Idalium's recent activity
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Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - Kindred by Octavia Butler in ~books
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - This is How You Lose the Time War by El - Mohtar and Gladstone in ~books
Idalium (edited )Link ParentI really liked this story, although I understand how it may not be every sci-fi reader's cup of tea. Would I like to read an epic that really delves into a time-war, with its lore-rich universe,...I really liked this story, although I understand how it may not be every sci-fi reader's cup of tea. Would I like to read an epic that really delves into a time-war, with its lore-rich universe, its politics, its factions, its technologies, and its mind-bending strategems? Yes! But I don't think it needs to be this one.
The focus of this story is the developing relationship between the two main characters, the unusual circumstances in which they interact, and how they eventually abandon their old lives for each other. I think it succeeds here, on the strength of its 'vibes' as another user commented.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman in ~books
Idalium Link ParentI didn't notice until you mentioned it! As far as I remember, the narrator doesn't name any of his family members either. The novel raises the idea that nobody remembers the same events the same...I didn't notice until you mentioned it! As far as I remember, the narrator doesn't name any of his family members either.
The novel raises the idea that nobody remembers the same events the same way. I think this writing technique reinforces the theme of subjectivity, and also enhances immersion. The narrator is not reporting an objective description of events; he is relating his personal memories, in the first person. In his own mind, he does not think of himself by name; he is 'me', his sister is 'my sister', and his parents are 'my parents'.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman in ~books
Idalium LinkI really enjoyed this story. There's something about the author's writing style (and, in the audiobook, his voice) that makes every moment of the novel, from the first to the last sentence,...I really enjoyed this story.
There's something about the author's writing style (and, in the audiobook, his voice) that makes every moment of the novel, from the first to the last sentence, engrossing. It reminds me of Stephen King's writing in some ways. The opening scenes of the novel describe mundane events; nothing overtly supernatural or fantastical has yet happened, and we don't know much about the world or characters; but it already feels enchanting. What tricks of phrasing does the writer use to elicit this kind of reaction in the reader's brain? It is difficult to quantify. I think, by structuring the writing along the lines of the main character's thought processes, the writer engenders the reader's empathy with that character, and immersion into their mind. For example, the narrator gives vivid descriptions of objects and locations, focusing on details such as the colour of bricks on a house. The narrator then describes his internal response to what he sees, and the subsequent train of thought.
I thought this supernatural elements of this book were handled well. Enough is explained (or implied) to be satisfying for this story, but enough is left to our imagination for preserve the magic. The stakes of the story are also handled well. The villain feels evil and dangerous, particularly from the child-narrator's perspective. We know the main character will survive until the 'present', but there is still a sense of threat; he can still suffer trauma and loss.
I liked the contrast of childhood versus adulthood, and the exploration of how a person's perspective changes with time. It's reflected in the writing itself; the narrator thinks like an adult in the present story, and like a child in the past story, yet feels like the 'same person' throughout. At times the story felt like a (dark) fairy-tale; there are grown-up themes, but I think children would enjoy it.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir in ~books
Idalium Link Parent"Save... Earth... Save... Erid." He said 'save Earth' first! The relationship between Ryland and Rocky is heartwarming. They don't just work together because they have no other choice to reach..."Save... Earth... Save... Erid."
He said 'save Earth' first!
The relationship between Ryland and Rocky is heartwarming. They don't just work together because they have no other choice to reach their own goals. They genuinely want each other to succeed.
Despite coming from entirely different cultures, they quickly find enough common ground become true collaborators. They completely trust one another, make changes to accommodate each other's needs, and take huge risks for each other, and are repeatedly vindicated for doing so.
It's nice.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin in ~books
Idalium Link ParentMy thoughts on The Dispossessed were similar to yours. The plot itself is quite slow-moving (which is fine for the concept) for most of the book. The novel an interesting exploration of competing...My thoughts on The Dispossessed were similar to yours. The plot itself is quite slow-moving (which is fine for the concept) for most of the book. The novel an interesting exploration of competing philosophies, and for most of the novel this happens in the main character's head. However, it feels like the author really wanted to end on a big, world-changing event. The main character isn't really interested in the revolution until very late, at which point it becomes a major focus of the story, and essential to the conclusion of his arc. While a little jarring in a narrative sense, I do not think it undermines the novel's themes or social commentary.
This remainder of this post contains spoilers for the novel: A Memory Called Empire, and the film: The Joker.
Discussion of The Joker
The film The Joker does something similar, but not as well. This story is an exploration of one man's struggles, before he triggers a revolution. In this story, the climax feels like a non sequitur. The main character is co-opted as the revolution's hero and leader at the end of the story, despite showing no interest in the revolution, nor in leadership, beforehand. It's a dissatisfying way to conclude his arc.Discussion of A Memory Called Empire
A Memory Called Empire is a very different novel to The Dispossessed, but with a broadly similar premise: the main character is an ambassador to an alien civilisation, during a time of political turmoil. I think this novel does a much better job of balancing the personal fish-out-of-water theme (in which the we explore a new culture with our main character) with the larger political intrigue story. The main character is clearly involved in both threads right from the beginning of the novel. There's a sense of forward momentum to the story, so when events reach their climax, with our main character directly relevant to it all, it feels like a natural progression. -
Comment on Science fiction or fantasy recommendations for children in ~books
Idalium Link ParentIt's interesting that you say that. I haven't read the entire series, but my interpretation of the first two Ender novels (Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead) is quite at odds with Orson Scott...It's interesting that you say that. I haven't read the entire series, but my interpretation of the first two Ender novels (Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead) is quite at odds with Orson Scott Card's publicly stated beliefs.
