/lit/ - Literature

Previous threads:
>>11558947
>>11547251
>>11533730
>>11518249

A female who is better than other females at being female.

>>11573229
Better female as written by a basedboy maybe.

how many of you underwent some gay spiritual awakening after you read Stranger in a Strange Land?

sanderfag a hack

>>11573229
>>11573248
>>11573251
Come on niggas. Did you even read what general edition this was?
No one cares about your gay ass DnD sessions larping as actual novels.

>>11573285
cool

So I recently read Raymond E. Feist's new fantasy book, King of Ashes. Was glad to see him getting away from his old Midkemia stuff with Pug and the like cause goddamn is it ever played out. His writing though still has the same feel, but the content is slightly more "adult". It's like he's forever stuck in writing at a level that teens can easily consume but now wants to bring in the "gritty fantasy" crowd with lots of sex and gruesome violence.

Anyone else read it?

>>11573398
Is that the author of Magician Apprentice? I never got around to finishing Riftwar.

>>11573535
Yeah. He wrote like 20 books in the same setting as Riftwar and I just got sick of the power creep and constant reuse of the same characters. This new series is completely new setting and characters. Honestly the rest of Riftwar isn't as good as Magician.

Read a new translation if possible as the old one contain some minor errors that fuck up continuity! Downloads at the usual place.

Working on a fantasy world that has a strong dark/horror angle to it. This is kind of an odd question but I'm curious: what are some examples of works people here have read (fantasy or otherwise) where those elements ended up ruining any sense of dread or foreboding? What went wrong with it?

I want to strike a balance where the tension in the world is compelling, with occasional small sections that leave the reader needing a momentary breather before continuing.

>>11573800
>august 25

How do you feel about litRPGs?

>>11573251
Completely and utterly obsessed, lmao

>>11573251
But why? Is there a reason for this hate?

>>11573826
Next year (or maybe next month?) I think we'll do a month for each story regardless of length desu.

What makes you instantly drop a book? For me it's love triangles and cuckshit.

>>11574282
Seeing somebody talk about it on /sffg/

>>11574066
It's awful. They're like a anti-power fantasy. Like, say we have the stereotypical power fantasy adventure story: You fall through a portal into Fantasy Land where you discover you're the Chosen One who will attain the Ultimate Power (sword, magic, whatever) needed to defeat the Dark Lord while the kingdom's most eligible princesses and sorceresses lust after your hunky abs and masculine jawline and so on. Or you're Dirk Spacemarine out to stop the Evil Empire from crushing The Rebellion and all the space princesses and tattooed punk girlllz lust after your bulkhead-like abs and masculine cyber-biceps. Etc. (this is obviously not limited to male power fantasies, see Anita Blake and similar)

But the "power fantasy" in litRPG is somebody simply playing a video game. It is effectively a narrated let's play where the protaganist goes "heh nice try Dark Lord, but I picked Improved Evil Magic Resistance with my last Level Up" and other characters go "wow, you're amazing for selecting a group of units with a drag-click and then using the attack-move command to move forwards while attacking!" and so on. All potential tension is thrown out the door because at the end of the day it's some clammy nerd sitting in a chair waving their arms around playing a video game.

>>11574282
deus ex machina

>>11574282
i don't think i've ever instantly dropped a book

>>11574075
It's just contrarianism.

>>11574075
Are you new

>>11574282
Cringy stuff (though I'd make an exception if it's only once a good ways through the book), blatant antisemitism, and... probably cuckoldry as well, but that kind of falls under cringy anyway.

>>11574282
>love triangles
I cannot think of a single good love triangle. No matter what form of media I see it it, it always manages to be frustrating and a waste of time. Shit writers should stop with that garbage, there are better ways to add drama to a relationship without resorting to a third party coming in and wanting to fuck the main character's love interest.

>>11573251
He is the least ugliest of the big fantasy authors and also puts out his books ON TIME
FUCKING GRRM/LYNCH/ROTHFUSS ALL PUSH BACK THEIR RELEASE DATES AND LOOK LIKE HIPPIES

>>11573182
any recommendations for post apoc?

>>11574437
>there are better ways to add drama to a relationship without resorting to a third party coming in and wanting to fuck the main character's love interest
It's even worse if the main character is the girl and she's being an indecisive princess all book/series.

>>11574444
Quality over quantity anon. The world will not end if you don't get your fix of mediocre fantasy on time.

>>11574454
The Silo by Hugh Howey. Read it a few months ago. Highly recommended.

>>11574471
ah thanks but I already had that added to my list after someone posted it in here

>>11574415
>blatant antisemitism
That's a plus anon.

>>11573182
>didn't fuck up the OP too much
Colour me surprised.

>>11574477
That could have been me.
What else is there?
How about the Metro? 2033, 2034? Good stuff.
I also heard good things about the Station Eleven although I haven't gotten around to reading it myself.

>>11574484
I am proud of my first thread myself.

>>11574369
Not to 4chan by any means but I rarely go to /lit/. Guess I'll lurk moar.

>>11574298
So, western isekai?

>>11574588
but worse

>>11574282
poor prose

>>11574282
>>11574415
Are there any fantasy novels that aren't blatant erotica with actual cuckshit going on are you just loosely using the term like the rest of the internet does these days?

>>11574632
I (the second one) haven't actually encountered it, no. And I probably wouldn't have thought of it on my own, but the first poster said it and yeah, that would probably make me drop a book too.

>>11574444
Quads of truth.

>>11574598
No it's not even that. Isekai almost always involves somebody being reincarnated somewhere else.

litRPG is just some nerd playing a video game. Like, the protagonist is literally just Jeff Gerstmann flailing around in a VR headset. And the authors think that narrating reading their Dungeons and Dragons character sheet is riveting plot exposition.

>>11574598
>but worse
I don't think that this is really possible.

>>11574503
Metro 2033 is awesome. Read it.

>>11574663
>Jeff Gerstmann
How horrible. I hope he's not playing Kingdom Come.

