one of those sci-fi novels that read like literary fiction… a genius, intricate jigsaw of a story, riveting character stories through time… reminded mone of those sci-fi novels that read like literary fiction… a genius, intricate jigsaw of a story, riveting character stories through time… reminded me a lot of one of my favourite books: Recursion by Blake Crouch that mr liu (physics teacher) recommended me.. just felt that there could have been more pronounced reflections of the different historical times in the writing
love this quote:
“My point is, there’s always something. I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we’re living at the climax of the story. It’s a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we’re uniquely important, that we’re living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarms, now is finally the worst that it’s ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world.”...more
the only thing i felt while reading red rising was frustration. and no, it was not the bone-deep ire of the oppressive system on mars our protagonist the only thing i felt while reading red rising was frustration. and no, it was not the bone-deep ire of the oppressive system on mars our protagonist is rising up against, nor was it towards the countless roadblocks and stayed friends.
it was annoyance, because in a book supposedly this "rousing", and one that proclaims its place in the big leagues of the hunger games and all, why did i not feel a single thing for the story?
entirely subjective stream of consciousness up ahead.
anyway, this dystopian novel is essentially a Hunger-Games-eqsue situation on Mars. 10 points for stunning originality, coupled with the fact that we have society divided into factions colours, which determine social class and power.
the main problem i had with red rising was that it tried to be grand, but ended up pretentious and pitiful at best. it tries to sweep you off your feet with a riveting message of inequality and galvanise you into taking actions into your own hands and staging a revolution. but in reality, it's a tale of one guy who despite working in the mines for his whole life, has the intelligence and fighting skills to outsmart and outfight people who have been training their entire lives for this. (special snowflake anyone?) how is this guy supposed to represent the common people? my guess is as good as yours.
Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."
yeah book take your own advice please.
this ambitious goal that fell flat made red rising severely compromise on the emotional aspect of it, which is ironic given that emotions are the core of a rebellion and in common-man politics. as mentioned, i didn't feel a single thing except for mind-numbing boredom, not at all invested in the plot, not at all concerned for the characters. i read about all the characters slayed with a blank face and an empty heart. so yeah kudos for putting me in a reading slump for over a month, book-that-somehow-won-the-GR-choice-award-2014.
also, don't even get me started on the characterisation (or shall i say the lack thereof) of women in this book.
the only thing i enjoyed about the book: pg 382 because it was the last page which mean thank god i'm done the creepy sci-fi weird science transformation !!!! that was the only part that was "exceedingly entertaining" (thanks examiner.com, very astute)
this was entertaining and melodramatic at best, and at worst? an angsty, not-like-other girls, love x toxicity novel.
1.5 stars because of the joy it bthis was entertaining and melodramatic at best, and at worst? an angsty, not-like-other girls, love x toxicity novel.
1.5 stars because of the joy it brought me from laughing at the weird metaphors. and also because kenji, the only non pscyho possessive character.
"Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat."
i don't know whether to laugh, cry or cringe. and the writing only gets better.
here's another one
"The sky is raining bricks into my skull."
lol wth.
also the author has a thing for describing eyes?? she found 769 ways to illuminate how eyes are a wiNdoW tO oUr sOuL, i'm in awe of the genius. i swear the writing was visual imagery at its best....more
it honestly pains me for the grace of kings to be my 2nd dnf of this year. it's definitely "not you, but me" situation. i was so excited to read this it honestly pains me for the grace of kings to be my 2nd dnf of this year. it's definitely "not you, but me" situation. i was so excited to read this sff, especially after finding out that ken liu came up with the novel concept of silkpunk that "draws inspiration from classical East Asian antiquity", a concept that both fascinated and resonated with me.
it started out with such compelling world building and intriguing character backgrounds with potential forming a well-rounded arc... but after 100 pages the prose was disengaging, i couldn't carry on. it's one month, and i can't get past page 93. hopefully one day with the patience i will get through this anticipated read! until then, to the grace of kings, welcome to my exclusive (and lonely) did-not-finish shelf. :(...more
"It never occurred to me that our lives, until then so closely interwoven, could unravel and separate over a thing like that. But the fact was, I s
"It never occurred to me that our lives, until then so closely interwoven, could unravel and separate over a thing like that. But the fact was, I suppose, there were powerful tides tugging us apart by then, and it only needed something like that to finish the task. If we'd understood that back then—who knows?—maybe we'd have kept a tighter hold of one another."
Never Let Me Go was such a breathtaking, heartbreaking, and pervasively haunting narrative. A simple story on the surface but fascinating in the themes it explores. It can be seen as a commentary on social alienation and betrayal, an ethical take on (view spoiler)[how far science can go (hide spoiler)] or a story of one's discernment of the past and shaping of the future, or even, a devastating truth of what it truly means to live. I'm thoroughly moved, and abhorred.
Definitely not having an existential crisis right now.
“At the end, an adult and a child stand in front of the grave of a Red Guard who had died during the faction civil wars.
The child asks the adult,
“At the end, an adult and a child stand in front of the grave of a Red Guard who had died during the faction civil wars.
The child asks the adult, ‘Are they heroes?’ The adult says no.
The child asks, ‘Are they enemies?’ The adult again says no.
The child asks, ‘Then who are they?’ The adult says, ‘History.”
I picked up The Three Body Problem specially for a Literature Seminar I was going to attend, examining Chinese contemporary Science fiction, and wow I'm glad I did. Admittedly, this novel took me a while to finish, with its aura of obfuscation as well as heavy mechanical jargon, but now I'm just sitting in sheet awe of the genius behind its conception, and find myself having actual interest in physics?
