computer scientist, mathematician, photographer, human. Debian Developer, Notmuch Maintainer, scuba diver
Much of my "reading" these days is actually audiobooks while walking.
FediMain: bremner@mathstodon.xyz
bremner@bookwyrm.social is also me. Trying a smaller instance to see if the delays are less maddening.
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Content warning mild spoilers. violence mention.
Finished Ali Baba and the Fourty Thieves. Morgiana the slave is the most interesting character. Rather brutal events, including an actual mass grave where the good guys dispose of 37 bad guys they murdered.
Finished two more stories, both of which I thought more interesting than Aladdin. The store of the Prince Agib and the Story of the the City of Brass are both allegories about greed. The City of Brass has one character who succeeds because he is devout and learned, which makes a change from just lucky.
I also happened to look at a few of the illustrations (by Maxfield Parrish) in the print edition, and they definitely add to the stories.
Finished Aladdin. Our plucky hero triumphs in the end. Sadly the princess does nothing very interesting.
In order that my comments not be entirely negative, I should note that at least Aladdin does not promote the inherent nobility of the ruling classes, unlike some of the earlier stories in the volume.
Started to listen to Aladdin. It is worth linking to www.criticalmuslim.io/the-dark-side-of-the-arabian-nights/ for discussion of the racism in the Arabian nights. Here "African" definitely means bad, although it's less obviously anti-black racism (to this non-expert) than some of the other stories.
Consider Phlebas, first published in 1987, is a space opera novel by Scottish writer Iain …
OK, so here is some violence, but it at least advances the plot. Also, space pirates!
In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection—now she's after revenge...
No one knows death like …
I didn't read the first book in the series, so that might explain why I had a hard time connecting with the characters.
I found the early romance between the protagonist Tea and her undead lover somewhat cringeworthy (not because of the undead thing, just the breathy internal dialog). Perhaps I'm being what @lapis@bookwyrm.social described as an "adult reader mad at kids for being kids".
The book does deal with "coming of age" issues of gender and sexual identity in a positive way.
There are a few twists that I did not see coming.
I did like the narrative structure of the two halves of the story interleaved, more or less converging (although not quite) at the end of the book.
It is definitely the middle book of a trilogy (or longer) series and some important questions are unresolved at the end.
“Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” is a short story set in the world of Martha …
Not much happens, but it does serve as a reasonable recap of the major themes of the Murderbot Diaries.
“Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” is a short story set in the world of Martha …
Consider Phlebas, first published in 1987, is a space opera novel by Scottish writer Iain …
Banks does like to open with a torture scene, doesn't he?
Anyway the grand theme is apparently the advisability of turning things over to benign machines to run things. That does seem rather hypothetical at the moment.
Consider Phlebas, first published in 1987, is a space opera novel by Scottish writer Iain …
Thinking I should go back to the beginning and see if my so-so impression of "Surface Detail" on re-read is related to "late Banks" or "late me".
It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.
It begins with …
I think Banks wanted to write something of a critique of late stage capitalism (Culture novels in general being a variant of Space Communism). Unfortunately the villain is a bit too much of a parody for my taste. I also found the first third of the book a bit of a slog, as the various in-Hell plot lines involve a fair amount of gratuitous violence and suffering, and don't obviously go anywhere.
That said, I did find the last 2/3 fairly engaging and fun.
I suspect people who are sensitive to the portrayal of sexual violence should not read this book.
It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.
It begins with …
Review to follow.
The House of Rust
Review sounds interesting.
theconversation.com/holiday-reading-five-picks-from-a-great-year-for-african-writing-173160
Maybe. Would like to read some convincing reviews either way.