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isobel_ruine's reviews
76 reviews
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
This is the only book I have read by Becky Chambers, and the only book labeled as cozy scifi. If it is representative of that label, then I think I have a problem with the concept of cozy scifi, as a science fiction completely stripped of any challenging elements and political aspects.
The book is narratively poor, lacking tension or conflict to allow character growth and plot progression. The world building is incoherent and presents us with a utopic society too devoid of flaws to allow the reader to suspend disbelief.
I was drawn to this book because it is often labeled as solarpunk, but it rather describes a twee cottagecore aesthetic world. None of the common solarpunk values are represented aside from the vague ecological aspects and occasional mentions of the use of technology. I have a hard time seeing solarpunk values in a book where the ideal is a world that gets rid of automation but human and animal exploitation are never questioned. Everyone's needs are somehow met but how? A lot of other questions are left unanswered, we are supposed to accept that no one is interested in knowing how robots gained sentience or how the world of Panga became so peaceful, and there are no concerns about the society and culture of Panga being largely shaped by a pantheistic religion/spirituality.
Dex is a character with no motivation or drive, they're really immature (I thought they were a teenager at first), privileged and arrogant. They are a flat character who never struggles and whose sudden existential crisis manifests itself out of thin air. Focusing the book on a self-centered character trying to find their purpose feels very distant from the ideals of community care and closer to a capitalist idea of self-care.
Mosscap is cute and interesting and a bigger focus on that character would have given more depth to the story.
All the plot points that would have made the story compelling are skipped over to fast forward to very shallow philosophical reflections that sound like instagramable quotes about self care (along the lines of "you are enough"), most of them condensed in the last chapter, which makes the ending feel rushed and incomplete.
In the end, this novella is too existential to be cozy and lacks the depth I would expect from any science fiction writing. The prose itself is as unchallenging as the rest, it is easy to read but that makes it forgettable.
The book is narratively poor, lacking tension or conflict to allow character growth and plot progression. The world building is incoherent and presents us with a utopic society too devoid of flaws to allow the reader to suspend disbelief.
I was drawn to this book because it is often labeled as solarpunk, but it rather describes a twee cottagecore aesthetic world. None of the common solarpunk values are represented aside from the vague ecological aspects and occasional mentions of the use of technology. I have a hard time seeing solarpunk values in a book where the ideal is a world that gets rid of automation but human and animal exploitation are never questioned. Everyone's needs are somehow met but how? A lot of other questions are left unanswered, we are supposed to accept that no one is interested in knowing how robots gained sentience or how the world of Panga became so peaceful, and there are no concerns about the society and culture of Panga being largely shaped by a pantheistic religion/spirituality.
Dex is a character with no motivation or drive, they're really immature (I thought they were a teenager at first), privileged and arrogant. They are a flat character who never struggles and whose sudden existential crisis manifests itself out of thin air. Focusing the book on a self-centered character trying to find their purpose feels very distant from the ideals of community care and closer to a capitalist idea of self-care.
Mosscap is cute and interesting and a bigger focus on that character would have given more depth to the story.
All the plot points that would have made the story compelling are skipped over to fast forward to very shallow philosophical reflections that sound like instagramable quotes about self care (along the lines of "you are enough"), most of them condensed in the last chapter, which makes the ending feel rushed and incomplete.
In the end, this novella is too existential to be cozy and lacks the depth I would expect from any science fiction writing. The prose itself is as unchallenging as the rest, it is easy to read but that makes it forgettable.
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Le sommet des dieux, Volume 1 by Jirō Taniguchi, Baku Yumemakura
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0