mesal's reviews
572 reviews

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The science fiction element of this book is what I really loved. Both the setting and historical background made for a great read, and for the most part I even enjoyed the dives into character relationships. I think the mystery aspect of it fell through, though. It was overall very average: it wasn't too difficult to figure out which member of the crew was behind the sabotage, and the way it was finally revealed to the reader honestly irked me more. You can't write a generally reliable narrator and then near the end of the book suddenly decide to make her unreliable simply because you want to hide the identity of the saboteur for as long as unreasonably possible.

On their way back to the Med Mod, Asuka had revealed her suspicions, and they'd cooked up this plan.

Telling the reader this only after the grand reveal, and having Asuka not act warily around the person she suspected, did not read well. On the whole, though, I enjoyed this book a lot, as evidenced by the fact that I've been recommending it to others since I read it. 

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells

adventurous fast-paced

4.0

it was nice but much shorter than the (already very short) other novellas, so there wasn't much to work with here. except "you can hug me if you need to" which made me cry

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

adventurous emotional funny

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

we love you murderbot

Off Target by Eve Smith

reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

Really interesting premise and a decent execution as well. However, there were several sections of the novel which felt like they were nothing more than worldbuilding and infodumping under a thin veneer of character and plot. The infodumping in question was related to research; all of the research the author had done in order to be able to write a book about prenatal genetic modifications seemed to have been thrown into the book, and a lot of it wasn't strictly needed by the storyline. 

Assassin of Reality by Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko

4.0

I am constantly amazed by the Dyachenkos' ability to write open-ended conclusions to their novels that somehow allow them to work as standalones at the same time as leaving questions open for sequels to answer. Although Vita Nostra gave readers no dearth of information when it came to understanding the premise of Assassin of Reality, somehow a lot of the first half of this novel still flew right over my head, making me take much longer to get through it than I did its predecessor. The second half made much more sense and brought narrative threads together well; there may have been far more oddly poetic sentences mixed in with the usual writing style carried forward from Vita Nostra, but it was overall a compelling read.

The acknowledgements section was a bittersweet close to the novel. Serhiy Dyachenko died during the process of Assassin of Reality's translation into English; the third and final installment of this trilogy will be written by Maryna without him. I look forward to reading its translation whenever it's published and discovering

the macrostructure Sasha creates in her own image—and how much of a place Farit Kozhennikov has in it. If he has one at all

. 

The Lost Children of Paradise by Omar Gilani

2.5

What I really liked about this book was the worldbuilding. Gilani is already a visionary with respect to his art, painting distant futures of Pakistan that are somehow feasible and convincing despite their science fictional nature, and this translates well into his fiction. There were a few aspects of the world in this novel that I felt could have been explained better—why did beggars on the streets have prosthetic arms, aside from their obvious contribution to the aesthetic?—but on the whole, this futuristic Pakistan was gratifying to explore.

The plot of The Lost Children of Paradise was less compelling. It read like the detective fiction of the 1900s, following a very specific if slightly unoriginal formula to reach its expected conclusion. I'm not a fan of this subgenre, but I understand that it's loved by many. If you're looking for your next crime fiction fix but with an entirely unique setting, you may well enjoy this book. 

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

challenging emotional reflective

5.0

Call me dramatic but I'm convinced Ferrante has the best grasp of any of us on human nature since Shakespeare. 

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

adventurous emotional funny

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This is one of those moments where you enjoyed reading a book so much that you don't really have anything to say about it beyond "I enjoyed reading this book so much." Though the novella certainly isn't flawless—I still don't understand Murderbot's speech patterns or its choice in wording, for instance—I loved the progression of the plot and the characters taking that journey too much to mind.

I hope ART shows up in at least one of the next novellas. It's too good a character to leave behind like this. 

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

adventurous funny

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I love Murderbot! I don't so much love soft science fiction. Murderbot made it worth my while, though, and I fully intend to read the rest of the series soon. 

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

dark

3.5