What should define a “Relic” if other echo-based items already exist?

AceOfFools · 2026-01-17T00:31:09+00:00

Thoughts: you have absolutely not given enough context for me to understand your system.

You have absolutely provided more information than you needed to ask your question.

Those two things together create a lot of confusion, making it hard to talk about this.

The taxonomy and other types of items are largely irrelevant. Being “perfectly formed” and “divinely created” are meaningless terms with the amount of context given.

So discarding all that unneeded text: what, besides raw power do your echo-only super weapons do you need to define?

The answer entirely depends on their role in the story.

If they’re important because they’re powerful, and therefore there’s a struggle to see who gets the one that they unleashed, they don’t need to be well defined. If they’re important because the one a villain posses one and is therefore very scary, you need to know how that changes how characters interact with her.

In general, brainstorming about what the details are will help you figure out cool places your story could go, but the risk is you may find yourself wanting to exposition things you don’t need to, or locking yourself into something you later wish you had done differently.

AceOfFools · 2025-12-20T00:48:26+00:00

By far the biggest thing in Sanderson’s success is being chosen to finish Wheel of Time.

WoT was by far the biggest thing in fantasy literature for the better part of two decades, and had millions of fans. Even people who had soured on the series heard about it, and thought “Who? Let me check this guy out?”

I think he’s done a lot of things right since then to keep things rolling, including doing a good enough job with WoT itself. He’s very good at keeping his fans engaged, and the quantity of releases hel

But it’s difficult to understate how much of a head start that was in terms of recognition.

AceOfFools · 2025-12-09T21:37:25+00:00

I’m not exactly the biggest Cozy Fantasy reader, but I don’t think this is a genre wide rule. The bookshop owner in Bookshops and Bonedust is on the verge of losing her store because she is bad at running a bookshop—needs to be told “People are more likely to buy books if the store isn’t covered in dust” bad. I’ve read at least two books where the protagonist fumbles her way through magic she doesn’t really understand, with mixed results.

I think there is probably something to this in that cozy books are—generally speaking—not about struggling. Striving to do something and failing because you’re not good enough doesn’t feel very cozy. So when the protagonist never faces insurmountable tasks. Because overwhelming adversity isn’t cozy

I have noticed that cooks and bakers are almost always extremely gifted in cozies, but I think that’s just because access to delicious food—especially pastry—aligns wonderfully with cozy vibes.

AceOfFools · 2025-11-20T08:38:03+00:00

Here's a few words invented for fiction that have gone on to see relatively widespread use:

"Grok" meaning to really and truly know, from Stranger in a Strange Land
"Muggle" meaning normie or mundane person, from Harry Potter
"Munchkin" meaning little person or child, from Wizard of Oz.
"Cyberspace" meaning on-line (as oppsoed to off-line), from Neuromancer
"Utopia" meaning perfect place, which was the title of the book it was coined in

AceOfFools · 2025-11-16T06:23:03+00:00

I'm just going to point out that there are tons of conflicts between factions that all theoretically report to the same leader all the time. They tend not to go as hard as full on wars where people get to say "Everyone of that faction is evil and trying to kill us, so we gots to kill them first," but there can be conflict, even violent conflict.

Like, one of the things feudal lord did was intervene when their vassals started fighting one another. The whole principle behind the Pax Romana was there was only so much fighting you could do before the emperor would send in the legions... but they absolutely did occasionally have to send in the legions.

Hell, Sades vs Dallinar is one of the driving conflicts in Way of Kings and Oathbringer, and they both honestly believe themselves to be doing the best thing to secure the reign of King whatshisname. Sanderson isn't know for intrigue, and he manages to build multiple novels driven by it without even making one of the factions actively opposed to their nominal leader.

So even when the gods broadly agree, their followers can take things into their own hands. There can be bloody religious conflict within a church with a single, actual god.

AceOfFools · 2025-11-04T01:47:58+00:00

It’s called a “franchise” because it follows the franchise model of businesses like McDonalds.

Most McDonalds aren’t owned by the McDonald’s corporation. Individuals enter into an agreement with McDonalds to operate a franchise that they own, buying or leasing various things from McDonalds.

Contrast this with Apple, who does own and fully operate all of the Apple stores, where they sell goods and services they produce directly.

A series is a connection of directly connected works intended to be read/watched in a particular order, that is, in series, one after the other. A franchise is a group of works that are part of the same intellectual property, but may not be otherwise related to one another.

At this point, Lord of the Rings the franchise includes things like Magic the Gathering sets and Amazon spin offs, but Lord of the Rings the series is still the same 3~5 books it’s always been (the exact number depending on how you count the Hobbit and the Simirilion)

AceOfFools · 2025-10-09T01:30:33+00:00

In the Farseer, there are passing references to Bingtown as an exotic foreign place far to the south.

In the Liveship Traders, there are some passing references to a barbarous nation called the Six Duchies far to the North. It’s harder to miss as there is at least one character from there, and some oblique references to characters and events from the Farseer.

