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tits_mcgee's reviews
180 reviews
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
adventurous
dark
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moby-Dick: Or, the Whale by Herman Melville
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The This by Adam Roberts
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Cynical dystopian with a dash of satire and a healthy portion of anxiety inducing social media based prophesying.
The This is not a cult, they promise, and like many real world social media platforms their key selling point is one of connectivity and harmoniousness, which is of course, a load of bollocks. This book is about individuality, free will, social media reliance and loneliness. "Information overload" comes to mind as well, it was very clever to include a running feed at the bottom of several pages, conveying just how constant social media is in modern life. The tone was its self lonely feeling, and for people like me, who hate social media with a passion (despite this review being posted on it), it was damn scary to see my worst fears unfolding before me. Very conspiratorial and cynical, my favourite.
The plot is a back and forth between timelines which I found enjoyable, the prelude and aftermath of such a technology are explored by protagonists Rich and Adan, bookended by chapters set in "The Bardo" where we are given some insight from beyond the main narrative through the eyes of Abby Normal. The structure worked well. The Bardo chapters were slightly confusing but still a fun way of changing perspective, which I think was well needed and certainly helped break up the overly similar two male protagonists. Maybe it would have helped break up Rich and Adan's similarities even more if the Bardo scenes were more frequent, but I'm nit-picking.
Oh, and there was a rather unexpected cameo chapter from another, very famous dystopian novel. That was fun.
So who do I think should read this book?
If you're a fan of cynicism, false utopias and paranoid speculations, you'll probably like the main point of this book. The humour works well enough to be enjoyable for non sci-fi fans too. For fans of beautiful, flowery prose, look elsewhere.
7/10
The This is not a cult, they promise, and like many real world social media platforms their key selling point is one of connectivity and harmoniousness, which is of course, a load of bollocks. This book is about individuality, free will, social media reliance and loneliness. "Information overload" comes to mind as well, it was very clever to include a running feed at the bottom of several pages, conveying just how constant social media is in modern life. The tone was its self lonely feeling, and for people like me, who hate social media with a passion (despite this review being posted on it), it was damn scary to see my worst fears unfolding before me. Very conspiratorial and cynical, my favourite.
The plot is a back and forth between timelines which I found enjoyable, the prelude and aftermath of such a technology are explored by protagonists Rich and Adan, bookended by chapters set in "The Bardo" where we are given some insight from beyond the main narrative through the eyes of Abby Normal. The structure worked well. The Bardo chapters were slightly confusing but still a fun way of changing perspective, which I think was well needed and certainly helped break up the overly similar two male protagonists. Maybe it would have helped break up Rich and Adan's similarities even more if the Bardo scenes were more frequent, but I'm nit-picking.
Oh, and there was a rather unexpected cameo chapter from another, very famous dystopian novel. That was fun.
So who do I think should read this book?
If you're a fan of cynicism, false utopias and paranoid speculations, you'll probably like the main point of this book. The humour works well enough to be enjoyable for non sci-fi fans too. For fans of beautiful, flowery prose, look elsewhere.
7/10
Moscow Circles by Venedikt Erofeev, Benedict Erofeev
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
🚂 Review of Moscow Circles by Benedict Erofeev 🚂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*partial spoilers, but the plot isn't the point*
I'm always a fan of characters whose motivation begins and ends with a bottle of booze and whose existence bears no influence on the world around them. Benedict Erofeev is both the author and the main character of Moscow Circles, a book that was published on the hush hush and passed around the literary underground. A form of rebellion.
The repressive nature of Soviet Russia was clearly a big influence, but in true satirical fashion, the reason for this book being physically written was actually a dare.
The structure works really well, it is a stream of consciousness in style, broken only by the announcements of the train stations. Indeed the book is set almost entirely on the train from Moscow to Petushki, where our alcohol fuelled protagonist is to meet his invisible love interest, a woman who has "...eyes of white, white turning to whitish..." and whom Erofeev plans to give a box of chocolates.
I particularly liked this structure because it felt like one long drinking session; and, like a long drinking session, this book starts out hilarious, full of anecdotes, singing and guffawing, and eventually unravels in a fever dream of delirium and confusion, all the while the tone of the book turns grotesque, with more profound, hard hitting political statements and societal observations, flooding the unsuspecting reader with a shock of existential dread.
The ending in particular utilises one of my favourite literary techniques: the unreliable narrator becoming undone, paranoid and confused.
"Everything should take place slowly and incorrectly so that man doesn't get a chance to start feeling proud, so that man is sad and perplexed."
"Outside again. Oh, emptiness, oh, the bared fangs of existence."
"All the Italians ever do is just sing and draw. I mean, one Italian will stand and sing and next to him another will be drawing the one who's singing and nearby will be a third Italian, singing about the one who is drawing."
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*partial spoilers, but the plot isn't the point*
I'm always a fan of characters whose motivation begins and ends with a bottle of booze and whose existence bears no influence on the world around them. Benedict Erofeev is both the author and the main character of Moscow Circles, a book that was published on the hush hush and passed around the literary underground. A form of rebellion.
