Recommendation Bowl: Grand Winners

After I dug myself out of the avalanche of recommendations that came in after my last blog post, I spent some time sorting them.

I started responding, and I realized two things: first, if I responded to all of them I would never get another book out. And second, that a lot of my responses were going to be "I read/watched/injected that already, and here's what I thought."

I like talking about fiction. I like it a lot. Way too much.

So to avoid getting trapped in that never-ending maze, I had to curb my comments. But I did read every single suggestion!

I probably spent more time doing that than I did reading fiction this week.

So that brings us to the cutthroat competition, and the incredible prizes I have in store.

Third place, the one who has earned a half-used Krispy Kreme coupon that I can't seem to locate at the moment: Way for recommending Steins;Gate.

You're only in third place because I've already played Steins;Gate, but you earn that coveted theoretical coupon because it's a great game. And also a really good anime.

Now, in second place are the hordes of people who recommended me something that I'm definitely going to read but haven't yet: He Who Fights With Monsters.

Pretty sure a million and one people recommended this. I haven't read it, but I will read it. I'm going to, I swear. With this many recommendations, it deserves my full attention.

Now, I don't have that many dragon eggs to go around, so I feel like we'll just split the one I do have into pieces and divide it evenly. Watch for a minuscule fragment of dragon shell to manifest mystically on your desk at some point in the next 4-6 astral weeks.

And first place, the winner of my R E S P E C T, and the person who gave the recommendation I actually took...

...was, unfortunately, not a blog comment.

A guy named Jon (or who CLAIMED to be named Jon...) messaged me and pitched me Star Odyssey on www.WuxiaWorld.com. Well, I read a lot on that website, so I tried that.

I really liked it. It's space fantasy, which I've long wanted to write myself, and it's a Chinese cultivation novel with a focus on one thing and one thing alone: fighting to get stronger.

That's it. Very straightforward and streamlined. Definitely my cup of tea.

Jon, you can pick up your wheelbarrow full of respect outside your nearest home depot.

Now for the HONORABLE MENTIONS!

Daniel Larman for recommending me 86: Eighty-Six on Crunchyroll! I haven't watched it yet, or you would have gotten that delicious Respect Wheelbarrow, but I absolutely will. And thank you for not recommending me an anime I've definitely already seen.

Speaking of which...

Everyone who recommended me anime gets a secondary mention here. You were all barking up the right tree, which I appreciate. And you recommended me some really great shows.

However, you also reminded me that I apparently need to talk more about anime, because other than Daniel's recommendation, I had seen...yes, I think every single other show recommended.

From about 2005-2013 or so, I watched literally everything that got animated. There were some shows I dropped here and there, but I at least gave everything the three-episode test.

Some might say I spent too much of my time on anime, but who had an anime-inspired book on the New York Times list last month? THIS GUY!

Let that be a lesson to you, young people: you're not "wasting time," you're doing research for your future career.

I've been much busier since then, what with books and all, so I have replaced watching every anime with reading every manga. It's a lot faster. These days I only watch the anime if I already know it's going to be good.

Like with Jujutsu Kaisen, which was indeed great. I've been reading since the first chapter was released, and as soon as Gojo appeared I knew I was along for the ride.

Josh S., for recommending The Black Company. I really love The Black Company, and I recommend anyone interested in bleak morally gray fiction to give the first collection a shot, if you haven't already. It's a classic for a reason.

Tiberius Arelius, for recommending Second Coming of Gluttony. It's in contention for my favorite web novel of all time. The main character changes over time and has a very distinct personality, the magic and system are consistent and fun to read, the characters are memorable...it's genuinely great.

The only warning I have when I recommend it to people is that it does contain some harem nonsense. But if you can't pick around harem nonsense like you're picking tomatoes out of a salad then I don't know how you watched much anime.

Zuben for recommending Kenshi. But not because I like Kenshi. AH-HA, TWIST! I used to have the most helpful negative review of Kenshi on the Steam store.

It's such a great concept, and I'm sure a great game, but I spent thirty hours pickaxing a rock in isometric top-down view with no clue of what to do and never got any indication of what I could or should do that would be fun.

I have no doubt that it is fun, because people have racked up thousands of hours in Kenshi. But that remains as one of my most vivid gaming experiences because I kept thinking "Everybody says you should push on...maybe a few more hours."

And by the end of it I was still like "No, I don't get it."

So you definitely found something in that game that I didn't, but I want you to know that I really, really tried.

All the people who recommended the Red Rising series. I love that series. Initially, when it was a trilogy, I loved the first and second books, but wasn't a big fan of the third.

Now that there are more, I feel like the author has really fleshed out a lot of the characters and brought this mythic fantasy-esque scope to a sci-fi story, and I'm here for it.

Fragrant Bacon, for saying this: "Will usually takes the approach to others in his own genre: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Yes.

I also like to stay silent when I have mixed criticism, or really anything other than overwhelming praise. That's why I don't recommend things very often here. Even when I say five positive things and one thing that I think is a fair criticism, people tend to focus on that.

And I don't want to bring people negative attention. I want to bring them positive attention!

Anyone who told me to go outside and play: 

Nice try.

-Will