4 ms·

One counter example is “Harry Potter and the methods of rationality”. Possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read.

mrob 7y ago
Another example is "Worm", which I learned of from the author's notes for Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ https://parahumans.wordpress.com/
- cm2012 7y ago
  Worm and it's sequel, Ward, are amazing.
  - Gatsky 7y ago
    Worm is 1.6 million words long?? You read the whole thing?
    - mrob 7y ago
      It was released as a serial. Think of it as a long series of shorter works.
    - yxhuvud 7y ago
      You read a chapter. Then you read another chapter. Repeat as long as you manage to keep interest. Worm is an awesome tale that have mostly destroyed other stories about super heroes for me.
    - cm2012 7y ago
      Yep. About the same length as the Game of Thrones book series (ASOIAF)
- polytely 7y ago
  Yeah, I think Worm really fits the HN crowd. It's a de- and re-construction of the superhero genre, with really creative superpowers. I love the world building in Worm, it's internally consistent which is something that gets hand-waved away in most superhero stories. It starts out as a sort of young-adult superhero story but slowly morphs and escalates to a sci-fi epic. I really admire the work ethic of the author, he has been delivering high-quality chapters every week since 2011, and you can just read it online for free.
mdorazio 7y ago
Wasn't that a serial fanfiction published over a pretty long period of time? I seem to remember reading the chapters weekly. Fanfiction like that tends to be its own category, with the better ones rising to the top of the rather large pile. Another example is Metropolitan Man.
haasted 7y ago
Another example is the Wool series by Hugh Howey. That was one of the first big self-publishing success stories. The books are incredibly entertaining and actually spawned a number of short stories and novels by other self-publishing authors set in the same universe.
avian 7y ago
I liked reading HPMOR and it's certainly among the best fan fictions I've read, but in my opinion it has all the usual benefits and shortcomings of fanfics: It's based on fascinating ideas and a new perspective on the known world and characters, it has an unconventional story that the author obviously tells in the way he wants. On the other hand it shows a lack of editing. There are whole chapters that don't move the story forward (like a third of the book is dedicated to student battles that just seem like a filler before the author decided how to end the story). I feel like those would all get significantly shortened if this would be a published book with an editor. Anyway, I like reading fanfiction, but I think it stands on its own and it's hard to compare it with conventional published literature.
- williamdclt 7y ago
  I see what you mean but don't really agree, the chapters that do not move the story forward allow to dig into characters, to get a better image of the universe we're reading about. I enjoy reading it, so I appreciate it's here, it helps immersion as the book is not only a specific storyline. I've always been frustrated in Harry Potter that there's not more writing about the lessons for example. There's quite a bit about it in the first book, then it's more and more scarce.

mrob 7y ago

Another example is "Worm", which I learned of from the author's notes for Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

cm2012 7y ago
Worm and it's sequel, Ward, are amazing.
- Gatsky 7y ago
  Worm is 1.6 million words long?? You read the whole thing?
  - mrob 7y ago
    It was released as a serial. Think of it as a long series of shorter works.
  - yxhuvud 7y ago
    You read a chapter. Then you read another chapter. Repeat as long as you manage to keep interest. Worm is an awesome tale that have mostly destroyed other stories about super heroes for me.
  - cm2012 7y ago
    Yep. About the same length as the Game of Thrones book series (ASOIAF)
polytely 7y ago
Yeah, I think Worm really fits the HN crowd. It's a de- and re-construction of the superhero genre, with really creative superpowers. I love the world building in Worm, it's internally consistent which is something that gets hand-waved away in most superhero stories. It starts out as a sort of young-adult superhero story but slowly morphs and escalates to a sci-fi epic. I really admire the work ethic of the author, he has been delivering high-quality chapters every week since 2011, and you can just read it online for free.

mdorazio 7y ago

Wasn't that a serial fanfiction published over a pretty long period of time? I seem to remember reading the chapters weekly. Fanfiction like that tends to be its own category, with the better ones rising to the top of the rather large pile. Another example is Metropolitan Man.

haasted 7y ago

Another example is the Wool series by Hugh Howey. That was one of the first big self-publishing success stories. The books are incredibly entertaining and actually spawned a number of short stories and novels by other self-publishing authors set in the same universe.

avian 7y ago

I liked reading HPMOR and it's certainly among the best fan fictions I've read, but in my opinion it has all the usual benefits and shortcomings of fanfics: It's based on fascinating ideas and a new perspective on the known world and characters, it has an unconventional story that the author obviously tells in the way he wants. On the other hand it shows a lack of editing. There are whole chapters that don't move the story forward (like a third of the book is dedicated to student battles that just seem like a filler before the author decided how to end the story). I feel like those would all get significantly shortened if this would be a published book with an editor. Anyway, I like reading fanfiction, but I think it stands on its own and it's hard to compare it with conventional published literature.

williamdclt 7y ago
I see what you mean but don't really agree, the chapters that do not move the story forward allow to dig into characters, to get a better image of the universe we're reading about. I enjoy reading it, so I appreciate it's here, it helps immersion as the book is not only a specific storyline. I've always been frustrated in Harry Potter that there's not more writing about the lessons for example. There's quite a bit about it in the first book, then it's more and more scarce.