(Part 3) Best science fiction & fantasy books according to redditors
We found 24,941 Reddit comments discussing the best science fiction & fantasy books. We ranked the 7,114 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 41-60. You can also go back to the previous section.
![Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side [Vault Edition]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/515dYNch5mL.jpg)
For DMs who have most/all of the 5e material I highly recommend The Tome of Beasts. It's 400+ new monsters for 5e done by Kobold Press. I am thoroughly impressed with it!
Some of my favorite books available on Kindle Unlimited:
They Mostly Come Out At Night and Where the Waters Turn Black by Benedict Patrick
Paternus by Dyrk Ashton
Danse Macabre by Laura M. Hughes
The Half Killed by Quenby Olson
A Star Reckoners Lot by Darrell Drake
Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe
Jaeth's Eye by K. S. Villoso
Here are some that I haven't read, but have heard mostly positive things about:
The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes
Revenant Winds by Mitchell Hogan
Ghosts of Tomorrow by Michael R Fletcher
A Warrior's Path by Davis Ashura
Valley of Embers by Steven Kelliher
Faithless by Graham Austin-King. He also has another series, The Riven Wyrde Saga, beginning with Fae - The Wild Hunt
Ours is the Storm by D. Thourson Palmer
Path of Man by Matt Moss
Threat of Madness by D.K. Holmberg
To Whatever End by Claire Frank
House of Blades by Will Wight
Path of Flames by Phil Tucker
The Woven Ring by M. D. Presley
Awaken Online: Catharsis by Travis Bagwell
Wolf of the North by Duncan M. Hamilton
Free the Darkness by Kel Kade
The Cycle of Arawn Trilogy by Edward W. Robinson
Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw
Benjamim Ashwood by AC Cobble
The Crimson Queen by Alec Hutson
The Queens Poinsoner by Jeff Wheeler
Stiger's Tigers by Marc Alan Edelheit
Rise of the Ranger by Philip C. Quaintrell
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
Devil's Night Dawning by Damien Black
Here are some older fantasy and sci-fi books that I enjoyed:
Tales of Nevèrÿon by Samuel R. Delany - African inspired S&S by an extremely talented writer.
Witch World as well as other good books by Andre Norton
Swords and Deviltry The first volume of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser by Fritz Leiber - Many of the tropes of the rogue/thief came from this legendary duo created by Leiber. And it's worth noting that Leiber actually coined the term Sword & Sorcery. This collection contains 3 stories, two average origin stories for each character and the final story is the Hugo and Nebula winning novella "Ill Met in Lankhmar" detailing the first meeting of Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser.
Swords Against Darkness - A '70s S&S anthology. It has few stinkers, a few mediocre stories, and a some really good ones. Poul Anderson and Ramsey Campbell both have awesome stories in this anthology that are well worth checking out. For some reason, there were quite a few typos in this book, it was slightly distracting, but may have been fixed since I read it.
The Best of C. L. Moore by C. L. Moore. I read this earlier this year and I absolutely loved it. The collection is all sci-fi and one Jirel of Joiry story, which is her famous female Sword & Sorcery character. I was suprised by how well her sci-fi stories held up, often times pulp sci-fi doesn't age well, but this collection was great. Moore was married to the writer Henry Kuttner, and up until his death they wrote a bunch of great stories together. Both of their collections are basically collaborations, although I'm sure a few stories were done solo. His collection The Best of Henry Kuttner features the short story that the movie The Last Mimzy was based on. And, if you are into the original Twilight Zone TV series there is a story that was adapted into a memorable season 1 episode entitled "What You Need". Kuttner and Moore are two of my favorite pulp authors and I'm not even that into science fiction, but I really enjoy their work.
Agreed. It's ridiculous that they don't have a more comprehensive book for FR given how heavily it's used for 5e.
The 3e edition campaign setting book is still my goto for FR lore. Course it's before the spellplague and a good ways in the past from 5e but it's loaded with great stuff. NPCs, organizations, governments, lore that are mostly still applicable to 5e FR. It details a much larger area than just the Sword Coast North and Chult. It's the best FR campaign book out there imo.
There is a starters pack that has pregen characters and more simplified rules and comes with an adventure it is fairly cheap.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1601256302/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526747913&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=pathfinder+starter+box
It explains and focuses on what you need to know, it's how I started GMing. It's easier than reading that huge core book and get your bearings.
How about with Dragons? It's a kick-ass series and the books were optioned by Peter Jackson to make into movies! :)
Spoilers for Revelation Space series of books
In the Revelation Space books by Alistair Reynolds, there's a race of machines that wipe out all sentient life whenever that life becomes advanced enough to trigger them. In order for the trigger to happen, the Inhibitors, as they are called, leave traps all over the galaxy in different places and forms where only an advanced space-faring race could find them. When triggered, the Inhibitors wake up from their sleep-state and destroy that race completely before going back into hiding and waiting.
It is revealed that they do this because in a few billion years the Andromeda (or other) galaxy is going to collide with the Milky Way and the resulting collision period will pretty much pose a threat everything. The Inhibitors, actually very much fond of life but not sentient life, "Inhibit" the sentient races and keeps places of life constrained to single solarsystems. This way they can move or shield or otherwise protect these areas of life when the collision comes.
As has happened many times in the past, any time a race spreads out (or, very rarely, more than one at a time) they become too far spread and too unwieldy to protect, potentially endangering this future rescue operation and therefore must be dealt with.
All that said, you can kind of see why the reveals for ME and ME2 were a little less powerful of a hit for me.
They are awesome books that I completely recommend and can be had for cheap (or even try a library).
My favorites are the ones that fix mechanical weaknesses or add to missing conceptual space in 5e (which is also what I try to do in my own DM's Guild offerings!) I try to stick mostly to official, published things to keep my player's heads from exploding, but there's a few I really like:
Hey! Loved Redwall and the other associated stories when I was growing up. I was an avid fan and owned the first 10ish, but the quality of story went down as more came out. :(
Now the real trick is figuring out what you're asking, so I'll take a few stabs. If there is a specific aspect about Redwall you really want to reflect in your new reads let me know and I'll expand the selection. :)
Like Redwall as in intelligent animals:
Light On Shattered Water:
Human finds himself in an alternate dimension where cats evolved instead of humans. I first read in around 2000, and last read it again this year, still very enjoyable.
The Chanur Saga:
Anthropomorphic cat aliens. Pretty decent adventure, though the tech is a little silly but not bad considering it was written in the 80s.
Watership Down:
Rabbits in England trying to live their life. And adventure type stuff happens. A classic for very good reason.
Like Redwall for epic adventure and battles
Malazan Book of the Fallen:
Epic in every way. Hands down my favorite book series. Never has any other book given such a sense of scale to the world. Everything has a history, and Erikson writes in a way that you want to know more, about it all.
His Majesty's Dragon:
I originally only picked up this book because the summary sounded like a joke. Napoleonic era England, insert dragons as the aerial corps. I brought it with to work, read it on my breaks and lunch, and after getting off at 9pm ended up staying at wprl until 5 am to finish it and the second book in the series.
The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon is a good trilogy with a female paladin being the main character. Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson also has a good lead female role throughout it and is also a great read.
Since the top /r/scifi post right now is about Alastair Reynolds, maybe you can try his books. I think his books are one of the best in the Space Opera genre, and written very well.
You can start with his most popular series, Revelation Space, but his other books are stellar (ha) as well, like House of Suns, or Century Rain.
These: http://www.amazon.com/His-Majestys-Dragon-Temeraire-Book/dp/0345481283
They can be a bit dry, but I think they're pretty interesting. Basically, they center on the Napoleonic wars, but there are dragons, who work with people. There are about 8 of them right now.
Also, this series: http://www.amazon.com/Joust-Mercedes-Lackey/dp/0756401224
Dragons don't actually talk in it, but the time period is more similar to Eragon.
Alastair Reynolds, astrophysicist, dark hard sci-fi author. Start with Revelation Space
Here are the Amazon links to the books Book of Sith, The Jedi Path
It's from this book.
Kobold Press has a book, Tome of Beasts that features a lot of fey creatures. It is a 3rd party book, but is pretty balanced (although HP is a bit high on some monsters, IMO).
Amazon link
Otherwise I would recommend just reflavoring monsters from the MM to be more winter themed with resistance to cold or changing damage types.
It's been a while since I read the books but...
The Powerstones were a big part of the world. The Thran were a society that didn't have access to mana or magic. The powerstones were a mysterious source of energy that powered their society, and were quite strong. The powerstone spike which Yawgmoth used to lobotomize Dyfed was potent enough to incapacitate a pre-mending 'walker.
Yawgmoth did poison Glacian to get to Rebbec, but kept Glacian's consciousness alive in a powerstone. He later used this powerstone to open his gate to Phyrexia. When Rebbec realized Yagmoth's schemes, she was forced to destroy the powerstone which held her husband's mind, splitting it in two. Those two halves became the mightstone and the weakstone, the stones which Urza and Mishra used to war on each other, and which eventually became Urza's eyes when his spark ignited.
Everyone needs to read the Artifacts Cycle. Great fantasy on it's own, even knowing nothing about Magic.
http://www.amazon.com/Artifacts-Cycle-Magic-Gathering-Omnibus/dp/0786953055
Two series I can recommend off the top of my head, both of which I couldn't put down during the first readthrough and never get tired of re-reading:
And if you want a single book to tide you over while searching, the 832-page The War of the Flowers (also by Williams) was a riveting read.
*edited for linkage
As someone who does a lot of meta and academic literary discussion on comics, I am 100% certain that a paper exists about psychopathy and the Batman universe; it might not be about Bruce and psychopathy (most essays about psychopathy related to Batman that I've read have focused on either the Joker or Two-Face), but there have definitely been papers written about the philosophy, ethics, morality, and psychology of Batman and the Batfamily. You're going to find most of these types of discussions in the field of comics studies and academic historical/literary criticism rather than psychology due to the nature of the topic. For some interesting paper/essay collections, see:
It uh....honestly might also be worth it to read into the 'Seduction of the Innocent' controversy and relevant academic papers about the work, given that it directly involved Batman comics. Books like Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code and The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America would be particularly helpful there.
Edit: Also just as a sidenote, as you mentioned in another comment Batman as a psychopath isn't even a hot take; it's a lukewarm take made by people who don't actually read comics. Batman, as he is generally portrayed in mainverse comics, is decidedly not a psychopath.
House and Philosophy
Seinfeld and Philosophy
Batman and Philosophy
World of Warcraft and Philosophy
Watchmen and Philosophy
Final Fantasy and Philosophy
Harry Potter and Philosophy
South Park and Philosophy
The Office and Philosophy
Star Wars and Philosophy
The Simpsons and Philosophy
X-Men and Philosophy
The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy
Family Guy and Philosophy
Elizabeth Moon's The Deeds of Paksenarrion Also, Moon's Vatta series and Serrano seris are sci-fi with strong female leads.
If money is no object I'd say: Go for it, of course. ;)
You will have a hard time finding the Anniversary Collector's Edition at a reasonable price I'm afraid.
It was a limited edition, sold out at all official retailers by now, all you will find are copies sold by resellers at insane prices.
Amazon - New
Amazon - Used
You could try your luck on Ebay but chances aren't high.
Personally,..... if at any time, after collecting all books for Spice & Wolf, Wolf & Parchment and the manga I will probably direct my attention to figures.
Oh my god, I am so hot for this book (and was pleasantly surprised and violently vindicated when I guessed the content of the link correctly).
If you're into historical fantasy, I have to push Naomi Novik's Temeraire books. The grandness is less condensed but there are six sweet, sweet books, and more on the way.
[edited to add more books]
If you include mythology, I recall liking The Lost Books of The Odyssey by Zachary Mason quite a bit.
In terms of fairies and weaving tales, In the Night Garden and its sequel The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne M. Valente have excellent and complexly tangled story lines.
Other favorites: American Gods by Neil Gaiman, anything by Terry Pratchett, perhaps even Robin McKinley?
Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen (all by Garth Nix) are pretty spectacular if you're into fantasy.
Juliet Marillier also writes a lot of fairy-tale retellings that have female protags, if that's your cup of tea. The Sevenwaters Trilogy is pretty good.
Edit: Ooh, also The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon (this is epic fantasy, but she also writes a lot of female protags in her space operas) and Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. Those two are fantastic, don't know why they didn't spring to mind right off!
Edit 2: For less spoilery linkage.
The Thran is not available for kindle, unfortunately. It is however in the Artifacts cycle omnibus, which I highly recommend. It has the story of the thran and then the story of Urza Vs the Phyrexians.
http://www.amazon.com/Artifacts-Cycle-Magic-Gathering-Omnibus/dp/0786953055
http://www.amazon.com/Artifacts-Cycle-II-Gathering-Omnibus/dp/0786953063/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=15M4GBD41KKZJWQTVT90
Tad Williams' "Otherland" series.
The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett https://www.amazon.com/dp/1477805982/
Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side [Vault Edition] https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612182615/
STAR WARS JEDI PATH Vault Edition: The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force [Vault Edition] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO3F2KY/
It's hard, in my opinion, to levy that kind of criticism at a DM. What I would suggest is to just tell him all your ideas when you have them. My brother and I are both DM's and I play in his game and I hope he'll get a chance to play in mine. I am constantly gabbering ideas I come up with for my game to him. He obviously can't do the same, because I play in his game. I am a person that loves the challenge of design, so I'm pretty consistently developing new pieces of designs from world building, to mini games, to encounters, to narratives, to situations, etc. He has stolen or at least been intrigued by many of my ideas, which I love (since I can't always run them myself). I often ask him for design advice as well, so it's not one sided. He can't tell me about his ideas, but he can provide input on mine. Having consistent design discussions with a fellow DM can do wonders for both of your work.
Discuss Design for Fun: I think what you'll find is that if you just tell him design ideas you come up with just for the sake of discussing design for fun, your DM will naturally begin to pick things up and start experimenting with your ideas. You'll probably find that your ideas inspire them to come up with their own. I strongly encourage facilitating design discussions with anyone that has interest, including your DM. If, after a couple of weeks of discussing design, your DM still hasn't upped their game, that's when I would confront the issue. Say "hey, we've talked about a dozen different ideas, but you don't seem to be implementing anything new into the game. What's the deal?"
New D&D Supplements: Another really helpful tool for a DM (especially if they don't have the time to create interesting homebrewed scenarios) is the book Tome Of Beasts: https://www.amazon.com/Beasts-Wolfgang-Baur/dp/1936781565
The monsters in that are great and much more difficult than the ones in the monster manual. I still prefer designing my own stuff, because there are 400 monsters in that book and it takes a while for me to go through it. Just an example of a beautiful design in the book is the Living Wick. It's a construct, that comes to life when their wick is lit and they attack (or serve their master). They can also burn their wick in a single go and explode, doing a decent amount of damage for a low level party (like a toned down fireball, but I recommend turning it into a full on fireball). The trick to beat them, aside from killing them, is to dowse their wick. You might homebrew them a tad so they can fight against your players by also making them either immune to fire, or cause fire to make a massive chain reaction that causes them to explode. Also, using them as an ambush and having them tackle the party and explode.
Here's an idea I had for my low level from the tome of beasts: "You enter through the large doors. It's pitch black in here, but as you walk you can here your foot steps echo in what must be a massive chamber. If you create a light (or have dark vision), you can see that this is a great reception chamber, entirely made out of a deep blue marble. The walls are accentuated with impressive pillars. The marble chamber has such a high, elaborate ceiling that goes up about 50 feet. The hallway extends to the a decorated portcullis at the end. Along the full length of the hall are a parallel series of pedestals. Sitting atop the pedestals are a dozen or more statuesque figures, all positioned in various 'thinking' sitting poses. A closer inspection reveals that they are made out of wax. Above the hearth you entered is marble slab, jutting out from the wall with two metal tubes extending out of it. When the players walk close enough, two brilliant jets of fire shoots out from the turret above the hearth, illuminating the dark marble of the chamber. These two lines of fire rocket downward and the jet across the backs of the wax statues, before arcing back up into the ceiling and dispersing. The wax statues are now lit, like a candle from a protruding wick on their back. This dim glow is the only light in the room. The players here a quiet hiss (like the sound of a burning fuze) come from the burning wicks. They suddenly come to life in fluid, short bursts of movement. They move unnatural, almost like dancers. They move quickly and suddenly for seconds at a time, and then come to a complete stop, and then moving again. They all turn towards the players and immediately sprint towards them."
tl;dr: Start creating discussions about game design to bounce ideas with them, so they get a chance to hear some cool design thoughts without it becoming uncomfortable. Recommend the book Tome of Beasts
Agree with /u/Tur4 and /u/Salaris on their suggestions.
