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manureads's reviews
151 reviews
Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold by Tom Peyer, Barry Kitson, Tom Grindberg, Mark Waid
4.0
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
5.0
I absolutely loved this book and it is definitely one of my favourite fantasies of the year. I had a lot of fun reading it. The plot was fast paced and with a good dose of suspense and twists and all the individual threads came together beautifully in the end. Personally, I also appreciated how the story didn’t get bogged down by the underlying political tension: the different rulers agree quite quickly, when faced with the evidence, to work together against a common threat . Would it be this easy in real life? Probably not. Do I care? Not really. It allowed to the plot to keep moving and I think it can easily be justified by their fear of the nameless one which is very much the common thread between all of these cultures.
The characters and their relationship were diverse and fascinating. I loved watching the relationship between Ead and Sabran develop, I loved being on the fence about Nicolas and I could empathise with Tané’s desires and fear. I especially loved the theme of sacrifice that was present in some shape for all of the characters. It wasn’t the overused “sacrificing your own life”, which can be compelling, but that yes, is way overused and often done rushed or lazily in a lot of recent stories, in my opinion. Rather, the characters all had to leave behind an ideal, a belief, a privilege or a career/ position that they had worked for all their life, in order to do what they believed to be right. That struggle made for compelling character growth and provided with a great source of tension.
Lastly, I loved the world building. Each culture was unique, with their own stories, customs and way of life which. There was an incredible amount of detail and yet, there was no exposition dump or pointless description. Everything contributed to the story in some ways and we were gradually introduced to all of the elements in a way that felt very organic.
Priory is a high fantasy like I love them: it had dragons, rich world building, fascinating characters and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
The characters and their relationship were diverse and fascinating. I loved watching the relationship between Ead and Sabran develop, I loved being on the fence about Nicolas and I could empathise with Tané’s desires and fear. I especially loved the theme of sacrifice that was present in some shape for all of the characters. It wasn’t the overused “sacrificing your own life”, which can be compelling, but that yes, is way overused and often done rushed or lazily in a lot of recent stories, in my opinion. Rather, the characters all had to leave behind an ideal, a belief, a privilege or a career/ position that they had worked for all their life, in order to do what they believed to be right. That struggle made for compelling character growth and provided with a great source of tension.
Lastly, I loved the world building. Each culture was unique, with their own stories, customs and way of life which. There was an incredible amount of detail and yet, there was no exposition dump or pointless description. Everything contributed to the story in some ways and we were gradually introduced to all of the elements in a way that felt very organic.
Priory is a high fantasy like I love them: it had dragons, rich world building, fascinating characters and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Educated by Tara Westover
5.0
I read the whole book in one sitting, whilst I was travelling with a 5 hour layover and I did not see the time go by. It was absolutely engrossing. Tara does a great job in describing her life and her relationship with her family in a nuanced and multifaceted way. She talks about the abuse, but also about the good and tender moments that make life complicated and not just divided between good and evil.
This is not always an easy read. Some moment are hard to read, others are hard to even comprehend. As an outsider looking in, it’s easy to just want her to pack her bags and leave the toxic people in her life behind. But healing is never this straightforward, there is no magical solution and this book is a great illustration of that. Overall, this memoir strikes the perfect balance between giving us an accurate portrayal and explaining the events with the benefits of hindsight.
I never know where to start when reviewing a memoir because how do you comment on someone else’s life? But in the end, Tara’s story made me seriously examine whether my beliefs were my own or merely the result of my environment and it reminded me that it is possible to take control of your own future by using all the tools at your disposal.
This is not always an easy read. Some moment are hard to read, others are hard to even comprehend. As an outsider looking in, it’s easy to just want her to pack her bags and leave the toxic people in her life behind. But healing is never this straightforward, there is no magical solution and this book is a great illustration of that. Overall, this memoir strikes the perfect balance between giving us an accurate portrayal and explaining the events with the benefits of hindsight.
I never know where to start when reviewing a memoir because how do you comment on someone else’s life? But in the end, Tara’s story made me seriously examine whether my beliefs were my own or merely the result of my environment and it reminded me that it is possible to take control of your own future by using all the tools at your disposal.
The First Men In The Moon by H.G. Wells
The First Men on the Moon is the story of a man who procrastinates writing his play by going to the moon, which I’m sure is relatable to a lot of people! I did not give this book a star rating because I have very mixed feelings about it. I can see why it is considered a classic, but in my opinion it doesn’t really deserve to be anymore because it doesn’t do anything interesting for sci-fi, especially today.
Bedford and Cavor are both extremely unlikeable. Bedford has grand business ideas but is incompetent and selfish and Cavor is an irresponsible scientist, at best, and at worst he is a sociopath capable of killing us all by accident and telling himself it’s all justified in the name of knowledge. Put together, these two are the worst people to meet with aliens for the first time, and one of my worst nightmares. I don’t remember the last time I actively rooted for the main characters to fail.
The book had some very strong parallels with colonialism – Bedford says plainly that he wants to come back with guns to kill the selenites and take their gold. I was relieved when he lost his only way to go back to the moon. According to the introduction, Wells wrote it deliberately as an analogy but I don’t know whether it was meant to come across as criticism or anything like that. It doesn’t really matter, it mostly made me sad to think humans would not have learned from their mistakes and would still be in a colonialist mindset when going to explore outer space (yes, I am very much aware that this is what’s currently happening, but I expect better from science fiction, thanks.)
That is not to say that the book does nothing right. The ´science´ was obviously outdated, but I could still appreciate the creativity behind the idea of a substance that “cuts us off” from gravity and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the moon environment. I did not pay much attention to the selenite society because I was too distracted by my irritation with the disaster duo. I also really liked the writing, and there are a few sentences that I re-read just so I could fully appreciate them and because they were a reprieve from the rest. H. G. Wells also throws some shade at Jules Verne and Shakespeare which is quite funny.
I am still going to try and read A Modern Utopia since I happen to own a copy, but my expectations are a lot lower now and I am starting to wonder whether science fiction books can be considered ´classics´ in the same way as contemporary fiction or even fantasy.
Bedford and Cavor are both extremely unlikeable. Bedford has grand business ideas but is incompetent and selfish and Cavor is an irresponsible scientist, at best, and at worst he is a sociopath capable of killing us all by accident and telling himself it’s all justified in the name of knowledge. Put together, these two are the worst people to meet with aliens for the first time, and one of my worst nightmares. I don’t remember the last time I actively rooted for the main characters to fail.
The book had some very strong parallels with colonialism – Bedford says plainly that he wants to come back with guns to kill the selenites and take their gold. I was relieved when he lost his only way to go back to the moon. According to the introduction, Wells wrote it deliberately as an analogy but I don’t know whether it was meant to come across as criticism or anything like that. It doesn’t really matter, it mostly made me sad to think humans would not have learned from their mistakes and would still be in a colonialist mindset when going to explore outer space (yes, I am very much aware that this is what’s currently happening, but I expect better from science fiction, thanks.)
That is not to say that the book does nothing right. The ´science´ was obviously outdated, but I could still appreciate the creativity behind the idea of a substance that “cuts us off” from gravity and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the moon environment. I did not pay much attention to the selenite society because I was too distracted by my irritation with the disaster duo. I also really liked the writing, and there are a few sentences that I re-read just so I could fully appreciate them and because they were a reprieve from the rest. H. G. Wells also throws some shade at Jules Verne and Shakespeare which is quite funny.
I am still going to try and read A Modern Utopia since I happen to own a copy, but my expectations are a lot lower now and I am starting to wonder whether science fiction books can be considered ´classics´ in the same way as contemporary fiction or even fantasy.
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
4.0
I had a really good time reading We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal. Lately, I’ve been looking for more Arabic or Arabic inspired SFF and this book hit all the right notes for me. I loved the world building and the magic system. The writing style was beautiful and did a great job at introducing us to the world and making it feel alive. I loved getting to learn about the culture through details such as the food and the clothes and yet at no point do the descriptions feel superfluous. I’m also a big fan of the found family trope so I was very pleased when all the characters came together.
There are a few flaws that flag this as a debut. The middle part is slow paced and feels like a filler because not much happens that feels essential to the story. The third act more than makes up for it thankfully. I also found that Zafira was a bit passive: she has a very strong character and yet a lot of the action is not of her own initiative. To me, she wasn’t the one driving the plot until the very end and the only reason that didn’t really bother me was because the rest of the book (plot/world building) was so strong.
Overall, despite a few hiccups, these were not enough to reduce my enjoyment in any significant way and I can’t wait to read the second book!
There are a few flaws that flag this as a debut. The middle part is slow paced and feels like a filler because not much happens that feels essential to the story. The third act more than makes up for it thankfully. I also found that Zafira was a bit passive: she has a very strong character and yet a lot of the action is not of her own initiative. To me, she wasn’t the one driving the plot until the very end and the only reason that didn’t really bother me was because the rest of the book (plot/world building) was so strong.
Overall, despite a few hiccups, these were not enough to reduce my enjoyment in any significant way and I can’t wait to read the second book!
Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Novel of Egypt by Yasmine El Rashidi
4.0
“Is the silence of objectivity and being an observer, witness, the same as complicity?”
Chronicle of a last summer by Yasmin El Rashidi is a political coming of age story, told through the eyes of a young woman in Cairo during three crucial summers in her life. In less than 200 pages, we follow the narrator as she grows up during a volatile part of Egypt’s history and as she tries to figure out her own place and role in all of it. I bought this one on a whim and I was not disappointed. It is a quiet, almost dreamy story that reads almost like a memoir: the author skillfully changes the tone and style with each part so every step of the narrator’s life feels authentic.
In part one (summer 1984), the narrator is a 6 year old child, waiting for her father to come home. Out of the three, this is my least favourite part because it is confusing and the jump from one anecdote to another was at times jarring. However, it does a good job in putting you in the ´frame of mind´ of a child and illustrates how they can pick up on what’s happening around them, even if they don’t understand.
In part two (summer 1998), the narrator is a college student and aspiring filmmaker. This is my favourite part because the narrator is actively questioning how she feels about the world around her whilst still being unsure. It was fascinating to see what she noticed and what she chose to ignore. Lastly, in part three (summer 2014) the narrator is an adult and a writer, but by now she has found her footing. I liked the optimistic tone, but we get to see how her choices impacted her relationships with the people around her, how it strained some of them but also how it improved others which is a dose of realism that I really appreciated.
Overall, the book traces the whole process of having a political awakening, namely first becoming aware, but more importantly choosing to act – or not – afterwards. I have seen this described as the story of a generation raised in silence and I very much agree that one of the overarching theme is knowledge: what we know, what we choose not to know, what is said what is left unsaid and whether or not we choose to believe what we are told. For me, it was a good reminder that activism, politics, fighting for what you believe in is a constant process of questioning and acting.
Chronicle of a last summer by Yasmin El Rashidi is a political coming of age story, told through the eyes of a young woman in Cairo during three crucial summers in her life. In less than 200 pages, we follow the narrator as she grows up during a volatile part of Egypt’s history and as she tries to figure out her own place and role in all of it. I bought this one on a whim and I was not disappointed. It is a quiet, almost dreamy story that reads almost like a memoir: the author skillfully changes the tone and style with each part so every step of the narrator’s life feels authentic.
In part one (summer 1984), the narrator is a 6 year old child, waiting for her father to come home. Out of the three, this is my least favourite part because it is confusing and the jump from one anecdote to another was at times jarring. However, it does a good job in putting you in the ´frame of mind´ of a child and illustrates how they can pick up on what’s happening around them, even if they don’t understand.
In part two (summer 1998), the narrator is a college student and aspiring filmmaker. This is my favourite part because the narrator is actively questioning how she feels about the world around her whilst still being unsure. It was fascinating to see what she noticed and what she chose to ignore. Lastly, in part three (summer 2014) the narrator is an adult and a writer, but by now she has found her footing. I liked the optimistic tone, but we get to see how her choices impacted her relationships with the people around her, how it strained some of them but also how it improved others which is a dose of realism that I really appreciated.
Overall, the book traces the whole process of having a political awakening, namely first becoming aware, but more importantly choosing to act – or not – afterwards. I have seen this described as the story of a generation raised in silence and I very much agree that one of the overarching theme is knowledge: what we know, what we choose not to know, what is said what is left unsaid and whether or not we choose to believe what we are told. For me, it was a good reminder that activism, politics, fighting for what you believe in is a constant process of questioning and acting.
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
5.0
Put simply, this book was an emotional rollercoaster and I loved every second of it. Miracle submarine is a small town treatment center which offers a special type of therapy: a hyperbaric chamber which allows patients to breathe pure oxygen in order to cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But when the chamber explodes, causing the death of two patients, it quickly becomes clear that it wasn’t an accident.
This was a thrilling courtroom drama, layered with the experiences of immigrant families in America, special-needs parenting and questions of how far one can go to protect your family or your marriage which all made it an intense and meaningful read. The characterisation was excellent. The more we learned about the characters, the more my opinion of them shifted. This story plays expertly on your emotions and really challenges you to think about how much of the criminal justice system is based on emotional – gut reaction rather than on truth. All the loose ends are tied up in a heart-wrenching ending, rooted in realism but that will leave you conflicted.
I listened to it on audiobook and I highly suggest you do the same: the narration really elevated the beautiful writing style. Overall, a palpitating experience that leaves a bruise, but is definitely going on my re-read list.
This was a thrilling courtroom drama, layered with the experiences of immigrant families in America, special-needs parenting and questions of how far one can go to protect your family or your marriage which all made it an intense and meaningful read. The characterisation was excellent. The more we learned about the characters, the more my opinion of them shifted. This story plays expertly on your emotions and really challenges you to think about how much of the criminal justice system is based on emotional – gut reaction rather than on truth. All the loose ends are tied up in a heart-wrenching ending, rooted in realism but that will leave you conflicted.
I listened to it on audiobook and I highly suggest you do the same: the narration really elevated the beautiful writing style. Overall, a palpitating experience that leaves a bruise, but is definitely going on my re-read list.