What are you reading this week?

Your Favourite Books and Authors

Dungeon Crawler Carl

This is a series very near and dear to me. I had finished reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and I was kind of in a slump. My typical go-to for resetting my tastes was to read whatever new Star Wars novel had released. However, after finishing Project Hail Mary, there just didn't feel like any reset happening. I wanted more of that wholesome, friendly relationship that the two main characters shared. As a result, I found myself on Reddit looking through a post similar to how I felt and someone there had posted about a series that was being self-published on the website Royal Road, which at the time, I had never heard of. Something called, Dungeon Crawler Carl. It was an older post, so I went to check if it was available outside of the website. As it turns out, it had several books already published, and on top of that, there were audiobooks for each. I have a somewhat long drive to work and so I decided to pick up the audiobook for the first novel. I was hooked. I started listening beyond just my drive times. My ability to stay on task at work, diminished. Soon, I had completely finished the 6 books that were available. I then learned that the author, Matt Dinniman posts chapters semi-regularly on his Patreon. So, I tracked that down and began to pay $5 a month to read the 7th book in the series. I've watched the series explode. It's been brought up on Morning Somewhere by Ashley, I've been recommending it every chance I get to anyone that will listen. The hardbacks copies of the physical books have released, and I've all 6 signed by the author. Having met him twice at two events. The series has a web comic releasing next month. As well as has been optioned for a live-action TV series by Fuzzy Door, which is Seth MacFarlane's production company. I'm still cycling through the (now) 7 audiobooks, have listened to the Audio Immersion Tunnel version of the first book, which is a full cast, music, and effects. Season 2 of which is set to cover books 2 and 3. And on top of everything else, Matt Dinniman has been a very kind and gracious man. Signing anything put in front of him, including peoples children (with permission). I urge everyone to give it a go. There is no higher praise I could give a project.

Cosmere Discussion

Hey everyone I was in a big reading slump and I saw this book called "A Way of Kings" and I was hooked into Brando Sandos work. Anyone have a favorite book in the Cosmere or any other that is similar?

Do you like to read manga?

I like to read the manga and my favourite manga is school shock. This is one of the best. AND Do you like to read the manga?

It's All Dead!!!

This side of the forums seems to be completely dead! Seems a shame to leave perfectly good infinite space lying around...Perhaps...

Cover Art?

I’m sure it’s probably already been asked, but I’ve searched with the search-term bar, and didn’t find answer to this question. For all I know, this does exist under the books category, but I don’t seem to have a better way to search in the forums, so I might as well ask this way even though I expect it to be locked soon. Sorry for that. Now my question. I’m writing a big epic novel, already at over 74,000 words, and I need cover art before I actually get published. I’m working hard with creating physical models, of what the novel’s world would look like from orbit, so I could then take a picture with a satisfactory camera. I’m looking for advice with this, or even better, any advice to published first before finishing the cover art.

A through z year long Read-a-thon

Would anybody in the RT community be interested in joining in on a read-a-thon to read through the Alphabet for the year? The way it would work is you have 26 letters in the alphabet, and 52 weeks in the year.  That gives you two weeks to read one book.  If you are a slow and A.D.D reader like I am, this gives you enough time to read each book.   Each book will represent the letter of the alphabet.  You can either go strictly based on the Book title (Excluding the word The), strictly the Author's name (First or last which ever you prefer), or a mixture of the two to make things easier!   I am thinking about starting it in two weeks (I was going to start it yesterday, but didn't actually start being real about it until a couple of days before hand.)  So I would start it on July 17th, 2017, and the read-a-thon would end July 14th, 2018 Please leave a comment below if you would be interested!  I can do reading sprints on here, instagram, and twitter to help encourage each other, and even if you finish a book, you can keep going forward with the alphabet if you would like.  I just need a little bit of motivation to get through my TBR pile, and I thought this would be a great way to do that!

Has any one read Skulduggery Present?

I love that series. The expanded lore is wonderful, even though it does get a little 'exponentially evil' I still enjoy it. Anyone want to talk about it.

Religion in books...I need help.

