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Arsenic Lupin posted:Neal Stephenson writes those big ol' doorstops with a fountain pen. Proof. I thought he wrote his novels in Emacs. He probably made the switch after the Baroque Cycle, at the behest of his hand.
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Sep 13, 2023 02:01
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Selachian posted:There used to be a SF book store in NYC that had Isaac Asimov's TRS-80 on display in the front window. No tab key, God drat.
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Sep 13, 2023 02:20
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Armauk posted:I thought he wrote his novels in Emacs. He probably made the switch after the Baroque Cycle, at the behest of his hand. Neal Stephenson posted:“I’ve written every word of it so far with fountain pen on paper. Part of the theory was that it would make me less long-winded, but it hasn’t actually worked.”
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Sep 13, 2023 03:04
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Nothing but respect for him. I'm in pain if I spend even 10 minutes writing something by hand. Maybe 20-30 for typing.
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Sep 13, 2023 03:10
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Hello! I like fantasy books, but most of the ones I've read have been epic fantasy. Can someone recommend some good "sword and sorcery" titles?
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Sep 13, 2023 03:34
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LiterallyATomato posted:Hello! Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams starts as sword n' sorcery then goes weird sci-fi and I enjoyed it a lot. For more "standard" try the Gandalara cycle, seven novels written as a collab between Randall Garrett and his wife Vicki Ann Heydron. A dude gets hit by a meteor and wakes up in the body of a strapping young man with a sword in the desert... and with a friendly giant cat. Adventures follow!
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Sep 13, 2023 03:39
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LiterallyATomato posted:I like fantasy books, but most of the ones I've read have been epic fantasy. Can someone recommend some good "sword and sorcery" titles? I'll lead with The Black Company by Glen Cook. It's the gritty, grim story of a mercenary company that may just have signed on with the evil sorcerer queen.
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Sep 13, 2023 03:40
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I just finished American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett and loved it, that mix of otherwordly sci-fi and existential horror is definitely my jam. Similarly I've dug what I've read by qntm (although he could seriously use an editor). Any recommendations for stuff that'll scratch the same itch?
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Sep 13, 2023 04:01
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LiterallyATomato posted:Hello! Read some Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser to get the original!
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Sep 13, 2023 04:15
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LiterallyATomato posted:Hello! (e:f,b) Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser founded the thief-and-barbarian genre. The first book is a short-story collection Swords and Deviltry Steve Brust's Jhereg; sword-and-sworcery meets noir detective. The author is a sex harasser, so you may not want to throw him money. (has anybody read Kings of the Wyld? It looks interesting based on the blurb.)
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Sep 13, 2023 04:20
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Phanatic posted:I just finished American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett and loved it, that mix of otherwordly sci-fi and existential horror is definitely my jam. Similarly I've dug what I've read by qntm (although he could seriously use an editor). Any recommendations for stuff that'll scratch the same itch? Read DECLARE by Tim Powers
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Sep 13, 2023 04:25
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Sword and sorcery? Start with some of the original Conan stories. They're outdated and sometimes very racist, but you can't beat them for panache in evocative environments.
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Sep 13, 2023 04:55
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General Battuta posted:Read DECLARE by Tim Powers
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Sep 13, 2023 05:04
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Phanatic posted:I just finished American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett and loved it, that mix of otherwordly sci-fi and existential horror is definitely my jam. Similarly I've dug what I've read by qntm (although he could seriously use an editor). Any recommendations for stuff that'll scratch the same itch? Tim Powers' DECLARE, as already said. Last Exit by Max Gladstone might work for you; it's good, either way. The Library at Mount Char could also.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:06
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Phanatic posted:I just finished American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett and loved it, that mix of otherwordly sci-fi and existential horror is definitely my jam. Similarly I've dug what I've read by qntm (although he could seriously use an editor). Any recommendations for stuff that'll scratch the same itch? Caitlin R. Kiernan's Tinfoil Dossier, a trilogy of novellas, might be up your alley.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:06
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LiterallyATomato posted:Hello! Seconding the Black Company. I re-read them a couple of years ago and they still hold up. That is, my opinion was the same as when I read them before: the first 4 are top notch, then there's a bit of a dropoff as the later books get weirder. So read the first 4 (the "books of the north" and "the silver spike") and then press on or not as suits you.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:44
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LiterallyATomato posted:Hello! Thirding Black Company! But also if you want something a little more modern compared to Conan, try Jennifer Roberson's Sword Dancer / Tiger and Del series. The first six books are the main story; book 7 which I just read this year came out years later and is like a "where are they now" kind of extended sword and sorcery adventure epilogue thing. If you're open to goon books, my first is technically sword and sorcery (the series is epic fantasy but those elements are really background in book 1): https://books2read.com/petition
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Sep 13, 2023 06:45
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the march north was... good.
