/sffg/ - Science Fiction & Fantasy General

Fantasy
Selected:
>i.imgur.com/r688cPe.jpg
General:
>i.imgur.com/igBYngL.jpg
Flowchart:
>i.imgur.com/uykqKJn.jpg

Science Fiction
Selected:
>i.imgur.com/A96mTQX.jpg
>i.imgur.com/IBs9KE8.jpg
General:
>i.imgur.com/r55ODlL.jpg
>i.imgur.com/gNTrDmc.jpg

NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books:
>i.imgur.com/IJxTQBL.jpg

Previous Threads:

Other urls found in this thread:

goodreads.com/book/show/405589.Byzantium
web.archive.org/web/20141226224409/http://www.scifiwright.com/2007/11/phillip-pullman-on-the-other-hand-is-no-hero-of-mine/
twitter.com/SFWRedditImages

I've found what I think is the complete anthology of all Conan stories in a local bookstore. I've always been curious about Howard's work. Any of you fellas here have any opinions on the stuff and how it stands up nowadays?

Give me ONE good reason why I shouldn't put lightsabers in my fantasy novel...

That's what I thought.

Just finished this. The prose was a bit amateurish but it was a fun read, so I intend to continue the series. I like the idea of the protagonist not being the "destined hero" but instead just some kid that put the work in. What I don't like is that the actual hero of prophecy feels like he gets all these powers handed to him without having to work for it, so I hope the story is building up to doing something different with that. He feels like an oblivious idiot trying to be some sort of fairytale hero while the protagonist is quickly developing into a sharp-minded badass.

Anyone else familiar with it? I picked it up at the recommendation of someone in this thread so I presume there's at least one of you.

Because they're obviously sci-fi.

...It's a Lazer sword.

What are some fantasy or SF novels with a shemale or futanari protagonist?

>Castalia House is looking for excellent writers who reject the modern and postmodern dogmas so prevalent in science fiction and fantasy today. We are looking for writers who believe there is a fundamental distinction between good and evil. We are interested in writers who harken back to the Golden Age of SF and the Inklings. We are seeking writers who respect the past as much as they anticipate the future. We want to publish writers with souls, writers with chests, writers who possess a sense of the numinous and the ineffable. We hope to hear from authors who are just as interested in telling a fascinating story and entertaining the reader as they are in demonstrating literary pyrotechnics.

>We are looking for writers who believe there is a fundamental distinction between good and evil

Dropped before i even picked it up

nobody cares faggot

I wish Shaeönanra was my dad.

I was the one shilling it. It's the bet example of anime in prose. Sanderson comes no where close to Wight when in comes to western anime.

What's wrong with "destined hero"?

In my story, the protagonist is quite clearly the one destined for greatness. What's wrong with that? Why do people dislike this 'trope' or whatever you call it?

>Recognizable element from one of the most famous stories on Earth.
>Used for cool factor more than usefulness.

Overdone. No one wants to read the exact same story 100 times.

same

What does /sffg/ think of Stephen Lawhead?
His standalone books (Dream Thief, Patrick: Son of Ireland) look promising.

goodreads.com/book/show/405589.Byzantium

I always post this one, but someone else needs to come up with better ones.

Write a short but compelling synopsis of your /sff/ novel

A NEET shitposts on the wrong forum and gets thrust into a thrilling cyber warfare and sex filled adventure

recommend me a book with a flashy galactic empire/ reich

An ancient scientist who lives on a flat world with hokey cosmology (stars are actually just lights hanging from the ceiling of the heavens, etc.) goes on a journey east to find the source of the rising sun and settle the dispute of whether there is only one sun circling the planet or if a new sun is created each day. Discovers that the sun is a series of chariot riders that pass on a fiery mantle to the next rider each morning before burning up, so that each day requires a fresh rider, but the same fiery mantle is passed on between them, ever-burning. Returns home, reports that the sun is neither one nor many.

A friend of mine wants me to read The Dispossessed because it's his favorite book. Is it good? I don't read a whole lot of scifi

Thirded

Black and white morality isn't just unrealistic. It's also fucking boring.

