Thread 24644022

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:
>>24637070

>Thread Question:
Which, if any, sub-genres or premises do you gravitate towards?

First for scantily-clad women in fantasy!

Lysander MUST die.

Just finished Absolution Gap
I'm trying to cope, but it was bad
Loved the setting Alastair created though
I'd appreciate other stuff in the same vein as his Revelation Space collection

>>24644022 (OP)
>Which, if any, sub-genres or premises do you gravitate towards?
i like a fantasy/sci-fi mixture ala final fantasy. Give me the swords with rocket ships and mechas, while the heroes use computers and shit but still fight with swords and cast magic.

I haven't read anything like it in so long. even FF strayed away from complete genre combination chaos.

>>24644039
did you read galactic north

>>24644108
Yeah (it was also bad)
I'm halfway through Inhibitor Phase now and he just doesn't learn lol

>>24644111
why was it bad
i havent read the new book but i heard it was a retcon (20 years later lol)

>>24644118
>hehe oopsie let a galaxy destroying farm robot out and now I have to incorporate this short story into my main trilogy ending
He's gonna asspull again in the new one, I can feel it coming. We're back on Ararat btw, with Scorpio who we were told repeatedly was at the end of his lifespan and could not survive another reefersleep (he does multiple so far without issue)
And there's ANOTHER character with suppressed memory/identity

>>24644147
i liked it for relatively different/unique sci-fi ending or world resolution
scorpio casually torturing clayton? to death was fucked up
i dont care for inhibitor and he's writing more? meh
can i please [Speech: 100] talk you into reading other sci-fi space operas?

>>24644022 (OP)

why the FUCK wasn't this the OP image?

>>24644171
Because you're the only one using that pedophile websoyte

>>24644179
I just pasted it from /grrm/ kek

but seems like people on twitter are confirming it's real

>>24644171
valid question

>>24644022 (OP)
Victra best girl
>>24644034
Correct.
TQ: epic fantasy with threads of dark fantasy. I like enigmatic heroes roaming through ruins, tormented by lingering spiritual corruption. I like Clark Ashton Smith.

>>24644111
Try Eversion.

>>24644022 (OP)
>TQ
Horror fantasy. Sadly it's not that common.

>>24644171
We all know SOMEONE is going to have to finish it for the fatass. Only real question is who it's going to be. I'm not sure if Sanderson would even want it.

>>24644245
It'll obviously Daniel Abraham and/or Ty Franck when they see the bag offered, but there's no way Sanderson would do it this far into his career and he already said as much.

Oh cool this new book The Failures might actually be good...
>Goodread LGBTQ queer tags
Make it stop

>>24644249
I swear most authors are just putting those tags to get noticed by the algorithm.

>>24644251
Makes me dislike them even more then

Any fantasy books where the main character is 'the big guy'? Like just a massive dude who uses a lot of brute force?

>>24644171
What a cunt that guy was for asking. I bet he thinks he was brave for asking too.

>>24644251
Well that's still useful information because I have contempt for people who are more interested in getting noticed than crafting an honest story, so I know to avoid them. Oddly ironic this guy's [pen] name is Liar.

>>24644245
I believe the guys who wrote the expanse discussed once that they were approached about it but they refused.

>>24644279
Malazan sort of. Especially in book 4 - house of chains

>>24644279
I seem to recall the Stainless Steel Rat (futuristic space-heist fantasy) being a big dude but now that I think about it he was also a pacifist atheist esperanto cuck so I don't recall him ever actually using muscle.

Robert Asprin's comedic MythAdventures series that expands wizard fantasy into dimension-hopping pop culture-riffing buffoonery has a pair of italian-esque goons named Guido and Nunzio who start as side characters and gradually take on stronger roles, I think Guido has his own full length sidestory or two.

>>24644249
It's kind of funny because there are times when those tags only apply to super minor stuff but they're still there to attract readers, while old books that majorly feature lgbt themes don't have those tags because no one thought about adding them.

>>24644331
Malazan seems very intimidating. I don't know if I'm autistic enough for it, though I can't deny some level of interest.

>>24644333
It's surprisingly rare to have a protagonist be the Big Dude.

>>24644347
Malazan is a commitment and one you have to invest your time into, but it's one I think that is worth it.

>>24644279
Like, Conan, or...? I mean, Conan is pretty clever and daring, so it doesn't ALWAYS come down to "smash"... but it does a lot.

>>24644356
Conan is a big guy but he's not actually fuckhuge. In most stories he generally solves things through wits.

>>24644355
Doesn't it have a huge cast of rotating characters?

>>24644362
>Doesn't it have a huge cast of rotating characters?
Yes and they do switch it up so in book 1 you get a set of characters, then in book 2 it's a new set of characters in a new continent, book 3 is characters from book 1, book 4 is characters from book 2, book 5 is new characters completely etc. It can be overwhelming at times but once you get into the groove of the books, it becomes more bearable.

>>24644370
Sell me on it. What's the driving narrative?

>>24644379
War, humanity and brotherhood in the face of war, gods scheming and wannabe gods scheming to out scheme the gods and OP magic. The author is an archaeologist as well so the world has been autistically created and planned with an evolution of cultures and history from beginning to now.

>>24644398
That is tempting. Is there any woke bullshit?

>>24644411
What is woke to you because it’s a bullshit buzzword. If my woke you mean anything modern then no.

>>24644414
Gays, trannies, obnoxious girlbosses. That kind of stuff.

>>24644414
Don't tell him about the woman soldiers or he'll get triggered.

>>24644421
If there are women warriors beating men in a fight then yes, I'd call that woke.

>>24644422
Well, better give up then.

>>24644414
>it’s a bullshit buzzword
it really isn't no matter how much you try to push that

>>24644422
Fragile faggot

>>24644429
It really is.

>>24644427
Ah well, just not for me then.

>>24644430
Fragile is melting down when someone calls you by your sex. I simply choose not to read any girlboss shit.

>>24644022 (OP)
>Having a nerve to even mention his latest doorstopper

Dude is really high on his own farts it seems.

>>24644434
I really enjoy stormlight but it can’t be denied that wind and truth was a low point for the series. Not suprised it didn’t win.

Sanderson Award Wins

UPC Award
2007: Defending Elysium

David Gemmel Legend Awards
2011: Way of Kings
2015: Words of Radiance

Hugo
2013: The Emperor's Soul
2013: Writing Excuses

Dragon Awards
2018: Oathbringer
2018: White Sand

Geffen Awards (Israel)
2019: Alloy of Law

https://www.sfadb.com/Brandon_Sanderson

>>24644171
based asker

it feels like in every gibson book the editor told him he cant just cut it off he has to write an ending so he rushes something quickly in 15 mins, theyre all unsatisfying in the same way. all all 3 trilogies kinda end the same where someone gets some technological giga mcguffin. and yet for some reason i end up loving the beginning/middle of most of his books

"Then hold this for me"

>>24644429
Woke only matters if you're an emo mangina faggot.

>>24644279
The Death Dealer novels

>>24644433
Fragile is seething over 1% of the population. A population that'll eventually sort themselves out at that.

>>24644712
I don't see how that relates to me not wanting to read books with warrior women.

>>24644417
it has it all

>>24644716
Weird how a homo doesn't want to read about woke stuff

>>24644720
How very unfortunate.

>>24644723
I am just done with girlbosses. That does not make me crave cock.

If an author can't make a female character interesting any other way than having her beat up men twice her size then to hell with it. Better authors can.

>>24644279
The Gor Books by John Norman.
Carl Tabot is like Captain America on Gor because of lower gravity there.

>>24644746
As long as she's hot, it shouldn't matter.
Hot chicks with swords is a guaranteed boner pop.

>>24644762
I won't fault you if you like that thing, but I don't. I'm sick of every fantasy story having to have the le badass chick who can kick as much ass as any man.

It's more excusable if they're augmented with magic or tech, but reading about some 90 lb waif killing dudes twice her size is not for me, and it's the only way modern writers know how to write female characters. God forbid a woman be feminine.

>>24644746
Girlboss is an attitude, not just throwing a punch or swinging a sword, and it's much more annoying.

>>24644766
I'll be real, and this is probably autistic but when I see a series about conflict have women warriors as common place it kind of takes me out of things. Women aren't suited for combat in the way men are, and any society eager to throw women into the meat grinder of battle seems really stupid when they're instrumental in carrying on the species.

I also just hate treating men and women as interchangeable.

>>24644765
>modern writers
This shit has been a thing since Howard.
Arguably since horny dudes have put pen to paper even.

>>24644022 (OP)
2025 Hugo
BEST NOVEL: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (WHITE MALE)

BEST NOVELLA: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (WHITE MALE)

BEST NOVELETTE: “The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea” by Naomi Kritzer (WHITE FEMALE)

BEST SHORT STORY: "Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo (ASIAN FEMALE)

>>24644776
Yeah, but Howard wasn't that bad about it, even though he was a progressive for the era.

But I agree it's very common. And that's why I'm sick of it. I want to see women in women roles and not be lesser for it.

>>24644778
>BEST NOVEL: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (WHITE MALE)
>BEST NOVELLA: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (WHITE MALE)
>WHITE MALE
Impossibru!

>>24644781
>>24644778
That'll do it.

>>24644769
No, I get it. Technically it would work if there are no biological difference between the sexes when it comes to strength and endurance or if they both wore special armour that renders any such differences moot. Also, it's not like they haven't existed in history in the first place, but they were more of an exception and I think this "exoticism" would be more interesting in fiction as well in case the writer didn't do the things I mentioned above.
I admit reproduction was not on my mind at all, but it's not like all men/women are sent to war or interested in enrolling anyway. I think in the end it all depends on the writer.

>>24644784
Boy is going to be crushing those pussies.

>>24644787
Red Sonja is actually a good example, at least her old portrayal. She was as strong as she was because of the work of magic, and that actually tied into it because being so denied her her femininity.

Showing women taking up arms should be about showing how desperate a situation is. When they have no other choice. You lose that when every second warrior in the army is a woman and no explanation is given as to why these women are just as strong as men twice their size.

>>24644779
Read the Prince of Nothing

>>24644778
Well, shiiieeeet.

Is this a good read? I want to try some indie authors. Give me some decent ones

>>24644841
That depends on how /pol/ you are. If you agree with /pol/, then yes, otherwise probably not. The author made a video in defense of his choice of making the protagonist the worst and most vile sort of person and asking, can he yet still have his image rehabilitated?

>>24644778
>The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
>The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
Any good?

>>24644936
>/pol/ nonsense
Then nope it won't be good. /pol/ has a very strange victimhood mentality they refuse to admit to

>>24644936
The cover has a black man. /pol/ wouldn't approve of this.

>>24644991
No board is a monolith and racism isn't a mandatory requirement.

>>24644279
Main character of the Grimnoir series. He's big but he's also very clever. The last book basically has him going on a magic powered hulk rampage.

>>24644980
Here's the author describing his protagonist to show this isn't hyperbole.

>>24645049
Not that this can't be popular though. The protagonist of The Poppy War is modeled after Mao Zedong.

>>24645049
Isn't this the guy who thinks he qualifies as an "artist" because he uses AI prompts?

>>24645049
Oh shit, its THAT shad
Yeah, fuck no, I will never touch this, guy is a total ass

>>24645052
Poppy war also sucks
Im convinced that those history types are shit at writing characters

>>24645069
>Read poppy wars
>Think its gonna be western xianxia or shit like that
>Its actually just a showcase of how badly you can write characters and do misery porn
I was so so disappointed

>Her red lips curled in disdain. "Do you think I was enamored of you? Do you dream that I would have shamed myself before an ale-guzzling, meat-gorging barbarian unless I had to? My master—whose body lies there—forced me to do as I did." "Oh!" Conan seemed rather crestfallen. Then he laughed with undiminished zest. "No matter. You belong to me now. Give me a kiss." "You dare ask—"she began angrily, when she felt herself snatched off her feet and crushed to the hetman's muscular breast. She fought him fiercely, with all the supple strength of her magnificent youth, but he only laughed exuberantly, drunk with the possession of this splendid creature writhing in his arms.

Erhm.. Conanbros..? Your defense?

>>24645054
Yes, that and more regarding AI.

>>24645079
nta
That was really silly of you to think everything Chinese is like that. It'd be like thinking all western fantasy is litrpg.

>>24644243
Between Two Fires and Conan and that's all I got

I want to thank everyone who contributed to me having 41 (you)s in the previous thread. Thank (you). I hope to one day have the the majority of all replies in a thread be to me.

>>24644778
If white men are winning the hugo award again what will we use to shitpost about the misandry of modern sff literature?

>>24645096
Kane, Vampire Hunter D, and most of Clark Ashton Smith too

so I'm about to finish "red seas under red skies". The first one from locke lamora was wonderful, this second one is boring as fuck. I will eventually take up on the third one but just not now. This is what I have in queue, what do you suggest as a bit of palate-cleansing:

The Way of Kings(The Stormlight Archive, #1)
Red Rising(Red Rising Saga, #1)
The Dragonbone Chair(Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)
Gardens of the Moon(Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)
Spiderlight
The Iron King(The Accursed Kings, #1)


I'm not sure I want to get into a million-page saga just right now but if it's worth the time I will. I also have in my backburner something from Abercrombie other than the first law trilogy which I loved.

open to other suggestions too

>>24645204
not read the series, but that cover is atrocious

>>24645204
How about you read a good standalone book like The Broken Sword instead of saga slop? I could count on one hand how many series are actually worth reading.

Rank 'em

>>24645245
this is why I have Spiderlight in queue, I'd love some standalone suggestions as it happens

>>24645204
The Highwayman Kennedy Thornwick. Standalone, indie. I was recommended it after talking about Locke Lamorra and was hesitant at first because it's written by a woman but it's shockingly based. Nothing like LLL at all, aside from "criminals in a fantasy setting." So if that's the itch you want to scratch I recommend it because it does a much better job.

>>24645354
awesome this is exactly what I was looking for, I'll put it in queue, thanks Anon

>>24644778
Color me fucking shocked, genuinely. Especially since women won every best novel award since 2020.

>>24645052
A western interpretation and a very shallow one at that. I expected more from a PhD student like kuang. Same with yellow face. It's all very surface level and she doesnt know how to utilize nuance or show real reason why map did the things he did

>>24645204
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers.

>>24644971
Of course not. Theyre pozzed shit.

>>24645494
She was an undergraduate when it was published.

>>24645369
Don't think they're any better just because they're written by modern male authors, anon.

>>24644778
>Nghi Vo (ASIAN FEMALE)
sigh, way to get my hopes up anon

>>24645669
You shouldn't have had any expectations.

>>24644778
It won't happen again anytime soon. A white man won't win again this decade.

>>24645255
Surprised CAS is not mentioned.

There's no fucking shot this dude opened up this book with 290 pages of F*male and P*rrin chapters

THEY DID NOT.
THEY COULD NOT.
IT'S. NOT. POSSIBLE.

>>24645960
In this house, Paul Atreides is a hero. End of story!

>>24645669
would

>>24645090
I understand your argument yet the first half of poppy wars is literally martial arts hogwarts with a dabble into esoteric

>>24645960
>Chuad'Cel
Kek

>>24645981
Martial arts is wuxia.

Symbaroum is a 10/10 setting (you can find rulebooks on annas-archive.org, astonishing artworks), Falkovnia with zombies too (a sub-setting od Ravenloft). Are there novels with similar misty and bleak low fantasy settings? Maybe Celtic or Northern vibes? John Gwynne's settings are in some way similar, but John can't write.

>>24644778
>it’s like knives out but if knives out was set in a fantasy world and benoit blanc was an old woman who had hired the most disaster bisexual to be her eyes and ears.
guess that explains it

>>24646243
holy reddit

>>24645204
>I will eventually take up on the third
dont do it
you will regret it

>>24645204
blood song, treat it as a standalone

What a massive letdown at the end. This is the third book in a trilogy. The first book was just ok, the second book was just ok. But this book was actually more than ok. I was getting excited at the prospect that all the time invested in the first two books would finally pay off in this pretty good third. But then it ends in the most limp dick way imaginable. Holy shit.

Now I have to say, retroactively, that this series is not worth the read. Sure, there are some decent moments here and there. But the author doesn't know how to write a story arc to save his life. His stories are a string of events that build up anticipation to big payoffs. Until you get to the second half of the books and realize that all the latter events have pretty much no relevance to the former events.

Why did this event or that event happen? For vague world building reasons that he only insinuates at. It feels like there's a whole bunch of meaning and context that he never gives the reader. Which is ironic, because characters often go on these lofty world building tangents. Yet, all of the information that we truly need, we don't get.

At the end of the third book, it ends with some kind of major implication for the world. Except it was never spelled out what the implication was. So it's like nothing concluded at all. I *suppose* that it's one of those things where when you re-read the series, you're supposed to catch all these signs and clues. But somehow I doubt it's really that deep. Ultimately, I got nothing out of the ending. Making me feel like I wasted my time.

Not recommended.

virtual light and that whole series by Gibson, worth reading?

>>24645204
>The Way of Kings(The Stormlight Archive, #1)
Starts very strongly but degrades from book 2 onward. Book 1 focuses on a very strong character, but subsequent books focus on less interesting ones, and badly handle previously well written characters. It's frustrating following this series. Also, only 5 of the planned 10 books are published, he puts out a new one every few years so we're easily a decade or more out from Stormlight Archive being done. Anything can happen in the meantime to interrupt its progress, so keep that in mind.
>The Dragonbone Chair(Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)
I highly, highly recommend this series. I am perhaps not the #1 Tad Williams fan in these threads but I'm in the top 3, and I will shill for free everything this man has written, but especially his landmark tetrology here. It's old school heroic fantasy. Very slow burn compared to modern styles, but Tad is fantastic about mythology and setting. There's a reason GRRM borrowed heavily from him in writing A Song of Ice and Fire, and admits to it. It's only 4 books in length but they are thick, densely written books. Expect it to occupy a lot of your time.
>Gardens of the Moon(Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)
I also love this series, but find it harder to recommend because it is very long (10 books total, and thick ones) and very involved with its plotting and world building. It's not light reading even setting aside its length. It's very impressive in its scope and its detail, a sweeping epic with hundreds of characters (not an exaggeration) and a complex, richly described setting with a myriad of cultures and histories. Erickson is an anthropologist by education and it shows in this series very strongly. There are memorable characters as well, but this is a series where the average life expectancy of characters is quite low.

>>24646483
The next Stormlight book is currently planned to be released in late 2031. So at least 6 more years until he starts the series back up again.

>>24646495
>The next Stormlight book is currently planned to be released in late 2031.
If he's already slowing to this degree at the halfway mark then completion of the series seems increasingly unlikely. Unless he's just taking longer because of the "era shift" that he has intimated will take place in Stormlight Archive, similar to the one in Mistborn. I was on the fence about continuing the series with book 5, and I think book 6 will be the make or break for me. If he manages to cock things up even worse not even rereading Way of Kings will make me want to keep up with it.

>>24646120
>low fantasy settings?
I am so tired of seeing people misuse this term and especially seeing it in threads where people ought to know better.

>>24645933
Perrin chapters are, past book 4, Faile chapters, and thus can be lumped in with the "female chapters".

>>24646506
He puts out an annual release schedule..
I guess you haven't seen it yet various times it's been posted.

December 2024: Wind and Truth
Spring 2025: Skyward Legacy One(?)
December 2025: White Sand Novel/Dark One(?)
Spring 2026: Skyward Legacy Two(?)
December 2026: Skyward Legacy Three(?)
December 2026: Horneater(?)
December 2027: TBD
December 2028: Ghostbloods 1
Summer 2029: Elantris 2
December 2029: Ghostbloods 2
Summer 2030: Elantris 3
December 2030: Ghostbloods 3

There are other longer terms ones as well. He basically has the rest of his life planned out in terms of what will be released.

>>24646531
I tend not to pay attention to such things in general. A book is done when it's done. The schedule is at best an educated guess, it's not even a promise.

>>24646531
Jesus. Imagine writing/planning out slop. There are too many shitty books out there. We really need to bring back book burning. 99% of them can go in the fire and it would either not change a thing or the world would be better for it.
Lastly, fantasy writers should be forced at gunpoint to not write a story longer than 3 books.

>>24646537
Yes, it is, GRRM appreciates such sentiment, as does Rothfuss, Lynch, and a host of others.

>>24646556
You're in luck.
Publishers have decided that very few authors will be allowed to have long books that are more than a trilogy.

>>24646531
>Spring 2025: Skyward Legacy One(?)
Well this is outdated already. How are the skyward books? Worth checking out?

>>24646565
fantastic

The hardest part about finishing an unfulfilling book, is having nothing more to read, because you don't want to try the author's other works, so you have to find something completely different to read.

>>24646557
I don't see the point in hanging on the hook for these authors. GRRM has no reason to finish his books any longer. As an author, he has no motivation or impetus to finish them, so I have not expected them to be finished now for a few years.

Rothfuss I'm convinced isn't even a writer anymore, and hasn't been for years. He published something a few years ago, if I recall, but it wasn't a novel, it was probably an old manuscript he had lying around that he dusted off so he could still claim to be a publishing novelist despite producing nothing for almost 15 years.

Lynch I can't claim to understand the hype of. I couldn't even finish Lies of Locke Lamora. I was never invested in what he wrote so I know nothing about the man himself or what is behind his inactivity for the past decade or more.

In any case, if an author can't be bothered to finish I simply move on with my life. There's plenty to read, or reread.

>>24646580
No, they're mostly written by a woman and are extremely YA. The consensus is that they're some of the worst stuff Sanderson is involved with. He's considering having more people write stuff as he realizes he'll never be able to write all the stuff he wants to have published. There's a couple others who write for him as well. Maybe he'll become the fantasy James Patterson.

>>24646612
The Rothfuss was an expansion of something he had already published years ago.

>>24646614
If he never gets that movie / streaming deal he's been chasing then he can at least turn his "brand" into a business in its own right.

>>24646619
It already is a business. Dragonsteel Entertainment.

>>24646616
Just as expected, then. He burnt out on his debut trilogy once he realized it couldn't be a trilogy any longer, thus ruining its central framing device. Rather than suck it up and write the 4 or 5 books the series now required to end, he just refused to write anymore.

...

>>24646628
>using the goodreads recs
Terrifying

>>24646621
Seems like a merch company for his own stuff, I was talking more like Sanderson's Cosmere becoming an "open setting" other authors could then join to write their own spinoffs in, kinda like the Marvel/DC comic universes. To that end, Dragonsteel would eventually become like Marvel or DC Comics, managing a shared setting and cast of characters owned by the company, but written by a host of authors.

>>24646633
I've already dug through /sffg/'s recs, and found them shallow. I need to dig deeper in order to find books that appear interesting.

Vomit the GRRM pill and swallow the Wolfe pill. Wolfe never let me down like George did.

>>24646634
Yes, or like GRRM's Wildcards series.

>>24646628
BASED. Redrise trannies on suicide watch.

>>24646640
What do you mean by "/sffg's/ recs"?
Goodreads is mostly going to give random stuff.
What do you mean by deeper?

>>24646612
Yeah, Gurm isn't gonna publish Winds, let alone finish ASOIAF. I really just accepted it. Last year was my last year I gave myself to hold out hope. 2025 was the year I told myself that if it doesn't come out, I'm officially going all in betting on Winds never coming out while George is still alive.

>>24646658
If he actually gave us constructive updates, even if it was only writing 75 manuscript pages a year, I would have some hope. The fact we haven't heard anything since "1100 manuscript pages" tells me he has made no progress since then.

>>24646662
>The fact we haven't heard anything since "1100 manuscript pages" tells me he has made no progress since then.
Which is 3 years ago btw.

>>24646650
>What do you mean by "/sffg's/ recs"?
The link in the OP, which direct to various charts with various recommendations. I also pestered /sffg/ users for a few years, getting recs directly, even though that's against the rules. That's how I got most of my recs, until you guys started repeating yourselves, or recommending stuff I didn't care about. So I figured I need to go search elsewhere.

>Goodreads is mostly going to give random stuff.
What do you mean random? The "recommended for you" page isn't half bad. It appears to make recs based on stuff I've already read and rated.

>What do you mean by deeper?
I mean you guys recommend the same kinds of material all the time. Probably because there aren't that many active users here. Or maybe it's just the zeitgeist of the board. But whatever the case is, I found that I was getting the same kinds of stuff here. I needed to test deeper waters.

>>24646650
>normal confused that somebody might want to read more than the same Vance/Wolfe/GRRM/Rothfuss/LeGuin/popular tradpub/etc./et al circlejerked nonsense

>>24646658
I think we have a decent chance of getting Winds of Winter posthumously. If he has written as much of it as he previously claimed, there's enough for a few editors to cobble together a book and publish it. That wouldn't violate his stated directive in his will, which is that no author finish his series if he dies without completing it. He would've been the only contributing author to Winds of Winter, it would've simply been finished without his input by his editors.

>>24644279
Dunk & Egg. Actually pgud, despite >GRRM autism.

>>24646614
Oh I didn't realize they weren't written by him. I only see his name on the cover
>>24646619
The deal he's been working on for years just fell through and he got the rights back so he can start pitching again, but he says that means it's back to square 1 and it will take years still for anything to come of it, let alone air. Imo he should get over himself and let his stuff be animated by a mid-high tier studio instead of holding out for a perfect live action deal (never gonna happen) or an Arcane tier production (will never be funded)

>>24646668
Have you tried looking at the Goodreads group in the OP and looking at the bookshelf or the various user accounts?

>>24646684
Some are written by him and others are written by Janci Patterson.

>>24646640
KJ Parker. Literally any of his shit. It isn't woke, it's B+ prose (engineer trilogy is bordering on A/A-) and it's gripping and engaging. 16 Ways is a fantastic book.

Roleplaying yin deviation cultivation with MHA characters is better than modern western fantasy lit, what is wrong with the world?

>>24646723
For you it is, but that only speaks of you.

>>24645204
>I will eventually take up on the third one
Don't. Just wash your hands of the series and pretend it ended.

>>24646685
I've taken recs from the group before. I haven't exactly gone digging around. I just glance at whatever as showing on the top, and check the description of whatever catches my eye.

>>24646684
I didn't know he had an in-progress deal. I always assumed Sanderson was angling for a big budget production where he got full creative control, but that's not how the big streaming / hollywood jews do things.

