Having read this as part of the Story Graph reads the world challenge in very happy to have discovered such a good Sci fi world, and can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy. The premise is great, the characters evolve throughout the book adding depth, and the multi flashback structure is done brilliantly. Highly recommend. 

A long bizarre read as I've come to expect from Nick Harkaway's books. The twists are unpredictable and the plot fantastical. Really enjoyed the book but be aware it's one you need to sit and read with a decent level of concentration. Long tangents are to be expected throughout, but as with the rest of the book they are fun to read. 

This is an enjoyable short story. It illurates the different ways someone can be great at a given field, either through natural ability or perseverance,and the pitfalls of both. There's a lot crammed into this short story. 

This is very different from other culture novels, to the point I had to check I was reading one of the series when I was a couple of chapters in. It is the story of 2 culture citizens who have chosen to live on a medieval planet incognito. As a culture fan it was really cool to read a book from this perspective, as it has been mentioned in others of the series but never explored in so much depth. This book reads more like historical fiction than Sci fi, the culture isn't mentioned at all in the book and there's barely any Sci fi beyond "an astronaut in king Arthur's court" kind of vibe. As its written as 2 almost independent stories I will rate it as average of the 2, I'd give the doctors tale a near 5, and the other maybe a 3.5 as I felt less invested in it, so a solid 4 overall. Definitely read this if you like culture novels, but don't read it before at least 2 or 3 culture novels as you'll miss the subtle references. 

I always enjoy Jane Harper's books and this was no exception. Really easy to read and there's a nice variety of characters. As always there are several red herrings throughout the book, and as with her other works the mystery is revealed along side a mystery from the past which may or may not be related. It's different enough from her other works to not feel too formulaic, though it can feel very similar some of the time. 

There's a lot of eloquence in this book, primarily coming via the dialogue of the monster. Whilst the actions of the monster are immoral it is easy to empathise with his pain. The same cannot be said about Victor whom I found to be a truely unlikable character. Whilst I enjoyed the book, and the points made regarding the hybrid of man are well done, I can't give it more than a 3.5 as there's very little in the way of character development or depth besides the monster himself. 

Having never really read romance novels before I want sure of I would enjoy this book, however I was very pleasantly surprised. There's a huge amount more than just romance in this book, at the same time it is a mystery/thriller novel in parts. Despite its length of all feels quite fast paced as there's always something developing with the plot. I found every character was unique and had depth. I'll definitely read more of Bronte's work on the future. 

This is simply a collection of Clarksons articles for the Telegraph from January 2006 till December 2007. All of which are clarkson complaining, hence the title. If you're a big clarkson fan there's a good chance you'll enjoy this book, however it is not a book to try to sit down and read a lot of all at once. Though some stories are quite funny and some even make a reasonable point, there're are a significant amount which have not aged well and there's a lot of repetition throughout the different articles. When read once a week over 2 years it would be fine, but in a short burst it becomes quite dull. 

This is quite a strange book. It was enjoyable and I liked the world it was set in with the division of the north and south of England. It felt like watching a dark gritty film, where its not easy to suspend your disbelief that people would behave overall quite so badly. The main problem I found was an additional plot line about a drug called temporal that never seems to go anywhere or is fully explained, maybe it's hidden but if so it's too hidden for myself. I also didn't like the first 20 pages or so being essentially the middle then the rest of the book chronological, I don't mind books out of order when there's a purpose, however in this case it didn't seem to add anythin and was just a bit odd.

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2nd Read

 

Decided to give this one another read despite the low rating to see if I missed anything the first time around, and it’s a mixed result. I appreciate the writing more now that’s a certainty. The dark grittiness of the prose and the world is vivid and well written, the feel of the whole book is brilliant and absorbing. Regarding my complaints from the first read through I now am happy with the first 20 pages and semi flashback structure, it actually works quite well on a second read where I am following the story better, however the rest of my grievances still stand. The temporal drug plotline is a bizarre sci-fi snippet that doesn’t seem to belong in this alternate reality plotline. The characters are quite one dimensional except for the protagonist who despite being more layered doesn’t inspire any empathy. It’s very much got that art house film feel which would be cool to watch but doesn’t inspire any emotional connection. The ending lacks conclusions for the characters I’m interested in and the world is just horrible. It could stand up as a single black mirror episode, but as a novella I need something more. It’s better than I remember but 3 stars is still a reasonable rating. 

An absolutely brilliant read. Jumping between the past and the present with each story being phenomenally written and absorbing. Using different names for the protagonist in each timeframe made it super easy to read and follow whilst being fully in keeping with the narrative. The gradual reveal of details about oryx and crake kept me engaged, and the Sci fi dystopian points were beyond the classic tropes. The only reason I don't put 5 stars is that I would have liked more about the secondary characters than was there but maybe I'll get it in the sequels which I can't wait to read.