Scan barcode
ketreads's reviews
303 reviews
Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
dark
emotional
4.5
I hate it. I love it.
I initially struggled with this book. It felt as though the pages dragged by but not for the reason you're probably thinking. It was because I found myself TOO emotionally connected certain characters or events in this that it hurt me to read. By the time I got into the story (around the 40-50% mark) the rest of the book flew by.
To say I "enjoy"d this book doesn't feel like quite the right word to describe how I feel about my reading experience. This book is sold as a feminist sci-fi novel set in a future distopian society where women are reduced to having rights less than children. We follow the story of a set of women linguists bred to become perfect interstellar translators. To say this was a frustrating read would be an understatement. The author does such a fantastic job of linking the obserdity of this setting to real-world misogynist rhetoric. This did the fantastic (and horrible) job of making these otherwise over the top examples FEEL feasible in the universe we are presented with. We watch these women, who we see are as human as we see ourselfs, be repeatedly treated as anything but. So, yes. I felt VERY strongly throughout this novel and probably wouldn't ever read it or anything like it again. In the nicest way!
I loved the characters of Michaela and Nazareth. They both worked perfectly in showing us very different ways in which women navigate this sci-fi landscape, and yet are both still exploited by men.
Overall, I can see exactly why this is a classic and well worth your time. For the short page count, this book goes into a surprising amount of well thoughtout detail and consequences to these details.
I initially struggled with this book. It felt as though the pages dragged by but not for the reason you're probably thinking. It was because I found myself TOO emotionally connected certain characters or events in this that it hurt me to read. By the time I got into the story (around the 40-50% mark) the rest of the book flew by.
To say I "enjoy"d this book doesn't feel like quite the right word to describe how I feel about my reading experience. This book is sold as a feminist sci-fi novel set in a future distopian society where women are reduced to having rights less than children. We follow the story of a set of women linguists bred to become perfect interstellar translators. To say this was a frustrating read would be an understatement. The author does such a fantastic job of linking the obserdity of this setting to real-world misogynist rhetoric. This did the fantastic (and horrible) job of making these otherwise over the top examples FEEL feasible in the universe we are presented with. We watch these women, who we see are as human as we see ourselfs, be repeatedly treated as anything but. So, yes. I felt VERY strongly throughout this novel and probably wouldn't ever read it or anything like it again. In the nicest way!
I loved the characters of Michaela and Nazareth. They both worked perfectly in showing us very different ways in which women navigate this sci-fi landscape, and yet are both still exploited by men.
Overall, I can see exactly why this is a classic and well worth your time. For the short page count, this book goes into a surprising amount of well thoughtout detail and consequences to these details.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I think this is my first sci-fi genre book from this author, Ursula Le Guin, as I've read and LOVED her fantastic Earthsea series. I've always heard good things about her other works but couldn't even imagine how her style would work in a more sci-fi setting.
It turns out, it works fantastically!
The Left Hand of Darkness is a methodical thought experiment on a society of non-gendered people, only having to experience a specific gender for a set time of month. While this sounds very surface level, Le Guin is able to weave in a story about first-contact, societal expectations, what it MEANS to have gender in a non-gendered society, and themes of cultural barriers. To say I liked this would be a bit of an understatement. The two focal characters where written with fantastic depth and nuance. Watching them slowly come together for their eventual 'hero's journey' was done with a lot more tact and evolution than I was expecting. The time given to alien cultures and societies that feel so familiar yet alien was another surprising, but loved, detail to Le Guin's writing.
This books blurb focuses on the journey these two characters take, but the story itself is much more than that. The journey itself does not start until half-way through the book but this only means we spend more time coming to intimately understand these characters. Once the journey starts, it's hard not to get emotionally invested in the whole thing.
Overall this is a fantastic book and I'm excited to read more of her work in the future!
It turns out, it works fantastically!
