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>>25214544
Incognito mode obviously doesn't remember them if you close the browser.

I'm not very far (reading very slowly and sporadically) so I don't want to judge too harshly but I'm pretty disappointed with the darkness that comes before so far. The earlier part with kellhus was a million times more interesting than this weepy cuck, his whore not-wife, and his faggot not-son. I trust that it gets better but it already feels like a slog reading about how much of a loser achamian is.

>>25214548
that's a you problem.

The Magic Engineer, The Saga of Recluce, #3 - L.E. Modesitt Jr (1994)

300 years after the second book and the founding of Recluce, Dorrin is exiled from Recluce. No one understands his obsession with technology and wanting to build machines, least of all his father, who is a member of the council that rules the country. His father fears that change will disrupt Order and bring Chaos, the two fundamental sources of magic in their world. Dorrin doesn't care and pursues his dream regardless. He and two other exiles are sent to a country ruled by Chaos. Thus begins Dorrin's rise as a smith, toymaker, healer, and engineer, among other roles. Chaos cannot abide Order, so it's only a matter of time before they come for him.

There's a lot of killing, that happens during war, but for the most part Dorrin is a support character. He can fight a bit, but since he's so Order-linked, harming others and causing destruction is very difficult and painful. There are severe consequences for excessively using Order to destroy. Chaos magic has no restriction on causing destruction. The war isn't what really matters or what the book's about. Dorrin would prefer to avoid any involvement if possible in any kind of conflict. The vast majority of the book is simply Dorrin's daily life as a smith. There's almost nothing magical about that. That means making nails, forging farm tools, and whatever else the townsfolk need. Eventually he does more elaborate and extensive work with toys, building a house, and then a warship. I don't believe saying so spoilers much, as it says nothing about the character interactions, the plot, or anything else that would be usually be considered a spoiler. The purpose is to demonstrate why this may or may not be what you want to read. There's minimal adventure and battle scenes. The only ambition Dorrin has is to build stuff and muse about why the world is the way it is.

I first read this over 20 years ago as a book I checked out from a local library with no idea that it was the third book. I always intended to follow up, but over the decades it became the series that I had the biggest mental block reading and I still don't know why. Hopefully that's over now and I can read the rest of the series, which currently is 26 books, without issue. I had also forgotten that it was specifically the kind of book that I had been looking for to read. I don't know how much of it is nostalgia and other factors, but it's so much better than the previous two books. I may be setting myself up disappointment for the future books in the series, but I'm okay with that. To further complicate matters, I apparently made up the two most vivid memories I had of the book, because nothing like either ever happened. I have no idea what I must've been thinking reading this for the first time, but I have a far greater appreciation for it now. This is exactly what I needed and wanted to read at this time.

Rating: 5/5

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>>25214573

>>25214544
i just bought the entire Mistborn trilogy because the female mc is barefoot, did i make a mistake?

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I’ve posted a few updates while writing my first book last year. After about four months of querying, and just over a dozen full requests, I got an agent offer of representation.

I’ve got the call tomorrow. I guess we’ll see how it goes.

Thanks for all the support. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.

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ANY SF NOVELS WITH GHOSTS
ESPECIALLY GHOSTS IN SPACE?!?!

>>25214690
nice, hope it works out, let us know

>>25214552
I was one of the biggest Second Apocalypse critics a couple months ago, and honestly I have few problems with the Darkness that comes before. Kellhus seems interesting at first, but the next POVs slowly carry their weight as things progress. Kellhus only seems interesting to a first time reader, because hes the first introduction, and the conditions of his journey, and his goals are the most shrouded in mystery, so theres an implied deeper understanding to find (there isnt, not as a character atleast, and no I dont care whatever plot twist bullshit bakker pulls out of his ass in the aspect emperor series) With Achamian, everything about him, his desires, his thoughts, his goals, and the purpose of his journey is on the surface level. But Achamians value is in filling in the world building, so he adds depth to the world, even if it isnt much depth of character.

Esmenet is a completely pointless character for the most part, but she makes the surface level Achamian slightly more interesting by adding gravitas to his surface level desires, she gives them meaning and context beyond merely being a world building guide. Shes as surface level as him, but it makes Achamian feel just that bit more like an actual person.

Cnauir is interesting for the insights on War, and the Dunyain that he offers, which completely destroys the mystery of Kellhus, and is basically where Kellhus' downhill trajectory as a character starts, because basically right after he meets Cnauir (despite the ironic point of Cnauir (atleast on the surface) being that hes not as easily manipulated by Kellhus) he starts mass manipulating everyone and everything to get his perfect way. And Bakker doesnt realize why this is bad writing, which is why Im guessing he pulls some bullshit in the Aspect Emperor series to subvert this or add another "layer" to make it interesting, but itll never be justified writing because it will always feel poorly established beyond vague hints and nods, like people seeing Halos on Kellhus.

Which embodies the mystery box problem where you can just hint at something, then post hoc fill in some bullshit and voila, youve got an interesting story beat.

>>25214640
The first Mistborn is fine, I hated the rest of the trilogy. They were a slog to complete.

I forgot to say. Darkness that Comes Before is fairly good. The Two books that come after, are shit. And the Warrior Prophet is one of the driest most unenjoyable books ever. I'm being hyperbolic but the whole thing really did feel like a waste of time till like the last 50 pages? A summary would suffice.

>>25214573
Been meaning to get around to reading this series, genuinely sounds like everything I want in fantasy (just based off the first book)

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>>25214536

>>25214700
xeelee sequence has the Silver Ghosts :-)

>>25214700
Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter Hamilton

God Emperor of Dune fucking sucked.

How do you write an entire book with zero good characters?

>>25214640
Nah you'll probably have a good time. Only pseuds hate Sanderson.

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>>25214819
You are as embarrassing as the routine Wolfe/Vance/Red Rising faggot author's name/whatever else is FOTM normalfag niggers.

>>25214830
and you're a faggot contrarian

>>25214832
You're new to 4chan LOL

>>25214834
Unfortunately, I've been here longer than you.

>>25214837
>DUDE 4chan launched in 2016
LMAO

>>25214845
kek you gottem dude

>>25214845
you got here in 19

>>25214847
>>25214856
You will never fit in.

God I fucking hate sun eater why are so many current book recs so retarded and shallow

People make lots of comparisons here between Sun Eater, and TBotNS. Is that just becaude it's a story of a man telling the story of how he came to power?

>>25214913
I'm not wholly into BotNS yet, I heard of it after I got started with SE. Apparently Dune and new sun were the most influential inspirations for Ruocchio. I'm going to guess it's because of the easy comparisons to be made between them. fictional memoir, theological features in the narration, science fiction backdrop, maybe even the violence of the story's events feel similar to some people. Seems like SE just misses in all the same places as the ender's game series.

>>25214955
What about the prose? I'd say that the pose and narration style are the defining traits of TBotNS.

>>25214773
>the Warrior Prophet
It is an excellent book on how an Evil Jesus hijacks the holy war:

" “Witness is the seeing that *testifies*, that judges so that it may be judged. You saw, and you judged. A trespass had been committed, an innocent had been murdered. *You saw this.*”

“*Yes!*” the man hissed. “A little girl. *A little girl!*”

“And now you suffer.”

“But why?” he cried. “Why should I suffer? She’s not mine. She was *heathen!*”

“Everywhere . . . Everywhere we’re surrounded by the blessed and the cursed, the sacred and the profane. But our hearts are like hands, they grow callous to the world. And yet, like our hands even the most callous heart will blister if overworked or chafed by something new. For some time we may feel the pinch, but we ignore it because we have so much work to do.” Kellhus had looked down into his right hand. Suddenly he balled it into a fist, raised it high. “And then one *strike*, with a hammer or a sword, and the blister breaks, *our heart is torn*.** And then we suffer, for we feel the ache for the blessed, the sting of the cursed. We no longer see, *we witness* . . .”

<...>

“Rejoice.”

“Rejoice? But I *suffer!*”

“Yes, *rejoice!* The callused hand cannot feel the lover’s cheek. When we witness, we *testify*, and when we testify *we make ourselves responsible for what we see*. And that—*that*—is what it means to belong.”

Kellhus suddenly stood, leapt from the low platform, took two breathtaking steps into their midst. “Make no mistake,” he continued, and the air thrummed with the resonance of his voice. “This world *owns* you. You *belong*, whether you want to or not. Why do we suffer? Why do the wretched take their own lives? Because the world, no matter how cursed, *owns us*. Because *we belong*.”

“Should we celebrate suffering?” a challenging voice called. From somewhere . . .

Prince Kellhus smiled, glancing into the darkness. “Then it’s no longer suffering, is it?”

The small congregation laughed.

“No,” Kellhus continued, “that’s not what I mean. Celebrate the meaning of suffering. Rejoice that you *belong*, not that you suffer. Remember what the Latter Prophet teaches us: glory comes in joy a sorrow. Joy and sorrow . . .”

“I s-see, see the wisdom of you-your words, Prince,” the nameless knight stammered. “I truly *see!* But . . .”

And somehow, Achamian could *feel* his question . . .

*What is there to gain?*

“I’m not asking you to see,” Kellhus said. “I’m asking you to witness.” Blank face. Desolate eyes. The nameless knight blinked, and two tears silvered his cheek. Then he smiled, and nothing, it seemed, could be glorious.

“To make myself . . .” His voice quavered, broke. “To m-make . . .”

“To be one with the world in which you dwell,” Kellhus said. “To be in a covenant of your life.”

*The world . . . You will gain the world.* "

>>25214977
>how an Evil Jesus hijacks
hijacks the entire plot and everyone's wives too

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I've read the first two discworld books and they were decent,good even.
I really don't get how these books are considered as a "must avoid" in the series.

