Reviews and Comments

Catship

catship@books.theunseen.city

Joined 2 years, 5 months ago

We're a plural system who loves queer & anarchist scifi.

But recently we just read a few randomly picked up mystery books in a row, in German, and we tend to review books in the language we read them in. That or similar may happen again, be warned.

No reading goals, just feelings.

This link opens in a pop-up window

Lauren James: The Next Together (Paperback, 2015, Walker Books, Walker Books Ltd) No rating

Not to my taste

No rating

This is definitely my least favourite Lauren James book. It's from 2015, and it feels extremely 2015. It feels like quirky straight couples who probably have a webcomic together, and this specific kind of constant hyperbole that gets very tiring, and Steven Moffat.

I do like the basic concept, and I am somewhat tempted to read "The Last Beginning". But I don't like much of the content this concept is filled with.

And a lot of things just didn't make as much sense as I'd like them to. Like, they're not completely unbelievable, but it's just a big collection of "uh, ok, I guess that could work out". And sometimes it's just small details that would need mentioning, like that the laptop is encrypted and that's why the 2039 ones need their Superhacker to crack the password instead of just booting with a different OS like the 2019 ones do …

reviewed Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #6)

Terry Pratchett: Wyrd Sisters (1988, Corgi) 4 stars

Sub-series: Witches #2

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Maigrat have fairy godmother-dom thrust upon them.

Eh

No rating

I didn't like this one as much. I found it hard to follow the plot and I disliked how a lot of characters were .. characterised. I also suspect that a lot of references went right over my head, since I haven't really read any Shakespeare, and I've ignored all summaries of Shakespeare that ever showed up in my life.

started reading Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, #6)

Terry Pratchett: Wyrd Sisters (1988, Corgi) 4 stars

Sub-series: Witches #2

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Maigrat have fairy godmother-dom thrust upon them.

I'm reading this in German and neither the translation nor the audiobook narration are terrible – that's already a great start! Also the story already made me laugh out loud once. (It was the bit about which gifts a witch could give a child.)

Malinda Lo: Last Night at the Telegraph Club (2021, Penguin Young Readers Group) 5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was …

This is pretty cool

No rating

It is a story where bad things happen to the queers, but it's not a tragic story. Things go on, people can leave, and find each other again.

I'm often easily bored by historical fiction (idk why!) but this worked very well for me.

Grady Hendrix: How to Sell a Haunted House (2022, Penguin Publishing Group) 4 stars

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want …

Hm

No rating

Ok it's been some time now since I finished this. Uhm.... I thought the beginning was pretty slow, then halfway through it got scary in a way that I liked, and then later... it was just the characters getting hurt more and more and I disengaged emotionally.

Cute

No rating

I noticed so many Harry Potter parallels that i started to doubt my perception, because the world and setup of this book is quite different and everything. But I mostly thought they were fine because they are so messy that they seem a bit satirical.

Sadly there were a few things that really didn't sound convincing to me, from minor logistical details to big character motivations.

Also, why does the Greenwild do nation states?

But it's sweet, I like the world and the atmosphere.

Marc Elsberg: Blackout (German language, 2013, Blanvalet) No rating

Blackout: Tomorrow Will Be Too Late is a disaster thriller book by the Austrian author …

Interessant, aber nicht besonders sympathisch

No rating

Jetzt hab ich es also endlich fertig gelesen. Was ich mag ist wie detailreich die technischen und bürokratischen Zusammenhänge geschildert werden, meistens ohne fad zu werden. Besonders den Cybre-Kram fand ich sehr anschaulich. Und dass es manchmal fast ein bisschen lehrbuchhaft und "natüürlich passiert jetzt das auch noch" wirkt hat mich auch gar nicht gestört, das macht es noch ein bisschen spaßiger für mich. Es gibt viele Sachen die ich nicht dran mag, nicht zuletzt auch wie das Hörbuch gelesen wird mit diesen unnötigen Akzenten. Herausheben weil ich nur eins: Die Bösen sind ein Bündnis aus Anarchist_innen und Faschos 🙃

Very cute

No rating

I like this one :) a story about a bunch of girls negotiating being kids vs teenagers and I really like how it turns out to be a fluid thing that's more fun when the stereotypes get dropped. And the definition of "bisexual" does not limit itself to the gender binary, so extra points.