List: nebula-award-nominees

by Ann Leckie · published 2014 · read 2018-04-14

Wow wow wow.

Ancillary Sword

Ancillary Sword was an exceedingly worthy successor to Ancillary Justice. We get a deeper look into the culture of the Radch and (most importantly) the characters we got to know in the first book. Understanding how all of them felt, especially Breq, even while they were navigating treachery, improper (!) annexations, war, and crisis, was a treat. This exploration of characters comes at the cost of action and pace, but the slower pace is made up by the frequent and fast changes of scenery. The book is more linear than the first one, but at the same time the consistent multi-focus storytelling is a different (and great) challenge altogether.

Ancillary Mercy

by Ann Leckie · published 2015 · read 2018-07-13

Wow! A worthy ending to the Imperial Radch trilogy ba Ann Leckie. The actions and decisions of the previous volumes find their somewhat logical conclusion in a complicated struggle for independence in an empire that has forgotten what independence even is. This book was a truly amazing mix of fast-paced action (lots of fun and creativitiy in there, too), and deep, deep character development. This series hit my tastes in every way, balancing action, character development, humor, serious issues of personal growth, society, and politics. Wow.

Embassytown

by China Miéville · published 2011 · read 2019-03-12

Embassytown by China Miéville starts out as okay-if-weird scifi, with decent characters, plausibly weird worldbuilding, and appropriately weird aliens, so everything you'd expect from Miéville. It starts by following a good if generic feeling story arc, and continues like that for quite a while. Miéville continues to be great at writing about cities (Perdido Street Station!), so I felt comfortable, once I had spent the first ~20% of the book figuring out how the world worked.

Doomsday Book

by Connie Willis · published 1992 · read 2019-11-20

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis is the best book about time travel that I know of, with the notable exception of "This is how you lose the time war". It's started out good, and then proceeded to kick me in the feelings. Repeatedly.

The Mountains of Mourning

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1989 · read 2018-11-23

The Mountains of Mourning is a very touching Vorkosigan novella by Lois McMaster Bujold. It's deeply impressive to me how very emotional and touching this novella gets in under 150 pages, while still maintaining the character and tone of the overall series. Our favourite hero, Miles, confronts a backwater village while investigating a child murder. The crippled man confronting a society where killing crippled children is more than just tolerated – and at no point Bujold goes for the easy way out. No good vs evil here, oh no, just heartbreak.

Barrayar

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1991 · last read 2020-08-19

Update: This book is a perfect read after Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Sadly, Gentleman Jole is also the perfect read after Barrayar, somebody send help, please?

Memory

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1996 · read 2019-08-07

In Memory, part of the Vorkosigan saga, Lois McMaster Bujold shows off what character development can look like. Talk about emotional payoff! Without spoiling too much, we see Miles, our somewhat-hero, change his life in many ways, and go through the dark passages, darker thoughts, and inevitable pains this change brings. My only criticism might have been that ignoring the somewhat obvious(?) solution to the whodunnit is not very Miles like, but when I thought about it, I realized that this blind spot has a perfect explanation in Miles' character, so there is that. A very impressive book, that let me keep my high opinion of the Vorkosigan series (because improving it would be close to impossible).

The Fifth Season

by N.K. Jemisin · published 2015 · read 2018-09-10

There was nothing about The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin that I didn't like. It's a bit short, but we have two more volumes to balance that.

The Obelisk Gate

by N.K. Jemisin · published 2016 · read 2018-10-28

The Obelisk Gate is the second part of N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, and it's brilliant. It continues the heavy character building we got in the first volume. Some characters grow, some change a lot, some change just in our eyes by virtue of being seen through different eyes, for example, our protagonist, Essun, is very different when seen by her daughter. Seeing the kid grow into her own character arc was beautifully done.

