8.3 KiB
[RT][WIP] The Library Unpublished, Chapter 3 and 4
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Author: u/None *
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/6th9o2/rtwip_the_library_unpublished_chapter_3_and_4/
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Score: 11
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Created: 2017-08-13T19:44:27
Post:
Chapter 3 of The Library Unpublished is up now! You'll notice that Chapter 4 is up as well, because I've decided to accelerate the update schedule. For now, you'll get two chapters per week.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to your comments.
Comments:
u/rhaps0dy4 [+4] (37 minutes later)
Tension's building up, very nice. Maybe
_sein_is really the most mysterious character...(Sorry for having no constructive criticism and just praise.)
u/None [+1] (12 hours later)
Still, praise is very much appreciated :)
u/ArgentStonecutter [+3] Emergency Mustelid Hologram (4 hours later)
Eagerly waiting for the real Garden of Forking Paths to show up.
u/None [+1] (12 hours later)
While The Garden of Forking Paths won't make an appearance, Borges might very well be mentioned again :)
u/xamueljones [+3] My arch-enemy is entropy (6 hours later)
The chapter was very well written with a nice steady build up of tension. Too often it's too quick or too slow.
The only issue I have is not being able to know the books where the meta-fictions are used in. For example, the Chesscourt series is easy because The Northern Caves are mentioned in the text, but I have no idea what book Ashes of Mars is in, nor the Dragonsong Series.
u/None [+2] (12 hours later)
Thank you for the praise! I was kind of surprised that you praised the pacing in particular, because I really have no idea what I'm doing in that regard :)
Regarding your issue, there will be an appendix listing all the works (with a short review of each work of origin by m1k). It just feels weird to post that appendix before posting the final chapter.
Given that you're asking me, though, I might as well tell you. Ashes on Mars (title by me) is from the movie Mr Nobody, which is just about my favourite movie. I highly recommend it, even though Mike thinks it's an overambitious mess :)
The Dragonsong Series is from Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, a quaint little novel about an international bookstore conspiracy. A fun read.
u/matcn [+3] (2 days later)
Just found this story, and I love it so much! Hits a lot of my buttons, given that it's somewhere between Homestuck, TNC, and my own internet habits.
I appreciate how willing the characters (and author) are to just sit and think/talk things out. It reminds me a bit of Prelude to After the Hero, which, though a lot more action-packed to start with, is centered around one big planning session. Hypotheses are raised, plans are suggested, and they're shot down or tweaked or rendered irrelevant by flashy interruptions. It's great.
We are seeing a bit of "action" in this story too, now. If sein is malicious then I feel like they must want to be caught for some reason, given how they basically just screamed 'HEY I LOVE MANIPULATING AND LYING TO PEOPLE'. Given that, I feel like they've gotta be a mostly-innocent goofball. (Okay, mostly because I love my Dave Strider types and I want them to be buddies with the nerdy MC. So sue me.)
I've also been getting a lot of weird, possibly-completely-baseless suspicious vibes.
On first read something made me think they might've been replaced during or right before the "vacation", but I can't remember what.
Also, I feel like there's a deeper point to both this
I shared my findings with _sein_, and _sein_ downloaded the Dragonsong Series for me. They were quite fun. The third book was supposed to carry a hidden message, but I didn't even notice. The author must have been a very clever man to fold his cipher into the text in a way which kept his natural style intact. The books kept me entertained and occupied for two days.
(some kind of brainwashing??) and this:
On the second day, a package from the TorrentLord arrived. I had assumed the TorrentLord lived overseas, based on the fact that he, according to _sein_, frequented a Russian torrent server. It seems I had to revise that assumption, but I also felt that it didn't matter. Somehow, I felt as though the TorrentLord's role in this mystery was over.
but I'm not sure why. Just the kind of tone that authors take when there's something going on behind the scenes, maybe?
u/matcn [+3] (2 days later)
Also, I have to know, is Cio's name inspired by the comic character of a very similar name, who also happens to be a fanfic writer with straight black hair? I'd be flabbergasted if that's a coincidence.
(Also, her fic looks inspired; wish I could check it out.
... was the intent to inspire defictionalizations? because these totally need to exist. you sly dog.)
u/None [+3] (3 days later)
Thank you for the kind words! I really like knowing that my stories resonate with a few people, because there's this feeling that we share an absurdly specific interest, and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
I appreciate how willing the characters (and author) are to just sit and think/talk things out.
This story is intended to be very much in the vein of The Northern Caves, where online discussions are the entire point. If you'd like to read something similarly detailed, but more introspective, you might like my Harry Potter fanfiction On The Continuity of Consciousness, in which there are entire chapters of Luna just thinking about things in her own peculiar way.
I feel like there's a deeper point
I don't know if you want Word of God on that, so I spoiler-tagged it.
[WoG regarding the first paragraph:] (#s " The Dragonsong Series contains a hidden code which has nothing to do with brainwashing. m1k knows that, because he's read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, and he appreciates how naturally the text flows despite that code.")
In general, though, I like it when people suspect things that aren't there. If everyone could perfectly predict the story's path, these discussions wouldn't be remotely as fun :)
is Cio's name inspired by
Yes, she is inspired by a character from Kill Six Billion Demons. When I started writing The Library Unpublished, I started with the first dialogue between _sein_ and m1k, and soon realized that there would have to be a third character, and that she would have to be a fanfiction writer. When the time came to give her a name, I did the obvious.
To anyone who hasn't read K6BD, Cioci Cioelle is a blue-skinned demon who literally introduces herself as a fanfiction writer, confusing the main character (who's a closeted nerd) to no end. K6BD comes highly recommend for its dense worldbuilding featuring a blend of Gnosticism, Hinduism and Buddhism served with an nice amount of absurdly epic action. If all of that doesn't seem idiosyncratic enough, let me just mention that the comic is named after its main character.
her fic looks inspired
Thank you :)
From time to time, I write a particularly metafictional fic and think that Cio might have written that, and it's not impossible that I might post some of those in the future. Who knows, I might even write parts of something she's already written. (Except the xkcd one. I don't write slash.)
However, if anyone who reads this wishes to defictionalize one of Cio's ideas, thereby creating fanfiction of The Library Unpublished, I heavily encourage it! Send me a link if you do :)
u/Noumero [+2] Self-Appointed Court Statistician (3 days later)
On first read something made me think they might've been replaced during or right before the "vacation", but I can't remember what.
I think this was the reason:
Receiving File: 2302554979.epub <...>
Usually, _sein_ wasn't sloppy with filenames, formatting every book's filename as: Author's Family Name, Author's Given Name - [Series] Title.
Naturally, as the proofreader, I can neither confirm nor deny that this is exactly what happened.