harlaw's reviews
7 reviews

Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

There is no one I would not recommend this truly incredible book to. However, i did find that listening to the audiobook fell extremely flat when compared to reading the book as text. Since the format of the story is a log entry, hearing it narrated takes a great deal away from the experience, just IMO as someone who has now done both!

Dune by Frank Herbert

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's immediately obvious why this has been one of the most widely celebrated and massively influential scifi works of all time. I have never before experienced a world that feels so wholly and consistently alien.

Frank fumbled the ending of though, which makes the book as a whole land a little weird. Almost as if he was rushing to finish. Also I think he may well have been one of the most homophobic people to have ever lived, so I hope his desicated corpse is spinning like a perpetual motion machine at how committed gay people on the internet are to enjoying the gay people in his books.

This is definitely a bit of a tough one to get through in audiobook format because there is so much brand new world-specific vocabulary that it necessitates a lot of supplemental Google searches and re-re-re-listens. The most disappointing thing about this audiobook, though, was the absolutely baffling choice to use the full cast of voice actors only about 40% of the time. For over half the book, the narrator (who is a good narrator!!) is also voicing all the characters. But I don't understand why he is doing that since this recording has a full cast that plays the individual characters when they speak. So I was very sad at how much I missed out on the actors for Baron Vladimir, Piter de Vries, and Count Fenring, and honestly everyone else!! Super strange and bad production choice.

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

adventurous 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? Yes

2.5

The first quarter of this book is really exceptional in the same way as its two predecessors, but we very quickly lose the fucking plot and it turns into first a big mess, then a frustrating slog. Features my least favorite most detested utterly loathed trope of a woman SUDDENLY and ALL CONSUMINGLY becoming defined by her motherhood. Disgusting.

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0