I'm going to admit this particular subject might give me some flame. Not that I mind, i usually go on a twitter war these days and wonder if life is better without all this hate in the world. Religion has sparked some of that hate but I want to change that. I look upon my life as a series of crazy soda fueled disappointments in solo film projects and otherwise failures of writing stories. I have changed though and I am actively pursuing the idea of creating that bounty of ideas I had since graduation in High School. One of these ideas was about a guy who gets experimented on and is changed into a questionable mutant with superpowers. The only reason it is questionable is because his name Is Michael and he has angel wings. More and more I put down ideas of him wielding blue fire bolts, metal transmutation, and a keen blue energy halo that would appear over his head when he was fueled with determination and faith in his abilities to win against his foe. It was only years later that after reading a bit of the bible and viewing historical data that...there was an Archangel by this name. I feel so stupid that the name never came but THERE IT WAS. I read that Michael was the commander of God's armies, radiated powerful divine light, and was the angel that did battle with Satan himself! Also what really got to me was this: he had a really LOUD but calming voice. It is said out of all the angels his voice was the loudest. I came to the realization that Michael the superhero needed a definite origin and a definite goal. So I looked for that information via stories about praying to god and his servant the angel. What I found might be a little bit of a problem for me: having a loud voice is subject to be shunned in this day an age now. As my shifting seems to go a tad political now, bare with me on this question: Is it wrong to consider that the book of Revelations depicting rebellion? Is it also wrong to see those named Michael in a protesting angle in stories?  Is it wrong to see religious figures of the three most prominent religions giving out super powers? Is all of this wrong...or has it just never been done? To cite some of my sources of my research Michael the saint and his efforts, here are some: General Explanation of Michael The Patron Saint of Superheroes      (note that this one likens him to Captain America and the Avengers which is something that I hope to achieve in greatness.) Now most people would say at this point...am I a little TOO religious or thinking about it TOO much? Perhaps...but on many occasions when I have felt the world around me seem to feel like TOTAL CRAP...I often did pray when I was not stupid on the days I wouldn't. I read that Michael sends a sign only he can give...a feather. What does this guy give me? Birds. Birds FULL of feathers. I grew a impossible affinity for birds since childhood. Some of my best moments were with birds. Especially that time I almost stepped on a baby chick when i was but a mere toddler. It drove my family nuts. Now I relate with the birds of prey: falcons and hawks. So please...help a brother out by telling him which is the best way to go about writing a story of this possible breaching conduct among religion?

Story time - Batman: Return of the Owls

Red and blue lights flicker through the stained curtained window of the studio apartment. The Gotham forensic team dressed in white cover-alls, clear goggles and white mouth covering masks photograph and itemise the scene, making sure they don’t disturb the evidence. One captures the small two seater dining table in a corner of the kitchenette. One chair sits undisturbed, while agent Ramos sits slouched. The right side of his head rests unnaturally on his right shoulder as trail of partially dried drool and blood runs down his arm to a pool on the floor. Cuts in his Gotham U shirt around his armpits and torso flanked with blood. A forensic analyst places a small numbered tag next to a thin, triangular hole in the table that’s filled with a pool of blood. Gordon walks in the apartment, surveying the grim scene. A stoic appearance hides anger and remorse for his fallen detectives. “Looks like Joey’s not making that trial in the morning Comish” Bullock calls as he examines the body spread out on the blood soaked, white linen sheets of the double bed. “Joseph Gains was Falcone’s accountant. He was going to turn on Falcone and reveal his laundering operations” Gordon replies, massaging his eyebrow in a hollow attempt to relieve the stress. “What was the cause of death?” “It’s either the knife wound in the back which punctured both ventricles of his heart, or this..” Peter Westaway, head of the forensic team picks up the head of Joseph Gains. Gains face is covered in blood, like a red plaster mould. A large chunk of gains neck is missing, as flaps of blood soaked skin petal the wound. “His neck was ripped out. The wound suggests it was ripped out by a large, sharp claw”. Westaway returns the head to the pool of blood on the bed. “What about Davis? Where is he?” Gordon asks. “He’s here. Same knife and claw wounds as the other two” a forensic analyst calls out from the bathroom. “Make sure you guys check for everything. Fingerprints, hair and tissue samples, foot print analysis everything. Don’t miss anything” Bullocks frustration heightens his voice. “They won’t find anything” Batman appears in room by the window, making his way to Gains body. “Get out of here, this is Gotham PD’s job not some vigilante in a motorcycle outfit.” Bullock blocks Batman’s approach to the body. “This is the third murder with the same MO. The killer or killers are bound to leave something behind eventually.” “I’ve already analysed the apartment, there’s nothing. The killer doesn’t leave tracks. I tried to find a trail around this block” Batman advises. ”What about the knife in Gains back, that’s new. It could have fingerprints on it” Bullock retorts with a smug satisfaction. “It’s clean of fingerprints and residue. So was this feather that was tied to the end of it” Batman holds up a feather to Gordon. “Hey! Give me that! You can’t just…”. “Bullock, stand down.” Gordon stops Bullock who reaches for the feather like a child snatching a toy. “But Jim, that’s evidence. We can’t let some punk take evidence from our crime scene!” “I said stand down Bullock. We need all the help we can get at this point. So far you’ve turned up nothing on the killer”. ”Come on Jim, scratch my back, don’t be the itch. That feathers the first thing I’ve had to go on.” Gordon ignores Bullocks quip “Do you think it’s linked to Penguin, Batman?” “No. It’s from Tyto Aurantia. The golden masked owl commonly found on Papua New Guinea. It appears to be very old but preserved.”. “So the Court of Owls are back? But why would they want Gains dead?”

