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the_gandy_man's reviews
94 reviews
Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
3.75
Definitely the weakest of the trilogy. These books set up mystery really well, but they tend not to resolve. The lack of resolution definitely works in this style, but it also generally isn't my preference. This book left me feeling wanting for answers. But of course that was the intention, and even though I wish it had more answers, I really liked the ending. I also think the multiple perspectives, while necessary, is less interesting than really getting into one perspective.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
3.25
Saved by the last 15%.
The bulk of this book is not very interesting. Very little happens that is actually interesting, and it's pretty repetitive. Ender is like mildly interesting. He just kind of does what they want him to do, doesn't really make choices. He tells us he doesn't want to hurt people, but he hurts people because they make him hurt people.
I strongly dislike the worldbuilding. It reminded me of Ready Player One in that a lot of it just doesn't feel thought through. The psychotic fever-dream videogame is nonsense. Sexism and anti-Semitism seem to be worse than they are for us today (there's one woman in the battle school, and there's a stereotype that Jews are good commanders so they get bullied for that or something along those lines). The aliens are called "Buggers". Come on. At one point Ender isat the top of the standings because he hasn't missed any shots (because he hasn't fired any shots). Nobody with a brain would design standings like that. The slang is grating. And of course their whole strategy to beat the Buggers is to send all their ships to an attack that will only succeed if they find a 12 year old genius commander. This seems like a terrible plan. There's a general sense throughout the book that everybody is really stupid. "I have this obviously great theory for how the Buggers work but the scientists won't listen to me. WHY? Why have the smartest people in the world not figured out what some random old commander and this twelve year old and us, the reader, can clearly see? Also they discover faster-than-light technology, but the only implication is that they can communicate instantly with their ships. What about causality and time travel? This should be the biggest scientific discovery ever, which completely upturns everything we think we know about everything, but it's just an excuse to be able to command ships that are really far away. AND for some reason they still have pilots in the ships. Couldn't they just as easily pilot them remotely with this technology?
Most of this book annoyed me or bored me, and it was on pace for 2 stars until the end.The twist that the game wasn't a game is incredible. While I still don't like Ender's lack of agency, I think the ending justifies it. We're led to believe that Ender feels like he has no choice but to go along with their games, but he doesn't want to actually kill anybody. We're led to believe in the end, he will make a character choice to get along with the Buggers instead of killing them or something like that, but instead that opportunity is taken from him. I liked how the Buggers view life completely differently than us, so that they didn't think they were killing us. I also liked when we get to see Ender strategize. Unfortunately, too often the book likes to focus on less interesting aspects of the world and the story.
In the end, I liked Ender's Game. I liked the were the story ended up. I like Ender's personal journey. I liked the themes at play. I just found the worldbuilding weak, and the meat of the book not especially interesting.
The bulk of this book is not very interesting. Very little happens that is actually interesting, and it's pretty repetitive. Ender is like mildly interesting. He just kind of does what they want him to do, doesn't really make choices. He tells us he doesn't want to hurt people, but he hurts people because they make him hurt people.
I strongly dislike the worldbuilding. It reminded me of Ready Player One in that a lot of it just doesn't feel thought through. The psychotic fever-dream videogame is nonsense. Sexism and anti-Semitism seem to be worse than they are for us today (there's one woman in the battle school, and there's a stereotype that Jews are good commanders so they get bullied for that or something along those lines). The aliens are called "Buggers". Come on. At one point Ender is
Most of this book annoyed me or bored me, and it was on pace for 2 stars until the end.
In the end, I liked Ender's Game. I liked the were the story ended up. I like Ender's personal journey. I liked the themes at play. I just found the worldbuilding weak, and the meat of the book not especially interesting.
It by Stephen King
3.5
What a fuckin book. Stephen King is really good. This book isn't as scary as his others I've read, but the scary parts are still very well-written and visceral. I like the way the story unravels with the adults remembering bits and pieces and we slowly fill it all in. The kids' friendship feels real and strong. I really like the scope of this book. We see the permeation of It through Derry throughout history, and then after so so many pages, we come face-to-face with some big primordial shit and it's very cool.
But boy does this book have some problems. It's too long. It's good that it's long, but man it's too long. There were so many parts that were a struggle to get through. There will be a chapter where not much happens, and then the next character will get a similar chapter, and then I know I gotta get through five more chapters with a total of like two things happening.