Thematic spoilers:
Ender's Game is an anti-war novel. It asks the reader to question the progagonist's 'side' and empathise with the 'enemy'. Speaker for the Dead is about accepting people for who they are (or were), including those we may find unlikeable. It's also about an endeavour to understand, co-exist with, and integrate with a (very) foreign culture, overcoming fundamentally different values and ways of perceiving the world.
By my reading, the overarching message is one of empathy, conciliation, and acceptance of differences between people. In real life, the author... does not appear to follow that philosophy.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke in ~books
Idalium Link ParentI think the ending was the 'best' possible outcome for Piranesi. In a pragmatic sense, Piranesi had no choice but to rejoin the real world, or at least visit it regularly. He would not have...I think the ending was the 'best' possible outcome for Piranesi.
In a pragmatic sense, Piranesi had no choice but to rejoin the real world, or at least visit it regularly. He would not have survived in the Halls without material support (meagre though it was) from the Other. It would not have been fair to make 16 fetch him equipment for the rest of his life.
Piranesi did seem content with his life of subsistence, exploration, and learning. Like growing up, the loss of innocence is sad, but for the best.
Piranesi / Matthew turns out to be a genuinely good person in the end, in his interactions with James Ritter.
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke in ~books
Idalium LinkI really enjoyed this novel. The prose is beautiful, and engenders an appropriate sense of mystery and wonder. The main character is really quite likeable, and the audiobook narrator's soothing...I really enjoyed this novel. The prose is beautiful, and engenders an appropriate sense of mystery and wonder. The main character is really quite likeable, and the audiobook narrator's soothing voice is perfect for him.
I muse that the characters Piranesi and Matthew Rose Sorensen would have written different versions of the story; which different readers might have enjoyed more, depending on genre preference. Once the setting was established, the novel could have focused either on the mystery of the halls themselves (leaning to sci-fi), or on the mystery of our main character's situation (leaning to drama).
I, like the Piranesi persona, wanted to learn more about the house. Why is it the way it is? Why this particular layout, why these statues? Is there a deeper meaning or puzzle to it all? These questions are not answered in the novel to the extent that I yearned for. The house is just a pocket universe where the plot happens. The main character does recognise that real people resemble the statues, but this doesn't seem to be explored any further.
The story focused on character drama instead, which would have been Matthew Rose Sorensen's priority: who is our main character? How did he get here? Who can he trust? Will he ever get home, recover his mind, and reclaim his life? This aspect of the story is fully explored and resolved, and we get a beautiful conclusion for our main character.
The story I wanted wasn't written, but another very good one was written instead. I chose Piranesi's perspective. The author chose Matthew Rose Sorensen's.
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Comment on Where are all the robot trucks? in ~transport
Idalium Link ParentThat post is a fun piece of creative writing, not a carefully-researched manifesto.That post is a fun piece of creative writing, not a carefully-researched manifesto.
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Comment on Where are all the robot trucks? in ~transport
Idalium (edited )LinkYou are the CEO of DeliveryCorp. You have replaced all of your drivers with machines. This is good; everyone knows that they are safer, and fewer accidents means less paperwork. Every time your...You are the CEO of DeliveryCorp. You have replaced all of your drivers with machines. This is good; everyone knows that they are safer, and fewer accidents means less paperwork. Every time your automated vehicles make a delivery, the company makes money. This is all very good.
But you didn't become CEO by being satisfied with 'good'. If you made more deliveries, you'd make even more profit. So why not tweak the AI a little? Make them drive just a little faster, and take just a few more risks. You could make 2% more deliveries per day.
So what if there are also 2% more fatalities? Nobody's really accountable, and it's still better than when you had an overworked, sleep-deprived human workforce. You can just pay the compensation to the victims; you're making more than enough extra money for it.
If it works, why not push it further? 3%, 4%, 5% more deliveries. You can keep going! Eventually, you'll reach a sweet spot where your fatality rate is ever so slightly better than when you had weak, fallible human drivers (according to the studies you funded).
Sure, if anyone actually notices what you're doing, there might be a brief social media storm, but the kind of people who care weren't your biggest customers anyway. You'll blame factors outside your control, like population density, or bad parenting. At worst there might be an inquest, you'll throw a software engineer under a bus (so to speak), and the company will have to pay a fine. You've already ringfenced the fund for that.
After a decade or so, people will forget that human drivers (and the concept of individual accountablity) ever existed. Then you can push your AI to optimise profit as far as you like!
After all, it's not like you'll ever go to jail.
