David H finished reading Flux by Jinwoo Chong
Four days before Christmas, 8-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident, 28-year-old Brandon …
Christmas book!
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A techie living in Austin, TX, USA.
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David H started reading The Croning by Laird Barron
The Croning by Laird Barron
"Strange things exist on the periphery of our existence, haunting us from the darkness looming beyond our firelight. Black magic, …
David H reviewed Blindsight by Peter Watts (Firefall, #1)
It's been two months since a myriad of alien objects clenched about the Earth, screaming …
One of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time
5 stars
As someone on Peter Watts' own site is quoted, "Whenever I find my will to live becoming too strong, I read Peter Watts." Reader beware.
I re-read it just recently. This book fundamentally shifted my perspective on my own humanity, and maybe not in a good way. But it did a really good job! I think it took me a few reads to really get a handle on what was happening in the story and that only made the hammer blows of its conclusion stronger.
Has a permanent space on my shelf, except my copy keeps walking out of my house because I lend it out so much.
The author has started giving away this book, available here for free on his own site: www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
But you might want to consider donating: www.rifters.com/real/donation.htm
Once you've read the book, check out this gorgeous fan-made film: blindsight.space/
David H finished reading Ascension by Nicholas Binge
A mind-bending speculative thriller in which the sudden appearance of a mountain in the middle …
I liked it. I think I liked it. It felt like a humanist take on golden-age sci-fi; high concept with a dry narrator, but the conclusions and theme are very pro-emotion and pro-human.
David H wants to read You Deserve a Tech Union by Ethan Marcotte
You Deserve a Tech Union by Ethan Marcotte
There's a resurgent labor movement in the tech industry. Tech workers-designers, engineers, writers, and many others-have learned that when they …
David H started reading Ascension by Nicholas Binge
Ascension by Nicholas Binge
A mind-bending speculative thriller in which the sudden appearance of a mountain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean leads …
David H started reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern, #1)
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern, #1)
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a …
David H finished reading Witch King by Martha Wells (The Rising World, #1)
Witch King by Martha Wells (The Rising World, #1)
Kai-Enna is the Witch King, though he hasn’t always been, and he hasn’t even always been Kai-Enna!
After being murdered, …
David H reviewed Witch King by Martha Wells (The Rising World, #1)
Kai-Enna is the Witch King, though he hasn’t always been, and he hasn’t even always …
Fantastic world-building, echoes of trauma
4 stars
I adored how wide the world felt and how much was hinted at by the various, subtly interacting magic systems at play. I feel like there are so many nooks and crannies to be explored around the main storyline of this book that it feels like a nearly inexhaustible mine. More, please!
The narrative structure jumps from the present to the past, each giving context to the other and its people -- literally showing you why the characters act the way they do, showing how the current situation came to be, giving you a real sense of time and consequence. I loved it.
And, as I've come to expect from Martha Wells, her depictions of trauma responses feel on-point and real. How everyone reacts to their own ghastly experiences and how it drives them are on full display and are very sympathetic.
So: great world-building. Fun characters and relationships. A …
I adored how wide the world felt and how much was hinted at by the various, subtly interacting magic systems at play. I feel like there are so many nooks and crannies to be explored around the main storyline of this book that it feels like a nearly inexhaustible mine. More, please!
The narrative structure jumps from the present to the past, each giving context to the other and its people -- literally showing you why the characters act the way they do, showing how the current situation came to be, giving you a real sense of time and consequence. I loved it.
And, as I've come to expect from Martha Wells, her depictions of trauma responses feel on-point and real. How everyone reacts to their own ghastly experiences and how it drives them are on full display and are very sympathetic.
So: great world-building. Fun characters and relationships. A complex, political story with very "human" characters. It drops you in to a rushing river and expects you to swim, which I love.
That said, I feel like the characters besides Kai, the main POV, are a little flat. There's a chance that they feel that way because of how much Kai is struggling with their own inner demons (heh heh); maybe Kai's inward focus makes them somewhat blind to others' personalities and the narrative reflects that?
David H finished reading The Giver by Lois Lowry (The Giver, #1)
The Giver by Lois Lowry (The Giver, #1)
It is a school edition used in many schools across the US while it a school edition all of the …
David H finished reading Lockwood & Co by Jonathan Stroud (Lockwood & Co.)
Lockwood & Co by Jonathan Stroud (Lockwood & Co.)
David H wants to read Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor, #1)
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence, Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor, #1)
"The international bestselling author of the Broken Empire and the Red Queen's War trilogies begins a stunning epic fantasy series …
David H wants to read In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett
David H wants to read Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.
But a demon is terrorizing …
David H reviewed Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled …
A hopeful pandemic novel
4 stars
I liked the story of isolated humans trying to find meaning in their lives, all tangled together and touched by the miraculous. It left me feeling hopeful and reassured.