galacticvampire's Reviews (366)

I picked this up because I really like the author but it was overall too juvenile for my taste.

Definitely the weakest Mike Bravo book so far. As much as I liked Atlas, Lemon was pretty average as far as characters go and I think having a civilian love interest really dulled the whole thing.

It was still fun, and has some really good scenes, but the plot overall wasn't really memorable.

I close my eyes to my anti-military anti-police ideals for this series. At the very least these books are very aware of it all and try to mitigate when possible.

Anyway, this one is specially fun and I really loved the dynamics going on here. The older characters with a past hook-up that ended up kinda antagonistic is gold, and I caught myself laughing out loud at some points.

In this book, bell hooks proves that you can educate and explain social activism to anyone. Academia is obviously important, but is not the only way to develop a social conscious.

Focusing on introducing the main struggles of feminism under a intersectional optics, bell hooks was, even decades ago, extremely aware of the harm that exclusionism presents. She pulls no punches critiquing the whiteness and class biases of the movement, while maintaining an informative perspective.

This book was surprisingly compelling to me, considering I found Out of the Shadows considerably lackluster.

But now in Defy the Storm the cast returns jadded and improved:

- Vernestra feels way more grounded now that she's not trying to teach a boy two years younger than herself, and her struggles as a Jedi are a way better approach to the character.

- Avon is given the spotlight that she always deserved and is the real MVP of this book. Her journey on the morality of doing what it takes "for the greater good" after a year with the Nihil is perfect Star Wars.

- Xylan is given more depth and the addition of his relationship with Cair San Tekka sprung a great dynamic of family rivalry and moral duty. I really hope Cair becomes a recurring part of the cast.

- While they don't show up much, Jordanna and Reath povs don't feel out of place and help to give the story dimension, weaving threads that tease what else is and will happen in the galaxy.

My main complaint about this book is that really not much actually happens. Most of it is setting up the phase, getting the players in the right spots for the confrontation and serving as a bridge between events. It's still enjoyable, but I can't help but feel that is almost inconsequential.

I am absolutely sure this was originally written to be set in a private school because absolutely none if them behave as if they were in college.

From the casual bullying over cheap clothes (??) to gossip about who is friends with whom it all felt extremely juvenile. Which only made it more jarring when the lighthearted tone shifted to explicit sex. Multiple times.

The romance was also kind of lackluster, even if the characters individually were interesting. Their separate journey was just way more interesting than a dynamic that was 90% omgg he's Just So Hot.

(More baffling than it all is that a major plot point is that one of the characters' dad forces him to hide he had cancer because people would think he was weak??? And proceeds to closely watch his college life through his coach??)

This is well written and I think the author has a lot of potential if only the actual plot made any sense.

The Goldfinch is a beatifully written story of a terribly unlucky and considerably self-centered white boy. Which means he was very much insufferable, but that was the point. 

This book explores grief, trauma and bad decisions, and how a child without proper support grows into a selfish adult. It really plays with your emotions, guiding you from feeling sorry for Theo's bad hand in life to infuriated by his choices. 

I did think that some sections were too slow, I have to admit. Even if those events mirrored the character falling into routine and general apathy towards life, it was a temptation to skip ahead and get things moving. There was also a few coincidences too many that really took me out at times. 

I get how such an unlikable main character and narrator unsettles some readers, but I particularly love Donna Tartt's gift to creating a full cast of realistically flawed people. It feels rich and unique, even in their unpleasantness.

As with most fantasy books, it took me a while to locate myself in the setting, the political configuration, the magic, but once that happened everything clicked.

This is not only a great political tale touching on feminism and religious oppression, but also extremely unique. The characters have great chemistry and even with several pov changes, the choices to switch them never broke the tension.

I do think that it could be slightly shorter, as some points felt like overwriting or stalling, and you really shouldn't read this if you're interested in the romance, because it's not really the focus of this story. (Which was great, as the build up between them becomes way more complex with the space to breath).

Even if a little dense at times, this new take in fantasy is really worth it for the originality and incredible cast.

Funny thing: I liked this book more when I was a teenager, but I certainly hadn't understood as much as I did this time around.

Looking for Alaska is a very fair 2005 attempt at deconstructing the manic pixie dream girl stereotype, but it falls short on it being more focused on pointing out the shortcomings of flattening female characters than actually showing an alternative.

So in this process, Alaska never escapes the fate of existing solely for the male characters' benefit. Yes, the whole point was that Miles failed to see her as a real person, but that doesn't mean that the narrative managed to show what was missing.

Nevertheless, this is a really good book about friendship and human relationships, just the John Green's specialty at capturing the magic in even the simplest things in life.

Thank god this is a series because I'm already craving much more! 

This novella is a quick and charming introduction to this world, from the corporate-controlled space exploration to the philosophical question of what constitues a person.

The star of the show is obviously, Murderbot who is a big MOOD. It just wants to be left alone to watch his blorbos and is NOT ashamed to half-ass his job to get to that. Absolutely hilarious.

While the story holds a very lighthearted tone throughout, you can really feel the care Martha Wells put into portraying themes of humanity, relationships, compassion and autonomy.