Anyone?

This is actually quite interesting. I like the "is not one nor many" phrase.

it's basically trash.
Not in a bad way, mind you, but a good way.
There's little to no overarching plot
and little to no chronological integrity to be detected.

Conan is essentially a faceless wandering barbarian with a soft spot for cute women. He goes around and smashes things, sometimes he sneaks.

That's as far as it goes; there's never any intricate plot, there's never any big bad evil genius being propped up for some chapters, little exploration of culture or somesuch.

Most all the stories follow this trope:
> Conan comes somewhere
> he either wants to steal something
> or there's some asshole who wronged him
> Conan smashes stuff
> Conan proceeds to be on his way SOMEWHERE

that being said, I really do enjoy it:
I always have it handy on my phone when going for a long shit. It's mindless, reasonably well written and enjoyable in what little context it provides for worldbuilding and mythos, passes the time - and then you can easily move on and forget it after having read a short story.

I say:
Buy it.
Give it to your Kids when they get to 2nd grade or so, they'll love it!

Man can grow hundreds of years old,
the Galaxy is being slowly conquered with almost-Lightspeed Sleeperships, but instantenous communication via quantumpairs is possible. The Human Metacivilization keeps on changing and fracturing through wars both internal and external, but eventually a large and almost Utopian state is forged in opposition to Aliens and Humans alike, a Sphere of the Free ,where Philosophy, Arts and Technology prosper. Yet, it is neither unchallenged, nor is it the largest political entity in the Spiralspur.

An old man and his Band of Religious Fanatics implement a Plan to allow for perpetual growth and prosperity - for most - while the Utopian State fights for survival.

elaborating:
The story will follow first two Women ( because why the fuck not? The way I wrote the story originally, in a kind of play by mail with a longtime friend, though we both went off to write our own take on that shared original universe - the women just turned out to be the most sensible points of view ) ,
> Erika Martinez is third Watchcaptain aboard a Battleship ( PHOBOS ) in the Navy of previously sketched Utopia. When an Incident forces her taskforce to leave on a twenty year deployment and is subsequently engaged in a firefight, eventually she ends up as the last ranking officer standing. She's keeping the ship and crew ( of originally a couple thousand, in the end only barely of company strength ) together in a time of need via her understanding and good nature.
>> She never actually really needs to assume command and is conflicted through most of the story but catches glimpses of some stealth ship or another operating in the same area, in the end she defers to the commander of another vessel and brings home victory for her team just by soldiering on and being a decent person. She's by no means exceptionally, as far as Starshipcaptains go.

> Karin Reiter is an augmented woman enlisted as a volunteer with the Marineinfantry, stationed aboard Erika Martinez Ship the PHOBOS. She's slutty, though not while on duty, and dispatched to hijack a derelict experimental vessel which was cause for hostilities to originally break out. While there she encounters a group of stealth fighters and warriors aboard said same ship - who are not hostile at all. She's equipped with a deathwish which never comes to fruition, instead she hijacks said derelict and brings it home to PHOBOS and onwards to victory. She goes on to join a rather elite group of Blockade Breakers for the next installment of the story.

The overall conflict is fought out between the following relevant factions, though in the course of the story ( being seperated by relativistic distances ), we rarely ( but do ) encounter them;
> The European Union ( named after a Planet, which was named after the Moon - but thematically related to the best Ideal the IRL EU should strive for ) is an Utopia, mostly NON-Human and of many mixed races and cultures ( think maybe: Star Treks Federation, but not as Utopist, as there is Politicking and Strive ) and held back from intervention by a kind of Prime Directive
> The Souvereignty, which is predominantly HUMAN and also predominantly of one other Alien Species which Humans simply called "Dragons" or "Drakhs" upon first contact. These are the Bad guys. However, they have a much larger hearth and supply fringe worlds and younge species etc more freely with Technology, being open and inclusive - albeit Religiously Fanatic in a weird way ( which invariably pits them against the Europeans ),

Tower of the Elephant is as good as anything else out there

Several other stories are very good, like Beyond the Black River, Red Nails, and Queen of the Black Coast.

No it doesn't, you're just a pleb.

Except fantasy fans.

Space combat is performed by uploaded humans. One of the best crew members, has over 6,000,000 confirmed kills or whatever, is some guy who doesn't really believe it's him out there, that his ghost is really conscious, he just lets them copy his brain now and then and enjoy the sweet dosh, then gets his memories from space combat back, thinks, "huh, my ghost got converted to the idea it was conscious that time too," and goes back to his life.

Then his ship comes back impounded, his ghost helped in some kind of atrocity, and he's called in as an expert witness and possibly a defendant.

There's lots of variation possible with the Chosen One plot element; if he runs from the call, how long he does, how he tries to settle his destiny against his will, whether or not he lets other moral rules slide in the face of his destiny, and so on.

All of those have been done.

> the European Electronics Company, which is basically THE Megacorp of the Setting, equaling or dwarfing most stellar empires with its tradingfleets and outpacing most (and maybe even the europeans) in Technology. They have their fingers in every pie and are beloved by many - as they provide much of the wealth the entire Metacivilization thrives off. Politically they appease and de-escalate regularly in most conflicts, but in the course of the first story installment it becomes clear that their agendas are not as bright as some would believe.

There's also some smaller political players,
> Sirians, who are Humans of some (peaceful) former Warriorculture
> Canie, who are not!Italien Citystate
> The White Zone, or the DMZ ( De-Militarized-Zone ) on the borders between the two large powerhouses of the European Union and the Souvereignty, actually housing the lions share of disorganized Human and Nonhuman Population, eternally fractured, regularly battleground to larger and smaller stellar empires.

While we initially follow our Heroes on a Path to rescue the Utopia, hand in hand with the company, they soon find out about the shadier sides of the company and political backroom dealing which puts the Utopian Europe on the fringe of destruction ( for some unknown reason ),

In their defense of said Utopia, said Utopia disintegrates along its political faultlines and disintegrates into civil war,
soon after the Souvereignty also collapses
but not before both have done their very best to Eradicate the Company.

Why did this happen?
Ideological Radicals on part of the Company;
there is a large fraction within its controlling body disgusted with the state of the world;
> Two Powerblocks divide all the wealth between each other
> People suffer, are deprived of ressources and sometimes entire populations enslaved by some upstart stellar empire

There are competing schools of thought within these Company Radicals
> One Branch believes that Eternal Warfare and a fracturing of large states in favor of more social and economical mobility for the large number of smaller states is favourable, increasing overall goodness in the world
>> these fight continuously to uplift smaller nations and destroy larger nations
> Another Branch believes that Factionality ala Holy Roman Empire with smaller states being at peace with one another is preferreable, creating an equilibrium ( call them: Bismarcks )
> a third Branch is opposed to all others: They believe the Creation of a Superstate in the Spiral Spur (first) and the Galaxy as a whole (eventually) will bring peace and unity.
> a secretive small faction realizes that most paradigms are imperfect; no superstate can prevail forever, no HRE Balance of Powers can last eternal, and fractured warring factions in eternal turmoil are prone to develop into a downwards spiral of eternal suffering and regression.
>> This secretive Faction has infiltrated most of the other Factions.

> the fifth and largest faction of company radicals are ideological radicals worshipping warfare itself, trying to end the world in order to end all suffering.

The "Heroes" participate in the struggles and fights for the future of the spur and eventually reveal the different warring factions from within the company, destroying them.

Eventually the Utopian State is reborn, albeit much smaller. The different Company Factions continue to be pitted agains each other eternally, carrying their poisonous Ideology to the stars at lightspeed, uplifting civilizations they find along the way and doing their best to perpetuate their Paradigms.

>> Technology
it is assumed that Ships are able to accelerate to almost lightspeed within a matter of months, Technology as a whole has essentially plateaud many millenia ago and progress is only made incrementally in small branches.

>> Communiaction
is assumed to be instantly via paired quantumbits, thus making stellar empire building possible, but warfare still subject to relativistic necessities (see above).

Bildungsroman featuring a cat-taur adept and her exploits with shoulder mounted ballista.

