Arthurian Edition
What's your favorite work concerning The Matter of Britain? Medieval or modern?
FANTASY
Selected:
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General:
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Flowchart:
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SCIENCE FICTION
Selected:
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General:
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NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books:
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Jack Vance is (rightly) shilled on here quite a bit, so I'll toss in a recommendation for his epic fantasy trilogy, Lyonesse.
Vance's masterful prose and wry affect is in full effect here, although Lyonesse fittingly contains more somber passages and arcs than usual for Vance. The ending is a tad rushed, but given the proliferation of interminable epic series it's hard to hold that too much against it.
I did however find the portrayal of the Christian bishop absurd in a bad way; the guy is a relatively major character but seems to have no motivation beyond just being totally evil.
Ok just ignore my thread I guess then
I read pic realated and really enjoyed it. Is her Fifth Season any good? Any other authors similar in their worldbuilding?
What do good people of /sffg/ think about Culture of Critique by Kevin MacDonald?
Hey man this thread is for fantasy books so you better make yourself at home.
Fifth Season is the best book she's written so far.
As far as similar stories -- Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
suck a cock
Speaking of Arthurian fantasy, I just finished pic related (looks like Castalia finally found a decent cover artist, finally). It was actually quite good, although I'd only make a totally unqualified recommendation to someone who's a fan of paladins, just because of the subject matter.
This is actually the first three books (they're only about 150 pages each) of a planned 12-book YA series. In contrast to some of Wright's recent works (Eschaton Sequence, Unwithering) the story is pretty tightly focused. We get some acquaintance with the world but little worldbuilding exposition. Much of the plot is a reworking of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, hence the title.
The book is explicitly Catholic and deliberately sets out to create a wholesome adventure for teenage boys, although it doesn't shy away from mild GRI when required by its subject matter.
Wright's dialogue continues to be top notch; there are many excellent pre-battle bantz written in a suitable Arthurian style. His control of tone is far above the typical YA hack and he uses this quite expertly to contrast the innocence sincerity of his protagonist with the ancient and otherworldly denizens of Faery.
>GRI
What's this?
Gay, Rape, and Incest.
I finished 3 books of Malazan ~2 years back and want to get back to it since I have been too much into philosophy since then. Is there some place I could recap the first books except Wikipedia? They are so daunting though, I still haven’t readied myself to get into them again.
I should add that while this is definitely Arthurian, the planned series consists of four trilogies with different themes. The one Wright is working on right now is apparently more of an urban fantasy. Green Knight's Squire does take place in the world we live in, although the story spends most of its time in Faery or remote places close to it.
Epub please
The Broken Earth is far better than Dreamblood and is the best thing that NKJ has written.
>he finds out that the Culture of Critique is truly fantasy
Like pottery.
For the record, I resent Book of the New Sun being called science fiction
No matter how large and supposedly intricate the scifi work is behind the scenes, the reality is this story is fantasy. Any reference to scifi is indistinguishable from magic, both in tone and nature.
This is not the undermine the book. I really did enjoy it, and the praise of the worldbuilding is well earned, alongside some really strong characters and storylines.
Nonetheless, I think that in the future this commendable series should be listed as fantasy rather than scifi, as it is (IMO incorrectly) in the recc lists in the OP. It's perfectly possible that I missed a lot of scifi elements, but I was somewhat consulting the wiki as I went primarily for the meaning of words and I lapped up some minor plot elements too.
Am I a faggot? I can see why fantasyboys or scifantasycunts like it, but i'm a scifaggot
where can i download modern sci fi books for free?
Unholy GRI discussion from last thread: Yes there's strong implication that Shauriatas is still alive to some extent inside the Dunyain that have joined the Consult. Kellhus has been cucked.
The real mystery though is why that one Dunyain isn't scarred at all. Did he join the Consult BEFORE the attack on Ishuäl?
Yes, you are a faggot.
How is this.
on the internet
I liked it.
it was ok
Is that Rorschach from Blindsight by Peter Watts?
No you didn't.
It's been a tad overhyped because the author is an Asian tranny but it's OK. Personally I just felt like it was sort of a worse version of Too Like The Lightning but plenty of people have liked it.
Great example of good ideas with poor execution
For the record, I resent Dune being called science fiction
No matter how large and supposedly intricate the scifi work is behind the scenes, the reality is this story is fantasy. Any reference to scifi is indistinguishable from magic, both in tone and nature.
This is not the undermine the book. I really did enjoy it, and the praise of the worldbuilding is well earned, alongside some really strong characters and storylines.
Nonetheless, I think that in the future this commendable series lel should be listed as fantasy rather than scifi, as it is (IMO incorrectly) in the recc lists in the OP. It's perfectly possible that I missed a lot of scifi elements, but I was somewhat consulting the wiki as I went primarily for the meaning of words and I lapped up some minor plot elements too.
Am I a faggot? I can see why fantasyboys or scifantasycunts like it, but i'm a scifaggot
Argument falls apart because I thought Dune was arse
Do the copypasta with Hyperion and you've got an argument
It was not really an argument and I've yet to read Hyperion. But honestly, sci-fi and fantasy are basically the same and anyone that say differently is either a faggot or should be reading technical documentations instead of fiction.
