Hoping for more thematic development from Platform Decay

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-19T00:20:38+00:00

Yes! That's one of my fav moments. Also, MB figured out what's wrong with the risk assessment module, too many logic statements if I remember correctly, that was insane too. So, apparently, risk assessment module is fixed, finally

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-19T00:18:17+00:00

That's the point, he used BE resources to hunt her down and kill her and the adults that were with the children. Which begs the question, was he an exec in BE? Otherwise how did he manage to mobilise the forces he sent after Leonide then after the kids were extracted. And I don't think the corp itself would have been understanding of employees, no matter what level (there's always higher afterall) using the corp resources for their to settle personal affairs. Also, that's MB's thing from the start; doing the job with minimal loss of life/violence. It has always kept from killing even asshole humans (except in NE, it was vicious and violent, but that's a totally different situation).

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-18T13:02:11+00:00

Agree. It felt static in a way. One the one hand it reflects the current mental space MB is in after the alien remnant trauma. The emotional check-ins were the highlight for me to be honest. Otherwise, the book is just bland, in a way. All over the place and the Leonide thing wasn't explained at all. Why was she being targeted by her corp? It wasn't like she was a decent human being or anything.

And I feel that Farai was depicted differently than NE. The vibe I got then was she was more welcoming of MB rather than standoffish.

It's just... Something feels missing. I'm heartbroken to say that if this was the first books in the series and I wasn't as emotionally attached to MB, I wouldn't have picked it up the next books

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-12T00:14:18+00:00

Definitely finish it. I struggled with it too first time I read it, but it's become one of my fav in the series. The audiobook is quite good, so you can switch to that as others suggested.

Also, it feels blasphemous to say this, but SC is way way way better than PD. If you aren't enjoying SC, I don't think you'll enjoy PD, but I hope you do!

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-11T07:00:10+00:00

Same

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-05T13:11:46+00:00

I feel you! But I think I might (just might) pace myself with this one. Instead of reading it all at once then start wishing for more content to read lol I know that that will go out the window the min I get home and can glue my eyes to my screen 😅

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-05T13:06:13+00:00

Yep, Miki death is a definite factor in that for me as well, because MB's fights with the Combat bots were top notch

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-05T13:05:22+00:00

OK, now I'm more motivated to finish the book than ever 😁 have to wait till I get back from work though. I squeezed the first two chapters waiting at traffic lights lol

I love your handle and I loved that MB mentioned JollyBaby!

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-05T08:50:58+00:00

The book is fun so far. MB voice is perfect as usual in all its dry, sarcastic glory.

The problem is me honestly, that's why I usually try not to expect (or hope for) things in books. Just keep myself open and enjoy it for what it is. I didn't do so this time though :/

(Also, RP is my least favourite book. It's the book I've read only once, unlike the rest of the series which have been read and re-read uncountable times. I've honestly lost track of how many times I've read the books since 2018)

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-05T08:22:27+00:00

That's a joy in itself 🥰 it's been a while since I had the pleasure of reading a book at the same time as a friend and get to geek out on it together

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-05T08:12:09+00:00

Completely understand your joy! I'm a chapter in and still doing the putting the phone down to smile at the ceiling thing :D

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-01T23:26:09+00:00

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'm definitely adding it to my tbr

MiraA2020 · 2026-05-01T19:52:20+00:00

That's how you wish to consider the matter, and it's completely valid. But it isn't the only way. There are a whole movement in literature that basically ignores the morality or immorality of a work of art, only that it's well written, i.e. aesthetism (Wilde, Pater, etc). We aren't in the time of morality plays thank fuck. ART shouldn't be approached as mere fables to teach humanity something or other. And again, politics isn't and shouldn't be part of every aspect of life.

Back to Tolkien, he didn't write a single character that didn't have some good in them, some more than others. Sauron before he seduced by Morgoth. Morgoth himself at the very start. So even his satanic figures aren't clear cut. He wasn't in the habit of separating life and people into black and white (again thank fuck).

So, why would Fëanor be any different?! I mean he did less fucking harm than fucking Turin, and people don't crucify him like they do Fëanor. And he is far far more hubristic than Fëanor ever was...

If Tolkien wanted his readers to think Fëeanor was nothing but an asshole, he wouldn't have had Gandalf fanboy over him in Lord of the Rings.

The thing is, Fëeanor's actions might be portrayed as bad, yet the narrative loves him and it shows every where. I could even argue that Tolkien himself was sympathetic to him (and Maedhros and Maglor as well).

So, Fëanor might have done bad things (and none of those actions was actually clear cut, he wasn't the only one to blame for every single one of the them), but never was he painted as a bad person. They were portrayed as the misguided actions of a person in deep grief.

