Victoria

Speculative futures that feel genuine

Revisado: 07-30-24

I have a deep appreciation for Emma Newman’s insightful and empathetic presentation of neurodivergent protagonists. Strong scientific and sociology. Stories present fascinating speculative futures that feel honest and genuine.

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Sci fi romance

Revisado: 07-30-24

Science background is good but not perfect, definitely has a strong emphasis on family ties and romance.

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Satire without wit

Revisado: 04-18-23

Lacks the wit and subtlety of great satire. Try George Saunders instead, or even Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash.

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I love the world and mythos, but…

Revisado: 01-09-23

I have such mixed feelings about this book. The world building, history, and mythos are wonderful. I really enjoyed the plot.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of character traits and interactions that are strongly reminiscent of early 70s scifi/fantasy. I can understand how this style of writing might appeal to a young male audience, but it made me cringe. The descriptions of sex, sex magic, and women who are sexually active all felt so outdated that I had to double check the publication date. I stuck with the book to the end, but that hint of ignorant misogyny robbed the book (and series) of its appeal.

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Compelling story and characters with some frustrating flaws

Revisado: 11-30-22

I enjoyed the story, but was frustrated by the many small errors. Grass is alive, moss and lichen are alive, moss and lichen are not the same, etc. Removing an arrow from a chest wound would cause the patient to bleed to death without treatment. These are small mistakes, but they could be corrected with a basic Google search.

The protagonist is naive, self-centered, rude, and pushy, but this could be set up for character development later in the series. This story does not pass the Bechdel test, and the characters with agency are all men. I suspect this is written for a young male audience.

Despite all these frustrations, I stuck with the story because I wanted to find out what happened next!

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Recidivistic WW2 nostalgia sci fi?

Revisado: 05-19-21

I think I have been spoiled by modern sci fi and fantasy authors like N K Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor!
I was surprised and uncomfortable to discover that this series seems to glorify British colonialism and WW2-era values. I was deeply disappointed by the absurdly, stereotypically British protagonists. Please note that the villains all have darker skin than the protagonists, and the most manipulative spy is literally black. This is a 1940s Biggles story set in space. It goes without saying that it doesn’t pass the Bechdel test.
That said, the plot arc was strong enough to keep me engaged, which speaks well of the author’s skills.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Disappointed

Revisado: 09-16-20

I couldn’t get past the first chapter. It is so sexist, racist, and rapey that I was too angry to continue. I understand that it’s the character’s perspective of the world. That doesn’t make it any less painful to read. The male author’s attempt to describe the physical reality of being a woman is just as painful.

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disappointing

Revisado: 11-24-14

I was looking for an intelligent science fiction story. After I started listening, I thought I could settle for a conspiracy adventure story. Unfortunately, the author is unable to describe police procedure in a believable manner, let alone anything related to physics or computing.

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great story, unpleasant narration

Revisado: 03-18-12

The latest addition to the Game of Thrones series is just as compelling as the books that came before it. The story follows an expanding number of characters to unexpected places.

My enjoyment of the story was tempered by my frustration with the narration. I'm not sure why Roy Dotrice felt the need to create various accents for the characters. I'm also not sure why most of those accents are British. Certain characters sound as if they are toothless and speaking with a mouthful of marbles. I found most of the voices to be distracting and irritating.

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hilarious

Revisado: 10-07-11

I loved this story when I first saw the book, but hearing it read by Samuel L Jackson takes it to a new level of hilarity!

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