Why would he do that? Sanderson is just a generic fantasy writer while Terry Goodkind doesn't write fantasy, he transcends and transforms the genre into something wholly indescribable, a work of writing that cannot be compared to Sanderson's in any way whatsoever. It's like Goodkind isn't even writing with the same words as Sanderson, he has better words, the best words.
Now what you have to understand is what a mind like Terry Goodkind's can do with art. Look at this illustration produced under his express guidance that represents his artistic vision. The cover art for Chainfire is specifically praised as what he wants to see. Now can you truly compare it to this art that was produced without his fine mind? I think not!
After years of work, I finally self-published my first novel!
If it seems like your kind of book, feedback of any kind is very welcome!
Amazon Link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MBQVNSP
Here is the United States link:
They Mostly Come Out At Night (Yarnsworld Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DL8S8F6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_dT1QBbSSRK49D
P.S. - OP, next time you may want to put the links in the comments of the post. I guarantee more people will get it if they can just get it from the post.
Hello everyone!
On the Shoulders of Titans, the sequel to Sufficiently Advanced Magic, is finally completed and available on Kindle!
You can find it here.
The paperback edition is almost completed. I expect it’ll only be about another week or two. The audio book edition will take considerably longer. This is because the audio narrator will need to find time in their schedule to record it now that the book is finished. This could take a number of months; it depends on the narrator’s availability, as well as the amount of time it takes in post-production, etc. I’m extremely excited to hear what everyone thinks of the new book. Thank you all for the support!
Best,
-Andrew Rowe
My debut dark fantasy, They Mostly Come Out At Night, is FREE for the next couple of days.
It is available on Amazon stores worldwide:
The book was a semi-finalist in SPFBO2, and I am constantly blown away by the support it receives on the sub. Hope you enjoy your trip into the Magpie King’s forest!
> there's probably more males than females who read fantasy, and by this more males will write more fantasy too...
This is completely wrong.
Statistically, women are the highest percentage of the bookbuying population and this goes for fantasy as well. In a survey last year asking who read SFF, with 5000+ respondents, 59% identified as women, compared to 38% identifying as men.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-GVMWM5Q8/
In writing, SFF books written men and women are roughly evenly matched. http://www.strangehorizons.com/2014/20140428/2sfcount-a.shtml
What is different is the number of books reviewed. This skews heavily in favour of men, which, in turn, affects what books wind up in stores, what books you've heard of, and sales. It creates the illusion that women don't write Fantasy, but that's completely and totally wrong.
My debut novel is out on amazon!
It is a standalone novel, but it establishes a world where more stories will be set in future.
US Amazon link here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLRKDHC
Available on Kindle Unlimited and FREE this week (14th til the 18th)
Please consider leaving a review if you do pick it up, it really really helps!
Credit for the artwork goes to Dane Low at ebooklaunch.com. The process was very easy and the turnaround time was great.
Blurb
A simple mission, a web of lies.
Infiltrate the keep, remain unseen, leave only a corpse.
For Gillis and Amelia, two of the Mordenari's most trusted assassins, it should have been a routine job. A little bloody, sure, but nothing they couldn't handle.
But Amelia has other plans, an old score to settle, and her deception--should her employers learn the truth--could mean a short trip on a rope for both of them.
With no one left to trust in a world consumed by murder and deceit, Gillis and Amelia know they're both only a single step ahead of the grave.
It's urban fantasy but The Dresden files usually makes me smile. I've even laughed out loud from time to time. It's not Discworld-funny but there are a few humorous remarks and references here and there.
There's also 14 full novels and a few short-stories out so you've got plenty to read if you like them.
They're by Jim Butcher and the first book is called Storm Front
Edit: The audio books read by James Marster are very good (my main way of getting through the series).
Hey all!
<strong>Sufficiently Advanced Magic</strong>, the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, is currently on sale on the US Kindle store for 1.49.
Sadly, it only appears to be for the US store right now. (Amazon is the one that put it on sale, not me.)
For those of you who haven't heard of the book, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a love letter to Japanese RPGs ("JRPGs") like Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, Tower of Druaga, Tales of Symphonia, Fire Emblem, and Azure Dreams. It also has similarities to some shonen anime, most notably Hunter x Hunter.
The content of the book is split between dungeon crawling sections - some solo, some with a small group - and sections where the central protagonist is learning magic at a magical academy.
The series has a heavy focus on learning the rules of magic and how to exploit them. As such, there's a tremendous amount of magic system detail, which may not be fun for everyone. If you enjoy trying to figure out how a magic system can be used in creative ways, you might like this sort of thing. If you tend to prefer more whimsical and open-end magic, it's probably not for you.
US link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ELJOY8
UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005ELJOY8
Blurbage:
The Written is a tale of dragons, daemons and magic, heavily influenced by Nordic Mythology. It's also the first in the epic fantasy Emaneska Series, which follows the story of Farden the Written mage, tasked with saving the world from ancient daemons sworn on vengeance for being imprisoned by the gods.
Today through 10/31, you can grab the ebook version for 99 cents (it'll be 2.99 after that), or if you're a physical copy sort of person, the paperback is only $10.99! You can check em out here.
It's a contemporary fantasy/horror story, so it's perfect for the Halloween season if you're looking for a quick, relatively short read! (The paperback clocks in at 243 pages.)
> “I can show you how to enter the Narrows to find what you seek.”
>
>Oliver and his friends have returned to their hometown of Shumard, Texas for the funeral of their close friend Noah. They each grapple with the loss in their own ways, trying to understand the strange circumstances of their friend’s unexpected death.
>
>While visiting the site where the body was found, Oliver stumbles across a chilling discovery that he knows must be related to what happened to Noah. Wanting to protect his friends from these newfound horrors, Oliver takes it upon himself to venture into the grotesque otherworld known as the Narrows to learn what happened to his friend and find a way to bring him back.
>
>Entering the Narrows is one thing, but will whatever he finds there allow him to leave?
Thanks for checking it out! I'm happy to answer any questions as well.
It's not quite the same type of confusion, but I missed a reference because I listened to (rather than read) Binti. The narration was accented to African; after I acclimated to that, the cadence and timber enhanced the overall ambiance. However, either the audiobook format (as opposed to a written format) or the pronunciation made me miss a helpful reference/interpretation: the tentacled alien race was named "Meduse," like Medusa the snake-haired Greek myth. I didn't connect the Meduse's tentacles with the Medusa's snakes until I saw the name of the alien race in writing at Audible -- after I had completed the audiobook.
Awww THANK YOU! Book I is called “Windswept.” And I did a much better better job of describing the plot in the book synopsis than I EVER do just telling people lol so I’m gonna drop that and the amazon link :)
"Somewhere to the north, something terrible was happening. In the same way that he could smell the snow, and the same way he knew when the caravan would arrive, he could feel something in the air. A fire, in some town a day or so away. And there was a hint of fear in the air, the wild panic of a trapped animal before the slaughter."
The wind has always spoken to Fox, but it was just instinct, wasn't it? Not a god's Blessing ... not magic. But his powers are growing, and soon, he cannot ignore it anymore: he has a gift. And he is the only one. Why the gods chose to make his homeland magically barren generations ago, he doesn't know. Why he's been chosen now is an even greater mystery. Now, he must learn to control his mysterious Blessing, before it controls him. Or worse.
Windswept (The Mapweaver Chronicles) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1718156251/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rOB-BbQMAKK6V
Without swaying you one way or the other, u/MittenUP, all I can do is link you to the first book at let you make your own inferences from reviews and the like!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019ABWGJC/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
Hope you find it interesting!
Full disclosure: Tim is a pal, we frequently game together.
And her writing is fucking awesome.
(If you aren’t a fan of my use of the word ‘fucking’ you might want to step away from the rest of this post)
Her debut book was well received in SPFBO2, and her contributions to the Lost Lore and Art of War anthologies last year were frequently hailed as some of the best in those collections.
The final book in her grimdark romance trilogy, Mother of Slag, has just hit the shelves:
You really should treat yourself: https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Slag-Living-Blade-Book-ebook/dp/B07P7XSKF9/
(I’ve only included the US link as Reddit seems to hate redirects - it is available worldwide, so check your Amazon store!)
PS: It also might be Tim’s birthday today.
PPS: It is Tim’s birthday today.
I would have to say John Dies at the End. While it's not obviously inspired by Lovecraft, after I read it the only thing I could say to describe it was 'Modern-day Lovecraftian Comedy'.
Robert Jordan (May he rest in peace). He creates an amazing setting, but he has a huge amount of pitfalls, and it's a chore to read the WoT series anymore.
For example:
1) His absolutely horrid depiction of women. He seems to think women are just bitchy bitches who sit around and talk about men all day. While smoothing their skirts. He has a very outdated view of the male/female roles.
2) His wordiness. He drones on and on about every minute detail of a scene. I prefer what Stephen King indicated in On Writing: You don't need to describe everything, the reader will fill in the blanks. Over description pulls me out of the story. It's like reading an encyclopedia.
If anyone hasn't read "The Library at Mount Char" it is highly recommended and is on sale for $2 today at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Library-at-Mount-Char-ebook/dp/B00NRQRWAA/
Freaking amazing book!
As an interesting data point, check out Ilona Andrews' latest book: https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Magic-Covenant-Book-ebook/dp/B07CZ39YYV
Their first self-pubbed title, and sitting at #36 in the whole USA store. They published it as a result of April Fool's joke, but I'm sure they're sitting up and paying attention now as the cash comes pouring in at that 70% royalty rate. I bet a whole bunch of other trad authors are doing the same.
If any of you are on a few fantasy author mailing lists, you may have heard of the recent passing of Brandon Barr.
I haven't known Brandon for long. We "met" online about a year ago, and were in a marketing group together for all of 2018. In the time I got to know him, I knew Brandon as a kind-hearted, generous and extremely humble man. In his final written words to me, he, a man that had gone through so much, started with, "Steven. Thank you for your friendship."
I can't imagine how his passing has affected his family and friends. He was a young husband, father and talented wordsmith.
After winning many battles, Brandon lost his war to Cancer, but even in his final days, he was trying to finish his Song of the Worlds Trilogy.
After speaking with his wife, members of his marketing/writing group decided to ensure that Brandon's series crossed the finish line, and we're happy to announce that it has. To celebrate a life well lived, and to ensure that his family is able to benefit from a big launch, Book 1 is on sale for 99c in the US and UK, and today's the last day to grab them. Doing so will not only nab you his books at a great price, but will give his series some fantastic visibility.
Thank you!
(Note on Pricing: It may seem counter-intuitive for Brandon's family for us to run a big discount like this, but Brandon's books are in Kindle Unlimited. Trust me when I tell you, the visibility the series will get from the sale could be worth much more than if I posted at full price.)
It's sold by a third party. it is not linked to the proper e-book and hardcover
here is the proper link to hachette
here is the third party sale by PBShop UK
Amazon is BIG fucking website, and they allow third party to sell stuff on amazon so their 'inventory' is expanded. Sometimes that means someone put up a janky product, the way to fix it is to report the product and give it a shit rating.
At over 10,000 pages, this is probably the longest, most complex, richest fantasy series ever written. Tons of characters, god, cultures, and plot lines with some of the most detailed world building ever created. It’s a monumental journey to read all 10 books, as they’re not light reading, but if you’re up for it, they are almost universally acclaimed.
The Complete Malazan Book of the Fallen https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HL0MA3W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_f-Z4CbPE4RZ6G
Sorry for the shameless self promotion, but I have a book on Amazon called Necromantica. The main characters are a necromancer and a rogue, and they’re both pretty brutal throughout. If you’re looking for stories about villains, this definitely fills that niche.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/098902346X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pi-ECb1Z1XF4F
Lol well this is only part of the map :) Here’s the link to the book, synopsis and reviews are all there!! But in a nutshell it’s YA Epic Fantasy, about a boy named Fox and his unexpected and unexplained powers.
Windswept (The Mapweaver Chronicles) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1718156251/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_U-ZVBbZQ778YG
I’ve not had any contact with the author before, but this bargain popped up on my twitter feed this morning. I’ve had my eye on the book since it got picked from Esme’s group for the cover contest.
Congrats to author Samuel Gately for releasing the second book in the series today!
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Eye-Refugee-Samuel-Gately-ebook/dp/B077KJBBF6/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-Eye-Refugee-Samuel-Gately-ebook/dp/B077KJBBF6/
For managing ebooks look at Calibre which can convert formats and remove some DRM to allow you more choice of stores and devices.
With Kindle's you can simply use Calibre to load books directly onto the device or have Calibre email them to the device. The Paperwhite and I believe Voyage models of Kindle have back lighting to allow reading in low light and its completely configurable to allow you to increase or decrease the light level as required. Need to water proof it? I just drop mine in a zip lock bag and reading at the pool or beach is safe.
There are kindle apps for most tablets and operating systems, but reading on a tablet compared to an ereader like kindle or kobo does suck.
(This self-promotion post was pre-approved by moderators.)
Six Sacred Swords is my first book in the new Weapons and Wielders series. The story follows Keras Selyrian, a talented swordsman who begins a journey to seek out the titular Six Sacred Swords. The story is heavy inspired by Japanese adventure and role-playing games, such as Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, and Ys. This one in particular is most strongly inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and you'll see some obvious Zelda influences in there if you're a fan of the franchise.
This is much more of a adventure focused book than most of my previous novels, with most of the story involving exploring dangerous uncharted wildernesses and dungeons. It's also a smaller scale story in terms of the size of the cast and the focus - it's more about an individual adventure than something of world-scale importance. (At least for now.)
This book takes place in the same setting as <strong>Sufficiently Advanced Magic</strong>, but years earlier. You can read the series in either order. Notably, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is currently on sale for 0.99 on the US and UK Kindle stores to celebrate the launch of Six Sacred Swords. If you're trying to figure out where to start, Six Sacred Swords is more of an adventure with characters that are already very powerful, and Sufficiently Advanced Magic is better if you're in the mood to start with younger characters that are coming of age and just learning magic.
Thanks to /r/fantasy for the amazing support you've always given my books, and feel free to post if you have any questions!
Hey all! <strong>Sufficiently Advanced Magic</strong> is the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, and it's currently on sale for $1.49 in the US Kindle store.
The sequel, <strong>On the Shoulders of Titans</strong>, just came out earlier this week, so it's a great time to pick it up if you're interested.
For those of you who aren't familiar, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is a mix between a dungeon crawler novel and a magical school story. It focuses on Corin Cadence learning magic and attempting to climb the Serpent Spire, a colossal tower that his brother vanished into five years before.
Stylistically, the series is heavily inspired by Japanese role-playing games like Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, the Tales series, and The Legend of Zelda. The magic system is strongly inspired by the job class system in some of the Final Fantasy games and Bravely Default.
This means the story deliberately includes a lot of game-like elements, but explains them within the context of the setting. So you'll see justifications for things like respawning monsters, ever-changing dungeons, and analogues to character classes and leveling up.
If you like game-like fiction, you might enjoy this. If you tend to prefer for your magic to be more mystical and unexplained, you probably will not like this book. There's a huge emphasis on learning the rules of magic and figuring out tricks with them, which isn't for everyone.
Thanks to everyone who has supported my books so far, and I hope anyone who checks the books out enjoys them!
It's always bothered me that romance arcs like those of Aragorn and Arwen, Taran and Eilonwy, Harry and Ginny and every last Disney Prince + Princess, have the marriage at the end. Anyone who's ever stuttered 'I do' knows the real adventure comes afterwards.
Alert! Self promotion!
I began my romance-adventure by messing up my hero's happy life, winding him up at the altar next to a mad but fascinating creature who finds him mad but fascinating.
The next four books are about, well, living with that. And the in laws.
<strong>Quest of the Five Clans</strong>
This is a kindle countdown deal that will last through the end of the week. Tonight at 7 PDT the price will increase to $1.99 and then rise further until Friday July 14th at 7 PDT where it will return to its normal list price of $9.99.
Thank you for your interest, and here's hoping you like my story! I'll be around for a while if anyone has any questions.
Edit: Realized I messed up at the link is just an image. Here's a link to amazon.
Author here. Love this! I definitely agree that the second book is much better than the first, even if the first was an SPFBO Finalist. It's also funny, because Laurel is such a hit or miss character for readers. I just listened to a review of Voice of War the other day where two guys talked about how much they hated her!
Anyway, always appreciate a review and feedback. For anyone interested in checking it out, link is here. Audiobook will be back up in the next few weeks after being made more widely available (Scribd, Audible, Google Play, etc).
You raise a point too good to resist; men like romance too. So here's mine:
“What I am, lady, is a blood-soaked man, weary and lonely. What you are, is a young woman in my bedroom.”
She pouted, pale eyebrows slanted V for Vexed. Oh God, she prepared to reveal she was a woman of the world. She would stamp, speak in what she considered naughty words. She’d begin to weep, letting the night-dress fall... I put a finger to her lips, shook my head to forestall the sortie. Her eyes opened astounded at the gesture.
“Sweet Lalena, I owe you life and freedom. All I can return is a heart. God knows, it belongs to no one now but who will have it. So I offer it to you. Come to my bed as shy girl or devouring Maenad, whichever you please. We will lie face to face, heart to heart. And if you devour, then I will be your most faithful meal. But if you would please me first, my lady, then come to my bed as bride. And then we shall feast together, life to life, each upon each.” I stopped, wondering what the devil I had just said. Took a breath. “Marry me, Lalena.”
She broke for the door. It stood locked, the key on the floor. She tugged upon the handle. The stout oak ripped from the frame with a scream of astounded wood. Then she fled, out and away.
You might enjoy ~~MY BOOK~~, it is about an ambitious young woman who decides to take down a conquering empire by joining their ranks and working her way to the top.
Art of War: Anthology For Charity
Edited by Petros Triantafyllou.
Profits go to Doctors Without Borders.
Well, I guess it's time for the commercial part of the newsletter. This is going to be in book 2 of my series, and book 1 just went up on Amazon. My day job means I write a bit slowly these days, but I'm pretty free with the draft excerpts as seen above. He gets into economics as an aside to explain why he was being severely overcharged at a hotel he was staying at.
​
EDIT: Another thank you to everyone who pre-ordered today. If you want some previews, I have excerpts from the forthcoming audiobook I'm currently editing.
He's an extremely "solid dude." Super nice.
He seems like the sort of guy you could play Magic: The Gathering with and... in fact... I have!
(And he destroyed me)
I enjoyed Zeroth Law very much! For any other Redditors reading this, I encourage you to buy a copy, it's a very good read.
Note also that this book, along with many others in the comments here, is part of Kindle Unlimited so if you're a member of that program you can read them for free. As I understand it, the authors still get paid for KU titles that are read so that's a good thing too.
I'll be checking this off and on all day, and try to respond to everything that I can. For some basic info, I started out self-publishing fantasy novels, was successful/lucky enough to get deals with 47North and Orbit, and am currently celebrating the release of my brand new book series starting with Soulkeeper!
The Temeraire series from Naomi Novik is the Napoleonic Wars with dragons. First in the series is His Majesty's Dragon.
​
This is a secondary world, but there's also The Powder Mage series from Brian McClellan. It's flintlock fantasy with a magic system based around gunpowder. First book is Promise of Blood
The Obsidian and Blood trilogy by Aliette de Bodard. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Servant-Underworld-Obsidian-Blood-Book-ebook/dp/B01F9UVIZG
Aztec-based fantasy, politics, and murder mystery! The main character is focused on the incredibly serious threats to his world and doesn't spare any thought for romance. There's a minor romance subplot with his non-POV sister and another character.
Well I'll not be so vain as to think my Riyria books are "must read" but I do think they fall in line with what you are looking for. If you want to get a taste (without spending any money) there are two free short stories out there as audiobooks (or I can send them to you as ebooks if you prefer that format).
> Anything the author/content creator isn't being compensated for.
This is incorrect. Rather, it is anything the author/content creator (or their estate) has not (or may not, due to contractual obligations) authorized within the scope of their rights under copyright law.
Otherwise, this link to Project Gutenberg would be against the rules. Or this link to a Cory Doctorow novel.
As written, the rule does not consider public domain, creative commons, fair use, or author goodwill, among a myriad of other reasonable example of an author or publisher giving away something for free. Not to mention that authors aren't compensated, beyond the initial sale, for library loans and second-hand book sales. All these things would be considered "piracy" by the above definition.
I would hate to see honest redditors forced to type "Prince of Fools" into Amazon. So here you go, $2, you get 1 cent back AND you don't have to type anything.
http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Fools-Red-Queens-Book-ebook/dp/B00G3L1338/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Edit: Apparently it's literary fiction as well as epic fantasy!
Warning: Self-promotion. I'm usually not this blatant, but you just perfectly described the focus of my latest series. The first book, <strong>Six Sacred Swords</strong>, is on sale on the US and UK Kindle stores right now.
Aside from that, the Traveler's Gate Trilogy by Will Wight has a major item collection component to the story. It's not the primary focus, but getting items is a huge part of how the main character gains power, which is integral to the overall progression of the story.
Since he doesn't seem to want to plug his own book, lol:
If anyone wants to check out his work, Joe was kind enough to release all his lone wolf work for free distribution. Someone made an excellent android app called Lone Wolf Saga (not the 3d game).
Alec Hutson of Crimson Queen fame released The Shadows of Dust, which brings a metric ton of wonder and fantasy to the space opera scene. I don't want to give away too much, but it features massive starbeasts that are the main mode of transportation between galaxies, incredible world building, mind-bending creativity, and a cast you can really root for.
