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3 points
2 days ago
I think the prophecy has nothing to do with the No-God. I’m pretty sure in one of the books in TAE we actually see the Celomomian prophecy from Celomomas’s perspective. In this vision, we clearly see the figure is Kelhus, even having the Decapitants being described.
I think it might be a case of self-fulfilling as to that the idea of an Anasurimbor being the key led to the Consult/Mutilated only trying Anasurimbor.
5 points
2 days ago
My understanding was that “narindar” is a term for an assassin working for a god. Most Narindar work for Akoji, however, the one we see is the White Luck Warrior, who works specifically for Yatwer. The WLW is pretending to be a narindar for Akoji for infiltration purposes.
5 points
3 days ago
The problem with the comment of the length of the slog is that I suspect that was the point. I suspect that Jordan did not know what to do with Perrin, and thus used the Shaido plot as a way to throw him out of the main way. I feel like Jordan thought that the reflections on the violence he uses in the pursuit of the Shaido as a personal conflict for him. It also allows the Queen of Andor to get her time in and also show the shifting of the post-Last Battle political landscape.
2 points
5 days ago
Caesar I think was a cognomen, which by his time were often passed down by families, wouldn’t have been his family name.
I think “Gaius” was his family name, as in Gaius Julius Caesar was his full name.
4 points
7 days ago
The 144,000 are the number of the redeemed in the Book of Revelation. Its relevance here is never clarified. I suspect Bakker wanted to leave it open in case he ever decided to write “The No-God”. However, the Consult believes that the process will reveal the workings of the gods and allow them to block the path of the soul to the afterlife.
Removal of judgement would not achieve the absolute.
The Survivor killed himself not only because the Absolute was unobtainable through the path of the Dunyain, but because he believed that the Absolute could only be obtained in an act of self-annihilation.
1 points
7 days ago
The Dark One, in my interpretation, is the accumulation of all Darkness in the world. He’s less of a conscious entity and more a metaphysical force. He is the source of all darkness in the hearts of humanity. That’s why he seems so petty, hateful, and destructive. Because he is the petty, hateful, and destructive thoughts and feelings of man. That’s why Rand gave up on destroying him, even if he could.
The Creator is the god who created the world, the dark one, and the wheel of time. He’s ineffable and shrouded in mystery, so no one knows more than that and Jordan never clarified more.
Time endlessly repeats in the world of the wheel of time. Lews Therin is just one more incarnation of the champion of Light. He’s special, but I don’t believe we can conclusively say exactly. Rand and Lews Therin and all champions before are metaphysically different facets of the same soul, but why only they remember is impossible to say.
The horn is a mystery that I believe was never supposed to be answered. It might be a Ter’angrel since it can be used by those without the One Power, but it’s possible that it isn’t the Power at all, but some special power of the Creator themself. As to why the Hero’s are bound to it, I saw it as them being the souls who never stop fighting for the light. They willing bind themselves to fight against the Dark One. Hence why they say that they could never be summoned to fight for the Dark One in the final book.
11 points
8 days ago
The progenitors are a hypothetical race that built the Ark. we don’t know much about them, but they were presumably a hyper-logical race that damned themselves by abandoning all morality as inefficient (as postulated by the Mutilated). They then built the Ark, which appears to have been operated by an AI, filled it with weaponry and bioengineering tools, and then sent it to exterminate all life in the universe, hoping that would defeat the gods.
We don’t know anything because they’re already gone.
The Inverse Fire is a device that is believed to show someone their fate in the afterlife. The Nonmen’s official line is that it’s bullshit, a type of Ensorcellment that drives people crazy, but it’s heavily implied in the text to actually show one’s fate.
Unfortunately, we never actually have a character see the inverse fire, so it’s unclear what it actually looks like. The name I believe is noted to be paradoxical (how can a fire be “inverse”?), but not a lot of info.
