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tiggum's reviews
729 reviews
Harry Potter and the Save-or-Die by Sir Poley
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Serialised fiction that the author stopped writing (or at least posting). I was enjoying it, but it's been so long now I'm unlikely to ever go back to it even if he does start posting again.
Flight #008 by Peter Watts, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, William Shunn, Gregory Benford, Madeline Ashby, Mike Resnick, Paolo Bacigalupi, Karl Schroeder, James Morrow, Nancy Kress, Brenda Cooper, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Daniel H. Wilson, Catherine Asaro, Kevin J. Anderson, Justina Robson, Eileen Gunn, Charles Yu, James L. Cambias, Sheila Finch, Matt Hill, Charlie Jane Anders, Chen Qiufan, Bud Sparhawk, Bruce Sterling, James Smythe, Hal Y. Zhang, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Aidan J.S. Menuge, Hugh Howey, Kathryn Cramer, Margaret Atwood, Hannu Rajaniemi, Lee Konstantinou, Mike Barretta
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I stopped reading these for a while and when I went back the website was gone. I remember the ones I read being largely ok though.
Ghosts of Saltmarsh by Wizards RPG Team, Mike Mearls
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
As far as D&D adventures go, it's fine. I just stopped running D&D.
Blades in the Dark by John Harper
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
The book is very well laid-out and contains such useful information about the game and setting that you can run a session with virtually no preparation (other than having read the book and, ideally, at least played before).
My only real criticism is that the setting seems to consist of all of the author's interests mashed together. I'd have preferred a more straight-forward crime-fiction setting rather than including the steampunk and ghosts and horrors outside the cities and so forth. When running the game myself I tend to de-emphasise the supernatural elements, but I'd have preferred they not be part of it at all. It's an issue I have with a lot of RPG settings, where I love the core concept but find myself less and less interested the more elements are added on top of it.
My only real criticism is that the setting seems to consist of all of the author's interests mashed together. I'd have preferred a more straight-forward crime-fiction setting rather than including the steampunk and ghosts and horrors outside the cities and so forth. When running the game myself I tend to de-emphasise the supernatural elements, but I'd have preferred they not be part of it at all. It's an issue I have with a lot of RPG settings, where I love the core concept but find myself less and less interested the more elements are added on top of it.
The Outcast Hours by Jared Shurin, Mahvesh Murad
slow-paced
3.0
Mostly fine, but nothing particularly memorable. A book that you finish but then wonder why you bothered.
Things We Found During the Autopsy by Kuzhali Manickavel
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
I don't know what the fuck this is supposed to be but I hate it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, and Blood
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
Far too twee.
Dishonesty is the Second-Best Policy: And Other Rules to Live By by David Mitchell
slow-paced
Mitchell comes across as extremely conservative: not reactionary or right-wing, just generally uncomfortable with change and incapable of imagining it being for the better. "The system is terrible, but unfortunately better things aren't possible" could be the tagline for this book. His view seems to be that things are bad and will remain bad, unless they get worse.
Things We Didn't See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Depressingly plausible. My reaction to the future Amsterdam imagines is "yeah, probably." I don't need fiction to tell me what a world of ever-worsening natural disasters and plagues would be like, I can just wait and see first-hand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, and Medical content
The Good Son by Russel D. McLean
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The mystery is a bit lacklustre. It's never particularly intriguing, and the final reveal is neither the missing piece that makes it all make sense nor a twist, it's just some more of the story, I guess. But the biggest problem with the book is the excessive focus on the protagonist's dead fiancée and his resultant ennui. It's unnecessary and transparent; a textbook example of women in refrigerators.
Those points aside, the book is mostly fine. I'll probably read the second one, at some point, since I have it as well, but I'm not in any rush to get to it. For a first book, it shows promise, so if his later ones improve on it they'll be worth getting to. And the dead fiancée does seem to be basically dealt with as a motivating factor at this point so hopefully there won't be so much of that in the later ones.
Those points aside, the book is mostly fine. I'll probably read the second one, at some point, since I have it as well, but I'm not in any rush to get to it. For a first book, it shows promise, so if his later ones improve on it they'll be worth getting to. And the dead fiancée does seem to be basically dealt with as a motivating factor at this point so hopefully there won't be so much of that in the later ones.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Homophobia, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol