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pinahuiztle's reviews
65 reviews
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Galactic Patrol by E.E. "Doc" Smith
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Having never read "traditional" space opera much and with the Green Lantern comics (which I don't really like) as my reference, I was pleasantly surprised with how fun this book was.
Bad parts first: The politics are very pre-WW2-American-liberal, including some casual (but not very prominent, I think) mysogyny and references to eugenics and phrenology. There's clear heroes and villains and neither side hesitates to kill the other. The Galactic Patrol are space cops who get to act as "judge, jury and executioner" on the basis that being able to wear the Lens of Civilization demonstrates their incorruptibility. I'm not sure which edition it was that I had (it was audiobook), but in any case I agree with a certain part of the introduction saying that Lensman was an exercise in avoiding imagining anything which might actually happen in the future. It's pure escapism written for a prior age, which can be interesting in and of itself. The first few chapters are slow and not that interesting compared to the rest of the book, but introduce you to the moving parts of the setting well enough.
The science fiction isn't "hard", but it's pretty internally consistent and sometimes realistic in ways that you wouldn't expect this kind of sci-fi, from this era, to be - E.E Smith had some grasp of physics and seemed mostly aware of when he was writing nonsense. Civilization is comprised of many alien races, some of which are humanoid, some of which are very much not. Surprisingly for me, I think the depiction of the benevolent Arisians must have been influenced by Lovecraft or other weird fiction. Boskone is a caricature, but individual characters are written compellingly and make for convincing villains. Once the plot gets going it rarely stops or slows down (I think the part with Kinnison in the hospital should've been shorter, for instance, but that's a nitpick). Prose is competent enough but not amazing. I will probably finish this series at some point.
Bad parts first: The politics are very pre-WW2-American-liberal, including some casual (but not very prominent, I think) mysogyny and references to eugenics and phrenology. There's clear heroes and villains and neither side hesitates to kill the other. The Galactic Patrol are space cops who get to act as "judge, jury and executioner" on the basis that being able to wear the Lens of Civilization demonstrates their incorruptibility. I'm not sure which edition it was that I had (it was audiobook), but in any case I agree with a certain part of the introduction saying that Lensman was an exercise in avoiding imagining anything which might actually happen in the future. It's pure escapism written for a prior age, which can be interesting in and of itself. The first few chapters are slow and not that interesting compared to the rest of the book, but introduce you to the moving parts of the setting well enough.
The science fiction isn't "hard", but it's pretty internally consistent and sometimes realistic in ways that you wouldn't expect this kind of sci-fi, from this era, to be - E.E Smith had some grasp of physics and seemed mostly aware of when he was writing nonsense. Civilization is comprised of many alien races, some of which are humanoid, some of which are very much not. Surprisingly for me, I think the depiction of the benevolent Arisians must have been influenced by Lovecraft or other weird fiction. Boskone is a caricature, but individual characters are written compellingly and make for convincing villains. Once the plot gets going it rarely stops or slows down (I think the part with Kinnison in the hospital should've been shorter, for instance, but that's a nitpick). Prose is competent enough but not amazing. I will probably finish this series at some point.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
Easily one of the worst books I've read in my life. Consists almost entirely of two twenty-something women, who get in touch through a LGBT forum over the sale of an apple peeler in the year 2000, inexplicably talking to each other like they're Victorian baronesses. One of these 21st century noblewomen keeps sending money to the other one and asking her to do increasingly fucked up things, which she does. This is intersped with graphic descriptions of violence that are only vaguely justified by the narrative. In the end the protagonist, who is for some reason obsessed with having a baby, is made to eat rotten beef. She then shits out a huge tapeworm and dies.
There are no supernatural elements in this novel.
Read literally anything else. The back of your shampoo bottle probably makes for better literature.
There are no supernatural elements in this novel.
Read literally anything else. The back of your shampoo bottle probably makes for better literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and Toxic relationship
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Very strange book. The first couple chapters are rough (there's one especially boring chase in outer space that felt like it took forever). The characters, even though they are in a fairly cohesive far-future sci-fi setting, feel like they're ultimately derived from a mix of fantasy and pulp mystery archetypes which isn't always flattering; Mieli, one of the main characters, is an absolute dead ringer for sword-and-sorcery "barbarian" characters except she's from the Oorts rather than Cimmeria, and there's elements of the noir femme fatale thrown in the mix. Jean le Flambeur, the thief from the title, is a self-conscious homage to Arsene Lupin except his thefts are described to have a mythical scale; he steals minds, memories, posthuman artifacts, astronomical objects etc.
One of this novel's major inspirations according to the author is Zelazny's Lord of Light, which I read a few months ago. The setup of le Flambeur's arc here (former legendary trickster having his mind retrieved from impenetrable conceptual "prison", with hints that the imprisonment did actually reform him to some extent) is extremely similar to that of the protagonist of Lord of Light, except that I think Lord of Light pulled it off considerably better. And I didn't love it there either, mind you. I'm actually going to have to go back and bump my Lord of Light review from 2 to 3 stars since having it rated lower than this doesn't feel right. Jean le Flambeur mostly comes across as a creep.
There's another issue: none of the characters really act as you would expect from immortals with the vast skillsets and experiences they're meant to have. Most of le Flambeur's thievery happens offscreen, and the job he actually does in the present doesn't come across as particularly clever - matter of fact, he mostly pulls THAT off because he has access to posthuman supertech more advanced than anyone else's in the planet he's in. Mieli, likewise, is supposed to be an exceedingly competent warrior but when we see her fight she mostly seems to win on account of her posthuman supertech. Isidore, a sort of detective that for much of the book has a plotline parallel lo le Flambeur, doesn't actually do much sleuthing other than using his one piece of posthuman supertech to find him the relevant clues and doing the local equivalent of Google searches. And he still needs to be rescued a few times. That pattern holds.
All the romance and drama is very strongly cliched. There is one sex scene early on and it isn't pretty.
I'm bumping it about half a star because of some seriously good worldbuilding on the very last chapter. It seems to be a cliffhanger for the sequel, which I don't think I'm going to read.
One of this novel's major inspirations according to the author is Zelazny's Lord of Light, which I read a few months ago. The setup of le Flambeur's arc here (former legendary trickster having his mind retrieved from impenetrable conceptual "prison", with hints that the imprisonment did actually reform him to some extent) is extremely similar to that of the protagonist of Lord of Light, except that I think Lord of Light pulled it off considerably better. And I didn't love it there either, mind you. I'm actually going to have to go back and bump my Lord of Light review from 2 to 3 stars since having it rated lower than this doesn't feel right. Jean le Flambeur mostly comes across as a creep.
There's another issue: none of the characters really act as you would expect from immortals with the vast skillsets and experiences they're meant to have. Most of le Flambeur's thievery happens offscreen, and the job he actually does in the present doesn't come across as particularly clever - matter of fact, he mostly pulls THAT off because he has access to posthuman supertech more advanced than anyone else's in the planet he's in. Mieli, likewise, is supposed to be an exceedingly competent warrior but when we see her fight she mostly seems to win on account of her posthuman supertech. Isidore, a sort of detective that for much of the book has a plotline parallel lo le Flambeur, doesn't actually do much sleuthing other than using his one piece of posthuman supertech to find him the relevant clues and doing the local equivalent of Google searches. And he still needs to be rescued a few times. That pattern holds.
All the romance and drama is very strongly cliched. There is one sex scene early on and it isn't pretty.
I'm bumping it about half a star because of some seriously good worldbuilding on the very last chapter. It seems to be a cliffhanger for the sequel, which I don't think I'm going to read.
Mexicans in Revolution, 1910-1946: An Introduction by Colin M. MacLachlan, William H. Beezley
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
A good action-adventure romp that initially seems to promise a bit more. Most of the novel is a flashback with the first chapter being nearly the last to occur chronologically, but unfortunately Zelazny loses steam on the home stretch and very little of note happens once the narration does catch up with events for the final chapter. With one or two memorable exceptions (which still aren't going to shock anyone with their brilliance, but are at least well-executed) there really isn't much character development happening in this book. The characters aren't exactly flat, but they are not very believable as people. Several of the most important characters are morally grey, hypercompetent know-it-all cynics, which does get tiresome; the antagonists with a discernible personality are mostly gleeful amoral hedonists or bloodthirsty maniacs.
The Hindu mythology-inspired setting was unusual for the time. For good plot-related reasons this aspect is a bit superficial, however, and to some it may read like shameless Orientalism. Personally I felt it was pulled off well enough.
To give credit where it's due: Zelazny writes the hell out of a fight scene. It actually made me check if he was a martial artist himself (he was). The prose can be awkward and overwrought, but occasionally hits its stride and turns out some gorgeous passages.
I must add the caveat that even for older sci-fi this book treats its non-male characters pretty questionably. See content warnings.
The Hindu mythology-inspired setting was unusual for the time. For good plot-related reasons this aspect is a bit superficial, however, and to some it may read like shameless Orientalism. Personally I felt it was pulled off well enough.
To give credit where it's due: Zelazny writes the hell out of a fight scene. It actually made me check if he was a martial artist himself (he was). The prose can be awkward and overwrought, but occasionally hits its stride and turns out some gorgeous passages.
I must add the caveat that even for older sci-fi this book treats its non-male characters pretty questionably. See content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Minor: Deadnaming
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5