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Applewhite posted:I’m looking for a list of fantasy novels that present themselves as historian accounts of the fictional world (complete with footnotes) This is to prove a point to someone who thinks it is unconventional for fantasy novels to present themselves thus. Mary Gentle's Ash: A Secret History.
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Nov 1, 2018 23:15
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Himuro posted:It is 1100 pages. I’m not sure that’s the best place to start? I think Firestarter or The Dead Zone are the best starters. Firestarter feels like it was written in an inspired rush, the words pouring onto the page as fast as his fingers could type them. The Dead Zone is a little bit more thoughtful. They're both fairly early novels but will give you an excellent sense of his writing.
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Nov 1, 2018 23:56
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regulargonzalez posted:I think Firestarter or The Dead Zone are the best starters. Firestarter feels like it was written in an inspired rush, the words pouring onto the page as fast as his fingers could type them. The Dead Zone is a little bit more thoughtful. They're both fairly early novels but will give you an excellent sense of his writing. Yeah, I'll also vouch for these two. Really, any King book from 1975-80 is a safe bet. That's the golden era with nothing but hits. Then he got really into hard drugs and the lows got lower and highs got higher. For every Pet Sematary you get a Roadwork and Cujo. Pretty much everything in the 90's to now is skippable, with the caveat that every book has its fans. If the premise sounds fun, you can give it a go and see where you fall. The exception to the rule is short story collections, which is where he shines brightest, no matter the era.
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Nov 2, 2018 00:32
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I'm going on a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado in a week. I would like something nice to read on kindle while out and about. Preferably snowy, autumnal, or involving the area/state. I'm open to a novel, non-fiction, short story collection, or poetry. Nothing too long. Please and thank you!
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Nov 2, 2018 00:39
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Oh I forgot about Firestarter. I love Firestarter. I think Cujo is also really good if you want a book about a failing marriage that pretends to be a horror novel.
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Nov 2, 2018 00:48
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:They go downhill in quality unfortunately. It's a stop when you feel like it they don't get better series, unless you're really attached to the characters and want the whole character arc. Wimsey has no character beyond "hello I can literally do anything and I can do it better than anyone what ho".
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Nov 2, 2018 01:11
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Jerry Cotton posted:Wimsey has no character beyond "hello I can literally do anything and I can do it better than anyone what ho". Oh Sayers deliberately wrote him as a depression era escapism fantasy, she was quite frank about that. But she did give him ww1 PTSD which led to a little depth here and there. Unless I'm confusing him with Campion but Campion was a deliberate Wimsey pastiche anyway.
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Nov 2, 2018 01:25
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They both had shell shock, but campion’s was only referenced by lugg iirc whereas Sayers, an intellectual, wrote Whimsey having an attack. Best “golden age” mystery series is and will forever remain the Burford family series by James Anderson https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1793992.The_Affair_of_the_Blood_Stained_Egg_Cosy He only wrote thee of them and then went and died on us but my god he nailed it.
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Nov 2, 2018 09:01
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Applewhite posted:I’m looking for a list of fantasy novels that present themselves as historian accounts of the fictional world (complete with footnotes) This is to prove a point to someone who thinks it is unconventional for fantasy novels to present themselves thus. Would Utopia, Gulliver's Travels, and Erewhon count?
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Nov 2, 2018 18:19
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Applewhite posted:I’m looking for a list of fantasy novels that present themselves as historian accounts of the fictional world (complete with footnotes) This is to prove a point to someone who thinks it is unconventional for fantasy novels to present themselves thus. The most extreme example of this is Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norell but I suspect that's the one sparking the discussion. JS & MN does take the trope to an extreme but even, say, Wheel of Time has postscripts and prescripts in every volume supposedly written by in-world historians or fragments of historical records, and there are characters within the series who are very clearly supposed to be the ones "writing it all down" (Loial, etc.) Depending on how you draw your genre boundaries, also House of Leaves. Or almost anything by Gene Wolfe -- Torturer books, Latro books, etc.
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Nov 2, 2018 18:25
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Applewhite posted:I’m looking for a list of fantasy novels that present themselves as historian accounts of the fictional world (complete with footnotes) This is to prove a point to someone who thinks it is unconventional for fantasy novels to present themselves thus. Does Dracula count (lol)? I can think of a few sci-fi novels that do it, but I'm not pulling fantasy... Himuro posted:I’ve always wanted to read Stephen King. Where do I start? Nthing Skeleton Crew and seconding Franchescanado's post.
