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ribbenkast's reviews
108 reviews
The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
The SciFi book club I am in picked this out and I really wanted to like it. Because I talked to friends who already finished it, I went in expecting more of a romance with a SciFi backdrop instead of a full SciFi book but even that couldn't really save it.
The pacing was off from the get go, the romance wasn't slow burn but instead just long winded. I gathered that the author has other books in this setting, but the setting does nothing for the plot. The fact that Rice Fish is not human doesn't seem to matter at all. This book and setting has so many interesting things to explore, even in terms of romance, which are immediately skipped over for a generic romantasy plot.
For two days I dreaded picking up this book wishing I was reading anything else. And maybe I stopped digging right before I hit diamonds. And sorry to my friends who did enjoy it, but life's too short to read books you don't enjoy. So I'm skipping this one.
The pacing was off from the get go, the romance wasn't slow burn but instead just long winded. I gathered that the author has other books in this setting, but the setting does nothing for the plot. The fact that Rice Fish is not human doesn't seem to matter at all. This book and setting has so many interesting things to explore, even in terms of romance, which are immediately skipped over for a generic romantasy plot.
For two days I dreaded picking up this book wishing I was reading anything else. And maybe I stopped digging right before I hit diamonds. And sorry to my friends who did enjoy it, but life's too short to read books you don't enjoy. So I'm skipping this one.
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
This short story collection is well written and all the stories had strong concepts. As is bound to happen with short story collection, I did not enjoy every story the same.
One thing I did notice is that, even though the stories are not bad by any means, almost all stories' ending felt a bit weak to me. It did make me curious to read a full length novel by this author.
One thing I did notice is that, even though the stories are not bad by any means, almost all stories' ending felt a bit weak to me. It did make me curious to read a full length novel by this author.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Even though I fully respect the hustle, I'm not a big romance reader. I grew up in the fanfic trenches so when I heard that Ali Hazelwood was bringing Omegaverse/ A/B/O into the mainstream I got curious and decided to see what all the hype was about.
I now fully get the Ali Hazelwood hype!
However this book is not Omegaverse, it's simply a werewolf based society with a fated mates trope. There is more to A/B/O than just these tropes but I honestly can't blame people for the misunderstanding as I'm outing myself here.
Despite this, the book was amazing. I had a lot of fun with it and it was a delightfully easy read.
One tiny nitpick thing: The Were in Werewolf means: men (as in human). Calling the race "The Weres" was the wrong choice here!
I now fully get the Ali Hazelwood hype!
However this book is not Omegaverse, it's simply a werewolf based society with a fated mates trope. There is more to A/B/O than just these tropes but I honestly can't blame people for the misunderstanding as I'm outing myself here.
Despite this, the book was amazing. I had a lot of fun with it and it was a delightfully easy read.
One tiny nitpick thing: The Were in Werewolf means: men (as in human). Calling the race "The Weres" was the wrong choice here!
Death Valley by Melissa Broder
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Melissa Broder's writing is as always incredibly funny. I really liked the main character and I really felt her struggle.
However I did expect more from this. The book has a major pasing issue where the middle of the book just slogs.The advertised cactus business is over quickly and the main character just gets lost in the dessert The book is explicitly centered around dealing with grief about your loved ones when they are still alive. In the "slog" part we just get a description of her actions like a play by play, without any emotional beats or revelations. There where a few profound moments in the book that really resonated with me, but those moments where flashbacks in which the character had already made the important realisation before even checking into the hotel. The story didn't drive any character arc or transformation, despite the meta-narrative (the main character is a writer, writing a book about someone going through about the same thing) implying that it does/it should.
This made the book feel a little disjointed. Despite it being most of the book, I felt like the whole "slog" part could be cut without any issue.
The book was a quick enjoyable read nonetheless.
However I did expect more from this. The book has a major pasing issue where the middle of the book just slogs.
This made the book feel a little disjointed. Despite it being most of the book, I felt like the whole "slog" part could be cut without any issue.
The book was a quick enjoyable read nonetheless.
The Sluts by Dennis Cooper
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is not for everyone, and definitely not for the faint of heart. People are quick to say that about a lot of horror, but this time please heed the warning.
However, I do have to give this book 5 ⭐️. It just does everything right. First there is the mystery: the book mainly consists of forum posts on an gay escort rating website in the early 2000's. There is no way to verify which accounts are real and which accounts are fake (even though the poor webmaster does try). Dennis Cooper does not take the reader by the hand. You have to do some detective work and decide for yourself what is real and what is fake.
Secondly, it uses gore and violence effectively within the story. (So many times in extreme horror, gore is just simply there for the shock value. I find that rather overdone and boring). Some of the described acts are so vile, I had to put the book down for a bit. Whether these things actually happened or whether these were just the perverted ramblings of someone getting their weird rocks off remains to be debated. (Although we get some answers in the end.)
When does a fantasy cross the line? What is ethical even if someone supposedly concented? It is a cruel account of what happens when people egg each other on to live their most perverted fantasies. This book written in 2004 is an important early conversation about Internet safety and mass delerium when people can hide in anonymity.
However, I do have to give this book 5 ⭐️. It just does everything right. First there is the mystery: the book mainly consists of forum posts on an gay escort rating website in the early 2000's. There is no way to verify which accounts are real and which accounts are fake (even though the poor webmaster does try). Dennis Cooper does not take the reader by the hand. You have to do some detective work and decide for yourself what is real and what is fake.
Secondly, it uses gore and violence effectively within the story. (So many times in extreme horror, gore is just simply there for the shock value. I find that rather overdone and boring). Some of the described acts are so vile, I had to put the book down for a bit. Whether these things actually happened or whether these were just the perverted ramblings of someone getting their weird rocks off remains to be debated. (Although we get some answers in the end.)
When does a fantasy cross the line? What is ethical even if someone supposedly concented? It is a cruel account of what happens when people egg each other on to live their most perverted fantasies. This book written in 2004 is an important early conversation about Internet safety and mass delerium when people can hide in anonymity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
De maan schijnt feller in de metaverse. Gedichten by Merel van Slobbe
2.0
Het concept van deze dichtbundel is erg sterk. De uitvoering is helaas teleurstellend.
Los van een paar rake zinnen vond ik de proza erg zwak. Veel van de gedichten voelde als slappe imitaties van dichtcliché's en veel betere dichters, zonder dat Slobbe snapt waarom het bij de andere dichters wel werkt en bij haar niet. Daarnaast ergerde ik me mateloos aan de oneindige hoeveelheid qoutes van anderen (boeken, dichters, muzikanten, Mark Zuckerberg) Het voelt alsof Slobbe weet dat haar werk niet opzichzelf kan staan en daarom maar ander werk aanhaalt.
De dichtbundel schiet naar mijn mening zijn doel voorbij. De opzet is een filosofische kijk op de impact van internet en technologie op mens en maatschappij. Een mooi streven, hier is namelijk veel over te schrijven en te zeggen. Helaas bleef de discussie ontzettend oppervlakkig, aangevuld door random internet en AI-thema woorden die volledig uit de context zijn gehaald. Met uiteindelijk boomer-conclusie: moderne technologie slecht.
Los van een paar rake zinnen vond ik de proza erg zwak. Veel van de gedichten voelde als slappe imitaties van dichtcliché's en veel betere dichters, zonder dat Slobbe snapt waarom het bij de andere dichters wel werkt en bij haar niet. Daarnaast ergerde ik me mateloos aan de oneindige hoeveelheid qoutes van anderen (boeken, dichters, muzikanten, Mark Zuckerberg) Het voelt alsof Slobbe weet dat haar werk niet opzichzelf kan staan en daarom maar ander werk aanhaalt.
De dichtbundel schiet naar mijn mening zijn doel voorbij. De opzet is een filosofische kijk op de impact van internet en technologie op mens en maatschappij. Een mooi streven, hier is namelijk veel over te schrijven en te zeggen. Helaas bleef de discussie ontzettend oppervlakkig, aangevuld door random internet en AI-thema woorden die volledig uit de context zijn gehaald. Met uiteindelijk boomer-conclusie: moderne technologie slecht.
The Breadwinner: A Graphic Novel by Nora Twomey, Deborah Ellis
2.5
Whilst I understand the work that goes into a comic book, this was just too short for me. It felt rushed and it did not get the point of the story across in just 80 pages with very little dialogue.
Fluids by May Leitz
dark
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
I only finished it because it was so short. There was some good prose in there, but the dual pov between the characters was done poorly. Neither of them had a distinct voice.
Some people read and write the most gross books imaginable and think that just because it's shocking it must be good and deep. But without a deeper tangible meaning, all the gore and violence is quite literally pointless. I love reading horror, especially with violence and gore but there was no point to this book. Worse, it absolutely bored me to death with the unnecessary eyerolling shock factor. In some roundabout way, it's almost pretentious and overly edgy.
The gore would've worked if the the plot and built up had been stronger. I don't think the author is a bad writer, I can see the potential. This book needed some extra time in the oven, but as it stands it's unfortunately not good.
Some people read and write the most gross books imaginable and think that just because it's shocking it must be good and deep. But without a deeper tangible meaning, all the gore and violence is quite literally pointless. I love reading horror, especially with violence and gore but there was no point to this book. Worse, it absolutely bored me to death with the unnecessary eyerolling shock factor. In some roundabout way, it's almost pretentious and overly edgy.
The gore would've worked if the the plot and built up had been stronger. I don't think the author is a bad writer, I can see the potential. This book needed some extra time in the oven, but as it stands it's unfortunately not good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
What a ride! I got stuck in the "one more chapter" loop until it was six in the morning and suddenly I had finished it.
The first 120 pages or so are admitedly a bit slow, but necessary set up. It took me a bit to get through them but I read the last 350 pages in one sitting.
There is so much love put into this world and the characters. Every character has been so well developed, even the villains are truly complex multifaceted characters. I know the bar is on the floor sometimes, but reading about a mother (Amina) who did not lose herself in motherhood and who has her own complex motivations and is still a good mom is a breath of fresh air.
Chakraborty sines when writing dialogue, which made me literally kick my feet and laugh out loud sometimes. The story is beautifully weaved together and everything falls into place in the end.
It has strong themes of found family, parenthood, colonisation, class struggle. You can tell the author is passionate about the history she's portraying and it was handled with a lot of care in my opinion. The book literary ends with suggested readings and a bibliography.
But the best part: she did all this, and on top of that this book was just full of whimsy fun.
The first 120 pages or so are admitedly a bit slow, but necessary set up. It took me a bit to get through them but I read the last 350 pages in one sitting.
There is so much love put into this world and the characters. Every character has been so well developed, even the villains are truly complex multifaceted characters. I know the bar is on the floor sometimes, but reading about a mother (Amina) who did not lose herself in motherhood and who has her own complex motivations and is still a good mom is a breath of fresh air.
Chakraborty sines when writing dialogue, which made me literally kick my feet and laugh out loud sometimes. The story is beautifully weaved together and everything falls into place in the end.
It has strong themes of found family, parenthood, colonisation, class struggle. You can tell the author is passionate about the history she's portraying and it was handled with a lot of care in my opinion. The book literary ends with suggested readings and a bibliography.
But the best part: she did all this, and on top of that this book was just full of whimsy fun.
Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud by Becky Holmes
2.0
"I was approached by a security-awareness networking group, who asked me to join an online panel of romance-fraud experts. I was amazed – how on earth could I possibly be considered an expert?'"
Girl, I am also confused. The author is by no means an expert on the presented topic. She's neither scholar nor journalist, or victim of the prescribed romance fraud. This book is just a word vomit of her covid-lockdown hyperfocus.
The author basically became twitter famous for wasting these romance fraudsters time by keeping them engaged with her weird stories for a long time. Those bits are immediately quite funny.
Those text excerpts combined with actual victims accounts and the ocassional educational nugget kept me going. But if you really want to learn about this topic find another book.