LitRPG I recommend are the following:
[Cradle]
[Mother of Learning]
[Sufficiently Advanced Magic]
[Street Cultivation]
[The Land]
[The Divine Dungeon]
[The Dark Herbalist]
[Ascend Online]
[The Way of the Shaman]
[The Wheel of Time] (Low Quality)
[I Shall Seal the Heavens]
[A Will Eternal]
[Coiling Dragon]
[Patrick Rothfuss] (Author)
[The Thousand Li]
[Savage Divinity] (Low Quality)
[The Dao of Magic]
[Dante's Immortality]
[Forge of Destiny]
[Veilverse]
[Way of the Immortals]
[Sundered Soul]
[Edge of Eons]
[Soulship]
[The Wandering Inn]
[Delvers LLC]
[Dodge Tank]
[World Tree Online]
[Life Reset]
[Viridian Gate Online]
[The Crafting of Chess]
[Reverend Insanity]
[I Eat Tomatoes] (Author)
[Er Gen] (Author)
[The King's Avatar]
[Against the Gods]
[Martial World]
[Dragon Heart]
[Purple Days]
Finally had some more time to read, picked up books mostly on Kindle Unlimited with some exceptions on Novel Updates.
Stuff in bold is stuff I really like and can recommend, stuff italicized is stuff I'm not sure about but you should probably read anyway.
Picked up
Arcane Ascension: (Kindle)
LitRPG, School, Dungeon/tower
Story had a pretty decent hook in the beginning, characters are decently fleshed out although I do hope book 2 has more character development.
The MC is a recovering loner with interesting family dynamics due to an unfortunate grandfather, militant father, and a missing brother.
I would have enjoyed this story more if I read it in chunks as the author is trying to create something new with depth and that ruined a bit of the immersion for me.
After reading 2/3 of the story I took a break and read other stuff before coming back to it and the last 1/3 was very enjoyable; then again the last bit was mostly plot development instead of world building.
Completionist Chronicles: (Kindle)
LitRPG, cleric?, puns?
Same author as the Divine Dungeon series linked below.
Compared to the Divine Dungeon series this story is much more enjoyable since the MC is human and already has a personality.
Divine Dungeon: (Kindle)
Dungeon core, cultivation, puns?
Pretty interesting premise but it is my first dungeon core story; story is pretty good and told in the POV of two MC's, a dungeon (Cal) and some shepherd who learns to cultivate.
In book 1 Cal is still developing as he was just Born which made it slightly more difficult to get into due to not much character development but the different POV's makes things easier to read. If you're okay with book 1 which was enjoyable but focused more on setting the foundation of the story then you should like books 2 and 3 much more.
Awaken Online: (Kindle)
LitRPG, Anti-hero?, Necromancy, glass cannon
A bit of an aside but this really made me feel nostalgic for Legendary Moonlight Sculptor even though there isn't much in common.
The prologue set the tone for the the story and while it could be too soon to tell I'd say he's only mostly anti-hero.
Story is a bit cliched and there isn't much tension but it's pretty well written and does a nice job overall differentiating itself.
Fields of Gold
Mild Mary Sue, hunting, isekai, reverse harem?
Phew, finally have something to fill the void that is Volare. (Even though I have 3 other novels I'm bulking up to binge later)
Just when I think I'm free of all food porn from previous completed novels they ambush me with this. y u do dis /u/Etvolare (and Myst), some of y'all have gotta be foodies and I'm concerned it's a criteria in novel selection.
Another Mary Sue story with hints of a reverse harem but that's probably unlikely. Her immediate family loves her but everyone else.. fuck 'em, except for maybe that one gentle aunt.
The S-Classes That I Raised
Time rewind, yandere, taming
Weak asshole MC turns over a new leaf with his time travel and patches things up with his younger more OP brother.
Ascend Online (Kindle)
LitRPG, Crafting, taming
Solid story but it's a bit average, pretty good read overall but character development is kinda weak.
I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire
Mecha, "anti-hero", ^^^ha! futuristic, isekai, misunderstandings, long life span
MC gets betrayed pretty badly by his wife due to the involvement of a third party who gets off on the grief and misery of others. MC reincarnates to another world and is mistrustful of women, gets abandoned by his parents and ends up doing some territory management in the pursuit of being evil later.
Demon King, Retry!
Overpowered, loli, misunderstandings, territory management?
Think of this as a more lighthearted, shallower take on Overlord for a younger audience, maybe.
A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss
Non-harem harem?, Wish fulfillment
Strong MC with a soft spot for ladies.
***
Still reading
Trash of the Count’s Family
Restaurant seems to be going well, some more of Cale's background is being very slowly teased through the story which makes it all the more understandable he wants to chill.
Ascending, Do Not Disturb
Apparently another story where cuteness is justice regardless of gender; two justices have been unlocked so far: cuteness and deliciousness.
The Beloved Imperial Consort
Strict mother and chill father? That'll be a fun baby, smart little monkey.
Lucia
Lucia is hangry and the damn grapes aren't in season yet.
The hubby is gonna have some serious blue balls if he doesn't find something to busy himself with.
Assassin Farmer
The assassin organization has changed hands with the death of the idiot boss.
MC has plenty of people waiting on her now (much to her distaste) and new house(s) are being built for her and her hubby's brothers.
*
Edit**: forgot to add the Arcane Ascension series and labeled the ones on Kindle Unlimited.
You might like Unbound Deathlord - the MC is fairly amoral in that one.
Awaken Online might also be to your liking.
I also like to recommend Unsouled, which is basically a xianxia novel written by an American. IMO cultivation / xianxia novels are basically litrpgs, with weird names slapped on top of the numbers.
Another one that kinda sorta straddles the line of LitRPG is Super Sales on Super Heroes - it's a superhero novel, and the MC's power is that he can spend "points" to upgrade things.
Footfall by Niven and Pournelle
Ring of Charon by Roger MacBride Allen (Follow up - The Shattered Sphere)
Saturn Run by by John Sandford and Ctein
From the other linked discussion - One of my favorite scifi trilogies, The Chronicles of Solace (The Depths of Time, The Ocean of Years, The Shores of Tomorrow) by Roger MacBridge Allen, makes the lack of FTL -- and the necessary workarounds for maintaining an interstellar civilization -- a major plot point.
Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan - No FTL, but consciousness can be beamed as data and downloaded into different bodies (called sleeves). Futuristic noir detective murder mystery.
--Best of luck!
I'd suggest The Cross-Time Engineer
as it is exactly the situation OP envisioned.
There is the Temeraire series. They're alternate Napoleonic history adventure books.
For anyone who hasn't read it, /u/bogdaniuz is referring to this book, Little Brother by Cory Doctrow. It's an interesting look at what might happen if the government's reach extends a little too far into our personal lives. I'm not an expert on Homeland Security or any of the technology used in the book so I can't speak for its accuracy, but it features a likable and relatable protagonist and it will make you think about current events.
Sounds like you might enjoy Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age. I think Snow Crash is meant to be in the same universe - it's hilarious but not as dense. You might also like his Cryptonomicon, though it's not technically Sci Fi.
Tad Willams' Otherland Series is Epic Sci Fi with a huge amount of detail. Might be right up your alley.
Dune, Neuromancer and The Enderverse if you haven't already read those.
I was first introduced to the Orion concept in Footfall over 15 years ago and it has stuck in my mind since.
In case you haven't done so already, you should give the space revelation triology from Alastair Reynolds a chance. It presents a detailed, yet broad outlook on humanity, taking place in the next couple of hundred of years. Alastair has a lot of interesting ideas and presents them in a great way.
I've finished the big 5 novels and am currently reading the short stories and even though there's not a lot of time for the story to unfold - I'm still sitting on the edge 'cause it's so exciting.
http://www.amazon.com/Revelation-Space-Alastair-Reynolds/dp/0441009425/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1394833904&sr=8-3&keywords=alastair+reynolds
You bring up some great and interesting points. I find the moral dilemmas on this show fascinating. Some of my friends are very black and white about things and still take a moral high ground, while others admit in the apocalypse society presented the rules would change and a harsher view like Rick's would be needed to survive.
Anyways, I just wanted to direct you to this book. There's also a psychology one, but this one explores the Batman vs Joker standoff. It sounds right up your alley.
LOL The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. It's a low magic fantasy novel.
Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!
Here are your smile-ified links:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1611720052/ref=mp_s_a_1_1
---
^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot
I'm pretty sure WotC came out of the gate with the affirmation that they wouldn't release more than a few books a year (most of which are adventures). I get the business decisions, they don't want to flood the market.
For those who want more, there are tuns of fantastic third party books and top-tier homebrew to be had. Check out dmsguild.com and it's parent, DriveThruRPG.com. Some of my favorite third party books (and PDF's) include:
I feel like A Practical Guide to Evil would hands-down be number one on this list if more people agree'd with me that it was a litrpg piece. The main character class development and abilities are straight out of the genre in my opinion, but there is no overt acknowledgement of this in the text. I can't recommend all four of these enough. Worth the Candle and a Practical Guide are both available free via the author's websites, so they have that going for them also.
They are already translated and compiled into one book. https://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Suit-Gundam-Escalation-Confrontation/dp/1611720052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480095418&sr=8-1&keywords=gundam+novel
They are out of stock as of now but you can order for when they get more in.
My guess is Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Book-Sith-Secrets-Dark-Side/dp/1612182615/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321749005&sr=8-1
I imagine that most other retail chains will have it for MSRP but I could be wrong.
Also if you have the MM and are looking for yet more monsters for your campaign, OR have players like mine that all know the MM by heart and it becomes a challenge to surprise them constantly with new and creative monsters... check out The Tome of Beasts by Kobold Press
Its worked great for me so far.
litrpg - books
litrpg - web
litrpg adjacent
I would recommend The Land by Aleron Kong and Daniel Black by E. William Brown. Daniel Black can get a little raunchy, if that is not something you are looking for you might want to skip it. Both book series are excellent and worth a read.
I'd keep them all intact. Hopefully by the end of the month we'll have more information.
According to Amazon the second print isn't shipping till November, so you'll have time to request a refund or cancel if you're stuck with the second edition.
If you're extremely lucky and hit the jackpot with 2-3 first editions, then consider selling at cost to those who missed out. I'm sure it will be easy to offload any additional copies.
Little Brother by Corey Doctorow https://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765323117
I've read a bunch of them (read: over a dozen) and some of them are good, some are utter crap.
Most of the rest of the books are garbage and you should stay away from them. I keep having faith in Wizards but they always let me down with some crap books and bad writers.
Before aliens actually invade with landing forces, they will sit back and throw rocks.
Is the idea older than the sci fi book, "Footfall" ?
The list was too long to fit into a self-post, here is the continuation.
Prolific Authors: (5+ Books)
Science Fiction with apocalyptic elements:
Everyone in this thread should read this book/series, about a 20th century Polish engineer time warped back ~700 years.
https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Time-Engineer-Adventures-Conrad-Stargard/dp/0345327624
Even Better: The Cross Time Engineer. It's like Twain's book, but with sex, more SciFi and sequels.
Ok.... here's EXACTLY what you want.
https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Time-Engineer-Adventures-Conrad-Stargard/dp/0345327624
I'm re-reading 'His Majesty's Dragon' (excerpt), I guess it's historical fiction. I have no idea where the book came from, I think one of my friends must have left it when they borrowed a book.
I don't read much historical fantasy, but I have read some and some more alternate history if you are in to that. I haven't read the one you spoke of in your post, so not sure exactly what balance of history and fantasy (or time period) you are looking for. However, I will list here for you many that I have read:
The Shadow of Albion - Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill Alternate England
Black Ships - Jo Graham This one is about Troy. some romance
His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik Napoleonic War with dragons.
Daughter of the Forest - Juliet Marillier The author says it isn't historical, but it is based somewhat on history/legend. Ireland as it is being exposed to Christianity. Based on The Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale "The Wild Swans" Definitely a good bit of romance in this one.
The Wild Swans - Peg Kerr Another based on the Anderson Fairy Tale. 2 stories in one. One set in the 1800 about a curse, and the other set in the 1980s about AIDS. Not my favorite, but an interesting parallel.
Bright Sword of Ireland - Juliene Osborne-McKnight This one is more mythic and definitely has "romance". It's about Mebd's daughter. Not my personal favorite, but the ending definitely stuck with me. Also deals with interactions with Christianity
Newton's Cannon - Gregory Keyes Okay, haven't read this one yet, but I've been meaning to get around to it.
Young Adult
Sorcery and Cecilia OR The Enchanted Chocolate Pot - Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
A Matter of Magic - Patricia C. Wrede
A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray
These above are set in London/England in 1700-1900?. They are all relatively light reading.
The Fetch - Laura Whitcomb This one is set during the Russian Revolution. Teen love.
A Certain Slant of Light - Laura Whitcomb This one is set in the present day, but one of the main characters is a ghost from the late 1800s.
There're also quite a few novels in historical fantasy romance. But most of them are definitely more on the romance side.
*edited for formatting
Fellow fan of series here! Let me see...
Young Adult
Percy Jackson series is fun (and finished, too, I think).
Artemis Fowl series isn't quite as good as Percy Jackson IMHO, but it's got a following.
Fantasy
Harry Dresden series This is one of my favorites. Harry is Chicago's only professional wizard. There are a ton of these books and they are still going strong.
Game of Thrones These are great...but unfinished. If you watch the show, reading the books does help you get even more out of the story, I think.
Wheel of Time Another good series. There is a LOT of this series and it's finished. (Thank you, Brandon Sanderson!)
Mistborn Speaking of Brandon Sanderson... This one is very good. I highly recommend reading the Mistborn books before trying the Stormlight Archive, but only because as good as Mistborn is, Stormlight Archive is even better.
Stormlight Archive Amazing. Man, these are good. The series isn't finished, but the two books that are available are some of my favorites ever.
Kingkiller Chronicles I loved the first book. I could not freakin' believe I enjoyed the second one even more. The third one is still pending.
Temeraire Dragons in Napoleonic times. Super cool premise! This one is not finished (I don't think, anyway).
Gentlemen Bastards Con men in a fantasy realm. It's pretty light on the fantasy elements. Very light, I'd say. I'd also say that it has some of the very best swearing that I've ever come across. :D
Scifi
Old Man's War I'm almost finished this one--it's amazing!
Horror/Thriller
Passage Trilogy I've heard these described as vampire books...maybe zombie books... It's apocalyptic for sure. Great books!
Mysteries
Amelia Peabody Egyptology + murder mysteries. Super fun, but trust me...go with the audiobooks for these. They are best when they are performed.
Stephanie Plum Total popcorn reads. If that's your thing, shut off your brain and just enjoy.
Walt Longmire These get particularly good as it goes along. The main character is a sheriff in modern day Wyoming. (Side note: The TV show is also great--just don't expect them to stick to the books.)
Graphic Novels (Everything recommended can be gotten in a "book" format instead of only in comic form, in case that matters. I've gotten most of these from my local library.)
Locke & Key Eerie as crap. Love the art! This one is on-going.
Y: The Last Man All the men on the planet drop dead in a day...except for Yorrick. REALLY good. This is the series that got me reading graphic novels. Plus, it's finished!
Walking Dead I am not a zombie fan...but I like these. They're not done, but I've read up through volume 22 and am still enjoying them.
Other
OutlanderI have no idea how to categorize these or even give a description that does them justice. I refused to pick it up for AGES because it sounded like a bodice-ripper romance and that's not my bag. But these are good!
