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beccagomezfarrell's reviews
154 reviews
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Michael S. Heiser
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I really enjoyed this work of Biblical scholarship on some of the least understood passages in the scriptures. Its intent is to make clear the ways that people of the time would have understood the various cosmological and divine layers of the original Edenic plan. The echoes of them, what went wrong, and stages in the larger divine plan to ultimately make it right again are thoroughly discussed. To me, it's fascinating, but also quite technical and dry, just fyi. Also, giants explained!
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 209 by Neil Clarke
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I most enjoyed "Kardashev's Palimpsest" by David Goodman. The story follows a human consciousness that is millennia upon millennia old, desiring to reach their end but troubled by one moment gone wrong. This seeker brings forth an earlier version of themselves to try and make sense of what happened back then.
The Other Californians: Prejudice and Discrimination Under Spain, Mexico, and the United States to 1920 by Alan J. Almquist, Robert F. Heizer
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Whew! This anthropological study out of UC Berkeley in 1971 was a tough read, because of the incredibly racist views portrayed in most of the first person documents included within it. Definitely didn't cover most of these details in my required California history courses growing up! It goes over the deplorable treatment of Californian Indians from the Mission system to near extermination, including the essentially slavery laws that allowed them to be pressed into service for extended periods of time without their own consent, of course.
Despite California being a free state, our constitutional convention nearly banned Black people from entering the state, because a majority of the representatives couldn't stand the idea that slaves would be free people once they set foot inside the borders.
Of course, the United States's Asian exclusionary laws of the late 19th century and early 20th century all stemmed from prejudice in California as well. The sheer concentration of white Anglo-Saxons populating California from the 1840s onward created impossible situations for these minority groups. Some of the conclusions drawn by the authors are a bit dated now, but overall, I think this is essential reading for people interested in California's past.
Despite California being a free state, our constitutional convention nearly banned Black people from entering the state, because a majority of the representatives couldn't stand the idea that slaves would be free people once they set foot inside the borders.
Of course, the United States's Asian exclusionary laws of the late 19th century and early 20th century all stemmed from prejudice in California as well. The sheer concentration of white Anglo-Saxons populating California from the 1840s onward created impossible situations for these minority groups. Some of the conclusions drawn by the authors are a bit dated now, but overall, I think this is essential reading for people interested in California's past.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Asimov's Science Fiction, March/April 2024 by Sheila Williams
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Notable stories
"How Sere Kept Herself Together" by Alexander Jablokov: The carnivore–predator relationships explored in this piece were quite interesting!
"The Last Cloud Painter" by Rajan Khanna: The simple concept at the core of this story—painting clouds—is a beautiful one worth spending some time with.
"There's Nothing in the Attic" by Faith Merino is a great ghost story that relies on physics and the absolute self-centeredness of one man to deliver an ending that is both horror and hope.
"Une Time Machine, S'il Vous Plait" by Peter Wood offers an interesting, feminist time-traveling take on rightung real and perceived wrongs and perhaps creating a better future.
"How Sere Kept Herself Together" by Alexander Jablokov: The carnivore–predator relationships explored in this piece were quite interesting!
"The Last Cloud Painter" by Rajan Khanna: The simple concept at the core of this story—painting clouds—is a beautiful one worth spending some time with.
"There's Nothing in the Attic" by Faith Merino is a great ghost story that relies on physics and the absolute self-centeredness of one man to deliver an ending that is both horror and hope.
"Une Time Machine, S'il Vous Plait" by Peter Wood offers an interesting, feminist time-traveling take on rightung real and perceived wrongs and perhaps creating a better future.
Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We'll Win Them Back by Cory Doctorow, Rebecca Giblin
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Definitely needed to screw my brain on more tightly a few times while reading this description of how our creative distribution platforms have become monopsonies, controlling both the buying and selling of creative products, thus forcing both publishers/labels and the writers/artists/photographers to adhere to their demands once they've developed monopolies on user attention. It covers several case studies--Amazon, Spotify, Youtube, for example--and spends the second half of the book discussing ways that consumers and creative labor can wrest their power back from these companies.
