That means no Hobb, no Sanderson, no Rothfuss, no Malazan, no GRRM, and no anything else that pops up in nearly every recommendation thread on this subreddit. Let’s give the overlooked and underread greats on here the spotlight for once!
After finishing LOTR, I need a fix of the opposite, namely where the world becomes MORE magical overtime instead of slowly ebbing away
I’m thinking of something along the lines of a Low Fantasy that progressively becomes less ‘Low’ if you understand what I mean
And I DO NOT mean like ‘The Black Company’ where the amount of magic in the world stays the same and what changes is how involved the main characters are
I finally dove into the Red Rising series, because I didn’t have anything on my TBR list that was published. I had low expectations, because everything I have read about it on Reddit said it’s like Hunger Games on Mars. YA stuff, but good.
Dammit, people, that’s not what this is! This is multilevel literature, a character piece, insanely good plotting, twists and turns… I’m just sad that this series, too, is unfinished. Of course, the original trilogy works on its own, but when you know there is more to come… Gory hell.
So Redditors, do me a solid and come up with a better sell to this masterpiece than “Hunger Games on Mars”! I’d rather compare it to effing Dune!
Hey all, Michael J. Sullivan here. I’m a New York Times, USA Today, and *Washington Pos*t bestselling author. I write classic fantasy about unlikely heroes, and I infuse my books with humor, which I find can sometimes be lacking in this genre. I’m thrilled with how my books have been received. I have 9 Goodreads Choice Award Nominations, 6 Amazon Editor’s Picks, and 2 or 3 (I forget) have been Audible Editor Picks.
My publishing history has been pretty varied. I started in 2007 with a small press, self-published for a bit, signed three contracts with the big-five (Orbit and Del Rey), and now I’m back to indie publishing for a number of reasons, which I’ll be happy to go into if anyone is interested.
I have nineteen books released across four series, all of them set in my fiction world of …
J K Rowling has “thunderstruck”
Robin Hobb has “tousled”
Tamsyn Muir has “susurrus”, “nonplussed”, “sotto voce”, “dully”, “ass-over-tits”…
What are some examples you can think of?
The most common one for me (and it baffles me all the time) is the complete lack of time perception.
I’ll give the common example: *Frank and Todd are sitting by a fire having a conversation. Frank says something that left Todd stunned, Todd stared at Frank for 10 minutes dead in the eyes*.
I’m not exaggerating the 10 minutes thing came up often in books i’ve read and every time i spaced out just after reading it. I’m talking about very famous writers by the way. I’m picturing myself staring at someone for more than 10 SECONDS. And i just can’t. Even one minute of staring would prompt anyone to do something about it or call a psych ward for an emergency.
Maybe it’s because i have a fervid imagination and things like this bug me out but you have to admit, it is strange.
What’s yours common pet peeve that’s bugging you about writers?
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This might resonate with some people, and I hope it helps them reassess how they think about reading.
I’m a pretty busy guy. I’m finishing my degree in physics (distance learning), I have a full-time job in IT, a family to look after, and I’m in the gym 3⁄4 days a week. I set out this year with the target of reading a book a week, in the hope of reaching 52 over the year. Whilst I was happy to begin with, the pressure of having to keep on pace started to diminish the enjoyment I was getting. I found myself thinking of small books to bump up the numbers, rather than books I was hyper-excited to read. Whilst I’ve had a great year reading, (I’m currently reading Dune, but I’ve read some great books like Frankenstein, Grapes of Wrath, Dracula and Fairy Tale (SK) to name a few), I don’t want to continue a box-ticking exercise in order to have some false sense of achievement.
So, all in all, I’ve made the decision to keep reading as …
I’m not one to begrudge people their preferences, in life or in their forms of escapism. If the works of Sarah J Maas provide you with a much needed reprieve or help you through dark times or help you see the beauty of the world, I am truly happy for you. Nothing I post here is meant to take away from or invalidate your experiences. That being said, I am not going to be saying anything nice about Maas, specifically her “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series. If reading unfavorable opinions about your favorite author or favorite series is going to upset you, I do not recommend continuing. Thank you for understanding.
When I say that Sarah J Maas is lazy, I mean that the amount of effort she puts into her worlds feels rushed and haphazard. She clearly isn’t a purely lazy person. No one who can write as many books as she has is. She has achieved more than most of us ever will. But the lack of purposeful thought that she puts into constructing her fictional realities …
Hi all,
Not sure if this is the right place to discuss the The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin, but I’ll give it a shot.
Spoilers ahead.
