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storyorc's reviews
643 reviews
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
If the Souls games were set in medieval France during the Black Death. Hideous, but imbued with great sense of purpose and poetry. The characters mostly feel very real despite being quite archetypical. A very immersive feeling of pilgrimage; no idea if it's actually historically accurate but it feels right. The climax was stretched a little too long for my taste however - after a certain event, the momentum took a stumble. The final confrontation was biblical and worthy, yet I enjoyed the journey most, if enjoyed is the right word when there are Elden Ring bosses in the rivers and ruins around every corner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, and Rape
Chainsaw Man, Vol. 6 by Tatsuki Fujimoto
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
2.5
Cool monster designs are the only thing that saves this from the mediocrity of a predictable behaviour leading to an entire volume of fighting. Was a reach for Reze to be nearly naked so the time. Nice bittersweet moment between Aki and the Angel though, I'd love to see more of them. Creepy, ominous ending too.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.5
A woman facing down the Wild West with nothing but a trunk full of monster is a premise like no other. The pacing lags at times and LaValle cuts away from the violence too soon to have proper satisfaction, at least to this sick soul. However, there is many a wonderful turn of phrase to be found (short buildings that 'hardly trouble the horizon' and wind that 'sculpts' the town residents) and the overall length remains very reasonable. It calls out the many historical wrongs of the era but does not get mired down by them. The women themselves make up for any other faults by managing to be intensely admirable not or lack of flaws but for their manner of facing them.
Also the central woman is (mostly) unapologetically a big, tall, strong woman. Love it.
Also the central woman is (mostly) unapologetically a big, tall, strong woman. Love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Transphobia
Minor: Child death and Rape
The City & the City by China Miéville
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Unsettling. Exciting. Levels of denial and doublethink to make 1984 look like mental clarity. Kafka himself would be jealous.
Despite an ambiguous geography and time, the book is thick with a smoky noir atmosphere. A little too much for my tastes, even. The brutish cops and their bitchy bureaucrats are intentional obstacles but I resented them for it. I wanted to charge ahead to the next intercity oddity rather than wait for our detective to sift clues from their shit. Never held it against him though; too likeable for that.
Where does Miéville come up with this absurdity, and have the gall to make it mundane enough to be believable? I'll have what he's having.
Despite an ambiguous geography and time, the book is thick with a smoky noir atmosphere. A little too much for my tastes, even. The brutish cops and their bitchy bureaucrats are intentional obstacles but I resented them for it. I wanted to charge ahead to the next intercity oddity rather than wait for our detective to sift clues from their shit. Never held it against him though; too likeable for that.
Where does Miéville come up with this absurdity, and have the gall to make it mundane enough to be believable? I'll have what he's having.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Chainsaw Man, Vol. 5 by Tatsuki Fujimoto
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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
3.5
Might be showing my age here but despite having only one fight, this volume was the best so far for me. Aki's many small pangs over Himeno's loss have been building up in the background for a few issues now and we get a pay-off moment that genuinely made my heart ache a little. Doesn't feel like it's the end yet either.
Usually, Denji's story feels like the jokey B-plot but seeing him get close to someone who isn't his manipulative boss and who voices how messed up his circumstances are made it realer than usual.Was it a surprise that she's more than she appears? No. But I'm still glad she told him he's messed up. One small step closer to Denji killing Makima.
And then to top it off, Aki and the Angel are showing all the signs of making a fun odd-couple buddy cop pair in time.
Usually, Denji's story feels like the jokey B-plot but seeing him get close to someone who isn't his manipulative boss and who voices how messed up his circumstances are made it realer than usual.
And then to top it off, Aki and the Angel are showing all the signs of making a fun odd-couple buddy cop pair in time.
Content Warnings
Underage sexuality. Someone claiming to be a 16-year-old girl goes pretty hard to seduce Denji, including her bare chest on-page and later a lingerie shot from his imagination. Not totally unrealistic, but perhaps uncomfortable for an adult reader.
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Like much classic sci-fi, the characters move in service of the idea but when that idea is 'what if aliens nudged humanity down the path of evolution and are waiting to do it again', I barely mind.
The infamous HAL section is almost a bonus short story in terms of the novel's structure (though thematically a microcosm of the larger idea) yet it packs in such dread, tension, and humanity that it almost feels like a flex. 'Saggy middle', who?
Anyone left wanting by the film's ambiguity will also be grateful for having read the book. It provides a lot more explanation while still maintaining the sense of scale and wonder thanks to the nature of the idea - a firmer platform to leap off of.
The infamous HAL section is almost a bonus short story in terms of the novel's structure (though thematically a microcosm of the larger idea) yet it packs in such dread, tension, and humanity that it almost feels like a flex. 'Saggy middle', who?
Anyone left wanting by the film's ambiguity will also be grateful for having read the book. It provides a lot more explanation while still maintaining the sense of scale and wonder thanks to the nature of the idea - a firmer platform to leap off of.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very warm read. The (light spoiler)domestic abuse plot and hints of otherwordly evil keep it from being quite tame, but the joy is in watching our misfit bunch of heroes' successes unfold rather than any particular tension over whether they will or if it will come at a great cost.
The fairytale magic is described with great visual detail, managing to wring new charm from timeless concepts like wise-women and a goblin market. Our heroine also brings a fresh coat of paint to the classic underestimated-royalty-on-a-quest character by being thirty years old, 'round', and having relatable insecurities. My surprise favourite, however, was the second old wise-woman that joined the party. Over the course of the final act, she shows nuance and power that left my initial estimate of her as an irritating mother-hen looking woefully short-sighted.
I was left wanting a little on the fronts of the demon chicken andexpecting the cloak to come in clutch at the end as a mark of Marra's contribution to their victory but ending was still pleasantly satisfactory without.
The fairytale magic is described with great visual detail, managing to wring new charm from timeless concepts like wise-women and a goblin market. Our heroine also brings a fresh coat of paint to the classic underestimated-royalty-on-a-quest character by being thirty years old, 'round', and having relatable insecurities. My surprise favourite, however, was the second old wise-woman that joined the party. Over the course of the final act, she shows nuance and power that left my initial estimate of her as an irritating mother-hen looking woefully short-sighted.
I was left wanting a little on the fronts of the demon chicken and
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape