21 KiB
Recommendation Request: suggestions for people who liked Time Braid
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Author: u/ancientcampus juggling kittens*
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/2pn8xf/recommendation_request_suggestions_for_people_who/
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Score: 17
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Created: 2014-12-18T03:07:50
Post:
I enjoyed the Naruto fanfiction, "Time Braid". Specifically, I liked the badass protagonist plus terrifying villain combo, the fun with mindscapes, the computer-like multiverse, the interdimensional political scene that was initially way above the scope of the characters' interest and plot but gradually became relevant, the fact that the plot didn't follow canon, and the clever ways everyone used the story's magic systems. Does anyone have a recommendation for like stories, both fanfiction and otherwise?
I'm seeking a good adventure, not necessarily a "rationalist" story. I ask here, because it seems fairly popular among this crowd. (Let's avoid an argument about the merits of Time Braid itself - suffice to say it is rather polarizing, many enjoy it, and many others find it offensive.)
Comments:
u/Timewinders [+9] (15 minutes later)
Mother of Learning is an original story that's very similar to Time Braid. The main character is stuck in a time loop and does everything he can to learn about what's causing it and be prepared to deal with the antagonists. There isn't any computer-like multiverse though. I think that was just a crossover with Oh My Goddess in Time Braid. And unlike in Time Braid, the main character gets involved in the main plot early on because it starts in a really obvious way with the antagonists attacking his city. There is still a lot of time spent on "sidequests" though. The prose is pretty rough and there are some grammar issues but the story is fun and the main character is pretty clever.
u/Escapement [+6] Ankh-Morpork City Watch (59 minutes later)
Yes, as Timewinders says, they imported some of Oh My Goddess's multiverse for Time Braid. However, I don't suggest reading OMG if you enjoyed Time Braid's depiction of it - the canon (both TV and manga) is a rom-com/sit-com that is attenuated to the point of madness and made a bunch of very infuriating plot points / plot decisions. I can't really recommend it that highly over others in the magical girlfriend genre; the only fanfic that I've seen of it is, well, firstly Time Braid and secondly some of Davner's stuff - see Scordatura, Amants, and Haloes, and a few others, though his work is much more romancy things and less into fighting/combat, it tends towards doing romance well and also having really good comedy segments at times. Scordatura especially has a funnier zombie apocalypse than Shaun of the Dead and is just really great in general.
A few other things like Time Braid that came to mind.
Ra, by Sam512 technically fulfills a bunch of your stuff pretty well. It just ended recently and reactions to the ending are severely mixed to say the least. The praise for the earlier sections is a lot more uniform, at least - a few people didn't like it but most enjoyed it a lot.
The computerlike multiverse and mindscape stuff isn't present but most of the others are in multiverse crossover fic Sleeping With The Girls and sequels; this is a SI fic where a guy wakes up after every time he falls asleep next to a different character from various anime in various universes, and while that premise sounds amazingly bad it is actually pretty good. However, the fic is probably extremely dead/discontinued without an ending, which is sad. As a bonus, features an Oh My Goddess segment that is sort of neat.
Another discontinued/unended fic that might qualify, especially in early to mid segments of it, is Brian 'Durandall' Randall's Kyon: Big Damn Hero, a Haruhi fic. This fic had a lot of neat stuff along the lines you are interested in, but ultimately became too stretched out and overlong for what it is and lost focus and failed to progress any major plots at a reasonable rate, and the fic is extremely dead (the author took his own life...). In this case the source material (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) is actually pretty good and itself possesses some attributes not entirely unlike Time Braid at times, so you could do far worse than checking out either the light novels or the anime adaptation (which is really well done, both in technical quality and overall merit - I prefer broadcast order for watching these but opinions vary. Also, there is a definite long section of the second season which you will know when you reach it when you will want to skim and skip through parts; I urge you to indulge this desire).
