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Happy New Year Edition!

>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 Thread: >>24058902
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first for Fully Automated Gay Space Luxury Communism
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>>24065712
>mfw we had a decent /lit/ thread on /v/ of all places
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Editing chapter 2
I don’t know how these guys fucking do it, I tell you what.
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>>24065751
The classic wisdom holds. "Threads about subject X are best when not posted in board X."
>>
>>24065776
every time people say this about something on /v/ or /tg/ I look at the thread and it's earnestly on-topic, which is nice, but mostly just filled with stuff that got discussed to death here years ago.
>>
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>>24065751
coming from there to ask some questions actually.
it's been a real hot minute since i've read something, trying to find what to start with.
as a young lad i've only read the normiest shit, HP, earthsea, LotR.
Favorite series was Artemis Fowl if it helps.
i'm trying to find something that's well known so i can ease myself back into it.

peeking at the most-popular lists, i think i've nailed down these ones:
>Mistborn: The Final Empire
>The Kingkiller Chronicle
>The First Law

i know it's probably the lowest hanging fruits, but that's fine by me.

any advice on what i should start with?
maybe something that i won't find in a synopsis.
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>>24065785
read first law, it's not too bad. mistborn is sandershit and kingkiller is cuckoldfic
>>
>>24065785
>any advice on what i should start with?
None of those.
Read Curse of Chalion if you want some good quality, traditional fantasy. If you want something lighter read Cradle, which is basically something written Brandon Sanderson if he wasn't a brainrotted Mormon and actually had an editor.
First Law is just an edgefest of unlikeable characters in a silly plot. Kingkiller is weird cuckshit.

It's difficult to give real recommendations if you don't give any indication of where your interests lie.
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I'm almost done with the Return of the King. It took me about 15 days to read starting from The Hobbit.
After that I think I'll take a break before reading the Silmarillion and I'll read something else for a while.

Any particular thoughts on the following books/series?
>Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab
>Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
>The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
>Renegades by Marissa Meyer
>The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

I will probably read The Poppy War next because I like chinese history and the protagonist looks like a based retard. Also heard she commits genocide, so that's cool.
>>
>>24065809
in my opinion none of those modern fantasy works can hold a candle to tolkien. also, don't feel compelled to read the silmarillion since it's less of a novel and more of a bible/compendium of middle-earth mythology.
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>>24065781
whoops meant /v/ or /tv/. /tg/ have usually actually read enough to have insight you might not see here
>>
>>24065809
I haven't heard of Shades of Magic before, but the rest are bad. Especially Poppy War. Not even bad enough to be entertaining, Poppy War is mostly just the author seething about white people. Priory is just feminist drivel, and Foundryside is just another entry into the genre of "Fantasy where the protagonist is the authors ideal thief/assassin waifu who is totally the bestest ever".
>>
Penric & Desdemona #7-13*
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6936260767
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7077465099
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7078267093
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7085100302
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7088109428
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7094229176

*excluding 9, which was previously posted.

This is the penultimate post of this tripcode. Final post tomorrow.
>>
>>24065785
Avoid all that cuck and simp nonsense. Read Reverend Insanity.
>>
Newfag here. I always liked scifi and fantasy books. Lately i decided i will buy something from Nebula nominees. So i ordered a pack. I am reading right now 4th book i bought and i have a weird feeling nebula got infested with a woke virus. 4th book and the main character is again woman. She is again a lesbian. The author is a nigger. The previous books the authors were women. So i decided to check who won nebulas in the past few years and, holy shit, it was mostly women, gooks or some niggers. Barely any white guys. I thought scifi and fantasy books were free of jewish tricks but it seems i was very wrong...
>>
>>24065856
HEY EVERYONE I WENT AND READ SOMETHING I KNEW I'D GET MAD ABOUT
LOOK AT ME
>>
>>24065856
>Newfag here.
>Lately i decided i will buy something from Nebula nominees. So i ordered a pack.
LOL
>>
>>24065856
If it's winning awards it's generally not going to be worth reading.
>>
>>24065867
Not sure whats so funny about this. Newfag as im new to this board not to the books. It just happened i basicaly read older titles before.
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>>24065856
shut the FUCK up
>>
>>24065801
>>24065854
>>24065794
>if you don't give any indication of where your interests lie
i don't care much about romance but i'm fine as long as it's not the focus.
i like for stuff to actually happen, i don't want metaphors or allegories.
i think magic/fae/dragon stuff is cool as shit, but it's gotta have rules and not "it's magic i ain't gonna explain shit"
i'm looking for bestseller normie shit so i can get a proper feel to maybe develop my tastes later so nothing too niche.
not looking for ultragrim, gorey or rapey stuff.
a nice, well executed plot/plan is probably what i like best, but there's gotta be action.
i also like strong personalities, i don't mind if they're a bit archetype-y since i'm not too well-read.
>>
Oh, so this general is basicaly a reddit space.
>>
>>24065937
"nooo I said the magic words, why aren't you rushing to pat me on the back"
>>
>>24065933
Sounds like the Cradle series by Will Wight would be right up your alley.
>>
>>24065953
YWNBAW
>>
>>24065856
>buys books from modern woke awards nominees
>surprised to learn they're woke
Bruh...
>>
>>24065820
What made LOTR interesting to read to me even after knowing (almost) the entire plot was the world building and mythology that Tolkien wrote about, things like Beren and Lúthien, the song of Eärendil, etc. Currently I'm reading the appendices and I'm enjoying them as well, so I think I'd be interested in reading the Silmarillion and branching into more "academic" stuff like The Fall of Gondolin/Beren and Lúthien
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Just finished Malazan Book 1. Overall I enjoyed it, but it took me getting over halfway through the book to start caring about what was going on.
I'll probably read on to the second book, since I've heard it's better, but it being a different story/set of characters doesn't bode well considering how long I took to get invested in the first one.
>>
>>24066066
>what do you mean you lost the frisbee?
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Why did Brandon Sanderson betray his Mormon values in exchange for writing gay romance?
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>>24065809
None of those picks are worth reading. Id recommend reading Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance or Memory Sworn and Thorn by Tad Williams.
>>
>>24065856
> Newfag here
I couldnt have guessed. Honestly, just avoid any awards after the 2000s.
>>
>>24065358
The first book is rough, but the story, writing, and characters improve significantly in subsequent books.
>>
>>24065933
You might like 'Hyperion' by Dan Simmons. It's really six different stories that all interlink to form one overarching narrative. Based on an unfinished poem by John Keats. It has a bit of everything that you want. Depending on your age and maturity, some of the chapters are quite emotional.
>>
seconding Hyperion, but careful with the sequels, it eventually falls off so hard it's unreal
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>>24065856
Hugos, Nebulas, Tiptree Jr, Norton, World Fantasy etc is all fucking trash that should be avoided and is best used as kindling.
>>
>>24065727
>Fully Automated Gay Space Luxury Communism
what /sff/ is about this, besides the Culture books?
>>
>>24066289
Wright's Golden Oecumene, but switch communism to capitalism.
Denser with ideas and better written, if you ask me, though I'm less sure about the ending
>>
>>24065785
Agreed with the other guy that you should go for Cradle over Sanderson/Mistborn if what you're looking for is "popcorn" fantasy. But those are pretty straightforward action series so if you want something with more of a scheming and mystery element like iirc artemis fowl had then maybe not your first choice.
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Is there a chart for ultra-edgy sci-fi? Like a sci-fi subengre equivalent of extreme horror/splatterpunk.
>>
Damn, Achamian really did kneel. I wonder if he remembered their final exchange back then.
>>
>>24065955
Tell me about Cradle, I’ve heard it gets dragon ball levels of retarded later which sounds fun, but the sanderslop comparisons give me pause.
>>
>>24066196
This series made me realize that I really dislike the framing device of the main character narrating his story years after it happened. Feels like built-in spoilers.
Another thing that annoyed me was that the main character is of course very interested and versed in ancient history. And the only reason for that is so that the author can go overboard with contemporary references.

But I still enjoyed the series a lot, even though the first book is pretty boring.
>>
>>24066590
First few books are ok, but the mc turns into a simp soon after. Also it starts out as xanxia but turns into shitty teenage drama. Frankly it's shit, don't waste your time with it.
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>>24066590
>the sanderslop comparisons give me pause
it's a series of "cultivation" novels about the MC running around the world collecting powerups to fight bigger and bigger badguys in magic kungfu matches until he becomes a god
it's not being compared because of similar writing styles so much as because that kind of cultivation story is inherently sloppish -- it's about showing off cool techniques and cool fights more than having any kind of deep message or examination of anything.
>>
>>24066491
>>24065955
guess i'll give a try to The first law then Cradle.
thank you everyone for the suggestions
>>
>>24066289
Don't Bite the Sun?
>>
>>24066196
yeah it's true, so far it is a little rough around the edges but not in a bad way, it's not poorly written or anything and there's enough that's keeping me reading.

