laurareads87's reviews
576 reviews

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

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adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Babel-17 has a lot I look for in a sci-fi novel – adventure, some great twists, and a Sapir-Whorf informed exploration of agency and the relationship between language and thought. The protagonist, Rydra Wong, is a well known poet and, here, ship’s captain investigating an unusual linguistic phenomenon, Babel-17, being used by Invaders in attacks on Alliance targets. There are strange weapons, spies, strange stretches of space, ‘pirates’ / salvagers, and a fantastic diverse crew. This is not my first Delany book and certainly won’t be my last. 

Content warnings: war, violence, gun violence, death, murder, medical content 
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Party of Fools by Cedar McCloud

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Party of Fools is a food-infused fantasy novella with a lot to love – there is some solid world-building for such a short book, fun characters, a well-paced plot, and so many snacks. I wouldn’t say it quite landed for me as comedic, though it had its moments and there are some fantastic food-pun names. 

Recommend for those interested in a low stakes cozy adventure novella with well-executed diverse representation. I feel like this would appeal to fans of Travis Baldree; it reads a bit like a really fun D&D session where things go a bit sideways from the DM’s plan but where everyone has a great time. 
A Snake Lies Waiting by Anna Holmwood, Gigi Chang, Jin Yong

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

I am enjoying this series but didn’t quite enjoy this instalment as much as the prior one. I did like how action packed this third book is, and all the discussion of the different kung fu styles. There were some absolutely fantastic scenes, and I liked the inclusion of a few illustrations in the version I read (they turned up well on e-reader too, which doesn’t always happen). Some of the challenge here I think is that a lot of the settings are very constrained – a boat, a deserted island, an inn – so the narrative feels cramped somehow and the pacing is seriously impacted by the fact that characters at times have nowhere to go. There are a lot of coincidences, people turning up just at the right time, overhearing things – a few too many I think – and as other reviewers have mentioned, it is somewhat frustrating to have the ‘good’ characters repeatedly demonstrating how virtuous they are by assisting the ‘bad’ ones, then inevitably suffering consequences as a result. I eagerly look forward to reading the fourth book & hope to watch an adaptation sometime soon as well. I would absolutely recommend this series to someone wanting to read wuxia, but will note that you really do need to start with the first book, not this one. 


Content warnings: violence, death, threat of sexual assault, suicidal thoughts, suicide, war, sexism, ableism, classism 
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The Edge of Worlds by Martha Wells

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

 In The Edge of Worlds, Moon and the Raksura of Indigo Cloud all experience a terrifying vision or shared dream; unsure of what it holds for the future of their court, they set off with a group of groundlings headed to an ancient city that may or may not be another Forerunner city (which anyone reading the series up to this point will know may hold terrible danger). There is some disagreement about who built the ancient city, and only getting inside will reveal the truth; at the same time, of course Fell are a concern, and they’re investigating the city too.

This series has so much that I love: an incredibly well developed totally non-humanoid species, gender and sexual diversity, complicated inter-species perceptions and dynamics, intrigue, adventure, and suspense. I have really been enjoying the Raksura series – it has become almost comfort reading for me, as I’ve fallen for the characters and just love spending time with them. I didn’t quite like this installment as much as the previous one – the pace did lag a bit at the beginning – but it kept me interested and the last 25% or so was absolutely riveting. I look forward to continuing the Raksura series. 

Content warnings: violence, blood, injury detail, gore (minor), kidnapping, death, grief 
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The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

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hopeful informative

5.0

The Serviceberry is an essay about gift economies and the lessons nature has to offer about ways of sustaining communities that function based on reciprocity rather than commodification and fabricated scarcity. Kimmerer’s writing is, as always, beautiful. My only complaint is that I wish the book was longer – if Kimmerer ever puts out a book on this topic that is longer and covers more research (with citations), I’d happily pick it up. 

The hardcover version of this book, which I read, is lovely – textured cover, deckle edges, and beautiful illustrations by John Burgoyne. 
Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions by Nalo Hopkinson

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions is a great short story collection that feels cohesive while having a lot of variety genre and length-wise. A few of my favourite stories were the title story “Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions” (co-written with Nisi Shawl for a collection honouring Samuel Delany), “Can’t Beat ‘Em” (which features a plumber removing a very... interesting drain clog), “Clap Back” (featuring nanotech fashions), and “Broad Dutty Water” (a story set amidst risen water levels). I appreciated the inclusion of brief notes introducing and contextualizing each story. Definitely recommend this collection. 


Thank you Tachyon Publications & NetGalley for an ARC to review. 
Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin

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hopeful informative slow-paced
Ursula K. LeGuin is one of my all time favourites. This collection gathers together essays, speeches, and excerpts spanning much of her career, from the mid-70s to 2018. All of these writings have been published elsewhere before, and I'd read many of them previously.

