Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 reviewed The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

Dan Simmons: The Rise of Endymion (Paperback, 1998, Spectra)

Nothing but a dissappointment....plus a deeply gross sexual relationship between a parental figure and their ward

1 star

Content warning Major spoilers

A conclusion to all the poetic world building mysteries that cheapens them all. Perhaps this was an early example of the "love is another dimension/force/whatever-law-of-nature", but since Interstellar it's nothing but a goofy meme. Honestly, I don't think it ever was anything more. It's one of those lazy world building details that seems kinda like "whoaaaa" when you first read it, but if you think about it for two or three seconds it falls apart.

That said, there were some cool bits. The way everyone developed a sort of hive mind at the end was neat, and almost redeamed the book up to 2 stars.

But it also featured a sexual relationship between a man and the girl he'd cared for like a daughter or maybe younger sister. A girl he continued to call "kiddo" even as they commenced their sexual relationship. Absolutely disgusting. Gross. I struggled to finish the book, and in the end I don't think it deserved the time I gave it.

Just read Hyperion, and leave it at that. If you must, read Hyperion Falls. But the Endymion duo is pure disappointment.

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Paperback, 2016, Harper Voyager)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's seen …

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 replied to nerd teacher [books]'s status

@whatanerd There are some standouts in recent sci fi, and amongst all the copycats there is a real blooming of great sci fi and sci fi fantasy crossover. Becky Chambers, a lot of Adrian Tchaikovsky, N.K Jemisin, Ada Palmer, Ann Leckie, and the fabulous short stories by Ted Chiang are all stand-outs in my recent reading. I also found The Clockwork Rocket to be riveting.

I have also been disappointed by a lot of sci fi books that amount to stock standard space operas but with a few queer characters sprinkled in.

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 reviewed Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb

Sanora Babb: Whose Names Are Unknown (2006, University of Oklahoma Press)

Originally written and slated for publication in 1939, this long-forgotten masterpiece was shelved by Random …

What you should read instead of "Grapes of Wrath"

5 stars

Sanora Babb grew up on one of those midwestern farms that got hit by the dust bowl. She grew up with those people. She was one of those people. She was also probably one of the most remarkable women to ever grace this country. While working in aid camps, she compiled notes of experiences refugees shared with her, and from those notes, and her own childhood experiences, she wrote a book about the experiences of the refugees. She even got a publisher to agree to publish it. But then one of the most famous authors in America publish a remarkably similar book (John Steinbeck, the Grapes of Wrath), and the publisher pulled out of the deal. Who would read a book by an unknown author when a very similar book was already flooding the market?

It turns out that the manager of the camp Sanora Babb was working at, one …

Sanora Babb grew up on one of those midwestern farms that got hit by the dust bowl. She grew up with those people. She was one of those people. She was also probably one of the most remarkable women to ever grace this country. While working in aid camps, she compiled notes of experiences refugees shared with her, and from those notes, and her own childhood experiences, she wrote a book about the experiences of the refugees. She even got a publisher to agree to publish it. But then one of the most famous authors in America publish a remarkably similar book (John Steinbeck, the Grapes of Wrath), and the publisher pulled out of the deal. Who would read a book by an unknown author when a very similar book was already flooding the market?

It turns out that the manager of the camp Sanora Babb was working at, one Tom Collins, had invited John Steinbeck to visit the camp for a week so that he might write a book about their experiences. To assist in the project, Tom Collins gave Steinbeck a collection of his employees' notes, most of which were written by Babb herself. It seems neither Steinbeck nor Babb knew at the time that this had happened. Tom Collins though, he had to know. F*** him for that.

Fortunately, Sanora Babb was able to get her book published eventually....in 2004. And this is that book. And it is SO much better than The Grapes of Wrath.

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb

Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb

Originally written and slated for publication in 1939, this long-forgotten masterpiece was shelved by Random House when The Grapes of …

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 replied to Nick Barlow's status

Content warning Some plot stuff, sexualisation of a minor

@Nickbwalking@ramblingreaders.org And the second book just makes it all so much worse...

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 reviewed Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #3)

Dan Simmons: Endymion (Paperback, 1996, Bantam Books)

The multiple-award-winning SF master returns to the universe that is his greatest success--the world of …

Some interesting world building, but a huge let down

1 star

Content warning Sexualization a child, Some spoilers

I think the paternal/older brother relationship between Endymion and Aenea is quite sweet. If only the author didn't decide to then indicate that lovely dynamic would become a twisted sexual fantasy, I might rate this book with 3 or more stars. Sadly, that isn't what happened (and the next book offers only stronger condemnation of this choice).

I enjoy the Odyssian adventure along the river, through the different worlds, and I enjoy the sci-fi Catholic church that Simmons imagines. However, some cracks in the world building are beginning to show, and the big picture questions so eloquently posed by Hyperion, all they world building that was left vague and mysterious, are increasingly looking like they were better left that way.

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 commented on Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien: Return of the King (2009, HarperCollins Publishers)

This was obviously not the first time I've read Lord of the Rings. I had have listened to it since I was a kid, and read it by eye once even. This time, I was listening to the new audiobook recordings made by Andy Serkis. His reading of the first book was phenomenal, really bringing the weird and creepy adventures to life. I don't think you could see Tom Bombadil as anything but essential in Serkis's reading. But I think his more casual reading style was less well adapted to Return of the King in particular, which towards the end is just full of grand pronouncements, both by the author and the characters in their speeches. For this, I think Inglis provides a better performance.

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien: The Silmarillion (Paperback, 1979, Ballantine Books)

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher …

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #3)

Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #3)

The multiple-award-winning SF master returns to the universe that is his greatest success--the world of Hyperion and The Fall of …

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #2)

Dan Simmons: The Fall of Hyperion (Paperback, 1991, Bantam)

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #2)

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. …

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #1)

Dan Simmons: Hyperion (Hardcover, 1989, Doubleday)

Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #1)

On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to …

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #3)

Brandon Sanderson: Oathbringer (Hardcover, 2017, Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC)

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #3)

The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon …

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #2)

Brandon Sanderson: Words of Radiance (Hardcover, 2014, Tor Books)

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #2)

The eagerly awaited sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Way of Kings.

Six years ago, the Assassin in …

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Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 reviewed The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

Nothing but a dissappointment....plus a deeply gross sexual relationship between a parental figure and their ward

1 star

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 replied to nerd teacher [books]'s status

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 reviewed Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb

What you should read instead of "Grapes of Wrath"

5 stars

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb

Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 replied to Nick Barlow's status

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 reviewed Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #3)

Some interesting world building, but a huge let down

1 star

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 commented on Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #3)

Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #3)

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #2)

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #2)

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #1)

Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #1)

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos, #4)

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #3)

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #3)

Pretty Greene Leaves 🌿 finished reading Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #2)

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, #2)