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dianapharah's reviews
86 reviews
Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
A nice read to try to get me back into the swing of things this year.
I think this book offers a really raw depiction of what its like for people on the spectrum or who do not fit into the mold of society. I really enjoyed the depiction of how Keiko and Shiraha respectively come to terms with the fact that they must choose to either conform to the whims of what everyone else says makes them valued, “normal” members of society or remain their most authentic selves despite the pushback from others.
Rooting for Keiko was easy, I wish that everyone would just let her be happy, dammit. She was far more happy than anyone else living the lives society told them they should live. Shiraha was a solid foil to Keiko, and the author did a good job juxtaposing their reactions and decisions in the face of scrutiny. But god, I really couldn’t stand Shiraha.
I think this book offers a really raw depiction of what its like for people on the spectrum or who do not fit into the mold of society. I really enjoyed the depiction of how Keiko and Shiraha respectively come to terms with the fact that they must choose to either conform to the whims of what everyone else says makes them valued, “normal” members of society or remain their most authentic selves despite the pushback from others.
Rooting for Keiko was easy, I wish that everyone would just let her be happy, dammit. She was far more happy than anyone else living the lives society told them they should live. Shiraha was a solid foil to Keiko, and the author did a good job juxtaposing their reactions and decisions in the face of scrutiny. But god, I really couldn’t stand Shiraha.
Network Effect by Martha Wells
I love ART and Murderbot so much. One thing this author does amazingly is character development; they all feel so fleshed out and real, and the ability to do that within the short time of meeting new characters is impressive. I can’t wait to see if Three and Murderbot become friends and more Murderbot adventures with the Perihelion crew. Watching Murderbot become more in tune with their feelings and what they want makes me so warm inside.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
“Confession time: that moment, when the humans or augmented humans realize that you’re here to help them. I don’t hate that moment.”
I love ART and Murderbot so much. One thing this author does amazingly is character development; they all feel so fleshed out and real, and the ability to do that within the short time of meeting new characters is impressive. I can’t wait to see if Three and Murderbot become friends and more Murderbot adventures with the Perihelion crew. Watching Murderbot become more in tune with their feelings and what they want makes me so warm inside.
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved this. Finally, a plot that I care about! I love Murderbot and their dynamics with the Preservation crew so much :’)
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but while I enjoyed this, I preferred the second book overall (ART is one of a kind, truly). Still having an absolute blast, though!
Seeing Murderbot get emotional over Miki by the end…me too, buddy. God, just give me entire pages filled with Murderbot interacting with other bots and units, ‘cause that’s clearly what I love the most. We saw some character development with regards to Murderbot witnessing a human-non human dynamic as something more than transactional and power-imbalanced, and that warmed my heart.
The plots are fine, but I never really care a whole ton, save for book two and whenever we are reunited with Mensah again, I presume.
Seeing Murderbot get emotional over Miki by the end…me too, buddy. God, just give me entire pages filled with Murderbot interacting with other bots and units, ‘cause that’s clearly what I love the most. We saw some character development with regards to Murderbot witnessing a human-non human dynamic as something more than transactional and power-imbalanced, and that warmed my heart.
The plots are fine, but I never really care a whole ton, save for book two and whenever we are reunited with Mensah again, I presume.
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I love one (1) sassy, socially awkward, serial-obsessed rogue murder bot.
Murder bot and ART’s dynamic was such a joy to read, oh my goodness. It really elevated this novella from the last, and the character development is great thus far. I audibly aww’ed when one of the humans at the end asked to hug murder bot! It’s just so cute to see how murder bot treasures their humans :’) even if they are too shy to engage.
Maybe we’ll see the rogue sex bot soon again? Very interested to see where this all goes, especially with some more information being revealed about murder bot’s backstory. I’m really liking the episodic, “diary” feel of this series.
Murder bot and ART’s dynamic was such a joy to read, oh my goodness. It really elevated this novella from the last, and the character development is great thus far. I audibly aww’ed when one of the humans at the end asked to hug murder bot! It’s just so cute to see how murder bot treasures their humans :’) even if they are too shy to engage.
Maybe we’ll see the rogue sex bot soon again? Very interested to see where this all goes, especially with some more information being revealed about murder bot’s backstory. I’m really liking the episodic, “diary” feel of this series.