I hope there's something in there that'll do for you. Have fun and read on!
Edit: Apparently, I need to practice formatting. :/
Edit 2: I forgot to add the Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastards #1).
If you want some space opera that has a lot of roots in hard sci-fi, give Alastair Reynolds a shot. Reynolds is an astrophysicist, so the series has a fair bit of hard science in with its fantastic futurism. The best example is the lack of Faster than Light travel in his spacecraft. I'd suggest starting with Revalation Space.
About Batman as in the history of, or about Batman in other ways?
I've found both The Dark Knight of the Soul and A Dark and Stormy Knight to be both accessible and interesting. The former is a philosophical take, the latter a psychological one.
It's been a while since I've read it, but I'm pretty sure this is discussed in the book Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul.
I don't remember what conclusion the authors came to. Now I have to look around for the book, if I still have it.
So far it's very good. It is the sequel to one of my favorite books Little Brother, so read that first.
EDIT: I goofed the link.
EDIT 2: You can legally download LB for free from the author's website. Enjoy!
EDIT 3: When done with that, you can download Homeland here.
Interesting! I am reading something similar: The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living by Fr. Gallagher. I am also reading Fire Within by Thomas Dubay.
...and The Dark Elf Trilogy because it was recommended by a friend and given to me for free on the Kindle. I am on the third book of the trilogy now and hope to finish it within the week so I can move on to another fiction series.
My recommendation would be to go pick up some 2nd, 3rd or 4th edition sourcebooks for dirt cheap at Half Price Books or online. The Forgotten Realms sourcebook from 3.5 is what I am currently using, it has a removable foldout map of Faerun, and detailed lists of major sights throughout the realms, including descriptions of the major cities, ruins, etc.
I've heard good things about the Greenwood Forgotten Realms book as well.
You can probably also find sourcebooks specific to Waterdeep, Neverwinter, etc. though I don't know the specific titles.
The point is that generally speaking the edition doesn't matter when it comes to background materials, physical descriptions, major characters, history, politics, factions, maps, etc. It just doesn't. So do yourself a favor and buy this stuff cheap from older editions.
Also, keep in mind that while you are building off of an existing world, and there is something cool about that, the minute you start to play in it it's YOUR world. None of these sourcebooks are going to have every single detail fleshed out, and often will just give you the flavor of a particular city, a few major landmarks, etc. From there on you should create your own landmarks, taverns, interesting characters, history, etc.
This is the book that I use a lot:
http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786918365/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417478819&sr=1-2&keywords=FOrgotten+Realms
Here are more:
http://www.amazon.com/Greenwood-Presents-Elminsters-Forgotten-Realms/dp/0786960345
Neverwinter book:
http://www.amazon.com/Neverwinter-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Supplement/dp/0786958146/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417478789&sr=1-4&keywords=Neverwinter+source+book
Waterdeep book:
http://www.amazon.com/City-Splendors-Waterdeep-Roleplaying-Supplement/dp/0786936932/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417478895&sr=1-1&keywords=Waterdeep
http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Realms-Atlas-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0880388579/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417478853&sr=1-3&keywords=FOrgotten+Realms
Hope that helps. Also buy 4th edition stuff now if you ever think you want it. Lots of stores are having fire sales moving their 4th ed stuff.
There are 2 books that are a great start to the book series artifact cycle 1 and artifact cycle 2. They are the first 5 books in the whole series. The first one is the Thran and the brothers war. The second one is Planswalker, time stream, and bloodlines. They are a good read if you can find them for cheap.
The artifacts saga vol 1 (The Thran and the Brothers War) is around $13 used.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0786953055/ref=mw_dp_olp?ie=UTF8&condition=all
I don't think I've heard of either of them having a novel. MSG has a novel but I have never heard of Thunderbolt having one.
For light reads, there are All You Need Is Kill with its take on alien monster invasions and groundhog day-like time loop, and Kino no Tabi which has chapters that explore some interesting sci-fi themes.
There are also Legend of the Galactic Heroes and the original Gundam's novel adaptation, but I wouldn't say that they're fit for light reads.
Well, it's certainly more rare than this printing.
In any case, I remember my middle school's library had these particular books. I was pretty stoked to read them, then got a pretty big surprise when I read Amuro boned Sayla and ends up dying. So much for Zeta and CCA.
I'm mostly into litRPG so that's what my recommendations will focus on.
everybody loves large chests was already a great webnovel but the author also published on amazon. you can still read it for free on royal road if you want. it features a truly evil monster as primary character who was never human to begin with, so it's quite a different take on the litRPG genre.
life reset is a VR based litRPG with the focus on the MC having been turned into a monster character against his will and ending up stuck in the VR world, with emphasis on city building.
Awaken Online is also a VR based litRPG but the main character kinda turns into a big villain. sort of.
Dodge Tank combines an interesting post-apocalytpical but very futuristic 'real' world combined with a VR world.
The Land/Chaos Seeds transportation litRPG with a bit of a contentious author who has a tendency to shove every fun idea he has into the story at the expense of actual story progression, but if you like the idea of city building litRPG I'd certainly still recommend it. there are plenty of other aspects that make up for it.
I've been reading Awaken Online, a story about a full dive vr mmo - I've been listening to the audiobook and would definitely recommend it. MC is literally a necromancer king in his own kingdom by the end of the first book. He might not necessarily be evil - but the rest of the world treats him like a villain, he regularly commits virtual mass murder, ritualistic murder and psychological warfare. Later in the story >!he's even put on unofficial trial in the real world for it.!< Lot's of political intrigue and diving into the mechanics of the magic and the world, not very deeply but definitely enough to tickle that munchkinry trope, >!at one point the game nerfs him and his abilities specifically because he exploited it so bad.!<
Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, and Confrontation is a Yoshiyuki Tomino-penned reinterpretation of the original events of the OYW.
https://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Suit-Gundam-Escalation-Confrontation/dp/1611720052/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=gundam+awakening+escalation+confrontation&qid=1566621123&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Mobile Suit Gundam (the original series)
One of the most underrated sci-fi series of all time. Below is the link to the novels that inspired the anime series. If you’re into novels.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation https://www.amazon.com/dp/1611720052/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_52hxCbFHTQW33
If you’re into manga or anime, HIGHLY recommend reading the origin series. It’s a more fleshed out version of the 1979 anime series. There’s 12 volumes I believe. Read the reviews for some perspective.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Vol. 1- Activation https://www.amazon.com/dp/193565487X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_35hxCbD65GJPM
Gundam has so many series that it can seem overwhelming to approach. The manga above is a great way to get into the main series. Space-opera, compelling characters, the lines of good vs bad are blurred. It’s commentary that frighteningly mirrors our society written by people who grew up in the post-WWII/post-Atomic bomb drop in Japan era. The over arching theme is that despite the tragedy that is war, there is an inherent goodness that humans are capable of.
I love it when people listen and are open to things that they have not read. http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Suit-Gundam-Escalation-Confrontation/dp/1611720052
I know, I've read these. But the edition I have is a later version with corrected spelling.
This one
I think the English translation of Tomino's 0079 books (Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation) are out of print again. You can buy the compilation used for around $15. You could also try your local library (they may be more likely to have The Origin series).Update: It seems that they are still in print. Amazon only has a couple but says more are on the way.
Here's the Google Books link where you can preview the book.
Edit: Goodreads page. "A Great Read" -Asian Reporter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1611720052/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1502327204&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&amp;keywords=mobile+suit+gundam+novel&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51dwlkDL2zL&amp;ref=plSrch
The other versions are pretty awesome. I bought the Book of Sith vault edition a while back. So worth it.
Book of Sith
The Bounty Hunter Code
The Jedi Path
You can find the Jedi Path here, the Bounty Hunter's Code here and the Book of Sith here.
This is also not SWTOR per-se, but is a a super-cool gift for any Star Wars fan: Book of Sith Vault or The Jedi Path.
Sorry for the long links but I'm on mobile. I use these. Yes they are intended as dnd monsters but the creatures are very easily adaptable. I'm using these 2 books for inspiration in a dungeon world game at the moment.
Tome of Beasts https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781565/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wKGzCbCPJ9KQ8
Creature Codex https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781921/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6HGzCbN9F22K2
My bad, I was thinking of "Necromancer Awakening"
Have you looked into the "Play to Live" series? Its quite a bit darker than LMS but its one of my favorites. http://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1421864024&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=play+to+live&amp;pebp=1421864028692&amp;peasin=B00LYJOII6
Most people who start it end up finishing the entire translated series in several days.
D. Rus' Play to Live series has pretty epic battles centered around capturing and protecting player guild castles starting from book 3 on.
If you can ignore the occasional typos, the World at War series contains nice large scale virtual reality battles, but with guns instead of magic. The MC's company/guild does try to earn the top spot from an underdog position though.
The Spineward Sectors series isn't really virtual reality or fantasy, but sci-fi, and the battles are with starships, but from what I recall I would call them large scale where the MC has to try and hold his spot as Admiral.
If you have Amazon Prime, you can borrow the first book for free! https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01J0E8Z8A
If you haven't found it yet you may want to check out [Royal Road](https://www.royalroad.com/home).
Wandering Inn is a book in the litrpg sub-genre, and r/litrpg is where I look for books sometimes. A lot of the litrpg books are on Kindle Unlimited. Two of the best series I've read thru KU are [Awaken Online](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J0E8Z8A?ref_=dbs_pwh_calw_0&storeType=ebooks) and the [Viridian Gate](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MU0DYXW?ref_=dbs_pwh_calw_0&storeType=ebooks) series
Do you mean hardback copies? As far as I know, the individual novels only come in paperback. There is the Collector's Edition, which combined first 17 volumes in one hardback monster of a book, but it isn't really recommended for casual reading. If you just mean physical copies, those should be pretty widely available.
And good luck avoiding the spoilers, since they are pretty much on all the promotional material and even on cover of some of the later volumes (vol. 17 especially). I wouldn't worry too much about them though, as the story doesn't rely on spoilers too much.
I just received confirmation that the copy I ordered on September 1st is guaranteed to be a numbered edition. If you have questions about yours, you should also include references to the numbered (first print) and unnumbered (second print) on amazon.com, it will make the process much easier.
Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
This sounds cool, and if it sounds cool to you I can't recommend strongly enough the Conrad Stargard books from Leo Frankowski http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Time-Engineer-Adventures-Conrad-Stargard/dp/0345327624/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1317995127&amp;sr=1-7
An accidental time traveller suddenly and unexpectedly finds himself in thirteenth-century Poland, and knowing that the Mongols are about to invade he sets to bringing about the industrial revolution.
Cross Time Engineer deals with it by moving the action to Poland, and making the claim that the Polish language hasn't changed much since the Middle Ages.
The Cross-Time Engineer
Swan Song - Robert McCammon Of the books I read last year this was my favorite.
Old Man's War - John Scazi - It's a pretty fun Military Sci-fi series
Leviathan Wakes - S. A. Corey - Near space, space opera.
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson - Epic Fantasy with an interesting magic system, good place to start with a popular author
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - "Grimm Dark" fantasy, he does an interesting thing by playing with a LotR style quest.
The Black Prism - Brent Weeks - Interesting Magic system, one of my favorite ongoing fantasy series. Much better than his first trilogy IMHO
Midnight Riot - Ben Aaronovitch - Funny urban fantasy series that takes place in London
His Majesty's Dragon - Namoi Novik - Napoleonic* war + dragon's, fun quick reads.
Sevenes - Neal Stephenson - Stand Alone sci-fi novel about human's trying to survive in space as the world ends.
I can suggest more if you want, and I assume you've probably read at least some of these. Hope you enjoy some of them at least though.
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik introduces dragons to the Napoleonic Wars and the main non-dragon character is a British sailor
https://www.amazon.com/His-Majestys-Dragon-Temeraire-Book/dp/0345481283
If you're looking for fairly light, escapist type lit, you might try Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Quick, humorous reads, similar in style to Douglas Adams, but more fantasy than sci-fi.
I'd also suggest the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. The Napoleonic Wars + dragons. Again, fairly quick reads and not super heavy, but they're just enjoyable books to escape into for a bit.
World War Z by Max Brooks: Oral history of the zombie war, and surprisingly more thoughtful than you might expect.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Gorgeous book about a German girl during WWII, narrated by Death.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time.
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler: Dana has also become unstuck in time. She's a modern black woman who finds herself suddenly transported, over and over, into the time of slavery.
Kushiel's Dart (and the rest of the Kushiel series) by Jacqueline Carey: I don't know if this would be up your alley or not, but it's definitely one of my "islands," as you put it. Be forewarnd that there is explicit BDSM sex within.
Peter S. Beagle's works are another of my "islands." He's one of the most often underrated and overlooked living fantasy authors, IMO. The Last Unicorn is his best known, and it's a thing of beauty. I also really like A Fine and Private Place.
Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds - this is a /r/scifi favourite but in this case, at least for this book, it's a very similar setting to the original Alien
This sounds very similar to a something in Revelation Space. I started reading this trilogy because it sounded like it had a similar plot. I've made it through two of the books and I really enjoyed them. Maybe this is kind of a reference to that?
> The sun killer arrives twice every generation looking for our people.
Could this possibly work as the first line? This line coming first might set up the impending sense of demise that your great, last line "I think again about how it’s likely the three of us will die." works towards. I think it might make for nice bookends to this piece.
Also, and this isn't any fault of yours, but I just got through reading Revelation Space and there is a nefarious "character" called Sun Stealer that is used all through the book as a malevolent force. Your entity called Sun Killer really reminded me of this since they seem a little bit similar. Might be something to think about since the book is quite famous and other sci-fi fans might also be aware of a slight similarity.
I guess the only other thing I noticed was that you start off with some descriptive action but then as it continues we get some back story that's hard to feel the weight of given that all we have experienced so far is a rock slide. I suppose what I'm not feeling is the power of the sun killer because we're only being told about it, and not shown.
"Show, don't tell" is the #1 rule of writing. Any chance you get to show something and not tell us about something is where the writer earns his paycheck. By showing us you are letting us, the readers, do the work of imagining the events and characters of the story. But when we are told we are forced to have to just sit in the passenger seat and not be allowed to let our imaginations run with your words.
EDIT : Show, don't tell is a really hard rule to abide so don't sweat it too much since you will have to tell from time to time and depending on the story - it's just something to be aware of.
Still though, I really like the blunt and heartfelt last line "I think again about how it’s likely the three of us will die." There is such an inevitable finality to this and if you can link this up tighter with the character and the power of the sun killer then you'll have gold here.
He's honestly closer to Tavi, from Codex Alera
(OOC: Have you read Codex Alera? Similar premise (monster control is a part of society), well-thought out, great story.)
Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, starting with Furies of Calderon might fit the bill, it follows a magic-less protagonist in a society where magic is so common place it's used to turn on lights and faucets, and strength of magic is almost directly proportional to your place in society. He definitely depends on his wits, but doesn't really have the dry sense of humor though.
I loved Soldiers in the Shadows: Unknown Warriors Who Changed the Course of History
Fiction:
Furies of Calderon. 5 parts. The good guys fight roman style but with magic based on the elements. The bad guys varies from book to book.
Harald. Very different language style in the book. Medieval type warfare without magic or monsters. Pretty good.
http://www.amazon.com/Furies-Calderon-Codex-Alera-Book/dp/044101268X
Each book gets better and better. It has a different twist on fantasy with the "born with a 'fury'" thing going on. Tons of political intrigue that is actually interesting compared to blah blah skip a page in other fantasy books....IDK
Highly recommend this!
ugh i've finished everything worthwhile in my local library been reading e-books but running low on those as well
heres some off the top of my head.. be warned these are more character driven then anything else... I hate books with a giant cast of characters ( though malazan was an exception )
Old Shit:
The Fionavar Tapestry (fantasy)
http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Tree-Fionavar-Tapestry-Book/dp/0451458222/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1279523697&amp;sr=1-2
Farseer Trilogy (fantasy)
http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Apprentice-Farseer-Trilogy-Book/dp/055357339X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1279523843&amp;sr=1-1
New Shit:
First Law Trilogy (fantasy)
http://www.amazon.com/Blade-Itself-First-Law-Book/dp/159102594X/ref=pd_sim_b_1
The Name of the Wind (fantasy)
http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicles-Day/dp/0756405890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1257193424&amp;sr=1-1
Codex Alera (fantasy)
http://www.amazon.com/Furies-Calderon-Codex-Alera-Book/dp/044101268X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1279524012&amp;sr=1-1
Here's the first book on Amazon, it has the rest of them on there too. I'm sure you can just pick them up at the library, but Amazon does a good job of giving you a preview and some reviews and stuff.
