lewis_fishman's reviews
802 reviews

Midshipman's Hope by David Feintuch

5.0

another reread. i dont know how many times ive sailed across space with nicholas ewing seafort. the poor, unbreakable, unbendable man. we need more men like him sometimes.

Good Material by Dolly Alderton

4.0

so i have a lot of thoughts, and if you want to skip them, then that's fine by me. the madness is something ive definitely experienced post breakup, and am definitely plumbing the depths of right now (admittedly a different sort of madness but madness nevertheless). i think jen's section of the novel was fantastic, and that brings me to the crux of thing - i think dolly alderton is a fantastic writer, im never not going to be a fan, but there was something about andy that fell way too into caricature for me to buy into the reality of it all. if the whole thing was a huge satire of dating in your early thirties, sure, fine, but alderton's writing has always had a sincerity, and i only felt that within jen's part. andy didn't seem a male narrator who was ever going to be real, but instead what a man might think about written by a women. it's always funny and amusing to read about men terribly writing women, and while im not accusing alderton of the depths that some male authors write women, and i acknowledge her consulting her male friends about being a man, it just didn't come across as sincere or believable enough for me. it was a fun novel to find almost new at my local vinnies for a fiver, and paired very well with morgan harper-jones' debut album (up to the glass). interested to see what is next for alderton.

Challenger's Hope by David Feintuch

5.0

so another reread, and for whatever reason, this is the feintuch book that i've come back to the most. i think out of all of them, this is seafort at his lowest. the man suffers like no one else. but does he break? does he bend? he persists, and sometimes that's all we can ask of people.

Fisherman's Hope by David Feintuch

5.0

nicholas ewing seafort is such an interesting character study, and i suppose that's why i keep coming back to it every few years. literature has enough stories about gallant captains, swashbuckling their way through space, in either military science fiction or in more regular science fiction, or morally grey protagonists who upend the entire world in which they live in. seafort does this, especially the latter point in some way, but at the end of the day, he is unflinching, unchanging. the evolution over the four books is marked, and while some others may be sick of his self-flagellation, it's a part and parcel of seafort. he ruminates that he wishes he could and would retire on so many occasions, and if he truly wanted to, given how set he can be, im sure he would. but he doesn't, he persists. he continues to go onwards, despite his actions, absolution or not. forswearence of an oath or not. when i read this initially for the first time, i was simply astonished at the ending - while nick definitely had his moments of cunning and strategy, i never thought that he would have it in him for the Trafalgar and Fuser mission. i don't know if there's any other character i've read in literature who would have the fortitude. parts of the story, mostly world building, are dated, but we can say that about many a great novel. the set dressing isn't the novel - the novel is whether or not nick seafort can do it. i'll be taking a break from going back to the final three books of the seafort saga, but if you haven't, the first four books are worth the read. there's the saying that good times create soft people, weak people create hard times, and hard times create strong people. there's no one stronger than nicholas ewing seafort.

The Altar Boys by Suzanne Smith

5.0

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

5.0

phoenix vonvalt ace justice

Sovietistan by Erika Fatland

5.0

"As human beings, we have to dare to be open and tolerant. We have to dare to look those who do not belong to our community in the eye, to embrace their stories and their pain, to talk to them, to be open and friendly"

such a fascinating, interesting and different travelogue - in a region that is usually is the butt of jokes (borat et al), this showed a different and unknown side on show, especially to western audiences. if i hadn't already added erika fatland's other backlist to my to read list, i would have done after finishing this.

A Mind Full of Murder by Derek Landy

5.0

some people may be like "come on derek, give up the ghost, let those old bones lie still". not me, im glad he's back. and this is a return to form for our irish king. plus more gordon edgley lore and that's always fun

The Museum of Whales You Will Never See: Travels Among the Collectors of Iceland by A. Kendra Greene

4.0

another strange travelogue, but also not. part travel writing, part social history, part series of personal essays, this provides a unique way of seeing iceland, especially in ways that other books about our frozen northern neighbour may not attempt. for such an evocative title, i was a little sad that we got only a few pages on the titular museum, but some of the other segments made up for it. a volume two, perhaps?

The Bannerman Shortlist by Colin Batrouney, Colin Batrouney

3.0

3.5 stars rounded down. some weird editing choices, the choice of sexual and strong violence as plot motivation, and it seemed that there was half a story missing. we got so much on the initial authors selected but the final two was nothing.