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stabilesero's reviews
109 reviews
The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Terry Pratchett is hands down, the only author that has made me laugh out loud. Discovering the Discworld series this year has been one of the best decisions I have made and I am so looking forward to Equal Rites and Mort next!
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Cliffhangers are a marketing ploy for readers to buy the second book..... Yes, the 2nd book is in my basket already..
Neuvel has mixed the search for giant, glowing, alien(?) robot parts with questions such as; if such an artifact is left around the world, who does it belong to in a world where everyone wants to have the highest threat/stance?
I loved the writing style of this as well. The story being delivered over a series of interviews, news articles and journal entries. It made for a really quick, really engaging read.
Neuvel has mixed the search for giant, glowing, alien(?) robot parts with questions such as; if such an artifact is left around the world, who does it belong to in a world where everyone wants to have the highest threat/stance?
I loved the writing style of this as well. The story being delivered over a series of interviews, news articles and journal entries. It made for a really quick, really engaging read.
The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
If you're expecting hard sci-fi, you'll be disappointed. If you're like literary fiction with a sci-fi twist, I think this would make a really good "dip-your-toes-into-a-genre" type of book.
I'll start off by saying, I didn't really like the main character, Jamie, but it was only enough for it to drop down .25 stars. I loved a lot of the additional characters however, even the smaller ones you meet for a few pages/chapter.
I think it was the whole philosophical theme of who is worth saving/what makes a person worth saving and the religious questions Ren asked that made this stand out for me. It's a concept I've not come across before... Therefore: I didn't expect the title to mean what it did.
For a debut novel, this is a beauty. I look forward to seeing more from Corlett.
I'll start off by saying, I didn't really like the main character, Jamie, but it was only enough for it to drop down .25 stars. I loved a lot of the additional characters however, even the smaller ones you meet for a few pages/chapter.
I think it was the whole philosophical theme of who is worth saving/what makes a person worth saving and the religious questions Ren asked that made this stand out for me. It's a concept I've not come across before... Therefore: I didn't expect the title to mean what it did.
For a debut novel, this is a beauty. I look forward to seeing more from Corlett.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Miscarriage and Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Rape
Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift
I freaking loved this. It was so refreshing to have a post-apocalypse book with a British sense of humour. There were so many points that were my favourite but I don't want to give anything away. You may find the MC a little self-indulgent and self-pitying. I honestly hated her for a short while, but let's be honest, we're not all going to be the best apocalypse survivors. This was a treat.
Also, there's a dog. Need I say any more?
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Two whole weeks since everyone died and I had only made the most cursory attempts to find any other survivors..... I had watched porn instead.
I freaking loved this. It was so refreshing to have a post-apocalypse book with a British sense of humour. There were so many points that were my favourite but I don't want to give anything away. You may find the MC a little self-indulgent and self-pitying. I honestly hated her for a short while, but let's be honest, we're not all going to be the best apocalypse survivors. This was a treat.
Also, there's a dog. Need I say any more?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Vomit, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Miscarriage and Xenophobia
The Auschwitz Protocol by Jack Carnegie
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
It was okay. Any book about Auschwitz has a lot to contend with because there are so many fiction books out there based on the topic. I like the concept of what Emil was doing; hunting down Kapos to bring them to justice, but it all just felt a little too far fetched and didn't flow very well. I liked the characters, but the writing did let it down.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I thought I'd love this for the sci-fi element, but it was actually the characters and their relationships I fell for.
Tommy was most certainly my most favourite, Ruth my least; but there were still likeable things about all the characters. This hits the mark more on the characters, their personalities and their interactions than what it does as a plot-based novel yet I still adored it.
The sci-fi element did come through, more so towards the middle and end. I did not see the ending coming, I almost cried.
It's another one of those books, alike Handmaid's Tale, that you could see happening in the future. And I really hope we see sense enough to follow Hailsham's example than the grim alternative.
Tommy was most certainly my most favourite, Ruth my least; but there were still likeable things about all the characters. This hits the mark more on the characters, their personalities and their interactions than what it does as a plot-based novel yet I still adored it.
