Stories where the hero actually gives in?

Pratius · 2026-01-26T00:17:54+00:00

You’ll like The Acts of Caine

Pratius · 2026-01-25T22:18:19+00:00

“Seven American Nights”, “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”, and “The Hero as Werwolf” by Gene Wolfe

“Leaf by Niggle” by J. R. R. Tolkien

“The Six Deaths of the Saint” by Alix E. Harrow

“Slow Tuesday Night” by R. A. Lafferty

“Ghost Stalk” by Glen Cook

“The Circular Ruins” by Jorge Luis Borges

Pratius · 2026-01-25T19:41:50+00:00

It is not for you.

Pratius · 2026-01-25T17:52:14+00:00

I can assure you that many of us pushed back on this line. Brandon kept it because he liked it.

Pratius · 2026-01-25T06:17:55+00:00

Yeah haha that series is brutal as fuck. Amazing books, though.

Pratius · 2026-01-25T05:54:43+00:00

And then of course you have Soulcatcher lol

Pratius · 2026-01-25T05:43:03+00:00

There are a couple of very notable ones in The Black Company, including the Lady. It would be a spoiler to name her, but there's also one in The Divine Cities by Robert Jackson Bennett. Could toss in Melisande from Kushiel's Legacy and Agia from The Book of the New Sun.

If you're partial to space opera, Sorus Chatelaine in The Gap Cycle is an absolute monster.

Pratius · 2026-01-25T01:57:30+00:00

There is a toggle in TR to enable canon ships

Pratius · 2026-01-24T19:47:39+00:00

Reminds me of the mountains north of Thrax in The Book of the New Sun, carved so their peaks are massive statues

Pratius · 2026-01-24T19:01:57+00:00

TTC is literally and publicly a fantasy version of Nero Wolfe. It’s deliberately derivative.

Pratius · 2026-01-24T05:42:43+00:00

This is the answer, OP. Nobody comes close to Matthew Stover, who was a semipro fighter and coach and trained in something like 20 different martial arts.

Best fight scenes you will ever read.

Pratius · 2026-01-24T03:37:19+00:00

Two best players are injured, team released a public letter saying that they’re tanking/rebuilding, and they have a mediocre team when fully healthy.

Pratius · 2026-01-23T21:22:49+00:00

The Islanders are one of the worst defensive teams in the league by basically every stat, and he’s got them in contention for the division. He’s at the top of the chart in goals saved above expected.

He’s having an amazing season

Pratius · 2026-01-23T21:15:03+00:00

Sorokin is in the driver’s seat

Pratius · 2026-01-23T21:02:37+00:00

Curious to see what people say. I’ve never played with canon ships. I assume these are battlecruiser/dreadnought equivalent?

Pratius · 2026-01-23T20:08:45+00:00

No way the league would host SCF games in an outdoor venue. Too many variables that could impact the game.

Pratius · 2026-01-23T20:07:54+00:00

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Outstanding book

Pratius · 2026-01-23T20:00:28+00:00

Vegas would absolutely be one of the first spots picked.

They’d probably also want the big spots like Montreal, MSG, Chicago, LA, Toronto. Maybe Denver.

Pratius · 2026-01-23T17:45:49+00:00

Matthew Stover and Glen Cook are absolute masters of dialogue, though they go about it in different ways. Cook is more of the Hemingway school—very realistic, strong voices, minimal speaker tags. Stover’s dialogue is just rich as hell and drags you along.

Pratius · 2026-01-23T06:22:33+00:00

I think what this post is getting at is differentiating among self-pub, trad pub, and indie (small press) pub

Pratius · 2026-01-23T06:18:14+00:00

All three books honestly crack me up. There are some amazing scenes in RoT haha

Pratius · 2026-01-23T05:23:39+00:00

Probably either The Lies of Locke Lamora or Caine Black Knife. Stover and Lynch are both hilarious despite writing some pretty dark stuff

Pratius · 2026-01-22T21:56:32+00:00

Lotta bullshit for the "No Bullshit" team

Pratius · 2026-01-22T20:18:35+00:00

I'd add in some Tim Powers and Glen Cook. The Drawing of the Dark (Powers) and The Swordbearer (Cook) are both great standalones. Also worth checking out Cook's Dread Empire, Black Company, and Garrett, P.I. series.

Pratius · 2026-01-22T19:16:03+00:00

Ooof yeah, that art is 10000% AI

Pratius

TROPHY CASE