Filter Kafka through the sensibilities of Douglas Adams and you might end up with something like The Stanley Parable. It is not so much a game as a bewildering tree of short stories to explore, all featuring the same main character and all circling the themes of free will and purpose, while lampooning videogame mechanics.… Read the rest
Some science-fiction / fantasy writers treat the imaginary worlds they’ve created with such in-depth seriousness that the average reader is tempted to give them a shake and yell: ‘I don’t care about the extended family history of the irrelevant side character on page 569 or about the logistical intricacies of interplanetary Nerf-herding, just get on with the story!’Others try to avoid accusations of purple-prose seriousness by making fun of themselves and their tales of the extraordinary.… Read the rest
