Ennui Enthusiast finished reading Johannes Cabal, the detective by Jonathan L. Howard
Interesting detective story that has very little to do with necromancy with lots of mystery tropes
Reviews and Comments
I generally love reading introspective SF novels, psychological crime thrillers, investigative journalism, true crime, and some postmodern fiction. I fortunately/unfortunately live near a bunch of nice used book stores, so I'm always running out of shelf space.
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Ennui Enthusiast finished reading The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
"A Del Rey book."
It was bad enough when Lije Baley, a simple plainclothes cop, …
Hmmmystery
How you write a detective book that doesn't care about the mystery
3 stars
A slide of life story that is strangely mundane and disguises itself as a detective novel. I did end up appreciating the quietly witty dialogue and character ensemble despite the low stakes.
Ennui Enthusiast finished reading Sword & Citadel by Gene Wolfe
Shadow and Claw is an omnibus of the second two books of Gene Wolfe's Book …
wild
Ennui Enthusiast finished reading Shadow & claw by Gene Wolfe
Shadow and Claw is an omnibus of the first two books of Gene Wolfe's Book …
Wildest science fantasy I've read. Can't wait for the next volume.
Ennui Enthusiast reviewed Video Game of the Year by Jordan Minor
A quick look at video games' milestones
3 stars
I feel conflicted by this book because I feel like I'm simultaneously in and out of the demographic for this book. I tend to look up a lot of comprehensive history about games of the different generations, so there's a lot in this book I already knew. I was happy to hit a year with a game I was unfamiliar with, but the sections are so brief that I always felt myself wanting deeper dives in those particular games.
I did appreciate the variety of style and tone of all the contributing writers. You had some personal stories about moment of time with a particular game, abstract tone pieces that illustrated a slice of a game, and some critical think pieces you'd expect from game magazines at their best.
Overall I enjoyed it even if I didn't get the most out of it. I highly recommend this to those that …
I feel conflicted by this book because I feel like I'm simultaneously in and out of the demographic for this book. I tend to look up a lot of comprehensive history about games of the different generations, so there's a lot in this book I already knew. I was happy to hit a year with a game I was unfamiliar with, but the sections are so brief that I always felt myself wanting deeper dives in those particular games.
I did appreciate the variety of style and tone of all the contributing writers. You had some personal stories about moment of time with a particular game, abstract tone pieces that illustrated a slice of a game, and some critical think pieces you'd expect from game magazines at their best.
Overall I enjoyed it even if I didn't get the most out of it. I highly recommend this to those that are interested in video game history, but isn't looking for anything especially comprehensive.
Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from …
Fun science fiction mystery, underwhelming character chemistry
4 stars
I loved the Yucatan setting and the core mystery of this novel. The main concept is adapted from an old SF book featuring the same Doctor, but I appreciate how it was transplanted into this setting with the political undercurrent of the late 1800's. Most of the supporting cast are quite spunky and really stood out. Unfortunately I do feel like the two main characters don't have much of a relationship; they also tend to be a little one-note and frustrating.
The audiobook narration was also quite high quality particularly in the use of Mexican, French, and English accents. The narrator (Gisela Chípe) really brought the characters to life with craft and energy.