>>24646765
>I always assumed Sanderson was angling for a big budget production where he got full creative control, but that's not how the big streaming / hollywood jews do things.
He does want that, and that is why he never got anything off the ground. But he has friends at Epic Games and convinced them to partially fund the project. So they paid him for the rights and he and Epic were pitching to production and distribution studios but could never come to an agreement that satisfied all parties, so Epic sold the rights back to Sanderson. According to the tiktok today I saw of Sanderson explaining this at some con recently, anyway

>>24646771
I can't blame him for trying to bait some giga jew Hollywood producer into giving him millions of dollars to make a Mistborn or Stormlight movie (personally I think Elantris would work better as a self contained thing) but if he's that committed to maintaining the integrity of his IP he should just focus on his IP first and wait for the producers to come to him. If he promotes himself well enough he can have an IP farm to rival Star Wars EU. Especially since Star Wars is dying an agonizing death right now due to Disney mismanagement. There's a void out there for a sprawling fantasy / sci-fi universe setting for aspiring authors to contribute to.

>>24646523
these ones in path of daggers are at least more interesting than what he got in crown of swords

So far at least. Faile is such an industry plant of a character. Who is this bitch? What purpose does she serve

>>24646628
what do you want us to do about this

>>24646780
I found her moderately entertaining early on when she was a clueless hanger-on who got continually bowled over by the people and events she got herself mixed up with due to her arrogance and pride. She got a lot less interesting after she and Perrin hoked up because virtually all of Perrin's chapters after that involved dealing with Faile's contrived drama. Perrin splitting off from Rand just caused Faile to take over more of the story as she parasitically took over Perrin's PoV, eventually becoming a PoV in her own right later on.

>>24646771
>>24646778
I still need to read his books, and truth be told his prose annoys me from what I've glimpsed, but I fully support Sanderson in this. More creators need to be hands on in the adaptations of their IP.

I feel like deep down, despite the money and popularity he's accrued, GRRM wishes he could have signed a better contract with HBO.

>>24646794
>eventually becoming a PoV in her own right later on.
Great so I've got this to look forward to.

>>24646803
>I feel like deep down, despite the money and popularity he's accrued, GRRM wishes he could have signed a better contract with HBO.
He's got all the money he was ever going to earn from his writing, now, so naturally the only thing he can look back on and regret is his legacy as a writer and storyteller, and the story he allowed them to ruin.

We have many examples already of movie / TV versions of books totally supplanting the original book in popular memory. For example look at The Shining. Stephen King is famously bitter about Kubrick's celebrated movie because it changed so many things from the book that most of the people who tell King that they "love The Shining" quickly reveal they never read the book by talking about their favorite parts, which were all invented by Kubrick.

It's a similar deal here. If GRRM finishes his series some of his diehard fans will read it and love it, and claim it's better than the TV series, but it won't matter for his legacy. The public already has its version of the story and nothing he does will be able to remove it.

>>24646807
not terribly critical spoiler but still: if you think being made Gai'shain would humble Faile you'd be wrong.

>>24646822
I think she should die, actually

>>24646822
The Aiel are too kind toward Gai'shain for it to really be a punishment for Faile. Even the Shaido mostly treat them as servants or house slaves. She should've been made property by the Seanchean. Now there are a people who go hard on the slave/master relationship.

>>24645886
This was 1979, CAS may not have been widely available back then.

>>24644778
It's over 20 years since Bakker released his first book and still nothing comes close.

>>24646843
>never won anything
https://www.sfadb.com/R_Scott_Bakker

I've been in a reading slump and want to feel comfy and cosy. Would a Disworld binge be a good option?

>>24646940
I like the one where DCC author mentioned getting feet pics.

>>24646927
definitely. I can also really recommend le Guin's Earthsea books. at LEAST read book one.

>>24646531
what is Horneater? is it part of the Cosmere or another of his YA sagas?

>>24646983
Horneater would be about Rock from the Horneater Mountains of Roshar in Stormlight.

Raistlin is a dick. It's great. People don't like him and he thinks that's hilarious so he gives them extra reason to.

What is a sci-fi book or series with good prose? Not interested in fantasy.

>>24646927
Yes, Discworld is really good. More than half of it, anyways.

Small Gods is the best novel, and is stand alone. Pyramids is similarly great.

I feel like the people in this thread would unironically rec Dungeon Crawler Carl to me.

>>24647029
THE quintessential narcissistic power-hungry voluntarily-celibate 4chan arch magus.

>>24647037
Intelligent, cynical and with a wicked sense of humor.

>>24647030
Book of the New Sun, if you haven't read it. It's dense though, don't expect a quick read.

I feel like too many of you spend time bringing up books you won't read

>>24647053
no anon, I just binge buy books based on moods I'm in, only to read let's say 40% of them, with the other 60% hanging around my house and weighing me down

I spend too much time bringing up books nobody else will read

>>24646982
I second the earthsea recommendations, they're great. Also, her scifi is great too (left hand of darkness and the dispossessed)

>>24646999
God, I'm growing too old for this shit.

>>24647078
Feature creep but in book form. He wanted to have a novella for every book, or 'between' every book.

>>24647080
fuck it, id read the necromancer wagie book just for the sake of it.

>>24647084
It's been reworked to be about a heavy metal vocalist who raises the dead instead of the pizza thing. Also it's mostly authored by Peter Orullian

Only a hundred pages into dark age and Lysander MUST die for being an insufferable self-important whiney bitch

>>24647094
His MUST die level only increases from there

>>24647092
Well there goes the fun. And btw, how come there are so many mormons in the fantasy industry? it is kind of shocking to me, as an european.

>>24647100
Because they actively help each other get into the industry. Every new mormon author knows an established mormon author already. Like how jews took over hollywood 80 years ago

>>24644279
The First Law Trilogy. Logen Ninefingers and many of the northman who get main chapters throughout are all just big killing machines. Logen being the biggest case since he pretty much goes into a almost supernatural red haze of killing mode where it bites him in the ass many times.

I'm reading Diaspora and I've loved this book but as I just read
>"Yatima-Venetti Polis"
I'm afraid

What is the consensus on this? I'm probably about 20% into it and I just feel bored. Does it get better?

>>24645083
Toxic

>>24647029
>>24647044
>>24647037
And he broke off a piece in THIS

>>24644092
You know, I was pondering how to properly put the two genres together. What do you think about Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy? like sci-fi fantasy but the sci fi elements are from destroyed civilizations

I heard about this book in this video, now I'm a little interested in reading it. According to google it explores how language can shape thought and behavior which interests me. Anybody read it?

https://youtu.be/KgxOrTvpWJ4

>>24645204
>The Way of Kings
I'm not recommending this series as it heavily degraded across five books, which is just middle of the series that will be finished in like 15-20+ years and not a single main character got satisfying conclusion.
It's just not worth of your time. There are many series that are more worthy.

>>24647029
I look like him and act like him.
I shouldnt have read Dragonlance books in 90s.

>>24646982
>>24647035
Thank you anons.

>>24646803
his prose got worse

>>24647502
Not so sure about how it explores how language shapes thought and behaviour. When I read it, it felt more like an outsiders view of our own society. The book replaces the invisible "game" of power played in our own world with an actual game that determines ones social status.
But like our own game of power, this game is not a meritocracy. It is very much rigged in the favor of the already powerful and their offspring in ways that are not readily apparent. The book thus goes into how such a power-structure is preserved and how it shapes the people in it. In that way it is about the constraining of thought by one's environment, but I don't recall language being a very explicit component of it. Though implicitly it is of course.
It really is a good read, and it is my go to example of how fiction has value beyond mere entertainment.

>>24646515
Ok, low magic fantasy. So, is there a poetic version of "The Heroes", "The Faithful and the Fallen" or The North part of ASOIAF? I'm thinking about J. V. Jones's Sword of Shadows series.

>>24647327
2/3 of the main characters seem to be women, so I never bothered

>>24647327
>and I just feel bored.
That's John Gwynne in general. He writes nothing but safe, sterile slop.

>>24644022 (OP)
is the consensus that wh30k > wh40k?

>>24647790
Nah. Modern 40k is shit, but 40k from 2000s was good.

>>24647790
No correlation between 30k/40k and book quality.

>>24647800
the setting is just better? 40k is just the fallout from 30k, it can be cool, but it's always more interesting and dynamic how it all came to be

Where would I start with 40k? I played the owlcat rogue trader game and liked it and want to know more. Obviously it’s a tabletop game so a lot of the fun comes from that but I wonder if there are any recommended books? Especially for newfags

>>24647808
just follow this basic chart

>>24647809
>basic
looks complicated

>>24647816
Then this is not for you

>>24647802
>the setting is just better?
Not really. It's more focused, as 30k is basically just Primarchs, their associates and a handful of other Great Crusade/Heresy related individuals. Some enjoy more focused material, some don't. I'm just sitting there amazed at how they had 410757864530 books to develop like 10 of the 18 Boss Babies that they bothered to focus on and now 410757864530 books later like one of them has anything approaching sensible characterization, and that one is supposed to be a one-dimensional caricature.

>40k is just the fallout from 30k, it can be cool, but it's always more interesting and dynamic how it all came to be
No, because 30k is already 90% fallout from other things that get even less explanation than HH did in 40k.

>>24647808
>Where would I start with 40k?
Read a handful of things by Dan Abnett. The moment you feel slightly exhausted by his stop and never read another 40k thing again.

>>24647839
>The moment you feel slightly exhausted by his stop and never read another 40k thing again.
yeah, that's not how it works....

>>24647859
Yes but it would be for the best if it did.

>>24647829
>No, because 30k is already 90% fallout from other things that get even less explanation than HH did in 40k.
yeah, but that's how history works, there's some ruins of things that came before you don't really understand, there some uplifting and buildup to new things, i feel like you get both in 30k, while 40k, is mostly ruins, despite the Imperium being arguably the one of the strongest players in the setting, it doesn't feel like they are building up to anything, it feels like everybody is just waiting for a deus ex machine to set history in motion again and spending the time fighting in the meantime

>>24644680
i dropped off of gibson after pattern recognition. to me, he it seemed he lost his magic with that one. there are bits in his earlier trilogies that i didn't care for so much but at least the stories were imaginative and fun to think about afterwards.

i dropped this when the book implied that Isaac Newton wanted to be fucked in the ass hard, should i just try to finish it?

>>24647870
>there some uplifting and buildup to new things
Anon I think you might have missed the point of HH.

>40k, is mostly ruins, despite the Imperium being arguably the one of the strongest players in the setting, it doesn't feel like they are building up to anything
What part of
>Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
do you find so hard to understand?

> it feels like everybody is just waiting for a deus ex machine to set history in motion again and spending the time fighting in the meantime
There can be motion of history because There is Only War, and also because it's all a vehicle for selling plastic toys. If you want Actual Events Meaningfully Happening in your fiction then you need a different franchise. 30k won't help since every meaningful event in it has already happened and it's also a vehicle for selling plastic toys.

>>24647870
>there some uplifting and buildup to new things
Anon, I think you might have missed the point of HH.

>40k, is mostly ruins, despite the Imperium being arguably the one of the strongest players in the setting, it doesn't feel like they are building up to anything
What part of
>Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
do you find so hard to understand?

> it feels like everybody is just waiting for a deus ex machine to set history in motion again and spending the time fighting in the meantime
There can be no motion of history because There is Only War, and also because it's all a vehicle for selling plastic toys. If you want Actual Events Meaningfully Happening in your fiction then you need a different franchise. 30k won't help since every meaningful event in it has already happened and it's also a vehicle for selling plastic toys.

>>24644245
>>24644247
I think Christopher Buehlman has a shot

>>24646783
I actually wanted to post something like that weeks ago, when the Red Rising posters were highly active. But at the time, the book wasn't showing up in my recommendations. It typically does, but didn't on that specific day for some reason.
Still.... better late than never. I hope the Red Rising posters see it and understand that I absolutely reject their book.

>>24647808
Some of the short stories collections. Then pick a faction you like and get some of their novels. Don't start the Horus Heresy until you have a decent understanding of the Imperium.

>>24646765
>>24646803
I think Sanderson is watching both what happened with GRRM and with WoT and other adapted SFF pretty closely before he sells his soul to hollywood. Having listened to a few episodes of his podcast, even if he's a more prolific writer than George now, he knows he won't always be. So I think he's tentative about getting into adaptations because he'll have to split his time further into working on those as well as finishing Mistborn's 4th trilogy and the remaining Stormlight books. So on top of not being able to finish his series due to distractions with adaptations like George, he also has to constantly worry about faithful adaptations now that he's been an assistant on Amazon's failed Wheel of Time adaptation, canceled after 3 seasons because no bookfag was willing to get the word-of-mouth popularity going, and due to the millions of money laundering performed under the guise of "wigs."

>truth be told his prose annoys me from what I've glimpsed
I think the best word to describe his prose is 'utilitarian.' And if you read enough, you'll understand exactly why I use that word lol.
I think Sanderson is an ok writer with some interesting ideas from what I've read thus far, but if you know Mormon theology, his stories become much less original and rather predictable. I think he's smart enough to acknowledge the pitfalls of Martin and WoT, but will he be able to actually get his way to a faithful adaptation of Mistborn and SA? Frankly, he needs a mormon animation studio. But surrounding himself with yesmen editors and beta-readers is his flaw as he begins to George Lucas himself- just look at the reaction to Wind and Truth.

>>24647327
I finished that book. My takeaway is that it was boring, and he uses "thought-cage" way too much. Not worth the time.

>>24647883
>should i just try to finish it?
Yes.

>>24648015
>no bookfag was willing to get the word-of-mouth popularity going
they poorly adapted the books though and disappointed both sides of the aisle on that one. normies saw it as woke slop and fans of the books couldn't stomach the rewrites and liberties taken by the writers and director. i watched a bit of it and making every unique town or city in the books some melting pot of diversity in the tv show really shows where their priorities were.

