David Bremner a terminé la lecture de Who Fears Death par Nnedi Okorafor
Born into post-apocalyptic Africa to a mother who was raped after the slaughter of her …
Good, but finished a few weeks ago, so no review
Critiques et Commentaires
David Bremner Compte verrouillé
bremner@book.dansmonorage.blue
A rejoint ce serveur il y a 3 années, 8 mois
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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David Bremner veut lire Master of Samar par Melissa Scott
I haven't read any reviews yet, but the blurb sounds like my kind of thing: magical venice + mystery
David Bremner a commenté Who Fears Death par Nnedi Okorafor
Born into post-apocalyptic Africa to a mother who was raped after the slaughter of her …
Yo dawg I herd you liked to read about misogyny, so I put some misogyny in your misogyny.
I mean, it's not gratuitous, but it's a lot.
David Bremner a terminé la lecture de To Be Taught, If Fortunate par Becky Chambers
At the turn of the twenty-second century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through …
Read while on a trip. The characters and world building are still with me, but the plot has become fuzzy.
David Bremner veut lire The Intelligence Illusion par Baldur Bjarnason
What are the major business risks to avoid with generative AI? How do you avoid …
"Want" is maybe a bit overstated. I feel like I should read this.
David Bremner veut lire The Hollow Places par T. Kingfisher
A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and …
Not sure I'm ready for an uncomfortable T. Kingfisher, but throw it on the virtual pile.
David Bremner a commencé la lecture de Jackal par Erin E. Adams
Starting the audiobook, with a bit of trepidation.
David Bremner veut lire Stay with Me par Ayobami Adebayo
Recommendation of @nadinestorying@zirk.us
David Bremner veut lire Things Fall Apart par Chinua Achebe (Heinemann African Writers Series; Red Classics)
Okonkwo is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West …
Recommendation from @nadinestorying@zirk.us
David Bremner veut lire The Future of Another Timeline par Annalee Newitz
On sale today for $3 DRM free. I bought mine on ebooks.com; I suspect wherever Tor books are sold has the same deal.
David Bremner a publié une critique de Monsters We Defy par Leslye Penelope
Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during …
Fascinating view of black DC in the 1920s, along with a decent fantasy novel.
5 étoiles
First, I really appreciated that this book was not set in NYC, despite the author's initial intentions. NYC is cool and all, but not the only city.
The hero is based on a real young black woman who killed a cop in self defense during the 1919 riots in Washington. That incident is not central to the plot, but it does play an important part in explaining how the protagonist got to be who she is.
The book really centers the black characters, both heroes and villains. In a broader sense it includes a lot of discussion of the divisions of colourism and classism within the black community at that time. The external structural causes (hello white people!) are noted, but people have agency for good and ill.
Politics and history aside, the characters are fun and the plotting solid. If you squint at it the right way it turns …
First, I really appreciated that this book was not set in NYC, despite the author's initial intentions. NYC is cool and all, but not the only city.
The hero is based on a real young black woman who killed a cop in self defense during the 1919 riots in Washington. That incident is not central to the plot, but it does play an important part in explaining how the protagonist got to be who she is.
The book really centers the black characters, both heroes and villains. In a broader sense it includes a lot of discussion of the divisions of colourism and classism within the black community at that time. The external structural causes (hello white people!) are noted, but people have agency for good and ill.
Politics and history aside, the characters are fun and the plotting solid. If you squint at it the right way it turns into "four people with special abilities band together to save the community". The ending is maybe a little conventional, but consistent with the overall "comfort reading" slant of the book.
I liked that dealing with the spirits in the book was very similar to getting in debt to an organized crime group. The notion of debt and deals is crucial.
David Bremner a publié une critique de Paladin's Strength par T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel, #2)
He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s …
Fluffy but clever
4 étoiles
I thought the first book was a bit fantasy-autobiography with the nerdy heroine a stand-in for the author. That was probably silly (and maybe a bit condescending) of me. The characters in this are quite different, and I doubt that both heroines (or some combination of protagonists from both books) can be autobiographical.
Kingfisher's writing oozes cleverness, but in a fairly undemanding way. The romance tropes occasionally verge on the self parody, but I can't swear that isn't intentional.
As a fantasy (in the non-romantic sense), the world building and characterization are rather good.
David Bremner a publié une critique de Deverry: Books 1-4 par Katherine Kerr (Deverry, #1-4)
Entertaining, occasionally thought provoking
4 étoiles
Avertissement sur le contenu extremely mild spoilers
This is kind of standard sword and sorcerer epic fantasy.
It has its flaws. I'm not sure if some of the writing around homosexuality has not aged well, or if I am just being oversensitive. The world building occasionally feels derivative (or at least not very innovative). For whatever reason, the language used to describe magic occasionally rubbed me the wrong way.
With the complaints out of the way, it is a good story with some engaging characters. It redeems itself somewhat by choosing not to have the happiest, tidiest possible ending. People have to make some difficult choices, and not everyone gets everything they want.
I listened to this on audiobook, so it kept me company though a lot of washing dishes and walking the dog. I'm not sure how I'd feel about reading that many pages.
David Bremner veut lire Monsters We Defy par Leslye Penelope
Washington D. C., 1925
Clara Johnson talks to spirits, a gift that saved her during …
Based on a recommendation from @Annalee@wandering.shop
David Bremner veut lire Some Desperate Glory par Emily Tesh
All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of …
Based on a review by @RunalongWomble@mastodon.social