One thing I really enjoy in fantasy works is the wonderful and creative fantasy swear words.
What are some of your favourites?
Here are some of mine:
For a long time I’ve heard this book talked up as one of the best in the fantasy genre. Every individual scene was competently done, but as a whole I can’t see the substance. I am genuinely interested in hearing people articulate the qualities of this novel, as most of what I’ve found online is people saying “I loved it” in a hundred words without ever explaining why.
To be clear there were things I enjoyed, like the framing of the story as a tale told over three days. And there were some incredible scenes, like Kvothe playing his lute without a string to get his pipes, or taking the class on the second day and humiliating the asshole teacher.
To summarise my major criticisms:
To expand a bit:
The trope of an underdog …
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Howdy all! First off, a huge thank you to the mods for approving this post. I’m Actus, and it’s honestly hard to believe I finally got here. I’ve been writing for 12 years and self publishing for around 10, all to almost no viewership whatsoever. About 11 months ago, just a day after Christmas (which also happens to be my birthday!) I decided to take the plunge into writing Webnovels.
That was probably the best decision I’ve made in a long time. I’ve been writing around 3-5,000 words a day ever since, and I’m beyond ecstatic to share that Morcster Chef has been picked up by a publisher and is finally out. The novel is, as the title suggests, a mixture of cooking and fantasy with a dash of slapstick comedy. Think Food Wars mixed with a DnD campaign, just with way less fan service and much more amateur orc …
I’ve never been more happy to be an adult that’s into fantasy fiction. The Arcane animated series on Netflix in particular made me step back and think, ‘Something like this would have never been made this good ten years ago.’ An animated short series rated TV-14 and based on a video game that’s breaking record numbers on the biggest streaming platform? That’s just wild. And whatever you think about the ending of Game of Thrones, it absolutely defined a decade of mainstream television. TTRPGs like Dimension 20 and Critical Role have revolutionized a new genre of fantasy entertainment for adults, and Dungeons and Dragons (a game that’s over forty-years-old) is somehow currently at the peak of its popularity.
Basically, being an adult who loves fantasy fiction feels so great with just how many quality options are available to choose from right now.
I mean the ones you want to succeed in their evil plans despite being, well, evil.
For me, the first time was Raistlin Majere when I was a teenager in high school as the idea of him slaying the Queen of Darkness and becoming a god seemed pretty metal. We saw, however, how that would have gone.
Littlefinger is also a somewhat guilty pleasure because everyone in Westeros and the system is so horrible that its easy to root for him, except well he’s a disgusting misogynist and guilty of some pretty awful things in the books. Still, you kind of want him to burn it all down.
This is just my opinion but I have seen a lot of people seemingly feeing obligated to read certain books they have no interest in just because these books are popular or considered classic. Then they complain about how the book is boring or difficult or stupid or whatever. They get mad at the book or people who recommended it.
My question is why are you reading this book? You don’t have to. Even the greatest book ever written according to some literary critics or the greatest book according to the biggest survey in the world will not make everybody happy. And you can have legitimate reasons for not liking that book or not wanting to read it. And that is okay. It is not your failing not to like such a book. Spend your time reading something you enjoy. Yes, it is good to challenge yourself or try something new but reading should not be torture. You might come back to the same book ten years later and then find it fascinating. Or maybe never come back to it. What matters is what is …
I know I’m YEARS late to this party but I just, on a whim, decided to read And Then There Were None. I was blown away! I immediately started the Hercule Poirot series after. Not only are the mysteries themselves incredible but the writing and characters are also. Her mysteries are so intricately woven that it just blows my mind how she can craft these stories so well. I love how she routinely has her characters discuss the mystery and layout different scenarios and give you a sort of hints to things that may be important. However, the grand reveal always catches me off guard but never feels “cheap” like some other mysteries I’ve read in the past.
I am so disappointed in myself for not reading her sooner. Agatha Christie is an absolute master of storytelling! I can’t wait to read more.
What is your favorite Agatha Christie novel and do you think there are any modern mystery writers that even remotely compare to the writing of Agatha Christie?
Hello friends, it’s the end of the year almost! What was the best thing you read? Tell us about it. Let’s get a good list going. The sub rocks!
A great opening draws you in, begins to hint at the world the story takes place in, and sets the tone for what’s to come. What are the best opening paragraphs (or sentences) in science fiction? Three of my favorites:
The Lathe of Heaven – Ursula K. Le Guin
”Current-borne, wave-flung, tugged hugely by the whole might of ocean, the jellyfish drifts in the tidal abyss. The light shines through it, and the dark enters it. Borne, flung, tugged from anywhere to anywhere, for in the deep sea there is no compass but nearer and farther, higher and lower, the jellyfish hangs and sways; pulses move slight and quick within it, as the vast diurnal pulses beat in the moon-driven sea. Hanging, swaying, pulsing, the most vulnerable and insubstantial creature, it has for its defense the violence and power of the whole ocean, to which it has entrusted its being, its going, and its will.”
