Recommended reading charts. (Look here before asking for vague recs)
https://mega.nz/folder/kj5hWI6J#0cyw0-ZdvZKOJW3fPI6RfQ/folder/4rAmSZxb

>Archive:
https://warosu.org/lit/?task=search2&search_subject=sffg

>Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1029811-sffg

>Previous:
>>24534288

>Thread Questions:
Are there any authors who managed to successfully continue/finish someone else's work?

>>24536347 (OP)
>tq
one and only. say thanks, wheel of time fans.

Last book you finished?
Current book you're reading?
Next book you plan to read?

>>24536350
How is SANDERSON any different to web novel slop? It’s just vidya games with bad prose slapped between it.

>>24536357
The Dunwich Horror
Rakesfall
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer

>>24536359
Sanderson doesn't write self inserts

>>24536357
>Last book you finished
The Black Company by Glen Cook

>Current book
Die Trying by Lee Child
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn

>Next book
Shadows Linger by Glen Cook
Imperium by Robert Harris

>realised the Skin Eaters agreeing to slog to Sauglish was unrealistic
>still surprised Kellhus was monitoring Achamanian the whole time
I kneel
The second series is a lot better than the first btw. Judging Eye and White-Like Warrior are pretty easily better than any of the first trilogy

>>24536364
>>24536365
bros...

LitRPG = anime and vidya games and poor writing style
That’s all Sanderson is. >>24536363

>>24536364
>The Black Company by Glen Cook
thoughts?

>>24536364
>auto-play on

>>24536347 (OP)
So is anything from this year's Hugo worth checking out?
https://www.sfadb.com/Hugo_Awards_2025

>>24536384
I thought all the setpiece parts were very fucking cool. Staking out Limper and Whisper And the whole squad is awesome, especially Silent.
>Fixing an arrow for Limper, with his true name on it
Also, Soulcatcher is my girlfriend

>>24536390
if there are any decent nominations they are entirely accidental. tchaikovsky is just the token white male candidate because he shits out so many novels per-year, for example.

>>24536390
I like the tainted cup. At some points it was a little too "Gotcha!" but was still a nice, light read

>>24536390
reddit has bene doing their usual read along

>>24536416
It’s better than half the shit people post here like Bakker and Sanderson.

>>24536416
I heard Tchaikovsky wrote a book similar to the original alien film, is that the one? He writes like 2 or 3 books a year so I'm confused

>>24536347 (OP)
I thought GGKay did a good job with the fall of Doriath.

I started GGK with A song for arbonne and the main character has sex with every female character of importance in the book. I heard all of his books are like this. Kinda cool

>>24536357
>Citadel
>Urth
>Litany

>>24536357
>The Unsettled Dust (Aickman collection)
>The White-Luck Warrior
>The Unlimited Dream Company

>>24536462
You enjoying Gene Wolfe?

>>24536416
for such a well-read bunch, how come redditors seem to lack critical thought?

>>24536490
They just skim or listen to audiobooks.

>>24536490
Herd mentality

>>24536494
It affects 4channers just as much

>>24536496
True

Whoever did the casting for that Wheel of Time show needs to be shot.

>>24536503
>Slop getting slop treatment
Like pottery

>>24536496
Not really. Your opinion won't get downvoted to hell around these parts. Even getting banned here effectively means nothing. Say something the echo chamber doesn't like on Reddit and no one will see your posts.

>>24536511
4chan doesn't have free speech. Kek. And most people just regurgitate the same talking points.

Damn, Esmenet looks like THAT!?

>>24536357

I tore through SA Cosby’s “King of Ashes” after bouncing off of Pynchon.

Looking for a new book. I have The Devils on the shelf but haven’t read it. Might check out the Tainted Cup.

I fuck with Stephen Graham Jones but honestly he can be hard to read in a meandering, ADD type way.

>>24536515
I never said free speech, anon. Core difference between the two sites is here you can call someone a faggot and they can call you one right back.

>>24536548
You have the mind of a 15 year old child

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1023.Best_Strong_Female_Fantasy_Novels none of these are actually good, right?

>>24536572
mistborn is such a polar bear on that list

>>24536598
i feel like if you could download the list and edit everything made after the 00s at the very least there's probably some diamonds in the rough there

but everything after that is like fae court/vampire/angel bullshit or bad women writers doing Rey Skywalker with typical sci-fi/fantasy tropes and not understanding them

>>24536572
From what I can see, that list is less girlbosses and more whatever people considered well-written female characters. It's a mess though, that term has been so overused it's lost all meaning and it's too broad anyway.

>>24536390
looking at some of these made me realize tchaikovsky literally ripped off murderbot down to the jokes and turns of phrase and is up for a hugo, which murderbot also won, but is written by a woman, but that has stopped writing and might not finish the series because she's dying of cancer. I don't know if it's scummy, shameless or based.

>>24536347 (OP)
So what Kellhus believed was the "thousand-fold thought" was actually the "seeing the future thing" that whiteluck warriors see in their minds?

>>24536647
Nothing based about that.

>>24536650
Idk murderbot goes off the deep end on leftists talking points. The novella touches on them incidentally but in a very tolerable manner and even portrays some of it as ridiculous. By the current book, what was an interesting premise on budding consciousness in a robot is utterly mired in identity politics, to the point where basically every single new character introduced is of color or queer in some way, from just being gay (this is the most normal) to being genderless, aro-aces, always colorfully changed in some way or just hit with the diversity stick. The most offensive, to me personally, is when by book 2 or 3, can't recall, pronouns were introduced as part of the communication systems that people use. This means that murderbot sees the pronouns and "respects" them as it is a robot and have no gender or opinion on it, which is a thin excuse to have neopronoun use in a novel and reading about how a character with ter pronouns help murderbot rescue ter crew and ter romantic interest while having to look for clues of ter betrayal of ter friends is just very very annoying, personally.

Sometimes it feels so forced, so nonsensical and exaggerated that I almost, almost think it's done as satire, which is how, fooling myself, I've managed to get through all those bits. That said, those bits aside, I was surprised at how solid the series was. It's enjoyable with good action balanced with introspection, an interesting main character that changes in a way that is internally consistent with itself while also clearly evolving. Side characters are balanced and neither too girlboss-y or utterly unnecessary and accessory. I think the show, while creating completely original sideplots, manages to make the humans comedic, in regards to their gender stuff, which makes it easier for me to pretend that it's all in satire. But it isn't. I'll keep myself deluded.

>>24536548
>He can't substitute one insult for another
skill issue desu

>>24536572
>Hetslop
It's trash

>>24536390
>>24536416
I suppose you could always check out the free short stories. They're not much a time investment.

>>24536647
tchaikovsky is generally weird. he puts out so many novels of varying quality I suspect he has a ghostwriter.

>>24536671
>>24536515
>>24536496
>>24536500
Honest question, do you actually not see the difference between systemic conformity and social conformity?

>>24536786
>systemic and Le social
The point of art and literature is to be a rugged individual and to accept any ironies about that.

>>24536786
Don't care. Those sound like cuck terms and cuck concerns.

>>24536649
No, it was more like the golden path in Dune.

>>24536810
>>24536813
Exhibit A, responses that would be suppressed and you would be punished for on reddit.

>>24536865
You might be genuinely unhinged if you can't go a conversation without insulting someone.

>>24536871
...Okay?

>>24536357
>Last book you finished?
Baptism of Fire
>Current book you're reading?
Decided to take a short break from Witcher so now I'm reading Shadow of the Torturer
>Next book you plan to read?
Not sure. Might do another Witcher book. I'm at ch7 for Torturer and I'm quite liking it so far so I'll see when I finish what I feel like

>>24536357
>Last book you finished?
Golden Son. It was good
>Current book you're reading?
Morning Star. It's okay so far
>Next book you plan to read?
Probably going to not jump right into the next RR book and pick up a fantasy book instead as a palette cleanser. Something a bit more cheerful

>>24536464
Yeah, it's a masterpiece

>>24536347 (OP)
Has anyone read All Tomorrows by chance? My son, of all people, was the one that brought it to my attention. Not sure how he found it, probably while stumbling through some YouTube rabbit hole. He's an avid reader himself, though at 12 he has yet to get as deep into certain genres as I have. Anyway the book has an interesting premise at least.