>>24648203
Agreed. I hadn't read WoT, but every wednesday during season 1 I'd talk to my coworker who had read it all and he'd rant for 20-30 minutes about much they're fucking it up.

>>24648015
Slopborn is still going?

cant wait to see this scene on the tv

>>24648279
Yeah, "Ghostbloods" mentioned in >>24646531 is the "modern era" Mistborn series. He's writing all 3 books before he publishes the first one, that's why he's planned his release schedule out to 2030, and in >>24647080 he has shit planned out all the way until his death lmao. He MAY write a cyberpunk Mistborn era, otherwise the 4th and final Mistborn era trilogy will be "a space-opera with Allomancy-powered faster-than-light technology"

>>24648203
>>24648210
>normies saw it as woke slop
Normies don't think in those terms. In fact, if you ask a normie why they don't like a show, they will spin it by saying that they like the show, but they don't have time to watch it. Or they got distracted by something else. They rarely ever admit that they lost interest because the show was straight up bad.
Keep in mind: most normies didn't catch on that Game of Thrones was on a decline until season 8.

>>24648279
Mistborn was planned to be a trilogy of trilogies throughout different eras of Scadrial from the very beginning, newfriend. Of course now it will be four series and who knows what the fuck else.

>>24648404
>Keep in mind: most normies didn't catch on that Game of Thrones was on a decline until season 8.

Man, at a summer internship in the year between season 7 and 8 I was already deep in acceptance that the show was bad and I remember being flabbergasted at another guy for telling someone that the show doesn't get good until seasons 5 and 6 "when the action really picks up"

>>24646120
>Are there novels with similar misty and bleak low fantasy settings?

>>24645204
>Abercrombie
I wish he was a better writer because the dude is at least consistent and a work horse. The Devils was his first novel I outright did not like.

>>24648416
Lmao. I kinda envy the normies.

>>24648404
>>24648416
it's more that normies genuinely can't tell good work from bad work. writing especially.

>>24648443
Yeah sometimes I think it'd be nice if I could just think everything is AWESOME

>>24648474
you could if you read the Jerusalem Man trilogy

>>24648422
I saw the movie. Is it better in book form?

>>24647874
i just finished the 'blue ant' trilogy and pattern recognition is probably the best one so you didnt miss much.
my main problem is with all his multi-POV books it feels like he has a great story in his mind but only allows the reader to see a tiny glimpse of it from the periphery. most of the important interesting stuff is only mentioned in passing or is happening to the non-POV character in any chapter. kinda feels like sitting on the cuck chair watching the story happen to someone else instead of being immersed in all the interesting shit like in neuromancer.

How do you fellas feel about Fritz Lieber's work? I've just finished Swords and Deviltry and I really liked it. I'm hoping the rest of the books are good but there's something so compelling about fantasy bros and the actual world itself was a real joy to read about, especially the snow women and The Show.
Also in finding pic related I was made aware there were comics, worth a read after I'm done with the books or is the art not good?

>>24648730
have you checked out other Sword and Sorcerery? You're off to a good start if that's your first.

>>24648736
Yeah I've gone through Conan, Solomon Kane(if that counts), Correia's Son of the Black Sword(surprisingly good considering how little I cared for Monster Hunter or any of his other work), Black Company, Wolfe's Wizard Knight and (if they count) Matthew Stover's hilariously edgy yet surprisingly entertaining Caine books. There's also a series I vaguely recall about a bunch of immortal brothers waging a war(I think the protagonist had his own torture box moment near the end of one book and there was a mention of unicorns somewhere) but I don't at all remember what it was.
Was up between Fafhrd and Death Dealer and Fafhrd won the cointoss. I'm glad but I also hope Death Dealer's good.

>>24647512
>I shouldnt have read Dragonlance books in 90s.
Oh that was the best time though. We lived for those books.

>>24648730
I like the books a lot. The comic version is really good too. The Mignola art is great.

>>24647512
>>24648801
Was that the only instance in which the novels where more popular than the setting?

I love Silk. Severianfags can't make me hate him.

>>24648804
>Mignola
reminder me, did he draw baltimore as well?

>>24648801
digital art was a mistake
we need to go back

>>24648815
i'm with you. in long sun, he's written as the most compelling gary stu in literature. short sun elevates him even further in the opposite direction; just a man who's endured so much pain and suffering trudging through.

>>24644279
The First Law. Logen is a barbarian-esque man who can go into an almost supernatural berserker mode. Other than that and Conan, I actually can't think of much else.

>Egwene gets jealous and starts acting like a prissy bitch about Rand meetings with Elayne and Min
>Perin completely shuts her down by mentioning the gypsy boy she was shamelessly flirting with while the group was separated.
Good friend.
The lack of scenes from her point of view likely doesn't do her any favors but the way she attached herself to the first handsome guy she meets while Rand acts downright guilty for something as simple as finding a princess beautiful looks really bad for her.

>>24648872
Don't worry, her eventual POV chapters don't do her any favors either.

>>24648568
Yes, but the movie did OK all things considered

Read this masterpiece

>>24648816
He did some covers but the internal art was done by other people.

Why do (You) personally like fantasy/sci-fi? Just curious about what sorts of different paths have brought you all here.

>>24648810
Certainly to this extent anyways. Though the Forgotten Realms got a lot of novels too.
>>24648839
Embrace yadda yadda reject you know the rest

>>24648950
That's a bit hard to pin down really. I suppose partly because I discovered it at the right time but I was always a daydreamer as a kid so I suppose I just liked to imagine a world beyond the one we had. I won't go into my life story but while I didn't have a bad childhood by any stretch there were places like school where I never really felt like I fit in. I'm not about to go on and treat this like some kind of friendship simulator either but I suppose I was drawn to the sense of grandeur

>>24648939
Sell me on this chinkslop

>>24648950
1) I like nature as a literary object (descriptions of landscapes, forests, ruins, etc).
2) I like the romantic view on medieval life (Medievalism).
3) I like the exploration trope in literature.

>>24648934
Ok, I will check the book.

>>24648950
A lack of pajeets

>>24648950
I didn't like the books I was reading in school or literary fiction in general. In the late 1990s I started reading Forgotten Realms and that was that.

>>24648939
Too bad the sequel and the anime suck. Sad!

>>24648950
i couldn't day dream about the usual lit you had to read. i think i was in 7th grade when i read h.g. wells' time machine and that was a gateway into gibson novels as a teenager. my recreational reading has been sci fi/fantasy since. i'll occasional read something with a modern setting like devil all the time or whatever friends recommend from time to time, but there's never a second thought about works like that.

Just finished "Blindsight" and I loved it.
Is there anything similar to it when it comes to the technical approach of first contact aspect? The observation of unknown, some focus on preparations (like that android army), exploring the anomaly bit by bit, technical jargon, etc. You get the drill.
Or some another space book (space opera maybe?) with a lot of things like that.

