die in a fire.
>>
>>46056582
He was definitely shit at potions. Whatever cat lady and the midget thought him he wasnt much good at either. He does alright in magic beasts and plants and he is actually good at defense.

Pretty sure thats how it goes but it has been a few years since I have read the books as well.
>>
>>46056616
Finnish, whatever.
>>
>>46056650
he's not actually that bad at potions, since he did pretty well, albeit not outstandingly, when objectively tested.
The problem was Snape being an unprofessional dipshit, meaning he never managed to get the theory down, which later fucked him up in 6th year.
>>
>>46056700
Well ok but that still isnt exactly an excellent magic resume. Hes only good at one subject that actually involves casting spells and is poor to mediocre at the rest.
>>
>>46056560
Remember how she described how she went into Death, anon?
Or what she did to the assassin under the bridge?
>>
>>46056781
Now I actually have to check it out.
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Harry_Potter#Magical_abilities_and_skills
Looks like he managed an Exceeds Expectations grade in most subjects.
>>
>>46056864
Well shit. I remember the little bastard struggling. Dont I have egg on my face.
>>
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Doctor Strange
>>
>>46056496
He excelled at "Defense Against the Dark Arts", but it wasn't actually just defensive magic. Basically, he was good at combat magic in general, including offensive spells.
>>
>>46058404
I know but at the time I was too lazy to type the full name.
>>
>>46052431
>Wheel of *TUGS BRAID*
>Mahouka aka "I'm just your everday average kind of literal jesus"
The fuck anon?
>>
>>46061113
Well it does have wizards in a school.
>>
>>46061359
You SHOULD have prefaced that the writing is terrible and should really only be read when you don't want to think too hard about your story. Despite it's school wizardry it also has a super not-yet incestuous sister, secret ninja magic, robots, aliens and possibly the worst American character in fiction.
>>
>>46061423
I'm a different person. I have no great interest in onii-chan and his OP shenanigans.
>>
>>46061465
Then I guess you know why you're going to hell then? Recommending wheel of time, what were you thinking?
>>
>>46061678
I am a different person you ninny, I didnt recommend either. I just said the series had wizards in a school.
>>
>>46061752
You still defended the recommendation.
>>
>>46061944
No I didnt. All I said is that it fits what OP is looking for, and most likely found at this point, not that they are good. I never even read the wheel of time.
>>
>>46061678
To be fair, wheel of time was good until about halfway through. Though on the other hand, that's 1.7 million words of bad compared to 1.7 million words of good.
>>
>>46052237
Wax and Steris's relationship in Era 2 Mistborn has gotten pretty good
>>
>>46051985

From what I understand he wrote the Codex Alera series on a dare. Butcher claimed that good writing is more important than good ideas, and someone told him he was full of shit.

>Give me not one, but two bad ideas and I will make a story about them.
I hate the bullshit lost Roman legion myth and Poke'mon.
>Done.

Six books later Butcher made one of the most entertaining fantasy reads I have plowed through in a long time.

He isn't a great author, but his style of writing is 'fast paced'. I haven't ever really sat one of his books down out of boredom which is something R.A. Salvatore has never accomplished.
>>
>>46063103
When you grow up, I hope you'll look back at your exaggerated proselytizing with some degree of shame.

Calling Code Alera anything more than an awkward, extended mistake makes me wonder if you spend your days on fanfiction.net and are using those stories as the basis for your reading collection.
I mean, damn son, you're pulling up Salvatore as someone to compare him to. I mean, you're perfectly free to have bad taste, but wowee wow wow do you need to stop hopping on Butcher's dick just because you are terribly under-read.
>>
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>>46063406
>>46051393
>>46053826
>>
>>46052074
Pretty much. I mean, the first two books were literally written out of spite for his creative writing teacher by making the most by the numbers irritating thing he could that would be guaranteed to be published.

After the third and he realized there was money to be made he started giving some shits.
>>
>>46064325
Honestly the first two can be skipped entirely.
>>
>>46064434
I believe that was the intent with the third book, start a storyline that the first two largely didn't fucking matter in.
>>
>>46051147

I came in here to say this OP. Really good series.

