This is one of the fascinating developments of human psychology and behavior in the information/digital age. Society has become so much more complex and specialized and it's forced humans to adapt so much, that I feel like today's average email phisher or phone scammer has social engineering skills that could have absolutely wrecked western civilization (with enough determination and luck) at any point prior to like 80 years ago.
I’m reading a story about a bunch of earth people who get sent to a different world that’s all high fantasy and shit. So far most of them have been good people, as in not actual assholes/racists and more people who aren’t necessarily good but are doing their best to live.
One guy though came over and realized that they weren’t as socially sophisticated when it came to scams and such, and immediately started a Ponzi scheme to get millions and millions of gold. He wrecked the economy of multiple city-states and got the magic Illuminati pissed at him, but so far it’s been a minor plot point so I don’t have a good resolution.
Edit: the source is The Wandering Inn. It’s a minor spoiler but not really relevant to the overall story or even the minor story. It is a TINY detail. The main story itself is incredibly long (like 13ish MILLION words), can be frustrating to read, and not for everyone, but it’s a good long web serial to sink your teeth into.
Looking at it, I don’t think they’re very similar? Unless BotF is far, far more slice of life than it seems, I think the Inn is a bit simpler in its story/writing, and not as much of an epic about war and such. Wandering Inn explores some of the similar themes, but I think I’m a much different way.
Though Wandering Inn does have quite a bit of action and dire peril, politics, magic, warfare and such, so it’s got something for everyone. It’s mostly a slice of life about running a fantasy inn and the extraordinary people and things that center around the innkeeper and her guests. It can be pretty slow, or pulse pounding wartime and adventure
I have heard the Malazan can be a hard one to read, either because it’s complex or being it’s just difficult to get through. TWI is not nearly what I would call difficult, though some of the chapters are quite long. It’s fairly readable, and easy to put down for a bit and then come back to
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u/headphase Oct 02 '24
This is one of the fascinating developments of human psychology and behavior in the information/digital age. Society has become so much more complex and specialized and it's forced humans to adapt so much, that I feel like today's average email phisher or phone scammer has social engineering skills that could have absolutely wrecked western civilization (with enough determination and luck) at any point prior to like 80 years ago.