pretty but strange Chalion review
So, I ran across this the other day...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V1ko...
Someone has figured out how to illustrate book reviews, and has a lot more visual media chops than I ever will. It doesn't quite seem like AI -- the AI generated material I've seen so far seems to drift off into an uncanny valley of random errors partway through, and this stays very much on track. Might be AI assisted, maybe; the voice has a peculiar precision. I do wonder where all they grepped the gorgeous images. I see the creator has a whole series of other F&SF reviews in a similar mode.
Bemused by the 21st C. again, Lois.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V1ko...
Someone has figured out how to illustrate book reviews, and has a lot more visual media chops than I ever will. It doesn't quite seem like AI -- the AI generated material I've seen so far seems to drift off into an uncanny valley of random errors partway through, and this stays very much on track. Might be AI assisted, maybe; the voice has a peculiar precision. I do wonder where all they grepped the gorgeous images. I see the creator has a whole series of other F&SF reviews in a similar mode.
Bemused by the 21st C. again, Lois.
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by
igorama
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Mar 27, 2025 11:28AM
Too many spoilers but a nice summary for sure. The writing is decent and probably the only human made part, but the music is a bit much, and all the other things you noted are indeed uncanny.
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I once described Penric's story as "What if being possessed by a demon was the best thing that ever happened to you?"
I thought it was cool. Yes, a bit spoilerish, but then many review are, and the book has been out for more than a few years. I put a plug for Penric in the comments.
While it's definitely selectively chosen, I'm pretty sure the art is 100% AI, apart from the photographs like Michelangelo's David. They've gotten pretty good, but there are still some major tells. They're more apparent if you set the video to 4K and zoom in close on details, like at 3:13 (the crown, the armor). The fact that none of it shows up in a google image search, but for some of the images in some videos google image search shows page after page of AI-generated art that looks similar is also a red flag.
It made me want to reread the book, so I'd say good for it!
Agreed that the book specific artwork is AI generated. Unfortunately, I've found it's most believable when it's trying to imitate illustration, rather then the photorealistic—so it can be harder to discern. If illustrated by a person, I personally would have expected a little more consistency in the dress styles.Additionally, I've noticed this trend for this style of youtube essays, where the bulk of the imagery is AI rather then the usual copyright free stock imagery. Likely an easy item to produce.
I watched it and thought it probably was Ai. the way it repeats certain phrases too much without changing intonation seemed too uncanny. I had to reread because it said Iselle and Teidez were half siblings. and I wanted to confirm that I was not crazy.
I hope it brings in more readers to enjoy the grand universe of works by LMB.