>>46051393

>Harry Potter
>wizard detective
>coherent world

OP, here's someone who doesn't have any idea what he's talking about and his opinion can safely be written off.
>>
>>46054907
Honestly, I'd really love a game where everyone plays as part of a legion during the stories. Not dealing with main characters, just being some of the nameless soldiers holding the line against the zerg
>>
>>46050916

Early Young Wizards books by Diane Duane. I feel like the latter books really start to suck badly.

The Ravirn series by Kelly McCullough is cybertech wizards and shit
>>
>>46063103
>I hate the bullshit lost Roman legion myth and Poke'mon.
>>Done.
And then he threw in the Zerg for good measure, just because he's that fucking awesome.

Yeah, I'm a fan.
>>
>>46050916
Something I think is criminally underrated is the Twilight Reign series. Sure it's pretty trashy, but the author goes a long way to up himself in scale each time. Plus covenant theory is an interesting magic system
>>
>>46066079
I remember reading another fantasy book with zerg in it. The only part I remember though is they tried to copy a famous archer by making a bug with four arms so it could use two bows at once.
>>
>>46051040
I loved these.

Bartimaeus''s "footnotes" or whatever were some of my favourite parts to read.

>>46052431
>Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
The MC was so fucking obnoxious I couldn't stand it. Of all the series with magic use, why would you mention this one? I would have recommended Overlord personally. Also depending on how far you want to depart from a "traditional wizard" there's a plethora of magical girl series (Nanoha, Madoka), TM stuff like Fate and Kara no Kyoukai, numerous "this is a pseudo MMO/we're trapped in an MMO series" where there are magic users (Danmachi etc.) and even alchemy (Full Metal Alchemist).

I recently read the Old Kingdom books. I fell in love with this series so hard. The second book seemed a little long to me (technically, although a lot happens, not much happens) and I didn't like the MC at first, but by the third book she really grew on me and that made up for it.

Also, the other day I saw people discussing some series involving a magical university or something. Could that have been Kingkiller Chronicles? I feel like such a retard, I wish I could remember something else about it.
>>
>>46066647
You read Overlord more for the character interaction then the magic. How a jap managed to make a story where half the characters literally worship the MC entertaining I dont know but he fucking did it.
>>
Mate Harry Potter is shit
>>
>>46050916
For a less conventional more modern wizards n' shit thing you could try the Dresden Files. The first two books are good, but the third one is where shit gets really good.

Book 16 when btw? It's been over a year and I haven't heard shit.
>>
>>46068804
>He missed the 200 posts shitting on DF in this very thread
>>
>>46068947
I read them and don't give a fuck.
>>
>>46051920
Your Mileage will Very. MOR is ABSURDLY preachy.
>>
>>46054537
Son, stop lying to the adults and go to bed. You've got that test in first hour tomorrow.
>>
>>46068947
There was a handful. Most were defending it.
>>
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>>46050916
Hellblazer
>>
>>46050916
I realize this is very much juvenile fiction but Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series was pretty good. Lots of interesting ideas.
>>
>>46050916
Animorphs.
>>
>>46053744
I kinda want to read that
>>
>>46069328
Keys to the Kingdom was my jam.

Another good series is the Circle of Magic
>>
>>46068947
They were all made by you, faggot, don't try to deny it
>>
>>46069363
It's called the Seventh Horcrux, and explains so much about Voldemort and why he acts the way he did.

It's entirely that since you can't imperius someone who's already imperiused, he decided to imperius HIMSELF. And kept it that way.
>>
>>46069363
Aha yes, I was looking for the title.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10677106/1/Seventh-Horcrux

