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Rime posted:Has there been any breakout low fantasy in the past few years with the sort of intricate world and society building exercises as seen in The Prince of Nothing series? I'm getting fed up waiting for the next entry there, and generic S&S high fantasy just bores me to tears these days. I haven't read The Prince of Nothing (which sounds cool, by the way), but Elizabeth Bear's Eternal Sky trilogy might fit that niche? The story's bog-standard hero's quest stuff, but the setting/world is gorgeous -- it's based on the regions covered by the Silk Road (Mongols, Turks, various caliphates, China, and even a nod to the Russia) and infused with fantastic elements drawn from various myths in each region.
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Apr 6, 2015 03:37
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Use of Weapons. A man does dirty war jobs for a hyperadvanced interstellar anarchy. The narrative structure is odd but not too hard to figure out. Needless to say, don't read spoilers.
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Apr 6, 2015 03:39
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If you want 'intricate world building like Prince of Nothing' because you like the cool Gigeresque deep history horror, try some cosmic horror. If you want the rest of Prince of Nothing's worldbuilding, i.e. 'literally a historical novel with the names changed,' I remember enjoying the Bernard Cornwell Saxon books, but it's been a decade since I read them.
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Apr 6, 2015 03:42
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Rime posted:Has there been any breakout low fantasy in the past few years with the sort of intricate world and society building exercises as seen in The Prince of Nothing series? I'm getting fed up waiting for the next entry there, and generic S&S high fantasy just bores me to tears these days. Have you read The Red Knight by Miles Cameron, pen name for historical fantasy writer Christian Cameron?
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Apr 6, 2015 03:44
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The gold standard for historical novels with the names changed (and a bit of magic thrown in to drive home the point that it's fiction) is basically anything by Guy Gavriel Kay.
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Apr 6, 2015 03:46
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saphron posted:I haven't read The Prince of Nothing (which sounds cool, by the way), but Elizabeth Bear's Eternal Sky trilogy might fit that niche? The story's bog-standard hero's quest stuff, but the setting/world is gorgeous -- it's based on the regions covered by the Silk Road (Mongols, Turks, various caliphates, China, and even a nod to the Russia) and infused with fantastic elements drawn from various myths in each region. Yup, this looks fantastic and should scratch the itch perfectly. On my library shopping list for tomorrow. Ornamented Death posted:Have you read The Red Knight by Miles Cameron, pen name for historical fantasy writer Christian Cameron?  this looks off the chain amazing, even though it's S&S high fantasy. 
Rime fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Apr 6, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2015 03:47
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Rime posted:Has there been any breakout low fantasy in the past few years with the sort of intricate world and society building exercises as seen in The Prince of Nothing series? I'm getting fed up waiting for the next entry there, and generic S&S high fantasy just bores me to tears these days. There's the two Guy Gavriel Kay Sarantine Mosaic books, but I don't know if they have the type of deep worldbuilding you're looking for and they're not from the past few years. edit: I see Kay was already mentioned and'll add that I liked the Red Knight books too. If you're not strictly set on a Byzantine type setting, last year's Son of the Morning is a medieval set book with very intricate political scheming & battling, and an original complex way of using religion and biblical mythology that influences all the other aspects of the book. savinhill fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Apr 6, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2015 03:49
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Rime posted:
It's pretty damned good. One thing, though: Cameron's historical fantasy roots shine through hard (though this will probably be a big part of the appeal based on your posts  ). Also, prepare to learn a lot about armor.
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Apr 6, 2015 03:52
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Rime posted:Has there been any breakout low fantasy in the past few years with the sort of intricate world and society building exercises as seen in The Prince of Nothing series? I'm getting fed up waiting for the next entry there, and generic S&S high fantasy just bores me to tears these days. The Kushiel series KJ Parker's work The Astreiant novels, starting with Point of Hopes, also Armor of Light for historical fantasy/fiction Lies of Locke Lamora? Maybe the Glass Book of the Dream Eaters or Death of the Necromancer
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Apr 6, 2015 03:53
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The Red Knight is very mary-sue and boring. One of the early chapters features our hero, who besides being the genius military commander of a renowned mercenary band at age 20 is also a peerless fighter with a dark, mysterious past, uses his magic powers (oh yes he is one of the few people with magic powers) to sneak into a nunnery and steal a kiss from a cute nun because she was checking him out from a window. Don't worry though, he breaks off after a minute of deep kissing so she won't think he is a rapist. forgot to mention- I like historical books with fantasy elements. I like fantasy books that draw on history. But a book where the people worship God, who sent his son Jesu, yes, his name is Jesu, down to earth to die for their sins... come on. FastestGunAlive fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Apr 6, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2015 04:12
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That is extremely disheartening. 
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Apr 6, 2015 05:50
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FastestGunAlive posted:...sneak into a nunnery and steal a kiss from a cute nun because she was checking him out from a window. Don't worry though, he breaks off after a minute of deep kissing so she won't think he is a rapist. As long as he's not actually a rapist I'm okay with all that.
