Screw Tolkien. Screw LeGuin. Screw Martin. Screw Asimov.
What is your favorite pure pulp, pure schlock fantasy or sci-fi series of books? Nothing prestige. Just enjoyable trash.
What is your favorite pure pulp, pure schlock fantasy or sci-fi series of books? Nothing prestige. Just enjoyable trash.
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The Time Machine Did It is a must read imo
We celebrate all schlock here.
Do we consider Lankhmar schlock? I always enjoyed those
The Legend of Vox Machina must be so satisfying for the Critical Role folks. First they got to make money playing D&D, then they got to make their campaign into a show.
*ADnD*.
And I still love it.
(His Star Wars stuff is excellent, too)
Second book... people smugglers? And... nothing happens?
Third book... back underground. And then I got too bored.
Not that shitty cartoon.
One of my three favorite movies, possibly my favorite, is Snakes on a Plane.
Citizen Kane it is not.
But I know which one I will pick 95 times out of 100 if given a choice.
Pure trash and cultish as a bonus
Raistlin Majere was my edgelord fantasy character of choice.
The Death Gods' Citadel by Juanita Coulson; Jhereg by Steven Brust
David Gemmell
Terry Goodkind
Raymond E Feist
are a few on my shelves
The Pride of Chanur & series
I can’t call it schlock cause I love it, but it’s from the 80’s & follows a female, feline space crew 😹
But military sci-fi is my favorite pulp genre and then I'm going to have to go with Lost Fleet.
Conan and Tarzan are schlock too. Stephen King as well.
The Stand, for instance, ain't schlock.
From biological horror to biblical metaphor
Yeah
Elmore Leonard, anybody say him yet?
After that, probably the Lensmen series.
A little more highbrow, anything by Harry Harrison.
by Robert Adams
Or
The Stainless Steel Rat
By Harry Harrison
Pure fun to read
(no, really, if you want TRASH, its Piers Anthony)
And every Shadowrun novel ever written, from "Into the Shadows" onwards.
Because that's a fun, not-heavy sci-fi series.
But the fantasy horror Twilight “Where Darkness Begins” Series was a priority indulgence + remains nostalgia dopamine for me ‘til this day
Yeah, that's right. By the Scientology nut-job. I'm not proud.
Warhammer's Gotrek & Felix - just my kind of dumb heroics that get more a more unhinged with ever book
Also, I love Kyle Rayner. One of my two favorite 90s heroes and 90s costumes (other is Ben Reilly/Scarlet Spider)
Kyle Rayner was awesome, and so was Wally West. You always knew Hal Jordan would eventually be back as GL #1, but goddamnit they should have left Barry Allen dead. They not only shit on Wally, but they shit on everyone who'd ever experienced Barry's death.
Sometimes characters have perfect deaths and we should move on. Their deaths celebrate who they were as characters.
Color of Magic-Terry Pratchett
Jhreg series-Steven Brust
I re-read them later and realized how fucking creepy they were with all the forced nudity and underage sexuality and whatnot.
Until it is done.
Nevermind
😭😭😭
Or Sara Douglass (The Wayfarer Redemption)?
Or even Salman Rusdie's The Satanic Verses? (On God,I read that last one at about 12 years old and it gave me NIGHTMARES!)
Or Brian Lumley's Necroscope series?
Man, I get so EXCITED about reading books!
Try hoopla.
Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series where the teenage hero travels around the Solar System as a troubleshooter for the Terran Council.
Asimov is so prolific you can find anything you want in his work. He also wrote a Mystery series.
-Terry Brooks for the Shannara books, the first 5-6 are bangers
-Anne McCaffery's Dragonriders of Pern is great sci-fantasy
-I was deeply into Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series at one point but I'm a weirdo
Pern is one of the greatest sci-fi series ever.
I'm the only one I think, but I liked David Eddings' Belgariad books. I liked them more when I read them as a kid, but 🤷♂️
Very enjoyable show to watch that way.
Which goes back to my "if it's an airplane bookstore book, it counts" premise.
Also Martin's scifi short stories is his best work.
I have 2 short story compilations of his I LOVE. I'll go digging in a bit bc I can't remember the names at the moment
It's perfect
Lord of Light Roger Zelazny
Literally everything Robert E. Howard wrote.
Great for 10 or 11 years Olds and up.
Clarke and Bradbury are up there with Asimov. Teachers will teach Clarke and Bradbury. They won't teach *googles random Star Trek book* Peter David.
And that's not a criticism of Peter David. It's jut a recognition of those who transcend genres
Anne McAffreys Dragonriders of Pern series.
FUTHERMUCKING BATTLETECH!!!
I don't care if they are impractical they are big stompy laser bois and I LOVE THEM!!! 🥹🥹🥹
After that, pretty much anything by Heinlein. Tho I did like, Have Spacesuit, Will Travel.
Deathworld Trilogy.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (second book SUCKED imho)
All of the Jim Butcher Dresden Series
I count it.
Flinx and Pip
Darkover
Conan
It’s not really trash and it’s not very good either but I enjoyed the summoner series well enough
- Modern fantasy: Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files)
- Just plain fun: Tanith Lee (All of them)
In the same vein, Howard's Steve Costigan stories are absolutely pure enjoyable trash, I love them so much.
- Dresden Files
- Iron Druid series
- Conan in any format
- Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Dungeons & Dragons, pretty much anything set in a TTRPG universe
Hell yeah.
Warhammer novels, Traveller novels, stuff based on more obscure RPGs.
This one is a fave I periodically re-read.
Mixed fonts. Embossed title. Edgelord drawing.
Hell yeah.
David Eddings, The Belgariad
Haha, the Twinkies of fantasy literature
But the author of Reaper Man, Small God's, etc. is just Recognized Quality.
I also like the John Dies at the End series. The original books had David Wong as the author. His real name is Jason Pargin.
Hell yeah
Which isn't bad.
Rip roaring stuff. Like “The Philadelphia Experiment” but with Prince Harry as a main character.
I like trash. Trash is not a bad thing. But Pratchett isn't trash.
Night's Dawn 1st book is "The Neutronium Alchemist"
Commonwealth saga 1st book is "Pandora's Star"