>>46069527
Also in which we discover he created the Deatheater after getting hammered because he was refused the DADA teacher spot. And then forgot how he created the dark mark at all because of all the alcohol involved.
>>
>>46051040
Fuck yeah, reread those recently and they're great. The interaction between the three incredibly different protags is really sophisticated for a kid's book, and the 'British Empire discovered demonology and never fell' setting was pretty sweet too.
>>
Anybody here read the Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme? It's for kids but it's surprisingly well done and has a very impressive world. Main character is a Nain, which are pretty much dwarves, who is 50 years old, which makes him about 12 in human years.
>>
>>46069197
Are we talking Sword of Truth level preachy, or merely Inheritence level preachy?
>>
>>46070632
If Dawkins wore a fedora levels of preachy.
>>
>>46070632
Sword of Truth is an imaginary mime-box compared to MOR's soapbox
>>
>>46050916
Check out the Bartimaeus Trilogy.
It's about if a late 90s-early 2000s society was ruled by D&D warlocks, at least in Europe. It's got a lot of information specifically from the perspective of one of the daemons periodically summoned, Bartimaeus.
>>
>>46070938
Pls be joking
Don't tell me it can out preach Atlas Shrugged as well
>>
>>46071102
Oh, but it can.
>>
>>46071919
I don't want to believe
>>
>>46070973
Oh fuck yeah Bartimaeus.

>largely unrelated but Artemis Fowl also got pretty deep into technomage fairy culture.
>>
>>46051777
I dunno, you think That Guys are bad on the outside..?
>>
>>46072179
Given that That Guy can't escape in a Prison environment, they're probably on best behaviour.
I know I wouldn't risk a stairwell That Guy bashing, or toothbrush related behavioural therapy
>>
>>46072162
The ending of the series made me... honestly sorta sad.
Not gonna spoil it, but y'all who read the book know. I didn't think it was gonna end like that, with so much unsaid.
>>
>>46050916
>G.W. Wells and Co. Series:
Magic, lawyers and compund interest for immotals.

>Kraken:
humour is a shade darker, magic more sinister and the only reason the world isn't destroyed is the competing doomsday cults don't want the others to win.
>>
>>46051539
They spend all day telling /pol/ to take atlas shrugged and fuck off.
>>
>>46070973
>Bartimaeus Trilogy
RPG when
>>
>>46072445
J.W. Wells*
>>
>>46050916
Dragon Lance Son Rastalin is the greatest wizard
>>
>>46072162
>>46072391
Artemis Fowl was my childhood. I picked up the first one at a Scholastic book fair. I still find them at the thrift store very frequently, so perhaps I should aim to get the whole thing eventually. They're a bit juvenile but not in a bad way I think. And very entertaining.

I don't think I read whatever the last book is supposed to be because I started losing interest around the time the demons(??) were introduced. If it's good though, I should probably finish.
>>
>>46072921
Unfortunately, the already unsubtle environmental messages became about as inconspicuous as a herd of rampaging anvils.
>>
>>46068804
>The first two books are good
They are mediocre at best and I like the series.
>>
>>46072921
It's an interesting kid's series that actually has you rooting for the "bad" guy.

Time Paradox was when it stopped being good.

The HollyXArtemis romance was a little disturbing.
>>
>>46073900
Is Time Paradox the one with the fucking monkey or lemur or whatever?
>>
>>46074103
Yes, as well as Opal going Super Saiyan out of nowhere.
Mulch pulling a new power out his ass every book was bad enough
>>
>>46074149
Which one was the one where Artemis suddenly got a split personality?
>>
>>46074211
Atlantis complex.
That one was frankly bizarre
>>
>>46074250
The series had such a drop in quality after the first three. The demon one was alright too.
>>
>>46074274
It was because he was humanizing through interacting with Holly. In the first three he's still kinda ruthless and efficient. Then, he stops being those things.
>>
>>46050916
Artemis Fowl
It's a mix of Sci Fi and Fantasy
>>
>>46074274
I found 4 to be okay and 5 to be good, although Minerva was really lame. But we did get N°1 and the old Warlock Demon out of it, which was nice.

>>46074560
He's still quite efficient, but he tones down the ruthlessness. I thought the way he handled Opal in 4 was great.

Hunh, I just realized the series did character death really well.
>>
Any good books in the "my life sucked to begin with and now i also have to deal with wizards shit" genre?
>>
>>46073900
Reminder that the graphic novel had a scene with Holly showering.
>>
>>46074689
Nightside by Simon R Green
>>
>>46074689
So You Want to Be a Wizard.