Hyperion – Dan Simmions
”The Hegemony Consul sat on the balcony of his ebony spaceship and played …
Has anyone checked out Starfish? (You thought this post was gunna shit talk Blindsight - SIKE, I love the book.)
I’m halfway through Starfish and I’m wondering why the hell I didn’t read this earlier. It is very Peter Watts (the nihilism of Blindsight and dark themes), but it is also very different than Blindsight. It is absolutely beautiful; Clarke may be one of my favorite protagonists ever, alongside the biologist from Annihilation - they are kinda similar - and I love the beauty and darkness you feel of the ocean depths through these damaged people’s POV. Bonus if you’ve played SOMA or Bioshock too; this book will make your cream yourself with the vibe if you love the vibe of those games.
The book nails trauma imo (I’ve dealt with trauma, but not TRAUMA, so go ahead and correct me if I’m wrong). The main cast is so amazing and no bullshit, and I’m learning that I really connect with Watts’s writing. I think it’s …
Besides a “To-read” list, bloated beyond salvage like those of perhaps many of yours, I have a “To-expect” list, basically meaning to-read-as-soon-as-it-is-published. Three books from that list clustered in the second half of November, making it the most anticipated period of my 2021 reading plan - and now turned out totally worth it!
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Planned by the end of Oct and updated now
Termination Shock, by Neal Stephenson
I’ve read most of Neal’s books except the series books and liked most of them, despite of their usually intimidating page numbers (I’m not a native speaker - sorry for my English BTW).
His last novel, Fall, was a disappointment, but I wasn’t so much disappointed as some. Now TS backed my faith to his works again.
IMO, Termination Shock is much like Reamde, but slightly better: it’s coupled with RL hotspots more closely; the plot flows more fluently and twists more convincingly. Even the endings share an …
I’m no stranger to book where you’re dropped off in a weird universe and left to figure it out yourself. Anathem, Quantum Price, Starlight Archive - loved them, can’t get enough of them. But from what I’m reading online, BOTNS is this on steroids. I was recomanded listening to a companion podcast along with reading the book, but it’s a few hours for each chapter. And that podcast lists some companion books too - I feel a bit overwhelmed.
Basically my question is - can I just read the series and enjoy it on it’s own? I don’t care if I’m lost for half the time, but is a regular guy smart enough to get what’s happening in the book eventually without any companion media?
EDIT : Thank you so much for your replies! So it’s layered, you’ll understand more on a reread, but the first layer is great too so it should make you want to know the other layers naturally. It’s a complex book, but it’s meant to stand up on …
Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary just won Audible’s “Best of 2021.” There seems to be a consensus that Weir’s work is “hard SciFi” meaning that the plot is heavily dependent on the description of realistic science and/or technology. This says to me that hard SciFi is, or at least can be, the most popular category of fiction when done well. But what is it, and do publishers categorize SciFi into “hard” vs. “soft?”
I had the privilege of meeting my literary hero Ted Chiang a couple of years ago. Chiang’s works like Story of Your Life are commonly defined as hard SciFi. He signed a copy of his anthology for me with “HEY PHIL (he prints in all caps), I’M GLAD TO HEAR YOU’RE WRITING HARD SF. Yes, I treasure this and it is in the entryway of my home, under a spotlight. But does Chiang’s use of the phrase “hard SF” imply that it is a legitimate and recognized subgenre?
As a newcomer to …
Rat Race was arguably one of the top five funniest comedies from the early 2000s and it would be really nice to see everyone together again. Of course if some of the vast amount of people in the first film couldn’t be there, you could have newer faces fill the spots.
Just imagine: Jon Lovits with his grandkids.
Rowan Atkinson as some sort of wealthy Ted Talk guy who wrote a successful book about Narcolepsy.
Idk. I’m just having fun picturing these scenarios. What do you all think?
Edit: My original line of thinking for this would be instead of everyone fighting for money, they’re all fighting for their lives. A dark twist where the maze is filled with traps and only one can survive.
Edit 2: HOLY SHIT THIS GOT ON r/all! Thank you to everyone who gave me awards and upvoted. We gotta get this film made!
Thanks to the hint from /u/Musicmans I checked the movie “Seven Years Good Luck” and I think it’s safe to say that this is the movie /u/Don_Rumata_Estorsky and the museum searched for. I attached two screens from the movie in comparison to the recovered original pictures from the sunken ship as example.
It’s a german comedy movie from 1942. A sequel to “Sieben Jahre Pech”.
I was able to contact a guy who has a whole collection of movies from this era. He sent me “Der Strom” and “Sieben Jahre Glück” and luckily the latter was the movie we searched for.