>>11574663
>And the authors think that narrating reading their Dungeons and Dragons character sheet is riveting plot exposition
I mean Lodoss managed to pull it off. I know it's a non western example, but the series is still relevant in Japan nearly three decades later despite literally starting off as transcripts of the author's D&D session with his friends in the 1980s.

Bought this, read 111 pages. it was garbage. most beta millennial tier main character. massive emo chip on his shoulder turd I've ever come across in sci fi. avoid.

>>11574722
Thanks for the advice

>>11574722

whoops no pic

>>11574722
>anon talks to himself

>>11574722
>>11574727
It's okay anon.
Everyone here gets tricked into reading the worst shit.
It happened to me with Baru Cormorant and Meddling Kids.

>>11574742
>Baru Cormorant
uh, that's really good though?

>>11574743
Uh, no it's not.

>>11574742

yeah Im sad I spent $30 on this. I got memed hard by amazon reviews.

Daniel Black's author is using fan theories from his blog to write the next book. Yet he can't release the preview yet.
This is SAD!

>>11574756
Minimum effort for maximum gain.
SMART!

>>11574756
>Daniel Black
The author being a hack is nothing new, dropped that shit a while ago. "Harem" my ass, MC was essentially a third wheel to two lesbians who themselves are garbage characters. And then there's the whole ntr baiting stuff that was going on for a bit. Don't know why this series is considered the most popular among the harem genre.

>>11574632

The ever so popular Kingkiller Chronicles.

Literally going "Oh well ur fucking the girl I love but I'm friend zoned and that will last forever and be puuuuuuuure"

>>11574769
I like it for the magical reverse engineering that he does.
I don't read it for the harem. I read for the magic and mayhem.

>>11574771
The Denna shit legit made me drop this series. Of course it wasn't the only thing, but it was one of the main reasons. Kvothe is so fucking pathetic.

>>11574742
Reading description of Baru Cormorant, the idea of a story about a bureaucrat in the evil empire makes my dick hard.

But there are red flags which make it deflate again.

Not sure whether to take the plunge.

>>11574822
Baru Cormorant has never betrayed anyone in her entire life!

>>11574771
Oh boy, this is too much

>>11574799
It becomes even more pathetic when you read the authors posts, holy fuck.

>>11574771
>when your self-insert is also a cuck
BRAVO ROTHFUSS

>>11574822
Go for it. It's competently written if nothing else.
There is no evil empire here. They don't go around burning and pillaging. It's all very civilized and boring. They place people in economic slavery for the lack of the better word. It makes you shudder.
In the first 50 pages we find out that this country bumpkin from the ass end of nowhere (a shitty island that the "evil empire" civilized, which is a big no-no for Baru's homosexual fathers) has somehow climbed to the position of some sort of financial éminence grise. How anyone though that was a good idea was beyond me. Makes the evil empire look more egalitarian than Sweden.
And it goes downhill from there. We follow her inflict suffering and misery on whole populations for, to me, bullshit reasons in the most passive-aggressive way possible with econ 101. The battles - a couple of paragraphs at best.
There is also this whiff of Mary Sue-ishnes about her. She's not Mary Sue but the events do have this tendency to resolve in her favor. The opposition is not as stiff as it should be (meaning no one stabs the backstabbing bitch at the first opportunity). The court intrigue comes on as something a soccer mom would write, which is funny because the author is a dude.
My rating is basedboy/10.

>>11574771
This is a valuable insight into the cuck mindset

>>11574799
The worst part is there is that other girl who is literally weak at the knees for him begging to gag on his cock and he ignores her so much that she falls for his friend.
He gets this girl who is desperate for him to help him get a ring to give to denna who he hasn't seen for months while she trollops around.

>>11574916
Well you gotta write what you know, I guess.

>>11574632
The Witcher

Why does high fantasy have such a horrid retention rate? people seem to clutch to a single epic and refuse to read anything else, yet every time I see S&S fans discussing their favourite author they've read literally everything, including biographies, letters and even cooking recipes.

I hate it.

>>11574947
It has a great retention rate, so much so that people don't leave. It's negative for meaningful discussion but it is great for the author.

>>11574947
Ok you know what fuck it

I'm gonna write a fantasy novel so I get worshipped by nerdfags

>>11575000
Don't forget to cram in ALL of your sexual fetishes.
I am still waiting on tranny sorceresses.

>>11575010
>Don't forget to cram in ALL of your sexual fetishes.
Now your speaking my language.

>>11574947
>people seem to clutch to a single epic and refuse to read anything else
I don't think this is true.

>>11574799
It is literally why I never started the second book.

>>11575010
Ok listen here

The land Murkanush is a Theocratic Kingdom (with heavy inspiration on Persian and Babylonia) that practices an apocaliptic religion that requires massive amounts of sacrifices from nearby tribes (Aztec style)

The main protagonist is a young noble that mostly enjoys fucking slaves and is really into bondage

One day his father dies from some preventable disease like pneumonia or something (no assassin intrigue shit here, his father was just some noble boomer)

So he nows need some money to keep buying new slaves to tie into painful positions during hours, so he takes a position as administrator of some border village to get dem moneyz

There he starts getting into contact with the neighbour tribes (that are used for the massive amounts of sacrifices)
But they are not noble savages they too have a pretty fucked up moral code (with cannibalism or some other shit)

So our protagonist is face with the dilemma, the savages are pieces of shit, but so is his decadent civilization and he grows bored with the worship of Krajim (The god of bountiful harvests, like the crops need water, he needs blood to live)

Also there are Lovecraftian desert ghouls running around and eating corpses

>>11575046
Yeah they clutch on to dozen of mediocre series.

>>11574921
>In the first 50 pages we find out that this country bumpkin from the ass end of nowhere has somehow climbed to the position of some sort of financial éminence grise. How anyone though that was a good idea was beyond me.

Did you miss the part where her patron is some kind of spymaster/political notable who sent her to a empire-run school?

>>11575059
Our protagonists is then worried about everything he believed in, after his secluded noble life finding about other perspectives makes him realise the futily of human existance

He gets bored with his position as administrator, needing to count shipments of rice, ordering the local shitheads to dig trinches for shitting in the village and so on

>>11575063
This sounds more true

>>11574934
Only reason I continued reading the Witcher was because both characters were fucking around really, so I wouldn't say it was straight up cuckoldry.