I’ve read the English translation of this book, and I know it’s lauded as the one of the best Sci Fi books of all time. I think the overall story is fine, and the juxtaposition between the cultural revolution and the invasion is clever, especially Ye Wenjie’s reaction to her experiences and the ultimate decisions she makes because of them.
The problem I have with the novel is every single character, except Ye Wenjie, is shockingly underdeveloped and one dimensional that I have a hard time caring about any of them.
Wang Miao in particular is written poorly, almost laughably. During his experience with the numbers appearing in his camera and eyes, we are introduced to his wife and child who are nothing but accessories in the plot to take pictures for him to test out his theory. Not once before or after does Wang consider …
The Road is an unforgettable story about a man and his son trying to survive an unnamed catastrophe (but which looks an awful lot like nuclear winter). Talented doesn’t even begin to describe McCarthy as a writer - If you love to read, I truly believe you should read at least one of his books in your lifetime, and this is one of his best (and the only one that is sci-fi).
Here’s the setup:
The bombs fell, and the world ended. It grew darker, and colder, and more violent. The new world was grim and grey and relentless.
A man and his young son had to set out on the road, alone, heading south. The road, though, is dangerous. Cannibals and slavers and men driven mad with hunger roam the hills. Even if the man can avoid marauders, will he be clever and lucky enough to find food and supplies in the picked-over remains of civilization to feed his son? And every day that they survive, they have to ask themselves if it is worth surviving. What awaits them in the south, on the …
I love the idea of this book. I hate the actual book.
I love apocalyptic fiction. I love character driven sci fi. I love “5000 years later” plotlines. And this book has those.
But it also has motherfucking 6 page essays on every piece of the fictional tech the spaceship uses to wade through.
And I tried, man. I really did. I liked the characters. I liked Doc Dubois, and Markus, and Dinah, and the grim goodbyes to the billions of people who will shortly be killed by the Hard Rain. These are great ideas.
But I found myself no longer looking forward to my evening reading time. Getting through this book started to feel like my job. A job I hated. So I quit.
There’s a great story in there, I’m sure, but it’s buried beneath 8 feet of dull, pointless technical breakdowns of every aspect of every ship, every “arklet”, every energy source, every robot.
There’s no question or anything. I’m just venting. Holla if you hated Seveneves, or …
Following the question that was asked earlier about Becky Chambers I was wondering who are your “current greats”.
Mine:
Kim Stanley Robinson Ted Chiang Ken Liu Becky Chambers Ada Palmer
Just looking around for some inspiration/fun explanations for FTL travel. Doesn’t have to make sense even, just a special engine etc. What’s your favorite?
I seriously struggle to understand how people like him so much. I think he is one of the most boring actors in modern cinema.
Not because he’s not good at what he does. He is good at what he does. But what he does is literally always the same thing. In Central Intelligence, he’s The Rock. In Tooth Fairy, he’s The Rock. In Jumanji, he’s The Rock. In Fast and Furious, he’s The Rock. In Skyscraper (ridiculous film lol), he’s The Rock. For me, it’s like – seen one, seen ‘em all. None of his roles are ever surprising or elevate above any of the other roles to me and I feel like anyone can predict literally everything his character is going to do in any given movie (which generally boils down to punch bad guys, make physically intimidating “candy ass” type comments that remind you of his WWE days, and save the day in unbelievably heroic fashion). Do audiences never get tired of it?
I can’t get excited to go see a new …
For a long time, my answer for this has been “Silence of the Lambs.” Thomas Harris’ book of the same name features the excellent Clarice Starling, and the movie really did her character justice. Starling is a highly capable, professional agent, but they don’t just make her character a woman in a man’s body. Her femininity is something that is stressed throughout the movie, and the movie goes to great lengths to show Clarice’s physical vulnerability. Scenes are repeatedly shot that emphasize how petite Jodie Foster is compared to hulking coworkers. Leering men tower over her and undermine her, or hit on her despite being in an inappropriate professional settings. Clarice, despite her youth, is excellent at navigating these constant minefields. In both the book and movie, there is an great scene where she confronts her boss for acting like a sexist jerk in order to ingratiate himself with some small town good ole boy cops. She points out that while …
(This post was inspired by another post asking what movie did you expect to be good but was meh)
The movie doesn’t necessarily have to even be good, it can be a movie that you had low hopes for but completely loved
For me, it has to be Edge of Tomorrow. Yes it has some big actors in Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt but the trailers were so bad. It made it look like a bland action movie that was gonna be super generic. The movie ended up being a complete blast and just great fun.