/lit/ - Literature

>>21908871
>Pistols and Psionics
Is this an actual genre?

>>21908904
That's literally Star Wars. It's called science fantasy.

>Glory days of /sffg/ when?
I genuinely miss dinosaur-posting. At least the books that got spammed were actually good.

Any of you faggets know where I can get the Coiling dragon book two on audio?
The chink site wuxiaworld said they would publish them to audible.
>did one book people complained that the narrator was shit
>changed narrators and said they would publish to audible after a month
>never published new book to audible
>wanted you to use their site money to purchase book
>2019+4
>books still haven't been published to aubile
>can't find the books online
Any help?

>>21908871

>>21909027
Like what though? Dino man was upset that Howard and the like kept being posted. I don't remember him offering any good recs of his own.

>>21908871
First for women protagonists

Never read Gemmell, is his Rigante series worth getting?

! TRADE OFFER !
>You recommend
A sci-fi with the following scenario: it's a future where autonomous weaponry like drones have fully replaced human loss on the battlefield. Wars are frequent, and kinda treated cavalier, because they, in a sense, have become a purely economical affair (not truly, as it has no parallel to the present).
But now all of sudden we have a situation where one actor is being transgressive, by reintroducing blood and 20th century warfare strategems of "targeting the human".

>I offer:
A novel with an analogous philosophy to the scenario above, but related to society and gender. Namely, it's the Terra Ignota society, which is about a future society where Earth was fully enveloped by globohomo, cultures became erased, and gender has been abolished. Everything is sterile and peaceful and neoliberalism has won, chud. Corporations literally serve as replacement for citizenship.
The transgressive denouements start when a) violent strife is reintroduced, and b) when the narrator just can't help himself referring to particularly feminine women as "she" and masculine males as "he".

Why does this board move this fast?
I make sure never to remind people it even exists when I'm on other boards.
>>21909102
An interesting study on hiding something in plain sight. She starts the video with her arms clearly visible but you're focused on her female form because you know it's a thot webm so that's what you're looking for.

>>21909138
You offer globohomo shit in return for (possibly) corporate proxy war kino? I don't want to read about it even if it is fake AND it all goes tits up.

I don't have any suggestions anyway...

>>21909133
All of his works are good.

>>21909057
I really don't think you Americans can go math or measurements...
You're so obsessed with height that girls think that image is true.
>6foot guy is 2 feet taller than a 5'11" guy

>>21909186
6' -1" vs 5'13"

>>21909229
Americans are mathlets. No wonder I see people 5foot 8 saying they are 6foot.

>start reading The Heroes
>Gorst is just a more pathetic Glokta

Tell me he gets better

>>21909102
Cute.

bros... could it... could it be?... will we actually see it in our lifetime?

>>21909294
Winds of Winter will release in 2028. George will then realize he needs two more books to finish after that He will croak before he gets 1/3 of the way into book 7. Someone will publish his schizophrenic notes.

>>21909186
Manlet?

>>21909294
Elden Ring 3 has to finish up first.
He told me that's his top priority right now.

Wrapped this one up today.
I found it frustrating, mostly due to how inconsistent the pacing is and how the occasional flashes of brilliance get bogged down by Wolfe's autism. Reminded me of Long Sun, where the interesting main story gets sidelined for political subplots with little bearing on anything. Having major characters come and go from the narrative, or change abruptly without explanation, starts to feel less like "try to figure it out for yourself" and more like sloppiness after a certain point, and the fact that it's technically an epistolary novel (despite being regular Wolfe prose 99% of the time) feels like a hand-wave.
When it hit its stride I adored it, it really felt like a celebration of myth.

Is the Soldier trilogy worth a shot? I know they were written a long time apart so I worry that the stylistic shift will be jarring.

>>21909133
this ya?

>>21909294
he said this fucking last year and has been dead silent since. so no

>>21909407
wolfe is STEMonkey who can't write for shit. don't waste your time

>>21909138
Tldr but try Serrano Legacy and Vatta's War, it has tall and big women.

>>21909414
>Gemmell
>Ya
The absolute state of /sffg/

>>21909010
>That's literally Star Wars. It's called science fantasy.
Ah, I just knew it would be disappointing

>>21909421
After diving deeper into Wolfe I can't help but wonder if New Sun was a happy accident. Obviously that's a weird and unconventionally-told story but (mostly) all of the elements came together and it's remained a favorite for a lot of people since it's still basically the Hero's Journey, just with a lot of unique bells and whistles.
But everything else I've read by him (short stories excluded) feels like it's hobbled by intentionally confusing storytelling and a sense of unevenness given to the plot points. He's clearly a smart guy who can come up with creative ideas, but at a certain point it feels almost insulting when he gives you a hundred pages of autistic diplomacy summits (for a conflict which is never brought up again) yet never bothers to revisit the hero's main party, despite the first half actually setting them up as complex characters.

>>21909407
You got filtered and missed the magnificent cosmology and climax as tight as a caduceus.

Almost half way through pic related. Pretty alright. Nothing special, but seems to be a nice coming-of-age fantasy adventure. The wise tentacle rape robot is a bit of a weird choice.

>>21909028
>audiobook
>lit

Tales from the Flat Earth. Yay or no? I heard there's a lot of sex in it.

>>21909414
Gemmell is YA?

>>21909514
Those were the elements I liked the best, especially the ending chunk. If the entire thing had been romanticized battles and chivalry and traveling between realms it would have been a genuine masterpiece.
What filtered me was
>the angrborn politics in their entirety
>the fire elf girls and Setr subplot
>Able randomly switching between a jaded hero and a dumb manchild
>various side characters getting interesting introductions then just standing around for the rest of the book
>motherfucking Gylf, Mani, and Cloud getting shrugged off in the end
It just felt like a lot of wasted potential, with Wolfe zeroing in on what interested him instead of fleshing out elements that would actually make a satisfying story about a wizard knight.

>>21909517
Now read Lord of the Isles for the real David Drake fantasy kino

>>21908871
Anyone here read the Runelords by David Farland? The premise and plot sounds a bit autistic but not in a bad way

>>21909612
That was my plan. I wanted to test the waters with a stand alone novel to see if I might enjoy a longer series from him.

>>21909644
I read like 4 of them before dropping. I think only the first one was good though. He taught Sanderson a bit and Sanderson wrote about him when he died.

>>21909656
Yeah, I know Farland has a good rep of being a coach for a lot of sci-fi and fantasy authors but I've never read anything from him. Are they worth reading just for the experience or nah?

graphic audio is kinda good, bros.....
if only they do Wheel of Time.

>>21909598
I keep cancelling this post because it's hopeless. But if you ever reread, watch the framing more than the framed. Able grows through his fantasy, transcends it, then must sacrifice himself in this world to make it real. It's not chunky and random but pure and clear.

>>21909727
I like audiobooks, but no thanks to graphic audio. I want a reader reading the writer, not a staged interpretation.

>>21909294
>As big as a dragon
Big if true

>>21909294
I think George actually will release Winds of Winter and fans will at least get an okay-ish conclusion to the main plotlines. He's not in great health, but has enough money to literally replace organs one by one as they fail, and he's only 74. My bet is that WoW comes out, then fans get a wounded version of Spring which is mostly the author's vision, even if editors and assistants have to fill in the cracks.

