tsunni's reviews
303 reviews

This is a long, long, sprawling space opera epic bursting with amazing technological ideas, and incredibly alien cultures and species, all of which is explored thoroughly in this hefty giant tome of a book. I was blown away by the amount of creativity at play here in terms of sheer imaginative power; this is my first Peter F. Hamilton exposure, and as a new kinda-fan I can see why he has the rep he has as a scifi author.

Unfortunately I think my personal taste doesn't align very well with Exodus, as I need characters I can emotionally connect with to keep me going and invested, especially with super lengthy epics such as this one; depth of character and emotional complexity was sacrificed for the sake of science fiction opera grandeur here, as there's simply too many ideas to explore and too big and sweeping a plot to do much else. As much as I was drawn in by the scifi-ness of it all, I struggled with wanting to drop it more than a handful of times, especially in the first half as the story kept introducing new disconnected plotlines and characters. Things take a very long time to start coming together, and even when they do late into the second half of the book, the whole thing ends in a pretty unsatisfying cliffhanger. I was already dreading trying to finish the book by a quarter of the way in, so struggling to get through a sequel of the same length is off the table for now. 

Still, I like Peter F. Hamilton and practically everything he came up with outside of the characters. I just wish he did it differently; maybe in several volumes with proper self contained plot lines and much more character work, or maybe with a few hundred pages less. I did become enough of a fan to check out the game this book ties into, and I'm playing with seeing if he has any shorter self contained novels that I might want to read. As for Exodus, I would totally still recommend it if you're more of a big plot and big scifi ideas type of reader, because it's still brilliant in that way; if you're an emotional-connection-to-character(s) type of reader like I am, this may end up being a struggle for you as well.

What a great conclusion to the trilogy. Fonda Lee is a remarkably consistent writer, and has carried the same tense tone, dramatic worldbuilding, and nuanced character development throughout all three books. She's managed to have the characters grow and change in significant ways across their entire lives and careers through multiple time jumps, without compromising the core of who they were. Hilo, Shae, and Anden especially are given so much room to develop and feel incredibly realistic and complex, and the next generation of Kauls also exhibit characteristics and personalities that feel believably responsive to what they see from the previous generation. No Peak, their continual struggle against the Mountain clan, and how they react to believable change and progress in the worldscape, was always handled with care and thought; the Espenia parody of the US throwing its weight around and exploiting the small Kekon nation and the justifiable anger and delicate handling it provoked was amusing and sad at the same time, but always felt real, as did the old guard's slow acceptance of changes to tradition and standards. The wrap up to the three book arc is satisfying, the plot turns keeping the story engrossing, emotionally fraught, and well paced without being overwhelming or ever boring. I would absolutely recommend the entire series to anyone interested in an asian triad/yazuka/mafia story following a family through an entire generation; I'd also watch the hell out of a tv adaptation if it ever happens.

Also calling the Espenia capitol AC as the analogue for real life DC; lmao

One tiny sour note and something that threw me out of the story briefly: I felt Fonda Lee did an overall decent job with representation in a trilogy and overarching plot that didn't focus on it, with Anden being a gay man and some believable in universe explanation for how the lesbian/gay (get to T in a moment; BQAI+ is never a topic in the story) population is thought of (unlucky and a bad sign for the superstitious, but otherwise accepted), especially given the general time frame and generally more conservative asian cultures the story is based on. There is one blink and you miss it mention of trans people; two trans women show up as unnamed characters interacting with Remi, a side character in Espenia, with all of three sentences devoted to them, and they're never mentioned again. Their appearance is bracketed by a main character being groped, and an uncomfortable and crude sexual proposition after, and Remi himself is shown to be honorless and a negatively traited character in the story. They stood out for being the only trans mention in the triology, and I question why Fonda Lee made these one off throwaway characters trans, given: the negative sexual context in this part of the story, Remi himself as a clear antagonist, and the briefness of their appearance; there was absolutely no reason to make them trans at all, except for a negative association. If I could ever talk to her, I would maybe encourage Fonda Lee to examine what unconscious bias she has to have done this. This overall had no impact on quality of the rest of the story, but stood out for how uncharacteristically un-nuanced and thoughtless the handling was across three books of nuanced character writing.

Book 2 is really consistent to the quality of book 1. The same well developed, nuanced characters can be found here, in a direct continuation of the plot which remains as tense as before. Things feel even darker as the continuing war with the Mountain Clan escalates, which drives the Kauls to harsher, sometimes more desperate action; still rarely open violence and mostly simmering under the surface in backdoor dealings. Fonda Lee really captures the feel and creeping pressure of asian cinema’s triad/mafia movies, with sharp scenes of sometimes frightening and horrifying violence punctuating the long patient maneuverings. 