"But on a night like this, of a restless mind and dreams of ghosts, time feels secondary to the true prime mover — memory. Perhaps memory is fundam
"But on a night like this, of a restless mind and dreams of ghosts, time feels secondary to the true prime mover — memory. Perhaps memory is fundamental, the thing from which time emerges."
For a science fiction novel that deals with a lot of sciency stuff that was mind-boggling and bending, at its core, it felt like a empathetic exploration of our lives, memories and emotions. This fascinating novel tries to define humanity, and it's poignant and evocative nuances leaves room for so much thought. Thoroughly in awe of what a journey Recursion was, definitely one that will be cementing my love for science and speculative fiction!
I’m staring at these 731 pages, and staring at the 1313 words of screaming that I unleashed last night, and staring at the hollow remains of my own reI’m staring at these 731 pages, and staring at the 1313 words of screaming that I unleashed last night, and staring at the hollow remains of my own reflection. In horror, in awe. That this journey is over. Let me clarify: I finished Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee, the finale of the Green Bone Saga, last night, and I am grieving.
Nostalgia brings me back to May 2021, more than three years ago where I first cracked open *Jade City*, and fumbled into the Twice Lucky Restaurant. After which, I fell hopelessly headfirst into this urban fantasy crime syndicate gangster drama, which told the story of two clans, and their generational power conflict, in a gritty world of jade, martial arts, and gore. Those were the early days, where I was amused by Kaul Hilo, endeared by Kaul Lan, and felt for Kaul Shae.
Two months passed and I was drawn back into the world in *Jade War*, where the No Peak and Mountain clans continued their age-old blood feud, but this time escalated onto the global scale. Rife with politics, yet still retaining the same intensity of the street action as its precessor, Jade War raised the stakes even more, and made my heart skyrocket a record number of times, watching this powerful family through their peaks and troughs.
All of this coalesces into *Jade Legacy*, an ambitious finale to this already bold and brazen series, a series that subverts so much of its genre, yet deliveres an austere, robust and dynamic storyline, with its focus clear: Strip the series of all the jade, all the world-class fighting and action, all the scheming and strategies and cutthroat violence, all the political turbulence, all the complex social machinations, all the hierachies and economic systems that it runs by. Strip the Green Bone Saga, and you have a story about the resilience of a family through the turbulence of the world, a story about power and about survival. Jade Legacy exemplies this, nuturing the trilogy and giving it its much needed flight, into a story of honour, jade, life and of course, the legacy we carry with us, and through the people we love. It’s powerful, it’s enduring, it’s so heart-wrenching, but it’s a story that I will be haunted by for decades to come. A fiercely affecting piece of art I will be branded by for life.
(15/7/2021) this book spans over 20 years???? 20 years?????
i'm already getting emotional.
i don't trust fonda lee at all. she better not kill the whole cast and leave (view spoiler)[bero (hide spoiler)] only, or i will be out of my mind.
now that i've finished, time to let out a breath i didn't know i was holding and let all this sink in.
because oh my god this book has rendered me immnow that i've finished, time to let out a breath i didn't know i was holding and let all this sink in.
because oh my god this book has rendered me immobile and unable to move on with life. it's freaking brilliant.
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Damn V.E. Schwab. I thought Vicious was already maxed out intensity so woah I was not prepared for vengeful in the slightest.
It introduces a new bunch of deadly, enigmatic characters alongside Victor and Eli, all of them playing their own vicious games of revenge and power. The way the timelines of past and present, as well as the storyline of each of the characters were twisted together intricately was so brilliant.
Vengeful keeps up with the morally grey element, the found family, as well as continuing to grab my heart and mind and not let go. Definitely a thrilling sequel!
my newest obsession!! and also WHAT was that ending? *sobs*
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
“The problem with oceans? They always seem smaller from the shore.”
TOWM my newest obsession!! and also WHAT was that ending? *sobs*
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
“The problem with oceans? They always seem smaller from the shore.”
TOWMTF was one of my most anticipated releases for the year and it was absolutely brilliant okay. it’s a melancholic yet moving tale of two sisters who are polar opposites but having an undeniable bond, and yet at its core, intrinsically thematic.
amidst the dual narrative with a raging plot (ugh my heart still pitter patters from that twistTM), joan he brings out themes of climate change, technology and thought-provokingly examines the very prospect of humanity in such a grandiose, not in the slightest pretentious manner. it was done so beautifully. i cannot recommend this book enough.
thank you to tbr and beyond tours, netgalley and the publisher (roaring brook) for an advanced reader copy of the ones we're meant to find in exchange for a sincere review.
It's been 6 whole months since I read Vicious and my mind is still like: holy shit what just happened?
“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty
It's been 6 whole months since I read Vicious and my mind is still like: holy shit what just happened?
“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”
Most memorable thing?
Trying not to bite my nails (don't laugh it's a real struggle y'all) and trying to figure why oh why is V.E. Schwab making me root for such a cruel and sardonic character? Has my heart darkened?
“I want to believe that there's more. That we could be more. Hell, we could be heroes.”
- dark, intense morally grey waters - excellent characterisation and our gang oh my gosh !! - ve schwab's every word enraptures my soul, as usual - mindblowing plot and premise
FULL REVIEW TO COME
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
”If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain?
He took a long sip of his drink, tipped his head back against the couch, and decided he could live with that.”
cherelle (aboltoutofthebook)
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Books:
genre-sci-fi
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