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I find myself surprised at how little connection I felt to this book, given that the author and I are of the same generation (he’s slightly younger than me), and especially given that it is almost entirely about three of the cities where I myself had most of my experiences in gay bars—Los Angeles, London and San Francisco (where the author’s period of residence actually overlapped with my own). But he and I had different goals when we went out, and thus, different experiences, even in the same venues.

I enjoyed the history, especially of London, and some of the musings are interesting, but the author’s perspective and my own are so different that even when he’s writing about a bar or club where I spent a good amount of time, I seldom recognized anything but the name.

A very interesting little book. I am not currently involved with a mutual aid group, so I cannot compare the suggestions to reality, or attempt to put them into practice. However, thinking about them in the context of workplaces and groups that I have experienced, I find them to be sound. A few challenged me to examine things that I had given little thought to before. Many of the suggestions are applicable to life, in general. I think that I would be quite happy in a group which followed these recommendations.

What an odd book. It has some interesting world building. The plot…does it have a plot? I really don’t know.

I loved this book! Somehow, I think that it was my first Bisson, but it certainly will not be my last. His sense of…humor…is an almost perfect fit for me. This was such an appropriate book to read right now, too. Not recommended for fans of police states, genocide, racism, or religious fundamentalism.

Still a joy to learn more about our protagonists. This time there is a natural disaster as one of the things that stirs things up. There are also satisfying check-ins with various characters who have been around since book one.

It is amazing how much information--about freedom, privacy and certain aspects of technology--is included in this engaging thriller. There are very disturbing scenes involving a US government organization and teenagers that probably would have seemed far-fetched to a lot of Americans when this book came out in 2008, but which, in light of the daily happenings of the US in 2025, seem almost mild. There is so much food for thought here. I sincerely hope that this book is read by many, many teens.

I came across this book while searching for something to read about William Morris, with more of an interest in Morris’ philosophy and politics than his Arts and Crafts stuff (though I find that side of him interesting, too). I did appreciate the chapter on Morris, though I think I will follow it up with one of the biographies cited here. As far as this book goes, my favorite chapters were actually the ones on Edward Carpenter, Oscar Wilde, Aldous Huxley, “War and pacifism”, and Colin Ward. Of those, Colin Ward is the only one that I was previously entirely unfamiliar with.

The whole book was an interesting read, though. It introduced me to quite a few British writers I was previously unfamiliar with, and provided a nice overview of anarchism in Britain.

This is the first book in this series that did not leave me feeling that I must immediately start the next one. It is no less engaging or enjoyable than the first two, it is simply the first one that does not end with the suggestion that something momentous is just about to happen. A very satisfying read.

The continuing educational and relationship adventures and challenges of Jahir and Vasiht’h here intersect with a public health crisis. More peril, but just as much compassion and burgeoning wisdom as in book one. A very satisfying read.

My review is only for Slan. I did not read the sequel included in this volume. I first read Slan about 40 years ago. I remembered the basic premise, and little else. I think that I liked it when I read it as a teenager. On this re-read I...didn't hate it. But I certainly didn't love it. It is a rather bellicose novel, and it very much displays the early 20th century obsession with "super-men", and the suggestion that they should be the rulers of the earth. On the plus side, women have a much more active role both in the narrative and in the imagined future social structure of this book than was common in the 30s and 40s. And the slans do contain the kernel of my favorite 70s TV characters, The Tomorrow People.

Le Guin's final book of Earthsea does all that I could hope. It answers all of the big questions that were left hanging in previous stories, while also ending in a way that allows the imagination to posit many divergent futures for Earthsea.

I love how Le Guin managed to introduce new protagonists in most of the books of this series, while also managing to keep the previous protagonists involved and relevant.The way that Earthsea grew and changed as the series progressed—especially the increasing presence and significance of female characters, and the questioning and complicating of the wizards of Roke—really made continuing the series feel worthwhile to me.

I thought that the crisis of this book, and its resolution, were perfect. For me, this is one of the most satisfying series closers that I've ever read.