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Sep 13, 2023 07:01
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Just finished Void Star by Zachary Mason and quite liked it even though it sometimes felt a bit too try-hard (in ways I can't really articulate). Glad to see the unanimous Black Company reccs since, based on a different source, I just impulse bought the first three off Abebooks.
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Sep 13, 2023 09:49
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LiterallyATomato posted:Hello! Nifft the Lean by Michael Shea is awesome if you also like a bit of cosmic horror in your fantasy.
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Sep 13, 2023 10:45
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tokenbrownguy posted:the march north was... good. signed graydon anyway the mention of caitlín r kiernan reminded me that she's gone all chud these days. gently caress. I liked her stuff, even when she was misunderstanding geometry and having a character lose san over a the eldritch angles of regular heptagon or whatever.
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Sep 13, 2023 11:10
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Chas McGill posted:Nifft the Lean by Michael Shea is awesome if you also like a bit of cosmic horror in your fantasy. It's heavily influenced by Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, so read those too. And Shea's The Quest for Simbilis, which was written (with Vance's permission) as a sequel to Vance's Eyes of the Overworld, and inspired Vance to finally get around to writing his (unrelated) sequel to it; Cugel's Saga.
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Sep 13, 2023 11:18
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Kalman posted:Tim Powers' DECLARE, as already said. if it's on KU or something you could waste some time with Austin Grossman's Crooked, the main character of which is Richard Nixon. it mostly sucks but it has some incredible lines like "the four bodies of the legislative branch, House, Senate, Gestalt, and Hovering"
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Sep 13, 2023 11:23
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36 Streets is very very good so far. We got our client mystery to investigate, we got our dickhead of a protagonist (who is slowly being revealed to have some very good reasons for this) and then we also have these indications of something else going on that seems entirely out of place with where she is now extreme combat resulting in her being continually hospitalised and I'm absolutely gripped by the locale.
ClydeFrog fucked around with this message at 13:10 on Sep 13, 2023 |
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Sep 13, 2023 13:06
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DACK FAYDEN posted:thirding this Declare is one of my favorite novels of all time. Powers’s secret histories are generally excellent, although I felt Stress of Her Regard was an uneventful slog.
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Sep 13, 2023 14:25
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I would suggest Black Leopard/Red Wolf by Marlon James. It has a cool mix of Folklore/old school sci fi fantasy to it. Plus the folklore is African so it's not a style or subject a lot of people have exposure to.
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Sep 13, 2023 15:17
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On the sword and sorcery front, I agree with Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, with the understanding that at some point the stories are going to start sucking and it's okay to stop. I'd also put in a recommendation for Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books (not to be confused with Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane), which are nicely dark and gothic with a protagonist who can be either hero or villain. Tanith Lee's Cyrion is pretty good if you want a S&S protagonist who's more intellectual than the usual barbarian warrior. And finally, Charles Saunders's Imaro and Dossouye series are great African-inspired swords and sorcery -- written by an African-American author who, unlike most S&S writers, knows about African cultures and geography and doesn't fall prey to the usual fantasy-Africa cliches.
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Sep 13, 2023 15:18
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Macdeo Lurjtux posted:I would suggest Black Leopard/Red Wolf by Marlon James. It has a cool mix of Folklore/old school sci fi fantasy to it. Plus the folklore is African so it's not a style or subject a lot of people have exposure to. I would warn that it’s very dark and has a lot of upsetting violence and other content warnings. It’s very good but not easy reading.