>But honestly, sci-fi and fantasy are basically the same
I agree in theory but not in practice.
I get you're critiquing hard scifi but it's part of the genre so deal with it
What sets Hyperion apart from Dune and BotNS is that while the ridiculous magic-level science is described instead as advanced tech, complete with pseudo-correct jargon and the characters treating it so. BotNS has advanced tech described as magic, and Dune has magic described as magic.
I just read Merlin's Booke by Jane Yolen, bit of a mixed bag - the first few stories and the one about him trapped under the tree at the end of his life were good, but there's a long one about sword-smithing women on Avalon that barely has him in it.
Philip-Purser Hallard's Pendragon/Locksley stuff is also great
>Dune has magic described as magic
You mean the control words and the Weirding Way, or does actual magic show up in later books I haven't read?
Soft sf in Hard uniform, I liked, tho your ability to enjoy it will depend on your ability to quickly grasp and accept the more peculiar aspects of the story, which aren't all that well explained. Granted, as someone who hates pages and pages of exposition, I found it refreshing, but many find it unpalatable because of that.
epub where?
>not knowing about the holy trinity of a book's worth
>It's been a tad overhyped because the author is an Asian tranny
??????
Why did nobody warn me how fucking bad this book is? Holy shit, I've heard nothing but high praises, but it's written from the perspective of a tweenage millennial.
There's no sense of place nor world. The main character is some teenage fedora tipping power gamer. It's fucking Brandon Sanderson all over again - WHY do fantasy readers have such shit taste?
Kellhus is a head on someone's body somewhere. We know he can swap, and we know the one who got salted wasn't him. He could be ANYONE! EVEN YOU!
What's Veeky Forums's opinion on Peter F. Hamilton?
are you the same faggot posting about that in every thread? fuck off
Ive seen people here trash it here a couple times this month.
the first praise i can find for it describes it as 'pure anime' which frankly is a big red flag
warosu.org
warosu.org
No, I just picked it up. That's why I'm butthurt.
It's super anime. Feels like a fucking video game, because apparently it's part of some "LitRPG" genre? Which sounds super autistic.
So I'm aware this has been meme'd so you're all probably sick of talking about it, but I'm not a regular in the sffg so I thought I'd try my look. Just read pic related, and really dug it. As I was reading I grew concerned that Kvothe's near-perfection was going to put me off eventually but it never did, I was engaged the whole time.
Is it generally well regarded on here? Is the next book just as good?
*luck
Christ.
kys
It's generally looked down upon and while it's decent the second book is bad and the third will literally never be released.
>Why did nobody warn me how fucking bad this book is? Holy shit, I've heard nothing but high praises,
Okay. Now we know you are lying. You have to be from reddit because sffg has done nothing but shit on that book every time it was brought up.
Why's it looked down on? I can see flaws in it but overall I liked it.
>the third will literally never be released
What's the story there?
It's rightfully considered awful.
>posting a screenshot of an image file
Go in the fucking archives. We are not going to have screen long posts discussing this book again. Want to know our opinion? Check the archive.
You look like the same fag who posts this same shit over and over again, so you can say "it's not that bad", "you don't understand it". You do this because you want discussion of your favorite book. It's even the same fucking photo.
If you continue I will consider this shit as spam. We already said our pros and cons are in the archive.
>wants me to unzip the folder
>look for the file
>and post it by itself to appease his autism
Neck yourself
Well, how about I just knock you flat on you're ass you troll, that sound any better to you? Just name the time and the place and I'll be there.
>phoneposting
>ever
politely kys.
I just finished it like, 3 minutes before I made that post. I have never posted on the sffg before as I don't read much of the genre.
I'm not going to argue it's merit as I'm not offended by other people disliking a book that I liked. I just wondered what the consensus was.
"Check out the archive" would have been fine, thanks.
Not me btw.
Not me btw, I'm
Honestly it's probably mostly because of the second book. Basically Kvothe is a whiny bitch and the good chapters drown in endless Denna chapters and "problems" with the most basic solutions. In the second book there's another people that beat out Kvothes beloved gypsy troupers for the trophy of most stupid people in fantasy.
>What's the story there?
Just like the other fat fuck he's busy writing reviews, shorts and 200 page long blog posts.
I liked the first four or five books but then the story started to fall apart, the books should have ended at the scattering. I dont personally care if a book is scifi or fantasy, I enjoy both. You could say that a scifi book is fantasy just because the POV character doesn't know how the technology works and then treats all technology as "magic", imagine how people would treat smartphones 500 years ago.
meant for
Come on. Sanderson is hardly high art, but he's infinitely better than this autismo.
You should reread and pay attention to prose after reading some of the better prose fantasy has to offer, you'll notice how inconsistent it is throughout the book and utilizes the same structure you'd read out of a high school poetry textbook every time: [pronoun-modifier-Intensifier-allusion-punctuation mark-repeat].
