scrape_r_rational/data/cache/6lffd4.md

Monthly Recommendation Thread

Post:

Welcome to the monthly thread for recommendations which will be posted this on the 5th of every month.

Please feel free to recommend, whether rational or not, any books, movies, tv shows, anime, video games, fanfiction, blog posts, podcasts or anything else that you think members of this subreddit would enjoy. Also please consider adding a few lines with the reasons for your recommendation. Self promotion is not allowed in this thread. This thread is also so that you can ask for suggestions. (In the style of r/books weekly threads)

Previous monthly recommendation threads here
Other recommendation threads here

Comments:

• u/GlueBoy:

  [Cradle series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/192821-cradle) by Will Wight. Western take on the chinese xianxia genre(Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon + Magic). Actually the only xianxia that I've enjoyed, now that I think about it. The only con is that the books feel short as hell. Not particularly rational. Highly recommended. 
  
  [Second Sons trilogy](https://www.goodreads.com/series/40800-second-sons). It feels a bit like a desconstruction of your typical fantasy story, in that it has [ Spoiler?](#s "all the trappings of a fantasy story but is technically scifi" ), and a fairly rational one at that. The only cons I can think of is that the political intrigue is a bit simplistic and the worldbuilding makes the world feel kind of small.
  
   [Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8680.Fierce_Invalids_Home_from_Hot_Climates) by Tom Robbins. A hilarious story that's not remotely rational. A lot of the charm is in the writing and his descriptions, to the point where at times it feels like it's a prose-focused story rather than character-focused. Only con is that the story stalls a bit 2/3 of the way through.
  
  
  ____
  
  Junk food reading(if you run out of stuff to read and that stresses you out):
  
  [Lion's Quest](https://www.goodreads.com/series/200650-lion-s-quest) series. Probably the best LitRPG I've read so far (not as big an endorsement as it sounds). Well written and addictive. The only character-based i've seen so far in the genre, I think. First book is very slow, mostly entirely setup. 
  
  [Life Reset on RoyalRoadL](https://royalroadl.com/fiction/8945/life-reset). Another LitRPG, the premise being that the MC is trapped inside the game through a bug after being betrayed by his entire guild. I'd say its well written and enjoyable if you can suspend disbelief a bit.
  

  • u/josephwdye:

    If you haven't read  [The Wandering Inn](https://wanderinginn.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/1-00/) I highly recommend it, it's the best litrpg story out there.
    

    • u/Imperialgecko:

      Definitely one of the best. Have you tried the gam3 or dream drive? Both of those are pretty decent too.
      

  • u/N0_B1g_De4l:

    I would also recommend Will Wight's [Traveler's Gate trilogy](http://www.willwight.com/travelers-gate-trilogy.html).
    

• u/trekie140:

  [The Mixed Six](http://www.themixedsix.com/) is, hands down, my favorite podcast. It's two highly educated nerds (and sometimes their producer) drinking six craft beers and having six intellectual conversations about subjects both serious and silly. They're both funny, very clever, and highly articulate even while inebriated. They fully admit that this podcast exists so they can make money off of their alcoholism, and I happily donate money to their [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/themixedsix) for extra content because I love listening to them talk even when I *vehemently* disagree with what they say.
  
  I was introduced to the podcast because one of the hosts (Caleb) and the producer (Ross) are part of [Role Playing Public Radio](http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/the-best-of-rppr-actual-play/). Caleb ran my favorite games and always played my favorite characters, and he is quite a character himself. I would describe him as a rationalist who devoutly believes that humans, himself included, are inherently irrational and never can completely overcome our biases. As a result, he is a person who believes himself to be a little bit insane and embraces it as part of who he is, which I find very interesting even when I disagree with him.
  