>>24537166
Why in the ever living fuck does your 12 year old have unrestricted youtube access?

>>24536357
>Echopraxia
>Axiomatic (the collection not the individual story) by Greg Egan
>lolidk

I AM A BLINDOPRAXIA LORE SAGE
I HAVE WATTS' ECHOPRAXIA AMA UP IN ANOTHER TAB AND KNOW MORE ABOUT BLINDOPRAXIA THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THE THREAD
PLEASE ASK ME QUESTIONS ABOUT BLINDOPRAXIA I WANT TO TALK ABOUT BLINDOPRAXIA I WANT OMNISCIENCE I WANT OMNISCIENCE is this how Bakkerfag feels about HIS favorite canadian author? shame bad Watts shits all over Bakker.

>>24536496
This. 4chan is no different in userbase than any other social media outlet. What "critical thought" emanates from these threads? That isn't the same rote discussion of the same handful of books and authors with the same talking points by the same talking heads. Look at last thread's "RR discussion" yet not one single fucking post had more than about three sentences.

I finished Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon
A Darkness at Sethanon.

I don't want to write my usual tldr post, so I'll keep it short:
Silverthorn was good. It's front loaded with PoVs from secondary and tertiary characters from the first book. So it's a struggle trying to give a shit about these side characters. But once I was into the meat the story, I was able to appreciate the new PoVs, and enjoy.
The narrative managed to trick me. So kudos. I like when I'm misdirected in a purposeful way.
There were zombies.

A Darkness at Sethanon was also good. There aren't any new PoVs, so that's good. Makes starting out easier. This book managed to misdirect me even more. Good job.
The second half has a ton more magic. Honestly, this might be the most magical book I've read. The author didn't hold back. He pulled out all the stops. There's no magic system here. So characters just kind of do shit, and it's pretty neat.
There was a whole lot of info dumping about the world in the end. But I didn't mind it, because I was curious about everything. So I was happy to have many questions answered.

All considered, this riftwar series has been light pleasant reads. Nothing I'm going gush about. But good. Worth the read.

My original desire was to read the book that follows these four. Daughter of the Empire. I can finally begin that book. Yay. Though, now that I'm familiar with the author's writing style, my initial guess at what the book could be about, has completely changed. I'm expecting only another light pleasant read.

>>24536357
the darkness that comes before
warrior prophet
maybe fifth head of cerberus

i am enjoying the prince of nothing, but i cannot stand the sex scenes and any chapter with esme

>>24536404
>if there are any decent nominations they are entirely accidental.
That was Nettle & Bone last year, I think. Kingfisher sure is getting attention.

>>24537353
Be ware that Daughter of the Empire was co-authored by Janny Wurts and Feist. So it's not exactly his normal style, the emphasis on political intrigue and also how much more sexually charged the books are feels different from Feist's normal content in his Riftwar and related series.

I think the Empire books are probably the best thing he's produced, but if you do like Feist's style then I highly recommend the Serpent War Saga which is set some few decades after the events of the Riftwar, centering on the Kingdom. There are still a few recognizable faces kicking around Midkemia, but most of the cast are new characters.

There's a few novels set between the events of Riftwar and Serpent War as well, but they're not required reading if you just want to get into Serpent War. They're enjoyable enough also, if you wanna make time for them.

Just finished House of Chains. What did I think?

Honestly, I thought this was really good. As usual with Malazan there is a lot of fluff within it but the endings so far are 4/4 for execution. The ending with Tavore and Felsin really hit me. I was expecting a massive clash, a cleganebowl for the series but instead what I got was better and hit me harder. Felsin was a miserable cow in Deadhouse Gates but to see her story go the way it did was heartbreaking. She was abused and used and then at the end, just abandoned and it was made more tragic by her being killed by her sister, and her sister not even realising it was her.

Karsa's ending as well as brilliant. His journey from glory hunting rapist marauding bounty hunter to a man who has grown into the opposite and realises that mercy is the greatest thing he can give and vows to be the leader his people deserve. Such a great arc for him and honestly every bit of Karsa's story was enjoyable.


I say I'll take a break after every Malazan book because they're so big and time consuming, but I think I will just keep going on.

4/5 stars, good shit.

>>24537581
Next is Midnight Tides, one of the great filters of Book of the Fallen. Though most people filtered by it were already struggling with the series and it was simply the last straw for them. Personally, it's in my top 3 for Book of the Fallen.

>>24537605
I like to think I'm past the filter stage of the series now. If I could get through Gardens of the Moon, and enjoy it for what it was, then I should be ok. Is Midnight Tides like Memories of Ice where it brings back familiar characters and continues their story or does it do what half of House of Chains was, which is to introduce new characters and just roll with it?

>>24537616
>Is Midnight Tides like Memories of Ice where it brings back familiar characters and continues their story or does it do what half of House of Chains was, which is to introduce new characters and just roll with it?
The latter, only more-so. Everything is completely new / different in Midnight Tides. Huge new cast of characters, new location never even mentioned in earlier books although its been hinted at, even the magic and gods are different compared to everything else you've seen with one exception: The Crippled God makes an appearance, in person.

Some of my favorite characters in the entire series are introduced in Midnight Tides. It's also very tragic, though I would say not on the level of Book 3, or Book 2s ending.

>>24537639
Sounds interesting. I enjoy world building and exposition greatly which is why Memories of Ice has been my favourite so far, so hopefully these new additions help explain the wider world.

>>24537577
Already begun Daughter of the Empire. Strong first chapter. He actually made me feel something. Or "they", I guess. Since there's two of them writing this thing.

>more sexually charged
A Darkness at Sethanon ramped it up. Jimmy and Locklear being girl crazed. Martin and Briana.
But I suppose if you're noting it, then it's even more prominent in Daughter of the Empire. I'll see. A little more won't be a bother to me.
And as for Feist's normal style, I'm actually hoping the co-auther is able to enhance things. Hopefully two authors work better than one.

>>24537655
>so hopefully these new additions help explain the wider world.
It fills in some major, missing pieces in the history. And while it does start off totally disconnected from everywhere else, the new continent is very important going forward to the overall plot.

>>24537581
Midnight Tides is fun as fuck. Erikson said he wrote the Tiste Edur with the Lakota Sioux in mind. There's a character named the Warlock King. It's probably the most "complete" novel in the series from front to back with a satisfying beginning, middle, and conclusion.

>>24537669
Jimmy might be more of a typical teenage boy than Pug, but the content of the books is still very chaste in terms of what is actually described to the reader. Feist spares us from following Jimmy's adolescent conquests in any detail. The Empire books are a little more explicit and titillating in their descriptions, but just a little. I attribute it as much to the different focus and conflict as anything else.

It's also worth nothing that Feist is perfectly capable of being raunchy, as he is in other books he writes. He just kept Riftwar relatively clean, not doing more than innuendo and implications. Serpent War is a lot less restrained though, especially book 2.

>>24537581
COLD IRON
HOT IRON

>>24537581
Can't wait til you get to book 6 and get to experience Leoman's Wild Ride

>>24537255
>yet not one single fucking post had more than about three sentences.
First of all, that's objectively incorrect. Second of all, reddit systematically discourages thought.

>>24537738
The more I think back on the Bonehunters book the more I think what the fuck was Erikson trying. I'm kinda glad that we're going back to Seven Cities in his newest book.

>>24537767
>I'm kinda glad that we're going back to Seven Cities in his newest book.
I have absorbed the trauma of so many of his characters that "back to seven cities" has an inescapably ominous ring to it

>>24537771
Duiker walking through the rebellion camps Anthony Bourdain style at the beginning of Deadhouse Gates really sets it off for what's to come. Fiddler's journey at the start there too. I think it's the best continent in Malazan

>>24537720
btw, there are some odd details in the books that went nowhere.
1. Jimmy having the thought that he doesn't really care about the girl he was with, and that idea of detachment troubling him. It seemed oddly placed in the story. I suppose it was to contrast Locklear having a full breakdown over losing the girl he only knew for a short time.

2. Pug's unique house design. This house's design is mentioned a few times in all the books, and I'm not entirely sure why. But late in the story, Pug mentions that he was compelled by the unseen influence of Macros to design the house. That was bizarre and random.

3. When Pug comes into his power, he acquires a true secret name. One that if anyone knew, they could use it to gain power over him... Or something like that. I swear that was tacked on as just an old wizard trope. They did nothing with that.

>>24537730
That was such a great scene when the two are explained to Felisin, and she almost has a fit because she obviously knows the other one.

>Researchers Identify Four Autism Subtypes with Distinct Genes and Traits

>Autism has at least four subtypes, an analysis of more than 5,000 children’s genes, traits and developmental trajectories has shown

>>24537824
well?? what are they?

>>24537255
Is it possible for cute tomboy vampires with no qualia to find love with human men?

>>24537166
god damn I hope my son is that based in the future. You're lucky

>>24537775
>Bourdain, August 2011: "I look at Guy Fieri and I just think, 'Jesus, I'm glad that's not me.' You work that hard and there's not a single show of yours that you'd want to sit down and say, 'Hey, I made that last week. Look at that camera work. It's really good, huh?' I'm proud of what I do."

>Bourdain, September 2012: "I’m fascinated by the Guy Fieri terror-dome they just opened up. 600 seats, something like that? 600 seats. And a gift shop. And all of these poor diners, drives and whatever, douchebags waddle in there. First of all, he single handedly turned the neighborhood into the Ed Hardy district which I’m a little pissed off about..."

>Fieri, October 2012: “Everybody’s been asking me, ‘What on earth are you going to say at Bourdain’s roast? He’s been shit-talking your name everywhere.’ And I’ve been saying, ‘Don’t you worry about me. I won’t touch him with a 10-pole, because smack-talking Bourdain would be like hitting a piñata full of shit.’ Real messy. I want everyone to understand that I’m going to be the bigger man. I’m going to take the high road. I wouldn’t dare come up here and call Anthony Bourdain any of these things that people have called him: No-good, loud mouth, jerkoff, wannabe authority, pseudo rebel, nerd, shit-talking, blow hard, celebrity-seeking, Eric-Ripert coattail, Mario Batali ass-kissing hate monger... Jose Canseco of the food world, snaggle tooth, Lurch-looking motherfucker. No, I’m here to take the high road.”

>Fieri, October 2012: "Anthony, I gotta ask a question, why do you hate me so much brother? ... Is it because you went to a fancy culinary school and I didn’t? I hear you’re the only one in class who did most of his cooking with a spoon and a Bic lighter."

Just finished Golden Son

FUCKING JACKAL

>>24538034
Such a good book. Keep reading anon.

>>24538046
I will, I have to find out how Fitchner got caught.

You know, I'd say that having your villain literally quote Lucifer in his reveal speech sounds cliche as hell (heh) but PB made it work.
Also I liked how Roque gradually slips away from Darrow because he keeps monologuing to himself, "I'll explain things to him later" throughout the book until it's too late.

>>24538084
He’s a horrible little cunt, so that speech is fitting. I do like thought that he was constantly telling Darrow not to trust him in a wink wink way but was openly being a duplicitous troll. He’s well written and not even the best villain in the series.

Darrow made mistakes and you can read on and see whether you think Roque was one of them. People are divided on him.

>>24538096
It's weird because Jackal tells Darrow not to trust him, Augustus tells him not to trust him and Mustang also tells him not to trust him. However neither Mustang nor Augustus have solutions for dealing with him. Augustus is too quick to unperson people as soon as they fail once, deeming them incompetent for life. But Mustang especially just wants to kick the proverbial can down the road of how she's going to have Darrow deal with the inevitable conflict between her father and brother as if he's just going to sit by someone usurping him, but tying his hands up with "you can't just kill my family." I can't blame her for her indecision, but this "I'll figure it out/deal with it later" mindset feels like the crux of all infighting in RR.

>>24536357
>Last book you finished?
The Double Tongue
>Current book you're reading?
Ancient Evenings and Memories of Ice
>Next book you plan to read?
Some historical novel by Kostas Asimakopoulos

Behold...The Aspect-Emperor!

>>24537800
1. My take on this is that he already knew who Jimmy was going to marry in the future and wanted to seed that this relationship he was in right now wasn't serious or meant to last. As to why he felt that was important enough to bring up apropos of nothing, Feist in my view puts a strange emphasis on "fated" relationships. Major characters often fall deeply in love with their intended partner, if not at first sight then very soon after meeting them. Jimmy was reaching the age where he'd have to begin thinking about marriage prospects, and the girl he was with isn't who Feist wanted him to marry. That's the only reasoning I can think of anyway.

2. Yeah, I'm not sure what Feist was going for here. Pug designed his house based on the villa on Sorcerer's Isle, but beyond that I don't know of any other significance. Perhaps just a very clunky attempt at foreshadowing?

3. You might notice Feist doesn't sweat to think up a lot of actual rules to how magic works and tends to throw new, arbitrary rules off the cuff whenever he needs them. The "True Name" stuff never comes up again in all the books of his that I read, and I read quite a lot. I have 16 of his Riftwar-related books on my shelf right now.

In all, I read Feist's stuff cause he makes pretty likable characters, fun adventures, and his setting is open enough that it feels like almost anything can happen. It's pretty light, fun reading. But if you're looking for hardcore autistic worldbuilding he's not your guy. He's good at fluff and exoticism, not the nitty gritty.

>>24538352
>He's good at fluff and exoticism
Speaking of exoticism, the man sure does love describing everything as "alien".

>>24537869
Vampires aren't zombies.

>>24536364
>Die Trying by Lee Child
God I hated that one; I wanted more Killing Floor but it felt like the opposite. What do you think of it?

>>24538352
>>24538363
Searched the text out of curiosity
Magician: Apprentice: 18 uses of "alien"
Magician: Master: 24 uses of "alien"
Silverthorn: 21 uses of "alien"
A Darkness as Sethanon: 32 uses of "alien"

>>24537353
Empire Trilogy is VERY different from the Riftwar Trilogy. It's much more focused on political machinations and the internal thoughts of the main character. It was pretty clearly written mostly by Janny Wurts (definitely the latter two books) and really doesn't have much of Feist's style IMO. They are good books but they're very dense and don't have much action in them so be ready for some style whiplash.

As for the other anon mentioning jumping right into the Serpentwar right after, I strongly suggest against that and to read the Krondor's Sons duology which follows next in publication order. They're short books but they set up a TON of stuff for the Serpentwar Saga and a few characters that are important for Serpentwar and beyond are introduced.

>>24538471
It's my first Reacher after finishing the 24 amazon episodes. It's kind of fun but I got Killing Floor and Tripwire to read right after. I'm only 60% done so it's finally starting to pick up. I can see why you hated it. Still optimistic to start Killing Floor. I also picked up some Bosch books that an anon in a noir thread recommended.

>>24536347 (OP)
Going on a trip to Appalachia tomorrow so i'm going to read some Silver John stories while I'm there. Manly Wade Wellman is very underrated BTW.

>>24539060
forgot pic

>>24536834
elaborate

>>24539064
NTA, but as I was told in another thread, the thousandfold thought is the war-plan to conquer Golgotterath and destroy the Consult. I did not think it was very obvious while reading the first trilogy, but it's stated more or less outright in the second series.
As I look up the golden path from Dune, it's actually quite similar to what the Dunyain are attempting to accomplish generally, although it's done for different reasons. The thousandfold thought gives a purpose to the Dunyain mission, through the person of Kellhus, that makes it more similar to the golden path.

>Storms, Kaladin thought. I have to help them. It was a laughable thought. How could he help? He was barely functional. It was all he could do to stand there.
>But stand. Kaladin. DID.
>And somehow it helped. Seeing someone else resist helped. Szeth, groaning, managed to look up at him. Syl stirred.
>“How?” Ishar repeated. “What are you?” He gestured toward Szeth. “Are you … are you his spren? His god?”
>“No,” Kaladin said. “I’m his therapist.” Ishar blinked.
>“… What is that?”
>“I honestly have no idea,” Kaladin admitted.

chat, is this real?

>>24536347 (OP)
Gay questions.
Do people like worldbuilding here?
If you had to pick 2 of the three, which would you pick for a scifi/fantasy story:
>interesting characters
>interesting plot
>interesting world

>>24539124
But wait! There's more cringe

Science Fiction Fantasy General? More like... Slimy Faggots... Fellating Gonads LMFAOOOO

I can't fucking believe my friends tricked me into reading this shit by framing it as magical oceans 11.

Are there any books that actually are? Maybe like something similar to Blades in the Dark or Dishonored?

>>24538854
Maybe "hate" was a strong word, it just felt a bit slow. Glad you like it though. Gonna have to check out Bosch, been a while since I read a noir.

>>24539373
It's weird because it legit would've been cooler without the mistborn and just the simplistic allomancers that have to work together to get shit done.

But nooooo Brando really wanted his woosh woosh magneto flying around bullshit.

>>24539373
Lies of Locke Lamora. It's a standalone but there's two more books if you end up liking it. Takes a while to really get into things, lot of setup I mean, but it all comes together in a very satisfying way. It's the closest thing I've found to fantasy Ocean's 11, set in this Venice-like world. There's magic, but the crew gets by using their wits and their fists.

>>24539170
>yeah
>alright
>so
I thought one word conversation responses were a big no no

>>24539435
forgot cover picrel. I think it does a good job capturing the vibe of the world.

>>24539133
seeing how big litrpgs are now, people care about world, character (self insert), then plot (must be never ending powering up)

>>24537166
Zoomers are finding cool stuff like this on fucking YouTube while 4chan boomers are reading YA Mars slop?

>>24537166
alt-shift x did a video about it a few years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imNtSPM3-r4

Every Glokta chapter boils down to
>ow my back which hurts from my torture
>I sure wish I could eat regular food but I have no teeth
>yes your eminence (sucks his cock)
>why me
Why do I like them so much

>>24539438
>said
>asked
>said
>snapped
>added

Valora anon, this story has been very interesting. I like it's a mystery story first, then a fantasy story second. Please tell me you didn't fuck it up.

there better be an actual incest scene

>>24539124
how did this get past editing. dont put modern words in your fantasy story you tard holy fuck

>>24539170
when did the marvel mind virus infect sanderson

>>24539489
when it was what reddit demanded

>>24539487
Cosmere is science fantasy. Therapist is appropriate because he was told the word by someone from a highly advanced civilization. Soon enough all the settings will be spacefaring.

>>24539505
i still dont like that

>>24539456
“Snape!” Ejaculated Slughorn

horse

>>24539373
Anon don't be me, just stop at that book. I made the mistake of reading the Well of Ascension and still haven't read the Hero of Ages. Part of me wants to finish the series since I'm close, but man I can't with this plot. Is Hero of Ages or Stormlight Archives (Way of Kings) worth reading?

>>24536347 (OP)
>Are there any authors who managed to successfully continue/finish someone else's work?
It's questionable how much he actually wrote himself, but Christopher Tolkien. He at least put all the notes into something resembling stories.

>>24537988
They are/were both losers. God professionsal chefs like Bourdain are big crybabies and now they worship him and act like crybabies even more to be like him. Muh normal people never respect the taste of anchovies shut the fuck up. Go read shadows of the apt

>>24539558
Victra best girl
The moment Sevro gets back to her he's putting another son in her

>>24539576
I'm the anon who paused reading Well a week ago to read Red Rising and finished Golden Son today.

I'm at the point where I might give Way of Kings a try without finishing Mistborn later. The pacing is just so slow.

>>24539611
implying the abomination and the boneriders didn't manchurian candidate him before he was sold to the minotaur so that he goes full winter soldier on her and the kids the second he sees any of them

Anyone got any good audiobook recommendations?

>>24539618
>Golden Son
howd you like the ending

>>24539576
The ending of Hero of Ages is actually pretty good, but the rest of it is a complete and utter slog that should've been trimmed down immensely. Pretty much the same as Well of Ascension.

>>24539624
I loved it. scroll up to >>24538034 and the following 4 posts. lmk if you want me to elaborate on any of my other thoughts though

Brandon Sanderson groomed me into thinking Mistborn would be a heist novel

>>24539634
It starts out as a heist. It's just the book doesn't end after the heist is over and turns into a save the world chosen one story

>>24539629
you've got a lot of good stuff ahead of you, anon, I envy you.

>>24539618
The way of kings is a fantastic fantasy book. The series doesn’t really reach the highs again but it’s worth it in my opinion

The Lord Ruler did nothing wrong

>>24536390
I liked What Moves the Dead as a re-telling of the Fall of the House of Usher. Maybe
What Feasts at Night is decent?

>>24539644
it's super long, has the useless shallan shit that goes nowhere, tons of flashback scenes. Why isn't it 700 pages?

>>24539623
I really like Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, the spin-offs, and the sequel trilogy. The narrator, Steven Pacey, is phenomenal.
I also like any audiobook narrated by Scott Brick.

Has anyone here read this series? I've heard it's supposed to be well written and the later two books devolve into outright horror.

>>24539133
I can stomach reading a book that has bland worldbuilding if the characters and plot are good. A book with great worldbuilding but shit plot or characters? Eh, it'll be a tough sell. Worldbuilding is very fun to do and doesn't take any brain power compared to actually plotting out a story and character arcs, so a lot of newer or weaker writers tend to lean on it as a crutch. I'm definitely guilty of such.

>>24539623
if you like Star Wars at all there's a really great set of the Thrawn trilogy that has a voice actor who has really wide range, his Luke, Han and Lando are all pretty spot on. they also use music and sound effects from the films. there's a much older one read by the guy who played Wedge, it's not that one, it's more recent.

>>24539623
The red rising ones are good. They have dynamic audio so it includes sound effects too and has different voices for characters.

>>24539060
one my favorites and yes highly underrated. instead of sword and sorcery its guitar and folk magic

>>24539133
>interesting plot
>interesting world

>>24539651
>pronouns
miss me with that shit

>>24539645
He enslaved people for no reason...

>>24539622
On the one hand, this has the potential to be great if it's handled with the same weight as the dead baby. But I fear it will be treated sloppily.

>>24539737
Skaa are not people

>>24539651
I like this kind of cover. It seems to be reserved for weird/horror stuff, right?

>>24536384
Soulcatcher waifu.

I have realized that writing style of Tad Williams only works when his characters are alone, or when other characters are inhuman. At the moment when he writes dialogue where human speaks to human it is over.

>>24537581
Returning to your comment later, I've got a gym sess and shift tonight I very well might finish

>>24539445
I'm stuck in the damn opening chapters on my 4th attempt to listen, any Lies if Locke willing to sell me on why this orange peel vomitting child is worth reading?

>>24537166
I've read that before it got famous

>>24539720
>miss me with that shit
But anon... "me" is a pronoun...

>>24539666
Trilogy
https://warosu.org/lit/?task=search2&search_text=Swan+&search_tripcode=sffg&search_ord=old

Follow up
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show_book/1029811-sffg?book_id=214229274

Are there any good scifi stories about closed ecosystems? I don't like Kim Stanley Robinson.

>>24540319
Great, thanks for that mate. I'll give it a read.

>>24539658
Second for first law. Phenomenal job done on that one.

>>24540266
>I'm stuck in the damn opening chapters on my 4th attempt
lol, the same thing happend to me. I bought the book, and have tried reading it multiple times, but I just can't dig it

>>24539666
I did not care for the first book so I never bothered with the rest of the trilogy. I believe I posted my feelings on it before but I'll go ahead and resummarize my thoughts: I didn't care for the setting. It felt like a lazy pastiche of medieval tropes slapped onto a hastily constructed caricature of the Holy Roman Empire that only very superficially resembles its influence. The "Empire" did not feel like a real place at all. There was no sense of history or culture to it. The magic in this story is also downright inane. The government doles out comic book superpowers to a handful of chosen "justices" who roam around using these superpowers at their discretion to resolve disputes and uphold the law. So essentially medieval superheroes employed by the state. The baffling thing is that this is pretty much the only magic in the entire series, and there's virtually no air of mystery around it, so it's hard to find it interesting. The government can create superheroes at will, from anybody it wants to, and nobody else can have superpowers. This is never explained or even questioned by anyone in the story so I just assume it's a central conceit I'm not meant to think about, which contributes to me finding this story extremely lazy. If you're not even going to bother elaborating on the fantastical elements why even have them?

I also did not care for the protagonist, whose PoV colors a lot of the events. She's ungrateful, sanctimonious, and unbelievably self-centered. I suppose that makes her a "well written flawed character" but as the ONLY point of view in the story it made the book a slog for me. She was not a pleasant person to follow around. This isn't even getting into what is by now a totally expected incongruity of characters in a medieval setting holding modern notions of egalitarianism and social justice. It's not that I find such things distasteful, it's just that there's no internal consistency or logic as to how these characters came by these totally radical viewpoints in their society. It makes no sense. It's one of the many reasons I say the setting feels hollow and lazily constructed.

>>24540500
>closed ecosystems
elaborate

>>24540500
The Orbitsville trilogy by Bob Shaw, maybe?
Ringworld by Larry Niven?

Is this series as good as I remember or is it just edgy slop? Read it last in highschool.

>>24536390
Hugo and Nebula stopped being awards to quality decades ago.

>>24536490
>for such a well-read bunch, how come redditors seem to lack critical thought?
Sometimes reading a lot doesn't turn you into a critic.

>>24536357
>Last book you finished?
The Archivist by Gill Alderman. Should be of interest to Gene Wolfe fans.
>Current book you're reading?
Crime fiction.
>Next book you plan to read?
13 Great Stories of Science Fiction: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?257613

>>24540822
that looks so incredibly generic

>>24539060
MWW was quite an influence on Hellboy.

>>24540822
I liked it...

>>24539666
I enjoyed it. The horrific elements get a bit too samey and predictable, but a pretty good story all around.

>>24540838
It's shitty modern covers either way, but
>Brent Weeks
is the real issue here.

>>24539582
Children of Hurin is a full book unlike b&l and gondolin. I think Cristopher spent like 20 years on it, and it shows. It is just incredible.
Peakes wife also finished the last book.

I just watched season 1 of Solo Leveling. To my surprise, I loved it every second of it.
Does this mean that I might like Progression Fantasy or even LitRPG?

>>24537738
>>24537767
Could you elaborate on your impress of Bonehunters without major spoilers
I've read the first 5 and like the series a lot so far, but I needed a good break (as well as you might like an author, close to 6000 pages is a lot, even with small breaks). I've since read a bunch of other stuff, now I'm considering it again, after I finish The Transmigration of Timothy Archer this weekend.

>>24539170
Well then Chappelle is cringe too
>what's manlier than fucking another man in the ass?

>>24541017
How different, or more of it is it than what I read in Silmarillion/unfinished tales? (can't recall where it was). That and ainulindale stuck the most with me

>>24541137
The same core is there but it is a full novelisation so there will obviously be a lot more depth with great characterisation, and more of a journey, in a sense like the trilogy and the hobbit. After the first 2 chapters the book totally reels me in. Glaupnir is also such an accurate portrayal of the evil we face today, telecommunications, self destructive propaganda, manipulation through negativity and so on.

>>24541111
Bonehunters has the best SIDE character in the entire series who burns brightly. This character saw a threat, and locked the fuck in without zero hesitation to save the fucking day.

>>24540266
>>24540688
It was apparently the guy's first novel, hence the terrible pacing at the start (he admits it in an anniversary intro to my edition). The first half took me like a week to slog through, but the second half I burned through staying up late at night because it was nonstop action. I was glad I did, for what it's worth.

>>24541391
Yes, the true hero of the 14th Army, Jamber Bole

>>24541358
Glaurung

>swap book recommendations with the head of the department that I'm trying to get transferred to
>He mostly likes fantasy
>I mostly like science fiction
>I recommend
>Gateway by Pohl
>The Stars My Destination by Bester
>Foundation by Asimov
>Bonus: Book of the new sun by Wolfe
>He recommends:
>Red rising
>Spellslinger
>Some other gay shit i didn't even bother to look up
A quick look at these books made them seem like YA trash not worth a read, am I wrong? Do my recommendations look as shit from an outside perspective? Does it make me look bad if I dont read them? The dude is cool, I might be able to say, " hey these look like books for little girls"

>>24541111
It's a book about failure, basically. Failures of the 14th Army, failures of the Tiste Edur, and of various individuals (Mappo, Cutter, Heboric, to name notable ones). Some people come out ahead, but it's a book where a lot of people are laid low, only to stagger back on their feet. There's some rage-inducing parts of this book that I won't get into, but it also contains a very cathartic and much needed "fuck you" to a certain empress.

>>24541511
yada yada red rising is only YA for the first book

>>24541511
read them, just because it's YA doesn't mean you can't end up liking them

>>24541506
Yes lol sorry. For some reason my brain keeps calling him wrong names. Glaurung feels like a very alien word to me. And a mythology word like Gleipnir keeps appearing in my mind when I think of him instead

>>24541404
You better not be tricking me. I am going to give this book another shot.

>>24541511
>am I wrong?
Not at all.

Is this the place to talk about books about the occult?

>>24541772
No, start your own thread

>>24541111
most apparent theme of Bonehunters is fanaticism. And the way it picks up after house of chains with Leoman is incredible. Erikson said he wrote Bonehunters as 2 books in one. So there's a really good climatic part in the middle. It's also the first book in Malazan where the POV hopping starts to pick up to crazy levels.

>>24541499
Ah fuck it wasn't Bonehunters, it was Reaper's Gale but he is part of the Bonerhunters.

>>24541844
Glen was cooking

>>24541862
Yeah I knew who you meant. He showed them his candles.

>>24541877
:DDD

As a scifi fan I feel like I should be more excited about AI but I'm really not

>>24541772
We don't read books around here, just complain about Red Rising discussion and ritualpost about Bakker and if something is pozzed

>>24541930
I think we've seen time and time again that the apparently exciting future technology in older sci-fi is not that exciting or even the opposite when it becomes commonplace in real life.

>>24541930
It's okay, because LLMs aren't AI

>>24541557
An old teacher of mine once suggested that I try to avoid judging a book before I've finished it, and I've generally tried to follow that advice, thinking it reasonable. Now obviously it has fucked me over sometimes but it's also led to me enjoy stuff I was initially hesitant about. Some books have let me down at the end, others have won me over in the last couple pages--The Remains of the Day for instance became a favourite of mine just because he really nailed that ending.
Anyway end rant. I hope you like it and let me know how it goes (I'll be on the lookout for anons calling me a lying fag in the next couple generals).

>>24541977
I used to always push myself to finish a book I started, but it made me start to hate reading. So I got comfortable dropping books I wasn't enjoying.

>>24536357
The Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
The Game by Ken Dryden

Is The Second Apocalypse really as good as grimdark gets? I'm not reading Abercrombie. Malazan maybe, but only because Erikson is also Canadian.

>>24542003
black company is darker than malazan

>>24541980
Yeah, maybe I just have shit taste that's easily satisfied.

Alright, I finished the trilogy of the bad 3D render man I've seen for so many years

I really liked it. It's weird and interesting, but not in the typical way that implies. The author isn't *trying* to be weird, they're just doing something different.

The titular Bayne cannot be killed, cannot be bested in combat, and has little interest in life in general. You'd think that make for a stupid premise - what on earth can you even do with a character like that? - but it *works* precisely because of these limitations. He doesn't struggle with anything that'd impair a typical fantasy protagonist, but the things he does struggle with are compelling.

I'm his therapist.

>>24542047
You're the first person in all these years to actually read the series. You are instantly and permanently my favorite person on /lit/ for trying something different. I hope you have a nice rest of your life. Read Mage Hunter next if you want more in the world. How did you like the final resolution?

