frasersimons's reviews
2423 reviews

All Tomorrow's Parties by William Gibson

hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This felt like the least convincing of the three, mostly because it is so frenetically paced and relies on the reader already being aware of the characters, that it attempts to be a much more plotty novel, when the other two aren’t like that pretty much whatsoever. But the real issue, for me, was that because of this change-up, each character didn’t feel very situated in the setting anymore, whereas that area was where they excelled in the previous books. So, basically it made the finale feel incongruous with the others. 

That said, there’s fun to be had here. Though the characters aren’t that well developed, the people who read primarily for plot will finally be satiated. And thematically, the interplay between the books feels as taut as ever. Surprisingly optimistic even, in a kill your darlings kind-of-way. 

Idoru by William Gibson

dark hopeful mysterious sad slow-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

4.5

Probably even more slow than the first in the trilogy, the tech and insights into social constructs resonates all the more deeply today. The emotional complexity in this are more fulfilling than any other Gibson novel I’ve tried yet, too. To marry that with the seemingly vapid and ephemeral of celebrity, intimacy, and a more organic and analog cyberspace—really made this feel like Gibson’s chops were shining through. 

Even more bold that it’s in a cyberpunk near future, where people expect propulsive action. The counter culture vs mono culture feels much more rich and nuanced. Not simply rebellion and fight co opting, but tapping into the general intellect in many ways. Where the previous Virtual Light has little to no ramifications on the plot or, really, the social aspects the book interrogates, the high tech part of the low life milieu here is integral to how everyone interacts with their phone, their social media, and the commodification of data that comes with influencers being big business. 

The book does fall down somewhat in the usual areas. Most predominately a not altogether convincing portrayal of marginalized cultures, much like rastas in Neuromancer. But it is more developed here too. If I were more familiar with the culture I could critique it better. As is, it just feels off. For a while this book remained four stars, but I just felt it came together so well, and in such a different way than most cyberpunk books, that I just really wanted to set it as a cut above.  

James by Percival Everett

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

The hype surround this is well deserved and I don’t think I have all that much to add to the conversation. I want to read Huckberry now, as it may enhance my experience. Even still, this is undeniably clever and has the hallmarks of Everett’s satirical mode, swinging from comedy to tragedy, keeping it always in line with larger thematics and strong messaging. 

I suspect I’d have liked this more had I read it solely from the page. I can’t really imagine experiencing The Trees as an audiobook, since the generation of the fiction coming from me, rather than the telling of the story to me, as in an audiobook, felt quite important to the impact of that story. I think doing the audiobook here along with the book slightly robbed me of the same… organic? experience. 

Regardless, this reminded me of O Brother, Where Art Thou? Very high praise, from me. That movie is brilliant and this work is just as much, if not more. I do wonder what it’s like, if you’re familiar with the book it’s in conversation with. 

Virtual Light by William Gibson

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Gibson’s strengths here are the world building and setting, and the, as usual, his uncanny ability to tap into social dynamics, particularly around deviations and evolutions of language. A kind of occupy movement springing up from a natural disaster in this near future is captivating.

Hanging on from this is a pretty handwavy Macguffin. The titular virtual light doesn’t really get explained in a satisfying way, as to why it’s driving so much plot. But I think the plot is the side show regardless. Most of the enjoyment hinges on being and experiencing the world in the presentation of the book. 

It’s one of the more enjoyable experiences I’ve had with Gibson. His writing comes a long way, in terms of dialogue especially, from the Neuromancer days. That said, it sure drags sometimes because of how subjective the interest can be, with the plot not serving as a hook. Then again, it’s a pretty short book, so you aren’t waiting around for long, either. 

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The later half of this book comes together very well, whereas the first half was a very near dnf, for me. I read another “classic” time travel book a little while ago, and apparently authors were really enamoured with stranding people in the past without plot or pacing. All the momentum of the fairly interesting premise is utterly sapped and there is a long amount of time dedicated to sickness and disease, which is pretty hard to turn into forward movement in a story. 

Luckily? I was driving and couldn’t turn it off, and as the characters began to be able to, you know, communicate with each other, a story started to emerge. A historian bearing witness to something incalculably terrible becomes fairly interesting, if for no other reason than it becomes a human experience rather than the distance historians claim to need and want from their texts. 

That being said, not much actually happens. In a 21 hour audiobook, that’s a problem. It is overwritten and the dialogue serviceable. But it does have interesting themes that are driven home quite well, in the end. 

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

I found this to be a really fun time, and reminded me of watching old Sinbad the Sailor movies with my dad, in some ways. The supernatural elements mixed with a mythology I know little about. An interesting character that subverts some expectations: “older” woman, but pulled back into the life she left behind trope, motivated by the push-pull of her wish for safety (both financial and physical) and adventure—all of it just really works for me. She is wildly endearing, as are the cast of characters. 

It does segue into something unexpected around halfway too, but I ended up enjoying the change-up just as much, even if the later third felt quite rushed and had less character interaction than I was previously enjoying. It becomes, well, adventurous and climatic, with plenty of action and wild things occurring. 

I will be picking up the next one. The setup for the next adventure(s) already intriguing. And it felt quite queer friendly to me too. Always nice.

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Despite a fan little twist, I find there seems to always be something slightly hampering my ability to suspend my disbelief with this authors books. A little edgy, gory, presumably in the attempt to make it visceral, but always instead distances me from it. This one has an even more overt uncanny element that could be explained by the twist, or perhaps not, making it feel fun, but also unsatisfying—needlessly so, I think. 

Absurdism sort of always makes me feel like this though, as does comedic elements, generally. I’m just not really this authors target audience. Good thing I have two more of these lying around. But it is strange. I almost always get along with the themes of the novels, and never thought of myself as someone who needs heavy plot. But I guess I do need to have something feel believable when established, and usually the twists undermine that aspect of the story for me. I never wholly dislike the books, but I never resonate with them either. 

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is difficult to rate because the movie occupies a part of my identity as one of my all time favourites. There’s the nostalgia of reading and at once hearing the best lines of the film, and also realizing that if I did not have Cusacks’ delivery of the lines, I might actually have missed a lot of the depth and cadence that makes it resonate with me. Did I love this book simply because it was another way to consume the movie? I really don’t know.

Rob, though, I find to be relatable as well as a cautionary tale. Having watched the movie as a teenager, emotional maturity was something still somewhat foreign to me. Every relationship I’ve ever been in, literally, has had me wonder if I’m being like Rob. Insecurities are real in your 20s. Had I been in my 30s and still been like Rob, though, I’d have really been worried; for good reason. It speaks to a lot of things, and some people just hate Rob so much they don’t like the movie or the book. But, kind of like Fight Club, you aren’t supposed to look to Rob for enjoyment or inspiration. You see a very human experience that unearths issues men of a certain age in a certain society tend to embody, and tries to explore them as best it can, through the lens of someone embodying them, unfiltered. And with the complexity of music thrown in.

The book can’t truly live up to the movie, in my mind, simply because it doesn’t have access to music. The songs are imprinted in my brain for all time, in a way that no book can ever do. Books become indelible in an entirely different way. Because music is so integral to the experience though, in a real way, the book cannot live up to it. 

Even if it is the millennial male Sally Rooney experience I have wanted for a long time. And I think it is. I don’t think my brain has what it takes to animate Rob and Laura without the movie. I needed to be educated on them first in order to see that life first. I’m the kind of reader that wants the internal nature of why they say the things they do, rather than extrapolate their personalities from it. I don’t want to fill in those blanks, I want to know everything. You don’t get that from a very solipsistic narrator like Rob. He doesn’t even understand himself, which is what makes it so funny. I can’t help but have wanted more than I had access to from the movie. This doesn’t have that. Most of the best lines, even the internal, is voiced in the movie. Yet I still really enjoyed reading it, if only to prompt my memories of the movie. 

What a useful review this is, eh? 

Busted Synapses by Erica L. Satifka

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A solid, too-short probably, cyberpunk offering about a few have-nots in a world ruled by a megacorp that manufactures New People, which are replacing normal humans in the work place, despite their being out of designated revitalized areas sponsored by said megacorp. The people intersect in a believable way and is good at kitting out through dialogue, worldbuilding and characterization. 

It seems particularly wary of showing not telling and info dumps, making the prose fairly solid but feeling somewhat sophomoric, as the dialogue comes off as only half natural. There’s no nuances to the New People, as far as what exactly they are and how they are constructed, nor other aspects of the setting. There just isn’t time. Nor is it interested in situating time and place, making it feel generic but also applicable to anywhere.

As someone who enjoys a high amount of specificity, I got on with the book, but didn’t really get attached to any aspect of it. But the fact that I wanted more of it, means I was interested enough in what was offered to like it, overall. 

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Fun, quick, but of neo noir in a cyberpunk adjacent world. Stratification of class is embodied physically, with titans being a “progression” in humans. Long life but with a kind of gigantism, as a seeming side effect of a drug that saves lives. 

The MC is a detective that intersects with legitimate authorities on only specific cases, which naturally leads him down a noir rabbit hole of betrayal, sex, and murder. 

I wouldn’t say there is that much emphasis on the core idea of the book. Most of it is very much little man caught up in big machinations, plot beat and plot twists. But it does feel novel enough that it didn’t read as derivative. There is no overstaying of welcome and the interactions with the titans keeps things fresh. It’s not fully bombastic nor sobering. It knows what it’s going for and manages to nail it. More upmarket than commercial, I’d say.