5 ms·

For anyone who hasn't yet had the pleasure, Scott's (fiction) book Unsong is magnificent. It's one of the best books I read last year, and I read constantly.

For anyone who hasn't yet had the pleasure, Scott's (fiction) book Unsong is magnificent. It's one of the best books I read last year, and I read constantly. http://unsongbook.com/ http://unsongbook.com/ Ebook https://github.com/JasonGross/unsong_scraper https://github.com/JasonGross/unsong_scraper Sample: “I AM BUSY. I AM TRYING TO FIX CONTINENTAL DRIFT.” “I…didn’t know it was broken.” Uriel’s face became more animated, his speech faster. “IT HAS BEEN BROKEN FOR FIVE WEEKS AND FIVE DAYS. I THINK IT BROKE WHEN I RELOADED NEW ZEALAND FROM A BACKUP COPY, BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHY. MY SYNCHRONIZATION WAS IMPECCABLE AND THE CHANGE PROPAGATED SIMULTANEOUSLY ACROSS ALL SEPHIROT. I THINK SOMEBODY BOILED A GOAT IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK. IT IS ALWAYS THAT. I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE NOT TO DO IT, BUT NOBODY LISTENS.”

jarbus 6y ago
I didn’t know he wrote a book, thanks!
rognjen 6y ago
When it comes to humor like that only HHGTTG -- that I (un)fortunately read first -- has been entertaining. Everything after that seemed as if it was trying to emulate it.
- samatman 6y ago
  My father, sadly for him, read Vonnegut before Douglas Adams, and felt that Hitchhiker's was just trying to emulate him. I didn't inherit this gene, happily for me, and enjoy all three authors a great deal. If anyone wants to recommend something else in this vein, please do; I'll probably like it.
  - Nition 6y ago
    HHGTTG was absolutely trying to emulate The Sirens Of Titan. They're both great though.
    - loriverkutya 6y ago
      Douglas Adams disagrees with you: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/60015 https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/60015
      - Nition 6y ago
        Adams doesn't say he wasn't influenced by Vonnegut in those quotes. Also, here's another quote[1]: > "I've read The Sirens of Titan six times now, and it gets better every time. He is an influence, I must own up. Sirens of Titan is just one of those books – you read it through the first time and you think it's very loosely, casually written. You think the fact that everything suddenly makes such good sense at the end is almost accidental. And then you read it a few more times, simultaneously finding out more about writing yourself, and you realise what an absolute tour de force it was, making something as beautifully honed as that appear so casual." [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20070302103312/http://www.darkermatter.com/issue1/douglas_adams.php https://web.archive.org/web/20070302103312/http://www.darker... --- But I suppose there is a difference between "influenced by" and "trying to emulate" isn't there, and I absolutely should have said the former. They are books that have some similarities, each in their own style.
  - pcardoso 6y ago
    I read José Saramago and at times felt his writing similar to Vonnegut. Perhaps you’ll like it. Blindness is a good first read.
  - bryanrasmussen 6y ago
    I find Adams more whimsical than Vonnegut.
- sundarurfriend 6y ago
  I'm one of the people who's never particularly enjoyed HHGTTG, but very much enjoyed Unsong and Terry Pratchett's Discworld (both of which I read years later). HHGTTG felt like it was being absurd for the sake of absurdity (IMHO of course, I know how much it's loved by others), whereas in Unsong it all fits into a complete and coherent world where the absurdity just arises from the nature of that world.
  - lukifer 6y ago
    While I enjoy HHGTTG, I've long been of the opinion that the Dirk Gently books are Adams' best works. HHGTTG originated as a radio show, and while they're fun, they meander, almost a loosely connected series of vignettes rather than novels. The 2 (+1/2) Gently books are more cohesive narratives, complete with themes and motifs and such, and perfectly stick the landing (besides the last one, which was tragically unfinished).
- DoomHotel 6y ago
  Reading Catherynne M. Valente's 'Space Opera' was like going back to those glorious days when I first discovered HHGTTG.
jpochtar 6y ago
Unsong is an absolute favorite. I would love to pay $$$ for a printed version. Its target demographic miiiight be specifically Jewish, atheist, programmers. Who think about those three things a lot and in combination. I've stopped trying to get anyone not in that demo to read it. But if that's you, please give it a shot!
- viewer5 6y ago
  Not being Jewish or knowing a whole lot about Judaism, is too much of it going to go over my head? I'm pretty lousy at noticing/interpreting symbolism in fiction, in case that would either help or hurt my enjoyment here (e.g. "blowing right past symbolism that I wouldn't understand anyway" might be better than "noticing it but being stumped for lack of religious background").
  - nineplay 6y ago
    I'm not Jewish and absolutely loved it.
  - lukifer 6y ago
    Also not Jewish, and easily my favorite read of the 2010's, both in thought-provocation and pure enjoyment. Not since Douglas Adams have I been tickled pink by every word. As someone who skews atheist but is fascinated by religion, the Kabbalistic mysticism was not only fascinating in its own right, but also a superb lens to examine theological questions without triggering the reflexive aversions many of us non-believers have developed w/r/t Christianity.
- GLjEI4YbnGD27LB 6y ago
  I, nor my friend, is Jewish and quite liked it. (Still atheist programmers, so that might help)
- gauchojs 6y ago
  Is there something similar for theist catholic programmers?
- smsm42 6y ago
Apanatshka 6y ago
That excerpt made me think of Romantically Apocalyptic, which is a... visual novel / web comic? I read it for a while, really enjoying the art and the strange and absurd conversations, characters and events. It felt a bit unplanned and all over the place though, but that might just be my prejudice towards web comics combined with the style of writing.
sam_goody 6y ago
<ot> I once had to put up a fence in the middle of a public field. As we were hammering in the first post, security demanded an explanation. The foreman looked up and explained politely and with a totally straight face that we were fastening the tectonic plates to prevent earthquakes. They let us be... </ot>

jarbus 6y ago

I didn’t know he wrote a book, thanks!

