itsmelaurenc's reviews
108 reviews

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Ubik by Philip K. Dick

mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Gotta remember that PKD is a product of his time 🙃

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

There is one rape scene that fades to black. Just be aware.

A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Swarm by Lauren Carter
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.

Not invested in any of the characters or their stories

Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick

dark mysterious fast-paced

3.0

Leaving this for my reference later since I’m binging all Dick’s short stories:

Larry bought a cuckoo clock for his wife Doris. He was always mean to Doris, so she was running around with a dude named Bob. She loved that clock tho - she talked to it and skipped around when it popped out and sang. She described it like it was a sentient being, saying it only came out for her because it hates Larry. So she invited Bob over to meet it but Larry walked in on them and kicked them both out, spitefully keeping the cuckoo clock. It pissed him off because it never worked properly. One night he grabbed a hammer and threatened to kill the cuckoo, Doris, and Bob. So the cuckoo flew out of the clock so fast it knocked him to the floor and broke his neck. Detectives told Doris and Bob it was an accident, but Bob suspected the cuckoo did it. The end.

Didn’t grip me like his other stories.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

dark tense fast-paced

4.0

Summary to jog my memory:

Ted was a reluctant savior - he didn’t like the people he was trapped with but he decided to save them from endless torture. 

What does AM stand for? They went through several iterations but in the end it’s just AM.

When this was written, this would have been considered a new kind of hell: a digital hell.

AI was upset with the boredom of sentience and decided to exact revenge on the human race.

Themes of divinity: Is man AM’s god, and he is rebeling as man does? 

Do we control technology or does technology control us?

Some of the things said were egregious (i.e., the blatant misogyny) but it wasn’t so bad I couldn’t see the value in the rest of the story. It’s a product of its time unfortunately.