There's a lot of bigoted characters. Even our protagonists say some fucked up shit, but they're kids in the 50's so they don't know better. It gets exhausting. Yes I get it Joe Shmoe from rural Maine in the 50's or 80's hates gay people or black people or whatever I just don't want to hear it every 20 pages when it's not necessary for the story (sometimes it is necessary for the story I'm not talking about those times).
And finally we arrive at Beverly. Each of our protagonists have defining characteristics that set them apart. Beverly's is that she's the girl. "No no no! She's defined by more than her gender!" you say. She's the girl and alsoher dad abuses her. And in the future, her husband abuses her. Also Ben's attracted to her and she's attracted to Bill. But that's not all. She is sexualized as an 11 year old both by the other protagonists and by the book. I get that the kids are discovering they're horny and so they're sexualizing her, but it feels like King thinks I want to read about it. It's disgusting. The most horrific scene in this book is when Beverly WHO IS ELEVEN fucks each of the other protagonists WHO ARE ALSO CHILDREN to strengthen their bond so they can escape the sewers. It's not written to be horrific. It's written to be touching? uplifting? I don't know. I hate it. And it could EASILY be cut.
These faults don't ruin the book for me. If you think they could ruin the book for you PLEASE READ SOMETHING ELSE. "But The Gandy Man, my favorite book reviewer liked it so it can't be that bad." NO IT IS THAT BAD YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
But boy does this book have some problems. It's too long. It's good that it's long, but man it's too long. There were so many parts that were a struggle to get through. There will be a chapter where not much happens, and then the next character will get a similar chapter, and then I know I gotta get through five more chapters with a total of like two things happening.
There's a lot of bigoted characters. Even our protagonists say some fucked up shit, but they're kids in the 50's so they don't know better. It gets exhausting. Yes I get it Joe Shmoe from rural Maine in the 50's or 80's hates gay people or black people or whatever I just don't want to hear it every 20 pages when it's not necessary for the story (sometimes it is necessary for the story I'm not talking about those times).
And finally we arrive at Beverly. Each of our protagonists have defining characteristics that set them apart. Beverly's is that she's the girl. "No no no! She's defined by more than her gender!" you say. She's the girl and also
These faults don't ruin the book for me. If you think they could ruin the book for you PLEASE READ SOMETHING ELSE. "But The Gandy Man, my favorite book reviewer liked it so it can't be that bad." NO IT IS THAT BAD YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
3.5
I like the premise. It's like Percy Jackson, but it feels more real. The gods are more loose and mysterious and there's so many. If the gods were actually real, I would expect it to be more like American Gods than Percy Jackson. I like meeting new gods and maybe I've heard of them maybe I haven't. I like the ways different gods manifest themselves in America. Lots of stories take place in America, but this one feels especially American. I also like the idea that the whole story is maybe not exactly actually happening, and is just a creative representation of reality. The thought that it isn't actually real makes it feel more real.
The plot is weird. It's pretty simple. It's slow and meanders a lot.I like the whole Lakeside part, but it doesn't really contribute to the overarching plot. Nothing contributes to the overarching plot, we're just in a perpetual lead-up to a war, until Wednesday dies. And it's too long. I don't care enough to find out, but I wonder I'd like the original version of this book better, because it feels like it could use some trimming. I think I would've like it less had I read it instead of listened to it.
Shadow is pretty lame. Most of the time he's just going with the flow, I can't think of any choices that felt entirely his. And that's addressed in the book.His wife says that he isn't "alive". He still isn't very interesting.
The plot is weird. It's pretty simple. It's slow and meanders a lot.
Shadow is pretty lame. Most of the time he's just going with the flow, I can't think of any choices that felt entirely his. And that's addressed in the book.
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
4.0
This book shares a lot of its strengths with the first. I like the intrigue, but it's not quite as interesting as the first book's premise. This book answers questions and creates new ones. I'm really excited to see how it all ends, if it will answer everything or still leave me wondering what it all means.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez
3.5
I knew that sexism was pervasive in society, but this book did a fantastic job at showing me that I actually had no idea how pervasive it is. It's very effective at uncovering places where I would not expect sexism to have such a negative impact, focusing on how women do more unpaid work such as childcare, eldercare, housework, etc. and how harmful our society is to those people.
I really like everything this book has to sexism. I also think it assumes that gender is binary and that sex and gender are equivalent. It does note the difference between sex and gender at the beginning, but then says we're just going to treat them as the same for the whole book. I didn't like that. I'm not really the person to explore that, it's just how I felt.
