Re:Permutation City
by zeekaran on Friday February 09, 2024 @11:45AM
(#39316829)
Make sure to read Ra as well. One of my favorite webfics. https://qntm.org/ra
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Re:Permutation City
by LeifCarrotson on Friday February 09, 2024 @12:07PM
(#39317220)
It's one of my favorite webfics too, so I got a hardcover:
https://www.amazon.com/Ra-qntm/dp/B096TRWRWX
Have this in my personal library as well as a (paperback) of Permutation City. I think it's awesome they're published online but there's something special about having it in print too.
I just read the Antimemetics division and qntm's short story collection. I loved the short stories and first ~40-60% of the Antimemetics Division and felt it then got too crazy and abstract. The "magic is real" thing has new worried as I usually avoid fantasy. Do you think I'll still like Ra?
Re:Permutation City
by AceJohnny2 on Friday February 09, 2024 @06:31PM
(#39321811)
I read Ra and I loved it, but it's imperfect. It could use an editor.
Antimemetics, being SCP-related, comes with a hefty dollop of magical realism.
Ra, to me, felt like a rocket ride as new ideas, twists, and exponentially escalating stakes get thrown at you. The pacing is very jerky, and I can very much understand if people just nope halfway through.
In particular, the characters... suck (my apologies, Sam)
Characters sucking is a common complaint about hard scifi which I can very much live with and am used to. Thank you!
It’s as far away from fantasy as magic can probably be. I think you might like it!
In some ways, it’s even less fantastical than antimemetics, think magic as a sub-branch of advanced physics and in no way mystical.
Re:Permutation City
by grfhtsdfvv on Friday February 09, 2024 @07:17PM
(#39322126)
Thank you for this link, I’m really enjoying it.
While if didn’t hook me as quickly as Antimemetics or Ra, I also thoroughly enjoyed Fine Structure: https://qntm.org/structure