Researcher and educator from Sydney, Australia. You’ll usually find me on 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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With nods to Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series and the real science of Neal Stephenson's …
Incredibly disappointing. A pan-solar shaggy dog story with thin characterisation and not much going on.
With nods to Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series and the real science of Neal Stephenson's …
Profoundly disappointing and directionless. The characterisation is thin, the plot moves but seemingly erratically, and overall it’s bereft of ideas. This is the first in a series—I won’t be continuing.
In 1945 the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, …
A collection of fanciful, philosophical science fictions by “one of Mexico’s finest novelists” (Vulture).
…
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 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 …
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.
MacLeod's final book in the Lightspeed trilogy is nothing short of celestial . . .
…Full of ideas but many felt unnecessary and rushed compared to the first two books in the series.
A new novel about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an anarchist collective …
Kushner is a hell of a writer. She's created one of the least likeable narrative POV characters ever, yet I feel compelled to read on. The attention to detail and her clear attention to structure and pacing are great.
Kushner is a hell of a writer. She's created one of the least likeable narrative POV characters ever, yet I feel compelled to read on. The attention to detail and her clear attention to structure and pacing are great.
Blergh. I decided I don't need this in my life.
Blergh. I decided I don't need this in my life.
I'm about 10% into this and I'm already wondering why I do this to myself. Climate fiction is always such a downer, appropriately.
I'm about 10% into this and I'm already wondering why I do this to myself. Climate fiction is always such a downer, appropriately.
Y: THE LAST MAN, winner of three Eisner Awards and one of the most critically …
A classic for a reason
Y: THE LAST MAN, winner of three Eisner Awards and one of the most critically …
I should have read this a long time ago. Probably one of the most sublime and groundbreaking comics I've read.
I should have read this a long time ago. Probably one of the most sublime and groundbreaking comics I've read.
1916: the Western Front. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring …
Meh
Not as engaging or imaginative as the first, it mostly served to tie up plot points and intrigue. I've begun the third book but in many ways it seems unneeded? Perhaps McLeod will explore new ideas in it.
Not as engaging or imaginative as the first, it mostly served to tie up plot points and intrigue. I've begun the third book but in many ways it seems unneeded? Perhaps McLeod will explore new ideas in it.
Mega-City One, 2143 AD. Home to over 160 million citizens, this urban hell is situated …
He's not the cautionary tale we deserve, but he's the one we need.
He's not the cautionary tale we deserve, but he's the one we need.
Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work …
That was a lot. I'll need time to process it.
That was a lot. I'll need time to process it.