User Profile

Wild Woila

wildwoila@wyrms.de

Joined 2 years, 1 month ago

I have #mecfs so I have a lot of time for reading, mostly #fantasy and #SciFi but I'm happy to dip into nearly anything.

Ratings: 1 star: I didn't like it 2 stars: it was okay 3 stars: I liked it 4 stars: I really liked it 5 stars: it was brilliant

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Wild Woila's books

N. K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell: Far Sector (2021, DC Comics) 4 stars

The first murder in 500 years. Twenty billion suspects. One hope.

The City Enduring, a …

Brilliant dynamic artwork

3 stars

An interstellar justice-bringer (a Green Lantern) is called to help a planet that hasn't seen crime in generations due to the use of an emotion-suppressing gene therapy. But that order starts to unravel as she tries to get a handle on the situation, her own emotionality proving invaluable. Brilliant dynamic artwork.

Douglas Stuart: Young Mungo (2022, Pan Macmillan) 4 stars

Precisely drawn, skin-crawling characters

4 stars

Similar premise to his first book: gay boy with alcoholic mother in Glasgow. But different enough and also superbly executed. Full of precisely drawn, skin-crawling characters & behaviour, from the psychopathic but protective brother, the deadly Protestant vs Catholic brawls, and the slimey alcoholic older male "role models". Such an unattractive cover!

Psychopaths cause havoc because they have limited empathy and care nothing for social norms

4 stars

A notable proportional of people are psychopaths (aka malignant narcissists, sociopaths) and they cause havoc because they have limited empathy and care nothing for social norms. Has given me a valuable appreciation for this form of neurodiversity to help understand and manage those fraught situations that are otherwise inexplicable. The science is interesting - it's more likely neurological than upbringing or trauma. Ironically, the author doesn't show much empathy for the psychopaths!

reviewed Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb, #2)

Tamsyn Muir: Harrow the Ninth (Paperback, 2021, Tor.com) 4 stars

"She answered the Emperor's call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only …

What the hell is going on?

3 stars

Our favourite necromancer has risen to the ranks of the most powerful, who are rather Machiavellian but disconcertingly human. In the process though, she has lost her marbles, and we are left without any certainty as to what the hell is going on, and doubts undermine our memory of the first book. Which is mostly bearable because it eventually unravels, only to be frustrated by an unwelcome dumping of unresolved head-scratchers which demands some re-reading. More serious than the first book, without the swagger.

In his boldest and most far-reaching book yet, world-famous economist Yanis Varoufakis argues that capitalism …

Late-stage capitalism has given way to cloud-based fiefs

4 stars

Late-stage capitalism has given way to cloud-based fiefs, and we are the serfs. I need convincing on some of the detail (e.g. how effective are they at manipulating our desires?), but mostly agree with his main argument. Pairs well with Cory Doctorow's #enshittification ideas (@pluralistic@mamot.fr).

Stephen Markley: The Deluge (2023, Simon & Schuster) 5 stars

In the first decades of the 21st century, the world is convulsing, its governments mired …

A truly terrifying but not-impossible dystopia

5 stars

A US-centric view of the coming two decades as the climate and social cohesion rapidly break down. Amplifies the worst of current political & economic trends to create a truly terrifying but not-impossible dystopia. Told from a rich variety of perspectives, though compresses the pace of climate change improbably (I hope!). Intense, scary & draining.

Aimen Dean: Nine lives (2018) 4 stars

"As one of al-Qaeda's most respected bomb-makers, Aimen Dean rubbed shoulders with the mastermind of …

A lot of extreme living!

4 stars

Traces the evolution of a (very) young jihadi from the Bosnian front, to bomb-maker for al-Quada, to (still young) spy for MI6. A lot of extreme living! Valuable insight into motivations & rationalisations of jihadism.

Claire Keegan: Small Things Like These (2021, Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated) 5 stars

Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize

"A hypnotic and electrifying Irish tale that transcends country, …

True moral strength cannot be suppressed

4 stars

A penetrating snapshot of Irish life under the suffocating weight of Catholic dominance. But true moral strength cannot be suppressed, and every small act erodes that edifice. Beautifully crafted.

reviewed Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #1)

James S.A. Corey: Leviathan Wakes (EBook, 2011, Orbit) 4 stars

When Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a …

What's all the fuss?

3 stars

What's all the fuss? Just a space thriller with so-so characters. A gritty future where humanity has colonised the solar system, but it's as corporate, politically riven & prejudiced as today. Some intrigue and a fair bit of action, but to what end?