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Mostly reading sci-fi, fantasy, and comics/graphic novels, but occasionally some other stuff too.
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Barbarius's books
2026 Reading Goal
Barbarius has read 0 of 52 books.
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Barbarius started reading 101 Board Games To Try Before You Die (Of Boredom) by Jarrod Carmichael
Move Over, Monopoly!
Find your new favorite board game with this incredible curated guide …
Barbarius started reading Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Inheriting your mysterious uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.
Sure, there are the things you'd …
Barbarius reviewed Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules. Grant McAllister, a mystery writer and …
Very good, but I didn't love the ending.
5 stars
This is a great murder mystery novel. The blurb basically says it all: a retired mathematician defined all the essential parameters of murder mystery novels, described the possible permutations, and then released a collection of seven short stories that demonstrated all the permutations. The story goes through the stories, and describes the permutations along the way.
The book is easy to read, as it's basically a collection of short stories, and it's a great read.
What I don't like about the blurb is that it implies that there's a greater mystery to solve. I don't like this implication, because it's not possible for the reader to solve this greater mystery, because they aren't given all the facts until the revelation at the conclusion. The conclusion is still excellent; it's a lovely part of the story and a good ending, but it's not a mystery you can solve.
This is a great murder mystery novel. The blurb basically says it all: a retired mathematician defined all the essential parameters of murder mystery novels, described the possible permutations, and then released a collection of seven short stories that demonstrated all the permutations. The story goes through the stories, and describes the permutations along the way.
The book is easy to read, as it's basically a collection of short stories, and it's a great read.
What I don't like about the blurb is that it implies that there's a greater mystery to solve. I don't like this implication, because it's not possible for the reader to solve this greater mystery, because they aren't given all the facts until the revelation at the conclusion. The conclusion is still excellent; it's a lovely part of the story and a good ending, but it's not a mystery you can solve.
Barbarius finished reading Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules. Grant McAllister, a mystery writer and mathematics professor, once sat down …
Barbarius started reading Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules. Grant McAllister, a mystery writer and mathematics professor, once sat down …
Barbarius reviewed You Look Like Death by Gerard Way (Tales from the Umbrella Academy, #1)
Scratches the UA comics itch
3 stars
You Look Like Death was a good, but not great story.
It's a six-issue story following Klaus/Séance after he gets kicked out of home by Hargreeves. He goes on a drug bender, talks with dead people, and has somewhat of a redemption arc where he helps people.
It's nice. It was great to get a story fleshing out the comic book world that has somewhat been overshadowed by the TV series in recent years. But it's not as strong as the main stories published so far.
But, still worth reading if you've read the other three already 👍
You Look Like Death was a good, but not great story.
It's a six-issue story following Klaus/Séance after he gets kicked out of home by Hargreeves. He goes on a drug bender, talks with dead people, and has somewhat of a redemption arc where he helps people.
It's nice. It was great to get a story fleshing out the comic book world that has somewhat been overshadowed by the TV series in recent years. But it's not as strong as the main stories published so far.
But, still worth reading if you've read the other three already 👍
Barbarius finished reading You Look Like Death by Gerard Way (Tales from the Umbrella Academy, #1)
You Look Like Death by Gerard Way, Nate Piekos, Shaun Simon, and 1 other (Tales from the Umbrella Academy, #1)
Barbarius started reading You Look Like Death by Gerard Way (Tales from the Umbrella Academy, #1)
You Look Like Death by Gerard Way, Nate Piekos, Shaun Simon, and 1 other (Tales from the Umbrella Academy, #1)
Barbarius rated The House in the Cerulean Sea: 5 stars
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he …
Barbarius finished reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, …
Without exaggeration, probably the best book I read this year. Absolutely fantastic.
Without exaggeration, probably the best book I read this year. Absolutely fantastic.
Barbarius quoted The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, …
The fact that I must become a conversationalist in addition to my current duties is vexing.
— The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Page 129)
Feels, brother.
Barbarius started reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, …
A friend of mine said this was the best book she read last year.
Barbarius reviewed Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (The Neuromancer Trilogy, #3)
Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final novel of the William Gibson's cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy.
…
A good conclusion
4 stars
Content warning Character revelation from previous book, and how the final chapter content relates to the first book that's not too specific.
This was pretty good, but it was missing something I couldn't quite put my finger on (vague and non-specific, I know).
One thing it did do well was tie the first two stories together, which, prior to this book, seemed a bit like two stories set in the same universe, rather than one and its sequel.
I thought Angela's ability to connect to the matrix without a deck was going to be utilised more; it was a rare occurrence, which was disappointing. And the voodoo gods in the matrix were also not really spoken about much either.
It also, somewhat annoyingly, finishes with the exact same tease as the first book. With absolutely no extra information or revelation. Like... Exactly the same... That was a bit weak, I think.
It was a nice conclusion to the series. Well worth reading if you've read one and two. But not as "new and groundbreaking" as this first (or second).
Barbarius finished reading Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (The Neuromancer Trilogy, #3)
Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final novel of the William Gibson's cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy.
…
Concluded.