imaginary_space's reviews
220 reviews

The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas by Gerard Way, Gabriel Bá

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was very much a wild ride, entertaining, more fun than the first one. Weird and hilarious and dark.

Hide by Kiersten White

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Like the setting, like the premise, like the writing, like the characters, BUT ... Holy Infodump Batman!

I am so sorry, because otherwise this book would have been great, but I really didn't like how it was done. It's like the characters were protagonists in a Call of Cthulhu rpg game and succeeded on their Find Hidden, Research and Convince dice rolls. I think I get what the author wanted to do, establish a richer backstory for what was happening, and I appreciate that. But the way it was handled, as a storytelling device, it seemed uninspired and a little lazy to me. For me personally, the diaries would have fit better as an appendix, and not every detail needed to be explained within the story itself. 

What Shall It Profit? by Poul Anderson

challenging dark inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

The Golden Man by Philip K. Dick, Mark Hurst

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This is an interesting thought experiment, as is to be expected from PKD, but I'd rather read a modernized version of it.

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

This is the most drawn-out, longest, book (and series) I have ever read. Even speeding it up more than I usually do did not help at all to make it less boring.

It starts with 20 minutes of Barrons being extremely edgy and cringe, then proceeds into 30 minutes of Mac wallowing in self pity and realizing how the guy who emotionally, physically and sexuality abused her, kept basically every important information from her and used her as his personal tool was right in everything he did and the good guy all along and she feels so bad for her bad behaviour towards him.
So yeah, that's fun. 
It doesn't get better from there.

Seriously, what is up with all those 4 and 5 star reviews? What's with all the love for this woman's repetitive, drawn-out, boring ass writing? I really don't want to rain on anyone's parade and I want everybody to like what they like, more power to you, but I am sincerely interested in what your frame of reference is. Like ... what are you comparing this to? What is a 2 star book for you?

Okay, so in this instalment, we get:

• More infodumps
• Holy exposition Batman
• More controlling & abusive behaviour, but it's okay, because he's doing it to help her (idk, maybe try simply communicating)
• Barrons is basically an inexcusable asshole, but it's okay, because he has The Manpain(TM)
• More repetitive rambling. So much more repetitive rambling.
• More of Mac's internal monologues, which you can skip and you will miss absolutely nothing.
• More of Mac being the most inconsistent MC that has ever MC'd.
• Characters doing a complete 180 in their characterization, some even several times, because why not.
• Mac changes. And then she changes. And then she changes again. All while endlessly monologuing about how she has changed.
• Mac could be a sexy lamp for all the story cares, and she would probably be more respected by everyone as a lamp. 
• Also, this story would have maybe actually made some sense without Mac constantly doing the most stupid thing ever just so that something happens, all the while rambling endlessly about how hot Barrons is and how much she's suffering in her inner monologue.
• More non-verbal conversations between Mac and Barrons, who can talk with their eyes in super specific, clear sentences. For minutes on end. What in the bad writing hell?
• The ending was lazy. There, I said it.
• An ending that doesn't even wrap up half of the storylines, but the most important thing is that Mac and Barrons, the badass evil superheroes, are now BBQing in the backyard like a proper happy family.
• Seriously, I didn't even realize this was supposed to be the last instalment until I went and read some of the reviews.
• More of Dani being the most annoying character ever.

I will definitely NOT be reading Dani's book(s). I cannot take any of this badly written, rapey, forced sexualization of EVERYTHING around a 13-year-old. No.

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What if your dreams could change reality?

It will probably make you and everyone around you miserable.

"Isn't that man's very purpose on earth - to do things, change things, run things, make a better world?"
"No!"
"What is his purpose, then?" 

From the protagonist

who is so scared of his uncontrollable ability he withdraws into passivity,

to the doctor

who first tries to help him, then tries to do good and then is of course corrupted,

to the woman who just wants to do her job

but gets blinked in and out of existence because of the protagonist's dreams

, nobody in this book comes out on top.

Le Guin has crafted a deeply moving and layered story about helplessness, the corruption of power, paths to hell that are paved with good intentions, the consequences of our actions and the connectedness of our personal life and the state of the world.
Her writing is masterful and to the point, no sentence wasted. 

We see the story unfold through the protagonist's eyes and discover the feeling of utter helplessness when he wakes up with a complete new life and new set of memories competing with his existing ones. Because each new reality is the new normal, Le Guin does not point us to all of the changes. Instead, they are often treated as if they had always been there and we, just like our protagonist George, have to do the work ourselves. 
Each time he wakes up after a dream, the feeling of dread is more pressing. Every new iteration confronts us with more moral questions. Who gets to define the "Greater Good"? Is one person's utopia always another's dystopia? Will humans always find new ways to struggle? Do we need suffering?

"The end justifies the means. But what if there never is an end? All we have is means."

I would love to impress on the majority of people who currently express their political opinions publicly, be they politicians of civilians, the importance of thinking through the consequences their seemingly easy solutions would have. The world would be better off for it. 

Additionally, Le Guin wrote about climate change in the 70s. So there are really no excuses left. Stop pretending, humanity!

Yes, it is dystopian. Yes, it is depressing. Because the world is depressing.
But it also tells us that every one of us can change the world. That we should be very careful what we do with this power. And that we should choose wisely who we entrust with our power.

"I don't know if our life has a purpose and I don't see that it matters. What does matter is that we're a part. Like a thread in a cloth or a grass-blade in a field. It is and we are. What we do is like wind blowing on the grass."

The Hanging Stranger by Philip K. Dick

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Still one of my favourite SciFi short stories of all time. 
Exactly the kind of thought-provoking uncertainty I want from that genre.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Interesting Urban Fantasy. I like Kate as a character so far. Unfortunately, the other characters were not as fleshed out and there are basically no non-men besides Kate that are not victims/fridged to further the plot.
On the upside: At least there IS a plot! And it was quite well done, good action scenes and mostly clever character behaviour. Just a tad too many info dumps.

I will be reading the 2nd book to see where the series is going.

I listened to the audiobook, which got confusing sometimes with the amount of characters and names. I think had I eye-read the book, this wouldn't have been a problem for me.

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

3.0

The anecdotes were interesting and covered a wide field of cults or cultish groups, but I wanted to learn more about the actual language of those groups. It rarely ever went deeper than to point out the language they used. I wished for more context, more on the connections and recurring patterns. More science. I learned very little that was new to me.

As an introduction to the topic of modern-day cults, and as a pop culture nonfiction book, it is fine and entertaining. But it doesn't quite deliver what the title promises.

Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5