/sffg/Science fiction and fantasy general

How does /sffg/ feel about The Name of the Wind? I'm only on chapter seven or so but I like it so far, the descriptions of the inn are all incredibly homely and give it such a cozy feeling, everyone is too witty for the sole purpose of being witty though but other than that not bad. However in the introduction the person described it as being very much like the work of Meryvyn Peake, as someone who adored Gormenghast, I do not see the resemblance at all or does that happen later on?

Finish Gormenghast, I need to read three and four myself.

Rothfuss is one of the most hated authors here

Which is a bit undeserved because it seems (haven't actually read anything by him) he just writes Gary Stu power fantasies (ala Dan Brown) where, eg, the main character looses his virginity to a sex goddess and she thinks it was awesome sex, instead of being a actual terrible person like say, OSC, Piers Anthony or Marion Zimmer Bradley.

How is Piers Anthony a terrible person?

Just finished this book..

Was it good?

No, but you'll pretend to like it in order to fit in with your internet friends.

Yes. It was much better than Cats. You're going to read it again and again.

He's worse than you'd assume from the description. His fedora is hard to put into words.
OSC is much better.
The more you read it the worst it gets. Theres nothing remotely similar to Gormenghast about it.
The person who made the comparison is a fucking retard.

...but not as good as cats. You feel the need to gather research material.

I recently finished both the Kane series by Karl Wagner and Conan the Barbarian (only the Howard stories) and I loved them both. Can anyone suggest other sword&sorcery/fantasy novels that are similar?
I already read Nifft and it was alright, and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and I didn't like it.

David Gemmell

>my library has more obscure xenofiction books like Mirs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Bamni, and Varjak Paw
>doesn't have Tailchaser's Song or Watership Down
>only one library in the entire state has a copy of Tailchaser

These books should be more widespread considering the Tailchaser's Song movie and BBC Watership Down stuff coming soon.

SIWBI was amazing, but I really didn't like Steelheart. I was promised unpowered good guys.

A huge strength of SIWBI was how all the ridiculous Crisis on Infinite Worlds comic book stuff was played completely straight. He didn't try to subvert anything.

If Gormenghast is fantasy so is Name of the Rose, and I'm rocking and rolling with that right now.

>yfw most science fiction is obsessed with religion

How's it feel fedoras

*the best science fiction

forgot the crucial part

They probably just go muh clarke muh asimov and act like the pulps never existed.
>SF treats religion as a punching bag for sixty years
>if it isn't a distant memory of an enlightened people who have thankfully progressed beyond it it's an evil scam by cartoon villains
>but if you don't have a gay man in your book you're a terrible person

Looking at the cover it appears whoever wrote the introduction was called Stephen Deas, never heard of them.

Right, so let's say I wanted to write a science fantasy story where the main character discovers an illuminati type group ruling and controlling everything and a big theme would be whether humanity really has order or chaos is basically in control and humankind is spiraling towards destruction, what would be the best way of doing it? I think a medieval setting is way overdone for that type of thing.

Spotted butthurt chart user.

Keep getting replaced by better people.

Rothfuss is a terrible person, he fucks underage female students who were memed into thinking he has talent.

>Write Gary Stu fanfic
>Get 6/10 pussy

Jokes on them. The greatest SFF works are intensely religious

>BotNS
>A Canticle for Leibowitz
>LotR
>Any George MacDonald
>Narnia
>Dunsany

Atheshits BTFO

Why do you say best then proceed to list the worst? Those are good examples of why religious people can't write.

>b-but no one goes to church in LotR so it can't be religious

That post is a good example of you being on the spectrum.

Shit taste confirmed

Name me some SFF writers or works who could top Wolfe, Dunsany, Tolkien or MacDonald?

It's harder to name people who don't top them.

Very reminiscing of Wolfe honestly. Go for something like that.
Who is McDonald and tell me about Dunsay. What did they write and what do you recommend?

Yup, on the spectrum, completely unable to answer a simple question

>Dunsany
>muh fields

Are you this upset that you didn't get a reply you're posting it again? Here's your (You) man you really wanted it. Won't change that Wolfe is absolutely terrible though.

I think it's a good book because it, and the rest of the tetralogy, is still something I think about long after reading it.

Religion is interesting, just like sex and death are interesting. They are commonplace things everybody has an opinion on, and there is a wealth of mythology and tradition to draw on, when writing about religion. Naturally a lot of SF would talk about it.

I suggest you read Robert Silverberg's Downward To Earth, for no reason than I want to meme the shit out of this author so that I can discuss his work with more people. A man seeks forgiveness from a race of sentient elephants. The prose is earthy and smooth like velvet.

Anybody here read the Three Body Problem trilogy? Good?

>I want to meme the shit out of this author so that I can discuss his work with more people
You want to meme Softcore Silverberg?

Calamity! You actually want to read a sparking Sanderson novel you slontze?

Storm you.