The other problem I had with the book is probably more of a me problem. Sometimes there's too much listing statistics. "This % in this country and this % in this country etc. etc." There were stretches where I got bored because it didn't feel like Perez was saying anything new, just citing statistics to support the claim I already accepted. Maybe that's just a non-fiction thing, this is the first non-fiction book I've rated.
There were also a few times (not nearly enough to matter) where a stat felt questionable. The only example I can remember was when she listed words that were more likely to be used describing men than women and vice versa. This sort of statistic can be deceptive since you could have a ton of words that are getting at the same thing, and then through variance some of them happen to be used more for women than men so you cherry pick those words to fabricate a trend that supports your agenda. There were a few things similar to that where I just had the thought "this stat could be misleading". That being said, I don't believe any of them were, especially considering the massive mountain of other stats that also support the same claim. I just wish some of the stats were presented in a way that leaves less room for doubt. Maybe this is again just a non-fiction thing and any book with a ton of stats is going to have a few that could feel questionable (and again it's not the content of the stat or what the stat is saying that I found questionable, just the manner in which the stat is you know what you get it it's like the example I gave. I'm rambling. The least important part of this review is bigger than the rest of the review. I will not be fixing it. Good book.)
I really like everything this book has to sexism. I also think it assumes that gender is binary and that sex and gender are equivalent. It does note the difference between sex and gender at the beginning, but then says we're just going to treat them as the same for the whole book. I didn't like that. I'm not really the person to explore that, it's just how I felt.
The other problem I had with the book is probably more of a me problem. Sometimes there's too much listing statistics. "This % in this country and this % in this country etc. etc." There were stretches where I got bored because it didn't feel like Perez was saying anything new, just citing statistics to support the claim I already accepted. Maybe that's just a non-fiction thing, this is the first non-fiction book I've rated.
There were also a few times (not nearly enough to matter) where a stat felt questionable. The only example I can remember was when she listed words that were more likely to be used describing men than women and vice versa. This sort of statistic can be deceptive since you could have a ton of words that are getting at the same thing, and then through variance some of them happen to be used more for women than men so you cherry pick those words to fabricate a trend that supports your agenda. There were a few things similar to that where I just had the thought "this stat could be misleading". That being said, I don't believe any of them were, especially considering the massive mountain of other stats that also support the same claim. I just wish some of the stats were presented in a way that leaves less room for doubt. Maybe this is again just a non-fiction thing and any book with a ton of stats is going to have a few that could feel questionable (and again it's not the content of the stat or what the stat is saying that I found questionable, just the manner in which the stat is you know what you get it it's like the example I gave. I'm rambling. The least important part of this review is bigger than the rest of the review. I will not be fixing it. Good book.)
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
4.0
Really compelling mystery, well paced, and nice and short. I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops in the sequels.
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
3.75
Good book, but a big step down from Beartown. Both books are quite slow, and jump around a lot. In Beartown, all of the time spent developing characters, relationships, and the setting becomes worth it when the book hits its big emotional moments. That book peaks really high, but can be a bit too slow for me.
Us Against You doesn't peak nearly as high. It's the first of Backman's books to not make me cry. As a result, the slowness doesn't feel as worth it.
Us Against You doesn't peak nearly as high. It's the first of Backman's books to not make me cry. As a result, the slowness doesn't feel as worth it.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
3.25
Similar to Narnia, which I read recently, in that it's a children's fantasy where regular kids go to a fantastical world. Peter Pan outdoes Narnia particularly in its tone, which is very whimsical and childish. Everything feels like it's taking place in a child's imagination in a manner which is really creative and well done.
Like Narnia, I think the actual plot is pretty boring. Maybe this is a children's book thing, but I really like the plot of Percy Jackson (I guess that's middle-grade not children's, though?). I'm glad I read Peter Pan, but I wouldn't consider it great.
Oh and it's racist.
Like Narnia, I think the actual plot is pretty boring. Maybe this is a children's book thing, but I really like the plot of Percy Jackson (I guess that's middle-grade not children's, though?). I'm glad I read Peter Pan, but I wouldn't consider it great.
Oh and it's racist.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
I like the core Don Quixote stuff. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are really entertaining. It's just so slow. It hasn't felt like it's actually been moving in a while, and when it does move it then goes off and talks about something I don't care about for a while. The language makes it really easy to just zone out. It feels like, even listening to the audiobook, I have to be constantly focusing to actually have a sense of what's going on. It's all just not worth it for me. It took me a month to get this far, and as much as I want to have read Don Quixote, I'd much rather listen to other books for the next two months.
2.75 stars
2.75 stars