The decision to break it up into 4 volumes makes sense, but it feels like it could have been broken at less cliffhangery points, haha
Reviews and Comments
i read a lot of science fiction but also a lot of other random stuff. libraries are good. i also like the little free variety of library, used bookstores, & the high seas. he/him
my fake and arbitrary rating system: - 5 stars: good. i recommend it - 4 stars: fine, but not entirely my cup of tea - 3 stars: not good, but with some redeeming qualities that might make it worth reading - 2 stars: bad, with a few redeeming qualities - 1 star: horrible
mastodon: @agafnd@www.librepunk.club
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bookafnd finished reading The Journey to the West by 吴承恩
bookafnd reviewed The Tatami Time Machine Blues by Emily Balistrieri
tatami time machine blues
5 stars
The timeline of events seems to have been this:
- Makoto Ueda writes the play "Summer Time Machine Blues"
- Tomihiko Morimi writes the novel "The Tatami Galaxy"
- "Summer Time Machine Blues" is adapted into a film
- "The Tatami Galaxy" is adapted into a TV anime series; Makoto Ueda writes the script, as well as the scripts for other Morimi screen adaptations
- Tomihiko Morimi writes this novel, which is a retelling of "Summer Time Machine Blues" using the characters and setting from "The Tatami Galaxy".
The film "Summer Time Machine Blues" is pointless drivel; that's what makes it good. I think I liked it better than this book. Morimi's protagonist has too much bitterness in him to replicate the fun environment of the film. On the other hand, I do have a certain fondness for "The Tatami Galaxy", so it was nice seeing further adventures of these dubious characters.
Thinking about it, …
The timeline of events seems to have been this:
- Makoto Ueda writes the play "Summer Time Machine Blues"
- Tomihiko Morimi writes the novel "The Tatami Galaxy"
- "Summer Time Machine Blues" is adapted into a film
- "The Tatami Galaxy" is adapted into a TV anime series; Makoto Ueda writes the script, as well as the scripts for other Morimi screen adaptations
- Tomihiko Morimi writes this novel, which is a retelling of "Summer Time Machine Blues" using the characters and setting from "The Tatami Galaxy".
The film "Summer Time Machine Blues" is pointless drivel; that's what makes it good. I think I liked it better than this book. Morimi's protagonist has too much bitterness in him to replicate the fun environment of the film. On the other hand, I do have a certain fondness for "The Tatami Galaxy", so it was nice seeing further adventures of these dubious characters.
Thinking about it, without the context of its source material, it would probably stand okay on its own merits.
bookafnd reviewed Tatami Galaxy by Emily Balistrieri
tatami galaxy
5 stars
If you can penetrate the thick layer of irony that the protagonist's self-aggrandizing narration is coated with, it's an amusing book. I often like familiar things more, so the repetitive structure worked to its advantage – I grew fond of these characters, as dubious as most of them were.
Actually, I can't give a general recommendation for this book. It's the sort of work that makes me wonder what kind of person the author is. It's perhaps a book for someone who wants to examine a particular Type of Guy under a microscope.
bookafnd started reading King Rat by China Miéville
bookafnd reviewed Devil House by John Darnielle
devil house
5 stars
this is the kind of book that takes itself and puts itself back together again. it's full of john darnielle's typical preoccupation with small towns, houses, people, & the small details of people's lives. the kind of writing you can smell the asphalt from. i listened to the audiobook, so i got to hear john darnielle read his work out loud, which of course suits the text perfectly.
bookafnd reviewed Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
bookafnd reviewed Sinopticon by Xueting Christine Ni
good collection
5 stars
For various reasons, it took me a long time to finish, (which is fine with a short story collection), but eventually I did, and I'm glad. I enjoyed a lot of these stories.
bookafnd commented on The Journey to the West Volume I by 吴承恩
bookafnd commented on The Journey to the West Volume I by 吴承恩
bookafnd commented on The Journey to the West Volume I by 吴承恩
Content warning sex related
I believe I've heard about this area of Daoist belief before, but it was still surprising when this Patriarch character more or less said "you can gain magic powers through semen retention"