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See tagged statuses in the local Wyrms.de community

reviewed The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (The Poppy War, #1)

R. F. Kuang: The Poppy War (Hardcover, 2018, Harper Voyager) 3 stars

A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired …

Turns disturbingly dark without warning

3 stars

A reimagining of China & Japan, with shamans & gods for interest, and war crimes & genocide for a horrifying reality check. Misleadingly begins with standard 'orphan goes to hero school' trope, but turns disturbingly dark without warning.

Reading time 6 days, 88 pages/day

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Ellen Clifford: The War on Disabled People (Paperback, 2022, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc) No rating

n 2016, a United Nations report found the UK government culpable for "grave and systematic …

i saw the author of this book talking a lot about disability as a social construct in online videos, and so i thought that her book was about that.

but the synopsis kind of says otherwise.

as anyone read it and can tell me more?

or just straight up suggest books that actually talk about social vs medical disability?

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Ben Elton: Two brothers (2012, Bantam Press) 1 star

Berlin 1920 Two babies are born. Two brothers. United and indivisible, sharing everything. Twins in …

Flat as a brick wall.

1 star

Brothers in a Jewish family strive to protect their loved ones from the increasing horrors of Nazi Germany. Boringly one-dimensional portrayal of Nazis - they're evil brutes, I get it. Distinct lack of emotional connection considering intensity of subject matter. Flat as a brick wall.

Reading time 7 days, 89 pages/day

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reviewed Cosmos by Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan: Cosmos (1980, Random House) 4 stars

This book is about science in its broadest human context, how science and civilization grew …

Arkady Martine: A Desolation Called Peace (Hardcover, 2021, Tor Books) 5 stars

An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with …

Unclear motivations & prose

3 stars

Disappointing sequel despite potential. Some dubious premises (surely a galactic empire would have first contact specialists?). Unclear motivations & prose: I rarely understood why particular choices were being made. Also an annoying inconsistency: internally, characters were flailing haplessly, but in actuality they were exceedingly competent.

Reading time 6 days, 80 pages/day

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Edward Snowden: Permanent Record (Paperback, 2020, Picador) 4 stars

Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass …

Serious gumption

3 stars

I also grew up in a government town in the early days of home computers & the internet. Perhaps if I had stumbled across hacking I'd have ended up in a similar role to him, though I doubt I'd have his gumption to expose the gross overreach of the security services. Their capability was (and remains) alarming.

Reading time 9 days, 37 pages/day

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