If it sounds like I'm overselling this one, it's because it's really damn good and deserves far more attention than it's received.
> They’re a variety of styles.
Tam's/Rand's sword, Lan's sword, Laman's sword, Callandor(!), and the Asha'man sword pin are all described as following the same design: a slightly curved, single-edged blade, with a crossguard/quillons, a two-handed grip, and a pommel.
This is also how they're depicted in the New Spring graphic novel, it's how Callandor is depicted in the WoT companion book, and it's what the authorized replica of Tam's sword looks like.
It's a unique mix of real-world elements (mostly European and Asian) that serves to emphasize how the cultures in Randland have blended real-world influences to form new and distinct cultures.
Moreover, the specific sword design also plays a powerful narrative role. Because although there are a few blademasters who are described as using different types of weapons, most use this type. Which is why, in the novels, the simple phrase "slightly curved" is an immediate and obvious indication that someone is an expert swordsman.
> I'm also curious if anyone knows the inspiration behind Vikings+Dragons, with the diversity in species which they present, and their prolific numbers (this is a legitimate question, since I want to know the answer).
The inspiration for the films is a set of 12 kid's books. From what I understand the plots are fairly different, but the basic concept of Vikings+Dragons and the different types of dragons are true to the source material.
You haven't read everything in fantasy.
On that note, you haven't read everything in epic fantasy, either.
The genre is just so big and so varied. Most fantasy fans will never read all of the books on lists like this one, and even if they have, there are always more epic fantasy series, both new and old. That list, for example, is missing The Realm of the Elderlings, The Crown of Stars, The Long Price, Stormlight, Lightbringer, Riyria, The Witcher, etc. And then there's stuff like Gwynne's Bloodsworn Saga that started this year. That's ~150 books, at least. And I'm leaving out a lot.
And then you've got all the other subgenres of fantasy and all the stuff that doesn't fit neatly into said subgenres.
There's just so much.
Hi Krista! My debut novel, Banebringer, is a character-driven, dark(ish) sword & sorcery/adventure fantasy with a hard magic system and a fairly prominent romantic sub-plot (but it's still fantasy first, not fantasy romance). I also recently published Sweetblade, which delves into the backstory of the main female character from Banebringer. (Amazon links to Banebringer and Sweetblade). And, also, they just happen to be in a $0.99 promotion that is ending today. They aren't in KU yet, but when this promotion is over, I plan on putting them in KU for the first time, so that'll be soon.
Edit: fixed formatting issue
Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust. Just started reading these are they are incredible.
They are short, fast-paced, and single POV. Vlad Taltos is a human that lives in a large fantasy metropolis inhabited mainly by near-immortal race of Elf-like beings called Dragaerans. Generally, humans are marginalized and looked down upon, but Vlad has found a way to join the organized crime scene as an assassin for hire and a minor crime lord.
The first book is called Jhereg, but you can buy an e-book of the first 3 books for like $13 here.
How about Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori? Has no dragons, but martial arts in the form of samurai and something like ninjas/assassins. The original trilogy was very good, but I'd advice against getting the prequel.
Apologies, since this is borderline on self-promotion, but I'm super excited that Pillars of Eternity is finally out. I was a Kickstarter backer for the project before I started working at Obsidian. (I'm not one of the designers for it - I work on Armored Warfare.)
Anyway, I'm super happy that the game is out, and that it's getting such a positive reception so far. Anyone playing? I'd love to hear your impressions.
I rolled a human cypher. I <3 gishes.
Hi guys, this'll be fun!
Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA, it's always fun to get a look behind the curtain.
It is a blast! Jonathan nailed it with this book. It won the SPFBO the year it was entered, and it is everything he describes when he says it's Sons of Anarchy with half-orcs. And the best part is that the sequel, The True Bastards, comes out in October!
Hey all!
<strong>Sufficiently Advanced Magic</strong> is the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, a novel series inspired by Japanese role-playing games (e.g. Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, Lufia, Fire Emblem, etc.) and similar anime.
It's told from the perspective of Corin Cadence, a seventeen year old who is seeking to climb the Serpent Spire, a colossal structure filled with monsters and traps. His primary goal is to find his brother, Tristan, who disappeared into the spire five years before.
To do this, he'll need to learn magic, and find all the help he can get.
The content of the novel is split between dungeon crawling sections in the spire (and other locations) and Corin learning magic at a university. As a fair warning, the magic system discussion gets extremely detailed. My style is to try to make sure that all of the spells, items, etc. the main character uses to solve his problems appear to be properly explained in advance. This type of style doesn't appeal to everyone.
Due to the JRPG inspiration, the magic and the setting come across as very RPG-like. This is deliberate; my intent was to draw from RPG tropes and create a setting where these tropes are organically integrated into the setting in ways that make sense. This isn't going to appeal to every reader, either.
If you're still reading and interested, you can check the book out here!
Pat just read Road Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with his son, Oot. You should read his review of the book on goodreads.
stops at younger folks description
gets sad for being old
That said, I still remember being a teenage writer, and Limyaael's rants on the internet were always good to go through. And then just encourage her to dive in and learn all about the craft by herself. I've heard a lot of good things about Stephen King's On Writing...my personal go-to when I was younger was Sol Stein's Stein On Writing and Ursula Le Guin's Steering the Craft.