>>11575059
Would read

>>11575064
I have no desire to go into details on just how retarded is that some fantasy Indian girl became the fantasy Cardinal Richelieu.

>>11574886
Example?

I only know the cringelord parts of his 'About the author':
"His hobbies included reading a novel or two a day and giving relationship advice to all his friends despite the fact that he had never so much as kissed a girl.
...
Most of Pat's adult life has been spent in the University Wisconsin Stevens Point.
...
For the next seven years Pat studied anthropology, philosophy, eastern religions, history, alchemy, parapsychology, literature, and writing. He studied six different martial arts, practiced improv comedy, learned how to pick locks, and became a skilled lover of women"

>>11575059
>>11575078
You need some forced incest to really make it shine.
That and dead hookers.

>>11575094
Geralt fucks about after he breaks up with Yennefer, she fucks the other guy the day after she fucks Geralt.

>>11575111
Fucking hunchback.

>>11575104
>He studied six different martial arts, practiced improv comedy, learned how to pick locks, and became a skilled lover of women"
Even if this is ironic it's still terrible.

>>11575096
May Krajim bless you with a life as vast as the desert and as plentiful as the valleys

>>11575104
>and became a skilled lover of women
Fuck me, this guy bought a sex doll.

>>11575059
>Also there are Lovecraftian desert ghouls running around and eating corpses

>>11575063
>>11575091
woah bro, before you say self published fantasy is bad I'm gonna need you to read all 15 books in the overwrought fantasy name cycle: a dungeon harem adventure.

Just finished the first book in pic's trilogy. I don't really read sci-fi, only read Dune, and I thought it was enjoyable. Does most sci-fi have limited character development? That was common in this book but the physics was fun and the imagery was vivid.

>>11575111
Oh I know my dude, what I am saying is that Geralt doesn't go into a fucking monologue about how it is ok that Yen fucks this other guy because she likes HIM better, like Kovthe in Name of the the Wind.
I guess what I am saying is that I don't drop books if it include cheating/cuckoldry if it is not portrayed in a positive way, Geralt breaks up with Yen after almost killing the other guy and goes on to live his life and fuck sorceresses so I didn't think it was being portrayed in a positive manner.
I know they ultimately end up together (before dying) but that felt more like them starting anew years later after a past fucked up relationship, not like Geralt being all like "sure I don't mind my partner fucks other people".

>>11575104
You know about when he publicly attacked his fans for theorizing Kvothe is embellishing his story right?

>>11575138
No but that sounds majestic

>>11575110
No mate, I want to jack off while I write

Only kinks that I enjoy like Bondage and Tranny Sorceress

You will get a few dead hookers though in a flashback to our protagonists teenager years

He went with his best friend to visit the lower flesh markets (the red light district of the capital) and they went incognito because they were young, so they got lost

And they went into a pleasure room, and were told the girls were sleeping so they can fuck them

Later they learned they were dead, the pimps had put some lung parasites inside of the dead hookers to give the impression of breathing

>>11575104
>improv comedy
The worst part

>>11575010
>Don't forget to cram in ALL of your sexual fetishes
Oh I will. Get ready to hope aboard the incest train lads.

>>11575143
Genuinely write this. I want to see the goodreads reviews.

>>11575143
>No mate, I want to jack off while I write
Sometimes you have to suffer for your are anon.

>He went with his best friend to visit the lower flesh markets (the red light district of the capital) and they went incognito because they were young, so they got lost. And they went into a pleasure room, and were told the girls were sleeping so they can fuck them. Later they learned they were dead, the pimps had put some lung parasites inside of the dead hookers to give the impression of breathing.
That's pretty good.

>>11575178
Good luck!

>>11575184
>SJW review "This is absolute trash, the level of racism and depravity of this novel is appalling, not only the author completely disregards any kind of humanity or empathy but he also indulge his sick desires.
The level of plot and characters is childish at best and the prose simply awful"

>I reply "lol killyourself fag"

>Get banned from goodreads for life

>>11575104
>Now Pat teaches half-time at his old school as an assistant-sub-lecturer. He is underpaid but generally left alone to do as he sees fit with his classes. He is advisor for the college feminists, the fencing club, and, oddly enough, a sorority. He still roll-plays occasionally, but now he does it in an extremely sophisticated, debonair way.

>>11575175
Agree desu. Every day I thank God that I lost interest in improv comedy at age 12.

All you guys are gonna get a book copy for free

>>11575219
How will we know when it comes.out?

Anon I'm taking this very seriously. Will message you on Goodreads w thread screencap

>>11575219
Nah, you can have my money, you'll have earned it anon!

>>11575219
I'll take the free copy but also buy the audiobook so I can hear some poor narrator forced to read the fetish bits.

>>11575104
>alchemy
For what purpose would someone study alchemy in the modern era? Does this fucker think he's Edward Elric or something?

>>11575237
I will post it here in Lit

>>11575251
May the gods of the desert protect your kind spirit, traveller of this dark roads

>>11575251
You have a ghoul's heart

>>11575271
Isn't it obvious?
To make himself a gf.

I'm serious lads. I'm going to write some shitty degenerate LitRPG about some guy that gets trapped on an alien planet and has to survive with what he has. There will be imaginary stats that the MC can access to see his progress ,half naked alien girls from all over the galaxy that check off various fetishes to add to his ever expanding harem and kingdom building 101. The twist here, as that he didn't get sent to this planet alone. That's right, his hot mom is with him.

I'll see you guys in the next thread and I wish the other anon writing his degenerate story the best of luck.

To everybody that liked my book idea (ironically or not)

Tomorrow I will be starting a thread about it and exploring some more plot ideas

>>11575305
>>11575308
We are all going to make it.

>>11575308
Just post that shit in here. If you start a separate thread I guarantee you that it'll die pretty quickly.

>>11573182
>post-apocalyptic
Zone One is really underrated.