Peter Hamilton's Void Trilogy has a bunch of stuff you may be interested in as well if you liked certain aspects of Time Braid. I don't really want to spoil a bunch of major and important plot points but it's got a lot of stuff in it that reminded me of good bits of Time Braid, and a slice of it manages to almost deconstruct Time Braid which is an especially neat trick considering that the majority of the trilogy was published before Time Braid was a thing that existed. The rest of Hamilton's work is rather a mixed bag, I liked his standalone Fallen Dragon and his Commonwealth books (that are technically prequels to the Void books, but the two series can be read independently) but Hamilton's Night's Dawn stuff is hopelessly self-indulgent, too long for what it is, and is very silly in central conceits.
u/Timewinders [+2] (an hour later)
Yes, I wouldn't recommend watching Oh My Goddess either. I have read this hilarious fanfic of it though. It's a crossover with Code Geass.
u/ancientcampus [+1] juggling kittens (23 hours later)
Thanks! I read Ra, and quite liked it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as "If you liked Time Braid" (Ra requires a significantly different mindset - it's more thinky and mind-blowy, less sit-back and enjoy the flash), but regardless it still belongs high on the recommendation list for anyone who found their way to this forum.
Does Big Damn Hero require knowledge of the source material? I've enjoyed what little I've read of Durandall's works.
The Void Trilogy sounds good - not wanting to spoil the 'magic' because they're plot twists is a great plus in my book, so I'll take your word for it, thanks!
u/Escapement [+1] Ankh-Morpork City Watch (23 hours later)
KBDH works best with some knowledge of Haruhi - the author doesn't go for all that much background explanation. I personally suggest the anime as it's quite good for what it is, viewed in airing (original broadcast) order - this is because it paces the thing better and makes certain parts more mysterious and more interesting. Some helpful soul of questionable ethics has caused the entire thing (both seasons) to show up as a list on youtube as the second entry when googling "the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya broadcast order" without quotes. I personally prefer subtitles over the English dub. There's also a related movie. Regardless, if you do start reading KBDH I suggest quiting when it starts to bore you - the work slows in plot progress and does not pick back up, merely slow down more, so if you are tempted to abandon it I suggest just doing so rather than trying to press on in hopes of it improving again. There's a lot of good stuff there, but it does slow eventually, and since the author's demise there is no hope of a satisfying conclusion or anything paying off more than it already has.
If you were really into the fight and action scenes of Time Braid, some of the best such scenes in fanfic I've read are in Jim Bernheimer's Harry Potter fic The Lie I've Lived. It has really awesome fight scenes and combat and similar action sequences. It also has a reasonably good romance in it. Unfortunately, there's a few weird decisions (bashing the Weasley twins of all people?) in the plot, but the action scenes are quite frequent and good enough to excuse other failings to an extent. The thing doesn't have as much in the way of training scenes as things like Time Braid.
Best of luck!
u/autowikibot [+1] (an hour later)
#####
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#### Void Trilogy:
The Void Trilogy is a science fiction series by British SF writer Peter F. Hamilton. The series is set in the same universe as The Commonwealth Saga, 1,200 years after the end of Judas Unchained.
Peter F. Hamilton sold the American rights to the series to Random House. The three books are entitled The Dreaming Void, The Temporal Void and The Evolutionary Void.
Hamilton posted a time line that links the Commonwealth Saga with the Void Trilogy, filling in the 1200-year gap between the two series.
The series includes the following books:
- The Dreaming Void (2007)
- The Temporal Void (2008)
- The Evolutionary Void (2010)
^Interesting: ^The ^Dreaming ^Void ^| ^The ^Temporal ^Void ^| ^The ^Evolutionary ^Void ^| ^Commonwealth ^Saga
^Parent ^commenter ^can [^toggle ^NSFW](/message/compose?to=autowikibot&subject=AutoWikibot NSFW toggle&message=%2Btoggle-nsfw+cmyaadt) ^or [^delete](/message/compose?to=autowikibot&subject=AutoWikibot Deletion&message=%2Bdelete+cmyaadt)^. ^Will ^also ^delete ^on ^comment ^score ^of ^-1 ^or ^less. ^| ^(FAQs) ^| ^Mods ^| ^Magic ^Words
u/Darth_Hobbes [+6] Ankh-Morpork Guild of Assassins (17 hours later)
The movie Edge of Tomorrow, also known as Live, Die, Repeat, provides a very competent depiction of a time loop. It falls apart a bit at the end, but is overall very good.
u/ancientcampus [+3] juggling kittens (22 hours later)
True! I was expecting a mediocre mindless action flick, and was surprised by a rather decent mindless action flick!
u/None [+3] (2 days later)
If you want something far less mindless and WAY more Japanese, I recommend the novel or manga: All You Need Is Kill. Very fun.
u/chaosmosis [+1] and with strange aeons, even death may die (6 days later)
I was pleasantly surprised that spoilers
u/ancientcampus [+3] juggling kittens (a day later)
Here's a recommendation: Hard Reset, a good MLP time-loop, which I enjoyed despite having only watched 4 episodes of the show. Like Time Braid, it starts off Time Loopy, then shifts its focus to new and interesting magic and plot mechanics. (Read: it doesn't spend 50,000+ words in loops with no permanent threat to the heroine). As a bonus, Twilight's characterization would greatly appeal to HPMOR/LW fans, and I had the impression that the author was already part of the community. Come to think of it, I would safely categorize it as a "rational" fic.
u/ToaKraka [+1] https://i.imgur.com/OQGHleQ.png (5 days later)
Oh, I'd forgotten about that one! There's also an unofficial pseudo-sequel, Hard Reset 2: Reset Harder (70k words, ongoing) which has a bunch of super-complicated time-looping mechanics that I didn't really understand, but you might find them interesting.
u/Transfuturist [+2] Carthago delenda est. (10 days later)
It has not updated in a long while. This makes me sad.
u/None [+3] (a day later)
[deleted]
u/hannahbananaa [+1] (5 months later)
The Sun Soul
<3
u/rumblestiltsken [+2] (an hour later)
Totally out of left field here, but the good adventure, badass protagonist and similar themes to the locked up in your own head parts of TB, I would recommend When a Lioness Fights.
The romance is more central, and certain sections need trigger warnings, but it is a well written story with a smart (if not rational ... but probably rational?) protagonist.
If nothing else I remember thinking most of the story was as well crafted as Time Braid, although perhaps TB had a stronger ending.
u/ancientcampus [+1] juggling kittens (23 hours later)
That actually sounds pretty appealing. The "locked up in your own head" part was one thing I enjoyed in TB that I haven't seen done well much elsewhere.
u/rumblestiltsken [+2] (5 days later)
You might also like Five Kingdoms For The Dead which is all about mindscape fuckery and plays with the Inner Sakura mechanic.
Also features smart!Sakura, although I haven't read it recently enough to judge whether she was rational or not.
I found I just ran out of interest about 200k words in, but I enjoyed most of the fic. Unfinished, but plenty to read.
u/tactical_retreat [+1] (10 days later)
I read Five Kingodoms on your advice, it was pretty good, thanks for the rec.
It's a completed fic btw.
u/rumblestiltsken [+1] (10 days later)
Awesome, it was unfinished when I read it so I might need to pick it up again. She was on the second to last level when I put it down.
Does it end well?
u/tactical_retreat [+1] (10 days later)
Worth finishing I think. It seems like the author rewrote a bunch of chapters and posted them (start to finish) as a new story, make sure to read that one.
My review: good writing, characters mostly believable, story was interesting. The weakest parts were things that happened in the background, they didn't get enough exposition to explain what was happening.
u/PeridexisErrant [+2] put aside fear for courage, and death for life (7 hours later)
Most of those are met by the two excellent stories below. I'm not sure why both focus on Ranma - except that that canon is all about excellence in combat - but I'll leave it here, where I can give both a 10/10 recommendation.
Ranma must discover what he wants and who he loves in a neverending day that is a spiritual journey to maturity. What might he do with boundless time?
This would be the best Time Braid-like fic I've read - it's old, but good. Ranma 1/2, with original extensions to the setting.
His friends kidnapped by magical girls, Ranma is pushed beyond his limits to retrieve them.
