All possible plots by major authors (2020)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction to the piece

  • Many commenters found the “all possible plots” concept very funny, pithy, and surprisingly accurate.
  • Some called out specific entries as making them laugh out loud or wheeze, appreciating the concise skewering of genres and literary reputations.
  • Others noted that the pieces read like decent flash fiction rather than pure criticism.

Debates about how fair the caricatures are

  • Several people argued certain authors were misrepresented or oversimplified (e.g., one whose books are seen as relentlessly bleak was defended as more complex or even enjoyable).
  • Some felt the portrayals of humorists and “light” writers were too narrow, ignoring large parts of their oeuvre.
  • The treatment of one blockbuster thriller writer drew extended joking, but also some genuine enjoyment of their books “as dumb fun.”

AI-generated additions and their limits

  • One commenter tried having an AI generate similar plot summaries; a few were entertaining, but most were described as too on‑the‑nose and glib.
  • They remarked that statistical text generation tends to rush to the punchline and struggles with subtle, zoomed‑out satire.
  • Others appreciated that the AI use was clearly labeled and that its weaknesses were openly discussed.

Meta‑commentary on Hacker News and online discourse

  • Multiple subthreads parodied “every possible HN comment,” including: shallow expertise, ideological tangents, licensing nitpicks, “I didn’t read the article, but…”, and obligatory Rust mentions.
  • People linked to an old site that mocked HN posts, expressing nostalgia and doubting AI could fully match its withering personal tone.

Related resources and similar satire

  • Commenters shared links to “all possible plots” style systems, including combinatorial plot generators, trope tables, and ultra‑short “book in a minute” summaries.

Reading habits and the canon

  • Some reflected on how few of the parodied authors they had actually read, and whether that “matters.”
  • One thread debated the value of a shared canon of ~50–100 books versus diverse, individualized reading paths.

Spin‑offs beyond literature

  • A popular subthread translated the “all possible plots” idea into “all possible codebases by major programmers,” with jokes about quick hacks becoming world‑dominating standards.