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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2589 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 17, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So, what are you reading?

I'm still working through McGilchrist.

Metro 2033 by Dmitriy Glukhovsky. Basically in 2013 there was a global nuclear war, 20 years later the survivors who holed up in the Moscow metro system have formed their own new society, creepy mutants rule the surface. Despite sounding like "Fallout but in Russia" (and the fact that there was a video game adaptation of the book doesn't help) it's actually very well written, but there are a lot of translation issues with the English version that somewhat mar the overall experience.

The main character, Artyom, is very relatable. And other than his ability to power through certain supernatural events in the metro tunnels that completely debilitate others, he doesn't seem like a Mary Sue at all, he's very normal but quite a bit naive.

Also it's thanks to this book that I learned Russia does criminal convictions in absentia. The author was sentenced to 7 years for spreading false information about the Ukraine invasion supposedly (I can't find any Western news sources that state the exact details of what he was charged with) and is currently living in exile in the EU.

I enjoyed Metro 2033, the sequel less so but still enjoyable. The translation did seem to add a bit of clunkiness to the story, I found conversations between characters to be a bit weird. But thankfully not as many problems with the Russian naming conventions than with older stuff like Brothers Karamazov haha.

I'm not much of a gamer, but I did try out the 2033 game right after finishing the book. Sometimes books should just be books...

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