I’ve been a huge fan of Sanderson for years (since Warbreaker days). His early books felt tightly written, well-paced, and polished. Lately though, especially with the more recent Stormlight Archive entries and some of the Kickstarter novels, I’ve noticed a trend toward overly wordy prose, modern slang that feels out of place, and less editorial restraint in general.

I recently learned that his longtime editor, Moshe Feder, retired, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s connected. I

When it comes to fantasy and worldbuilding, people often say that medieval-inspired settings are boring and overdone, and while I agree that we don’t see nearly enough fantasy stories drawing from non-European cultures, which is a shame, the typical fantasy setting isn’t actually medieval. It’s much closer to the Early Modern period. Here’s why:

1 - Most fantasy worlds revolve around trade, currency, and an early “capitalist” economy instead of feudalism.

2 - Just having a king doesn’t make a setting “medieval”, and in many fantasy stories the monarch is an absolute ruler, which is more in line with the Modern Age, while medieval kings had to share their power with numerous feudal lords.

3 - The fashion we often see in fantasy like corsets, wide skirts and structured gowns for women is also more typical of the Early Modern period, while in medieval times clothing was looser and simpler e.g the kirtle.

3 - The large cities and …

If you liked this series then I completely respect your opinion but this post is not for you, this post is for fourth wing haters. I did indeed read all three books in this series? Why? How? I genuinely have no clue but here are my thoughts:

Did the editor quit? Some of the sentences did not even make sense even when I re-read them multiple times. There was one sentence where she used the word “yucked” as in “I saved him from yucking his pants in the mud”. Like that is something a four year old would say.

I genuinely had no idea who the majority of the characters were because there were so many and sometimes they were referred to by their first name, sometimes by their last name, and sometimes by who their dragon was. But honestly it didn’t even matter because none of the other characters mattered or were even remotely developed.

Also the world building was atrocious. We learn about the world because the FMC is talking to herself and reciting facts like she’s a walking wikipedia? No …

Here I am reading, Wizard’s First Rule, because there is a three year old post here saying the writing is good, and that they enjoyed it contrary to this sub’s tendency to bash on it. From what I understood, it got bashed on a lot for all the BDSM stuff, and lacking originality, but is mostly just your regular old fantasy stuff. Some commenter somewhere even called it Eragon but better written. Hey I like Eragon. Let’s give this a shot, I don’t really care if it’s not original. I am around 5% into the book, according to my e-reader and the recurring thought I am having is “what on earth am I reading?” I wish I could relate my reading experience in a way, that wouldn’t offend my past middle school self, because I truly felt like I was reading a fanfic written by san ambitious juvenile. Some pages, were okay I guess, like the first page seemed well written, but otherwise half the time I couldn’t tell where the setting was, and the …

It says it all in the title. What is your undisputed, no question about it number 1 favourite fantasy story/series ever told. No top 5 or top 3. No honourable mentions. No series that comes close. Your absolute favourite. The best of the best and the peak of fantasy in your opinion. What to you is your absolute favourite story or series to come out of the genre?

What unfinished series to do truly still believe will be finished one day. Whether it’s ASOIF, The Kingkiller Chronicles or any other series on an LONG hiatus.

Give me some hope people.

“Magic Tree House author Mary Pope Osborne, children’s poet Shel Silverstein and Calvin and Hobbes cartoonist Bill Watterson have joined Judy Blume, Sarah J. Maas, Eric Carle and Kurt Vonnegut on a mind-boggling list of hundreds of books purged from some Tennessee school libraries.

The removals are the result of a growing political movement to control information through book banning. In 2024, the state legislature amended the “Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022” to specify that any materials that “in whole or in part” contain any “nudity, or descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sadomasochistic abuse” are inappropriate for all students and do not belong in a school library. This change means books are not evaluated as a whole, and excerpts can be considered without context, if they have any content that is deemed to cross these lines. This leaves no room for educators and librarians to curate collections that reflect the real …

The title is a bit dramatic because of course no one could have warned me. But this is the SADDEST thing I have ever read, at least at this point in my life. I thought the ending was at least hopeful, until I read some further analysis of the book and realized >!the ending is a perfect fit for Jonas and Gabe dying alone in the snow while Jonas gives Gabe his most comforting memories. No salvation in sight. Just a few extra weeks of life for Gabe before dying a slow cold and starving death. It’s so goddamn bleak. Yes I know that canonically they survive and there are sequels… but you cannot convince me that was the original intent when the book was written. I do not intent to read the sequels.!<

And also, >!my youngest is a few months old now, but she spent a few weeks in the NICU and definitely would have been “released” in the world of the book. That part was extremely upsetting to me, especially the casualness that Jonas’s father …

I’m writing this post in order to find out how widely known Astrid Lindgren is. More specifically, which countries know about her and which don’t.

I’m Lithuanian, born and raised. Lindgren’s books pretty much created my childhood. I DEVOURED them. Pipi Longstockings, Emil from Lönneberga, Ronya the robber’s daughter - I LOVE THESE BOOKS. Even considering re-reading them for nostalgia’s sake.

However, I’ve come to realise that these books are not as ubiquitous in other countries. In Lithuania, they’re EVERYWHERE. Pipi, Carlson and others are household names, every primary school teacher encourages kids to read them, every book store will have Lindgren in the children’s section.