Dungeon Construction Co. is a behind the scenes comedy about the people who build your average DnD dungeons. [https://tapas.io/series/dungeoncomic]
Oglaf is usually super NSFW, but hilariously well written. [www.oglaf.com]
I presume you are already aware of the series Love, Death & Robots on Netflix? It was originally intended as a sequel to the Heavy Metal movie. Unlike most anthology shows, most of the episodes are adapted, with good fidelity, from preexisting short stories. Someone finally started exploring the miles of bookshelves of science fiction and fantasy for stories worthy of adaptations.
The first season of LD+R even has an official e-book anthology comprising every story they adapted for the show.
Hiya all,
<strong>On the Shoulders of Titans</strong>, the sequel to <strong>Sufficiently Advanced Magic</strong>, is currently on sale on the US and UK Kindle stores. Due to how Kindle Countdown Deals work, unfortunately it isn't available on any other stores.
For those who aren't already familiar with the series, Arcane Ascension is a novel series inspired by Japanese role-playing games (e.g. Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, Lufia, Fire Emblem, etc.) and similar anime.
It's told from the perspective of Corin Cadence, a seventeen year old who is seeking to climb the Serpent Spire, a colossal structure filled with monsters and traps. His primary goal is to find his brother, Tristan, who disappeared into the spire five years before.
To do this, he'll need to learn magic, and find all the help he can get.
The content of the novel is split between dungeon crawling sections in the spire (and other locations) and Corin learning magic at a university. As a fair warning, the magic system discussion gets extremely detailed. My style is to try to make sure that all of the spells, items, etc. the main character uses to solve his problems appear to be properly explained in advance. This type of style doesn't appeal to everyone.
Due to the JRPG inspiration, the magic and the setting come across as very RPG-like. This is deliberate; my intent was to draw from RPG tropes and create a setting where these tropes are organically integrated into the setting in ways that make sense. This isn't going to appeal to every reader, either.
P.S. For those of you still waiting for the audio book, my understanding is that it's finally being recorded this month. I'm hoping it'll be out by the end of the year.
> Is it possible to start writing without taking a novel writing course?
Not only is it possible to start, but you can publish without ever having taken a formal course, which should frighten just about everybody. I started writing fantasy when I was eighteen, and published my first book two years ago while working as a programmer.
Since you're well-read in the genre and know what you like, you're in a good position to get started. I'd suggest getting some good books on the writing craft like Stephen King's On Writing, take whatever you find useful from the Writing Excuses podcast, and start thinking about what sort of story you want to tell.
Also, subscribe to /r/fantasywriters. You'll find lots of people in a similar position to you, and it's open to writers who want help refining their craft.
I'll offer some general advice to help you get started:
The plain text thing is a personal preference of mine. I like knowing that I'll be able to move my work to any computer that can handle Unicode and not have to worry about being stuck with expensive or hard-to-find software. I don't want to be like George R. R. Martin, who's stuck with WordStar 4. Me, I can use friggin' Notepad if I have to (but I'd rather use vi or emacs). :)
My second book, The Shadow Throne, comes out July 1 and can be had in either format! http://djangowexler.com/shadow-campaigns/shadow-throne/
The first book, The Thousand Names, will be in paperback at the same time, or you can enter this giveaway: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/96179-the-thousand-names
Could it be Kari Sperring's Living With Ghosts? Main character is an assassin-priest who at the start of the book is working as a courtesan, and he's haunted by a ghost who doesn't like him much.
Hey all,
<strong>Sufficiently Advanced Magic</strong>, the first book in my Arcane Ascension series, is currently on sale for 0.99 on the US and UK Kindle stores.
The Arcane Ascension series focuses on a group of magical university students who are training for military service and entering colossal dungeons called "Spires". Our central protagonist, Corin Cadence, has a personal reason for wanting to do this - his brother, Tristan, disappeared into the Serpent Spire five years ago and never returned.
The series focuses on a mix of learning magic at a university and dungeon crawling. It's strongly inspired by anime and Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy, Bravely Default, Ys, Lufia, and Azure Dreams.
This sale is also a part of my launch celebration for my latest book, <strong>Six Sacred Swords</strong>, which takes place in the same universe at an earlier period of time. That book focuses on Keras Selyrian, a veteran swordsman from another continent, searching for the legendary Six Sacred Swords. It's similar in style to the above, but a little more adventure focused, and the protagonists are powerful characters from the start.
Have you read Miles Cameron's Traitor Son books? That seems like it might be what you're looking for.
My first book, Gedlund has some of that for a Victorian military, but the action is told mostly from a ground-level view by the guys not in charge, so there's not as much of the this-flank-sweeping-that-flank high level strategory stuff, it's mostly just digging trenches and dealing with mud.
Robocopter Ski Patrol at that. Talk about an attention grabber.
For those with an audible subscription, this book is currently part of a sale for 4.95.
Beep boop! I am a human, this action was performed automagically!
While I hope my prose contributed to that "immersive, cozy quality" of which you speak, I think that Aching God was very lucky in its narrator. Simon Vance is a master of the medium and has performed over a hundred fantasy and SF titles, including Duncan M Hamilton's excellent Wolf of the North series and a number of Guy Gavriel Kay's works (such as Tigana).
​
Cake: A Fairy Tale is my favorite terrible book. It was published by one of those vanity presses before amazon made self-publishing popular, and a friend found a sample online. He did us a solid and bought a copy.. we read it out loud and laughed a lot. It's since been self-published with, what I can grudgingly admit, isn't that bad a cover.
I don't understand the good reviews though. Maybe people really do like nonsense.
Highlights:
- Bad Guy named Villen
- Whole 'clever' subplot about 'you' and 'Yew' (some sort of title) being confused.
