Reviews and Comments

Courts

courts@bookwyrm.social

Joined 8 months, 4 weeks ago

Mostly Sci-fi and Fantasy, with a dash of "classic" literature sprinkled through.

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The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) 5 stars

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. This novel …

Quite Intense

5 stars

Content warning Major Plot Revelation

Raus aus der AUTOkratie (Paperback, German language, 2024, S. Fischer) 4 stars

Mit Katja Diehl die Mobilitätswende aktiv gestalten: Während die Mobilitätsexpertin und Bestseller-Autorin Katja Diehl in …

Inhaltlich überzeugend

4 stars

Content warning Kleiner Spoiler zu den ersten paar Seiten des Buchs.

The Wonder Engine (Paperback, 2018, Argyll Productions) 4 stars

Pull three people out of prison--a disgraced paladin, a convicted forger, and a heartless assassin. …

Charming Story

4 stars

I liked the Clocktaur Wars well enough. It is a charming story around a ragtag group of misfits, who are all equally lovable and grow personally during their adventure. So far, so predictable. Don't expect too many surprises, it's a nice enough storytelling interwoven with an (equally predictable) romance story. Some light, fun reading, although it gets at least a little bit dark in the end.

Clockwork Boys (Paperback, 2018, Argyll Productions) 4 stars

A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It’s not …

Romance Novel? Only Barely.

4 stars

Ok, I will not review this one standalone, since this needs to be read along with the second book. I don't know why the author even bothered to split the books, since other author write books of epic length, too. So far I like it though. See you back when I have finished the Wonder Engine.

Chokepoint Capitalism (Hardcover, 2022, Beacon Press) 4 stars

A call to action for the creative class and labor movement to rally against the …

Good Explanation of Chokepoint Capitalism

4 stars

Rebecca and Cory did not fail to meet my expectations with this book. It's a concise, albeit sometimes lengthy, overview of how wealth concentration happens and how we could solve some of the problems on a global level.

For me personally however, it was largely a way to see what we need to prevent here in Europe to be exported into our own systems from the US (which unfortunately happens quite fast and is already happening, in addition to our own problems in the EU). The book is written mainly for a US-based audience of creative workers. Still, the big chokepoint-creating corporations like Amazon, Spotify and the likes of course are also huge here, too.

There Is No Antimemetics Division (Hardcover, 2021, Independently Published) 5 stars

An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties ; an idea which, by its intrinsic …

What Antimemetics Division?

5 stars

This was a wild read. I didn't know about the SCP wiki before, I found this book by chance via a Mastodon review someone posted. It sounded interesting enough, a little bit like the John Dies At The End novels, maybe without the humor.

The premise of ideas invading human space and these "beings" (if you can call them that) being all around us, just invisible, is pretty interesting. Deliberately purging your memory so these ideas cannot invade your brain while simultaneously trying to solve the problem of how to save humankind, even more so. An enjoyable read if you like sci-fi with more than a touch of horror mixed in.

The Catcher in the Rye (Paperback, 2001, Back Bay Books) 3 stars

Holden Caulfield, knowing he is to be expelled from school, decides to leave early. He …

Classic Book About The Woes of Adolescence

5 stars

Im not sure if I would've liked this book 25 years ago. But now, I can appreciate the feelings Holden talks about, with nothing making sense and everything being depressing at his age and current path in life. He doesn't know where he belongs yet. His life goes to pieces.

Yes, the language is dated and yes, there are parts that are highly controversial today, so you need to take into account the time it was written, as trite as it sounds. I'm glad I read it at an older age. Things get better.

Nona the Ninth (Hardcover, 2022, Tor.com) 5 stars

Her city is under siege.

The zombies are coming back.

And all Nona wants is …

No One Expected Nona To Exist

5 stars

...is what the back of the book says. And Tamsyn Muir again successfully makes you guess what the everlasting fuck is happening, excuse my language. I was prepared after Harrow, but it's still such a mindfuck. You think you're getting new information about the Locked Tomb universe and how it happened, but at no point are you certain that things are what they are. I absolutely love it. Can't wait for Alecto to be published.

The Left Hand of Darkness (Paperback, 2010, Ace Books) 4 stars

On the planet Winter, there is no gender. The Gethenians can become male or female …

Not Sure About this One

4 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it was the best of the three Hainish novels I've read so far, and I can appreciate the fact that the theme of a gender-changing alien race was somewhat revolutionary at the time.

However, I have to admit that I had to push through this book. I've read another review that likened it to homework, and that sums it up quite well for me, too. Maybe my expectations were too high and I have read it at the wrong point in time, just like in school when you have to read something that you cannot appreciate at the moment, but strikes you as profound at a different time.

So yeah, this novel leaves me a bit stumped about what to say. I liked it well enough to not stop reading, but have to admit that it could have been half as …

Harrow the Ninth (Paperback, 2021, Tor.com) 4 stars

"She answered the Emperor's call.

She arrived with her arts, her wits, and her only …

What is Going On?

5 stars

If you couldn't quite follow the events in Gideon the Ninth and found the book confusing, this one is definitely not for you.

Harrow the Ninth continues the Locked Tomb series where Gideon the Ninth left off. It is a complete mindfuck however (excuse my language) and with every page I was delightedly wondering "ok, what unexpected event or information will come next?"

If you liked the first one, this continuation will make you like the series even more.

Record of a Spaceborn Few (Hardcover, 2018, Hodder & Stoughton) 5 stars

Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a …

Food for Thought

4 stars

This third book from the Wayfarer's series felt a bit more "slice of life" than the other two. There is no real overarching plot, just life stories of various protagonists who try to find themselves.

You learn more about the Exodus fleet and their ethos, which opens up all those questions of how we need to work together as a society if we want to survive as a species when we (inevitably?) make our planet uninhabitable. This is embedded in the day-to-day lives of different protagonists from different backgrounds.

The book paints an optimistic picture about how humanity has learned to finally behave like decent people, while still acknowledging that bad things can and will happen because life is shades of grey.

City of Illusions (1996, Vista) 3 stars

Best of the first three Hainish Novels

3 stars

A man in search of himself, because he is different and doesn't know why. So far, so good. The book felt slow at times, but it's a Novella so you know that it can't drag on too long.

The character is pretty likable, but the main story arc only happens in the last third of the book and then the final part is only a couple of pages long.

Recommended for completionist like me, it's a decent read.

reviewed Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth (Paperback, 2019, Tor.com) 4 stars

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian …

Necromancers in Space

5 stars

I loved this book, but I guess this is not to everyone's taste. First of all, you get thrown into a pretty confusing world, without much explanation. You learn more throughout the book, and as I discovered after finishing, there is also a glossary and explanation of some things attached.

Still, this was a wild ride through a space gothic necromantic sword wielding story with so much going on, you can barely catch a breath. You fumble along next to Gideon, who doesn't know much more than the reader.

Totally recommended for people who like a nice, confusing mix of Scifi, Fantasy and Gothic Horror Novels.