/lit/ - Literature

>>5116829
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen might be a good place to start. It contains a bunch of illustrations and maps "created" by its main character, which seems to be what you're trying to do.

Look at more novels of the genre, and try to identify a gap. From what I've heard, the vast majority of cyberpunk (like fantasy) centers around some kind of rebel-like character or group, and portrays them positively. Maybe try something different, like writing from the perspective of a megacorp employee who has to keep hackers in line. Maybe this character (possibly a former rebel) even voluntarily becomes a vigilante to uphold the megacorp status quo. Maybe the megacorps have, for some reason, become a lot more socially conscious and aren't destroying society and/or the environment for a change.

This is just a basic example; somebody who knows the genre better could probably think of a more advanced one.

>>5116804
But what does this have to do with common sense? Is common sense different from empathy?

>>5116739
It's true that common sense has limited (if any) use in natural science, but what about in, say, interpersonal situations? Most of the time when I hear about "common sense", it's about things like etiquette.

How do you define "common sense"? How much can people rely on it?

>>5114454
The Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is good if you're into magical realism.

>>5116014
What's the scoop with this book?

What do you think of Nathaniel Mackey? His prose is a bit obscure, but it's so damn fun to read. Anyone else like him?

>>5106743
Depends what you're expecting. If you're looking for some kind of cogent political philosophy, you're going to find approximately zero of that. If you want confirmation that most of what you've heard about Hitler's political views is true, you'll find tons of that.

>>5097517
I'm sure that he wouldn't have written realistically either way, but he has an excuse to offer people who are more deeply concerned with realism. Not one they would find satisfying, but who cares.

>>5096744
It helps to view Gravity's Rainbow as a largely comedic work, and remember that large parts of it aren't realistic because they're hallucinations.

>>5095740
>people honestly think that he's comparable to Tolkien

>>5095703
I'm guessing it has to do more with the uninventive prose. I tried reading a bit, and found Martin's style to be mind-numbingly boring.

>>5094257
>obviously
>clearly

Does this mean that Pökler/Slothrop is canon?

>>5071960
Not exactly my style, but still pretty interesting. "The feral suns gasp novae without notice" is a good line. Who's the narrator supposed to be? A shaman prophet of sorts?

>>5071521
>"“WHEEEEEEEE!!!” she shrieked, racing at a speed that blurred her edges, hurtling with abandon nonexistent.

>abandon nonexistent
Is she carefree or not?

Also, I really dislik the "WHEEEEEE!!!". It'd be better to use a phrase like "she shrieked with joy".

Here's a bit from the Nazi story that some of you writefriends may remember from a while back.

This Monday was especially exciting, as the boys were heading off for their week-long jamboree camping trip with other HJ chapters from all over Westphalia and the Rhineland. They and their camperly belongings were piled into a fleet of busses and driven to a campsite on the Lower Rhine, not far from Duisburg. Franz made sure to sit near the front of the bus, away from the rowdier boys who sat in the back, a child’s attempt to become invisible to adult scrutiny. His plan succeeded, and he was able to avoid the onslaught of Yggdrasil the Minotaur, who persevered to the back of the bus, victorious in his struggle with the aisle that was not wide enough to accommodate him. Elmo was among the boys in the back, telling dirty jokes and aiming the occasional you-old-knucklehead punch in the arm at Hermann or another friend. Those in front of this group, those who wished to bask in the camaraderie of the Very Back but were too timid to take part themselves, looked out the window at the passing blur of grassy greens and earthy browns, punctuated now and again by the unpredictable colour of a farmhouse. Nearer the front were the boys like Franz, the unwilling, boys that the Jugend leaders were trying hopelessly to mould into specimens of the state-mandated neo-Viking anatomy. The potters were willing, but even the best potter needs a supply of good clay. Franz had some commiserative friends, friends not born of similar interests apart from their interest in avoiding the hustle of HJ activities and the suspiciously simplistic optimism of its leaders.
By the time the busses reached their riverside destination, nighttime hues were creeping across the sky, prompting an electric constellation of flashlights. Elmo helped some first-timers set up their tent, while Franz and two of his friends pitched theirs far from the firepit. After a dinner of sausage and fireside singing, the boys returned humming to their tents, uns’re Fahne flattert uns voran, nestling in for an energizing sleep for this week that would move them all another step closer to manhood.

Yes. You're in for some heartbreaking drama. Curiosity, what are you struggling with?

>>5071434
So, "mass extraction" means that the resources aren't extracted for subsistence purposes?

>>5071366
>It is not the primitive man, who has used his body daily for practical purposes, who fears the deterioration of age

Why would Kaczynski say this?

>>5071379
I'm aware that PNW is a special case given its absurdly high number of resources, but what does it mean to call it a "mass-extraction society"? If a lot of those resources are extracted through hunting and gathering, it's still a hunter-gatherer society, right?

>>5071397
I'm sure PNW isn't the only example, it's just the one that comes easiest to my mind cuz I'm from there. But I'm not sure that just having a chief is "exploitation" in and of itself (if that's what you're trying to say, can't really tell) because the life of the chief is not necessarily hugely different from those of his subjects. In the PNW it is, because being of noble birth entitles you to certain privileges, like learning artisan trades and being initiated into secret societies.

>>5070849
The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast lived in hunter-gatherer societies that had hereditary aristocratic privileges and slavery (slaves mainly being prisoners of war). More interestingly, who actually claims that hunter-gatherers don't have exploitation etc.?

>>5061710
I don't know myself well enough to write a proper self-insert. I wonder how many writers are the same way.

Haven't read all the way through yet, but the part with Mickey Rooney was hilarious.

>>4990979
>mfw no sample of Wallace and Gromit theme.
I been bait-n-switched.

>Tyrone Slothrop postan conspiracy theories on /b/
tew gewd