The only problem I have with the series is the cover art on the first couple books. They don't resemble characters in the book at all. Heck, they hardly even resemble scenes in the book!
Other than that, Bluemoonflame got it right. It also happens to be a "rags to riches" story following the main character Tavi.
Jim Butcher's Codex Alera is a wonderful bit of fantasy. Magic is set up in a pretty novel way, slightly akin to Avatar or Legend of Korra, with a lot more nuance. LOTS of political posturing and backstabbing, very much in the vein of aSoIaF. And if you've ever read Jim Butcher, he is occasionally funny as hell.
http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Philosophy-Knight-Blackwell-Culture/dp/0470270306
Very interesting read. I'm not highly educated in politics and philosophy themes, as I'm an engineer, but I find inspiring that our generation is now even comparing seriously elemental situations of humanity into what once started as entertainment story books; at least our new writers for Batman address him with more endeavour his projection in our society that we can relate.
I might give it a try to Batman and Philosophy and see what else is there that could relate to modern political situations.
almost my entire "paper books" WL is things i want used copies of, including this one. i need this book because it's constantly recommended as an older fantasy novel that doesn't get enough attention AND as a strong female protagonist.
Buying a book is not about obtaining a possession, but about securing a portal.
The Deed of Paksenarrion: A Novel
Definitely try The Deed of Paksenarrion, then. Might take you a week to read. :)
The Deed of Paksenarrion is a wonderful series. Follows a woman from farmhand to hero in a wonderful way that feels...just different, but familiar. If you've ever played DnD it actually feels a lot like a really well written campaign. All three can be found in a single book here
This isn't an adaptation but it might be what you're looking for..? http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765323117
Lately I've been ruminating on the Dark Elf Trilogy. I read it years ago, but I liked it a lot. If I recall, I once saw u/mistborn at The Dragon's Keep, and he liked that trilogy too.
I hope sci-fi is okay. Most of the time it's fantasy set in a different era.
no Dark Elf trilogy?
You can find physical copies of most older books on amazon for like $4.
Half price books, abebooks, thrift stores and shopping around for ebooks are all also options.
If you are looking for specific books there are some pretty reasonably priced compilations out there.
The Belgariad volumes one and two can be gotten for around $14.
All ten volumes of The Chronicles of Amber can be purchased for about $12.
All three volumes of the Dark Elf Trilogy can be purchased for around $12.
If you look around there are some pretty great deals out there.
This book from 3E. Its actually one of the absolute best written D&D books covering a setting there is. Stunningly detailed. Pick it up on Amazon if you can.
https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786918365/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1509952365&amp;sr=8-1-fkmr2&amp;keywords=forgotten+realms+3e
Is this the one you are referring to?
http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786918365/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459344620&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=forgotten+realms+campaign+setting
The Magic Artifacts Cycle 1 and Artifacts Cycle 2 are great, just skip the Thran novel in cycle 1 to read once you finish Brothers war and cycle 2. Brother War in cycle 1 is probably my favorite book.
First off, get the two Artificat books, it is a collection of the stories from Urza's Saga.
Book 1
Which covers the Thran who were 3000 years before Urza and the growing up of Urza until he becomes a planeswalker.
and
Book 2
Which covers Urza as he travels the multiverse, realizes the threat that the Phyrexians really are, and starts his defense against them on Dominaria.
Then, read the Ice Age trilogy by Jeff Grubb.
Ice Age Cycle
Which covers what happens during the Ice Age on dominaria while Urza is away on his exploration. There are a lot more stories out there, but these should really grab you into the awesomeness that the story used to be.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=4774046&amp;postcount=52
This is order that I'm using to read the books. I'm also going to go with the crowd and say that The Brother's War is a very good book, and the best place to start. It was recently reprinted in the Artifacts Cycle I omnibus, but don't read the first book until much later.
The Otherland series by Tad Williams might be what you're looking for. There's four books in the series, and it deals mostly with a futuristic virtual reality game world. Can't tell you more than that without spoiling it.
Believe it or not there are quite a few good sci-fi books exploring these ideas already. Here is an incomplete list you may want to check out:
[This is the first sci-fi series] (http://www.amazon.com/City-Golden-Shadow-Otherland-Volume/dp/0886777631) I read as an adult. I remember enjoying it but it was almost 15yrs ago.
Other works of fiction that contain the concept of a metaverse;
Books
Anime and Manga
Film
----
I know I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the genre, because if there's one thing humans are good at, it's writing fucktons on what we like.
So feel free to comment additions to this list, or opinions on what I've currently included. I have by no means read/watched all of these, so having someone with actual experience with each of these weigh in would be nice.
I can greatly recommend the Beginner's Box. It's not free, but if you split the cost among 4 players and DM it goes down to 7 Euro each. https://www.amazon.de/Pathfinder-DEC132328-Pathfinder-Rollenspiel-Einsteigerbox/dp/1601256302/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmrnull_2?crid=2VCG2RCWEDPKJ&amp;keywords=pathfinder+beginner+box&amp;qid=1556896408&amp;s=gateway&amp;sprefix=Pathfinder+beginner+&amp;sr=8-2-fkmrnull
It uses a simplified ruleset that can be used up to level 5 and you can upgrade the characters to the core rules anytime you want. Plus there is an adventure included, some pawns, 4 pregenerated characters (5 if you include the barbarian you can download) and a map. And you can download additional adventures at Ulisses Spiele.
Also the character sheets are just two Din A4 pages with all information neatly arranged. So you can test the whole system for weeks on end before committing to buy more.
I personally learned to play with the beginner box rules and from there it was easy to expand via AoN and the likes. I just think it's much easier to get started if you have a book you can read back to front
Ah. Yeah, sorry you bought the wrong product if you want to get in to Pathfinder =(
It's not your fault though! There are a ton of products for Pathfinder. If you want to get started in it, I'd suggest getting the Beginner box if you are completely new to tabletop RPGs, or going directly to the Pathfinder Core Rule Book if you feel more confident about it all.
The way the game is played is that you have a party of people (usually 3-5 people) who are role playing as various characters doing their thing in the world, and one more person (the DM, GM, Sotryteller, whatever name you call him) who is the world. He plays all the non-player characters, the monsters, the environment, all of it.
If you have any specific questions, I'm more than happy to answer them!
The Spice and Wolf Anniversary Collector's Edition that I got weigh 6.7 pounds/4 Kg.
Update: New Amazon.com listing is up for the second run, but it's still saying not available, and is furthermore not being sold on the international sites at all (page 404s). Very odd developments…
I'm seriously considering it to get the translation done (I'd be willing to pay for the book since I'd ultimately keep it). I'll have to do some more looking into what that would cost and the logistics of it.
Edit: Unfortunately the more I look into what a translation would take, the less I think it's something I'll be able to get done. Since getting it translated would be my ultimate goal, I'm a lot less inclined to try to purchase the book myself.
Regarding organizing a fan translation: Logistically, getting a fan translation of a book is incredibly difficult to do; it takes a very, very long amount of time and oversight to get done right (having been a close follower of many fan translations or attempted ones from Japanese novels). There also has to be a significant following of the books to have the human resources to get it done which, unfortunately I don't think the portion of our sub interested in it can offer compared to other fan-translated books of say, Japanese Light Novels. I considered reaching out to some anime fansub groups that I've followed for a while about interest (or independent Japanese LN translators I've spoke with in the past), but they're so strapped with what they already do on top of their IRL jobs that it would just be insensitive to ask and would take an indeterminable amount of time for one person to do even if they wanted to (we're talking not within a year for an estimated ~200 pages). Even if I tried to organize such a thing the timing is really bad for me now (which is why I wanted to look at hiring out a translation) since I'm in the middle of finishing law school finals, then prepping full-time for my Bar exam, then transitioning into a full-time career.
Doing it any other way, such as paying someone to translate it, just isn't practical and is much more costly than I would have ever anticipated. Standard rates appear to be ~$0.10 minimum per word to do which, assuming the book is somewhere around 200 pages would bring the cost to over $5k USD. That seems to be more than I'd be able to raise if I tried, and frankly it's more money than I'd want to manage via crowdfunding even if I could.
If i can grab one of these on auction for around $150 USD on auction I'll probably go for it and see if I can get some kind of translation organized in my free time, but we'll just have to see. I'm not too keen on spending more for a book I may never be able to read than I did for a hard-bound, professionally translated anthology of books a couple weeks ago. Sorry all. Also, apologies for the wall of text, I didn't want people thinking I was just talking out my ass when I mentioned trying to make a translation happen - I really did look into it and it's just not practical as someone who can speak/read only enough Japanese to get around as a tourist.
That thing weigh like 5 pounds and the text is both tiny and has 2 normal pages as one page, separated by a blank column and is like $400
But seriously. All 20 books plus Wolf and Parchment are on Amazon so with Prime shipping it doesnt really matter if you buy them all separately or not.
When I made the plunge from anime to mangas and LNs. It snowballed hardcore after I got one touch of the stuff. I started out buying the Spice and Wolf Anniversary Collector's Edition of the light novels and it quickly devolved from there.
Since that purchase about 3 weeks ago I have bought many intro manga volumes and LNs.
I'd say I'm pretty deep at this point.
I have all the LN + the special summary.
Just wanted the summary, cause it's a nice collectable.
This one: https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Anniversary-Collectors-Isuna-Hasekura/dp/0316469920
And got it for free, cause Amazon was incompetent with shipping the thing from UK to GER
Yup! All 18 Volumes tightly packed into a Collector's Edition!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spice-Wolf-Anniversary-Collectors-Ayakura/dp/0316469920/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=AGW8BEN4P90Y9BY1409C
Yesterday according to this. I have literally no idea anymore.
Here's a link just because I like the cover art :)
In fiction: Footfall by Pournelle & Niven.
We really need to agree on what we're talking about, in terms of scale and capability and mission. If we assume humanity is constrained by physics as we presently understand them, we're effectively limited to the solar system. So what's the mission of this space navy- defend against hypothetical alien invaders? (Good luck.) Protect a nation's access to off-Earth resources? Exploration? Defense of national space outposts? Talking about power projection is tricky if you don't know what your objectives are.
(If you assume humanity has faster-than-light travel then all bets are off and society is probably unrecognizable.)
deal. i just started footfall, but i'm dling neuromancer right now, and that's next. :)
You basically described the premise of Footfall there, though their ship was a fusion ship that they built using a previous races plans.
The Cross-Time Engineer is similar as well.
Leo Frankowski's Cross-Time Engineer series is a fascinating look at exactly this. One of my favourites.
http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Time-Engineer-Adventures-Conrad-Stargard/dp/0345327624
The Crosstime Engineer.
A Polish engineer accidently gets back in time to 1230 AD, so he gets the Industrial Revolution started so that Poland can fight off the Mongols when they show up in 1240.
The last book has knights shooting stream powered machine guns, special forces soldiers in plate armor, and small airplanes dropping gunpowder bombs on the Mongol Horde. Fun stuff.
You might enjoy the Time Crossed Engineer by Leo Frankowski: what happens when a professional engineer is accidentally back in time to 1231 AD in Medieval Poland.. just ten years before the Mongols are scheduled to invade.
It's a time travel story written by an engineer who just liked to play with the idea of what a modern day (well, 1980s engineer) engineer could do if stranded. But he starts from scratch and builds up. I liked it twenty years ago. Not sure if it still holds up.
https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Time-Engineer-Adventures-Conrad-Stargard/dp/0345327624
There's actually a series of books that follow this topic rather nicely. It is about an engineer who unexpectedly warps back to medieval Poland. He promptly goes to work using his knowledge to level up society.
The Cross-Time Engineer (Adventures of Conrad Stargard, Book 1) on Amazon.
I don't recall in which book it takes place, but a nice plot point is his realization of the significance of the date: the Mongol invasion is not very far away, so he better get cracking on preparing where he is to defend against the onslaught.
DO dragons as Victorian naval ship air warfare count? http://www.amazon.com/His-Majestys-Dragon-Temeraire-Book/dp/0345481283
His Majesty's Dragon has an interesting take on Dragons. It's the first book in the Temerarie series. It's an alternative history story set in the 1800s where Dragons are used in the UK military. It's been a while since I've read it, but it's well written and unique concept. Definitely worth a read. You can get here on Amazon or here on Audible or here on Barnes & Noble.
There's also Seraphina, which is a murder mystery in a high court. The accused killers, are dragons. It follows a young court musician as she tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. This one is very interesting, but it's geared towards a young adult audience. I still enjoyed it a lot, but keep that in mind if you look into it. It can be found here on Amazon or here on Audible or here on Barnes & Noble.
There's also Dragonflight, which has a lot of the inspiration for the "Dragonrider" character concept concept. It's also a series called The Dragonriders of Pern. I'm a little more wary of recommending this one. It's good, but it's also harder to read. It has just a touch of that old sci-fi slowness from the 60s, but if you can get past that it's pretty good. It's available here on Amazon or here on Audible or here on Barnes & Noble.
Those are the only Dragon-specific books I can think of at the moment. If I come up with anymore I'll add them. If you want any other book recommendations I'd be happy to help.
Edit: Added Dragonflight.
The Revelation Space series by Alistair Reynolds. It follows a cast of characters who are investigating the disappearance of an ancient alien race on a planet several light years from Earth. People, pigs and primates all work together to avoid certain deeeath.
Sounds like a weapon from Relevation Space.
[edit] For those who don't know what that is, it's a great SF book. There is a space ship containing dozen of mysterious kida evil half-self-aware doomsday devices built by advanced human race which is no longer around. SLAM seems to fit right in :P
Here is the first book of the series on amazon
Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, starting with Furies of Calderon and going from there. I really enjoy the character development and the interesting use of magic.
One of my favorite series...I'm getting ready to read it again soon.
You really have to start from the beginning. The second trilogy is almost impossible to keep track of if you don't read them one on top of the other.
Jim Butcher my mistake. I've been fatigued as hell all week.
I thought this was an interesting read.
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Philosophy-Dark-Knight-Soul/dp/0470270306/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1511194615&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=batman+and+philosophy
There is also this.
I found a book at Barnes & Noble about the time 'Batman Begins' was released all about Batman relating different philosophical quandaries. The arguments for/against each question were argued by philosophers and social scientists.
Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the soul
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Philosophy-Dark-Knight-Soul/dp/0470270306
edit i cannot for the life of me find this book now, and i don't remember the arguments for/against this particular issue but i think it came up
>dark knight of the soul
By St. Batman of the Cross? :)
Edit: this is apparently a thing
Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul is the book the video is based on, chapter two is the one that address these issues (I did an earlier video on chapter one and I plan to continue).
http://amzn.to/2uTOFbq (same link you posted)
I haven't found any other books pertaining to batman and Philosophy (alone) and I've searched pretty hard myself.
I'm not sure if you're referring to another book you can't find or if you mean that you can't find this one in an old fashion book store. I got my copy on Amazon.
Here are some good books I've read on Batman. The first one is also about Batman and philosophy (and also Superman). The rest are somewhat varied but interesting.
Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout?
http://amzn.to/2uWVCXG
Hunting the Dark Knight: Twenty-First Century Batman
http://amzn.to/2uXqQhw
Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight
http://amzn.to/2f6zJBp
Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero
http://amzn.to/2vgWtoT
If I come across another book I'll be sure to post it here, especially if I think it's the one you're looking for.
Read The Deed of Paksenarrion and you will no longer wonder what a Paladin is.