That series is a serious mindtrip.
>>
>>46074722
Ill give it a look, also found the keyword for the genre ive been looking for for tears, seems "urban fantasy" is a thing.

>>46074733
The young adults label leaves me a bit hesitant, though the Tiffany Aching series had that too and was pretty neat.
>>
>>46074689
Dresden Files.
Though he's already a bit old in the series, but the suck gets even suckier.
>>
>>46074899
It's quite telling that the book where Harry has the least shitty deal by the end is the one where a 2000 year old demon collaborator makes off with the Holy Grail
>>
>>46074715
Her suit was also pretty fetishy.
>>
>>46075090

Storm Front had him starting a relationship with Susan. Fool Moon didn't end on too bad a note, although he's kinda lost Murphy's trust.
>>
>>46075118
>>46075090
Fool Moon also had him making friends with the Alphas. Those guys ended up doing really well for themselves. Well, aside from Kirby.
>>
>>46075118
>>46075176
I think I just have scrubbed those from my mind
>>
>>46075189
As compared to Turn Coat which everyone just kinda forgets about.
>>
>>46074848
The "Support Your Local Wizard" series is 100% great, even with the YA label. It's totally worth reading.
>>
>>46054844
I love Diane Wynne Jones.
Howl's Moving Castle is very good, but my favorite of her books is The Dark Lord of Derkholm.
I love her semi humorous tone to her writing.

>>46074733
I loved these as a kid, but I don't think I remember what happens.
It has some very bizarre fantasy rules and it was hard to follow for me when i was younger. Its got kind of a sciencey feel to its magic too.
High wizardry was my favorite one, I loved her sister's living laptop familiar.
>>
>>46075265
Turn Coat's ending was just plain depressing.
>>
>>46050916
i liked the septimus heap series by Angie Sage
its got all that fun wizard stuff along with some different spins on things from a fantasy perspective
>>
>>46052557
and is a pedo
>>
>>46075674
isn't that the purview of that one literal nonce, Timothy something?
>>
>>46053570
>>46052156
>james marsters can't record ghost story for whatever reason
>get new guy
>james marsters returns for cold days
>jim butcher then has marsters re-record ghost story, gives it away for free
Based.
>skin game audiobook was delayed a day because marsters couldn't get past a certain section without crying
>>
>>46075706
I'm watching the SyFy show right now, last episode revealed that the author was drugging and raping the children that were going to Fillory.
For what it's worth, Penny and Elliot are the best characters on the show right now. Quinn being a nerd frustrated that no one cares about his book for children is endearing. Alice is a little grating, but she's also smoking hot. Julia's just awful.
>>
>>46075718
>>jim butcher then has marsters re-record ghost story, gives it away for free
wait, what?
I might actually get the audio version now.
It was my least favourite of the post Grave Peril books, and not having Marsters do it sealed the deal.
>>
>>46075718
>>james marsters can't record ghost story for whatever reason
I believe it was because he was doing torchwood at the time.
>>
>>46054221
>- It's made very clear that the entire series is filtered through the lens of Harry Dresden (which explains, among other things, the attention to detail when describing women), especially seen in the Side Stories book where we get a short story from Murphy's POV, which makes Harry seem like some sort of disheveled autist - literal autist, right down to being socially oblivious/inconsiderate/responding with pop culture references.