I just bought pic related and "The Edict" by the same author because I vaguely remembered seeing this author in one of these threads. Did I fuck up and purchase a meme or is this actual good stuff?

>female character exists solely to go "*roles eyes* boys..." whenever anything happens

>>11575592
name two books that do that.

>>11575624
I can name 14

>>11575635
alright i completely agree with wot. anything outside of that you can name though?
we all know wot is ripe with cunts.

>>11575675

>>11575675
Also this shit

>>11575139
yes, most sci fi is like that.

>>11575308
post it in here or the next sffg thread

>>11575139
>>11575762

Yeah, scifi as a whole tends towards more as being about social commentary and ideas than character development.

For character development in scifi I'd suggest the Vorkosigan saga and Cherryh's stuff.

Opinions on Peter watts?

>want to read book X
>book X is ready to print for months
>author can't publish it because the cover is still not done

>>11576171
almost as good at writing as he is at attacking border patrol agents.

>>11576187
Source?
If he attacked ICE that's pretty based

>>11576257
I just looked into it and it was some border agent at the US-Canada border. He resisted arrest, got punched, and thrown in jail for a night. Walked away with a suspended sentence, a fine and isn't allowed to re-enter the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Watts_(author)#Personal_life

>>11576266
based

>>11576266
based

>>11574468
>gurm, rothfuss
>quality
You're go to be so disappointed if they ever finish their series.

>>11574503
I just started Station Eleven and the first section is boring but once you get past the set up it becomes interesting.

>>11574282
shit prose
angst is boring

>>11574282
I've never actually instantly dropped a book but generally blatantly bad text quality is among the most off-putting things to me.

>>11574282
Bad dialogue. If the characters talk like idiots or tryhards, I'm not going to like them and I'm not going to enjoy the book. I've also noticed that bad dialogue usually follows bad prose too.

>>11575139
Book 2 is way better. A main character emerges and is somewhat degeloped by the end of it.

>>11576182
When in recorded history has this ever happened

>>11576612
http://www.authoralechutson.com/2018/08/06/the-sequel-update/

>>11574771
What an absolute cringelord. These gayboy fantasy writers like Rothfuss, GRRM and Lynch should be stoned to death.

>>11575104
>>11575208

>>11576615
That's pretty ridiculous. Looks like that artist will never be getting another job, unless its really REALLY good

>>11576621
the human manifestation of reddit

>>11575010
>I am still waiting on tranny sorceresses.
God damn I never knew I wanted this so bad

>>11576653
Yeah they are pretty great.

>finished Blindsight
>mfw the plot happened because the ayys got "mad" at us wasting their time with cosmic shitposting

>>11576742
Fucking great book. Too bad the sequel couldn't keep up.

>>11576857
I was considering getting Echopraxia, how does it drop the ball? In any event my next Watts book will probably be Freeze Frame Revolution.

>>11576948
I just didn't like it as much. I think the main character in blindsight and the comfy ship atmosphere are hard to surpass. It was still a good book though and gives some more backstory about vampires.

I just finished reading the second book in in the Count to a Trillion series
Should I get the last 4?
I'm sure I'll like them if I could bear with the firsts being kind of weirdly math-fetishistic and anticlimactic

Best magic system?

>>11577164
something something by Sanderson
am i doing it right

>>11577164
Morrowind

I'm not too familiar with a lot of magic systems, but the Night Watch series had a pretty interesting system based around borrowing magical energy from normal people and moving between dimensions.

>>11577164
unironically nasuverse

>>11577306
>>11577164
This was meant for you.

>>11577311
>shirou we need mana so we have to fuck
>okay
great magic system

If I wrote a romance where a strong and tough female character who is into women slowly falls in love with a guy, would that trigger people? I feel like stories where straight people become gay are celebrated but when the opposite happens it's met with hostility.

>>11577490
Might be ok with general audiences but the lesbians would probably throw a shit fit. They hate bisexuals about as much as /pol/ hates... everything. It can be good if handled well, but I can easily see people accusing you of a whole load of bullshit, like you're suggesting lesbians just need to meet the "right" man.

>>11573251
Michael Kramer is the guy who does most of Sanderson's audiobooks. Now, I've listened to all of them because I drive for about 60 hours a week as part of my job. Sazed, from the Mistborn trilogy, has a specific accent that Kramer uses to set him apart. So does Demoux. Kramer uses that same accent for other characters in different Sanderson works.

>why does this matter
I will tell you why. Because if you take a snippet of dialogue from Sazed or Demoux, and put it alongside a snippet of dialogue voiced in Sazed or Demoux's accent by Kramer, there is literally no way to tell the difference between them unless Sazed says "I think" at the end.

Every single character reads identical unless they have a specific verbal tic. Every single one. Kaladin sounds exactly like Dalinar. Go read it again. It's fucking awful. This is my primary criticism of Sanderson. The character voices are not sufficiently distinct. He overuses tags to remind you who is speaking because without them there would be no fucking way to tell. It is infuriating.

>>11577517
>like you're suggesting lesbians just need to meet the "right" man
Damn right.

>>11577517
Yea I can see that happening even though that's not my intent. But I'm still going to go through with it.

>>11574771
If Andrew Anglin were to write an article parodying how liberals thought about women, it would read less cringeworthy than this.

>>11577490
Don't worry anon nobody will read it anyway.

Character development is unrealistic. People can't change who they are, and usually make the same mistakes over and over again.

>>11577164
The stuff in the Kingkiller Chronicles. I was almost inspired to try the stuff out in real life, the binding, heart of stone, alar shit.
Second best is HP universe.

>>11577872
black people aren't people anon.

>>11577872
Your post is dumb

>>11574282
>>11574415
>>11574632
Do you guys mean actual cuck fetishism or just not being like a harem anime where all the attractive females only have eyes for the audience self-insert MC?

>>11577889
It's not. People stay the same their entire lives.

>>11577872
t. Abercrombie

>>11577898
no

>>11577872
Anon, do you really never cringe when you remember your teenage self?