As for their real-world inspirations, look to the court of Charlemange and the Holy Roman Empire. See Paladin and Palatine.
I'll throw in The Deed of Paksenarrion. It has some shortcomings, but if you get into it you're in for a treat. Some suspension of disbelief is very practical when reading fantasy :)
If you haven't already... and was asoiaf really your first fantasy? Anyway, if you haven't already, check out Pratchett's Discworld books.
You have so much wonderful reading ahead of you! I am almost a tiny bit jealous. :-)
Try Tamora Pierce's novels for sure. They are all good, but her earlier books are geared more towards young readers than some of her newer ones. Personally, I would start with the [Protector of the Small] (http://www.amazon.com/First-Test-Protector-Small-1/dp/0375829059/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1407034954&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=first+test) series. If you like it, you can go back and read the two earlier Tortall series (the Song of the Lioness series and the Wild Magic series). If you like it but find it a little juvenile, read the [Daughter of the Lioness] (http://www.amazon.com/Tricksters-Choice-Daughter-Lioness-Book/dp/0375828796/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1407035106&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=tricksters+choice) series and the [Beka Cooper] (http://www.amazon.com/Terrier-Legend-Beka-Cooper-Book/dp/0375838163/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1407035135&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=becca+cooper) series instead.
For the Arthurian element, definitely consider the Mists of Avalon, which is the Arthurian myth retold from all female POVs, including Morgaine (aka Morgan Le Fay).
However, without a shadow of a doubt, my all time favorite fantasy novel with a female POV is the Deed of Paksenarrion, by Elizabeth Moon. It's actually a trilogy published as an omnibus edition and is one of my all-time favorite books. I have read it a million times and I still feel the same sense of joy when I get ready to start reading it again. Honestly, I can't really describe the impact this book has had on me, especially as a woman who loves fantasy and sci-fi. I hope you will give it a try!
*edited to add links and fix a few embarrassing typos!
I finished The Deed of Paksenarrion (it's a three book trilogy released as one) by Elizabeth Moon this summer and I adored it. Lengthy character build-up, a beautifully described world setting, and really enjoyable if you're looking for a fantasy novel with a female main character.
Elizabeth Moon's The Deed of Paksenarrion is quite good.
And while not female centric, de Lint's Newford books manage to represent strong and believable female characters well.
Might be a little too mature for an 11 year old, but I'd recommend Little Brother and Homeland by Cory Doctorow.
I'd recommend you reading them as well. Some pretty good common-man explanations of some core security topics.
I'd been having some problems getting into reading in elementary school. It's not that I couldn't do it, it's more that nothing I had was interesting to me. Then I found my brother's copy of Homeland by R.A. Salvatore. It was the first book in a three book series. I read the entire series in three days. I did nothing but read for three days. I wasn't hungry, I wasn't tired, all I wanted was to read. There were times I wasn't consciously aware of what I was reading. . . but the narrative formed in my mind none the less. It was fantastic.
Just looking around a bit, I found these three possible novels:
Although, all of these have differences to what you described.
---
These are in a similar vein, but are missing important details, so I doubt they're what you're looking for. Figured I'd mention them anyway:
I've probably not been much help, but hope you got something useful/enjoyable out of this!
:)
RA Salvatore -- the Dark Elf Trilogy
Excellent stories, wonderful protagonist and fantastic writing
Oh man, he absolutely looks like a Rocko.
Or maybe a Ted?
good luck naming him though! Beautiful animal.
I would definitely read this to my dog, she's spoiled and needs to be tucked in for bed.
But this is just for me.
The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting may be exactly what you're looking for if you haven't already read it. It's written as a combination history tome/encyclopedia.
Here it is on Amazon
You don't NEED to. Anything you need is in the book really. You can get older campaign setting material (I think 3e's is the closest to 5e in "timeline" since they basically retconned what 4e did to the setting).
The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (SCAG) is 4/5ths lore for the very region that their adventures are set in.
There is a pretty active Forgotten Realms wiki.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sword_Coast
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sword_Coast_North
2e book http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Volo%27s_Guide_to_the_Sword_Coast
3e Campaign Setting
https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786918365
Happy to help!
Getting started... hmm... I think everyone will have different advice on this. Here's mine.
Give your players a reason to band together in the game, a challenge that requires all of their different skills, or an enemy tough enough that all of them really feel like they've contributed to defeating it.
One thing I'd try to do is start with smaller, one-off, episodic adventures - perhaps short enough to resolve in one or two sessions. You can start linking this into your grand, complex campaign narrative soon enough, but to start with this will give everyone a nice feeling of accomplishment. Delayed gratification is a great tool for later on, but it's nice to start by establishing a proper sense of having achieved something.
World-building is a great way to build immersion. When they visit the tavern they could hear rumours about what's happening in distant lands, some of which they might want to follow up! It helps if things make sense - why is this town here? What is this dungeon, why has it fallen into evil hands? What motivates character x to do action y? Politics? Religion? History? Geography?
This can be a HUGE amount of work for a committed DM (though it's also fun!). A nice way to get into this kind of depth without so much work is to get hold of a campaign setting (I like the 3E Forgotten Realms one: http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786918365/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1381667228&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=forgotten+realms+campaign+setting) and use that as a starting point. Or, even better - just set it in a universe you're already nerdily knowledgeable about. Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Greendale Community College, etc... carve out your own corner.
Hey man, browsing through top posts so sorry for replying 2 months afterwords, but this art is specifically for Magic the Gathering, which has an incredibly unique magic system, both the game and the lore of the myriad of planes it takes place in.
There are some books about this, I've read one called the Artifact Cycle I (which is actually 2 stories in 1 book) and I loved it. Also at the MtG website lots of articles about these planes get posted.
So if you just want to delve into all of this amazing magic, there you go, or it's a great place for inspiration if you are creating your own stuff.
On a quick note, this book is truly awful. The plot is a convoluted mess, the characters are shallow, flat, or completely unrealistic, and the language switches from 'overly verbose English major' to 'under medicated pre-teen'.
If you're looking for good Magic novels, go for the Artifacts cycle of books.
If you want something more recent, I would recommend the recent Planeswalker novels.
Amazon has a kindle version of Brother's War for 5 USD. Same for all of the Artifacts Cycle books, all at 5 USD. The paper novels vary wildly in price. The Onimbus books probably the cheapest way, totaling ~100 USD (these versions also are not available as kindle books via Amazon).
Ok, possibly secret nugget of awesome: Tad Williams' Otherland series. Starts off fairly slow but when it gets going, you're in for a good, long ride, as there are four books in the series, each with nearly 1000 pages.
Also, Connie Willis has a clever, almost frenetic writing style that I really enjoy. I particularly liked To Say Nothing of the Dog but she has a number of novels that involve her own particular take on time travel.
An older classic that not everyone reads, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Like Frank Herbert, Wolfe definitely writes for adults, and also like Herbert it's hard to say whether what he has to say is really significant or if he's just pulling philosophy from his ass.
I can't believe no one has said the "Otherland" series by Tad Williams.
I think it's his best work.
Only one of the major characters doesn't know he is in a virtual reality but almost all of the characters visit multiple virtual worlds and try to discover it's secrets. There is an amazingly diverse cast of wonderfully real characters. check it out
I checked the Getting Started/Learning to Play thread and he recommends starting out with the Red Box starter set since it's only $20 but it's actually $90 on Amazon. (I PM'd him about it.) He recommends 4e or Pathfinder. The thread is old but it was updated 12 days ago.
Is this an okay alternative?: 5e D&D Starter Set
Or perhaps I should start out with the Pathfinder Beginner Box? as mentioned in the Choosing an edition thread.
I have 4 players and I would be the DM. Their attention spans tend to drift if things get TOO complicated and they are better at keeping up when someone already knows the rules instead of everyone learning at the same time. That being said, I want to be able to jump into something that will basically introduce us to the game mechanics in an easy and smooth as possible kind of way.
I really want to get into D&D with this group of friends and they already like some of the more "involved" board games in the world. I just need to keep them captivated. It might be folly to try but I want to give it a shot. I feel like there is a whole world of gaming that I am missing out on.
Thanks for the advice.
Edit: Sorry to drop this on you in this thread but I figured it was as good a place as any...
Edit: My fear is that the 5e will be overcomplicated and using Pathfinder would be easier... I don't know. Ahhh.
https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Beginner-Box/dp/1601256302/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486619272&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=pathfinder
You're going to have to spend some money. Because, no.
Phew This'll be a long a post, but certainly reward to read by the end of it. Playing D&D/Pathfinder really is the Nerdiest, Nerd thing I've ever done, and it is a lot of fun! Watch +DawnforgedCast's Session 0 video and download his checklist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0FmGxmJLiw It's meant for a GameMaster/Dungeon Master, but that checklist will help you out greatly in understanding what you want when starting out in a new group, with or without veteran players. If you aren't able to find a group locally (I don't recommend online groups for your first introduction) then taking up the mantle of leadership as the GameMaster/Dungeon Master, can be both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. However, if you're one with a vivid imagination, or are good with thinking on the fly (believe me, it gets better with time) then you'll already have a headstart on the majority of GMs out there. A great beginning module that has a little bit of everything, adventure hook (i.e., reason why your players should be doing this), NPC interaction, wilderness adventuring, dungeon crawling, is the Hollow's Last Hope module for 1st Level Players as it works for both D&D and Pathfinder. You don't really need the print version, since you can download it for FREE at Paizo's website https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Hollow%27s_Last_Hope
I greatly recommend you get the Pathfinder RPG: Beginner Box ($25-$35) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601256302 it is a different game, but the rule set is uber-simplified and honestly, superior to the D&D Starter Set ($15), and is worth the extra money. The Beginner Box literally has the all of the beginning needs for play. Pre-generated characters, blank character sheets for the four classes (Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, and Fighter) with either of the three races (Elf, Dwarf, and Human) that are easy to introduce new players to, a flip out map that you can use dry-erase- or wet-erase markers, and permanent markers on (all of which can be erased off, I use these wet-erase makers that are $9 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFGW because I'll draw camp fires with brown, yellow, orange, and red colors, green helps with trees and shrubbery, blue for water, and black for everything else), a Hero's handbook, and really, really, good GM guide, plus thick, cardboard punch-out marker pawns of various Monsters, NPCs, Player characters, and other creatures, that amount to a wealth of miniatures that would take a lot of money and time to paint them all up, plus they're easier to store in the box. Unfortunately, it only comes with one set of dice, so it wouldn't hurt to get these on these 7 sets ($12) on the cheap https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDJNE93 and pass them out to your players, or if they have their own, then you'll have plenty of extra multiples of dice, which will come in handy during combat with spellcasters and sneak attacks by Rogues. I handed them out to my players after they told me what their favorite colors were. =P
That'd would be all you'd really need to start, $30ish Beginner Box, plus $10 for markers, and $10 more if you or your players need dice. Now, what follows is what I used for my first GMing of a game, based on many different people's recommendations. In order to make combat work in a logical way that I could understand, I bought the Pathfinder Combat Pad $20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601255470, along with those wet-erase markers from earlier. It's usefulness has been far better, and worth it's price in gold, to use than a cheap $1 store notebook, when I would have to erase or rewrite when players would defeat monsters or would hold their actions, or would tell them the wrong initiative bonus to start (lol!). Again, rather use a dollar store binder, I bought the Pathfinder GM Screen $16ish https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252161, because it was short enough for me to look over rather than 3-ring binders or a paper folder at the actual game table. Speaking the table, I bought the Chessex Battlemats https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015IQO2O this is a link to the smaller one ($20), since I bought the Megamat ($35), only because I had a large table, and players could use it as a coaster for drinks too (even though I did have coasters, to prevent spillage). As an added bonus, I recently discovered the Condition cards $10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252854, to use with Pathfinder, and they are great to hand out to players (as you would already know these conditions since it's written behind the GM Screen) so they know what condition they are in at a glance. Keep in mind though, you only get 4 or each, so if you are lucky enough to have more players, it wouldn't hurt to buy an extra set (however, it would be strange if all of your players had the same condition).
Now, let's say you enjoy Pathfinder, and you bought the Core Rulebook $20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601258879 (if it's a hardcover, always look inside for the Sixth edition printing, the paperback will already be that edition) but are getting tired of looking up Monster stats online, then grab the Paperback version of the first Bestiary $16 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601258887 which has the great majority of all of the "regular" monsters in either D&D or Pathfinder. If you're not much of an artist, then there's the recently released Pathfinder Traps and Treasures Pawns Collection $25 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259719 but be warned that you only want to place on the board AFTER the players find out what it is or after they trip it since it does have text explaining what it is as a trap, and if you're use the treasure ones, make sure you add whatever is actually printed on the tile is IN the list of treasure you give the players, because they can and will ask about, "can't I grab that cup or sword, it's on the tile?" ;)
Lastly, if you enjoy being the GameMaster/Dungeon Master, the storyteller, the world builder, then I'd recommend getting the Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide $15 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259492, which again, can be applied to both RPG games. And if you what better weather effects to throw at your party than what is presented in the CRB and GMG, then Pathfinder Ultimate Wilderness $30 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259867 has all that you need, and then some, plus some cool spells and tons of new animal companions and familiars for spellcasters alike, and a new shapeshifting melee-fighting class called the Shifter, which is pretty neat to use (albeit, you may want to check out Paizo's website for any official errata or clarifications, just in case). If you want to actually create a campaign and are having a hard time coming up with ideas, locations, groups/factions, kingdoms, races, then one more purchase, which is what +DawnforgedCast used for his Pathfinder games seen here is the Inner Sea World Guide $45 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252692 It is pricey, but again, very much worth it, to create your own world or to use the pre-made world, as well. Remember, the Beginner Box, Markers, and Dice is really all you need, the rest of this is to expand out. I hope this helps you and anyone else out as well. =P
The Red Box for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons is more of a quick start than a full game. If you're wanting to run a full game in that edition, you'll want to pick up one of the following books:
I'd also recommend the Rules Compendium as it has all the rules needed to run and play the game (outside character creation).
These books are under $20 and you may be able to pick them up for less than $10 used. They're also Prime eligible (depending on the seller) on Amazon. They're also digest sized, making them easy to take with you when you travel. The Rules Compendium is available as a digital download as well.
You can also find multiple character creation programs online, such as Hero Lab that are detailed enough you don't actually need the books. I believe the Dungeons & Dragons Insider character generator is still available online. Unfortunately, these require a subscription or software purchase. Other programs can do the same thing, but they're fan created and some of them go way over what's legally allowed by the license to do.
These all assume you're wanting to stick with 4th Edition. If not, you can easily ditch it and make use of the accessories of the Red Box. If you want to go with D&D Next (the playtest of the edition that will launch this summer), you can pick up either of the Encounters seasons written for that edition because they include the playtest rules. Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle and Dreams of the Red Wizard: Scourge of the Sword Coast are available now.
You can also go with Pathfinder, which is a modified version of Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition. The Pathfinder Beginner's Box is one of the best introductory bundles I've ever seen, and it has rules for character creation and advancement for 1st through 5th levels (though you're limited to Fighter, Wizard, Rogue, and Cleric and Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling). However, you can use the Pathfinder Reference Document to expand on that for free.
Isn't there a beginner box for Pathfindet? I think it goes everything with less detail.
It comes with premade characters, a small encounter and some dice I believe. Here's the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1601256302/ref=mp_s_a_1_sc_1?qid=1452385993&amp;sr=8-1-spell&amp;pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&amp;keywords=pathfindet+beginner+box
It's never been published digitally and no one has ever bothered to scan/upload its 500+ pages; the only option is to buy the paperback.
Here are links to Amazon and Right Stuf:
Tomino's novel version is very mature.
I... might end up getting Book of the Sith.
Those "vault editions" are really cool, but do I really want to spend $65 on them? Decisions, decisions....
ETA: Fuck it, bundle them together, Amazon. Take all my money.
Yeah they're great. It's down to $60 right now on Amazon which is a great price tbh.
