storyorc's reviews
643 reviews

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

Few books make me feel the losses as hard as I do Essun's. She is a marvel of a character; pitiful and loving and rash and cruel in turn, always with explanation (though not necessarily excuse). I would root for her even if she did want to crack the earth in two at this point. She certainly deserves to.

My complaints are 1) the pondering tone, while beautifully emotive, gives this book the feeling of a campfire story which makes an already long middle volume feel even longer, and 2) the magic system that so imaginatively, carefully drives earth-bending to its extremes in the first book must now stretch to involve another element where I would have prefered to see more creative innovation with orogeny alone. Also, I have not yet been able to concoct a satisfying theory as to why Jemisin chose to continue writing in second person after the reveal of the first book, and am therefore undecided on whether it is achieving something third-person couldn't that makes it worth the occasional awkwardness. (The third book explains why, but I'm still not entirely sold.)

Although my grasp on the wider plot is a little tenuous, the world, characters (including new faces), and stakes are so utterly magnetic I immediately placed a hold on the final volume. 
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

More bitesized fun, with a new bot friend who bounced off Murderbot in an entertaining way.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

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challenging emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

Surprisingly, a page-turner despite its slice-of-life plot. I cannot think of another protagonist that I have gone from resenting to rooting for so strongly without a redemption arc to justify it; only the external circumstances changed. Okonkwo does not wholly deserve either resentment or support. Achebe has written a book that refuses to let you observe uncritically, but that you can't look away from.

I strongly disagree with those who call the latter parts the 'good bits' also; after so learning and growing to appreciate the clan culture, they felt like an intrusion and I often found myself wishing we could go back to story threads from the lost first part. Very effective at creating empathy for Okonkwo in that way. The end is abrupt, hideous, and masterful.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-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

I didn't get past page 3 on my first attempt but diving in a second time, resolving not to take Gideon too seriously, let me get to Harrowhark, and to a better taste of the world, and from there, I was hooked.

The world is my favourite aspect, made delighful by Muir's esoteric terms that you have to piece together from etymology and context, as well as her soft magic system masquerading as a hard one from within its shell of pseudo-academia. By rights, this should be medieval fantasy but putting it in space was a stroke of genius that more or less manages to justify the modern language coming out of the characters' mouths. Said characters are of course my second-favourite aspect, with many getting a chance to reveal hidden depths that instantly punch a character out from 2D space to 3D.

The end reveals spiralled too far out of the realm of the guessable for my taste, considering the plot is as much murder mystery as tournament anime. They pile on wildly in the last quarter. Often, I was still trying to figure out if I'd understood a twist correctly when the characters were already running on to the next one.

At the risk of sounding boring, I would have toned Gideon down about 15% as well. I appreciate the risk of a protagonist designed to make you cringe at her sense of humour but on a couple occasions, it cut the tension in an annoying rather than relieving way.

Complaints aside, this was an extremely entertaining and worthwhile book. Exactly the kind of fantastical, conversational adventure I want when I dip a nostalgic hand back into the YA genre. And the amount of mileage Muir pumps out of the necromancer aesthetic is inspiring; Halloween costumes for days.

Note: Read the glossary and articles at the back (except the character profiles) if terms and concepts are confusing! Wish I had. There's pronunciations too. 
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Midnighter and Apollo by Steve Orlando, Fernando Blanco

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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

3.0

Heard this was basically AU superbat. It's not, and it doesn't do anything DC hasn't already done in hell, but it's still very satisfying to see a masc gay power couple cutting through every demon below to reach each other. There's a spot of actual interest to be had in how they come to terms with and justify killing as part of their heroics too, in contrast with Supes and the Bat's sacred no-kill rule.
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

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informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Loved the horror - a mysterious 'centre' sending scientists on an ominous mission to the sea floor from which they Come Back Wrong - but that's only about 20% of the book. The rest reads more like a contemporary relationship drama between the wives. This is not bad, and did make me reflect on wasting diseases and death, much like vegetables do provide nutrition, but it is not to my taste. I am the kind of reader who likes the ratio to favour the fun food way more.

Fans of this book will enjoy Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer at least as much.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells

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funny lighthearted fast-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

3.0

Short, sweet, and snarky. Muderbot is well-designed to be relatable and easy to root for. Some real shudder moments around lack of bodily autonomy too, and pleasantly not as wholesome as I was expecting. Still, the mediocre plot and rest of the cast would have prevented me from picking up the next if it weren't also so short you can't go wrong.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

Was shaking like a shitting dog for the entire last two acts, this is the scariest book I've ever read not written by Steven King. Made this athiest more uneasy about how many commandments I could rhyme off than I have been since Sunday school.

I hate to say it but the spiralling hysteria does seem especially sobering given today's 'cancel culture'. Again and again, the truth seemed to be that many characters are guilty of some things, but that the consequences flew out of all proportion, rationality and due process be damned. Good to remember too, that in Salem young women were accusing innocent wives every bit as much as their male counterparts in positions of power condemned them. Hysteria can turn anyone into a monster. Seems like
men die of pride and women of loyalty
.

This edition specifically, yellow Penguin classic with the black and white still from the play on the cover, had fascinating little asides every time a main character was introduced that explained Miller's research into them and the official court records available to play testament to their character. It also includes a scene that was dropped from the official productions which humanises Abigail Williams in a way that really reminds you she is a traumatised, terrified eighteen year old possibly undergoing some kind of mental break. The play is fairer to her with it.
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Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1 by Tatsuki Fujimoto

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dark 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? No

3.0

The characters seem to have some depth and the main designs are pretty badass. Love a good psycho on the hero's team. The boob stuff is an eye roll but it's pretty self aware and probably appeals fine to its target audience.
Give Me More by Sara Cate

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

3.0

If you can stomach the low-grade macho bullshit that runs through these kinds of books, you will be rewarded by an honest attempt at a three-way romance! We love to see a man get over his internalised homophobia to fuck his best friend. There are things to make you cringe in this book, but the tender treatment of exploring repressed feelings with people you trust is not one of them.

The woman is mostly here to facilitate but she gets as much personality as the other two and the plot would have ground to a homophobic halt without her so can't complain. That said, I could only mildly care about one side of this triangle and it was not her or her husband. A sweet, indulgent read.
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