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strete_'s reviews
192 reviews
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Ok so I originally wanted to read this as a little palate cleanser after seeing it recommended everywhere online, and before I went into something more serious like Malazan. I expected an easy, maybe trashy, "haha videogames" type book.
Is it that? Yes. Is it also very well written, funny, and does it come with a surprisingly deep and interesting story? Also yes. Now I will eat up this entire series before I read anything else.
Is it that? Yes. Is it also very well written, funny, and does it come with a surprisingly deep and interesting story? Also yes. Now I will eat up this entire series before I read anything else.
The German Ideology by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
challenging
medium-paced
4.0
Chapter 1 is one of the introductory Marxist texts you find on many reading lists online, and for a good reason. It's a little hard to understand nowadays since it's not even a complete text, but a draft response to Feuerbach and other German "Young Hegelians." Basically one of many philosophical debates of the 19th century.
What makes this text special though is not only Marx's writing style, criticism, and humour, but the elaboration of the idea of historical materialism. This is presented in opposition to the "idealist" current of German philosophy at the time, on the rise at the same time capitalism was spreading on the continent. Showing how man's history is directly related to social and productive forces, and how morality, religion, or ethics are not apriori constructs but creations stemming from the main mode of production of the time.
I did not bother with the other chapters since they are not that relevant nowadays (imo), but I've been told that if you really like philosophy then they're great to read, since they're a paragraph by paragraph deconstruction of several Young Hegelian believes, of course with a healthy dose of Marx's typical writing style.
What makes this text special though is not only Marx's writing style, criticism, and humour, but the elaboration of the idea of historical materialism. This is presented in opposition to the "idealist" current of German philosophy at the time, on the rise at the same time capitalism was spreading on the continent. Showing how man's history is directly related to social and productive forces, and how morality, religion, or ethics are not apriori constructs but creations stemming from the main mode of production of the time.
I did not bother with the other chapters since they are not that relevant nowadays (imo), but I've been told that if you really like philosophy then they're great to read, since they're a paragraph by paragraph deconstruction of several Young Hegelian believes, of course with a healthy dose of Marx's typical writing style.