Yep XD
MAYTHE4THBEWITHU
R2-KT and I would really, really like This "Book of the Sith" From former 501st Member, TB2942
First off, BEST CONTEST EVER! Just thought I'd say that.
I'm not sure what the limit is but if I can get THIS MY LIFE WOULD BE COMPLETE
But this or this would be just as good :)
MAYTHE4THBEWITHU
Well this isn't exactly the item on my wishlist that I WANT...but its still pretty sick. That be this!
Pathfinder Pawns are a very good alternative to plastic minis. They won't have some of the more iconic D&D baddies like Beholders, but that is a minor complaint. I also use the Paizo battle mats but that is just because I got them for free somewhere. I lay a piece of plexi-glass over the map and just use a dry erase marker on the plexi. Way easier to clean up than the maps.
Tome of Beasts is a great supplement full of 5e monsters.
I like using the Dungeon Crawl Classics dice set. It is a simple, fun way to have "unique" monsters or abilties that roll odd dice to hit or for damage. Players always get a kick out of using something like a D30 when they roll to attack.
Have you grabbed "Tome of Beasts" from Kobold Press?
https://www.amazon.com/Beasts-Wolfgang-Baur/dp/1936781565/
It's not "official", but it's pretty high quality. Many of the creatures are pulled from their Midgard campaign setting, so that may be your best source.
Will you do the 5E Tome of Beasts?
The closest I can think of that has the same feel as the land is the "Play to Live" series by D Rus. Crunchy, covers almost every subgenre of LitRPG, including lots of base building, and a not so beloved MC.
https://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-LitRPG-Book-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6
https://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-LitRPG-Book-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6
The Land is pretty ok, you just have to get past A.K.'s writing idiosyncrasies. Everybody Loves Large Chest is an online serial. It's very gory, weird, and weirdly sexual. Ascend online is a great fantasy mmorpg. Really well written. Awaken online is very good book from the perspective of the "villain". Dark. Survival quest is pretty good Russian translated litrpg. Patch 17 is from a guy stuck in a mmorpg hell. Dragon's wrath is kind of just a town building litrpg, but is enjoyable enough. Unbound deathlord is pretty good dark book about the underdark, or whatever he calls it in that book.
Most of the traditional fantasy That I've read on unlimited is in your list. Ive lost most of my time recently on LitRPG and Urban Fantasy. Some of my Unlimited reads not in your list:
Urban:
LitRPG:
Random Wuxia (What The Cradle Series Is based on I Think?) (Side note, I went down a rabbit hole with these and others like it. Soooo many hours lost reading.):
Link, to keep others from having to search for it.
The Land (Chaos Seeds series) by Aleron Kong
I highly recommend The Second Super by Logan Rutherford. It's has 4 books already and the whole series is amazing. Very similar to Drew Hayes Super Powereds, but starts in a world new to super heroes.
I'd also recommend The Awaken Online series. Characters are in a similar age group and although it's a online RPG driven narrative, the character and story development has a similar feel to the way Super Powereds is developed. It's a fun, immersive and addictive read.
top recommendations are Secret of the Old Ones
and Awaken Online
a few things on royal road legends and check out the litrpg facebook page for more recommendations
LitRPG as a Genre is very fond of this sort of thing and it can be considered as a Sub-genre within LitRPG. You'll get a better list at /r/litrpg but some of the first things that come to mind are
This one splits opinion, i wasn't a massive fan, but a lot of people do like, and it fits well with what you are asking for.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01J0E8Z8A/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1
I really enjoyed this one - if you like LitRPG and VRMMO in general I'd recommend it.
Awaken Online,
Life Reset,
Dungeon Born,
Dodge Tank,
Sufficiently Advanced Magic,
and I believe Ready Player One also fits the LitRPG description.
Fiction: really enjoying this book and the sequel: https://smile.amazon.com/Awaken-Online-Catharsis-Travis-Bagwell-ebook/dp/B01J0E8Z8A/. Reminds me of '"Ready Player One."
Non-fiction: https://smile.amazon.com/Like-Switch-Influencing-Attracting-Winning-ebook/dp/B00IWTWO8C/. Interesting take on social engineering from a former FBI agent.
Happy to!
Awaken Online is an awesome example.
You might have heard of Ready Player One - Spielberg is producing the movie. IMO that one is one of the best books (for nerds) ever, but it is only considered to be 'light LirRPG' book.
Wait... there's an official release?!?!?! I didn't know.
Is it this one?
Are these the original novels Tomino wrote?
Sorry, I meant the novelization. When I read the Origin, I didn't remember the manga for some reason.
http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Suit-Gundam-Escalation-Confrontation/dp/1611720052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1426918873&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mobile+suit+gundam+novel
Although it is VERY different than the series, it will give you a good understanding of mobile suits, minovsky particles, newtypes, and the general ideas of why there is a war and how things got so bad. But its worth a read if your interested in gundam and want to do something besides watch a 50 episode anime. Also i definitely recommend reading mobile suit gundam the origin manga, its very good and retells the anime entirely (plus some bonus stuff)
For those wanting one too.
I ordered mine from Amazon a few years ago. Looks like it's currently out of stock but will be back again soon.
I've also seen them in book stores like Books-A-Million but that was years ago as well.
The book that has had the biggest impact on me has to be the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonumous. This book has seen me through one of the lowest point of my life and helped get me through it. As i worked through it, I felt that it was written for me back when Bill W and Dr. Bob put it together. My copy was given to me at my first meeting and with it (and my sponsor) I've managed to stay sober for almost 15 months now.
As for what I want, there is this, this, and this (all of which are unecessarily expensive, but I love all things Star Wars). I think this is far more reasonable though.
Edit: Spelling
The Jedi Path
The Book of Sith
Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide To The Force
None of these are novels, but they sound exactly like what you're looking for. The Jedi Path is an "authentic" training manual and journal written by Jedi Masters and annotated by the more popular Jedi. I assume the Book of Sith is the same thing. Jedi vs. Sith is like all the other Essential Guides out there, just a big reference manual. It's really neat.
The Darth Bane trilogy deals with Sith and their philosophy.
The New Jedi Order series (22 books) deals with an extragalactic species who cannot be sensed in the force, so a lot of the series deals with how the Jedi have to deal with that. It's really good, but it took me almost four years to finish that series.
That's the best thing I've seen all week AND it come in a holocron!
Thanks for sharing the info.
Found on Amazon - may have to get one myself.
You're missing one. Granted, it's not a WOTC product but definitely well worth it in my opinion.
To your first point, I make up cheat sheets for my players and I have the rules distilled down to about 8 pages that are quick to reference. If your players aren't going to read the PHB, then you can control how they upgrade and what spells they have. (More power to the DM! Ah ha ha ha!)
Second, I demand that players stay off the phone at the table. As a GM, I know I can get players and you will too. Rather than making it a direct confrontation though, put tools in place that speed up the game and cause them to pay attention. I use a timer during combat and give 90 seconds per player per round to take their actions. (This is a good thing to do anyway for a good number of reasons. You'll find that once the players get used to it, it's way more time than they need anyway.)
If your player knows the tropes, it's on you to get creative and challenge him. This is one where I don't have any sympathy for you. (Ok, I really do, but it's your problem not the player's.) You're basically being challenged to step up your game. If it's combat, be more obscure with your monster choices and maybe use an alternative monster manual like the Creature Codex and Tome of Beasts by Kobold Press. (I had to do this because of the veteran players at my table.) If it's puzzles, you'll just have to dig up more obscure material. For politics and NPCs, read Roger Zelazny novels for non-tropish inspiration. As far as metagaming, watch this video by Seth Skorkowsky for an alternative view: Metagaming Isn't All Bad - RPG Philosophy.
Some book stores, you can go to a Barnes and Noble and ask an employee who can have it ordered for pickup for you. Other wise you can get it on sale on amazon right now
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781565/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_18Z-zb6VDY9JY
Tome of Beasts https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781565/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_G9eKBbQ67EJCY
Tome of Beasts https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781565/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7KO-BbY8B7JKV
Creature Codex https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781921/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.JO-BbR81DXRG
If he doesn’t have much in the way of 3rd party content, I’d get him the [Tome of Beasts](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1936781565/ref=mp_s_a_1_1 ie=UTF8&qid=1523552464&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=tome+of+beasts&dpPl=1&dpID=61%2BwXcuEGfL&ref=plSrch) from Kobold Press. It’s full of enemies that are lacking in the Mm and VGtM, like high CR monsters and Fey.
Alternatively, if he likes reading, get him Matt Coville’s book [Priest](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0615512151/ref=mp_s_a_1_1 ie=UTF8&qid=1523553476&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=priest+matt&dpPl=1&dpID=41ZD3imHCkL&ref=plSrch). I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard nothing but good things. There’s also the Drizz’t series by R.A. Salvatore starting with Homeland, the Dragonlance series by Weis and Hickman, Discworld by Terry Pratchett, etc.
If he’s more into games, you could get him Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Steam. It’s basically DnD the game, if I had to describe it in a sentence.
All the books are normally around $6-10 dollars, and both the Tome Of Beasts and the game go on sale for around $30 fairly often.
Well, I had recommended it about 8 days ago, but doubt you saw the post, so http://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6/
Now move onto AlterWorld: Play to Live!
You might enjoy the LitRPG novels or Rational fiction. Try Play to Live, Survival Quest or Two Year Emperor.
> Play to Win.
is this it here?
http://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6
sounds awesome! thanks!
If you like VRMMO read AlterWorld.. its pretty good.. I definitely recommend it if you like LMS and Ark
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22812333-alterworld
Anyone who read into the series of D.Rus. (Alterworld - Play To Live) on Free Folk?
https://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-LitRPG-Play-Live-Book-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6
Yeah I tore through them pretty fast. The first couple are solid gold, but #5 and #6 kinda gets away from the good stuff a bit. http://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1452878704&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=d+rus
The type of book you're looking for is an up and coming genre called litRPG. There are quite a few over at /r/noveltranslations as many of the best ones so far are from Japan, Korea, and other non English Languages. I highly recommend the Play to Live series by Russian Author D. Rus, which you can buy from Amazon. It's a seven book series with the 6th translated book hitting (virtual) shelves in about 2 weeks.
I guess here we found the real difference - i think Subaru has a much, much better position of power compared to Naofumi. I always viewed those niche powers related to time travel as superior. It tilts me to oblivion to see how he wastes nearly all of its potential, and he doesn't even try to adjust his abilities to his use properly, like you said - on the contrary, he tries to use it less. I remembered that part thanks to you and it was another tilter for me. Istead of "sit and think for a fucking second" he just denies himself from his position of privelege/power. And he isn't even locked to a warzone like in Edge of Tomorrow, where it is much harder to bend his next respawn. By the way, am i remembering this correctly, after trying not to rely on his power too much, he just restarts his conversation with ram/rem in the end to get a desirable answer? Not relying on his powers too much you say?
Come to think about it, i don't remember how many times did Subaru die? I get it, in Edge of Tomorrow he is a military adlut person so it is much easier for him. But, you have to get used to it at some point in some form, instead it just.. never happend in a coherent manner. I remembered a few plot points that never made much sense to me - like that curse from a DOG. Nani the f? Or suddenly a whale becomes a raidboss. So its not only the duel that made me upset - everything never delivered. Pretty much every plot point after first arc never delivered for me. There was a huge cliffhanger when everybody was dead and there was a... wolf? I dont remember what was happening there but i didn't like the outcome of that either. Investigation quest about the dog was very upsetting because he didn't do a good job investigating, and if i recall correctly he found that curse dog by luck or something similarly silly. And same goes for nearly everything - i just couldn't bring myself to believe.
A sidenote: O, shiet. I just found out that those books i am currently reading were translated to english - you can take a look at them. https://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play-Live-LitRPG-Book-ebook/dp/B00LYJOII6
Edit: Oh, a guy in comments is saying that after book 3 it drops. I am already noticing it. Still, first/second books are good-to-great, i am in the middle of third one and it is still good.
Alter World is probably one of the highest quality ones out there since it has an actual physical print in Russia also available on Amazon digitally in English with a high quality translation. You can read a synopsis here. The translation speeds not to bad about 1 to 2 full books a year as well.
this is my favorite series i just started reading this one.
the first one is here https://smile.amazon.com/Land-Founding-Chaos-Seeds-Book-ebook/dp/B0172GEB68?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465083761&amp;ref_=sr_1_3&amp;s=digital-text&amp;sr=1-3
book teaser for the first one so you don't have to look
Getting eaten alive is the worst! Stabbings, maimings, and corrosive black magic are not that great either, but you really don't want to be a wolf treat!
That is the kind of hands on, “teeth on,” education you get when you are summoned to The Land.
James did not want to be summoned!
Not really... well a maybe, just a bit!
But he had certainly not AGREED to be summoned!
…
Well technically speaking he HAD agreed, but good god, who had the time to read all of that fine print when there was epic gaming to be done!
When DangerZone Industries had released the latest and greatest VRMMORPG, James, and millions of other virtual reality players, had sought purpose and self-definition in this new world. The tag line "Live the life your soul was meant for," had captured the hearts and minds of his entire generation.
"The Land," was the largest and most dynamic virtual reality game of all time. James and his friends had devoted countless hours, and become one of the top teams in the game. They were at the brink of greatness, but then there was this light! (it was predictably white, but whatever!)
When he was actually summoned to The Land, it was both disturbing and exhilarating. When he then became entangled in the eternal war of sprites and goblins, the unsavory practices of the local king, and had a memorable night at the inn called the Whistling Hen, he came to one clear conclusion: Again, getting eaten alive is really REALLY the worst!
While uncovering such deep philosophical knowledge, James will forge a place in this new world, and hopefully avoid the machinations of those who want him to destroy it. What does it mean to be a Chaos Seed anyway???
I have The Land on my Kindle list.
No, lots of "The Land" series, referring to this one: https://www.amazon.com/Land-Founding-LitRPG-Chaos-Seeds-ebook/dp/B0172GEB68/ref=sr_1_7
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
amazon.it
amazon.es
amazon.com.br
amazon.nl
amazon.co.jp
amazon.fr
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
>quintessential LitRPG novel -- the best one that's also the best example of the genre and its style
A single one doesn't exist yet.
https://www.amazon.com/Land-Founding-LitRPG-Chaos-Seeds-ebook/dp/B0172GEB68 is often how most people find the genre based solely on marketing/promotions. However, if you read the book after reading high quality fantasy novels it's likely you'll be disappointed.
The best books are in sister genres. https://www.amazon.com/Unsouled-Cradle-Book-Will-Wight-ebook/dp/B01H1CYBS6 for cultivation, and https://www.amazon.com/Sufficiently-Advanced-Magic-Arcane-Ascension-ebook/dp/B06XBFD7CB for progression fantasy.
Latest Art From The Land By Aleron Kong By Antii Hakosaari
https://smile.amazon.com/Land-Founding-LitRPG-Chaos-Seeds-ebook/dp/B0172GEB68/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1527477712&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=aleron+kong
Oh boy I'm about to say some risky shit. Ok if you are new new to the genre I recommend "The Land: Founding" by Aleron Kong https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0172GEB68?notRedirectToSDP=1&amp;ref_=dbs_mng_calw_0&amp;storeType=ebooks
The reason is he does quality work and you will probably enjoy them. The reason I said it was risky is many people have problems with him IRL. My suggestion is to ignore all of that and check out the books.
I'm a part-time author, 19 books, 20th out early next year. And although a long time ago I wrote a book that prefigures LitRPG in a lot of ways, I've been on a steep learning curve this year to catch up with where LitRPG is at. Firstly, as a reader, I've come to appreciate that the usual criteria for enjoying a book don't fully apply. I get hooked by following an MC in a gaming system, especially one with levels and skill tipping points and stay up much later than I intended to read on. This despite weak stories, poor writing, errors, etc. I'm into literary fiction as well and appreciate a book that leaves me deeply moved. But these days I'd rather read LitRPG. Of course, I prefer well-written LitRPG (Kit Falbo's Crafting of Chess and Travis Bagwell's Awaken Online spring to mind) but it's really interesting that there is a hook in LitRPG done right which is, frankly, new to fiction. If an author comes to the genre thinking they understand it (me a year ago) but don't deliver that sweet, addictive engagement with progressing in the game, then that author is going to disappoint readers, and see correspondingly negative posts. My experience here in the reddit community though, has been overwhelmingly positive and nothing like the territorial hostility and downright bullying I've seen in the LitRPG / GameLit Facebook groups. I think the reddit community is now so large that proprietorial authors and their epigones can no longer whip up a storm against new writers.
