As others have pointed out, it’s also a way to replace the soul of the city with something more economically interesting: clean apartments.
Amsterdam has a problem with gentrification on one side and “cheap” tourism on the other. This move seems to want to solve the later by amplifying the former…
Interesting observations! I am surprised by anyone not noticing the irony in Fight Club, and maybe Infinite Jest, but the others don’t seem too critical of their own male protagonists, I feel.
It’s a bit confusing: the big number is not the index but the world wide ranking if the country. It’s made extra confusing because a big index is good, but a bug ranking is not…
I know it’s a dumb meme… but girls acting weak to get hit on is a horrible mental construct!
“Successful record attempts have employed a variety of tactics for evading traffic law enforcement.”
Same! Worth every penny and every second of your time!
A more precise review, mainly because you asked for feedback:
I enjoyed the concept, and I think it was well explored. I really got a kick out of the precise changing of words, in particular the main character being referred to as “potter” at the beginning and “Necromancer” at the end, together with some other more subtle word developments.
I think the first paragraph could be more appealing, I was a bit put off by the lack of details coupled with plenty of suspension dots. I find it odd how some precise details (about the religion, the urns, the desert) are woven in a very general, almost parabolic, story line.
Some emotional components are also a bit unpolished, just given as facts. In particular his love for his family seems to be an “on-off” switch, and it appears only when needed but doesn’t affect his decisions otherwise. So the conclusion doesn’t hit as hard as it could, in my opinion. In a similar way, it is not really justified why he searches knowledge, or goes to the graveyard, while the previous steps are made extremely compelling.
Overall, really good! After the first paragraph, the story flows well, the main character is not only believable but compelling. I like how he does what needs to be done and hardly ever reconsiders his actions.
Glad to be of help!
Here is my assortment of recommendations.
The greatest classic of the genre: Ivanhoe. Written in the 1800s, it feel its age, but to some (i.e. me and hopefully others) it just add to the charm. So much adventure on a very romanticized medieval background.
The Arthurian cycles: if you are not looking for historical accuracy are are fine with a little magic sprinkled around. Many authors retold the legends, there are the old french novels (by Chrétien de Troyes - a bit stiff at times and formulaic) or the more modern ones. My personal favorite is the cycle by Mary Stewart, but “The Once and Future King”* is also really good.
An adventurous take on the fall of the Roman Empir: The last Legion by V M Manfredi*.
A view on the life of common people during the middle ages, developed around a compelling plot: the quadrilogy by Valeria Montaldi.
The ones you can’t overlook: Pillar of the Earth by Ken Follett and Cathedral of the Sea by Idelfonso Flacones. Flavor-wise I felt they were very similar, a broad cast of characters with strong emotions moving on the backdrop of the gothic revolution. Particularly good if you like architecture.
*: YA, all others are “adult” novels.
Took me a while to finish it. I really liked it!
For hard sci-fi I agree, but for soft one the difference becomes more and more tenuous.
My little piece of advice: you don’t have to think about the future, tomorrow, next week, they are all far off. Think about now, this hour, the next 5 minutes, or whatever stretch of time seems manageable. What do you do now? Cook dinner? Watch a show? Cry in the shower? The future might be scary and too much to manage now. You’ll handle it when you get to it. Now, you only have to think about right now.
Verbena tea is calming and soothing. Lavender is relaxing. Green tea for me is a calming ritual.
You got this. Maybe it doesn’t feel like it, but you only need to do one step, and you got that one step.