  The other thing I know Caleb for is his new indie tabletop RPG [Red Markets](http://redmarketsrpg.com/), where he combines the zombie apocalypse and economics to tackle subjects that are all too real and too rarely examined: The horrors of systemic poverty, institutionalized exploitation, the conflict between moral values and incentivized behavior, and humanity's penchant for self-destructiveness. If you want to listen to the game in action, RPPR has posted two full campaign recordings with Caleb as [the GM](http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/the-brutalists-a-red-markets-beta-campaign/) and [a player](http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/fallen-flag-a-red-markets-campaign/). If you're an aspiring game designer yourself, I recommend their series [Game Designers Workshop](http://slangdesign.com/rppr/2013/09/game-designer-workshop/game-designer-workshop-episode-1-concept/) where you follow the creation and publication of Red Markets at every single step of the process.
  

• u/None:

  [deleted]
  

  • u/None:

    [Baby Steps](https://myanimelist.net/anime/21185/Baby_Steps). The main character starts practicing tennis out of a worry for his health and physical aptitude. He slowly climbs up the ranks using a combination of analyzing correct body movements, his opponent's strategy, and continuous training. This training part is actually an important theme in the story - he very diligently practices everything until he gets it perfectly right, sometimes spending hours on a single movement. He's taking a lot of notes about these things in his notebooks, and it's clearly explained what he's supposed to accomplish by this. Also, I think it subverted the usual sport anime tropes by applying real-life logic. It was some time ago when I last watched it, but it might even count as fully rational.
    

  • u/GlueBoy:

    [Cradle series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/192821-cradle) by Will Wight. Recommended in my parent level post. 
    
    [Savage Divinity](https://royalroadl.com/fiction/5701/savage-divinity) by ruffwriter. I think it hits exactly the spot you mention. 
    
    [The Good Student ](https://royalroadl.com/fiction/10286/the-good-student) by Mooderino. You've probably seen it posted here before. I anticipate the next volume will focus explicitly on magic.
    

  • u/OutOfNiceUsernames:

    All these have their good and bad parts, but overall are worthy of being recommended, imo.
    
    * [*Time Braid*](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5193644/1/Time-Braid) (Naruto universe)
     * ∑ Sakura keeps being sent back in time. Eventually she discovers that Naruto and Sasuke are also being looped in parallel with her. Sometimes some (or all three) of them end up in the same time thread.
     * + good fight scenes and character growth, good lore and naruto-verse magic exploration.
     * – has some painful-to-read parts, some blunders made by the protag (IIRC), some readers have expressed their disapproval regarding some sex-related content that involves minors.
    
    * [The Games We Play](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/RyuugisTheGamesWePlay) (The Gamer × RWBY crossfic)
     * ∑ one of the RWBY protags discovers that his [semblance](http://rwby.wikia.com/wiki/Semblance) allows him to RPG-ify the surrounding him reality.
     * + good fight scenes, good RPG mechanics (surprisingly, better than in any *actually published* LitRPGs that I’ve seen so far — which is disappointing on the latters’ behalf), munchkining protag, good characters, good overall plot.
     * – the story’s too rushed, especially the second half where the protag gets too OP too quickly.
    
    * [*HP & the Temporal Beacon*](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6517567/1/Harry-Potter-and-the-Temporal-Beacon)
     * ∑ Harry and Hermione manage to create something like a game save checkpoint near the end of year 3, and then return to said checkpoint each time they die or something goes too badly in their current iteration.
     * + lore exploration, visible growth between the iterations, original developments in each iteration.
     * – unfinished and abandoned story, some characters (e.g. Dumbledore, Snape) are flanderized into their manipulative stupid selves.
    
    * [*Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu*](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/LightNovel/ReZero) (original anime)
     * ∑ an [OYASH](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent) finds himself in another world, and each time he’s killed he’s being sent back in time by a day or two.    
     * + an above average quality anime that’s pretty entertaining to watch, has some good fight scenes.
     * – still a seasonal anime, so expect for the villains to pick up the idiot balls \ villain balls sooner or later, for fanservice to be happening, and for troll logic  and drama balls to be showing up from time to time.
    