The Left Hand of Darkness is a methodical thought experiment on a society of non-gendered people, only having to experience a specific gender for a set time of month. While this sounds very surface level, Le Guin is able to weave in a story about first-contact, societal expectations, what it MEANS to have gender in a non-gendered society, and themes of cultural barriers. To say I liked this would be a bit of an understatement. The two focal characters where written with fantastic depth and nuance. Watching them slowly come together for their eventual 'hero's journey' was done with a lot more tact and evolution than I was expecting. The time given to alien cultures and societies that feel so familiar yet alien was another surprising, but loved, detail to Le Guin's writing.
This books blurb focuses on the journey these two characters take, but the story itself is much more than that. The journey itself does not start until half-way through the book but this only means we spend more time coming to intimately understand these characters. Once the journey starts, it's hard not to get emotionally invested in the whole thing.
Overall this is a fantastic book and I'm excited to read more of her work in the future!
Pod by Laline Paull
dark
0.25
TRIGGER WARNING!
I would not have finished this book for anything less than the May Fantasy Fellowship Readathon. I complainted incessantly on the group chat just to drag myself through the whole thing.
The main character/s of this book are Dolphins and while it does have some PoVs outside of these two, it mostly revolves around these main two. Sad to say, these extra PoVs were often distracting and sometimes outright pointless. At some points the book SEEMED to have some form of connection to the reader (mostly in the form of Google the military trained dolphin) only to have this pulled out from under you by the many competing voices throughout. Ea is by far the most central character and yet we're given very little development leading up to the inciting incident, only for it to fall a part very soon after.
The writing style at first felt lyrical and an interesting way to use animal communication methods (having all dialogue take place through clicks, waves, or other italic font) but said dialogue is bland and often felt juvinile. The story felt confusingly pointless as well as adding in too many details that had little to no impact on the story itself or felt as though it had no real build up to feel satisfying.
My main gripe is that this book featured as LOT of rape. Like, A LOT.
If you remove the fact that these characters are dolphins, this book is 70% about rape. The anthropomorphism of the majority of characters ended up ruining the little this book had going for it (a unique PoV). We're subjected to this for the majority of the books run time and I genuienly struggled.
The worst part about this is the book was also boring. The inciting incident, character arcs, and multiple PoVs end up having very little impact on the story at all.
I would not have finished this book for anything less than the May Fantasy Fellowship Readathon. I complainted incessantly on the group chat just to drag myself through the whole thing.
The main character/s of this book are Dolphins and while it does have some PoVs outside of these two, it mostly revolves around these main two. Sad to say, these extra PoVs were often distracting and sometimes outright pointless. At some points the book SEEMED to have some form of connection to the reader (mostly in the form of Google the military trained dolphin) only to have this pulled out from under you by the many competing voices throughout. Ea is by far the most central character and yet we're given very little development leading up to the inciting incident, only for it to fall a part very soon after.
The writing style at first felt lyrical and an interesting way to use animal communication methods (having all dialogue take place through clicks, waves, or other italic font) but said dialogue is bland and often felt juvinile. The story felt confusingly pointless as well as adding in too many details that had little to no impact on the story itself or felt as though it had no real build up to feel satisfying.
My main gripe is that this book featured as LOT of rape. Like, A LOT.
If you remove the fact that these characters are dolphins, this book is 70% about rape. The anthropomorphism of the majority of characters ended up ruining the little this book had going for it (a unique PoV). We're subjected to this for the majority of the books run time and I genuienly struggled.
The worst part about this is the book was also boring. The inciting incident, character arcs, and multiple PoVs end up having very little impact on the story at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault
The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
informative
4.5
To preface this review:
I have read both Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, but not any of Tolkien's other unfinished works. It was only after I started reading this that I quickly learnt this was the last book in the series edited and published by his son, Christopher Tolkien.
This book did a fantastic job of putting together not only the original tale told within the Silmarillion, expanding upon it and explaining it's differences, but also gave an insight into Tolkien's methodology as a whole. I knew Christopher (J.R.R. Tolkien's son and editor for these books) had been left with a multitude of notes by J.R.R. but never quite the extent or potentially paradoxical notations. Regardless of this, Christopher did a fantastic job of taking us through these multitude of notes regarding the Fall of Gondolin and it's surrounding cast. I'm left not only with a greater understand of the story, but also a greater appreciation of Tolkien and his life work that is Middle Earth.