- Main character has a teapot she's named Frederick (because quirky? or, as per my guess, mentally slow) .. (rereading the sample, she talks to her teapot. Also lived with her parents until their deaths, when she's in her.. late 20s I think? yeah, this may make more sense if I just read it as a mentally slow woman going mad after her parent's death and not a fantasy).
- I know there's another bit with 'clever' worldplay but it isn't in the sample and I can't find my copy. Still, it's bad.
EDIT: The second bit of 'wordplay' is in the blurb! MC is "Queen Likely" until she's.. Queen for certain, or something equally ridiculous. Sigh Also, well, the magic realm is named Cake. And there are hot pink motorcycles and Knicks tickets are high currency.
Maybe this is satire and I didn't realize the first time..
No legit sellers? Amazon sells it themselves ("Ships from and sold by Amazon.com"), or you can buy it from a bunch of other sellers through them.
But you'll have to buy it one book at a time - the publisher does not offer it as a single volume or as a set.
http://www.overlookpress.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?q=bakker&x=0&y=0&p=1
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty is this month's book, and it's currently on sale for $1.99
Since you're welcoming shameless plugs, my book, Into the Labyrinth, is YA coming of age fantasy set in a mage school with a labyrinth beneath it! It's pretty similar to Sufficiently Advanced Magic, and has a hard magic system. It's also on Kindle Unlimited.
Best of all, the sequel should be out in January!
https://smile.amazon.com/Into-Labyrinth-Mage-Errant-Book-ebook/dp/B07J675X2C
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden might suit you.
It takes place in medieval Russia, it’s beautifully written, it takes place largely within the confines of one family’s estate, it has an awesome heroine, it draws on mythic figures, and I, for one, loved it.
Aww, was I on the list for a while? I'm flattered, even if I missed it. =D
If you're looking for another indie that's comparable to my sales level and style, Will Wight's <strong>House of Blades</strong> was his debut, and that was a much bigger debut than my first book. His Cradle series is doing really well, too.
If you don't mind skipping ahead a bit, perhaps I could tempt you with my second book, The Great Restoration which as of this moment only has 6 reviews on Amazon.
While it is the second book in a series, the stories are stand-alone, and so the first should work nearly as well as a prequel if you read them out of order.
The setting is a Victorian sort of post-high-fantasy world; a 19th century civilization in a world once dominated by elves, wizards and the like. The Great Restoration is a noir-style detective story centered around the kidnapping of a prominent engineer by pro-Elven terrorists intent on overturning human civilization and restoring the old order.
Perhaps you might try my book The Fall of Rath. Marketing: it's free and it's not bad. No elves or dragons though.
What's the first thing I'd say after waking from a 100 year cryogenic sleep?
"Is The Winds of Winter out yet?"
Whatever books you choose, I hope you enjoy them!
Yep. In Stephen King's On Writing, he compares writing to playing blues guitar. Most blues is written in the same key, using a lot of the same chords but everyone guitarist will make it sound different.
Full disclosure: I did not read these, but I just saw them today on Barnes and Noble, so I linked the synopsis from the site.
<strong>The Ballad of Black Tom</strong> by Victor LaValle
<strong>Everfair</strong> by Nisi Shawl
Edited also because I typed a bunch of crap wrong
Certain people in the The Powder Mage series have the ability to manipulate gunpowder and the energy that comes from igniting it. The world also has "Knacked" people who have odd and usually unique abilities such as never having to sleep.
It does involve your regular fire slinging mages as well, but with cool gloves.
Try The Riyria Revelation by Michael J Sullivan. Great, fast paced series with two of the best protagonists in fantasy. Starts a bit trope-y, and some of the tropes don't go away, but he has a way of turning many on their heads, and taking others and doing them really, really well. The first book is fun, but as the series progresses it gets better and better and the scope goes from small scale to worldwide in a very natural way. And the series is considerably shorter than something like WoT, not taking forever to get going.
Also, The Emperor's Edge books by Lindsay Buroker are absolutely delightful. Another quick, not crazy deep series, but with wonderful characters that feel like real people. Seriously, it's almost impossible not to fall a little in love with the main character as the series progresses. Fun action, witty dialogue, etc...They're great. Also, the first book in the series is free on Amazon.
Hello Krista!
My debut novel Sorcerous Rivalry and the direct sequel Mistress Mage are available by Amazon or Kindle Unlimited. Sorcerous Rivalry is a classic Sword & Sorcery novel with a M/M romance subplot. Mistress Mage finishes the duology, and I am releasing an anthology set in the same world next month!
Thanks, Kriptical. In terms of recent reads, I quite liked Dennett's latest, as well as Sperber and Mercier's book on reason. But I would actually recommend Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow, as well as Haidt's, The Self-Righteous Mind.
Hegel is the go to person on all things absolute, but I wouldn't visit that on anyone! Consider the difference between what you're presently looking at (an objective thing) and how you're looking (via subjective experience). Thus the famous subject/object dichotomy. So say you pose the question, which comes first? An idealist believes the object is a figment of the subject, whereas a materialist believes the subject is a figment of the object. Once you begin playing this game, everything bogs down into disputation, and it seems there's no escape. Hegel's 'absolute' stands among one of the more famous escape attempts.
As for Kellhus and AI, yes. One of the things I want people to understand is the degree to which 'freedom' is a function of where you stand in the pecking order of intelligences. We're actually on the cusp of becoming 'worldborn,' given that the rudimentary 'conversational user interfaces' presently being sold to corporations by Microsoft, just for instance, have access to vast data sets allowing them to predict your preferences better than you can predict them yourself.