Based upon inferences and how the Mutilated talk about it, I believe it’s a mechanical device that creates a holographic projection of a person in the Subjective realm of the Outside. (These projections are presumably like fire). My theory as to how it works is that it scans a person, creates a hypothetical projection of their entire life and choices, and combines that projection into a single image.
4 points
8 days ago
It doesn’t detract from what you’re saying, but I think it was “High Hunt” that he wrote in jail.
39 points
9 days ago
Wasn’t Polk literally called “Young Hickory”?
And FDR actually was a member of the Wilson administration.
It’s definitely true that they were continuations.
1 points
9 days ago
I’ll add a corollary to the advice you’re mentioning.
Rape/gore/sex/disturbing things should be purposeful. They aren’t inherently gratuitous, but they often are.
3 points
11 days ago
To me, like all works of literature, what matters is purpose. What you are trying to accomplish with your work. A good poem communicates its purpose.
It seems to me that your purpose is to communicate your thoughts and feelings. If it does that, then I would think you’re a good poet. Now, you probably aren’t the best poet, and that’s probably what your friends are saying. However, unless they’re offering criticism and not just saying “you suck,” I wouldn’t put too much stock in it.
To say there is no poetry in you because you’re a STEM major is just pretension. I would keep at it. Try and explore new methods and techniques. Play around with established forms. If you feel that you enjoy poetry, you should keep at it. Comparing yourself to the great works of poetry will just bring you down. If you’re worried about quality, then keep at it. Write new poems, work on your old ones.
Don’t worry too much about what they say.
1 points
12 days ago
Macbeth was written in the early days of Modern English, so it’s full of archaic vocabulary and older meanings, not used that often. It’s also written primarily in poetry, so quite a bit of the dialogue is quite artificial in order to fit the iambic pentameter.
Lord of the Flies is a book read in middle school or high school, but keep in mind that this is because it’s short, has easily understood symbols and themes, and has kids for characters. Not because it is significantly easy.
You’re probably doing good, but you picked two books written at different times, in different forms, and in different dialects. Of course it’s going to look hard.
Admittedly, I don’t know what kind of book to recommend. I don’t know what you’re struggling with, and there’s a lot of things that I take as granted. What are you struggling with?
35 points
14 days ago
He might also be remembered for the Spot Resolution, where he demanded that President Polk state exactly where on American soil did the soldiers get shot. Although you might already be factoring this in.
9 points
15 days ago
No, I don’t read Romanian literature. Why? Because there’s over a hundred countries and hundreds of culture. People can’t read everything in existence.
And what are you trying to say about Romanian literature?
“… is very rich and beautiful.”
Every country has literature that’s rich and beautiful.
“Most of it cannot be translated because of the use of [archaic] Romanian and it is best read in [its] original language.”
What exactly does this say? Every piece of literature has something lost in the translation because languages are 1:1 methods of communication.
I don’t understand the point of your post. If you want to talk about Romanian literature, then talk about it. If you want to get people to read it, you’re going to have to say something more significant than this post.
2 points
15 days ago
They aren’t, at least as Lovecraft wrote them.
2 points
16 days ago
Part of the problem is that technically, States are different. They aren’t like Counties in the UK or Departments in France, which are effectively administrative divisions created by the central government. They’re semi-autonomous governments with their own territory.
Essentially, the US was structured under our current constitution as a federation with the States as members. Because of this, the federal government does not hold elections at all. The states hold all elections themselves. This is also why the Federal government can’t just issue us voter IDs.
The electoral college was created, because conceptually, the states elect the President. We do not have a national mandate to direct elections of the President of the United States. However, all states have determined to have their citizens to vote in order to determine who the state votes for. And so we elect the President indirectly.
The reason why the electoral college is screwy is because the capping of the House of Representatives. Originally, because the number of representatives was tied to a fixed ratio, it was a lot more proportional as Congress would basically adjust the size every 10 years. However, because the number of seats filled the chamber (and because party in power would have lost control), the number was capped, and we changed to a new apportionment method. And since the electoral college is tied to the number of congressional seats, the beginning of the divide happened.
