Outside of a Dog

Tak! commented on The Works of Vermin

Content warning the works of vermin review continued, full of spoilers

I feel like the ecdytoxin has to be an analogue for ai - it warps everything it touches into a grotesquerie of extra limbs and eyes and teeth; it has permeated the entire revivalist society so that the entire upper class is constantly drenched in its perfume, distorting their perceptions of reality; they don't quite know how to deal with someone who doesn't use / is immune to it; when something comes along that destroys it, everything they've built with it disintegrates into chaos.

The scenes where they're obtaining it by feeding artworks to the contriver worms feel almost too on the nose.

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Tak! reviewed The Works of Vermin

5 stars

The Works of Vermin is delightfully weird, a writhing tapestry of characters and plotlines that twist around each other and double back as the author gradually reveals the design.

I didn't know what to expect after Leech, and this certainly doesn't have many superficial similarities, except maybe for a certain focus on the inhuman.

It is fantastical and deranged and byzantine and wonderful.

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The Works of Vermin is delightfully weird, a writhing tapestry of characters and plotlines that twist around each other and double back as the author gradually reveals the design.

I didn't know what to expect after Leech, and this certainly doesn't have many superficial similarities, except maybe for a certain focus on the inhuman.

It is fantastical and deranged and byzantine and wonderful.

#SFFBookClub

Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

History has proven time and time again that theaters are made to burn.

— The Works of Vermin

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

Next time you rob God, don’t half-ass it.

— The Works of Vermin

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

He wants, desperately, to shout at her, to strike her, to tell her once again that working is the worst way to get any sort of money, but he only draws her close.

— The Works of Vermin

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

Is it worse to bite the hand that feeds you, or kiss the hand that beats you?

— The Works of Vermin

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

The hours crawl by, but at a startlingly fast crawl.

— The Works of Vermin

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

Same choice we all have, my dear. Same as every creature. Domestication, or extermination.

— The Works of Vermin

inside the mind of the billionaire class

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

Kid’s just at that stage. They go to sleep tame, wake up feral.

— The Works of Vermin

the struggle is real

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

There’s only one good man and he’s my dog.

— The Works of Vermin

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Tak! quoted The Works of Vermin

His eyes are dusty gold, like a beam of light in a grain silo. Aster has never seen a grain silo, but this does not deter her imagination.

— The Works of Vermin

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Tak! reviewed Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

R.F. Kuang: Katabasis (Hardcover, 2025, HarperCollins Publishers)

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Grad …

4 stars

Katabasis was a fun ride - "what if Virgil were a Cambridge magic scholar"

It's mostly a story about the characters' abusive relationships with their advisor and with life in general. I thought it fell apart a little in the middle where it turned out that the characters had done meticulous, exhaustive research up to a point, and then were like "meh, it'll work out somehow" after that. The ending felt very hollywood, but that's maybe forgivable for a "to hell and back" story 🤷

Katabasis was a fun ride - "what if Virgil were a Cambridge magic scholar"

It's mostly a story about the characters' abusive relationships with their advisor and with life in general. I thought it fell apart a little in the middle where it turned out that the characters had done meticulous, exhaustive research up to a point, and then were like "meh, it'll work out somehow" after that. The ending felt very hollywood, but that's maybe forgivable for a "to hell and back" story 🤷

Tak! quoted Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Grad …

He found himself looking up the cost of return fare. Then he thought more carefully of Lubbock, of stained floors and empty bottles. He remained.

— Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

former Lubbock resident, can confirm

Tak! quoted Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Grad …

“Don’t quote Nietzsche on my boat,” said Elspeth.

— Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

don't make me tap the sign

Tak! commented on Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Grad …

Content warning katabasis chapter 17

the whole "sex with trains" section is very fediverse-coded