The world as Noches~

So coming up with the world of Noches from my story Rey de Noches, I wanted to go the extra mile and try to make it as epic fantasy as possible. I got the idea when I was watching the Avatar series and the Lord of the Rings series. Obviously, Avatar and LOTR gain inspiration from Asian and European cultures respectively. After giving it some thought, it hit me: why is there nothing that is focused on the latin american cultures? Time Obviously the world that exists without a sun is often questioned: how does time work where no sun exists? Well there are two version of night known as 'Night' and 'True Night'. A passage from the Prologue of the story itself: Ruiz thought about the correct order that was needed for him to properly explain. “There are sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, thirteen hours for Night and thirteen hours for True Night. Thus making a total of twenty-six hours in a ‘whole night’. Every hour, natural water in the world changes color in a certain order. Thus, we tend to keep water in glass containers reflecting ‘real time’. We’re able to tell minutes by sensing the cycle in water with basic magic. How we view it varies from living being to living being. “For an entire moon cycle, The Moon carries a colored ‘shadow hue’, which lasts for twenty-five Nights, and will convert into a different color afterwards. There is a total of fourteen cycles that make up a ‘blue cycle’. Thus, a complete blue moon is considered as the mark for an entire year. The Moon becomes completely blue in this process instead of just its hue, and this will not occur again until fourteen cycles later.” Ruiz sighed heavily after finishing the long explanation. Countries Noches, spanish for 'Night', is a world that is comprised of six nations inspired by real world historical nations and empires: Hispania - Obviously the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula which was a respective province of theirs. Unlike in the real world where Spain/Portugal did not get to keep these territories, Hispania managed to keep a huge chunk of land that is next to Esmeraldsia. Their origins from their old world (basically whatever version of 'Europe') is vague many and for good reason... Gran Esmeraldsia - The name inspired by Emerald, it a nod to the riches and valued 'treasures' that the territory holds. Inspired by the historical union known as Gran Colombia, it has an influence of modern Colombia, Venezuela, Educador, and Panama; the nations which were known to make up the confederation. Costa Rican culture is shown which bridges Esmeraldsia to the Anahuac Union. Anahuac Union - Anahuac Union is inspired from the 'Valley of Mexico' and 'Anahuac' is the ancient (Aztec) name of the Valley of Mexico itself. I felt that this was a good name considering that the 'land' itself is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, and was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including Teotihuacan, the Toltec, and the Aztec. The ancient Aztec term Anahuac (Land Between the Waters) and the phrase Basin of Mexico are both used at times to refer to the Valley of Mexico today. The Basin of Mexico became a well known site that epitomized the scene of early Classic Mesoamerican cultural development as well. Hence another reason to choose this name. It has a influence of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica which the latter as I mentioned before, has an ethic culture that bridges the Union with Esmeraldsia. Inca Union - If you're savvy with pre-Columbian history, this is from a great empire known as the Incan Empire (and the Inka Empire), known as the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, and argued as the largest empire in the world in the early 16th century. Historically, it had reached as far as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, although Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador have the closest post-Spanish intervention heritage ties to this nation. As you would expect, this connects to Esmeraldsia and the country listed below. Republic of Argentum - Argentum from the latin word 'silver', this nation has a strong tie to Hispania; like the modern Argentina and Uruguay who have a very close cultural history together. In fact, it's commonly joked that they get confused quite often for the other. With a strong European heritage, they are often confused for Hispanians despite having an Indigenous population as well. Republic of Caribilia - Basically consisting of today's latin american countries in the Caribbean, it has a vague history; there are many mysteries due to the legend that the collection of islands was relocatedvia magic. A feat that is naturally