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Aneel

aneel@outside.ofa.dog

Joined 2 years, 11 months ago

He/Him. In the USA... for now. Mastodon

I only track books that I read for pleasure, mostly SF/Fantasy. I've fallen out of the habit of actually writing reviews beyond giving a star rating. It would be nice to get back into that habit.

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reviewed How to Lie with Maps by Mark Monmonier

Mark Monmonier, Mark S. Monmonier: How to Lie with Maps (Paperback, 1996, University of Chicago Press)

"Originally published to wide acclaim, this lively, cleverly illustrated essay on the use and abuse …

Review of 'How to Lie with Maps' on 'Goodreads'

Jessica left this around. It's a quick read about how maps necessarily bias the information they portray and how the design choices of mapmakers can clarify, confuse, or conceal -- intentionally or not. Pretty basic stuff, and fairly dry.

reviewed Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

Samuel R. Delany: Babel-17 (2001, Vintage Books)

During an interstellar war one side develops a language, Babel-17, that can be used as …

Review of 'Babel-17' on 'Goodreads'

This turned out to be a double-book with Empire Star printed upside down. I happened to pick it up that way up when starting, so I read that first. I found the novella annoyingly pat, which was part of the point, I guess. The mechanism was clever, though.

Babel-17 was better. An interesting premise about language shaping thought, and some neat ideas in the world. It had that 60s SF flavor, but I enjoyed it.

reviewed The Crow Road by Iain M. Banks

Iain M. Banks: The Crow Road (Paperback, 1996, Abacus)

From its bravura opening onwards, THE CROW ROAD is justly regarded as an outstanding contemporary …

Review of 'The Crow Road' on 'Goodreads'

I'm normally skeptical about non-M Banks books, but Ted says this one is good.

It was better than the other non-M books I've read. I didn't really get into it until after it became a mystery. I can see the appeal of the characterization, but it's not really my thing.

reviewed Engine City (Engines Of Light, #3) by Ken MacLeod

Ken MacLeod: Engine City (Engines Of Light, #3)

Engine City is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Ken MacLeod, published in 2002. …

Review of 'Engine City (Engines Of Light, #3)' on 'Goodreads'

MacLeod seems to be skipping a lot to bring this to a close in the third book. Major parts of the action take place offstage, and the sense of caricature is even stronger than in Dark Light. The conclusion seemed to lack finesse. Satisfying in that the plot wraps up, but not otherwise.

reviewed Dark light by Ken MacLeod

Ken MacLeod: Dark light (2003, Tom Doherty Associates Book/Tor, Tor Books)

Review of 'Dark light' on 'Goodreads'

In Cosmonaut Keep, MacLeod gave us some pretty good characters in an interesting setting. In the second book, they've mostly devolved into ideas, their personalities lost behind their driving ideals. Less satisfying.

reviewed The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian

Patrick O'Brian: The Mauritius Command (1991)

The Mauritius Command is the fourth naval historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick …

Review of 'The Mauritius Command' on 'Goodreads'

I think this is my favorite of the Aubrey/Maturin books so far. Lots of action and plenty of strong personalities, but the main characters managed to not behave like idiots at any point along the way.