The chief delight of this book is Avasarala, the potty-mouthed UN politician insider who is one of the best features of the novel (and series), and whose portrait by Shohreh Aghdashloo is the highlights of the filmed series; actor and … Continue reading →
It’s likely that I was disposed to admire this novel because I had streamed the series on Prime and enjoyed it, and this also meant I knew what was coming. The world building is very strong and underscores that the … Continue reading →
The Bostonians by Henry James In general I try to avoid judging a book because it exemplifies old social attitudes but in the case of this novel I think it’s fair to be a bit harder on the near-misogyny of … Continue reading →
I have been hearing a lot about this book and read it yesterday all in a breath. It is one of those gems that happens from time to time. I would not quite say I was enthralled by it, but … Continue reading →
There were effective passages at the beginning of this book, especially the depiction of the single father’s traumatized relationship with his son. There were lots and lots of pages devoted to making out and to detailed sex. This is fine … Continue reading →
This book kept harkening back to the feelings I had when I first read A Wrinkle in Time; it’s the oddest mix of elements held together by a magical set of characters. The story begins with a transgender girl fleeing … Continue reading →
After reading the sequel to this book, Children of the Sky, which felt tepid to me, I reread this novel to see if it was really as good as I remembered. And it is. This was my introduction to Vernor … Continue reading →
Many years ago I read the first two installments in this series, A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky. Both of those are excellent and even enthralling reading experiences, especially if you love 90s space opera. … Continue reading →
This book relies on the love of family and of revelations and transformations to do its work. The story has so much going for it along those lines that it jerks the inevitable tears, mostly in an earned way, and … Continue reading →
This lovely book makes its mark through gentle comedy, pristine writing, and the rich oddity of its people, especially Monkey and Samir, the central figures of the journey along the Silk Road. The comic touches within the writing are many, … Continue reading →