Category: Books
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The Difference Between Gongfu and Cultivation
Your average wuxia\xianxia\cultivation\progression fantasy author makes a simple distinction between gongfu and cultivation: gongfu is for fighting, cultivation is for gaining power. To become more powerful, characters meditate and consume exotic substances. To express that power, they employ fancy-sounding martial techniques. There is a disconnect between cultivation methods and fighting methods. How a character gains…
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What You Do, You Become
Saga of the Swordbreaker is a story of martial cultivation. Naturally, martial arts is the heart of the series. But what is a martial art? From the layman’s perspective, it is simply a collection of techniques, principles and body mechanics. It shows you how to generate power and transmit it into your opponent, ideally without…
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The True Meaning of Cultivation
Cultivation is the heart of cultivation fantasy. But what does that word even mean? For most authors, cultivation is simply the means by which a character grows more powerful. This takes the form of meditation, consuming pills and potions, special breathing methods, striking bargains with powerful spiritual entities, and so on. This is the staple…
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Stand by for SAGA OF THE SWORDBREAKER: INVINCIBLE UNDER HEAVEN!
Li Ming was once a small-town boy with big dreams. Propelled by dreams of immortality, he entered the jianghu as a biaohang, intent on delivering justice at the point of his swordbreaker. In the space of a year, he battled beasts and bandits, became embroiled in the schemes of the Five States and Ten Corporations,…
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The Big Based Book Sale!
Big Publishing doesn’t care about readers. Month after month, year after year, Big Publisher churns out message fic for the express purpose of cramming an agenda down your throat. It’s preachy, it’s boring, and it’s on purpose. They don’t publish stories to serve readers. They do it to serve their agenda. And they keep anyone…
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Thoughts on Larry Correia’s Letter to Epic Fantasy Fans
Larry Correia wrote a blog post calling out a specific demographic of epic fantasy fans: those who won’t take a chance on a new author. After being burned by the likes of George R. R. Martin and Patrick Ruthfoss, they won’t read a new author unless his series is complete, for fear that they won’t…