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Nov 2, 2018 20:22
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I'm going on a roadtrip for about 6 hours tomorrow and later this month on a business trip to Japan with lots of long flights and bus/train rides. I'd really like a hefty amount of sci-fi to listen to while I go on these trips. I'd like it to be gripping stuff without too many dry, boring bits (bad example: Foundation). I like stuff that dips into horror territory, with strange alien races, the fear of the unknown, maybe even some body horror or Lovecraftian elder powers or devouring hordes of aliens threatening the existence of us poor puny humans. Or just exciting, well-written sci-fi. Preferably stuff that takes place in space with at least one species that isn't human involved. Old or new. As long as I can find audiobooks of them. I'm not super well read in sci-fi so even really obvious suggestions are okay. Might go without saying but not Ender's Game. Or any of the Alien books since those ones I have read.
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Nov 2, 2018 22:30
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Getsuya posted:I'm going on a roadtrip for about 6 hours tomorrow and later this month on a business trip to Japan with lots of long flights and bus/train rides. I'd really like a hefty amount of sci-fi to listen to while I go on these trips. I'd like it to be gripping stuff without too many dry, boring bits (bad example: Foundation). I like stuff that dips into horror territory, with strange alien races, the fear of the unknown, maybe even some body horror or Lovecraftian elder powers or devouring hordes of aliens threatening the existence of us poor puny humans. Or just exciting, well-written sci-fi. Preferably stuff that takes place in space with at least one species that isn't human involved. Old or new. As long as I can find audiobooks of them. I'm not super well read in sci-fi so even really obvious suggestions are okay. Might go without saying but not Ender's Game. Or any of the Alien books since those ones I have read. I'm plowing through the Expanse books and they seem to fit all your criteria and they're a BLAST to read. There's a lot of them too!
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Nov 2, 2018 22:45
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I will again recommend Becky Chambers' Wayfarers books. They are fun sci-fi with lots of interesting alien species
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Nov 2, 2018 23:39
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Getsuya posted:I'm going on a roadtrip for about 6 hours tomorrow and later this month on a business trip to Japan with lots of long flights and bus/train rides. I'd really like a hefty amount of sci-fi to listen to while I go on these trips. I'd like it to be gripping stuff without too many dry, boring bits (bad example: Foundation). I like stuff that dips into horror territory, with strange alien races, the fear of the unknown, maybe even some body horror or Lovecraftian elder powers or devouring hordes of aliens threatening the existence of us poor puny humans. Or just exciting, well-written sci-fi. Preferably stuff that takes place in space with at least one species that isn't human involved. Old or new. As long as I can find audiobooks of them. I'm not super well read in sci-fi so even really obvious suggestions are okay. Might go without saying but not Ender's Game. Or any of the Alien books since those ones I have read. I’m more into hard SF than you, I think. But off the top of my head I can’t recommend enough: Pushing Ice by Alistair Reynolds Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson Children of Time by Adrien Tchaikovsky Blindsight by Peter Watts Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke Borne by Jeff Vandermeer Annihilation (and the Area X trilogy) by Vandermeer as well Dragon’s Egg by Robert L. Forward The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
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Nov 3, 2018 00:01
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Getsuya posted:I'm going on a roadtrip for about 6 hours tomorrow and later this month on a business trip to Japan... Scalzi's Old Man's War series, Haldeman's Forever War
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Nov 3, 2018 01:57
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Horror/Supernatural/Science Fiction and set in London, but Rook and Stilleto by Daniel O'Malley are awesome
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Nov 3, 2018 06:05
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:The most extreme example of this is Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norell but I suspect that's the one sparking the discussion. JS & MN does take the trope to an extreme but even, say, Wheel of Time has postscripts and prescripts in every volume supposedly written by in-world historians or fragments of historical records, and there are characters within the series who are very clearly supposed to be the ones "writing it all down" (Loial, etc.) These are all great examples, thanks! What actually sparked the discussion is the person in question is writing an “experimental” fantasy novel for NaNoWriMo. What makes it “experimental?” It starts with a foreword from a fictional historian introducing the memoir-style narrative of a woman who experienced a fantasy adventure! (The fact that this is basically the exact format of the licenced WH40K “Ciaphas Cain Omnibus” he literally just read does not seem to deter him from his conviction). When I tried to explain to him that this is actually a well-established fantasy convention, he became huffy and demanded more examples.
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Nov 3, 2018 13:59
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Doesn't Dune do something like that as well?
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Nov 3, 2018 14:23
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Applewhite posted:These are all great examples, thanks! Aww, I don't want to discourage somebody from writing! It's a good gimmick when done well!
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Nov 3, 2018 15:14
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Why does it matter that it’s been done before? To you or to him?
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Nov 3, 2018 15:30
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Aww, I don't want to discourage somebody from writing! I didn’t say it was a bad gimmick or even that it was a bad story. I just take issue with his insistence that his approach is “experimental.” I even told him that I thought his story was good.
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Nov 3, 2018 15:41
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It just pissed me off at how “groundbreaking” and “unusual” he bragged idea was and I’m like dude, it’s a fun story but have a realistic perception of what you’re doing. You’re not about to blow the lid off the fantasy genre here. Maybe with his narrative but certainly not with his format.
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Nov 3, 2018 15:46
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Thanks for all the sci-fi recs folks. Currently listening tensely to Annihilation. Good stuff.
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Nov 3, 2018 17:08
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the guy who thinks he's being experimental by using a framing device is powerful
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Nov 4, 2018 00:07
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Applewhite posted:It just pissed me off at how “groundbreaking” and “unusual” he bragged idea was and I’m like dude, it’s a fun story but have a realistic perception of what you’re doing. You’re not about to blow the lid off the fantasy genre here. Maybe with his narrative but certainly not with his format. In eighth grade in my small, Catholic middle school, my friend wrote a short story that he was insanely proud of that was the exactly the plot of the first Wing Commander computer game.
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Nov 4, 2018 00:17
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Aww, I don't want to discourage somebody from writing! counterpoint: all nanaowrimo attempts should be discouraged, by violence if necessary
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Nov 4, 2018 01:51
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I do not discourage nanowrimo attempts I discourage their publication
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Nov 4, 2018 03:17
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Once all my moving around is concluded I intend to hop into NaNoWriMo myself. It’ll be roaring rollercoaster of a novel, crammed with sizzling Gypsies. E: also I highly recommend the Lyonesse Trilogy to any fantasy lovers, to get the thread back on track.
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Nov 4, 2018 03:29
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Mel Mudkiper posted:I do not discourage nanowrimo attempts I don't mind them being published, provided the editor/publisher are actually good enough to pick out the good ones.
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Nov 4, 2018 10:02
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Applewhite posted:Once all my moving around is concluded I intend to hop into NaNoWriMo myself. It’ll be roaring rollercoaster of a novel, crammed with sizzling Gypsies. I'm going to finally write that sequel to the Dictionary for NaNoWriMo.
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Nov 4, 2018 10:20
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StrixNebulosa posted:I don't mind them being published, provided the editor/publisher are actually good enough to pick out the good ones. lol
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Nov 4, 2018 10:30
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Applewhite posted:E: also I highly recommend the Lyonesse Trilogy to any fantasy lovers, to get the thread back on track. The trilogy that starts by sexualizing children?
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Nov 4, 2018 12:44
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:The trilogy that starts by sexualizing children? Unfortunately there is some of that but that’s not why I recommend it. It’s a brilliant and beautiful series.
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Nov 4, 2018 15:09
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That’s like if I recommended The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and someone were like “oh that story where one of the main characters is literally named Ni***r Jim?” Yeah Lyonesse has a lot of parts that will make any decent person squirm but I think it’s an important enough contribution to the fantasy genre that it’s worth enduring the gross stuff.
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Nov 4, 2018 15:15
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Applewhite posted:That’s like if I recommended The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and someone were like “oh that story where one of the main characters is literally named Ni***r Jim?” it's actually not like that at all
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Nov 4, 2018 16:18
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chernobyl kinsman posted:it's actually not like that at all Dismissing an entire work of literature because it features a prominently distasteful aspect? I thought the analogy apt.
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Nov 4, 2018 16:52
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8 year olds Dude.
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Nov 4, 2018 16:55
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Applewhite posted:Dismissing an entire work of literature because it features a prominently distasteful aspect? I thought the analogy apt. It’s a bad hill to die on.
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Nov 4, 2018 17:01
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learnincurve posted:8 year olds Dude. Yeah it’s not cool, it’s really regrettable. I’d make excuses for the time the book was written but it was written in the 80’s so the author definitely knew better. The only thing I can offer is that the book is set in like the 5th century AD when those types of attitudes were more common so maybe Vance was trying to capture the attitude of the time. I just sort of flip over those parts and focus on what is a really excellent and imaginative work.
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Nov 4, 2018 17:02
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