Recommendations Paranormal/Immortal Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Discussion in 'I'm Looking For...' started by Viola, Mar 2, 2020.

  1. Viola

    Viola Studio Ghibli Fanboy Mother of Learning Fanboy

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    So I'm looking for books, published or otherwise that explore the Dark side of the Paranormal Genre or Exploring Immortality be it as an individual, a race or a unique spin such as endlessly reliving your life.


    I don't want recommendations with Paranormal Romance, way too many books i search for on my own spiral into a steamy romance between a Vampire and whatever or whoever else. I'm done with those books, I'm fine with some romance elements but ill go crazy if i read another series that seems promising only to turn into a hormonal roller coaster about Vamp or other inter specie love affairs and triangles.
    Please dear God spare me!

    To get a feel for the kind of setting i am going for think, Dresden Files for its Paranormal world and depth.
    Altered Carbon for its gritty setting and unique take on immortality,
    The First 15 Lives of Harry August as an example of immortality through a spin on time.
    or even The Boys (TV) for it unsettling and dark reality hidden underneath.

    It could be like all or any and i would read them with great zeal. Thanks for any help that you all can provide.
     
  2. Deleted member 155674

    Deleted member 155674 Guest

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    Did you hear of SCP :whistle:
     
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  3. Greater thunder

    Greater thunder Well-Known Member

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    So you want something that really goes for a twisted show on immortality? Let's face it, most novels with it show up the usual with most things going okay, paying token tribute to aloofness and disconnect of charas as caused by outliving others. The ones with real problems are either old time xianxia stories pulling on origins like the fates of many characters Meng Hao passes in ISSTH on his own cultivation path as their mentality is a chief cause/effect in deviating, or author Chen Dong's Shrouding the Heavens that showcases the desperation of immortals physically in the results of their predecessors corpses in ruins eerily resisting effects of time enough for the modern cultivators to know beings who reached farther than they are now dead, surrounded by rotted ruins which depict decoratively architecture and abodes much like those used now and, being refined using splendid materials shouls theoretically last forever, yet they see an ancestor's resting place is a cave or a pagoda or temple similar in looks to theirs, with unknown materials, or worse, known ones that are valued greatly, yet here they see cultivation merely bought them reprieve from death's clutches, and what's worse, their fear of it grows greater as truly accomplished cultivators know the reality, that immortality is not possible in a world whose Way that granted that immortality and great powers was ruined by ancient immortals waging war for the usual reasons (attaining basic immortality wasnt the end even then) using those powers and now, not even the so called Great Emperors may have eternity for the world's flaws and wounds gape open. Lots of corpses are for extra fun turning into undead and it's not odd to see a corpse look like some ancient famous bigshot, for that bigshot to have left recordings and some of his will in an item, and that his spirit/soul became an independent entity nm 3 all of those still responding to the same name as when alive in one piece.

    Mystical Journey- Dude dies and shuttles through worlds with various supernatural powers ( the worlds, not him, he has to do his damn best to grab any ounce of power aside from his starting cheat which hit and stuck to his soul by "accident" and in 1st world serves as ticket to other worlds and gradually lapses in efficiency in recognising threats to his health/safety/sanity as he meets more and stuff outside of any common sense with its own internal rules he knows little or nothing about and the ability can't quantify what he don't know).

    World number one, gets swole and uses martial rights, his actions, training regime, belief change due to plotting and getting plotted aganst corrode his beginner time humane approach into wariness and later on cold calculations. Dies. World number 2, ends in different world, connected to 1st world by Warlocks from far past by world paths which is why his soul is in 2nd world, because it was in 1st. Locals use "Totem power", martial arts are useful at first, before wars start and he finds the limits of his practice unacceptable as even mere soldiers are enough to be a grievous threat to him acquires Totem ppwer, knowledge and practice thrpugh heavy scheming, as he goes further with it, becomes closer to Leyling Farlier(Warlock of the Magus World) in modus operandi than he ever was himself back at beginning.