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Comment on The Creator is next-level sci-fi. So why isn't it being promoted that way? in ~movies
Idalium Link ParentI'm glad you enjoyed it! It's interesting that we had such different thoughts on the film. Now that reviews are out, it does indeed seem to have split opinions. Although I wish the story were more...I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's interesting that we had such different thoughts on the film. Now that reviews are out, it does indeed seem to have split opinions.
Although I wish the story were more developed, I think the expert technical filmmaking (such as visual design and directing) did wonders to keep the film engaging. I can see how it would emotionally resonate with people.
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Comment on The Creator is next-level sci-fi. So why isn't it being promoted that way? in ~movies
Idalium LinkNon-specific spoilers: I just watched this film. It... really isn't that good. It's entertaining, but I'm surprised that anyone is calling it 'next level' anything. The film contains a number of...Non-specific spoilers:
I just watched this film. It... really isn't that good. It's entertaining, but I'm surprised that anyone is calling it 'next level' anything.
The film contains a number of interesting sci-fi concepts and classic ethical quandaries. It's nothing novel; if you're passingly familiar with the genre, you'll have seen these ideas before. That's okay; every piece of art is inspired by something that came before, after all.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't really explore any of its ideas to a satisfying depth. They're just there. Maybe that's okay too. Not every sci-fi story needs to be a philosophical treatise. Sometimes the setting can just be a backdrop to a good story.
Unfortunately, The Creator's story itself is unsatisfying. The characters are not well-developed or relatable, the plot is predictable and full of holes, and the film undermines it's own apparent moral lesson.
The special effects (visual and aural), are incredible, I must say. The technical aspects of the film, like the directing and editing are done well, and keep it entertaining.
It would be sad indeed if this were 'the best sci-fi film if the year', but I watched Across the Spider-Verse recently, which was spectacular.
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Comment on Text editing on mobile isn’t ok. It’s actually much worse than you think, an invisible problem no one appreciates. in ~comp
Idalium LinkAn interesting quote from the article: I wonder how much the quality of online discourse (and our brain development) as a whole is affected by poor mobile typing interfaces. Imagine if every...An interesting quote from the article:
But keep in mind that most text created on mobile is short and low effort, usually messages and social media comments.
I wonder how much the quality of online discourse (and our brain development) as a whole is affected by poor mobile typing interfaces.
Imagine if every message had to be painstakingly carved into a stone tablet, and editing required chipping away at your work. Wouldn't you keep your messages as short as possible? Wouldn't you be more inclined to leave errors in rather than correct them? Would your frustration at the process affect the emotional tone of your wording? Would you even bother to make a thoughtful, well-organised post if you weren't seriously invested?
Imagine if the majority of the people in your community communicated that way most of the time. Would that affect your perception of 'normal' language and communication?
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Comment on What is your most annoying (minor) movie trope? in ~movies
Idalium LinkFight scene, scenario 1: The battered hero lies helpless on the floor, utterly outmatched by his opponent. The extremely muscular and lethal henchman lumbers over to him with murderous intent. The...Fight scene, scenario 1:
The battered hero lies helpless on the floor, utterly outmatched by his opponent. The extremely muscular and lethal henchman lumbers over to him with murderous intent. The hero tries to crawl away, but there is no escape.
In a display of awesome physical strength, the henchman reaches down, picks up the hero with ease, and then... throws him across the room, to safety.
Fight scene, scenario 2:
The expert martial artist weaves effortlessly around the hero, using fists and blunt weapons to repeatedly deliver powerful blows with pinpont precision. No matter how valiantly the hero defends, each non-lethal strike lands true.
The martial artist has toyed with the hero enough. It's time to finish this. He picks up a bladed weapon, and... misses every time.
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Comment on What is your favourite cutscene/cinematic in any game? in ~games
Idalium Link ParentYou're in for a great time! The dedicated fan community has made upgrades to make the original Freespace campaigns run well (and look good) on modern PCs. Of course, there are also many excellent...You're in for a great time!
The dedicated fan community has made upgrades to make the original Freespace campaigns run well (and look good) on modern PCs. Of course, there are also many excellent mods.
Here's a link:
https://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=91849.0
This novel is a masterpiece. There's not a single dull moment; I was completely invested from beginning to end. After the premise is set up, the major character arcs go how you'd expect, with few major surprises. However, this does not diminish the tension; instead, there is a pervasive, dreadful sense of inevitability.
I found it very easy to relate to the main character. While she repeatedly makes decisions that forseeably get her into deeper trouble, in context she makes them for understandable reasons (usually empathy). We'd all like to think that we're too strong, smart, or wilful to ever be slaves; surely we'd fight back! Yet our strong, smart, wilful main character's journey impels the reader to understand how a victim of abuse and injustice can 'let it happen'. The time travel was an effective in enhancing relatability: the point-of-view character is a modern-day person (and thinks like one), selling the idea that the victims of slavery are not intrinsically different from, or weaker than, the rest of us.
While this novel was written in the 1970s, the writing style does not feel at all dated. Certainly the themes are relevant today, and may remain so for as long as humans exist. The novel has no difficulty eliciting horror, outrage, and a sense of injustice; alongside moments of humanity, compassion, and hope.