The Rest of Us Just Live Here has a protagonist with anxiety, and his sister deals with an eating disorder. It is an utterly beautiful book (and a kickass fantasy).
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom has a cast of characters, virtually all dealing with mental health issues (sensitively). For an ostensibly light-hearted heist series, it does a great job with representation and not shying away from the dark places...
There are a lot of great books in YA. Probably more than fantasy, to be honest. Listicle and another listicle.
For everyoen asking about this, its from a web novel called "paladin" previously patchwork paladin. Started on reddit moved to tapas. the gist is a man is a paladin to an eldritch horror kind of god and any time he takes a wound or loses a body part theres a chance it will be replaced by his god's flesh, hence tentacle fingers, its not too serious but an alright read and can be found here: https://tapas.io/series/paladin
There's a ton of wonderful kids books out there.
I should probably put more of my favorite up on goodreads. I'm pretty active on there....
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/108424.Patrick_Rothfuss
It's not out yet, but An Altar on the Village Green by Nathan Hall takes some inspiration from the Souls series and I think does a good job of nailing the tone. I was lucky enough to beta read it and it was really good!
If you go to Mr. Dickinson's website, there's a direct Amazon link to the book, so I assume that's his suggestion for purchasing it.
Curse of the Mistwraith is $2.17 for me (link). My region is kinda undefined when it comes to Amazon, so I have no idea if it's also on sale in the US, UK, or anywhere else, but it was a nice find.
Either way, I grabbed that.
Basically anything by L.E. Modesitt Jr. who's works can be called the most compelling yet boring thing in fantasy. The first three books of the "Corean Chronicles" focus on a soldier in a fantasy world, who has to deal with the reality that war is mostly being shuffled between posts and command is mostly about logistics. The last two books (and best two) of the series focus on the eldest daughter of a king who discovers a conspiracy against her father and his heir, by digging through the kingdom's tax records. I like the "Imager Portfolio" most out of his stuff, where the heroes tend to spend most of their time as administrators.
DL Morrese's The Warden Thread is primarily about someone who wants to go on an epic fantasy adventure discovering that long distance travel is mostly about camping out and carrying rations and that most people are pretty boring.
I will try. Prince Jorge Ancrath has struck out on his own, seeking revenge for the brutal murders of his mother and brother. Accompanied by a band of the traumatized on one end and the sociopathic on the other.... Wait. That's just how it starts.
Jorg wants to be emperor, but plenty stands in his way. The man who killed his mother. His own father, who never took proper vengeance. The perfect candidate for emperor in the Prince of Arrow. The woman he loves. A dream weaver. A dead king.
Perhaps you could read the summary on Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9579634-prince-of-thorns
There was a faint murmur of applause from the Left, splutter of contemptuous laughter from the Right.
“Rhodomont!” a voice called to him.
He looked in the direction of that voice, proceeding from the group of spadassins amid the Blacks across the Piste, and he smiled. Inaudibly his lips answered:
“No, my friend—Scaramouche; Scaramouche, the subtle, dangerous fellow who goes tortuously to his ends.”
CS Lewis' literary idol. Phantastes is a wonderful, beautiful book, but it may be hard to get into because it is so poetic and full of allegory. If you like Narnia at all, you should at least attempt it. Nobody owns the rights to the book anymore so here you go: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/325/325-h/325-h.htm
The Emperor's Soul is probably the best choice if you're looking for the one book to decide your opinion of Sanderson.
It's a novella (~150 pages), and one of the best books he's written - it won the 2013 Hugo award for best novella.
I do remember! That was fun.
I have them all written down. Currently, I use a wiki--find it here--to keep track of all of it.
The magic systems in cosmere books all conform to a few underlying rules. This came from my interest in physics, and its search for a 'unifying' theory. (Fascinating reading, if you haven't studied this.)
In my books, there is a unifying theory of magic, so to speak.
--Edit, formatting.
I do! I just don't want to overstep the self-promotion rules, not sure how they apply for cover reveals. I assumed most people would search on Amazon if they were interested in buying, but here's the link. Paperback is still being approved.
I mean, look at those faces.
They mean business.
*edited to explain:
This is a mere bit of serious self-promotion to mark last night's final 'click' of 'submit' of my 4th book in this very serious series.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VW65TY6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i9
https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Price-Horned-Serpent-Scales-ebook/dp/B07NCBS92P/
Inspired by final fantasy and epics like Jim Butcher's Cinder Spires. Rise of the Horned Serpent tells of two sisters who's lives are violently derailed by a Dragon who seeks an empire. Thank you so much for check it out.
Ishe loves the smell of fire crystals in the morning.
Yaki smiles so brilliantly you’ll never see the knife.
Together they’ll make the dragon wish he had stayed dead.
Two ages have passed since Coyote crushed the moon in his jaws and flung reality into the meat grinder. Now, once remote locations have grown into bureaucratic city-states tied together by merchant adventurers who sail the clouds in crystal-powered sky ships. But where there is floating wealth, pirates lurk.
Thanks to their mother’s failed heist, Ishe and Yaki are captured and forced to serve Yaz’noth, the horned serpent who nearly destroyed Golden Hills, the closest thing they have to a home, centuries ago. Yet despite their injuries and isolation, the twins have no intention of submitting to the dragon’s wishes. To save their homeland, escape is the only option. Ishe’s got a plan, but if they fail, they might not survive the Dragon’s Price.
(cover animated by u/bengalley)