Notice that the stories from Murphy's, Molly's, and Marcone's POVs have very different reactions to attractive people.
In Molly's story, "Bombshells", Andi undresses and wolfs out in front of Molly, with no comment from her. If it had been Dresden, Andi would have started with her shoes, Dresden would have blushed and turned around, and Andi would have made fun of him for it.
In Murphy's story, she's a bit insecure about Andi being tall and gorgeous, but that's as far as that goes. At one point she's tying up Will as bait for a trap, and even she has to notice that Will is handsome and built as fuck.
In Marcone's story, "Even Hand", he doesn't give a shit.
The only one that comes close is Thomas' novella, "Backup", but there it's very clearly a predatory instinct that Thomas has to fight down whenever it appears.
>>
>>46054315
>Also, his dad was a stage magician who was, if I recall correctly, not a stellar specimen of manhood himself.
Dresden remembers his father as generous to a fault - he would do charity shows and take very little pay for them, if at all.
>>
>>46054221
>which makes Harry seem like some sort of disheveled autist - literal autist, right down to being socially oblivious/inconsiderate/responding with pop culture references.
Don't forget him not looking anyone in the eyes.
>>
>>46075523
I remember that. The humor was surprisingly awesome.
>>
>>46075913
I always felt he should have gotten sunglasses. One of my characters for DFRPG was a Wizard who did that.
>>
>>46075090
>michael finally decides to Get Serious
>nick is getting fucking facerolled
>michael goes in for a killing blow
>nick blocks with the grail
Nick's such a cheap asshole
>>
>>46075972
For Harry it would probably be too expensive, given he often he gets his head kicked in
>>
>>46075765
There were some really crazy things that went on in Ghost Story, mang
>dbz battle between dresden and super saiyan corpsetaker
>inside molly's head
>bob in combat
>that entire sequence with Aristedes, Butters and Daniel
I'm waiting for Fix to pop up. Daniel's probably not going to get Amoracchius either, he's too angry, though he clearly wants it.
>>
>>46076013
He managed to reinforce a leather jacket to the point of functional body armor, I'm sure he could pick up a pair of sports sunglasses and do something similar.
>>
>>46075090
>>46075979
His statement about the career of the average Knight of the Cross being 3 Days really made me want to run a Knight game set in the 40's where Three Brand new Knights have three days to stop one of Nicodemus's Apocalypse scenarios.
>>
>>46076013
Get some cheap sunglasses at walmart while he's loading up on chalk
>>46076037
It'd probably have the side effect of making them impossible to see-through, sort of how a veil makes it hard to see, and a cone-of-silence spells makes it hard to hear even inside the cone itself.
>>
>>46076054
Make it an Indiana Jones crossover and I'm sold
>>
>>46076026
Fix was in Cold Days though.
>>
>>46076081
Whoops not Fix, the homeless kid he met in Ghost Story. The one who could hear him.
>>
>>46076026
Don't forget Mortimer. He ended up being a hell of a lot more badass than you would have thought when we first met him.
>>
>>46076054
>>46076076