The sci-fi element did come through, more so towards the middle and end. I did not see the ending coming, I almost cried.
It's another one of those books, alike Handmaid's Tale, that you could see happening in the future. And I really hope we see sense enough to follow Hailsham's example than the grim alternative.
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I wanted to love this so much more than I did. After initially reading it, I was like yes, 4.5 stars but having waited a while.... It was a really interesting concept, but god was it a slog.
I didn't like one character. I almost like Bronca, but none of them made me care. I appreciate the diversity in the characters but... Damn, I don't have one good thing to say about them.
The beginning of the book is the real slog, and I'll pre-warn everyone; it takes a long time for the action to come.
Maybe this was lost on me because I know very, very little about New York. Don't love it enough to read the next one.
I didn't like one character. I almost like Bronca, but none of them made me care. I appreciate the diversity in the characters but... Damn, I don't have one good thing to say about them.
The beginning of the book is the real slog, and I'll pre-warn everyone; it takes a long time for the action to come.
Maybe this was lost on me because I know very, very little about New York. Don't love it enough to read the next one.
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Having read other reviews, but also personally wanting to read through the SF Masterworks series; I thought I was really going to struggle with this... I was pleasantly surprised.
As a female, yes, the tropes of a woman and how being a woman was a disadvantage throughout the book was a bit of a bore but it wasn't constantly shoved down my throat. It was mentioned to explain some of the characters. The use of girl rather than man when referring to female characters, I didn't feel could be looked into too much. It was the basic language of brutes.
This is the only book I have read so far with an anti-hero that I didn't immediately put down after 2 chapters.
It really is the sort of book that if you manage to detatch from the characters and think more about the themes and setting, it really is outstanding.
As a female, yes, the tropes of a woman and how being a woman was a disadvantage throughout the book was a bit of a bore but it wasn't constantly shoved down my throat. It was mentioned to explain some of the characters. The use of girl rather than man when referring to female characters, I didn't feel could be looked into too much. It was the basic language of brutes.
This is the only book I have read so far with an anti-hero that I didn't immediately put down after 2 chapters.
It really is the sort of book that if you manage to detatch from the characters and think more about the themes and setting, it really is outstanding.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and War
Moderate: Xenophobia and Sexism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Rape
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I understand why this book is a classic; it covers a lot of different themes and works as one of those books where different people take different things from the plot. Or so it goes...
Mickey7 by Edward Ashton
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A very quick but fun sci-fi about colonising planets that may not welcome humans. Oh, and clones.
Without giving too much away; you get to know Mickey through his battle of conscience about being an expendable, you get to know the purpose of Mickey's group traveling to a new planet to colonise and what might go wrong (and what does start to go wrong.)
I loved the little backgrounds Ashton included about other planets and other expendables. It really gave a novel that was so short, enough background to build on the world. I didn't expect to feel so engrossed and able to imagine the setting and characters in a book that's just over 300 pages long (sci-fi is usually big for a reason.) I also loved how Ashton wasn't scared to get quite gritty about Mickey's previous versions and how they died; it takes a lot to turn my stomach and some of the description did make me heuk.
I didn't really care for Nasha's character not her relationship with Mickey. It all felt a bit... Off. Hence my reduction in rating; Chen's character was also a bit strange.
Without giving too much away; you get to know Mickey through his battle of conscience about being an expendable, you get to know the purpose of Mickey's group traveling to a new planet to colonise and what might go wrong (and what does start to go wrong.)
I loved the little backgrounds Ashton included about other planets and other expendables. It really gave a novel that was so short, enough background to build on the world. I didn't expect to feel so engrossed and able to imagine the setting and characters in a book that's just over 300 pages long (sci-fi is usually big for a reason.) I also loved how Ashton wasn't scared to get quite gritty about Mickey's previous versions and how they died; it takes a lot to turn my stomach and some of the description did make me heuk.
I didn't really care for Nasha's character not her relationship with Mickey. It all felt a bit... Off. Hence my reduction in rating; Chen's character was also a bit strange.