Coraline

by Neil Gaiman · published 2002 · read 2003-02-01

Coraline is a wonderful book. Terrifying, too. Coraline and her parents move to a new place, where there's nothing apart from the other (strange!) people living in the house. Her parents are busy all day, and she's just left to her own devices. So she wanders around and eventually finds a mirror world, where everything is duplicated, only uncanny and weird – and where she finds parents who love her and have time for her. Now if only they were human.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

by Neil Gaiman · published 2013 · read 2015-05-01

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is most definitely a Neil Gaiman book. It's also like a Pratchett book - a bit less humor and a bit more beauty in its sentences.

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman · published 2001 · read 2012-02-01

American Gods is a polarising book, and I belong to the people enchanted by it. Gaiman does wonderfully dirty, touching things with language, and mythology, and just drew me in.

Babel-17

by Samuel R. Delany · published 1966 · read 2018-08-18

It's been a long time (apart from Too Like The Lightning) that I've read a novel that felt so tailored to me like Babel-17. I mean, it's a queer polyamorous scifi novel where linguistics are key, even to winning space battles, which there are plenty of. I have no words. It's also been the first time in a while that a novel brought me to tears.

Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones

by Samuel R. Delany · published 1971 · read 2019-09-29

I think, despite all its brilliance and cleverness, the best thing about Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones by Samuel R. Delany is the playfulness. It's a short story that's won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards back in the day, and rightfully so. The story is a good example of why I seem to like every Delany book I come across: brilliant, lyrical and association heavy style. In Space. Very human and tongue-in-cheek.

The Dispossessed

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1974 · read 2018-02-12

Anarchist SciFi by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's a bit slow, but the content made me forget all about that.

The Tea Master and the Detective

by Aliette de Bodard · published 2018 · read 2019-07-07

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard is a nie short scifi novella in a world where different sorts of teas can have a profound impact on how the human brain works, there is deep space that behaves entirely different from normal space, and we have sentient ships.

A Memory Called Empire

by Arkady Martine · published 2019 · last read 2021-03-26

A junior ambassador from one alien nation and planet to another, which boasts of a highly complex language and culture? Finding herself scrambling to catch up with her predecessor (rudely murdered, instead of being in her brain as would be appropriate), trying not to share his fate? Sudden conspiracies, even more complex cultural games, plus an assistent she's very much into? Hell yes.

A Desolation Called Peace

by Arkady Martine · published 2021 · read 2021-04-11

Generally, A Desolation Called Peace is nearly as good as A Memory Called Empire. It replaces parts of the intrical cultural commentary with very alien aliens who need to be communicated with, but surprisingly, the aliens are one of the weakest parts of the book. This is basially the anti-Tchaikovsky, where humans are inevitably more interesting than even hive mind aliens.

Perdido Street Station

by China Miéville · published 2000 · read 2018-06-19

Wow, this book was … a lot to take in. I liked it very much. Getting thrown into an Ankh-Morporkesque city, discovering alien races, and characters, and social structures was awesome. I noted with thanks that there was very little of a conventional story arch, so that the overall direction of the story only grew really clear when reaching 50-65% of the story. The very clear-cut and very different characters were relatable and realistic, and the final twists were all the better for the fact that they were not positive.

To Say Nothing of the Dog

by Connie Willis · published 1998 · read 2020-02-22

This book as good as advertised – even better than that, because part of it is targeted at people who had their heart broken by Gaudy Night, which I just had two weeks ago. I'm very happy I didn't accidentally read this one before Gaudy Night, that would've ruined the reading experience.

Among Others

by Jo Walton · published 2011 · read 2020-05-10

Among Others worked super well for me, especially considering that there is little-to-no plot and the whole book is a well-dressed bibliography. But the protagonist's (diary author) voice is super strong and realistic, and … okay, let's be honest here: I felt very pandered to in the best way. This book is in some way a modern equivalent to Gaudy Night, intellectual+atmospheric pandering to an in-group, and I'm in the in-group, and that's all there is to it.

The God Engines

by John Scalzi · published 2009 · read 2020-06-22

The God Engines is a fantasy-in-space novella that involves space ships powered by imprisoned gods.

The Goblin Emperor

by Katherine Addison · published 2014 · read 2020-02-22

Fun, well-written Fantasy with very strong characters and great character development. Bit predictable, and a large cast, but still a good read – and that's saying something for a novel that may be Fantasy, but has not the least bit adventure in it, instead going for ALL the politics.

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

by Ken Liu · published 2016 · read 2018-03-16

A heart-breaking short story about belonging, and families, and a tiny bit of magic. But mostly heartbreak.

Slaughterhouse-Five

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. · published 1969 · read 2009-01-01

Vonnegut witnessed the Dresden bombing, and this is his book about it. Of course, it's not just that, and even where it is just that, it is processed beautifully. Vonnegut is brutal and yet kind, dramatic but always matter-of-fact.

Falling Free

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1987 · read 2018-04-11

How is Lois McMaster Bujold not one of the first authors to be recommended to people starting scifi? Falling Free introduces the Quaddies (humans with arms instead of legs), as seen and told by an Engineer, capital E. It's awesome, and it's got everything you'd wish for: a new culture, social implications, lots and lots of economic and corporate implications (I see where Charlie got his Laundry File bureaucracy from), and the cultural implications aswell. Also, very sweet and cool characters all around, and funny af. Leo Graf, the protagonist, is just ♥

Weatherman

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1990 · read 2018-11-23

Weatherman is a novella that is also part of The Vor Game. It was the weaker part of Vor Game, but it's still bloody good. I mean, it's Lois McMaster Bujold.

The Handmaid’s Tale

by Margaret Atwood · published 1985 · read 2017-12-21

Oh yes, definitely the dystopic tale I needed without knowing it. Nicely done.

Artificial Condition

by Martha Wells · published 2018 · read 2018-10-19

The Artificial Condition is the second volume of Martha Wells' Murderbot series, and it's definitely better than the first one. I see why people love Murderbot, now – they, and their interaction with both humans and other bots, are bittersweet and relatable. In this second volume, Murderbot has to figure out what to do with their freedom, and they use it well – to examine their past, and work on ways to live their future. I enjoyed that while the protagonist is snarky, the snarkiness isn't overdone at all, and leaves spaces for cleverness, and vulnerability, and all kinds of connections to other people.

The Calculating Stars

by Mary Robinette Kowal · published 2018 · read 2019-08-07

The Calculating Stars by Marie Robinette Kowal is a book I enjoyed tremendously, and I have started recommending it to a bunch of friends. It is set in the US in the 50s, just shortly after a meteorite drops into the sea next to Washington, kills millions, and starts what might be an extinction level event. Our protagonist is a woman with a PhD in maths, who flew planes in WW2 for WASP (officially never saw combat, but, y'know …), and whose husband is lead engineer for the NACA/IAC.

The Stone Sky

by N.K. Jemisin · published 2017 · read 2019-02-13

The Stone Sky is a great ending to a great trilogy. I dislike books where the ending is clear ahead of time, but the amounts of good storytelling and additional context we got made up for it. Nassun's development felt a bit heavy-handed at times, but she still makes a good character, and contrasts well with her mother Essun. I enjoyed getting the true backstory for the breaking of the earth!

Uprooted

by Naomi Novik · published 2015 · read 2018-07-21

Uprooted by Naomi Novik was a perfect fantasy story/fairytale. It's got all the right parts (dark magic, regular magic, unimpressed heroine, ambivalent wizard, etc), but isn't terribly predictable, and forms real characters instead of shadows of well-known archetypes. By following the easy-to-like first-person narrator Agnieszka, and seeing her relate to the Dragon, her best friend Kasia, and all the others, painted a vivid and realistic picture of the world. We even get a surprising amount of moral ambivalence, considering the genre. A very good book. I may start to read Naomi Novik's fantasy series if Uprooted is any indicator for that series' quality.

Binti

by Nnedi Okorafor · published 2015 · read 2018-06-07

I liked Binti a lot more than Akata Witch, which I enjoyed very much. Binti was impressive and creative scifi, and the tha fast pace (du to the <100 pages) was refreshing and very well executed. Binti is a wonderful protagonist, and the culture and belief system sketched out in the book made me hungry for more. (Also: living ships?! Living ships!)

Bloodchild

by Octavia E. Butler · published 1984 · read 2020-01-24

I first read Bloodchild last year, I think, and re-read it now. It's a very Octavia Butler story – aliens cohabitating with humans and making ties that touch on reproductive and life cycles is a thing she does. But she does it well, and it's not a repeated shtick. I didn't enjoy the story as such, but it was expertly written, and viscerally stuck in my memory. (Also: ew.)

Parable of the Talents

by Octavia E. Butler · published 1998 · read 2018-05-31

Very very nearly a five-star book for me due to the ending, and I enjoyed it much more than the first volume. The story of Olamina told by herself, but commented on by her daughter, is really something. The pacing is outstanding and not very conventional (meaning you don't anticipate how the story is going to evolve and end). I was happy and impressed to follow Olamina through her budding community, her imprisonment, pregnancy, and founding a religion.

Ender’s Game

by Orson Scott Card · published 1985 · last read 2020-08-01

Rereading Ender's game six years later, I found it better than I remembered it. Sure, you'll never see the twist coming the way you saw it the first time, and when I read it the first time I didn't know about OSC's personal politics. But regardless: The book sucked me in, dragged me through a story as relentlessly cruel as it was enjoyable, and then spit me out three hours later, not without delivering a last minute kick straight to the feelings.

Speaker for the Dead

by Orson Scott Card · published 1986 · read 2014-03-01

I prefer this book to the first, more famous one. It's deeper, and more powerful, and doesn't rely on one cheap trick.

Lord of Light

by Roger Zelazny · published 1967 · read 2021-03-15

Lord of Light is hard to describe without spoilers up to the last third of the book, so I won't even try. You have been warned: hic sunt ~~dracones~~ spoilers. Even adding this book to my "space monks" list is technically a spoiler.

And Then There Were (N-One)

by Sarah Pinsker · published 2017 · read 2018-02-02

A multiverse scifi story! A convention of variations of the protagonist meet up – they discover divergence points, similarities, identities, and a body (of course, you did catch the Agatha Christie reference?).

Wind Will Rove

by Sarah Pinsker · published 2017 · read 2018-02-24

Very nice scifi about an intergenerational conflict on a multi(think >100) generational spaceship, focussing on music, both the people keeping old music alive, and the younger people rejecting history. I liked the setting and world building and characters, but I was hoping for more depth in every way.

Every Heart a Doorway

by Seanan McGuire · published 2016 · read 2018-10-06

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire is a nice little fantasy tale of the place where children go after going through a Door to Another Place (Fairylands, for example), and then coming back. It's short, and sweet, and sad, and gruesome. It's about real children, not a list of characters from other books, either. The gruesome part is the murder mystery half of the book, but that's really only window dressing for the exploration of the characters and worlds. It's short, and I'd have liked to see more exploration of both the children and their worlds – but that's what the sequel is there for.

Going Postal

by Terry Pratchett · published 2004 · read 2010-02-01

The post office story about innovation and all sorts of things was too on-the-nose allegorical for my tastes (though I liked Thud!, so I really shouldn't complain I suppose). As an ardent Miles Vorkosigan fan, I loved the momentum, but didn't get on with the protagonist. This might've been a three-star book, but was saved by Vetinari.

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

by Theodora Goss · published 2017 · read 2019-08-06

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss was an absolute delight. It takes place in Victorian London, and we see the daughters of Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde, Dr Moreau, and other classics of Victorian literature trying to unravel the mystery of their creation (in absence of their creators, who mostly died gruesome deaths, perfectly appropriate). It's a lovely book, perfectly well-written, utterly charming and entertaining, featuring a lot of well-researched facts. References are abound. If this is not the age or type of literature you feel comfortable with, it might not be the book for you, but otherwise, it's the very best of books for a relaxing read.

The Other Wind

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 2001 · read 2018-04-29

A good end to the series. The different roles and characters were great, and the explanations of humans vs dragons explained previous plots.

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1969 · read 2017-03-01

Wow! This is a fantastic, clever, wonderful scifi book. I loved the explicitly humanoid species (that are probably expanded on, especially their origin, in other parts of the series). I loved the mostly-androgynous species, their peculiarities, the mechanics of it all, the implications. I loved the protagonist and the carefully spun story arch - but I loved most that the narrator/protagonist was both clever, relatable, and fallible - there were several instances where, in the middle of narration, you started to think "Hold up, I'm sure that's not quite …" or "Isn't that just your weird bisexual bias …?"

The Word for World is Forest

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1972 · read 2018-02-21

I enjoyed it a lot. While I would have liked to get to know the alien culture (and its language!) even better, I was given a lot of context. Also, the story is told as seen by an alien, a nice human anthropologist, and a horrible, vicious, self-righteous human soldier, which was well done.

A Fire Upon the Deep

by Vernor Vinge · published 1992 · read 2019-03-03

A Fire Upon the Deep was very impressive scifi! The scope ranges across the complete universe, complete with medieval worlds, advanced civilisations, up to god-like transcended entities, their interactions, and wildly alien races. And at the same time, the story gets up close to humans and aliens alike, and lets the reader live epic events at a comprehendable scale.

The City & the City

by China Miéville · published 2009 · read 2018-11-14

The City & the City is a very impressive scifi book, but while I can appreciate its coolness and weirdness, and I can't point to a single flaw, somehow the story didn't quite grip me, although the concept of the two cities was introduced beautifully.

Little Brother

by Cory Doctorow · published 2008 · read 2013-05-01

Cory is always preaching. I don't like preachy books (look at all my Narnia hate). Even when I like the message, as I do here, I'd like to be taken more seriously as a reader.

Flowers for Algernon

by Daniel Keyes · published 1966 · read 2018-07-25

I liked Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes – even though the ending in itself felt predictable, it was very clear that the journey to that ending was the core of the book. It's not an easy question: How much does intelligence determine who we are, and what would happen if our intelligence were to rapidly in- or decrease? While I liked the concept of the book, I can't say that I enjoyed it though … it felt too stressfull with a hint of the kafkaesque for that.

Dune

by Frank Herbert · published 1965 · read 2018-07-09

Dune is a classic scifi novel, which can mean it's anywhere between breathtaking genius and hardly accessible anymore. I found it a bit difficult to get into at first, similar to Ancillary Justice. Once I grew used to the storytelling device of an aggressively all-knowing narrator (frequently giving both/all inner views to all sides of a conversation), the world-building was fascinating, and despite the extensive narrator-explanations the reader is forced to make connections themself. My only misgiving was that large parts of the plot were too laid-out: the Mary-Sue protagonist, the evil antagonists, the good Fremen warriors etc. I hope that further parts in the series alleviate the clear-cut morals and abilities of the characters a bit. I'm looking forward to it – the world-building was exemplary. (Also, I can finally watch the movie now.)

A Clash of Kings

by George R.R. Martin · published 1998 · read 2012-07-01

My fascination waned here already, but I had hoped that it was the usual second book slog.

A Storm of Swords

by George R.R. Martin · published 2000 · read 2012-11-01

Things happened. Dragged. Happened again. Dragged a bit more.

“Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman

by Harlan Ellison · published 1965 · read 2018-07-13

This is a tricky one: Repent, Harlequin!, Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison is a metaphor against an over-reglemented world. It's old, and I'm afraid to my eyes it hasn't aged too well. It's got an important message, and the scenario isn't bad either, and the language is poetic, but it didn't capture me at all.

The Girl Who Was Plugged In

by James Tiptree Jr. · published 1973 · read 2021-11-01

James Tiptree Jr., predicting influencers in a world where advertising is forbidden. Interesting worldbuilding, but the story felt repulsive, maybe because it was so intentionally superficial? I don't like superficiality any more just because there's a meta.

The Forever War

by Joe Haldeman · published 1974 · read 2016-11-09

Very Scalzi-ish (although, of course, the other way around). Took some getting used to the terse style, after that very well thought through and enjoyable. Especially all the implication of time dilation by long distance space jumps.

The Three-Body Problem

by Liu Cixin · published 2006 · read 2018-08-10

I came into the first volume of Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past with high expectations, as there was somewhat of a hype surrounding the book. It's nearly as good as (and too me, evocative of) Subjective Cosmology by Greg Egan. It's very nice physics (and physicists) scifi. The characters were irritatingly flat a lot of the time (a common hard scifi illness), and often felt over the top to me. The beginning of the book was slow, and compared to that, the ending felt sudden (not rushed, mind, only sudden), and I missed some information and worldbuilding there – I can't be more specific without heavy spoilers. I appreciated the somber ending (although the very final scene was over the top for me). The translation was decent. There remained occasional phrases that sounded weird/unidiomatic, but it happens, especially if there's so much culture to translate.

A Civil Campaign

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1999 · read 2020-08-14

Most Vorkosigan fans seem to like A Civil Campaign a lot, and this may or may not have screwed with my expectations. I liked it less than Komarr, which I read directly beforehand.

Diplomatic Immunity

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2002 · read 2020-08-15

Among the Miles Vorkosigan books, Diplomatic Immunity did not impress me. Among wider sci-fi books, it was warm, clever, with deep character and worldbuilding, and the ability to make me laugh out loud multiple times. It is a credit to the Vorkosigan series that this book does not stand out as good.

All Systems Red

by Martha Wells · published 2017 · read 2018-09-02

It's hard to judge All Systems Red on account of it being so short – it's fast-paced and engaging though, and I felt invested in the story. But after reading it, I was more interested in reading the next part and finding out more about the world and the protagonist – the whole book felt like it just provided a backdrop for the further series. As the series is generally well-liked though, I trust that things will pick up from here.

Six Wakes

by Mur Lafferty · published 2017 · read 2018-09-20

Six Wakes is a scifi murder mystery in space: Cloning is real, but may only be used to prolong one's own life. A generation starship is staffed with six clones who will re-clone until the ship reaches its destiantion. But suddenly all six find themselves murdered and re-awaken without any memory of the last 25 years of the journey. As plots go, this one is good – sadly the writing was uneven and I'm not a mystery person, so despite the coherent worldbuilding and the simple-but-plausible characters, I wasn't drawn in too much. If you like space and mysteries though, I can definitely recommend it.

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer

by Neal Stephenson · published 1995 · read 2020-05-31

My relationship with Neal Stephenson is marked by frustration and enjoyment alike. I liked Anathem a lot despite it's many flaws, because it hit the perfect sweet spot in subject matter for me. Diamond Age did not, so it's flaws stood out more.

Parable of the Sower

by Octavia E. Butler · published 1993 · read 2018-04-09

4.5 stars for me, but let's round it up.

A Master of Djinn

by P. Djèlí Clark · published 2021 · read 2021-09-06

Steampunk, non-Victorian edition: In 1912, Egypt is a rising world power due to its access to magic. Holding its own against the British and other world powers in a multicultural metropolis, Cairo is far from free and perfect, though: Our protagonist, Fatma, is one of the few women in the Ministry of supernatural stuff, where she works as an investigator, and gets to unravel the bloodless-but-supernatural murder of some British guys.

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said

by Philip K. Dick · published 1974 · read 2016-12-08

by Philip K. Dick · published 1968 · read 2016-11-12

Well, well, well.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Sci-fi that I like. Real, easy to read. Also, sheep.

Trail of Lightning

by Rebecca Roanhorse · published 2018 · read 2021-06-17

Urban fantasy needn't take place in a city, and this is a prime example: it may be a supernatural mystery story taking place in post-collapse North America on a reservation after the collapse of the USA, but it's still very much urban fantasy.

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea

by Sarah Pinsker · published 2019 · read 2021-06-15

Sarah Pinsker writes excellent short stories. This collection opens with some shorter stories, which I found too short: They ended before anything could happen, all just setting up a scenario, then leaving me hungry for something:

For He Can Creep

by Siobhan Carroll · published 2019 · read 2020-02-12

Cat-lovers, take note: This short story lovingly combines cat stereotypes, and then goes two steps further. Very enjoyable.

Gideon the Ninth

by Tamsyn Muir · published 2019 · read 2020-02-15

Gideon the Ninth is popular, but didn't work for me – the first third (or so) felt very muddled and I was wondering why everybody seemed to love this book so much. It got better, but the world it played in never felt quite solid to me, and I'd have liked it much more with just a bit less flippancy? Grimdark with aggressively flippant protagonist has been done to death. Quality of writing and worldbuilding increased throughout the book, apart from the final battle, and I enjoyed how the characters were fleshed out (for most of them, at least).

The Lifecycle of Software Objects

by Ted Chiang · published 2010 · read 2018-10-31

The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang is a charming (if depressing) story of virtual pets who are trained to be cute companions, but when the fad fades – after layoffs and knockoffs – it turns out you can train them up over the years to have intelligence and an understanding of the world. Yes, like children. Hilarity does not ensue, but it's a well-enough-written story that felt realistic. If anything, I'd have appreciated a little less realism – I'm already familiar with all the depressive reality of the software industry, and I'd like something more in my reading.

Making Money

by Terry Pratchett · published 2007 · read 2008-09-01

As before, I didn't care about the protagonist, and not that much about the innovation commentary, either. I suspect the problem is same disinterest in economics that also makes me bounce of Charlie Stross's more economy-oriented sci-fi.

The Lathe of Heaven

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1971 · read 2018-02-27

I liked the premise of one person (well. -ish) changing the world via dreams, inclusing heavy retroactive changes. I liked the characterisations, and the overall themes, even if the pacing was a bit off. I even agree with the (Taoist) philosophy shown behind it, but I don't like being shown philosophies forcefully in books, and this felt like it. Not even close to horrible Narnia levels, but … tending to a bit Philip-K-Dick style storytelling. Didn't enjoy the last third for that reason. A good book, for sure – but not close to my favourite Le Guin books.

Tehanu

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1990 · read 2018-03-04

I liked the non-male focus on regular lives a lot! Tenar and Tenahu are both really cool. But the story was weird … pacing, content, it felt irregular and all over the place for me. Story 2/5, setting 4/5.

Neuromancer

by William Gibson · published 1984 · read 2017-03-10

Not quite sure what to think of this one. It's fast paced, but I think it tries too hard. I liked how it plays with multiple realities, or layers of reality, but both the plot and the pacing felt so … forced.

Ninefox Gambit

by Yoon Ha Lee · published 2016 · read 2019-03-31

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee was a lot of fun, but at the same time frustrating. It's high fantasy in space, and comes with all the usually frustrating parts of high fantasy (minus the racism).

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

by Alix E. Harrow · published 2019 · read 2021-05-13

Coming-of-age stories are possibly just not for me anymore. The book-driven portal fantasy is nice enough, and the helping of "remember how bad turn-of-the-century racism is" is not bad if a bit forced, but … I just didn't care about the predictable story. If only there had been a bigger focus on the portals, or the portal writing, or the portal worlds … I can appreciate why this book is popular, but it felt more generic than it should have to me.

The Black Tides of Heaven

by J.Y. Yang · published 2017 · read 2021-06-10

Asian-inspired genderfun fantasy. Didn't compel me at all: the plot wasn't as focused as the short length warranted, and the characters didn't stand out to me at all. The plot was compressed and considering the high odds and tragedy, didn't make me care at all.

Annihilation

by Jeff VanderMeer · published 2014 · read 2019-12-17

Horror is not my genre, and this one just didn't have an effect on me? Not a bad book, just book-reader-mismatch, I think. The protagonist had a good distinct voice, and Area X was weird in a good way, but it never clicked for me.

Dhalgren

by Samuel R. Delany · published 1975 · read 2019-07-11

Asking me to rate Dhalgren by Samuel Delany is like asking me to rate Kafka's Process. I'm sure that they are both good books, objectively. I'm sure they are good books to many people out there. I can recognize their excellent language, their meta storytelling, their intense settings and the skilled ways they use language to provoke feelings (which they do!).

The Day Before the Revolution

by Ursula K. Le Guin · published 1974 · read 2018-02-17