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swaggle's reviews
55 reviews
The American People: Volume 1: Search for My Heart: A Novel by Larry Kramer
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
this book is a lot. not only in length but its depth as well, very dense. like gay pynchon. gravity's rainbow if it was about the "Underlying Condition". there are stretches where this book is a beautifully written love story, and other parts grim history lesson. requires patience and probably note taking.
The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
3.5
A five year time skip occurred since The City of Brass, allowing for the political situation to bubble up even closer to a boil, more so than the last novel. Conspiracies within conspiracies, plot twists and each character's motivations become clearer and more defined. I enjoyed the novel although it was a bit slow-going at points but man, does Chakraborty know how to write an ending! Last 100-200 pages are action packed and thrilling. There are still parts that the author has yet to put a bow on, but overall a solid work and an entertaining story.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
3.5
At first I thought this would be some twee, rags-to-riches fantasy story. But the author revealed the plot cleverly in the end, and I am left wanting more after finishing this. I particularly enjoyed the lore and worldbuilding as well as most of the action sequences. I also liked the emotional impact of the novel, it seemed as though the author established the motivations of many side characters and made them convincingly complex. I'd like to see how the main characters develop through the series, as it definitely feels Chakraborty gave them a LOT of room to grow, where the over-the-top drama at certain points can be a bit much. The ending was pretty stunning and very multi-faceted, so I'm excited to see the plot continues in the next books.
Overall a well-done fantasy, and a pretty impressive debut novel. I just hope to see the characters become a little more compelling in the following books.
Overall a well-done fantasy, and a pretty impressive debut novel. I just hope to see the characters become a little more compelling in the following books.
The Informer by Liam O'Flaherty
3.5
I like how unbelievably stupid Gypo was throughout the entire book, what a funny character. But still barely cunning enough to make the novel exciting. Overall fun, short read with plenty of descriptive language, never felt tedious or boring.
The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Both disturbing and heartbreaking. A horror novel, sure; but so much more than just that. You never know whether to feel bad for Francie or feel contempt for him. It took me a while to get used to the style of the book, it's sort of similar to Cormac McCarthy in that McCabe chooses not to use quotation marks, commas, things like that. After a while, I felt it began to add to the atmosphere of the book. I began to ask, can I really trust Francie's narration? I think McCabe's a better writer than McCarthy anyways. Read this book and judge for yourself.