I'd go for a late Renaissance time period. Tons of secular and religious upheaval, technological progress (adoption of cannons/muskets makes for more interesting battles than "idiot swings a sword"), etc.

You could even rip off the 30 year war, since it was absolutely insane and most Germans thought the world was ending.

>TBP is literally the best sci fi to come along in years and you're pooh-poohing it away.

>First of all, no one likes it because of some wishy washy desire to see more translated fiction. How facile and pandering. I have literally never read a worse thought.

>Second, and this is tied to the first point, it's laughable that the only part of any relevance is the Cultural Revolution section. Again this pandering oriental fascination. Read a history book if it's so eye-opening. That said, the historical context of China is well utilised for the plot, and it all comes together so magnificently.

>It's truly reminiscent of golden age sci fi, with big ideas and lots of science. It's exciting and fresh, and yeah The Dark Forest does just take it to the next level. This isn't a book about fucking characters - it's a book about scientists and existentialism (by the way The Dark Forest is a beautiful love story) and it works perfectly for that. There are issues with translation and this is mostly in dialogue, but honestly there was some killer writing in there. But oh no sorry Station Eleven is just so beautiful it made me cry. Give me a break. This is far and above a lot else out there.

>tl;dr appreciate, fools.

>Addendum: I went to a seminar in Sydney with Cixin Liu was speaking. I have never seen such a packed event. A university lecture theatre filled with Chinese students (and me and like 5 white dudes). During question time there was a literal stampede of people wanting to ask him questions. And no, not questions like 'how do you find time to write?' or some lame bullshit Western audiences would ask, but deep and meaningful questions about science and the future of China.

>That day I saw the West die.

hello friend

Why does a tripshit think like he is welcome

You may be referencing his soft pornography novels under the pseudonym Don Eliott. I haven't read those.

But if you are disparaging Downward To The Earth, I disagree. It's as good as any other of his novels from the 60s-70s.

Yeah, I fell in love with her characters about a year ago. Been reading anything from her I could get my hands on ever since.

I am, though I haven't read them either.
I was a bit traumatized by pic related, which is quite lurid.

So I decided to check out the Warriors 'manga' at my library and I don't get why Graystripe couldn't stay with the twolegs.

Are there any fantasy novels (that are not horror hybrids) where the "bad guys" win? Not anti-heroes or anything, but actual villains.

Not bad, I've always been interested in the feudalism of the 30 Years War. I could imagine a lot of people would be dueling and displacing various houses so there really is no central power unifying things completely, one of the reasons my world is going to shit.

Elric of Melbourne stuff ends with the triumph of chaos and the black sword

Not a novel but the next Obsidian game, Tyranny, is going to basically be that. You're going to play a team of the Dark Lord's underlings who's job is to maintain order now that he rules the world.

Oh totally. HRE period Germany was a absolute clusterfuck. And like I said, people literally thought the apocalypse was happening because some states suffered population decreases of 75% or greater.

ZOOM AND ENHANCE

>Elric of Melbourne

>OI ARIOCH YOU BLOODY CUNT!
>BLOOD AND SOULS FOR THE FUCKING CUNT!

Just picked up Red Mars. Looking forward to getting into it. Any other recommendations for a newbie into the sci fi / fantasy game

Philip K Dick
Ursula le Guin
Frank Herbert

These are pretty interesting authors that hit the note of decent quality and high entertainment and cool ideas.

>Philip K Dick
Maybe he doesn't have the best prose or whatever but his ideas are great if you don't mind the surreal.

He also managed to make me feel upset about someone pulling the legs off a random spider in Do Androids Dream and I'm usually all for insect mutilation

>holy
>roman
>empire

For certain values of each.

G

G-
G........
Gg
GGGGGGG
GG
good game
good
game
good
good
ood
odd
...
GENEEE
GENE?
YEEAH --- Yes YEAS

WHO? WHO? (doctor) WHO? WHOo-

WHOOOOOooooo
WHO le Fu
FU
FUCKKK
FUCKCUFKC
WOLFE
worst
GENRE WOLFE

>crashing Germany, with no survivors

Excession by Banks has kind of a male pregnancy. Culture citizens can change their body from male to female or the other way round within a around year, get pregnant and keep the fertilized egg stored in your body (it says it's stored in the balls) to decide later when to let it properly develop.
Banks describes a common practice where in a regular romance, partners change their sex to impregnate each other, the one first impregnated stores the egg in his balls, then impregnates the female who was originally male, who in turn doesn't let the fetus develop, then waits another year until the temporary male has changed back to female and they both give birth at the same time.

I think I'm going to pick that up

Pretty good, but separate the "golden age" into pre- and post war. It's a jarring jump cut from Lindsay to Heinlein

This appears to be one of the charts that's been in the OP forever.

So OP is still a fag after all?

Steelheart is essentially an inferior version of the Darker than Black anime (only S1 + the OVAs since S2 is so shit) and the only reason to read the trilogy is for Prof. Book 1 is generally straightforward but shit, Book 2 gets better in terms of the worldbuilding/plot and Book 3/Calamity goes downhill quite quickly as a cop out. The protagonist is awful, cringy and annoying.

