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Cake day: August 28th, 2023

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  • Peter F. Hamilton’s books may fit the bill: Futuristic, not hopeless/dystopic, and the main characters tend to make reasonable decisions. Be wrned though that he favours deus ex machina conclusions. Most will suggest Pandora’s Star as a starting point (with good reason, as the Commonwealth Saga is quite expansive), but it does not have to be. I personally read the Night’s Dawn trilogy first. The Salvation trilogy also stands on its own, and for a completely standalone book Great North Road was a good read.

    Adrian Tchaikovsky is another wonderful author! the Children of Time and Final Architecture series were quite enjoyable.

    Redemption Space (Alastair Reynolds) is another series one that I like to recommend. Closer to The Expanse. House of Suns also is a great read by the same author, as are several of his other stories.

    The White Space books by Elizabeth Bear should be on your reading list.

    Vorkosigan Saga (Lois McMaster Bujold) is a bit dated but similar to Vatta’s War in the earlier books. Later on the plot tends to be more along the lines of whodunnit mystery… in space.

    And let’s not forget another scifi favourite, Iain M. Banks! The Culture series are great of course, but I liked The Algebraist the best.




  • It provides a safety net by pooling the resources of the community to support the less fortunate. This prevents people from having to sacrifice their long term goals because their short term needs may not be otherwise met.

    Also in contrast to capitalism that treats society as a zero sum game (“I can’t get ahead unless I take something from someone else”) socialism is a benefit multiplier (“I’m part of the community. By making the life of everyone in the community better I’m also improving my own life”).














  • But Jaskier isn’t gay in the show, either. He’s bisexual.

    Oh yeah, that completely changes things, and does completely fit in with the character.

    I do have to admit that I did not watch the latest season, not because of Jaskier but because of what they did to Eskel in the previous season. So I took the other commenter’s word that the character was made gay. I guess that’s what I get for assuming honesty until proven differently on the Internet.


  • I believe they’re referring to the character of Jaskier/Dandelion, who in the lore is a womanizing, promiscuous bard. Pretty much the DnD bard player character archetype. It is also pivotal to a number of plot points, because the character’s womanizing habits frequently land him in trouble, making him a “damsel in distress” supporting character. Which in itself works better when the character is straight because it subverts the trope.

    The thing is also that there’s plenty of characters in the story who are or could be made gay without serious repercussions to the plot.