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koosli@outside.ofa.dog

Joined 1 year, 8 months ago

aka @koosli@aus.social. I'm almost exclusively reading horror fiction, truly the greatest of genres.

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reviewed The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

The Three-Body Problem (Hardcover, 2014, Tor Books) 4 stars

Within the context of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a military project sends messages to alien …

Needs rehydration

4 stars

I really enjoyed the first half or so for the interesting backdrop of the Cultural Revolution as told by a Chinese author and the lively dialogue and general good humour. Later on, however, so much of it is recounted rather than played out through the characters which was disappointing and felt like lazy storytelling. I wasn't super interested in the long departures into physics, but that's down to taste more than anything. I'd still recommend this, though.

Monstrilio (2023, Zando) 5 stars

So lung and thanks for all the flesh

5 stars

Oh dang, there I go giving another book five stars. But this was so good! Even when part way through I realised this could pass as magical realism, and I don't like magical realism!

Monstrilio weirdly reminds me most of a Paul Auster family drama, despite all the blood, guts, fur and fangs. Every character is so well realised yet I didn't notice when this happened. The structure, where each act is told through a different character, kept the story fresh and continually building. I was expecting a different ending, I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers. I just really loved this. I've run out of books again.

The Grip of It: A Novel (2017, FSG Originals) 4 stars

House is always haunt

5 stars

This is a very incremental psychological horror about our propensity to absorb and assimilate the not-quite-right in ways that aren't good for us. It's quite brilliantly done as sort of a haunted house story, but also a story about two people and their relationship. I really loved it.

The Reformatory (2023, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers) 4 stars

Gracetown, Florida - June 1950

Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at …

Inside, it's too tense to read

4 stars

My main worry when I started this book was that it wouldn't do much but cover the well-trodden ground of US race politics. That worry was founded, but at the same time this is such a we'll-executed book it doesn't really matter. It was evident early on what was going to happen, save a few minor plot twists. So it was a bit predictable, but also meant that the book was very tense all the way through - I was terrified of reading the climax. At the time I was going through a difficult period in real life so I avoided reading more than a little bit at a time. The scares in this book aren't supernatural. They're real and they're pretty sadistic too. I know I'm not selling this book but it was good - the characters, even, especially the minor ones, were well-written and the world fully realised.

Horrorstör (Paperback, 2015, Knaur HC) 4 stars

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees …

Splatta packmöbler

4 stars

I was completely taken by the Ikea catalogue parody design of Horrorstör and that counted for a lot. I enjoyed this a lot although once the shit hit the fan it seemed a bit rushed. Grady Hendrix can be very scary but in this case didn't quite make it. The ending however did not cop out. I recommend this if you're looking for something light and fun in between horror reads.

Interview With the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles) (Paperback, 2004, Ballantine Books) 4 stars

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey …

Haemostly whined about being a vampire

4 stars

So I did enjoy this - it made me happy. Even though it was overly long, kind of boring and whiny. Oh Louis, get over yourself. Like re-reading Pride and Prejudice, or Dracula, in that it's the kind of book that makes me want to tell the characters off. But not as well-written as either. Anne Rice farts around too much, and obviously had her own tortured relationship with good, evil, sin, etc to process via this book. Anyway. It was better than I expected.