    * [*Many Deaths of Harry Potter*](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12388283/1/The-many-Deaths-of-Harry-Potter) 
     * ∑ each time Harry’s killed, he gets sent back in time by an unpredictable amount. 
     * + it’s a finished story, the premise has similarities to that of Re:Zero.
     * – too many idiot balls by both the protag and antag.
    
    ---
    
    See also: [TVTropes.org/GroundhogPeggySue.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GroundhogPeggySue)
    

  • u/Z_Rated:

    The Practice Effect by David Brin.  No time loops, physical objects get better with use. Near future scifi character in a magical world.
    

  • u/MrCogmor:

    [The Boy in the Team](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9659792/1/The-Boy-in-the-Team)
    
    
    By: [Shadenight123](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3864170/Shadenight123)
    
    
    Sasuke Uchiha is Rookie of the Year and son of the police chief. Naruko Namikaze is prime Kunoichi and hero of Konoha, daughter of the Yondaime Hokage. Hence, the dead last assigned to their team is Shinku Haruno...son of civilians. There is no rising from the lower levels when you're surrounded by prodigies. Just live through the nightmare...and hope to wake up to a better day.
    

  • u/ToaKraka:

    > Time Braid also has aspects of this; I suspect that time loops work well for this type of story.
    
    I would point out that *[Chunin Exam Day](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3929411)*, which inspired *[Time Braid](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5193644)* and many other stories, also has a lot of this in its earlier chapters (e.g., chakra-control exercises), before it gets bogged down in Sasuke/Kakashi/Sakura bashing and harem shenanigans.
    

    • u/None:

      [deleted]
      

      • u/ben_oni:

        Personally, I don't regret starting Chunin Exam Day. Nor do I regret abandoning it when it stopped being enjoyable. Though, in a world where Time Braid exists, I wouldn't bother with it to begin with.
        

• u/PeridexisErrant:

  [*Ring-Maker*](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/ring-maker-worm-lord-of-the-rings-alt-power.517894/page-267#post-36635851) is a *Worm* fic, where Taylor has (a portion of) the essence of one of the Maiar, and makes rings... among other artefacts.  Features notable armour, swords, spears, rings, and names - including as the new Ward, *Annatar*.
  
  The *Young Wizards* series remains excellent, and has lots of extra snippets over at /r/errantry - two out of three mods agree!  (and AlexanderWales might too, I suppose, but the rest of us are mods there too)
  
  *The Martian* is a better book than it is a movie, at least for people who like their scifi diamond-hard - IMO it's the best such book since Clarke was writing SF prior to most of our interplanetary probes.
  

  • u/trekie140:

    I feel guilty for having mixed feelings towards Young Wizards as a whole, especially because I find it difficult to explain why. Some of the books I love, others I find really boring. *A Wizard Alone* is definitely my favorite because I relate to the portrayal of depression and autism, but I was so disappointed in *Wizards at War* that I put the series on indefinite hiatus for myself. The books used to make me happy, but now I feel ambivalent towards them.
    
    When I started the series, I found it to be unique and entertaining even when I thought it could be better, but over time I've become more and more frustrated to the point where I'm no longer certain if I will enjoy reading more. For some reason, I've enjoyed all the story arcs that are just about Nita, Kit, and/or Dairine than the ones that involve grouping up with other wizards. Am I just biased against high fantasy tropes?
    

    • u/PeridexisErrant:

      It's OK not to like stuff!  Instead of feeling guilty, find something else you enjoy reading - or, yes, reflect and discuss what you didn't enjoy to get better suggestions ;)
      
      Personally, I don't feel that YW is quite High Fantasy; more a kind of fantasy-flavored YA urban scifi with extra themes stirred in.
      
      Anyway - if you like the smaller-scale, character-focused stuff, you will like *Interim Errantry #1* and love *Uptown Local* and *How lovely are your branches* and *Not on my patch*.  Canonical short stories are the best :)
      

      • u/trekie140:

        Sorry for how epically long this turned out to be. I spend way too much of my time analyzing my feelings toward stories I read and haven't had the opportunity to discuss this in detail with anyone, so I just spewed forth all the thoughts that I've been dwelling on for over a year with no outlet for them. I really want to finally discuss this series with someone and you finally gave me the chance.
        
