User Profile

James

Jmbmkn@bookwyrm.social

Joined 3 years, 8 months ago

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James's books

Currently Reading

2024 Reading Goal

31% complete! James has read 5 of 16 books.

finished reading Wiktopher by Rek Bell

Rek Bell: Wiktopher (EBook, 2023, Hundredrabbits) 5 stars

Wiktopher follows the story of Lupen and Eka as they sandfin across the Soronan Desert …

The first half of the book felt a little like a loose tale spliced into a taxonomic exploration of the world's flora and fauna, readable but not engrossing. In the second half the story picks up and the themes of the first half make more sense, and by the end I felt like it was a complete story and the encyclopedic nature of the definitions and plant descriptions make sense as part of the journey of the protagonist. The book describes a fascinating world, and you can sense the depth of consideration and thought the author has put into it. The story does leave some unresolved questions about the nature of some things, but these loose ends feel like evocative possibilities, things to ponder upon, rather than gaps in the narrative.

finished reading Appliance by J. O. Morgan

J. O. Morgan: Appliance (2022, Penguin Random House) 4 stars

A series of short scenarios from an alternate earth history in which matter transportation is invented in the 50's ish. It presents an interesting framework to explore ideas about technology, society interaction and opportunities of control by monopoly corporations. It's a simply written book which I read within a week. Lots of the literary tools are left very exposed in the book. I think this makes it bad writing as this stuff is expected to be more subtle. But I kind of like it being visible and being able to spot it easily amd may itself be a stylistic choice.