tylerclarkmclendon's reviews
91 reviews

The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

XOXO by Christina Lee

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Bad Habit by Alana S. Portero

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 SOME DESPERATE GLORY REVIEW

by Emily Tesh
Pub. 2023

(five manis)

"What would peace look like? Many have wrestled with the question. Perhaps it can be enforced? Empires have prided themselves on being peace-bringers and peacekeepers. But this is a paradox. A peace brought about with the threat of violence is only a war in waiting."

As I mentioned in my post the other day, SOME DESPERATE GLORY is described as a 'space opera', and that is utterly accurate. For those not familiar with the term, we aren't talking music - moreso the intensely melodramatic, galactic scope and the universe-shattering stakes that Emily Tesh has crafted in the world of SDG.

I needed to pair a mani with this book, but I'm taking a bit of a break from the nail salon during our big move transition, so I did this set with some press-ons. The white and gold trim speak to the classical themes of personhood, innocence, a clean slate...and the choices we make. There is a thread of 'nature vs. nurture' throughout the book that touches on characters' inherent traits and the cultist behavior of those who would conquer a world and its people.

The green symbolizes something much more unwieldly in the SDG universe - The Wisdom. With its' 'pulsing green unlight', using shadowspace biotechnology, The Wisdom seeks to make decisions for the betterment of all living beings (not just humans...) and therein my friends lies the central conflict amidst the question of what it means to be a living being at all; what it means to be lonely vs. being alone; and what it means when everything you thought you knew is "peeled (away) like the shell from an egg."

"Just because Kyr was looking for it now didn't mean she'd find it every time. Just because she knew where she'd come from and what she was didn't mean she was safe from it." 

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

Will come back at a later time

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon

funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0