>>21909798
I appreciate the reply even if you think I'm a plebeian. When I read the ambulance dream and references to the "real world", I couldn't piece together enough of his "real-world life", and could only take the obvious interpretation that it was some sort of dying dream.
What do you mean by "sacrificing himself in this world"?

I guess I need to give it a reread at some point, there were a lot of things I picked up on (Berthold in particular) but couldn't really piece together.

>>21910036
>author of the previous book in the series
Good to know.

>>21908871
>Buddy Cop Edition
What are some good buddy cop sffg books?

>>21910088
I can't say, because it would be a spoiler.

I won some $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble, but I've been a rut for new books since reading Prince of Nothing and Terra Ignota. I need well-written fantasy/sci-fi bros. Give me recs.

>>>/jp/43208952

>>21908871
Any good 'Progression' fantasy or sci-fi?

>>21910459
take your pick from all those chinese cultivation novels

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123859623-the-rascor-plains
devilchads... how woke is it

>>21910088
Unironically mistborn era 2

>>21910276
Time to read Gene Wolfe.

>>21910465
Only good one i know of is warlock of the magus world, you will have to be more specific.

>>21908871
Ooh myy....

>>21910536
Is it actually good or are you trying to be the new King poster?

Just started this book, I’m enjoying it a lot more than Dune so far. The guy is a master wordsmith, his prose are not a joke.

>>21910567
enjoy it if you like it I guess

>>21910559
nta but it is very good but probably not for everyone. the prose is very stylised, the world is a fictional europe with smatterings of magic powers, and the plot mostly involves lots of politics and the female mc using (bsdm) sex to steal secrets and manipulate the enemy. there are a lot of worse books that could be spammed.

>>21909294
He also said that he had 1,100 pages written and about 400-500 left to write, so not exactly three quarters. And that he was done with Tyrion and some other characters but "not even close to done" with others. This was all in Nov/Dec of last year.

>>21910559
mc gets fucked hard in all her holes by every villain the the story and then settles with the kind hearted celibate warrior monk and they only have sex in missionary because she's "no longer that kind of girl"

>>21910559
>>21910701
Its decent so far. Imagine GoT with more sex and bdsm. It feels like a book women would masturbate too but the political scape and intrigue are dope.
>>21910715
Literally me desu

>>21910727
>Imagine GoT with more sex and bdsm.
So putrid slop? Especially it's from a female perspective.

>>21910744
>being a prude
Cringe

>>21909294
That shit always blows my mind when I remember Erikson wrote ten Malazan books in under 12 years or so. Also wrote novellas in the meantime.

>>21910567
Best author I've never read.

>>21910567
neat covers

>>21910750
>reading the perspective of a female
Ywnbaw

>>21910727
>the political scape and intrigue are dope
this and the prose is amazing at setting the tone.

>>21910758
Ecplains why theyre so shit

>Everyone keep gushing about Better Served Cold
>It's somehow even worse than Last Argument of Kings.
Abercrombie gets worse with every book.

>>21910766
>demon in white
>ginger
aww come on, man

Give me 5 essential, must-read fantasy books/series that aren't the classics

>>21910769
Thank fuck.

>>21910811
I take back my insult, you can attend the function

>>21910818
No thanks, you seem like a massive faggot

>>21910833
Its not an option, you will be present.

/SFFG/ Recommendations:

Read Reverend Insanity, Lord of The Mysteries, Neuromancer, Hyperion, The Prince of Nothing

Also read The Wandering Inn, Between Two Fires, Mother of Learning, Cradle, I Shall Seal the Heavens, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Poppy War.

>>21910839
>cultishit
>shitrpg
>couple of token traditional literatures
into the trash it goes

>>21910854
Why do you respond to a bot?

>>21910774
nonsense. malazan is shockingly well-written. given the time frame erikson can REALLY write well or he he has someone revising the books for him.

>>21910810
- Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
- Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee
- The Witcher by Andrezj Sapkowski
- Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
- Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Not necessarily in that order.

>>21910758
>>21910904
I'll take full range Bakkerposting if it means that the Malazan shill goes and stays go.

>>21910919
is the witcher really that good... i always thought it was a meme rec

whats the point of reading all these dog shit fantasy shit when literally nothing comes even close to conan/ lotr

>>21910969
The books that are short stories are ok from what I remember are the first two. In no way shape or form would I consider The Witcher books the best of anything though.

>>21910956

>>21910971
Because not everything has to be the exact same thing even if you like it, anon.

>>21910919
>The Witcher
I heard the English translation was horrible

>>21910766
Did this guy use chatgpt to make these? Just seems like he fed it his top five sci fi books including dune and vorkosagian and called it a day

>>21910473
The vaguely referenced lesbian couple is still a thing that exists, one character we don't meet apparently goes by they/them pronouns, that's about it.

England has Tolkien
America has Branderson
Poland has Sapkowski
who does your country have?

Looking for some good Vampire / Vampire Hunter books besides the OG Stoker. Any recs? I really like the whole Castlevania series so something matching that vibe is what I am looking for.

I have read
> Stoker's Dracula
> I am Legend
> Monster Hunter International

I only read the first MHI. It wasn;t that memorable to me.

>>21911416
Seconding this, but emphasis on the Vampire Hunter part

>>21910532
Reverend Insanity

>>21911400
Uh, Cervantes and Becquer?

>>21911400
Bakker and Erikson

>>21911537
are we seriously pretending that Canada is a country (in the cultural sense)

>>21911416
The Golden is a quasi-detective story set in a Castlevania tier castle. Carmilla and The Pale Lady are very influential pre-Dracula kino, if not ott fantastical.

I am greatly enjoying The Dragonbone Chair

>>21907336

Well, /sffg/?

Okay b/lit/ches, I haven't read a lot of fantasy and want to start with something "easy" to read.
I'm between two series/books whatever.
The First Law and Mistborn.
You decide which one I go for.

>>21911660
>The First Law or Mistborn
The one that's all about cunts and arses and cutting throats in the woods.

>>21911684
So Mistborn? :^)?

>>21911660
sanderson sucks

>>21911694
Keep in my that my retarded ass watches anime, it can't really be that bad.

>>21911697
it's not the anime part, it's just poorly written. if you have not read much of anything maybe you'll like it

>>21911700
Last books I read were Count of Monte Cristo, The Plotters, Before the Coffee gets cold I and II and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

>>21911660
>The First Law
Reddit. Not even dark fantasy, just grimdark
>Mistborn
for teenagers and manchildren

>>21911660
I'll vote for First Law, but I haven't read Mistborn lol

>>21911707
Well I'm 32 and I want to read books with magic, so I guess I'm a manchild.
>>21911714
So far it's two votes for First Law and one guy insulting both.

>>21911660
First Law if you value time. Sanderson in audiobook, maybe x3 speed since he writes goyslop.
>>21911697
Anime is good actually. Sanderson is .. well, okay but nothing to write home about. I feel like the type of story he wants to tell would work better as a comic book than a novel...

>>21908871
Soulcatcher > Lady

>>21911734
The Lady is for me.

>>21911660
Abercrombie, Abercrombie, a thousand times Abercrombie.

Joe has many weaknesses as a writer, but he knows how to have a good time; and even when he's leaning on stock characters or advancing the plot by having people act like retards, there is always something entertaining to hold onto. He takes big risks with characters and builds the story around giving his mains a chance to ham it up. Glokta alone is better than anything I've seen in Sanderson. The second and third books are much better than TBI.

I struggle with Sanderson in genera (I'm halfway through book 2 of Stormlight) and I flat out fucking hated Mistborn book 1. It started as something innocuous which I saw as something kids might like, but by the end I wanted to throw it in the garbage. It spends the first hundred pages setting up a scenario, the next 300 meandering in bullshit and angst, then suddenly throws all that out with DeathNote levels of contrived 5D chess bullshit. You can try Way of Kings if you really want to, but please stay away from Mistborn.

>>21911660
Of those I've only read First Law and it's pure kino. I read it a year after LOTR, finding it to be a breath of fresh air, quite different, in a good way, to the more traditional epic fantasies. First Law has some really crisp and enjoyable voices, Bloody Nine and Glotka being two of the foremost, perfect for a grimdark setting. Abercrombie really shines with his morbid humor.

>>21911553
no, canada is a meme country with no culture

>>21910459
Pick your poison to go along with the Cultivation-Progression: harem, love story, stupid heroism or edgy? Will provide suggestions.

>>21911734
this art makes her look like my oneitis and it just kills me

>>21911804
Hey hey hey now
They have tons of culture
Diet upstate new yorker
Diet french
Diet midwestern
Diet californian
Chinese
Pakistani
: ^)

>>21911726
>x3 speed
Please explain how you do this, do you just sit down and close your eyes and focus? Theres no way you can do anything else and comprehend x3 speed at the same time.

>>21911879
Its how people read books without really reading them so they can say they have read them and tell you all of their opinions about it.

>>21911909
Its literally lolicore tier noise
I cant think about what i just heard, or ill miss what was just said. And thats with a book ive already fucking read.

>>21911812
surely there are better stories for progression then translation tier fictions?
>>21911468
I keep seeing it mentioned but thats mostly by a bot and the MC is a literal bug man...

>>21911917
Don't think - experience.

>>21911934
Experience what, alvin and the chipmunks?
Its literally too much information to experience asshole!

>>21911909
>>21911917
I have sped up books before to around 1.3 - 1.5, usually just slow narrators, but anything over 2 is literally incomprehensible if the narrator isn't talking like an Alzheimer patient.

The above post was probably bait, but I have seen reddetors and twitter zoomies mention listening at these speeds seriously.

>>21911928
My friend, these stories are forged in the minds of the Asians, and it's their uniqueness, mighty cranes atop daoist temples and terrific flying swords, that is the true pull.

>>21912001
1.3 - 1.5 is nice, i went up to 1.75 comfortably with 2.0 - 2.2 being my limit

MOTHERFUCKING 3???????
THESE PEOPLE ARE INSANE!!!!!

>>21911928
Reverend Insanity is the only good xiaxia, and Fang Yuan is the greatest hero and role model ever written, literally the opposite of a bugman.

>>21911928
>translation tier fictions?
There's some western-written ones, too. Cradle's pretty good. Very 'anime'-esque, but it's at least comfortable in being itself. It does not attempt to be more, and it does what it does pretty well.

>>21912001
Here's the thing: old school physical audiobook players (on tape) did have buttons that said x1, x2, x3 etc, which was just bullshit and really only corresponded to 110~150% speed. Zoomers don't know this and are legit forcing themselves to listen to the chipmunks because they think they are more retarded than ReaganFan1947 otherwise.

>>21911785
Third book is garbage it's literally just "I'M SUBVOOORTING" and only works as a comedy.

>buddy started reading gardens of the moon a few weeks ago
>he starts texting me shit about it
>notice he consistently spells a lot of the names wrong
>find out he's been listening to the audiobook
How much did he fuck up? I can't even comprehend trying to take on this series in audiobook form. I think I even remember Steven Erikson saying he can't do audiobooks.

>>21912391
I have experienced similar shit but with character names. One book, I forget which, I thought someone was talking about some other book until i realized that was how you spelled the name I had been hearing.

I think audio only isnt good for anything that gets too deep. Audiobooks for me are like popcorn movies. Something I can just sit back and enjoy without having to think to hard.

>>21910969
I liked the series a lot, but that's not the dominant opinion. Most people just enjoy the short stories (aka the first two books), while the rest isn't as well regarded.

>>21909028
So the audiobooks are lost? None of you wuxia faggets have a link?

>>21911734
Was Soulcatcher more of a schizo or more of a psycho?

>>21911346
>one character we don't meet apparently goes by they/them pronouns
there's nothing more in the english language I hate more than this

malazan
a
l
a
z
a
n

>>21912653
Sounds like some sort of cheese.

>>21912630
Isn't that a guy in a wig?

>>21908871
What fantasy works handle all-female races, be they actual Amazons or something else, well? What about examples from science fiction besides Asari from Mass Effect?

>>21910979
Erikson is THE MAN.

>One example of this can be gleaned from my own beginnings as a writer of fantasy, which I suspect was commonplace among my colleagues. In my youth, I sidestepped Tolkien entirely, finding my inspiration and pleasure in the genre through Howard, Burroughs, and Leiber. And as with many of my fellow epic fantasy writers, our first experience of the Tolkien tropes of epic fantasy came not from books, but from Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying games ... As my own gaming experience advanced, it was not long before I abandoned those tropes ... Accordingly, my influences in terms of fiction are post-Tolkien, and they came from conscious responses to Tolkien (Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series) and unconscious responses to Tolkien (Cook's Dread Empire and Black Company series).

>>21912589
What do you mean OR?

Why does Vance have so many secondary authorized sequels? Dying Earth, Demon Princes, Alastor all have sequels written by another writer. Is this common in sff?

>>21912972
>tfw no infinitely more powerful than you 500 year old sorceress demigod who could kill you by thinking it gf

>>21912268
only western rip off one i have been able to stomach is Beware Of Chicken. Defiance of The Fall is shit.
>>21912168
Isnt the MC reincarnated as a magical cicada or some shit?
I really cant into non human mc's.

>>21913066
Defiance of the Fall is a LitRPG that pretends to be a cultivation series and it fails as both.

>>21912298
>>21912023
You are weak. I've used x2 so often x1 is harder to understand for me and I frequently have to check to even tell I'm at double speed because I think I've accidentally set it to normal.
x3 is definitely doable, but depends entirely on the person speaking. People who have a lot of variation in their tones, who speak in bursts, etc... are difficult, whereas those with droning monotonous voices are perfectly clear. x4 is incomprehensible, but I think at that point it's also a matter of bitrate and artifacting, maybe with a specialized audio decoder it could be possible.
Music however cannot go above x1, and neither can comedy interestingly. No jokes land right at x2 and above, the timing is really specific.
I don't listen to audiobooks though, it's mostly podcasts and lectures for me, which have shitloads of dead air. I'd be willing to pay almost any price to cut a 10 hour lecture down to 2.5 hours. Though I also use skipping a lot so it's more like 10 hours to 1 hour.

>>21911917
I like lolicore

>>21913066
No, he uses a magical cicada to teleport his memories back in time by exploding. And he can only do it once every few years.

>>21913050
there's some basedchads like vance and lovecraft and some cringechads like eric flint who don't mind other people playing with their toys

>start story with basically an anthro gryphon
>later transform into just a woman with tiger stripes and wings
going by the cover didn't felt tricked, but can't avoid feel a little disappointed by having denied some good hmofa

>>21913091
Cebelius DOES go a bit more monstrous than some of the usual "monster girl smut" stuff at least where they're just like cat-girls. But still pretty basic.

>>21913069
>Defiance of the Fall is a LitRPG that pretends to be a cultivation series and it fails as both.
Reverse, DotF is a decent Cultivation story with a western flavour that masquarades as a LitRPG.

Dissonance does the same, albeit it mixes LitRPG with Xianxia much harder and drops xianxia setting almost completely.

>>21913050
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sequels_by_other_hands
They started doing that pretty much as soon as they came up with copyright. I think these days if you want to write paid fanfic you just make a Patreon.

>>21913105
Dissonance doesn't really have anything in common with xianxia besides "cores are a thing people have". And that's so omnipresent in these sorts of stories it's basically irrelevant to cultivation.

>>21912967
>Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series
>Cook's Dread Empire and Black Company series
WTF i love Malazan now?!?

I just finished Cradle vol 1. I was constantly wondering when it starts to get interesting. Then it ended.

It is in no way bad, but I can only read about a bumbling retard luck out in everything for so long. Also the sword girl is a Mary Sue.

>>21913130
Cradle has a bit of a problem with the early books where it almost feels like every two books should be a whole book. Sort of means that there's a book here and there that ends just kind of awkwardly midway through stuff.
>sword girl is a Mary Sue
What makes you say that?

>>21913069
Why do you copy other people's comments and post it pretending as if it was your views?
We both know you haven't read a page of that series to know shit.

>>21913153
I've read DotF up to... I wanna say book 4? It's not actually about xianxia or cultivation at all, because even though that stuff exists in-universe, nobody we're supposed to care about has anything to do with any of it. Instead we have Zac just sort of unga-bunga grinding his way up and constantly being told "Look eventually you'll hit a moment where you can't go any further" and it not mattering.

Yerrin is cute.

>>21913163
>Yerrin
Audio book only?

>>21912839
Great Alta Saga - Jane Yolen
A Door into Ocean - Joan Slonczewski
The Female Man - Joanna Russ
Holdfast Chronicles/Motherlines - Suzy McKee Charnas
Herland - Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Feminist utopian novel from 1915, Even if you are a /pol/tard it's a very interesting book.

>>21913108
>>21913105
dissonance is just a mash up of powersets that becomes embarrassing to read.

>>21913196
>dissonance
I can't read book 2 because he is somehow trapped in the shadow realm and needs to use the power of friendship with his fox raven to get out or some shit. I had to force myself through book one.

>>21910810
Spellsinger series Alan Dean Foster
Pern series Anne McCaffery
The Dungeon series Philip Jose Farmer
Redwall series Brian Jacques
Guardians of the Flame series Joel Rosenberg
anything by Raymond Feist

>>21913218
I generally like the series and book 2 is a baffling decision. It's a filler arc where NOTHING happens except "he gets out at the end".

bros give me a story with a tsundere love interest
i'm craving it

>>21913234
Codex Alera

>>21913234
Everyone is Tsundere in Wheel of Time
Belgariad

>>21913229
Which I why I haven't read it, nor do I think I will. I have to be pretty dry up on read to do that. And if I do complete it and what you said is try, I would drop the series and author.

>>21913268
Like, I don't LOVE the series overall, but I find it just interesting enough to keep reading. I'm honestly surprised with myself that I kept reading it after book 2, because it has nothing meaningful happening with regards to character development or plot progression.

>>21911660
I've read every Mistborn/Stormlight book and I just finished the second First Law book before opening this thread to talk about it.

It's a preference for how you like your fantasy, really, if you want anime-adjacent bullshit with people flying around and doing magic fucking constantly you're looking at Mistborn, while if you want a more grounded, character-driven story, you want First Law. Although they're both marketed as dark fantasy Mistborn still never goes past PG13, while First Law is much less afraid to get pretty fucked up.

Plus, as other anons have said, Glotka and Logen Nine-Fingers are two of the best characters in contemporary fantasy right now.

>>21913272
Thanks. You just put in the last nail in that coffin. Series DROPPED.

Any books like Ultima Underworld?

I took the plunge and bought them. I am ready

>>21913234
First response got it, Codex Alera

>>21913474
Jealous.

>>21913474
Nice. I'm planning to jump in on the Kane meme soon myself.

>>21913474
Godspeed anon

>fat ojisan that isn't a piece of shit
Why is it so hard to find good fantasy stories with a protag like this?

>>21913707
Because fat people are evil

>>21913234
Familiar of Zero
>back when isekai could still be good

>>21913823
>back when (2004-2011)
What did he mean by this

>>21913830
2004 was 20 years ago

>>21913474
based

Started the second Mistborn book and it's kind of a slog so far. Does the series get better?

The first book was cool because it introduced the magic system and they had an overwhelming task in front of them. Now it's just...meh. There's an army that's about to attack the city, but there's just no sense of urgency there. Vin is experimenting with a new alloy metal and there's a mysterious "Watcher". Oh, and she has a dog side-kick that talks and carries extra vials. Lots of snorting and rolling eyes during boring dialogue. Seems like a generic fantasy anime to me now...

I'm guessing the Big Bad is going the get introduced now? Whatever the Lord Ruler was keeping at bay.

>>21913858
The first era peaks with the first book. Second era's generally better.

>>21913858
Yeah, the 2nd and 3rd books are boring slogs and made me never want to read another Sanderson book.

When I was a kid I read this YA coming-of-age novel about a futuristic, F-Zero style racing league. I remember loving it and wanted to give it to my nephew to read as he likes Star Wars and cars. Just cannot remember the name..

> First German Character
> Actively gasses civilians
Wtf, no one told me The Wandering Inn was based?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgBhqDeryRA

>>21913838

>>21913707
>>21913707
Thraxas is a highly regarded citizen of impeccable character and conduct who is worth his weight in gold at the races.

>>21913858
The second book ia notoriously badly paced, it does get fixed in the third book.

>>21914101
It does not. The third book is like 90% "everything sucks and nothing's getting better" until the end.

I've just begun Titus Alone, and am surprised at how much Peake references Boy in Darkness in subtle ways. Is it assumed that the hellish events of that novella were a dream/nightmare for Titus, or did it really happen as written with all the monsters and blood-letting?

>>21914154
Thats not what anon was talking about retard. Thats you not liking the setting and story, not a pacing issue

This is an incredibly bad book. King has no idea what makes a fantasy novel good and is a total retard when it comes to world building. Can’t believe I bought this book. Used. At goodwill. Waste of money.

>>21914278
I think most people will tell you that the series gets good starting with the second book

>>21914284
I have to buy two books to get into a series. That sucks.

>>21914341
Then don't read it.

>>21914341
>>21914278
>buy
Do anons really?

>>21914366
A dollar at goodwill KEK you can fish that kind on money out of the sofa

>>21914374
>buh its cheap!
Ive never understood this cope. Free is still cheaper.

Someone hear mentioned castle town a while ago and for some reason I decided to download it. This seems more degenerate than viewing porn somehow.

>>21913838
And yet I was born in 2004 and am only 18, curious!

>>21913117
DAS RITE

Also, thick Tattersail.

>>21913838
>>21914415
FALSE. It's 2022 you absolute retards.

i'm reading the sequel series to first law, age of madness i think it's called. it was getting real fucking cringe how abercrombie had every character gush on about how great women are and how every female character is so much better and smarter than all the men.
but i'm at book 3 now and when a character gave birth to baby twins and fucking abercrombie actually made the male baby be the more incompetent baby, i actually laughed out loud

>>21914488
Gynophilia is rampant and revolting as usual.

Chrysalis by RinoZ

[Summary]

Anthony... has died. Luckily for him, a wizened old voice informs him that he has been reborn on the world of Pangera - a planet of humans, monsters, and litRPG rules. He quickly learns that he's been reborn as a monstrous ANT, trapped in a dungeon beneath the surface. Separated from his colony and lost on one the dungeon's top floor, it takes all of Anthony's cunning just to survive. Luckily the transition to a new body comes with a certain awareness of how to use it - a call to kill other monsters, consume their biomass, and EVOLVE.

After learning that each species he consumes grants a single point of Biomass, Anthony is able to evolve different appendages. Changing his eyes so their visual range is closer to that of a humans, enhancing pheromone glands, strengthening his carapace to withstand blows. The possibilities are endless but Anthony focuses on being the 'all-arounder' and invests evenly across his new body. If only the process didn't itch so much, causing him a horrific sensation each time he advances his physical form.

As Anthony matures his form and develops his Skills within the dungeon, he also accrues levels. Upon reaching level 5 he's provided the ability to evolve, though the options are few to begin with. Killing other monsters also divests them of a core, which can be used to create a magical core for yourself. Anthony quickly takes to the idea of being a magic ant and begins developing the practice early on in the story. Though the process is satisfying and becoming capable of surviving humans, terrifyingly large crocodiles, wolf-snake hybrids, and the sort is fulfilling but Anthony has a goal...

Find his family and serve the queen because ants fucking rule.

[Final Thoughts]

Very directly inspired by Dungeon Crawler Carl's pet system, particularly Princess Donut and Mongo. While the story and characters are nothing to write home about, the system is expansive and interesting. The different flora and fauna that the author comes up with are engaging and I actually experienced some hype when Anthony underwent evolutions. I undersold how expansive the skill system is, alongside the evolutions of different monsters but both have equal amounts of depths. Skills like Bite, Dig, and Sneak can all be leveled up to 5 and then evolve into a more focused version such as Crushing Bite, etc. The limb evolutions vary greatly too from simple offense and defense options to classic cultivation tropes like 'collect mana each time you impact the ground'.

There are a LOT of reused jokes and Anthony as a character doesn't grow very much until his second evolution, with the story (at least on audible) carried by Jeff Hayes' narration (same guy as Dungeon Crawler Carl, if that's any indication). Everything is presented very lightly and the story is tremendously easy to follow. If you told me this was a Young Adult LitRPG I would believe you implicitly. That said, perfectly serviceable entry level series.

7/10

>>21914548
Still reading Human Emperor, got sidetracked after hearing about NetGalley and picking a few books up there. Listening to Worth the Candle on Audible and it's damn good. I've also read a manga called Shut Hell that's pretty much a transmigration Wuxia, can't recommend it enough.

>Lord of the Mysteries by Cuttlefish – 9/10
>Dungeon Crawler Carl Series by Matt Dinniman - 9/10
>Cradle Series by Will Wight - 8/10
>Mother of Learning Series - 8/10
>Ave Xia Rem Y by Mat Haz - 8/10
>All The Skills by Honour Rae - 7.5/10
>Iron Prince by Bryce O'Connor and Luke Chmilenko - 7/10
>Chrysalis by RinoZ - 7/10
>Forge of Destiny by Yrsillar - 7/10
>A Thousand Li by Tao Wong - 7/10
>Retribution Engine by Akaso - 6/10
>Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer – 6/10
>Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe - 6/10
>Wandering Inn by Pirateaba - 6/10
>Virtuous Sons by Ya Boy - 6/10
>Bastion by Phil Tucker - 6/10
>Heaven's Laws by Apollos Thorne - 6/10
>I Shall Seal The Heavens by Er Gen - 5/10
>Reverend Insanity by Gu Zhen Ren - 5/10
>Soulhome by Sarah Lin - 5/10
>Soulship by Nathan Thompson - 4/10
>Azarinth Healer #1 by Rhaegar - 3/10
>Reincarnation: Threads by Michael Head - 3/10
>Portal to Nova Roma by JR Mathews - Dropped
>He Who Fights Monsters by Shirtaloon - Dropped
>The Elevation Chronicles by Captain Capslock - Dropped
>Last Ship in Suzhou by Lungs - Dropped
>Defiance of the Fall by J.F. Brink - Dropped

>Still Reading (Cultivation)
18. The Human Emperor
19. Way of Choices by Mao Ni
20.

>Still Reading (LitRPG)
12. Worth the Candle
13. Battle Mage Farmer
14. Re-Start (Level Up Series)
15. Dissonance
16. The Primal Hunter
17.
18.
19.
20.

>>21913858
no stop wasting your time please. i'm not even a sasnderson snob but don't waste your time finishing the mistborn trilogy. it isn't worth it cause you get to the end and it's like "wow I read that elementary shit for little payoff endings."

>>21913234
Wheel of Time is a buffet of tsundere.

>>21910969
There the lowest on my list of five, but still very good. Mostly because of the characters and their relationships, most of the series is just very well written dialogue. While the plot is forgettable, the characters are iconic, and for good reason.

>>21912967
I hope he doesn't define his work as being in opposition to Tolkien.
It's usually not a good sign, or at least it means that author might be insufferable.
Tolkien did his own thing and he did it well and I have to say that new fantasy authors can't really replicate him well, but I guess that's because they are not professors/academics that are into Beowulf and whatever else Tolkien was into.

>>21914578
>NOOOO ITS NOT A HAPPY ENDING WAAAAAAAA!!!!!

>>21912972
A Pitiless Rain when?
But it's probably going to be disappointing for us Soulcatcher fans.

>>21914399
>castle town
By Anya?
>more degenerate than viewing porn
How so?

>>21910969
I have read them long time ago, I think I also liked those short stories better.

>>21914711
>He hasn't read Malazan

Lmao

>>21914762
Dude i can appreciate nice shilling, but youre laying it on a bit thick

>>21912967
Erikson goes crazy with his worldbuilding, but he also has a tendency to spout liberal, humanistic garbage from time to time with no rhyme or harmoney from the lips of random cast members. Dude has the subtlety of a trainwreck, and for all his knowledge of anthropology is representation of polytheism is painfully marvel-like and modern.

>>21914863
It's kinda weird when you think that most norse people didn't care much about Odin.

>>21914870
Malazan is a very, very well done DnD-like setting, with DnD-like gods and overly long history. While it has genuinely good stories within, it ultimately suffers from the same modern presuppositions and vices that make DnD feel artificial.
Ironically, I suspect people like Tolkien (that Erikson discards from his influences) had a better idea of the pagan ethos and worldview than Erikson.

>>21914564
Just wanted to say thanks for giving my fiction a shot.

>>21914894
> it ultimately suffers from the same modern presuppositions and vices that make DnD feel
Elaborate on this?

>>21914914
Which one is yours?

>>21914835
Obsessed
Ur reply literally had more words than mine

>>21914762
I have not. So what?

>>21914918
Lol, seriously though you should lurk longer before trying something like this. Youre making a lot of mistakes.

>>21914916
The presence of a completely modern, humanistic, western worldview that informs how the supernatural is ultimately understood: Gods lack actual trascendence and are largely just superpowered beings, without the symbological and properly mythical dimension that even the most base pagan deities had. There is no genuine mystery to it (beyond, perhaps, his tarot card system) and the result is a setting that despite its size, potential and actors ultimately lacks wonder.
The gods of Erikson feel small, petty, and not even in the poetic, even romantic sense the gods of the Illiad were petty. They are just...Grimdark dbz characters, or at least that's how I feel about them.

>>21914928
> Youre making a lot of mistakes.
Name one

>>21914917
One of the dropped ones, but the fact that he gave it a shot despite his favoring of cultivation ones was inspiring.

>>21914943
Breathing

>>21914954
>One of the dropped ones
PRETTY OBVIOUS WHICH ONE

I think somebody should purchase for me the Centipede Press Complete Kane. That'd be nice.

>>21914548
>Very directly inspired by Dungeon Crawler Carl's pet system, particularly Princess Donut and Mongo
Anon, I had a minor stroke reading that sentence. In what reality is that barebones pet 'system' from DCC similar in any way shape or form to Chrysalis? There are dozens, hundreds of stories where people have pets, and DCC is as shallow in that regard as it gets.

Moreover, Chrysalis predates DCC by a full YEAR. If anything DCC would be inspired by Chrysalis, but that's still not the case as there are next to none common ideas, aside from both them being LitRPGs.

>>21914894
>the not-point of Malazan isn't very good
>but incidentally Tolkien is the best at everything, even things that doesn't even exist in his writings

>>21915140
It's interesting how Tolkien has no religion in his fantasy story about pagan gods and angels serving a standin for the Christian God.

I am almost finished Titus Alone. Is it even worth reading the 4th one, gormenbros? I adored the first two, and the novella. Alone was saved by Peake's breathtaking prose, but overall far worse than what he did when he was in his prime/not dying from dementia.

>>21915152
Jokes aside, it is genuinely impressive that he was able to represent his christian ideals without including an ounce of christian theology into his books (silolmarillian doesnt count)

>>21915216
Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf all typify Christ.
Sauron is essentially killed by an act of God rather than any hero defeating him.

>>21915222
>typify
Christ does not own the "christ-like" archetype, despite what we have come to call that specific archetype. Indeed the christians took that archetype from earlier religions.

>Sauron is essentially killed by an act of God
Sauron was killed by hubris, how the fuck did you not understand this.

Whats the closest book to Bloodborne? Where the story starts out with beast horrors then as the story progresses it delves more into the realm of weird horror.

>>21915243
That was Sauron’s flaw, not what did him in, which was the ring being tossed in to Mount Doom or whatever but that anon is mistaking magic for an act of God. And is retarded also.

>>21915263
Lord of the Mysteries

>>21915273
>which was the ring being tossed in to Mount Doom or whatever
Anon i swear to christ. The ring INCIDENTLY fell into mount doom DUE DIRECTLY TO saurons influence over the holders of the ring.
It was literally hubris that did him in.

>>21915294
So you admit Sauron would not have been defeated had the ring not fallen into Mount Doom? No matter how it happened, it still happened, and without that act, Sauron would be alive today to Netflix and Chill.

>>21915298
Saying
>No matter how it happened
In regards to tolkiens writing should be a bannable offense

>>21915294
Literally God threw Gollum into Mt. Doom, as he promised he would when he spoke through Frodo the chapter before. Sauron isn't even near the equation of things.

anon what was the title of that again witna giant statue's head: it sould like man can gi wherever it meant to be/he want

anons what was the title of that book with a giant statue's head on the cover: title sound like "man/humanity can go wherever it meant to be/he want". It was sci fi i guess.

>>21915351
God (Eru?) spoke through Frodo? I think you mean providence anyway I don't remember that and last time i read lotr end was like first days of 2022.

>>21914963
Oh no, you foiled my brilliant subterfuge. Whatever shall I do?

>tfw finishing Lord of Mysteries
I'll miss Klein and Arrodes so much bros. I feel empty now.

Title: Hunger (Unbound #3)
Author: Nicoli Gonnella

After the shitty sequel to a surprisingly good book, the third instalment of the series is a mixed bag. At this point it's obvious the author writes filler as he breathes, most of the story is either raw combat or fluff, in disappointing amounts. It drives me crazy. I guilelessly started to skim at some point and don't regret anything. The books in the series are simply too damn long to justify reading them entire.

This is a 7.5/10 story that has been stretched 40% to arrive at barely decent ~6/10. An editor is sorely needed for this series to take a ruthless knife and start cutting the shit out of it. How long can I read about minor interactions or never-ending combat? How long will I be punished with those uninteresting side characters? Considering the story's unveiling its true genre (Cultivation/Xianxia with strong western influences), I'm lowkey convinced the incessant presence of two young female characters that constantly drool or flirt with the protagonist is the sign of a harem, somewhere in the future of the series. There's simply no other explanation for this shit.

Believe, there's a great story and progression under all of this filler. It could truly be the next great LitRPG Progression/Cultivation, one to rival Cradle, if the author got his shit together. Alas, it is not to pass, as from what I read the situation barely gets better in the future.

Such a shame. Even the overpowered MC is written in a way that makes it not an issue/desirable to see. Low expectation for Book #4 Fury, but I will at least skim it. Book #3 is an improvement over the second book, but only in certain regards.

[I still recommend reading at least the first book, it's great and relatively self-contained enough to read and walk away satisfied after touching only the first book in the series. It might not be worth your time to go beyond that.]

Rating: 6.25/10

>>21909565
It's erotic without coming across as tacky or needlessly smutty. Not amazing, but it's got some fun ideas and all the stories are short enough that if you're not enjoying the current one it'll probably be over pretty soon anyway

>>21915315
And yet, the ring DID fall into Mount Doom and that is what finished Sauron. You know it. I know it. Frodo felt it deep inside him.

>>21914863
problem with what you're saying is it reads like "I want my characters to be one note, preferably archetypes". if anything erikson's characters HAVE subtlety.

> muh pagan
> muh christ
kys. Malazan is prolly the most anti-religion fantasy there is.

What are books about ordinary detectives investigating supernatural events?
Preferably not something that has been adapted into a movie (Angel Heart, Wolfen).

>>21912967
>Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series
>well yuo see, i read thomas covenant and i was inspired to write my own series of 10 dreary miserable pointless doorstops that go nowhere
t. malazan man

Why do Tolkienfags deify him. He is just popular because he got pushed and consumed , highlighting " the "epic" fantasy worldbuilding autism in the 20th century; and taking inspiration from folklore and religion doesn't elevate his works imho.

>>21910969
The Witcher short stories are pretty much objectively very fun, and like the other anons said even in the later books the characters and their banter are enjoyable. The plot goes to shitter like holy fucking hell, tho. I still consider it a "must read" because of it's rather significant cultural presence, and due to how shitting on the series is fantastic at triggering the P*lish.

>>21915675
A curious thing is that for all of the series' reputation of "just good ol' straightforward fantasy like it's used to be done", the entirety of the written Witcher is just one endless succession of SUBVOOOORZHIONS.

They are very simple and straightforward subversions though, all of them going like "well you expected X, but it's actually Y, kinda obvious in hindsight really" instead of being masturbatory fart-huffing.

>>21910919
> Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee
Is it really as good as people say? I was dying for some good yakuza/mafia related content a while ago

>>21914894
>>21914916
>>21914933
I don't even mind modern morality or lame-ass gods in Malazan. What I found the most off-putting is that every single fucking character is a DnD character that his player is trying way too hard to seem cool with way too much backstory, while the plot develops like a DnD campaign where the GM is trying his best at wrangling this gang of edgelords towards something they'll find appealing. Absolutely nobody acts like an actual human being, and all the human dealings and issues are constantly pushed to the background for the sake of these snowflakes performing out their 8deep12u drama.

>>21915707
i wish i had quit the series forever as soon as anomander rake was introduced. i wasted so much time i could have spent on reading better books

>>21915667
It's the deep christian themes expressed through a WWII facsimile (i.e. directly contemporarily applicable) that makes LotR great. Anyone saying it's the worldbuilding (or god forbid characters) that makes it great is a manchild.

>>21915667
>Why do Tolkienfags deify him
That's easy: LotR is just very good.

>He is just popular because he got pushed and consumed
>and taking inspiration from folklore and religion doesn't elevate his works imho
True. That's not at odds with LotR being very good. Simple as.

Hey /sffg/, I'm looking to complete my Tolkien collection of books and I'm just looking at the stuff that's been more recently published like Children of Hurin, Fall of Gondolin, Beren and Luthien, Unfinished Tales and Fall of Numenor, they sort of confuse me, because I thought all this material was more or less in the Silmarilion. Do they actually add some previously unpublished writings from Tolkien or not?

>>21915667
I don't deify him, in many ways I'm very much opposite of Tolkien, but I respect him.
But I guess I'm not a Tolkienfag then.

>>21914914
Reckon you're Captain Capslock? I left a full review in a previous thread on the exact Whys and where you could improve it. Keep at it.

>>21915002
Poor wording and poor explanation, my mistake. The way that interactions are written between Anthony and Tiny evokes that same frenetic energy as Donut and Mongo or Carl and Donut at the start of their series. Even the writing style's focus reminds me an awful lot of Dungeon Crawler Carl's characterization. The attempts at comedy too. It seems that the author of DCC and RinoZ has some minor connection because he's reviewed his books (as Princess Donut).

I let that lead my expectations. Interesting that Chrysalis beat DCC to publication though.

>>21915002
The more I read that anon's reviews the more I think he has a weird idea of where things came from. I remember he mentioned something in a cultivation story seeming straight out of Cradle, when Cradle is basically just a western fantasy story in a cultivation coat of paint. It's one thing to say it reminds you of something, it's another to say something was clearly inspired by/lifted from something.

>>21915430
>two young female characters that constantly drool or flirt with the protagonist is the sign of a harem
I'll head this one off, at least. He has one girl who's a sort-of love interest, the other girl is just a friend. As of the most recently-published book, literally nothing has happened on the romance front because Felix still feels weird because he's technically a 30-something guy and Vess is 20-odd.
It's very tiresome because it's a stringing along of nothing, either just do it or stop bringing it up all the time.

>>21914564
You gonna give Bastion's sequel a read sometime soon? Be kind of interested to hear your thoughts. I thought it was overall better than Bastion but suffered from a lot of the same problems it did.

>>21914548
>>21914564
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>21915430
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>21915845
Once I finish Worth the Candle and Human Emperor, I plan to read through Rascor Plains and the newest Mistborn book. Think the last Cradle book comes out in another month or so too. My backlog just keeps growing.

>>21915864
Gonna give Will Wight's new book a try, too? Doesn't really slot into progression fantasy or anything like that at all, but I enjoyed it.

Im just waiting for the next Halo book.

Title: Fury (Unbound #4)
Author: Nicoli Gonnella

I think that's it. I'm done. This series has a lot of genuinely good ideas and writing going for it, but the mountain of fluff, unending combat and overcomplicated plotlines filled with barely not off-putting characters finally broke me. Too much unearned power, edge-of-knife situations, the protagonist almost dies every other battle. No matter what is thrown at him he just becomes stronger, things that should have pasted him instead merely fuel his growth. This is cultivation madness...at its worst.

I repeat what I've said earlier today in the review of book #3, there's great book hidden beneath it all. If only the author cut a bit, get rid of all the fluff. If he tightened up the story, decreased the number of characters and adjusted the protagonist's growth to something more reasonable.

Alas, it is not to be, and I'm tired searching for the good bits. Numbers going up don't get the blood going if they go up each time the protagonist as much as sneezes.
It's not a bad story, but its length is a flaw all on its own. Believe me, I read The Wandering Inn yet I have felt annoyed at the length of the chapters or the story as a whole only few times over the last few years because the author could write paint drying on a wall and still make it compelling and entertaining. Gonnella can make the important parts great, but everything else drags terribly.

I had enough. I have other stories to read, stories that respect my time and patience while keeping the quality. A pity, it could be something grand.


Rating: 6/10
[Not going to read any more books from the series. Still recommending reading the first and only the first book.]

>>21915529
>"I want my characters to be one note, preferably archetypes"
Never said or implied such a thing. I am talking about gods.
>if anything erikson's characters HAVE subtlety.
They are largely the same badass oc archetypes or grim, grizzled soldiers with a few notable, very well-done exceptions. In any case, it sure felt like subtlety when a random, forgettable goth hardass girl ranted about capitalism in...Book 6? Book 5 I believe?

>>21915140
Anon, that Tolkien had no open religion in his setting doesn't mean the Valar, the elves and their dramas do not mirror the ancient pre-christian way of life and worldview, just baptized and redeemed by Tolkien's own catholicism. Erikson's gods seem like caricatures compared to that, even despite being more "human" and insanely powerful.

>>21914742
Yeah by Anya. Idk why maybe because I’m somewhat invested in the story and know the characters? Not sure

Anyone else read like half a book or series and then get busy and then a few weeks later cant get back into it and just drop it? I seem to do that a lot. Then a few months later I try again but now can’t remember the details but it’s also too fresh to start from the begging

>>21916133
That is why you take notes of events and the relationships between characters. I can resume my readings anytime, even 5 years from now.

>>21915991
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>21916117
Domestic Decay series felt somewhat more degenerate than Castle Town, better plot as well. For some reason I can't get into CT as well as into DD, maybe it's just the copy-paste formula not working for me the second time.

>“Children are dying." Lull nodded. "That's a succinct summary of humankind, I'd say. Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words.”
eriksonfags think this shit is profound and deep. fucking hell imagine reading this pseudo intellectual midwit dreck and thinking it interesting or smart

Guys, I need a rec for a fantasy story that follows the Hero's Journey model.

Preferably not too sexual. I don't like sex in fantasy.

You know, for all talk of Mistborn and Malazan, I never really felt myself being drawn to either of these series. What's their appeal?

Is Manwe the biggest chump-bitch in all of Arda?
> King of the Valar but has to get Tulkas to beat up Morgoth
> Likes the Vanyar best, what a fucking nerd
> So good he becomes retarded and literally cant comprehend Morgoth betraying him
> Sits around and does fuck all while Ulmo helps out the Elves and Men in Middle Earth
> Cant even be arsed to go over during the War of Wrath, gets Eonwe to lead the host of the West
> When Ar Pharazon lands he throws his hands up and surrenders his stewardship of Arda, gets daddy Eru to solve the problem and then fucks off

>>21915373
lol found it's fake penguin classic with a VonBraun (the rocket scientist) quote

>>21909644
>>21909667
i loved this series, the first four books are great. but starting with book 5 it completely goes off the rails

>>21916133
I've been trying to read the Doctor Who New Adventures on and off for about 20 years and have never gotten further than book 8 (of 61). This time, for sure.

>>21916216
codex alera

>>21916242
>What's their appeal?
peer pressure
t. fell for it and regret the months i wasted on malazan

>>21915833
>I left a full review in a previous thread
Thanks i didn't get to read it the first time. I get why you have the opinions you have and i respect them...mostly.

I accept dialogue is a weakness and if you were looking for more character development try starting at volume 2, though it does gt a bit confronting. One misconception I would like to correct is the the notion that i haven't read much of the genre. A lot of the choices i made when writing is because i have read so much of it.

You should also score Azarinth Healer and Beware of Chicken higher! And i intend to check out Lord of The Mysteries because you scored it so highly.

Thanks again for taking the time to read it and give an honest critique.

>enjoy a book enough that i want to get a physical copy
>all the editions in print have godawful covers
>the editions with the best covers are 30+ years old and either super expensive in a decent quality or cheap but falling apart
This keeps happening to me.

>>21916758
>love reading and re-reading a book I own a copy of since childhood
>now in my late 300s
>the book has become worn out
>all the copies I can find in bookstores contain that hideous mark that says "NOW A MOTION PICTURE" with shitty quotes on the front cover

>>21916242
Mistborn/Cosmere are superhero stories for teens who love video game-y magic systems. Malazan is a strange beast were decades or roleplaying serves as the basis for postmodern short fiction.

>>21916902
What's postmodern about Malazan? Genuenly asking.

>>21916758
I feel you.

>>21917063
kek WTF

>Lord Randyll is of the view that you might benefit from a good hard raping
How did someone so based father someone like Ser Piggy?

>>21917063
Looks like that Weirkey Soul Home series by that woman.

>>21917063
Lmao, that's so poorly photoshopped.

>>21915190
No its not worth it. Even the prose is gone.

>>21916117
That's what makes it good flr me, making you care about the characters and then the smut scenes feel more genuine, but then again i watch pov virtual sex porn videos with 40 minutes of build-up and 5 minutes of "sex" so what do i know?

>>21916242
Mistborn: Feet and jrpg
Malazan: butts and thicc ladies

>>21917392
Where does the Second Apocalypse series fall into.

>>21917408
Not that anon, but judging just by what I read about the series in this thread, I'd say rape.

>>21917408
Blacked seed.

>>21917369
Why are used up old whore so hot? I just want to mating press them

>>21917408
Gay rape and incest.

>>21917369
what's the scifi equivalent of this?

>>21917579
Heinlein

>>21917579
Anya Merchant has a few scifi series, "after the fall", EI:Erotic Intelligence and "Last Man Alive" all of them are post-apoc harem but the mom is always the main girl.

Title: Sunflower: The LitRPG
Author: D.M. Rhodes / Razzmatazz

[Story]
A Sunflower lived happily. Then suddenly it was all alone, just by itself. Weird. Then a girl came. She called the sunflower ugly and picked it up. The girl was running for her life. The Sunflower was rather confused by all of this, but it enjoyed the sun and being with the girl, even if sometimes it had to experience strange, novel things like traveling by a boat or fighting Goblins - it was all right though, after all, blood and bodies makes for a good sustenance when water and minerals are scarce.

[Review]
This...was a spur of the moment decision to read the story. I saw the first volume was complete, reviews were good and it was rather short. It's a strange story, told by a confused sunflower carried by a girl. Many events and descriptions are confusing...on purpose. For a story about a happy and life-affirming Sunflower the story gets rather grim, although there isn't that much gore. More existensial dread and slight horror with some amount of edginess.

The ending is...well, it's divisive. It annoyed me in many ways, and even if it was most likely planned from the start I feel played by the author. Using LitRPG genre for the story might not have been the best of choices, even though it works out in the end. It gets a bit repetetive around the middle, but is short enough for that not to matter too much. Not sure whether I'll read the second book after that ending.

Rating: 6.5/10

>>21915776
The 2000s and onward books should be the full stories that Tolk. left behind and not the condensed form of the Silmarillion: A thing I know more from hearsay than precise knowledge is that ChrisTolk when editing the Silmarillion had to first to understand what version of the stories put in (in theory the newer, most recent, more complete or whatever his dad said him to put in) and condense that. Some said (hearsay) that the inner lore of the Silmarillion are non-homogenous because they are different version quickly put togheter. Unfinished is similar to the Silmarillion but with less editing, trying to present the manuscript as is and not trying to create a homogenous story. Another thing is that I think JRR wanted to do "a Silmarillion" during his lifetime and part of it should have been part of lotr itself but it have reject for space and being too celtic. Take with a grain of salt pal eh. On my part I would kind of prefer to buy the history and people of Middle Earth but it's like a "literary study" on Tolkien and his mythos, I believe. So those 00's books, Hurin onwards, are like: He studied his father manuscripts for years and tried to put out something... how much genuine they are I cannot say but I'm not against them

New bread:
>>21917688
Bugman edition

>>21917683
Thank you for writing this post, anon, it helped clarify things for me.

>>21917673
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>21917063
Hieronymus Boschesque

>>21917392
> Malazan: butts and thicc ladies
Call me retarded but this might be the point that tips me over to giving Malazan a read

>>21916114
There's a huge power gap between a lot of the elder gods/ascendants in Malazan, especially in the time the books take place since there's little blood sacrifices/worship to most of them
Nightchills the first we see go in the books in gotm and she just gets blasted by tayschrenn

>>21916902
I like the Malazan world, it's well done and I enjoy the stories of relatively normal squads of normies trying to get shit done when there's all this end of the world god powers that can blast them to smithereens or portals that can open anywhere and unleash demon dogs onto them

>>21917392
>thicc ladies
how thick?

>>21914894
I hate when the pagan pantheon cares about "belief".

>>21918141
Very.

>>21918194
Do you mean moral philosophy or the gods caring about believers or what?

>>21918441
"Belief" wasn't really a thing. You could honor or dishonor them, but if you observed the ritual they didn't care what you thought deep down.