It was interesting enough that I kept reading but just didn't quite grab me. Perhaps it is not quite my genre; a little too much romance and family drama for my tastes. Plus. lots of interesting philosophical questions bouncing around but not a lot of answers and at the expense of the plot and character development.
Tag - Speculative fiction
I found it interesting but sort of meandering; a giant thought experiment with some intriguing characters and a good hook but that never quite gets beyond a desultory pace or energy. Despite the "bombshell" at the end, not sure I have the energy to tackle the second book.
An entertaining and well done novella. Scalzi/Quinto drop you into the story and keep you interested from the start. It has an interesting hook and some well done twists. For such a short story, the characters were developed and seemed quite believable in their actions and motivations. Part urban fantasy, part police procedural, part mystery.
Daminificados by JJ Amaworo Wilson is a novel based on “The Tower of David” in the center of Caracas, Venezuela. The half-completed tower was occupied by thousands of homeless people during the 2007 housing crisis in that city. Wilson uses the occupation as inspiration to write about a group of damnificados (vagabonds and misfits) who take over the tower and fight to keep their hold on the tower. Wilson masterfully tells of the struggle between the poor and the powerful (Torres...
I am somewhat torn as to my reaction. I really enjoyed it for about 75% but then it felt like it was dragging a bit. But no sooner had I begun to feel that, it cranked up the tension and I stayed up late to finish it. I guess I am more on the positive (some nearly gushing) reviews spectrum than I am on the negative. But, perhaps because I am not all that knowledgeable about science fiction or speculative fiction, I can't quite see the profound and literary masterpiece some have found.
Mythic, experimental, fabulist, biblical, there is a lot going on here. And of much of the novel I could appreciate it. But by the end I just wanted to find my way out and find some closure.
I found it to be a lyrical and imaginative story. Granted it requires the "suspension of disbelief" but if you can just let the story flow the mix of fantasy and folklore is beautiful.
While I am not in any way offended by his unorthodox views on these issues and/or his attempts to explore them in fiction. I found the overall effect rather flat. It seems a little too much like a CS Lewis Pilgrims Progress mashup.
In typical Gaiman fashion, this story draws you by both making you feel a part of the story but also leaving mystery and the unknown to play their roles. Gaiman never comes across as trying too hard to make everything fit together perfectly in a technical world building exercise. Instead he draws you in through his characters and the way they see the world; the way the world feels, and looks and works to them. He is not trying to explain the world but show you the world through another set of...
