Fun, well constructed mythologisation of the Chu-Han Contention and the origins of the Han dynasty. Good, realistic characters who were memorable in tFun, well constructed mythologisation of the Chu-Han Contention and the origins of the Han dynasty. Good, realistic characters who were memorable in the same way as the Trojan War personalities. Nice to read some epic fantasy that is not just the same "Magical Europeans vs Orcs" setting. ...more
Fundamentally a good book, but not one that I particularly enjoyed reading. It is a "striking" book, a very original one with a lot of cleverness and Fundamentally a good book, but not one that I particularly enjoyed reading. It is a "striking" book, a very original one with a lot of cleverness and insight and beauty, but also a lot of very boring and confusing and depressing parts that drag on. It is solidly "experimental", in a similar vein to The Other Side by Kubin.
I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you're into Scottish or surrealist literature. ...more
Another banger, though not quite as polished as the previous (Open Wounds) and not as original and creative as the first in the series. Had some typosAnother banger, though not quite as polished as the previous (Open Wounds) and not as original and creative as the first in the series. Had some typos and sentences that didn't make sense throughout, but that can all be ignored by yet another fantastic story with excellent characters and twists. I can't get enough of this series. ...more
Complicated story that had a lot of surprises. Kept me guessing throughout with real and deep characters. Structurally very cool with future and preseComplicated story that had a lot of surprises. Kept me guessing throughout with real and deep characters. Structurally very cool with future and present all jumbled together, with the foreshadowing providing a very intense atmosphere. Really good book....more
**spoiler alert** First couple entires are really good, but the book as a whole is a bit unpolished and has a lot of deus ex machina type events which**spoiler alert** First couple entires are really good, but the book as a whole is a bit unpolished and has a lot of deus ex machina type events which are a bit annoying. The SCP format generally is best when there is a lot left to the imagination, which is tougher to do in a 200 page book. I think it could have been shorter and some of the entries cut out. ...more
Didn't get a whole lot out of this compared to his other stuff, but as always immaculate vibes. Maintains the quaint, puzzling and slightly "not for yDidn't get a whole lot out of this compared to his other stuff, but as always immaculate vibes. Maintains the quaint, puzzling and slightly "not for you to completely understand" atmosphere his other work has, but in this it is dialed up a lot more. Would be a good star trek episode....more
**spoiler alert** Terrible in many different ways, good in a few.
Absurdly pretentious: long bits of poetry copying the style of ancient Irish which s**spoiler alert** Terrible in many different ways, good in a few.
Absurdly pretentious: long bits of poetry copying the style of ancient Irish which serves no purpose other than as a Joyce reference. Random encyclopedia definitions for no reason. No plot really whatsoever.
Swathes of this book are just unreadable, so entirely dull so as to put you to sleep. Why do we need medical definitions that have nothing to do with the story? Why do we need 20 pages of descriptions of cress? Why do we need 20 pages describing a man being tortured in obscure ways?
O'Brien seems like he was a 25 year old competing with his peers to be seen as clever, and wanted to prove to everyone else that he knew big words and could write metafiction and he could be surreal. Good job O'Brien, you can. That doesn't make a readable book.
The only good bit was in the middle where the Pookah and the Fairy are having an adventure, and it is pretty funny in a surreal way. There is basically nothing to hang on to at any other point.
If you want something surreal but that actually has structure, unlike trying to live in a house with no walls or ceilings or floors which is At Swim Two Birds, read the Third Policeman. God what a waste of time this book was.
It might be impressive as a feat - in terms of a metafiction writer writing a book about a writer writing a book about [like 3x more deep] but nobody actually wants to read that. No one reads Finnegan's Wake, no one actually wants to hang out with Duchamp's Fountain. Les Chants de Maldoror has the same problem: great, it is technically impressive in some way that speaks to like 10 Irish literary historians in the 30s. But whatever it had 90 years seems to have faded away. You can write a commentary on Irish literature and still make it accessible, instead of whatever the hell this was....more
**spoiler alert** A classic Western setting - the small, forgotten town, the heroes and the villains, the whiskey and saloon and the Colt's.
But also **spoiler alert** A classic Western setting - the small, forgotten town, the heroes and the villains, the whiskey and saloon and the Colt's.
But also a very not classic Western story - what is a hero: what does being lionized do to someone? And what is the role of the villain? Blaisedell is a messianic character who doesn't shoot first, but that doesn't seem to stop his endless pain.
A very thoughtful, complicated story; I haven't read many Westerns but God damn this was a good book....more
This whole book slipped by me, I feel, without me really realizing it. It was like reading a cloud; I don't think I got much out of it, but there wereThis whole book slipped by me, I feel, without me really realizing it. It was like reading a cloud; I don't think I got much out of it, but there were shapes of things I could recognize. The embedded narratives, Wolfe's classic mechanism, were excellent, and they were all mise en abyme in some way, but the highest level of the nesting dolls was very banal, and hard to grasp....more
Perfect 10/10 all time great science fiction. Every single thing was perfect: plot, science stuff, the technical detail, the characters, the vibe, thePerfect 10/10 all time great science fiction. Every single thing was perfect: plot, science stuff, the technical detail, the characters, the vibe, the prose. Everything. Just an absolute perfect work.
Highly recommend, especially if you're feeling like you need a bit of a challenge. The whole book is about consciousness, but for once it *shows* that instead of just telling you. Obviously there isn't an answer but the conversation has been advanced by this work.
Truly incredible piece of literature, what a genius. ...more
Weird book! I didn't really notice any inconsistencies or problems with it but Marquez apparently had dementia while writing it so it is in theory lesWeird book! I didn't really notice any inconsistencies or problems with it but Marquez apparently had dementia while writing it so it is in theory less coherent than his other work. It may be so but my God can this man write. He has this gift of what I think of as "flowing" prose; there are no bumps or pauses or anything that takes you out of the zone, you're just in his world and it flows and flows until you sneeze or something and you emerge.
The plot was ok, not amazing and the characters were a little weird; hard to pin down what I didn't like about it but such a beautiful writing style; he could write the nutritional information on a cereal box and it would still in some way be beautiful.
I'd recommend his other work over this - 100 years or Cholera (which I have yet to read but feel compelled now to do)....more
Easily one of the worst books I've ever read. One star means it wasn't coherent, which fits. This atrocity made no sense, featured a massive amount ofEasily one of the worst books I've ever read. One star means it wasn't coherent, which fits. This atrocity made no sense, featured a massive amount of some guy wanting to SA every breathing thing he came across, had no plot at all and all the characters were as if written by someone who had never left a cave.
Truly, truly terrible. It fits within the "surreal dream environment genre" which includes stuff like The Other Side and Les Chants de Malador or whatever that was called, but somehow manages to be worse.
I don't want to write off Ballard entirely but he uses the word semen like 45 times in 200 pages, "bruised breasts" more than 10 times and there are like 5 episodes where he waxes poetic about wanting to SA some 11 year olds and a deer.
Why bother, read something else. There is nothing here....more
Loading...