argued and questioned even to this day- NIGHT. So you can expect certain cultural references from latin american countries in the Caribbean like Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Hati, etc. I am purposely being vague about this region for the sake of story telling~ Now there are certain cultures/countries like Brazil and Paraguay not referenced but there's a reason for that as they ARE within the world of Noches but in a different way. You'll have to read to learn more~ Races All living things use magic. This is natural because magic is what this world uses commonly as a natural resource; be for powering up technology, or using it within their bodies where they have both a circulatory system for blood and a similar system but for magic. Thus, where a normal human heart would be on the left chest, they also carry a magical heart on the right chest. And of course, this applies to other races or creatures with their own system. The main usage of magic in their bodies is for controlling body temperature; no sun = freezing your ass off... Humans - Do I really need to explain? Aside from the magic system that we all carry, it's not uncommon for eye color and hair color to be influence by magic; one could have dark green hair and orange eyes just because... Scales - Once known to be giant underground reptiles, this intelligent species were well-respect in ancient times to that of dragons in mythology; although wingless. That being said, at one point in their history, Scales realized that their large bodies made it difficult to maintain magic which forced them to stay as deep underground as possible where raw sources of magic existed. Thus, they eventually learned to adapt their body structure to that of a human and are quite social. A running gag is while they are naturally cold blooded, they enjoy alcoholic drinks to 'warm' themselves despite that being a common real-world myth. Yet it works for them somehow... That being said, they're generally common like humans. Lunarians - One who comes from the moon itself, Lunarians look exactly human, save for their white hair and white colored eyes. While rare, they are seemingly kind and social despite their influence on making others uncomfortable. Due to the fact that every non-Lunarian holds extreme sensitivity to their own magic. They are often seen as the children of Luna herself. Brazuka - Unique, their hair is fire itself but does not burn. Sharp teeth and non-human skin color, they are barely different from humans and are found everywhere across Noches. Imperdonables - I don't want to spoil much but basically these are the race that does NOT benefit from magic as a neccessary; when they breathe, they release something that unbalances magic itself to the point where it can destroy it. However, they are considerate enough that they invented masks that naturally filters out this toxic to magic. Often discriminated, they hold a strong belief that all living things have become too reliant on magic itself. Ironically, they are commonly the strongest users of magic itself. Importance of Magic Magic itself is an important aspect in this world. Because of way how life is, Magic has always been there like oxygen. It influenced many possibilities with science and religion. Its raw properties is hot and dangerous; think of lava in a way. Because it comes in different forms, magic can either help or harm you depending on how it's presented before you. Hell it's a natural light source where plant life 'glows'. Hell using magic as various possibilities, giving it many forms via various mediums.  Magic is used via the language which is commonly Spanish. Although the main character begins to learn that the parent language Latin has other languages (French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, etc.) that is used in Noches. But for the sake of keeping things simple, Spanish in this world is reference as 'magic' and the main language used for magic. I thought at first this would be 'cheap' to always use magic as the explanation, but it's more than that; it brings an argument of how much life can be different if you add something that is a game changer. In fact, the main character does begin to question if magic is really a benefit or even a weakness.  This series of the 'Legacy Cycle' has many things already written/planned. And I hope that you'll get into this~

RT Novel

Not sure how to phrase this or if this is even the right place for it but I thought RT was doing a novel that wasn't a RvB thing it was an original concept I think. But when I tried o look it up I can't find the post I thought I saw. Can anyone point me in the right direction or correct me if I'm wrong? Please and thank you.