TL;DR: you should come back to the genre.
You need to buy the book to read: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J0E8Z8A
so side colors and spring log is in the main series? (the one with 1-17 books), also took a look at Amazon but they dont seem to have Parchment and Wolf, (i asusme its the one with daughters) nor can i find info where to buy via online unless its actually called Spice and Wolf: New Theory, either way they are both missing on amazon it seems.also i found this https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Anniversary-Collectors-Isuna-Hasekura/dp/0316469920/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1491817640&amp;sr=1-2&amp;keywords=spice+and+wolf does this give me all 17 books?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spice-Wolf-Anniversary-Collectors-Ayakura/dp/0316469920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480771351&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=spice+and+wolf+collectors+edition
Is this the second edition? I thought only the international edition was being sold outside North America?
Biggest height? 11”...
https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Anniversary-Collectors-Isuna-Hasekura/dp/0316469920
Holy shit, I can't believe this thread has been going on for an hour and no one has thrown out:
Same authors, different stories, great post-apocalyptic vision.
The classic "the aliens arrive, and announce themselves by dropping rocks" story is Footfall.
There is a book called Footfall, by Larry Niven, where this method of getting to space is used.
Just wanted to add Footfall to the list of stories like this. Elephant-like aliens with vastly superior technology attack Earth with a very flawed understanding of how humanity wages war.
Have you read Footfall?.
How about infinite alternate possibilities?
Lord Kalvan Of Otherwhen
Also you might enjoy The Cross-Time Engineer
I'd like to recommend The Cross-Time Engineer. Rough synopsis: a mechanical engineer falls into a time machine accidentally and winds up in the Middle Ages and tries to do what he can with what is just rattling around inside his head.
(There are also subsequent books in the series, but like Herbert's Dune series and so many other series, they really aren't nearly as good as the first one.)
Cross Time Engineer is literally this exact story. Current (2006) engineer is transported back to medieval poland. Has to re-create modern technology since he knows poland is going to be decimated by the mongols in 10 year. He creates like an 1800's level technology in 1241, 4 book series and outside the 'childish' side stories (written like a sex fantasy in some places) the science is awesome.. how Conrad has to create base level technologies, and use his current knowledge somehow, and avoid being thought of as a sorcerer/witch for all his knowledge . Super fun read, would suggest reading until the flying warlord, everything after that devolves into what seems like it was fan-fiction
Cross-Time Engineer, Book 1
Relevant:
http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Time-Engineer-Adventures-Conrad-Stargard/dp/0345327624
I really enjoyed The Cross Time Engineer. It's about being dropped into the medieval era, but still works. (Later books get further "out there", but I still enjoyed them.)
Anyone interested in thinking about this subject in more depth would likely be entertained by the cross-time engineer series of novels by Leo Frankowski. It's about a nice Polish kid who gets thrown back in time to ten years before the Mongols arrive to decimate Poland. So he sets about turning Poland into the technological superpower of the thirteenth century.
http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Time-Engineer-Adventures-Conrad-Stargard/dp/0345327624
>Whatever language becomes the world's first will favor the native speakers for decades to come.
I remember reading a book (The Cross-Time Engineer), which was written by a Pole and was about a Polish engineer. In it, the engineer points out that Polish children need to spend a significant amount more effort than US children do, because they need to learn English to function well in the engineering world.
I'd never really considered that before, and it certainly was an interesting thought.
On the Western side of things I know of The Cross-time Engineer by Leo Frankowski as well as Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling.
Both are the start of their respective series with the Cross-Time engineer starting a 5-novel series and Island starting a trilogy.
Actually, I have read all her other works! And I like the first four books of the series she wrote (the first book of that series was her first book) a lot more than I like Uprooted. Though I do really like Uprooted! Her one previous series is military SF (well, military fantasy)/alternate history--it's set in the Napoleonic era (early 19th century) where, besides the Navy, there's also the Aerial Corps, consisting of crew-manned dragons. Books 1-4 are AWESOME. (Book 5 is interesting and good, Books 6 and 7 are okay, not great--Book 8, which is the last book in the series, is coming out sometime this year.)
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
May I recommend the Temeraire series? It sounds ridiculous, and kind of uninteresting, but I shit you not when I say it's the best series I've read since Harry Potter. And I read A LOT.
The series is Temeraire. His Majesty's Dragon is the title of the first book in the series. It's the Napoleonic Wars with dragons, good stuff.
Oh, dammit, I should have put up a .pdf warning, sorry. There is no DRM and there's also a free Kindle version on Amazon
Ok so there have been a lot of good books suggested in this thread but many of them are much longer than what you asked for and quite a few of them are very "artsy" thinking type books. I love many of those books like Murakami for example but I wouldn't recommend them for someone who wants to ease himself back into reading.
I'm going to give you some easy, fun books, the equivalent of a Dwayne Johnson movie. They are all around 300 pages, they don't use fancy literary devices that make things hard to keep track of, they all have things inside them that make you think but they don't FORCE you to have to think. Just some short fun adventures you can go on inside your head.
Mort by Terry Pratchett is quite short, it's funny, and it does cool things with words without using big words. You'll get what I mean if you read any of the good Terry Pratchett books.
https://www.amazon.com/Mort-Novel-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett-ebook/dp/B000W967UQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526312251&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=mort+terry+pratchett
I always get the spelling of this one wrong but Temeraire is an easy fun read. If the idea of the napoleonic wars being fought with dragons sounds like an interesting idea to you, check out the first book.
https://www.amazon.com/His-Majestys-Dragon-Temeraire-Book/dp/0345481283
The warrior's apprentice is fun, the main character gets himself into some ridiculous situations and shamelessly scams his way out of them.
https://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Apprentice-Vorkosigan-Saga-ebook/dp/B005DNGSUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526312634&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=warrior%27s+apprentice&amp;dpID=51ZlzTB8y7L&amp;preST=_SY445_QL70_&amp;dpSrc=srch
Sounds interesting. And is available for dirt cheap.
Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds
So long as we're suggesting books, give this a try.
You went to Verblijf Op De Boerderij in Malempre, Belgium for some pancakes and ice cream (because Belgian pancakes are fancy.)
This is my book. :)
If you need something that you can mention at a party or in an interview that'll make you feel smart, I'd suggest Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. It's the kind of book you can bring up to make yourself seem smart, but unlike Atlas Shrugged it's actually interesting to read and has some (largely) insightful ideas about technology.
Alternatively, if you need something more fun to read, I would suggest Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series. It's a pretty fun fantasy romp that is largely enjoyable to read if you want to turn off your brain.
I would recommend The Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher - here’s the first book in the 6-book series!
The whole series is one I can read over and over and absolutely love it every time. Thanks for the contest! 😊
GOOD IF YOU LIKE "EPISODIC" STORIES RATHER THAN EPICS. I ACTUALLY LIKE THE FURY SERIES BETTER THAN DRESDEN.
The Realmwalker Chronicles are very Avatarish, but with more of a traditional Western fantasy aesthetic. It's probably the closest to Avatar I've seen in fantasy novels, complete with a main character that has access to all the elements. You can find the first volume here.
I'll second the recommendation for Codex Alera. It's elemental magic, but with elemental spirits called "Furies" as the source of the magic, and a Roman-style society. You can find the first book here.
You might like my own books, too. I use a broader variety of "elements" and a hard magic style, though. For example, flame sorcerers draw on their body heat to make fire and sight sorcerers draw on their eyesight to make illusions or sight-modifying spells. If this sounds like your style, my first book is on sale at the moment here.
Yesterday I ran this colossal fucking tournament for the PC platform fighter Rivals of Aether (Available now on Steam!). Along with two other people I run 3 online tournaments every week for this game, which has quickly turned into a terrifying monolith. Luckily, the T.O. team is made of sterner stuff than mortals - we're like about as tough as a hardcover book, actually. Today I played Kerbal Space Program until I remembered I'm bad at Kerbal Space Program, then I started my re-read of Applied Cultural Anthropology, or... (How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Cruciatus Curse), because it updated after a year-long hiatus and I didn't know what was happening. Also because I'm a lonely disgusting fanfic-reading filthmonster...
I'm trying to read a book a week for 2016 and I've completed the first step of that process by enduring Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. I liked The Dresden Files a lot more than this higher-fantasy stuff, which is a shame. Next up on my list is Hyperion. I've been told that this novel contains a spaceship called THE TREESHIP YGGDRASIL, and that is all I know.
AOTD1: I woke up at like 7 AM this morning, disgusted with myself. Luckily I managed to pull off a noon-2 nap, which felt great.
AOTD2: Book a week for a year.
This book was already written.
I wish I remembered. I've read a bunch of Batman essay books. It may be in here? http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Unauthorized-Vigilantes-Jokers-Heroes/dp/1933771305
Maybe here? http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470270306
Isn't prime great? :3
https://www.amazon.ca/Batman-Philosophy-Dark-Knight-Soul/dp/0470270306
https://www.amazon.ca/X-Men-Philosophy-Astonishing-Insight-Argument/dp/0470413409/ref=sr_1_1?
I read this book for my film paper on The Dark Knight and Batman in general. They talk about a lot of similar things.
Suggested reading materials for compiling your course:
http://www.amazon.com/X-Men-Philosophy-Astonishing-Argument-Blackwell/dp/0470413409
http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Philosophy-Knight-Blackwell-Culture/dp/0470270306
http://www.amazon.com/The-Avengers-Philosophy-Mightiest-Blackwell/dp/1118074572/ref=pd_sim_b_4/178-6318707-9774312
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Man-Philosophy-Reality-Blackwell/dp/0470482184/ref=pd_sim_b_3/178-6318707-9774312
http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen-Philosophy-Rorschach-Blackwell-Culture/dp/0470396857/ref=pd_sim_b_8
http://www.amazon.com/Spider-Man-Philosophy-Inquiry-Blackwell-Culture/dp/0470575603/ref=pd_sim_b_9
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Lantern-Philosophy-Blackwell-Culture/dp/0470575573/ref=pd_sim_b_13
http://www.amazon.com/Superheroes-Philosophy-Justice-Socratic-Popular/dp/0812695739
http://www.amazon.com/Supervillains-Philosophy-Sometimes-Popular-Culture/dp/0812696697/ref=pd_sim_b_7
http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychology-Superheroes-Unauthorized-Exploration/dp/1933771313/ref=pd_sim_b_12
Yep, http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0470270306?cache=c3f30821761abb0def2bf8275d0158d8&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;qid=1404926585&amp;sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1
It's somewhat confusing me on the ordering, though. Would this be it, the trilogy? or this?
For (currently) free Kindle books, David Weber's On Basilisk Station is the first book in the space-opera Honor Harrington series. The second book The Honor of the Queen, is one of my favorites in the entire series. Eric Flint's 1632 turned into a massive and awesome alternate-history series. If you'd like to delve into Alaskan-based murder mysteries, give Dana Stabenow's A Cold Day For Murder a try as the first in the some eighteen book Kate Shugak series.
For paid Kindle books, there's Hugh Howey's Wool Omnibus is the beginning of the dystopian Silo series; the followup Shift Omnibus is actually a prequel trilogy that I haven't gotten yet but is very readable. Naomi Novik's first novel in the alt-history Temeraire series, His Majesty's Dragon, is currently $.99.
In print, Elizabeth Moon's military fantasy The Deed of Paksenarrion is available used for a very affordable price and is an epic series. The Cage was my introduction to a fantasy universe written by SM Stirling, Shirley Meier, and Karen Wehrstein. Diana Gabaldon's Outlander is a sort of alternate history/light romance series set in Scotland that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Brent Weeks' assassin-based (excuse me, wetboy) fantasy Night Angel Trilogy was recently released as an omnibus edition. Empire from the Ashes collects Weber's Dahak sci-fi trilogy into an omnibus edition. Weber and John Ringo co-wrote March Upcountry and the other three novels in the sci-fi Prince Roger quadrilogy. If you haven't tried Harry Turtledove's alt-history sci-fi WW2 'Worldwar' series, In the Balance starts off a little slow plot-wise but picks up good speed. EE Knight's sci-fi/futuristic fantasy Vampire Earth starts off with Way of the Wolf. Mercedes Lackey wrote the modern-fantasy Born to Run with Larry Dixon, and the rest of the SERRAted Edge books with various other authors. Neal Stephenson's cyberpunk and slightly dystopian Snow Crash is hilarious and awesome. Maggie Furey's Aurian is the first of a fantasy quadrilogy that I enjoyed many years ago.
If you're at all familiar with the Warhammer 40k universe, the Eisenhorn Omnibus is Dan Abnett's wonderful look into the life of an Imperial Inquisitor. He's also written a popular series about the Tanith First-and-Only Imperial Guard regiment starting with The Founding Omnibus. He also wrote the first book in the Horus Heresy series, Horus Rising (I highly recommend reading the first three novels together as a trilogy and then cherry-picking the rest).
... and if you've read all that already, I'll be impressed.
Edit: Why yes, I do read a lot. Why do you ask?
What's your favorite manga/anime?
I'm not sure what genres they are, but my current favorites are The Martian by Andy Weir, The Monster Hunters Series by Larry Correia, and Little Brother and Homeland by Cory Doctorow.
Ready, Player One is a great read, and there is nothing like it. I'll give you something similar. Cory Doctorow, who is mentioned in Ready, Player One has two YA novels. Little Brother is very apt considering the whole Snowden situation. For the gamer in you I recommend For the Win, it's the modern day successor to Upton Sinclair's, The Jungle.
Withur We
Bonus points that it is scifi and FREE for download. Not only does the author present a "big brother" government but he also offers a solution.
Also check out anything by Cory Doctorow. Little Brother
Found the epub for free also.
Relevant
Quote: "after a terrorist attack in San Francisco, he and his friends are swept up in the extralegal world of the Department of Homeland Security. "
Cory Doctorow is my boy. Good memories of reading him when younger. That man knows how to sell books to young teenagers with his "nerd fucks not-so-attractive-but-also-nerd-girl-with-female-body-parts" side narrative.
https://smile.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765323117https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/little-brother-cory-doctorow/1100352914#/
(corporations are all evil but there's not exactly an anarchist publisher that carries this and B&N donates to Dems and doesn't make workers piss in bottles)
and
https://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/ - free pdf
People here often complain about how stuff posted on /r/futurology almost never becomes reality. Well, rejoice! It seems the exact kind of thing Cory Doctorow predicted in his anti-surveillance book Little Brother from eight years ago has now become reality.
A paragraph from a summary of the book:
> The government has control over people in the form of surveillance which then exploits their privacy. The gait recognition system from the novel capture the privacy of individual on a visual level. This system recognizes your walking stance and corresponds your stance to one on the database.
https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Little-Brother-by-Cory-Doctorow-PKNUVRATC
If I remember right from the book, the system could also be easily abused, as people could just start "walking funny" to fool it.
I'm not going to call any of them "literature", but I've read and enjoyed a bunch of new-ish books recently.
I know this post is 2 days old, which puts it in some sort of reddit graveyard, but I'll add my thoughts.
First, Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan is the definitive "modern" cyberpunk novel so check that out for sure.
Also, for more of a "5 minutes into the future" cyberpunk, check out the Nexus trilogy by Ramez Naam. The third book in the trilogy won the Philip K. Dick Award if that means anything to you.
Another series I liked, which has a great dark humor to it, is the Avery Cates series by Jeff Somers. Seriously, just read the 'About the Author' section at the bottom of that page to get an idea of the humor.
Have you read William Gibson's The Peripheral? It's a neat update on Gibson's cyberpunk vision now that the world has changed.
