site banner
self_made_human  amaratvaṃ prāpnuhi, athavā yatamāno mṛtyum āpnuhi  5mo ago (ussri.substack.com)   3321 thread views

Pokémon for Unrepentant Sociopaths: A Review of Reverend Insanity

ussri.substack.com

Well, this is just about exactly what it says on the tin. I've finally mustered up the energy to write a full-length review of what's a plausible contender for my Favourite Novel Ever, Reverend Insanity. I'd reproduce it here too, but it's a better reading experience on Substack (let's ignore the shameless self-promotion, and the fact that I can't be arsed to re-do the markdown tags)

13
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I enjoyed your review, but it doesn't change my opinion. I think our tastes are pretty fundamentally different. I don't want a story that goes on and on forever. I want an arc, a climax, and a resolution. I also actually care about prose, and maybe it's because the translation is subpar, but I found reading Reverend Insanity to be painful. Like fanfic-level bad.

Your review, I admit, does certainly make it sound intriguing and if I hadn't already given it a shot I would definitely go try it out now. But the other problem is that while I don't need "sympathetic" or "relatable" protagonists, I probably wouldn't enjoy hundreds of pages of reading how an amoral asshole will fuck over the next person in his way.

I keep trying progression fantasies and Wuxia novels, and the bar just seems to be very low in general.

Have you enjoyed any progression fantasy or wuxia novels?

I really like the genre but I bounce off of some stories real hard. Reverend Insanity is one that I could see recommended a thousand times and on the thousand and first time I'd still say "Our tastes are just different and I won't like that novel." I'm not even willing to give it a shot and try reading it.

If I see we have any overlapping preferences I might be able to recommend stuff.

So far, nothing has really clicked with me I've tried Reverend Insanity, Cradle, Worth the Candle, and a few others.

None of those stories clicked with me either. Though usually cradle and worth the candle get people.

I'd second the Mother of Learning recommendation that wayfarer suggested. If you bounce off that as well then the genre just isn't something I think you'll enjoy.

But if you want tighter storytelling and more of the arc story completion then maybe The Perfect Run might be a better entry point.

No, I have heard it often recommended but haven't tried it yet.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats