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.
This link opens in a pop-up window
Success! Phil in SF has read 31 of 28 books.
Content warning what happens to Bud the cat
Word of warning: there's a cat named Bud. The bad guys do some bad things to Bud, and not all of them are "off screen" even. If you can't handle violence to animals, don't read the book. However, Bud does make it through the story in pretty good shape all things considered, and the violence is limited to a few scenes. Most of the book, Bud gets carried around all drugged up in carriers, bags, and the like.
Henry “call me Hank” Thompson used to play California baseball. Now he tends to a …
Henry Thompson had his leg broken attempting to steal a base, ending his baseball career in high school. Then he drives a car too fast and kills a buddy. Moves to New York from California with a girl only for her to get a traveling job and leave him in the dust. When the novel starts, Henry Thompson is a bartender in the middle of a bender, but actually living a decent life of a loser without real prospects. Then he gets beaten up by Russians, who it turns out are looking for Henry's neighbor next apartment over, who has skipped town leaving Henry to watch his cat. Stuck in the cat's carrier is a key and criminals want it.
I was hooked. Henry makes bad decisions, but not "go back into the chainsaw room in a horror film" bad. So Henry pinballs around the story between various criminal factions …
Henry Thompson had his leg broken attempting to steal a base, ending his baseball career in high school. Then he drives a car too fast and kills a buddy. Moves to New York from California with a girl only for her to get a traveling job and leave him in the dust. When the novel starts, Henry Thompson is a bartender in the middle of a bender, but actually living a decent life of a loser without real prospects. Then he gets beaten up by Russians, who it turns out are looking for Henry's neighbor next apartment over, who has skipped town leaving Henry to watch his cat. Stuck in the cat's carrier is a key and criminals want it.
I was hooked. Henry makes bad decisions, but not "go back into the chainsaw room in a horror film" bad. So Henry pinballs around the story between various criminal factions trying to get hold of the key, never making a choice that made me groan.
Despite being the kind of alcoholic jerk I would hate in real life, the story gives enough of a peek into his internal thoughts while trying to be decent that I liked him and wanted to see him make it.
And there's just enough hook in the story that I wanted to see how the conspiracy that envelops Henry came to be, and how it turns out for everyone. What's the key to? Will Henry remember where he put the key? Why are two groups of criminals looking for it? Is there anyone who can help Henry? Huston's well-crafted writing reveals just enough at the right times to keep me wanting to know what will happen next.
I'm going to attempt to put a content warning with a spoiler in a follow-up reply. Check that if certain kinds of violence make you squeamish.
Henry “call me Hank” Thompson used to play California baseball. Now he tends to a bar on Manhattan’s Lower East …
Phil in SF
boosted
It is 2058, and the glaciers are gone. A catastrophic drought has hit the prairies. …
The novel reminded me of "Parable of the Sower/Talents" at times because the way people react to climate change and the ensuing destruction of their livelihoods is the main focus. It's a lot less grim. I thought it was a very realistic take on how society would be like. It's set in Canada so their dystopia is also a bit nicer than the usual US based variant. Recommended for anyone into climate fiction.
Henry “call me Hank” Thompson used to play California baseball. Now he tends to a …
This has hooked me.
Henry “call me Hank” Thompson used to play California baseball. Now he tends to a …
Pulling one off my mountain of unread books.
After 35 years of living on the Moon, cranky old oxygen farmer Millennium Harrison has stumbled onto a hidden facility …
After 35 years of living on the Moon, cranky old oxygen farmer Millennium Harrison has …
The prose is merely functional. There's a lot of "As you know, Bob..." Using the wrong words. Using the wrong math.
And at 27%, i still don't care about the central mystery: a radiation filled lunar vehicle buried under regolith in the center of a forbidden zone. Apparently a secret landing on the moon in the 1980s. But there's no reason for me as a reader to care. The MC gets an itch to find out the story, but that's the only hook. The MC being curious is not transitive to the reader. There's no stakes.
After 35 years of living on the Moon, cranky old oxygen farmer Millennium Harrison has …
"I got it, now shut up. Warnings to set point three. Just give me the really important stuff."
[…]
"Warnings depreciated."
— The Oxygen Farmer by Colin Holmes (21%)
Deprecated. The word is deprecated.
Camcat Publishing apparently not much better than a vanity press as far as editing goes.
After 35 years of living on the Moon, cranky old oxygen farmer Millennium Harrison has …
Rem levels are point five two times ambient background standard. Personal protective measures should be considered. Radiation advisory.
— The Oxygen Farmer by Colin Holmes (21%)
Oh Colin, that does not mean what you think it means.
Radiation that is half the standard ambient radiation is a good thing for a person, not an indication of an increase.
(yes. getting close to DNF.)
After 35 years of living on the Moon, cranky old oxygen farmer Millennium Harrison has …
I have no recollection of putting this on my hold list at the library. Now that I have it I'm going to give it a shot but something is screaming to me that this will be one I put down. It's SF but neither the author nor the book is on ISFDB. So I half expect to post a DNF message in a couple days.
You can leave the army, but the army doesn’t leave you. Not always. Not completely, …
In typical Lee Child fashion, Reacher figures out the scheme ⅔ of the way through, but refuses to tell anyone else, including the reader. Until the conclusion. At that point he monologues the conspiracy at its perpetrator and we get to see how it all fits together.
Except it doesn't. There's a few plot holes that are never filled.
Also, one of the bad guys is someone 7-ish inches taller than Reacher. Because he's huge, he has a big house. The man builds a "regular" house but has everything scaled up 50% so he'll fit. But holy heck does the prose drone on about it through multiple chapters, like no one ever wandered the halls of a European castle with wide hallways and giant doors. No, this oversized house takes extra getting used to that of course only Reacher can adjust to in quick fashion. Pfft.
Phil in SF
boosted
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; …
Thoroughly delightful respite from gloomy books I've been reading lately.
I've enjoyed Becky Chambers' work for years, and I feel she distilled it to perfection in this novella. Length-wise it is just enough to paint a picture of a beautiful solarpunk world, and to give us characterization of Dex, the main protagonist. There is nothing superfluous to it, and there is no rush either; the pace is contemplative and purposeful.
I loved the world building; the slow paced, hopeful world of Panga feels like a perfect place for me. On the other hand, it is a clever backdrop for Dex's angst and struggle to find their own purpose in life. Chambers pulls off a great feat with portrayal of Dex; they feel rich, complex and fully realized human being. Clever too is the contrast of the titular robot to Dex's monk, and the cute, often philosophical exchanges between them.
I …
Thoroughly delightful respite from gloomy books I've been reading lately.
I've enjoyed Becky Chambers' work for years, and I feel she distilled it to perfection in this novella. Length-wise it is just enough to paint a picture of a beautiful solarpunk world, and to give us characterization of Dex, the main protagonist. There is nothing superfluous to it, and there is no rush either; the pace is contemplative and purposeful.
I loved the world building; the slow paced, hopeful world of Panga feels like a perfect place for me. On the other hand, it is a clever backdrop for Dex's angst and struggle to find their own purpose in life. Chambers pulls off a great feat with portrayal of Dex; they feel rich, complex and fully realized human being. Clever too is the contrast of the titular robot to Dex's monk, and the cute, often philosophical exchanges between them.
I also liked the book's ending. It might leave things seemingly unresolved, but the story climax presents convincing argument for the value of self discovery over finding the (unattainable) solutions. In its philosophy, its character and world building, and its beauty, this story felt true to me, and that's my favorite thing.