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Apr 6, 2015 05:53
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Fried Chicken posted:I like Butcher's stuff, and while I don't think Skin Game was his best, Scent of a Woman wasn't Pachino's best either. But I'm really torn on voting for it after it dragooned onto their slate. I don't want to give them a win With all due respect this is kind of dumb. If Skin Game is worth voting for, then vote for it. If it's not worth voting for, then don't. I mean, what's the absolute worst thing that could happen if Jim Butcher wins? He sells more books? Vox Day is slightly less miserable for a few minutes? Women's sufferage is repealed and everyone not a straight white man is forbidden from writing for the next 50 years? The Hugos are fan awards, and so have always been and will always be a little wonky. Yes, John C. Wright being 3/5ths of the Best Novella category is dumb as hell, but so what? We live is a world where both Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and The Lego Movie are on the ballot and Snowpiercer isn't. Hell Redshirts won two years ago, and that was comfortably the worst book Scalzi's ever written. If you're going to vote on the Hugos, vote for what you think the best works are, don't worry about what group you're helping or hurting with the vote. This all shall pass, and if at the end of it all, the Sad Puppies manage to skew the voting for the Best Novella category for a year or two, then all that means is that wrong person won a Hugo, which has happened before, and will happen again.
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Apr 6, 2015 06:31
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I really loved Redshirts, though I do wish it had gone on with it's central conceit a little longer and I did enjoy it's three epilogues. Though speaking of Scalzi how is Lock In?
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Apr 6, 2015 07:28
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I didn't read the book itself but the companion novella was pretty nice.
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Apr 6, 2015 09:31
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The Goblin Emperor definitely wasn't the best SF/F book published this year, but it's the best book on that list. Vote for it.
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Apr 6, 2015 09:34
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Rime posted:Has there been any breakout low fantasy in the past few years with the sort of intricate world and society building exercises as seen in The Prince of Nothing series? I'm getting fed up waiting for the next entry there, and generic S&S high fantasy just bores me to tears these days. For historical fantasy, Son Of The Morning is pretty great. It plays with the whole medieval "king by will of God" line of thinking by making it literal; there's plenty of intrigue and twists on actual history of the Hundred Year War.
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Apr 6, 2015 10:03
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Darth Walrus posted:The Goblin Emperor definitely wasn't the best SF/F book published this year, but it's the best book on that list. Vote for it. It was really drat good and deserves a Hugo far more than anything else on the ballot.
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Apr 6, 2015 10:11
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If Ancilliary Sword wins I will stab someone.
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Apr 6, 2015 10:15
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Hmm...seems the Hugos are poo poo now
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Apr 6, 2015 12:25
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angel opportunity posted:Hmm...seems the Hugos are poo poo now Now? Lol.
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Apr 6, 2015 12:35
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angel opportunity posted:Hmm...seems the Hugos are poo poo now They've definitely been poo poo on this year, and will probably not recover for a while.
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Apr 6, 2015 14:36
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Doesn't it seem like it would be better to just have a council of super respected (and old) authors who have to reach a consensus on the winners rather than voting? I guess you could still have issues about choosing your friends, but the existing system just seems pretty loving worthless.
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Apr 6, 2015 14:42
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angel opportunity posted:Doesn't it seem like it would be better to just have a council of super respected (and old) authors who have to reach a consensus on the winners rather than voting? I guess you could still have issues about choosing your friends, but the existing system just seems pretty loving worthless. That's pretty much the Nebulas already, minus the "super respected (and old)" part.
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Apr 6, 2015 14:50
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angel opportunity posted:Doesn't it seem like it would be better to just have a council of super respected (and old) authors who have to reach a consensus on the winners rather than voting? I guess you could still have issues about choosing your friends, but the existing system just seems pretty loving worthless. You're more or less describing the Nebula and the Clarke there. The Hugo was useful previously for being if not a perfect instrument, at least something of a measure of the field as it was perceived. That wasn't representative of the entire field (and people less petulant and more talented than the Puppies were routinely left out) but it's hard to define the 'field' in any single way. I mean I don't see the Puppies losing their poo poo over the Prometheus Award which is specifically aimed at libertarian science fiction (and has been awarded to genuine pinko Cory Doctorow in the past), and that one is also juried. But yes, there are already proposals out for revisions to the nomination/voting system to prevent or curtail these kinds of shenanigans in the future.
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Apr 6, 2015 14:50
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Toss another historical fictiony series out there, Craig Schafer's Winter's Reach is pretty good. It's basically set in NOT medieval europe where NOT the pope is dying and NOT the catholic church is filled with scheming people trying to take over. Has magic, creepy poo poo, good story telling. Bleak as gently caress though.
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Apr 6, 2015 15:02
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Is that the Craig Schaefer of Daniel Faust fame or another guy with a similar name?
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Apr 6, 2015 18:01
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Same dude. HUGE tonal shift from the Faust books.
