Venture capitalists Menlo Ventures have released what purports to be a survey: “2025: The State of Consumer AI”. That is, chatbots. [Menlo Ventures] The subtitle is: “AI’s Consumer Tipping Po…
@V0ldek This is a hill I will die on: the passive voice ABSOLUTELY does not belong in a work of fiction. (Academic papers and reports are another matter entirely, but fiction: no.)
Section Three of the Official Secrets Act (1916) is our principle weapon in the endless war against security leaks. It was passed during a wartime spy scare—a time of deep and extreme paranoia—and it’s even more bizarre than most people think.
The Atrocity Archives, p. 13 of the Ace paperback edition
The glamour’s still there, masking her physical shape, but what I’m seeing now is unfogged by implanted emotional bias.
The Jennifer Morgue, p. 92 of the Golden Gryphon hardcover
Doing the tour of other fiction books within arm’s reach…
My name is Hermann Soergel. The curious reader may have chanced to leaf through my Shakespeare Chronology, which I once considered essential to a proper understanding of the text; it was translated into several languages, including Spanish.
Jorge Luis Borges, “Shakespeare’s Memory” (translated by Andrew Hurley)
When her father had been executed, her aunts and uncles on both sides of the family had declined to speak out against his killers, and Nasim had been so angry that she’d cut herself off from everyone, even before she and her mother had fled.
Greg Egan, Zendegi (this, like the Jennifer Morgue example, was on the page to which I opened at random)
Now the mayor’s cousin has been arrested for murder.
John Chernega, “Almond”, in Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die
Older books, also within arm’s reach, also opened at random…
Whatever was thought, whatever was said, I had my full reward in John’s friendship. This friendship was the more precious for its tenderness being intentionally concealed, especially when we were not alone, by that gruffness which stems from what can be termed the dignity of the heart.
Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire
I was set apart by Nature to live alone, and draw comfort from her breast, and hers only.
Perhaps the Mysteries’ secrets could be learned, and their powers could be thwarted.
Bill Watterson and John Kascht, The Mysteries
The girl and her companion obediently fell silent then, realizing they had been heard through the microphones embedded in the walls of the dining room.
I just found out, that a girl got killed here last week, and you knew it! You knew there was a shark out there!
Is it true that most people get attacked by sharks in three feet of water about ten feet from the beach?
The torso has been severed in mid-thorax; there are no major organs remaining… May I have a glass of water, please?
What we didn’t know… was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent.
I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up… bobbed up and down in the water just like a kinda top. Upended. Well… he’d been bitten in half below the waist.
The quest for the Grail is not archaeology; it’s a race against evil! If it is captured by the Nazis, the armies of darkness will march all over the face of the Earth! Do you understand me?
I can see that my 50,000 a year has been well spent.
Donald, Donald… This park was not built to cater only for the super-rich.
This isn’t some species that was obliterated by deforestation, or the building of a dam. Dinosaurs had their shot, and nature selected them for extinction.
Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together.
T-Rex doesn’t want to be fed. He wants to hunt.
Unless they’re continually supplied with lysine by us, they’ll slip into a coma and die.
I was overwhelmed by the power of this place. But I made a mistake, too. I didn’t have enough respect for that power and it’s out now.
It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.
If I may say so, sir, I noticed earlier the hyperdrive motivator has been damaged. It’s impossible to go to lightspeed!
Captain, being held by you isn’t quite enough to get me excited.
We’re going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer.
“You said they’d be left at the city under my supervision!”
“I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”
Wait what, TIL there was/is a crusade against… the passive fucking voice?
Some people just need to invent problems for their life to feel meaningful, don’t they
@V0ldek This is a hill I will die on: the passive voice ABSOLUTELY does not belong in a work of fiction. (Academic papers and reports are another matter entirely, but fiction: no.)
The Atrocity Archives, p. 13 of the Ace paperback edition
The Jennifer Morgue, p. 92 of the Golden Gryphon hardcover
Doing the tour of other fiction books within arm’s reach…
Jorge Luis Borges, “Shakespeare’s Memory” (translated by Andrew Hurley)
Greg Egan, Zendegi (this, like the Jennifer Morgue example, was on the page to which I opened at random)
John Chernega, “Almond”, in Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die
side note, but I freaking love Machine of Death. what a cool book that came into existence in such a weird way
Older books, also within arm’s reach, also opened at random…
Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire
H. Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure
Bill Watterson and John Kascht, The Mysteries
Lois Lowry, Son