LeGuin is an excellent writer and her essays are very much worth reading. This said, I'd suggest someone interested in first starting to read LeGuin's nonfiction start with a book LeGuin herself compiled rather than this one, which was put together of course without her input. The arrangement of essays is a bit strange here, and some of them - particularly things like excerpts from Steering the Craft - make more sense in the contexts LeGuin herself published them than here.
The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

 3.5, rounding up. I was happy to pick up The Mercy of Gods having really enjoyed The Expanse... on television. I wanted to try James SA Corey’s work but figured it’d be better to start with something that I didn’t already have preconceived notions about from an adaptation. 

I’ll start with what worked. I really enjoy alien species depicted as utterly non-humanoid, and this series is full of unusual species with their own physiologies and ways of communicating. The cast of main characters interact with these other species to varying degrees and the extent to which they can (or mostly can’t) understand them is central to the plot in a number of interesting ways. The Carryx, the species that attack the human world Anjiin, have translator technology, but their motivations and guiding philosophies are far from clear. There’s a lot of interesting world building here with hints of the past relationships between species and a broader galactic context, but the novel’s setting is, really, very narrow and this creates an interesting interplay between the micro context of the main characters’ immediate everyday lives and the wider context in which they exist. The pacing is good and I was consistently interested in what would happen next. 

What didn’t quite work for me here, unfortunately, was the character development. It wasn’t really until the very end that I cared much about any of the characters. Toward the end of the novel when some extraordinarily difficult decisions have to be made, the characters feel more multifaceted; however, for much of the novel they felt a bit one-note to me and I struggled to be invested in any of them. I didn’t think the romance aspects added anything to the plot. 

Overall, I enjoyed this and will be picking up the second installment in the series. 

Thank you to Orbit Books & NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review. 

Content warnings: blood, injury detail, violence, war, death, genocide, suicidal thoughts, animal death, animal cruelty (lab experimentation), forced confinement, murder, mention of excrement & vomit 
Toward Eternity by Anton Hur

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

There is much I enjoyed about Toward Eternity – it has multi-POV storytelling that spans many many many years yet feels like a cohesive narrative, it features a diverse cast of characters, and it’s beautifully written; in many ways, this novel doesn’t feel like a debut. The author has done some interesting things with technology here, effectively creating a ‘ship of Theseus’ paradox with the idea of humans being able to have all of their cells replaced with nanites, curing disease and creating a kind of near-immortality. 

What didn’t quite work for me – the insertion of the poetry felt somewhat forced and took me out of the narrative. Some points felt a bit didactic to the point that the narrative and characters felt de-emphasized compared to the ‘argument’ of the text. 

I enjoyed this novel overall & would absolutely read another work by Anton Hur. 

Content warnings: violence, death, war, genocide, mention of miscarriage 
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Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

Absolution had to be one of my most anticipated 2024 releases; having previously read the Southern Reach Trilogy (back when it was released) as well as some other titles from Vandermeer, I was very excited for another instalment and more backstory of Area X. 

Absolution is comprised of three parts: the first, ‘Dead Town,’ takes place pre-Area X and follows biologists conducting an experiment in the Forgotten Coast, the second, ‘The False Daughter, is set later – 18 months pre-Area X – and refers back directly to the first, and the third, ‘ takes place ‘one year after the border came down’ and follows the first expedition into Area X. 

This is hard to rate because I found the three sections quite uneven, and would give them different star ratings; I’m giving a 4 because I don’t want to down-rate the first two sections based on liking the third section significantly less. 

I don’t think this is vital to appreciating the Southern Reach Trilogy, nor do I think it leaves all questions answered (of course it wasn’t going to), but I do think that fans of the trilogy will appreciate this book as a chance to revisit Area X in all its strangeness. I would say I liked the first part best – it’s deeply unsettling – followed by the second, which feels a bit slower paced but Old Jim is a great character and there is a lot of intrigue. The third, wherein we finally get to enter Area X as readers, I actually enjoyed least; there are some great weird scenes but the narration is disjointed and hard to follow (for reasons that are explained in the context of the story) and this, for me, made the expedition’s experiences less impactful. 

I would not suggest reading this first; it doesn’t feel straightforwardly like a prequel and for that reason I’d suggest at least reading Annihilation, if not the entire trilogy, before picking up Absolution. You could read this first – particularly the first section which feels relatively self-contained – but I don’t think I’d have gotten as much out of this text had I not read the trilogy first. 

Content warnings: violence, gun violence, death, animal death, injury detail, drug ab/use, blood, gore, body horror, cannibalism (graphic) 
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