Health services researcher and educator. You can usually find me in the forgotten parts of the web.
My ratings ★ Not recommended ★★ Not for me, but may be okay for you? ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good, recommended ★★★★★ Exceptional, couldn't put it down
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16% complete! Ben Harris-Roxas has read 2 of 12 books.
In 1945 the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, …
In 1945 the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, …
With nods to Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series and the real science of Neal Stephenson's Seveneves, a touch of Hugh …
A collection of fanciful, philosophical science fictions by “one of Mexico’s finest novelists” (Vulture).
The …
Disappointingly uneven, though I appreciated the broader perspective that hadn’t been through the very narrow filter of the limited number of English language short fiction publishers.
A collection of fanciful, philosophical science fictions by “one of Mexico’s finest novelists” (Vulture).
The characters that populate Yuri Herrera’s …
On the island of Sicily amid the Peloponnesian War, the Syracusans have figured out what to do with the surviving …
As part of EFF’s 25th Anniversary celebrations, we are releasing “Pwning Tomorrow: Stories from the Electronic Frontier,” an anthology of …
A collection of fanciful, philosophical science fictions by “one of Mexico’s finest novelists” (Vulture).
The characters that populate Yuri Herrera’s …
A new novel about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an anarchist collective …
Creation Lake is a spy novel, ostensibly, but it's immediately more than that. It's an examination of French politics and class, the "spy cops" scandal, and the demise of Neanderthals.
The book follows Sadie, a corporate spy who's detached to the point of sociopathy. But her wry observations are compelling. She's amoral, brutal and unsentimental, but also smart and amusing. She draws you in though you know she cannot be trusted, even as a narrator.
Rachel Kushner seems unusual in the context of contemporary American literature for her ability to weave global sociopolitical observations into narratives that switch back and further between contemporary issues and historical events.
Kushner's prose is both concise and poetic where it needs to be. She shows real skill in capturing human experiences against historical timescales. What's particularly impressive about this book is Kushner's sharp handling of both time and space. She weaves together the contemporary, …
Creation Lake is a spy novel, ostensibly, but it's immediately more than that. It's an examination of French politics and class, the "spy cops" scandal, and the demise of Neanderthals.
The book follows Sadie, a corporate spy who's detached to the point of sociopathy. But her wry observations are compelling. She's amoral, brutal and unsentimental, but also smart and amusing. She draws you in though you know she cannot be trusted, even as a narrator.
Rachel Kushner seems unusual in the context of contemporary American literature for her ability to weave global sociopolitical observations into narratives that switch back and further between contemporary issues and historical events.
Kushner's prose is both concise and poetic where it needs to be. She shows real skill in capturing human experiences against historical timescales. What's particularly impressive about this book is Kushner's sharp handling of both time and space. She weaves together the contemporary, the postwar and even the Neolithic in Creation Lake while addressing themes about capitalism, sexism and emic/etic perspectives.
Without getting too wanky about it, this is a deeply intertextual work that won't bore the piss out of you. It rewards reading without punishing you for the act.
The best book I've read in years. Kushner's got game. I haven't read any of her other work, but I'll definitely do so immediately.
