27 KiB
[D] Monday Request and Recommendation Thread
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Author: u/AutoModerator *
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/1adxacl/d_monday_request_and_recommendation_thread/
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Score: 32
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Created: 2024-01-29T15:00:12
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Welcome to the Monday request and recommendation thread. Are you looking something to scratch an itch? Post a comment stating your request! Did you just read something that really hit the spot, "rational" or otherwise? Post a comment recommending it! Note that you are welcome (and encouraged) to post recommendations directly to the subreddit, so long as you think they more or less fit the criteria on the sidebar or your understanding of this community, but this thread is much more loose about whether or not things "belong". Still, if you're looking for beginner recommendations, perhaps take a look at the wiki?
If you see someone making a top level post asking for recommendation, kindly direct them to the existence of these threads.
Previous automated recommendation threads
Other recommendation threads
Comments:
u/tomtan [+36] (5 hours later)
Anti-rec today. Mark of the fool,
The first 7 books are quite good, the hero is relatively smart, tries to think things through and has a motto "Think. Adapt". It was recommended by someone here and at least for the first 7 books, it's rational.
But, since then the quality went down precipitously. As it's a progression fantasy, the hero became more and more powerful and the author's solution to present a challenge to this increased power is to liberally distribute the idiot ball. The MC is significantly dumber, he stops using allies that he could use for no good reason. He makes bad decisions after bad decisions and the pacing (never a strong point of this writer), become extremely bad with a lot of repetitions...
It's the written equivalent of the last season of GOT.
What's surprising is that in the last few months, patreons readers have been very vocal about how frustrated and annoyed they are. Yet the author doesn't seem to leave any response or change in anyway based on that feedback. I can understand authors wanting to preserve their vision but I do think that patreons' feedback are valuable because those are people who actually decided to give money to that author.
Anyway, wanted to save anyone from reading the first few books, enjoying it, only to be disappointed by what's looking to be an extremely poor ending. It's all the more frustrating given that the first 7 books were rather enjoyable.
u/Dragongeek [+24] Path to Victory (a day later)
Second the de-rec.
I didn't read anywhere near the first seven books--dropped it sooner. Generally, I found the hook interesting and the first bit is good, but from what I remember, after the initial scramble was over and the protagonist gets involved with the magic school arc it just didn't keep my attention anymore.
u/megazver [+9] (a day later)
Same.
u/tymka1 [+12] (5 hours later)
Can someone recommend a morally gray story where protagonist solves problems with intelligence? Preferably engineer, researcher, or a leader of some kind.
Recommendation: Cultist of Cerebon on royal road(litrpg) Story follows a cultist growing a cult from ground up, dedicated to god of flesh.
u/Do_Not_Go_In_There [+11] (11 hours later)
Pith (If you can find a copy online)
u/Amonwilde [+12] (a day later)
Pith was a cut above, though relentlessly depressing. Hope it resurfaces.
u/xjustwaitx [+9] (2 days later)
The author's Discord is still getting updates, seems like they got an agent and the book is already written, and going to be published soon
u/Amonwilde [+4] (3 days later)
That's good news. Pith is really something else.
u/Do_Not_Go_In_There [+5] (2 days later)
Yeah, it was probably my favourite story for awhile. Dunno what happened to madwhitesnake, I know they planned on traditional publishing and took the story down because of that. They used to be active on reddit and SA too, they they just kinda disappeared about 2-3 years ago.
u/-main [+2] (a month later)
Last update from the author in their discord was October '23, but it sounds like good news. Maybe it'll pop up in bookstores at some point.
u/CatInAPot [+11] (8 hours later)
Blood & Fur, MC is a puppet emperor to his vampire overlords trying take the empire down from within.
Godclads, man-eating ghoul/mind jacking expert fights a city that runs on death.
A Journey of Black and Red, the adventures and struggles of a girl turned vampire against her will.
