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Competence Porn

ticklemestalin 🚫

My indulgence is competence porn, a genre defined by a character, or a team of characters who are unusually skilled at some or most aspects of their jobs or life. If you've ever seen Oceans Eleven, or the show Leverage, they are prime examples.

I'm looking for suggestions of well written web literature competence porn, with or without the porn. I've really enjoyed the Stupid Boy series by G Younger, and I I'm sad to have finished the Grim Reaper stories by rlfj. I'm not tied to a specific sub-genre (heist, fantasy, military, etc), I'll take all recommendations. Thank you for your help!

Replies: Quasirandom Keet CB Obliterous oyster50 lorrainedalby_1 ticklemestalin lorenzo Dinsdale Grey Wolf steve6134 samuelmichaels dsclink3 Lumpy BookHungryMechanic

Quasirandom 🚫
Updated:

@ticklemestalin

The best example I've met here is Protect and Serve by Paul Phenomenon.

It's also a common feature of several stories by Argon and Lazlo Zalezac.

ETA: Also, Human Phoenix and it's sequel, Human Man, by Refusenik

Replies: ticklemestalin

ticklemestalin 🚫

@Quasirandom

I don't have premium, but I've bookmarked Human Phoenix, thanks for the suggestion!

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@ticklemestalin

Whoops, sorry — most of the time, I don't notice a story is premium, because it's not noted a lot of the time if you have access (you just get access).

Keet 🚫

@ticklemestalin

Survivor and it's follow up Survivor: Moving on from Ernest Bywater fits and is a very good read. Ernest has more stories with very competent characters, often with great planning and organization skills.

Replies: ticklemestalin

ticklemestalin 🚫

@Keet

Sounds right up my alley, thank you!

CB 🚫

@ticklemestalin

I've not heard it described quite like you have but I like the same. I think that's why I liked Youngers story as well.

Back when I could stomach spending the $$$ for pulp books I enjoyed buying the books by LE Modesitt as he had many of his characters being extremely competent at a trade and succeeding.

I have tried to include such a theme in my fledgling writing and did cater to competence a bit in my solo work 'Caretaker' where the MC is very competent at various trades.

Good luck on your search. I will follow the other recommendations with interest.

Replies: ticklemestalin

ticklemestalin 🚫

@CB

I've bookmarked Caretaker and I'll check it out, thanks for the suggestion. If you watch the thread in the future I'll add things as I find them too.

Obliterous 🚫

@ticklemestalin

Pretty much anything written by todd-d172.

Replies: ticklemestalin

ticklemestalin 🚫

@Obliterous

I've bookmarked that author. Thanks for the suggestion!

oyster50 🚫

@ticklemestalin

I hit around the edges of competence porn in several characters within my Smart Girls universe. For a writer, it's a fun thing to play with, and it seems to resonate with a lot of readers.

Replies: Remus2

Remus2 🚫

@oyster50

I've known some real life versions of the characters you describe.

lorrainedalby_1 🚫

@ticklemestalin

Try Dual Writer many of his follow this trope eg Vocation? and also Ernest Bywater as already mentioned.

ticklemestalin 🚫

@ticklemestalin

To add to this, Daze in the Valley
by Jay Cantrell fits the genre.

lorenzo 🚫

@ticklemestalin

Jay Cantrell's Lifeline fits the bill. Honestly, all of his works would appeal to you as they all feature competent protagonists. I especially enjoy courtroom dramas which is why Lifeline is my favourite of his.

https://storiesonline.net/s/11098/lifeline-drama-story

Richard Gerald's Crime and Punishment is a great read too.

https://storiesonline.net/s/16777/crime-and-punishment

Dinsdale 🚫

@ticklemestalin

Just thinking of Gina Marie Wylie's stories.
Her heroes tend to be very competent (and share her politics) but most chapters feature an idiot who is trying to drag the MC down, just so you know the hero is superior in all ways.
Some of Argon's stories fit your requirements, in particular the https://storiesonline.net/universe/102/anthony-carter series and most of the https://storiesonline.net/universe/620/knights-and-commoners set.

Grey Wolf 🚫

@ticklemestalin

I would tend to say Shaddoth's 'The Smith' counts. Charlie Foxtrot's 'A New Past' does as well. Both aren't quite dead-on to what you're describing, but do feature competent protagonists doing all manner of things. A number of Aroslav's stories involve people who are highly competent at one thing or another.