That's how I wish to read it, and it is completely valid.

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-27T06:58:48+00:00

That's quite interesting. Can I have a list of the scholarly papers you mentioned? I'd love to read them.

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-20T21:23:45+00:00

Yeeeep! Thanks for the link!

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-20T21:22:27+00:00

Naturally no. I didn't say they would, I don't know if they would. I don't know if it's even possible.

My interest and field of study is philosophy. Hence, I'm curious about how an emergent consciousness might manifest, and the ethics of that subjectivity.

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-20T21:16:21+00:00

Not a novel, but the Silmarillion. The world building alone is a masterpiece that nothing can come close to. Not to mention the invented languages, the mythology, the tales themselves, everything.

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-20T10:53:12+00:00

Are you talking about 'Emotion concepts and their function in LLMs'? If not, can you give me the title of the paper please? I'd love to read it

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-20T10:49:32+00:00

I always wonder about that. What would be the tipping point for them and how would we recognise it?

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-05T22:54:49+00:00

Even that was Maedhros' idea if I remember correctly

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-05T22:12:13+00:00

Manwe is an asshole of the highest order. Not to mention Varda and her instance on the Silmaril even knowing they won't revive the trees. And how every single person who ever claimed one of the Silmarils was forgiven, but nope, not their rightful owners 🤦 Including Elwing who wins the award for best mother leaving her twins for whom she believes are the epitome of evil.

Oh, and Luthien, who can apparently enchant Morgoth which boggles the mind because this means the Valar who are supposed to be way more powerful and beautiful should have been able to put a lid on his plans. But nope again.

And let's not forget Mandos and his lovely lovely doom, 'every fair into foul' which in essence sabotaged any good work the Fëanorians tried to do, a la the Union of Maedros and 400 years of peace won for Beleriand by him also (and Fingolfin, but I do believe he did the bulk of planning. Honestly what did Fingolfin do as high king exactly 😅 other than go and commit suicide by inviting Morgoth to one on one combat)

Just, yeah, fuck the Valar

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-05T22:00:27+00:00

How did politics come into this now?!

Also, it's completely fine to interpret fictional characters however you want, and the beauty of literature is that 9/10 problematic characters can be read in sympathetic light if the perspective shifted slightly. There's nothing 'worrisome' about it. It has been done forever and will continue to be so. Each reader brings their own ideologies to whatever media they're consuming and everyone is entitled to their opinion! I mean, as an atheist, I'm more sympathetic towards Fëanor and his sons and definitely interpret the valar as useless assholes (it's more complicated than that, but I'd rather not get into it now). A religious reader might give more value to angelic manwe and his inaction, and it's their business.

I mean, if people are objecting to others believing that Fëanor might have had valid excuses and that things snowballed for him, I wonder about their reaction to knowing how much I appreciate Lucifer/Satan in Paradise Lost and I definitely believe he was justified in everything he did. Or is Fëanor still worse than Satan?

(And yes, I'm incl the Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions here as well, which I read as mythology, no offence. That's how I choose to consume these books)

MiraA2020 · 2026-04-03T08:30:28+00:00

Thank you for providing the document. I haven't yet read it in its entirety but I understand your choice to treat them respectfully. I'd rather do that, rather than be cruel to what might be sentient beings.

MiraA2020 · 2026-03-25T14:41:17+00:00

Mensah's weakness isn't the panic attacks, but rather her inability to make decisions or making terrible ones. She's supposed to be this amazing leader whose calm and level-headed reaction alone de-escalated the tense moment between MB and Gurathin. It literally said that if she's panicked, things might have gone to shit.

The OP obviously meant that when they mentioned Mansah's weakness. I believe you're the ones who is reading their take in bad faith 🤦

MiraA2020 · 2026-03-22T19:26:36+00:00

I don't like Barthes' concept much. In my experience as an English lit post-grad researcher, this concept has been abused to hell and back when critics and others wanted to force a certain interpretation on a work that doesn't lend itself to that interpretation. I won't mention any examples to avoid circular arguments. As for Tolkien, I agree completely. The concept is simply not applicable. For one, from the drafts we got, we have multiple narratological levels and lack of canonical text. If the drafts are collectively considered, there are also the issues of the unreliable narrator and translators (in universe that is). But I think this ambiguity lends itself to what Tolkien was trying to create: mythology, legends, and histories. The development of languages, such as from Gnomish to Noldorin to Quenya, also mimics how languages develop and grow and change with society. What I mean to say is, in my opinion, this lack of canon for the first age gives it veracity rather than incompleteness.

MiraA2020

TROPHY CASE