Pale Lights, various death game trials, multiple PoVs, but one of the central protagonists is a thief with low combat ability that heavily relies on his wits.
u/thomas_m_k [+4] (6 hours later)
Never die twice fits maybe, though the protagonist doesn't use engineering to solve his problems but necromancy.
u/NTaya [+12] Tzeentch (a day later)
De-reccing this. I don't remember the details now (but that's all more damning, because I usually remember why I liked/disliked something—except when it's horribly forgettable), but I remember thinking that this story is painfully mediocre and all the characters are exceptionally uninteresting despite the premise.
u/None [+1] (a day later)
[deleted]
u/CatInAPot [+2] (a day later)
The NDT protagonist leans far more towards villain than good though?
u/whats-a-monad [+2] (a day later)
You're correct, I had mistaken this novel with something else.
u/LaziIy [+12] (9 hours later)
So after several years, I went back to The Daily Grind to see how far it had gotten. The original intrigue and hook does continue for a fair portion of the series (4 published books + content worth about 2 more on royal road), but after that to me it felt like it died down from the original story was.
The interest and rationality that the cast originally approached the setting with have started to dwindle in the recent arcs, there definitely seems to be a power vs intellect tradeoff when it comes to keeping it fresh. What felt like unique character interludes that would provide insight from another pov than that of the main character have started to become tedious inserts of just anyone and everyone involved in the arc.
I would definitely recommend the books released thus far and then suggest following up on Royal Road cautiously.
u/Jokey665 [+2] Worth the Candle (a day later)
Yeah I followed it for a long time but ended up dropping it a few months ago. Just got tedious.
u/LaziIy [+1] (a day later)
What point in the story did you end up dropping at ?
u/Jokey665 [+3] Worth the Candle (a day later)
uh according to RR my last read chapter is 252
u/Tiraon [+12] (2 days later)
I'd like to recommend a random RR find - Emergence, not tentatively or anything but also not fully.
It is a first contact story between cca 1950s humans and dragons taking place on an alternate oceanic Earth complete with different gravity, atmosphere and adjusted units.
The approach to science and a general sort of feel is similar enough to two of the listed inspirations(The Martian, Project Hail Mary, the other being Temeraire).
The general writing quality and execution of the premise is competent enough but personally I feel that the author unnecessarily overdoes it with the drama. I also felt similarly about the two listed Weir's works.
I also felt that the timescale was too short. Generally and also specifically for the dragon learning the language.
Also if someone would have recommendations for story with similar scale and type of alternate universe, I would welcome them.
u/Second_Sol [+12] (2 days later)
Oh hey, someone's talking about my story!
I'm a bit surprised that you think there's too much drama, I thought if anything there wouldn't be enough. I'd be perfectly fine writing nothing but "interesting" stuff without drama, but tense situations do help characters grow closer.
The timescale might be relatively short, but I figured it's not terribly unrealistic considering there's people who can learn languages in a week. I know it's not exactly comparable, but throw in a smarter-than-human dragon and I don't think it's unreasonable.
Also, finding actual grammar and spelling mistakes in a pile of intentional mistakes makes editing a nightmare.
I definitely plan on revising the story once book 1 is finished, mostly with the intent of making the dragons smaller and more realistic (maybe 8-10 meters long) and cutting out the more unnecessary stuff.
I found the "how to explain things and concepts without words to explain them" puzzle really interesting to solve, but I think most people found that rather boring, so I'm planning on cutting that down a little. I don't want to compromise what I intended this story to be for the sake of pandering to other people, but I do know what I have written can definitely be improved. I might replace the more menial dialogue with lessons that segue into will-be relevant topics like draconic customs or culture, for example.
Anyway, thanks for recommending my story, feel free to ask me anything or to make any suggestions.
u/Raileyx [+21] (4 hours later)
Two recs today, bringing them up because I haven't really seen them be discussed anywhere. So maybe this is something you haven't seen before.
What happens when an intelligent weapon is transported to another world, given a vague mission, and is then left to its own devices? Features a rational MC who is incredibly out of his depth, and has a very nonhuman mind. Think smart, but very maladapted. Problem is that he is optimised to function in an environment that is very different from the environment he finds himself in. He is
- optimised to function with support, an operator that takes care of macro-planning. Which he doesn't have.
- optimised to infiltrate incredibly violent tribes, who are nothing like the people he encounters in this book.
The result is utter chaos. One of the most fun reads I've had in a while. Sadly on hiatus now, but there is one complete book out, and that book has a satisfying conclusion. Well worth the read, even as an incomplete work. Regardless, it's 2500 pages long. I've binged all of it and have not regretted it once. Full recommendation for this sub, a must-read if you enjoy nonhuman MCs that actually have different mind-designs, and aren't just humans with a superficially different exterior.
This one is interesting, and I'm only half-recommending it. The best way I can describe this is.. schemes upon schemes upon schemes, politics, more schemes, time travel, holy shit there are so many characters, how does this very particular social dynamic of this feudal society affect things??, more schemes....
In essence, MC is a kingmaker who got a little bit too dangerous and influential, the new king (after he was made by her) figured that he's better off getting rid of her, which he did, she then travels back in time and does it all over again, but supporting someone else who is more trustworthy. The story is about her rise to power, using, well.. out of this world plotting supported by a bit of future-knowledge. MC is incredibly smart, but starts from a very weak position, supporting someone who wasn't even really in the race for the crown.
The social dynamics in this are frankly insane. It's like someone locked 20 machiavellian geniuses in a room to see what happens. On top of that, it plays in a world where social station matters A LOT, which complicates everything further. The plots run so deep, and there are so many players, you seriously need to read the comments underneath the chapters to keep up sometimes. The level of intrigue is crazy, to a point where I think it is quite unrealistic, but not in an unfun way. Everyone is playing 5D-chess all the time, to a point where you have to suspend your disbelief and assume that people can actually operate like this because it gets too ridiculous otherwise. It gets stupidly complex very quickly. If that sounds fun to you, I'd say you can give it a shot. Regardless, ymmv.
Personally, I quite enjoy it. Also, expect romance. There are apparently novels, but the manhwa isn't half bad so I'm rolling with that atm.
u/thomas_m_k [+4] (3 days later)
I quite enjoyed The villainess lives again. Thanks for the recommendation! I've read stories of that vein before (for example Surviving the Succession), but this one is the best of that genre I've read so far. The author is clearly smart and I think all the plots do make sense. The romance is a bit clichéd at times but it's okay and it only takes up a small portion of the story anyway.
u/Raileyx [+1] (3 days later)
glad you enjoy it :)
u/Susquick [+4] (6 days later)
- The villainess lives again
I'm almost 50 chapters in and have been disappointed by the intrigue so far. While it's obvious the MC isn't the only player in this game and a few others have been plotting things as well, I wouldn't describe any of it as mindblowing given the setting (even the MC's own achievements seem less impressive when you factor in the ridiculous advantage she starts with). Everything seems to be going more or less perfectly according to plan and everyone basks in awe at how amazing the main duo is - in fact, I feel like more chapters lately have been about that than actual plotting.
Are these early impressions likely to be subverted later on (e.g. there's definitely 5D chess going on and the author is just leading the reader into a false sense of security), or will it be more of the same (meaning I should drop it)?
u/Amonwilde [+4] (a day later)
Violent Solutions has a good premise, but the MC seems like a stumblebum so far, and the writing is somewhat inconsistent. How does an AI thingy built to infiltrate screw up stealing meat from a village so badly?
u/Raileyx [+8] (a day later)
because he is utterly maladapted. Has zero tools at his disposal, nobody to take care of the macro planning, he is used to infiltrate violent tribes where violent solutions raise status instead of getting you locked up, etc.
MC is very narrowly rational, i.e. their methods work perfectly in a very particular environment. And they're not in that environment, so the result is this mess. Like trying to crack an egg with a sledgehammer.
u/Amonwilde [+3] (2 days later)
I guess. He also just says stupid stuff all the time. I enjoyed parts of the beginning, but it felt like a video game played by an idiot. He got knocked unconscious like four scenes in a row, the author even had to lampshade it because it was so repetitive.Seems like stealing food from a low tech village would be exactly what a reconnaissance and sabotage unit would be able to do.
u/EdLincoln6 [+9] (13 hours later)
1.) There are A LOT of "Reborn as a Child" Isekai and a lot of "YA-ish" fiction with young child characters. Almost none of the child characters ever actually feel like real young people.
Are there any Isekai where the MC interacts with actually well written, normal children?
2.) What I like about Rational Characters is sensible characters. My pet peeve is characters who are Isekaid and instantly shout "Yeehaw!" and dive into a Dungeon full of monsters.
My favorite Progression Fantasy includes Beware of Chicken and Super Supportive.