The premise of it the trilogy is that anyone who gets superpowers will turn into a sociopath and kill everyone they love and get a specific weakness.

Sanderson is all 'let's redeem them because some divine asshole just had a bad day and made them' and Darker than Black is all 'they experience emotions in different ways to normal humans and the reason why they have become this way is unknown.

So is the stormlight archive a meme?
I am almost done with book two and like it what are your guys opinion?

You belong in an oubliette.

It's a meme insofar as the author has a 10-year plan to complete it.

I got burned with Jordan and King and swore off ongoing series. Then somehow came to believe ASOIAF was a trilogy. Burned again.

But whether or not Sanderson's quality is holding up, he is fantasy's closer so it's probably safe to invest yourself in his big series. For myself, I will wait.

You'll probably like it. I think the book is perfectly titled and will deliver for anyone who is intrigued by the mix of warmth and irony.

I got burned pretty hard when I read the novelization of No Man's Land. What an utterly inconceivable piece of trash that was and it was even written by Rucka (some writers may be good in medium x but not in medium y).
But I'll take your word for it and pick it up next month.

>it's a new thread
>time to gather my threadly hate for my sustenance

>Thinking about the tetralogy
You'd better read it before you remember about it

based Stardust

>user suggested house of blades to me
>first page is a
>teleports behind (moves so fast, same difference) the guy, "heh", nothing personnel

Fuck you user.

cheers to that user then

You'll have to elaborate on that buddy, because I'm not sure what you mean.

I wish whoever has the publishing rights to BotNS would just release it as it is as a full volume with that specific cover art. It's like the best one.

I've been working on a quantum-physics inspired mythology for god knows how long and I STILL have symbolic issues

I made elecromagnetism associated with the "spark of life" and the weak force with "death and decay" (since the weak force mediates particle decay)

The problem is that the weak force acts on something called the "flavor" charge (which there are three opposite pairs of) which I don't have a way to connect to the idea of death and decay, and the character who is supposed to be that force's "avatar" is supposed to be able to switch flavors (which pisses him off becuase he got such a weak power). I don't really know what to do with that unless any food he uses his powers on decays really fast, making his power even more useless

Name of the Wind is overrated, but not really bad, especially if you've avoided hype.

Rothfuss completely crawled up his own ass after NotW was well received though, and the sequel is fucking terrible. It will probably be years before he finishes the third ("""final""") installment.

These posts should be bannable.

Consider giving Tarzan or John Carter a shot. If you liked Howard you owe it to yourself to give Burroughs a shot.

MacDonald wrote the Flashman books, which you should absolutely read.

Dunsany: you know how fantasy books stereotypicall contain "ye olde dragonnes"? (Though most actually don't, nowadays.) That was Dunsany, although he's as far above his imitators as Tolkien is above his. Try The Worm Ouroburos, or The King of Elfland's Daughter.

Although the chart neglects Ender's Game, which I think is another good entry-level SF novel, and Wolfe. I'd recommend The Fifth Head of Cerberus for starting with Wolfe.

I was going to disagree, but now that I think about it, you're kinda right. Religious authors really do tend to put out better stuff.

On the other hand, you get someone who is staunchly atheist like China Mieville, and the book stumbles over bitter ressentiment for 400 pages with occasional gay sex to break the mood.

>For a novel about magical dolls House of Blades is really fun

>It's a Sanderson style action novel with everyone having magic ripped from anime but the author actually knows how to pace a book

>And it's in glorious single POV

Where the fuck is the magical dolls fagget this shit reads like a fucking ya novel.

Why is Neal Stephenson as popular as he is? His books are shit.

>bitter ressentiment for 400 pages with occasional gay sex to break the mood.
Wow, what Mieville is that? I've only read the new paris one and it's more like a fantasy version of PKD's "dude, reality bending" motif, didn't detect fedora from him the way you do with Rothfuss or someone.

>oh god it's the "animal is associated with some deity power" user

Still struggling I see.

Worm Ouroboros isnt Dunsany, friend, though still a good recommendation.

Penguin has a great Dunsany collection called In The Land Of Time

Right or wrong, religion rules literature for a very good reason.science is isn't made with human needs in mind. It's truth, sterile and silver without any intent to create meaning or symbolism. Religion is made by humans, for humans. it's designed to enrapture us, to inspire us, give everything we experience and stand for a complex metaphysical background in the symbols of the human brain.

In science, apples are just another fruit, in religion they are a fundamental icon of knowledge and those things forbidden to us

I want to write a series where the binary between religion and science is broken, and I've spent the better part of a year planning such a thing, but at the end of the day I've still made no progress

yep. maybe I'll get some writing done now that I got fired. haha, yeah right

>These posts should be bannable
It's just the low iq user(literally low iq), he isn't meming. He literally can't form opinions for himself.

Thanks dudes, I'll give check those out

Thanks dudes, I'll check those out