Thoughts on this collaboration between Gaiman and Wolfe?

I'm looking for something similar to the Lies of Locke Lamora with more dick-ass thieves.

>>24649351
Maybe >>24645354 this?

>>24648939
I got the book yesterday and read the first 3 chapters. What the hell is wrong with web novels and the prose being so shit/padded? No editor? I'm sure the story is good but if the prose is dogshit I don't know how much I'll like it.

>>24649371
The early chapters of the LOTM translation are known for being pretty rough. I believe it's a combination of just bad translation and the writing itself. Both improve as the story progresses - but don't expect fluent prose. It's the story, characters, and worldbuilding that are it's (massive) appeal.

>>24649378
>and worldbuilding
So it's trash

>>24649381
No, it's very good worldbuilding.

>>24649385
There is no good Worldbuilding. Worldbuilding is just fluff that morons think adds depth because it has volumes of material. Worldbuilding is retarded bullshit that let's hack authors think they're making progress when they're not actually working on the meat of their book. Worldbuilding is worthless without the story.

>>24648939
Go back to your fucking containment thread you subhuman piece of filth.

>>24649399
Saying there is no good worldbuilding just because story is more important is so retarded. A good story will always be made better by fleshed out worldbuilding.

>>24649425
But a good story will still be a good story. World building for the sake of itself is pointless.

>>24649433
>World building for the sake of itself is pointless.
I agree with this. Same with a magic system. If the plot and characters aren't good, magic system and worldbuilding won't matter.

What should I read next if I liked this? I mean aside from more D&D books

>>24649451
Dungeon crawler carl

>>24649479
That sounds like isekai slop. I have standards anon

>>24649399
That's not true. Worldbuilding is very often the reason for the entire story, if it doesn't exist there is no story. How can you have Lord of the Rings without Middle Earth?

>>24649485
It isn't Isekai and it's one of the most successful originally self-published sff series by an American author. It's popular now in general really.

>>24649534
>It's popular
Terrible way to sell a series to someone who uses the word slop

>>24649534
burger king and love island is popular too

>>24649552
I'm not trying to. I'm a different anon. I'm just stating facts.

>>24649554
And almost all fantasy for women is much more popular for men. I didn't say anything about quality.

>>24649250
I still need to get around to Blindsight.

>>24649448
I hate magic systems. I understand you don't want your characters to be able to do anything at any time but trying to systemize magic makes it so less magical. Put a cap on it, maybe give a cost but otherwise it's magic, you ain't got to explain tits.

>>24649591
everything needs to be a like heckin video game for the modern consumer, turning the charm of whimsy magic into le science because of atheism and other soulless npc shit

If you're the anon who is trying to join the Goodreads group from about 2.5 hours ago with a newly created account, I sent you a friend request to allow messaging since it's disabled by default. You didn't put a join message, so as far as I know it's a random. You can either accept the friend request, message me, or join again at a later time with a message.

>>24649479
I don't care who you are, Secret Asian Man was funny.

>>24645102
I've heard from multiple people calling the Vampire Hunter D books complete and utter shit.

Vampire Hunter D
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show_book/1029811-sffg?book_id=16599

>>24649767
what about it?

>>24649736
I heard they were a bit dry mostly

>>24647808
Xenos by Abnett. (it's the first book of the trilogy)
Otherwise, you can start with Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts series as well. It's the first book in the series, and the first book in GW's new publisher house --so it's called One and Only.

Another alernative, if you cannot be commited for a novel, try Deathwing short story anthology.

don't dive into HH books, they're space opera things which include lots of 'characters' --it's marvel shit. You won't understand a shit if you don't have a a good understanding of the lore. And it takes 50+ books for the rebel army to reach Terra. So, fuck no.

>>24647808
but keep in mind that it's mostly slop, with a few exceptions. It's a long-running ad campaign for plastic toys.

Abnett is an entertaining writer. He's better than sanderson, for instance.

Space Marine novels get quickly boring as they are always cool and killer, with not much going on besides gun porn (bolter porn as they call it.)

Still, if you want to give the idea a go; try Nightbringer (the first book in the trilogy) by McNeill. (He's a boring writer, to me). But the first novel is written in a way to introduce the reader to the basic concepts in the setting.

Alternately, you can give Space Wolves trilogy by W.King a go --it takes upon the story of a random boy becoming space marine --so again, pedagogical.

If you want one-off book, try Eye of Terror by Barrington.

Replayed the ps2 game Demon Stone based on forgotten realms. I forgot Drizzt was in that. Sort of in the mood to see if I still have my old novels somewhere.

>>24649736
They have "translated asian novel syndrome" for sure, but otherwise are nice reads for the spooky season. That said, it's better to start with the movies and then move on to volume 4+, but really, you can read the books in any order since they're pure pulp with little continuity between them. The world alone is the main draw, unironically one of the most unique and wild settings put to print.

Like most pulp novels, don't read them back to back to back.

>>24649999
>He's better than sanderson, for instance.
Most BL authors are. Even the worst ones.

Anything good in the fantasy genre published since 2020? Any hidden gems?

any good sky pirate kino?

>>24647883
No, avoid pozzed shit.

>>24650197
The Last King of Osten Ard by Tad Williams, but read Memory, Sorrow and Thorn before that as its a prequel series.

>>24650160
That was my most re-playable offline game in the 2000s. Just liked its art style.

>>24650363
It's fun. The same team also did that kickass Two Towers game. And boy does it show. But yeah it just vibes well. Really gives the feel of a Salvatore adventure

>>24646969
>DCC author is a footfag
figures

>>24650374
>Two Towers game
To be honest I only played The Return of The King game, but I really loved it too. But wasn't able to finish it, there were some issues as I remember (or I wasn't skilled enough).

>>24647327
i dropped it after 150 pages because nothing happens

>>24650188
>BL
boy love? what's going on in 40k books???

>>24649345
>wolfe fanboys pretend gene wolfe was some le based catholic traditionalist right winger
>is best buddies with a jewish scientologist sexual predator
Wolfebros...

>>24650527
>CHAD Wolfe is a man that can accept the beliefs of others even when they run contradictory to his own, and is able to work professionally with them without hard feelings.
>Able to forgive Gaiman of his sins and see the good in his dark heart.

>>24650547
it's also likely that, like everyone else, he had no idea what kind of reprobate gaiman was behind closed doors. in his foreword for clark ashton smith's best of, he took some playful jabs at him being a womanizer and he wasn't anywhere near gaiman.

>>24650547
>forgiving a jewish scientologist serial sexual predator is BASED
???

>>24650715
>Being a grandstanding moralfag religion sperg is BASED
???

>>24650401
It was something like "to the person who sent me feet pics, I hope you get the help you need"

Read this. It mogs most of western fantasy

new

>>24650941