Miscellaneous Chatter > Literature

Yearly Reading Targets 2021

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The P:
Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio (21)

This series continues to be good.  The Dune influence, which were pretty pronounced early in book one, are very much in the background here.  The series is doing more to stand on its own in the second book (not that I consider the first derivative), though I suspect further influences from Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, Russell's The Sparrow, and Reynolds's Revelation Space.  But it is very much its own story, however many inspirations it pulls from.  From the very start of this second book, the plot goes in unanticipated directions and keeps going to interesting places throughout, with a completely wild ending.

If I have a complaint, it's that the narrator often brings up some deep thought, introspection, or philosophy; but those ideas or themes are taken in the moment and not developed or elaborated much beyond their introduction.  Leaving that out keeps the story moving at a good clip, but keeps it on the near side of being a thinky, meaty read worth revisiting.  Nonetheless, I'm enjoying it and look forward to the next.

Wilshire:
I finally finished Pandora's star. I'm going to count it for 2021 because I only had like 20 minutes left on the audiobook.

It was tough to finish. Not because it was bad, but I just lost interest in the story. I admit at least partial fault since it took so long. But I do still blame Hamilton. Its just too long, too many individual characters and plots spread over too many ideas.  Its a good Space Opera, but so long that you will really need to be in the mood for it.

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