The repressive nature of Soviet Russia was clearly a big influence, but in true satirical fashion, the reason for this book being physically written was actually a dare.
The structure works really well, it is a stream of consciousness in style, broken only by the announcements of the train stations. Indeed the book is set almost entirely on the train from Moscow to Petushki, where our alcohol fuelled protagonist is to meet his invisible love interest, a woman who has "...eyes of white, white turning to whitish..." and whom Erofeev plans to give a box of chocolates.
I particularly liked this structure because it felt like one long drinking session; and, like a long drinking session, this book starts out hilarious, full of anecdotes, singing and guffawing, and eventually unravels in a fever dream of delirium and confusion, all the while the tone of the book turns grotesque, with more profound, hard hitting political statements and societal observations, flooding the unsuspecting reader with a shock of existential dread.
The ending in particular utilises one of my favourite literary techniques: the unreliable narrator becoming undone, paranoid and confused.
"Everything should take place slowly and incorrectly so that man doesn't get a chance to start feeling proud, so that man is sad and perplexed."
"Outside again. Oh, emptiness, oh, the bared fangs of existence."
"All the Italians ever do is just sing and draw. I mean, one Italian will stand and sing and next to him another will be drawing the one who's singing and nearby will be a third Italian, singing about the one who is drawing."
The Terror by Dan Simmons
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am so glad I read this harrowing, nautical horror. It is haunting, atmospheric, and very, very cold.
Based on the real Sir John Franklin expedition to the Northwest Passage that ended with the deaths of all 105 crewmembers, this book contains some of my favourite literary ingredients, namely a landscape that is harsh and characters who are driven to madness while the plot thrums on in the background. With what is essentially a study of morality and sanity in a difficult situation, Simmons has auspiciously fed my addiction to depravity and bleakness.
The inhospitable setting and anxious mood are extremely well presented from the very first page, where we are quickly introduced to the creaking, moaning ice, ghostly shadows, flickering ethereal lights, and an air of desperation among the crew. For the most part, this book reads like an historical novel with gothic horror elements and a splash of the fantastical, it is a concoction of themes that I think works really well together.
The plot was, for the most part, very good – it was slow paced and secondary to the atmosphere, just the way I like it. There were essentially two plot elements, one of which is the “monster” element which arguably could have been removed entirely if not for the interesting conclusion, the other is the survival part – the more believable speculations on what could have happened to Franklin’s lost expedition, the slow torture of the bitter cold Arctic, the starvation, the disease, the demoralisation; this book goes to really dark places and Simmons ability to write grit and unfamiliarity perfectly complemented these themes and this setting.
This book was long but I wish it was longer, I wish I could feel this cold and this anxious forever.
“Outside, though perhaps morning, it is still night, but a night of a thousand thrusting colors laid over the shaking stars. The shattering ice still sounds like a drumbeat.”
“A Million years of Man’s Medicinal Progress will never reveal the secret Condition and sealed Compartments of the Human Soul.”
9/10
Based on the real Sir John Franklin expedition to the Northwest Passage that ended with the deaths of all 105 crewmembers, this book contains some of my favourite literary ingredients, namely a landscape that is harsh and characters who are driven to madness while the plot thrums on in the background. With what is essentially a study of morality and sanity in a difficult situation, Simmons has auspiciously fed my addiction to depravity and bleakness.
The inhospitable setting and anxious mood are extremely well presented from the very first page, where we are quickly introduced to the creaking, moaning ice, ghostly shadows, flickering ethereal lights, and an air of desperation among the crew. For the most part, this book reads like an historical novel with gothic horror elements and a splash of the fantastical, it is a concoction of themes that I think works really well together.
The plot was, for the most part, very good – it was slow paced and secondary to the atmosphere, just the way I like it. There were essentially two plot elements, one of which is the “monster” element which arguably could have been removed entirely if not for the interesting conclusion, the other is the survival part – the more believable speculations on what could have happened to Franklin’s lost expedition, the slow torture of the bitter cold Arctic, the starvation, the disease, the demoralisation; this book goes to really dark places and Simmons ability to write grit and unfamiliarity perfectly complemented these themes and this setting.
This book was long but I wish it was longer, I wish I could feel this cold and this anxious forever.
“Outside, though perhaps morning, it is still night, but a night of a thousand thrusting colors laid over the shaking stars. The shattering ice still sounds like a drumbeat.”
“A Million years of Man’s Medicinal Progress will never reveal the secret Condition and sealed Compartments of the Human Soul.”
9/10
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Faulkner writes with an intensity that forces you to pay attention, complement this with some beautiful, introspective prose and southern USA dialect and the payoff can be huge; it is a payoff that immerses you in his gritty world among the cruel and the downtrodden, the prostitutes and the bootleggers and rapists.