        ***
        
        I think of it as high fantasy because a lot of the story arcs seem to be about very powerful yet archetypical characters going on straightforward but epic adventures against The Great Evil and learning some life lesson along the way. It's seems like it's intentionally made to resemble fairy tales, and for some reason I don't really like that. Sometimes the story is imaginative enough or the character arcs complex enough to carry it, but other times I found it repetitive and predictable.
        
        Case in point, there's a heroic sacrifice in every single book. After the first three it stopped being surprising for both the reader and the characters, so I think *Wizards at War* tried to subvert the trope but then I found the Deus Ex Dog ending narratively unsatisfying. At times it feels like the story is too rational for its own sake, the characters become so self aware and critical of their own narrative that the sense of discovery is lost and events start to feel contrived. Things just happened because that's the way things are.
        
        If there's one word to describe the universe of the books, it's *boundless*. Like all great fantasy worlds, I just wanted to explore it more to see what was there. After a while though, it all started to seem rote and mundane. The worlds they visited and the adventures they went on stopped felling like something I hadn't seen before and the themes explored stopped being interesting. *A Wizard Alone* completely bucked that trend and I loved every minute of it, but then it came right back in the next book.
        
        When I recommended the books to my friends, I described them as the anti-Harry Potter. Instead of leaving for a world of magic, all that wonder is brought into our world and makes the mundane seem more wonderful as a result. That is, until that world started to feel mundane in its own right as the characters become more knowledgable about it. So then we get incredible new threats unlike anything they've ever seen, which the Powers That Be decided to not to tell them about for some reason.
        
        I mean, even when there isn't an in-universe justification it's usually easy to come up with one, but after a while the rules of the setting start to feel arbitrary when they shouldn't. *Wizards at War* broke all the rules by putting the whole universe at risk, having that somehow make everyone more cynical, leaving all adult wizards powerless to stop it, bringing back almost every major character from previous books, and giving our heroes more power than ever, all for the sake of going on a quest with the ones I found the least interesting to save a princess from an evil overlord because she had the power to save the universe.
        
        It's just...you have the grand scope of this universe and that's the best plot you can come up with? It was just so boring and I thought the climatic defense of Earth was even worse! I'm guessing you like the book because your username is Peridexis, which I admit was the most awesome thing in the book, but I disliked the story so much after already being disappointed in previous books that it made me worried that the rest of the books aren't worth my time to read. I got none of what I had gotten from past books and nothing new that I wanted.
        
        What I would've liked to see instead of the main trio going on more adventures that are supposed to be even more treacherous than before but come across as rote is to see them just...grow up. They make a big deal about how their power is declining as they get older and will have to choose a specialized job to do for the rest of their lives, and I'd really like to see them just do that. I like slice of life and overcoming simple personal challenges, which the books have pulled off before.
        
        Instead, I just keep seeing the character whine about growing up and losing power while still going on fantastic adventures. The intention is probably to show the awkward transition that is teenage years, but with the exception of *A Wizard Alone* the lessons they learn from those adventurers aren't growing with them. Granted, the themes were pretty mature for a kids book at the start, but I still expect more as time goes on. 
        
        It's that kind of disappointment that makes me look back on the books I like and notice flaws that didn't bother me before, like how Nita's bullies play such a pen unimportant role in *So You Want to Be a Wizard* or that Dairine's computer has an interface out of the 1980s despite being set in the 2010s (I'm reading the New Millennium editions, which the author says are the definitive versions). It makes me question whether the series was ever as great as I first thought it was, or if was *just good* and won't get better.
        
        I'm tempted to blame the premise itself for being too high concept for its own good, part of me even thinks it would be better as an item-based Magical Girl story just so the magic system would have consistent limitations appropriate to an adventure fantasy, but it seems unfair to the author to think she isn't imaginative enough for write her own story. In the end, I want there to be more Young Wizards that I will enjoy reading but I'm too afraid of being disappointed some more to keep reading.
        