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Sep 13, 2023 15:40
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StrixNebulosa posted:I would warn that it’s very dark and has a lot of upsetting violence and other content warnings. It’s very good but not easy reading. Thirding the recommendation, but if you're thinking of reading it, try the first chapter on Amazon first to make sure you know what it's gonna be.
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Sep 13, 2023 16:08
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Is that the one with the hyena golden shower lol
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Sep 13, 2023 16:37
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LiterallyATomato posted:Hello! Lord Dunsansy's Legends of Pagana stories is the bed rock origin of Sword and Sorcery and they still own. Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories also remain great. The Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith should be available on kindle. Find a publication order Elric collection by Michael Moorcock or the Corum series by the same. Seconding Karl Edgar Wagner's Kane series. If you read the Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser collections skip the first two stories in the first collection because they suck and were written as prequels way after the original stories. One of the hidden truths about Sword and Sorcery is that much of our conception of what it is was actually formed in the 70s with comics. If you're look for a S and S hit then there's a lot of good or at least interesting ones. The Busiek Conan comics are a very good entryway.
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Sep 13, 2023 17:19
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Phanatic posted:Powers’s secret histories are generally excellent, although I felt Stress of Her Regard was an uneventful slog. I like the Romantic poets. My reaction to SoHR was "This is more than I ever wanted to know about the Romantic poets." I very much fear this happens to the Brontës. Surprisingly little is known about them (other than their writings), and people have put the most ridiculous things into the gaps. Also, nobody should ever give more than ten seconds' thought or screen time to Branwell. He was not a mysterious hidden figure, he was a complete and utter failson. Selachian posted:Tanith Lee's Cyrion is pretty good if you want a S&S protagonist who's more intellectual than the usual barbarian warrior.
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Sep 13, 2023 17:35
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Chas McGill posted:Nifft the Lean by Michael Shea is awesome if you also like a bit of cosmic horror in your fantasy.
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Sep 13, 2023 18:07
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Finished 36 Streets. Really enjoyed it even as it went full batshit at the end. A different milieu from the usual cyberpunk setting and lots of letting you work out the world for yourself which I appreciated. Definitely going to look out for the next book by this author.
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Sep 13, 2023 19:11
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anilEhilated posted:Did those ever get an ebook release? Not that I'm aware of, I have an ancient paperback I found on abebooks or something. Shea died back in 2014 and I don't think he was a huge seller so I'm not sure if there will be much of a push to get those stories digitised. It's a shame because they're very good. Chas McGill fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Sep 13, 2023 |
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Sep 13, 2023 20:48
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Fortress of Dragons (Fortress #4) by CJ Cherryh - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC1S9K/
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Sep 13, 2023 23:06
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Selachian posted:I'd also put in a recommendation for Karl Edward Wagner's Kane books (not to be confused with Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane), which are nicely dark and gothic with a protagonist who can be either hero or villain. nthing Kane, he's a more readable Conan and a heap of fun might be a little of piste by something that pops up here fairly often is Heroes Die (acts of Caine) by Matthew Stover. it's not pure S&S but has the right beats in a more modern, if dark, story. The sequels do get darker and introspective though so I'd read the first then reviews if murderous self pity isn't your thing.
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Sep 13, 2023 23:41
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anilEhilated posted:Did those ever get an ebook release? unofficially
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Sep 14, 2023 01:18
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quote:(has anybody read Kings of the Wyld? It looks interesting based on the blurb.) I read it and the sequel and thought they were fun. The premise is essentially "What if D&D adventuring parties were were treated like rock bands?" The "VH1 Behind The Music" side has pretty good synergy with the "supposedly heroic murderhobos" side, so if the premise appeals to you it's worth reading.
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Sep 14, 2023 06:23
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fez_machine posted:One of the hidden truths about Sword and Sorcery is that much of our conception of what it is was actually formed in the 70s with comics. If you're look for a S and S hit then there's a lot of good or at least interesting ones. The Busiek Conan comics are a very good entryway. What else would you recommend for S&S comics? I have no real awareness of what's out there and I think I've been missing out, I love the Elric and Fafhrd/Grey Mouser books, and I really enjoyed a lot of the Conan stories, plus I'm reading a bunch of Clark Ashton Smith and the Zothique stuff in particular has a lot of that kind of vibe, I feel. I'd love to see that sort of stuff in comic form.
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