Scan barcode
A review by aksel_dadswell
The Spectacle of the Void by David Peak
4.0
A very exciting read, which rendered some philosophical concepts I'd previously struggled with in an engaging and accessible way. Academic writing doesn't have to be obtuse or annoyingly dense and in fact I prefer it not to be, but there's a ridiculous and unfortunate amount of it out there. Thankfully, Peak's work is far from that. His writing is passionate and engaging without dumbing anything down, and he references a number of works - both fiction and non - that I'm either familiar with or eager to consume next.
Some sections/ideas could have benefited from a little more depth; the examinations of films and fiction were great as examples of whatever Peak was talking about at the time, but often ended after a short plot description. The connection wasn't confusing in any way but I would have liked to have been taken just a little deeper. Perhaps focusing on a smaller number of these, with longer on each, might have worked better. Either way, it still presents a very interesting perspective on the horror of philosophy.
Some sections/ideas could have benefited from a little more depth; the examinations of films and fiction were great as examples of whatever Peak was talking about at the time, but often ended after a short plot description. The connection wasn't confusing in any way but I would have liked to have been taken just a little deeper. Perhaps focusing on a smaller number of these, with longer on each, might have worked better. Either way, it still presents a very interesting perspective on the horror of philosophy.