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Apr 6, 2015 18:05
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I wouldn't normally post this sort of thing, but in this case, there are books of value in the sale, if you have a Kindle. http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2015/04/ebook-deals-pick-up-any-of-these-213-science-fiction-fantasy-horror-ebooks-for-less-than-4/
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Apr 6, 2015 20:35
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Megazver posted:If Ancilliary Sword wins I will stab someone. Probably better that does than something put on the list by actual lunatics; though in truth, who cares? What someone else said upthread is true: the Hugos are for a certain subset of sci-fi fans with whom I have had little interaction, despite hanging out with various nerds all my life. That said, why are the Ancillary books so (seemingly) popular? They're not bad, but they're not especially well-written, novel or exciting.
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Apr 6, 2015 21:09
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XBenedict posted:I wouldn't normally post this sort of thing, but in this case, there are books of value in the sale, if you have a Kindle. I saw The Blade Itself by Abercrombie, but nothing else so far that I'd recommend really. A Laundry Files book might interest some people, though I haven't tried them. Anything else? E: Oryx and Crake is good, though there might be a bundle to get all three of them for cheap. American Gods by Gaiman and Spin by Robert Wilson are both decent to good, depending on your preferences. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vinge is great, though again there might be a bundle that includes all three so far published zones of thought books. Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice sounds familiar, but I haven't read it. Good, bad? Dzhay posted:Probably better that does than something put on the list by actual lunatics; though in truth, who cares? What someone else said upthread is true: the Hugos are for a certain subset of sci-fi fans with whom I have had little interaction, despite hanging out with various nerds all my life. Ancillary Justice got a ton of hype about the pronoun/inability to distinguish gender stuff, despite it being essentially irrelevant to anything in the plot. sourdough fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Apr 6, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2015 21:13
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It's got Oryx and Crake and Brand New World. Apart from that and what you mentioned, don't really see anything else of interest there. edit: Oh, and American Gods, for those few of us not ashamed to admit we like Gaiman. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Apr 6, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2015 21:18
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anilEhilated posted:It's got Oryx and Crake and Brand New World. Apart from that and what you mentioned, don't really see anything else of interest there. Yeah, I ended up editing in books as I went through. There are a few good ones, though the vast majority look awful.
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Apr 6, 2015 21:20
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RVProfootballer posted:Yeah, I ended up editing in books as I went through. There are a few good ones, though the vast majority look awful. What you don't want to read Cthulhurotica or Hellhole: Book one of the Hellhole Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert? More Seriously, Assassin's Apprentice is pretty good, and I've read the trilogy and the one that comes after it, but the main character does spend a decent amount of time bitching about his life and the first two books have a pretty serious "Evil will triumph because good is dumb" theme going on.
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Apr 6, 2015 21:35
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goodness posted:So I was recently thinking about how the reveal in Ender's Game blew my mind a couple years ago when I read it. What are some other good books with huge twists/reveals/etc. Use of Weapons is the gold standard in terms of shocking revelations, when you learn that the protagonist was actually his adopted brother, but I also liked The Gone-Away World, where you discover first that the protagonist never existed, and was just a very convincing illusion, followed by the actual disaster the protagonist has to stop. ETA: And also Heinlein's "All You Zombies", which manages a shocking revelation despite only having one character and taking place more-or-less entirely in a bar. darthbob88 fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Apr 6, 2015 |
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Apr 6, 2015 21:36
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"The Best of Michael Swanwick" is also on there. It's a pretty solid short story/novella collection, plenty of good reading there. Definitely worth the sub-$4 price, in my opinion.
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Apr 6, 2015 22:14
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darthbob88 posted:Use of Weapons is the gold standard in terms of shocking revelations, when you learn that the protagonist was actually his adopted brother, but I also liked The Gone-Away World, where you discover first that the protagonist never existed, and was just a very convincing illusion, followed by the actual disaster the protagonist has to stop. I have memories of being surprised and shocked by the ending of Second Foundation, but I was very young at that time and it was one of my first serious science fiction reads, so I guess nowadays I would not find that "surprise" so big as I found it then.
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Apr 6, 2015 22:50
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Dzhay posted:That said, why are the Ancillary books so (seemingly) popular? They're not bad, but they're not especially well-written, novel or exciting. I rather liked Ancillary Justice. The world it built was interesting, it had enough of a mystery to hook me, and it didn't feel like a big cliche-fest. I don't know if I'd say it was the best of the year, but it was worth a read. Ancillary Sword, however, pretty much cut every everything I liked.
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Apr 6, 2015 23:42
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anilEhilated posted:It's got Oryx and Crake and Brand New World. Apart from that and what you mentioned, don't really see anything else of interest there. Also the Oswald Bastable series by Moorcock. One of his lesser known works, but still. I didn't see much I'd want there myself, but I do now know there is a book called Jews vs Aliens.
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Apr 7, 2015 00:32
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EVGA Longoria posted:I rather liked Ancillary Justice. The world it built was interesting, it had enough of a mystery to hook me, and it didn't feel like a big cliche-fest. I don't know if I'd say it was the best of the year, but it was worth a read. Yup. Sword felt like Act I of a single sequel novel that's been padded out to fill more books.
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Apr 7, 2015 01:05
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