Currently an International Studies/Software Development student with a love of speculative fiction. I also read a decent amount of nonfiction focusing on politics and philosophy. I read in French, Spanish, and (mostly) English with the potential for a foray into Esperanto.
Catch any full reviews or other random posts at my blog below: specual.me
My mastodon account: Humbly7362@todon.eu
This link opens in a pop-up window
Persuasion tells the love story of Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth, whose sister rents Miss Elliot's father's house, after …
Northanger Abbey is both a perfectly aimed literary parody and a withering satire of the commercial aspects of marriage among …
Scythe is a 2016 young-adult novel by Neal Shusterman and is the first in the …
DNF at 27%
Though the concept initially sounded cool, its full implementation makes no sense and I haven’t found myself able to care about any of the characters or the budding romance.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, though written in 1884, is still considered useful in thinking about multiple dimensions. It …
Populism is the key political phenomenon of the 21st century. From Trump to Brexit, from …
Read for uni as a textbook for my populism class. This was a really concise, but detailed look into the major theories of populism and movements associated with it. Would highly reccomend.
This epic work of the imagination has captured the hearts of millions of readers worldwide since it was first published …
When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation. Carefully removing his bandages, …
The Deep is a 2019 fantasy book by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. It depicts …
Stardust is a 1999 fantasy novel by British writer Neil Gaiman, usually published with illustrations by Charles Vess. Stardust has …
La Planète des singes, known in English as Planet of the Apes in the US and Monkey Planet in the …
I went into 'The Arrest' with great hopes at finding a new love. It had the makings of something fascinating, my favourite of settings -an apocalypse. We enter a world where most technology has ceased to function, where a town has been isolated from the world for 5 years only to see the arrival of a bizarre and functioning vehicle... how could it go wrong?
Most unfortunately, this is a book in which neither the main character nor the reader had any idea of what was happening until slapped in the face with the resolution. The plot didn't happen to Journeyman, it didn't happen because of Journeyman; it happened around Journeyman. The most frustrating thing about this is that it had all the makings of something interesting and then did nothing with it. The ending was, for me, entirely foreseeable from about halfway through the book, and was entirely coordinated …
I went into 'The Arrest' with great hopes at finding a new love. It had the makings of something fascinating, my favourite of settings -an apocalypse. We enter a world where most technology has ceased to function, where a town has been isolated from the world for 5 years only to see the arrival of a bizarre and functioning vehicle... how could it go wrong?
Most unfortunately, this is a book in which neither the main character nor the reader had any idea of what was happening until slapped in the face with the resolution. The plot didn't happen to Journeyman, it didn't happen because of Journeyman; it happened around Journeyman. The most frustrating thing about this is that it had all the makings of something interesting and then did nothing with it. The ending was, for me, entirely foreseeable from about halfway through the book, and was entirely coordinated by other members of the town, and despite the labour he put into it he didn't bother to uncover what was actually going on.
Beyond an absolute lack of a plot, the protagonist also lacked a personality, seemingly existing only to bounce between his sister and Peter Todbaum - both of which would have made more interesting main characters. Even the local sex offender he made deliveries to was more compelling than Journeyman himself. Generally, I'm a fan of emotionally detached and neutral characters, but only when this apathy is accompanied by some sort of agency. Unfortunately, Journeyman made no real attempt to become an active member of any story, let alone his own, making behind his self-designated title even more ridiculous.
This book wasn't for me, and I wouldn't recommend it. However, I would like to thank Netgalley and Johnathan Lethem for giving me an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Challenges the ableism of fairy tales and offers new ways to celebrate the magic of all bodies. In fairy tales, …
