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octavia_cade's Reviews (2.64k)
There are some good poems in here. I particularly liked "Herschel at the Cape", a biographical poem of the astronomer John Herschel, and I loved "Yadasi Clips" which is the stand-out poem of the whole collection to my mind, and has shot onto my list of all-time favourites.
One thing I did notice, throughout the collection, is Manhire's focus on repetition within his poems. Repeated words, repeated lines... it's an interesting technique, but I found it over-used here, and I thought that some poems (e.g. "Poem Beginning with a Line by Ralph Hotere" and "Warehouse Curtains") really sank under the weight of it.
One thing I did notice, throughout the collection, is Manhire's focus on repetition within his poems. Repeated words, repeated lines... it's an interesting technique, but I found it over-used here, and I thought that some poems (e.g. "Poem Beginning with a Line by Ralph Hotere" and "Warehouse Curtains") really sank under the weight of it.
The bulk of this collection is made up of poems from Hall's stint as a Rathcoola Fellow in Ireland. The remainder are from Hall's time in Australia and (her home of) New Zealand.
The poems themselves are beautiful, with the odd hint of wry humour. My favourite was "Torso of a Bogman", but I also really enjoyed "Angelfish" and "Leda at the Billabong". There are several mentions of the brain as rainforest, a lovely imagery which Hall credits to a scientist called Edelman, who I'll have to look up simply for this.
The poems themselves are beautiful, with the odd hint of wry humour. My favourite was "Torso of a Bogman", but I also really enjoyed "Angelfish" and "Leda at the Billabong". There are several mentions of the brain as rainforest, a lovely imagery which Hall credits to a scientist called Edelman, who I'll have to look up simply for this.
This short biography of Ernest Rutherford is extremely readable, albeit somewhat superficial in its treatment compared to the giant biographical brick produced by Wilson.
This isn't a terrible thing: both books are directed, I think, at different audiences, and both fulfil their brief. Reeves' approach is more an introductory overview of Rutherford's life and physics. It's certainly far more accessible to the general public, being liberally sprinkled with anecdotes to humanise his subject and give some levity to the text.
This isn't a terrible thing: both books are directed, I think, at different audiences, and both fulfil their brief. Reeves' approach is more an introductory overview of Rutherford's life and physics. It's certainly far more accessible to the general public, being liberally sprinkled with anecdotes to humanise his subject and give some levity to the text.
Full disclosure: one of my stories is in here ("The Mistress of Fishes") but as I've been rereading this anthology I thought I'd put up a quick review. I'm trying to make it objective, but who knows.
I love reading NZ speculative fiction, if only because I recognise the people and the settings, and there's still something of novelty in seeing my own environment reflected. So much of the fantasy I was raised on was a kind of faux-mediaeval European environment, and though I enjoy that I find more and more that I want to see my own country in fantasy, my own country's environment and history. This collection does that for me.
Regeneration is a wide theme, and the editors here have really done a very good job in selecting stories with an enormous range. My own particular favourite ("Kiwi or Queenie" by Jennifer Compton) stands up to any specfic story I've read anywhere lately. It's really very fine. Runners up, to my mind, are "Monocarpic Colony Blues" by Elizabeth Gatens and "The Spectre Spectrum" by Debbie Cowens.
It's a must read for NZ science fiction fans, I reckon. Even if it's got me in it.
I love reading NZ speculative fiction, if only because I recognise the people and the settings, and there's still something of novelty in seeing my own environment reflected. So much of the fantasy I was raised on was a kind of faux-mediaeval European environment, and though I enjoy that I find more and more that I want to see my own country in fantasy, my own country's environment and history. This collection does that for me.
Regeneration is a wide theme, and the editors here have really done a very good job in selecting stories with an enormous range. My own particular favourite ("Kiwi or Queenie" by Jennifer Compton) stands up to any specfic story I've read anywhere lately. It's really very fine. Runners up, to my mind, are "Monocarpic Colony Blues" by Elizabeth Gatens and "The Spectre Spectrum" by Debbie Cowens.
It's a must read for NZ science fiction fans, I reckon. Even if it's got me in it.
This massive book deserves five stars for the quality of the research alone. The biography of Ernest Rutherford is minutely detailed, and the explanations of his science thorough. Wilson also does well in providing a wider context for the science and events of Rutherford's life.