We get more exposure to lands outside Kekon too, mostly from Anden’s perspective; he and Shae have more to do in this one and go on realistic and engaging character arcs as they’re driven further into their metaphorical corners. Hilo shows some new, visceral sides of himself as well, completely in line with who he was in the first book but taken to new extremes. 

I tore through the whole thing pretty fast and thought it was fantastic. If you enjoyed book one you’ll probably like this one too.

What I liked about Lies of Locke Lamora made it good in spite of what I didn't like; strong characters and clever thiefy cons, held back by a tendency for the story to drag, incredibly long winded dialogue, and constant flashbacks. Red Seas Under Red Skies feels like Lynch committed fully to everything I didn't like, and also plopped a novella of a different genre in the middle of the book right when the first main con felt like it was really picking up speed. I still got some of what I enjoyed, when the characters moments were going strong and when clever cons were being executed (although some brief ones like when we finally got the truth of the opening scene felt like cheap hooks), but I struggled immensely with the pacing and the pages and pages of talk. I still think it's all very well and consistently written, it's just not my cup of tea at all. If you loved all the things I didn't, this book will probably float your boat (heh). I own book 3 and I'm dreading picking it up; we'll see. 

A collection of interviews of Star Trek actresses and a partial memoir by Nana Visitor, who played Kira Nerys on Star Trek DS9. The interviews vary in length; many are pretty short and brief in isolation, some of the longer ones focused on Visitor and other DS9 alums where she had more insight. They're organized over time starting from the 60s (The Original Series) to the modern Treks today (Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks). The chapter devoted to herself was the most in-depth; I was horrified, having watched reruns of the show years later with no idea she had gone through such traumatic events while still actively filming, and I admire the dignity she displays in dealing with horrific circumstances and the strength she's shown in healing over time. There are a few Star Trek actresses which Visitor wasn't able to get in touch with, where she pulled from existing interviews and reviewed select show episodes themselves to provide insight. I read that all of the interviews were recorded and a documentary might be coming together, which might give us more details of the conversations when that comes out.

The book overall is focused on the actresses' collective experiences with working in a male dominated industry and how that has changed over time; within Star Trek specifically but also in Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general. An example: Visitor sets a lot of the tone within the context of what she herself has experienced, one being a reoccurring criteria of being "fuckable" being passed down by producers; something that was a given for the 60s actresses, less blatant but still prevalent for Visitor's era, and the idea treated with shock and surprise by Jess Bush from Strange New Worlds in 2020s. Star Trek always being somewhat of an attempt to reflect on that era's current cultural issues, there's also some additional insight (on top of the main focus on women) on how representation, sensitivity, and understanding has improved since the 60s and what problems still persist. Finally, the book includes some short interviews with a few fans near the end, centered around the impact and inspiration Star Trek provided their lives and careers.

I found the book to be fascinating. I think Visitor did really well with the focus on the topic, and managed to show some insightful changes in expectations and culture over 60 years of the franchise. I was always a big fan of her and Major Kira, as well as a fan of many other actresses interviewed, and I learned a lot about all of them and gained a ton of respect for what they had to deal with and fought for. I thought some of the interviews were unfortunately short; I'm not sure if there's more to pull from the documentary if and when that happens, but I would love to see more. This book doesn't dive super deep, but for fans, especially those who want to learn more about the actresses in the franchise and their experiences, this is a worthwhile read.

This is a flip of Kings of the Wyld, being a coming of age story centered on a young woman, in a band with multiple strong woman characters, taking place some years after book 1. I had doubts initially on the direction the story was going and whether it could achieve the same emotional depths book 1 did, but Eames managed to fulfill those expectations and more by the end, gracefully interweaving several characters’ explorations of past trauma and growth with Tam Hashford’s own hero’s journey.

The story take a bit to pick up at first, mirroring Tam’s lack of experience, but the interesting emotional beats do come. The early parts go super hard with the rock band metaphor — especially with randy humor — and were a little off putting, but definitely don’t reflect what the rest of the book is like. There’s also a really good mix of silliness and plain fun between all the darker emotional beats; I really admire how well Eames balanced it past the earlier parts of the story. Some of book 1’s characters also come back in a more secondary role which was nice. Eames frames all the character work within action setpieces and an overall arc that’s simple but entertaining; he’s great with giving just enough detail on giant battles to be vivid without being overwhelming. I ended up liking this more than book 1 as some of the characters resonated with me more, but I think anyone who liked the first will find plenty to like here.

