The best way to start with Homestuck is to introduce, the very basic outline of what it really is. Homestuck is a brilliant compilation of mythology, many branches of science, theories of origin, advanced math, advanced use of symbolism in names, actions, and character, and a range of humor perfect for clever or not-so teenagers who do not mind vulgarity and understand parody when they see it, all put into one online comic series out of Microsoft paint animation.

Homestuck is huge in almost all respects; a huge cast of characters, a huge scale plot (even outdoing Stephen King’s Dark Tower series scale, and that held the balance of the entire universe), a huge supportive fan base, and a huge compilation of previously mentioned items. The amazing thing really is, it balances everything out almost perfectly and uniquely.

It starts with Andrew Hussie. He is a genius in that he can maintain all of the previously mentioned epically proportioned points of Homestuck, and I’d like to give an applause to his talent to pull off probably the most difficult writing style; second-person objective.
Now first off, second person is a very rare writing style, and hardly used because of it’s very narrow and shallow connection with the reader as the main character. However, the loophole is that Hussie writes Homestuck as an online comic, so we know what the character is, and (eventually) why they are referred to as ‘You’. Hussie immediately begins by breaking this idea that second-person is strictly used with the reader, and moves forward to break other stereotypes of the writing style in general. The second part of his style, objective, is also the hardest style to use when connecting characters to a reader. An objective writing style is severely limited to only describing action and hearing dialogue. In most media, it detaches readers from the characters, as the reader cannot get insight on what the character is thinking. However, Hussie also combines this with an omniscient narrator, who knows both what the narrator is thinking (you will understand if you read it), and what ‘You’ are thinking. Hussie uses second-person objective and breaks the standards of the writing style, making a stronger connection to the reader than any other writing style could. However, Hussie has found some tricks to help this. He has what all writers crave (direct visual of action) and what all film makers crave (direct insight on character). He has successfully combined the best of both media using the worst form of one.

Now, something so big has to has some downsides, but miraculously, I’ve found very few, except for some technicalities. The biggest; the first hundred pages or so are absolutely boring, and this is where we see why people writers try to stray from second-person objective. But not only is the writing hard to enjoy, the pacing and plot is just slow and dull! Depending on your sense of humor, you may enjoy the first part because of its hilarious shenanigans, and this will help you pull through it! But for some, it’s a tough climb.

Second; the pace of the entire story can be aggravating. This isn’t a real problem, as with a huge cast of characters you have to get the view on most (if not all of them), but it can cause the story to drag. However, the reader tends to enjoy the diverse cast, and part of the fun is picking your favorite and rooting for them! But then, the pacing can also move too fast, as Hussie tries to wrap up several story arcs (some of which we didn’t even know existed) in a single [S] animation. The inconsistent pace may bother readers, but it certainly won’t make the reader enjoy it any less.

The third problem is some of the issues are forced. Not in the idea that I don’t believe that some of the concepts or events could or did happen, it’s just that the reader wasn’t entirely aware that this concept or event was happening in the first place. For example; some scenes the reader isn’t even aware is a flashback, and we are left pausing for a moment, trying to put the pieces together, moving around between pages, and trying to make sense of it. This is an initial problem, but a reader will get past it, and move on to enjoy the rest of the story.
In a quick summary, Homestuck is about a group of children who play a video game that no one knows how to play, and learn that one of its rules is that their world is destroyed. They enter the game, and begin to learn the mechanics of it, and eventually learn the recompense they will receive in return for the loss of their world, and the force that threatens to destroy such a reward is more powerful than initially assumed.

I would rate Homestuck as a 9 ½ out of 10, factoring in said problems. All the problems are generally temporary and don’t really impede the true thrill that is Andrew Hussie’s Homestuck. Give it a read once you get the chance, it can be found at mspaintadventures.com, or just by searching ‘Homestuck’ on Google.