alexampersand's reviews
357 reviews
Deep Water by Josepha Sherman, Laura Anne Gilman
2.5
I just really struggled to get into this book. The storyline felt a bit flat, and like it wasn't really going anywhere, but simultaneously there were a few too many elements for such a short book that just weren't developed enough to make it interesting.
Spiral by Kōji Suzuki
4.0
I found the beginning quite frustrating, as we were basically watching another character try and figure out what happened in the first book, so just felt like a rehashing of the same story. But once he was caught up and got on board, the second half of the book was really intriguing and kept me hooked, and in some ways might have even been a bit more interesting than the first one in the direction it went.
Excited to see what happens in book 3!
Excited to see what happens in book 3!
Night of the Living Dummy II by R.L. Stine
3.5
A fun read - although it seemed that as far as being an evil creature, just destroying some paintings didn't really seem like the worst thing in the world. Also the final resolution was a little uninspired, it had a fun twist though.
Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Samuel R. Delany
3.5
The first half of the book (Times Square Blue) I really loved; it was pretty shocking with how open it was at times, but Samuel Delaney's writing really shine through, and the relationships between all of the various people felt so real and human.
The second half (Times Square Red) I struggled with a little more. It's been a while since I read academic literature, but I also felt like at times the form felt a little confused - it would bounce around between complex sociological and psychological concepts, and then talk about very plain-language anecdotes or metaphor. And occasionally the ideas would bounce around on tangents in a way that I sometimes found hard to follow. So I'm not sure how much my criticism is a criticism of the writing itself, and how much was me simply struggling with the form.
But it was interesting to read something that at times taught me things, and at times made me question things I think or believe. I really enjoyed his take that the people relying entirely on casual sex at the theatres weren't "avoiding" relationships, but that they were forming relationships of a different sort. Although I don't think I agree that by shutting down porn cinemas we are regressing to a "pre-Stonewall" era of equality...
The second half (Times Square Red) I struggled with a little more. It's been a while since I read academic literature, but I also felt like at times the form felt a little confused - it would bounce around between complex sociological and psychological concepts, and then talk about very plain-language anecdotes or metaphor. And occasionally the ideas would bounce around on tangents in a way that I sometimes found hard to follow. So I'm not sure how much my criticism is a criticism of the writing itself, and how much was me simply struggling with the form.
But it was interesting to read something that at times taught me things, and at times made me question things I think or believe. I really enjoyed his take that the people relying entirely on casual sex at the theatres weren't "avoiding" relationships, but that they were forming relationships of a different sort. Although I don't think I agree that by shutting down porn cinemas we are regressing to a "pre-Stonewall" era of equality...
Resurrecting Ravana by Ray Garton
3.5
A pretty solid book, although by the last quarter I was starting to lose interest.
So many of the novelisations seem to be written by someone who has a very specific interest, so a lot of the book seems to be full of educating the reader (and the Scooby Gang) about a certain area of knowledge - in this case, Hindu gods. Which is interesting, but also makes it kind of jarring against the standard Buffy fare.
I will also say that this one seemed a lot darker than most of the other novelisations (and the show) - there was a pretty graphic description of a human skeleton having had all the flesh eaten off of it... Also Buffy says 'shit' which was unexpected.
So many of the novelisations seem to be written by someone who has a very specific interest, so a lot of the book seems to be full of educating the reader (and the Scooby Gang) about a certain area of knowledge - in this case, Hindu gods. Which is interesting, but also makes it kind of jarring against the standard Buffy fare.
I will also say that this one seemed a lot darker than most of the other novelisations (and the show) - there was a pretty graphic description of a human skeleton having had all the flesh eaten off of it... Also Buffy says 'shit' which was unexpected.
Because I don't know what you mean and what you don't by Josie Long
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
5.0
I absolutely ADORED this book. Slices of life serving up the perfect mixture of introspection, mundanity, confusion, frustration. I loved the little glimpses and vignettes into different worlds and different lives, but if anything the common theme seemed to be a huge underlying anxiety. My favourite was of course the final story - although possibly slightly biased after seeing Josie Long's latest stand-up show that basically includes most of the story.
If I did have one criticism it would be that I often struggled to differentiate the character voices from Josie's own voice, but given that I love her that really wasn't too much of a struggle for me.
I ended up having to ration myself out with the stories, to give each one a bit of breathing room and space to percolate in my head, because given the short story form it was easy for some of the ideas to just dissipate immediately after reading. But once I got to the end, I found myself wanting to immediately dive back in again. I really hope this isn't the end of Josie Long's writing career and that there's more where this came from!
If I did have one criticism it would be that I often struggled to differentiate the character voices from Josie's own voice, but given that I love her that really wasn't too much of a struggle for me.
I ended up having to ration myself out with the stories, to give each one a bit of breathing room and space to percolate in my head, because given the short story form it was easy for some of the ideas to just dissipate immediately after reading. But once I got to the end, I found myself wanting to immediately dive back in again. I really hope this isn't the end of Josie Long's writing career and that there's more where this came from!
It Came from Beneath the Sink! by R.L. Stine
4.5
A really fun and slightly unnerving story. The jump to the conclusion felt a bit too convenient, but it was a fun little story to dive into.
The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
3.5
I found it difficult to really know what to make of this book.
The characters felt slightly off-kilter, but written in such a way that I wasn't entirely sure whether this was intentional or if the author just didn't know how to write normal human interactions.
The plot itself was intriguing and mostly kept me interested, although I felt that it didn't really play into the tension and excitement as much as it potentially could have done.
I really enjoyed the character of Grace, but I thought that her emotional confessions part-way through felt slightly out of nowhere, it was written in quite a nonchalant way of her just announcing her past trauma, and then it didn't really seem to play into the overall story at all. It felt like she was originally just written as a supporting character, and the author thought at some point he needed to flesh her out with a tragic backstory.
The characters felt slightly off-kilter, but written in such a way that I wasn't entirely sure whether this was intentional or if the author just didn't know how to write normal human interactions.
The plot itself was intriguing and mostly kept me interested, although I felt that it didn't really play into the tension and excitement as much as it potentially could have done.
I really enjoyed the character of Grace, but I thought that her emotional confessions part-way through felt slightly out of nowhere, it was written in quite a nonchalant way of her just announcing her past trauma, and then it didn't really seem to play into the overall story at all. It felt like she was originally just written as a supporting character, and the author thought at some point he needed to flesh her out with a tragic backstory.
The Search Party by Simon Lelic
3.5
I think I would have enjoyed this more without reading all the rave reviews they plastered over the covers and inside pages... Was it "intricately plotted" and "twisty"? and "unpredictable"? Not in the slightest, which meant I kept waiting for those parts to kick in.
Instead, it was a pretty standard mystery thriller, but told through flashback witness testimonies. And it was fine, although I got about halfway through and couldn't help wondering when something would actually happen.
The big "reveal" at the end felt a little underwhelming, and for a second I wasn't sure whether I had misread something, or the author had made a mistake, or we were supposed to have been 'tricked' by something.
So... fine, all in all.
Instead, it was a pretty standard mystery thriller, but told through flashback witness testimonies. And it was fine, although I got about halfway through and couldn't help wondering when something would actually happen.
The big "reveal" at the end felt a little underwhelming, and for a second I wasn't sure whether I had misread something, or the author had made a mistake, or we were supposed to have been 'tricked' by something.
So... fine, all in all.
The Willow Files, Vol. 1 by Yvonne Navarro
4.0
This was a fun little read - I actually quite enjoyed the "files" between each story that actually helped to bridge the gaps a little, and of course it helps that they are three great episodes being covered.