>>11577892
I assume they mean the buzzword definition where where the protagonist's love interest gets fucked by other guys, not the actual definition. I know of three that are closer to the actual definition and hilariously enough, all of them are considered harem series.There's Good Intentions, Alternate Places and Purgatory Wars. In all of these the protagonist eventually lets his lovers/wives fuck other men.

How's Sawyer? I saw pic related at the library and I really liked the opening paragraph.
Also I heard he wrote a first contact story that was also a courtroom drama, and I love both of those.

>>11574632
This one. The protagonist is an actual straight up cuckold. It's a pretty bad book in general though.

>>11577159
Yeah, it's a good series and delivers pretty well on its concept.

>>11577872
Have you made no personality or behavioural developments in the last 10 years? People usually keep their core moralities but priorities in life can change drastically. And experience makes a person handle situations differently over time.

>>11577963
i only read up to the second book but nothing cucky happend so far?
one of the girls had thoughts about having an affair but didnt do it. does he actually get cucked?

>>11574066
Absolute trash. There is no reason to include game elements into fantasy. They could all work with the same plot without them. The only reason to include them is when you have no plot at all and need to fill the book with irrelevant shit like stats and skills etc. Why would anyone want to read about someone playing a game? Bonus points when there is some erotic angle; you are literally reading about someone masturbating in front of a screen, probably to an avatar that looks nothing like the real person and may even be the same gender.

Ironically, I don't find the Tamer books that bad. The first one was absolute dog shit, but with each book the litrpg elements become thinner and thinner. I don't think the last book had a single mention of them. I don't read any others, though.

>>11575635
now that was some quality cover art... they dont make em like that anymore. *sips*

>>11577872
I don't think that's true, I would kill myself if I were still my highschool version.

>>11574282
What you said plus predictable plot, edgy shit for no purpose and retarded main characters.

>>11577943
>mfw I read all of them
I hate being memed. These books should be labeled so I can avoid this shit.

>>11574415
>blatant antisemitism
What book did you drop because of this?

>>11574415
>blatant antisemitism
that really just sweetens the deal

>>11577944
Serviceable

Nothing published after lord of chaos counts.

>>11578365
I'm on that one now, it's shit.

>>11574282
too many big words that I don't understand. I'm here to read, not learn

>>11578234
Not /sffg/, but this one book that I assumed had something to do with living a low-tech lifestyle but was actually written by a crackpot conspiracy theorist. It was the drop of water that made the bucket overflow, really.

>>11574771
Isn't this series pretty popular? I dropped it early on but holy shit this is pathetic. Is this the kind of protagonist that people want?

>>11577899
Abercrombie is a hair more nuanced. He's not exactly "people can't change". Quite a few of his characters change quite a bit, especially the younger ones (Shivers, that kid in The Heroes named Beck or whatever).

If I had to sum up his attitude towards character development w/ 2 quotes from his books it'd be these:

>If you want to be a new man you have to stay in new places, and do new things, with people who never knew you before. If you go back to the same old ways, what else can you be but the same old person?

and

>Sometimes men change for the better. Sometimes men change for the worse. And often, very often, given time and opportunity . . .’ He waved his flask around for a moment, then shrugged. ‘They change back.

A fairly realistic attitude really. Changing as a person isn't like flipping a switch; it takes time, continued action, and often suffers from backsliding.

With all that said, your post was pretty much my initial reaction to that post as well.

>>11578600
>Abercrombie
>nuanced
Ah yes, so much nuance as he uses the 'Normally a character would do this, however this isn't a story' line over and over again.

>>11577892
>>11577943
I wasn't using a buzzword definition personally. Note that I consider cuckoldry in general 'cuckshit' not just cuckold fetishism.

A cuckold can be any guy who gets cheated on, or the more narrow definition any guy who gets cheated on, knows or finds out, and doesn't let it change his feelings for the girl.

Some stuff is in a grey area like this:
>>11574771

It's not quite cuckoldry technically, since they're not even in a relationship. But the mindset and everything else is close enough that it irritates me the same way.

If you like, I'll update to disliking cuckshit AND friendzone-fetishism written by fat neckbeard cringelords.

>>11578403
It's extremely popular.

The persistent friendzone-fetishizing borderline cuckery isn't even the worst part of the book which is kinda hilarious.

>>11578636

>>11578636
"a hair more nuanced" than a 4chan shitpost which literally said "Character development is unrealistic. People can't change who they are"

not sure how you could think that was a compliment and not the dictionary definition of damning w/ faint praise

>>11578643
>friendzone-fetishism written by fat neckbeard cringelords
Damn lefties running fantasy for the rest of us.
Who else am I going to read - the Chinks?

>>11578685
>Damn lefties
are you trying to strawman him or what?
I don't get why you bring up that shit.

>>11578685
That armour annoys me

>>11578685
Fat neckbeard cringelords on the right write a different sort of cringe. Generally shitty MilSF based on their real life experiences fantasizing about being a badass while serving as a 92S Shower/Laundry and Clothing Repair Specialist in the Army.

>>11578726
Anyone know what Robert Jordan did while he was in the army, out of interest?

>>11578697
I just don't see a right wing author giving that much attention to cuckoldry/friendzoning.

>>11578716
Anything particular that stands out?

>>11578726
True, but everyone likes to reminisce of their days in the armed forces even if the reality was the complete opposite. Not a lot of people write reams and reams of pages of said cuckoldry.

>>11578733
>He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner
GET SOME!!!

>>11578733
Transferred from being a clerk to being a helicopter door gunner iirc.

>>11578766
You think he pissed off someone with his writing?
That's a pretty steep career change.

>>11578785
Volunteered for the role change apparently.

http://www.68thahc.com/TT_Photo_Pg/K_TT_Pg_Rigney_James.htm

>>11578799
Between that and being a college football recruit... was he low-key Chad?

>>11578841
I think he was just a normal guy.
Who wrote shitty fantasy on the side.

>>11578841
Kinda feel bad for having such a low opinion of him now.

>try to read Earthsea
>oh no there's an evil shadow chasing him
>it's still chasing him
>yep, still being chased
>dwell some more on the shadow
>oh he fights some dragons btw
>back to the shadow
why do people like this

>>11578921
>why do people like this
Cuz they are not like you thankfully.

>>11578921
I was so mad when lmao the shadow is actually just part of him
I fucking HATED it

>>11578927
I mean I get it
It's YA
simplistic morals are to be expected
It just spends 3/4 its wordcount on the fucking thing instead of the cool world or any of the other potentially interesting characters

>>11578960
What's up
with this formatting
like what would even
possess you to post in such a faggoty way

>>11578983
It's
reddit

What's your favorite type of fantasy or scifi female /sffg/? I like strong dominant woman who soften over time and eventually give in to the power of the MC's cock.

>>11579005
>I like strong dominant woman who soften over time and eventually give in to the power of the MC's cock.
/a is that way anon.

>>11579015
What does /a/ have to do with anything? It's a well known fact that you can't beat the cock.

>>11579005
I like the ones with big fat cocks who can't help but get fucked by everyone they meet

>>11579005
Evil waifus

>>11579034
Is there a SINGLE book where a female antagonist falls for the protagonist and they get a happy ending? All the hero/villain romances I can think of end badly.

>>11579072
I dropped Black Company before the end, but Lady and Croaker did well enough.

>>11578983
phoneposting to be honest

>>11579000
no subreddit types like this
in fact the one place I do see people type like this are other 4chan threads
do you only read this one or something

>>11579083
They didn't exactly get a happy ending. But given the overall tone of the series in general, it was the best they could probably get.

>>11579095
shut up fag it's not over yet

>>11579095
Spoiler me I doubt I'll go back to it, what happens?

>>11579072
Why do retards like you want to drag badly written romance into fantasy? Go read 50 Shades of Gay you emotionally stunted soccer mom.
The villain is not someone to be fucked. The villain, as if the title was not a clue enough, does not want to fuck the hero, he wants to mount his head on a pike.

>>11579124
>he

How's Malazan as an audiobook? Memes aside, it seems like exactly what I'm looking to read. Wondering if I should bother trying to listen while I'm working, or if I should just get the ebook.

Is the Black Company worth getting into? I have the omnibuses sitting around but I never really got the chance to read them.

>>11579148
One of the best examples of novels that do dark without being edgy.
Well worth a go.

>>11579148
The first 3 books are. I lost interest afterwards.

>>11579131
This isn't your gender studies class.

>>11579124
>there can only be one type of fantasy
You may think people who want to read different things are ruining the genre for you, but you are ruining the genre for everyone else.

>>11579207
False.
There are only a finite number of books that can be written, so anyone who writes a book that I don't like is activley not writing a book that I like.

>>11579207
You already have your genre. There are countless number of books meant for sexually frustrated middle aged women in which a dark and handsome stranger swoops the heroine (I would not presume to guess who you are inserting as - the stranger or the heroine).
Adding magic to it and calling it fantasy is ruining the genre.

As promised here in an excerpt from a bounty hunter's perspective.
He spat on the desert sand, and moved the mace on his hip into a more comfortable position.

The administrator looked at him dumbfounded, like he had never seen that kind of scars before, "rich piece of shit" the hunter thought

Listen now, I'm on an official hunt and I need supplies to last me for a fortnite - he spoke harshly at the administrator

What for ? - he answered with a question.

"There we go with all the bloody questions" he though, looked at him in the eyes and said : There is a ghoul lackey on the loose.

What? - The administrator managed to look even more dumb

It's a man who leads travellers and merchants astray into ghoul lands, then kills them so the beasts can have fresh corpses - he grew more tired with each word he uttered, patience was running out and the sun was getting too low.

Why would anyone do such a thing? -Terror and disgust mixed in the bureaucrats eyes as he asked.

"Give him something simple that let's him sleep tonight" Was on the hunters mind, then after a pause he said quickly

-For the coins and jewels the ghouls pay him, they have no need for the richness of the dead.

The administrator sufficiently pleased with the answers, gesticulated at some peasants to him water, rum, salt, bread and smoked meat.

The hunter smiled with appreciation one final time, then stirred his camel towards the setting sun, towards the dunes on the horizon

"It's gonna be a long fucking night", he could almost smell something putrid on the air or maybe it was just a product of his imagination

>>11579254

The administrator is the progonists I mentioned here:
>>11575059

>>11579254
I hope this isn't from a published work

>>11579254
You're not going to make it.

>>11579270
It's a first draft I made while working

>>11579273
I hope a ghoul rapes you

>>11579124
wtf, hero guy converting evil women to his side with the power of cock is the highest form of literary expression

>>11579341
dis nigga kno what up

>>11579341
>>11579359
Or you could, you know, jerk off before reading.
Slap the monkey?
Polish the rocket?
Choke the chicken?
In fact why read at all?

>>11579124
Where did that anon say that they wanted a badly written romance fantasy? A well written romantic dynamic between a protagonist and an antagonist that slowly builds up over the course of the series would be great if pulled off properly. If your mind immediately goes to 50 Shades of Gray when presented with that potential plot then that seems like a personal problem.

>>11579413
*snap*
Oh buddy this is going in

>>11579254
DEW IT ANON
YOU CAN MAKE IT BRAH
LIFT WITH ZIZ IN HEAVEN BRAH

>>11575530
Why ask when you bought it?

>>11579413
I was p clearly joking around. If I had to give a more serious answer it'd be along the lines of what this guy:
>>11579423
said.

You immediately jumped to 50 Shades or Harlequin-tier trash when nobody was suggesting such things. A book can in fact contain romantic shit without being garbage. There are probably more good books with romance in them than there are good books with magic in them (they're just not called romance novels bc books w romance that have actual literary merit aren't labelled that way), so a fantasy reader acting like they're too good for any kind of romantic content is pretty funny.

>>11579622
Now with that said, the typical fantasy writer's attempt at this kind of thing probably would be shit, on account of the typical fantasy writer being utter shit at writing convincing and meaningful human interaction.

>>11579254
Why does the guy actually serve the ghouls if not for money?

Is it for ghoulpussy?

Just finished. It was garbage, some of the worst poorly thought out world building I have ever seen.