>>24542133
I loved the last book. The 2nd book was hilariously unpredictable - you could have given me 100 guesses as to Bayne's origins, and I'd never have guessed *that* - but as a story I found it lacking.

But the final book was exactly what I wanted. It was such a natural arc for Bayne to become the bad guy, and not because he was evil, but out of a deep dissatisfaction with humanity and the alienation (and anger) he felt by being something else entirely.

The end itself - the trek back the mountain, the final talk with Pedrague, how the series-long conflict was resolved - was perfect. The author nailed it far better than most SFF authors, and it would have been so easy to fumble it by killing off Bayne somehow, or, worse: having him be redeemed.. It was both melancholic and hopeful, and way more than I could have expected from this series.

Bayne's story is something you'd typically only see as a background detail of a setting, so experiencing it firsthand was refreshing. I definitely want to read the others in the series now.

>>24542097
What's that?

>>24542207
I honestly have no idea.

>>24542198
That's cool, man. I'm glad you went from "this is bad" to "far better than most SFF authors". Bayne's story was one of the first e-books I ever bought on my Kindle way the fuck back around '12 or '13, the only one to stick with me out of the batch. I've read it a few times over the years and certain passages stick with me. The author likes to get into a character's headspace and flesh them out; his latest trilogy was definitely purple.

I think it's fun that Bayne's origins and powers come from what may or may not be NANOMACHINES and I think of Bayne's books when I see NANOMACHINES, SON on /v/ lol. The final resolution is something I think of often too, many series fail their endings through small easily-negligible methods.

Ursia has a lot of stories within its setting. Remember that barbarian who showed up in the final book, Lerebus Shieldbreaker? He has a five-story collection, where one includes his meeting with Bayne from his own point of view. That collection is a short read. There's a ~60pg story about a loli inside a spooky haunted castle called The Castle of Endless Woe. But if you really want to read more of the author's extra-strong points in my opinion, get into the Mage Hunter omnibus. Five stories around 13 chapters apiece make up what is basically a full-length novel. I recently reread it and you may be able to find some commentary in the archives if you'd like.

>>24536384
Looking forward to the next one.
I think the books not narrated by croaker are a bit meh, but it's funny to imagine future annalists being forced to read through Murgen's ramblings, though. In a similar vein, I kind of hated the last book, until I thought of it more comedically. Croaker is old as hell and doesn't give a shit anymore, and by just being a grumpy old man he causes untold disaster for the black company and the people around him (literally dooming an entire world). Like, basically everything bad that happens in that book is entirely their own faults.

>>24540500
Try Purgatory Mount by Adam Roberts.

>>24536357
Black Cauldron. I like to do something lighter between bigger books.

Don't know what I want to read next. Winter King maybe. It's been on my shelf a while.

I like Gayman's mass market paperback covers.

>>24542526
I don't much like Sandman

>tfw spilled water on my book

>>24542526
Too bad he is a shit pozzed author.

>>24540822
Unless youre under the age of 18, you wont enjoy anything he writes.

>>24540822
I should reinstall Thief

>>24540087
Tad Williaa is probably the only current fantasy author that manages to write beautiful prose. I cant think of another living author that writes fantasy that isnt slop, pozzed or with shit edgy prose. Despite being politically liberal in real life, you never notice it influence in his writing, unlike Gayman and Buehlman.

>>24539133
Worldbuilding is a nice cherry on top, but I literally couldn't care less about it on its own. I care about exploration of themes, prose, then characters. End of list.
As long as everything else isn't egregiously retarded I don't care about it.
>>24542003
Acts of Caine is as good as grimdark gets, probably. Second Apocalypse is up there though.

>>24539133
World building is nothing more than padding meant to give the audience the illusion of depth and the author an excuse to not write his story while still feeling like he accomplished something by coming up with names for some kings who won't be important.

test

>>24542538
>tfw book got rained on because I forgot to close the window

>>24542605
>I literally couldn't care less about it on its own
So, I guess you never read Fire and Blood?

>>24542618
> the author an excuse to not write his story while still feeling like he accomplished something by coming up with names for some kings
I thought you were going to say it's done because it is easy.

>>24542657
>I thought you were going to say it's done because it is easy.

I wouldn't say it's simple to do it well but it's certainly easier on the whole than putting it in an actual story. A world and history don't have to worry about narrative and character.

HP Lovecraft

I used to read my creepy uncle's old books and Eddings was my favourite among his collection... I didn't know about Eddings' child abuse until an adult.

>>24542663
>A world and history don't have to worry about narrative and character.
Um... History typically has a narrative and some type.
Pic related clearly has a narrative; it isn't just worldbuilding for the sake of it.
Has a thematic point about the folly of youth, it also serves as foreshadowing of Robb. Furthermore, spouting it builds character. It's great worldbuilding.

Recommend me a good Sci Fi, I'll buy it.

>>24542705
Red Rising

>>24542705

>>24542718
Anything but that.
>>24542726
This looks good.

>>24536347 (OP)
Anyone read the Culture series? Is it worth reading, sounds a like it was written by some communist?

I'm looking for similar worlds to the Revelation Space universe

>>24542814
It is.
It's worth noting that the author has a very unconventional writing style.
He provides very few visual descriptions; half the time, he doesn't even bother telling where a scene is taking place.
In general isn't very interesting and provides many scenic details, even the dialogue is relatively sparse.
But the style allows for very brisk pacing, and he covers a shit ton of stuff, though I can't help but want to hear a bit more details, I feel half the event he covers could themselves be subject to books themselves.

>>24542835
Folio Society just released a bunch of Culture series books

>>24542835
>Is it worth reading
No.

>sounds a like it was written by some communist
It was written by some retard.

>I'm looking for similar worlds to the Revelation Space universe
Absolutely fundamentally nothing similar whatosever.

>>24542858
Iain Banks reigns supreme. This Anon is just a loser chud. It's not Communist, it's post scarcity anarchist.

Tell me if I'm wrong, but any true science fantasy work has implicitly handed victory to fantasy. Science can't permit the supernatural or unscientific to exist, so they need to rationalize it....but you obviously can't rationalize magic! Any attempt to do so just makes you look like a pretentious idiot.

Imagine pretending to be a rational man of science while trying to justify a bearded dude that can throw fireballs by twirling a wooden stick in his fingers.
But if they admit that there's no way to rationalize it, that would be explicitly admitting defeat.
Naturally, 99.999...% of science fantasy works go the first way and make a fool out of themselves. That pleases the midwit audience that loves the "feeling" of science without really understanding it, but that's it.
The other handful admit that the fantasy part is fully real and beyond our power to comprehend....and there ends the fundamental promise of science.

>>24542888
>man who has never read sci-fi tries to btfo sci-fi by inventing a strawman of what he thinks it is

>>24542863
>This Anon is just a loser chud.
I am actually a commie IRL. Banks is just really fucking bad at writing.

>>24542888
FTL
>fundamentally unscientific and supernatural in our current paradigm
>somehow exists in 90% of all sci-fi works

Woah

What was that novel about a world being pulled along a train track?

>>24542003
Karl Edward Wagner is as good as grimdark gets.

>>24542898
Fundamentally absurd, isn't it?

>fictional work uses something not in reality
Wtf this has literally never happened before ever

>>24542353
I seriously hope it's at least of decent. Port of Shadows wasn't bad, just completely redundant. I'm worried over two STRONK women leading the Company.

>>24542574
M John Harrison?

>>24542888
>Science can't permit the supernatural or unscientific to exist
Basically all of sci-fi is about dealing with supernatural and unscientific shit, just in a scientific way. Before something was dealt with in a scientific way it is by definition unscientific at that moment, and once it was dealt with it becomes mundane and only worth writing textbooks about, not fiction. Nuclear fission and electric circuits are currently scientifically figured out, do you see many novels about those? Meanwhile, say, human psychology and crime are nowhere near figured out, allowing for countless works of art.

It's worth noting that some of the most lauded sci-fi works are about heckin' scioince trying to deal with some unscientific shit and failing utterly. We stan Lem and suck Dick in this here general, and futility of scientific rationalization is a central theme for both of them.

