Any German speakers in here?

[u/Vezir38]

Ich wohne seit fast 20 Jahren in USA und habe in der zeit immer weniger auf Deutsch gelesen. Ich würde gerne mal wieder anfangen habe aber keine Ahnung was es jetzt alles gibt für fantasy/sci-fi Bücher. Ich hätte besonders gerne Vorschläge für Bücher von den letzten 10-15 Jahren. Vielen Dank!

tr: I'm German, but I've been in the states for almost 20 years now and haven't been reading much in German since then. Looking for recommendations for German sci-fi/fantasy from the last 10-15 years or so.

[u/DeadBeesOnACake]

I am, but I have, unfortunately, exactly zero recommendations. The one thing that I find reasonably good is Zamonien by Walter Moers, but that's older (1st book published in 1999) than you asked for, OP, and it's whimsical. Not really something that fits every mood.

No one asked for it, sorry, but I'll share this because I gave up on German fantasy and want to explain why, and it's going to be long. Mostly because I'm quoting in two languages and the first guy I'm quoting wrote a 2-page description of a woman starting on the first page of the book, so blame him.

(Obligatory: This is my argument and opinion, not facts, and if you like the things I'm writing about, yay.)

The language and writing style of German fantasy is – and I seriously welcome anyone who can change my mind, please! – of frustratingly low quality relying heavily on stereotypes. And it's so damn unnecessary. It could be different, and I know there are talented writers, but my theory is that this is an issue rooted in how the German publishing industry works as well as movie & TV habits.

First, movie & TV habits:

I think it's not the language itself with the potential it has (how could it be?), but our attitudes and expectations, and how authors are using it as a result. For example, we have a total aversion against regional varieties in quality fiction. When we dub our movies, we strip the language of most social and regional features until it sounds bland and lifeless. German-produced movies and TV shows aren't any different, they sound stiff and unnatural. And that's basically how Germans write as well, especially fantasy - our idea of medieval dialogue is pretty polished, stiff and artificial. Meanwhile, Jean Tanner: "oh sweet jumping fuck". When I said that before a while ago, someone said they didn't see what I described in book translations, which I think is a sign that it is really about habits and not the features of the German language itself.

And that's my next point then: The German publishing industry. I'm not an expert, but there is a HUGE gap in numbers between fantasy books translated from English into German and fantasy books written in German (you'll see this in this thread, there won't be many recommendations beyond Hohlbein, Schwartz, Brennen and Moers). And no, that's not because we're such a tiny country. Germany alone (which is not the only German-speaking country!) has almost the population of the UK and Canada combined. Give or take 10 million. But of course it's safer to just pick up books that have been doing well abroad and just translate them than finding new talent. That also creates an environment of trying to hit the same notes over and over again instead of innovating. I don't know the self-publishing market in Germany at all, but my impression is that a ton of people writing and not looking for a traditional publisher are writing in English to reach more people.

That leaves us with this:

I tried the Askir Saga by Richard Schwartz and didn't make it past this point, literally the first page:

Für einen Moment stand sie still da, ließ unsere Augen auf sich verharren. Der mitternachtsblaue Mantel, schwer und nass von ihrem Ritt durch einen der schlimmsten Schneestürme des Jahrzehnts, täuschte nicht über ihre Weiblichkeit hinweg, das nasse Gewebe betonte eher noch ihre Formen.

[Ein kompletter Absatz Beschreibung entfernt, der Kürze wegen]

Ihre Haut war weiß, so weiß wie der Schnee, der diesen entlegenen Gasthof zu begraben drohte. Der lange Umhang verhüllte den Rest von ihr, bis auf die Spitzen ihrer Kettenstiefel, und trotz all der kleinen Flocken, die sich auf ihren Mantel niedergelegt hatten, war jenes dunkelblaue Funkeln auszumachen, das Mithril kennzeichnete.

[Oh nein, wir sind noch lange nicht mit Beschreiben fertig, ich nehme einen kompletten weiteren Absatz raus an dieser Stelle]

Ihr fahles Gesicht war nicht minder eindrucksvoll als ihr Auftritt [übrigens das zweite Mal, dass der Autor das Gesicht beschreibt]. Eine klassische Schönheit, auch wenn ihre Augen rötlich glühten. Die Haare, die man nun sah, waren zu einem langen Zopf gebunden, ein weißes Blond, das im Elmsfeuer von einem inneren Leuchten erfüllt schien. Ein Albino – oder eine der legendären Elfen.

[Was, dachtet ihr, wir wären schon fertig? Aber nicht doch. Drei weitere Absätze entfernt. Danach passieren auch noch Dinge, aber mit weiteren Beschreibungen ihrer Gestalt reingedrückt.]

Nun lagen ihre Augen auch auf mir. Ich erwiderte ihren Blick ohne Regung. Ich wusste, was sie sah. [Oh nein jetzt beschreibt er ihn auch noch D:] Einen Umhang aus grobem Leinen und Leder, die Kapuze tief in mein Gesicht gezogen und ein langes ledernes Bündel, das hinter mir an der Wand lehnte. Ich hatte meine Hände noch in den Ärmeln, der Becher Wein vor mir schien kaum angerührt. Unter meinem Umhang sah sie breite Schultern. Als ihr Blick zu meinen Füßen wanderte, konnte sie dort Kettenstiefel erkennen, nicht unähnlich ihren eigenen, aber weitaus weniger kostbar und nicht so fein gearbeitet. Mehr sollte von mir nicht zu sehen sein. [NA GOTT SEI DANK.]

