Reviews and Comments

Holy heck I love this series. Can't believe I put it down for so long. I was worried this more full-length novel might somehow spoil the charm, but it really just elevated the mystery. It felt like it was two longish books that squished together nicely. I really like A.R.T.

I'm really excited for this one. I saw someone discuss these ideas (Zoe Bee), but when I tried to explain them to my friends I found myself wanting more depth and more examples. Education reform has been a passion of mine for years.

This was an interesting read. I can see why it's stuck in the collective conscious. I think the most interesting part to me was the forward by the author disparaging his own most famous work. I can also see his perspective. There is something a bit trite about the whole thing. Vividly and dramatically told, yes, but the bones of the story are straightforward, even predictable. Given the lack of explanation for why such ultra-violence has become prevalent, Clockwork Orange doesn't have the typical political punch of most classic dystopian novels. The social observation that violent kids get "reformed" into aiding the state in perpetuating violence is there, but definitely a side-thought.

I also enjoyed the self-insert of the author writing a book called A Clockwork Orange. It was a nice bit of meta-narrative that tickled my brain.

Definitely felt like a middle book, but really loving the world and the characters.

Excited to continue this series.

Another great entry into the series. I went in expecting a tight conclusion to the series, but this feels like there is a lot of room for the story to continue, although many plot elements have been resolved.

The meta-commentary interludes were a bit distracting, but I enjoyed this book on the whole. Kay's unique blend of very real-world geography with just-slightly-off naming gives him freedom to invent scenarios inspired by history, but still not required to be a part of it.

Reading this, I kept being reminded of Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Lo and behold, not only was Susanna Clark partly inspired by some of the short stories in this collection, especially "The Library of Babel", but both she and Borges were inspired by the works of one Giovanni Battista Piranesi, an artist of twisting impossible labyrinths.

Although the list of characters (and some unfortunate similarities in names) can make the details of the plot hard to follow sometimes, the overarching story is still gripping and I had no difficulty powering through in 4 days.

I enjoyed the first book, and I'm interested to see how I feel about the sequel. The first book definitely struggled with its complexity, but I still found it gripping overall. Lets see if that balance is maintained!

I enjoyed this, but I admit I didn't really enjoy it as much as the first book. I'd be very curious to read a third book, though, as this felt a lot like a middle novel overburdened with setting things up for another book.

I really love these short sweet hilarious books. I have no idea why I took so long to pick the series up again.

I did it! I listened to all 61 hours in 2 weeks. I enjoyed it overall, though it was a strain putting aside everything else I might want to listen to.

And wow, Tolstoy really really hated the Great Man Theory of history. I wasn't expecting 10% of this book to be essays explaining why history is complicated and arises from the experience of everyday people.

This came up on Libby, so now I have to see if I can make it through 60h of audiobook in 2 weeks.

Finally jumping back into this series after a friend reminded me of it via the recent TV show (that I'd been totally unaware of). The books are short but punchy. I forgot what a riot they are.