rognjen 6y ago

When it comes to humor like that only HHGTTG -- that I (un)fortunately read first -- has been entertaining. Everything after that seemed as if it was trying to emulate it.

samatman 6y ago
My father, sadly for him, read Vonnegut before Douglas Adams, and felt that Hitchhiker's was just trying to emulate him. I didn't inherit this gene, happily for me, and enjoy all three authors a great deal. If anyone wants to recommend something else in this vein, please do; I'll probably like it.
- Nition 6y ago
  HHGTTG was absolutely trying to emulate The Sirens Of Titan. They're both great though.
  - loriverkutya 6y ago
    Douglas Adams disagrees with you: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/60015 https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/60015
    - Nition 6y ago
      Adams doesn't say he wasn't influenced by Vonnegut in those quotes. Also, here's another quote[1]: > "I've read The Sirens of Titan six times now, and it gets better every time. He is an influence, I must own up. Sirens of Titan is just one of those books – you read it through the first time and you think it's very loosely, casually written. You think the fact that everything suddenly makes such good sense at the end is almost accidental. And then you read it a few more times, simultaneously finding out more about writing yourself, and you realise what an absolute tour de force it was, making something as beautifully honed as that appear so casual." [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20070302103312/http://www.darkermatter.com/issue1/douglas_adams.php https://web.archive.org/web/20070302103312/http://www.darker... --- But I suppose there is a difference between "influenced by" and "trying to emulate" isn't there, and I absolutely should have said the former. They are books that have some similarities, each in their own style.
- pcardoso 6y ago
  I read José Saramago and at times felt his writing similar to Vonnegut. Perhaps you’ll like it. Blindness is a good first read.
- bryanrasmussen 6y ago
  I find Adams more whimsical than Vonnegut.
sundarurfriend 6y ago
I'm one of the people who's never particularly enjoyed HHGTTG, but very much enjoyed Unsong and Terry Pratchett's Discworld (both of which I read years later). HHGTTG felt like it was being absurd for the sake of absurdity (IMHO of course, I know how much it's loved by others), whereas in Unsong it all fits into a complete and coherent world where the absurdity just arises from the nature of that world.
- lukifer 6y ago
  While I enjoy HHGTTG, I've long been of the opinion that the Dirk Gently books are Adams' best works. HHGTTG originated as a radio show, and while they're fun, they meander, almost a loosely connected series of vignettes rather than novels. The 2 (+1/2) Gently books are more cohesive narratives, complete with themes and motifs and such, and perfectly stick the landing (besides the last one, which was tragically unfinished).
DoomHotel 6y ago
Reading Catherynne M. Valente's 'Space Opera' was like going back to those glorious days when I first discovered HHGTTG.

jpochtar 6y ago

Unsong is an absolute favorite. I would love to pay $$$ for a printed version. Its target demographic miiiight be specifically Jewish, atheist, programmers. Who think about those three things a lot and in combination. I've stopped trying to get anyone not in that demo to read it. But if that's you, please give it a shot!

viewer5 6y ago
Not being Jewish or knowing a whole lot about Judaism, is too much of it going to go over my head? I'm pretty lousy at noticing/interpreting symbolism in fiction, in case that would either help or hurt my enjoyment here (e.g. "blowing right past symbolism that I wouldn't understand anyway" might be better than "noticing it but being stumped for lack of religious background").
- nineplay 6y ago
  I'm not Jewish and absolutely loved it.
- lukifer 6y ago
  Also not Jewish, and easily my favorite read of the 2010's, both in thought-provocation and pure enjoyment. Not since Douglas Adams have I been tickled pink by every word. As someone who skews atheist but is fascinated by religion, the Kabbalistic mysticism was not only fascinating in its own right, but also a superb lens to examine theological questions without triggering the reflexive aversions many of us non-believers have developed w/r/t Christianity.
GLjEI4YbnGD27LB 6y ago
I, nor my friend, is Jewish and quite liked it. (Still atheist programmers, so that might help)
gauchojs 6y ago
Is there something similar for theist catholic programmers?
smsm42 6y ago

Apanatshka 6y ago

That excerpt made me think of Romantically Apocalyptic, which is a... visual novel / web comic? I read it for a while, really enjoying the art and the strange and absurd conversations, characters and events. It felt a bit unplanned and all over the place though, but that might just be my prejudice towards web comics combined with the style of writing.

sam_goody 6y ago

<ot> I once had to put up a fence in the middle of a public field. As we were hammering in the first post, security demanded an explanation. The foreman looked up and explained politely and with a totally straight face that we were fastening the tectonic plates to prevent earthquakes. They let us be... </ot>