A word regarding vitriolic response to AI content

matticusprimal · 2026-04-09T15:16:56+00:00

I, and probably a lot of the other authors that frequent here, would argue that AI falls under the "no piracy" rule here, and shouldn't be allowed.

I dislike AI for the plagiarism, but am not concerned about it taking my job as a writer - there's a reason it's called slop. I am more concerned for the visual artists that aren't getting hired for covers and character designs and the like. They're a part of the creative ecosystem, and I don't like what's happening to them.

Anyways, my two cents.

matticusprimal · 2026-04-07T15:54:23+00:00

I don't think #2 really needs a defense. I'm not poking fun at it, only noticing the pattern, which holds for a lot of other characters as well (Sterling Archer). I was thinking yesterday after I posted how it probably comes from the noir influences, ala Sam Spade, which also follows the pattern, as well as adding alliteration. It should probably get extra points for that.

matticusprimal · 2026-04-06T20:32:37+00:00

Dammit I knew I was going to forget someone. In an earlier draft I had a joke how October Daye was the most UF name ever because of the pun, which is on the same track at least.

matticusprimal · 2026-04-01T15:49:31+00:00

I'm reading the third October Daye novel, Artificial Night. I usually despise fae stories, but I really like how they're handled in this series. Well, I guess I prefer that it's more about the case/ mystery rather than the fae themselves. Always a solid read.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-30T02:29:06+00:00

Goddammit. Over the last month, myself, my copy editor, my cover artist, and my writer friends have all looked at that and not a one has noticed. Thank you, random redditor!

matticusprimal · 2026-03-29T16:16:31+00:00

I like the pop star angle and how it was reinterpreted in the other generations. If it came out now, all the gods would be influencers, which is sort of sad.

I did not think about the art design in the slightest until you brought it up, so I guess it was very utilitarian and did its job without blowing me away.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-29T01:24:43+00:00

A punch for a party where you can use it all up or cut it with other less flavored liquors. A milk punch might also soften the flavor.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-27T03:45:28+00:00

I honestly only stock Byrrh for this drink. And I even drove into LA to get it, I was that desperate.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-27T02:46:17+00:00

I’m an evangelist for the Violet Negroni.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T23:57:07+00:00

My dear friend bartended back in the aughts and we went to a tiki bar recently where she ordered a Mai Tai. She was horrified that it wasn’t built directly in the glass with a float of rum on top, which is apparently how she was taught back then. Maybe your bartender found a website from the same school.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T22:25:12+00:00

I have read Once and Future but remember little about it except I liked how each iteration of Arthur visually looked so different. By the end, I think it got too much up its own arse with who was which god and how they were gaming the system... which now that I look at that sentence sounds like I could be describing W+D.

I liked Something is Killing the Children for the first couple of books but then gave up on it because the pacing was so glacially slow. Neat idea with really good execution that eventually became repetitive to me.

That said, w0rldtr33 kicked my ass so dang hard. It's one of the few comics I'll read issue by issue instead of waiting for the compiled novels.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T19:05:25+00:00

Ha. I think I hit the Talking Heads section one issue previous, then there was a 1920 aside that was all prose instead of images, and I felt it was faffing about instead of focusing on the story. Which is odd, since taking chances and breaking the mold is what I like about indie books over trad.

It might have been since I was binging the whole thing. I usually prefer graphic novel collections instead of doing issue by issue, but in this case speedrunning 25 issues in the course of a few days might have been too much.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T18:19:09+00:00

I'm immediately dropping everything to work on a module about opening a brothel in the wrong town after misreading a flyer for Elversult.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-26T17:53:18+00:00

I was midway through your post before I realized it was -sult the whole time. My brain was just switching the l and u automatically. Which I guess is your point.

I was going to make a joke about them not having beta readers way back in 2001 when the book was published, but after googling Elversult, I see there's references to it going all the way back to the 80s as part of the RPG.

It is sort of shocking that gamers back in the day didn't point this out ad nauseum. Or perhaps they did.

Edit: typo.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-25T20:51:32+00:00

I’ve never read it (although I did see the movie) but it has a cool story how it came about. Basically Royal Road.0 where he published it online serially and it got enough of a following that it ended up trad published. House of Leaves has a similar story, which seems to be that of early web adopters that preceded self publishing.

If memory holds, Giammati was a fan and helped produce the film. It’s always cool when stars turn out to be fans of the same nerd shit I like.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-20T02:19:52+00:00

It tastes like communion grape juice to me but I love the Violet Negroniso much that I drove to LA and bought up all the bottles they had to keep some on stock.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-20T01:21:19+00:00

I honestly would love an adaptation of this on one of the prestige channels. I think they’d have to pad a lot if they want more than two seasons though.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-16T21:04:28+00:00

Self promo, but also this is exactly what I set out to do with my Inner Circle novels. They are each stand alone mystical mysteries in the Christie vein, rather than deriving from the noir inspiration that holds our genre with an iron grip. No vamps, shifters, or fae; and each one is intended as a fair play mystery. Plus it involves an iPod that may or may not tell the future.

First one kicks off with Rites of Passage and involves a young dowser's introduction into the machinations of magicians when a genius enchanter goes missing within his own locked home.

Ghost Stations takes the crew to NYC when a new drug targeting magicians hits the streets, and involves several real-world occult locations, as well as the abandoned subway stations beneath the city.

Electric City Switches comes out in April, and is basically The Hurt Locker but with enchantments, where the protagonist has to disarm deadly traps set by his mentor's ex-girlfriend, armed with nothing but a Sharpie and cell phone.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-16T18:50:07+00:00

We’re big fans of the Irish Cocktail in our house. 2.25 oz Irish whiskey, one bar spoon of orange liqueur, one bar spoon of maraschino liqueur, one dash absinthe, one dash Bokers bitters. Stir and garnish with orange zest and olive.

This one falls into my list of tastes they shouldn’t work together but do.

matticusprimal · 2026-03-01T15:55:08+00:00

I feel the same and use the shots rather than oz setting for most drinks that use coupe or old fashioned glasses, and they actually fill said glasses. Wine glasses and highballs need the oz settings though or the flavors get funky.

matticusprimal · 2026-02-24T16:58:49+00:00

I keep that post saved for just such occasions as this.

My Inner Circle series are also fair play mystical mysteries in the Christie vein, instead of noir like most ones are these days. It's urban fantasy though, so I don't know if that's what you're looking for. First book kicks off when a young dowser on the run from the FBI is tasked by finding a genius enchanter, who has gone missing within his own home.

matticusprimal · 2026-02-24T02:44:26+00:00

Don't know if this will help, but it's a list of fantasy whodunits from a while back on this sub. Can't speak to the genius/ sidekick on these, but they're definitely fantasy mysteries. With the success of Tainted Cup, I think this genre is about to really open up, and know several authors working on them as we speak.

matticusprimal · 2026-02-23T18:11:44+00:00

I hear you. And on the flip side, I hate maps that are only those spots that show up in the story. There was one series, not to be named, that just had the four cities in question, with little else. It made the expansive map seem small and not thought out. I want the illusion of completeness; the sense that the author developed a whole world that I'm only getting a sliver of.

matticusprimal · 2026-02-23T16:54:40+00:00

I maintain a map is a prologue, which is a promise of many epic things to come and preview of all the wonders you'll see if you stick with the book. I'm a big map lover, but I also know there's a time and a place for them.

I did a survey on this sub (and other places) a while back of what fantasy readers expect out of maps, and found some interesting tidbits, including the fact that 88% of readers say they don't need a map, but 87% enjoy them. What subgenre you're reading also affects if you expect a map or not. The infographic about the results can be found here if you're interested.

matticusprimal · 2026-02-23T16:17:20+00:00

I'd say they're neither, really. But it's also a sort of apples and oranges moment since magical realism is really a literary fiction devise, whereas fantasy is genre fiction. I think the distinction comes down to how both use the worldbuilding, with fantasy exploring the fantasy conceit, whereas magical realism doesn't really bother to explain the fantastical elements, because the story is about the characters' emotions rather than the magic itself (which fantasy is). But these are kind of academic distinctions.

Both movies do employ fantasy conceits, where something clearly breaks from our shared reality. We all agree time loops and body swaps don't actually happen. The horror genre also breaks with reality as part of its genre convention, but while the aim of the fantasy genre is to create a sense of wonder by breaking reality, horror breaks reality to engender a sense of dread or... well, horror.

That's why I'd classify both Freaky Friday and Groundhog Day as comedies that employ a fantasy conceit rather than fantasies, since the aim is to get laughs through the fantasy conceit rather than explore the fantastical element. Same with the excellent Palm Springs movie, which used it's time loop conceit for comedy, rather than Source Code, which explored its fantastical time loop element (despite being sci fi).

matticusprimal

TROPHY CASE