What other works are there where the MC is cautious, sensible and rational, rather than treating his life like a video game? I don't care how much you Munchkin your power if you constantly behave like a lunatic.
Super Supportive and Beware of Chicken are my examples of stories where the MC doesn't treat his life like a video game.
u/NnaelKysumu [+26] (a day later)
Normal, well written children are a blight to read. Kibby is an exception, not the rule. Don't do this to yourself.
I have a good left over impression of The Gilded Hero, but it has been a couple of years since I've read it. It's a lot darker than either of the series you've mentionned, though. But the main character definitely wouldn't go out there in his new fantasy world if he could help it at all, and tries to make the best of his frankly terrible situation. Be warned, it's been abandoned.
u/EdLincoln6 [+6] (a day later)
Normal, well written children are a blight to read.
I was thinking of Apocalypse Parenting as an example of well written children.
Although I think early Alden in Super Supportive sort of qualifies.
u/NnaelKysumu [+8] (a day later)
I haven't read Apocalypse Parenting, but Alden from the first chapters is why I've slept on Super Supportive for so long. Sorry, I shouldn't have commented on it since I don't really have anything constructive to say on the subject, but I genuinely don't find reading about normal kids enjoyable.
u/EdLincoln6 [+6] (a day later)
Fair enough. We all have our own tastes. I find reading about cocky Alpha Chads with no concept of risk is boring. Clearly lots like this kind of thing.
The stylized Angsty Defiant Over Competent kid is ubiquitous enough I kind of want to see the opposite for variety.
I like normal, reasonable types of people confronted with otherworldly situations and having authentic seeming emotional reactions.
u/brocht [+2] (3 days later)
The first few chapters of Super Supportive are the worst, in my opinion. It gets much better.
u/ReproachfulWombat [+2] (3 days later)
It gets much, much better after the first few chapters, then suddenly gets massively worse again when >!he returns to earth!< and everything is just a bog-standard high-school drama with superpowers all of a sudden. The tonal shift practically snapped my neck. The tension and massive scale that was building all throughought the >!off world!< arc is gone, replaced by highschool bullies and PTA drama. I'm hoping it gets better again soon.
u/tomtan [+3] (2 days later)
Thanks for the recommendation, just started Apocalyptic Parenting and it's great :)
u/tomtan [+2] (a day later)
I have a good left over impression of The Gilded Hero,
Given that the book 2 was never completed, does the book 1 end with an acceptable ending?
u/NnaelKysumu [+1] (a day later)
It could've been better, because the author clearly planned to continue so we are left with an open ending, but the main character does resolve his initial problematic situation in a satisfying way.
u/ricree [+3] (2 days later)
Are there any Isekai where the MC interacts with actually well written, normal children?
Are you asking only in the context of a reincarnation Isekai? If not, I would recommend Apocalypse Parenting, which is from the perspective of a parent to several youngish children that generally feel very realistic and well developed.
Very solid characterization and storytelling overall. The series tends to be somewhat rational in the "flawed characters genuinely trying to make sensible decisions given uncertain situations" vein moreso than the munchkinry sense.
u/charizardvoracidous [+5] (8 hours later)
Does anybody have any essays/books/etc that they can recommend about the ontology and psychology of reading fiction? I don't mind the evo-bio angle if it comes up.
I'm coming from a series of observations and have a key question I'm looking to explore: fiction has to be more compelling than reality for people to engage with it or else they'd not bother to engage with it. While obviously, the preference for fiction differs from person to person, it's reasonable to state that for most, possibly all humans, the most compelling fiction is competitive or better with the "compellingness" of reality. Why is it competitive at all? Why isn't the ceiling far, far below the "compellingness" of engaging with reality? While art forms obviously started out as mechanisms for ingroups (of some mammals, some birds etc) to use the existing tool of signifiers in a new way: to better maintain shared capital, and have grown beyond that function how does fiction fit into that?
I'm obviously fantastically happy to have my ability to enjoy fiction and make prodigious use of it but was it inevitable? Orthogonality suggests the answer doesn't apply to all sapient or better intelligences, but would all evolved organisms that reach sapience have this ability? I guess what I'm asking is, is there an anthropic principle equivalent for the ability to appreciate long-form fiction? I don't expect to find any answers but I'd love to know if anybody has discussed why the "fiction drive" exists elsewhere.
Edit: not even a few minutes after I posted here, a guy on /lit/ suggested to me this blogpost from 2010 which seems like a good starting point. If anybody here is interested in my question they may appreciate my spreading the help I've received elsewhere.
u/Relevant_Occasion_33 [+3] (11 hours later)
There's a brief section on this page https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/platonism/#4.7 about one approach to the ontology of fictional objects. In the bibliography you can find citations for the essays referenced.
u/Amonwilde [+2] (a day later)
Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong.
u/Cayzle [+1] (2 days later)
I may be off base here, but from a perspective of analogy and metaphor, the print books "Always Coming Home" by LeGuin and "Piranesi" by Clarke seem to speak to me about what things are, what they mean, and the realities we create as we read and live.
u/hwc [+4] (9 hours later)
Good Silmarillian fics?
u/thomas_m_k [+10] (19 hours later)
Set in 2017 in Copenhagen and in Dallas and in Fargo, North Dakota, this is a story about Sauron, petroleum engineering, Morgoth, the surveillance state, the House of Fëanor, geopolitics, and Arda's final reckoning.
u/hwc [+3] (a day later)
I read that one! I am sad that it was never finished!
I've read a lot of lintamande's work, and while they write good stories about the Fëanorians, I would love different perspectives too.
u/SvalbardCaretaker [+3] Mouse Army (a day later)
Since you've already read lots of Lintamandes work, are you familiar with this multi-universe crossover where many different Maehdroses give each other perspective?
https://glowfic.com/posts/3524 Anaander Maitimo is great.
u/hwc [+2] (a day later)
I was a bit scared by that premise, but I'll check it out.
u/SpeakKindly [+1] (6 days later)
As far as glowfic goes, I'm not sure that thread is one you can enjoy much without reading the rest of everything else.
There is, however, a nice Buffy the Vampire Slayer / At the End of All Things crossover glowfic: https://glowfic.com/boards/111
u/SvalbardCaretaker [+1] Mouse Army (6 days later)
hwc did say they'd read "a lot of lintamandes work" though, without that I wouldn't have done it.
u/SpeakKindly [+2] (6 days later)
That's fair. I still recommend "with the time that is given to us" (linked above) unconditionally as possibly the best Fëanorian glowfic.
u/chiruochiba [+7] (a day later)
If you don't mind extreme AUs, I highly recommend The Music of the Ainur which reimagines the beginning of the Silmarillian in a scifi context, with the ainur (including the man who would become Morgoth) as the crew of a seeding ship sent to terraform a primordial planet to be their new home (Arda, aka the world of Middle Earth). I like the story because in my opinion the author did a good job exploring the motivations of the various ainur characters and their fraught interactions with each other which led to the eventual fate of the world they shaped.
u/GlueBoy [+3] anti-skub (18 hours later)
Land of the King is a ASoIaF/LotR crossover where the refugees from the sinking of numenor end up in westeros instead of middle earth. The plot and characters are kind of meh, the cool thing is the setting, the immense scope; it's 8000 years of history of the kingdom of Arnor that blends the two settings/cosmologies into one, told via historical accounts interspersed with PoVs of its kings or princes. As an example, one part I really liked is how >!The old gods and the seven are actually maiar, and the great Other is a fallen maiar in the vein of Sauron!<.
u/hwc [+2] (a day later)
I'll check that out.
u/cae_jones [+2] (3 days later)
I remember reading a fanfic of The Martian based on Elon Musk's more optimistic projections of how Starship would go. I remember Watney had a corrupted cargo manifest, and had to create a system for controlling all the robots that came with the fleet to sort through all the cargo in time to survive, but once this got going, was so capable that NASA decided they wanted to use the advantage to carry out more research. I remember it ending with Watney getting bored and making a Starship dance on its landing legs.
I've tried a number of search queeries, and found nothing. I don't suppose anyone has a link?
u/SvalbardCaretaker [+5] Mouse Army (3 days later)
https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/mohzlc/the_martian_starship_casey_handmers_blog/
found by:
site:reddit.com/r/rational "the martian", 4th hit
edit: uuggghh I can't wait for proper starship lift capacity being used to finally finally get going on space exploitation.
u/cae_jones [+2] (4 days later)
Thank you.