Unsong
by Scott Alexander · first published 2017
62% recommend34% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Funny, weird fantasy serial where Kabbalah-style name-of-God magic is real and commercialized, mixing religion, science, and rationalism with Pratchett- and Adams-like wit; suits readers who like idea-rich comic fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Unsong is a serialized web novel by Scott Alexander that blends alternate history, Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, and speculative fiction. The story takes place in an alternate version of 2017 where the metaphysical structure of the universe has become literal and visible following a catastrophic event called the Metaphysical Plague. In this reality, the divine Names of God possess tangible power, enabling individuals to perform reality-altering acts through their discovery and use. The novel follows protagonist Aaron Smith-Teller, a disgruntled kabbalistic coder working for a magical startup in
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Unsong by Scott Alexander A delightful, completed serial that tells an alternate story of the world since 1968, when Apollo 8 crashed into the crystal fabric of the sky and fundamentally broke the machinery…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…didactic subtype of the genre, rationalist fiction often struggles to succeed in both of the goals set for it; the only example I've as yet found enjoyable - and extremely so! I strongly recommend it - is Unsong by Scott Alexander, also of Slate Star Codex.
on “Burn the Programmer” ↗I've been thinking about this a lot, by coincidence, as I read Unsong by Scott Alexander (unsongbook.com). It's a beautifully written somewhat comic and somewhat tragic story about the kabbalic-turned-capitalist search for the powerful Names of God. It occurred to me that,…
on “Fragment of a human face aged over one million years discovered” ↗If you want a story that handles this scenario pretty much exactly, you might want to check out “Unsong” [0] by the excellent Scott Alexander. That world is basically a biblically-inspired computer simulation which gets corrupted when Apollo 8 crashes into the celestial sphere. Also boiling a goat in its…
on “Super Mario Bros. 3 in 3 Minutes – World Record Speedrun Explained [video]” ↗The author of this blog, Scott Alexander, has an online novel called Unsong [1] based on this idea. In the book's universe, Kaballah is real and (among many other wild things) corporations automatically generate long lists of Hebrew characters to find names of God that give various…
on “The control group is out of control (2014)” ↗…over. I almost wonder if this is the next incarnation of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. And author seems young too. If I ever see hope for humanity, it is with works such as these. Going through 'Unsong' now.
on “Idol Words” ↗Fiction: Unsong by Scott Alexander. The funnest and funniest sci-fi yarn since Douglas Adams, amidst tantalizing explorations of theodicy and existential absurdicy. It's even free: http://unsongbook.com https://github.com/moorederodeo/Unsong-In-Ebook-Format/relea...…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗Yes! Unsong. I love this book, Scott Alexander is such a genius. He has knowledge of modern physics, of Jung psychology, ethics, biblical stories, and he intertwines everything in this book. Also, he is witty man!…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗You might like Scott Alexander's Unsong, freely available online. On the grounds of Yudkowsky's HPMOR, you could be excused for expecting fiction by rationalists to be generally terrible, and it is; Unsong is the exception, and proves if nothing…
on “How to summon and sell your soul to Satan and other devils” ↗…generally the genre is called "web serials". Worm is a superhero type story that ran over a period of years and is probably the most widely known example. Another personal favorite is Scott Alexander's Unsong, which has a delightfully weird mix of religion and rationalism and science fiction/ fantasy. I think most of these kinds of things tend to lack mass appeal, but they're out there, and when you find…
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗…warned - it's part of a trilogy, and the second book was released 12 years ago. News on the supposedly forthcoming third has been sparse, and it seems quite possible that the trilogy won't be finished. Unsong is a very idiosyncratic web serial novel by Scott Alexander (the Slate Star Codex/ Astral Codex Ten guy). It's a weird mixture of religion, sci fi, fantasy, comedy, and probably some other genres too.…
on “Requiem for a Great Cat” ↗I read his book "UNSONG" awhile back and found it equally enjoyable to his blog writing, with the added advantage that it lasted for days.
on “Ask HN: Which substacks do you read as soon as it hits your inbox?” ↗I have to pitch in and also recommend Unsong[1] by Scott Alexander, of Slate Star Codex and Astral Codex Ten fame. If you always wished to read a Pratchett book, but with jokes about technology and where the protagonist is a DRM breaker, this is…
on “Royal Mail to Issue “Terry Pratchett’s Discworld” Stamps” ↗…somewhere between 2x and 3x playback speed and still follow along just fine. Other times I'm dialed-in with an audiobook playing as I read along with the book. Most recently I've been doing this with Unsong, by Scott Alexander. The book is very engaging and detailed, so I'm fully immersed. For this book in particular it's useful to have an audiobook because I don't know how many of the references would be…
on “Bookish Diversions: Do Audiobooks Count?” ↗Stories with creative magic systems are still being produced. Check out Unsong, by Scott Alexander. It's about a world that's programmable by Hebrew and Kabbalah.
on “Non-Euclidean Doom: what happens to a game when pi is not 3.14159 (2022) [video]” ↗