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@optional@buecher.pnpde.social Thank you, that's very kind of you to say. When it come to media, I think many of us (especially middle-aged people like myself) have a lot of misplaced nostalgia for certain genres / tropes. It's so easy to assimilate these kind of "scripts" without hardly any mental effort.

Anyway, like you said, the very least you can do if you still enjoy this kind of problematic stuff, is at least be aware of what's happening, and not just swallow the ideology uncritically.

OK so after looking it up it's not as embarrassing as it sounds, but I really thought the MC swore off romance because of Ronald Regan, which-- while I'm 120% sure my politics are in stark contrast to Clancy's--I found that line more hamfisted than his usual tacit endorsement of American imperialism.

Anyway, this book is silly.

Sigh... I'm not proud. Literally found this in a wet box at the side of the road and fondly remembered reading a Rainbow Six a couple lifetimes ago. If nothing else, I don't much care if I drop it in the bath while reading. :p

Not my usual thing, and normative af, but the pacing and imagery were good, characters distinct and punchy, never felt lost, and I cared about the plot all the way to the end, so it did something right.

I want to say I didn't like it, because of what that would say about me, but I actually did enjoy it, despite myself. :)

@ks@bookwyrm.social Well said. I wasn't sure how they would all come together until the end.

Lovely book that reads like cashew butter. Pretty diverse vignette of characters, but with a definitely through-line. As usual, the inner jacket gives pretty major spoilers, but the details of the story are so emotionally charged, it doesn't really matter if you already know every single plot point and twist--it's just a plain old captivating tale.

My first time reading anything of Doerr's, and I don't know why but I was somewhat resistant to emotionally investing in this book for about the first half, but the characters and their hopeless trials, and their tiny triumphs, eventually won me over.

I love the main thesis of the book. It's kind and pragmatic, while still being foolishly hopeful in a thematically endearing way.

@otterlove@bookwyrm.social Enjoy! It's a unique little experience.