    Which is why I dropped on world 3, or 4 if you count returning to world 1 to tie up loose regrets like coming back to secure his sister's wellbeing and in shock because he really met her granddaughter who really looks like her and leaves after a while. Anyway, world after that. Powers that he (seemingly at least, dropped it) can't have as while both are hereditary, one is specific to a non human species ( 1of many vampire versions) and the other is women only ( mc guy every time ). Good news is, rapidly worsening psycho here developed martial power/Totem into a mix that his soul carries along as a Soul Seed, bad news, he uses his powers which are rather solid in this world against physical enemies for very, very not sane purposes aside from acquiring more power seemingly at random and gets noticed by Warlocks enemies and Warlock traitors ( bad news, as these enemies are more the incorporeal kind that goes straight for his soul that scares him even more after experiencing how death is merely a gateway to another life for him while this is serious perma death and his only means to resist is either maturing his Soul Seed which is far away or getting many more which is funny when combined effort of 2 lives got him 1 and a mentor offering more or an alternative method is a shade that tried to possess him because the retard had the balls to practice a method left behind a Warlock known as 1 ( and 3rd overall, I think) of the cruelest 42 Demon Kings Warlocks named so for their atrocities, it failed due to soul cheat and soul seed boosting his resistance ( also reasons why warlock enemies haven't pasted his brain and soul yet) which is not comforting as a safe way to build a soul arsenal would take decades at least and he only has months after having lucked into a local item which slows otherworldly beings invasion into his dreams all the while the "mentor" promises him all the risky methods that payoff in mere months enough to survive these onslaughts ehile stating minor "drawbacks" to justify why he should be trusted.
     
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  4. Ddraig

    Ddraig Frostfire Dragon|Retired lurker|FFF|Loved by RNG

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    Maria from hell
     
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  5. Darkcrow.

    Darkcrow. Foul Tarnished

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    [​IMG]
     
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  6. Viola

    Viola Studio Ghibli Fanboy Mother of Learning Fanboy

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    Shit, if i could give you more than 1 like simply for the prose contained within this reply i would.
    Thanks for the rec's tho. ISSTH is checked already but eh others i haven't even checked out yet.
     
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  7. Viola

    Viola Studio Ghibli Fanboy Mother of Learning Fanboy

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    I need a beginners intro to that site, it is confusing for a newbie to it honestly.
     
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  8. chencking

    chencking [Daolord Grammar Nazi]

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    Spirit Sword Mountain has a bit of that.
    The cultivators have to go to war against the immortals.

    I really enjoyed Shibito no Koe o Kiku ga Yoi. I think you might as well.

    There is of course Ghost Hunt and some of the terrifying arcs it has. Though I am influenced by how I was a kid when I encountered this series.

    Gachirin ni Kirisaku feels a bit dark, though there's a good chance it's not what you want.

    I am told "I Am a Hero" is a more... down-to-earth...zombie manga, albeit never having read it myself.

    Unfortunately, good dark series are inordinately rare finds. And I'm sorry to say I do not read that genre of published novels.

    PS: A friend recommended Worm to me a few years ago. iirc he described it as a dark take on the teens with supernatural powers genre.

    PPS: The anime Xam'd: Lost Memories might be nice for you.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2020
  9. Greater thunder

    Greater thunder Well-Known Member

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    Hahaha, wrote it at 4 am and posted after 3 flawed edits squinting harder than Clint Eastwood in a western. Now that I see it, still sucks but I don't feel like wasting half an hour just to make a non story post any more reasonable. If you ever feel the need to reply to something after 1 am, remember this.
     
  10. Viola

    Viola Studio Ghibli Fanboy Mother of Learning Fanboy

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    Shibito seems interesting. I see some potential to really explore some characters in great depth. For sure worth checking out.

    I actually checked out the anime Ghost Hunt. I was in my beginning foray to anime and manga so perhaps i'm remembering it better than it was but i did enjoy it. I would assume the book is better as is with most scary things.

    Gachirin.... good call, you know me. Not quite calling out to me.

    I would check out I am a Hero just for the immense detail contained withing its art. I mean, i only looked at some google images but damn. And I'm a sucker for zombie soooooooooooo. (y)

    I've been reading worm. It really scratched that itch for dark superhero books. It goes real dark and by what i hear I'm not even at the real darkest stuff yet. Plus it doesn't seem unrealistic, while there are a lot of crazies a lot of the bad shit that goes down comes from real motivations and circumstance.

    And ya, good dark series are so rare. I make a thread like this around once a year, give or take a couple months and i never get many recs. Either a genre people don't like or they, like me have trouble wading through all the shit to find the good stuff. It sucks cause i think it really explores a different perspective to living and all the genres we love so much, a perspective that is either a caricature or just explored in such a shallow manner in most novels. Even the ones that really delve into it and embrace it, often do it poorly. It sucks.

    Thanks for all the rec's though. Hopefully this will keep me going for awhile.
     
  11. Insanenebula

    Insanenebula Member

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  12. Deleted member 213850

    Deleted member 213850 Guest

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    Kaleidoscope of Death is creepy enough. The romance is slow burn so it's alright. Translation is still at Door 3 of 12 and I can't begin to imagine what other scary scenarios there are.
     
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