>The sudden question of if one of the nails from the swords needs to be mounted in an actual sword to be counted as a weapon because I now want to install it in a Panzer.
>>
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1417373480395.jpg
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>>46076076
>>46076054
>mfw I won't be playing this any time soon
>>
>>46076170
>Morty mouthing off to Corpsetaker
If it had been Dresden, he'd have made some shitty joke he thinks is funny but everybody else thinks is just dumb and juvenile. Morty just told her to mcfuckingkillherself

So here's a question: did Bianca and her crew rape Harry? They clearly tortured him, but there's a moment where he describes her straddling him, then going full vampire. I think that's what Butcher was going for, but I can't be sure.
>>
>>46076248
Given that the Hobbes give him flashbacks to the event, I doubt it.
>>
>>46076248
Probably not but he certainly didnt have any fun.
>>
>>46076274
>that throwaway line about how after he started teaching Molly, a Calvin and Hobbes collection showed up out of nowhere in the middle of the magic textbooks
Excellent
>>
>>46076274
>>46076285
Would it partially explain how, at the end of the book, barring his one night stand with Susan, Harry wouldn't get laid for another 7 years? He was afraid of having some kind of flashback during regular sex?
>>
>>46076248
She was probably going with the whole sexy vampire thing before turning into a giant fucking bat monster just to upset him even more.
>>
>>46076056
>It'd probably have the side effect of making them impossible to see-through, sort of how a veil makes it hard to see, and a cone-of-silence spells makes it hard to hear even inside the cone itself
That makes no sense at all.
How would making them more physically resilient make them more difficult to see through?
>>
>>46076322
nah, that's explained well enough by his many other crippling relationship issues.
He clearly has nothing against fucking, just the parts before and after.
>>
>>46076322
That probably had more to do with seeing his girlfriend get fucked up by vampires.
He is an emotional guy, messed him up pretty bad.
>>
>>46076382
Also this >>46076378 He is a giant weird nerd who doesn't exactly mingle much.
>>
>>46076378
>murphy doesn't want anything more than casual with harry
>harry doesn't want anything less than a full-blown relationship with murphy
Sucks to be them, even if they are apparently hooking up now.
Murphy's going to die, real soon, but not because of that.
>>
>>46076037
The problem with that is when you get your head kicked in while wearing indestructible glasses, the glasses just make the head-kicking-in hurt more. Better for the glasses to break against your face than for your face to break against the glasses.
>>
>>46076205
Wait... are you planning to wield a full-size tank as a melee weapon? Because I'm pretty sure putting it in the tank won't do shit to the rounds you fire from it.
>>
>>46076520
Also make it a bit hard to get around.
>>
>>46076498
I reckon he should just pretend to be cross eyed.
>>
>>46076457
Given that she's been in it from the start, we can probably expect her to be there until the very end in one form or another, which I think is 5 books away now.
Give it a few more books before anything gamechanging happens to her, because Harry needs the fact that she's aging faster than he is to be miserable about.
>>
>grave peril, dresden is 27 years old (25 in Storm Front)
>introduce the carpenter family
>meet Michael Carpenter, about 45 years old
>meet Molly Carpenter, 12 years old
>meet Harry Carpenter, 5 minutes old

>proven guilty, dresden is 32
>Molly is 17
>Michael is 52

>skin game, dresden is 39-40
>Molly is 24-25, about the same age as when we met Dresden
>Harry "Hank" Carpenter is 12, about the same age as when we met Molly
>Michael is 60
>carpenter family is happy
Guys I'm scared, Dresden may be his muse, but Butcher makes everyone suffer. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

>>46076650
Not why I think she'll die. Give me a minute to write it up.
>>
>>46076684
The Carpenters have a bunch of angels sitting in their front lawn. They are a lot safer than most.
>>
>>46076748
I wonder what they do all day.

>"Hey Remiel, wanna play poker?
>"Gambling is a sin, Sachiel."
>>
>>46076684
>>46076650
OK so who is Murphy? She's a vanilla mortal a threefold little-man complex: she's a short person fighting big people, she's an honest lady cop in a workplace full of corrupt men, and she's got no magic while the guy she hires to help the police fight superhuman monsters has been blocking bullets with his mind since before they met

She is also allergic to help. In order to overcome her disadvantages, she trains harder than anyone has trained before. But she's not Rock Lee - she's Vegeta. Accepting help from anyone takes a visible effort to swallow her pride, even if it's just Charity helping her up after she slipped and fell. Notice how she's never even attempted to look for some kind of magic performance enhancer to beef up her abilities. The most she does is get mundane combat training from the Einherjar.

She also refuses to be on the sidelines. She had a broken leg in Summer Knight and Dresden still had to talk her down from trying to help in the final battle. Every time she comes along, they have the same conversation: "I want to be there" "I don't want you there, it's too dangerous" "Don't be a sexist pig, Dresden, I can take care of myself" "UGH ALRIGHT FINE"

BUT there's a ceiling. She's been very, very lucky so far that a superhumanly fast enemy (like any of the vampires she's killed) hasn't just flanked her faster than she could react and broken her neck. And sometimes it just isn't enough, even if she's fast enough. Nick beat her not because he was better than her, but because her heart wasn't in the right place. You can't just lift until you're a morally upright person. And now the doctor said she'll be at 90% mobility, which is definitely not going to be enough.

>>46076748
Doesn't stop mortals from fucking their shit up, as we saw in the last book. And while Michael was still active, a bunch of Fae hitmen came after Harry on their property and didn't immediately get smacked down by angelic might.
>>
>>46076684
I'm still waiting on the story where Michael and Harry first meet.
>>
>>46076845
>wait, don't you have intellectus?
>uh...
>you cheating fuck, Duriel
>>
>>46076885

>"Aha! Full House!"
>"What's going on here?"
>"L-lord Uriel! Uh, w-we were j-just ummm-"
>"Deal me in, would you?"
>>
>>46076871
I imagine they dont really cares if harry gets beat up. Its not his house.
>>
>>46076871
So here's what's going to happen.

Butters and Murphy are going to swap roles: she'll be on the sidelines doing research, he's going to be in combat. But unlike Barbara Gordon, she's going to hate being Oracle and come up with some cockamamie bullshit about how it's sexist that the capable girl is left out of the fight while the scrawny male nerd gets to duke it out with the bad guys (because that's just who she is).

She's going to finally cave and get some magical assistance to heal her leg and then some, she'll be roughly Thomas-tier. She and Dresden are going to do their requisite song and dance, but this time it's not going to go well, the magic will fail her because she made a shitty deal with an untrustworthy being or something like that way out of her depth. It's going to get her killed.

And Dresden will blame himself, because as he sees it, as the person with superior knowledge of the situation, it's his responsibility to keep people like Murphy or the Alphas from getting in over their heads and hurting themselves because of their ignorance. It doesn't matter how much she lobbies to be on the frontlines, he'll see it as him putting her in harm's way and getting her killed.
>>
>>46076871
The Eldest Gruff was BASED.
>>
>>46076981
>murphy
>researching
>not fighting
>ever
Are you having a giggle m8?
>>
>>46077028
She needs to recover from having her leg broken in half.
>>
>>46077037
I dont imagine she will let that stop her.
Also she isnt really cut out for research.
>>
>>46076989
>the only person who can make Titania not act like a raving retard
>slaps aside a Denarian like it's a little bitch
>Peer of Santa
>Among the only Fae that acts to the spirit of the law whenever possible, not the letter
>gets a Sprinkled doughnut
>>
>>46077068
She's got the internet, she's way more cut out for it than Dresden.
Think about it, what's the alternative? Doing nothing at all? Fuck that, Murphy NEEDS to contribute.
>>
>>46077082
>>the only person who can make Titania not act like a raving retard
Was anyone else really put off by that sudden gay marriage tangent in Cold Days? It came out of nowhere and had nothing to do with anything. The Magic Hedge being a gay cruise spot was interesting, but completely out of the blue, in the middle of a conversation about a parent's love for a child and how she wants to annihilate him for killing her daughter, Titania asks if Harry's okay with gay people.
>>
>>46077120
I imagine she will probably do it by shooting things while limping.
>>46077154
Doesn't make any great difference.
>>
>>46077154
I was confused but I guess she was evaluating him, somehow.
>>
>>46077185
>Doesn't make any great difference.
Yeah, that was my problem: it didn't make any difference at all because it was completely irrelevant. It would have made sense if it had happened in Turn Coat in the scene in Zero, where the rather prudish and old-fashioned Dresden walks into a fetish club and is just barely processing what's happening in there.
>>
>>46077223
People talk about irrelevant things sometimes. It wasnt long enough or preachy enough to be really bothered by.
>>
>>46077154
It was mainly a question about freedom, and Titania just nodded at the answer, as opposed to going off on a author tract
>>
Who is best girl, and why is it Molly?
>>
>>46078041
That's not Lash.
Bob had a serious point about the whole anything you can imagine thing
>>
>>46078094
>lash saddled dresden with their kid
>he didn't even get to fuck her
You know the word I'm thinking of.
>>
>>46078122
Murphy is probably the better example
>looking after two of her boyfriends kids
>none are hers
>>
>>46078410
Maggie is being lovingly fostered by the Carpenters, further cementing Michael and Charity as Best Parents.
Dresden's brainchild is her name going to be Athena? Nah probably YET ANOTHER M NAME
>>
>>46078451
whoops
Dresden's brainchild is probably going to stay wherever he is
>>
>>46078451
IIRC, Butcher said that Harry was taking a more direct parental role in the next book
>>
>>46078479
That's cool, especially since Justine is pragnant with Thomas' vampire spawn.
Thomas is getting Amoracchius isn't he
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