patlo's reviews
1305 reviews

Rose/House by Arkady Martine

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Weird trippy wild dystopian AI thriller. Arkady Martine is an amazing writer and storyteller.

A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring tense slow-paced

3.75

This is a DEEEEP dive into the history of the Luddite movement, and it does a great job of resetting our misconceptions about what that actually means (HINT: It's not "fear of technology", it's "concern that technology is used to enrich the owner class at the expense of the working class").

LOTS of facts, details, story, names. LOTS. I skimmed quite a bit. It's a good setup, and the later sections that investigate the themes of the Luddites/Ludd/Luddism in modern technology context of gig work and LLM/AI, that was really good. Repetitive at times, but good.

It's a worthwhile read, but you may need to assemble your own impacts from all the data presented.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Interesting idea, and intriguing characters in the beginning, but I found that over time I wasn’t very well attached to them and didn’t feel the story building. Kinda corny in places. Liked it, didn’t love it. Bonus points, the author read the audiobook and does a wonderful job.

Country by Michael Hughes

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced