Reviews and Comments

I don't think I've ever read a book this quickly. I couldn't stop.

Forced myself to finish this because it’s a ‘classic’, but I think being able to enjoy it today depends on feeling nostalgia for that era and style. I didn’t feel that nostalgia so I found the constant exposition very, very tiring. Also it was weirdly horny, a symptom of the pervasive sexism of the time, which was off-putting. I’m glad it’s over.

This was entertaining, and grabbed me more than I expected it to. I liked the story, the noir style and tone, and the tech landscape it’s set in. Sure, it’s obvious that the protagonist is a bit of an author surrogate/fantasy and that made some moments kinda … cringe… but I was hooked firmly enough that they were only minor road-bumps.

Slightly better than the first (but still not earning a permanent place in my collection) as it has a bit more focus. However, still not for me. I guess I'm realising that I've gone off Marvel comics 🫤.

Read this in one sitting not because it's good, but because I decided I definitely want to give it to a charity shop as quickly as possible. Someone else might like it but to me this is gobbledygook, filled with characterless, self-referential exposition.

You can feel Le Guin’s distress as she wrote this. The world and culture of the Athsheans is beautiful, and this is a tragic tale.

I read this in one sitting, in bed with coffee. Excellent chill-out read.

This took me a long time to read. Almost three years! Not because it's bad, but because it is densely packed with informative, challenging, and upsetting information and stories. This is vital stuff. I'll be borrowing from the bibliography for my own reading list.

This was fun!

I was a bit worried about the scale of the story once I realised it - I bounced off DC's Final Crisis hard, as it tried to be grossly grandiose but felt cheap - but here the characters and their connections keep it driving forwards at good pace, and made me want to keep reading.