Not that any of those fits this, but there's a close line between 'competency' and 'Mary Sue/Gary Stu'. One person's 'highly competent hero' is another person's 'too good to be true'. James Bond is a great example (and Danny Ocean is likely another). Are they just that good, or are they Gary Stus? Or both?

Replies: awnlee jawking ticklemestalin

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Grey Wolf

James Bond is a great example (and Danny Ocean is likely another). Are they just that good, or are they Gary Stus? Or both?

Bearing in mind that it takes about 10 years of dedication to become world class at something, given the number of specialties in which James Bond is world class, he'd have to be well over 100.

AJ

ticklemestalin 🚫
Updated:

@Grey Wolf

You're right about that thin line business. I'm pretty allergic to Mary Sues, but totally weak to competence porn. I've found that a lot rests on the skill of the author, and I can forgive a lot of overpowered-ness done by someone with a real chops. The only way I can describe the difference is that I know it by the hives. I imagine it depends on the eye of the beholder too.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@ticklemestalin

I've found that a lot rests on the skill of the author

Do you care how the author reveals the character's competence?

Sherlock Holmes is an example of competence by telling. SH solves the puzzles with information not shared with the reader until after the fact ie the author doesn't reveal that the musket was above the fireplace until after it's been used to kill someone. So we only have the author's word that the character is competent.

On the other hand, the author might show the competence by letting us into the competent character's POV (even though the technique might be performed by telling). I expect most of us have read stories containing a two page essay in which the competent character explains why the older Mk 351v1a coupling is better than the newer Mk 351v1b coupling.

I prefer the latter approach (without the bloat) but it's probably harder to be convincing. If the author hasn't done their research and achieved something approaching the same level of competence as their character, their ignorance leaves them open to ridicule.

AJ

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫
Updated:

@awnlee jawking

Sherlock Holmes is an example of competence by telling. SH solves the puzzles with information not shared with the reader until after the fact ie the author doesn't reveal that the musket was above the fireplace until after it's been used to kill someone. So we only have the author's word that the character is competent.

This isn't as much telling as it is a consequence of the fact that the stories aren't told from Holmes's perspective. The POV character is actually Dr Watson.

Watson isn't as observant as and misses key clues until

Holmes explains the solution to him, usually after Holmes has solved the case.

Because the POV isn't Holmes, the reader is necessarily seeing Holmes's brilliance from the outside rather than from the inside.

Replies: awnlee jawking

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Dominions Son

ie telling rather than showing

AJ

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@awnlee jawking

ie telling rather than showing

Necessarily so, since it's second hand as the POV character is not the detective.

steve6134 🚫
Updated:

@ticklemestalin

I think the Richard Jackson series by Banadin would fit.But the author moved them around A couple are still on SOL. I think the books are on book appy and amazon

samuelmichaels 🚫

@ticklemestalin

The inspiration for some of Oyster50's characters is Candy Smith-Foster from Emergence (not here).

Geoff Wolak (who writes on SOL as gwresearch) has several series with very competent heroes, although only some of them are on SOL.

Several of Tefler's Three Square Meals women (harem members) are super-competent.

Morgan has several super-competent women characters, who are also rather submissive (to the right man). Samantha K takes this to extremes in her Dragon stories.
"B.J. Jones" by jballs, and "Lady in Red" by harddaysknight have very competent women.

Lazlong, FantasyLover, and Ka Hmnd have very competent heroes.

Replies: oyster50

oyster50 🚫

@samuelmichaels

samuelmichaels
5/26/2021, 11:32:05 PM

@ticklemestalin

The inspiration for some of Oyster50's characters is Candy Smith-Foster from Emergence (not here).

I had to go and find that story. I read it back in the 80's and didn't realize that it influenced my Cindy and others. I see some of it now.

oyster

dsclink3 🚫

@ticklemestalin

Author colt45 in the Mayhem and Sea King stories

Lumpy 🚫

@ticklemestalin

I don't normally do self-promotion or whatever, but this was exactly what I was going for with my John Taylor series, so you might want to give it a look.

BookHungryMechanic 🚫

@ticklemestalin

I can't think of anything that tops Magestic by Geoff Wolak, in terms of your criteria. It's probably my favorite book period. He goes by 'GWresearch' here on SOL. There are sequels outside of SOL