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specs's reviews
101 reviews
Abhorsen by Garth Nix
5.0
This trilogy is so, so good. Another one that were great when I was a teenager and still hold up to rereading as an adult.
Virtual Light by William Gibson
2.0
Gibson is always good. Even on his worst days (which, this may be one of them) he's still got better ideas and characters than other authors at their best. But this wasn't great. The world-building took too long and didn't figure prominently enough in the wrap-up to be worth it. Maybe this is because post-apocalyptic cityscapes are old hat now (...that we live in The Future?), so readers (I) don't need chapters of description. You can do a minimum of sketching of a culture of squatters living on a defunct bridge and I can fill in the rest of the picture.
I think the emphasis on VR put some other readers off, but I enjoyed it. Is this old enough to be retrofuture? In any case, it's very 90s, which I found charmingly nostalgic. It's like going through old yearbooks, if your yearbooks included a "what will things be like in THE FUTURE" section. And if they were full of people you'd actually want to see again.
I think the emphasis on VR put some other readers off, but I enjoyed it. Is this old enough to be retrofuture? In any case, it's very 90s, which I found charmingly nostalgic. It's like going through old yearbooks, if your yearbooks included a "what will things be like in THE FUTURE" section. And if they were full of people you'd actually want to see again.
Idoru by William Gibson
3.0
I liked this one much more than Virtual Light, although neither are his best work. But this one felt more human, which is interesting given the plot. Having a hard time coming up with anything intelligent to say about this, so... thumbs up! I liked the characters, liked the concept, and as always, loved his lean writing style.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
5.0
At this point, literally everyone I've talked to about this book has told me the same thing. Everyone had to make two attempts to get into it -- they all picked it up once, didn't get through the first section, and then came back to it later (and loved it, natch).
My actual review: this book broke my heart in the best way.
My actual review: this book broke my heart in the best way.
Fire on the Mountain by Terry Bisson
4.0
beautiful & moving, although I found the mention of a dystopian sci-fi novel (spoiler: it's our world) a little heavy-handed. more later.