Homestuck is one of those pieces of media which takes a certain aspect which appeals to some people and drives it as far as it can possibly go. In this particular case, that aspect is plot complexity. I think that Andrew Hussie's description of Homestuck as "a story that is also a puzzle" is one of the most apt you can come up with—what with the frequent time travel, oodles upon oodles of characters, and various intertwining gambits, the plot has grown into a monster the likes of which I've never seen before and will probably never see again.
And like many examples of media in which one aspect goes up to 11, Homestuck is not for everyone. I believe it will greatly appeal, though, to anyone who loves to think, is very patient, and has more spare time than anyone should really be allowed to have. Any story with this level of plot complexity is probably not going to appeal to you unless you're willing to put in the brainwork and time necessary to fully understand what's going on. However, as someone who loves puzzles and complex plots of all sorts, I think Homestuck is one of the best webcomics I've ever read.
And what I've said above shouldn't be taken to mean that Homestuck's sole virtue is its plotting; partially due to the lengthy and slow-paced development, it has what I consider to be two other fundamental characteristics of a good story: well-developed characters and creative world-building. Certainly not all of the several dozen characters are well-rounded, but Hussie has managed to make many of them interesting nonetheless. And the world(s) in which the whole story takes place is/are displayed in astonishing detail.
Finally, I find Homestuck to be a triumph of experimental storytelling. With second-person narration, small Flash games, and the Hivebent arc as just a few examples, Andrew Hussie has cycled through so many different plot devices and media that the story defies classification. Sometimes these experiments may go awry, but for the most part they show the many different ways in which one story can be told.
In short, if you're someone who enjoys puzzling about whatever you're reading and who is willing and able to put a lot of time into a slow-paced and complex story, Homestuck is likely to be an amazing read. Otherwise, you may still enjoy it, but proceed with caution; it may eat up all of your time.
Definitely a story that is also a puzzle.
Homestuck is one of those pieces of media which takes a certain aspect which appeals to some people and drives it as far as it can possibly go. In this particular case, that aspect is plot complexity. I think that Andrew Hussie's description of Homestuck as "a story that is also a puzzle" is one of the most apt you can come up with—what with the frequent time travel, oodles upon oodles of characters, and various intertwining gambits, the plot has grown into a monster the likes of which I've never seen before and will probably never see again.
And like many examples of media in which one aspect goes up to 11, Homestuck is not for everyone. I believe it will greatly appeal, though, to anyone who loves to think, is very patient, and has more spare time than anyone should really be allowed to have. Any story with this level of plot complexity is probably not going to appeal to you unless you're willing to put in the brainwork and time necessary to fully understand what's going on. However, as someone who loves puzzles and complex plots of all sorts, I think Homestuck is one of the best webcomics I've ever read.
And what I've said above shouldn't be taken to mean that Homestuck's sole virtue is its plotting; partially due to the lengthy and slow-paced development, it has what I consider to be two other fundamental characteristics of a good story: well-developed characters and creative world-building. Certainly not all of the several dozen characters are well-rounded, but Hussie has managed to make many of them interesting nonetheless. And the world(s) in which the whole story takes place is/are displayed in astonishing detail.
Finally, I find Homestuck to be a triumph of experimental storytelling. With second-person narration, small Flash games, and the Hivebent arc as just a few examples, Andrew Hussie has cycled through so many different plot devices and media that the story defies classification. Sometimes these experiments may go awry, but for the most part they show the many different ways in which one story can be told.
In short, if you're someone who enjoys puzzling about whatever you're reading and who is willing and able to put a lot of time into a slow-paced and complex story, Homestuck is likely to be an amazing read. Otherwise, you may still enjoy it, but proceed with caution; it may eat up all of your time.