I am 1000% going to read the other books once I get my hands on them!
I have read both Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, but not any of Tolkien's other unfinished works. It was only after I started reading this that I quickly learnt this was the last book in the series edited and published by his son, Christopher Tolkien.
This book did a fantastic job of putting together not only the original tale told within the Silmarillion, expanding upon it and explaining it's differences, but also gave an insight into Tolkien's methodology as a whole. I knew Christopher (J.R.R. Tolkien's son and editor for these books) had been left with a multitude of notes by J.R.R. but never quite the extent or potentially paradoxical notations. Regardless of this, Christopher did a fantastic job of taking us through these multitude of notes regarding the Fall of Gondolin and it's surrounding cast. I'm left not only with a greater understand of the story, but also a greater appreciation of Tolkien and his life work that is Middle Earth.
I am 1000% going to read the other books once I get my hands on them!
Schneeland by Yasunari Kawabata
1.5
A book kindly lent by my mother which I don't think I quite connected with as she did. The book was surprisingly poetical and had a nice rhythm to a lot of the more general statements about life, especially rural and cultural ponderings. I've just never been a massive fan of a lot of classical literature, so it's no surprise to learn I found this book wanting.
Not bad, per se. It just was not for me.
Not bad, per se. It just was not for me.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
A strangely compelling book about a very unlikeable woman explaining how she spends a year abusing sleeping medication and emotionally abusing those around her.
At first, I could not understand what the point of the book was. We follow our main character, who has no name, explain how deeply unhappy she is with her life even with all the privileges of being white, rich, attractive. She decides that lying to get prescription drugs and then taking a comically large dose of them to sleep for a year (with breaks of an hour or so between) is the only course of action. Despite there being no real reason to enjoy the book, I still found the sheer outlandish and often baffling explanations given by our main character to be entertaining. This book was a very easy read and one I'm surprised to say I enjoyed.
At first, I could not understand what the point of the book was. We follow our main character, who has no name, explain how deeply unhappy she is with her life even with all the privileges of being white, rich, attractive. She decides that lying to get prescription drugs and then taking a comically large dose of them to sleep for a year (with breaks of an hour or so between) is the only course of action. Despite there being no real reason to enjoy the book, I still found the sheer outlandish and often baffling explanations given by our main character to be entertaining. This book was a very easy read and one I'm surprised to say I enjoyed.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
1.5
This ain't it, sis.
To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I had heard and read nothing but good things about this book. As I had seen one of it's main characters is an octopus (!) AND that it featured a murder mystery element I thought it would be right up my alley.
Apparently that wasn't the case. Not only was there very little mystery to this murder, the actual octopus BARELY features within the story. Instead, we're treated to 300 pages of either a semi-delightful old woman mourning the loss of her husband and child OR a 30 year old man-child with mummy issues. Cameron was easily my least liked character by a LARGE margin. He's introduced to us as an serial unemployed loser who IS smart, but chooses to pull the 'my mum abandoned me' card instead of taking any responsibility for his actions. Cameron ends the book with a much undeserved 'redemption' arc that barely makes it into the story.
Tova is the true main character of this story. Usually, I do love older main characters and to give the author credit, I did enjoy certain parts of Tova's story. Her battle with grief and determination not to be a burden to those around her was a relatable and something we could easily empathise with. Her overall story and eventual end to the story is a heartfelt one, if overshadowed by the rest of the schlock.
Marcellus (the octopus) had some fantastic scenes but as stated above, barely played a role in the story. It ended with me feeling as though his whole role in the story could be removed and the book would end up being no different for it.
So, yea. I almost DNF'd at multiple points but ended up reading to the end just to see how Tova and Marcellus ended up.
I would not recommend.
To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I had heard and read nothing but good things about this book. As I had seen one of it's main characters is an octopus (!) AND that it featured a murder mystery element I thought it would be right up my alley.
Apparently that wasn't the case. Not only was there very little mystery to this murder, the actual octopus BARELY features within the story. Instead, we're treated to 300 pages of either a semi-delightful old woman mourning the loss of her husband and child OR a 30 year old man-child with mummy issues. Cameron was easily my least liked character by a LARGE margin. He's introduced to us as an serial unemployed loser who IS smart, but chooses to pull the 'my mum abandoned me' card instead of taking any responsibility for his actions. Cameron ends the book with a much undeserved 'redemption' arc that barely makes it into the story.
Tova is the true main character of this story. Usually, I do love older main characters and to give the author credit, I did enjoy certain parts of Tova's story. Her battle with grief and determination not to be a burden to those around her was a relatable and something we could easily empathise with. Her overall story and eventual end to the story is a heartfelt one, if overshadowed by the rest of the schlock.
Marcellus (the octopus) had some fantastic scenes but as stated above, barely played a role in the story. It ended with me feeling as though his whole role in the story could be removed and the book would end up being no different for it.
So, yea. I almost DNF'd at multiple points but ended up reading to the end just to see how Tova and Marcellus ended up.
I would not recommend.
The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
This is book 2 to The Book That Wouldn't Burn, if you don't already know. Though my review shouldn't contain spoilers it may hint at certain things.
As I said for book 1, this is another book I have very mixed feelings on. I keep feeling as though I should be enjoying more than I am. The characters, their relationships to one another, and their intertwining stories are done in such a unique and thoughtful way. There's so much to love, and so much that feels it's close to being a great series but overall book 2 just leaves me with a feeling of 'eh'.
The series over arching plot surrounding the library, it's books, and the cyclical nature of time sounds great when stripped to it's core. Sadly, this book doesn't manage to create a compelling or meaningful addition to the series. While I loved the new focus on certain characters, I found myself wondering where this was going or how it added to the plot points we'd already seen/would see more of.
In the end, the book feels as though it ends almost exactly where it started. Very little about the library itself is revealed throughout this book as well as some of the more compelling character work feels almost undone in the final few chapters. This book left me disappointed, even though I didn't have high hopes going in. I rated book 1 with 3 stars and I think I'll be rating this book the same, as the author is clearly a skilled author when it comes to characters. He just may be slightly too ambitious or unclear when it comes to world building.
As I said for book 1, this is another book I have very mixed feelings on. I keep feeling as though I should be enjoying more than I am. The characters, their relationships to one another, and their intertwining stories are done in such a unique and thoughtful way. There's so much to love, and so much that feels it's close to being a great series but overall book 2 just leaves me with a feeling of 'eh'.
The series over arching plot surrounding the library, it's books, and the cyclical nature of time sounds great when stripped to it's core. Sadly, this book doesn't manage to create a compelling or meaningful addition to the series. While I loved the new focus on certain characters, I found myself wondering where this was going or how it added to the plot points we'd already seen/would see more of.
In the end, the book feels as though it ends almost exactly where it started. Very little about the library itself is revealed throughout this book as well as some of the more compelling character work feels almost undone in the final few chapters. This book left me disappointed, even though I didn't have high hopes going in. I rated book 1 with 3 stars and I think I'll be rating this book the same, as the author is clearly a skilled author when it comes to characters. He just may be slightly too ambitious or unclear when it comes to world building.
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was such a fantastic surprise. I genuinely can't stop eyeing up book 2 in shops!
I can't for the life of me remember where I heard about this book, but when a friend also had it on their TBR, we decided a buddy read was in order! I'm not sure I would have ever gotten to this book, so I'm VERY happy to have done this, buddy read.
The book follows our main character of Julius, a dragon who, unlike his siblings, sucks at being a typical dragon. At the beginning of the novel he's trust out of his comfort zone (both literally and physically) and is forced to confront the realities of a rich and unique sci-fi meets magics-return world.
To say I enjoyed this would be an understatement. Every new plot, character, and world detail we would meet I'd have to come to terms with just how well thoughtout and intriuging this world is. I felt like this book barely brushed the surface, and I'm already clammering for more.
That isn't to say that the characters aren't equally delightful to follow along. Our main characters of Julius and Marci are a treat both in their own stories and in their eventual teamwork! While this book could have easily leaned into tropey and more basic character dynamics, instead, it has a fresh and more nuanced approach to more than just our main duo.
As soon as I lift my book buying ban, I'll have my hands on book 2!!
I can't for the life of me remember where I heard about this book, but when a friend also had it on their TBR, we decided a buddy read was in order! I'm not sure I would have ever gotten to this book, so I'm VERY happy to have done this, buddy read.
The book follows our main character of Julius, a dragon who, unlike his siblings, sucks at being a typical dragon. At the beginning of the novel he's trust out of his comfort zone (both literally and physically) and is forced to confront the realities of a rich and unique sci-fi meets magics-return world.
To say I enjoyed this would be an understatement. Every new plot, character, and world detail we would meet I'd have to come to terms with just how well thoughtout and intriuging this world is. I felt like this book barely brushed the surface, and I'm already clammering for more.
That isn't to say that the characters aren't equally delightful to follow along. Our main characters of Julius and Marci are a treat both in their own stories and in their eventual teamwork! While this book could have easily leaned into tropey and more basic character dynamics, instead, it has a fresh and more nuanced approach to more than just our main duo.
As soon as I lift my book buying ban, I'll have my hands on book 2!!
The Will of the Many by James Islington
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
This is an author I've been meaning to read for a while now. When I saw this, his most recent release, being so highly regarded (and with such a gorgeous cover) I decided 'ah, what the hell?' and reserved a copy from my library without reading much else into it.
God, am I glad I did! I had a FANTASTIC time with this book. I had practically no clue what it was about going in so reading the first chapter and having our author set up not only the character motivations, world, but magic system with 0 info dumping had me HOOKED. Even then, I didn't want to get myself too hyped up over a good first chapter... except for the fact that I loved pretty much every other chapters too.
This book has over 700 pages but they breezed by as I got more and more into the story, the mystery, the characters. I'm so happy to say that, while I loved Vis, the secondary characters are no less intriguing or fun to follow. This book takes place from first person POV, and while I know some readers don't enjoy that format, I had no qualms with it here. If anything, it lent perfectly into the character Vis' lies and motives throughout the book. He's a smart and intuitive main character but never felt unenjoyably so.
The world and the story is fantastic. This story takes place in a post-catalytic roman-inspired world with what is one of my favourite tropes: lost artefacts. I am very happy we get to see various locations and classes (and their treatment) throughout the Hierarchy. This gives us a wider breadth of knowledge of both the world and our characters struggles which is something I loved.
I'd love to say I understand everything we were shown, especially with that final epilogue, yet I remain blissfully confounded. I cannot wait for book 2!!
God, am I glad I did! I had a FANTASTIC time with this book. I had practically no clue what it was about going in so reading the first chapter and having our author set up not only the character motivations, world, but magic system with 0 info dumping had me HOOKED. Even then, I didn't want to get myself too hyped up over a good first chapter... except for the fact that I loved pretty much every other chapters too.
This book has over 700 pages but they breezed by as I got more and more into the story, the mystery, the characters. I'm so happy to say that, while I loved Vis, the secondary characters are no less intriguing or fun to follow. This book takes place from first person POV, and while I know some readers don't enjoy that format, I had no qualms with it here. If anything, it lent perfectly into the character Vis' lies and motives throughout the book. He's a smart and intuitive main character but never felt unenjoyably so.
The world and the story is fantastic. This story takes place in a post-catalytic roman-inspired world with what is one of my favourite tropes: lost artefacts. I am very happy we get to see various locations and classes (and their treatment) throughout the Hierarchy. This gives us a wider breadth of knowledge of both the world and our characters struggles which is something I loved.
I'd love to say I understand everything we were shown, especially with that final epilogue, yet I remain blissfully confounded. I cannot wait for book 2!!