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porge_grewe's reviews
164 reviews
Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Funny, clever, a really fun read! The concept of, near enough, Pretty Little Liars meets high-level Scrabble play, works excellently - The mystery is well-structured, the characters are fun to be around, the whole thing just works so well. Read it!
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a really fantastic book. Beautiful, grubby, funny, and clever, just like Glasgow itself, the city which is all over the narrative. The world feels at once deeply real, lived-in, and bizarre, and the characters walk the line between caricature and portrait brilliantly - And it's all wrapped around with the best examples of unreliable narration I have ever read. I love this book!
Mark of Faith by Rachel Harrison
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Joker: One Operation Joker, Vol. 1 by Satoshi Miyagawa
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Excellent concept, brilliantly written, beautiful art - The definitive version of The Joker!
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As funny as it is clever as it is brilliantly-observed character study as it is gorgeous fantasy as it is kind - Perfect, perfect, perfect!
Virtual Light by William Gibson
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
William Gibson at his brilliant best.
I have always preferred Gibson's stories when their futures are that bit less distant, and Virtual Light presents a mid-noughties which feels, in that very cyberpunk way, oddly similar to the noughties we had, oddly similar to the present, and entirely rooted in the nineties, to create a genuinely spellbinding vision. Characters are delightful as always, and Gibson manages his usual trick of weaving together their initially disparate stories into a coherent narrative, brining them together for a climax midway through which changes the stakes and the landscape of the narrative, like the PG Wodehouse of sci fi thrillers. A fantastic book!
As an aside, it always strikes me how hopeful Gibson is about humanity. Communities are often genuinely helpful and caring, providing a contrast to corporate callousness, and The Bridge might be the best example of such a community in his work. Even corporations are surprisingly humanitarian - In The Sprawl trilogy, cybernetic limbs became common after another world war, leading to advances which allowed some to take them (or have them forced upon them) for utility, while, here, his version of Augmented Reality (the much more poetic and titular "Virtual Light") was developed to help people with blindness see before getting repurposed for wealthy designers and the like - Gibson's technology always fills a need before becoming profitable, as opposed to the actual modern approach to technological innovation, where very rich people devote themselves to something which looks as much as possible like something cyberpunk-y, and maybe they'll find a use for it at some point. It's something I really like and appreciate about Gibson's writing.
I have always preferred Gibson's stories when their futures are that bit less distant, and Virtual Light presents a mid-noughties which feels, in that very cyberpunk way, oddly similar to the noughties we had, oddly similar to the present, and entirely rooted in the nineties, to create a genuinely spellbinding vision. Characters are delightful as always, and Gibson manages his usual trick of weaving together their initially disparate stories into a coherent narrative, brining them together for a climax midway through which changes the stakes and the landscape of the narrative, like the PG Wodehouse of sci fi thrillers. A fantastic book!
As an aside, it always strikes me how hopeful Gibson is about humanity. Communities are often genuinely helpful and caring, providing a contrast to corporate callousness, and The Bridge might be the best example of such a community in his work. Even corporations are surprisingly humanitarian - In The Sprawl trilogy, cybernetic limbs became common after another world war, leading to advances which allowed some to take them (or have them forced upon them) for utility, while, here, his version of Augmented Reality (the much more poetic and titular "Virtual Light") was developed to help people with blindness see before getting repurposed for wealthy designers and the like - Gibson's technology always fills a need before becoming profitable, as opposed to the actual modern approach to technological innovation, where very rich people devote themselves to something which looks as much as possible like something cyberpunk-y, and maybe they'll find a use for it at some point. It's something I really like and appreciate about Gibson's writing.