tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post8448087852931792913..comments2024-03-19T09:12:16.972+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: The Great OSR Novel?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-67282723840913035542018-10-24T04:06:22.207+08:002018-10-24T04:06:22.207+08:00I'm glad to finally have my own sense confirme...I'm glad to finally have my own sense confirmed *somewhere*. I stopped after a few chapters and have been baffled to read pretty much unanimous praise by people whose taste in books is otherwise close to mine. Ivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923725063649465366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-77185065662433592562018-10-24T02:46:15.742+08:002018-10-24T02:46:15.742+08:00Yeah, I couldn't stand "Little, Big"...Yeah, I couldn't stand "Little, Big". Possibly the most overrated fantasy book ever.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-55052268005925734562018-10-22T23:05:48.384+08:002018-10-22T23:05:48.384+08:00"Little, Big" had some thick elements of..."Little, Big" had some thick elements of the place itself being at least as important as the generations of humans living through it...but honestly I found it tedious and stopped about a third of the way through.endonauthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03522081802809449081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-2341681664315210392018-10-22T23:04:06.823+08:002018-10-22T23:04:06.823+08:00I'm finding several novels called Red Harvest ...I'm finding several novels called Red Harvest on amazon, none of which seem to match the anon's description - anyone know about this and can point me to an author?endonauthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03522081802809449081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-57150660269657354272018-10-22T22:43:15.394+08:002018-10-22T22:43:15.394+08:00American Horror Story season one?American Horror Story season one?endonauthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03522081802809449081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-58932594715401712992018-04-12T02:41:37.621+08:002018-04-12T02:41:37.621+08:00It strikes me that perhaps something in the style ...It strikes me that perhaps something in the style of Edward Rutherfords bookssuch as Sarum, New York, London. the tsory oif a location over centuries fo time as seen through teh eyes of interconnected characters.<br /><br />The Labourers who helped build the dungeon, their descendants, who adventured in it later etc etc, might be an ideal way to approach this kind of story.Stuart Rosehttp://stumpysburrow-co-uk.stackstaging.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-62143932578392409352018-02-17T04:46:12.574+08:002018-02-17T04:46:12.574+08:00Somebody should write one about *hack or *band rog...Somebody should write one about *hack or *band roguelikes (if they haven't already). noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-73390422012240410262018-02-17T01:58:38.920+08:002018-02-17T01:58:38.920+08:00Yeah they are actual published novels. It's a ...Yeah they are actual published novels. It's a genre that wouldn't exist without kindle self-publishing though, so editing & quality varies. Also it originated in Russia so there is a bit of a cultural barrier at times. Basically the whole premise is the main character spends the majority of their time playing a full-immersion virtual reality mmorpg. Most stories read like high-fantasy with a pedantic emphasis on stats, levels, quest rewards, etc.<br />Dungeon Core kinda grew out that with the heavy numbers systems... the character is a dungeon who has to create loot & monsters to attract adventurers to gain exp, which is used to grow the dungeon and get access to better materials.<br />Both genres are relatively new, but entertaining to a math & video game nerd like myself :)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-38507299152957632362018-02-16T06:54:30.855+08:002018-02-16T06:54:30.855+08:00@noisms
I never got around to reading the third v...@noisms<br /><br />I never got around to reading the third volume of Artesia, but I did read the first two and I wouldn't characterize them as softcore dark fantasy. If I had to oversimplify, I might say something like lo-fi feminist Berserk (if that helps).Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-81641967510073039422018-02-16T05:17:45.453+08:002018-02-16T05:17:45.453+08:00Having re-read Rogue Male on account of this post ...Having re-read Rogue Male on account of this post today, I am in agreement with your point on genre conventions. The mechanical or procedural component of a certain type of thriller would be a useful element in writing the OSR novel, given its roots in gameplay.<br /><br />John Buchan and Geoffrey Household are probably better sources for this than, say Forsyth's Day of the Jackal or Clancy's Hunt for Red October due to both setting and scale. Solomon VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11763252777153908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-57162442673066633742018-02-16T01:11:48.410+08:002018-02-16T01:11:48.410+08:00I have heard of Artesia. I just googled the book a...I have heard of Artesia. I just googled the book and the editions I've seen have very unfortunate covers that make it look like one of those soft-core "dark fantasy" Twilight ripoffs you see in bookshops. I'll trust you that it isn't like that!noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-6072591897155839042018-02-15T12:01:11.103+08:002018-02-15T12:01:11.103+08:00The Barrow by Mark Smylie is a novel whose prologu...The Barrow by Mark Smylie is a novel whose prologue is basically a short dungeon crawl with all the quick mistakes=quick deaths of the OSR milieu. But it more explores the idea of characters and culture as the real dungeon than what you're proposing.