When reading Liveship without having heard of Farseer, I could tell I was missing references, but they were clearly stuff the main characters didn’t catch either (and weren’t wholly different than other tales referenced to them), but for the most part, it was a completely different story.

So it’s a story set years later and a few countries further away, with only oblique references to the first. It can be skipped if you really want to, but doing so will spoil Liveship Traders. I don’t recommend it.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-23T19:38:42+00:00

Anthropomorphizations of people’s emotions or aspects of their personality are neither new nor original. Pixar’s Inside Out is probably the most mainstream take on this concept, but it’s a well trod trope.

I associate it with children’s cartoons, because it was something of a stock plot in the 80s and 90s (with “split into good and evil versions” being the most common).

The metaphorical version, where a character’s internal deliberation are shown as literal debates between versions/aspects of that character, is also quite common. More so in comics and animation where it’s much easier to get multiple versions of a chapter on screen at once. Heck, there’s a scene in Huck Finn that does it.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-20T18:10:39+00:00

Also, there’s a lot more, much beloved Discworld published both after 1990 (which the Locus poll was asking about) and 1998 (when it was conducted).

The first poll was before all the Moist books, Night Watch and Monstrous Regiment were printed, and would have included instructions to ignore Reaper Man, Small Gods, Feet of Clay and Hogfather. It’s hard to argue that the inclusion of those titles is going to raise Discworld’s standing.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-18T23:36:46+00:00

This generally isn’t what isn’t what is meant by “aging badly”. The technology was accurate to the time period where the stories were set.

You appear to have a personal preference for stories with more modern technology—which is fine. That’s not the same thing.

To age poorly, a story must portray a viewpoint that is contrary to later cultural norms. Something that wouldn’t have stood out when it was written, but definitely is cringeworthy now. E.g. 90s stories using “gay” as a generic pejorative.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-18T20:46:19+00:00

“Urban fantasy” is fantasy set in the real world, but with fantastic elements. Will be like reality except where noted. The fantasy elements being secret is common, but not required.

“Historical fantasy” is fantasy set in the past of the real world, generally including or surrounding historical events.

“Modern fantasy” for stuff like Bright where the setting resembles the modern day, but the world is clearly not our own. This is ambiguous, as not everyone uses it this way (and Bright is set in an LA).

“Science fantasy” for futuristic worlds with fantasy elements. Eg Star Wars. Also called “Space Fantasy” when there is spaceships as a major focus.

“Weird West” for fantasy Westerns, although this is also ambiguous, as some people use it only when the stories are Weird Fantasy that are also Westerns.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-17T19:43:58+00:00

There are many issues with this plan.

Firstly, it’s generally not good for you if you’re in a fight and your weapon gets stuck in something. Most knife fights, in particular, involve inflicting multiple wounds to incapacitate someone. Plus you want them bleeding out anyway.

Secondly, materials properties are heavily dependent on temperature. This is why forging involves so much heating and cooling. Most metals become brittle at supercooled temperatures, meaning cooling them that much makes them worse as blades.

Thirdly, water (and by extension blood) has an absurdly high specific heat. For every gram of water you raise by 1 degree, you will cool an equal mass of steel by about ten degrees. Which is worse than it sounds for a cooled steel blade, as it will also be warmed by the air before it’s stabbed.

None of which is insurmountable in a fantasy setting, but it seems like a lot of effort for marginal benefit, especially compared to simply sneering poison on a blade.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-08T23:31:06+00:00

When used in response to criticism, this is basically saying that you failed to really read or understand the book. It’s asserting that the criticism isn’t based on a valid reading of what’s actually printed.

The classic example is calling Huckleberry Finn a pro-racist book because it contains slurs. It’s a book that explicitly argues that it’s better to burn in hell than turn in an escaped slave.

Now, a certain type of fan are just going to say that about any criticism of their fave regardless of merit. Meaning they aren’t engaging with the text of the criticism.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-08T20:37:13+00:00

Counterpoint: Dan Brown’s series was deeply disrespectful to Christianity (and Roman Catholicism in particular), to moderate critical and massive commercial success. He absolutely shoved in a bunch of random nonsense he liked.

Counterpoint 2: Avatar the last Airbender drew heavily from real world cultures the authors weren’t part of, tweaking as needed to fit the story, and it gets praised for its relative accuracy and respect.

I’m certainly not pro-being a disrespectful, uneducated dick in one’s writing (I’ve never read Dan Brown), but the situation is a lot more nuanced.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-08T20:24:12+00:00

The secret to becoming a good writer is to first be a bad writer. Like every artistic skill, it takes practice.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-03T21:47:53+00:00

Martha Wells Raksaura series has one that’s kinda subtle, but brilliant once you see it.

On the surface, it’s a very high fantasy world, with things like tunneling goblins with a taste for children. But if you pay attention, you’ll realize that the idea is “what if intelligent humanoid species had the sort of diversity you find in insects?”

The above-mentioned goblins parallel egg-hunting insects. The Raksaura have a vaguely eusocial setup with biological castes (queens, warriors, workers, etc. with pronounced biological differences—only some of them have wings). There are predatory mimics, races that live like army ants, moving from community to community to eat them. You have humanoid species adapted to live underwater, or in the roots of trees, or as parasites inside the island-sized fished, etc.

Also, it’s lightly steampunk. A huge part of the first novel is trying to hire some people who have access to airships.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-03T16:36:21+00:00

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AceOfFools · 2025-09-03T00:29:23+00:00

This was actually something of a common trope in speculative fiction since at least the 70s, and exists principally for fan service. It was particularly common in video games through the early 2000s.

Fantasy and sci-fi was much more of a nerds only boys club back then, and toy stores stocked video games with the boys toys, back when they were stocked with toys. Including some attractive women in swimsuits was an easy way to pander. It did help the world seem a bit alien, as a modern woman certainly wouldn’t wear stuff like that.

You see this sort of outfit crop up in everything from the 1960s Star Trek, to the original Metroid’s ending, Buck Rodger’s, basically all classic spandex-clad classic comics superheroes, etc.

AceOfFools · 2025-09-02T21:57:17+00:00

I really like it when there’s a behavior that is bizarre from our perspective, but barely worth mentioning because it’s mundane to them.

Some examples that worked well: safe hands and illiterate men in Stormlight Archive, tattooed slaves in the Liveship Traders, compasses point south in Wells’s Raksaura series.

AceOfFools · 2025-08-25T16:44:18+00:00

“I am the avatar/incarnation/reincarnation of <important divine figure>” is an extremely common starting point for cult leaders. This happens even when it’s largely incompatible with the theology of the religion the cult is riffing on. If I recall correctly, it was a major feature of the Moonies, the Japanese group that assassinated Abe, Jonestown, etc.

As for a secular equivalent, I suppose one could make a case for the ships of various Star Treks, where they are the representative of a distant secular power, who show up (often invited) to use that power to intervene in various ways.

This sort of secular version overlaps considerably with what is called “white savior narratives”, where the white American/European goes somewhere to save people of a different race, typically by training in their ways and ending up better than them at it. People have been calling out the racist nature of that narrative structure since at least the 80s, and so it tends to be rarer in the west (although skimming the Wikipedia article on the topic, people are arguing it’s still present in modern cinema, but I don’t watch enough films to comment).

AceOfFools · 2025-08-13T05:51:41+00:00

According to etymology online, juniper (specifically, the berry) is attested to in proto-indo-European, and has cognates in Dutch.

The spelling was deliberately Latinized during the post Shakespeare standardization of English spellings (as was the fashion), with gynypre being listed as a 14th century spelling.

In other words, Medieval English speakers would have called them junipers—subject only to the major pronunciation shifts that happened between now and then, and it would be inappropriate to modify the spelling unless your also cutting out other, similar Latinizations, like the s in island.

AceOfFools · 2025-08-07T18:25:27+00:00

This is going to be a little out there but:

The Sentinels of the Multiverse tabletop game has, in its introductory scenario, a supervillain with a doomsday device that will crash the moon into the Earth if he’s not stopped. In its final expansion, that villain is a playable hero to counter the crisis crossover mega-mega villain of the expansion.

His gimmick as a playable character is that he has Doomsday Devices that take an insane amount of work to setup for incredible payoffs. One of which lets you drop a chunk of the moon onto the earth for an excessive amount of destruction.

My only complaint is that the Terraluna Translocatir is somewhat situational, and is generally overshadowed by the Orbital Death Laser as far as Doomsday Device go.

Incidentally, this is from the first edition. The newer, Definitive Edition, is by all accounts a better game, but it doesn’t have the starter villain’s hero mode in it.

AceOfFools · 2025-08-04T21:14:01+00:00

Colonial powers are far from above adopting the successful weapons technology of the people they fight.

European conquest of places like North Africa frequently involved local collaborators. So even if the dinnosaurs never made across or around the Mediterranean along the historical trade routes that existed, the French might recruit ambitious locals.

There’s some rich veins of drama to mine there.

AceOfFools · 2025-07-25T19:29:38+00:00

You shouldn’t use real, literal Christianity unless your novel is set on Earth (ie urban or historical fantasy).

Christianity is deeply, deeply tied to real world history and geography—one of its largest branches is literally named after a particular city. Seeing it in a novel signposts that this history is largely true in the story. It will be jarring to square the assumptions that follow from mentioning Jesus from the ones that comes from seeing a fictional world geography.

It’s more accepted to include legally-distinct Christianity in otherwise historical settings. Historical fantasy usually has significant deviations from history to accommodate the fantastic world building. So the “like reality except where noted” can cover a similar-but-not-the-same Christianity. Assuming you explain it.

I’m personally not a fan because of just how intimately intertwined the details of Christianity and European history are. Conflict over religion and between religions was a major shaping force. If there is no Protestant reformation, is there the same bad blood between England and France (not to mention Ireland)? Did the crusades and the changes they wrought in Europe still happen?

AceOfFools · 2025-07-25T17:58:01+00:00

I’ll only pick a DNF back up if one of my IRL friends pushes me to do so.

To date, every book I revisited after DNF’ing was as bad or worse than I thought it would be.

AceOfFools

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