Inkshares Space Opera Novel campaign.

Hi, guys! I can't believe it took me this long to realize RT has a book forum. So this post is to let you guys know about this book campaign I'm running on Inkshares. As of this post there are 47 days left to try to get to the 250 preorder mark. That means an average of five books a day need to be sold in order for Inkshares to publish it through their Quill program. I tried indie publishing before via Amazon, but I thought this route would generate better exposure for the book. Through The Ghost is a scifi/space opera adventure filled with action, mystery, and romance. As a long time RvB fan (watched season one at a Halo:CE LAN party back in 2003), there are certainly elements of inspiration from the Freelancers and their fragments. The plot revolves around Tal Revin, a green veined Orothros operative,  discovers his long lost partner Tannah West on an isolated planet. From that point on Tannah's reappearance brings death and destruction in her wake to the point that Tal has to decide whether the love and loyalty he feels are worth the chaos she brings. It's a story about family, love, and loyalty with a healthy dose of action, comedy, and mystery as you delve into the world of Orothros.   Just visit this link to find the first five sample chapters, and get yourself either an e-book or hardcover copy of Through the Ghost. Also feel free to check out my YouTube page, where I discuss elements of the book from a behind the scenes perspective. https://www.inkshares.com/book...

Rey de Noches~ (Seeking Reviewers)

I am trying to find reviewers to check out my ebook story Rey de Noches. It was updated to a properly edited format and so I am looking for people who are interested in this epic fantasy. Within a world where no sun exists, the tale of Ruiz aiming to become King of Noches itself is FREE to download; (Amazon Kindle price match should be free as well) I struggled for many years to properly edit this because it took me long to realize that I needed this to be edited with unbiased views; I myself was not mature enough at the time to 'hurt my baby' and do what was needed. Thus I hired an editor to do what was needed and now I've learned from my mistakes. That being said, I humbly request that you take at least a small peek~ Thus, I offer you my story in either format: Mobi format PDF format I hope that you enjoy this story. For a long time I've been told that the writing itself has been holding it back. Now, I feel confident enough to where everyone won't be distracted by my once-terrible writing skills... Happy reading~!

The Great Gatsby?

Great book yea?

Millennium!!!

I'm the author of Millennium, a sci-fi military novel. I'm also 18. Unfortunately, not many large companies will publish an author's story that young, so I don't have a lot of publicity. Sales haven't been good, and I'm in danger of losing my contract. So check the book out, and share it to your friends!! (Suggestions and advice are also appreciated.) Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Millenium-Alex-Steinberg/dp... Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Millennium-Alex-Steinberg-e...

Writing about superpowers, online worlds, and overpowered protagonists?

As I read a lot of manga, some popular tropes include: superpowers (heroes and villains), immersive online worlds (usually games), and reincarnation stories (where the protagonist uses his prior knowledge or a power up to gain an upper hand). So anyone got tips, advice, or recommendations of books to read? I know some material won't translate well, but I'd like to give it a shot when writing. Stuff I've read includes: Worm, an online web serial about superheroes and villains where everything is in the grey area.Ready Player One, popular media references in a video game world you can connect to paired with the easter egg hunt of the ages.Epic and Saga, post apocalypse society where everything in real life (status and wealth) is dictated by how well you perform in the game.Wild Cards series, alien virus causing powers There might be a few more, but those are the ones I remember clearly.

ASOIAF Central

ITT: We talk about ASOIAF, no show related topics please. I wanna start off with the theory that Cersei herself is the Younger and more beautiful queen that will be her downfall. Her decision making lose her fleet, her throne, her power her friends and allies, her kids and Jaime has abandoned her. She is so focused on the prophecy, so she is the younger and more beautiful queen, her younger self that she is so focused on, is her downfall.

Geeky Writers

Hello my fellow nerds, geeks, gamers and lore addicts. I just wanted to see if anyone who digs Rooster Teeth as much as I do would want to form some sort of reading and writing group. Sharing prompts, finding books to read, and other ways of basically broadening our horizons. Looking forward to any responses!!!