octavia_cade 's review for:

The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish

2.0

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Well, it's short. And from a distance it's an interesting text - a forerunner of modern science fiction, a utopia devised by a 17th century woman, and there are odd parts of it that are genuinely entertaining. (The magpie, parrot, and jackdaw men trying to prove via syllogism that politicians are or aren't "knaves" and the totally disgusted reaction of the Empress to their logical tangle made me laugh out loud.) Most of it, however, is pedantic in the extreme and a bit of a bore, and the magpie-like tendencies of the author are on full display, going on and on and bloody on about jewels. Look, I get it, they're shiny and you love them, but move on already! Less jewels and more paragraphs would have improved this immeasurably, but probably not enough to bump it up to three stars if I'm honest.

I've read it. I can honestly say that I've read it. I doubt I'll be reading it again.