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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.

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 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.

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.

It's been a while since I read something by Guy Gavriel Kay. I really enjoyed Under Heaven, and I'm in the mood for some fantastical historical fiction.

I've seen some reviews that I think were a bit confused by the framing, or maybe some for whom it just didn't work for them. The framing is that you are reading a sort of letter left by a woman after the world is ending, hoping but uncertain if her last writing will ever be read. I think there are some "I'm writing my story" narratives that are really no different from the usual way a story would be told except for the use of personal pronouns and perhaps some perspective differences, and perhaps that's what some were expecting. But nope. This lady is baffled by her past actions, and pretty bitter, even a bit self-loathing maybe. It really makes sense though, and the way that Vandermeer weaves in factoids and statistics about extensions sticks with you.

I won't lie, it's a grim read. And it hits close to home. This was published in 2021, probably written in 2020 and IT SHOWS. But in a beautifully subtle way...this witness to the end of the world is so busy she barely records it ending.

There's a quote I doubt I'll ever forget. I listened so I can find it or copy it easily, but in one of the narrator's meditations, she talks about the petering out of the last hummingbirds, about their great migrations, and how there must have been a last migration. The valor of those last birds. Both their fading hope, but also the moments of rest and peace and joy along the way. Before the end.

It's a fairly short read. If I have any critique of the book, I think it probably could have been shorter. I think it might have tried just a bit too hard to be a "normal" thriller. On the other hand, I'm not sure the author could have sold her emotional journey quite as well.