Reviews and Comments

Wild Woila

wildwoila@wyrms.de

Joined 2 years, 11 months 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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Isobelle Carmody: Comes The Night (Paperback, A&U Children's)

Will slipped on the left glove and twitched a finger to establish a link to …

Very slow and overly explicatory

YA dystopian set in Canberra! In a polluted world, cities have been enclosed in domes and pervasive tech & propaganda keep the population in line. A teenage boy gets entangled in mysterious intrigue, and soon starts to wonder if his dreams are more than they seem. Very slow and overly explicatory, except for the ending which was sudden, unclear and too easy.

Natasha Pulley: The Mars House (2024, Bloomsbury Publishing USA)

From the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, a queer sci-fi novel about an …

Where refugees from climate-riven Earth are a mortal accidental risk to Martians

A sci-fi romance set on Mars, where recent refugees from climate-riven Earth are so strong in the low gravity that they are a mortal accidental risk to Martians. Excellent premise, and the contradictory reactions of the protagonist feel real & difficult. But some of the underlying science is dubious (MW ≠ MWh!!!), the romance had potential but felt a bit weak and the ending used up its momentum too soon. Mammoths!

Helen Garner: The Season (Paperback, 2024, Text Publishing)

It’s footy season in Melbourne, and Helen Garner is following her grandson’s under-16s team. She …

It's still just footy and Melburnians are weird

The author shadows her grandson's under-16 Aussie Rules team for a season. A glimpse from the boundary line of boys on the cusp on manhood, the solidarity of teammates, the strange spiritual appeal of sport. Wonderfully written & absorbing, but it's still just footy and Melburnians are weird.

Richard Adams: Watership Down (Paperback, 1975, Mass Market Paperback)

A worldwide bestseller for over thirty years, Watership Down is one of the most beloved …

Strange cultures, claw-biting escapades and the terror of war

The trials & adventures of rabbits setting up a new warren: strange cultures, claw-biting escapades and the terror of war. Similar to Wind in the Willows but the anthropomorphism is weaker and the characters less vibrant. It's just as misogynistic: does are thought of as mere 'breeding stock', though worth fighting over. Drags along though it builds to a decent climax.

Robert Louis Stevenson: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2003)

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a Gothic novella by Scottish author …

Yasunari Kawabata: The Sound of the Mountain (1996, Vintage)

By day Ogata Shingo, an elderly Tokyo businessman, is troubled by small failures of memory. …

Mellow & unfocussed, much like old age

In post-war Japan, an aging man grapples ineffectually with the autumn of his life, the failure of his children's marriages, and his slightly inappropriate relationship with his daughter-in-law. Calmly mellow & unfocussed, much like old age might be.

Paul Davies: The Demon in the Machine (2019, University of Chicago Press)

Life, even in its simplest forms, is *amazing* and incredibly improbable

How did life come about, how does it work, how does it seemingly defy entropy, and what has information theory & quantum mechanics got to do with it? Doesn't quite manage the clearest explanations, leaving me on the cusp of comprehension, but then the underlying concepts are at the forefront of human knowledge. Life, even in its simplest forms, is amazing and incredibly improbable.

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (2018, White Press)

Pride and Prejudice is a romance novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The …

Yukio Mishima: Spring Snow (The Sea of Fertility) (Paperback, 1999, Vintage)

Interminably slow

A doomed romance in early 20th century Japan. Interminably slow, with frequent tangential digressions into philosophy and description. Nearly gave up but something finally happened 100 pages in. The climax verges on the tragi-comic, but it's mostly just brooding & hopeless. I was intrigued by the nobleman who is so elegant that problems solve themselves, hence effortlessly maintaining said elegance.

reviewed Sleeping giants by Sylvain Neuvel (Themis files -- book one)

Sylvain Neuvel: Sleeping giants (2016)

"17 years ago: A girl in South Dakota falls through the earth, then wakes up …

Smoking Man X-Files vibes

An alien artifact triggers a race to harness its immense power. Told mostly via interview transcripts, which kinda works (I liked how the interviewer gradually becomes more of a protagonist, and more invested in the interviewees) but doesn't do justice to the action sequences. Smoking Man X-Files vibes.

Tim Harford: Messy (2016)

Messiness adds benefits to our lives, so why do we resist the concept so? Harford …

Plans, order & rationality are often counter-productive!

The importance of randomness & spontaneity in creativity & problem-solving. Plans, order & rationality are often counter-productive! So don't beat yourself up about meeting simplistic measures of performance. The tech discussion is a bit dated, but the principles are extremely relevant to AI. Ginormous gender blind-spot.