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Epic fantasy the last 5-6 years, nothing great?


Calibandar

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12 hours ago, Ninefingers said:

I always feel a little odd commenting on Abercrombie since he lurks around here but...I largely agree with you. Where he sets himself apart IMO is that he's managed to strike the right balance between gritty realism and injecting levity. The character voice that he employs for the northmen I find hilarious. This keeps the books from taking themselves too seriously and descending into the 'I'm so dark' masturbation that makes those Batman movies so unwatchable.  

The black humour is what makes Abercrombie’s books very readable.

Grimdark without humour holds no appeal to me.

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1 hour ago, Underfoot said:

Daniel Abraham isn't grimdark!

And he was here last week too with the non-grimdark news that his next book is on schedule. 

Completely agree with SeanF re humour. 

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On 6/28/2022 at 5:12 AM, Tammyrex said:

Not the best book, but good. Read it last year. There are lots of plotlines and themes that keep you amused.  

Second and third books were fantastic. Highly recommend the full trilogy from Richard Nell.

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22 hours ago, Rhom said:

Yeah, we used to have a pretty good collection of the grimdark folks that would poke in around here.  Scott Lynch, Mark Lawrence, Dan Abraham, Abercrombie, and even Bakker have had accounts here where they interacted with posters.

They all prefer twitter now.

Like everybody else! (except maybe me -- but then people send me All The Twit Links, so I don't have to either :lol: )

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I enjoy Twitter and spend too much time on it but there's definitely something lost in the absence of the organization of a forum. There's too much going on on Twitter and too many people and you miss a lot even with good lists and following the right people. It's more instant and mirrors conversation a bit better but it's somehow less engrossing.

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15 hours ago, Ser Not Appearing said:

I enjoy Twitter and spend too much time on it but there's definitely something lost in the absence of the organization of a forum. There's too much going on on Twitter and too many people and you miss a lot even with good lists and following the right people. It's more instant and mirrors conversation a bit better but it's somehow less engrossing.

Twitter is the place for sick burns, short statements, and links to other people's more considered thoughts.  Anyone who reads fantasy is by definition not seeking instant gratification from reading.  Right now this place is a collection of the cognoscenti, but It's interesting to contemplate the counter-factual as to whether this forum would remain one of the hotspots to talk about fantasy if TWOW had come out in, say, 2012-3. 

That said, to respond to the OP, there is more fantasy in the last 5-6 years than there every has been before.   IMHO, if these books are not "great", it is because the model of laboring in solitude for years over a manuscript to perfect it has been lost.  The incentives are heavily aligned for authors to become more efficient, more Sandersonized.  

Sanderson himself is a case in point.  The Way of Kings is the best book in the Stormlight Archive because it was written first.  You can plot the deterioration of the quality of prose in the books on a graph as a downward sloping curve.  

To be clear, getting a first draft of indifferent quality done, having beta readers, getting constant feedback etc is a much more efficient way to write.  But if you can successfully navigate the procrastination-perfectionism whirlpool, the fruits can be remarkable.  

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9 minutes ago, Gaston de Foix said:

It's interesting to contemplate the counter-factual as to whether this forum would remain one of the hotspots to talk about fantasy if TWOW had come out in, say, 2012-3. 

George could have finished ASoIaF by then and the trajectory wouldn't have changed. Social media and Reddit came into its own. Forums are something of a dying breed, which is a shame because they do offer some things that other forms of sites don't.

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I tend to listen to his podcast in spurts and all jumbled up across the many different seasons but I think Sanderson often describes his writing process as (quite paraphrased) regimented and goal oriented to the point that I've often wondered how formulaic it is and how that might contribute to the speed that he produces content.

... but I've only ever actually read a couple of his books and nothing in the Stormlight Archives, so I can't really speak to his quality.

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3 hours ago, Ser Not Appearing said:

 I think Sanderson often describes his writing process as (quite paraphrased) regimented and goal oriented to the point that I've often wondered how formulaic it is

Spend no more time wondering. 

It's incredibly formulaic. To the point where you could create a checklist. 

His worlds all have their own specific swear word. His supporting characters are all basically re-skins of the same people. Etc etc

I say this every time Sanderson comes up, but he's the Nick Cage of fantasy authors. He turns out dependable summer blockbusters and you know just what you're going to get: plot driven stories that aren't very deep and never make you think very hard, but are fun.  

 

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1 hour ago, Ran said:

Nic Cage is a lot different than that. The Chris Pratt of fantasy authors may be nearer the mark.

Updated for modern times.

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55 minutes ago, Gaston de Foix said:

How do people feel about the Scholomance series? It is incomplete, and it is not perfect, but I found it an addictive and moving read.  

Enjoyable read but not epic.

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On 6/29/2022 at 1:27 PM, Zorral said:

They all prefer twitter now.

Like everybody else! (except maybe me -- but then people send me All The Twit Links, so I don't have to either :lol: )

Abraham popped in not long ago with an update on his sequel to Age of Ash. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/25/2022 at 3:57 PM, Iskaral Pust said:

The Ash & Sand trilogy by Richard Nell is probably the most novel/interesting fantasy series of recent years.  The first volume was published in 2018, and the series only concluded last year.  The characters, setting (unusual combination of cultures), magic system and motivations were all quite good.

 

I really really enjoyed that whole series. One of my favorite new authors. 

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