User Profile

Antolius

Antolius@bookwyrm.social

Joined 2 months, 1 week ago

I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy in all shapes and sizes; paper, e-books and audiobooks.

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2023 Reading Goal

20% complete! Antolius has read 5 of 25 books.

Eversion (2022, Orbit) 5 stars

A plot twisting masterpiece

5 stars

Content warning Mild spoilers coming from discussing novel's structure and some of the foreshadowing

Dark Side of the Sun (Paperback, 1988, Corgi) 3 stars

A book I wanted to love but couldn't

2 stars

While I'm a big fan or Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, the first few Rincewind focused novels are my least favorite. Unfortunately this book shares not only close publication date, but also many of the traits of those early novels which I find disagreeable.

In its core this is an adventure story, with a lot of references to staples of the sci-fi genre, wrapped in a lot of clever world building ideas. However, those ideas are not given proper room to grow and develop; instead plot is propelled ever forward by silly or at times outright nonsensical events. The adventure loses any gravitas it might have had to attempts at silly humor, and I ended up not caring about the characters who felt like empty caricatures.

This is a pity because in his later works Pratchett does manage to craft some of the most wholesome fictional characters I ever encountered. And …

Is a loved one missing some body parts? Are blondes becoming extinct? Is everyone at …

Review of 'Next' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

A collection of loosely related short stories clumsily cobbled together.

Good:
Raises valid concerns about genetic engineering and US patent law.

Bad:
Most characters appear morally wrong for no good reason. It detracts from valid criticism of corporate wrongdoers if all characters are adulterers & chauvinists.
Ending is unbelievable.
There's almost no narrative structure to the novel.
* It should have been an essay.

Inhibitor Phase (2021, Orbit) 4 stars

Review of 'Inhibitor Phase' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Read this if you are already invested in Revelation Space series.

Good:
Familiar characters & locations show up.
Ties to the war on Mars, which is one of my favorite parts of the lore.
Story beats reminded me of a Culture series novel.

Bad:
Drawn-out midsection, rushed & unnecessarily complicated ending.
Aliens end up feeling mundane.
Not a viable entry point into the series, despite being advertised as standalone.