Reviews and Comments

Deborah Pickett

futzle@outside.ofa.dog

Joined 1 year ago

Technical nonfiction and spec fiction. She/her. Melbourne, Australia. Generation X. Admin of Outside of a Dog. BDFL of Hometown (Mastodon) instance Old Mermaid Town (@futzle@old.mermaid.town). Avatar image is of a book that my dog tried to put on their inside.

My rating scale: ★ = I didn't care for it and probably didn't finish it; ★★ = It didn't inspire but I might have finished it anyway; ★★★ = It was fine; ★★★★ = I enjoyed it; ★★★★★ = I couldn't put it down.

Follow on Fediverse

This link opens in a pop-up window

Deborah Pickett reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells

All Systems Red (EBook, 2017, Tordotcom)

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, …

I like where sf is going

4 stars

Content warning Plot spoilers

One of the things I like about recent sf is that it doesn’t feel the need to adhere to the old tropes. The protagonist’s secret comes out, and unlike in old sf where there would have been hand-wringing and ostracism, the allies accept the new information, accept the protagonist, and the story moves on. Old sf would definitely have killed off one of the protagonist’s group for shock value, but that isn’t a given nowadays. Old sf likes to explore the axis of the powerful against the underdog, but now the force driving the story is bureaucracy, opportunism, and selfishness. I like this first Murderbot story because it (the story, but also Murderbot) is relatable.

Deborah Pickett finished reading All Systems Red by Martha Wells

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, …

Yeah, that was enjoyable, I’ll be back.

Deborah Pickett commented on All Systems Red by Martha Wells

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, …

Having an epiphany: I suspect this book deeply resonates with a lot of people I follow on the Fediverse, because I can see a lot of you in Murderbot in how you react to social situations.

Deborah Pickett started reading All Systems Red by Martha Wells

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, …

Taking a break from the pile of blokey sf dead-tree book pile to try out this acclaimed series.

Deborah Pickett stopped reading Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton

Pandora's Star (2005, Del Rey/Ballantine Books)

Critics have compared the engrossing space operas of Peter F. Hamilton to the classic sagas …

Nope, it is not grabbing me. Stopping at page 120 of 1138 (!). It feels like older, straight-man-written sf of the 1970s, not from its actual 2002. I’d probably have devoured this as a youngster but now my expectations are higher.

Deborah Pickett started reading Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Daina Taimina

Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes (2018, Taylor & Francis Group)

No rating

This richly illustrated book discusses non-Euclidean geometry and the hyperbolic plane in an accessible way. …

A well-targeted birthday present. Not a pattern book, but contains history, geometry, and strategies for making your own crochet that just won't lie flat.

Deborah Pickett rated JPod: 3 stars

JPod by Douglas Coupland

Deborah Pickett finished reading JPod by Douglas Coupland

A most peculiar story, if you can call it that. It’s more a series of vignettes about some quite dysfunctional people. Coupland lets slip ever so quietly that he knows a great deal about technology. I suspect more than I do.

Deborah Pickett started reading JPod by Douglas Coupland

I know Doug Coupland from his earlier nonfiction work such as Souvenir of Canada. Guess I’m about to find out what his fiction is like.

Deborah Pickett reviewed Thank You, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

It’s classic Jeeves but marred by racism of the time

2 stars

Content warning Plot elements

I’ll come right out and say it: blackface is a central part of this story. This novel is from 1934 when white people didn’t blink at blacking up and performing music as “n****r minstrels”. There’s simply no way to edit this story to exclude this fact without greatly changing the story.

I’ve only read Jeeves short stories to now; this is the first novel (and Wodehouse’s first Jeeves novel too). It hangs together, the plot is clever and of course Jeeves saves the day. Satisfying, but hold your nose.

Deborah Pickett commented on Thank You, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

Oh my, this appears to be an edition with the n-word in it intact; wasn’t expecting that at all.

Deborah Pickett stopped reading Debatable Space by Philip Palmer

No rating

It’s not grabbing me. The Lena character is insufferable and shallow and irritating. The diary excerpts are especially cringeworthy.

I don’t know if it’s Palmer trying to write women or something else, because there’s only one other woman in the book and she is a very minor character.

Putting it down.

Deborah Pickett started reading Debatable Space by Philip Palmer

No rating

Only got five pages in before bad light stopped play. Reading by candlelight is not recommended.

Deborah Pickett reviewed Next of Kin by Eric Frank Russell

So much nope

1 star

Some sf from the 1950s holds up today. This ... does not. It's from a time when women were inconsequential and invisible, that being gay was a character flaw, that rugged male individuals were the solution to any bureaucracy. I did not finish this book and I will make a note to never touch or recommend anything by this author again.

Deborah Pickett stopped reading Next of Kin by Eric Frank Russell

Content warning Homophobia in a 1959 book

Ok I'm done with Next of Kin. I got about halfway through, managed to grit my teeth that every single character in it (even the aliens) is male, but once the protagonist started using his gaydar on other characters, I knew I couldn't finish it. Disposing of this book in the recycling.