>all of those have been done
>implying anything hasn't been done
>implying we shouldn't go back to things we liked and do them again

>"""short"""

Who are you quoting?

Motorcycle loli chainsaw knights.

Right now you. Did you mean to say "who WERE you quoting?"

Recommend me a Sci-Fi book set in Northern England. Ill accept a wide interpretation of 'Northern' im just wondering if anyone ahs been inspired to write about this shithole. All i know of is maybe a Shadowrun book set in Manchester

Buried Dragon had a segment in Scotland.

Scotland isnt northern England REEEEE

But thanks it looks good

What is Buried Dragon?

sorry man,
I just got into the flow of it,
also please excuse imperfect english, as its not my mothers tongue :)

It was this SF book - Hamilton I think? - where space colonization was only profitable because founding corps hired mercenaries to plunder their planets every few decades. There was a subplot where the main guy has a Scottish girlfriend who feeds him real steak and he flips out because all decent food comes from factories in the future.

It was one of those "huh, that happened" books for me, but maybe you'll enjoy it.

That's awfully specific, maybe writers from that area or something. I'd suggest Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell but you asked for SF and that's required reading for you folk anyway probably.

Jeeze, you guys weren't kidding about the Dark Materials sequels sucking. I'm 17% of the way through the amber spyglass and I can't give two shits about any of the new characters. Between the gay angels who are just inhumane enough that I can't sympathize with them and the elephants that turn into motorcycles I think I might drop this

It was supposed to be a short story but it's going to be at least a novella.

>When great man needs guidance and uncertainty reigns the oracle plays her part, but when prophecy fails and the great man falls the oracle falls apart.
>Eveline Bevitore had grown up never knowing the fear of uncertainty, but when a failed prediction results in the death of her parents and the destruction of her home, she finds herself for the first time asking what comes next
>Eve finds herself whisked away to a world of narcissistic magicians, world-eating dragonflies, sororicidal sphynxes and one incredibly disenthused showgirl

>That's awfully specific, maybe writers from that area or something. I'd suggest Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell but you asked for SF and that's required reading for you folk anyway probably.

Yeah it is a bit specific. I managed to find an Author called Jeff Noon who sets all his books in Future manchester though Vurt seems alright

This seems like a rad /general/ community, you guys actually like reading. I will sit at this table

web.archive.org/web/20141226224409/http://www.scifiwright.com/2007/11/phillip-pullman-on-the-other-hand-is-no-hero-of-mine/
JCW's finest work.

Wait until anti-Stevian-user comes sucking the fun from the thread.

welcome, friend! Enjoy your stay
check out the charts in the OP for some recommendations, but beware: There is shit mixed in with good recommendations sometimes.
( Especially beware and use caution with Women Authors! )

Only read Novels if you KNOW they are GRI approved

Don't forget your complimentary spacecat recommendation!

GRI?

A standardized way our General uses to measure the quality of a work.

Pic related. If it's good it gets the seal of approval.

Here faggot. I'll help you out with 2 hints.


1. Have the sword be made of some exotic material that doesn't break / withstands high temp w/e.
Make some mechanic that allow you to bind the material of your sword to a flame w/e, maybe the ever_burning pits in the Lord's castle?
Now make a sheath for the sword out of the same material, but don't bind it.

When you go into a fight you pull out your flaming sword that is x℃ hot, and use it shear through your enemies.

2. Have some sword made with some exotic material, have it so the sword can withstand high amounts vibrations. Also make sure the vibrations aren't passed to the pummel.
Make it so the material is thin but also strong, bind it to the soul of some demon, angel, priest, rabbi, w/e.
The sword is vibrating because the soul is trying to escape. A soul which has the mass of an adult human being contained in a vessel as small as a sword is going to cause some crazy vibrations.
It is vibrating so fast the sword has heated up and gives off a bright blue sheen.
Because the blade is so thin, and vibrating at such a high frequency, the edge is able to cut through the molecules of air themself, this frequency is what gives it that high whiny/humming sound.

You are supposed to be a writer, I'm sure you will be able to adapt those pieces to match your story.