The book didn't deliver me what was promised. I picked this up because I realise there is a lot of victim blaming going on when it comes to romance fraud. I was hoping this book would give me a different perspective and show me the ins and outs of the psychology behind becoming a victim. There where a bunch of victims accounts in the book. I understood all of these women to a certain degree, but the scams described where elleborate and believable. I still don't know what goes through the heads of the people who think @realkeanureeeves87 is the real Keanu Reeves, that he is talking to them, let alone be in love with them and then proceed to send the super rich multi millionaire Keanu Reeves a £1000 Steam gift card.
Becky Holmes is just a deeply weird and insecure person I think. Despite this book having nothing to with that, she kept mentioning her weight and losing weight so much it was deeply triggering my ED. When walkin us through a scammers handbook given to people kept in captivity who are forced to scam people to pay of their debts al she comments on is that at age 42 she is considered unattractive and gets offended by that.
Furthermore, the author was weirdly gross about the real live celebrities and regular men that have their fotos stolen for such scamms. At one point going on a long tangent about wanting to find Liam Neeson's dick picks. I felt gross reading that. It's as if she forgot that despite having their pictures stolen, these men are also real people.
There where multiple times in the book where Holmes centered herself in the narrative despite the fact that the subject has nothing to do with her. She ends the book by saying she got over her imposter syndrome. I think she did all this in an attempt to be more relatable, but al I heard is: me me me me me me.
Lastly, the fact that most of these scams origin from Nigeria is handled with a "revoking my woke card" joke, followed by what I think is a gross racist overexaggeration of Nigerian scammers doing murder and blood magic in order to scam better.
I think she accidentally stumbled into a much bigger story about the circle of exploitation and colonisation but that would require more research and way less HaHas and Holmes appears way to dense to see that.
Ultimately, I don't think Becky Holmes had the grace to handle such a sensitive topic. A massive bummer. I do think it's possible to write such a book with humor, but you need a lot more journalistic integrity.
Girl, I am also confused. The author is by no means an expert on the presented topic. She's neither scholar nor journalist, or victim of the prescribed romance fraud. This book is just a word vomit of her covid-lockdown hyperfocus.
The author basically became twitter famous for wasting these romance fraudsters time by keeping them engaged with her weird stories for a long time. Those bits are immediately quite funny.
Those text excerpts combined with actual victims accounts and the ocassional educational nugget kept me going. But if you really want to learn about this topic find another book.
The book didn't deliver me what was promised. I picked this up because I realise there is a lot of victim blaming going on when it comes to romance fraud. I was hoping this book would give me a different perspective and show me the ins and outs of the psychology behind becoming a victim. There where a bunch of victims accounts in the book. I understood all of these women to a certain degree, but the scams described where elleborate and believable. I still don't know what goes through the heads of the people who think @realkeanureeeves87 is the real Keanu Reeves, that he is talking to them, let alone be in love with them and then proceed to send the super rich multi millionaire Keanu Reeves a £1000 Steam gift card.
Becky Holmes is just a deeply weird and insecure person I think. Despite this book having nothing to with that, she kept mentioning her weight and losing weight so much it was deeply triggering my ED. When walkin us through a scammers handbook given to people kept in captivity who are forced to scam people to pay of their debts al she comments on is that at age 42 she is considered unattractive and gets offended by that.
Furthermore, the author was weirdly gross about the real live celebrities and regular men that have their fotos stolen for such scamms. At one point going on a long tangent about wanting to find Liam Neeson's dick picks. I felt gross reading that. It's as if she forgot that despite having their pictures stolen, these men are also real people.
There where multiple times in the book where Holmes centered herself in the narrative despite the fact that the subject has nothing to do with her. She ends the book by saying she got over her imposter syndrome. I think she did all this in an attempt to be more relatable, but al I heard is: me me me me me me.
Lastly, the fact that most of these scams origin from Nigeria is handled with a "revoking my woke card" joke, followed by what I think is a gross racist overexaggeration of Nigerian scammers doing murder and blood magic in order to scam better.
I think she accidentally stumbled into a much bigger story about the circle of exploitation and colonisation but that would require more research and way less HaHas and Holmes appears way to dense to see that.
Ultimately, I don't think Becky Holmes had the grace to handle such a sensitive topic. A massive bummer. I do think it's possible to write such a book with humor, but you need a lot more journalistic integrity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Racism, Trafficking, Stalking, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic