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elijahs_bookshelf's Reviews (118)
N.K. Jemisin has been on my TBR for years, and I'll admit that I'm surprised that a Green Lantern comic book of all things has been my first entry into her backlist -- and yet, I think this was a great entry into her books. I read this book for my science fiction lit class this semester, which has been a lot of fun. It's a thought-provoking yet entertaining story (its medium as a comic book helps out with that, of course).
There's a lot of great character work, especially in how various characters intersect with their larger culture -- the interplay between the social and the personal is full of nuance, making the characters realistically relatable, yet also vibrantly surprising in delightful ways. In this way, her worldbuilding bleeds over into character work quite profusely, which is a narrative strategy that I just always enjoy.
I also simply love the ideas at play within the narrative -- its questions of social justice, emotion vs. rationality, and choice/empowerment are ones I love to read about.
I do feel like things escalated quite rapidly near the end of the comic book -- a few more pages to explain and escalate, then resolve, things would have done the book good, in my opinion. Beyond the rushed ending, the rest of the plot felt well paced across all issues, so this is more of a small quibble than anything.
There's a lot of great character work, especially in how various characters intersect with their larger culture -- the interplay between the social and the personal is full of nuance, making the characters realistically relatable, yet also vibrantly surprising in delightful ways. In this way, her worldbuilding bleeds over into character work quite profusely, which is a narrative strategy that I just always enjoy.
I also simply love the ideas at play within the narrative -- its questions of social justice, emotion vs. rationality, and choice/empowerment are ones I love to read about.
I do feel like things escalated quite rapidly near the end of the comic book -- a few more pages to explain and escalate, then resolve, things would have done the book good, in my opinion. Beyond the rushed ending, the rest of the plot felt well paced across all issues, so this is more of a small quibble than anything.
I'm adding one star because the subject matter is inherently important, but that's certainly the highlight of the book to me; I wasn't too impressed by the actual writing itself. The prose was pretty bland--which was especially surprising given that the author is a poet--and the narrator's monotone certainly didn't help with that. I can recommend this book to anyone who's interested in learning particularly about China's political situation and the Uyghur genocide. Anyone looking more generally for a compelling memoir without any particular interest in specifically China should consider finding one with better craft, in my opinion.
This book is academic, so it's not as easy a read as any given genre book, but for an academic book, it's written in an incredibly accessible style. This book serves as a handy introduction into prison abolition, and I definitely see myself recommending it to a lot of people who I think would be interested in exploring the ideas that this book presents. In some places, I wanted a little bit more of a deep dive, but as an introductory text, I do understand why it was decided to keep it shorter and simpler. All in all, a great read!
I love Lift so starving much. As can be expected from me, I think this novella is fabulous.
This is a challenging book that I read for my class last semester on magical realism. I still haven't stopped thinking about the book, though, and the more time that passes, the more I think I find myself having enjoyed the book. Knowing a little about 20th century Indian history and being patient with your close readings will definitely help with comprehension of the book, and the ideas presented within are very thought provoking and widely applicable.
Another strong entry in the series! This book really focused on deepening character relationships, which it did really well. Romance served as a great source of conflict in a way that felt authentic and and compelling, which I think can be tough to do sometimes. I especially like that the various romantic tensions caused tensions not only between the people with feelings, but the tension rippled through the entire cast of characters. Every character conflict felt very well realized and integrated seemlessly into the broader story.
Relatedly, I'm also enjoying the political intrigue that this book continues to develop between the various groups on the island. The tensions between each of the groups felt earned and logical, and the personal stakes served to heighten the conflicts between the groups.
If I had to critique any aspect of the book, it would have to be the plot. It was a strong plot, but a bit predictable, especially when compared to the plot of the first book. If it's a formula that you enjoy, perhaps this could be seen as a strength--but if you're wanting this book to shake up the plot structure from the first book, don't hold your breath. Perhaps the next book will subvert the established formula--I guess I'll see once it's out!
Relatedly, I'm also enjoying the political intrigue that this book continues to develop between the various groups on the island. The tensions between each of the groups felt earned and logical, and the personal stakes served to heighten the conflicts between the groups.
If I had to critique any aspect of the book, it would have to be the plot. It was a strong plot, but a bit predictable, especially when compared to the plot of the first book. If it's a formula that you enjoy, perhaps this could be seen as a strength--but if you're wanting this book to shake up the plot structure from the first book, don't hold your breath. Perhaps the next book will subvert the established formula--I guess I'll see once it's out!
In my review of the first book, I noted that it was heavily plot driven, with characters that were rich but ultimately crafted to fulfill the plot requirements of the story. By my estimation, this sequel does an excellent job of remedying this weakness: this book feels incredibly character driven to me. I especially love Alix, a new character introduced. Her story is so cool, with a certain "unexpected yet inevitable" quality to her character growth. Grace, the other new main character for this book, also does an excellent job of providing us insight into the continued lives of those inside the ATLAS complex and continuing to heighten the stakes and urgency of the overarching plot of the series. Masia and Barin were also fantastic; I really liked the inner conflicts that follow them from the consequences of the first book. The angst of Barin not wanting to admit to Masia that he loved her felt a little bit drawn out, but not *horribly* so. I'm excited to see what will happen in the next book!
I'm not too familiar with the romance genre (I believe this is the only romance book that I've even read!), but the characters are well drawn and the romance is well paced. The dual point-of-view works well, and the mix of mundane and mysterious (perhaps, even, unexplainedly spiritual/magical?) is quite intriguing to me!