Castalia's cover art is getting technically better but the subject there is still atrocious.

It's pretty good but your friend is a pleb.

That's stupid.

That's actually pretty good, hope you're up to the execution.

>We want to publish writers with chests

The chick on Daughter of Danger's cover has a better chest desu.

I'm absolutely not. I've been keeping up with my New Year's resolution to write every day, though, and my short stories are getting marginally better. Some day.

>Black and white morality
>fundamental distinction between good and evil
>Thinking theses are even remotely the same thing
Jesus new-/sffg/ is becoming this unread.

any fantasy out there that has a protagonist that just gets caught up in all the conflict by accident? like, he doesnt play an integral part or is even the hero of the story, but he just happens to witness it all.

So much for the tolerant Left.

There's a Baen book that's narrated by a tribe of historian mites that live on the main character. Can't remember what it was called.

Also FFXII.

z
Try Market forces by that guy who wrote altered carbon. Morgan something?

>tfw little severian

That's the sad part, they're finally looking like they weren't slammed together in five minutes except it's jailbait titties.

that was a little... shocking, I have to admit

is there a picrelated for gri approved books?

I just got into Science Fiction (right now I am reading novellas by minor authors). Which books should I go to to make the transition from sub-par novellas to serious sci-fi?

Howard's prose certainly compares favorably to quite a bit of modern fantasy. It's well worth a read.

Dune
I, Robot
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

Philip K. Dick

omg, Veeky Forums, i accidentally mixed up these two quotes from Patrick Rothfuss and Gene Wolfe! which one is which?!

>It is easier to understand if you think of it in terms of music. Sometimes a man enjoys a symphony. Elsetimes he finds a jig more suited to his taste.
>The same holds true for lovemaking. One type is suited to the deep cushions of a twilight forest glade. Another comes quite naturally tangled in the sheets of narrow beds upstairs in inns. Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.
>Some might take offense at this way of seeing things, not understanding how a trouper views his music. They might think I degrade women. They might consider me callous, or boorish, or crude.
>But those people do not understand love, or music, or me.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Let me say this. Once when I was swimming underwater in imitation of her, I saw her swimming toward me, and she was swift and graceful beyond all telling. There are no words for that, as there are none for her beauty. She caught my hand, and we broke the surface, up from the divine radiance of the sea into the blinding glare of the Sun, and the droplets on her eyelashes were diamonds. You that read of all this in a year that I will never see will think me wretched, perhaps-certainly I was wretched enough fighting the inhumi and their slaves on Green, fighting the settlers, and before the end even fighting my own son. Or possibly you may envy me this big white house that we in Gaon are pleased to call a palace, my gems and gold and racks of arms, and my dozen-odd wives.
>But know this: The best and happiest of my hours you know nothing about. I have seen days like gold.

Top is Rothfuss bottom is Wolfe. Not even hard to tell man.

Agreed, because the bottom has more purple prose. Dead give away.

I never even read Rothfuss, but it's easy to spot Gene Wolfe and he sure as hell never wrote anything as cringeworthy as the above quote.

Too soon.

What's a novel with a little girl protag and a lot of drama?

Sick troll, bro. For a minute I almost didn't realize that the top passage was unbearable hot garbage reminescent of some guy poking you in the chest and shrieking "Neon Genesis: Evangelion has layers! Like an onion!" while he scrapes his fedora on the chalkboard forever and ever for eternity.

Has anyone read this?
Haven't seen many people talking about it.

quick question /sffg/

Is writing an epic scene that climaxes in the main character jumping out a window like an action hero and landing in a dumpster too far into the ream of self-parody

edgy

it wasn't bad but it left me with no motivation to read the sequel(s)

I dont know.

So basically you're posting these questions to troll people at this point right?

Black Jewels Trilogy. Now read it and fuck off.

China is fuckin THICC

tell me about it.

epic XD

Only a fucking retard sucj as yourself would ever mix the two. Like I said before, you'd better stick with Rothfuss.

the best thing to do is to try this out yourself.

...

Are there any good novels that combine fantasy and sci-fi? Other than Dune.

Magic in space and shieet.

Metabarons.