>not using your 9 inch tablet with no phoning ability to post on 4chin with wifi from the comforts of your bed
Pleb
long scifi book recomendation plz
We discussed it last week I think. The entire fucking thread was hijacked. This guy does this on the regular. "Pretends" to be new, then argues. I'm fed up reading the same shit ad nauseam.
>long
book of the long sun
The library at mount char
Red Rising trilogy
Metro 2033
Roadside picnic
Does Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles count as (very low) fantasy?
There is clearly magic by the end of the books.
Anathem (Neal Stephenson math monks)
>roadside picnic
>long
not even close to 1000 pages
>asian author
>HUGO AND NEBULA NOMINEE
Gonna go ahead and guess it's either mediocre or outright shit.
>There is clearly magic by the end of the books.
Clearly? I disagree. The "magic" could still be considered entirely coincidental by the end. I do think it should be considered fantasy though because the characters believe it's magic.
...
>guess
Your schedule too full of dick-sucking to make time to read?
>Wasting your life reading diversity quotas
But why
lol you mad as fuck.
I can't for the life of me get into sci-fi no matter what medium it's in. What do you guys like about the genre the most?
The alien babes.
It allows the scope for an author with a good imagination, and the ability to write well, to do amazing things
>ignore author's descriptions
>imagine scenes and locations that are fitting for whatever scenario might be taking place rather than piecing together their poor sense of place
Is this legal? I keep doing it.
>What do you guys like about the genre the most?
The slaughtering of alien scum.
The Name of the Wind is ok, despite its flaws.
However, everything wrong with the first book is cranked up ten notches in the second book.
>Dana is an even bigger leech and acts like an even bigger whore
>kvothe still pines after her like a beta while every other female not related to him begs for his dick, even so a sex goddess wants him.
i wouldn't bother continuing to read it. It's only made more infuriating when you listen to Rothfuss talk about all the "systemic issues" fantasy stories contain, and realise that all the stuff he complains about is not only present in this series, but also done worse.
May sound weird, but i'm looking for books that read like how synthwave music sounds. A book that evokes imagery and a tone similar to Blade Runner, for example.
would Dick, Matheson or Asimov fit this description?
I literally do that for everything, including character descriptions.
To me the Weasleys were also blonde hair and blue eyed but had a slightly yellow tint compared to everyone elses platinum.
It sounds like you want to read New Wave SF from the 60s/70s, where the minimalist white-walled decor is accentuated by burnished metal surfaces, and men and women dress in brightly coloured tunics, breeches and smocks, and the media is projected from small crystals, or little silver ball-bearings, or even on tape mediums (despite conquering space and FTL travel, analogue is still the preferred choice.) This, combined with a flowing prose style.
Philip K Dick is nearest to these, but Robert Silverberg comes to mind because his prose is more mellifluous with that ethereal touch. Some of Jack Vance's SF has the kind of gleaming minimal aesthetic I described, the early 20thC idea of the future of gleaming rooms and conveniences. Alfred Bester too, but his style is more beatnik.
Read Downward To Earth by Silverberg, Demon Princes by Jack Vance (or To Live Forever, for a one-and-done) and Demolished Man by Bester. Or for a safe best read a volume of PKD's short stories from the mid 50s-70s. These stories have the sparking clean sort of settings that I think you're reaching for, as opposed to a grimy setting.
How does Rothfuss get away with being such a lazy piece of shit?
At least GRRM was an established writer before aSoIAF, plus he has a successful tv show that he directed a couple of episodes of, and works on novellas/Wild Cards/anthologies and shit. Rothfuss is doing jackshit. Why does his publisher allow this?
I do that because I don't have a choice. No matter what, I get confused trying to imagine a 3d space an author describes, and it ends up being impossible or incongruous. I suppose thats the advantage of books, imagine whatever makes sense to you.
Sales of his existing books still rake in money, which is ultimately all the companies care about. Same reason they let Rowling shit out that horrible fanfiction play thing.
>implying anyone but pseuds even gives a fuck about prose structure in fantasy
This really fucked me up with Bakker.
>all of those technical terms for foliage and battlements
Fuck you nigga, I have NO idea what's going on in those scenes.
fucking solid response, user, thank you.
Going to put in an order for your recommendations now.
I initially put an effort into following the author's descriptions, but eventually give up in utter confusion.
There's a battle scene depicted in Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne where Loghain fights on some sort of cliffside where he maintains both a height advantage while also being able to push the enemy forces off the cliff and into the sea. I still have no idea how this land formation is supposed to look and get confused every time i read it.
>and we know the one who got salted wasn't him.
No we don't. Even Bakker confirmed he was dead. He got outplayed. Deal with it.
>Loghain fights on some sort of cliffside where he maintains both a height advantage while also being able to push the enemy forces off the cliff and into the sea. I still have no idea how this land formation is supposed to look and get confused every time i read it.
Sounds like the 300 version of Thermopylae except the attackers are also going uphill.
(IRL Thermopylae wasn't/isn't a cliff, rather it was more of a narrow beach abutted by steep hills on the inland side)
>Some poor soul actually read the book that fag hack shat out