A review by toma_po
Unsong by Scott Alexander

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have nothing really special to say about the book—hilarious, witty, even at points esoteric, but not shallow. 

The author though, to put into perspective, is so charitable and exhaustive that despite not being a neo-reactionary, found himself forcefully canonized after sharing his own rhetorical rendition of the political philosophy online. This is the guy who read Bruce Fink’s reading of Lacan and wrote an article that is both somehow completely confused and also perfect as an introduction for laymen, much moreso than Žižek at the very least. Scott’s writing is clever and deep, but refuses at all costs to eschew clarity or precision, which ensures also the quality of this half-satirical religious fanfic for the demystification of the modern era. 

It’s not difficult to understand why Scott is a major Rationalist idol for those scribbling Higurashi-inspired short stories onto AO3 and the Turing poets of Substack.