grogu_djarin's reviews
117 reviews

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Overall Thoughts:
This book had a lot of potential but stylistic choices ruined it for me. Kavan created an extremely vivid post-apocalyptic world caused by an encroaching ice age. She did a fantastic job depicting that and the oppressiveness of it. It almost felt like the environment was a character in itself.

That said, the rest of the story is an incohesive mess. Scenes don't flow cohesively together and perspectives change without any scene breaks. There is a lot of unreliable narration and you keep meeting the warden and the girl over and over again, but it's almost impossible to tell if these are the same characters or if the main character is hallucinating them or believe others to be them.

Likes:

The world was extremely well characterized and the encroaching ice felt oppressive.
I liked the exploration of post-apocalyptic society and the people in it even if scenes were disjointed. It was a good analysis of human nature. Some people were just trying to survive while others were more than happy to take advantage of the situation for their own benefit.
The prose itself is beautiful if you read it in isolation from the rest of the book.

Dislikes:

It's very difficult to follow along with the story. There's times where the perspective shifts in time or location or character without ever telling you so it's hard to extract a cohesive story from it. It feels more like following along in an incohesive dream that jumps around more than anything.
There's graphic physical and sexual abuse in this book and characters often fantasize about it.
While the book is about the narrator's obsession with the girl, he also has a strange fixation with lemurs that feels bizarre juxtaposed with the rest of the book.

Other Notes:

Would Recommend To:

Someone interested in abstract experimental fiction or stories set in a post-apocalyptic ice age with a disjointed narrative.

Do Not Recommend To:

Anyone who want's a cohesive plot or anyone who dislikes depiction of physical and sexual abuse.

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch

Go to review page

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Overall Thoughts:
After how strong The Hanging Tree was I had hoped for more from this book. The first two thirds are more or less following a breadcrumb trail of the Faceless Man and always being a few steps behind him. There are some exciting moments but it drags for quite a long time and many of the characters (especially Abigail) feel poorly utilized. The last third more than made up for it though and after a point there is non-stop excitement as everything starts falling into place. This book wraps up the Faceless Man arc but I think The Hanging Tree had a more satisfying confrontation with him and that would have been a better end to his storyline.

Likes:

Peter is even more capable as a practitioner than he already was in The Hanging Tree. I also liked how there wasn't explicit mention of it either, he just starts doing things he previously was incapable of (like popping locks) and does it with ease.
Where Peter is shown as more capable, the same is done for Nightingale and it's rather terrifying just how powerful he is compared to anyone else. You really see why people fear him.
The last third was very intense which made up for the slower start.
There is a really exciting chase scene which was my favorite part of the book.
There are many great scenes with Lesley May and you finally learn why she betrayed the Folly.
Foxglove was a great new character. Equally terrifying and sympathetic.

Dislikes:

Abigail is really under-utilized in this one. Supposedly she's learning magic at this point but she feels more like a prop than a character. There is a lot of "tell" rather than "show" and her big use throughout the story is making notes on books.
The story is quite slow until the last third. Quite a lot of it is being a few steps behind the Faceless Man and trying to find clues so it drags a bit until the end.
I'm not sure if I bought the Faceless Man's motivations. For someone who is presented as so intelligent and capable, it just seemed a bit out of character for him.

Other Notes:

Would Recommend To:

Anyone who has read and enjoyed the earlier books in the series. This book seems to wrap up the Faceless Man arc.

Do Not Recommend To:

Anyone who hasn't read the earlier Rivers of London books. This builds off the earlier ones in substantial ways and you'll be lost without reading them!

The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall Thoughts:
To start, I'd say this is what The Sword of Shannara should have been. They have very similar plots, the Mord Wraiths replace the Warlock Lord and Skull Bearers, the gnomes are the invading army again, they visit many of the same locations, both center around siblings from Shady Vale and have a cast of characters to help them on their journeys, and both center the plot around a magic only the main characters can use to defeat their respective evils. In that sense, if you've read The Sword of Shannara a lot of it won't feel very fresh, but in many ways it's a lot better than a generic Lord of the Rings clone.

This book had more engaging characters and while some still didn't have any development, the ones that do had compelling story arcs. Brin and Jair in particular had good growth and their different uses of the wishsong helped differentiate them further and it is a creative form of magic. The shifting perspective also helped keep the story feel dynamic and I think it helped maintain momentum in the story because perspective shifts might happen after a cliffhanger so I found myself wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next.

Likes:

Brooks finally has added some decent women characters in this book with both Brin and Kimber Boh. Brin in particular had a great arc. Minor complaint: it's still not perfect and Brooks calls her a "Valegirl" while her younger brother Jair gets "Valeman".
The wishsong was a very creative method of magic and it was nice seeing the differences between how Brin and Jair used it.
I really enjoyed how Brin and Jair were characterized, both with Brin's coming to grips with the wishsong and Jair's innocence.
This paced itself much better than The Elfstones of Shannara which also shifted between two perspectives, but it felt much more balanced and dynamic this time around and the perspective shifts are better used to create tension.
Where I felt in The Sword of Shannara things had a tendency to always conveniently go right and in The Elfstones of Shannara the opposite occurred with most things going wrong for the characters, this has a nice balance of the two that worked well and I found myself rooting for the characters in either circumstance.

Dislikes:

For taking place in the Eastland I hoped it would go into as much of the culture of the dwarves and gnomes as The Elfstones of Shannara did for the elves in the Westland, but you don't learn much of them culturally.
For being the more important storyline, Brin's felt substantially less engaging than Jair's until the later sections of the book but I'd say she had the better character growth.
The Mord Wraiths felt too much like a rehash of the Warlock Lord and were disposed of easier than the Skull Bearers in The Sword of Shannara. I get the idea is quantity over quality, but even when there were multiple they seemed less foreboding.
I found Rone Leah to be quite annoying, especially his catchphrase "for cat's sake". He's essentially a worse version of Menion Leah from The Sword of Shannara. Also Allanon does something for him that just makes you wonder why he didn't do the same for his great-grandfather Menion and it becomes a defining part of Rone's character.
I don't think Allanon was well utilized which is saying something when he mostly existed for info dumps and casting magic to get out of trouble in the earlier books.

Other Notes:

Where I felt the series has had a strange identity so far due to having a post-apocalyptic setting but reading like a high fantasy, this book goes even further in the direction of magic.
The book does a good job retelling the main story points of The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara throughout it so it's not necessary to read the other books first but you will get more out of it if you do.
This is probably the most light-hearted of the three books in the trilogy but this is probably due to Brin and Jair still being teens/children. It does have its dark moments though.

Would Recommend To:

This would be a good book for a kid or teen to read as entry into fantasy. It's fairly self-contained so not necessary to read The Sword of Shannara or The Wishsong of Shannara before this, but it does help make a stronger connection to the world and events from both are referenced.

Do Not Recommend To:

Someone who doesn't like fantasy.

The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Go to review page

adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Overall Thoughts:
In theory I should have liked this better than The Sword of Shannara since it's at least an original story and not a loose retreading of Lord of the Rings, but unfortunately I found this a weaker story which may be due to how well Lord of the Rings stands on its own. This book drags a lot. It shifts between two main perspectives, Wil/Amberle and Allanon/Eventine/Ander, but it will spend chapters in a row on one perspective moving far ahead in the plot then jump backwards to tell the other perspective making a choppy experience. I think it would have been much better if it alternated perspectives each chapter, because as it is it leads to long stretches without much variety and poor pacing.

I also found most of the characters unlikable. Wil is painfully stubborn and while I should give it credit for having two main female characters (where The Sword of Shannara only had one woman in the entire book), Amberle and Eritria unfortunately fall into the damsel in distress and scorned lover tropes for most of the book. Eventine probably ended up being the most interesting of the characters for me, but that might also be due to seeing his growth from The Sword of Shannara.

Likes:

This significantly expands the backstory and lore on the elves which is great because they felt like a generic fantasy race in The Sword of Shannara. You learn quite a lot of them by the end.
Everything about the Ellcrys was very creative.
It brings the series in a new direction so it feels a lot less like a Lord of the Rings clone.
There are much fewer exposition dumps than The Sword of Shannara. There's still a few, but it's more palatable.
This is a much darker book than The Sword of Shannara in my opinion. Where I complained about how in the prior book everyone seemed to get out of bad situations by the power of plot/luck, this book has a lot go wrong and you feel the consequences of it.
The demons felt like a menacing force throughout the book.

Dislikes:

The pacing in the book isn't great. The ingredients are all there, but rather than have a more dynamic plot it goes long stretches in one storyline then backtracks to tell the other one (also in long stretches).
Most of the characters are one dimensional. It's especially unfortunate in how trope-ish Amberle and Eritria are.
The battle scenes drag on and on. Where I thought the Battle of Tyrsis was one of the best parts of the last book, this has multiple battles that go on for chapter after chapter and it starts to overstay its welcome.

Other Notes:

Where I felt The Sword of Shannara had a strange identity due to having a post-apocalyptic setting yet mostly reading like a high fantasy, this book makes that identity even more contrasted. There's more attention paid to the pre-apocalyptic world, but not to the world of science and technology that caused the apocalypse, but rather more to the world of pre-apocalyptic magic (fairies, demons, witches, etc).
The book does a great job retelling the main story points of The Sword of Shannara throughout it so it's not at all necessary to read the other book first.

Would Recommend To:

This would be a good book for a kid or teen to read as entry into fantasy and it's not necessary to read The Sword of Shannara before this, but if you liked the earlier book then this is more of that world.

Do Not Recommend To:

Someone who doesn't like fantasy or someone who dislikes poorly written women.

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall Thoughts:
People have mapped characters and scenes from this book to the Lord of the Rings and it's easy to see the parallels when reading it, however it does introduce some original ideas (notably a post-apocalyptic setting) and the story is at its best when it happens, unfortunately it doesn't happen often enough. In its place, much of the book feels like a generic high fantasy retelling of the Lord of the Rings, and I was often frustrated how often plot points resolved themselves due to the power of plot convenience. In a way, it feels like following a weekly Dungeons and Dragons campaign, with a new enemy each ~~week~~ chapter, with whatever trouble the party is in needing to be wrapped up quickly so everyone can go home for the night. That said, it's at least an entertaining read for most of it, though it does have some slow parts, often during pages of exposition and info dumping on the world, its history, and the environment.

Likes:

While it follows many of the beats of Lord of the Rings, where it's best is when it has original ideas. In particular, the characters of Panamon Creel and Keltset stood out.
While only a few of the characters have any character development, I thought Flick's character arc was the best, with Menion Leah close behind.
I liked the twist concerning the Sword of Shannara and how it was used.
It was an entertaining read if nothing else.

Dislikes:

There are pages of exposition and info dumping on the world mixed throughout the book. Allanon is especially guilty of this.
Many of the situations the characters get into feel like "villain of the week" but in this case "villain of the chapter" and it often feels like the main cast has plot armor because they get out of the situations due to extreme luck more often than not.
Most of the characters are shallow and one-dimensional and could be used interchangeably in many parts. Frequently they aren't even called by their names, rather generic descriptors such as "the dwarf" or "the highlander". There's also only one woman in the book which makes the world feel one-dimensional.
Maybe because it was one of the first published fantasy books after Lord of the Rings, but much of it feels like generic fantasy. The bad guy is largely called "the Warlock Lord" and he lives in "Skull Mountain" and his minions are the "Skull Bearers". Also the setting of man, elf, and dwarf pitched against gnomes and trolls feels very generic and none of the races are explored much.

Other Notes:

This book has a strange identity. While it feels closest to high fantasy (especially since it's largely a Lord of the Rings clone), the post-apocalyptic setting sets it apart. I just wish they had explored that aspect more because the vast majority of the book feels high fantasy with a slight identity crisis whenever the post-apocalyptic setting comes up.

Would Recommend To:

This is probably a good book for a kid or teen to read as entry into fantasy. While there are better fantasy stories, it would be a good introduction to the worlds of swords and sorcery.

Do Not Recommend To:

Someone wanting a strong fantasy story. It's fairly shallow and parallels quite a lot of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Overall Thoughts:
I'm not sure what the point of this story was to be honest. It's a very quick read and the case is over before you know it. There's maybe two things that might be of consequence later in the series, but it's largely standalone and there's no connection to the Faceless Man storyline. In that sense, it's more of a side quest, or an opportunity to see what a typical case for the Folly might look like, but the brevity does take a lot of the mystery away from it because the case is solved in about the third of the time as the other books. That said, it's still an entertaining read and if you enjoyed the other Peter Grant stories it at least offers more of that.

Likes:

It was nice to see Toby featured again after he had been sidelined for many of the previous books.
Similarly, I was glad Abigail wasn't being ignored.
This adds probably the most lore on ghosts since the first book.

Dislikes:

Perhaps it was due to the length or due to not tying into the Faceless Man storyline, but I'm not really sure what this story served to accomplish. It does show the Folly working a typical case for them, but due to the length it feels a bit rushed and feels more like a side adventure more than anything.
There's a secondary plotline and, while it is one of the two things that may be consequential later, for as short as the book is it feels like a diversion (when this book already feels like a diversion to the larger series narrative).

Other Notes:

This was published after The Hanging Tree but takes place before it. I'm reading the series in publication order and this was published after The Hanging Tree. I would definitely recommend reading this first (chronological rather than publication order) since it was a little jarring going from Peter as a more capable practitioner in The Hanging Tree to getting more of his earlier self in this book.

Would Recommend To:

Anyone who wants more Peter Grant stories. It doesn't bring much new to the series, but it's at least more story if you're interested in it.

Do Not Recommend To:

Anyone who hasn't read any of the earlier Peter Grant stories. While it's fairly self-contained and short, as a fan of the series I didn't think it brought much to the table and there's probably even less for someone who hasn't read the prior books.

Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Overall Thoughts:
This was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy but in my opinion the weakest of the books. It builds heavily off of both Neuromancer and Count Zero (where I felt Count Zero could almost be read without needing to read Neuromancer). It also has a multi-perspective storyline like Count Zero, but where Count Zero pulled this off well, I felt most of the storylines were substantially weaker. This may be due to having four perspectives rather than three since many of the characters felt under-developed to me. I only really enjoyed Kumiko's. Slick was too one-dimensional and Mona, who has the most story time, is high for much of it and an unreliable narrator. Angie I found more interesting in Count Zero because she felt like a very different character in this book as a celebrity simstim star.

It's interesting for me to compare this book to the two earlier books in the trilogy. Both Neuromancer and Count Zero I felt were largely great until a weaker ending, while Mona Lisa Overdrive did the opposite and was largely weak until a great ending, concluding not just the book but the series. It was also nice that the book brought back some characters from the earlier books (where Count Zero largely didn't) and I liked how the book used them in the plot.

Likes:

It had the best ending of the trilogy in my opinion and wrapped up not only this book but the other two as well.
I enjoyed Kumiko's storyline the best and seeing Gibson's world through the eyes of a child was a fresh perspective, but it's also the one that was most disconnected from the plot.
After reading two books in the series (three if you add in Burning Chrome), it's much easier to understand the world and follow along.
There were some returning characters from earlier books (beyond just Angie who has a main perspective) and it was nice getting additional characterization of them.

Dislikes:

I'm not sure if it's due to having a fourth perspective compared to Count Zero's three, but the characters felt substantially less developed.
Not a lot happens until the later sections of the book. Where I disliked Bobby's parts in Count Zero for mostly sitting around, it feels this way for many of the characters in this book until all the pieces of the plot are set in place for the ending. Mona was the only character where a lot of things happened but again, it's hard to trust what is exactly happening in her perspectives.

Other Notes:

Due to Mona being high for much of her storyline, her sections often have an unreliable narrator. I'm not sure whether I liked this or disliked. In some parts I think it helps add to the mystery, but in others it was hard to tell what was genuinely happening.

Would Recommend To:

Anyone who enjoyed Neuromancer and Count Zero. If you liked these books you'll probably like this one as well.

Do Not Recommend To:

Anyone who hasn't read Neuromancer or Count Zero since the story builds heavily on both.

Count Zero by William Gibson

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Overall Thoughts:
This was a fantastic follow-up to Neuromancer but I feel they have different strengths. Neuromancer had the stronger story, in my opinion, since it focused on one storyline as seen from the perspective of Case. Meanwhile Count Zero follows a different approach with three separate plot threads that gradually interweave and none of them individually were as compelling as Neuromancer, but together they present an equally satisfying book. Each storyline brings something different. Turner's story is more action-oriented while Marly's is more of a mystery. Bobby's story (the titular Count Zero) was the weaker one, and despite starting out strong he's on the sideline for much of the book.

Likes:

I liked the three plot threads between Turner, Bobby, and Marly, especially seeing how they all tied together.
The characters were stronger and more developed in this story than Neuromancer because each has to carry their own storyline.
The three plot threads brought stylistic changes between them which kept the story dynamic. You get a bit of everything between them.
Gibson expands the lore in some significant ways that seem even more impactful than what already happened in Neuromancer.
I felt like this was an easier read than Neuromancer but that might just be because I was already acclimated to the world and terminology after reading Burning Chrome and Neuromancer.

Dislikes:

For being the titular character, Bobby's storyline was the least interesting by far and for most of it he is just along for the ride and not doing much despite the storyline starting strong.
I didn't like the voodoo elements. While it makes sense subcultures would develop in cyberspace, this aspect seemed silly in what was otherwise a dark and gritty story and felt off in a similar way to the Rastafarians in Neuromancer.
Similar to Neuromancer, I felt the story was weakest at its end. This time, it had a large amount of build-up between the three storylines but the resolution was more or less a deus ex machina and therefor fairly anticlimactic.

Other Notes:

While this is a sequel to Neuromancer, it almost stands alone on its own. There's plenty of new stuff and it's set 7 years after Neuromancer and the prior book impacts the setting more than the plot. In a way it felt more connected to "New Rose Hotel" from the Burning Chrome short story collection than to Neuromancer.
It was neat seeing Brussels appear in Marly's storyline having lived there.

Would Recommend To:

Anyone interested in science fiction, especially the cyberpunk genre. I don't think it's necessary to have read Neuromancer first because the book reintroduces much of the plot of the first book in the setting, but it will help understand the world.

Do Not Recommend To:

Anyone who doesn't like science fiction or the cyberpunk genre.

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Overall Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this! It read like the build-up to a heist which were the best parts of the books in my opinion. There were a lot of tense moments and threads of mystery to decipher as you read it but I felt like the payoff at the end was a bit anticlimactic due to the book veering into a more philosophical realm. The characters are somewhat one dimensional, but it just helps them fit into the dark and gritty world, where mega-corporations thrive and the people are just replaceable parts of the societal machine.

That said, it's not an easy read and Gibson doesn't hold your hand at all. Much of the world is presented as if you should already be familiar with it, so expect a lot of made up words thrown at you that you have to figure out what they are from the context and at the same time try to follow the plot when you're still wrapping your head around the terminology. While it's not a slow book, it's also not one you can rush or you'll likely miss something important.

Likes:

The world building was fantastic (despite being challenging). It's amazing to think of how Gibson imagined so much about the potentials of technology and mega-corporations back in the 1980's and laid the ground for much of the cyberpunk genre. There's some things that feel anachronistic, but it's still a world that doesn't seem far off from a possible future.
Many of the locations (in particular Chiba City, the Sprawl, and Freeside) felt well developed and having unique identities of their own.
I liked some of the themes presented in the book such as the boundaries between humanity and society, the power of information, the structures of society, and questions of identity and personality.
There were many parts I was completely engrossed by and Gibson did a fantastic job maintaining the tension.

Dislikes:

It can be challenging at times and confusing understanding the terminology. While you can usually infer meaning from surrounding paragraphs, it means you might need to re-read some pages in order to fully follow along.
I didn't really like the Rastafarians in the story, neither their role or their characterization. I think these references would have been more relevant to the time the book was written.
The latter sections felt like they wandered a bit and the ending was quite a different direction from the rest of the story. This might be due to the earlier parts being so strongly focused on the heist aspect, that once the plot opens up it didn't feel as satisfying.

Other Notes:

It's not necessary to read the short stories in Burning Chrome before this but it does help make things feel more immersive. Molly from "Johnny Mnemonic" is a main character and the story is referenced, and the Finn from "Burning Chrome" also appears.
I recommend finding a glossary of some of the terms Gibson uses because it makes it easier to follow, but do be careful because the glossary I found had some spoilers within it.

Would Recommend To:

Anyone interested in science fiction, especially the cyberpunk genre because this is foundational work that inspired much of the genre.

Do Not Recommend To:

Anyone who doesn't like science fiction or anyone who does not want a challenging read of connecting all the elements of world building and the plot.

Burning Chrome by William Gibson

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Overall Thoughts:
It's hard to rate this collection since some short stories I enjoyed more than others. Johnny Mnemonic, The Belonging Kind, Hinterlands, The Winter Market, and Burning Chrome were the better ones while the other half were more forgettable. Overall it's a somewhat challenging read, there is a lot of technobabble thrown at you and it takes a while to get used to terminology and Gibson doesn't hold your hand at all. He treats terms as if they're things you should already know, with the meaning inferred by subsequent paragraphs or pages. While this helps create an immersive world, it also pulls you out of it slightly. That said, the stories themselves are fairly brief and so you can get through the less enjoyable ones quicker and each one brings something different.

Likes:

It was nice to read some of the foundational work in the cyberpunk genre, especially with how different stories played with the ideas in different ways.
There is a range of stories, some more straight science-fiction, some more speculative, some dark, some tense, others eerie and mysterious, etc.

Dislikes:

Gibson throws a lot of made up technobabble at you and in a longer novel this would be easier to follow, but by the time you start getting used to terminology the short stories are almost over.
There's a lot of drug references that made some of the stories unrelatable to me.

Other Notes:

Some stories have frequent references to real world brands or stores. While some still exist, others don't. Similarly, several stories directly reference the future of the USSR as a superpower despite its real world collapse. This makes some of the stories feel strangely dated despite the futuristic setting but the anachronisms have a certain charm and make the stories feel even more like an alternate Earth.

Would Recommend To:

Anyone interested in science fiction, especially the cyberpunk genre and short stories.

Do Not Recommend To:

Anyone who doesn't like science fiction or finds it difficult to read books with a lot of technobabble.

More...

grogu_djarin's reviews 117 reviews

grogu_djarin's reviews
117 reviews