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Grrl Power #983 - Business or pleasure?
🕑 Added 2021-09-27 10:01:02 +0000 UTCThanks so much for your support! Like, seriously, you guys.
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Customs Agent: Reason for your visit to our dimension, Sir?
Thothogoth: Telling off an Ex.
Customs Agent: I see. I will expedite your processing forthwith.
Some book recommendations
The Laundry Files - A lot of people might know this as The Atrocity Archives, but that's just the name of the first book. Basically, a funny-in-a-British-way-but-also-serious-cause-they're-fighting-terrors-from-beyond version of the BPRD, following a beginner field agent as he works to defend the world from Cthonic terrors, apocalyptic math, and avoiding literal Death by Powerpoint. This series reminded me what, and I hate to put it this way, but, what good writing is. I don't mean that all the stuff I've been reading lately is bad, but it's almost entirely functional. It tells a story. Very little of it has any... I don't want to say "poetry" because fuck poetry, but the Laundry Files makes you work just a little bit as it evokes the world. Like at one point the MC is redlining a rental Prius down the Autobahn "while someone back down the road fires Audis and BMWs at me out of a cannon." Obviously no one is actually shooting cars at him, it's just an artful way of saying that everyone in real cars are thundering past him and threatening to send him into a tailspin with their jet wash. Yeah, art. That's the word I was looking for.
Oh, Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer - A guy gets isekaied to a new world where he's stuck with the class "Farmer" and hates it so much that the author was able to fill a 600* page book about how hard this guy works to get around it. The thing I like about this book, well, one of the things I guess, is that a lot of the time someone winds up in a world with magic and levels and whatever, and there's no explanation for all the game mechanics stuff. This book explains a fairly reasonable magical ecosystem that actually makes a lot of sense. I also like it because I am an inveterate "Rule Taker Advantage Of" AKA 'Sploitzer, and this book is about a guy who is good at that, but travels to a world where there are literal scholars who study the magical rules of their world in order to try and eek out maximum gains, so he doesn't just show up and figure some obvious thing immediately and all the XP, Gold and Women in the world just fall on his dick right away, unlike a LOT of these isekai novels.
*(According to Amazon's page count thing which always seems to overestimate by about 25% IMO. I don't know, maybe they're calculating it using a 13 point font instead of a 10 or something.)
Engineering Ludus - Okay, so I really like Delvers, LLC. To me it's like the seminal isekai novel. I mean it's definitely not the first story of its kind, but alongside Tamer, it was one of my first. Tamer technically counts as isekai, but really I think there's an implied value with those books that the character(s) will be interacting with another world's culture, and Tamer is like, welp, here's a forest. Anyway I like Delvers and Engineering Ludas is kind of like... official FanFic? Okay, Blaise Corvin invited some other authors to write short stories that take place on Ludus, and published them in Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus. One of those stories got continued in a full length novel, which the author sent me and was like, "I hear you like Delvers." So I read like one paragraph of it, then got annoyed and had to go buy Surviving Ludus so I could catch the start of the story, read that and came back to Engineering. Despite liking Delvers, I had never picked up Surviving Ludus before because I generally don't care for short stories. I don't like getting invested in a character when their story is only 80 pages long. I generally don't even buy novels unless there's at least two volumes published already.
But anyway, Engineering Ludus is more Delvers, well, not Delvers, but it's more adventures on Ludus, albeit lower level than the Delvers themselves. At least in book 1? Hmm?
On an entirely unrelated note, I don't like that "Isekai" has become the official term for "Hero from another world." Like the Japanese invented the genre? John Carter of Mars was published in 1912, and that's probably not even the first popular example. Yeah, I know, the Japanese largely popularized the trope. I guess no one would understand if I started writing "So the MC gets Cartered and has to fend off all the XP, gold and women trying to fall on his dick..."
Tamer: Enhancer 2 – Progress Update:
Final fight is close to wrapping up. I think it has some pacing issues as I have trouble turning off the "character moments" hose. Like, right in the middle of a fight, the MC gets his first good look at a new character, so I spend a few sentences describing them. It slows down the pace of things for readers. The easy fix it to abbreviate that description to just the absolute basics, then elaborate when the fight wraps, so I'll probably just wind up doing that. I'm haven't quite gotten to it yet as I'm trying to wrap the fight still, but, hey, this is "Progress Update," not "How things will eventually be."
Comments
akrasia
For those too young to know the reference, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufH4eZ7sF_I
eddi_TBH
Vehemic energy is like Chinese food. 5 minutes later, you're hungry again.
Anti-No
I'm kind of seeing Vehemence down there going "Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight!"
Eric Loken
Hm, let Max hit him with the 1 megaton thermonuclear BB of doom, or let Syd hit him with the PPO .88 magnum (it shoots through small planets)? Decisions, decisions...
Souliris
100% Sydney, she is the Ray of the group.
Marc Vun Kannon
Exactly what I said way up above. Not sure why people are having trouble with the concept. Unless maybe Sydney is actually looking at Tom, which isn't obvious at all.
Some Ed
He does have one, courtesy of Xuriel. But he's loathed to actually use it, because he hates that name. (Fun fact: Tom Shahara Thothogoth's the name you use if you want to bind him, and are brave enough to try binding a demon. But, word to the wise, don't: Dabbler's point about them not being devils is on target.) At least, this is my headcanon at this point.
