Friendship is Optimal (Short)
Author: iceman
https://www.fimfiction.net/…/frie…/prologue-equestria-online
Friendship is Optimal is an interesting little short story you can find online about the potential complications one can have with a misaligned AI. If you’re not used to thinking about “what might happen if an artificial intelligence wasn’t _exactly_ aligned with our goals,” you might find it interesting. If you are familiar with the concept, you might laugh at My Little Pony take on it.
The Northern Caves (Short)
Author: nostalgebraist
https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659997/chapters/8088522
Whew. What do I say about the Northern Caves. Umm. It is incredibly good. In a way. In a very, specific way that I can’t really describe. It’s a mixture of narrative and forum posts as a group of nerds analyze the least beloved novel written by their favorite author.
If you like feeling like you’re going crazy and enjoy stories for the experience, I guess read this? I’m definitely glad I read it; not sure I would recommend it to others.
Worth the Candle (Serialized novel, ongoing)
Author: Alexander Wales
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/25137/worth-the-candle
I had high hopes for this book, because I like Alexander Wales, but it’s bad all around. The prose is not good, the plot meanders, and the characters robotically take the next logical action to achieve their longterm goals. It is also full of soft worldbuilding, which I feel shouldn’t be used outside primarily character driven stories.
Animorphs the Reckoning (Serialized novel, ongoing)
Author: WhatWouldEnderDo
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11…/1/r-Animorphs-The-Reckoning
I loved Animorphs growing up, and Animorphs the Reckoning attempts to do a gritty, realistic take on the series. I found a lot of aspects of this book charming. The morphing technology makes more sense, and some of the books mythology is updated in a really cool way, and the animorphs use some cool tricks. But the author does the same thing that happens CONSISTENTLY when I read online serialized fiction: a meandering, cluttered narrative and a poor understanding of what is at the core of the story. Everyone who writes books like these feel to me like someone who just tripped while carrying an overfull grocery bag, and is trying to balance by running forward as they drop things left and right before finally landing on their face. And Animorphs the Reckoning is no exception.
Deus ad Machina 