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otherhorde's reviews
123 reviews
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
4.0
This book is a lot of fun, and also charmingly dated.
The first half is an interesting satire of Victorian society, that feels rather alien in modern context. The concepts it lampoons are at times so dated they seem barbaric.
The second half though is incredible, as Abbot attempts to rationalize the existence of higher dimensions to his audience. His description of higher dimensions, and the confusion and chaos that they unwittingly cause when they interact with other dimensions clearly held an influence over many notable figures like Crowley and Jung.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in widening there conscious perspective, or to anyone interested in anything adjacent to Gnosticism or the ideas of the psychonaut community.
The first half is an interesting satire of Victorian society, that feels rather alien in modern context. The concepts it lampoons are at times so dated they seem barbaric.
The second half though is incredible, as Abbot attempts to rationalize the existence of higher dimensions to his audience. His description of higher dimensions, and the confusion and chaos that they unwittingly cause when they interact with other dimensions clearly held an influence over many notable figures like Crowley and Jung.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in widening there conscious perspective, or to anyone interested in anything adjacent to Gnosticism or the ideas of the psychonaut community.
Devil House by John Darnielle
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This will destroy you,
It will break your heart more with every page,
It will leave you as something new
Much like John Darnielle's 2 other novels, and 1 novella this is not for everyone, it shifts in jarring ways and forces the reader to examine themselves and what they expected from a book called Devil House about a grisly double homicide in an abandoned porn store.
Darnielle keeps alive the stories of those whose lives we have deemed a waste, in his abstractions he allows the reader to conjure anyone they see fit to receive a new story one with hope and a future.
Long may the Gorbonian reign, and may he restore our memories of the dead in Arawn's name
It will break your heart more with every page,
It will leave you as something new
Much like John Darnielle's 2 other novels, and 1 novella this is not for everyone, it shifts in jarring ways and forces the reader to examine themselves and what they expected from a book called Devil House about a grisly double homicide in an abandoned porn store.
Darnielle keeps alive the stories of those whose lives we have deemed a waste, in his abstractions he allows the reader to conjure anyone they see fit to receive a new story one with hope and a future.
Long may the Gorbonian reign, and may he restore our memories of the dead in Arawn's name
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Its a manifesto for colonial apologists, that uses skewed figures to bolster its claims that Europe was the greatest continent. The math in question also skews Africa lower in the authors qualifications for success, giving him justification to make claims of white and euro supremacy.