That being said the writing does not reach the same heights as the research. Mostly it's pretty good, but this is an extremely dense book, and that density often turns to stodginess. I lost count of the times I had to read lengthy, convoluted sentences over again to keep track of what was going on.
Five stars for research, three for writing.
That being said the writing does not reach the same heights as the research. Mostly it's pretty good, but this is an extremely dense book, and that density often turns to stodginess. I lost count of the times I had to read lengthy, convoluted sentences over again to keep track of what was going on.
Five stars for research, three for writing.
The bulk of this book is made up of poems resulting from Orsman's stint as an Artist in Antarctica - a New Zealand programme designed to engage artists of various sorts with that most southern of continents. Being very into science myself, it's these poems (and the one on Maurice Wilkins commissioned by the RSNZ) that really appeal to me. I've actually just finished rereading the book, so consider my interest held enough for repetition.
Orsman is particularly good at giving a sense of time. Whether it's the immense age of the glacial ice, the comparing of Antarctic stone to dinosaurs, or the frozen-in-amber nature of Scott's Hut, I came away from this collection struck by the sense of vivid enormity that Orsman experienced down there. It really makes me want to visit!
Orsman is particularly good at giving a sense of time. Whether it's the immense age of the glacial ice, the comparing of Antarctic stone to dinosaurs, or the frozen-in-amber nature of Scott's Hut, I came away from this collection struck by the sense of vivid enormity that Orsman experienced down there. It really makes me want to visit!
It's difficult to assign a genre to this, but my instinct is to ascribe it to historical fiction. It's often put under non-fiction, and biography, but these stories of her ancestors are really quite fictionalised, it seems to me - in their thoughts and emotions and so on. Just because a story's about a historical personage doesn't make it strictly biographical, I think. Certainly the biographies I read tend to have more of the reference about them.
Either way, it's an interesting read. The family members are certainly entertaining characters!
Either way, it's an interesting read. The family members are certainly entertaining characters!
About the same level as the first book - it's ok, essentially. The Suicide Forest was genuinely creepy, if its inhabitants are ripped off wholesale from Doctor Who's weeping angels.
Unfortunately, the best thing about the previous book (Anna) was almost entirely absent. Her presence here is 95% victim. She had such creepy power when dressed in blood; it was a shame to see that go.
The main character, Cas, is still an obnoxious brat so no change there... I wanted to slap him when he sneered to his (continually unappreciated) mother about her "feminine intuition" when she (quite unreasonably, given his personality) was trying to persuade her son not to put himself in mortal danger. Tried to tell her "Let him go, you'll be happier..." I don't think she heard me.
But we did get a new character, Jestine, who was more enjoyable than the rest of them, so that was something.
Unfortunately, the best thing about the previous book (Anna) was almost entirely absent. Her presence here is 95% victim. She had such creepy power when dressed in blood; it was a shame to see that go.
The main character, Cas, is still an obnoxious brat so no change there... I wanted to slap him when he sneered to his (continually unappreciated) mother about her "feminine intuition" when she (quite unreasonably, given his personality) was trying to persuade her son not to put himself in mortal danger. Tried to tell her "Let him go, you'll be happier..." I don't think she heard me.
But we did get a new character, Jestine, who was more enjoyable than the rest of them, so that was something.
Glossy and goodlooking. It covers over 200 characters, so by necessity each individual entry is fairly superficial - but it does showcase the sheer mad imagination of Doctor Who, which has always been the show's greatest strength.
I liked this. Atwood's style is easy to read, often shot through with wry humour. Some of the non-fiction about SF I've come across can be so very turgid, so it was nice to have something readable.
It's a collection of pieces rather than a sustained argument. Doesn't make it any better or worse than a more cohesive text, just different. If there's an overarching theme, it's on Atwood's own personal relationship with SF. I found the chapter on Orwell particularly interesting - partly because it's one of my favourite books, and partly because of the personal connections Atwood drew with her own novel "The Handmaid's Tale".
It's a collection of pieces rather than a sustained argument. Doesn't make it any better or worse than a more cohesive text, just different. If there's an overarching theme, it's on Atwood's own personal relationship with SF. I found the chapter on Orwell particularly interesting - partly because it's one of my favourite books, and partly because of the personal connections Atwood drew with her own novel "The Handmaid's Tale".