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jferg rated A Psalm for the Wild-Built: 5 stars

Becky Chambers: A Psalm for the Wild-Built (EBook, 2021, Tom Doherty Associates)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)

It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en …

jferg started reading A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Monk and Robot, #1)

It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en …

jferg finished reading Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy, Cormac McCarthy: Stella Maris (2022, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)

Wow. Amazing words. Fucking depressing. (Of course, I shouldn't have expected any less from Cormac McCarthy.) Gonna have to read "The Passenger", and maybe "Stella Maris" again (when I'm in a better headspace) before I feel like I can give a full review justice.

jferg started reading Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy, Cormac McCarthy

jferg reviewed The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Peng Shepherd: The Cartographers (Hardcover, 2021, William Morrow & Company, William Morrow)

What is the purpose of a map?

Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion …

So much missed opportunity...

1 star

Content warning General spoilers within.

The initial premise, and the first third of this book, was great ... and then ... it wasn't. It took a left turn into magical realism, and, well, my suspension of disbelief and ability to suffer absurdly dramatic characters just couldn't survived. I finished it (I was listening to the audio version), but it was a hate listen by the end. "Big twists" were obvious, character logic was frustrating at best, even for magical realism the mechanics of the core principle was ... tough to make excuses for. And the denouement? The author might have well just ended it with "and they all lived happily ever after".

There seem to be people out there who liked this book, but I can definitely put it on my "do not recommend" list.

jferg finished reading The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

What is the purpose of a map?

Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion …

Content warning General spoilers within.

The premise, and the first third of this book, was great ... and then ... it wasn't. It took a left turn into magical realism, and, well, my suspension of disbelief and ability to suffer absurdly dramatic characters just couldn't survived. I finished it (I was listening to the audio version), but it was a hate listen by the end. "Big twists" were obvious, character logic was frustrating at best, even for magical realism the mechanics of the core principle was ... tough to make excuses for. And the denouement? The author might have well just ended it with "and they all lived happily ever after".

There seem to be people out there who liked this book, but I can definitely put it on my "do not recommend" list.