This intense immersion was held at a distance for much of this book though; what I mean is, the immersion, which relies heavily on Faulkners talent for mood and atmosphere, was broken up by what seems like an attempt at focusing more heavily on the plot, and the plot was nothing to ... write home about. It's no surprise to me that this was considered his more accessible work, but it just felt like watered down Faulkner when compared to the immensely good Light in August.
Of course the writing style was still good, it was still Faulkner, so I don't want to slate this book as much as I want to express my disappointment after reading Light in August - a book that began my fascination with the Southern Gothic genre and easily sits in my top 10. The writing in fact still gifted me with some of the best passages I have ever read, some quotes below which hopefully express the better parts of this book:
"She thought of them, woolly, shapeless; savage, petulant, spoiled, the flatulent monotony of their sheltered lives snatched up without warning by an incomprehensible moment of terror and fear of bodily annihilation at the very hands which symbolised by ordinary the licensed tranquillity of their lives."
"I am too old for this. I was born too old for it, and so I am sick to death for quiet."
"I have but one rift in the darkness, that is that I have injured no one save myself by my folly, and that the extent of that folly you will never learn."
6/10
This intense immersion was held at a distance for much of this book though; what I mean is, the immersion, which relies heavily on Faulkners talent for mood and atmosphere, was broken up by what seems like an attempt at focusing more heavily on the plot, and the plot was nothing to ... write home about. It's no surprise to me that this was considered his more accessible work, but it just felt like watered down Faulkner when compared to the immensely good Light in August.
Of course the writing style was still good, it was still Faulkner, so I don't want to slate this book as much as I want to express my disappointment after reading Light in August - a book that began my fascination with the Southern Gothic genre and easily sits in my top 10. The writing in fact still gifted me with some of the best passages I have ever read, some quotes below which hopefully express the better parts of this book:
"She thought of them, woolly, shapeless; savage, petulant, spoiled, the flatulent monotony of their sheltered lives snatched up without warning by an incomprehensible moment of terror and fear of bodily annihilation at the very hands which symbolised by ordinary the licensed tranquillity of their lives."
"I am too old for this. I was born too old for it, and so I am sick to death for quiet."
"I have but one rift in the darkness, that is that I have injured no one save myself by my folly, and that the extent of that folly you will never learn."
6/10
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
adventurous
funny
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
Lonesome Dove, a small Texas no-where town set on winning your heart with its dusty charms and naively optimistic residents. I enjoyed the settings very much, through the barren cold of Montana in wintertime and sweet summertime prairies we get to follow a cast of characters so well written that McMurtry might be giving Dickens a run for his money; characters which McMurtry has clearly injected the tropes of the Old West into while also fleshing them out as loveable, believable people.
Among this diverse cast are Gus, a lazy drunkard with a natural but unwanted knack for leadership; Captain Call, a strong silent type who is as loyal as he is deadly; a whore with a dream and insecurities; a troublesome but charming gambler; a vengeful native, and more than one plain useless lawman; McMurtry though is only creating this loveable cast in order to tear them all down one by one as The West destroys their optimism, which in turn destroys what we think a Western must be. Despite how the story unfolds for a while, there are no brave warriors conquering new lands in search of wealth, there are only mislead and heartbroken misfits suffering the consequence of a dangerous and very real land. The plot is almost inconsequential next to the tone and overarching themes.
“The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters”
I love a depressing Western, the empty feeling you get when everything turns out badly is music to my literary ears, my love for this genre started with John Williams’ Butchers Crossing, a cold, bleak, beautiful and bloody book, and though Lonesome Dove is not that bloody or as cold, it does contain those same ingredients, only in this case it is the character writing that takes centre stage for me. It’s funny too, at unpredictable moments I found myself laughing aloud and taking notes of the page numbers, something I rarely do.
“If I had a mind to rent pigs, I'd be mighty upset. A man that likes to rent pigs won't be stopped.”
Among this diverse cast are Gus, a lazy drunkard with a natural but unwanted knack for leadership; Captain Call, a strong silent type who is as loyal as he is deadly; a whore with a dream and insecurities; a troublesome but charming gambler; a vengeful native, and more than one plain useless lawman; McMurtry though is only creating this loveable cast in order to tear them all down one by one as The West destroys their optimism, which in turn destroys what we think a Western must be. Despite how the story unfolds for a while, there are no brave warriors conquering new lands in search of wealth, there are only mislead and heartbroken misfits suffering the consequence of a dangerous and very real land. The plot is almost inconsequential next to the tone and overarching themes.
“The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters”
I love a depressing Western, the empty feeling you get when everything turns out badly is music to my literary ears, my love for this genre started with John Williams’ Butchers Crossing, a cold, bleak, beautiful and bloody book, and though Lonesome Dove is not that bloody or as cold, it does contain those same ingredients, only in this case it is the character writing that takes centre stage for me. It’s funny too, at unpredictable moments I found myself laughing aloud and taking notes of the page numbers, something I rarely do.
“If I had a mind to rent pigs, I'd be mighty upset. A man that likes to rent pigs won't be stopped.”
Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0