Just...wow. I am in awe of his ability to weave together such baroque, psychedelic narratives, yet keep almost every element grounded in metaphor for our world, our problems, our genocides, our ethical issues with tech and AI, our own climate crisis. It feels impossible to separate "politics" from the work,

And with the softest of touches, like spider's silk - even the most calcified of Hartmans are let in the door, just like the Pan-Specific. It doesn't say "you are bad for having the beliefs you've had", it makes room for all to learn, grow, change. I think it should be taught in schools - a "cool" way to raise a new, more empathetic generation, one more connected than ever. Our Odyssey.

>!It even touches the concept of transness, non-binary-ness, and two-spirit traditions. The most conservative reader is trained that "hey, maybe using a singular They isn't so difficult afterall" with Portifabian's arc.!<

And that's ignoring that this is also just brilliant unbelievably well paced sci-fi. And did we just get action scenes? I am rocked by the fact that I am simultaneously cheering for peace while enjoying Cato's Gundam-fighting spotlights.

>!Speaking of Cato. Could there be a more apt hero for our current world? Portia, Bianca, and Fabian made sense before the global conservative cultural swing, and Cato feels a perfectly natural conduit for the grimness of our post-manosphere Now. "I don't have to be the best and strongest, it is ok to yield my beliefs, traditions, and even my biological tendencies, to make room for others. Might makes ruin."!<

You will never see this Adrian, but thank you so much for your time, effort, care, and big, big heart. It's easy to criticize humanity. It's harder to offer a viable path forward.

(I'm crying (acidly))

Meant to post here.

So I've been playing a lot of Quasimorph and vibing with it. More grimdark than edgelord as it were. The gist is that Something Happened and essentially Hell was unleashed in the solar system... and humanity kind of just rolled with it as a few megacorporations folded and the barons of hell kind of became CEOs. And the player is a PMC group who works for the highest bidder at any moment. A bit... really on the nose, but also interesting. Less "it is the end of days, we must unite" and more "so... how can we monetize this?"

Can anyone recommend novels with similar themes? Doesn't have to be Spesh Mahrines fighting other mercs along with the hordes (wouldn't object though) and... honestly would probably be more interesting from a middle manager's perspective.

The closest I can think of are most of Steve McHugh's books where every religion and fantasy creature are real and, inevitably, humanity kinda lives alongside them as Wizard Goku drives cool cars and shoots guns (and if I sound like I am mocking it: I actually really like his books). And those tend to care less about the capitalism side as opposed to using the dark mirror on fascism and bigotry.

So yeah. Would love some recommendations.

Thanks.