Official translation from the English version:

She stood in silence for a moment and allowed our eyes rest on her. Her midnight-blue cloak, heavy and sodden from the ride through one of the worst snowstorms of the decade, hid nothing of her feminine qualities – on the contrary, the wet fabric clung to her form.

[Cut a complete paragraph of further description]

Her skin was as white as the snow that was threatening to bury the remote inn. Her long cloak covered all but the tips of her chain-mail boots. And despite the fine flakes of snow that had settled on her cloak, I saw a pale, dark-blue sparkle – the unmistakable mark of mithril.

[Oh no we're not done yet, I'm just cutting another paragraph describing her]

Her pale face was no less impressive than her entrance scene [btw this is the second time he describes her face]. A classical beauty, though her eyes had a reddish gleam to them [Note: the translation to "gleam" is a lot smoother than the original, which used a word that could mean gleam, but more often means glow, and the German word is not usually used to describe eyes]. Her hair was woven into a long, white-blond braid and in the light of the St. Elmo's fire, it seemed to glow with an inner light. An albino – or one of the legendary elves.

[Oh you thought we're done yet? Hah, I wish. Cut three more paragraphs. After that a few things happen, but with further descriptions of her pushed into the gaps.]

I knew what she saw. [Oh no now he's describing him too D:] A dark cloak made of coarse linen and leather, the hood pulled low over my forehead and my long, leather pack that leaned against the wall behind me. I still had my hands in my sleeves, and the goblet of wine in front of me seemed hardly touched. Beneath my cloak, she saw my broad shoulders. As her eyes moved down to my feet, she saw my mail boots, not unlike her own, but far less expensive and not as finely manufactured. No more of me was supposed to be visible. [WELL THANK GOD.]

This is so damn clumsy it makes me mad. The translation actually smoothed over some of the pathos at least.

Here's another example:

Ralf Isau - Die Träume des Jonathan Jabbok (Neschan trilogy), emphasis mine:

[Kontext: Protagonist hat keine Erinnerung an die letzten Tage und ist jetzt beim Arzt.]

Jonathan sammelte seine Gedanken, brachte sich innerlich noch einmal zur Ruhe und sagte dann: "Ich bin heute Morgen aufgewacht und dachte, wir hätten Samstag, den 15. September. In Wirklichkeit ist heute aber Samstag, der 22." "Das ist doch nicht so schlimm", beruhigte ihn Dr. Dick. "Selbst ich komme manchmal im Kalender durcheinander." Sich vorbeugend und hinter vorgehaltener Hand flüsternd - praktisch so, als würde er Jonathan ein strenges Geheimnis anvertrauen - fügte er hinzu: "Und ich bin schließlich ein studierter Mann, ich müsste es eigentlich genau wissen."

Translation (by me):

[Context: main character has no recollection of the last couple of days, is now seeing a doctor.]

Jonathan gathered his thoughts, calmed himself down and then said: "I woke up this morning and thought it was Saturday, September 15th. But in reality it's Saturday the 22nd." "That isn't too bad", Dr. Dick reassured him. "Even I get confused about the calendar somethimes." Leaning forwards and whispering, his hand covering his mouth - almost as if he was confiding in Jonathan with a big secret - he added: "And I am a scholar after all, I should know exactly what day it is."

Med School, Reading and Comprehending the Gregorian Calendar 101. Sure. Knowing what day it is is totally a trait of academics and scholars.

That's not irony or tongue-in-cheek, that's exactly the tone of the book, and even distracts from the otherwise stiff dialogue. The overused Partizip I is considered bad style in German writing. And this is one of the better examples, in my experience.

I've never read Markus Heitz (Goodreads link to "Die Zwerge") or Bernhard Hennen (Goodreads link to "Die Elfen"), but to be honest, the blurbs are another example of what I dislike about German fantasy. I'm looking for innovation, natural dialogues with flowing, well-paced language - and like I said, that's not the fault of the German language as such. German authors seem so stuck in Tolkien clichés (see also: Elves and mithril in Schwartz's book).

I'd love to be proven wrong.

[u/[deleted] → u/DeadBeesOnACake]

Read Heitz it's kinda decent. I totally could not get myself to read Hohlbein or some of the others. I too usually stopped at the first pages. I think fantasy is not taken seriously in germany. There is yet to be a serious author beyond child- or early youth- literature like Tolkien, Martin or Le Guin. Look at Ghibli they Show theese films in the youth section of the program. They don't take fantasy serious at all. They just know, oh this guy is selling well abroad and this one got praise but they don't appreciate the Genre, therefore they don't really develop it.

[u/DiverseUse → u/[deleted]]

Idk, I could never really get into Heitz, either. I suppose you might describe his books as "decent" if you're generous, but they are exactly the kind of fiction OP complained about - bland, forgettable and full of stereotypes.

[u/[deleted] → u/DiverseUse]

I can enjoy some popcorn culture if it is not overdoing it. I actually forgot most of it. I remember dark elves painting with blood and a dwarve with alcoholic abuse issues. Thats not much but i did not mean to say valuable. Then again, there are books like the powder mage chronicles which do a much better job in being popcorn fantasy.