<br /><br />The rest of the book is a sort of quest to the dungeon while being pursued and having minor encounters on the way kind of deal that exists in a very detailed setting. So detailed it in fact has its own table top system and setting book (Though both are difficult to find now) and the novel and the game are tie-ins for one of the best (Unfinished) comic series I have ever read. The name of the series is Artesia and though the art in the first few issues is a little rough (and there is a stylistic tendency for sameface) when you realize it is all hand drawn and water coloured the detail in the later volumes is stunning. <br />Though I would warn any who read either, both are violent and very sexually explicit. In fact part of the themes explored in the novel is the idea of really digging into a restrictive patriarchal low fantasy setting and how that affects everyone's mentality and often its very rigidness leads it to greater explorations of depravity than if it were more flexible, among many other things. But yeah if you don't want to read about sex stuff this may not be the thing. Another interesting concept the author was exploring was taboo as horror and how that is one of the few areas that still make people squirm, while many are inured to the more common horror elements. This guy has one of the most intricate and living breathing settings I've explored though and I've stolen so much from him I really just want to throw his stuff more attention. Lurkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13648658376559737272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-75666361114878223032018-02-15T04:43:42.174+08:002018-02-15T04:43:42.174+08:00It's not exactly a dungeon but The Black Compa...It's not exactly a dungeon but The Black Company books read like an RPG campaign. The stories are shaggy and seem to written in stream of conscious - they do get somewhere but it's not a very direct or "plotted" sort of road.ligehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00652431558688176341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-90423230633444434102018-02-15T03:58:44.076+08:002018-02-15T03:58:44.076+08:00I take that point, but I think actually we may now...I take that point, but I think actually we may now just be in the right era for it to be written - but probably through self-publishing on Amazon or whatever rather than a conventional publisher. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-91076217246583976402018-02-15T03:56:38.864+08:002018-02-15T03:56:38.864+08:00I had never even heard of LitRPG. Are these actual...I had never even heard of LitRPG. Are these actual published novels or more like fanfic type things?noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-40886108083150140622018-02-15T00:36:42.579+08:002018-02-15T00:36:42.579+08:00Clark Ashton Smith should have written this.Clark Ashton Smith should have written this.Geoffrey McKinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00042661843714609025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-12868951905507223772018-02-14T17:03:42.478+08:002018-02-14T17:03:42.478+08:00I think we are moving towards the conclusion that ...I think we are moving towards the conclusion that the great OSR dungeon of place novels our host sought do exist, just not within the narrow confines of genre. Post-1977 fantasy genre coventions mean that the genre novel he seeks can now never be written. Personally, I would argue that OSR is a short-story phenomenon in any case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-25426440065080719102018-02-14T06:31:21.989+08:002018-02-14T06:31:21.989+08:00Take it easy fella.Take it easy fella.Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165997449776226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-17413442763853086172018-02-14T05:37:17.635+08:002018-02-14T05:37:17.635+08:00My recollections of Kirkcudbrightshire tally with ...My recollections of Kirkcudbrightshire tally with that most neatly.<br /><br />Tangentially, Buchan wrote a short story about the Border Reivers; 'The Riding of Ninemileburn'.Solomon VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11763252777153908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-39244650801844799952018-02-14T04:59:29.243+08:002018-02-14T04:59:29.243+08:00*Sigh*. Ms. Rowling has so much to answer for. The...*Sigh*. Ms. Rowling has so much to answer for. The south-west is still as wild and beautiful as it was in Buchan’s day. Sadly the train service is not a patch on that immortalised by Dorothy L. Sayers. If one was looking for a great dungeon of place novel set in The Highlands it would be The New Road by Neil Munro, published a year before The Thirty Nine steps. The eponymous road defines the quest structure for the party. Probably best played using The One Ring.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-37452169881448297612018-02-14T04:09:15.252+08:002018-02-14T04:09:15.252+08:00Hmm, that would be interesting. If I ever have th...Hmm, that would be interesting. If I ever have the time to accept this challenge, I will.<br />Venger Satanishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04447932700800930510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-12202943526674877872018-02-14T03:29:06.508+08:002018-02-14T03:29:06.508+08:00I should like to apologise to the Dumfries and Gal...I should like to apologise to the Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board and thank them also for The Five Red Herrings.Solomon VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11763252777153908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27902005893304650582018-02-13T23:30:44.637+08:002018-02-13T23:30:44.637+08:00This is actually a relatively new genre of fiction...This is actually a relatively new genre of fiction called Dungeon Core. It's a sub-genre of LitRPG, so most examples have lots of video-game style leveling. Some of my favorites are the Divine Dungeon series, Living Dungeon, & Dungeon Crisis.<br /><br />Cheers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-7861857283826684232018-02-13T22:54:45.088+08:002018-02-13T22:54:45.088+08:00Oh yes, it'd be amazing. Also, I wish I was ru...Oh yes, it'd be amazing. Also, I wish I was running more Mazes & Minotaurs...Ynas Midgardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972628887096890642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-65512896690311742482018-02-13T18:50:48.096+08:002018-02-13T18:50:48.096+08:00D&D works in a number of settings. Antiquity i...D&D works in a number of settings. Antiquity is a good one, but maybe not the height of Rome.Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.com