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PaperclipPerfector
1mo ago
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Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
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Yudkowsky mentioned Madoka Magica fanfiction To The Stars as being the best science fiction to predict the future of drone warfare. I liked Madoka Magica, so figured I'd give it a try. As you may see from the fanfiction.net link, it's 910,487 words, which is roughly 10 novels worth of prose. I use Calibre to manage my ebook library, and it has a plugin to download from fanfiction.net, so I downloaded the whole thing and sent it to my Kindle. I then spent about 3 weeks feverishly devouring the whole thing, only to get to the end and discover that it's not finished, and the author writes at a snail's pace. It wasn't until chapter 65/70 when I even considered he might not wrap up all the loose ends. The lesson for me is to use AO3, where it's much clearer that the work is unfinished. I've been moping around and having trouble starting another nonfiction book after that letdown. I really, really, enjoyed the work, but hate the idea of having to come back to it every few years to find out how the story is progressing.
I'm nearing the end of Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War. I can't recall a book that better captures the mentality of fighter pilots, the politics of the military, and the experience of wearing the uniform. The author isn't afraid to make bold claims, like "A performance report like this would normally kill your career" or "Nobody would dare talk to a General like that" (not actual quotes, but it was an audiobook and I don't want to scroll around to find specific examples). The only thing I disagree with in the entire book is the claim that promotion to Colonel, Boyd's final rank, is more difficult than the promotion to flag officer. Otherwise it's my top recommendation for fiction writers (or anyone) who want to understand the experience of being in the US military. I also recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The Pentagon Wars, since the dysfunction of the Air Force picking aircraft and Boyd's fight to get the right plane built is quite similar.
What are you reading?
Guess I don't really know the guy but didn't think I've ever see Madoka Magica in the same sentence with Yudkowsky and drone warfare. I think the issue with these longer works is you have to ask yourself would you be willing to reread the entire thing from the start when the next part is out? There's a lot of good ideas in these longer webnovels but the length is definitely an issue for a lot of people, which is why having a good editor is crucial if you ever want to get it to print. But then you get fans of the webnovel complaining how X and Y were edited and on and on it goes.
I've been binge-watching Roman history videos on YouTube and saw a comment that I should read Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series. It chronicles the last days of the Roman Republic. There's seven books in the series and approximately 568,230 words in total. Apparently the author collected and researched thousands of books and material on the history of Rome while writing the series so it should be fairly historically accurate, although since it is historic fiction there will be made up parts. I barely started the first book so I don't have much thoughts on it yet, but I'm excited to dive into the series.
Please do. I somehow acquired a copy of the second book in my adolescence in a used book store, right on the heels of a Roma-boo phase that's never ended (playing Rome: Total War does things to an impressionable lad), and I absolutely adored it and read it multiple times. It was only relatively recently that I managed to find the first novel on libgen, and no surprise, it was great, and somehow I've never had the time to read the third one. Good thing you've mentioned the series, that'll give me something to read on a 14 hour flight.
They're really good. She humanizes Romans, having no qualms about showing how alien some aspects of their culture are to modern sensibilities, while leaving clear how much we've embraced and endorsed. The way she writes characters brings tears to your eyes, while occasionally being so hilarious your sides will ache from laughter.
#IStanSulla, and you likely will too once you're done with the series. He's a Chad and a half.
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https://x.com/ESYudkowsky/status/1808229407020273899
Curious to hear if you like it. I've been trying to get a better understanding of history but have been struggling to get through most of the books I've tried.
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I hate reading unfinished series. It's awful!
Usually avoidable, but yeah, plowing through something only to run up against 'no next chapter' sucks.
I feel like it's a bit of a writing hack too. Part of why those series can be so enticing is that they present mysteries that seem impossible to resolve, and you desperately want to know how they do resolve. But turns out the author can't resolve them and you were enticed by the mystery under false premises.
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