User Profile

Ben Harris-Roxas

ben_hr@outside.ofa.dog

Joined 2 years, 3 months ago

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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Ben Harris-Roxas's books

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2025 Reading Goal

Success! Ben Harris-Roxas has read 12 of 12 books.

Excession (1998, Bantam Books) 4 stars

Two and a half millennia ago, the artifact appeared in a remote corner of space, …

Surprisingly thin

3 stars

Rereading books is an interesting exercise. Books are unchanging. They remind us of their original qualities; what drew us to them. They can never change with us.

Excession is the first Culture novel where Banks gives us much insight into the Minds and the Culture itself. I remember loving this book in the ‘90s, it felt so fresh and original.

Now it seems more like a shaggy dog story. It never gets to the point, if there is a point, and the characters are single-note vehicles for plot alone. I was really disappointed.

Telex from Cuba (Hardcover, 2008, Scribner) 4 stars

Ambitious and skilfully written

4 stars

Like her other books, Kushner is masterful at evoking times and places, and depicting the inner lives of quite unlikeable but complex characters. Telex from Cuba is ambitious, propulsive and masterfully written – though perhaps not enjoyable? The skill of the author elevates it, she’s a force.