>The "Empire" is so small you can cross the whole thing on foot in about a week.
>Main character is raised in a prison for noble children
>Hasn't seen the sun in 10 years
>Starvation diet every day
>Kept in a cell for most of the day
>Gets out, can ride horses, climb cliffs etc
>One of the main characters sole reason for being evil is because she was cheated on once, puts the boy in prison for this as revenge
>One of the generals is a teenage boy because he killed his father, the previous general, the other veteran officers are cool with this.

Do not read. Bad bad book.

>>11579148
Yes. They are fantastic. Cheek out his other series, Instrumentalities of the Night, even better in my mind, though some people disagree.

>>11579656
Sounds mostly retarded.

>One of the main characters sole reason for being evil is because she was cheated on once, puts the boy in prison for this as revenge

This makes sense tho and is a realistic assessment of the behavior of several rich girls I've known.

At what point did the series lose you?

I'm rereading and the first 3 are so good. But now Bakker has gone so far up his own ass (no pun intended) with the philosophy that I've lost the enjoyment.

>>11579648
Not gonna spoil it for you
You only need to wait 3 to 6 years while I read 200 books a year and practice writing daily

Then 2 more years to write the first book

>>11579696
I stopped reading at WLW. Really liked the first trilogy too, but the second series just goes way overboard with pages upon pages of unspeakably dull repetitive "philosophy" that's supposedly the characters' inner monologue but is always delivered in exactly the same pompous authorial voice trying to make random brainfarts look profound. I hear it gets even worse in later books. Stop copying your failed phd into everything Bakker.

Not to mention edge for the sake of edge and tons of space devoted to characters nobody cares about (hi esmenet and sorweel).

>>11579005
Smart, capable, independent woman who is actually a neurotic mess on the inside, only holding herself together through sheer willpower and an overwhelming desire to hold hands with the MC.

>>11579148
Kind of, Glen Cook didn't have three decades of knowledge to draw on like modern dark epic fantasy authors and it very clearly shows, a lot of the "grimdark" elements aren't relevant to the plot and often unintentional sexualised fetish fuel, It fails horribly to deconstruct popular tropes often again unintentionally reconstructing even higher, the world-building is non-existent you'll quickly lose track of where the company is, how they got their and how it's different from where they were.

>>11576739
>finally read this comic
>it's a shemale

>20% into Shadow Rising
>getting seriously bored
>hear that books 7-10 of WOT are shit

I don’t think i’m going to make it through this series. Maybe I should just move onto malazan

>>11574282
Homosexuals. Same with television shows desu

>>11576257
What’s based about being a traitor to your own country?

>>11580120
That means dick but no balls, right?

>>11579005
Intelligent and focused, but aware of her flaws and weaknesses, making sure to surround herself with people she can trust and fill the gaps in her own knowledge. Keeps her personal and professional separate. And she dresses like pic related.

That's the kind of woman I would write if I wrote a sci-fi story. Which I am. And I will.

>>11580120
What do you think a tranny is, dude?

>what if there was a place where all the men were subservient to women
>so much so that in casual conversation you talked about beating your husband/boytoy until he learned how to behave
>and what if that place looked like a vagina

>>11580224
Pretty clearly had the full kit

>>11580334
Why not rotate that map so it points North, for what purpose is it rotated.

Best place to dl book pdfs? Especially fantasy

>>11580376
Hence my confusion.

>>11580382
This is possibly the stupidest question in this thread.

>>11580418
There is no reason for North not to be bordered aligned on the map. The lake and island which are the only details effectively shown on the map would fit if it was rotated to be North aligned with the notes pointing off map sat in the corners like they are.
Give me the reason it is rotated to not point North rather than saying I'm stupid you mongaloid.

>>11580435
Are you autistic or what? Serious question, not trolling.

>>11580458
No for a living I do drawings and always if possible (which it is in this case without leaving out any needed details) align North along a border.
Here is a shitty 2s paint drawing, literally nothing of value is lost.
So for what purpose is it not North aligned?

>>11580458
And by drawing I mean CAD type drawing.

>>11580471
You have not looked at many historical maps have you?

>>11580166
>hear that books 7-10 of WOT are shit
From who? I see people pull these statements out of thin air, as though anyone could tell them anything and they would believe it.

>>11580496
It's because they are shit. The series when from 40% filler to 75%.

>>11580491
Nearly daily actually from as far back as this city I work in has existed. Here is a 1300s map that the long edges point North. You always North align borders if possible.
And that isnt a historical map by the by.

>>11580491
Here is a map of the Americas which also points North.

Now, will you explain how it's stupid to north align a map.

>>11580491
Also the oldest known map Imago Mundi points north at the top too.
Damn so stupid to do that though lamo.

>>11578799
*sips*

>>11580471
>>11580487
>>11580525
>>11580531
>>11580542
>>11580435
>>11580382
autism confirmed

>get BTFO
>au-autism ;_;

>>11580571
Not an argument

has anybody read ken liu's dandelion dynasty series? in the mood for a non western fantasy setting.

>>11580594
>>11580604
I'm not arguing. You're just an autistic. I never implied anything other than you being a stupid autist. The anon who asked if you've ever seen a map wasn't me. There's nothing to discuss or argue. You asked a stupid question and then proceeded to sperg out.

>>11580612
Why is it stupid to not north align a map?
You name calling isn't an argument.

>>11580612
>There's nothing to discuss or argue.
Correct, when it shows no extra details rotating a map away from north is stupid.

>>11580207
Keep licking those boots

>>11580611
I read it and the sequel. Sadly it just reads like a hollow knockoff of Game of Thrones with a Three Kingdoms gloss applied to it. The sequel is slightly better and the characters are less two-dimensional but it doesn't improve enough.

You might try Kate Elliott's Black Wolves. I got it from the library a few years back and thought it was more interesting and entertaining. Main character is a old secret policeman/imperial guardsman who gets called back to the capital. I gather it's a sequel to her earlier Crossroads series but I've never read any of that and it takes place centuries afterwards apparently.

Bridge of Birds is also the perennial recommendation and is great.

