youreawizardjerry's reviews
115 reviews

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

some of these chapters were amongst the most poignant and satisfying short stories ive ever read. genuinely it was such a pleasure to get so immersed in this world. bro did kinda ruin it though by giving us chapter after chapter after chapter (after chapter!) of the fledgling dude™  yearning for the complex woman "but they're different characters this time cause they have ~different names~ and live in a ~different city~ !!!" ... it got tiring by the end and truthfully added a one-dimensionality in the last third of the book that really undermined the beauty of the first two. the repeated themes we're introduced to are especially powerful with the understanding that they are reoccuring for such a large swathe of time and space and to so many lives, so i need to see that reflected in the lives they affect. we are 8+ billion people and the book (though about many characters) can really be boiled down to being about one generic guy and in a couple chapters a generic girl* when the same tropes are genderswapped (there are a few exceptions tbf). I just dont think you can do a story about "the connective threads that tie us all together in the universe" justice with such a bland roster of characters. I'm going to stick with an overall 4 for now because i really loved the prose but the last few chapters dip it to a 3.75.

* 

primeval immortal god with all knowledge of civilization and humanity and her personality is just lady who likes stars? couldn't give her more depth but you could tell me she fucked every famous western mind? weird way to make what i assume was meant to be a nod to the behind every man is a great woman saying but was just strange considering how soon we learn this about her and then absolutely nothing else.

 

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

Babel by R.F. Kuang

emotional 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? Yes

4.25

Ambitious. The good parts I adored, but somewhere amidst all the ambition and intertwining genres and concepts Kuang got lost in the sauce. Tried to be so much that it diluted a lot of the initial punch and heart by the end. I appreciate holding to the constraints of the time, but it left me unfortunately feeling less inspired, and more deflated. In many ways I understand that direction, in others I genuinely don’t think I’d recommend it to other bipoc. Also

I really don’t appreciate storytellers killing off the darkest guy first and also #2 kuang have the boys kiss already how dare you lead me on like this

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

4.0

Viscera by Gabriel Squailia

fast-paced

2.0

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

"All that surrounds us comes from death, every part of every city, and every part of every person."

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Went from being completely fine to fully sobbing in one sentence. Powerful, brutal, and illuminating. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

love to my homies who adore this, but damn...it was just fine? 🤷
some parts rocked but other parts lulled. a lot of over-explanation in some sections but not nearly enough in others. also i am not huge on heavy hand-to-hand combat description so some specific parts bored me additionally so, it is what it is.
A lot of interesting ideas and snippets of world-building were set up here that I'm sure will add a lot of enrichment to the enjoyment of the further installments  (and this one as well of course, i definitely appreciated the aesthetics and mood created throughout the book) but the crux (HAHA!) of this first book standalone is...a pretty standard murder-mystery in one incredibly under-utilised setting. 
Kept waiting for something else to come that never did. Just a lot of key/door/swordfight/vaguely queer scene/repeat
but i am still interested to see where the story goes from here.
will definitely be reading on. i hope it gets queer-er, dark-er, and funky-er
catch you on the flip side, sugarlips

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5