The only people that think science fiction is cold and autistic are people that have never read it

>>24542932
Eh, Watts, Egan and Reynolds are definitely autistic, and at least try to be cold. Le cold rational facts autism is just one particular style, though far from the most popular and prominent.

>Cold, autistic dark
Nuff said

>>24542931
That's precisely my point. The instant scifi admits that the supernatural exists, it can only either make a fool out of itself by inventing absurd explanations for it....or just invalidate itself.

That's why Scifi, despite its focus on rationalism, is an intrinsically irrational, emotional genre that puts feelz before realz.

>>24542954
>on the literature board
>in the scifi general
>anon admits he doesn't read scifi
What the grok did he mean by this

>>24542954
>it can only either make a fool out of itself by inventing absurd explanations for it....or just invalidate itself
Not rally, since sci-fi is not about explaining things or validating science. We have schools for the first one and electric outlets in your house for the second one.

>an intrinsically irrational, emotional genre that puts feelz before realz
Anon that's all art. For realz before feelz you need "How to get rich quick" lit.

I'm almost done. Some of it doesn't make any sense whatsoever but it picks up towards the end and has clearer signposts. I like its daunting exploration of singularity and how consciousness will change in the future.

>>24542914
Since Cook's a boomer, it will just be lesbians for titillation that he can pass off as being progressive.

>>24542914
>mfw Sleepy

>>24542684
Still can't believe his parents really named him Hogliward Penis. Imagine doing that to your child.

>>24542998
Take all my Reddit gold! Comment of the year award!

>>24543000
you on the left

>>24542998
No way! I thought he was Hovecraft Povecraft Lovecraft!

>>24543049

Anyone read it? It was nominated for a Nebula. I am curious about it:
>Refusing the queen’s order to gas a crowd of protesters, Minister Shea Ashcroft is banished to the border to oversee construction of the biggest defensive tower in history. However, the use of advanced technology taken from refugees makes the tower volatile and dangerous, becoming a threat to local interests. Shea has no choice but to fight the local hierarchy to ensure the construction succeeds—and to reclaim his own life.
>Surviving an assassination attempt, Shea confronts his inner demons, encounters an ancient legend, and discovers a portal to a dead world—all the while struggling to stay true to his own principles and maintain his sanity. Fighting memories and hallucinations, he starts to question everything...
>Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory is a thought-provoking meditation on the fragility of the human condition, our beliefs, the manipulation of propaganda for political gains, and our ability to distinguish the real from the unreal and willingness to accept convenient “truths.” The novel is a compelling exploration of memory, its fragile nature, and its profound impact on our perception of identity, relationships, and facts themselves.
>A unique blend of science fiction, fantasy and noir, with zeitgeist and prophetic qualities (the original novella anticipated the Russo-Ukrainian War), this is a must for fans of China Miéville’s Bas-Lag series, Ted Chiang’s Tower of Babylon, and Robert Silverberg’s Tower of Glass.

>>24542992
at the end company was basically remnants of remnants

Fuck, she is good...

Stop wasting your SFF stories by posting them on 4chan. Write a short story once a week or once a month and try your hand at making it as a writer. The chances are slim, but you will get paid if you send to these places. Don't look back once you make your first sale.

>Clarkesworld
https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/
1000-22000 words, no exceptions
12c (USD) per word. No horror but dark SF/F permitted.
No use of Chat GPT nor AI allowed
No simultaneous submissions (do not send the story somewhere else).
Stories must be well-written, suitable for audio (since there are narrated audiobooks), and convenient for screen reading (so no weird formatting).
Rigor in science fiction is appreciated, but it does not need to be "hard."
There can't be any of the tropes listed on the site.

>Asimov's
https://www.asimovs.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines
up to 7500 words, at 10c per word (USD)
Character oriented stories, but there is also some poetry $1 per line
Absolutely no use of Chat GPT nor AI allowed
No simultaneous submissions (do not send the story somewhere else).

>Fantasy & Science Fiction
https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm
No simultaneous submissions (do not send somewhere else).
Up to 25,000 words in length. 8-12 c (USD) per word. You must read a sample of the magazine before sending.

>Interzone Digital
https://interzone.digital/submissions/
Simultaneous submissions accepted (you can send somewhere else).
Maximum of 5000 words. 1.5c (EURO) per word. Double-spaced and emailed.

>Amazing Stories
https://submission.amazingstoriesmag.com/guidelines/
$20 per story, $10 per flash (USD), and poetry also
No simultaneous submissions, no multiple submissions
1000 to 24,000 words

>Beneath Ceaseless Skies
https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/submissions/
Up to 15,000 words, 8c per word (USD)
Provides feedback on rejections
No use of Chat GPT nor AI allowed
Character-focused, adventure fantasy (no sci fi nor horror) that has a deep sense of world.

>The Dark Magazine
Horror magazine.
We pay 5 cents/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words on publication for first world rights; and 1 cent/word for reprint fiction up to 6,000 words on acceptance for nonexclusive reprint rights.
https://www.thedarkmagazine.com/submission-guidelines/

>Deadlands
The Deadlands seeks stories about death, usually horror but will take other genres; they pay pro rates, at 10¢/word for original fiction.
https://psychopomp.com/the-deadlands-guidelines/

>>24543099
thread died, huh?

>>24543106
ya bro we haven't seen the thread hit bump limit in <6 hours since the other day, this general is SO dead!!

>>24543106
Just posting the updated magazine copypasta....

>>24543099
>mfw write short stories on the bottom end because you KNOW everyone is trying to max out word count for the biggest payout

>>24543117
Quality over quantity, Anon. You've got the right idea.

>>24543099
>We pay 5 cents/word for original fiction up to 6,000 words on publication for first world rights; and 1 cent/word for reprint fiction up to 6,000 words on acceptance for nonexclusive reprint rights.
I NEED THAT PAPER

Unironically the best short stories I've read from the 21st century

>best
more like only HOHOHO

>>24543099
Did any modern authors see their big breaks after getting published in those magazines?

>>24543146
China Mieville

>>24543146
Jeff Vandermeer

>China Mieville: I always loved writing, but it was when I was about 15 that I decided I’d like to do it professionally. I sent off some stories to Interzone, the British SF magazine, in my late teens, but they were all (quite rightly) rejected. Then in my early 20s I started getting much more serious, and set out on writing my first novel, King Rat. That created a real sea-change in my writing.
Kek, even China Mieville was rejected by magazines.

>>24543159
It's just sheer volume. Don't underestimate how many people send submissions collectively.

>>24543171
Steven Erikson said taking rejection and dismissive attitudes got better as he got richer:
>Q: How do you think you’ve changed as a writer over the years, and does writing novels get easier?
>A: The first part of that question is a hard one to answer. I recently wrote a preface to a re-release of Gardens of the Moon, (the first in the series) that Bantam UK is planning, and in it I spoke of ambition; observing that through most of my career as both an unpublished and a published writer, I have often faced rejection wherein I have been criticized for being “too ambitious.” Looking back, then, I realized (with bemused surprise), that in this one area I have not changed one whit. If I’m not pushing things I just don’t see the point, and that’s what drives my writing—it did in my very first stories and it still does.
>If there is one change I can observe without too much cynicism, it’s that I find I am less and less frustrated in facing that particular criticism. When young, I received it with disbelief. Now, I just shrug. Is this what scars do? Am I simply desensitized, or do I just not give a fuck anymore? I suspect that if I was as poor, as struggling, as I once was, then my feeling would be very different than it is right now. Is this what “comfort” purchases in a life? Could be.

Erikson is a long time fencer and even does oil painting portraits of Malazan characters
We made it Malazanchads

>>24542914
I personally don't care for it.
I only really like the Books in the North, outside some Soulcatcher and other select parts in the South.

>>24543192
Not as bad as Mieville's shitty drawings

>>24543144
I do often only read old stuff

>>24543192
>>24543208
what ironic is that this kind of painting that is applying local color directly on top of the sketch/drawing, is better suitable in acrylic medium rather than oil or aquarelle

I'm gonna start reading Malazan this weekend, what am I in for?

>>24543274
absolute sheer kinography

>start reading The Expanse
>the author has a piss fetish
Oh well, could be worse.

Fantasy like this?

>>24543327
I gotchu bro

>>24542902
Inverted World by Christopher priest

>>24542526
Yeah the guy who did them Robert McGinnis was a legend. Apparently he died like 4 months ago too, RIP. You should look up some of his other art, modern cover artists ain't shit. The Hard Case Crime books try to recreate that pulpy feel, I love those covers.

>>24543337
It's a TTRPG. I was asking for novels like it.

>>24543139
check this out if never have.

>>24542914
>>24542353
>>24536397
>>24536384
>>24536364
>The Black Company by Glen Cook
it got shitter when they travel to india and get new narrators, still some good elements
>>24542914
>I'm worried over two STRONK women leading the Company.
Lady was the only good female narrator, Murgen can't shut up about his 4/10 asian fetish, just talk about the fucking company of mercenaries and not your diary desu

>>24543327
is that a man?

>>24543409
Worse. It's James Raggi IV's ex girlfriend who he would depict in violent artwork once she left him.

>>24543369
I'll buy it

>>24542914
>I'm worried over two STRONK women leading the Company.
did you have an issue with Lady?

The Korean fantasy epic that's finally getting a western publication in December finally got a cover

FUCK he is good...

>>24543433
Lady was no-nonsense and only one who spoke entirely truthfully in the annals. Croaker was always covering up for the Company.

The end of White Luck Warrior is so epic it almost feels like it belongs in a different story. Was not expecting that.
Now I'm going to read Great Ordeal differently, going through the POVs I like the most until the end and then circling back to the start for the others. The POVs are so disparate I don't think they'll intersect much in this one either.

>>24543478
Picked up

>>24543522
I got pic related; it contains most of the stories from The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants.

I didn't finish Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It wasn't strange enough for me. Lord of the Mysteries was more compelling despite being less literary.

I liked The Cradle series, so I started reading some of Will Wight's other works, Traveler's Gate and Last Horizon, and it seems to me he really likes a specific archetype.

Each of those series has a character who is some kind of spiritual entity. This entity largely serves to advise the main characters and enhance their abilities in some way, while lacking direct combat ability. They are also characterized as being quippy and arrogant, often talking down to the other characters.

>>24543208
Who's that?

>>24543443
Looks like a Berserk/Witcher ripoff.

>>24542922
M John Harrison is brilliant, but I dont think he's written any fantasy novels?

>>24543496
He looks like the black dude who died, and everyone started protesting about it and a bunch of memes were made from his one photo.

>>24543327
I'm assuming you mean edgy fantasy? If so:
>BleakWarrior
>Lords of Dyscrasia
>Throne of Bones
>Anything by B.J. Swann

>>24543680
It's interesting to go to an author's other works and see what commonalities pop up.

>>24543749
>Lords of Dyscrasia
Is that your novel? It's really shit and poorly edited.

>>24543741
Viriconium series is science fantasy dying earth pulp

>>24543481
who was the narrator that talked about the gang rape of those blonde magician girls? sleepy,

Good fantasy needs at least a little bit of misogyny and sexism.

Why did god give the most output to the shittiest fantasy writer? Why can't George RR Martin write as fast and Sanderson?

>>24544008
It's George's own damned fault, he apostatized and is reaping what he sowed

What does it mean when women and limp writsts say an author is bad at writing women?

A Dance With Dragons was released on July 12, 2011. It turns 14 years old today, with its sequel nowhere in sight.

>>24544008
Sanderson doesn't have the scope and dramatis personae on par with Martin.
>>24544041
The author mentioned her body or lack of intelligence.

>>24544052
Two more weeks.

>>24544052
crazy to think that there was so much confidence that GRRM would finish the books by the time the show finished airing. even i thought that because of how little i knew about their history, so i had intended on waiting to read them until after the show was over with the expectation the series would be finished by the time i caught up, or at least close to it.

>>24544052
You're better off just forgetting about it. There are so many other great stories you haven't read yet.

>Caring about GRRM in 2025
Is it because there was a TV show?

>>24544065
Just no sense to powering through a series with no ending.

>>24544074
I grew up with this, anon. It doesn't just go away.

>>24544076
yeah that's the biggest thing that made me drop reading them, midway through Clash of Kings i just didn't see a point knowing that none of this will ever be properly resolved.

>>24544085
>midway through Clash of Kings
That's exactly where I stopped, too.

>>24544081
Grow up with Malazan now.

>>24544041
>>24544055
>author mentions a woman's chest size once
>all online discussion is dominated by retards spamming breasted boobily

>>24544091
It's on the list.

>>24544101
reddit yearns for asexuality.

>>24544101
>the PoV character is a horny teenager who notices the woman's large breasts
>this isn't a pass, the author is automatically a pig no matter how much the author is just trying to put you in the perspective of the character.

>>24544041
It means the way he writes women is gratifying to male readers and insulting to women, in short, he's based.

>the PoV character is a horny twink who notices large pointy beebeecee's curved upwards
>the author is automatically a degenerate cuck no matter how much the author is just trying to put you in the perspective of the character

n the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child.

Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a nose," people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard.

Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written an adventure that's also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf explores the fundamentals of truths, the limits of power, the excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all.

>>24544008
GRRM lost all motivation after the show achieved immense popularity. The show then deciding to go ahead and do its own original ending is probably what sealed his lack of motivation to ever finish. I fully understand it, though, and I'd likely do the same in his position. His book series has made him as rich as it is ever going to, finishing the books won't even compare to how much money the GoT TV show made him. Also: the TV series is now the definitive version of his story as far as the general public is concerned. There's a practically zero percent chance that his ending will be remembered in place the show's ending by anyone but an increasingly small handful of people. The legacy of his books is going to be immense and long-lasting, but it will be because of the TV show, and the TV show's version of the characters and events will predominate in the public consciousness. So in other words: why bother? What motivation does he have? Not money, not for fame and posterity. Martin is a professional writer, he's been a professional writer for decades. He has none of the usual motivations a professional writer needs to do their job now.

So I get it. It sucks, but I get it.

>>24541844
Frederik Pohl?

>>24541993
>The Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
How bad is it?

>>24542835
Brits suck at space opera, except for Stephen Baxter.

>>24544212
Glen Cook

>>24542888
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/science_fantasy

>>24544110
>>24544101
that's why you go full pulp luscious women, or you just ignore women even exist like in most wh40k books

>>24544179
>and I'd likely do the same in his position.
I'd actually rejoice in his position. You've seen what fans did not like about a potential ending. You have years and years of videos and blogposts with in-depth reasons as to why they hate what happened, and what they wished happened instead. If you want to have a satisfying conclusion to the series, literally just listen. Your audience is giving you the answers to the test.

>>24544303
People just join bandwagons without thinking. They might dislike his ending even if he caters to them.

>>24541844
>2011
Jeez, how does he look now?

>>24544303
>If you want to have a satisfying conclusion to the series, literally just listen. Your audience is giving you the answers to the test.
Oh, like Sanderson?

>>24544008
>>24544052
>>24544065
>>24544179
>>24544303
>>24544306
>>24544314
>>>/lit/grrm

You'd think Gurm has enough power to do whatever he wants with the story. Thing is, I doubt he was ever particularly interested in it. He just """referenced""" a lot of other books and made up other stuff as he went along and then he lost steam and all interest and once the TV show (and the fans' goodwill) ended the book(s) became a chore.

I like it when a story features a character starting around the bottom rungs of their society an/or power system, so I thought I would like progression fantasy but most of them have been disappointing. I guess that means I like stories that feature it but not necessarily are about it.

>>24544336
I forgot to add.
*And gradually working their way to around the top.

>>24544336
Malazan features this but everyone has to vie for power in some shape or form since the social structure is decentralized.

>>24536359
this dude dresses like he's 12.

>>24544536
clearly some dude's at-home loungewear

>>24544540
>loungewear
Man child wears "adult pajamas."

>>24544564
>you can't wear what you want in your own home because...!!
an hero, narcissist

What's the best standalone fantasy book?

>>24536359
He writes main characters with distinct personalities. That already puts him past 70% of webnovels.