IIRC Feist's Riftwar series has a Asia-themed sequel series.

Also it's not fantasy but Aliette de Bodard's Xuya stuff might be worth checking out.

>>11580885
thank you for the recs, i will look into them. i have started listening to the audiobook of the grace of kings and so far it is boring the shit out of me. guess i will slog through and see if it picks up.

another pretty good non-western fantasy series is sean russell's initiate brother duology.

>>11580611
Going to second Bridge of Birds and its sequels. Some marvelous Holmes-esque/sword & sorcery sinophile fantasy.

>>11580947
What do you think about Sean Russell’s other series?

>>11580611
that book has sat on my shelf for 3 years. at one point i was super enthused to read it, now i have no desire.

>>11581169
haven't read them yet

Help me out: Can't remember the name of a book I read years ago about an underground race of mutants similar to Nightbreed and they were being hunted by basically a street-level superhero who used a bow. The plot also involved a group of these mutants looking for their "king" and finding him in a young human-looking boy. Main protag is a detective and I think it's set in San Francisco. Anyone know the book I'm talking about?

>>11581301
Nevermind. I found it kek.

https://www.amazon.com/Nocturnal-Novel-Scott-Sigler-ebook/dp/B005DXOPWI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1533618120&sr=1-1&keywords=nocturnal+sigler

>>11580334

Looks like a star trek emblem to me.

>>11580947
Well, good luck and I hope you either end up enjoying it or drop it instead of trying to tough it out. I mean I'll give Liu one thing, he's consistent.

Other "non western" stuff I can think of is that Glen Cook has used it a few times, the Black Company books move to Africa-India after the original series, the Instrumentalities books specifically take place around pseudo-Italy and the Levant rather than western Europe, and the Dread Empire prequel series is about a desert warrior.

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu felt like it had a lot of promise for a Arabian Nights style setting but ultimately I felt it suffered from the same problem as Grace of Kings: It was just the same old story with the theme changed. Maybe the sequels are better but it was just so dull I'm not interested in trying them.

I've heard The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter is good but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Again it's scifi but Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a good set of novellas, the first is about a girl from (I think it's supposed to be) Namibia or Botswana getting selected for a prestigious off-world university but jellyfish aliens attack the space ship in transit. The second is about her going back home. Felt like a classic golden age scifi story.

Though I'd say possibly the most woefully under-used region is ancient Egypt, Sumer, Greece and Persia. There's tons of amazing history to draw from (and plenty of grimderp GRI stuff like how the Egyptians would castrate defeated armies or how pharaohs generally married their sisters) but authors just ignore it.

>>11581225
Honestly in retrospect I'd have probably been better off reading the copy of the first Stormlight book I got as a gift back when it first came out and have never even cracked open. I wonder if 1st editions are worth anything by now...

>>11579696
Probably right after the first trilogy, but I'm too deep in now to pull out without finishing.

Has anyone here read the Altered Carbon series? Is it good?

>>11580611
James Clavell's Shogun is so far away from history and reality that it's actually fantasy but it's a great story.

>>11581543
Only the first book so far. It was pretty good

>>11579696
I'm still keen

>>11581552
I second this. It's a must read even if I've always been disappointed by how abrupt it's ending was.

Cloud of Sparrows is another decent one that is nowhere close to history despite its label as historical fiction

>>11581486
I read Who Fears Death by Okorafor and thought it was .... okay. Didn't really make me want to rush out and read more stuff by her. It was pretty cool to read an African fantasy setting though.

>>11580612
You’re a colossal faggot anon. I hope you know that

>>11580166
>>11580503
>>11580947
Why do fantasyfags do this shit to themselves?
>uhh yeah books 1 through 12 are complete boring shit but book 13 is where it gets good! so just keep tight and slog through them

If I wanted to be this bored I'd go to outer/lit/ and read the classics, at least I'd learn something that way lol

>>11581757
dude i'd listened to 3-4 chapters when i posted that and that is not enough time to make a judgment about whether i like a book. also i listen to audiobooks while doing other stuff like gaming and housework so i'm not wasting my time

>>11580224
>That's the kind of woman I would write if I wrote a sci-fi story.
Looks like a tranny desu senpai.

>>11581757
You mean like reading Tolstoyevski?

>>11581813
>You mean like reading Tolstoyevski?
Yeah.

>>11580000
That reminds me of Shallan.

>>11581552
>>11581689
He made up for it with Taipan and Noble House. Gaijin was good too, loved fantasizing about banging that French whore of Malcolm's.

>>11581735
man, Who Fears Death is hot garbage. I appreciate the African fantasy setting trying to do something new but the actual fantasy elements of the story seem completely vestigial. The plot (aimlessly paced, I might add) was also riddled with lots of fantasy cliches, counterbalancing any good will that may have been gained from its original setting.

it actually inspired me to write, more than anything else recently. if something that poorly thought out could not only be published but also nominated for awards, it fills me with hope that i can do much, much better.

>>11581543
really liked the first book, it has a fantastical premise and explores it thoroughly.
I just thought the netflix adaptation went a bit too thick with the 1% metaphor, but I guess that part has always been there, I just didn't perceive it that strongly in the book. Still a nice adaption in its own right.

I'm 7 books into the Malazan series and it has gone so far off the rails of its initial premise I don't think I'll bother finishing. I took a break to check out Return of the Crimson Guard but it is pretty shitty.

>>11581543
The first book is a good detective story and I like the world-building. It's certainly got a lot of interesting ideas that it tries to explore. The second book is more like a military investigation than a detective story and it expands on a lot of the ideas in the first book, like how sleeving works and the mental trauma of dying too many times. It also introduces aliens.

There's fairly gratuitous sex scenes in both books that the author got kind of weird about, I heard. I don't remember them being important to the plot at all.

Like >>11582750 said, the Netflix adaptation ok. I liked it for visualising the world but they skip over and compress a lot of stuff in the book that I felt made it an inferior story, but that's pretty standard. I'd watch the show after reading the book if I were you.

>in all the thousands of years Aes Sedai have existed none of them thought to use the other two of the five elements to heal stilling