manuphoto's reviews
924 reviews

Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks

adventurous emotional fast-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

4.0

On the surface, this book is a classic space opera. Lots of action, we follow Horza and a group of space pirates in the midst of a war between the Culture and the Idirans. Nothing fancy here, right? Well, think again.

Consider Phlebas has many strengths. First, Banks' writing chops. The man just knew how to tell a compelling story. He grabbed me in the first few pages and took me all the way to the end of the book. The pacing is great, the action scenes fantastic (and sometimes quite gruesome), the characters well-defined, and the whole thing is just a pleasure to read. The main characters have arcs, and we actually care about them. Just don't get too emotionally attached…

The second great aspect of this novel is its universe. We hear of the Culture, we are told about the Culture, we see glimpses of it, but we are never in it. This book is an appetizer for what's to come in the series. We meet this fantastic thing that Banks has created and are immediately curious to know more. And he did that in a space opera with lots of explosions, some snarky drones, and three-legged giant aliens. I just can't wait to read more in the series. Between Banks' writing and the scope and creativity of this universe, it's going to be tremendous.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

I’m a bit conflicted on that one. The premise is good, with Earth having been destroyed by aliens during a major conflict and our protagonist being raised on a station, living to fight another day. It does feel like Starship Troopers meets Everything is Kill meets District 9 meets Avengers. Bear with me….

The novel manages to tackle societal issues, especially on gender identity, sexual orientation, misogyny and patriarchy. Quite remarkable honestly, as it could easily have felt totally out of place. Emily Tesh manages to make those issues part of the story and the characters’s arcs, so that’s excellent. Sometimes she would tell us "this behaviour is bad" but most of the time she would show us through her characters and story, which is much better. I don’t want the narrator or character to explain to me why being sexist is bad, I want the novel to show me why it is bad. Luckily, Tesh favours that approach.

I’m not entirely sold on her prose or the way she brings twists to the story however. Although she writes well, I was sometimes a bit confused by the setting, especially during the action scenes. She also tends to use repetition to put emphasis on certain points, something that I dislike (but it’s maybe more a "me" issue). The story does take a couple of left turns, but they always felt forced never earned. It’s "character finds themselves in an impossible situation… miraculous option appears!". The ideas were often neat, but their implementation less so.

Kyr is a very interesting character. She faces challenges that would destroy most people, both physically and psychologically. But, at least to me, these issues got resolved a bit too quickly and easily, the tension never really grabbed me. There is also a feeling that nothing is really important, as they can fix situations that shouldn’t be fixable. It lowered the stakes a lot for me.

That’s why I say I’m conflicted on that book. On one hand, it’s a fun read, with lots action and yet a very powerful social commentary, good characters and some neat sci-fi tropes. On the other, it can lack subtlety, it has a lot of repetition and it’s not always thrilling. It also feels like a mishmash of sci-fi tropes from other books and movies. Then again, it’s Tesh’s first novel, so I can pardon some of it. It’s already quite an achievement.

Despite some drawbacks, I did like it, I recommend people reading it for the important social commentary and the fun of the story, but I can’t say that it’s my top tier Hugo winning novels, it’s more mid-tier. Which is not bad, really.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Ha, so the British had help from magicians to defeat Napoleon. This explains a lot! I’ll have to revise my podcast episodes on the emperor’s fall.

Of course, I’m only kidding, but I must say the historical setting of this novel was both captivating and instructive. Susanna Clarke wrote it in a way that I found readable, entertaining, and engaging.

First, I have to admit that I’m usually not fond of magic in books. I often find it gratuitous and more about wowing the reader than advancing the story. But that’s not the case here. Clarke integrated magic in a clever, plot-driven way that I enjoyed immensely. It’s the exact opposite of some other novels set in the 19th century that I’ve read, where magic is sparse and, when it does appear, isn’t very engaging (looking at you, Babel). Here, it’s engrossing, well-executed, and propels both the plot and character development.

In many ways, this novel feels quintessentially British. I mean, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Byron make appearances—could it be more British? This might be off-putting for readers less familiar with English literature or at least the English relationship with literature and history. While it doesn’t prevent enjoyment of the book, having some familiarity with English culture and history certainly adds to the experience.

Is the novel too long? Perhaps, but I didn’t mind it. It’s well-structured, with short, organized chapters, making it surprisingly readable despite the dated vocabulary and the many, many footnotes. On that note (ha!), I didn’t particularly care for the footnotes. While they provide interesting information and expand the universe, I found them distracting, and they didn’t always mesh well with the storytelling.

On the other hand, the cast of characters worked very well for me. Every single one had a purpose and was distinct, making it easy to visualize the people and situations.

Overall, an excellent fantasy novel with strong characterizations, a well-developed plot, and top-notch writing. I enjoyed it more than I expected—quite rare for an almost 900-page book. Highly recommended.

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

adventurous hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Un délice à lire. Le style de Dumas allié à une intrigue remarquable et des personnages savoureux font de ce roman un pur chef-d’œuvre.

La vengeance d’Edmond Dantès, le tribu qu’il paye et fait payer, le sort de ses ennemis et de ses amis, chaque aspect de l’histoire est méthodiquement calculé et superbement raconté. On ne peut s’empêcher d’admirer Dantès, tout en le trouvant parfois dur et sévère. On ne peut s’empêcher non plus de sourire devant le sort réservé à ceux qui l’ont trahi. Et enfin, on ne peut s’empêcher d’être touché par les imprévus et dommages collatéraux qu’une si terrible vengeance provoque, aussi bien calculée soit-elle.

Dumas réuni tout ces éléments avec fougue, intelligence et style. Malgré sa longueur, ce roman est d’une grande facilité à lire, même à dévorer. C’est un classique de la littérature française et je dirais même, de la culture mondiale. Le Comte de Monte-Cristo est, je le pense, une œuvre majeure qui doit être étudié par les gens de tous pays et de toutes cultures. D’abord parce que Dumas y traite lui-même des différences culturelles entre différents peuples, mais parce qu’il y aborde des sujets profondément humains qui sont encore vibrant d’actualité. En toute chose, lors de toute épreuve, il s’agit d’attendre et d’espérer.

My Musical Notes: A Journey in Classical Piano between the World Wars and Beyond by Gaby Casadesus

informative sad medium-paced

4.5

A very interesting read on a remarkable family. The Casadesus were astonishing artists and led lives on a completely different level than most of us. The stuff of legends.

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Arkady Martine took a risk with this novel. She kept the framework of her first book, but decided to look outward instead of inward. Hence, we see a lot less of Teixcalaan but we are indeed treated to a story of war, espionage, first contact, and hot sex. Question is: does it work?

In one word: yes. The structure here is a lot more complex than in A Memory Called Empire. Instead of following ambassador Mahit most of the time, we follow her, Three Seagrass, the emperor, the heir to the empire, and a fleet captain. They alternate perspective regularly. Martine manages to make that effortless; I was never confused by the setting. I always knew which storyline I was following, who was guiding me, and what aspect of the story mattered at that juncture.

Despite this added complexity, I actually found the novel better structured than its predecessor. Everything felt tighter, more important. It didn’t suffer from the weird pacing issues that afflicted part of AMCE.

The plot itself is good, although the real focus of the story is in its characters. Yes, there are aliens, a first contact plot (quite well done too!), but we mostly care about what happens to our main protagonists. As for the rest of the known universe… we’ll see.

I can see that as being a bit off-putting for some readers who would like to know more about these aliens. To me, they are basically plot devices. They are neither really interesting nor original. I’ve read enough sci-fi by now to not be that easily wowed by strange aliens. I have to say that Martine did a good job in recognizing the difficulty of communicating with aliens. She acknowledged that the sheer concept of language ought to be different, and that establishing common ground should be difficult (looking at you Axiom’s End...). Despite this, it’s not the real focus of the story.

Also, the whole biological aspect, which becomes a major plot device in the middle of the book, just doesn’t work. It's barely an easy, TV-like scenario. It’s a minor gripe, but still, it can be distracting.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t go into details, but overall, I quite enjoyed this one despite the science in it being bad. It’d be a bigger issue if the book focused more on that, but it doesn’t, so it’s OK I guess. I was still happy to find out what would happen with the main characters and Teixcalaan (and to a lesser extent, Lsel Station). Martine’s prose made this very readable, something that we shouldn’t overlook. A solid if not stellar Hugo winner.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

adventurous emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

Palace intrigues, a fish out of water, all set in a society with remarkably advanced technology, but that still uses physical mail.

Hum... let's have a deeper look.

It's basically a political thriller with a space opera background. It has funny characters, although they often correspond to some clichés. The plot itself is good, but a bit light given the length of the novel, and it shows, especially around the mid-mark. The first third and last third of the book are actually better.

This is also Martine's first novel, and it shows. She definitely can write, she has talent, and obviously knows her craft. But sometimes, she doesn't know which level of language to use, which tone or pace. It can get a bit messy, a bit muddy, mixed with moments of literary brilliance.

Honestly, for a first novel, it's quite an achievement. Most I've read have many repetitions, or are too inspired by other novels (although this one reminded me a lot of the Vorkosigan series by Bujold). But here, Martine manages to avoid lots of traps. She still has work to do to find her own real voice, but that's an excellent start, and I suspect that the sequel is even better written.

The characters are well-defined, thankfully, since the naming conventions can be... confusing. There is a logic to it, though, so at least one can find solace in that. But it does feel a bit pushed on the reader: "Look, here's a society that chooses its names completely differently from us! But does everything else like we do..." Again, I'll allow it; it's a first novel, and the author had to find some particularities to embellish her story.

As I've said, the plot can feel a bit thin at times, although just enough happens that we are never bored and actually want to read more. Some characters are very forgettable, while others are more nuanced, and I found myself interested in their stories.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this, and I was impressed by the tightness of the whole experience, given that it's a first novel. It's a mid-ranking Hugo winner, but it's a solid read nonetheless. Now, on to the sequel!

Nunavik by Michel Hellman

emotional sad fast-paced

4.0

Un livre assez chargé d’émotion et de tendresse. Il dénonce la situation dans laquelle on maintient les Inuits tout en montrant les beauté du Grand Nord.

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo - Tome I by Alexandre Dumas

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

Du grand Dumas. Un plaisir à redécouvrir. L’écriture est sublime, les personnages saisissants et l’intrigue enivrante.

Le tout est conçu avec un soin remarquable pour emmener les lecteurs du Château d’If aux salons parisiens, en passant par le Colisée de Rome et la campagne provençale.

Pas la peine de s’épancher d’avantage, c’est un grand roman dont j’ai bien hâte de lire la suite.

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

Although it precedes Cyteen and is set in the same universe, it reads very differently. Instead of a slow-paced intellectual psychological tale, we have a space opera with some deeper themes touched upon.

Despite its grand scale, lots of action, and interesting characters, I think that Downbelow Station is not as coherent or good as the sum of its parts. The different facets of the story are quite well done, but it always lacks a unifying element to make me really care about what happens to the characters and their world. Pell Station is supposed to be that link, but somehow, at least for me, it fails to evoke concern for its fate.

That being said, I found some characters well-executed. Elene is a great character, and Signy would make a fantastic villain in a movie. Josh is also interesting, and his storyline with Signy is troubling.

The rivalry between the Konstantins and Lukases felt a bit silly to me. I understand that this universe is based on the role of certain families, but it didn’t work for me. I just don’t see how human colonization of the universe could operate that way.

The other villains, or pseudo-villains, like Jon Lukas or Mazian, felt very cliché. Union is also not very well defined, although that is addressed in Cyteen.

Cherryh’s prose is less dense here than in Cyteen, so on a sentence-by-sentence basis, it was not tedious to read. Some chapters were actually gripping! But overall, the themes of the book seemed eroded by all the storylines. And I’ve not even mentioned the Downers, those “simple” aliens who stand by while humans kill each other. They are probably the most underdeveloped idea of sentient aliens I’ve ever encountered. They don’t serve much purpose, and we never really get to know them. Maybe they get more attention in the sequels, but here, they often feel dull and uninteresting, especially in the first two-thirds of the novel. A missed opportunity for me, as the core idea is actually good.

And that sums it up for me: a nice core concept, but too many ideas thrown in too many different directions. I appreciate a multilayered story; I usually love those, but here… I don’t know, it never felt totally connected or coherent. I liked, sometimes very much, many elements of this story, but I never loved the ensemble. It’s one of those frustrating novels for me because it has this “almost there” feeling—that feeling that it’s “almost” a great novel. It is good, don’t get me wrong, and it’s not a slog. But it’s not fantastic either.