Someone else recommended Cory Doctorow. I actually think Little Brother is his best work, though it's young adult so prepare yourself for that.
Finally, I feel weird recommending this, but if you were a child of the 80s, have you read Ready Player One? It's pretty polarizing in this sub since you either love it or you hate it, but it is a popular modern cyberpunk novel.
Ok, I have a book called Driftless by David Rhodes and one called Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, if you'd like one of those.
On the fantasy end of things (since you mention Neil Gaiman), is City of Dreaming Books. German author so there's a good chance she hasn't read it and this isn't the only one in the series.
Cory Doctrow also writes YA, Little Brother, comes to mind.
At that age I was working my way through the Golden Age authors (Heinlein, Bradbury, Clark, Asimov, etc). Even if I didn't understand all the finer points, I really enjoyed them.
Little Brother
/smartass
It really is quite good, though.
"Little Brother", Cory Doctorow
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765323117/
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Little_Brother_%28Cory_Doctorow_novel%29
"He helps develop a clandestine wireless network, X-Net, that avoids DHS monitoring using anonymity and encryption. Using the X-Net as a secure communications medium, he organizes teenagers and twenty-somethings who are upset with the police state tactics imposed after the bombing. They develop innovative uses of existing technologies to foil DHS monitoring and cause mass confusion and embarrassment to law enforcement."
Also:
http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/b4t4m/fight_acta_with_the_darknet_plan_establish_our/
http://mesh-net.org/wiki/The_Darknet_Plan
I'll give you a link to the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Elf-Trilogy-Collectors-Homeland/dp/0786915889
It does sound like a pretty amazing story. Mostly excited because it's a subterranean setting lol.
Drizzt from The Dark Elf Trilogy. He is such a fascinating and lovable character, throughout his development, we find such likable, and heroic qualities. Talk about rooting for an underdog.
Dragonlance is good, but the Dark Elf series (Drizzt Do'Urden) is better.
The Dark Elf Trilogy: Collector's Edition (Homeland / Exile / Sojourn) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786915889/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_izRpzbMC13FGR
The Dark Elf Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore.
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Elf-Trilogy-Collectors-Homeland/dp/0786915889
No problem. I suggest starting with Homeland. There is also a book with the whole trilogy in one volume. Chronologically, it's the first in The Legend of Drizzt series.
His Drizzt books are the most famous. But...the writing in the beginning of the series....is not near as good as the later books.
So it depends on how much time you have. I'd say you could start here:
http://www.amazon.com/Trilogy-Collectors-Homeland-Exile-Sojourn/dp/0786915889
Its a good balance of being early on in the series, easy to read, and not terrible writing.
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is an official book from Wizards of the Coast. It was printed during 3.0, but the genasi races shouldn't need anything changed to be usable in 3.5 games.
You can also find each race online:
Air Genasi
Fire Genasi
Water Genasi
Earth Genasi
Akuma mentioned it, and I also want to suggest picking up the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It's absolutely phenomenal in terms of detail about regions, events, history, setting, etc. You will see a lot of mechanics for 3.x, but it's easy enough to disregard or even use their fluff to convert and make stuff for 5e FR.
Also worth picking up is the 4th edition book (Ed Greenwood Presents) Elminster's Forgotten Realms. It has a lot of "on the ground, personal level" detail and fluff, like what people eat in different regions, how they worship, etc. Neat book, fun read.
For 5th edition, I think one will be released this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5SD2VfL5OY
My favorite one will always be this one: https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786918365/
I would suggest buying one of the 3rd or 4th edition Forgotten Realms setting books. You can buy them used on Amazon for a fairly reasonable price.
It will cover most of the game world though it does kinda focus on the Inner Sea and Sword Coast so most of the detail is there.
Being old rule books they will have some old rules and old magic items but you can try to update those if they don't already appear in the Sword Coast guide. I just wish they would put a 5th edition version out. I would grumble but still buy it.
The spellplague is a cataclysmic event that happened between third and fourth edition to explain the several mechanic changes that were made during that transition.
Also a lot of time passed in Forgotten Realms oficial timeline and many iconic NPC's and organizations either died or changed. They have to come up with crazy explanations why famous characters are still alive, such as Volo and the inkeeper at the Yawning portal. The Zentarim, for example, used to be one of the main antagonists and are now portrayed as a necessary evil kind of faction.
What I did for my Tomb of Annihilation campaing was just to run it during the more familiar and grounded 3.0 days campaing setting days. 1374 DR - The year of the Lighning storms to be precise.In my game, instead of the spellplague, there was a violent Tsunami 9 years ago that hit the right side of the penninsula. Mezro vanished, the other towns and ports were destroyed and the economic collapse made Amnian colonists decide to move on to Maztica and other places, granting Nyanzaru independence. Without the power of Mezro the undead started to spread inside the jungle and are now becoming a real concern to the merchant princes.
I'm partial to the 2nd Edition Campaign Setting (Grey Box). They look to go for outrageous prices on Ebay, but if you can find one at a used bookstore I'd snap it up.
One of my beefs with Forgotten Reams is that TSR/Wizards took a charming setting, and tried to introduce in-game events to reflect rule changes. Things like the Spell Plague, and replacing cool deities like Myrkul and Bane with lamo poseur deities like Cyric and Kelemvor.
With 5E, I've decided I'm taking my FR back to Ed Greenwood's 2E Grey Box roots, and ignoring all the crap that came after.
Sadly, there is no PDF of the 2E campaign setting on www.dndclassics.com, but the 3E PDF is available for $15.99. I haven't looked at that, but it seems to get high marks on Amazon!.
In addition to the Cleric Quintet, I really liked the Elfsong books by Elaine Cunningham, if you'd rather explore by fiction.
Finally, once you have a general feel for the Realms, Candlekeep! and the Wiki! are great for looking up any particular bit of info.
Try to get your hands on the 3e setting book. It comes with a giant map and a lot, I mean a lot, of content. Here's the Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Campaign-Setting-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786918365
Boy you aren't kidding, there just really isn't much about Sossal in any sourcebooks I can find, even going back to earlier editions. The old boxed set only has:
>AT A GLANCE: Far to the North, on the far side of the Great Glacier, is the legendary kingdom of Sossal. This remote nation is the home of Sossarhim, a very pale, very blond race that dresses in
white, and can conceal themselves among the ice.
...etc. The 3e book has a similar short blurb, where it otherwise explains pages about the other nations of the Cold North. The most interesting sources I could find seem to be from the 2e splatbooks "Wizards and Rogues of the Realms" and "Warriors and Priests of the Realms". From W&P:
> Sossal This fantastic kingdom of pale, blonde humans is the
northernmost nation in the Realms. Their ability to flourish in such frigid conditions is a source of amazement to others. Their warriors are unparalleled in arctic survival and cold-weather combat. Warriors of Sossal have very pale skin, ice-blue eyes, and pale blonde hair.
...and so forth. W&P has some good roleplaying notes for the warriors, and W&R has an interesting take on the wizards. But as for maps or cities or anything like that, it seems to be overlooked.
You're right, there are a lot of books that focus on specific aspects of FR, but this is the book that I'm using for general knowledge.
Me again. they just re-released the best as a compliation: The Brother's War and The Thran as Artifact's Cycle 1.
Here it is on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Artifacts-Cycle-Magic-Gathering-Omnibus/dp/0786953055/ref=pd_sim_b_1
Other good places to start are the comics of the new planeswalkers:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/multiverse/planeswalkers.aspx?x=mtg/multiverse/webcomics/main
And if you want summaries of books and things, there's a blog that does chapter by chapter coverage daily:
www.mtgfiction.com
That's a good start. If you want a more comprehensive explanation/summary, there's the mtgsalvation wiki:
http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Category:Storylines
That's the name of the original book. They compiled the earlier books into an omnibus. Which is this
Interestingly, I found that Phyrexia (Magic: The Gathering) has a decent example of Eugenics - especially when it goes too far (and how could you prevent it from going that far?). Book Here
http://www.amazon.com/Artifacts-Cycle-Magic-Gathering-Omnibus/dp/0786953055/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1412578674&amp;sr=8-3-spell&amp;keywords=magic+the+gathering+Artefacts+book
These are by far my favorite books of Magic. The Brother's War is an amazing novel, and The Thran gives you the origin story of the Phyrexians and Yawgmoth, which later on develops into an important plot piece in other books.
Copying this from an earlier, similar post:
Here you go.
Of these, the following on available for e-book:
In addition to the Secretist books.
Prior to Alara, each set had a matching novel, so each set had a triology. They never sold well, so Wizards eventually condensed them into single books for each set, but also added in single books for the new generation planeswalkers (the ones we have now). The Secretist is a revival of the book series, since no book was published for Innistrad, but using a different format: one short novella for each set, which should all together add up to a whole novel, similar to the Alara-era books but with a more encompassing feel. They're using it as a test.
You can also find the Artifact Cycle collections in physical copies, which are very worth the read and extra cash.
The Zendikar, Scars, and Innistrad stories happened mostly via a now-
happenedabandoned-by-Wizards medium, webcomic. You can find the relevant stories here.Scars is much more dependent than most books because it's essentially a sequel. Do you care about Urza, the creator of Karn? Or how Mirrodin came to be? Because it's annoying but all of it is tied together. But if you just want the story, check out the MTGSalvation wiki for your lore. It will keep you busy for a while.
If you really want to read, track down a copy of the Brother's War. It's easily the best of the books.
It'll be like this.
In that case, sir, I remove my nonexistent hat to you. I do not own a smartphone, as I already own a phone and consider myself smart enough already.
When I can close my eyes and be online, then and only then shall I consider moving with the wave of current technology.
Yes, I have high standards... but what is the point of standards if you do not keep them high?
You might like Tad Williams Otherland series.
It's really not as complex as it seems. The rule books are thick, yes, but once you cover the basics you can get into action and use the rule book as a reference. That's why I recommend getting a starter box. It will give you the basic rules (maybe 30 minutes of reading), leave the complex ones for later, and let you learn as you play. It will guide both the DM and the PCs at the same time.
Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "the" rule book. There are quite a few different versions. D&D V1 and AD&D V2 are considered ancient. They're really, really old and outdated. I'd recommend you start with version 3.5 OR "Pathfinder," which is very, very similar to D&D in its gameplay under a slightly different name. Check this out.
It's a great way to break into the world of tabletop RPG, and you can supplement your collection if you decide you enjoy it.
All it really requires is you saying to three or four friends/family members "Hey, wanna try this out?"
Not sure about adventure paths, but the beginner box set was how I got my group going.
Comes with a decent intro adventure, pregen character sheets, a bare bones rule book for the most important bits, character and enemy pieces, and a battle map (for this adventure and a blank for your own maps)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Beginner Box https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601256302/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_AUqMBbWQJZWVW
I'm a fairly budget DM (but I had an edge as you'll see). Here is what my solution for minis was:
Via BGG I was able to for a few of the Dungeon and Dragon Board Games ex: Wrath of Ashardalon. This gave me a decent enough set of minis but most importantly: multiples of many of them as many of them come in groups of 2-4. This is kind of a cheat as I have a large collection of board games and was looking to swap some out anyway.
Then I purchased Pathfinder Beginner Box. Its a good price and you get a playmat, mini adventure, dice and a bunch of Pathfinder Pawns. These pawns are great and come with bases which lead me to my next purchases.
I was very happy with the way the Pathfinder Pawns worked out for me to "fill in the blanks" where I didn't have any minis. Pathfinder offers a lot of sets for their different adventure paths for between $15-20 via amazon. They don't come with bases but the beginner box solved that for me. Best part of these sets, in my opinion, is they come with plenty of multiples.
My players use a mix of minis from the board games and their own painted ones they bring. I pick a mix of minis and pawns with a preference towards all of one if I can help it. The pawns are fantastic and if I didn't have the option of the board game I would be totally happy just using those. The only thing I might do in that situation would be to pick up individual minis for "bosses". While the art on the Pathfinder Pawns are generally good to excellent quality scale is really lost on the larger creatures imo.
As for actually running combat, I'm style finding my DM style but I've settled on a mix of 4 similar yet different methods depending on what I want the encounter to emphasize.
For quick, "uncomplicated" encounters or ones that I may want to not emphasize combat I use theater of the mind. In my experience the second a grid comes out players think combat. The speed of theater of the mind is appealing to me. As for technique: with theater of the mind I tend to narrate everything except killing blows and run turn order by starting with the characters name and a description of the state of the battle every turn.
If TotM seems a bit too imprecise I break out the minis/pawns and run what I call Table of the Mind. We put the minis/pawns on the table and use them without a grid. Keeps things quick and snappy but gives the players something to reference. For this method and all others below I assign initiative to one of my PCs.
If environmental effects are more of a factor I use "zones". I stole this from Sly Flourish. I tend to use it less often than any other method but I like having it in my bag of tricks so I'll mention it here. Essentially I place the pawns/minis on index cards with each card representing a vague location in the battle and features within that location.
For complicated encounters or for those I get DM Crafty with nothing beats a good ol grid map. The flipmat from the beginner box is always in my bag but I have a larger Chessex map for bigger battles. I like to supplement it with either interesting mechanics or bling. I'm working on a one shot right now for my friend's birthday where two of the battles will take place on gridded maps one of which involves me placing cardboard "trees" on it and the other a complex series of teleportation doors. PCs love bling and I love blinging out. It's amazing what you can do with cardboard and paper; it's equally amazing how a description of a battle changes my awful craft skills into an epic fight!. I do not think I could run my teleporting door encounter without a map to ground my players. It would be too confusing and demand too much memory from all involved.
Sorry this got so long O.o
Do you have an adventure picked out? There are free Pathfinder Society adventures that you can run I'd recommend The Phantom Phenomena and then First Steps Part I: In Service to Lore. Both have lots of little quests you're doing so your players can feel like they accomplished lots of things in however long your session is. Or else the Pathfinder Box is great too. It comes with over 80 pawns you can use to represent characters and monsters and does a really good job at introducing people to the game.
I'd also recommend using pre-gen characters and not spending time on character creation on your first play. It's best to get people up and playing so they can learn how the system actually works before deciding what they want their character to be.
Footfall had alien elephants, but it was mid-80s and it wasn't for kids.
http://www.amazon.com/Footfall-Larry-Niven/dp/0345323440
I'll suggest a couple of Korean movies, I'm sure you'll get plenty of responses for mainstream choices:
I also liked Beowulf & Grendel.
For a book this one really sticks in my head if you're into the fantasy genre:The Deed of Paksenarrion
I mostly get audio books.
The books this year.
Since he is 10 I would go with a beginner's box.
Pathfinder is a wonderful place to start. It is what most people will recomend and with the beginner's box it will be a relatively cheap and fast way to find out if it is the game for him.
We also have the D&D 5th Edition Starter Set too. While I would not personally recommend it for reasons of personal preference it is a very beginner friendly rule set.
There are many other options (that can get freaking expensive) but those are the most beginner friendly and economical ways to start.
There are a lot of entry points. Which one is best will probably depend on your level of gamerness (if that's a word?).
If you don't do much tabletop gaming (or your only boardgames are from Hasbro), the D&D fifth edition starter set is a great place to start. Eventually, your group will have to get the DM Guide,, Player's Handbook, and maybe the Monster Manual after you finish the sessions from the starter set.
If you're more of a gamer, and you like min/maxing, let me recommend Pathfinder. It's an offshoot of the 3.5th edition of D&D (considered by many to be the heyday of D&D's systems. Here's their beginner box - the great thing about pathfinder is that after you finish that box, you don't need to buy anything. Ever again. there are resource pages all over the internet where all of the source material is available for free. (premade campaigns, you'll have to buy if you want to use them, though, but that's the same as D&D).
Another option if you're a starwars fan, is the new Star Wars RPG by fantasy flight. There are different source books and begginer boxes depending on if you want to focus your adventures around smugglers and normal folk on the edge of civilization or members of the rebellion
Alterworld is like Zhang Long, except better in every way, shape, and form. It's slow to start, but the cultures and worldbuilding within the virtual world are amazing to read!