Justaguy
Technically The Wizard of Oz is an Isekai.
eddi_TBH
"Arch-Lord Thothogoth, Dominus Secunde of the Bringers Of Order Deux... good evening. As a duly designated representative of the City, County and State of New York, I order you to cease any and all supernatural activity and return forthwith to your place of origin or to the nearest convenient parallel dimension." "Are you a God?" "Betcher ass." [Blasts off Tom's left horn] The only question is who does Ray's line; Max or Sydney?
eddi_TBH
"It's complicated." Don't bring that kind of stuff around here Tom. The boss doesn't do complicated.
Donald Randolph
A relationship that Dabbler calls complicated?
Doug Northcote
Thanks Steve!
SteveKeiler
The audio version of Engineering Ludus is finished (I'm literally listening to the proofs right now), and the anthology is available from the Soundbooth Theater website. We're thinking of releasing the short story audio for free when the main book drops on Audible.
Doug Northcote
Dude get out of my head. I'm re listening to book 1 of Delver LLC and you tell me about an anthology and book I've missed. Thank you! Also... About "Ol Tom." he also appears in #311 as well. https://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-311-succubi-rarely-diet-insert-joke-about-juice-cleanse/ So, either he really leveled up or that is one heck of a size manipulation spell going on. I'm re reading the comic from start and laughing way to much still. Just came by that one in the classroom Dabbler was in as a kid, Tom is in left side. etc.
AlpineBob
I believe it should be either "Are you <b>Mrs</b>. Tantilis?" or "Is <b>he</b> Mr. Tantalis?" Anyone thinking Xuriel is a Mister is unclear on the concept. (Except maybe in Star Trek, where every officer was a Mister, if I recall correctly...)
Cha11engerD
I sense a ‘Puny God/Demon’ moment in the future.
James C
I've been having "Oh, Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer" recommended at me by ads since I started reading "Beware of Chicken" the other month, but "Game"-type Isekai stories can get a bit samey, "crack"ish, or "Mary-Sue"; although, "People in the world already try to game the system themselves" sounds like it would close off a lot of the common "cheap" exploits.
SteveKeiler
Hey, thanks for the shout out on Engineering Ludus! I'm pumped you enjoyed it. And for anyone else interested, the audio version narrated by Jeff Hayes just wrapped. It should be up on Audible Soon(TM)
Fekk Yoo
Well crap...i just realized i've love isikai since i picked up my first fiction novels. piers anthony's Xanth series was the 1st novel i can remember choosing of my own volition.
Stephen Gilberg
Not only that, but "Neither one of us are devils" should be "Neither one of us is a devil."
Jesse Birmingham
The western term I always heard (before Isekai got big) was "portal fantasy". And there is a long tradition of it. Arguably it fits any story where someone travels to a strange new culture with different rules. The earliest examples I can think of are Gaelic stories of humans getting lost under the hollow hills of the fae and getting in trouble over bizarre rules.
martin leske
how epic would it be if he actually HAS a working passport (under tom) xD
Robin
The laundry files are definitely a favourite of mine, though trought the series the writing does change quite a bit as the author is attempting to write in the style of various authors, mostly of the spy genre like Ian Flemming
Daniel Schinhofen
I like Max, just want to say.
Robin
hey, I read a few of those :d but some are sorely missing from your list, like: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/35398/monroe https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/40373/vigor-mortis https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/25225/delve https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/25082/blue-core https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/37934/sexy-space-babes https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36299/beneath-the-dragoneye-moons https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/38230/rise-of-the-weakest-summoner https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/35660/the-weirkey-chronicles https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/24396/digital-marine are just a few (quite possibly slightly selected for this audience) got to say chrysalis got boring IMHO, picked up first contact only recently, and the stuff on your list below the awesome azarinth-healer I wil have to take a look at (except there-is-no-epic-loot-here-only-puns, maybe it's just the start but nope, not for me), thk @cyberSkull
09Klr650
"I wonder how big Thothogoth is really.". Bet Dabbler can answer that. In detail.
CyberSkull
Here are a few I like: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/22518/chrysalis https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26294/he-who-fights-with-monsters https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/44132/the-calamitous-bob https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/33726/first-contact https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/12024/the-new-world https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16946/azarinth-healer https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/14396/the-snake-report https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/15935/there-is-no-epic-loot-here-only-puns https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46101/retreat-hell https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21361/skyclad https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26149/skybound https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/22019/undermind Patreon doesn’t wanna let me post working hyperlinks.
D.A. Lamont
The great, gilded paladin of propriety and protocol shall indeed render scorching judgement upon thee, fel interloper, according to the holy scripts of Customs & Immigration. 😏
Magraal
Finally someone else recognises that John Carter was one of the first isekai books. As for why it's not THE first, arguably The Time Machine by H.G. Wells was also an isekai adventure, and there's still quite probably earlier examples.
Damaged
Tiny grammar error. Second panel, first sentence. The comma should be one word to the right. Loving your work, as always!
Marc Vun Kannon
I love Sydney's manic grin, even though I have no idea what Mr. Tantalis is. Max is very cool, stepping in front of a 100-foot ex-boyfriend. Most cops hesitate to get involved in domestic disputes. I wonder how big Thothogoth is really.
Marc Vun Kannon
I have a book called On Her Majesty's Occult Service, which has the Atrocity Files and other stories. I found the first story very difficult to wade through at the beginning, and most of the time not very funny. Good stuff once Stross stopped trying so hard.
Michael Obert
It was clearly a dimensional card marriage.