Ended a genre for me; it's that good. The definitive "someone gets turned into Sailor X" story, and it is epic. Draws beautifully on alternative concepts of excellence.
u/x2spieler [+1] (a day later)
Haigeki just reminded me that I find depictions of behavior modification using operant conditioning extremely disturbing. On some level I know that the character in question will eventually escape or be freed and the Brainwashing will thereafter receive at most cursory mention, but I can't bring myself to fully believe that it works that way. The whole work basically shifts genre to horror from that point on. Does anyone else feel that way?
u/PeridexisErrant [+1] put aside fear for courage, and death for life (a day later)
I would definitely put "horror" as one of the main genres, yes. Basically everything about the Academy is nightmare fuel.
u/VorpalAuroch [+2] Life before Death (2 months later)
Stumbled on this again: If you haven't seen it elsewhere on this sub, The Fall of Doc Future and it's sequel Skybreaker's Call share the focus on the whiz-bang flashiness of really clever characters confronting ridiculously powerful obstacles. (There are some other similarities as well; sex is all offscreen, but 'how do overpowered people manage sex without doing massive harm to their partners?' is a question that is given screen time.)
u/ancientcampus [+1] juggling kittens (2 months later)
Thanks! No, I hadn't seen it elsewhere here. Sounds fun, I'll check it out!
u/psychothumbs [+1] (11 hours later)
You should play the indie game, Braid, which involves time travel.
u/ancientcampus [+1] juggling kittens (23 hours later)
A classic, undoubtedly. It's odd - I'm a huge fan of: a) indie games, b) 2-D platformers, and c) time travel
And yet, I found Braid to be somewhat boring. (Except the end. The end was amazing.) It's very popular, though, so I'm clearly a minority here.
u/VorpalAuroch [+2] Life before Death (a day later)
I also found Braid terribly underwhelming, and absolutely loved Time Braid. (Though there are Circumstances that would have made me enjoy Time Braid even if it was mediocre-to-terrible.)
u/ToaKraka [+1] https://i.imgur.com/OQGHleQ.png (13 hours later)
Vulpine (100k words, complete) is a sort of homage/parody of Time Braid--it incorporates a lot of the elements, while being a lot more joking in its manner. I don't really have any suggestions for stories that can approach Time Braid's unparalleled awesomeness, though.
You might want to read Chunin Exam Day (300k words, dead), the story that inspired Time Braid. The first two-thirds or so are pretty good, before the story descends into goofy shenanigans.
u/Escapement [+6] Ankh-Morpork City Watch (14 hours later)
I thought Vulpine was really mediocre; without having the supporting elements behind e.g. Sakura's skills developed in Time Braid, inserting them from nothing in the fic was just sort of jarring and felt really forced. Time Braid had a lot of neat establishing background stuff that Vulpine lacks.
And I strongly reccomend against CED and everything else that author has written under that pen-name (Perfect Lionheart) or his alt, Skysaber. There is nothing in those fics that is worth suffering through all the bad parts. It's a vast plain of worthless rubble and fragments, where you may happen to spot a few tiny golden flecks that in the distance may seem attractive, but invariably when you finally get there you will find out that they are actually iron pyrite.
u/ToaKraka [+1] https://i.imgur.com/OQGHleQ.png (14 hours later)
Well, I myself have read Partially Kissed Hero twice and greatly enjoyed it each time, as well as Chunin Exam Day three times (though only the first two-thirds or so on the last two readings). I found CED pretty unequivocally awesome up to maybe around Tenten's wedding (and still retaining a good deal of awesomeness even when the harem shenanigans and Sasuke-bashing ramped up to become too much for me to stomach), and PKH was awesome throughout, in my opinion, since Dumbledore's and Snape's villainy was cartoonish enough that it didn't even annoy me, and all the world-building (Cauldron of Plenty, rivers of Hades) was cool as well.
u/ancientcampus [+1] juggling kittens (23 hours later)
I was about to post another shudder at the mention of Chunin Exam Day, but you're right: I honestly did enjoy most of the story up until Tenten's wedding. It was a little heavyhanded with the angst, and the author's notes didn't help any, but beyond that it was maybe worth the read.
While I'm being honest, despite the fact that I'll never get those hours back, I don't exactly regret reading past that point either. Looking back today, I can laugh at the story, and laugh at myself for reading on in vain hope the plot would go anywhere.
I'll give Vulpine a look.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (10 days later)
Perfect Lionheart...
shudder