ogokoo's reviews
366 reviews

Did the writing get more annoying somehow? And how was it possible that Wen was even more insufferable than before? Book one set me up to expect a galactic romance that defies odds, but that romance hardly made an appearance in book 3. It was pages upon pages upon pages of strategy and schemes. The Wraiths were SO obnoxious. I'm disappointed. I just wanted my boys to spend some more time together and be in love.

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow! What a wild ride! What a galactic adventure! And what an improvement over book 1! I greatly enjoyed this novel. The pacing was great, the twists were all at the right places, the characters were more likeable... and I loved the ending. I can tell the impact that this book has had on sci fi of the following decades. I look forward to the next book.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

There is something about the writing in this book that greatly vexed, so even though I enjoyed it...I'll start with the things I didn't like. The incredibly complex and vast universe of this series is painted in this first book through stories in a story, with the main characters sharing Decameron style. It's actually clever and works well to introduce us - in 500+ pages - to an unaimaginably different far future. The stories however are such hit or miss... none more so than the Consul's. What a bore!

After Lamia's thrilling story, the books ends with this??? This mess of time jumps and clumsy romance??

Literally was skipping paragraphs because I couldn't care less about most of it, especially not right as the journey the book represents was about to cullminate. Just...left a very bad taste in my mouth.
The other thing - the female characters scream written by a man. It was super offputting, reading about all of these male main characters' love affairs and constantly skimming thru the same descriptions of women's naked bodies or of sex scenes that added absolutely nothing to the plot. 🤮 It actually made me angry. Simmons developed this insanely imaginative universe with interstellar diplomacy and new worlds and unexplained planetary phenomena...but you're telling me he also chose to objectify women every thirty pages??? What a disappointment.

Now, on to the positives. I haven't read such an overwhelmingly mindfucking sci fi in a long time. I greatly enjoyed all of the nuggets about the time tombs, the technocore, the Shrike, the bizarre, surreal, eerie things that the books is peppered with. I'm greatly impressed with the intricacy with which this universe is built and will definitely keep reading. I just hope the writing improves.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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funny reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

This is NOT a cozy mystery. It's a collection of annoying characters who are trying to be endearing. the mystery is...not interesting at all. The narration tries to make you care for the characters and their stories, but it feels forced. Many of the moments that are supposed to make you daydream about homecooked food or delicious tea feel unearned. Vera is incredibly frustrating and it feels like her actions and behavior are being excused all the time. The rest of the main characters are meek and self-deprecating as a result of trauma inflicted upon them by exactyl the kind of person that Vera is. Pretty quickly I didn't even care about who killed Marshall. This book tries to be so many things... It completely fails at meshing a lighthearted mystery with really intense and taxing character studies.

A cozy mystery is supposed to be a lighthearted, low stakes, fast-paced read. This is none of those things.

Content Warnings

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

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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? Yes

3.0

Perhaps at the time that this came out it was saying new things...but not today, for sure. It's too slow and drawn out and I didn't find the character studies too compelling. If you're looking for a police procedural like I was, I don't recommend this.

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ogokoo's reviews 366 reviews

ogokoo's reviews
366 reviews