Tak! commented on Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
Discover this creepy, charming monster-slaying fantasy romance—from the perspective of the monster—by Nebula Award-winning debut …
Nebula best novel 2024
Reviews and Comments
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Non-bookposting: @Tak@gush.taks.garden
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Tak! reviewed Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the sole protector of a collection …
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
5 stars
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a fresh modern fantasy exploring a world where books are magical, in a literal sense. It's fast-paced, well-written, nuanced, and not too predictable or tropey.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe is a fresh modern fantasy exploring a world where books are magical, in a literal sense. It's fast-paced, well-written, nuanced, and not too predictable or tropey.
Tak! reviewed The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
Thara Celehar has lost his ability to speak with the dead. When that title of …
The Tomb of Dragons
4 stars
The Tomb of Dragons is another solid Thara Celehar.
When I first read The Witness for the Dead, I was disappointed, because it had such different energy than The Goblin Emperor. After finishing The Tomb of Dragons, I went back to The Goblin Emperor again, but I actually stopped fairly quickly and went forward to Witness for the Dead instead, because this time what I wanted was the Thara Celehar energy. I have really come to enjoy how the pacing is very smooth and gradual, while being ultimately relentless. Celehar is never hurried or frantic - he just applies steady pressure to all his problems until they eventually crumble.
Tak! commented on In Universes by Emet North
For fans of Emily St. John Mandel and Kelly Link, a profoundly imaginative debut novel …
The #SFFBookClub pick for June 2025
Tak! commented on The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
Thara Celehar has lost his ability to speak with the dead. When that title of …
Every time I read Ulnemenee, my brain goes "doot doooooot do doo doot"
Every time I read Ulnemenee, my brain goes "doot doooooot do doo doot"
Tak! reviewed The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and …
The Ministry of Time
4 stars
I really enjoyed The Ministry of Time.
I was frustrated with the protagonist for big chunks of the book for not realizing obvious things. The author repeatedly tried to defend this with "I bet you're thinking 'I would have realized this right away', but" and in a world where I know time travel exists, I absolutely would!
However, the writing is very good, and it kept me engaged. The combination of themes around time travel, colonialism, and refugee life really worked, and I feel like it allowed them to be explored from different angles.
I'm kind of let down by the inconclusiveness of the ending, but on the other hand they avoided most of the cliché time travel tropes, so overall I guess it balances out.
I really enjoyed The Ministry of Time.
I was frustrated with the protagonist for big chunks of the book for not realizing obvious things. The author repeatedly tried to defend this with "I bet you're thinking 'I would have realized this right away', but" and in a world where I know time travel exists, I absolutely would!
However, the writing is very good, and it kept me engaged. The combination of themes around time travel, colonialism, and refugee life really worked, and I feel like it allowed them to be explored from different angles.
I'm kind of let down by the inconclusiveness of the ending, but on the other hand they avoided most of the cliché time travel tropes, so overall I guess it balances out.
Tak! reviewed Bunny: A Novel by Mona Awad
Bunny
2 stars
A kafkaesque nightmare, a 200-page lsd trip, Fight Club for lit majors
Tak! reviewed Atlas Alone by Emma Newman
Atlas Alone
5 stars
Newman keeps me guessing as usual.
After Atlas follows Dee, an ancillary character from After Atlas, in her quest to figure out what the hell is going on.
This one gets very dark, but it's wonderfully written, and I devoured it.
Newman keeps me guessing as usual.
After Atlas follows Dee, an ancillary character from After Atlas, in her quest to figure out what the hell is going on.
This one gets very dark, but it's wonderfully written, and I devoured it.
Tak! reviewed The Dragonfly Gambit by A. D. Sui
Nearly ten years after Inez Kato sustained a career-ending injury during a military exercise gone …
The Dragonfly Gambit
4 stars
Short, sharp, clever, and weirdly horny
Tak! reviewed Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes
A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space …
Ghost Station
5 stars
A psychologist volunteers to join a small research and exploration team on an extraplanetary mission, drama ensues.
Ghost Station reminds me of Before Mars in a number of ways, the most important being that I really enjoyed it and it kept me guessing.
Now I'm off to go find something else by S.A. Barnes
A psychologist volunteers to join a small research and exploration team on an extraplanetary mission, drama ensues.
Ghost Station reminds me of Before Mars in a number of ways, the most important being that I really enjoyed it and it kept me guessing.
Now I'm off to go find something else by S.A. Barnes
Tak! commented on Countess by Suzan Palumbo
A queer, Caribbean, anti-colonial sci-fi novella, inspired by the Count of Monte Cristo, in which …
I really dig the premise, but the execution bothered me a lot. Maybe they were just trying to do too much in a novella length, or maybe it's just me, but everything just felt rushed and clumsy. 🤷
I really dig the premise, but the execution bothered me a lot. Maybe they were just trying to do too much in a novella length, or maybe it's just me, but everything just felt rushed and clumsy. 🤷
Tak! commented on Drystone by Kristie De Garis
What’s that I see at the top of my reading pile?
Oh, NBD, just a copy of my book. Not its final form, but still, the first time I've held it in my hands.
A tangible version of something that’s existed in more abstract, emotional, and digital forms for years.
mastodon.scot/users/kristiedegaris/statuses/114319100705199265
What’s that I see at the top of my reading pile?
Oh, NBD, just a copy of my book. Not its final form, but still, the first time I've held it in my hands.
A tangible version of something that’s existed in more abstract, emotional, and digital forms for years.
mastodon.scot/users/kristiedegaris/statuses/114319100705199265
Tak! commented on After atlas by Emma Newman (A Planetfall novel)
"Acclaimed author Emma Newman returns to the captivating universe she created in Planetfall with a …
I am so mad at this series for normalizing "gov-corp" in my brain 😡
I am so mad at this series for normalizing "gov-corp" in my brain 😡
Tak! reviewed After atlas by Emma Newman (A Planetfall novel)
"Acclaimed author Emma Newman returns to the captivating universe she created in Planetfall with a …
After Atlas
5 stars
Although set in the Planetfall universe, After Atlas is a crime novel that reminded me strongly of Stross's Halting State.
Carlos Moreno is the left-behind son of one of the Atlas passengers from Planetfall, and is now an investigator for the ministry of justice. The plot revolves around his investigation of a high-profile murder with Atlas connections.
There are strong themes around surveillance capitalism tech dystopia, coercion and slavery, and childhood trauma.
Although set in the Planetfall universe, After Atlas is a crime novel that reminded me strongly of Stross's Halting State.
Carlos Moreno is the left-behind son of one of the Atlas passengers from Planetfall, and is now an investigator for the ministry of justice. The plot revolves around his investigation of a high-profile murder with Atlas connections.
There are strong themes around surveillance capitalism tech dystopia, coercion and slavery, and childhood trauma.
Tak! commented on After atlas by Emma Newman (A Planetfall novel)
"Acclaimed author Emma Newman returns to the captivating universe she created in Planetfall with a …
Really highlighting how annoying and disturbing ubiquitous ar/vr and "virtual assistants" would be in our existing capitalist hellscape
Really highlighting how annoying and disturbing ubiquitous ar/vr and "virtual assistants" would be in our existing capitalist hellscape