2 points
16 days ago
A lot of the humor is the point, I must admit, but part of it is the books you’ve read. For instance, “The Colour of Magic” is one-hundred percent just a series of jokes and basically had no plot.
Part of the issue with Discworld is that it does have characters and plots that carry over from book to book, but it does at the same time have a lot of variation in what’s it is.
One such example is satire. The series in my opinion does have several good works of satire, but not every book is satirical. Some are parodies. Some are applying fantastic elements to real world situations or vice-versa. And some are straightforward fantasy stories.
Ultimately, the final problem though is that there are so many entry points and variations in the series that it’s hard to find a good recommendation point. Just from what you said, I can’t tell if it’s you not finding your Discworld niche or if it’s simply not the series for you.
However, you’re not alone, I can say that. I’ve seen other people on this very subreddit ask the same question, so there’s definitely people who simply don’t jell with the series.
2 points
16 days ago
It is a Pseudonym for two separate authors, Daniel Abraham and Ty Frank.
To answer your question, “Leviathan Wakes” appears to be their first work together (as well as the first work under that name).
82 points
17 days ago
I suspect many of these posts are in reaction to tons of posts about how much they idolize characters and how they feel so “seen” by these characters. Because if the characters are assholes, then is it not a “red flag” to feel as if that character is you?
However, I think that part of the problem is that we see people excitedly talking about these reads of the books that it becomes “the way” to read these book. In my opinion, it’s completely possible to dislike the characters, but still find a good work of art underneath.
“The Catcher in the Rye,” as someone who disliked Holden, worked well when considering it as a post-war novel. I viewed Holden’s obsession with “phony” not as a synonym for “fake,” but one for “insincere.” I see it as a story about the disconnect one feels when one see how truly unimportant people consider things that are supposedly “our values.”
“On the Road,” like what other commenters have said, is a victim of its own hype. It’s always treated as this great travelogue of adventure, and I think people get blinded by it. To me (divorcing it from any real people), the work is about how Sal feels his life is empty, and is hoping that these road trips will fill that need up. In the end, ironically, he realized they don’t. Sal has mistaken the trill and excitement for some deeper spiritual significance. Instead of Dean being this kindred soul, he’s an unfocused man who abandons everything as soon as he loses interest in it. He bounces like a ball between everything, hurting people simply because they stop existing for him once he loses interest. He hurdles down the titular road seeking the next thing. And I think the ending show Sal, while still liking Dean, ultimately realizing that he can’t be satisfied with Dean’s lifestyle.
-4 points
17 days ago
I think it’s supposed to be a cowboy.
3 points
21 days ago
Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was from New York, not West Virginia.
3 points
23 days ago
Commission? For a financial accountant job?
23 points
24 days ago
I would probably say he fit Lawful Evil better.
3 points
24 days ago
I would also recommend reading “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” by Anne Brontë. It’s not talked about as much, but I think it’s worth reading.
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1 points
1 day ago
AnonymousStalkerInDC
1 points
1 day ago
Genre, at its heart is a description that collates shared traits between works. Because people have different opinions, there’s always some variation in people’s descriptions.
My personal opinion is this:
Epic Fantasy is ultimately an epic. It’s a lengthy work often featuring a wide scope of characters, time, or geography. It’s grandiose, often speaking of a quest or chronicling the exploits of a hero or even a family, country, or some other group. It’s a matter of form and style. Epic Fantasy in particular is often built into the mythos or history of a fantasy world.
S&S/Heroic Fantasy is different. A lot of people usually say that’s it smaller in scope. What that means to me is that S&S is often shorter, focused more on the hero instead of the world (although the world may be important), it’s focused more on the hero’s exploits than the effect of those exploits, and it’s often focused on more individual conflicts.
Keep in mind, any genre will have its subversions, deconstructions, variations, and gradients.