will_cherico's reviews
399 reviews

Good Lady Ducayne by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

funny mysterious 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

3.5

A pretty funny story that takes Karl Marx's comparisons of the bourgeoise in Das Kapital and runs with it. It's not particularly scary and it ends very abruptly, but there's still some funny and (sadly) still relevant satire on wage slavery and the weaponization of doctors against women. 

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Carmilla immediately struck me as super interesting because of the way she treats her victims with a level of emotional and sexual empathy that Dracula could never have. It's a surprisingly feminist work, too: the patriarchs are depicted as what they really are, that being just as possessive and manipulative as Carmilla. Laura's lesbianism is handled in such a sympathetic way that makes the horror of Laura's being pulled in two different directions so much more upsetting.

The Sword of the Dawn by Michael Moorcock

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

This is the best worldbuilding yet in the History of the Runestaff, and since the setting is what keeps me coming back that makes this my favorite book in the saga so far. I love the increasing characterization of the Dark Empire of Granbretan as almost gentlemanly in addition to their evil; It reflects the real-world sinister attitude held by the imperialist forces of the British Empire, and their constantly increasing reach adds this sense of urgency even when they aren't the main focus of the story. I kind of like the episodic nature of these stories but I'm also hoping the final book is more linear, and I would like to get more from the Warrior in Jet and Gold beyond just showing up to help Hawkmoon out of a jam at the very end. Stoked to see D'Averc get so much page time, he's a great example of the witty scoundrel archetype.

Christabel by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I’m a huge fan of Coleridge’s word choice, as anyone who’s talked to me about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner would know. It’s so capital r Romantic as we see in conversation about Leoline and Roland’s relationship, or Geraldine’s slow corruption of Christabel. It’s a fascinating proto-vampire story that explores sexuality in a way I haven’t really seen from a work this old, and I really wish he had written the last 3/5s of the book. 

Le Lai de Lanval by Marie de France

adventurous challenging medium-paced

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

4.0

It's neat to read such an old story that had so much influence on the fairy tales I grew up hearing. I read a translation of Marie de France's original work, and I have to commend the translator on the word choice they pick for much of the story; it feels like every word is so carefully picked with several deeper meanings. There's an interesting thing to be studied here about how powerful and beautiful the women in this story are but in a way that still plays into some negative stereotypes of women as the seductress. 

Sabriel by Garth Nix

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Sabriel's biggest strength is in the world Garth Nix has created. The concept of Death as a location instead of a being and necromancers who work to keep the dead deceased are super strong ideas supported by the interesting blend of WWI-era technology and magic. It's admittedly a pretty unremarkable story - a typical hero's journey with coming-of-age themes written for a preteen audience - but Sabriel, Mogget, and the world they inhabit have just enough character in them to keep things interesting. It's undoubtedly on the higher end of quality for young adult fiction, and I wish I had gotten into this series at a younger age.

The Private Life of Genghis Khan by Douglas Adams

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

The idea of mingling mundanity of work life and the brutality of an infamous conqueror is one that's been done a bit to death by now but Douglas Adams has such a skill for dialogue that it's still hilarious. There's an interesting throughline in the story about how casually violent leaders are in war while still maintaining a "professional" air and maintaining that they need to have their own emotional needs fulfilled as well, despite wrecking countless lives. It makes for a funny bit of satire, and the bizarre absurdist twist at the end is one that's so out of left field that it circles back around to being genius. 

The Statement of Randolph Carter by H.P. Lovecraft

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.75

Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick

reflective 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

2.75

It's a fine story about an unfaithful wife and a cuckoo clock that seems to represent both her regret of marrying her husband and her husband's frustration with his wife. If the clock is symbolic of something more concrete, it's not very clear what.

The Vampyre; A Tale by John William Polidori

adventurous dark tense fast-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

3.75

I enjoyed this a lot more on reread. There's an eerie, gloomy sense of creeping doom over the entire story as Aubrey flees from one country to the other, always followed by Lord Ruthven. Parts of it come off as corny since it's about as loaded with vampire tropes as you can get, but that doesn't stop the writing from being super impressive and filling me with a truly dreadful feeling as the climax approached. Despite Aubrey spending the majority of the story in hospice, it flows really well - it feels like he never truly has time to recover before Ruthven is back in his life.