How is it where you live? Obviously, I assume every Swede alive knows who Lindgren is, but what about other European countries? The Americas? Aisia? I’m really interested to find out. Write in the comments whether you’ve heard of Lindgren and …

My professor once recommended The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold to me, saying, “It messes up my brain.” I figured he meant it in the usual sci-fi way — paradoxes, alternate timelines, all that. But now that I’ve read it… yeah, my brain is messed up too. Just not in the way I expected.

This book isn’t violent. It’s not disturbing in any overt way. But it is unsettling — in a deeply personal, almost intimate way. It starts as a time travel story and ends up being something more philosophical, even existential.

The protagonist, Danny, uses a time belt to meet and interact with other versions of himself. At first it’s clever and playful. Then it becomes emotional. Then romantic. Then isolating. And by the end, it’s quietly devastating.

What hit me the hardest wasn’t the sci-fi logic (which is solid) but the emotional consequences. What happens when the only person who can understand you is… you? If you’re totally unbound by time and completely alone, what does morality …

I’ve tried to do this a few times before but never quite succeeded in reading all the finalists before the award ceremony but managed to pull it off this year. My ranking of the 6 and some thoughts on each of them below.

6) The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley: It’s a pretty decent book but right off the bat, not exactly what I am looking for in a sci-fi or speculative fiction book. There are some interesting moments with one of the main characters who has been pulled from the past to the present but they are few and far between. The book takes a few sudden genre shifts - starting off as a mostly lit fic work at first, then turning into romance well after the halfway point, and finally a very abrupt shift into usual time travel based shenanigans that feel like the author just remembered that that was meant to be the plot but got bored with it and so wrapped it all up as quickly as possible. A shame too, since I could have read a whole book of either the Lit-fic or the …

Basically writers whose work is not that popular but who writes great stories according to you.

Doesn’t have to be a writer with published books. They could have web novels, Wattpad anything. As long as you think they are awesome.

I would prefer writers with cyberpunk stories but any type of sci f is fine.

I’m just re-reading Snow Crash, and I always find this line to be perfect to convey the feeling of the novel, which is just so OVER THE TOP in every respect.

“Hiro watches the large, radioactive, spear-throwing killer drug lord ride his motorcycle into Chinatown.”

Any other books that contain their essence in a single sentence within themselves?

Looking for some recommendations for books that have one or more of the following:

• Exploration/discovery of some kind - a planet, an object, a phenomena
• Large distances and timescales
• Compelling look into speculative science
• Overall just makes you go “wow”

Some books that scratch that itch for me:

• House of Suns
• Manifold Time/Space
• Culture novels
• Rendezvous with Rama
• Chindi
• Hyperion
• Eon
• Anvil of Stars

Any other suggestions?

For all the excellent posts and recommendations. I never have to read another genre again from the lists I’ve created from reading this sub for the past year. And everyone is so darned helpful and your passion for the subjects and the authors is palpable even through these simple posts and it makes me so happy I got into this genre and my only regret is I didn’t do it sooner, because I’ll never get through this list in my years left 😂 But it’s great because whatever I’m in the mood for next, there’s a post full of books to scratch the itch and I just happen to be wrapping up an audio and 2 paperbacks simultaneously so I get to sift through the list for my next finds, not quite sure what I’m in the mood for yet. Thank you all for sharing this passion with each other.

I mean no disrespect whatsoever to the current actors that have been cast, but I can’t wrap my head around Warner Bros deciding to remake Harry Potter.

I know the underlying reason is “money” but HP is by no means a bankrupt franchise. TO THIS DAY, it is still the BESTSELLING book series of ALL TIME. People regularly rewatch the movies. People buy HP merchandise all the time. The franchise is continuously making insane amounts of money. HP is still a household name.

The movies are iconic. Actors that are iconic and the new set of actors for the show will forever be compared to the likes of Alan Rickman, Emma, Rupert, Daniel, Maggie Smith. The movies aren’t that old.

Am I saying that the movies are perfect? No, of couse not. They could have taken a Harry Potter show into so many different directions; there are so many aspects of HP lore that they could have explored. A HP TV show delving into the first wizarding war? 1000% it would draw so many views. A TV …

Thinking along the lines of Final Destination 2 with the logs falling off the truck and landing onto cars (one decapitating the state trooper). Ever since, people have tried to get away from being behind these vehicles.

What are more examples where movies have actually changed how people behave in their own lives?

James Cameron’s beloved sci-fi film The Abyss has been removed from Disney+ in the UK due to the inclusion of a banned scene.

The original version of the 1989 film includes a scene in which a rat is dunked into a vat of fluorocarbon liquid — and a real rat was used in production. The rodent is believed to have survived, but that didn’t stop groups like charity The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) from taking steps to have the scene removed 36 years ago.

The scene was subsequently cut by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) under the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, which means it must be cut for any theatrical use. The BBFC also cut the scene under the Video Recordings Act 1984, meaning it must not be included on releases on formats such as Blu-Ray and DVD. Similarly, the scene should also not be aired on traditional TV in the UK.

Despite this, a version of the film that included the banned scene was added to Disney+ a few months ago …

I’m always fascinated by films that totally flopped at the box office but ended up becoming beloved classics or cult hits. Movies that maybe were ahead of their time, mismarketed, or just misunderstood.

For example, Children of Men didn’t do that great financially when it dropped, but now it’s constantly praised for its direction, themes, and cinematography. Same with Blade Runner, which got mixed reviews back in the day and now it’s legendary. What are your favorite box office bombs that aged like fine wine?