• u/Airgineer1:

  [Kaleidoscope](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/kaleidoscope-naruto-si-complete.497083/) is a naruto SI story that actually finished today! I think the author totorox92 is a regular reader here at r/rational as well. Warning: it gets a little dark for a bit, but the SI does some very fine munchkinning of the setting that I think most of you would enjoy.
  

  • u/ToaKraka:

    The abrupt shift in [chapter 3.1](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10531500/chapters/25242600) from "excellent *[Time Braid](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5193644)*-/*[People Lie](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3745099)*-style story" to "yet another [merely](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7183151)-okay [Team](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9948266)-Seven-[power](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6940744)-up [story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/230916) (with some [boring, shoehorned-in romance](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6207715) and [intermittent, mood-whiplash-inducing crack](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4240771) for good measure)" was *rather* disappointing, I have to say…
    

  • u/GaBeRockKing:

    Seconding this recommendation. Fair warning: this story is *messed up*.
    

  • u/scruiser:

    > actually finished 
    
    Puts it above 95% of all the other SIs I have seen, so I'll give it a try.
    

• u/lsparrish:

  I recently read [The Arcane Emperor](http://royalroadl.com/fiction/8463/the-arcane-emperor/) [WIP], which invokes what I thought was a tremendously fun overpowered plot device; sleep learning.
  
  It had a lot of other system-breaking plot devices that I didn't care as much about, and the writing is a bit of a mixed bag (the way they used third person omniscient and tell-not-show could sometimes be a bit jarring), but I felt like overall it was a pretty decent overpowered-protagonist xianxia-style LitRPG adventure story. The level of power reached tends to be matched by equally powerful baddies, so even though he power levels like crazy the main character is still challenged at every turn.
  
  Another fun story I read was [The Bound Dungeon](https://royalroadl.com/fiction/10519/the-bound-dungeon) [WIP], which is about a kid who is turned into a dungeon and munchkins their newfound monster creation abilities for mana.
  

• u/santizhizi:

  [RT][WIP]Could I recommend a Chinese webnovel here? [走进修仙](http://book.qidian.com/info/3406500) (Approach Cultivation) by 吾道长不孤 is a great rational fic that deconstruct typical xianxia genre. In this novel, modern cultivators are also researchers. They study natural laws to strengthen themselves and do experiments on supernatural beings. Their society is nearly as enlightened and industralized as our world.
  
  The protagonist is Wang Qi, who was a researcher at the University of Copenhagen with double major in mathematics and physics. After reincarnating into this xianxia world, he lost everything and depressed for years. Then he met modern cultivators, realized that this world is still logical while his knowledge of science could still be applied. Soon afterwards he becomes the most promising cultivator in his generation. 
  
  The worldbuilding of this novel is on a completely different level with typical xianxia. For example, this formula: E^chi=mc^2 and the law that chi goes to where ordering degree is higher are the base of modern cultivation. The heart sutras and attacks are based on maths, physics, chemistry, biology and so on. Besides, unlike most xianxia novels in which "The whole world" is no larger than a planet, there are lots of alien cultivation civilizations in different life forms, and one of the greatest mysteries might have something to do with a certain Kerr black hole...
  
  The story is also highly entertaining. There are powerful cultivators whose name and biography nearly identical to scientists in our world, and there are xianxia-versions of Internet, PDA, video games and even tablet games. You can also find a lot of short out to Japanese anime, science fiction and games, including Yu-Gi-On, Naruto, Jojo, Type-Moon, Karmen Rider, The Threebody Trilogy, etc. You will never find it boring.
  
  Is there anyone here who can read Chinese? You've seen that my English is poor so it's impossible for me to translate my favorite novel. But if someone could translate it, I'm willing to help to the best of my ability.
  

  • u/reddithanG:

    Firstly, your English isn't bad at all. I know that r/noveltranslations has a lot of Chinese translations. You might find someone willing to work with you over there.
    

• u/waylandertheslayer:

  [*The Ascent of Man*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_Man) is a documentary series about the history of civilisation. The presenter also wrote [a book](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/461104.The_Ascent_of_Man) by the same title, which goes into a bit more detail about some parts while being essentially a transcript of the documentary. It's not precisely rational, but it's close, and I think a lot of people on this subreddit would enjoy either the TV show or book.
  
  Some of the science is outdated, since it's from the 70s, but the presenter (Jacob Bronowski) has a very elegant way of bringing together history and modern knowledge, and comparing and showing the similarities between art and science.
  

• u/akaatnene:

  Let me recommend [The Legend of Sun Knight](http://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-legend-of-sun-knight/), or at least the first two volumes. As Sun Knight, the protagonist has a clearly defined persona to play in public, and the conflict with his real personality is amusing. 
  
  The series has an overarching plotline that kicks into gear with the third volume, and while it's not bad I think I got the most enjoyment from the first two.
  

• u/NoYouTryAnother:

  Just finished the conclusion (for now) to R. Scott Bakker's The Second Apocalypse series [consisting of The Prince of Nothing trilogy and its sequal The Aspect Emperor quadilogy). It is ... amazing. A masterpiece. A first course in nihilism told through the lens of high fantasy, writ in a world where redemption itself is an atrocity, salvation's meaning obscured between an impossible choice between warring obscenities. The titular character is (very minor spoilers) the best rendition of a not-entirely-value-aligned superintelligence - in fact, I recently read [this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/6leoub/the_case_for_superintelligence_competition/) by /u/works_of_memercy and it brought to mind nothing so much as this series. 
  >And that has a literal, almost technical meaning rather than being a figure of speech: the idea is that the AIs would be able to understand human motivations from observation totally. Like, you study ants. You learn that ants are attracted to sugar, you learn all the pheromones ants use to direct other ants to sugar. You understand ants completely, meaning that from observing an ant you can construct a model of an ant that has 99.9% predictive power, all in your mind, it's simple, they want sugar, they mark pathways with pheromones, they react this way or that to pheromones.
  You can say, OK, I put a piece of sugar here and the ants would go for it, then I'll let them take it back to the nest and mark the way, and then I'm going to put a Spike Pit of Death on that way, but I would allow a diminishing number of ants to return with sugar, exactly as many that would be necessary to keep that route being their preferred route.
  None of the ants' interesting evolutionary adaptations would help them, because you understand every adaptation and know how to counter it in advance.
  
  The book is heavy on the world building, and this means heavy on lists of names, lineages, and locations. The author has stated he wanted to write something in the style and heft of the Old Testament - each of the author's choices is with purpose, and rewards. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
  

• u/LazarusRises:

  I'm sure most people on this sub have already read and reread (or watched and rewatched) Death Note, but if anyone hasn't, hop to it. I would say it's the archetypal ratfic, a story with a clearly-defined set of rules and an absolutely brilliant protag/antag duo who play a twisted game of human chess against each other. By far my favorite anime, and one of my overall favorite stories.
  

  • u/ToaKraka:

    > an absolutely brilliant protag
    
    [Or not.](https://www.gwern.net/Death%20Note%20Anonymity) (Unless you meant `brilliant` in the sense of `awesome`, in which case I agree completely.)
    
    > *Death Note* is almost a thought-experiment - given the perfect murder weapon, how can you screw up *anyway*?
    
    [Here's someone's incomplete attempt at an actually-rational version.](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12145955)
    
    ---
    
    > By far my favorite anime
    
    I'd *tentatively* say that it's among my top five anime series, along with *Mobile Fighter G Gundam*, *Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth*, *Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood*, and *Angel Beats!*.
    

    • u/MagicWeasel:

      Aside: I love Gwern's essays. Anyone want to recommend some of their favourites?
      

      • u/ToaKraka:

        I like [this incomplete article](https://web.archive.org/web/20140724013838/gwern.net/masturbation), which the author deleted from his site sometime in late 2014 or early 2015.
        

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