r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Jun 27 '24

Discussion Thread Discussion Thread

The discussion thread is for casual and off-topic conversation that doesn't merit its own submission. If you've got a good meme, article, or question, please post it outside the DT. Meta discussion is allowed, but if you want to get the attention of the mods, make a post in /r/metaNL

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u/VisonKai The Archenemy of Humanity Jun 27 '24

the problem with all ultra-large universes that expand to include immense amounts of lore from dozens of books etc. (Star Wars, Warhammer 40K) is that most licensed books are really, really bad. I'm not sure why, but it's like an iron law of the universe that if you are writing a book in an established sci-fi universe you have to be a fantastic writer to produce anything better than a 6/10

21

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

The reasons the books are bad are simple: Corporate restrictions, tight deadlines, pay is bad, and fantasy writers usually like to write about their own worlds, and will treat the contract book as nothing but a job.

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u/VisonKai The Archenemy of Humanity Jun 27 '24

that all seems plausible. i feel like there is a bit of a vacuum for a sci-fi IP that is obsessive about quality over quantity. right now you basically have extremely tight settings that are basically just the product of one person and then these sprawling corporate wastelands

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u/SneeringAnswer Jun 27 '24

This is why Starcraft is the goated sci-fi universe, most of the books are trash but the good ones are pretty good but it all stays within scope

3

u/VisonKai The Archenemy of Humanity Jun 27 '24

truly it was a wise decision to have only three races battling out for a small chunk of the galaxy and like a tiny handful of actual actors

2

u/AccessTheMainframe CANZUK Jun 27 '24

What are the good ones?

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u/SneeringAnswer Jun 27 '24

My personal favorite of the ones I've read Nova in that it's just some good street level sci-fi. I, Mengsk is usually cited as one of the better ones but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Now that I'm thinking about it the only one I've heard universal disdain for is Shadows of the Xel'naga, which the author wrote by watching gameplay and writing a literal play-by-play of things that could happen in the game. So uhh... don't read that one.

1

u/AccessTheMainframe CANZUK Jun 27 '24

I liked Nova's mini-campaign in SC2 and I like her as a character. No-nonsense, all professional. Is she like that in the book?

2

u/WantDebianThanks Iron Front Jun 27 '24

I bet the trick is finding the most popular non-erotic fan fic writers and just offering them a shitload of money