A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
In the unique Caverna, everything is governed by the production of delicacies (cheese, wine, perfume, cartography) with a level of mastery that makes them essentially magical weapons. The citizens' inability to make facial expressions makes for a society in which plotting and intrigue are easily hidden. Very inventive.
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Published in 2019, A Song for A New Day by Sarah Pinsker is amazingly prophetic about much of how Americans might react to both overwhelming threats of terror and a pandemic. What's extra interesting is what it gets wrong: our desire for normalcy has far outweighed our desire to remain safe and in isolation.
In an America that chooses otherwise, this book is about musician Luce and young Rosemary, who's grown up in a world in which tech has advanced greatly to create an acceptable second space free of real-life social interaction. But people yearn for that first space of human connection, particularly for music appreciation.
I'd call this a philosophical book, as it does a wonderful job getting us into the characters' minds and their struggles with how to move forward without compromising their selves. It's also a kind book, that recognizes that compromise is sometimes merely survival.
In an America that chooses otherwise, this book is about musician Luce and young Rosemary, who's grown up in a world in which tech has advanced greatly to create an acceptable second space free of real-life social interaction. But people yearn for that first space of human connection, particularly for music appreciation.
I'd call this a philosophical book, as it does a wonderful job getting us into the characters' minds and their struggles with how to move forward without compromising their selves. It's also a kind book, that recognizes that compromise is sometimes merely survival.
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, May/June 2017 by Stanley Schmidt, Marissa Lingen, Lavie Tidhar, Igor Teper, Eric Choi, Julie Nováková, Bud Sparhawk, Dave Creek, Bill Pronzini, Dominica Phetteplace, Manny Frishberg, Sam Schreiber, Ken Brady, Michael Carroll, Edd Vick, Gord Sellar, Barry N. Malzberg, Phoebe Barton, Bond Elam, Jay Werkheiser, Trevor Quachri, Howard V. Hendrix, Joe Pitkin
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Stories of note (to me): The Girls with Kaleidoscope Eyes by Howard V. Hendrix is a story of intrigue potentially about computers reproducing themselves in human bodies. Wish it didn't end on that cliffhanger, but I also fully understand why it did.
To See the Elephant by Julie Novakova is an emotionally engaging piece about a connection with an elephant going through a rough time - a mental connection via neural link.
Seven Ways to Fall in Love With An Astronaut by Dominica Phetteplace chronicles a romance in bloom, even its seasons of non-growth, between an astronaut and a botanist.
The Speed of Faith in Vacuum by Igor Teper is about a colony planet's belief in the Immortals, and what happens when the Immortals actually do come. I'm a sucker for religious belief explorations.
Our Religious Conversion, a poem by Ken Poyner, ends with a sharp point in its last lines.
Good issue!
To See the Elephant by Julie Novakova is an emotionally engaging piece about a connection with an elephant going through a rough time - a mental connection via neural link.
Seven Ways to Fall in Love With An Astronaut by Dominica Phetteplace chronicles a romance in bloom, even its seasons of non-growth, between an astronaut and a botanist.
The Speed of Faith in Vacuum by Igor Teper is about a colony planet's belief in the Immortals, and what happens when the Immortals actually do come. I'm a sucker for religious belief explorations.
Our Religious Conversion, a poem by Ken Poyner, ends with a sharp point in its last lines.
Good issue!
Obviously, Aliens by Jennie Goloboy
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
A light-hearted, fast-paced series of heists and alien encounters that traipses through the vacation home of dozens of half-siblings from the same rock star legend, conversational corgies, and humorous discoveries.
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The book is less inflammatory than the subtitle suggests, more informative. It's a well-researched documentation of how "masculinity" has been continually redefined by the Religious Right over decades to be more militarized, more demanding of obedience, and less connected to the Gospel, shaping Christianity to fit their political desires rather than looking to Christianity to first develop them.
The last chapter really brings home the chickens to roost, talking about all the abuse that was previously covered up in the name of protecting people who projected the "right" masculinity and the harm that's caused the Church and the nation.
The last chapter really brings home the chickens to roost, talking about all the abuse that was previously covered up in the name of protecting people who projected the "right" masculinity and the harm that's caused the Church and the nation.