warhammer 40k fans, i just checked out the Malcador: First Lord of the Imperium audio short. i'm not a fan of audiobooks in general but this one was like $4 and it's an important story so i bit the bullet. it was pretty good but as always when Malcador and the Big E are involved, it leaves more questions than answers. how much of it is a lie, how much of it is a con, and how much of it is them trying to cover their ass while they hang on? how much of it is the actual truth? who the fuck knows.
Forgot Iron Gold released today. To the book store tomorrow!
And I guess book 5 (of what they are calling the Red Rising Saga), Dark Age, will be coming out in September.
I'll have to pick that up too.
Finished Children of Time which I thought was a great book until it ended in a mediocre fashion- though perhaps the only way it could have ended in that fashion.
And halfway through A Gathering of Shadows (2nd book of Darker Shade of Magic.)
I'll probably read Thrawn next. And then back to another of the several Warhammer 40k omnibuses I have to get through.
I devoured Babylons Ashes (BA) and Persepolis Rising (PR) from the Expanse Series by James S.A. Corey. Babylon's Ashes took me a while to get through just because there's a certain thing about the series I wanted to know more about and it really wasn't touching on it at all. I didn't appreciate BA until I finished Persepolis Rising. It was so fucking good I finished it the same day I bought it. PR is starting the last trilogy of books in the Expanse series and it's finally touching on something that's been building since the first book.
It's kind of like Game of Thrones in space and with the last trilogy starting to finally talk about the Others/White walkers. If anyone is interested the first book is called Leviathan Wakes and it has TV series on Syfy 2 seasons with the 3rd coming within the next few months. The TV series was also adapted by the original authors and honestly aside from some cinematography issues with the second season i'm pretty happy with how it's been done.
Book 1-3 spoiler:
Spoiler: show
Read Iron Gold. It's p good.
Finished the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy. The last half of the last book was a major disappointment.
Starting The Constellation Games now.
I'm on a reread spree because I've been burned by the last 4 or so books I've tried to start.
Rereading Mistborn -> LotR then going back for something new.
not the biggest fantasy buff but aim to delve further into the genre as i do love some crossover hits like ASoIaF and Kingkiller and The Once and Future King. was thinking of going with something Sanderson or Malazan but am open to suggestion. for reference my fiction taste generally runs more literary than escapey, more Faulkner than King. was hoping you suckas could point me in the right direction.
Sanderson is great. highly recommend anything from Cosmere.
So, does anyone else hear read/listen to LitRPGs? I've become completely addicted to them and it seems right up the alley of half of this forum.
Haven't heard of them before. Can I get a tl:dr?
TLDR: The genre involves one main theme, which is that somehow the main people are basically in an MMO. For some reason most are written by Russians.
Some common plays on the theme:
-You can transfer your brain into an MMO, thus living forever. Most of these involve the MC having a terminal illness at the beginning and wanting to live.
-Trapped in the game a la sword art online style
-The game is so widespread that every aspect of the world is involved with it and it's used to make a living (kinda like ready player one, but it's still JUST a game, not for education).
-Somehow humanity is put into a situation which strongly mimics an mmo.
-Sometimes the universe itself where the series takes place mimics a game somehow. Example: One series people can use magic, but the magic system itself functions almost just like an mmo progression.
-Death in the game may or may not be permanent. This depends entirely on the book/series.
More in depth:
In almost all of them there is a level up type system with stats and all that, but the system varies by book. Anyone who enjoys MMOs will probably like this genre.
An example of the one I'm reading now - Speedrunner: Tower of Babel - is where somehow manhattan is gone and in it's place is a giant 101 floor tower. Make it to the top and you get a wish granted. Once inside the tower it's a hodgepodge of like every mmo ever. Heck the first level even has a city lowbie dungeon in the sewers like the stockades in wow, but has a crafting system exactly like ff14. The writing style is actually pretty good so far though.
It's a rather new and definitely very niche genre, but if you do find you enjoy it I imagine you would find it highly addicting. If interested I recommend the following
-The Way of the Shamen - I think the series is now finished after book 6. The ending was pretty awesome too.
-The Land - This series is one of the few American authored series. It's pretty amazing so far. The amount of world building is incredible.
-Play to Live - Basically the first LitRPG. Incredibly good at the beginning but does tapper off as the series goes on. Lots of other LitRPGs have throwbacks to this one.
-The Divine Dungeon series. I haven't listened to this one yet but it's next on my list. This one takes place from the perspective of the dungeon and the dungeon itself gains awareness and levels up. I have no idea how this idea actually works but all the reviews say it somehow pulls it off.
-The Dark Herbalist series - The main character is assigned a random class as a playtester for the game. He's an herbalist. He has to find a way to make this class actually fun. It's great.
-Sufficiently Advanced Magic - Imagine harry potter mixed with an RPG system. Only one book out so far but I plan to put whatever else on hold when the second one is released.
-Ascend Online - Generic plot, group of friends play the brand new super immersive MMO. But the writing is so well done that it's incredibly engaging. Also waiting for more of this series to come out.
So, it's isekai in book form?
Yes but with a specific focus on game mechanics. I've also yet to see an anime that is in depth as the books. Grimgar is incredibly close, but the anime ends before it actually does much of anything. Given the amount of depth you need to make it worthwhile it seems to work best in book format. I'm sure there's some manga out there that get it right though.
Also, I had no idea Isekai was a thing. Thanks!