thefriendlyabyss's reviews
111 reviews

The Terror by Dan Simmons

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A brilliant book that’ll teach you everything you need to know about sailing and surviving in cold climates while also telling you a riveting tale of the human will to continue on despite the odds.
The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

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adventurous emotional informative mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.0

Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories by Algernon Blackwood

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Blackwood deploys his cerebral and at times terrifying style with some degree of success here. Many of the stories like “The Willows” and “The Wendigo” are intimidate tales of very human characters battling with the unknowing cosmic whim of nature and that Call of the Wild that can draw humans to their doom. 
Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Rumo is a fun, lovable and quite peculiar epic adventure that evokes all the great ideas and themes of Lord of The Rings, Alice in Wonderland, and The Phantom Tollbooth all in one.
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

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adventurous challenging hopeful informative reflective slow-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? Yes

4.0

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

This sequel to Parable of the Sower paints a world simultaneously better off and far more grim than the first book. It’s challenging, harrowing, and in some ways exceedingly hopeful. It’s absolutely worth a read for anyone thinking about the future.
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Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

4.5

This is a shockingly prescient book written back in the 90s that paints a grim future that seems not too disimilar to humanity’s current trajectory at least here in the United States. The book’s main character, Lauren Olamina, is a young woman, forced to grow up in a ravaged version of California. Her travels are a fascinating look into what becomes necessary when survival is on the line and what hope looks like amidst a sea of destructive chaos. I can’t recommend this book enough! Read it!
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The Complete Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

For anyone remotely interested in Lovecraft, this is a great book that captures the breadth of his writing. Some stories are better than others.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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3.0