>>25214552
>but I'm pretty disappointed with the darkness that comes before so far
It will become great on reread, once you've accustomed to the context

>>25214573
your """reviews""" are SHIT
FUCK OFF

>>25214769
>Kellhus' downhill trajectory as a character starts
>Which embodies the mystery box problem
No, it isn't. Just because Kellhus is a shallow character, it does not make him a poorly-written character. Kellhus is a walking fantasy-equivallent of a super-AI. His plot-function is to be the cognitive hazard that ruins/reassembles others' lives.

Kellhus is the reason why Bakker even stated a few times that his book is actually a sci-fi in disguise. Because Bakker more than a decade ago in his blog had predicted Chatgpt, and warned that machines will be cueing our responses better and better, forcing us to hallucinate a personality in them and becoming a "socio-cognitive pollution".

>Esmenet is a completely pointless character for the most part
She is a normie, her presence helps grounding the narrative to the mundane. A very smart and perceptive normie, but still a regular human. While Achamian whines that he is an outcast, he is nonetheless a very powerful sorcerer. Esmenet, on the other hand, has troubles of even moving from town to town without some mob stoning her for shits and giggles. An ordinary event of traversing a war camp full of celebrating drunken soldiers is a chapter-length ordeal for her.

>>25215005
Because it’s written “too hard” for adult babies who need to be handheld with easy prose. Some people genuinely want Pratchett to write like his children’s books for the entire series.

>>25215005
Isn't it mostly because Death is ooc in them?

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Bakker sometimes writes really dry philosophy essays on Three Pound Brain. Do you read them?

Red God news?

People still publish grim dark?

>>25214573
Have you read his "Isolate"? If so, is it any good?

>>25215307
Comfycore hasn't completely wiped it out yet

>>25214913
It's because Hadrian is an "unreliable narrator," a conceit rather at odds with the series' epic scope. I still enjoyed the books, though.

>>25215210
PB is 1000 pages deep and hasn't found the "soul" of the book. I don't recall whether he outlines or discovery writes but I wouldn't be surprised if he's struggling with the conclusion. Iirc he said he doesn't want a clean ending like the trilogy, but he doesn't want the Society to win, either. Seems like a tragedy of modern sff, where the heroes winning is a trope, and the heroes losing is also a trope, and readers get mad if they sniff out anything they think they've seen before, so authors don't know how to conclude their epic good vs evil conflicts.

>>25215398
As long as Lysander dies most people will be happy with the ending

Thought I'd give kingkiller a try since it's been years and he'll die before George from terminal smug. I remember loving it, outside the cuckstuff, at least until he runs off with the fairy. Thought it couldn't possibly be as annoying as I remember it to be even with all the things I personally love. A shame it was worse. Everyone has an idiot ball, it reads like a biography of a wizardchan poster if he had a psychotic break. No, wait, it's more pathetic than that. I have unironically read better harry potter fanfiction.

I even reread the lies of locke lamora, the book I was reading at the time I originally read the kingkiller books, a series that has a similar sequel issue and liked as much to see if that was awful too - no, I found that mostly held up. Even reread the others in the series. Bit dumb in places, especially the last one, but hey, lots of interesting stuff.

Tl;dr the kingkiller series get worse if you try to treat it fairly and objectively

>>25215035
>that faggot who writes novels like detailed films scripts
For once we agree.

>>25214536
>tranny book
stop shilling this garbage

>>25214573
>>25214575
Seems cool actually

>>25215005
Early Discworld just isn't as good as the highlights of the series. I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid them, though.

>>25215406
The odds of Gentlemen Bastards being finished is slightly higher than ASOIAF or Kingkiller, at least Lynch has published something related recently-ish (Locke Lamora and the Bottled Serpent) and has new material coming out at some point (the Road to Emberlain novellas), same cannot be said for the two others.

Don't forget to report and ignore newfags like >>25215035 who actively contribute to off-topic discussion and have been spamming off-topic for over four years.
>>21323327

>>25214913
It's because normalfags here only read megapopular titles like BotNS and Sun Shitter.

>>25214913
It's because the author of one directly plagiarizes entire chapters from the other. We don't need to have the "Ruocchio is a plagiarist" conversation in every thread, though.

>>25215586
>wolfe plagiarizes vance
>nobody cares
>ruocchio plagiarizes wolfe
>this is suddenly the worst thing ever

>>25215609
>your honor I may have stolen the car, but are you aware that at other times in the past, other crimes have also been committed?

>>25215568
>BotNS
>Sun Eater
>Megapopular
BotNS is a cult classic and Sun Eater is a midlist success at best. Actual normies don't know either. They know Andy Weir, Dune, and maybe Heinlein and Asimov.
>>25215609
>>25215616
They're all downstream of The Night Land.

>>25214776
It could be, but maybe not. It's difficult to know for sure until you read it, and even then it may be a matter of circumstance. He has a lot of series and many novels.

>>25215316
https://warosu.org/lit/thread/20829325#p20829412

>>25215454
His style definitely requires qualifications, which I've provided in many of the books I written about by him.

>>25215523
There's only one way to find out.