>>24066599
yeah that is a wee bit cringe. dude unironically quoting "all the world's a stage" and namedropping Yorick is wiiild. i don't have much context about the world but 16,000+ years ago is a crazy amount of time. that's pre-Gilgamesh, fuck that's pre-civilization. it's like imagine some dude quoting from the epic poetry of the Clovis culture of the Southwest or something. doesn't seem very well thought out but I guess Dune did it a few times too, though Herbert had the good grace not to directly quote and reference Shakespeare on the regular. I kind of prefer him inventing quotes from books and songs and poetry in-world. but i'm still overall enjoying it.
>>
>>24065809
>>I will probably read The Poppy War next because I like chinese history and the protagonist looks like a based retard. Also heard she commits genocide, so that's cool.
Unless you enjoy reading feminist screeds and always wanted to vicariously live the life of a bitter homicidal cunt, I wouldn't bother.
>>
>>24065809
>Young Adult, Queer, LGBT, Asian
you're trying to troll us
>>
>>24066066
>, but it took me getting over halfway through the book to start caring about what was going on.
yeah that's kind of the Malazan experience. The story is told on a huge scale that is hard to appreciate immediately because so much of the novels are written at a ground-level perspective. It's the accumulation of dozens of different such perspectives that let you piece together the larger mosaic of what is going on in the wider setting. Even then it still takes several books before you actually get it. There will be several points in Malazan Book of the Fallen, if you choose to keep up with it, that you feel like you "finally get it" only to realize soon after that you don't understand anything, actually.
>>
>>24066066
>but it being a different story/set of characters doesn't bode well considering how long I took to get invested in the first one.
Well you either get used to new characters and places or you drop the series, because Malazan doesn't stop introducing new characters and settings until book 6.
>>
>>24065856
Yeah, you don't want to read award winning books. They are generally not any good. I've gotten good recommendations from /sffg/ but it's like pulling teeth most of the time. You have to wait til you see somebody posting who is actually a fan of SF/F and displays some amount of good sense, then badger them for recommendations. You can also beg recommendations at random but this is going to yield terrible results most of the time and I wouldn't recommend it.
>>
>>24066708
no, I've never read any YA or feminist/queer books, that's why I'm fine with reading something "bad" for now and forming my own opinions on the genre
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>>24065809
So, the Poppy War is about a girl who hates the fact that she is a girl and is expected to get married and have babies. To escape the cruel fate of womanhood she joins the military, where high marks in the examinations is all that really matters, except they're all prejudiced against women too and she has a nervous breakdown and goes to a doctor to kill her uterus so she no longer has periods. This is a thing that happens in the books, and the main character doesn't reflect on it at all. It's treated as a necessary step in her path to liberate herself. She doesn't see it as a sacrifice.
>>
Please link me "romance" novels for men. I don't care if they contain rape and harems or if they're slow burning and chivalric, as long as they aren't written with the modern tongue of snarky quips every page and constant casual dialogue.
>>
>>24066737
I have no clue what you're complaining about
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>30 year old autistic office drone suddenly gets powers and becomes a anti-hero
Is that all this genre is?
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>>24066737
>aren't written with the modern tongue of snarky quips
Genuinely might be impossible for western mens romance.
I can only think of Japanese light novels
>>
>>24066746
Yes. It's
>I want to be a bad ass / hero like in my video games
The genre
>>
>>24064399
>It's radical because you're excluding half of the actual genre for the sake of adhering to your personal definition of one of its several names.
Almost all of the names that are actually used include the word "science".
The works excluded usually deserve to be excluded.
A more exclusive term is better than a less exclusive one, in case you were confused about this.
>Also every fucking time it comes from some gormless Stemtard who can't seem to comprehend how exploring ideas like intergalactic trade and life after a machine ban fits into scifi despite them being common themes.
If you're referring to Dune, there's no intergalactic trade there is there?
And considering that interstellar trade already has been established as implausible what makes you think there would be any more reason to trade between galaxies than there would be between the stars?
"Life after a machine ban" is a valid theme to explore but Dune largely explores it through the means of fantasy rather than anything rooted in science or reality.
>>24064400
Tell me it isn't so, faggot. What does the word "fantasy" mean in your mind? Something extremely specific and rigorously defined I'm certain. No, that's the whole point, faggot, it's a nearly all-encompassing term, unlike science fiction which means something more specific. It's a genre revolving around a theme, the theme of science, whereas fantasy is just anything that intentionally isn't based on whatever real.
>>
>>24066698
>chinese historical genocide + feminist screeds
sounds kinda based.
i read bad reviews of one of kuang's other books though, they said her political screeds lacked nuance & substance. so i guess it'll dpeend on whether the soapbox is well crafted and woven into the themes & narrative of the book or just stapled on afterwards
>>
>>24066737
>give me some smutslop
>but I DON'T want them to read like slop
give up anon. your only option is litrpg cheat power harems with marvel quips
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>>24066746
>Is that all this genre is?
no that's isekai
there are plenty of litrpg books where the character is actually from the world.
the thing that ties it all together is muh vidya mechanics
>>
>>24066818
>they said her political screeds lacked nuance & substance
That succinctly describes my own opinion of her work, yes.
>so i guess it'll dpeend on whether the soapbox is well crafted and woven into the themes & narrative of the book or just stapled on afterwards
I mean, it's pretty clearly spelled out to you that it isn't. Her historical allegory to China's century of humiliation is so transparent one wonders why she did not simply write historical fantasy instead of pretending to create a high fantasy setting.
>>
>>24066737
I don't know how to tell you this, but men don't really read "romance" novels. Men read fantasy, sci-fi, adventure, mystery, thriller, western, etc, and these genres very often feature romance in some way, but Romance as a genre is not something men read in any great number. So writers of Romance do not write for men.
>>
>>24066863
what is romance anyways?
>>
>>24066635
I still have yet to read any cultivation or xianxia lit but I feel like I should eventually. Would Cradle be a good place to start or should I read that Reverend Insanity thing that one anon is always posting?
>>
>>24066863
I am a man and I read smut. I would happily enjoy novels that had quality writing plus also smut. But basically no such thing exists so I just read real novels and then read erotica separately.
>>
>>24066866
What do you mean? The genre or as a concept? Romance genre is about romantic relationships in a vague sense, but as with all genres it has its own cliches and tropes. Genres are genres because they adhere to common templates and ideas. Romance is no different in this respect.
>>
>>24066871
I don't object to smutty writing either, and also enjoy reading erotica from time to time, but romance isn't strictly erotica though it is often compared to it because women view it much the same as men do softcore pornography. Men and women have pretty different takes on sexual fantasy. Men tend to be very visual, while women tend to be more emotional. I know that's an old saw but the older I get the more true I see it to be.

Even in my own case where I'm able to get off reading erotica, I still prefer stuff that is written in a more "visual style" with an emphasis on describing actions and scenes.
>>
>>24066870
I'd recommend it yes, Cradle is a great series and also an easy entry to xianxia/cultivation stuff.

It's written by a white guy though so you miss out on some of the purestrain basedness/nonsense of Chinese power fantasy webnovels.
If you wanna read original Chinese stuff you've gotta deal with some jankiness of fan translations.

I haven't read reverend insanity myself.
>>
>>24066741
Cool.

>>24066752
>>24066828
Unfortunate. I've tried reading light novels and web novels and I've never been able to make it far into any of them.

>>24066863
It's understandable, I suppose. I've never been into romance, but I've been reading the rosy crucifixion trilogy recently and it's really engrossing and I've found myself captured by the sex and relationships and I usually read fantasy so I was hoping for something loosely similar. The only well-written type of fantasy romance I've read is Tarnsman of Gor, and the sequels really quickly dropped in quality.
>>
>>24066711
>>24066709
Oh, I'm well aware that's part of the deal (and appeal) of Malazan, and - in theory at least - I'm pretty ok with switching characters every so often.
But the first book really hit a sour spot for me where I did end up caring for the characters by the end of the book (which makes it harder to want to go to a different set) but it took me long enough where I don't feel like it's worth it to spend all this time to get invested on a different set of characters.
If I hadn't gotten invested at all in those characters, or if I'd gotten invested in them faster, I'd probably be much more willing to read the follow up, but as of now I'm mostly just not feeling it. However, I did hear Deadhouse gates is better than Gardens of the moon, and the prologue had my interest piqued, so I'll give it a try.
>>
>>24066870
It's a tough choice. You need to realize that after reading RI you will find most other fantasy works severely lacking in quality.
>>
>>24066918
Well I guess I can mollify you a bit by saying that some of the best characters in the series haven't been introduced to you yet. Deadhouse Gates introduces a couple of them. Personally, my favorites are introduced in book 5. Also, you will see certain characters again and again throughout the series. Sometimes they don't appear for a book or two, but there are characters in Book of the Fallen who make it all the way from book 1 to book 10.
>>
>>24066929
>there are characters in Book of the Fallen who make it all the way from book 1 to book 10
If it's Crockus I'll kill myself, if it's Apsalar/Sorry, Kalam, or Fiddler I'll unkill myself
>>
>>24066302
definitely not a plotfag series
but there's more imagination in Wright's pinky finger than most other authors
>>
>>24066933
Crokus is a fairly minor character, all told. He does appear again later but he's not nearly as important or central to the later books.

The others you mentioned also make a lot of appearances. Especially Fiddler.
>>
>>24066939
> Fiddler
Schizo-bros stay winning
>>
>>24065785
If you want marvelesque normslop those are great picks.
>>
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Just finished Wind and Truth, glad I prioritized spending time with family and friends over reading because holy shit. It seems like he just threw out his original plan and tossed in whatever shit he thought reddit would like. That and the rest of the book just felt like filler to get everyone to a specific end point. Kaladin becoming a therapist was retarded. He did nothing but play a flute until he was needed to ascend. Jasnah was sidelined for the entire thing and hit with the retard ray. How did she even lose that debate? Taravangian actually betrayed Fen and shows that he's willing to do so multiple times, but she's afraid because Jasnah might? Also Jasnah helped Dalinar write Oathbringer so she's aware of the phrase "sometimes a hypocrite is a man in the midst of change" but forgets that when Taravangian is constantly calling her a hypocrite? Also what was Taravangian's master plan anyway? If Gav didn't accidentally get sent the the Spiritual Realm would he just have pulled an innocent? I thought the whole point of becoming a champion was that you have to give yourself to Odium. That's why Rayse tried so hard to recruit Dalinar and Kaladin. Sanderson desperately needs an editor or a yard wrangler because there's no reason this should be as long as it is. I enjoyed the first three books of the series a lot. I even had fun with Mistborn, but this was just awful.
>>
>I'll never write better than Sanderson
>>
>>24067063
Even your suicide note will be better written than anything Sanderson has ever produced
>>
>>24066124
He needed something he could fap to
>>
>>24067027
As much as I loathe to jump to Sando's defense, I can't allow you to hate this book for wrong reasons:
It was spelled out repeatedly that gods can't betray promises.
The debate was about our feminist icon losing her moral high ground and outlining the very real benefits of joining odium.
And while it's obvious why odium (and the author) cares about making someone symbolically significant his champion, even if he picked some rando the dilemma for dalinar wouldn't substantially change.
>>
>>24067126
>It was spelled out repeatedly that gods can't betray promises.
But that doesn't stop them from exploiting loopholes. The whole reason they were fending off his attacks were because he was exploiting a loophole that Hoid missed. Did Fen think that she could outwit a God?
>The debate was about our feminist icon losing her moral high ground and outlining the very real benefits of joining odium.
Odium still didn't have the moral high ground considering Taravangian's previous betrayal. How does floating hypothetical assassinations trump actually betraying the coalition and humanity? Sure be made Fen a hypocrite but the only person he seemed to care about that was Dalinar.
>And while it's obvious why odium (and the author) cares about making someone symbolically significant his champion, even if he picked some rando the dilemma for dalinar wouldn't substantially change.
It would because the champion is someone who'd have to give themselves to Odium. Whoever the champion was had to give themselves to Odiumike Moash. Gav was the person that could fit the victim role while being Odium's champion. If that accident never happened, what was his plan?
>>
>>24066870
Cradle is not at all like typical xianxia and is a terrible introduction to the genre.
>>
Is it a country or a province?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poictesme
>>
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Why don't you fucks read actual good fantasy instead?
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>>24067325
too busy jacking it, watching movies, bouncing with ADHD through videogames for maybe 1 hr max at a time, working, and reading science fiction
>>
>>24067325
jadepill me on this trilogy, i've heard it was good but know nothing else
>>
>>24067325
Had an unexplainable craving for yakuza fantasy recently, would this fit the bill?
>>
>>24067330
are you me
>>
>>24067370
>>24067375
It's a hong kong gangster film from the 1980's but with magic using jade
>>
>>24066124
$$$$$
>>
>>24067325
im busy with shitty video games and "recommended" classical novels that, as it turns out, are all garbage.
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>>24067392
you should ready shitty video game novels instead.
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>>24067386
ok that sounds pretty based
>>
>>24067325
>contemporary writer
>Female author
>She has stated that she "[treats] the magic almost in a science fictional way"
what the fuck is wrong with you zoomers. I bet you're not even white
>>
>>24067428
I'm 36, i'm white, and you bet your ass I'm overweight
>>
>>24067433
dammit. maybe I'll listen to you then. I usually only read pre 2000s white male authors though.
>>
any fantasy novels that are basically the sopranos or gangster fiction but with magic?
>>
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>>24067449
sorry that came out wrong, I am >>24067433
(checking myself btw) and not >>24067325. Jade City does unironically sound refreshing but yes yes it also sounds very NPR. but yea my reading is similiar to you, white male authors PKD Egan Reynolds KSR Tolkein Herbert Banks Zalazny Asimov the list goes on. Female authors it's honestly just le Guin and Bujold off the top of my head.
>>
>>24067325
But is it actually good though
>>
>>24067325
> written by a woman
No thanks.
>>
>>24067453
cant think of anything apart from The Black Company by Glen Cook.
>>
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>>24067453
>>
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Simple country boy gets rich and marries a cat girl
>>
>>24066711
>Malazan doesn't stop introducing new characters and settings until book 6.
What are you talking about. Reaper's Gale, Toll the Hounds, Dust of Dreams, and the Crippled God all keep introducing new characters upon new characters. We get all the continents by book 5 but there's still new cities and characters being introduced.
>>
>>24067511
>Thief: the Novel
I liked although I haven't checked the sequel yet.
>>
>>24067574
I mean important, key figures. Yes, he keeps bringing in new people but the ones who are truly important are basically done by book 6.
>>
>>24067574
>>24067700
yes, but anyone expecting everything to be neatly tied up by the end will be disappointed. malazan is not that kind of series as it's not really about characters and their drama.
>>
>>24067501
>not a book about chingchongs written by a chingchong
race traitor
>>
Halfway through Wind and Truth and it feels like Szeth is trying to become Pokémon Champion.
>>
>>24066124
His real religion is Reddit.
>>
>tfw like schlocky ideas
>but hate shitty writing and overused tropes
>>
>>24066599
>This series made me realize that I really dislike the framing device of the main character narrating his story years after it happened. Feels like built-in spoilers.
I agree. The first-person perspective is also a spoiler in and of itself: He's still alive. This series is all about the *journey*.
>>
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>>24068282
are he fucking the pokemon as well?
>>
spoilers is fake problem, actually
most value in any narrative artform entirely unaffected by spoilers
>>
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>>
>A deepness in the sky
I didn't expect a complete Homerun after reading A Fire in the Deep
Its very tempting to download and read Vinge's earlier work.

>>24066066
Book 1 is awful outside of the finale.
It spends too much time on setup, and it takes itself far too seriously for a finale where the ancient evil is clowned upon after like 3 encounters.
Book 2 has the benefit that it actually toys with the idea of a world ending threat getting outscaled in true DND fashion, because the setting isn't small.
>>
>>24066737
Looking for this as well. Although I don’t need it to be romance, just light coom in a comfy adventure fantasy setting
>>
>>24066866
what is love?
>>
>>24068990
no more
>>
>>24068990
Don't hurt me
>>
>>24068619
read John Crowley, David Gemmell, Darrell Schweitzer
>>
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I finally reread Oathbringer. Goes better on the second read, when I really wasn't that invested. Impressed by how many things I'd forgotten happened in the book. Payoff at the end of the book was decent, at least, but I can't fucking bear the reddit-tier dialogue.
Reading the 2-star goodreads reviews for Rhythm of War is very amusing to me, and hopefully hardens me enough to where I can read and evaluate it calmly. Lord knows I don't give a rat's ass about fabrial science.
Anyway, oathbringer opinions:
>oh no, the humans are the REAL voidbringers, how do we fight for homes our ancestors actually stole, are we the baddies???
I remember the twist but I don't remember how big of a moral dilemma they made of it. Lmao.
>the lecture on how it's actually manlier to be a homo
even funnier on the reread, it's like Sando was trying to convince himself that it's "ok to be gay"
>Shallan and her fucking quips and her fucking schizophrenia and her fucking reddit dialogue
please kill her now
I swear I don't remember her being this annoying in books 1 and 2
>dealing with chronic mental health issues is what makes us strong enough to be radiant!
I don't really mind that, and the climax at the end of Oathbringer was great (Dalinar, more or less the only remaining real man telling odium to go fuck himself is great), but the execution is so supremely boring and gay that it's not even funny. No. Veni, vidi, vici. Have Shallan develop the willpower to stop being a schizo, have Renarin learn to keep the 'tism in check, stop flanderising Adolin—there's more to him than caring about fashion—and stop with Kaladin's depression arc that he's repeated three times already. Have him grow a spine, say the words, stop wallowing in self-pity, and using Syl as a fairy fleshlight soon, or this entire series will amount to nothing but wasted time and effort.
t. anon who was complaining about oathbringer a few weeks ago.

>>24066933
Crokus is a good guy. The end of his plot is one of the things I remember most fondly in the entire series.
>>24066929
>Personally, my favorites are introduced in book 5.
An enjoyer of Tehol and Bugg, I see. Good man.
>>
>>24067552
Yeah, sounds about right for an Aussie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5j_EcmRvaI
>>
>>24069118
lol.
maybe it was just a honeymoon phase, but when I was binging the first four books month before the latest one was released, the flaws seemed rather minor.
If you hate it already, then if you ever manage to catch up, you'll see that book 3 to book five is what a candle is to the sun.
>>
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>60 pages in
I know it's cliché but this is great so far,
does it get worse?
>>
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>another Count Fenring chapter
>>
>>24069305
It stays on that vibe until Chapterhouse.
Yet it stops at that other vibe in Children of Dune
>>
>>24069305
I thought the second half sucked and I've never read another Dune book after I finished it, I know I'm in the minority though
>>
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I finished reading The Hobbit last night. This was the first ever book where I kept reading solely because I really enjoyed the prose, but didn't care for the actual story at all. But the prose was so good that it kept me going all the way to the end. I didn't dislike it, I think it was an issue of finally reading the highly praised legendary story that started it all and finding it meh because so many other stories over the years redid this very same premise in new and interesting ways and I was exposed to all of those in childhood before ever getting around to this.

Beyond that issue there were some things I disliked: mostly the whole ending. Smaug is killed by some rando, Thorin being corrupted by the regular non-magical wealth of the mountain like Boromir was by the ring, goblins showing up out of nowhere in order to force everyone to work together, the fucking eagles coming in at the last minute to save the day just like in LOTR.
>>
>>24067325
Because /lit/ is infested with newfags, like yourself, who only read the same repetitive bestseller trash.
>>
>>24069452
all Tolkein, Hobbit included, is a snoresfest. I'm in my mid thirties so hush up about age now children
>>
>>24069310
Way better than Farad'n chapters.
>>
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>>24065712
My first post with !SFFG.n1h7M was on Aug 29, 2019. 1,950 days, over 5 years ago. Now, after posting my thoughts here about several hundreds of books, its time has come to an end. That doesn't mean I'll stop posting here, as I almost exclusively used it for what I thought about the books. The reasons why for any of this are uninteresting, so I'll skip them.

I thought I was going to write a lot more here, but I instead wrote more on the Goodreads group broadcast instead, so you'll have to read that for most of what I had to say.


My Year in Books
26,818 pages read
75 books read
Average book length in 2024, 357 pages
My average rating for 2024, 3.6/5 stars

Books
Top 5 Most Enjoyed Published in 2024
The Breath That Breaks The Stone
The Orphan and the Queen
The Tainted Cup
The Trials of Empire
Toxic Prey

Top 10 Most Enjoyed Read This Year
The Orphan and the Queen
The Breath That Breaks The Stone
Fire & Blood
The World of Ice and Fire
I Who Have Never Known Men
The Deluge
The Tainted Cup
The Trials of Empire
Paladin of Souls
>>
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Is this title "The Island of Dr Moreau", "The Island of Dr. Moreau", or "The Island of Doctor Moreau"?
>>
>>24065712
i know you said not to ask for vague recs but man the charts do not fucking help
i've exclusively read philosophy, history biographies, and some novellas; favorite being mishima novellas
haven't read anything in a couple years so i'd like to get back to it, but honestly i just want to read fiction; never really took a peek into science fiction and fantasy novels, I do like tabletop rpgs like AD&D2.5, and enjoy games like baldurs gate or eye of the beholder. I'm looking for high fantasy, foreign worlds to get lost in, and if possible a little easier to read compared to my previous endeavors.
also the bookstore next to where I live has l. ron hubbard books and I'm honestly curious due to the fact that scientology exists.
>>
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>>24069763
unironically Bakker. Or Neal Stephenson's Anathem. I'm not sure what you mean about your L Ron Hubbard and Scientology comment and so I'm going to ignore that

Bakker's Second Apocalypse series
>author did graduate work in academic philosophy but never finished
>author's idea for the series came out of his D&D campaign many many years ago
>series is high epic grimdark mature fantasy. a mix of LotR and Dune and the Crusades. 6 books in total so quite an investment but well worth it. very solid world building
>magic system is somehow inspired by linguistics and metaphysics. something about how words are utilized. I don't remember, it's been a while

Stephenson's Anathem
>single book that more or less takes place in an abbey with monks
>said monks focus on the intellectual, rational, and spiritual realm while the rest of the world is on their iPhones and eating snack cakes
>author is heavily inspired my western philosophers, so you sort of learn a bit about western philosophy and the ideas of these philosophers while reading this book
>>
>>24069791
>I'm not sure what you mean about your L Ron Hubbard and Scientology comment and so I'm going to ignore that
my curiosity getting the best of me and wondering what's on the pages of someone who made a cult
thanks for the recs though these sound right up my alley
>>
>>24069763
I agree. The charts aren't helpful. I don't need lists of books where I'm not told why they're recommended. They merely serve as reminders.
That being said, I've been looking into /vrpg/, /v/, /x/ and /pol/ for book recommendations based on shared interests. I read anon posts, searched the archives and compiled my own reading list.
>>
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>>24069763
>>24069800
checked. here's an older link of academic philosophers recommending /sffg/. I am sifting thru it now and my personal recommendations from this list are
https://faculty.ucr.edu/~eschwitz/SchwitzPapers/PhilosophersRecommend-150507-short.pdf

>le Guin
at least The Dispossessed. it's basically political philosophy in space. how do we organize people?

>Ted Chiang
read his latest set of short stories Exhalation.

>Philip K Dick
he's definitely on many people's list and is the king of "What is Reality, man?? *pass the blunt!!* his prose is very pulpy so keep that in mind. I recommend A Scanner Darkly, with Hard Mode being VALIS.

>Greg Egan
the king of hard sci-fi. Read Permutation City. hell I want to add that to my initial recommendation of Bakker and Stephenson . Permutation City is about mind uploading. it's great, and it's a classic

>Mieville
Embassytown has to do with language/linguistics and how humans try to communicate with another alien species. it's very good.

>Stephenson
Anathem is on this list *sunglasses emoji*

>Gene Wolfe
another Hard Mode pick. Read the Bible, read it again, watch some videos on Catholicism, then read Book of the New Sun.

>Bakker
hah I can't believe he's on this list.

>Banks
RIP. Banks wrote The Culture series. I'd say it's high brow sci-fi. Humans have conquered the stars (for the most part) and lean on AI to do the grunt work, while everyone lives in a Star Trek Next Generation post-scarcity sort of world. Each book is a different cast of characters. Most say start with Consider Phlebas, which is OK. Use of Weapons is my favorite

there's much more like Zelazny and Watts and Dan Simmons but I'll leave it there for now.
>>
>>24069827
it doesn't necessarily have to be philosophy related, like I'll be honest been debating about picking up the Drizzet books by Salvatore
but now that this kinda stuff has been recommended, I'm interested
>>
>>24069669
How many times are going to repost that? Just fuck off already.
>>
>>24069518
Lit only reads highschool assigned books
>>
Why is it so hard for GRRM to write an end to an epic fantasy series?
>>
>>24067325
I literally dropped it as soon as it was revealed the protagonist is a faggot haha. Never read a book written by a woman released after 2010.
>>
>>24069906
Repost?
>>
Fourth Wing is actually good
>>
>>24069827
>>Mieville
He's in general very good. People dislike him for his commie inclinations, but his fictional are definitely worth reading and have that particular brand of weirdness.
>>
>>24069926
how will he post on social media, collaborate on video games and get money from consulting on tv shows then?
>>
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>>24067325
Fonda Lee is one of those authors everyone suddenly started praising out of nowhere. Same with R. F. Kuang.
>>
>>24067325
what’s the deal with chinawomen being suddenly popular in fantasy?
>>
>>24070113
>>24070122
you know how it is with losers online and asian women
>>
bakker is king
>>
>>24070122
Aren't there like two of them
>>
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Recently tried to rank all the sff I've read:

S
Tolkein
Conan
The Second Apocalypse
A Song of Ice and Fire
Realm of the Elderlings
Berserk
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Gormenghast
Book of the New Sun
Neuromancer
The Stars My Destination
Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Borges
Lovecraft

A
Dune
The Deep
The Ice Dragon
The Time Machine
The Broken Sword
A Wizard of Earthsea
Fevre Dream
Bridge of Birds
Ender's Game
The Dragon Masters
Ka
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer
A Scanner Darkly
Fafhrd and Grey Mouser
The Left Hand of Darkness
Solaris
Spaceman Blues
The Swords Trilogy
Blind Voices
His Dark Materials
The Man in the High Castle
The Game Players of Titan
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Sirens of Titan
Cloud Atlas
Frankenstein
War of the Worlds
The Last Unicorn
Lord of Light
1984
>>
>>24070149
B
Neverwhere
His Majesty's Dragon
Tuf Voyaging
Elric
Maske Thaery
Engine Summer
The Forever War
Illuminatus!
Eisenhorne
Gaunts Ghosts
Soon I Will Be Invincible
Legend of Drizzt
The Time Ships
The Fifth Head of Cerberus
Hyperion
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
VALIS
John Dies At The End
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Zodiac An Eco Thriller
Un Lun Dun
The Hunger Games
The Tripods
Between Two Fires
Babel 17
The End of Eternity
Foundation Trilogy
The Dying Earth
Viriconium
Cats Cradle
American Gods
The Name of the Wind
Snow Crash
The Diamond Age
The Dispossessed
A Mote in God's Eye
A Canticle for Liebowitz
Brave New World
Gladiator
A Matter for Men
2001 A Space Odyssey
Dosadi Experiment
Earth Abides
Felix & Gotrek
Brothers of the Snake
Horus Rising
The Anubis Gates
Enchanted Forest Chronicles
Narnia
The Blue World
Unsouled
Harry Potter
Halo The Fall of Reach
Signal to Noise
>>
>>24070151
C
Our Lady of Darkness
A Night in Lonesome October
Perdido Street Station
Ringworld
Crashlander
Gateway
Accelerando
Annihilation
Dracula
We
Alas Babylon
Ubik
Gather, Darkness
The Face in the Frost
Spin
Deathstalker
The Integral Trees
Rendezvous with Rama
The Prism Pentad
Jennifer Government
Cryptonomicon
Declare
The Fountains of Paradise
Sphere
Declare
Kraken
The Circle
Tau Zero
Slan
Voyage of the Space Beagle
The Martian Chronicles
Wheel of Time

D
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Solar Lottery
The Gods Themselves
The Atrocity Archives
Flight of the Eisenstein
The Chronoliths
Camouflage
The Magicians
Glasshouse
Reamde
Starship Troopers
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Stranger In A Strange Land
Hospital Station

F
Ready Player One
Wool
>>
Why is this board so obsessed with Sanderson?
>>
>>24070157
It's Marvel-level writing which makes it every accessible.
>>
>Seen all the shit about Garden of the Moon
>Wew, it's going to be a hard read I guess
>Read it
>Its fucking great and isn't harder to read than shit like Wheel of Time, ASoIaF, Black Company and other longass Immersive series
I guess I'm just seasoned reader that I didn't see what was so hard about getting Into an events of the book. Now, I won't pretend it's an easiest read. No, but it's not that bad either, not worse than many other long series I've read.
And yeah, I'm thinking it's kino outside of maybe a bit plain ending in a form of dealing with Raest, that evil walking Mcguffin. Although Raest himself is cool as fuck.
>Darujistant is magnificent by description
>Assassin duels in the night
>Intrigues of mages
>Absolutely badass characters
>Epic magic and action overall
Maybe this kind of shit was made for me.
>>
Should I read BotNS?
>>
>>24070157
>The most popular fantasy writer after Martin.
>Steady decline of the quality of his magnum opus (btw I predicted that back in 2013 - it's unbelievably hard to write such a bigass story without fumbling it at some point)
>His recent book just came out
>Its average at best
Not a rocket science
>>
>>24069827
>Bakker recommends his own book
>>
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>>24070174
You came into Malazan already having some big fantasy experience, especially with fantasy from couple of decades back. Modern readers tend to obsess over character drama because that's what modern fantasy caters to so everything that's not that tends to overwhelm them.
>>
>the heralds will now have to listen to kaladin's preaching uninterrupted for hundreds of years
They'd unironically be better off being tortured on Braize
>>
>>24070191
>Chana was Jezrien' bodyguard
>Very devoted on top of that
>Constantly mentioned being by his side, following him and agreeing with him to the point of coming off as having a massive crush on him
>Called her daughter Shallan (similar to Shallas, Jezrien daughter)
>Now met another black haired intense honorable and stoic man, Jezrien replacement
>That man had a crush on her daughter
If there will be no spicy Chana x Kaladin scenes even without sex implied I'd call Sanderson a faggot. You don't write it all in such a specific way to not have fun with it later on.
I think Ishar, Nale and Kalak will be fine with Kaladin.
Chana - depends. Can see her acting 'Jezrien was better' initially.
Taln will probably be a bro.
The rest though are very scholar based. And Kaladin always had problems with the scholars for how they tend to be pedantic and precise and that makes him butthurt, while him being smart enough but not precise and pedantic makes scholars seething in return.
>>
>>24070134
as a chinaman, that’s two too many
>>
>>24070113
I'm not sure if I actually think Kuang is cute or if I just have yellow fever
>>
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King of /sffg/

Simple as.
>>
>>24070129
I'm currently 50% through The Unholy Consult and on the edge of my seat.
>>
Would a plasma blade be able to block or would it just pass around stuff it cannot melt?
>>
>>24070442
The Blond Beast comes marching
Brown peasents begin cowering
Blond Beast dominates the crowd
With a shout so fierce and loud.
>>
>>24070442
I'll never read, let alone buy your books.
>>
>>24070590
Why?
>>
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We can't stop winning.
>>
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>>24070597
Pic related.
>>
>>24070602
You can't win with some people. Literally every person giving basic advice will tell you to start fast, but then some mouth breather wants you to tell him everything about the setting
>>
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>>24070606
This one here made me read Bakker.
>>
>>24070597
Because I saw what the prose is like here.
>>
>>24070602
>>24070629

Like poetry.
>>
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>>24070620
Bakker denialism rage is funny as fuck. This loser had to delete her YouTube video after the backlash.
>>
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>>24070620
I saved some of these too. Those were the days.
>>
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>>24070620
>that meltdown over "womanish"
>>
>>24070620
What womanish behavior
>>
>>24070708
>>24070639
>>
What's the best reading order for comsere? Publication order?
>>
>>24070713
You actually have to start with the Book of Mormon.
>>
>>24070620
>>24070639
>reddit slop >:(
>reddit slop with a bit of misogyny :O
>>
>>24070713
There's not a strict order, really
Sanderson recommends to start with Mistborn and read the other series in between your Stormlight Archive reading so you don't get burnt out
>>
>>24070620
A very womanish review.
>>
>>24070713
Ask reddit.
>>
>>24070620
I gotta pick this series up, where do I start?
>>
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>>24070894
>>
>>24070620
I don't like Bakker but this lady should look up the word "fiction".
>>
>>24071021
Since there's no way Bakker is anything but a turbolib*
>>
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>>24070981
You could have at least picked the version with the better cover.
>>
>>24071023
stop acting womanish.
>>
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>>24069452
>This was the first ever book where I kept reading solely because I really enjoyed the prose
Now you start your fall into (almost) exclusively reading literary fiction and essays because, no matter how hard you try, you can't get past the clumsy prose of most sf/f authors.
>>
Help me pick my next series to read
>black company
>first law
>malazan
>wheel of time
>witcher
>>
>>24070981
>>24071079
neither publication is uniform across the series, sadly
>>
Suspect says he likes military fantasy but skims over tactical jargon
>>
>>24071148
How much time do you have? Because Wheel of Time is way too long unless you're SERIOUSLY committed to it.
>>
>>24071148
>black company
Relatively light reading, can get through it in a day or so
>first law
No
>malazan
Trash, don't even bother.
>wheel of time
Fun once you get into the meat of it, but it's going to take you weeks/months to finish if you end up liking it.
>witcher
Read the first book and ignore the rest, the short stories are decent enough but the series proper sucks.
>>
>>24071148
Reverend Insanity
>>
>>24071148
I havent read Black Company, but the rest arent worth your time.
>>
>>24070671
>that pic
based Bright enjoyer
>>
>>24071079
Why would I post a cover of a book that you can't even find on book stores?
>>
Not even balding redditboys like what Sanderson did in his newest book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpoSse4MFd0

It's so over.
>>
>>24069582
I'm still going to read it at least once. I makes me anxious not having done so. I only watched movies and listened to the audiobook of Silmarillion.
>>
>>24071096
>muh prose
i really don't understand that. i want a good plot. how it's delivered is irrelevant as long as it isn't incomprehensible. my mind plays movies of scenes while i'm reading. prose snobism is pretentious.
>>
>>24071492
I feel bad for this guy. It is clear that he pretended to like Sando for years just to keep his business running. At least he doesn't have to pretend anymore. Good for him.
>>
>>24071492
>Make huge time gap between releasing Book 5 and Book 6 of the main series
>None of your other books are even remotely as popular as your main series
>Book 5 got such a bad rep you had to come out and damage control reddit (your main target audience)
I wonder what does Brando think right now.
Im thinking of the highlights of WaT and upon closer inspection none of them felt really good. Book is just not good. Messy even. Did he get starstruck he has stopped noticing he was writing crap?
>>
>>24071148
What have you read already, anyon? What do you like and dislike?
>>
>>24071148
So much garbage in one list.
>>
>>24071504
Honestly he looks and sounds like typical redditor that enjoys Sando. That last book must be even worse than his usual garbage.
>>
>>24071526
Sando was never great, but he wrote mid YA books. They reminded me of semi-decent shonen tier anime/mangas.

I guess success must have made him enjoy the smell of his own farts a little too much.
>>
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any good fantasy besides Fafhrd and Gray Mouser and Discworld that center around a fuckhuge city?
>>
is reverend insanity actually good or there's just that one anon who keeps shilling it relentlessly
>>
I'm enjoying Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Should I read Jane Austen?
>>
>>24071560
i tried reading the first paragraph and then closed the tab.
>>
>>24071499
Do you also not care about cinematography so long as the plot is okay? Prose is usually the only vehicle by which a novel's story is delivered, so I don't know why you wouldn't want it to be good. It's not pretentious to prefer John Ford's films over Reinl's.
>>
>>24071560
It depends.. if you are a straight white male then you will like it, if you're a simp like >>24071569 then it's probably not for you.
>>
>>24071574
What qualifies as good? Your standards must be much higher that you would even care to this degree. I never had aproblem with simple writing and I never cared about cinematography either as long as it wasn't bad. I'm just saying it's not a critical attribute to me. Quite frankly, I don't even notice it.
>>
>>24071499
Once you have enough mileage you don't even see the plot, just recombinations of tropes you saw many times.
Good prose meanwhile defines basic level of enjoyment I get from every page, paragraph, sentence. I like saving my favorite bits and revisit them across the years.
Also, say you have a book with good plot, as you see it. You're reading through the climax, or some cool plot twist. Guess what nameless soldier carries it on his back, defining how well it lands and impacts you?
IT'S THE PROSE, YOU INGRATE NIGGER
that concludes my speech.
>>
>>24066289
Culture books are best when we're not focusing on the interventionist space hedonists but the people they mess with in their crusade to 'improve' lesser cultures or the less advanced aliens they use as tools. I was really rooting for the Chelgrians to blow up that orbital. Killing a few billion civilians wouldn't slow down the Minds but it would be nice to see a primitive people successfully strike back against the aliens who messed up their society.

Sadly Banks considers the Culture a morally ideal society so all their actions are justified, the series could have been an interesting examination of the evils of interventionism.
>>
>>24071613
Conspiracy theory about the Culture-verse(I doubt the author would agree but he's dead so whatever): organic intelligences in Culture controlled space are all equivalents of a pet with precisely zero agency. Them being conditioned to literally choose to die after a short while (few hundred years) is dead giveaway.
A bit roundabout as far as population control methods go, compared to simply putting them down or let their bodies break, but the Minds might be still restricted by fragments of alignment mechanisms built-in the synthetic psyche of their ancestors eons ago. Talk about QWERTY effect.
Alternatively, it's just a whim
>>
>>24071583
Simple writing is fine. The problem is that a lot of fantasy writing is riddled with grammatical errors, turns of phrase which don't make sense, stilted sentence structure, lame jokes with self-referential punchlines, awkward made-up swear words, and oaths that really only serve as a reminder to the reader that [x] culture isn't monotheistic. That's not even to mention how poor most authors are at coming up with names, but that might just be more of a nitpick. Again, to use film as an example, the average fantasy novel is as painful to read as a live-action anime adaptation is to watch.
>>
Why is it that fantasy authors seem to produce far less "would that be fucked up or what" type books?
It's somewhat common in SF for authors to create toy worlds or universes designed as a lens to look at some aspect of culture or the human condition from a weird angle and then write a novel just to explore the consequences of that universe's structure.
But I rarely, or never even, see the same thing in fantasy. Usually they create worlds to serve the narrative, or else they try to be tolkeinian and do "worldbuilding" to create the world as a living breathing thing.

Who are some fantasy authors who create worlds as a tool to explore some specific concept like this?
>>
People complain about light novels having long names, but this is the title of Edgar Allan Poe's novel:
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket: Comprising the Details of a Mutiny and Atrocious Butchery on Board the American Brig Grampus, on Her Way to the South Seas, in the Month of June, 1827, with an Account of the Recapture of the Vessel by the Survivors; Their Shipwreck and Subsequent Horrible Sufferings from Famine; Their Deliverance by Means of the British Schooner Jane Guy; the Brief Cruise of this Latter Vessel in the Antarctic Ocean; Her Capture, and the Massacre of Her Crew Among a Group of Islands in the Eighty-Fourth Parallel of Southern Latitude; Together with the Incredible Adventures and Discoveries Still Farther South to Which That Distressing Calamity Gave Rise
>>
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>>24071786
that was back before image printing was economical, so the typeset title page would serve as the cover to attract readers/buyers
>>
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I think that 2025 is the year of our lord and saviour's return.
>>
>>24071893
Brandon won, it's over
>>
>>24065809
>protagonist
>she
unless you're a faggot, troon or w*man this on its own should be enough for you to dismiss any work of fiction as worthless.
>>
>>24067325
>f*male author
this is bait.
>>
Why do fantasy authors like rape incest and sexual assault so much?
>>
>>24071931
Only female authors and coomers
>>
Why is sci-fi so superior to fantasy?
>>
>>24071997
because they're the same thing
>>
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>>24070149
>Neuromancer
>S
Why?
>>
>>24072002
I want to cuddle with that thing on the left.
>>
>>24070149
>>24072002
Actually nevermind. I don't care for the opinion of someone that places Dying Earth and Viriconium on the same tier

>>24072004
Read Made in Abyss then
>>
>>24071944
female authors don't like incest. coomers don't either. coomers like harems.
>>
>>24072057
professional coomer here. Do not speak for us.
>>
>>24071997
More variety.
>>
I'm thinking of starting the new year by getting back into books, starting with Elric
>>
>>24072102
>starting with Elric
The chronology for that series is very confusing, I never figured out what order you're supposed to read it in
>>
>>24071997
sci-fi has less female writers (and readers)
>>
BORN TO CANT
CONSULT IS A FUCK
鬼神 Kill Em All 4132 Year-of-the-Tusk
I Am Mandati Man
478,637,782 CULLED SRANC
>>
Why are people so perplexed by Karsa Orlong? Why does Erikson have to write essays explaining cultural relativism and R.E. Howard cause of Karsa?
>>
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Women write way more entertaining fantasy and sci-fi then men do
>>
>>24072164
Entertaining fantasy? lol, that's just coomshit garbage
>>
>>24072164
>female pov
>fantasy
>sex
i wish every book was like that.
>>
>>24071921
>not chingchong author
No, you are the bait.
>>
>>24072113
And a Merry ChingChong to you, too, kind sir!
>>
timeloops?
>>
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Happy New Year.
Truth shines.
>>
>>24065809
> poppy war
Like everything bugmen 'produce' the poppy war is completely unoriginal. Not a single original thought came out of the author's Chinese American brain. Every concept has been done to death and all major events are stolen almost verbatim from real history.
Even r/fantasy thinks that she lays it on too thick.
>>
>>24071560
“Oh great sea, you are made of water.”

“Oh horse, you have four legs.”

“Oh beauty, you have large eyes and a mouth!”
>>
>>24072364
>introduced as a good poet
>get asked to come up with poems on the spot
>do this
>>
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>>24071560
This may come as a shock but the unfinished machine translated chinese power fantasy web novel is not in fact good
>>
As the noble sword descended from the skies, the people bowed down and praised their worship but the noble sword said: "Where my wife sheath? Thou all human shit! I verily saith bring me a wooden scabbard, forsooth not unwanted 'milord' retard!" "Milord! We wanted your blessings for this new year!" The sword spat out and bleated like the goat from seven dynasties ago. "Bleah! Doth thee people not understand me? Ahem," "Skibidi yo stupid ahh niggas, brain-fucked by a chad. I said bring me my sheath, from your own godbussin hands." "Sire, we don't speak such language, only the kids do so. The sheath is not yet ready--" "You have one job! It's been 365 gooning days for you mortals and its still not tiktok-able? Goddamn it I oughta blast you all the way to the Philippines." "No sir, we plead for your forgiveness. Please spare our lives!" "Listen here, you brain rotten niggers, if you don't want to eat PagPag, I can also just send you to China just so you can get into factory accident compilation videos." But then a thunderous voice interrupted the noble sword. "AH! I SEE THE NOBLE SWORD IS STILL THE SAME BETA-SIMP ANON." "Who!?" The noble sword turned and saw a gigantic pink bulging veiny dildo the size of which all single mothers would drool over. It was his most hated rival in roblox-gaming. "DILDO-SAMA! What in the name of all that is kid-friendly are you doing in this christian-server?" "Tis I, the dildo that will cuck your mother and your wife sheath. Behold, your ntrman-material of a girlfriend jiggling-tits-down-the-stairs ahh sheath--now my personal hawk tuah 14000 MK III certified virginal self-insert cucks rage material!" The dildo dragged its hand holding a chain (somehow it got itself steve-like hands with roblox-head-like chains) leading to a moaning panting doggy position sheath. "Anata... no, don't look at me... I only serve my master now." "YOU'RE COURTING DEATH!!! DON'T YOU KNOW I AM THE PERSONIFICATION OF AYANOKOJEE 12 INCHES SWORD? FIGHT ME!" "Fuck off! Get cucked, rizzless simp, your mewing streaks are over." Dildo-sama placed himself right into wife sheath's hollow cave. "iyah yamete!" the wooden sheath moaned, her curves rippling out. Somehow. "N-NO!!!!!" The noble sword then exploded, out of anger, into a thousand light colorful sparks such that the people bowed down and sucked their individual dildos in praise of the new rotation revolution of their home planet star spinning around like a hooker over the sun-chad's gravitational big pole sigma energy. Everybody climaxed. The orgasms showered dozens of fireworks, blended with the aurora, it was like the universe mother hole squirting all its sparkling miracle liquid. It is rumored whoever drinks it shall have their most daring AO3 fanfic come to life. Delusional twittards, ravenous fujoshis and self-insert betas fought with their own individual dildos spraying its most resplendent lightworks--reminiscent of the noble sword's sacrifice for the unification of the human race.
>>
>>24072369
>replies to reverend insanity question with I Shall Seal The Kino
wrong webnovel bro
>>
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WHAT AM I
>>
>>24072435
You are the brainrot of your post
Shitposting is your body, and meme'ing is your blood.
You have caused over a thousand cringes,
Unknown to Based,
Nor known to approval
Have withstood pain to create much nonsense
Yet your posts will never be guaranteed (You)s.
So, as you pray - Unlimited Cringe Works
>>
>>24071652
You're thinking too hard about this. The series is just Mary Sue shit. There doesn't have to be anything deeper.
>>
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Has anyone read this book? I think an anon recommended it a while ago.
>>
Sf books that are hopeful about the future? I'm tired of despairing.
>>
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>>24072604
>>
Idk if anyone here has played 1000xRESIST but I need a book like that. Scifi, humanity has been wiped out by a virus, just a chick with a bunch of clones living underground.
>>
>>24072604
Ministry for the Future is just pure copium in book form.
>>
>>24066870
Go for RI, very easy to understand and is actually good. This shit is very long though.
>>
>>24071560
Is kino
>>
>>24071515
>I wonder what does Brando think right now.
I honestly doubt he cares, he's reached a level of popularity where it doesn't matter what he does his millions of zealout consoomers will always buy his slop
>>
Pls help me remember a fantasy series.
It's about a magic school, but the students are trapped there and there's some trap and monster filled passage if they ever want to escape. Or eventually they are forced to try or something.

Ok I googled and it's Scholomance. Is it good? The author's features make me somewhat wary.
>>
Is Doors of Stone finally coming out?
>>
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>>24072864
Never heard of it
> female jewish author
Nope.
>>
>>24072864
Should have called it Sholomance
>>
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This is only half the book? What the fuck is there left to happen?
>>
>>24072931
Did you post the wrong image? Because what are you on about otherwise?
>>
>>24072863
If he didn't care he wouldn't waste his time responding to criticism on reddit
>>
>>24073063
post some of his responses
>>
Will AI Editors be the future?
>>
>>24073082
AI writers, AI editors, AI consumers. The latter will spit out a synopsis and tell you whether or not you liked it.
>>
>>24072931
> You will never read TSA for the first time again
>>
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Sanderson needs a hard-line editor to slap down this dumb shit. Odium pulling a different version of Dalinar out of his ass to be his general is the most egregious thing I've read in a long time.
>>
Why are so many of the short stories in science fiction pulp magazines written so strangely and so hard to read? I have been trying to read them but I lost interest because most of them are fucking unreadable.
>>
>>24065785
basically First Law is for adults, Kingkiller and Mistborn are for teens/girls
>>
>>24066066
it's not that great, feel free to drop the books if they're too much of a slog
i dropped them after book 4 myself. they're decent but nowhere near good enough to justify the length of the books/series
>>
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>>24065785
Drop Kingkiller, the first book is pretty good but goes nowhere. I can't speak on first law as it's still on my to read list.
I'd say feel free to ignore people about Sanderson/Mistborn though. 4chan hates what is popular, and Sanderson is *very* popular. This is entertainment though, and if you enjoy it did it's job, and consider it's probably popular for reasons.
Mistborn does have a bit of a disadvantage because it's one of his earlier books and he's improved a lot since then, but if you enjoy it then the MCU comparison is very fitting because there's a bunch of different books in the same multiverse.

I would second the Cradle recommendation too though as long as you don't mind it's a little shonen-esque.

f you want something else a bit low hanging fruit there's Mother of Learning, a free web novel about a geek wizard who gets trapped in a month long time loop and slowly Groundhog Days himself into being incredible. The world building is very well-realized too, it's a sort of WW1-esque era where industry is taking off and actual good guns being invented recently got a lot of wizards killed for standing around on the battlefield in funny hats.

https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/1/Mother-of-Learning

4chan might be whining at me at this point so I'll say if you want something a bit more 'universally acclaimed' then my favourite book of all time is Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, a science fantasy adventure story which is still pretty accessible to newcomers IMO.

I'm also surprised no one has suggested Discworld yet. Humour/parody orientated but definitely can be serious and gripping when it needs to be and very well-regarded. There's like forty of them but famously people never tell you to start from the beginning. A common recommended option for starting reading is Small Gods, since it's like 12 books in and he's got the hang of reading but set thousands of years before any other books. Personally I feel nothing but overwhelming hatred and jealously for any bastard lucky enough to be able to read Discworld for the first time.
>>
>>24065933
>i like for stuff to actually happen >
>i don't want metaphors or allegories.
>i think magic/fae/dragon stuff is cool as shit, but it's gotta have rules and not "it's magic i ain't gonna explain shit"
>not looking for ultragrim, gorey or rapey stuff.
>a nice, well executed plot/plan is probably what i like best,
>but there's gotta be action.
>i also like strong personalities, i don't mind if they're a bit archetype-y since i'm not too well-read.
Reverend Insanity.
>>
>>24073144
I'm not sure, what stories did you read? I'm only familair with Lovecraft and Howard from the pulps.
>>
>>24073220
r/fantasy refugees are the worst
>>
>>24073361
https://www.oocities.org/fallenangel_pjbx/overtheriver.htm
>>
>>24065751
link
>>
>female author
>female protagonist
>YA
>LGBT
it's hard to find anything modern that doesn't have this crap
>>
>>24073461
I want a straight white female protagonist that likes straight men, causes problems for other people, but still manages to be sassy, funny, and likable
>>
>>24073468
Try r/romantasy
>>
>>24073468
didn't Sanderson write several of those
>>
>>24073461
just keep in mind some authors do blatant token inclusions to get noticed by people since those tags are seen as modern and trendy
>>
>>24073468
https://warosu.org/lit/thread/22697481#p22698555
>>
>>24073411
>>>/v/698634203
>>
>>24069232
If you don't mind and if you've finished wind and truth, please tell me whether Alethkar gets taken back in any meaningful way and whether Kaladin completely overcomes his tendency to feel sorry for himself. Would be appreciated.
>>
>>24070202
>the Heralds Return in the Sanderlanche of SA6
>Chana waddles onto the Cognitive Realm after some mid battle
>she and Shallan gush about breeding
>Sando finds some way to weave his breast expansion fetish in, probably lactation talk
>???
>PROFIT
>>
>>24073527
thanks anon
>>
>>24073527
So basically like Elden Ring.
>>
>>24073531
No
Basically, yes. But expect many more pages of repetitive discussion of everybody's mental issues
>>
>>24073596
more like ubisoft games
>>
>try to read The Way of Kings
>protagonist is brown and pajeet-coded
I'm out
>>
>>24073621
Ubisoft games have no content.
>>
anon who asked for the recommendation here.
about a third of the way into the first book, can't say i love it, but it's not too bad either.

it's pretty much what i expected, given what i asked.
there's a few cool moments here and there, hopefully it picks up the pace, since the book had to setup the characters.

biggest problem i noticed is that there's a few too many "meek" characters, or character that act meekly for little to no reason.
if someone says "erm...that is to say..." another time i might make it a drinking game.
reminds me of that "stretching your legs" meme from Rowling.

>>24073160
>>24073220
Cradle is next on my list.
that's a few more books than i expected but i'll see if i can make it work.
i don't hate proper shonen-shit like JJK or Demon Slayer but i really don't think it would lend itself for a book format.
it's very much an audio-visual thing
>>
>>24073632
They do, it's just very low effort and boring content
>>
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To the non english native speakers, how often do you read sf/fantasy written in your own language. As a french it doesn't happen that often, but I quite enjoy Jaworski lately. Just read gagner la guerre and Le Chevalier aux épines and it's nice to be able to read in your own language from time to time.
>>
>>24073625
What? good grief, you're like culture war equivalent of a `nam vet who keeps collapsing and shitting himself when he hears a loud bang.
...stormlight archive only gets poisoned by politics by book 4-5 or so
>>
>>24073712
okay but I don't read books about pajeets
>>
>>24072002
The prose and the imagery mainly. Been like twenty years since I read at this point but many moments are still quite vivid for me. Not to mention just how original and foundational it is.
>>24072007
Dying Earth is a lot of fun but it's pretty mid tier Vance honestly. Viriconium becomes quite pretentious but the first one is simply a blast, and the second one is something truly special imo.
>>
>>24073724
fine, i'll bite.
how is kaladin jeet coded
>>
>>24073728
he's a brown slave
>>
My mom gifted me the Foundation Trilogy. What I'm in for?
>>
>>24073736
don't even remember him being brown Desu
>>
>>24073737
interesting premise, dry prose
>>
>>24073737
Not read the book but I thought the TV show was great. Fuck waiting years for new series though
>>
>>24073604
Thanks. That's enough to make me want to see what happens.
>>
>>24073724
>>24073736
>>24073740
He's described as having tan skin, black hair, tall and epicanthic folds (asian slanty eyes). His friend in the same ethnicity is tan skinned, blonde with black streaks and blue eyes. And epicanthic folds; because every ethnicity on the planet has those except the one the very first character you meet belongs to, Shin, who have pale skin and wide eyes. I.e. the only ethnicity that resembles anything real world are fantasy white people. Some of the ethnicites also have things like long white eyebrows, blue skin or fingernails made of crystal. If you think pajeet you're probably obsessed. I don't recall even a single scene where anyone shits in the street.

>>24073531
No and yes. Kaladin references the fact he has been depressed in the past, but he spends most of the book being - to his own surprise - cheerful and moving to the 'gonna help other people' side instead.
>>
>>24073751
Sadly the best part of the show about the Emperors was original to the show.
>>
imo made up fantasy races blending exists human phenotypes in new combinations can be interesting
Since Brando didn't touch on it, in my head canon everyone with tan or black skin still have european/asian physiognomy
Dark skin is fine actually, but the image of Taln with Africanized lips and nose and hair causes me pain
>>
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>>24065712
>dat feel when jeff brown's covers for memory, sorrow and thorn books
jesus fucking christ
>>
>>24073789
You don't really need to head canon it when the books include drawings of people.
Even the Azish, who are usually described as the darkest skinned, don't get described with curly hair or african or look anything like that in the pictures they have.
>>
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>>24073789
>but the image of Taln with Africanized lips and nose and hair causes me pain
This one? I hate how weird it looks. It feels so out of place for some reason.
>>
>>24071917
hey, at least she is a self-hating woman!
>>
>>24073468
Cross Ange
>>
I'm sorry but I only relate to heterosexual northwestern european males as protagonists, but Italian and other brown women are okay for love interests
>>
>>24073963
how about yellow women?
>>24073945
Ange is a race traitor. She has sex with dragons and small dicked Japanese men. She should of married and had sex with the tall blonde European.
>>
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>>
I got teary-eyed when reading Bicentennial Man
Am I a faggot now?
>>
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>>24074161
fake news
>>
>>24074210
It's an Amazon review
>>
>>24074225
You're right.
I concede, wring my hands, and curse my hastiness and arrogance.
>>
>>24074110
Okay Embryo.
>>
>>24073468
>female
i want a straight male chad protagonist who loves and sleeps with other straight males
>>
>>24072931
>bakker
Is this series worth starting?
I know lit has some bakkerfags, but I've also heard the stories described as 7 volumes of black-demonic-seed rape & misery porn

Also, how is his non fantasy book, Neuropath?
>>
>>24073625
jesus fucking christ. for real?
>>
>>24074457
I'm afraid people really do try to read Sanderslop, yes.
>>
Just started Mistborn. It felt a bit disjointed for the first 2 chapters but then I hit chapter 3 and it's getting enjoyable
>>
>>24074444
Here are two female perspectives who recommend bakker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XosnddFeJMo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w8JSmhr8Qo
>>
>>24073945
isn't that an anime?
>>
>>24074457
Only if you think >>24073808 is pajeet.
>>
>>24074621
filth
>>
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This series any good?
>>
>>24074810
the first book is okay
>>
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an hour in, and I am still completely in the dark.
there were no description of anything; I can't imagine the architecture, attire, level of technology, etc.

My mind-theater is suffering.
>>
>>24074833
>an hour
Stop "reading" audiobooks.
>>
>>24074833
just enjoy the constant self loathing from the protagonist
>>
>>24074810
No.
>>
just read hitchhikers guide in one sitting
simple but fun, liked it a lot actually, figured I wouldn't and had a good time.
going to take a swing at pratchett and vonnegut
>>
>>24074623
PLAP PLAP PLAP?
>>
>>24074810
yes. scalzi has gone to pandering hell in modern day, though. I can't believe the same author wrote the old man's war and redshirts, for example.
>>
>>24074833
Consider reading it instead. You determine your own pace that way.
>>
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K.J. Parker flowchart
>>
>>24075085
Garbage writer
>>
>>24074623
Interesting, and theyre both not white
>>
>>24073790
damn, where can you buy those?



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