I think it says a lot about how good Asunder that I couldn't stop reading it. I am not good with horror or creeping tension at all, and Asunder crosses the line from dark into horror quite often; some of it gory, some of it really intense, demonic, eldritch scenes centered around very alien and very powerful side characters, as well as just a never-ending ratcheting of a ticking timer that starts from early on and keeps a lingering growing pressure on the story and the characters. The world is so imaginative; there are really cool and vivid ideas sprinkled throughout that I would occasionally stop to gush to people about, an interweaving of a complex magical system with every day needs that expresses itself in really neat ways. The story also gives glimpses of nation state level tensions, religions, and various big fishes in little ponds that serve to flavor the world further. 

 

 It’s not just world and setting that’s great; what usually keeps me reading is a strong connection to a main character, and Asunder did that really well. Main perspective character Karys is complex and competent and long suffering, the type of character that has obvious vulnerabilities under a thin layer of armor in a world that demands survive or die; and while she could probably fit in neatly into certain dark fantasy main character archetypes, she does come across very believably realistic to me. The other prominent characters Ferain, Winola and Haeki are all charming and complex in their own and very different ways, and the way they connect, fight, have tension or have tender moments with, had good emotional weight; nobody felt undersold or two dimensional, and they all (especially Karys) kept me completely emotionally engaged in the whole story. 

 

If I wanted to find things to criticize, I could probably find plenty. The way Kerstin Hall piled on the tension and kept me hooked in Karys’s journey definitely served to make me more forgiving of some of the flaws, like how the characters were sometimes moving from disconnected set piece to set piece; you basically get dripfed names of different countries and settings here and there without much chance of lining them up in any way. Or how much understanding what was going on at any moment often hinged heavily on contextual clues, like what exactly an “awrig” is. I’m fed enough context that I know an "awrig" is a magical vehicle of some sort, but I had to take a moment to figure it out after the word is unceremoniously dropped into a sentence. Stuff like that happened often. I felt fine with this and never had any difficulty, but there’s a level of surprising efficiency to the whole book, down to plopping you straight into the insanity from the first chapter. This probably isn’t a book for everyone if you don't care for the style. It also ends a bit abruptly, although nothing about the ending felt too far out of left field; it is definitely deserving of a sequel though.

I really think this book is worth a try, and Kerstin Hall came out of nowhere to be an author I'm keeping an eye on. After that cliffhanger I anxiously waiting for a sequel (please write one), and I'll probably check out her other books too.

An alright story with some interesting ideas exploring some overdone tropes, with some shaky pacing and hit or miss character work. 

I may have done this book a disservice by reading it after having seen and enjoyed both the Silo and Fallout tv shows, both of which are excellent and I would recommend; the themes of both are similar, and are using a similar post apocalyptic bunker mystery for setting. Both are better written and paced than the book, which just emphasized the flaws in Wool the omnibus. The written version ran hot and cold with exploring both characters and events, some getting more time and detail than they may have needed, some less time than deserved; the writing felt like it lacked both consistency and patience and would move right along if it didn’t know what else to add in service of tension and mood. 

This is something the show deviated from and fixed by expanding on ideas in sensible ways or modifying some things for more robust characterization. I think this is still a fun novel to spend time on, but if I had to recommend just one, go try the show instead.

Fun, very unserious comedic romantasy that’s over quickly, with a hook for a sequel. 

I didn’t like Halla the mc at first, feeling like Kingfisher made her a little too absurdly head in the clouds, but the story recontextualizes her relatively quickly and I grew to like her a lot. She gets some decent character growth over time, and is the only one who has much in the way of development. Sarkis, Zale, and the rest of the cast all join her in being really likeable and injecting levity and charm into nearly every single situation, making even what should be relatively dire stakes feel absurd. There’s some introspection and attempt at growth with Sarkis, but honestly I didn’t really feel it. 

There’s a fair amount of nonfussy, straightforward lgbtqia+ rep which is always nice to see. I like when it’s just treated as an everyday thing.

A Gnole would like to see many more books just about Brindle, who is clearly the best character in the book by far and it’s not even close, but it unfortunately probably wouldn’t happen.

There’s some artificial feeling injected drama later on that threw me a bit, but it felt like Kingfisher didn't like it much either and resolved it rather quickly. The romance is lighthearted, quick, and rather unbelievable, but that’s in line with the style of the whole book and I deliberately didn’t think too hard about it and enjoyed it (advice for the entire book honestly). There’s a sex scene thrown in, which is very trendy and booktok-y; shrug.

Great read when you want something lighter!