This book could have been better if there was a lot more tell and a lot less show. There's some complicated world-building, some complicated social prescriptions, and an obtuse conspiracy. I can't make sense of most of it. 16% in, I'm done.
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aka @kingrat@sfba.social. I'm following a lot of bookwyrm accounts, since that seems to be the only way to get reviews from larger servers to this small server. Also, I will like & boost a lot of reviews that come across my feed. I will follow most bookwyrm accounts back if they review & comment. Social reading should be social.
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Phil in SF's books
2025 Reading Goal
28% complete! Phil in SF has read 8 of 28 books.
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Phil in SF started reading Blindsight by Peter Watts (Firefall, #1)
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Blindsight by Peter Watts (Firefall, #1)
Two months since the stars fell...
Two months of silence, while a world held its breath.
Now some half-derelict space …
Phil in SF stopped reading A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham (Long Price Quartet)
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Divya Manian reviewed Exposure by Ramona Emerson
Loved this paranormal murder mystery
5 stars
Loved this book. This is how you write people working in police without pretending like there are a "few good apples" and pretending like police is what keeps sanity. This book tackles heavy topics of child abuse in churches. I also learned about Larry Casuse who kidnapped the mayor of Gallup (Larry does not have a Wikipedia page) to highlight the plight of Navajo nation people who are tormented in Gallup and he was shot dead by the police. A+++
Phil in SF replied to Marcus K.'s status
@mkaz Welcome to SFBA.club!
Phil in SF replied to dwillobeck's status
@dwillobeck Welcome to SFBA.club!
Phil in SF replied to Moggie's status
@EverydayMoggie I have that reaction with books sometimes.
Phil in SF started reading A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham (Long Price Quartet)
Phil in SF reviewed His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Temeraire, #1)
Not my thing after all
4 stars
The origin story of the dragon Temeraire, captured from the French by the captain of an English ship, William Laurence. The person who drew the short straw is rejected as a rider by Temeraire, and Laurence becomes the rider in his place, but must give up his career in the navy. Training and battles in the dragon air service follow.
It is well-written, but the extended treatment of the proper relationship between riders and dragons was not interesting enough for me to want to seek out the sequels. People who like tales of manners will find this more enjoyable.
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Sweet and easy read
4 stars
Man this dude was lucky; this could be a tale of warning (at one point he heads off into the hills with a cyclone coming)… but he wasn’t the only one doing this. He makes this walk seem accessible, which is inspiring, but also worries me a bit. But on the flip side, it’s an easy and beautiful and inspiring read. I think he benefitted from the hospitality of the girls more than he let on, but it was also cool to see how things worked for them. Will give this to my mum, I know she will enjoy it a lot. Very pretty book.
Phil in SF reviewed The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder by Elizabeth Bear
Phil in SF finished reading The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder by Elizabeth Bear
Phil in SF started reading The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder by Elizabeth Bear
Phil in SF quoted The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro
Eastern European Jews arrived in the New World scarred by the lash and the knout, idealistic and socialistic- and dirt poor.
— The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro (1%)
new vocabulary: knout
(in imperial Russia) a whip used to inflict punishment, often causing death
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